The battle for Syria is getting messier

the great syrian armed forces are doing just fine.

they just elimanated 45 terrorists today…do OR die, soldier.

64000-3045=60955>>> to go

”such as the Republican Guard led by Bashar’s brother, is Alawi to the man.”

Really? My best friend friends little brother Rami Abdoush who got killed two days ago was not Alawi and he was a lieutenant in the republican guards, everyone feels no need to give any reference to what he/she is saying as long as its about Syria !!Even Dr.Landis

its sad to see even Dr.Landis repeating the opposition lies and fabrications and taking it for granted and pass it it on as such

as far as i know in Syria we don’t write on ID cards the religion of the person , where people get this information from?

And the fourth reason the Assad regime is likely to survive is the support of more than 50% of the population (by more than one poll).

Dear Louai,

I am happy to be corrected. Could you as your friend’s friend what percent of the Republican Guard is Sunni? I would like an accurate estimate so I can write an official correction.

Best, Joshua

Five Irania Republican Guard´s members detained:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlgPMlklJSU&sns=em

Do we need more probes to show how this regime is using foreign agents to keep itself in power while killing syrian population?

Excellent article Joshua. I did not read the other three, Emile is always good too, but I’m sure yours is the best.

My main issue with is is that you are sure the regime will not be able to convince enough Syrians to participate in the reforms package that will offer democracy-light

I would be the first to accept (and even prefer, for the next few years) democracy-light for Syria. I know many Syrians who are undecided (“silent majority”) who also would be happy with that possibility

Of course hte opposition, its millions of supporters and its allies outside prefer (or insist on) toppling the regime.

I refuse to predict … still HOPE there will be a less bloody outcome.

It is a painful and long learning process … it won’t necessarily be like Lebanon and Iraq’s experiments … so far 5 to 6 thousands died. But we are far from the hundreds of thousands casualties to our east or west. That’s good news if you are into seeing the glass half full.

A swift and bloody fall of the regime without setting the ground for the day after is not in Syria’s best interest but the answer is not to allow the regime to continue its violent campaign and political idiocy through 2013 as suggested by some loyalists.

Dr. Joshua,
With all due respect, don’t you think the burden of proof should be on you? You made a definative statement, while Louai merely presented evidence to the contrary. Regards.

Louai is right, there are non alawis in every branch of the army and security forces,but the percentage of alawi officers in high positions in the army and the RG is higher than the percentage of alawis in Syria as a whole, most Syrians know this but they still argue about the actual percentage as if it matters. Few good bloggers touched on the issue and tried to explain it but forgot to ask about the percentage of Shia officers in high position in Bahrain and KSA for example, or the number of Christians in Egypt’s ruling council,etc ,and the list goes on and on. In third world countries with autocratic rulers, tribal loyalty and religious bias are the norm, this is one reason why Arab and Muslim countries are the butt of jokes today.

re. Majed97,
“And the fourth reason the Assad regime is likely to survive is the support of more than 50% of the population (by more than one poll).”

No one knows. But if you’re so sure what you say actually is true why not prove it by having free elections!!?
There certainly would be no need for Assad to “win” with 98 %…

As I said before internet polls are not very reliable in countries such as Syria. The arab sunni proletariat seem very antiregime and even more so the kurds (judging by those in my own country), while most of the sunni elite i Damas and Aleppo are probably opportunists (like the tripoli libyans were). I think the later group will change if the opposition emerges as the winning side.

That is my interpretation. Judge it for yourselves:

Have you seen any big pro-regime demonstration outside the centers of damas and aleppo lately?

I think you know the answer.

The suburbs and all smaller cities are boiling and together they constitute the biggest part of Syria and Syrians.

Joshua I think your overall statement was accurate but exaggerated. The regime carefully appointed Syrians in the army, security, and foreign service based on loyalty as much as (or more than sometimes) skills.

But I think the numbers are highly exaggerated.

We do not know, and no one knows who is in charge, where, in security and army but let’s look at foreign service for example …

Foreign minister is a Sunni
spokesman is a Christian
Assistant foreign minister is a religious sunni (Ahmad 3arnous)
Ambassador to England … Sunni
Ambassador to France Christian
Ambassador to Canada Sunni
(Former Ambassador to the US) Alawite
I head that foreign ministry has many Islamists … education ministry definitely has a majority of Islamists …

Defence minister is a Christian
Head of intelligence Ali Mamlouk is a Sunni
Even Asef Shawkat is a Sunni

Most think Ali Mamlouk and Asef Shawkat are Sunnis

I think none of us can state any percentages.

Thanks for what I find a very accurate and realistic article Prof. Landis. Thank you for denouncing the real nature of power once for all.

I share your oppinion that this regime can still long some years.

Due to opposition´s political and military limitations, the only real option for Assad regime to be toppled is an increasing military pressure from outside. No doubt, foreign actors know this. Since dealing with Assad regime has become almost impossible for any democratic government, due to the total refusal in public opinions about Assad ¨policies¨ (crimes) towards its people, this western powers will have to promote a military intervention. Or they will have to accept that in the future they will find no one to diallogue with since Assad will be seen in most of the world as a large scale criminal.

Worse even, if foreign powers dont reach a consesus on military destruction of Assad power, Assad will destroy the opposition. It would mean probably many tens of thousands of victims among population insome months to come. And then who will be able in the west to deal with Assad?

Gadafi was accused of being behind Lockerbie, Saddam accused of gasing kurds in the past, but Assad will be regarded as the only dictator that stands against the Arab Spring and their people, killing people on screaming youtube videos.

If finally Assad is not attacked from outside, Syria can become some kind of North Korea. A paria country living inside a bubble.

But it would cause on the long term the destruction of the regime from inside. Corruption which is the main logics that feeds support for the regime would finally collapse due to the end of revenues.

Probaly there is a black hand that prefers Assad to remain in power but totally isolated and having lost its power to create instability in neighbouring countries.

I agree, the syrian regime is certainly more tribal (based on family ties) than sectarian (based on religious ties).
Also most “alawis” in leading positions seem to have assimilated into sunni (like Bashar)

The situation is Baathi Iraq was very different. The shia sect there were subjected to discrimination althought they constitute the majority. In Syria on the other hand, the sect of the majority (Sunni Islam) seems to be considered the “official” religion and minority sects such as the alawites or other shias aren’t even mentioned…

Dear Alex,
You may well be correct that the numbers I have used –

“Some analysts estimate that 80 percent of Syria’s officer corps is Alawi. The main strike-forces, such as the Republican Guard led by Bashar’s brother, is Alawi to the man. An ambassador in Syria’s Foreign Ministry recently claimed that 60 percent of Syria’s Foreign Service officers are Alawi and only 10 percent Sunni.”

Are incorrect and based on opposition propaganda. I believe they are exaggerated, which is why I qualified them with, “some analysts” etc.

But I will defend myself by maintaining that the Alawis predominate in the important security positions for the obvious reason that Alawis are more trusted.

The point I am making is two fold – one is that the regime is likely to hold up even under defections because many are loyal for sectarian reasons.

Two is that Syria is sectarian – which includes the opposition, which is largely Sunni. The logic of this revolt becomes more sectarian with each advancing month, as did wars in Lebanon and Iraq. I predict that as the Syrian struggle becomes increasingly sectarian the Sunni opposition will gain strength, the Gulf will finance it, and the Western World will promote it.

Assad has his defenders. Some are quite strong. But it is hard to see Assad winning in the long run. That is all I am saying.

I would love to have more accurate numbers for the Officer Corps, Republican Guard and Foreign Service.

I understand that some readers, such as Majed97 believe that the “burden of proof” is on me to get the correct percentages. He is technically right as I am the one making the claims. Unfortunately I don’t know them, but I would like to hear from anyone who believes he has any better information on which to make them. If the Republican Guard is 50% Sunni, that would be important information and would contradict what I have always heard. But so much is based only on rumor in Syria. We do need better figures.

Dear Alex,
You may well be correct that the numbers I have used –

“Some analysts estimate that 80 percent of Syria’s officer corps is Alawi. The main strike-forces, such as the Republican Guard led by Bashar’s brother, is Alawi to the man. An ambassador in Syria’s Foreign Ministry recently claimed that 60 percent of Syria’s Foreign Service officers are Alawi and only 10 percent Sunni.”

Are incorrect and based on opposition propaganda. I believe they are exaggerated, which is why I qualified them with, “some analysts” etc.

But I will defend myself by maintaining that the Alawis predominate in the important security positions for the obvious reason that Alawis are more trusted.

The point I am making is two fold – one is that the regime is likely to hold up even under defections because many are loyal for sectarian reasons.

Two is that Syria is sectarian – which includes the opposition, which is largely Sunni. The logic of this revolt becomes more sectarian with each advancing month, as did wars in Lebanon and Iraq. I predict that as the Syrian struggle becomes increasingly sectarian the Sunni opposition will gain strength, the Gulf will finance it, and the Western World will promote it.

Assad has his defenders. Some are quite strong. But it is hard to see Assad winning in the long run. That is all I am saying.

I would love to have more accurate numbers for the Officer Corps, Republican Guard and Foreign Service.

I understand that some readers, such as Majed97 believe that the “burden of proof” is on me to get the correct percentages. He is technically right as I am the one making the claims. Unfortunately I don’t know them, but I would like to hear from anyone who believes he has any better information on which to make them. If the Republican Guard is 50% Sunni, that would be important information and would contradict what I have always heard. But so much is based only on rumor in Syria.

“…I would be the first to accept (and even prefer, for the next few years) democracy-light for Syria”.

This could have been a possibility before February 2011. It’s too late for this now.

And what is “democracy-light” any way? There’s not such thing. Who will decide whether it’s “light”, too-light or not enough light?

“Democracy-light” is a dictatorship in disguise. It’s the infamous “benevolent-dictatorship” that was discussed here on SC, not long ago.

The only viable option for the Arabs is full jump into the cold waters. Just as it is happening in Tunisia, and hopefully in Egypt (if not the reactionary SCAF).
.

Most scholars have spent years studying the case of Syria as a complex structure of power struggle between sects. Some add the factor tribes to add some colour and difficulty.

But I defend the much simpler idea that there is no real role for sectarian or tribal factors in nowadays Syria. The real struggle is for power between rich corrupt classes (new burgoisie, new industrialists, state officials and high rank militars) and the rest of the people.

Damascus must be considered today as a City State. Since the creme of the creme of described above power and security apparatus are in the capital, the regime can ignore the rest of the country without feeling in danger. And the fact is that most people in Damascus still keep saying that the question is going to get solved and that Assad will prevail. I think in a sense there is a kind of irreality in Damascus that will support the regime for a long time before it collapses from its bases.

Dear Dr. Landis,
Thank you for sharing this analyses with us.
I happen to agree with Alex, that your assumption exclude any kind of reform that may come out of this struggle where a different scenario may emerge other than the grim Lebanese and the Iraqi ones.
I also agree with Louai and Ghufran that the assumption that Syria is run in the same sectarian manners as Iraq or Lebanon was, and as hinted that only Syrian Alawites run it is incorrect since all Syrians regardless of their believes work in the Syrian government, therefore the predication that Syria will follow Iraq and Lebanon fate and that Syria is the last ‘minority’ country in the middle east as you explained it, doesn’t reflect reality since Syria is not a sectarian based country as Lebanon or Iraq with the known discrimination against some sects there.

(Just a thought, it said that the African Americans made a higher percentage compared to other ethnic groups in the US army while they are only about 12% of the population. It also known that the US army picks the economically disadvantaged to join in. what does that make the US army, the army of poors that one day will take over the US government)

I already post a list of the numbers of Alawite Syrians in the top positions of the government, not the army, it was sent to me from a friend on FB and it may not be 100% correct but I think it’s close to reality and if checked properly it will show that the media daily assumptions that Alawites run the country is not actually a propaganda and a lie, and I think this is why not the whole country is out including against the regime until today as we seen in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen.
Here is the list again just for information:

“How about some reality check, how many Syrian Alawites are in the top government/security positions?

31 Minister, 2 Alawites
14 Governor, 2 Alawites
52 Security Branch Chiefs, 12 Alawites
14 Police Chiefs, 2 Alawites
14 City Council Charimen, 2 Alawites
40 Ambassadors, 4 Alawites
19 Secretary of the Baath Party branch, 2 Alawites
16 Presidents of the Syrian Universities, 1 Alawites
about 1600 judge in allover Syria 158 Alawites
about 720 General Manager allover the government, 71 Alawites
Vice President, Premier, Vice Prime Minister, Parliament Speaker, his deputy and his secretary + the President of the High Judicial Council, the Chairman of the Central Organization for Control and Inspection, the president of the Financial Supervision Committee, the Head of the Constitutional Court, the Chief of Staff, the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria + and all heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry all of them are NOT ALAWITES.”

https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=12558&cp=all#comment-280485

19. JAD

The numbers you show probe that Alawis are not criminals ¨per se¨ nor they are alone responsible for the mess in the country. The numbers you bring shows that the multiconfessional regime (composed by sunnis, alawis, christians, druzes and ismailis) is a disaster, not for sectarian reasons, but for political reasons.

Jad,

2 presidents – 2 Alawi – 41 years.
2 criminal brothers of the president – 2 Alawi – 41 years.
.

Joshua,

Your analysis is not based on facts but on gossip and spin coming from media and other sources proven to be false. I am a syrian belonging to the sunni sect from Aleppo and currently have dozens of my relatives employed in the security forces and republican gaurd. I can gaurantee you that 80% of the security forces in Aleppo belong to the sunni sect and the remainder belong to our brothers in the christian faith. Their is minimal involvement from the syrian allawi faith in security in Aleppo. If the army and security personnel were predominantly allawite, than they would have collapsed months ago. Their is also a substantial amount of revolutionary corps from the hassaka , raqqa and deir zour region whom the Assad family has had strong ties with for decades. The spin that the Assad family is coming to an end is the same lies that we have been hearing since the Harriri murder.

http://www.universalsubtitles.org/en/videos/PXuArQJAvsYq/en/227402/

“…My name is Sajjad (Haider Ali) Aminan and I am a member of the revolutionary armed forces of Iran. I am leader of a five-member
special team. I entered Syria on October 16, 2011. The others entered Syria on different dates”.
.

It does not matter all the precentages tossed back and forth. Bottom line, it is a criminal mafia that have monopolized all wealth and property, banned freedomS, weakened Syria and humiliated the nation. Alawites or low class Sunni, Turkmen or what have you, all the same. THEY GET OUT now, OR FACE CIVIL WAR WHICH I KNOW IT IS BEING PREPAIRED FOR NOW. Assad army will be decimated.

I quote Jeremy Bowen reporting for BBC NEWS from Douma, ,Syria. “The FSA have taken control of Douma and have manned checkpoints on every corner”. Whilst jeremy bowen is attending a anti govt rally attended by 100-200 fanatics, he reports “We have to leave now becoz the security forces are on their way to disrupt the protest”. Is this a complete contradiction of his original statement in the beginning of the report? He reports that the FSA is in control of Douma and than 10minutes later he contradicts himself and says they have to go and hide becoz the security forces r in the area and going to disperse the protest.

SL and Prince,
Your propaganda news is sad and pathetic, the 5 Iranians kidnapped are engineers/technicians, Turkey is involved in trying to help release them, if they were as your propaganda claim, Turkey wouldn’t even try to get involved, besides, we’ve been hearing about Iranians, HA and Almahdi fighting with the regime since Daraa, how come after 10 months the terrorist ‘angels’ only captured 5, use your brain people!
Forcing those people to wear black and to say what those criminals are forcing them to say whatever has been repeated many times already and every time when people get released they exposed their kidnappers fake stories and this one is no different.

This clip is a total BS!

أول دليل بالصورة على وجود المهندسين الإيرانيين المختطفين بين أيدي مجرمي “كتيبة الفاروق” في حمص

المقارنة التي أجرتها “الحقيقة” مع الصور الأصلية للمخطوفين تؤكد أن الصورة حقيقية ، و ” تنسقية مصياف” تنضم إلى قطاع الطرق ولو .. بالتشجيع!؟

باريس ، الحقيقة ( خاص): نشرت الصفحة الخاصة لـ”تنسيقية مصياف” صورة مأخوذة من إحدى المجلات الفرنسية تظهر الملازم الأول الفار عبد الرزاق طلاس مع أربعة أشخاص قالت الصفحة إنهم من المهندسين الإيرانيين الذين اختطفهم مجرمو ما يسمى “الجيش السوري الحر”. ولم تذكر الصفحة اسم المجلة الفرنسية التي أخذت منها الصورة ولا تاريخ صدورها. وبدا في خلفية الصورة علم الانتداب الفرنسي وقد ظهر عليه نصف عبارة ” كتيبة الفاروق”. وهذا ما يؤكد تقرير”الحقيقة” الذي نشرته في 26 من الشهر الماضي ، بعد اختطاف المهندسين بأربعة أيام، لجهة أن “كتيبة الفاروق” هي الجهة الإجرامية التي وقفت وراء عملية الاختطاف.

“الحقيقة”، وبعد العودة إلى صورة للممختطفين كانت وزعتها وكالة أنباء “مهر” الإيرانية الشهر الماضي ، تستطيع أن تؤكد أن من يظهرون في الصورة مع المجرم عبد الرزاق طلاس هم فعلا بعض التقنيين الإيرانيين المختطفين . ويلاحظ أن اثنين منهم لا يزالان يرتديان الملابس نفسها التي كانا يرتديانها عند اختطافهما. إلا أن الصورة تطرح سؤالا كبيرا ، فهي لا تظهر سوى أربعة من المختطفين ، فأين الثلاثة الآخرون؟ هل أقدم المجرمون على قتلهم!؟

يشار إلى أن مجرمي “كتيبة الفاروق” التي روعت الناس قنلا وذبحا في حمص وضواحيها، ودمرت أنابيب الغاز والنفط في المنطقة، يهيمن عليها عناصر من “القاعدة” وتنظيم ” أنصار السنة” كانوا يقاتلون في الفلوجة والأنبار في العراق ، وعادوا إلى سوريا في وقت لاحق. وعلى رأس هؤلاء خالد غازي زغيب ( ” أبو قصي”).وكان هؤلاء أقدموا على اختطاف التقنيين في 21 من الشهر الماضي بينما كانوا في طريق عودتهم من محطة جندر لتوليد الطاقة الكهربائية ، حيث يعملون على تركيب وحدة لتوليد الطاقة تعمل على الغاز باستطاعة 500 ميغا واط كان ينتظر أن ينتهي العمل بها نهاية العام 2011. ولكي تتنصل من الجريمة، عمدت ” كتيبة الفاروق” إلى اختراع تنظيم وهمي كواجهة باسم “حركة مناهضة المد الشيعي في سوريا” تبنى عملية الاختطاف في بيان سلم حصرا لوكالة الصحافة الفرنسية!! وهو ما يؤكد أن ” كتيبة الفاروق” ، وكما أشرنا سابقا ، عبارة عن مجموعة تشكل واجهة لأنشطة المخابرات الفرنسية في حمص والمنطقة الوسطى عموما. وكانت صحيفة” لوفيغارو” كشفت في تشرين الثاني / نوفمبر الماضي عن أن المخابرات الفرنسية تدير المسلحين في حمص وضواحيها من شمال لبنان ، حيث تمدهم بالسلاح والصور الفضائية عن تحركات الجيش السوري!

تبقى إشارة أخيرة حول التعليق الذي وضعته صفحة” تنسيقية مصياف” على الصورة ، وهو تعليق يمجد ويشيد بعملية الاختطاف التي تسميها ” إلقاء القبض”! وهذا ما يؤكد أن التنسيقيات في قسم كبير منها مجرد واجهات لترويج الجريمة المنظمة. وستكون المصيبة أعظم إذا ما تأكد أن هذه الصفحة تقف وراءها سيدة واحدة تدعى ندى الخش ، العضو في حزب الاتحاد الاشتراكي الناضري الذي يقوده حسن عبد العظيم!؟ والسؤال الآن : منذ متى كان آل الخش ، الذين نعرفهم أبا عن جد، يمجدون قطع الطرق واختطاف الرهائن و / أو قتلهم؟

(*) ـ في متابعة لاحقة بعد نشر هذا التقرير ، تبين لـ”الحقيقة” أن صورة المختطفين الإيرانيين نشرت في مجلة ” باري ماتش” Paris Match ، العدد من 5 إلى 12 كانون الثاني / يناير 2012 . وقد أشارت المجلة إلى جانب الصورة أنها ملتقطة بتاريخ 20 من الشهر الماضي، أي في اليوم نفسه الذي اختطفوا فيه!
http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/6477/Default.aspx

23. Amir in Tel Avivsaid: “…My name is Sajjad (Haider Ali) Aminan…”

Here is a picture of the five Iranian engineers before they were kidnapped in December.
http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120126/shamseddin20120126170657280.jpg

Love in your video the rifles placed in the background. That’s supposed to lend authenticity?

Will hear about the new kidnapped Iranians soon from our SC ‘reporter’:

11 Iranians were kidnapped during a religious visit to Syria, the terrorists took the men and left the women in the bus:

السلطات الايرانية تعلن اختطاف 11 ايرانياً في سوريا اثناء زيارة دينية

أعلنت وكالة انباء “الجمهورية الاسلامية الايرانية” نقلاً عن المسؤول بهيئة الحج الايرانية مسعود اخوان أن 11 مواطناً ايرانياً خطفوا اثناء زيارة دينية لسوريا.
وقال اخوان “كانت حافلتهم في طريقها الى دمشق عندما هوجمت في مناطق سوريا الوسطى وخطف 11 من ركابها.”
وقالت قناة “برس تي في” في موقعها على الانترنت ان مجموعة مسلحة خطفت الرجال من الحافلة “ومضت بهم الى جهة غير معلومة وتركت النساء في الحافلة”.
واضافت ان المسلحين اتصلوا بأقارب احد المخطوفين في طهران وطلبوا فدية.
وذكرت وكالة انباء الجمهورية الاسلامية ان المتحدث باسم وزارة الخارجية الايرانية رامين مهمان باراست دان الهجوم ووصفه بانه “لا مبرر له” وطلب من دمشق اطلاق سراح المخطوفين.

Iranian pilgrims kidnapped in Syria

A group of armed militants have attacked an Iranian bus on the road connecting the capital, Damascus, to the northwestern city of Aleppo, Press TV reported.

The incident occurred on Thursday when a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims was stormed by unidentified gunmen.

The assailants kidnapped 11 men and drove off to an unknown destination, leaving the female passengers in the vehicle.

The gunmen contacted the relatives of a kidnapped passenger in Tehran, confirming the abduction of the Iranian nationals and demanding a ransom.

On December 21, five Iranian electrical engineers were kidnapped on their way to a power plant in the troubled Syrian city of Homs by unknown gunmen.

Two more Iranian experts, who were trying to clarify the situation of the five abducted engineers, have been kidnapped and there has been no immediate report about their whereabouts.

Syria has been gripped in months of unrest following the eruption of street rallies against the government of President Bashar al-Assad in mid-March.

The protests drew mass demos by supporters of the government who took to the streets across the country to condemn the unrest, and reject any foreign intervention in the country’s internal affairs.

The Syrian opposition accuses security forces of conducting a deadly crackdown on protesters, but Damascus blames terrorists and armed gangs for the violence it says is orchestrated from outside the country.

Syria says its security forces have been given clear orders not to harm civilians, and that many of those killed in the months-long unrest are army and police officers assassinated in terrorist attacks.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/223222.html

JNA

Like 5 IRGs can not get together in civillians cloth at any time and take a picture. I just can’t understand how you could consider the photo you linked as evidence to the contrary.

At UN on Syria, Arab League Report Still Not In, Germany Says No Precondition

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria2annex012612.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 26, updated — After a morning in which several Western members of the Security Council said that the Arab League would brief the Council on Monday, when consultations broke up at 1:45 pm on Thursday, things were not so clear.

Russia’s Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin stopped and told the Press that the Arab League monitoring report annex (which Inner City Press first reported on yesterday, here) has still not been received, “even in Arabic.”

Once it is, Churkin said, it must be translated into English — he said he did not demand Russian — and given to capitals. He mentioned a possible briefing on Tuesday. He told Inner City Press that “General Dabi,” the Sudanese chief of the monitoring mission, will be be available but that he requested, and no one objected, that if members request it Dabi come and brief at some later date.

Germany’s Deputy Permanent Representative Miguel Berger came out and said that having the annex “cannot be a precondition” for the briefing.

He said that Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi, and the Qatari minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, now dubbed “HBJ” by some Council diplomats, would be able to tell the Council everything that is in the report.

Berger said Germany would have preferred Monday — which makes it sound like Tuesday at latest. Meanwhile some say HBJ arrives in New York on Saturday, so that could change. Watch this site.

Update of 4:10 pm — Inner City Press is reliably informed that the ArabLeague briefing of the Council is Tuesday 3pm, regardless of annex and translation (which will “probably” be done).

Joshua

It is obvious that the regime as we know it will change as soon as the new Constitution is accepted and implemented. I hope that this will happen before 2013. Bashar is talking about a March 2012 announcement. The reforms will be announced, and the question is if, how and when they will be implemented.
There will be certainly changes in the ruling class and the ruling system but as we have seen in other Arab countries, the emergence of strong new personalities in Syria will not be very quick. Just in the last 10 months, we have not seen a single charismatic personality that could be accepted by the Syrians. Most are either weak or stained by the country that finances them or religiously oriented. There was a high hope that a Mandela or a Ghandi would emerge from the opposition but after 10 months, the hesitant Syrians saw nobody but greedy, confused, arrogant or polluted wannabees. They also saw the incoherence of the multiple oppositions, its shameless courting of the USA and Western countries whose Israeli agenda is clear to every Syrian living in Syria and historically suspicious of the West motives.
The suspicion towards the opposition has even increased when the opposition declared they wanted to scratch 40 years of foreign policy and adopt a US “client” approach to ensure the inflow of funds to restore the ailing economy.

To support the new rulers, there is still nobody else than the current army that may take decades to change and in the meantime, it will follow the same pattern and loyalties as before. No serious new leader would even consider disbanding the army. Iraq mess is still present in the mind of the people

My conclusion is that, yes the regime will change but will not fall. It will move ahead sustained by some leaders now present in the ruling class and some new faces with a new Constitution and essentially supported by the army in its present shape.

The same way the autoritarian military ruler brought Turkey within a number of years gradually and sometime awkwardly, to a democracy, Syria can move to a democracy erasing the old system without desmembering it.
2013 may be the beginning of that journey.

Terrorists gun down eight people across Syria on Thursday – 2012-01-27

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/27/c_131378175.htm

DAMASCUS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) — At least eight people were killed and 20 others injured, including children, in separate attacks carried out by “armed groups” across Syria on Thursday, state-run SANA news agency reported.

Armed groups fired rocket propelled grenades (RPG) at three neighborhoods in central province of Homs, killing four people, including two women, and injuring 20 others, SANA said, adding that another armed group on Thursday shelled the Palestinian Camp neighborhood in Homs with mortars.

Earlier in the day, a colonel was killed by an armed group in front of his house in al-Wae’er area in Homs. Also, a First Lieutenant from the army engineering units was killed when trying to dismantle an explosive device which was remotely detonated in Khirbat Ghazala area in southern Daraa province, SANA said.

In a separate attack, an armed group assassinated an industrialist at Sheikh Najjar Industrial City in northern Aleppo province, SANA said, adding that the authorities are studying and analyzing information to hunt down the killers.

Also on Thursday, a law-enforcement member was killed by the gunfire of an armed terrorist group near Homs. Quoting what it described as “a well-informed source,” SANA said that the armed group opened fire on the car of the law-enforcement forces while crossing the Shinshar bridge near Homs and killed a member of them.

Meanwhile, engineering units dismantled two explosive devices in Homs, SANA said, adding that each device was handmade and weighed 25 kg.

In Damascus’ countryside and central province of Hama, the competent authorities continued hunting down “armed groups” and managed to confiscate some weapons and ammunition, some of which were made by Israel, SANA said.

The seized weapons included machine guns, bombs, Israeli-made bombs and explosive devices, communication devices, binoculars and night vision devices in addition to uniforms similar to what the Arab observers wore during their tours in Syria.

SANA said that the authorities also discovered an abandoned house Thursday, which had been used by “terrorists” to torture the kidnapped people, adding that a team of Arab observers had gone to the area and documented the incidents there.

On Tuesday, Syria agreed to extend the Arab League (AL) observer mission for a second month.

The AL started a monitoring mission in the country on Dec. 26 of last year to monitor the country’s unrest on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reportedly said that 49 people were killed Thursday across Syria, including eight Syrian soldiers and seven defectors.

The report, however, couldn’t be independently verified on the ground.

The Syrian government has charged that a media war is being launched to undermine Syria’s security and stability. It further says that it’s cracking down on armed groups that are targeting army men and civilians as well.

Some Syrian provinces, such as Homs, Hama, Idlib, and some suburbs of the capital Damascus, have witnessed severe clashes between government troops and militia groups, allegedly comprising of Syrian army defectors. The daily grind of violence has stocked fears that the country might be sliding toward a civil war.

The head of the so-called Syrian Free Army, a group of alleged defectors who were given refuge in Turkey, has recently pledged to carry out wide-scale attacks against army bases across Syria.

Joshua

There are many ways to feel safe at every high or sensitive position in army, security or government.

President Hafez relied on allies form the countryside and from all minorities, and secular Muslims he personal knew well. At his time there were many Ismaelis, Druze and … secular Muslims.

Mustapha tlass and Abdul Halim Khaddam were both Sunnis. When Khaddam started to get close to the Saudis in the late 90’s Hafez started to distance him. Bashar politely kept him outside the real decision making circle.

So, it is not by religion alone, but by a continuous assessment of level of sectarianism.

Bashar appointed many non-Alawites but he has another, subtle way to stay in control: make sure there is a trusted (Sunni or Alawite) near the top in the same department to monitor everything. For example, like all embassies of all countries, there is probably at least one security officer in there. It does not matter what religion is each ambassador …

Having said that … ALL of the army’s top generals are Alawites, minorities, or totally secular Sunnis. No one with religious tendencies will be promoted beyond a specific rank.

“The regime” is not only an Alawite regime … it has loyal support of many secular Sunnis.

Ahleen Bronco! 🙂

The UN unable to update the death tool due to ‘fragmentation on the ground’ (whatever it means, maybe absence of the elusive Rami Abdul Rahman of the ODSH now vilified)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5juEhNjcVVaK5NlshHqdoZMraScwA?docId=CNG.2ed706274083b5e00481b72882b4a47d.4c1

Pillay gave a toll of more than 5,000 dead when she spoke to the Security Council in early December, but has not updated it.

Under secretary general B. Lynn Pascoe told the council on January 10 that at least 400 people had been killed since a widely criticised Arab observer mission deployed in Syria on December 26.

After meeting Security Council ambassadors again, Pillay said the toll had risen but added: “We are experiencing difficulties because of the fragmentation on the ground.

“Some areas are totally closed such as parts of Homs, so we are unable to update that figure,” she told reporters.

Jad

Thanks…

Isht2nalak! Nice to see you back even for one comment.
I think Tara will be welcoming you back soon.

A pro-Israel journalist proposes that the US accepts Bashar Al Assad survival if he signs peace with Israel and breaks the relation with Iran.

If Assad Survives, Peace with Israel?
by Daniel Freedman,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfreedman/2012/01/25/if-assad-survives-peace-with-israel/

The outcome of the uprising in Syria has the potential to revolutionize Israel’s relations with her neighbors and turn the Middle East upside down for the better – if the current Syrian leader, Bashar Assad, survives. It would, however, require the type of foresight and deft diplomacy rarely seen anywhere these days, let alone in the Middle East.
(..)

Tara,

https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=13243&cpage=1#comment-292857

The picture shows that the five “confessed” Iranian Revolutionary Guards are the same men identified as Iranian engineers who were kidnapped in December.

Who is kidnapping Iranian pilgrims?

Iran condemns kidnapping its pilgrims in Syria
2012-01-27 06:31:00
TEHRAN, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) — Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast condemned on Thursday kidnapping of 11 Iranian pilgrims in Syria, calling the act inhumane and unjustifiable, the local satellite Press TV reported.

Earlier on Thursday, a group of unknown gunmen attacked an Iranian bus on the road from the Syrian capital of Damascus to the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, abducting 11 Iranian men. The assailants drove off to an unknown destination afterwards, leaving the female passengers in the vehicle, said the report.

“These acts, which are against humane principles and moral and international obligations, are by no means justifiable, and it is expected that these people immediately free Iranian pilgrims,” Mehmanparast was quoted as saying.
(…)

Dear Alex and all Syrian patriots and Syria Lovers

This article is worth to read , sorry for non Arabic speaking
please read it in entirety

http://www.champress.net/index.php?q=ar/Article/view/111510
please read it in entirety

I believed it all long, its not about regime or the president change or the well of Syrians people …

I believe this time will be no deals under/on the table, there will be winners and loser … both sides will go to the end, Syria is very important milestone in the whole plan, the end target is Russia and China, the Syrianna axe is blocking the way.

Thank you for let me comment

I think you all wrong about who is in power in Syria, The Baath party is in power, and the only thing that all the officers in Syria share is their belonging to the Baath party, yes many minorities joined the Baath party that provided equal opportunity to them that was denied them before the Baath party time, The Syrian army is run by an ideological team that believe in Arab nationalism and are willing to fight to secure and preserve the independence of the Syrian decision and course, they will prevent Syria from being a puppet state, I want also to add that president Assad is the secretary general of the Baath party and that is what made him president contrary to public understanding,

President Assad and the Baath party have a plan for reform, if reform is what Syria is paying the price in blood for, the plan is to have a new constitution that allows only two 7 year terms for the president so he can have an out in not running again in 2014, the multi party system with no set aside for any party will secure that the Baath party will have to win the support of the people so many of the people that joined the Baath party for economic needs will leave and the Baath party will be leaner and more effective,

people who want to end the regime as we know it in Syria of single party system, referendum for president, should support the reform that is comming and should call the violent oppositions as they are, terrorism campaign ,
The Syrian army will be the safeguard for the peaceful transfer of power between the parties so we will not replace a dictatorship with another.

OPPENHEIMER: Drug war left out of State of the Union – Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

http://www.modbee.com/2012/01/26/2043307/drug-war-left-out-of-state-of.html

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Barack Obama talked about the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, but didn’t say a word about a war taking place next door that is killing more people than the others: the drug-related war in Mexico and Central America.

Was it a careless omission? Or is Obama — and, to be fair, his Republican critics — deliberately overlooking one of the world’s bloodiest wars because they don’t have a clue what to do about it? According to the Jan. 11 official report by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, the death toll in Mexico’s war against the drug cartels over the past five years has risen to 47,515. That’s slightly more than the casualties in Iraq over the same period, and nearly twice the number of victims in Afghanistan, according to human rights groups.

And that is without counting Central America. The drug war has turned Honduras into the country with the world’s highest homicide rate, with 82 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, followed by El Salvador with 66 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to United Nations figures. By comparison, the U.S. annual homicide rate is fewer than five deaths per 100,000 residents.

The morning after Obama’s speech, I asked former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda why he thinks Obama omitted these drug wars. He offered three possible explanations.

[…]

Thank you Joshua, it is good article, however it is depressive to me.since I am in the opposition.
One year is long time, considering 50-100 are dying daily, a lot of things can happen meanwhile. infact depression and frustration could help the revolution to die out. I did not read in the article,what will bring Assad down, I did not read the economic factors that could play,and I did not see what the AL,and US and Europe,and Russia will do,nor I read what external changes could effect the crisis in Syria.
The reform that Bronco and Norman are talking about,is cosmetic,they are intended to passify the syrians, everyone knows that the Alawis and opportunistic Baath members are controlling Syria.
the fourth brigade has many loyal non Alawis,probably 50%,as I know some sunni there, The son of Mustafa Tlass is one of them,he was asked to stay away since this revolution started.
The FSA are increasing in number, Turkey and US and Europe credibilties will evaporate if they let the syrian down , Trouble in Iran and Iraq seems to get worse,the economy is deteriorating.

Its great feeling to hear the above song I linked and to watch the brave men in the Syrian army putting an end for the these criminal thugs who terrorized out country and took the lives of thousands of Syrians. Syria will be back and Assad will be the strongest president in the whole region. This was a big test and he nailed it. Congrats chief

الهروب من الحرب إلى المفاوضات!
حبيب فياض
دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي تنسحب من المبادرة العربية بشأن الأزمة السورية. الدور العربي يستوفي المطلوب منه بنقل هذه الأزمة إلى حيّز التدويل. في المقابل، الاتحاد الأوروبي يفرض عقوبات نفطية ومالية مشددة على إيران. دول عرب الخليج تبدي استعدادها لتأمين البديل عن النفط الإيراني المحظور. في كلتا الحالتين، الدول هذه تؤدي دوراً واحداً: تهيئة الأرضية لترحيل الأزمتين السورية والإيرانية، إلى الدوائر الدولية، مقدمة لإدخالهما في بازار التفاوض الدولي.
ثمة محاولات غربية للربط بين الأزمتين الإيرانية والسورية ووضعهما في سلة واحدة. إدراج طهران ودمشق في سياق مزدوج من العقوبات الأوروبية ليس من قبيل المصادفة. فالمعسكر الغربي يحاول التعامل مع الجانبين بوصفهما مشكلة مشتركة، ووفق آلية واحدة: عقوبات اقتصادية مشددة تهدف إلى الإضعاف، وأداة خليجية محددة المهام تدفع إلى التنازل. الجمع بين الأزمتين نابع من انعدام إمكانية الحسم، في ظلّ تعذّر إيجاد تسوية لإحداهما من دون الأخرى. لا إمكان لتفاهم إيراني مع الغرب ليست سوريا بنداً أساسياً فيه، كما لا حسم للأزمة السورية ما دامت طهران متحالفة معها.
الرئيس الأميركي يتحدث عن إمكانية التسوية السلمية للأزمة مع إيران، فيما تراجع الحديث الإيراني عن إقفال مضيق هرمز رغم العقوبات، ورغم مجيء حاملة طائرات أميركية إلى مياه الخليج، بمؤازرة فرنسية – بريطانية. يبدو أن ثمة توافقاً مبدئياً على عودة المفاوضات بين إيران والدول الست. المسألة النووية الإيرانية بصدد العودة إلى الكواليس الدولية، بعد انقطاع دام أكثر من عام. هي مفاوضات مجهولة الأفق رغم مقدماتها الواضحة.. الدور الأوروبي في هذا الخضم لا يتعدى كونه ممهداً لتفاوض إيراني – أميركي. هذا، من دون إغفال جهد عراقي لفتح ثغرة في جدار العلاقات بين الجانبين. أصلاً، لم يأت وقت وكانت فيه طهران وواشنطن على هذا القدر من الاستعداد للتفاوض. الملف النووي لم يعد جوهر المشكلة، بل تحول إلى مجرد مدخل تفاوضي على الملفات كلها. ليس لدى إيران استعداد لتقديم أي تنازلات نووية. كما ليس لدى الغرب أمل بأن تتراجع إيران قيد أنملة نووياً. المفاوضات المرتقبة، إما أن تفضي إلى تفاهمات متعددة وشاملة، وإما أن تدفع إلى قرع طبول الحرب والمواجهة.
بالمقابل، الانسحاب العربي الخليجي من الأزمة السورية يفسح في المجال أمام وضعها على أجندة التفاوض الإيراني – الدولي بمشاركة تركية. من المرجح أن تنعقد المفاوضات المرتقبة في اسطنبول حيث سيجلس على طاولة واحدة الأطراف التي تمتلك حل هذه الأزمة: إيران قد تعطي أميركا والغرب في العراق وأفغانستان، مقابل أن تأخذ منهما في سوريا. روسيا تبدو أكثر حزماً في رفض خياري العسكرة والعقوبات، وهي تعمل للتأثير على الموقف التركي، ودفعه إلى التخفيف من حدّة التصعيد ضدّ النظام السوري. فيما عين أنقرة على ملفات تعنيها في العراق، وهي تريدها من طهران تحت ستار من التوتير والتأزيم مع سلطة المالكي.
قدرة إيران النووية باتت امراً واقعاً، والأجدى غربياً التغاضي عن هذه القدرة ما دام الخيار العسكري مستبعداً، وما دامت العقوبات لن تغير من سلوك طهران حتى لو أنهكتها اقتصادياً. أما الأزمة السورية، فقد خرجت من طور الحسم ودخلت مخاض التسوية، بعدما استنفدت وسائل العمل على إسقاط النظام، رغم ما أصابه من إنهاك واستنزاف.
هل تنجح مساعي التهدئة في الوصول إلى تسوية؟ وهل يأتي يوم يتخلى الغرب عن ورقة العقوبات على دمشق وطهران، على «أساس» أن لا تخصيب لليورانيوم في سوريا ولا تظاهرات في طهران تطالب بإسقاط النظام الإيراني؟

Dear Dr,Landis

Among all the blogs out there yours and your writings are the most accurate that’s why, even i don’t come and read here much anymore but i keep direct all my western friends and colleagues to your blog because you always look after the Facts and i find myself learning things about
It was a typo , Rami is not my friends friend little brother ,he is my best friend little brother ,he was killed in the Lebanese borders 3 days ago in clashes with peaceful demonstrators ,he is from Babelsbaa ,his family always refused to move out from there but after their loos they can’t stay there any more ,just like my family .
As i said there is no way to prove what is the majority of the republican gourds manpower, its maybe true that alwaite are a majority number in the republican guards but defiantly they are not ‘’ Alawi to the man’’
I served in the Syrian army, i was sent 3 days to my unit’s jail because i was caught reading the bible, the military low is very clear and firm about practicing any religious activity in the service, this is not a bad thing in my opinion and highly needed.

