237. SANDRO LOEWE said:

“After having spent last 20 days in Lebanon and Syria and coming back to check SC……… Many interesting stories to be told about the drama of army members discovering how they killed civil population and some times even their own relatives.”

Please tell us about the stories. Does that mean those Army members were under the illusion that they were really fighting “terrorists” ?

275. JAD
thank you for the link !

Josef Olmert looked very hostility! he perfectly owns knowledge of a demographic arrangement of the people of Syria and feigned ignorance when spoke that Syrians among themselves are at war! and actually other countries are at war hands of Syrians! it reminded me Bernard Luis

The Alawis of Syria are true Syrians at the end of the day no matter how many people try to spread wrong narratives about them.

Good news spotted by the Angry Arab:
Suleiman and Shater disqualified in Egypt presidential election!

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/36/122/39292/Presidential-elections-/Presidential-elections-news/SPEC-disqualifies–candidates-including-Suleiman,-.aspx

‘US heavily presses Turkey into ganging up on Syria’
http://rt.com/news/us-presses-turkey-syria-052/
Washington is pressuring Ankara to play the role in Syria that France played in Libya – to be the stalking horse for United States’ interests there, researcher and author F. William Engdahl told RT.
Engdahl said that CIA director Petraeus is almost weekly in Turkey on a visit. “We can imagine he is not talking about the quality of Turkish tea,” he says.
The expert, who’s monitoring events at the Syrian border, is sure that the CIA as well as French and British intelligence have trained the rebels and sent them to Syria:
“These are armed gangs of mercenaries who often don’t even know who they are fighting for or who they are fighting against. They are just paid money, given guns and go in there.”
Turkey has hosted refugee camps for around 24,000 Syrian refugees, including some amount of army defectors.
But Damascus insists the Free Syrian Army is using the refugee camps as springboards to launch incursions into Syria and accuse Ankara of plotting against them.
This week several cross-border raids with clashes resulted in Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning that being a NATO-member his country could seek the alliance’s help if other violations occur.
But Engdahl told RT that despite Washington’s pressure on Turkey, conflict between Ankara and Damascus is highly unlikely. The problem lies in the fact that 20% of the Turkish population is Alawite, which is the same branch of Islam that the Assad family is from.
Therefore the Turkish cabinet knows that a military conflict with Syria will be the end of the Erdogan government inside Turkey, the expert believes.
However Engdahl accuses Turkey of taking an active part in destabilizing the Assad government in Syria. He calls the situation in the country “an armed intervention and the illegal violation of the UN Charter by the US and various other countries including most likely Turkey.”

Abo Mohammad Aljolani,Alqaeda Operative calling
For Aljihad against Alawis,Christians and Jews ,stating that rivers of blood should flow.cease fire with such terrorists is a big mistake:

http://whatreallyhappened.com/ru/content/not-seen-tv-syria-terrorists-launch-rocket-attacks-following-un-cease-fire-deadline
As NOT Seen On TV – Syria Terrorists Launch Rocket Attacks Following UN Cease Fire Deadline

The government of Syria struggles to continue to stick to their commitment to a UN peace plan and ceasefire as Syria rebels launch new rounds of terrorist attacks on civilians in Homs.

The government of Syria finds itself in the odd predicament of abiding by a one-side ceasefire in accordance with a UN and Arab backed peace plan.

On the other side of the equation are the Syria terrorists who refuse to abide by the UN plan which corporate news outlets such as CNN continue to refer to as “protestors” despite their continued attacks on civilians following the ceasefire deadline.

As part of the agreement, Syria has even agreed to allow UN Security Council monitors to enter the nation to monitor the violence.

Patrick Seale on Syria:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/13/kofi-annan-negotiation-key-syria
Another way to help is through negotiation with Iran over its nuclear program and that must include Iraq with its new dictator Almaliki who is seen by most as an Iranian puppet.
A solution in Syria requires a regional approach,the the GCC will follow as usual.

