Syrian War Spillover in Iraq Will Be Much Worse than in Lebanon

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, October 28th, 2012

The Spillover from the Syrian civil war will be much greater in Iraq than Lebanon.
by Joshua Landis, Syria Comment, Oct 28, 2012

Many Western journalists are based in Lebanon, few in Iraq. This explains why relatively small events in Lebanon get dramatic reporting and much larger increases of violence in Iraq, are largely overlooked or elicit little concern.

Already in response to the growing civil war in Syria, Iraqi violence has spiked and al-Qaida is resurgent there. Some days as many as 100 Iraqi Shiites are killed by al-Qaida bombings in Iraq.

The threat of spillover in Lebanon is minor compared to Iraq because the sects in Lebanon all acknowledge that none can rule the country without the others. Even the most powerful, the Shiites, readily confess that they have no chance of turning Lebanon into an Islamic republic because Lebanon has a form of democracy and the majority is against it. Not only do all the sects buy into the notion of power-sharing, they also know that in Lebanon it is impossible for one group to dominate on the others. They learned these simple truths from decades of barbaric fighting.

In Iraq, the sects have found no peace and little acceptance of the balance of power now being hammered out. Prime Minister Maliki is busy building a Shiite dictatorship and pushing out the remaining centers of Sunni power left behind by the Americans in their doomed attempt to promote power-sharing.

Al-Qaida is rebuilding in Iraq to contest Shiite power. It probably has the backing of a larger segment of the Sunni community that still chafes from its loss of fortune following the US destruction of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Unlike Lebanon, the various sects of Iraq have not found a modus-vivendi. Relations between Kurds and Arabs in Iraq are becoming more vexed as Kurdistan takes ever more steps to assert its independence from Arab Iraq.

The Sunni-led attempt to depose Assad’s regime is sure to give a big boost to Al-Qaida in Iraq as arms and men flow across the border and find a refuge in Syria. Saudi, Turkish and Qatari support for Syria’s Sunnis is also likely to turbo-charge passions in Iraq, as Sunnis feel empowered to push back against Iranian influence and the Shiite hold on power.

These are the reasons why Iraq is seeing much more spillover from Syria than Lebanon. Of course, there will be pushing and shoving between the sects in Lebanon, especially as the Sunnis grow in confidence and feel that they can tip the scales on the Shiite assertiveness of the last several years. But they have few delusions of being able to rule Lebanon on their own.

I leave you with this plum from today’s New York Times: An Iraqi Shiite who just returned from years in Damascus says:

“I can tell that things are going to be crazy in Syria,” he said. “It’s a sectarian war, and it’s even worse than the one we had here, which was between the militias and the political parties. In Syria, all of the people are involved. You can feel the hatred between the Sunnis and the Alawites. They will do anything to get rid of each other.”

On Monday, I will be giving a lecture at Duke’s Islamic Studies Center and on Tuesday, I will speak at the University of North Carolina

Intervening in Syria the right way
By François Heisbourg, Published: October 25, François Heisbourg is a special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research, a Paris-based think tank. PARIS

Successful military interventions are sufficiently rare as to induce utmost caution when contemplating the use of force in Syria, a country as populous as Iraq or Afghanistan and no less divided along religious and ethnic lines. Yet the legal, political, strategic and military conditions for an international operation are being fulfilled, which is in turn creating an opportunity to bring down Bashar al-Assad’s bloody dictatorship and its regionally destabilizing repression…..

From a strategic standpoint, the civil war in Syria is in a stalemate, with Assad’s forces unable to crush the rebellion and the insurgency militarily incapable of overthrowing the regime. A realistic objective of intervention would be to tilt the balance in favor of the rebel forces, to help expedite Assad’s fall. As in Libya, and unlike in Iraq, intervention would enable the rebellion, not be a substitute for it.

In military terms, this would be achieved by establishing a 50-mile no-fly zone along the Turkish-Syrian border. No allied aircraft would need to fly in Syrian airspace, as air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles fired from Turkish airspace and territory would have the necessary range to shoot down Syrian bombers or helicopters in the exclusion zone. Allied AWACS radar aircraft, operating well out of range of Syria’s extensive air defenses, would provide full real-time information on any regime aircraft approaching the no-fly zone.

The zone would include Aleppo, which means the regime’s bombardment of Syria’s largest city would cease. Its fall, along with unimpeded access to logistical support from Turkey, would give the insurgency the upper hand.

And with no boots on the ground, this intervention would not require an exit strategy.

Such an intervention is becoming desirable as well as feasible, for want of a better option. Letting the civil war fester will lead to further destabilization in Syria and the wider region — some of which is already visible in Lebanon and Jordan — and a radicalization of the conflict. Providing the rebels with weaponry, notably anti-aircraft missiles, raises the dread prospect of blowback, given our inability to control the ultimate destination of such transfers.

Of course, even an intervention of the kind suggested here won’t guarantee a positive and stable outcome in Syria, any more than the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi meant that milk and honey were to flow in Libya. But the alternatives are worse. We also know that a heavy “boots on the ground” approach — as in Iraq or Afghanistan — is to be strenuously avoided.

Wayne White on NATO’s Arms to Syria Conundrum, Former top US intelligence mideast programs director Wayne White examines the arms to syria conundrum

Recent footage from Syria shows resistance fighters with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile launchers. But those seen were Russian-style SA-7’s possessed by the Syrian army and many other Middle East militaries, rather than advanced US models like the FIM-92 Stinger.

The question of whether to provide arms to the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is fighting a desperate battle against the Assad regime, remains a difficult and conflicted decision for the US and most other NATO countries. For some, sending arms to the FSA to bring an earlier end to the regime and the continuing bloodshed and destruction is a “no-brainer”. Others maintain that giving the rebels more (and perhaps better) arms would only contribute further to the overall mayhem that might not end for quite a long time regardless.

For those wishing to respond to rebel pleas for arms, Islamist extremists — scattered among the scores of militias and local contingents comprising the FSA — are a central concern. As the civil war has dragged on, there has been rising evidence of these extremists fighting alongside rebel fighters, especially in the north where foreign correspondents have far more access. Many are Syrians, but a number of them have been coming in from neighboring countries to fight as scattered contingents within the FSA (or perhaps merely to find yet another venue for “jihad” against an unpopular secular regime).

And there is real reason for concern among governments sympathetic to the opposition about arms falling into the wrong hands. It is, after all, difficult to determine who would be the ultimate recipient of munitions assistance once it passes into Syria. In a fluid environment with scores of FSA factions, militant groups might also construct deceptive liaisons to convey false assurances of moderation once they catch wind of selective distribution. Finally, in cities like Aleppo, a number of armed factions appear to be fighting alongside each other and might feel compelled to share munitions for mutual support and protection against regime attacks. The injection of surface-to-air missiles into this conflict is especially risky because they could end up in the hands of terrorist groups and be used against commercial airliners.

That said, anger is increasing among anti-regime elements within Syria over the failure of the West to provide armed assistance. Had arms been supplied to Syrian rebels considerably sooner, the number of Syrians embittered over the lack of tangible support from the outside, the vast extent of destruction wrought mainly by the regime’s aircraft and heavy weapons, and the number of militants arriving from neighboring countries might have been more limited before the fall of the Assad regime (which this writer assumes is highly likely). The palpable rise in anger toward major Western powers for withholding arms could alone render more Syrians toward anti-Western Islamist appeals.

This, in a nutshell, is the US and Western dilemma. Standing by without providing vital arms while the bloodshed continues will probably mean less sympathy and increasing militancy among the rebels over time. After all, more of them (and members of their families) are being killed and maimed because they lack proper arms and sufficient ammunition.

On the other hand, if the rebels gain access to considerable more arms (meaning militants too in many cases), anti-Western anger would likely abate. But the conflict has already gone on long enough to produce a problematic post-Assad scenario featuring more robust militias competing for power, along with perhaps even more ugly sectarian score-settling against Alawite and Christian minorities that have been supporting the regime. In fact, the great amount of infrastructure, commercial establishments and all manner of housing already destroyed by regime firepower will likely be the source of a potentially profound economic crisis that would generate a heavy measure of frustration, anger and recrimination over some years even after the fall of the regime.

Consequently, in terms of the available options at this late stage in the struggle, those governments agonizing over the pros and cons of providing arms might well perceive the choice as a sort of “Catch-22.” In the context of the argument on the positive side of the policy ledger that providing arms could bring a swifter defeat of the regime, there is one more possible plus. So far, major Syrian Army units have not chosen to defect en masse, probably because (in addition to the obvious regime-loyalty notion) many realize facing off against the regime would be considerably more dangerous than combating relatively lightly armed rebel contingents. Should, however, rebel forces become considerably more militarily formidable, that shift might trigger such defections and a change on the ground that could be more significant than what the rebels have achieved so far. That said, even if plenty of additional arms were provided, the FSA is unlikely to receive tanks, other armored vehicles and heavy artillery that could match regime capabilities because most rebel fighters are not army defectors and would not be able to operate these more complex weapon-systems nearly as effectively as the Syrian military. So, not only has the US evidently provided little or no arms to the Syrian opposition, Washington may well remain (like many other potential Western suppliers) quite conflicted with respect to doing so.

– Wayne White is a Scholar with Washington’s Middle East Institute. He was formerly the Deputy Director of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research’s Office of Analysis for the Near East and South Asia (INR/NESA) and senior regional analyst.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg writes

Dear Joshua,

You might want to read this latest report about Syrian Kurdish dynamics for the Henry Jackson Society.

It also shows the FSA-PYD dynamics. There was btw allegedly a fight between Jabhat Al Nusra and PYD/PKK, after there was a protest against the FSA-presence in Ashrafiyeh. The ‘FSA group’ fired at the demonstration, killing 5. The YPG/PKK/PYD now claim 19 were killed in revenge

Best regards, Wladimir van Wilgenburg
Freelance analyst/writer based in the UK/Iraq/Netherlands
http://www.rudaw.net/english/author/WWilgenburg/
http://www.jamestown.org/articles-by-author/?no_cache=1&tx_cablanttnewsstaffrelation_pi1[author]=523
http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/tag/wladimir-van-wilgenburg

Iraqi Sects Join Battle in Syria on Both Sides
By YASIR GHAZI and TIM ARANGO
NYTimes: October 27, 2012

BAGHDAD — Militant Sunnis from Iraq have been going to Syria to fight against President Bashar al-Assad for months. Now Iraqi Shiites are joining the battle in increasing numbers, but on the government’s side, transplanting Iraq’s explosive sectarian conflict to a civil war that is increasingly fueled by religious rivalry.

Some Iraqi Shiites are traveling to Tehran first, where the Iranian government, Syria’s chief regional ally, is flying them to Damascus, Syria’s capital. Others take tour buses from the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraq, on the pretext of making a pilgrimage to an important Shiite shrine in Damascus that for months has been protected by armed Iraqis. While the buses do carry pilgrims, Iraqi Shiite leaders say, they are also ferrying weapons, supplies and fighters to aid the Syrian government.

“Dozens of Iraqis are joining us, and our brigade is growing day by day,” Ahmad al-Hassani, a 25-year-old Iraqi fighter, said by telephone from Damascus. He said that he arrived there two months ago, taking a flight from Tehran….Abu Mohamed, an official in Babil Province with the Sadrist Trend, a political party aligned with the populist Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, said he recently received an invitation from the Sadrists’ leadership to a meeting in Najaf to discuss a pilgrimage to the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, a holy Shiite site in Damascus.

 “We knew that this is not the real purpose because the situation is not suitable for such a visit,” he said. “When we went to Najaf, they told us it’s a call for fighting in Syria against the Salafis,” ultraconservative Sunni Muslims.

A senior Sadrist official and former member of Parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that convoys of buses from Najaf, ostensibly for pilgrims, were carrying weapons and fighters to Damascus….Abu Sajad, who moved to Damascus in 2008 and joined the fight after the rebellion began, said he and other Iraqi fighters were indeed fighting to protect the shrine. A former fighter in Mr. Sadr’s Mahdi Army in Iraq, he said he was given weapons and supplies by the Syrian government.

But as the fight evolved, and Iraqis began to be killed and kidnapped, it reminded him too much of the Iraq he left, and so he recently returned to his home in Basra.

“I can tell that things are going to be crazy in Syria,” he said. “It’s a sectarian war, and it’s even worse than the one we had here, which was between the militias and the political parties. In Syria, all of the people are involved. You can feel the hatred between the Sunnis and the Alawites. They will do anything to get rid of each other.”

Iraqi Shiites did not initially take sides in Syria. Many Shiites here despise Mr. Assad for his affiliation with the Baath Party, the party of Saddam Hussein, and the support he gave foreign Sunni fighters during the Iraq war.

But as the uprising became an armed rebellion that began to attract Sunni extremists, many Shiites came to see the war in existential terms. Devout Shiites in Iraq often describe the Syrian conflict as the beginning of the fulfillment of a Shiite prophecy that presages the end of time by predicting that an army, headed by a devil-like figure named Sufyani, will rise in Syria and then conquer Iraq’s Shiites.

It was the bombing of an important shrine in Samarra in 2006 that escalated Iraq’s sectarian civil war, and many Iraqis see the events in Syria as replicating their own recent bloody history, but with even greater potential consequences.

Hassan al-Rubaie, a Shiite cleric from Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province, said, “The destruction of the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab in Syria will mean the start of sectarian civil war in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.”

More than 30 killed in Baghdad bomb blasts
Gulf Times – 28 October, 2012

Bombings on Shia neighbourhoods in Baghdad and a blast on an Iranian pilgrim bus killed more than 30 people yesterday, marring Iraqi celebrations of the second day of Eid al-Adha.

Two car bombs exploded yesterday, one ripping into a restaurant in the Shia stronghold of Sadr City and killing at least 23 people, police and hospital sources said.

“I was just selling fruit and we were surprised by a huge explosion on the other side of the street,” Hassan Falih Shami, a grocery stall owner near the site of the blast. “You can see pools of blood, the shoes and pieces of clothing.”

Hours earlier, a roadside bomb planted near an open-air market killed seven people, including three children at a playground. Another blast killed six people when it hit a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims to a Baghdad shrine, police and hospital officials said.

Turkey Reassesses Its Ties To Syria’s Opposition
By: Youssef al-Sharif posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2012
Publisher: Al-Hayat (Pan Arab) (Translated and republished by al-monitor
Original Title: Ankara Crisis with Syrian Opposition and Adha Truce

Summary: Two months ago, political and media quarters in Turkey seemed optimistic about a possible change in Washington’s position on the Syrian crisis after the United States presidential election. Turkey backed Syria’s opposition after conflict broke out between the government and rebels, writes Youssef al-Sharif. But it has been a tumultuous relationship, and with a cease-fire looming, Turkey could have a change of heart.

They expected that Washington would start working on settling the issue, either by mobilizing the Friends of Syria group and exhorting them to create a safe zone in northern Syria, or by arming the opposition and providing it with financial, military and intelligence support in order to bring down the regime.

However, this optimism faded away and was replaced by tension and the exchange of missiles across the border with Syria. This optimism was also affected by the positions of the Syrian opposition, which is splintered both politically and militarily.

The image that all Turkish quarters had envisioned was that if a greater amount of Syrian opponents joined the Syrian National Council (SNC), which was supposed to overhaul its structure to attract more members, and if the opposition’s armed military on the ground were unified, then the stage would be set for the post-US elections period, which would witness a crucial move on the part of Washington.

However, the Turkish efforts in this regard were a complete fiasco. In fact, Ankara found itself facing a new — and perhaps more difficult — test in light of the Eid al-Adha truce project launched by UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

This project was perceived by many Turkish parties as a prelude to correct the track of the Turkish policy, after Turkey had lost hope in the Syrian opposition. Still, Turkey is clinging to the hope of overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad, but it may have begun to reconsider its position and settle for a smaller piece of the new ruling pie in Syria.

In fact, the Istanbul visit by CIA Director David Petraeus in early September revived the old Turkish optimism.

According to sources within the Syrian opposition, Petraeus met with a number of Free Syrian Army (FSA) leaders and militant groups on the ground, including the FSA Unification Brigade, Abdulkadir Saleh, who made his first public appearance in Istanbul in conjunction with Petraeus’ visit.

Saleh announced that the opposition seized 70% of Aleppo and is working on unifying the ranks of the armed groups. He then announced the formation of the Free National Army, which is supposed to bring together all of the opposition’s armed militias. Afterwards, the free army’s military leaders were exhorted to move inside Syria to be able to closely watch and lead the operations on the ground, thus increasing talks about an important meeting held by the Free Syrian National Council in Doha.

For a while, it seemed that the main opposition parties responded to the Turkish move to unite their ranks in front of the American observer, but it was not long before this picture faded away, either due to Syrian tactics on the ground, which worked on dragging Turkey into the conflict by bombing its territory, or due to the Aleppo bombings, whose responsibility was claimed by al-Qaeda and which came as a fatal response to Turkey’s efforts to unify the military command of the opposition.

At first, articles were leaked to Western newspapers. They said the supply of arms to the FSA and armed groups has been stopped as a punishment for their failure to unite.

These articles were followed by accusations against specific Arab countries of financing jihadist and religious groups that didn’t fall under the auspices of the FSA in Syria. Then, there were official US and international statements that formally voiced their concern over the activity of “extremist” groups that are operating on the ground without allowing anyone to have any influence on their decisions or objectives.

It seemed that criticizing the performance of the opposition’s armed militias was tantamount, even if indirectly, to criticizing Ankara. Turkey bet on the scenario of a military settlement, despite the fact that it was the one refusing to provide the opposition with anti-tank weapons and other advanced anti-aircraft out of fear that these could fall into the hands of terrorist groups that might later use them against the interests of Turkey.

This is because Turkey is the most affected by the terrorists that are joining the confrontation, be they from al-Qaeda or from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Thus, Ankara faced difficulties in achieving its goal of directly overthrowing the Syrian regime militarily, and it seemed that its choice has cornered it and put it at the mercy of the actions of the Syrian political and armed opposition.

Meanwhile, it seemed like Damascus had more options to respond to this Turkish rationale. Consequently, it endeavored to drag Turkey into its war, and conveyed a message to its northern neighbor that it was making a mistake by thinking that the military option on the ground would be limited to within Syria’s borders.

Syria argued that al-Qaeda attacks, which increased in Aleppo, are in the interest of the Syrian regime at the political level, even if they harmed it at the military one.

Then, Turkey was shocked by the Syrian political opposition, which it had previously embraced, when the Syrian National Movement revealed documents that were reportedly leaked from the Syrian intelligence. According to these documents, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered the killing of two Turkish pilots after their reconnaissance aircraft was targeted near the Syrian coast and crashed into international waters. The pilots survived the incident.

Ankara believed that the disclosure of these documents was an attempt by the Syrian opposition to draw the Turkish army into a war against Syria or to embarrass the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in public. This irritated the Turkish government and pushed it to adopt a sarcastic position toward these documents and to question their authenticity.

This incident, as well as the repeated attempts by the Syrian National Council to restructure itself, probably prompted Ankara to lose confidence in the Syrian opposition or at least to reconsider its calculations regarding the future of Syria.

Based on that, some Turkish observers believe that Turkey will go back on its previous positions regarding a military settlement on the ground.

They also say that Turkey has begun to accept middle solutions that allow a transitional government to emerge that include representatives of the regime as well as Chinese and Iranian interests, which would be similar to the “blocking third” government in Lebanon.

Then, Ankara’s conflict would change from a conflict with the Assad regime into a conflict with Assad in person. This was reflected in the proposal by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to allow Farouk al-Shara to manage the transitional phase, knowing that Shara was never enthusiastic about the Syrian-Turkish rapprochement.

This rapprochement, which began in 2004 and was not part of any harmonization and cooperation plan, maintained skepticism about Ankara’s intentions regarding this rapprochement with Damascus.

At that time, some Turkish observers believed that marginalizing Shara by appointing him vice president was a reason behind his position regarding Turkey.

Ankara — which previously announced its support for the Geneva statement and its reservations about imposing this statement on the Syrian opposition, and reaffirmed the need that the Syrian people choose the most appropriate solution to their crisis — is currently testing the Syrian opposition through the truce proposal to halt fighting during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

It is true that Ankara seemed to support this proposal and to use it as the foundation for discussion with Tehran — in the meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Azerbaijan — and that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutolgu formally called all parties in Syria to cease fire during the Eid holiday.

However, Turkey remains in an unenviable position, whatever the results of this call for a truce proposal. In fact, if the Syrian opposition complies with Brahimi’s proposal, the Syrian regime will increasingly accuse Turkey of controlling the armed opposition and logistically supporting it, even though this option may radically change the path of the conflict in Syria and turn it into a political dispute rather than a military one.

However, if the armed opposition rejects this proposal or is driven to fight back in response to the regime, Turkish efforts will be in vain and it will become clear to Turkish politicians that they cannot rely on the Syrian opposition.

Ankara is aware of these consequences, but it still preferred to support the truce proposal, knowing that the Syrian regime would not be committed to it and may seek to expand the conflict to the region.

This test and its outcomes will represent an important experience for Turkey, which is preparing to host Russian President Vladimir Putin in an official visit in early December. The visit is a true chance to harmonize their views regarding Syria, especially because it will follow the announcement of the winner in the US presidential elections.

This would make the Russian-Turkish dialogue more realistic, when the post-elections landscape becomes clear and Ankara determines its stance regarding the armed opposition on the ground.

Iraq to see drop in foreign investment this year

Foreign investment in Iraq is set to drop slightly to $ 35bn this year as potential investors, including its rich Arabian Gulf neighbours, hesitate in the face of the continuing regional tensions and political insecurity,…

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Comments (343)


Ghufran said:

The “spillover” to Iraq is a diplomatic way to describe the spread of Islamist terrorism across the region. The target is everybody who disagrees with the terrorists or does not fight their war, and the culprits are the same, this is now a franchise with branches all over the world. Those thugs only live to kill and die,they were used by the US in Afghanistan and by the Syrian regime in Iraq and they are now being utilized by the happy trio (Qatar, Turkey and KSA) in Syria with the silent,and sometimes not so silent,approval of some freedom-loving NATO hypocrites who bombed Libya then got “surprised” when terrorists (they helped) murdered the US ambassador in Libya and three other Americans. Temporary gains for the west and Israel made by Islamist rebels will become long term pains that can last for a generation. One has to wonder why western democracies only support dictators,sheikhs and violent rebels while they only provide lip service to patriotic secular politicians who ,ironically enough, want their countries to be as free and secular as those western democracies.

October 28th, 2012, 11:11 am

 

jna said:

In Aleppo Kurdish demonstrators shot at by FSA.

October 28th, 2012, 12:34 pm

 

Albo said:

Well Ghufran most of the blame falls on the GCC kinglets, they are the ones funding or laying the groundwork for primitive ideologies all over the region.

October 28th, 2012, 12:43 pm

 

Shexmus Amed said:

The FSA’s attacks on Kurdish districts is disgraceful. The FSA thugs are trying to muscle their way in to areas already swollen with refugees, the areas which the Assad regime abandoned without a fight. The FSA is taking death and destruction to places that the regime forces did not. Kurds have said again and again that they do not want to be a party in an Arab civil war. Why are the FSA trying to pull in the Kurds into the conflict? The Kurdish Azadi Party who allegedly ‘invited’ the FSA thugs into Kurdish suburbs in Aleppo will be considered traitors to the cause by nationalists everywhere in Kurdistan from Dersim to Kermanshah to Erbil to Diyarbekir.

AS a non-PKK Kurdish nationalist from Turkey I have been split within personally as to which of the Kurdish parties in Western Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan) I should support. The PYD or the KNC (Kurdish National Council)? I certainly want the Assad regime to go and the sooner it goes the better, but what about a the future Syria? Is it going to be ‘free’ or fundamentalist?

In these circumstances the best course of action for Kurds is to stay out of the conflict and it seems to me the PYD is better at managing the ‘staying out of the conflict’ policy than Kurdish National Council. The Azadi party is affiliated with the KNC and it is actively trying to get Kurds into the conflict with the regime under the auspices of the FSA. They don’t even have a piece of paper in their hands promising better future for Kurds in Syria. It is madness for Kurds to be paying a heavy price in lives and property without the promise of a better future.

The Azadi Party is committing treachery against Kurdish national interests. The KNC must expel Azadi supporters from their ranks. Otherwise it risks losing further ground to PYD in the opinion of Kurdish nationalists in all four parts of Kurdistan.

October 28th, 2012, 1:16 pm

 

mjabali said:

I think that the “spillover” is going to reach more countries than Syria and Iraq.

Lebanon is going to have problems.
Jordan will have to deal with tons of problems.
Turkey is going to deal with lots of problems.
Israel sooner or later is going to be affected.

So brace yourselves for a long period of violence. Give these people education and jobs not guns.

Where are the smart people in this area and the world?

October 28th, 2012, 1:34 pm

 

Citizen said:

2. JNA said:

In Aleppo Kurdish demonstrators shot at by FSA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OT_k_3qr3TM#
———–
Did you notice that whenever touched Landis subject or pointed to a certain range or a particular city, the devastation and destruction definitely going to get after referring to?

He alludes to Iraq! And later will speak on the subject of Iran! it serial demons!!

October 28th, 2012, 1:49 pm

 

Warren said:

People of the Syriacs District in Aleppo Tell their Experience with FSA Terrorists

October 28th, 2012, 1:51 pm

 

Warren said:

Syrian and Lebanese Christian migrant wave expected after attacks

The recent deadly attacks on residents in the Beirut and Damascus Christian districts have sparked a warning by a Maronite Christian bishop of a massive wave of Christian refugees heading for Europe and the US.

Bishop Maroun Nasser Gemayel was reported in the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) publication as saying that Middle Eastern Christians were desperate for security and freedom. He continued that the violence against them in their homelands could result in mass migration to the US and Europe in spite of the peoples’ love for their countries of birth.

Bishop Gemayel referred to the current situation in Damascus as dramatic, adding that Christians in Beirut are beginning to believe they can no longer live in safety, even in their own enclaves. The anti-Christian attacks which took place last Friday in Beirut and on Sunday in Damascus killed a total of 18 people and injured over 100, and are seen as a major setback for the minority Maronite and other Christian communities in the region.

http://www.emigrate.co.uk/news/20121026-5323_attacks-on-lebanese-christians-may-spark-mass-migration

October 28th, 2012, 1:54 pm

 

Warren said:

Greek Orthodox Priest Murdered in Syria

The body of the Greek Orthodox priest Fr. Fadi Jamil Haddad, was found today in the Jaramana neighborhood (north of Damascus ) near the place where he was kidnapped on October 19th, by an unidentified armed group. Father Haddad served the St Elie parish in Qatana, a mixed Christian and Muslim town of 15,000 inhabitants, 20 kilometers ( 12 miles ) west of Damascus .

This was confirmed by Fr. Haddad’s Greek-Orthodox confrere, who asked for anonymity. “His body was horribly tortured and his eyes gouged out,” he reported. “It is a purely terrorist act. Fr. Haddad is a martyr of our church. ” The kidnappers had asked the priest’s family and his church a ransom of 50 million Syrian pounds (over 550,000 euros). It was, however, impossible to find the money and meet this exorbitant demand.

http://world.greekreporter.com/2012/10/26/greek-orthodox-priest-murdered-in-syria/

October 28th, 2012, 1:57 pm

 

Warren said:

Kaduna church hit in Nigeria suicide bomb attack

At least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing during Mass at a Catholic church in northern Nigeria, officials say.

An explosive-laden vehicle drove into the church and detonated its load, ripping a hole in the wall and roof.

The attack happened in Kaduna, which has been targeted by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in the recent past.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20114839

__________________________________________________________________

Amjad the salafi sophist will no doubt concoct some convoluted and contrived explanation as to why Sunni Islamists should not be criticized for their latest act of barbarism. Heaven forbid anyone who exposes Sunni barbarism and duplicity; for they will be “eternally damned” by Amjad the salafi sophist as an “islamophobe”.

October 28th, 2012, 2:07 pm

 

Warren said:

Home of Mohammed’s Wife Turned into a Public Toilet

British Independent says disregard for Islam’s early history is due to Saudi regime’s adoption of Wahabism.

Three of the world’s oldest mosques are about to be destroyed in Medina as Saudi Arabia embarks on a multi-billion-dollar expansion of Islam’s second holiest site, according to the British Independent. The house of Mohammed’s first wife, Khadijah, has already been replaced with a public toilet block, it reports.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161423

October 28th, 2012, 2:16 pm

 

Warren said:

Medina: Saudis take a bulldozer to Islam’s history

Authorities are building a mosque so big it will hold 1.6m people – but are demolishing irreplaceable monuments to do it

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/medina-saudis-take-a-bulldozer-to-islams-history-8228795.html

October 28th, 2012, 2:17 pm

 

Warren said:

Worried about the Syria war, Golan Heights residents seek Israeli citizenship

Israel’s Interior Ministry says it is seeing a rise in the number of people in the Golan Heights requesting Israeli citizenship. Given that Israel and Syria are still technically at war, some worry that taking Israeli citizenship could be considered treason.

“People either have relatives still living in Syria, or they are worried that if the Golan Heights eventually is returned to Syria, they will be persecuted for agreeing to take Israeli citizenship,” explains Salah, who is wary to talk too much about it.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/24/golan-heights-syrians/1651883/

October 28th, 2012, 2:24 pm

 

Humanist said:

Ghufran,

What exactly has Turkey gained from the chaos in Syria?
Refugees?
PKK-Kurds getting stronger in both Syria and Turkey?
Grenades?
Families split?

People in general doesn’t seem too happy about the situation.
And I don’t see any (intelligent) agenda behind it at all…

Would you have prefered if the borders were totally closed instead and no fleeing Syrian was let in?

Because that certainly would have been better from a selfish Turkish perspective, but not from a Syrian one I think.

October 28th, 2012, 2:59 pm

 
 

Syrialover said:

Anyone irritated by “political Christian” WARREN who is using this forum to vent his sectarian nastiness should read what Amjad says in response to him at the end of the last thread.

A “political Christian” is one who does not actually understand or follow the tenets of the Christian religion. They are driven and directed by entirely personal demons.

Warren’s anti-Islamic campaigns do not do any Middle Eastern Christians a favour. And his attitudes would be an embarrassment to mainstream Christianity, which incidentally remains the largest organised religion in the world.

The Nigerian example he is so excited about (above) is not a good one of what he is trying to push. The government there is cracking down hard on that sect and Christian and Islamic communities put a lot of effort into standing together against them.

As just one example of how reality doesn’t fit Warren’s mould, here is a glimpse of the attitude of Nigerian Islamic community leaders, who put security and development way ahead of religious issues: http://allafrica.com/stories/201210280026.html.

If Nigerians can take that approach, there should be hope for post-Assad Syria.

October 28th, 2012, 3:35 pm

 

revenire said:

I believe Assad will weather this storm easily. We’ve all heard he was weeks from leaving for nearly two years. Dreamers.

October 28th, 2012, 3:51 pm

 
 

Syrialover said:

JOSHUA,

Thank you for correctly nailing the horror of Malaki’s prostitute government which is betraying Iraqis as badly as Saddam ever did.

Political development takes vision, intelligence and energy.

We can assume Iraqis have that in equal measure to the rest of the world.

But we know for sure the rule-by-terror Ayatollahs and their puppets don’t.

October 28th, 2012, 4:04 pm

 

Citizen said:

Flynt Leverett on Iran, the United States, and the Prospects for Conflict Resolution in Syria
http://mycatbirdseat.com/2012/10/flynt-leverett-on-iran-the-united-states-and-the-prospects-for-conflict-resolution-in-syria/
…..
The conflict in Syria is one of the most important factors that will shape regional dynamics in the Middle East over the next decade. And Washington is yet again pursuing policies that not only increase the level of human suffering in the Middle East, but also work against America’s long-term interests in the region.

October 28th, 2012, 4:12 pm

 

Citizen said:

listen to this man !
Foreign heavy-armed mercs attack Bani Walid – witness

October 28th, 2012, 4:19 pm

 

Syrialover said:

SAMI (Son of Damascus)

To continue from the previous thread. Thanks for your reminder of http://www.kurdwatch.org, which I used to read in the past but had forgotten about in the current hurricane.

I have always been sympathetic but not supportive of the Kurdish insistence on autonomy (for reasons I gave in the last thread).

It’s a road to nowhere, and they should be investing their hopes in an inclusive legitimate government in Syria.