Yes, in the army alawis are not minority specially in the high ranks ,in my opinion this is happens not only because the regime in a way or another want it ,but also because Christians and Sunni are not really into security and army business ,the reason behind it is not clear to me and i hope to hear your opinions about it if possible

I still refuse to see the problem in Syria now is Sunnis vs Alawis ,if its the case Aleppo and Damascus would be the heart of the revolution not Homs ,and the Sunni would already achieved whatever they are aiming
the regime has more support than anyone think not because its good deeds ,but because of the criminal acts of the opposition that till now proved they are one million time worst than this regime.

مواطن مندس
لن أدخل في تاريخ النضال السلمي وإيجابياته وسلبياتها، ولكن ألم يكن شعار السلمية هو الذي جعل العالم كله يتعاطف مع ثورتنا ويجعله يصف الشعب السوري بأنه شجاع وجبار لايخشى الموت ومواجهة الآلة العسكرية بصدور عارية في سبيل الوصول لحريته وكرامته؟

ألم تؤدي السلمية إلى جذب المزيد من فئات الشعب السوري إلى جانب الثورة، وحرضتهم على الأقل على تقديم يد العون بأي شكل من الأشكال الممكنة.

ألم تحرك سلمية الثورة جهات دولية في البدايات باتجاه تبني مطالب الشعب السوري المحقة؟

ولكن، وفي الطرف المقابل ألم تؤدي السلمية إلى القتل المجاني للثوار بدون الخوف من المحاسبة، أو حتى الثأر الشخصي بسبب احساس القاتل بالأمان لأنه سيبرز عضلاته وجبروته نخو طرف يعرف أنه لا يؤذيه؟

ألم يؤدي هذا القتل المجاني إلى خوف فئات أخرى في المجتمع من الالتحاق عملياً بالثورة خشية التعرض للأذى ( فليس كل الناس على درجة واحدة من الشجاعة )؟

الم تؤدي السلمية إلى زيادة القتل والوصول للتعدي على الأعراض والأموال والكرامات الشخصية؟
وبالجهة المقابلة، هل تم حمل السلاح رغبة بالعنف والقتل؟ أم أن الجيش الحر ومن التحق به من العسكريين والمدنيين لجأ للحل العسكري دفاعاً عن النفس والدين والكرامة والأعراض؟ ألم يتم اللجوء للسلاح بعد تخاذل العالم كله عن دعم مطالب الشعب السوري، وخاصة بالمقارنة مع ثورات سلمية أخرى جرت بالمنطقة؟
هل يوجد ظرف أو مكان في الدنيا أفضل من سوريا لتطبيق مبدأ الشاعر النواب ( أولاد القحبة هل تسكت مغتصبة )؟؟
ولكن، أليس من المنطق أن نقول أن هذا السلاح أدى إلى فوضى كبيرة في انتشاره واستعماله؟ ألم تقع حوادث كثيرة مؤسفة بحق أبرياء ( ولن أذكر أمثلة كثيرة أعرفها شخصياً حفاظاً على أمانة المجالس ) ؟
ألم يؤدي هذا السلاح إلى تطرف بعض الجماعات بمطالبها، بحيث أصبحت تطالب بوطن على مقاسها وليس على مقاس الوطن نفسه؟؟
لا أدعي أنني أعرف الإجابات، ولا أدعي أنني أمتلك الحقيقة والحل، ولكني أدعي وأقول أن مايجري على أرض الواقع يختلف كثيراً عن الكلام النظري، وأعترف أنني على أرض الواقع أقوم بكثير من الأشياء بحكم قوانين ومسار أمور خارجة عن قناعاتي الفكرية النظرية!!!

Bribing Moscow:

النهار: موسكو تتعرض لاغراءات مقابل الامتناع عن التصويت بمجلس الامن

لفتت مصادر متابعة لـ”النهار” الى ان “الاتصالات الجارية مع روسيا تحاول ان تتلمس بعض النقاط التي شغلت الروس بالنسبة الى سوريا مع ابداء الاستعداد لاعطاء الضمانات اللازمة لها على صعيد مصالحها في سوريا بعد رحيل الرئيس السوري كما ضمان مصيرهذا الاخير وعائلته مع تأمين الحصانة لهم تماما كما جرى بالنسبة الى الرئيس اليمني علي عبد الله صالح باعتبار ان هذا الموضوع يشكل اشكالية في حد ذاته بعد الكم الهائل من الضحايا في سوريا”، يضاف الى ذلك “مجموعة اغراءات لموسكو على صعد عدة في مقابل الامتناع عن التصويت على الاقل وليس ممارسة حق الفيتو فيما تفيد هذه المعطيات عن انزعاج روسي من ان الدعوة الى اجتماع لمجلس الامن الثلثاء انما تمت عبر بريطانيا وليس عبر رئيسة المجلس لهذا الشهر اي جنوب افريقيا وان هذا الاجتماع سيعقد بعد الاستماع الى احاطة من الامين العام للجامعة نبيل العربي ووزير خارجية قطر حمد بن جاسم عن الوضع في سوريا”، مشيرة الى ان ” هناك محاولات تجرى وفق بعض المعطيات على اساس تبني مقدمة المشروع الروسي في القرار الذي يعمل على اصداره مجلس الامن على ان يتبنى في مضمونه الخطة العربية من اجل حل الازمة في سوريا والمتمثلة باعتماد النموذج اليمني اي تفويض الرئيس السوري صلاحياته الى نائبه، وبحسب المعطيات نفسها يراعى ايضا في القرار المرتقب تجنب فرض عقوبات دولية على النظام السوري وكذلك الامر بالنسبة الى فرض حظر الامداد بالسلاح، وهما الامران اللذان تحرص عليهما موسكو”.
وشددت على ان “الولايات المتحدة كما الدول العربية التي وضعت خريطة الطريق السياسي بالنسبة الى الحل في سوريا مصرة على بند الانتقال السلمي الذي ورد في الخطة والمتمثلة في تفويض الرئيس السوري صلاحياته الى نائبه باعتباره يجنب سوريا الحرب الاهلية بمعناها الاكبر مما يجري حاليا ويضمن بقاء المؤسسات، من جهة اخرى يبدو ان هناك دفعا للدول العربية من اجل ان تقود هذا التحرك جنبا الى جنب الدول الغربية ولا تترك هذه وحدها نظرا الى الحساسيات التي يثيرها تدخلها المباشر او غير المباشر، فالى الزيارة المرتقبة للعربي ووزير الخارجية القطري لنيويورك هناك مسعى الى دفع المغرب الذي احتل المقعد العربي في مجلس الامن وهو المقعد الذي شغله لبنان عضوا غير دائم في المجلس لان يكون المحفز الاهم على هذا الصعيد شأنه شأن الدور الذي لعبه لبنان بالنسبة الى الوضع في ليبيا مع اختلاف ما هو مطلوب في الحالة السورية عما جرى بالنسبة الى ليبيا”.

أفاد مصدر دبلوماسي لـ”النهار” أن “مشروع القرار المطروح على مجلس الامن بشأن سوريا هو غربي – عربي يشارك في اعداده مندوبون عن فرنسا وبريطانيا بالتشاور مع مبعوثي قطر والمغرب والولايات المتحدة والمانيا والبرتغال”، مشيرا الى ان “الاتصالات جارية مع موسكو من أجل اقناعها بالتحفظ عن المشروع في حال طرحه على مجلس الامن وليس استعمال حق النقض لتعطيله، لأن المشروع خال من أي تدخل عسكري ضد سوريا ومن اي عقوبات، وليس منحازاً الى المسلحين”.

Any sensible Syrian whether pro or anti regime has to be worried about the armed groups in Syria. These groups,outside the government troops,do not have a unified leadership and they are not held accountable by anybody. Hundred of Syrians were killed by armed men since march without a clear reason and without finding the perpetrators. The old slogan about regime shabeeha as an explanation to every single violent incident in Syria is not worth looking at any more,the problem of violence is now much bigger than a simple regime-opposition explanation,and this phenomenon,armed groups, will be one of the biggest challenges facing any future government,violence has no allegiance.

Good post by Joshua. For the most part, I think it pretty accurately describes what is on the horizon for a long while and the reasons why.

SS 46

Your optimism is honoring you, but sorry i cant help it, why are rallies held by every regime as a proof of their support? I mean those endless crowds united in love for the leader, the kissing of innocent children, sorry i just dont think its authentic at all. The hitlergreeting in the beginning of the video, quite pathetic and i hope unintended.

Russia firm position: No removal of Bashar al Assad by the Arab League.
Russia Pledges to Block UN Resolution Calling for Syria’s Assad to Quit
By Henry Meyer – Jan 26, 2012 3:49 AM ET
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/russia-pledges-to-veto-any-un-call-for-assad-to-quit-as-syria-s-president.html

Russia vowed to block any United Nations Security Council resolution that calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to relinquish power.

Such demands “will simply never get approval,” Alexander Lukashevich, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said by telephone from Moscow today. “This should be a matter for dialogue between the Syrians themselves and shouldn’t be imposed through a resolution.”

Arab and Western nations are seeking to pass a UN resolution supporting the Arab League’s call for Assad to step down and facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. Russia, as a permanent Security Council member, can veto any resolution.

{…}

Every evening, I do quick read of The Guardian, Financial times, Economist, New York times and so forth, you name it. One says Zabani is now with defectors of the Syrian army, other Homs with defectors,another Duma with defectors, Dara with defectors. My question is how come all these cities are with defectors yet, Assad is still in power? The best I’ve read was 30 Million Syrians are being tortured. 30 Million is more than the whole Syrian population. So where does the exaggeration of news stop???
I saw on Euro News a quick interview with an old man from Homs crying (he owns small run down convenient store). The reporter asked for the reason of his tears. He replied: I give anything, all this, including my clothes for Homs to be as it was before. Peace & security are very valuable we don’t know what are they worth until we loose them. So for those who are blowing off reality out of proportion to further ulterior motives must stop. It’s destroying lives. Disinformation ignites fire and does not harbor peace. If there is a shimmering light of talks between opposition and government, all sides must contribute.

So true:

Lousy Syrian National Council
The lousy Syrian National Council issued a silly proclamation to the Lebanese people. In it, it said not one word about the abuse of Syrian workers in Lebanon. Who wrote this silly piece? Propagandists of Mini-Hariri? It has their tone and language.
Posted by As’ad AbuKhalil

Zoo
Haytham Manna3 told the oppositions and the AL from yesterday that if they want results from they need to go to RUSSIA not the US…hopefully they won’t since what they are looking for is another Iraq scenario to happen in Syria and they’ll pay for it.
To be very honest, I’m surprised of the Russian stand, this is the first time they are actually pushing back, usually they are the first to cave in for the west, this time they are still standing firm, I wonder if Qatar can pay them off with the billions$ they have:

قناة فرنسا24: الدكتور هيثم مناع
http://youtu.be/j-IepQBaQbk

I think Joshua assessment is accurate if the sectarian factor and the external factors were not so deep.The struggle in Syria now is not between Assad and the opposition,that is just the surface of struggle,as we all know.The core of this struggle is external.
The pressure ternal struggles between powers is being transmitted
into the inside and shoes as internal struggle and vice versa the internal sectarian and economical struggle is being used by the external powers as a way to have some leverage in the struggle of this century between Iran and the west and the US.Analysing Syria’s internal affairs without putting all this factors in consideration is a neglect of the physics of the middle east policies.
If Syria was where Bahrain is,and if Bashar was Sunni,SA would have sent their army to help suppress an Alawi uprising the same way they are doing in Bahrain now.
I think the Bandr plan has been very successful and syria as a unified country has died.syria today is desmemered into pieces and
the wall of fear has been broken to a degree that it is in many places now a lawless country .The internal struggle in Syria is currently between Islamists and Minorities and peacefull sunnis.
The road is long and bloody,Minorities and many peace loving sunni
will not let syria controlled by alqaeda(FSA,SNC…).Terrorists
Islamists can not be lived with,and the only exit minorities will have is:DIVISION.

Alex ,who are those stricly secular sunnis ?
Do you know many non corrupt sunnis who support the regime ? nothing !btw even these coward sunnis who once worked for the regime , will go to qurdaha in order to urinate on Hafez’s grave.
It must be noticed that since the begining of the revolution, the regime is using people with historical phobia against the dominant culture in Syroa such as the khomainist Rafic Lutayf and the Shabiha lebanese sister , Agnes de la Croix.
You can add ,the sectarian lebanese crowd ,who are the super stars of the regime media ,such as Wahab ,Samaha,Lebanese khomainists,Aounists,….
The regime is not very different from those in power in Lebanon and in Iraq.The difference is that the syrian people as whole has a centuries old culture of co existence,this is what is guenine in Syria,the facade that Alex or Jad like to present as the regime, is constructed through corruption and sectarian selection,we all know who are the people who control almost everything in Syria :the inner circle of Bashar.What do represent the power of a minister in front of a member of the mafia from the inner circle ?

It’s also not true that a large majority of the christians in Syria support the regime ,the islamophobs among them of course.
The alawite intellegensia is also very active in the opposition.
The regime is punishing with blood and jail ,those among the minorities who refuse to integrate the regime’s sectarian division scheme.
Syria belongs to the Syrian people ,Assad’s fate should become a lesson of history for the next generations.

The problem with Haytham Mana3 is that he is a nostalgic of Soviet Union,he is happy to see in Putin a new Staline.

3. louai:
”such as the Republican Guard led by Bashar’s brother, is Alawi to the man.” Really? My best friend friends little brother Rami Abdoush who got killed two days ago was not Alawi and he was a lieutenant in the republican guards))

I agree!
Not every one of the RG is 3alawi.
The first defector of Assad army, Soldier W. AlQashami was Sunni from Dar3a.
HOWEVER, it remains a stated fact that Non-Alawis in the RG are the exception to the rule. They are appointed as a favour / by“Wasta”, on the basis of family/loyalty basis.

I would estimate that 100% of the high ranks of Rep Guards to be Assad-Makhloof clan, nearly 99% of its second and third tier officers to be 3alawis, and 80 to 95% of its ranks and files to be Alawis.
___________________________________________________________________
((Everyone feels no need to give any reference to what he/she is saying as long as its about Syria !!Even Dr.Landis. As far as i know in Syria we don’t write on ID cards the religion of the person , where people get this information from?)).

If sect is recorded neither in ID nor in civil registry and the government does not provide such statistics, then one is allowed to use word of mouth estimates, supported by testimonies of insiders/defectors.

THE sectarian nature of the regime has long been attested to by insiders, including the late, eminent Alawi writer M. AlMaghout.

THE high proportion of Alwais in the high ranks of the army and intelligence forces is common knowledge. It has been corroborated by testimonies of veterans of the Syrian army, and recently the FSA defectors.

THE rate of unemployment amongst Alawis is 0% copared to 40% amongst Sunnis. Moreover, a proportion of Alawis are over-employed by the government. They occupy more than one position in governmental or para-governmental offices.

99.99% of Alawis are employed by the regime government, compared to less than 30% of Sunnis.
Let me support this claim by provideing you with figures from my extended family of brothers and sisters, for an example.
2 out of 17 of our bread winners are employed by the government. An extended Alawi family in Ikrima in Homs with similar head count would have all of their 17 members employed by the government; many even over-employed.

HOW do people get selectively employed without ID proof of their sect?
Do I need to tell you Louai?

THERE are two reasons why I regard such regime’s practice is sectarian and not clan or tribal nepotism?
– First, its base is the Alawi sect.
It is not based in one clan or tribe of the Alawis.
Almost all Alawis have benefited from this practice for the past 50 years.
– Second, Alawis in the decision making establishment have tried to impose their sect way of life on the rest of the Sunnis public by persecuting those who go to mosques and wear conservative attire.
Others, including many on SC speak to or write about main stream Muslems, traditions and their leaders with disrespect and contempt.

GIVEN time, the current hign fertility rate amongst Alawis, and existing sect-based emmployment rate, 100% of the public sector jobs, including army, intelligence services, and service sector shall become monopolised by Alawis.
THE rise of the regime-sponsored, Alawis business, shall gradually phase out traditional Sunnis merchants and establish themselves as the custodians of the Stock markets of Syria.

After wahabis in Iraq cleaned out Christians out of
Iraq refugees above or underground ,Syrian Alqaeda Revolution is finishing the job:

Revlon Enemies:All the real Syrians:

FSA:Demonstrators protection services.
ما بدنا ندبح العلويه
ما تخافو

19. jad
FIRST
The paralle with US is laughable!
Africans American do not monopolise the command of the American armed forces, like the minority Alawi do!
An African American made it to the presidency where Citizens of European ancestry predominate; Do you think there will ever be a chance that this Alawis bunch will let one of the majority Sunnis be their president and commander of the armed forces?

SECOND
Alawis command 100% of the decision making posts in Syrian regime; what you wrote is insignificant details.
Here is the comment that I posted earlier, in reply to your re-posted comment:

43. REVLON:
The decision makers in Syrian politics, economy and security are 100% 3alawis.
They are B Asad, M Asad, R Makhloof, and the rest of the Asad-Makhloof Gang.
The ministers, the governors, the Baath party employees, and all of the public sector chiefs are benefactors and merely carry out The Gang’s orders
The main intelligence agencies in Syria are:
– The National Security Directorate
– The Military Intelligence
– The Air Force Intelligence
Each has branches all over the country.
Other independant agencies exit, including those of the palace and special strike forces; their chiefs are 3alawis.
The heads of the branches, not wisstanding their alleged numbers or sects merely carry out the orders of their 3alawis chiefs.
Those who have been giving orders to kill civilians, like those who did in Hama before have been 100% 3alwis; Asad-Makhloof now and Asad-Douba before.

October 28th, 2011, 12:53 am

Victims of ALAAROOR Worshippers(FSA):

Demonstrators from snow,will melt as soon as the sun rises:

Christian Syrian Revolutionary Council
Christians are turning into Jihadists
For what?not virgins eligible,hell quarantined status in the other world and now in this world.
SNC is recruiting Christian suicide bombers,if interested apply at:www.Revlonthererrorist.com:

Regarding the YouTube video of the five captured Iranian Revolutionary Guards, it is most likely a fake.

Persian speakers have identified the accent of the speakers as belonging to a provincial minority, possibly even Dari.

Rather than providing snipers, as this video is attempting to purport, any IRGC in Syria are likely to be experienced observers. The SyA now has many months of fighting this type of conflict, to which the Iranians have much less recent experience. In addition, as the FSyA and armed groups are receiving a level of support from Western military Special Forces, so naturally studying their tactics would be of interest to the IRGC.

Professor Landis, regarding your statement:

“In fact, many analysts insist that most fighting is being done by small units organized on the local level that do not take orders from Col. Asaad or other leaders, even if they call themselves members of the Free Syrian Army.”

This has been my observation, as well, in interpreting the YouTube videos and photos of these small, hodgepodge units. In addition, I’ve come across videos of FSyA elements purported to be recent defectors and they’re wearing bushy beards, so draw your own conclusion about that.

An interesting read. Thanks you.

Claimed footage of a crowd in Homs greeting defecting troops of the 4th Brigade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mlfIZ4JrzBg

PS What is the theme of this Friday?
Don’t expect many demos today. There’s a stormy weather outside.
.

71. Amir in apartheid tel aviv said:

PS What is the theme of this Friday?

It’s “kill an israeli” Friday!

Pirouz

I made some observations too, many wounded soldiers in the hospitals shown as well as the shabiha fighters like this video where they madmaxstyle randomly shoot in the town, alot had beards. As i know the syrian army, any religious sign is not allowed, to grow a beard is not allowed. How come some have beards? Is there now a shortcut of razor blades? Honi soit qui mal y pense…

JUERGEN,

Hezbollah fighters have beards, plus Syrian forces when mobilized, many do not get to shave as well.

I shave only once a week, just before I shave I have a thick, bushy beard, what am I ?

So, he is Alaoui first and fuck the Syria who rejects him :

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?207806-Assad-Plans-To-Establish-%93Coastal-State%94

I don’t think he will find enough followers among his tribe

72. ann said:

71. Amir in apartheid tel aviv said:

PS What is the theme of this Friday?

It’s “kill an israeli” Friday!

Ann not only do you spam but when you speak this is totally unacceptable and stupid. It is your beloved Prez who is killing Syrians, for once the Israelis aren’t.

Antoine

i was asking sarcastingly, but since the regime is not depending on religious mercenaries from foreign countries as it claims i thought may be there was a novelation of the rules or they ran short on razor blades…

Antoine

i was asking sarcastingly, but since the regime is not depending on religious mercenaries from foreign countries as it claims i thought may be there was a novelation of the rules or they ran short on razor blades…

Annie

Thanks for sharing the article.
Do you think Khaddam is credible? Does he still have ties and sources in Syria?

I think i have eaten once in one of his restaurants which he owned prior to his departure for France.

Syria Comment’s Cesspool Still Alive & Kicking

It’s “kill an israeli” Friday!

Ann,

Good idea. You may want to inform your prized leader Besho about your new strategy since he seems so much more adept at killing arabs.

Annie,

Thank you for putting “Spann” in her place…

Annie #76

“So, he is Alaoui first and f… the Syria who rejects him ”

So that’s what you are craving for then?

أفادت صحيفة “الراي” الكويتية اليوم نقلا عن مسؤول كبير في “المجلس الوطني السوري” المعارض المنبثق من اسطنبول ان السعودية ستعترف بهذا “المجلس” الذي يمثل تيارات المعارضة للنظام السوري ، “كممثل رسمي” للشعب السوري.
وصرح العضو في المكتب التنفيذي “للمجلس الوطني السوري” احمد رمضان للصحيفة ان وزير الخارجية السعودي الامير سعود الفيصل ابلغ وفد المجلس الذي التقاه في القاهرة الاسبوع الماضي وكان هو في عداده “ان المملكة ستعترف بالمجلس الوطني السوري كممثل رسمي للشعب السوري”.
It is too little too late.

أعلن نائب وزير الخارجية الروسي غينادي غاتيلوف، اليوم الجمعة، أن موسكو لن تدعم أي مشروع قرار في مجلس الأمن الدولي يدعو الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد الى التنحي، بحسب ما نقلت عنه وكالة أنباء “إنترفاكس
Does this mean a veto? Probably,but I do not believe Russia will support Assad til the end,he needs to deliver results.

Syrians hold rallies denouncing Arab new stance on Syria
2012-01-26 19:03:31
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/26/c_131377920.htm

DAMASCUS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) — Hundreds of thousands of people thronged main squares across Syria on Thursday to demonstrate in solidarity with embattled President Bashar al-Assad and express rejection of the recent Arab League (AL) plan calling on Assad to step down.

Syrian across the country carried big posters of Assad and huge Syrian flags, changing slogans and singing national songs via loudspeakers.

“We are here to denounce the AL decision that came in compliance with the Western schemes against our country,” Malek Ali, 30, told Xinhua during a rally at Saba’a Bahrat square in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Following news that the kingdom plans to recognise the Syrian National Council, the Saudi newspaper the Arab News has published a trenchant editorial calling for UN intervention in Syria.

The English language paper is independent, but Saudi newspapers are not known for veering too far from Saudi foreign policy:

The editorial describes the Arab League’s monitoring mission as a smokescreen and says this about UN intervention:

It is clear that the sooner this growing tragedy can be referred to the United Nations and the international community can be persuaded to support firm action against the Assad regime, the more lives will be spared. At the moment this looks like a conflict that can only escalate, with potentially grievous consequences, not simply for all Syrians, but the wider region …
Many among Syria’s opposition groupings suspected that the monitors had come to defend and exonerate the Assad administration. The injudicious early comment by the mission’s leader Sudanese General Mohammed Al-Dabi, to the effect that he could see no serious violence, lent credence to this view. Few, however, should now doubt the determination of the monitors to tell it as it is in their official report to the League. The GCC countries quit because they had already seen enough of the regime-inspired violence. There was no further point in staying.

Bronco

CC: Jad

And I ishtetalak too. Welcome back.

Sorry, even when I try out of respect for Alex I find it too hard to get my head to hold the concept of the Assad regime “reforming” and entitled to keep going because they are still trusted and preferred by masses of Syrians.

Cruelty, corruption and waste. What Assad and Syria will be now permanently known for by the world. It’s 2012. Game over.

I hated that comment suggesting a future like North Korea because I am afraid. I know a significant number of Syrians, even in “unaffected” Damascus and Aleppo, are now suffering without electricity and communications, unable to feel safe in their homes or travel to see family, have no work, and most distressing of all, cannot afford to buy their normal daily food.

The regime has created that for Syrians and is indifferent to what happens beyond its own survival. The reasonable words and hopes from Alex and co seem surreal and removed from reality. Let’s admit it’s frightening to think in terms of the real world for Syria in 2012, instead of painting wishful secenarios and imagining that what’s broken (or never worked in the first place) can be fixed.

Thanks, Tara

I am still full of hopes for a resolution.

الناشط عمر التلاوي في كرم الزيتون مشفى ميداني 26-1-2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj8xcO9JCHg
الناشط عمر التلاوي في كرم الزيتون بالمشفى ميداني 26-1-2012

This gentlement was evacuated to a makeshift, first aid point, in a room in an appartment.
He seems gasping for air due to gun shot wound in the chest.
All that rescuers were able to do was to stop external bleeding.
A simple, on site insertion of a chest tube would make the difference between life an death for this poor soul and normal and sad life to his family.

The roads around this neighbourhoods are sealed by tanks and made deadly by snipers.
By labelling these people as terrorists, Jr gave a code order for their execution!

89. Revlon That video

Imagine your loved one dying in front of your eyes and may be he could be saved but the bloody prez wants him dead

Syria Comment’s Cesspool Still Alive, thanks to landis and Otrakji..

90- Hi Annie,
The sad thing is that educated people claiming to be secular, who enjoy a sense of security and the full benefits of the bill of rights, including those who contribute to SC, still support the president, his regime, and the killing machine; the military and security establishment.

Helplessly watching videos of victims dying of simple to treat injuries has become so painful, to the extent that I wonder whether it is ethical any more.

I honestly do not know how devastated I would be if it happened to a loved one; I am afraid I am becomming numb to the sight of human suffering….

6. Dear SANDRO LOEWE:
((Five Iranian Republican Guard´s members detained:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlgPMlklJSU&sns=em ))

Thank you for the link!

70. Dear Pirouz:
((Persian speakers have identified the accent of the speakers as belonging to a provincial minority, possibly even Dari.))

So your first conclusion is that they speak Persian!
That is not fake, is it?

((Rather than providing snipers, as this video is attempting to purport, any IRGC in Syria are likely to be experienced observers. The SyA now has many months of fighting this type of conflict, to which the Iranians have much less recent experience))

So you agree that those people were IRGC but you contest their confession of being snipers and favour them being on “Observation/learning mission”, and You base it on personal argument!

May I counter argue with the following, related caveats:
-Iran has had an earlier experience with violent silencing of uprising Iranians seeking Freedom; Their related experience would come in handy to their distressed friend.
-The Iranian leadership has repeatedly pledged full support for Assad regime; Sending IRGC to observe tJr’s predicament can hardly be described as proper conduct towards friends. You do not sit and observe your friends’ drowning in their misery; you give them a hand, and this situation clutching a sniper rifle!

((In addition, as the FSyA and armed groups are receiving a level of support from Western military Special Forces, so naturally studying their tactics would be of interest to the IRGC.)).

May I counter argue that you have just stated earlier in this edition that you think that most if not all of the Units of the FSA to be autonomous and not under direct command from Turkey-based leadership, where any “Some kind of support” could hypothetically come from!

May I also remind you that in spite of the several months claims of foreign intervention, neither the regime nor its regional or global supporters have come up with a shred of evidence of “foreign”, logistical or operational support of FSA.

Your opening characterisation of “the YouTube video of the five captured Iranian Revolutionary Guards, as most likely fake is both emotional and unsubstantiated.

What the opposition, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar want…remove the Arab League monitors, and send in much more arms to the opposition so the killing can get worse. Of course, don’t touch any idea of negotiating a democratic transition.

Gulf states to fund struggling resistance fighters

by: James Hider
From: The Times
January 27, 201212:00AM

SAUDI Arabia and Qatar have agreed to fund the Syrian opposition, which is struggling to afford weapons in its fight against President Bashar al-Assad, a Syrian dissident has told The Times.

Opposition figures held a secret meeting with Saudi and Qatar officials after an Arab League meeting in Cairo last weekend. All the Gulf countries decided then to pull their observers from a monitoring mission that has been widely criticised for being toothless.

“The Saudis are offering their support in any way,” said the dissident, who asked not to be named.

Until now the Free Syrian Army has been funded largely by individual donors, many of them in the Syrian diaspora, enabling small arms to be bought on the black market in Lebanon.

The source said that after the meeting the situation “should get better”. The main problem was smuggling the weapons into Syria.

…read more

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gulf-states-to-fund-struggling-resistance-fighters/story-e6frg6so-1226254713240

Statement of AlFarouq Battalion of the FSA to the Supremen leader of Iran on the occasion of revealing the full indentities of the arrested Iranian Infiltrators.

الجزيرة مباشر بيان كتيبة الفاروق ورسالة الى ايران على لسان أبو باسم الناطق باسم كتيبة الفاروق 26 1 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z7YJKdrtjc&feature=player_embedded
Uploaded by aln3eem001 on Jan 26, 2012

We, members of AlFarouq Battalion of the FSA are friends of the Iranian people.
We are neither sectarian nor promote sectarianism.
We respect the Supreme leader of Iran; we regard him as an Islamic scholar who is prone to be right or wrong.

We herwith call upon him to clearly admit to the presence of elements from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) in Syria, supporting the regime in their crackdown on the rising Syrian people.
We ask him to call back home all IRG’s as soon as possible, by no later than 12:00 noon, Saturday, 28/01/20112.
Once withdrawn, we shall be obliged to release all of our Iranian prisoners.

The 7 Iranians has been captured in two stages.
Two has been proven to be technicians working in Jandar Power Station (Homs). Their Iranian Passports carry Syrian immigration entry stamps, including prior to the Revolution and carry residence visas and work permit.

The other five are military personnel. They are under the command of the Air Force Intelligence branch of Homs.
Their passports have no entry stamps, residence visa, or work permit.

We have additional sensitive information that we chose to keep to our selves at this stage; the aim being to avoid any potential embarresment of the others and to give a chance for reconciliation.

The story from the other side:

“The Syrian capital is divided by protests as residents flee. CNN’s Arwa Damon reports.”

Cities, residents divided in Syria
http://youtu.be/uCRRoNFq-C8

(sorry, there was a problem with my last post)

73. JUERGEN said:

When in the field for an extended period, you’ll find unshaven SyA soldiers. However the “recently defected” SyA soldiers I’m referring to resemble salafi type fighters in Afghanistan. Again, you’re free to draw your own conclusions.

93. REVLON said:

-We heard previously from Israeli sources that DIO manufactured (Iranian) sniper rifles were being rushed to Syria, but no evidence was put forward.

-During the post-2009 election civil unrest in Iran, it was primarily the national police (NAJA) that dispersed unlawful assemblies, not the IRGC. What’s more, unlike the present situation in Syria, in Iran it was not a militarized response.

-On a number of occasions the Iranians have reached out to the SNC, most recently in Turkey, in an effort to get the two sides talking. But the SNC isn’t interested, and such a move would jeopardize current Western special forces assistance, and any further support from Western powers.

-There is plenty of evidence of Western military assistance to the FSyA and armed groups. One has only to point to the some of the non-SyA issue weapons currently fielded by these groups, such as the M16 and G3, as well as certain makes of NV equipment .

-Armed groups in Syria are holding a small number of Iranians including technicians and pilgrims. It’s a form of indirectly pressuring the Syrian regime through their ally. It will no doubt continue in the months ahead.

JNA,
The gulf states want nothing but a civil war, they are not only arming the oppositions, I read that they are sending weapons to Syrian religious minorities too so people start killing each others and for Syria to become another Lebanon.
—————————————–

Presidency of Arab League seeks to bury own experts’ report

Since the outbreak of the events that have cast a dark shadow over Syria, two interpretations stand in opposition to each other: for the West and their Gulf allies, the regime crushed the popular revolution in blood, while for Syria and its BRICS allies, the country is assailed by armed groups coming from abroad.

To shed light on these events, the Arab League created an Observer Mission composed of persons appointed by each Member State (except Lebanon which declined to participate). This diversity of experts constituted a guarantee against the possible manipulation of the outcome; their number (over 160) and the duration of their mission (one month) would provide a much broader picture than was previously available. To date, no other party can claim to have conducted a survey as comprehensive and meticulous, and therefore can not claim to know better the situation in Syria.

The Ministerial Committee of the Arab League, responsible for monitoring the Arab Plan and composed of five League members out of the 22 (Algeria, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Sudan) ratified the observer mission report by 4 votes against 1 (that of Qatar) and decided to extend the mission by one month.

The problem is that the report confirms the version of the Syrian government and demolished that of the West and the Gulf monarchies. In particular, it demonstrates that there were no lethal crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators and that all the commitments made by Damascus have been scrupulously honored. It also validates the important fact that the country is in the grips of armed groups, who are responsible for the death of hundreds of Syrian civilians and thousands among the military, as well as for hundreds of acts of terrorism and sabotage.

For this reason, Qatar now seeks to prevent the dissemination of the report by any means. Indeed, it is a real bomb that could explode in Qatar’s face and against its communication device.

Qatar currently holds the Presidency of the League, not because it was its turn, but because it bought that of the Palestinian Authority which would have been next in line.

The presidency of the League has decided not to circulate the report of the Observer Mission, nor to translate, and not even to post the original in Arabic on its website.

The Wahhabi emirate is up against a huge risk. If by chance the Western public were to gain access to the report, it is Qatar and its proxies that could be held accountable in terms of democratic deficiencies and involvement in the killing of people.
http://www.voltairenet.org/Presidency-of-Arab-League-seeks-to

Now we understand the reason of Jumblat visit to the mule of qatar, he is doing the negotiation on their behalf with the Russians for the UN meeting:

جنبلاط:لضرورة لجوء النظام السوري لحل سياسي يشمل كل الأفرقاء لوقف الظلم
الخبر برس : الإخبارية اللبنانية

أكد رئيس جبهة “النضال الوطني” النائب وليد جنبلاط على “ضرورة لجوء النظام السوري إلى حل سياسي، يشمل كل الأفرقاء المتنازعة، والدول المعنية بالمنطقة، للوصول إلى تفاهم مشترك، يوقف “الظلم” الضي يعاني منه الشعب السوري”.
وأشار جنبلاط في حديثه الى وكالة “أنباء موسكو” إلى “وجود بعض التفاوت في تفهم الجانب الروسي والأطراف الأخرى للأزمة السورية”، مؤكدا أن “النظام السوري بدأ في العنف، ما أدخل البلاد في حلقة العنف والعنف المضاد”، منوها إلى أن “الموقف الروسي يريد وقف العنف من الاتجاهين”.
واضاف جنبلاط إنه “لم يتطرق في حديثه مع وزير الخارجية الروسي سيرغي لافروف إلى خطط مجلس الأمن حول الأزمة السورية”، مشيرا إلى أن “الحديث دار بشكل أساسي حول أهمية الحل السياسي، المبني على خطة السلام العربية”. كما عبر عن “قناعته بضرورة إدانة العنف”، ووجوب “تحميل السلطة السورية المسؤولية، لأنها بدأت بالعنف”، واضاف “لا أستطيع الحديث باسم المعارضة السورية، فأنا لست مكلفا من أحد، ولأنني حريص على سوريا كسوريا، والسلم الأهلي في سوريا، لا بد من حل سياسي مبني على بنود الجامعة العربية بشكل كامل، الذي لم يلتزم بها -مع الأسف- النظام السوري، عندما قبل بالمراقبين ما أدى إلى استمرار العنف”.
وحول بوادر تغيير في الموقف الروسي من الأزمة في سوريا، اوضح جنبلاط ان “الروس شعروا بمرارة بعد ليبيا، ويجب أن يكون هنالك موقف واضح بين الروس والأميركيين والغرب، والفرقاء المعنيين مباشرة، وهم الجيران لسوريا الأتراك وإيران من أجل تحديد موقف مشترك يخرج سوريا من حلقة العنف، ويوقف العنف تجاه المتظاهرين، مؤكداً أن “الحل السياسي وحده ينقذ سوريا”.
ونفى جنبلاط أن “يكون النقاش قد دار بينه ولافروف، حول تنحي الرئيس الأسد أو تولية صلاحيته لنائبه”، مؤكدا أن “المعارضة السورية هي التي تقرر هذا الأمر”، واضاف جنبلاط “لست هنا مخولا من قبل المعارضة السورية، لكن هناك شعبا سوريا، ظلم كثيرا وكثيرا، نصيحتي أن يكون هناك حل سياسي من أجل تجنيب سوريا مزيدا من العنف”.
http://www.alkhabarpress.com/SiteNews/details.php?docId=30377

الأب باسيليوس شهيد الكنيسة
Father Basilius; Martyr of the Church

Posted on Jan 26, 2012
Syrian Christians for Democracy
http://syrian-christian.org/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%a8-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%8a%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d8%b3-%d8%b4%d9%87%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%b3%d8%a9/

“أَنَا هُوَ الْقِيَامَةُ وَالْحَيَاةُ. مَنْ آمَنَ بِي وَلَوْ مَاتَ فَسَيَحْيَا”

واشنطن، 25 كانون الثاني 2012

إرتكب اليوم النظام السوري جريمة وحشيّة جديدة تضاف إلى قائمة جرائمه السابقة بقتله الأب باسيليوس نصّاركاهن كنيسة السيدة في بلدة كفربهم التابعة لمحافظة حماه. أن محاولات بشّارالأسد جرّ البلاد إلى فتنة طائفية أصبحت مكشوفة و كان يُحذّر منها الكاهن المرحوم و يعمل بإخلاص لخدمة جميع السوريين
Today, the regime has committed a new savage crime to add to his long related record, the murdering of father Bsilius Nassar, Priest of The Church of the Dame of the town of kafrbehem of the Governorate of Hama.

الشهيد الاب باسيليوس عمره 30 عاماً من بلدة كفربو استشهد في 25 كانون الثاني 2012 في حي الجراجمة في حماه و هو يحاول انقاذ رجل مصاب حيث تلقى طلق ناري بالرأس
Father Basilius died of a bullet in the head in AlJarajmeh neighbourhood in Hama city on january 25th while trying to save the life of an injured civilian.