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30295
FROM LIBYA TO SYRIA: “WAR IS A RACKET. IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN”
…/…/….
Meanwhile in Syria, the racketeers’ plans for a Libyan repeat are proceeding apace. Last week we reported on the so-called “Friends of Syria” and their agreement to begin openly funding the rebels to the tune of millions of dollars. This week we have been watching the inevitable, pre-scripted “break down” in Annan’s UN-brokered ceasefire. Exactly on cue, unverified reports from unnamed activists have begun rolling in to the usual media mouthpieces via foreign-based NGOs proclaiming so many people have died in continued fighting. The unacknowledged elephant in the room, however, is that, exactly as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been attempting to point out all month, it’s impossible to expect a cessation in fighting when you are openly arming, training and funding an insurgent proxy army that is hell-bent on toppling the government. However, Lavrov is banging his head against a brick wall. The ceasefire was never meant to be a ceasefire and it’s all political theater at this point anyway. Any and every unverified rumor of fighting or violence in the country will now be taken as a sign that Assad has broken the agreement and the pressure to get Beijing and Moscow to acquiesce to the toppling of the Syrian government will intensify.

In the end, this will not be a carbon copy of Libya. There will be no NATO-led bombardment or large-scale military intervention, because Russia couldn’t allow that to happen. Besides, Syria has Russian supplied surface-to-air missiles and no compunction about using them. Instead, political pressure will increase for Assad to step down and the funds and arms to the rent-a-rebel force will continue increasing until the government is toppled. The dangerous factor in this equation is that neither the west nor China/Russia have blinked yet and there is a significant amount of face to lose for one side or the other in this proxy struggle. The one with the most to lose is clearly Iran, which all things being equal would be a dominant power player in regional politics. All things, however, are not equal. With their oil increasingly embargoed, the sanctions getting progressively tighter, and one of their key allies in the region threatening to topple in favor of a hostile Sunni insurgency, Iran has to know that when and if the Syrian domino falls, it falls on them.
…/…/….

Syria No Kandahar:

Your link is a very important one. I watched it at least three to four times. I am trying now to translate it. Very interesting. It is important to match what is in it and the documentary linked above and the future of the minorities.

I know the one who did this documentary linked up. What he goes through is very interesting because of him being an Alawi making this type of work.

9. GHUFRAN said:

“Another way to help is through negotiation with Iran over its nuclear program and that must include Iraq with its new dictator Almaliki who is seen by most as an Iranian puppet.
A solution in Syria requires a regional approach,the the GCC will follow as usual.”

I don’t think Maliki is an Iranian puppet, he is basically worried that a regime change in Syria will probably lead to islamists coming to power, and that will not bode well for good Iraq-Syria relations and has a high probability of return of instabilty, violence in Iraq, especially in Anbar, plus the strengthening of centrifugal forces in internal Iraqi politics who want a number of Provinces to declare autonomy, mainly based on their demograohic characteristics.

Btw Ghufran what is your view about the current situation in Iraq ? Are you satisfied with Maliki ? What do you think about his success in providing basic security to minorities ? Do you really think he is a Dictator ? Would you consider him satosfactory according to your standards ?

Also since we know you support Iran because of some of its stances in foreign affairs and regional issues , so what is your stance on Maliki and other internal Iraqi actors who are seen to be allied with Iran ?

Syria opposition urges U.N. unity if ceasefire fails
GENEVA | Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:54am BST

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/12/uk-syria-opposition-kodmani-idUKBRE83A0QU20120412

(Reuters) – If Syria fails to respect a ceasefire, the world should unite against President Bashar al-Assad, using an arms embargo and other sanctions to force him to end the violence, the main opposition group said on Wednesday, hours before a truce deadline.

The Syrian National Council (SNC) said it doubted Assad would respect the 0300 GMT Thursday ceasefire deadline and called for a new United Nations push to isolate him, something that would require the backing of reluctant Russia and China.

“The chances that by tomorrow the regime will implement or abide by the ceasefire are weak, as we all know. There is no sign for the moment on the ground,” SNC spokeswoman Basma Kodmani told Reuters.

Less than 24 hours before the deadline agreed by Assad with U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, Syrian troops, tanks and MiG-23 fighter jets were still being deployed to attack civilians, Kodmani said.

