Do the Massacres in Bayda and Banyas Portend Ethnic Cleansing to Create an Alawite State?

Do the Massacres in Bayda and Banyas Portend Ethnic Cleansing to Create an Alawite State?
by Joshua Landis, Syria Comment, May 13, 2013

Map showing the cities of Latakia - Baniyas - Tartus on the Syrian coast

Map showing the cities of Latakia – Baniyas – Tartus on the Syrian coast

This question is taken up in two thoughtful articles by Hassan Hassan and Michael Young. Hassan Hassan argues that “sectarian cleansing is not being conducted for the purpose of establishing a potential state, but rather for other strategic purposes, including recruitment of Alawi fighters, deepening sectarian tensions in Assad’s favor, and ensuring a popular base of support,” (see Elizabeth O’Bagy). Michael Young sees them as a possible prelude to what may be coming if the Alawites begin to lose, but for the time being, he suggests that “ethnic cleansing” may not have been the intended result, but the massacres did serve as a shot across the bow of the Sunni population of the coast.  (see extended quotes below).

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Davutoglu claimed that Syria’s army has begun ethnically cleansing Banyas because it is losing elsewhere in the country. But Assad’s forces are not losing. According to both Liz Sly of the Washington Post and Reuters reports Assad’s forces are gaining ground in Syria, at least for the time being. This can only be cold comfort to the Sunnis along the coast who speak of their fear of ethnic cleansing.

The fighting in al-Bayda began when a bus carrying pro-regime militants, or Shabiha, was attacked, by rebel militiamen, killing at least seven and wounding more than 30, according to activists quoted by DPA. After the rebels attacked a bus, the village became “the scene of fierce fighting between the army and rebel battalions.” The brutality of the shabiha revenge on both al-Bayda and Banyas was depicted in a series of photos and videos that even by the standards of this war were shocking. The religious passions that have now colored every aspect of this fight ran out of control.

How likely is ethnic cleansing along the coast?

The likelihood of ethnic cleansing in the coastal regions is high. It will rise even higher should Assad’s troops begin to lose. The Sunni populations of the coastal cities will be the first to be targeted by Assad’s military, if it is pushed out of Damascus. Should the Alawites be compelled to fall back to the predominantly Alawite region of the mountains stretching along the western seaboard of Syria, the Sunnis of the coastal cities and eastern plan will be the first to suffer. Should Sunni militias, which are perched only kilometers from Latakia, penetrate to the city itself, Alawites may turn against the region’s Sunnis fearing that they become a fifth column. There are many precedents for this sort of defensive ethnic cleansing in the region. Zionist forces in Israel, cleared Palestinian villages of their inhabitants in 1948, rather than leave them behind Israeli lines. Armenians were driven out of Eastern Anatolia by Turks and Kurds, who claimed self-defense in their struggle against Russia in WWI. The Greek Orthodox Anatolians were driven out of Anatolia following the defeat of Greek forces which sought to conquer Anatolia in the early 1920s in an effort to resurrect the Byzantine Empire.

The Sunni cities of the Syrian coast — Latakia, Jeble, Banyas, and Tartous — had no Alawite inhabitants in the 1920s, when the French began taking censuses in Syria. Certainly, Alawite, servant girls, day laborers and peddlers may have worked in the cities, but they were alien to them. Sunnis and Alawites did not live together in any Syrian town of over 200 people, according to Jacques Weulersse, the French academic who published the most thorough and reliable study of the Alawites, Le pays des Alaouites, in 1940. Their demographic segregation was profound. The deep mistrust and hostility that separated the two communities was caused largely by religious differences. Alawites see themselves as the truest Muslims, who possess secret knowledge of God. Sunnis view Alawites to be not Muslim at all, and indeed, not even People of the Book. The many prejudices that were suppressed or attenuated during the modern national era have now reemerged and threaten to divide the two populations anew.

During the modern era, Alawites came down out of their mountain villages, migrating to the cities. Today, most of the coastal cities are only half Sunni because of the growth of Alawite neighborhoods and migration. But that population is new. Most is no older than 60 years and much of it is much newer. The same is true for Damascus, where in 1945 only 400 Alawites were recorded to be living in the capital.

An abandoned kitchen in Salma village situated in the Latakia Province (Warren Allott)

Ethnic cleansing may turn against the Alawites, as easily as it may against Sunnis. If Sunni militias win in their struggle against the regime and penetrate into the Alawite Mountains, Alawites will flee before them, rather than be vanquished. This has already been the case in six Alawite villages north of Latakia. When rebel militias entered the towns, the Alawite families hastily grabbed their possession and fled, leaving dinners on the kitchen table. Not a soul was left in them. In all likelihood, they will run to Lebanon, which is no further than an hour’s drive, The border is open.

Western policy planners have gamed out these possibilities, making them reluctant to arm rebel militias for a total victory. Although opposition leaders plead for more and better weapons to bring them a speedy victory, Western leaders have held back. The fear that three million Alawites could flee into Lebanon, destabilizing the country for decades, undoubtedly plays a role in Western reticence.  This sort of population transfer could be as disruptive to the region, as was the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948. Just as the Palestinians have not been permitted to return to their ancestral land, neither, in all probability, would the Alawites.

The fear of ethnic cleansing has increased among all populations of Syria and with good reason. Sunnis claim today that the regime is effectively trying to clear many areas of its Sunni inhabitants. One only has to look at the overwhelmingly Sunni population of the refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan to see the reason for these claims. The Assad regime has devastated whole urban neighborhoods.

Policy Implications

The strong possibility of ethnic cleansing means that foreign sponsors of both sides are proceeding with caution. If Assad’s forces are pushed out of Damascus and toward the Alawite Mountains, they could ethnically cleanse the Sunni inhabitants of the coast. If rebel militias penetrate into the Mountain villages, Alawites would almost certainly be cleansed, if they did not simply up and flee to Lebanon.

If Assad reasserts his control over rebel held parts of Syria, large populations of Sunnis would likewise flee. They would fear ruthless retribution and possible massacres.

For this reason, Western powers are searching for a political solution. It is hard to imagine the politics of compromise prevailing in Syria any time soon. Both sides remain convinced of their rectitude and eventual victory. All the same, it is not impossible that a new ethnic balance will eventually emerge in the years, if not months, ahead.

Much depends on whether rebel forces are able to unify their ranks. Their weakness is their profound fragmentation. Much too depends on external powers and their willingness to arm and finance their Syrian allies. Most Western and even some Middle Eastern leaders seem to be growing resigned to the necessity of a political solution, even as their rhetoric remains highly partisan. Erdogan, despite his bluster, seems poised to distance himself ever so slightly from Syria’s rebels. He is eager to allay Kurdish and Shiite discontent within Turkey, just as he fears any real head-butting contest with Russia and Iran over Syria.

Doha, too, seems to have hit the pause button, but continues to supply salafist militias, according to some. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are withholding arms from radical Islamist groups which have been the most effective fighters.  When the Syrian rebellion first broke out, many western pundits urged Obama to intervene if for no other reason than to seize the opportunity to eliminate Iranian influence in Syria and to crush Hizbullah in Lebanon. But to do so, would necessitate defeating the Shiite population so completely as to make it vulnerable to ethnic cleansing. What is more, the US is perhaps wiser to allow a regional balance of power to emerge between Shiites and Sunnis. If the US presses down on the scales of power too dramatically in one direction, as it did in Iraq, bad things can happen. Because the Sunnis in Iraq were so thoroughly purged from state institutions and driven from positions of authority, they have gone on the warpath and remain radicalized. What is more, the US will withdraw, causing the balance of power to swing back toward a balance reflecting regional power arrangements. Better for America not to intervene itself, but to work through regional allies. In the case of Syria, these allies are Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel. They have more permanent interests in Syria and will balance Iran and Iraq out of necessity, rather than out of some momentary fit of anxiety or altruism.

Mihrac Ural, sometimes called Ali Kyali, who has emerged as a leading Shabiha leader.

Key to the heightened fear of Sunnis along the coast, is the growth and power of the Shabiha, or Alawite militias, which have been adopting a raw religious and increasingly Alawite nationalist rhetoric. No one stands out among the Shabiha leaders more than Mihrac Ural, or as he is often called, Ali Kyali, of late. He is a Turkish Alawite who fled Turkey around 1981 and was given Syrian citizenship by Hafiz al-Assad. He is credited to have introduced Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK leader, to the Assads and to have married a secretary of Rifaat al-Assad. The PKK’s first conference took place on Syrian territory in July 1981. Turkish authorities are accusing Ural of masterminding the recent bombing in Reyhanli, Turkey. He is in all likelihood, the leader of the Banyas incident as well.

In this video recorded a few days before the Banyas massacre, Mihrac Ural explains why Banyas is key to the defense of the coastal region and must be cleaned of rebel combatants.

“Banias is the only route for these traitors to the sea,” he says in this video. “Jableh, due to the national forces surrounding it, cannot become a pathway or a coastal headquarters for the enemy. But Banias could, and the whole game in Banias is playing out based on this calculation.”

It is necessary, as soon as possible, to surround Banias, and I mean (someone in audience says “cleanse [tathir] sir”)…surround Banias and start the cleansing….

…The title of the Syrian Resistance is the “cleansing and liberation”, these two. We do not have any political or governing ambitions, as long as the state exists and the governing power exists. We don’t interfere in criminal or civilian matters…..

…The aim of the Syrian Resistance is the liberation of the country (watan) and if we’re needed within this week, we will join the battles in Banias and perform our patriotic duty. Everyone will see how the Syrian Resistance fights.

We fought from Amani, Kassab to Nabii Al Mir…Point 45, Qastal Al Maath, Al Mazraa. Mafraq Al Saraya, Al Mafrqah Al Bassit, Al Arjaa, Al Maydan, Bayt Fares, Al Rawda, Markaz Al Hataab, Borj Al Shaqra, Bayt Hnayn and I was ambushed in Bayt Hnayn along with my comrades and I’m still injured from that ambush. [These villages are situated to the north of Latakia]

Within this line (the cities he just listed), this is the front-line that’s always on fire. The Syrian resistance fought in all these places and collected realistic information from the enemy on the ground. It taught them a lesson. The resistance gave 27 martyrs.

Our plan has always been attack, attack, attack. Those who ask us “OK, so you entered the village, who’s going to hold it”, it doesn’t matter, our job is to cleanse and liberate and its up to the army to hold the ground, when the time comes when the army can’t hold the ground, then it will be a different story, and the Syrian Resistance will have to take additional measures….

You need to pay attention to the story of Banias, the only route from these traitors to the sea. It should be surrounded, liberated and cleansed as soon as possible, and al salam alikum.

Ali Kyali, or Mihrac Ural, the leader(secretary general) of a group calling itself The Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of AlexandrettaThey call themselves The Syrian Resistance. It seems to be composed mainly of Syrian and Turkish Alawites and may have had some connection to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. This is their official Facebook page. This was the link to the original version of the video shown above. It is posted to the groups Facebook page, but the video was removed after it went viral on the internet, dated May 2nd, 2013. Here is the google cache version of the page showing the video posting. And here’s a picture of the original posting in case the Google cache page expires
Ali Kyali speech about Banias - Orginal facebook posting

Ali Kyali speech about Banias – Original Facebook posting

Another video posted on their Facebook page shows a visit from a liberated Palestinian prisoner presenting a gift to Kyali as a token of appreciation on behalf of the the Palestinian Liberation front. Kyali is fluent in Turkish.
The importance of religion to Kayali who poses with Alawite religious leaders and defends Alawite religious shrines.
A photo album published on the group Facebook page, on April 29 ,2013, shows what they claim to be the aftermath of their liberation of Kherbet Solas in the mountains above Latakia. Some of the pictures show a Alawite shrine of Saydna al-Khidr that the group claims to have liberated and cleansed from rebel forces. One picture shows shows parts of the shrine destroyed.
Destroyed Alawite Shrine of Saydna al-Khidr

Destroyed Alawite Shrine of Saydna al-Khidr

The sheikh sitting next to the speaker in the video above is sheikh Mouwafaq Ghazal, a confounder of the Alawite Islamic council in Syria and in Diaspora. This is his facebook page and this an interview in Arabic, in which he talks about the history of his organization. Here is Mihrac’s facebook page. Look at his many photos for a quick overview of his history and friends.
Mihrac’s Turkish terrorism

According to “Terrorism, 1992 – 1995: A Chronology of Events and a Selectively Annotated Bibliography By Edward F. Mickolus, Mihrac Ural had become leader of the outlawed Turkish People’s Liberation Party Acilcier Organization. The group espouses a Marxist-Leninist ideology and holds an anti-U.S., anti-NATO position. It considers that the Turkish government is under the control of Western imperialism. He seeks to destroy this control by both violent and democratic means. The DHKP-C splinter group called Acilciler, or “Urgent Ones,” has about 500 members and operates from Syria under the name of the “Hatay Liberation Army.” Mihrac’s past connections to the Kurdish Marxist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), is discussed here as well as his possible connection to the US embassy bombing in Turkey.  He is now a wanted man and has $100k bounty on his head.

Mihrac Ural is not an out and out Alawite nationalist. He is loyal to the rhetoric of Arab nationalism and defers to the “Syrian Army.” All the same, Turkish Alawites have a particular sensibility. They have not been imbued with Arab nationalist ideology and retain a less self-conscious connection to their religion and traditions. A number of my Turkish Alawite friends have a much deeper knowledge of Alawite religion than do my Syrian Alawite friends. Most Syrian Alawites have internalized the Syrian, Arab nationalism of the regime, such that they deny Alawite nationalist ambitions vehemently. They also cling to the notion that they are good Muslims, rejecting any notion that they believe in Ali as the supreme creator or have a separate religion. Most Turkish Alawites have fewer qualms along these lines. Some have turned away from religion altogether, embracing the secularism of Kemalism, but others have turned inward and embraced Alawite religion as a wellspring of their identity. This makes the emergence of Mihrac Ural particularly interesting. He embraces Alawitism, is proud to sit with Alawite religious sheikhs in his photos, and to defend religious shrines. Some of his photos show him sitting in front of a large library of books and are designed to depict him as a man of wisdom and deep learning. Turkish Alawites may play an important role in leading their Syrian coreligionists toward Alawite nationalism. If so, Mihrac Ural is a man to watch. There is no doubt that he speaks the assurance of a leader on a mission if not a prophet. The original Alawite founder of the Baath Party – Zaki Arsuzi – was from Alexandretta (Hatay). His conversion to Arabism was shaped by Turkey’s takeover of his region. It would be ironic if a Turkish Alawite led the spiritual and possibly nationalist awakening of the Alawites.

[End – Personal News]

I will be traveling in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon for the next six weeks and may not be able to post. Matt Barber, the Syria Video team, and Aron Lund will be able to keep posting on Syria Comment, although not frequently.

News Round Up

Lessons from a massacre that Assad looks to exploit
Hassan Hassan, May 08, 2013, the National

The recent carnage in the Syrian coastal city of Banias over the weekend, among the most grisly in the country’s two-year-long conflict, offers lessons into the grim calculations of Bashar Al Assad. Read Article

Syria Update: Assad Targets Sunni along Syria’s Coast
May 10, 2013 – Elizabeth O’Bagy

Although Assad has attempted to consolidate the Alawites behind him and to fortify his position in the northern Alawi coastal mountains and Tal Kalakh in the south, conditions on the ground contradict assertions that Assad is creating an Alawi rump state…..

in a video posted on YouTube, the leader of an Alawi militia in the coastal region, along with an Alawi religious leader, discusses plans to “cleanse Baniyas of the traitors.”

New phase in Syria’s war will bring blood to the coast
Michael Young, May 9, 2013, The National

….If the Alawites ever decide to create a rump state, one of their objectives will be to ensure that Sunnis do not challenge this plan. That means Sunnis must either be terrorised into silence or, in the worst case, forced out of coastal areas. The Baniyas and Bayda killings, while extraordinarily brutal, seemed primarily designed to achieve the first aim. Thousands of Sunnis reportedly left the city in fear, but appeared to be heading toward other coastal cities, namely Tartous, south of Baniyas, and Jableh, to its north.

However, the massacres were a reminder that worse may come, especially if the regime makes headway in Homs and Qusayr, allowing it to seal a major Sunni evacuation route. Sunnis in the north-east increasingly feel isolated from their brethren elsewhere in Syria. That is how the regime wants it. The Sunnis’ sense of vulnerability will make them more reluctant to side with the rebellion, and their presence as potential hostages will make Mr Al Assad’s enemies think twice before mounting military operations in coastal areas.

This may be the best the Assad regime can hope to achieve, since wholesale ethnic cleansing would be a major endeavour. There is still a significant Sunni population in coastal cities such as Tartous and Latakiya, and in the latter, Sunnis form a majority. Even if they were driven out for some reason, the consequences could be disastrous for the city itself, which would lose not only a large portion of its population, but many of its most dynamic economic actors…..Mr Al Assad has no plans to abandon Damascus. However, we are witnessing a consolidation of the Alawite statehood option as a fallback position. The Syrian conflict is entering a new phase, where long-term territorial plans and alliances are taking shape. And the ensuing violence can only increase as the stakes become higher.

Recent violence against Sunni communities in Syria’s coastal region raises new concern over sectarianism in Syria. It also suggests to some that Assad will move to form an Alawi state. In fact, these events are perpetrated to demonstrate force and to drive a sectarian narrative that strengthens Assad’s base. Assad’s support in Qardaha has weakened, an influx of internally displaced persons has transfigured the coastal region, and there are opportunities to exploit these fluctuations in Assad’s position there.

Possible ethnic cleansing in Iraq if new sectarian war starts: Ned parker – “the threat of more bloodshed between Sunnis and Shiites and the eventual breakup of the country”

Askari said he doubted there would be a new civil war because Sunnis know how much they lost in the sectarian conflict during the U.S. occupation.

“Without the American Army, no single Sunni could have stayed in Baghdad. They would have been cleansed,” he said. “Now there are no Americans. If sectarian war ignited, for sure they would lose Baghdad and most of the other provinces.”

All that would be left is their stronghold, Anbar province, Askari said, where Al Qaeda would gain strength and terrorize the Sunni population.

Quote of the Day

“Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant.”? H.L. Mencken

Those Arguing US Should Stay Out of Syria

With or Without Us
By Fareed Zakaria, Monday, May. 13, 2013 – Time Magazine

Those urging the U.S. to intervene in Syria are certain of one thing: If we had intervened sooner, things would be better in that war-torn country. Had the Obama Administration gotten involved earlier, there would be less instability and fewer killings. We would not be seeing, in John McCain’s words of April 28, “atrocities that are on a scale that we have not seen in a long, long time.”

In fact, we have seen atrocities much worse than those in Syria very recently, in Iraq under U.S. occupation only few years ago. From 2003 to 2012, despite there being as many as 180,000 American and allied troops in Iraq, somewhere between 150,000 and 300,000 Iraqi civilians died and about 1.5 million fled the country. Jihadi groups flourished in Iraq, and al-Qaeda had a huge presence there. The U.S. was about as actively engaged in Iraq as is possible, and yet more terrible things happened there than in Syria. Why?

The point here is not to make comparisons among atrocities. The situation in Syria is much like that in Iraq–and bears little resemblance to that in Libya–so we can learn a lot from our experience there. Joshua Landis, the leading scholar on Syria, points out that it is the last of the three countries of the Levant where minority regimes have been challenged by the majority. In Lebanon, the Christian elite were displaced through a bloody civil war that started in the 1970s and lasted 15 years. In Iraq in 2003, the U.S. military quickly displaced the Sunni elite, handing the country over to the Shi’ites–but the Sunnis have fought back ferociously for almost a decade. Sectarian killings persist in Iraq to this day.

Syria is following a similar pattern. the country has a Sunni majority. The regime is Alawite, a Shi’ite subsect that makes up 12% of the population, but it also draws some support from other minorities–Druze, Armenians and others–who worry about their fate in a majoritarian Syria. These fears might be justified. Consider what has happened to the Christians of Iraq. There were as many as 1.4 million of them before the Iraq war. There are now about 500,000, and many of their churches have been destroyed. Christian life in Iraq, which has survived since the days of the Bible, is in real danger of being extinguished by the current regime in Baghdad.

All the features of Syria’s civil war that are supposedly the result of U.S. nonintervention also appeared in Iraq despite America’s massive intervention there. In Iraq under U.S. occupation, many Sunni groups banded together with jihadi forces from the outside; some even broke bread with al-Qaeda. Shi’ite militias got support from Iran. Both sides employed tactics that were brutal beyond belief–putting electric drills through people’s heads, burning others alive and dumping still breathing victims into mass graves.

These struggles get vicious for a reason: the stakes are very high. The minority regime fights to the end because it fears for its life once out of power. The Sunnis of Iraq fought–even against the mighty American military–because they knew that life under the Shi’ites would be ugly, as it has proved to be. The Alawites in Syria will fight even harder because they are a smaller minority and have further to fall.

Would U.S. intervention–no-fly zones, arms, aid to the opposition forces–make things better? It depends on what one means by better. It would certainly intensify the civil war. It would also make the regime of Bashar Assad more desperate. Perhaps Assad has already used chemical weapons; with his back against the wall, he might use them on a larger scale. As for external instability, Landis points out that if U.S. intervention tipped the balance against the Alawites, they might flee Syria into Lebanon, destabilizing that country for decades. Again, this pattern is not unprecedented. Large numbers on the losing side have fled wars in the Middle East, from Palestinians in 1948 to Iraq’s Sunnis in the past decade.

If the objective is actually to reduce the atrocities and minimize potential instability, the key will be a political settlement that gives each side an assurance that it has a place in the new Syria. That was never achieved in Iraq, which is why, despite U.S. troops and arms and influence, the situation turned into a violent free-for-all. If some kind of political pact can be reached, there’s hope for Syria. If it cannot, U.S. assistance to the rebels or even direct military intervention won’t change much: Syria will follow the pattern of Lebanon and Iraq–a long, bloody civil war. And America will be in the middle of it.

President Obama: Keep Your Nerve on Syria

by Robert E. Hunter

“Then we’ll have done all we can.”“Very heartless.”“It’s safer to be heartless than mindless. History is the triumph of the heartless over the mindless.”Yes, Prime Minister.

President Barack Obama, it is said, has painted himself into a corner with his repeated statements that the use of chemical weapons by the Assad government will be a “game changer” or cross a “red line.” The difficulty of definitions has produced what must have been one of the most ambiguous letters ever to be put on White House stationery. It came as a response to a demand from two US Senators about presidential policy in the event of such weapons use.

More accurately, however, the president can be said to have painted himself into a corner with Syria on two occasions, initially as early as August 2011, and repeated since, by declaring that “Assad must go.”

Of course, Assad has not gone, thus demonstrating once again the first rule of being US President: never call for something, especially in a simple declaratory sentence, if you are not prepared to follow through and make it happen.

This recitation is not meant to be an attack on the US president. It is an introduction to what has to be a genuine dilemma, indeed, a series of dilemmas, which come in several forms.

Syria’s Future

The first dilemma regards the potentiality of a positive outcome in Syria. Assad and company are engaged in the massive slaughter of their own people, which, along with those killed by the rebels, numbers more than 70,000 by a recent (likely conservative) count, plus the creation of more than a million refugees. There is meanwhile no resolution in sight of what has become a full-scale civil war.

Let us assume that Assad is killed (or decides to seek a safe haven) tomorrow. What then? It is a vast stretch of the imagination to believe that the killing would then stop.

What is happening in Syria is radically different from what happened in the so-called “Arab spring” in Tunisia, Egypt, or even Libya. This is not primarily a matter of whether a leader who stayed too long and was too repressive will go; but whether a particular minority will continue to be able to dominate the rest of the population, or, with “regime change,” whether there will be a bloody free-for-all competition for power. None of the other three regime changes were about that.

More relevant is what happened in Iraq, when the US and partners, by invading in 2003, overturned centuries of admittedly unjust domination of a majority (Shi’ite) by a minority (Sunni). Or what is happening, or rather not happening, in Bahrain, where the situation is just the reverse but has been kept in check by military power, much of which has been applied by neighboring Saudi Arabia, with the US, concerned about its base in Bahrain for the Fifth Fleet, at best “turning a blind eye.”

It’s therefore hard to see what the United States, or any combination of outsiders, could usefully do — not to help overthrow Assad and his Alawite-dominated military (that can be done) — but to help “shape” a future in Syria that won’t lead to even more bloody chaos before something approaching “stability” could ensue. Even if that were possible, it would likely take the form of a new suppression, but by the majority (Sunni) over various minorities.

Public Opinion 

The second dilemma — perhaps it should be first — is related to whether the American people are ready and willing to see the US engaged in yet another Middle East war. The answer (“No”) is clear, but so far policy is not — hence the dilemma.

There should be no indulgence in the nonsense that all could be accomplished by providing more lethal arms to the rebels, imposing a no-fly zone, or using air power directly. That would be relatively sterile in today’s military taxology, but even if/when successful, it leads back to the first dilemma. And if unsuccessful, the US would then be called upon to do what, in current jargon, is called “boots on the ground” — that is, invasion. There should be no nonsense, however, about the US being able, as in Libya, to “lead from behind.” Even though the British and the French (the latter was the former mandatory power in Syria after World War I) would like to see something done, they are this time ready to hold the US coat, but not lead themselves.

To his credit, the president so far has been wary of getting more deeply engaged, presumably due to a combination of his awareness of the two dilemmas above, the second of which (US public opinion), if ignored, would surely take attention away from what he clearly sees as his legacy: repairs to the heavily-damaged US economy (and the global financial system) and his historical goal, which can be summarized in a few simple words: the promotion of equality in American society.

Regional Context

The third dilemma derives from the manner in which the conflict in Syria began. It did have domestic roots (as in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya), but it also had external causes and active agents, notably a desire by leading Sunni states (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and to a lesser degree, Turkey) to right the informal and rough regional “balance of power” between them and Shi’a states that was so heavily upset by the US invasion of Iraq. This came after the spread of the “disease” from revolutionary Shi’a Iran had both been almost entirely contained in the region and had most of its fires banked at home. Some Sunni states still fear contagion, however, notably Saudi Arabia, where oil lands are heavily concentrated in Shi’a territories (hence Riyadh’s desire to get rid of the Alawite rule in Syria).

So here it is: an already slow-rolling civil war across the region, pitting Sunnis versus Shi’as, but only in part about religion, is also about competitions for power. In this case, it’s an essentially four-cornered competition among Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey, the first three of which have as much to do in fueling the current confrontation with Iran as does its nuclear program.

Would the overthrow of the Assad regime cause this regional civil war to intensify? Or would it lead to a new, informal balance among religious groupings that would be reasonably “stable,” whatever that means in today’s roiling Middle East? It would take a Dr. Pangloss to argue the case for stability over more competition and even less stability and predictability about the future of inter-state relations and internal developments.

Non-governmental Actors

Dilemma number four flows from the above. As the civil war has continued and intensified, Sunni Islamist militants, including elements of al-Qaeda, Wahhabis and Salafists, have increasingly become engaged. That should be no surprise. These groups batten on conflict, especially a conflict with intense emotion and deep-seated religious inspiration. Thus even with Assad gone — perhaps by magic wand tomorrow — would the outcome of the civil war be ruled by a Sunni strongman, pacifying the country by force? Or solidification of another base for continuing terrorist operations by some of our and our allies’ worst enemies?….

Ambassador’s Pickering and Crocker on Syria (America’s two most senior retired ambassadors) from FP

Pickering has been working on a plan to offer a way forward. This would include dropping the precondition that required Assad step down for talks to begin — an idea Kerry embraced this week — an immediate humanitarian ceasefire across Syria, and a U.N.-brokered election process that would lead toward a transitional government.

While all sides note that there are no good answers and no easy solutions, Pickering notes that slow diplomatic action has not increased America’s odds of finding the best outcome among a slew of difficult options.

“I think we have tended to put the diplomatic side aside as in the ‘too hard’ category,” Pickering says. “We need to move this fairly soon or we are going to lose the opposition — certainly the al Qaedization of the opposition has been fairly serious and the fractionation of the opposition is very large.”

On the other hand, those who’ve seen the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from a front-row diplomatic seat say caution is the better part of policy prudence when it comes to Syria.

“There are no good options here and the pressure is growing to do something because that is what we do, we do things,” says former Amb. Ryan Crocker, who served as ambassadors to both Iraq and Syria and now is a senior fellow at Yale University. ” But everything of significance I can think of doing is likely to make the situation worse, not better and put us in a worse position, not a better one.” In Crocker’s view, the stalemate with the Russians at the United Nations regarding more concerted action has actually benefited America.

“The Russians are actually doing us a favor and I don’t think they are actually going to come off it because they see a rebel victory as deeply destabilizing for the region and particularly for them,” Crocker says.  “I hope they go on blocking any Security Council action because if you get an ‘all necessary measures’ resolution, then you are in a very exposed position if you don’t use all necessary means.”  

What Crocker does favor, however, is more humanitarian aid and non-lethal support, and greater backing  for the Syrian opposition, which gathered this week in Istanbul, in the effort to come up with a vision for a post-Assad political transition.

Crocker, however, rejects the idea that Syria is simply Iraq in a different form. He cites the willingness of the Assad regime to wage war by any means necessary as among the key differences, meaning more weapons for the opposition will not necessarily lead to less fighting.

“They have been training, equipping, and organizing for this for a very long time,” he says of Assad’s forces.  “They have got the weaponry, they are ruthless and they know what the alternatives are.  Whatever you say about them, they will stand and fight and you did not have that situation with a government in either Bosnia or Iraq.” ….

“Broader regional fighting could bring the U.S. and Iran into direct conflict, a potentially major military undertaking for the U.S. A U.S.-Iran confrontation linked to the Syrian crisis could spread the area of conflict even to Afghanistan. Russia would benefit from America’s being bogged down again in the Middle East. China would resent U.S. destabilization of the region because Beijing needs stable access to energy from the Middle East.
To minimize these potential consequences, U.S. military intervention would have to achieve a decisive outcome relatively quickly through the application of overwhelming force. That would require direct Turkish involvement, which seems unlikely given Turkey’s internal difficulties, particularly its tenuous relations with its substantial Kurdish minority.
The various schemes that have been proposed for a kind of tiddlywinks intervention from around the edges of the conflict-no-fly zones, bombing Damascus and so forth-would simply make the situation worse. None of the proposals would result in an outcome strategically beneficial for the U.S. On the contrary, they would produce a more complex, undefined slide into the worst-case scenario. The only solution is to seek Russia’s and China’s support for U.N.-sponsored elections in which, with luck, Assad might be “persuaded” not to participate.”

The struggle for Syria
Op-Ed – LATimes
Any military intervention by the U.S. would only exacerbate the conflict.
By Majid Rafizadeh, May 7, 2013

My cousin, Ramez, was dead before the echoes of the gunshot that killed him stopped ringing. His 4-year-old daughter, Zeynab, watched him fall on a narrow street in Damascus, but she never heard the shot because she is deaf. She held onto his lifeless hand until a second bullet tore into her chest. She survived.

I tell this story to make it clear that my family and I have experienced the civil war firsthand. Ramez was just one of several family members who lost their lives in the battle against Bashar Assad’s police state. My mother, sister and brother, alongside millions of other war-torn Syrian refugees, were forced to flee to Lebanon and then on to Baghdad.

But despite the seriousness and severity of the situation, I don’t believe that the United States should intervene militarily in Syria. Any direct or indirect intervention by the U.S. would exacerbate Syria’s internal conflict and increase the number of people being displaced and killed.

The US can’t remake Syria
By Andrew J. Bacevich, May 08, 2013

As you contemplate the ongoing violence in Syria, here are the three things to keep in mind.

First, the United States undoubtedly possesses the wherewithal to topple the regime of Bashar Assad. On this score, the hawks are surely right. Whether acting alone, with allies, or through proxies, Washington over the past decade or so has demonstrated an impressive capacity to overthrow governments. Skeptical? Consider the fate of various evil-doers on whom we trained our gun-sights in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.

Second, once Washington has removed Assad as it did Saddam Hussein, the likelihood of the United States being able to put things right — creating a “new” Syria that is stable, humane, and grateful for American assistance — is approximately nil. Here the evidence supports the doves. Skeptical? Again, consider the course of events in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya once the evil-doers departed the scene.

These two points define the poles around which the policy debate in Washington incessantly revolves. In one camp are those who are fired by humanitarian concerns or persuaded that Assad threatens US (or Israeli) security. They are keen to put American muscle once more to work, and chastise President Obama for his reluctance to act. In the second camp are those wary of the United States once again stumbling into a quagmire. They commend Obama for (thus far) exercising restraint, fearing that American meddling will create more problems than it will solve.

This debate overlooks the third point, which obviates the first two: Whatever Obama does or doesn’t do about Syria won’t affect the larger trajectory of events. Except to Syrians, the fate of Syria per se doesn’t matter any more than the fate of Latvia or Laos. The context within which the upheaval there is occurring — what preceded it and what it portends — matters a great deal. Yet on this score, Washington is manifestly clueless and powerles

History possesses a remarkable capacity to confound. Right when the path ahead appears clear — remember when the end of the Cold War seemed to herald a new age of harmony? — it makes a U-turn. The Syrian civil war provides only the latest indication that one such radical reversal is occurring before our very eyes. For Syria bears further witness to the ongoing disintegration of the modern Middle East and the reemergence of an assertive Islamic world, a development likely to define the 21st century.

Recall that the modern Middle East is a relatively recent creation. It emerged from the wreckage of World War I, the handiwork of cynical and devious European imperialists. As European (and especially British) power declined after World War II, the United States, playing the role of willing patsy, assumed responsibility for propping up this misbegotten product of European venality — a dubious inheritance, if there ever was one.

Now it’s all coming undone. Today, from the Maghreb to Pakistan, the order created by the West to serve Western interests is succumbing to an assault mounted from within. Who are the assailants? People intent on exercising that right to self-determination that President Woodrow Wilson bequeathed to the world nearly 100 years ago. What these multitudes are seeking remains to be seen. But they don’t want and won’t countenance outside interference.

Anyone fancying that the United States can forestall this quest for self-determination should think again. Anyone who thinks Washington can bend the process to suit our own purposes needs to undertake a remedial study of the Iraq War.

Americans have long entertained the conceit that we are bigger than history. We provide the drumbeat to which others march. Sorry: Not so.

By way of comparison, think of those stories about the sea encroaching on some Nantucket or Plum Island home. Those immediately affected might delude themselves into thinking that a bit of sand replenishment will save the day. Grown-ups know better. Ultimately, the winds and tides, reinforced of late by climate change, will have their way.

So too with the Greater Middle East. Pressure on Obama to “do something” about Syria continues to mount. Perhaps he’ll refuse. I hope so. Or perhaps he’ll cave, with Syria becoming yet another active theater in what has become America’s endless War To Be Named Later. One thing is certain: US intervention in Syria won’t affect the tsunami of change that is engulfing the Islamic world.

Former Defense Chief Gates says ‘no’ to direct military involvement in Syria
New York Daily News

says he oversaw wars that began with quick regime change “and we all know what happened after that.”

For Intervention

Fouad Ajami: “In Syria’s war, the lines that matter aren’t red

….The remarkable thing about this drawn-out fight, now entering its third year, is the passivity of the United States. A region of traditional American influence has been left to fend for itself.

Of course, these sectarian enmities do not lend themselves to an outsider’s touch. Nor did Obama call up these furies; they cannot be laid at his doorstep. But the unwillingness of his administration to make a clean break with Assad helped radicalize the Syrian rebellion. The landscape would have been altered by American help. A no-fly zone near the border with Turkey could have sheltered and aided the rebels. An early decision to arm the rebellion would have leveled the killing field. Four of the president’s principal foreign policy advisers from his first term advocated giving weapons to the rebels — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, CIA Director David Petraeusand the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey. But the president overrode them, his caution of no help in a conflict of such virulence.

Under the gaze of the world, Obama instead drew a red line on the use of chemical weapons and warned that his calculus would change if these weapons were used or moved around. He thus placed his credibility in the hands of the Syrian dictator and, in the midst of a storm of his own making, fell back on lawyerly distinctions.

A Greater Middle East, an Islamic world, used to American campaigns of rescue — Kuwait in 1991, Bosnia in 1995, Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, Iraq in 2003, Libya in 2011 — is now witnessing the ebb of American power and responsibility. Obama has held his fire in the face of great slaughter, and truth be known, congressional and popular opinion have given him a pass. America has wearied of Middle Eastern wars.

Syrian rebels sure that the American cavalry would turn up after this or that massacre have been bitterly disappointed. It’s the tragic luck of the Syrians that their rebellion has happened on the watch of an American president who has made a fetish of caution, who has seen the risks of action and overlooked the consequences of abdication…..

Misc.

Inside Syria’s siege economy
By Keith Proctor, May 8, 2013:

As the fighting in Syria drags on, resource flows have adapted to accommodate life inside — and to support the opposition forces vying for control…..

“I know the Blond Duck is a dictator,” said one young Syrian who requested anonymity, using a common nickname for President Assad. “But the opposition, they’re not about freedom, either. Do you really think that Jihadists will bring freedom?”

Like many young Syrians caught between the regime and rebels, he said, he simply wanted stability.

Whatever the outcome, he may be sadly disappointed. For most analysts, it’s not a question of whether the regime will fall, but when. Following that, the persistent fear is that the revolution, to use Jacques Mallet du Pan’s phrase, will devour its children. “If the Blond Duck falls,” the young Syrian said, “there will be complete anarchy.”

And if that happens, a war that has for months swirled around the still-peaceful center of Aleppo will finally rush in.

In Syria and Beyond, the Tyrant as Target
By FEISAL G. MOHAMED, May 11, 2013, New York Times

Eliminating a tyrant is not virtuous if one is knowingly creating even greater conditions of disorder and destruction. Legitimate tyrannicide must flow from a good-faith effort to institute justice. To return to the example of Syria, when we hear news of extreme violence committed (or, in recent reports, claims of the use of chemical weapons) not just by government forces but by opposition forces, too, we must be led to wonder if the latter aim to replace Assad’s tyranny with one of their own making

The effort to institute justice is one of several restrictions that we might impose on tyrannicide. At worst it is an alibi for the execution of political enemies. The most familiar examples of this tendency arose during the cold war, when a tyrant meriting assassination was one with Soviet sympathies and autocrats pliable to Western directives were deemed benign. To avoid this pitfall, we might first define a tyrant in terms familiar throughout history: a leader who rules by force, who has an incontrovertible record of directly ordering large-scale murder, and who is actively using a position of authority to engage in the slaughter of innocents. We might further define that person as a “rogue” in his refusal to participate in the community of nations, so that diplomatic and nonviolent restraint of his actions seems unachievable.

Cases in which tyrannicide seems an especially appropriate remedy will be those where the tyrant is a chief source of destructive commands in the polity, rather than presiding incompetently over a reckless and loosely organized military or security apparatus. In such an eventuality, the removal of the tyrant holds the strong possibility of ending the horrors taking place under his rule. But that removal, as we have said, must arise from the aspiration to implement a new and more peaceable civil order…..

Syrian rebel leader Salim Idriss admits difficulty of unifying fighters
By David Enders | McClatchy Foreign Staff

Savage Online Videos Fuel Syria’s Descent Into Madness
By Aryn BakerMay 12, 2013

Too Close for Comfort: Syrians in Lebanon, Beirut/Washington | 13 May 2013
Sahar Atrache, Crisis Group’s Middle East & North Africa Analyst

As the Syrian conflict increasingly implicates and spills over into Lebanon, a priority for its government and international partners must be to tackle the refugee crisis, lest it ignite domestic conflict that a weak state and volatile region can ill afford.

“Lebanon’s fate historically has been deeply intertwined with Syria’s. As Syria heads even more steadily toward catastrophe, there is every reason for Lebanese of all persuasions to worry about their own country — and to do something about it.”

Israeli Bombs and American Qualms: Assessing Syria, by Andrew Exum, May 6, 2013

U.S. and Russia agree to Syria talks, But Anti-Assad Opposition May Refuse to Participate By Jonathan S. Landay and Hannah Allam | McClatchy Newspapers

Congress Speaks With a Loud, Muddled Voice on Syria By Paul Richter | Los Angeles Times

Pentagon Plans for the Worst in Syria By Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes | The Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

Sen. Menendez: Senator Menendez Introduces Syria Stabilization Act of 2013, 2013-05-06, Legislation Provides for Lethal Weapons to Vetted Syrian

Turkey Fears Russia Too Much to Intervene in Syria, Opposition, Sanctions Weapon Sales and Petroleum to the Assad Regime, While Delivering Humanitarian Assistance and Planning …

“Syria’s music wars” on your blog? by Omar Sayfo
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Comments (1,333)


Dawoud said:

Sooner or later, Bashar and Hasan Nasr’al-Shytan will pay for their terrorism!

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-315347-govt-says-syrian-regime-to-blame-for-attack-denies-opposition-hand.html

Gov’t says Syrian regime to blame for attack, denies opposition hand

13 May 2013 /?BRAH?M VARLIK, ANKARA
Top government authorities on Monday reiterated accusations that the Syrian regime was responsible for twin car bombs that killed 49 people and wounded many more in Reyhanl?, a district of the southern province of Hatay, and denied claims that Syrian opposition forces or refugees had a hand in the blasts.
“The incident [bombings] is certainly linked to the Syrian regime. It has nothing to do with the [Syrian] opposition,” stated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an when speaking to reporters. He also vowed “action” against Syria, but did not elaborate. “The Syrian regime and its extensions in Turkey have a hand in the bombings. We need to be careful [not to get provoked],” the prime minister went on.

On Saturday, one of the car bombs exploded outside the city hall while the other went off outside the post office in the town of Reyhanl?, a main hub for Syrian refugees and opposition activity in Turkey’s Hatay province. Forty-nine people were killed and as many as 100 injured in the bombings. The dead bodies of the 46 dead were retrieved from the sites of the bombings on Saturday while the bodies of three other victims were discovered on Monday.

Nine people were immediately taken into custody for suspected links to the terrorist attack. All suspects are Turkish citizens. Five of the captured suspects are members of the terrorist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Pa
[…]

May 13th, 2013, 2:02 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Syrian Revolution beautiful song! Free Syria and Palestine!

May 13th, 2013, 2:04 pm

 
 

dawoud said:

Do the Massacres in Bayda and Banyas Portend Ethnic Cleansing to Create an Alawite State?
by Joshua Landis

Yes, Mr. Landis! Bashar’s and his Lebanese allies’ goal it to create an Alawi/Shia coast separate from the rest of Syria. As you previously wrote, an Alawi homeland would only be recognized by Iran and Hizbistan. Free Syria’s central government in Damascus would not stop until it re-conquers the coast and unties the country. Sleazy and war criminal try, though, for the regime and Hizbistan to engage in ethnic cleansing as an “insurance.”

May 13th, 2013, 2:12 pm

 

b said:

Prof. Landis has emphasized a “sectarian” view of the conflict from the very beginning. He has a set of glasses that does not fit.

This conflict was pushed on Syria from the outside. Those people who instigated it tried their best to make it sectarian. But in the cities the Sunnis are still with Assad. The mostly Sunni army is still with Assad. The sectarian talk has no base outside of the imported Jihadists mindset.

Landis does not see this. He claims sectarianism is the root of this all. In that he is just as wrong as he was with his claim “Allepo has fallen” some six month ago.

May 13th, 2013, 2:20 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Is Ali Kyali, the Alawi ethnic-cleansing Shabih, Syria’s version of Bosnian war criminals Ratko Mladi? and Radovan Karadži?? Yes, and one day he will also be captured and tried!

May 13th, 2013, 2:20 pm

 

b said:

Landis has emphasized a sectarian view of the conflict from the very beginning of the conflict.

This view is wrong. The conflict was, from the onset, pushed on Syria from the outside. It was the outside forces that had sectarian views. The Jihadists they send propagated this view.

But the Sunnis in the cities are still with Assad and the Syrian state. The mostly Sunni army is still with Assad and the Syrian state. The Syrian state is not sectarian.

Landis is looking through glasses that do not fit. His claim of sectarianism as base of the conflict is just as true has claim “Aleppo has fallen” was some six month ago.

May 13th, 2013, 2:24 pm

 

Visitor said:

Landis is doing, and has been doing, everything he can to please in-laws.

The curse that will continually follow him.

That is also why he needs sidekicks like Lund and Barber.

May 13th, 2013, 2:30 pm

 

revenire said:

This post by Landis is ridiculous – it reminds me of the “Assad is living on a Russian cruiser off the coast” story.

Hassan Hassan’s affiliations are well known. He is with the terrorists. Look at the cartoonish image on his Twitter page of the Houla massacre. It is laughable and obscene.

Michael Young of the Daily Star – well, what political affiliations does the Daily Star have? March 14.

No one, least of all Assad, is moving toward an Alawi state on the coast. That is nonsense.

May 13th, 2013, 2:50 pm

 

Observer said:

Well the regime has made gains in Qusayr and in the South.

The conflict has degenerated as well. I would say that there are elements within the regime that are showing signs of being uncontrollable just as the FSA has had numerous brigades that are not working together all the time. It is also clear that within the revolution there are elements that do not want a quick end to this conflict for they are gaining in strength at the expense of the FSA.

The massacres on the coast are an indication of this lack of cohesion on the regime side in my opinion.

Wali Nasr wrote a book about the declince of US foreign policy and in this the title is called the Dispensable Nation. I have not read the book yet but I would say that if so then there is no one power that is capable or willing to fill the void.

Neither Iran nor Turkey are capable of filling the void. Neither has any soft power as their hard power is limited. Russia has not been able to have any constructive role only an obstructive role at this stage. China has withdrawn from the active engagement if any.

The vetoes and the continued help from Iran and Russia I would argue have had an opposite effect on the foreign policy of both Iran and Russia.

Russia may have lost the Arab world for the sake of Syria. It may have wanted to come across as a reliable ally but in so doing it has become hostage to the whims and brutality of the regime. For months now it has been deflecting critique by pointing out the shortcomings of the opposition instead of accepting the huge shortcomings of the regime.

Iran has now only a small set of cards to play to remain relevant in its ME policy with Islamic Jihad in Gaza, HA in Lebanon, and Syria. In Syria it has lost the population for the sake of a sectarian based regime. Its continued selective support of the Bahrain revolution and the regime in Syria has painted it as a pure sectarian based regime.

As for intervention, there are numerous voices that are asking for it that have not been posted today.

The question is not whether to interevene nor not. This is a rather mute and stupid point.

The question is how to manage the inevitable intervention not because we do or do not want to intervene but because the instability created by the conflict will force the US to intervene in one form or another.

As for the bigger question of what is the future of Syria. I would posit that the future of the entire region is bleak for the simple reason that the Sykes Picot divisions have created inherently unstable and failure prone statelets that could only stay together by force.

The other main problem not addressed by JL and colleagues is that of the definition of victory. For the regime it is staying in power and continued to rule over the “farm” by killing a million or two and doing another massive Hama.

For the opposition it is the uprooting of the regime but with an inability to offer a viable stable alternative they remain hobbled by their differences, inexperience, and ideologies.

At present, though the hardliners on the ground on the one hand and the fighters on the other are going to continue to fight.

As for the Alawi state, they did not need to kill so many people, they could have come out a long time ago, after 1985 for example and said we cannot live with you and we would like to have our state and we are moving all the weapons to our areas and if you want a fight we will give you one. I think at that time they could have had their state. However they thought that they could have the cake and eat it too have their state within the state and keep all of it under their thumb.

Well that is no longer possible.

May 13th, 2013, 3:05 pm

 

revenire said:

Can anyone name anyone in the Syrian government, or anyplace else, who wants (or has floated the idea) of an Alawi state?

Would Asma be allowed to move there? What about the children? That is a joke – a bad one.

May 13th, 2013, 3:15 pm

 

revenire said:

Syrian army takes villages near Qusayr: officer

WESTERN DUMAYNA, Syria: Syrian troops captured three villages in the strategic Qusayr area of Homs province on Monday, allowing them to cut supply lines to rebels inside Qusayr town, a military officer told AFP.

“The attack on the villages of Western Dumayna, Haidariyeh and Esh al-Warwar began this morning,” the lieutenant colonel said on condition of anonymity.

“The fighting lasted for three hours until we established control over these villages, which are considered strategic because they lie on the road between the cities of Homs and Qusayr and will allow us to block supplies to the militants in Qusayr,” he said.

May 13th, 2013, 3:15 pm

 

revenire said:

“For the regime it is staying in power and continued to rule over the ‘farm’ by killing a million or two and doing another massive Hama.”

Observer there are not a million people willing to die for this Zionist revolution. I suspect we are seeing the manpower of the rats dwindling now.

The army is on a tear and momentum is building.

May 13th, 2013, 3:18 pm

 

revenire said:

DAMASCUS; SCENES OF JUBILATION AS OUR ARMY GRINDS THE RATS INTO SO MUCH FERTILIZER:

Harasta: Firefight nets 5 rodents trying to find shelter in an hostile world. 2 were identified:

Fawwaaz Habboosh
Abdul-Sattaar ‘Ali-Ahmad

Shifooniyya: The day before yesterday, these snipers were hunted down and asked to surrender. They thought they could take on the NDF. They were dead wrong:

‘Adnaan Al-‘Arabu
Na’eem Sultaaniyya
Akram Zaytoon
‘Aabed Kan’aan

Also, today, in Shiffoniyya, we are delighted to give news to the family of Mr. Muhammad Al-Najjaar of the Jabhat Al-Nusra of his premature descent down the Mephisto Autobahn to the flea market supervised by none other than the Lord of the Flies himself. Bully for him!!

Jawbar: At the cork factory, J.N. fanatics fired artillery at the building and set it on fire. The rats were all killed and their mortar piece seized and given to NDF for later use against Prince Fatso. No names of the carcasses. 12 dead.

Also in Jawbar, at the Al-Manaasher Roundabout, militia sent these 2 dung beetles to Satan’s compost heap:

Mahmoud Darweesh (Obviously not the great Palestinian poet who passed away some years ago. He would have been ashamed of professors who still don’t know that Dr. Assad is the man in Syria’s future.)
Hishaam Al-‘Uluw.

Barza: A nest of buzzards is wiped out by SAA and militia. 13 killed and no prisoners to worry about:

Muneeb Faakhoori
Ziyaad Al-Sagheer
Muhammad Jawaahiri
Sabaah Al-Mu’ti
Abdul-Hameed Al-Shamaali

The rest carried no identification and will be cremated.

Al-Qaaboon: No details about a major firefight inside the town. Only that at least 6 rats were killed.

Harmala Tunnel: We now have 2 brand new 23mm anti-aircraft cannons and a big crate of AK47s for our militia. Thank you Prince Pedophile of Qatar.

‘Adra: Jabhat Al-Nusra went down the pipe and got smoked. 11 confirmed dead foreign rats.

May 13th, 2013, 3:56 pm

 

CE said:

#5 b is completely correct. Prof. Landis, you have it right in front of your nose and even say it yourself – Mihrac Ural speaks about cleansing the place from _rebel combatants_, not from _Sunni civilians_. How can someone of the “wrong sect” be a “traitor” as he says? That’s nonsense and yet you weave it into your Alawite statelet ethnic cleansing fantasy. This constant sectarian lens – isn’t there a word for perspectives like that … Orientalism?

May 13th, 2013, 3:57 pm

 

revenire said:

IRGC Commander: Anti-Israeli Forces Can Hit Targets 400km in Occupied Territories Soon

TEHRAN (FNA)- Forces fighting the Israeli regime will soon manufacture missiles with a range of 400 km, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Qassem Suleimani has said according to sources.

A report by al-Mayadeen network quoted an unnamed source close to Suleimani as saying that the recent Israeli air raid on Damascus cannot weaken the anti-Israel resistance movement.

“The same way stones (Symbol of the Palestinian’s anti-Israel Intifada movement) grew into missiles with a 100km-range, God willing, we will help the resistance develop its capability to build home-made missiles with warheads and with the range of 400 km in the near future,” the source quoted Suleimani as saying.

No official source has confirmed the report yet.