You are right to say it’s very unfortunate that the PKK/PYD is meddling on their “supposed” behalf. Worst case is it could end up with them having no voice again as under Assad.

PS I refer to your previous name because you made a significant contribution here under that name and I don’t want anyone assuming that yet another quality poster has quit. Also, I liked it and what it said about your love for Syria.

October 28th, 2012, 4:30 pm

 

annie said:

Film of a TNT bomb, lit with a cigarette, thrown from an Assad regime helicopter on a Syrian town. It’s that simple, and that savage.

http://youtu.be/vywN1hR5Va0

October 28th, 2012, 4:36 pm

 

ghufran said:

Haarem in Idleb is receiving little attention from the media despite the fact that thousands on civilians in that town have been under daily bombardment and a blockade that transformed that town into a disaster zone, another interesting aspect of Haarem’s tragedy is that it defies the pundits’ popular belief that every evil deed in Syria and every shot fired at civilians had to come from regime sources. Syria until March,2011 had one group of thugs but no car bombs and no shelling of cities and homes, now the country has a number of competing groups of thugs with an average death toll of over 60 per day (for 2012 that average was above 100).
we heard plenty of talks about a political solution,which seems to be the only way out, but the parties behind the armed gangs have no incentive to change policy, such a change can only come if big Daddy (US) tells the kids to cut it off (remains to be seen) or if those parties start to drink from the same poison they are forcing down Syrians’ throats, it needs to get bigger before a political settlement becomes sexy.

October 28th, 2012, 4:37 pm

 

Syrialover said:

CITIZEN #18

Always open to all suggested solutions to the Syrian crisis, I checked out what Flynt Leverett had to say on that link you gave.

He had absolutley nothing to say. Zilch. All he did was idiotically push a pro-Assad line.

That might have served him OK in the past and helped him build a cosy niche, but in 2012 it makes him look as if he needs anti-dementia pills and a strong dose of current news.

And he says America is following the wrong policy on the Middle East.

Which would make people assume he had something to say about what would be a better policy. Again, nothing.

A pity. My ears are always keenly pricked to hear any thoughts offering a feasible solution and a better way for the US to help things.

Leverett shouldn’t waste airspace and make himself look a fool.

October 28th, 2012, 4:52 pm

 

Mina said:

120 “guests” free by the armed gangs
http://arabic.rt.com/news/598248/

October 28th, 2012, 5:06 pm

 

Visitor said:

I do not see any problem if the Syrian Revolution spills over to Iraq. In fact, it will be a positive thing to happen. It is about time that the Iraqis start their own Spring instead of relying on the US and other countries to intervene in their affairs. We wish the Iraqis all the best in their upcoming Revolution.

October 28th, 2012, 5:58 pm

 

habib said:

25. Visitor

Lol. So a revolution in Iraq should expel the US, whereas the revolution in Syria should welcome it?

Beautiful. Face it, everyone wants to suckle on the American teat. But the experts in this are the Gulf states and Jordan, of course.

October 28th, 2012, 6:41 pm

 

Visitor said:

Habib 26,

Your response shows how much of an idiot you are. No surprise here as it is a menhebkji trade mark. Without it you would not be a full fledged menhebkji.

No one said the US must be kicked out from Iraq.

October 28th, 2012, 7:05 pm

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

The Islamist terrorists killed 84 years old Christian
Abo Adman because he appeared on Syrian TV.
أحقر وأوسخ واكلب وهابيين في التاريخ

October 28th, 2012, 7:39 pm

 

Syrian said:

Future ZOO and CO.

الشبيحة يهتفون للجيش الحر بعد أسرهم – دركوش 28 10 2012

October 28th, 2012, 7:42 pm

 

Johannes de Silentio said:

Iraq will break apart. And the USA will always be welcome in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurds will never forget the Anfal Campaign and Saddam’s cousin, Chemical Ali.

Too bad the Iraqi Sunnis and Shi’ites can’t learn to get along. The USA gave them a chance and they blew it. The next ones to blow it will be the Syrians, as the Syrian Kurds join the Iraqi Kurds to form a single, tranquil state.

October 28th, 2012, 7:43 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

An update sharing a tweet. Posted on YS half an hour ago:

Abdullah ‏@SyrianSmurf

50 regime soldiers surrender from the Allani checkpoint in #Harem #Idlib. Many others escape into the olive groves. #Syria

http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/abdullah-%e2%80%8fsyriansmurf-50-regime-soldiers-surrender-from-the/

October 28th, 2012, 7:51 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

An update from over an hour ago. Shares a view of a Baathist in Aleppo:

Basil ‏@alepsyria

It’s been a couple of weeks since the FSA have extended their fight to western Aleppo city. Today in particular it’s been a heavy fight

A Baathist I’m in contact with told me that the attacks by the FSA have been a huge surprise this week. Both strong and efficient

But significantly he confirms that the FSA attacks today have been very strong and they seem to be better armed today. Halabis are surprised

As I said it’s both a strong and efficient attack. Casualties have been due to regime army’s indiscriminate shelling. Big surprise

The primary goal is to destroy the Leramoun checkpoint. That would be a huge loss for Assad’s army in Aleppo

Coming from a Baathist this is huge. I must admit this man is the most honest of them that I know. Apart from the usual BS he reveals all

http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/basil-%e2%80%8falepsyria-a-baathist-im-in-contact-with/

October 28th, 2012, 7:55 pm

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

Islamic justice supported by the free world!!

October 28th, 2012, 8:36 pm

 

Syrialover said:

SNK #33

That is not justice linked to mainstream Islam and it is not supported by the free world.

And you know it.

However “Assad justice” and resulting counter-justice apparently gets your fill support.

October 28th, 2012, 10:02 pm

 

Roland said:

Johannes, the USA has betrayed the Kurds once again. A free hand against the Kurds was the price that Erdogan demanded in exchange for his hard line against Syria, and the USA shopped the Kurds gladly, since a cooperative Turkey is far more valuable to the USA than any sort of Kurdistan. Once the USA redeployed most of their troops from Iraq, the Kurds lost most of their usefulness to the Americans. That’s the way the game of Empire is played: minor allies are used, then they get cast aside. You would think that the Kurds, of all peoples, would understand this sort of thing by now.

From the American point of view, the Kurds can be used and abused without limit, since the Kurds have antagonized all of the more numerous peoples who surround them: Turks, Persians, and Arabs.

The Iraqi Kurds’ willingness to collaborate with the USA after the fall of Saddam was a tragic mistake on their part–especially their active participation in the reduction of Baghdad in 2007. The fall of Saddam was a rare opportunity to show magnanimity in the hour of their enemies’ misfortune. It was a time when the Kurdish leadership should have announced their full commitment to the unity and integrity of Iraq. They should have stood aside when the American occupiers played the divide-and-rule game among the sects and factions in Iraq. But instead the Kurds squandered a golden opportunity in exchange for petty and temporary gains.

October 28th, 2012, 10:45 pm

 

jna said:

28. Syria no Kandahar said: The Islamist terrorists killed 84 years old Christian Abo Adman because he appeared on Syrian TV.
Is this accurate reporting? What has the Syrian oppositon come to?

October 28th, 2012, 10:57 pm

 

Ghufran said:

لا تزال مدينة حارم الواقعة في محافظة إدلب عصية على ميليشيات الجيش السوري الحر التي تحاول جاهدةً دخول المدينة الموالية للنظام السوري، ورغم مضي شهر على إقدام المسلحين على حصار حارم، لا تلوح في الأفق أي علامات تفيد بإمكانية سقوط المدينة بيد ميليشيا الحر التي حشدت قواتها من معظم البلدات المجاور إستعدادا لما اسمته يوم “تحرير حارم”.
شريط شائك يفصل مدينة حارم عن الأراضي التركية التي اصبحت تشكل الرافد الأساسي للمسلحين في حربهم على المدينة، فالثوار يقصفون حارم براجمات الصواريخ ما أدى إلى حدوث مجزرة ذهب ضحيتها نحو 20 مدنيا لا ناقة لهم، ولا جمل في الصراع الحاصل سوى انهم يقيمون في منطقة لا تزال عصية على الجار التركي، وممثليه على الأراضي السورية.

October 28th, 2012, 11:14 pm

 

Ghufran said:

مجموعات مسلحة تستهدف خط لنقل النفط الخام الثقيل في محافظة الرقة شرقي محطة صباح الخير بــ20 كم ما أدى لاندلاع حريق وتدفق النفط وإيقاف الضخ في الخط  
Remember the days when targetting infrastructure facilities was a sin and pro rebels posters here would adamantly deny charges that rebels did the deed?
Now,rebels take pride in destroying whatever is left of Syria under the cover of “weakening the regime”. They are also justifying starving thousands of Syrians in Haarem,Idleb because that town is “pro regime”.

October 28th, 2012, 11:41 pm

 
 

Syrian said:

#37 comment is from this regime’s supporter site
http://www.arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=52925
I was baffled at 1st by the sudden interest by the “Neutral” concern for a disaster city in his comment #22,but it turned out that the city he is defending has a lot of the regime’s shabihas who have gave the Sunnis around them the worst treatment.now that the regime has abandoned them to thier comming just fate. here comes the cries from the “Neutral” about what is coming to them
Here is a video from the shabiha of Harm that Guffran will not watch
#سوريا مسرب || تعذيب وحشي لشيخ فاضل من قبل شبيحة وكلاب الأسد يقولون له من ربك فيقول الله ويكررها وهم مستمرون في التعذيب http://youtu.be/_rvVQ1tPqcQ

October 29th, 2012, 12:07 am

 

Ghufran said:

اذا لم تستح فافعل ما شيت
There are pro regime people in most Syrian towns,those towns have also women and children. The comment in 40 said it all, there is little difference between the regime thugs and those rebels, they both believe in collective punishment and have their brain trapped in their testicles.

October 29th, 2012, 12:34 am

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

SL
You claim that is not Islamic justice!! So what justice is it?
Terrorists supporters,MB and Salafi, Most of living in the Christian west , feels
Ashamed by any reminders that this is all just an Islamic , purely Wahhabi movement . So much dirty and rodent terrorist movement,So much evil,So much
Destructive to the state and infrastructure , So much nurished by foreign blood and money , So much anti minorities and majorities , So much confused,Drunk
And diveded , So much Syrian blood on revolutionists dirty hands(more even
Than the regime hands) ,So much lack of self esteem and complete face down
Flattening for money and positions, So much sexual scandals for Tlassest terrorists portrait as Gifara , So much money oriented defectors , So much lies
Lies and lies, So much hateful,racist and short sided…. So much and So much
That it is just impossible to cover all this crap ….Enjoy the smell of freedom in
Your western Christian bunker … If you were Syrian then congratulations you
Were successful in taking your country back to the dark ages …forever.

October 29th, 2012, 12:51 am

 

syrian said:

41
So where is your comments about what happened in the last 3 days to Damascus’s suburbs. Homes and the rest of destroyed Syria. Only Harem caught your attention?

People like you who is still lives in Abdul Nasser’s dead ideologies era is the last to really say anything anymore.
Did not you say you’re going to do “charity” work? I see it did not last more than one day, and your back to your old sneaky ways of putting half articles without links attacking mainly the revolution then adding few words against the regime to hide your true self, which is hating anything to do with revolution no matter in what forum it comes, at least people like Warren they say directly what they feel and in this he has more honor than you.

October 29th, 2012, 1:34 am

 
 

Juergen said:

I hope to see the day that this wahabi nightmare ends. To displace people from their homes, to demolish islamic heritage sights for shopping malls and cheap Big Ben copies is a crime. Who needs a KFC 200 m from the Bab al Salam, within the Haram?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/medina-saudis-take-a-bulldozer-to-islams-history-8228795.html

Robert Fisk:

Whichever of Obama or Romney wins, US dealings with the Arab world will change

The Long View: Every reader of this article will be dead of old age before the Arab “revolution” is complete
After last week’s Obama-Romney love-fest for Israel, the Arabs have been slowly deciding which of the two men would be best for the Middle East. It looks like Barack Obama is their man; but the problem – as always – is the sad, pathetic and outrageously obvious fact that it doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/whichever-of-obama-or-romney-wins-us-dealings-with-the-arab-world-will-change-8229921.html?origin=internalSearch

October 29th, 2012, 2:11 am

 

habib said:

27. Visitor

Lol. Wounded animals are the most vicious, I see!

Calm the hell down, man. No wonder Syria is being ripped to pieces, if even the diplomatic Salafists act like that.

October 29th, 2012, 3:18 am

 

Mina said:

25 Visitor

The Iraqis were precisely starting their own Spring in December 2010. But the TVs ignored them, just as they ignore their 100+ dead per day.

October 29th, 2012, 3:39 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

MINAZOOANN @ 165 Previous Post

You are a piece of work. The story of two teens frolicking, and the confusion of the justice system in a small principality where Russian prostitution thrives and where Russian gang money finds safe haven is your victorious response to a story about Putin’s arrest of political dissidents. I hope your pressure did not rise beyond safe level as you discovered your victorious “strike” response.

And you didn’t find anything absurd in your question about me being anti-commie for being anti-putin. This shows how progressive you are and how badly you need an emperor-protector to the point you anoint Putin as a commie and as the inheritor of the soviet union’s failed hegemony.

But yes, I am anti-commie, I am anti any totalitarian mindset, for they are all born in the same swamp of fascism. And their rigid metaphysics lead their life-long adherents to be like you. Sour-Bitter, with nothing positive to contribute.

October 29th, 2012, 4:06 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Who the hell is Gifara?
SKUNKAHAR …. Focus … Focus, for athad’s thake
….

October 29th, 2012, 4:16 am

 

Syrialover said:

SNK #42

You seem confused and ill-informed about who al Qaeda recruits are, and why they are running to join in the fun in Syria.

There are there because opposition to Assad has created a rallying point and chance to have the big adventure. Back home, they are misfits. But in failed, destabilized states they have the opportunity to live out their fantasies of being extremists, heroes and warriors.

And remember, idiot Assad conjured up and facilitated their presence in the region in the first place. Now, as Assad has ratcheted up the violence and chaos, they are thriving in the environment he created.

Your last paragraph is a clear 100% description of what Assad is doing to Syria. Every single word fits.

ASSAD has taken the country back to the dark ages. The full creation of this hell lies with the absurd hereditary Assad regime and those who supported it. It’s nothing to do with “outside forces” (other than Iran and Russia who are likeminded and agree it’s OK to smash up Syria).

Only those who have something invested in the Assad regime and benefited at the expense of others are still playing the denial game these days.

October 29th, 2012, 4:27 am

 

Citizen said:

35-Roland
the American occupiers played the divide-and-rule game among the sects and factions in Iraq.
What about US play in Syria in your ooint of view ?

October 29th, 2012, 4:28 am

 

Mina said:

Mr Hamster, UK citizen,

you threw this piece on Putin on me as if I had supported Putin somewhere. I have been used by now to be bullied on this forum as minhibak, self-hating Copt, and now commie. I thought it was my duty to inform you about the totalitarian regimes that also exist in the Gulf, and who pretend to be willing to help the Syrian people while sending them all their failed Djihadists, and their mentors such as al-‘Ar’ur who “really lived his experience of Djihad for a few hours in Northern Syria, what a thrill.”

October 29th, 2012, 4:37 am

 

annie said:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/lebanon/9638058/Hizbollah-debates-dropping-support-for-the-regime-of-President-Bashar-al-Assad.html

..
The most dramatic sign of dissent within Hizbollah is the cancellation of a forthcoming party convention that is usually held every three years – the first time anybody can remember it being dropped. The official explanation is that it would be a security risk.

But a Shia politician from an important political family said: “They are not able to hold their convention because they are afraid they cannot agree on Syria.”

Disagreement is said to be strongest between civilian Hizbollah members, who are more likely to favour cutting links with Damascus, and its powerful military wing, trained and indoctrinated by Iran and still fiercely loyal to the Syrian regime.

“I have heard that the division is deep between the Lebanese branch of Hizbollah and the military. Hassan Nasrallah decided to cancel the convention,” said the source. “He was worried he would not be able to come up with a final resolution.”

Mr Nasrallah pledged his loyalty to the Damascus regime in public several times at the beginning of the crisis, but has shown much less enthusiasm about doing so recently.

October 29th, 2012, 4:58 am

 

Citizen said:

Iran has Hezbollah drone intel on secret Israeli sites – MP
Tehran has intelligence on Israeli secret sites obtained by Hezbollah’s Iranian-developed drone ‘Ayub,’ an Iranian lawmaker said. “We are now in possession of the images of [Israeli] forbidden zones,” Deputy Head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Esmail Kowsari told Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam news channel on Sunday. Hezbollah said the drone recently flew deep into Israeli airspace without being detected by radar. Kowsari claimed Hezbollah is now in possession of aircraft more advanced than Ayub, Press TV reported. The MP claimed Iran also has the technology to build armed unmanned aircraft.
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-10-29/#id39697

October 29th, 2012, 5:39 am

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

Regarding the Kurdish demo on Aleppo, the Kurds were complete and utter idiots, retards, imbeciles and morons. Armed gunmen could clearly be seen in the video mingling among the demonstrators. What moron in their right mind is going to think that anyone manning a checkpoint, faced with hundreds of angry demonstrators rushing towards him, and with gunmen clearly hiding between them, isn’t going to get nervous. It was a deliberate, cynical and disgusting use of civilians as cannon fodder.

In 20 months of the revolution, not once did a revo demo come anywhere near an army checkpoint (except when the Arab League observers were around, and then it was a few guys planting a flag on the sandbags). Most of the demos came out from mosques. The army went chasing demos, not the other way round.

Now, as to the increasingly hopeless “Warren”. No one here is obligated to excuse the actions of Salafis in Nigeria, because what happens in Nigeria has no bearing on Syria. The fact is, not a single massacre of pro-regimists has occurred anywhere in Syria, a fact confirmed by the ICG reports and Time magazine. The resident Islamophobe, desperate for evidence of revo “atrocities”, has to resort to digging up stuff from Africa. With every post Warren makes, our estimates of the size of the Jihadi stick that is presently located in his rectum increases.

“Comparing Earth to Jupiter, the Black Sea to the Pacific,and FSA “crimes” with Regime Atrocities

http://amjadofarabia.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/comparing-syria-crimes/ ”

Read it and weep, Battanites 🙂 The FSA is by far and away the most moral and ethical Arab armed group in the history of Arab armed groups, and serves as a beacon and shining example of how armed groups should be run.

Let us be clear, the pro-regimists will never see Syria again (not that they were ever enthusiastic about living in the Assadstanian hell hole anyway). Ar’our will be preaching Friday sermons in Hama, Ghaliun will be teaching political science in Homs, Riad Al-Assad will be getting medal after medal and have Syrian streets named after him, but the likes of Zoo, Mina, Habib, Ann et all will not step foot in the country again.

Anyone found to have been propagating pro-regimist propaganda will not get their passports renewed, and will become the problem of the countries they reside in. I’m sure they will be welcome in Iran, where even chicken is now considered a luxury.

October 29th, 2012, 7:17 am

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

And if the pro-regimists doubt the ability of the FSA to keep undesirables out, just remember how many checkpoints the regime still controls; just the two with the Lebanese border. Jordan and Iraq are closed, the FSA control the checkpoints with Turkey, Aleppo airport is shut down, and if you’d like to take your chances with Damascus airport, be my guest, but I’d like to see what a shabih will make of your Western residency permits and exit stamps.

After Batta is overthrown, school students from the pro-regime villages and areas will be required to go to summer “civic duty” camps, where the hate-filled misinformation and brainwashing that they soaked up from the (now nationalized and sold off) Al-Dunya will be reversed. These students will be taught systems of government other than the hereditary-republic.

They will be taught the true history of the Arab-Israeli wars, and the role of Hafez in losing the Golan. They will be taught all the good that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have done for the Syrian people, contrary to the misinformation spewed out by Al-Dunya. And these brats will have democracy shoved down their throats, and become tolerant, pluralistic minded individuals whether they like it or not.

October 29th, 2012, 7:30 am

 

Albo said:

I read your post Amjad and you’re a poor propagandist.

The rebels simply can’t be presented as one single entity that is the FSA, because there are so many militias out there doing the fight, and many armed criminal groups who don’t give a f… about what Riad has to say. In fact the FSA means very little on the ground, I have compared before the Syrian rebels to the rebels of the Cuban revolution and the differences were glaring, because in Cuba it was about disciplined troops following orders and a strict hierarchy of command, This is non-existent in Syria and the FSA is thus an empty shell in this war, a media (or blogging) trope.
So when some militias train human bombs who blow themselves up and kill mostly civilians, when random people are abducted, where people are beheaded for real or imagined wrongs, we will be conveniently told this isn’t the mythical FSA, which is “the most moral armed group”, (funny how it sounds like israeli mantra of “Tsahal being the most moral army in the world”) but rogue and isolated elements, of course.
This fallacy has a name http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

Second about Christian refugees, you’d be well advised to ask the right people: yes, many people reported they fled Homs in droves as well as many other minority groups, even if we will never have reliable statistics. But refugees are all over the coast, Lebanon and abroad where their kin hosted a lot of them, and the numbers are very large without question. The tents in Turkey are simply a testament to the turkish failed hospitality, not a general rule of how refugees should be accomodated, so the comparison is retarded.

Lastly you’re putting the cart before the horse which is a sign of delusion: the civil war is far from over, and there are great chances that Syria as a polity will never recover, so don’t start to make fancy and delirious conclusions about how the country will be and who will return or not. So far, it looks more and more that it will ressemble Iraq and Lebanon much more, ie a lot of people won’t enter a lot of zones without danger, and it’s fucking sad for Syrians as a whole. This is the legacy of sectarian hatred which has screwed a lot of countries already.

October 29th, 2012, 8:05 am

 

Syrialover said:

MINA #52,

You say you are: “bullied on this forum as minhibak, self-hating Copt, and now commie.”

But what about your stance as a relentless negative bad newser and sneerer about everything to do with the Middle East?

On a forum like this, that comes across as hostility + disrespect, which = bullying. Which earns reactions.

But where I thought wow, was: “I thought it was my duty to inform you about the totalitarian regimes that also exist in the Gulf”

And everything else. Your duty.

Is that what it is.

October 29th, 2012, 8:10 am

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

The most moral armed mafia(FSA )!!
1000 liras(15$) per soldier they kill!
Ahbal of Saudi Arabia and MB Hamster idols:

October 29th, 2012, 8:13 am

 

Syrialover said:

JUERGEN #45,

I’ve fallen out of love with Fisk. I read and admired him for years, but his game on Syria …

http://akhyasouria.tumblr.com/post/30117191257/whenever-i-read-an-article-written-by-robert-fisk

October 29th, 2012, 8:35 am

 

Syrialover said:

JUERGEN #45,

I’ve fallen out of love with Fisk. I read and admired him for years, but his game on Syria …

http://akhyasouria.tumblr.com/post/30117191257/whenever-i-read-an-article-written-by-robert-fisk

October 29th, 2012, 8:39 am

 
 

Visitor said:

There are two misconceptions on this forum regarding Mina and Ghufran.

Mina is neither Egyptian nor Copt. He/she is an Alawite assigned the role of posing like a Copt or defender of Copts by the Mukhabarat of course.

Ghufran is also not Palestinian or half-Palestinian. He/she is an Alawite also assigned the role by the mukhabarat.

The objective is to show that the falling regime has a wider base of support outside the Alawites.

Similarly, Citizen claimed in one of his comments to be a Sunni. He/she is NOT. He/she is a full fledged Alawite.

October 29th, 2012, 8:57 am

 

Syrialover said:

VISITOR #62,

Come on. Don’t be like that. I disagree on condemning people for being Alawite or using that as a term for people you oppose here.

I’m finding in this crisis people can be virulently pro-Assad and non-Alawite.

And they can also be Alawite and anti-Assad.

October 29th, 2012, 9:50 am

 

ghufran said:

a top US General admits that the US does not know who is firing those shots from Syria into Turkey:
أطلق قائد الجيوش الأميركية في أوروبا مارك هيرتينغ تصريحات مهمة تقلب رأسا على عقب الرواية التركية عن إطلاق الجيش السوري قذيفة على مدينة أكجاكالي التركية الحدودية في الثالث من تشرين الأول الحالي، والتي أسفرت عن مقتل خمسة أتراك، وكادت تشعل حربا بين سوريا وتركيا.
ففي مؤتمر نظم في جامعة هوبكنز في واشنطن حول مستقبل الوجود الأميركي في أوروبا، اعترف هيرتينغ بأن الولايات المتحدة لا تعرف مصدر القذيفة، متسائلا «هل هي من الجيش النظامي، أم من مجموعات المعارضة المسلحة لزج تركيا في الصراع، أم من عناصر من حزب العمال الكردستاني؟».

October 29th, 2012, 9:56 am

 

Visitor said:

Hey SL 63,

Do not read your own interpretations or your imagination into what is being said.

I do not care what you believe in. But I am the least in need for an advice when it comes to what I WANT TO SAY.

Are we clear?

October 29th, 2012, 10:22 am

 

Citizen said:

62. VISITOR
I repeat Suni Muslim 100%. No one of my roots was from another sect! stop engaging in Saudi swamp! Suni Suni and only! you understand or repeat?
Something shameful and frivolous!
Is this contrary to base of Bernard Lewis Levy?

October 29th, 2012, 10:37 am

 

Visitor said:

Citizen said,

“stop engaging in Saudi swamp! Suni Suni and only! you understand or repeat?”

Stop engaging in criminal regime swamp.. Understand or repeat?

I do not care if you are sunni or erd. You are a cheap mouthpiece of criminal thugs. Understand or repeat?

October 29th, 2012, 10:56 am

 

Citizen said:

67. VISITOR
you yourself the erd !

Joshua, ! Stop this № 67 not enough educated to attack the commentators!

Chinese Muslims fighting in Syria – reports
Muslim separatists from the northwest Chinese region of Xinjiang are battling Syrian government forces alongside other rebel groups, Chinese state newspaper Global Times reported Monday. Since May, radicals among China’s ethnic Turkic Uighur minority have traveled to Syria to join the fighting, the report said. The trips were allegedly organized by groups opposed to Beijing’s rule over Xinjiang. The report singled out two groups, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and the Turkey-based East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association. East Turkistan was the name given to two short-lived independent Uighur republics in Xinjiang.
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-10-29/#id39716

October 29th, 2012, 11:19 am

 

Albo said:

Brahimi is widely quoted in the media today for this line
“If that is not civil war, I don’t know what is,”

Ahem.
____

Chinese Turkic fighters in Syria? That’s possible, the western MSM even saw Tadjiks. But in any case it’s a convenient justification for the Chinese leadership regarding their Syrian policy much like the Chechens are for the Russians (their presence was confirmed).

October 29th, 2012, 11:53 am

 

Citizen said:

the war games started?!?

These exercises may have been the “good reason” for the Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey to punch his “frequent flyer” miles card on the way to Tel Aviv, but I would almost be willing to bet that the “real reason” was to finalize strategy for a military attack against Iran.

And this upcoming attack against Iran has absolutely nothing with its peaceful energy program, but everything to do with the reality that Iran will not sell its oil in US dollars.

Dempsey arrives in Israel to oversee joint air defense drill
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-10/29/c_131936130.htm

October 29th, 2012, 12:34 pm

 

Visitor said:

Citizen said,

“67. VISITOR
you yourself the erd ! “

Even though I did not say you are an erd in 67, but now I think you are.

Understand or repeat?

October 29th, 2012, 1:21 pm

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

“This is non-existent in Syria and the FSA is thus an empty shell in this war, a media (or blogging) trope.”

And yet of all these numerous groups, the worst that can be said of them is that they executed 20 soldiers. To the shabihas, 20 dead is an hour’s work.

The FSA is taking on the unprecedented (for an Arab armed group) role of liberator, protector and aid agency. Not since WW2 has an army been required to see to the humanitarian needs of so many refugees. To the FSA, a family fleeing a war torn area are countrymen in need. To Batta, they are a job half done and helicopter gunships are dispatched to finish them off.

“he tents in Turkey are simply a testament to the turkish failed hospitality”

And yet where are the regime camps for the displaced inside Syria? Where are the regime aid convoys to Houla and Douraya? Why is it that Angelina Jolie has made more visits to Syrian refugees than Asma (who made none). Why did your disgraceful and perverted president say, when asked about the refugees, that they were part of the necessary “cleansing” of the country? My God man, that should have been too much even for the menhebakjis to tolerate, but apparently not, such is the debased, depraved and contemptible mindset among you people.

“nd there are great chances that Syria as a polity will never recover”

Rubbish. Do you know why there hasn’t been a Houla and Douraya every day? Because even the Alawites know that Batta is finished, and they don’t want to be the ones being held responsible for his atrocities when he gets on a plane to Tehran. Even his own constituency are fed up of him, their fighting spirit at an all time low, their motivation close to zero. It does not take much bravery to drop cluster bombs on civilians, especially when you know that no one else is going to be firing back, but it takes alot to do actual ground and house to house fighting, an area of which Jaysh Abu Shahata has not distinguished itself in the lest bit.

The Syrian Airfarce has flown more bombing sorties against Aleppo in three months, than it did against Israel in 50 years. Like one person on Twitter said, the Assad mafia family observed a 30 year cease fire with Israel on the Golan, yet couldnt observe a 40 minute one with the Syrian people.

Now, let’s talk sports after Batta. First, the Jaysh football team will either be renamed or disbanded. Only pathetic backwards 3rd world countries have football teams named after the army or airforce or police etc etc. Each sporting event will be preceded by a minute’s silence for the fallen of revolution, to commemorate not just the revolutionaries who died, but also the thousands of Syrian army soldiers, most of whom were no more than cannon fodder for the Assad and Makhlouf families. The league will be renamed the Abdulbaset Saroot Cup, in honor of that magnificent Homsi.

And due to the incredible popularity of the Classico match, one of the ways that we will pamper and spoil the orphans of the revolution is to send some of them to Spain twice a year to watch that match. Nothing will be too much for those tragic children and victims of the Assad junta’s barbarity.

Gesh, I dont know what you people are upset about, these are excellent ideas Im coming up with, alot better than the only things Batta can promise; sanctions, misery, lawlessness and a country outcast from the world community.

October 29th, 2012, 1:39 pm

 

mjabali said:

Here is a link to a video surfaced today about some Saudis fighting with the Salafi group Jubhat al-Nusra in Syria calling to slaughter the Alawis. They are also saluting Usama bin Laden.

One of these Salafi goons is a teenager who is crossing borders with the help of many governments to slaughter people in their homes…

October 29th, 2012, 1:58 pm

 

Badr said:

Syrian Hamster,

May I ask Mina what logic, if any, she employed to deduce your citizenship, which I’ve no clue to it?

October 29th, 2012, 2:04 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

BADR
Divine inspiration?!!!!

SKUNKAHAR @ 59

I prefer this HAMSTER IDOL or this one, , but the one that takes the prize is this one

October 29th, 2012, 2:27 pm

 

syrian said:

new vedio

270 prisoners from Assad’s army in Idleb
أسرى بالمئات واغتنام اسلحة من حاجز الزعينية بادلب

October 29th, 2012, 2:46 pm

 

Syrialover said:

VISITOR #65

I think my observation’s worth taking on board.

We don’t want to see an enthusiastic soldier wasting artillery on a scattershot approach while some worthy targets (who happen to be non-Alawites) saunter past unchallenged, and some fellow victims and ordinary people (non-Assadist Alawites) take up your energies and attention.

In this case, you were inferring that if MINA and CITIZEN were giving a free pass to Assad they had to be Alawite, they couldn’t be anything else such as Sunni or Copt.

October 29th, 2012, 2:50 pm

 

Syrialover said:

HAMSTER #75

Damn. That final link didn’t work. But I didn’t mind because I’ve got this video of you and some fellow supertalented SC All Stars warming up:

October 29th, 2012, 3:03 pm

 

Syrialover said:

And HAMSTER old chap,

I’ve no idea if you happen to have UK citizenship status.

But if you do, that could be very handy for some official campaigning on Rifaat Assad’s case.

That plush Mayfair mansion and other assets from stolen Syrian state funds should be confiscated and the proceeds spent on post-Assad reconstruction. Ideally before he starts pouring it into legal and public relations protection against his war criminal charges.

October 29th, 2012, 3:24 pm

 

Visitor said:

SL 77,

I think I told you once before everyone is different when it comes to making opinions or decisions about things, and we’re talking here about this forum and the contributors. You happen to have an active imagination which is sometimes good and sometimes bad.

