SNC Gets New Leader; Insurgency Grows; Foreign Jihadists Flock to Syria; Some Claim Houla Dead are Alawis
Posted by Joshua on Monday, June 11th, 2012
Syrian Forces Shell Cities as Opposition Picks Leader
Associated Press
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR, June 10, 2012, NYTimes
ISTANBUL — Syrian government forces shelled rebel strongholds across the country on Sunday, opponents of the government said, while the main opposition group in exile, the Syrian National Council, chose a new leader….
Abdelbaset Sieda, a Kurdish professor of Arabic and philosophy who promised the organization would be overhauled.
“We will expand and extend the base of the council,” he told reporters at a news conference, “so it will take on its role as an umbrella under which all the opposition will seek shade.”
The Syrian National Council, formed last fall, has been plagued by infighting and has been criticized as ineffective, amounting to little more than a front for the long-exiled Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood with little influence inside the country. Its top post was supposed to rotate every three months, but Bourhan Ghalioun, another exiled academic, held on to it until an outcry over his most recent re-election in May, especially from inside Syria, prompted him to step down.
Council members involved in the process hailed Mr. Sieda’s election as proof that the Syrian opposition was committed to upholding democratic principles and the idea of a “leaderless revolution.” He ran unopposed.
“The ideal leadership of the council is not through one person — because no one is elected and has actual legitimacy,” said Bassma Kodmani, a member of the executive committee. Until such time as there are free elections in Syria, she said, the choice of the president of the council should be made by consensus.
“The revolution does not want to see a big leader, or one individual who leads everything,” Ms. Kodmani said. “Personalization leads to polarization.”
Still, critics both in the wider membership of the council and outside the group said Mr. Sieda had emerged as the consensus choice precisely because he represents no one, either inside Syria or out. Both the Muslim Brotherhood and liberals in the council concluded that he did not pose a threat or provide an advantage to any bloc within the council, they said, but for the same reasons he will have little real authority, and the bickering will continue.
“The Muslim Brotherhood, especially, does not want a strong person, neither someone with political strength nor a strong personality,” said Hasan Kasem, a young liberal activist.
Mr. Sieda, who turns 56 on Tuesday, has lived in Sweden for the past 17 years, and calls himself an independent. As a Kurd, he belongs to a minority that was oppressed for years by the Syrian government. Most Kurdish opposition groups do not take part in the council because it has not promised to back a federal government structure for Syria that would give Kurdish areas some measure of autonomy.
At the news conference, Mr. Sieda defended his long record of opposition to the governments of President Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez. To counter criticism of the council, he noted that the executive committee had just added three members with experience running local leadership councils who had fled Syria recently. Answering complaints that not enough humanitarian aid was being sent to areas affected by the conflict, Mr. Sieda said the council would soon distribute $3 million worth of aid inside Syria.
Sunday was the sixth straight day that al-Heffa and neighboring villages were hit with rocket, mortar and tank shelling, opposition groups said. But the official news agency, SANA, gave a different account, saying that “armed terrorist groups” — its label for all opponents of the government — looted and burned public property in al-Heffa and killed residents.
In his first public comments, Abdelbaset Sieda, urged government officials to defect.
In Deraa thousands pledge to Allah, praise Muhammad, threaten Nasrallah | 9 June ’12
Report: Rebels Responsible for Houla Massacre
By John Rosenthal, National Review, June 9, 2012 4:00 A.M.
According to a new report in Germany’s leading daily, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the Houla massacre was in fact committed by anti-Assad Sunni militants, and the bulk of the victims were member of the Alawi and Shia minorities, which have been largely supportive of Assad. For its account of the massacre, the report cites opponents of Assad, who, however, declined to have their names appear in print out of fear of reprisals from armed opposition groups.
According to the article’s sources, the massacre occurred after rebel forces attacked three army-controlled roadblocks outside of Houla. The roadblocks had been set up to protect nearby Alawi majority villages from attacks by Sunni militias. The rebel attacks provoked a call for reinforcements by the besieged army units. Syrian army and rebel forces are reported to have engaged in battle for some 90 minutes, during which time “dozens of soldiers and rebels” were killed.
“According to eyewitness accounts,” the FAZ report continues,
the massacre occurred during this time. Those killed were almost exclusively from families belonging to Houla’s Alawi and Shia minorities. Over 90% of Houla’s population are Sunnis. Several dozen members of a family were slaughtered, which had converted from Sunni to Shia Islam. Members of the Shomaliya, an Alawi family, were also killed, as was the family of a Sunni member of the Syrian parliament who is regarded as a collaborator. Immediately following the massacre, the perpetrators are supposed to have filmed their victims and then presented them as Sunni victims in videos posted on the internet.
The FAZ report echoes eyewitness accounts collected from refugees from the Houla region by members of the Monastery of St. James in Qara, Syria. According to monastery sources cited by the Dutch Middle East expert Martin Janssen, armed rebels murdered “entire Alawi families” in the village of Taldo in the Houla region.
Already at the beginning of April, Mother Agnès-Mariam de la Croix of the St. James Monastery warned of rebel atrocities’ being repackaged in both Arab and Western media accounts as regime atrocities. She cited the case of a massacre in the Khalidiya neighborhood in Homs. According to an account published in French on the monastery’s website, rebels gathered Christian and Alawi hostages in a building in Khalidiya and blew up the building with dynamite. They then attributed the crime to the regular Syrian army. “Even though this act has been attributed to regular army forces . . . , the evidence and testimony are irrefutable: It was an operation undertaken by armed groups affiliated with the opposition,” Mother Agnès-Mariam wrote.
Survivor says slaughtered Syrian village had been warned not to shelter anti-Assad activists
By David Enders | McClatchy Newspapers
NEAR HAMA, Syria — A massacre that took as many as 80 lives in Qubeir may have had its origins in a warning that government sympathizers issued to the village’s residents against harboring known anti-government activists.
A resident of Qubeir who survived the massacre said Friday that the attack took place shortly after an activist wanted by the government, known as Abu Hassan, went to Qubeir. When an army unit based nearby was notified of Abu Hassan’s presence, it began to shell the village and then sent in six tanks, accompanied by local militiamen, who killed the villagers with gunfire, sticks and knives.
“There had been threats against the village before not to harbor people who are wanted,” said the resident, who used the pseudonym Laith al Hamawy for fear of retaliation from the Syrian government…. Other rebels said the militiamen responsible for the attack came from the nearby Alawite villages of Tuwaim and Tal Sakheen. Qubeir’s residents were Sunni Muslims. In recent weeks, according to Sunni villagers in the area, Alawite militiamen, known as shabiha, have made threats against Sunni villages that have participated in demonstrations against Assad or have sheltered the armed rebels fighting the government….
My home town Talbiseh has been under heavy bombardment and shelling by mortars, missiles,and military aircraft for over three days. About 20 have been killed, many many injured, crops burned, houses destroyed. People including my family are fleeing the town and sleeping in open farms, under trees, in dry irrigation canals.
“Joshua Landis, please explain yourself: “Syrians have abandoned the regime in spirit, even if they have yet to defect in body. Sunni Syrians continue to go to work and turn up in their offices in the morning, but they hate the Assad regime in their hearts. Assad’s army is being taken over by shabiha and security forces manned by Alawites. The massacres leave no doubt about that.” That’s a HUGE paintbrush you use here – with no evidence whatsoever. Would genuinely like to know how you arrived at this conclusion, when most of my information indicates a massive escalation on the part of armed groups provoking confrontation w/ the army and pro-regime civilians, including expulsion, kidnappings, killings. In May there were more Syrian soldiers killed than “civilians.” I place the word civilians in quotes because we know them to also include armed opposition individuals and pro-regime civilians. Looking forward to your response.”
According to the Kuwaiti paper al-Qabas, tens of Kuwaitis have crossed the Turkish boarder with Syria to join the Jihad along side other foreign fighters from Algeria and Saudi Arabia.
عشرات الكويتيين يقاتلون إلى جانب الجيش السوري الحر
مواضيع مترابطة
مجموعة دون الـ 18عاماً لم يُسمح لها بـ«الجهاد»
راشد الشراكيعلمت القبس ان عشرات المواطنين عبروا الحدود التركية نحو سوريا للمشاركة في عمليات «الجهاد» إلى جانب «الجيش السوري الحر» ضد قوات نظام بشار الأسد.
وقالت مصادر مقربة من المواطنين، الذين يتواجدون حالياً في سوريا، ان مكاتب الجيش السوري الحر تستقبلهم إلى جانب جماعات كبيرة من السعوديين والجزائريين والباكستانيين، ويتم تسليمهم هويات سورية تحسباً لأي طارئ، ومن ثم يتم تسليحهم ويوزعون على فرق في شتى المحافظات. وأكدت المصادر ان عددا من المواطنين لم يُسمح لهم بالدخول لأنهم دون الـ 18 عاماً
S.A. Writes in the Comment Section:
I must admit that I was alarmed at your latest article on SC because it sounded like you have a very clear picture of what’s taking place in Syria right now. I think that you have only presented one side of the story.
I know people who have very clear accounts and even names of people who were killed, kidnapped, murdered and raped by the so-called revolutionaries or ‘rebel armies’. They are targeting Alawites for just being Alawites. There are detailed accounts of people who had relatives’ bodies returned to their families after being mutilated in the worst form. This and the assassination of the Alawite educated elite from prominent families has continued up till now. There are clear accounts of this and of people who know families who have been affected. The style of these attacks is very similar to the assassinations that took place in Syria in the 1980s when the Muslim Brotherhood tried to rebel against the government and were crushed.
Common sense tells us that there is no reason for the government troops to kill women and children from the villages. It is obvious that what’s happening now is a sectarian tit-for-tat war which is similar to what happened in the former Yugoslavia.
People who I have been able to talk to in Syria are very anxious that the ‘rebels’ stop the violence and fighting the government. And also yes what is being done inside Syria is terrorism and nothing less. I know families whose children on school busses barely missed the bombs that were targeting government buildings. Is this killing children on the way to school a tactic to fight for democracy? Friends in Syria ask the question “what is the government supposed to do to protect us from terrorism?” They say that the government has a duty to protect its citizens from terrorist acts.
Fighting in Haffe, outside of Latakia:
….The fighting between government troops backed by helicopter gunships and armed groups in the area of Haffa began on Tuesday. Rami Abdul-Rahman, the director of the Observatory, said at least 58 soldiers have been killed and more than 200 wounded in the operation there since it began.
He said the heavy losses indicate the seriousness of the challenge in the mountainous area where “hundreds” of rebels are entrenched. His estimated death toll could not be independently verified.
State-run news agency SANA said “terrorist groups” in Haffa attacked public and private institutions on Saturday and committed “heinous” crimes against civilians, setting fire to the national hospital and forcing people to leave their homes. It said troops killed a number of them and arrested several others, adding it was still pursuing gunmen and working to restore security to the area…..
Syrian rebels tried to get me killed, says Channel 4 correspondent
The Guardian
Alex Thomson says his crew was led to ‘free-fire zone’ as deaths would discredit Bashar al-Assad’s regime. By Ben
New Leader – Abdel Basset Sayda (Kurd living in Sweeden)- Chosen to lead the Syrian National Council
Leaders of the exiled Syrian National Council (SNC), Muhammet Faruq Tayfur (R), Burhan Ghalioun (C) and Abdel Basset Sayda (L), wait before the start of a meeting in Istanbul to pick a new leader after the resignation of Ghalioun last month to avert divisions.
The opposition Syrian National Council chose Abdulbaset Sayda (Seated to the right of Ghalioun in photo).
“We are now in the process of repairing the relationship between the SNC and the forces working inside Syria so that we may reach common grounds between us,” he said. “There will be changes in the coming weeks both within the forces inside the SNC and the forces that will hopefully join the group,” he added.
His elevation to the post of SNC chief could be part of an attempt to appeal to Syria’s significant Kurdish minority, which has largely stayed on the sidelines of the uprising. The community is deeply suspicious that Sunni Arabs who dominate the opposition will be no more likely to provide them greater rights than what they have had under Assad’s regime.
Sieda said he was already engaged in talks with the main Kurdish umbrella group, the Kurdish National Council, whose delegates walked out of an SNC gathering in March after the group ignored Kurdish demands it support political decentralization and Kurdish rights in a post-Assad state.
“He is an academic. He’s also well-known, a moderate man. We shouldn’t claim that he has Islamic tendencies or secular tendencies. He has been approved and accepted by everyone,” Abdel Hamid Al Attassi, a member of the SNC, said of Sieda.
A sleeping dragon awakes: Kurds Take Centre Stage in West Asia
By James M. Dorsey
As popular uprisings and post-revolt transitions change the political, economic and social structures of the Middle East, Kurds, the world’s largest nation without a state of their own, are emerging as the force that could spark a redrawing of borders and rewriting of minority rights in West Asia.
As popular uprisings and post-revolt transitions change the political, economic and social structures of the Middle East the struggle for Kurdish rights, including autonomy if not independence, moved center stage in the past week with a Syrian Kurd becoming head of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), Iraqi Kurdistan hosting an international tournament for nations that world soccer body FIFA refuses to recognize, and the hardening of attitudes of Turkish Kurds…..
83 civilian deaths reported after heavy fighting in Syria
Arab News – 10 June, 2012
Bullets and shrapnel shells smashed into homes in the Syrian capital overnight, as troops battled rebels in the streets, in the heaviest fighting yet in Damascus. The violence marked an increased boldness among rebels in taking their fight against the regime of President Bashar Assad to the center of his power.
For nearly 12 hours of fighting that lasted into the early hours Saturday, rebels armed mainly with assault rifles fought Syrian forces. UN observers said rebels fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the local power plant, damaging parts of it and charring six buses, according to video the observers took of the scene.
Assad’s Response to Syria Unrest Leaves His Own Sect Divided
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
BEIRUT, Lebanon — After Jaber Abboud, a baker from Baniyas, Syria, first lashed out publicly at President Bashar al-Assad for failing to promote real change, his neighbors ignored it.
But Mr. Abboud and most of his community are Alawites, the same religious sect as the president. When the popular uprising broke out, many believed that if the Assad family fell, they were doomed. They closed ranks and turned on Mr. Abboud, boycotting his pastry shop and ultimately forcing him to leave town.
“The neighborhood is split — half are dejected and subservient, the rest are beasts,” he said in a telephone interview from nearby Latakia. “It is depressing to go there, it’s like a town full of ghosts, divided, security everywhere.”+
As the Syrian conflict escalates to new levels of sectarian strife, Mr. Assad is leaning ever more heavily on his religious base for support. The Alawite core of the elite security forces is still with him, as are many Syrians from minority groups.
But interviews with a dozen Alawites indicated a complex split even within their ranks. Some Alawites are frustrated that security forces have not yet managed to crush the opposition, while others say that Mr. Assad is risking the future of the Alawites by pushing them to the brink of civil war with Sunni Muslims.
Mr. Assad’s ruling Baath Party professes a secular, pan-Arab socialism, but Sunnis, who make up about 74 percent of the population, have long bridled at what they see as sectarian rule by the Alawites, who are nominally Shiite Muslims and make up only 13 percent of the population.
People like Mr. Abboud say they feel stranded in a no man’s land. Blackballed by their own Alawite community, they find that the Islamists who dominate parts of the armed opposition regard them with murderous suspicion. A few with opposition credentials have been killed.
On the other extreme are Alawites who criticize Mr. Assad as being too soft, saying that his father and predecessor as president, Hafez al-Assad, would have quashed the threat by now.
With Alawite youths dying by the hundreds to defend the government, voices are raised at funerals and elsewhere asking questions like, “Why is the government not doing enough to protect us?” according to the Alawites interviewed.
There were also anti-Assad chants in Alawite neighborhoods like Zahra in Homs, like: “Bashar became a Sunni!” (Mr. Assad’s wife, Asma al-Akhras, comes from a prominent family of Sunni Muslims from Homs.)
Alawite-Sunni tensions reached a new peak after a spate of mass killings, particularly the May 25 Houla massacre of 108 Sunni Muslims, including 49 children. Survivors from Houla and people living near the slaughter last Wednesday in the farming hamlet of Qubeir said the attackers came from Alawite villages. The United Nations said suspicions in Houla were focused on pro-government militiamen known in Arabic as shabiha. Alawites dominate their ranks.
“For the first time, we began to hear directly from our Sunni neighbors that we should leave Damascus and return to our villages,” said Abu Ali, 50, a real estate agent. He said that once the school year ended he expected a flood of such departures out of fear of revenge attacks.
Fear of reprisals has prompted dire warnings from some Alawites that their future is on the line. Afaq Ahmad, a defector from the air force intelligence branch, posted a 10-minute plea on YouTube saying that Alawites have to stop committing collective suicide. He has gained prominence partly because Alawite defectors are rare.
“Does the family of Bashar al-Assad deserve to be the leaders of the Alawites?” Mr. Ahmad asked. “In the face of crimes like this, we cannot stay silent. We should stick to our religious and humanitarian principles because otherwise, history will show no mercy.” ….
All the soldiers at a small military base in a village called Ghanto near Homs defected to the rebel side on Sunday, and that government helicopters bombed the base soon after the soldiers fled.
More than a million need aid in Syria
As refugees stream across the border, Jordan issues appeal for international assistance
David Randall Author Biography , Azar Zaidi, Sunday 10 June 2012
At least 1.5 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance in Syria, aid agencies said yesterday – evidence that the impact of what is now a civil war goes far beyond the probable 10,000 dead reported since the insurgency and protests began.
More and more civilians are fleeing their homes on a daily basis to escape the fighting, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that those caught in the violence find getting medical treatment, and basic food items, increasingly difficult.
An ICRC report stated: “The situation in many parts of Syria is very tense… The number of displaced people has been growing day by day. Many of the displaced have seen their assets looted or destroyed. Many are staying with family members or friends, others in public structures,[which often] lack basic services such as water and electricity.”…
UN Openly Waging War on Syria – (for those who believe that the US is intervening in Syria for regime-change and not humanitarian concerns.)
by Tony Cartalucci
….Western policy makers openly admit that the goal in Syria is not to restore peace and order, but to topple the government, even if it means purposefully, and indefinitely prolonging the violence to do so. Brookings Institution in their March, 2012 Middle East Memo #21 “Assessing Options for Regime Change (.pdf),” openly states that:
“The United States might still arm the opposition even knowing they will probably never have sufficient power, on their own, to dislodge the Asad network. Washington might choose to do so simply in the belief that at least providing an oppressed people with some ability to resist their oppressors is better than doing nothing at all, even if the support provided has little chance of turning defeat into victory. Alternatively, the United States might calculate that it is still worthwhile to pin down the Asad regime and bleed it, keeping a regional adversary weak, while avoiding the costs of direct intervention.” -pages 8-9, Assessing Options for Regime Change, Brookings Institution.
Confirming this, Clifford May of the Neo-Conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) openly admits that “humanitarian concerns” has nothing to do with the West’s involvement in Syria, and that it is rather a proxy war being fought against Iran, and by extension, Russia. May also clearly states that ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is the objective of Western machinations, not the restoration of order or any sort of brokered ceasefire that ends the killing…..
Inside Syria: Who Arms the Rebels?
pbs newshour
In any revolution, getting weapons is a key challenge. Syria’s rebels have found an interesting solution.
As they loaded the store room with new bullets and rocket-propelled grenades, Hamza Fatahallah, an army defector who joined the Free Syrian Army nine months ago, described the transaction that had taken place.
“We have caught many army prisoners,” he said. “We send them back home for a small amount of money on the condition they do not return to the regime. We use the money to buy weapons.”
For the release of this prisoner, Ahmed Haseeba, the group received $500. With this money, Fatahallah said they were able to buy ammunition from their main supplier: Syria’s national army, also known as the enemy.
This strange cycle of exchanging prisoners for weapons has been playing out between rebel forces and President Bashar al-Assad’s army since the beginning of the revolution.
Fatahallah estimated that his village purchased 40 percent of their weapons from the regime. Prisoner exchanges have so far contributed almost $80,000 toward weapons purchases, he said. And they obtain an additional 50 percent of their weapons during battle. The remaining 10 percent are donated and smuggled from outside the country, or are purchased from private merchants, mostly from Iraq.[…]
For the regime, or at least the duplicitous members of it, supplying the enemy is a big business. Government officers also sell Kalashnikov bullets, which typically sold for less than 40 cents before the uprising, for about $4 each, according to Ahmed Al Sheikh, the leader of the armed opposition in Jabal al-Zawiya. He leads about 6,000 men from eight battalions that are collectively known as the Sham Falcons.
Kalashnikovs are bought for about $1,000, he said. Rocket-propelled grenade launchers, complete with a set of four rockets, cost up to $4,000, as does a BKT machine gun.
“These officers sell to us not because they love the revolution but because they love money,” Al Sheikh said of his chain of suppliers. “Their loyalty is to their pockets only, not the regime.”
While most of the sellers are corrupt officers, they said lower ranking soldiers have occasionally stolen supplies from government weapons storage and sold them to the rebel forces.
The Houla Massacre And The Subversion Of The Peace Plan
By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar
Instead of responding positively to some of the democratic changes introduced by the government, the US has been coordinating the supply of weapons to the opposition paid for by states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. An article in the Washington Post (16 May 2012) reveals this, and admits that as a result of large shipments of arms, the opposition “overran a government base” and “killed 23 Syrian soldiers” on 14 May. It is significant that this intensification of weapons supply to the opposition had occurred after the ceasefire under the Peace Plan had come into effect on 12 April. In fact, there has been a series of horrifying acts of violence since the ceasefire — devastating bomb attacks in Aleppo and Damascus some associated with Al-Qaeda and Salafist elements— aimed at creating chaos and anarchy. They offer incontrovertible proof that certain governments in the West and in West Asia do not want the Peace Plan to succeed.
Inflation at %31.4 – Syria Report
Syria’s annual inflation rate reached 31.45 percent in April, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The Ministry of Economy has reduced the average weight of a cooking gas cylinder to 10 kg but kept its price unchanged, in effect increasing its cost by some 16 percent, as it battles with continuous shortages.
Bank Indicators Stabilize – Syria Report
The aggregate balance sheet of Syria’s private sector commercial banks rose 13.4 percent on a quarterly basis in the first three months of this year thanks to a surge in the assets of Syria International Islamic Bank.
Riyad Hijab New Prime Minister (Considered honest)
The Syrian President named on Wednesday June 06 a new prime minister, Riyad Hijab, in replacement of Adel Safar, whose government will have lasted little more than a year.
Comments (677)
DAWOUD said:
188. SALAH ADDIN
MY REPLY TO SALAH ADDIN
Brother Salah (unlike the well-known regime apologists here, I put it in my favorable category):
NasrIllat’s loss of his son while resisting Zionists’ colonial occupation in the Lebanese south DOES NOT give him the right to defame the martyrs of the ongoing Syrian revolt. Hamza al-Khateeb, who was murdered and tortured by Bashar’s Shabiha state, deserves no less respect/glorification than Nasrillat’s son. Hizbistan has lost ALL respect as far as most Arabs are concerned for two reasons:
1)its Shabiha have been assisting Bashar’s dictatorial regime, which is proven not only by activists’ videos, but also by leaked Syrian gov’t documents.
2)Hizbistan has unleased a massive media propaganda campaign to defend the Syrian Shabiha state and to DEFAME the courageous Syrian revolutionaries. Robert Fisk and the NYT (as I commented and posted a few weeks ago on this blog) wrote on how Nasrillat’s media (e.g., al-Manar) and supporters have been using similar vocabulary as those used by the Israeli occupiers. For example, they claim that the Syrian demonstrators use civilian “human shield,” which is 100% borrowing for the Zionist occupiers.
3)Every time you watch Arab media you find most of Bashar’s propagandists from Lebanon and supporters of Hizbistan. Their language is preposterously outrageous in their propaganda defense of Syria’s dictatorship, which is the worst in modern Arab history. Raping Syrian women, as the regime has done, is something that even the Zionist colonial regime has not done to the Palestinians! Shame on them and their apologists.
Finally, as a word about history, please remember that Mousa al-Sadr (the one who was unjustly imprisoned by al-Qadhafi) was no fan of the Palestinians and their resistance. He died while seeking money and arms from Libya, which he wanted to use to arm his Amal movement in order to fight the Palestinians. Most Shi’a residents of South Lebanon, as I saw them on Israeli televsision (I was pre-teen in 1982) welcomed the invading Israeli army. They thought that they were their liberating allies. They wanted them to destroy the Palestinian resistance. However, Israel was dump enough to put its colonial ambitions first, and it stayed in S.Lebanon 18 years longer. This made it personal for NasrILlat and his Shi’a community. They were fighting to save their land and dignity. All Arabs supported them. However, their fight against Israel does not give them the right to resist Syrians’ struggle for justice and dignity.
To be continued in the future as I have to go to work…..!
June 11th, 2012, 8:35 am
Afram said:
Allies to Limit Airstrikes on Afghan Homes
After an airstrike in Afghanistan last week that killed 18 civilians.
coalition forces have issued new restrictions on airstrikes on (((militants who hide in residential homes)))the COWARDS fake syrian army are too,hide in residential homes?!
The move comes after a NATO apology and a weekend meeting between President Hamid Karzai and the US ambassador to Afghanistan.
“Given our commitment to protect Afghan civilians, restricting the use of air-delivered munitions against insurgents within civilian dwellings is a prudent and logical step in the progression in the campaign,” said a NATO spokesman.
N.Times reported.
I think that’s -What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.What the hell? might is right,Assad has the right also to go after the bearded salafi ganders and pull their switcheroo off
June 11th, 2012, 9:00 am
Uzair8 said:
I’m an Assad thug: It’s the final battle
A member of the militia blamed for Syria’s worst atrocities gives a chilling insight into his world of indoctrination, paranoia and mafia crime
10 June 2012
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Middle_East/article1057572.ece
June 11th, 2012, 9:17 am
habib said:
Lol, the West is digging its own grave. First they help the Salafists take over the Middle East, then they take over Europe. You reap what you sow.
June 11th, 2012, 9:19 am
Uzair8 said:
While the pro-regime obsess about the alleged ‘troubles’ of the SNC in an attempt to undermine and demoralise the opposition, the LCC and the FSA grow stronger by the day.
June 11th, 2012, 10:31 am
Son of Damascus said:
Osama,
From previous thread re: Air Base
While you are correct the video the BBC showed is spliced, however it is spliced from videos that came out of Al Ghanto. Below are the videos in chronological order:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zytWfbaGic0&feature=player_embedded
this video is of the Captian Ahmad Yousef from the battalion 743 of brigade 72 of division 26 that defected explaining what had happened:
These are videos of the Assad army reacting to the defection by sending in a Helicopter to strafe the area and destroy the base:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvT76EfvD3c&feature=player_embedded
Aftermath of the helicopter attack with the base burning in the background:
June 11th, 2012, 10:37 am
jna said:
Ultimatum to Christians: “Leave Qusayr”
Qusayr (Agenzia Fides) – Exodus of Christians in the west of Syria: the Christian population has left the town of Qusayr, near Homs, following an ultimatum from the military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba. This is what local sources of Fides report, indicating that, following the outbreak of the conflict, out of the ten thousand faithful who lived in the town, only a thousand have remained, who have now been forced to flee in haste to fury. Some mosques in the city have re-launched the message, announcing from the minarets: “Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, which expires this Friday.” The ultimatum, therefore, expired yesterday, June 8, and produced fear among the Christian population who had begun to hope again after the presence of Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, the Jesuit who stayed in Qusayr for a week, with the idea of “praying and fasting for peace in the midst of the conflict” (see Fides 30/5/2012).
….read more
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=31694&lan=eng
(Vatican missionary publication)
June 11th, 2012, 10:46 am
ghufran said:
reports about the death of up to 30 alawites in alhoula area were posted on this site from day one,but the herd mentality that dominates the brain of many Syrians today made it impossible for any “different” view to be heard. having said that,there was killing and counter killing from both sides and there was shelling by the army in Houla area,it is a civil war,stop being surprised that people are getting killed,claims that this is David against Goliath only fool those who want to be fooled.
June 11th, 2012, 11:10 am
Son of Damascus said:
Syria Opinion: The Vatican’s dangerous game of “persecution” plays into Assad’s hands
James Miller
The Guardian has posted a response by the Syrian opposition to allegations, emerging from Syrian Chistians and amplified by the Vatican, that Christians in Al Qusair have been forced out of the city by Islamists in the opposition and specifically by the insurgents of the Free Syrian Army. According to the allegations, the message has been blasted from loudspeakers that Christians must leave the city within 6 days.
The Al Qusair Revolution, an activist network comprised of activists in the city, denies the claim, and has denied the allegation and condemned the statements from the Vatican:
We, the people of Alqusair, confirm that we have lived together with our beloved Christian brothers and sisters for decades, working together and living alongside one another. We have been united since before the birth of the filthy sectarian Albaath regime and we are in complete shock as to the statement released by the respected Vatican.
We condemn the statement by the Vatican as the mosques never called out for our Christian brothers and sisters to leave the city and we also confirm that most of the Christian families fled with the Muslim families around 2 months ago due to the barbaric shelling as the regime used (and continues to use) heavy artillery and mortar shells on civilians. These regime tanks do not differentiate between Muslim or Christian. The snipers have targeted people from both religions and not chosen one over the other.
The Guardian also notes an investigation of these allegations, by the Israeli daily Haaretz, which casts serious doubt upon the validity of the claims. The investigation points out that the initial reports sent from church leaders in Syria were “copy & paste” quotes from the pro-regime website Al Haqiqa (Syrian Truth).
Haaretz not only throws cold water on the reports published by Fides, the Vatican news outlet, but also notes that the claims are completely inconsistent with reports of anti-Christian persecution in Iraq:
Besides, the claims of straightforward ethnic cleansing by Islamist militants do not add up, because that is not how jihadist groups deal with Christians. For example, the standard practice in Iraq for jihadist groups like Al-Qaida – renowned in Iraq for its brutality – is to first demand jizya, which is a “poll tax” imposed on Christian and Jewish minorities, in traditional Islamic theology.
If the minorities fail to pay jizya, they face bomb attacks or other violence. Yet the reports in Al-Haqiqa and Fides make no reference to imposition of jizya.
[…]
http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/6/11/syria-opinion-the-vaticans-dangerous-game-on-persecution-pla.html
The Haaretz article that James Miller is alluding to in his piece:
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/syrian-disinformation-about-christian-persecution-1.422943
June 11th, 2012, 11:17 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Son of Damascus
Don’t you agree that the Alawi officers who are defecting to the FSA are smart?
June 11th, 2012, 11:49 am
Son of Damascus said:
Even the best PR firm can’t clean up the image of the brute, once a thug always a thug!
Oh really Miss Walters, your relationship with the Assad’s is a conflict, you just figured that out!
Syria’s Assads Turned to West for Glossy P.R.
For some journalists, Syria has been one of the least hospitable countries in the Middle East, a place where reporters — if they can get in — are routinely harassed and threatened as they try to uncover the repression that has propped up the Assad government for decades.
For other journalists, Syria has until recently been a country led by the cultivated, English-speaking President Bashar al-Assad who, along with his beautiful British-born wife, Asma, was helping usher in a new era of openness and prosperity.
That second impression is no accident. With the help of high-priced public relations advisers who had worked in the Clinton, Bush and Thatcher administrations, the president and his family have sought over the past five years to portray themselves in the Western media as accessible, progressive and even glamorous.
Magazines and online outlets have published complimentary features about the family, often focusing on fashion and celebrity. In March 2011, just as Mr. Assad and his security forces initiated a brutal crackdown on political opponents that has led to the death of an estimated 10,000 Syrians, Vogue magazine ran a flattering profile of the first lady, describing her as walking “a determined swath cut through space with a flash of red soles,” a reference to her Christian Louboutin heels.
Fawning treatment of world leaders — particularly attractive Western-educated ones — is nothing new. But the Assads have been especially determined to burnish their image, and hired experts to do so. The family paid the Washington public relations firm Brown Lloyd James $5,000 a month to act as a liaison between Vogue and the first lady, according to the firm.
This web of politics and public relations ensnared Barbara Walters recently. After she conducted an aggressive interview with Mr. Assad on ABC News in December, she offered to provide recommendations for Sheherazad Jaafari, the president’s press aide and the daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, who was applying for a job at CNN and admission to Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Ms. Walters issued a statement on Tuesday expressing regret for her actions, which she called “a conflict.”
[…]
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/world/middleeast/syrian-conflict-cracks-carefully-polished-image-of-assad.html?_r=3&ref=global-home
June 11th, 2012, 11:53 am
Son of Damascus said:
MajedKhaldoun,
I agree that any soldier that does not turn his weapon against his own people for the sake of Assad are doing the right thing, whatever their creed or faith might be.
June 11th, 2012, 12:00 pm
habib said:
12. Son of Damascus
Erm, but that’s not exactly what defectors are doing. They simply redirect their bullets to other Syrians.
June 11th, 2012, 12:06 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Habib,
umm, did you miss the part that said: “for the sake of assad”?
Fighting for your freedom, or your country is noble. Fighting for a butcher is not.
And this coming from someone that is a pacifist and does not believe an armed struggle alone will bring down this regime.
June 11th, 2012, 12:13 pm
Alan said:
4. HABIB said:
Lol, the West is digging its own grave. First they help the Salafists take over the Middle East, then they take over Europe. You reap what you sow.
!يسـلم فمك
Therefore, these lovers of war deliberately cultivate radical Islamic terrorism and the political to the next stage to be the cause of their wars to cut the roots of this terrorism! It’s actually the seed stage to the next causes of wars
June 11th, 2012, 12:18 pm
Alan said:
Vladimir Putin Nemesis of the New World Order
MY CATBIRD SEAT JUNE 11, 2012 0
by Sartre Batr
Putin provided a vision that conflicted with the cabal. Eurasian Project a Threat to New World Order provides an alternative to the West.
http://mycatbirdseat.com/2012/06/vladimir-putin-nemesis-of-the-new-world-order/
Mother Russia is a much different country from the Stalin gulags. With all the faults of a long tradition of authoritarian rule, it is natural for observers in the West to be suspect of the latest would be Czar.
The remnants of the cold war linger with concerns of the true motives and goals of a second Vladimir Putin era. By most reliable accounts, he never left the power circle prior to his return as President. Upon his latest election, The Guardian published an article Putin’s election victory is a headache for the west. “Nobody is any doubt that the Putin who returns to the Kremlin in May is the same Putin who has effectively run Russia for the past 12 years – prickly, uncompromising, suspicious and fond of snide remarks about western hypocrisy and double standards.”
The context for any serious discussion on foreign affairs must start with the admission that the New World Order is the dominant controller of political power, especially in western countries. The NeoCon/NeoLib cabal dictates worldwide compliance. Nations conform to the financial supremacy of banksters, administered by handpicked political stooges. Global governance is the end game destined for all states. Individual nations slated for extinction are doomed as long as the NWO advances their worldwide imperium.
Putin provided a vision that conflicted with the cabal. Eurasian Project a Threat to New World Order provides an alternative to the West…/../..
June 11th, 2012, 12:25 pm
Alan said:
Arab Spring benefited only Israel – Lebanese Interior Minister
http://mycatbirdseat.com/2012/06/arab-spring-benefited-only-israel-lebanese-interior-minister/
June 11th, 2012, 12:29 pm
Alan said:
سيناريو يوم القيامة !
http://rt.com/usa/news/us-syria-president-reports-584/
US accelerates preparations for ‘no-fly zone’ in Syria
The United States may soon take on a formal role in the Syrian uprising after reports surfaced this week that suggest the White House wants an air offensive targeting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
After over a year of unrest in Syria, Israel’s Debka news agency reports that US President Barack Obama has asked the US Navy and Air Force to accelerate plans that would aid in the ousting of Assad. According to their sources, President Obama hopes that by initiating a temporary air strike in locales instrumental to the Syrian government, the US may be able to decimate Assad’s control by attacking his regime’s military command centers.
The US would call for a no-fly zone over Syria, reports Debka, then send their own personnel to strike Assad-aligned targets.
Murmurings of the latest plans out of Washington come less than two weeks after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) called for the implementation of a no-fly zone. Speaking to reporters last month, Sen. Graham said that ousting Assad from control in Syria is much more crucial for America’s interests than the issue of Libya; last year the US aided in the removal of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi from Libyan rule.
“Compared to Libya, the strategic upside of taking out (Syrian President Bashar) Assad is far greater,” said Graham, who currently sits on the US Senate Committee of Armed Services. “We’ve used force to stop slaughter less strategic and egregious than this.”
Debka’s reports also come days after White House Press Secretary Jay Carney confirmed that, in terms of US involvement in Syria,”military action is always an option,” although he added, “We do not believe that … further militarization of the situation in Syria at this point is the right course of action.” Less than two weeks later, however, the White House may have already changed their stance../../..
June 11th, 2012, 12:32 pm
anwar said:
Assad has no hope of surviving this but he is making sure this country is driven into mayhem before his execution. I have faith syrian will rebuilt. Happy to see his internet army getting agitated on here, it’s pretty funny to see how desperate they are.
June 11th, 2012, 12:44 pm
KDD said:
There are a lot of accusations flying around with respect to how the Rebel forces are conducting themselves in Syria. More recently, reports have emerged that “Sunnis” massacred “Shiites and Alawis” – and not the other way around. This is difficult to understand and accept given the demographics of Houla – being a Sunni dominated enclave in Allawite country. It is also hard to accept given that Houla in its entirety has been virtually emptied out now of all persons. If there was a Massacre of Allawis by ‘terrorists’ the government would have known about it. They would have undoubtedly seized this PR opportunity. I also perceive any attempted massacre by said militants as suicidal – would not have Allawis from nearby areas, who are armed heavily by the regime, flooded in to stop it? What about the said government forces which were in and around the site during and after the event?
This is not to say that the Rebel and FSA forces, whom I sympathesize with the most, can do no harm. I just have a harder time believing it given that their goal is to uphold the cause of freedom and to protect civilians from further harm. If there are elements in the FSA that are commiting such atrocities, show us. If mosque loudspeakers are demanding christians to leave the area, show us. How come I cannot find a YouTube video of this? Everyone has the technology to report the facts nowadays. Right now, the images we see on the ground are painting the picture.
As of now, I have only seen videos and documentation which confirm the opposite scenario. We’ve heard purported testimony from civilians in the area which blame government forces. We’ve seen kids strewn on the ground, and their relatives pouring over them explaining the situation to UN oberservers who have indicated this is the work of Shabiha and Assad’s forces. As a supporter of the opposition movement, I certainly do not want any allied force to manufacture context or pretext. This is the domain of government forces, not us. Our biggest asset is truth – and above all else, we need to maintain it. That said, the only evidence preferred by the regime is entirely hearsay – which does not fly given the deminimis credibility remaining to their credit.
Finally, I want to reiterate that I am and have to be accepting of facts even if they turn out to undermine my cause. We all need to be realistic in our assessment and accept the realism behind them. Mistakes are made. I will not stubbornly bury my head in the sand when facts turn out against what I believe in – I will address them directly and denounce such actions. I really wish Regime supporters would do the same. Eventually, we all will have to live together again. The only key to peace is truth, and then reconciliation.
June 11th, 2012, 12:45 pm
Alan said:
How US will provide ‘no-fly zone’ in Syria ?
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/444326.html
Arms supplied to Syria cannot be used against civilians — Rogozin
PARIS, June 11 (Itar-Tass) —— Under no circumstances can the arms that Russia supplies to Syria be used against the civilian population, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said at the Eurosatory arms exhibition in Paris on Monday, June 11.
“Weapons do not shoot all by themselves. It is people who shoot from them. Unlike its partners, Russia has never tried to add oil to the flame,” Rogozin said.
He stressed that Russia has “strict requirements” concerning arms supplies.
“Under no circumstances can the arms supplied to Syria be used against the civilian population. We urge all sides to the Syrian conflict to drink water and calm down, and all those who wish to make a good hand of the conflict to stop supplying arms to rebels,” Rogozin said.
[…]
June 11th, 2012, 12:55 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Anwar
They sure are agitated, they twist facts,fabricate, look how pathetic they were twisting facts about the crime against the children in Houleh, none of them express sorrow and regret for those kids and other victim of their shabiha, those who don’t show sorrow they have no conscious,they have their God , they worship him, and Assad doesn’t deserve the dirt on their shoes
June 11th, 2012, 12:59 pm
Tara said:
Majed
And the last twist was that the victims of the Houla massacre were Alawis. Yeah right… Witnesses’ account was very clear that the Shabeeha killed children to take revenge for imam Ali. But of course,lies, lies, and more lies.
June 11th, 2012, 1:23 pm
Alan said:
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c7/444129.html
Lavrov to visit Iran June 13 to discuss Syria situation, sextet meeting
MOSCOW, June 11 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Iran on June 13 to discuss with leaders of that country the situation in Syria and preparations for the sextet meeting, a source at the foreign ministry said on Monday.
“The focus will be made on the general situation in the Middle East and Northern Africa, including special attention to the current transformation processes in the Arab world and to the state of affairs in Syria,” the source said.
“The most vital objective remains to be assistance in carrying out the plan of the UN and LAS special envoy Kofi Annan, approved by the United Nations Organisation, and in eliminating problems on its way,” the ministry said. “In this context, the minister will discuss in detail the Russian initiative to organise an international conference on Syria.”
[…]
——————————-
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=31359
“Humanitarian War Criminals” in High Office: Was the Houla Massacre Ordered by the Western Military Alliance?
by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
——————————-
http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2012/06/western-states-pounce-massacre-mayhem-syria
——————————-
Saudis, other Arab nations keep arming Syrian opposition – McCain
News | 11.06.2012 | 10:54
Saudi Arabia and some other Arab countries keep supplying arms to the Syrian opposition in defiance of world community appeals.
This was reaffirmed by the US Senator, John McCain, in an interview with the CNN television network.
The Conservative Republican has urged the US Administration to embark on a path of direct military aid to the Syrian rebels.
Russia says foreign interference in Syria’s affairs is unacceptable.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has again called for an urgent international conference on Syria.
The proposal won the support of the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague
June 11th, 2012, 1:24 pm
Hans said:
SNC can’t put lip stick on a pig it stays pig! enough said.
June 11th, 2012, 1:32 pm
Tara said:
From UZair’s article. White shoes is a trademark of Shabeeha.
..WITH his massive, tattooed muscles, shaved head, bushy black beard and trademark white trainers, Abu Jaafar, 38, likes to pump iron at the gym before heading for the nightclubs of Latakia, Syria’s Mediterranean port.
…
In an interview with a Sunday Times reporter in Latakia, Jaafar gave a disturbing insight into the world of the shabiha, a poisonous cocktail of religious indoctrination, minority paranoia and mafia crime.
..
He was first recruited into the murky world of Syria’s security services during military service, where uniformed officers worked with thugs in regime-sanctioned smuggling. “I was bigger than the others so I got picked to be the bodyguard of a senior officer. After military service he asked me to be his man in dealing with some Alawite smugglers.”
….
Jaafar left his gang and opened a liquor store in Latakia. “Last June friends from the shabiha asked me to return to work with them,” he said. “They said we must defend President Assad and his family and keep power for the Alawites.”
Soon, Jaafar’s occasional pay of 1,000 Syrian pounds (about £10) for a day’s thuggery had risen to a steady monthly salary about six times the average wage. “We started by facing the protesters, but when the opposition became armed we attacked them in their villages,” he said. “In addition to our salaries we take whatever we can get during the attacks: TVs, video players, electronics.”
“We got money and arms from our government to fight those Wahabi radicals who will force my wife and daughters to wear the veil and will close all wine shops,” he said.
Mixed with his fear of religious conservatism is a lethal sense of persecution: Jaafar says Sunnis have held power wrongly for 1,400 years and that the balance was restored only after Hafez al-Assad seized power in 1970 and stacked his security services with Alawites.
Jaafar said: “I know the Sunnis will take revenge for what we’ve done. I’m fighting to guarantee a good future for my sons and grandsons. So this is the final battle: win, or die.”
June 11th, 2012, 1:34 pm
Karabennemsi said:
@KDD
Your comment above was obviously a very honest one and when i read your words i felt warm in my chest because i could tell your intentions are well.
I don’t want to take part in any speculations about who exactly the perpetrators in houla were, since the press is my only information source and i was very disappointed a lot of times during the last year when i had to read obvious misinformation in the main newspapers. However it seems clear to me that the massacre would not have happened if Bashar had started a serious reform process at some point during the last decade.
Regarding the ‘missing’ youtube videos i’d like to make two points:
1. Not everybody is as courageous as the activists who uploaded the demonstrations.
2. A youtube video and especially the nonexistence of one should really not be regarded as proof for any incident, it is merely an indication.
June 11th, 2012, 1:46 pm
Hans said:
By the week we are inching to the American election, what ever Mr. O does with Syria he is going to pay the price for it, unless he does nothing which is the safest bit. Mr. O took a notice of his close friend Mr. Sarkosy loss and is taking wait and see approach to Syria. it helps his friends the Israeli that Arabs are killing each other at much hire rate than any Israeli-Arabic conflict.
The weapon plants are making more money for everyone but the Arabs who are paying for it. Makes the US and the European economy get a boost.
The GCC are spending all the money they are getting for their oil.
If the USA decide on doing anything before the election this is going to be the end of Mr. O presidency.
No one in the USA is ready or wanting any action except the Israeli packed senators.
The american people are not fan of supporting the fanatics to take power in Syria or elsewhere in the Arab world.
June 11th, 2012, 1:53 pm
omen said:
External aid needed to reveal Syria truth
(google this title to pull up the financial times article.)
how do loyalists explain all the bodies removed? let me guess…rebels snuck past regime military guards blocking entry into the village and carted away the dead bodies right under the army’s nose. all to make the regime look bad.
not only that, rebels hung around long enough to clean up the carnage. that would make the fsa anal retentive killers. who knew?
i think loyalists prefer fanciful tales. the more convoluted, the better.
June 11th, 2012, 1:56 pm
Juergen said:
just in:
In protest against the massacre in Al Hula back with 108 deaths, the Syrian Honorary Consul in the U.S. state of California, Hazem Chehabi, resigned from his post. He also has left his loyalty towards the government in Damascus, according to media reports.”It gets to the point where a silence or sparred action is ethically and morally unacceptable,” said Chehabi. He was one of the highest-ranking Syrian diplomats in the United States and is the first to the government of President Bashar al Assad who has decided to resign from his post.
KDD
thank you
June 11th, 2012, 2:14 pm
Alan said:
30. JUERGEN
Stay Connected! all the subtleties and secrets of what is happening in Syria is located in the offices of the Kremlin! life has a lot to teach! though in the end wins!
June 11th, 2012, 2:41 pm
Stick to the truth said:
After reading yesterday the terrifying news on SC I was very worry about my familiy in Syria, so I tried to call home many times but no one answered. I tried to call the mobile of my sister but there was also no answer. I admit, I as very upset and feared the worse.
An hour later I received a call from my sister. She said: Sorry, I did not hear you, I am in the swimmingpool -In Damascus-
Thats Syria today. Whatever happens the syrian will never stop enjoying life and will overcome whatever happens.
Dear SC, please do not moderate this posting, its not about politics. Its just to describe the discrepancy between news and reality.
June 11th, 2012, 2:51 pm
Osama said:
6. SON OF DAMASCUS
Thanks for going through the trouble of posting all the links to the vids. The most interesting one is the one of Captain Ahmed.
I have no doubt that the FSA managed to take-over the site, as they were clearly loading their trucks with the ammunition… and the videos resemble the Google Satellite images of the site (north of Ghinto).
Questions:
– Where is the other officer and 8 soldiers reported in Alarabiya story, there were a total of 10 defectors.
– Why is “Captain Ahmed” not wearing his uniform and why did he not do the obligatory flashing of his military ID we’re so used to seeing.
– the interview with “Captain Ahmed” seemed practiced, I mean the only one at ease was the guy asking the questions.
– The guy asking the questions in his closing of the “report” mentions that the unit defected with ALL its equipment and then he ends the video by saying that they are in Rastan?!? which is more than a few kilometer’s to the north.
Conclusions:
No proof of “defection” – although it is clear that the site was over-run. The narrative that the unit defected serves the NATO/GCC strategy to try create an atmosphere of uncertainty and doubt among the regime loyalists or people waiting for the right opportunity, leading to general panic, and eventual breakdown of military discipline.
I have the luxury to analyze and judge, the Syrian Army officers on the ground don’t have that choice. One thing is clear, unless the Army has major defections – and I mean Armored units – this will take an intervention to end it. Sorry, but the FSA can’t do it against Syrian Army, even if it was severely demoralized, without massive external support. if the FSA try to take an hold ground without these prerequisites, they will be at the mercy of the Syrian Army, as we have seen several times already. The orders from NATO/GCC are clear, keep the psychological pressure on the regime and its followers and an opportunity will present itself eventually.
Its not my intent to undermine the FSA or it abilities, but this is the reality – it is not a question of bravery or good intentions. What we are seeing is pure psy-ops, nothing more.
June 11th, 2012, 2:57 pm
Aldendeshe said:
He was one of the highest-ranking Syrian diplomats in the United States and is the first to the government of President Bashar al Assad who has decided to resign from his post.
__________________________________________________________________
Since 2003 he removed Bashar picture off the wall at the consulate and kept it laying on the couch, or on top of the copy machine, never he, his sister (an adminstrator) or the other young man helping, ever found time to hang it. They never did. I understood from his sister years ago that “Syria is not a country”. This is basically the archtype of all the Baathists Diplomats the Dictator maintained in foreign service. Syria is an Alawi/Baathi Mazraaa.
June 11th, 2012, 3:04 pm
Alan said:
http://rusnavy.com/nowadays/concept/opposite/arabicwinter2012/index.php
While the world stares at the Persian Gulf discussing date of military operation against Iran, the situation in Syria has fallen into the shade. Any military intervention in one of these countries would instantly trigger reaction of another one. Moreover, the odds are it is Syria but not Iran who would fall the next victim to “Arab Spring” which is unfortunately turning into “Arab Winter”.
Why Syria may become a Number One Target?
Just because Iran possessing nuclear technology looks more prepared for retaliation and can inflict unacceptable damage. Just because Syria is drawn in mass civil commotions. Just because Syria is a secular state where religious fanaticism and terrorism are out of favor.
At the same time, Syria is the only ally of Iran in the Middle East. As for political analysts, much of Iran’s stability is owed to Syria, and if the regime of Bashar Assad falls down, Iran would either go into compromise or share the fate of Iraq. Looks attractive for those who got used to pull chestnuts out of fire by someone else’s hands, doesn’t it?
Of course, it does. Especially if one takes into account that it is Iraq where Iran strives to augment its power with the view to reconstruct the Shia “crescent” Iran-Iraq-Syria as a counter to Turkey and the pro-American Sunni Arab world headed by Saudi Arabia. In such a way it is possible to determine fate of the three formerly independent countries at a time.
Besides, “civilized global community” is pretty well tired of Syria. Through recent 25 years, Syria has strengthened Hezbollah’s standing in Lebanon becoming a bridge between Iran and that organization.
It is Syria who intermediates Iran’s armament exports to Palestine and relations with Hamas. Syria and Lebanon are states which territories may be used by Iran for a strike upon Israel in case of direct confrontation. Syria is the only country in the Mediterranean and worldwide where Russian Navy has overseas base, i.e. technical maintenance center in Tartus.
Setting up control over Syria where Sunnites constitute majority would give, say, Turkey access to the Arab Middle East.
“Considering all those things, we may say that overthrowing of current Syrian government – as was seen in Egypt and Libya, implying collapse of political system and causing chaos – may have disastrous effects on Iran’s regional policy. In this context, keeping Assad’s regime in Syria looks regional priority for Iran”, said Sevak Sarukhanyan.
It can be expected that it is change of leadership in Syria but not interfering in Iran’s nuclear program which is a prime objective of political game played in the Middle East, because Iran would remain alone then. It is Syria who may become the next-after-Libya Mediterranean country where outcome of inside political storm would be determined by no means a civil war but intervention of a third force (Arab League, Turkey, and Israel) jointly with air-sea operation of the US and Allies.
UN Resolution will imply opening of hostilities
Such actions must be only legitimated. For instance, by UN Security Council’s resolution analogous with notorious Resolution 1973 on Libya.
As is known, in October 2011 Russia and China vetoed the resolution on Syria. British foreign minister William Hague commented it as a “great mistake”. On January 23, 2012 when Syria declined to adopt an anti-crisis plan made by Arab League, the UK repeated that a UN resolution on Syria was a long-felt need. And it won’t be a long time coming even though not only Russia and China oppose force scenario in the UN but all other BRICS members.
The conflict escalation is inevitable. But there must be a casus belli!
Situation will definitely become aggravated either at attempt of economic embargo on Syria (scenario offered by League of Arab States), or as a result of Iran’s countermeasures to pressing on its nuclear program, or in case of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz (scenario offered by NATO)../../..
June 11th, 2012, 3:25 pm
Uzair8 said:
Syria: Vogue’s Anna Wintour disowns Asma al-Assad
Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, has disowned Bashar al-Assad’s wife Asma in the wake of a highly complimentay article the magazine ran last year.
11 Jun 2012
[Selected quote]
“Like many at that time, we were hopeful that the Assad regime would be open to a more progressive society,” she said. “Subsequent to our interview, as the terrible events of the past year and a half unfolded in Syria, it became clear that its priorities and values were completely at odds with those of Vogue.
“The escalating atrocities in Syria are unconscionable and we deplore the actions of the Assad regime in the strongest possible terms.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9325230/Syria-Vogues-Anna-Wintour-disowns-Asma-al-Assad.html
June 11th, 2012, 3:40 pm
Uzair8 said:
Mrs Assad hasn’t made an appearance since the ‘charity’ food packing?
Must have damaged her nails.
June 11th, 2012, 3:46 pm
Syrialover said:
We read that the US is gathering evidence and monitoring regime attacks by surveillance drones.
Now we hear that Assad is using small drones to help direct his shelling of civilian areas.
Assad likes small drones? I hope he’s reading this:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-kamikaze-drone-20120611,0,3893056.story
June 11th, 2012, 3:56 pm
Syrialover said:
I feel the shock, the terror, the frantic desperation of people being relentlessly shelled by their own “government”.
For those who survive, the trauma and nervous shock will badly affect them for the rest of their lives.
This is the proud work of the ugly cowards, lazy, mindless thugs, the vicious killers Assad and his gang.
Let’s hope their own end does not come instantly and they, their wives and children experience a long, deafeningly loud siege and shelling without food, water or medical help.
June 11th, 2012, 3:56 pm
Osama said:
We are reaching the climax of the information war on Syria.
All the MSM news stories are now talking about rebel strongholds, shelling of rebel area, helicopter gunships strafing, etc etc
The choice of words clearly intended to give the uninformed the image that rebels are actually holding area’s and that the Syria government is indiscriminately killing civilians…
Op-eds are full of pundits pleading for the west to step in and save the Syrians from themselves!
June 11th, 2012, 4:43 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Assad accused of bombing cities with unkown chemical substances:
http://www.youkal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54016%3A2012-06-11-19-27-45&catid=54%3A2011-04-29-12-25-44&Itemid=126
June 11th, 2012, 4:46 pm
Syrialover said:
Watch Putin. He’s just had gangs of masked security men with assault rifles raiding the homes of suspected demonstrators and removing money and private papers. Oh yes, and banners and computers and mobile phones as well.
Being close to Assad is giving him a new sense of what can be done and how to do it.
A big demonstration is planned in Russia today. Putin is using state terrorism to stop it in advance. What if that doesn’t work? Will he keep moving down the Assad path?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157675/Russian-police-raid-homes-anti-Vladimir-Putin-activists-return-days-Stalin.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
June 11th, 2012, 5:02 pm
Alan said:
40.
what is the meaning of this ? is this that climax what you mentioned ?
Obama speeds up limited air strike, no-fly zones preparations for Syria
http://www.debka.com/article/22073/Obama-speeds-up-limited-air-strike-no-fly-zones-preparations-for-Syria
June 11th, 2012, 5:41 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
45. Alan
So you are american with syrian ancestors.
Sure Google Earth helps you know where to locate many places you did not hear in your whole life about Syria.
If you (or family or friends) had lived and suffered just one of the consequences of a totally corrupted regime you would not dare to defend the mafia state. But it is very easy to make yourself believe that Assad is fighting against adopted US. In the pro-Assad expats position there is some kind of refusal against the country that has welcomed you. This kind of disease is typical of many expats who tend to believe that they can find in Syria what they do not find in the place they live. This could be true in rare cases but you could find it in the people not in the regime.
June 11th, 2012, 5:47 pm
ann said:
Syrian army regains control of rebel-held neighborhood in restive Homs – 2012-06-12
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/12/c_131645894.htm
DAMASCUS, June 11 (Xinhua) — Syrian mainstream media said Monday the Syrian army regained full control of the rebel-held areas in central Homs province.
Pro-government media said the army recaptured the central neighborhood of Khalidieh and Bab Sba’a, which had been controlled by the rebels of Free Syrian Army.
The latest army operation indicates that the Syrian government has become more impatient with the bold and brazen attacks by the armed rebels, who have tried recently to stir battles in the heart of the capital Damascus.
[…]
June 11th, 2012, 6:04 pm
ann said:
Armed groups blast gas pipeline in eastern Syria – 2012-06-11
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/11/c_131645781.htm
DAMASCUS, June 11 (Xinhua) — Armed groups on Monday blasted a gas pipeline in Syria’s eastern Deir al-Zour province, causing a leakage of gas without conflagration, state-run SANA news agency reported.