In November, IRGC top Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced that Iran has provided the Palestinian groups with the needed technology to mass produce Fajr-5 missiles, adding that Palestinians now have a large depot of the strategic weapon.

“We cannot send arms to Gaza because of its siege, but we have provided them (the Palestinians) with our experiences in manufacturing Fajr-5 missiles and today this missile is being manufactured (by Palestinians) in large numbers,” Jafari told reporters in mid November.

As regards Iran’s military assistance to the Palestinian resistance groups, Jafari said, “We extend technological aid and assistance to every Muslim standing against the arrogance (power).”

Political and military experts believe that Israel was shocked and later pushed to reassess its calculations after Palestinian groups responded to the Israeli army’s Wednesday aggression on Gaza with a stunning retaliation, hitting Tel Aviv, a move which eventually made Israel start an overture and change its war rhetoric about an impending ground incursion into Gaza to a tone of compromise in pursuit of truce.

Israel was surprised when Palestinians in Gaza targeted Tel Aviv, 70km away from the foremost Palestinian territories, for the first time on Friday. The longest range recorded by Palestinian missiles prior to Friday had been 40km.

Things grew worse for Israeli rulers when Hamas targeted Herzliya, a city 11km North of Tel Aviv, on Sunday.

Targeting Herzliya means that Palestinian resistance groups now have the capability to hit targets, at least, 80km away, much beyond the previously thought 40-km range for Palestinian missiles.

And this strategic weapon which has changed the scene of the war between Israel and Palestinians is a rocket known as Fajr-5.

Fajr-class rockets, Fajr-5 (Dawn 5) in particular, are known and described by the world military experts, as a weapon system appropriate for asymmetric wars, where the military power of the conflicting sides differs significantly.

Fajr-1 rocket is a solid fuel 107mm rocket with a range of 8.3km and can be mounted on speed boats.

Fajr-2 is the second generation of Fajr-class rockets. It is a 240mm rocket that can hit targets in 25km in distance.

Fajr-3 is an optimized version of 240mm Fajr-2 rockets but with a range of 43km and a 85kg payload. The rocket is launched by Fajr-3 rocket launchers and can provide heavy firepower in asymmetric wars.

The world class Fajr-5 is a solid fuel non-fixed wing 333mm rocket designed and optimized for artillery missions to hit enemy’s command and control, logistic, radar, communication, economic and political centers.

It is a rocket with 75km range, a payload of 178kg and speed of 1009meter per second.

The two-stage version of Fajr-5 rockets are the most effective and longest range of the Fajr-class rockets and can be used against enemy targets such as command and control centers, logistics, radar, communication, airports, plants and economic and political centers.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107169702&fb_action_ids=10151430717403175&fb_action_types=og.recommends

May 13th, 2013, 4:04 pm

 

zoo said:

Reve

The interpretation that Bashar is working to create a separate Alawite entity freed from anti-regime Sunnis, plays well in favor of Bashar Al Assad, even if this was not his intention.

The immediate reaction is that Obama, Cameron and all the western leaders kept repeating that Syria must remained undivided.
Well, they’ll have to work fast to make the opposition accept to sit at the negotiating table before it is too late.
If they don’t hurry up, the scenario of pushing all the Sunnis from the coast could become an irreversible reality.

Most of the minorities and many Sunnis would prefer to join that entity, secured and under a united government. The rest of Syria will be a a big chaos of fights between the different sunnis factions, MB, Salafists, moderates..

The Alawites would benefit from the sea, the oil and an outlet while in the rest of Syria the moderate Sunnis would be caught in Sunnis internal fights.
No wonder they are worrying.

May 13th, 2013, 4:13 pm

 

zoo said:

Arrests and Calls for Calm in Turkey

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/world/europe/9-detained-in-bombings-on-turkey-border-with-syria.html?_r=0

Turkey, like Syria’s other neighbors, is increasingly worried that the conflict will inflame border areas, where tensions among various groups are deepening amid the flood of traumatized Syrian refugees.

The reaction to the bombings in Reyhanli was a reminder of how quickly fissures could open. In a predominantly Sunni town that was seen as sympathetic to Syria’s Sunni-led opposition and the plight of those who have been displaced, some residents lashed out at Syrian refugees, tens of thousands of whom have settled in the town over the past two years.

Some youths attacked cars with Syrian license plates, and Syrians spent a second day hidden indoors in fear. Yet it was not difficult to find Turks who said the government’s Syria policy had caused the violence.

Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the country needed to be “extremely calm in the face of provocations that are aimed at dragging us into the bloody quagmire in Syria.”

May 13th, 2013, 4:23 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Prof. Josh wants to Compare Nakbas: OK, 82,000 vs. 3000?

Professor Josh said:

Zionist forces in Israel, cleared Palestinian villages of their inhabitants in 1948, rather than leave them behind Israeli lines.

Professor Josh,

The Assad family that you supported so deftly for over a decade has surpassed the “EVIL” Zionists. Although you want to make an inaccurate comparison, I feel as though you should tell “the whole story”:

Your Assad strong-man, because he has refused to step down, has over 82,000 dead Syrians on his hands. OTOH, the WHOLE 1948 war with Israel, produced about 3000 Palestinian deaths and fewer refugees. Of course, the invasion by 5 Arab armies (including Syria) didn’t help. And the arabs were even given a choice to avoid war with the UN Partition Plan.

PLENTY of Palestinians we left “behind Israeli lines”, about 20 – 25% of the arab population. Moreover, there were many reasons behind the flight of the Palestinians and a LOT of them did not leave by force. Many stayed.

The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute.[7] The causes remain the subject of fundamental disagreement between Arabs and Israelis.

Nur-eldeen Masalha writes that over 80 percent of the Arab inhabitants left their towns and villages in 1948, while Rashid Khalidi puts the percentage at 50.[8][9] Factors involved in the flight include Jewish military advances, attacks against Arab villages and fears of massacre after Deir Yassin,[10]:239–240 which caused many to leave out of panic; expulsion orders by Zionist authorities; the voluntary self-removal of the wealthier classes,[11] the collapse in Palestinian leadership,[12] and an unwillingness to live under Jewish control.[13]

Casualties and losses
[ISRAEL]6,373 killed (about 4,000 troops and 2,400 civilians) 8,000[13]–15,000 killed.[14] An estimated breakdown is 3000 Palestinians, 2000 Egyptians, 1000 Jordanians, and 1000 Syrians

About 175,000 arabs remained in Israel AFTER the war of independence or about 20 to 25%.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Palestinian_exodus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_citizens_of_Israel

http://www1.cbs.gov.il/www/statistical/arabju.pdf

May 13th, 2013, 4:33 pm

 

Visitor said:

All Praise be to Allah The Al-Mighty for facilitating the elimination of 14 of the HizbAss criminal rodent cockroaches at the hands of our holy warriors of the victorious Nusra Front and associates,

http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/febdd1a8-fc25-40ea-98fc-3250a83c0216

Allah Willing, our Mujahedeen will continue cleansing Syria of these undesirable insects and cockroaches until Syria becomes clean of any such abomination.

We also congratulate our holy warriors for the shooting down of a criminal helicopter which was committing crimes against humanity in Idlib.

May 13th, 2013, 4:45 pm

 

zoo said:

Will Erdogan be obliged to back down on his involvement and support of the opposition?

Turkey’s Support for Syrian Opposition Under Fire

http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-syria-bombing/1660291.html

Cengiz Aktar, a political scientist at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University, says the bombings have increased public concern over the government’s policy of supporting the Syrian rebels.

“No such bombing has ever happened in this soil of this country before. And many people see (it) as the indirect consequence of Turkey’s Syria policy. I think what worries people is that Turkey can be dragged in(to) the conflict. And people are afraid that similar bombings may happen anywhere now in the country,” Aktar said.

Following Saturday’s bombings in Reyhanli, protests against the government were held in the Turkish border town of Antakya and the capital Ankara.

And, on Monday, the people of Reyhanli protested against the government.

Stung by the growing criticism, Prime Minister Erdogan defended his policy, warning the bombers’ intention was to sow division.

The purpose of these attacks, he said, was to create “animosity and disorder” inside Turkey and place “question marks in the minds of my people.”

Observers warn that, with Syrian refugees streaming over the border, tensions between refugees and local Turks are likely to grow. Meanwhile, Ankara has urged other nations to act against the Assad government.

On Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed their determination to achieve a negotiated solution to end Syria’s civil war, through a hoped-for peace conference.

May 13th, 2013, 4:47 pm

 

zoo said:

Staying out of Syria is the bolder call for Obama

By Gideon Rachman
The president is taking a position – and it is not the easy option

The fact that Mr Obama is refusing to respond to calls for “tough action” in Syria now is not a sign that he is a weak leader – it is a sign that he is a good leader.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/371d8de6-bbba-11e2-a4b4-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2TCymQPgq

May 13th, 2013, 4:56 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

A couple of Sh. Yaqoubi tweets:

9 May – ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????
??????? ??????

Google trans:

Russian-American understanding not end up in the Syrian crisis, but a temporary phase to complete the preparations for resolving the military and find a sufficient pretext for intervention

11 May – ??? ???? ???????? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ??????: ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?????.

Google trans:

Chances of success of US-Russian initiative to resolve the Syrian crisis is weak, but this does not mean that we reject, we must work similarly: right liar beyond the door.

May 13th, 2013, 4:57 pm

 

revenire said:

Akbar what percentage of Syrian dead are soldiers and government supporters? Civilians? Males of fighting age?

Let me assure you hasbara rat no one cares about your citations.

Your mind is weak chosen one.

May 13th, 2013, 5:02 pm

 

revenire said:

Think it over, rats.

Pro-Syrian Opposition Supporters:

I sit down and read the daily filth from the New York Times, the BBC, and the Economist everyday. They always quote some random Syrian expatriate who demands that Assad step down and end the killing. I am always baffled by this because this person cannot speak any Arabic; yet, they deem him qualified to speak on behalf of Syrians. The imbecile has never been to Syria, but he calls Assad a dictator. They always bring up the Hama siege in 1982. They don’t even know what the siege was for and they do not know about the innocent lives that the Muslim Brotherhood took during their rebellion.

But, let’s just establish who these anti-Assad supporters are and why they’re anti-Assad.

1) The Western humanitarian: these people look for any world conflict and demand the end of human rights violations. However, they do not know of any human rights violations besides what is reported to them via their MSM. Moreover, they’re bound to call the country of Syria, the historical land of ‘Assyria.’

2) The Islamist: It seems these days they are everywhere. You know, the people who insult you and tell you they hope you die, while attacking Assad for human rights violations. Then they throw out some random comment that ends in ‘kafir’. They’re great!

3) The Pedantic Westerner: Oh, you know, the person who acts like he knows everything about Syria because he took a Middle Eastern History class in college. This person is usually the most annoying to argue with because they think you’re the idiot.

4) Syrian Expatriates: More than likely, they’re expatriates for a reason. The majority of Syrians that I have met in the United States are Muslim Brotherhood supporters. I am not going to lecture you on them, but they hate the Assad’s.

5) The non-Syrian Arab: Oh yes, the amazing people of the Middle East are so gracious. They could careless about Syria, but claim that Assad is a dictator, when, in reality, their country has a terrible person in power. This is usually some ardent Saudi or Jordanian. Of course, there are the Palestinians who hate the Syrian Army after the Lebanese Civil War. Speaking of the Lebanese Civil War: there are the always gracious Phalangist supporters in Lebanon. They’re sectarian, but they hate Assad and the Syrian people. They think they’re better than the Syrians. Yawn.

6) The Democracy Lover: I love these people. They love democracy; yet, democracy is such an arbitrary term. What kind of democracy? You mean, democratic elections? Lebanon has democratic elections – they’re sectarian. These people are inept.

7) I suppose there are some Syrians who oppose Assad. To be honest, I only know a handful. Their tiff with Assad stems from their wanting to avoid the army.

Syrian Perspective
https://www.facebook.com/SyrianPerspective

May 13th, 2013, 5:04 pm

 

zoo said:

Cameron has not decided to arm the rebels and is working with Obama toward the peace conference.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/71390/World/Region/US-pushes-for-Syria-talks-but-warns-of-huge-challe.aspx

Cameron said in a an interview with National Public Radio that Britain had not ruled out taking tougher action against Assad’s government, but he later told reporters that his government has not made a decision to arm the Syrian opposition.

He said, however, that Britain would double its non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition over the next year and that it was looking at ways to provide more technical assistance to the rebels.

Obama and Cameron sought to project a united front in seeking a political solution on Syria, but the British leader warned that the clock was ticking.

“The challenges remain formidable, but we have an urgent window of opportunity before the worst fears are realized,” Cameron said.

Both leaders agreed on the need to keep up pressure on Assad to step aside and make way for a political transition.

“And that includes bringing together representatives of the regime, and the opposition in Geneva in the coming weeks to agree on a transitional body, which would allow a transfer of power from Assad to this governing body,” Obama said.

Obama said he and his aides were working to narrow differences and develop trust with Moscow, which has backed Assad’s government in the conflict.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that there remains lingering suspicions between Russia and other members of the G8 or the West,” Obama said.

He said he and Secretary of State John Kerry, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week and secured agreement to pursue a Syria peace conference, were trying “to break down some of those suspicions and look objectively at the situation.”

May 13th, 2013, 5:15 pm

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

We’ve seen many anti-Sunni rhetorical from Shiaa clerics here on SC. Do you condemn such rhetorics?

May 13th, 2013, 5:26 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara no, no we haven’t. What we have seen is people that support rats who tear THE HEARTS OUT OF SOLDIERS AND EAT THEM post your sectarian filth.

May 13th, 2013, 5:56 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Joshua
Good luck on your trip
My question, are you going to visit Syria? and if not, why not?

May 13th, 2013, 6:20 pm

 

Dawoud said:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pm-erdogan-to-get-syria-briefing-from-pentagon.aspx?pageID=238&nID=46819&NewsCatID=338

PM Erdo?an to get Syria briefing from Pentagon

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is set to depart for his four-day trip to the United States today with a heavy agenda topped by recent developments in Syria and the Syrian regime-linked deadly blast that killed 49 Turkish citizens over the weekend. Apart from Erdo?an’s meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, another crucial meeting will take place at the Pentagon where Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is expected to give a detailed briefing on Syria.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu, EU Minister Egemen Ba??? and Economy Minister Zafer Ça?layan will accompany Erdo?an, along with 90 businessmen who will have separate meetings with their U.S. counterparts. The prime minister’s meeting with Obama is set to take place on May 16. The most important topic of the Erdo?an-Obama meeting will be the ongoing turmoil in Syria and international efforts to end the bloodshed in Turkey’s southern neighbor. As Turkish officials said they have evidence proving that the deadly blast in Reyhanl? was organized by the Bashar al-Assad regime, Erdo?an is likely to ask Obama to do more for the Syrian opposition to speed up the political transition.
[…]

May 13th, 2013, 7:03 pm

 

Dawoud said:

26. TARA

As I told you an Majed in my earlier comment last night in Arabic, these two have revealed their sectarian affiliation and hatred. Do you think that they support Bashar because he is great democrat, a liberator of the Golan, or even because he is a Batta and can’t pronounce the Arab letter “Seen” ? ? They support him because he is their Alawi S.O.B.! 🙂

No point in arguing with them.

May 13th, 2013, 7:07 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Akbar what percentage of Syrian dead are soldiers and government supporters? Civilians? Males of fighting age?

Reverse,

I don’t know. I also don’t know the percentage of combatants that died in the Israeli War of Independence. But rest assured, your self-appointed hero has just weakened, or more accurately, RUINED the Palestinian cause.

– Assad’s NAKBA supersedes that of the Zionist Nakba by sheer number of death and destruction. Whiners about Zionism will be pointed to the Assad legacy now, along with the Saddam Hussein and Colonel Sunglasses legacies. Not to mention the legacies of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian-terrorists. Good job!

– Refugees?: Assad wins! Congrats!

The Zionist Nakba is about 2 competing nations for the same land.

What is the Assad Nakba all about? Who is competing? The Assad Nakba is the idiotic story of a Pharaoh who refused to give his people BASIC freedoms, and killed them for not bowing down to his high resolution posters. That’s it! Today’s Syrians are yesterday’s Israelites who want nothing more than freedom from bondage. It took 10 plagues, and Pharaoh gave up.

Assad had a WONDERFUL opportunity to call for elections, step-down and watch his country move proudly into the 21st century. He could have won a peace prize (OK, that’s a stretch), but he could have DONE something POSITIVE.

But noooooo, the Assad family said FU! to the Syrian people and decided it was better to shell population centers and level cities. So here we are. BRAVO! The Assad family is now on the Top-10 list of worst governments the world has ever known.

May 13th, 2013, 7:25 pm

 

Tara said:

Is the regime going to use this incident for propaganda and under what spin?

Turkish F-16 fighter crashes near Syria, killing pilot
1 hour ago

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22513439

The plane was flying over the Amanos Mountains in the southern province of Osmaniye on Monday when it lost radio contact, Anatolia news agency said.

The pilot reportedly sent a message saying “I’m jumping” before contact was lost.

Rescuers found his body near to the wreckage of the aircraft.

It was not immediately clear what caused Monday’s crash.

May 13th, 2013, 7:41 pm

 

Okeanos963 said:

You are still spinning in your own zone of ‘reality’ two years later. Two years ago, your publication predicted fall of Assad, disintegration of Syria, wider civil war, ethnic cleaning etc. And you still believe it. Like the famous saying from ‘Seinfeld’, it is not a lie of you believe it.

Happy tweeting!

May 13th, 2013, 7:45 pm

 

Tara said:

More nonsense. Notice the word “won”? The dude killed 80, 000 and has just ethnically cleansed 2 towns and they are expecting Syrians to agree to keep him?

Syria conflict: US and UK pledge to bolster opposition
5 hours ago

The US and the UK say they will work to strengthen the moderate opposition in Syria and create a transitional body to replace President Bashar al-Assad.

US President Barack Obama said such a body would be the goal of a meeting in Geneva in “the coming weeks”.

The US recently won Russian support for the conference.

“There’s no more urgent international task than this. We need to get Syrians to the table to agree a transitional government that can win the consent of all of the Syrian people,” he said.

But he added: “There will be no political progress unless the opposition is able to withstand the onslaught and put pressure on Assad so he knows there is no military victory.”

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22509646

May 13th, 2013, 7:51 pm

 

Tara said:

Dawoud@30

It is a consuming passion in favor of Bashar against the people of Syria.

May 13th, 2013, 8:07 pm

 

Dawoud said:

34. TARA

Yes, and my comment # 3 about Hizbistan’s Hasan Nasr’al-Shytan ??? ??? ??????? is intended to drive them nuts and make them run to their medicine cabinet to take their pro-dictator Xanax 🙂

May 13th, 2013, 8:18 pm

 

ghufran said:

suddenly, the name of manaf Tlass has surfaced for a possible role in the coming months, I have my own doubts that the man will be acceptable to an opposition that sees him as part of the old regime who left when he realized that Assad’s political life will be short, but I am not sure it is true that Tlass can not come back, his supporters point to the fact that Tlass is not linked to islamist groups and has not been implicated in ordering the army to attack civilian areas in Syria.
This is what pro regime media is circulating:
???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????.
?????:
??? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ???????.
?????:
????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?????????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ???????.
?????:
????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ????????? ????? ?????? ???????. ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????.
?????:
??? ?????? ??? ???????? ????????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ???????.
????? ??????? ?????????: ???? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ???????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ????????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ????????? ??????? ? ??? ?? ????? ?????????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ???.
??? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ????????? ???? ??????? ???? ??????.
?????????? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ????????? ????? ?????? ??????.
the same article accused Tlass of working with Mossad and helping Israel locate sites of secret SSMs that were hit earlier this month, expect a lot of this acrobatic journalism in the next few weeks, I find it hard to believe that Tlass would help Israel attack a unit he once led (104).
Here is another sample of new acrobatic acts:
???? ????? “????? ??????” ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??”????? ????” ???? ???? ??? “???????? ?????? ??????”? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? «??????? ??? ?????». ??????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? «?????? ?????» ?? ??? «????» ????????? ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?????.
?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ???? 11 ?12 ????? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????????. ??????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ?? «?????? ??????» ?? «????? ????» ???? ????.

May 13th, 2013, 8:22 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Thanks Professor Landis for discussing the Palestinian al-Nakba ??????
and comparing some of its aspects to the ongoing/future Syrian regime/Hizbistan ethnic-cleansing of Sunnis in al-Qasir, Latakia, Banyas, etc.
Palestinians have never given up on their homeland despite al-Nakbah and the ethnic-cleansing. Similarly, Syrians will never accept ethnic-cleansing and they will fight an ethnically-cleansed Alawistan until they prevail and re-unite their country.

Aljazeera English has an excellent documentary episode 1 on the Palestinian Nakbah:

May 13th, 2013, 8:25 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Attn: TARA, Majed, Professor Landis,

Aljazeera Arabic has re-broadcast an interview that was conducted in 2001 with the ex-Syrian President Amin Al-Hafez from his exile in Baghdad. I watched it all and I got so many impressions:
-Hafez al-Assad, according to A. al-Hafez, was a traitor who gave up the Golan without a fight despite the fact that he dragged Egypt to an Israeli trap (Syria had no real intention to fight and Egypt wasn’t ready, which only gave Israel a pretext to occupy the rest of Palestine).
-He explained how he choose not to fight many battles in order NOT to stoke sectarianism against Alawis and non-Sunnis, even after Alawi officers attached mosques in Hama

May 13th, 2013, 8:34 pm

 

ghufran said:

?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ??????? “??? ????” ??????? ?? ???? “????? ?????”? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??.
? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????.
? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ” ????” ??? ????? ?? ?????? ? ???? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ? ???? ???? ???????? ????????? ???????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ???????? ???? ? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ??????.
? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????.
? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ???????? ?? “?????? ??? ??????? – ???? ??????? – ????? ??????? – ??? ????? – ??????? – ??????? – ??? ????? ?????? – ????? ????? – ???? ????? -????? – ????? ??? ?????”.
? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????.
? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? “????? ???? ????? ????? ??? “????” ????? ?????? ? ????? ??????? ? ?? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????”.
? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? “????” ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ?????.
i have the feeling that Mr Jazra’s real crime was that he did not “share”, he basically broke the code of “ethics” among fellow thieves.
I watched every episode of Amin Alhafez interview at aljazeera when it first aired, the man was stiff and got outsmarted by another Hafez (Alassad), however, everybody I asked agreed that while Amin Al-Hafez was not a good politician he was not sectarian either , remember that he was the one who was accused of bombing a mosque in Hama when there was a rebellion, the people I talked to could not agree on whether he did that or not, I heard that he denied the charges,many Syrians think he watched Assad and J’deed take over albaath and the army and did nothing to stop them.

May 13th, 2013, 8:54 pm

 

ann said:

West Can ill Afford to Get It Wrong on Syria – 13 May 2013

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/west-can-ill-afford-to-get-it-wrong-on-syria/479830.html

Clients are not necessarily friends, and they may even become enemies.

This is among the enduring realities of war, and the Syrian conflict is a prime example of why foreign governments need to proceed with caution and restraint.

In March, Eliot Engel, the ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, introduced a measure aimed at providing arms to the Syrian rebels. At the same time, France and Britain have been the leading voices in the EU for lifting an arms embargo on Syria so that weapons can be supplied to the opposition.

But perhaps they will be more circumspect now that the al-Nusra Front, the most effective fighting group in the Syrian opposition, has publicly pledged its loyalty to al-Qaida. Moreover, in early March, and again recently in early May, the rebels took UN peacekeepers hostage in the Golan Heights, of all places, demonstrating a real lack of discipline, awareness, and common sense.

This must have been quite embarrassing for those, like U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who asserted that the rebels were being thoroughly vetted before being armed. Russian warnings against the lifting of the embargo on military supplies to the Syrian opposition are to be explained precisely by this blatant lack of controllability. Statements coming from Moscow about the prevalence of international terrorists and drug traffickers in Syria stand indicative of Russia’s apprehensions about joining the increasingly fierce Western voices against Syrian President Bashar Assad. The recent Western rhetoric about an alleged use of chemical weapons on the part of Assad’s forces has the potential to generate a diplomatic stand-off between such diametrically opposite conceptions of what constitutes a ‘red line’.

History need not be distant to provide useful guidance to those who conceive policy and those who implement it. The recent past can also be quite telling. In the case of the rebel groups in Syria, the handwriting has been on the wall for more than 18 months. These are all groups with markedly different command structures, agendas, allegiances, and modes of operation. They are united only in the belief that the continued presence of the Assad regime prevents them from realizing whatever narrowly defined goals they may have in and for Syria.

In effect, the Syrian National Coalition remains a desperately fragmented opposition. And it is rather surprising that many countries in the West have decided to outsource regime change to such a motley crew. They cannot be controlled. They cannot be effectively vetted. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, iterated recently that the U.S. lacks a firm understanding of the Syrian opposition. Back to the vetting board, Mr. Kerry. And welcome to reality, Mr. Engel.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the U.S. has now shifted its approach and is emphasizing the need to pursue a negotiated political settlement to the conflict. Washington’s clandestine support and training of the rebel opposition (via Jordan) has backfired, and in the worst possible way. The extremist elements of the opposition have steadily gained control of more territory, and have given every indication that Syria is not the end game, but merely the next domino. This is surely to be among the principal points of emphasis in the forthcoming peace conference recently announced by the U.S. and Russia following John Kerry’s visit to Moscow in early May.

It remains to be seen whether Ghassan Hitto, the provisional prime minister, will be able to effectively manage both the political element of the opposition and those who are fighting on the ground. The longer the conflict endures, the less palatable the rebels and their actions are likely to become. For Russia, Libya set a dangerous precedent of the West overstepping a United Nations Security Council mandate. In this vein, Moscow urges the Friends of Syria group to abstain from pursuing interests that will plunge Syria into a catastrophically unstable situation, much like Israel’s foray into the tangled web of Lebanese politics over three decades ago.

All of this leaves Iran, Syria’s last steadfast regional ally, even more isolated. On a broader level of regional power dynamics, Syria has evolved into a proxy issue for fundamentally diverging conceptions of the future regional order in the Middle East. While Shiite Iran continues to support the Alawite minority of the Assad regime publicly, logistically in terms of combatant training it is Saudi Arabia and Qatar that are openly backing the Salafists in the Syrian opposition — despite repeated claims to the contrary. It should indeed provide food for thought that European societies are debating the Salafist threat to their societal cohesion, while Western governments are backing precisely those forces in the Middle East that openly promote the regional diffusion of the very same ideology.

The West and its allies in the region cannot afford to get this one wrong. There is far too much at stake, and politics is perhaps the most insignificant piece of this increasingly complex puzzle.

[…]

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/west-can-ill-afford-to-get-it-wrong-on-syria/479830.html

May 13th, 2013, 9:14 pm

 

Norman said:

The war in Syria is not between shia and Sunni, it is between the people who want Syria to stay secular and the people who want religous Syria, the ones who want secular Syria are Sunni, Shia , Christians, Kurds and Druz, and if Secular Syria is saved, it would be because of the secular Sunni that want a free and democratic Syria, I do not know what happened in Bayada , but it could have been that the Syrian army does not want it’s army to be broken between north coast and south coast and that the militants were trying to cut the Syrian army supply lines and the army had to prevent that,

May 13th, 2013, 9:15 pm

 

ann said:

America’s War on Syria: Another Anti-Assad False Flag? – May 13, 2013

http://www.globalresearch.ca/americas-war-on-syria-another-anti-assad-false-flag/5334919

Since early 2011, Obama’s been waging proxy war on Syria. Imported death squads masquerade as freedom fighters. The scheme’s familiar. It repeats. It reflects US imperialism’s dark side.

In the 1980s, CIA-recruited Mujahideen fighters battled Afghanistan’s Soviet occupiers. Ronald Reagan called them “the moral equivalent of our founding fathers.” He characterized Contra killers the same way.

Naked aggression is called humanitarian intervention. New wars follow earlier ones. Ravaging humanity is called liberation. Propaganda convinces people that America is threatened. Truth is turned on its head.

Syria is Washington’s latest target. Plans haven’t gone as expected. Ousting another government was supposed to be easy. US-enlisted terrorists are no match against Syria’s military superiority.

Implementing Plan B looms. It could come any time. Obama’s heading toward full-scale intervention. Pretexts are easy to create. Assad’s been falsely blamed for numerous insurgent massacres. Evidence showed he had nothing to do with them.

More recently, he was unjustifiably accused of using chemical weapons. Insurgents used them several times. A previous article said Pentagon contractors trained them in their use. This is how imperial America operates.

Another previous article discussed a US-hatched scheme. It cited a no longer available UK Daily Mail article, saying:

“Leaked emails have allegedly proved that the White House gave the green light to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that could be blamed on Assad’s regime and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country.”

“A report released on Monday contains an email exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence where a scheme ‘approved by Washington’ is outlined explaining that Qatar would fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons.”

“Barack Obama made it clear to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month that the US would not tolerate Syria using chemical weapons against its own people.”

On Saturday, two car bombs exploded outside Reyhanli, Turkey’s city hall. Prime Minister Erdogan’s heading for Washington later this week.

It wasn’t coincidental that bombings killed and injured Turkish citizens days before his arrival. It’s red meat for him and Obama to discuss.

Reyhanli’s close to Syria’s border. It’s a hub for Syrian refugees and anti-Assad insurgents.

Dozens were killed. Many more were injured. Buildings were destroyed. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said:

“We know that the Syrian refugees have become a target of the Syrian regime. Reyhanli was not chosen by coincidence.”

“Our thoughts are that their Mukhabarat (Syrian intelligence) and armed organizations are the usual suspects in planning and the carrying out of such devilish plans,” he added.

Turkey will “do whatever is necessary” if Syria ordered the attack.

Hurriyet Daily News said:

“Officials confirm(ed) link with Syrian intelligence.” Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay were cited.

Atalay said:

“We have to a great extent completed our work toward identifying the assailants.” How and what evidence corroborates it within hours of the attack he didn’t explain.

Legitimate forensic and other information gathering requires considerable time and analysis. A rush to judgment raises obvious questions.

Reports said Turkey began deploying large numbers of air and ground forces to Reyhanli. What follows remains to be seen.

In mid-February, a car bomb struck the Cilvegozu Turkish/Syrian border crossing. At least eight died. Around 30 others were wounded. Anti-Assad elements blamed Syria. No evidence proved it.

Turkey and Western allies blame “the usual suspects.” It happens every time.

Following Saturday’s bombings, a State Department press release said:

“The United States condemns today’s car bombings and we stand with our ally, Turkey.”

“This awful news strikes an especially personal note for all of us given how closely we work in partnership with Turkey, and how many times Turkey’s been a vital interlocutor at the center of my work as Secretary of State these last three months.”

“Our thoughts are with the wounded and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims.”

The glaring hypocrisy requires no comment.

NATO Secretary-General Fogh Rasmussen and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius expressed “full solidarity” with Turkey.

Washington’s Ankara embassy condemned the “murderous attack.” A statement said America “stands with the people and government of Turkey to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

It left no ambiguity who’ll be blamed. The anti-Assad Syrian National Coalition suggested Assad’s involvement. A statement said:

“The Coalition sees these heinous terrorist acts as an attempt to take revenge on the Turkish people and punish them for their honorable support for the Syrian people, including their welcoming of Syrian refugees who have fled the regime’s crimes in their villages and cities.”

“The Coalition views this attack as a desperate and failed attempt to sow discord between the two peoples.”

Lebanon’s Daily Star published an AP report. It said Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi denied Damascus’ involvement in Saturday’s bombings.

“(N)o one has the right to make false accusations,” he said. (T)his is not the behavior of the Syrian government.”

“The Turkish government should be held responsible for what happened. It turned the border area into a center for international terrorism.”

Erdogan “must step down. He must not build his glory on the blood of Turks and Syrians.”

Assad has no death wish. It’s inconceivable that he or other Syrian officials ordered the attack. Doing so would be madness.

Syria’s fully involved internally. It’s gone to great pains to avoid direct foreign intervention. Attacking a neighboring country would invite it. Responsibility lies with anti-Assad elements.

Perhaps Ankara planned and implemented the attack. Last October, an alleged Syrian mortar attack killed five Turkish nationals.

Yurt is a Turkish newspaper. At the time, it said Prime Minister Erdogan acted on Washington’s behalf. His government supplied Free Syrian Army (FSA) elements with mortars.

The “bomber” used to launch them “is only used by NATO.” They were fired from FSA-controlled territory.

False flags are commonly used. Washington prioritizes them. Turkey’s complicit in plans to topple Assad.

Years earlier, Turkey’s military hatched a plan to bomb internal mosques, down one of its own warplanes, blame Greece, and destabilize the newly-installed Islamist government.

America has a long history of false flags. So do other NATO allies and Israel.

On Saturday, Lebanon’s Al-Manar television said five rockets fired from inside Syria struck Lebanese territory. They “landed in open areas of the Northern Beqaa region of Hermel. No casualties have been reported.”

“This was not the first time (anti-Assad) militiamen rockets passed Lebanon’s northern borders to target residential areas.”

Expect more incidents falsely blamed on Assad. Perhaps something major is planned. Doing so builds a case for war. It’s happening in plain sight.

On May 12, Haaretz headlined “Turkey blames Syria for deadly twin blasts; Damascus rejects ‘false accusations.’ ”

Nine arrests were made. They’re Turkish citizens. Ankara claims they’re Assad loyalists. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed them for an early May attack. Dozens died in Banias, Syria.

Davutoglu blamed Syria for both incidents. It’s clear where these accusations are heading. Washington’s orchestrating everything. Turkey is its lead attack dog. It’s part of Obama’s scheme to topple Assad. Libya 2.0 looms.

A Final Comment

Conflicting reports on whether Russia plans selling Syria sophisticated air defense systems surfaced. Washington and Israel expressed concern.

Kerry discussed it in Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied intentions to do so. S-300 launch systems and others were mentioned. Lavrov added that Russia and Syria have weapons deals yet to be completed.

Vladimir Putin said existing contracts will be honored. He and others added that weapons supplied are defensive.

Netanyahu’s going to Moscow. He plans doing so soon. He’ll urge Putin against supplying Syria with launch systems able to take out invading aircraft.

He’s doing so in the context of Israel’s recent attacks. Lebanon’s Daily Star suggested they were launched from inside Lebanese territory.

On May 11, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) headlined “Netanyahu to visit Putin in a bid to stop his S-300 missile sale to Syria.”

It’s a “last-ditched attempt” to call it off. DF claims doing so is “extremely slim.”

“After Israel’s (May 4 and 5 air strikes), nothing would now stop the S-300 deliveries.”

Putin is “placing a severe constraint on Israel’s operational freedom by spreading an anti-air missile cover over the Syrian, Hizballah and the Iranian Basij forces fighting for Bashar Assad.”

“Since the chances of dissuading Putin to abandon this strategy are just about nil, the best Netanyahu can hope for by his face-to-face with the Russian president is a limited accord on ground rules for averting an Israeli-Russian military clash in Syria.”

[…]

http://www.globalresearch.ca/americas-war-on-syria-another-anti-assad-false-flag/5334919

May 13th, 2013, 9:58 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

It is clear that Russia will not put pressure on Asshead to leave, The delegate from Asshead will procrastinate and will not give concessions,they may agree tp ceasefire but they will not abide with it,they will agree to releasing prisoners, ten at a time,every month.
they will object to UN force, but will agree to observers,with limited number.
they will not agree that Asshead gives up power as far as the commander of the army,and airforce, internal ministry, and foreign ministry.
So what political agreement they will produce?,Geneva agreement is doom to fail,meanwhile we will lose a month,and another 10,000 martyr
Should the Coalition agree to send a delegation?,anyone who will go will lose credibility ,
US will put pressure on them to go, so someone will go,but we need a guarantee that the Geneva agreement will be approved within a week conference,and must be implemented immidiately.

The conference has been delayed another week,till june, such a conference is a waste of time

May 13th, 2013, 10:02 pm

 

revenire said:

Syrian Air Force
43 minutes ago
Complete report on zionist strike on Mount Qusyoon

On the 5th of May, the zionist air force illegally flew an extended number of sorties over Lebanese air space. Earlier on the 3rd of May, the terrorist nation had bombed the Syrian international airport, striking a jet that was under repair and destroying a fuel storage facility in order to shut down the airport’s operation.

The strikes come as an ultimatum for the Syrian state to halt operations in Qusayr, where a large number of israeli agents and handlers reside to oversee terrorist operations around Syria.

The Syrian leadership chose to ignore the first strike, the terrorist state decided to use unconventional weapons in the second strike in order to “get” our attention.

As a result of this terrorist raid, the Syrian air defense missiles have been authorised for use in battle. These missiles and accompanying radar systems are sensitive to ground attack, thus the army has simultaneously been green-lit for politically expensive scorched-earth tactics around every major defense site.

At the same time, Syrian artillery forces have been authorised by the President Dr Bashar al Assad to carry out retaliatory strikes upon the zionist entity no matter which nation attacks the Syrian state directly. The missiles have been erected even at this minute and require no order from the president to launch.

The zionist entity has cut its life short in a bid to pressure the Syrian leadership to kneel to its terrorist forces. We are truly at the brink of a regional war and its difficult to predict what the next move will be.

May 13th, 2013, 10:20 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

We need two stages
1 ceasefire,
2 then go to the conference

May 13th, 2013, 10:22 pm

 

revenire said:

Majed the pressure is this: Russia has already shipped part of the first S-300 missile system to Syria:

“An unnamed Russian official who was present at the closed doors trilateral meeting told the Kommersant daily that Mr. Lavrov had informed his Western colleagues that ‘part of the [S-300] equipment has already been shipped to Syria and the other part is indeed being readied for shipment.'”

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/russia-plays-the-missile-card/article4712306.ece

Majed when war breaks out we know you will be cheering for your Zionist ally Israel.

Many will die.

May 13th, 2013, 10:25 pm

 

ghufran said:

this is from israeli press:
‘???? ???????? ??????? ?? ???’? ??? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????. ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????. ?? ???????? ????????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?? 46 ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????.
?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????. ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? (?? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????)? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ‘??????’ ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? 1939.
??? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ????????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???????? (300 ? 350 ????) ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????. ‘??????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ????????. ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????????’? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???????.
???? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????.
???? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ????????. ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ???????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????.

May 13th, 2013, 10:30 pm

 

revenire said:

Akbar i didn’t ask about your problem with Assad – I don’t care. I asked about this number you slop about of 80,000 and how many are soldiers killed by the Zionists. You admitted you don’t know.

If that is the case why spew the 80,000 number out of your chosen mouth?

Don’t talk to me about refugees – you Zionists created them. Your fault entirely.

Go kick back some Mogen David and have these useless debates with someone who cares. I care about the rockets landing in Tel Aviv.

May 13th, 2013, 10:30 pm

 

revenire said:

Even the Western press now has to admit Assad is winning and winning BIG. Pass out the Prozac at SC – we don’t want any tragedies.

Six ways Assad has turned the tide in Syria
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/13/six-ways-assad-has-turned-the-tide-in-syria/

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his forces “are beginning to turn the tide of the country’s war,” The Washington Post’s Liz Sly reported on Saturday from Beirut, explaining that Assad is “bolstered by a new strategy, the support of Iran and Russia and the assistance of fighters with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.” Sly finds that “the pendulum is now swinging in favor of Assad.”

How are Assad’s forces doing it? Here are a few of the trends Sly found, plus one from another source:

(1) Sectarian reshuffling within the armed forces. Most Syrians are Sunni, and so are most Syrian rebels. But the Syrian regime is dominated by minority groups such as Alawites. Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that is Syria’s ally, is Shia. Putting more emphasis on minority fighters helps the regime get around its internal Sunni problem – fewer defections, more committed soldiers – although it also risks exacerbating sectarian tensions.

(2) Folding in militias. The regime has brought in 60,000 “irregular” militia fighters to supplement the armed forces, giving them both more firepower and a qualitatively different kind of firepower, better suited to challenge the rebels on their own turf.

(3) Training from Hezbollah in urban warfare. The rebels have had an advantage in city street-fighting. Now, with help from the experts, regime forces are closing that gap.

(4) Cutting off rebels from supply routes. Sly reports: “Assad loyalists are steadily squeezing [the rebels], isolating them from one another and cutting their supply routes, the rebels say. Units are running out of ammunition, and some sound increasingly desperate.”

(5) Focus all energy on key “nodes.” The regime appears to be bringing its overwhelming military might to bear on a handful of strategic locations: Damascus suburbs, the transit “linchpin” of Homs and coastal ports, among others. That means neglecting less-strategic areas for now, but presumably not for good.

(6) Impenetrable strongholds. The New York Times’ C.J. Chivers, in a recent interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air“, explained that the regime has used its technological advantage to retreat into a number of strongholds around the country, from which it launches artillery, mortar and air attacks against rebels and civilians. Because the rebels don’t have the firepo

May 13th, 2013, 10:33 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Fighters from Lebanon’s terrorist Shiite Hizbass killed in Syria.Good Riddance!

http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/febdd1a8-fc25-40ea-98fc-3250a83c0216

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

??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? (????) ???? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? 14 ????? ?? ??? ???? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? (???).

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

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

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

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

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

???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????????? ???? ????? ????? ???????.
[…]

May 13th, 2013, 10:35 pm

 

MarigoldRan said:

After evacuating most of the country, the Assadists have launched a couple of local offensives around Homs and Damascus that haven’t really gone anywhere.

Last time I checked they’re still fighting in Homs, Aleppo, and Daraya.

However, there’s very little reports of fighting in Raqqa, the Golan Heights, or Daraa since the rebels have already taken over most of those provinces.

The Assadists lose 3 villages for every 1 village they take. And every time they take a village they celebrate!

How stupid.

May 13th, 2013, 10:37 pm

 

MarigoldRan said:

The more Alawites the Assadists incorporate into their army, the more difficult they’re making it for themselves to re-take Sunni areas.

In effect the Assadists and the Alawites have given up on holding most of the country, and are trying to hold onto Homs, Hamas, Lattakia, and Damascus. The rebels have already forced them out of most of the country.

It’s one matter to TAKE a village. It’s a totally different matter to HOLD it. The Assadists have been WHOOPED so badly over the last year of war that they’ll celebrate anything.

Also, I thought you didn’t trust the Washington Post, retard.

May 13th, 2013, 10:38 pm

 

Dawoud said:

???? ????????? , ???? ????? , ??? ????? ? ??????

???? ????? ???????
?? ??? ???? ????? ???????
????? ?????? ???????
????? ????? ?????
[…]
??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???????
[…]

Syrian Revolution Freedom Song by Wasfi al-Ma’asarani:

Salute al-Sham [Syria] and its Revolutionaries
They [Revolutionaries] opened its [Freedom’s] Doors
Syria has Become its [Freedom’s] Home!
[…]
Dera’ah child when he screamed, he shook rocks with his voice!
[…]

?????? ??????? ???????
Free Syria, Free Palestine!

May 13th, 2013, 10:54 pm

 

Dawoud said:

The Funeral of a Shia Lebanese Terrorist from the Terrorist Hizbas#. This terrorist was killed in Syria while fighting with the dictator’s forces.
????? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????

May 13th, 2013, 10:59 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Reverse,

Most of my infomation comes from the internet. Where does yours come from?

The observers here have already taken notice of your bloodlust, that is why you can’t articulate your fondness for the empty suit and his materialist wife.

The number of killings is about 80000. No doubt more. This is over 10x the number of deaths the Palestinians suffered in ’48. Yes, the Assad family has quite a “legacy” and this is why arabs and muslims get such a bad rap. It isn’t that the people are bad, it is mostly because their self-appointed leaders are so bad.

Majedkhaldoun,

Anyone who idolizes a self-appointed poster child, IMHO, should seek counseling and/or medical attention.

May 13th, 2013, 11:34 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Revenir said
Many will die.

Yes many rats like you will die, what are you doing in california, show us that you are not a rat,or possum and go fight in Syria, but no you are a rat and will always be a rat
Infact you are more possum than rat

May 13th, 2013, 11:35 pm

 

Juergen said:

Zoo 584

I think their fear is that an fatimide Egypt could be on the rise. I think the Salafis have a hard time to understand that rual Egyptian Sunnis are much closer in the thinking to shiite than their salafi vision of islam. Egypt at least in the countryside is deeply influenced by the sufi movement. Someone suggested lately to me that more people convert to shia islam than to sunni islam, I can not verify that though.

May 13th, 2013, 11:40 pm

 

revenire said:

“Most of my infomation comes from the internet. Where does yours come from?”

God.

May 13th, 2013, 11:43 pm

 

ghufran said:

Syrian troops retake villages in Homs:
Syrian government troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad captured three villages in the strategic Qusayr area of Homs province, allowing them to cut supply lines of the Free Syrian Army from the Jordanian border to inside Qusayr town, military sources said
guardian.co.uk, Monday 13 May 2013 20.33 EDT

May 13th, 2013, 11:46 pm

 

ghufran said:

Bits and pieces about Turkey:

“The chaos of Syria has been transported here,” said Faruk Logoglu, deputy chairman of the opposition Republican People’s Party, speaking Monday from the stunned town of Reyhanli, close to the Syrian border. “This is a direct result of the government’s Syria policy.”

“There is no concrete evidence to suggest which group is behind the attack,” lawmaker Ertugrul Kurkcu of the Peace and Democracy Party told reporters in Reyhanli, according to Today’s Zaman newspaper.

On the streets of Istanbul, anger about the bombings and the government’s handling of the Syria crisis was evident Monday.
“Their stupid policy led to a situation where too many people have been killed and nothing changed,” said Begum Gunceler, a musician.

“It’s really hard now,” said Ahmed, a refugee reached via Skype near the border who didn’t want his last name used for security reasons. The Turks “are full of anger. They are saying, ‘You came here and brought all of Syria’s troubles,’ ” he said.

..and from Libya:
(are you,Libyans,better off after 2 years of NATO-type freedom? )
A car bomb explosion near a hospital in the Libyan city of Benghazi has killed several people, officials say.
The death toll is unclear. Local officials initially said nine people had been killed. A hospital spokesman later said three bodies had been found.
The blast follows a string of bombings in the eastern city in recent days.
Security remains precarious in Libya since the uprising against long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, with protests by militias and attacks by Islamists.

May 13th, 2013, 11:52 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Juergen
Some egyptians converted to shiaa but in few years they converted back to Sunni after they found out what shiaa clergy teach,they found out that their teaching are not consistant with Quraan.
The fatimi Khalifah the last one was shiaa and yes he was crazy,his death was misterious,most believe he was killed.

May 13th, 2013, 11:52 pm

 
 

Juergen said:

Israel’s Man in Damascus
Why Jerusalem Doesn’t Want the Assad Regime to Fall

“Israel does not feel as confident, though, about the parties to the current conflict, and with good reason. On the one hand, there are the rebel forces, some of whom are increasingly under the sway of al Qaeda. On the other, there are the Syrian government’s military forces, which are still under Assad’s command, but are ever more dependent on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, which is also Iranian-sponsored. Iran is the only outside state with boots on the ground in Syria, and although it is supporting Assad, it is also pressuring his government to more closely serve Iran’s goals- ”

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139373/efraim-halevy/israels-man-in-damascus?page=show

May 13th, 2013, 11:56 pm

 

Juergen said:

Syria Plays on Fears to Blunt American Support of Rebels

“Confident they can sell their message, government officials have eased their reluctance to allow foreign reporters into Syria, paraded prisoners they described as extremist fighters and relied unofficially on a Syrian-American businessman to help tap into American fears of groups like Al Qaeda.

“We are partners in fighting terrorism,” Syria’s prime minister, Wael Nader al-Halqi, said.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/middleeast/syria-campaigns-to-persuade-us-to-change-sides.html?_r=0

May 14th, 2013, 12:07 am

 

ghufran said:

More from Turkey:
??? ???? ????? ?? ????? “????????” ??????? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?? “?????????”: ?? “????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ?????…” ???????? “?? ???????” ??????? “????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????????…”? ??????? “??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????”.
???? ?????? ???? ????? “????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????- ??????”? ?????? ?? “?????? ???? ?? ?????? ????????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????. ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ???????”… ??????? ?? ??? ????????? ???? “???? ???? ?? ???? ??”? ?????? ??? ???? “?? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????”.
???? ?????? ?? “???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?????- ?????”? ?????? ???? (?????) “????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ?????”.
?? ?????? ?????? ????? “???????” ????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ?? “?? ????? ????????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? 1975 ??? ?????? ??? ????????”? ????? ?? “????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ???????”? ????? ??? ???? “??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ???”.
?????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??? “????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ???????”? ?? ???? “?????? ??????”? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? – ???????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? “????? ?????? ???????” ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? “??? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??????”.
???? ??? ????? ????? “?????????”? ?? ?????? “??? ??? ????? ?? ??????”? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? “???? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????”? ????? ?? “???? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??????”. ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? “????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???…”.
Erdo today and others tomorrow will “discover” that you can not incite and support violence then expect to be immune from it. Like many previous cases, whenever a country gets dragged into a conflict, or a number of conflicts, and create enemies, one of those enemies,local or foreign, will express his anger in a violent way, that is what happened in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and now Turkey, and it is very hard to guess where this dark tunnel is going to take the people of the region to.

May 14th, 2013, 12:10 am

 

revenire said:

Juergen you look sillier and sillier as time goes on. Israel is one of the architects of the war on Syria.

May 14th, 2013, 12:27 am

 

annie said:

Assad, watch this former Guatemala dictator sentenced to 80 years for genocide ( he got 1700 people slaughtered; how many years will that mean for you ?)

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/13/ros_montt_guilty_of_genocide_are

May 14th, 2013, 1:54 am

 

Citizen said:

Western cholera epidemic planned from the beginning of this century, shoved in Syria for regime change and the destruction of the country today is promoted as freedom and democracy!

Mideast Backlashes Yet to Come
http://mycatbirdseat.com/2013/05/mideast-backlashes-yet-to-come/
Mideast states are now paralyzed and polarized and governance has come to a standstill. But in this paralysis lies a dangerous volatility: a backlash in the brewing, a pressure cooker about to blow.

After decades of oppression and marginalization by pro-West, secular dictatorships, the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) and similar Islamist parties have catapulted to power and prominence in several states. Quite counter-intuitively, however, these Islamist governments appear to have lined up behind the US bloc, eager to please, or at least placate, the very powers that colluded in their oppression…….

May 14th, 2013, 2:25 am

 

Ameera said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 2:44 am

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 2:47 am

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 2:51 am

 
 

Dolly Buster said:

23. revenire said:

what percentage of Syrian dead are soldiers and government supporters?

 
Maybe 25%? Most of the dead are on the opposition side, because Shiites are supplied with heavy weapons by the KGB.

And the rebels mostly fight with hand-held stuff.

May 14th, 2013, 4:10 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Israeli (and American synagogues) helping Syrian refugees:

In the original Ynet report, Kahana said he had spent more than $100,000 of his private funds and raised an additional $500,000 from American synagogues to buy and transfer food and medicine for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan and in Syria itself.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4378934,00.html

May 14th, 2013, 6:56 am

 

zoo said:

Syria Endgame Approaching Fast
By Shamus Cooke

http://www.zcommunications.org/syria-endgame-approaching-fast-by-shamus-cooke
Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The tempo of events in Syria has accelerated in recent weeks. The government forces have scored significant battlefield victories over the rebels, and this has provoked a mixture of war provocations and peace offers from the U.S. and its anti-Assad allies.

With Obama’s blessing, Israeli fighter jets recently attacked Syria on three occasions; in one massive air strike on a military installation in Damascus 42 Syrian soldiers were killed. Shortly thereafter Obama finally agreed to a peace conference with Russia, which had been asking for such talks for months.

Obama is entering these talks from a weakened position; the Syrian government is winning the war against the U.S.-backed rebels, and success on the ground is the trump card of any peace talks. Obama and the rebels are in no position to be demanding anything in Syria at the moment.

It’s possible that Obama wants to avoid further humiliation in his Syria meddling by a last minute face-saving “peace” deal. It’s equally likely, however, that these peace talks are a clever diplomatic ruse, with war being the real intention. It’s not uncommon for peace talks to break down and be used as a justification for an intensification of war, since “peace was attempted but failed.”