I do things differently. I establish a pattern of comments that a certain contributor makes over a long period of time and quite often I find loops and holes in his/her comments which would give me enough information to decide with high degree of certainty. If you have a good memory like mine you could also do it, because I remember almost every comment I read since I started reading this blog.

I could go back to the archives and cite those commnets that would reveal the pattern(s) in each contributor that I mentioned that would leave you with no other option but to make the same conclusions. Of course that will take a huge amount of research and time to do it and present it concisely in one comment. Needless to say, neither I nor many of us here has(ve) the time.

Is it important to know that ‘x’ contributor is Sunni, Alawite, Palestinian or Copt? No it is not in and by itself. But if the regime mukhabarats are using these contributors to falsely pose as such then it becomes important to be aware of it.

October 29th, 2012, 3:42 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

AJE Syria blog.

2 hrs ago:

Syrian warplanes launched 60 airstrikes on Monday, the most intense air raids across the country since the uprising began 19 months ago, according to anti-regime activists.

The suburbs of the capital Damascus were particularly hard hit.

Activists said at least 500 people were killed over the four-day period ending Monday when a U.N.-backed truce was supposed to be in effect. They said the death toll for Monday so far has reached 80.

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/syrian-warplanes-launched-60-airstrikes-monday-most-intense-air-raids-across-country

October 29th, 2012, 3:43 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Posted 5 minutes ago:

DamascusTribune
MT @AlexCrawfordSky:Turkish news agency reports #Syria.n regime bombed its air defense system nr Idlib 2 prevent it falling into rebel hands

http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/damascustribune-mt-alexcrawfordsky-turkish-news-agency-reports-syria/

October 29th, 2012, 3:47 pm

 

Mina said:

No wonder… today i read an article where the bombing in Jaramana was justified since it was “a pro-regime neighborhood”. How many hundred thousands live in Jaramana? They all have to fall under the sectarian logic we are witnessing here.

October 29th, 2012, 3:50 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

A piece on Assad supporters. [Nuffsilence’s posterous]

Yazan Abdallah – Look Beyond The “Political Activism”

October 28, 2012

While it’s not the smart position to support Assad, not all his supporters are dumb. Take this self-proclaimed “political activist” for example; a certain Yazan Abdallah who lives in the United Kingdom, and who undoubtedly knows how to communicate with the civilized world in a language that is suffused with words that reflect a deep understanding of democracy and modern politics.

[…]

The reason I’m writing about this guy is not because I find him interesting (on the contrary). The reason is that this kind of commentators who strive to be perceived as neutral and rational, gets a broad audience when they are interviewed on BBC and AJE. If they’re pressed on their support for the regime, they’d tell you they don’t support it, but that the alternative for the time being is the chaos, Jihadism and extremism of the rebels and the opposition. They strive to make the picture look murky and blur the facts and obfuscate.

[…]

Maybe if the BBC has done a little research, they’d find that Yazan Abdallah’s father is big shot officer in Assad army who is responsible for liaising with Russia.

Read more:

http://nuffsilence.posterous.com/yazan-abdallah-look-beyond-the-political-acti

October 29th, 2012, 4:08 pm

 

Syrialover said:

Yazan Abdallah. Fantastic! A poster boy.

Nab his picture and put it on a poster with big signage: “Closet shabeeha sitting on the fence whilst pointing the finger at the victims”

And add a note about his father’s prominent role in the current betrayal and carnage in Syria.

He would have strong personal obligations to the regime for paying for his expensive overseas education and other privileges.

Thanks UZAIR #84 for sharing the information.

October 29th, 2012, 4:33 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

SYRIALOVER
No worries bro, Here you go, much better fidelity hope it works.

Just ponder, when was MINAZOOANN right… ever….?

I am a freedom loving revolutionary native falklander.

October 29th, 2012, 5:00 pm

 

ann said:

Mercenary Islamist Terrorists Of The World Unite!

Chinese Xinjiang militant groups active in Syria, says China – October 29, 2012

Chinese officials have said members of separatist militant groups based in the country’s far-western Xinjiang region were being organised to fight against the Syrian government in the on-going war, and had forged ties with Al Qaeda and other terror groups

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/xinjiang-militant-groups-active-in-syria-says-china/article4044274.ece

The Chinese government said on Monday that the links established between Xinjiang-based outfits and international terror groups “seriously undermines China’s national security”.

Officials at China’s anti-terrorism authority told the Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper that leaders of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a separatist group that has called for Xinjiang’s independence, had “organised for members to head for Syria to participate in their quest for jihad”.

Since May, the officials said, ETIM members “have been going to Syria and linking up with organizations like Al Qaeda to fight against the Syrian government”. An official told the newspaper that the “ETIM is being helped by Al Qaeda and they are collecting funds through drug and gun trafficking, kidnapping and robbery”.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters that the ETIM was “colluding with international terrorist organizations” and “seriously [undermining] China’s national security”.

The ETIM has been behind a number of recent attacks in Xinjiang. China blamed the outfit for attacks in the Muslim-majority region that left at least 40 people killed last year in the cities of Kashgar and Hotan, located near the border with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Chinese officials say the ETIM has established camps in Pakistan. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Public Security released a list of six wanted ETIM members, some of whom were based in Pakistan.

[…]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/xinjiang-militant-groups-active-in-syria-says-china/article4044274.ece

October 29th, 2012, 5:26 pm

 

Mina said:

Upcoming war: Israel has fired first, who’s next?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20121580
“(…) Reports suggest that shortly after midnight on Wednesday, four Israeli warplanes attacked the factory with two one-tonne bombs.

They were supported by helicopters carrying commandos to rescue any of the air crew in case they were shot down, the reports added. Another aircraft jammed Sudanese radar and air-defence systems, as well as disrupting local communications.

They reportedly took off from the Negev desert and re-fuelled in flight. (…)”

October 29th, 2012, 5:32 pm

 

Citizen said:

Media: Syrian Kurds were on the side for the first time Assad troops
http://translate.google.de/translate?hl=de&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kurdishcenter.ru%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D6419%3A2012-10-29-09-08-26%26catid%3D7%26Itemid%3D16
Kurdish militia, until recently, to maintain neutrality in the Syrian conflict, clashed with opposition groups in the city of Aleppo, says “Kommersant”. If Bashar al-Assad will be able to take advantage of this trend and consolidate the balance of power in the Syrian war may change in its favor. Kurds make up more than 10% of Syria’s population – if they will support the government forces not only in Aleppo, but on other fronts, it will create serious problems for the opposition.
“Never before has the revolutionaries, no government soldiers chose not to conflict c Kurdish militias”
Clashes between Kurds and the troops of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Aleppo began after the opposition tried to establish control over the area Ashraf north of the city. He is considered strategically important, as it is situated on a hill, visible from great – and spray – the next block.
Until now populated by Kurds Ashraf remained aloof from the war – neither revolutionaries nor the government soldiers chose not to conflict in the Kurdish militias. But commanders PAS seems to have decided that the control of Ashraf important Kurdish neutrality. As a result of bloody fighting killed at least 30 people, with about 200 (mostly Kurds) were taken hostage.
In fighting against the opposition groups involved mainly the party “Democratic Alliance”. Of all the countries in the region is Turkey the most actively supports the Syrian opposition, and recently, after a series of incidents at the border, even to the brink of armed conflict with Damascus.
One of the charges that Ankara pushes the regime of Bashar al-Assad – Support the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan “in Turkish Kurdistan. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is concerned that as a result of the civil war in Syria’s Kurdish areas of the country actually will gain autonomy – for example Iraq. And the PKK will use Syrian territory as a base for anti-Ankara.
Prevent such a development could have a quick seizure of power by the Syrian opposition, oriented on Turkey. However, this scenario seems increasingly unlikely – war becomes protracted. The authorities in Damascus is not prevent the isolation of the Kurds, seeing them as potential allies.
According to experts, in exchange for loyalty on the part of the Kurds Bashar Assad would be willing to accept any degree of autonomy for them. The opposition, however, bound by the obligation to Ankara, can not afford such “generosity”.
If the conflict between revolutionaries and Kurds will spread from Aleppo to other areas of the country, it will be an important strategic success of Bashar al-Assad. Opposition, faced with a new enemy, will disperse its forces. Damascus also get one more reason to say that the units FSA, almost totally composed of Sunni Arabs, are a threat to all inhabiting Syria, ethnic and religious minorities. And that only the current government is able to protect their interests, writes “Kommersant”.
On Sunday, the Syrian military command issued a communique stating that Syrian troops continue to maintain the cease-fire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, but “respond to militant attacks that violate the second consecutive day truce.”
Recall that in the first day of the ceasefire declared by the Syrian authorities on the occasion of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, the explosion of a car bomb in Damascus killed 47 people.
The explosion occurred near the Mosque of Omar Ibn Khattab. Most of the dead and injured – children playing in the streets during the Muslim holidays. Everything, according to human rights activists in Syria on Friday, killing 146 people.
On Saturday, the Syrian authorities have reported that government forces continue to adhere to the cease-fire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, but “respond to militant attacks that violate the second consecutive day truce.”
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council’s call for a truce Brahimi in Syria. The corresponding statement was initiated by Russia.

October 29th, 2012, 5:47 pm

 

ghufran said:

دعا عالم الدين السعودي الشيخ سلمان العودة إلى امتناع الشباب عن السفر إلى سوريا للقتال سواء كانوا أفراداَ أو ضمن تنظيمات.
واعتبر العودة في تقرير نشره موقع “الإسلام اليوم” السعودي إن المصلحة تقتضي أن نترك القضية السورية للسوريين، مشيراً إلى أن النظام السوري يتذرع أمام العالم أنه لا يقاتل شعبه وإنما يقاتل مجموعات مسلحة “إرهابية” تسللت من خارج البلاد.
واشار الى أن توجه المقاتلين العرب وسواهم إلى سوريا لن يغير مسار المعركة، معتبراً أن حاجة السوريين تتركز في “الدعم بالمال والسلاح والدعاء ورعاية النازحين وأسر الشهداء والمقاتلين”.
وأوضح أن وجود المقاتلين العرب قد يدفع بعض الدول العربية فضلا عن الأوروبية إلى التوقف عن دعم الشعب السوري في معركته ضد نظام بشار الأسد خشية أن يصل هذا الدعم إلى إرهابيين.

October 29th, 2012, 6:39 pm

 

Juergen said:

SL

I share your point on Fisk, I have experienced the same with Jürgen Todenhöfer ( the former MP who interviewed Bashar al Wahash). I highly appreciated his stance towards the western ignorance when it comes to the arab world, yet his appeasement and his excuses for mass murder is unforgivable. I assume both characters have their share on vanity, and may be its true what an famous journalist once said: never be too close to the ones who lead, that might corrupt you tremendously.

Amir

Good to see you back here. Erev tov!

October 29th, 2012, 6:50 pm

 

Tara said:

About 150 members of the Syrian opposition are meeting in Istanbul today for the beginning of a three-day conference organised by the Syrian Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, headed by Radwan Ziadeh. Among the groups said to be represented at the conference are the Syrian National Council, the Kurdish National Council, the Damascus Declaration, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Syrian Revolution General Commission, the Local Coordinating Committees and former Syrian prime minister Riad Hijab. Leaders of the Free Syrian Army and local civil administration councils leaders from inside Syria are also due to attend.

The organisers say:

The conference will provide a space for the Syrian opposition to build a common vision regarding transitional governance and management after the downfall of the Assad regime. Topics to be discussed include: constitutional, legal, political, and administrative reform, electoral law, elections, and mechanisms for activating and organizing public, civil, and political participation, reforming the security services, and the challenges of building a modern national army …

The need for considering the transitional period has grown increasingly great now that large swaths of Syrian territory are no longer under control of the Assad regime, including several border crossings along the Turkish and Iraqi borders. It is imperative that Syrians build a central authority capable of managing newly-liberated territory and the transitional period.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/29/syria-crisis-live-eid-truce-attacks#block-508e4f8f95cb4ec5a031bb71

October 29th, 2012, 6:55 pm

 

Tara said:

HBJ corrected Ibrahimi’s statement today on al Jazeera.  It is not a civil war, it is aحرب إبادة يشنّها النظام السوري على شعبه  

October 29th, 2012, 7:12 pm

 

ann said:

Latest Accomplishment Of The Blood Thirsty Islamist Mercenary Terrorists!

At least 6 dead, many injured in car bomb attack in Damascus suburb Jaramana (PHOTOS, VIDEO) – 29 October, 2012

http://rt.com/news/damascus-blast-jaramana-killed-480/

At least six people were killed, including children, in a suspected car bombing in the Jaramana suburb of Damascus, reports the state news agency. Jaramana is mostly populated by Christian and Druze residents.

­”A terrorist car bombing next to a bakery on Rawda Street killed at least 10 people, including women and children,” the Syrian state TV reported.

Earlier, Syrian state news agency SANA reported 10 people died in the blast.

Up to 50 people were injured in the attack, according to local media. Around 15 buildings were severely damaged and some 20 cars were destroyed in the blast or crushed by falling debris.

Jaramana suffered similar attacks a few weeks ago. On August 28, at least 27 people were killed by a car bombing while attending a funeral for two supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On September 3, another car bombing killed at least 5 people, and injured more than 30 others.

The suburb’s mostly Druze and Christian residents

[…]

http://rt.com/news/damascus-blast-jaramana-killed-480/print/

October 29th, 2012, 7:34 pm

 
 

Johannes de Silentio said:

92 TARA

“for the Syrian opposition to build a common vision”

Are you sure this isn’t a comedy bit for Saturday Night Live?

October 29th, 2012, 8:25 pm

 

Norman said:

The US should be careful in it’s help for the militants in Syria as the fall of the Syrian government and secular Syria will lead to chaos in Iraq and the failure of that state and with that, everything the US did and spent in money and lives would have been in vain and for nothing.I wonder if the US after the election will change course on Syria .

October 29th, 2012, 8:42 pm

 

Norman said:

I wonder if The US will be careful in it’s help for the militants in Syria as the fall of the Syrian government and secular Syria will lead to chaos in Iraq and the failure of that state and with that, everything the US did and spent in money and lives would have been in vain and for nothing.I wonder if the US after the election will change course on Syria .

October 29th, 2012, 8:45 pm

 

Visitor said:

With the help of Allah the Al-Mighty, His soldiers of the FSA heroes have been granted the control over o huge cache of weapons of various types in Damascus,

http://www.nowlebanon.com/Arabic/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=451984

October 29th, 2012, 9:30 pm

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

Free Afghan Army:

October 29th, 2012, 9:50 pm

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

الإرهاب دينه وهابي

October 29th, 2012, 9:56 pm

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

Aleppines hate FSA ….90%of FSA terrorists are
Non-Aleppines or non-Syrians:

October 29th, 2012, 10:04 pm

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

Aljesh Alker trying to attack Homs using صاروخ محلي الصنع ….if this was successful they will end up blaming the Syrian army for it…
شر البليه ما يضحك

October 29th, 2012, 10:16 pm

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

Ramboo Aljesh Alker:

October 29th, 2012, 10:35 pm

 

Ghufran said:

Almundassah published a mini survey that included 29 Syrian Alawites, the full text is available on their site. These are the ” recommendations” of the surveyors ;
1-    يجب ترتيب لنقاش علني ومفتوح بين ممثل عن الإخوان المسلمين وممثل عن الحركة السلفية والشيخ العرعور وممثلين عن الطائفة العلوية بحيث تثار القضايا والمخاوف على السطح وعلى مرآى من الجميع في برنامج حواري مثل ال Doha Debate  على قناة البي بي سي.
2-   التركيز على الظهور على قناة البي بي سي والفرانس 24 لمخاطبة شريحة من الطائفة العلوية التي تتابع القناتين، إضافة إلى قناة وصال.
3-   عدم التركيز على مخاطبة مشايخ الطائفة العلوية حيث ثبت أن الغالبية لا تهتم لآرائهم والتركيز بدلاً من ذلك على مخاطبة العوائل والعشائر المعروفة كما أثبتت ذلك أحداث القرداحة.
4-   التركيز الإعلامي على المظاهرات والأحداث التي تعارض النظام في المناطق والأحياء العلوية وكشف كذب النظام وخداعه.
5-   إطلاق حملات إعلامية وشعارات وابتكار هتافات وحدوية وتطمينية جديدة لإبعاد المؤيدين عن بشار الأسد.
6-   ضمان بقاء واستمرار الموظفين العلويين العاديين ومصادر دخلهم ،وإيجاد مصادر دخل جديدة تغنيهم عن الإنخراط في قوات الأمن أو الشبيحة.
None of that appeals to a lot of anti regime people who still believe that the only way out is to crush the army,regime forces and everybody who stands in the way, it may be too late to expect the two fighting factions to talk peace,each side is convinced it can win, especially rebels who believe that they have the support of a lot of Syrians and were able to recruit a large number of fighters who by some estimates surpassed the number of regular army soldiers.

October 29th, 2012, 11:10 pm

 

syria no kandahar said:

Wahabist Terrorists thuggery revolution:
حادثة خطف جديدة شهدتها مدينة طرطوس الهادئة .. فقد أقدمت مجموعة مسلحة بحدود الساعة الواحدة والنصف من فجر السبت 20/ 10/ 2011 على خطف الصيدلاني (حسان شتيان ) من أمام منزله في حي الجمعية وذلك فور وصوله عائدا” من مناوبته في الصيدلية التي يملكها والموجودة قرب مدرسة نبيل حمادي

وعلمت سيريا ستيبس أن عملية الخطف جرت أمام زوجته التي كانت تنتظره على فيراندا منزله حيث أقدم المسلحون على إدخاله بسيارتهم ( نوع كيا ) عندما نزل من سيارته واتجه إلى مدخل البناية .

وفي اتصال مع نقيب الصيادلة بطرطوس الصيدلانية أحلام معنا أكدت أنها أعلمت كافة الجهات الأمنية بالحادثة ولم يتم حتى الآن معرفة مصيره ولا الهدف من خطفه وأشارت إلى أنها سبق وطلبت تأمين حراسة للصيدليات المناوبة ليلا” لكن ذلك لم يحصل .. وتمنت العمل من قبل كافة الجهات لمعرفة مختطفيه وتحريره منهم

شقيق المخطوف أكد أن المختطفين اتصلوا به من هاتف شقيقه يوم الاثنين 22/ 10وقالوا له أنهم من الجيش الحر وطلبوا من أسرته فدية قدرها ( 50) مليون ليرة كشرط لإخلاء سبيله وإلا سيقطعونه ويرسلونه لهم ..

وعادوا واتصلوا به يوم الأربعاء 24/ 10 وسألوا عن الفدية ثانية” وعندما رد عليهم أن لا قدرة لأسرته على تأمين هذا المبلغ وأن أسرته تريد سماع صوته للاطمئنان عليه .. اتصلوا به للمرة الثالثة مساء الأربعاء 24/ 10وابلغوه أنهم مصرون على تقاضي الخمسين مليون ليرة قبل تركه ثم سمحوا للمخطوف ان يتحدث مع شقيقه وقال له (ابذلوا جهدكم )

وأضاف : لقد أبلغنا وزير شؤون المصالحة الوطنية الدكتور علي حيدر بحالة الخطف ونسعى من خلاله ومن خلال جهات أخرى للتفاوض مع الخاطفين من أجل تخفيض الفدية وتحريره علما” أنهم لم يتصلوا بنا منذ 24/10/2012

هذا وقد حضرت كافة الجهات المختصة وتم تنظيم ضبط بالخطف من قبل قسم الشرطة الشرقي في مدينة طرطوس فور حصوله.

October 30th, 2012, 12:05 am

 

Ghufran said:

Jirmanah is important to the rebels’ plan to attack Damascus but the town’s Druz leaders refused to accommodate the rebels despite 3 meetings that ended up with nothing but a decision by Liwaa Fath Al-Islam to punish the town which is composed mostly of Druz and Christians with a smaller presence of Iraqis, Alawites and other groups.
There is little doubt about who detonated car bombs in Jirmanah in the summer and during Eid, most residents point fingers at Fath Al-Islam. The FSA is going nowhere until it cleans its ranks and get rid of foreign fighters who are responsible for most of suicide attacks and many atrocities, until this is done, nobody in or outside Damascus ,with few exceptions, will open their doors to a violent group that is dominated by strangers with long beards and a funny non Syrian accent ( some do not even speak Arabic).

October 30th, 2012, 12:06 am

 

Syrian said:

اتهمت لجان العمل الوطني الديمقراطي المعارضة في منطقة جرمانا الشبيحة و السلطات بالوقوف خلف التفجير الذي اودى بحياة حوالي 15 شخصا وجرح حوالي 60 في حصيلة اولية لمصادر طبية وعدد من السكان .
http://all4syria.info/Archive/57793

October 30th, 2012, 12:20 am

 

syria no kandahar said:

108
very sound analysis….but i thing the 2 candidates for the coptic pope seat are behind it ? you know your Alaarorists and
Binladen friends dont do these kind of things.. Can you call your friend Ayman Abdulnoor and ask him? you see the coptic to be bishops were five candidstes,now we have only 3 !! you know why?
the other 2 decided to do the Jermana Jihadists fireball and get the 144 virgins(combined).

October 30th, 2012, 1:05 am

 

Syrian said:

109
That is Ayman Abdelnoor analysis,who I’m sure you know is a Christain and an ex friend of Bashar, so call him and ask him yourself
And by the way, why are most of your you tubes video are old ones, is the vanishing of your electronic army the reason for it?

October 30th, 2012, 1:43 am

 

JUergen said:

Homs requiem

October 30th, 2012, 1:57 am

 

Syria no Kandahar said:

Christians can be stupid too.
As far as exposing your wahabists friends being late and not up to date…my apology.

October 30th, 2012, 1:59 am

 

William Scott Scherk said:

Mr “I am too lazy/special/busy to provide URL links” at 105 selected only the recommendations collated from 29 Alawite Syrians in the survey he notes.

The rest of the story (as published at The-Syrian.com) is extremely interesting and contains hope for the aftermath of revolution. Although the number of respondents is small, there is a range of opinion that I found surprising. The notion that Alawites stand by Assad and the regime is not supported in the survey.

Since few folks in the commentaries here will identify themselves as Alawite, and while this kind of small snapshot is not indicative, perhaps it can engender some discussion.

It troubles me that so few of the participants here share their visions of the world to come. If those Alawites who do not support Assad’s conduct in the war could have their voices heard (and not ignored or discounted), their fears heard, their humanity respected as individuals, a small bridge can be crossed.

It is a sort of shame that bullying (questions and mockery) can so easily drive ZOO from posting here. I had never known that ZOO was sensitive to human suffering, and now that we see he is suffering from fear (of words, of questions, of Aboud/Amjad), perhaps we can have some empathy for him in his lonely exile in Montreal. To think that only the fearsome Homeless Maoist MINA will battle through fear to post …

As for this example of Mr Lazybones’ persistent dark pessimism:

None of [the recommendations] appeals to a lot of anti regime people who still believe that the only way out is to crush the army,regime forces and everybody who stands in the way

Lazy G’s judgement here is in line with his algebra of war (both sides EQUALLY awful), but is not borne out by the opinions of all the Alawites in the survey (or ‘focus group’); it is a credit to Lazy that he continues to put forward his dire imaginings. They are slightly more realistic than that of SyriaNoSunni, who foresees only an apocalypse.

But in the end, how would we know what ‘a lot of anti-regime people’ believe about the survey and the items of recommendation? Maybe the report (via TARA) of the forthcoming detailed ‘day after/day before’ planning by the assembled ‘anti-regime’ could provide a margin of optimism for the gentleman.

I note finally that our Aboud is no enemy of Alawites, and no enemy of peace and co-existence between the sects. Indeed, in one of his latest tweets he says this:

For the first time, I’m beginning to understand that maybe the fear minorities in #Syria have may not be irrational after all

October 30th, 2012, 2:20 am

 

Mina said:

I think it is really annoying to see someone like Ghufran being given moral lessons by a Reaganist like WSS (I just mention this from Googling you a year ago and looking at your different sites). Apart from the infos Ghufran and Zoo are giving (Ann is also going through a mix of sources, some ridiculous and some not, which I am grateful to her to browse for me in order to get a sump-up), we are left with calls for bloodshed and social network rumours (what was it yesterday? that Syria had bombed all over Turkey?).
2 months ago, when I asked “how do you see the day after Bashar leaves” (as if it was Bashar the problem, and not Maher), there was almost no answers.

WSS has explained his political positions and wanted everybody to give a short biography from the very start of the Syrian demos. Instead, he got better, being given access to all our emails during the time he was moderating the comments.
Although I respect Joshua, I think it is really an ethical mistake, and I will join Zoo in waiting for the next revolution, one that will start from ethical principles and not from calls such as “Bashar has always been a Zionist agent” and “the Shiites are Satan worshippers” (which I have heard from the mouth of friends who participated in the first demos: Dara and Hamidiyye).

By the way, WSS, please read carefully (as I told you before when you were believing the raving of the so-called Lesbian girl of Damascus): Ghufran wrote “the full text is available on their site” i. e. he didn’t want to paste 30 paragraphs, because people here have been complaining of difficulties for reading on their phones. Anybody who uses this site knows a bit of algebra and how to use Google, so it is not out of reach to find the websites used by Ghufran. Unless of course you are interested in the private Facebook pages he is using…

I’ll add that not many on this thread has been willing to discuss the topic offered by Joshua Landis in his post above: neighbouring Iraq. Before, mentionning Iraq woud be followed with the usual pro-regime and not the topic accusations. But I still don’t know why a year ago and why now, the Syrian people, even though they are and have been loathed with their mukhabarats for years, would happily sign up for becoming the next Iraq or the next Afghanistan. Now that they have already turned into that, it is no longer than they have a choice of course. So what can we hope but to find a way towards peace? Indeed the minorities have to be comforted, something that the Gulf seems not to interested about.

October 30th, 2012, 4:36 am

 

Warren said:

Jordan’s jihadists drawn to Syria conflict

In less than a month, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, Baqaa, has witnessed two funerals for jihadists killed in Syria.

They were among dozens who flocked into Syria to fight against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Since the Syrian armed uprising began – after months of peaceful protest – jihadists aiming to establish an Islamic state by violent means started to show their presence in the country.

The jihadists are largely travelling to Syria from neighbouring countries, including Jordan.

Last February, al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called on militants in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to rise up and support what he called “their brothers in Syria”.

Abu Muhammad al-Tahawi, a prominent Jordanian jihadist ideologue, told the BBC that “jihad in Syria is obligatory for any able Muslim in order to help his brothers there.”

It seems that the conflict in Syria is affecting Jordan and other neighbouring countries, and jihadists could be a major component of it, similar to Iraq after the US invasion in 2003.

On 20 October, the authorities in Jordan said they had arrested 11 militants alleged to have planned attacks on Western diplomats and shopping centres in the capital, Amman.

Government spokesman Samih Maayta said the suspects had brought weapons from Syria, and al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq had helped them manufacture explosives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20127959

__________________________________________________________________

These are the type of people that fill the ranks of the Fundamentalist Sunni Army. Rabid radical salafis hell bent, in establishing a Sunni dictatorship. The FSA and their supporters have one agenda: seizing power for their Sunni co-religionists!

October 30th, 2012, 5:31 am

 

Albo said:

“I note finally that our Aboud is no enemy of Alawites, and no enemy of peace and co-existence between the sects. Indeed, in one of his latest tweets he says this:”

______

Yep Scott one-sided Scherk, nice tweet indeed, let’s write off the herd of elephants in the room, ie his comments in the previous post:

“Heck, I’m not a religious hardliner, but I can see how certain segments of Syrian society on the coast could benefit from stricter religious morales to balance the unrestrained whorishness of some people.

And I haven’t even begun to say what we are going to do to anyone caught with that idiotic “Sword of Ali” necklace around their neck. Proud to be publicly identified as a shabih? Let’s see what the Ayatollahs will do for you when you’re reduced to working as a feudal peasant like the days of yore. The good old days.”

among countless other sectarian insults, and promising us Chechen, Pakis and Afghans.
In fact Scherk you have double standards. I wonder what would be your stance if an American southerner said “Let’s see what the Yankees will do for you n*ggers when you’re reduced to working in the plantations like the days of yore. The good old days.”

October 30th, 2012, 5:46 am

 

Warren said:

-15

Salafi Lover as expected no word of condemnation of your co-religionists latest crime. Instead you make the specious argument that Nigerian Islamic authorities value development instead of the imposition of Sharia law. Considering how taqqiyya to kaffirs is an integral component of sunna beliefs and the fact that Boko Haram continue to commit massacres unabated. One must be extremely sceptical and not accept at face value the communiqué of Nigerian islamic authorities. Murdering “kaffirs” is the modus operandi of all sunni islamists groups worldwide!

Salafi Lover, what Christian tenets do I not understand and follow? Criticizing and exposing Sunni taqqiyyas like you? Does the bible prohibit me from condemning and confronting the barbarism of salafism?

Middle Eastern Christians submitted to and accepted Dhimmi status yet they continue to be murdered and oppressed. Middle East Christians have avoided participating in politics for fear of offending their thin-skinned and inferiority complex driven Sunni neighbours. Yet both sunni Arab nationalists & islamists continue to vilify Mid-East Christians as “western agents against the ummah” and persecute them!

The West has done little to protect Middle East Christians for fear of antagonizing sunni supremacist thugs like you, it’s about time Western Christians confront Sunni bigots and put them in their place!

October 30th, 2012, 6:00 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

What the worshipers, fool-cheering fence sitters, and doomsday soothsayers fail miserably at is to recognize the dynamic and bifurcating nature of the revolution and the impact the regime and its supporters have on the direction it takes. What the day after -the-fool looks like depends on when and how does the fool falls and on how long can he continue his belligerence and crimes against Syria and Syrians, aided by people like those we read (in disgust) here at SC. Simply, the longer you resist removing the cancerous Assad and his regime, the worst is Syria’s prognosis of survival.

So Assad fans, Syria had a malignant tumor called assad regime, it was discovered, but you called the doctors names, and never listened to them, you even advocated killing them when they proposed chemo-therapy and went on tantrum after tantrum calling the cancer muscles and the doctors ignorant. Now if Syria dies at the hands of the assad-cancer, which keeps destroying its infrastructure (and if you deny that you would not be a fool only but an ugly liar), killing its people, and brutalizing them there is no one but you, his partners in crime to blame. This is what you wanted, at the comfort of your cozy bunkers. Curse you to eternity.

October 30th, 2012, 6:02 am

 
 

Warren said:

Al-Qaeda Songs Praising 9/11 Sung by Saudi Jihadis in anti-Assad Demonstration in Syria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jy_yN-tRT8

__________________________________________________________________

Sunnis of the FSA, singing songs for peace & tolerance! lol

October 30th, 2012, 6:14 am

 

Warren said:

Car bomb attacks in Syria are targeting Christian neighborhoods and Churches

Monday, October 29. A car bomb exploded in Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus killing11 people and injuring more than 60 people according to the state-run TV, and Syrian officials. The blast damaged apartment buildings and shops in this Christian and Druze neighborhood.

Over the weekend, His Beatitude Ignatius Zakka of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus confirmed that a car bomb attack severely damaged an Orthodox Church in the eastern town of Deir Ezzor in Syria, injuring people in a restaurant located in the front of a Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This church had been previously vandalized and looted by armed rebels.

Agenzia Fides informed that the Council of Damascene Catholic Bishops expressed their condolences for the “brutal murder,” of Father Fady Haddad whose body was found on October 25. He was the parish priest of St. Elias Orthodox Church in Qatana, Damascus. Father Haddad was kidnapped with another intermediary and killed trying to negotiate a ransom for one of his parishioners who was being held by an armed group. His captors asked 50 million Syrian pounds (around US $ 710737.56).

http://www.examiner.com/article/car-bomb-attacks-syria-are-targeting-christian-neighborhoods-and-churches

October 30th, 2012, 6:22 am

 

Citizen said:

FSA Terrorists Admit on Camera to Bombing Civilian Areas in Homs Loyal to Assad During Ceasefire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tum3BQ2LTI
This video footage taken from October 26, 2012 shows a group of “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) terrorists called the “Thoo an-Noureen” Brigade fighting in Homs, where its ‘robe & sandal’ wearing leader clearly states that they do not abide by any ceasefire no matter what, in reference to the Eid al-Adha ceasefire that both the Syrian government and the Syrian National Council (SNC) agreed to. The group also openly admits that it is targeting with its mortar rounds civilian areas that are loyal to the Syrian government.