. المرحوم من مواليد 1982، حائزعلى جائزة اللاهوت من جامعة البلمند في لبنان وهو كاهن وراهب يتوزّع عمله بين مدينة حماه وبلدته. سيصل جثمان الشهيد الأب باسيليوس إلى منزل ذويه لوداعه الأخير غداً في الساعة العشرة صباحاً، وعند الساعة الثانية عشرة ظهراً سينتقل جثمانه الى كنيسة مار الياس للروم الارثوذكس حيث ستقام صلاة الجنازة على روحه الطاهرة ويوارى الثرى في مقبرة الكهنة بدير مار جاورجيوس.

النظام يدّعي بأن العصابات المسلّحة قتلته علماً أنّه أستُشهد في نفس اليوم نائب رئيس الهلال الأحمر السوري عبد الرزاق جبيرو هو يسعف الجرحى وأستشهد الطفل حسن الأحمد مع والدته عندما سقطت على منزلهما قذيفة هاون غرب مدينة القصير في محافظة حمص. فهل العصابات المسلّحة هي من تقصف المنازل بالمدفعية؟ و هل يجوز أن تستمرّ السلطات السورية بالكذب على مواطنيها بعد عشرة أشهر و خمسة الاّف شهيد و عشرات اللاّف من المعتقلين؟

إنّ منظمة سوريون مسيحيون من أجل الديمقراطية تدين هذه الجريمة البشعة و تأمل من جميع أبناء شعبنا مسيحيين ومسلمين التمسّك بحقوق أبناء شعبنا السوري البطل وعدم الانجرار للنزاع الطائفي الذي يسعى له النظام

Thanks Syria Comment for the good articles.

I wish Dr. Landis gives Majedkhaldoun to write an article about what he thinks the Alawis beliefs to be followed by the Alawis specialist Dr. Revelon to write for us what he knows about the Alawis and how much they multiply??????? Revelon: it is a well known fact who is multiplying a lot.

But; before let us take a look at the relation between IQ and sectarianism:

Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice

http://news.yahoo.com/low-iq-conservative-beliefs-linked-prejudice-180403506.html

what is the name of this Friday .

It will be very interesting to see Russia objecting to, or even vetoing an AL resolution on Syria. It would be a historic day, and will represent Russia’s demise in Arabia and among the Arab peoples.

Russia’s sticking to this Alawi junta will cost her dearly.
.

لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا

لجان التنسيق المحلية
وصل عدد شهداء اليوم وأمس الموثقين إلى 135 شهيداً سقطوا برصاص قوات الأمن والجيش، بينهم 18 طفلاً وثمان سيدات.
أغلب الشهداء سقطوا برصاص الأمن وقذائف الجيش في حمص، كما سقط العشرات أيضاً في حماه وفي درعا.

27/01/2112
Local Coordination Committees
http://www.facebook.com/LCCSy

The number of documented martyrs who fell today and yesterday from being shot by security forces and army, has reached 135 martyrs, including 18 children and 8 women.
Most of the martyrs were killed by security forces’ gunfire and army shelling in Homs, dozens also fell in Hama and Daraa.

AlFatiha upon their souls,
May God bless their families with solace and empower them with fortitude.

Barzeh demonstration, Damascus
Friday of “The Right To Self Defence”
27/01/2012

Amir,

The same price that the US paid for siding with Israel, Russia can take that any time.

Ahfad Yohana al Dimashqi wazir bani Umayya:

Norman,

I thought about what you said #106.

Isn’t it ironic that every opinion poll and survey from Arabia, show that the Arabs don’t trust Amrica, or even hate Amrica along with all that Amrica represents, in the eyes of the Arabs.

Yet, whenever there’s a crisis or a situation in the ME, the Arabs run to mommy Amrica to help them fix the mess that they have created.

Amrica’s future in the ME is much brighter than Russia’s.
.

Shelling of the Minaret of Serjawi Mosque
Watch mark 1.30 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=-TgM0zmzzrk

Scores of Mosques have been shelled all over Syria in this uprising.
Not a single one resulted in killing either civilians or defectors in the destroyed minarets!

If this practice is not a sectarian atrocity!

Then What is it??
Why are Mosques being targetted for destruction at the command and to the jubilation of perpetrating jabali people?!!

#108 Amir

“Amrica’s future in the ME is much brighter than Russia’s.”

Tell this to the thousands of widows and orphans in Iraq.. and the millions displaced, the people of Gaza, to the Lebanese.
The US is on their way out of the ME, it is only surviving in the remaining oily dictatorships dumping all their junk weapons for billions and ‘protecting’ them from the big bad wolf Iran.
Even they are turning to Asia…

#83 Ghufran

I doubt Russia will fall again in the trap of the ‘innocent’ resolution that gives full power to the incoherent Arab League to deal with Syria. The plan the AL presented is only a draft full of loopholes.
The common sense requires that that plan be discussed, negotiated before being put on a vote in a resolution at UNSC.
No country, except if bought, pressured or with a special agenda will give a carte blanche to the AL on such flawed plan.

Let’s remember that the gulf countries are approached by the E.U to sustain the IMF with more money..

Is the ‘friday demonstrations’ syndrome catching up in Egypt?

http://news.yahoo.com/egyptians-mark-1st-anniversary-friday-rage-102258842.html
Egyptians mark 1st anniversary of ‘Friday of Rage’
By AYA BATRAWY and SARAH EL DEEB | Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Large marches of protesters chanting antimilitary slogans streamed from mosques around Cairo to join tens of thousands massed in central Tahrir Square in a new uprising anniversary rally Friday, with many demanding an early transfer of power by the ruling military and the trial of generals for the killing of protesters.

{..}

Deir B3albi, Homs, today
Friday of “The Right To Self Defence”
27/01/2012

Amrica’s future in the ME is much brighter than Russia’s.

نائب أمريكي: (إٍسرائيل) دولة محتلة جعلت أمريكا مكروهة في العالم
دعا (المرشح المستقل السابق للرئاسة الأمريكية والسياسي الجمهوري) باتريك بيوكانين الحكومة الإٍسرائيلية؛ إلى إنهاء احتلالها للأراضي العربية بما فيها الفلسطينية، والقبول بعودة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين إلى ديارهم التي عاشوا فيها آلاف السنين.

وقال بيوكانين في مناظرة مع ناتان شيرانسكى (الوزير في الحكومة الإٍسرائيلية) بثتها شبكة (إن بى سي) الليلة الماضية، ضمن برنامجها المعروف (واجه الصحافة): ” إن (إٍسرائيل) جعلت أمريكا مكروهة في جزء من العالم وعليها أن تتوقف عن ممارساتها بهذا الصدد”.

وسال بيوكانين شيرانسكي ” لماذا لا ترحلون عن أراض هي فلسطينية، وماذا يفعل آلاف المستوطنين على الأرض الفلسطينية”، وقال: ” لابد لكم أن تتوقفوا عن احتلال البلدان الأخرى والتوقف عن سياسة التدخل” مضيفاً أن البريطانيين توقفوا في السابق عن فعل ذلك في فلسطين وخرجوا منها كما خرج الفرنسيون من الجزائر.

وأضاف عضو الحزب الجمهوري الأمريكي المحافظ: ” إن (إٍسرائيل) خاضت حروبا رئيسية في الشرق الأوسط، وهى أكثر الأطراف في المنطقة سعياً للحرب”.
ورد بيوكانين على ادعاءات شيرانسكي حيال ما يسميه بالديمقراطية بقوله: “إذا كنت تؤمن بالحرية والديمقراطية، فهل يمكن لكم أن تتركوا للشعب الفلسطيني في قطاع غزة أن يقرر مصير المستوطنين الإٍسرائيليين الموجودين هناك، وهل ترحب بعودة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين إلى ديارهم”.
وخاطب بيوكانين الوزير الإٍسرائيلي قائلاً: ” إن نابلس وبيت ولحم وكل المدن في الضفة الغربية هي مدن فلسطينية، وأنت تقول: “إنه يجب أن يتمكن الإٍسرائيليون من العيش بسلام مع الفلسطينيين في الضفة الغربية” وإذا كان كلامك صحيحاً، فلماذا لا يستطيع الفلسطينيون الذين عاشوا لآلاف السنين على الأرض التي تحيا عليها أنت الآن؛ العودة بسلام إلى وطنهم”.
وأضاف بيوكانين “إن سياسات التدخل في شؤون الدول الأخرى هو السبب في إيجاد المقاومة المسلحة.

بدوره كرر شيرانسكى الادعاءات الإسرائيلية التي استمرت بالدوران حول نفس الطروحات والادعاءات حول الديمقراطية وتمسك بردود اتسمت بالسذاجة والارتباك ومحاولة تغليب الإيديولوجيا على الواقع والمنطق.

ووصف مراقبون في واشنطن هذه المناظرة التي تم التحضير لها بإتقان بأنها “نادرة” نظراً للانتقادات الجدية (لإٍسرائيل) التي أطلقها بيوكانين، مشيرين إلى أنها جاءت في إطار اهتمام متصاعد من وسائل الإعلام الأمريكية بالوزير الإسرائيلي الذي امتدح كتابه الرئيس الأمريكي جورج بوش.
وقال: ” إنه يستوحى في ممارسته ما يسميه بنشر الحرية والديمقراطية في العالم من كتاب الوزير الإٍسرائيلي” !

دفاعاً عن نزيه أبو عفش
الخوف من الثورة ـ الخوف عليها

منذر بدر حلوم

ثمة من يخاف الثورة أو يخاف منها، فيقف ضدها أو يمتنع عن تأييدها. وثمة من يخاف على الثورة، فيجهد في تنقية المثال الثوري من شوائب الممارسة الثورية ودمويتها.
أن توصلك تساؤلاتك إلى إعلان اعتراضك على بعض الثورة، يعني أن تضع نفسك في قبضة أوليائها الذين لا يخالطهم شك. أو هكذا يريدون للعالم أن يراهم. فتخيلوا فظاعة من لا يرتاب في شيء، وتخيلوا الأفق الذي ينفتح عليه الولاء المطلق.. الولاء المطلق لأي شيء، خارج النقد والمساءلة والتصويب! «ليس وقته!» يقولون لك. فتجيبهم: «بل وقته، لأن العبرة في العملية الجارية نفسها.. في الفعل اليومي، لا في النتائج!».
يجد غير قليل من السوريين الذين أمضوا حياتهم في العمل على زعزعة النظام وفضح مقولاته وسياساته، حين لم تكن المواجهة المباشرة ممكنة.. يجدون في واقع الممارسة الثورية، وسلوك بعض الشخصيات التي تدّعي قيادة الثورة، ما يدعو إلى الانكفاء، في أقله، وإلى تبني مواقف ضد الثورة، في أشده. ومنهم من ينتهي إلى الإعلان الصريح عن أن الثورة لا تمثله، أو أنها ثورة عدمية لا تصنع أكثر من الموت واستبدال جلادين بجلادين مثلهم. فهل في الممارسة الثورية، على أرض سورية، ما يسوّغ هذه المخاوف والمواقف؟ ألا تؤدي ممارسات ثورية على الأرض يصعب تسويغها وتسويقها، حتى على خلفية وحشية النظام، إلى قطع المدد الشعبي المنقذ للثورة والضامن لنجاحها نحو صيغ أخرى مثيرة للقلق؟

سلمية مسلّحة

منذ إعلان تشكيلات مسلحة تخدم الثورة (لواء الضباط الأحرار، كتيبة خالد بن الوليد.. انتهاء بالجيش الحر) بات الحديث عن سلمية الثورة ليس فقط لغطاً لفظياً بل عسفاً ثورياً سياسياً وثقافياً من نمط خاص. فإما أن تقول بسلمية الثورة كائنة ما يكون التناقض المنطقي بين سلميتها واعتمادها على تشكيلات مسلحة، وكائنة ما تكون الممارسات على الأرض أو تُحسب على النظام، ما يعني الخيانة. وعقوبة الخائن معروفة. هنا يتكشّف بصورة واضحة إلغاءٌ واعٍ لكل رأي لا يُعجَب بالسلاح ولا يعجِب السلاح والقوى الداعمة له، القوى التي وضعت الثورة في سكته ورهنتها له، في مشاركة واضحة للنظام لعبته، وإدخال البلاد في نفق دام ومظلم ومفتوح على اقتتال أهلي وانقسام خطير يهدد وحدة البلاد.. وأما بعد إعلان (المجلس الوطني) تبنيه رسمياً للجيش الحر، الأمر الذي يعني تبني تمويله وتدريبه وعملياته العسكرية، فيفقد الحديث عن سلمية الثورة معناه. فهل تسوغ الممارسة نفسها مخاوف رجال ثقافة وفن مرهفين من نمط نزيه أبو عفش وصولا إلى رفضها.. أم أن في تساؤلي أيضاً خيانة للثورة؟ يبدو أن خيانة العقل، وقيم الثقافة الإنسانية مقبولة بل مطلوبة عند جهة ثورية تبيّض وجهها السياسي اليوم بالدم، بعد أن ساهمت في حرق الأفق السوري الديموقراطي في ثمانينيات القرن الماضي. أليس من واجب المثقفين الأخلاقي والثوري والوطني الاحتجاج على ذلك بل فضحه؟ ليس مقبولا في الثقافة وقيمها القول بغاية تبرر الوسيلة. لا قدسية للأهداف، بل لا قدسية لشيء في ثقافة نقّادة منفتحة. المقدسات والقدسية في الدين وليس في العلم والثقافة. فالهدف الأسمى هو الإنسان وحياته، ولا معنى لحياة تأتي بإلغاء الحياة إلا معنى العبث بأحلام البشر وآفاقهم الروحية والثقافية والمعيشية! إياك أن تطرح تساؤلك على الملأ لأن تلك الجهة وتيك الجماعة سرعان ما تسقطانك في شرك النظام. النظام، حاوية تتسع لكل القذارات، وهو ليس بعيداً عن هذه الصورة، لكن قبحه لا يجمل تلقائياً مناهضيه والثائرين عليه. الجهة ذاتها التي تسيطر اليوم على كثير من القول والفعل، لها تاريخ من الممارسات لا فضل فيها على ممارسات النظام الذي تدفع سوريا خيرة شبابها للخلاص منه. وما أسوأ ما يفعله النظام المتوحش حين يقتل روح التمرد، روح الإبداع في العلم والفن والحياة عموماً، بقتله شباب سوريا الثائرين!! من يُقتل اليوم هم أفضل أبناء سوريا، هم أفقها.

عمليات نوعية، متلفزة

يندر الأسبوع الذي لا يعلن فيه عن تبني التشكيلات الثورية المسلحة عمليات دموية نوعية (ضد حافلات مبيت عساكر عائدين إلى بيوتهم دون أن يتأكد أحد من مشاركتهم في أية عمليات قمع، ناهيك بالسؤال عن الحق في إعدامهم على الطرقات دون محاكمة! وضد سيارات مدنيين يستسهل البعض تشبيحهم، دون أن يوضح لنا كيف يمكن تمييز سيارة مدنيين على طريق عام من سواها فإذا بقتلاها شبيحة! وضد ثكنات جنود يخدمون الإلزامية، وضد مرافق عامة).. وكثير من هذه العمليات (النوعية) تتحقق فيه معاني المجزرة بأبشع صورها وأكثرها وحشية وهمجية، ناهيك بالغياب المطلق للعدالة في الممارسة الثورية القتل السلمي – أم أن الثورة لا تحاج إلى العدالة وغير معنية بها؟! وماذا عن اليوتيوب الذي يصور التحقيق الوحشي الذي قامت به «كتيبة الفاروق» مع أحد عناصر المخابرات الجوية، كما جاء في إعلانها المبتهج؟! هل وحشية هذا الجهاز تلغي وحشية كتيبة الفاروق المستعرضة بالصوت والحركة أم تخفف منها؟ وحشية النظام لا تمنح الإنسانية أو الشرعية لأي فعل وحشي يمارسه أعداء النظام. وإذا كان ذلك يعلن، فثمة ما هو أبشع منه ولا يعلن.. ومن مثاله إعدام جميع أفراد مفرزة الأمن العسكري بعد حصارهم ثلاثة أيام في جسر الشغور، وبعد أن نفدت ذخيرتهم، وبات بالإمكان القبض عليهم.. أم أننا يجب أن نصفق لإعدام القذافي بتلك الطريقة البشعة، من أجل إثبات نظافتنا الثورية. النظافة الثورية تُثبت بالحفاظ على قيم الثورة ومبادئها وأهدافها. فهل لخوف الخائفين مرتكز على الأرض، ولتردد المترددين، وللعنات اللاعنين، أم أننا يجب أن نشتمهم ونبارك القتل الثوري المقدس.. في مواجهة القتل الأسدي المدنس؟ من أين يأتي التدنيس والتقديس؟ القاتل قاتل.. بصرف النظر عن الخندق الذي يطلق منه الرصاص والمدية التي يستخدمها في الذبح، وبصرف النظر عن مستقبلٍ يدلنا بالساطور عليه، كي لا نخطئ الاتجاه. يحلو في مثل هذه الحالات لكثيرين أن يخطئوا الاتجاه.

شخصيات تحت السؤال

وإذا كان الناس عامة وكثير من السياسيين والمثقفين يختزلون النظام بشخصيات ورموز، فما الذي يمنعهم من رؤية الثورة وأفقها عبر رموزها أيضاً فينضم من ينضم إليها وينكفئ من ينكفئ؟ قبح النظام في أعين الشعب الثائر منه والساكت، يكمن في قبح رموزه، وفي تاريخ ممارسات شخصياته.. وليس صدفة أن يتم الحديث إلى اليوم عن إمكانية فوّتها بشّار الأسد لمنع قيام الثورة كان يمكن أن تتحقق لو تمت معاقبة عاطف نجيب ومرتكبين آخرين؟ فكما أن النظام يُكثَّف في رموز فإن المعارضة ينظر إلى أفقها السياسي وإلى وعودها بالديموقراطية والحرية والشفافية والعدالة والأمان من خلال رموزها. فهل أن بعض الشخصيات الفاعلة في السر وفي العلن لا يثير القلق والنفور؟ وهل أن ارتباطات الجماعة لا تثير الريبة؟ ولماذا على البشر أن يصفقوا هنا لمثال ثاروا ضده هناك؟ وإذا أمكن للناس العاديين أن يفعلوا أو يغفلوا عن ذلك فهل من الطبيعي انتظار التصفيق والإغفال من مثقفين عارفين؟
من واجب المثقفين والسياسيين أن يتلمسوا خطوط المستقبل الذي يرتسم الآن، وأن يقولوا كلمتهم قبل فوات الأوان. أم أننا يجب أن نصفّق من جديد لرواية تُؤكّدُ بقوة السلاح والصراخ. (نعم) للثورة، تعني (نعم) لحرية التعبير والتجاوز وتحطيم الأصنام ورفض صناعة أصنام جديدة.. وليس (نعم) لديموقراطية شكلية يفوز فيها أصحاب القوة والمال والإعلام.
(كاتب سوري)

http://www.assafir.com/WeeklyArticle.aspx?EditionId=2061&WeeklyChannelId=11538&WeeklyArticleId=87179&Author=%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B0%D8%B1+%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85

Anybody who denies the sectarian nature of the Syrian regime is daydreaming. It cannot be compared to the “Maronite” regime of Lebanon, firtsly it was not a Maronite regime, it was power-sharing between Maronite and Sunni elites to keep the working classes and peasants out of power. It is more comparable to the Iraqi baathist regime, only difference being the Alaiwite rulers of Syria try to pass themselves off as Sunnis ; while the Sunnis of Saddam nade no effort to hide their identity, rather it was the Shia loyalists who adopted Sunni culture, the reason for this discrepancy is clear, Sunni identity and culture has more legitimacy among Arabs than other sects, this is because of history.

Also Dr. Landis you are wrong in your judgement that it was Colonial rule that brought in minoritarian regimes. That is true only for Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon, not for Syria. The only contribution of the French was to take the Alawites out from their dirt road villages and give them a uniform and a gun. They did not propel the Alawites to power, the Baath Party did, which was led by Sunnis like Amin al Hafez and Louay al Atassi.

Btw, Sunnis were always seen as the “natural leaders” of Iraq, in the same way, Maronites were always the “natural leaders” of Lebanon, the Alawites of Syria do not fit this bill.

98. jadsaid: Presidency of Arab League seeks to bury own experts’ report

Perhaps BRICS countries could send an observer team to the Arab League offices in Cairo to uncover what has happened to the AL Syrian observer report.

The Text the new UNSC draft resolution that was circulated today by Morocco. The UNSC will start discussing it today at 3:00 PM.

http://haytham-khoury3.blogspot.com/2012/01/27-1-2012.html

Khoury, any news about what Russia might do ?

Haytham,

Do you have a link to this text #120 in English?
.

Tara

I thought you might like this one:

سلسلة اجيال الحرية . انتاج حركة كلنا ابو موفق وترقبوا جديدنا

Russia is getting more isolated,AL is criticising Russia, along with US and Europe.The threat of civil war is getting more,militarization of the revolution is a step away,in the past we know Afganstan,where rebels with shoulder held weapons were able to defeat Russia, .
Civil war is inevitable,who will win in such war?
While Syria will loose a lot in a civil war,the regime is to blame , civil war will mean arm supply from outside,people win in civil war, the majority will win, the Alawis will loose, they are minority, civil war means innilation .
Where is the wisdom?,where are those who has brain? we need them to tell the regime that Bashar has to go and the alawi rule must end, or, or,the alawis in Syria will be innihiliated.
The christians who are supporting the regime must understand this too, they used to be smart, they are making huge mistake by supporting Assad, This is a major period of our history,I know that Bashar is stupid,but the christian supposed to be smart, they will loose badly.they must change ,Syria will turn red,over two million will die, half will be alawis.
Those thugs on SC,they have a responsibilty to stop Bashar,otherwise they will find Syria destroyed,they have their families, they may need to go there, anyone is smart enough to help,or are they going to continue to be stubborn, Assad must go,or else.
God bless FSA

Americans oppose war: Does govt care?

Majedalkhaldoon #124

“Civil war is inevitable,who will win in such war?”

You have been advocating a ‘mini’ civil war for the last 5 months. Now you realize it is bad for Syria, صح النوم

NORMAN..

There is no way that the Arab states will ever be able make the US their “sugar daddy” in the same way as the “chosen people” .

Just check this state by state US taxpayers money’s contribution.

http://www.aidtoisrael.org/section.php?id=323

Unverified death tolls claimed by the London Observatory today (soldiers and civilians)

AP: Syria killings spike to 120 as UN eyes resolution

AFP: Children among 74 dead in 2 days of Syrian turmoil

AP: More than 50 killed in 2 days of turmoil in Syria

AP: Dozens killed in 2 days of Syrian turmoil

Reuters: Syria violence kills 37, U.N. Security Council to meet

Gulf States to arm Syrian opposition? ( Video )
http://rt.com/news/arming-syria-rebels-saudi-913/

Majed,

The Assad regime is not an Allawi rule, the loyalties that they have is not based on sect/religion (and it is wrong to assume that they are). It is based on money and absolute power, and how much each individual can bank at the end of the day by working with this gang by robbing and killing Syrians. Whatever faith they might proclaim (which is a mixed bag of everything) comes third to the almighty dollar, and the intoxicating aroma of acting god like that comes with choosing who lives and who dies.

And for your information there are no winners in a civil war, we all lose when we kill each other. What we must accomplish is ways to safeguard our country from the clutches of evil (both from the regime, and ultra extremists that want nothing but blood) while we over throw this sorry excuse for a government. The right for self defence is paramount, but is not an excuse for murder.

Wether Christian, Alawi, Sunni, Shia, we are all as we say in Arabic Beny Adam at the end of the day.

irritated
No, I am not advocating, I am warning, it is funny how some minds are twisted, they need to understand english better,

Syria’s crisis: It looks like civil war
Syrian rebel forces are buying arms and fighting closer to the capital
Jan 28th 2012
http://www.economist.com/node/21543538/print
THE breezy hilltop resort of Zabadani is usually occupied by rich Syrians in second homes and Gulf tourists enjoying the picturesque mountains on the Lebanese border. But for much of January the town of some 40,000 people has been a rebel enclave. After several days of fighting by daring but lightly armed opposition forces, the army, equipped with tanks and heavy weaponry, was forced to pull back on January 18th. Residents hailed their “liberated city” and hung pictures of the dead in a tree. They waved placards and shouted slogans ridiculing the regime. Civilians guarded checkpoints usually manned by the security forces.

Zabadani is not the first place in Syria to experience a brief taste of freedom over the past ten months. Last year Mr Assad’s forces temporarily lost control to the opposition in Hama, the country’s fourth-largest city. Rastan and Tel Kalakh, two small towns close to Homs, have at times barricaded themselves in. Parts of Homs, the third-largest city, and villages near Idleb have also enjoyed a measure of autonomy.
But Zabadani is much closer to Damascus, the capital, than any of them—about 25 miles (40km). The fight for control of the country is no longer taking place far from the centre of power. Just days after Zabadani was liberated, armed clashes erupted in Douma, a suburb six miles from Damascus. Army defectors seized control of the town for a few hours.

Reports of firefights are no longer rare in what was once a peaceful capital. Two large car bombs exploded in front of a security-services’ building on December 23rd. It was followed by another one in a residential area a fortnight later. Few Syrians now dare to drive on the country’s main artery, the highway from the capital north to Aleppo, a commercial hub, fearing ambushes on the road. Military buses and oil pipelines are often hit by explosions. Who is responsible is hard to know. “There is so much going on that it gives the feeling that everything is starting to unravel,” says a Western diplomat in Damascus.

A year ago Syria could call itself the safest country in the region. But since the start of the uprising in March, the regime has presided over rising violence. It appears readier than ever now to employ heavy weapons and kill indiscriminately.

The regions surrounding Idleb and Homs are the bloodiest. In the hills close to Kafer Oweid, a hamlet some 25 miles from Idleb, more than 100 civilians and defecting soldiers, as well as some regime men, were killed on December 19th and 20th. Tanks sent mortars through the walls of houses. Corpses of fleeing villagers littered the nearby orchards. Some of the dead had their hands tied behind their backs. Witnesses describe an imam bayoneted in the throat after pleading with attacking soldiers to stop the massacre.
{…}

Majedalkhalonon

Yes, you are warning now, while a few months ago you were saying that there should be one, a ‘mini civil war’. It is not my english which is poor , it is your memory

A must read. 

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/24/collectively_failing_syrian_society

Collectively failing Syrian society
Posted By Peter Harling   Tuesday, January 24, 2012 – 3:28 PM     

……

Until now, the regime and a majority of its supporters, allies, critics, and foes appear to have been operating under the same assumption: that the deadly stalemate the crisis is locked in will endure a while longer, until the other side gives way. This could still be true, but within the current parameters, it is becoming increasingly improbable that the power structure will suddenly unravel, that it will succeed in regaining lost ground, or that its opponents will accommodate it in any way. If this impasse endures any longer, the struggle could quickly mutate into an open-ended civil war. Although the regime bears most of the responsibility for bringing the situation up to this point, the international community and exiled opposition have no excuse for moving it further along this terrifying path.

{…}

Antoine#121.

Dear Antoine:

Russia is objecting one major point in the resolution:

– Calling on the president to delegate his powers to the VP.

Dear Amir

This is the link for the English text

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/27/190815.html

Russia NOT to support UN resolution calling for Assad to leave – 2012-01-28

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/28/c_131379097.htm

MOSCOW, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) — Russia will not support a UN Security Council resolution that calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation, Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Friday.

Gatilov told Interfax news agency that an early voting on such a new resolution as drafted by some Western and Arab countries was “doomed to failure.”

“All resolutions on the future political settlement in Syria should be adopted in a political process without forced preconditions. The demand for Assad’s resignation is one of such preconditions,” Gatilov said.

“We cannot support calls for Assad’s resignation from his post in any of the UN Security Council’s resolutions,” he added.

The minister also said the a UN resolution must urge all parties, not only the government, to stop violence and start political dialogues unconditionally.

Russia is being foolish, they will be left sucking their thumbs when Assad will be pushed out.

134. Haytham Khoury

“- Calling on the president to delegate his powers to the VP”

This is exactly the point that the SNC has constantly insisted on. Without that item, the resolution is very close to what the Russian have been asked for months: A ceasefire and dialog without preconditions. Bashar was anyway in favor of a national government but the opposition has been obstinately refusing the dialog.

If the Russian are able to remove that article B7, the SNC would have fallen into a trap. They will be obliged to dialog with the regime even if, through a gimmick it is not exactly the same regime and if Bashar is only in the background and will step down in the next early elections planned included in the resolution.

Let see if the Russians will succeed in removing that crucial item.
Maybe the GCC promises to recognize the SNC as the ‘official opposition’ is a carrot so they accept the dialog.

Bahrain in renewed turmoil triggers a warning to US citizens

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Bahrain

January 23, 2012

The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the potential for unrest in Bahrain. This Travel Alert supersedes the Travel Alert dated November 18, 2011, and expires on April 19, 2012. It updates information about spontaneous and sometimes violent demonstrations.
..
Spontaneous and sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations occur in some neighborhoods, particularly at night and on weekends. These demonstrations have included blockades of major highways, trash can fires, and establishment of unofficial checkpoints. Participants have thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails and used various other homemade weapons. The Ministry of Interior maintains official checkpoints in some areas and routinely uses tear gas, stun grenades, and other crowd control measures against demonstrators. The violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators can make travel in and around Bahrain dangerous without advance warning
(..)
http://www.xfinion.com/TravelNotification/?p=12512&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=travel-alert-for-bahrain-posted-on-01232012

#137 Antoine

I think HBJ is already sucking his thumb, as his resolution may end in the UN dustbin.

UN Security Council meets on Syria draft – 2012-01-28

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/28/c_131379112.htm

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) — The UN Security Council on Friday met behind closed doors to discuss a Western-Arab draft resolution on Syria with the 15-nation UN body still divided on the situation of the Middle East country.

Morocco, the only Arab country on the Security Council, presented the draft resolution to the council at the closed meeting, which kicked off at around 15:10 p.m. EDT here on Friday at a time when Russia reportedly said that the draft is unacceptable because it does not take Moscow’s position into account.

The draft was jointly drawn up by Arab states with Britain, France and Germany.

Britain and France are the two of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Morocco and Germany are among the 10 non- permanent members of the UN body.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in Moscow on Friday that the draft, which is circulated in the Security Council on Friday afternoon here, contains “no fundamental consideration for our position” and is missing “key aspects that are fundamental to us,” reports said.

Also on Friday, UN Secretary-Geneal Ban Ki-moon, who is in Davos, Switzerland, called on the Security Council to speak with one voice on Syria, and urged Damascus to listen to the aspirations of its people.

On Monday, Syria rejected a proposal by Arab League foreign ministers that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria hand over power to a deputy and set up new unity government, saying that the plan was part of a “conspiracy against Syria.”

The secretary-general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi and Quatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani are to head to New York on Saturday to seek support for an Arab plan on Syria, reports said.

Dear Haytham,

Thank you for the link!
.

Just heard the pompous Syrian ambassador to the UN on EAJ. Same Baathist rhetoric, as if nothing has happened.

“Syria is not a colony ; they treat us as if we don’t exist ; we will not bow to the hegemony of the west ; Syria will not be Libya .. bla bla yada yada yada”.
.

AMIR,

You should learn to read Assad regime lips. What syrian ambassador meant was this:

“Assad Damascus is not a colony ; they treat Assad as if he doesn’t exist ; Corrupt criminals will not bow to the hegemony of the west ; Assad centres of power in Damascus will not be Libya .. bla bla yada yada yada”.

Death by a thousand cuts (or stings)

Sheikh Nazim was right when about a year ago he said that the people are like angry wasps and will repeatedly sting their oppressors. For sure the regime is dying a slow death. It is like a farmer surrounded by a swarm of bees/wasps attempting to save himself with a rifle. You’d think a rifle would give him over-whelming dominance in normal circumstances but with a swarm of bees he doesn’t have a chance. Futile. How many bees is he gonna kill before he is inevitably over-whelmed and collapses in a heap after a thousand stings?

As to the comment earlier suggesting a ceasefire and dialogue without preconditions. This would be a mistake to accept. It would be very difficult to resume protests etc if need be as momentum would be lost.

All free Syria lovers must bear in mind that at the end this regime will be blown up. Every day, every martyr, every innocent killed, every bullet shooted against the people, we are nearer to the end, because the no-return point has already been crossed.
Everyone must keep on fighting, by word or by action, by all possible means, until the regime falls. Maybe syrian people efforts are not enough to destroy the regime but one thing is sure, they are necessary because without syrian oppositors actions and martyrs Syria will never ever be liberated.

In this way future Syria owes everything to every martyr, men, women and children fallen on the way to liberation. They will be remembered in terrenal paradise that one day will be Damascus again.

And I hope they meet reward in their paradise if they were muslims and peace in heaven if they were christians.

Syria: Watch the weather forecast
Published: 27 January, 2012, 16:50

http://rt.com/news/syria-opposition-weather-forecast-867/print/

Ankhar Kochneva, writer and sole foreign journalist permanently living in Syria, tells RT what is really up in the country, who funds the opposition, how international media fake images of unrest and why it is so important to watch weather forecasts.

­RT: You have lived in Syria since October 2012. Media reports tell us about unrest in the country. How does the situation look from within?

AK: Life is absolutely normal in an absolute majority of communities across the country, although some news agencies deliberately picture the situation as its exact opposite. Israeli media outlets catering to Russian-speaking audience are among the most active in this regard. For example, in reporting on a terrorist incident it is sometimes enough to lie about its exact location to have the world convinced that there is no peace in Syria. I am referring to an explosion that went off on the outskirts of Damascus on January 6th this year. Although the explosive device actually went off under a bridge, news reports could make you think the whole of downtown Damascus was reduced to debris.

I hosted a group of tourists here for New Year. Some of them actually came for as long as 17 days. We rode across the country and did a lot of walking around Damascus. My guests saw a lot of smiling people in the streets. We sat in restaurants with some nice music, we went to a local street market, and they had a great time. They realized there is no war going on in Syria.

RT: There is no war, but there are explosions. So who is planting the bombs? And where is the opposition headquarters located?

AK: What makes Syria peculiar is that the so-called unpatriotic opposition here has no center, no leaders, no agenda and no specific premises. Nor do they have the numbers to create disturbances in multiple locations at a time. Most often there is unrest in a specific neighborhood, while other areas are calm.

The people behind the explosions are the same people who shoot at passing vehicles, plant IEDs targeting oil pipelines and attack random targets with grenade launchers. There have been six terrorist attacks targeting railway tracks. A female student dormitory in Homs was recently assaulted with grenade launchers. Many of its inhabitants are girls coming from rural communities and low-income families, because rich families rent apartments for their girls.

The perpetrators are the same people who kidnap civilians and demand ransom, and once they get the money, they return the abductee sliced into pieces. There have already been a hundred incidents of the kind.

Some of the culprits who have been arrested are regular criminals, but there are also people who come to Syria from Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya. There are also young men coming from Dagestan, who are often ignorant about the actual situation in Syria and are therefore easily misled. They are agitated with tales of injustice into doing things that really are unjust.

RT: Why would Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya disseminate all these falsified reports on Syria?

AK: These TV networks have been employed as propaganda tools serving to destroy Syria as a state. Some of those propaganda tactics are stunningly elaborate, and you can only tell a lie if you live in Syria and focus on details.

For instance, there has been a fantastic weather forecast for Syria broadcast on TV, where temperature indices actually stand for the time when protesters will assemble in a specific location to provoke unrest. If you are with the opposition, this broadcast tells you that there will be a rally in Homs tomorrow at 12pm, and specially instructed camera crews will be waiting for you and your associates to turn up to act as the angry masses. You spend five minutes yelling “Down with Assad” in a square and leave with hard cash in your pocket, and the world gets TV images of “a street revolution rocking Syria.”

I witnessed this technique in action once.
(…)

Morocco decided to withdraw her observers from Syria.

147. ZOO

If she has been living in Syria since October 2.012 she must be very experienced. She can read the future cause she is ahead of us 9 months.

This article written by russian ­Nadezhda Kevorkova, for RT Group TV Novosti is simply insulting. It´s cheap propaganda for the Assads. Russians have no credibility and at the end they will leave Assad alone as they did with Saddam, Gadafi and many others. Russians are going nowhere and losing all remaining simpathy in the arab world, inherited from the failed communism era. Russia is ruled by a mafia and a class of corrupt rich regime connected neanderthals.

At UN on Syria, Arab League Report Still Not In, Germany Says No Precondition

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 26, updated — After a morning in which several Western members of the Security Council said that the Arab League would brief the Council on Monday, when consultations broke up at 1:45 pm on Thursday, things were not so clear.

Russia’s Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin stopped and told the Press that the Arab League monitoring report annex (which Inner City Press first reported on yesterday, here http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1annex012512.html ) has still not been received, “even in Arabic.”

Once it is, Churkin said, it must be translated into English — he said he did not demand Russian — and given to capitals. He mentioned a possible briefing on Tuesday. He told Inner City Press that “General Dabi,” the Sudanese chief of the monitoring mission, will be be available but that he requested, and no one objected, that if members request it Dabi come and brief at some later date.

Germany’s Deputy Permanent Representative Miguel Berger came out and said that having the annex “cannot be a precondition” for the briefing.

He said that Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi, and the Qatari minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, now dubbed “HBJ” by some Council diplomats, would be able to tell the Council everything that is in the report.

(c) UN Photo
UN SG, PGA with HBJ: Arab League report not yet shown

Berger said Germany would have preferred Monday — which makes it sound like Tuesday at latest. Meanwhile some say HBJ arrives in New York on Saturday, so that could change. Watch this site.

Update of 4:10 pm — Inner City Press is reliably informed that the ArabLeague briefing of the Council is Tuesday 3pm, regardless of annex and translation (which will “probably” be done).
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria2annex012612.html

France Talks “Temporary” Step Down by Assad, Russia Says No, Syria Blames Qatar

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1las012712.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 27 — After a new draft resolution “tracking the Arab League” was introduced Friday in the UN Security Council, a Monday meeting at the experts level was scheduled.

The Council’s president for January, Baso Sangqu of South Africa, told Inner City Press that these “expert consultations” will concern both Russia’s draft from December and the one introduced on Friday.

Inner City Press asked UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, who said the Russian draft “has been overtaken,” but said that portions of Russia’s draft were in the new one. Told their draft was “overtaken,” two Russian diplomats on the margins of the stakeout laughed.

More formally, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that Russia will not accept any resolution calling for regime change in Syria. French Ambassador Gerard Araud told the press on Friday that only a “temporary” step down by Bashar al Assad is being asked for.

Pressed, he said to go and read the underlying Arab League documents, maybe he misread them, being tired.

South Africa’s Sangqu told Inner City Press, the Security Council didn’t agree to follow the African Union position on Libya — so, by implication, there’s no pressure or precedent to strictly follow the Arab League on Syria.

Inner City Press asked Araud and German Ambassador Peter Wittig to respond to this critique. Both said that each case is separate. Araud appeared to have forgotten that a draft Presidential Statement supporting the African Union plan on Libya was opposed and never adopted.

After Araud left, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said the French journalists in Homs was killed by “the armed groups,” citing the Arab League monitoring report, but said “you won’t hear that from the French ambassador.”

Earlier before the Council meeting broke up, Inner City Press asked around about support for the Arab League’s proposals. One well placed diplomat told Inner City Press, “Of course the Arab League is split. Algeria doesn’t support it, nor Iraq or of course Sudan.”

Inner City Press pointed out that Sudan did support the ouster of Gaddafi from Libya, although only because he supported Darfur’s rebels, particularly the Justice and Equality Movement.

The diplomat went on, “Egypt doesn’t support. But if Tunisia joins, it would be hard for Egypt not to, given ‘The Street.’ Really what these Arab states want is for Russia to engage. Russia’s been told by the opposition they could still play a post-Assad role, it’s not too late.”