And Obama has plenty of reasons to pursue more war: he would look incredibly weak and foolish if Syria’s president were to stay in power after Obama’s administration had already announced that Assad’s regime was over and hand picked an alternative government of Syrian exiles that the U.S. — and other U.S. allies — were treating as the “legitimate government of Syria.”

Here’s how the BBC referred to Obama’s Syrian puppet government:

“… the Syrian opposition’s political leadership – which wanders around international capitals attending conferences and making grand speeches – is not leading anyone. It barely has control of the delegates in the room with it, let alone the fighters in the field.”

If an unlikely peace deal is reached, these Syrian exiles — who only a tiny minority of the rebel fighters actually listen to — will be the ones to sign off on the deal.

Many politicians in the U.S. are still clamoring for war in Syria, based on the unproven accusation that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against the rebels. In actuality, however, the UN so far has only indicated that the exact opposite is true: there is significant evidence the U.S.-backed rebels used chemical weapons against the Syrian government:

Of course this fact only made the back pages of the U.S.media, if it appeared at all. Similarly bad news about the U.S.-backed rebels committing large scale ethnic/religious cleansing and numerous human rights violations didn’t manage to make it on to the front pages either. And the numerous terrorist bombings by the U.S.-backed rebels that have indiscriminately killed civilians have likewise been largely ignored by U.S. politicians and the media.

The U.S. position is weakened further by the fact that the majority of the rebel fighters are Islamic extremists, who are fighting for jihad and sharia law, not democracy. The Guardian reported recently:

“Syria’s main armed opposition group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), is losing fighters and capabilities to Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist organization with links to al-Qaida that is emerging as the best-equipped, financed and motivated force fighting Bashar al-Assad’s [Syrian] regime.”

The New York Times adds:

“Nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of.”

But even with all these barriers to the U.S. dictating its terms to the Syrian government, Obama has trump cards of his own: the U.S. and the Israeli military.

It’s possible that the Israeli airstrikes on Syria were used as a bargaining chip with the proposed peace conference in Russia. If Obama threatened to bomb Syria into the Stone Age there is plenty of evidence —Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya — to back up this threat.

Following through with this kind of threat is actually considered intelligent foreign policy to many politicians in the U.S., since a country not aligned with the U.S. will have been weakened and fragmented as an opposing force, lowering the final barrier to war with Iran.

U.S. foreign policy is now completely dependent on using the threat of annihilation. As U.S. economic power has declined in relation to China and other countries, the economic carrot has been tossed aside in favor of the military stick. Plenty of U.S. foreign policy “experts” are demanding that Obama unsheathe the stick again, lest this foundation of U.S. foreign policy be proven to be just talk and no action.

This is the essence of U.S. involvement in Syria, which is risking regional war that could include Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Iran, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia with the potential to drag in the bigger powers connected to these nations, the U.S. and Europe on one hand and Russia and China on the other.

The fate of the already-suffering Middle East is hanging in the balance.

May 14th, 2013, 7:25 am

 

zoo said:

#57 Juergen

Culturally Egyptians are much closer to Iranians that to Saudis. They have arts, literature, music,poetry, cinema, and above all they are pacifist, theatrical and hedonist with a sense of humor.
So I am not surprised that with just a little push they’ll all convert to Shiism. That’s what the dull and boring Salafi sheikhs are terrified of.

May 14th, 2013, 7:37 am

 

zoo said:

Kerry is now worried that Syrian officials will refuse to attend the conference, despite the fact that the USA have dropped the conditions for Bashar’s resignation.
That’s not a surprise. The Syrian army seems to be winning the war and crushing the opposition armed rebels. The opposition is now in the weakest position it has ever been, therefore the Syrian government may not need a peace conference anymore and can put all they conditions they want if Kerry wants them to attend. The Syrian government is playing hard to get.
Kerry is trapped as he has to also convince the opposition to attend and until now they have not accepted.

Kerry expects Syrian officials to attend talks for peaceful transition in Syria

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, May 14, 7:09 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com

STOCKHOLM — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is dismissing suggestions that the Syrian government might not join a U.S.-Russia initiative to negotiate a peaceful transition in Syria.

Syria’s information minister says Damascus needs more details about the proposed initiative before it decides whether to attend. But Kerry says he expects Syrian officials to join the international effort and that the U.S. is aware that Syrian negotiators have been selected for the proposed conference.

May 14th, 2013, 7:50 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Syrian regime wants more informations before attending the conference citing sovereignty, it is Asshead sovereignty that we want to uproot, but ceasefire must be accomplished before the meeting continue, and free election completely free is the second condition, ,Asshead wants neither free election, nor ceasefire.
Failure of the conference will leave Obama with military option.
Where is the pressure Russia will apply?,none.
This conference will fail

May 14th, 2013, 7:58 am

 

zoo said:

What will Obama probably say to Erdogan

http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2013/05/13/obama-erdogan/

Then the door will close and Obama will really talk about Syria, saying something like:

“Tayyip, we once again want to express our sorrow and condolences over the senseless car bombings in Reyhanli on Saturday.

But listen, the infiltration of Jabhat al-Nusra fighters through Turkish territory is inflaming the sectarian nature of the struggle in Syria. I know you do not want a sectarian bloodbath in Syria, but your joint policy with Qatar has helped get us here. The UN Security Council may now label them a terrorist group, and rightly so. This is a headache for me. Vladimir has a point here; these guys are trouble, and they are growing.

“Look, Tayyip, I understand you are frustrated and that Assad is holding on to dear life. You and I both got ahead of ourselves on this one. But we need to think ahead. The Qataris are being reckless; they seem to think that they are immune to the potential blowback. But Turkey is not immune either, and neither is the United States.

“This also reminds me that we disagree on what to do now. The situation is getting out of control and the rebels, I fear, are losing ground. Still, in the long run I believe that this will result in either a stalemate or that Assad will make a mad dash to his Alawite heartland on the coast. But nothing is assured, and it might get worse before it gets better.

“You floated an idea on the eve of your arrival here, that you would support an American effort to establish a safe zone. Let me reiterate what I have said in the past few weeks: There will be no American boots on the ground in Syria. We are considering some options to help the rebels through other parties, maybe something more, in northern or southeastern Syria designed to create safe havens with our air assets and electronic capabilities, provided the regional powers like you actively support this effort with your troops; but that is no guarantee things will get better either.

“But let’s not kid ourselves that whatever we do militarily will end Assad’s government next week or maybe even this year. We need some diplomacy here. I need you to support the Geneva II process and this conference John Kerry is trying to put together. You need to do your best to get your friends in the Syrian opposition to sit down with someone from the Syrian government at that conference, if it happens. Otherwise, it blows up, and the war goes on.

“For now, I need Russia and probably Iran to make this work. What we also need to do on Syria is to look down the road and try to estimate how the situation will unfold in the next two years and then come up with a strategy to be implemented now and designed to prevent a worst-case scenario. I think we could put our best planners together with yours and other allies to help us think this through and, most important, be on the same page.

“This war is no longer about Assad. We know that. You, Jordan, Iraq, Israel are all paying a price, and the costs are going up.

“I also need to say something here about Iraq. I know that it looks incongruent to you that after years of urging Turkey to get closer to the Kurdistan Regional Government, that now we are cautioning you against deepening ties, especially oil and gas ones. Our concern stems from the fact that Prime Minister Maliki is increasingly interpreting developments in Syria and northern Iraq as an attempt to unseat him at best and divide Iraq at worst. You believe that he has inflamed sectarian tensions in Iraq and mistreated the Sunnis. You certainly do have a point, I cannot argue with that. However, what we want you to do is to downplay these activities only to reassure Maliki that the region is not against him; otherwise we face a self-fulfilling prophecy, and he will act on his fears and make matters worse. In the end, we both agree that borders in the region ought not to change. Here too, I believe we can work together to craft a smarter and subtler policy.

“Regarding your Kurdish opening, let me reiterate our admiration for the courage it took. We have been very circumspect on this issue as my advisors tell me that you have too many conspiracy theorists claiming that all this is an American plot. I wish we were so powerful! Still, while we are careful in public discourse, let me also say that we are very willing to help you down the road when the process gathers greater momentum. I will leave this up to you; we are your allies and we very much care about this problem getting resolved.”

As the conversation above suggests, the administration will not have much to offer the Turks. But then, neither will the Turks come to the table with new initiatives.

Henri J. Barkey is a professor of international relations at Lehigh University.

May 14th, 2013, 8:02 am

 

zoo said:

#78 Majed

When Bashar Al Assad offered a dialog 2 months ago to the opposition while the armed rebels were winning, they laughed at him.

Now the opposition is loosing, Bashar could impose all the conditions he wants or may just skip the conference altogether.

I don’t think he’ll do that but he is sending a clear message to Kerry that if the USA is not able to force the opposition to the dialog table within say, a month, the Syrian government will withdraw its offer.
Beggars can’t be chosers.

May 14th, 2013, 8:10 am

 

zoo said:

Beside slitting throats, desperate main stream FSA Syrian rebels are turning to cannibalism.

Video shows rebel ‘eats heart’ of Syria soldier

Agence France-Presse | Updated: May 14, 2013 17:37 IST
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/366816

Beirut: A gruesome video has emerged on the Internet apparently showing a Syrian rebel fighter cutting out the heart of a regime soldier and eating it.

“We swear to God we will eat your hearts and livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog,” the insurgent says as he bends over a blurred body and cuts out the heart in the amateur footage uploaded to YouTube.

“We are the heroes of Baba Amr,” he says, referring to a rebel stronghold of the central city of Homs that has been flattened by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

The man, identified in the video as a member of the mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army, then stands up, raises his dagger in one hand and the heart in the other.

He then proceeds to place the organ in his mouth, before the video abruptly ends.
The authenticity of the footage, which was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday by a user named “SyrianGirl War”, cannot be verified.

May 14th, 2013, 8:21 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Zoo
“This war is no longer about Assad.
Yes it is.he is the main and only obstacle to freedom and democracy.

You said the opposition is losing, More weapons to the rebels means they will win battles,Asshead now is supported by HA and Iran troops and Russia arms,these can be countered by more weappons to the rebels.
Skipping the meeting means more weapons to the rebels.
The problem to the rebels is that the weapons supply are intermittent, not continuous,especially in the south,because of Jordan,as weapons arrive, Asshead will beg for political solution.But then it will be too late for him.
US interest is to support the rebels, if Asshead wins,it will be huge humiliation to Obama and the west and victory to Russia, this will not be allowed.

May 14th, 2013, 8:30 am

 

Tara said:

Oh please,

Have Batta refuses to attend and cancel the conference. He’d be doing us a great favor. The west would then arm the rebels and Batta will be sent to the eternal Hell.

May 14th, 2013, 8:32 am

 

Dolly Buster said:

I listen to Egyptian lectures all the time, they have tons of intellectuals. Egypt will remain staunchly Salafi.

This is the Egyptian khutbah I put on my public Facebook this morning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDbNAoBMBqo

The Shias are dying out, especially now that Syria is about to become Wahhabi. This means the end of Shia Crescent which was put in place by George W. Bush.

May 14th, 2013, 8:40 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

HA troops are 90% in Syria fighting Syrians, when they die or captured, HA can not supply Asshead with more soldiers, Hasan Nasrallah is taking huge risk,letting his front against Israel becoms much more vulnerable,HA troops as Revenir calls them Rats, will backfire on Nasrallah,he is making the stupidiest mistake,also fighting around Zainab shrine will assure the destruction of such shrine

May 14th, 2013, 8:44 am

 

zoo said:

A look at the insides of arms delivery to the rebels

Qatar, allies tighten coordination of arms flows to Syria (with the help of the CIA)

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-rt-us-syria-qatar-supportbre94d0gt-20130514,0,1186362.story

DOHA/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Qatar, which has taken a lead in arming the Syrian opposition, is coordinating with the CIA and has tightened control of the arms flow to keep weapons out of the hands of al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters, according to rebels and officials familiar with the operation.

Rebel fighters in Syria say that in recent months the system for distributing arms has become more centralized, with arms being delivered through opposition National Coalition’s General Command, led by Selim Idriss, a general who defected to the opposition and is a favorite of Washington.

Qatar mostly sends arms to rebels operating in the north of Syria, while Saudi Arabia, another rich Gulf Arab kingdom, sends weapons to fighters operating in the south, several rebel commanders said.

“The Qataris are now going through the Coalition for aid and humanitarian issues and for military issues they are going through the military command,” a commander in northern Syria interviewed from Beirut said.

“Before the Coalition was formed they were going through liaison offices and other military and civil formations. That was at the beginning. Now it is different – it is all going through the Coalition and the military command.”

“There’s an operations room in the Emir’s diwan (office complex), with representatives from every ministry sitting in that room, deciding how much money to allocate for Syria’s aid,” the Qatari official said.

“There’s a lot of consultation with the CIA, and they help Qatar with buying and moving the weapons into Syria, but just as consultants,” he said. The CIA declined to comment.

Rebel commanders contacted by Reuters said they submit their lists of needs to the General Command led by Idriss, which forwards the requests to Qatar or Saudi Arabia.

One Western source involved in the process said the new system of control is not foolproof: sometimes weapons sent in by Qatar do in fact reach hardline groups.

Several rebel commanders said they believed wealthy Kuwaiti and Saudi individuals were also sending weapons and money to rebel fighters outside the National Coalition’s distribution channel.

“They usually ask for a video proving that an attack took place with the name of the brigade that did it. Sometimes they ask for a statement expressing gratitude,” said a rebel commander in Damascus.

He said the Saudis and Qataris also occasionally send weapons into each other’s territory, bypassing normal controls.

“Sometimes the Qataris manage to send stuff to the southern part and the Saudis to the northern side. When they do so, they send it to brigades that are not part of the military command.”

May 14th, 2013, 8:44 am

 

zoo said:

Tara,

Kerry uses a childish gimmick to incite the reluctant opposition to join the conference.

‘Now President Assad decides’

Tue, 14 May 2013 2:37 PM
http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/859005.html

Syria’s opposition will receive additional assistance if President Bashar al-Assad refuses to attend a peace conference proposed by the US and Russia, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday.

“If he miscalculates about that as he miscalculated about his own country’s future over the course of the last years, it is clear the opposition will be receiving additional support,” Kerry said during a visit to Stockholm.

“There will be additional efforts made, and unfortunately the violence will not end,” he added.

Kerry did not specify what type of support would be provided, nor from whom.

Washington and Moscow are trying to get Damascus and the rebels to come to the table for talks aimed at ending the armed conflict.

Kerry reiterated that he hoped the peace conference could take place in early June.

“Now President Assad decides,” he said.

“We hope we will have a chance to get to that table. If Assad decides not to come, the world will see how empty his rhetoric is, as well as his intent.”

May 14th, 2013, 8:55 am

 

Tara said:

Ok Zoo then.

As you said, beggar can not be chooser. Batta is not in any better position than the opposition.

May 14th, 2013, 9:01 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

Why couldn’t you bring yourself to condemn hate rhetorics coming out from a Shiaa cleric?

Please forgive my honesty but when you shy away of doing so, you transform yourself to an ineffective Shiaa propagandist. I for one do not “dialogue” with you specifically to promote an ideology. I do it to explore your thinking which at time interests me, but when you fail to condemn the obvious, you come off as insincere and by doing so you simply convert the exchange to a pure propaganda in which I have no interest.

I mean how can one lecture tolerance when one does not condemn intolerance and how can one preach humility when sounding arrogant? If you want to be an Ann or a Reve, be it, but you can’t have it both ways.

May 14th, 2013, 9:22 am

 

zoo said:

One more absurd request fron panicked opposition about the imminent fall of Qusayr and the crushing of hundreds of rebels trapped in the town.
They know very well that Hezbollah’s presence is a warrant that there will be no “massacre”. In fact they are secretly hoping there will be one so they can call for international intervention…
.

Syrian troops surround rebel-held town

http://www.news24.com/World/News/Syrian-troops-surround-rebel-held-town-20130514
2013-05-14 15:04

Beirut – Syria’s opposition National Coalition warned on Tuesday that 30 000 civilians in the rebel-held town of Qusayr, faced an “extremely dangerous situation” as regime troops prepare to attack.

“We ask the [UN] Security Council to issue a decision forcing Lebanon to control its borders, and thus guarantee the withdrawal of Hezbollah members from Syrian territory,” the coalition said

May 14th, 2013, 9:32 am

 

zoo said:

Tara

You keep asking me to make condemnation for individual events.
I won’t because events are part of a larger scheme and are usually not proven until years later.
My condemnation goes to the people and countries who have encouraged and fueled the civil war when they realized the revolution failed. The dark events that followed are the inevitable consequences.

What Shia rhetorics should I condemn? Please let me know. Since the 25 years old fatwa on Salman Rushdi, I have not seen much calling for murder and destruction of Sunnis or hysterical sheikhs calling for jihad to create a caliphate.

Now you tell me what rhetorics and fatwas coming extremists Sunnis clerics you are condemning? Youtube is full of them, make your choice.

I don’t care if you think I am a propagandist, I am just observing the facts.
If a shop has bad sales force, bad ads and sells suspicious goods, I should not blame people for shopping somewhere else.

May 14th, 2013, 9:57 am

 

citizen said:

74. AKBAR PALACE said:

Israeli (and American synagogues) helping Syrian refugees
help please good man ! Israeli and American HANDS OFF SYRIA !!

May 14th, 2013, 10:05 am

 

Dolly Buster said:

It’s very nice of Qatar to help. It’s a tiny country of 300,000 people but they are at the forefront when it comes to helping people.

To address the aviation of Shiite Evildoers, I recommend that a major power goes in with 21st century high technology, and smash the Russian-Shiite retards to pieces.

The Shia crawl to graves, and Russians lead the world in suicide rates.
These 2 groups have no future.

May 14th, 2013, 10:06 am

 

Dawoud said:

62. REVENIRE

Hasan Nasr’al-Shytan ??? ??? ???????, Syria’s dictator’s ally and the sectarian Iranian puppet killer of Syrians. Shame on this filthy As$. One day he will be brought to justice.

May 14th, 2013, 10:07 am

 

Dawoud said:

67. ANNIE

Nice comment. Guatemala’s very old ex-dictator finally received the punishment that he has always deserved after 30 years! I have no doubt that Syria’s murderous dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and his Shia or Shiite Lebanese ally, Hasan Nasr al-Shytan ??? ??? ???????, WILL receive the punishment that they both definitely deserve!

May 14th, 2013, 10:16 am

 

Dolly Buster said:

92. citizen said: Israeli and American HANDS OFF SYRIA !!

 
With all due respect ????, the Ruskies are the ones who have no business in the Arab world.

Russia is the author of the entire mess, because they blocked the UN. This set off a civil war.

It was defeat in Afghanistan that signaled the end of USSR, and it will be defeat in Syria that brings down the remainder of Russia.

May 14th, 2013, 10:26 am

 

zoo said:

The Arab League backtracks…

Arab League says Syria seat not given to opposition
May 14, 2013 05:11 PM
Agence France Presse

DUBAI: The vacant Syrian seat at the Arab League has not been given to the opposition, even though its leader addressed the bloc’s last summit, the League’s secretary general said on Tuesday.

“The opinion was that if they (opposition) form a government, which they have not done yet, then they can become a representative,” Nabil al-Arabi told reporters in Dubai.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-14/217069-arab-league-says-syria-seat-not-given-to-opposition.ashx#ixzz2THInEKCl
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

May 14th, 2013, 10:41 am

 

zoo said:

Despite Qatar’s pressures, Tunisia will not give the Syrian Embassy in Tunis to the opposition,

La Tunisie ne livrera pas le siège de l’ambassade de Syrie à Tunis à l’opposition syrienne
2013-04-19

http://www.leaders.com.tn/article/la-tunisie-ne-livrera-pas-le-siege-de-l-ambassade-de-syrie-a-tunis-a-l-opposition-syrienne?id=11255

May 14th, 2013, 10:52 am

 

Visitor said:

No room for Assheads in Syria,

http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/syria/2013/05/14/?????-????-?????-??????-???-?????-???????-????-??????-.html

Assheads must be executed.

May 14th, 2013, 10:56 am

 

Tara said:

#

I am sorry you don’t care. I thought you did.

May 14th, 2013, 11:02 am

 

revenire said:

Visitor you’re in the United States. Calm down.

May 14th, 2013, 11:02 am

 

Dawoud said:

Exposing the hypocrisy of Hasan Nasras$

May 14th, 2013, 11:11 am

 

zoo said:

The Arab “Friends” of Syria will not support the conference if it does not abide to the “revised” version of their precondition:
They want a guarantee that neither Bashar Al Assad nor a close member of the Baath party would be part of the transitional government or candidate to the 2014 election. I wonder who will give them such guarantee, the USA? Russia?

Prominent opposition backers Qatar and Saudi Arabia, who support arming the rebels, threw their weight behind the proposal on the condition that Assad not play any part in Syria’s future.

Along with Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE, the Gulf heavyweights announced late Monday that they will support U.S.-Russian-led talks as long as “as “it takes in consideration that president Assad and his aides with blood-stained hands would have no place in Syria’s future,” the Emirati WAM news agency reported.

The countries are part of the so-called “Friends of Syria” group, a collection of Western and Arab nations that oppose Assad. The Friends group announced Tuesday that they will meet in Amman next week to coordinate on a united strategy for the June talks.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-14/217073-assads-fate-proves-sticking-point-for-talks.ashx#ixzz2THPrLBd4
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

May 14th, 2013, 11:16 am

 

Visitor said:

Reverse @101, Hizb akl alhawa

You need to STFU.

May 14th, 2013, 11:16 am

 

revenire said:

That’s it Visitor – flail about online as the army destroys the rodents.

If your rats are so holy why is God allowing them to be ground up by our army?

May 14th, 2013, 11:29 am

 

zoo said:

A new blow to the “Holy Hamsters Poops” and their supporters

Report: UN to blacklist Syria’s Al-Nusra Front as a terrorist group
May 10, 2013 by Laura Rozen

The United Nations Security Council is expected to formally designate the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front as a terrorist group next week,

Read more: http://backchannel.al-monitor.com/index.php/2013/05/5192/report-un-to-blacklist-syrias-al-nusra-front/#ixzz2THX0NCg7

Previously..

France wants U.N. to label Syria’s al-Nusra Front a terrorist group

Syria urges United Nations to list Nusra Front a terrorist group

May 14th, 2013, 11:39 am

 

revenire said:

Nusra to be designated terrorists by the UN? Awww. Let’s have a moment of silence for the death of the revolution.

May 14th, 2013, 11:41 am

 

Dawoud said:

??? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ???????
Hizbas$ ??? ???????is not only a terrorist organization and engaged in war crimes against Syrians, it is also a drug-dealing criminal entity:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/27/hezbollah-uses-mexican-drug-routes-into-us/

EXCLUSIVE: Hezbollah uses Mexican drug routes into U.S.

EXCLUSIVE:

Hezbollah is using the same southern narcotics routes that Mexican drug kingpins do to smuggle drugs and people into the United States, reaping money to finance its operations and threatening U.S. national security, current and former U.S. law enforcement, defense and counterterrorism officials say.

The Iran-backed Lebanese group has long been involved in narcotics and human trafficking in South America’s tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Increasingly, however, it is relying on Mexican narcotics syndicates that control access to transit routes into the U.S.

Hezbollah relies on “the same criminal weapons smugglers, document traffickers and transportation experts as the drug cartels,” said Michael Braun, who just retired as assistant administrator and chief of operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“They work together,” said Mr. Braun. “They rely on the same shadow facilitators. One way or another, they are all connected.

“They’ll leverage those relationships to their benefit, to smuggle contraband and humans into the U.S.; in fact, they already are [smuggling].”
[…]

May 14th, 2013, 11:49 am

 

Juergen said:

No joke, Ahmedinejad could be the first Mullah puppet who ends up in prison or if he chooses so with 74 lashes to be carried out in public, due to election fraud charges.

http://www.inquisitr.com/659609/ahmadinejad-charges-could-be-handed-down-over-election-fraud/

The second news, also no joke at all: Iran to chair UN nuke disarmament conference

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1474131

May 14th, 2013, 11:53 am

 
 

ziad said:

Turkish MP blames Al Nusra for border town attack

ISTANBUL // A Turkish opposition MP yesterday accused the Syrian rebel group Jabhat Al Nusra of planting the twin car bombs that killed 46 people in a frontier town this weekend.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, said he held the Syrian government responsible for the attack in Reyhanli. But Mehmet Ali Ediboglu, who represents the Republican People’s Party (CHP), claimed that rebels with links to Al Qaeda had exploited lax security in Turkey’s Hatay province.

He said he believed that Al Nusra had planted the bombs in the frontier area in a bid to drag Turkey into Syria’s civil war because the rebels have realised that they need help to overthrow Bashar Al Assad’s regime.

“This was the work of a very professional terrorist organisation,” said Mr Ediboglu, who represents Hatay in parliament, told The National by telephone. “It looks like an Al Qaeda-style attack,” he said, adding that Al Nusra had a strong presence on the Syrian side of the border region. “They want to get Turkey into the war.”

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/turkish-mp-blames-al-nusra-for-border-town-attack

May 14th, 2013, 12:56 pm

 

Dolly Buster said:

Al Qaeda has kicked the United States out of Iraq, so they will have no problem whatsoever in killing a few Alawite Shia bastards in Syria.

If you observe the long-term dynamics, the SAA began with 200,000 soldiers and rebels had 0. But now it’s 100,000 on the rebels’ side.

The aforementioned fact cannot be spun in favor of Russia.

May 14th, 2013, 2:00 pm

 

ghufran said:

Foreign and anti regime media is full of articles discussing an alleged plan to form an alawi state in Syria if the regime fails to end this war or if it loses Damascus. The idea does have a level of support among some Syrians,namely some christians and alawites, but I have not met a single sunni who supports the partition of Syria, such a partition,if it takes place, may not necessarily be along sectarian lines, many moderate and progressive suunis for example prefer to live with alawites and christians instead of being under MB and Nusra rule, in that sense, people who claim that the conflict is not entirely sectarian but rather ideological (secular versus religious) are not completely out of line, the proof that this war is not a mere shia-sunni fight is all over the place but talking about the subject in an honest manner does not help advocates of Nusra and opponents of Iran and Hizbullah, it is simply easier and less risky to keep regurgitating the same bile about the bad Shia and the holy Nusra fighters, but you have to admit that this rhetoric gets old and boring after a while.

May 14th, 2013, 2:11 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Cool, UN Declare NUSRA terrorist organization.

Of course all extensions of the dog-poop athad regime should be declared terrorist organizations, Al Nusra is no exception. So are all the hoards of thieves who formed theft-inc brigades composed of murderers, drug smugglers, and rapists, who were jailed before the revolution for competing with the athad’s clan criminal enterprise, but released in the fake (dog-poop amnethty) to empty space so that dog-poop athad and its mafia could torture and murder the best of Syria.

In fact, creating this terrorist organization is one more crime to hold dog-poop athad responsible for. So gloat, you fools. The demise of Al Nusra is a step toward the demise of their founder dog-poop athad.

Still that does not absolve regime dogs in Turkey from the explosions. It has direct dog-poop athad trademarks all over it.

May 14th, 2013, 2:19 pm

 

MarigoldRan said:

The country’s already BEEN partitioned Ghufran. Rebels control 2/3’s of the country, including all of the oil fields and the borders, with the exception of the borders to Lebanon. The Assadists control parts of Damascus, and most of Homs, Hamas, and Lattakia.

Most of the fighting is taking place in the disputed areas near Damascus, Homs, northern Lattakia, and Hamas. The Assadists have given up most of the country to try to hold onto what remains. They got whooped so badly last year that they’ll celebrate any minor victory they can get.

May 14th, 2013, 3:12 pm

 

Citizen said:

Mr president Bashar Al-Assad is going nowhere fast; the rebels refuse a place at the negotiating table, and many of them have pledged their allegiance with Al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda) ; and your Western-trained, funded and hired mercs are collectively losing their selves to Syrian Arab Army .

The West has made an absolute mess of this, and the Syrians want to decide their own destiny without foreign interference. And as long as Al-Assad has the support of the Syrian Arab Army, he is going absolutely nowhere.

So the only option for US is some kind of outright invasion of Syria, inviting the ire of the Russian government, and military fully help for the Syrian army on the ground.

Caution you, about the outcome for which you collectively wish. You could very much get absolutely not to your liking at all.

May 14th, 2013, 3:13 pm

 

Citizen said:

113
Give us from the end!!!!!Any new division from Bernard Lewis?????Syria is not divisible!

May 14th, 2013, 3:22 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Typical Citizen Sophistry in the service of reaffirming the obvious

Of course dog-poop athad is going no where… EVER SEEN A PILE OF SHXT walking around? you fool. It is as dumb as a rock.

May 14th, 2013, 3:23 pm

 

Citizen said:

It looks like the C-300 already in Syria!

May 14th, 2013, 3:51 pm

 
 

ghufran said:

The outcry after the famous heart-eating rebel video was aired does not seem to be dying down, this is from the Guardian:
(Hind Bint Utbah , the mother of Mu’awiyah ,allegedly ate Hamzah’s liver after the battle of Uhod, I was called a sectarian when I reminded readers how al-imam Hussein head was severed and placed on a spear and taken to Yazeed):
Horrific video footage of a Syrian rebel commander eating the heart or lung of a dead government fighter has aroused furious international controversy, fuelling an already heated debate over western support for the armed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The grisly film had been circulating for several days, attracting extensive comment on social media networks such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. But in the face of an often vicious propaganda war between the government and rebels, early doubts about the film’s authenticity faded when the perpetrator, named as Khaled al-Hamad, admitted that he had mutilated the corpse of an unnamed soldier as an act of revenge.
“We opened his cell phone and I found a clip of a woman and her two daughters fully naked and he [the dead soldier] was humiliating them, and sticking a stick here and there,” Hamad told the Time news website.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), an independent monitor, said: “The figure in the video cuts the heart and liver out of the body and uses sectarian language to insult Alawites [Assad’s minority sect]. At the end of the video [the man] is filmed putting the corpse’s heart into his mouth, as if he is taking a bite out of it.”
Hamad, also known as Abu Sakkar, said he also had video footage of himself using a saw to cut a Shabiha government militiaman into “small and large pieces”.
Yasser Taha, a fellow fighter, told the Guardian an unnamed female relative of Abu Sakkar had been raped and killed by government soldiers. Time said he had in fact eaten the dead man’s lung, not his liver or heart
(I mean no disrespect to anybody’s feeling,but I think the ugly truth about how evil and savage some of us have become must be exposed)

May 14th, 2013, 4:30 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Good news keep coming. S-300 is in (Russians use C). After its gangs burnt the country, d-p athad left no tree big enough, now Syrians have a big enough ????? so that they can ?????? dog-poop athad. Mertheeeeeeeeeeeee putin.

May 14th, 2013, 4:31 pm

 

revenire said:

Al-Qusayr: We can attest to the surrender yesterday of 231 FSA rodents from the Al-Qusayr area. The surrender was arranged through MI negotiators who were informed that the rodents had little ammunition and water left. The only condition the rodents attached to the surrender agreement was that their “status would be treated fairly”. The MoD did not commit to any agreement regarding deserters. According to Wael there were only 7 deserters, anyway. Hardly a big issue. There remain now about 1,200 vermin most of whom are FSA or civilian sympathizers. The J.N. is estimated at around 400. They will all be killed anon.

May 14th, 2013, 4:34 pm

 

revenire said:

Looks like Obama might be gone before Assad with his illegal arming of rats via Libya, his spying on reporters and using the IRS to attack the opposition.

May 14th, 2013, 4:36 pm

 

revenire said:

IDLIB:

At the Abu-Dhuhoor Airbase, the SAA continues to add more fertilizer to the surrounding fields by killing rats and leaving their bodies to putrefact in the hot sun. Nobody will pick up the bodies because of the number of snipers in the area. But, rat efforts to infiltrate the base have met with consistently miserable results for Saleem Idrees and his American terrorism enablers. We can confirm that the SAA killed 87 rats around the base yesterday in another debacle worthy of the great Saleem Idrees. Wael reports that spotters counted 29 direct hits on the enemy causing wounds.

Al-Nayrab Youth Camp (YAWN): That’s right folks. They’re still trying to take over this base even though all large stores of weapons have been removed months ago. No details.

Same area, at the Brick Factory, militia killed the following skunks:

Alaa’ Mustafa
Jaassem Khaleefa
Yazeed Sayyaaf
Mahmoud Ghaazi

May 14th, 2013, 4:36 pm

 

revenire said:

Those S-300s are really nice. I’ve seen them tested. I can’t wait until we transfer them to Iran and Hezbollah.

Cheers.

May 14th, 2013, 4:56 pm

 

revenire said:

Syria Honors Martys… Tawfik al-Bouti Elected President of Levant Scholars’ Union

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Ministry of Endowments on Tuesday held a mass meeting for the Islamic scholars at al-Othman Mosque in Damascus in honor of the Homeland martyrs, particularly the martyrs of Mihrab who scarified their souls in defending the national unity.

The Forum was held under the title “the Martyr Scholar, Imam Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti and his impact in the nation’s unity.”

Minister of Endowments Mohammad Abdul-Satar al-Sayyed said that the martyrdom for God’s sake is the highest value and the martyrs are alive through their works and impacts, adding “Martyr al-Bouti was am example in his efforts to unify the nation and enlighten the mentality of its sons.”

Dr. Mohammad Tawfik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti, for his part, said that his father will remain alive in the hearts of the nation as his impacts will stay fruitful and useful to all.

He called on the Islamic scholars to assume their responsibilities during this dangerous stage of the nation’s life and uncover the reality of what is going on.

Later, the General Conference of Bilad al-Sham (Levant) Scholars’ Union elected Dr. Mohammad Tawfik al-Bouti as President of the Union.

Mazen

May 14th, 2013, 5:07 pm

 

Citizen said:

Iran has S-300 + S-400 !!!

May 14th, 2013, 5:27 pm

 

Citizen said:

Syria has many others HIGH TECH NEWEST UNITS !!!

May 14th, 2013, 5:29 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

It looks like the C-300 already in Syria!

Citizen,

So why don’t they use them?

May 14th, 2013, 5:35 pm

 

revenire said:

Hasbara how would we know? Ask them.

May 14th, 2013, 5:39 pm

 

Citizen said:

130. AKBAR PALACE
The Israelis say that! read the Israeli newspapers!

May 14th, 2013, 5:47 pm

 

revenire said:

Citizen Akbar knows that and is only here to troll. He knows Netanyahu begged Putin today.

May 14th, 2013, 5:57 pm

 

ziad said:

Mideast Backlashes Yet to Come

In Syria, widespread revulsion against what has to be the most violent manifestation of sectarianism in the region has morphed into a new language to define the conflict there: Instead of being pro or anti-government/opposition, many Syrians are now underlining their allegiance to Syria first. Despite the international media’s partiality toward framing the Syrian conflict as a sectarian one, many pro-government and pro-opposition figures tend to reject this characterization outright. This is certainly notable among pro-government Syrians, many of whom have undergone a hasty conversion from political apathy to intense nationalism in a short time, and who reject being defined as “pro-Assad.”

http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/sandbox/mideast-backlashes-yet-come

May 14th, 2013, 5:57 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Citizen Akbar knows…

Reverse,

I really DON’T know. That is why asked Citizen why Assad didn’t use these AA missiles when he said, “It looks like the C-300 already in Syria!”.

Are they in a museum or what?
__________________________

On a more pleasant note, Israeli doctor saves life of Syrian girl…

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4380072,00.html

May 14th, 2013, 6:01 pm

 

Citizen said:

133. REVENIRE
Now Putin is rightly does not refuse himself the pleasure of taking in Moscow, one after the other – scared to death catastrophe “Friends of Syria”. Something like a parade of defeated enemies … Well, they have long mocked Russia and it is time to “skewed” to return their debts …

May 14th, 2013, 6:02 pm

 

ziad said:

Acts of terrorism by Israel against Palestinians in just the last 48 hours

http://uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/acts-of-terrorism-by-israel-against.html

May 14th, 2013, 6:12 pm

 

revenire said:

Hasbara concern yourself with trying to save the lives of Zionist settlers who will be huddled in bomb shelter if war breaks out.

May 14th, 2013, 6:19 pm

 

ziad said:

The last of the Semites

It is Israel’s claims that it represents and speaks for all Jews that are the most anti-Semitic claims of all.

Jewish opponents of Zionism understood the movement since its early age as one that shared the precepts of anti-Semitism in its diagnosis of what gentile Europeans called the “Jewish Question”. What galled anti-Zionist Jews the most, however, was that Zionism also shared the “solution” to the Jewish Question that anti-Semites had always advocated, namely the expulsion of Jews from Europe.

It was the Protestant Reformation with its revival of the Hebrew Bible that would link the modern Jews of Europe to the ancient Hebrews of Palestine, a link that the philologists of the 18th century would solidify through their discovery of the family of “Semitic” languages, including Hebrew and Arabic. Whereas Millenarian Protestants insisted that contemporary Jews, as descendants of the ancient Hebrews, must leave Europe to Palestine to expedite the second coming of Christ, philological discoveries led to the labelling of contemporary Jews as “Semites”. The leap that the biological sciences of race and heredity would make in the 19th century of considering contemporary European Jews racial descendants of the ancient Hebrews would, as a result, not be a giant one.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/05/201351275829430527.html

May 14th, 2013, 6:24 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Russia will NOT sell S-300 to the Syria dictator because it knows that sooner or later the FSA will capture them!

??? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ???
🙂

Free Syria, Free Palestine, Bahrain is Arab Forever!

May 14th, 2013, 6:37 pm

 

revenire said:

Hasbara go read the Mossad leak sheet DEBKA for info… we can’t be bothered with you. We are watching Syria Video and all the moaning rats.

Putin again warns Netanyahu hands off Syria
http://www.debka.com/article/22963/Putin-again-warns-Netanyahu-hands-off-Syria

Israel is concerned that Moscow may decided to send the six S-300 batteries carrying 144 missiles due for Syria along with Russian missile and air defense specialists. They will also be available for operating the missiles effectively for downing Israeli Air Force planes striking targets in Syria and Lebanon. Israel will be forced to think twice before attacking the S-300 batteries for fear of hitting the Russian officers. Putin is therefore placing a severe constraint on Israel’s operational freedom by spreading an anti-air missile cover over the Syrian, Hizballah and the Iranian Basij forces fighting for Bashar Assad.

True or not I find it amusing.

May 14th, 2013, 6:38 pm

 

Dawoud said:

??? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ???
🙂

May 14th, 2013, 6:40 pm

 

ziad said:

Syria Endgame Approaching Fast

The tempo of events in Syria has accelerated in recent weeks. The government forces have scored significant battlefield victories over the rebels, and this has provoked a mixture of war provocations and peace offers from the U.S. and its anti-Assad allies.

It’s possible that Obama wants to avoid further humiliation in his Syria meddling by a last minute face-saving “peace” deal. It’s equally likely, however, that these peace talks are a clever diplomatic ruse, with war being the real intention. It’s not uncommon for peace talks to break down and be used as a justification for an intensification of war, since “peace was attempted but failed.”

http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-endgame-approaching-fast/5334845

May 14th, 2013, 6:42 pm

 

zoo said:

If the opposition or any country part of the planned conference have already decided on the political outcome and the sequel of the conference before it is even held then there is no point in Syria participating in it.
The countries who made these decisions without consulting the Syrian people will have to implement them on their own and… out of Syria.

http://news.yahoo.com/syria-wants-details-us-russian-initiative-081544903.html

But Syria’s Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi stressed that Damascus will not take part in any political dialogue that infringes on the country’s sovereignty, and stressed that the president, constitution and the form of political system are among the sovereign matters and will be only decided by the “Syrian people and ballot boxes.”

“Syria’s political decision is clear, which is to go toward a political solution and support positive international efforts while fighting terrorism at the same time,” he said.

May 14th, 2013, 6:46 pm

 
 

zoo said:

The opposition and Arab countries are so certain that Bashar Al Assad will be easily reelected in 2014 through the ballots boxes, controlled by external auditors, that they want to impose the condition that he would not be a candidate before they accept to sit on the negotiations table.

They are doubly worried as in 2 years, they have not been able to find any candidate who could stand against Bashar AlAssad in the next election.
We have only seen only a show of weak and foreign-fed puppets with no guts, no charisma and no political savvyness.

That’s why they prefer that Syrians continue to die rather than admit they failed their revolution.

May 14th, 2013, 6:55 pm

 

Dawoud said:

145. ZIAD

I am Palestinian. Don’t use my cause to support a murderous dictator. 95% of Palestinians support the Syrian Revolution against the Syrian Dictator.

??? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ????: “?? ???? ??????? ???? ?????” ????? ??????????? ??????. ?? ??? ??????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? 1983 ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??????????? ??????? ???? ?????

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

May 14th, 2013, 6:57 pm

 

Dawoud said:

145. ZIAD

P.s., as I a Palestinian myself, I thank you for posting the link about my people’s Nakbah. But, please don’t use my cause to support a murderous dictator. 95% of my Palestinian people support the Syrian Revolt against the murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad.

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:01 pm

 

Citizen said:

??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???????? “?????? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????????? ?????????? ???????”.
???? ?????? ??? “????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????” ????? ??? ??? “?? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????” ??? “???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ???”.
???? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? “????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???????”.
????? ????? ?????? /???????? ???????/ ?? ??????? ??? ?????? “?? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????? ????? ???????? ??????????”.
???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????? ????? “??? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?????”.
???? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ?????? “?? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????????.. ??? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ?????????”.
http://aksalser.net/news/view/1978.html

May 14th, 2013, 7:04 pm

 

Dawoud said:

?? ?? ????

??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??????????? ?? ?? ??????, ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ????? ?? ????? ???????????

May 14th, 2013, 7:07 pm

 
 

Citizen said:

due to instability in Libya in Libya ability to provide consular services to U.S. citizens are strongly limited.

May 14th, 2013, 7:14 pm

 

Dawoud said:

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:14 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:21 pm

 

Dawoud said:

154. AMEERA

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:27 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:40 pm

 

Dawoud said:

??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????. ???? ??? , ????? ?? ??? ?? ????

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:45 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:50 pm

 

dawoud said:

158. Ameera

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 7:55 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Dawoud,

When it the last time you visited Palestine?

How do you like it there?

May 14th, 2013, 8:23 pm

 

Dawoud said:

160. AKBAR PALACE

In 2006 I visited Occupied Jerusalem. I was depressed to to see that the racist Zionist “Separation Wall” has divided my grandparents’ village into 2 halves. To visit my grandparents’ graves from one half to another I had to show a young/new Israeli colonialist/soldier from Russia (he probably new more Russian than Hebrew) my U.S. passport. Without my American passport I would have been treated like a dog and denied entry. However, it’s not always that an American passport saves you if young soldiers realize that you are ethnically Palestinian. I was also disturbed to see new Zionist colonies (they call them settlements) built on stolen Palestinian lands, including land stolen from my own family. I told my father, who is a U.S. citizen, to take the deed he possesses to his family’s land and sue Israel in an American court. Maybe a U.S. court would deduct a little portion from the U.S. charity (called aid) that the United States gives Israel to pay for my family’s stolen lands.

Free Syria, Free Palestine!

May 14th, 2013, 8:41 pm

 

mjabali said:

?????:

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

May 14th, 2013, 8:44 pm

 

mjabali said:

Coming back to Syria comment and reading the comment section is painful these days.

Dawud these days gets the award for the most annoying and irrelevant posts.

May 14th, 2013, 8:46 pm

 

revenire said:

Syrian Perspective
ALEPPO:

WHAT A MASSACRE! WHAT IS THE FSA DOING? FSA COMMANDERS (Joke) should be more involved in rolling grape leaves. I mean, what’s left for them?

Al-Shaykh Sa’eed: An early morning raid on a nest of sleeping serpents resulted in a big wipe-out. This was a group belonging to J.N., specifically the “Liwaa’ Al-Tawheed” or “Monotheism Brigade” (yawn). Here are the scum who carried papers. All told, SAA counted 21 reptile carcasses:

Muhammad ‘Ali Al-Rahhaal
Hassan Bajbooj
‘Abdul-Hayy Al-Muraabet
Muhssen Shawkaat
Anwar Kaamel
Fakhri Al-Baashaa
Rashaad Bakri

Aleppo City: At the Al-Daqqaaq Factory, the Cable Warehouse near the Harshu Hotel, SAA found enough weapons and ammunition to arm a full regiment of NDF fighters. Thank you Prince Fatso!

Al-‘Alqamiyya Service Station: NDF killed 15 rats in a firefight involving hand-to-hand combat. When the dust settled, these filthy apes were strewn all around:

‘Imaad Khursheed
Ma’moon Makkaar
Naasser-Al-Deen Kalaash
Muhammad Sa’eed
‘Issmaat Al-Daadaa

The SAA also confiscated a damaged mortar and 2 23mm anti-aircraft machine gun cannons. Thanks again, Prince Porky!!

The remaining J.N. freaks carried no papers. They are suspected Libyans or Tunisians from their appearance.

Mannagh: At ‘Ain Diqna. SAA and Air Force killed 4 rats and wounded 11. No details.

Maslamiyya: A 23mm machine gun cannon was only one prize among many with this surround and snuff operation that killed 8 rodents. No survivors. Very sad. But thanks for the guns and ammo.

May 14th, 2013, 8:51 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 8:53 pm

 

Dawoud said:

162. MJABALI

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

May 14th, 2013, 8:53 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 8:58 pm

 

Dawoud said:

166. AMEERA
??? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??????????

May 14th, 2013, 9:00 pm

 

Tara said:

Dear Dawoud,

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

May 14th, 2013, 9:10 pm

 

dawoud said:

168. Tara

???? ??????

May 14th, 2013, 9:11 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 9:15 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 9:20 pm

 

Dawoud said:

170. Ameera

🙂

It’s funny because the new Iraqi National anthem is based on the poem by the Palestinian poet from Nablus, Ibrahim Touqan. ????? ????? ???????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???

May 14th, 2013, 9:21 pm

 

dawoud said:

Ibrahims Touqan’s poem above is actually sung wit a Palestinian accent, but Iraqis do sing it with their heavier accent because its their post-Saddam national anthem. Perhaps, a free Syria should also adopt it as their post-Bashar national anthem. I would be proud to see a Palestinian poet uniting free Syria, free Iraq (although al-Maliki and Iran’s influence have to go before Iraq is truly free), and free Palestine!

May 14th, 2013, 9:28 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 9:31 pm

 

Tara said:

Ameera

Sorry but that is very not true. My both parents are from sham (Damascus) and we love the Palestinian.

May 14th, 2013, 9:36 pm

 

dawoud said:

174. AMEERA
??? ??????????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????. ????? ?? ????? ????, ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????????. ???? ???? ???????? ???????????? ??????

May 14th, 2013, 9:37 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 9:42 pm

 

dawoud said:

174. AMEERA
175. TARA

Not always, as Tara says, but sometimes refugees are treated harshly. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are treated worse than dogs. Unfortunately, I heard from a relative who recently visited Jordan that some Syrian refugees are receiving bad treatment. This is caused by a struggle for scarce space and resources, particularly when some people are ignorant or inhumane, or both.

I hope that Palestinian and Syrian refugees return to their homelands.

May 14th, 2013, 9:43 pm

 

Sami said:

But Tara there is truth to what Ameera is saying. We Shami’s have a rather backwards mentality when it comes to 2bn al-balad concept. You don’t see many shami’s marrying Palestinians…

May 14th, 2013, 9:51 pm

 

habib said:

Why is Landis spreading ridiculous, sectarian propaganda from unreliable sources?

May 14th, 2013, 9:51 pm

 

Tara said:

Dawoud

I do not love Syrians more than I love Palestinians. I can’t say that about any other Non-Syrian Arabs. To me, Syrians and Palestinians come first then all other Arabs . That is how I was raised.

May 14th, 2013, 9:53 pm

 

dawoud said:

178. SAMI

My mother’s mother was from Dera’h, Syria. My mother’s father married her when Palestine was under the British mandate and Syria the French. I guess a Syrian family is worried that their daughters would one day go to Palestine when the Palestinian refugees return. My grandmother never was able to visit her relatives in Syria after Israel occupied the rest of Palestine in 1987. She died in occupied Jerusalem in 1987. I visited her grave when I was visiting occupied Palestine in 2006. How my grandfather ended up in Syria as a young man and married a Syrian woman is a big/funny story. One day I may narrate it here 🙂

May 14th, 2013, 9:59 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 10:00 pm

 

Tara said:

Sami,

Hi. Then I must say my exposure was different. My mom would’ve had no problem with me marrying a Palestinian. Some Shwam do have backward mentality I must admit. It is kinda bourgeoise mentality. No one is good enough for their women but they won’t I guess hesitate to marry their girls to rich emirs from the gulf.

May 14th, 2013, 10:01 pm

 

dawoud said:

181. TARA

Thanks Tara. In 2006 I visited the Golan from the Israeli-occupied side and I could see Syria with my naked eye. We are so close not only geographically, but also intellectually. Bisan, which is complete ethnically-cleansed town that Israel now calls “Beith Shan,” is close geographically to Syria and many ethnically-cleansed Palestinians ended up as refugees in Syria. The same is true of another town called Safed ???, which Israel still calls safed. One Safadi man is the current Palestinian “presidetn” (real presidents rule really independent, not occupied, entities)Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas recently gave an interview to the Israeli TV and mentioned that he was giving up his right of return to Safed. This outraged Safadi Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and everywhere.
The right of return is sacred to Palestinian, Syrian, and all refugees. It’s a human right and part of international law-regardless of Mahmoud Abbas, Bashar al-Assad, et al. say or don’t say!

May 14th, 2013, 10:07 pm

 

Tara said:

Dawoud,

On a lighter note, I love the name “Bisan”. If I to have a second girl, I would call her Bisan.

May 14th, 2013, 10:13 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 14th, 2013, 10:16 pm

 

dawoud said:

186. TARA
????? 🙂

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

May 14th, 2013, 10:18 pm

 

zoo said:

This blog looks more and more like AA reunions…

May 14th, 2013, 10:19 pm

 

dawoud said:

189. ZOO

Better than DL (Dictator’s lovers) re-union. Please ignore him Tara!

May 14th, 2013, 10:21 pm

 

zoo said:

The opposition facing a lamentable fiasco from Qatar’s sponsorship turns to anti-MB Saudi Arabia for survival.

Saudis overtaking Qatar in sponsoring Syrian rebels

Hassan Hassan
May 15, 2013
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/saudis-overtaking-qatar-in-sponsoring-syrian-rebels

More political and financial support for the coalition will also hinge on who will lead it and the new interim government. Saudi officials made it clear that no support will be provided unless the coalition becomes more inclusive.

Ghassan Hitto, selected in March to head an interim government, will probably be replaced; coalition members are to meet soon about such moves. Mr Hitto’s appointment, widely seen as orchestrated by the Brotherhood, Qatar and Turkey, led several figures to suspend their membership in the coalition. His replacement will signal the consummation of that supposed Saudi takeover.

The Brotherhood’s power base in Syria is limited and exaggerated. And Qatar’s support for it is a major cause of the persistent division of the opposition. Membership in opposition political bodies was often decided by older members, not on the basis of merit or representativeness, but by personal connections. This has fuelled a staggering incompetence among opposition leaders, many of whom have limited experience in negotiations, much less with politics.

For example, the appointment of Mustafa Sabbagh as the National Coalition’s secretary general came after he showed up in Doha, before formation of the coalition in November, with 16 people he falsely claimed represented provincial councils across Syria. In fact many of them were his employees in Saudi Arabia, or his relatives.

Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/saudis-overtaking-qatar-in-sponsoring-syrian-rebels#ixzz2TKAyOD67k

May 14th, 2013, 10:26 pm

 

Dawoud said:

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

??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???????
🙂

May 14th, 2013, 10:30 pm

 

Tara said:

Ameera

???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ?? “???? ??????

One of the reasons are:

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

Have you heard of that saying? It makes me smile every time I hear it.