October 30th, 2012, 6:47 am

 

Citizen said:

US WORLD ELECTION 2012 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY POP CULTURE
Indonesia: Suspects planned attack on US Embassy
11 people have been arrested on suspicion of planning terror attacks on the US Embassy and other sites.
http://news.msn.com/world/indonesia-suspects-planned-attack-on-us-embassy/

October 30th, 2012, 6:50 am

 

Warren said:

-55 Amjad the salafi sophist

“The fact is, not a single massacre of pro-regimists has occurred anywhere in Syria, a fact confirmed by the ICG reports and Time magazine. The resident Islamophobe, desperate for evidence of revo “atrocities”, has to resort to digging up stuff from Africa.”
Read this cretin!

Sourece: Human Rights Watch –

Armed opposition groups have subjected detainees to ill-treatment and torture and committed extrajudicial or summary executions in Aleppo, Latakia, and Idlib, Human Rights Watch said today following a visit to Aleppo governorate. Torture and extrajudicial or summary executions of detainees in the context of an armed conflict are war crimes, and may constitute crimes against humanity if they are widespread and systematic.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/17/syria-end-opposition-use-torture-executions
__________________________________________________________________

Once again I expose your lies; you are a pathetic sunni taqqiyya and propagandist. Sodomy is what you salafis practice that is why you live in Wahhabistan, the gay mecca of the world!

Saudi gays flaunt new freedoms: ‘Straights can’t kiss in public or hold hands like us’

In the glass and marble shopping malls of this cosmopolitan and comparatively laid-back city on the Red Sea, young Saudi Arabian men are taking advantage of the emergence of an increasingly tolerated Western-oriented gay scene.

In the glass and marble shopping malls of this cosmopolitan and comparatively laid-back city on the Red Sea, young Saudi Arabian men are taking advantage of the emergence of an increasingly tolerated Western-oriented gay scene.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-gays-flaunt-new-freedoms-straights-cant-kiss-in-public-or-hold-hands-like-us-570584.html
__________________________________________________________________

The Kingdom in the Closet

Sodomy is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, but gay life flourishes there. Why it is “easier to be gay than straight” in a society where everyone, homosexual and otherwise, lives in the closet

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/the-kingdom-in-the-closet/305774/

__________________________________________________________________

Amjad you passive now run off and get buggered by salafi dom five times a day! lol

October 30th, 2012, 6:54 am

 

Warren said:

War crimes by Syrian rebels must be condemned too

The US and Britain must make it clear that human rights abuses by Syrian rebels will endanger the support of the west

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/10/human-rights-abuses-syrias-regime-condemned

October 30th, 2012, 7:05 am

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

“and may constitute crimes against humanity if they are widespread and systematic.”

*if*. *if* they are widespread. *if*. Dude, your entire life centers around proving that Muslims are savage animals, and that is the best you could come up with? Seriously, that’s just so…fail. Sadder than the UFO nut who after 50 years of sitting outside Area-51 had nothing more to show for his obsession than a pic of an upside down Frisbee with the words “Alien Space Craft” stenciled on it…in English no less 🙂

With all your gay references, I think people here are getting a clearer idea on the source of your pain and torment vis a vis Jihadis. I’m guessing they weren’t too gentle with you hehehe.

October 30th, 2012, 7:25 am

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

“it’s about time Western Christians confront Sunni bigots and put them in their place!”

Pffft, with the current wimp of a president you got in the White House? Obama is such a weakling he doesn’t have the guts to chase a spider out of the bedroom. He is spineless, weak, afraid of confrontation, and the perfect half-man for Putin and the Ayatollahs to posture against.

Get this through your abused-as-a-child-by-Jihadis-head of yours. Al-Qaeda could be burning Christians on live TV, and your tant of a president would find every excuse under the sun to look the other way and not lift a finger. Such is how a superpower loses its influence, with the weakness and timidity of its political elite.

Rely on Russia, and you get veto cover and cluster bombs to kill civilians. Rely on the USA, and you get a weakling of a POTUS who would gladly give up his watch, wedding ring and his wife’s jewelry if accosted by a thug. And this is the man you think is going to exact retribution for the ass-pounding you got at the hands of the Jihadis? Hehehehe.

October 30th, 2012, 7:35 am

 

Albo said:

“What the worshipers, fool-cheering fence sitters, and doomsday soothsayers fail miserably at is to recognize the dynamic and bifurcating nature of the revolution and the impact the regime and its supporters have on the direction it takes. What the day after -the-fool looks like depends on when and how does the fool falls and on how long can he continue his belligerence and crimes against Syria and Syrians, aided by people like those we read (in disgust)

So Assad fans, Syria had a malignant tumor called assad regime, it was discovered, but you called the doctors names, and never listened to them, you even advocated killing them when they proposed chemo-therapy and went on tantrum after tantrum calling the cancer muscles and the doctors ignorant. Now if Syria dies at the hands of the assad-cancer, which keeps destroying its infrastructure (and if you deny that you would not be a fool only but an ugly liar), killing its people, and brutalizing them there is no one but you, his partners in crime to blame. This is what you wanted, at the comfort of your cozy bunkers. Curse you to eternity.”

Disgust, curse? Be certain that the feeling is mutual
Irritated said it best, when he insisted that things don’t happen in a void. The kind of regime Syria had, can only grow in the kind of society your side insist on keeping, one where people keep outdated feelings of medieval privilege and are content with extreme social backwardness, as I outlined in the previous posts and we can see everywhere in your “revolution”.
As such this not a revolution anyway as the New York Review of Books titled, not with such regressive aims, but also simply because it has devolved into civil war, as all serious observers noted long ago.

October 30th, 2012, 7:35 am

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

“The kind of regime Syria had, can only grow in the kind of society your side insist on keeping, one where people keep outdated feelings of medieval privilege and are content with extreme social backwardness”

Of all the rubbish and ridiculous crackpot social theories, this one really ranks up there. It is perfectly common to have an enlightened and educated general populace that is ruled over by a bunch of primitive savage thugs, who got to their position by virtue of their savagery.

The people of Iran are just one example. The people of Eastern Europe proved they were ready for democracy, and overnight created pluralistic societies. Or were they “socially backwards” and intent on notions of “medieval privilege” (whatever that’s supposed to mean), and yet overnight became politically sophisticated?

When the gap between the politically and social aspirations between the ruled and rulers becomes too great, you see a revolution. That is what we are seeing in Syria, a general populace that have proven themselves magnificent citizen reporters, organizers, resilient in the face of unrivaled savagery, while the regime and their Qurdahan Sword of Ali Wearing apes have shown that they are still stuck in the 70s in their outlook on life and how they regard the social contract between the governed and governors.

What delightful hypocrisy. Batta is a man who is getting unlimited support from Hizboll-shaytan, the world’s worst sectarian terrorist outfit, and the Iranian theocracy, the world’s biggest exporters of terrorism, and yet you people get your panties in a wade over a few hundred Libyans. I hope they like seaside property, because alot of the villages and towns on the coast are gonna become very empty after this revolution, and will need to be filled up.

October 30th, 2012, 7:48 am

 

Visitor said:

Talk about so-called rights of minorities in Syria?

Forget it. Minorities by in large have made up their minds. They either supported the thugs or kept silent. Few have come out in the open and supported the Revolution. These will be treated as full citizen with the same rights as everyone. Those who kept silent or supported the thugs have made conscious choices. In life, you always pay for choices you make.

October 30th, 2012, 8:24 am

 

Syrialover said:

WARREN #117

As the saying goes, your comments on Nigeria etc indicate you know little and are interested in even less.

What you seem oblivious to, is that your aggressive “political Christianity” is the precise mirror image of Salafist extremism.

You ask what Christian tenets you are betraying. Why not print out your abusive, intolerant and ill-informed comments here and take them along to the nearest mainstream Christian Church. I think you will be offered “counselling” to put it kindly.

You said:”it’s about time Western Christians confront Sunni bigots and put them in their place”

It’s likely your style of bigotry presents an equal-sized headache to them.

October 30th, 2012, 8:40 am

 

Visitor said:

If I get to know Warren’s full name, I’ll make sure he/she’ll be arrested and put in a maximum security Toronto jail for a long time to rot. I will pay all the legal fees with no limits whatsoever. I am thinking of even ‘bribing’ this blog’s admin to reveal his/her contact info.

October 30th, 2012, 9:32 am

 

Syrialover said:

MINA #114,

You are now in malevolent mischief mode as well as malice.

Meanwhile parading a massive insulting ignorance (deliberate?) of what the Syrian conflict is actually about.

You claim your “Syrian friends” who particpated in the original peaceful demonstrations did so because they believed “Bashar has always been a Zionist agent” and “the Shiites are Satan worshippers.”

And you pronounce: “I still don’t know why a year ago and why now, the Syrian people…would happily sign up for becoming the next Iraq or the next Afghanistan”

Poor Syrians. Even bigger idiots than you have said they are before! You might like to tell us more about your knowledge of their options and what their motive is for pushing back against Assad.

But hey, here’s the kicker, and one which exposes you as a hoaxer, “Mina-on-a-mission”, or just someone with an emotionally unbalanced virulent contempt for the people of Syria and the Middle East:

“I will join ZOO in waiting for the next revolution, one that will start from ethical principles”

October 30th, 2012, 9:41 am

 

Uzair8 said:

Posted on Yalla Souriya at 4:20 am on October 30, 2012:

Abdullah‏@SyrianSmurf

During Eid, a relief organization gathered many orphaned children in a school and gave them all bags with toys and money and school supplies. The children were happy but didn’t go crazy and rip them open or anything. Which tells us that they weren’t always poor. Then they sang “Jannah Ya Watanna” to the kids. After that all the kids teared up and started to cry…

http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/abdullah%e2%80%8fsyriansmurf-during-eid-a-relief-organization-gathered-many/

October 30th, 2012, 9:49 am

 

jna said:

MINA #114 Smart analysis, glad to see your commentary.

132. Visitor… Don’t you have something better to do than pathetic threats on SC? Maybe you and Amjad could start a club?

October 30th, 2012, 9:59 am

 

Syrialover said:

HAMSTER #118,

I am reminded of the insights Maysaloon offered on the Big Liars, their toxic goals and the need for constant weed control measures. Their motives and approach are not there by default, but are by choice primitive, dirty and irrational.

http://www.maysaloon.org/2012/10/the-philosophy-of-tyranny.html

October 30th, 2012, 10:00 am

 

Visitor said:

JNA 135

Go and learn proper procedures then come back and offer your stupid advice.

This is not a threat. This is a legal procedure. He/she can fight it in court as I will.

October 30th, 2012, 10:04 am

 

Syrialover said:

JNA #135

“Analysis” by MINA – hilarious!

Looks like you are passengers on the same mission. Pity for you the wheels never got properly attached and steering wheel is a fake one.

October 30th, 2012, 10:06 am

 

Uzair8 said:

LOL.

See video in tweet:

Partisangirl ‏@Partisangirl
I’m appearing on the insight program @InsightSBS debating against NATO’s Muslim brotherhood puppets, here is a taste…

https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/263196290953916416

October 30th, 2012, 10:06 am

 

Uzair8 said:

138. Syrialover

‘Pity for you the wheels never got properly attached and steering wheel is a fake one.’

LOL.

October 30th, 2012, 10:12 am

 

Uzair8 said:

Last comment for now.

The following quote is excellent. Came across it while scrolling down Amjad’s twitter. I know he showed interest in sharing it too but it’s been a couple of days now. I thought It really was worth sharing:

Abdul Aziz Al-Sibaai ‏@AAzizAlSibaai
The Assad regime managed to abide by a ceasefire with Israel for 40 years, but not even an hour with his own people.

https://twitter.com/AAzizAlSibaai/status/262634019978633218

October 30th, 2012, 10:22 am

 

jna said:

138. Syrialover….

Well, I think you wear blinders.

October 30th, 2012, 10:29 am

 

jna said:

137. Visitor said:

You had written: I’ll make sure he/she’ll be arrested and put in a maximum security Toronto jail for a long time to rot.

You are right that this is not a real threat but I am right that yours is a pathetic threat.

October 30th, 2012, 10:35 am

 

Tara said:

I have not read anything smart said by Mina, let along analysis..

October 30th, 2012, 10:38 am

 

Visitor said:

JNA 143,

So, you’re retracting your earlier comment.

Now, that shows HOW PATHETIC YOU REALY ARE.

OK, go and learn English and then come back.

Or may be you and camouflaged MINA can spend more time together and do some more of your pathetic analyses. You’ll be match made in heaven.

October 30th, 2012, 11:00 am

 

Visitor said:

Another thug bites the dust….Good riddance,

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/30/246696.html

And special thanks to Turkey.

October 30th, 2012, 11:42 am

 

Albo said:

“Of all the rubbish and ridiculous crackpot social theories, this one really ranks up there. It is perfectly common to have an enlightened and educated general populace that is ruled over by a bunch of primitive savage thugs, who got to their position by virtue of their savagery.

The people of Iran are just one example. The people of Eastern Europe proved they were ready for democracy, and overnight created pluralistic societies. Or were they “socially backwards” and intent on notions of “medieval privilege” (whatever that’s supposed to mean), and yet overnight became politically sophisticated?

When the gap between the politically and social aspirations between the ruled and rulers becomes too great, you see a revolution. That is what we are seeing in Syria, a general populace that have proven themselves magnificent citizen reporters, organizers, resilient in the face of unrivaled savagery, while the regime and their Qurdahan Sword of Ali Wearing apes have shown that they are still stuck in the 70s in their outlook on life and how they regard the social contract between the governed and governors.

What delightful hypocrisy. Batta is a man who is getting unlimited support from enlightened and educated general populace that is ruled over by a, the world’s worst sectarian terrorist outfit, and the Iranian theocracy, the world’s biggest exporters of terrorism, and yet you people get your panties in a wade over a few hundred Libyans. I hope they like seaside property, because alot of the villages and towns on the coast are gonna become very empty after this revolution, and will need to be filled up.

”

And look who’s talking. The Syrian population can’t be compared to Eastern Europeans, and probably not even to Iranians. And these populations became educated, “sophisticated” -including an increase of tertiary enrollment-, precisely during their phase of authoritarian rule. Liberal democracy emerges and functions when the population is ready for it, Mussolini and Hitler came to power because their bourgeoise class were young (like their nations) and hadn’t a refined political culture to maintain parlementarism. Economic crises also help. Other dictatures emerge usually when the middle class is rather small or non-existent (eastern europe of yore), or as in many thirld world countries.
And why did I say that about Syria? Because it has people like you, simple as that, you track record of intolerance and bigotry is already famous in here.
And it’s funny you ask what medieval privilege would mean, when I had just quoted that gem of yours in the previous post. You have fully demonstrated you know very well what the “good old days” were all about.

Quite a wonderful posting style you have, indeed. Rants like “Qurdahan Sword of Ali Wearing apes” are to be found under a veneer of rousseauism “social contract between the governed and governors,” Bullsh*t. Well that made my day, at least.

I know you need to remind us every post your rabid dreams of ethnic cleansing, like you did in your last paragraph here, but that will not come to pass, my friend, keep dreaming.
I see that primeval social order of Saudi Arabia, their superb “culture” of narrow-minded goat-herders made an impression on you. Get it through your head that Syria will *never* be reshaped along theses lines.

October 30th, 2012, 1:09 pm

 

ghufran said:

مجموعة ارهابية مسلحة تغتال اللواء الطيار عبد الله محمود الخالدي في حي ركن الدين في دمشق
those of you who think that they can fool readers, Syrian or not,about the true nature of the conflict in Syria today are only kidding themselves, there was a period when anti regime people were mostly peaceful protestors, that period did not last long after the regime used excessive and unjustified force against its opponents, then Islamist thugs joined this bloody dance and the happy trio (TQS) entered the circus running on four legs and made things much worse. most of what is left of the opposition now is assassination squads, violent gang rings, internet Jihadists and accidental politicians living abroad playing catch up with the rebels while giving interviews and practicing Nidaal by attending conferences at expensive hotels. without a formula that takes exclusion and revenge off the table no solution will be found in the near future. A good friend from a prominent Sunni family said it best:
1. kick every foreign fighter out, those who stay and continue to carry arms and fight must be dealt with force.
2. Assad must leave his post with a date agreed on through negotiation,and until that day comes,he should not take part of national reconciliation talks.
3. the campaign to destroy what is left of the state’s institutions and the army should stop and be replaced with a program to reform the army and protect Syria’s infrastructure assets.
4. demand that the FSA restores order in the areas they occupy and prevent looting and violent crimes (something the FSA failed to do)

October 30th, 2012, 1:17 pm

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

Uzair8, thanks for posting that. Everytime I wanted to use it I kept forgetting to make a note of who originally said it.

JNA

“Maybe you and Amjad could start a club?”

Funny you should mention clubs. In Assadstan, any gathering of more than a few people needed the mukhabarat’s permission. This includes weddings and parties for high school graduation. The only social club permitted under Batta were the “tala’e3 el Baath”. Like all third world dictatorships, this replaced the more common Scouts and Boy Scouts. “Secular” and “liberal” LOL! A hereditary republic where the Scout movement is banned, seriously how do you people not die of shame when defending this system.

In post-Batta Syria, people can form social clubs at will, without needing a stinky mukhabarat thug looking over their shoulder. The only exception will be the former shabihas and pro-regime areas of Homs, Mazi 86 and the coast. Sadly, these people just cannot be trusted not to take advantage of the liberal and free nature of a free-Syria, to plot its destruction.

Syrian Hamster will be able to form a “Friends of Furry and Cuddly Animals” club and no one will have any right to question him. But pro-Assad shabihas will have key logging software permanently installed on any laptop they use, and if they are caught using any computer without said software, they will be punished by law accordingly. Think of it as an ankle tracking device, only instead of for pedophiles, for enablers of war crimes.

October 30th, 2012, 1:30 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

So who turned out to keep sectarian, backward thinking friends?
If a so called friend of mine says “the Shiites are Satan worshipers”, here is what would happen, in addition to prompt dismissal from the furry cuddly animal’s club:

1. Blocked from all social media interactions
2. Delete records from address book (email, phone, and other contacts)
3. Ignore any other communication attempts, including hostile vengeful ones

To make it even clearer to log-heads around here, such person will not even make it to my list of friends. What can i do, I subscribe to backward society, and the above are only some of my medieval privileges I am hellbent on keeping.

And by the way, bozos, when you see the fool assad next time you visit him as “Expat dignitaries”, tell the fool that life is a right, not a privilege his mafia family can bestow on or take from people. However, you may also tell him that he and his gangs have forfeited this right.

October 30th, 2012, 1:42 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

SYRIALOVER @ 78
Thank you, thank you for the video. Must be an old one for I no longer live in a Cage. All hamsters broke out of the cage in March 2011, (i did far earlier). The fool and his love-struck spoiled brats, think that they can put us back in a cage. The ba*ds have killed many pigeons and birds trying to put everyone back in the cage. They even released SKUNKS and many vultures to force us back.
But they will not succeed.

October 30th, 2012, 2:14 pm

 

Albo said:

Well Hamster, you must feel lonely, very lonely here. Why is that you don’t open it when people spout such offences day in day out here, including a few posts above? Are you afraid, or not sincere?

For some reason, the website didn’t register my answer to Amjad, I’ll repost it soon.

October 30th, 2012, 3:04 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Why do batta fans think that they have deductive faculties? and yet fail to deduce his its inevitable demise!

October 30th, 2012, 3:10 pm

 

Warren said:

Qatar urged to free poet Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami

Human rights groups have urged Qatar to free a poet detained last year for what they say was peaceful criticism.

Mohammed al-Ajami is reported to be facing a secret trial on charges of “inciting to overthrow the ruling system” and “insulting the emir”.

The case against him is said to be based on a poem he wrote in 2010 which criticises Sheikh Hamad Al Thani.

But activists believe the authorities were angered by a 2011 poem he wrote about authoritarian rule in the region.

In the poem Tunisian Jasmine, which he recited and then uploaded to the internet in January 2011, Mr Ajami expressed his support for the uprising in the North African state, saying: “We are all Tunisia in the face of the repressive elite.”

He also denounced “all Arab governments” as “indiscriminate thieves”.

Mr Ajami, also known as Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb, had previously recited a poem that criticised Qatar’s emir and was posted online in August 2010.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20135226

October 30th, 2012, 3:15 pm

 

Warren said:

Russia, Turkey negotiating return of cargo seized from Syrian plane

Moscow and Ankara are negotiating the return of 12 boxes with radar spare parts seized from board of the Syrian Airbus A320 flying from Moscow to Damascus, according to a source cited by Russian daily Kommersant.

“We are negotiating now, but the cargo might not be returned. The Turkish authorities refused to give any note of the seized cargo to the Syrian pilot,” the source said.

At the same time a source close to the Russian Service for Military and Technical Cooperation has confirmed that they would insist on return of the seized cargo to its manufacturer.

According to Voice of Russia, Russian arms exporters have branded the Turkish authorities’ claims that they had found ammunition aboard the Syrian airliner that was en route from Moscow to Damascus and forced to land at Ankara airport Wednesday, night as a provocation.

This came in a statement in an interview with the Interfax news agency by a high-ranking official of a Russian arms-exporting agency.

He was commenting on the recent statement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, who claimed that the Syrian airliner, which was made to land at Ankara airport, was carrying ammunition from Moscow to Damascus.

The Russian official did not rule out that the airliner may have carried some radio electronic equipment that posed no threat and was transported on a perfectly legal basis.

The Russian Rosoboronexport agency and the Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation confirmed earlier that they had sent no equipment to Syria by that particular plane.

http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2012/10/30/rf-turkey/

October 30th, 2012, 3:22 pm

 

Warren said:

Facts and lies about Turkey vs. Syria

For Turkey, this was always going to be a difficult game of manipulation on a global scale. Unsurprisingly, it is getting harder and harder by the day.

It was even enormously problematic in the start. How would Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan convince Turkish and world public opinion that he had nothing but humanitarian concern in pushing for war with Syria when he had befriended the Butcher of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, helped the American invasion of Iraq in which more than one million Muslims were killed, and carefully avoided uttering one single word on the brutal oppression of pro-democracy Shia masses in Bahrain?

Recently, Mr. Erdoğan claimed that “tens of hundreds of people are being killed every day in Syria.” Mathematically speaking, that makes at least a thousand deaths on a daily basis, or at least 30,000 in one month, or at least 360,000 in a year. If the prime minister is so keen to condemn such a large death toll he can always read a recent history of Sudan or Iraq.

More recently, Mr. Erdoğan claimed that “ammunition and arms equipment” were found in the cargo on board the Syrian passenger aircraft that Turkish fighter jets intercepted last week. In all probability the confiscated cargo looks like it was only carrying radar equipment, unless of course the Turkish authorities “mistakenly added” a few items to it. That would be a dangerous move, though, since it might expose several Turkish Airlines planes flying over, say, Russian or Iranian airspace, to the risk of being grounded. It would not be too surprising if Russian and Iranian security officials made a habit of “finding” ammunition and military equipment bound to reach al-Qaeda.

Suppose the equipment found on the Syrian aircraft is genuinely “military,” but then, where is the ammunition the prime minister claimed had been found aboard?

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu keeps on saying that “[on Syria] Turkey has acted in line with the international community,” without specifying who the “international community” really is. We understand that nearly 3.5 billion Russians, Chinese, Indians, Iranians and Brazilians don’t count as the “international community.”

The foreign minister’s oft-repeated rhetoric that Turkey “sides with the Syrian people” is equally unconvincing. Who, really, are the Syrian people? The 30,000 killed by the al-Assad regime plus the 250,000 who have fled the regime’s atrocities? Who, then, are the 21,720,000 people who don’t fight or have not fled? Are they Martians disguised as Syrians? And why do millions of Syrians choose not to join the “Syrian people?”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/facts-and-lies-about-turkey-vs-syria.aspx?pageID=449&nID=32581&NewsCatID=398

October 30th, 2012, 3:27 pm

 

Albo said:

“152. SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Why do batta fans think that they have deductive faculties? and yet fail to deduce his its inevitable demise!”

So Hamster, are you insincere? You won’t escape this by making silly ad homs. Face your responsibilities.

October 30th, 2012, 3:48 pm

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

“For some reason, the website didn’t register my answer to Amjad, I’ll repost it soon.”

It must be the global “conthpirathy” that according to menhebakjis even Professor Landis is a member of.

Menhebakjis are claiming that Sandy was created by Syria and Iran to punish the USA. It really is very hard to have a discussion with people who live in their own reality distorted bubbles.

October 30th, 2012, 3:55 pm

 

Observer said:

http://www.champress.net/index.php?q=ar/Article/view/9882

I posted this already but will do so for it did not appear. this is for Hamster and Visitor and Amjad and Uzair and Tara but also for Majbali

The news report a delegation of regime officials in RNK to sign at least 10 agreements in the field of energy, electricity, agriculture, communications, culture, and others. This is the degree of isolation and delusion and utter depravity and desperation of the regime that it gives us the news from about conducting these agreements with a so called republic which is known for
1. Its starving population using archaic methods
2. Only one city has electricity and the satellite image shows a completely dark country
3. A cultural heritage made of stadium worship shows
4. A communications system that has a 24 hours a day radio installed in every househod that one cannot turn off spewing glorification of the regime’s leader
5. A justice system that punihed a military official with death by mortar bomb explosion for drinking during the period of mourning for the dear leader.

There must be a desperate attempt for more weapons and arms for the regime to go to RNK to sign 10 deals in such areas and how will it pay for it?

I truly wish for the pro regime trolls to have the courage to tell us what do they think of this depravity and insult to our intelligence. If the regime is of such a force of “resistance’ to the imperial hegemony as to sign 10 deals with the RNK then I would be losing sleep if I were the leader of the US or UK or France or Israel.

I do hope and pray that Athadistan separates from Syria and joins fully the RNK and have all of those adoring worshipers join the Republic of North Korea and Athadistan and get out of our life once and for all

October 30th, 2012, 4:05 pm

 

Albo said:

157

Go easy on the smuggled whiskey, Amjad.

October 30th, 2012, 4:20 pm

 

Albo said:

Observer, dealing with the RNK may be a sign of isolation, but they themselves are less and less isolated thanks to China becoming the world largest economic power.

Given the continual decline of Europe and the US, many countries are betting on the Shanghai cooperation organisation which has much brighter growth prospects. Countries that used to be isolated are increasingly finding alternatives, it’s true of Sudan, Iran or North Korea for that matter.

But you shoudn’t mock the RNK that much engineering a nuclear deterrent in complete autarky like they did isn’t a small feat for such a tiny nation.

October 30th, 2012, 4:31 pm

 

Tara said:

How about instead of killing Batta, exiling him and the family to Qatar? He can work as a driver  to HBJ and Asma can work for the same household in the domestic help department?

Qatar accuses Syrian government of genocide
By the CNN Wire Staff

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/30/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html

(CNN) – Syria’s government is waging “a war of extermination” against its own people, the prime minister of Qatar said Tuesday, according to state media, hours after a failed four-day ceasefire during a Muslim holiday left hundreds dead.

“What is happening in Syria is not a civil war but a genocide, a war of extermination with a license to kill by the Syrian government and the international community,” he said, according to the official Qatar News Agency.

October 30th, 2012, 4:53 pm

 

Jarthouma said:

Albo go easy on your limited intelligence. Their is only so much a fur ball in your head can take.

Hmm. Shall I start having fun with Albo? Out of curiously have you sent any half naked pics to your Duck God as well ? Wouldn’t want any more emails leaked with your hairy Tattoed ass ( with the lovely phrase ” I luv Duky” on it ) all over the newspapers

October 30th, 2012, 5:34 pm

 

Warren said:

Syria’s Crumbling Pluralism

A Christian doctor of Palestinian origin huddling with his family of four in a small room in one of the hotels was looking for a way out of the country: “My father came to Syria as a refugee,” he told me. “I made it my home. Now I am having to uproot my two young sons.”

His home, in Midan in southern Damascus, came under attack during an intense battle last week between the opposition Free Syrian Army and government forces. Midan is now officially a safe area, but hardly anyone believes that peace will endure.

Syria’s 2.3 million Christians, constituting about 10 percent of the country’s population, have generally known a more privileged existence under the Assad dynasty than even the Shiite Alawi sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs. Yet their allegiance to Assad was never absolute. Some Christians openly clamored for political change in the early months of the anti-government uprising. But as the rebellion became suffused with Sunni militants sympathetic to or affiliated with Al Qaeda, Christians recoiled.

A churchgoing Syrian told me that he used to see himself primarily as “Syrian” and that religious identity, in political terms, was an idea that never occurred to him — until an opposition gang attacked his family earlier this year in Homs. “It’s a label they pinned on us,” he said. “If their revolution is for everyone, as they keep insisting it is, why are Christians being targeted? It is because what they are waging is not a struggle for freedom, and it’s certainly not for everyone.”

As Saudi Arabian arms and money bolster the opposition, the 80,000 Christians who’ve been “cleansed” from their homes in Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan in Homs Province in March by the Free Syrian Army have gradually given up the prospect of ever returning home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/opinion/syrias-crumbling-pluralism.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1351634436-nnweSFveghI84ilMK36gHQ

October 30th, 2012, 6:05 pm

 

Albo said:

129 ”
Of all the rubbish and ridiculous crackpot social theories, this one really ranks up there. It is perfectly common to have an enlightened and educated general populace that is ruled over by a bunch of primitive savage thugs, who got to their position by virtue of their savagery.

The people of Iran are just one example. The people of Eastern Europe proved they were ready for democracy, and overnight created pluralistic societies.”

______________

So Amjad, your examples are *bad*. Most dictatures in eastern europe were imposed by an external power, the Soviet Union. And no, barring a few places like Czechoslovakia (the Czech part mostly), these countries were very underdeveloped and by large still agrarian before that. The “popular democracies”, were fake democracies, but at least these regimes put a high emphasis on education. So in fact, most of these coutries became “sophisticated”, including in their tertiary enrollment rates, throughout their authoritarian period. The irony is that it’s the same in Iran, and you should have known it, education and tertiary enrollment rates skyrocketed under the mullahs. In both examples, speaking of “an enlightened and educated general populace” beforehand don’t stand up to scrutiny.

Well let me help you. I would have chosen Italy or Germany instead, as they were much more developed countries when Mussolini and Hitler came to power. So how did that happen? Without going into the details, we can make the following observation: the modern form of democracy that prevails today in advanced coutries is liberal democracy. There is one single powerful factor that explains why such regimes were established in history: the development of a bourgeois class that necessarily comes with the development of the country. But a growing economic clout isn’t all, they need to develop a proper political culture to seize power and devise a political regime that best represents their interests. This succeeded in Great Britain, gradually, but was much more strained in imperial Germany, which simply remained a constitutional autocracy. After WWI, the Weimar Republic was established but Germany was a young nation, and wasn’t used to parlementarism. Its bourgeois class, like in Italy, another young nation, lacked political culture and couldn’t maintain the regime- while we must insist that liberal democracy *is* the best regime for such a class and its natural conclusion. On the other hand, economic crises, and the red, communist threat were aggravating factors. The German and Italian democracies weren’t strong enough to weather the dangers, while it was achieved in Britain and France who had longer, more established and more resilient political traditions. This is why political culture matters, something little ignorant Amjad calls “crackpot social theory”.

In most third world countries, the “middle class” (codename for the enlarged bourgeois class) is non-existent or small. Add to that the fact that most of the time it’s thoroughly lacking proper political culture. This is why there are so many dicatures, and when they are democracies they are dysfunctional and don’t improve people’s lives.

And you, Amjad, are an example of why the political culture in Syria is so backward and retarded. Syriacomment is filled with your sectarian insults, incitements to sectarian hatred and violence, dreams of ethnic cleansing. And you’re that person who can, in the same sentence write that bigoted peasant rant “Qurdahan Sword of Ali Wearing apes” and an almost rousseauist-like statement “the social contract between the governed and governors.”, which I must say made my day. Needless to say you don’t have a clue about enlightenment political philosophy, or wouldn’t believe one word of it given the rest of your narrow-minded stances, your claims to the contrary.
But I guess poorly assimilated concepts along Middle Ages bigotry could pass as wisdom in Saudi Arabia where you allegedly live.