The blast, caused by an explosive device, led to the leakage of around 400,000 cubic meter of gas, SANA said.
Quoting an official source at the ministry of oil, the report said the gas pumping was immediately stopped, adding that reparation process will start Tuesday. It said the line will rework again in few days.
Several oil and gas pipelines have been targeted since the eruption of anti-government protests last year, causing losses estimated at millions of U.S. dollars.
[…]
June 11th, 2012, 6:08 pm
ann said:
Israel mulling wartime, disaster mass evacuation plans – 2012-06-11
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/11/c_131645773.htm
JERUSALEM, June 11 (Xinhua) — An Israeli ministerial committee will soon consider the ramifications of evacuating hundreds of thousands of residents to safe ground in case of a wartime mass missile barrage, or cataclysmic natural disaster.
The Ministerial Committee on Home Front Affairs will next week weigh an existing contingency plan, which includes dispersing the populations of whole cities that lay within the bulls’ eye of Iranian, Hezbollah or Hamas long-range rockets to spread out, sparsely inhabited areas, according to the Ynet news site.
All three have vowed to launch rockets at Israeli urban areas in case of war, specifically mentioning Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa.
As well, Israeli Army Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh on Sunday warned that the growing civil war in Syria could prompt President Bashar al-Assad to attack Israel as a diversionary pretext.
Assad would “treat us the same way he treats his own people,” Naveh said at a ceremony for fallen soldiers held in Jerusalem, hinting that the Syrian leader might opt to use his stores of chemical and biological weapons against the Jewish state.
Military officials here are also concerned that the bombs and precise long-range rockets that they would be mounted on could fall into the hands of rebel forces, or Hezbollah in Lebanon.
They have said in recent weeks that they are monitoring that prospect, and have said they will do whatever is necessary to keep the deadly gas and biological agent munitions out of the hands of the Lebanon-based Shiite group.
Meanwhile, on the home front, “there are some 1.7 million residents living in Israel who don’t have a bomb shelter or a bunker,” Knesset parliament member Zeev Bielski (Kadima) said in March.
“We’re talking about some 400,000 homes and apartments, most of which were built in the 1950s,” he said. “In case a war breaks out, these residents will be told: ‘Sit under a doorpost,'” according to Bielski, who chairs the Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee for the Examination of Home Front Readiness.
[…]
June 11th, 2012, 6:15 pm
Syrialover said:
The world created with great deliberation by Assad.
Look at the killers:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157518/Pictured-Syrias-steroid-mad-Ghost-killers-Assad-power-swooping-villages-massacre-women-children.html
Then read about the victims.
Names and details of a 4-month old baby shot in the head, a disabled child killed with a hatchet. Teenaged twins. This man who lost his wife and 5 children in the massacre had been arrested in anti-regime demonstrations. Definitely no mention of rebels doing it. Clearly no suggestion he is Alawi.
This story will be easy enough to verify or expose if it’s
fictitious:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157034/Syria-Father-finds-wife-children-victims-Houla-atrocity.html
June 11th, 2012, 6:22 pm
ann said:
US Accelerates Preparations For ‘No-Fly Zone’ In Syria – June 11, 2012
http://www.eurasiareview.com/11062012-us-accelerates-preparations-for-no-fly-zone-in-syria/
Search Eurasia Review
By: RT
June 11, 2012
The United States may soon take on a formal role in the Syrian uprising after reports surfaced this week that suggest the White House wants an air offensive targeting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
After over a year of unrest in Syria, Israel’s Debka news agency reports that US President Barack Obama has asked the US Navy and Air Force to accelerate plans that would aid in the ousting of Assad. According to their sources, President Obama hopes that by initiating a temporary air strike in locales instrumental to the Syrian government, the US may be able to decimate Assad’s control by attacking his regime’s military command centers.
The US would call for a no-fly zone over Syria, reports Debka, then send their own personnel to strike Assad-aligned targets.
Murmurings of the latest plans out of Washington come less than two weeks after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) called for the implementation of a no-fly zone. Speaking to reporters last month, Sen. Graham said that ousting Assad from control in Syria is much more crucial for America’s interests than the issue of Libya; last year the US aided in the removal of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi from Libyan rule.
“Compared to Libya, the strategic upside of taking out (Syrian President Bashar) Assad is far greater,” said Graham, who currently sits on the US Senate Committee of Armed Services.
[…]
June 11th, 2012, 6:24 pm
zoo said:
Drones are not the exclusivity of Obama and Israel anymore
Updated June 12, 2012 07:03:13
Video: Fresh shelling of Homs in Syria
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-12/52-killed-in-syria-as-troops-pound-rebels-strongholds/4064990
United Nations monitors say Syrian government forces appear to be using a surveillance drone to hunt for targets as they intensify an assault on the city of Homs.
New video shows shells landing in built-up areas of the city, which has seen heavy fighting during the more than year-long uprising against president Bashar al-Assad.
June 11th, 2012, 6:31 pm
zoo said:
Obama’s Iran and Syria muddle
By Jackson Diehl, Published: June 10 The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obamas-iran-and-syria-muddle/2012/06/10/gJQAr6nITV_story.html
From one point of view the connection between our troubles with Syria and Iran is pretty straightforward. The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad is Iran’s closest ally, and its link to the Arab Middle East. Syria has provided the land bridge for the transport of Iranian weapons and militants to Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Without Syria, Iran’s pretensions to regional hegemony, and its ability to challenge Israel, would be crippled.
It follows that, as the U.S. Central Command chief Gen. James N. Mattis testified to Congress in March, the downfall of Assad would be “the biggest strategic setback for Iran in 25 years.” Making it happen is not just a humanitarian imperative after the slaughter of more than 10,000 civilians, but a prime strategic interest of Israel and the United States.
So why are both the Obama administration and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu unethusiastic — to say the least — about even indirect military intervention to topple Assad? In part it’s because of worry about what would follow the dictator. In Obama’s case, the U.S. presidential campaign, and his claim that “the tide of war is receding” in the Middle East, is a big factor.
…
Obama tries to square this circle by pursuing a multilateral diplomatic approach to both countries. But if regime change in Syria is the goal, Security Council resolutions and six-point plans from the likes of Kofi Annan are doomed to failure. Only a combination of economic and military pressure, by Assad’s opposition or outsiders, will cause his regime to fold.
A collapse, in turn, could undermine the same Iranian regime with which Obama is seeking a bargain. So it’s no wonder Tehran sought to add Syria to the topics for discussion at the last session of negotiations — or that Annan wants to include Iran in a new “contact group” to broker a settlement in Syria.
The Obama administration rejected both proposals — because they are at odds with Syrian regime change. This muddle may delight Vladimir Putin, but it’s not likely to achieve much else.
June 11th, 2012, 6:36 pm
zoo said:
UN observers report the ‘real’ situation in Rastan,Talbiseh and Khalidieh
UN observer mission voices “deep concerns” over deadly clashes in Syria’s Homs
2012-06-12
DAMASCUS, June 11 (Xinhua) — The UN observers’ spokesperson expressed Monday “deep concerns” over the deteriorating situation in the conflict-battered Homs province in central Syria, following reports of severe clashes there between armed rebels and Syrian troops.
UN observers reported that there was heavy fighting in Rastan and Talbiseh in Homs, Suasan Ghosheh told reporters Monday afternoon.
“The UN supervision mission is very concerned with the escalation in violence in Homs,” she said, adding that “UN observers reported the use of heavy artillery and mortar shelling as well as firing from helicopters, machine guns and small arms.”
In Talbiseh, Ghosheh said, UN observers also reported that the rebel Free Syrian Army had captured soldiers from the regular Syrian army, adding that heavy artillery shelling and machine gun firing were also heard.
In another town of Homs, al-Khalidieh, the spokesperson said the observers also received reports that a large number of civilians have been trapped inside the town “and we are trying to mediate their evacuation to a safe place.”
She, however, stressed that the mission has not yet been able to confirm the large-scale killing and casualties in Homs. She said the UN supervision mission is calling on all sides to halt all kinds of violence to ensure the protection of all civilians and to allow for their evacuation to safe areas.
“We also call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to facilitate the entry of UN observers into conflict zone,” she said.
more..
June 11th, 2012, 6:48 pm
Syrialover said:
SANDRO LOEWE # 47
I agree. It’s mind-blowing isn’t it. Some of those here are living in the west, with all the privileges, freedoms, resources, opportunities and options it gives them. But they clearly do not think those living in Syria are worthy of having the same.
They can’t even find any fault with what the regime is doing to Syria and its trapped citizens, or sympathy for their suffering.
Instead, they love to do silly circular tail-chasing exercises criticizing the US, exposing their own poor understanding and ignorance of the country and how it functions.
I guess it must make them feel smart. Or maybe it makes them feel less guilty for soaking up the life there.
June 11th, 2012, 7:19 pm
Syrialover said:
#52 Ann
If people can’t resist grabbing space with cutting and pasting could they please not be so lazy and sloppy putting in all the advertising, irrelevant links and extra junk etc as well.
June 11th, 2012, 7:26 pm
Hopeful said:
#56 Syrialover
I found what you said to be true not only with Syrians but with many other “Expats” from other countries now living in the West and specifically in the US.
I guess it is easy to criticize the US once you live in it, precisely because it is EASY to do so: not only one has the complete freedom to do so, but one is often encouraged to do so if one lives in a vibrant diverse city or community. I, for one, will not trade this life style of complete openness and freedom with anything else. I consider myself fortunate to BOTH live in the US AND to have lived under an oppressive regime (and within an oppressive society if I may even say), allowing me to appreciate what I currently have!
June 11th, 2012, 7:34 pm
DAWOUD said:
57. SYRIALOVER
I agree with you! I admire you because you are “Syrialover,” and NOT “Hizbistan lover!”
June 11th, 2012, 7:43 pm
Dawoud said:
53 Zoo
The only difference is that the United States and Israel DON’T use drones to kill their own people! Bashar is using drones, which he likely acquired from Iran, to kill Syrians and NOT to liberate the Golan or Palestine! Shame on him!
June 11th, 2012, 7:46 pm
jad said:
This picture summarize what big part of the oppositions represent and defend:
-Sectarianism
-Abuse of innocent children to spread sick ideas
An innocent young girl holds a sign saying “The next massacre will be in Qerdaha” which is a Syrian Alawites’ town:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/522671_170331589763464_711326636_n.jpg
June 11th, 2012, 8:03 pm
jad said:
Lots of information about Al Houla massacre and what happened that day:
حقائق حول مجزرة الحولة
http://youtu.be/oQwaqCcPEcg
June 11th, 2012, 8:14 pm
zoo said:
Dawood
This is fallacy.
Why killing one’s own people is worse than killing other people?
People are people, afghans or american or syrians.
The US and Israel killing Afghans or Palestinians are criminals, and not less because they are only killing strangers
June 11th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Ghufran said:
Stupidity is best defined as doing the same thing then expecting different results.
Here are some examples:
1. Funding and supporting alqaida type armed rebels thinking that they will forget who they are and suddenly start embarrassing tolerance and freedom. NATO nations are now under attack in BinGhazi which they help “liberate” ,rebels bombed the British diplomatic envoy and another US target.
2. Relying on middle age style regimes to advance democracy and freedom,Qatar and KSA being prime examples.
3. Thinking that combining cosmetic political changes and oppression can solve a national crisis (our beloved regime in Syria)
4. Using violence and sectarian killing to bring peace and a pleural democracy
5. Ignoring your own Shabeehas then complaining about other people’s shabeehas
Promoting almouallem to a VP is likely but do not ask me what is that going to achieve except that the regime thinks he will be a tougher negotiator than Alsharaa. Another alarming development is a credible story from Syria confirming suspicions that the Shabeehas are now taking over security in a number of towns and neighborhoods,the regime wants those thugs to take the blame for many atrocities in Syria and use those thugs as a card and a leverage expecting gains from the west for restraining a new monster that the regime created. A friend confirmed what we suspected for months:
An increasing number of alawites see Bashar as a weak leader who can not defend them or bring security to their towns and neighborhoods,of course who else other than the Shabeehas is supposed to fill the leadership vacuum?
The 12th anniversary of the late Assad’s death was an opportunity for many to compare father and son and shed tears over the good old days.
We heard about street leaders in the opposition camp,now we should be ready about similar stories from the other camp. The new leaders are more violent,less tolerant and unwilling to negotiate. Pity the nation.
June 11th, 2012, 8:28 pm
Ghufran said:
More on Shabihas (JL is mentioned in the article)
http://world.time.com/2012/06/11/the-wrath-of-the-shabiha-the-assad-regimes-brutal-enforcers/?iid=gs-main-lede
June 11th, 2012, 8:35 pm
Ghufran said:
Hague of the UK:
We … have reason to believe that terrorist groups affiliated to al-Qaida have committed attacks designed to exacerbate the violence, with serious implications for international security,” said Hague in a speech to the Commons.
يطعمك الحج و الناس راجعه
June 11th, 2012, 8:45 pm
Dawoud said:
60. ZOO
I wasn’t saying that using drones is Ok anywhere to kill any innocents. You missed my point. Why? I was resentful that you were taking pride in Bashar (War Criminal)al-Assad’s usage of drones to kill Syrians. A man who claims to be “president” of country uses his army to kill his own people instead of regaining its occupied land! Shame on him and on his apologists/supporters!
P.S., the United States and Israel manufacture their own drones. They don’t get them from Iran!
June 11th, 2012, 8:59 pm
omen said:
61. GHUFRAN said: 5. Ignoring your own Shabeehas then complaining about other people’s shabeehas
.
every atrocity regime commits is treated by loyalists with a “rebels do it too!” response.
this “i am rubber, you are glue” tactic only works for pee wee herman.
June 11th, 2012, 10:12 pm
zoo said:
Dissident urges Assad to hand over to his VP
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/dissident-urges-assad-to-hand-over-to-his-vp.aspx?pageID=238&nID=22927&NewsCatID=359
The new leader of Syria’s exiled opposition called on President Bashar al-Assad yesterday to transfer power to his deputy, Faruq al-Shara, Anatolia news agency reported. “Al-Assad should leave office to his vice president,” said Abdelbaset Seida of the Syrian National Council. (Read full report here)
The suggestion came amid furious diplomatic efforts by Russia to stage an international summit on the Arab republic that would also include Iran. “Without Iran’s involvement, the opportunity to exert constructive pressure on Syria will not be implemented in full,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Russian officials briefed Ankara last week over the international conference although Turkey is still assessing the proposal, officials said.
Meanwhile, U.N. envoy Kofi Annan called Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to discuss Russia’s proposal for the conference. Annan also expressed “grave concern” yesterday at the latest violence in Syria.
Russia makes final-ditch on Syria turmoil
Moscow has launched a flurry of diplomatic activity in an attempt to convince global players to sign up to the idea of an international summit on Syria that would include Iran.
Russian officials briefed the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara last week over the context and potential participants at the international conference; Turkey, however, is still continuing to assess the proposal, Turkish officials said.
During the talks, Russian diplomats said the main goal of the conference would be the implementation of the six-point peace plan brokered by U.N.-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan.
Meanwhile, Annan called Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to inform him of his meetings in New York, as well as discuss Russia’s proposal for the conference.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed his country’s proposal for the conference on Syria last week while he was in China to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Lavrov said states which have a certain influence on Syria, such as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Turkey, Iran, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union, should participate in the conference.
Lavrov will visit Iran tomorrow to discuss the upcoming Moscow talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, as well as the Syria crisis, his ministry said.
…
“Without Iran’s involvement, the opportunity to exert constructive pressure on Syria will not be implemented in full,” the ministry added.
more..
June 11th, 2012, 10:40 pm
zoo said:
Al Mayadeen is born : New pan-Arab TV satellite channel goes on air
http://news.yahoo.com/pan-arab-tv-satellite-channel-goes-air-190719704.html
BEIRUT (AP) — A new pan-Arab TV station that went on the air Monday courts viewers who see mainstream coverage of the political upheaval sweeping the Middle East as biased against the regimes in Syria and Iran and their close ally in Lebanon, the powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
The Beirut-based station Al-Mayadeen, Arabic for The Squares, hopes to counter the influence of regional media heavyweights like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, both funded by oil-rich Sunni Gulf Arab countries that have backed the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad. It also promises to support the Palestinian cause and all forms of “resistance” — a term in Mideast parlance usually used to describe Hezbollah and other groups that fight Israel.
Al-Mayadeen is headed by Ghassan bin Jiddo, a well-known Tunisian journalist who quit Qatar-based Al-Jazeera last year to protest what he contended was one-sided reporting in favor of the Syrian opposition. Since the Syrian revolt began 15 months ago, some Arabs have accused Al Jazeera of whipping up public opinion against Assad’s regime and playing on sectarian tensions.
“I am against any media that may deviate to the level of provocation, incitement and sedition,” bin Jiddo has said of his resignation from Al-Jazeera.
Bin Jiddo has pledged a balanced and professional approach at Al-Mayadeen, but his background has skeptics wondering whether the station will simply be a mouthpiece for Iran and Syria. Bin Jiddo used to lead Al-Jazeera’s Beirut operations and was the only journalist who was granted an interview by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We do not speak in the name of Iran or the Syrian regime, we are a completely independent channel which reflects reality as it is,” bin Jiddo said at a press conference in Beirut this week.
There has been much speculation over the source of funding for Al-Mayadeen, which employs about 300 workers. Bin Jiddo has denied it was receiving money from any country, saying it is funded by businessmen whose identities he would not disclose.
Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, the two most viewed news stations in the Arab world, are funded respectively by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Syrian regime often refers to the two stations as the “incitement” channels or “death” channels.
more..
June 11th, 2012, 10:50 pm
Jad said:
URGENT
NATO preparing vast disinformation campaign
by Thierry Meyssan
Member States of NATO and the GCC are preparing a coup d’état and a sectarian genocide in Syria. If you want to prevent these crimes, you should act now: circulate this article on the Internet and alert your elected officials.
In a few days, perhaps as early as Friday, June 15, at noon, the Syrians wanting to watch their national TV stations will see them replaced on their screens by TV programs created by the CIA. Studio-shot images will show massacres that are blamed on the Syrian Government, people demonstrating, ministers and generals resigning from their posts, President Al-Assad fleeing, the rebels gathering in the big city centers, and a new government installing itself in the presidential palace.
{…}
Actually, this public decision is only the tip of the iceberg. According to our information several international meetings were organized during the past week to coordinate the disinformation campaign. The first two were technical meetings, held in Doha (Qatar); the third was a political meeting and took place in Riyad (Saudi Arabia).
The first meeting assembled PSYOP officers, embedded in the satellite TV channels of Al-Arabiya, Al-Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Fox, France 24, Future TV and MTV. It is known that since 1998, the officers of the US Army Psychological Operations Unit (PSYOP) have been incorporated in CNN. Since then this practice has been extended by NATO to other strategic media as well.
They fabricated false information in advance, on the basis of a “story-telling” script devised by Ben Rhodes’s team at the White House. A procedure of reciprocal validation was installed, with each media quoting the lies of the other media to render them plausible for TV spectators. The participants also decided not only to requisition the TV channels of the CIA for Syria and Lebanon (Barada, Future TV, MTV, Orient News, Syria Chaab, Syria Alghad) but also about 40 religious Wahhabi TV channels to call for confessional massacres to the cry of “Christians to Beyrouth, Alawites into the grave!.”
The second meeting was held for engineers and technicians to fabricate fictitious images, mixing one part in an outdoor studio, the other part with computer generated images. During the past weeks, studios in Saudi Arabia have been set up to build replicas of the two presidential palaces in Syria and the main squares of Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. Studios of this type already exist in Doha (Qatar), but they are not sufficient.
The third meeting was held by General James B. Smith, the US ambassador, a representative of the UK, prince Bandar Bin Sultan (whom former U.S. president George Bush named his adopted son so that the U.S. press called him “Bandar Bush”). In this meeting the media actions were coordinated with those of the Free “Syrian” Army, in which prince Bandar’s mercenaries play a decisive role.
The operation had been in the making for several months, but the U.S. National Security Council decided to accelerate the action after the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, notified the White House that he would oppose by all means, even by force, any illegal NATO military intervention in Syria.
The operation has a double intent: the first is to spread false information, the second aims at censuring all possible responses.
{…}
http://www.voltairenet.org/NATO-preparing-vast-disinformation
June 11th, 2012, 11:46 pm
Son of Damascus said:
More damning evidence implicating this disgusting and utterly heinous regime in torturing, maiming, and using CHILDREN as human shields.
How utterly disgusting!!
And what is cowardly as well is for the FSA to use children in any capacity, even in medical circumstances. They should be protecting not endangering the children or else they turn into the brutes they are fighting.
Syrian children used as human shields, says UN report
Children in Syria have accused troops of using them as human shields, a UN report has revealed.
Some children said they had been forced to ride on tanks to stop attacks by opposition fighters, the report said.
The UN’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict said children were being tortured in detention and slaughtered in massacres.
Radhika Coomaraswamy told the BBC that her team had returned from Syria with “horrific” reports.
She said she had never seen a similar situation where children were not spared – and even targeted – in a conflict.
“Many former soldiers spoke about shooting into civilian areas, seeing children, young children being killed, and maimed,” she said.
“We also had testimonies and saw children who had been tortured, and who carried the torture marks with them. We also heard of children being used – this was recounted to us by some children – of being put on tanks and being used as human shields so that the tanks would not be fired upon.”
However, she also criticised the opposition Free Syrian Army for endangering children.
“For the first time we heard of children being recruited by the Free Syrian Army mainly in medical and service orientated jobs but still on the front line,” she said.
[…]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18405800
Some excerpts from the report:
An incident that seems sadly familiar to other massacres that the shabiha have been implicated in:
Much more to read Syria starts at point 119
http://www.un.org/children/conflict/_documents/A66782.pdf
June 12th, 2012, 12:10 am
Son of Damascus said:
Now why would the Syrian Army be training plain clothed shabiha in shooting mortars and artillery? Does using Homs as a training target even matter to these people?
This was back in april:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URrZXTSKLiQ&feature=player_embedded
This is from a few days ago:
June 12th, 2012, 12:19 am
Son of Damascus said:
Syrian lawyer’s in Aleppo voicing their support for the revolution.
June 12th, 2012, 12:22 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Homs on the way of getting liberated from the terrorists.Terrorists of Alfarook on the run to Alrastan.
What good thing has Alfarook or FSA done to Homs?can any one defend their practices?how much killing,beheding,kidnapping and torturing have they done to Homsis and to Syrians ? How many Homsis and Syrians were kicked out of their houses by these terrorists?
FSA,SNC and all other (revolution )thiefs has done very poor job managing this
(revolution ) in much worse way than the government mismanagement of the crisis in many ways:
1-The government learned from its mistakes,opposition didn’t and kept repeating the same mistakes.
2-Opposition up to this moment kept silent about some of the worst crimes committed by its members especially kidnapping civilians and torturing them
Then making millions of liras befor releasing them Alife or dead or in between.
3-Opposition propaganda especially Aljazera and Alarabia has lost almost all trust by most of Syrians and most of the Syrians believe that pre-UN security meetings massacres are not done by government for very simple reason: common sense.
4-FSA fight against the Syrian Army is not something which will get FSA or SNC or any opposition groups any public support.most of the Syrians (even the ones
Disliking the regime)don’t hate their National Army,in general.
5-FSA and opposition being infested by Salfis,Jihadists and forign fighters is a fact
Which no one can doubt any more…,,
6-Destruction of Syrian economy and inflation is a direct result of this (revolution )
And is not helping opposition at all.Syrian hunger and shivering in the winter is
Intentionally injury inflected by Arabic and international community against the poor Syrians with the help and blessing of opposition (most with fat bellies and
3 zone heat in their houses in Stockholm and Brussels ).
7-Suicde bombings and Alqaeda tactics are becoming trademark of this(Revolution).
8-Every one in Syria knows that for every Syrian killed by the regime their is at least a Syrian killed by the terrorists infesting the opposition….The opposition refusal to get into political process because they (don’t negotiate with killers)
Is political immaturity and will cause the country to disintegrate or divide.
June 12th, 2012, 12:34 am
Juergen said:
“Whoever raises his sword against the people will perish by the sword of the people.” Georg Buechner
June 12th, 2012, 12:57 am
Juergen said:
Syrian children used as human shields, says UN report
The Syrian government is accused of using heavy weapons in residential areas
Children in Syria have accused troops of using them as human shields, a UN report has revealed.
Some children said they had been forced to ride on tanks to stop attacks by opposition fighters, the report said.
The UN’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict said children were being tortured in detention and slaughtered in massacres.
Radhika Coomaraswamy told the BBC that her team had returned from Syria with “horrific” reports.
She said she had never seen a similar situation where children were not spared – and even targeted – in a conflict.
“Many former soldiers spoke about shooting into civilian areas, seeing children, young children being killed, and maimed,” she said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18405800
We should not forget that from the beginning of the uprising in Derraa there is evidence that children haven been molested and raped by Syrian state authorities, to me that was one of the initial motives of many parents to overcome their fear by being outraged what happend to their children.
DER SPIEGEL reports that the regime is hindering people in the north to flee to neighboring Turkey by setting fire to forests in the frontier area.
June 12th, 2012, 1:18 am
Juergen said:
Here is the UN database in which the report can be read:
The report clearly states who is responsible for the violence against children: “Syrian Government forces, including the Syrian Armed Forces, the
intelligence forces and the Shabbiha militia”
http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/index.html
June 12th, 2012, 1:45 am
Mina said:
#63 Ghufran
WHague sounds very much like “oh, it looks like Yemen, with AQ all around; THEREFORE you will understand we have to put a number of boats right on your coasts and use drones to fight “Palestinian terrorists” whenever it is needed.
June 12th, 2012, 1:55 am
Alan said:
Syrian Rebel Terrorists Bomb Another Gas Pipeline
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/06/11/syrian-rebel-terrorists-bomb-gas-pipeline-143981/
June 12th, 2012, 2:17 am
Syrialover said:
#74 Ann
Oh dear. You left out some of the advertisements and irrelevant links and page titles this time as well.
MODERATOR, thank you for holding your ground. We don’t want particular posters going back to putting 50 paragraph of cut-paste items in like they used to. It nearly destroyed this forum.
Very few articles warrant more than 6 paragraphs in summary plus a link. Some people clearly flood stuff onto here without even reading it themselves or reading what others have posted.
June 12th, 2012, 2:46 am
Alan said:
44. SANDRO LOEWE
53. SYRIALOVER
We very much know US military industrial complex products! the globe suffers from military western monsters!
June 12th, 2012, 3:12 am
Alan said:
Actions !
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_06_12/77854479/
Russia-proposed conference may prompt action on Annan’s plan
June 12th, 2012, 4:08 am
omen said:
can you imagine shabiha doing this?
video
June 12th, 2012, 5:17 am
Observer said:
So we have between 50 and a 100 killed daily in Syria.
Simple calculation 100×365=36500 at a max and 18250 at a minimum per year.
This means that at a minimum 15000 families will want retribution if one is to assume that at times more than one member of the same family is killed. Does any regime supporter have any idea on how to bring justice to the killers? Does any regime supporter have any idea what this means of long held resentment and desire for revenge mean?
Now how do regime supporters explain the latest UN report of the Syrian Regime forces using children as human shields? Is this not the same UN that they want its mission to be crowned with success? Is this not the same Kofi Annan mission that they say the opposition wants it to fail? Is this not the same “only way forward” supported by Putin?
How is it possible to defend the regime when damning reports come from the UN mission?
Again I went to Cham Press and Sana and Addounia and RT and other pro regime outlets and it is absolutely pure stale stupid propaganda today: Fredo sends his regards to the Phillipines and the exams are under way at the university and the new potato crop is doing well and armed groups kidnapped a person on the road to a village and a pipeline was blown up.
In what delusional fantasy land do they live? At least I look to read what both sides are saying and what reports are documenting and what narrative each has to show
The regime is silent and I challenge anyone to show me any news from Sana about the real events on the ground.
This is worse than a mafiosi state; it is barbaric and hiding behind a veneer of a modern couple with “glamorous” fashion conscious young charismatic leader.
The germs have developed full resistance to antibiotics and the “surgeon” is butchering the patient.
June 12th, 2012, 6:57 am
Syrialover said:
80# Alan,
You live in the west? Australia, is that what you said?
Anyone there is a safe and comfortable beneficiary of what you see as the US military industrial complex. Hundreds of millions would sacrifice years of their lives to swap places with you.
Your part of the globe (Asia Pacific) is not really suffering from military western monsters. It has more shadows from military Chinese monsters.
Anyway, none of this explains having a soft stance on Assad’s actions and anger at those who oppose him.
June 12th, 2012, 6:57 am
Karabennemsi said:
http://www.deirmarmusa.org/node/362
Very moving.
June 12th, 2012, 7:10 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Alfarook terrorists in Alkusseer:
فرار حوالي عشرة آلاف مسيحي من بلدة “القصير” وضواحيها بعد تلقيهم إنذارا من “الجيش الحر”
12 حزيران 2012 10:06 عدد القراءات 1582
زعيم “الجيش الحر” في المنطقة وجه للمسيحيين إنذارا من المساجد انتهى الخميس الماضي، والأسقف الفرنسي فيليب كلوس يدلي بشهادة مخيفة بعد أيام قضاها في ثلاث مدن سورية
روما ، لندن ـ الحقيقة (خاص): أكدت وكالة أنباء “فيدس” البابوية الرسمية أن قرابة عشرة آلاف مواطن سوري من التابعية المسيحية فروا من بلدة “القصير” في حمص وضواحيها بعد تلقيهم إنذارا بالمغادرة من زعيم ما يسمى “الجيش السوري الحر” في المنطقة. وجاء في تقرير الوكالة أن أعدادًا كبيرة من المسيحيين في بلدة القصير السورية غادروها بعد تلقيهم “انذارًا من القائد العسكري للثوار في البلدة”. وأوضحت الوكالة بالقول ” إن مدة الانذار انتهت يوم الخميس ( الماضي 7 حزيران / يونيو) ، وأن غالبية مسيحيي البلدة البالغ عددهم 10 آلاف هربوا من القصير الواقعة في محافظة حمص التي اصبحت ساحة معركة وسط سوريا”. وقالت الوكالة إن بعض مساجد البلدة “أعاد إطلاق رسالة معلنة من المآذن أن على المسيحيين أن يرحلوا عن القصير”.
وتشهد القصير منذ اشهر اشتباكات عنيفة بين مسلحي ما يسمى “الجيش الحر” الذي يسيطر عليه الإسلاميون والتكفيريون من جهة ، والجيش السوري والأجهزة الأمنية.من جهة أخرى وتقع البلدة الاستراتيجية قرب الحدود اللبنانية وكانت مركزًا لتهريب السلاح والامدادات الطبية الى المتمردين في مدينة حمص التي تبعد نحو 25 كلم الى الشمال الشرقي، والتي شهدت نزوح المسيحيين منها باعداد كبيرة، بحسب وكالة انباء الفاتيكان.
http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/7573/Default.aspx
June 12th, 2012, 7:54 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Building the next massacre :
The victims :secured.
The Swords:Available .
Criminals and killers:ready .
Finance : unlimited (KSA and Qater)
Aljazera collaboraters and co-criminals :ready to air as soon as heads are cut .
Evidence:dead beheaded bodies.
Time:24 hours prior to next important UN meeting
An armed terrorist group on Tuesday kidnapped the passengers of two busses on al-Qusseir –al-Jousieh road in Homs countryside close to the Syrian – Lebanese borders.
Shukumaku reporter quoted a security source at Homs Governorate as saying that the armed group intercepted two busses carrying citizens at al-Salehieh town crossroads and kidnapped them towards al-Jouseih town, adding that the passengers are mostly women and children.
http://www.shukumaku.com/PDA/Content.php?id=47853
June 12th, 2012, 8:17 am
DAWOUD said:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/syria-children-human-shields_n_1589066.html
Syria Troops Used Children As Human Shields, U.N. Report Says
UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. report released Monday includes Syrian government forces and their allied “shabiha” militias for the first time on a list of 52 governments and armed groups that recruit, kill or sexually attack children in armed conflicts.
[…]
June 12th, 2012, 8:58 am
Dawoud said:
Moderator:
Is ….. allowed on SC? If so, I may start using it!
June 12th, 2012, 9:04 am
ann said:
231. ann said:
ANN Respect the rules of the site and DO NOT copy articles in its entirety, you have been warned numerous times by the former Moderator and twice by me, if you continue to do so I will left with no choice but to place you under Moderation.
SC Moderator
________________
I did not post this article in it’s entirety. I left out the following paragraphs:
.
.
.
This callous pop culture quip from Clinton came in the wake of two recent massacres of Syrian civilians. The first occurred on June 1 in the contested city of Houla, in which it was estimated 108 people were killed, with at least 49 being women and children. The second slaughter took place in the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir on Wednesday, with up to 78 people reportedly killed.
Those attempting to closely monitor the daily events in Syria have long since recognized that with the absence of any international media and just a relative handful of UN observers there exists an almost complete information vacuum.
While no one is denying the fact that civilians were killed in the two recent massacres, both sides are denying responsibility. Those in the rebel camp claim it was pro-Assad paramilitary thugs who committed the atrocities. The Assad regime maintains that it was the act of terrorists seeking to provoke the west into a military intervention on the side of the rebels.
.
.
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Go back and check your facts
June 12th, 2012, 9:10 am
Alan said:
83. SYRIALOVER
blows an unpleasant from the West!
Lavrov On Syria Conference – The Non-Paper
http://www.moonofalabama.org/
Following Lavrov’s press conference yesterday the Russian federation issued a non-paper to formalize its proposal for an international conference on Syria:
1- Purpose of conference: to negotiate practical steps aimed at finding a durable political solution t0 the Syrian crisis. Encourage key external players who may exert real influence on various Syrian parties, to take coherent measures in support of Kofi Annan’s Peace Plan and to ensure full implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2042 and 2043, in which the Security Council endorsed the Plan and authorized the deployment of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria.
2- Suggested participants of the conference: China, France. Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, LAS, OIC, EU, UN.
3- Level of the conference: foreign ministers, heads of regional organizations, with possible preparatory meetings of experts.
4- Expected outcome: all conference participants undertake to exert all their influence on the Syrian parties in order to immediately stop the armed conflict and fully comply with their obligations under Kofi Annan’s Plan and UN Security Council Resolutions 2042. and 2043.br> …
More at the link.
[…]
—————-
Lavrov on Syria
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2012/06/lavrov-on-syria.html
The Russian Federation’s Foreign Minister Lavrov just held a press conference on Syrian. The major points as I noted them from the live TV stream:
Russia will NOT support any military intervention and will veto should any such UN Security Council resolution come up.
Any intervention in Syria would have unpredictable consequences and would likely lead to a wider conflict sprawling over the Middle East.
Outside forces clearly continue to incite violence and to deliver weapons to Syrian rebels. These forces are breaking the Annan plan that was agreed upon and is supported by the whole UNSC. People who do this clearly want the Annan plan to fail and have said so. [Lavrov emphasized this several times.]
Russia will not allow an end-date for the Annan plan or any end-date that could then be used to argue for new action, i.e. intervention. Some seem to want such an end-date but Russia will not allow for such.
When Syrian troops withdrew from the cities rebel forces moved in. Rebel forces are continuing the violence. Thirty dead government forces per day clearly show that these are not “peaceful demonstrators”.
[…]
June 12th, 2012, 9:22 am
majedkhaldoun said:
The reasons for US and Nato to interfere in Syria
1) Humanitarian,this includes Massacres,Children and women and peacefull demonstartors has been killed by snipers, Hunger and poverty, Sick and injured people can not get treatments in hospitals, psychological effect of this crimes on the people.
2) national interest of the west, The regime is terrorist regime , who caused trouble in all neighbouring countries,and a strong supporter of Iran the enemy of several Arabic pro west countries.It is anti peace regime.
3) moral, This regime is brutal criminal who threw away all accepted moralities,and is anti all religions.It represent the evil, the devil.It stands against what is deeply accepted morality in the west and East.
With Russia and China vetoes it will be hard to get UNSC to support military intervention, No fly zone means military intervention, Protective corridores mean there will be military intervention.
Arming the FSA and the Syrian would be the best choice now, this could however evolve to another step.
The goal must be to dislodge Assad from Damascus, there may be a civil war after that, but with the majority of the soldiers are not of Assad sect, this means huge defections, and the high ranking officers will have no one to help fight the other side, also paying the soldiers will become impossible, so post Assad civil war will be very short, less than a month.
June 12th, 2012, 9:23 am
Alan said:
Do you have calculations in what intervention manages? or how many years of suffering? how many hundreds or thousand square meters will be charged by the kind merciful spent uranium in the course of your democratic bombardment! life to that should teach that! Iraq nearby! look and analyze!
June 12th, 2012, 9:37 am
bronco said:
Alan
Lavrov seem to be only sane voice in this cacophonia and
some on SC think they are on video civil war game with instant rewards and virtual deaths.
June 12th, 2012, 9:55 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
37 soldiers killed by peaceful Wahhabi freedom fighters:
شيعت من مشافي تشرين وزاهي أزرق وحلب العسكرية اليوم إلى مثاويهم الأخيرة في مدنهم وقراهم جثامين 36 شهيداً من الجيش وقوات حفظ النظام والمدنيين استهدفتهم المجموعات الإرهابية المسلحة أثناء تأديتهم واجبهم الوطني.
والشهداء هم :
المقدم محمد يوسف شيحا من اللاذقية.
الملازم علي نور الدين سليمان من طرطوس .
الملازم أنس عزو حمادة من حماة .
المساعد أول علي وهيب عبيدة من اللاذقية.
الرقيب أول عبد الرزاق حسن من اللاذقية.
الرقيب أول صهيب نور الدين احمد من حمص
الرقيب أول سروت خضور من حماة
الرقيب أول حسان حمد الحسين من دير الزور
الرقيب علي محمد امامي من اللاذقية
الرقيب حسام يونس محفوض من حماة.
العريف أحمد حبيب حمود من اللاذقية.
العريف ضياء حسين العبد الله من ريف دمشق.
العريف أندريه سليمان الاخرس من ريف دمشق.
العريف عبد الوهاب حسين محمد من حلب.
العريف دريد علي ديوب من اللاذقية.
الجندي محمد بهجت علي من طرطوس
الجندي علي حافظ بكداش من اللاذقية
المجند خلف جمعة الاحمد من الرقة
المجند طارق علي حلوم من اللاذقية.
المجند علي داود الفريح من دير الزور.
المجند زياد عبد الحسين العلو من حلب .
المجند محمود محمد علو من الحسكة.
المجند محمود أحمد نوح من ريف دمشق .
المجند عصام علي عواد من ريف دمشق .
المجند نزار خالد عبد الخالق من دمشق.
المجند شهاب أحمد الناصر من القنيطرة.
المجند مؤيد محمود حيانة من القنيطرة.
المجند ابراهيم محمد هلال من حلب.
المجند أحمد بهجت العيسى من إدلب.
المجند علاء رياض الرحيل من القنيطرة.
المجند شادي يوسف يسوف من حلب .
المجند تامر عوض المصيطف من حماة.
المجند مهنا زيدان العلي من إدلب .
المجند خضر رمضان الحميدان من دير الزور.
الشرطي وسام محمد ابراهيم من اللاذقية.
العامل المدني محمد محمود عيسى من طرطوس.
[…]
http://www.shukumaku.com/PDA/Content.php?id=47865
June 12th, 2012, 10:01 am
Alan said:
happy Vitnams bloody hands Monster !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXxCedeS-Zg
McCain: Saudis supply arms to Syrian opposition, US should follow lead
June 12th, 2012, 10:02 am
bronco said:
The only moral and humanitarian actions that should happen are that the opposition must admit that instead of ‘liberating’ and ‘protecting’ the Syrians, its own malfunctions, the negative influence it received and the uncompromising regime reaction, has drawn the country in a civil war where Syrians kill Syrians on the basis of religion, ethnicity, loyalism and greed.
The opposition has to admit that the ideals of ‘revolution’ have failed and that it is time to stop the killings of innocent Syrians at any cost on their pride.
They should also make this decision to show their independence from their ill-intentioned donors and supporters that overtook them with their money and promises. The opposition must convince other Syrians that they are Syrians only, that they are proud and that they don’t need the help of foreigners to solve their internal problems.
June 12th, 2012, 10:08 am
zoo said:
US and Saudis direct accomplice to Syrians slaughters.
McCain: Gulf states supply arms to Syrian opposition
11 June, 2012, 21:19
http://www.rt.com/news/mccain-gulf-arms-syria-568/
Armed rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad are directly supplied with weapons by some regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, confirmed the US Senator John McCain. He wants the US to follow the lead.
“I’m glad that some of the nations in the Gulf, the Saudis, are providing some weapons [to the Syrian opposition],” the former conservative presidential candidate told CNN in an interview on Sunday.
McCain was arguing that the US should help the Syrian opposition with arms regardless of concerns over the presence of extremist forces among the anti-Assad groups, and that Washington would not be able to prevent them from laying their hands on arms.
The American senator also lashed out at Russia, which sells arms to the Assad government, implying that it is used in the crackdown on the opposition. The accusation comes just days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the arms Moscow supplied to Damascus are air defense systems and other hardware, which can be used only in a war with a regular army using aircraft and other advanced weapons.
The US provides support to the Syrian opposition trying to organize them into a unified force. But so far it refrained from giving them American weapons, supplying non-lethal material only. McCain is a strong proponent of more direct military involvement into Syria.
“Washington is already doing this indirectly,” Professor Mark Almond, from Bilkent University in Turkey told RT “there is foreign personnel already in the country guiding the rebels.”
“The West has already made a strategic decision that Assad has to fall. If this can happen through domestic forces that is one way of doing. But ultimately the US and its allies will not want to accept defeat, even if public opinion in the West does not hunger for another intervention.”
Syrian rebel groups are receiving funding from the Gulf monarchies, according to numerous media reports. The money is used to pay salaries to fighters as well as to buy weapons on the black market. Meanwhile Turkey is suspected of indirectly supporting the Syrian opposition by allowing its fighters refuge in its territory.
June 12th, 2012, 10:18 am
zoo said:
Pepe Escobar: “We are going to have sooner or later an illegal foreign intervention from some countries, Qatar included, Turkey of course, the US leading from behind, and probably France and Britain as well.”
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-national-council-foreign-intervention-557/
[Abdulbaset Sieda], who comes after Burhan Ghalioun, is a very shady character. He has very good Kurdish connections of course, Sunni connections as well, but he is also trying to play to the Christians and the Alawites, saying, “Look, if there is a post-Assad government or regime we are not going to touch you.”
Nobody believes him inside Syria. In fact the umbrella, the opposition umbrella, it’s a disgruntled matter in fact – they do not get along with each other – and infiltrated on the ground by people who are actually doing a lot of these killings.
And these people, they are mercenaries imported from Libya, by way via Qatar, and this is a taboo subject to be discussed here in Qatar. I could not find anybody here who would discuss with me frankly what the Qatari intelligence services are actually doing on the ground in Syria. But this is part of Qatari foreign policy. They are financing and weaponizing the really hardcore arm of the Syrian opposition.
And I’m not sure Mr. Sieda, the new head of the Syrian National Council, knows what is really going on on the ground.
…
RT: So what do you think of Moscow’s attempts to get a large grouping of international countries together to come up with some sort of plan?
PE: Well, this is the only possible rational adult solution for this problem. But when you see people nowadays talking about, including people from the Syrian National Council, talking about a foreign intervention outside of the UN, this means what? This means another NATO war. Obviously it is going to be vetoed. If it goes to the Security Council it will be vetoed by Russia and China and even other BRICS countries.
But if they come up with some sort of legal instrument – which, considering what has been happening since the Iraq war for instance, is very easy to find – we are going to have sooner or later an illegal foreign intervention from some countries, Qatar included, Turkey of course, the US leading from behind, and probably France and Britain as well.
June 12th, 2012, 10:24 am
zoo said:
Syrian army recaptures rebel-held areas in Homs, more casualties
2012-06-12 12:12:22
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/12/c_131647281.htm
DAMASCUS, June 11 (Xinhua) — The Syrian army on Monday regained control of the rebel-held areas in Homs, a central province which has emerged as a major battleground between Syrian government forces and armed rebels in recent months.
As more people fell victim to escalating conflicts in the country, the UN observer mission expressed its “deep concerns” over the latest deadly clashes and again asked all parties to exercise maximum restraint.
Syria’s pro-government media outlets described the recapture of Khalidieh and Bab Sba’a by the government forces as a sign that “it has become more impatient with the bold and brazen attacks by armed rebels.”
The UN observer mission said a large number of civilians have been trapped inside the town of Khalidieh and the mission is trying to mediate their evacuation to a safe place.
The UN mission is calling on all sides to halt all kinds of violence to ensure the protection of all civilians and to allow for their evacuation to safe areas, said UN observers’ spokesperson Suasan Ghosheh
The UN observers also reported heavy fighting in Rastan and Talbiseh in Homs.
more…
June 12th, 2012, 10:33 am
Alan said:
Syrian rebels’ arsenal includes remote-controlled truck bombs
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/11/151975/syrian-rebels-arsenal-includes.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/11/2844234/syrian-rebels-arsenal-includes.html
June 12th, 2012, 10:38 am
zoo said:
Vicky and Hillary seem to be singing different songs.
U.S. says no military intervention in Syria for now
2012-06-12
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/12/c_131647420.htm
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Xinhua) — The United States reiterated on Monday that it does not favor foreign military intervention in Syria at the moment amid lingering speculation that Washington might use force to achieve a regime change in Syria as protracted violence tests the patience of the international community.
“Based on where we are now, based on our continuing concern that foreign military intervention in this situation is not clearly going to save lives and may actually cause a greater explosion of violence for a whole variety of reasons, we are taking the step now to do what we can with the UN monitors…” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at a regular news briefing.
“The concern has been that putting foreign military forces into this situation, which is on the verge, as everybody has said, of becoming a civil war, will turn it into a proxy war,” Nuland said.
She said the “better course of action” is to use all the economic, political and other pressures available to smother support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
June 12th, 2012, 10:38 am
majedkhaldoun said:
It Is the regime who is killing Syrians, killing the People by an army paid to protect them, The regime through some sectarian officers are committing a major treason.
Iran is foreign, it is the enemy of the Arab, Iran is supporting this regime by money, by arms by intelligence and by sending the revolutionary guards to kill Syrians, Syrians need help to counter the Iranian crime, Iran must be condemned, Russia too is sending arms tanks missiles to the regime to kill Syrians who call for freedom and dignity,Iran and Russia are foreign countries who are helping the regime to kill Syrians.
The revolution is not failing, this is delusion, this is self deceiving it is getting bigger and stronger.
June 12th, 2012, 10:38 am
jad said:
To all sides, stop using the Syrian children in this bloody mess:
على الدولة السورية أن تحمي أطفالنا من الإرهابيين
منذ الأيام الأولى للأزمة السورية حذرنا، في افتتاحيات مرصد نساء سورية، من الأخطار المترتبة على استخدام الأطفال في النشاط و التجييش السياسي، والذي يعتبر انتهاكا لحقوقهم بصفتهم قاصرين عن فهم وتحمل مسؤولية أي نوع من العمل السياسي. وأشرنا خصوصا إلى استخدامهم في الشارع، سواء منه المؤيد للنظام أو المعارض له، وأشرنا مرات عدة إلى حقيقة استخدامهم من قبل الكبار بوضعهم في أماكن الخطر، بل حتى باستخدامهم في بعض النشاطات غير الآمنة.
إلا أن الوضع اليوم قد تفاقم سوءا بشكل كبير، شأنه في ذلك شأن الأزمة السورية كلها.
فاستخدام الأطفال منذ أشهر عدة لم يعد يقتصر على المظاهرات، بل إن بعض الجهات الإرهابية التي تعمل على تدمير الوطن قد أعلنت مرات عدة عن تشكيل “كتائب عسكرية” مشكلة من الأطفال حصرا، إضافة إلى حقيقة أن الميليشيات نفسها تعتمد بهذا القدر أو ذاك على الأطفال ليس فقط في أعمالها العكسرية اللوجستية (المراقبة والرصد، إشغال أجهزة الدولة..)، بل كحملة سلاح مقاتلين في صفوفها أيضا، (أخذا بالحسبان الفهم القانوني السوري والعالمي للطفل، أي كل من لم يتجاوز 18 من عمره).
ويشكل إعلان تلك الميليشيات عن تشكيلها الكتائب الخاصة بالأطفال إعلانا صريحا وواضحا لحقيقة برنامجها الاصولي الظلامي الذي لا تشكل مفاهيم مثل الحرية والمدنية وحقوق النساء وحقوق الطفل.. إلا مفاهيم “غريبة وعدوة” يجب تدميرها وتدمير كل من يعتقد بها. فالطفل عند هذه الميليشيات هو واحد من “جنود الله” الموعودين بالحور الحين إذا حمل السلاح إلى جانبهم وقاتل من يعتبرونه عدوهم!
{…}
ومما يؤسف له بشدة حقيقة أن أغلب “النخب المثقفة” في المجتمع المدني السوري، قد تورطت في لعبة التحريض والتسييس والتجييش تحت مسمى “الحرية” أثناء عملها مع الأطفال! فباتت، من حيث لا تدري، جزءا من حلقة الإرهابيين في تجييش الأطفال واستخدامهم في معاركهم الظلامية في سورية.
إلا أن أولوية هذين البندين لا تقلل من أهمية أن حماية الطفولة في سورية هو واجب مقدس للدولة السورية، ويقتضي اتخاذ الدولة السورية إجراءات حاسمة وصارمة ضد كل من يستخدم الاطفال في المعارك السياسية. ويكون ذلك بـ:
1- منع وجود أي طفل تحت سن 16 سنة في أية مسيرة مهما كانت آمنة. ومعاقبة ولي أمره في كل مرة يثبت فيها تورطه في مشاركة الطفل في المسيرة. يتضمن ذلك التوقف عن استخدام طلبة المدارس في المسيرات سواء المؤيدة للنظام، أو المعارضة للإرهاب والإجرام.
2- توقف الإعلام السوري نهائيا عن استخدام الأطفال في الريبورتاجات التي تهدف إلى إظهار النقمة على الإرهابيين.
3- توقف الإعلام السوري عن ترويج مشاهد الأشلاء المبعثرة نتيجة العمليات الإرهابية، فهي تصل إلى كل بيت، وتضرب، أول ما تضرب، عقل ونفسية الطفل.
4- اعتبار كل من أيد أو شجع أو بارك أو برر، بأية وسيلة عامة كانت، وبضمنها وسائل الإعلام المحلية أو الإقليمية أو الشخصية (شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي)، وجود الأطفال في “الكتائب المسلحة” للقوى الإرهابية، أو وجودهم في المظاهرات، أحد المتاجرين بالأشخاص، واعتقاله والتشدد في معاقبته وفق عقوبات قانون مكافحة الإتجار بالاشخاص، بعد ثبوت أن استخدام الأطفال على هذا النحو تنطبق عليه كافة مواصفات “الإتجار بالأشخاص”.
5- تخصيص أماكن اعتقال وحبس خاصة للأطفال المتهمين بارتكاب جرائم، متضمنا ذلك تخصيص مجموعات من الشرطة مدربة على التعامل مع الاطفال أثناء التحقيق معهم. واعتقال ومعاقبة كل عنصر في السلطة التنفيذية، ضمنا أجهزة الأمن، يمارس أي شكل من التعذيب عليهم.
6- إصدار تعليمات صارمة إلى جنود الجيش السوري، مع الوسائل الإيضاحية المناسبة، بأخذ الحيطة والحذر أثناء أداء مهمتهم المقدسة في مواجهة وتدمير مجموعات الإرهاب المسلح، عبر التركيز المطلق على الكبار بصفتهم هم المجرمين الحقيقين، ومحاولة تجنب الاشتباك مع أي طفل مسلح أو يقدم خدمة للمجرمين المسلحين. فهو، أولا وقبل كل شيء، ضحية من ضحايا المجموعات الإرهابية تلك.
7- استنفار الكادر الصحي والمدني (الجمعيات) في مجالات الطفولة والصحة النفسية، للتعامل الفوري مع الأطفال ضحايا الإجرام، سواء كانوا ممن تم تجنيدهم لدى الإرهاب، أو كانوا هم أو أهاليهم ضحايا للعمليات الإرهابية، أو كانوا ممن صادف عيشهم في المناطق التي تعرضت إلى الاشتباكات المسلحة بين قوى الجيش السوري ومجموعات الإرهاب المجرمة. فهؤلاء بأمس الحاجة الفورية إلى المساعدة الجادة والمثابرة.
8- اعتقال وتجريم كل سوري وسورية يقوم بنشر صورة أي طفل عبر وسائل الإعلام المختلفة، ضمنا عبر وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، عندما تتضمن الصورة أو التعليق الخاص بها أي نوع من التوجيه السياسي، أو الاستغلال السياسي، إضافة إلى العسكري، واعتباره مجرما جنائيا، وإعمال المحاكمة الغيايبة بحقه إذا كان خارج سورية. وسواء كان ذلك النشر بهدف تأييد المجرمين أو مواجهتهم، أو تحت أي شعار أو هدف كان.
إن الإرهاب الذي يضرب اليوم سورية، تقوده وتنفذه مجموعات أصولية إجرامية لا تعتقد أصلا بحقوق الطفل الدولية، بل تعتبر الطفل مجرد نتيجة ثانوية لشهواتها الجنسية المريضة، ومجرد خادم عبد لتصوراتهم المنحطة التي يسبغون عليها ألوانا دينية.
وبالتالي، فإن ضرب هذا الإرهاب بالقوة العسكرية هو أمر ضروري لحماية الطفولة في سورية، ولحماية الوطن ككل، إلا أنه غير كاف. إذ يجب أن تكون حماية الطفولة متعددة المستويات، شاملة تلك النقاط التي ذكرت أعلاه..
أطفال سورية هم مستقبلها، وواجب الدولة السورية المقدس حمايتهم من أي استغلال أو انتهاك لحقوقهم، وأولها حق الحياة، خاصة بعد أن تخلى المثقفون “المدنيون” عن واجبهم هذا، بل انتهكوه بتبريرهم هذا الاستقلال المجرم.
http://nesasy.org/index.php/-mainmenu-110/9701-editorial?device=desktop
June 12th, 2012, 10:47 am
zoo said:
Salafists in actions.
Tunisian police clash with Islamist extremists.
By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian police fired warning shots to disperse radical Islamist protesters after they set a security post ablaze and ransacked an art exhibit they called offensive to Islam.
Seven police officers have been injured and 90 people arrested in unrest since Sunday in three suburbs of the capital, Tunis, Interior Ministry spokesman Lotfi Hidouri said Tuesday.
…
June 12th, 2012, 10:48 am
zoo said:
Post revolution Libya show their love for the US and the UK by attacking their envoys. Is France next?
UK ambassador to Libya in attacked convoy: embassy
Reuters – 21 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/uk-ambassador-libya-attacked-convoy-embassy-170028710.html
June 12th, 2012, 10:53 am
Dawoud said:
Moderator:
I shall not badger you! In fact, you, CURRENT moderator, is fair.
Please look at 103. jad. Don’t you think that this cut-and-paste post is so large that it is not only distracting and spam-like, but may also violate copyrights laws? See my above article post. I only put link, article title and a short paragraph. No spam!
June 12th, 2012, 10:56 am
MICHEL said:
106 Dawoud
I agree with you, I already complained about the copy paste of full articles. It is distracting and dilude the interesting content (the comments of people). A link, title, and short excerpt would be enough in my opinion.
https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=14724&cp=2#comment-311173
June 12th, 2012, 11:10 am
Jad said:
China Remains Firm On Syria, Strategic Cooperation With Russia
China and Russia’s strategic position is moving closer as both are independent global strategic powers facing Western-dominated rules being imposed on the world. As long as the broad global strategic environment remains, the two countries will have more strategic cooperation than disagreements.
The Chinese public supports the non-intervention principle, which reflects China’s national interests. It will not help ease the West’s pressure on China even if we curry favor with the West on Syria. China’s rise is the root reason of the West’s suppression. Let’s not be under any illusion – a fawning face will not change China’s strategic relations with the West.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated several days ago that Russia would support Assad’s stepping down if the majority of Syrians requested it. The remarks have been cited by analysts as proof Russia may waver in its stance on Syria. A few pro-Western Chinese also suggested China make adjustments so to avoid being sold out
{…}
Russia and China are not against Assad stepping down. What the two countries oppose is external interference in Syria’s political development. Moscow and Beijing support concerned Syrian parties in deciding the fate of Assad and his regime through negotiations.
{…}
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20120611&articleId=31370
June 12th, 2012, 11:17 am
Jad said:
Let Russia Show the Way on Syria
Like him or loathe him over his stance on Syria, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, is a better diplomat than most. Experience counts, and Lavrov has spent almost three decades at the United Nations. As a former senior Soviet diplomat and Russia’s permanent representative to the Security Council in the lead-up to the Iraq war, he has tenaciously resisted Western military intervention over three decades in countries where Russia’s interests were at stake. On Syria he is marshaling his arguments much more carefully than his Western counterparts.