I am holding my breath waiting for Kandi to make fun of me now.,

May 14th, 2013, 10:31 pm

 

Dawoud said:

193. TARA
???? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ????

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

May 14th, 2013, 10:33 pm

 

Tara said:

Dawoud,

I was to it means a girl from Damascus.

May 14th, 2013, 10:41 pm

 

Ameera said:

???? ???? ?????? 😉

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

May 14th, 2013, 10:42 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave what are you going to do to liberate Palestine? Post emoticons?

May 14th, 2013, 10:44 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 10:45 pm

 

dawoud said:

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

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

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

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

Thanks Qatar!
Thanks Qatar!
Thanks Qatar!
….
And Thanks to the Kind Amir!

Now, where and win did we hear these thankful chants?

Didn’t these chants come from the same recipients of Qatari generosity, who are now dissing it? Heck, they may even now be living in a house re-built with Qatari charitable donation!

May 14th, 2013, 10:47 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave maybe the Zionists will get scared if you post that song from the porker again and run away from Palestine? Then you could take vacations there. You’re American right? Yeah, you are.

May 14th, 2013, 10:48 pm

 

dawoud said:

195. TARA

Thanks, I figured so! Free Damascus and all of Syria!

May 14th, 2013, 10:50 pm

 

dawoud said:

REV, Why not? Keep freedom-lovers happy 🙂

May 14th, 2013, 10:51 pm

 

Observer said:

The news of the massacres in Byada and Banias and the atrocities of the other side are coming out here is the NYT article. The gravity of a government sanctioned militia and army carry much more responsibility and accountability than the acts of individuals.

Here is the article, I sent to JL directly so that he can add it to the post
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/world/middleeast/grisly-killings-in-syrian-towns-dim-hopes-for-peace-talks.html?ref=world&_r=0

May 14th, 2013, 10:55 pm

 

ziad said:

Syria mutilation footage sparks doubts over wisdom of backing rebels

Anti-Assad fighter appears to eat internal organ of dead government soldier in horrific footage

Horrific video footage of a Syrian rebel commander eating the heart or lung of a dead government fighter has aroused furious international controversy, fuelling an already heated debate over western support for the armed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The grisly film had been circulating for several days, attracting extensive comment on social media networks such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. But in the face of an often vicious propaganda war between the government and rebels, early doubts about the film’s authenticity faded when the perpetrator, named as Khaled al-Hamad, admitted that he had mutilated the corpse of an unnamed soldier as an act of revenge.

“We opened his cell phone and I found a clip of a woman and her two daughters fully naked and he [the dead soldier] was humiliating them, and sticking a stick here and there,” Hamad told the Time news website.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/14/syria-mutilation-footage-rebels-eat

May 14th, 2013, 10:55 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 14th, 2013, 10:56 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave I noticed you said 90% of Palestinians support the Zionist attack on Syria. I call BS on that. Do you have a source for us?

May 14th, 2013, 10:56 pm

 

revenire said:

Cause Dave it is kinda hard for us to swallow that ANY Palestinian would support the Zionist attack on Syria. You know?

May 14th, 2013, 10:59 pm

 

dawoud said:

204. ZIAD

I actually agree with you and I am personally outraged over this inhumanity.

However, dictatorial repression corrupts BOTH the oppressor and the oppressed. Overcoming this sad reality means that Syrians have to work hard to overthrow the regime and try to have a democratic state that values the life and dignity of all human beings.

Do you think that the entire Palestinian cause should be illegitimate just because one or a few Palestinians commit outrageous terrorism or do something stupid? Doesn’t occupation corrupt BOTH the occupier and the occupied? However, the occupier ALWAYS bears the overwhelming responsibility.

May 14th, 2013, 11:01 pm

 

What we're reading – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs said:

[…] Fareed Zakaria The likelihood of ethnic cleansing in Syria’s coastal regions is high, argues Joshua Landis on Syria Comment. “It will rise even higher should Assad’s troops begin to lose. […]

May 14th, 2013, 11:02 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave there is no “however” when it comes to eating a dead soldier’s liver.

May 14th, 2013, 11:05 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave how many hours a day do you spend on liberating Palestine? We know you support the Zionists against Syria but did you also betray your family from Palestine?

May 14th, 2013, 11:07 pm

 

dawoud said:

207. REVENIRE

I don’t. I also don’t believe that Israel did this to help the opposition. In fact, the Israeli gov’t sent a message to the Damascus’ regime indicating that it wasn’t taking sides. Didn’t Israel discourage the West from giving effective weapons to the FSA? Why do you think President Obama is still giving the opposition only “non-lethal” aid? Israel’s preference for Syria is that no side prevails soon so that Syria could be destroyed and weakened for a long time. If you truly care about Syria and its future you and all all Syrian soldiers should turn against the dictator. Try to save what is left of Syria before Bashar takes it down with him!

May 14th, 2013, 11:07 pm

 

MarigoldRan said:

Retard,

How many hours do you spend as a loser? All of it?

What goes around, comes around. The war continues.

May 14th, 2013, 11:14 pm

 

ghufran said:

Since the discussion on this board is now inclusive of old shamis loving or hating palestinians and whether he who married a non shami girl is going to suffer for the rest of his life, I have decided to post this strange story about a fellow young Muslim who believes in the separation of “things” the same way many of us believe in the separation of religion and state, but this man takes a psychiatric problem that is common among religious middle eastern men, multiple personality, to a higher level:

Mohammed Ahmed, 21, was arrested for soliciting a prostitute last week while he was honeymooning with his new wife in Florida.
Ahmed was among 92 people nabbed in a sweep conducted by Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
The alleged john answered an online ad which turned out to be planted by an undercover deputy.
His wife called the police when he didn’t return to their hotel and was told he’d been arrested on prostitution charges !!
(I am waiting for a crooked sheikh who will issue a fatwa declaring that Ahmed’s action was halal under “ma malakat Aymanukom” principle since the prostitute was not a muslim, the only thing Ahmed has to do is state his intention to perform Jihad in Syria)

May 14th, 2013, 11:15 pm

 

revenire said:

They probably sent Assad a dozen roses too David.

Isn’t it odd how you accept the word of the Zionists? Very strange for a “Palestinian” to do.

We call that a contradiction.

Dave you are wasting time with me. I live, breathe and eat Assad (and not his liver). I am for crushing everyone against him. I am against any negotiations unless they are done with sarin-tipped Scud missiles.

You’re a very naive boy Dave. I think I might start to call you “Bibi’s boy” perhaps.

May 14th, 2013, 11:16 pm

 

dawoud said:

206. REVENIRE

Don’t change my words. I didn’t say that “90% of Palestinians support the Zionist attack on Syria!” I said: “95% of Palestinians support the Syrian Revolution against Bashar’s dictatorship!” This poll was conducted by al-Ummah Research Institute in Toulkarim. It also seems consistent with the views of Palestinian Websites, media, social networks, social gatherings in weddings and funerals, etc.

May 14th, 2013, 11:20 pm

 

revenire said:

Link the report that shows Palestinians support the Zionist attack on Syria Dave. It should be easy for you.

May 14th, 2013, 11:22 pm

 
 

Akbar Palace said:

Zionist Entity Training Begins in 3….2…1…

Dawoud,

I am glad you were able to visit “occupied” Jerusalem. You mean the big bad Israelis let you in? OMG! Before 1967 Jews were not allowed to set foot in the Old City when it was under Jordanian “occupation”. Consider yourself fortunate.

Throughout the 1900’s until Israeli independence, Jews were the majority in Jerusalem. That is until they were thrown out by arabs. Yes, it wasn’t just the arabs that were displaced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_history_of_Jerusalem

And the walls, they ARE ugly, but if it saves lives, then they’re beautiful, and the separation wall between the PA and Israel has saved thousands of lives. You see, unlike Syria, Israel believes in protecting her citizens. I think that is why not very many Israeli Arabs want to ruin a good thing. Freedom and opportunity is rare in the ME. The PA and Hamastan may be different, I don’t know.

But how did you like your visit to Palestine? How was Ramallah, Beit Lehem, Nablus, Jericho, Jenin?? And were you able to visit places in Israel besides “occupied Jerusalem”? What about “occupied Tel Aviv”? And since we’re on the subject of “Occupied” territories please tell us which part of Israel ISN’T occupied. I’m curious! Also, please let us know if the Arab-Israeli conflict should be settled peacefully through negotiations or by “armed resistance”.

Thanks in advance,

AP

May 14th, 2013, 11:23 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave if i wanted to see Zionist propaganda I know where to find it. I said LINK THE POLL with source citations. I call BS on you.

May 14th, 2013, 11:26 pm

 

revenire said:

Hasbara never use Wiki as a source.

May 14th, 2013, 11:27 pm

 

revenire said:

When the war comes I can assure you that Palestine will be fighting side by side with Syria and Assad / Hezbollah and Nasrallah / Iran against the Zionist Entity.

Traitors will be dealt with as all traitors have been dealt with during times of war.

May 14th, 2013, 11:33 pm

 

dawoud said:

218. AKBAR PALACE

I entered as a U.S. citizen on a U.S. passport and they still treated me less kindly than they treat any U.S. citizen. They gave me a visa only for 1 week, where as a regular tourist visa to any U.S. citizen is 3 months. However, if you are an American Jew you have the option of seeking what they call “Alia,” which means that you can-if you want-request Israeli citizenship, move to occupied Jerusalem or the West Bank, steal Palestinian lands and build a settlement, or live in an existing settlement or colony built on stolen Palestinian lands.

The West Bank was very depressing because the racist “separation wall” and the Israeli checkpoints make every Palestinian village and town like a tiny prison in the middle of nowhere. Moving from one “prison” to “prison” makes Palestinians’ and tourists’ lives miserable. You have to see it for yourself to experience the full de-humanization that Palestinians have to endure. Of course, you don’t see because when you go to occupied West Bank you are likely to go to an Israeli colony using Jewish-only roads, which are roads constructed on stolen Palestinian lands that Palestinians can’t use! I can go on on, but I can’t convince a pro-Israeli ideologue in the same way that I can’t convince a pro-Syrian dictator ideologue!

May 14th, 2013, 11:35 pm

 

dawoud said:

218. AKBAR PALACE

P.S.,

NO, and NO! Jews were NEVER a majority in Palestine until the ethnic-cleansing campaign in 1948! Watch the following documentary, whose historical narrative/facts are indisputable:

May 14th, 2013, 11:43 pm

 

dawoud said:

218. AKBAR PALACE

P.S., Again!

Stop using Wikipedia because it is not an reliable academic source because anybody can edit it and contribute to it. Professors in reputable colleges don’t allow any references from Wikipedia. Look at the below article on how Zionists are altering Wikipedia in order to change facts on Palestine. No wonder you are referring to Wikipedia!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/wikipedia-editing-zionist-groups

Wikipedia editing courses launched by Zionist groups
Two Israeli groups set up training courses in Wikipedia editing with aims to ‘show the other side’ over borders and culture

ince the earliest days of the worldwide web, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has seen its rhetorical counterpart fought out on the talkboards and chatrooms of the internet.

Now two Israeli groups seeking to gain the upper hand in the online debate have launched a course in “Zionist editing” for Wikipedia, the online reference site.

Yesha Council, representing the Jewish settler movement, and the rightwing Israel Sheli (My I srael) movement, ran their first workshop this week in Jerusalem, teaching participants how to rewrite and revise some of the most hotly disputed pages of the online reference site.

“We don’t want to change Wikipedia or turn it into a propaganda arm,” says Naftali Bennett, director of the Yesha Council. “We just want to show the other side. People think that Israelis are mean, evil people who only want to hurt Arabs all day.”

Wikipedia is one of the world’s most popular websites, and its 16m entries are open for anyone to edit, rewrite or even erase. The problem, according to Ayelet Shaked of Israel Sheli, is that online, pro-Israeli activists are vastly outnumbered by pro-Palestinian voices. “We don’t want to give this arena to the other side,” she said. “But we are so few and they are so many. People in the US and Europe never hear about Israel’s side, with all the correct arguments and explanations.”

Like others involved with this project, Shaked thinks that her government is “not doing a very good job” of explaining Israel to the world.

And on Wikipedia, they believe that there is much work to do.

Take the page on Israel, for a start: “The map of Israel is portrayed without the Golan heights or Judea and Samaria,” said Bennett, referring to the annexed Syrian territory and the West Bank area occupied by Israel in 1967.

Another point of contention is the reference to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – a status that is constantly alte
[…]

May 14th, 2013, 11:47 pm

 
 

Sami said:

Tara,

I was not saying I was exposed to xenophobia or anything. I just don’t see shami’s mixing with Palestinians very much in Damascus.

How many shami’s do you think have been to the moukhayamat for instance? Or for the amount of Palestinians in Damascus how many Nabulsi restaurants are there?

Personally I always found the fact that they had to live in moukhayamat rather than anywhere they wanted as a sign of intolerance. Yes, Syria treated Palestinians better than most that does not mean or translate to we treated them right.

May 14th, 2013, 11:52 pm

 

revenire said:

Yeah yeah we all know Wiki is trash but where is this poll where 95% of the Palestinians said they are for the Zionist attack on Syria?

It should be really simply to post a link to it right here, now.

Dave?

May 14th, 2013, 11:53 pm

 

Dawoud said:

213. GHUFRAN

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

🙂

May 15th, 2013, 12:15 am

 

revenire said:

Dave don’t forget me.

May 15th, 2013, 12:29 am

 

ghufran said:

I did not say this:
«?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????. ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? 20 ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????????».
but I heard this:
Syria will witness a number of assassinations targetting rebel leaders and chiefs of islamist groups, rebels have a small window where they may be able to retaliate for their losses in the last 6 weeks but that window is closing quickly.
do not shoot the messenger.

May 15th, 2013, 12:32 am

 

MarigoldRan said:

Eh. They’ll be some attempts at assassination, but overall the Assadists have shot the bolt. They’re incapable of re-taking AND holding any of the territories they’ve already lost. The most they can hope for is to hold onto what they have now.

Look, if they couldn’t beat the revolution 2 years ago, they aren’t going to do it now. Especially since they’ve grown much weaker and the rebels have grown much, much stronger.

May 15th, 2013, 12:42 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

sewer-pipe asks

how many hours a day do you spend on liberating Palestine?

Infinitely far more than what the entire “resistance” axis has spent since the first buffoon athad hijacked the Palestinian cause.

May 15th, 2013, 1:14 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Lest we forget the handy work of the pretender to humanity and its gang of murderers . revenire can bark as much as it wants, and pretend, like its master, connection to humanity and civility. The facts are there for all to see.

May 15th, 2013, 1:30 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

And while revenire and its friends dog-poop athad propagandists kept barking and calling for slaughter of children in Syria, real humans, who believe in higher values, are generally consistent in their condemnation of any atrocity.

Orwa Nyrabia-writes:

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

?? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ? ????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?????. ????? ????. ????? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????… ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????.

????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????(??).

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

??? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????: ??? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????.

We reject and condemn atrocities, especially when committed by someone who call himself one of us. On the other hand, the propagandists gang like revenire, zoo, citizen, and cut-past ann have been calling for atrocities and celebrating each and every single murder, massacre, and horror inflicted by their master and its army of hyenas.

May 15th, 2013, 1:46 am

 

Syrian Atheist Against Dictatorships said:

The international fury at “the human organ eating” opposition fighter (along with all the other furies before it – at the American soldiers’ urinating on the corpses of dead Afghanies) is in itself outrageous because the ultimate insult and basest act EVER is to KILL someone, to rob them of their life, what happens after that is absolutely a non-issue. cutting up a cadaver, eating it, pissing on it, well, it is DEAD, FFS! It is disgusting, yes, but don’t bloody tell me it is morally reprehensible more than having taken the man’s life in the first place! When I die I dont give a damn what happens to my body (and despite my atheism I have to admit harboring admiration for the Arabian custom of burying the dead out in the desert without any markings whatsoever over the tomb, just a little mound of sand that the wind will eventually flatten. Perfect!).

And in this case the cadaver was that of a soldier who died trying to kill others. But was that what the women and children in Bayda were trying to do when they butchered by the Assadist thugs? Just lined up and shot from right to left in front of their other family members.

https://www.facebook.com/ENGSPK?hc_location=timeline

BTW, Ghufran, sticking a dead fighter’s severed head on a lance was done in all cultures all over the world, not an exclusivly Arab or Muslim or Sunni thing.

May 15th, 2013, 1:47 am

 

Syrian Atheist Against Dictatorships said:

Correction above…”when they WERE butchered by Assadist thugs”.

I remebered another excellent custom of dealing with dead bodies, that of the Zoroastrians of Persia who left the dead on a mountain top so that vultures and other wild animals would eat them.

May 15th, 2013, 1:59 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Dave don’t forget me.

so desperate for attention…

May 15th, 2013, 2:46 am

 

Syrian Atheist Against Dictatorships said:

Here is real depravity for you:

“Omar survived what residents, antigovernment activists and human rights monitors are calling one of the darkest recent episodes in the Syrian war, a massacre in government-held Tartus Province that has inflamed sectarian divisions, revealed new depths of depravity and made the prospect of stitching the country back together appear increasingly difficult.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/world/middleeast/grisly-killings-in-syrian-towns-dim-hopes-for-peace-talks.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

May 15th, 2013, 3:14 am

 

Mina said:

As usual, the information is strangely distorted by The Guardian.
Paul Owen, in his article of the Guardian, fails to mention that it is the Time who has obtained the tape in April, as stated in the article they published on 12 May, about the cannibalism videotape.
http://world.time.com/2013/05/12/atrocities-will-be-televised-they-syrian-war-takes-a-turn-for-the-worse/
Until 2 PM, answering some readers comments who are questioning the precautions he takes in saying “appears to show” while the person figured is a famous rebel commander and he says what he is doing, he keeps taking HRW for coverture, without any mention of The Time. The chronology seems made up. He says the tape has appeared in the last few days and is being studied by HRW, whom director he calls and quote all day long. Is this meant to provide something “live” to the Mideast Guardian Live blog? How lower will The Guardian fall next time?
http://discussion.guardian.co.uk/comment-permalink/23530405

He finally mentions The Time, but this time to refer to an article “just published”, but he apparently has not yet read the first article, nor read the news round-up of SC!
http://world.time.com/2013/05/14/we-will-slaughter-all-of-them-an-interview-with-the-man-behind-the-syrian-atrocity-video/
In his comment in the readers comments section, Owen even uses the “more soon” trick, as if for once he was providing first hand information.
here: http://discussion.guardian.co.uk/comment-permalink/23532329

Poor Paul and poor HRW, afraid of getting their Gulf and rebel friends upset? Indeed, that would make it quite dangerous for his colleagues on the ground).
Paul Owen then suddenly refers to a new article published today in the Time

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2013/may/14/syria-video-appears-to-show-rebel-mutilating-corpse-says-human-rights-watch?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20main-3%20Main%20trailblock:Network%20front%20-%20main%20trailblock:Position7:sublinks&commentpage=2#start-of-comments

And the best was yet to come:
http://discussion.guardian.co.uk/comment-permalink/23533521
PaulOwen
14 May 2013 3:39pm
@Musa1 – This video was drawn to my attention by Human Rights Watch.

Owen deserves an award!! He’s not reading the Time nor SC, he’s just running a live blog without searching or studying the information!

May 15th, 2013, 3:32 am

 

Citizen said:

A Russian military expert on a Western air attack on Syria: “dozens of destroyed aircraft and coffins covered by star-spangled banners.” 🙂

Judging by the tone of Putin and Netanyahu after the talks, the degree of disagreement between Moscow and Tel Aviv on Syria is much higher than the degree of agreement

May 15th, 2013, 5:56 am

 

MarigoldRan said:

Right. Last time I checked Israel shat on the Assadists with absolutely no losses.

Assadist air defenses are rubbish. They also have absolutely nothing against cruise missiles.

May 15th, 2013, 6:02 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Dawoud,

Thanks for your reply. My feeling so far is that you are good person, especially since you are NOT an Assad or Hezbollah supporter.

I appreciate your attitude toward Palestine. As much as you support Palestine, most Jews support Israel, so you know how everyone feels. We aren’t different we just the opposite sides of the same coin. Dehumanizing people is the crux of the problem and if we’re ever to live in peace, the first step is to recognize this.

I appreciate your anger at the Israeli government. You have a right. Israel still occupies parts of Palestine (which parts really depend on a final settlement). Palestine is still not a fully defined, sovereign country, and unfortunately, it will take negotiations to reach that point.

But you completely ignored my questions! I don’t mind hearing about how much you hate Israel, but I would appreciate it if you shed some light on some other subjects. I’ll repeat my questions again:

But how did you like your visit to Palestine? How was Ramallah, Beit Lehem, Nablus, Jericho, Jenin?? And were you able to visit places in Israel besides “occupied Jerusalem”? What about “occupied Tel Aviv”? And since we’re on the subject of “Occupied” territories please tell us which part of Israel ISN’T occupied. I’m curious! Also, please let us know if the Arab-Israeli conflict should be settled peacefully through negotiations or by “armed resistance”.

I use Wikipedia because there are often footnotes to click on, etc. If you have better info, feel free to add another link.

My comment was the population of Jews in JERUSALEM. From 1900 to 1948, Jews were always a majority.

As far as Israel/Palestine is concerned, the majority was Palestinian. In 1950, it was about even, 50/50 (non-Wiki source) since many Jews left/were thrown out of arab countries :

http://israelipalestinian.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000636#graph1

Free Syria/Free Your Mind!

May 15th, 2013, 7:15 am

 

SyrianPatriot said:

German ABC suites appear in Syria.

The video shows how Alawites in Syria are producing allegedly chemical weapons. They are doing this wearing ABC Suites with German flags on the side.

wp.me/p1tlxA-1c

May 15th, 2013, 7:15 am

 

Ruud Wedding said:

Dear Joshua,

It is striking to see how a massacre has become politicized. It is even also very interpretative. However, we do understand the views and opinions as they are very influenced by one single video.

Massacres were committed in Syria even before 2010 as we remember the Palmyra prison massacre and Hama massacre both by Hafez al-Assad.

We’re not going with the views that massacres in Syria are related with ethnic cleansing. In our view, even the Al Bayda killings fits within the profile of random revenge tactics when Assad forces loose like in Taftanaz.

The massacre on the coast did not happened so suddenly. We see this monstrous crime as a response on boiling opposition we have monitored weeks before the killings. It also remember us Al Houle (Homs) and Al Tremseh (Hama).

We think that the Al Bayda massacre is just another Al Houle or Tremseh as Assad really don’t care who has been killed as long as he can stay in power.

So, if anyone only speaks about ethnic cleansing of Alawites he or she ignores the ethnic cleansing of Sunnis which is going on for much longer.

May 15th, 2013, 7:46 am

 

Tara said:

Sami,

Yes. The girl who shared a desk with me in 7 grade was Palestinian. I just assumed they were free to live anywhere. I am not really versed on Palestinian rights on Syria. Are they not allowed to own a house or live or work where they want to? That is a shame if true.

I never been to the refugee camp in Damascus but I also never been to Zainab place either.

May 15th, 2013, 7:53 am

 

annie said:

Cannibalism in Syria: why is this a bigger story than the routine slaughter of children?

Khaled al-Hamad said had no regrets about taking revenge

The revolution is not a dinner party, Chairman Mao famously said. Tell that to Khaled al-Hamad, the rogue rebel leader who had himself videoed biting into the heart he had just cut out of a Syrian regime soldier, now circulating wildly on the internet. We don’t actually see him consume the organ, but he appears to tear off a chunk with his teeth.

Actually, Chairman Mao’s dictum wasn’t even honoured in China. During the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution, Red Guards in China’s southern Guangxi province took rather literally the order to consume their capitalist reader enemies. According to investigative reports that leaked out in the 1990s, at least 137 people were eaten at banquets ordered by local officials. One woman was recorded by an internal inquiry as having torn the first strip from the roasted body of a school headmaster, her boyfriend’s father, to prove that despite the personal connection she was as “Red” as the best of them.

There is a point to this. Mutilating your enemy’s body and even eating his flesh are not, I think we can agree, good things, but they do have a long history. You can go back to the Iliad for the earliest great description of what happens when the bloodlust is up. As Hector lies dying in the dust, he prays his conqueror Achilles “by his life and his knees” to send his body home to his parents for a decent burial and not leave it for the dogs, but Achilles just glares at him mercilessly.

“Dog, talk not to me neither of knees nor parents,” Achilles says. “Would that I could be as sure of being able to cut your flesh into pieces and eat it raw, for the ill you have done me, as I am that nothing shall save you from the dogs.”

His fellows join in. “The other Achaeans came running up to view his wondrous strength and beauty; and no one came near him without giving him a fresh wound. Then would one turn to his neighbour and say, ‘It is easier to handle Hector now than when he was flinging fire on to our ships’ and as he spoke he would thrust his spear into him anew.”

Finally, and most famously, Achilles makes slits in Hector’s heels and uses ox-hide ties to attach them to his chariot, dragging the corpse around the battlement’s of his foe’s city.

Yet Achilles, though a petulant schoolboy in much of the Iliad, is still a great hero: as, it is said, was the British soldier (more recently) accused of slicing off the ears of dead Argentinians in the Falklands. Students of the Crusades reading of the ongoing and bloody battle over the town of Maarat al-Numaan, south-west of Aleppo, in the current conflict, can hardly fail to recall a previous “clash of civilisations”. During the siege of the same city in 1098, the Crusaders were reported (by their own side: no videos available) to have roasted the bodies of Muslim children on spits and eaten them.

Do these reminiscences lessen the crime? Of course not. But they make me wonder whether the horror caused by this latest video, which has been “shared” it seems far more than any of the other monstrosities this conflict has thrown up, is because such mutilations are now less commonly practised, more unusual, than in the past.

By contrast with the above, the overwhelmingly respectful funerals I have witnessed in Syria over the last couple of years have been rare moments of peace and higher feeling amid the carnage. A colleague the other day, while we were in Syria, described talking to a father who went through the lines to reclaim the body of his son. We were both reminded of the Homeric account above, which is why it was in my mind: after, Priam, Hector’s father, comes to beg Achilles for the body, and with its honourable return and cremation the Iliad ends: “Such was the burial of Hector, breaker of horses.”

There is a tension sometimes between journalistic and moral narratives. Although of course overall we may try to point out the bad so that the good can triumph, within that ambition there is also this: an event is more newsworthy if it is rare or strange. Other, worse, more important horrors are overlooked because they are common. In the town of Baniyas on 2-3 May, there seems to be little doubt that a pro-regime militia swept through two Sunni neighbourhoods slaughtering large numbers of those they found, shooting and knifing many to death. There are photographs – you can find them online – of piles of corpses of little children, aged from two or three upwards. Altogether there seem to have been scores of them.The nature of this crime cannot be fully revealed, because no newspaper, including this one, would publish such pictures. The media are happy to present a pixilated image of a heart-eater, however.

As a result, and of course because we have become so inured to such massacres, the Baniyas incident has received comparatively little international attention. Yet the killing of women and children in war has been regarded as an unspeakable crime throughout history: the Athenians’ massacre of the Milans in the Peloponnesian War caused great shock and debate at home, is referred to as the exemplar of genocide from ancient history, yet even they merely killed the males, and sold the women and children into slavery. That precedent may have often been honoured only in the breach – think of the hundreds of thousands of Muslims Genghis Khan killed as he swept through the Middle East, the same Genghis who is regarded as a hero in the Far East today – but it is still a fundamental principle.

Somehow, as well as honouring the dead, we have to keep our attention focused on the living, otherwise there is no hope. Suggestions on how we journalists can do this, let alone the leaders tasked with responsibility for ending the conflict, are gratefully received.

source : http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/richardspencer/100217033/cannibalism-in-syria-why-is-this-a-bigger-story-than-the-routine-slaughter-of-children/

May 15th, 2013, 8:18 am

 

zoo said:

The blame game about Syria: No Win for the West

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=58767

“So, everyone inside Syria is going their own way, fulminating at each other and with the western powers for not supporting them. The United States (and western Europe) have no good options, and their elites will therefore continue to shout at each other, each suggesting policies that will in fact be ineffective.”

This is not at all plausible for the editorial writers of Le Monde. They look at the visit of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Moscow as a betrayal. They call it “Western renunciation” of the demand made last August by the United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany that the resignation of Assad be the prerequisite for intra-Syrian political discussions.

Of the Western powers, it has been France that has taken the most overtly “interventionist” line. But when France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius gave an interview to Le Monde on May 9, he was asked whether France was not now taking a “wait-and-see position”? He seemed to be uncomfortable in his response, pointing to the fact that France could not resolve the situation by itself. He then outlined four orientations, the first of which was to “continue to push for a political solution,” endorsing to some extent Kerry’s trip to Moscow.

Prime Minister David Cameron of Great Britain has been another of the loudest critics of Assad. But he is noticeably shy about any military commitment. He made a now famous statement that he was not proposing any British “boots on the ground” in Syria. It seems no western government is ready to put “boots on the ground.” Even McCain does not advocate this. He merely says that it won’t be necessary because the United States can succeed in its objectives simply by means of a combination of a “no fly” zone, the use of drones, and military assistance to the rebels. However, the U.S. military has said repeatedly that a “no fly” zone is quite a major operation, one that in the end might necessitate the use of “boots on the ground.”

May 15th, 2013, 8:21 am

 
 

Akbar Palace said:

Annie,

In retrospect, do you think the arabs should have accepted the UN Partition Plan?

Anyway, today is Nakba Day in Palestine. 3000 Palestinians died in the Nakba. So far, we have about 82000 dead in the Syrian civil war and over 1 million refugees.

http://news.yahoo.com/palestinians-mark-1948-displacement-093248796.html
_______________

Benny Morris takes on Ilan Pappe:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/books/magazine/85344/ilan-pappe-sloppy-dishonest-historian?page=0,0&passthru=MWE4MzAwYzEwZTUxY2M3Y2VjZWEwODI4NTYyOTZlYmU#

May 15th, 2013, 8:34 am

 

zoo said:

#244 Tara

There is a lot you should learn about Damascus and the ‘evil’ government that you hate.

Palestinians is Syria, contrary to other Arab countries, have all the rights of the Syrians ( medical, education, family allocations, subsidies, free movement etc..), except the right to vote. The educated ones are conscriptable.
In Arab countries that were generous to accepted refugees such Lebanon and Jordan, they are treated as temporary guests with limited rights. These countries have limited economical means to support such a burden. They are helped by the UN.

No a single rich GCC countries accept Palestinian refugees. They only give them a timed work permit. That means that when the contract is over or they retire, they and their family, have to leave the country within a few days.

Now you can appreciate how ‘generous’ Qatar and KSA are and how ‘inhuman’ Syria is toward arab brothers…

May 15th, 2013, 8:38 am

 

dawoud said:

246. ANNIE

Again, thanks Annie for this excellent historical video on the Nakbah!

May 15th, 2013, 8:39 am

 

zoo said:

Revenire

“al-Ummah Research Institute in Toulkarim.” ?

That’s a Institute known worldwide. It is as famous as the Al Raqqa and al Aaazazz Institute for Strategic and Research Studies. How dare you doubt about its polls!

95% is 95% if David says it…!

May 15th, 2013, 8:48 am

 

dawoud said:

242. AKBAR PALACE

Ethnic-cleansing was Zionists’ planned tragedy to create a Jewish majority homeland. If you don’t want to criticize this Zionist war criminality, then you no credibility to criticize Bashar’s ongoing ethnic-cleansing of Sunnis in Banyas, the coast, and al-Qasir in order to create a friendly Alawi state as a last resort. BOTH should be criticized and combated legally and intellectually. In his well-publicized memoir, Yitzhak Rabin described asking David Ben Gurion about the fate of Palestinians in the Lod/Ramlah area, Ben Gurion poited a gesture with his finger indicating orders to EXPEL them. Rabin goes on to describe his role in expelling 70,000 Palestinians along the Latrun road east. This was only on one area, and-sadly-it make Rabin an ethnic-cleansing soldier. I did hear first-hand accounts of al-Nakbah from my grandparents, and if you-as a human being met them you would have rejected the Zionist ideology justifying stealing and colonizing somebody else’s lands.
Now, we do have reality on the ground and I do believe that everybody in historical Palestine (Muslims, Jewish, Christians…) should have equal rights in a democratic and secular civil state. Surely, it would mean that refugees and their off springs must be given the option to return. It also means ending an immigration policy based on religion. If you want to give every Jew the right to immigrate to this democratic state, you should give it to every Muslim and Christian….NO automatic citizenship just because of religious affiliation…

May 15th, 2013, 8:53 am

 

zoo said:

Do non-lethal UK and US aid include saws?
Syrian rebel atrocity video: No apology for ‘revenge’, more clips promised
May 15, 2013

http://rt.com/news/syria-rebel-eat-lung-revenge-307/

Hamad says as a Sunni he hates Alawite Muslims, which once again signals of the increasingly sectarian side of the Syrian conflict. UN warned of it as early as in December last year.

“Hopefully we will slaughter all of [the Alawites]. I have another video clip that I will send to them. In the clip, I am sawing another shabiha [pro-government militiaman] with a saw. The saw we use to cut trees. I sawed him into small pieces and large ones,” Hamad said in the interview. The rebel was initially reported to have taken out the liver and heart, but later it was concluded that it was a lung he was holding in his hands.

Khaled al-Hamad, a rebel fighter known as Abu Sakkar and commander of the Omar al-Faruq brigade in Homs, Syria, holding the heart of a Syrian government soldier after cutting it out from his dead body.(AFP Photo / YouTube)

May 15th, 2013, 9:00 am

 

annie said:

Akbar, do not mix the Nekba with what you call the Syrian civil war, which it is not. It is an insurgency against the Assad dictatorship.

The Nekba was perpetrated by people foreign to the region and who have remained so. Being stolen one’s land is worse than losing your life.
And yet, it could have been different had they not come with their ethnic cleansing plans. Palestinians thought they were dealing with a new occupation but the occupiers wanted them out.

I am waiting for a serious refutation of Pappe’s writings based on his research in the archives.

May 15th, 2013, 9:04 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Dawoud,

cc: Annie

I would dearly enjoy discussing the arab-Israeli conflict with you. Maybe later tonight. I am always interested in understanding all sides to a conflict.

Can you tell me why you can’t answer the questions I posed to you from the last 2 posts? Are these questions difficult? I am getting the impression that you simply cannot talk about Israel or Palestine without jumping to the grievances you have against Israel.

For the 3rd time:

But how did you like your visit to Palestine? How was Ramallah, Beit Lehem, Nablus, Jericho, Jenin?? And were you able to visit places in Israel besides “occupied Jerusalem”? What about “occupied Tel Aviv”? And since we’re on the subject of “Occupied” territories please tell us which part of Israel ISN’T occupied. I’m curious! Also, please let us know if the Arab-Israeli conflict should be settled peacefully through negotiations or by “armed resistance”.

May 15th, 2013, 9:19 am

 

Sami said:

Tara,

We have been spoon fed this crap that we have helped Palestinians and to prove our point we point at other countries mistreatment of Palestinians and how we in Syria don’t do that. Just look at Zoo’s reply…

Buying a house where ever you want is not a right a Palestinian could have in Syria, even working where ever they want is not a right they have. Ask any Palestinian what it takes for them to leave Syria.

You want to judge a society on how accepting it is, judge it on its social integration. As long as there are an “us” and “them” mentality there is no integration.

And Zoo no Syrian let alone a Palestinian has a right for a real vote, this concept has been stolen from us from your hero that you adore so much. But then again a no choice other than an Assad is a perfect choice for a baathist like yourself…

May 15th, 2013, 9:22 am

 

Dolly Buster said:

I really applaud this guy who sawed Putin’s soldiers with a saw.
He truly understands that you must communicate with Russo-Shiites in their own language.

May 15th, 2013, 10:02 am

 

revenire said:

Dave could not provide the source for his ridiculous comment that 95% of Palestinians support the Zionist war on Syria. It seems it would be simple to give a link to the poll doesn’t it?

Dave is a very sectarian fellow – no surprise there.

Maybe he thinks he can liberate Palestine with slogans. I don’t know.

I do know the only Arab nation that gave arms to the Resistance is Syria. That I do know.

May 15th, 2013, 10:08 am

 

ziad said:

???? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ????? .. ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? !

???? ?????? ????? ” ????? ” ??? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????? .. ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ” ???? ???? ????? ?? ??? ” ??? ???? ??????? ????????? ” ??? ??? ” ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ..
???? ” ?????? ” ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ???? ? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ” ..

http://shabab.ahram.org.eg/News/11590.aspx

May 15th, 2013, 10:21 am

 

AIG said:

DAWOUD,

Your ideas are very nice. Show me that they work well in ONE Arab country and I will be inclined to consider them. Until then, though your ideas sound great on paper, they are just a recipe for disaster. For every David and Tara in the Arab world there is a Revenire and a Zoo. Excuse me for waiting to see how you guys can live with these vile creatures in peace and in a liberal democracy. Until then, I deem your ideas too dangerous to implement.

May 15th, 2013, 10:21 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

The Zionists R Everywhere NewZ

Dave could not provide the source for his ridiculous comment that 95% of Palestinians support the Zionist war on Syria.

Reverse,

Maybe because Dave couldn’t find a Jew is Syria with a gun.

Arabs fighting for basic freedoms aren’t Zionists.

(thanks AIG, I was going to contact you since you know the subject well)

May 15th, 2013, 10:23 am

 

Dawoud said:

259. AIG
260. AKBAR PALACE

If you want to imagine how the expelled ethnically-cleansed Palestinians in 1948 during al-Nakbah (the great Palestinian Catastrophe) felt, imagine this hypothetical scenario:

You and I are setting in the comfort of our home (regardless of wheter it’s a mansion or a one-bedroom shack) and suddenly armed soldiers come and ask us to gather all the belongings that we can carry and they expel us far away from our homes and villages to a far anther city or country! How could you and I explain this to our old parents and little children. This is exactly what the Zionists did the Palestinians during al-Nakbah! Shame on Zionists and anybody who still defends their ethnic-cleansing!

May 15th, 2013, 10:43 am

 
 

Dawoud said:

…the song above, “The Night Fallen,” was dedicated to the Palestinian refugees-the bravest and most determined people in the world! Their return is a matter to their stolen homeland is a matter of time!

Sorry to the Syrians for posting about Palestine today because it’s the anniversary of al-Nakbah-the ethnic-cleansing of Palestinians and the robbery of their lands.

May 15th, 2013, 10:52 am

 

Dawoud said:

…the song above, “The Night has Fallen,” was dedicated to the Palestinian refugees-the bravest and most determined people in the world! Their return is a matter to their stolen homeland is a matter of time!

Sorry to the Syrians for posting about Palestine today because it’s the anniversary of al-Nakbah-the ethnic-cleansing of Palestinians and the robbery of their lands.

May 15th, 2013, 10:52 am

 

zoo said:

#257 Revenire

I like these polls.. 95% of Palestinians hate Bashr al Assad, 75% of Syria is in the hands of the rebels, more than 65% of Syrians want Bashar to leave..
Very convincing..

May 15th, 2013, 11:02 am

 

annie said:

some people will go home to night ! Thank you FSA and all the brave fighters.
BREAKING NEWS | THE #FSA HAVE STORMED AND CAPTURED #ALEPPO CENTRAL PRISON! TAKBEEEEER! ALL PRAISE IS DUE TO GOD!
_______________________

????????????????????? || ?????? ??????????

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

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

May 15th, 2013, 11:11 am

 

zoo said:

Tara

Contrary to SAMI who spits lies better than he writes, read the docmented information about Palestinian rights in Syria. They are what I wrote in a summary before..

This study is based on several sources: publications of the Syrian Ministry of Justice, statements from Palestinian refugee institutions, surveys of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PLO) in Damascus, and various other studies on the refugee situation in Syria and the other host countries. The study addresses the current legal status, demography, UNRWA, socio-economic and political situations of Palestinian refugees in Syria

Legislation and Palestinian Civil Rights in Syria.

http://www.badil.org/en/al-majdal/item/518-profiles-palestinian-refugees-in-syriahttp:/www.badil.org/en/al-majdal/item/518-profiles-palestinian-refugees-in-syria

One of the most important laws in Syria, which provides for the administration of Palestinian refugee affairs and ensures provision of refugee needs, is Law 450 issued 25 January 1949. Law 450 authorized the establishment of a Palestine Arab Refugee Institution (PARI) under the auspices of the Syrian Social Affairs and Labor Ministry.(1) PARI was later replaced by the Syrian General Authority for Palestine Arab Refugee Affairs (GAPAR), also a department of the Social Affairs and Labor Ministry.

Half a decade later, the Syrian government adopted Law 260, 7 October 1956, which granted Palestinian residents nearly the same status as Syrian nationals. Palestinian refugees in Syria were granted equal rights, for example, in the areas of labor and employment, trade, and military service. At the same time, Palestinian refugees were able to maintain the right to their Palestinian nationality. On 2 October 1963, Law 1311 was adopted to provide Palestinian refugees with travel documents. Unlike Syrian nationals, Palestinian refugees are not allowed to travel using only the personal ID card. Recently, however, a new law has been issued that allows Palestinian refugees in Syria to travel to and from Lebanon using the personal ID card (commencing 1/7/1999).

Under Law 1311, refugees must be registered with the Palestine Arab Refugee Affairs Authority in order to acquire a travel document. One of the most important articles included in Law 1311 is Article 10 which allows Palestinian refugees to return to Syria without a re-entry permit. Travel documents given to Palestinians by the Egyptian government, for example, do not allow its holder to return to Egypt without a re-entry permit. (see al-Majdal, issue no. 2) As with Syrian nationals, the travel document can be changed or re-issued by any Syrian representative office abroad.(2)

Palestinian refugees in Syria have the right to own more than one business or commercial enterprise as well as the right to lease properties. These rights extend to trade and commerce. Union membership in Syria is also open to Palestinians. Palestinians are free to travel throughout Syria and have the right to establish residence in Syrian villages and cities. As such, Palestinian refugees in Syria have achieved a wide range of civil rights. There is, however, a noticeable gap in the home and land ownership laws. Unlike Syrian nationals, Palestinians may not own more than one home nor purchase arable land. Palestinian refugees in Syria do not have the right to vote or candidate for the Syrian National Council or Presidency.

May 15th, 2013, 11:15 am

 

ghufran said:

A lot can be said about how Syrians treated Palestinians, most of you are NOT Palestinians but may have interacted with few, in a nut shell, no Arab or Muslim country treated Palestinians better than Syria did, most Palestinians in Syria today are at least suspicious of what is going on even that they may not support the regime, more Palestinians today are against rebels compared to 2 years ago especially after what the rebels did in a number of refugee camps, I do not know much about the guy here who said that he is a Palestinian, I agree with what he said about Israel but I know for sure that some of his political positions, especially those about Shia and Hizbullah, are not shred by the majority of Palestinians , therefore, do not take the guy seriously and just add him to the list of AIRs (accidental internet revolutionists), he has the right to talk but he does not represent Palestinians in any shape or manner.

May 15th, 2013, 11:18 am

 

Hanzala said:

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

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

http://alhayat.com/Details/513261

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh: It is impossible for us to side with the Syrian government that kills its own people

May 15th, 2013, 11:26 am

 

zoo said:

Qatar last desperate moves before the Geneva conference: make sure that its embattled protege, the SNC is not sidelined

VOA
Also Wednesday, the U.N. General Assembly will vote on a non-binding resolution that condemns Syrian authorities and accepts the opposition Syrian National Coalition as party to a potential political transition.

The resolution, drafted by Qatar, notes the SNC’s widespread international acceptance as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

The resolution also demands that Syria give a United Nations team free access to investigate alleged uses of chemical weapons. That team – authorized by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – is ready to deploy, but Syria has not allowed them into the country.

Russia opposes the resolution, and diplomats say the document is expected to earn less support than a previous resolution the General Assembly passed last August.

Also Wednesday, the U.N. General Assembly will vote on a non-binding resolution that condemns Syrian authorities and accepts the opposition Syrian National Coalition as party to a potential political transition.

The resolution, drafted by Qatar, notes the SNC’s widespread international acceptance as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

The resolution also demands that Syria give a United Nations team free access to investigate alleged uses of chemical weapons. That team – authorized by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – is ready to deploy, but Syria has not allowed them into the country.

Russia opposes the resolution, and diplomats say the document is expected to earn less support than a previous resolution the General Assembly passed last August.

May 15th, 2013, 11:27 am

 

zoo said:

Arab Christians suffer as Islamists rise to power

by Fiorello Provera
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/05/16/commentary/arab-christians-suffer-as-islamists-rise-to-power/#.UZOqEjfIeEU
May 16, 2013

BRUSSELS – The recent abductions of Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Paul Yazigi, reflect not only the increasing brutality of Syria’s civil war, but also the escalating crisis for Christians across the Arab world — one that could end up driving them away altogether.

According to the International Society for Human Rights, 80 percent of all acts of religious persecution worldwide in 2012 were directed at Christians.

This surge in discrimination against Christian communities in countries where they have lived for many centuries can be explained largely by increasing Islamist militancy and the rise of political Islam in the wake of the Arab Spring.

As Islamist parties have taken power in the region, a wave of intimidation and discrimination has been unleashed on Christian minority populations

May 15th, 2013, 11:31 am

 

ziad said:

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

?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????????? ????????????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????????? ?????????? ???.??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????????????? ?????? ?? ????????????? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ??????? ????????????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???.???? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ???????.
???? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ????????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ?????. ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????????? ??????????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???????????????? ????????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ????? ?? ????????? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????????????? ???? ??????????? ?????? ????????? ???? ??????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???? ???? – ????? ????? ??????? – ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? – ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????????? ?????????? ??????????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ??????? .

http://ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=359357

May 15th, 2013, 11:33 am

 

Dawoud said:

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

So, when the Syrian regime supports the Palestinian cause, it is supporting a just cause. But, if Palestinians were to support a regime that kills its own people, they would be supporting tyranny and an immoral cause!

If somebody rescues me from a car accident, I am NOT obligated to help him rob a bank!

May 15th, 2013, 11:33 am

 
 

zoo said:

Neil Clark for RT

Peace will only come to Syria when the foreign countries currently menacing it start acting as fire-fighters and not arsonists. That means telling the rebels that its time to end their campaign of violence and to negotiate directly with Damascus. It also means accepting that whether or not President Assad and the Ba’ath Party continue to rule Syria, is up to the Syrian people alone, and not the US, Turkey, Qatar, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel or indeed anyone else.

The trouble is that the countries concerned have invested so much time and money into trying to topple Bashar al-Assad that it’s highly unlikely that they’ll change direction now, even though continuing with their destructive, destabilizing policies towards Syria only means that the bloodshed will continue.

May 15th, 2013, 11:38 am

 

AIG said:

Dawoud,

You can keep ignoring my points but that is not going to get anyone closer to a solution. Your ideas are great but since you cannot implement them in any Arab country, I am very dubious you can implement them in Israel. I will wait for your success in Arab countries first.

May 15th, 2013, 11:39 am

 

Dawoud said:

http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/437562

[?????].. ?????? ??? ???????? ?????? 10 ??????? ??????]

??? ????- ??? ???- ???? 10 ???????? ????? ????????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??? 65 ???? ??????.

???? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ????????? ???? ????? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ????????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????
[…]

May 15th, 2013, 11:39 am

 

zoo said:

Qatar is playing one its last card at the UN G.A trying by all means to disrupt and complicate the USA-Russia agreement. None of the previous UN G.A resolutions submitted by Qatar had any real effect. How much more bribing will Qatar do this time to get some votes?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/assembly-expected-approve-syria-resolution-19181298#.UZOsgDfIeEU

Argentina’s U.N. Ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval, asked Qatar, the lead sponsor, to water down language welcoming the establishment of the Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition group, and to eliminate a reference to “the wide international acknowledgment” that it is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

She said in a letter, written on behalf of a group of Latin American countries, that they also objected to language welcoming Arab League resolutions on a political resolution of the situation in Syria because Latin American countries didn’t participate in their adoption. Perceval also demanded that language be inserted “explicitly calling for no further militarization of the conflict.”

But the Qataris refused to make any of these requested changes, putting support from this group of Latin American countries in doubt.

The last Arab-sponsored General Assembly resolution in August was approved by an overwhelming vote of 133-12 with 31 abstentions.

Diplomats predicted that the resolution being voted on Wednesday will get a reduced majority of between 100 and 110 “yes” votes because of concerns about the divided opposition.

May 15th, 2013, 11:50 am

 

AIG said:

Dawoud,

Still trying to understand when you plan to implement your fine ideas in any Arab country. Why should we follow your ideas if they don’t work for you and you can’t even implement them in your own home?

Look, you are advocating some ideas. Isn’t it a fair question to ask why if your ideas are so good they are not implemented by you? Wouldn’t you be suspicious of someone who recommended a course of action and didn’t follow it himself? And ignoring this issue is not going to make it go away. You are not going to convince Israeli Jews that your ideas will result in a paradise unless you show us by example how your ideas actually lead to a paradise in ONE Arab country. All I see is being stuck with millions of Zoo’s and Revs. You can keep them, thank you very much.

May 15th, 2013, 11:59 am

 

ziad said:

????? ?????? ??????? ??????:????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????????..75 % ??????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??????????

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

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

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

?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??????- ???????? ??? ???

“??? ??????? – ?????? – ????????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ???

????? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????????”.

????? ????? ??????????? ?????? “????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? “.

http://www.mjhar.com/ar-sy/NewsView/81/58476/%d9%86%d9%87%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%a9_%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%b2%d9%85%d8%a9_%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a9_%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a8%d8%a7_%d8%a3%d8%b3%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b1_%d9%88%d8%aa%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%b5%d9%8a%d9%84_%d8%b3%d8%ad%d8%a8_%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b4%d9%86%d8%b7%d9%86_%d9%84%d9%84%d9%85%d9%84%d9%81_%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a_%d9%85%d9%86_%d8%a3%d9%8a%d8%af%d9%8a_%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%82%d8%b7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86_75_%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%b5%d9%88%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86_%d9%84%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%b3%d8%af_%d9%81%d9%8a_%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%84_%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a1_%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%ae%d8%a7%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%aa.aspx

May 15th, 2013, 12:19 pm

 

Sami said:

Zoo,

Nothing you posted contradicts what I said, and for your information all those laws were past in a DEMOCRATIC Syria, not your Baathist ideology BS that has done nothing for the resistance other than lose the Jolan… Even your own links show how much of a buffoon you are.

And for your information I don’t lie, that is your specialty. Like your filthy lie that I support Nusra. provide one link where I support armed conflict. The only thing I support is FREEDOM for my country from the clutches of sectarian thugs like you who support killing, maiming, and raping Syria for your own twisted ideology.

Filthy lying baathist, you make other propagandists blush with your inhuman adulation for a mass murderer.

May 15th, 2013, 12:23 pm

 

Syrian Atheist Against Dictatorships said:

Here is a page with a few reminders (and certainly not all) of the handiwork of the Assadist thugs about which the world did not bother to feel outrage or the need to have an avalanche of editorials followed by and vocal protests from governments and politicians.

http://www.therevoltingsyrian.com/post/50495350134/does-this-not-outrage-you

I repeat to all again: stabbing a man repeatedly, while alive, until he falls in a bloody mess then smashing his head with a huge concrete block til he dies is not as outrageous as chopping up a cadaver (= a dead , lifeless body, a stiff) and proceeding to bite a piece of it?

There are plenty of other examples to choose from to see and remember again. But sometimes the problem is not the eyes, it is the blindness of the heart.

May 15th, 2013, 12:37 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

AIG,

I asked the same question to Observer less than a week ago. I told him the ME was too violent for Israel to open her borders to Islamists, head choppers and organ-eaters. All I got from him was the comment that I am “racist”.

Akbar, do not mix the Nekba with what you call the Syrian civil war, which it is not. It is an insurgency against the Assad dictatorship.

Annie,

There are insurgencies all over the ME, and we’re supposed to allow that into Israel? Pul-eeeeze!

The Nekba was perpetrated by people foreign to the region and who have remained so.

Annie,

Jews were not “foreign” to the region. We were a minority, but not foreign. Before any talk of Israel, Jews were being massacred by holy Palestinians. We were a majority in Jerusalem. We had to protect ourselves from arab violence. Ring a bell?