October 30th, 2012, 6:08 pm

 

Albo said:

JARBOU3A

Don’t insult your betters. The fun will be mine.

October 30th, 2012, 6:16 pm

 

Warren said:

‘Syrian rebels have fight with Jews ahead of them’

Syria has accused the US, France and their allies in the Arab world of sabotaging peace efforts by supporting rebels with arms, money and mercenaries.

The country’s foreign minister delivered a fiery speech on the final day of the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, claims are emerging that some of the western-backed rebels – who also have the support of Israel – might try to target Jews if they manage to topple President Assad.

Journalist Kapil Komireddi uncovered some of the evidence supporting these claims.

October 30th, 2012, 6:23 pm

 

Warren said:

Is Pakistan a Failed State

Is Pakistan a failed state? Discussion with Michael Coren on The Arena on Sun News Network.

October 30th, 2012, 6:27 pm

 

Warren said:

Communal tensions simmer in Syria’s Aleppo

When asked what would change in a post-Assad Syria, fighters in Aleppo often say that they want an Islamic government and sharia law.

Abu Mahar, who claims to control 200 fighters, said any communal resentment was the work of regime propagandists, but went on to accuse Christians of not being true Syrians.

“Christians have no connection with the country,” he told AFP in a gym turned rebel base elsewhere in the city.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jCgc9fPjF1EiJZqaK1ECxuDEalcg?docId=CNG.637f406f5ee04f9d8cf0abf116385d85.761

October 30th, 2012, 6:38 pm

 

Warren said:

Islamic extremism in the UK, real or exaggerated?

Anglo-Indian journalist Kapil Komireddi discusses Islamic extremism in the UK with Michael Coren on the Arena on Sun News TV Canada

October 30th, 2012, 6:41 pm

 

Warren said:

India and Israel: a friendship deepened by prejudice

Today, India is Israel’s closest eastern ally and its largest arms market. Annual non-military bilateral trade alone exceeds $4.5bn. Since 2001, the diasporas of the two countries have emerged as energetic allies against a shared enemy: Islamic extremism. A survey by the Israeli foreign ministry in 2009 found India to be the most pro-Israel country in the world, well above the US. Once a bastion of pro-Palestinian sentiment, India recently appeared at the bottom in a worldwide poll of countries sympathetic to Palestinian statehood. Throw a stone in Panaji and it is likely to land on an Israeli backpacking through India after his post-mandatory service.

What precipitated this dramatic shift? Israel had all along been a quiet ally of New Delhi, volunteering clandestine support as India sought to repel attacks by China (in 1962) and Pakistan (in 1965). Israeli officials knew also that India, which had no history of anti-semitism, had arrived at its Israel policy through a combination of post-colonial hauteur, realpolitik – particularly its desire to placate Arab opinion in its contest against Islamic Pakistan – and an ethical commitment to the Palestinian cause. Partly for these reasons, India’s anti-Israel actions rarely provoked any anxiety in Tel Aviv.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/oct/25/india-israel-friendship-prejudice-muslim

October 30th, 2012, 6:47 pm

 

Abo said:

I have to go now, too bad that piece of work Jarbou3a isn’t here, I was in a playful mood.

October 30th, 2012, 6:52 pm

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Rodent Psychologist @151 … not a chance, you won’t make it that far. What a dumb question to ask a Syrian Hamster if he is lonely…

When a 12 years old asked the question is my hamster lonely?Here are some of the answers she got:

Is your hamster a Syrian hamster? If so, do NOT get your hamster a roomate. Syrian hamsters are loners by nature and will attack any roomate that they have.

I doubt he is lonely. Hamsters don’t want nor need a companion.

— They have the rest on their website —(how am I doing Mr. No link needed?)

Being a little anti-social, I am unlike other hamsters, I can tolerate a few good friends, especially those who think hard and play hard…, which would leave anyone supporting the fool assad out of my small circle and definitely away from my wheel, which I sent to my cousin to keep in shape when assad snipers and criminal pilots terrorize the neighborhood. After all, i have no more need for it, I have the entire plains of the free world to run, something you woudn’t appreciate having nailed yourself to the fool’s behind.

October 30th, 2012, 7:06 pm

 

Warren said:

Syria rebels ‘clash with army, Palestinian fighters’

Fierce clashes broke out before dawn Tuesday in a major Palestinian refugee camp south of Syria’s capital, pitting rebels against troops backed by pro-regime Palestinian fighters, activists and a watchdog said.

The fresh violence came after the feast of Eid al-Adha came to a close on Monday, with 560 people, including 235 civilians, reported killed during a failed ceasefire attempt over the four-day Muslim holiday.

“Clashes broke out overnight in Al-Hajar Al-Aswad district between rebels and the army, spreading into the adjacent Yarmuk Palestinian camp. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command joined on the side of the army,” the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.

“Every time the fighting spills into Yarmuk, the General Command gets involved,” said Abdel Rahman.

The Syrian Revolution General Council, a network of activists on the ground, also reported that heavy fighting erupted between the Free Syrian Army and members of the PFLP-General Command in Yarmuk.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jevFaBhWboO5_Mqrgpk7ycShh4RQ?docId=CNG.493b5bfef777e0c4e6e2103828c1614e.1b1

October 30th, 2012, 7:08 pm

 

Johannes de Silentio said:

168. Warren

“Christians have no connection with the country”

Those are the words of Abu Mahar, commander of an anti-regime force in Aleppo. Just goes to show you that your basic Muslim Syrian is a country-dumb, ignorant, unlettered cocksucker. Syrians in general, no matter how much education they think they have, know NOTHING about their country. Most of them think the world was created by their goober-picking, toothpick-chewing prophet, may he continue stupifying in his shit stew.

Syria goes back thousands of years, way back when your basic Arab was worshiping the moon and drying his turds for fuel for his campfires. Babylonians and Egyptians and Persians and Greeks fought over Syria. During the Roman & Christian era, Syrians sent emperors to Rome and Constantinoplis. Empress Theodora, a Syrian, and her husband, Emperor Justinian, built Hagia Sofia, the greatest architectural wonder of its time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%C4%B0stanbul-Ayasofya.JPG

So the next time you see a Syrian Arab picking peanut shells out of his turds, remind him (or her) that Moslems didn’t build it alone. Christians, Druze, Zoroastrians, Pagans and even Alawites and the fucking Jews had a hand in it. And tell him if he kills them all or drives them into exile, the cumulative IQ of Syria will drop to the level of MORON.

October 30th, 2012, 7:15 pm

 

Syrian said:

For the 2nd time in its history Damascus is being bombed by fighter jets, 1st by Isreal in 1973 and now by it is tail Bashar

الجيش النظامي يشن أول غارة جوية على دمشق اليوم الثلاثاء
http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=c1fdc1c82fd7fbb59a289c8269f1a211&ar=283364815

October 30th, 2012, 9:29 pm

 

Syrian said:

146. VISITOR said:

“Another thug bites the dust….Good riddance,”
What a cheap and economical way. Who needs an S7 or a stinger when a 5 Syrian lira bullet can do the job, we also get to keep the planes that we paid for for later use.

October 30th, 2012, 9:38 pm

 

Warren said:

The Abdulrazaq Tlass affair and the naked truth

The commander in question is little known outside the Middle East, but 25-year old Abdulrazaq Tlass (pictured) is the undisputed poster-child of one of the largest groups in the Free Syrian Army: the much-vaunted Farouk Brigades. He is a brave and handsome lieutenant who led the successful defence of Homs against Assad‘s hordes of army and shabiha. Recently, and to signal a growing religious piety, he took to sporting a beard in the Salafist fashion.

So when he decided to go online and engage in a spot of Skype sex sometime in mid-August, little did he know that regime hackers had installed spyware that enabled them to capture images from his webcam. The recording found its way online and one opposition news website decided to run with it.

Terribly embarrassing it may have been for him, at a time of revolution personal indiscretions are easily forgiven. A public apology would have helped, but in the end Syrian media activists like myself decided that, big-picture wise, it wasn’t worth the fuss.

What happened after that made me, a dyed-in-the-wool opponent of Assad, question the motives of those leading the revolution to oust him.

http://syriaintransition.com/2012/09/24/the-abdulrazaq-tlass-affair-and-the-naked-truth/

October 30th, 2012, 9:38 pm

 

sami said:

Eerie words of wisdom from yesteryears:

فناء دولة الاستبداد لايصيب المستبدين وحدهم بل يشمل الدمار الأرض والناس والديار , لأن دولة الاستبداد في مراحلها الأخيرة تضرب ضرب عشواء كثور هائج أو مثل فيل ثائر في مصنع فخار , وتحطم نفسها وأهلها وبلدها قبل أن تستسلم للزوال , وكأنما يستحق على الناس أن يدفعوا في النهاية ثمن سكوتهم الطويل على الظلم وقبولهم القهر والذل والاستعباد

From Abdul-Rahman Kawakibi’s book The Characteristics of Despotism and the Demise of Enslavement

__________

Syrian,

Although they did not use Jets for it had not been invented then, the French strafed Damascus with air raids during the Great Revolt of 1925, that is why Hamediyeh has bullet holes in its ceiling.

October 30th, 2012, 9:46 pm

 

Warren said:

بيان صادر عن الهيئة السياسية لكتائب الفاروق في سورية .

http://al-farok.com/archives/1264

__________________________________________________________________

Tlass gets fired from the Farouk Brigades after his skype porno indiscretion!

October 30th, 2012, 9:46 pm

 

Syrian said:

Warren and Albo are only showing us how most Christians in Syria really feel inside about Sunnis , they just did not get to go outside Syria and say it out loud,
It is just good for you to remember that the rest of your families will be living among an ocean of Sunnis way long after Bashar is gone, and your not doing them any service by your endless attacks
Just enjoy what your fathers has stole already from Syria because it is not gonna last.
Albo no real Syrian who made it on his own “merit” would defend this regime and also I want to reminde that “BOT” of Sunnis computers are reading you loud and clear

October 30th, 2012, 9:53 pm

 

Warren said:

The Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight

The Syrian National Council has failed to galvanize international support for the rebellion — and it has only itself to blame.

Last week, the Syrian opposition columnist Ghassan Muflih, writing in the online newspaper Elaph, informed his readers who was to blame for the failure to dislodge Bashar al-Assad. “The West is supportive of the demands of the Syrian people [to live in] freedom and dignity but does not encourage the success of the revolution,” he wrote. “The reasons are related to the Israeli desire to see the destruction of Syria at the hands of the Assad gangs. The Western position is justified by flimsy arguments, for example, when they speak of Islamist militants or the unity of the opposition. However, the essence of the western position remains: Give Assad more time to kill.”

It’s understandable that some try to hold the West accountable for the continuing horrors in Syria. Last month was the deadliest so far, with the overall death toll surpassing 20,000 and the number of refugees that have fled the fighting exceeding 150,000. (The photo above shows a street scene in Aleppo earlier this week.) All UN attempts to end the bloodshed have so far come to nothing — a dismal failure underscored by the resignation last month of UN-AL special envoy Kofi Annan. The prospects for his successor, Lakhdar Brahimi, are poor. Air support from the countries of the West would probably be far more effective when it comes to loosening Assad’s grip – but the prospects for that appear remote.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/07/the_bunch_that_cant_shoot_straight

October 30th, 2012, 9:58 pm

 

Warren said:

CrossTalk: Syrian Puzzle

What does the Syrian civil war really mean for the region? Is it really about Iran and diminishing its influence? What is Israel’s primary goal? If the Assad regime collapses what could take its place? (Are the great powers and regional players even thinking about this at this point?) As the civil war rages, what does this mean for Hezbollah? Lastly, what would be a “positive outcome” of this civil war? CrossTalking with Christian Whiton, David Swanson and Malik Al-Abdeh.

October 30th, 2012, 10:04 pm

 

Syrian said:

Sami
I think the French only used artillery even wekipedia say that
“By the spring, much of Damascus had been destroyed by artillery fire, and the nationalist leadership had been forced into exile.[14] ”
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Syrian_Revolt#section_4
At any case that is why I said fighter jet

October 30th, 2012, 10:06 pm

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

Albo, what in your lengthy post contradicts the general premise of the comment you were supposedly replying to? I took issue with your ridiculous notion that Syrians got the government they deserved because of their “social backwardness”. I very correctly pointed out that throughout history, savage thugs have ruled enlightened populations despite, not because but despite of, the social and political maturity of the society ruled. Nothing in what you said contradicts that.

The fact is, people do not always end up with the leader they deserve, as you tried to imply. It is quite outrageous to blame Syrian society in general for the barbarity of a Qurdahan minority.

“The irony is that it’s the same in Iran, and you should have known it, education and tertiary enrollment rates skyrocketed under the mullahs”

Yeah, well that is also the case in Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and almost every developing country in the world since the late 70s. Dude, it doesn’t bode well for you when you try to use a global phenomenon as proof of your premise. You might as well blame the sun for football riots.

October 30th, 2012, 10:22 pm

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

“And you, Amjad, are an example of why the political culture in Syria is so backward and retarded”

I consider that a hearty endorsement. Can I quote you on my blog? 🙂

“Syriacomment is filled with your sectarian insults, incitements to sectarian hatred and violence, dreams of ethnic cleansing”

How dare you sir. You forgot to include my calls to naturalize Chechens, Jordanians, Saudis, and Libyans. You forgot to include my dreams of remaking the whole hierarchy of Syrian society, with the menhebakji scum firmly and perpetually at the very bottom. I intend to make life so miserable and intolerable for them that they will pack up and leave of their own accord. And you neglected to include my plans for replacing every symbol of the regime, with decidedly one-sided symbols of the revolution.

Everyday, I want the menhebakji and Qurdahan war criminals to be reminded of their failure, to shove that failure in their faces every single day. They will not be able to buy bread without using currency that celebrates their defeat and humiliation. They will not be able to walk in the streets without walking in streets named after people who defeated and humiliated them. Mmmmm….good days to come.

“But I guess poorly assimilated concepts along Middle Ages bigotry could pass as wisdom in Saudi Arabia where you allegedly live.”

I love it when people bring up Saudi Arabia. There is a direct correlation between how soon someone whines about me being in Saudi, and their lack of debating skills. I mock the Western based menhebakjis because living in the West is a free choice of theirs. Tell me, where else would you like me to be if not Saudi?

Back in Syria? Most of the country is unlivable. Jordan? To be thrown in a desert camp? Turkey? They change their minds on refugees more often than I change socks. Lebanon? A failed state that cant even stop a family of drug smuggling Shia bandits from kidnapping foreigners? Iraq? Or maybe you have a visa in your pocket for a Western country? And the rest of the GCC stopped giving visas to Syrians long ago.

Fact is, there is not a single Syrian man who doesn’t wish his womenfolk were safe and sound in Saudi Arabia right now. Women can’t drive here? Big effing bo ho. Do you people think that Syrian women can drive anywhere except in Tartous and Latakia under present circumstances? Syrian women cant even go out alone without running the risk of being kidnapped and rapped by your shabiha scum, a risk they dont run in Saudi Arabia.

In Syria, schools are used as refugee camps. In Saudi, Syrian students are allowed to study in state schools for free, an unheard of privilege for foreigners. Saudi also took the unprecedented step of stopping the deportation of Syrians for any reason whatsoever, while Assad calls the refugees in neighboring countries part of the “cleansing” process. My contempt for him and his Qurdahan constituency really cannot be adequately expressed on this forum.

October 30th, 2012, 10:25 pm

 

Amjad of Arabia said:

“And you, Amjad, are an example of why the political culture in Syria is so backward and retarded”

I consider that a hearty endorsement. Can I quote you on my blog? 🙂

“Syriacomment is filled with your sectarian insults, incitements to sectarian hatred and violence, dreams of ethnic cleansing”

How dare you sir. You forgot to include my calls to naturalize Chechens, Jordanians, Saudis, and Libyans. You forgot to include my dreams of remaking the whole hierarchy of Syrian society, with the menhebakji war criminals and their supporters firmly and perpetually at the very bottom. I intend to make life so miserable and intolerable for them that they will pack up and leave of their own accord. And you neglected to include my plans for replacing every symbol of the regime, with decidedly one-sided symbols of the revolution.

Everyday, I want the menhebakji and Qurdahan war criminals to be reminded of their failure, to shove that failure in their faces every single day. They will not be able to buy bread without using currency that celebrates their defeat and humiliation. They will not be able to walk in the streets without walking in streets named after people who defeated and humiliated them. Mmmmm….good days to come.

“But I guess poorly assimilated concepts along Middle Ages bigotry could pass as wisdom in Saudi Arabia where you allegedly live.”

I love it when people bring up Saudi Arabia. There is a direct correlation between how soon someone whines about me being in Saudi, and their lack of debating skills. I mock the Western based menhebakjis because living in the West is a free choice of theirs. Tell me, where else would you like me to be if not Saudi?

Back in Syria? Most of the country is unlivable. Jordan? To be thrown in a desert camp? Turkey? They change their minds on refugees more often than I change socks. Lebanon? A failed state that cant even stop a family of drug smuggling Shia bandits from kidnapping foreigners? Iraq? Or maybe you have a visa in your pocket for a Western country? And the rest of the GCC stopped giving visas to Syrians long ago.

Fact is, there is not a single Syrian man who doesn’t wish his womenfolk were safe and sound in Saudi Arabia right now. Women can’t drive here? Big effing bo ho. Do you people think that Syrian women can drive anywhere except in Tartous and Latakia under present circumstances? Syrian women cant even go out alone without running the risk of being kidnapped and rapped by your shabiha gangsters, a risk they dont run in Saudi Arabia.

In Syria, schools are used as refugee camps. In Saudi, Syrian students are allowed to study in state schools for free, an unheard of privilege for foreigners. Saudi also took the unprecedented step of stopping the deportation of Syrians for any reason whatsoever, while Assad calls the refugees in neighboring countries part of the “cleansing” process. My contempt for him and his Qurdahan constituency really cannot be adequately expressed on this forum.

October 30th, 2012, 10:27 pm

 

Sami said:

Syrian,

Not to discredit Wikipedia or anything…

I have read it in three books The Politics of Damascus By Sami Moubayed pg 54 Syria and the French Mandate by Philip Khoury (I can’t seem to find the book in my library) and Being Modern in the Middle East by: Keith David Watenpaugh pg 212.

Also my Grand Father was hit in the leg by one of the bullets, and used to tell me and my siblings the story when we were young of how the locals in Hamediyah fought off the invading French, only for the French to turn to airpower to suppress them. History repeating itself…

October 30th, 2012, 10:36 pm

 

Ghufran said:

I reject the criticism I received over my post about Haarem-Idleb, those who are defending the rebels actions against that town have no shame. 4,000 civilians are trapped in the citadel and surrounding area with no electricity, little food and no medical help. Rebels are refusing to allow humanitarian non government agencies to enter the city, they also threatened to bomb an convoy that brings food and supplies ( trucks from private NGOs are ready to enter town but their drivers do not want to get killed in the process). Supplies dropped from the air were confiscated by the rebels who bragged about their ” victory” and made fun of the pilot who missed his target, some smart behinds on the regime side even suggested that the pilot is a rebel agent(!!). The fate of Haarem’s battle is uncertain but the rebels can not win that battle politically even if they win militarily ( a new battle may erupt in hours as the army tries to break the siege), the rebels, supposedly in the business of protecting civilians) shelled town and managed to kill more than 20 civilians and claimed that massacre a success. You are free to oppose the regime as much as you want but you can not justify brutality against civilians even if they are labelled as pro regime. The reaction from thawrajiyyeh to the seige of Haarem is incomprehensible coming from people who made a career out of denouncing similar practices by the regime.

October 30th, 2012, 10:38 pm

 

Syrian said:

Sami
I take your grand father words over Wikipedia any day,
So for the 3rd times in its history Damascus get bombed

October 30th, 2012, 10:51 pm

 

Sami said:

Mina,
“which I have heard from the mouth of friends who participated in the first demos: Dara and Hamidiyye”

Is your friend perhaps Asa’ad Abu Khalil? Cause your lies are almost word for word…

There was no protest in Hamediyeh at the beginning, it was in Hariqah:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_fisTzuz9E

And here is the first demo in Deraa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPL3jDTmQYw

Care to show us where exactly do your lies (or as you claim “your friends” lies) come true?

October 30th, 2012, 10:56 pm

 

Ghufran said:

CAIRO — Citing recent episodes of violence, the government of Bahrain on Tuesday banned all public rallies and demonstrations, a move that drew swift condemnation from human rights groups and opposition activists who said it was intended solely to stifle criticism of the ruling monarchy in the tiny Persian Gulf nation.
In a statement, Bahrain’s interior minister said protests were banned after “repeated violations” by rally organizers, including riots, attacks on property and calls for the overthrow of “leading national figures.” Legal action would be taken against anyone attempting to organize a rally, the statement said.

October 30th, 2012, 10:57 pm

 

Alan said:

Middle East in anticipation of war, reaching its peak after US elections
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_30/Middle-East-in-anticipation-of-war-reaching-its-peak-after-US-elections/
As some political experts claim there will be the risk that a new “big wave” in the Middle East could reach its peak after the American presidential elections, and that the region might plummet into the abyss. They say that Israel is ready to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities
At the same time the Islamic Republic, whose economy is on the verge of collapse due to the sanctions, is also prepared to stand up to Israel.

So far, uncertainty in the US presidential race has served as a containment factor. But what will happen after the elections? Irina Fedorova, a specialist in Iranian-US relations, delivers a “partly cloudy” forecast for the near future; “Before the Inauguration on January 20 it is hardly possible to anticipate any sudden political moves from the US president who will be elected on November 6. The main task of the new, or old, president with the US political elite, will be the formation of a new government. That is why foreign policy issues will not take precedence in that period.

The issue that will influence the US president’s opinion on the possibility of a military strike against Iran will be the crisis in Syria, including the problem of Bashar al-Assad. Until those problems are resolved, the US president’s attention will be focused on Syria.”
/../

October 31st, 2012, 3:10 am

 

Uzair8 said:

Came across a Prof Landis lecture on a forum a few minutes ago. Uploaded on Youtube on 30th October.

Syria: What Lies Ahead

October 31st, 2012, 3:30 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

SYRIAN

Sami
I take your grand father words over Wikipedia any day,

These were some of the most eloquent words written on this forum. We need to rediscover our history, and this is one way to do so.

October 31st, 2012, 3:48 am

 

Alan said:

190. UZAIR8

Prof Landis has a nice tie 🙂

October 31st, 2012, 3:49 am

 

Albo said:

Amjad

Albo, what in your lengthy post contradicts the general premise of the comment you were supposedly replying to? I took issue with your ridiculous notion that Syrians got the government they deserved because of their “social backwardness”. I very correctly pointed out that throughout history, savage thugs have ruled enlightened populations despite, not because but despite of, the social and political maturity of the society ruled. Nothing in what you said contradicts that.
…
“The irony is that it’s the same in Iran, and you should have known it, education and tertiary enrollment rates skyrocketed under the mullahs”

Yeah, well that is also the case in Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and almost every developing country in the world since the late 70s. Dude, it doesn’t bode well for you when you try to use a global phenomenon as proof of your premise. You might as well blame the sun for football riots.”

__________

You didn’t read the post, I see. You contended that the populations were enlightened and educated in your examples, I retort that they weren’t originally. My argument was that the absence of a (large enough) middle class, with an adequate political culture is the reason why dictators find such fertile grounds in some societies.

Second you’re moving the goal posts about higher-ed in Iran. It doesn’t matter in the least if it’s a global phenomenon or not (which isn’t global as many developing countries didn’t improve their lot). It’s about wether yes or not the societies were mature enough when the autocracy emerged. The answer is not, quite clearly.

October 31st, 2012, 4:01 am

 

Albo said:

“178. SYRIAN said:

Warren and Albo are only showing us how most Christians in Syria really feel inside about Sunnis , they just did not get to go outside Syria and say it out loud,”

I’m Xtian now? News to me.
Second don’t put labels too fast on people, I bet you don’t even know about some ethnic/religious groups in Syria (true there are many) plus some people and yes it happens, are from mixed families, some are commies and don’t care about religion since a generation or two.

I have no problem with civilized Sunnis, as explained before to Tara, that is people who are moderate, peaceful and educated. But yes I have a big problem with radicals, salafist and MB types. How could anyone who belong to one of Syria’s minorities be comfortable with these lo*ns who want them as second class citizens? And the problem is that they aren’t put in their place, but are much too vocal.

If Hamster really rejects them, he’s responsible for not making them stfu. If moderates like him rather than radical extremists were heard, this revolution, when it was still one, would have been much more inclusive and all-encompassing and may have succeeded by now.
Ask the Lebanese, they often say that the war continued because of 1% of idiots in each side who poored fuel on the fire. Result: 200-300 000 deads.

October 31st, 2012, 4:12 am

 

Uzair8 said:

Syria: rebels battle for control of regime military bases

30 Oct 2012

Unable to progress in major cities where the regime has used air power to bombard their positions, rebels have now changed tactics in the deadlocked civil war by fighting for control of the bases.

Rebels are laying siege to an air intelligence base west of Aleppo and an airbase to the north of it, and fighting on the edge of two artillery bases either side of the city.

In the strategic town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib province, where rebels have cut the main road supplying the north of the country, the regime hit back with air strikes around two further bases being attacked by the Free Syrian Army.

The regime was also forced to use air power to support troops fighting rebels inside the capital Damascus itself for the first time on Tuesday, hitting the eastern district of Jobar.

Read more:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9644080/Syria-rebels-battle-for-control-of-regime-military-bases.html

October 31st, 2012, 4:29 am

 

Uzair8 said:

This is significant.

Remember Sh. Yaqoubi in the Norwegian TV interview said that the regime will collapse in a couple of months?

I’ve just visited the Shaykh’s facebook page via twitter and saw the following post. The google translation isn’t so good but if I’m correct the Shaykh is sharing some good news via inspiration (Basharat). We wait and see.

__________________________________________

نهاية المجرم
قريبا سيموت المجرم بشار قتلا على أيدي الثوار بطريقة فظيعة وسيتم القضاء على معظم أعوانه وسيكون ذلك قريبا بإذن الله تعالى. وستقوم الطائرات الصديقة بقصف مواقع عصاباته وإنهاء مأساة شعبنا في سورية. إنها مسألة أسابيع. هذا ما وردنا من البشارات.

Google translation:

The end of the criminal
Soon die offender Bashar killed by rebels in a manner horribly and will eliminate most of his aides and it will be soon, God willing. The aircraft will pounding friendly gangs and end the tragedy of our people in Syria. It’s a matter of weeks. This is what we received from the Bisharat.

https://www.facebook.com/ShaykhMuhammadAbulhudaAlYaqoubi/posts/221384581325632

October 31st, 2012, 4:48 am

 

Albo said:

Mainstream media, 24/7 channels in the US and Europe really don’t talk that much about Syria these days. When some bombardment or killings happen they often brush it off in 10/15 sec. From times to times, but rarely, we see an embedded video.

What that tells us is that the public opinion doesn’t care that much, as I experience it daily, But also that Nato is unlikely to take action, because usually they launch a media campaign to lay the groundwork for an intervention long before it happens. Will that change after the US election? Most experts think not.

In fact, they are content with a bleeding Syria, so they will continue to provide small scale support, but nothing that will make a difference. That way Syria is ruined as an Iranian asset, and as a potential threat to Israel. (And as a country for Syrians, but they don’t care about that). There are strategic benefits to the present “status quo”, but not if the chaos worsens. And they aren’t willing to have a real regime change, as they clearly don’t trust the rebels and many elements fighting in Syria so far, and aren’t ready to incur the costs it would take to make them win and discipline them in a way that would serve western interests.

October 31st, 2012, 5:06 am

 

vigilante said:

Albo

Agreed, this is true until it threatens Israel. This is why the West and their Arab allies are making sure that the fights are limited to the North of Syria far from the Israeli borders. In addition to weakening Syria, it is punishing Turkey for its aggressive stand toward Israel and pressuring it to ultimately renew these ties.
If the fights are moved accidentally or intentionally toward the Israeli-Syrian border, be sure that the West will react immediately.
This may well happen soon.

October 31st, 2012, 11:37 am

 

Warren said:

I Wouldn’t Mind Syrian Army Shelling my own House if FSA Occupies it: Mohamad from Aleppo

October 31st, 2012, 12:07 pm

 

Warren said:

Source: Edward Dark – Twitter

activists: ppl in some parts of Aleppo have taken up arms to fight off rebels positioned in their areas; reported in Ma’adi & Fardos #Syria

http://twitter.com/edwardedark

October 31st, 2012, 12:13 pm

 

Albo said:

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/bomb-attack-near-syrian-shrine-kills-eight/story-e6frfkui-1226507918292

Once again, and this justifies much of my posting here. We Syrians used to live together and get along quite well, and now we have those disgusting fanatics rampaging and killing people because they don’t have the same religion . This is why sectarianism is not a trivial question, and why we have a civil war.
Bigots should be be fought endlessly, just like I’m doing in here, we’ll never have peace otherwise.

Vigilante> Turkey is cutting its losses, hopefully. At least they don’t seem too keen on escalating things anymore. More intervention on their part will only lead to more refugees, and they can’t have their cake and eat it too and rebuke them. They are kind of trapped.

October 31st, 2012, 1:57 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

PTO (Please turn over).

October 31st, 2012, 2:10 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Socialist Worker article.

Rebel victories in Syria show up fragility of Assad regime

Tue 30 Oct 2012
by Simon Assaf

A string of rebel victories over the past month could turn the tide of the uprising against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

A key battle is taking place in Syria’s biggest city, Aleppo. There it is estimated that fewer than 7,000 regime troops are battling some 40,000 lightly armed rebels.

The regime can deploy snipers, use heavy weapons and its airpower. But it can no longer directly rule the city.

Facing military setbacks, the regime has begun to distribute weapons to neighbourhoods in the hope that they would not go over to the revolution.

In Damascus many of these weapons are falling into the hands of Sunni Muslims suspicious of the revolution.

[…]

Assad’s regime is running out of men, with many either defecting, surrendering or going home. His troops cannot regain areas they have lost. This is a war of attrition that Assad is losing.

Read more:

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=29914

October 31st, 2012, 2:20 pm

 

ann said:

Our Ottoman Paper Tiger Backs Off – So what’s new?! 8)

Turkish PM says issue of Syria no-fly zone, is up to Security Council – October 31, 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkish-pm-says-issue-of-syria-no-fly-zone-civilian-safe-areas-is-up-to-security-council/2012/10/31/ca7edd8a-2360-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html

October 31st, 2012, 2:27 pm

 

ann said:

Russia warns West on Syria – Thu Nov 1 2012

Russia has warned that the “bloodbath” in Syria will continue if the West sticks to its demand for President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.

“If the position of our partners remains the departure of this leader who they do not like, the bloodbath will continue,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius

http://news.msn.co.nz/worldnews/8557375/russia-warns-west-on-syria

October 31st, 2012, 2:39 pm

 

Alan said:

Liberman says Israel will never leave the Golan
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=289872
Foreign minister says he views Golan Heights just as he does TA, Netanya, Holon, “ceding them would be suicidal.
A day after the Likud approved its merger with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party, the party’s leader declared that “ceding the Golan Heights would be suicidal,” on a Tuesday visit to the area.
Liberman, looking out towards Quinetra, told reporters that “unfortunately in recent years we have seen a number of attempts to negotiate over the Golan Heights. The Golan is an integral part of Israel, and I think that recent events prove that.”
Liberman said that al-Qaida, which “sits just a short distance away in Quinetra, would be on [Lake] Kinneret, and the hills and all the kibbutzim and communities would be under the threat by all kinds of the most radical elements in the Muslim world.” The foreign minister stressed that he viewed the Golan as he did Tel Aviv, Netanya, Holon and Bat Yam, and was not willing to even discuss the idea of giving up the region.
Liberman’s comments came shortly before visiting Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics told The Jerusalem Postthat Israel’s “calm attitude” regarding the developments in Syria was constructive. In reference to the Golan issue, he especially praised Israel for “not using any issues that are disputed between the two countries,” and added that the EU appreciated that the state was “not raising nervousness” over the issue.