Another opined that with Putin’s (re) election coming up, backing down is unlikely. Russia’s Churkin has several times contrasted the push on Syria with the US’ approach to Bahrain: telling the opposition they cannot use force.

The first diplomat replied, “they could have done that in April, there were press elements out there to send that message, but the BRICS blocked it all.” But did the Western powers show flexibility, as they did, shamefully to some, in essence embracing impunity for Yemen’s Ali Saleh?

“Saleh was smart,” a political coordinator opined. “He said yes, they played for time. And now he’s at a luxury hospital in New York.” If so, which one? Or as another source tells Inner City Press, could Saleh be heading to Morocco, like Dadis Camera did? Watch this site.

Footnote: as the last stakeout of the day, Syrian Ambassador Ja’afari took to the microphone to say, We will not be Libya or Iraq, we will not be Somalia, we will not be a failed state. He described Qatar jumping the gun on the Arab League monitoring report, and regime change “by January 22” having been predicted on “Doha-based Al Jazeera.”

Inner City Press asked him to say more about Qatar, given similar comments previously by Libyan diplomat Shalgam. Ja’afari didn’t shy away, saying that Qatar is “tiny… half occupied by American military bases” and uses “petrodollars” to increase its influence. One wag whispered: it’s natural gas.

Of his statement that the Arab League report blames the “armed groups” for the killing of the French journalist in Homs, Ja’afari said “you won’t hear that” not only from French Ambassador Araud but also not from “Ban Ki-moon,” the UN Secretary General on Friday in Davos.

One wanted to ask Ja’afari for his view of Ban Ki-moon accepting free private jet travel from Qatar, but then again, to mix a UN reform and transparency issue with such a stakeout might not be the right way to proceed.

Inner City Press asked Ja’afari if he will speak at the Security Council’s Tuesday afternoon meeting with Qatar’s minister called HBJ and the Arab League’s El-Arabi. “Yes I will speak,” Ja’afari said. Watch this site.

Oh man. Can you believe this from SANA: Lolol. {Monkey laughing faceplam}

http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/1/9/9/7/a2172193-51-laughing%20monkey.gif?

President of French National Front: Western Media Broadcast False Allegations against Syria

Jan 27, 2012

PARIS, (SANA) – Near the Elysee Palace in the heart of Paris, the Honorary President of the French National Front Jean-Marie Le Pen stood, and in a loud voice, he announced rejection of the allegations broadcast by the western media against Syria, saying “the Syrian Leadership is doing its best to avoid the country the dangers of going into any form of civil war.”

Read more:

http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2012/01/27/396866.htm

Those who defend the regime belong to one of these three kinds:

1) Ignorant people who think reform is owning a mobile and a laptop, think freedom consists on going to restaurants and watching plasma TVs while you are not being arrested or tortured, and thinks there is nothing beyond Assad repressive regime.

2) Fearfull people who has suffered the horrours of the regime and prefers living a grey and pasive existence to being exposed to the trauma once again.

3) Mafia members or friends and relatives of the power mafia. They are not an unsignificant number, just multiply all people connected to corruption by the average number of sons, uncles, brothers, daughters, sons of brothers and daughters, etc.
They are the more relevant and they will be ready to justify whatever the regime does to defend their privileges.

KSA followed by the GCC will soon recognize the SNC as the legitimate authority in Syria.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jan/27/syria-egypt-libya-middle-east-unrest-live-updates

• Saudi Arabia is poised to follow Libya’s example by recognising the Syrian National Council as the legitimate authority in Syria. The move, which is expected to be followed by other Gulf states, represents a further escalation in pressure from Riyadh against the Assad regime. Earlier this Saudi Arabia pulled out of the Arab League monitoring mission, followed soon after by the other Gulf states.

Mr. Manna proved to be the most honest and respected figure in the Syrian opposition on too many levels, he has principles not like those who are running for the power with no standards whatsoever:

السكرتير الأول للسفارة الأميركية في باريس لهيثم مناع : مفتاح حل الأزمة السورية في موسكو وليس عندنا

جيمس ميلر : فيلتمان أبلغ القيادة الروسية بأن واشنطن تدرك مصالح روسيا في سوريا ، وهي لن تسعى إلى تجاوزها ، لكن الممارسات غير الديمقراطية لـ”المجلس الوطني” تقلقنا

باريس ، الحقيقة ( خاص من : إلين / سوزان بورجوا + مكتب التحرير) : عقد السكرتير الأول في السفارة الأميركية بباريس ومسؤول الملف السوري فيها ، جيمس ميلر، اجتماعا نهار اليوم الجمعة مع مسؤول “هيئة التنسيق الوطني في المهجر” الدكتور هيثم مناع استغرق ثلاث ساعات ، بحسب مصدر في البرلمان الأوربي ساهمت في ترتيب هذا اللقاء . وقالت المصدر إن اللقاء “عقد في إحدى المقاهي بشارع مونبرناس بباريس ، وليس في مقر السفارة ، وكان بطلب من السيد ميلر الذي طلب مني المساعدة على ترتيب اللقاء بحكم كوني صديقة مشتركة للطرفين “. وقالت المصدر إن اللقاء تناول قضايا تتصل بنتائج الزيارة التي قام بها جيفري فيلتمان ، مساعد وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية لشؤون الشرق الأوسط، إلى موسكو مؤخرا ، وموقف “هيئة التنسيق الوطني” من الأزمة السورية ، ومضمون تقارير “أرسلتها للسفارة الأميركية في باريس جهات سورية معارضة في المجلس الوطني السوري اتهمت السيد مناع بأنه خان الثورة و التحق بركب النظام السوري”! وبحسب المصدر ، فإن المسؤول الأميركي أقر خلال الاجتماع بأن “حل الأزمة السورية بات في موسكو”، وأبلغ مناع بأن واشنطن “منفتحة في التعامل مع جميع فصائل المعارضة السورية على قدم المساواة، لكن من يرد شيئا محددا أو مطالب محددة من المعارضة في الخارج ، عليه التوجه إلى موسكو ، لأن مفتاح حل الأزمة أصبح هناك وليس في أي مكان آخر ، سواء في واشنطن أو الأمم المتحدة”. لكن المسؤول الأميركي ـ والكلام لم يزل للمصدر ـ عبر بالمقابل عن “قلق بلاده من الظواهر اللاديمقراطية التي تشوب سلوك المجلس الوطني ، سواء لجهة ما يتعلق بحياته الداخلية أو علاقته مع المجتمع السوري ومكوناته السياسية المختلفة”. وبشأن زيارة فيلتمان الأخيرة إلى موسكو ، قالت المصدر ” إن ميلر أبلغ مناع بأن فيلتمان أكد للقيادة الروسية أن واشنطن تدرك وتتفهم مصالح روسيا في سوريا ، وهي تتعامل مع جميع أطراف المعارضة السورية عل قدم المساواة ، ولن تسعى إلى أية خطوات من شأنها تجاوز هذه الحقائق”.

المصدر الأوربي كشفت أن مناع قارب موقفه الشخصي وموقف “هيئة التنسيق الوطني” من الأزمة السورية من خلال إيراده قصة الفلاح اللبناني الثائر طانيوس شاهين أواسط القرن التاسع عشر. فعندما قام شاهين بانتفاضته الفلاحية الشهيرة ضد الاقطاع ، التحق به عموم اللبنانيين من مختلف الطوائف ، فاكتسبت حركته طابعا وطنيا شاملا. إلا أن المداخلات الأجنبية ، التي باتت تعرف في كتب التاريخ باسم “حكم القناصل” الأجانب ، عملت على تحويل الحركة الفلاحية الشعبية إلى “حرب طائفية ” ابتداء من أيار / مايو العام 1860 وانتهاء بالعام 1861، وهو ما بات المؤرخون يصفونه عند الإشارة إليه بـ”ثورة 1858 ” و “أحداث 1861 الطائفية”. وقالت المصدر إن مناع أبلغ ميلر ” إننا لا نريد أن تذكر الانتفاضة السورية في المستقبل بهذه الطريقة ، فيقال الانتفاضة السورية في العام 2011 وأحداث سوريا الطائفية في العام 2012″ ، في إشارة منه إلى أن الأحداث في سوريا بدأت تأخذ بعدا طائفيا نتيجة المداخلات الخارجية ، العربي منها والأجنبي، ويمكن لها أن تزداد عمقا في هذا الاتجاه في مقبل الأيام.

على صعيد متصل ، قال مصدر مطلع في باريس لـ”الحقيقة” إن مناع نصح الأمين العام للجامعة العربية ، نبيل العربي ، يوم أمس بأن يتوجه مع وزير الخارجية القطري إلى موسكو قبل توجههما إلى واشنطن والأمم المتحدة لعرض الملف السوري ، لأن عدم القيام بهذه الخطوة سيدفع موسكو إلى التصلب والتشدد في مواقفها. لكن العربي والمسؤول القطري لم يأخذا بهذه النصيحة كما يبدو. وهو ما بانت نتائجه اليوم ، حيث صعّدت موسكو من موقفها حين أعلنت أنها ترفض أي مبادرة أو مشروع للحل في سوريا يطلب من رأس السلطة في سوريا التنحي. وكان ذلك “ردا على تجاهلها من قبل الأمين العام للجامعة العربية والمسؤول القطري ، ومصداقا لنصيحة مناع” ، ختم المصدر قوله.

http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/6553/Default.aspx

It will take time until Damascus inhabitants begin to find a small space inside their minds to introduce the idea that the regime can fall. When they accept the regime can fall the following consequence will be the refusal of the syrian mafia regime. Because deep inside their hearts most of the syrians know that this regime is not fair and not moral, but the idea has been graved in their minds since they were born that Assad is the only possible president.

Israel is arming the terrorist militia in Syria:

باحث إسرائيلي: تل أبيب زودت “الجيش السوري الحر” يقواذف ” شيبون بي 300″ المضادة للدروع

المسلحون السوريون حصلوا على حوالي عشرين قاذفا من هذا النوع جرى تمريرها بالحقائب الديبلوماسية القطرية عن طريق لبنان وتركيا ، وعلى متن طائرة إغاثة إيطالية !؟

تل أبيب ، الحقيقة ( خاص من : ليا أبراموفيتش) :أكدت مصادر إسرائيلية أن إسرائيل زودت مسلحي “الجيش السوري الحر” بقواذف مضادة للدروع من طراز Shipon B-300 . وقال باحث إسرائيلي مشارك في المؤتمر السنوي لـ”مركز هرتزليا” للدراسات والأبحاث الأمنية ، الذي سيفتتح أعماله بعد غد الأحد بمشاركة أربعة باحثين من الأردن ومصر ولبنان وقطر، إن جهات إسرائيلية رسمية زودت مسلحي “الجيش” المذكور بصواريخ من هذا النوع ، وجرى شحنها على دفعات إلى المسلحين بواسطة الحقيبة الديبلوماسية القطرية عن طريق لبنان وتركيا ، وعلى متن طائرة إيطالية وصلت إلى مطار بيروت في 22 من الشهر الجاري وكانت تحمل مواد طبية للاجئين السوريين في شمال لبنان بناء على طلب سبق لبرهان غليون أن تقدم به إلى الحكومة الإيطالية خلال زيارته الأخيرة إلى روما. وأكد الباحث الإسرائيلي أن هذه الصواريخ ” استخدمت بالفعل ضد المدرعات السورية في منطقة حمص وفي منطقة جبل الزاوية خلال الأيام الأخيرة ، وقد حصلنا على صور لنتائج استخدام هذه الصواريخ “. وأشار الباحث إلى أن هذه الصواريخ ” تستخدم للمرة الثانية ضد المدرعات السورية ، إذ كان استخدامها الأول في حرب لبنان الأولى ( الغزو الإسرائيلي للبنان) العام 1982 ، وكانت المفاجأة الإسرائيلية لدبابات T-72 السورية خلال الحرب المذكورة ، حيث دمرت هذه الصواريخ حوالي 12 دبابة سورية”. وكشف الباحث أن “ما بين 15 و 20 قاذفا من هذا النوع أصبحت فعلا بين أيدي الثوار السوريين في أكثر من منطقة سورية ، وبعضها مزود بمناظير تعمل بالأشعة تحت الحمراء للاستخدام الليلي”.

وقال الباحث إن المواصفات الفنية للقاذف ، الذي أنتج من قبل الصناعات العسكرية الإسرائيلية نهاية السبعينيات الماضية ، تسمح بنقله وتهريبه واستخدامه بسهولة . فوزنه لا يتجاوز 8 كغ مع المقذوف ، بينما لا يتجاوز طوله 140 سم . وهو مناسب جدا للاستخدام في المناطق السكنية والمأهولة ، لاسيما الشوارع ، إذ إن مداه الأقصى لا يتجاوز 400 متر. كما أنه مناسب لاستهداف التحصينات والأبنية. وهذا أكثر ما يحتاجه مقاتلو “الجيش السوري الحر” في الوقت الراهن، على حد تعيره.

http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/6552/Default.aspx

‘Russia won’t support US game in Syria’ – Sat Jan 28, 2012

“Russia [would] never make such a mistake in Syria, never,” Sergey Kurginyan in an exclusive interview on Friday, adding that Moscow is opposed to the Salafists taking power in Damascus.

He went on to say that Moscow would never support “America’s game in Syria.”

Kurginyan added that Washington is also involved in many plots against Russia, including one to drive Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin off the country’s political stage.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March, with demonstrations being held both against and in favor of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Hundreds of people, including many members of the Syrian security forces, have been killed during the unrest.

The Syrian government says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the turmoil and deadly violence.

Damascus also says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country and that the security forces have been given clear instructions not to harm civilians.

Son of Damascus
when you say no one win in a civil war,you have to explain it, yes we loose two million people and yes this is great loss, but at the end one side will defeat the other side, and new system will emerge.
loosing people is great loss,but creating a democratic free Syria is more win,it will endure for a long time.
it is a fight between Evil(Bashar) and Good,(Syrian people) there is no compromise between Evil and Good, Good always has to win, and Evil has to be defeated,as always happen.
The syrian people are determined to make a change,and they should know the price is high, and Syrians are willing to pay it.
If you have a dacaying building you must turn it down and build new one,much better building.
Tyrany is no match to freedom and dignity, freedom is worth dying for,what we leave to the next generaion,freedom and wisdom ,dignity and pride.this is history,a lesson to learn from.

157 JAD

It is difficult not to imagine Israel offering second-hand arms to Bashar in order to be kept in power. So, please do not come with this pulp fiction histories about Israel sending arms to your ¨salafis armed gangs¨.

It seems that the US is not going against Bashar in full force. I believe the the KSA, Qatar, and the SNC should focus on the US instead of Russia.

159. majedkhaldoun said:

it is a fight between Evil(Bashar) and Good,(Syrian people) there is no compromise between Evil and Good, Good always has to win, and Evil has to be defeated,as always happen.
.
.
.
is israel good or evil?

Majed,

Because pitting one Syrian against his fellow Syrian will result in Syrian blood. Why should we stoop to the level of barbarians to defeat them, and can you honestly tell me who won in Lebanon after 30 years of civil war, the Lebanese ended up with little fiefdoms based on sect under the disguise of democracy.

You see to me every Syrian is sacred, and should not die unjustly. Yes, the regime has and continues to be nothing but thuggish, but that does not equate for the opposition to take “the ends justify the means” tactics. And by the way the scars of civil war don’t heal as soon as the last bullet is fired, they take generations if not centuries to get over it.

Our Children and grand children will inherit nothing but hate and bigotry from civil war, I don’t wish that upon them.

Everyday 1.800 syrians celebrate their 23rd anniversary. A country which average age is 23 years, every day sees 1.800 young globally open minded syrians enter a new age where repression and ruthless is more and more useless. People who needs jobs, who wants to marry or rent a flat don´t care about Baath ideology or Anti-Israel fake and failed strategy. The syrian regime is over. No way back.

The violence cycle of hatred doesn’t know any limit when it starts, in the news they write about a barbaric crime by nonhuman criminal sectarian thugs in the name of ‘HATE’, a massacre happened in Homs, 14 family members including 8 children were murdered out of sectarian retaliation, how can any human regardless of his political or religious background commit such a horrific crime against defenseless scared people, against KIDS for god sake, why people need to pay the ultimate price for a bloody struggle on behalf of someone else, in a conflict forced on them by both sides, that is beyond my understanding.
I want to see all those criminals who are murdering other Syrians in the name of religious and politics to pay the most heavy price for every barbaric crime they commit and for the misery they are forcing other Syrians to be under daily.

عشرات القتلى في سوريا… والدابي يؤكّد «تصاعد العنف»

أكدت بعثة المراقبين العرب، أمس، تصاعد وتيرة العنف في سوريا «بشكل كبير»، في وقت سقط فيه عشرات القتلى والجرحى، بينهم 40 مدنياً. وفي تنامٍ لظاهرة خطف الأجانب، ارتفع عدد الإيرانيين المختطفين في سوريا إلى 18، بعد إعلان اختطاف 11 أمس. وفي ساعة متأخرة من ليل أمس، انعقدت جلسة مجلس الأمن التشاورية بشأن سوريا لإجراء مشاورات تتناول مشروع القرار الجديد الذي أعدته دول أوروبية وعربية، فيما أكدت روسيا أنها ستحبط أي محاولة في مجلس الأمن لدعوة الرئيس السوري إلى التنحي، وحذرت من أنها لن تسمح بإمرار أي قرار في مجلس الأمن يجيز التدخل العسكري، وقالت أيضاً إنها لن تؤيد بأثر رجعي عقوبات غربية وعربية فرضت بالفعل على سوريا
عشية وصول الأمين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربي، ورئيس الوزراء القطري حمد بن جاسم بن جبر آل ثاني إلى الأمم المتحدة اليوم لبحث الملف السوري، قدّم الأوروبيون ودول عربية إلى مجلس الأمن مساء أمس مشروع قرار جديد بشأن سوريا، يستند إلى خطة التسوية التي أعدتها الجامعة العربية، وتطلب خصوصاً تنحي الرئيس بشار الأسد.
وأوضح المندوب الفرنسي جيرار ارو، قائلاً: «لقد قدمنا نصاً يستند إلى مطالب الجامعة العربية». وأضاف «نريد فقط تحويل مطالب الجامعة العربية الى مطالب لمجلس الأمن.. من أجل إرسال بعثة مراقبة، وكذلك في ما يتعلق بالحل السياسي».
اما مندوب روسيا فيتالي تشوركين، فقد عبّر عن «خيبة أمل كبيرة» تجاه مشروع القرار. وقال دبلوماسيون حضروا الاجتماع لوكالة «رويترز»، إن تشوركين أبلغ المجلس بأنه يختلف مع الجامعة العربية لمحاولتها «فرض حل خارجي» على الصراع في سوريا كما رفض فكرة فرض حظر للسلاح واستخدام القوة.
والنص الجديد الذي أعدته باريس ولندن وبرلين مع عدد من الدول العربية، وطرحه المغرب رسمياً على طاولة مجلس الأمن، لا يزال بحاجة الى أيام من المباحثات.
وينص مشروع القرار على أن المجلس «يدعم بقوة» خطة وضعتها الجامعة العربية نهاية الأسبوع الماضي، تتضمن بنداً يتعلق بنقل صلاحيات الى نائب الرئيس السوري فاروق الشرع، تمهيداً لتنظيم انتخابات جديدة.
وكان نائب وزير الخارجية الروسي، غينادي غاتيلوف، كرّر موقف موسكو بعدم نيتها دعم أي مشروع قرار في مجلس الأمن يدعو الأسد إلى التنحي. وحذّر من الضغط في اتجاه طرح مشروع القرار للتصويت قريباً. وقال: «سيكون ذلك محكوماً عليه بالفشل؛ لأننا عبّرنا عن رأينا بوضوح كما فعل شركاؤنا الصينيون».
في هذا السياق، دعا المجلس الوطني السوري، إلى «التحرك الفوري والجاد على مستوى مجلس الأمن لإصدار قرار دولي يدين جرائم النظام». وفي خطوة ستحمل دلالات كبيرة إذا ما تحققت، نقلت صحيفة «الرأي» الكويتية عن أحمد رمضان، العضو في المكتب التنفيذي للمجلس، أن وزير الخارجية السعودي الأمير سعود الفيصل، أبلغ وفد المجلس الذي التقاه في القاهرة الأسبوع الماضي، «أن المملكة ستعترف بالمجلس الوطني السوري ممثلاً رسمياً للشعب السوري».

في هذا الوقت، تجددت أعمال العنف في حمص أمس بعد ظهور تقارير عن وقوع مذبحة طائفية. وقال نشطاء وسكان إن «رجال ميليشيا علوية قتلوا 14 من أفراد أسرة سُنية»، أول من أمس. وأضافوا أن «ثمانية أطفال تراوح أعمارهم بين ثمانية أشهر وتسع سنوات كانوا بين أفراد الأسرة التي قتلت في مبنى بحي كرم الزيتون المختلط في المدينة».

وفي ردّ فعل على الحادثة، اقتحمت مجموعة من المعارضين السوريين، مبنى سفارة بلادهم في القاهرة. وحطّموا محتويات الغرف والسيارات الموجودة في مرأب المبنى.
وقتل العشرات في سوريا، أمس، بينهم ما لا يقل عن أربعين مدنياً، بحسب لجان التنسيق المحلية. وقال المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان إن 12 من القتلى سقطوا في بلدة نوى في محافظة درعا. وأضاف أن قوات الأمن «عمدت إلى استخدام الرصاص الحي لتفريق المتظاهرين»، الذين خرجوا في عدة مدن سورية تلبية لدعوة أطلقها ناشطون للتظاهر في «جمعة الدفاع عن النفس».
كذلك تصاعدت وتيرة الهجمات التي تستهدف قوات الأمن، حيث شهدت سوريا، أمس، عدة تفجيرات بعبوات ناسفة نفذتها مجموعات مسلّحة في مناطق متفرقة.
وقال مصدر أمني سوري إن انتحارياً فجّر سيارته المفخخة بحاجز لقوات حفظ النظام في مدينة بنّش في محافظ إدلب (شمال غرب)، ما أدى إلى مقتله وإصابة 4 عناصر من قوات حفظ النظام بجروح متفاوتة، بينهم مساعد أول. وأشار المصدر إلى «استشهاد طفل وإصابة 10 مدنيين آخرين بانفجار عبوة ناسفة في حيّ القاعة في منطقة الميدان في دمشق»، فيما أصيب عدد من المدنيين في قطنا بريف دمشق، بانفجار عبوتين ناسفتين. وأفاد بمقتل شخصين وإصابة عدد آخر جرّاء اشتباك مسلّح بين أفراد عشيرة العساسنة في حي المرجة في حلب. وقال إن 3 مدنيين و3 من عناصر حفظ النظام أصيبوا بانفجار عبوة ناسفة زرعتها «مجموعة إرهابية مسلحة» في شارع بغداد بمدينة البوكمال في دير الزور. وأشار المصدر الأمني إلى «استشهاد عنصر من قوات حفظ النظام بنيران مجموعة مسلحة أطلقت النار عليه بالقرب من المركز الثقافي في حي الميدان في حمص». وقال مصدر محلي في مدينة حمص إن «4 مدنيين قتلوا وأصيب أكثر من 20 بجروح، ليل أمس، بقذائف أطلقتها مجموعات مسلحة على بعض أحياء المدينة. وقصفت بنحو مكثف البساتين المحيطة بالبلدة وطاولت القذائف بعض منازل البلدة».
وتأكيداً لتزايد وتيرة العنف، أعلن رئيس بعثة المراقبين العرب في سوريا محمد الدابي أن معدلات العنف في سوريا «تصاعدت بنحو كبير» خلال الأيام الثلاثة الأخيرة.
وفي تطور لافت، ارتفعت أمس حصيلة المختطفين الإيرانيين في سوريا إلى 18، بعدما أعلن المتحدث باسم الخارجية الإيرانية رامين مهمانبرست أن مجموعة مجهولة خطفت أحد عشر من الحجاج الإيرانيين على طريق دمشق. كذلك خطف خمسة مهندسين في 20 كانون الأول في منطقة حمص. وأفادت وكالة الأنباء الرسمية الإيرانية عن خطف مهندسين آخرين توجها في 21 كانون الأول إلى المكان في محاولة للعثور على زملائهما. وأوضحت الوكالة أن المهندسين كانوا يعملون في مشروع بناء محطة كهرباء قرب حمص. وبعد تبني منظمة سورية تطلق على نفسها اسم «حركة مناهضة المد الشيعي في سوريا» أعمال الخطف في حمص، أعلنت كتيبة الفاروق التابعة لـ«الجيش السوري الحر»، في بيان، أنها تحتجز الإيرانيين السبعة، وقالت إنها ستفرج عن اثنين منهم بشرط إقرار المرشد الأعلى للثورة الإسلامية علي خامنئي بوجود عناصر عسكريين إيرانيين في سوريا وسحبهم مباشرة من البلاد. بحسب ما جاء في البيان.
(الأخبار، سانا، رويترز، يو بي آي، أ ف ب)
http://al-akhbar.com/node/33845

163. Son of Damascus

This is not Majed you are responding to. This is “aboud” (a non Syrian) posting his hate under Majed user ID

(Moderator note: Aboud does not post under Majed’s user ID)

The US and EU have announced new sanctions in the hope of persuading Iran to abandon its alleged nuclear weapons programme, though how effective these will be is questionable. China, India, Russia, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea have already refused to go along with the new measures. Iran also has the means to evade the sanctions – through its proximity to Iraq.

JAD

¨The violence cycle of hatred doesn’t know any limit when it starts.¨

Absolute right. I agree with this sentence. Assad has been able to rule the country through absolute dictatorship avoiding open violence but now he has failed. People has said ¨enough¨. So he must respond for its failures and leave. We can consider that there was a kind of hidden agreement between the people and the dictator to let him rule, but since he has failed he must renounce and let the legal system work by celebrating elections DEMOCRATICALLY. This is the only way to stop violence.

Majedkhaldoun
“yes we loose two million people and yes this is great loss, but at the end one side will defeat the other side, and new system will emerge.”
You are SICK SICK SICK, your violence, hatred and crime advocating messages are disgusting.

Sandro
Lying about the existence of Salafi/Qaeda fighters and the Israeli agents multiplying in your country Lebanon won’t help your cause that much, they will get you sooner or later so you better watch your back instead of lying to yourself.

102 massacred by the Syrian regime today. Body trails are seen on the ground again. Footage of stack of children killed in Homs massacre is heart wrenching. Al-Moualem stated that the regime is going with the “security solution” until the end. Moualem should face the same fate that Bashar should face, Qaddafi-style. The world powers are discussing, re-discussing, and then re-discussing some more while the Syrians are being slaughtered. I would vote for next Friday to be called “Russia is the enemy of the Syrian people”.

Dabi asked Bashar today in a press release to stop the violence.

Son of Damascus
You brought Lebanon example, In Lebanon ,the civil war ended with compromise ,because of outsider, this compromise meant that the problem was not resolved fully, and that means that the next generation will have to fight or find other way to solve the problems.in other word they build the foundation for another civil war the next generation to pay for,postponing the solution.
You implied that I believe ,The end justify the means, this is not true, first the statement has never been corrected, it should say the Good ends justify the means that is forced on us, by that the means are the only way is left for us.you see there is huge difference,the war is an evil is forced on us.Surgery, by cutting and blood loss that comes with it,is necessary to heal a person from bad disease.
It is not hatred that I encourage it is healing that I call for, when the scar is left after that it is minor, and most are willing to take to get rid of the disease.

Ann
No I am not Aboud, I am Majed.

Dear Amir
#142.

You are welcome.

القدس العربي
سنخسر سورية مثلما خسرنا العراق، ومثلما نخسر ليبيا حاليا، حيث يمكن ان تكون معظم الدول العربية في الايام المقبلة ‘دولا فاشلة’ تماما، تسودها الفوضى، فوضى السلاح، فوضى الطوائف والمذاهب، وفوضى التشظي والتفتيت الجغرافي.
تبادل اللوم بالمسؤولية، والانشغال به عن رؤية هذا المستقبل الكارثي، هو هروب من المسؤولية، وتملص من تبعاتها، بل تواطؤ مع هذا المخطط الاجرامي الذي يريد تمزيقنا كأمة، وكأبناء عقيدة واحدة، وتقديم الاحقاد والنزعات الثأرية على العقل والتبصر.
نحن امة بلا حكماء، نقولها بكل مرارة وأسف، واذا كان هناك حكماء فلا مكانة او احترام لهم، وان وجدوا فعلا، وارادوا ان يقولوا كلمة حق، فالاتهامات بالتخوين والعمالة، والانحياز لهذا الطرف او ذاك جاهزة، وسيوفها مشحوذة

Jad
When you get appendicitis, and the surgeon tells you, you need an operation,which has major risk, please tell your doctor,
“You are SICK SICK SICK, your violence, hatred and crime advocating messages are disgusting.”

أدونيس

دمشق..
معالم القلق حول مستقبل العالم العربي وعمقه السوري، تراكمت عند المفكر السوري أدونيس، وازدادت حدّتها، والمؤشر الأخطر الذي يؤرقه هو تصاعد التيار الإسلامي المتطرف، ولا سيما في مصر وتونس والخوف الأكبر يبقى على سوريا لدى ابنها أدونيس.
صحيفة “الرأي” أجرت حواراً مطولاً مع أدونيس، الذي أكد في توصيف مايمارسه البعض تحت شعار الاحتجاج أن “العنف المادي، يُخرج الإنسان من إنسانيته ويأخذه إلى التوحّش، وهو عامل انحطاط لا عامل نهوض. عامل تغيُّر نحو الأسوأ”.
وردا على سؤال حول إذا ماكان العالم العربي يشهد ثورات في نظره قال أدونيس: “إن ما جرى ويجري، وخصوصاً ما يرتبط بالشبان والشابات، يظلّ في إطار التمرّد والاحتجاج، في حين أن الثورة عملٌ جذريٌ شاملٌ مازلنا بعيدون عنها وبتحقيقها نبني مجتمعات عربية جديدة حقاً، وديمقراطية حقاً، ليس كما يحدث الآن”.
وحول التيارات الإسلامية المتطرفة قال، “هذه تيارات كانت كامنة. وما قام به الشبان والشابات العرب، وفر فُرصة لظهورها، وهي الآن تتواطأ مع القوى الرجعية العربية، والأجنبية الكولونيالية للسيطرة والهيمنة، وخصوصاً أنها الأكثر عدداً والأكثر تنظيماً، غير أن ذلك لا يعطيها أيّ مشروعية لبناء المستقبل.
وانتقد أدونيس طريقة تفكير هذه التيارات بالقول “لا يُبنى المستقبل بالماضي، مهما كان هذا الماضي حاضراً وفعّالاً، الشعوب الحيّة تبني مُستقبلها بتجاربها الواقعية وإبداعاتها، وليس بذكرياتها وأحوالها الماضية”.
وحول صعود التيارات الإسلامية وأسبابه قال: “أنا لا أفسّره، كما هو شائع، بـ “فشل” الحركات اليسارية”
ورأى أدونيس أن الفعل الثقافي هو الفعل الذي يجب أن يكون أساسا لأي حركة تهدف لتطوير المجتمع العربي وقال: “أنا أقصد بـ”الثقافي” هنا، المعنى الثقافي الواسع الذي يتضمّن التربية، والاجتماع والسياسة، والاقتصاد، والعلاقة مع الآخر، إضافة إلى الآداب والفنون والعلوم والقوانين”.
وحول المجتمع السوري وتطوره قال أدونيس: “المجتمع السوري يحتاج إلى تحولات على مستوى البنية السياسية والاجتماعية ويجب أن تكون التغيرات الاجتماعية سباقة لأنها تشكل القاعدة”.
وعن ما تشهده سوريا من احداث قال: “في سوريا لا نشهد ثورة بل احتجاج محدود، في عدد المحتجين، وفي عدد الأمكنة التي يتم فيها هذا الاحتجاج. الثورة لا تكون إلاّ بتحرك الكتلة الكثيفة من جسم الشعب، وبخاصة في المدن الكبرى. وهذا التحرك لم يحدث لأن البداية كانت خطأ، كان للحراك نبرة طائفيّة مذهبيّة، تتحرك داخل “صوت” غير سوري، لكي لا أقول “أجنبي””.
وحول الأطراف التي تدعي أنها تمثل المعارضة السورية ممثلة بـ”هيئة التنسيق” و”مجلس اسطنبول” قال أدونيس: نحن نشاهد “صراع على المواقع”، وهذا مَقْتَلُ الحراك الشعبي. ثم ما معنى “ثورة” في أي بلد عربي، لا في سوريا وحدها، إذا لم تكن قائمة أساسياً على الفصل بين الدين والدولة؟ وما تكون جدواها خصوصاً إذا كانت تَسْتَعينُ بالحِراب الأميركية أو الأطلسية؟!!
وحول ترسيخ الديمقراطية، سياسياً واجتماعياً وثقافياً، في المجتمع السوري قال: “لا ديمقراطية، ولا حقوق إنسان وبخاصة حقوق المرأة، ولا حريات، ولا دولة قانون في سوريا أو غيرها من البلدان العربية، دون تحقيق الفصل الكامل بين ما هو ديني من جهة، وما هو سياسي ثقافي اجتماعي من جهة ثانية، على جميع المستويات وفي مختلف الميادين”.
وأكد المفكر السوري أن المدعو برهان غليون جاء إلى رئاسة مجلسه بفضل الإسلاميين، وبإرادتهم، ورأى أن الإخوان المسلمون في سوريا يعتمدون على التمويه. والـ”غش” الثقافي عندما يتشدقون بالمدنية وقال: “يجب استخدام كلمة علمانية إذا كان القصد “المدنية” حقّاً”.

As Nations Line Up Against Syrian Government, Russia Sides Firmly With Assad – January 27, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/world/europe/russia-sides-firmly-with-assad-government-in-syria.html

MOSCOW — There are not many world capitals today where President Bashar al-Assad of Syria can count on unstinting support. But diplomats who passed through Moscow this week hoping to secure Russia’s help in forcing him from power were met with cold refusal.

Russia remains a staunch defender, providing Damascus with a political lifeline as well as arms and ammunition.

Moscow entrenched itself as Mr. Assad’s political bulwark on Friday, declaring that it would, with China, oppose a Security Council resolution calling on Mr. Assad to step down. A deputy foreign minister, Gennadi Gatilov, told the Interfax news agency that the resolution was “doomed to failure” unless the demand for Mr. Assad’s ouster was dropped and a call for opposition forces to renounce violence was included.

Another deputy foreign minister, Sergei A. Ryabkov, rejected Western criticism of continuing arms shipments to Mr. Assad’s government, including a freshly inked $550 million contract for fighter planes.

“I do not understand why we should justify ourselves for that, constantly blush, turn pale, be damp with sweat,” Mr. Ryabkov told the radio station Ekho Moskvy on Thursday. “We are acting within our rights.”

Russian political support has proven essential to the Assad government, said Peter Harling, a Syria specialist with the International Crisis Group. Statements of support from Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov are featured continuously by Syrian state news agencies, he said, offering reassurance that Mr. Assad’s government still has mighty allies.

“It is central to the regime’s narrative and key to the cohesiveness of the regime’s ranks,” Mr. Harling said. “They believe that the international community is divided. So Russians are providing cover for the regime to push forward with their approach. There is a strong belief that all doors are not closed.”

Russia has staked out this position for a variety of reasons that have little to do with the specifics of Syria’s political crisis, chief among them weapon exports, domestic politics and resentment over the Libyan campaign. It reflects a shift that has taken place as Vladimir V. Putin prepares to return to the presidency, deeply distrustful of the West’s intentions both in Russia and in the Middle East. He has accused the United States of orchestrating uprisings in both regions.

“Theoretically, the Western bloc has a few more months of the Medvedev presidency,” said Yevgeny Y. Satanovsky, president of the Institute of the Middle East in Moscow. “After that, Putin is a bigger realist than Medvedev, he has more experience, he is much more pragmatic. I don’t think he will have these ideas from the Medvedev side that opened the gate to this campaign in Libya.”

Libya is a particular grievance. Mr. Putin seethed over the aftermath of the United Nations resolution establishing what was supposed to be a no-fly zone in Libya, which China and Russia last March agreed not to veto. Many in the government contend that President Dmitri A. Medvedev was deceived by Western allies who then used the resolution to justify airstrikes to drive Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi from power.

“We were naïve and stupid,” said Mr. Satanovsky, an influential analyst. “The Chinese were the same. Trust this: That was the last mistake of such type.”

Another consideration is practical. Syria is a major customer of Russia’s state weapons exporters, who by one estimate have already lost as much as $10 billion in orders during the political turmoil of the Arab Spring and a missile contract with Iran that was shelved as a result of the “reset” with Washington. The military industry holds sway over a significant slice of Russian voters and “will be very angry at the ruling group” if further contracts are lost, said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs.

“We have an election year here, and this time it is a more real election campaign. He is campaigning quite seriously,” Mr. Lukyanov said. “That means all groups of society are valuable, and the military industry is very angry over this chain of events.”

Russia has benefited from Syria’s isolation from the West over the years, because it enjoys preferential access for its arms and petroleum industries. Syria places orders worth about $700 million a year, making it a “major, very important, high-priced client by Russian standards,” said Ruslan Aliyev, a defense specialist at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a Moscow research center. But Moscow wields little influence over Mr. Assad, he said.

Mr. Aliyev, who was present at meetings with American diplomats last week, said that Americans were convinced that Mr. Assad’s government would fall and advocated engaging with the opposition. Russian officials are “more pragmatic,” arguing that change will lead to “a civil war, followed by rampant violence and banditry and terrorism, as it happened in other countries,” he said.

Mr. Lavrov sent a clear signal last week that Russia would not intervene militarily in defense of Mr. Assad’s government.

Some Russian analysts warn that if Mr. Assad falls, it will lead to a broader war pitting Arab nations against Iran. Mr. Satanovsky said that Russia could see “maybe hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of refugees coming from Iranian territory into Azerbaijan and Russia” if that were to occur, as well as ethnic violence against Christian minorities and the spread of terrorism. He said Russia supported not Mr. Assad, but stability.

“After Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, Afghanistan, why should Russia once more look at all this with the idea that everything will be all right?” he said. “This is not a choice between good and bad, this is a choice between bad — which we have now — and terrible and apocalyptic.”

United Nations (CNN) — The U.N. Security Council discussed Friday a resolution introduced by Morocco that calls on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down and transfer power to his vice president.

The resolution also supports “full implementation” of the Arab League report on Syria that called on Syria to form a unity government within two months but stopped short of supporting military intervention. The Arab League report was released about a month after it sent observers into Syria.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Araby and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, are expected to brief the council Tuesday about the observer mission’s findings. When asked whether that briefing would lead to a vote next week, France’s U.N. Envoy Gerard Araud responded with just one word: “Inshallah,” or “God willing” in Arabic.
British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said a vote could be held as soon as Wednesday on the text. “It was quite clear that there was very strong support in the Security Council this afternoon for the text that was introduced by Morocco.”
The next step is a meeting of experts from the missions of the 15 countries on the Security Council, on Monday afternoon.

فتح الصادق المهدي النار على من سمّاهم بالتكفيريين خلال إمامته صلاة الجمعة اليوم بمسجد الهجرة أو “الأنصار” بأم درمان، وختم خطبته بتحديد مسؤولية الحكومة في حملهم على سحب فتواهم (أو) لجوئه هو أنصاره للقضاء.
وشدد المهدي على أنه “في حال تقاعس القضاء أو عجزه سوف نتصدى لهم حتى ننتصف منهم؛ لأن خطرهم على الإسلام والسودان صار واضحاً”.
وحول موقفه من الفتوى محل الخلاف قال المهدي: “موقفنا الآن من هذا العبث باسم الدين هو أننا نحمّل الحكومة المسؤولية كاملة على أن تحملهم على سحب فتواهم التكفيرية، والاعتذار عن تلويث مناخ السودان المتسامح”.