Some things never change.

Being stolen one’s land is worse than losing your life.

Welcome to the war that Israel tried to avoid. You bring war upon us, you may lose land. Dirt and all.

And yet, it could have been different had they not come with their ethnic cleansing plans.

The ethnic cleansing plans would not have come to fruition if arabs accepted partition and if arabs were not killing Jews.

Palestinians thought they were dealing with a new occupation but the occupiers wanted them out.

Palestinians let the arab world speak for them when 5 arab armies invaded. But Palestine was not an independent state.

I am waiting for a serious refutation of Pappe’s writings based on his research in the archives.

I linked to Benny Morris’ refutation. Listening to Pappe’s youtube video, his main trust is that Israel is guilty of something. I disagree with him. Apparently he believes Jews should have refrained from creatng a state of their own. I say, he should give up his Israeli citizenship if he hasn’t already.

May 15th, 2013, 12:45 pm

 

Dolly Buster said:

Israel Hints at New Strikes, Warning Syria Not to Retaliate

Published: May 15, 2013

WASHINGTON – A senior Israeli official signaled on Wednesday that Israel was considering further military strikes on Syria to stop the transfer of advanced weapons to Islamic militants, and he warned the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, that his government would face crippling consequences if it retaliated against Israel.

The Israeli official said: “Israel is determined to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah. The transfer of such weapons to Hezbollah will destabilize and endanger the entire region.”

“If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies,” the official said, “he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate.”

????????
 
Obama has compromised the global order, by being an unresponsive wuss in light of aggressive commies in the Kremlin.

Israel is a positive actor here, because they are the only ones taking a stand, unlike the UN and the 4 Western powers.

May 15th, 2013, 1:08 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Israel is a positive actor here, because they are the only ones taking a stand, unlike the UN and the 4 Western powers.

q:o)

May 15th, 2013, 1:13 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Annie and juergen, both are admirable,good people,we are lucky to have them in this blog

Akbar Palace
jewish were minorities,why are they majority now?,if palastinians return to their homeland ,jewish will be minority again,there are over 12 million palastinians in diaspora.

I am from Damascus,and I am aware how people from Dimashq think about palastinians, but I am aware how people from Dimashq think about people from Deraa or Hama homs or dair ezzor, all of these ideas are stupid, we all one people and all equal

May 15th, 2013, 1:37 pm

 

Citizen said:

Let ? senior Israeli official uses the valerian! it will be much easier!

May 15th, 2013, 1:40 pm

 

Citizen said:

Putin again warns Netanyahu hands off Syria

Before Netanyahu’s arrival for the meeting, Moscow took two preparatory steps:

1. Russian diplomats leaked to the London-based Arab press a report that the S-300 missiles had already arrived in Syria. According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Moscow had delivered 200 launchers (probably missiles) and the Syrian missile teams already knew how to use them.
By this leak, the Israeli prime minister was being informed that his journey to Sochi was a waste of time and that the use of S-300 missiles for shooting down Israeli Air Force planes was no longer controlled by Moscow but by Damascus.
2. The prominent strategic analyst, Viktor Kremenyuk of The USA and Canada Institute in Moscow, reported Tuesday that Netanyahu arrived in Sochi to indirectly let Putin know that “Israel would destroy the S-300s when they are delivered and start being assembled.”
The deputy director of an important Russian think tank which advises the Kremlin on North American policy does not tend to make idle comments.
debkafile’s Moscow sources interpreted Kremenyuk’s remark as a means of informing the Israeli leader that Moscow was not impressed by such threats. Instead of pushing Putin to stop the S-300 missiles, Israel would be more advantageously employed urging the Obama administration to adopt a more realistic stand on Syria and Bashar Assad.

May 15th, 2013, 1:41 pm

 

annie said:

Akbar , discussions with zios are a loss of time.

You might not know about another Israeli “black sheep” i.e. Miko Peled and his sister. I recommend the General’s son

May 15th, 2013, 1:52 pm

 

Citizen said:

A Syrian Initiative by Some US Senators
A few days ago, US senators from both parties urged the Obama administration to intervene directly in the war in Syria. They believe Washington should increase the military pressure on President Bashar al-Assad in order to end the so-called “civil” war.
The Western media frequently calls the conflict in Syria a “civil war.” That is a lie. The fighting in Syria is not between government troops and some “opposition,” but between government troops and bands of foreign mercenaries acting under Islamist slogans. The West hires these mercenaries through its henchmen governments in the Middle East. They are quite well equipped. But the Islamists fight poorly, and they are being systematically beaten. Washington therefore is deeply concerned about the way things are going in Syria.

Senator Levin says the United States should work with its allies in the region to “step up to military pressure on the Assad regime.” Senator McCain has noted that the “strategic and humanitarian costs of the Syrian conflict are devastating both the Syrian people and American interests.”

McCain has fallen in love with Syria today just as he “loved” the war-torn country of Vietnam, which he bombed mercilessly when he was a naval aviator. Vietnam’s government showed its appreciation by keeping the future senator in prison for five and one half years, after which he spent a long time recovering on crutches. His limbs healed with time, and he gradually came to love many other countries and peoples, particularly Libya, and he learned to despise Russian President Vladimir Putin. He never forgot that iit was the Russians who supplied the Vietnamese army with air defense weapons.

The “good soldier” McCain believes that the US military should employ its capabilities to destroy Syrian government aircraft: “We have the capacity to significantly weaken… The changes the Assad regime’s airpower…” Of course. The senator from Arizona has already attempted to do something similar to that, and he knows what he is talking about.

Possibly as a mark of good relations with McCain, who once reviled John Kerry for his pacifism after he returned from Vietnam, the current Secretary of State urged Russia not to sell modern air defense systems to Syria. Russian air defense missiles evidently are still harmful to the honorable senator’s psychological health.

Russia’s Embassy in Washington reacted to Kerry’s statement by saying it is not authorized to comment on Russian arms sales to other countries.

Kerry said the sale of air defense systems to Syria could threaten Israel, the United States’ main ally in the region. After all, Israel takes advantage of the weakness of Syria’s military hardware to periodically carry out airstrikes on Syrian targets. The sale of S-300 systems to the Assad government could significantly reduce the fighting spirit of the Israeli Air Force, which is accustomed to acting with impunity.

Israel itself asked Russia not to sell Syria modern air defense systems. Reuters cited official Israeli sources in reporting that on May 9. The sources confirmed that Israeli leaders told Russian and American officials that the deal would be very undesirable, saying that S-300s would create many problems for Israel. “We have raised objections to this (sale) with the Russians…”

Israel’s Air Force fears encountering armed resistance. That is their problem with the deal.

Incidentally, it is worth noting that the the behavior of the United States and its minions today clearly shows signs of cowardice.. For all his fierce aggressiveness, Senator McCain still evokes some respect. He belongs to the generation that was accustomed to fighting the enemy face-to-face. The Americans mixed it up in Korea and Vietnam, although not always with success. Now they prefer acting on the sly, by proxy, using bribery and intrigues.

The initiative of the US Senators, who want to “end the suffering of the Syrian people,” in reality more closely resembles a desire to finish them off. The initiative resembles an attempt to inflict a coup de grace, except that Bashar Assad is not a mortally wounded soldier and is fully capable of fighting.

Kerry visited Moscow after reports of the sale appeared in the foreign press. Talks between Russia and the United States resulted in the announcement of a decision to hold an international conference in the coming weeks with the goal of finding a speedy and peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict area The New York Times reported that John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov said the two countries want to prevent a dangerous escalation of the conflict. It would be more accurate to say that Washington is greatly concerned about the prospect that Syria’s air defenses would be strengthened……..
http://www.journal-neo.com/node/120848

May 15th, 2013, 1:52 pm

 

Dawoud said:

????:
??????????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????, ???????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ????

http://palestinechronicle.com/palestinians-mark-65th-nakba-anniversary-old-young-cling-to-return/

Palestinians Mark 65th Nakba Anniversary, Old, Young Cling to Return
May 15 2013 / 7:29 am

Palestinians in Palestine and in the Diaspora mark the annual anniversary of the Catastrophe, also known as the Nakba, on May 15th every year as a result of the massive ethnic cleansing carried out by Zionists gangs in 1947-1948 which resulted in the displacement of almost 750,000 Palestinians from their villages and cities.
The plans of the Zionist leaders would not have been successful without the implementation of Plan Dalet (also referred to as Plan D) whose goal was the mass expulsion of Palestinians from wide areas of the historic British Mandate. The Plan was designed in the fall of 1947 and implemented in April 1948, however it was meant to be implemented after the withdrawal of the British forces from Palestine on May 15, 1948. It aimed at destroying and occupying Palestinian villages located along the highway connecting Jerusalem with Tel Alrabee (today’s Tel Aviv).
The plan included many military operations such as Nachshon, Harel, Bi’ur Hametz, Yevusi, Hametz, Yiftach, Matateh, Maccabi, Gideon, Barak, Ben’Ami, Kilshon and Shfifon.
[…]

May 15th, 2013, 1:56 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

Iran, Rusia, US and Israel ALL agree from DAY ONE in trying to change the popular revolution into a kind of Al Qaeda sponsored crazy terrorist activity (trying to make us believe they all eat hearts) in order to legitimate a new post-Assad pro-Assad dictatorship. At the end it is what they all need: DICTATORSHIP and the syrian people without freedom, dignity nor rights.

The truth is outside.

This excrement regime supported by excrement colonial, neo colonial and post colonial international brokers is going to resist because Obama will allow it to survive. In 10 minutes Obama and Netanyahu could kill Assad easily. We all know that.

I think Obama should be assassinated because he is a very big traitor to the idea of freedom, justice, peace, dignity and human rights.

May 15th, 2013, 2:12 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Asshead is not feeling good about the agreement berween Russia and USA,his people feel a trap, and they may have to refuse to attend, Lavrove will be embarassed since he said Syria delegate are named and ready to go, Asshead detected change in Russia
Asshead is against free monitored election,because he wants to rigg the election in his favor,he wants to be free to do that,we know he and the rats around him will never accept free transparent election,,they have played with election results for four decades.
Also Asshead does not want to see a neutral goverment with full authority,this to him means losing power.
Also Asshead does not want a conference that last only one week, he wants to kill time
The opposition should go,and should accept to meet with the international partners,Asshead will not comply, we need to finish this game and help causing rift between Russia and Asshead,This is the last game they can play, the meeting is doomed to fail because Asshead will not comply.

May 15th, 2013, 2:19 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Mouthpiece Ziad informs us that
??% ??????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??????????
75% will vote for athad in case an election is held

What a fraud, in dog-poop athad world farm it has to be 99.99% we will not settle for less than that.

May 15th, 2013, 2:23 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

POTUS: PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
POS: PRESIDENT OF SYTRIA (For real presidents like Shukri Quatli), but in lower case
pos: pile of shixt.

No more need for dog-poop athad. It is pos from now on, or should it be poth.

May 15th, 2013, 2:31 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

Obama, you are the real criminal here. After the mess in Iraq which caused the death of millions of iraquis and thousands of young americans who believed they were fighting for they nation, now that Obama only needs to push the key stone of the mafia-gang style iranian-syrio-russian terrorist dictatorship organization, now that killing Assad could mean the beginning of real changes, so now it comes Israel and Russia to dictate the rules and forbide Obama to do the job.

What a cheat is this Obama ? We are suppossed to cry for the 3or 4 Boston victims while the International Community IGNORES the atrocities of a dictatorship state against their people for two long years… with the active and necessary collaboration of Iran and Russia and the passive responsability of US, EU and ISRAEL?

Î pray for the people of Syria to keep on killing all members of this and next dictatorships until Russia, Iran, US and Israel lose the chessboard in the Middle East.

I know I am dreaming but nobody never ever thought a revoultion could be possible in Syria and it happened.

May 15th, 2013, 2:44 pm

 

habib said:

To Whoeve rposted that “anti-Sunni” Shia video. The guy even insults Hassan Nasrallah, so how mainstream can his views really be?

http://youtu.be/zRbnD-G3uE4

May 15th, 2013, 2:46 pm

 

zoo said:

Qatar has lost 26 countries’ vote in 9 months at the UN assembly from a previous identical resolution it sponsored in August. It got 107 over 178 votes. I doubt they will try a third time.

UN General Assembly approves nonbinding resolution calling for political transition in Syria

http://www.startribune.com/nation/207571951.html

The resolution was adopted Wednesday by a vote of 107 to 12 with 59 abstentions.

The support was far lower than for the assembly’s previous resolution last August denouncing Syria’s crackdown on dissent.

That was approved by an overwhelming vote of 133-12 with 31 abstentions.

May 15th, 2013, 2:48 pm

 

zoo said:

Poor Sandro

After calling for two years for the assassination of Bashar Al Assad, now he calls for the assassination of Obama..

May 15th, 2013, 2:50 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

ZOO

I should kill them all and eat their hearts with french frites

May 15th, 2013, 2:57 pm

 

zoo said:

#282 Sami

What you wrote is black and white on this blog, you can’t erase it or correct it. You now try to find ridiculous explanations (in bold) to hide you false affirmations.

Insulting me won’t change you blatant dishonesty in misinforming the people who ask a valid question.
No wonder the opposition is failing lamentably, they are all made like you.

May 15th, 2013, 3:03 pm

 

zoo said:

#301 Sandro

Sahteyn… Don’t forget to make a video and post it on Youtube.

May 15th, 2013, 3:05 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

And the guy even insults nus-lira

big deal………, many people have been doing it for months now… including atheists and quite few Shia Muslims.

And since when insulting nus-lira was blasphemous? what is next, ???? will be equated to god.

Will not send a tape, but here is one insult:

Nus-lira is coward pos* a traitor and a seller of his country and a murderer. It is a duty of anyone (including atheists) to insult such a traitor.

Note: Don’t forget nus-lira mini-it Aoun in your daily insults to nus-lira.

*pos: see this comment for definition.

May 15th, 2013, 3:10 pm

 

zoo said:

A third rebuff to Cameron and France about lifting the arms embargo rebels on the 27th may?

http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/austria-rebuts-uk-push-on-syria/33779/

..the Austrian paper Die Presse reported that lifting the embargo would “constitute a breach of international and EU law” and be contrary to the “principle of non-intervention and non-use of force” laid down in the UN Charter.

If the weapons ended up in the hands of the al-Nusra Front, it would also violate UN Security Council resolutions on al-Qaida, given al-Nusra’s stated affiliation”, the report said.
….
Austrians are believed to be expressing the views of a EU majority that has deep reservations over lifting the embargo and fueling the flames of war in the region.

The present embargo is due to expire on June 1, and the final decision on what to do about will probably taken at an EU foreign ministers meeting on May 27.

May 15th, 2013, 3:10 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Here is one of the billion reasons why d-p pos athad and its goons, including those on this blog deserve to be insulted by every true Syrian.

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

???? ???? ???? ???. ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ?? (?????) ??? ?????.

??????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????.. ????? ????? ??? ?? ??????.. ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ???????..
????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??????: ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????..
???????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ????????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ????????.. ????????? ?????? ??????.. ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?????.. ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???????? ????????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ???????????? ??????????.. ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????..

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

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

May 15th, 2013, 3:16 pm

 

Dolly Buster said:

298. zoo said:

The resolution was adopted Wednesday by a vote of 107 to 12

 
So, humanity condemns Bashar as a criminal. Interesting, huh?

I wonder who the 12 opposing votes are. Probably beacons of free market such as Venezuela.

May 15th, 2013, 3:22 pm

 

zoo said:

Syria: Civilians (mostly Palestinians) Come Under Fire From Rebels (video)

Sky’s Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall witnesses a crowd of pro-regime demonstrators being shot at by rebels in Damascus.

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor
http://news.sky.com/story/1091428/syria-civilians-come-under-fire-from-rebels

We knew what was coming and so wore flak jackets and helmets. The demonstrators knew what was coming, had no protection, and still walked straight into the line of fire.

The demonstrators were predominantly Syrian Palestinians, many from the Yarmouk district of Damascus who had fled when it was taken over by opposition forces eight months ago.

Some screamed at us: “Please tell the world the truth! We don’t want the fighters here, we want the army to kill them!”

A few carried the portrait of President Assad, others the Syrian or Palestinian flag.

One woman called the Free Syrian Army (FSA) “dogs” and said the men in Yarmouk were not Syrians but from Chechnya and Afghanistan. We could not verify this.

The armed men in Yarmouk had warned the demonstrators not to approach saying they would open fire.

The fact that a few Syrian army soldiers were accompanying the demonstrators made that a certainty.

About 1,000 people were in the demonstration. A few religious leaders and women were in the front rows as they approached where the opposition forces had a clear field of fire.

The shooting began almost immediately. A man went down, followed by others. The army officer who had insisted on escorting us was hit by shrapnel.

May 15th, 2013, 3:35 pm

 

zoo said:

Turkey’s Stubborn Erdogan Is Undone by Obama, Assad

By Fouad Ajami – May 15, 2013

Turkey wanted the Syrian rebellion armed and supported; it wasn’t troubled by the Islamist groups that had taken up arms. Moreover, the Muslim Brotherhood leaders were a known entity — Istanbul is their favored base — and the “Turkish model,” they proclaim, is what they want for Syria after the fall of the dictatorship.

The regime change in Syria that Turkey is committed to is not Washington’s program. Two secretaries of state, first Hillary Clinton, then John Kerry, have petitioned Russia to abandon Assad. At the core of Obama’s Syria policy is an unstated commitment to a negotiated settlement between the Alawite regime and the Sunni rebellion. The Turks know there can be no middle ground between the two.

The Turkish leader who will meet Obama this week is politically weakened; the Arabs he bet on appear in no need of a new Ottoman sultanate. And the American leader he will sit down with has shown a disturbing ability to avert his gaze from the pain and the ordeal of Syria — and from Turkey’s stakes in that conflict.

Read more: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/05/15/turkeys_stubborn_erdogan_is_undone_by_obama_assad_118425.html#ixzz2TONg8g52

May 15th, 2013, 3:44 pm

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

If Palestinians truly enjoy similar rights to Syrians, why then most of them live in a refugee camp and have not faired well. Palestinians are smart and cultured in general. Those who immigrated to the US have done well. Why didn’t they do well in Syria. Is it that their rights are only on paper ( like the rest of the Syrian people).

Taking about “paper” rights, an Iranian friend if mine sarcastically told me “and who care about the constitution? It is just a piece of paper.”

May 15th, 2013, 3:46 pm

 

5 dancing shlomos said:

an alawite state is not an idea from the govt of syria.

propagandists in DC fabricate this sort of lunacy for themselves and their lying kind in the media.

michael young?

thought his lungs collapsed under the weight of his propaganda. that he was put into a dumpster to be collected with the other refuse – fouad ajami.

when rats are losing, lying and crying are all they know.

May 15th, 2013, 3:51 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Zoo
107 against 12 ,it means 90% while Asshead got 10%,,you should be ashamed of such result, this infact is the same for syrians, 90% of Syrians will denounce Asshead and he will get 10% only,He would not get 10% if not for his sectarian issue,Jaafery did not say one word about ceasefire, did not mention the real number of Syrians who died at his boss hands, did not mention that he accepts dialogue according to geneva agreement.
Zoo if you are proud of 10% we are proud of 90%

May 15th, 2013, 3:52 pm

 

Sami said:

It is not an insult if what I wrote to describe you is true.

You are such a lying propogandist that really can’t write a single post without twisting and snaking your filth into it.

Prove me wrong liar, show me and everyone else my black and white post that spells out any of your deceitful and lying accusations.

May 15th, 2013, 4:24 pm

 

Wim Roffel said:

I was puzzled by the claim of Joshua that the Alawite population in the Syrian cities is new. What does he want to say with that? That the Alawites have less rights there – as many less informed readers will conclude? Why doesn’t he tell that Alawites weren’t in the cities due to widespread discrimination?

Then there is the claim that Sunni’s would flee too when Assad would win. Here too the article is convoluted and raising strange impressions. The people in the refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey are overwhelmingly Sunni. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t at least as much refugees from other groups. Only – they tend to go to the cities and the coast – and from their point of view Turkey and to a lesser extent Jordan are kind of enemy territory.

In fact there is only one group of Sunni’s that would flee: people who have actively participated in the uprising. That is still a rather large group and it is certainly good to take care of their position in negotiations. But to compare their fate with that of Syria’s minorities who risk being expelled en masse is missing something fundamental.

May 15th, 2013, 5:19 pm

 

zoo said:

#310 Tara

You obviously have never been in a “refugee camp” in Damascus. There are not tents camps or prefab dormitory. There are normal houses mostly inhabited by Palestinians regrouped according to the villages and towns in Palestine they came from. The place appears a normal suburb like many others around Damascus where Syrians live. The name of ‘camp’ stayed from the time they were kicked out by Israel in 1948 and took refuge in Syria.
Next time you go to Damascus, maybe you should visit more places that Mazzeh or Maliki to learn about city that you say you love so much and you know so little.

Palestinians in all the other Arab countries always envied the ones who live in Syria because they were treated respectfully as Arab brothers.
Just check for yourself the way they are treated in Lebanon or Egypt then you can appreciate Syria’s open policy toward Arabs.

May 15th, 2013, 5:34 pm

 

annie said:

Does This Not Outrage You?
Much has been said over the past two days in the world press about a sick video showing an FSA commander tearing the heart out of a dead Hezbullah fighter (sent to murder Syrians) in Qusayr, Homs and then eating it.

The video is vile. The act is vicious. The cannibalism is inexcusable.

However, the ‘outrage’ over this video has been proclaimed by Human Rights Watch to be “the most disgusting atrocity filmed in the Syrian Civil War”. Human Rights Watch is also quoted in dozens of the world’s most widely read newspapers, television programs and news media networks stating the same. The media in general has taken the same attitude, saying that this single video, is the worst thing to have befallen the Syrian Revolution (they incorrectly call it a civil war).

Honestly? This video is the worst you people have seen come out of Syria? If that’s the case, then allow me to educate you for a moment.

Countless keyboard pontificators, armchair generals, faux-leftists and of course, Assad’s supporters have pounced on this video, waved it like a flag in the wind, and declared that every Syrian who is not on Assad’s side of the massacre (again, not civil war) is a ‘dirty cannibal terrorist’. And yes, they apply that label to babies, children, women, the elderly and the 90,000+ martyrs that Assad’s forces have killed since March 2011.

Where was your outrage, dear fellow humans, when all of the videos below were released? I categorized (that’s how many there are now) them for you below. Can you watch them? Can you bear it? Can you stand it? Or will you look away? Toss our martyrs aside and forget us, or even worse, tell us that our 90,000 dead are all the result of ‘terrorists’ and/or the most elaborate ‘hoax’ of all time. Which is what the Assad regime has said since the first protesters took to the streets in Daraa on March 15th, 2011.

The videos below represent a tiny fraction of the entire body of videos released from Syria and represent a much smaller fraction of what actually happens across the country that is not recorded. I can say, with full, and disgusting, confidence that the Syrian Revolution, turned massacre, is the largest ever mass murder of the Information Age, where there is literally hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of videos to attest to that fact, many of them recorded and released in near real-time.

You can continue your outrage over the video of a cannibal ripping the heart out of a terrorist sent to fight on behalf of a sectarian warlord with the sole aim of empowering a dictator so that he may resume his reign of terror on the people of my country. However, you have no right to label it the ‘most disgusting atrocity’. No right whatsoever.

*These videos are by no means all or even the worst to have emerged from Syria. They are a sample that I have been able to find in the last 2 hours.

LEAKED VIDEOS OF ASSAD’S FORCES TORTURING AND EXECUTING CIVILIANS AND FSA: It is worth it to note that of the few videos posted below, Assad’s regime has not even gone as far as to acknowledge their very existence (of the videos), much less hold those in the videos accountable (since the regime is the one ordering such atrocities). It is also worthy to note that most major crimes by the FSA have been acknowledged and admitted. Even though the FSA is not a formal organization, nor does it have any type of structure or tangible line of command. The FSA even published a statement about the cannibal video here(in my next post). Something Assad never has, or ever will do.

Assad’s forces torture and execute a group of men. Very difficult to watch

and there follows a gallery of horrors which you may watch here :
http://www.therevoltingsyrian.com/post/50495350134/does-this-not-outrage-you

May 15th, 2013, 5:48 pm

 

zoo said:

Sami

If you did not realize that you lied about the Palestinians who, according to you, cannot own a house, work or live in a place of their choice, then I won’t waste my time with you. You are hopelessly dishonest.
By the way treating someone of ‘filthy’ is an insult. If you don’t know that then it says a lot about you.

These are the lies you write out of ignorance and intended dishonesty.

“Personally I always found the fact that they had to live in moukhayamat rather than anywhere they wanted as a sign of intolerance.”

“Buying a house where ever you want is not a right a Palestinian could have in Syria, even working where ever they want is not a right they have.”

Go on spit your demeaning insults if it makes you feel good. For me you are nothing worth noticing.

May 15th, 2013, 5:49 pm

 

annie said:

???? ??????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???????? ??????? – FSA General Staff

The General Staff of the Free Syrian Army 15 / 05 / 2013

Statement:

recently footage has been relayed over social media networks showing a man who claims that he is a member of the Free Syrian Army during which he commits a monstrous act in cutting a dead soldiers heart out and portraying to eat it. The man in the footage also claims that the dead soldier is in fact a soldier from the Syrian Army forces and that this in particular soldier is responsible for crimes committed against civilians.
The General Staff of the Free Syrian Army Revolutionary and Military forces feel their urge to strongly emphasize and assure all, that we are the holders of a noble cause, a cause that calls for liberty and freedom and the rule of law for all of the people of Syria whoever they maybe and whatever their religious or ethnic description. We hereby state that any act contrary to the values that the Syrian people have paid their blood and lost their homes to will not be tolerated, the abuser will be punished severely even if they are associated with the Free Syrian Army therefore The Leadership of the General Staff of the FSA have sent out instructions to the field commanders to begin a prompt investigation into the matter in which the perpetrator will be brought to justice or will face detention hence a fair trial in which we seek to establish if the accused is in fact a member of the Free Syrian Army or not.

We urge our fellow citizens to forward their complaints of any offense committed by any individuals or groups that claim or appear to be in the Free Syrian Army or the opposition fighting forces, the complaints must be forwarded to the field commanders or to the FSA Leadership.
We also commend the efforts of any citizen journalist who contributes to exposing such acts as this is a contribution to our cause.

May 15th, 2013, 5:50 pm

 

annie said:

???? ??????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???????? ??????? – FSA General Staff

The General Staff of the Free Syrian Army 15 / 05 / 2013

Statement:

recently footage has been relayed over social media networks showing a man who claims that he is a member of the Free Syrian Army during which he commits a monstrous act in cutting a dead soldiers heart out and portraying to eat it. The man in the footage also claims that the dead soldier is in fact a soldier from the Syrian Army forces and that this in particular soldier is responsible for crimes committed against civilians.
The General Staff of the Free Syrian Army Revolutionary and Military forces feel their urge to strongly emphasize and assure all, that we are the holders of a noble cause, a cause that calls for liberty and freedom and the rule of law for all of the people of Syria whoever they maybe and whatever their religious or ethnic description. We hereby state that any act contrary to the values that the Syrian people have paid their blood and lost their homes to will not be tolerated, the abuser will be punished severely even if they are associated with the Free Syrian Army therefore The Leadership of the General Staff of the FSA have sent out instructions to the field commanders to begin a prompt investigation into the matter in which the perpetrator will be brought to justice or will face detention hence a fair trial in which we seek to establish if the accused is in fact a member of the Free Syrian Army or not.

We urge our fellow citizens to forward their complaints of any offence committed by any individuals or groups that claim or appear to be in the Free Syrian Army or the opposition fighting forces, the complaints must be forwarded to the field commanders or to the FSA Leadership.
We also commend the efforts of any citizen journalist who contributes to exposing such acts as this is a contribution to our cause.

May 15th, 2013, 5:51 pm

 

zoo said:

#312 Majed

Yes, be proud of Qatar. The draft was designed by Qatar “UN experts” to sneakily bind together in one single resolution some acceptable propositions, like the political transition with unacceptable ones like ‘wide recognition of the SNC’.
This is why there 59 abstentions…
In any case these UN assembly resolution are not binding, they are just some bones for the Qatari dogs to calm their rage of failing to remove Bashar Al Assad after 2 years and billions of dollars.

May 15th, 2013, 6:02 pm

 

zoo said:

UN General Assembly approves Syria resolution

http://news.ca.msn.com/world/un-general-assembly-approves-syria-resolution-1

The U.N. General Assembly approved an Arab-backed resolution Wednesday calling for a political transition in Syria, but more than 70 countries refused to vote “yes” because of its support for the main opposition group and fears the resolution could torpedo a new U.S.-Russia effort to end the escalating conflict.

The United States signed on as a co-sponsor of the resolution, saying it would promote a political solution. But key Syrian ally Russia urged a “no” vote, saying it was “counterproductive and irresponsible” to promote a one-sided resolution when Moscow and Washington are trying to get the Syrian government and opposition to agree to negotiations.

The resolution, which is not legally binding though it can carry moral weight, was approved by a vote of 107-12 with 59 abstentions.

It welcomes the establishment of the Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition group, “as effective interlocutors needed for a political transition” and notes “wide international acknowledgment” that the group is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. It also strongly condemns President Bashar Assad’s regime for its escalating use of heavy weapons and “gross violations” of human rights.
The Arab group decided to seek approval of a wide-ranging resolution on Syria in the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, to reflect international dismay at the increasing death toll, now more than 70,000, and the failure to end the more than two-year-old conflict.

Unlike Security Council resolutions, which are legally binding, General Assembly resolutions cannot be enforced.

May 15th, 2013, 6:12 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Zoo you sound extremely mad,think about it, over 150000 dead because of Asshead,then we see Qatar helping us, we should apreciate the good deed of Qatar, and we should be proud of such great Amir,and we should be disgusted with your Idol the murderer , anything that help defeat this monster Asshead is good,you are happy with 10 % we are happier with90%, you are probably tearing your clothes apart, pulling your hair,taking pills and pills of valium,breaking dishes , kicking your coach,pumping your head against the wall.
That is O.K. you are entitled to all of that,you need rest, a good night sleep, when you wake up (if you don’t see nightmares ) remember not to turn on to SC,or read Aljazeera, it is bad for your health.

May 15th, 2013, 6:25 pm

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

You give the regime the credit for hosting Palestinians. Read your own earlier post. The law integrating the Palestinians into Syria pre dated Assads and Ba’ath rule. Did I read the dates wrong?

I left Syria at 21. It was not typical for a 19 yo to walk around different neighborhoods in the city yo get to know them. There was nothing of interest to me at age 19 visiting Zainab’s shrine or the Harami market . Sorry I do not meet your standards..

May 15th, 2013, 6:29 pm

 

revenire said:

Annie there is no “however” about Nusra. You don’t go “yeah. that is bad BUT” with us. You support terrorism. It is that simple.

May 15th, 2013, 6:39 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara are you even aware that is was your Zionist allies that drove the Palestinians off their land? Your obsession – Bashar – was born in 1965. You can hardly blame Assad for the Palestinians being guests in Syria. Or maybe in your twisted mind you can blame him. I don’t know.

May 15th, 2013, 7:01 pm

 

Tara said:

Reve,

The criminality of Assad killing his own people is not matched by any entity in the history of the world including Israel so you know.

May 15th, 2013, 7:12 pm

 

ziad said:

The Most Famous American Journalist Exposes the Zionist Conspiracy

May 15th, 2013, 7:30 pm

 

revenire said:

Really Tara? As usual your obsession gets in the way of rational thought. Here is a list of World War II casualties:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

China and Russia lost over 50,000,000 people.

I realize no matter the crime you would say “yes BUT Bashar” because he is all you care about except he isn’t going anyplace so save yourself some stress sister and get a new obsession.

Try shoes.

May 15th, 2013, 7:50 pm

 

Dawoud said:

327. MAJEDKHALDOUN

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

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

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

May 15th, 2013, 8:26 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Syrian dictator’s military army and prison attacked by FSA, and UN condemns the dictator:

May 15th, 2013, 8:30 pm

 

revenire said:

I bet the rats are running out of men who are willing to eat livers and will find a few in a prison.

May 15th, 2013, 8:33 pm

 

Syrialover said:

TARA, yet again we see REVENIRE doesn’t read what others write before automatically screeching into print to drown out others.

You clearly stated that the Assad regime stands alone for killing its own people. The acts of a state on that scale against its own population has little precedent in history.

But Revenire counters that with stats on people who died on the WWII battlefield at the hands of enemies and civilians who died under enemy bombing or in war-induced catastrophies

He very lazy.

May 15th, 2013, 8:36 pm

 

zoo said:

Tara

If you lived such a short time in Syria and in a protected and ‘connected family, it is clear that you only speak for your class and the expats.

May 15th, 2013, 8:36 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Assad and his RATS tortured the 14-year-old boy/martyr from Der’ah and cut his penis. Why are the pervert al-Assad and his filthy pervert security forces obsessed with torturing a teenager’s penis? Shame on them, and shame on you for defending them!

Free Syria, Free Palestine!

May 15th, 2013, 8:38 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara’s “class” is the one booted out of Syria for treason. Yes, she speaks well for that class. You are correct sir.

May 15th, 2013, 8:38 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave if I remember the father thanked Assad.

Now Dave where is your 95% of Palestinians support the Zionist attack on Syria poll?You sort of went dead silent when I asked but not so fast brother. It is easy to post a link to this poll or doesn’t it exist? Did you lie?

May 15th, 2013, 8:41 pm

 

revenire said:

Syrialover Assad hasn’t killed his own people – that is nonsense. He is protecting his people.

He will easily be reelected.

Cheer up.

May 15th, 2013, 8:42 pm

 

Syrialover said:

The hysterical reaction to the desecration of a combatant corpse is mild and fleeting in my mind compared to the shocking image early on in the conflict of a frail elderly man, a respected village schoolteacher with a large family, on the ground being kicked to death by a group of laughing soldiers proudly wearing the SAA uniform and filming the event.

Incidentally, that was in a documentary back then that Asma Assad’s creepy daddy in the UK was emailing his son in law Bashar to dismiss and deny.

It was before Bashar turned the heavy weaponry and air strikes on the people of Syria, sponsored massacres and started destroying the towns and cities. Kicking old guys to death was just warm-up childs play for a “big man” like Bashar.

May 15th, 2013, 8:47 pm

 

Dawoud said:

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

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/05/201153185927813389.html
Tortured and killed: Hamza al-Khateeb, age 13
The mutilation and death in custody of a 13-year-old child has sparked further furious protests in Syrian city of Daraa.
Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand Last Modified: 31 May 2011 12:11

[..]
‘A crime against humanity’

Hamza’s father, Ali al-Khateeb, wanted to press charges against the army and security forces, said Hamza’s cousin. Instead, Ali and his wife were visited by the secret police and threatened.

“They said: ‘Enough of what has happened because of you already. You know what would happen if we heard you had spoken to the media,'” said Hamza’s mother, clearly terrified as she spoke to the local activist, refusing to give further details on the circumstances of her son’s arrest or death.
[…]

May 15th, 2013, 8:48 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave here are some Palestinians trying to get back into Yarkmouk the FSA shot at. The Palestinians hate the FSA. This is my answer to your lies about a poll Dave the Zionist supporter.

“FSA does the work of Israel, making Arabs refugees and don’t allow Syrians to go back to their homes. These FSA terrorists are called the “sole representatives of Syrian people” by Western governments, and they are not even Syrian. What more proof does anybody need that these terrorists are not ‘freedom fighters’ or even calling for democracy. They are guns for hire for the Zionist cabal and fat Gulf Arabs.”

May 15th, 2013, 8:48 pm

 

Dawoud said:

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

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

The non-gracious Hasan Nasrass ??? ??? ??????? is now dissing Qatar. Qatar should have sent its billions somewhere else:

May 15th, 2013, 8:58 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE wrote of Bashar Assad:

“He will easily be reelected.”

Quit your silly giggling, go wash your grimy face, get some sleep and dream up the imaginary time Bashar was ever once elected, let alone reelected.

May 15th, 2013, 8:58 pm

 

Dawoud said:

???
???? ???

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

“????? ?????, ???? ???”

The non-gracious Hasan Nasrass ??? ??? ??????? is now dissing Qatar. Qatar should have sent its billions somewhere else:

May 15th, 2013, 9:02 pm

 

Syrialover said:

It doesn’t take much to see the opposition as moral GIANTS and models of civilization and dignity compared with the vicious primitivism of the Assad regime.

First, we have the FSA and opposition stating their intention to investigate and punish any in their midst who are committing war crimes (http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-vow-to-punish-atrocities-after-video-outrage.

The Assad regime in 42 years has never done that. On the contrary, it officially encourages and rewards those willing to do the dirtiest, cruellest and most extreme acts against civilians.

AND

Second, we have opposition fighters seeking to learn the international laws of warfare and how to avoid committing war crimes (code of conduct with prisoners, avoiding harm to civilians etc).

Again, the Syrian regime teaches and orders the complete opposite behaviour. Insisting that all people in Syrian military and security services behave as criminal thugs who would face prosecution in the rest of the world. The Assads only employ killers, not fighters.

Article: “Teaching The Rules Of War In Syria’s Vicious Conflict”

Excerpts:

A Swiss-based group, Geneva Call, is hoping that a course in international humanitarian law can mitigate some of the offenses.

A recent workshop in Gaziantep, in southern Turkey, introduced Syrian opposition fighters to the international laws of warfare.
Osama Abu Zaid, a Syrian activist, organized the workshop on behalf of Geneva Call.

“They are hungry and eager for knowledge,” Zaid says of the rebels, whose ranks include government military officers who defected.

“They now realize they have done some things wrong,” he says.

“Fighters Not Killers” is the name of the two-day course that focuses on 15 principles of the Geneva Conventions that codify the rules of war.

The participants work on case studies that encourage them to link classroom exercise to their experiences in the Syrian civil war.

“They are learning the rules,” Zaid says as small groups go through the exercises. “For example, when the enemy is surrounded, they don’t have the right to shoot him, but must arrest him.”

Zakaria Haj Hussein is a police officer from Latakia who defected and joined the rebels.

“We came here to know international law and not to make the mistake of a war crime,” he says.

Hussein says he never had this training in Syria. As a policeman, he explains, the law says that officers are to protect civilians. But Syrian officials made clear, he says, that “we could do whatever we wanted” when it came to arrests.

The trainer, a specialist in international law has conducted workshops in other conflict zones and says “the knowledge” can make a difference.

“There is an impact on the ground. You see public statements change. You see the types of weapons change,” he says.

He knows the training has changed attitudes on the battlefield when he gets complaints from commanders who say that when the orders come to launch a rocket, “his men want to know, where?”

And when combatants start to carry maps and buy GPS devices to make sure they are hitting enemy soldiers not civilians, he knows the training has taken hold.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/05/14/183964565/teaching-the-rules-of-war-in-syrias-vicious-conflict

May 15th, 2013, 9:08 pm

 

zoo said:

#328 Tara

There is no point arguing with you. You always come out with far fetched arguments that do not stand scrutinity.
I am not going to waste my time trying to show you the complexity of the reality while you prefer to stay in your fairy tale of ‘evil’ vs ‘good’.

I guess I lost patience.

May 15th, 2013, 9:09 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

I expect that Qatar and KSA(thanks to them) will arm the opposition in Iraq to Maliki,Turkey will do too,The conflict in Iraq will force Obama to interfere

May 15th, 2013, 9:12 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Sister Tara:

Thanks sister Tara for making the pro-dictator folks lose patience and declare their intellectual bankruptcy. Defending a murderous dictator is really a tough job, and I don’t blame them for losing patience. One pro-dictator is still believing that the father of the martyr Hamza al-Khateeb spoke to the media in accordance with his free will!

May 15th, 2013, 9:13 pm

 
 

Dawoud said:

351. MAJEDKHALDOUN

Free Syria will promote freedom in both Iraq and Palestine!

May 15th, 2013, 9:19 pm

 

zoo said:

Opening a front on the Golan will be a magnet for Al Qaeda and all Islamists extremist fighters: The chance of their life to fight against Israel. It sounds like a excellent opportunity to liberate the Golan with the help of Al Qaeda

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Assad-agreed-Hezbollah-may-fight-Israel-from-Golan-313206

Report: Iran persuaded Syria to open a “new front” in the Golan for all Arabs and Muslims wanting to fight Israel.

Iran persuaded Syrian President Bashar Assad to allow Hezbollah to open a new front from which to attack Israel in the Golan Heights, Israel Radio reported Wednesday citing a report by the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat.

According the report, an Iranian source told the newspaper that Tehran is determined to prevent the fall of Assad’s regime in Damascus, because the Syrian president has been convinced to open the Golan to all Arabs and Muslim wanting to fight Israel.

The report follows similar claims last week that following alleged Israeli air strikes near Damascus, Syrian authorities considered allowing Palestinian armed groups to launch attacks against Israel across the Golan Heights border, as reported by Syrian daily Al Watan.

May 15th, 2013, 9:24 pm

 

Tara said:

Zoo

“If you lived such a short time in Syria and in a protected and ‘connected family, it is clear that you only speak for your class and the expats.”

Knowing how much this Tara abhors the regime, can you even start to imagine how the 90% of the Syrians who lived longer and in a non-protected, non- connected environment feels about the regime?

May 15th, 2013, 9:26 pm

 

MarigoldRan said:

The Assadists cut and run from the Golan, knowing that there’s no reason to hold it anymore.

It’s part of their pattern of retreat. What’s the point of calling it a government if it controls less than 1/3 of the country?

May 15th, 2013, 9:31 pm

 

Syrialover said:

Wow. Everything that needs to be said about how the Assads have been running Syria is in this simple statement from an ex-employee of the state, now doing training in normal Geneva convention codes of conduct:

Quote:

Zakaria Haj Hussein is a police officer from Latakia who defected and joined the rebels.

“We came here to know international law and not to make the mistake of a war crime,” he says.

Hussein says he never had this training in Syria. As a policeman, he explains, the law says that officers are to protect civilians. But Syrian officials made clear, he says, that “we could do whatever we wanted” when it came to arrests.

(Source – story I excerpted above: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/05/14/183964565/teaching-the-rules-of-war-in-syrias-vicious-conflict)

COMMENT: Hang on to that one for the school textbooks when Syria has a legitimate government

May 15th, 2013, 9:32 pm

 

zoo said:

Shias are more dangerous than naked women: Salafist MPs

By Searher about truth:
Is Sunni Relegion so weak that a visitor whoever they are will change their beliefs? Strange!! Then we should have another thought and reading to see what’s the source of this fear!

http://english.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/YouSaidInner.aspx

May 15th, 2013, 9:34 pm

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

You lost the argument too. The law in regard to the Palestinians pre-dated the Assads. Sorry but you can’t simply give al Ba’ath any credit.

I have not initiated this conversation. You did. And the feeling is quite mutual.

May 15th, 2013, 9:36 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave the link to the poll doesn’t exist because the poll doesn’t exist.

May 15th, 2013, 9:42 pm

 

revenire said:

Turkish students condemn government’s Syria policy

Hundreds of university students protesting the Turkish government’s stance on the ongoing crisis in Syria have clashed with police in the capital Ankara.

Turkish police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters who were marching towards the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

The demonstrators censured Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policies of funding and supporting the foreign-backed militants operating inside the Arab country.

According to human rights advocacy group, Bianet, about 30 students were arrested and at least two students were injured in the clashes.

The protest comes days after two explosions hit the Turkish town of Reyhanli near the border with Syria, killing more than 40 people.

On May 13, protesters took to the streets in the southern city to condemn the violence which they blamed on Erdogan for his support of armed militants in Syria.

A similar demonstration was held in Ankara on May 11, in which dozens of people marched in the streets and chanted slogans criticizing Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Turkey has been one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s harshest critics and has supported the foreign-backed militants fighting to topple his government.

Turkish opposition parties have censured the Turkish government for its intervention in Syria’s internal affairs.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/15/303718/students-slam-turkeys-syria-stance/

May 15th, 2013, 9:47 pm

 

zoo said:

The happy life of the Al Raqqah inhabitants. No wonder Mrs Hitto refused to settle there

May 15th, 2013, 9:49 pm

 

revenire said:

SL that NPR piece is pretty funny. Thanks for the laugh.

May 15th, 2013, 9:50 pm

 

revenire said:

I note the dress of those terrorist swine in Raqqah – that isn’t how Syrian men dress. They are foreigners.

May 15th, 2013, 9:51 pm

 

Tara said:

Reve

The majority of the Turks support Erdogan. The few hundreds students are probably Alawis from Hatay. They are against his policy in Syria for the obvious sectarian kinship, please do not fool yourself.

May 15th, 2013, 9:54 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara Erdogan is hated in Turkey.

May 15th, 2013, 9:58 pm

 

revenire said:

HNN Homs News Network
13 minutes ago
DR ARRESTED IN IDLEB MAKING DEAD TERRORISTS LOOK LIKE “ANGELIC MARTYRS” TO RECRUIT MORE FIGHTERS IN ADVERTISEMENTS !! ..

A Forensic Doctor that was arrested in a Village of Idleb, has confessed to Authorities that his job was to process dead fighters by changing their appearance, making them smile and appear as blessed martyrs, so they can be photographed and the images published online to incite future fighters for recruitment into coming to Syria …

THEY EVEN HAVE TO FAKE THEIR MARTYRS !! A FAKE REVOLUTION CAN ONLY RESULT IN A FAKE EVERYTHING ..

IDIOTS … – J

May 15th, 2013, 10:07 pm

 

mjabali said:

The video of the Nusra executing the three men is disturbing. I also saw today another Nusra video with a man executing around 12 men. It was obvious that he is not a Syrian, as well as most of those is slippers in al-Raqqa video.

They used to call al-Assad Army that Abu Slippers Army, now I see we went from the rule of one slipper to the other.

?????? ??? ?????…????? ?? ???????? ???…

May 15th, 2013, 10:11 pm

 

zoo said:

India abstains from voting on Syria resolution in UNGA

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-abstains-from-voting-on-Syria-resolution-in-UNGA/articleshow/20079556.cms

“Whether a group, any group, is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people or not can only be determined by the Syrian people, not this assembly,” Mukerji stressed.

“Therefore certain provisions of this resolution can be interpreted as effecting regime change by sleight of hand. This is a dangerous precedent which we cannot acquiesce in.

“We would once again reiterate our position that the leadership of Syria is a matter for Syrians to decide themselves,” said the Indian ambassador.

“Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, India has consistently called on all parties to abjure violence, dissociate themselves from terrorist groups, and pursue a peaceful and inclusive political process to address the grievances of all sections of Syrian society.

May 15th, 2013, 10:11 pm

 

dawoud said:

Unsurprising!

http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/05/01/widespread-middle-east-fears-that-syrian-violence-will-spread/

Assad Highly Unpopular

There is little public backing for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from the mostly Sunni Arab publics in the Middle East. Only the Shia in Lebanon (91%) have a favorable view of him. (Assad comes from a family of Alawites, a branch of Shia Islam.)

Roughly nine-in-ten Lebanese Sunnis (92%), Israelis (91%) and Jordanians (90%) have a negative view of the Syrian leader, as do eight-in-ten Egyptians (81%) and Tunisians (81%) and seven-in-ten Turks (72%). Even the Christians in Lebanon (63%) oppose Assad, despite the relative protection the Assad family has given the Christian community in Syria over the years.

The intensification of the conflict in Syria in the last year has not altered regional views of Assad. He was not liked in 2012 and he is not liked today.

May 15th, 2013, 10:12 pm

 

zoo said:

Erdgogan wants to get rid of the Syrian refugees by sending them in foreign countries. Why not ask allies Qatar or KSA to host them?

Turkey looks for international aid, and countries to host refugees, in Syrian crisis

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkey-looks-for-international-aid-and-countries-to-host-refugees-in-syrian-crisis/2013/05/15/02c92392-bcb5-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html

YAYLADAGI, Turkey — Facing one of the world’s largest refugee crises in decades, Turkish officials are urgently appealing for international financial assistance and calling on wealthy nations, particularly the United States and the countries of Europe, to start accepting large numbers of Syrian refugees.

The stance marks a shift for the Turkish government, which had long insisted that Ankara would manage and pay for the refu­gee crisis on its own as a matter of national pride. But with the cost to Turkey hitting $1.5 billion, an estimated 400,000 refugees in the country and a total of 1 million expected by the end of the year, pressure is building. Turkey is even willing to organize an airlift, Ankara officials said, but no country seems eager to receive the refugees.

“The international community should not only provide assistance to foot the bill, but they need to step up and open their countries to these refugees,” said Levent Gumrukcu, a Foreign Ministry spokesman. “They have utterly failed the test of providing an effective response.”

May 15th, 2013, 10:15 pm

 
 

Tara said:

Reve@ 368

Please inform us how can one process a dead fighter and makes him “smile” and appears blessed?

May 15th, 2013, 10:18 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE #364

But you think every single thing about the situation in Syria is hilariously funny!

You sit here around the clock making joke over-the-top comments, posting video nasties and giggling at your own naughtiness.

Obviously you feel extremely safe and remote from it, with no commitments in Syria or fear of being affected by events.

Interesting.

May 15th, 2013, 10:20 pm

 

zoo said:

“Obama spokesman accuses Republicans of leaking falsified Benghazi e-mail…”

Funny, it’s happening also in a “democracy”…

May 15th, 2013, 10:22 pm

 

Observer said:

TARA

There is no such thing as the ” complexity of the reality ” in Syria. There is a butcher mafia rule and the people are revolting against it. The mafia took hostage the sect to protect itself and now he who sows the wind harvests the storm.

Cheers

May 15th, 2013, 10:23 pm

 

zoo said:

Russia, U.S. plot peace talks for Syria

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0515/Russia-U.S.-plot-peace-talks-for-Syria?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fworld+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+|+World%29

The United States and Russia are ‘finding this common ground’ on the conflict in Syria, said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The two countries are now preparing for a peace conference in Geneva in June, which Syria is expected to attend.

May 15th, 2013, 10:31 pm

 

dawoud said:

377. OBSERVER

Excellent comment!

May 15th, 2013, 10:35 pm

 

zoo said:

Puzzling.. What’s happening to the SNC?

Syrian opposition not to attend Friends of Syria meeting in Jordan: minister
(Xinhua)
08:45, May 16, 2013

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90777/8245909.html

AMMAN, May 15 (Xinhua) — Jordan’s Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad al-Momani said Wednesday the Syrian opposition will not take part in the meeting of “Friends of Syria” group in Jordan, slated for next week.

Speaking at a press conference held here in Amman, the minister said “I have information that the Syrian opposition will not send representative to take part in the next week’s meeting.”

Al-Momani also underlined his country’s stance calling for bringing a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

On Tuesday, Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sabah Rafii said the “Friends of Syria” group will hold a meeting in Amman next week.

The meeting is expected to discuss the recent U.S.-Russian efforts to revive political options for solving the Syrian crisis, with the focus on coordinating efforts in light of the latest developments in Syria.

Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Britain, France, Turkey, Germany and Italy are set to attend the meeting, she said.

May 15th, 2013, 10:36 pm

 

dawoud said:

http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/05/01/widespread-middle-east-fears-that-syrian-violence-will-spread/

Assad Highly Unpopular

There is little public backing for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from the mostly Sunni Arab publics in the Middle East. Only the Shia in Lebanon (91%) have a favorable view of him. (Assad comes from a family of Alawites, a branch of Shia Islam.)
[…]

May 15th, 2013, 10:51 pm

 

dawoud said:

?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????
???? ????? ?????? ???
0.05% ?? ???? ?????? ??????
???? ?????? ??? ???
“Syria Comment”
60%
????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?????? “???????” ??? ??? ??????
?? ???? ?? ?????
🙂

May 15th, 2013, 10:57 pm

 

dawoud said:

I forgot:

Thanks Qatar!

“????? ?????, ???? ???”

???? ???

Thanks Qatar!