On Syria, Lavrov is a realist in the Kissinger mold. He is acting on behalf of a Kremlin whose diplomatic relations are almost completely predicated on advancing Russian power. Russia is deeply concerned about the escalating threat to its influence in Syria — its only major ally in Arab Mediterranean.
But Moscow also knows that the writing is on the wall for the Assad regime and that its slow demise will likely precipitate an increasingly deadly civil war that will damage Russian interests.
To avoid this outcome, Russia has decided that the best option is to find a balance between the regime and the opposition that allows Moscow’s influence to endure. Like the Sicilian prince in Lampedusa’s novel “The Leopard” the people in the Kremlin know that “if we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”
Russia is also gravely concerned at the rise of jihadist groups in Syria and Lebanon as a result of the growing security vacuum in Syria. Hence, Moscow has called for an international conference to try to bring about a transition process that reverses Syria’s descent into chaos.
{…}
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/opinion/let-russia-show-the-way-on-syria.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
June 12th, 2012, 11:23 am
Dawoud said:
107. MICHEL
Thanks brother Michel for agreeing with me. I agree with you, too!
Free Syria, Free Palestine!
June 12th, 2012, 11:24 am
DAWOUD said:
Brother Michel, Syrialover, Tara, MajedKhaldoun, SOD, et al.
It looks that the pro-regimers, Bashar (War Criminal) al-Assad’s apologists, don’t read what they post!
For example, #109 Jad, is posting an OP-Ed from the New York Times that includes the following paragraph:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/opinion/let-russia-show-the-way-on-syria.html?_r=2&ref=global-home
“[…]This does not mean offering a carte blanche to a brutal regime that has engaged in a litany of appalling war crimes[…].”
It looks like this pro-regimer agrees that Bashar is brutal war criminal! Welcome aboard!
June 12th, 2012, 11:39 am
Karabennemsi said:
Dawoud,
It looks like you call people your brother who say a little bit of civil war in syria is ok, while you nag about people posting too long comments.
That is not a pretty sight.
June 12th, 2012, 11:47 am
Dawoud said:
All anti-regime folks are my brothers/sisters. Michel is Christian and is my brother.
June 12th, 2012, 12:10 pm
Hans said:
I formally request an UN investigation in withholding my bigoted comments against the Wahabis/salafits/radicals groups I posted here and they are not showing on the blog.
The UN investigation committee can’t include members from the KCC, KSA, Taliban factions or the MB and obviously no members from the SNC given it is a proxy for the west and it is agenda.
please support a cause to liberate syria from all this.
June 12th, 2012, 12:20 pm
Dawoud said:
Anwar, who revealed his Christian religion, is also my brother because he opposes the dictator.
June 12th, 2012, 12:21 pm
Uzair8 said:
Is there tussle within the Assad family?
By Abdul Rahman al-Rashed
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
An informed source believes that the two massacres in Syria during the past two weeks were committed under the knowledge of the army, its protection and probably its participation.
These massacres indicated that Assad had lost power over the security and military forces.
[…]
The massacres also embarrassed Assad’s allies who, unable to acquit him of being responsible, called for neutral investigations. In both occasions, Assad was not able to set the stage beforehand, as has been his habit. Every crime is committed by his forces and has a ready-made scenario of blaming the opposition. During the first massacre in Houla, however, the U.N. monitors arrived to see the forces of the regime pounding the ill-fated town and to find evidence incriminating the regime.
This drove the U.N. secretary-general to give up his usual reserve and to openly accuse the regime of committing the crime. He said the regime had lost its legitimacy. In the second massacre in Hama, the regime was quick to prevent the U.N. monitors from visiting the site until a few days later to prepare the place and their story.
This does not mean that the head of the regime is innocent of the massacres. The massacres, rather, indicate a new situation in which the other leaders are no longer obeying the president or coordinating with him. Bashar Assad’s brother, Mahir, may be running the country now and has full command.
Read more:
http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/06/12/220084.html
June 12th, 2012, 12:30 pm
Hans said:
Mr. O has a deeper problem than Syria, he promised to bring all the UN jobs back to the USA, he failed to do that which putting him in a tough spot for the election.
He probably can ask the UN for a bail out of all its employees or maybe he can ask the GCC to take over the UN.
either one of the options seems unlikely given the GCC are not interested in foreign positions.
June 12th, 2012, 12:42 pm
Uzair8 said:
The Assad regime privately will be cursing the Iranians blaming them for contributing in making revolution in Syria more likely. During the pre-Syria uprisings Iran was declaring ‘Islamic revolution’ and every day one official or another would be quoted claiming an ‘Islamic Awakening’.
Lol at Iran trying to juggle conflicting interests.
One can see it in their faces (Hassan Nasrallah) them suppressing their instincts and instead putting official party/national line and political expediency first.
It seems Hassan Nasrallah doesn’t believe a word that leaves his lips.
June 12th, 2012, 12:48 pm
Alan said:
in recent weeks considerably that intensity of non declared war amplified against Syria as the state (not as the regime) is told in the form of aggression! when that Israel in 2006 too wanted to be heated by war! be attentive and careful!
June 12th, 2012, 1:01 pm
mjabali said:
From Lattakia the UN observers is said to have killed 2 Alawis with their speedy cars in the village of al-Shilfatiyah near al-Heffe.
Also, check the name of this new fighting brigade in al-Haffe area:
It is called Ibn Taymiyah Brigade: who is planning these names?
June 12th, 2012, 1:07 pm
Uzair8 said:
Is there any truth to the following tweet? I would look into it myself but it’ll probably be an arabic site and I’m not familiar with them.
5:41 pm on June 12, 2012
Obeida Nahas @ObeidaNahas
Baath Party Facebook page instructs shabiha to stop UN Monitors from entering #Heffa to stop the massacre. #Syria pic
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/obeida-nahas-%e2%80%8fobeidanahas-baath-party-facebook-page-instructs/
June 12th, 2012, 1:07 pm
bronco said:
#109 Jad
“Russia’ diplomatic relations are almost completely predicated on advancing Russian power”
As if USA is not doing the same…
June 12th, 2012, 1:15 pm
Uzair8 said:
@120 Mjabali
UN Observers’ Car Runs over Three Civilians in Lattakia
Jun 12, 2012
LATTAKIA, (SANA) – A UN observers’ car on Tuesday ran over three residents in Lattakia countryside while they were trying to explain their suffering due to the acts of the armed terrorist groups.
The civilians are Amer Mohammad Zamzam, Mustafa Hikmat Kamel and Issam Ma’rouf Mahmoud, two of them are in critical condition.
http://www.sana.sy/index_eng.html
***************************************************************
The UN will confirm this incident if it occured.
Is it confirmed the said victims have died?
I hope this report isn’t an attempt to demonise the UN monitors to prevent them visiting the area.
June 12th, 2012, 1:21 pm
DAWOUD said:
114. HANS
I will support your cause and sign your petition IF you also INCLUDE the following terrorist/war criminal/sectarian groups:
-Bashar (War Criminal) al-Assad
-Bashar’s Shabiha
-Hasan NasrIllat’s Hizbistan and its terrorist Shabiha, who are now -operating in Syria and killing Syrians
-Iran’s terrorist al-Quds brigade and Revolutionary Guards
-Iraqi terrorist al-Mahdi Army, whose Shabiha are operating in Syria-Somebody posted here on a funeral for an Iraqi Shabiha, who was killed by the FSA!
-Russian Terrorist commando units, which is reportedly guarding Bashar
-the terrorist propagandists from Nabih Beri’s Amal Movement, who are constantly on TV defending Syria’s war criminal. Also, they have Shabiha in Syria.
June 12th, 2012, 1:22 pm
jad said:
Bronco
“As if USA is not doing the same…”
No, they are ‘angels’ just like their Taliban and Alqaeda slaves.
June 12th, 2012, 1:50 pm
jad said:
Syrian Crisis: Three’s a Crowd
By: Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
The conflict in Syria has recast the political fault lines in the Mideast. Divisions that were once demarcated by ideology and religion, are today centered around the issue of overthrowing the Assad government. Arab leftists, nationalists and Islamists are now divided between and amongst themselves over the Syrian question, and have borne yet another quasi-movement, the anti-interventionist “third-way” camp. Third-wayers, comprised of intellectuals and activists from academia, the mainstream media and NGOs, support elements in the home-grown opposition, reject the Syrian National Council (SNC) on account of its US-NATO-Israeli-Arab backing, and reject the Assad leadership on account of its repression of dissent and its alleged worthlessness to the Resistance project.
While the third-way camp is anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine in orientation, this hardly constitutes a political position. The Palestinian cause has become deeply etched in the Arab collective subconscious and has even become an increasingly pervasive slogan in western liberal activist discourse. Now the real litmus of Arab intellectuals’ and activists’ commitment to the Palestinian cause is no longer their support for Palestinian rights, but rather, their support for the Assad leadership’s struggle against the imperialist-Zionist-Arab moderate axis’ onslaught against it.
Supporting Assad’s struggle against this multi-pronged assault is supporting Palestine today because Syria has become the new front line of the war between Empire and those resisting it. The third-way progressive intellectuals are failing to see the Syrian crisis through this strategic lens. They have shown an inability to “take a step back from the details and look at the bigger picture,” to quote Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
The third-way campaign against Assad only serves the strategy and interests of the US and Israel, who have made no secret of the fact that his fall would help them achieve their wider strategic ambitions of weakening Iran and resistance forces in Lebanon and Palestine. Moreover, agitation against the regime on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations of war crimes further incites sectarian oppositionists who identify the regime with Alawis, thereby indirectly fanning the flames of Sunni-Shia tension in Syria and the region at large.
{…}
None of this is to say that progressive Arab intellectuals are intellectually colonized; only that they remain imperialized by liberal hegemony. As in the Marxist-Leninist understanding of the term, colonialism is but one expression or phase of imperialism and as such, the two concepts are not synonymous. Colonialism involves the transfer of a population to a new territory, where they live as permanent settlers, whereas imperialism refers to the way one country exercises power over another, either by means of colonialism or through indirect mechanisms of control. By implication, intellectual colonialism can be seen as a direct Euro-American epistemological invasion which leaves a distinct ethnic footprint, while intellectual imperialism is an indirect form of epistemic control which appears culturally neutral when exercised outside the Metropole, and class-blind when administered within it. It is precisely because of the undiscriminating nature of this deeply entrenched and well concealed domination that de-imperialization is a much harder goal to achieve than decolonization.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-crisis-three%E2%80%99s-crowd
June 12th, 2012, 1:51 pm
mjabali said:
Uzair:
I do not read Sana and never did. I learned about this from people in Lattakia, who said that the Alawis were lining up the roads trying to tell the UN observers their point of view and what is going on.
As for telling the truth about what is going on in Syria: I guess my sources is better than your sources that include: Ana Wintour, your beloved Sheikh Yakubi tweets, Lord of the Rings and the Social workers.
Dude ask the Syrians in this board about the word Asfuriyah.
June 12th, 2012, 1:52 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
وأضافت غوشة في بيان لها أن ثلاث سيارات تابعة للمنظمة الدولية تعرضت لإطلاق النار لدى مغادرتها منطقة الحفة باتجاه إدلب، مشيرة الى أن “مصدر إطلاق النار لايزال غير واضح”.
The news about three Alawis were killed by UN car comes from Sana
It is a trumpet for Assad, it is lying station,
June 12th, 2012, 1:56 pm
mjabali said:
So now we have a brigade in the FSA called the IBN TAYMIYAH brigade in al-Haffe area where the Alawis are: do you think this is a smart move or what?
Any takers to this question?
June 12th, 2012, 1:56 pm
Uzair8 said:
Insight: Syria massacres, ethnic cleansing that may backfire
Mon Jun 11, 2012
(Reuters) – Sectarian massacres in Syria may show militias nurtured by the authorities are a “Frankenstein’s monster” which will alienate allies, provoke foreign intervention and tear the country apart, hastening the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad.
[…]
Salem said Assad’s administration would not easily retreat: “They are fighting for the whole country but they don’t know if they will succeed,” he said. “They entered into a gamble.”
[…]
“Those shabbiha are the new Frankenstein’s monster,” said Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern politics at the LSE.
“The regime created, mobilized and armed the shabbiha and they have now become a nightmare, a nightmare basically destroying the very fabric of the regime itself.”
[…]
“The massacres are expediting the process of self-destruction,” Gerges said. “If the regime is doing these massacres it is collective suicide, and if the new Frankenstein’s monster is doing them it means that the regime no longer controls the actions of one of its major militias.”
Read more:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/11/us-syria-crisis-massacres-idUKBRE85A1DY20120611
June 12th, 2012, 2:12 pm
Halabi said:
From the Arabic Sana story of the men who were run over by the U.N. monitors.
حاول عدد من أهالي ريف اللاذقية شرح معاناتهم من المجموعات الإرهابية المسلحة لوفد من بعثة المراقبين أثناء مرورهم في قراهم لكن الوفد لم يستمع لهم بل قامت إحدى سياراته بدهس ثلاثة مواطنين اثنان منهم في حالة خطر.
والمواطنون الذين قامت سيارة المراقبين بدهسهم هم عامر محمد زمزم ومصطفى حكمت كامل وعصام معروف محمود.
وذكر المصاب مصطفى كامل… بدوره قال عامر زمزم إنه خلال محاولتنا اسماع صوتنا لأعضاء الوفد الذي لم يستجب لرغبة المواطنين صدمتني احدى سياراته ما أدى إلى اصابتي في قدمي كما ادت الرعونة في القيادة إلى انقلاب السيارة التي تحمل شارة اللاذقية برقم …وقال الطبيب المشرف على علاج المصابين انس عادل رعد أن “حالة المصابين تبين بوضوح وجود سجحات ورضوض وتمطط عضلي في أوتار الركبة والكاحل وحالتهم مستقرة”.
http://www.sana.sy/ara/2/2012/06/12/424947.htm
It says that three men were injured and two had serious conditions. Sana still gets lots of information from two of the men, including the full license plate of another car that was damaged at the scene. Then the doctor says that all three are in a stable condition.
It takes days for the Syrian media to admit that massacres are happening, but we get an immediate report on these minor injuries. Although we can’t rely on timely information from the regime media, we at least know that it’s all lies.
This is what happened to children in Anadan, a village outside of Aleppo, today. http://youtu.be/F415nYV_PNg
I won’t hold my breath for the official Assad media to report this tragedy or for Assad supporters to condemn the killings (it’s hard to condemn something that’s celebrated and a core part of the Assad-lover’s ideology). I am looking forward to the opinions of some here that these children were killed by Hamad’s shelling, or that they were Shiaa or Alawi…
June 12th, 2012, 2:15 pm
Uzair8 said:
127. mjabali
Fair enough.
I’m sure your sources are better than mine and I wasn’t questioning your sincerity. Alongside the tweet in #121 the SANA story smelt a bit fishy on first reading. I guess you have given one explanation.
As for Ana Wintour, she wasn’t a source but she ‘was’ the story.
I wish Sh. Yaqoubi’s updates were more frequent.
Haven’t heard anything by Sh. Nazim for a while regarding Syria although I check everyday. So much has happened since the last time incl. Houla.
Excuse me while I look up Asfuriyah.
June 12th, 2012, 2:29 pm
Alan said:
قارئة الفنجان السيدة نولاند
US predicts another Houla-style massacre in Syria
The United States has predicted that another Houla-style massacre will occur in Syria and has even mentioned exact locations.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/12/245732/us-predicts-another-massacre-in-syria/
June 12th, 2012, 2:48 pm
Anwar said:
Dawood thank you for the mention brother!
I hope more and more Christians in Syria would show support for the revolution. Myself and all the families I know here want nothing more than to see the regime gone. But many of my relatives back home remain fearful and I regret to say they seem to buy into the regime’s narrative. I understand where they are coming from, they keep getting told that the sharia law will come and they will be downgraded to second citizen. Or that they will be kicked out of the country. The same old fear tactics from the usual suspects.
When the bomb exploded next to my house I got 3 different accounts from family members. It is hard to tell over the phone what the facts are or what their real opinion is. But I know one thing for sure, there is a lot of resentment to the regime, especially in the youth. A lot are unemployed and I know some are supporting revolution. Christians just need some re-assurance and I think they will undoubtedly switch sides.
June 12th, 2012, 2:48 pm
Dawoud said:
136. ANWAR
Your welcome, brother!
June 12th, 2012, 2:51 pm
jad said:
هيكل يأخذنا إلى أعماق المشهد: مصر بحاجة إلى معجزة.. والمهم أن تبقى سورية!
{…}
أغلبية السوريين لايريدون
ربيعاً من صنع الاطلسي
• على ذكر الملف السوري، هل أنت راض عن الموقف المصري في التعامل مع أزمة النظام في دمشق؟
•• الحقيقة أنني لا أتصور أن يكون موقف مصر تجاه سورية منساقا وراء مواقف آخرين، فالعلاقة بين مصر وسورية لها خصوصية من نوع ما على طول التاريخ.
ولا أتصور أن مصر يمكن لها أن تقطع اتصالاتها أو علاقاتها السياسية أو التجارية والثقافية مع سورية مهما كان أو يكن، لأن سورية هي سورية، بصرف النظر عن طبائع النظام الحاكم في دمشق.
وأعرف طبيعة النظام الحاكم في سورية الآن، ولست يقيناً من المعجبين به والمتحمسين لبقائه، لأني أعرف أنه نظام ظالم مستبد ومحكوم عليه تاريخياً.
لكن هناك أغلبية واسعة في الداخل السوري لها تصوراتها ولها رؤاها ولها مطالبها، وأول المطالب أنها لا تريد أن يحدث في سورية مثلما حدث في ليبيا، ثم إنها لا تريد ربيعا من صنع حلف الأطلسي، وفي الوقت نفسه وببساطة أعرف ما يكفي عن معارضين في الخارج وصلاتهم، وعن حملة محمومة تشن بالمبالغة، وبالتأكيد فإن لها أصلا، لكن عملية المبالغة والتهويل أكبر من الحقائق، وذلك يمكن أن يدفع هذا البلد إلى ورطة حقيقية، بصرف النظر عن شرور النظام.
وأنا واحد من الذين يخشون حدوث فراغ إستراتيجي كامل في المشرق، يمتد من شرق العراق إلى شاطئ المتوسط.
كذلك فأنا واحد من الذين يلمحون تأثير وجود تنظيم القاعدة في سورية، ولست أعرف منطق الذين سهلوا للقاعدة أن تنفذ إلى سورية لكي تنسف وتقتل!!
بلاك ووتر في سورية
وأعرف أيضا أن شركة بلاك ووتر الشهيرة بتاريخها الخفي والدامي لبيع خدمات السلاح موجودة وإن باسم جديد حول سورية وفي داخلها أيضا، وأن هناك قرابة ستة آلاف فرد يتبعون لها يوجدون على الساحة في الداخل والخارج.
أعرف أيضا أن بعض الأطراف حتى في حلف الأطلسي بما فيه تركيا التي تضم بين مواطنيها أكثر من خمسة عشر مليون علوي، ومثلهم من الأكراد، أصبح لها موقف مختلف ولو جزئيا عن موقف أطراف عربية، والغريب أن أطرافا في حلف الأطلنطي ذاته في دهشة أن بعض نظم عربية محافظة تحولت فجأة إلى قيادات ثورية تقدمية تدعو إلى الثورة المسلحة، ثم إن الحملة على سورية مضافا إليها الحملة على إيران توشك أن تحول الصراع الرئيسي في الشرق الأوسط من صراع عربي إسرائيلي،إلى صراع سني شيعي فتنة أخرى في دار الإسلام نفسه وفي قلبه وتلك خطيئة كبرى!!
وأسمع مرات وزير خارجية السعودية يتكلم وأغمض عيني، فيخيل إلى أن الصوت ليس لسيد محافظ من السعودية، ولكنه لرمز الثورة العالمية أرنستو جيفارا!!
والحقيقة أنه في شأن سورية أو غيرها من البلدان العربية، فإن العرب جميعا، وقبل اتخاذ أي موقف، عليهم أن يسألوا أنفسهم عدة أسئلة: ماذا يجري بدقة؟! أين مصالح شعب هذا البلد وأمانه في ظروف الواقع؟! ما هي القوى المتصارعة فيه وأصحابها؟! ما هي المصلحة للدولة المعنية على المدي البعيد؟! ثم يكون لمن يشاء أن يقرر.
وفيما يتعلق بسورية ولست أريد أن أطيل فيه، فلعلي أضيف أن صوتا من الماضي لايزال في سمعي، وهو صوت جمال عبد الناصر يوم الانفصال سبتمبر1961، وهو يواجه انقلابا في دمشق على الجمهورية العربية المتحدة، التي كانت تضم سورية ومصر، وصوت جمال عبد الناصر يقول بنزاهة وأمانة وتجرد:ليس مهماً أن تبقى سورية في الجمهورية العربية المتحدة، ولكن المهم أن تبقى سورية.والآن هناك من يتدخل في الشأن السوري، بما يهدد بقاء سورية، وهذا جزء من ملف خطير بالغ الخطورة.
{…}
http://kassioun.org/index.php?mode=article&id=20204
June 12th, 2012, 2:54 pm
Alan said:
Israel wants airstrikes against Syria: Analyst
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/12/245770/israel-wants-airstrikes-on-syria/
June 12th, 2012, 2:55 pm
jad said:
Foreign Ministry: US Administration Continues Blatant Interference in Syrian Affairs and Open Support for Terrorists
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – An official source at the Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that the US administration is continuing its blatant interference in the internal affairs of Syria, its open support for terrorists, covering up terrorists’ crimes, distorting facts about Syria at the UN, and extorting countries and the international community to beleaguer Syria.
The source said that this was made clear in recent escalatory statements within the past few days which coincided with an escalation carried out by terrorists across Syria who murdered scores of innocents, with the most malicious of these statements being the one made by a spokesperson of the US Department of State in 11/6/2012 in which she voiced her country’s concern over the situation in several Syrian cities.
In these statements, the spokesperson voiced concern over the possibility of a new massacre taking place in al-Haffeh, and the source noted that this is actually cause for concern over the possibility of armed groups committing such a massacre as indicated by phone calls between armed groups and their leaderships in Turkey.
{…}
The source affirmed that those who support armed groups and provide them with funds and weapons and cover up their crimes are directly complicit in the shedding of Syrian blood, no matter what statements they make.
The source said that the plan of UN Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan demanded the cessation of violence by all sides, but the armed groups backed by the US and its pawns in the region who voiced doubts over this plan since the beginning had been working to breach the articles of this plan.
{…}
http://sana.sy/eng/21/2012/06/12/424977.htm
June 12th, 2012, 3:01 pm
Dawoud said:
139. ALAN
Iran’s Wilayat al-faqih Press TV! If Iran is the land of free media, Palestine Soccer Team will win Euro 2012!
Israel speaks publicly against Bashar, but privately they hope that he prevails! His “mokawamah,” or resistance has allowed Israel to annex the Golan and colonize it. His tanks, planes, and drones (if he has them) are killing Syrian civilians in Der’ah, Homs, Idlib, reef Dimashq, Dair al-Zour, etc.
تضرب هيك مقاومه وممانعه
Free Syria, Free Palestine!
June 12th, 2012, 3:01 pm
Dawoud said:
I HATE regime supporters because they support a WAR CRIMINAL dictator!
I like anybody from any religion who opposes dictators and killers!
June 12th, 2012, 3:04 pm
irritated said:
#143 Dawoood
Contrary to ‘annoying’ long posts, this one is short but extremely informative
June 12th, 2012, 3:24 pm
zoo said:
Graffiti thanking Hitler found at Israel Holocaust museum
By Menahem Kahana | AFP – Mon, Jun 11, 2012
http://news.yahoo.com/pro-hitler-graffiti-found-israels-holocaust-museum-073602589.html
Hebrew graffiti thanking Hitler for the Holocaust and denouncing Zionism was sprayed at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum on Monday, with suspicion falling on ultra-Orthodox opponents of the state of Israel.
“Thank you Hitler for your wonderful Holocaust that you arranged for us, it’s only because of you that we got a state at the UN,” read one of 10 slogans daubed on walls at the museum, sparking shock in the Jewish state which came into being just three years after the end of World War II.
..
The graffiti was denounced as “a callous expression of burning hatred” by Yad Vashem director Avner Shalev, who pointed the finger at ultra-Orthodox extremists adamantly opposed to the existence of the modern state of Israel.
Slogans were sprayed on the red-brick Wall of Remembrance in Warsaw Ghetto Square, one of which read: “The Zionist leadership wanted the Holocaust,” while another said: “If Hitler hadn’t existed, the Zionists would have invented him.”
more…
June 12th, 2012, 3:29 pm
Alan said:
141. DAWOUD
if you hate, it meanse you have a pathology problem ! hatred kills the owner.
Dear moderator ! please show yellow card for violation of the player! ! 🙂
June 12th, 2012, 3:34 pm
zoo said:
Why are the UN observers unwelcomed in rebels held Haffa? Who has perpetrated a massacre in Haffa and does not want the UN observers to get in?
UN observers in Syria attacked by crowds, shot at
By BASSEM MROUE | Associated Press – 2 hrs 3 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/un-observers-syria-attacked-crowds-shot-161849231.html
BEIRUT (AP) — Angry crowds blocked U.N. observers from reaching an embattled rebel-held town (Haffa)in Syria on Tuesday, hurling stones and metal rods at the monitors’ vehicles. Their vehicles came under fire as they drove away from Haffa, but the source of the gunfire was not clear, the U.N. said.
None of the observers was injured.
The situation in Haffa has raised alarm over the past eight days, and there are concerns civilians are stuck in the area while the regime and rebel fighters battle for control. Washington said Monday that regime forces may be preparing a massacre in rebel-held Haffa — a village about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Assad’s hometown of Kardaha.
It’s not clear why the crowd wanted to prevent the observers from entering, but the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said earlier that resident of a nearby village was trying to block the observers.
..
Attempts to contact activists in Haffa failed because of bad cellular phone connections.
State-run news agency SANA said a reporter and a cameraman for the pro-government Ikhbariya TV were wounded when their car was hit with bullets in Haffa on Monday.
…
June 12th, 2012, 3:34 pm
Syrialover said:
102. # Majedkhaldoun
A very sane, very clear summing up of the situation. Thank you.
Come on everyone, let’s drop nonesense such as claiming Al Qaeda and the Taliban are slaves of the USA! If anyone saying this seriously imagines it, then they are not equipped to discuss the Syrian situation or much else.
June 12th, 2012, 3:46 pm
Dawoud said:
145. ALAN
Are you trying to tell me that a regime supporter like you, who supports Bashar’s murder/penis-mutilation of Hamza al-Khateeb, is NOT full of hate? Where is the love when you support a murderous 43-year-old bloody dictatorship?
Syrians say to you and to your Bashar: “Your love has killed us!”
Hating bloody dictatorships and their tools is a virtue! Freedom revolutions start because people hate murderous dictators and their stooges!
June 12th, 2012, 3:48 pm
Osama said:
Very nice article in AT
Towards a new Arab cultural revolution
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NF13Ak03.html
great piece defining the turbulent currents unleashed during the arab spring and transforming into something ugly and abhorrent.
June 12th, 2012, 3:50 pm
Uzair8 said:
134. Dawoud
Are you sure it’s not an Iraqi hotel? Brother you think the worst of Mj…Nah, actually I gathered after a brief google search. lol.
I guess mirroring the pro-regime activity one can appear ‘mad’.
Any outside onlooker would get disturbed and pushed to insanity by the brutality of the regime.
Mr Mjabali does bring attention to a very important reality. Many Syrians including and especially the children will have been disturbed and traumatised but haven’t had a chance to mourn or express their emotions. When this is all over and Syria is free there will be a huge release of emotion and tears will flow as the situation sinks in and they finally get to mourn for their losses and deal with horrific memories. The people will need help and counselling. May God Almighty help them and remove their hurt and pain.
June 12th, 2012, 3:51 pm
bronco said:
Like we have seen in Lebanon, this ‘civil war’ and these massacres will have direct consequences on where the minorities will decide to resettle.
While large cities will not be as affected as much, it is clear that there will be movements of population. Alawites, Christians and Druze will attempt to regroup closer geographically, while Sunnis and Kurds will do the same.
The coexistence of villages close to each other will never be the same anymore.
June 12th, 2012, 3:55 pm
DAWOUD said:
150. UZAIR8
Yes, I am sure-unless there is another context, which is unlikely. One can be sarcastic and name a hotel as “asforia!” Bashar’s palace must be عصفوريه! Otherwise, how could his wife be setting behind a computer doing online shopping while innocents are killed by her husband? Or, how could the “loving” “non-hater” Bashar sleep comfortably while his shabiha are killing children and raping women?
June 12th, 2012, 3:58 pm
Alan said:
Finally! The truth about Syria comes out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgu_BFbmHoE
Anti-Assad propaganda assault heats up with claims of WMDs
http://endthelie.com/2012/02/25/anti-assad-propaganda-assault-heats-up-with-claims-of-wmds/#axzz1xbvH9nGH
June 12th, 2012, 4:01 pm
Uzair8 said:
#152 Dawoud
You were right. I was just being humorous initially. Lol.
June 12th, 2012, 4:05 pm
jad said:
The armed terrorist militias pushed out from Al Haffeh:
ذكرت وكالة “رويترز” ان الجيش السوري الحر اعلن انسحابه من بلدة الحفة في اللاذقية في سوريا.
http://alkhabarpress.com/%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%AB-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3/
June 12th, 2012, 4:21 pm
Alan said:
Life in Palestine
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2012/06/07/life-in-palestine/
David! I recommend to you to hold rules of a good form and not to stick with the hatred to me! this prevention!
June 12th, 2012, 4:45 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
The suspension of critical faculties among regime supporters, especially those who think of thdemselves as the smarter, more civilized syrians, has reached the level of catastrophe.
I think we should declare SC a disaster zone. Call in FEMA.
June 12th, 2012, 4:45 pm
bronco said:
Jad #157
Another tactical retreat?
I hope they finally move to where they all belong: Turkey
June 12th, 2012, 4:47 pm
jad said:
I guess someone wasn’t linking the Sheikh Imran news on purpose:
Imran Hossein
NATO Wants Turkey To Invade Syria
June 12th, 2012, 4:47 pm
irritated said:
#159
Now that it is clear and admitted that the monstruous Houla massacre was perpetrated by the rebels and that gradually the truth about the FSA’s horrors is unraveling, the hysteria hitting the anti-Syria activists is reaching high levels.
They don’t whom to turn to, the USA, Turkey, Qatar to get some sort of consolation. Even the new SNC leader does not seem to create much enthusiasm, as there has been a deafening silence from the pro-SNC after his election.
It’s high time to call NATO again, the savior of failed revolutions.
June 12th, 2012, 4:55 pm
Alan said:
http://www.swissinfo.ch/ara/detail/content.html?cid=32890964
كلينتون قلقة من احتمال إرسال طائرات هليكوبتر روسية إلى سوريا
واشنطن (رويترز) – قالت وزيرة الخارجية الأمريكية هيلاري كلينتون يوم الثلاثاء إن الولايات المتحدة تشعر بالقلق بشأن احتمال أن ترسل روسيا طائرات هليكوبتر هجومية إلى سوريا
June 12th, 2012, 5:04 pm
jad said:
Insurgents Named Responsible for Syrian Massacres
By Stephen Lendman
A Syrian documentary aired on June 9, and a June 7 report by Germany’s leading broadsheet provide more evidence. Both refutes Western and scoundrel media misinformation. More on the latter below.
On May 10, suburban Damascus suicide bombings killed 55 and injured hundreds. The attack happened near Syria’s military intelligence complex. Children were killed. So were drivers and others heading for work.
At the time, SANA state media said rescue workers collected “15 bags of limbs and torn-off body parts” from the scene. The blasts also destroyed 105 cars.
Western reports spuriously blamed Assad. He had nothing to do with it, other insurgent massacres, daily attacks, targeted assassinations, and Western-sponsored terrorism.
On June 10, SANA state media’s documentary discussed the Damascus incident. It pointed fingers the right way. It named Western-recruited Jabhet al-Nasra terrorists responsible. They also carried out earlier attacks.
Jordanian terrorist Abu Musaab, Syrian Mohammad Ali Ghazi, and an Iraqi called Marwan “supervised the operation.” Others involved included “Mohammad Ahmad Kamaleddin, a Syrian from Serghaya, Yasser, another Syrian, and an Iraqi known as Allawi.”
Testimonies were aired. Medical student Abdullah said the Yousef al-Hajer terrorist organization recruited him to participate. He met Iraqi insurgents involved. They were affiliated with Al Qaeda.
Abdullah was enlisted to help make explosives. He didn’t know for what purpose. He said Jabhet al-Nasra is active throughout Syria. It works cooperatively with Free Syrian Army elements. Their mission is violence and destruction to destabilize Syria and oust Assad.
Recruits were deceived to go along.
On air footage also showed al-Qassa’a security camera evidence. “(F)our booby-trapped cars….targeted al-Jamarek, Kafarsousseh, al-Qassa’a and the Criminal Security Department in al-Jamark.”
“The documentary showed that the terrorist AbdulSalam Awwad al-Ali al-Hayyawi, nicknamed Abu Omar al-Shami from Deir Ezzor,23 years old, was the one who carried out al-Midan terrorist bombing using a 30-kg explosive-laden belt on April 27th.”
It also “revealed that the explosives used in the terrorist bombings were manufactured at a blacksmith shop in Akraba, owned by the terrorist Said Mahmoud Hamada,36 years old, nicknamed Abu Salah, who was a senior member of Jabhet al-Nasra. He recruited an Iraqi explosives’ expert called Taha.”
{…}
https://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/insurgents-named-responsible-for-syrian-massacres/
June 12th, 2012, 5:10 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
I never trust a publication with the word truth in its name..
There is diversion, and there is dversionification. The first is a tactic, and the second is ….. well .. nothing worth defining.
June 12th, 2012, 5:23 pm
Afram said:
UN on Syria: It’s a Civil War
‘This is really becoming large scale,’ peacekeeping chief says
The situation in Syria has officially descended into a full-blown civil war, the UN’s peacekeeping chief said today. “Yes, I think we can say that,” Herve Ladsous told* Reuters.
explaining that the opposition has claimed “large chunks of territory in several cities,” and that regime forces are trying to take them back.”Now we have confirmed reports of not only of the use of tanks and artillery, but also attack helicopters.
This is really becoming large scale.”
If the Red Cross declares Syria a full-blown “internal armed conflict,” it will have international legal ramifications, forcing both sides to comply with the Geneva Conventions.
***Ladsous’ also revealed that there had been a shooting attack on UN monitors en route to the town of Haffeh,though the shots seemed to come not from > troops < but from an angry crowd of stone-throwing civilians
June 12th, 2012, 5:25 pm
Alan said:
SC a disaster zone : listen to your supporter friends what they are talking !
Audio: Syrian Murders & Murderer’s Aspirations
6/11/2012 10:01:00 PM
On this show, we cover stories from the Hebrew Press translated into English. We hear about the Syrian government killing it’s citizens including women and children. Who arethe rebels, and who leads them? Yonaton Silverman from Sartaba.org joins Tamar and talks about events taking place in the Mid-East.
Shifra Hoffman talks about the insanity of giving up settlements in Judea & Samaria, and Arabguest, I.Q. Al Rassooli, joins Tamar and tells him how he would negotiate for Israel inthe peace talks and ‘role plays’ on how to do it. A fascinating interview!
Last, Joe Hyams, CEO of HonestReporting.com explains the importance of the quest for honesty in reportingon the Mid-East conflict. Hyams says that as a camera man himself, he knows that the camera can lie, and explains the importance of being a watch-dog and educator regarding the media. An enlightening and important discussion! LOL
June 12th, 2012, 5:30 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
I wonder if every Israeli received their 8000+ personal rocket curtsy US aid?!!
You gotta love that… To reinforce “truth” named publication, one has to use yet another publication with the word honest attached. this could be hilarious had it not been in support of a murdering buffoon.
June 12th, 2012, 5:37 pm
omen said:
paul wood on bbc world service was just on recounting how he and the rebels were trying to pick up a cache of anti-tank weaponry smuggled through lebanon.
i didn’t catch all of it though. don’t know if they were able to get to it. so many security check points they’re having to dodge. said they were hiding in some orchards where there was a close call with regime military. besides starving out the people in attempt to force them out, is smuggling routes another reason why the regime has been setting farm fields on fire?
June 12th, 2012, 5:51 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
The conversion into identical literary style among the unterrorists “classy superior Syrians” is striking. they all now start their posts with the words Terrorists…..
Why do you think they think they are superior?
June 12th, 2012, 6:04 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Is it strange that those who were always shouting foul till their faces turned blue whenever the US claimed Assadistan is a terrorist state are now turning blue shooting about Syrian Terrorists….. ?
And BTW, it is the same folks who maintained that Alqaida did not exist in Syria..because Syria was Sssssseccccuuuulaaaaar.
June 12th, 2012, 6:14 pm
mjabali said:
Just spoke to a Sunni friend of mine who is originally from al-Heffe. He lives now in the US but in almost daily contact with Syria. His family lives in Lattakia. He told me about the old father of a mutual friend who got shot at a barricade of the government and now no one can get to his body. The mother and children who were with him escaped by running to the woods.
I asked him what he think is the reason behind the fight in al-Heffe now: he said that the Sunnis wanted to move the fight to the Alawi areas so they feel the heat.
He told me about the long history of harmonious living he witnessed and heard about from his grandfather between the Sunnis of al-Heffe and the Alawis around them. All of this is changing now. People started killing each other in that area according to their sectarian identity.
The situation in Jabal al-Akrad is dire according to him and everyone else I speak with.
June 12th, 2012, 6:48 pm
Uzair8 said:
157. Jad
That should be your job. Well eventually you got round to it I guess.
I wasn’t gonna give publicity to the Sheikh’s comments especially after referring to the Syrian opposition as ‘terrorists’. The Sheikh previously expressed sympathy for the oppressed and pointed out the brutality of the regime although he was in general against the Arab Spring.
Recently the Sheikh came out and declared the Syrian rebels as terrorists and later, after a backlash, clarifying he meant ‘some’ are terrorists. These recent comments were dissapointing, upsetting and unfounded but no surprise as the Sheikh’s views are influenced by his particular end-time theories.
I was tempted to post one video of the Sheikh yesterday and am sure I did post one not too long ago on the same subject (Syrian majority Sunnis should go to to Russia and reassure them… / Russia = (Quranic) ar-Rum = Rome).
June 12th, 2012, 6:49 pm
omen said:
i don’t buy it, or rather, i don’t expect this to happen soon, but debka is purporting obama is getting ready to launch limited air raids against the regime.
video is interesting for the targets it points to.
it was reported back in feb pentagon already have plans in hand if obama decided to go in. but having plans at the ready doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
June 12th, 2012, 6:57 pm
jad said:
As usual of Patrick Seal, another excellent honest analyses:
What Is Really Happening in Syria?
by Patrick Seale
“There are now said to be about 100 armed rebel groups engaged in urban guerrilla warfare against the Syrian regime. Money is flowing in from Gulf States and from Syrian businessmen abroad, fuelling a brisk black market in weapons. Large numbers of jihadis, armed Islamic extremists, have crossed into Syria from neighbouring countries — and also from Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan — to swell the ranks of the fighters. Muslim clerics in several Arab countries are inciting young men to go to Syria to fight. Rebel groups conduct ambushes, attack check-points, destroy public property, kill government troops — about 250 were killed in ten days in late May and early June. They also kidnap, rape and slaughter pro-regime civilians.
The regime’s strategy is to prevent armed rebels seizing and holding territory, even if this means shelling residential quarters when rebels hole up in them. The rebels’ strategy is to trigger a Western military intervention to stop the killing on humanitarian grounds (although no one mentions the large numbers of civilians killed by U.S. drones in half a dozen countries, including 18 women and children in Afghanistan alone last week.) The rebels know they cannot defeat the Syrian army without outside help. The recent massacres at the villages of Hula and al-Qubair have raised their hopes that the United States and its allies are now one step closer to military action. ”
{…}
“What role are outside actors playing? Each is pursuing its own strategic interest. The keys to the Syrian crisis lie outside Syria. Indeed, the Syrian crisis cannot be separated from the massive pressures being put on Iran. U.S. President Barack Obama is now fully mobilised against both regimes. He seems to have given up trying to secure a win-win deal with Iran over its nuclear programme, and he is sabotaging Kofi Annan’s Syrian peace plan by conniving in the arming of the rebels. He seems to want to bring down the regimes in both Tehran and Damascus — either because he sees Iran as a rival in the Gulf region or to win the favours of Israel’s American supporters in an election year.
Israel has openly declared its keen interest in Asad’s overthrow. President Shimon Peres — a wolf in sheep’s clothing whose deal with the French back in the 1950s provided Israel with its first nuclear weapons — declared that he hoped the Syrian rebels would win. Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu went one better. Borrowing a phrase from George W. Bush, he has called the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah resistance alliance an “axis of evil.” Clearly, Israel is pushing the United States and its allies to bring down the whole axis which has dented its supremacy in the Levant.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the main Arab backers of the Syrian rebels, seem largely driven by sectarian passions. They see Shia Iran as a threat to Sunni primacy. They, too, seek to bring down the regimes in Iran and Syria. However, it might be wiser for them to support, rather than subvert, these regimes, which have tried to stand up to Israel. Without the protection they afford, the oil-rich Gulf States might one day wake up to find themselves the next target of unchecked Israeli power.
Many problems in Syria remain to be solved. If Asad himself were toppled, would not the officer corps and the Ba‘th party carry on the fight? If the whole state were brought down — as happened in Iraq — what would the next regime look like? Would extremist Islamists, bent on revenge, come to power? Would the country be dismembered, with the Alawis driven into their mountains, as Iraq was itself dismembered by the creation of a Kurdish statelet? Who will protect the minorities? Will Syria’s Christians, 10 per cent of the population, suffer the same fate as Iraq’s Christians, dispersed around the world? And would Lebanon and Jordan, not to speak of the unfortunate Palestinians languishing under Israel’s occupation, survive the shock waves of a Syrian tsunami?
The Western powers would be well advised to unite with Russia and China in putting maximum pressure on both sides to put up their arms and come to the table. Diplomacy, rather than war, is the only way to preserve what is left of Syria for its hard-pressed citizens.”
{…}
http://www.agenceglobal.com/index.php?show=article&Tid=2815
June 12th, 2012, 8:09 pm
jad said:
“Recently the Sheikh came out and declared the Syrian rebels as terrorists”
What an honest, smart and brave Sheikh.
Unlike the sectarian and terrorists’ supporter, ‘Shiekh of Hate’, Yakoubi, who is calling for violence and more killing.
June 12th, 2012, 8:17 pm
Uzair8 said:
172 Jad
Do you mean calling for self defence?
So self defence isn’t allowed under any circumstances because it adds to the violence and killing?
I take it you agree with Sheikh Imran Hoseins assessment of the regime too?
June 12th, 2012, 8:32 pm
jna said:
171. jadsaid: As usual of Patrick Seal, another excellent honest analyses:
Yes, this was a straight-to-the-point article. Refreshing.
June 12th, 2012, 9:51 pm
NK said:
I’m guessing the 3 who were run over by the UN cars belong to this herd
http://bit.ly/LZbUiQ
June 12th, 2012, 9:56 pm
Halabi said:
Here’s some reporting from Qubeir. Of course my cousin’s best friend told me he saw Hamad and Bandar kill all those people, so Enders might not be telling the whole story…
Since Qubeir killings, Syrians fear rising violence between Sunnis, Alawites
By David Enders | McClatchy Newspapers
QUBEIR, Syria — The lone family that had returned to Syria’s devastated village of Qubeir wasn’t planning to stay long.
“We will abandon this place,” said a middle-aged man, who said he was one of the handful of survivors of a mass killing here last week that may have taken as many as 78 lives. He refused to say more and insisted that journalists not stay in the village long. “The army was here this morning,” he said.
…
A week traveling with rebel forces turned up story after story of displaced villagers who feared they’d be victims because of their sect.
In the wake of the massacre at Qubeir, all the Sunnis in the nearby village of Tuwaim, which has an Alawite majority, have fled, residents in the area reported. Similar violence has affected more than a half-dozen towns and villages north and west of Hama in the past three months, they said.
The violence they described often followed the same trajectory: Militiamen kill one family, prompting others to flee. But Alawites haven’t always been the instigators of the violence.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/12/152105/since-qubeir-killings-syrians.html#storylink=cpy
June 12th, 2012, 9:59 pm
Norman said:
Syria was put in a civil war, we all know who started the civil war in Iraq, They are the same people, the only way out is to dry out the support for the militants and provide a cover and legitimacy for the Syrian army to restore peace and security for the return that president Assad will not be and will not run in 2014, instilling American and Russian advisers might be the way with all wearing blue hats,
Anybody who thinks that Syria is not in a civil war is in denial ,
Syria is under attack and i don’t know if it is going to survive now.
June 12th, 2012, 10:20 pm
Dawoud said:
Below is latest article in NYT about how the influx of arms to all sides is driving Syria toward a tragic/sad civil war. Surely, all this and a civil war could have been avoided had the dictator at least possessed the decency of Ben Ali, Saleh, and Mubarak. He can fly tomorrow to Iran or Russia. But, No, he is choosing to destroy Syria so that he can be called “president!”
P.S., Please notice that I can copy and paste so many paragraphs from this article, but I will never do so. Unlike the pro-dictator commentator above, I have no interest in spamming this blog nor drowning others’ comments. Also, I don’t want Mr. Landis to face any copyrights issues.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/world/middleeast/violence-in-syria-continues-as-protesters-killed.html?_r=1&hp
Influx of Heavy Arms Pushes Syria Toward Civil War
By MARK LANDLER and NEIL MacFARQUHAR
Published: June 12, 2012 227
WASHINGTON — With evidence that powerful new weapons are flowing to both the Syrian government and opposition fighters, the bloody uprising in Syria has thrust the Obama administration into an increasingly difficult position as the conflict shows signs of mutating into a full-fledged civil war.
[…]
June 12th, 2012, 10:24 pm
ann said:
Syria slashes U.S. stance over Syrian crisis – 2012-06-13
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/13/c_131648506.htm
DAMASCUS, June 12 (Xinhua) — Syrian foreign ministry accused on Tuesday the U.S. administration of intervening in Syria’s affairs and supporting the “armed terrorist groups” in the unrest- hit country.
In a statement carried by state-run SANA news agency, the ministry said the U.S. administration has “continued its flagrant intervention in Syria’s internal affairs by supporting the armed groups and covering their tracks as well.”
The ministry lashed out on the statements made recently by the U.S. administration about its concerns over the situation in Syria, accusing the United States of distorting facts about the situation in Syria and blackmailing other countries in order to corner Syria and target its stances.
[…]
June 12th, 2012, 10:33 pm
Karabennemsi said:
@Dawoud:
“All anti-regime folks are my brothers/sisters.”
Is that so?
Your “brother” “syrialover” recently stated (about “Assad and his gang”):
“Let’s hope their own end does not come instantly and they, their wives and children experience a long, deafeningly loud siege and shelling without food, water or medical help.”
Now I guess you are aware of the fact, that only in dictatorships kin liability is common.
Now considering this statement from you:
” Hating bloody dictatorships and their tools is a virtue! Freedom revolutions start because people hate murderous dictators and their stooges!”
i am really confused. You choose to call someone your brother because of the common political goal, yet you consider hating your brothers plans a virtue.
Maybe this statement of you will allow me to understand you better:
“Bashar’s palace must be عصفوريه! Otherwise, how could his wife be setting behind a computer doing online shopping while innocents are killed by her husband?”
Pretty strong words coming from someone who choose to call someone his brother, although he must know that this brother wishes for slow death of other innocents.
I can only agree with your brother “syrialover”:
“If anyone saying this seriously imagines it, then they are not equipped to discuss the Syrian situation or much else.”
June 12th, 2012, 10:36 pm
sheila said:
Dear Mjabali,
It is very sad to hear that our people are at a point where they can not and will not tolerate each other. Syria has been in decline on all fronts for quite some time and it is showing now in these rough circumstances more than ever. I put the blame squarely on the regime and I know that you share my opinion. They had the opportunity to contain the issue in Daraa, but their arrogance stood in the way and led our country to where we are at today.
June 12th, 2012, 10:39 pm
Dawoud said:
181. sheila
Excellent comment, sister Sheila! I agree with you that the regime’s arrogance and murder (including that of Hamza al-Khateeb) changed the revolution from calls for “reform” to the regime’s downfall!
June 12th, 2012, 10:43 pm
ann said:
Mrs. Clinton, we need a deadline for creating JOBS here AT HOME in America!
Clinton sets deadline for implementation of Annan plan – 2012-06-13
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/13/c_131649486.htm
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday applauded the plan brokered by UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan for violence-plagued Syria, but demanded “discernible movement” by mid-July in the execution of the peace plan.
[…]
June 12th, 2012, 10:43 pm
sheila said:
What civil war????????? This is more like a slaughter house. A civil war is a conflict between groups that live in the same country and have more or less equal strengths. This is why they last so long, but in Syria, it is a struggle between an official army and the people who are resorting to arms to defend themselves. This is not the definition of civil war.
June 12th, 2012, 10:43 pm
DAWOUD said:
184. sheila
yes, this is like the Gaza massacre of 2008-09 when a well-equipped army attacked a civilian population-although Bashar’s horrors have surpassed the war crimes of the Zionist occupiers.
Free Syria, Free Palestine!
June 12th, 2012, 10:46 pm
Dawoud said:
P.s, Shiela
I am here in the United States and would like to hear what people inside Syria say about the involvement of Hasan Nasrillat’s shabiha in killing our brothers and sisters in Syria. Do you have any details on this? Thanks
June 12th, 2012, 10:49 pm
Syrialover said:
Here are 2 articles that help explain the reasons why Syria has flared into a crisis it can’t easily get out of.
They are on different things, but both put it down to the particularly crude and primitive style of dictatorship installed by the Assads compared with others.
Article 1:
In Defense Of Hosni Mubarak (just joking!)
…Mubarak and Ben Ali were thugs, but they were not mass murderers. The Egyptian president stepped down before unleashing – or more likely because he was incapable of unleashing – the army against protesters in January 2011. Ben Ali took to the clouds, his stolen goods firmly in hand. Both were undeniably responsible for the deaths of innocents, but they did not butcher their populations and provoke civil wars to stay in office in the same way that Gadhafi did and Assad is doing.
…Egypt and Tunisia are traditionally countries of institutions, where the structures of state and society, for all their myriad shortcomings, extend beyond the supreme leader and his clan. Many of these institutions were co-opted by Mubarak and Ben Ali, discredited, intimidated and manipulated; but they also had a prior life of their own, an institutional memory, that the persecutor in chief could never entirely overcome.
….Syrian institutions had no latitude to question Assad. The army and security apparatus was there to defend the Assads and their political-military clique, not Syrian society. Outside the reach of the ruling family there was virtually no autonomous political space.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2012/Jun-07/176020-in-defense-of-hosni-mubarak.ashx#ixzz1xQrd142z
Article 2:
What, Me A Dictator?
Savvy strongmen today now invoke democracy and intimidate quietly
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303918204577448712747514378.html?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn_Books
June 12th, 2012, 10:50 pm
sheila said:
Dear Dr. Landis,
Believing what the Syrian regime says is an act of self- deceit. Those of us who grew up in Syria know better. It is very clear to those who wish to look and see:
1- If the Syrian regime had nothing to hide, it would have allowed international press inside the country right from the start, not pick and choose according to how skewed their writing is.
2- If the Syrian regime had any interest in the truth, it would have quarantined the affected areas and conducted proper investigations, even asked for help from the international community.
The only thing the Syrian regime is interested in is its survival. period. Not the country, not the people and most of all not the Alawii community. And if they do not care about their own community, I have no idea what some in the Christian community are thinking.
June 12th, 2012, 10:56 pm
Mina said:
Younger generations one day will study the role of Aljazeera and Alarabiyya in what happened in Syria and inciting a sectarianism which has now brought the country to a Bosnia-like situation. Running a war fully using the PR proxies, as if the Gulf did not make billion-worth military contracts every year.Still,they have no army but they are not ashamed to shout in international meetings calling for an intervention they don’t want to lose a soul in. The truth is that they are too disorganized and too cowards to make a war.
June 12th, 2012, 11:08 pm
Dawoud said:
189. MINA
Aljazeera is only telling the truth. It is “the voice of the voiceless!”
Why does Bashar (who recently said that he controlled earth and wanted to control the space) think that Aljazeera is giving him hell? Aljazeera only represents what US President Harry Truman once said:
“I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”
“I” is Aljazeera! Give’m hell, Harry! Becomes: Give’m hell, Aljazeera (the network of the FREE قناه الاحرار
June 12th, 2012, 11:13 pm
sheila said:
Younger generations one day will study the role of Sana and Aldounya in what happened in Syria by inciting sectarianism which has now brought the country to a Bosnia-like situation. Running a war fully using propaganda. What do you expect from a regime that has a department for spreading rumors???????
June 12th, 2012, 11:14 pm
Syrialover said:
Sheila, you are right. It is not correct to call it a civil war when it is an attack by the “government” on the citizens it is meant to protect. Ordinary people who are now forced to fight for their lives.
Nor is it correct to call it a civil war in another sense – it is not one inside group against another. It is a marginal and minority clique fighting in a filthy way to retain power. And using Russia and Iran to help them fight against Syrian citizens in their own country.
Every death, all the loss and suffering has been caused by the sickness of the Assad regime. And all so pointless, stupid and unncessary.
The whole world knows it, including Assad’s “allies”.
June 12th, 2012, 11:19 pm
bronco said:
Mina
“The truth is that they are too disorganized and too cowards to make a war.”
They have been pushing Turkey, France and the UK to do what their fat soldiers cannot do. They ‘ll pay the bill for the Syrian blood that is flooding the country.
I am sure that Qatar and their other criminals allies are actively organizing a massacre of Turks, using with lots of videos and eye witnesses, and they will put the blame on the Syrian Army to force Turkey to retaliate.
I think Qatar and it foreign strategists are far more diabolical than they want to appear. Their turn will come, so much evil can never remain unchallenged.
June 12th, 2012, 11:30 pm
jna said:
“Someone is Lying About the Houla Massacre”
http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/06/12/someone-is-lying-about-the-houla-massacre/
A lot of this article is blah, blah, blah, but it covers further discussion of the Houla massacre. And I totally dispute the assumption of the author, Dexter Van Zile, who works for CAMERA, a Zionist propaganda site, that the account of the Israeli killing of Mohammed Al Dura was a hoax. It wasn’t. And the widespread stories in Westen media that it was a hoax reminds me of the one sided Western media pack jounalism news frenzy in Syria cultured by the Syrian opposition P.R. machine.
June 12th, 2012, 11:31 pm
DAWOUD said:
180. KARABENNEMSI
I advise you to re-read my comments 100 times because your logic (assuming that you have logic) is misinterpreted/irrational! You remind me of what former President Clinton once said (while running for office in 1992):
“[…] I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale and never tried it again.”
Unlike Bill Clinton, your inhalation process must have reached its ultimate conclusion!
June 12th, 2012, 11:32 pm
Syrialover said:
#189 MINA
I see, Mina. Let’s see if I have this right
You are outraged because the Gulf States do not directly declare war and invade Syria.
Knowing, of course, that if they did they would not be in a position (because of small size) to deploy conventional armies, more the expensive high tech stuff.
Then you might be satisfied?
It’s very unclear where you have a dog in this fight – if at all. Just complicated anger at capitalists and the west and all that.
You seem to have no view on the actual fate of Syria.
June 12th, 2012, 11:36 pm
bronco said:
#193 Darryl
“I am ashamed to say I am from Syria. ”
Aren’t proud of the achievement of the SNC, the FSA, the LCC who enjoyed for 15 months the total support of the most powerful countries in the world against a regime ‘isolated’ and weaken by sanctions and negative propaganda.
The result:
A miserable civil war where Syrians are killing Syrians, villages are attacking other villages and economy is destroyed.
You should not be ashamed of being Syrian, you should be ashamed of those in Syria who thought that making revolution was just a picnic.
June 12th, 2012, 11:41 pm
Dawoud said:
198. bronco
No, Darryl complained of “1400 years of colonization!” Why 1400 years? Well, since the beginning of the Islamic era. Basically, Darryl was expressing anti-Muslim bigotry and sectarian hatred. He should be ashamed of himself and those who think like him!
June 12th, 2012, 11:44 pm
omen said:
dan rather has a special on syria on hdnet. he talks to activists and families in a jordanian refugee camp. repeats again on sat 9 am.
contrary to rumors that jordan has been hostile, an activist says jordanian govt has given them a green light to help smuggle fleeing families enter into the country.
June 12th, 2012, 11:45 pm
Syrialover said:
Bronco (#194) your imagination is running wilder than wild!
Let’s come down to earth and look at real, visible evil happening, with tanks and torture chambers and a “government” mass murdering its own citizens and hope THAT won’t go unpunished.
June 12th, 2012, 11:45 pm
irritated said:
#197 SL
Qatar using ….”expensive high tech stuff.”
I wonder who will operate them? Banglashis? Indians?
If Qatar dares declare a war, their neighbor will make sure that Qatar becomes a new Atlantis, under the water. This is why they only send money and keep denying they do.
Half men, the are. Bashar was right.
June 12th, 2012, 11:51 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
I believe there is a change in American policy, The recent massacres were the turning point.