“The regime is using all of its arsenal against the people.”
…
“He’s not buying time, he is only making himself look really worse and worse to the international community,” Kodmani said.

The opposition, including the Free Syrian Army, has pledged to honour the ceasefire, scheduled to come into effect at 6 a.m. Syrian time, Kodmani said. “If today the regime stops the killings, we will resort to peaceful means,” she said.

Annan is expected to return to Geneva and report to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday on compliance with the ceasefire, part of his six-point peace plan to end 13 months of bloodshed.

“We would like to see a unanimous decision by members of the Security Council that sends an ultimatum to the regime with a deadline that is not too far down the road that says on such and such a date enforcement measures will intervene,” Kodmani said.

The SNC’s call for tough U.N. action would need the support of Security Council veto-holders Russia and China, both of which have resisted previous attempts to issue calls for Assad to quit, citing concerns about Libya-style foreign intervention.

“We have sought to reassure those countries that our intention is not to see a solution by force. We know that is very damaging for the entire country, for the future of the society and even the independence of Syria over the long term,” Kodmani said.

“I think that we might well save ourselves and the Syrian people an actual (military) intervention,” she said, calling the lack of Security Council unanimity “deadly”.

“Unanimity is the message that the regime needs to hear in order to change. There will be strong hope that the regime will comply if it sees that there is no more protection from any of the big powers on the Security Council,” she said.

“My bet or my belief is the moment the regime hears a unanimous Security Council speaking with one voice and saying: ‘This is it, it has to stop,’ I think there may not be any need for any form of military intervention.” (..)

27 killed by Bashar and Asmal Al Assad today. Alfatiha upon their souls.

Tara:

What do you think of the documentary linked about today?

http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/jordans-reluctance-confront-syria
Jordan’s Reluctance To Confront Syria
APR 13, 2012 | 1244 GMT
Gulf states are pushing Amman to help oust the Syrian regime, but the risks may be too high..

http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/26-03-2012/120891-third_world_war-0/
On the brink of Third World War – 2012
…../…./….
Russia – China are Allies against US – NATO Geo strategy (Iran and Pakistan are joining this alliance but also the Battle Space.) China is rising economically, Russia is resurgent strategically. After Iraq, Afghanistan, they have seen Libya humbled by NATO power. The US -NATO model of regime change by sponsoring local militants – Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, in Libya (NATO trained anti Gaddafi Rebels), Syria (Syrian Rebels plus ex Libyan Rebels ) In Iran (non Persian ethnic groups, anti regime Diaspora ) in Pakistan (instead of regime change, keeping pliant puppets in power, or sponsoring Baluch rebels against Pakistan.) In Russia, President Putin himself has accused the US of instigating opponents of United Russia. In China, using India for fermenting trouble in Xinjiang, Tibet etc. All this is unifying the alliance of Heart land powers Russia -China and critical Rim land state actors Iran – Pakistan into an Anti US – NATO alliance. But events are moving too fast. The Mayan Prophesy of 2012 catastrophic year approaches. US – NATO-India clash with Pakistan or US – NATO- Israel clash with Iran will lead by default or design to multi regional war going Global.

The combined Geopolitical space of Pakistan – Afghanistan -Iran – Iraq (backed by) Russia – China is beyond the US – NATO reach (It has already over reached) Putin’s reported warning to his generals, ‘Prepare for Armageddon’, must be taken seriously. Putin is a great leader in the tradition of Russian History. China has already alerted its Navy in the Pacific. North Korea can always do the unpredictable, more so now with the young Kim in power!

US – NATO war against Iran could be catastrophic, but against Pakistan it could be dooms day! US – NATO may have Turkish/Saudi support against Syria but in Pakistan’s case both Saudi Arabia – Turkey will support Pakistan. In factWar against Pakistan is very complicated plus suicidal!

Mjabali 

I would like go answer you honestly.

Refreshing!  

It does confirm to me that Alawis in general were robbed of their identity by the Assad regime who masterfully played on their historical fear and turned significant portion into shabeehas.    