May 15th, 2013, 11:03 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 15th, 2013, 11:03 pm

 

Syrialover said:

It’s intriguing to imagine how sleazy Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s non-legitimate representative at the UN, sees himself and his future.

He would be an object of morbid curiosity at the UN. People must stare at the man promoting the regime whose actions have enraged, shocked and sickened the world.

A strong bad smell would surround him.

Everyone questions the sanity of the man playing a bizarre game, with his “employers” no longer recognized by any western or Arab governments. A man without shame or conscience or grip on reality.

Of course Mr Jaafari fancies himself as a very cool, westernized and sophisticated dude, a superior, cultured and highly educated Arab gentleman.

It’s pathetic and actually very funny.

May 15th, 2013, 11:45 pm

 

Sami said:

Zoo,

“If you did not realize that you lied about the Palestinians who, according to you, cannot own a house, work or live in a place of their choice”

Then why are there Moukhayamat that house Palestinians if they can live where ever they want?

Have you ever been to a moukhayam? Yes it is not living in squalor, but it is definitely no Malki or Abu Rummaneh…

How may Palestinians are there in government jobs, and what equal opportunity is there provided in the job market for Palestinians?

And btw as Syrians we can’t live where ever we like nor work where ever we like, so how in hell do Palestinians living in Syria have more rights than we do?

“By the way treating someone of ‘filthy’ is an insult. If you don’t know that then it says a lot about you.”

Then stop adoring the filth that has massacred more Syrians than anyone else in modern History and you won’t be called that. Continue to write your adulation for a mass murderer then a simple adjective as filth is wholly inadequate to describe the bone chilling, unabashed adulation for a genocidal maniac that you keep spewing.

And for your information had I been ignorant about something (which was not the case here) and shared an opinion on it, it does not constitute as a lie. In order to lie you need intent, such as your continuous intent to paint the massacres committed by your god as nothing but “cleanup and disinfection”, or your filthy lie that I support Nusra or that the revolution has displaced Syrians when in fact it is your filthy god that has.

“For me you are nothing worth noticing.”

Then why did you read my post to Tara and felt the urge to post and interact with me?

May 15th, 2013, 11:57 pm

 

sf94123 said:

It will be over soon. Bedouins were told to watch camel racing. Turkey to seal its border with Syria and for Jordan to follow suit. Destroyers, throat-cutters and jihadists were given a taste of their own medicine.

May 16th, 2013, 12:30 am

 

revenire said:

Sami you’re blowing smoke online. The SAA is mopping the floor with the scum who dared to disrespect Assad.

May 16th, 2013, 1:29 am

 

Badr said:

A reminder from a previous post:

Hilleary: What about Russia? Has it expressed any interest in support for a separate Alawite region? I mean, if you look at it geographically, Iran and Russia could certainly access them from the Mediterranean and support them for a while. Could they pull it off?

Landis: Absolutely. But it all depends on continuing support. If Russia and Iran continue to support the Alawites along the coast, and the Arabs remain very divided and perhaps settle into civil war, well then they could pull it off, the same way the Kurds pulled it off in Iraq. Unlike the Kurds, the Alawites would not have oil, which puts them at a grave disadvantage. Also, the Syrian Arabs are not going to let the Alawites take the coast if they can possibly avoid it. The coast is prime real-estate and Latakia is very vulnerable from the north. It is likely to become a battle ground as the war advances.

Hilleary: Well, the survival of an Alawite enclave is another question—

Landis: It will only happen over the dead bodies of the Sunni Arabs. Obviously, it’s not something that any Syrian Sunni Arab is going to want. It’s going to have to be taken from them. And whether the Alawites, in the long run, can manage, that is questionable. But so much of that depends on whether Sunni Arabs can unify. If they can, they will overpower the Alawites, who just don’t have the numbers.

May 16th, 2013, 2:24 am

 

Hanzala said:

A large part of Daraa city is controlled by the FSA, this is Daraa el Balad which is the old city. It is in FSA hands after Assad roaches were driven out.

May 16th, 2013, 3:52 am

 

Hanzala said:

???? ????

This is how Nusra deals with Assad animals, I like their style.

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

May 16th, 2013, 4:07 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

With Friends like that, who needs enemies

pos athad and its sniffers on syria comment should take special pride in their most staunch supporter in Turkey. When Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu, the leader of Republican People’s Party of Turkey, and the most outspoken supporter (and visitor) of pos athad wanted to take a shot at Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, he equated his arch-enemy with pos athad . Way to go cockroaches, your friend is describing his enemy as being as bad as the pos you have been sniffing with addoration.

May 16th, 2013, 6:39 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Mixed Grill

292. majedkhaldoun said:

Annie and juergen, both are admirable,good people,we are lucky to have them in this blog

I agree. There are a lot of good, freedom-loving people on this blog and that is encouraging. Of course, anyone who wants freedom is a ZIONIST, so I’m glad our paltry numbers are increasing!

Akbar Palace
jewish were minorities,why are they majority now?

Jews were the MAJORITY in Jerusalem until they were displaced, very much like the Palestinians. The Jewish/arab population 2 years after statehood was about 50/50 and it remains at about 50/50 today.

if palastinians return to their homeland ,jewish will be minority again,there are over 12 million palastinians in diaspora.

Yes, and if Jews return to our homeland it will be about 13-14 million. So we beat you by 1 million!

Point being, we have to share the land and end the conflict.

I am from Damascus,and I am aware how people from Dimashq think about palastinians…

Well? I’m sure it’s positive.

…but I am aware how people from Dimashq think about people from Deraa or Hama homs or dair ezzor, all of these ideas are stupid, we all one people and all equal

I agree. All people deserve basic human rights. All humans are equal.

The Most Famous American Journalist Exposes the Zionist Conspiracy

Ziad,

Thank you for that enlightened clip of the racist and anti-Jew David Duke. The reasons behind the regime change in IRaq is no “secret” conspiracy. Everything was public, everything went to congress and the UN. Neocons, BTW, are not just jews. Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld and dozens of others are not Jewish. OTOH, since the Syrian opposition are all Zionists and Jews, I’m not going convince you otherwise!

BTW – David Duke is not only a avowed racist, he was also a regular at the now-defunked Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-Up. A bastion of anti-judaism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zayed_Center_for_Coordination_and_Follow-Up

295. annie said:

Akbar , discussions with zios are a loss of time.

Annie,

Would you rather discuss things with Regime Idiots™?

Just because the conversations are difficult doesn’t mean we’re bad people.;)

302. SANDRO LOEWE said:

Obama, you are the real criminal here. After the mess in Iraq which caused the death of millions of iraquis and thousands of young americans who believed they were fighting for they nation, now that Obama only needs to push the key stone of the mafia-gang style iranian-syrio-russian terrorist dictatorship organization, now that killing Assad could mean the beginning of real changes, so now it comes Israel and Russia to dictate the rules and forbide Obama to do the job.

Sandro Loewe,

First you’re complaining that the US was involved in Iraq, and now you’re upset the US ISN’T involved in Syria.

Why is that? Thanks.

Dawoud,

Can you explain your hostility toward Hezbollah and Shiism? Is it because they support Assad? Hezbollah is a great supporter of Palestine, no?

May 16th, 2013, 7:25 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Well Hanzala
I don’t and I reject you, Al-Nusra, and their style. Rest assured that we will investigate Al-Nusra war crimes with the same zeal we’ll do for the crimes of pos athad and its hyenas. All perpetrators of war crimes shall and will be pursued.

Al-Nusra is alien to us, alien to our thinking and alien to Syrian society including the most religious among us. and has no legitimacy to execute and murder prisoners of war. You and others seem to have learnt not the lesson from Iraq, when the criminals, supported by pos athad, were routed by the locals. Al-Nusra’s turn is coming soon, not at the hand of the child murderers in pos athad sectarian hoards, but most likely at the hands of true Syrians in the revolution.

The prostitution of Islam has to stop and be exposed, be it from the sectarian thug nus-lira, its masters in Iran, or from al-nusra, its financiers, and its founder pos athad in Damascus.

So join the gang of murder-inc, as you seem to be no better than any of the regime propagandists on this site. You don’t represent me, neither do you represent the majority of Syrians who stood, fought, and lost a lot to depose tyranny.

May 16th, 2013, 7:25 am

 

Syrialover said:

SYRIAN HAMSTER #393

Bravo! Thank you!

Al Nusra is not only alien to normal Syrians, they have no interest in the country and its people.

Its hard core fantasist, power trippers are also people alienated from the normal world. They are avoiding real life by playing games at Syrians’ expense.

They have dirtied the revolution.

But post-Assad Syria shouldn’t have the burden of prosecuting foreigner war criminal al-Nusrans.

The Americans should make a contribution to reconstruction by providing a Syria terrorism section in Guantenamo then sponsoring preparation of evidence against them for war crimes tribunals.

They should also ensure those who face sure prosecution for terrorism by their home governments are delivered back home at lightning speed.

May 16th, 2013, 8:23 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Akbar Palace said
Point being, we have to share the land and end the conflict.

I agree, but not with one group winning and the other losing,it has to be fair.

As for other commentators
In war killing is part of war, but what is immoral is torture till death,or killing civilians who did not participate in the fight
When you try someone and find him guilty and kill him that is not immoral, Kevin McVay was arrested after his crime,he became prisoner, then he was executed, the difference in war or revolution,the try time is very short,and little defence,if any.

If you know of any war there is no killing in it let me know,forgivness is after the war not during the war.

May 16th, 2013, 8:26 am

 

revenire said:

Syria: Civilians Come Under Fire From Rebels
http://news.sky.com/story/1091428/syria-civilians-come-under-fire-from-rebels

The demonstrators were predominantly Syrian Palestinians, many from the Yarmouk district of Damascus who had fled when it was taken over by opposition forces eight months ago.

Some screamed at us: “Please tell the world the truth! We don’t want the fighters here, we want the army to kill them!”

May 16th, 2013, 8:39 am

 

Hanzala said:

#393

I am Syrian, and a very large number of Syrians support al Nusra, especially in places like Deir ez Zor, Daraa, Idlib and the countrysides. Al Nusra is alien Syrians? Speak for yourself. I know for a fact that many people where I am from love al Nusra.

In Iraq, they were not routed by the locals, actually America bribed a few tribes who turned against them. That’s what happened in Iraq.

May I remind you and other secularists, that the protests erupted from the mosques. If removing Assad to put a pro American, pro Israel government in Syria is what you have in mind, than all those people died for nothing, and it would have been better not to have revolted against Assad.

Who prosecutes war crimes? The UN? America should be branded a terrorist nation if these things were fair, but they are not. So please, save me the speech, and speak for yourself, you have no right to speak about the majority of Syrians.

May 16th, 2013, 8:43 am

 

Visitor said:

“Well Hanzala
I don’t and I reject you, Al-Nusra, and their style. Rest assured that we will investigate Al-Nusra war crimes with the same zeal we’ll do for the crimes of pos athad and its hyenas. All perpetrators of war crimes shall and will be pursued.”

And who the f*ck you think you are? And who are ‘we’ that you’re speaking of?

Idiot, I hope you didn’t believe it that you will be next president of Syria. When you read Hamster for President by some commentators, remember this is SC and by no means represents Syrians in general. Avoid delusion. You are NOTHING.

You should start thinking about cutting down on your empty sophistry.

Bravo Hanzala. Bring more of these videos. All Syrians support Nusra. Except of course few SC deluded wannabe Asss*shts

May 16th, 2013, 8:49 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Annie said,

Being stolen one’s land is worse than losing your life.

Annie,

What does that mean? If you go to war over land and lose the land, are you then going to commit suicide? Are you going to continue to fight your whole life? Then you die and you are no longer fighting.

At what point do you move on? People all over the world have lost homes and land in fighting. Not just the Palestinians.

Majedkhaldoun said:

I agree, but not with one group winning and the other losing,it has to be fair.

Majedkhaldoun,

Now we have to ask about “What is fair?”. How do we determine that?

In war killing is part of war, but what is immoral is torture till death,or killing civilians who did not participate in the fight

The rules of war are fairly clear, but rarely enforceable. These tortures and mutilations are primitive. Who are these nut-jobs? Who are their parents?

If you know of any war there is no killing in it let me know,forgivness is after the war not during the war.

Majedkhaldoun,

Hamas and Israel are at war. Does that mean Israel has the right to bomb anything?

May 16th, 2013, 9:14 am

 

revenire said:

Rat on his journey back to Hell

May 16th, 2013, 9:32 am

 

Syrialover said:

HANZALA,

Let’s try to think past the immediate crisis wartime situation.

I agree some in war zones in Syria see Al Nusra currently filling a vacuum. But this vacuum was arguably created by their self-appointed, distracting role in the conflict.

When Assad’s gone, are you happy for some swollen headed armed kids from Libya, Pakistan, Norway and Chechnya etc to decide what happens in Syria? To order Syrians around and decide who gets what?

They are mostly guys who never had jobs themselves back home let alone create a proper functioning economy in Syria.

Is that the best you hope for Syrians?

On another front, a legitimate operating government in Syria in charge of reconstructing the country is not going to be friends with the Syrian regime’s long-term traditional allies Iran or Russia. So who are they going to be friends with?

I hope to live long enough to see Israel dissolve. But in the meantime Syrians should put themselves first and take a break from pouring their energy and sweat into carrying on Assad’s fake vendetta against Israel.

Honestly, operating in a default mode of anti-Americanism is a distractor, blinder and weakener.

Better focus on the real Satan that is active on the ground helping grind Syria and its people to dust, Iran. And the truth and agenda of Hezbollah has been exposed as anti-Syrian people as much as it was ever anti-Israeli.

May 16th, 2013, 9:36 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Hanzala
You are Syrian, you are with the revolution, and your heart is in the right place, and therefore you are my brother and I will respond to you.

The word reject you does not imply rejecting you as a person, but rejecting your attempt to hijack the decision from its true owners, the Syrian people.

It seems to me that like the regime, you don’t trust Syrians, you don’t think they have enough faith, or that they really love god and their religion as much as you do. In that regard, I, the secularist have much more faith in Syrians, in the correctness of their adherence to their true religion and in their right to decide for themselves what shape and form they want for their future state.

What Al-Nusra is doing is a war crime, whether you and all the people who “love” al-Nusra for whatever reason there is agree or not. And if the vision of future Syria for you is to be a back-ward, isolated, culturally deprived and depraved country, i think it is not the vision of most Syrians I have interacted with.

Alraqqa is boiling with anger, the innocent and unarmed residents of the city abohore what Al-Nusra and its satellite groups have been doing. Conducting a war-crime (execution of prisoners of ware) in their name in public square has angered many of them, and I have evidence of that. Now they are unarmed, but there is no guarantee that such situation will remain to the advantage of the collection of cowardly thugs of who remain unconcerned about the military division remaining at close distance and able to lob bombs at the city, while the Nusra and its satellites continue to attempt to hijack, by brute force, as well as by lies and deception, the civil rights of its inhabitants including many refugees, not to mention the wealth of oil fields and grain silos. Qasir is in danger, so why aren’t these brave executioners fighting the regime forces either near Raqqa or near Qasir.

Syria is not a spoil of war or ????, and as a Syrian, you better think again about handing your country to another occupier.

May 16th, 2013, 9:37 am

 

revenire said:

Tara get your head out of Asma’s shoe closet and do some reading:

Turkish opposition’s love for Assad
http://www.todayszaman.com/blogNewsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=9A26582C4DB910966974F6FC65E1473F?newsId=315475&columnistId=131

Note the word “love” please.

🙂

May 16th, 2013, 9:38 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Akbar Palace
Fair is equality,you should have known that by now,humans must be equal in rights and duties
please don’t argue just to argue

Hamas and Israel are at war. Does that mean Israel has the right to bomb anything?

And Hamas has the right to get help and bomb Israel,
but the basic thing is that Israel existance is illegitimate,it is hostile and criminal ideology based on God Choose us,that is Evil, I have no problem in peacefully buy the land and create a community, but to kill the inhabitant to replace them this is not right, Joshua after Moses invaded Palastine on this concept, God promised us this land, he was criminal, and the new founders of Israel came by force not by civil way they are criminals.any change must be based on free will,not by force, if you believe in freedom and democracy you should apply it always not choose and pic

May 16th, 2013, 9:42 am

 

ann said:

Syria Says Email Shows Opposition in Qatar Led Kidnapping of Peacekeepers

By Matthew Russell Lee

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1pkemail051513.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 14 — Just before the Syria session of the UN General Assembly, Syrian Permanent Representative Bashar Ja’afari stopped and told Inner City Press that at end of his speech he would make an unexpected move.

And after Qatar’s ambassador spoke in favor of the resolution his country drafted (and re-drafted several time), Ja’afari did deliver on his pledge.

At the end of his speech he said that there was an e-mail, from the representative of the Syrian opposition given Syria’s embassy in Qatar, showing their involvement in the kidnapping of UN peacekeepers by the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade. He read out a phone number from the e-mail.

Outside the GA, Inner City Press asked UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant about Ja’afari on the e-mail. Lyall Grant called it confused.

Another Permanent Representative, from a Troop Contributing Country, said that if true, it’s very problematic.

When Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thanked Qatar for its role in the release of the UN Peacekeepers, is this what he meant?

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1pkemail051513.html

May 16th, 2013, 9:44 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Revenire
Get pile-of-shxt athma’s shoes from your ars before you little cockroach can talk to humans.

As for the love turkish opposition has for pos athad and its female, yaaaa we felt that love in the word of their leader comparing Erdoghan to pos athad and equating the two as murderrers and criminals.

May 16th, 2013, 9:45 am

 

Visitor said:

O’ what a fiasco this hamster (or is it bumster?) wannabe turned out to be? YES!! Backtrack wannabe idiot SC sophist bumster for president deluded ass*sht.

Hanzala,

Never be discouraged by those who can only arrange words in a long boring composition that is always nothing but an empty piece of sophistry. Nusra is supported by ALL honest Syrians like you. You are on the right track as many Syrians are. The few SC commentators here (like bumster and majnoon souria) are the worst thing a revolution like the Syrian revolution may have.

May 16th, 2013, 9:51 am

 

mjabali said:

It is strange how some call themselves Syrians and stand with the execution style killing of Syrian men on the soil of Syria by foreigners wearing slippers, who did not even know how to use a pistol.

Holly warriors in slippers, Tara should shop for them.

May 16th, 2013, 9:53 am

 

mjabali said:

Thanks Hamster for standing up to the holy warriors in slippers.

Patrolling al-Raqqa in slippers with an AK and a face mask wearing the Pakistani pants and shirt…reciting Quran….Shooting people in public….

May 16th, 2013, 9:59 am

 

ann said:

In UNGA on Syria, 107 Votes Is “Big Loss for Qatar,” Kidnap Email Mystery

By Matthew Russell Lee

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1qatarlow051513.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 — After the Syria resolution drafted by Qatar garnered only 107 “yes” votes on Wednesday, compared to over 130 the past two times, many diplomats described it to Inner City Press as a “big loss” for Qatar, “and for France and the UK, the ‘brains’ behind” the resolution.

French Ambassador Gerard Araud took the floor to try to get a few more votes. Afterward a Latin American Permanent Representative told Inner City Press that the count would have been below 100 if not for some “last minute arm-twisting.”

Even days before the vote, when Inner City Press asked Saudi Arabia’s affable Permanent Representative if he predicted 110 yes votes, he said plus or minus, probably plus. But it was not to be.

The vote Wednesday was 107 yes, 12 against and fully 59 abstentions. By that count, it seems that 15 countries didn’t vote at all — “got coffee,” as one African Permanent Representative put it to Inner City Press before the vote.

Inner City Press is putting the vote list online here.

The African Group met on Tuesday, asking Qatar to defer the vote. But Qatar rejected this. As Tanzania said, while concerned about Syria, it was not convinced that the resolution would help anything.

On the drama of Syrian Permanent Representative Bashar Ja’afari waving at the end of his speech an email he said showed that the opposition’s “ambassador” in Qatar was involved in the kidnapping of four UN peacekeepers by the Yarmouk Martyr’s Brigade, Inner City Press ran to the UN noon briefing to ask.

Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said he would not disclose any more about the negotiations to free the peacekeepers.

Back in front of the General Assembly after the vote, Ja’afari briefly showed Inner City Press a copy of the e-mail, saying he could not give it out. It had on it among other things a telephone number — presumably the number Ja’afari read out in the GA Hall — and the word “Milad.”

Ja’afari told Inner City Press it was from a UN person in Damascus, telling headquarters of the involvement of the Syrian opposition ambassador in Doha in the kidnapping.

Inner City Press asked, a UN person working for Envoy Brahimi’s office? Ja’afari did not say yes.

There is much more to ask. Inner City Press ran to cover what was called a stakeout by UK prime minister David Cameron, where it turned out the questioner (Reuters, or UNCA) — and the Syria question? — were selected in advance. There are scams everywhere.

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1qatarlow051513.html

May 16th, 2013, 10:09 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

MJABALI
What angers me the most is Al-Nusra claiming to avenge the victims of Banyas and Baida by conducting a war crime. The memory of the children of Banyas and Baida is sacred, and these thugs tried to soil it with their unholy lust for blood. From where I stand, the only revenge would be to ensure that the barbarism and rule of force does not have a place in future syria, be it the pos athad, which you seem to abhor as much as I do, or Al-Nusra, which I seem to abhor as much as you do.

May 16th, 2013, 10:09 am

 

ann said:

comment 411 is in moderation. Why?

May 16th, 2013, 10:11 am

 

mjabali said:

Hamster:

You are correct in what you said. Those who did al-Bayda massacre should be stopped and brought to justice and not be given a reason to do another massacre. Enough of this senseless violence that is killing, poor Syrians. The killing cycle is not stopping.

May 16th, 2013, 10:19 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

MJABALI
From what I read, Tara’s taste seem to be rather classy, so I guess, we’ll leave shopping for shoes for Al-Nusra to the female of their original founder pos athad (i.e. pos athma), known for a macthing vulgar taste.

May 16th, 2013, 10:25 am

 

Visitor said:

Hanzala,

Just sit down now and enjoy the spectacle of consolations going back and forth here on SC among deluded wannabes.

Zabale consoles bumster and marshals other sophists to the fray.

Good work Hanzala. Keep it up.

May 16th, 2013, 10:28 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Mjabali
I fully agree with you

May 16th, 2013, 10:28 am

 

Sami said:

MJabali,

“wearing the Pakistani pants and shirt”

The attire is called Shalwar and Kameez. Close to the Arabic Sirwal and Qamis.

Just thought you would like to know the actual name of this attire that is not native to Syria nor does it represent Syrians.

Here are some actual Syrians in Raqqa the night of the executions, I am proud to say that those Syrians represent me:

May 16th, 2013, 10:48 am

 

zoo said:

The holy hamsters poops will be soon “starved”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10059587/Jabhat-al-Nusra-faces-al-Qaeda-sanctions-at-UN-under-Anglo-French-proposal.html

Al-Nusra is to be included on the list of al-Qaeda backed terrorist groups that are subject to automatic global sanctions, The Daily Telegraph understands.

Once the move is approved by a committee of the UN Security Council, al-Nusra will be subject to a broad range of sanctions, including an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze.

Officials from the leading European nations backing the Syria opposition’s struggle to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad hope the terrorist designation will be agreed within days.

America has already determined that al-Nusra, an Islamic fundamentalist militia that controls a swathe of eastern Syria, is a terrorist group. Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, al-Nusra’s leader has pledged allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda.

Officials hope the global reach of UN sanctions will starve al-Nusra of funding and allow a clear distinction between it and other rebel units that do not share the al-Qaeda ideology.

May 16th, 2013, 10:49 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

404. majedkhaldoun said:

Akbar Palace
Fair is equality,you should have known that by now,humans must be equal in rights and duties please don’t argue just to argue

I thought you were talking about the land (equal areas?). In Israel there already is equality. More can be done, and things have improved a lot over the years. I think if there wasn’t an arab-israeli conflict, things would improve faster. I think that is why Israeli arabs are not demonstrating much. Here are some links to remind you that things are not as bad as you think:

http://www.beyondimages.info/b162.html
http://www.beyondimages.info/
http://www.israellycool.com/2013/03/13/israel-apartheid-photos/
http://www.israellycool.com/2013/05/03/apartheid-and-ethnic-cleansing-fail-of-the-day/
http://www.israellycool.com/2013/03/12/apartheid-video-of-the-day/

But again, as AIG always points out, why not try your “equal rights” ideas in the arab world first before you tell Israel to do so?

Hamas and Israel are at war. Does that mean Israel has the right to bomb anything?

Majedkhaldoun,

There are “rules of war” and “war crimes”. Both Hamas and Israel do not have the right to “bomb anything”.

You said:

In war killing is part of war, but what is immoral is torture till death,or killing civilians who did not participate in the fight.

Does that mean Hamas and Hezbollah are immoral because they fire indiscriminately into and out of population centers? As you know, this is a war crime. Israel has often been cited for “disproportionate” use of force. But you say “killing is part of war”. So when is Hamas guilty and when is Israel?

I am convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that WW2 would have been lost in today’s environment.

And Hamas has the right to get help and bomb Israel

Every country has the right to defend herself. Which means Hamas can bomb military targets (which is rarely the case) and Israel can respond in kind.

but the basic thing is that Israel existance is illegitimate,it is hostile and criminal ideology based on God Choose us,that is Evil

You just said a few posts ago, ”

[Me] Point being, we have to share the land and end the conflict. [You] I agree, but not with one group winning and the other losing,it has to be fair.

Please make up your mind.

I have no problem in peacefully buy the land and create a community, but to kill the inhabitant to replace them this is not right

The Israelis and Palestinians have to negotiate a settlement. Part of Camp David was a $90 billion investment into Palestine. This was rejected along with the proposed borders.

Joshua after Moses invaded Palastine on this concept, God promised us this land, he was criminal, and the new founders of Israel came by force not by civil way they are criminals.

Not really true. Jews came to Palestine and bought land. Then Palestinians started killing unarmed Jews. Jews came to Palestine with only the shirt on their back. They didn’t have weapons.

any change must be based on free will,not by force, if you believe in freedom and democracy you should apply it always not choose and pic

Jews came exactly on their own free will along with the thousands of Jews who already lived in Palestine. So let’s talk about today, not 1936.

May 16th, 2013, 10:50 am

 

ann said:

UN General Assembly Country Vote On Syria:

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1gavotes051513.pdf

DOCUMENT VOTE 0500.txt PRINTED AT: 15/05/2013 1:34:36 PM
SER. NO: 500
ITEM: 33
SYMBOL: A/67/L.63
DRAFT RESOLUTION
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
67TH
PLENARY MEETING:80
RECORDED VOTE ….. _ADOPTED
RESOLUTION 67/262
DATE: 15 MAY 13
TIME: 1:34 PM
VOTE: 1
YES: 107
NO: 12
ABSTAIN: 59
SUBJECT: THE SITUATION IN THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

Y AFGHANISTAN
Y ALBANIA
A ALGERIA
Y ANDORRA
A ANGOLA
A ANTIGUA-BARBUDA
A ARGENTINA
A ARMENIA
Y AUSTRALIA
Y AUSTRIA
Y AZERBAIJAN
Y BAHAMAS
Y BAHRAIN
A BANGLADESH
A BARBADOS
N BELARUS
Y BELGIUM
A BELIZE
A BENIN
A BHUTAN
N BOLIVIA
Y BOSNIA/HERZEG
Y BOTSWANA
A BRAZIL
A DOMINICA
Y DOMINICAN REP
N ECUADOR
Y EGYPT
A EL SALVADOR
. EQUAT GUINEA
A ERITREA
Y ESTONIA
A ETHIOPIA
. AIFIJI
Y FINLAND
Y FRANCE
Y GABON
Y GAMBIA
Y GEORGIA
Y GERMANY
A GHANA
Y GREECE
Y GRENADA
Y GUATEMALA
A GUINEA
A GUINEA-BISSAU
A GUYANA
Y HAITI
Y BRUNEI DAR-SALAM Y HONDURAS
Y BULGARIA
Y BURKINA FASO
Y BURUNDI
A CAMBODIA
. CAMEROON
Y CANADA
A CAPE VERDE
Y CENTRAL AFR REP
Y CHAD
Y CHILE
N CHINA
Y COLOMBIA
Y COMOROS
. CONGO
Y COSTA RICA
Y COTE D’IVOIRE
Y CROATIA
N CUBA
Y CYPRUS
Y CZECH REPUBLIC
N DPR OF KOREA
A DEM REP OF CONGO
Y DENMARK
Y DJIBOUTI
Y HUNGARY
Y ICELAND
A INDIA
A INDONESIA
N IRAN (ISL R)
. IRAQ
Y IRELAND
Y ISRAEL
Y ITALY
A JAMAICA
Y JAPAN
Y JORDAN
A KAZAKHSTAN
A KENYA
. KIRIBATI
Y KUWAIT
A KYRGYZSTAN
A LAO PDR
Y LATVIA
A LEBANON
A LESOTHO
Y LIBERIA
Y LIBYA
Y LIECHTENSTEIN
Y LITHUANIA
Y LUXEMBOURG
Y MADAGASCAR
Y MALAWI
Y MALAYSIA
Y MALDIVES
A MALI
Y MALTA
Y MARSHALL ISLANDS
. MAURITANIA
Y MAURITIUS
Y MEXICO
Y MICRONESIA (FS)
Y MONACO
Y MONGOLIA
Y MONTENEGRO
Y MOROCCO
A MOZAMBIQUE
A MYANMAR
A NAMIBIA
Y NAURU
A NEPAL
Y NETHERLANDS
Y NEW ZEALAND
N NICARAGUA
A NIGER
A NIGERIA
Y NORWAY
Y OMAN
Y PAKISTAN
Y PALAU
Y PANAMA
Y PAPUA N GUINEA
A PARAGUAY
Y PERU
. PHILIPPINES
Y POLAND
Y PORTUGAL
Y QATAR
Y REP OF KOREA
Y REP OF MOLDOVA
Y ROMANIA
N RUSSIAN FED
A RWANDA
A ST KITTS-NEVIS
A SAINT LUCIA
A ST VINCENT-GREN
Y SAMOA
Y SAN MARINO
S TOME PRINCIPE
Y SAUDI ARABIA
Y SENEGAL
Y SERBIA
Y SEYCHELLES
. SIERRA LEONE
A SINGAPORE
Y SLOVAKIA
Y SLOVENIA
A SOLOMON ISLANDS
Y SOMALIA
A SOUTH AFRICA
A SOUTH SUDAN
Y SPAIN
A SRI LANKA
A SUDAN
A SURINAME
. SWAZILAND
Y SWEDEN
Y SWITZERLAND
N SYRIAN AR
. TAJIKISTAN
Y THAILAND
Y TFYR MACEDONIA
. TIMOR-LESTE
A TOGO
Y TONGA
A TRINIDAD-TOBAGO
Y TUNISIA
Y TURKEY
. TURKMENISTAN
. TUVALU
A UGANDA
A UKRAINE
Y UA EMIRATES
Y UNITED KINGDOM
A UR TANZANIA
Y UNITED STATES
A URUGUAY
. UZBEKISTAN
Y VANUATU
N VENEZUELA
A VIETNAM
Y YEMEN
A ZAMBIA
N ZIMBABWE

May 16th, 2013, 10:54 am

 

revenire said:

There are already UN resolutions regarding Palestine. Israel ignore them. I didn’t add them all up but it is easily over 100.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_UN_resolutions_concerning_Israel_and_Palestine

Israel has always ignored world opinion to carry out genocide against the Palestinians.

May 16th, 2013, 10:56 am

 

Dolly Buster said:

408. mjabali said:

It is strange how some call themselves Syrians and stand with the execution style killing of Syrian men on the soil of Syria by foreigners wearing slippers

 
Syria belongs to all muslims. The divine Shari’ah will be instituted in every square centimeter of Earth.

Inn il hukmu illa li Llah !!!

May 16th, 2013, 10:57 am

 

zoo said:

Another victory from the heroic Syrian army

Syrian troops repel rebel attack on Aleppo prison
May 16, 2013 02:04 PM

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-16/217324-syrian-troops-repel-rebel-attack-on-aleppo-prison.ashx#ixzz2TT4IW6PJ
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

May 16th, 2013, 10:58 am

 

revenire said:

The anti-Syria resolution had less support this time around than last. Western blackmail doesn’t always work. Most of the world voted against it or abstained (China and India = most of the world).

May 16th, 2013, 11:00 am

 

zoo said:

The rebels are not winning the heart and minds of Syrian, they are devoring them…

May 16th, 2013, 11:01 am

 

revenire said:

Yesterday the terrorist supporters told us the prison had been “liberated” – as if releasing hundreds of criminals was an act of liberation. I wonder how many of the prisoners would be willing to eat your liver?

May 16th, 2013, 11:02 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

ZOO
You don’t read what you cut and paste, no?
you do!?
Damn, i thought pos athad controlled school system in Syria is uniquely screwed up, turned out that Aoun and nus-lira run equally screwed-up schools.

There is a concept called C O N T E X T , ever heard of it?

May 16th, 2013, 11:06 am

 

revenire said:

Sami let me tell you what will happen in Raqqa: the SAA will enter and drive out any armed terrorists in the city and the people will welcome the army.

Men will cry with joy as Assad’s army enters to kill the terrorists.

May 16th, 2013, 11:07 am

 

zoo said:

#421 reve

These UN assembly non-biding that Qatar is hysterically presenting every few months are just little annoyances with zero effect on the course of the events. They are quickly forgotten. Who remembers the previous one?

They are just bones for these Qatari wild dogs to chew their rage of failing.

http://allainjules.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/qatar.jpg?w=348&h=500

May 16th, 2013, 11:07 am

 

revenire said:

Ha ha the PRISONERS in the prison in Aleppo volunteered to fight WITH the army against the scum.

TERRORIST EFFORT TO ENTER CENTRAL PRISON IN ALEPPO FAILS MISERABLY; 38 RATS KILLED, 63 WOUNDED; 19 SURRENDER TO SYRIAN ARMED FORCES, GUARDS AND MILITIA. PRISONERS VOLUNTEERED TO FIGHT RODENTS IN SUPPORT OF THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT

ALEPPO: As you must have heard, Syrian government forces annihilated the terrorist rats who were personally commanded by soon-to-be-dead former colonel, ‘Abdul-Jabbar Al-Ukaydi. What a disaster! They tried to shock our shockproof forces with 2 bomb-laden cars which were woefully inadequate for the task. Instead, what they wound up doing was attracting hundreds of security personnel who quickly put the kibosh on their miserable plans. With militia and SAA in place, it was a matter of 3 hours before the entire terrorist operation went into disaster mode.

Our source in Aleppo, Barakaat, finally communicated with us from his home in Al-‘Azeeziyya, and told us by telephone that his brother, who works at the prison as a cook, could hear prisoners demanding to fight the terrorists who had attacked the prison from 3 sides. (See above). The attack started at 5:20 a.m. on Wednesday ,Aleppo time, or 12:20 a.m. NYT, commenced with the explosion of 2 vans, painted up to look like ordinary supply delivery vehicles, loaded with C-4 at the Main Gate. The drivers of the cars were suicide bombers who were killed instantly as the cars exploded. Wael says that Barakaat is wrong because both vans were actually ambulances.

SyrPer Exclusive: We now know that the FSA had insiders within the ranks of the guards at the Central Prison. What the FSA did not know was that the insiders worked for General Security. This is why the plan went awry. The SAA and security knew ahead of time about the attack. What was not known was the exact timing. Also of interest to our readers: The approximately 230 prisoners who were doing time for participating in terrorism were placed (for their own protection) in the “South Wing” which would have made it impossible for the rats to reach them without sustaining massive losses.

Here are some of the names of dead rats collected so far from the carcasses strewn about the area:

‘Abdul-Khaaleq Al-Mu’adhdhin
Rabaah Mansoor
Muhammad Iblibi
Mustafa Kallaas
Jameel Abu-Sanaasel (?)
Muraad Al-Ahaameed
Adeeb Jalaali
Raateb Al-A’war
Mahmoud Khayreddeen
Muhammad Jiniblaad
‘Awn ‘Abdul-Ahad
Thaa’er Al-Tutunn

We have 3 confirmed Turks in the group whose identities have not been ascertained. There are 38 carcasses so far.

Hanaano Residencies: A team of SF from the SAA attacked a den of cockroaches and killed all 7 in a morning raid. Thanks to Prince Fatso of Qatar, our militias have a brand new 23mm AA gun and 14 new AK47 rifles. Thanks so much to the Husband of Madame Banana. The 7 killed are:

“Abu-Al-Naqma” (The Vengeful One; yawn. Id pending. Known from intercepted communications.)
Saaber Nujoom
Muhammad Riyaadhi
Salloom ‘Abdul-Rahmaan
Khudhr Al-Kaamel
CONFIRMED LIBYAN RAT TERRORIST (“Al-Mujaahed Al-Leebi”)
Muhammad Tarshu

May 16th, 2013, 11:08 am

 

revenire said:

Considering Israel has ignored over 100 UN resolutions condemning her genocide these Qatari efforts are laughable.

May 16th, 2013, 11:10 am

 

revenire said:

DER’AH:

Al-Shabraq: What a disaster for the dung beetles of “OPERATION HAWRAAN VOLCANO”:

Khaldoon Al-Bataayina (JORDANIAN INSECT)
Akram Al-Saani’
Mahmoud Al-Taweel (He ain’t tall no more. I understand he was blown in twain)
MUT’IB AL-NU’AYMI (QATARI SPAWN OF INCESTUOUS APES)

Al-Naassiriyya: 2 confirmed dead rodents. 4 taken prisoner. No details.

East Al-Karak: (Don’t confuse this with the Jordanian town. It’s an Arabized word from “Krak”.) An attack on a SAA checkpoint resulted in 3 deaths among the rodents. The other 5 disappeared into the mist. No details.

Tafass: 8 counted carcasses: 5 known foreigners. Here are the only Syrian rodents:

Haaroon Al-Qattaan (He won’t be pickin’ cotton any more though. He’ll be pickin’ his nose in Hell)
Sameer Shamlaani
‘Abbood Ghandoor

Al-Lijaat: 12 rats take the ferry to Old Scratch’s Motel in you know what. No details.

West Al-Maleeha: 2 known rodents down. No other details as operation continues.

DAYR EL-ZOR: What a pretty town. But in a town named for not being so pretty, at the First Girl’s School, 4 rodents opted for the escalator ride to Belial’s gripe:

Mu-Hassan Village:

Yamaan Akram Hiddaawi
Kaadhem Al-Busaalem (IRAQI TRASH-EATER)
Yaaseen Al-‘Ijil

Al-Muree’iyya: Attempt to take over a checkpoint met with disaster:

MUHAMMAD AL-WARFALI (LIBYAN APE EXCREMENT)
Haashem Hassoon (Of the Liwaa’ Al-Athar Battalions, yawn)
Muhamamd Ameen ‘Ajaaj (Of the Ahraar Al-Bu-‘Umar Battalions. Yawn)

Dayr El-Zor City: At the Industrial Zone, 6 rats shimmied down to the Hot Gates. No details.

Nazlat Al-Rudaysaat: Oh, our army just showed no mercy for these J.N. drug addicts:

Muhammad Mustafa Muhyi-Aldeen
Muhammad Jaaber Al-Ta’is

East Al-Huwayqa Quarter: 7 killed. No details. More gifts from Prince Fatso including a lovely mortar.

May 16th, 2013, 11:11 am

 

revenire said:

Ha ha Ziad has a way with words.

May 16th, 2013, 11:13 am

 

revenire said:


RIP Maya Naser

May 16th, 2013, 11:17 am

 

zoo said:

Will Qatar be sidelined by Iran and KSA on Syria?

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudis-faisal-warms-iranconceding-nothing

Lately, some political observers have suggested that Riyadh is gradually taking over the Syria file from the more hawkish Qatar, and is preparing for a settlement. They argue, however, that the Saudi strategy is to escalate on a number of regional fronts in order to improve their chances on the negotiating table.

On a related issue, Tehran has now twice postponed a visit from Qatari foreign minister Hamad Bin Jassim al-Thani. The first delay due to Salehi’s meeting with Faisal, and the second due to “an urgent engagement,” according to Iranian sources.

The same sources suggest that Qatar is uneasy about being left out of the negotiations underway regarding a Syria settlement, fearing that Riyadh and Tehran will have a bigger say in setting the terms of any future resolution to a conflict in which Doha has staked so much.

May 16th, 2013, 11:29 am

 

zoo said:

Will the ‘good’ rebels able to destroy the bad ones with the help of western weapons?

The more decent rebel groups are being squeezed between the regime’s forces and extremists on their own side

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21578057-more-decent-rebel-groups-are-being-squeezed-between-regimes-forces-and

Though Jabhat al-Nusra says it gets most of its weapons from the spoils of battle, it also enjoys murky sources of private funding, including regular payments from al-Qaeda in Iraq. Since it captured oil wells and grain silos, it has been able—more effectively than other outfits—to set up basic services and a rudimentary administration in the areas it controls, as well as sell off goods and oil for cash. It is probably the most disciplined of all its rivals.

Yet it is not only Jabhat al-Nusra which expresses extreme Islamist views. Though Ahrar al-Sham has more local aims, its comrades are also vehemently Islamist. So are many of the other forces that have gained ground among the rebels, thanks in part to Gulf backing
..
Corruption is rife among the rebels, sighs one of their commanders, berating his peers for shunning battles but wanting to “get a new car and a second wife”. And jealousy between rebel groups over the supply of cash and arms is fomenting strife between them. Earlier this month, two rebel commanders were assassinated in Raqqa alone. Rebels from more secular-minded or more moderately Islamist groups speak openly of a second war to come—against Jabhat al-Nusra.

May 16th, 2013, 11:40 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

If the FSA captured fighters,members of Hizb allat,who are fighting in Syria along Asshead, it is well justified to kill them, the same for persians or iraqis

Releasing political prisoners is liberation,this is for the RAT minded REvenir

Akbar palace
if no one sells you his lands you don’t force the sale and kill the would be sellars,this is criminal mentality

May 16th, 2013, 11:43 am

 

zoo said:

It’s Erdogan turn to be isolated and his country in danger

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21578046-turkish-government-under-attack-home-its-assertive-policy-towards-syria-explosive

Turkey’s calculation that Mr Assad would fall rapidly and America would intervene militarily proved wrong. Without American backing, Turkey cannot respond to the Reyhanli provocation, just as it could not when Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet over the Mediterranean last year. For all its economic heft, Turkey’s claims of regional leadership now ring hollow.

An increasingly desperate Mr Erdogan was expected to lobby Barack Obama for a no-fly zone in Washington this week. Yet Mr Obama will say no, seeking help instead for his joint effort with Russia to bring Mr Assad and the opposition to the negotiating table. He will also rebuke Mr Erdogan for his supposed indulgence of the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, a faction which America terms “terrorist”, and also ask him to postpone a trip to Gaza.

Hasan Kanbolat of the ORSAM think-tank in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, reckons that the presence of foreign jihadists in Turkey, however tiny, will infect local communities. “They use our mosques and mingle with ordinary people. Turkey could become another Pakistan,” he says
..
A gate at Akcakale, into Syria’s eastern province of Raqqa, has been shut since some Syrians clashed with Turkish border guards in early May, killing a policeman. If all borders were closed, fighters fear they would get weaker. Meanwhile flows of arms to the opposition have stopped; Mr Assad is, in places, gaining the upper hand. “We’re already struggling to get support,” says a rebel commander.

May 16th, 2013, 11:47 am

 

ziad said:

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

May 16th, 2013, 11:53 am

 

ziad said:

????? | ?????? ??????? ?????????

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

http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/183064

May 16th, 2013, 12:18 pm

 

apple_mini said:

One of the most disturbing videos showing a rebel leader committing cannibalism should be analyzed in deeper lever other than just being labeled as brutality and criminality against humanity.

It is a rather strong indication of the raging sectarian zealots among Syrians.

The man behind it carries uncontrollable hatred against Alawite sect. The emotion runs so high and it surpasses the threshold of human behavior of natural repulsion from cannibalism.

The leaked video got smuggled into Lebanon by pure chance. Do we believe there are many other disturbing activities already recorded and unrecorded? Of course we do.

It is definitely a tiny glimpse of what the country is facing. How to contain those very extreme and radical sectarian minds and people will remain a difficult problem for a long time.

The war has bred some many dangerous elements in Syria. The country will be suffering for years to come.

May 16th, 2013, 12:18 pm

 

revenire said:

No Syrian wants people that eat human flesh to be in charge of anything. These animals are all going to die in Syria.

May 16th, 2013, 12:42 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

May Skaf has been arrested by the regime

How could Bashar Jaafary say The opposition can come to Syria,and their safty is guaranteed,yet they are arresting peaceful opponants such as Skaff, and Abdulaziz Khayer?

May 16th, 2013, 12:42 pm

 

Dolly Buster said:

apple_mini said:

uncontrollable hatred against Alawite sect.

 
Alawites started the beef, by engaging in vicious atrocities against Ahl as-Sunnah.

Then the Sunnis became angry in response. So we should blame the initiator of hostilities.

May 16th, 2013, 12:43 pm

 

ziad said:

Nakba survivor: ‘If you wanted to live, you left’

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=595919

May 16th, 2013, 12:45 pm

 

revenire said:


The fate of those who disrespect our president.

TO HELL

May 16th, 2013, 12:46 pm

 

revenire said:

Dolly I know you’re crazy-brainwashed but how do you reconcile the fact that the majority of the SAA is Sunni? That must cause you a little twitching. It doesn’t fit your fairy tale story.

May 16th, 2013, 12:50 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Surviving the Nakba NewZ

Nakba survivor: ‘If you wanted to live, you left’

Ziad,

And she’s alive to tell her story! We have stories too. 6000 Jews died in that war, and about half as many or about 3,000 Palestinians died.

Do you have any Nakba stories from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria and Libya, or are we just focusing on the “Usual Suspect™”?

May 16th, 2013, 1:12 pm

 

ziad said:

der azzor_excution of 13 syrian soldiers by Nusra

May 16th, 2013, 1:17 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Akbar palace
if no one sells you his lands you don’t force the sale and kill the would be sellars,this is criminal mentality

Majadkhaldoun,

No one forced any sale. Jews bought their land. What jews didn’t buy was the violence, like the Hebron Massacre (see Syria today for a description). You said “War is War”, Israel never asked for war, only whatever small land mass the Partition Plan offered.

Arabs rejected partition then, and still reject Israel today. I’m glad the PA negotiated with Israel in ’93. I think they should finish the job.

The war was preceded by a period of civil war in the territory of the Mandatory Palestine between Jewish Yishuv forces and Palestinian Arab forces in response to the UN Partition Plan. An alliance of Arab states intervened on the Palestinian side, turning the civil war into a war between sovereign states.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab-Israeli_War

May 16th, 2013, 1:26 pm

 

zoo said:

#448 Ziad

Long live to the heroic soldiers of the Syrian Army. Their murder will not be in vain. The evil sickness of the Sunni Islamist extremists and their supporters will be extirpated from Syria and destroyed.

May 16th, 2013, 1:28 pm

 

Juergen said:

I am not aware that this video was shown here before yet:

public execution of three men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Y4cNXIfzxMA#!

its an disgusting time to see such evil rise in Syria

May 16th, 2013, 1:30 pm

 

ziad said:

“We have records going from way back, and a rich source of them go back to the Kennedy-Johnson administrations. They had to carry out a terrorist war against Cuba, as they did, and try to strangle Cuba economically, because of Cuba’s — what they called Cuba’s successful defiance of U.S. policies, going back to the Monroe Doctrine. No Russians, but the Monroe Doctrine, 150 years back at that time. And the goal was, as was put very plainly by the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, to make the people of Cuba suffer. They are responsible for the fact that the government is in place. We therefore have to make them suffer and starve, so that they’ll throw out the government. It’s a policy, which is pretty consistent. It’s being applied right now in Palestine. It’s savage.” Noam Chomsky

May 16th, 2013, 1:37 pm

 

Badr said:

“This report could not have been produced without the help of many sources (jihadists and Islamists, resistance fighters, government officials and experts in recent Iraqi affairs) both inside and outside Syria . . .”

Jabhat al-Nusra: A Strategic Briefing

By Noman Benotman and Roisin Blake
Quilliam Foundation
Jan. 2013

Origins

Many cadres of JN come from the jihadist network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which was built during the 2000s and solidified in Hai al-Jami’a, Baghdad, in 2002, following Al-Zarqawi’s arrival from Afghanistan via Iran. Syrians who had been with Al-Zarqawi in Herat, Afghanistan, in 2000 were sent to build branches of his network in Syria and Lebanon, with Al-Zarqawi exercising control from Iraq. These jihadists established ‘guesthouses’ in Syria to channel would-be fighters to Iraq, and the infrastructure flourished. During this period, Syria acted as the main channel for funding for the network, with Saudi and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) jihadists in the Levant securing financial support from sympathisers in their home countries.
. . .
National

JN have overestimated the level of popular support for them in Syria. They see themselves as representatives of Syria’s Sunni population, which is a dangerous falsehood. Even amongst the rebels, only a minority shares their ideology and goals, with many others, tens of thousands of activists, calling for a democratic system of government rather than an Islamist state. JN have not reached the critical mass of support needed for self-sustaining change. This is partly because they lack a political dimension to their actions – not enough work has been done to elicit popular support for the group politically, as they have relied largely on military action and religious preaching.
JN have also overestimated the religious loyalty (wala’) of the Syrian people, just as AQI did in the 2000s. Syrian culture is not naturally conducive to Islamist governance, given its religious pluralism and history of relative religious freedom and tolerance. . .

May 16th, 2013, 1:55 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

The threat

The fate of those who disrespect our president.

The fearful anthwer

I meant no dis respect whatsoever to sewer-pipe’s pos of a prethidient.

May 16th, 2013, 1:57 pm

 

zoo said:

Erdogan got nothing from Obama except condoleances and taps on the back:
Bravo for the peace with Israel
Bravo for the peace with the PKK
Bravo for the education of your daughters.

On Syria
No fly zone; NO
military intervention: NO,
weapons to the rebels :NO

Press conference:

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/646000502?-20865:11558

May 16th, 2013, 2:32 pm

 

zoo said:

Is the USA just bowing in front of Putin, or there is a under the table bargain involving Iran’s nuclear program?

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/russias-arrest-of-a-us-spy-sends-a-clear-signal-on-syria#page2

Mr Putin seems to have concluded that the US president, Barack Obama, is weak, and that his secretary of state came as a petitioner asking for help to get his administration out of its Syrian impasse. Moscow believes it has a stronger hand than Mr Obama, and is not afraid to exploit its advantage in defence of its ally in Damascus.

That world view seems to reflect the balance of forces during the meeting on May 7 between Mr Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, which concluded with an agreement to call a Syrian peace conference.

The Russian position, as far as anyone can tell, is unchanged from the signing of the Geneva peace plan almost a year ago: no transitional government in Syria can be formed without the consent of the current regime. Mr Kerry, while insisting that Syria’s president Bashar Al Assad must go, had to admit that under the terms of the Geneva plan, which calls for “mutual consent”, the Assad regime will have a veto on the formation of any transitional government. This is an uncomfortable position for an administration that has long given the impression the Assad clan is finished.

May 16th, 2013, 2:46 pm

 

zoo said:

If Syria accepts that USA, Turkey, France and the UK participate, why would these countries object to Iran’s participation?

Russia: Iran must participate in proposed Syria conference
Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Iran must take part in a proposed international conference to end Syria’s civil war, but that Western states wanted to limit the participants and possibly predetermine the outcome of the talks.

“Among some of our Western colleagues, there is a desire to narrow the circle of external participants and begin the process from a very small group of countries in a framework which, in essence, would predetermine the negotiating teams, agenda, and maybe even the outcome of talks,” Lavrov said in an interview posted on the Foreign Ministry website on Thursday.
..
Iran has welcomed the proposal and has voiced hope to be part of the process. Its wish to participate in a June 2012 meeting on Syria hosted by the United Nations in Geneva was a bone of contention between Washington and Moscow.