June 12th, 2012, 11:52 pm
jad said:
“Ordinary people who are now forced to fight for their lives.”
You mean ‘ordinary’ ‘armed’ criminals, who bomb cars in their fellow Syrians, who hang people in the street or in mosques, who behead Syrians in the street, who blow up tracks, trains, roads, buses, trucks, airplanes, gas pipelines, power stations and even burning innocent poor people’s shops and who use children in the battle field because they are too cowards to be men.
Who attack hospitals and kill doctors, professors, engineers, Imams and any Syrian they catch, who use their ‘creativity’ in killing and destroying, who partner with the Israelis and the Americans to invade Syria and who decline that Iskandaron is Syrian and all the people in that area are ‘turks’.
Who import terrorists and criminals from every hole of the backward world to help them in their ‘beautiful’ ‘bloody’ ‘revo’, who are sectarian to the teeth and lie about it, who hates every other Syrian but their own and who use religion to justify their crimes.
What a pathetic bloody movement mistakenly called a ‘revo’ when all its ‘horrendous’ ‘crimes’ become justified and pushed under the carpet by it’s supporters.
June 13th, 2012, 12:00 am
zoo said:
The article talks about the ‘refugees’ and omits to say that the same routes are used to smuggle weapons and to allow armed gangs from Turkey. Not much to expect from France 24 anyway
Syria fires hamper smuggling of refugees (and of soldiers and weapons)
2012-06-11 15:02
http://www.news24.com/World/News/Syria-fires-hamper-smuggling-of-refugees-20120611
Yayladagi – Syrian rebels are having to find new and more difficult routes to smuggle refugees and wounded civilians and fighters into Turkey after Syrian government forces began torching wooded areas along the border this month.
The deliberate fires appear to be a new tactic by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to flush out hiding rebels and stop civilians escaping. Syrian troops began laying mines along the same border months earlier.
Some wounded die before they can reach medical treatment in Turkey because it can now take up to three times longer to cross the border, rebels inside Turkey said.
“Assad is trying to block off all our routes. They are starting fires all along the border,” said Abu Ahmad Lahlu, a rebel who helps smuggle Syrian families into Turkey.
“It has become very difficult, we have had to find new routes that take us very far away,” he said at Yayladagi camp, just a kilometre from a border gate in Turkey’s Hatay province.
June 13th, 2012, 12:00 am
Karabennemsi said:
Dawoud
1. There is no such thing as personal logic. Logic is an ancient discipline and follows clearly stated rules, just like mathematics or physics.
It is however possible to be bad in the field of logic, just like i for example am bad in rhetorics.
2. I will definetely not re-read your comments 100 times. Neither do i have the time nor do i consider them extraordinary in content or style. Sorry i had to disappoint you here.
I will not comment on your drug allegation.
June 13th, 2012, 12:01 am
zoo said:
Lebanese PM determined to halt arms smuggling across border
June 12, 2012 01:46 PM (Last updated: June 12, 2012 04:19 PM)
The Daily Star
Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (The Daily Star/DalatiNohra/HO)
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati reiterated his vow Tuesday to continue his fight against illegal arms trafficking across the Lebanon-Syria border.
“We will not allow Lebanese territory, or parts of them, be used as a conduit for smuggling weapons or insurgents,” Mikati said during a visit to the Defense Ministry in Yarze, a suburb of Beirut.
Similarly, Mikati said he will not allow the creation of a “buffer zone or an environment where terrorism or extremism, or the like, could flourish.”
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Jun-12/176575-lebanese-pm-adamant-to-halt-arms-smuggling-across-border.ashx#ixzz1xdusSHBn
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
June 13th, 2012, 12:06 am
zoo said:
Who is getting help from Al Qaeeda?
Al-Qaida affiliates operating in Syria, says William Hague
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/11/al-qaida-syria-william-hague?newsfeed=true
Foreign secretary says more sanctions against Syrian regime are likely if UN-brokered peace plan continues to fail
Britain has for the first time raised the spectre of al-Qaida operating in Syria, while at the same time accusing Damascus of brutally targeting specific communities and driving Syrians to take up arms.
…
Hague said security assessments had indicated the presence in Syria of al-Qaida, a group disavowed by the main opposition force, the Free Syria Army, but who regime officials insist are at the vanguard of a now raging insurgency.
“We … have reason to believe that terrorist groups affiliated to al-Qaida have committed attacks designed to exacerbate the violence, with serious implications for international security,” said Hague in a speech to the Commons.
He offered no details. The US has previously said it believed al-Qaida could have been responsible for bombing a security headquarters in Damascus in December.
…
Weapons have at times also made it across the Lebanese borders, with one supply line through the Bekaa valley delivering guns and rockets from civil war era arms bazaars and another through the far north providing more modern weaponry, some of which is believed to have come from Libya.
June 13th, 2012, 12:13 am
Jad said:
Zoo,
How dare WH say that AQ exist in Syria, he must be a regime supporter and Minhibakji.
Shame on him!
June 13th, 2012, 12:20 am
zoo said:
Armed and deadly… al-Qaeda in Syria
First pics of warzone terror squad
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4365528/Armed-and-deadly-al-Qaeda-in-Syria.html
By SIMON HUGHES
Published: 11th June 2012
A MASKED fanatic brandishes a fearsome machine gun — and provides terrifying evidence that al-Qaeda is now operating in Syria.
The Sun has obtained the first footage of extremists taking advantage of the civil war to gain a foothold in the war-torn country.
It backs up the grim theory that al-Qaeda is looking to expand into Syria, where it could launch attacks on Britain.
The hooded gunman — filmed standing in front of a sinister black flag — is among a growing number of recruits to the latest al-Qaeda-linked terror network.
And the arsenal of weapons he poses with gives a horrifying indication of their firepower.
His machine gun is a Russian-made PKM 7.62, capable of firing 650 rounds a minute with a range of up to 1,500 metres.
The thug has an ammunition belt slung around his neck, carries at least one grenade and is flanked by rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
….
Terror expert Chris Dobson believes al-Qaeda wants to move into Syria after taking a pounding in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He said: “There is mounting evidence that al-Qaeda militants are fleeing from their vulnerable hide-outs and setting up bases among the rebels in Syria.”
And he warned: “It’s an ideal location from which to launch attacks on Britain and the US.”
and Israel..
June 13th, 2012, 12:21 am
zoo said:
Jad
To gain more credibility and legitimacy, the FSA should have fought against Islamist extremists that infiltrated them. Instead of fighting Al Qaeeda, the FSA has opened its arms to it. Now most of the Western countries are turning their back on the FSA.
The SNC being in a coma, it seems that this is the end of the opposition’s credibility and probably the end of the opposition.
June 13th, 2012, 12:41 am
Ghufran said:
I am not sure I follow the logic of those who deny that there is a civil war brewing in Syria in many places, I can fill this site with stories of sectarian killings and forced cleansing. The country is already fractured and the state may indeed collapse. Calls for a holy civil war started on this forum even before we had baba Amr ,Idleb and Houla disasters,those calls did not come from poor uneducated Syrians but they came from educated and rich expats who may have already donated money to help Syrians kill other Syrians. Advocates of a civil war argued that it is cheaper and more efficient,just go back and read comments regarding this issue posted on SC.
Supporters of armed rebels knew from day one that they can only win if scores of people died and an outside force intervened directly to finish the syrian army and the state,but to those,any price is cheap as long as the regime falls.
I consider supporters of armed rebels as partners with the regime in the destruction of Syria even if their share is not equal to that of the regime, from Homs to Alhaffeh,Syrians even under a brutal dictatorship managed to live and let live,the motto of death with dignity instead of life with shame is good for a Hollywood movie about nations that fight a foreign occupier but not for a country that watches its own citizens killing each other in the name of honor.
June 13th, 2012, 12:43 am
Tara said:
Darryl
You are or proud of being Syrian?
I can never be any prouder!
June 13th, 2012, 12:45 am
VISITOR said:
I am surprised that no Muslim commentator on this site pointed out the great fallacy perpetrated by the Sheikh in the video of comment 157. I am particularly disappointed with MajedKhaldoun, Dawoud, Jeurgen, and Omen among many others. Lying about your Prophet is an unforgivable crime as every Muslim knows, and should not be allowed to go unnoticed. Here is the great fallacy:
The anti-Christ will not enter three of the world cities: Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
There is no such hadith as the Sheikh claimed that the anti-Christ will perform pilgrimage to Mecca.
More importantly, the Sheikh is guilty of a greater fallacy of neglect. In his zeal to defend his obvious bias towards heretic Iran, he neglected to mention the well documented hadith that the anti-Christ will appear in Khorasan which is part of Iran where the current ‘heretic’ mullahs rule.
In short, the Sheikh is fake and will not stand a chance in a real test with a knowledgeable scholar. It is no surprise the video is promoted by regime supporters.
June 13th, 2012, 12:57 am
omen said:
the phrase “civil war” is being used because the powers that be cannot come to terms with calling this conflict by its true name: genocide. unarmed innocents are being slaughtered.
“genocide” is a legal term for the un. they’re avoiding invoking it because once they do so, recognition of such requires intervention.
June 13th, 2012, 12:59 am
Tara said:
Omen
You are absolutely right. The first step the new SNC to do is to get the world to quit calling this civil war and to call it by its real name: Genocide
June 13th, 2012, 1:07 am
Ghufran said:
ويل لأمة تكثر فيها المذاهب والطوائف وتخلو من الدين
• ويل لأمة تلبس مما لا تنسج ، وتأكل مما لاتزرع ،وتشرب مما لا تعصر.
ويل لأمة تحسب المستبد بطلاً، وترى الفاتح المذل رحيماً
ويل لأمة تكره الهوة في أحلامها، وتعنو لها في يقظتها.
ويل لأمة لا ترفع صوتها إلا إذا مشت في جنازة، ولا تفخر إلا بالخرائب، ولا تثور إلا وعنقها بالسيف والنطع.
ويل لأمة سائسها ثعلب، وفيلسوفها مشعوذ، وفنها فن الترقيع والتقليد.
ويل لأمة تستقبل حاكمها بالتطبيل وتودعه بالصفير، لتستقبل آخربالتطبيل والتزمير.
ويل لأمة حكماؤها خرس من وقر السنين ، ورجالها الأشداء لايزالون في أقمطة السرير.
ويل لأمة مقسمة إلى أجزاء، وكل جزء يحسب نفسه فيها .
June 13th, 2012, 1:13 am
omen said:
tara, “civil war” also slanders the martyrs. it leaves the impression that they died in a war when they weren’t even armed. calling it a civil war shifts responsibility away from the regime and onto the victims. murdered civilians are being faulted for their own deaths!
snc should know better. i didn’t know they were using the term.
.
hi visitor. i’m neither muslim nor syrian.
June 13th, 2012, 1:15 am
Ghufran said:
I agree that a civil war means that innocent victims will share the same position of thugs who killed and got killed,all will be numbers. War lords in Lebanon became ministers and clan leaders and this can happen in Syria too.
Anna finally accepted the obvious,his plan is dead,and now Russia wants the regime to use force to regain control in areas it lost after Annan tried unsuccessfully to convince fighting parties to stop shooting at each other. Supporters of armed rebels want to do the same to force the regime to lower its demands in any future settlement. This is a dangerous bloody game because it means another wave of blood shed. We have not reached the critical point where opposing factions accept a cease fire,much of that is due to outside interference, most Syrians,if left alone,will choose compromise over a civil war
و لكن لا رأي لمن لا يطاع
June 13th, 2012, 1:28 am
Tara said:
Omen
I can ‘t agree more. Anti regime crowd should be very active in correcting this. Whoever can write to or contact the SNC’s new head should do so to alert him to the gravity of calling this a civil war. People should write to their representatives to warn them of the difference. Our own Joshua should be aware of put objection to calling it civil war as opposed to what it really is. People who are active on other blogs should explain the difference.
Did they call the slaughter of Jews by Nazi Germany a civil war? This is a wholesale slaughter by an equipped army against unarmed civilians, and on top of that, I know as a fact from a source inside the inner circle that arms were distributed to all Alawite village from day one.
June 13th, 2012, 1:29 am
Juergen said:
Mina
You ever asked yourself why AL Jazeera is such an success in the arab world? Because the dull state tv in almost all countries which will show half of their news about the supreme leaders greet and meet show of the day. With Al Jazeera the arabs enjoyed democracy and freedom of speech even though an honest word in their own country could endanger them. Al Jazeera made many feel human beings again, not the flock of an supreme farmer.
Visitor
Sorry i dont watch this kind of videos. I would say that many of those scholars including the mufti in Syria are political choosen figures, their expertise lies mainly in wasta. Thats not new to islamic societies, but a pious muslim should always choose whom to follow. I knew sheiks in their 20s coming back from madinah or makkah university, and i have to admit they were totally brainwashed guys. Once i saw one sheikh in an west african country who screamed at an group of older men because they still prayed like Malikis do, he told them that this is wrong praying and all the prayers they have done so far in this style are not valid. See if a youngster after 4 years of wahabis style schooling is insulting older respected muslims, alot is going wrong nowadays. I must admit that i met the most interesting, selfquestioning ulemas in Iran.
June 13th, 2012, 1:43 am
Alan said:
رفعتم متطلباتكم على متطلبات وطنكم فبات وطنكم ينزف و اذا ماسقط ستسقط معه أجيالكم و كرامة و عزة أمتكم الى الهاوية ! اسألوا أهل فلسطين ! !الخاتم الذي فقدته ذات مساء أبحث عنه بعد طول عناء !
June 13th, 2012, 2:19 am
Syrialover said:
All this hysteria about the Qataris. A country of 300,000 going to declare war?
People here have blanked out the fact the Qataris offered something feasible, fair and solution-oriented when they offered the Assads sanctuary (as revealed in the leaked emails). In future, the Assads will probably regret missing the opportunity.
The Qataris are an interesting current phenomenon. They have the money, freedom and inclination to hand it around. And the Syrian opposition is wise to show them goodwill – they have infinitely more to potentially offer a recovering Syria than Iran.
Assad chose to let them stay out there to take sides. I’m glad he did!
June 13th, 2012, 3:44 am
Alan said:
224. SYRIALOVER
هل طلب السوريون شىء من قطر ؟ السوريون عزيزو نفس لم يطلبوا من أحد شىء ! فلتريحنا قطر من مبادراتها ! أهل مكة أدرى بشعابها
June 13th, 2012, 4:15 am
Syrialover said:
#225 Alan,
The Syrians could in the future be requesting and receiving investment and aid from Qatar instead of the evil, imperialist west. No?
Or should they just behave themselves and look for handouts from Iran, taking resources that instead should be spent on the Iranian people?
June 13th, 2012, 5:41 am
Syrialover said:
# 180. Karabennemsi
Cut to the point, no need to ramble around.
You are saying Assad and his team are special people, with a lot of value to the world, who have never done anything wrong and should NOT be criticized or insulted.
That’s all you are really saying.
So just say it.
June 13th, 2012, 5:53 am
Stick to the Truth said:
224. Syrialover
It’s the first time I hear that a drilling platform can declare a war.
June 13th, 2012, 5:57 am
Syrialover said:
# 204. Jad
That vivid description of actions you’ve given there would be instantly identified by 99% of readers as fitting the Assad regime and its thugs.
You can’t suddenly wipe a clean space around the regime, they will be sitting in the dirt of what they have done forever.
June 13th, 2012, 6:05 am
Alan said:
226. SYRIALOVER
Chinese outstripped Qatar for a year! last year offered 100 billion USD investment to Syria! Syrians economic people! don’t want to be to whom that should!
if the situation today gets healthy, for 1 year everything is normalized! and on new Syria will be attractive to all
June 13th, 2012, 6:17 am
Syrialover said:
# 228. Stick to the Truth said:
“It’s the first time I hear that a drilling platform can declare a war.”
I know, it’s amazing to imagine. But if you read some of the commentators above, the Qataris are plotting the wildest and most way-out savage, militaristic feats. Stuff that even Iran and Russia combined couldn’t hope to match.
But why not? After all, they did manage to change the balance of power in world media with al-Jazeera.
Not bad for people who are sitting around becoming the richest and fattest in the world per capita.
June 13th, 2012, 6:35 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Live cam in Homs. Looks and sounds like Beirut 1975
http://bambuser.com/v/2742221
.
June 13th, 2012, 6:40 am
Mina said:
Jürgen #222
Selective information such as the one given on al Jazeera cannot be called freedom of speech (and I see you prefer to ignore the Alarabiyya garbage, although they are used to report fabrications on anything almost everyday, even on trival “society” topics about Europe, a bit like “people” newspapers.
Don’t you remember during the Egyptian revolution that South Sudan, which had occupied the news with its road to independence, widely supported by AJA, simply disappeared from the news in one second (and was not heard of since)? Why don’t they report about demos in Khartum (including very recently, in the university). They are giving the biggest platform to the Egyptian MB to an extent that the Egyptians got really sick of al Jazeera and watch Egyptian channels now.
If you think a civil war in Syria will bring an intervention, why the same civil war in Iraq did not bring any effort to stop it?
What the west want is al Asad to do the dirty job with AQ and have a proper foot in the Palestinian refugee camps to move forward on the bantustan peace process. Full point.
Ever heard of the problems of Libya? Even with BHL’s movie now out in the cinemas “Le Serment de Tobrouk”, no French medias thought about showing the desacralization of the cemetary with these Salafis destroying Jewish and Christian tombs of WW2 near Benghazi… And the BBC, to report on the kidnapped ICC judge has this title today “ICC visits its detainee in Libya”: just obscure enough for no one who would not have followed the events of the few last days to understand.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18419756
And why AQ and its little “Afghanistan in the making” in northern Mali is a non-topic for these media outlet, Gulf and Western?
June 13th, 2012, 7:19 am
Mina said:
Zoo #211
When you read this “It backs up the grim theory that al-Qaeda is looking to expand into Syria, where it could launch attacks on Britain.” you feel indeed that there is a change of policy! they must have some new types of submarine scuds that can loop around the strait of Gibraltar.
But maybe the US simply want to annoy the Europeans with this topic. If the bad voters vote for criminal socialists leftists, they will be punished harshly. Let’s wait and see the result of the French and Greek elections on June 17th.
June 13th, 2012, 7:36 am
Dawoud said:
DARRYL (1400 years of colonization)
Too bad for you that 95% of Syrians are Muslims! 1400 years of Islamic civilizatio. Christian Syians are equal to Muslims. Iam only against Shi’a who support the dictator, like Nasrillat.
June 13th, 2012, 7:49 am
Dawoud said:
….or Beirut in 1982 when Israeli war machine was committing war crimes and coordinating with the Lebanese shabiha like the Lebanese Forces to commit Sabra & shatila massacres.
June 13th, 2012, 8:01 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Instead of attracting Syrians ,This (revolution ) is attracting Arab and forign fighters to come to Syria for (jihad against Shia ):
The foreign fighters in Syria reportedly include Arabs (Lebanese, Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Kuwaitis, Tunisians, Libyans, Algerians, Egyptians, Saudis, Sudanese, and Yemenis) as well as other Muslims, including South and Central Asians (Afghans, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis) and Westerners (Belgian, British, French, and American). The largest contingents — totaling approximately 500-900 fighters — seem to hail from Syria’s neighbors: namely Lebanese, Iraqis, Palestinians, and Jordanians, many of whom previously fought U.S. forces in Iraq. The second-largest contingent hails from North Africa: around 75-300 fighters from Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria.
According to media reports, the majority of these individuals arrived in Syria via Lebanon or Turkey. Smaller numbers have trekked through Iraq and Jordan.
Although some of the fighters lack prior training or battlefield experience, others have either participated in previous jihads or attended recent training camps. Some reports state that such camps have been set up in Lebanon and Libya. In Lebanon, jihadists appear to be using camps established in the northern Beqa Valley in 2008, following Hizballah’s takeover of Beirut. And in Libya, camps have reportedly been established in the desert near Hon and in the Green Mountain area in the east, serving North African and European fighters.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/foreign-fighters-trickle-into-the-syrian-rebellion
June 13th, 2012, 8:11 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Omen , Sheila
You are right it is GENOCIDE committed by the criminal Assad against Syrians,Assad and the regime is severely sectarian.
To have compromise with this Evil regime is to delay the solution and to prolong the fight, no one should compromise with criminals
The Will to fight for freedom ,the way to live in honor and dignity.
June 13th, 2012, 8:34 am
Uzair8 said:
More demonization of UN monitors? Press Tv:
Some UN monitors spying in Syria: Jordanian observer
Wed Jun 13, 2012
A Jordanian member of the UN observer team in Syria says some of his teammates are carrying out spy missions by collecting information about Syria’s military headquarters.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/13/245983/some-un-monitors-spying-in-syria/
June 13th, 2012, 8:48 am
Tara said:
Darryl
“DHH, I am not a bigot or sectarian as I am not the one who keeps rantin about Shias, Nasar-Alat, Alawites etc.”
My orange tree is alive and well. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I like reciprocity. You provide love and nurturing and you get sight and smell. I am also crazy about a willow tree we have planted in the front yard several years ago, but it has been tiring me lately…Willow trees, symbol of elegance and gracefulness do not reciprocate as well.
Reading your above statement, I just want to remind you that while others may have ranted about Shiaa, Alawis, etc .., almost every other post you have written was meant to make Islam sounds like an inferior religion. And all your facts are wrong. Just review your posts.
Darryl, hasn’t time yet to face the “bigotry’ in you? To differentiate between the very rare fanatics and the rest of the Muslims, and accept us for who we are?
Sorry for being blunt. I wouldn’t bother with real bigots. Something in me tells me you may not be one.
June 13th, 2012, 8:53 am
Dawoud said:
240. Tara
I agree with regarding Darryl (1400 years of colonization)!
I only complain about the Shi’a and wilyat al-faqih universe assisting in the Syrian repression.
239. Uzair8
Your post is a confirmation that Iran, through its Press TV propaganda machine, is defaming the revolution and assisting Bashar (War Criminal) al-Assad’s propaganda.
237. Syria no Kandahar
You can add to those the foreign fighters assisting the dictatorial bloody regime. These fighters come from Iran (al-Quds forces and Revolutionary Guards) and Russia (weapons and commando units protecting the murderous dictator). In addition, you can add to them Arab Shi’a jihadists/Shabiha from Lebanon’s Hizbistan and al-Sadr’s al-Mahdi Army.
Free Syria, Free Palestine! Salute to Syria’s 1400 years of civilization!
June 13th, 2012, 9:05 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Russia will benefit more if Russia force Assad to leave.
The Alawi has nothing to fear, only those who has blood on their hands will suffer,Justice must prevail, but the peaceful Alawi community will live in peace and will have equal rights,the revolution was not and still is not intended to be sectarian, the regime is the sectarian, The Alawis will benifit to help overthrow the criminal Tyrant Assad.
June 13th, 2012, 9:09 am
Tara said:
An interesting read.
The Syrian opposition is fighting the enemy within the mind of every citizen
…
The appointment comes after two important meetings, one of the SNC in Rome which decided on the restructuring and another in Bulgaria where the SNC met with several other opposition groups and managed to come up with a joint statement.
The Bulgaria meeting also discussed a roadmap to create a common vision and a plan for co-ordination between what is now recognised as a diverse collection of opposition groups with the aim of developing a mechanism to work together under the umbrella of the SNC while maintaining their autonomy. Another aim is to prepare for the transition after the fall of the regime.
What makes these plans more difficult is that the opposition is at the same time fighting a battle of ideas against the regime’s dominant Ba’athist ideology..,,These ideas are deeply ingrained in the minds of Syrians, including those of the opposition, …hammered in through the media, the educational system and other government institutions.
In addition, a complex web of informants, modelled on eastern European security services, created a lack of trust and a kind of thought police where citizens were expected to report on each other. Even Syrian expats and exiles, living as far away as Texas or Paris, never felt free of these ideas or far from the atmosphere of suspicion.
The SNC has had problems since its inception. It was created in the summer of 2011 initially from a coalition of the Damascus Declaration, the Muslim Brotherhood and several organisations that represent religious and ethnic groups like Kurds and Assyrians. To these were added delegates of local coordination committees who represent the protesters on the ground.
From its inception the SNC was heavily criticised for not being inclusive enough, for being created by Turkey and Qatar, for being unrepresentative of the forces inside the country and for being dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. It was also inevitably compared to the Libyan National Transitional Council and hence suspected of preparing the ground for a western military intervention or invasion of the country
Then other groups started springing up as alternatives to the SNC. The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change was formed in Damascus as several versions of old parties like the ancien regime National Bloc were also being created and other parties and movements emerged from the left, right and centre. Prominent members of the SNC broke away and formed their own parties, then rejoined.
Under pressure for inclusiveness the SNC expanded its membership from about 70 to over 300 until it became unmanageable, with meetings reminiscent of that last caricature-like scene in the film Lawrence of Arabia where the Arabs, instead of uniting, ended up bickering in parliament.
The opposition to the Syrian regime in fact represents every idea that was suppressed in Syria since the 1958 declaration of the United Arab Republic and unity with Egypt, and especially since the advent of the Ba’ath party in 1958. The Arab Socialist Ba’ath party incorporates elements of Arab nationalism calling for pan-Arab unity combined with anti-imperialism and socialism. The authoritarian or even totalitarian nature of the regime evolved from a slogan that no voice can emerge above the noise of the battle against Israel and imperialism. This was consolidated through several wars and battles, both internal and external.
The ideas represented by the opposition include various facets of the antithesis of Ba’ath party teachings. Where the dominant ideology was unity, the opposition has diversity; where it has secularism you have the Muslim Brotherhood and other religious parties; where it had Arab nationalism you have Kurds and ethnic groups; where there was a one-party state you now have a multiplicity of parties. What was a strong centralised state under the Ba’ath is now a debate about various forms of administrative and political decentralisation.
For decades contacts with foreign countries were totally forbidden whereas now there are competing regional and international influences and agendas reflected in different elements of the opposition. Tribes are re-emerging as a force to be reckoned with, so are traditional families, some with feudal background.
[…]
More…
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/szVGNdhIzb3eM-5By9cj0Cw/view.m?id=15&gid=commentisfree/2012/jun/12/syrian-opposition-enemy-within&cat=world
June 13th, 2012, 9:25 am
Uzair8 said:
For months I’ve wondered whether the regime may be printing currency. I know very little about economy and the effects of such a tactic and how long it would take for the effects to come to the surface. (?) For how long could a government get away with printing money? How much time could a government buy before negative effects become evident to the wider public and the rest of the world?
*********************************************************************
EXCLUSIVE: Syria prints new money as deficit grows – bankers
Wed Jun 13, 2012
(Reuters) – Syria has released new cash into circulation to finance its fiscal deficit, flirting with inflation after violence and sanctions wiped out revenues and led to a severe economic contraction, bankers in Damascus say.
Four Damascus-based bankers told Reuters that new banknotes printed in Russia were circulating in trial amounts in the capital and Aleppo, the first such step since a popular revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.
Read more:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/13/syria-economy-money-idINDEE85C08E20120613
June 13th, 2012, 9:36 am
mjabali said:
Majedkhaldoun:
What juice are you drinking in this morning dude? The Alawis are not comfortable with the opposition from day one. No attempts for a real partnership.
The Alawis are not comfortable with al-Assad but afraid to say or show it because the opposition so far are not giving them anything back but cutting heads, Ibn Taymiyah Brigade and few doses of al-3Ar3ur here and there.
al-Assad is sending the Alawis to their death to defend him and to kill Sunnis and increase the hate. Dude wake the hell up Syria needs a new path otherwise the sectarian killing is going to increase instead of decrease. Syria is witnessing now the worst scenario ever.
June 13th, 2012, 9:39 am
Karabennemsi said:
@ syrialover 227
“Cut to the point, no need to ramble around.”
My point is that I despise the act of copying Civil Rights Movement language in order to abuse its good connotation for legitimizing your violence-glorifying propaganda.
I have very little respect for you and your kind who publicly call for violating and killing innocents for revenge.
I have stated often enough that my opinion of Assad is not a good one and the fact that you and Dawoud constantly make counteraccusations instead of renouncing violence speaks for itself.
June 13th, 2012, 9:45 am
MICHEL said:
Anyone watched the disgusting channels Al-Manar and Al-Alam? Even I as a christian am starting to really have a big grudge against the shias. 95% of lebanese shias seem to be with hzbullat. They know exactly the true nature of this regime because of the 30 years occupation yet they are denying everything that the regime is accused of doing.
For sure, Nasrallat and Khamenei know exactly what the regime is doing, but they still support him. Furthermore, at this point it has gone too far and it cant only be blamed on hypocrisy. A person who really fears God, which is supposedly the case for clerics of their level, would not have gone this far only because of hypocrisy. Here are the choics we have:
1. They do not really believe in islam but use it solely as a tool (this is unlikely)
2. They practice a version of islam that do not consider sunnis as muslims, but rather as kuffar
3. What this iraqi shia cleric says is true about the wilayat-al-faqih regime and their followers, from 2:13 to the end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb3BcRh70oM
June 13th, 2012, 9:54 am
Alan said:
EXCLUSIVE: Syria prints new money as deficit grows – bankers
what’s the problem in that? It is an elementary step and competent! Today the U.S. dollar colored beautiful toilet paper is not backed by gold! Reuter with happyness to get it .
June 13th, 2012, 9:56 am
DAWOUD said:
245. MICHEL
Brother Michel:
There was a not so distant past when I defended Iran and Lebanon’s Shi’as, which prove that I am NOT sectarian. However, their sectarian mask has been uncovered because they have chosen to support Syria’s bloody dictator. Yes, Iran’s and Nasrillat’s media are the most outrageous in their defense of Bashar’s war crimes and their defamation of the courageous Syrian revolution.
June 13th, 2012, 10:09 am
Alan said:
dear moderator and all !
the long of comment # 241 is unacceptable isnt it ?
June 13th, 2012, 10:14 am
bronco said:
#241 Tara
“What the SNC hopes to achieve in the near future amounts to co-ordinating different ideas and battling a mentality that is deeply programmed in the minds of people.”
In view of what they have achieved in a year, the “near future” looks more like decades, if it gets out of its coma and survives till then.
They’ll have to fight first their own mentality colonized by their life in the West.
June 13th, 2012, 10:14 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Mjabali
Duse, I don’t drink Alcohol that you repeatedly said you drink and drink heavily, Alawi are under false and delusional indoctrination , and that what the criminal Assad has convinced them wrongly, This revolution is against Tyrany and for democracy, Alawi has to understand that as part of Syrian society they will be equal and well protedcted ,they have to think that if they go for civil war they will lose a lot, and if they think in a smart way they will be better for them to help overthrow Bashar.they must understand that this revolution will win, and it is wrong to fight on the wrong side, Fadwa Suliman realized this she prefer to live in peace with Sunni,than to die defending criminals.
June 13th, 2012, 10:16 am
DAWOUD said:
244. KARABENNEMSI
Your problems is that you think that you are the smartest intellectual pants here, which you aren’t! You tried to provide a logical analysis of my earlier comments, but you ended up missing my points and misinterpreting them! No intellectual component here.
Furthermore, you misinterpreted my example of Bill Clinton’s funny inhalation saying. It wasn’t about me accusing you of drug usage (which I didn’t and don’t care if you do or don’t). It was about showing the slickness of people who think that they are giving logical explanations when, in fact, they are being illogical and intellectually slick! Wasn’t it true that even some of Clinton’s supporters loved to call him: “Slick Willie?!”
June 13th, 2012, 10:17 am
Mina said:
Qatari paradise, soon in your neighborhood
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/hrw-migrant-workers-qatar-risk-forced-labor
June 13th, 2012, 10:19 am
DAWOUD said:
248. ALAN
Although I love TARA and agree with her intellectual intelligence, I agree with you that she posted a long article. I am not hypocritical and I disagree with long cut-and-paste comments, regardless of whether they come from my side or the other side!
June 13th, 2012, 10:22 am
Uzair8 said:
#243 Mjabali said:
“…the opposition so far are not giving them {Alawis} anything back…”
Sheikh Yaqoubi from the beginning has been reasonable and used the right language. He called for a civil state for people of all backgrounds and has called for building civilisation and justice.
If you respond with the Sheikh’s recent call to arms then I say the following: The Sheikh now is of the view that due to the regime massacres and brutal behaviour the harm in doing nothing is greater than the harm in taking up arms in defence.
I went to dig up the the quotes (I’ll look for them later) from the Sheikh but came across another media appearance from March 2012 which I had missed. An interesting listen as the Sheikh touches upon the sectarian dimension and also the Annan plan.
9 min long interview with radio RTE (Ireland). March 2012.
June 13th, 2012, 10:23 am
Tara said:
Dear Bronco
“the “near future” looks more like decades”
Do not worry Bronco, the near future will come soon enough. The regime’s turn will come…so much evil can never remain unchallenged.
June 13th, 2012, 10:24 am
Dawoud said:
253. DAWOUD
P.S., Alan
I wish that you will be like me not hypocritical and complain when long cut-and-paste articles are posted by Jad, Ann, and others from your pro-dictator side!
June 13th, 2012, 10:35 am
Tara said:
Moderator
Sorry for the long link. You can trim it down. I am in a vacation and wanted to misbehave a little…
And by the way, I stumbled upon Yasmeen walking around some alleys this morning. I was almost in tears..
June 13th, 2012, 10:38 am
Alan said:
249. BRONCO
the SNC is dolls for cartoon Tigers of Gulf states . course of further developments in the country is independent from them! they will be used as Libyans as cardboard representatives of the country if it would be necessary . متل حضرط لا بحل و لا بيربط !
السيادة ستكون للسيدة موزة
June 13th, 2012, 10:40 am
bronco said:
#231 Mina
Civil war is a definite NO for foreign intervention.
Changing a regime could be an easy task with foreign military help, provided the majority of the people want it.
Saying ‘there is a civil war’ is a way to admit that there is no consensus in Syria to change the regime. This is why the SC commenters keep denying it is a civil war.
Intervening in a civil war to prevent civilians from killing each other is a daunting task and contrary to a ‘regime change’ war, it requires lots of boots on the ground and a huge military investment.
These days, no country is ready to send troops and endure many years of fighting. Most countries are withdrawing their troops from Afghanistan.
The ‘drone’ and ‘airforce’ war cannot stop massacres perpetrated by civilians. In addition destroying the security forces and the army will allow more massacres to happen.
Therefore, the Western countries and their arab rich allies countries are facing a double problem: A civil war and Al Qaeeda in Syria.
If the West destroys or weaken the Syrian army, Al Qaeeda may take over Syria and threaten directly Israel. Then as in Yemen, the US will need to be involved to chase AlQaeeda but this time they won’t get the help of the unexisting Syrian army.
With the inability to send enough troops to pacify the country, either the West needs to find and seriously push for a political-only solution to the crisis, or they will have more sectarian massacres and Al Qaeeda at the door of Israel and the ‘moderate’ Jordan and Lebanon.
The moment of truth is now.
June 13th, 2012, 10:42 am
Son of Damascus said:
So reading the comments from some of the “don’t call me a regime supporter” Supporters, one would think that the world is living in black and white, while they are living in technicolor, damning the “bloody revo” and their supporters.
Very damning words indeed, because the “bloody revo” has killed over 15,000 Syrians, jailed over 200,000, tortured god knows how many people.
It was the revolutionists that used children as body armour, and it was revolutionists that sent in Shabeha dogs to butcher innocent people. It is the revolutionists that keep bombarding Syrian cities with artillery, mortars, tanks, missiles, and using helicopters to strafe Syrians. Every report from EVERY human rights organization points the finger at the government, yet the revolutionists are the bloody ones.
It is really pathetic to read such simplistic narratives, deriding every news sources that does not fall “in-line” with their backwardness, and proclaiming to the heavens “finally!” when one news source alludes or mentions their mindless drivel, yet when those very same news sources point out the regime heinous crimes they conveniently look the other way. Believing in every word that the callous government news agencies put out, as proof of the cosmic conspiracy.
It is the same people that keep calling for dialogue yet in the same breath calling for the noble Syrian army to finish the job and finally purge Syria of these 3ar3ouri’s Bandarists as if they are not Syrian and they are worthy of being purged.
These same people that keep calling the opposition sectarian but every other post they go into their usual self-righteous tirades about how the opposition are Salafi, AlQaeda, GCC Bedouins, and MB which is nothing more than a cheap veil and facade to cover their ugly hatred and mistrust of their fellow Syrians.
June 13th, 2012, 10:43 am
Dawoud said:
260. SON OF DAMASCUS
You say:
“These same people that keep calling the opposition sectarian but every other post they go into their usual self-righteous tirades about how the opposition are Salafi, AlQaeda, GCC Bedouins, and MB which is nothing more than a cheap veil and facade to cover their ugly hatred and mistrust of their fellow Syrians.”
Yes, the pro-dictator commentators here veil their SECTARIAN anti-Sunni hatred with the labels and code words that you mention! Add to them Darryl’s “1400 years of colonization” bigoted complaint.
June 13th, 2012, 10:50 am
bronco said:
#255 Tara
“Do not worry Bronco, the near future will come soon enough.”
Which future? The one the SNC is working on to change the mentality of the Syrians ( and the Arabs), a mentality well entrenched in their DNA for generations.
Unless the SNC with their new ‘charismatic’ leader recruits very good psychologists and psychics, the “near future” seem more that a very far hypothetical fantasy.
June 13th, 2012, 10:51 am
Karabennemsi said:
Dawoud
I have not tried to analyse your comments, i tried to provoke you to say that you don’t support violence against innocents. If you go further back to my first respond to you, you will see that this was my angle all along.
You, however, were not willing to speak out against violence on innocents civilians.
Instead you brought the Clinton example, and went on about intellectuality and “slick willie”.
I may not be the “smartest intellectual pants” but i certainly would never call someone my brother who advocates the slaughter of civilians.
Thats the difference between you and me. And that is my problem with you
June 13th, 2012, 11:02 am
DAWOUD said:
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/13/220434.html
طلاب جامعة كولومبيا يرفضون قبول شهرزاد الجعفري
اعترضوا على إدراجها في برنامج دراسي بوساطة الإعلامية بربرا والترز
الأربعاء 23 رجب 1433هـ – 13 يونيو 2012م
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/shame_on_fury_at_baba_aid_5ILnVwbAPFLFkZ9JDZ1DAK?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Local
Columbia told: Boot Bashar babe
By CHUCK BENNETT
Last Updated: 9:26 AM, June 12, 2012
Posted: 12:38 AM, June 12, 2012
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/shame_on_fury_at_baba_aid_5ILnVwbAPFLFkZ9JDZ1DAK#ixzz1xga8VNiB
June 13th, 2012, 11:02 am
Mina said:
Ennahda in Tunis calls people to come out and defend the buildings and to protest against the Salafists, who have also announced a demonstration of force for Friday. The president Ghannouchi calls the Salafists “the counter-revolution”.
Revolution Phase 2? I can’t wait for “freedom of speech” aljazeera to ask Qardawi what is his take on that.
http://www.lemonde.fr/tunisie/article/2012/06/13/le-chef-du-parti-ennahda-appelle-les-tunisiens-a-descendre-dans-la-rue_1717861_1466522.html
June 13th, 2012, 11:09 am
DAWOUD said:
263. KARABENNEMSI
See, you have no logical understanding. I have always rejected any kind of violence against innocents. My main reason for opposing Bashar’s regime is that it has been a bloody murderous dictatorship that has killed thousands and thousands of innocents. My resentment of well-known shi’a leaders is NOT that they are Shi’as, but rather because they have supported a murderous dictator and defamed Syria’s innocent victims. I have never called anybody “brother” if I know that they advocate killing innocents, regardless of their sect/religion/nationality/sexual orientation/etc.
As I think that your intellectual interpretations are lacking, I would not take your words as facts when you claim somebody is advocating violence.
Read on…
June 13th, 2012, 11:09 am
Tara said:
Bronco
The problem is that you see Arab nationalism and anti imperialism to be the other face of this brutal dictatorship and you also see conspiracy and total dependen on foreign forces to be the other face of the revolution. An incorrect perception.
Was Iraq’s Maliki the other face of the American occupation? Or a phenotype of the mentality entrenched in his DNA?
The simple truth is that we want freedom and dignity and we are not part of any global conspiracy.
June 13th, 2012, 11:15 am
zoo said:
Stay Out of the Syrian Morass
Intervention is counter to Western interests.
June 13, 2012 12:00 A.M.
By Daniel Pipes
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302594/stay-out-syrian-morass-daniel-pipes#
As the Syrian government makes increasingly desperate and vicious efforts to keep power, pleas for military intervention, more or less on the Libyan model, have become more insistent. This course is morally attractive, to be sure. But should Western states follow this counsel? I believe not.
Those calls to action fall into three main categories: a Sunni Muslim concern for co-religionists, a universal humanitarian concern to stop torture and murder, and a geopolitical worry about the impact of the ongoing conflict. The first two motives can be fairly easily dispatched. If Sunni governments — notably those of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar — choose to intervene on behalf of fellow Sunnis against Alawis, that is their prerogative, but Western states have no dog in this fight.
Generalized humanitarian concerns face problems of veracity, feasibility, and consequence. Anti-regime insurgents, who are gaining on the battlefield, appear responsible for at least some atrocities. Western electorates may not accept the cost in blood and treasure required for humanitarian intervention. It must succeed quickly, say within a year. The successor government may (as in the Libyan case) turn out even worse than the existing totalitarianism. Together, these factors argue compellingly against humanitarian intervention.
more…
June 13th, 2012, 11:20 am
bronco said:
#267 Tara
Your naive simplification is the incorrect perception.
Human ideals have always been manipulated to hide the greed and the quest for hegemonic power. What do you think the hundred thousands employees of the Pentagon, the CIA and the Mossad are doing all day long, reading Rousseau and Tocqueville?
They are “simply” plotting to allow the USA or Israel to protect their economical assets (oil..), the security of the US citizens and their ally, and to get what they want: more power.
The realization of the idealistic aspirations of the Syrian people is the least of concerns. Yet through their media, they manage to project the image of “justice” and ‘respect’ as they know very well that there is a large number of naive people who would take their word blindly.
June 13th, 2012, 11:40 am
Jad said:
Telling the truth hurts isn’t it!
The positive outcome of it is that someone finally decided to come out of the closet and call Alqaeda, Salafis and every radical lunatic killer his ‘fellow’ Syrian including the Taleban of Afghanistan and Pakistan and every non-Syrian terrorist who is killing the other fellow Syrians, what a brave and colorful person.
Let the rant and the cries that he was unfairly replied to begen 🙂
June 13th, 2012, 11:42 am
Son of Damascus said:
“The positive outcome of it is that someone finally decided to come out of the closet and call Alqaeda, Salafis and every radical lunatic killer his ‘fellow’ Syrian including the Taleban of Afghanistan and Pakistan and every non-Syrian terrorist who is killing the other fellow Syrians, what a brave and colorful person.”
Is this a joke, I use the TREMS that simpletons use to call us, and that somehow makes me “coming out of the closet” as an 3ar3ouri foreign terrorists?
What is really sad that this person keep proclaiming that they are for Syria, when they are for nothing but ASSAD, happily copying the propaganda that this callous regime is trying to force feed us, and whats worse he BELIEVES it. How so very sad!!!
Not once did I not call anyone a terrorist, or deride anyone based on their sect, faith, or origin. Yet this “dialogue master” takes it upon himself to call everyone that does not agree with his rather callous look at life, a terrorist and then calls out for dialogue.
Oh before I forget since someone here seems to be the newscaster that was hit in the face by a slipper in Halab not long ago, other sons and daughters of Damascus have an important message for him:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/7154749679/in/set-72157629992258299
June 13th, 2012, 11:51 am
jad said:
‘to call ‘us’?’
(Someone is thinking that he represent everybody, how humble)
I didn’t know that you are an Alqaeda fighter or a Salafi or a Taliban radical ‘jihadis’ who is killing Syrians in the streets.
Are you?
If not then all what I write is not in reference to ‘you’, so drop this useless ranting and attacks and find someone else to bother.
You are not a ‘terrorist’ so get over it and stop confusing yourself being ‘the radical’ whenever anybody writes about those.
Enjoy:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/165480_267433173363694_468202789_n.jpg
June 13th, 2012, 12:01 pm
jad said:
Questioning the UN’s child torture charges against the Syrian regime
Like NATO and the GCC countries, the UN (and I don’t just mean the Security Council here) is increasingly becoming a party to this conflict and an instrument of military intervention in Syria. Along with mainstream media, the UN’s human rights bodies, and “international” (i.e. western multinational) human rights organizations, are providing the requires “humanitarian” cover for further militarization of the Syrian crisis—whether that means a NATO invasion or increased military assistance to the rebels—and hence, a cover for a far graver humanitarian catastrophe.
The latest episode of this information warfare campaign is the UN’s Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict which charges the Syrian regime with the most unthinkable crimes against children. Although the report was published before the Houla massacre, the timing of its release will undoubtedly score a major PR victory for the foreign and domestic enemies of the Syrian regime, and further facilitate the interventionists’ agenda.
There is no doubt that the regime is a repressive one and there have been isolated and confirmed instances of torture, most notably the case of the now sacked Governor of Deraa who was responsible for torturing of children writing anti-regime graffiti . But in and of itself, such a heinous crime does not render all unsubstantiated charges of child torture as fact, least of all when a UN body linked to the Security Council is making the charges and doing so based on the flimsiest of evidence.
Indeed, these latest accusations are far-fetched to the point of absurd, and one step away from a baby-incubator narrative a la the “Nayirah Testimony” hoax. The report itself acknowledges that this is the first time Syria has been included in the “shame list.” Yet the Syrian regime seems to have made the leap from first-time offender to worst offender in one go. As described by the UN special representative for children and armed conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy:
“I have never seen such terrible action against children. We have cases of children really being – things that usually do not happen in conflict areas, where children get killed in the crossfire, but actually torturing children or putting children on tanks and using them as shields. Or summarily executing children. These are things that normally don’t happen in warfare.”
Exactly, these are things which don’t normally happen in warfare because they don’t really need to happen. The full report itself acknowledges that the FSA and other opposition groups are also guilty of committing human rights violations against children, including recruiting child soldiers. This begs the question of why the Syrian Army would use children as human shields when the rebels clearly place no sanctity on children’s lives. An accusation of this kind presupposes that groups which themselves abuse children—presumably the children of their supporters—will somehow be neutralized upon seeing the Syrian army use those same children.
{…}
http://resistance-episteme.tumblr.com/post/25017006444/questioning-the-uns-child-torture-charges-against-the
June 13th, 2012, 12:07 pm
NK said:
Son of Damascus
I know you didn’t expect any better from a person who champions the likes of Bassam AL Kadi who openly calls for assassinating others and shamelessly says he’ll dance in their funerals but at the same time, somehow, still proclaims to be a Human rights activist! When someone has that for an idol the racial slurs and masked sectarianism evident in almost all his comments while he lashes out on others doesn’t really come out as a big surprise.
June 13th, 2012, 12:13 pm
jad said:
Senator John McCain: The Old Man and the War
U.S. Senator John McCain has confirmed that there are supplies of arms and also the financing of the Syrian armed rebel forces by the Gulf monarchies, especially by the Saudis.
Despite the fact, that the rebel groups have denied it always until now, the news of McCain sets a final point here behind this open secret. There are a massive weapons and cash flow to the combat units of the Syrian “opposition”.
Thus, the recently observed increased activity of foreigners in the ranks of the bandits is also explained by this fact. They are simply paid for this fight. It is said that they receive about 50-100 U.S. dollars per month – this is reported by vesti.ru, citing the “Washington Post”.
This is certainly not a Blackwater-Payment, but the quota that is being fobbed off with these kopecks, are – to say the least – just “consumables”. There are plenty of starvelings and bandits in the region, and that allows the sponsor to put them in any proportion with every killed Syrian soldiers. If more are needed, it is easy to find other masses, in any state that has its “Arab Spring” already suffered.
Just a note: Perhaps an indication of why some politicians in the region are so massive against the unconditional basic income. In Iran, for example, such an unconditional basic income paid is paid since December 2010 – a little which is ridiculous, but this interrupts the poor population stratum quite effectively from the recruitment by the coordinators of various “revolutions” from the region.
The old senator McCain is now quite good at it to “leak” more or less unfiltered information to the public, although he sometimes puts the “big boys” into unpleasant situations by this manner.
{…}
http://www.syrianews.cc/syria-war-of-information-senator-mccain-partly-useful-791.html
June 13th, 2012, 12:14 pm
jad said:
The use of children by the armed militias:
بـ الادلة القاطعة هكذا يستغل الاطفال من قبل مسلحو مايسمى بـ الجيش الحر
http://youtu.be/4f6BnIrNjFk
June 13th, 2012, 12:25 pm
jad said:
George Sabra, Haytham Manna and Khaled Alaboud
فيديو: مواجهة “ساخنة” بين جورج صبرا وهيثم مناع وخالد العبود
في حلقة حوارية على قناة “الميادين”، حصل جدال سياسي ساخن حول نظام الحكم والمعارضة ومستقبل سوريا، وتسليح المعارضة، ودخول مقاتلين أجانب إلى سوريا. المتحدثون في الحلقة: جورج صبرا من المجلس الوطني، هيثم مناع من هيئة التنسيق، وخالد العبود عضو مجلس الشعب السوري.
فيديو الحلقة
http://syria-politic.com/ar/Default.aspx?subject=749#.T9i_oRe0xyJ
June 13th, 2012, 12:29 pm
Mina said:
Finally some good news, but reported only in the Swedish media:
“Abdulbaset Sieda really hope that President Bashar al-Assad to take to their senses and accept the true democratization, so that Syria do not have the inner conflicts and religious conflicts that could otherwise easily flare up.(…) Ideally, he says, of Syria’s fragmented dissident movement could agree on a number of representatives to reach a compromise with the regime, and then jointly ruled the country towards a safer harbor.”
http://www.unt.se/ledare/tystnad-dodar-demokraterna-1337997.aspx
June 13th, 2012, 12:34 pm
jna said:
Atrocities Committed Against Christians By Syrian Opposition Rebels
[…]
“The armed opposition, in fact, as confirmed by numerous observers in Syria and abroad, is gradually radicalizing towards Sunni extremist ideology. There are numerous gangs and military groups that operate in a totally independent manner, outside the coordination of the Syrian Liberation Army. The ultimatum launched by the faction of Abdel Salam Harba, for example, was not ratified by other groups: in a statement sent to Fides, the coordination of the same Syrian Liberation Army, stationed at Qusayr, says it is “shocked by the news” and rejects the ultimatum, saying that it is not responsible and does not share it in any way. Two Catholic priests who fled in recent days from Qusayr, reached by Fides, confirm, however, that they heard “with their ears” of the ultimatum, repeated from the minarets of mosques, and left the city with many refugee families.” […]
http://www.aina.org/news/20120613084841.htm
June 13th, 2012, 12:46 pm
bronco said:
278. Mina
That’s an incredible SNC breakthrough: a compromise
This is why Ghaliun was kicked out. By repeatedly refusing the dialog, he has burnt himself and brought the SNC to a dead end.
The SNC is in a bad need of a new approach to survive.
It is realizing that the help to change the regime will not come anytime soon and in the meantime, Syria if falling into a bloody chaos where brothers are killing brothers.
If the SNC keeps waiting that western countries make up their mind, massacres will continue, Al qaeeda will get closer to the Israeli border and there will be nothing left of the country.
I hope the SNC will agree officially with all 6 points of Annan plan and start to prepare for the dialog with the regime under the UN and Russian umbrella.
June 13th, 2012, 12:51 pm
Hans said:
Thanks to Jad for all the news you post here, it exposes what is going in Syria and the criminal supported by bloody filthy countries of the GCC and the west.
Most recent poll shows that Mr. O being not favorite between the Arabs in opposite to when he was elected.
I always have been saying that the american drones is going to be hovering all over the Arabs countries hunting the people its supporting to get to power at the current time.
yes it is a theory of bring the Alqaida to the Arabs countries and kill them in their own homes.
seems brilliant to me.
The foreign fighters ( including the terrorists palistiniens from within syria) who are killing the Syrians are the work of the conspiracy against the civilized Syria.
Many Syrians ( including Sunni) don’t want the MB ( SNC) to rule syria and obviously the SNC is shoved in the mouth of the Syrians, it is only time before the Syrians vomit it out.
Syrian people should get armed and start defending themselves against this terrorists that’s the only way we can have Syria back, then we can deal with the residual regime.
June 13th, 2012, 1:11 pm
Badr said:
Can you accuse this reporter of being biased?
Syria’s ‘intractable’ conflict
Paul Danahar, BBC
June 13th, 2012, 1:19 pm
Osama said:
242. UZAIR8
You make a good point about the money, but I think you’ve missed the point.
Historically, one of the classic CIA strategies in undermining enemy states has been to print vast sums of counterfeit money… To drive inflation and destroy the value of the currency and eventually to create discontent.
The reason that they are printing new notes is not to create more money supply, but instead the opposite, to combat counterfeit money, and control money supply.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the Russians who came up with idea.
The USD is only currency in the world which can be printed without much fear of creating inflation, the reason being that it is the worlds reserve currency. We all should know and understand the primary source of dollar demand are non-US exporters and foreign governments needing foreign exchange to support domestic employment and keep local factories and businesses busy. Every time you want to export or import anything you need dollars.
So, the rest of the world ends up needing dollars and holding dollars for one reason or another. We , the rest of the world, end up with two options: buy US bonds (or other securities), or buy US non-financial assets (direct investment, real estate, or export goods). As the world economy grows, demand for the dollar grows, independent of what is happening in the US economy.
You end up with nations holding huge sums of dollars, and this gets poured back into the US economy looking for investment opportunities – like sub prime mortgages…. I could go on, but I think this is not economics forum 🙂
June 13th, 2012, 1:50 pm
Juergen said:
NK
Its sad to read almost the stand of the regime in his writings lately, i wish i could see him for a longer talk, I can not understand his moves at this moment. I assume there is freedom to choose the wrong agenda.
Der Spiegel international on the role of Iran and the possibilities that Iran will turn against Assad
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/experts-see-chance-iran-will-distance-itself-from-assad-regime-in-syria-a-838682.html
June 13th, 2012, 2:07 pm
zoo said:
Kurds refugees fleeing to Iraq
Number of Syrians fleeing to northern Iraq growing
Published June 12, 2012
Associated Press
BAGHDAD – An aid agency says more than 5,000 Syrian refugees fleeing a bloody government crackdown have now crossed into northern Iraq and their numbers are growing. Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region is seeking help in coping with them.
The International Organization for Migration said Tuesday that most refugees are ethnic Kurdish Sunni Muslims, some paying around $300 to be smuggled into Iraq by car or by foot.
It said a refugee camp has grown to 3,500 in the past month and local officials have sought help with sanitation and supplies. About 800 more are staying in mosques.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/06/12/number-syrians-fleeing-to-northern-iraq-growing/#ixzz1xhKGJCOh
June 13th, 2012, 2:10 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Mina
Before anyone get itchy,would you give us the link,with previous arabic and english laguage difficulties, ,with it there may be problem understanding.
watching Jad video,one can only conclude that George Sabra is fit to be the president of SNC and show that Haytham Manna3,has no rational in his thinking
June 13th, 2012, 2:17 pm
Juergen said:
I think that Assad is desperatly trying at this stage to regain control over rebel controlled areas, whereas the rebels made gains on the ground, they have no means to get control over the airspace yet. Assad seems to try to use this advantage even though the world is watching him closely. ( the UN observers reported already on witnessed attacks by russian made helicopters)
Der Spiegel on the usage of helicopters by the syrian army
http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Fpolitik%2Fausland%2Fsyrien-assad-regime-weitet-einsatz-von-kampfhubschraubern-massiv-aus-a-838568.html
a very good report on the life in Midan
an other Nadja Bitar piece published in DER SPIEGEL today:
“The family is as divided as the country
In the evening, Nabila has filled the living room. Your parents are there – they live just a few meters – and her 21-year-old brother, who still lives with them. The rest of the family since the beginning of the riots had moved abroad: the big sister to the in-laws in Jordan, the oldest brother in Lebanon. Who could have, Syria since left.
A debate is developing. “It is the sniper of the regime, the shooting at the people on the street,” says Nabila brother. “Even some of the activists to shoot,” contradicts Nabila. It was the beginning of the insurgency and now wants to take no side in a party to what the 21 year old makes it a reproach. The family is as divided as the country.
On television, run the news on al-Jazeera. The station is named for its coverage in favor of the rebels in the meantime the “revolution” item. There are pictures of the massacre of hula show, murdered children in pools of blood. All cluck of the tongue: “T, t, t, t, t ‘is intended to mean was: incredibly prohibited.
Nabila’s brother is back as the first language. “The Alawites know no God. They are like animals,” he says of the ruling religious minority, the ruler Bashar al-Assad belongs. “Not all Alawites are so”, he contradicts the father. The brother accusing the TV shows.”
http://translate.google.de/translate?hl=de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Fpolitik%2Fausland%2Fsyrien-aufstand-im-stadtteil-midan-in-damaskus-a-837286.html
June 13th, 2012, 2:20 pm
zoo said:
“Like most of you, I imagine, I rejoiced at the downfall of Gaddafi and the blooming of the Arab Spring, and couldn’t understand why we were standing by while Assad brutalised his people.