Going back in my memory to my past personal experience with Alawis while living in Damascus,  being a not so traditional individual, I mostly liked the company of Alawi families.  I thought of them as fun, outgoing, and what I then perceived as “manly”.   

I just think it is a pity how we have come to this stage…  Assad has managed go destroy the Syria identity in all of us, installing fear in the heart of Alawis against the opposing Sunnis and creating “hatred” in our heart against them.  I would definitely like to hear more voices like Josh’s Alawi friend to heal the wounds.      

Dear Josh,

I once read your posts with interest and hope sprinkled with some Syrian scepticism and caution. Recently, I have been disappointed to realise that the sprinkle should have been the interest and hope. Has Syriacomment become an opposition site? Clearly.

In the hour of need, Syriacomment has fallen tragically short of helpful or constructive. You should take a leaf out of Voltairenet.org who at least make an attempt to reflect reality rather than the distorted reality which foreign power are tirelessly propaganding….

You may have married a Syrian woman but you have fallen gravely short of meeting our standards habeebi

Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution 2042 (2012),

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/sc10609.doc.htm

MAWAL95
It does say

“Condemning the widespread violations of human rights by the Syrian authorities, as well as any human rights abuses by armed groups, recalling that those responsible shall be held accountable, and expressing its profound regret at the death of many thousands of people in Syria”

#18 Tara

“Assad has managed go destroy the Syria identity in all of us,”

The Assad have been in power for 40 years and have contributed to create a secular, nationalistic, Arab and tolerant Syrian identity, how can you accuse them of having ‘destroyed’ the Syrian identity?
You are the product of the Assad era, do you deny you have a strong Syrian identity?

#13. Tara

“We would like to see a unanimous decision by members of the Security Council that sends an ultimatum to the regime with a deadline that is not too far down the road that says on such and such a date enforcement measures will intervene,” Kodmani said.

Basma Kodmani lives ” somewhere over the rainbow” . Is she the next leader of the moribund SNC?

No more strong candidates in Egypt, they are all barred. Back to weak candidates: Amr Mousa or Baradei, both suitable for the USA and the Egyptian army.

10 Egyptian presidential hopefuls barred from race
By MAGGIE MICHAEL | Associated Press – 1 hr 42 mins ago

http://news.yahoo.com/10-egyptian-presidential-hopefuls-barred-race-184738843.html

…barred from the race Mubarak-era strongman Omar Suleiman, Muslim Brotherhood chief strategist Khairat el-Shater and hard-line lawyer-turned-preacher Hazem Abu Ismail. He didn’t give a reason.
…
Ayman Nour, a liberal presidential hopeful, said the commission told him he was disqualified because of his imprisonment as a dissident under Mubarak’s regime and because his name was not listed among registered voters.
(..)

On Syria, Annan Spokesman Tells ICP Mood Is Out of Game, Colonel In

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 14 — After the UN Security Council authorized an advance team of observers for Syria in a rare Saturday meeting, Inner City Press asked Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin about envoy Kofi Annan’s General Robert Mood, who reportedly left Damascus while the Syrian foreign minister and first deputy were briefly away.

Churkin said this happened and, stranger still, when a Russian diplomat inquired at Kofi Annan’s office in Geneva when Mood would return to Syria, he was told that Mood’s return “should not be anticipated.” Churkin went on to say that professionalism is required and that “there are other people.”

Inner City Press immediately wrote to Kofi Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi to ask “Why did Mood leave when he did, and more importantly, why has he not gone back since? Is he going back? When? Is he going to be replaced?”

Now, this answer has been received from Fawzi:

From: Ahmad Fawzi
Date: Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 2:31 PM
Subject: Qs on Gen. Mood, list of 50 violations, & still Kofi Annan Foundation
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Its really very simple. Major-General Mood completed his assessment mission and came back to Geneva to report to the JSE, before returning to Norway, mission accomplished. There was never any intention of him going back. The advance team of observers is being led by a Colonel.

The choice of Force Commander for the full observer mission will be made by the Secretary General, once the Security Council passes a resolution authorizing it.