Ghufran
Thank you for keeping us informed about what is going on in Sudan,Libya, Tunisia,and other countries.
Please continue and tell us about what is going on in Zimbabwe too.thanks

Majed
اذا اردنا ان نعرف ماذا في ايطاليا علينا ان نعرف ماذا في البرازيل
رحم الله نهاد قلعي

I also would like to thank Mina for always keeping us not only informed but also updated about Somalia, Kenya, and Africa in general.

We need a specialist in south east Asia specifically Cambodia.

المنصف المرزوقي: الفرصة مواتية لاحياء اتحاد المغرب العربي اثر انهيار الدكتاتوريات وبداية الاصلاحات

That proves what I said before,Democracy leads to unity,dictatorship leads to seperation

http://syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=143261
Russia may abstain

Homs massacre

Published on Friday 27 January 2012 14:37

Meanwhile, a video posted online by activists showed the bodies of five small children, five women of varying ages and a man, all bloodied and piled on beds. It appeared to be an apartment after a building was hit yesterday in the Karm el-Zaytoun neighborhood of the city. A narrator said an entire family had been “slaughtered”, thought The video could not be independently verified.

Details of yesterday’s wave of killings in Homs were emerging from an array of residents and activists today, though they said they were having difficulty because of continuing gunfire.

“There has been a terrifying massacre,” Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, tsaid. He called for an independent investigation of the killings.
…
There were also a string of attacks by unknown gunmen on army checkpoints, Saleh said. Checkpoints are a frequent target of dissident troops who have joined the opposition.

The violence culminated with the evening killing of the family, Saleh said, adding that the full details of what happened were not yet clear.

The Observatory said 29 people were killed, including eight children, when a building came under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. Some residents spoke of another massacre that took place when shabiha – armed regime loyalists – stormed the district, slaughtering residents in an apartment, including children.

“It’s racial cleansing,” said one Sunni resident of Karm el-Zaytoun. “They are killing people because of their sect,” he said.

Some residents said kidnappers were holding Alawites in the building hit by mortars and gunfire in Karm el-Zaytoun, but the reports could not be confirmed.

(…)

http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/syria_assad_s_forces_attack_residential_buildings_killing_30_say_reports_1_2082276

خفضت إيران اليوم قيمة عملتها الريال بنسبة 8%، وأعلنت أنها ستفرض سعرا موحدا لصرف العملات بهدف محاربة السوق السوداء، والتي شهدت الأونة الأخيرة ارتفاعا كبيرا للدولار على خلفية العقوبات الغربية الجديدة التي فرضت على إيران.
وأوضح محافظ البنك المركزي محمود بهماني أن السعر الجديد للدولار هو 12260 ريالا، وسيطبق هذا السعر بعد غد السبت في كل المؤسسات والمعاملات البنكية، ووفق بيانات المركزي فإن سعر الدولار بلغ الخميس 11296 ريالا.
وستتيح هذه الخطوة خفض المستوى المرتفع لنسبة التضخم التي زادت إلى 20% خلال الأشهر الستة عشر.
وبالرغم من خفض قيمة الريال فإن السعر المحدد يبقى أقل بكثير من السعر الذي بيع بها الدولار الأميركي في مكاتب الصرف العام الجاري، حيث بلغ سعره أكثر من عشرين ألف ريال في ظل مسارعة الإيرانيين لتحويل مدخراتهم إلى العملات الأجنبية.
Interest rate on saving accounts: up to 21%

Russia will veto any aggressive UN resolution but will abstain if the resolution is modified to meet certain Russian requirements. Any future regime needs to provide guarantees to Russia who seems now less concerned about protecting Bashar but more focused on preserving the Syrian army and seeing its friends take some government positions. Regime loyalists need to remember that there was life before Bashar and there will be life after him,there is nothing wrong in sidelining a divisive figure like Bashar if that is likely to help the country heal and move forward.

سفير روسيا في الأمم المتحدة : موسكو مستعدة لبحث مشروع القرار العربي الاوروبي بشأن سوريا

There’s a new SC poll in the upper left corner of this page

Majed,

I did not imply you believe in the “end justifies the means”, I implied in civil war and war in general many people believe that, and pursue that type of thinking.

And in every civil war there are outsiders that help influence one side or another (or both), it is true in the US, Spanish, French, even Rwandan civil war, and sadly would be the case in Syria if full on civil war happens. These outsiders have their own interest (mainly money) at heart when they get involved, and unfortunately for us to them innocent Syrian lives are not only expandable, but the more that die the more money they stand to make.

A good book that talks about foreign involvement in modern civil wars (mainly african) is Merchant of Death, it is a story about a Russian man named Victor Bout who supplied arms to all sides in pretty much every conflict that happened in the 90’s (the movie God of War was loosely based on his life, and actually one of his smuggling planes was used in the movie). It is a good read and I highly recommend you picking it up (very entertaining, and quit diabolical).

The most important lesson we Syrians can learn from Lebanon, is not how ugly and brutal we can turn on each other, but how bloody efficiently this regime works under such circumstances.

157. SANDRO LOEWE

Your endlessly repetitive mantra that the regime will fall, that the people who support it are dummies etc.. etc.. is a clear sign that you want to convince yourself otherwise you won’t repeat at each of you post.
If Bashar survives and the Russian win the political war, (edited for hateful language)

187. Ghufran

Bashar is going to probably be the scapegoat, but we all know that the regime is not Bashar. So the regime will survive even if Bashar goes (even temporarily as the french are suggesting ). Bashar is probably the less hardliner of the regime.
I think when the opposition will be sitting in the dialog with the regime, as they will be obliged to do it according to the AL plan, they may painfully regret Bashar al Assad.

Iran parliament will vote on banning export of Iran oil to Europe.

Self sanction

Sorry Ann I beat you to this news,but you can continue to talk about Cambodia

Khaled Mashaal left Syria to Qatar

#155 Tara

This is where the information comes from.

“The SNC said in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai that Saud Al Faisal informed them that Saudi Arabia will recognise the SNC as the “official representative of the Syrian people”, at a yet unspecified date.”

I have not seen any official declaration directly by the Saudis. It is a second hand information.

In my view this is a propaganda agitated by the SNC carried by the media to threaten and humiliate the Syrian government in retaliation for Moallem dismissing attitude toward the GCC.

The GCC may eventually recognize the SNC as France did, as “a legitimate interlocutor with which we will continue to work” or at best “a official representative of the opposition”

In the remote hypothesis that the SNC is recognized as the ‘official representative of the Syrian people”, then it means that the Syrian government is not anymore representing the Syrians, so what’s the point of the dialog with the Syrian government included in Arab League plan?
The Arab league plan becomes automatically void.

In my view, the SNC is so desperate to be recognized as ‘something’, whatever it is, just not to be dismissed and ignored as they have been by the Arab League and most foreign countries. They need that because when dialog time comes, they don’t want the Syrian local opposition to have any word, they want to be the only one to negotiate. They have begged every single country without success. I think it is one more attempt to get some recognition.

European resolution on Syria crosses Russia’s “red lines”

A proposed European-Arab UN resolution on the Syria crisis crosses Russia’s “red lines” on opposing sanctions or an arms embargo, Russia’s UN envoy said Friday.
Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters after UN Security Council talks on a draft text proposed by France, Britain, Germany, Morocco and other Arab states that the document was “unacceptable.”
Churkin, whose country is a strong ally of the Damascus government, accused the Arab League of trying to “impose” a Syria solution and some of its members of seeking to “undercut” efforts to find a political end to the deadly showdown between President Bashar al-Assad and opposition demonstrators.

The new Europe-Arab resolution gives strong backing to an Arab League plan that calls on Assad to hand over powers so that a new election can be held. It supports Arab League sanctions without making any call for compulsory international action.
Russia, with China, vetoed a European proposed resolution on Syria in October. They accused the western powers of seeking regime change in Syria. Moscow has since proposed its own resolution but there have been hardly any talks on the text.
Churkin said that Russia’s delegation had “explained what we consider our red lines, where we cannot go.” These include any hint of sanctions or an arms embargo.
Churkin said the Europe-Arab draft “not only ignored our red lines but also added some new elements which we find unacceptable as a matter of principle.”

The Russian ambassador said the Arab League and the proposed resolution sought to “impose” a political outcome in Syria before talks have started.
“The Security Council cannot go about imposing solutions in crisis situations in various countries of the world,” he stated.
Churkin was critical of Arab states which have withdrawn from the Arab League monitoring mission in Syria.
“The Arab League may have its ideas where political dialogue should go. Certainly they are free to express those ideas but the Security Council should not be a tool to impose specific solutions on countries including in this particular case Syria,” he said.
He added however that Russia was ready to take part in more talks on the text.
http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=357865

#195. majedkhaldoun

“Khaled Mashaal left Syria to Qatar”

But he did not close the Hamas offices in Damascus. The US considers the Hamas as a “terrorist organization”, so it will not be a big loss for Syria if it closes the offices in Damascus.
Good luck to Qatar, they will have offices of two terrorist organizations, the Taliban and Hamas.

193. irritated:
((187. Ghufran
Bashar is going to probably be the scapegoat, but we all know that the regime is not Bashar))

What is he in your opinion?
A dummy!
When he gives Speeches you invariably applaud his performance, courage and political Savvy!
He can say yes, or no to the ongoing massacres!
Can’t he?
He can take the plane and defect to Russia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, or any BRIC country!
Can’t he?

((So the regime will survive even if Bashar goes (even temporarily as the French are suggesting).
Can you define “Temporarily”?
– Length of time? 1 day, 1 week, 1 months, 1year?
– Until when?
Until Unity government is formed and assumes full power?
Until New elections are held?
Until he is through from investigations of 7000-plus crime against humanity and through with serving 7000-plus life terms or surviving 7000-plus hanging episodes!

((Bashar is probably the less hardliner of the regime.))
Define hardliner!
He characterised the protests as conspiracy and sedition!
What would the hardliners consider it?

He called for burying sedition with whatever it takes?
What more would the hardliners call for?

He regarded torture and murders of unarmed civilians by his security forces and army as mistakes?
Does it make any difference to the lost souls or bereft families if the hardliners dubbed it otherwise?

Would you regard his commanding the killing of 7000 Syrian citizens, including toddlers, children, woman, wounded patients, and senior citizens in 11 months, under the watchful eyes of the world as other than hard line belligerence?

((I think when the opposition will be sitting in the dialog with the regime, as they will be obliged to do it according to the AL plan))

Anyone who shares a round table with any crime suspects of the regime shall be considered an accomplice to their murders and doomed to become an outcast of the Revolution for Freedom.

((They may painfully regret Bashar al Assad))!

Do not worry Irritated!
The only ones who shall painfully regret shall be the regime and their supporters, irrespective of ideology or ethnicity, who over the last 11 years of Jr’s reign, and over 11 months of this Revolution have let a chance after chance for a genuine national reconciliation to slip away, deluding themselves into being able to hold on to their blood-stained Godfather’s legacy, even it required the re-enactment of its ugliest chapters.

Iran could stop exporting oil to Europe immediately inflicting a blow to the European countries who were counting on 6 months phase-in to find a replacement provider. It may create a serious but temporary shock in some already crippled European countries.

Iran could ban EU oil exports next week: lawmaker
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/27/us-iran-sanctions-oil-idUSTRE80Q0GW20120127

Reuters) – A law to be debated in Iran’s parliament on Sunday could halt exports of oil to the European Union as early as next week, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a lawmaker as saying on Friday.

“On Sunday, parliament will have to approve a ‘double emergency’ bill calling for a halt in the export of Iranian oil to Europe starting next week,” Hossein Ibrahimi, vice-chairman of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying.

Parliament is pushing for the export ban to deny the EU a 6-month phase-in of the embargo on Iranian oil that the bloc agreed on Monday as part of a raft of tough new Western sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to curb its nuclear program.

The EU accounted for 18 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the first half of 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), making it Iran’s second biggest customer after China.

“If the deputies arrive at the conclusion that the Iranian oil exports to Europe must be halted, the parliament will not delay a moment (in passing the bill),” Fars quoted Moayed Hosseini-Sadr, a member of parliament’s energy committee, as saying.

“If Iran’s oil exports to Europe, which is about 18 percent (of Iran’s oil exports) is halted the Europeans will surely be taken by surprise, and will understand the power of Iran and will realize that the Islamic establishment will not succumb to the Europeans’ policies,” he said.

Reflecting how seriously Tehran was taking the idea, Iran’s OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi told the ILNA news agency the country might choose to raise the issue at the next OPEC meeting.

Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament has previously shown it is ready to force the government to take action against what it sees as hostility from the West.

In November it voted to expel the British ambassador after London announced new sanctions ahead of other EU countries.

The day after that vote, radical Iranians stormed the British embassy, causing London to withdraw all staff and close the mission.

The resive loop of Damascus suburbs is beomming to tight for comfort to Jr’s neck!

Saqba, a Damascus Suburb is firmly under the control of the FSA and its volunteers.
Arwa Daimon from Saqba, today
28/01/2012
CNN
تقرير صحفي مترجم من داخا سقبا – دمشق

Details about the kidnapped Iranian engineers by the terrorist militia and the role of the French in this operation:

“الحقيقة” تضع يدها على قرائن تشير إلى تورط المخابرات الفرنسية في عملية اختطاف الإيرانيين

زوجة الصحفي الفرنسي المغدور في حمص ، كارولين بوارون ، التقت عبد الرزاق طلاس والمخطوفين بتكليف من المخابرات الفرنسية ، وبطلب من إيران

باريس ، دمشق ، دبي الحقيقة ( خاص من : مازن ابراهيم + مكتب التحرير) : بثت قناة”الجزيرة مباشر” يوم أول من أمس ، قبل أن تتبعها “الجزيرة” الرئيسية و”العربية”، شريطا للمهندسين والتقنيين الإيرانيين الخمسة المختطفين في سوريا من قبل “كتيبة الفاروق” في حمص ، التابعة لما يسمى “الجيش السوري الحر”. وزعمت القناة أنهم “ضباط من الحرس الثوري الإيراني”. وقالت المحطة إنها حصلت على الشريط من “الجيش” المذكور. ويكشف الشريط واحدة من أكبر عمليات النصب والاحتيال المغرقة في غبائها وتفاهتها ، لدرجة أن “الجيش السوري “نفسه الذي يخطفهم ، والمعروف بغبائه وفبركاته الساذجة ، عفّت نفسه عن نشر الشريط على موقعه ، على الأقل حتى ساعة نشر هذا التقرير!؟ وكما يبدو من المقدمة الكتابية وصور ملالي إيران التي وضعت للشريط ( حذفتها”الحقيقة” لتخفيف وزن الشريط)، والتي ادعت أنهم “ضباط من الحرس الثوري الإيراني جاءوا لمساعدة نظام الأسد على قتل الشعب السوري”، فقد طالب الخاطفون القيادة الإيرانية بالاعتراف بأن هؤلاء من “الحرس الثوري” دون قيد أو شرط لكي يطلق سراحهم!

{…}

“ولكن ما هي قصة اختطاف هؤلاء المهندسين والتقنيين، وما هو دور المخابرات الفرنسية في كل ما جرى ويجري لهم!؟

في 28 تشرين الثاني / نوفمبر الماضي ، كشفت صحيفة ” لوفيغارو” الفرنسية أن المخابرات الفرنسية تقدم مساعدات لمسلحي ما يسمى “الجيش الحر” في شمال لبنان وفي حمص ، بما في ذلك معلومات عن تحركات الجيش السوري عبر الأقمار الصناعية ، وأجهزة تصويب ليلية ( مناظير تعمل بالأشعة تحت الحمراء) ، و تساعدهم من خلال المهربين على إدخال السلاح إلى الداخل السوري. وقد جاءت تقارير لاحقة لعدد من الصحف والمجلات ومراكز الأبحاث الغربية لتؤكد ذلك . ولعل أبرزها ما نشره مركز “ستراتفور” الاستخباري الأميركي وما قاله مؤخرا ضابط وكالة المخابرات المركزية الأميركية السابق فيليب جيرالدي لمجلة ” أميركان كونسيرفاتيف” عن تورط قوات خاصة أميركية وفرنسية وبريطانية في قيادة عمليات “الجيش الحر” داخل الأراضي السورية. وغني عن البيان أن ” كتيبة الفاروق” ، التي خطفت هؤلاء الإيرانيين ، وتحتفظ بهم الآن ، هي من يقوم بجميع عمليات “الجيش الحر” الإجرامية في حمص ومحيطها. وهي المعنية بتلقي المساعدات الاستخبارية الفرنسية التي تحدثت عنها “لوفيغارو”.

في 11 كانون الثاني / يناير الجاري ، أقدم مسلحو ” كتيبة الفاروق” على اغتيال الصحفي الفرنسي جيل جاكييه بقذيفة “مورتر”(هاون) ، كما أكدت صحيفة ” لوفيغارو” نفسها ، وكما أكد لاحقا تقرير المراقبين العرب الذي قدم لجامعة الدول العربية قبل أربعة أيام. لكن ما جرى له ولزملائه الصحفيين الفرنسيين الآخرين بعد عملية الاغتيال يستحق التأمل ، فهو أشبه بفيلم هوليودي. فبعد أن نقلت السلطات الصحية في حمص جثمان الصحفي المغدور إلى الطبابة الشرعية في المشفى، توجه السفير الفرنسي في دمشق ، إيريك شوفالييه، بسرعة البرق إلى المشفى في حمص وقام بـ”سرقة” جثة الصحفي المغدور ونقلها إلى مطار دمشق الدولي وإرسالها إلى فرنسا فورا حتى قبل أن يتمكن طاقم الطبابة الشرعية السورية من تفحصها وإعداد تقرير بشأنها . وهو عمل قرصني بامتياز، بالنظر لأن السلطات السورية ، وحسب القانون الدولي والمحلي ، هي المعنية وصاحبة الحق بفحص الجثة من قبل الطبابة الشرعية وإعداد تقرير مفصل عن الواقعة قبل تسليمها إلى الدولة المعنية ، إذا كان الضحية أجنبيا. هذا فضلا عن كونه عملا مثيرا للشبهة يوحي بأن السفير أراد أن يخفي شيئا ما!؟ ولم يكتف السفير بذلك، بل أقدم على سحب جميع الصحفيين الفرنسيين الموجودين في حمص ووضعهم في السيارات المصفحة لموكبه ونقلهم إلى دمشق بصحبة جثة زميلهم. وكان لافتا أنه رفض نقل مراسل “وكالة الصحافة الفرنسية” جوزيف عيد مع زملائه الآخرين ، رغم أنه الصحفي “الحقيقي” الوحيد الذي كان هناك ، والذي لا يمكن الشك بهويته المهنية ، إذا ما أخذنا بعين الاعتبار أن الصحفيين الفرنسيين الآخرين الذين سحبهم السفير ” مشكوك في أمرهم وأمر وجودهم في حمص”!؟

هذا الشك ليس وليد تصورات أو خيالات أو عقلية ” مؤامرة”. والدليل على ذلك الواقعتان التاليتان:

1 ـ الواقعة الأولى ، وطبقا لما أفادنا بذلك صحفي في “القناة الثانية” الفرنسية (القناة التي يعمل فيها جيل جاكييه ، وهي بالمناسبة معروفة بأنها قلعة إعلامية للوبي الإسرائيلي في فرنسا) ، حصلت الشهر الماضي ، حين تقدم جاكييه بطلب إلى السفارة السورية في باريس للحصول على ” فيزا” لتغطية الأحداث في سوريا. وكان لافتا أن طلبه أرفق بمطلب يعبر عن عنجهيته وصلفه الكولونيالي ، حيث اشترط أن تسمح له السلطة السورية بمقابلة ضباط “الفرقة الرابعة” و ” مرافقة الفرقة في عملياتها القمعية في المحافظات”! وهو طلب أجمع زملاؤه الذين يعرفونه ، والذين تحدثنا إليهم ، على أنه طلب “غريب ومثير للشبهة ، ولا يمكن أن تقبل به أي دولة في العالم ، بما في ذلك دولته نفسها ، فرنسا”.ويؤكد المصدر أن المغدور ” كان في الواقع عميلا لجهاز المخابرات الخارجية الفرنسية أكثر من كونه صحفيا ، وكان مكلفا من قبل الجهاز المذكور الاتصال بمسؤولين محددين من ” كتيبة الفاروق”في إطار عمل استخباري لا علاقة له بمهنته).

2 ـ الواقعة الثانية تتصل بزوجة المغدور جاكيه . فقد كشف مصدر في مجلة ” باري ماتش” لـ”الحقيقة” أن زوجته، كارولين بوارون Caroline Poiron (الصورة جانبا) ، وهي المصورة المعتمدة للمجلة المذكورة ، كانت “أرسلتها المخابرات الخارجية الفرنسية مطلع الشهر الجاري سرا ، بطريقة التسلل من شمال لبنان، إلى سورية ، بهدف مقابلة الملازم الأول عبد الرزاق طلاس والحصول على صورة تثبت أن الإيرانيين المختطفين لديه لمّا يزالوا على قيد الحياة”!؟

هذا المصدر ، الذي أكد لنا هذه المعلومات ، كان اكدها أيضا في رسالة خاصة بالبريد الإلكتروني أرسلها في 17 من الشهر الجاري لصديق له يعمل في أحد مراكز الأبحاث في لندن ( انظر صورة طبق الأصل عن الرسالة منشورة جانبا). وبحسب هذه الرسالة ، فإن اتصالات سرية جرت بين إيران وفرنسا للمساعدة في إطلاق الرهائن الإيرانيين، لأن إيران تدرك جيدا أن الجهة الخاطفة (“كتيبة الفاروق”) تعمل بإنرة المخابرات الفرنسية . وقد قبلت فرنسا القيام بهذه الوساطة نظرا لأنها الجهة الوحيدة التي لها علاقات مع “كتيبة الفاروق” ، ولأنها كانت تخشى إقدام إيران على الانتقام من الفرنسيين عبر استهداف جنودها في جنوب لبنان! وتشير الرسالة إلى أن المصورة كارولين ” سبق لها أن قامت بمهمات مماثلة لصالح المخابرات الخارجية الفرنسية في ليبيا أيضا خلال الحرب التي شنها الحلف الأطلسي على نظام القذافي الصيف الماضي”. وكان لافتا أن الصورة الوحيدة التي أثبتت أن الإيرانيين الخمسة المختطفين لا يزالون على قيد الحياة هي الصورة التي نشرتها “باري ماتش ” ، والتي التقطتها كارولين بنفسها في أحد الأماكن السرية التي يقيم فيها عبد الرزاق طلاس في حمص!؟

ليس هذا كل شيء. فبحسب معلومات حصرية حصلت عليها “الحقيقة” من باريس ، استمرت المفاوضات غير المباشرة بين سوريا وإيران من جهة ، و فرنسا من جهة ثانية ، خلال الأيام القليلة الماضية. إلا أن تعثر المفاوضات ، ورغبة الفرنسيين في استخدام الرهائن الخمسة “للابتزاز السياسي” ، دفعت جهة في المخابرات الخارجية الفرنسية ليس فقط إلى تحريض ” كتيبة الفاروق “التي تعمل بإمرتهم على فبركة الشريط المنشور يوم أمس والزعم أنه لمقاتلين من “الحرس الثوري”، بل إلى تحريض “الجيش الحر” على المزيد من عمليات الاختطاف للرهائن الإيرانيين ” لأنها الطريقة الوحيدة للضغط على طهران في الملف السوري ، والطريقة التي يمكن أن تؤلب الشارع الإيراني والمعارضة الإيرانية ضد حكومتهم على خلفية التزامها العنيد في دعم نظام الأسد ” ، كما يقول صحفي فرنسي يعمل في صحيفة ” ليبيراسيون”. وهذا ما يقودنا مباشرة إلى القرينة الأكثر دلالة ، وذات المغزى العميق.

هذه القرينة ، والتي تتقاطع تماما مع مطلب المخابرات الفرنسية من “الجيش الحر” ، جاءت في سياق ما كان كشفه لنا ضابط يعمل قريبا من العميل رياض الأسعد قبل حوالي أسبوعين . ففي تقرير نشرته “الحقيقة” بتاريخ 13 من الشهر الجاري ، كشف لنا الضابط أن رياض الأسعد اتفق مع برهان غليون ، خلال اجتماعهما في استانبول في 12 الشهر الجاري ، على اختطاف إيرانيين من الحجاج إلى العتبات الشيعية المقدسة في سوريا ، ورعايا إيرانيين آخرين ، فضلا عن لبنانيين شيعة من التجار والطلاب ، ومن رعايا الجالية الروسية، بهدف مبادلتهم بضباط وعسكريين وسجناء سياسيين في المعتقلات السورية ، والضغط على الحكومتين الإيرانية والروسية للتخفيف من تصلبهما في دعم النظام السوري . هذا بالإضافة إلى تصوير هؤلاء في أشرطة تظهرهم وهم يدلون بـ”اعترافات” أنهم من ” الحرس الثوري “الإيراني و ” عناصر حزب الله الذين يمارسون قمع المظاهرات في سوريا”!؟

مقابلتنا مع الضابط نشرت في 13 من الشهر الجاري ، أي قبل أكثر من أسبوعين على بث الشريط واختطاف الـ 11 حاجا إيرانيا يوم أمس! فهل ثمة قرينة أقوى من ذلك على السلوك الإجرامي والبلطجي الذي بات يطبع ليس مسلحي رياض الأسعد فقط ، بل أستاذ السوربون الجليل أيضا ، الذي باتت هوايته المفضلة هي البول في ملابسه … نكاية بالطهارة!؟”

http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/6555/Default.aspx

Syrian rebels blackmail Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei over Iranian hostages who “admitted” having killed ‘women and children’ in a video “confession”

Syrian rebels say they hold seven Iranians hostage
http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-hold-seven-iranians-hostage-155753092.html
…
The hostage video showed one man, named as Haidar Ali, admitting to coordinating with Syria’s Air Force Security unit.

“I and my team members, with the support of Syrian security-intelligence forces, were involved in suppressing and shooting ordinary Syrians … and we killed a lot of people, including women and children, in the city of Homs,” he said.

It was not possible to determine if the confession was forced.

“We urge Iran’s supreme military leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei to order the Iranian military personnel who suppress the Syrians to be repatriated from Syria, so we can also return home,” Ali said.

Alarabi and Qatar are trying to block Aldabi from traveling to NY to avoid sharing his report with the UNSC session:

“البناء”: قطر والعربي يسعيان لعرقلة سفر الدابي الى نيويورك خشية الاستماع اليه في مجلس الامن

نقلت صحيفة “البناء” عن مصادر سياسية متابعة للموقف الروسي أنه “يمكن اعتبار المعركة الدائرة الآن هي ليست فقط على مستوى سورية فحسب، وانما على مستوى تشكّل النظام العالمي الجديد، ومن هنا فانها غير مستعدة ـ روسيا ـ لاي مغامرة بخسارة مع سورية”.

وفي هذا الإطار أكّدت المصادر ان “روسيا سترفض طرح اي مشروع على التصويت يتعلق بالوضع السوري قبل مشروعها المقدم منذ ما يقارب الشهرين، وهو مكتوب بالحبر الأزرق، ما يعني وفق بروتوكول مجلس الأمن امكانية طرحه للتصويت في أي لحظة”.

ولفتت الصحيفة الى أن “محاولات تجري بين قطر والأمين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربي وبان كي مون الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة لاستبعاد سفر رئيس بعثة المراقبين الفريق أول محمد الدابي الى نيويورك خشية الاستماع الى مداخلته (في مجلس الامن) التي باتت معروفة المضامين”.

good report of cnn in damascus

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2012/01/27/pkg-damon-syria-saqba.cnn

Jurgen the ‘good’ report of Syria going down the hill is already posted in 201, and since we are repeating here you go the other report of CNN:

Cities, residents divided in Syria
http://youtu.be/uCRRoNFq-C8

‘Abducted Iranians moved to N Lebanon’

An informed source in Lebanon says the five Iranian engineers who were kidnapped in Syria last December have been relocated to northern Lebanon, Press TV reports.
A tribal figure in northern Lebanon, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the revelation to a Press TV correspondent on Friday.
On December 21, 2011, five Iranian electrical engineers were kidnapped by armed gunmen while travelling to a power plant in the Syrian city of Homs.
Later, two other Iranians, who were trying to obtain information about the missing men, were also kidnapped, and their whereabouts are still unknown.
Syrian armed gangs and terrorists are known to have taken sanctuary in northern Lebanon.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/223465.html

Opposition in exile is ready to finance the FSA.
B. Qudmani: The revolution has assumed irreversible, military dimensions.
المعارضة السورية في الخارج مستعدة لتمويل المنشقين عن الجيش
بسمة قضماني: الانتفاضة أخذت أبعادا عسكرية لا رجعة فيهاAl Sharq Al Awsat News paper
28/01/2012
http://www.aawsat.com//details.asp?section=4&article=660988&issueno=12114

204. jad:
((Alarabi and Qatar are trying to block Aldabi from traveling to NY to avoid sharing his report with the UNSC session).

Al Dabi operates under the Authority fo the AL.
He reports to Al-Arabi and not to any other source.
Travelling to NY is not part of his AL mandate as far as I know!
His report has all the details he wanted to convey.

Anyways!
Who ivited AL-Dabi to NY?
Any link to other than “Syrian truth or Media”

Assad Shabbeeha flasly claiming to be FSA members kidnap kids of wealth families in Damascus and demand hefty ransoms for their release.

Adel Nasif
28/01/2012
http://www.facebook.com/LCCSy
3 hours ago
‎..عاجل(نرجو النشر): الأجهزة الأمنية الاسدية والجيش الأسدي الخائن يقومان في دمشق وبعض المدن السورية بأعمال مافيا و سرقة لأملاك المواطنين والصاق التهمة بالجيش الحر..حيث يقومون بخطف أبناء ثم الاتصال مع أهاليهم وطلب مبالغ فدية كبيرة على أساس أ…نهم الجيش الحر..و الشيء السخيف بالموضوع أنهم يتصلون بالاهالي من ارقام موبايلات محلية مع العلم أن الجيش الحر ليس غبيا” و دنيئا” ليقوم بهكذا أعمال..هذه المعلومة مؤكدة و هناك أشخاص أعرفهم وقعوا ضحية لتلك الاعمال القذرة(تاجر في دمشق طلبوا منه 25 مليون ليرة سورية مقابل ابنه المخطوف)..و هذا يدل على افلاس النظام الاسدي مما يضطرهم لسرقة اموال الشعب..و قام أحد الضحايا بمراجعة فرع فلسطين بدمشق ليبلغهم عن رقم الموبايل السوري الذي اتصل به على أنه الجيش الحر فقالوا له سنبحث في الموضوع ولم يصله رد منذ شهر..مع العلم انهم يستطيعون الوصول لصاحب الرقم خلال ساعات فقط !!!,,,..

588 demonstrations took place across the Syria, in 470 different areas.
28/01/2012
Local Coordination Committees in Syria

لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا

On Friday, Jan. 27, The distributions of participants were recorded as follows:
133 different areas in Idlib with 139 demonstrations, 57 different areas in Homs with 77 demonstrations, 57 different areas in Daraa with 68 demonstrations, 54 different areas in Hama with 60 demonstrations, 51 different areas in Aleppo with 65 demonstrations, 42 different area in Damascus Suburbs with 57 demonstrations, 20 different areas in Hasakeh with 31 demonstrations, 18 in Deir Ezzor with 32 demonstrations, 16 different areas in Lattakia with 22 demonstrations, 5 different areas in Raqqa with 7 demonstrations , 1 area of demonstrations in Tartus with 6 different demonstrations, 1 demonstration in Swayda, and 1 demonstration in Qunaitara.

An oil pipeline was set aflame at dawn today by the indiscriminate shelling of Assad forces of the city of Qriyeh
28/01/2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PrukROd_l4&feature=player_embedded
دير برس-القورية : انفجار انبوب النفط نتيجة القصف 28-1

18 months old Mohamed Hilal died today of a mortar shell that destroyed his house.
He shall be buried, like other kids before, in compliance with Jr’s directive; Wadulfitnah (The burial of Sedition).

Dawn of 28/01/2012
6 hours ago
Qouriah, Deri Azzor
http://www.facebook.com/LCCSy
لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا
دير الزور: القورية: استشهاد الطفل محمد الهلال وعمره سنة ونصف إثر إصابة منزله بقذيفة، أثناء القصف العشوائي للمدينة من قبل جيش النظام فجر هذا اليوم.

JAD

I saw it thank you, i should refresh my browser more often before posting…

This is an excellent article in my opinion.

Collectively failing Syrian society

Peter Harling
Foreign Policy
24 Jan 2012

All sides have been incapable of agreeing on what would be a reasonable U.N. Security Council resolution: making clear it does not endorse foreign military intervention, both to reassure Russia and because within the current parameters of the conflict it is not in the cards anyway; calling all parties to cease fire; blaming the regime for bringing the country to the brink; holding it fully accountable for seeking a solution; demanding it implements the Arab League’s transition plan; and insisting it respects peaceful protests under a reinforced observers mission, with the additional deployment of Arab monitors embedded within the security apparatus where required in the face of armed groups. The regime may choose to ignore what some would describe as a toothless resolution. In fact, what has enabled it to shun international pressure until now is the sense that key players like Russia and others condoned its approach, a decisive factor of self-confidence within its own ranks. A Security Council resolution is the one available lever that could be brought to bear on a Syrian leadership that feels sheltered by the prevailing divisions on the international scene, and would rather take the country down the road to civil war than negotiate in order to obtain what still can be achieved (not least guarantees for the Alawite community, a phased hand-over of power, and the assurance of institutional continuity) at the cost of giving up on the hope that hunkering down and making reforms that only satisfy its supporters somehow will enable it to stay in power.

Click here to read the rest.

Russia slams ‘unacceptable’ draft resolution on Syria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ImQnXmScq4&feature=colike

Russia has opposed the new Arab-European draft resolution on Syria presented by Morocco in the UN Security Council on Friday. Russia’s ambassador to the UN says it will continue to search for ways to end the ongoing bloodshed there.

As RT’s Marina Portnaya reports from New York, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, expressed “deep” disappointment with the draft, indicating that he does not believe that the international community should impose an outside solution on the Syrian conflict. He also rejected the idea of an arms embargo or the use of force being imposed on Syria.

تشوركين: نختلف مع الجامعة العربية لمحاولتها فرض حل خارجي للصراع بسوريا

أعرب مندوب روسيا في الأمم المتحدة فيتالي تشوركين خلال جلسة مجلس الامن أمس، عن خيبة أمل كبير تجاه مشروع القرار المقدم من الدول الغربية الى مجلس الأمن حول سوريا.
وأبلغ تشوركين مجلس الأمن بأنه يختلف مع الجامعة العربية لمحاولتها فرض حل خارجي على الصراع في سوريا، كما رفض فكرة فرض حظر للسلاح وإستخدام القوة.

Jurgen,
ZDF is still reporting about Syria almost every night, I have to admit that so far the majority of the German TV channels and news sites proved to be the most balanced and professional coverage of the struggle, they are doing a very good job.

شخابيط ثورية 8: أنا خائن .. أنت خائن!
http://youtu.be/OneLcqpNZLA

Jad
thanks for sharing, unfortunatly ZDF is not my favorite channel.But i will look in their mediasite for the reports. Given that we usually dont send our best journalists to this part of the world, you are right about professionalism.

An excellent interview with BBC’S Jeremy Bowen on BBC RADIO 5 Live last night.

Listen from 0.06.00 till 0.12.12

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019q7q6 or go straight to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b019q7q6

Available for about another week.

I predict that the chain reaction for the fall of the regime shall start in Damascus.

Mounting pressure on Central Damascus or a special clandestine operation to arrest Jr in his hideout, whether it fails or succeeds could provide the trigger.
Once in motion, the collapse could be precipitous; hours to days.

The SNC and FSA must have a thorough, contingency plan that once activated it would effect seamless replacement of the collapsed political and security systems.

Such plans need to include written speeches and directives to be presented by SNC and FSA president and Commander to pronounce Syrian People Free, and provide a road map and work plan for action in the 1st week, 1st months and 1st year, until parliamentary elections.
Therafter SNC president need to schedule a weekly speech to adress the nation, until the end of the transitional period.

Teams of medical and social specialists need to be ready to be deployed to needy areas for immediate relief. Prior Co-ordination with international human rights and aid groups must be secured.

Teams of technocrats need to be ready for deployment to all joints of government all over Syria, in order to preside over, and oversee the enactment of the new transitional government policies.

lessons learned from the Tunisian and Libyan experiences ought to be assimilated.

Victory is near!

The junta is killing them while the FSA is feeding them (Homs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tggKhQ68BE8
.

Creative Syria (with umbrellas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHmm9tJ3BIs
.

Revlon,

I agree with you. Looks like the rope is tightening around their necks faster now. The revolution flags are now flying high in squares, 15 min drive from the palace. wow. The repression apparatus of the junta (shabbiha, muhabarat, Alawi divisions) are disintegrating in a faster phase than previously thought.

I believe it’s a matter of weeks now, not months.
.

And last important point.

Where are all the detainees? There are tens of thousands of Syrians, who were abducted (kidnapped), and no one knows their whereabouts.

Now they talk about 7000 dead. When this junta is gone and it’s crimes fully exposed, I believe that the number will be much higher than that.
.

I will post an article which was published in DIE ZEIT this week, i find it quite extrodinary. I will just translate most parts to keep the posting smaller.

Leap into the new era

The Arab League was once the club of dictators. Now she calls the regime change in Syria.

by Michael Thumann

Everybody hates the Arab League. The ruler in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad accused them of “blatant interference” in Syria. The Syrian opposition accuses her to work for the Assad regime. Iran complains of the league’s paw of the West. Saudi Arabia finds them for far too soft on Assad.

But when nobody likes the Arab League at the moment, that’s a sign that the league is doing something quite right: it interferes. Even with its latest resolution by the beginning of the week, which creates a peaceful transition for the post-Assad. The Syrian regime is quite disgusted by it. Assad needs to fight the opposition quietly and is therefore not keen for foreign visits. His opponents want the intervention of the United Nations (UN). The Observer Mission to Syria of the Arab League, is now before the failure.

In Syria, the Arab League makes a new experience: it will be criticized for their activities and not for them watching the events happen. The Arab riots have shaken up the often paralysed Arab Leaque. Exactly one year after the Egyptian Revolution, the League makes headlines with human rights issues. She dares make a move, risking to fail on this . The league changed, of necessity, out of necessity, under pressure from the outside.
…

“We are interested in human rights issues,” says Ali Erfan an top advisor to the general secretary. “That was not so an issue before” The Arab League is actively interfering in the internal affairs of its members, “earlier” absolutely unthinkable. Human rights crimes are now seen as a security threat. And so it is handled. “Had the Arab League in the arab spring, stood silently on the edge,” says Erfan, “she would have been dead.” The moment in which the Arabs wrote world history, the Arab League threatened to be irrelevant. They had to change, out of sheer necessity to survive.

Previously it was more convenient. The Arab League was founded in 1945, just months before the UN. Back in Cairo, the strong men put on the agenda, which suited them barely so. They were against something: against the colonial powers Britain and France, anyway against the all-powerful America, against Israel. Sometimes against their own members.

…

Today, you can not just be against something. The Arab League members have to decide whether they support the uprising in the Arab world. Ali Erfan sees the states of the league under a huge pressure. It’s not about gratuitous outrage against America and Israel. It’s all about herself, about freedom and future of all Arabs. And suddenly, most governments are forced to it: for the Revolution (the others) and for its own democratization (always gently) so long as they dont endanger themselves.

So really it all fits together: new times, new countries and new people. Why did the Syrian mission went wrong? Ali Erfan, the advisor of Al-Arabi said it this way: “The Arab League is like a car, built in 1945, runs on a highway of the 21st Century ”

The Syrian mission shows the example. The Arab League is set big goals, but they could not fulfill them.
…

When in New York in the UN building, a dozen departments with hundreds of employees operate such missions, the league has only a small group to the Secretary. While there is an situation room equipped with much high tech, but the employees are not adequately trained to control missions from there.