But in the cold light of dawn, reality is messier, and now there is a suspicion that our sympathies for the downtrodden were hi-jacked by new oppressors, whom our own U.S.-UK ruling regime hopes will be more useful in their great game.”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2157318/Syrias-dead-victims-new-Cold-War.html#ixzz1xhO9CLiw
Syria’s dead are victims of the new Cold War
By Peter McKay
PUBLISHED: 22:07 GMT, 10 June 2012
There can’t be any doubt that Syria’s ruler, Bashar Assad, is repressing bloodily those who oppose his rule; but is it black and white, good versus bad — or bad versus just as bad, with innocent victims caught in the crossfire?
Channel 4’s chief correspondent, Alex Thomson, says Syrian rebels tried to have him and his team killed by Assad forces by leading them into a firefight.
‘Dead journos are bad for Damascus,’ he explains, a reference to Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times who was killed in a Syrian forces bombardment. Was she, too, set up by the ‘Free Syria’ forces?
Bloody: There can be no doubt that Syrian President Bashar Assad is repressing those who oppose his rule
Bloody: There can be no doubt that Syrian President Bashar Assad is repressing those who oppose his rule
Now a group of Western women in Damascus has contacted the Mail on Sunday to say rebels ‘fire upon the army with the sole purpose of inciting riot and mayhem’.
They mention a ‘peaceful’ march in which a rebel pulled out a gun and shot dead an unarmed policeman. The following riot was reported as a police attack on peaceful protesters, they say.
True or false? I have no means of telling. The old cliché is that truth is the first casualty in war. We still argue about why the two world wars were fought — even though it’s the centenary of the first one in 2014.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2157318/Syrias-dead-victims-new-Cold-War.html#ixzz1xhNl0KtQ
June 13th, 2012, 2:21 pm
irritated said:
#290 Juergen
Rather..
I think that the rebels are desperatly trying at this stage to regain control after their numerous ‘tactical ‘ retreats.
The Syrian army composed of Sunnis, Alawites, Kurds and Christians and others are showing an admirable example of unity, resilience and strength, that should serve as a example to all Syrians fighting against others or cowardly calling for foreign intervention instead of uniting.
June 13th, 2012, 2:27 pm
zoo said:
Syrian troops regain control of northern town, dislodging rebels
2012-06-13
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/13/c_131650963.htm
DAMASCUS, June 13 (Xinhua) — Syrian troops have succeeded in dislodging armed groups from the mountainous town of Haffeh near the coastal city of Latakia after a week of intense fighting, state-run SANA news agency reported Wednesday.
Syrian authorities have restored peace and tranquility to al- Haffeh, said SANA, adding that those armed groups had carried out acts of arson and sabotage to public and private properties as well as terrorizing local residents there.
An official source in the province of Latakia was quoted by SANA as saying that government troops have tracked down terrorists in that area, killing and capturing a number of them.
Large amount of weaponries was also confiscated during the clashes, said the report, adding that the clashes have also claimed lives of unspecified number of government troops.
Meanwhile, a foreign ministry source called Wednesday on the UN observers to go to al-Haffeh to verify what has been going on in that area, “after the armed groups carried out killing, burgling, and burning.”
…
UNSMIS calls on the parties to grant UN observers immediate and unfettered access to conflict zones.
Also on Tuesday, the rebel Free Syrian Army reportedly announced its pull back from Haffeh after a week-long fighting. The rebels’ fighting in Haffeh came apparently in a bid to have a foothold in a certain area.
The armed rebels have so far failed to make territorial gains like the one happened in Libya last year, however the rebels have to some extent succeeded in initiating some skirmishes around the capital Damascus recently.
more…
June 13th, 2012, 2:32 pm
Juergen said:
Just read an funny article on the mnhbaks favorite Voltaire network.
According to the network NATO is preparing for an disinformation campaign starting on june 15 in which the state tv and a number of pro Assad tv and radio stations will be hijacked and the informations which NATO approved will be aired instead of the regular programme.
“In a few days, perhaps as early as Friday, June 15, at noon, the Syrians wanting to watch their national TV stations will see them replaced on their screens by TV programs created by the CIA. Studio-shot images will show massacres that are blamed on the Syrian Government, people demonstrating, ministers and generals resigning from their posts, President Al-Assad fleeing, the rebels gathering in the big city centers, and a new government installing itself in the presidential palace.”
http://www.voltairenet.org/NATO-preparing-vast-disinformation
June 13th, 2012, 2:36 pm
zoo said:
Are Qatar’s and KSA’s arms twistable?
Annan calls for gov’ts to “twist arms” over Syria
2012-06-13
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/13/c_131648505.htm
GENEVA, June 12 (Xinhua) — The UN-Arab League joint envoy to Syria Kofi Annan has invited governments with influence to “twist arms” to implement the six-point plan in order to stop the escalating violence, his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said on Tuesday.
“It is totally unacceptable and it must stop. And that is why Annan has invited governments with influence to raise the bar to another level, to the highest level possible, and twist arms if necessary to get the parties to implement the plan,” Fawzi told reporters.
He said that he hoped the contact group meeting, called by Russia, “will take place soon.”
…
” we count on these member states with influence on the parties – during this meeting, and as a result of this meeting – to put irrevocable pressure on the parties to implement the plan and stop the killing and begin a political transition,” he added.
The Syrian army on Monday regained control of the rebel-held areas in Homs, a central province which has emerged as a major battleground between Syrian government forces and armed rebels in recent months.
June 13th, 2012, 2:36 pm
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Dawoud,
I don’t believe that you make me defend Jad.
Your attitude stink. As a new comer, you should respect those who cared about Syria, long before you “discovered” this Issue. And your Sunni supremacy sucks. We saw your Sunni brothers, and the atrocities they committed in Iraq today. Cut the bulling of members, much senior than you. I recommend some Sunni soul-searching, in the light of today’s events. It would be nice if you would have exercised some humbleness.
.
June 13th, 2012, 2:43 pm
irritated said:
Jurgen #295
Nothing funny about that.
The CIA is just trying to replay the same scenario of the fake fall of Tripoli.
NTC Admits That the Fall of Tripoli Video Was A Fake?
M Abdeljalil admits that they NTC lied and with the support of international media CNN, Al jazeera, Al Arabya, etc with the aim acquiring more support from other countries
Did NATO and the NTC used fake video to manipulate public opinion
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28980.htmabout The fall of Tripoli?
June 13th, 2012, 2:44 pm
Juergen said:
Pater Paolo has left Syria according to Ugarit News
أعلن الأب اليسوعي الإيطالي باولو دالوليو، الذي يعمل منذ ثلاثين عامًا من أجل الحوار بين المسيحيين والمسلمين، أنّه سيغادر سوريا “بناءً على طلب الكنيسة والسلطات” السوريّة. وأوضح في حديث لوكالة “فرانس برس” أنّ دير مار موسى الحبشي للسريان الكاثوليك الذي كان يتواجد فيه سيبقى مفتوحًا.
وتجدر الإشارة إلى أنّ الكاهن اليسوعي وجّه “رسالة مفتوحة” في أيار الماضي إلى الموفد الدولي والعربي كوفي أنان أمل فيها بحصول “تغيير ديموقراطي حقيقي” و”تغيير في بنيّة السلطة” في دمشق، إضافة إلى إرسال عدد كبير من الجنود الدوليين لحماية المدنيين.
ونقلت الوكالة عن مقربين من الكاهن اليسوعي إشارتهم إلى أنّ السلطات السوريّة ضاقت ذرعًا بهذه الرسالة وقررت طرد دالوليو.
Irritated
well its quite an endeavour to find “quality journalists” like Al Dunya and state tv to let the folks believe they watch the actual programme.
June 13th, 2012, 2:44 pm
Dawoud said:
# 298.
Colonial occupation stinks!
Building colonies and settlements on Palestinians’ stolen land stinks, and is IMMORAL!
Free Syria, Free Palestine! Salute to Syrians’/Palestinians’ “stones vs. firearms” resistance!
June 13th, 2012, 2:45 pm
irritated said:
#297 Dawood
Sulking about “cut and paste” and complaining endlessly about posts that are too lengthy for your concentration abilities will certainly contribute to liberate Palestine.
June 13th, 2012, 2:48 pm
irritated said:
#300 Juergen
“Pater Paolo has left Syria”
Didn’t you announce a few months ago that he left, “kicked out by the regime”?
June 13th, 2012, 2:51 pm
Uzair8 said:
284. Osama
Thank, I appreciate the response and duly gave a thumbs up.
June 13th, 2012, 2:55 pm
Tara said:
Bronco
Tara the naive?
Tara the petite Burgoise? Tara with a burqa? Tara the traitor? Tara the Zionist? Tara the MB? Tara the terrorist? Tara the salafist? Tara the fake moderate muslim? Tara the stupid? Tara the Gay girl in Damascus? Tara the American man? Tara the teenager? Tara the old granny? Tara Ibn Jasim? Tara with Aroor?
What is left? Tara the ugly?
In any case, You did come to my mind smelling Yasmeen today.
June 13th, 2012, 2:57 pm
Syrialover said:
244. # Karabennemsi
“I have very little respect for you and your kind who publicly call for violating and killing innocents for revenge”
Have I? Where?
Unless you have the thought somewhere in your head that the Assad gang are innocents.
But I am VERY glad to see you say that your opinion of Assad is not a good one.
Incidentally, I have often voiced my sympathy and distress at the fate of soldiers caught up in Assad’s armed forces.
And I see ALL Syrians as victims except those who were previously living by violence and corruption.
June 13th, 2012, 3:04 pm
Uzair8 said:
Syrian movement unites against Assad’s regime
Tue 12 Jun 2012
by Simon Assaf
The revolution in Syria is entering a critical phase marked by mutinies, strikes and a growing insurgency—as well as renewed attempts by the West and other outside forces to intervene.
[…]
Meanwhile the pro-intervention sentiments inside the revolution have faded. There is growing faith that the regime can be defeated at the hands of Syrians themselves.
[…]
The regime’s position in Homs received a major blow last week with the defection of an elite missile defence base.
[…]
Meanwhile revolutionaries are swelling the ranks of the armed rebels, bringing with them the anti-sectarian politics that lie at the heart of the popular movement.
Read more:
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=28755
June 13th, 2012, 3:15 pm
Mina said:
Anwar
Continue like that (I quote you: “I can attest to that. The more I come in contact with the rich alawites families here the more I realize what they all share in common. A deep seeded love for material objects/ money and a disturbing lack of humanity.”) and you will sound like the Nazis talking about the Jews during the 30’s and 40’s…
Is that what Christianity and Islam are teaching?
And the guy got 3 green thumbs. Pathetic.
June 13th, 2012, 3:20 pm
Uzair8 said:
Strikes in Lebanon undermine sectarianism
Tue 5 Jun 2012
by Simon Assaf
[Selected quote]
Yet attempts to label this as a purely sectarian division are over-simplistic. There is significant support for the Syrian opposition among Lebanon’s Shia Muslims, alongside growing unease inside the pro-western parties on the direction of the revolution.
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=28735
June 13th, 2012, 3:22 pm
Tara said:
Alan
306. TARA
once again Yasmeen told you be in your own frame!
And also she pays your attention that you are clever and understand from the first time!
—-
What does “you are clever and understand from the first time..,that Tara be in her own frame? Is that a warning? Like a hidden massage of some sort not to visit the capital of the Yasmeen? Or may be to not post in case I am in Damascus?
I ignored your post the first time but I see that you persevered. I am rather curious? A warning? A threat? Or just wanting to have a conversation with me? Please explain.
June 13th, 2012, 3:29 pm
Syrialover said:
Here we go!
They have been off duty for several hours, but I notice the block voters were busy catching up with their “instant 10” votes earlier in this session.
Ten-at-once green thumbs up for the regime apologists, and an instant 10 red thumbs down for anyone who debates them.
And a double 10 red thumbs down for Syrian Hamster who was particularly cheeky about a couple of them.
I bet if I look again in a few hours they will have come back on duty and done their block voting trick on the current comments.
I hope I get the “Hamster score” of over 20 red badges of honor for this one.
June 13th, 2012, 3:34 pm
Mina said:
Syria’s divided armed gangs
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-alternatives-ii-no-homegrown-solutions
SL
You can’t help it: most people using the internet are FB teenagers. It’s now their hour.
June 13th, 2012, 3:45 pm
MICHEL said:
Anti-Imperialists should go to North Korea, they would absolutely love it there.
The irony is that many anti-imperialists themselves live in what they deem to be imperial countries, the irony.
June 13th, 2012, 3:52 pm
Tara said:
US says Russian-made weapons are killing Syrians on ‘an hourly basis’
Accusations fly between Russian and US representatives over supplies and weapons sent to Bashar al-Assad’s regime
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/13/us-claim-syria-russian-civilians?newsfeed=true
June 13th, 2012, 4:01 pm
MICHEL said:
Anti-Imperialists, I feel in a good mood so I will share with you songs you will love. Maybe you can listen to them in your car on your way to work (in an imperial country most probably).
Here they are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExlPGDBQsgM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmI2yDAyWYI (you know what substitutions to do for the syrian version)
June 13th, 2012, 4:10 pm
Juergen said:
Michel
the problem is those anti imperialists would miss their ipod, their ipad and their i phone in the Kim universe, all forbidden there. I bet Bashar regrets such technology is breaking now his rule over Syria.
June 13th, 2012, 4:32 pm
Tara said:
Why did the regime’s supporters chased away the UN observers and allowed them today? This has been a recurrent pattern. No immediate entry to the crime scene until 24-48 hours later to whitewash the evidence. When is the UN mission finishing with it’s mission and unraveling the truth?
The Syrian foreign ministry has invited UN monitors to inspect al-Haffa now that its been “cleared” of terrorists.
Yesterday the monitors were chased away by Assad’s supporters, now they are being asked to return by the foreign ministry.
The state news agency Sana quotes an official calling on the observers to go an inspect the damage done by terrorists in the town.
It said:
Authorities have restored security and clam to al-Haffeh district after clearing it from the armed terrorist groups which terrorized citizens and sabotaged several public and private properties.
The authorities also seized huge amounts of advanced weapons used by armed terrorist groups, including sniper rifles, explosive devices, RPG launchers and a large amount of ammunition.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jun/13/syria-civil-war-attack-helicopters-live#block-23
June 13th, 2012, 4:38 pm
Juergen said:
By now the prep team has raided the town and set the stage for the “Look what the terrorists have done show”.
June 13th, 2012, 4:42 pm
omen said:
77. ALAN said: Rebel Terrorists Bomb Another Gas Pipeline
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/06/11/syrian-rebel-terrorists-bomb-gas-pipeline-143981/
2:17 am
.
does this pipeline power a refinery?
during the last days of the gaddafi era, in oil rich libya, regime forces had difficulty finding diesel to fuel their vehicles.
June 13th, 2012, 4:49 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
France foreign minister will suggest the military intervention at the UN. Says Chapter 7 should be implemented. He hopes Rusia will accept although he know Rusia will not.
Rusia will be rejected as a partner in future Syria after selling arms to kill syrian population asking for freedom.
I have always seen a mafia in the Rusia power machine. I have never respected that country´s regime, from the Tzars to Lenin and from Stalin to Putin. What a disgrace for the world.
June 13th, 2012, 4:55 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
317. Mina
Those defending the crimes against the peacfull demonstrations this revolution began with are criminals too. Think about it. I would not feel too satisfied with myself if I was you. I wonder where you were teached morals.
June 13th, 2012, 4:58 pm
omen said:
Anti-Imperialists, I feel in a good mood so I will share with you songs you will love.
is it true bashar loyalists went onto chinese boards to brag about how dear leader did a better job of repressing dissent than the chinese did during tiananmen square?
June 13th, 2012, 4:59 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Any bedouin from the syrian desert or any peasant from syrian stepes has ten times more morals and human principles that any rich corrupted decaying urban damascene defending the regime´s crimes. I insist did you ever recieve anything similiar to morals?
Go to your modern coffes in Mazze and Malki, to your Benetton store, the Chami Center or the Pizza HAT in front of Parliament to enjoy you refined morals.
June 13th, 2012, 5:04 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
To all pro-regime pro-repression anti-democrats anti-civil rights:
While missing your time talking about terrorists, massacres commited by we dont know who, arms smugling, etc please do not forget that the beginning of this drama was:
DEMONSTRATIONS OF PEACEFULL CITIZENS WHO ASKED FREEDOM, DIGNITY AND REGIME CHANGE LIKE IN TUNIS, LYBIA, EGYPT AND YEMEN.
The response to these popular expression were massive killings, detentions and tortures. Then came the arms smugling, terrorism, and massacres.
Assad is not God, Assad is a society excrement, a putrid smelly excrement. Best use for him is as a fertilizer for the revolution.
June 13th, 2012, 5:23 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Vladimir Putin,
What can we expect from a man who was 15 years (1975-1990) a member of the Communist Party and KGB secret services agent in Dresde and then turn Rusia into its own mafia pseudocapitalist oligopoly game after 1.990? Shame on you son of a ,,,
June 13th, 2012, 5:33 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Sandro Loewe
Assad is the devil, and his supporters worship the devil,
BTW
Some women like those who hurt them.It is unbelievable.
Turkey said, they will use its military, if Nato approves, if UNSC approves, if Arab league will supply the cost, or if Turkey is attacked.
Moderator
I think you should punish those who cut and paste,by banning them to two comments a day, for one day.
June 13th, 2012, 5:57 pm
zoo said:
Isn’t the FSA disintegration Turkey is talking about? It seems they are all retreating to Turkey.
Syria military on the edge of ‘disintegration’
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-military-on-the-edge-of-disintegration.aspx?pageID=238&nID=23138&NewsCatID=352
Military mobilization in Allepo can be a ‘red line’ for Turkey, says Clinton. AP Photo
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/images/news/201206/n_23138_4.jpg
Military mobilization in Allepo can be a ‘red line’ for Turkey, says Clinton.
Turkey believes that the recent wave of bloody attacks on civilians by Syrian forces is a clear indication of the disintegration of the military and a loss of control, expressing its concerns that a massing of the Syrian military near Aleppo could result in massive migration toward the Turkish border.
“The disintegration of the military has begun. The al-Assad regime has started to lose control. It’s desperately attacking populous residential areas,” is the assessment in Ankara, a source told the Hürriyet Daily News.
June 13th, 2012, 6:10 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
FERTILIZERS
Not all fertilizers are safe. The type of excrement the Assads are is not suitable for any living entity, it is super-pollutant that will burn the soil…. ooops, was that someone’s motto?
The you know who
Abusive?…. are you kidding me
Sectarian?….. no way!!
Fascist….. BINGO..
and the poor TRUTH keeps coming up in names
Dislike is the right button…. PUSH IT
June 13th, 2012, 6:23 pm
zoo said:
The Syria army is disintegrating according to Turkey? It does not seem so, quite the contrary.
Syria starts military showdown to end crisis
2012-06-14
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/14/c_131651234.htm
DAMASCUS, June 13 (Xinhua) — At a time when the international community is still unable to reach a consensus to bring about a favorable solution to the stand-off in Syria, the Syrian government seems to have shelved all outside suggestions and chosen its own way: a military showdown to bring an end to the intractable crisis once and for all.
Since the very beginning of the 16-month-old crisis, the Syrian government has repeatedly made it clear that had it desired it would have settled the situation in a short time and got done once and for all with the anti-regime movement, which started in the form of peaceful protests but evolved later into a bloody armed insurgency.
The Syrian government argued that it kept down military options out of concerns for the lives of civilians as the alleged gunmen are reportedly hiding among civilians in residential areas of restive cities across the country, as well as in a bid to give a chance for a political settlement.
However, the escalation of violent acts and attempts by the so- called rebel Free Syrian Army to take battles to President Bashar al-Assad’s main stronghold, the capital Damascus, have represented a milestone in the Syrian crisis.
The showdown was kicked off on Friday, when the fiercest battles erupted between the Syrian army and the rebels in some of the capital’s streets and its surroundings. The Syrian army allegedly battled the Free Syrian Army’s fighters who had tried to launch simultaneous attacks against several army checkpoints in Damascus.
The next day, local media said the Syrian army “shook the ground underneath the gunmen’s feet” and reported the killings of tens of the rebels, asserting that Damascus is immune to the attacks of gunmen.
The military showdown extended later to the restive northern parts of the country amid daily official confirmations that those areas have been cleansed from “terrorists” one after another and the army has regained control of the areas from the hands of rebels.
In the latest “cleansing operation”, Syrian troops have succeeded in repelling armed rebels from the mountainous town of Haffeh near the coastal city of Latakia after a week of intense fighting, state-run SANA news agency reported Wednesday.
[…]
June 13th, 2012, 6:31 pm
irritated said:
Way…We have now an excrement specialist on board.
The opposition team is almost complete to take over from the Syrian regime.
June 13th, 2012, 6:36 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
UB40´s Rat in my Kitchen lyrics dedicated to Mr. Assad and cronnies Co.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XsJYtTcubI&feature=related
There`s a rat in me kitchen / what am I gonna do?
I`m gonna fix that rat thats / what I`m gonna do,
I`m gonna fix that rat.
When you open your mouth you / don`t talk, you shout
And you give everybody the blame, / But when they catch you up,
They will shut you up / And you got no one to blame
When you out on the street,/ You practice lies and deceipt
And you scandalize my name / But when I catch you up
I`m gonna pull you up /I`m gonna check-out inside your brain
when yo deh pon the scene, / You make everyone scream
Because they know your so unjust / But when they catch you up
They will kick you up / Because you someone they
just can’t trust
You invade my space / Make me feel disgraced
And you just don`t give a damn / If I had my way
If I had my say / I`d like to see you hang
June 13th, 2012, 6:39 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
I credit reading the writing of regime supporters for my expertise.
BIG THANK YOU
June 13th, 2012, 6:41 pm
Syrialover said:
How Chinese and Russian media justify their support for Assad.
“Writing in the Global Times on 12 June, Shen Yi, a scholar at Fudan University, stressed that domestic public opinion should not be allowed to interfere with China’s policy on Syria.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18424991
Of course. Likewise the opinions of the Russian people and the Iranian people are never allowed to interfere with their “leaders” investing public funds and damaging their country’s reputation in support of genocidal dictators.
June 13th, 2012, 6:46 pm
Uzair8 said:
It’s over for Assad. It’s just unnecessary and futile killing from now on.
The regime is like a bottle of soft drink that has lost it’s gas/fizz. Not the same anymore. Nobody wants it now. Can’t put the gas back in. Only a new bottle will do. Even the pro-tyrant recognise this.
Ok they may differ on brand preference….
June 13th, 2012, 6:47 pm
zoo said:
Countering the Moslem Brotherhood Turkey-Qatar’s candidate, the Western-Saudi’s candidate… Shafiq gains support in Egypt despite Mubarak link
Ben Gittleson
Jun 14, 2012
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/shafiq-gains-support-in-egypt-despite-mubarak-link
CAIRO // Many activists and other Egyptians have little in common with Ahmed Shafiq’s ideology – but such is the nature of the new Egypt that they will cast their votes for him in this weekend’s run-off elections.
While Mr Shafiq, 70, is seen by many as representing the worst of the Mubarak era, he has drawn support because he could be a bulwark against Islamist domination of the government.
June 13th, 2012, 6:49 pm
Uzair8 said:
328. SANDRO LOEWE
Nice choice..brings back memories…lol.
June 13th, 2012, 6:51 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
What do you mean you can’t put the gas back in… Did something happen to Walid Muallem?
June 13th, 2012, 6:54 pm
irritated said:
To the excrement expert
I am sure you learn a lot living in them.
June 13th, 2012, 6:54 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
You speak with the certainty of life long experience…yet so humble like all masters.
But yours is the old style of mastering knowledge…. Mine is more modern. I observe remotely…..
June 13th, 2012, 7:03 pm
Uzair8 said:
334. SYRIAN HAMSTER
Lol..I’m afraid not even Walid Muallem can fix it. When the gas goes it goes. It’s an unwritten law of physics. Always tighten the screwcap!
The regime oppressed for so long and to such an extent and failed to put the lid on the situation while it was possible so they are being overwhelmed by the blow black. The genies out.
June 13th, 2012, 7:06 pm
Uzair8 said:
I heard BBC radio 4’s The World tonight a couple of hours ago.
Listen from 7.25
8.50 – Deborah Amos NPR about the situation in Haffe.
12.10 – Talk to a guest about where the weapons are coming from. This is interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jrknk
June 13th, 2012, 7:19 pm
irritated said:
A new science is born: Remote excrementology
June 13th, 2012, 7:31 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Which irritated the practitioners of experiential excrementology.
June 13th, 2012, 7:46 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Moderator
could you please tell us what good in comments#324, 335,340
This guy he doesn’t add any thing to the discussion, he does not belong hear, none of his comments indicate good level of intelligence , he is obstreperous, what is he doing here?
June 13th, 2012, 8:39 pm
AJ said:
Congratulations to the FSA and the great people in Syria on the many victories over the last weekend. The enemy is increasingly getting frustrated realizing that the Free people of Syria are getting stronger and more organized by the minute.
Sooner or later, the WeLoveYous will realize that the more they use violence, the more the resistance will grow stronger.
June 13th, 2012, 8:40 pm
AJ said:
“324. IRRITATED said:
Syrians according to our educated local Exorcist
Millions of Syrians are devil worshipers.”
Exorcism will performed by simply unplugging the Assad propaganda machine (Al_Dunya, Syrian State TV etc)
———————————————————-
“307. SYRIALOVER said:
Here we go!
They have been off duty for several hours, but I notice the block voters were busy catching up with their “instant 10″ votes earlier in this session.”
What better gift than a block vote from a WeLoveYou. I love them!
___________________________________________________________________
“316. SANDRO LOEWE said:
France foreign minister will suggest the military intervention at the UN. Says Chapter 7 should be implemented. He hopes Rusia will accept although he know Rusia will not.”
I think this is just another BS move by France to show some form of empathy for the Syria people as they are fully aware that both China and Russia will veto this.. As much as the WeLoveYous are complaining about western intervention, I have not seen one ounce of help from any country except those helping Assad`s thugs… Numerous reports have shown that the majority of arms held by the FSA were actually purchased FROM the army. In other words, the majority of weapons seized by the FSA are from Russia!
June 13th, 2012, 9:03 pm
AJ said:
Israeli crimes compared to Assad’s crimes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtNVy3Ss0bA
Add to that the use of human shields, the segregation of people, etc..
June 13th, 2012, 9:29 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
The Gulf states should cut their relations with Russia and China, KSA should keep the price of Oil very low,
June 13th, 2012, 9:46 pm
Norman said:
These people are not Muslims and don’t know what Islam is about,
ASIA
2012-06-13
ASIA/SYRIA – A Greek Catholic Church desecrated in Qusayr: an alarm signal
Qusayr (Agenzia Fides) – A band of radical militiamen broke into the Greek-catholic church of St. Elias in Qusayr this morning, near the town of Homs, desecrating it. The militiamen forced the door, rang the bells in mockery, laughed at the sacred symbols of the Christian faith with the sole purpose of carrying out a demonstrative act and making a mockery of the Christian community. “It is the first time, in the ongoing conflict, that such an episode occurs, in which sacred symbols are deliberately hit,” notes with concern a local source of Fides.
In Qusayr the Christians who have chosen to remain are very few, mostly elderly people who were unwilling to abandon their homes. In fact, in the ultimatum launched by an armed faction (see Fides 9 and 12/6/2012), in past days, about a thousand Christians, who were still in town, have abandoned their homes, taking refuge in the surrounding countryside or relatives in other Syrian cities. Some eyewitnesses “saddened and frightened – told Fides about the break-in the church in Qusayr”. The act was condemned by Catholic priests and authorities who talk about the “worrying sign, which confirms the attempt of some armed gangs to unleash a sectarian war.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 13/6/2012)
Agenzia Fides – Palazzo “de Propaganda Fide” – 00120 – Città del Vaticano Tel. +39-06-69880115 – Fax. +39-06-69880107
June 13th, 2012, 9:50 pm
Norman said:
Agenzia Fides
Organo di informazione delle Pontificie Opere Missionarie dal 1927
http://www.fides.org
ASIA
2012-06-12
ASIA/SYRIA – Christian killed in Qusayr, where two priests confirm the ultimatum to Christians
Qusayr (Agenzia Fides) – The Christian Maurice Bitar was killed in Qusayr, near the town of Homs where the Christian population – about a thousand people out of 10 thousand who lived there before the beginning of the violence – has been forced to flee after the ‘ultimatum launched by an armed faction in the opposition forces led by General Abdel Salam Harba (see Fides 09/06/2012). As anticipated by Fides, some Christians, after the warning, however, chose to remain in Qusayr, exposing themselves to considerable risks. Maurice Bitar was killed by a sniper, with three other men while he was out of the house to buy bread for his family. The Christian inhabitants of Qusayr, local sources of Fides report, suffer harassment such as no vehicular access on streets and the obligation to “give way” if they meet a Muslim, “as in the days of the Ottoman caliphate,” notes the source of Fides .
The armed opposition, in fact, as confirmed by numerous observers in Syria and abroad, is gradually radicalizing towards Sunni extremist ideology. There are numerous gangs and military groups that operate in a totally independent manner, outside the coordination of the Free Syrian Army. The ultimatum launched by the faction of Abdel Salam Harba, for example, was not ratified by other groups: in a statement sent to Fides, the coordination of the same Free Syrian Army, stationed at Qusayr, says it is “shocked by the news” and rejects the ultimatum, saying that it is not responsible and does not share it in any way. Two Catholic priests who fled in recent days from Qusayr, reached by Fides, confirm, however, that they heard “with their ears” of the ultimatum, repeated from the minarets of mosques, and left the city with many refugee families.
According to Fides sources, “the situation is unsustainable in the area and exposed to total lawlessness.” Christians face a harsh reality: they either join the opposition, enlisting their young ones, or are victims of harassment, discrimination, violence. The fate of Christians in Qusary, concludes the source, could soon touch the 10 thousand faithful who live in other villages in the area, such as Dmeineh, Rableh and Hamra. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/6/2012)
June 13th, 2012, 9:55 pm
irritated said:
#343 AJ
Rather…
“Sooner or later, the armed oppositions will realize that the more they use violence, the more the resistance will grow stronger.”
June 13th, 2012, 9:58 pm
zoo said:
Norman
This is all confirmed in the following report that was withheld
Terror zone shift: Syrian insurgents ‘try to set up new belt of strongholds’
Published: 14 June, 2012, 01:43
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-insurgents-new-strongholds-757/
One of the most terrible developments of this war is that terrorists are forcing civilian males to stay together and fight against security forces. They offer money, shoot family members if they don’t co-operate and even go so far as to transfer family members of forced fighters to Turkey. If civilian males continue to refuse to fight side by side with the terrorists and insurgents, these civilians are not let go but sometimes shot summarily, sometimes whole families, as happened in Houla.
Terrorists are using psychological pressure to force some civilians to carry improvised explosives by taking hostages. As an example, they take a family hostage and order the father to drive his car very close to military checkpoints or military tanks, then they explode the car by remote control from a distance. That is what happened in Rastan yesterday. A civilian car fully loaded with explosives was blown up by remote control right next to two tanks. The incident was brought to light by the wife and surviving sons of the car-bomb driver’s kidnapped family.
June 13th, 2012, 10:01 pm
zoo said:
The Zionist club: Hollande, Fabius and B.H Levy calls for war to oust Bashar al Assad (and protect Israel)
No-fly zone on the horizon in Syria?
Published: 14 June, 2012, 04:43
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-france-no-fly-771/
As international pressure against Syrian regime is ratcheting up France has urged to use UN-sanctioned force to implement Kofi Annan peace plan with a no-fly zone being an option.
In his strongest statement on Syria French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius proposed making the six-point peace plan obligatory by invoking the UN’s “Charter 7” provision which allows the Security Council to authorize actions ranging from sanctions to military intervention.
“The situation in Syria has taken an even more serious and horrid turn,” he said as quoted by Reuters. “We have been informed that children are being used as human shields by the regime, placed in front of tanks, tortured, raped and assassinated.”
“To stop this civil war from getting worse, we have to find a way for Assad to leave power and find a way for the opposition to create an alternative transition. But it’s clear today … that it is a civil war.”
The French foreign minister said that a no-fly zone was an option that would be under discussion to stop the “massacres.”
more..
June 13th, 2012, 10:05 pm
AJ said:
“346. MAJEDKHALDOUN said:
The Gulf states should cut their relations with Russia and China, KSA should keep the price of Oil very low,”
Let’s face it, the Gulf states, including the kingdoms of Qatar and KSA do not care for Syrians. Like all other countries in the world, all actions or positions taken by their governments are purely for strategic purposes. Especially in the case of monarchies.
The Syrian people will need to overthrow this murderous regime on their own. The only help we are getting are empty threats from European countries and empty promises for weapons from KSA and Qatar.
June 13th, 2012, 10:10 pm
AJ said:
Small reminder to the WeLoveYous still playing the Zionist card:
“No stability in Israel if there’s no stability in Syria”
-Rami Makhlouf
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/assad-cousin-to-new-york-times-no-stability-in-israel-if-there-s-no-stability-in-syria-1.360907
June 13th, 2012, 10:13 pm
Syrialover said:
See below, “Homs,the gateway to the Alawite safe haven”
Any comments?
Article from the Financial Times:
Syria savagery suggests regime in despair
… The army, forced to carry out and repeat regional offensives on a sequential basis around the country, shows signs of exhaustion – even demoralisation. In April, a video-clip leaked to al-Arabiya, the Saudi TV network, showed one commander reassuring his officers that reinforcements would soon be with them. New troops were being trained, in and outside the country. Whether or not this is true, what was the question to which this was the answer?
… The Assads are not just bleeding legitimacy across their Sunni majority country but inside their Alawite community. “Bashar keeps on telling them he is going to impose a military solution and then he is unable to do it”, says a leading Lebanese politician with long experience of Syria. “He is losing credibility within his own community”.
… The recent massacres may also speak of a more radical despair. They had no military rationale beyond the sectarian cleansing of mixed Alawite and Sunni areas in north-west Syria. Indeed, the current week-long bombardment of Haffeh in the coastal foothills of the north-western mountains targets a Sunni town in the Alawite heartland. Since the uprising began there have been tell-tale signs the regime was clearing lines of retreat to this region as a fallback position. That helps explain the repeated attempts to subdue the city of Homs, the gateway to the Alawite safe haven. Refugees from the area say army engineers have been deployed there to upgrade its often basic infrastructure.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cb17c67c-b4a6-11e1-aa06-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1xj88C0VK
June 13th, 2012, 10:17 pm
AJ said:
“354. SYRIALOVER said:
See below, “Homs,the gateway to the Alawite safe haven”
Any comments?
Article from the Financial Times:
Syria savagery suggests regime in despair”
Absolutely, to add to this point, a recent article from the telegraph mentioned the following:
“Fearful of losing their privileged status, a growing number of Syria’s Alawites believe the president should show the remorselessness of his father and predecessor. ”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9322923/Syrias-Alawites-call-on-Bashar-al-Assad-to-be-tougher.html
Note that the article failed to point out the many Sunni Assad supporters who are also calling for Assad to act tougher. However it is clear that the regime supporters as a whole are under increased stress and panic.
Here’s a recent video from the FSA listening to an Assad soldier literally crying for help http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN4Vlr5xAaU
June 13th, 2012, 10:30 pm
Syrialover said:
Quote: “If these kind of attacks take place unremarked and uncondemned by the wider world, it increases the chances that they will multiply and become the norm should Mr Assad leave power.”
Which is what the Assads would wish for Syria. That’s the real failure they face and are fighting to stop – that Syria goes on to become a safer, happier, more economically sustainable and better respected place with their removal.
Excerpts from article from the Financial Times:
External aid needed to reveal Syria
…as the situation in Syria grows ever murkier there is a need for outside help in bringing factual clarity as well as stability to the country.
…As military skirmishes – many in civilian areas – grow more intense, there has probably never been a more dangerous time to be a Syrian civilian.
… In the absence of an authoritative independent narrative about what is going on, the varying doubts regarding each of these instances risks leaving at least some outside Syria with an impression that the country is in the grip of an intractable and atavistic conflict best left to play itself out. A proper, internationally run investigation of atrocities would help counter that by laying out the evidence impartially and, in this realm of probabilities, drawing provisional conclusions about responsibility.
An independent outside inquiry would further help by exposing the truth or otherwise behind reports – some from opposition activists themselves – of killings of Alawites by Sunnis.
If these kind of attacks take place unremarked and uncondemned by the wider world, it increases the chances that they will multiply and become the norm should Mr Assad leave power. In Libya, victorious rebels have taken brutal revenge on Muammer Gaddafi’s supporters.
Highlighting abuses by both sides in Syria does not mean suggesting a false equivalence between them if the wrongdoing of one is found to be far greater. On the contrary: a full reckoning can sharpen moral divisions that are clouded by doubts and partial information.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f53f9662-b3bd-11e1-8b03-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1xj7n5MAN
June 13th, 2012, 10:32 pm
Syrialover said:
AJ# 355.
True. But I was also looking for comment on this:
“…bombardment of Haffeh in the coastal foothills of the north-western mountains targets a Sunni town in the Alawite heartland. Since the uprising began there have been tell-tale signs the regime was clearing lines of retreat to this region as a fallback position. That helps explain the repeated attempts to subdue the city of Homs, the gateway to the Alawite safe haven. Refugees from the area say army engineers have been deployed there to upgrade its often basic infrastructure.”
June 13th, 2012, 10:38 pm
AJ said:
355. SYRIALOVER
It’s unfortunate but I’ve heard this point from other sources and it sounds very possible.
June 13th, 2012, 11:01 pm
omen said:
236. MAJEDKHALDOUN said: The Will to fight for freedom,
the way to live in honor and dignity.
.
i’m not one to be enthralled with celebrities, but i happen to stumble across this. i like this expression.
June 14th, 2012, 12:02 am
zoo said:
“One of the most terrible developments of this war is that terrorists are forcing civilian males to stay together and fight against security forces. They offer money, shoot family members if they don’t co-operate and even go so far as to transfer family members of forced fighters to Turkey. If civilian males continue to refuse to fight side by side with the terrorists and insurgents, these civilians are not let go but sometimes shot summarily, sometimes whole families, as happened in Houla.
Terrorists are using psychological pressure to force some civilians to carry improvised explosives by taking hostages. ”
Horrifying outline of the military activities in Syria
Terror zone shift: Syrian insurgents ‘try to set up new belt of strongholds’
Published: 14 June, 2012, 01:43
While Homs is nearly under control of the government, terrorists and insurgents try to escape north and east. The Syrian military’s strategic task is to keep them from building a new belt of strongholds on Syrian territory along the Turkish border.
Consultant and peace activist Christoph R. Hörstel told RT that his information “is directly obtained from Syrian security personnel of various origins personally taking part in battles and other operations, and/or close relatives of such personnel – some are even well-known people.
“The information reaches me through a partner in Turkey. I counter-check all information obtained this way as best as possible under the circumstances,” Hörstel said.
He gives an outline of the military’s activities from Syria.
Homs
House-to-house clearing is almost complete, but is continuing in nearby Rastan and the city district of Khaldiyeh.
Insurgents and terrorists are escaping now in the direction of Hafeh, where safety was restored only last weekend. But now insurgents and terrorist forces from the Turkey-Idlib area are gathering there, joined by the escaping forces from Rastan, Homs and Khaldiyeh.
These forces now try to set up a new stronghold in Hafeh as a replacement for the lost base in Homs. Hafeh is an important and vital crossing point into Turkey and exit to Idlib, from where more transfer routes lead further east to terrorist camps in Turkey.
[…]
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-insurgents-new-strongholds-757/
June 14th, 2012, 12:06 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Crimes of (Revolutionists):
1-Destruction of Syria as unified nation.
2-collaborating with foreigners.
3-Killing at least 4000 Syrian soldiers
4-destruction of Syrian economy
5-kidnapping many innocent Syrian citizens and torturing and killing them or bargain them for the money
6-destruction of peace and security in Syria and turning Syrian highways into the most dangerous in the world
7-performing many massacres prior to important UN meetings to influence their decisions
8-causing at least one million Syrians to be refugees inside Syria and at least 200000 outside Syria
9-using sectarian language with the help of gulf money and spreading fitna inside
Syrian communities with the help of dedicated fitna stations like :Alwissal ,Safa,Aljazera and Alarabia.
10-killing many Syrians because of their identity .
Any positive results of this (Revolution )so far?
June 14th, 2012, 12:21 am
omen said:
358. SYRIA NO KANDAHAR said: Crimes of (Revolutionists)
/holds a mirror in front of snk’s post to see if he can see the regime’s reflection.
p.s. i give him points though for crediting the opposition enough to call them revolutionists instead of terrorists.
June 14th, 2012, 12:37 am
AJ said:
358. SYRIA NO KANDAHAR
This is the price your regime is going to pay for having killed and tortured our children. Rest assured this will continue until we have Bashar and Maher’s heads.
June 14th, 2012, 12:38 am
Tara said:
Haffa is considered “cleansed” by SANA….I am looking forward to when Syria is going to be cleansed from the Assad family and it’s Shabeehas.
http://news.yahoo.com/syria-overruns-rebellious-village-violence-spikes-221003521.htm
The battle for Haffa, in the mountains of Latakia province, raged for eight days as regime forces shelled the village to drive out rebels. The operation apparently was part of a larger offensive to retake areas that had fallen into rebel hands.
State television said regime forces had “cleansed” Haffa of “armed terrorist groups” and the Foreign Ministry urged U.N. observers to immediately head there “to check what the terrorist groups have done.”
U.N. observers did not go to Haffa on Wednesday and are assessing the situation to determine when they can successfully reach the town, U.N. peacekeeping spokesman Kieran Dwyer said. On Tuesday, an angry crowd hurled rocks and sticks at the U.N. mission’s vehicles, forcing them to turn back. None of the observers was hurt.
Sausan Ghosheh, a spokeswoman for the observers, said they have been trying to reach Haffa since June 7.
Hundreds of rebel fighters believed to have been holed up in Haffa and nearby villages pulled out overnight, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing a network of activists on the ground.
On another front, fireballs of orange flames exploded over the central city of Homs, where Syrian forces fired a continuous rain of shells that slammed into the rebel-held neighborhoods of Khaldiyeh, Jouret al-Shayyah and the old city.
Recovering Haffa was particularly significant to the regime because the town is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from President Bashar Assad’s hometown. Latakia province is the heartland of the Alawite minority to which Assad and the ruling elite belong.
As the violence spiked, both sides in the conflict appeared to be using heavier weapons.
U.N. observers reported Syrian helicopters were firing on Haffa and other restive areas, and amateur videos posted online by activists suggest the opposition is using powerful anti-tank missiles.
More..
June 14th, 2012, 12:45 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Omen /Aj
It is not (my regime) nor (my revolution )
I am just a lay Syrian who hates all this violence and destruction which happened to Syria . If you goal is just to chop of heads then you really have a wonderful plan
To save Syria ,people who think like you are the problem.If your defense is that
The regime has crimes too then you are in agreement that many revolutionists are criminals.
June 14th, 2012, 12:48 am
AJ said:
Here’s a story you will never see the regime apologists ever mention:
“Rania Hawari was just a little girl when she was shot dead by an Assadist sniper. She is one of 1,000+ children to have been murdered by Assad’s forces since March 2011.
http://www.therevoltingsyrian.com/post/25073808682/the-sniper-actually-took-the-time-to-set-his-scope”
Rania’s short life is worth more than the whole Assad, Akhras and Makhlouf families put together.
June 14th, 2012, 12:50 am
omen said:
snk, if i may ask, how long has it not been your regime?
The regime has crimes too then you are in agreement that many revolutionists are criminals.
rebels have kidnapped, yes, but the rest are lies. loyalists, in an attempt to muddy the waters, falsely attribute to the rebels crimes the regime itself committed.
June 14th, 2012, 12:55 am
AJ said:
“362. SYRIA NO KANDAHAR said:
Omen /Aj
It is not (my regime) nor (my revolution )
I am just a lay Syrian who hates all this violence and destruction which happened to Syria . If you goal is just to chop of heads then you really have a wonderful plan
To save Syria ,people who think like you are the problem.If your defense is that
The regime has crimes too then you are in agreement that many revolutionists are criminals.”
The first months of the revolution was peaceful until Assad started decapitating our children. Any government who is responsible for such an act should be eliminated.
June 14th, 2012, 1:00 am
irritated said:
350. AJ :
“No stability in Israel if there’s no stability in Syria”
That’s why the USA is hesitating… The chaos in Syria will means extreme danger for Israel. For the first time there may be armed islamist jihadists just at the border of Israel: a premiere
Rami Makhlouf is perfectly right.
June 14th, 2012, 1:03 am
omen said:
The regime has crimes too then you are in agreement that many revolutionists are criminals.
.
the difference between rebels and regime:
-the rebels specifically target military/security targets. this is a valid form of self defense. this is matching force against force.
-the regime inflicts indiscriminate slaughter/collective punishment of unarmed civilians.
the two are not comparable.
June 14th, 2012, 1:11 am
omen said:
366. IRRITATED said:
“No stability in Israel if there’s no stability in Syria”
Rami Makhlouf is perfectly right.
.
first loyalists say syria is being targeted by western powers because the regime (with hezbollah) represents a threat to israel. now they are saying having no regime would be a threat to israel.
which is it? can’t have it both ways.
June 14th, 2012, 1:18 am
Juergen said:
Î dont cecall if this Al Houla account was yet posted. Very moving account of an older mother who has seen how her whole family got killed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w6nGOjXKuHY#!
Amnesty International has filed a new report on Syria ( they had their own investigators in the country)
DEADLY
REPRISALS:
DELIBERATE KILLINGS AND
OTHER ABUSES BY SYRIA’S
ARMED FORCES
“They killed my sons, the dearest things I had, and
then they desecrated their bodies by setting them
on fire. How can a mother endure such pain?”
The mother of three brothers dragged from their home, killed and burned in Sarmin on 23 March 2012″
the whole 69 pages report as pdf
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE24/041/2012/en/30416985-883b-4e67-b386-0df14a79f694/mde240412012en.pdf
June 14th, 2012, 1:21 am
zoo said:
Exclusive: Arab states arm rebels as UN talks of Syrian civil war
( with the complicity of Turkey and with USA-Israeli made weapons)
Saudi Arabia and Qatar ‘supplying weapons’ to anti-Assad forces, while fears mount for civilians
Justin Vela
Istanbul Wednesday 13 June 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/exclusive-arab-states-arm-rebels-as-un-talks-of-syrian-civil-war-7845026.html
Syrian rebels are being armed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, The Independent has learnt, in a development that threatens to inflame a regional power struggle provoked by the 15-month-old uprising against the Assad regime.
Rebel fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have received weapons from the two Gulf countries, which were transported into Syria via Turkey with the implicit support of the country’s intelligence agency, MIT, according to a Western diplomat in Ankara. Opposition fighters in Syria have hitherto been handicapped by a reliance on an old and inadequate arsenal, while the regime in Damascus has been able to rely on a supply of arms from Russia and Iran. Moscow is arming Syria with attack helicopters, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, claimed yesterday. “We are concerned by the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from Russia to Syria, which will escalate the conflict quite dramatically,” she told a conference in Washington.
Since the start of the uprising, anti-regime activists have only smuggled small quantities of weapons, purchased on the black market, from Hatay in southern Turkey into Syria’s Idlib province.
However, three weeks ago, members of the loose assortment of rebel groups that comprises the FSA said they had received multiple shipments of arms including Kalashnikov assault rifles, BKC machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank weaponry from Gulf countries and that Turkey was assisting in the delivery of the weapons.
“The Turkish government helped us to be armed,” said one member of the FSA living in the Turkey-Syria border area. He claimed that the weapons had arrived at a Turkish port via ship and were then driven to the border without interference from Turkish authorities.
more..
June 14th, 2012, 1:23 am
irritated said:
Omen
“which is it? can’t have it both ways”
The opposition has managed to bring Al Qaeeda and islamist jihadists at the doorstep of Israel. Compared to these, Hezbollah are angels.
Soon Islamist Syria and Islamist Egypt will threaten Israel: well deserved.
June 14th, 2012, 1:27 am
omen said:
irritated, on the contrary, the opposition did not bring such extremists on board. it is the regime who is on record as having released alqaeda members from prison.
June 14th, 2012, 1:34 am
irritated said:
Omen
We know how they got there, from Turkey, Jordan and Iraq. Who helped them to move in instead of preventing them? The result is that, unless stopped urgently, Al Qaeeda will soon be at the doorstep of Israel.
Who do you think should stop them now for moving forward? Your guess…
June 14th, 2012, 1:41 am
Juergen said:
Well and its the regime who is an expert how to train and support extreme terrorist groups such as Hisbollah and Hamas.
June 14th, 2012, 1:42 am
zoo said:
The USA is worried about a civil war that would threaten its allies Israel and Jordan
White House sees no civil war in Syria
2012-06-14
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/14/c_131651207.htm
WASHINGTON, June 13 (Xinhua) — The White House on Wednesday would not characterize the situation in Syria as a civil war, but warned of such a scenario as the window of opportunity is closing.
White House spokesman Jay Carney would not say directly whether Syria is in the midst of a civil war, but said “What the administration believes is that the situation there is deteriorating, it is deteriorating quickly.”
“Carney warned that if countries do not act quickly to bring about a transition in Syria, “we will be in a situation, or we will likely be in a situation where Syria is experiencing a sectarian civil war that could spill beyond its borders, that could destabilize the region, that could involve other countries in the kind of proxy conflict that can be very damaging not just to the region but to the world.”
June 14th, 2012, 1:42 am
irritated said:
#374 Juergen
“Well and its the regime who is an expert how to train and support extreme terrorist groups such as Hisbollah and Hamas.”
The USA (and Germany) are expert in training and arming the Israeli terrorists.
Training Hamas and Hezbollah was the best thing the regime did and Arabs should be forever grateful to Bashar al Assad.
June 14th, 2012, 1:48 am
Tara said:
People who keep repeating that Assad is vital for Israel’s security in order to may be keep the US from fully supporting the revolution should be embarrassed.
June 14th, 2012, 1:50 am
Juergen said:
Irritated
Yes, dream on, in Assadistan those may be respected and meaningful resistance groups, to me they are weird religious movements which calls for killings of civilians and are responsible for terror throughout the ME. Its funny to see that Assad is financing and supporting an 100% Salafi movement like Hamas, well I think its all an big game isnt it?
June 14th, 2012, 1:53 am
omen said:
does this count as the first plausible threat the u.s. has leveled against russia?
from pbs newshour:
June 14th, 2012, 1:55 am
ann said:
Syria Speech Cut Off on June 7 Was Ordered by UN’s DuBach, ICP Learns, UN Stonewalls
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
http://www.innercitypress.com/dpi1cutsyria061012.html
UNITED NATIONS, June 10 — When UN Television went dark just as Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari began speaking in the General Assembly on June 7, Inner City Press linked it to the total black out of Ja’afari in an early session on Syria held in the ECOSOC chamber.
But UN spokespeople insisted to Inner City Press that it was just a “technical glitch.” At the June 8 UN noon briefing, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman Martin Nesirky called it a miscommunication.
Sources in UN Television have provided further information to Inner City Press. They said it was no mis-communication, much less technical glitch: rather, they were ORDERED to effectuate the turn-off by the UN’s Michele DuBach, Acting Deputy Director-News & Media Operations.
[…]
June 14th, 2012, 2:18 am
ann said:
Syrian Islamist opposition casts out Christians – 14 June, 2012
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-christians-exodus-opposition-778/
The Christian minority in Syria is facing a growing threat and thousands are being forced to flee their homes as they face harassment and discrimination from radial Islamist factions of the opposition.
At least 9,000 Christians from the western Syrian city of Qusayr were forced to seek refuge after an ultimatum from a local military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba, Fides news agency reports.
In the latest outburst of violence a Christian man was shot dead by a sniper in Qusayr, which neighbors the restive city of Homs.
There have been reports last week that some mosques in the city have announced from the minarets: “Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, which expires this Friday.”
[…]
June 14th, 2012, 2:32 am
ann said:
Terror zone shift: Syrian insurgents ‘try to set up new belt of strongholds’ – 14 June, 2012
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-insurgents-new-strongholds-757/
The Syrian Army is carrying on with house-to-house operations and has destroyed a massive amount s of stockpile of smuggled weapons and communication devices. They claim to have killed more than 1200 insurgents and terrorists in recent days and at the same time are concentrating on preventing the establishment of the aforementioned terror zone in the Hafeh-Hassakah border belt.
[…]
June 14th, 2012, 3:37 am
ann said:
6 injured in 6.0-magnitude quake off Turkey’s Mediterranean coast – 2012-06-11
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/11/c_131643390.htm
Moderate quake hits Turkey-Syria-Iraq border area – 2012-06-14
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/14/c_131652865.htm
June 14th, 2012, 4:23 am
omen said:
381. ANN said: Syrian Islamist opposition casts out Christians – 14 June, 2012
.
from ea worldview:
Vatican’s ambassador to Syria, Archbishop Nuncio Mario Zenari, has denied that Christians are being targeted by Sunnis. Archibishop Zenari said that for all people, “the descent into hell has started,” and even cited UN reports of children being used as human shields.
Archbishop Zenari also signaled that the Church may be in a position to help negotiate:
[…]
According to the allegations, the message has been blasted from loudspeakers that Christians must leave the city within 6 days.
The Al Qusair Revolution, an activist network comprised of activists in the city, denies the claim, and has denied the allegation and condemned the statements from the Vatican:
.
video of a church in homs taking direct hit from regime shelling.
June 14th, 2012, 4:28 am
Alan said:
383. ANN!
look for assistant of Djabarov in Tel Aviv !
June 14th, 2012, 5:11 am
Mina said:
Tareq Ramadan discovering the centre
http://www.rt.com/news/arab-outcome-ramadan-countries-782/
June 14th, 2012, 5:48 am
Juergen said:
Mina
you post Ramadan, is there hope?
June 14th, 2012, 6:02 am
Dawoud said:
Terrorists from Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran helping Bashar (War Criminal) al-Assad kill Syrians!
Free Syria Army Catches Iraqi Shiite Militia Fighter Sent to Kill Sunnis in Sectarian War 7-April-12
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/report-top-iran-military-official-aiding-assad-s-crackdown-on-syria-opposition-1.411402
Report: Top Iran military official aiding Assad’s crackdown on Syria opposition
Prominent Syrian lawmaker says the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force has recently arrived in the country to help manage Assad’s regime brutal suppression of a 11-month-long popular unrest.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/28/syria-army-iran-forces
Syrian army being aided by Iranian forces
Iran confirms Quds force’s presence in Syria with Revolutionary Guards commander saying troops ‘helped prevent more massacres’
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?id=29646
FSA: Hezbollah fighters in Syria, carrying out raids
16/05/2012
By Nadia al-Turki and Yousef Diab
London/Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – As the Syrian military continued to shell various areas of the country yesterday, Free Syrian Army [FSA] sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanese kill-squads affiliated to Hezbollah had entered Syrian territory, specifically the al-Qasir region, close to the Lebanese border.
FSA commander of Homs, Colonel Qasim Saad al-Din, revealed that Hezbollah forces raided several villages in Al-Qasir, including Al-Safsafah, Al-Masriyah, Al-Sawadiyah, Mutribah, and Zaytah. He stressed “these forces arrested 37 Syrians, including women, and also erected roadblocks at the entry point of each of these villages.”
The FSA commander asserted that the Hezbollah fighters entered these areas accompanied by Syrian security forces, adding that there were a total of around 200 Hezbollah fighters, divided into 20 separate groups, in the al-Qasir region yesterday. He also claimed that the Hezbollah fighters had illegally entered Syria via Shiite border villages known to be loyal to the Lebanese organization.
[…]
June 14th, 2012, 8:16 am
Syria no kandahar said:
Omen
You should give an answer to why the terrorists are occupying churches in the first place? Churches occupied by terrorists in Alhamedia(Homs) and turned
Into command center,and 40000 Christian Homsis were kicked out from their houses and 9000 from Alkesseer,they were not allowed to take any valuables with them,they tortured and killed many of them,they occupied their houses illegally and used it for their terrorists activities.The terrorists know when they occupy churches that destruction will happen to these churches because they move all
Their RBGs,Klashinkof and Israeli weapons inside the churches and continue to fight.fighting from inside churches is in clear violation of Islam if they care about that.
What if Christians occupy mosques and kick Moslems from their houses?how many car bombs,chopped heads and burned churches we will see?
June 14th, 2012, 8:19 am
Tara said:
Do they not speak good English in Iran? What is the most common second language taught in Iran?
Iran’s state media has been blamed for mistranslating Lavrov’s reported claim about the US arming the Syrian opposition, Bloomberg reports.
Iran’s state-run Mehr news agency had Lavrov saying:
Unlike the US, which supplies arms to the Syrian opposition that can be used against the Syrian government, we don’t take such action.
Audio recording reveal that what he actually said was:
We aren’t shipping to Syria or anywhere else things that can be used against peaceful demonstrators. Unlike the United States, for example, which regularly delivers such special equipment to the region, including a recent delivery to one of the countries of the Persian Gulf.
More..
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-14/lavrov-didn-t-accuse-u-s-of-arming-syrian-rebels-audio-shows.html
June 14th, 2012, 8:19 am
Mina said:
Jürgen,
Hope of what, that I am going to support excision, like him?
Certainly not. I see he is taking some distance from the fundamentalists and is almost close to Hassanein Heikal.
You think that we should post only things we endoarse?