This will be news to Syria, whose Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari told Inner City Press his government wants Mood to come back and keep negotiating “the protocol.” Other diplomats at the UN on Saturday told Inner City Press that Mood was miffed that he wasn’t accorded more pomp by the Syrian government; note that now the advance team is being led by a lower level Colonel (not named by Fawzi).

Fawzi also answered Inner City Press’ question on the “fifty violations” mentioned by Syrian Ambassador Ja’afari, and again didn’t answer the questions about the Kofi Annan Foundation:

“50 Violations: there will violations by both sides. This is not unusual in this situation, both sides will be testing each other. We hope the arrival of UN observers will encourage the parties to exercise restraint and embark on the political process envisioned in the 6-point plan.

“Fund-raising by the KA Foundation: again, I don’t speak for the Foundation. UN activities are funded either through the regular budget, or through extra-budgetary sources. For information on the latter please go to the Controller.”

But the Kofi Annan Foundation referred all questions to Fawzi. This is called a run around. But it is more responsive than the spokesperson team of Ban Ki-moon.

[…]

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1nomood041412.html

Syrian Talibans formed (Mohammad phalanges)

Promised to kill any candidate for parliament !!
With revolutionists this style Syrians will rather have Saddam (back from the dead), Hitler, Niron or Stalin …..The only Syrians who support this style of Talibans are criminals, murderers, drug dealers, pedophilics, wahabis, jihadists (unemployed after Iraq jihad closed), plus very few triple digit paid minorities:

http://syria-politic.com/ar/Default.aspx?subject=551#.T4oRbIl5mc0

Antoine,

I see Maliki as a puppet of Iran and as a dictator who would have never stayed as a PM if it was not for Iran’s support and US approval, his alienation of Iraqis who disagree with him and his attempts to get rid of his opponents speak louder than his words. He is far from being a role model to the newly empowered Shia, he is sectarian and intolerant, Shias who were oppressed for centuries are supposed to be the opposite.

Iraq has no choice but to play nice with its neighbor, Syria,for a number of reasons, and I happen to believe that good relations between Syria and all of its neighbors, except Israel, is needed for Syria’s stability and progress. What poisoned the water in the region lately is the conflict with Iran, the bloody crisis in Syria and the refusal of oppressive regimes, especially in Syria, to pursue a dignified relation with their own people that preserves citizens right to be free and be treated as owners of their countries not as servants of the ruling elites. How can we expect a free and secure middle east when we have Israel, Arab dictators and the GCC royal families?

Without serious political changes in the Arab world, the region has no future. Israel is living on Arab failures more than its successes, which I cannot deny, when Arabs clean their house, Israel will have no choice but to play along, Israelis and the West have little respect for Arabs, thinking otherwise is delusional, we have to earn the respect of others not expect it to be granted as a gift.

So you removed Abdel Jehash ….that is fine with me if you make a general rule that it is against the rules of SC to call any one from the government or the opposition any names? Is that ok with you? Why are you acting as a defense attorney for some SNC $ bought person with no value? did you ever edited any one calling any government person a name(not that I care)?

In the free world (even in Syria now) people call Presidents any name they want, in SC commenters are forced to respect even people they consider traitors? Why?

You don’t usually answer because you dont have an answer or because you can’t say your answer.

The most you can do is use your red or yellow markers, go ahead.

My last comment was addressed to SC moderator
I am waiting for his فلقه(if he reads Arabic )

[ Please address your complaints via email to SCModeration@mail.com or to our host at Landis@ou.edu]

News on the german vessel, headed with weapons to Tartous harbor

http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Fpanorama%2Fjustiz%2F0%2C1518%2C827611%2C00.html

Many bloggers and news sites are taking the easy route when reporting or commenting on Syria today. The cease fire is relatively successful despite the breaches by both sides.

Those of you who take comfort in accusing the other side of being a total Goliath are running away from the inconvenient truth, Syria today is a playground for a lot people who are violent, divided and do not trust each other, looking for innocence in Syria is harder than trying to find a needle in a stack of hay. Outside help and outside pressure that is non military in nature provide a glimpse of hope, do not kill that hope.

Dear Bronco

“You are the product of the Assad era, do you deny you have a strong Syrian identity?”