October 31st, 2012, 2:48 pm

 

Alan said:

Few examples of foreign weapons used by FSA in Syria (15x pictures)
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=140_1351703099

October 31st, 2012, 3:00 pm

 
 
 

ann said:

Syria must stay united – Moscow, Paris – Oct 31, 2012

Russia and France warn that the disintegration of Syria would send waves of terrorist insurgencies across the Middle East

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_31/Syria-must-stay-united-Moscow-Paris/

Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Laurent Fabius spoke about this to the press after emerging from talks in Paris on Wednesday.

Mr Lavrov said the Syrian crisis cannot be solved by force, and bringing it to an end supposes a ceasefire and a subsequent dialogue between the opposing sides in Syria. He also said that trying to oust President Bashar Assad would only make matters worse.

The Russian Minister accused unnamed outside powers of arming and funding the Syrian rebels.

[…]

October 31st, 2012, 3:44 pm

 

ann said:

Syrian govt troops engaged in bitter fighting with rebels in Damascus –

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_31/Syrian-govt-troops-engaged-in-bitter-fighting-with-rebels-in-Damascus/

Syrian government troops are engaged in bitter fighting with rebels on the outskirts of Damascus.

According to the Al-Watan news agency, the exchange of fire has been on for the second day in a residential quarter in the south of the capital city, and the nearby Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp.

The situation has been aggravated in the north and the east of Damascus.

Syrian Air Force planes delivered pinpoint strikes Tuesday on terrorist bases and pockets of resistance in these areas.

The government troops are through with their mop-up operation in the Suleiman al-Khaliabi district of Aleppo, the country’s second most important city.

The residents have been allowed to return to their homes.

The municipal services have got down to re-building the destroyed utility lines.

Meanwhile, government troops have stopped and wiped out several convoys with militants, and have also blown up two trucks with ammunition at the approach to Syria’s northern capital.

According to the SANA news agency, dozens of terrorists and mercenaries have been killed in fighting with Syrian Army units.

[…]

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_31/Syrian-govt-troops-engaged-in-bitter-fighting-with-rebels-in-Damascus/

October 31st, 2012, 3:51 pm

 

ann said:

Tunisia denies terrorist camps – Oct 31, 2012

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_31/Tunisia-denies-terrorist-camps/

Tunisia’s Interior Ministry denied reports by some local media about the existence of two terrorist training camps in the country. According to journalists, the Islamists are trained in Tunisia and then sent to Syria and Mali.

In a statement the ministry stressed that the reports are not true and that the security forces, along with the military, provide for the “reliable protection of all frontiers.” However, the situation has remained difficult.

In June, the authorities announced that the in the south of the country, along the borders of Tunisia, Algeria and Libya, the area is considered a “closed zone”.

In the area there are constant clashes between Al-Qaeda militants and army units.

[…]

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_31/Tunisia-denies-terrorist-camps/

October 31st, 2012, 4:00 pm

 

ann said:

Return of seized cargo from Syria jet still pending – official – Oct 31, 2012

Turkey hasn’t shed light on when it will be ready to return the seized cargo from the Syrian plane that was force-landed at an Ankara airport, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Wednesday

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_31/Return-of-seized-cargo-from-Syria-jet-still-pending-official/

“We are keeping in touch [with Ankara]. As far as I know, they haven’t taken any action yet,” he said.

[…]

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_31/Return-of-seized-cargo-from-Syria-jet-still-pending-official/

October 31st, 2012, 4:09 pm

 

ann said:

Middle East in anticipation of war, reaching its peak after US elections – Oct 30, 2012

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_30/Middle-East-in-anticipation-of-war-reaching-its-peak-after-US-elections/

As some political experts claim there will be the risk that a new “big wave” in the Middle East could reach its peak after the American presidential elections, and that the region might plummet into the abyss. They say that Israel is ready to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

[…]

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_30/Middle-East-in-anticipation-of-war-reaching-its-peak-after-US-elections/

October 31st, 2012, 4:19 pm

 

Citizen said:

Un journaliste turc révèle que les rebelles syriens (ASL) font du trafic d’organes
L’Armée syrienne libre (ASL) serait impliquée dans un horrible trafic d’organes des civils syriens qu’ils ont enlevé puis assassiné, rapporte les médias.

Selon le journal turc Yourte, ils venderaient les organes à des trafiquants, cela, à des prix élevés. Le correspondant du journal en Syrie a fait la lumière sur les événements atroces et les violations concernant le trafic d’organes par des terroristes : «La plupart des Syriens enlevés par les groupes armés sont tués, puis ils enlèvent les reins, les yeux, et le foie. Le journaliste révèle qu’on lui a proposé de l’argent en échange d’un corps: «Des inconnus m’ont contacté pour m’offrir 300.000 livres syriennes en échange d’un des corps aux mains des terroristes ».

En Syrie, si vous perdez la vie, désormais, vous perdez aussi vos organes.

L’ASL est financée par les pays occidentaux qui leur ont promis le pouvoir (Comme en Libye) en échange de leur service, dans le but de faire tomber Bachar al-Assad pour récupérer le gaz et ainsi ne plus dépendre des russes.
http://counterpsyops.com/2012/10/30/un-journaliste-turc-revele-que-les-rebelles-syriens-asl-font-du-trafic-dorganes/

October 31st, 2012, 4:28 pm

 

Citizen said:

SA-7 visible in new video

October 31st, 2012, 4:33 pm

 

Citizen said:

I Wouldn’t Mind Syrian Army Shelling my own House if FSA Occupies it: Mohamad from Aleppo

October 31st, 2012, 4:38 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Anyone heard from Bashar Ja’afari since the storm? Hope he’s ok. Has he made an appearance since?

October 31st, 2012, 4:42 pm

 

Citizen said:

“Trim your beards, and share our values.”
Clinton calls for overhaul of Syrian opposition
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/31/us-syria-usa-idUSBRE89U1AY20121031

October 31st, 2012, 4:48 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Maybe he isn’t as bad as we think and has taken the opportunity to feign a disappearance in order to escape the regime.

Talking about appearances, it’s Halloween tonight. Should we expect to see Dr Shaaban?

October 31st, 2012, 4:49 pm

 

Citizen said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jePJqz33yNE
CrossTalk: Mali Madness
Foreign military intervention threatens Mali. Is it necessary or can the country manage this crisis among its neighbors? Is Mali merely waiting for the outside world to act? Is this crisis a regional or global issue? And what interests do Western powers have in Africa? CrossTalking with Brooks Spector, Ayo Johnson and Alexandre Vautravers.

October 31st, 2012, 4:53 pm

 

Citizen said:

‘Clinton & Al-Qaeda on one side of Syrian war barricades’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MX1B74EV_s
RT’s Anissa Naouai interviews Aleksey Pushkov, head of Russian Duma’s foreign affairs committee, on Syrian standoff, Iran strike, US elections and more.

October 31st, 2012, 5:01 pm

 

Citizen said:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=140_1351703099
Few examples of foreign weapons used by FSA in Syria (15x pictures)
Austrian Steyr AUG bullpup 5,56mm assault rifle.
Belgian FN FAL 7,62mm battle rifle.
FN FAL rifle with an optic scope
FN FAL with US Elcan scope
Apparantly an Israeli FN FAL with El-Op Eyal 3×20 scope

October 31st, 2012, 5:22 pm

 

ann said:

NATO Islamist Mercenary Terrorists Bomb Shiite Religious Shrine in Damascus Suburb of Sayyeda Zaynab Killing 6, Injuring 13 – Oct-31-2012

In al-Sayyeda Zaynab area in Damascus Countryside (Rif Dimashq), the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) terrorists have showed their ugly sectarian face once again by detonating an explosive device inside a garbage bag in a crowded street. The Police Command in Damascus Countryside reported that the terrorist bombing resulted in the killing of 6 citizens and the injury of 13 others, including several kids.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6b7_1351702227

October 31st, 2012, 5:42 pm

 

Warren said:

Tunisia: Jihadists leave home to fight in Syria

Syria – In Tunisia, streams of young men are leaving to fight in Syria’s civil war. What are their motives and what do their families think of them? Next, with Islamist politics burgeoning in the wake of the Tunisian revolution, the bikini is becoming a rarer sight on the nation’s tourist beaches. We report on the rise of the veil by the seaside. Finally, we head to Morocco to profile the group that is risking jail by publicly breaking the Ramadan fast.

It’s hard to evaluate exactly how many young Tunisians leave home each week. Their destination is Syria. They’re on a crusade to fight Bashar Al Assad. Many are killed in combat or taken prisoner. Some have been gone weeks, others havent been in contact with their familes for months. Our correspondants met some of the family memebers and friends of young Tunisian Jihadists who have left home to fight in Syria.

October 31st, 2012, 5:44 pm

 
 

ghufran said:

AB Sayda may be a lonely bird when it comes to Kurds in Syria most of whom are either waiting patiently or even actively opposing armed rebels for a number of reasons including the rebels cozy relationship with Turkey. If I was a Kurd and the only thing I got from Arabs was garbage and I look around and see how pathetic Arab countries are compared to Israel and Kurdistan I would work day and night to separate myself from that retarded bunch.
سعى الأمين العام لـ«حزب الاتحاد الديمقراطي» الكردي في سورية صالح مسلم محمد لتبديد أي انطباع بمشروع انفصالي كردي في الشمال السوري، مؤكداً في حديث صحفي نشر أمس أن المواطنين السوريين الأكراد «لا مستقبل لهم إلا ضمن الوحدة السورية».
وحول قدرة المجموعات المسلحة على إسقاط النظام قال محمد الذي يشغل أيضاً منصب نائب المنسق العام لهيئة التنسيق الوطنية المعارضة في حديث للزميلة «السفير»: النظام لا يزال قوياً، ولديه أسلحة لم يستخدمها في القتال»، متمنياً عودة القوى الدولية إلى اتفاق جنيف لإيجاد حل للأزمة السورية.
وحذر محمد تركيا وأي جهة تفكر بمهاجمة مناطق وجود المواطنين السوريين الأكراد «برد عنيف جداً» وقال: إذا ما حاول الأتراك مد أيديهم إلى سورية فسيكون ذلك مستنقعهم.
كما أعلن رفضه للتحالف مع عدنان العرعور وجماعة الإخوان المسلمين مؤكداً أن المواطنين السوريين الأكراد «لن يكونوا أبداً عملاء لتركيا» ولن يسمحوا بإقامة منطقة آمنة في المناطق التي يعيشون فيها وقال: نحن مستعدون لمواجهة كل الاحتمالات.

October 31st, 2012, 6:30 pm

 

Citizen said:

Russia has warned the Western powers that their call for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is like daydreaming and will only lead to more bloodshed in the Arab state.

“If the position of our partners remains the departure of this leader who they do not like, the bloodbath will continue,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Paris on Wednesday after holding talks with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius.

“It is like daydreaming to speculate on the subject, to the effect that if the [Syrian] government is overthrown everything will fall into place,” Lavrov added.
http://presstv.com/detail/2012/10/31/269799/call-for-assad-ouster-daydreaming-russia/

October 31st, 2012, 6:31 pm

 

Citizen said:

The West continues to “democratization” of the Arab world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA9_x8y38HA
The situation in the Arab world is close to disaster. A year after the revolution in Libya, civilians were gassed and fired from artillery. Lebanon is on the brink of civil war. In Syria, it is already in full swing. However, this does not stop the Western countries in their efforts to “democratize” the Arab world, the correspondent Paula Slier RT.

October 31st, 2012, 7:43 pm

 

Dolly Buster said:

 
Can we cut down on this red KGB garbage being posted by Ann

The situation in Syria is clear: Alawite lunatics are the aggressive party, and they are trying to rule Syria with 12% of the population.

October 31st, 2012, 7:46 pm

 

Juergen said:

I love the nutpunch line…

A message from the greatest generation

October 31st, 2012, 7:57 pm

 

Warren said:

Electrical fire at Saudi wedding kills 25

A high-voltage power line reportedly fell down and sent sparks flying after it was hit by celebratory gunfire.

The power line is also believed to have touched a metal door at the only exit from the courtyard, causing the electrocution of many of the victims.

Most of those killed and injured are reported to have been women

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20150915

October 31st, 2012, 8:04 pm

 

Citizen said:

OMG
300,000 gallons of diesel spill into water near New Jersey
http://rt.com/usa/news/diesel-spill-new-jersey-707/

October 31st, 2012, 8:07 pm

 

Warren said:

Clinton warns Syria rebels to resist extremism

The secretary of state said there had been “disturbing reports” of Islamic extremists entering Syria to try and take advantage of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad

The rebels should “strongly resist the efforts by the extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution”, she warned.

There have been reports of foreign Islamist fighters entering Syria to fight alongside the rebels, and hardline Salafist groups like the al-Nusra front have claimed responsibility for several bomb attacks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20156688

__________________________________________________________________

It’s about time Secretary H.R. Clinton recognized the true nature of the Fundamentalist Sunni Army. The FSA is fighting for a Sunni dictatorship, that’s why the Christians, Alawites, Kurds & Druze have stuck with President Bashar AL-Assad.

October 31st, 2012, 8:09 pm

 

Warren said:

Source: Edward Dark – Twitter

edward dark‏@edwardedark

Gulf Sheikdoms sentence their own people for speaking out, then they send their extremists & suicide bombers to #Syria to give us “freedom”

http://twitter.com/edwardedark

__________________________________________________________________

I’m glad someone else notices the vile hypocritical nature of Taqqiyya Sunnis. The pathetic Sunni propaganda stations of Al Jazeera & Al Arabiyah criticize Al Assad for being a “dictator” and support “rebels” fighting for “freedom”. Yet Qatar & Wahhabistan brutally oppresses anyone who dares to criticize & question the regime.

October 31st, 2012, 8:18 pm

 

Warren said:

Syrian refugees caught up in Greece’s anti-immigration backlash. Please watch from 02:40 onwards

Backlash – Greece

October 31st, 2012, 8:38 pm

 

Ghufran said:

ميشيل كيلو
“إن من يريد الانطلاق من إرث النظام لا يريد الديمقراطية والحرية، أما من يريد فتح صفحة جديدة في كتاب الحرية والكرامة، الذي أسهم السوريون كلهم بدرجات متفاوتة في كتابته، فهو لن يسمح، ولا يجوز أن يسمح، تحت أي ظرف من الظروف، بقيام نظام إقصائي أو تمييزي”
To me, Michael Kilo has a lot of good things to say and he is more valuable than Ar’our or and his counterparts on the regime side, but for Islamist thugs, Michael is a Zummi and a useful idiot. It would be a moral disaster if Syrians sell their blood to be free from one dictaroship only to buy another one that treats the likes of Michael as a second class citizen.

October 31st, 2012, 8:43 pm

 

Ghufran said:

Any idea what those thawrajiyyeh in Libya want?
An American friend asked me a similar question, I suggested he directs the question to those who worked feverishly to make sure Qaddafi receives a stab in his lower exit after he did everything his new western friends asked him to do.
أفادت قناة “العربية” ان مسلحين سيطروا على مقر البرلمان في ليبيا، مشيرة الى انباء عن محاصرة نواب ليبيين من قبل المسلحين داخل المقر.
Do not wait for an explanation from the GCC freedom lovers.
The short answer is : you can not move a nation from a third world dictaroships to a western style democracy by just replacing old thugs with new ones.

October 31st, 2012, 8:53 pm

 

Warren said:

Liberman says Israel will never leave the Golan

A day after the Likud approved its merger with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party, the party’s leader declared that “ceding the Golan Heights would be suicidal,” on a Tuesday visit to the area.

Liberman, looking out towards Quinetra, told reporters that “unfortunately in recent years we have seen a number of attempts to negotiate over the Golan Heights. The Golan is an integral part of Israel, and I think that recent events prove that.

Liberman said that al-Qaida, which “sits just a short distance away in Quinetra, would be on [Lake] Kinneret, and the hills and all the kibbutzim and communities would be under the threat by all kinds of the most radical elements in the Muslim world.” The foreign minister stressed that he viewed the Golan as he did Tel Aviv, Netanya, Holon and Bat Yam, and was not willing to even discuss the idea of giving up the region.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=289872

__________________________________________________________________

The SNC/FSA have said nothing about the Golan Heights, no doubt afraid to offend their pro-Israeli Western sponsors. lol

October 31st, 2012, 8:55 pm

 

Warren said:

Joshua Landis discusses Syria with Duke audience

Joshua Landis is Associate Professor of Middle East Studies and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and author of “Syria Comment,” a daily newsletter on Syrian politics. Landis is one of the foremost authorities in the US on Syria and is a frequent analyst on TV and radio.

This lecture is part of our lecture series “The Islamic Middle East and Its Religious Minorities.” This lecture is cosponsored by the Duke Department of Religion and the Duke-UNC Consortium of Middle East Studies.

October 31st, 2012, 9:17 pm

 
 

Warren said:

Source: Midani Batman

Racan Alhoch‏@MidaniBatman

If Saudi/Qatar TRULY cared about #Syria they wouldve sent forces there as quickly as they sent them into #Bahrain to quell peaceful uprising

http://twitter.com/MidaniBatman

__________________________________________________________________

Too lazy to work and too cowardly to fight this the character of Sunni Taqqiyya Khaleeji!

Khaleejis are too bone idle to work, so they import and abuse foreign labour from the Indian sub-continent. Despite having record levels of unemployment, their indolent youth and population would rather receive regime welfare or lazy around in a cushy government job. Than get a real job in the private sector.

Despite spending hundreds of billions over the past decade on their military, the Khaleejis go screaming to the West to protect them from Iran, and whine to the US to overthrow Al Assad. The mentality of these Khaleeji is mind boggling.

October 31st, 2012, 10:27 pm

 

Warren said:

تجمع عُقد في شارع الصحافة ” قاطع ”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLsaCylBiQ4&feature=plcp

__________________________________________________________________

Arab Spring spreading to Kuwait.

October 31st, 2012, 10:40 pm

 

Warren said:

Syrian refugees clash with Jordanian police

In response to the refugee riot, scores of Jordanians took to the streets in the nearby town of Mafraq, demanding the Syrians be sent home, Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah said. The Jordanian protesters denounced what they described as “ingratitude” by the refugees to their host country.

http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-refugees-clash-jordanian-police-102506153.html

October 31st, 2012, 10:46 pm

 

Warren said:

Syria: What Lies Ahead

Joshua Landis is Associate Professor of Middle East Studies and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and author of “Syria Comment,” a daily newsletter on Syrian politics. Landis is one of the foremost authorities in the US on Syria and is a frequent analyst on TV and radio.

This lecture is part of our lecture series “The Islamic Middle East and Its Religious Minorities.” This lecture is cosponsored by the Duke Department of Religion and the Duke-UNC Consortium of Middle East Studies.

October 31st, 2012, 10:57 pm

 

Warren said:

MIT Gangnam Style (MIT 강남스타일)

November 1st, 2012, 12:19 am

 

Ghufran said:

A report on SC few months ago mentioned a plan to use drones in the war in Syria, there are now more evidence that those drones flew over Homs in September and this month.
For now, those drones seem to be mostly used by the army but that will not last. Those drones are relatively cheap, hard to detect and potentially lethal. Expect to hear more about this new addition of man-made killers, that may be what led one regime supporter PA to declare that ” the army has not used all of the weapons it owns”, rebels videotaped what seemed like a prototype of drones when they attacked a military research facility in Aleppo last month, two Syrian scientists associated with missile programs were assassinated by rebels this year. There’s a report on CNN about drones suspected of flying missions over Syria, Israel flew those drones over Lebanon and Gaza for years.

November 1st, 2012, 12:50 am

 
 

ann said:

Al-Qaeda Songs Praising 9/11 Sung by Blood Thirsty Saudi in Demonstration in Syria – Oct-27-2012

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dcb_1351564218

In an Eid al-Adha demonstration in Banash, Syria (Idlib province) that took place on October 27, 2012 and organized by the supporters of Jabhat an-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria) branch of the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA), Saudi Jihadis sing a “song” that goes like this:

“If they call me a ‘terrorist’, I would say: ‘It is an honor for me’
Our terror is praised, with a divine calling

Our prince, the Mullah, did not forsake his religion
All the soldiers have sold their souls to Allah

Our leader bin Laden, America’s instiller of fear
With the power of faith and our weapons

We destroyed America with a civilian plane
World Trade Center tomorrow, a pile of rubble

A band of Nusayris (Alawites)
We came to slaughter all of you”

This is what the West, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey are funding in Syria.

These are the type of people who are supposed to bring democracy, freedom, and modernity to Syria, the type of people who embrace Saudi Islamist Terrorism boasting about 9/11 and calling Osama bin Laden as their leader.

Are those the people that Americans share their “values” with?

[…]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dcb_1351564218

November 1st, 2012, 2:04 am

 

ann said:

The Sore Losers of the Syrian Crisis – 1 November 2012
by Thierry Meyssan

In 2010, France made the choice to breath new life into its colonial policy. This led her to instigate a regime change in the Ivory Coast and Libya, and to aim for the same result in Syria. But faced with the fiasco of the latter operation, Paris got carried away by the wave of events that she herself unleashed. After having armed and trained terrorist groups in Syria, the DGSE has now struck at the heart of the Lebanese capital

http://www.voltairenet.org/article176399.html

During a recent Round Table in Ankara, Admiral James Winnfeld, Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that Washington would reveal its intentions toward Syria once the 6 November presidential elections were over. He made it plainly understood to his Turkish counterparts that a peace plan had already been negotiated with Moscow, that Bashar al-Assad would remain in power and that the Security Council would not authorize the creation of buffer zones. For his part, Herve Ladsous, the U.N. Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, announced that he was studying the possible deployment of peacekeepers (“blue helmets”) in Syria.

All regional actors are preparing for the cease-fire which will be overseen by a U.N. force composed principally by troops of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikstan). These events signify that the United States is effectively continuing a process, begun in Iraq, of retreat from the region and has accepted to share its influence with Russian.

At the same time, the New York Times revealed that direct negotiations between Washington and Iran are slated to restart even as the United States continues its attack on Iranian monetary values. It is becoming clear that, after 33 years of containment, Washington is acknowledging that Teheran is an established regional power, all the while continuing to sabotage its economy.

This new situation comes at the expense of Saudi Arabia, France, Israel, Qatar and Turkey all of whom had placed their bets on regime change in Damascus. This diverse coalition is now suffering divisions between those demanding a consolation prize and those trying to sabotage outright the process underway.

Ankara has already changed its tune. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, previously ready for the worst, is now actively seeking reconciliation with Teheran and Moscow. Several days after insulting the Iranians and harrassing the Russian diplomats in his country, he is now all smiles. He took advantage of the Organization of Economic Cooperation in Baku to approach President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He proposed a complex framework for discussing the Syrian crisis which would allow Turkey and Saudi Arabia not to be left by the wayside. Careful not to humilate the losers in the conflict, the Iranian president indicated he was open to such an initiative.

As for Qatar, it is already seeking new horizons for its ambitions. Emir Hamad took off on a trip to Gaza, posing as the self-appointed protector of Hamas. He advocates the overthrow of the King of Jordan, the transformation of the Hashemite monarchy into a Palestinian republic and the installation in power of his proteges from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Only Israel and France remain in the opposition camp. The new scheme would offer a guarantee of protection to the state of Israel but it would also alter its special status on the international scene and end its expansionist dreams. Tel-Aviv would be relegated to being a secondary power. France, also, would lose influence in the region, particularly in Lebanon. Accordingly, the intelligence services of both states have concocted an operation to collapse the U.S.-Russia-Iran agreement which, even if it fails, would allow them to erase the traces of their involvement in the Syrian crisis.

France started by circulating the rumor that President Bashar al-Assad sponsored a Hezbollah plan to assassinate five Lebanese leaders: the head of the security forces, the head commander of the Ministry of the Interior, the Grand Mufti, the Maronite Patriarch and former prime minister, Fouad Siniora. Then, Paris took out Michel Samaha, who had served as liaison to the Syrian armed forces but who, having been disgraced in Damascus, was no longer of use. This brilliant and adept politician fell into the trap set for him by General Wassam el-Hassan, head of the Free Syrian Army and himself a liaison with the Salafists. Next, Paris eliminated General Wassam el-Hassan himself, who had not only become useless in the eventual advent of peace in Syria but also dangerous because of what he knew. The French rumor became reality : the number one name on the list of targets is dead and a pro-Syrian figure was arrested as he was preparing an attack on another name on the list.

At the core of these machinations is General Puga. The former Commander of Special Operations and Director of French Military Intelligence was the head of the personal general staff of President Nicolas Sarkozy and has been retained in that post by Francois Hollande. Linked by his unconditional support for the Jewish colonial occupation of Palestine [1] and having close connections to American neoconservatives, he carried forward French colonial policies in the Ivory Coast, Libya and Syria. Bypassing democratic institutions, he determined on his own the direction of French policy in the Middle East, despite his having no official appointment.

[…]

http://www.voltairenet.org/article176399.html

November 1st, 2012, 2:25 am

 

annie said:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/30/syrians_are_war_correspondents_too

A (as usual) beautiful article by Amal Hanano

Syrians Are War Correspondents, Too
A response to Terry Anderson’s “Running Toward Danger.”
BY AMAL HANANO | OCTOBER 30, 2012

Dear Mr. Anderson,

I read “Running Toward Danger” yesterday and I had to tell you how much it moved me. Syria is being ripped to shreds, the people are suffering, and the cities are being destroyed. We didn’t expect this degree of ruthlessness as a response to the people’s demands for freedom after 40 years of Assad tyranny, but as we know well, freedom is not free.

Your thoughts on war correspondents sacrificing everything for the truth applies not only to the brave journalists like Austin and Marie and Anthony and the dozens of journalists inside Syria now, but also to the Syrian men and women who stood behind the cameras, documenting the truth. We have lost dozens of citizen journalists in this revolution. Young men who were students, employees, fathers one day and became threatening targets the next day because of their cell phones, cameras, and laptops. They knew Syrians have been silent too long. Last year, they decided to never cover up Assad’s crimes with silence again. And they are paying a heavy price for it.

I don’t know what my dead friends would have answered your question, “Was it worth it?” But I do know what the ones who are alive and still film and photograph in Homs, Aleppo, Hama, Idleb, Daraa, and across Syria would say to the question, “Is it worth it to die for your camera?” They would say, “Yes.” Because they know for the first time in their lives, their voice matters and they are doing the most important job, to tell the truth while so many are telling lies. Telling the truth, in a way, has become even more important than freedom. It’s the road to freedom.

I’ve been writing about the revolution since the beginning. I didn’t expect to take on the role I now have when I began; telling my stories evolved into telling Syria’s stories. I only cared about one thing: telling the truth. Sometimes it seems like an impossible task. And many times the truth hurts. But we have to keep going and hope that what’s good in the people prevails over the evil.

When I read your piece, I remembered Anthony Shadid, a journalist who changed my life, and how much I miss his voice of truth. And I thought of Austin too. I pray he is safe and will return to his family soon.

Most of all, I wanted to tell you that your words made a difference to me. God bless you.

With much respect,
Amal

November 1st, 2012, 2:43 am

 

William Scott Scherk said:

Mina is consistent. She always knows in her heart what is true and she states it boldly. She is also consistent with spin and contempt. Here she is on April 13th, 2011, pressing the same line she has pressed since:

Most of the videos we have seen from Daraa did not show “peaceful protests”, but indeed people were right to be upset by a security apparatus which arrest 15 years old kids for graffitis. The problem is that in Yemen too, the first demonstrations (which ran unceasingly on al Jazeera for some weeks) were showing a lot of very young kids just happy to play the Gazawis for once.

I don’t think one should reject automatically the “Muslim Brothers conspiracy theory” as a trick of the regime, because they have been calling for the fall of al-Assad on Al-Jazeera Arabic pretty clearly since two months: Qardawi, and the exiled Syrian guy in Turkey called “the head of the Syrian brotherhood” (explaining that pious Muslims in Syria are prosecuted, a view shared all other the Arab world while it is certainly not true). Add to that that a lot of the early “twitter one-click revolutionaries calling for demos in Syria” were often from Saudi Arabia or carrying Salafi pictures or statements in their profiles, and you will see that they don’t even hide. Kurds were also playing their part on Twitter a month ago, and the worse scenario would be a coming partition of Iraq. Syria has became the new Lebanon.

The hard spin and contempt is solidified a month later, on May 13, 2011:

Khaled Sid-Mohans has lived in Syria for the past few years. He says people he met (the Damascus elite) were found of B. al Asad and that no one was afraid of the mukhabaraat anymore and people were talking freely on the different political problems (something I have noticed as well, through different stays, progressively).

He says he was in contact with the different leftish elite kids using Facebook and Twitter and followind the Egyptian events until they started to organize their own, the famous call for a demo on FB for 8th Feb that brought all together 50 people. He says the kids had no idea, no program, were usually gathering on thursday night with a bottle of arak and saying what shall we do tomorrow.

Then they posted on line their mini demos. After a few weeks of total chaos and no orgnization whatsoever, they found a role in becoming the interface between what was happening in some small towns (that’s where the Twitter exiled Kurds and the Swedish and Saudi exiles also very present on the net start to play a role). And the 500 elite Damascus kids start to report in English about what is going on in the poor Sunni suburbs and in the Kurdish north-east.

I add, and since the demos were not strong enough, kill a few people, organize some destruction by pulling the Khaddam/Banyas card and you get the result we see. And all the way long, the Syrian people have shown their total irresponsability and lack of appreciation of what the outside world depicts as a ‘brutal apparatus’ by sending their kids and women on the frontline.

Mina is not dishonest about her roots and her politics and her travels and her contacts. She has friends in Syria on the phone. [Edited for personal information that could lead harm] to She has traveled widely in the Middle East. She is accomplished in languages and familiar with the (Islamic) religious history of the region. She says she is Sunni but reviles the maniacs of the extreme fringes, the sheikhs and mad clerics and satellite hardcore religious channels.

I do not take issue with anything here. Nothing of this background tells me she would necessarily support a violently repressive autocracy againsts its victims, though she disdains each and every country of he present ‘spring’ as well as all other countries in the region. The only country (or state) she does not revile in the whole world would be China, perhaps explained by her avowal here on SC that she was an old Maoist.

Mina could add so much extra tang and richness to discussion if she felt any hope at all about any particular future of any part of humankind, if she felt anything near grief and despair and horror that marks every day in Syria, had she expressed her sympathy with the dead, had she been gracious and caring (or let that slip out). So much richness of the knowledge she has acquired (for she is an educated, multilingual, cultured woman, a self-cultivated exotic, a strong woman. In many ways I salute Mina’s forthrightness though I deplore her malice and intellectual rigidity and her cognitive errors.

The only funny, heartening thing about Mina is that she will admit the occasional error. In this case, I got a good chuckle out of her report on WSS-Googling investigation of my Reaganisticism. So boldly incorrect. So far from the truth, but a telling reminder that Mina sees what she sees through a very thick lens.

If she treasures her self, her acuity, her pulse-taking and her ability to comprehend vast tides of events, I can imagine she sobs in private at the damnation visited upon Syria by Assad in his war, and curses any gods who deliver maniacs to dominate human affairs.

If I am mistaken in my evaluation of Mina as a necessary tonic, okay. But I trust her word. She believes every word she utters, each strategic analysis of evil, and is not bidden to any other for her opinions. It is psychologically interesting to me to understand how she maintains her apartness from and disempathy to tragedy, and by what human error she lets contempt and miserable faith in humanity rule her expression.

How I would love to hear Mina speak from her mother’s heart, in understanding grief and rage against the regime from whence it comes justly. I choose not to believe she is stone-hearted, but simply bound silent on matters of emotion beyond her ken.

How else can she or the menagerie of regimists avoid sensing the wanton cruelty and brutality of Assad’s war on Syria?

To recap my own bio, Canucki, middle-aged, atheist, West Coast left, Trudeauite, anti-racist, gay as a boot, disturbed by cults and cult-thinking, sympathetic to those who have suffered under the boot of an atrocious hereditary police state, and who are currently under attack by the full might of the armed forces and who-cares-they-deserve-to-die blitzing of civilian populations.

I should share also that I agree with Mina on a hard-core few items, some of her observations of religious mania and dictature. These are game for discussion. I should perhaps stand for her more often when she is abused by dull sectarian accusations of imposture (Coptic beeyotch faker, etc), but on the whole she gives hard first (having harried TARA about a presumed fakery and imposture), so she cannot whine. She is very inquisitive about sect and the first to denounce a group or a nation in grossly reductive terms.

At her worst, Mina shows the very behaviour she rightfully deplores as vile: her varied (and thankfully ended) aspersions on and insinuations directed at Juergen on bases of his presumed Nazi blood.