Anyway, his position is mild in everything in this interview, like a good Oxford professor, so it will be hard to find someone who does not agree with him. Did you notice? He says the people who took to the streets were manipulated by people trained abroad. One more minhibak according to the criteria of most commentators here.
June 14th, 2012, 8:28 am
irritated said:
#378 Juergen
“Its funny to see that Assad is financing and supporting an 100% Salafi movement like Hamas, well I think its all an big game isnt it?
There is nothing funny in the plight of the Palestinians.
Obviously you are not able to make a distinction: Hamas is not Salafist, it is a Moslem Brotherhood group, just like the Egyptian MB and the Turkish AKP.
Syria was hosting them and supporting them politically. The funds to the Hamas is coming from Qatar, KSA, Iran and Turkey.
Inform yourself better maybe you’ll see the light.
June 14th, 2012, 8:53 am
zoo said:
I wonder who is confused and continue denying the facts
Famous Tony Badran or Famous John Rosenthal ?
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/06/14/better_and_worse_options_in_syria_100087.html
There were obvious indicators that the German article was false and based on claims made by the regime and its fellow travelers. For instance, the report stated that the supposed Alawite victims were from the “Shomaliya” family. The confused German author – and everyone who uncritically picked up his report – didn’t even bother to check his facts or his sources. There is an Alawite village by the name of al-Shumariya, near Houla, which the regime’s media and its third party amplifiers claimed was attacked by “armed gangs.”
..
Hence, we’ve heard senior officials in the Obama administration, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to UN Ambassador Susan Rice, say that arming the opposition could be tantamount to arming al-Qaeda, since we don’t know who this opposition really is.
more..
June 14th, 2012, 9:06 am
zoo said:
Tunisia exports its bad boys to Syria.
The Next Revolution: Islamists In Tunisia Take Their Jihad To Syria
http://www.worldcrunch.com/next-revolution-islamists-tunisia-take-their-jihad-syria/5636
A trip to Tunis’s slums finds young Salafi Islamists who were at the vanguard of the Arab Spring, and are now set to take the fight to Syria to take down the ruling secularist regime.
After the Arab Spring, the Islamist Summer (Magharebia)
By Domenico Quirico
LA STAMPA/Worldcrunch
TUNIS – Just a few blocks from the hotels, the restaurants, and the government offices, Balancine is a labyrinth filled with piles of garbage and stray dogs. Teenage boys are lying around, laughing, some of them drunk.
We came here to find the new radical Islam which has become so popular since the Arab Spring. This is the house we are looking for. Going up a dark and slippery staircase, which smells of urine, sawdust and ammonia, we arrive at the third floor. We enter a darkened room, lit by a single dim light bulb hanging from the ceiling. A curtain is barely hiding the dirty toilet. A big couch, which also serves as a bed, occupies almost all the room. A 22-year-old man, Yusef, is sitting cross-legged on the couch.
We have come to meet him before he leaves for Jihad in Syria. He is a Salafi Islamist, part of a movement that is fast becoming a major player in the region. This is not the pragmatic secularized Islam, nor the social democracy of the Muslim Brotherhood or of the moderate Ennahda movement (the Renaissance Party) whom the Western world found so reassuring after the Arab revolutions.
June 14th, 2012, 9:09 am
zoo said:
The opposition’s islamist allies is trying to stir Iran in Syria by attacking Shia holiest sites
Car bomb explodes near Shiite shrine in Damascus
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 8:55 AM EDT, Thu June 14, 2012
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=wo_c1
(CNN) — A suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden car near a revered Shiite shrine in the Syrian capital Thursday, the state news agency said.
The bombing occurred at a parking lot near the holy shrine of Sayyidah Zaynab, which houses the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed’s granddaughter, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said.
more..
June 14th, 2012, 9:13 am
majedkhaldoun said:
what he actually said was:
We aren’t shipping to Syria or anywhere else things that can be used against peaceful demonstrators.
The regime is saying(and Russia agrees),that there is no peaceful demonstrators.
So what is the difference?
Russia is sending attack helicopters, and the regime will use it against peaceful demonstartors claiming it was not peaceful.the regime lies,and Russia is defending him.
if we get to this point,anti planes weapons will be necessary,and I love to see those helicopters falling like dead birds.
June 14th, 2012, 9:14 am
AJ said:
“377. TARA said:
People who keep repeating that Assad is vital for Israel’s security in order to may be keep the US from fully supporting the revolution should be embarrassed.”
The problem is this argument is used by the same people who claim to be defenders of Palestine and the Arab resistance fighting the Zionist entity. They even have the audacity of calling us Zionist. As OMEN noted in post 368, they can`t have it both ways. This blatant hypocrisy is another reason why this regime is doomed.
June 14th, 2012, 9:15 am
Tara said:
For those of you waiting for the UN’s investigation. Undercover Amnesty International officer documenting war crimes. Is this good enough?
• Amnesty International has documented fresh evidence of crimes against humanity and war crimes being perpetrated as part of state policy, based on the more than 200 interviews with eyewitnesses, victims and their families. Donatella Rovera, who spent several weeks undercover in Syria conducting the research, urged the UN to take decisive action to stop attacks civilians.
For more than a year the UN Security Council has dithered, while a human rights crisis unfolded in Syria. It must now break the impasse and take concrete action to end to these violations and to hold to account those responsible.
The report calls on Russia and China to halt arms sales to Syria and for Assad regime to be referred to the international criminal court.
Read more..
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=20167
June 14th, 2012, 9:15 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Next UN meeting about Syria:July 20 th
Next massacre(designed by FSA and SNC): July 19th
June 14th, 2012, 9:16 am
AJ said:
“395. MAJEDKHALDOUN said:
what he actually said was:
We aren’t shipping to Syria or anywhere else things that can be used against peaceful demonstrators.
The regime is saying(and Russia agrees),that there is no peaceful demonstrators.
So what is the difference?
Russia is sending attack helicopters, and the regime will use it against peaceful demonstartors claiming it was not peaceful.the regime lies,and Russia is defending him.”
This is the same exact tactic used by the Israelies when they bombarded Gaza. Except the “evil Israelies” showed to be far less brutal than Assad`s shabi7a
June 14th, 2012, 9:18 am
zoo said:
Is Egypt’s election going like Yemen: One candidate?
Egypt faces legal crisis before presidential poll
http://www.france24.com/en/20120614-egypt-faces-legal-crisis-before-presidential-poll
AFP – Egypt’s top court will on Thursday examine a law which could disqualify one of two presidential candidates, in a legal crisis that threatens to derail an already tumultuous transition from Hosni Mubarak’s rule.
The Supreme Constitutional Court is to examine the legality of the political isolation law which bars senior officials of the Mubarak regime and top members of his now-dissolved National Democratic Party from running for public office for 10 years.
The law applies to those who served in the 10 years prior to Mubarak’s ouster on February 11, 2011 after a popular uprising.
If approved, the legislation will mean disqualification for Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak’s last prime minister, who faces Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi in a presidential run-off on Saturday.
June 14th, 2012, 9:20 am
zoo said:
Turkey’s paranoia at best
Deaf, mute man faces 25 years in jail for terrorist propaganda in Turkey
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/deaf-mute-man-faces-25-years-in-jail-for-terrorist-propaganda-in-turkey-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=23169&NewsCatID=339
June 14th, 2012, 9:23 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Zoo
Your comment #400 is way too late, The court allowed Shafiq to run for election.
and infact the court said 1/3 of people assembly are illegal, this sure means that the whole assembly will be dismissed.
All indications are that Shafiq will be made next president.
June 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
Tara said:
Zoo
“The opposition’s islamist allies is trying to stir Iran in Syria by attacking Shia holiest sites”
I am of course against suicide bombing anywhere….but if indeed Islamists were responsible for this act, what is Iran to do? Provide the regime with more IRGs, technical support, and weapons? It is going to make no difference! Except for “condemnation with the strongest possible terms”, Iran is incapable of doing anything deterrent. The mullahs have already burned all their cards. They have got no friends in Syria.
June 14th, 2012, 9:49 am
AJ said:
“386. MINA said:
Tareq Ramadan discovering the centre
http://www.rt.com/news/arab-outcome-ramadan-countries-782/”
Excellent interview, thanks for posting this.
June 14th, 2012, 10:08 am
MICHEL said:
Some interesting comments by the iranian wilayat-al-faqih regime supporters: http://www.iranmilitaryforum.net/current-events/syrian-army-needs-irans-help-now-more-then-ever/
for example:
“True, but Iran must now send troops (undercover) to crush the uprising. Otherwise it is too late and the insurgency has too long going on. Look at Bahrain the have been supported by Saudi Arabia.
Amaze me that iran is so passive role and I am quite disappointed . Do not wait until your ally is fall because iran next in line.”
June 14th, 2012, 10:52 am
Observer said:
So irritated and SNK are worried that Islamist Jihadists are going to be on the border with Israel. I am puzzled as to why they are worried about the danger it poses to Israel. Is Israeli security their goal? Was Rami 10% guaranteeing the security of Israel at the expense of the freedom of the Syrian people?
All of a sudden regime supporters are worried about Israel!!!
Wow, I thought we were in the Resistance camp. How can they then explain the Iranian support for Syria while it helps the security of Israel?
Talk of a pretzel of a logic in trying to explain this position.
Please explain to us how is Israeli security of concern to the vast majority of Syrians and Arabs and Muslims in the region and why is that related to the stability of the mafia state in Syria now.
Shame on you
June 14th, 2012, 11:30 am
Halabi said:
WSJ – U.S. Bolsters Ties to Fighters in Syria
WASHINGTON—U.S. intelligence operatives and diplomats have stepped up their contacts with Syrian rebels in part to help organize their burgeoning military operations against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, according to senior U.S. officials.
As part of the efforts, the Central Intelligence Agency and State Department—working with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and other allies—are helping the opposition Free Syrian Army develop logistical routes for moving supplies into Syria and providing communications training.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303410404577464763551149048.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird
June 14th, 2012, 11:37 am
Afram said:
the syrian christians should buy Attack Helicopters
Big news out of africa/ Egypt:Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister is still in the presidential race, but all of parliament is out on its head,drum roll please!!!. Legislation had barred former regime figures from running for office,but today’s ruling gives Ahmed Shafiq the green light to engage in a weekend runoff against the fanatic Mohamed Morsi.
No such good news for members of parliament. The court ordered it dissolved,saying a third of the legislature was elected illegally earlier this year.
As a result,it says in its explanation of the ruling,”the makeup of the entire chamber is illegal and,consequently,it does not legally stand.” New elections will have to be held.
June 14th, 2012, 11:44 am
AJ said:
409. OBSERVER said:
“Please explain to us how is Israeli security of concern to the vast majority of Syrians and Arabs and Muslims in the region and why is that related to the stability of the mafia state in Syria now.”
To add to your point,
1-Assad has killed more Arabs in one year than Israel in the past 10 years.
2-Assad has not shot one single bullet to liberate the Golan Heights
These are not rumours, these are pure facts about this coward regime.
June 14th, 2012, 12:14 pm
MICHEL said:
AJ,
also,
This regime has killed more arabs in 1 year than it has killed zionists in 42 years.
So much for “resistance”
June 14th, 2012, 12:29 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Observer said
Shame on you.
No Observer ,you should say
Tfu on you
Not a single bullet was fired from Syrian side against Israel, The army that we paid from our blood, Assad mafia used them against the Syrian, using Syrian army controlled by traitors, and it is so disgusting they call themselves resistants.
Persian are RAfida, they say the opposite of what they mean, they stupidly call it dissimulation.
June 14th, 2012, 12:53 pm
Uzair8 said:
Syrian economy “will not collapse” claims finance minister
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Despite the sanctions inflicted on Syria, the country’s economy will not “collapse,” outgoing Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jleilati said in an interview with Arabian Business today.
Jleilati, speaking from Damascus, claimed that GDP growth this year will be between 0 and 2 percent while the fiscal deficit “remains within normal estimates” and on target of 6 to 7 percent of GDP.
The minister also said that Syria is close to finalising an agreement within the coming month that will allow it to export crude, while also partially offsetting diesel and gas shortages brought on by international sanctions.
Read more:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/syrian-economy-will-not-collapse-claims-finance-minister-462195.html
June 14th, 2012, 1:07 pm
AJ said:
“416. UZAIR8 said:
Syrian economy “will not collapse” claims finance minister
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Despite the sanctions inflicted on Syria, the country’s economy will not “collapse,” …
Jleilati… claimed that GDP growth this year will be between 0 and 2 percent while the fiscal deficit “remains within normal estimates” and on target of 6 to 7 percent of GDP.”
So despite the cosmic conspiracy designed by the Western Zionist Salafi terrorists including their evil, the Syrian economy is still growing!
This is just purely amazing!
…
June 14th, 2012, 1:21 pm
Uzair8 said:
Listened to BBC World Service in the early hours. At the beginning a speaker described how the regime forces used Red Cross vehicles and pretended to be Observers in order to deceive the people of al-Haffe.
After clips of Hilary Clinton and Lavrov at 3 minutes they turned to General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army, about the US-Russian state of play vis-vis the syrian situation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00t2h10
June 14th, 2012, 1:22 pm
Uzair8 said:
417. AJ
Yes..the economy must be affected but to what extent we don’t know.
How is the regime surviving economically?
I’m sure there is still money around. The regime figures can dip into their own pockets if need be and use the billions they have gathered and stashed away (Makhloufs and Assads).
Iran and Iraq are possible sources of funds.
The regime could just focus its resources on the core state which includes the couple of/several million government employees and the main cities such as Damascus and Aleppo.
It might feel it can get away with not providing for many outer and rebel areas.
The UN and global humanitarian efforts helps remove the burden from the regime in this sense.
I don’t. I’m only speculating and am not an economist. I’d love to discover more about what is happening economically in Syria.
June 14th, 2012, 1:32 pm
Juergen said:
Irritated
“Obviously you are not able to make a distinction: Hamas is not Salafist, it is a Moslem Brotherhood group, just like the Egyptian MB and the Turkish AKP.
Syria was hosting them and supporting them politically. The funds to the Hamas is coming from Qatar, KSA, Iran and Turkey.
Inform yourself better maybe you’ll see the light.”
Well obviously you define between good salafis and bad salafis, the MB was founded by Hassan al Banna and Sayid Qutb, and both were salafis- you may consider reading their works its full of the salafiya school of thought. The MB movement is the mother of all extreme islamist groups and parties, the message its the same although the means and the aims have shifted with each successing group coming to the surface. Check the scientific world, there all of those groups are in what they call the Salafi Jihadists. By the way, Muhammed Qutb the surviving brother of Sayid Qutb, was a long time professor for islamic jurisprudence in Madinah university and the professor of Osama bin Laden.
June 14th, 2012, 1:37 pm
Juergen said:
Robert King a photographer who was in Syria for 6 weeks just returned and has published his work in the NYT.
Very good pictures indeed. To the german TAZ newspaper he gave some comments on Syria:
It is not a fucking civil war, “said the war photographer Robert King, in Beirut.
“This is something I’ve never seen, and what I have documented in the weeks in the province of Homs, was ethnic cleansing,” said the usually calm photojournalist.
“What’s all the nonsense with the UN observers to watch have they not learned anything from the massacre of Srebrenica?” he rebelled. “There are credible videofilmers from the beginning in Syria. Do we actually need a blue helmet and a camera in order to legitimize the unique truth which has already been shown thousands of times ? ”
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/a-rare-view-of-conflict-in-syria/
June 14th, 2012, 1:48 pm
Tara said:
And Tara is now interested in Egyptian politics? Who would have ever guessed?
The Economist endorses Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, for president of Egypt, declaring him the better of two bad choices.
The magazine calls the contest between Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq “a wretched choice.” “If there were a decent secular candidate,” the author continues, “we would vote for him. But Mr Shafiq, whose mantra is a call for stability and a crackdown on crime, would be a throwback to repression.”
Fears that the Muslim Brotherhood would rule with intolerance and persecute minorities are overblown, the Economist writes:
Islamism in the Arab world now covers a wide spectrum; and its sensible end has fast been evolving from a radical, violent strain into a modern, outward-looking variant…. the Brothers have gone out of their way to shed intolerance and bigotry, espousing—at least on paper—rights for women and Christians, and promising not to close down bars on tourist beaches or ban the wearing of bikinis.
The magazine reasons that it’s better to leap in a forward direction into the unknown than to fall backward:
If [Egyptians] opt for Mr Morsi and the Brothers, they face a future full of risks. But that is better than a return to the oppressive past under Mr Shafiq.
more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jun/14/syria-crisis-war-crimes-evidence-live#block-42
June 14th, 2012, 3:38 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
After the first free and democratic election in Egypt, an election that 50 million egyptian participated in it,now the court says it was illigal,this followed a week ago different court that said many of Mubarak people are not guilty, this is a return of Mubarak regime and totally ignoring the Egyptian people will, Ahmad Shafiq will probably made win, Egypt will possibly go through more trouble.
This means changes in US policy toward Syria.
June 14th, 2012, 3:44 pm
Tara said:
Can one tell me what went wrong in Egypt? An MB candidate or an old guard? Has Egypt not given birth to any better? How long should we wait to celebrate the true victory of Egypt’s youth revolution? Or has it succeeded already and we are now seeing the fruit of this success?
It took the Egyptians 18 days or some to topple their tyrant while we are still struggling with ours 15 months later. Is this the price they have to pay for their quick revolution? Are we going to politically mature by the time our revolution comes to victory so we end up with a better fate? What is the better fate for us? Has all the spilled blood left any room in our heart for forgiveness? Is coexistence still possible? How are we going to overcome the profound resentment? Is there any historical precedent of people coexisted after a genocide? Wasn’t South Africa a different story? Is Lebanon a non-fake country? And if the solution is to split the country, are Sunnis willing to give a part of Syria to Alawis to form their independent statelet?
June 14th, 2012, 4:00 pm
Mina said:
Tara,
You have told me several times as many others here that this is a place to discuss only Syria, and that you don’t feel concerned by what is going on in South Sudan, Egypt, or Iraq.
I post regularly article from http://www.egyptindependent.com (“al Masry al Yawm”) and from http://www.ahramonline.com (al-Ahram), so I suggest whoever is interested in what has been going on in Egypt to go there and read.
Usually, history cannot be summed up in 140 caracters, as Twitter would like us to do like the machines we are supposed to become: ever “yeah yeah kill kill” or “bouhhh bouhhh” as with the “Arab spring”.
In Egypt, the presidential election’s 2nd tour is saturday and sunday. With this new judgement that will bring a dissolution of both chambers you can bet simple people (the poor) will be confused and many won’t turn to the polling station. The dissolution was expected in the absence of a constitution, and the MB have been trying since 6 months to block the composition of the assembly supposed to write it. You have to see the record -just check Youtube, there are many videos of the “debates” at the Egyptian parliament in the last 6 months – of the MB and Salafi members if you want to laugh, or alternately cry). Just type “hizb al nur” and “majlis al shaab” on Youtube and you’ll find plenty.
Now we have Ghannoushi in Tunis, Ramadan in Oxford, taking open positions against the Salafis (only Jürgen is still missing). Ghannoushi calls them the pawns of the (Gulf sponsored) counter revolution. It should ring a bell after all that has been written in this comment section.
Revolution phase 2. Open confrontation with the Islamists. Since the West couldn’t do it, let them do it to themselves.
June 14th, 2012, 4:38 pm
bronco said:
#424 Tara
You seem to worry that your ‘simple’ ideals of the revolution, Dignity and Freedom are much more complicated to obtain than you originally thought. Not only in Syria.
Get ready for long periods of trouble that may end up in an Iran-like regime, (but tougher) if the secular regime of Assad falls and the non-secular opposition takes over the country thanks to your zealous support as well as the Moslem Brotherhood inspired countries(Turkey, Qatar, KSA, Tunisia, Libya and.. Egypt) and the naive expats’s funding.
The Iran revolution against the dictator, who was a very close friend and client of the USA and EU, was made 25 years ago and the Iranians maybe got a better dignity in their gained independence from the US than when the country was a US colony but not much more freedom. Many Iranians expats contributed to that revolution and they remained expats.
Religion-based regimes are much harder to dislodge than seculars, this is why they should not be given the slightest chance to rule, or its too late.
June 14th, 2012, 4:48 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Mina
Egypt news are very important, and news about Egypt will influence the Syrian revolution, When you talk about Mali or Zimbabwi then these news are not important.
The backdoor reversal of the Egyptian revolution,working against the Egyptian will is not the right thing,If we don’t take the whole tumor out the tumor will come back.
That is why I am not against civil war in Syria,it is necessary to wipe out all pro Assad regime once and forever.we don’t want division of Syria, complete wipe out,otherwise without civil war this will not happen.
June 14th, 2012, 4:58 pm
Alan said:
Russia will respond to a possible US-led war on Syria: Analyst
Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley
http://presstv.com/detail/2012/06/14/246182/russia-will-respond-to-war-on-syria/
Putin To Visit Israel Despite Syria Split
http://forward.com/articles/157760/putin-to-visit-israel-despite-syria-split/
../…/..
Putin has been roundly condemned by the international community for his continued support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is under fire for his deadly crackdown on dissenters against his government. The United States on Tuesday charged Russia with delivering attack helicopters to Syria.
../../..
June 14th, 2012, 4:59 pm
bronco said:
423. majedkhaldoun
For once I agree with you. If Shafiq is elected, the country may turn into violence as the Moslem Brotherhood and the Salafists will not easily accept the election result.
The policy of West toward Syria will probably change.
June 14th, 2012, 5:02 pm
AJ said:
People need to realize that real change in the middle east will take at least one generation to take affect. Overthrowing the dictators is only the first step in a very long process of liberation. Extremism, racism, corruption, injustice, Zionism are examples of many things that need to be resolved once these dictators are gone.
June 14th, 2012, 5:16 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
431. IRRITATED
Congratulations and welcome to our side. For the first time you accept Assad is a fascist dictator.
June 14th, 2012, 5:16 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Assad God Statues should be hidden in museums for the future generations to observe the degree of stupid idolatry Syria reached in recent history.
June 14th, 2012, 5:19 pm
irritated said:
420. Juergen
Despite your elaborated historical references, there is a simple evidence on the ground now: Salafists and Moslem Brotherhood hate each other and are competing with each others.
The Moslem Brotherood is financed and supported by Qatar and Turkey. The Saudis hate the MB even more than they hate the Shia because the MB has insulted and threatened them at many occasions. The Saudis actively supports the Salafists everywhere, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and in Egypt where, having lost their salafi candidate, they now push for a secular president, close to Mobarak, rather than an MB candidate.
If Morsi is elected, Egypt may loose the financial support of the Saudi and the USA.
June 14th, 2012, 5:21 pm
Tara said:
Bronco
I sent you a reply but it apparently went into spam. Waiting for the moderator to release it.
AJ@432
Agree with your post completely. Overthrowing the dictator is indeed the first step in a long struggle… But the stuggle can’t start until and unless we get rid of the first tyrant.
June 14th, 2012, 5:22 pm
irritated said:
#433 Sandro Loewe
Obviously you need glasses as you did not read what I wrote.
June 14th, 2012, 5:23 pm
bronco said:
436. Tara
The important is not to remove a leader but to make sure that what comes after is worth the blood spilled. It does not seem it is.
That is the “black hole” of the Syrian premature and improvised “revolution”
June 14th, 2012, 5:28 pm
Anwar said:
# 431 very good stance irritated. I dont mind it when alawis admit that this is a kill or be killed war where they have to protect their illegitimate reign and monopoly on Syria. I wish you guys would get straight to the point as to why you support a butcher instead of your pathetic attempts at portraying a global conspiracy.
Anyway, good luck fighting over 85% of syria.
June 14th, 2012, 5:30 pm
zoo said:
That’s It For Egypt’s So-Called Transition
Posted By Marc Lynch Thursday, June 14, 2012 – 1:52 PM Share
http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/06/14/egypts_so_called_transition_canceled#.T9nvbBVFLRE.twitter
A few weeks ago, I dared to hope that despite “the stupidest transition in history,” Egypt might still end up backing into a minimally workable political outcome as long as the SCAF lived up to its promise to transfer power to an elected civilian government. Then, the first round of the presidential election went about as badly as it could have,
…
Then, Egypt’s political forces failed, and after a last-minute deal failed again, to come up with a way to draft a legitimate constitution. And then, the SCAF discarded one of the real accomplishments of the transition, the end of emergency law, by restoring vast powers to security services to arrest civilians.
Today, Egypt’s constitutional court delivered the coup de grace by refusing to disqualify Mubarak’s former prime minister Ahmed Shafik from the race and effectively dissolving the elected parliament by declaring the individual election of one-third of its members illegal
….
The SCAF, in other words, may look to have won this seemingly decisive round. But it’s not the endgame. It’s only the beginning of a new phase of a horribly mismanaged “transition” that is coming to its well-earned end. What’s next? A replay of Algeria in 1991? A return to Jan. 25, 2011? Back to 1954?
June 14th, 2012, 5:37 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
437. IRRITATED
You wrote this:
¨It seems Bashar al Assad is reading your posts. No division is acceptable.¨
No divisions have been accepted from Day 1 of the revolution. No different views, opinions or thoughts have been accepted, and rejected by bullets, detentions and tortures. This is FASCISM and DICTATORSHIP.
Take a look at what FASCISM is: a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek rejuvenation of their nation based on commitment to an organic national community where its individuals are united together as one people in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood through a totalitarian single-party state that seeks the mass mobilization of a nation through discipline, indoctrination, physical training, and eugenics. Fascism seeks to purify the nation of foreign influences that are deemed to be causing degeneration of the nation or of not fitting into the national culture. Fascists have commonly presented themselves as politically syncretic—opposing firm association with any section of the left-right spectrum, considering it inadequate to describe their beliefs, and being critical of the left, right, and centre. Fascism’s goal to promote the rule of people deemed innately superior while seeking to purge society of people deemed innately inferior, has been noted as being a prominent far-right stance.
June 14th, 2012, 5:43 pm
zoo said:
The Ottoman methods are still alive: Turkey ex president Turgut Ozal was poisoned?
Özal’s widow looks to meet president over death report
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ozals-widow-looks-to-meet-president-over-death-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=23211&NewsCatID=338
The widow of late President Turgut Özal has requested a meeting with President Abdullah Gül after the June 13 release of a report that resurrected a row ove the leader’s 1993 death by calling it “suspicious” even as Özal’s successor, Süleyman Demirel, dismissed claims that he was assassinated.
Gül’s office said the request came from Semra Özal and that Gül had agreed to meet her in principle, though the date and venue are yet to be set. Semra Özal said earlier that there were strong suspicions that her husband had been poisoned.
June 14th, 2012, 5:46 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Irritated said
If Morsi is elected, Egypt may loose the financial support of the Saudi and the USA.
I will remind you of this statement in the future
If the Alawis continue their support for Assad they will lose in the post Assad Syria,
If they split from Assad they will share in the democratic Syria, they will survive and do well
It is their choice.
June 14th, 2012, 5:47 pm
Tara said:
Bronco
Then let me challenge you a bit? In your opinion, are we then ever allowed to have a revolution and change our misery?
Knowing that geopolitics are not going to change anytime soon, what elements would you have wanted to see before you approve our revolution? What exactly is missing that making the revolution “premature” and improvised”? Should the Iranians not have overthrown their shah?
June 14th, 2012, 5:51 pm
zoo said:
Turkey scrambling to revive the comatose SNC and repeats that
“Turkey is not willing to act unilaterally or even to lead a multilateral force,”
World mulls arming rebels
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/world-mulls-arming-rebels.aspx?pageID=238&nID=23240&NewsCatID=352
The Syrian National Council’s (SNC) meeting slated for this weekend seems to be important for various reasons
…
Western and Arab powers will try once again to narrow the differences among the opposition, to determine one interlocutor, and to help the SNC coalesce and come up with a transition plan.
The meeting will also raise the financial and logistical demands of the Syrian opposition. Compared with the past, the international community will be more willing to deploy more arms to the opposition.
According to sources familiar with the issue, sending more weapons is not aimed at winning militarily in the field, but rather making clear to Damascus that “the battlefield is not empty.” With the Syrian opposition becoming an increasing problem for Damascus, it is thought that a political situation could be created to facilitate real negotiations for regime change.
June 14th, 2012, 5:52 pm
Tara said:
#427 Bronco
I like “simple” more than “naive”. I do not want to sound offensive but I think that Syrians are more politically refined and overall less religious than Egyptians, plus their long revolution and their sacrifices will sure have a significant impact unto their final destination.
On another note, a new link to (your) brilliant beauty.
—-
“ur amazing and u look like ur a 25 years old super star in the interview,” she wrote to him in December last year. “r u upset with me :(“ she asked several days later.
Ah… I can’t stop laughing…the dude is ugly, unintelligent, uneducated, lacks sophistication, and a murderer. She is not infatuated by him..she is infatuated by the power he possesses.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9330209/Syrian-aide-insists-she-only-did-what-any-ambitious-American-girl-would-do.html
In her first major interview since the controversy broke, Miss Jaafari, 22, told The Daily Telegraph that her role in the Syria’s Bashar al-Assad’s communications team had been exaggerated and she was being made a “scapegoat”.
Miss Jaafari, whose father is the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, and considers herself “more a Westerner than a Syrian”, insists that she was never paid during her three months on President Assad’s communications team, claiming that she was a junior intern simply trying to “help my country through its crisis” and was not his aide.
“Any ambitious American girl would do the same thing I did,” she said. “You get an interesting offer, you challenge yourself and you go for it.”
…
“I’m a very simple girl and I don’t want to pay the price just because my father is the ambassador.”
…
During an hour-long conversation Miss Jaafari told The Telegraph of her encounters with the Syrian dictator who would come to the communications office where she worked to meet with senior advisers.
“He would come to the offices, talk to us face to face and he would leave,” she said. “It was during a crisis so we had to be a little more engaged in everything. He would talk to all the staff, he would talk to the interns, he would ask questions and he would leave. He was very friendly to us.”
When asked whether she believed the Syrian government’s claim that the widespread killing of civilians was the work of “terrorists”, Miss Jafaari replied: “I wasn’t into all these details.”
Her account is difficult to reconcile with the hundreds of emails she sent to Mr Assad and others since the Syrian uprising began in March last year.
The messages, which were obtained by opposition groups and passed to the Daily Telegraph, show a young woman with direct access to Syria’s leader who played a major role in shaping his response to Western media coverage.
Between August 2011 and January of this year she emailed Mr Assad 118 times. What is most striking is the informality with which Miss Jafaari addressed the President she claims to barely know. “ur amazing and u look like ur a 25 years old super star in the interview,” she wrote to him in December last year. “r u upset with me :(“ she asked several days later.
More…
June 14th, 2012, 6:05 pm
bronco said:
#444 Tara
The Iranians were unanimous in hating the Shah, the people, the army, the communists, the religious establishment wanted him out.
Khomeini was to be the next leader, he was charismatic and everybody trusted him. The Shah was also hated because Iran had become the puppet of the USA and the foreign and national policy of Iran was dictated by the USA through a strong presence of the CIA helping the SAVAK, the iranian intelligence.
All was ripe and concurred to the end of the Shah and his replacement by Khomeini who created an Islamic republic where independence and dignity was recovered but no freedom.
Recently the Iranians thought they could start a new revolution to obtain the freedom they lacked.
After few attempts that turned bloody, they realized that they were not able to win it. No charismatic leader, the strong army united to the regime, no grassroots opposition and above all the majority of the Iranians are supportive of the regime’s foreign policy on Iran and agree on its defiance toward the USA and the West’s aggressive behavior in addition to the support of the Palestinians.
The new revolutionaries realized that starting a revolution in these conditions will bring only deaths, hatred and destruction and will fail.
They therefore stopped and are now waiting for the moment when the chances will be in their side, whatever time it will take but they will not bring misery and a civil war in their country.
Now make the comparison with the disastrous Syrian revolution.
June 14th, 2012, 6:09 pm
bronco said:
Tara #439
I am not interested in tabloids, I already said so. Address these gossips to your friends here who share your taste, not to me.
Sorry to be blunt about that.
June 14th, 2012, 6:17 pm
anwar said:
Mods please release my last comment
June 14th, 2012, 6:26 pm
Darryl said:
“438. TARA said:
Knowing that geopolitics are not going to change anytime soon, what elements would you have wanted to see before you approve our revolution? What exactly is missing that making the revolution “premature” and improvised”? Should the Iranians not have overthrown their shah?”
The first step is to have a revolution to get the Mosque out of you daily life and break those shackles and having a solid footing instead of shifting sand.
Whilst you are holidaying here is some nice Anandi Kalyan Sitar music for you to relax and reflect.
June 14th, 2012, 6:49 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
الحجي بحبوح يهدد بقصف القصر الجمهوري
June 14th, 2012, 7:11 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
ثورة قطاع طرق
اختطف مجهولون في حادثتين منفصلتين فجر الخميس رجلي أعمال بحلب ، أحدهم مالك شركة أدوية و الآخر مالك فندق في مركز المدينة.
و قالت مصادر اعلامية إن مسلحين اعترضوا سيارة رجل الأعمال ” إحسان مراد آغا” مالك شركة ابن الهيثم للصناعات الدوائية بالقرب من مفرق قرية داعل بريف حلب، و قاموا باقتياده و أربعة من مرافقيه المسلحين إلى جهة مجهولة .
في السياق ذاته، تعرض مالك فندق بلانيت “نصري صراف” لحادثة مشابهة ، إذ تم اختطافه من أمام منزله في حي الحمدانية بحلب .
و طلب الخاطفون فدية تبلغ 20 مليون ليرة سورية لقاء الافراج عنه ، بحسب قول المصادر.
يشار إلى أن ظاهرة اختطاف رجال الأعمال كثرت في الأونة الأخيرة، إذ يعمل اللصوص على خطف الأثرياء طلباً للكسب المادي ، مستغلين الأحداث التي تمر بها البلاد .
http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=f2da1a01fd8b119af7a42999f6cf6c29&ar=15865164
June 14th, 2012, 7:14 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
.Bronco
How long you think Iranian regime will last?
Syria is getting ready tomorrow for( Getting ready completely,for all over uprising)
Iste3dad tam lil nafeer al 3am
Syrian economy is bad,Ehsani will agree, Syria is printing money in Russia,inflation follows not precedes putting these papers in the hands of the people.
June 14th, 2012, 7:17 pm
Ghufran said:
I spoke about Egypt a number of times and now we all can appreciate why Egypt is important. What happened yesterday is a coup,it basically means that the military junta will be in control in Egypt for years to come,Egypt may be following Turkey’s example where for decades nobody could challenge the authority of the Generals. I assure you that it does not matter much who wins in Egypt this weekend,the end result is the same:
Islamists can scream and demonstrate but they will not be allowed to have the final say even if they have the majority in the parliament.
I am a supporter of allowing the MB in Syria to win a recognition as a legitimate political party,the problem in Syria is that fighting parties want everything or nothing,take the infighting at the SNC and the opposition in general as an example.
The regime is about to announce the names of the new cabinet members,initial info indicates that most ministers will be Baathists,not that I am surprised,which again makes the new government a new Barda’aa for an old donkey.
June 14th, 2012, 8:02 pm
jad said:
It seems that many missed the extremely dangerous attack happened in Damascus yesterday, the attack came just one day after the UN spokesperson remarks about the civil war in Syria which makes it very suspicious.
I think that the attack near Sit Zainab shrine was meant to be a sectarian and political message, fortunately it wasn’t close enough to ignite something as evil as the terrorists wanted to be.
And the alarming news that followed was even worse, about plans for suicidal attacks inside mosques in Damascus on Friday..
It’s exactly the same plan we saw executed in Iraq, starting with the attack on the Shia shrines and the retaliation attack at the Sunni’s mosques which ignite the Iraqi civil war.
I think the enemies of Syria and Syrians are now trying their best to ignite a full scale civil war planned, supported and funded fully by the western powers, Khalayjeh and turkey as their latest attempt the change the government in Syria, if that doesn’t work, they have nothing left but military intervention to occupy Syria, which many of the political ‘mature’ oppositions are calling for, I guess it’s ‘cheaper’ for them ( and for Khaldoun as noted many times) to kill more than half the Syrian population and to partner with the devils just to get to the power which they proved so many times that they are not even able to manage themselves to manage a country.
المراقبون يزورون موقع انفجار السيدة زينب 14-6-2012
http://youtu.be/gOdI2oTaQVE
June 14th, 2012, 8:02 pm
jad said:
Dear Mina,
More voices exposing the creepy Avaaz and its warmonger agenda:
ARGENTINE JOURNALIST STELLA CALLONI DENOUNCES AVAAZ | LATIN AMERICAN UNIONS FOLLOW HER LEAD
{…}
For some weeks we have been denouncing, through the network of friendly trenches, the hidden labor of AVAAZ and its duplicity in its treatment of certain topics; today, from Argentina, Stella Calloni thoroughly refutes the manipulative and dis-informing messages issued in the name of this group:
Stella Calloni refutes message in the name of AVAAZ:
“You lie. You know that hundreds of mercenaries have entered Syria, and special operations troops (the worst and dirtiest within the armies of United States, United Kingdom, France, Israel), and what they have in mind with this story about repression is to do the same as they did in Libya, first sending in these groups and mercenaries to create focos, so as to later say, when the government under attack defends itself, that it is attacking a rebellious people. You lie as did Goebbels, who now looks small next to you. And you know very well to whom you answer. You presented yourselves as a network for justice, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, to serve dirty wars, unjust invasions, and genocides like those committed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. You are as criminal and mercenary as those who kill without pity. At least we are now many who have discovered your game.”
{…}
http://wrongkindofgreen.org/2012/03/12/argentinian-journalist-stella-calloni-denounces-avaaz-latin-american-unions-follow-her-lead/
June 14th, 2012, 8:08 pm
bronco said:
#448 Majedalkhaldoon
There will not be any violent revolution in Iran anymore. It was too painful and did not bring what people were expecting, just like any revolution.
In my view the regime in Iran will gradually move toward more democracy as there is a growing participation of the new generation that is extremely well educated and yet religiously conservative. Women’s education and role in the society has grown beyond expectations ( 60% of college students are women). The country has become much more self sufficient and has grown considerably its industries since the time of the Shah where everything was imported and filling the pockets of the Shah’s family at the expense of the workers.
Iran and Turkey are the two big powers of the region now to count on. Turkey is more turned toward the West in its desire to be part of the EU while Iran is strictly Asian and Middle Eastern and is opening toward Asia and the Middle East.
June 14th, 2012, 8:21 pm
zoo said:
#403 Majedalkhaldoon
Yes, the secular SCAF made them change their mind
“All indications are that Shafiq will be made next president.”
I think you’re right, if it happens it will be a “success” for the USA and Saudi Arabia but a big blow to the Moslem Brotherhood supporters, Qatar and Turkey.
They may want to get Syria at any cost of Syrian lives.
June 14th, 2012, 8:26 pm
zoo said:
Post Revolution Libya: a civil war?
Libya needs more than elections to prevent civil war
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/14/libya-needs-more-than-elections
The escalation of terror attacks and violence could be halted if the militia forces were brought within a new regulated framework
The past month has been a tumultuous one for Libya. Successful local elections in Benghazi, in which voter turnout was impressive and a female candidate secured the largest number of votes, showed that the country can move towards becoming a state with viable democratic processes and representative leaders.
…
Yet, with every step it takes forward, Libya takes another two back. The security situation has deteriorated rapidly over the past two weeks. On Tuesday, it was the turn of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Misrata to come under attack. On Monday, the British ambassador’s convoy in Benghazi was hit, with two bodyguards injured in the ensuing gun battle. Last week there was an attack on the US diplomatic mission in the same city.
Apart from terror attacks such as these, Libyans are fighting each other. Militiamen act with impunity, as the recent seizure of Tripoli airport showed, while clashes continue in the southern town of Kufra, where pro-government militiamen are locked in an armed conflict with tribal forces over smuggling routes. The clashes have so far claimed at least 20 lives.
June 14th, 2012, 8:35 pm
zoo said:
Egyptian ‘Coup’ Dissolves Parliament
http://abcnews.go.com/International/egyptian-coup-dissolves-parliament/story?id=16569673#.T9qEClJASok
By ALEXANDER MARQUARDT (@marquardta) and MOLLY HUNTER (@MollyMHunter)
CAIRO June 14, 2012
In the final days before this weekend’s landmark presidential run-off election, Thursday brought a pair of decisions that threw Egypt’s fledgling democracy into doubt.
Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that one third of the Muslim Brotherhood-led Parliament must be immediately dissolved. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the country’s ruling military, quickly declared full legislative authority, saying that if a portion of the parliament was unconstitutional, that rendered the entire parliament unconstitutional.
“We saw a coup in Egypt today,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha center. “It was an all out power grab. The regime’s apparatus is going into full force. And so far, it’s a remarkable and successful coup.”
In the second ruling, the Mubarak-appointed judges voted that Ahmed Shafiq, Egypt’s former interim prime minister during the revolution, will be allowed to remain on the ballot in the run-off election against the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Morsi, scheduled for June 16 and 17.
“All this equals a complete coup d’etat through which the military council is writing off the most noble stage in the nation’s history,” Mohamed el-Beltagy, a senior member of Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party, wrote on his Facebook wall. “This is the Egypt which Shafiq and the military council desire.”
..
June 14th, 2012, 8:39 pm
zoo said:
Ghassan Ben Jeddou interview with Al Maliki on Al Madayeen
13.06.2012
Part1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=autlv2JYu34&feature=plcp
Part2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml_Nw290Ajk&list=UUZ-8I5p6mxrzchZuMpTbLWg&index=2&feature=plcp
Part3
June 14th, 2012, 8:48 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Filthy sectarian KSA mouthpiece :
وإذا شئنا الاستمرار في تتبع الحراك الداخلي فهناك عدة ملاحظات أيضا:
– الاستنفار الكامل للطائفة العلوية، وربط مصير سوادها الأعظم بمصائر النظام أيا تكن. والاتجاه لإنشاء مناطق صفاء طائفي لنفسها عن طريق المذابح والتهجير بدعم من بعض الجهات في النظام.
– ثبات التحالف بين النظام والطائفة الأرثوذكسية الكبيرة كما مع الطائفة المدينية الكاثوليكية الصغيرة، ومع معظم الطائفة الدرزية. وقد اقتنع النظام منهم بالثبات والسكون.
– انقطاع العلائق بين النظام والسنة ثائرهم وساكنهم. لكن المدينيين السنة من الطبقة الوسطى يؤثرون المغادرة على المشاركة، بينما يؤثر شبانهم المشاركة في التظاهر، واللجوء إلى السلاح مؤخرا أيضا.
http://m.aawsat.com/content/1339711038846583200/opinion
June 14th, 2012, 8:52 pm
mjabali said:
Majedkhaldoun:
How can you offer the Alawis a safe place while you consider them infidels?
آلا ترى تناقضا ونفاقاً في منطقك الاعوج هذا ياهذا؟
You are willing to kill thousands of Syrians just because they are pro regime.
أين تعيش وفي أي زمن تعيش ياهذا؟
The only solution for the safety of Syrians is through elections and voting. Forming political parties and then going to election is what could save Syria. Your solution is going to destroy Syria and kill thousands in its path.
لماذا لاتذهب وتحارب ياشجاع؟
Syrians need parties and real leaders who could make them understand what is needed and how it is done. What we have in Syria now is bloody clowns from both parties.
Save Syria by stopping violence. If you are pro violence, then you should talk only about dividing Syria. Syrians today seem not able to live with each other, so may be a division of the country would suite all.
June 14th, 2012, 8:53 pm
zoo said:
Freedom of expression in post revolution Tunisia: no demonstrations allowed?
I hope the anti-riots are well equipped by France
Tunisia bans rival protests set for Friday
By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/tunisia-bans-rival-protests-set-friday-155308576.html
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The Tunisian government has banned a series of marches planned for this Friday by hardline Islamists and rival groups citing concerns of possible violence in the country, which is grappling with rising religious tension as it struggles to emerge from years of secular dictatorship.
June 14th, 2012, 9:07 pm
zoo said:
What the UN observers saw of Haffa that was under the rebels control until they decided to leave ‘to spare the civilians’ lives: the village is empty of civilians.
http://news.yahoo.com/un-observers-visit-syrias-al-haffe-153058367.html
United Nations observers on Thursday visited the Syrian town of Al-Haffe and reported finding it all but deserted with a strong stench of dead bodies and most state buildings burned to the ground.
“Most government institutions, including the post office, were set on fire from inside,” the UN Supervisory Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) said in a statement.
…
Most anti-regime graffiti had been covered in black paint, though part of a Koranic verse was still visible on one building facade.
“If you return, so too shall we,” was seemingly written by rebels before they evacuated the town, whose entrance is now guarded by a military checkpoint.
State television said the observers had visited the region and “inspected the vandalism and destruction wrought by the terrorists.”
….
“Archives were burnt, stores were looted and set on fire, residential homes appeared rummaged and the doors were open.”
June 14th, 2012, 9:14 pm
zoo said:
In post revolution Libya: Glorification of Ghadaffi is now allowed
Court strikes down bar on Kadhafi ‘glorification’
http://news.yahoo.com/court-strikes-down-bar-kadhafi-glorification-141123991.html
June 14th, 2012, 9:18 pm
omen said:
393. ZOO said:
I wonder who is confused and continue denying the facts
Famous Tony Badran or Famous John Rosenthal ?
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/06/14/better_and_worse_options_in_syria_100087.html There were obvious indicators that the German article was false and based on claims made by the regime and its fellow travelers. 9:06 am
thank you, zoo, i wouldn’t have stumbled across this without you.
June 14th, 2012, 10:05 pm
omen said:
461 zoo: In post revolution Libya: Glorification of Ghadaffi is now allowed
that is in keeping with free speech principles. you demonize expression, it’ll be driven underground and grow pernicious in the dark. such a dynamic will fail to give warning of a growing danger.
this is what happened in europe when neo nazi sentiments were deemed illegal, even holocaust denial become illegal. what happened as a result? anders breivik in norway. as the saying goes: you fight bad speech with more speech. you don’t counter bad ideas by relegating it to the cellar.
not to conflate the two, but this applies to islam as well, i think. earlier, i supported libya’s original decision to ban religious parties, but this too must not be demonized and be allowed free expression. the people must be allowed to sort these issues out.
banning speech & ideas is a dictator’s bailiwick. nice to see libya not going down that road. remember when critics of revolution argued libya would only be trading in one dictator for another one? wrong.
June 14th, 2012, 10:25 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Mjabali
Spare us your insults, that you wrote in Arabic, you are taking advantage that the moderator do not understand Arabic
آلا ترى تناقضا ونفاقاً في منطقك الاعوج هذا ياهذا؟
Do I have to remind you of where did you come from
The Alawis are part of Syrian society, They are not true Muslems but as Syrian they have the right to live in peace and prosper just like any other Syrian, we are all equal, with one exception , those who committed crimes like Shabihas and Assad supporters who cause the death of 20,000 and more under this evil criminal regime, those must be wiped out and the world will be better without them.
Mjabali
you said
لماذا لاتذهب وتحارب ياشجاع؟
For your informations I did , and I am going back there again,
I am sure you will feel very bitter after you hear this news that you did not expect, I am hoping you and people like you shut up and never say this again, and for your informations I was inside ,
Mjabali
You said the answer is election, I hope you mean fair and honest election, Election as Bashar and you want is not fair election, under Bashar there will never be fair election, how do you plan to have fair and honest election and Bashar is there? get rid of him and I definitely will go for election.
June 14th, 2012, 10:39 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
The Al Dunia showed one young guy (Hussam Siddiqi)confessing that he was about to blow himself up in Rifa-ee Mosque.The lie is exposed as he said several like him are going to do the same,they have not been caught.
The message to the people: Don’t go to the mosques,so they don’t demonstrate.
This trick will not scare people who are willing to die .
One Officer who is Shiite juste defected, his name is Hashem.The Shiite in Syria are Arabic shiite, not Persian Shiite,there is difference.
June 14th, 2012, 11:47 pm
Juergen said:
Assadists rejoice! German Neo Nazis support the regime now openly!
Here is a store for stickers,cds and posters. One sticker reads: Against Zionism, against arab reactions, long live President Assad!
http://repro-medien.net/29-aufkleber-gegen-zionismus-und-arabische-reaktion.html
June 15th, 2012, 12:00 am
omen said:
re: Report: Rebels Responsible for Houla Massacre
By John Rosenthal…According to a new report in FAZ, the Houla massacre was in fact committed by anti-Assad Sunni militants
a scorching rebuttal:
The following letter was written by activists from the Homs town of Houla that witnessed a massacre at the hands of government-sponsored security forces on May 25. […]:
June 15th, 2012, 12:03 am
Juergen said:
Irritated 430
what kind of logic is that because MB and salafists fight over the rule on the streets? Ever heard of the saying those who are most similar will hate each other?
But may be i expect too much from you. Sefl qestioning is not an asset of pro assadists. You would have to accept that your beloved supreme leader is financing, supporting and safe heavening two of the most radical islamist groups of which has an pure salafi background. But I assume, what cant be, cant be right?
June 15th, 2012, 12:25 am
Juergen said:
Well there is a first time to everything. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is defending itself in this new article of Rainer Herrmann and quotes Marat Musin an reporter of Anna news, i cant believe that this reporter has quoted him like he is an credible source. One sentence in the text says it all:
“Why in this context, the Syrian witnesses are to be regarded as credible? Because they do not belong to any party to the conflict, but are caught in the middle and have no other interest, as a further escalation of violence, perhaps even stop it.” Sorry Mr Herrmann, which kind of folks talked you into this kind of nonsense in an fancy old town restaurant in Damascus?
http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.faz.net%2Faktuell%2Fpolitik%2Farabische-welt%2Fsyrien-eine-ausloeschung-11784434.html
June 15th, 2012, 12:44 am
Shual said:
# 446
“German Neo Nazis”?
The organisation is a very small faction of the far-left.
http://bak-shalom.de/index.php/2012/02/23/jungle-world-damaskuserlebnis-fur-antiimperialisten/
June 15th, 2012, 1:25 am
Tara said:
Bronco@443
You just don’t want to face the truth, do you? This is not a tabloid. You want to make it sound like it. This is an interview conducted in The Telegraph with a woman who provided material support to dear leader killing Syrians trying to improve his reputation, making fun of the easily manipulated American psych. Sorry if it exposed a side you do not want to hear about Bashar al Assad’s inner working. And yes, I won’t address posts to you.
June 15th, 2012, 1:31 am
Mina said:
454 Zoo
Sounds just like “pacified” Afghanistan. Whoever has money will fly the country, before being kidnapped or see his relatives kidnapped.
The GDP richest country in Africa is now back to stone age. Good job Mr BHL. The Euro is in crisis, we need all the cash available in our banks.
June 15th, 2012, 2:21 am
Mina said:
451 Jad,
Thanks! Since the guy is originally from South America, you bet he already made some “friends” there. They probably know more about his background!
424 Majed: “I am for civil war”. Where did you see that a Muslim is allowed to say something like that? You really fit what I wanted to say about the Twitter/FB generation who cannot think but just answer polls!
449 Ghufran
Yes and no. As Oxford’s T. Ramadan said: Islamists are about 30 percent, not more. The problem is that in their 6 months of glory, they did not achieve anything: they did not make anything for simple people to know the days of polls (because they are the only organized force and knew they would get more votes this way); they used the mosques as pulpits in any occasion; they didn’t show any seriousness or efficiency in ruling the chambers; they did not do anything that would change the problems of daily life: water not proper to drink in most places, and now with the cattle epidemies, poisoned cattle and meat being sold just anywhere since there is no control. Just look for the guy who started to call for prayer during a session (youtube: adhan, majlis al-shaab) he still got his job. One should add that the MB have no interest in ruling now (because they are annoyed by their extreme-right, the Hizb al Nur and because the country is in havoc) but they like demonstrations of force.
But as you can see from the little number of people on Tahrir the Friday after the verdict on Mubarak, people want a strong regime to be back and get tourism back. At the moment, the police is on a sort of open ended strike, and the country (especially the countryside) in a state of low chaos. People have lost hope that the MB will be able to control the flow of weapons from Libya, the flow of problems from al-Arish, the intertribal fights, plus have a word to say on the control of the police, which have always functioned on a sealed system (Omar Suleiman was not tried… he knows too much about everything, including about the Western and Gulf “War on terrorism” since he was in charge of that under Mubarak).
Journalists are pretending to discover what is going on, but had nothing to say on the 87 percent of abstention to the senate election in February. They just like to shout, that’s their job.
June 15th, 2012, 2:40 am
Syrialover said:
Moment of pride!
The pro-regime block voters came on duty for a while back there and I’m elated to see that I received high scores of red thumbs down.
With consistent 20+ red votes I’m in the Syrian Hamster league for this round. Along with a proud honor roll of Son of Damascus, Sandro Loewe, Dawoud, Uzair8, Juergen and Anwar.
And a special high five for Tara and Majedkhaldoun who both scored 27 for some entries!
But those block voters are even-handed. Their own team gets a neat score of the same ratio of green thumbs up for themselves. Green votes in the high 20s went to Stick to the Truth, KDD, Karabennemsi and Syria No Kandahar.
I’m imagining that den packed with computers, voting together when a buzzer sounds.
June 15th, 2012, 2:50 am
omen said:
writer david butter takes issue with the professor.
June 15th, 2012, 3:15 am
ann said:
Syria: Gearing up for battle along the Turkish border – 15 June, 2012
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-raids-terror-networks-870/
During this week’s Homs-Khaldiyeh-Rastan operations, security forces landed an unexpected catch: due to a lack of convenience, all captured suspected terrorists were put into one detention center in Homs. At that point, one of the suspects quarreled and kicked another terrorist while a third one tried to separate the two. The Syrian prison ward, alerted by the unexpectedly serious brawl among prisoners who were picked up in different towns, decided to interrogate all three of them.
[…]
June 15th, 2012, 3:18 am
ann said:
Some UN monitors spying in Syria: Jordanian observer – 15 June 2012
http://www.just-international.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5535:some-un-monitors-spying-in-syria-jordanian-observer&catid=45:recent-articles&Itemid=123
A Jordanian member of the UN observer team in Syria says some of his teammates are carrying out spy missions by collecting information about Syria’s military headquarters.
The Jordanian officer, who was not named in the report, was quoted by the Lebanese al-Diyar newspaper as saying that the Western members of the team, in particular head of the UN mission in Syria, Major General Robert Mood, conduct acts of espionage against the Syrian government.
He said the monitors, on the order of Mood, made a visit to the port city of Tartus that hosts a Russian naval base and is of high military and security importance and sensitivity.
UN monitors are tasked with observing the implementation of a ceasefire that was part of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan, but the visit to Tartus raises suspicions as the city has not been affected by the tensions and unrest in the country.
He said the UN monitors also visited four military zones in cities including Daraa, Homs and Idlib where Syria’s air and defensive air army are located.
The Jordanian officer added that the UN monitors also took videos from an aerial reconnaissance base in al-Hareh and another military base between Nowi and al Sheikh al Meskin.
[…]
June 15th, 2012, 3:55 am
ann said:
Blast damages Shiite Muslim shrine outside Damascus, Syria – June 15, 2012
http://www.theaustralianeye.com/news/blast-damages-shiite-muslim-shrine-outside-damascus-syria-aoi35835811.html
BEIRUT _ A bomb-laden car driven by a suicide attacker exploded Thursday near a major Shiite Muslim shrine outside the Syrian capital of Damascus, injuring 14 people and damaging part of the shrine, according to Syrian state media and news agency reports.
It was the latest in a series of car bombs that have killed scores of Syrians and elevated tensions in the country’s two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, where the bombings have been the most dramatic manifestation of the more than yearlong insurrection. Authorities have blamed al-Qaida-linked Islamic militants from Syria and other nations, including neighboring Iraq and Jordan, for previous suicide bombings.
It was unclear if the intended target of Thursday’s strike was a nearby police station or the golden-domed Sayyida Zainab shrine, the Associated Press reported. The shrine is one of Shiite Islam’s holiest and most magnificent sites and a favored destination of Shiite pilgrims, especially Iranians. It is said to be the burial place of a revered granddaughter of the prophet Muhammad.
The blast on Thursday shattered shrine windows, knocked down chandeliers and ceiling fans, and cracked mosaic walls inside the religious site, AP reported.
Official Syrian state media said 14 people were injured in Thursday’s explosion, which occurred inside a parking lot. State media displayed photos from the scene showing destroyed vehicles, a shattered cement building and a crater where the bomb car apparently detonated.
[…]
June 15th, 2012, 4:28 am
Tara said:
Darryl
The link did not work on my phone but thank you. In a mood for Gregorian music visiting a church in Sienna which I think is the most beautiful church in the world.
Agree solid ground should not be built on religious foundation. It would be a mistake however, calling the regime in Syria secular. A pseudo secular if you will as God per se is not emphasized , yet loyalty is based on structuring a whole security empire out of a religious sect. I hope you agree…
June 15th, 2012, 5:34 am
Alan said:
477. ANN said:
Blast damages Shiite Muslim shrine outside Damascus
the same Chronicle of events in Iraq! the same Israili authors! after that they killed each other Imams!