Let me start by saying that my Arab nationalistic identity is owed to a great extent to the Baath ideology.  I give you that and some more, however, in regard to tolerance, I think it is the other way around.  It is the inherent tolerance of the Syrian people that allowed a minority not only to rule, but to construct an essentially sectarian power base that sustained him for long time.  Assad senior built an armamentarium of military and security apparatus that is sectarian based.  It Is for that particular reason, Bashar was the only second generation Arab dictator that inherited the power and ruled for 11years.  Had he not had this sectarian base, he could have bend removed much faster than Moubark and Ben Ali.  So absolutely not,  the Assads did not co contribute to the tolerance aspect of the Syrian identity, they destroyed it…

Bronco

“Basma Kodmani lives ” somewhere over the rainbow” . Is she the next leader of the moribund SNC?”

Hay.  Lots of women, Syrians or westerners,  Basma, Hillary, Victoria Nuland, Suhair Attasi, Susan Rice, did not measure up. Misogyny or unattainable very high standards?  

Oh wait…,  this is neither.  The only woman that you seem to admire is Shahrazad Jaafari, a half Syrian, half Iranian.  

I have met her once and read what was written about her. What can I say?  Admiration has no logic sometimes…Anyway, I congratulate you for your taste 😉   

Hey Tara, you seem to get around, you met Asma and now Jaafry, you seem to have more connection to the government in Syria than any of us poor loyalists, LOL,LOL.

Norman

Tara the VIP? Only to Yara.

Child Soldier

Exclusive: Interviews With Wounded Teenage Free Syrian Army Fighters

http://www.policymic.com/articles/6975/exclusive-interviews-with-wounded-teenage-free-syrian-army-fighters

Returning outside, I engage with Maher, the 16 year-old boy on a wheelchair. He’s look young with barely any facial hair. He is paralyzed from the waist down. He was shot about ten months ago when the uprising started and has been in Tripoli for three months. There is some hope that he can travel to France for an operation that he desperately needs.

Before leaving, I ask Mohammad the medical organizer, whether he is getting support from abroad. “Riad al-Assad (the Free Syrian Army commander) is not really helping and neither are the western countries.” He confirms to me that he is in touch with intelligence operatives from the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany but that “all they seek is information on the ground and an assessment of our capabilities but never follow up with their promises of support.”

[…]

34.

Does the SECTARIAN and TERRORIST Hizballah require Americans, who do research on it and its Shia organizations, to conduct a pro-Bashar/Hasan spam campaign on the Internet?

Funny how the Sectarian Hizballah and its supporters are now repeating the arguments that Israeli occupiers use. Below is the evidence:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-shot-in-the-heart–the-journalist-assad-made-into-a-martyr-7631276.html
Robert Fisk: Shot in the heart – the journalist Assad made into a martyr
Mourners demand answers over fate of cameraman killed on the Lebanese border
[…]
Every journalist who dies in violence in Lebanon is called a martyr. Not a bad description of all of those who die trying to report the truth, that subtle narrative that must name the guilty party. But Al-Manar, the television station of the Hezbollah – Syria’s ally – did not speak of Shabaan as a “martyr” but as a “victim” of a battle between Syrian troops and “terrorists”. As one of Shabaan’s employers said yesterday, he was wiped off the news agenda of Hezbollah as a victim of “crossfire”, the old explanation of Palestinian deaths at the hands of the Israelis. “But for God’s sake,” he said, “this wasn’t an Israeli television station – this was a Hezbollah station!”
[…]

I guess that George Orwell would be puzzled by Hizballah and its propagandists! Using Palestine-despite the fact that 95% of Palestinians oppose the 2 al-Assads who have a lot of Palestinian blood on their dirt/criminal hands-is NOT fooling anybody!

Gunmen torch health center in Syria’s Latakia – 2012-04-14

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/14/c_122980039.htm

DAMASCUS, April 14 (Xinhua) — An armed group torched Saturday a health center at Qneinas district in the Mediterranean city of Latakai but no casualties were reported, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said.

The fire has come under control, the report said.

In another incident, an armed group attacked a civilian bus on Saturday, wounding three people in the northern city of Idlib, SANA reported.