I wish in my atheist heart that Mina could turn a corner and contribute her own sketch of a plan, of a hope, of a dream for Syrians. I wish she could offer aid, hope, clear sight and solutions rather than smug contempt.

November 1st, 2012, 2:51 am

 

ann said:

POUND THEM! POUND THEM! POUND THEM! 8)

Syrian jets pound rebel strongholds across country – October 31, 2012

http://durangoherald.com/article/20121031/NEWS03/121039935/-1/s

BEIRUT – Syrian Air force pounded opposition strongholds around Damascus and in the north Wednesday.

In the past weeks, the government has intensified air strikes on rebel positions and strongholds, particularly Maaret al-Numan.

A former resident of the city said more than 70 homes have been leveled as a result of air bombardments this week alone.

“The Syrian air force doesn’t leave the skies. When the warplane goes, the helicopter comes”

Most of the city’s inhabitants have fled due to heavy fighting, Ahmad said.

“Everyone has fled, you can’t live here anymore,” Ahmad said, adding that rebel groups, including the al-Qaida Jabhat al-Nusra, had flocked to the area.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdessi, accused Turkey of having “destructive policies” against Damascus and claimed Davutoglu, was “targeting the security and stability” of Syria.

The spokesman insisted it was the unwillingness of Turkey and Gulf states to cease supporting the rebels that doomed the truce, the state-run SANA news agency reported late Tuesday.

[…]

http://durangoherald.com/article/20121031/NEWS03/121039935/-1/s

November 1st, 2012, 2:57 am

 

ann said:

Syria presses heavy air bombardment of rebels – November 1, 2012

http://www.thepiercecountytribune.com/page/content.detail/id/262389/Syria-presses-heavy-air-bombardment-of-rebels-.html?isap=1&nav=5040

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian warplanes fired missiles at opposition strongholds around Damascus and in the north on Wednesday as Turkey, a key backer of the anti-Syria rebels, appeared to distance itself from an earlier call to impose a no-fly zone. 😀

[…]

http://www.thepiercecountytribune.com/page/content.detail/id/262389/Syria-presses-heavy-air-bombardment-of-rebels-.html?isap=1&nav=5040

November 1st, 2012, 3:07 am

 

ann said:

U.S. warns Syrian “opposition group” – November 1, 2012 😀

ZAGREB, Croatia – The Obama administration Wednesday renounced the proclaimed leaders of the Syrian political opposition and said any group seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad must reject attempts by extremists to “hijack” a “revolution”.

[…]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20121101_U_S__warns_Syrian_opposition_group.html

November 1st, 2012, 3:16 am

 

ann said:

US: Exiles (SNC) not fit to lead Syria – 13 minutes ago 😀

http://azstarnet.com/news/world/us-exiles-not-ideal-to-lead-syria/article_74bee916-9329-5409-8e87-84fbc9399f68.html

She dismissed the Syrian National Council, a Paris-based group of regime opponents who have lived in exile for decades, saying its leadership days are over

“This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes but have in many instances not been inside Syria for 20, 30 or 40 years,” Clinton said.

[…]

http://azstarnet.com/news/world/us-exiles-not-ideal-to-lead-syria/article_74bee916-9329-5409-8e87-84fbc9399f68.html

November 1st, 2012, 3:24 am

 

ann said:

BREAKING NEWS!

Ten killed, 50 injured in oil tanker blast in Saudi Arabia

An oil truck tanker has exploded in Saudi Arabia, leaving 10 people dead and 50 injured

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

http://rt.com/news/oil-tanker-explosion-killed-718/

November 1st, 2012, 3:37 am

 

ann said:

25 killed, 30 injured by fire in Saudi Arabia – 2012-10-31

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-10/31/c_131942579.htm

ABQAIQ, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — There are 25 people dead, including a number of women and children, and 30 others sustaining various injuries in a fire during a wedding in the Saudi city Abqaiq, Al Eqtisadiya newspaper reported Wednesday.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-10/31/c_131942579.htm

November 1st, 2012, 3:43 am

 

ann said:

Al-Qaeda Songs Praising 9/11 Sung by Blood Thirsty Saudi in Syria – Oct-27-2012

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dcb_1351564218

November 1st, 2012, 3:44 am

 

ann said:

Turkish economy slows (VIDEO) – 11-01-2012

http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20121101/105762.shtml

In recent years, Turkey has had one of the world’s fastest growing economies. But now, the country’s finances are beginning to show signs of strain. With the national trade deficit widening, economic growth is now under threat. Natalie Carney reports from Istanbul.

[…]

http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20121101/105762.shtml

November 1st, 2012, 4:00 am

 

ann said:

All Praise be to Allah The One, Allah The Eternal, neither does He beget nor is He begotten nor is there to Him any equivalent

Massive explosion rips oil tanker in Saudi Arabia, ‘scores dead or injured’ – 01 November, 2012

http://rt.com/news/oil-tanker-explosion-killed-718/

An oil truck tanker has exploded in Saudi Arabia, leaving at least 14 people dead and 60 injured.

­The vehicle is reported to have crashed into a concrete flyover to the east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, with the explosion occurring near one of the principal city’s transport arteries, at a junction on Khurays Road.

Neighboring houses and cars were damaged in the blast.

More casualties are feared as it took several hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

[…]

http://rt.com/news/oil-tanker-explosion-killed-718/

November 1st, 2012, 4:20 am

 

ann said:

POUND THEM! POUND THEM! POUND THEM!

18 killed, neighborhood gone, Syria activists say – October 31, 2012

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2012/oct/31/18-killed-neighborhood-gone-syria-activis-20121031/?news-world

Air strikes by Syrian Air Force and shells from tanks leveled a neighborhood Tuesday in a restive town near Damascus, the capital, killing 18 people, and at least five rebel fighters died nearby in clashes with regime troops, activists said.

[…]

November 1st, 2012, 4:35 am

 

ann said:

Moscow Warns against Assad Ouster – Thursday, 1 November 2012

“If this is a priority for somebody, bloodshed will continue, and for quite a while, too.”

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/144332/moscow-warns-against-assad-ouster.html

The removal of President Bashar al-Assad from power will do nothing to end the 19-month civil war in Syria but will only escalate the violence, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

“It is like daydreaming to speculate on the subject, to the effect that if the [Syrian] government is overthrown everything will fall into place,” Lavrov said after a meeting with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius.

“If this is a priority for somebody, bloodshed will continue, and for quite a while, too.”

“Assad’s fate should be decided by the Syrian people,” he added.
There is no military solution to the Syrian conflict as mercenaries fighting on the side of the Syrian insurgents keep arriving in the country from neighboring states, the minister noted.

Lavrov said on Monday Moscow was disappointed by the failure of a United Nations-brokered ceasefire, but there was little sense in blaming either side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed earlier this year not to allow a repeat of last year’s “Libya scenario”.

[…]

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/144332/moscow-warns-against-assad-ouster.html

November 1st, 2012, 4:48 am

 
 

Citizen said:

Palestinians draw arms in Syrian civil conflict
http://rt.com/news/palestinians-syria-rebel-brigade-730/

November 1st, 2012, 6:20 am

 

Observer said:

ALBO wrote
“Observer, dealing with the RNK may be a sign of isolation, but they themselves are less and less isolated thanks to China becoming the world largest economic power.

Given the continual decline of Europe and the US, many countries are betting on the Shanghai cooperation organisation which has much brighter growth prospects. Countries that used to be isolated are increasingly finding alternatives, it’s true of Sudan, Iran or North Korea for that matter.

But you shoudn’t mock the RNK that much engineering a nuclear deterrent in complete autarky like they did isn’t a small feat for such a tiny nation.”

RNK is less and less isolated?

This is a country whose main financial activity is to forge $100 dollar bills as it can not have any transactions. It exports SCUD missiles and has a nuclear bomb and the means to deliver it.

However, what is it that it is protecting? A starved population? A leadership that is responsive to its people’s needs? A thriving economy? great scientific and medical breakthroughs?

On which planet do you live? Or are you really that dumb and that Duck Love Struck that you think that any economic transactions can happen outside of the NY Chicago and London exchanges?

Dim wits on this blog please move to the Union of RNK and Athadistan. No exit visas necessary.

By the way the accidents in KSA of electrocutions and tankers burning are all of a sudden news to indicate that the ” armed terrorists gangs of the world wide conspiracy against the House of Saud and Athad have joined forces”

What a dumb a**

November 1st, 2012, 7:11 am

 

Syrialover said:

“ANN” in #254, the ugliest, sickest comment to date.

Repeatedly screeching “POUND THEM” with the triumphant news:

“Air strikes by Syrian Air Force and shells from tanks leveled a neighborhood Tuesday in a restive town near Damascus, the capital, killing 18 people.”

A vicious Syrian-hating war cry from an American (team?) who posts here in support of Bashar Assad.

Joshua, don’t allow this site be made sordid and offensive to Syrians by a psychotic American.

November 1st, 2012, 7:20 am

 

Syrialover said:

And “political Christian” WARREN (the counterpart to extremist Salafists), is now sickly obsessed and aroused by the story of a terrible accidental fire at a wedding in Saudi Arabia.

Joining multiple postings by the sinister “ANN” on the same subject.

I think we are seeing a link here.

It’s too much of a coincidence that they are following the same idiosyncratic and weird script for posting on SC.

November 1st, 2012, 7:40 am

 

Mina said:

WSS
A native English speaker who is not able to read through the “Gay Girl of Damascus” that it is an hoax should not engage on extracting information through literary criticism.
You are lucky you have so much free time that you can spend it reading all the SC archive.
The line you draw between research and calomny is usually too thin, I would say: where did I accuse Jürgen to have nazi blood?
There was a Reagan picture on the website that you were using as your personal url a few months ago.
Feel free to have a filecard on every commenter here, Google has one too, as also the Mormons. If it occupies your cold Canadian winter, I can’t blame you. Do you ever emit a critic against the Gulf or you just keep to the official Ottawa-lina?

Where are Visitor, Tara, etc, on the last Clinton comments about the Syrian expat oppostion?

November 1st, 2012, 7:47 am

 

vigilante said:

The US and the EU put all hopes on Ryad Seif to give a second life to the opposition. The SNC opposes it.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20121101_Worldview__The_way_forward_for_a_moderate_Syria.html

November 1st, 2012, 7:50 am

 

Syrialover said:

WSS (#244)

That’s a fantasy MINA you’ve given us.

She comes across as a narrowly informed misanthrope. With a compulsive need to dump scorn and negativity on the Middle East and its people.

She is using this site to scratch a personal itch that has little to do with commenting on Syria.

November 1st, 2012, 8:03 am

 

Syrialover said:

Bad news for Assad-liners and conspiracy theorists here. This information doesn’t fit the parroted line about Saudi government sponsorship of al qaeda in Syria.

Article: Saudi youth urged to stay out of Syria

Excerpts:

An influential Saudi cleric has urged Muslim youth not to join the Syrian rebels fighting to end President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, reflecting mounting concern among moderate clerics about radicalisation of the fighters.

Sheikh Salman Alodah, whose staunch support of the Arab uprisings has put him at odds with the Saudi government, said in an interview with Al Jazeera television that the presence of foreign fighters played into the hands of the Assad regime, which claims that foreign terror groups are igniting the civil war in Syria.

The Saudi government has been quick to cut short unauthorised donation campaigns and has warned against joining the Syrian rebels.

Though the Saudis support the toppling of Mr Assad, and are believed to be arming some factions among the rebels, they are trying to avoid repeating mistakes of the past – such as when thousands of fighters returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan joined al-Qaeda and turned their weapons against the Saudi regime.

Between 2003 to 2006, al-Qaeda-affiliated militants launched terror attacks, bombed civilian compounds housing foreigners and attempted to assassinate top Saudi officials. The threat has since subsided after a successful security crackdown.

The stance of Sheikh Alodah, who has more than 1.8m Twitter followers, ironically aligns him more closely with the position of the Saudi government, which banned him from travelling last year.
“Sheikh Alodah is not associated with the government, but the government does not mind him saying [this],’’ said Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist.

Hassan al-Mostafa, a Saudi writer, said that Sheikh Alodah enjoyed great influence over young people and was a force of moderation.

“The moderate sheikhs are afraid of being blamed for another wave of Jihadis who come back home and become time-bombs in their own countries,’’ he said. “Alodah has become moderate [over the] years and he wants to use his influence to avoid the mistakes of the past.’’

Source: Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a3fe70ec-22b3-11e2-938d-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2AyLzH44Q

November 1st, 2012, 8:22 am

 

Syrialover said:

The efforts by the US to try to help arbitrate and sort out the Syrian opposition doesn’t match the conspiracy theorists who believe the US wants to see Syria destroyed.

On the contrary, I read this as linked to trying to help move things along and resolve the nightmare for the Syrian people. Plus getting something workable and sustainable in place for the Day After and rebuilding.

Thank God there are serious efforts to try to break the impasse of lack of unity in a hugely variegated opposition.

With all the US’s current domestic issues it could simply turn its head away from Syria, but it isn’t.

November 1st, 2012, 8:45 am

 

Albo said:

It is transparent their concern is with hardened jihadis returning home, like those of Afghanistan, and not with jihadism per se and its victims abroad.

That they sponsor salafist Syrians and most likely other nationalities, if non-Saudis, is hardly controversial by now.

The key line is here “The Saudi government has been quick to cut short unauthorised donation campaigns and has warned against joining the Syrian rebels.” Private citizens in the Gulf have a habit of funding all sorts of nasty causes in the world, and the US routinely accuse the Saudis for that: Hillary for example, was caught by wikileaks saying that they “remain a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups.”

One does wonder, why these affluent Arabs don’t have better causes to support and constructive things to do with their wealth, for example Yemen next door was still in the 50 poorest countries in the world with the likes of Cameroon and Tadjikistan, with no improvements since decades, and probably worse now with all the current troubles in which Gulf countries also participate. Personally, that’s the kind of things (among others) that lead me to be so negative about the region.

November 1st, 2012, 8:52 am

 

DAWOUDD said:

Subject: Shia Terrorists

Iran (Ayatollah-istan) is the source of all evil these days, at least as far as Syria is concerned. A few days ago the NYT had an article on Iraq and how Iraqi Shia terrorists are first transported to Iran for terrorism training before flying to Syria to kill Syrians.

Syria will not see freedom until the shia terrorists from Hizbistan (Lebanon), Iraq, and Ayatollah-istan (Iran) are crushed and defeated!

Free Syria, Free Palestine, STOP Shia terrorism.

November 1st, 2012, 8:53 am

 

DAWOUD said:

Subject: Shia Terrorists

Iran (Ayatollah-istan) is the source of all evil these days, at least as far as Syria is concerned. A few days ago the NYT had an article on Iraq and how Iraqi Shia terrorists are first transported to Iran for terrorism training before flying to Syria to kill Syrians.

Syria will not see freedom until the shia terrorists from Hizbistan (Lebanon), Iraq, and Ayatollah-istan (Iran) are crushed and defeated!

Free Syria, Free Palestine, STOP Shia terrorism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November 1st, 2012, 8:54 am

 

annie said:

Syria’s rebels need to strike at the regime’s backbone

Hassan Hassan
Nov 1, 2012

What if the Syrian regime crumbled today? Did the government lose control – at least briefly – when at least four of the regime’s top figures were killed in a bomb attack in Damascus in July? In my opinion, it probably did.
Related

Comment Arm the rebels – and let them bring an end to Syria’s regime
Comment Facts on the ground the only narrative that matters in Syria

Those officials, including the dictator’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, linked the regime’s top echelons with the security apparatus in overseeing the daily repression. That chain was probably broken, for a brief period, before the embattled regime reasserted its control and the violence continued as usual.

But how would the regime’s opponents know? They clearly lack the necessary tools even to immediately recognise a power vacuum, much less fill it. Even if the regime fell, the war would continue until people on both sides became aware of the vacuum. The rebels must keep this in mind.

If the rebels are to achieve palpable results, new strategies are needed. From interviews with activists, rebel fighters and regime’s loyalists, there appear to be two critical areas where rebels must focus to break the stalemate.

First, strike the regime’s backbone. The Assads increasingly rely on militia-like forces that carry out daily operations on the ground, with little supervision from the Damascus leadership. The Assads have undoubtedly signed off on the killing, but in the form of general directives, rather than tactical leadership. That is why day-to-day operations were hardly affected by the July bomb.

And that is why a political solution is so unlikely at present. The ground forces will keep on fighting as long as they believe they can win, which is a dynamic the regime recognises.

The state has disintegrated, in the sense that the top leadership is detached from the rank-and-file forces partly for practical reasons. Regime loyalists on the ground have often demanded that more force be used, and criticised Damascus for a “soft” approach.

Rank-and-file units are unfamiliar with the regime’s strategic limitations, and are increasingly frustrated with its inability to crush the rebellion. Although most of these units are led by experienced officers, a significant number of regime fighters joined after the protests began 19 months ago. With the exception of the air force and elite units, such as the Republican Guard and the 4th Mechanised Brigade, the bulk of pro-government forces operate like unrestrained militias.

The war in Syria has morphed into localised battles of endurance, which often favours insurgents. In some cases, however, regime ground forces effectively act as irregular militias as well. That can be a strength as well as a weakness.

The regime’s leaders still believe that they can win this conflict as long as the ground forces are resilient and able to fight a protracted civil war, which could last for several years.

If rank-and-file officers begin to feel that they are bearing the brunt of the fighting, they will recognise the limits of their power, and the importance of compromise to save their own skins.

The second area that rebels must work on is establishing political leadership with a strong presence on the ground. Contrary to popular belief, a unified political opposition is even more urgent than a unified command-and-control structure among the armed rebels. Many of the disagreements among anti-regime fighters are the result of rivalries at the political level – the most salient example is the distribution of arms according to political loyalties.

A unified on-the-ground resistance cannot be the prerequisite for assistance and weapons supplies.

A coherent political leadership, backed financially and politically by foreign states, is more urgent than ever. As the US magazine Foreign Policy reported on Tuesday, the US administration intends to launch a new Syrian opposition council during meetings in Qatar next week.

The present Syrian National Council has proved time and again that it cannot reform and become inclusive on its own. An international effort is needed to make that happen. Foreign countries, particularly those that wield influence because they supply arms and aid, can help to forge unity on the ground.

Political leadership must be connected to Syrians inside the country, working closely with activists and fighters, and begin to administer areas where the regime has little or no presence. When the opposition members inside Syria feel that they are sacrificing their lives, they naturally owe no allegiance to politicians living in hotels in foreign capitals.

Just as importantly, the presence of political leadership inside the country would begin to build a model to replace the regime. Assad opponents need to capitalise on the regime’s weaknesses, instead of mirroring its behaviour. The dictator is trying to divide and rule; the opposition must unite and lead. He is alienating people by destroying neighbourhoods; the opposition must improve ties with ordinary Syrians, even those who do not support the revolution. Regime tactics work because opponents offer no coherent counterstrategy.

Rebels need effective weapons to be able to defend the areas where they operate. But even with better weapons, at best they can force the regime to negotiate, not cede power.

International diplomacy, personified by the envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, appears to be based on waiting until one side seeks negotiation. The rebels can force this to happen, but not with the current strategy.

hhassan@thenational.ae

On Twitter: @hhassan140

Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/syrias-rebels-need-to-strike-at-the-regimes-backbone#ixzz2AyUTLKCH
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November 1st, 2012, 8:55 am

 

Syrialover said:

ALBO #265

Pick apart and rearrange that information about the Saudis non-sponsorship of al quaeda in Syria all you wish, but it doesn’t alter the inconvenient reality Vs Assad’s claims.

November 1st, 2012, 9:02 am

 

annie said:

14:17 Sixteen soldiers defected from the Syrian regime’s forces in Aleppo, Al-Jazeera television reported.

14:13 China said Thursday it had made “constructive new suggestions” to end the bloodshed in Syria, including a phased region-by-region ceasefire and the formation of a transitional government.

13:51 Shaam Network spokesperson in Edleb, Ahmad Qadour, told NOW that rebels took over two Syrian army checkpoints, one in the town of Hamisho near Saraqeb, and the Al-Khaleej checkpoint on the Aleppo-Damascus highway. The activist also reported that regime airplanes shelled the towns of Talmans and Maar Shamarayn near Maarat al-Naaman. Meanwhile, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told NOW that clashes were still ongoing between rebels and regime forces in the Aleppo neighborhoods of Al-Hamdaniya, Al-Zahraa, Al-Aaziziya and Al-Jamiliya.

To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=253828#ixzz2AyXKtm4S
Only 25% of a given NOW Lebanon article can be republished. For information on republishing rights from NOW Lebanon: http://www.nowlebanon.com/Sub.aspx?ID=125478

Reminder of constant flow sites :
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/
and
http://www.livestream.com/syrianfreedom?t=410001

November 1st, 2012, 9:02 am

 

Albo said:

For those who think the US is really bent on helping the rebels, I’ll simply say:

– If they really wanted to make a difference, they had ample means to do it and fast
– They admitted that they are stopping some powerful and sophisticated weapons in Turkey as reported everywhere, in one article one source was saying explicitly that they they were OK with light arms, AKs and the like. I need to find the exact statement. But with that policy it’s obvious that that they see the rebels as expendables.
– The historical precedents. I posted the example of Saddam’s Iraq in the 90′ before, in that case they were comfortable with the population being massacred and didn’t move a finger. And I must add a quote from someone as influential as Brzezinski, who still has Obama’s ear: [the crisis in Syria]”is not as horrible or as dramatic as it is portrayed.”

Everyone can compare the facts to their usual humanitarian rhetoric. In the case of Syria, their “support” has certainly prompted many unnecessary deaths, people to whom they had given false hopes (exactly like in the Iraqi uprising I mention).

Edit: “Pick apart and rearrange that information about the Saudis non-sponsorship” I said it wasn’t controversial, you’re rearranging truth.
And they don’t fear to be exposed and take very little precaution, remember the crates journalists photographied?

November 1st, 2012, 9:13 am

 

Warren said:

Saudi Arabia: Present treatment of Palestinians in Saudi Arabia

Referring to the General Federation of Trade Unions in the [occupied] territories, The Los Angeles Times states that about 56,675 Palestinians were deported from Saudi Arabia and other Arab Persian Gulf countries in a month following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (11 September 1990).

According to The Washington Post, “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face expulsion or other retribution from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and smaller emirates” of the Persian Gulf as these countries are “eager” to punish the PLO and “suspect that many Palestinians in Kuwait collaborated with Iraqi occupation forces” (25 February 1991, 2)

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c2258,4565c25fb9,3ae6ab884c,0,,,SAU.html

__________________________________________________________________

Sunnis helping Sunnis, its funny how everyone gets around to hating Palestinians after living with them for a while.

Kuwait provided support and shelter for them, Palestinians betrays Kuwait.
Syria provided support and shelter for them, Palestinians betray Syria.

November 1st, 2012, 9:28 am

 

Warren said:

Panetta: ‘There Is an Al Qaeda Presence in Syria’

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta confirmed on Friday that al Qaeda has a “presence in Syria.”

At a briefing at the Pentagon with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Panetta was asked by a reporter, “Secretary Panetta, if I may, on al Qaeda in Syria, you’ve said that we don’t have any indication of al Qaeda in that — those double explosions that took place in Damascus. But what kind of assessment do you have on al Qaeda activity in Syria? Because the Syrian government confirms that al-Qaida is active in Syria. Do you have an indication to say that al Qaeda is actually active, how big it is, and is it a concern for you?”

Panetta responded by confirming the terrorist group’s presence, but provided few details.

Al Qaeda anywhere is a concern for us,” said Panetta. “And we do — we do have intelligence that indicates that there is an al Qaeda presence in Syria. But frankly, we don’t have very good intelligence as to just exactly what their activities are. And that’s the reason we can’t really indicate specifically what they are or are not doing. But they are a concern. And frankly, we need to continue to do everything we can to determine what kind of influence they are trying to exert there.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/panetta-there-al-qaeda-presence-syria_644450.html

November 1st, 2012, 9:30 am

 

Syrialover said:

ALBO #270

That’s a tired throwaway line suggesting the US “failed” and should be under suspicion for not resolving the Syrian crisis by military intervention.

Exactly at what point and how?

It would have been fantastic if they had realistically been able to do that. But it wasn’t possible for a powerful suite of reasons which you would be well aware of yourelf.

Meanwhile it’s seriously bad that Russia and Iran are in there guiding Bashar Assad’s limp wrist as he pushes destruction buttons.

How about you calling for a dis-involvement for those two national players who are directly involved in burning Syria along the Grozny model and teaching Sunnis a lesson.

PS I can remember the Iraqi uprising and the massive agonizing and debates in the west about what to do. This angst contributed to fuelling the actions of 2003, but memories are biodregadable.

It’s intellectually lazy and even absurd to keep blaming the west for all the Middle East’s problems. Plus it’s belittling to the Ayatollahs and Putin to deny them credit.

November 1st, 2012, 9:39 am

 

Warren said:

Wahhabistani recruit in the Fundamentalist Sunni Army

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d89_1345609305

Even the FSA fights under the vile flag of Wahhabistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW8DWK6RcLo

__________________________________________________________________

Saudi Arabia to pay salaries of Syrian opposition fighters: report

Saudi Arabia is set to pay the salaries of the rebel Free Syrian Army to encourage mass defections from President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday.

The payments would be made in either U.S. dollars or euros — which would mean a rise in salaries as the Syrian pound has fallen sharply in value since the revolt started 16 months ago, the broadsheet said.

The idea was first proposed to Saudi Arabia by Arab officials in May, the Guardian reported, citing sources in three Arab states and adding that the plan has also been discussed with U.S. officials.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/23/222214.html

November 1st, 2012, 9:40 am

 

Warren said:

US renounces Syrian rebels led by ex-pats

The Obama administration renounced the proclaimed leaders of the Syrian political opposition on Wednesday and said any group seeking to oust President Bashar Assad must reject attempts by extremists to hijack a legitimate revolution.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Syrian National Council should no longer be considered the ‘‘visible leader’’ of the opposition. That made official what has been the increasingly obvious sidelining of an opposition group led mostly by middle-age Syrian expatriates.

‘‘This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes but have in many instances not been inside Syria for 20, 30, or 40 years,’’ Clinton said during a five-nation Balkans tour. ‘‘There has to be a representation of those who are on the front lines fighting and dying today.’’

The United States has no direct power to anoint the would-be new leaders of Syria, but US backing will be essential for any hopefuls seeking outside financial, diplomatic, or possible military assistance.

http://bostonglobe.com/news/world/2012/10/31/rescinds-support-for-syrian-opposition-group-warns-extremist-takeover-uprising/UtAfS43YUWHzNj95XjWBkM/story.html

November 1st, 2012, 9:46 am

 

Syrialover said:

WARREN,the “political Christian”

Take a break from wall-to-wall cutpasting, print out your latest contributions here and take them to the nearest mainstream Christian church. See if you can get any interest and support for your furious prejudices and obsessions.

You won’t. But they will see you are deeply troubled and may offer to assist you.

November 1st, 2012, 9:47 am

 

Warren said:

Clinton Warns of ‘Extremists’ Trying to ‘Hijack’ Syrian Revolution

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday warned of “extremists” trying “to hijack the Syrian revolution,” and detailed US efforts to organize a cohesive Syrian opposition to replace the defunct Syrian National Council.

“We’ve made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition,” Clinton said of the persistently disorganized council of exiles and expats. “They can be part of a larger opposition, but that opposition must include people from inside Syria and others who have a legitimate voice that needs to be heard.”

“There needs to be an opposition that can speak to every segment and every geographic part of Syria,” she said. “And we also need an opposition that will be on record strongly resisting the efforts by extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution.”

The Obama administration denies it is sending any arms to the Syrian rebels; official policy is to send non-lethal aid. But they do admit that US allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar are sending in weapons, and the CIA has been reported to have helped facilitate the delivery of those weapons to Syria.

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/10/31/clinton-warns-of-extremists-trying-to-hijack-syrian-revolution/

November 1st, 2012, 9:50 am

 

Albo said:

”
PS I can remember the Iraqi uprising and the massive agonizing and debates in the west about what to do. This angst contributed to fuelling the actions of 2003, but memories are biodregadable.

It’s intellectually lazy and even absurd to keep blaming the west for all the Middle East’s problems. Plus it’s belittling to the Ayatollahs and Putin to deny them credit.
”

I wouldn’t blame the West for all the Middle East’s problems, but for countries like Syria and Lebanon their continued and blind support of Israel has certainly been extremely negative for both countries and populations over the years. This simple fact, which won’t change regardless of what happens inside Syria, is the reason why we should never trust them as “friends”.

As for Iran, Russia, the more the West get involved in Syria the more they will be involved too. It would be better that foreign meddling altogether decrease or cease, because there won’t be one without the other, that’s what the regional balance of power dictates. As for Iraq, frankly very few people still believe humanitarianism had any weight in their (misguided) strategic calculations. It would have been much easier to act during the massacres, when their armies were on the ground watching and had completely defeated Saddam.

November 1st, 2012, 9:59 am

 

Syrialover said:

I’ve got a teenaged associate who has offered to do a count and analysis of the number of posts WARREN is blizzarding us with here. ZOO used to account for 30% of the posts by number and over 50% of the volume here, but I don’t think he can compete with the “political Christian”.

In fact, he’s getting into the “ANN” league. And we’ve had some strong clues and indiscretions that suggest that “ANN” is probably more than one person.

Is WARREN also “ANN” or are they by chance in some way linked?

Yawn. I just wish they would give us a break from their silly distraction and swamping cutpaste game.

November 1st, 2012, 10:02 am

 

Warren said:

Michael Coren on islam: Sick of the lies

Michael Coren responds to a smarmy video ad in support of the campaign at the University of Toronto to fund a full-time muslim chaplaincy at the school.

“I’m just so sick and tired of the lies.”

November 1st, 2012, 10:10 am

 

Syrialover said:

ALBO #278

You think Russia and Iran wouldn’t be jumping into Syria if the west wasn’t allegedly (indirectly and non-visibly) involved?

Come on. The threat of the Syrian people overthrowing Assad unaided had Putin wetting his pants from day 1. And the Mullahs wouldn’t allow that to happen after their open alliance with Assad.

And I think if you did a literature search you would find the humanitarianism debate on Iraq on both occasions was pretty big at the time (which does not match what you say “people now believe”).

November 1st, 2012, 10:11 am

 

ann said:

Terrorists blow up oil pipeline in eastern Syria – Nov 1, 2012

Terrorists have blown up an oil pipeline in eastern Syria as mop-up operations are being carried out by government forces nationwide against foreign-sponsored mercenaries

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/11/01/269915/syrian-insurgents-blow-up-oil-pipeline/

The attack hit the pipeline in the city of Deir al-Zour, situated about 420 kilometers (262 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus, on Thursday, Syria’s state-run TV reported.

On October 18, insurgents attacked two oil and gas pipelines in northeast Syria near the Iraqi border.

The pipelines ran between Deir al-Zour and the city of Palmyra in central Syria. Syrian oil ministry officials immediately shut off the lines, and managed to extinguish the fires.

[…]

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/11/01/269915/syrian-insurgents-blow-up-oil-pipeline/

November 1st, 2012, 10:17 am

 

Albo said:

281

Yes the debate was big, I do remember. But I think I can’t argue with you, since you appear to believe cold strategic calculations aren’t the overwhelming force behind foreign policy.

First comes these calculations, then all sort of justifications are found to make it more acceptable to the public opinions, democracies are compelled to act like this. The debate you recall fits in this last category.

“The threat of the Syrian people overthrowing Assad unaided had Putin wetting his pants from day 1.” I wonder how you can believe that, practically. Weren’t we just talking of Saddam? Bahrein? Algeria? In each case, a military supported only by a fraction of the population prevails. I have a dozen of historical examples off the top of my head. How is Syria different?

November 1st, 2012, 10:38 am

 

ann said:

Russia denies Syrian army on brink of collapse – 2012-11-01

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/01/c_131945428.htm

MOSCOW, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Claims Syrian government forces had disintegrated were exaggerated, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Thursday.

Some experts had said Syrian government troops could not confront the rebels, but the current situation proved they were wrong, Serdyukov told reporters after returning from Paris, where he participated in the Russia-France Security Cooperation Council with Russian and French foreign ministers and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius.

The French side agreed with Russia there was no military solution to the crisis in Syria, he said.