Its may be too fast for an apperatus which was used for decades to prevend on taking over tasks or which was paralyzed from the controversy among dictators. Today, the League of Arab States,has to bridge between young revolutionary and more or less stable monarchies. About the missions failure in Syria, there is this conflict: The league wants to extend the mission, but now the Saudi monitors as well as the rest from all Gulf countriesleft the misson out of disgust. And how functional the Human Rights Department will be is yet to be seen. “We will expand, says a league employees. But clicking on the website of the League for the Human Rights Committee, you will get the message: “” No Content.

But the Arab League can grow with the challenges. Although its charter does not allow it, it has imposed sanctions against Syria. Now Prime Minister Al-Thani on behalf of the League Assad has asked for the resignation of Assad. Assad should clear the way for a national unity government, elections will be prepared. The League is calling for a regime change. Even this a small revolution. But no military intervention, says Al-Thani. Like: The Arab League has no reaction force. The states may not yet agree on the call for a UN force or even agree on an Arab intervention. But wait. In these times, everything seems to be possible at some point.

http://www.zeit.de/2012/05/Arabische-Liga/seite-1

weather conditions are difficult today in Syria.

Should the SNC form goverment in exile?

Revlon
Yes FSA has to infiltrate Damascus

AL froze the observers mission due to increase in death and the worsening of the regime brutal suppression.

A general (3ameed)just defected with 300 soldier and they join the FSA

Syrian Dream . سوريا الحلم
28/01/2012
https://www.facebook.com/TheSyrianDream

#syria
سوريا الحلم . اللاذقية المحتلة . استشهاد أربعة أطفال حرقا بعد أن أطلقت قوات النظام الهمجية طلقات حارقة على منزلهم الكائن في شارع القوتلي مقابل جامع صوفان .
10 year old Hamza , 9 year old Izzidin, and 3 year old Issa, children of detainee Dr Ma3d Taye3 were burned to death after their house was set a blaze by scorch bombs.
والشهداء هم أبناء الطبيب المعتقل : معد مواهب طايع ، وهم : حمزة طايع 10 سنوات و عزالدين طايع 9 سنوات وعيسى طايع 3 سنوات .

تقبل التعازي في مدينة جــدة في منزل عم الشهداء المهندس مازن مواهب طايع يوم غد الأحد 29/1/2012 في منزله الكائن بشارع الأمير سلطان ، جنوب دوار التاريخ ، قبل مكتبة العبيكان ،بعد صلاة المغرب
نأمل نشر الموضوع على أكبر نطاق ، نريد أن نستغل المناسبة لتعريف الناس بالمستوى إجرامي الذي وصل إليه النظام

93. Revlon said:

“I am afraid I am becomming numb to the sight of human suffering….”

We can cope with only so much pain and numbness sets in, on the surface, but the pain digs deep in our hearts.

you say :”Victory is near!” May the powers that be hear you.

A comment from a Syrian author and that is exactly why the majority is silent.

أود أيضا أن أثير انتباهك لشيء مهم يا حضرة الشيخ وهو أن الطوائف التي تحرض على قتلها وسحنها في الشوارع لولاك ولولا خطابك الطائفي الظلامي الرجعي الجاهلي السادي كانت انضمت للحراك الشعبي منذ عدة شهور ولكن السلفية والوهابية والإسلام الصهيوني الذي ذكرته هو سبب عدم قناعتها بفورتكم وحقدكم وغلكم. أنا ممن رأى الجثث التي كان رفاق دربك والسائرين خلف خطاك وخطا بغال النفط قد رموها في مناطق متفرقة مقطعة بالساطور ومنخورة بالمثاقب ومقطعة بالصواريخ التي يستعملها الحدادين عندها كفرت بكل الأديان وعلى رأسها الإسلام يا راعاك الله.

Maybe Syria should follow the Israeli [democratic] ways of doing things as examplified below……

Ethnic Enclaves

Expectedly, the State of Israel is nothing but a large collection of ethnic enclaves. “Arim Meoravot” is Hebrew for “Mixed Cities,” cities where Palestinians and Jews live together; Haifa, Jerusalem, Lod, and Ramle are examples of these. Yet, this term is just wishful thinking.

On the neighborhood level, people live in ethnic enclaves. One will find Bedouin, Druze, Circassian, Palestinian, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Iraqi, Iranian, Moroccan, and a thousand more ethnic neighborhoods. People would seldom mix. The State of Israel encourages that; divide and conquer is its favored tactic.

In January 2012, interesting data was published. The Jewish real estate market is suffering a severe recession, while the Palestinian market is flourishing. The term “severe recession” doesn’t correctly reflect the size of the calamity for the Zionist Dream. Some of the data hints the game is over for Mr. Theodore Hertzl.

The most obvious parameter foe analyzing the real estate market is the price of the goods. Accordingly, prices in the Jewish neighborhoods are decreasing since summer 2011, following a short-lived increase in its prices before that.

The Palestinian market is boiling, with prices increasing sharply in acquisitions and rents; since 2010, prices almost doubled there.

Israeli realtors are also divided along ethnic lines; thus their data is not likely to get mixed up. Yet, a more dramatic event is taking place under the nose of Benjamin Netanyahu, and this time there is nothing he can do to stop reality from eradicating evil discrimination.

To: 227. Revlon

It’s indeed sad; but this is a civil war, what else did you expect from civil war? Syria is in civil war and not going into one. It’s living it. There will be more on each end, sadly.

Revlon #219

“I predict that the chain reaction for the fall of the regime shall start in Damascus.”
When? in 2013?

“The SNC and FSA must have a thorough, contingency plan that once activated it would effect seamless replacement of the collapsed political and security systems.”

You are giving too much credit to this incoherent group. A plan? I really doubt, they are too busy courting all the enemies of Bashar to have anything concrete to offer except facebook promises.
They are just a bunch of Chalabis…
They have yet to be recognized officially by other countries than Libya and France

218. Uzair8

Jeremy Bowen BBC interview

Nothing new…Bashar seems weaken but not ready to fall.. We have been hearing that for the last 6 months.

Scenarios for the endgame in Syria, which is yours?
January 28, 2012 01:15 AM
By Rami G. Khouri
The Daily Star

Now that the Arab League has decided to ask the United Nations Security Council to back its plan to resolve the crisis in Syria, the prospects of international involvement in Syria inches forward just a bit more. This adds a new dimension to the already fertile debate on how the mounting violence and expanding political crisis will end.

In the last few months, I have heard dozens of scenarios for how things might play out in Syria. Some are plausible, others are fantastic, but all are suggested seriously by usually knowledgeable observers and analysts. They go something like this.

The most common scenario I hear is that tensions and violence will continue to the point in the coming year where economic collapse causes some influential figures in regime of President Bashar Assad to carry out a coup, after despairing that Assad can find a political solution to the crisis. Such a coup would be led by Alawite and Sunni military officers who would recognize the need to make a deal with the demonstrators and send Syria onto a path of serious political democratization, while sparing Alawites widespread retribution after the fall of the House of Assad. A variation of this sees an inside plot to assassinate the top leaders, and bring an immediate end to the crisis.

Another common scenario is that the Russians will recognize that Assad’s approach is doomed to fail and will shift away from their current course of using a veto to prevent Security Council moves to pressure Damascus. In this script, Russia convinces Assad to step down and leave the country with his extended family and their riches.

A variation on this sees a combination of Alawite leaders, military officers and top businessmen collectively deciding that they are all doomed if the current trends persist, and working together to do one of two things: either to engineer a coup and force Assad’s exit, or to sit him down and make clear that they – his pillars of support – see only doom, so that he must turn over power to a democratic transitional leadership before total collapse ruins the country.

A more dramatic possibility in some people’s view is for regional and global powers to impose no-fly zones and safe havens along Syria’s northern and southern borders. This would speed up the regime’s abandonment by tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, speeding up its collapse from within. This process would be hastened by further economic deterioration impacting on all sectors of society, as tighter international sanctions – including bans on aviation and banking links with Syria – lead to shortages of basic goods and runaway inflation that make it impossible for most Syrians to live a normal life. This would also spark massive anti-regime demonstrations in Damascus and Aleppo, the death knell of the Assads.

A more drastic possibility is that the polarization of Syrian society along ethnic lines and full civil war will reach a point where the unified state collapses, and the Alawites retreat into their mountains to form their own state in their northwestern heartland. Some suggest this has been the aim of the crisis all along, with “outsiders” provoking civil strife to the point where Syria breaks up into statelets, including Alawite, Druze, Kurdish and Sunni entities.

This would occur at the same time as Iraq faces similar disintegration as a unified country and leaves behind Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish entities of some sort. Culprits behind this scenario it is said, of course, is Israel and America, whose desire for hegemony over the Middle East would be made much easier by the presence of weaker ethnic statelets rather than larger, stronger Arab states. In such a scenario, Israel would quickly come to the aid of some of these ethnic statelets – as it tried to do with some Lebanese groups in the 1980s – and thus cement both the fragmentation of the Levant and its dominance of it.

The most terrible scenario sees the deterioration in Syria leading the Assad regime to implement the Sampson Option. It would seek to instigate strife and chaos across the region, in order to plunge the Levant into a regional conflagration. This option would be based on the Assads’ assumption that if they cannot rule over a unified Syria, then nobody in the neighborhood should be able to live in peace and security either. Such a scenario would involve attacking or fomenting strife in Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, perhaps resulting in the desperate use of chemical or even nuclear weapons.

These are only the most plausible scenarios that are widely circulated in the region these days. The more outrageous ones we will leave for another day to ponder.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2012/Jan-28/161336-a-terrifying-menu-for-syrias-endgame.ashx#ixzz1klqkCO00
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

If Hamas leaves Syria, where would it go? Neither Jordan nor Egypt want it and Hamas does not seem eager to go to Qatar?

Hamas Divided Over Its Presence in Syria

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hamas-divided-over-its-presence-syria

Could this happen in Syria?

Al-Jabouri: Dying to Fight Sectarianism
By: Alaa al-Lami

Published Sunday, January 15, 2012

The self sacrifice of Iraqi army Lieutenant Nazhan Faleh al-Jabouri to save Shia pilgrims poked a hole in the dominant narrative of sectarian strife in Iraq
{..}

http://english.al-akhbar.com/print/3381

Dear Mu3taz Al Dendeshi,
I have just read on Ugarit News website that مجاهد أحمد العثمان الدندشي
fell martyr earlier today in Telkalakh.

Assuming he was a relative of yours, please accept my sincere condolences.
AlFatiha upon his soul,
May God bless his family with solace and empower them with fortitude.

I think a very violent era had just started now and you can mark it.

Violence is going to increase and sooner or later Syria is going to DIVIDE.

Violence is going to tear Syria apart and of course it will reach the areas and states around.

As if we need another era of those.

Funeral sermon for child Abdallah AlTarshi, victim of Assad forces.
His brothers huddle around his body and reach out to touch his face, while trying their best to hold back their tears!

The sermon is defiant, and the mood in the mosque is choked with rage.

28 01 2012 Homs أوغاريت حمص حي الملعب , مقطع مؤثر لأخوة الشهيد عند نعشه ج4

League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria

Report of the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria for the period from 24 December 2011 to 18 January 2012

http://www.innercitypress.com/LASomSyria.pdf

Syrian peasants, once the benefactors of the Baath Revolution, are now in the driving seat of the revolt against the decadent Assad Baathist system.

Peasants of Quneitra march in funeral procession of one of their sons Ahmad Abu Qasem, while chanting against the Assad’s Baathist regime.

AlFatiha upon his soul,
May God bless his family with solace, and empower them with fortitude.
28 1 2012 Mumtanna, AL Qounaitera أوغاريت ممتنة القنيطرة , تشيع الشهيد أحمد محسن ابوقاسم

Fresh blast targets oil pipeline in eastern Syria – 2012-01-28

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/28/c_131379954.htm

DAMASCUS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — Unidentified gunmen blasted early Saturday an oil pipeline in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al- Zour, causing a huge fire in the area, the private Sham FM radio reported.

The authorities are working to extinguish the ensuing fire of the blast, which took place in al-Qurraia area in the province, the radio said.

It remained unknown who was behind the attack, which was part of a series daring attacks that have been intensified lately in Syria that targeted the oil and gas sectors in an attempt to further strangle the already-ailing economy.

Earlier in January, Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Allaw said that the destructive acts carried out by armed groups against oil pipelines and other related institutions, in addition to European Union’s sanctions on Syrian oil, have extremely damaged the country’s oil business.

Allaw said that the damage that befell oil institutions is estimated at 2.1 billion Syrian pounds (about 35.7 million U.S. dollars).

He meanwhile noted that 21 people were killed and 24 others wounded from the oil sector, in addition to five others who were kidnapped over the past 10 months.

Also, Minister of Electricity Imad Khamis has recently said that the attacks carried out by armed and terrorist groups have inflicted big damage on distribution networks and maintenance workshops.

Khamis said that the direct material damage caused on the networks is valued at nearly 713 million Syrian pounds (12.1 million dollars), whereas the value of indirect economic damage, which hit the national economy, reached around 23 billion Syrian pounds (391 million dollars).

He also said that terrorist attacks at gas pipelines and railways that ferry fuel to power generating stations have undermined some of those institutions while the others are operating with partial capacity.

More than two weeks ago, an armed group attacked a gas pipeline near al-Rastan town in central Syria that feeds al-Zara and al- Zayzoun power stations.

At least six pipelines have been targeted since the eruption of the unrest in Syria in March of 2011. Syria held what it called ” saboteurs” responsible for the attacks.

232. Dear irritated:
((Revlon #219
You are giving too much credit to this incoherent group. A plan? I really doubt, they are too busy courting all the enemies of Bashar to have anything concrete to offer except facebook promises.
They are just a bunch of Chalabis…))

Your comment made me curious!
In hind sight, and assuming the proven ability of Saddam Hussein to maintain his grip on power till now and/or the almost certain prospect of his replacement by his son Udai, would you rather had Sadam Husein stayed in power till now?

Seven army men die in ambush near Syrian capital: state media – 2012-01-28

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/28/c_131380012.htm

DAMASCUS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — At least seven army personnel were killed Saturday when an armed group showered their overnight bus with bullets in the countryside of the Syrian capital of Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported.

According to the report, the armed group targeted the bus on the road between the Adra and Douma suburbs of Damascus.

A lieutenant was among the killed, and the bodies of the victims were transported to the Tishreen military hospital in Damascus, SANA added.

10 Martyrs have fallen so far in Damascus country side Governorate today, three of whom are still unidentified.

AlFatiha upon their souls,
May God bless their families with solace and empower them with fortitude.
Ugarit News | أوغاريت الإخبارية
28/01/2012
http://www.facebook.com/UgaritNEWS

أوغاريت || ريف دمشق :: أسماء الشهداء حتى الساعة :
1- الشهيد خالد أحمد حيدر – زملكا
2- الشهيد محمد رشيد قنص بالرأس وهو في سيارته – ميداني الاصل – عين ترما
3- الشهيد عبد العزيز طه نخلة – معضمية الشام
4- شهيد آخر لم يصل اسمه – معضمية الشام
5- شهيد من دوما في كفربطنا
6- استشهاد الشاب باسم عدنان دالاتي العمر 19 عام استشهد باعدام ميداني نفذه حاجز في حرستا
7- شهيد جراء القصف على معظم أنحاء الغوطة – حمورية
8- الشهيد عمر قويدر – عربين
9- الشهيد الشاب نادر البني – سقبا
10- الشهيد هيثم المصري / عربين /

Interview: Syria’s anti-colonialism cradle boasts sectarian unity during unrest – 2012-01-29

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/29/c_131380108.htm

DAMASCUS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — A revered minority sheikh of Sweida, the cradle of Syria’s revolutions against foreign occupation over the past century, said in an interview with Xinhua that the southern province’s residents will not revolt against other Syrians during the country’s current crisis.

Wearing a traditional white turban and a black robe, Sheikh Akel of el-Mowahideen el-Druze Sect, Sheikh Abu Wael Hamoud al-Hinawi, said the Syrian sects are not pitted against each other.

The Druze sheikh, who grows a busy moustache, told Xinhua that he will never raise his weapon against another Syrian, whatever his sect might be.

Since last March, Syria has been gripped by protests inspired by movement in other Arab nations. The once peaceful demonstrations aimed at democracy have evolved into armed insurgency with alleged army defectors fighting the government forces.

Damascus said some 2,000 army and security personnel have been killed since the start of the unrest, while the UN reported more than 5,400 deaths.

The current crisis, breaking out in an adjacent city to Sweida, is at a critical juncture as the daily grind of violence has stirred up fears that the country might be sliding toward a civil war.

“What is happening to Syria is tragic and something we never wished for,” Sheikh Hinawi said. “However, the Syrian people, despite their diverse sects, are still united as one fabric and have never fought each other throughout the history.”

Sweida became known as Jabal Druze in the second half of the nineteenth century due to its considerable number of Druze settlements. Its one-million-population was able to obtain autonomy under the Ottoman rule after winning many battles against the Turkish armies.

In the 1930s, Jabal Druze was also referred to as Jabal al-Arab in recognition of the nationalist role played by the Syrian Druze.

Under the leadership of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, the Druze formed a major military force behind the Great Syrian Revolt against the French from 1925 to 1927. They led a successful revolt against foreign occupation in May 1945, making the Jabal the first and only region in Syria that liberate itself from the French rule without any foreign assistance.

“We, as a Druze sect, do not issue edicts to kill and do not call for inner fighting among Syrians,” Sheikh Hinawi said.

Syrian forces stepped up their crackdown against restive areas in central Syria and the Damascus suburbs over the past couple of days. The government’s patience is running thin and is sending a clear message that it is resolute to settle the situation once and for all and end the spiraling violence, which it blames on armed groups sabotaging the country’s security and stability.

The escalation came after the Arab League’s recent decision to turn to the UN Security Council for support for its new plan over the Syrian crisis, which calls for the formation of a national unity government that excludes incumbent Syrian President Bashar Assad. The plan was denounced by Damascus as a flagrant interference in the country’s internal affairs. Millions of Syrians also took to the streets to voice their rejection of the plan.

Sheik Hinawi said the Arab League should work for the unity of the Arab world and heal the wounds.

“The Arab League should work to assist the Syrian people by taking an evenhanded and honest stand,” he said. “Had there been corruption in the country, it couldn’t be abated by killing and destruction… it can be eradicated by reforms.”

He stressed that the Druze support the process of reforms, noting that they are not bystanders to the crisis.

“We have put forward our own vision and made contacts with the Syrian political leadership in an effort to help ride out the crisis, because the responsibility to resolve the crisis lies on every Syrian, regardless of their sects,” he said.

However, the sheikh stopped short of expounding the nature of their initiative and the government’s response to it.

“The homeland is what matters most to us… we have to protect it from foreign conspiracy,” he said, adding that reforms cannot come from outside the country.

Sheik Hinawi shrugged off allegations that the crisis would enflame tensions among Syria’s complicated mix of religions. Most of Syrians are Sunni Muslims but there are other minorities.

He said members of his Druze minority, an offshoot of Islam, are “Syrian nationals” who would never accept attempts to stir up sectarian fighting.

“Even if there are some media outlets saying Syria is on the brink of a sectarian rift, this is their own business… we will never call for any fighting except to defend out homeland,” Hinawi stressed.

The Syrian opposition is still struggling to find a unified voice and has been careful to paint their movement as free of any sectarian overtones.

Sheikh Hinawi appealed to all Syrians to launch a national dialogue involving all spectra of ethnicities. “We call on all Syrians, and the Arab League, to salvage Syria.”

243. Revlon

You are comparing Saddam to Bashar.. That’s a compliment to Saddam.

You obviously prefer to see regime changes by violence followed by decades of chaos. We have examples all around us.
Like the Russians, I prefer to see common sense and dialog to prevail, not hysteria.
If the Arab league had common sense, they would have pushed for a resolution calling for a referendum in Syria on the reforms proposed by the regime under the UN supervision, instead of sanctions and military threats.
They should have tried to calm down the spirits instead of enflaming them more.
That would have shown what the Syrian really want instead of polls and media making just assumptions on who is for or against the regime.

Now it may be too late and the blow up may spill blood on the Syrians in Syria in the total indifference of the western world.

Aleppo this weekend looks no different than Saqba or Midan of Damascus
27 1 2012
Aleppo, AlMarjeh
27 1 Aleppo أوغاريت حلب حي المرجة , شجاعة الابطال في مواجهة الامن جمعة حق الدفاع عن النفس

247. Dear irritated,
You have dodged the question!
I am still waiting for an answer!

158. JAD
أكدت مصادر إسرائيلية أن إسرائيل زودت مسلحي “الجيش السوري الحر” بقواذف مضادة للدروع من طراز Shipon B-300.

The Kh-35E (3M-24E) tactical missile Can be the answer for Israel!

Stop The War Protests Against Iran And Syria Intervention – 28/01/2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/01/28/stop-the-war-protests-against-iran-and-syria-intervention_n_1239053.html?ref=uk

Hundreds of anti-war protesters gathered in central London today at a demonstration against Western intervention in Iran and Syria.

The rally, organised by the Stop the War Coalition, took place outside the US embassy in Grosvenor Square with a number of speakers addressing the 200-strong crowd.

Protesters waved banners bearing the words “Don’t attack Iran” and “Hands off Iran and Syria”, while the crowd joined together in chanting: “One, two, three, four, we don’t want another war. Five, six, seven, eight, stop the killing, stop the hate.”

The coalition opposes all military intervention from the West in Iran as concern that the Middle Eastern country is developing nuclear weapons grows.

The group says there is “absolutely no justification” for Western countries to become involved.

Stop the War Coalition activist John Rees said the uprising that ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak a year ago proved that oppressed people in the Middle East could fight for themselves.

He said: “Here is a people who without the bombers and the bullets, the tanks and the soldiers, or the United States, or Britain, or any of the Western powers, pulled down a dictatorship on their own.

“Even after a year’s still further struggle, there is not one single Egyptian revolutionary who will ask for support from the United States or military assistance from the United States, and it is because of this: they are still being shot down in the streets by Egyptian soldiers who are using American weapons and American bullets, so why would they ask for help from their killers?”

Rees said that history showed that foreign intervention led to the future of these countries not being controlled by their own people.

He told protesters: “After they are finished, the resources of these countries will not be in the hands of the country’s people, they will not be democratically controlled by the people of these countries, they will be controlled by the masters of the people who will be working in this building (the US embassy).”

He added: “Ordinary people have the capacity to deal with the dictatorships.

“They have the capacity to go on fighting week after week, month after month, to get democracy, to control their societies, to abolish poverty, and they will not stop fighting until they get it.

“Our business, the business of people who live in this country, is to make sure that they have the space and the freedom to do it.

“Our business is the business of keeping our Government off the back of people in the Middle East and giving them their chance to achieve freedom and democracy for themselves.”

Iranian activist Shirin Shafaie said the West had shown “double standards” in previous conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She said: “Double standards are the worst enemy of justice and injustice is the worst enemy of peace.

“We must make sure history doesn’t repeat itself.

“We are here to make sure there is not another war anywhere in the world, which is led by America or European countries.”

#249

Saddam is a dictator responsible of the murder of hundred of thousands of Kurds and Shias, responsible of millions of death in the murderous 8 years war with Iran ( with the help of the USA and the GCC), and another hundred thousands in the Kuwait invasion.
His elimination was necessary. He was a threat to the other Arab countries after they pampered him for years.
No one regret his elimination, even if the way it was done is as debatable as the killing of Qaddafi.

In comparison with Saddam, Georges Bush and other, Bashar is only a misguided leader.

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2012/01/28/syria-looking-for-ways-to-make-agrression-legal.html
Syria: looking for ways to make agrression legal
Alexander MEZYAEV, 28.01.2012

Mjabali
whar do you mean syria will be divided? can you please elaborate more

“cleansing the outlaws’ going on in the “FSA” stronholds.

The demoted Rami Abdul Rahman is still feeding news to the media? Death toll: 23 military or security and 11 civilians(?)

http://news.yahoo.com/least-15-killed-clashes-ambush-syria-155622932.html

At least 34 people died in violence across Syria on Saturday, as activists reported fierce clashes between soldiers and deserters and authorities warned the country would be “cleansed” of outlaws.

Twenty-three of those reported killed were military or security personnel.

Soldiers clashed with deserters in the restive central town of Rastan in Homs province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reported similar confrontations in Al-Ghuta, near the capital.

Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based watchdog, told AFP three deserters were killed in Rastan’s fighting, while at least five soldiers were killed in clashes in nearby Al-Hula.

{..}

حج Revlon:

They are called Farmers and Not Peasants. A peasant works in the land of others, and these guys, thanks to you know who, own their own land and FARM it. They were peasants before in the eyes and practice of the landowners, you know who….I thought an Islamist like you would be sensitive to social justice issues…But, as I always thought, religious thinkers are always not really honest on social justice matters..

Juergan #224.

That is a worthwhile article with fresh perspectives on the Arab League. I am glad I am able to read it thanks to you.

Can you contact the writer and see if there is a way it can be expertly translated from German into Arabic? I want to send it to Syrians who cannot follow it in English.

Memo To: MJABALI

RE: “…A peasant works in the land of others…”

WRONG, Petunia. Here are the definitions of “peasant.” As you can see, land ownership is not the point. The point is in the SIZE of property a peasant works or owns.

1. A member of the class constituted by small farmers and tenants, sharecroppers, and laborers on the land where they form the main labor force in agriculture.

2. A country person; a rustic.

3. An uncouth, crude, or ill-bred person; a boor.

Oh, and by the way, you could be a peasant, considering the uncouth and boorish manner in which you insulted my man, Revlon. You need somebody to bitch-slap you…

A TERRIFYING MENU FOR SYRIA´S ENDGAME

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2012/Jan-28/161336-a-terrifying-menu-for-syrias-endgame.ashx#axzz1kmZrZVxE

Can we define Assad as a peasant?

3. An uncouth, crude, or ill-bred person; a boor.

252. Dear irritated
((His (Saddam) elimination was necessary. He was a threat to the other Arab countries after they pampered him for years.
No one regret his elimination, even if the way it was done is as debatable as the killing of Qaddafi.))

It is fair then that you should withdraw your condescending statement about Chalabi!
Moreover, you should give him the credit for playing a pivotal facilitating role in the invasion of Iraq.

((Saddam is a dictator responsible of the murder of hundred of thousands of Kurds and Shias, responsible of millions of death in the murderous 8 years war with Iran ( with the help of the USA and the GCC), and another hundred thousands in the Kuwait invasion.)).

In order to forcefully remove the savage tyrant, you find the war waged by George Bush and the western coalition to had been justified, although It:
– Was against a sovereign Arab country
– Lead to the destruction of the strongest Arab armies
– Lead to the death or wounding of tens of thousands of army members and bereavement of their families
– Lead to the death of thousands of civilians as collateral damage.
– Involved torture and humiliation of thousands of proud Iraqi people, in Abu Ghraib prison, and others.
– Lead to the vast destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure
– The looting of its museum treasures
– Was vehemently opposed to by B. Assad whom you could not compare with Saddam Hussein.

((In comparison with Saddam, Georges Bush and others, Bashar is only a misguided leader.))

Here you go again!
You are contradicting yourself.
You approve the liberation of Iraq but you disapprove of George Bush who did the job?!

Here is a reminder of Bashar’s legacy:
– He regards Hama massacre that lead to the death of tens of thousands, the imprisonment and torture of tens of thousands, and the displacements of tens of thousands of civilians as a bright example of fight against terrorism. He had 11 years on his hand to initiate a related national reconciliation; Alas he did not!.
– He has commanded the killing of over 7000 unarmed civilians, including women and children, the imprisonment and torture of tens of thousands of civilians, and the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians.

Yet you claim that he is “ONLY MISGUIDED”, implying that he is otherwise a good man!

Where is you proof, Irritated?
How do you know that Saddam Hussein was not misguided?
How do you know that Qiddafi was not misguided?
How do you know that George Bush was not misguided, and that he won the war by some misguided divine order?

So you know well how, and do approve using force to remove a tyrant president!

Could you please then provide me with your recipe for removing a misguided, henceforth an inept president who has been in office for 11 years and claim to be loved by all Syrians except a few trouble makers, including me!

In a court of law there is no such thing as “misguided” defence.
There is only insanity!

I get the sense that you could be close to B Assad!
Are you?

Sandro Loewe #259

Already posted.
https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=13243&cp=5#comment-293080

Syrialover

Great you liked it. I find ZEIT always revoking, they have assembled quite the elite of journalists, kind of like the Atlantic or NEW Yorker in the US.

I have contacted some of my friends, one is a doctor in arabic, so may be they have some time to translate, i will keep you updated.

258. Dear Dale Andersen,
Thanks for the related info!

Revlon #261

The history is full of example of countries getting rid of their dictator without external help. The closest to us is the Shah of Iran, the darling of the USA and western countries. The Iranians got rid of him alone despite the enormous help from the USA and most countries in the world. It is a country that can be proud of itself while Libya lost all their dignity and the Iraqis are now resentful to the USA for having ‘liberated’ them by killing hundred of thousand of people, displacing millions and destroying their country. Their hatred toward the USA will linger for a long time.

In my view, countries must free themselves by themselves otherwise they loose their dignity and self confidence that they often never recover.
It may take decades but it is their responsibility and only theirs.

Bronoc,
You were right again, SNC statement about KSA to recognize them is FALSE:

سعود الفيصل: لا يمكننا الحديث عن الاعتراف بـ “المجلس الوطني السوري”

قال وزير الخارجية السعودي الأمير سعود الفيصل اليوم السبت أنه لا يمكننا الاعتراف بـ “المجلس الوطني السوري” المعارض في هذه الفترة، في حين دعا وزير الخارجية التركي أحمد داود أوغلو لـ “وقف الدم الهادر بسورية”.

وقال وزير الخارجية السعودي الأمير سعود الفيصل في مؤتمر صحفي مع نظيره التركي في اسطنبول, “نحن التقينا فعلاً في القاهرة مع “المجلس الوطني السوري” بعد اجتماعهم بأمين عام جامعة الدول العربي نبيل العربي”، مضيفاً “لكن مسألة الاعتراف تكون بين دول، وهذا لا يعني تجاهل المجلس ووجوده، إلا أن الاعتراف كلمة قانونية ولا يمكن أن أتكلّم عن اعتراف او عدم اعتراف في هذه الفترة”.
والتقى وزير الخارجية السعودي الأمير سعود الفيصل، يوم الأحد الماضي، بمقر إقامته بالقاهرة، وفدا من “المجلس الوطني السوري” المعارض برئاسة برهان غليون، وذلك لبحث آخر تطورات الأوضاع في سوريا في ضوء تقرير رئيس بعثة المراقبين العرب الفريق محمد أحمد الدابى.
من ناحيته, قال وزير الخارجية التركي أحمد داود أوغلو أن “بإمكانه التحدث عن تطابق في وجهة النظر بين تركيا ودول الخليج حول الأوضاع في تونس ومصر وليبيا واليمن وسورية”.

وأشار داود أوغلو أنه “في هذا الإطار نتابع كل التطورات وخاصة في سورية، ونحن في تركيا وفي مجلس التعاون الخليجي ندعم ما تقوم به جامعة الدول العربية”.

وأقر وزراء الخارجية العرب, خلال اجتماعهم بالقاهرة يوم الأحد الماضي, مبادرة عربية دعت إلى تشكيل حكومة وحدة وطنية سورية خلال شهرين، وتفويض الرئيس بشار الأسد نائبه الأول بصلاحيات كاملة, الأمر الذي رفضته الحكومة السورية بشدة, مشيرة إلى أن هذه القرارات تمس سيادة سورية وتعتبر تدخلا بشؤونها الداخلية.

ولفت داود أغلو إلى أنه “يجب وقف الدم الهادر في سورية، ونأمل أن نقوم ببعض الأعمال معاً في سورية، ونريد من القيادة السورية التجاوب مع المبادرات، والدخول في مسيرة إصلاحية بما يتناسب مع تطلعات الشعب السوري وتقدير الموقف بشكل جدي”.
http://syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=143279

It seems that Hammoudeh and Alarabi can’t take no as an answer to his crappy work, the AL is stopping immediately the observers mission, it’s obviously a retaliation to Russia decision and to escalate the situation even more than it is, The Syrian Government is sorry and surprised!:

الجامعة العربية تؤكد وقف عمل بعثة المراقبين العرب في سورية

أكدت جامعة الدول العربية قرار وقف عمل بعثة المراقبين العرب في سورية بشكل فوري، و إلى حين عرض الموضوع على مجلس الجامعة بسبب تصاعد العنف في البلاد.
أفاد بيان صادر عن جامعة الدول العربية نقلته وكالة (رويترز) اليوم السبت أنه “تقرر وقف عمل بعثة المراقبين العرب في سورية بسبب تصاعد العنف في البلاد”.
وكان رئيس بعثة مراقبي جامعة الدول العربية محمد الدابي قال الجمعة إن أعمال العنف في سورية تصاعدت بشكل خطير خلال الأيام الثلاثة الماضية, مطالبا بوقف العنف بشكل فوري حفاظا على أرواح أبناء الشعب السوري وإفساح المجال أمام الحلول السلمية.
و قال البيان أنه “أجرى الأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية مشاورات مع عدد من وزراء خارجية الدول العربية وقرر على ضوئها وقف عمل بعثة الجامعة العربية في سورية، بشكل فوري والى حين عرض الموضوع على مجلس الجامعة”.

—

نقل التلفزيون السوري “أسف واستغراب سوريا قرار الأمين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربي وقف عمل بعثة المراقبين بعد أن وافقت على تمديد عملها شهرا آخر استجابة لطلب الأمانة العامة في ضوء تقرير رئيس البعثة محمد الدابي”.
واعتبر أن “قرار العربي جاء تمهيدا لإجتماع مجلس الأمن الثلثاء المقبل للتأثير السلبي وممارسة الضغوط في المداولات بهدف استدعاء التدخل الخارجي وتشجيع المجموعات المسلحة لزيادة العنف”، مشيراً إلى أنه “يتماهى مع قرار دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي بسحب مراقبيها كرد فعل على تقرير بعقة المراقبين وليس بسبب ادعائه استمرار العنف وتبادل القصف وإطلاق النار”.
وشدد البيان التي نشرته أيضاً وكالة أنباء “سانا” السورية، على أن “سوريا لا تزال ملتزمة بانجاح مهمة بعثة المراقبين العرب وبتأمين الحماية لهم وفق البروتوكول الموقع وخطة العمل العربية التي تنص على تعهد الحكومة الوسرية بوقف العنف من أي مصدر كان”.

256. mjabalisaid:

They are called Farmers and Not Peasants. A peasant works in the land of others, and these guys, thanks to you know who, own their own land and FARM it. They were peasants before in the eyes and practice of the landowners, you know who….I thought an Islamist like you would be sensitive to social justice issues…But, as I always thought, religious thinkers are always not really honest on social justice matters..

________________________________

They are not just peasants they are peasants and criminals who robed others of land. They did not acquire State owned land, which the Syrian State have plenty, they deliberately confiscated, and by force, took control of others properties that was owned by the FARMERS-LANDOWNERS for generations. These farmers-Landowners spend untold wealth on developing the land and making it suitable for cultivation. The bastards CIRIMINAL PEASANTS got it Scott-free without them, or the State that aided them, paying any compensation whatsoever. In fact not only confiscated land that was stolen by the Peasants, but the entire lot, even the ones, still to this day, in the legitimate owner name and title holder. RETURN OF CONFISCATED LAND AND APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION TO THIS DAY IS A MUST. WAIT AND SEE WHAT IS COMING. Peasant that is all they are just like the Bolshevik peasants of Russia.

I have not been writing here for a while, i will get back to this blog, but i think the following is interesting observation for anyone who claims that USA in support of Democracy in Syria or the ME, it is just a good propaganda for public consumption in the USA and outside.
the Arab spring is helping no one but Israel and the Radicals are going to be hunted sooner or later by the American drones all over the world.

New Obama law: right to murder Jean Aziz writes a lot these days about the impossibility of Gulf oil systems constitute a model of democracy, so that a malicious says: it is true that the President here came to power on a «sale paper after the death of his father’s constitutional». But also true that whoever wants to teach democracy is not an authority upend man arrived at his father before his death, then finish his father’s life in politics and life, perhaps.
These days also writes about the impossibility to be Turkey Professor of public freedoms and human rights, as they perceived us sufficient in itself, a movie «rapid» midnight train, with nearby country «» Syriana, big difference between the two mghazii, and amateur art VII …
But among the writings rarely pay attention to the development of Washington itself, is offering itself as a «reference» freedom and democracy for the world today.
Barack Obama, for example, earlier Saturday night at December 31 last year, a sign «black» white «national defence leave act» new crossing surpasses George Bush Jr. ten years ago, with «famous» USA Patriot Act. Thus became Master of the White House, unlike the US Constitution, contrary to all international covenants and Shara guarantors of human rights, contrary to all the terms of international humanitarian law and General … The absolute power to do the following: first, by the commissions to take the decision to kill any American citizen linked to terrorism or planned. Of course not new law separates the modalities and requirements must be met for President such a decision. Don’t even give him broad discretionary power, makes it the closest thing to the Sultan of life or death. Word construction? Of course not, researchers say the Americans themselves, act according to the effective exercise of the lkonnh, the most recent murder of US citizen-«baseband» Anwar aloulki in October last year.
Secondly, to extend the detention of a US citizen suspected of involvement in a terrorist act, “indefinitely”, without any time limits to arrest him. Note that such arrests have us military courts, jails, prisons in US courts.
Thirdly, to decide whether any detainee to be tried before the courts the charge normal federal or spend an exceptional, such as military courts with special laws and special procedures of the rules of evidence and the rights of the defence.
Fourthly, order checks, inspections and raids and listen to any citizen … Without obtaining any authorize legal or judicial warrants. With what it contains to give the President the power to bind any institution or corporation or association, any information owned by any citizen, whether on private or public life, including his movements and contacts of all financial files, and others.
Fifthly, invoking national security allows for failure to disclose any evidence or evidence against an accused in the trial, whether federal or military courts, so that any citizen may be prosecuted and convicted based on secret evidence.
Sixthly, that is all that is necessary to prevent that any member of the US Administration to any international accountability on war crimes. Which adds new us violation of the Nuremberg principles of international law. Note that Washington refuses to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, each State is bound by bilateral agreement, under which the extradition of any American citizen to that Court, punishable and hostility to America.
Seventh, the right to asylum to foreign secret intelligence courts. The topic raised several scandals about Bush-era, and now continues with mkonna Obama.
Eighth, the real or legal persons who give information about any citizen in violation of the freedoms and rights, full legal immunity for victims that information leaked to resort to the prosecution of violating the confidentiality of his private or public.
IX, may order the monitoring of the movement of any citizen to permanently via «» CBS JI is linked to the satellite without recourse to any judicial authorization.
Tenth, allowing the transfer or extradite a person, a US citizen or a non-citizen, to any other State, unlike any specific assets in accordance with international law.
10 «rights» semi divine, granting Obama himself on the final day of last year, the gift of the year, Hidayat for democratic General Sam all over the world. Thus became the holder of the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago, himself holder Saif murder without judgment and spend or authorize. Paradox will then long bones of Alfred Nobel, more of a paradox that is borne of invented dynamite

SNP is considering offering Qualitative military support to FSA and any other military unit(s) opposed to the Baathist mafia regime and Shia control of Syria and Lebanon. And should we receive a formal invitation or request by March 15, 2012, will consider a cooperation arrangement with SNC. The terms of which will be debated during April-May business meetings.

#267 Jad

It seems HBJ’s political amateurism is no match for the Russians.

Syria expresses regret over Arab decision to halt observer mission – 2012-01-29

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/29/c_131380119.htm

DAMASCUS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — Syria expressed Saturday “regret and astonishment” over the Arab League (AL) decision to suspend its observer mission in Syria, according to state-run SANA news agency.