In the southern province of Daraa, gunmen attacked a law- enforcement patrol, killing two warrant officers, SANA reported Saturday. Also in Daraa, the authorities found on Saturday the bodies of two officers killed recently by gunmen in a suburb of Daraa.

[…]

Parliament candidate kidnapped by terrorists in N. Syria – 2012-04-14

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/14/c_131526914.htm

DAMASCUS, April 14 (Xinhua) — An “armed terrorist group” kidnapped Saturday a candidate for Syria’s upcoming parliamentary elections in the northern province of Idlib, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

The “terrorists” stormed the house of Mohammad Ismail al-Ahmed in Idlib’s al-Tih town, shot at him and took him to an unknown destination, said SANA.

The incident came as kidnappings and assassinations targeting government officials surged over the past week in the conflict-hit country.

Earlier in the day, another armed group kidnapped a colonel in the suburb of the central province of Hama and transferred him to an unidentified place, according to SANA.

Moreover, unofficial Syrian websites and TV close to the government said Saturday that militants assassinated late Friday a prominent preacher in the Damascus suburb of Saida Zeinab.

Sayyed Nasser al-Allawi, the imam and preacher of al-Hossayniya Scientific Hawza in Syria, was shot from a near distance in front of his house and died after being sent to a nearby hospital.

The victim, born in Syria with an Afghan origin, was active in providing assistance for families fleeing to the area because of the unrest, the reports said.

[…]

[ 96 hour moderation warning. Dawoud, do not persist in slurring the Iranian people. You have been warned repeatedly against assigning to a national group the policies or actions of a government. I have edited your comment to remove the provocative language.

As I noted in your last email warning,

Strong opinions, strong language, and strong debate may be essential to forging difficult decisions, to unity or consensus or act of war, and Dr Landis encourages vigorous discussion here – but the line here is drawn at language that is personally-directed and tends to inflame anger and contempt on religious, ethnic, place of birth, place of residence, or other group grounds.

SCModeration@mail.com]

The German ship-which is carrying the arms that the Iranians sent for Bashar to use them to kill Syrians-was ordered not to continue to Tartus.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/15/uk-syria-diplomacy-idUKBRE83E01020120415

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/syria-becomes-battleground-between-shiites-and-sunnis-220294.html

I said that many times,

Dawoud has been placed on 96 hour moderation.

سامحني يوب

[ + الطفل همام مازن طعمه الحلبي عمره 12 سنة اصيب بإطلاق ناري من رجال الأمن في حي الإذاعة في حلب أثناء تشييع الشهيد عبد الواحد الهنداوي ]

NATO sees flaws in air campaign against Libya – April 14, 2012

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2017984246_nato15.html

The findings undercut the idea NATO could effectively carry out a more complicated campaign in Syria without relying disproportionately on the U.S. military.

Mounting an operation in Syria would pose a bigger challenge than the seven-month campaign that drove Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from power, U.S. officials said. Syria has a more capable military and air-defense system that Pentagon officials say would take weeks of airstrikes to destroy.

“If anything were to be envisaged over Syria, even in purely hypothetical terms, it would also rely heavily on U.S. capabilities,” said one senior European diplomat who reviewed the 37-page NATO report, which was completed in late February.

[…]

Syria “committed to peace” – envoy – Apr 15, 2012

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_04_15/71786114/

Syria remains committed to the peace roadmap, outlined by former UN chief Kofi Annan, and is ready for further cooperation to end the conflict.

Speaking on the Security Council floor on Saturday Syria’s UN ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari said Damascus had agreed to cease fire on Thursday only to see what he described as “terrorists expanding the scale of their operations,” attacking civilians and carrying out acts of sabotage.

Al-Jaafari said he had provided Mr. Annan with detailed information on opposition violations of the ceasefire, which he said exceeded 50.

[…]

Official: Turkey wants NATO to attack Syria – 3 hours ago

Reports say neighbor encouraging rebels to ignore truce, pursue violence

http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/official-turkey-wants-nato-to-attack-syria/

Turkey has asked the Syrian opposition to ignore the truce and continue its assault against President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled regime, a Syrian official charged.