“One must not exclude a country like Iran from this process because of geopolitical preferences. It is a very important external player. But there is no agreement on this yet,” Lavrov said in the interview given to a Lebanese television station.

The United States is loath to see Iran, a strong supporter of Assad, being at any such talks. No venue has been confirmed but U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has talked of a “Geneva Two” meeting.

May 16th, 2013, 2:51 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

regime propagandists and shbee7a, your family story?

????? ?????? ……?????? ????? ???????

??????? ????

?? ?? ????? ???????????? …

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

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

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

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

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

? (( ?? ???? ?? ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? )) ..
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? (( ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? .. )) ..

???????? .. ????? ?????? ????? .. ???? ??? ????? ..
? (( ??? ???? ???? ??????? .. ??? ????? ?? ???? .. ???? ???? .. ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?????? .. ????? ???? ????? ???? !!! ))

?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? .. ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? .. ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? .. ??? .. ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??? .. ?????? ??????? ..
? ???? ?? ???? .. ???? ????? ??? ..
? ????? ?? ????? .. ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? .. ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ..
… ?? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??? .. ????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? .. ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???? .. ????? ????? ?? 12000???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? .. ???? ????? !!!

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

??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? .. ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? .. ?????? ????? ??????? .. ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ???? .. ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? .. ?? ?????? .. ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????????? … ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ????? .. ??? ????? .. ???? .. ??? ?????? ??? ???????? .. ???? ???? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ..

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

???? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? .. ??? ???? ?????? ??????? .. ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???? 2000???? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? .. ????? ??? ..
_ (( ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? )) !!!

May 16th, 2013, 3:07 pm

 

Dolly Buster said:

 
The U.S. is 100 times stronger than Russia, but the problem is that Russia is pursuing its goals in Syria with 100% investment, while Obama is invested 0.5%

That’s why the proxy war appears approximately tied.
We have an aggressive bully on one side (commie Putin), and a friendly weakling on the other (BHO).

But one small policy change by D.C., and the dirty Russians will be wiped out.
Remember it only takes a thrust increase from 0.5% to 2.0% for the U.S. to overpower Moscow completely.
 

May 16th, 2013, 3:07 pm

 

Dolly Buster said:

 
After Syria falls, you should expect Iran and Russia to go next.

Afterwards we can say the world has largely been cleansed of evil.

Changes in the Communist Party of China will happen spontaneously due to the rise of Chinese middle class & wealth.
 

May 16th, 2013, 3:30 pm

 

zoo said:

The UN vote shows a very weak support in favor of the UN resolution from Sunnis countries
Out of the largest 12, only 4 voted Yes, 2 voted NO and 6 abstained
In population size, 3 of the 4 largest country abstained

Rank Countries Amount Vote
# 1 Indonesia: 193,319,280 Abstained
# 2 Pakistan: 127,668,738 YES
# 3 India: 123,600,000 Abstained
# 4 Bangladesh: 123,197,434 Abstained
# 5 Egypt: 68,864,400 YES
# 6 Nigeria: 62,462,500 Abstained
# 7 Turkey: 58,200,000 YES
# 8 China: 35,982,120 NO
# 9 Algeria: 31,173,120 Abstained
# 10 Morocco: 29,785,140 YES
# 11 Sudan: 28,759,080 Abstained
# 12 Russia: 25,438,000 NO

“Indonesia, which voted in favour of the August resolution, said it abstained mainly because of the resolution’s implied recognition of the Syrian opposition.”

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/15/uk-syria-crisis-un-vote-idUKBRE94E0ZD20130515

May 16th, 2013, 3:45 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

????? ?????? Sendian?
Aktham Naisse
____________________
?? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? 13.5.2013 ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ????????? , ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???????? , ??? ????? ???????? ??????????? ??? ??? ????? 13 ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ” ????? ????? ” ??? ?? ??? ?????? . ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? , ???? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? , ??? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????

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

??? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??, ??? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? , ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ???? , ???? ?? ??????? ????? ????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? , ??? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? , ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? , ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ???????? , ????? ???? ????? ??????.

?? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ??????????? ,,???? ???????? ???????????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? , ??? ????? ?? .. ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ..???? .. ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? .

May 16th, 2013, 4:08 pm

 
 

Sami said:

Mai Skaf has been arrested my moukhabarati filth in Dummar. Yes this regime is really open to dialogue, and by dialogue they mean torture…

May 16th, 2013, 4:36 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

From the ‘Tweets from a list by AJELive’ section on /a>AJE Syria blog:

Basma Atassi | ???? @Basma_ 3h
Video of Jabhat al-Nusra executing 11 soldiers seems to be old. The man who carried out executions (a Saudi) was himself killed in March.

May 16th, 2013, 5:14 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

From the ‘Tweets from a list by AJELive’ section on AJE Syria blog:

Basma Atassi | ???? @Basma_ 3h
Video of Jabhat al-Nusra executing 11 soldiers seems to be old. The man who carried out executions (a Saudi) was himself killed in March.

May 16th, 2013, 5:20 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

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

May 16th, 2013, 5:26 pm

 

revenire said:

Sami if she was arrested it was with good reason.

May 16th, 2013, 5:41 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 16th, 2013, 5:46 pm

 

ann said:

On Syria, Rose Colored Glasses in Rose Garden Make Del Ponte and UN General Assembly Debacle Invisible

By Matthew Russell Lee

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1rosegarden051613.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 16 — When Turkey’s prime minister Erdogan and US President Obama took questions Thursday in the Rose Garden, inevitably the Internal Revenue Service and AP phone records scandal were raised. But there was a lot of Syria, too, or one side of the Syria issue.

There were questions about chemical weapons, with Erdogan saying “we all share information,” then naming the UK but notably not France, which also wrote to UN prober Sellstrom.

Not mentioned was UN panelist Carla Del Ponte, who spoke of strong suspicions that the rebels and not the government used chemical weapons. That was quickly countered not only by Obama’s spokesman Jay Carney but by the UN itself.

At the UN, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson told Inner City Press it obviously hadn’t read the press release of Del Ponte’s co-panelist Paulo Pinheiro. But can Del Ponte’s statements be erased so quickly?

Obama said one purpose of assembling information about chemical weapons is to show it to the international community to get them to act on Syria.

But yesterday in the UN General Assembly, the “yes” vote count on Qatar’s anti-Assad resolution feel from 133 last time to 107. This was not mentioned in the Rose Garden!

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1rosegarden051613.html

May 16th, 2013, 6:02 pm

 

ann said:

U.S. slaps sanctions on Syrian ministers, airline – 2013-05-17

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387902.htm

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) — The Obama administration on Thursday imposed a fresh round of sanctions on Syria, targeting four ministers, one airline and one TV station, just as a new peace conference is being broached to end the 27-month conflict in the Arab nation.

The Department of Treasury blacklisted the ministers of defense, health, industry and justice, the government-owned Syrian Arab Airlines and Al-Dunya Television, a privately owned 24-hour satellite channel.

The airline was accused of transporting weaponry on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to the Syrian government in its battle against the opposition forces, which has killed some 80,000 people.

Al-Dunya Television was targeted for providing services to the government, “including the despicable practice of airing forced confessions,” the Treasury said in a statement.

The Treasury’s move bars American citizens from doing business with the individuals and entities, and freezes all of their assets under U.S. jurisdiction.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387902.htm

May 16th, 2013, 6:34 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

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

What is HA doing in Qusayr? there is no religious mazar(Shrine) there,Lavrov is lying.

Zoo
Ordogan has not finished talking to Obama.there is afternoon meeting.

The informations now that Asshead sent seven trucks loaded with Shabbiha and will attempt to fight Israel,This is how stupid Asshead is,his diabetes and epilepsy must be getting worse.

May 16th, 2013, 6:44 pm

 

ann said:

Six civilians killed in fresh mortar attacks in Syrian capital – 2013-05-17

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387891.htm

DAMASCUS, May 16 (Xinhua) — Six people were killed Thursday when armed groups fired mortar shells at a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus. Clashes between rebels and government troops in the vicinity of a central prison in the northern city of Aleppo, the state media said.

Mortar shells fired by rebels killed six people and injured 37 others at the suburb of Jaramana, some 10 kilometers southeast of Damascus, local media said.

Jaramana, a suburb dominated by Druze and Christians, has been a target of mortars and explosions that have killed tens of people since last year. It’s also known of being loyal to the current government in Syria.

In the northern city of Aleppo, a military source was cited by the state media as confirming that the government troops repelled on Thursday armed rebels’ attack on the city’s central prison, killing many rebels and destroying their machineries.

The oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the fighting at the central prison of Aleppo, saying that the troops repelled the rebels’ attack.

Separate reports speculated that the rebels were trying to storm the prison in the hope of freeing prisoners whose affiliations are unknown.

Also in Aleppo, the Observatory said that seven rebels were killed and more than 16 injured during violent clashes with government forces around the town of Khan al-Asal.

The Britain-based watchdog also posted a video footage purporting to show members of al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front publicly executing 11 men in a square of the oil-rich city of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387891.htm

May 16th, 2013, 6:45 pm

 

ziad said:

[??????] ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???

http://www.beth-tv.com/ar/?p=8124

May 16th, 2013, 6:45 pm

 

ann said:

Report says Israel ill-prepared for unconventional terror attack – 2013-05-17

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387882.htm

JERUSALEM, May 16 (Xinhua) — Israel is ill-prepared to shield its civilian population from an unconventional terror attack, the Israeli Home Front Defense Ministry said Thursday.

“As of today, the preparedness of government offices and authorities against the threat of unconventional weapons is medium- low,” the Ynet news site quoted an internal report drafted by the ministry as saying.

Citing Syria’s civil war and regional instability, the report determines that the likelihood of a unconventional terror attack scenario unfolding has risen.

The report lists chemical terror in “high probability and medium severity,” biological terror in “medium probability and high severity,” and radiological terror in “medium probability.”

However, Israel is critically short on vital gear to protect its nearly 8 million citizens, pointing to a “low readiness” to distribute gas masks which to date have been handed out to 58 percent of the population and an expected shortage of some 2.5 million gas masks after the current stock is depleted, according to the report.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387882.htm

May 16th, 2013, 6:50 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

May 16th, 2013, 7:03 pm

 

revenire said:

Ann thank you for these important updates.

It seems the rats can’t stop killing civilians.

May 16th, 2013, 7:09 pm

 

ann said:

Unbalanced UN resolution may complicate situation in Syria – 2013-05-16

• A new UN resolution may not help create favorable conditions for a political settlement of Syria crisis.
• China stressed forcibly pushing forward the vote on a resolution cannot address the crisis.
• Russia said the resolution was “very harmful and destructive”.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/16/c_132386254.htm

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) — A new resolution adopted Wednesday by the UN General Assembly may not help create favorable conditions for a political settlement of the Syria crisis.

The resolution condemned the Syrian government, but backed the role of a Syrian opposition coalition in transition talks.

“The fact that the text lacks an explicit call for no further militarization of the conflict is unjustifiable,” Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, the Brazilian permanent representative to the UN, told the 193-member General Assembly.

It weakened the faith in the resolve of the international community to end the conflict through diplomatic means, she said.

Although Brazil, China and Russia have all voiced their concerns at part of the text during negotiations on the draft resolution, the sponsor countries forcibly pushed forward the vote at the General Assembly.

“Forcibly pushing forward the vote is not conducive to the unity of the member states and the mediation efforts by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,” Li Baodong, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, told the General Assembly before the vote.

The new resolution, which is not legally binding, received 107 votes in favor, 12 against and 59 abstentions, a drop in support in comparison with a resolution passed in August last year with 133 votes in favor, 12 against and 31 abstentions.

China and Russia were among the 12 countries to vote against the draft resolution, while 59 nations, including Brazil, South Africa and India, abstained.

Alexander Pankin, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said that the resolution was “very harmful and destructive,” claiming it is aimed at a “regime change” in Syria.

Bashar Ja’afari, Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said that “the draft resolution seeks to escalate the crisis and fuel violence in Syria” through attempting to recognize the opposition Syrian National Coalition and legitimize the provision of weapons to them.

Given the grave reality of armed conflict in Syria, it is high time to create improved conditions for all the relevant parties to stop violence and start negotiations at an early date.

It is incumbent for the international community to make collective efforts to bring about positive atmosphere for planned peace talks in Geneva, which is likely to provide an updated roadmap for a Syrian-led political transition.

The UN General Assembly resolution was passed on the day when Ban left for Moscow in a bid to bring all warring parties in Syria to a proposed international conference in Geneva.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/16/c_132386254.htm

May 16th, 2013, 7:46 pm

 

revenire said:

Everyone in the world wants Assad to wipe out the rats. Europe saw them eating hearts. The terror supporters here should all be sent to the front. Let them fight the army. God bless President Assad.

Germany fears return of European jihadists in Syria
German interior minister Hans Peter Friedrich wants the EU to temporarily bar Europeans jihadists from returning

“Up to 700 Europeans are fighting the Assad regime in Syria mainly as militant Islamists, the German government has said, warning that the militants could return as ‘homegrown terrorists’ and calling for a controversial new policy that would temporarily bar them from re-entering”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/16/germany-fears-european-jihadists-syria-return

May 16th, 2013, 7:55 pm

 

ann said:

Germany fears return of European jihadists [NATOs Mercenary Terrorists] in Syria – Thursday 16 May 2013

German interior minister Hans Peter Friedrich wants the EU to temporarily bar Europeans jihadists [NATOs Mercenary Terrorists] from returning

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/16/germany-fears-european-jihadists-syria-return

Up to 700 Europeans are fighting the Assad regime in Syria mainly as militant Islamists, the German government hassaid, warning that the militants could return as “homegrown terrorists” and calling for a controversial new policy that would temporarily bar them from re-entering Europe.

In the first disclosures of western intelligence from an EU government about Europeans fighting in Syria, senior officials in Berlin said they knew of up to 40 people who had left Germany for the battlefields since last summer. Most of them had German passports.

While German security services monitor the situation closely – the German interior ministry has banned three Salafist organisations in the past year – the fighters could not be stopped from leaving Germany because it could not be proved that they were going to Syria, the officials said. Their passports could be confiscated, but frequently it was possible to travel to the Syrian border simply using an ID card.

“You can’t mark their ID cards Jihadist or Salafist,” a senior official said.

The interior ministry is worried that the fighters will return to Germany where they could operate as “homegrown terrorists” and is pushing for pan-European action to diminish that risk.

Hans-Peter Friedrich, the German interior minister, will raise the issue at a meeting of EU governments next month, calling for a two-year re-entry ban to the EU for the suspected Islamists. However, it may be difficult legally to keep them out as most of them carry passports from EU countries, many will often have families in the countries concerned and may have had jobs and entitlements in the EU.

Altogether there were 400-700 Europeans fighting in the opposition in Syria, around 10% of up to 6,000 foreign militants apparently fighting the Assad regime.

In addition to the Syrian fighters, up to 60 militants had also left Germany for Egypt, officials said. The fighters had been traced to training camps in Somalia where they were taught to use explosives and car bombs, officials said. “Most have joined the Islamists. The dangers are growing for us,” said the senior government figure.

A year-long survey by King’s College London of more than 200 martyrdom posts on jihadist-linked websites and hundreds of Arab and western press reports found last month that up to 600 individuals from 14 countries including the UK, Austria, Spain, Sweden and Germany had taken part in the conflict since it began more than two years ago.

The largest contingent, the study found, came from the UK, with estimates of fighters running between 28 and 134. Based on their populations, the figures for Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland –with about 200 fighters between them – made these countries the most significant, said the lead researcher, Professor Peter Neumann from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College.European fighters made up to between 7% and 11% of the foreign contingent in Syria, which ranged between 2,000 and 5,500 people.

[…]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/16/germany-fears-european-jihadists-syria-return

May 16th, 2013, 8:03 pm

 

ghufran said:

?????? ???????? – ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ::??? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ??? 11 ???? ????? ??? ???? ?? ” ?????? ???????? “?? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? / ???? 2013

(????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ????????)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Ghpa2Bl-E&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j09GIs126pA&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0MkfYCrxm8
??????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ???20 ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??????
??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? 37 ???? ????? ???? ?????????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????????? ?? 29 ?? ??? ????/???? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? 28 ????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ????? 4 ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ???? 17 ?? ????? ?????? ????13 ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? 20 ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????????? ????? 14 ????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???????
As of now, most armed rebels are led by Nusra and other islamist groups that are not interested in seeing a functioning government in Syria, they also consider democracy as a conspiracy against Islam, those of you who think that these animals can deliver freedom are a mix of ignorant and evil people, the typical FSA profile who is not sectarian or who is not a thug or a terrorist only exists on facebook or is now being prepped in Jordan to secure checmical weapons and help establish a puppet government that will be born dead, leave your fantasy land and accept the truth, it will set you free, it is a war not a revolution and in a war there are no good guys, there are bad guys and worse guys, unless this war comes to an end, only armed thugs from both sides will decide how Syrians live and die, there is not a single person in Syria today who is a true patriot who has any influence on events and the course of action, that is what war produces, and until it is over, only thugs will make the headlines.

May 16th, 2013, 8:23 pm

 

MarigoldRan said:

The Alawites of Syria are going to be at a permanent state of war for the next 50 years. Exactly what they deserve. Enjoy! If poor people protest, don’t shoot them. It’s a stupid idea.

The country has been partitioned. There will never be reconciliation. The war continues.

May 16th, 2013, 8:35 pm

 

Tara said:

I am not going to rush and condemn the execution of shabeehas.

The killers shall be killed period. But I add only after a due process. Now if proven beyond doubt that those shabeeha took part in killing, torturing, or raping the Syrian people then TO HELL and good riddance. They at least were executed in much humane way than the 80,000 victims of the regime.

I would condemn the act if they were POW or if their criminality has not been established.

And if Al Nusra did it, too bad. The Nusra creation is the handiwork of the rotten regime and it is the regime who should be blamed for it.

May 16th, 2013, 8:39 pm

 

Darryl said:

“422. DOLLY BUSTER said:

Syria belongs to all muslims. The divine Shari’ah will be instituted in every square centimeter of Earth.

Inn il hukmu illa li Llah !!!”

Mr Garbage Bin Duster, can you give us an executive summary of the benefits of living under Sharia and explain to us the reasons you choose to live in the west instead of Arabia enjoying stories of Alf Leila wa Leila?

May 16th, 2013, 8:39 pm

 

Tara said:

I love the Druze and Jounblat.

I am watching an interview were Jounblat said that the Druze sheiks in Swidaa stated that Druze in the rank of the regime who committed crimes against the Syrian people deserve to be killed.

And shame on all others!

May 16th, 2013, 8:56 pm

 

ann said:

Quotable quotes from UN General Assembly meeting on Syria – 2013-05-16

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/16/c_132384963.htm

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) — The following were quotable quotes from a meeting of the UN General Assembly on the situation of Syria held here Wednesday:

“China is deeply worried about the worsening situation in Syria, which has caused serious casualties and property losses and jeopardized the security and stability of the region. China opposes and condemns all violence against innocent civilians.” — Li Baodong, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations.

“The human tragedy that marks the present situation in Syria is of the utmost concern to Brazil. We reiterated unequivocal condemnation of all violence.” — Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, the Brazilian permanent representative to the United Nations.

“I would like to announce, once again, from this forum, that the Syrian government is totally serious and sincere to achieve a Syrian-led comprehensive national dialogue compassing all components of the Syrian society and political force, including the national internal and external opposition and the militants who are ready to give up their arms for the benefit of a peaceful solution.” — Bashar Ja’afara, the Syrian permanent representative to the United Nations.

“Current crisis in Syria is gaining new dimensions, following further intensification of sectarian violence as well as growth of extremism and illegal acts by terrorist and extremist groups in this country; we have witnessed a new rounds of air strikes by the Israeli regime violating the territorial integrity of Syria. There is a growing concern that the operations of armed groups and spillover of such acts into other areas in the region will pose further threat and danger to the regional security and stability.” — Mohammad Khazaee, the Iranian permanent representative to the United Nations.

“For the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela, … the only possible transition is one that is to be determined by the Syrian people themselves, in a peaceful environment, with an inclusive political dialogue, and without foreign involvement.” — Jorge Valero Briceno, the permanent representative of Venezuela to the United Nations.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/16/c_132384963.htm

May 16th, 2013, 9:02 pm

 

revenire said:

Every few days Tara goes into full-blown rants. This time it is the Druze who should die. Their crime? The don’t support Nusra’s eating of hearts and livers from SAA soldiers.

May 16th, 2013, 9:31 pm

 

ann said:

CIA chief in Israel to discuss situation in Syria – 2013-05-17

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387895.htm

JERUSALEM, May 16 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency director John O. Brennan arrived in Israel Thursday evening to discuss Syrian crisis with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’ alon, Israel’s Channel 2 Television reported.

This is Brennan’s first visit to the country since U.S. President Barack Obama appointed him to the post in March. He is scheduled to meet with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and receive briefings from defense officials on the Syrian crisis and its ramifications, Channel 2 said.

Ya’alon is expected to reiterate Israel’s policy, which maintains that while it wants no part in Syria’s war, it is determined to prevent arms transfers from that country to Lebanon’ s Hezbollah, according to Channel 2.

The visit of CIA chief to Israel comes a day after the New York Times quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying that his country will continue to take military action to foil attempts to transfer advanced weaponry to Hezbollah.

In an explicit threat to Syrian President Bashar Assad, the official warned that if the latter reacts to recent alleged Israeli air strikes that targeted Iranian shipments of missiles to Hezbollah, he would risk the collapse of his regime.

“If he reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies, he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate,” the official was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin not to supply Syria with advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles had failed, Channel 2 reported.

The report quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as announcing Thursday evening that Moscow remains committed to the deal it signed with Damascus for the sale of the missiles, explaining that “while we have no intention to violate international law, we don’t want to tarnish our good reputation as a credible supplier of arms.”

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/17/c_132387895.htm

May 16th, 2013, 9:33 pm

 

ghufran said:

May 20th is when these people are supposed to be set free:

1. ?????? ?? ???????? ???????? 27 ?????? 2009
2. ????? ????? ???????? ??? 29 ????? 2011
3. ????? ???? ???? ???????? ??? 29 ????? 2011
4. ????? ???? ??????? ??????? 7 ???? 2011
5. ????? ??? ??????? ??????? 14 ???? 2011
6. ????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? 19 ???? 2011
7. ????? ???? ?????? ??? 19 ???? 2011
8. ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? 23 ???? 2011
9. ????? ???? ???????? ????? 87? ??????? 24 ???? 2011
10. ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? 6 ????? 2011
11. ????? ??? ?????? ??????? 11 ????? 2011
12. ????? ????? ??????? ??????? 11 ????? 2011
13. ????? ???? ??????? ??????? 2 ????? 2011
14. ????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? 8 ????? 2011
15. ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? 14 ????? 2011
16. ????? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? 16 ????? 2011
17. ????? ??? ???? ?????? ? ??????? 17 ????? 2011
18. ????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? 18 ????? 2011
19. ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? 22 ????? 2011
20. ????? ????? ??????? ??????? 22 ????? 2011
21. ????? ??? ??????? ??? 8 ????? 2011
22. ????? ???? ?????? ??????? 15 ????? 2011
23. ????? ???? ????? ??????? 3 ?????? 2011
24. ????? ???? ????? ?????? i? ??? 6 ?????? 2011
25. ????? ???? ?????? ??? 6 ?????? 2011
26. ????? ???? ?????? ??? 6 ?????? 2011
27. ????? ??? ?????? ??? 6 ?????? 2011
28. ????? ??? ???????? ??????? 23 ?????? 2011
29. ????? ????? ??????? ??????? 5 ?????? 2011
30. ????? ???? ????? ? ??????? 16 ?????? 2011
31. ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? 2 ?????? 2011
32. ????? ???? ???? ??????? 10 ?????? 2011
33. ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? 10 ????? 2012
34. ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????? 1 ?????? 2012
35. ????? ??? ????? ??????? 11 ?????? 2012
36. ????? ???? ?????? ??????? 16 ?????? 2012
37. ????? ???? ????? ??????? 16 ?????? 2012
38. ????? ???? ??????? ??????? 16 ?????? 2012
39. ??????? ????? ???????? ??????? 16 ?????? 2012
40. ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? 18 ?????? 2012
41. ????? ???? ?????? ??????? 26 ?????? 2012
42. ????? ???? ????? ? ??????? 3 ???? 2012
43. ????? ???? ???? ??? 12 ???? 2012
44. ????? ???? ??????? ??????? 19 ???? 2012
45. ????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? 12 ????? 2012
46. ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? 20 ?????? 2012
47. ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???????? ??? 2 ?????? 2012
48. ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??? 6 ?????? 2012
49. ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? 29 ?????? 2012
50. ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? 29 ?????? 2012
51. ?????? ???? ??? ???? 17 ????? ???? 29 ?????? 2012
52. ?????? ??? ????? ??????? 1 ?????? 2012
53. ????? ????? ????? ??? 3 ?????? 2012
54. ?. ?? ?????? ???????? 7 ?????? 2012
55. ????? ????? ????? ??????? 9 ?????? 2012
56. ?????? ???? ????? ???????? 18 ?????? 2012
57. ????? ???? ??????? ??????? 24 ?????? 2012
58. ????? ????? ??????? ??????? 24 ?????? 2012
59. ????? ???? ??????? ??????? 24 ?????? 2012
60. ????? ???? ?????? ??????? 24 ?????? 2012
61. ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? 26 ?????? 2012
62. ??????? ???? ???? ??????? 26 ?????? 2012
63. ????? ???? ????? ??????? 15 ?????? 2012
64. ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? 30 ?????? 2012
65. ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? 31 ?????? 2012
66. ????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? 31 ?????? 2012
67. ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ? ????? 17? ??????? 3 ????? 2013
68. ?????? ???? ??????? ??? 9 ????? 2013
69. ?????? ???? ??????? ??? 9 ????? 2013
70. ????? ???? ????? ??? ? ??? 16 ????? 2013
71. ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? 19 ????? 2013
72. ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? 26 ?????
NONE of those deserved to be in prison in the first place

May 16th, 2013, 9:34 pm

 

ghufran said:

Rebels shot at civilians who were trying to enter Al-Yarmouk refugee camps yesterday in observance of Yawm Al-Nakbah. This crime was documented by foreign and Palestinian sources.
Sky posted this report:
http://news.sky.com/story/1091428/syria-civilians-come-under-fire-from-rebels

May 16th, 2013, 9:49 pm

 

Dawoud said:

“Thanks Qatar”
“Thanks Qatar”
???? ???

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

“????? ?????, ???? ???”

🙂

The non-gracious Hasan Nasrass ??? ??? ??????? is now dissing Qatar. Qatar should have sent its billions somewhere else:

May 16th, 2013, 10:03 pm

 

revenire said:

David the Palestinians the rats shot at didn’t hear the news I guess (still waiting for the poll Dave).

May 16th, 2013, 10:04 pm

 

Observer said:

The war in Syria is now culminating in the death of the Sykes Picot agreements. The country is going to break apart and in this situation, we have now the regime essentially giving up on reclaiming any parts of Syria that it lost.

The defections has left the regime with a core of troops that it is using to secure the Damascus Homs Coast area. Iran is helping to keep supplying HA. HA is also trying to keep the area secure for its supplies.

The US will never put troops on the ground. The Russians supplied newer radar equipment to the anti ship missiles that Syria has making a naval blockade or a no fly zone more difficult.

My reading from this is that both the US and Russia are dancing the dance of talks and are talking political solutions while both are preparing to go the next round of fighting.

The visits to the White House by affected leaders from Erdogan to Hamad to Abdallah to Cameron have all shown that without the US leadership nothing can happen definitively.

There is going to be one of two situations: one the situation will necessitate an intervention or two the place will fall apart fully.

Death to Sykes Picot is happening in front of our eyes.

Look at Iraqi Kurdistan: prosperous and free and moving ahead with independent decisions and with deals galore with Turkey and all around it.

Syrian Kurds have effectively carved out a state up north.

The Alawites will make a huge mistake in trying to hold Damascus. I would move the the coast and declare an autonomous region in the name of minority fear of persecution.

The so called advances by the regime forces are tiny. These are militia like advances here and there for a small Alawistan no more.

Here is some reading for the day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/world/middleeast/pressure-of-war-is-causing-syria-to-break-apart.html?ref=world&_r=0

May 16th, 2013, 10:05 pm

 

revenire said:

Dave do you have mental issues we should know about? I only ask because you tend to repeat yourself a great deal.

Thx.

May 16th, 2013, 10:05 pm

 

revenire said:

God is great!

Syrian Al Qaeda-linked rebel leader added to US terrorist list

The US State Department has put the head of Syria’s Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusrah Front onto their terrorist list. The decision will formally be announced on May 17. The US had already dubbed the Al Nusrah Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in December 2012, also adding two of its senior leaders to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on the same day. The leaders are both Al Qaeda operatives in Iraq. From that day forth, the US also started referring to Syria’s Al Nusrah Front as the country’s Al Qaeda.

May 16th, 2013, 10:09 pm

 

dawoud said:

Shia Lebanese are only 0.0002 of the population of the Arab World, but they are 60% of “Syria Comments’s” commentators. This explains the pro-Dictator Slant of SC and its comment section.

“Thanks Qatar”
“Thanks Qatar”
???? ???

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

“????? ?????, ???? ???”

“????? ?????, ???? ???

“????? ?????, ???? ???

The non-gracious Hasan Nasrass ??? ??? ??????? is now dissing Qatar. Qatar should have sent its billions somewhere else.

May 16th, 2013, 10:10 pm

 

ghufran said:

By MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON — Russia has shipped an advanced antiship cruise missile to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, American officials said on Thursday.
Russia has previously provided Yakhont missiles, as the weapon is known, to Syria. But the missiles that were recently delivered are outfitted with an advanced radar that makes them far more accurate, according to American officials who are familiar with classified intelligence reports.
The new missile “contributes to Syria’s overall military capabilities, but specifically it would tend to push Western or allied naval activity further off the coast,” said Jeffrey White, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior American intelligence official. He said the delivery was “a signal of the Russian commitment to the Syrian government.”

May 16th, 2013, 10:10 pm

 

zoo said:

Unless the situation in Syria is not solved quickly, Erdogan may say goodbye to his political ambitions. No wonder he is desperate for a USA intervention

Can Obama Save Turkey From a Syrian Quagmire?

Published: May 16, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/opinion/can-obama-save-turkey-from-a-syrian-quagmire.html

This is bad news for Mr. Erdogan’s bid to remake the Turkish political system with a strong French-style presidency. Mr. Erdogan has aligned all the domestic political stars to be elected president in 2014. He has even made peace with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the P.K.K., a move that would have been an unthinkable taboo just a few years ago. By entering a peace process with the P.K.K.’s reviled leader, the imprisoned Abdullah Ocalan, Mr. Erdogan has effectively ensured the country’s domestic stability in the run-up to 2014 and secured himself at least some Kurdish support. Yet an economic downturn brought on by the war in Syria could upset his plans.

Mr. Erdogan is aware that unless he secures greater American assistance against the Assad regime, Turkey could become the big loser in Syria, and Mr. Erdogan the big loser at the ballot box if he can’t cobble together an absolute majority in 2014. This is also bad news for the United States, which sees Turkey as one of the few stable, strong pillars of Western values in the region.

Turkey’s government believes that unless the balance of power in Syria is tilted in favor of the rebels now, the Syrian conflict will turn into an interminable sectarian civil war that pulls Hatay Province, and with it the rest of Turkey, into turmoil.

May 16th, 2013, 10:12 pm

 

dawoud said:

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-315653-obama-erdogan-reaffirm-assad-must-go.html
Obama, Erdo?an reaffirm Assad must go
16 May 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES, ANKARA
US President Barack Obama said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad needs to leave power for a political solution in Syria after meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Obama made his administration’s stance clear on the position of Assad in a political settlement, underlining that he must depart to pave the way for a solution.

“We’re going to keep increasing the pressure on the Assad regime and working with the Syrian opposition,” Obama said. “We both agree that Assad needs to go.”

Erdo?an says the US and Turkey have overlapping goals when it comes to Syria. Neither leader mentioned that the US and Turkey remain far apart on just how to handle Syria’s bloody civil war. Erdo?an did not directly answer a question about what he asked from Obama on Syria.

Obama said the United States can’t act alone to bring peace to Syria and needs the cooperation of international partners.

“There’s no magic formula for dealing with an extraordinarily violent and difficult situation like Syria,” Obama said.

Erdo?an’s visit to the US came days after twin car bombings in Hatay’s Reyhanl? town along the border with Syria. On Saturday, one of the car bombs exploded outside the city hall while the other went off outside the post office in the town of Reyhanl?, a m
[…]

May 16th, 2013, 10:17 pm

 

dawoud said:

I forgot:

???? ???

May 16th, 2013, 10:18 pm

 

zoo said:

So Germany will ask the Syrian Army to eliminate the German islamists extremists, so they don’t go back to Germany?
I guess Tunisia and France will too.

The Syrian army should not kill them, it should generously send them back to their home country so they can commit their crimes there instead of in Syria.

May 16th, 2013, 10:26 pm

 

dawoud said:

A Devil gives orders to another Devil to help Syria’s Devil kill innocent civilians!

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4380477,00.html

Report: Iran told Nasrallah to prevent Assad downfall ‘at all costs’
Arab official tells Kuwaiti newspaper Supreme Leader Khamenei instructed Shiite group leader to take on larger role in Syria war, block rebel supply routes
Roi Kais
Published: 05.16

ranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei instructed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to prevent the downfall of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria “at all costs,” the Kuwaiti newspaper Araa reported Thursday, citing a high-ranking Arab official.

The official said that during a meeting between Khamenei and Nasrallah in Tehran last month, the supreme leader told the secretary general of the Lebanese Shiite group to block all supply routes to the rebels fighting to overthrow the Syrian president.
[…]

May 16th, 2013, 10:33 pm

 

ann said:

Religion Of Peace!

Obama-Backed Rebels Carry Out Public Executions – May 16, 2013

http://www.infowars.com/obama-backed-rebels-carry-out-public-executions/

WARNING: Graphic content. Viewer discretion advised. Aimed only at documenting crimes by FSA terrorists in Syria.

[…]

http://www.infowars.com/obama-backed-rebels-carry-out-public-executions/

May 16th, 2013, 10:37 pm

 

dawoud said:

???? ???

May 16th, 2013, 10:47 pm

 

revenire said:

Brother Majed and Tara bother screeched that Ergodan was going to do something. Well, he did – he went to moan about his problems to Obama.

May 16th, 2013, 10:47 pm

 

dawoud said:

Hasan NasrAs$ killed al-Hariri and Syria’s children:

May 16th, 2013, 10:50 pm

 

ann said:

Why are those cowards hiding their faces?!

May 16th, 2013, 10:51 pm

 

dawoud said:

In addition to the fact that both Hasan NasrAss and Bashar can’t pronounce the Arabic letters ? and ?, what else they have in common? They both kill innocent Syrians. Shame on them

May 16th, 2013, 10:53 pm

 
 

revenire said:

Today’s New York Times:

Russia Sends More Advanced Missiles to Aid Assad in Syria
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/world/middleeast/russia-provides-syria-with-advanced-missiles.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Upgrade to the Yakont in addition to the S-300s.

May 16th, 2013, 10:58 pm

 

ann said:

More from the religion of peace!

May 16th, 2013, 11:01 pm

 
 

Ziad said:

Picture taken on May 16, 2013 of Asma Assad taking her two kids Hafez & Zein to school in Damascus

https://twitter.com/zaidbenjamin/status/335074640533790720/photo/1

May 16th, 2013, 11:04 pm

 
 

ann said:

Religion Of Peace!

CIA Cannibal Eats Dead Syrian Soldier’s Heart – May 14, 2013

The CIA’s Islamic mercenaries – supported and funded by the Gulf monarchies – have demonstrated on numerous occasions in Syria and Libya they are not beholden to international standards governing the conduct of war

http://www.infowars.com/cia-cannibal-eats-dead-syrian-soldiers-heart/

The CIA supported Free Syrian Army has produced a video showing Abu Sakkar eating the heart of a dead Syrian soldier.

Sakkar is the commander of the Farouq Brigades, one of the largest units of the Free Syrian Army. In 2012, the unit merged with the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front, a coalition of Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist groups vowing to create an Islamic state in Syria. It is named after Farouq from Omar bin al-Khatab, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, and the second caliphate.

The video was described as authentic by several Abu Sakkar’s fighters and supporters, including his brother.

“I swear to God, soldiers of Bashar, you dogs – we will eat your heart and livers! Takbir! God is Great! Oh my heroes of Baba Amr, you slaughter the Alawites and take their hearts out to eat them!” Sakkar declares in the video.

The NGO Human Rights Watch claims the cannibal Sakkar also participated in the indiscriminate shelling of Shia villages in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention prohibit mutilation of the dead. “Mutilation of the dead is actually a fairly rare occurrence in well-disciplined armies. This is probably as much the result of a general revulsion at such conduct as from a fear of criminal punishment,” notes H. Wayne Elliott.

Amnesty International has documented a steep increase in war crimes committed by CIA supported mercenaries in Syria, including hostage taking, torture and summary executions.

In Libya, NATO’s mercenaries tortured and summarily executed thousands, including Muammar Gadhafi and his son, according to Human Rights Watch. Islamic militias are said to have killed U.S. ambassador Stevens and several other Americans in Benghazi.

[…]

http://www.infowars.com/cia-cannibal-eats-dead-syrian-soldiers-heart/

May 16th, 2013, 11:11 pm

 

ann said:

Obama’s finest!

May 16th, 2013, 11:15 pm

 

dawoud said:

Hasan the Devil:

May 16th, 2013, 11:16 pm

 
 

ann said:

White House Benghazi Documents Show CIA, State Dept. Both Wanted Terror References Removed from Talking Points – May 16, 2013

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/wh-benghazi-documents-show-cia-state-both-wanted-terror-references-removed-talking

(CNSNews.com) – After days of media leaks and back-and-forth wrangling about administration officials’ deliberations on talking points about the Benghazi attack, the White House late Wednesday released documents showing that both CIA and State Department officials pressed for the removal of all references to al-Qaeda and previous terror activity in Libya.

Among the 100 pages released is a draft of talking points being prepared for Congress and then public release about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, with extensive pen alterations by CIA deputy director Michael Morell.

Dated Sept. 14 but not time-stamped, the document shows that Morell wanted to strike sentences including an entire portion reading:

“The Agency has produced numerous pieces on the threat of extremists linked to al-Qaeda in Benghazi and eastern Libya. Since April, there have been at least five other attacks against foreign interests in Benghazi by unidentified assailants, including the June attack against the British Ambassador’s convoy. We cannot rule out that individuals had previously surveilled the U.S. facilities, also contributing to the efficacy of the attacks.”

Morell did not, however, make amendments to the part of the draft that linked the Benghazi attack to a demonstration at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo hours earlier (by Muslims purportedly enraged by an online video clip denigrating Mohammed.)

That sentence – which with minor alterations made it into the final talking points given to U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice ahead of her appearances on Sunday talk shows on Sept. 16 – read:

“The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the U.S. Consulate [diplomatic post in Benghazi] and subsequently its annex.”

(Armed with those talking points, Rice told ABC’s This Week that “our current best assessment, based on the information that we have at present, is that, in fact, what this began as, it was a spontaneous – not a premeditated – response to what had transpired in Cairo. In Cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated.”)

U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith and Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed during the armed attack.

GOP critics have alleged that the administration’s talking points were designed to highlight the “offensive video” angle because focusing on terrorism would clash with the narrative of a diminishing terror threat in the closing stages of the election campaign. Administration officials have consistently denied this.

The documents released on Wednesday show that another sentence Morell wanted removed from draft talking points was one reading:

“On 10 September the Agency notified Embassy Cairo of social media reports calling for a demonstration and encouraging jihadists to break into the Embassy.”

Elsewhere in the package was an email sent by State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland (at 7:39 pm on Sept. 14) to various CIA and White House officials, in which she too raised concern about including in the talking points the references to prior attacks in Libya and previous CIA reports on extremist activity in and around Benghazi.

Nuland warned that that portion “could be abused by Members [of Congress] to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings, so why do we want to feed that either? Concerned …”

House Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman, Brendan Buck, said the release of the documents was “long overdue and there are relevant documents the administration has still refused to produce.”

“The seemingly political nature of the State Department’s concerns raises questions about the motivations behind these changes and who at the State Department was seeking them,” he said.

[…]

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/wh-benghazi-documents-show-cia-state-both-wanted-terror-references-removed-talking

May 16th, 2013, 11:25 pm

 
 

Juergen said:

Tara

I believe Djumblatt like Aoun is an dangerous warlord and one with bloody hands too, only because he finally fight against Assad ( he was a loyal Assadist before) doesnt make him a moral person after all.

May 16th, 2013, 11:36 pm

 

ann said:

Israel Helps Terrorists – “They’re Good For Us Now” Says Top Cabinet Member

http://collapsereport.com/2013/05/09/israel-helps-terrorists-theyre-good-for-us-now-says-top-cabinet-member/

The US has ordered Israel to help retrieve it’s Al-Quaeda terrorists who are fighting in Syria. Many of these terrorists launched attacks against the USA in Iraq or against Israel just months earlier.

“It makes sense when you realize that Syria is our enemy” said a senior cabinet member. Some of the newly treated terrorists went directly into Israel to begin terror attacks against the nation that healed them. “That’s always a risk when you deal with these guy” said an Israeli spokesperson.

“Israel has set up a large field hospital near the Tel Hazakah observation and military post on Golan which overlooks southern Syria and northern Jordan. There, incoming Syrian war wounded are vetted and examined by Israeli army medics who decide whether to patch them up and send them back, or judge them badly hurt enough for hospital care. The seriously hurt are moved to one of the nearest Israeli hospitals in Safed or Haifa,” states the report.

By treating and rehabilitating wounded FSA militants and Al-Qaeda terrorists, Israel is aiding the very same rebels who have burned Israeli flags in public and vowed to crush the Zionist regime once they are finished toppling Bashar Al-Assad.

“It’s funny really when you think about it, we are healing the same guys we will be shooting with bullet holes in a few months, but that’s politics”

[…]

http://collapsereport.com/2013/05/09/israel-helps-terrorists-theyre-good-for-us-now-says-top-cabinet-member/

May 16th, 2013, 11:45 pm

 

dawoud said:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/16/us-syria-crisis-offensive-idUSBRE94F0T420130516

Syrian rebels launch offensive in south to reverse losses

Reuters) – Syrian rebels said they attacked an important military base in the south and checkpoints in the city of Deraa on Thursday, trying to regain ground lost to President Bashar al-Assad’s forces near the Jordanian border.

The rebels were thrown onto the defensive last week when Assad’s troops retook the town of Khirbet Ghazaleh on the main north-south highway between Damascus and Jordan.

They said hundreds of fighters with rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns were brought in on Thursday to lay siege to the fortress-like headquarters of the Syrian army’s 52nd Mechanised Brigade, one of the largest bases in Deraa province.
[…]

Free Syria, Free Palestine!

May 16th, 2013, 11:51 pm

 

dawoud said:

Free Syrian Army FSA arrests Hasan the Devil 🙂

The satirical video includes a nice song about the black towel that Hasan the Devil has around his head:

May 16th, 2013, 11:54 pm

 

ann said:

Obama Tells Wealthy Gathering He Wants To “Institutionalize” Crisis Atmosphere – May 14, 2013

http://www.infowars.com/obama-tells-wealthy-gathering-he-wants-to-institutionalize-crisis-atmosphere/

Complaining about a lack of community spirit in Washington DC, the president said Sunday that he wishes to see institutionalized the kind of atmosphere that emerged in Boston following the recent terrorist bombings, so his administration can get things done.

Obama made the comments while speaking to wealthy millionaires at a fundraiser inside a five-story mansion owned by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Only 60 guests were present at the event, with names from banking, fashion and entertainment, including singer Justin Timberlake, actress Jessica Biel, and designer Tommy Hilfiger.

“More than anything, what I will be striving for over the next three and a half years is to see if that spirit we saw in Boston and West Texas, to see if we can institutionalize that [and] if we can create a framework where everybody’s working together and moving this country forward,” Obama is quoted as saying in a press pool report highlighted by The Daily Caller.

Obama is clearly referring to the Boston attacks, as well as the explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas last month. In both situations, communities were reduced to states of confusion, panic and fear in the face of crisis.

Obama is said to have noted that such events have a positive impact of rallying Americans together, and that such an impact should be made commonplace.

The comments are reminiscent of those by Obama’s former Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emnauel, who notoriously stated “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also infamously said, “never waste a good crisis.”

The idea of the permanent crisis is a long standing one. In his book Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, which documents the origins and nature of fascist movements, columnist Jonah Goldberg notes that “The utility of terror was multi-faceted, but among its chief benefits was the tendency to maintain a permanent sense of crisis. Crisis is routinely identified as a core mechanism of fascism because it short-circuits debate and democratic deliberation” (42-43).

Indeed, with regards to terror threats, the US is still officially in a state of emergency declared On September 11, 2001 and formally put into writing three days later by George W. Bush. The state of emergency has been extended every year since, and continues to be renewed annually by Obama.

Although it is constantly argued that this action violates the Constitution, it continues to be re-declared, invoking several war-time powers that give the president greater control of the military. Those powers include the ability to suspend retirements and separations of military personnel, recall the Ready Reserve, activate recently-retired Coast Guard officers and personnel, and prohibit or regulate financial transactions with foreign entities involved in terrorism.

There are far too many stipulations of the state of emergency to list here, as it activates some 500 legal provisions, including those allowing the president to effectively impose censorship and martial law.

So not only is the president saying that he wishes to institutionalize a crisis state, he is actively doing so. Of course, Congress has the power to revoke the state of emergency, but that isn’t likely to happen any time soon.

[…]

http://www.infowars.com/obama-tells-wealthy-gathering-he-wants-to-institutionalize-crisis-atmosphere/

May 17th, 2013, 12:03 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

in the next few weeks we are going to hear about a major fight around Deraa,between Deraa and Suwaida,Hizb allah fighters are pouring there, and Nusra front are massing people there

May 17th, 2013, 12:30 am

 

ann said:

Syrian rebel atrocity video: No apology for ‘revenge’, more clips promised – May 15, 2013

http://rt.com/news/syria-rebel-eat-lung-revenge-307/

A chilling tape of a Syrian rebel apparently eating the heart of a slain government soldier has prompted calls on the opposition to prevent such abuses. However the fighter has also reportedly had support from within his ranks for his “act of revenge.”

The video, 27 seconds of footage, was first spotted in April, with the TIME magazine conducting a probe into whether it had been faked for propaganda purposes. On Sunday, the clip emerged on a pro-regime website, triggering a wave of rage online.

Human rights organizations, as well as his fellow rebels, have condemned the rebel.

However, Khalid Hamad, known by his war nickname Abu Sakkar, didn’t seem to regret his behavior much, labeling it as revenge: “an eye for eye, a tooth for tooth.”

In an interview with TIME magazine, he commented on his actions: “We opened his cell phone, and I found a clip of a woman and her two daughters fully naked and he was humiliating them, and poking a stick here and there.”

Hamad says as a Sunni he hates Alawite Muslims, which once again signals of the increasingly sectarian side of the Syrian conflict. UN warned of it as early as in December last year.

“Hopefully we will slaughter all of [the Alawites]. I have another video clip that I will send to them. In the clip, I am sawing another shabiha [pro-government militiaman] with a saw. The saw we use to cut trees. I sawed him into small pieces and large ones,” Hamad said in the interview. The rebel was initially reported to have taken out the liver and heart, but later it was concluded that it was a lung he was holding in his hands.

The Supreme Military Council has already compiled a poster calling for Hamad’s arrest, saying it wants him “dead or alive” on official Damascus’s behalf.

On Monday, Human Rights Watch issued a report on the matter, saying the rebel was also to blame for the cross-border bombing of a Lebanese village that left two killed not long ago.

“It is not enough for Syria’s opposition to condemn such behavior or blame it on violence by the government,” Nadim Houry, the watchdog’s deputy director for the Middle East, told TIME magazine.

“The opposition forces need to act firmly to stop such abuses.” However with recent reports showcasing lack of unity in the opposition ranks, a unified response to such acts may stay only in the form of calls. The Red Cross for instance brings the following report from within Syria.

“Sometimes it can take more than two weeks of negotiations with both sides. With armed groups, maybe half of them will accept and with half we still have to negotiate. Even if you get the green light from both sides, you would have some groups or snipers who would not really follow instructions and would shoot at anyone who is trying to cross,” head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team Marianne Gasser told Reuters.

But while some of the opposition factions denounce Hamad’s actions, there are supporters who make portraits of him with the inscription “We Love You.”

“These types of atrocities have been happening in Syria since the beginning of the crisis. The international community just didn’t want to admit it,” Ali Haider, Syria’s minister for reconciliation, told the Telegraph.

The minister also pointed out that they had documents that were as “horrific” as the video featuring Hamad.

“We have seen one of our pilot’s heads cut off and cooked on a grill. We have seen rebels toasting their success by drinking the blood of their victims,” he claimed.

All this comes as the UK and France urge for the arms embargo on Syria to be lifted in order to supply the opposition with weapons. This has already drawn criticism from allies, with Austria reportedly circulating a discussion paper among the EU member states on Tuesday pressing that such a move would violate the international law.

Lifting the embargo would “constitute a breach of international and EU law” and be contrary to the “principle of non-intervention and non-use of force” laid down in the UN Charter, Austrian press quoted the document. If the weapons fall with al-Nusra Front opposition group, it would also violate UN Security Council resolutions on Al-Qaeda, given al-Nusra’s recent affiliation claims.

[…]

http://rt.com/news/syria-rebel-eat-lung-revenge-307/

May 17th, 2013, 12:51 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Eating the heart of Syrians, one whip at a time. This is what regime propagandists on Joshua Landis’s blog are defending. This is the farm they want to keep and this is their ethics, and hate for Syrians.
?????????
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????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ? ??????? ? ????? ?????? .. ????? ???? ?? ??? ? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ???????.. ???? ??? ??? ” 61 ” .. ??? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?? ?????. ? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ? ??? ???? ??????? ? ????? ?????? ? ???????. ??? ??? ???? ?????? ? ? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ” ??? ????” ???? ???? ??????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ?????. ??? : ” ?? ?? ???? ? ????? ??? ???? ? ????? ??? ???? ? ???? ? ??? ?? ???? ??????”. ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ” ???????????” ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ? ?????? ??? ????????? ? ???? ” ?? ???? ?????? ??? ???”. ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? .. ??? ??? ???? ? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ( ?????? ???????)? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ????????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??? ????.
? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ? ???? ????? ???????? .. ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ? ???? ?????? ? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???????.

——

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

?????????
??? ???? =====

????? ?????? ???? ????? ,,,,,,, ??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???
??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? . ??? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? . ???? ???? ??????? 10/ 6/1996? ??? ???? ?? ???????.

Damn you, damn your so called president, its ugly family, its hoards of hyenas including you.

May 17th, 2013, 12:51 am

 

ann said:

`israel wants to get rid of UN Peacekeepers 😉

UN: 3 Peacekeepers Abducted Between Israel-Syria – UNITED NATIONS May 17, 2013 (AP)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/peacekeepers-abducted-israel-syria-19197687

Armed men broke into a U.N. outpost in a buffer zone separating Israel and Syria and abducted three U.N military observers, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said Thursday.

Herve Ladsous told a group of reporters that the unarmed observers were held by the Syrian men for about five hours and released unharmed Wednesday morning.

It was the third abduction of U.N. peacekeepers in the tense region since March and underlined again their vulnerability in the spillover of the conflict in Syria, which is now in its third year.

Ladsous called the latest abduction “a very serious incident … that illustrates the very difficult conditions that now prevail” in and around the area separating Syrian and Israeli forces which is supposed to be free of armed groups.

The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned the abduction of the three observers by “a group of anti-government armed elements” who also looted the observation post. In a statement Thursday evening, the council called on all Syrian parties to cooperate with U.N. peacekeepers, ensure their security, and enable them to operate freely.