June 15th, 2012, 5:45 am
Alan said:
Syria: Impending False Flag Media PSYOP On The Horizon
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/06/syria-impending-false-flag-media-psyop.html
June 15th, 2012, 6:46 am
Alan said:
Syrien aktuell: Christoph Hörstel über die dortige Lage (Russia Today)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QEMFHDkWrQ
Syria: Gearing up for battle along the Turkish border (Op-Ed)
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-raids-terror-networks-870/
June 15th, 2012, 7:01 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Criminal (revolutionists):
من جانب آخر اعترضت العصابات المسلحة أمس حافلة بولمان منطلقة من دير الزور إلى طرطوس بالقرب من دوار الدلي، وقامت بإنزال الركاب واختطاف عدد من طلاب كلية الزراعة وهم: علي عزت كناج، مهند داغر، علي العده شعيب، عبد الله مهنا.
وأفاد مراسل شوكوماكو أن الإرهابيون اتصلوا بأهالي الطلبة وأخبروهم أن أبنائهم محتجزين لديهم وأقفلوا الخط.
http://www.shukumaku.com/PDA/Content.php?id=47998
June 15th, 2012, 7:51 am
zoo said:
Is Saudi Arabia cooling off about regime change in Syria?
June 15, 2012
Saudi Arabia Reins in Its Clerics
By Frederic Wehrey
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/06/15/saudi_arabia_reins_in_its_clerics_100089-2.html
…
Arabic press reported on May 29 that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia summoned twenty prominent Salafi clerics to Riyadh to ban them from soliciting donations for Syria’s embattled citizenry. A number of those clerics responded by announcing on their social media platforms that they had been contacted by authorities and ordered to desist from collecting funds for Syria.
…
Yet, the clerics have gone too far, deviating from the government’s line and moving from rhetoric to appeals for non-official action. There have been more militant calls for jihad and humanitarian aid to the Syrian citizenry that deviate from the official line. A redline was crossed when a group calling itself the “Ulema Committee to Support Syria” announced its existence on Facebook on May 26, posting bank account numbers for prospective donors and organizing a fundraising drive at the Bawardi Mosque in Riyadh.
…The Monarchy Draws a Redline
Just two days after the group was formed, the Ulema Committee to Support Syria announced on Facebook that it could no longer accept donations and that its fundraising drive had been cancelled by the authorities. The individual social media sites of clerics affiliated with the committee posted similar notices
June 15th, 2012, 9:15 am
zoo said:
USA’s Mobarak support vs Russia’s Bashar Al Assad support, a questionable loyalty?
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/06/15/portents_all_bad_for_syrian_bloodbath_100088-2.html
Where is America in all this? As recently as five years ago, you would have expected Washington to take a leading hand in promoting moderate Syrian leaders.
There have been some scattered reports, of unknowable credibility, of clandestine US assistance to the Syrian opposition on the ground. But the US is not a significant player, which means whatever moderate oppositionists there are will receive no significant outside help.
This, sadly, is a general sign of the decline of US influence in the Middle East. Outside Israel, Washington’s closest ally in the region was Egypt’s Mubarak, now dying and going mad in jail as he begins his life sentence.
No doubt Mubarak deserved to fall, but Arab political culture, such as it is, stresses calculations of raw power.
The contrast many Arabs draw is with the way Russia is sticking to its Syrian ally. Moscow has substantial interests in Syria. It has a naval base there. It sells Syria a lot of arms. Syria is its only Middle East ally and there is a long, independent economic relationship.
More than that, Russia sees its prestige tied up in its loyalty to an ally. There are limits, of course.
Russia will not embark on World War III to save Assad, but it cares little for Western opinion and not at all for Syrian human rights. Assad is not friendless, nor are the forces against him.
The West has never been less able to influence an outcome. The portents are all bad.
June 15th, 2012, 9:20 am
b said:
THe prime German dail FAZ has a new piece on the Houla massacre.
I translated it to English:
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2012/06/new-faz-piece-on-houla-massacre-the-extermination.html
June 15th, 2012, 10:06 am
majedkhaldoun said:
“Either we turn Syria to heaven, or we go to heaven”
This is new sign in Kafr Souseh
Daily (at night) demonstrations,in Damascus, it is hard to get to it, you have to be known to them.
June 15th, 2012, 10:52 am
omen said:
389. SYRIA NO KANDAHAR said:
You should give an answer to why the terrorists are occupying churches in the first place? Churches occupied by terrorists in Alhamedia(Homs) and turned
Into command center,and 40000 Christian Homsis were kicked out from their houses and 9000 from Alkesseer,they were not allowed to take any valuables with them,they tortured and killed many of them,they occupied their houses illegally and used it for their terrorists activities.The terrorists know when they occupy churches that destruction will happen to these churches because they move all
Their RBGs,Klashinkof and Israeli weapons inside the churches and continue to fight.fighting from inside churches is in clear violation of Islam if they care about that.
What if Christians occupy mosques and kick Moslems from their houses?how many car bombs,chopped heads and burned churches we will see? 8:19 am
.
terrorists? it’s not the rebels who are inflicting around the clock shelling of innocent civilians.
an earlier op-ed that bears repeating:
Syrian disinformation about Christian persecution
June 15th, 2012, 11:25 am
omen said:
regime propagandists have less than zero regard for the truth. the muck they slop out in a continual basis at an industrial rate makes the bush lies about wmds look like child’s play.
June 15th, 2012, 11:30 am
Uzair8 said:
Report Of Moscow-Printed Currency In Circulation In Syria ‘Not Surprising’ To US
6/14/2012
(RTTNews) – The United States has said a report that Syria has released new cash into circulation and that it was printed in Moscow is “not surprising.”
Responding to a question during a press briefing on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said she did not have any information on that.
“I can say that obviously you are all seeing what we are seeing, which is that the Syrian economy is in free-fall as a result of the international sanctions, that they are suffering from very high inflation, that the Assad regime has run through more than half of the national reserves of the country,” she told reporters. “So if they are now resorting to inflating their own currency to survive, that wouldn’t be surprising,” she added.
Nuland said the Syrian economy was in free-fall because of the international sanctions as well as the ongoing civil war. “The wealth of the nation is being directed at killing its own rather than at providing for the people,” she said.
Read more:
http://www.rttnews.com/1906340/report-of-moscow-printed-currency-in-circulation-in-syria-not-surprising-to-us.aspx?type=gn&Node=B1
June 15th, 2012, 12:01 pm
Son of Damascus said:
MajedKhaldoun,
“Daily (at night) demonstrations,in Damascus, it is hard to get to it, you have to be known to them.”
Not as hard as you would think, but nevertheless you are absolutely correct almost every night they have a huge colourful protest. They are very inspiring, below are a few from this month:
Last night June 14 2012:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/sets/72157630072149279/
June 12 2012:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/sets/72157630124550338/
June 11 201:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/sets/72157630115561616/
June 15th, 2012, 12:04 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Our 4th largest city is being flattened by Assad monsters and his little ducklings of the keyboard keep quacking about the “revolutionist” destroying Syria.
This is what Assad reforms look like (A series of over 400 pics from Homs yesterday):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/sets/72157630115561616/
This is what a house of worship means to Assad thugs (Talbiseh Homs yesterday):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/sets/72157630067732269/
June 15th, 2012, 12:09 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Moderator
Deleting my last comment is a shame on SC.
June 15th, 2012, 12:09 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
So saying Syria is jihadists heaven is against SC rules?
June 15th, 2012, 12:25 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
The point is, what should be done if the showdown between the authorities and the opposition does assume the form of violent, armed confrontation? The answer seems obvious -external actors should do their best to stop the bloodshed and support a compromise involving all parties to the conflict. When deciding to support UN Security Council Resolution 1970 and making no objection to Resolution 1973 on Libya, we believed that these decisions would help limit the excessive use of force and pave the way for a political settlement. Unfortunately, the actions undertaken by NATO countries under these resolutions led to their grave violation and support for one of the parties to the civil war, with the goal of ousting the existing regime – damaging in the process the authority of the Security Council.
People versed in politics need not be told that the devil is in the detail, and tough solutions implying the use of force cannot produce a lasting long-term settlement. And in the current circumstances, when the complexity of international relations has increased manifold, it becomes obvious that using force to resolve conflicts has no chance of success. Examples are abundant. They include the complicated situation in Iraq and the crisis in Afghanistan, which is far from being over. There are many indications that things are far from being good in Libya after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi. Instability has spread further to the Sahara and Sahel region, and the situation in Mali was dramatically aggravated.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mobileweb/sergei-lavrov/russia-syria-on-the-right-side-of-history_b_1596400.html
June 15th, 2012, 12:26 pm
omen said:
it’s not enough for the regime to slaughter entire families, survivors have to be abused by reporters by being treated as liars too?
an interview with bbc reporter paul wood, just back from syria (audio):
June 15th, 2012, 12:29 pm
zoo said:
#463 omen
You’ll be surprised how freedom of expression, just after an incomplete revolution, can be extremely dangerous.
It will encourage pro-gaddafi propaganda for counter revolutionists.
Just wait…
June 15th, 2012, 12:46 pm
zoo said:
The UN observers accuse both sides and France FM lies about Al Assad ousting.
http://news.yahoo.com/call-protests-52-die-syria-violence-024645377.html
The UN observer force accused both sides in the Syrian conflict on Friday of hampering its peace mission and acknowledged its limitations in the face of escalating violence.
……
Fabius also said that talks were under way with Russia on Syria’s future if Assad was ousted.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov swiftly denied such talks had taken place with France or the United States, which have both been pushing for Assad to quit.
“There were no such discussions and there could not have been such discussions. This completely contradicts our position,” Lavrov told reporters. “We are not involved in regime change.”
June 15th, 2012, 12:58 pm
zoo said:
Why Abdel Basset Sayda silent?
Syrian opposition meets to ‘unify’ vision
http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-meets-unify-vision-140254341.html
Syrian opposition leaders were meeting in Turkey on Friday in a bid to settle their differences and forge a united front to confront the escalating conflict in their homeland.
“We will work towards a unified vision,” said Burhan Ghalioun,
….
“We’re here to define a common position,” said Bassma Qodmani, SNC head of foreign relations. “There are not many more points of difference between us now.”
…
But some factions remain suspicious about the prospect of change under the new leadership of the SNC, which is the main umbrella group opposing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Activists had accused Ghalioun of ignoring the Local Coordination Committees, which spearhead anti-government protests on the ground in Syria, and of giving the Muslim Brotherhood too big a role.
….
“I am not optimistic about the result… The people are fighting Bashar al-Assad because they need a democratic country, freedom, not just to replace Assad with Ghalioun or Sayda,” said Ammar Qurabi, head of the small National Movement for Change.
“The revolution deserves better than this opposition,” Qarubi told reporters.
more…
June 15th, 2012, 1:06 pm
Uzair8 said:
In an Al-Arabiyah article about a Jordanian demonstration it was mentioned the demonstrators braved a ‘heatwave’ and ‘blistering temperatures’.
I wonder if parts of Syria (being close) are experiencing the same? The opposition can tire out and exhaust the tyrannical forces by stretching them and giving them the run around in scorching heat. It could be a long hot summer for Assad’s goons.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/15/220827.html
Moving on. Tomorrow night muslims in the UK will be commemorating the Miraj (Heavenly Ascencion). I hope the Syrians are able to do so too and I hope their prayers are answered.
June 15th, 2012, 1:09 pm
zoo said:
Russia hardening its position toward the USA and France: Iran must be present in the conference on Syria.
http://news.yahoo.com/russia-denies-discussing-post-assad-syria-west-105843907.html
Russia on Friday denied discussing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure with Western nations and warned it may skip a planned conference on the crisis if Iran is not invited as well.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments seemed aimed at quashing reports from several major capitals about a discernible shift in Russia’s approach to its Soviet-era ally that acknowledged the nearing end of Assad’s regime.
The French foreign minister said on Friday that Russia views Assad as a “tyrant” while a US State Department spokeswoman said a day earlier that “the Russians have also talked about” a political transition in Syria.
“If this was really said, this is not true,” Lavrov said in reference to US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland’s comments.
“There were no such discussions and there could not have been such discussions. This completely contradicts our position,” he told reporters.
“We are not involved in regime change through either the UN Security Council or through involvement in any sort of political conspiracies.”
June 15th, 2012, 1:12 pm
Uzair8 said:
#500
In such a desperately uneven struggle the opposition must seek to gain advantage from every sniff of opportunity.
June 15th, 2012, 1:29 pm
zoo said:
The EU new sanctions adjusted “not to harm ordinary citizens”
http://www.rt.com/news/line/2012-06-15/#id32682
European Council bans exports of caviar, luxury cars to Syria
The European Council said on Friday it had authorized a ban on exporting to Syria some luxury or “dual use” items. The list to be published on Saturday will include caviar, shoes and garments costing more than $750, pearls, and cars costing more than $31,400, AP said. Gas masks, certain chemicals and toxins were also banned. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the sanctions had been designed to avoid harming ordinary Syrians.
June 15th, 2012, 2:06 pm
Alan said:
Syria: NATO Plans New Sykes-Picot, Middle East Chaos
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/syria-nato-plans-new-sykes-picot-middle-east-chaos/
Interview: Syrian Intervention Could Cause 100,000 Deaths
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/
June 15th, 2012, 2:52 pm
Alan said:
Washington funded Houla-style massacres: Analyst
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/14/246228/washington-behind-houla-massacre/
June 15th, 2012, 2:56 pm
zoo said:
Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya worried about al Madayeen?
” A well-informed Al-Jazeera TV source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Jazeera’s Beirut bureau – which had previously been headed by Bin Jiddo – witnessed “something like a mass defection from Al-Jazeera to Al-Mayadeen.” The source also revealed that numerous Al-Jazeera presenters and editors had resigned from the Qatari-based station over its coverage of the Syrian revolution”
Al-Mayadeen: The last attempt to revive pro-Assad media
14/06/2012
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=5&id=29984
By Mohammed Al-Jazairy
London, Asharq Al-Awsat- The launch of the new pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen satellite television channel represents the latest expansions of the “axis of resistance” media, by which we mean Iran, Syria and armed political movements such as Hezbollah. Al-Mayadeen is headed by Ghassan Bin Jiddo, a well-known Tunisian journalist who quit Qatari-based Al-Jazeera TV last year in protest to what he perceived as one-sided reporting in favour of the Syrian opposition. Nayef Krayem, the owner of the Lebanon-based Al Ittihad TV will be Al-Mayadeen’s General Manager, whilst the channel will be based in Beirut. Krayem previously served as Director of the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar
June 15th, 2012, 3:03 pm
Juergen said:
“Bashar al-Assad snores, his head twitching on a large white pillow. Suddenly, he wakes up. “The people want to overthrow me!” he screams, the pompom on his nightcap bouncing.
A military officer approaches, pats him on the head and whispers gently, as if comforting a toddler: “Don’t worry, my dear Mr. President, nobody wants to bring you down. Go back to sleep.”
“But I dreamed that the people don’t love me anymore!”
“We all love you, Mr. President”, says the officer, “but you have to rest. Tomorrow is Friday and we have a lot of work to do!”
Bashar lies back on his pillow and dozes off.
“Sleep…sleep…let nothing disturb your dreams”, the officer croons: “You will see how we deal with terrorists, Salafis and conspirators. We’ll get rid of them for you…”
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5920/syrias-creative-resistance
June 15th, 2012, 3:29 pm
Tara said:
Syria regime sexually abused detainees: rights group
(AFP) –
BEIRUT — Syrian government forces have used sexual violence to torture men, women, girls and boys detained during the current conflict, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.
“The assaults are not limited to detention facilities. Government forces and pro-government shabiha militia members have also sexually assaulted women and girls during home raids and residential sweeps.”
(…)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iWt1QfEpaw00JQ6JY31SvW1q_1og?docId=CNG.12982d97427da8dc8346dbd722ef25c5.5f1
June 15th, 2012, 4:04 pm
ann said:
Russia Sending Air and Sea Defenses to Syria – June 15, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/world/europe/russia-sending-air-and-sea-defenses-to-syria.html
MOSCOW — The chief of Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter said on Friday that his company was shipping advanced defensive missile systems to Syria that could be used to shoot down airplanes or sink ships if the United States or other Western nations try to intervene.
“I would like to say these mechanisms are really a good means of defense, a reliable defense against attacks from the air or sea,” Anatoly P. Isaykin, the general director of company, Rosoboronexport, said in an interview Friday. “This is not a threat, but whoever is planning an attack should think about this.”
Aleksander Golts, an independent military analyst in Moscow, said the Russians’ discussion of defensive weapons shipments “undoubtedly” serves as a warning to Western countries contemplating an intervention.
“Russia uses these statements as a form of deterrence in Syria,” he said. “They show other countries that they are more likely to suffer losses.”
Mr. Isaykin, a confidant of President Putin, openly discussed the weapons now being shipped to Syria: the Pantsyr-S1, a radar-guided missile and artillery system capable of hitting warplanes at altitudes well above those typically flown during bombing sorties, and up to 12 miles away; Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missiles, capable of striking airplanes at even higher altitudes, up to 82,000 feet, and at longer ranges; and land-based Bastion anti-ship missiles that can fire at targets 180 miles from the coast.
[…]
June 15th, 2012, 4:17 pm
Tara said:
Russia denies discussing Syria’s post-Assad future
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s foreign minister said Friday that Moscow isn’t discussing Syria’s future without President Bashar Assad as Washington has claimed, in the latest volley in a contentious back-and-forth on how to end the bloody conflict.
Sergey Lavrov denied Thursday’s statement by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that Moscow and Washington “are continuing to talk about a post-Assad transition strategy.”
“It’s not true that we are discussing Syria’s fate after Bashar Assad,” Lavrov said following talks in Moscow with his Iraqi counterpart. “We aren’t dealing with a regime change either through approving unilateral actions at the United Nations Security Council nor through taking part in some political conspiracies.”
(…)
http://news.yahoo.com/russia-denies-discussing-syrias-post-assad-future-132734071.html
June 15th, 2012, 4:21 pm
ann said:
US official: Russia sends troops to Syria – 5 Hours Ago
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/15/12238938-us-official-russia-sends-troops-to-syria-as-peace-hopes-fade?lite
Russia is sending armed troops to Syria amid escalating violence there, United States military officials told NBC News Friday, in a move certain to frustrate Western efforts to put pressure on the regime of President Bashir Assad.
Moscow has sent a ship carrying a small contingent of combat forces to guard Russia’s deep-water port and military base at the Syrian city of Tartus, the US officials said.
The U.S. officials also said Russia has not sent additional attack helicopters to the Syrian government, but replacement parts for the Russian helicopters the Syrians are already flying.
At a news conference after talks with his Iraqi counterpart, Lavrov said he had seen reports saying U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland had suggested Washington and Moscow were discussing a post-Assad strategy in Syria.
“If that was really said then it’s not true,” Lavrov said. “Such discussions are not being held and cannot be held, because to decide for the Syrian people contradicts our position completely.
“We do not get involved in overthrowing regimes – neither through approval of unilateral actions by the U.N. Security Council nor by participation in any political plots.”
[…]
June 15th, 2012, 4:26 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Al Farooq regiment took over regiment of Assad belong to airforce defence ,near Homs,and they now has anti planes artillary,and a tank,and a lot of ammunitions,they were aided by officers inside the Assad regiment who defected, and they captured troops belong to Assad criminal army.
June 15th, 2012, 5:18 pm
Syrialover said:
If I wanted to feel pessimistic and bleak about Syria and the state of the world in general, all I have to do is read ZOO’s posts here.
He seems inexhaustible in his hunt for negative perspectives, “bad news”, digs at the Syrian opposition, and biased reports about countries that have criticized Assad. Then he rushes to share them.
Is he telling us how he wants things to be?
June 15th, 2012, 5:51 pm
Syrialover said:
Important explanation and reminder of why the outside world is moving against the Assad regime.
It’s the UN 2005 initiative on Resposibility to Protect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_protect
It is the obligation of outsiders to intervene when a state fails to protect its own citizens and commits war crimes.
It is based on the idea that sovereignty is not a right, but a responsibility.
June 15th, 2012, 6:05 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Syrialover
with no opinion, they cut and paste,I don’t blame them,they can’t defend the regime ,so they either fabricate stories, or talk nasty,or they cut and paste. or twist facts,and quote alDunia or Sana.
June 15th, 2012, 6:06 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
I do not agree completely with Wafa Sultan, but there are some interesting points here deserve discussion. Maybe cancelling the politic role of Islam would help the realm of ¨islamic¨ civilizations. Just for rational analysis. Crusaders and zionists should be included in the same chapter.
+ 18 – Political islam believers should not watch it:
June 15th, 2012, 6:14 pm
Observer said:
I am jealous for I did not get more than 14 thumbs down.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9330209/Syrian-aide-insists-she-only-did-what-any-ambitious-American-girl-would-do.html
Here is Miss Jaffaari to the Daily Telegraph saying that she is doing what any American girl would do in interning and working her way up. She clearly is working hard at denying the millions of Syrian young women the same opportunities that the oh ever so evil terrible capitalist murderous US society offers its women. I wonder why not join Patrice Lumumba university in Moscow? This is another example of the despicable corrupting influence that this mafiosi state is producing.
Oh my I am a scapegoat now. Do I read an abandonment of the regime lest Columbia denies her an admission and if so perhaps her fellow students would take her to task about “advising” Fredo before the inverview?
Despicable.
June 15th, 2012, 6:14 pm
Syrialover said:
# 517. Observer said: I am jealous for I did not get more than 14 thumbs down.
Don’t worry – you might later. They only block vote every few hours and do “catch ups”.
June 15th, 2012, 6:24 pm
Syrialover said:
# 507. Juergen
Terrific article, thanks for posting it.
They deserve to win on wit alone!
It shows the gap in mental sharpness, human spirit, sophistication and creative thinking between the regime and its opponents.
They say humor is linked to IQ.
Here’s the link again. It’s a healthy antidote to the “ZOO view”.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5920/syrias-creative-resistance
June 15th, 2012, 6:35 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Hmm, we are led to believe by some that Assad forces are “protecting” the minorities, yet as this picture clearly shows even ancient churches are not spared from their indiscriminate shelling.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/7376407562/in/photostream/
For the record this photo was taken yesterday June 14th after Talbiseh, Homs was shelled continuously by the Assad forces. So that makes it two houses of worship attacked in the same day by the Assad regime, and yet the “revolutionist” are the ones destroying Syria….
June 15th, 2012, 6:36 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Assad and his believers are trying succesfully to change the main question to become if armed resistance is legitimate or terrorism.
Maybe the can cheat some foreign press or deviant particulars but syrians know very well the main issue is Peacefull demonstrations, Freedom, Justice and Dignity against Dictatorship, Corruption, Repression, Detentions, Massive killings, Massive violation of basic rights and so on.
Please do not forget where we come from, and how the revolution started to keep our goal clear.
June 15th, 2012, 6:36 pm
jad said:
How can’t Syrians and every ‘humane’ Westerner and Arab not to fall in ‘love’ and to fully ‘support’ the peaceful revo ‘angels’ who are killing people left and right while the ‘humane’ supporters are cheering for them!!!
Warning, revo criminals at work:
http://youtu.be/hvNyW7xGG70
June 15th, 2012, 6:42 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Maybe Russia thinks that Assad will succed with huge repression and re-creating a new Syrian Arab Republic Dictatorship? And then all syrians will feel happiness while they belong to the Nation? Frankly I dont think so. Russian politicians are corrupt and criminal but not stupid. They will maintain Assad regime as long as they can sell them arms and test them with syrian blood.
Then the end will come as it happened to Saddam.
Maybe Israel expects Assad to control the country so the jews can keep its more valuable enemy, a dictator that distroys its own people and let the Golan Occupied for 40 years? Assad can remain but consequences for Israel can be harder than they expect.
Al-Assad Hayawan Lil Abad. Maak lil abad ya shakhsh.
June 15th, 2012, 6:44 pm
Syrialover said:
Observer #517
Miss Jaafari is obviously giving herself her own childish advice on how to manage a bad situation.
Instead of keeping her head down and quietly establishing a life that might eventually enable her to gradually disconnect from the Assad stench, she proudly struts the stage making stupid remarks. She loves the limelight.
I read she is entitled to police protection in NY because she is a UN ambassador’s daughter. That’s one source of her arrogance and sense of entitlement that will suddenly disappear.
Just like living in that $4.5 million house in NY owned by the Syrian people. And having her fees paid by the same source.
She has made enemies who are far more powerful and deadly propagandists than she knows how to be. She will be finding out.
June 15th, 2012, 6:49 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
521. JAD
This is the result of Assad bulleting peacefull demonstrations. This is war, and war and chaos was the choice of Assad. This is what happens when you use people as informers to sustain your corrupted and criminal system.
Of course we should think that this person falling to death should be allowed to keep informing to Assad gangsters so inocent people (activists) can be taken to prison and tortured to death. Do you find it fair? Please wake up.
June 15th, 2012, 6:58 pm
Uzair8 said:
A few famous criminals and psychopaths (incl. fictitious) happened to be ‘mama’s boys’.
-Psycho from the movie.
-James Cagney in White Heat.
-Bashar Assad.
Bashar al-Assad: behind the mask
June 15
He was an unpromising youth who gained power by accident. Today he’s the Arab world’s most notorious dictator. But who really is this man?
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/669da3aa-b5b5-11e1-ab92-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1xuC5rsJg
June 15th, 2012, 7:00 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Assad supporters defend the bulleting of peacfull marches and the massacres of syrian people (armed and unarmed, men, women and children) but feel sorrow when they see one of the perpetrators of regime crimes die. Informers, shabiha, officials or repression Assad army. Really impressing. Their double standars are even worse than what we see in Israel or in US operations.
June 15th, 2012, 7:02 pm
jad said:
SL
It’s so telling about who you really are and how you think when you are cheering a crime done to someone you don’t even know for sure that he did anything wrong and for a crime done in this barbaric way, yet you are asking me to wake up?
I guess we both know who is the sleeping one…
Funny hearing the moral lecture from people who obviously have non.
June 15th, 2012, 7:04 pm
jad said:
Even foreign reporters are starting to wake up!
Reporting conflict in Syria
{…}
In the aftermath of the massacre at Houla last month, initial reports said some of the 49 children and 34 women killed had their throats cut. In Damascus, Western officials told me the subsequent investigation revealed none of those found dead had been killed in such a brutal manner. Moreover, while Syrian forces had shelled the area shortly before the massacre, the details of exactly who carried out the attacks, how and why were still unclear. Whatever the cause, officials fear the attack marks the beginning of the sectarian aspect of the conflict.
In such circumstances, it’s more important than ever that we report what we don’t know, not merely what we do. In Houla, and now in Qubair, the finger has been pointed at the shabiha, pro-government militia. But tragic death toll aside, the facts are few: it’s not clear who ordered the killings – or why.
Given the difficulties of reporting inside Syria, video filed by the opposition on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube may provide some insight into the story on the ground. But stories are never black and white – often shades of grey. Those opposed to President Assad have an agenda. One senior Western official went as far as to describe their YouTube communications strategy as “brilliant”. But he also likened it to so-called “psy-ops”, brainwashing techniques used by the US and other military to convince people of things that may not necessarily be true.
A healthy scepticism is one of the essential qualities of any journalist – never more so than in reporting conflict. The stakes are high – all may not always be as it seems.
{…}
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2012/06/reporting_conflict_in_syria.html
June 15th, 2012, 7:11 pm
jad said:
Obama War Machine Announces Invasion of Syria
CNN reports this afternoon that the Pentagon has finalized plans to attack Syria and forcefully depose its leader, Bashar al-Assad, under the cover of securing weapons of mass destruction and preventing “sectarian violence” it has fomented by supporting and training the Free Syrian Army.
“The U.S. military has completed its own planning for how American troops would conduct a variety of operations against Syria, or to assist neighboring countries in the event action was ordered, officials tell CNN.”
CNN says the Pentagon has “finalized its assessment of what types of units would be needed, how many troops, and even the cost of certain potential operations.”
“There is a sense that if the sectarian violence in Syria grows, it could be worse than what we saw in Iraq,” an unnamed Obama administration official told CNN.
The attack plan is similar to the one used against Libya:
The military planning includes a scenario for a no-fly zone as well as protecting chemical and biological sites. Officials say all the scenarios would be difficult to enact and involve large numbers of U.S. troops and extended operations.
CNN reveals that the United States, Britain and France have discussed the attack, which they describe as “contingency scenarios,” and have trained specifically for a military intervention. They are also “sharing of intelligence about what is happening in Syria with neighboring countries including Jordan, Turkey and Israel.”
{…}
http://www.infowars.com/obama-war-machine-announces-invasion-of-syria/
June 15th, 2012, 7:14 pm
Uzair8 said:
In the FT article in #525 there’s a couple of things I want comment on.
It talks about Bushra being the militant in the family and the real Baathist.
Also mentions how Asma in her rivalry with Queen Rania of Jordan has focused on social projects, the biggest of which was a museum covering the history of Syria from Prehistoric times till the 21st century.
I wonder if the previous year or so will make it to the museum. Perhaps she can show how the country has come full circle from prehistoric times to…er…prehistoric times in the form of the neanderthalic Shabeeha and general all round thuggery.
June 15th, 2012, 7:20 pm
Son of Damascus said:
When tanks crush children, Syrians must ask: who are we?
Amal Hanano
On the first day of June, a child held up a sign during a peaceful protest in the northern village of Binnish in Syria’s Idleb province. His sign asked: “What is the meaning of childhood without freedom?” The question was followed by the opposition’s one-word demand to President Bashar Al Assad: “Leave.”
From the schoolboys of Daraa who were tortured after writing anti-regime slogans on the walls, to 13-year-old Hamza Al Khateeb, who was mutilated and tortured to death, Syrian children have been on the front lines and front pages of the revolution.
Since March 15 last year, hundreds of children have been killed, maimed, detained and tortured alongside tens of thousands of Syrian adults. However, in recent months, Syrian children have faced a more extreme and specialised brutality: close-range and systematic murder in serial massacres across the country.
Last March, in the Homs neighbourhood of Karm Al Zeitoun, two dozen children were viciously stabbed to death along with their mothers by regime-controlled shabbiha from neighbouring areas. On May 25, 49 children were killed in the village of Tal Daw in the Houla region of Homs province. Many of them were slaughtered with knives and butchered with axes. On June 7, in the tiny village of Qubair in Hama province, dozens of children were slaughtered alongside the majority of the village’s residents. Most of the bodies were stolen and the homes were torched, but the bloody traces and eerie silence lingered.
In the aftermath of these massacres, only images remain: as evidence, as witnesses and as cold, calculated messages of terror from the regime to the people.
Several significant, destructive results have emerged from these calculations.
By outsourcing the dirty work to local militias, the regime distanced itself from the monstrosity of the crimes while deceptively placing the perpetrators within the blurry category of “armed gangs”. The massacres amplified the already sectarian-charged environment as once peaceful neighbouring villages suddenly turned violent.
The massacres also left a physical vacuum in neighbourhoods and villages. Surviving families, terrified for their children, left their homes and land behind and chose to live as refugees in safer areas. These territorial gains serve the regime, carving sections of Syria into havens exclusive to Assad regime supporters. As one activist from Hama said: “They are pushing us east of the Orontes River.”
[…]
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/when-tanks-crush-children-syrians-must-ask-who-are-we#page1
June 15th, 2012, 7:22 pm
jad said:
Here we have a ‘lovely’ message that is repeated many times today in a way to cover the real face of the terrorists.
This time it’s from one a the many ‘lovely’ and ‘peaceful’ opposition figures; he is asking the terrorists not to take any video evidence of their crimes in actions, he advise them just to show the before and after for no reason but to keep the picture of the armed terrorist gangs (aka ‘killers’) as ‘bright’ and ‘clean’ as possible…
Ashraf Almoukdad
الى اخوتي الابطال رجال الكتائب المسلحة في كل أرضنا المفداة: نصيحة أخوية:
مع كل غليلي وحقدي على الشبيحة والعواينية ومع كل تاييدي لأحكام الإعدام وتنفيذها ومع ابضا تفهمي أننا لانستطيع أن نأسر ونحافظ على هؤلاء الحيوانات البشرية حتى وقت التحرير والمحاكمات لكنني أرجوكم أن لاتصوروا تنفيذ الإعدام لكن صوروا ماقبل ومابعد حيث يظل الموت بشعا ونريد لكم الصورة اللامعة البطولية التي دوما نحملها بقلوبنا لكم …ارجو التفهم فوالله ليس بقلبي الا النصيحة الخالصة
https://www.facebook.com/ashraf.almoukdad/posts/3739022269448
June 15th, 2012, 7:26 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
527. JAD
You are confused and astray:
¨It’s so telling about who you really are and how you think when you are cheering a crime done to someone you don’t even know … ¨
I am really me and I am not cheering a crime.
First, I am just informing you if you did not notice that Syria is in war. And this war was the election of the stupid dictator. I am not responsible for these crimes. Assad indeed is.
Second, we don´t know if the person falling is really an informer or it is a fabricated tape or maybe it comes from Hollywood as you pretend to be most of the revolution videos.
¨…for sure that he did anything wrong and for a crime done in this barbaric way, yet you are asking me to wake up?¨
Do you find throwing someone throw the window is more barbaric than torturing chained people to death or bulleting demonstrators from rooftops? Really amazing values.
¨I guess we both know who is the sleeping one…¨
Supporters are not sleeping, Assad definitely is NOT sleeping, and all of them are in intellectual coma.
¨Funny hearing the moral lecture from people who obviously have non.¨
Moral is not trying to be educated while defending barbaric dictatorships and their crimes. Moral is something you probably cannot understand. Ask any single bedouin and he will give you a master class.
June 15th, 2012, 7:32 pm
Uzair8 said:
Just finished reading the FT article. It’s quite long. A chilling insight into the reality of Assad and his regime.
Assad does not come across as Mufti Hassoun described him, as someone who would rather open an eye hospital somewhere.
This article portrays a man prone to paranoia and with a menacing side. A man (and regime) quick to lie, decieve and kill to get his way.
June 15th, 2012, 7:43 pm
jad said:
SL,
Did you use an automatic translator writing your comment?
“Ask any single bedouin and he will give you a master class.”
You already did, what a master ‘bedouin’ in morality you are, Sandro!
June 15th, 2012, 8:00 pm
Ghufran said:
These are 5 out of 17 alawi teachers who were kidnapped,they are originally from Homs
شيعت اليوم حمص خمسة من المعلمين ال 17 الذين تم اختطافهم بسبب انتمائهم الطائفي من مدارسهم في الحسكه منطقة الشداده و إعدامهم والشهداء هم :
عبد الرحمن الحسن
احمد ديوب
محمد خضور
علاء خضرة
يوسف ابراهيم
June 15th, 2012, 8:11 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
536. JAD
Of course I am not expat in UK, US or Australia. My english is not good. But in this case all words are in its place.
You lost your arguments about the syrian issue and now you derail to linguistic questions. Great. That´s enough for me.
June 15th, 2012, 8:13 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Jad
Falling 4 meter should not cause death, if you show us the whole video you will see that he walk out unharmed.
killing Hamza AlKhatib did cause death, stabbing children in Houleh dids cause death
June 15th, 2012, 8:27 pm
Jad said:
Now you become sensetive about an innocent question, but you are O.K. watching people getting killed because it’s “war”!
What argument are you refering to? there was no case of debate in the clip I post before you rush to defend such barbaric actions.
You can celebrate all the killing you want but that won’t make you master in anything, not even a Bedouin.
Be sensetive for what matters instead of what you just wrote.
June 15th, 2012, 8:43 pm
Ghufran said:
An announcement that Annan’s mission will be suspended is expected very soon,nobody now thinks that the UN mission is likely to achieve anything,the regime sees the mission as a trap they fell in with Russia’s help,Russia is giving its back to the mission and supporting the regime’s demand to allow the army to enter “occupied” parts of Homs. Sources close to the regime thinks that they have less than 6 months to do the “job “, this means a massive assault on opposition strongholds,especially in Homs province,and of course,a lot of blood shed. Annan presented a good plan to bad actors,the result is a disaster.
Friends who tend to side with the opposition admitted that the only way out of this mess is for one side to win,they say nothing else works in the Middle East,expect most Syrians to side with the winner ,that is the Arab way.
June 15th, 2012, 8:53 pm
Jad said:
Khaldoun,
If you have the complete clip that showing the man walking after falling the “4m” please share.
Meanwhile, could you please enlighten us with your talent and check out a clip titled
خطير مشهد مباشر لإعدام ميداني لـ مواطني سوري من قبل مايسمى بالجيش الحر رشقاً بالرصاص حتى تفجير رأسه
And tell us if the man in that clip walk after they opened his head?
June 15th, 2012, 8:57 pm
Jad said:
Ghufran
This article is talking about the horrendous kidnaping crimes happening in Homs, it becomes a trend to kidnap and kill for money:
Syria: Armed rebels behind the increase of kidnapping.
The Syrian city of Homs in these days, apart from a few districts, where the Syrian army eliminates the last rebel fortifications, life seems to go on as usual. In the relative vacuum of power in the province of Homs, meanwhile, an increased banditry can be noticed.
Especially kidnappings are more and more a part of the dirty business of “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) and of the associated armed gangs.
Anhar Kochneva (Anhar Kotschnewa) reports from Homs.
I have met with my interlocutor already in the previous autumn in Homs: he and his fellow sufferers have told me even then about their kidnapped and barbarically murdered relatives. Now I’m back at him in Homs, and during our conversation, a man who brought along lists of further information on abduction victims came in.
I had that time already reported of a brother of a friend, who carries a hand grenade for some time, in order to blow himself up at an imminent hostage situation.
Since then the situation has become rather worse. The number of officially registered abductee goes to the thousands, including many children, women and the elderly.
{…}
http://www.syrianews.cc/syria-kidnappings-homs-armed-rebels-kidnapper-799.html
June 15th, 2012, 9:04 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Jad
The video you showed ,there is nothing showing shooting, Your talent is way too much, imagining things, and writing what you want, when infact we don’t see anything agree with what you say.
Please ,next time show us the truth
June 15th, 2012, 9:43 pm
zoo said:
Neo-con Michael Weiss: Go ahead…Let’s get a Western-Turkish coalition attack.
Syria’s regime is incapable of resisting an attack
By Michael Weiss World Last updated: June 15th, 2012
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/michaelweiss/100165574/syrias-regime-is-incapable-of-resisting-an-attack/
Since the topic of military intervention in Syria was suggested many months ago, the standard response has been that unlike Libya, Syria has robust air defence systems and so a no-fly zone or surgical air strikes on key military installations would be harder. While technically correct, this analysis neglects two glaring weaknesses in Syria’s military capability.
June 15th, 2012, 9:57 pm
zoo said:
Any new bets the US will regret?
Egypt, in chaos again
Our support of Cairo’s military junta now looks like a deeply misplaced bet
By Eric Trager / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/egypt-chaos-article-1.1095945#ixzz1xuwkZ0qP
June 15th, 2012, 10:00 pm
zoo said:
After another Istanbul meeting, the SNCs’ important decision:
No to the “Yemen model”. It’s hopelessly comatose.
Friday,June 15 2012,
Syria dissidents seek unity in Istanbul meet
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-dissidents-seek-unity-in-istanbul-meet.aspx?pageID=238&nID=23303&NewsCatID=352
The Syrian National Council and other anti-government groups convened in Istanbul on June 15 to map out a common vision for future policies as it seeks to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
..
Omar Qurabi, the leader of the Syrian opposition group the National Change Current, said he was not too optimistic about the reform process inside the council. “We [suggested] reforms in the first unity meeting, but everything we offered has been refused by the management of the [council],” Qurabi said.
A national document signed by all the opposition groups will be released at the end of the meeting.
June 15th, 2012, 10:10 pm
Observer said:
I think this news and most importantly the placard carried by the demonstrators is best suited for JAD ZOO BRONCO NORMAN SNK IRRITATED and ANN
http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/%C3%80+La+Une/article/764114/Les_observateurs_en_Syrie_deplorent__les_violences_qui_entravent_leur_mission.html
I hope to get more than 25 thumbs down
June 15th, 2012, 10:24 pm
Juergen said:
I feel very sorry after hearing the news about the attack on the Zainab shrine. A friend of Damascus sended me an email tonight saying that as she writes the email she hears heavy gunfire outside. They live near Jaramana. She wrote that almost empty warehouses were set on fire, after that the regime forces came.
poster in Kafranbel
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=428833100470604&set=a.214033955283854.55458.213719815315268&type=1&theater
June 15th, 2012, 10:25 pm
zoo said:
Turks reflect on practising Islam and the problems they deem important
..
“You worship, so you are religious,”
….
The theological and moral aspects of religion are not really internalized by a huge majority of the population, he told the Daily News in a recent interview.
….
The economy and terrorism are seen as the major problems. These two make up almost 90 percent of the issues that are seen as major problems in Turkey. Health and education make up 5 percent, while calls for justice, democracy, the drafting of the constitution, freedoms and rule of law comprise the final 5 percent. All those are marginal problems for Turks.
more…
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/i-worship-so-i-can-do-anything-i-like-is-turks-lifestyle-scholar.aspx?pageID=238&nID=23284&NewsCatID=338
June 15th, 2012, 10:26 pm
irritated said:
549. Juergen
Are you insinuating that the regime bombed the Shrine?
June 15th, 2012, 10:28 pm
irritated said:
Thanks Observer
That’s an inspiring theme for the next ‘massive demonstrations’, the “resignation of the regime officials”, the “massive strikes” and “civil desobedience” called by the new energetic leader of the SNC
June 15th, 2012, 10:37 pm
Jad said:
Republican Foreign-Policy Player Counsels Caution in Egypt, Syria
Brent Scowcroft, a veteran Republican voice on US foreign policy, said the United States “isn’t smart enough” to solve the Syria crisis and “would pay a heavy price for [military] intervention,” in an interview with Al-Monitor Washington correspondent Barbara Slavin. Scowcroft, national security adviser to former US presidents George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford, criticized hawkish advisers to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney regarding Syria and Iran, without naming names. Known for his pragmatism, he also urged caution in dealing with Egypt, flexibility in Iran nuclear talks and an arms control process to regulate the use of cyber warfare. Excerpts from the interview follow:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/republican-foreign-policy-player.html
June 15th, 2012, 10:52 pm
Syrialover said:
Are there ANY negatively-tilted stories on the Middle East that escape ZOO’s notice?
They seem to please him.
Wait, there is one area of bad news he avoids – anything about the Assad regime’s crimes.
June 15th, 2012, 11:11 pm
Syrialover said:
Article on the likelihood of western powers intervention in Syria, stating: “This is a question of when, not if, in my view.”
We’re Going to War With Syria
by Michael Tomasky
Excerpt:
In 1982, Assad pere massacred 20,000 of his own people in Hama. We did nothing. The main reason, I think, was the Cold War. Syria was then a Soviet ally, and in those days of very high tensions (before Gorby) you didn’t go around kicking up dust that might potentially turn nuclear. An ancillary reason was that the belief that preventing slaughter was part of the advanced world’s job existed only on the human-rights fringes in those days. The scales, then, were tilted about 90 percent toward “direct threat to national security” and 10 percent to “responsibility to prevent mass death.”
We live in a different world. The difference can be overstated. I would not say it’s now 90-10 in the other direction. Or even 50-50. But it’s more like, in my estimation, about 65-35 national security to humanitarian responsibility. That’s a considerable change. The development of the “responsibility to protect” doctrine in recent times may have nudged the scales a bit further.
In sum, I don’t believe that we live in a world anymore where a Hama can happen and the Western powers do nothing. More than 14,000 have died in Syria so far, says the anti-government Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The difference between that and Hama is that the current slaughter is happening slowly. But one of these days, and perhaps wth the aid of Russian attack helicopters, the regime will really cut loose. And the West will have to do…something.
With all the usual caveats about not knowing what will come next, we’d be well rid of Assad. Hezbollah might collapse, without Syria as a conduit for arms from Iraq. Lebanon might be able to breathe free air. Iran would find itself more isolated. All depending on what comes next, of course, which is a big question, but the potential upside of a post-Assad Syria is great indeed.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/13/we-re-going-to-war-with-syria.html
June 15th, 2012, 11:28 pm
MICHEL said:
459 Zoo
“Freedom of expression in post revolution Tunisia: no demonstrations allowed?
I hope the anti-riots are well equipped by France”
Thank you for sharing this important news, it shows us what could happen to freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate we currently have if the Assad regime falls. Fortunately the regime is protecting this fundamental right to demonstrate.
! سوريا بخير
June 15th, 2012, 11:42 pm
ann said:
Syrian authorities raid restive areas as bombing reported across country – 2012-06-16
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/16/c_123291488.htm
DAMASCUS, June 15 (Xinhua) — Syrian authorities raided restive areas in capital Damascus and central Homs province on Friday to track down armed groups, as a number of explosive devices went off in several Syrian cities, causing injuries and property losses.
Acting on a tip, authorities raided a number of “terrorist” hideouts in the Damascus’ suburb of Douma and its outskirts, killing three terrorists, and either injuring or arresting others, said state-run SANA news agency, quoting an official source.
SANA also reported that Syrian authorities raided a hideout of armed groups in central Qusair town, killing unspecified number of terrorists and injuring several others, while a pro-government website page said that armed groups had set the municipal building in Qusair ablaze, and fierce clashes are still underway.
In the meantime, five members of law-enforcement forces, one of them a first lieutenant, were injured when an explosive device was detonated near al-Jawwash roundabout in Hama province on Friday, said SANA, adding the injured were rushed to Hama National Hospital.
Also on Friday in central Midan neighborhood in Damascus, nine civilians and members of the military engineering units were injured in the blast of an improvised explosive device planted by an “armed terrorist group” in al-Qa’a region behind al-Majed Mosque in al-Midan, according to SANA.
Another explosive device was detonated overnight Friday at Bab Sharqi area in the heart of the old Damascus, local media said, giving no further details.
Sound of explosions could be heard reverberating across Damascus after midnight Friday.
In Aleppo province, two civilians were injured in a blast of an explosive device that was planted in a waste container.
Also in Aleppo, six civilians and three law-enforcement members were injured when an explosive device, planted by an armed terrorist group near Saad Bin Abi Wakkas Mosque in Salaheddin neighborhood went off, causing material damage.
[…]
June 15th, 2012, 11:50 pm
omen said:
461. ZOO said:
In post revolution Libya: Glorification of Ghadaffi is now allowed
Court strikes down bar on Kadhafi ‘glorification’
497. ZOO said:
You’ll be surprised how freedom of expression, just after an incomplete revolution, can be extremely dangerous. It will encourage pro-gaddafi propaganda for counter revolutionists. Just wait…
.
you sound like you know a lot about how counter revolution is waged.
are we speaking from experience?
with this ruling, the suggestion of libya having an independent judiciary is a good sign. i remember reading about how gaddafi in the past had thrown judges in jail for refusing to abide by his wishes.
with the exception of perhaps sirte, standing up and expressing one’s admiration for gaddafi isn’t going to win you a lot of friends in libya. protests broke out with people upset that this anti-gaddafi ban had been struck down. majority of libyans are not going to stand for any attempts at glorification. eerily similar to bashar, gaddafi belonged to a small, minority tribe.
June 16th, 2012, 12:15 am
Juergen said:
Syrialover
my pleasure,the videos she has linked brought back memories. The famous thank God its raining demonstration in Midan and the sandwich confession.
June 16th, 2012, 12:19 am
Tara said:
The EU set the cut off for Asma’s shoes. Any pair of shoes that cost above 600 euro is prohibited. Shoes below 600 euros are definitely allowed. Syrians should feel pretty thankful for this European solidarity…
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/15/eu-syria-luxury-idINL5E8HF5MV20120615
EU bans exports of luxury goods to Syria
Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:33pm IST
The EU ban, which will go into effect on June 17, includes shoes costing more than 600 euros ($760), as well as jewellery, gems and pearls.
(…)
June 16th, 2012, 3:14 am
Tara said:
A State Department spokeswoman in Washington accused Syrian authorities Thursday of denying outside access to Haffah until its “cleansing” was done. “The regime kept the U.N. monitors outside of the city while it completed its cleansing and is only allowing them in now to bear witness to the destruction,” Victoria Nuland told reporters.
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
June 15, 2012
BEIRUT — Deserted streets, scorched buildings, the stench of death — that was the now-familiar state of affairs that United Nations observers found Thursday in Syria’s battered western highland town of Haffah, which the state-run media declared had been “cleansed” of “terrorists” this week….
What happened to the townsfolk remained a question mark. Many fled north to neighboring Turkey, opposition activists said. The U.S. State Department had voiced fear of a government “massacre” in the town, but there was no word Thursday about such an outcome.
…
“A strong stench of dead bodies was in the air,” the U.N. said, “and there appeared to be pockets in the town where fighting is still ongoing.”
(…)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria-haffah-20120615,0,2908967.story
June 16th, 2012, 3:20 am
Tara said:
Syria is the most developed country in the world when it comes to promptness of ambulance response time which is about one single minute.
—–
A bomb has exploded near al-Majed mosque in the Midan area of Damascus, according to the Revolution Leadership Council of Damascus. It says:
The blast resulted in at least six injuries, and ambulances rushed to the area in about one minute only.
Security forces were later deployed in the area and didn’t allow anyone near the scene.However, a demo took off from the mosque and was fired at by shabiha.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jun/15/egypt-reels-judicial-coup-live#block-20
June 16th, 2012, 3:25 am
Juergen said:
Tara
I wonder what kind of photos will they find once the palaces of the Assads were raided…
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=311273305632599&set=o.167331783323666&type=1&theater
June 16th, 2012, 4:57 am
Juergen said:
Robert Fisk: Assad will breathe a sigh of relief at death of Arab Spring
The 1991 Algerian parallel is relevant: a poll won by Islamists, special powers for the army, torture
“A few days ago, Alaa al-Aswany, that fine Egyptian novelist-activist-dentist, predicted a plan already formulated: to massacre the revolutionaries. But this plan would not work, he said, because the return of Shafik, protected by the military, would mean the end of the revolution. But that was then. Now Shafik may well take power – if Morsi loses – without a parliament to control him.
Desperate days, then. But one thing to remember. The Mubarak-appointed Egyptian judges didn’t just get up on Thursday morning and decide to dissolve parliament. This was decided a long time ago. So was the retention of military power.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-assad-will-breathe-a-sigh-of-relief-at-death-of-arab-spring-7855131.html
June 16th, 2012, 5:12 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Are the soldiers in this vid Iranian or Kurds, speaking in a Kurdish dialect? They look very gay to me. Notice the erotic atmosphere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4D8lfTbmO4
.
June 16th, 2012, 5:17 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
A 10 minutes motorbike ride in a city plunged in a civil war.
.
June 16th, 2012, 5:24 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Tara
Good Morning\’I noticed that you made comments at 3 am,till 3.20 am, I know I wake up at 4 to watch early news, but, it is 6 in your area are you having sleep problem?
Amir in Tel Aviv
That language may be persian,I could not understand a word.
June 16th, 2012, 6:08 am
habib said:
565. Amir in Tel Aviv
Lol at supporters of “freedom and equality in Syria” using the word gay as derogatory.
Once more it just shows that this is not about any of the above for the Zionists and the West. It’s only about weakening Iran.
You support the Mujahideen e-Kalk too?
It is disgusting how Zionists suddenly come out of the dark and condemn “massacres”, while basically cheering when Palestinians or Lebanese were massacred by their heroes in the past.
But the most disgusting part of it is that they are then embraced by opposition supporters! And at the same time, these guys have the guts to claim that “Israel wants Assad in power”. Is there perhaps a small discrepancy?
June 16th, 2012, 6:26 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Habib,
There are many gays serving in the IDF. Here, from the official IDF site, read about major Gortler. An officer, religious and gay. In the second photo, with his husband Lior, and his commanding officer.
http://dover.idf.il/IDF/News_Channels/bamahana/09/22/11.htm (Google translate this).
I never cheered massacres. Period. Nor any of the Israelis I know.
.
June 16th, 2012, 6:56 am
habib said:
Lol, what exactly does it prove that there are gays in the IDF? You certainly used “gay” in a derogatory way. Why else would it matter to point it out and mock the “erotic” atmosphere?
As for Israelis cheering their own terror attacks, basically seeing it as entertainment: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2286154/israelis_cheering_the_attacks/
Ah, but they’re white and well-dressed, so in that case I guess it’s justified.
June 16th, 2012, 7:15 am
majedkhaldoun said:
So who is going to be the next king in KSA? Nayef died, 79,few months ago Sultan died, there is no way for the depressed and alcoholic Bander to become king,Saud Al Feisal looks very senile,and certainly no chance for democratic election in KSA, they will choose another son of king Abdulaziz.I don’t think there is any one left from the Sudairi children of AbdulAziz.
Nour
There is a report that there is defection in the SSNP,can you tell us if this is true please.
June 16th, 2012, 7:20 am
Tara said:
Majed
Good morning to you too. I am in Italy. It is 6 hours ahead of the EST.
I would’ve loved to be in Damascus but I can’t…. Inshallah, that time is coming soon.
June 16th, 2012, 7:21 am
Mina said:
Good news from Geneva! The head of KSA police and “heir to the throne” just died. He had been the minister of interior since 37 years! They have the records they can. Why in Geneva and not it paradise of ultra-modernity KSA? Don’t ask.
June 16th, 2012, 7:23 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Whatever.
.
June 16th, 2012, 7:25 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Tara
Have a wonderful trip. Do you understand Italian?I have a brother in Ferrara,he is a doctor too.stay away from the south
June 16th, 2012, 7:26 am
Mina said:
Jürgen
Fisk is twisting the facts a little bit too much. When he writes
“And the Brotherhood – as uninvolved in Tahrir as Ahmed Shafik – moved in to take over after years of clandestinity and government torture. Mubarak’s men and the Brotherhood were never represented in Tahrir. “All we want is for Mubarak to go,” the young of Egypt used to shout. And that was all.”
It is obvious that he forgets that al Jazeera has prepared the stage for the MB: before Mubarak was ousted, giving them a hero role everytime the protesters were attacked by saying “we learn that a demo of some 3,000 MB is now coming to the square to protect the demonstrators etc”; and then the friday right after Mubarak was ousted, by organizing a podium for Qardawi on Tahrir with “live-friday prayer” and Qardawi’s claim that next year he would pray in Jerusalem. Then later, when the army and the activists were trying to reach agreement, the competition for power started and the MB brought full buses to the square, everytime with the excuse of a new rumour such as “beware, the army and the leftists want to implement a dawla madaniya” etc.
To speak of a coup against the MB while Sabbahi (Nasserian) made nearly as much as Shafiq, and that also Amr Musa, widely considered as “the old regime candidate” as well as Shafiq was just behind, is just a new “counter-revolutionary” act of the Western media. There were many articles before the elections of the majlis al shaab and majlis al shura saying that the chambers would have to be disolved by the next president, as they had been elected withough a constitution.
http://www.thearabist.com has been following the intricacies of the different elections, among others.
June 16th, 2012, 7:34 am
Tara said:
Majed
Thanks. I am sure we all playing this “pretending” game… Living a normal life when we do not feel normal. Walking in Florence, watching small Bambinos triggering flashback of tortured, raped, and killed Syrian children, I then suddenly turn my head the other way trying to block this horrible visual image…it is like a PTSD..
I woke up this morning and asked God to give me a sign that the Syrian people are going to prevail…I think I got my sign. An introduction written in front of ” David sculpture” in Accademia by Micheal Angelo. It said that David won over the Goliath not by a brutal force but rather by his intellect and….innocence. And so we will…I hope.
June 16th, 2012, 7:42 am
MICHEL said:
Mina, 572
“He had been the minister of interior since 37 years!”
Before going to hell, Assad senior was president for 30 years. Assad junior has been president for 12 years. That’s 42 years, 5 years more than 37.
June 16th, 2012, 7:43 am
habib said:
573. Amir in Tel Aviv
Lol. I doubt we’ll hear ATA here complain about his opponents being gay anymore. When their hypocrisy is called out, Zionists just shut up (or call “anti-Semite”!). They know they’re untouchable whatever they do or say.
Has there been any Western condemnation of their attacks on blacks in Israel lately? A single condemnation? No? They can do whatever they want, without any repercussions at all.
June 16th, 2012, 7:58 am
ann said:
Syria: As fighting continues foreign detainees may reach center stage – 16 June, 2012
http://www.rt.com/news/syria-foreign-insurgents-terror-974/
[…]
After the capture of an ex-Guantanamo detainee in Homs as an alleged terror network mastermind, Syrian security is now researching this subject in-depth. In future, Syria may take some of these foreign elements to be dealt with in court under live TV coverage.
Sources say at least 200-300 private security company employees are captured beside hundreds of foreign military and service personnel during the last 14 months of foreign terror provocation. Among them are Portuguese nationals, who are paratroopers – and about whom Syria is asking itself how they entered the country. During interrogation they claimed to have retired from army duty, which somehow contradicts in some cases how old they look. Sources add, that some of those foreign officials somehow settled in the region at least months before they started their terror campaign.
Also 40-60 Germans are in Syrian custody, said the officials. According to these sources, the Germans were caught red-handed on the Syrian coastline as they were smuggling weapons supplies for the insurgents into Syria.
Syrian security personnel have changed their detention strategies as well, concentrating foreign nationals in a high-security environment in Damascus.
[…]
June 16th, 2012, 9:06 am
Syrialover said:
# 572. Mina said:
“Good news from Geneva! The head of KSA police and “heir to the throne” just died.”
Gee Mina, you’re impossible to please.