One day after a shaky cease-fire was implemented, there were reports of fighting yesterday between government forces and rebels near the Turkish border village of Kherbet al Jawz.

The Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said opposition forces opened fire on Syrian troops in the incident, sparking a gun battle that lasted several minutes.

Earlier this week, WND reported the Syrian military is on its second-highest alert level, believing Turkey may be attempting to stage a provocation in the hope of drawing Damascus into a conflict, according to a top Syrian official.

The official said Syria noted unusual Turkish troop movements in recent days along the Syria-Turkey border

The Syrian official said Assad asked Russia to investigate the Turkish Army deployments.

Syria believes its foe Turkey has been disappointed with the lack of momentum for a NATO air campaign to target Assad’s regime and that Ankara may be trying to agitate for an international military solution to violence in Syria.

Last week, WND reported Turkey has been surprised by a sudden behind-the-scenes change in attitude from the Obama administration regarding Assad, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

The sources said that while U.S. rhetoric against Assad remains strong, the Obama administration is suddenly dropping the ball by supporting a NATO campaign against Assad. The sources said the U.S. is suddenly scaling back material support for the Syrian opposition.

The Turkish sources said Turkey and the Syrian opposition are disappointed with the change in attitude, which they claim comes without any diplomatic justification from U.S. officials.

The sources said some Turkish officials believe Obama may have made a deal with Syria or Iran.

Earlier this month, WND quoted informed Middle Eastern officials saying Obama has been engaged in secret, back-channel talks with Iran in which he informed Tehran’s leaders he is completely opposed to any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The officials told WND the behind-the-scenes talks aim to secure a guarantee from Iran that it will not retaliate against the U.S. in the event of an Israeli military strike, the officials said.

[…]

“The Assad have been in power for 40 years and have contributed to create a secular, nationalistic, Arab and tolerant Syrian identity, how can you accuse them of having ‘destroyed’ the Syrian identity?”
“You are the product of the Assad era, do you deny you have a strong Syrian identity?”

-Syrians raised by parents who were forced to leave Syria, as I was, also were raised outside Syria with a very strong sense of Syrian identity. The strong Syrian identity largely comes from the Syria Assad inherited, not the Syria he created.

Get your facts straight. Tolerance? Tolerance for a corrupt regime you mean, caused by fear, pure and simple.

“Don’t drag our revolution through the mud”

but please continue dragging Syria’s government, army, leadership and loyalists through the mud.

#45 Amnesia

“-Syrians raised by parents who were forced to leave Syria, as I was, also were raised outside Syria with a very strong sense of Syrian identity.”

Yes, like the SNC members, full of revenge, bitterness and greed…

Tara #31

“The only woman that you seem to admire is Shahrazad Jaafari, a half Syrian, half Iranian.”

OMG, she is even not full Syrian! and half Iranian! That explains your preference for Basma who, by the way, is a proud french citizen who doesn’t write anything worth reading.

As for Attasi, Nuland and Hillary.. excuse me, I think they are very close to ridicule in their pompousness and arrogance.

It’s a allergic reaction, I get goose bumps when I hear or see them.

There are plenty of admirable and discreet women in power, Christine Largade, Aung San Suu Kyi, Dilma Rousseff, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner etc…

I also congratulate you for your taste. We obviously differ.

Bronco

I have no preference to girls in general regardless of their country of origin.  I think I am more at ease with men.

I have an exquisite taste.  You just do not know.

Tara:

Thanks for your answer.

To blame Hafez al-Assad for not bridging the gap between the Alawis and the Sunnis is part of the truth. What you did not mention was the role of the Sunnis’ establishment through out the years leading to Hafez’ power grab. Hafez and his sons did not care that much and they behaved like Sunnis while using the poor masses of the Alawi youth at their service. al-Assads did benefit from the sects not understanding or liking each other. The Sunnis on the other hand did not do that much therefore we have this tragic situation. I read what the Sunnis been writing about the Alawis all the time and to me things are not going to be better unless a major cultural change happens. From what I see we are moving backwards and not to the future with the rest of humanity.