Ladsous said that early Wednesday morning, a group of unknown armed men broke into U.N. Observation Post 52 in the area of separation and abducted three members of Observer Group Golan, which is part of the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization, known as UNTSO.

They were released unharmed about five hours later and returned safely to the observation post, where they were met by the head of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, known as UNDOF, Ladsous said.

Ladsous, the undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, did not say where the three military observers were from but the media in New Zealand reported that one was a New Zealander.

Ladsous said it wasn’t known which Syrian group abducted the three UNTSO observers.

Ladsous said the U.N. is trying to keep the remaining troops.

“We are in close contact with the troop contributors with a view to retaining their active support because they are crucial,” he said.

A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement, said about 150 troops from Fiji will replace Japanese and Croatian contingents that left.

Ladsous reiterated that his department is doing contingency planning for a possible U.N. peacekeeping operation in Syria after the fighting ends, working in close consultation with Lakhdar Brahimi.

[…]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/peacekeepers-abducted-israel-syria-19197687

May 17th, 2013, 1:20 am

 

ann said:

After Kidnap Allowed by Ladsous Laxity, Belated Half-Answer, UNCA Defense

By Matthew Russell Lee

http://www.innercitypress.com/ladsous3golan051613.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 16 — More than three hours after a Press request, and after Herve Ladsous’ Department of Peacekeeping Operations spoon-fed half answers about another kidnapping of peacekeepers under his watch to friendly scribes, this written response was sent:

Subject: Re: Request for all information DPKO has providing about new detention of UN peacekeepers in the Golan, etc
Date: Thu, May 16, 2013 at 11:14 PM
From: Josephine Guerrero [at] un.org
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com
Cc’s [many, including]: Kieran Dwyer [at] un.org, Andre-Michel Essoungou [at] un.org, FUNCA

Matthew, On the most recent detention of UN peacekeepers in the Golan:

In the early morning on 15 May, a group of unknown armed men broke into UN Observation Post 52, in the area of separation. Three Observer Group Golan unarmed military observers were taken and held for approximately five hours and were released unharmed. They returned safely to UN Observation Post 52 where they were met by the UNDOF Head of Mission.

It’s appreciated, and Inner City Press immediately publishes it in full – but it doesn’t answer Inner City Press’ question at the May 16 noon briefing, about “the highest levels of DPKO” being aware of the role of Qatari intelligence and the Syrian opposition “ambassador” in Doha in the previous kidnapping of Filipino UN peacekeepers.

Nor does it answer when Inner City Press directly requested, more than three hours earlier, “for an explanation of how this information was disseminated on such a limited basis, including in light of DPKO spokesperson Dwyer’s statements at UN World Press Freedom Day event.” Video here.

Then after yet more peacekeepers were grabbed, rather than even put out an e-mail announcement, Ladsous summoned a group of friendly journalists, who typed up what he said without any context at all.

Reuters’ Michelle Nichols, for example, typed up quotes from Ladsous without any mention of what happened in the GA Hall the day before, and said Fiji would replace the fleeing peacekeepers, according to unnamed diplomats.

With all due respect to Fiji, it was barred by Kofi Annan from contributing troops due to its coup d’etat. The reason it would step in now would be to put that behind. To not include that in a story is just lazy, ignorant, or worse.

But this is what Ladsous, and now apparently the UN he is corrupting, is looking for. It so ill-serves even the troop contributing countries that by them Ladsous is called a loser.

Nevertheless, an anonymous social media account associated with the UN Correspondents Association quickly jumped in, defending Ladsous from the verdict of a Troop Contributing Country, that Ladsous is “a loser.” Perhaps Reuters or UNCA should contributed troops.

[…]

http://www.innercitypress.com/ladsous3golan051613.html

May 17th, 2013, 1:33 am

 

Citizen said:

Five Russian warships entered the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday and are scheduled to dock in Limassol, Cyprus.

Russian news sources reported that the ships would bolster the country’s new regional task force. Russia currently has a naval base in Tartous, Syria.

In March, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the naval task force was needed in order to protect Russian interests in the region.

“The task force has successfully passed through the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean,” Capt. First Rank Roman Martov was quoted as saying in Russian news agency RIA Novosti. “It is the first time in decades that Pacific Fleet warships enter this region.”

The Russian navy maintained a squadron of 30-50 ships in the region from 1967 until 1992 as part of its Cold War with the United States.

According to RIA Novosti, the task force currently includes an anti-submarine ship, a frigate, and rescue tugs. Joining the task force from the Pacific fleet are a destroyer, amphibious warfare ships, and a tanker.

On Sunday, Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov said that nuclear submarines may be added to the task force in the future.

According to the Russian defense ministry, the command and control agencies for the Mediterranean task force will be based in either Novorossiysk, Russia, or Sevastopol, Ukraine.

May 17th, 2013, 1:34 am

 

ann said:

Here’s an exclusive! Mona Alami declares Aleppo “rebel-held”!!!
Looks like USA TODAY will publish anything without verification!!!

Vice and virtue police rule Syria “rebel-held” region – May 15, 2013

Mona Alami, Special for USA TODAY

Religious police units enforce a strict form of Islamic rule, such banning alcohol sales and requiring conservative dress for women

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/05/16/syria-vice-virtue-police-rebels/2161465/

BEIRUT — Radical Syrian opposition groups [Al-Qaeda?] now in control of Aleppo [?] and much of its surroundings [?] are forming increasing numbers of religious police units to enforce a strict form of Islamic rule, such as banning alcohol sales and making prayer compulsory.

The actions of these groups, many of which comprise foreign fighters [MERCENARIES?] , are gaining in reach in a country that has been largely secular and free of Islamic jihadist radicalism.

“Rebels have brutally imposed a conservative dress code for women and crushed any secular opposition in these areas,” Syrian author Talal al-Atrache says.

Known as vice and virtue police, these squads are enforcing the edicts of courts put in place by rebels [Al-Qaeda?] in the various Syrian regions where the Syrian government has been pushed out.

The main purpose of the courts is to adjudicate criminal allegations and issue rulings against members of regime forces or undisciplined members of the armed factions, says Mourad al Chami, spokesperson for the Syrian Military Council in Damascus.

“However, like in any other war, there have been reports of excessive behavior on the part of these religious courts and police squads,” al Chami admits.

Much of the spread of Islamic courts has been in Aleppo, the largest city in Syria and scene of nearly two years of battles between rebels and government forces. Fighters aligned with radical groups [Al-Qaeda?] in Iraq and elsewhere [MERCENARIES?] have made their way there to fight the regime of Bashar Assad and at the same time have slowly been imposing their laws on villages and neighborhoods they control.

In some towns, Islamist militants [Al-Qaeda?] patrol the streets and warn men to not shave and refrain from alcohol, and tell women to wear the abaya, a long black garment that comes with a veil.

“There have been several reports of liquor stores forced to close down,” says al Chami, who adds that most demands are limited to pockets of terrain and not widespread.

Mouaz al-Khatib, former head of the Syrian National Coalition, which is a group of opposition forces, has said he is aware of cases where women were executed for alleged sexual misbehavior, says Thomas Pierret, a specialist of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Videos circulating on the Internet depict punishments imposed by vice and virtue squads in Syria, though the footage can not be verified as accurate.

One video shows a demonstrator being arrested because he had thrown away a banner inscribed with the Muslim declaration of faith associated with radical Salafi movements. Author al-Atrache says the demonstrator, identified as Wael Ibrahim Abu Mariam, is punished by 10 strokes of metal pipe by the Sharia Authority in Aleppo.

Another video shows secular activist Abdallah Yassine being charged for inciting unrest by Shariah Tribunals in Saraqeb, in the province of Idlib.

Moaz al Khatib, himself an Islamic scholar, has criticized al-Nusra for enforcing an uncompromising version of Islam. The Syrian National Council announced recently it intended to establish a more moderate version of sharia law, but what that means is not known.

“The reference to sharia ( by the council) means very little without further specification,” Pierret says.

[…]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/05/16/syria-vice-virtue-police-rebels/2161465/

May 17th, 2013, 2:19 am

 

MarigoldRan said:

If Hezbollah or Iran wants to fight in Syria, then they will die in Syria. The Assadists have already been defeated. Now the fight is against the foreign Shiites.

There’s a war. It continues.

May 17th, 2013, 2:38 am

 

MarigoldRan said:

Most of Aleppo city and the province IS in the control of the rebels. If you travel in Aleppo while waving an Assadist flag, you won’t get very far.

On the other hand, if you wave Al Nusra’s flag in Aleppo province, you can travel a lot further. That means Al Nusra controls more of the territory than the Assadists.

May 17th, 2013, 2:42 am

 

Hanzala said:

I like my Assad heart and liver cooked in a pan with onions and a little oil.

May 17th, 2013, 2:47 am

 

MarigoldRan said:

Add some seasoning too.

What comes around, goes around. The war continues.

May 17th, 2013, 2:50 am

 

Hanzala said:

lol

May 17th, 2013, 2:51 am

 

Juergen said:

interesting read in DER SPIEGEL ( I couldnt find yet an english scource for this story)

Russia delivers anti ship missiles to Syria, weakens the possibility of an international sea blockade or air controlled buffer zone

“Jachont” missiles in Syria: Russia delivers modern anti-ship missiles to Assad

“Russia supplies Syria apparently with more modern weapons than previously known. In recent months, the Assad regime have received advanced anti-ship missiles of the type “Jachont” from Moscow. This tells the “New York Times”, citing unnamed U.S. officials.”

http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Fpolitik%2Fausland%2Frussland-liefert-moderne-anti-schiff-rakete-jachont-nach-syrien-a-900419.html

May 17th, 2013, 4:43 am

 

Mina said:

Should we believe the Saudis were channelling money to Hizbullah or do we have to read Hamas?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/16/court-papers-saudi-princes-relations

May 17th, 2013, 6:21 am

 

Tara said:

The regime never fail to outdo itself in horror.  Killing prisoners in Aleppo and throwing them out of the windows to deter the rebels attack on the prison.    

• Rebel forces claimed they were forced to call off an assault on the main prison in Aleppo after troops defending it began shooting inmates and throwing them out of the windows, the Telegraph’s Richard Spencer reports from the city. Anas, a soldier speaking after withdrawing from the rebels’ front line, said:”I saw 10 bodies being thrown out today. Yesterday, we attacked at about five o’clock, but when we began they started throwing bodies through the window. The bodies are still there, and we are close enough to smell them. We cannot get them because they are in the line of fire.”

The Guardian 

May 17th, 2013, 7:18 am

 

Dawoud said:

Free Syria, Free Palestine!

May 17th, 2013, 7:56 am

 

Juergen said:

MIna

How dare you ask this question. How can the honorable Sheikh Nasrallah and the defender of arab honor the hisbollah take money from Saudi Arabia, its totally unbelieveable

May 17th, 2013, 8:59 am

 

dawoud said:

I wonder how many of these filthy pro-Bashar Terrorist Hackers are posting here on SC pro-Bashar and pro-Hasan the Devil comments! They are very likely members of the Lebanese Shia or Shiite Terrorist group Hizbas$ of Hasan the Devil ??? ??? ???????

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/17/net-us-britain-ft-hacked-idUSBRE94G0DE20130517

Pro-Assad hackers attack UK newspaper FT’s website, Twitter feed

(Reuters) – The website of British newspaper the Financial Times was hacked on Friday, apparently by the “Syrian Electronic Army”, a group of hackers and on-line activists who say they support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
[…]

May 17th, 2013, 9:02 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Hmmmm.

Dawoud,

What if Israel signed an agreement with the opposition, fought along side with the opposition, deposed Assad, and formed an alliance where Israel returns the Golan for a peace treaty??

Maybe this could tip the balance and save lives and create a long-term peace (and take Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia out of the picture)?.

Then we could focus on Freeing Palestine. q:o)

May 17th, 2013, 9:11 am

 

Dawoud said:

543. AKBAR PALACE

Very likely, the opposition would NOT accept your hypothetical offer as long as Israel occupies al-Quds al-Sharif and steals/colonizes Palestinian lands. Those who oppose a murderous dictatorship would be morally-bankrupt if they align themselves with occupiers.

Free Syria, Free Palestine!

May 17th, 2013, 9:31 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Very likely, the opposition would NOT accept your hypothetical offer as long as Israel occupies al-Quds al-Sharif and steals/colonizes Palestinian lands.

Dawoud,

Oh Well. I know it was a stab in the dark. I’m just trying to think “outside the box”.

May 17th, 2013, 9:36 am

 

revenire said:

Tara lol – they’re free now.

May 17th, 2013, 9:37 am

 

revenire said:

“Those who oppose a murderous dictatorship would be morally-bankrupt if they align themselves with occupiers.”

You’re already allied with the Zionists Dave.

May 17th, 2013, 9:39 am

 

dawoudrh said:

?? ??, ?? ?? ???????

May 17th, 2013, 9:49 am

 
 

revenire said:

Dave did you ever find that poll? The one where you said 95% of Palestinians supported the Zionist attack on Syria (like you do)?

Guess you lied to everyone.

No big deal – your entire revolution is based on lies.

PS – Why so sectarian Dave?

PPS – Your friends shot Palestinians in Yarmouk – it is on camera. Guess that Palestinians were not part of the 95% huh?

May 17th, 2013, 10:33 am

 

revenire said:

Dave did you ever find that poll? The one where you said 95% of Palestinians supported the Zionist attack on Syria (like you do)?

Guess you lied to everyone.

No big deal – your entire revolution is based on lies.

PS – Why so sectarian Dave?

PPS – Your friends shot Palestinians in Yarmouk – it is on camera. Guess that Palestinians were not part of the 95% huh?

May 17th, 2013, 10:37 am

 

revenire said:

A little different than the wild BBC story that Tara pasted (remember when the BBC was caught using photos from Iraq and claiming it was Syria?).

TERRORIST EFFORT TO ENTER CENTRAL PRISON IN ALEPPO FAILS MISERABLY; 38 RATS KILLED, 63 WOUNDED; 19 SURRENDER TO SYRIAN ARMED FORCES, GUARDS AND MILITIA. PRISONERS VOLUNTEERED TO FIGHT RODENTS IN SUPPORT OF THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT

ALEPPO: As you must have heard, Syrian government forces annihilated the terrorist rats who were personally commanded by soon-to-be-dead former colonel, ‘Abdul-Jabbar Al-Ukaydi. What a disaster! They tried to shock our shockproof forces with 2 bomb-laden cars which were woefully inadequate for the task. Instead, what they wound up doing was attracting hundreds of security personnel who quickly put the kibosh on their miserable plans. With militia and SAA in place, it was a matter of 3 hours before the entire terrorist operation went into disaster mode.

Our source in Aleppo, Barakaat, finally communicated with us from his home in Al-‘Azeeziyya, and told us by telephone that his brother, who works at the prison as a cook, could hear prisoners demanding to fight the terrorists who had attacked the prison from 3 sides. (See above). The attack started at 5:20 a.m. on Wednesday ,Aleppo time, or 12:20 a.m. NYT, commenced with the explosion of 2 vans, painted up to look like ordinary supply delivery vehicles, loaded with C-4 at the Main Gate. The drivers of the cars were suicide bombers who were killed instantly as the cars exploded. Wael says that Barakaat is wrong because both vans were actually ambulances.

SyrPer Exclusive: We now know that the FSA had insiders within the ranks of the guards at the Central Prison. What the FSA did not know was that the insiders worked for General Security. This is why the plan went awry. The SAA and security knew ahead of time about the attack. What was not known was the exact timing. Also of interest to our readers: The approximately 230 prisoners who were doing time for participating in terrorism were placed (for their own protection) in the “South Wing” which would have made it impossible for the rats to reach them without sustaining massive losses.

Here are some of the names of dead rats collected so far from the carcasses strewn about the area:

‘Abdul-Khaaleq Al-Mu’adhdhin
Rabaah Mansoor
Muhammad Iblibi
Mustafa Kallaas
Jameel Abu-Sanaasel (?)
Muraad Al-Ahaameed
Adeeb Jalaali
Raateb Al-A’war
Mahmoud Khayreddeen
Muhammad Jiniblaad
‘Awn ‘Abdul-Ahad
Thaa’er Al-Tutunn

We have 3 confirmed Turks in the group whose identities have not been ascertained. There are 38 carcasses so far.

Hanaano Residencies: A team of SF from the SAA attacked a den of cockroaches and killed all 7 in a morning raid. Thanks to Prince Fatso of Qatar, our militias have a brand new 23mm AA gun and 14 new AK47 rifles. Thanks so much to the Husband of Madame Banana. The 7 killed are:

“Abu-Al-Naqma” (The Vengeful One; yawn. Id pending. Known from intercepted communications.)
Saaber Nujoom
Muhammad Riyaadhi
Salloom ‘Abdul-Rahmaan
Khudhr Al-Kaamel
CONFIRMED LIBYAN RAT TERRORIST (“Al-Mujaahed Al-Leebi”)
Muhammad Tarshu

http://syrianperspective.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-post-may-16-2013-syrian-army.html

May 17th, 2013, 10:44 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Syrian lira is too low,one dollar equal 150 lira.

Akbar Palace
The Rebels will never ally with Israel,
Israel on one side is against HA, on the other side Asshead and his thugs like Rat head Revenir are Israel protectors and ally.

Matthew Barber
I am calling on you to ban Rat head Revenir, he is terrorist and terrorists should not be on this blog, I am sure many of S.C.commentators support this call

May 17th, 2013, 11:06 am

 

Akbar Palace said:

Majedkhaldoun,

Each side in this conflict is accused of fighting for Israel.

So, there is a common denominator!

Here’s a good article I found. Quite depressing…

http://news.yahoo.com/insight-syrias-nusra-front-eclipsed-iraq-based-al-135153068.html

May 17th, 2013, 11:11 am

 

Uzair8 said:

So Assad is winning?

Apparently a few foreign officials, media figures and regimists seem to think so.

The opposition shouldn’t care less what anyone says and certainly not let such suggestions demoralise them. God Almighty will decide who wins and who loses. Heaven is with the oppressed. The opposition just need to continue to ensure they are worthy and deserving of Divine support and avoid anything which could risk harming the righteousness and justness of their cause thereby risk losing Heavenly aid.

The opposition will not be demoralised.

The People’s Struggle will continue.

InshaAllah.

May 17th, 2013, 11:17 am

 

revenire said:

Brother Majed it was YOU who supported the Zionist air raid on Syria. It is also YOU who supports Nusra.

Quit your crying and man up “doc” … it is sad to watch.

May 17th, 2013, 11:22 am

 

revenire said:

“The Rebels will never ally with Israel.”

LOL they already are allied with Israel. As Sayyed Nasrallah has ssaid he attack on Syria is a Zionist project.

May 17th, 2013, 11:26 am

 

revenire said:

Uzair8 welcome back brother. Was there ever any doubt that Assad would win? After all, he has the support of the Syrian people and with that how could he lose?

God is great.

May 17th, 2013, 11:29 am

 

Uzair8 said:

557 Revenire.

I don’t believe Assad is winning. My post was about explaining this. Just warning revolutionaries not to be deceived by such suggestions.

Anyway I’ve expected intervention for a while (not that I would necessarily support it, unless it’s by Turkey/Jordan or regional muslim nations).

Another point for regime allies (foreign fighters) to seriously consider. When the intervention does finally arrives, with all the Hezbo, Iraqi fighters and Iranian Revolutionary Guards etc present in Syria, they will also likely get smashed in the process. Big mistake for them to enter Syria.

And no, I’m not back.

May 17th, 2013, 11:41 am

 

dawoud said:

Iran’s and its Iraqi militia’s TERRORISM:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/17/us-iraq-blast-idUSBRE94G0BW20130517

Two blasts at Iraqi Sunni mosque kill 43

(Reuters) – Two bombs exploded outside a Sunni Muslim mosque in the Iraqi city of Baquba as worshippers left after Friday prayers, killing at least 43 people in one of the deadliest attacks in a month-long surge in sectarian violence.

Attacks on Sunni and Shi’ite mosques, security forces and Sunni tribal leaders have spread since troops raided a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk a month ago, and fears are intensifying of a return to all-out Shi’ite-Sunni conflict.

Increasingly sectarian civil war in neighboring Syria is emboldening Iraqi Sunni insurgents and straining relations between the two Muslim groups in Iraq, where tensions are at their worst since U.S. troops pulled out at the end of 2011.
[…]

May 17th, 2013, 11:53 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

ugly, dumb, and dumber. in the first screen. Then a low-taste, stupid, badly composed, terribly sung, and pathetically produced and choreographed screech. This is the stupidity of the pos athad worship ritualistic crap.

And there is a mistake in the leric (if such blather can be called so) … it should not be Qa’ed, it should be Qaw’wad.

May 17th, 2013, 12:12 pm

 

Ziad said:

[Israeli] Army Kidnapped 28 Children In The first Half Of May, Dozens Injured

293 Palestinian Children Kidnapped In The First Quarter Of 2013

According to reports by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), based in Gaza, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, in Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers continued their aggression against the Palestinian children, kidnaped 28 children, dozens of children have been injured by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the first half of this month.

http://imemc.org/article/65498

May 17th, 2013, 12:21 pm

 

Ziad said:

Settlers Attack Schoolchildren Near Nablus

Thursday May 16 2013, a number of extremist Israeli settlers attacked several schoolchildren in Orif village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

http://imemc.org/article/65496

May 17th, 2013, 12:26 pm

 

apple_mini said:

Syria conflict or war if fighting being emphasized is probably the most complicated, layered and mosiac one in recent human history.

Proxy war is a term to people with cynic view. But in reality, Syrians are fighting Syrians. It is involved with class conflict, economic injustice, social and political inequality and oppression. Most of all, sectarian mindsets violently collides with ethnic identity demanding for independence.

Many analysis tend to focus on one or some aspects of the conflict. But it risks danger to miss some links to the puzzle for understanding what the true situation is in Syria. Every link is vital and that makes the whole picture extremely dynamic and fluid.

There are three front lines co-evolving: military, political and propaganda.

The regime currently has advantage on those three. Consistency serves well to those decision-makers so they can have clear strategy and plannings.

Of course the regime is fully aware of sectarian fault lines. But if any of its military operation, policy or interpretation puts linchpin on sectarian aspect. Then we would see the whole country spiraling down into fragmentation.

The regime has many ugly sides and still waiting to be dealt with. But the integrity and sovereignty of the nation are the regime’s full responsibility and the regime is the sole figure which can be counted on.

On the contrary, the opposition consist of fractured groups: people demanding democracy and justice, people who have been directly or indirectly prosecuted unjustly by the regime, people who are social or economic marginalized and outcasts, Islamists, Sunni sectarians and even socialists. The rebels are mainly sectarians and Islamists and they are fragmented in more or less warlord fashion.

The stake is extremely high. But problems and issues can only be solved gradually at evolving stages. Some of the pro-regime and the opposition who are so idealistic about their way to change or refuse to change the state are already failing.

May 17th, 2013, 12:27 pm

 

Ziad said:

Mass graves with 1,000 bodies found in Iraq from U.S occupation

Three mass graves with 1,000 corpses found in Iraq

http://uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/mass-graves-with-1000-bodies-found-in.html

May 17th, 2013, 12:28 pm

 
 

Akbar Palace said:

Deflecting Athad’s Atrocities begin in 3…2…1…

Ziad,

Please let imemc.org know that if these “children” throw stones at soldiers, they aren’t children. Especially if they are 18 years old or over.

But you’re right, the IDF is sooooo much more criminal than your hero Athad. Athad just shoots’em dead.

On May 7, the army “invaded” [ran after stone thrower in] the Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem, and kidnapped [arrested] Saleh and Srour, 18.

Ziad,

Here are some mass graves you forgot to count. It beats the “US-created” mass grave (which I SERIOUSLY doubt) by about 300x.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_graves_in_Iraq

May 17th, 2013, 12:32 pm

 

revenire said:

Sometimes I wonder if the “Syrians” here have ever read a book on Syrian history. If I was a betting man I’d say no.

May 17th, 2013, 12:38 pm

 

revenire said:

Austria says arming the Syrian opposition is illegal

The Austrian government has issued an official position paper, now circulating among EU member states, in opposition to the British-French proposal for lifting the arms embargo in Syria. Dated May 13, the document is a cogent summation of the reasons why the lifting of the EU embargo would be politically and legally unacceptable.

First, the political reasons:

1. Lifting the embargo would undermine the U.S.-Russia move for a political settlement
2. The Syrian National Coalition doesn’t control the fighters within Syria.
3. There are more than enough weapons in Syria already.
4. Supplying more weapons would endanger UNDOF peacekeepers (noting the recent kidnappings of same).

Then, the legal ones:

1. Supplying arms would “amount to a breach of the customary principle of non-intervention and the principle of non-use of force under Art. 2 para. 4 of the UN Charter.”
2. It would violate the EU position on arms export control.
3. It would “amount to a violation of Security Council resolutions establishing an arms embargo against individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaeda.”
4. “Member States supplying arms to the Syrian opposition would incur State responsibility for aiding and assisting in the commission of internationally wrongful acts.”

May 17th, 2013, 12:42 pm

 

revenire said:

Uzair foreign fighters are already in Syria by the thousands: from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Chechnya, Russia, Afghanistan, the United States, Turkey, etc.

Why would you object if Iran sends say 100,000 soldiers? Wouldn’t that only be fair? You seem to want the government to fall and hundreds of thousands of Syrians to die in a NATO/Israeli/US attack that puts the liver-eaters in power.

By the way, Assad is winning and winning big. All in terms of rebel victories we hear about these days is a few mortar shells landing or a suicide bombing somewhere. Oh yeah, Brother Majed announced the prison was taken in Aleppo but he was lying, or fed false intel, because even the prisoners volunteered to kill the attacking rats.

It goes a long way to showing support for Assad when prisoners vow to fight for him.

God is great.

May 17th, 2013, 12:49 pm

 

revenire said:


Mosque Preachers: The Syrians Are Aware of Imperialist Conspiracies Targeting Them

DAMASCUS, (SANA)_Mosque preachers and imams said that the Syrians are aware of the sedition and conspiracies hatched against them by imperialism, Israel and reactionary Arab states.

In their Friday sermons, the preachers said that the Syrian people are more determined than ever to continue the struggle for achieving victory and eliminating the terrorism that is targeting Syria.

Minister of Awkaf (Religious Endowments) Dr. Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed said that the ”popular resistance against the Zionist occupation is the purpose of Jihad,” denouncing the desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque by ”the enemies of God and the prophets’ killers.”

Imam of the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Ahmad al-Bakkar said ”the enemies are hatching conspiracies and plans to propagate a culture of hopelessness and defeat among us,” urging the Arab peoples to cling to the principles of Islam ”that drives away hopelessness and weakness.”

M. Ismael

May 17th, 2013, 12:52 pm

 

Ziad said:

Impressive

It took AP the paid Israeli hasbara watch dog on SC less than a minute to jump to the defense of indefensible Israeli occupier’s brutality.

May 17th, 2013, 12:52 pm

 

revenire said:

The IDF is on the moral level of the Nazis.

When the war starts the rockets of the Resistance will send the occupiers into their holes, cowering in fear.

May 17th, 2013, 12:56 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Rat head Revenir
said
, Brother Majed announced the prison was taken in Aleppo but he was lying, or fed false intel,
You prove that I announce that ,other wise you are dumb lier,and terrorist , stop your silly lies, stop your wicked devil fabrications, you should be banned Abu Shakeeb

May 17th, 2013, 1:08 pm

 

revenire said:

Brother Majed calm yourself – God watches over the president and will not allow any wicked Sunni extremists to hurt him or his family. Bashar’s son is being groomed for the presidency so we need not fear for our homeland.

May 17th, 2013, 1:38 pm

 
 

Ziad said:

Don’t miss out on watching George Galloway’s latest installment of the [Comments] program

May 17th, 2013, 2:00 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

What a parade of clips. pile-of-dog-poop athad, followed by demented war monger khamene’i, and concluded by by georgi galloway.,,,

Must be international JOKERS’ day . Fine, here it is for you. more jokers, but this time, you get two for one…

Disclaimers:
1. you ain’t getting a bargain two for one, them jokers are far cheaper than that… you could get the whole lot for one

2. i don’t give a damn what either of these two jokers is saying. Just completing the zoo collection.

May 17th, 2013, 2:22 pm

 

Citizen said:

Russian warships enter Mediterranean to form permanent task force
http://rt.com/news/russian-pacific-fleet-mediterranean-374/
—–
Morning Brief: Obama rules out unilateral action in Syria as Russia ships advanced missiles to Assad
ForeignPolicy

Top news: U.S. President Barack Obama again ruled out unilateral U.S. military action in Syria at a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. “It’s not going to be something that the United States does by itself. And I don’t think anybody in the region would think that U.S. unilateral actions … would bring about a better outcome,” the president said, promising to “keep increasing the pressure on the Assad regime and working with the Syrian opposition.”

Erdogan’s visit is aimed at convincing the U.S. to escalate it’s involvement in toppling Bashar al-Assad’s government. The prime minister favors the creation of a no-fly zone to shield civilians and rebel fighters in Northern Syria.

U.S. officials also said on Thursday that Russia has shipped advanced anti-ship cruise missiles to Assad’s government. The radar-equipped missiles could theoretically be used by the Syrian government to counter an internationally imposed naval embargo or no-fly zone.
——–
Russian FM Lavrov says Russia plans to go ahead with sale of missile defense systems to Syria.

May 17th, 2013, 2:36 pm

 

revenire said:

TITANIC LOSSES FOR QATARI-FUNDED TERRORISTS IN HAMA;

HALFAAYAA: This was a catastrophe for both the FSA and J.N.. Monzer writes that over 77 rat carcasses were counted by militia after the fighting was over. Of the 77, a whopping 49 were determined to be non-Syrians. Monzer says that his sources are not very specific as to the ethnic or geographic origins of the rodents. Here are the names of the known Syrian rats:

Fadhl Yahyaa
Mizyad Al-‘Aql
Taaher ‘Abdul-Kareem
Muneef ‘Izzu
Ghassaan Faarooqi
Hassan Qaysarli
Zaki Mahmoud
Fayssal Tabanyaasi
‘Abdul-Malek Al-Shuwaykaani
“Abu-Saamer” (Id pending)
Radhwaan Sa’adallah

The remaining bodies were identified as Syrian but the details were withheld for reasons unknown to us.

Taftannaaz: The airbase they always seem to be invading and the one they cannot penetrate. Yesterday, in the rural brush around the base, SAA killed a confirmed 17 rodents. The soldiers were not allowed to tag the carcasses for their own safety since snipers are everywhere.

Central Prison in Hama: Those of you who have studied history know why these rats are targeting prisons: they are running out of vermin. This is why Qatar is now offering $50,000.00 for every SAA soldier who deserts. But our soldiers are not buying into this. They know the FSA is in a hopeless situation. At the Central Prison in Hama, SAA put down these identifiable rodents out of 22:

Daawood Hawjaa
Mahmoud Al-Qaadhi
Jihaad Al-Saayegh
Ta’aan Al-Haber
Ma’an Na’eema
Mustafaa Al-Sayyed
‘Aabid-deen Ismaa’eel
Muhammad Hiraati

Bikfaloon: 6 killed. All without papers. 4 AK47s seized and delivered to militia. Thank you, Prince Fatso.

Waadi Al-Mahaameel: Confirmed 2 rats killed. No details.

http://syrianperspective.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-post-may-17-2013-syrian-army.html

May 17th, 2013, 2:41 pm

 

zoo said:

Syria Begins to Break Apart Under Pressure From War

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/world/middleeast/pressure-of-war-is-causing-syria-to-break-apart.html?_r=0

“Instead, three Syrias are emerging: one loyal to the government, to Iran and to Hezbollah; one dominated by Kurds with links to Kurdish separatists in Turkey and Iraq; and one with a Sunni majority that is heavily influenced by Islamists and jihadis. ”

CAIRO — The black flag of jihad flies over much of northern Syria. In the center of the country, pro-government militias and Hezbollah fighters battle those who threaten their communities. In the northeast, the Kurds have effectively carved out an autonomous zone.

After more than two years of conflict, Syria is breaking up. A constellation of armed groups battling to advance their own agendas are effectively creating the outlines of separate armed fiefs. As the war expands in scope and brutality, its biggest casualty appears to be the integrity of the Syrian state.

But as evidence of massacres and chemical weapons mounts, experts and Syrians themselves say the American focus on change at the top ignores the deep fractures the war has caused in Syrian society. Increasingly, it appears Syria is so badly shattered that no single authority is likely to be able to pull it back together any time soon.

Instead, three Syrias are emerging: one loyal to the government, to Iran and to Hezbollah; one dominated by Kurds with links to Kurdish separatists in Turkey and Iraq; and one with a Sunni majority that is heavily influenced by Islamists and jihadis.

May 17th, 2013, 2:43 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Fools never learn. Just missed getting impotently angry about a bunch of additional insults to nuslira, aun, and the their packs by prematurely hitting the impotent rage dislike button.

Also, 4 instant dislikes, hizbullah terrorist sleeper cell of NA must be having a meeting. Fools, weren’t you supposed to concentrate on your next terrorist act, drug smuggling operation, or phone card scam, and not on a stupid blog?

Well this way is better. The more you spend on this blog, the less terrorism and crime there is in the real world, with the added bonus of the FBI being able to catch up with you.

May 17th, 2013, 2:44 pm

 

zoo said:

International sanctions have piled up against SyrianAir but the carrier is operating at full capacity

http://my.news.yahoo.com/sanctions-hit-syrianair-booked-war-102225468.html

But its fleet of six Airbus 320s and two ATR 72/500s, still flies to the Gulf, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan and Algeria as well as key Damascus ally Russia.

The services provide a lifeline for the large number of Syrian expatriates around the region who have been left with few other ways of getting home after most Arab and Western airlines halted their flights.

“We operate around 20 domestic and international flights a day which means we are carrying around 3,000 passengers,” ground operations director Tareq Wahiba, told AFP in his office at Damascus airport.

“There is not single empty seat and it’s true that we routinely overbook,” he said.

“Now that the summer has arrived, we going to increase our flights from the Gulf as many Syrians want to come home for the holidays despite the situation.”

May 17th, 2013, 2:47 pm

 

zoo said:

Did Qatar give the order to kidnap the UN peacekeepers, so it can get praises from the UN assembly it will ‘help’ releasing them? It’s quite possible in view of the manipulation Qatar has been doing to get a decent vote for its UN assembly resolution

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/17/un-general-assembly-vote-reflects-shift-in-syrian-public-opinion/

Ja’afari revealed that there existed an e-mail, from the representative of the Syrian opposition given to Syria’s embassy in Qatar, showing Qatar’s involvement in the kidnapping of UN peacekeepers by the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade. He read out a phone number from the e-mail as several Gulf diplomats grimaced or scowled, and three left the Chamber.

Visibly stunned, the UK Permanent Representative Lyall Grant called the whole matter “deeply confusing”. Another Permanent Representative, from a militia contributing country, said that if true, it’s “very problematic.” The reasons include the fact that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had just thanked Qatar for its roles in the release of the UN Peacekeepers the earlier kidnapping of whom the Qatari government may have planned, paid for and executed.

May 17th, 2013, 2:57 pm

 

Citizen said:

For hot heads and especially stupid criminal nuclear-s ones !
Syria’s war will be 100% with the Russians strategic military headquarters !!
By the Iskanders Israel will lose their nukes,their reactor and most of their military in the first 60 seconds of the war! Those missiles are so accurate they can hit within 2 meters of the aiming point.

May 17th, 2013, 3:06 pm

 

zoo said:

Qatar bankrolls Syrian revolt with cash and arms

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/86e3f28e-be3a-11e2-bb35-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2Ta2G9BRr

The gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels.

The cost of Qatar’s intervention, its latest push to back an Arab revolt, amounts to a fraction of its international investment portfolio. But its financial support for the revolution that has turned into a vicious civil war dramatically overshadows western backing for the opposition.

May 17th, 2013, 3:34 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

in addition Mr. Jolani, head of Al-Nusra terrorist organization, today’s list of shame and terrorism is joined by the four Syrian public serpents

Defense Minister Fahd Jassem Freij,
Health Minister Saad Nayef,
Industry Minister Adnan Sukhni and
Justice Minister Najm Ahmad. ?

This is perhaps the first time since Joseph Mengele, the Nazi public health official, when a health official is declared full fledged terrorist. The despicable regime of pile-of-dog-poop (AKA pdp-athad) continues to astonish the world with the capacity of its buffoon to compliment its hoards of terrorist with evermore despicable characters.

Also joining the four terrorist individuals (well in fact five since the first one Jolani is an agent of the regime), were also joined by Syrian Arab Airlines, and the whole bunch of cowardly, brown nose liars correspondents for the TV station, Al Dunya. Being a terrorist TV is an honor a disgrace joined by Al-Manar tv of nus-lira and its sectarian terrorist militia.

May 17th, 2013, 3:40 pm

 

zoo said:

A container of fuel stolen from Syria and smuggled in Hatay, Turkey exploded

10 die as fuel tank from Syria blows up in Turkey

http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2013/05/17/10-die-as-fuel-tank-from-syria-blows-up-in-turkey/

ANKARA: Officials said a container of fuel being smuggled into Turkey from Syria has exploded, killing 10 people. The governor’s office in Hatay province said yesterday’s blast occurred in Tunisma village when the smuggler set the tank on fire after realizing Turkish security forces had rushed to the scene.

May 17th, 2013, 3:42 pm

 

zoo said:

More headache for Erdogan
Armenian ‘genocide’ bill introduced in US Congress

17 May 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ?STANBUL
Two Republican and two Democratic congressmen have introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives to recognize the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 to coincide with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s official visit to Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama over the recent developments in the Middle East.

The “Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act,” introduced by representatives Michael Grimm, Adam Schiff, David Valadao and Frank Pallone, calls on the US administration to recognize Armenian claims that they were victims of a genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. President Obama had promised to recognize the Armenian claims during his election campaign but has so far failed to do so, referring to the events in annual presidential statements as “Meds Yeghern,” which means “great tragedy” in Armenian, instead.

May 17th, 2013, 3:58 pm

 

revenire said:

The head of Nusra is an agent of the regime? LOL

May 17th, 2013, 4:09 pm

 

revenire said:

Ha ha Erdogan the Ottoman dog will do NOTHING but bark.

Turkey Fears Russia Too Much to Intervene in Syria
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/turkey-fears-russia-too-much-to-intervene-in-syria

Historically, the Turks have always feared the Russians. Between 1568, when the Ottomans and Russians first clashed, to the end of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Turks and Russians fought 17 wars. In each encounter, Russia was the instigator and the victor. In these defeats, the Ottomans lost vast, and often solidly Turkish and Muslim, territories spanning from the Crimea to Circassia to the Russians. The Russians killed many inhabitants of these Ottoman lands and expelled the rest to Turkey. So many Turks descend from refugees from Russia that the adage in Turkey is: “If you scratch a Turk, you find a Circassian persecuted by Russians underneath.”

May 17th, 2013, 4:23 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Iran(persia) was not at Geneva meeting in 2012, Persia is not going to be in Geneva 2, Persia is the enemy.
The meeting will fail,for every side will not give concessions.
following its failure the talk will be on arms,Russia seems to change its position as the US too, and both want to reach political sttlement
I hope we will not hear another talk about Geneva 3 and four,all those meetings has been to prolong this war and leads to more death in Syria,
One man death will solve the problem and save Syria, it is Asshead death.

There is only two solutions
1 complete victory by the rebels, which is unlikely due to foreign involvement.
2- major compromise by both sides.
Either way Asshead must go,and transitional goverment must be established
Dividing Syria is not a solution,as the fight will go on.

The US fears changes in the Middle East,that US loses control, or security of Israel may get threatened, but at the end US must accept these changes,

May 17th, 2013, 5:02 pm

 

Visitor said:

It is a great honor for the great mujahed Sheikh Jolani to be labelled by the manipulative evil US administration.

Bumster, the idiot! Well, what else can be said about a bumster? He is an authentic bumster deluded idiot.

You will president your bum bumster. Remember this whenever you fall into your delusional trances.

May 17th, 2013, 5:19 pm

 

revenire said:

Ha ha rats jumping sinking ship!

HNN Homs News Network
TRAITOR COLONEL FLEES TO JORDAN ABANDONS MERCENARIES

The disgraced Traitor and Israeli Spy Colonel “Ahmed Al-Nou’meh”, has added to his list of shame, by abandoning his besieged Mercenaries in “Dar’aa” and fleeing to Jordan ..

This Traitor has committed numerous serious crimes against Syria, including introducing foreign Spies as well as the Israeli enemy’s Mossad Agents, in addition to the transfer of various weapons and missiles into “Dar’aa” and murdering fellow Syrians …

WE GUESS THE REMAINING WILL BEGIN TO SURRENDER AFTER THIS DESERTION BY THEIR LEADER ..

YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE, ALL TRAITORS MEET THEIR FATE EVENTUALLY … – J

May 17th, 2013, 5:23 pm

 

revenire said:

Ha ha rats jumping sinking ship!

HNN Homs News Network
TRAITOR COLONEL FLEES TO JORDAN ABANDONS MERCENARIES

The disgraced Traitor and Israeli Spy Colonel “Ahmed Al-Nou’meh”, has added to his list of shame, by abandoning his besieged Mercenaries in “Dar’aa” and fleeing to Jordan ..

This Traitor has committed numerous serious crimes against Syria, including introducing foreign Spies as well as the Israeli enemy’s Mossad Agents, in addition to the transfer of various weapons and missiles into “Dar’aa” and murdering fellow Syrians …

WE GUESS THE REMAINING WILL BEGIN TO SURRENDER AFTER THIS DESERTION BY THEIR LEADER ..

YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE, ALL TRAITORS MEET THEIR FATE EVENTUALLY … – J

May 17th, 2013, 5:25 pm

 

Syrian said:

?????
“???? 52 ????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ? ?????? 52 ??? ??? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ? ???? ???? ??? ????? ? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???

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

“???? ?????…. ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???

http://youtu.be/y5xYdisvbHU

http://youtu.be/y5xYdisvbHU

May 17th, 2013, 5:52 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

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

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

May 17th, 2013, 5:56 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 17th, 2013, 6:02 pm

 

Ziad said:

????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ???????? 175-2013

May 17th, 2013, 6:11 pm

 

Ameera said:

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

May 17th, 2013, 6:20 pm

 

ann said:

Compliment to the whiny `israelis on this blog 😀

May 17th, 2013, 6:25 pm

 

ann said:

Moody’s playing Ottoman political favoritism!
The last thing they need is to go to war with another country 😉

Moody’s lifts up Turkey’s bond rating to stable investment grade – May 18, 2013

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/europe/2013/05/18/378865/Moodys-lifts.htm

PARIS — Moody’s has raised Turkey’s bond rating to investment grade, the rating agency said Thursday, citing improved economic and public finance measures and progress on reforms [?].

The government bond ratings went up a notch to Baa3, the first step into investment grade, from Ba1, with outlook considered stable.

Turkey was granted higher ratings by Standard and Poor’s in March and last November by Fitch.

Praising Turkey’s improved “economic and fiscal metrics,” the rating agency noted: “Since the beginning of 2009, Turkey’s debt burden has fallen by 10 percentage points to a manageable 36 percent of GDP, and Moody’s expects this.

[…]

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/europe/2013/05/18/378865/Moodys-lifts.htm

May 17th, 2013, 6:25 pm

 

zoo said:

Bye Bye Hitto, have a nice trip back to Texas, Saudi Arabia doesn’t want you ! No more PM for the ghost ‘interim government of 75% liberated areas’ hastily dictated by Qatar? A new music chair for the 62 mafiosi

Syrian opposition to name new president in Istanbul

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Syria’s opposition is set to meet in Istanbul next week to select a president for the Syrian National Coalition and review the Cabinet of the interim government.

The coalition is expected to increase the number of its members, particularly by adding groups on the ground fighting, during the meeting in Istanbul in order to become more representative of the Syrian people. The coalition currently has 62 members. Three opposition figures, George Sabra, Burhan Ghalioun and Louay Safi, are said to have high chances of being elected as the new president of the coalition.

Bargain over seats

The fate of interim Prime Minister Ghassam Hitto will also be determined in the meeting, which will run from May 23 to 25, as it is well-known that he is not welcomed by some states, including Saudi Arabia, for having resided for many years outside Syria.

May 17th, 2013, 6:26 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Ziad,

I’m a bit perplexed. You’re complaing about my zionist “hasbara” because thr IDF arrested stone throwers? You posted 4 articles to explain such a “high” crime. Talk about “hasbara”!

Meanwhile 75+ Sunnis got killed in Iraq just today. Why don’t you whine about real massacres instead of minor disturbances?

Hamster, how do you say “hasbara” in arabic? My father-in-law used to say: “dtowel balak”, but I forgot what that means. Relax??

May 17th, 2013, 6:47 pm

 

revenire said:

Josh Landis and Matt Barber should have a SC beauty contest for all the Syrian National Coalition heads.

The prize could be a stay on Assad’s Russian yacht (the one Josh said he lives on) or a stay in Azaz (not as nice as the yacht but far more exciting dodging SAA artillery and sarin-tipped Scuds).

May 17th, 2013, 6:49 pm

 

revenire said:

Akbar isn’t it happy hour yet? TGIF and drown your sorrows in a vintage Mogen David hasbara and get back to us tomorrow. Thank you.

Any deaths in Syria today are the responsibility of the West and Israel – the architects of the war and the ones arming the terrorists.

May 17th, 2013, 6:53 pm

 

revenire said:

British MP Galloway: FSA Cannibalism is a Turning Point, Cameron Insane for Supporting Savages

British MP George Galloway gave his opinion about the latest incident where Abu Saqqar, a commander in one of the earliest “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) brigades, the al-Farouq Brigade, ate the heart and liver of a dead Syrian soldier (video: http://youtu.be/rLEAebCvFhk), He believes it marks a turning point in Western public opinion regarding the so-called rebels or insurgents in Syria. He also questions PM David Cameron’s mental condition by supporting those militants, whom Galloway refers to as “savages and barbarians”.

May 17th, 2013, 7:37 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

Reverse,

“The West and Israel” are quite familiar with arab despot “hasbara”: arabs and their leaders are never responsible for anything.

Tell me something I don’t know.

May 17th, 2013, 8:10 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Free Syria, Free Palestine!

May 17th, 2013, 8:12 pm

 

dawoud said:

Hasan the Devil!

May 17th, 2013, 8:18 pm

 

dawoud said:

Free Syria, Free Palestine, Free Lebanon, Bahrain is Arab Forever!

May 17th, 2013, 8:20 pm

 

Dawoud said:

More on Hasan the Devil!

May 17th, 2013, 8:23 pm

 

revenire said:

Akbar you know as well as I do that the corrupt Qatari dogs, wicked Sunni extremists (who are not true Muslims), and other insects are allied with the Zionist filth to destroy Syria the last bastion of Arabism.

You are not half as clever as you imagine yourself to be.

May 17th, 2013, 8:26 pm

 

revenire said:

David supports the cannibals! Make sure you still have your liver and heart intact after posting here!

🙂

May 17th, 2013, 8:28 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Iranian Terrorism and Shia Terrorism!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22571895

Iraq violence: Dozens killed in blasts targeting Sunnis

More than 60 people have been killed and dozens hurt in several bomb attacks apparently targeting Sunnis, in Iraq’s worst day of violence for months.

In the first attack, in Baquba, about 50km (30 miles) north of Baghdad, at least 41 people were killed when two bombs detonated outside a Sunni mosque.

Later, police said at least eight died at a Sunni funeral in Madain, and 14 more in two blasts in western Baghdad.

The attacks follows a sharp increase in sectarian violence in recent weeks.

A series of bombings targeted Shia areas across Iraq on Wednesday and Thursday. More than 120 people in total have died over the three days.

Mourners killed
In Friday’s incident in Baquba, the first bomb went off as worshippers were leaving a Sunni mosque after Friday prayers. As people went to aid those injured, a second bomb was remotely detonated, said police.
[…]

May 17th, 2013, 8:32 pm

 

dawoud said:

Free Syria! Free Syria song! Enjoy!

May 17th, 2013, 8:34 pm

 

revenire said:

Cogent observers know it is Anglo-American POLICY to foment sectarian war. The West and the Zionists would be happy if these wars lasted for decades. The people here – the cannibal supporters – are just brainwashed into reacting.

May 17th, 2013, 8:35 pm

 

ann said:

WARNING to miniscule and insignifcant `israel 😉

Russia boosts its naval presence in Syria, sends regime new missiles (+video) – May 17, 2013

Many see Russia’s anti-ship missile sales and increased naval deployment to Syria as intended to deter Western powers from military intervention in the Syrian civil war

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2013/0517/Russia-boosts-its-naval-presence-in-Syria-sends-regime-new-missiles-video

Russia has deployed upwards of a dozen ships to its naval base in Syria over the past three months, and recently sent advanced anti-ship missiles to the embattled Syrian government, highlighting the depth of Moscow’s commitment to the Assad regime and the challenges in finding an internationally palatable solution to the crisis.

Some believe Russia’s increased presence is meant to deter Western powers from getting involved militarily with the Syrian conflict.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview posted on a government website yesterday, “Among some of our Western colleagues, there is a desire to narrow the circle of external participants and begin the process from a very small group of countries in a framework which, in essence, would predetermine the negotiating teams, agenda, and maybe even the outcome of talks.”

Russia’s recent delivery of sophisticated anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria also has raised concerns, reports The New York Times. The weapons enable “the regime to deter foreign forces looking to supply the opposition from the sea, or from undertaking a more active role if a no-fly zone or shipping embargo were to be declared at some point,” Nick Brown, editor in chief of IHS Jane’s International Defense Review, told the Times. “It’s a real ship killer.”

Which players will have a role in Syria’s political transition is believed, in part, to be at the crux of the international standstill on Syria. A UN resolution yesterday drew ire from the likes of Russia because it explicitly backed the Syrian National Commission, an opposition group, for future talks on the political transition, reports Agence France-Presse.

“An angry Russia said this would encourage opposition ‘armed actions’ against the Assad government,” AFP reports.

[…]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2013/0517/Russia-boosts-its-naval-presence-in-Syria-sends-regime-new-missiles-video

May 17th, 2013, 8:39 pm

 

dawoud said:

Free Syria Song: “We Don’t Want al-Assad’s Rule, We Want Freedom!” Enjoy the most beautiful music even if you are an American Hizbistan (an American supporter of the Terrorist Shia Lebanese party, Hizbass)!

May 17th, 2013, 8:40 pm

 

revenire said:

The Russians are great friends of Syria.

May 17th, 2013, 8:46 pm

 

dawoud said:

Free Syria! A beautiful Freedom Song about “Returning.”

May 17th, 2013, 8:49 pm

 

dawoud said:

http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/syria/2013/05/18/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A8-%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-.html

????????
»
?????
??? ?????: ????? 8 ??? 1434?? – 18 ???? 2013? KSA 03:02 – GMT 00:02
??????: ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??????
??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????

??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????”.

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

????? ?????? “?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????”.
[…]

May 17th, 2013, 8:56 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Dear Dawoud
Shiaa religion is based on Lies, and 90% of their religion is lying,just like Rat head revenir, he repeat the same names and say they just were killed, how could the same guy dies four five times, Revenir is Affakun Athemu

May 17th, 2013, 9:05 pm

 

revenire said:

Brother Majed you need new glasses. I know just the right eye doctor too.

🙂

May 17th, 2013, 9:15 pm

 

dawoud said:

623. MAJEDKHALDOUN

I may add, Brother Majed, that now-given the fact the sectarian mask has been lifted from ??? ??? ??????? Hasan the Devil’s face-you have to wonder whether any time a Shia is saying something nice to Sunnis or non-Muslims, he/she are just hiding behind Taqiah ?????? (saying something different from what they truly believe).

Free Syria!

May 17th, 2013, 9:17 pm

 

dawoud said:

Two important Aljazeera documentary about the Palestinian al-Nakbah (the great Catastrophe)-the colonization, ethnic-cleansing, and dispossession of Palestine and the Palestinians.

Free Syria, Free Palestine!