Poor old Prince Nayef did his best to stamp out Al Qaeda on his home patch.
And primitive and objectionable as their system is, his family is an historical remnant who conquered territory and didn’t steal power by sleazy coup and state terrorism.
Again, I’m puzzled as to what dogs you have in which fights.
Putting the Saudis aside, please tell us is there ANY country or government or opposition movement in the world you don’t have hostile feelings towards? Only Syria’s Assad regime seems to be spared.
June 16th, 2012, 9:07 am
Uzair8 said:
Syria: Brutally violent shabiha militia member tells it like it is
An active member of Syria’s feared shabiha militia says he is in a “win or die” fight for his president (and a little bit of cash).
June 15, 2012
“Sunni women are giving birth to babies who will fight us in years to come, so we have the right to fight anyone who can hurt us in the future,” said the Allawite militiaman, a member of the ancient offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the powerbase of his regime belong.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120614/syria-shabiha-thug-assad-mafia-guns-smuggling-violence-houla
June 16th, 2012, 9:08 am
Juergen said:
I find this poster appealing…
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=289467691150297&set=a.289453001151766.62144.281214818642251&type=1&theater
this may be too much of Hollywood style
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=282922585138141&set=a.289453001151766.62144.281214818642251&type=1&theater
Tara
Enjoy Florence, and i hope you dont get annoyed by the Italians, i got after a week, because all the time they answer a phone all and I mean all would answer by “Pronto”…
June 16th, 2012, 9:11 am
Juergen said:
Amir obviously “gay” is still an insult to some.
Just read that Saudi crown prince Naif Bin Abd al-Asis has died.
General Mood has suspended all monitoring, all Un observers will stay in their hotels. He explained that the ongoing violence of the last ten days resulted in this decision.
June 16th, 2012, 9:13 am
ann said:
UN suspends [ Spying 8) ] observer mission activities in Syria due to escalating violence – 16 June, 2012
http://www.rt.com/news/un-mission-escalating-violence-987/
The 300 observers will not be conducting patrols, says General Mood, but will stay in their locations in the country “until further notice.” The suspension will be reviewed on a daily basis, but the mission is still ready to resume its mandated activities when the situation in the country grows fit.
[…]
June 16th, 2012, 9:15 am
Mina said:
SL
“…didn’t steal power by sleazy coup and state terrorism. ”
You should read a histoy of Yemen…
By the way, you didn’t enlighten us: why did he die in Geneva?
June 16th, 2012, 9:36 am
mjabali said:
A very nice read by the Syrian film maker Haytham Hakki:
“الفيلم يحاول عن طريق هذه المرأة المحبة والمسالمة وصف الحال بعد الحرب. فيصف أولاً شعور الجنود (الصبية) الذين لا ناقة لهم ولا جمل في هذه الحرب التي سيخرجون منها إما قتلى أو دون عمل يؤمن لهم حياة كريمة، فهم لم يتعلموا سوى مهنة غير مفيدة بعد الحرب: «مهنة القتل»
http://alhayat.com/Details/411024
June 16th, 2012, 9:42 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Some has been saying for a while that SNC is failing,we found out today that SNC is infiltrated by pro Assad,they are determined to spoil their mission,those who are suspected to be the spoilers must be checked,and asked to leave soon,
As I said before,the leader of this revolution must be from the FSA, there are good defecting officers that could get that job, but they are not high ranking officers, general Ryad AlAsaad is good person.
The suspension of the observers work, must lead us to modifications of Annan plan.the fact that it has failed.the alternatives are:
1) Arm it,replace it with more powerful plan,I doubt this will happen with Russian veto.
2) Arming the FSA,with better weapons,The fear that the weapons may get to Qa-eda is unfounded
3) Protecting the civilian by foreign power,which I am against.
June 16th, 2012, 10:04 am
mjabali said:
Majedkhaldoun:
You speak as if you are the smartest man on earth. you are giving us orders and telling us who the next leader of Syria should be?
Dude: no more officers and anyone related to the army, please. Syrian needs a civilian to run the country well. People in Syria go to the army when they barely pass high school and they can not enter any descent college. If you have bad grades, the other option is Shria college which also take the worst students. So you know: army and sheikhs in Syria are not the smartest. This is common knowledge. History proved it too.
The Syrian people has to decided through elections who is there presidents.
As for the FSA: day after day I see more evidence that they are infiltrated by many war criminals and no one is taking action.
I just saw a video with a many being thrown from a building in al-Nabk because he is pro regime. I do no want to link a video so it would not disturb anyone like it did to me.
Is this the type of justice or leadership you are looking for ya dude?
June 16th, 2012, 10:12 am
bronco said:
So the regime has infiltrated the SNC and has allowed the Al Qaeeda extremists to infiltrate the FSA? Even Facebook and Youtube are infiltrated and redundant.
What is left of the ‘genuine’ opposition? How do they imagine they can take over the country without a foreign military war and invasion?
They called for NATO, they called for the Turks, they call for the UN observers, now they call for Chapter 7 and then what?
They should call for a truce, white flag, nothing else.
June 16th, 2012, 10:29 am
zoo said:
Let Syrian Warmongers Go Fight –
Doug Bandow, The National Interest
June 15, 2012
http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/lincoln-brigade-Syria-7054?page=1
The sofa samurai and ivory-tower warriors are in full war cry over Syria. Washington should do something! It’s time to recreate the Lincoln Brigade so they can go to war without dragging America into yet another unnecessary conflict.
When the conventional wisdom takes over in Washington, the crescendo can swell to epic proportions. So it has over Syria.
For instance, the so-called Three Amigos—senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joseph Lieberman, who have rarely found a country they didn’t want to bomb or invade—naturally wanted war early and often in Syria. Rising Republican star Senator Marco Rubio recently complained that the Obama administration’s demand that Assad go “has not been coupled with action.”
At the other side of the political spectrum, Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen fulminated over America’s failure to act. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof expressed shock that a Nobel Peace Prize winner had not involved America in another war. Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution argued that pundits should concentrate on advocating war, not worrying about the details: “I’m pretty sure it’s not the job of civilian think tanks to prepare a full, detailed battle plan for Syria.”
Absent from this advocacy is any belief that practicality matters, that prudence should influence policy, that going to war should be based on something more than feelings. Who cares about the consequences of war? Just do it!
We went through a similar exercise less than a decade ago. In the run-up to the Iraq war, opposition was drowned out with a similar crescendo of outraged claims of imminent threats draped with humanitarian rhetoric. Opponents of war were accused of being pro-Saddam Hussein. Armchair generals promised a “cakewalk” that would drain the swamp, create a model democracy, extend U.S. influence and cause the lion to lie down with the lamb.
When reality intruded after the invasion, the American people felt duped and turned against a campaign they originally supported. In Syria, there is no public support for intervention to start with. Disappointment likely would begin immediately.
War advocates don’t argue that this time would be different. They act as if Iraq didn’t happen. There’s no danger of repeating history because there apparently is no history.
…
So it is with the Greek Chorus loudly chanting to send bombers over or troops into Syria. The more fervid the support and impassioned the claim, the greater the responsibility to enlist. Early in the U.S. Civil War, the most fervent advocates for battle actually formed military units. They were expected to lead in combat. It is a practice that should be resurrected.
There is no good answer to Syria. The suppression of peaceful demonstrators and incipient civil war is a tragedy, as is violent war, brutal repression and social conflict in many other nations. If several thousand dead in Syria requires a headlong rush to war, will America ever be at peace?
And maintaining the peace for this nation—protecting this people—is the U.S. government’s highest priority. The government has the greatest responsibility to its own citizens. It is time to say no to more unnecessary wars. If some people can’t wait to start another one, they should be the ones to fight it.
….,,
June 16th, 2012, 10:35 am
zoo said:
Did they thin their beards since Houla massacre?
“Many of the shabiha have shaved heads, thin beards and white trainers. Most but not all are from the Assads’ minority Shia sect, the Alawites.”
http://www.economist.com/node/21556952
June 16th, 2012, 10:42 am
irritated said:
#589 Mjabali
Probably many commenters believe that the orders and advices they give to the Syrian Army, the government, to the opposition and even to Bashar Al Assad on SC will have an influence on them as if all of these groups get inspiration from SyriaComment.
Or, most probably they feel so impotent that they need to get their frustration out of their system by patronize like experts and psychics.
June 16th, 2012, 10:49 am
zoo said:
The Arab League attempts to unite the reluctant opposition for a dialog with the regime as per Annan plan
Everybody supports political solution in Syria – Arab League Sec-Gen
16/06/2012
By Sawsan Abu-Husain
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=30005
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Arab League Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Bin Helli revealed the latest about the situation in Syria, his views on how the crisis should be resolved, and his hopes for the future of Syria. Bin Helli revealed that the Arab League is working to convene a Syrian Contact Group conference before the end of the month to discuss Kofi Annan’s faltering initiative, whilst he also commented on Moscow’s calls for an international conference to discuss the fate of Syria, not to mention Iran’s role in the region.
The following is the full text of the interview:
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What’s your view of the Russian initiative to hold an international conference on Syria, particularly its invitation to Iran and other Syrian neighbors to discuss the crisis?
[Bin Helli] The Arab League and the United Nations [UN] are discussing a conference for the Syria Contact Group to be held at the end of this month in Geneva, which will be jointly chaired by UN Secretary-General [Ban Ki-Moon] and Arab League Secretary-General [Nabil Elaraby], whilst all parties involved in the crisis will be invited to take part in this, including the European Union and some international parties. This conference will take place at the ministerial level to support the main points in the plan of joint-envoy Kofi Annan, namely launching dialogue, implementing a ceasefire and supporting the Syrian people to achieving their ambitions with regards to change and stability.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Will this conference aim to put forward a mechanism regarding the adoption or development of the Annan plan?
June 16th, 2012, 10:53 am
hans said:
No way the USA will do such thing, USA is innocent, never get involved in crimes, rebels, supporting terrorists all over the world.
creating terrorists and bandit to kill innocents people.
USA is the Angel of the world.
http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/ar-LB/mhamad-hasanen-haykal-pb-6939.htm#
I think the Alqaida is all the work of the CIA. keep killing and more arms sales to whole world. military industrial complex is at work.
June 16th, 2012, 10:56 am
irritated said:
573. Mina
The cause of his death and his long illness has been kept secret.
What is that mysterious illness that is so shameful that it should not be published?
June 16th, 2012, 11:07 am
Juergen said:
Stephanie Saldana on the suspension of the UN observer mission:
“Appalling. What would we say if our firefighters one day announced that they would no longer enter burning houses to save children because the fire was too dangerous?”
Amir
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=407920742584534&set=a.128024363907508.10539.125342830842328&type=1&theater
June 16th, 2012, 11:42 am
Juergen said:
Hmm. in Assad Syria there is a rivalry over the back windows of Mhnbaks cars.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150909615826247&set=a.10150555196441247.389740.17702461246&type=1&theater
June 16th, 2012, 12:15 pm
Jad said:
BBC world news editor: Houla massacre coverage based on opposition propaganda
By Chris Marsden
As quietly as possible, BBC world news editor Jon Williams has admitted that the coverage of last month’s Houla massacre in Syria by the world’s media and his own employers was a compendium of lies.
Datelined 16:23, June 7, Williams chose a personal blog to make a series of fairly frank statements explaining that there was no evidence whatsoever to identify either the Syrian Army or Alawite militias as the perpetrators of the May 25 massacre of 100 people.
By implication, Williams also suggests strongly that such allegations are the product of the propaganda department of the Sunni insurgents seeking to overthrow Bashar al-Assad.
After preparatory statements of self-justification noting the “complexity of the situation on the ground in Syria, and the need to try to separate fact from fiction,” and Syria’s long “history of rumours passing for fact,” Williams writes:
“In the aftermath of the massacre at Houla last month, initial reports said some of the 49 children and 34 women killed had their throats cut. In Damascus, Western officials told me the subsequent investigation revealed none of those found dead had been killed in such a brutal manner. Moreover, while Syrian forces had shelled the area shortly before the massacre, the details of exactly who carried out the attacks, how and why were still unclear.”
For this reason, he concludes somewhat belatedly, “In such circumstances, it’s more important than ever that we report what we don’t know, not merely what we do.”
“In Houla, and now in Qubair, the finger has been pointed at the Shabiha, pro-government militia. But tragic death toll aside, the facts are few: it’s not clear who ordered the killings—or why.”
http://wsws.org/articles/2012/jun2012/bbcs-j15.shtml
June 16th, 2012, 12:52 pm
Jad said:
583. JUERGEN said:
I find this poster appealing…
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=289467691150297&set=a.289453001151766.62144.281214818642251&type=1&theater
“Appealing”
I wish you to face the exact same results of the NATO attacks you are wishing to happen to Syrians.
It’s just fair!
June 16th, 2012, 12:58 pm
Uzair8 said:
On the Syrian issue I’ve tended to be disappointed whenever I visit the Stop the War Coalition (UK) site. It seems that the obsession with anti-Imperialism has blinded them on the horrific situation in Syria.
So it was pleasing to see the opening words of John Rees’ article acknowledging the regimes behaviour. John Rees is a top figure in the (STWC) and also hosts political and historical programmes on Islam Channel (UK).
I guess the events in Syria are forcing some leftists to at least acknowledge the regimes brutality and distance themselves from it while still maintaining their anti-intervention position.
******************************************************************************
Why the horrific events in Syria must not carry us into support for Western intervention
No one can minimise the barbarity of the Assad regime, nor want to defend it from the justified rage of its people. But no one began the revolution wanting another Libya as the result.
12 June 2012
John Rees
The bloody attack at Houla by the Syrian regime, or militias supporting it, is the latest in a long line of such atrocities.
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/news-a-comment/syria/1583-why-the-horrific-events-in-syria-must-not-carry-us-into-support-for-western-intervention
I’m off to read the rest of the article.
June 16th, 2012, 1:03 pm
Jad said:
Hidden US-Israeli Military Agenda: “Break Syria into Pieces”
by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
A timely article in the Jerusalem Post last month brings to the forefront the unspoken objective of US foreign policy, namely the breaking up of Syria as a sovereign nation state along ethnic and religious lines. The article also confirms the role of Israel in the process of political destabilization of Syria. The JP article is titled: “Veteran Kurdish politician calls on Israel to support the break-up of Syria’ (by Jonathan Spyer) (The Jerusalem Post (May 16, 2012)
Sherkoh Abbas, President of the US based Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria (KNA) has “called on Israel to support the break-up of Syria into a series of federal structures based on the country’s various ethnicities.” (Ibid)
The unspoken objective of the US sponsored armed insurgency is –with the help of Israel– to “Break Syria into Pieces”. The “balkanisation of the Syrian Arab Republic” is to be carried out by fostering sectarian divisions, which will eventually lead to a “civil war” modelled on the former Yugoslavia.
One possible “break-up scenario” pertaining to Syria, which constitutes a multiethnic society, would be the formation of separate and “independent” Sunni, Alawite-Shiite, Kurdish and Druze political entities. “We need to break Syria into pieces,” Abbas said.( quoted in JP, op cit, emphasis added).
“The Syrian Kurdish dissident argued that a federal Syria, separated into four or five regions on an ethnic basis, would also serve as a natural “buffer” for Israel against both Sunni and Shi’ite Islamist forces.” (Ibid)
Ironically, while Islamist forces are said to constitute the main threat to the Jewish State, Tel Aviv is providing covert support to the Islamist Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Meeting behind Closed Doors at the US State Department
A top level State Department meeting was held in May with members of the Syrian Kurdish opposition. In attendance were representatives of the Kurdish National Council (KNC), Robert Stephen Ford, the outgoing US ambassador to Syria (who has played a key role in channelling support to the rebels) as well as Frederic C. Hof, a former business partner of Richard Armitage, who currently serves as the administration’s “special coordinator on Syria”.(Ibid). The delegation also met with Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman. Fred Hof, Robert S. Ford and Jeffrey Feltman are the the State Department’s key Syria policy-makers, with close links to the Syrian Free Army (SFA) and the Syrian National Council (SNC).
{…}
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=31454
June 16th, 2012, 1:04 pm
Jad said:
Dear MJabali
I linked that clip on SC earlier and according to our local hero, Khaldoun, the man fall only 4m and according to the same expert nothing happened to him, he stand up and walked away Immediatly, he wasn’t harm whatsoever, you know, his body is made of steel!
June 16th, 2012, 1:12 pm
Halabi said:
Houla, etc. We don’t know who committed the massacres but we know that pro-Assad thugs blocked UN observers from reaching the scenes and we know that the Syrian government has no interest in gathering evidence, investigating the crimes and bringing these criminals to court to face justice.
There are things we all know but the pro-Assad/state terrorism crowd choose to ignore. But it doesn’t matter what those who support a regime that stifles dissent and imprisons, exiles or kills anyone that dares to speak against corruption and oppression think. There are millions in Syria who are ready to move on to the post-Assad, post-Baath era, whatever that entails, and are willing to pay the ultimate price for that chance.
Revolutionaries die for a noble cause, while Assad’s soldiers, thugs and shabiha die to extend a state that all sane and objective people know is corrupt and oppressive.
June 16th, 2012, 1:19 pm
ghufran said:
I agree with a lot of what is being said in post 604 by halabi but I think the opposition should not ignore the armed thugs fighting under its name and terrorizing civilians in most parts of Syria now,the opposition also should distance itself from militant islamists and sectarian figures if it wants to win the support of fence sitters and minorities. every time I read an article that tries to portray anti Assad forces as total angels I know that I am wasting my time, I do not want the opposition media to become like addounia TV or albaath newspaper,the quality of information and analysis seen on many sites,including SC, continues to deteriorate because many people are soldiers of group thinking,which is a sure way to freeze your brain.
June 16th, 2012, 1:57 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Hidden, and yet seemingly everyone knows about it… IN DETAILS
Logical?
June 16th, 2012, 2:04 pm
Jad said:
Must read by all Syrians:
دفاعا عن المسلمين السنة في سوريا..
{…}
كان المسلمون السنة في سوريا وسيبقون قلعة للإسلام المعتدل، وهو ما أتاح للحركات الاسلامية التنويرية والفلسفية والصوفية الانتعاش والانتشار في أرض الشام فيما واجهت القمع في بلدان أخرى.
وعندما يتم الحديث مثلا عن تنظيم الطليعة المقاتلة وأفكار مروان حديد – التي أصبحت لاحقا مرجعا مهما لتنظيم القاعدة- وعن حركات إسلاموية سورية أخرى، يجب الإنصاف بتحديد أن هذه جماعات سياسية وليست برلمانا يعكس أهواء ورغبات وأفكار وهوية المسلمين السنة في البلاد. فالسنة بينهم الشيوعي، والاسلاموي، والناصري، وبينهم القسم الأكبر من غير المنتمين سياسيا والذين مثلهم بقية شرائح الشعب السوري يسعون للعيش في حياة كريمة.
نعم، علينا أن نكون منصفين، وألا نرى بعين واحدة. نعم كان هناك مروان حديد الذي روج فتوى ابن تيمية في تكفير العلويين، وكان الريف العلوي مهمشا حتى عام 1963 والناس يذهبون حفاة إلى المدينة. ونعم، تمت تصفية أطباء وعلماء علويين لأسباب مذهبية. ولكن هذا حصل من قبل جماعات سياسية لديها فكر إيديولوجي من الخطأ اعتباره فكرا لدى مجتمع عام هو أهل السنة في سوريا.
وإذا كان مروان حديد تسبب بمقتل المئات من العلويين، فإن أكرم الحوراني عمل على تأمين الحياة الكريمة لعشرات الآلاف منهم عندما تبرع بأراضي أجداده للفلاحين العلويين الفقراء الذيت كانوا يعيشون تحت سطوة الإقطاع. ولا ننسى صلاح البيطار الذي وقف ضد الطائفية، وغيرهم المئات من الشخصيات السياسية الفذة التي داست على الطائفية بحذائها ( نحن نذكر هنا شخصيات سياسية على سبيل المثال، وأما عموم الناس من السنة فهم يحملون نفس الافكار).
إن عموم السنة والعلويين في سوريا يجنحون للعيش معا، وإلا كيف يمكن تفسير الزيجات الحاصلة في كل قرية وفي حي من أحياء المدينة بين المذهبين. هذه الزيجات لم تحصل بقرار من القيادة القطرية لحزب البعث، ولا بأمر من المفتي أو وزارة الأوقاف السورية ! هذه الزيجات حصلت نتيجة وجود رغبة من الطرفين بتقبل العيش مع الآخر. نعم هناك متطرفون في المذهبين، ونقصد بالمتطرفين فكرة واحدة حصرا وهي وجود عائلات من هذا المذهب ترفض الزواج من عائلات المذهب الآخر، وهي حرة بذلك، فهي تعتقد أن هذه تقاليدها التي يجب أن يحترمها الناس، وللحق نقول أن هؤلاء – ورغم “تزمتهم الديني هذا”- إلا أنه لا ينقصهم الكرامة والأخلاق العالية في التعامل وحسن الجوار بين الطرفين.
{…}
المسلمون السنة في سوريا هم قلعة الاعتدال الإسلامي في العالم؛ وخير مثال أنه فيما اختفت وتبخرت المدارس الفلسفية الإسلامية التنويرية الفكرية أو الصوفية في بلدان مسلمة كثيرة، فإنها استمرت في سوريا ولم يكن هذا الاستمرار مرتبطا بقرار سياسي من حكومات أو أنظمة بل بسبب توفر قبول اجتماعي له. هنا تجب الإشارة إلى الشيخ محيي الدين بن عربي المتصوف الإسلامى الكبير، صاحب بيت الشعر الشهير “أدين بدين الحب أنى توجهت.. ركائبه فالحب ديني وإيماني”. بيت الشعر هذا يشير إلى تعاليم المدارس الاسلامية في سوريا القائمة على الدعوة للمحبة والتسامح، وليس “القتل والتكفير وقطع الرؤوس” كما يحصل في دول أخرى.
وبالمقابل، يسعى متطرفون لرسم “ملامح مريّخيّة” لـ”العلوية” من خلال جملة من الأساطير التي يرسمونها حول “العلوية”، حتى أن أحدهم تحدث عن “الكنز والثروات من الذهب وغيره الموجودة في كل قرية علوية” وهو يعرف الحقيقة ولا ينطق بها وهي أن الريف العلوي لا يزال فقيرا حتى اليوم، وهناك قرى لا تصل الطرقات إليها. من الناحية الفكرية والسياسية، “العلوية” هي اتباع فكر علي بن أبي طالب في العدالة واحترام حقوق الإنسان والحرية وتحرير الإنسان من الظلم، ولذلك إن كل إنسان يناضل من أجل الحرية والعدالة وحقوق الإنسان هو “علوي”، وكل إنسان يناضل من اجل العدالة هو “عمري” نسبة إلى عمر بن الخطاب مؤسس نظام الدولة المتطور والقائم على العدالة في زمن الخلافة الإسلامية.
إذن، خرج مروان حديد من السنة، ولكن الكفة تميل لصالح القسم الأكبر من السنة من أنصار فكر العيش المشترك مثل أكرم الحوراني. وبالمقابل، خرج مسؤولون فاسدون ومنتهكون لحقوق الإنسان من العلويين، وكذلك الكفة تميل لصالح القسم الأكبر من العلويين الراغبين بالعيش المشترك وإلا ماذا نسمي آلاف السجناء السياسيين والمثقفين الذي قضوا سنوات عمرهم في في السجن ليس من أجل مذهب أو طائفة ولكن من أجل سوريا وطنية وحرة وديمقراطية.
لذلك. نقول الآن وبصوت عال: تعبنا. باختصار: ليستمر كل سوري بنضاله السياسي الذي يراه صحيحا، ولكن اتركوا المذاهب جانبا. مشكلة سوريا ليست في اي جامع نصلي، أو وفق أي مذهب نصلي، ولا وفق أي مذهب نجري معاملات الزواج ! مشكلة سوريا هي مشكلة سياسية تحتاج إلى حل سياسي وصولا إلى دولة ديمقراطية وطنية حرة عمادها الدين لله والوطن للجميع.
http://syria-politic.com/ar/Default.aspx?article=399#.T9zMpGt5mSN
June 16th, 2012, 2:22 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
The Nazi party was also called socialist.
Regime propagandists have an incredible amount of ideological flexibility. Quoting the radical left with the same authority of quoting the radical right.
Not surprising, most anti-social individuals spend their lifetime switching parties in search for the most bitter group to join. Assad defenders do a lifetime of switching within two successive posts. Their anti-social credentials are impeccable.
June 16th, 2012, 2:25 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Google Reader does a better job.
June 16th, 2012, 2:27 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
And by the way,
The search ends when one joins the local manifestation of the skinheads; the most bitter of anti social groups, and the one with the least cumulative IQ but with the worst dose of “racial/sectarian/ideological… ” superiority complex?
Once more, Logical?
* For the local manifestation in Syria: Call Bassam Alqadi or for that matter anyone from the Assad Klan or those infatuated by the clan-head (AKA grand wizard).
Disclosure: The above observations were analyzed using remote excerementology principles.
June 16th, 2012, 2:47 pm
zoo said:
Omen
Can there be freedom of expression just after a violent revolution?
After every single violent revolution there has been a reign of terror and absence of freedom of expression.
The reason is simple: the revolutionaries are terrified by a counter revolution movement so they become extremely repressive: executing their opponents, developing a secret police etc…
Even in Egypt and Tunisia where the revolution was not considered as violent, there is a renewal of emergency laws and brutality against any one who dares counter the ‘revolution’
The trouble is these days with the media omnipresent, any attempt to stop the counter revolutionaries is presented in the media as ‘failure of the revolution’, ‘human right abuses’ etc.
Libya will almost certainly turn very violent and I think the chance of a civil war is great. It depends on the number and the abilities of the counter revolutionaries to exploit the weaknesses of the new regime and its inability to provide security and basix services to its citizens. It’s a matter of time.
I expect Egypt top also move into a phase of violent confrontations especially if weapons from Libya reaches Egypt.
All these revolutions are extremely fragile and I am not sure the ones who are managing the Post-period have the capabilities.
—————————————-
The Anatomy of Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anatomy_of_Revolution
June 16th, 2012, 3:03 pm
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
If it’s “hidden”, then how do you know about it?
.
June 16th, 2012, 3:08 pm
Syrialover said:
#602
Prof. Michel Chossudovsky – he’s da man!
An economist who steps outside his field to dabble in grand conspiracy delusions.
He’s got some weird and wild ones about Syria. All feedstock for the regime.
Here’s another one of his pet crank claims (which he should welcome as a weapon aganst climate change!):
“Chossudovsky argues that from a military standpoint, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is an operational weapon of mass destruction with the potential to be used against “rogue states”, with the power to alter the weather, disrupt regional electrical power systems, and modify the Earth’s magnetic field, as well as potentially trigger earthquakes and affect people’s health.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Chossudovsky)
June 16th, 2012, 3:12 pm
zoo said:
The Five Stages of Egypt’s Revolution
It matters little who wins the presidency this weekend — a much bloodier uprising is inevitable.
BY CHARLES HOLMES | JUNE 15, 2012
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/15/the_five_stages_of_egypt_s_revolution?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full
…
Yet, in the context of Egypt’s current political dilemma, Brinton’s scenarios need to be taken seriously. What they suggest is what we already know to be true: The outcome of Egypt’s revolution will not be decided by a committee, it will not be managed, and it will not be moderated. It will be decided in the streets, as all revolutions are. Egypt’s revolution is not nearing an end, it’s only just beginning.
….
June 16th, 2012, 3:19 pm
irritated said:
#610 Syrian Hamster
This is why they smell so bad…
June 16th, 2012, 3:20 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Duse Mjabali
You said: army and sheikhs in Syria are not the smartest. This is common knowledge. History proved it too.
Duse, you said you studied history, I am surprised you are saying that.
what we need is a leader with a vision,someone who has integrity,can be trusted,people will follow him willingly,he should be convincing,a person who is dedicated to work hard to achieve success,disciplined,someone with humility,just and fair ,thorough in checking all facts before he makes judgement,assertive,with sense of humor.
A person like this can be army man,as several has proven these qualities
June 16th, 2012, 3:21 pm
Syrialover said:
Syrian Hamster #608,
Bitter.
That’s the word I was trying to find for Mina in my #581 post.
June 16th, 2012, 3:21 pm
Observer said:
Sana claims the observers are “lightening” their mission when Mood says we are suspending it. The claim that the security of the observers is of paramount importance. Well well; the plan of Anan is dead as a door nail.
Russia is saying
1. Ships are ready to sail for Syria
2. The air force is ready to go evacuate Russians
3. Anti air and anti ship missiles are to be shipped to Syria
4. Iran has to be a part in the discussions
Do I sense a desperation here ? Do I smell fear ?
Syrian Hamster for president.
June 16th, 2012, 3:35 pm
irritated said:
Syrian Hamster
“Do I sense a desperation here ? Do I smell fear ? ”
Quite the opposite: determination
June 16th, 2012, 3:40 pm
Syrialover said:
ZOO #611
Thanks for spelling out your negativity doctrine and inspiration.
You give your thinking away. To quote:
“Libya will almost certainly turn very violent and I think the chance of a civil war is great.”
You mean great in the sense of wonderful.
You are so absorbed in searching for total wipeout and destruction scenarios for the Middle East you are missing all the human, cultural, community, historical, political and other real life factors that determine things.
This isn’t a computer war game.
June 16th, 2012, 3:44 pm
irritated said:
Any massive demonstrations reopted for Friday? Defections of officials, massive strike?
The voice of the new SNC leader appears even weaker than Ghaliun’s in mobilizing the streets.
It doesn’t look like a good life sign for the comatose SNC
One mini success though: The UN mission they have criticized from day one has stopped
June 16th, 2012, 3:49 pm
zoo said:
#620 Syria Lover
“Libya needs more than elections to prevent civil war”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/14/libya-needs-more-than-elections
“It matters little who wins the presidency this weekend — a much bloodier uprising is inevitable in Egypt.”
BY CHARLES HOLMES | JUNE 15, 2012
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/15/the_five_stages_of_egypt_s_revolution?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full
June 16th, 2012, 3:55 pm
Syrialover said:
#619 Irritated said: “Quite the opposite: determination”
Determination: to carry out the “Assad or we burn the country” pledge.
(Which is actually proving to be “Assad AND we burn the country”)
June 16th, 2012, 3:56 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
You are absolutely correct, I have overlooked oppositional defiant disorder ODD ; also a common pre anti-social behavioral trait.
Common features of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) include excessive, often persistent anger, frequent temper tantrums or angry outbursts, as well as disregard for authority. Children and adolescents with ODD often purposely annoy others, blame others for their own mistakes , and are easily disturbed. Parents often observe more rigid and irritable behaviors than in siblings.[2] In addition, these young people may appear resentful of others and when someone does something they don’t like they prefer taking revenge more than sensitive solutions.
June 16th, 2012, 3:59 pm
Syrialover said:
#622 ZOO
That’s what you so relentlessly do – search for speculative opinion pieces to support your doomsday scenarios.
June 16th, 2012, 4:01 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Two answers, one for the the unedited post (defiance) and one for the edited version (determination). Either way, doesn’t look good for regime defenders. Naturally, Irritability and resentment are justified herein, not necessarily part of ODD.
June 16th, 2012, 4:11 pm
mjabali said:
Majedkhaldoun:
Stop making things up. When did I say that I studied this or that. Also, learn the words before you use them. Are you making a new word? What do you mean by “duse?” Learn what do you want to say before you use that word.
Speaking of history of the Army men from the Middle East that ruled: there is none of them that was not violent. Most of them are not smart overall but they came to power because they had the right number of men under them. The rulers who came from the army participated into creating a citizen that is afraid of his own shadow. The Army knows how to rule with two things: Power and fear.
The Army in the Middle East did not produce anything good for the area. History shows us that the army in the middle east was and is a problem. You need a judge and police to support him. It is simple.
The Army may have a good and honest person here and there but their job is to protect the country not to rule it. The ruler should not be from the army. Enough of those guys. The Army should listen to what the people of the country instead of shelling the hell out of them.
As for the Sheikhs, just one simple historical fact: While the ruler who hailed from the army molded the citizen to be a coward and a subject, the Sheikh was doing his part in this destructive party by making the citizen an idiot.
June 16th, 2012, 5:03 pm
Syrialover said:
#626 Syrian Hamster
There has been explosive “irritability and resentment” by pro-regimers from day 1 of the protests against Assad.
Not like the slow, sure burn of those of us who have been long waiting for the end of the ugly, destructive Assad chapter in Syria’s history.
June 16th, 2012, 5:10 pm
omen said:
can somebody explain this?
Hostages are senior Hezbollah leaders
The Syrian rebels confirmed that the 11 Lebanese affiliated with Hezbollah oversaw the massacres in Syria. The arrested men belonged to the intelligence section of Hezbollah. Among the arrested were a nephew of Hassan Nasrallah and the intelligence official of the Iranian’s Jerusalem force. Interestingly, Hezbollah accused Ankara to be behind the kidnapping of the 11 Lebanese. And yet, due to the gravity of the situation, Hezbollah offered secretly an amount of $12 million for their release. Later, the offer reached $20 and even $50 millions but to no avail.
June 16th, 2012, 5:15 pm
Tara said:
Omen
I hope that is the case but unfortunately the story does not make sense as we were initially told that the rebels released the women. I doubt Hassan’s nephew and the Quds terrorist travel with wives.
June 16th, 2012, 5:28 pm
omen said:
thanks, tara. i asked the guy who posted for clarification. he said:
FSA arrested 11 Hezbollah Intel Officers in Syria- B4 $50m offer Nasrallah said they were ‘Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped by FSA’
the euphemism “arrest” instead of saying “kidnap” was throwing me off.
June 16th, 2012, 5:41 pm
majedkhaldoun said:
Mjabali
Violence is not exclusive of Army men, non army rulers are violent against their people. DeGaul was an army man,Hitler was not.
Rulers in the middle East don’t respect freedom and democracy,,In Syria we had a period of democracy before Nasser,while democracy is messy system, it is not my best choice ,but it is much better than to have a tyrant who kills his people to stay in power, and again I believe Assad hijacked the Alawi community and they must abandon him.and support democratic change,
June 16th, 2012, 7:07 pm
Uzair8 said:
If any european country requests a massive bailout request from the EU it should be refused. The EU should tell them that if Syria is able to deal with difficult economic situations and austerity etc then so should they.
Unfortunately for the likes of Greece and Spain the Syrian regime is keeping it’s solutions close to it’s chest and not willing to share.
June 16th, 2012, 7:28 pm
zoo said:
Syrian general defects to Turkey: report
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/syrian-general-defects-to-turkey-report-1.1036636
Defection brings to 10 the number of generals seeking refuge in Turkey
Istanbul: Another general has fled Syria and joined rebels camped in southeastern Turkey with plans to confront the Damascus regime, the Anatolia news agency reported Saturday.
His identity was not disclosed for security reasons.
The defection brought to 10 the number of generals seeking refuge in Turkey since the revolt against the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s regime erupted 16 months ago.
The general crossed into Turkey with his family and was taken to Apaydin camp, a defectors’ settlement in Hatay province, some 4km from the border with Syria.
June 16th, 2012, 7:39 pm
Mawal95 said:
This is in continuation of an old conversation with my old pals JAD, Bronco and ZOO:
15 Jun 2012. In a public opinion poll in Turkey sponsored by an Istanbul-based Center for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies (“EDAM”), and conducted between May 5 and June 5 among a representative sample of 1,500 people across the country, 57% said they were against Turkey intervening militarily in Syria, while 35% said they were in favour of intervening militarily in one way or another (by arming the rebels, or by setting up protected zones on Syrian territory, or by an all-out nationwide attack on Syria), and the remaining 8% had no opinion. Most of those who were opposed to intervening military were also opposed to political and diplomatic interference in Syria’s affairs. Among those who said they were generally supporters of Turkey’s ruling AKP political party, the majority said they were opposed to a military intervention of any kind. AFP @ http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/43570-poll-turks-oppose-direct-intervention-in-syria ,
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turks-oppose-syrian-conflict.aspx?pageID=238&nID=23220&NewsCatID=341
The original poll report by the organization that sponsored it (“EDAM”) is in English language at http://www.edam.org.tr/document/Edam2012Survey2.pdf
In addition to the Turkish public opinion poll just mentioned, the EDAM organization also carried out a survey among Turkey’s foreign policy expert community with the participation of 200 opinion makers. 200 “experts” is a lot you know. 67.5 % of the experts stated their preference for the continuation of political and diplomatic initiatives. 21 % supported the option of non-interference of any kind (no sanctions, etc.). Thus, in total, anti-military-interventionist preferences were stated by 88.5 % of the expert participants. 6.5 % of the expert community supported the option of establishing safe haven zones within Syria under the protection of Turkish troops, 3.5 % supported arming the Syrian rebels, and 1.5 % supported the option of a full military attack against the Assad government. http://www.edam.org.tr/document/Edam2012Survey2.pdf
June 16th, 2012, 9:55 pm
Mawal95 said:
I spent a couple of hours looking at Friday protest turnout size this past Friday in many localities in Syria. In almost every locality, turnout was very unimpressive. The few exceptions cannot change the conclusion that nationwide turnout was overall very weak in comparative historical terms.
USA Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said in an interview on 28 Sep 2011: “The main thing for the opposition to do is figure out how to win away support from the regime, and not look to outsiders to try and solve the problem.” http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2094881,00.html . The rebels should ask themselves whether that is still true today and ask themselves what are they actually doing to try to win political support from more Syrians. The rebels should be asking themselves whether conducting negotiations with the government could be a means towards strengthening themselves politically:
June 16th, 2012, 10:24 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Mawal95,
“I spent a couple of hours looking at Friday protest turnout size this past Friday in many localities in Syria. In almost every locality, turnout was very unimpressive.”
I beg to differ, below is a link for photos that show protests across Syria, in many localities this past friday June 15th, 2012:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/collections/72157630150644728/
Also here is a link for the various protests that happened through out this past week in Syria:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/collections/72157630144608836/
And in case you were wondering why Homs has not seen many protests lately, I would suggest this collection that shows Assad forces levelling our fourth largest city:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/sets/72157630146541000/
And the civilians that were either wounded or martyred because of the direct result of Assad forces indiscriminately shelling and barraging innocent civilians:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/sets/72157630145896246/
(Graphic Content)
June 16th, 2012, 10:43 pm
Mawal95 said:
Friday 15 Jun 2012 was branded by the protesters جمعة الاستعداد التام للنفير العام and it was ALSO branded جمعة روسيا عدو الشعب السوري . By searching for those two Arabic text strings at Youtube, anyone can get a list of all — or essentially all — of the videos of the street protests of this past Friday. (You have to search for the two text strings separately, not together).
June 16th, 2012, 11:00 pm
MICHEL said:
Zoo,
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. (John F. Kennedy)
June 16th, 2012, 11:21 pm
Observer said:
The very fact that demonstrations continue is an amazing sign of the true determination of the people to gain freedom. When demonstrators are bombed with mortar rounds and you continue to demonstrate this should be proof to the most stubborn regime supporter that the game is up, that the wall of fear has been destroyed, and that the terror card is no longer working. Witness the ever increasing use of violence and the reliance on the paramilitary to carry out the massacres.
Putin and Lavrov are also in a major bind, but they may not know it, for Putin thinks that he is in Chechnya and that he can destroy his way to pacify the revolution.
What a pitiful little despot who will join Fredo to the dustbin of history.
June 16th, 2012, 11:51 pm
omen said:
what is freedom?
cicero: freedom is participation in power.
June 16th, 2012, 11:57 pm
Observer said:
Here are Palestinian views from occupied Palestine on how they feel about the resistance of Syria to Israeli hegemony.
Interesting read and pictures to say the least.
Click on it now don’t be shy, no horror videos here
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/anti-assad-signs-go-up-in-northern-israeli-city-1.436812
June 16th, 2012, 11:57 pm
Observer said:
Here is Cham Press giving us the “real” version of what Mood said. Interesting to read between the lines.
I definitely sense desperation.
http://www.champress.net/index.php?q=ar/Article/view/2016
Syrian Hamster for President for a maximum of two terms.
June 17th, 2012, 12:00 am
Observer said:
Here is RT read below
Russian ships on standby
Moscow says the Russian Black Sea fleet is on standby, ready to sail to Syria’s port of Tartus in the event Russian citizens living in Syria requiring evacuation.
US media speculate a Russian military vessel is already making way to the Tartus, which Moscow uses as a Mediterranean naval base. The ship is reportedly carrying weapons to resupply Russia’s defenses at the base.
“All our ships are at their base in Sevastopol except the big landing craft vessel Ceasar Kunikov, but it is sailing in the opposite direction: from the Mediterranean back to the Black Sea. On Saturday it will dock in Sevastopol,” a source in Russia’s Joint Staff told Itar-Tass news agency.
The source has confirmed that if the Tartus naval base requires protection, the Black Sea Fleet is quite likely to be assigned with the task.
“Several ships of the Black Sea Fleet are on full alert to sail out, this includes big landing craft vessels with naval troops aboard,” said the official.
Russia’s Air Forces will support the Navy in their possible mission to Tartus, if a relevant order is issued.
“We should protect our nationals. I am sure we will not abandon Russians and evacuate them from the conflict area if required,” Air Force Chief Deputy Vladimir Gradusov told reporters on Saturday.
A Russian warship found itself “en route” to Syria in American news outlets just several days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had accused Russia of sending attack helicopters to Syria, a move she said escalated violence in the Arab country. On Thursday however this lost steam as the State Department acknowledged the helicopters were actually refurbished ones already owned by the Assad regime.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that Moscow is only providing Syria with defense weapons coming under old contracts. The refurbishment of the helicopters supplied many years ago had been planned some timein advance.
Why the need to evacuate Russia’s citizens? I thought that the regime is waging a successful war against foreign CIA-ALQAEDA-MOSSAD-QATARI-TURKISH-SAUDI-LYBIAN-TUNISIAN-PAKISTANI terrorists.
I definitely sense desperation here.
June 17th, 2012, 12:05 am
Observer said:
Who is going to Lavrov’s dinner invitation to discuss Syria?
Can anyone please tell us who responded to the idea of a meeting of “influence wielding” powers are attending this meeting?
I really would like to know what happened to this “initiative”.
June 17th, 2012, 12:11 am
omen said:
636. MAWAL95 said:
conclusion that nationwide turnout was overall very weak in comparative historical terms.
.
you know how i measure support for bashar? i judge from the regime’s own actions. the more violence the regime unleashes, the more death it rains from the sky – tells me the regime is growing more desperate and bashar is losing more and more support.
June 17th, 2012, 12:12 am
omen said:
12:05 observer,
you mean russia might have a “last helicopter out of saigon” moment? who’d have thunk it? that would be a thing of beauty.
but then again, all those warships…would they dare lobby missiles before departing?
hey, why don’t rebels kidnap russian nationals and demand, in exchange for return of hostages, that russia stop arming the regime?
June 17th, 2012, 12:24 am
Ghufran said:
A western view on alawite support for Assad:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/16/minority-sect-syria-dictatorship
Tlas and two of his children are not likely to return to Syria until there is a major change in the situation,mutapha himself is keeping quiet for now,but his two children are trying to establish communication with the opposition,the same is true for Shihabi’s kids.
We will see if the new anti tanks and anti aircraft weapons found their way into the armed rebels hands,I think they did,destroying more tanks and shooting few helicopters seem to be at the top of the rebels agenda,the regime will now try to make progress in Homs and Reef Dimshq before a new wave of mediation starts.
The regime for all practical purposes is falling,Russia wants a partial and controlled fall,I think the US may also prefer a similar outcome,without a transitional period that calms regime supporters,no peaceful end to this crisis is likely,the fall of Assad will not be enough,as predicted,to finish the regime,Bashar is only a symbol,and if necessary,his own supporters will sacrify him to save what can be saved,the absence of any serious outreach to those who kept the regime alive for 16 months is the main reason why we have not seen a major crack in the regime,those supporters are led to believe that their only choice is to fight to death or create an independent state in the coastal region if they lose Damascus,to save Syria,big players must address that group…NOW.
June 17th, 2012, 1:08 am
Ghufran said:
Qudsayyah is now surrounded from all corners by thousands of well equipped army officers and soldiers after the leadership of the FSA committed a major military mistake by sending few hundred fighters who are not well equipped to this town with the goal of occupying it and use it as a launching pad to attack Damascus.
Mediators from that town were told that the armed rebels will not be allowed to simply move out,within days,or less,we will either see an assault on that town or an impressive surrender of the rebels. One has to wonder who is making those decisions at the FSA command,if they actually have one,every time those rebels infiltrate civilian areas we are treated with a major disaster and a massive loss of civilian lives.
June 17th, 2012, 1:26 am
omen said:
via telegraph:
US enlists Britain’s help to stop ship ‘carrying Russian attack helicopters’ to Syria
Washington, which last week condemned Moscow for continuing to arm the Syrian regime, has asked British officials to help stop the Alaed delivering its alleged cargo by using sanctions legislation to force its London-based insurer to withdraw its cover.
Under the terms of the current European Union arms embargo against Syria, imposed in May last year, there is a ban on the “transfer or export” of arms and any related “brokering” services such as insurance. Withdrawal of a ship’s insurance cover would make it difficult for it legally to dock elsewhere and could force it to return the cargo to port.
The request to London from US officials comes after the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, disclosed on Tuesday that Moscow was in the process of shipping a batch of attack helicopters to Syria.
June 17th, 2012, 1:44 am
Jad said:
What is going on in Qudsayyah is another episode in a series of a very well organized campaign aiming for igniting a sectarian striff close to Damascus, in a way to inflame the civil war in the heart of Syria
They are targeting every mixed neighborhood in the country for that reason, I can almost be sure that some really high european strategists are behind this campaign, I read so many researchs about this specific issue.
They already tried the exact same strategy in Yugoslavia and Iraq. This is a very typical strategy to destroy the social fabric of any country, the goal is to get rid of any social, physical and symbolic element represent a harmonized peaceful point between the different elements of any ethnically and religiously diverse society.
Whoever is planning these specific attacks/actions in those specific neighbourhoods inside Syria is NOT Syrian, and many research institutes are doing the matrices to pinpoint the areas needed to be targeted in a way for the plan to succeed.
I hope that I’m wrong but I think that we will be seeing some very aggressive and bloody attacks happening in urban and mixed areas in all Syrian cities in the coming days/weeks.
I just hope that the Syrian communities can see the plan and not to fall for the temptation, I know that it’ll be extremely hard but I’m forcing myself to keep my faith very high in our average Syrian Abou A7mad not to defeat this satanic plan.
June 17th, 2012, 2:06 am
Jad said:
Dear Mawal,
Nice to see you back with your usual good observations and thank you for sharing the Turkish survey with us.
I’m not very surprised of the results of the Turkish diplomates, I’m more surprised of the public opinion, only 57% against war on Syria is quite low.
I’m sorry to disapoint you again but I still believe that the Turkish regime is playing a major role in arming and supporting the armed militias inside Syria and making the situation worsen.
June 17th, 2012, 2:16 am
ann said:
The Russians have a responsibility to protect their citizen in Syria
Russia flies anti-air, anti-ship missiles to Assad as its fleet heads to Tartus – June 17, 2012
http://www.debka.com/article/22090/Russia-flies-anti-air-anti-ship-missiles-to-Assad-as-its-fleet-heads-to-Tartus
[…]
Pentagon sources Friday disclosed the approach of a “small contingent” of Russian warships to Tartus, debkafile’s military and intelligence sources have discovered that heading for the Russian base at this Syrian port is a Russian fleet that includes Ropucha-toad or Project 775 class landing-craft carrying Russian marines. Each craft can carry 250 marine personnel and 500-ton armored vehicles.
And flying overhead are Russian air transports that are touching down at Syrian air bases bearing, according to our sources, a variety of sophisticated munitions for the Syrian army: advanced Russian Pantsyr-S1 anti-air missiles capable of hitting fighter-bombers flying at an altitude of 12 kilometers and cruise missiles; self-propelled medium range anti-air Buk-M2 missiles (NATO codenamed SA-11). They are capable of downing aircraft flying at an altitude of 14 kilometers and Mach 32 speed; and shore-based Bastion anti-ship missiles which can reach vessels sailing 300 kilometers out to sea.
Russia is, in a word, supplying Bashar Assad, his regime and his army, with the very weapons they may need for warding off Western and Arab air efforts to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, while at the same time enabling him to repel seaborne assaults by his foes from the Mediterranean.
Since Syrian units have not been trained in the use of these advanced weapons, they are mostly likely coming with Russian technical teams to operate them – although they would be presented as “instructors.”
The Russians are not trying to conceal their military intervention in Syria in support of the Assad regime.
[…]
June 17th, 2012, 2:27 am
ann said:
Are these Europeans STUPID or what?!
EU to Syrian regime: No more caviar, fancy cars
http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2012/06/17/news/national/649168.txt
I thought good caviar comes from Iran!
June 17th, 2012, 2:36 am
omen said:
tara & peeps,
don’t forget to take your b complex. it helps to handle stress. of course, this is nothing compared to what syrians on the ground are having to deal with but following this issue still takes a toll.
June 17th, 2012, 2:40 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
The pitiful buffoon who heads the Assad crime syndicate abdicates Syrian sovereignty to pitiful Russian czar wanna-be, and SC’s hyper nationalists and no-cities are silent about it.
Single talented multi-persona “baath” rhetoric-expert is concerned about the political well-being of the revolutionaries.
Lefties “leftover” transfer loyalty from communist Soviet Union to predatory capitalist China-Russia axis, and still call themselves “socialists” and still talk about “conspiracy”
Humanist-sectarians are really concerned and indignant about the impact of 4 meter fall (actually it is at least 9 meters fall, which makes it fatal, but no more or less criminal) but ignorant of the impact craters from the fall of thousands bombs. There has to be a poem about that….
The classy stinky rose of the desert spouse of the buffoon continues to hold the citizenship of the evil dead empire… She has not renounced it…. I think so do most of the SC pro-regimist,anti-imperialist,humanist-sectarian, hypernationalist, defiant and highly determined crowd except for those living in mafioczaricomucapitasocialist Russia…Those are shielded from the evilness of empires.
—-cheeky enough?….
June 17th, 2012, 2:44 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Turkish Regime vs Syrian Government…. smart propaganda wordplay?
June 17th, 2012, 2:50 am
omen said:
zoo: Even in Egypt and Tunisia where the revolution was not considered as violent, there is a renewal of emergency laws and brutality against any one who dares counter the ‘revolution’
.
can these be counted as completed revolutions when elements of the regime were allowed to remain in power? only the symbolic figureheads were removed.
you are faulting the revolutionaries for the tyranny the old order is still inflicting.
June 17th, 2012, 2:58 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
The Russians have a responsibility to protect their citizen in Syria
So said every occupier who perished from Syrian land.
June 17th, 2012, 3:02 am
Osama said:
647. OMEN
“hey, why don’t rebels kidnap russian nationals and demand, in exchange for return of hostages, that russia stop arming the regime?”
Last time I checked, that can be considered incitement to commit terrorism… oh wait you said Russians…nevermind then
June 17th, 2012, 3:05 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
again
The Russians have a responsibility to protect their citizen in Syria
Must be a very important citizen could it be their mafia-don or emperor….
June 17th, 2012, 3:08 am
omen said:
putin? concern for civilians?? don’t make me laugh. look at chechnya and tell me putin is a humanitarian. the man stayed on holiday while submariners perished. “concern” for russian nationals is just a pretext to bring warships to syria. they must be worried about their precious port. frankly, i don’t know why it’s still standing.
upon reflection, rebels are smarter than i. they know putin wouldn’t give a crap about hostages.
June 17th, 2012, 3:09 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
cheering occupation, aren’t we?
and yet condemning Chalabi of Iraq… must be the difference between T72 and Abrams..
Omen:
No, I am saying the cut-paste artist writes so well.
June 17th, 2012, 3:12 am
omen said:
would russian warships dare fire missiles inland in attempt to safeguard the coastal region?
sad to suspect loyalists would applaud the prospect of russians killing fellow syrians.
June 17th, 2012, 3:24 am
ann said:
Friends Of NATO and Mrs. Clinton
June 17th, 2012, 3:42 am
Syrialover said:
Jad # 651 said: “They are targeting every mixed neighborhood in the country for that reason, I can almost be sure that some really high european strategists are behind this campaign… They already tried the exact same strategy in Yugoslavia and Iraq. This is a very typical strategy to destroy the social fabric of any country, the goal is to get rid of any social, physical and symbolic element represent a harmonized peaceful point between the different elements of any ethnically and religiously diverse society.”
Please help me, I am completely baffled. WHY would anyone bother doing this? For sport? And who are “they” – and who would be sponsoring such complicated, costly and high risk third-country projects, and for what benefit for who?
I just don’t get it.
Aha, unless you are referring to the Russians, where anything is possible and need not make sense.
I also thought that what happened in Yugoslavia and Iraq went back a long way and sprang from much older unresolved issues(the outcome of WWII in the former and in the latter, Sunni-Shia/Iran tensions etc generated under Saddam).
June 17th, 2012, 4:02 am
Juergen said:
translated german tv report on Syria
Assads dirty war
very moving interviews with two women who were raped by regime forces
June 17th, 2012, 4:22 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
665=Sectarian Fear Mongering !
From an unimpressive demonstration in one of Aleppo’s most conservative areas
Ooops, I forgot, you don’t know ِِِArabic. May be a no-cities or a humanist-sectarian will translate..
June 17th, 2012, 4:31 am
Uzair8 said:
The 40 year winter.
The Syrian spring.
The exhaustive summer.
Assad’s fall.
June 17th, 2012, 4:35 am
Juergen said:
The Revolution of Dignity – How it all started – Syrian documentary – English Subtitles
June 17th, 2012, 4:47 am
Mina said:
Busy destroying each other’s countries:
Egyptian security forces arrested a suspected terror ring, thought to have planned attacks against targets in the Sinai in an attempt to destabilize the country following a key run-off presidential election, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Sunday.
The reported bust comes on the second day of voting in Egypt, pitting Ahmed Shadiq, former premier under Hosni Mubarak, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi, and follows reported attempts by the Brotherhood to strike Israeli targets in order to sway election results.
On Saturday, Israeli security officials said rockets that landed on Friday in the area near Ovda and Mitzpeh Ramon, were launched after a request by senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to those officials, the rockets were launched from the Sinai Peninsula by a Bedouin unit, according to Hamas orders, even though Hamas itself wasn’t the initiator of the launching, but responded to the request of the Brotherhood, who wanted such an event on the eve of the second round of presidential elections in Egypt.
On Sunday, the Egyptian newspaper al-Shuruq reported that Egyptian security forces arrested 22 Palestinians, Syrians, and Jordanians, some of whom had entered Sinai illegally, who had planned to attack police stations and other strategic targets in the desert peninsula. (…)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/egypt-busts-sinai-terror-ring-amid-run-off-presidential-elections-report-says-1.436858
June 17th, 2012, 5:09 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Sneakers Amn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWN1No77B-E
.
June 17th, 2012, 5:10 am
Mina said:
Basit basit ya akhi…
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/morsy-campaign-already-marked-ballots-were-printing-error
“A Freedom and Justice Party representative said party workers observed campaign violations throughout the morning of the first day of the runoff election between Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.
Yasser Ali, spokesman for Morsy’s campaign, said among the violations was the presence of more than one representative of Shafiq in polling stations.
Ali also denied accusations that the campaign had printed read-to-cast ballots. He said that ballots printed with the Morsy box already filled out were a print error that a Morsy campaign representative discovered and reported.” (…)
June 17th, 2012, 5:58 am
majedkhaldoun said:
Omen
Russian government,they don’t regard their citizen lives as important, they kill their own citizens.
Ghufran said
The fight to death or create independent coastal state
What he meant Alawi state, The coast is not Alawi,Alawis moved to the coast ,but there are many many Sunni there, they will fight to protect themselves,they will be aided by the rest of Syrians.
However as I said before, to reach this stage we will go through CIVIL WAR, this means there will be a lot of death, their number will be half what they are now,Alawi state as supported by ligar is not viable,surrounded by the rest of Syria
June 17th, 2012, 8:47 am
Mouna said:
Ok someone mentioned a family member of mine on this board, while I understand the need to speculate and all please try to speculate without mentioning peoples family.
Ghufran, mentioning someone’s name (especially someone like Tlass) and speculating that he is contacting the opposition is dangerous on many levels. While Firas and Abu Firas (and the two sisters) are out of the country Manaf and his wife and kids are not, so someone speculating about his intentions can cause major harm to either him directly or his children (that are not involved in anything).
Whatever side the Tlass family is on (publicly or privately) they are not relevant for any authority they might have had, has been stripped away over 15 months ago. The father is retired, Firas in the Gulf, and Manaf under close supervision in Damascus.
June 17th, 2012, 10:13 am
Syria crisis: UN says children used as human shields – Tuesday 12 June 2012 - Back Injury Symptoms said:
[…] contact of Syria watcher Joshua Landis highlights the plight of people in Talbiseh, one of the towns mentioned in Ban’s […]
July 11th, 2012, 8:01 am
Syria crisis: UN says children used as human shields – Tuesday 12 June 2012 - Head Injury Symptoms said:
[…] contact of Syria watcher Joshua Landis highlights the plight of people in Talbiseh, one of the towns mentioned in Ban’s […]
July 11th, 2012, 3:52 pm
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