“(Syrian president) Bashar al-Assad won’t step down voluntarily, as this is equal to suicide. He will fight till the end,” Serdyukov said.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned in Paris of continued violence in Syria if President Assad was ousted.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/01/c_131945428.htm

November 1st, 2012, 10:40 am

 

Griffin said:

Josh,

Do you have nay evidence, or heard any rumours that the US was involved in gun running from Libya to the Syrian rebels? Could the Russian SA-7’s which the rebels have been using recently come from Gadaffi’s looted stores of Russian weapons?

Retired Adm. James A. Lyons, former commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations recently wrote an op-ed asking some rather pointed questions, and making some astonishing claims:

Obama needs to come clean on what happened in Benghazi

“We now know why Ambassador Christopher Stevens had to be in Benghazi the night of 9/11 to meet a Turkish representative, even though he feared for his safety. According to various reports, one of Stevens’ main missions in Libya was to facilitate the transfer of much of Gadhafi’s military equipment, including the deadly SA-7 – portable SAMs – to Islamists and other al Qaeda-affiliated groups fighting the Assad Regime in Syria. In an excellent article, Aaron Klein states that Stevens routinely used our Benghazi consulate (mission) to coordinate the Turkish, Saudi Arabian and Qatari governments’ support for insurgencies throughout the Middle East. Further, according to Egyptian security sources, Stevens played a “central role in recruiting Islamic jihadists to fight the Assad Regime in Syria.” ”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/28/lyonsobama-needs-come-clean-what-happened-benghazi/?page=all

November 1st, 2012, 11:03 am

 

ann said:

Iraqi FM receives credentials of new Syrian ambassador – 2012-11-01

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/01/c_131945506.htm

BAGHDAD, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari received Thursday credentials of the newly-appointed Syrian ambassador who is replacing his defecting predecessor, a ministry statement said.

During a ceremony at the Iraqi ministry of foreign affairs, Zebari “received in the morning a copy of credentials of Sattam Jadaan al-Dandah, the new Syrian ambassador to Baghdad,” the statement said.

The two officials “discussed relations between the two brotherly countries and peoples, in addition to the developments of the Syrian crisis.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/01/c_131945506.htm

November 1st, 2012, 11:17 am

 

Warren said:

Peres: Muslim Brotherhood must offer new doctrine

Israeli President Shimon Peres explains the problematic nature of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

November 1st, 2012, 11:21 am

 

Warren said:

Clinton’s statements slammed as ‘astounding’ by SNC

Speaking to Al Jazeera’s Darren Jordon, Louay Safia, member of the Syrian National Council, called recent comments by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, regarding the SNC “an astounding statement”.

November 1st, 2012, 12:08 pm

 

Citizen said:

Syrian army strong enough to repel opposition attacks – Russia’s Defense Minister
The Syrian government army is strong enough to withstand the attacks of the armed opposition, Russia’s Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told reporters Thursday.
Though six months ago some analysts said that the Syrian government troops were not able of conducting military actions, time showed that these assumptions were wrong, he said.

Mass anti-governmental campaigns in Syria began last spring and very soon they grew into an open armed standoff between the government and the opposition.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_11_01/Syrian-army-strong-enough-to-repel-opposition-attacks-Russia-s-Defense-Minister/

November 1st, 2012, 12:34 pm

 

ann said:

Commentary: Clinton’s call reveals failings of West’s tactics on Syria – 2012-11-01

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/01/c_131945524.htm

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — “We’ve made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit to Croatia on Wednesday, demanding a reshuffle of Syria’s opposition leadership.

The proposed major shakeup, sidelining the Istanbul-based opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) that the U.S. has previously fully supported, shows the West’s tactics on Syria are in disarray and it is now scrambling to find other proxies.

The U.S., which didn’t bother to seek truth on the ground and hastily bolstered the SNC, has just found the proxy disappointing and withdrawn its support. It’s like slapping its own face.

The U.S. currently is shifting its favor to other opposition forces. But the fresh attempt is likely to fail once again, as it hasn’t addressed the root cause of the chronic crisis and suggested a political solution to the impasse.

Past experience shows foreign intervention and the blunt call for Assad’s ouster hasn’t reined in the raging violence, but has precipitated the country into deeper chaos.

Washington apparently still hasn’t abandoned its old interventionist mindset, which will once again lead to a dead end.

The West shouldn’t support one side to wipe out the other side, because it will beget severe consequences.

Even Clinton isn’t sure about Syria’s future, supposing the rebels can defeat the Assad camp.

She said Wednesday it was no secret that many in Syria, especially minority groups, are fearful about the prospects of Assad’s government being replaced by the Sunni-led opposition.

[…]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/01/c_131945524.htm

November 1st, 2012, 12:36 pm

 
 

Roland said:

Clinton’s latest policy line is more proof of the fickleness of empires. The USA was touting the SNC not long ago. Now that it seems that the SNC is useless, Clinton pulls the rug out from under them, and looks for a sharper tool to grasp.

What loyalty. What consistency. What honour. What a sick joke. What a Clinton!

The roadside of history is littered with the tools that empires cast aside.

November 1st, 2012, 12:56 pm

 

jna said:

FSA terrorists

Zaid Benjamin‏@zaidbenjamin
https://twitter.com/zaidbenjamin/status/264001750338531328

#BREAKING: 27 Syrian army soldiers summarily executed by the Free Syrian Army in Hemsho checkpoint near Saraqib #Idlib

November 1st, 2012, 1:08 pm

 

Citizen said:

Israel says it killed Arafat deputy al-Wazir in 1988
Israel has admitted it killed the deputy of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a 1988 raid in Tunis. Palestinian leaders have long accused Israel of assassinating Khalil al-Wazir, also known as Abu Jihad. Israel’s military censor cleared Yediot Ahronot daily to publish the information and an interview with the commando who killed the deputy, AP said. Abu Jihad founded the Palestinian Liberation Organization with Arafat. He was blamed for a series of attacks against Israelis.
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-11-01/#id39869

November 1st, 2012, 1:28 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

AJE syria blog about 2 hrs ago:

Syrian regime forces have destroyed one of the biggest bakeries in Aleppo’s Atareb town, killing at least 12 people.

“The regime is destroying everything in this country. It has destroyed schools, homes, residential areas, and now finally, the regime is destroying bakeries. This bakery is the main source of food for the abandoned poor people in this area. The regime destroyed four different bakeries last night, in Kafar Hamra, in Ramoon, in Qadi Askar, and here in Atareb,” a witness said.

“The Atareb oven distributes bread to over 40 towns. Nevertheless, no matter how much he [Assad] destroys, we will rebuild, we will rebuild by the will of God. We will rebuild despite all tyrants.”

[Reuters]

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/syrian-regime-forces-destroy-bakery-aleppo-killing-12-people

November 1st, 2012, 1:29 pm

 

Citizen said:

291-
Clinton just admitted that this whole Syrian “revolution” is another US covert overthrow in which the US gets to pick the new puppet regime to take over Syria and run it the way the US wants it run.

Clinton explains State Department efforts to build new Syrian opposition council
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/10/31/clinton_explains_state_department_efforts_to_build_new_syrian_opposition_council

November 1st, 2012, 1:40 pm

 

Citizen said:

291. ROLAND
When George Bush said Iraq would be the model for the countries of the Middle East?
They destroyed much of Iraq and killed Saddam. Then they destroyed even more of Iraq.
That’s precisely what they plan to do to Syria.
The US government is on an horrific precipice, which is why is why is racing toward either a world war, or an economic collapse; and it is the very actions of the Federal government which has put the American People, and potentially, the entire world, into this terrible predicament.

November 1st, 2012, 1:47 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

260. Mina

You asked about Clinton’s comments.

Here’s an AJE blog update:

Syria about 7 hours ago

Speaking to Al Jazeera’s Darren Jordon, Louay Safia, member of the Syrian National Council, called recent comments by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, regarding the SNC “an astounding statement”.

Though Safia admits the largely foreign-based opposition group has under-performed in some areas, he said “the secretrary will have to take some credit for that”.

In response to Clinton’s fears of “extremist” groups taking hold in the Syrian opposition, Safia says such groups are everywhere, but “in Syria they are very marginal”.

Safia then went on to criticse US policy in Syria saying Washington is currently working on a deal with Moscow and that the Obama administration “would like to have quiet in Syria”, even if that means Bashar al-Assad, Syrian president, retains some level of power.

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/clintons-statements-slammed-astounding-snc

November 1st, 2012, 1:56 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Big Ideas Podcast.

Syria experts Prof Landis and Dr Robert Pastor discuss chances of Brahimi succeeding.

~ 13 min long.

http://middleeastvoices.voanews.com/2012/10/big-ideas-podcast-can-brahimi-negotiate-an-end-to-the-syrian-war-15458/

November 1st, 2012, 2:04 pm

 

ghufran said:

As Haarem (Idleb) continues to be shelled by rebels, two towns in Reef Halab, Nubbul and Al-Zahira, are under siege by armed rebels who prevent food and medicine to reach more than 70,000 residents.
Add this new tactic (sieges of towns that are labelled as pro regime) to the almost daily assassinations/kidnapping and car bombs and you will start to understand why it may not be a stretch to call most of those rebels by the only name that fits their actions: terrorists.

November 1st, 2012, 2:11 pm

 

Warren said:

Pakistani couple kill daughter who talked to a boy

Pakistani couple killed their teenage daughter by pouring acid on her face and body after they caught her talking to a boy, police and a doctor said on Thursday.

The parents of the 16-year-old confessed to police in Kotli, a town in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, that they attacked their daughter after she had spoke to the boy outside their house, said Mohammad Jahangir, a local doctor at the hospital where she was brought.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-pakistan-crime-teenbre8a018o-20121101,0,3676885.story

__________________________________________________________________

Paki barbarism at work once more.

November 1st, 2012, 2:19 pm

 

Warren said:

At least 22 killed in Riyadh fuel truck blast

At least 22 people were killed when a fuel truck crashed into a flyover in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday, triggering an explosion that brought down an industrial building and torched nearby vehicles, officials and state media said.

Health ministry spokesman Saad al-Qahtani said 135 people were injured in the disaster. He told state television they were mostly men and included some foreigners.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/11/01/uk-saudi-riyadh-explosion-idUKBRE8A007420121101

November 1st, 2012, 2:35 pm

 

Warren said:

Syria’s Crisis Is Killing Off Trade In Turkey’s Borderland Bazaars

Before the crisis in Syria, the rapprochement between Turkey and Syria changed the fate of Hatay. Every day, 30 to 40 busloads of Syrians and 200 shuttle taxis were bringing throngs of shoppers to Antakya.

With all this trade boom, Antakya was rejuvenated. But now there is not a single bus or a single shuttle.

On the eve of [the Muslim holiday of] Eid al-Adha — traditionally a lucrative shopping period — Antakya’s streets were empty.

Mehmet Acikgoz, who has owned a clothing shop for 48 years, says: “There can’t be more unemployment than this.”

He adds: “It’s not just the foreigners; even Turks are not shopping anymore. Everyone is worried when we see deployments of tanks around us. We used to have customers coming from Jordan and Lebanon. They also stopped coming. Our trade has dropped by around 70%. We have only one or two customers per day. There used to be shuttles to Aleppo every 15 minutes. The Syrians used to shop to amounts of 1,000-1,500 Turkish Lira [$557-$836]. Sometimes a single person would spend our weekly revenue.”

One shopkeeper said he has not renewed his stocks for the past three months because he can’t sell what he has. He said in the past there were around 20 to 30 buses a day coming from Syria.

“If 10 of the 40 people in one bus shopped with us, we were satisfied with our income. The shops used to be packed. Syrians found Turkey cheaper than their own country. We hope Syria and Turkey will improve their relations soon. Before the civil war, I used to renew my stocks weekly, yet I haven’t renewed my stocks for the past three months,” he says.

Mehmet Ural, a blanket seller says: “I used to sell around 500-600 blankets daily. This year I sold 500 blankets in a whole year. Everybody is terrified and worried whether there will be a war between Turkey and Syria. The Syrians who settled in our towns and villages don’t have any money so that they don’t contribute to economy at all. They shop only for food stuff.”

He also notes that this local stagnation due to the loss of trade between Turkey and Syria affects the whole of the Turkish economy: “We buy the goods from Istanbul. Since we don’t buy any goods from Istanbul anymore, the production there slowed down. Production centers like Istanbul and Bursa used to sell us products as much as they export to foreign countries. We were their indirect exports,” he says.

Up to 80% of freight in Turkey is carried by trucks. Hatay, with 7,600, is the province that has the highest number of [trucks] after Istanbul.

Since the closure of the border, freight operators are on the brink of bankruptcy. When the border was open, it was possible to deliver goods to several Middle East countries in eight to nine days; the time has now been extended to 30 days.

Transporters are hoping for large ferries to [transport goods] to Aqaba [in Jordan] and Haifa [in Israel]. With this it will be possible to reach Aqaba and Haifa from Iskenderun or Mersin within 18 hours.

Mehmet Oflazoglu, who owns a used truck company, says no one is interested in buying trucks.

“Every company wants to sell their trucks but there are no buyers. In the second-hand market, prices dropped around 15,000 to 20,000 Turkish Lira [$8,362 to $11,150],” he says.

Oflazoglu says those who purchased their trucks with bank credits suffer most.

“Those without debt are better off, those who work for Europe and Iraq are doing OK. However those who are just getting started, or those who purchased their trucks with bank credit, are having a difficult time. Even if you don’t use a truck, you have fixed costs of around $1,000 per month due to insurance costs or the salary of the driver,” he says.

We are strolling through the market place at what is supposed to be its busiest time. We see shopkeepers playing backgammon. We say, “It doesn’t seem like there’s much business.” Shopkeepers agree and make bitter jokes.

A shopkeeper who sells stoves says, “Our customers were not Syrians, but even for us business has slowed down.”

Boutique owner Ahmet Alic says, “The Syrians don’t come, yet due to these incidents our own people also aren’t shopping here either.

“I couldn’t sell a single item today. The situation here is terrible. Syrians rejuvenated the shopping in the market. We already lost them. But our own people are also having a difficult time and they are reluctant to spend money,” he adds.

Hikmet Cincin, head of the Commerce and Industry Chamber of Antakya, urged the government to apply tax exemptions in the region: “What we dream of is not the instability in Syria and Lebanon, but Arab-Israeli peace. We want to take our trucks from here and drive all the way to Tel Aviv. We want to trade, sell our products, and spend our holidays in the region. The European Union project was this kind of dream. I have never lost my hope that we will realize this dream in our region.”

Nuri Canson, a driver who was taking a nap in the bus station, says shuttles are canceled.

“There is a war out there. Who would want to visit Syria now? Who would endanger their life?” he asks.

Before the civil war, besides buses there were also taxis going to Aleppo and Latakia. Two hundred cabs used to take people to Syria for 50 Turkish Lira [$28] per person.

Taxi driver Cemal Hacibey tells us for months he didn’t use his car. Asked whether if had a customer now, how much would he charge, he replies, “I charge 25 Turkish Lira [$14]. But I would only drive until the Cilvegozu border crossing!”

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/business/2012/10/turkey-syria-trade-hatay.html#ixzz2AzviqVAe

__________________________________________________________________

No wonder the Turks are securing their borders, preventing new waves of Syrian refugees and insurgents from crossing over.
The Turks are now regretting their belligerent attitude and aggressive stance towards Syria.

Looks like the Turks are cutting their losses: the SNC & FSA have been a bad investment.

November 1st, 2012, 2:47 pm

 

ghufran said:

لقي بطل لبنان في رياضة الكيغ بوكسينغ مصرعه في مدينة حلب السورية خلال مشاركته في القتال ضد الجيش السوري .
راجح عباس طرطوسي لقي حتفه خلال مشاركته مسلحي جبهة النصرة التابعين لتنظيم القاعدة في قتالهم ضد الجيش السوري .
و طرطوسي هو بطل لبنان في رياضة الكينغ بوكسينغ و يقيم في ملبورن في استراليا ويعرف فيها باسم روجر عباس وقد غادرها مؤخراً، و التحق بصفوف المقاتلين الذين يحاربون لاسقاط النظام السوري الداعم للمقاومة ضد الطرطوسي تم تجنيده على يد الشيخ الأسترالي من أصل سوري مصطفى مجذوب الذي قتل هو الآخر في سورية خلال قيادته مجموعة سلفية مقاتلة في ريف محافظة اللاذقية
western governments are likely to allow Takfiri Jihadists to leave and join the fight but they will only allow them back in coffins.

November 1st, 2012, 3:10 pm

 

Warren said:

Delusional & Bloodthirsty Saudi Jihadist in Syria Pledges to Cut Bashar’s Head Off

This video footage shows a primitive-looking “human” from Saudi Arabia fighting with the Saudi terrorists in Syria alongside the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA). While playing with his knife after slaughtering a sheep in the wilderness, he pledges to the audience that he will cut President Bashar al-Assad’s head off… LOL

November 1st, 2012, 3:17 pm

 

ann said:

Fighting between Arab and Kurds raises spectre of escalating conflict in northern Syria – 01 November 2012

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/fighting-between-arab-and-kurds-raises-spectre-of-escalating-conflict-in-northern-syria-8274505.html

The leader of a Kurdish faction embroiled in clashes with the Syrian rebels has vowed to repel further aggravation, as fighting between Arab and Kurds raises the spectre of a new front in an increasingly multifaceted conflict.

Kurdish representatives today remained locked in negotiations with elements of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) after clashes in northern Syria which killed dozens and sparked mass kidnappings. Around 50 Kurdish hostages are still being held by a rebel brigade, according to several Kurdish politicians.

“We will defend ourselves, we will defend our people” said Saleh Muslim Mohammed, the head of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which is fighting a separatist guerrilla war in Turkey. “There are parts of the Free Syrian Army who seem to be working for Turkey and have a strategy to hurt the Kurds.”

The clashes heighten concern that the fight will increasingly become a proxy war gouged along ethnic and sectarian lines, in what some have described as the “Lebanonisation” of Syria – a reference to its smaller neighbour’s bloody 15-year civil war.

Turkey has expressed concern that the PYD has seized control over Syria’s Kurdish areas, raising the risk of Ankara stepping up involvement if Kurds – who so far have largely stood back from the conflict – becoming increasingly embroiled.

The fighting first erupted a week ago when FSA members entered Aleppo’s Kurdish area of Ashrafiya. Details are disputed but the following day thousands of residents took to the streets calling for them to leave. A video from the demonstration shows the crowd chanting as they march down a hill, before gunfire breaks out.

Mr Mohammed claims that ten civilians were killed by FSA gunmen. “There was no other way, so our forces attacked them and killed nineteen of them,” he said.

Though he denies the PYD has an armed wing, Mr Mohammed regularly refers to the militants in the Popular Protection Units – a fighting force which he says numbers over 1,000 soldiers – as “our men” and other Kurdish factions maintain they are affiliated.

The fighting was followed by reprisal kidnappings of Kurds on the road between Aleppo and the Kurdish town of Afrin, with as many as 300 taken captive, most of whom have now been released.

Mr Mohammed says the PYD enjoys cordial relations with some elements of the FSA, blaming the kidnappings on the Northern Storm Brigade, led by the controversial Ammar al-Dadikhi. The PYD also pointed the finger at the group for an attack on the Kurdish village of Kastal Jendo, where fighting continued into this week.

Senior FSA figures have expressed regret the clashes took place, but with the leadership unable to assert control over the fragmented armed groups, events have the potential to spiral.

[…]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/fighting-between-arab-and-kurds-raises-spectre-of-escalating-conflict-in-northern-syria-8274505.html

November 1st, 2012, 3:29 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

This will make your blood boil. The FSA should show no mercy to these Republican Guard beasts.

FSA. True heroes who answered the calls of the helpless and distressed.

________________________________________________________________

BintAlRifai
Man reports Republican Guards raped woman, killed men, in Douma apartment building | Women Under Siege

https://womenundersiegesyria.crowdmap.com/reports/view/119#.UJLGct1wK0U.twitter

[…]

“This is a story of a 28-year-old single woman. She was a virgin, like all the single women in our society. It took place in Douma (a suburb of Damascus), where the Republican Guards broke into the three-floor building where she used to reside, entered all the apartments, and took out all the residents.

“They killed the men, eight total, and kept the women. One officer chose this young woman, dragged her by her hair, tearing her headscarf. When her mother tried to help and protect her, [the officers’] guards hit the mother on the head with their rifles and she fell on the ground bleeding. They took the young woman into a room and raped her. All the women outside heard her screams. They started crying and shouting, asking for mercy for the woman and for themselves, but it was in vain.

“When the victim came out of the room, there was blood everywhere. She had been brutally raped multiple times. They took the bodies of the murdered men and threw them in front of the entrance to the building and left.

“The young woman was in a heartbreaking condition. She was hysterical. Her mom lost her mind when she saw the horrible state of her daughter.”

[…]

November 1st, 2012, 3:40 pm

 

ann said:

Clinton’s Freedom Fighters

“Rebels” kill 28 soldiers, several executed – Fri Nov 2, 2012

Anti-government “rebels” killed 28 soldiers on Thursday in attacks on three army checkpoints around Saraqeb, a town on Syria’s main north-south highway, a monitoring group said.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/11/01/syria-crisis-idINDEE8A00BU20121101

Some of the dead were shot after they had surrendered, according to video footage. Rebels berated them, calling them “Assad’s Dogs”, before firing round after round into their bodies as they lay on the ground.

[…]

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/11/01/syria-crisis-idINDEE8A00BU20121101

November 1st, 2012, 3:44 pm

 

ann said:

Clinton’s Opposition Leaders

The video footage showed a group of petrified men, some bleeding, lying on the ground as rebels walked around, kicking and stamping on their captives.

One of the captured men says: “I swear I didn’t shoot anyone” to which a rebel responds: “Shut up you animal … Gather them for me.” Then the men are shot dead.

November 1st, 2012, 4:03 pm

 

ann said:

Car explodes outside military barracks in Turkey’s Iskenderun port – 4 mins ago

http://www.firstpost.com/world/car-explodes-outside-barracks-in-turkeys-iskenderun-port-511991.html

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A car exploded outside a military barracks in the Turkish port town of Iskenderun on Thursday, injuring four people, in what a local news agency said was a bomb attack.

The Dogan news agency said the car, which was packed with explosives, blew up 150 metres from the entrance to the barracks shortly before a military vehicle had been due to pass and that the blast injured at least three passengers in a civilian car.

“There was an explosion and we can confirm four people are slightly injured. The cause is still under investigation,” Ragip Kilic, police chief in Hatay province, told Reuters.

Iskenderun lies on the Mediterranean coast in Hatay, which also borders Syria. The Turkish military has dispatched troops and equipment from the town to help secure the border in recent months as the conflict in Syria deepens.

[…]

http://www.firstpost.com/world/car-explodes-outside-barracks-in-turkeys-iskenderun-port-511991.html

November 1st, 2012, 4:14 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

ANN,

You seem very happy about the news you are sending…. massacres, prisoners executed, explosions in Turkey, etc.

November 1st, 2012, 4:21 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

ANN,

You seem very happy about the news you are sending…. massacres, prisoners executed, explosions in Turkey, etc.

November 1st, 2012, 4:22 pm

 

ann said:

“rebels” kill 28 soldiers, video shows executions – November 02, 2012

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/afp/syria-rebels-kill-28-soldiers-video-shows-executions/553781

November 1st, 2012, 4:24 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

New SNC to be formed in Qatar. Riad Seif to be one of the leading personalities. Sometimes I talked in this SC forum about Riad Seif. I know him personally and I trust him too much. I know his personal views in life as well as in politics. He is a powerfull personality for future Syria. He has nothing to lose and too much to offer to Syria and syrians.

November 1st, 2012, 4:24 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

Like many members of the SNC who have not been back in Syria since 20,30 or 40 years so are most of the pro-Assad posters in this forum, people who probably never were in Syria or never visited Syria even once.

November 1st, 2012, 4:39 pm

 

Syrialover said:

ALBO #283 said to me:

“since you appear to believe cold strategic calculations aren’t the overwhelming force behind foreign policy.”

Correct. My observation is that it’s LACK OF cold strategic calculations that leads to war and messes. There is a lot of emotional reactive short-term stuff driving nations in their foreign policy, whether it’s the popular pulse of a democracy or the neurotic paranoia and idiocy of a dictatorship.

You ask why Syria is different [with regard to instant and very active Russian involvement]. Putin’s pants immediately became very wet over Syria because it IS different from the other countries you mention in range of significant ways.

Different in the Assad regime’s long special relationship with old-style Russia (a thread through the 70’s cold war era and into post-communism). And in Syria’s geopolitical position (to do with links to Iran, Russian pipelines, the “Stans” etc).

It’s also special in its chronological position (post-Afghanistan, a huge blow to Russian pride; post-Libya, where a vicious dictatorship attacking its people drew foreign attention and call for intervention – and yes, for Iraq too; post Russia’s own ferocious violence against civilians and infrastructure in Chechnya and military aggression against Georgia; post Russia’s failed lonely diplomatic support for genocidal Serbia).

And significantly, Syria was different in the extreme reaction of its dictator to any perceived internal threat and “disrespect”. Assad’s actions and defiance showed a man after Putin’s own heart, unlike the quitters in Tunisia and Egypt when faced with mass opposition and defiance (Putin’s own pants-wetting paranoid nightmare for Russia).

Yes, the internal threat to the Syrian regime and the world’s condemnation of Assad and is an attack on Putin’s psyche and distorted understanding of the world, according to countless analysts and close observers. He’s puffed out his little chest, grabbed his second-rate weaponry and pranced in to help Assad personally. But the wet patch on his backside is visible.

Pussy Riot back home chanting “Putin wet his pants” has got him nicely pinned (not just in their songs and stunts; I refer you to their impressively thoughtful, politically sophisticated and courageous court statements).

And let’s not even start on the Iranian “leadership’s” reason for jumping in deep to help Assad.

November 1st, 2012, 4:51 pm

 

Citizen said:

Seems that Landis is right about Iraq!

For at least a year Iraq has been suffering increasing spillover from the deepening conflict in Syria. Violence against Shias from radical Sunni jihadis, some affiliated with al-Qaeda, is growing. On some days the death toll from bombings and shootings in Iraq rivals the tally in Syria.

The spillover can go both ways. Yesterday, bombers, presumably Sunni fundamentalists, struck Sayyida Zeinab, a major Shia shrine outside Damascus, killing seven and demonstrating that anti-Shia violence could become a major sectarian feature of Syrian civil warfare as it is in the continuing conflict in Iraq.

Spillover into Iraq is far greater and more threatening to Iraq’s stability than that of Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey.

Lebanon is governed by competing confessional coalitions (in which the highest offices are apportioned to representatives of certain religious communities) that observe “red lines” in order to avoid plunging the country into another civil war.

Jordan is a largely Sunni country, where the Hashemite monarchy is seen as a unifying institution by all sectors of the population except tiny radical Muslim fundamentalist fringe factions.

Due to its massive size, non-Arab ethnicity and strong army, Turkey should be able to deal with any threats posed by unrest across its 900km-long southern border or from the Turkish Kurdish Workers party (PKK), reinvigorated by the Syrian rebellion.

All three countries provide essential services to citizens and ensure a certain degree of stability.

Iraq has none of the advantages enjoyed by Syria’s other neighbours. Public services and utilities are still lacking nine years after the 2003 war. Iraqis live in fear of bombs and kidnappers and express loathing of the government.

While Iraq’s Sunnis largely back Syria’s rebels, the Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, fearing the establishment of a Sunni fundamentalist regime on Iraq’s western flank, supports the secular Syrian regime.

Iraq’s armed forces and civil administration, dismantled after the US occupation, have not been restored. The military, where most soldiers were always from the majority Shia community, has been transformed into a sectarian Shia force by Maliki.

Sunni fighters who helped the US defeat al-Qaeda and its offshoots have been denied recruitment into the armed forces, creating a wellspring of resentment in Sunni provinces that border on Syria. Youngsters are encouraged to join radical Sunni groups. Some have gone to Syria to fight against the Assad regime while others are mounting deadly attacks on Shias and Iraqi regime targets.

Weapons and foreign jihadis are flowing into Iraq from Syria or crossing back and forth across the border to operate on both sides.

Shia fighters loyal to radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have migrated to Syria to fight for the government.

Therefore, the struggle for Syria could pit Iraqi Sunnis against Iraqi Shias, precipitating Sunni-Shia violence inside Iraq.

Syria’s mainly Sunni rebellion feeds Iraqi Sunni alienation and discontent.

Instead of adopting the inclusive line advocated by the US, Maliki has consolidated his grip on power by excluding from decision-making Sunnis and secularists who won the largest number of seats in the 2010 parliamentary election. Many Iraqis regard Maliki as a dictator and fear he could try to maintain his hold after the 2014 legislative election.

The death sentence for commanding death squads imposed in absentia on fugitive Sunni vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi has sharpened tensions between Sunnis and the Maliki regime.

Relations between Arabs and Kurds are increasingly strained due to the assertive independence of the autonomous Kurdish regional authority, which portrays itself as the only stable regime in the combined territory of Iraq and Syria. Furthermore, the Iraqi Kurdish leadership is promoting separatism among Syria’s Kurds, who are aligned with Turkey’s secessionist PKK.

Iraq’s western provinces could be drawn into the conflict in Syria. Sunni dissidents, inspired by the civil war next door, could increase deadly attacks on Shias, risking conflict with armed Shia irregulars or the largely Shia armed forces, which have, so far, exercised a certain restraint.

If fresh sectarian conflict erupts in Iraq, Maliki’s ally, Iran, is likely to become directly and deeply involved to a far greater extent than it is in the Syrian civil war. Such involvement could exacerbate regional polarisation between Shias, championed by Iran, and Sunnis, led by Saudi Arabia. Since Iran is Washington’s nemesis and Saudi Arabia is a key US ally, such polarisation can only destabilise an already wildly unstable region.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2012/1101/1224325979349.html

November 1st, 2012, 5:02 pm

 

Syrialover said:

SANDRO LOEWE you said in # 310:

“ANN, You seem very happy about the news you are sending…. massacres, prisoners executed, explosions in Turkey, etc.”

Comment: “ANN” and WARREN are the cheapest, nastiest, factory rejects of propagandists available.

They are only capable of parrotting the crude thinking of the Assadist regime and frantically cut-pasting to take up space. They have no ability or skills to influence others or spin things.

November 1st, 2012, 5:20 pm

 

Citizen said:

Car explodes outside barracks in southern Turkey
A car exploded in front of a gas station outside a military barracks in Turkey’s southern port of Iskenderun on Thursday, injuring four people, the Hurriyet daily reported. The blast occurred 150 meters from the Ahmet Tor military post. The victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The bomb went off shortly before a military vehicle had been due to pass, according to Dogan news agency. The port of Iskenderun is located in Hatay province, not far from the Syrian border, where Kurdish militants have often carried out attacks.
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-11-01/#id39873

November 1st, 2012, 5:32 pm

 

Citizen said:

Hezbollah reportedly installs surveillance camera network along Israeli border
http://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-installs-surveillance-camera-network-along-israeli-border/

November 1st, 2012, 5:39 pm

 

Syrialover said:

CITIZEN #316

Good to see you endorse the view that Iran’s “leadership” is the source of the most malicious virus in the region. A virus that’s being provided with channels to thrive and spread by Assad and Maliki.

November 1st, 2012, 5:51 pm

 

Citizen said:

@CamilleOtrakji
American zionist Christians are paying close attention to the Syria crisis. They want to see this prophecy come
https://twitter.com/CamilleOtrakji

November 1st, 2012, 6:11 pm

 

Citizen said:

320. SYRIALOVER
have you successfully fought the Israeli epidemic?

November 1st, 2012, 6:21 pm

 

Albo said:

“There is a lot of emotional reactive short-term stuff driving nations in their foreign policy, whether it’s the popular pulse of a democracy or the neurotic paranoia and idiocy of a dictatorship.”

I absolutely cannot agree with this premise. This isn’t the most appropriate place, but I could explain at length why. Modern states don’t act on a whim, they have complex apparatuses and highly specialized personel to deal with international relations. Even experts who aren’t noted for Russian sympathies, admit that Russian foreign policy is one of the most sophisticated in the world.

November 1st, 2012, 6:52 pm

 
 

Syrialover said:

New thread started

November 1st, 2012, 7:59 pm

 

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