“It was clear that the observers’ report that affirmed the existence of armed groups in Syria… wasn’t satisfactory for some Arab countries,” SANA quoted an unnamed official source as saying.

The source pointed out that the decision is aimed at imposing more pressure on the United Nations Security Council’s meeting, which is due to convene on Tuesday, encouraging the armed groups to carry out with terrorism and calling for foreign intervention in Syria.

The source reaffirmed Syria’s commitment to making the observer mission a success according to the signed protocol between the AL and Syria and to provide protection to the observers.

The AL decided Saturday to suspend its observer mission in Syria, citing the deteriorating situation in the unrest-torn country and the continuous use of violence.

Head of AL’s monitoring operation room in Cairo, Adnan al- Khodair, told Xinhua that “The AL decided to temporarily suspend its observer mission in Syria to protect observers from increasing violence.”

In a statement issued later, AL chief Nabil al-Arabi asked observers to immediately halt their operation in Syria until the AL ministerial council makes their decision.

Moustafa al-Dabi, head of the AL observer mission in Syria, said in a statement Friday that the wave of violence in Syria had dramatically escalated in recent days, especially in Homs, Idlib and Hama.

The status quo could not create appropriate conditions for achieving the AL ministerial council’s decisions about pushing all parties to sit for negotiations, he added.

Damascus on Sunday rejected a new Arab initiative which urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to delegate power to his first vice president.

Syrian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Damascus accepted the AL’s request of extending the observer mission in Syria for another month.

The AL observers are currently monitoring the situation in Syria as part of an AL peace initiative to end the months-long turmoil there.

The events in Syria as seen by others…..interesting …

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-observatory-inside-story

Memo To: HANS

RE: “…I have not been writing here for a while…”

And here you return, like the proverbial bad penny. Has anyone ever told you what a drag it is to see you?

Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues despite Arab Spring – January 29, 2012

http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2012/s3417631.htm

Mitt Romney said, “It’s the Palestinians who don’t want a two-state solution; they want to eliminate the State of Israel”. He said the best way to Middle East peace was not to vacillate and appease. “We will not have an inch of difference between ourselves and our ally Israel,” he said

Not to be outdone, Newt Gingrich was happy to repeat his view that the Palestinians were an invented people, invented in the 1970’s. “Before that,” he said, “they were Arabs”.

He said that on the first day he was president he would move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to send a signal that the US was with Israel.

Report of the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria for the period from 24 December 2011 to 18 January 2012

http://www.innercitypress.com/LASomSyria.pdf

http://www.innercitypress.com/syria2las012812.html

Just posting the link, haven’t read it yet.

260. SANDRO LOEWEsaid:

Can we define Assad as a peasant?

3. An uncouth, crude, or ill-bred person; a boor.

Sandro,

He put his foot on your neck for 40 years, do you think he cares what you think,

إشكالية الملف السوري في مجلس الأمن الدولي
الجمل: سعى خصوم دمشق مراراً وتكراراً خلال العشرة أشهر الماضية لجهة تدويل ملف الحدث الاحتجاجي السياسي السوري عن طريق مجلس الأمن الدولي، والآن، وبرغم إخفاق المحاولات الماضية سعى هؤلاء الخصوم مجدداً إلى مجلس الأمن، وهذه المرة عبر نافذة جامعة الدول العربية، فما هي حسابات التحركات الجديدة، وما هو البديل الذي يحاول خبراء مراكز الدراسات السياسية والاستراتيجية الأمريكية الدفع باتجاهه إذا أخفقت هذه المحاولة؟

* مجلس الأمن الدولي: إشكالية الملف السوري
بدأت بعثة المراقبين العرب فعاليات عملها في سوريا، وأكملت شهراً كاملاً في عمليات الرصد والمراقبة، وتم تمديد فترة عملها لشهر إضافي، وذلك على أساس أن تكمل مهامها وترفع تقريرها النهائي لأمانة جامعة الدول العربية. وما كان مثيراً للاهتمام تمثل في قيام جامعة الدول العربية، وعلى عجل، وقبل أن تكمل بعثة المراقبين عملها وترفع تقريرها، بإصدار قرار إعلان مبادرة عربية جديدة، ثم رفعها فوراً إلى مجلس الأمن الدولي، وذلك قبل أن تكتمل المشاورات والتفاهمات بين الأطراف المعنية بالشأن السوري حول مدى جدوى هذه المبادرة ؟!
تقول المعلومات والتقارير بأن موسكو قد حددت بشكل قاطع موقفها لجهة وصف بنود المبادرة الجديدة، وذلك ضمن توصيفات تقول:
• إن المبادرة لا تنسجم مع المبادرة الروسية.
• إن المبادرة لا تصلح بشكلها الحالي لجهة حل أزمة الملف الاحتجاجي السوري.
• إن المبادرة تخاطب طرفاً واحداً هو سلطات دمشق، وليس المعارضة.
• إن المبادرة بشكلها الحالي يمكن أن يتم أخذها في الاعتبار لجهة المزيد من المناقشات والحوارات بما يتيح تعديلها وإعادة ضبط بنودها.
أضافت المعلومات والتقارير قائلة: بأن وضعية الإصطفاف والاستقطابات داخل مجلس الأمن الدولي سوف تظل كما هي: روسيا والصين تقفان ضد المبادرة العربية، وأمريكا وفرنسا وبريطانيا تقفان إلى جانب المبادرة، وبالنسبة لبقية الدول الأخرى غير الدائمة العضوية، فمواقفها: ألمانيا إلى جانب المبادرة، وبقية الدول الثمانية الأخرى لم تحدد موقفها بعد، وعلى الأغلب أن يتضح ذلك خلال المناقشات والتفاهمات الجارية حالياً، والتي بدأت منذ مساء أمس الأول الخميس 26 كانون الثاني (يناير) 2012.

* مخطط استهداف دمشق: ماذا بقي من بنك الأهداف؟
عندما اندلعت شرارة الحدث الاحتجاجي السياسي السوري ازدادت حيوية خصوم دمشق، وبدا واضحاً أن جعبتهم كانت مليئة بالسهام، وذلك على أساس اعتبارات أن مفاعيل دومينو الاحتجاجات السياسية العربية سوف تتيح وعلى وجه السرعة إنفاذ سيناريو انهيار دمشق، وفي هذا الخصوص يمكن استعراض الآتي:
• خيار فرض منطقة حظر الطيران: تم تحديد أربع مناطق مبدئياً لجهة فرض حظر الطيران ولكن هذا الخيار لم ينجح بسبب عدم قدرة المعارضة على السيطرة على أي واحدة من المناطق التي تم تحديدها.
• خيار المنطقة العازلة: تم تحديد منطقة شمال سوريا المتاخمة للحدود مع تركيا لجهة إقامة منطقة عازلة، ولكن هذا الخيار لم ينجح بسبب عدم قدرة المعارضة لجهة السيطرة عليها، إضافة إلى عدم وجود العدد الكافي من اللاجئين والنازحين الذي يوفر المبررات اللازمة إضافة إلى تردد تركيا.
• خيار الملاذات الآمنة: تم تحديد ثلاثة مناطق لجهة إقامة ملاذات آمنة للسكان المدنيين فيها، ولكن هذا الخيار لم ينجح أيضاً بسبب عدم قدرة المعارضة، إضافة إلى تردد دول الجوار الإقليمي، وعدم كفاية الأعداد المطلوبة من النازحين.
• خيارات الممرات الآمنة: تم تحديد أربعة مناطق لجهة إقامة ممرات آمنة لتوصيل المساعدات، ولكن هذا الخيار لم ينجح أيضاً لأنه يتطلب المزيد من التكاليف إضافة إلى إرسال القوات.
هذا، وإضافة لذلك، فقد ظلت أطراف مثلث واشنطن ـ باريس ـ لندن، إضافة إلى محور الرياض ـ الدوحة، إضافة إلى أنقرا، أكثر اهتماماً باستخدام:
ـ آلية العقوبات الاقتصادية لجهة رفع وتائر المعاناة والضغوط الاقتصادية.
ـ آلية العقوبات الدبلوماسة، لجهة القيام بإنفاذ مخطط عزل دمشق عن منظومة المعاملات والتفاعلات الدولية والإقليمية.
وبرغم زخم الضغوط الإعلامية والسياسية، فإن حجم الفعاليات الاحتجاجية السياسية السورية ظل محدوداً، مع ملاحظة وجود تصعيد رأسي لجهة التحول باتجاه التركيز على العمل المسلح كبديل للعمل السياسي، ومع ذلك، فإن التصعيد الأفقي الذي يؤدي إلى تزايد نطاق جغرافية الاحتجاجات لم يحقق النجاح المطلوب.
تشير المعطيات الجارية إلى أن بنك أهداف خصوم دمشق قد بدا بحلول مطلع هذا الشهر وهو في حالة استنفاد لمخزوناته، وفي هذا الخصوص نشير إلى الآتي:
• السيناريو المصري: لم يعد ممكناً بسبب عدم وجود الإجماع الداخلي المصري لدمشق، إضافة إلى حصول دمشق على المزيد من الدعم والسند الشعبي.
• السيناريو الليبي: لم يعد ممكناًَ، وذلك بسبب عدم قدرة المعارضة على احتلال أي منطقة والسيطرة عليها بحيث تصلح كقاعدة للانطلاق، على غرار ما حدث في منطقة بنغازي الليبية.
• السيناريو اليمني: لم يعد ممكناً، وبرغم أن محور الرياض ـ الدوحة قد سعى لتقديم مبادرة تسعى لإنفاذ سيناريو تغيير النظام بالوسائل السياسية على غرار ما حدث في اليمن، فإن العقبة الرئيسية تمثلت في أن المعارضة اليمنية ظلت موجودة وتمارس فعالياتها في الداخل بعكس المعارضة السورية التي ظلت منقسمة وتمارس فعالياتها من الخارج.
تقول المعلومات بأن مجلس الأمن الدولي سوف ينهمك خلال الأيام القادمة لجهة التفاهم حول ثلاثة معطيات، هي: ورقة مشروع القرار الفرنسي ـ البريطاني ـ ورقة المبادرة العربية ـ إضافة إلى ورقة المبادرة الروسية، وعلى الأغلب أن يصل المجلس إلى نقطة الانطلاق، أو أن يتم إقرار مشروع قرار ينسجم مع بنود ورقة المبادرة الروسية، وبكلمات أخرى فإن إقرار ورقة المبادرة العربية وورقة مشروع القرار الفرنسي ـ البريطاني هو غير ممكن وذلك بسبب معارضة روسيا والصين، وفي نفس الوقت نفسه فإن إقرار ورقة المبادرة الروسية هو أيضاً أمر غير ممكن، وذلك لأنها تؤكد حرفياً على ماسبق وظلت المعارضة السورية ترفضه، وظلت أيضاً أطراف خط الدوحة ـ الرياض ـ واشنطن ـ لندن ـ باريس أكثر رفضاً له.
وتأسيساً على ذلك، تقول المعلومات والتسريبات بأن مراكز الدراسات السياسية والاستراتيجية الأمريكية، تبذل قصارى جهدها لجهة إعداد مخطط لعملية تدخل دولية، تستند على مبررات المسؤولية عن حماية السكان المدنيين، وإذا كان وضع المخططات على الورق سهلاً، فإن من الصعوبة بمكان إنفاذها ميدانياً على الأرض، وذلك بسبب عدم القدرة على بناء إجماع دولي يضم الدول الخمسة دائمة العضوية في مجلس الأمن الدولي (أمريكا ـ فرنسا ـ بريطانيا ـ روسيا ـ الصين)، إضافة إلى عدم قابلية المسرح السوري لجهة الترحيب بأي عملية تدخل خارجي دولي..

الجمل ـ قسم الدراسات والترجمة
http://www.aljaml.com/node/80577

Sandro,

By calling Besho the criminal a peasant, we are insulting real peasants. Knowing Besho’s family, I think a better term would be a slave. Reign of slaves it is. Some historians and philosophers did study slaves in power.

“We don’t accept an Islamic government or a Muslim Brotherhood-led government. We will refuse that very firmly.”
Syrian Kurd Leader: Revolution Won’t Succeed Without Minorities
By Michael Weiss
Jan 20 2012, 7:15 AM ET 4
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/syrian-kurd-leader-revolution-wont-succeed-without-minorities/251660/?single_page=true
..
If the revolution in Syria is to have any chance at success, the Syrian Kurds will mostly likely play a major role.
…
Dr. Abdulhakim Bashar is the Secretary-General of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Syria — the sister party to Massoud Barzani’s Iraqi counterpart — as well as the Chairman of the Kurdish National Council (KNC), a newly formed umbrella organisation representing ten Syrian-Kurdish parties.

What’s your relationship like with the Syrian National Council [the aspiring government-in-exile]?
…
All Syrian Kurdish groups decided in Irbil in October to freeze any participation of Kurdish groups in the SNC. This applies to all Kurdish parties, from the Damascus Declaration on, and will continue until and unless the SNC listen to our demands. My party, the Kurdish Democratic Party, had an SNC member: we actually froze his membership before the conference in Syria that formed the KNC.

Of course, we cannot stop individual Kurds from participating in the SNC, although I suspect that as time goes on and nothing changes, they too will freeze their membership or quit altogether.
…
If the SNC fully recognizes the Kurdish Bill of Rights, we will join the SNC fully. Because we are very concerned that the SNC is so much influenced by Turkey now, they may postpone guaranteeing our rights until after the regime falls. Therefore we ask for a recognition of these rights in order to become a draft for a new constitution.

So you want a written guarantee from the SNC?

We want a guarantee written and published internationally. The important thing to realize is that if we get our full rights, Turkey will be obliged to grant full rights to Turkey’s Kurdish population. If the Kurds were to get recognition in the Syrian constitution, Turkey will give similar if not more rights to the Kurds in Turkey. Syria is the key player.
…

The SNC has not been recognized by world governments, apart from Libya’s, as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. If it were, would you be more willing to join?

If the international community recognized the SNC at this stage, that would be a very quick decision. It still represents only one side of the Syrian opposition, it doesn’t include Kurds as Kurds. We are united and we have agreements. If we were to join the SNC fully, we’d do so from a unified political standpoint on this issue.

Is the KNC all in for regime change or are you entertaining a possible reconciliation with the Assad regime?

We are part of this revolution, we are not neutral. One of the main points in the KNC statement is that we don’t want the present dictatorship and we refuse to accept any future dictatorships. We don’t accept an Islamic government or a Muslim Brotherhood-led government. We will refuse that very firmly.

We have also decided not to have any dialog with the regime separately from the Syrian opposition. For example, if the international community decided all the opposition groups had to have a dialog with the regime, we’d support that, in case the current regime asks for negotiations for a transition of power, just like in Yemen. But that’s unlikely.
…
Yes. It’s not just about Kurds, however. Arabs, Druze, Ismailis, Alawites, Christians have been ignored by the SNC, which is responsible for these minorities failure to participate as united communities in the revolution. Also, if the SNC says that Local Coordination Committees are very active in the SNC, I’d like to add that the Committees have very little participation of Alawites and Druze; only the elites of these communities are involved in them.

In my opinion, Syrian Alawites would not accept working in a central government with Sunnis because the regime has succeeded in sowing fear amongst [Alawites].
This is why we ask for political de-centralization in Syria. The regime has succeeded in convincing minorities that any change would mean a new Islamic system coming to power and the rights of these minorities would be lost completely. In order for the SNC to convince minorities to take part in the revolution and hasten the fall of the regime, it must send a clear message to these minorities to participate. Transitioning to democracy in such a country is very difficult; it can’t happen in one day. You have to give guarantees and assurances to each minority as these fit their rights and benefits.
..
Are there enough liberal representatives in the SNC to alter its approach to the minorities question?

The liberals are not enough to influence the SNC. That’s also our responsibility as Kurds. It’s the international community’s responsibility to pressure the SNC, and the Muslim Brotherhood, to guarantee the rights of minorities. And also — most important — for the international community to pressure Turkey not to take one side of the opposition over all others.

The Kurds are Syria’s largest minority, larger even than the Alawites. Would it be fair to say that there is no Syrian revolution without their full and wholehearted participation?

We are more organized and recognized as a society within Syria and other Arab countries than other minorities. If we do participate more actively, other minorities will feel more assured and follow suit. The regime has tried to convince the world that the conflict is between them and the Arab Sunnis. We want to prove that wrong. The revolution is not sectarian but it is being threatened by sectarian interests.

277. tareksaid:

260. SANDRO LOEWEsaid:

Can we define Assad as a peasant?

3. An uncouth, crude, or ill-bred person; a boor.

Sandro,

He put his foot on your neck for 40 years, do you think he cares what you think,

————————————————-

No he does not, and his Alawites are proud of this fact, but when the FSA leader and other Syrian Revolution militant puts their feet on his face and those of his Alawites comrades and Shia supporters, Syrians will remember what he and the Shia thought of Syrians under his feet for 40 years. At that time he too will remember a buddy of his how he felt in his last hours, Kaddafi.

@TARA
They are in fact, and many who helped them are MAMLUK, an Arabic term means SLAVE. Whenever someone in the Middle East named MAMLUK for a family name (surname), it denotes decadency from the Egyptian MAMLUK rule that inherited control of the Levant.

Tara,
so you think that they Alawat were enslaved before they joined the Baath party that gave them equal opportunity and liberated them ,

Dandashy,

We are all created equal with the rights to pursue freedom and happiness,

More on Syrian Kurds views
….
Dr Abdulhakim Bashar also favours a secular constitution which separates religion from the constitution and could see the election of a Christian as president as well as enshrining women’s rights. He is deeply concerned by the lack of clarity in the Sunni-dominated Syrian National Council’s plans which talks unconvincingly about what it calls a civil society option.
{..}
http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2012/01/27/turbulent-times-for-kurds-in-syria/

“……..We are all created equal with the rights to pursue freedom and happiness,…”

And that is how the Baathists and Shia Alawites and Mamluks treated 22 million Syrians? Have they not denied the Syrians all that you mentioned, have they not treated Syrians with disdain and considered them way less that equal, have they not tortured and murdered anyone that thought he or she should be treated as equal with the Baathists or Alawites?. Have they allowed millions of Syrians to have freedom and peruse happiness? OK NORMAN, you are fair man, so I tell you what, will treat the bastards the way they treated Syrians, nothing more. How is that, fair enough? You do know that justice will prevail, inequity will be settled.

‘US Bunker-Busters Can’t Destroy Some Iran Nuke Plants’ – 28 January 2012

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/130671/-39-us-bunker-busters-can-39-t-destroy-some-iran-nuke-plants-39-.html

Even the heaviest US bombs are not powerful enough to destroy some of Iran’s more fortified nuclear facilities, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying Friday. The Pentagon is taking steps to improve its “bunker-busting” capabilities, they added.

The US’s 30,000-pound (13,600 kilo) “Mass Ordnance Penetrator” (MOP) was specifically designed to be able to take out Iranian and North Korean nuclear facilities. According to the report, initial tests indicated that the bomb would be incapable of performing these tasks, either because of the depth of the facilities or their recent reinforcement.

Report: Media Freedom Declines in Turkey – Saturday, 28 January 2012

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/130670/report-media-freedom-declines-in-turkey-.html

In October 2002, when it released its first global assessment of media freedom, Turkey tied with Jordan for 99th place.

Nine years later it sits at 148th out of 179 countries, falling between Malawi and Mexico, in a major backslide as Turkey follows a path towards democratization.

“At a time when it is portraying itself as a regional model, Turkey took a big step backwards and lost ten places,” the RWB noted. “Far from carrying out promised reforms, the judicial system launched a wave of arrests of journalists that was without precedent since the military dictatorship.”

Stale Andersen:

You have no clue as always. We are talking about the usage of the word “Peasant” in this Syrian context. Of course you can add nothing of historical value or relevance to the subject.

Above all of that you are talking about bitch slapping and so forth: dude get a life. You are watching too much Telemundo.

Being impolite while you are sitting on your big ass is an example of your petty life and logic.

Mr: الاغا الدندشي

You belong to the stone ages and I wish for a time travel machine to send you back.

The way you talk about the Alawis and the Shia reflects deep troubles and I advise with medical help.

The travesty in the matter is that you claim to speak in the Name of the Syrian National Party, a party the Alawis were in way before you as a matter of fact. As a matter of fact also, the Alawis paid in blood for the SNP and were in it way more than they were in al-Baath. This a fact. Remember the 1950’s for example, there was more Alawis in the SNP than in al-Baath.

Go read the history of your party and come and talk to me about men like Ghassan Jadid for example.

As for the slaves, we all know that those who owned most of the land in Syria through the Ottomans were originally Slaves bought to become soldiers and horsemen in the Ottoman army and ended up owning land with all of its inhabitants. Go read the list of those who ruled Syria from the days of your uncle Ibn Taymiyah and see how all of them were mostly slaves and those who owned the large swath of lands in Syria were slaves to begin with.

So, if your grandfather was a slave then became a soldier in the Ottoman army then retired to become a landowner and an official in the land of the Syrians, we end up with you calling your self Agha like you did on few occasions.

PS: When I was mentioning the problem with the way mr. Revelon was using the word “Peasant” we both were referring to the country side Syrian farmers who were in the funeral of a Syrian killed. Those people are not Alawis, which mean if we cross this fact against your post we find that you have no clue mr. Agha.

A strong speech by Aljafari, the Syrian Ambasador to the UN:

Jafari Syria Will Not Be Somalia
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=262313220506538

MBs council is sending its delegations to request international intervention and since they don’t have enough enemies, they add Russia to the list of Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Algeria, befor they curse Iran a bit more..all these in the same day they need Russia support, how smart! I bet it’s Zibaleh suggestion:

وفد من “المجلس الوطني السوري” فى نيويورك لطلب التدخل الخارجي

أعلن المجلس الوطنى السورى المعارض، السبت، أن وفدا برئاسة رئيسه برهان غليون سيكون الأحد فى نيويورك لمطالبة مجلس الأمن الدولى بتأمين “حماية دولية” للمدنيين السوريين، كما اتهم إيران بـ”المساهمة فى قتل” السوريين، ودعا إلى التظاهر أمام السفارات الروسية فى العالم.

وقال المجلس فى بيان تلاه سمير نشار، عضو المجلس الوطنى السورى، أمام الصحفيين إنه “قرر التوجه إلى مجلس الأمن الدولى غدا الأحد، من خلال وفد برئاسة برهان غليون لعرض قضية الشعب السورى على مجلس الأمن ومطالبته بتأمين الحماية الدولية للمدنيين”.

وفى أعنف موقف له ضد نظام الجمهورية الإسلامية فى إيران أعلن المجلس الوطنى أنه “يستنكر مساهمة النظام الإيرانى فى قتل المواطنين السوريين المطالبين بالحرية ويدعوه إلى التوقف عن المشاركة فى قمع الثورة السورية، حرصا على مستقبل العلاقات بين الشعبين”.

وفى موقف مرتبط برفض روسيا المتواصل للموافقة على مشروع قرار فى مجلس الأمن دعا المجلس الوطنى “جميع المواطنين السوريين فى جميع بلدان الاغتراب إلى التضامن مع شعبهم بالداخل احتجاجا على الموقف الروسى عبر الاعتصام أمام سفارات قنصليات روسيا الاتحادية وأمام مراكز الأمم المتحدة غدا، الأحد، الساعة الثانية بعد الظهر فى أماكن تواجدهم”.

ومقابل الهجوم على إيران وروسيا أعلن المجلس الوطنى أنه “يتوجه بجزيل الشكر إلى السعودية وقطر وسائر دول مجلس التعاون الخليجى والمغرب وباقى الدول العربية الشقيقة التى تسعى من خلال مواقفها إلى مساعدة الشعب السورى ووقف سفك الدماء”.

كما دعا المجلس الوطنى مؤسسات الأمم المتحدة إلى تقديم المساعدة إلى المدن السورية التى تشهد أعمال عنف دامية ارتفعت حدتها كثيرا خلال الأيام القليلة الماضية.

وتوجه البيان بالشكر “إلى كافة أطراف المجتمع الدولى التى تسعى إلى مناصرة قضايا الحرية والديموقرطية وحقوق الإنسان فى سوريا، مطالبين جميع مؤسسات الأمم المتحدة بالعمل على تقديم المساعدات الإنسانية والاغاثية للمدن السورية المنكوبة “حمص وحماه وإدلب وريف دمشق ودرعا ودير الزور”.

وكانت بلدان الخليج وتركيا حثت دمشق على قبول مبادرة الجامعة العربية لوقف إراقة الدماء “دون إرجاء”، وهى تنطوى على نقل للسلطة من الأسد إلى نائبه فى غضون شهرين. ورفضت سوريا الخطة معتبرة إياها تدخلا سافرا فى شئونها الداخلية.

ومن المقرر أن يعقد مجلس الأمن اجتماعا خاصا لمناقشة الوضع فى سوريا يوم الثلاثاء المقبل.

ويتوجه الأمين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربى الأحد إلى نيويورك مع رئيس الوزراء وزير الخارجية القطرى الشيخ حمد بن جاسم بتفويض من الجامعة العربية لإبلاغ الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة بان كى مون بالمبادرة العربية الأخيرة لحل الأزمة فى سوريا وطلب دعمه لها.

http://www.activistpost.com/2012/01/pentagon-wants-commando-mothership-in.html
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Pentagon wants commando “mothership” in Middle East

Regarding the five captured Iranian “Revolutionary Guards” in Syria (reposted from a comment elsewhere):

1- The pictures shown match the Iranian engineers abducted over a month ago in Syria, rather than “revolutionary guards.”

2- Reason for making them wear black clothes is to make them appear more like Hezbollah members or IRGC members.

3) A rifle is placed in between them to make them look like fighters; why they should be seating next to a rifle when confessing on their aged crimes.

4) The claims about a “lack of visas” and secretly entering Syria are funny, considering that Iran and Syria removed visas requirements for travel over a year ago.

5) Another funny part was showing the abductees passports, why should members of Hezbollah and IRGC if on a secret mission in Syria or anywhere else should or would carry passport and indemnification of any kind with them. Specially deploying forces that apparently can’t even speak the local language and need translators.

6- Is the claim that since their passports was signed by an police officer then they are members of military. All Iranian passports are signed and stamped by chief of police or his deputy.

Libya is now a failed state with dozens of local militias and no unified government or army.
The alliance that brought Libya to this stage is acting like this is a ” Libyan problem” while Libyan money is bing used to prop bankrupt western governments.
Every time western governments meddle in middle eastern affairs they change a bad situation into a disaster,that is what happened in Palestine,Iraq,Libya,Sudan, and now they are looking at Syria.
The blood shed must stop at any cost becuse the alterntive is a bloody civil war and a defacto partition of Syria. The coastal region in particular is at high risk of being the first to declare autonomy or separation. Reports from that region are very worrisome,people are buying food and gas in bulk,weapons are plentiful ,and thousands of Syria’s elite soldiers and officers are getting ready for a plan-B if the violence gets out of control.
This is the first time since March that I find myself unable to ignore ” rumors” about a doomsday scenario,time is actually running out now,this makes most of our posts irrelevant,this is not about the brutal regime that needs to change,it is about the country most of you love being ready to fall apart.

قطر تشتري أصول تونسية

Syria regime ‘using’ PKK, dissident says
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

 
Syria’s former ambassador to Sweden, Mohammad Bassam Imadi gestures during a news conference in Istanbul December 15, 2011. REUTERS Photo
İpek Yezdaniipek.yezdani@hurriyet.com.tr
The Syrian wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is being used against Syrian protesters calling for an overthrow of the government and could soon be deployed against Turkey, according to several Syrian opposition figures.

The Democratic Union Party (PYD), the PKK’s Syrian branch, is currently acting in concert with the Syrian regime to suppress protesters, Mohammad Bassam Imadi, an opposition figure who was Damascus’ former envoy to Sweden, told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday.

The claim was echoed by a high-ranking member of the opposition Syrian National Council, as well as the head of the likeminded Syrian National Alliance.

Imadi said Salih Muslim Muhammed, who has been PYD leader since 2010, was not allowed to enter Syria before but had now been allowed to return to the Arab republic.

“I told Salih Muslim that he had been enemies with the regime in the past and asked him how he was allowed to operate in Syria now. He told me that the PYD had never been enemies with the Syrian regime,” Imadi said, adding that he now understood Damascus was using the group against anti-government demonstrators.

“PYD leaders [also] told me that if Turkey intervenes in Syria, they would fight against Turkey,” Imadi said.

“The Syrian regime uses the PYD militants as part of the Shabiha forces, which act as the shadowy militia of the regime that assists in its brutal crackdown,” Imadi said. 

Salah Eldin Bilal, a Kurdish-Syrian opposition member who escaped from the Syrian regime 15 years ago and has since been living in Germany, corroborated Imadi’s claims, saying the Syrian regime had so many cards in his hands that it could use them against the other countries in the region. 

“They can use some parts of the Kurdish movement against Turkey as they have used them before. However, as Syrian Kurds, we shouldn’t be used against any other country, we want all Syrian people to be together,” he said. 

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international 
community.

{…}
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-regime-using-pkk-dissident-says.aspx?pageID=238&nID=12320&NewsCatID=338

New U.N. draft resolution gives Syria 15 days to comply!
True Conservative
Collapse
This bullshit draft resolution will go directly into the waste basket as Russia and China will veto it. So that this time no fresh blood for our criminal Washington freaks which deliberately organized, armed and keep sponsoring so called Syrian “rebels” and purposely keep destabilizing their country.
http://www.blacklistednews.com/New_U.N._draft_resolution_gives_Syria_15_days_to_comply/17632/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Tara,
So it seems , not an Alawy/Sunni conflict, it seems like it is the Islamist and the Muslim brotherhood on one side and everybody else on the other side, now the Sunni Kurds joined the government ,

NATO’s Grisly Crimes In Libya
http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32489:natos-grisly-crimes-in-libya&catid=39:opinion-a-analysis&Itemid=132

The suspension of the AL’ mission is a slap on the face to Mr. Moualem who announced the grand finale of the security option and to his boss.

Syria Hits Out At Arab League Over Mission
1:04pm 28th January 2012.

Syria has hit out at the Arab League after it suspended its monitoring mission, saying it is an attempt to influence the United Nations Security Council.

The claim was made by Syrian state television, which added: “This will have a negative impact and put pressure on (Security Council) deliberations with the aim of calling for foreign intervention and encouraging armed groups to increase violence.”

The Arab League announced it was suspending its mission to Syria following its submission of a new draft resolution to the UN Security Council.

League Secretary-General Nabil el Araby said the move was made as a result of increasing violence, which activists claim has seen close to 200 deaths in the last few days alone.

Earlier, the Syrian government said it was “sorry and surprised” that the League had suspended its activities.

In an interview with Sky News, Syrian activist Danny Abdul Dayem said that Homs was “expecting a big attack” following the observer withdrawal from the city.

He said the army had already started shelling the Bab Amr district of Homs, claiming that “more than 70 rounds of bombings and shellings” had hit. 

“They were killing slowly when the observers were here, but now they are killing faster,” he said.

“The monitors have not been helping that much. Every single area the monitors visit, the Syrian army hides.”

He claimed that the monitors “gave the regime more time to kill” because regime operatives would return after observers had left to “kidnap, kill and shoot at protesters”.

“We don’t care who comes and helps us. We want anyone to come and help us,” he said.

“We will continue to the end. If this revolution is going to stop, they are going to have to kill all the civilians. It is something we started and we are going to have to finish it. We are not going to live under this criminal.”

In his harshest criticism yet, Mr el Araby said the regime has “resorted to escalating the military option in complete violation of (its) commitments” to end the crackdown. 

He said the victims of the violence have been “innocent citizens,” rejecting Syria’s claims that it is fighting “terrorists”.

The League’s deputy chief, Ahmed Ben Heli, said around 100 observers still in Syria have stopped their work and are staying in their Damascus hotel until the League’s council can meet to decide the operation’s fate.
The news comes as Gulf Arab states and Turkey were due to meet in Istanbul, where they hope to sway international actors into supporting further action through a new Security Council resolution.

The summit follows the Arab League’s announcement last week that Syrian President Bashar al Assad should allow his deputy to take the reins.

Britain, which crafted the resolution with France after consultation from Qatar, Morocco, Germany and the US, emphasised its commitment to the resolution.

The UK’s ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said “the time has come” to support the Arab League.

The head of Istanbul-based opposition group the Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, is to travel to New York to push UN officials into taking tougher action.

But Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the new Arab and European proposal, which was submitted officially by Morocco for a vote which its supporters hope will take place next week, said the new draft “crosses our red lines”.

{….)

Norman

It was never Alawi-Sunni or minorities-majority struggle. Only in the mind of Bashar’s supporters who unfortunately lost their humanities and their judgement ability in the interim. It was a struggle of an oppressed nation against it’s oppressors. It was in my opinion a struggle of human dignity against extreme indecency. That is the simple fact all of you can’t simply accept Norman. As if you to accept it as it is, you would’ve never forgiven yourself. Don’t you think?

The axis Muqtada Sadr – Assad – Nasrallah has been uncovered. All mafia style procedures they use for trafficking arms, drugs and art is being exposed day after day and worldwide. I do not think these are the kind of people and regimes that can stand for too long.

If SNC want countries to recognize them, they have to form goverment in exile,they can call the CB to join ,if CB agrees

Pirouz

In regard to number 1, Syrians do not believe the 5 kidnapped Iranians were actually engineers. They probably were IRG killing women and children. I am surprised that you and JNA insist to use the picture as an evidence to the contrary. If the picture matches the picture of the alleged engineers, then it is a proof they aren’t engineers but rather Iranian terrorists.

Also, Pirouz, could you do your country men and women a favor and leave a word in the Iranian mission in the US to spread the word to the Iranian people to stay home and not to pursue religious pilgrimage in Syria for the time being. Everyone says Syria is at the brink of civil war. I say Syria is already in civil war (the people against the regime) so people should practice religion in their home for the time being. If a civil war ignited in KSA, i would never think to visit Mecca. I give you my word Allah would understand. Really!

Majed

SNC forming a government in exile to be recognized as the only legitimate government of the Syrian people is a grate idea and a logical next step. They should put some effort to contact other opposition figures to be inclusive to all.

Where is Haytham? If he agrees, he may want to write to Mr. Ghalioun. I would vote for Haytham to be part of the government.

AL is nothing but a useless organization, one of the reasons for the suspension/’freezing’ of the observation mission is Al6ar6our FATWA to kill them and put them in the same mincing machine of the Syrian Alawites…I kid you not!:

الدابى لـ”بوابة الأهرام”: أوضاع المراقبين فى سوريا مطمئنة.. ووقف عملهم مؤقت

“وأوضح الدابي فى تصريحات هاتفية لـ”بوابة الأهرام” من دمشق، أن قرار وقف مهمة البعثة اتخذ فى ضوء الفتوى التى أصدرها الشيخ عدنان العرعور المعارض السورى المقيم بالسعودية، التى أهدر فيها دم أعضاء بعثة مراقبى الجامعة العربية، التى شكلت تهديدًا لأمنهم وسلامتهم، وتصاعد أعمال العنف من الجانبين،الحكومة والجماعات المسلحة، خصوصًا خلال الأيام الأخيرة، إضافة إلى موقف المعارضة السورية الرافض تمامًا، للقرارات التى أصدرها مجلس الجامعة العربية فى اجتماعه مساء الأحد الماضى، على مستوى وزراء الخارجية، وحثهم على نقل ملف الأزمة السورية إلى مجلس الأمن، فضلا عن سفر وفد عربى إلى مجلس الأمن اليوم، مشيرًا إلى أن هذه الأسباب كلها خلقت أجواء نفسية سلبية، لدى المراقبين، مما أثر على مجمل الموقف، ودفع الأمين العام إلى اتخاذ قرار بوقف مهمتهم.”

Here is the Fatwa of the crazy 6ar6our the ‘god’ of some rebels:
العرعور يدعو لطرد المراقبين وفرم وقتل الناس
http://youtu.be/m9XFfDwLW80

العربي: مهمة المراقبين أوقفت ولم تجمد .. والجامعة لن تسحب المراقبين
قال الأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية نبيل العربي، يوم السبت، إن مهمة المراقبين أوقفت ولم تجمد خوفا على حياتهم، ولفت إلى أن الجامعة لن تسحب المراقبين
ونقلت هيئة الإذاعة البريطانية (BBC)عن العربي قوله ،خلال اتصال هاتفي، إن “مهمة المراقبين أوقفت ولم تجمد خوفا على حياتهم”، موضحا أن “الجامعة لن تسحب المراقبين، وأن بعضهم ما زالوا داخل سوريا وبعضهم مازالوا خارجها”.
وكانت جامعة الدول العربية أعلنت عبر بيان، في وقت سابق اليوم، أنه “تقرر وقف عمل بعثة المراقبين العرب في سورية بسبب تصاعد العنف في البلاد”.
http://syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=143292

In case some people missed this, KSA won’t recognize the MBs council because they only represent themselves nobody else not because they are not a ‘STATE” and not because they don’t call themselves ‘government’:

سعود الفيصل: لا يمكننا الحديث عن الاعتراف بـ “المجلس الوطني السوري” في هذه الفترة
وقال وزير الخارجية السعودي الأمير سعود الفيصل في مؤتمر صحفي مع نظيره التركي في اسطنبول, “نحن التقينا فعلاً في القاهرة مع “المجلس الوطني السوري” بعد اجتماعهم بأمين عام جامعة الدول العربي نبيل العربي”، مضيفاً “لكن مسألة الاعتراف تكون بين دول، وهذا لا يعني تجاهل المجلس ووجوده، إلا أن الاعتراف كلمة قانونية ولا يمكن أن أتكلّم عن اعتراف او عدم اعتراف في هذه الفترة”.

http://syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=143279

*** ERDOGAN THE TOOTHLESS PAPER TIGER LIVES UP TO HIS TITLE AGAIN ***

Turkey’s Erdogan lambasts France on genocide law

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attacked the French parliament for passing a “discriminatory and racist” bill which makes it illegal to deny the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide.

With passions running high in Turkey on French Senate vote, one newspaper denounced the French president as “Satan Sarkozy” and some politicians have already suggested dredging up France’s own colonial history.

However, Erdogan appeared keen to avoid an immediate rupture with Paris, saying there was still hope that NATO ally France “would correct its mistake” and that any retaliatory measures would be held back, depending on French actions.

“We will not allow anyone to gain political benefit at the expense of Turkey; the bill which was passed in France is clearly discriminatory, racist,” Erdogan said.

“We will adopt a rational and dignified stance, we will implement our measures step by step. Right now we are still in a period of patience,” he told parliamentary deputies of his AK Party.

Encouraged by their success in Paris, the influential Armenian diaspora is expected to re-double its efforts in the United States, which like France is in a presidential election year, to have Washington call what happened a genocide.

Many Turks see the French bill, which the lower house of parliament also backed in December, as an insult to their nation, a travesty of history and an infringement on free speech.

As Erdogan spoke, a couple of hundred protesters gathered outside the French embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul in peaceful demonstrations.

The bill now goes to President Nicolas Sarkozy to be ratified. Mostly Muslim Turkey accuses Sarkozy of trying to win the votes of 500,000 ethnic Armenians in France in the two-round presidential vote on April 22 and May 6.

Turkey, a member of NATO and the World Trade Organization, may be limited in its response by its international obligations. However, newspapers listed possible measures that Ankara might take against France.

These included recalling its ambassador from Paris and telling the French ambassador to go home, reducing diplomatic ties to charge d’affaires level, and closing Turkish airspace and waters to French military aircraft and vessels.

Speaking shortly before Monday’s Senate vote, Erdogan said the issue of future official visits to France would be thrown into uncertainty if it passed the bill.

French firms stand to lose out in bids for defense contracts and other mega-projects such as nuclear power stations.

Turkey may also seek to press allegations that French actions in Algeria in the 1950s and 1960s during the North African country’s independence struggle, amounted to genocide.

However, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan sent a grateful letter to Sarkozy.

“This is a historic day for the Armenians all over the world – in Armenia, in France, everywhere,” he wrote. “This is an unforgettable day, and it will be inscribed in gold into the centuries-long history of the Armenian and French peoples.”

“SATAN SARKOZY”

Morning headlines in Turkish newspapers were anything but calm. “A guillotine to free thought” said Star, while Aksam described the French move as “A guillotine to history.”

an operation by the FSA to take out a security forces sniper who was killing civilians in Bayada Homs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bcwEF9xUyk

there are three things that Russia wants from the west
1) wants to continue to have its base in Tartous to be used by the Russian navy , along with keeping their interests in Syria.
2) wants to strike a deal with the west,such as missiles in Europe and control of Georgia,Serbia.
3) wants to avoid the Arab spring to reach Russia.
Russia has a lot of investments in Syria, and has many spies,and loyalist such as Qadri Jamil.
In addition US considers Bashar illegitimate,but Israel support the syrian regime,Israel is afraid of the future goverment in Syria, and so far US has not gotten any concession from SNC.
US will loose a lot of credibilty if US does not move soon to help the syrian people.Russia knows that.

Russia is probably willing to talk about Bashar but my not accept a total remake of the regime because the new proposed leadership has Islamic tendency and is closer to the west than to Russia.

كيف نشتري الفيتو الروسي؟! Sat 28 Jan 2012 – 11:12:00 AM
المحطة الثانية بعد الامم المتحدة التي يفترض ان يتوجه اليها الشيخ حمد بن جاسم والدكتور نبيل العربي هي موسكو التي تتخذ موقفاً قوياً يعارض كل مشاريع القرارات في مجلس الامن ضد النظام السوري.
كان واضحاً منذ البداية ان موسكو لن تتصرف في سوريا كما تصرفت في ليبيا حيث خسرت عقود تسليح قيمتها اربعة مليارات دولار وورثت علاقة سيئة مع النظام الجديد بعد سقوط القذافي. وعلى امتداد عشرة اشهرعرقلت موسكو الحلول بعناد صلب، سياسياً عبر التلويح بالفيتو في مجلس الامن ومنع صدور اي قرار ضد نظام الاسد، وعسكرياً بارسال حاملة الطائرات “كوزنتسوف” الى طرطوس وابرام عقد قبل ايام لتزويد دمشق عدداً من المقاتلات.
تنتاب روسيا مخاوف سياسية واقتصادية وجيواستراتيجية من اي تغيير دراماتيكي يسقط نظام الاسد، ولكن عندما تخلى سيرغي لافروف عن لغته الخشبية بعد محادثاته مع احمد داود اوغلو قبل يومين وقال: “نحن منفتحون على اي اقتراحات بناءة تنسجم مع المهمة المحددة بانهاء العنف”، إستنتج البعض ان موسكو تستدرج العروض المطمئنة والبديلة من نظام الاسد، والتي تأمل بالحصول عليها لتزيل عوائقها من امام الضغوط لتغيير كامل في سوريا.
سياسياً: يستطيع وفد الجامعة العربية الى الامم المتحدة بالتنسيق مع المجلس الوطني السوري تقديم ضمانات جدية وملزمة بأن العلاقة بين اي نظام جديد في دمشق وموسكو ستبقى حارة وودية وانه لن يتم انهاء النفوذ الروسي وإهمال المصالح الروسية هناك.
اقتصادياً: تحتاج روسيا الى وعود ملزمة وقاطعة بأنها لن تخسر عقود التسلح المبرمة مع الاسد وقيمتها اربعة مليارات دولار، اضافة الى تطمينات تتعلق بالاستثمارات الروسية في البنى التحتية والطاقة والسياحة والتي بلغت 19,4 مليار دولار قبل عامين. هذه التطمينات يمكن ان تحصل عليها موسكو في سياق اي حل يعطيها ايضاً دوراً في الواجهة الاعلامية على الاقل، لأن فلاديمير بوتين الذي يسعى الى ولاية رئاسية ثانية في حاجة الى ان يظهر للرأي العام انه يعمل لابقاء روسيا لاعباً اساسياً على المسرح الدولي وان لاحلول يمكن ان تمر من دون ان يكون لها دور فيها.
جيوسياسياً: تحتاج روسيا الى عناصر ملموسة تتصل بمستقبل الوضع في سوريا وبلون النظام الجديد. فليس سراً انها تخشى انتقال عدوى الحرب الاهلية إن وقعت في سوريا، الى مقاطعات روسيا عينها في داغستان ومناطق القوقاز الشمالية وهو ما قد يطلق صاعقة داخل مناطق روسية كثيرة.
والسؤال: هل تستطيع الجامعة العربية ومجلس الامن طمأنة موسكو وإزاحة الفيتو الروسي تمهيداً لتزخيم الحلول في سوريا ؟
المصدرالنهار

شبيحة للأبد لاجل عيوووونك يا أسد

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN2fFwetWGg

We changed bad memories to good ones, I guess.
It breaks my heart that Majed Khaldoon, Tlass, and so on still think that the Assad will fall the coming weekend. lol.

I miss the terrorist friday menues. Did they close the resturant. Are they still serving.

Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which owns the Silk Cut, Mayfair and Benson & Hedges brands, faces questions over its relationship with a firm associated with Rami Makhlouf, who is subject to European Union and US sanctions.
Documents obtained by the Observer show that on 27 May 2011, JTI’s Middle Eastern distributor, IBCS Trading, dispatched 90 million cigarettes to Syria Duty Free Shops (SDF) Ltd.

الرياض: أفتى رجل الدين السعودي والباحث في وزارة الأوقاف السعودية عبد العزيز الطريفي، بجواز استخدام البطاقات الائتمانية الإسرائيلة المسروقة لأنها صادرة من بنوك غير مسلمة مشيرا انه لا عصمة الا لبنوك المسلمين.
وقال الطريفي في رده على سؤال لأحد المشاهدين في برنامج تلفزيوني بث على الهواء مباشرة في قناة (الرسالة) الفضائية،  إن الحسابات البنكية التي تصدر منها البطاقات الائتمانية المسروقة لا تخلو من حال من اثنين، إما ان تكون صادرة من بنوك معصومة كحال بنوك المسلمين او الدول المعاهدة التي بينها وبين دول الاسلام سلام، وفي هذه الحالة لا يجوز لأي انسان ان يأخذ المال الا بحقه.
اما في حال عدم وجود عهود ولا مواثيق بين دول الاسلام وغيرهم من الدول، اذا ليست دول مسالمة وعندئذ يكون من جهة الأصل مالهم في ذلك مباح ولا حرج على الانسان أن يستعمل البطاقات المسروقة سواء ما يتعلق منها في اسرائيل، وما يلحق بها من الدول ان وجد مما لا يوجد بينها، وبين دول الاسلام او غيرها من الدول الاسلاميه الاخرى شيء من العهد والميثاق حينئذ نقول انه يجوز للانسان ان يستعمل ذلك ان وجده متاحاً.

Here JADY the boy president himself to save his skin and his clan is willing to give the Kurds autonomy and indepdendence. I posted before that there is absolutely no reason to stay in artificial countries where the very notion of citizenship is so weak that now even Russia thinks in terms of the Assad “family” turf and wants the wonder to stay in power.
http://all4syria.info/web/archives/49033

Tara and Majed

The pathetic SNC a government in exile? They can’t even be recognized as a valid opposition organization by more than a couple of countries.

Israel’s greatest intelligence challenge is Netanyahu – 29.01.12

As the U.S. warns Israel against striking Iran, no one knows precisely what the prime minister is thinking.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/israel-s-greatest-intelligence-challenge-is-netanyahu-1.409736

This week U.S. President Barack Obama told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in no uncertain diplomatic terms that he ought not dare to attack Iran.

The goal, said Obama, is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Lest there be any doubt, Obama promised once again to consider every possible mode of action – including military action. “But,” said Obama, “a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better.”

#314 Observer

“his clan is willing to give the Kurds autonomy and indepdendence”

Great idea! With that and the french “armenian genocide” law, Erdogan will surely have a relapse of his colon polyps.

Slam Obama; protect Israel! – 27 January 2012

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-269788-slam-obama-protect-israel.html

The recommendations by Andrew Adler, owner of the US weekly Atlanta Jewish Times, to protect Israel, with which he has religious attachments, have prompted discussions in the US and around the world.

Had these recommendations been made by an insane person or had they been published on a conspiracy theory website, they would not be worth discussing. However, the publication of these statements in a paper bearing a title that involves the word Jewish, in an article authored by the owner of the paper, is something that deserves attention.

Is it an exaggeration to expect that the team that launched a deliberate attack against Mavi Marmara, could possibly be involved in a plan to assassinate Obama or undermine Turkish-French relations by using Sarkozy?

Irritated said
They can’t even be recognized as a valid opposition organization by more than a couple of countries.

This is your wish, we will see

And as for Erdogan, you said his tumor will come back,you do not know anything about medicine.

Tara,

Then why they are killing Alawat and Christians in Homs,?

Things start moving: French genocide bill changes reality around Turkey – 27.01.12

http://armenianow.com/genocide/35040/things_start_moving_french_genocide_bill_changes_reality_around_turkey

Immediately after the January 23 adoption of the law in the senate, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu went to Moscow, after earlier canceling his trip to Brussels. In the Russian capital, the top Turkish diplomat made a number of remarkable statements. First, it was stated there that trade between Russia and Turkey may reach a $100 billion mark over the next five years. Secondly, Davutoglu said that Turkey will not become a springboard for attacks on Iran. And before that, a Turkish minister who visited Moscow said that, along with Russia, Turkey is in favor of non-interference in Syrian affairs. Besides, an unprecedented joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey on the Karabakh problem.

Therefore Turkey tried to show that if pressure continues it will form an alliance with Russia and Iran, refusing to cooperate with the West. But, apparently, the West has not been deterred by this either. Experts do not even rule out that France is intentionally provoking Turkey into taking some drastic steps to abandon its allied services.

Norman

Sectarian killing if it happened here and there was nothing more than random act of outlash and revenge that was not systemic nor endorsed by the revolution. It occurred few month after the regime unleashed an unrentless oppressive monstrous “security option” that was carried out by mostly Alawi shabeehas and led to the killing, torture, and abduction of ten of thousands. Such sectarian killing is not unexpected consequence to the brutal oppression perceived to be carried out and endorsed by Alawis.

I am not aware of sectarian killing of Christians. We were informed on SC that Christian women were wearing the cross in Homs to be identified as Christian to avoid any possible confusion.

Zoo

Is Hurryiet Daily News all mine by myself now? If you are not reading it, I am not reading it either…

It tires me to be thoughtful when I see no appreciation.

#321 Ann

I won’t be surprised if Russia does not return in full force in the Middle east region within a year or two.
Most ME countries will probably distance themselves from the EU. The EU is entangled in a deep economical crisis that made it regain its arrogant colonialist attitude toward old colonies. In addition the growing anti-Islam sentiment in the EU will affect its relation with the new Arab governments that have a distinctive Islamic color.
Turkey is probably moving closer to the Russian side in relation to the Syrian and Iranian conflict.
The US has already its proprietary oil cows and puppies in the Middle East and maybe would not object too much to have Russia taking care of the less rich countries that are complicated by the presence of sizeable ethnic and religious minorities.

UN Says Ban Will Accept Alleged War Criminal As His Senior Adviser on Peacekeeping

http://www.innercitypress.com/ban4silva012812.html

Zouzou,
First I don’t believe anything Ayman Abd Alnour writes on his website even if it is true, he has a history of fabrications and manipulating news, and I wont be surprised if that this news is one of them and made specifically to agitate turkey.
Second, isn’t that exactly what you were advocating to Syria since day one, so for you it must be a great news.
Why don’t you start packing with your family to return to the independent Kurdish Syria, I’m sure that the ‘Kurdish’ government needs lots of fake ‘observers’ to help in building the new country, while there enjoy ‘Azadi’ under the PKK government and watch out for the Kurdish ‘oppositions’, they want their ‘shares’ too:

المجلس السوري الكردي”: “نريد حصتنا من الحكومة الانتقالية” المستقبلية

فيما يقترب المجلس الوطني السوري من استحقاق انتخاب رئيس جديد له يوم 15 من الشهر المقبل بموجب قاعدة الرئاسة الدوارة، أعلن عبد الحكيم بشار، رئيس المجلس السوري الكردي الذي يضم غالبية الأحزاب الكردية أن المناقشات مع المجلس الوطني “حققت تقدما” قد يفضي لاحقا إلى انضمامه إلى المجلس بانتظار الحصول على تفاهمات وضمانات بشأن مستقبل الأكراد وموقعهم في السلطة السورية القادمة.
وفي حديث لصحيفة “الشرق الأوسط” بمناسبة زيارته إلى باريس بدعوة من وزارة الخارجية الفرنسية، نفى بشار بقوة أن يكون الأكراد “يتفرجون” على الثورة السورية من بعيد مؤكدا أنهم “يشاركون فيها بفعالية.. لكن الإعلام العربي لا يغطي الأحداث في المناطق الكردية”. ويذهب بشار إلى حد تأكيد أن نسبة مشاركة الأكراد الذين يمثلون 15 في المئة من سكان سوريا أعلى من نسبة مشاركة الآخرين “حيث بقيت حتى الآن خمس محافظات” خارج الحراك.
وطرح بشار سلسلة مطالب طويلة يريد إجابات “واضحة ودقيقة” بشأنها قبل الانخراط في أي من التجمعات السياسية المعارضة، مع التأكيد على أن الأكراد “جزء من الثورة السورية” وأنهم “مستمرون فيها” سواء حصل اتفاق مع المعارضة أم لم يحصل. ويريد بشار اعترافا دستوريا صريحا بالهوية الكردية وبالشعب الكردي باعتباره “مكونا” رئيسيا وبرفع الغبن الذي لحق بالأكراد منذ عشرات السنين وبإلغاء السياسات “الشوفينية” بحقهم ورد حقوقهم والتعامل المتساوي معهم كشركاء متساوين في الوطن ورفض عبارة “الجمهورية العربية السورية” لأنها تتجاهل الأكراد. والأهم من ذلك أنه يطالب بأن “يقرر الأكراد مصيرهم بأنفسهم” على أرض سوريا مضيفا أن وحدة سوريا “خط أحمر” لا يجوز تجاوزه. وإذ يحذر من “مشاكل كبيرة” ستحصل بعد التغيير، فإنه “يصر” على الحصول على «إجابات وضمانات واضحة وموثقة» حول موقع الأكراد وحقوقهم وتعهدات من المعارضة.
وحذر بشار من أنه “إذا لم يحصل توافق بين أطراف المعارضة اليوم، فقد يحصل بعد التغيير ما لا تحمد عقباه” في إشارة إلى اختلاف الاستراتيجيات والطموحات عند أطراف المعارضة.
ودعا رئيس المجلس الكردي الذي أبصر النور حديثا إلى “وحدة المعارضة” وإلى “طمأنة الأقليات”، ليس فقط الأكراد وإنما أيضا العلويون والمسيحيون والإسماعيليون وغيرهم. كذلك، فإنه طالب بتغيير النظام بكليته وليس على مستوى الرأس وحده بل بكل بناه و”تفكيك الدولة الأمنية ومنع عودة الاستبداد بأية صورة من الصور”.

Indians Arabs … By kinan Jacob special Syrian street-Jacob canan

writer in the 1960s predicted an exceptional man — that fifty years after the Islamists who took power in the Arab world — and thus the era of national political will … Leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Does the man realizes what the Zionist American chart region? Or was it attentive to legitimate political idea of the end after this period!! Do the peoples of the region is satisfied with the project Nasseri after 50 years? Or that the judgement of the military support of Western under the guise of Arab nationalism is the imposition of this project? And what is the nature of the role played by the Islamic movements in that stage!!

Amazing today after all this unprecedented Western support for Islamic parties and movements. The United States is treated with this project in the past and placed in the header blacklist threatened global security … Starting with the hostility of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the revolution to the Shah to the Afghan Taliban and their transfers and logistical support to Allied regulations and other allies in the region to crush Islamic groups and paid the maximum degrees of violence as a prelude to infiltrate it and directing from the inside … ؟ It’s more work to establish regulations more violent and bloody and Atonement.

US industry norm by Hillary Clinton, as is well known the origin founding Hamas in Israeli intelligence rooms alakhwanih … All this raises questions and hypotheses about the seriousness of this former Western us hostility to political Islam, if the USA partner in each of the target base for their interests and the interests of its allies in order to pit world opinion to legitimize the invasion and occupation and building advanced rules here and there, killing Muslims and Arabs away from human rights and international organizations, etc..

All this hostility is declared by the US presence and global vision! What of the future will be, America today is their ally and sponsor this project, which even today arrived to capture power in Libya, Tunisia and Morocco and who knows … !! What is the vision of us?? Is it organized chaos areas seized by agents of the regional law States cannot but influence …Or is it a broader vision and included the former vision.

Hence the importance of Arab revolts made very carefully the US withdrawal from Iraq was inevitable and the deal with Iraq and does not become the focal point and the missing link for the ICA East from Tehran to Beirut and here are the great catastrophe for Israel’s security interests of the United States in the region had to be (from the demolition of this role in Domino region) made us rewrite some or all of the even more likely cuff for the security of Israel and the West even though no Syrian regime … It is working to establish a NATO fellow at the borders of Israel in the West to create a kind of balance and conflict which shipped sectarian Miss Israel and keep it out of sight …

But this quorum does not complete until the appearance in Egypt where they Decree, irrespective of the great sacrifice by the West at the expense of Hosni Mubarak. With the survival of the Kingdom ready for any development in Egypt serving on this project starting with huge armaments deals to Gulf unity project.

Same deep away from major strategies, keep polls are Faisal Arab peoples if you want to give this anarchy under the leadership of the brotherhood let to write history chapter II to us massacres against Indians but … Indians, Arabs, this time …

ب
خاص الشارع السوري – الكاتب كنان يعقوب

في ستينيات القرن الماضي تنبأ رجل استثنائي – بأنه وبعد خمسين عاماً سيسيطر الإسلاميون على زمام السلطة في العالم العربي – وسينتهي بذلك عصر القومية السياسية .. إنه الزعيم جمال عبد الناصر .. فهل كان الرجل يدرك ماهية المخطط الأمريكي الصهيوني على صعيد المنطقة ؟؟ أم أنه كان متقبلاً لفكرة نهاية مشروعه السياسي بعد هذه المدة !! هل كانت شعوب المنطقة راضية عن المشروع الناصري بعد خمسين عاماً ؟؟ أم أن حكم العسكر بدعم غربي تحت غطاء القومية العربية هو من فرض هذا المشروع ؟؟ وما هي طبيعة الدور الذي لعبته الحركات الإسلامية في تلك المرحلة !!

المدهش اليوم بعد كل هذا الدعم الغربي المنقطع النظير للحركات والأحزاب الإسلامية .. هو تعامل الولايات المتحدة مع هذا المشروع في الماضي ووضعه في رأس القائمة السوداء المهددة للأمن العالمي .. بدءاً بعداء الجمهورية الإسلامية في إيران إبان الثورة على الشاه وانتهاء بطالبان الأفغانية وما بينهما من عمليات تحويل ودعم لوجستي للأنظمة الحليفة وغير الحليفة في المنطقة لسحق التنظيمات الإسلامية ودفعها لأقصى درجات العنف تمهيداً لاختراقها وتوجيهها من الداخل.. ؟ لا بل والأكثر من ذلك العمل على إنشاء تنظيمات أشد عنفاً وتكفيراً ودموياً ..

فالقاعدة صناعة أميركية بلسان هيلاري كلينتون , كما لا يخفى على أحد أصل تأسيس حركة حماس الاخوانية في غرف المخابرات الإسرائيلية .. كل ذلك يثير تساؤلات وفرضيات حول جدية هذا العداء الأميركي الغربي السابق للإسلام السياسي فإذا كانت الولايات المتحدة الأميركية شريكة في كل ما جرى من استهداف القاعدة لمصالحها ومصالح حلفائها وصولاً لتأليب الرأي العالم العالمي لشرعنة الغزو والاحتلال وبناء القواعد المتقدمة هنا وهناك وقتل المسلمين والعرب بعيداً عن حقوق الإنسان والمنظمات الدولية وما إلى هنالك ..

كل هذا والعداء معلن مرتبط بالوجود حسب الرؤيا الأميركية والعالمية !! فما لذي سيكون عليه المستقبل وأميركا اليوم هي الحليف لهذه الجماعات والراعية لهذا المشروع الذي وصل بفضلها حتى اليوم إلى القبض على السلطة في ليبيا وتونس والمغرب ومن يدري .. !! فما هي الرؤيا الأميركية ؟؟ هل هي مناطق من الفوضى المنظمة المضبوطة بواسطة وكلاء إقليميين لا دول ولا قانون وإنما مناطق نفوذ ..أم أنها رؤية أوسع ومتضمنة للرؤية السابقة ..

وهنا تبرز أهمية الثورات العربية المصنوعة بدقة فائقة فالانسحاب الأميركي من العراق كان حتمياً والصفقة لا تمر والعراق سيصبح صلة الوصل والحلقة المفقودة للحلف الشرقي الممتد من طهران حتى بيروت وهنا تكون الكارثة الكبرى لأمن إسرائيل ولمصالح الولايات المتحدة في المنطقة فكان لابد ( من هدم هذا الدور في دومينو المنطقة ) المصنوع أمريكيا وإعادة صياغة بعض المتوازنات أو جميعها بما يرجح الكفة لصالح أمن إسرائيل ومصالح الغرب حتى ولو لم يسقط النظام السوري .. فيجري العمل على إنشاء حلف إخواني على حدود اسرائيل الغربية لخلق نوع من التوازن والصراع أساسه شحن طائفي يغيب إسرائيل ويبقيها بعيدة عن الأنظار ..

ولكن هذا النصاب لا يكتمل إلا بتموضع مصر في المكان المرسوم لها بصرف النظر عن التضحية الكبيرة التي قبل بها الغرب على حساب حسني مبارك .. مع بقاء المملكة العربية جاهزة لأي تطور في مصر يقضي على هذا المشروع بدايةً بصفقات التسليح الضخمة وانتهاء بمشروع الوحدة الخليجية ..

وبنفس عميق بعيداً عن الاستراتيجيات الكبرى ,, تبقى صناديق الاقتراع هي الفيصل فإن كانت الشعوب العربية تريد إعطاء الفرصة لهذه الفوضى العارمة بقيادة الاخوان المسلمين فليكن وليكتب التاريخ الفصل الثاني لمجازر الولايات المتحدة بحق الهنود ولكن .. الهنود العرب هذه المرة

Tara said,
Such sectarian killing is not unexpected consequence to the brutal oppression perceived to be carried out and endorsed by Alawis.

taking revenge on a group for the deeds of the few called genocide, what did the Christians in Iraq have to do withe that war and was their sin, nothing accept being Christians, that is the kind the people you support want for Syria, the Syrian army will not let that pass, even if they have to destroy the Mideast so fasten your seat belts and make your GCC criminals do the same because the fire will burn them too,Syria will not sink alone.

A well deserved prize to Qaradawi, a Shoe:

Ikhras Shoe Of The Month Award Winner – December 2011

Ikhras is pleased to announce the winner of the Muntadhar Zaidi Shoe of the Month Award for this December, 2011 is Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.

{…}

“When it comes to women Qaradawi believes men hitting women can sometimes be an “effective cure” for misbehavior and that female masturbation is “more dangerous” than male masturbation. Of course, Qaradawi would consider himself to be a moderate for restricting the severity of the beating a man is entitled to give a woman, and because the danger he attaches to female masturbation, as he has argued, is due to the consequences a woman might endure from society if she tears or breaks her hymen. The enlightened Qaradawi does concede that a woman’s punishment for losing her virginity is not death, but mere flogging.

Qaradawi’s role as hired cleric in the service of Arab oil-Sheiks came to full light in Syria. Just as he did in Bahrain, Qaradawi viewed events in Syria from his own sectarian prism which dovetailed nicely with the policies of his sponsors in Doha and Riyadh. Unlike his position in Bahrain, in Syria he not only sided with peaceful protesters but also expressed support for a campaign of violence carried out by the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood based on what he views as a Sunni uprising against a regime he considers to be representing another heretical sect, the Alawites. Earlier this month Qaradawi issued a religious edict sanctioning yet another “foreign intervention”, the agreed upon euphemism for a US/NATO war on an Arab country, this time on Syria.

At the same time Qaradawi was helping advance the Saudi & Qatari foreign policy objectives by enlisting God into the NATO alliance in support of war on Syria, he was also advocating a moderate policy towards Israel and the Western imperialist powers which he cautioned should be “wise and rational.” It’s no coincidence that the Islamists in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria most influenced by Qaradawi and the Muslim Brotherhood have become a tool in the Saudi-American counter-revolution in the Arab world and have made it clear they’re prepared to adopt friendly Neo-liberal economic policies and appease Israel as long as Western governments would acquiesce to their ascension to power.

The Arab uprising of 2011 was one against both domestic tyranny and foreign domination which were always intrinsically linked in pro-West Arab states such as Egypt and Tunisia. Moreover, the popular uprisings from Tunisia to Bahrain revealed a unified citizenry where oppressed masses, men and women, peasants and workers, young and old, Muslim and Christian, Sunni and Shia stand up and demand their rights as citizens of their own states, not as adherents of a sect or proponents of narrow factional interests. If Qaradawi and his sponsors in the Gulf were to succeed, whatever gains the Arab citizen has realized thus fair, and they have been limited, will be reversed and eclipsed by a reactionary, divisive political program destined to end in an economic, social, and political failure not unlike that which the Arab masses have revolted against.

For the uprisings in the Arab world to truly succeed and reach their full revolutionary potential, they must not only uproot entrenched economic and political structures of domination, but must also bring to an end the hegemony of foreign powers that undergird the ruling economic and political classes in the Arab world. An authentic revolutionary program, therefore, must also challenge social and cultural norms that perpetuate the domination of the ruling class. This will necessarily include confronting the unjustified deference many are too willing to show any man (and its always men) that wraps himself, literally and metaphorically, in a religious cloth while serving the same entrenched powers whose overthrow is necessary for the Arab uprisings to develop into authentic revolutions.

So in that spirit and in recognition of his obscurantism, sectarian agitation, service to GCC states, reactionary political and social agenda, moderation towards Zionism and imperialism, and in special tribute to his edict issued earlier this month in which he invoked religion and God to compel acquiescence to a US/NATO war on Syria, Ikhras is pleased to award the prestigious Ikhras shoe of the month for December, 2011 to Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.”

http://ikhras.com/2012/01/ikhras-shoe-of-the-month-award-winner-december-2011/

@101
it is clear that the priest was not killed by the regime, he was killed by the Islamists, terrorists, Everyone in Syria knew this fact, therefore stop your BS and the others who are like you here trying to spread all the lies.
All the radicals like you here make up stories which is not even for elementary school kids to believe.
go to hell and hopefully you will find your 72 virgin waiting for you, wish all of you go to the heaven which you think is waiting for you, don’t forget in your heaven there are rivers of wine, just in case you don’t drink here on earth.
BTW, can’t wait for the American drones to target all these terrorists who are killing innocent people in syria and elsewhere, time will tell.

Hamad feels the pain of syrian people,His friends killing almost
one century old person in a cold blood.This victim lived happilly
in the great nation syria befor it got plaqued by the Wahabi criminals sperms:
استشهد الأربعاء الحاج “مصطفى كوسا” (96 عاماً) وزوجته برصاص مسلحين في منطقة “باب الدريب” في حمص.

وعلم عكس السير أن الشهيد “كوسا” وزوجته تمت محاولة تهجيرهما من منزلهما بعد أن هجر المسلحون سبع عائلات قبلهم، إلا أنه رفض الخروج فاقتيدا خارج المنزل وتمت تصفيتهما.

وقال الأمين العام للحزب الديمقراطي السوري (ابن المغدورين) لـ عكس السير: “نعتبر هذا العمل بحق رجل عمره 96 عاماً عمل جبان وهو إن دل على شيء فإنه يدل على أن الإرهاب لا دين له “.

وأضاف “كوسا”: إن استشهاد والدي وأمي هو مكرمة لنا ونضعه وسام على جبينا “.

يذكر أن “كوسا” هو الأمين العام للحزب الديمقراطي السوري الذي أعلن عن تأسيسه مؤخراً لممارسة الحياة السياسية في سوريا وفق قانون الأحزاب الذي أصدره الرئيس بشار الأسد قبل أشهر.

The criminal islamic wahabi mafia contaminating the holly Syrian land is one million times worse than the worst corrupt regime ,They are the court,the judge,and the killers withuot any proof aor any defence:They decide you need to die….that is it,you need to die,the Mafia way:Supported by IRAN HATERS,the so called the free world:
تبنت جماعة تطلق على نفسها “كتيبة الأبابيل” في حلب، التابعة لمايسمى ” الجيش السوري الحر” عملية قتل الصناعي الحلبي هيثم خانكان الذي قتل صباح اليوم الخميس على طريق المدينة الصناعية في حلب.

وقالت ” الكتيبة” في بيان لها نشرته على صفحتها على الفيس بوك ” قامت عناصر من سرية الشهيد عمر حاوي بتاريخ 26″1″2012 باغتيال الشبيح هيثم خانكان وهو صاحب معمل برادات البطريق الذهبي”.

وجاء في البيان ان سبب قتل الصناعي خانكان إلى أنه “من الممولين الكبار للشبيحة بحلب”، وقالت انه تمت ” متابعته ورصد المعلومات عنه وتبين بأنه ممول للشبيحة بأكثر من 15مليون ليرة سورية”، وذلك على حد تعبير البيان.

و وقع البيان باسم ” الملازم مصعب الواوي”.

وكان عكس السير نشر في وقت سابق خبر إقدام أربعة مسلحين يستقلون سيارة من نوع كيا على اغتيال الصناعي الحلبي هيثم خانكان، في منطقة ” البريج” على طريق المدينة الصناعية بحلب، صباح اليوم الخميس.

وذكر شاهد عيان لـ عكس السير أن أربعة مسلحين يستقلون سيارة من نوع كيا تحمل لوحة دمشق، فتحو النار على الصناعي ” خانكان” الذي كان يستقل سيارة من نوع كيا جيب، في منطقة البريج.

وتم نقله إلى الطبابة الشرعية في حلب، حيث تبين انه مصاب بعدة عيارات نارية، وان سبب الوفاة يعود إلى النزف الغزير في البطن والصدر.

يشار إلى أن ما يسمى ” كتيبة الأبابيل” أعلنت مسؤوليتها في وقت سابق عن عدة عمليات تفجير في حلب، آخرها تفجير سيارة في حي

Thirty AL Observers to Syria Next Week – Jan 29, 2012

Damascus, Jan 29 – A group of 30 observers from the Arab League (AL) will travel to Syria next week to compensate for the withdrawal of those pulled out by the oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf, which decided to boycott the mission.

Local media quoted the head of the mission operations office, Adnan al-Khoudir, a man who confirmed the number of observers to replace those from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Al-Khoudir pointed out in a statement that the new group of observers come from Egypt, Mauritania and Palestine. Iraq and Sudan expressed their willingness to send more experts to support the mission.

Syria accepted the extension of the mission of observers for another month, until February 23, despite political and diplomatic attacks, mainly from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which confabulated with western countries.

Al-Khoudir stated the observers are fulfilling their duty in Syrian cities and towns with effectiveness, and they receive appropriate cooperation and facilities, but they are facing difficulties in the areas of Homs and the outskirts of Damascus, due to violence by armed groups.

A team of observers visited the neighborhood of al-Qaeh, in the district of al-Midan, Damascus, to witnesses a terrorist attack with explosives, as a result of which a 10-year-old kid was killed and 11 people were injured.

Armed individuals wearing hoods and masks detonated a bomb and opened fire at people near a mosque in al-Qaek on Friday.

Sudanese General Mohammad al-Dabi, chief of the group of observers, warned that violence escalated from Tuesday to Friday in Homs, Hama and Idleb.

An armed gang killed the director of the Red Crescent Society after ambushing his car, while in Hama, armed men killed young Christian priest Basilious al-Nasser, from the Roman Orthodox Church.

Local media reported that Syrian forces aborted the infiltration of an armed group from Turkey in Idleb, a Syrian province adjacent to the Turkish border.

The armed group suffered a large number of casualties, including dead and injured people, and the rest turned back to Turkey.

Authorities have been forced to carry out actions to stop the armed gangs. A large number of these individuals were captured and their weapons were seized.

Al-Dabi called for an end to violence to preserve lives and pave the way for a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Damascus slams Arab League suspending its mission in Syria – Jan 29, 2012

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/29/64859627.html

In a statement on Sunday, Damascus slammed the Arab League’s move to suspend its monitoring mission in Syria.

“This will have a negative impact and put pressure on the UN Security Council with the aim of calling for foreign intervention and encouraging armed groups to increase violence, “the statement said.

On January 28, the Arab League announced the suspension of its observer mission in Syria, citing escalation of violence there in the past couple of weeks.

The Security Council is due to discuss the situation in Syria early next week.

Protest rally near US Embassy in London – Jan 29, 2012

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/29/64860213.html

Saturday saw a protest rally near the US Embassy in London, with several hundreds of demonstrators warning the West against interfering in Iran’s and Syria’s domestic affairs.

Protesters said that the West’s possible intervention against these two countries is fraught with serious repercussions.

They added that they do not rule out a repeat of the Iraqi or Libyan scenario in Iran and Syria, where regime change may well be on cards.

Hans

Good you back, i was worried you arent here anymore, and i could not find you on other blogs as well.

You mentioned the huri topic which we can find in the Quran. A friend of mine is an scholar on the quran, and he has a quite unique way of interpreting this. The official interpretation is that the muqmin (true believer in islam) will find in jennah 72 huris to enjoy. So for most people, even Goethe believed it its clear it must be pure women. The question i always had is what about women will they get pure men to serve them?

My friend wrote an essay to prove that the word huri came out of the aramaic language, there are many words orginating from nonarabic languges. In aramaeic huri means grapes. So all the harem fantasies about jennah may just be wishful thinking, instead of the women one will get grapes. By the way that goes along with other chapters and parts of the Quran where it is often said that wine will be offered in jennah without the earthly effects.

But i guess those salafis wont like to hear what huri means…

I just read an interesting article in Germanys leading investigative magazin, DER SPIEGEL. They are usually very good informed. They said that the appeasement politics conduczted by most arab nations regarding Syria is history now. The mission in Syria has failed, even though the monitors are still in the country to await further instructions, yet they think the mission will not go on.
Nothing has changed with the mission, even reversly, the deathrate has risen eversince. The last credibility the regime had among arabs is gone by now.
The Saudis were among the first to acknowledge that they are no longer willing to act as an fique leave for the regime, the other 5 gulf countries quitted the mission on Tuesday as well.
Now as it looks like the Saudis will eventually grant the SNC full cooperation and will consider them the only spokespersons of Syria.
DER SPIEGEL writes that there are ongoing discussions and as it looks like the military intervention becomes more and more likely.
The general secetary of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdul Latif Bin Raschid al-Zayani has met on a short noticed meeting with NATO general secetary Anders Fogh Rasmussen. There might be an consensus soon that the arab countries and western nations will act together.

Here is the report in german:

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,812012,00.html

Juergen
Can you please ask your friend if the 72 grapes are white or red.i was thinking to join FSA but I
Don’t like red grapes.FSA want to give me I car
And explode into my Syrian brothers,but I don’t
Like red grapes.Also ask him what would a Christian get:Onions?Garlic?Eggplant?

Syria 27-1-2012 – Adnan Aror informs his killers to kick out the Arab League Monitors from Syria.

Well I suppose all earthly matters dont exist in paradise, so may be you love red grapes then.

سوريا-صور تنشر لأول مرة عن مجزرة حماة 1982
Hama Massacre
February 1982
Images of destruction of the city that resulted from land and air bombardment, which was commanded by Assad the father, and overseen and executed by Assad the uncle.

مفارم العرعور
يشغلها كلاب الاخوان

عدالة مفارم اللحمه
رحمة كلاب الفاروق العراعره

عمليه نوعيه!!!
كتيبة الله اكبر
What kind of a god would bless such a horrible
Crime…is this the freedom you are getting Syria
Bastards…Is your god happy now..is he satisfied..
Do you worship a Dracolla who never get full
And is thirsty for blood day and night …you even
Admit and you call him خير الماكرين

341. Revlonsaid:

سوريا-صور تنشر لأول مرة عن مجزرة حماة 1982
Hama Massacre

_________________________________________________

ابعت هل الصور إلى سوبريم منافق زعبرجي يدعي الإسلام آيتالله خيميني

Group photo of Dr AlTaye3’s four children whose house was set ablaze and were burnt to death by Assad Shabbeeha yesterday.
They are Izzidine, Tuqa, Issa, and Hamza

The father, a dentist was arrested in Septemeber 2011 and jailed in Sidnaya for charges of “Financing the Revolution”.

The mother was hospitalised for severe burns.

https://www.facebook.com/TheSyrianDream#!/photo.php?fbid=233610756721798&set=a.101371413279067.2641.100740946675447&type=1&theater

Cool stuff about the revolution coming to Damascus >>> http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/1/28/syria-video-analysis-beginning-of-end-of-regime-is-at-hand.html

Hama 2 by Assad Jr
Scenes of residential destruction inflicted by yesterday’s bombardment by Assad forces.
AlHamidiyeh neighbourhood
Hama city
29/01/2012
شام – حماه – حميدية – اثار الدمار الذي خلفته عصابات

Russia for increasing number of Arab League observers in Syria
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/

I think that Russia has an alternative to replacement AL observers by groups from the countries BRIKS

Mr. Assad you have reached what you were searching for. Total chaos, war and sectarian confrontations. You are looking for Lebanon War II in Syria but even if you got it you would not know how to deal with it without Khaddam, Kanaan, etc.

Yesterday 100 killed in Syria.

Now everything is ready for the implosion, is taht what Assad wanted?

Get ready here we come.

Be fair
Sandro
Please be fair, the fool could not do this on his own. He has an army of enablers, some of which are here on SC, cutting and pasting the worst mental defecation from fascist reactionaries, Iranian press, Russian prostituting-journalism, and from failed Arab-nationalist propagandist and Lebanese whores of words who reside in five star hotels in Damascus at the expense of every Syrian.

So please give credit where credit is due. Posters on this site who have happily advocated “surgical strikes”, are as responsible for the massacre of children as the mafia boss and his gang of hyenas. Every time these sectarian hooligans on SC tried to show how popular this buffoon of a president is, or how divided the opposition, or how Islamic are their slogans, and how un-educated are the protesters (as if the education of the SC sectarian hooligans on SC has benefited in making them closer to human values), they were simply manufacturing new bullets and tank shells that are now killing the innocents.

Yes the bad memories will be converted into good one and the memory of their beloved buffoon standing in the trial cage begging for mercy along with his cousins and siblings and chiefs of insecurity and oppression instruments will live with Syrians for a long time, that if the Syrian people were too generous to grant then trial that they never afforded the innocents they murdered.

As for the trials of SC’s own sectarian hooligans, I don’t give a damn about them, for they will have live with the stench of their rotten values, and in that, there may be heavenly justice. There will always be fools like them who will feed them fiery articles spelling dooms during the rebuilding of Syria, and we will be there to expose them, but more importantly, the Syrian people will reject them like the toxic waste they are.

Juergen
There is nothing in Quraan mentioned about The Number 72, the number is not there.
There ia no mention in Quraan or Hadith about sex or having children in Quraan or Hadith.
The peophet himself never interpreted Quraan, so no one has the right to interpret Quraan and then taken as definite, I believe we know how to read and write Arabic, we interpret Quraan,we can discuss our interpretation with others based on what is written and based on what we understand Quraan,the arabic language,but old interpretation of Quraan may not be correct,since it was done by non arabic people, where arabic language is their second language not their mother language.Quraan is manifest,clear as you read it if you understand arabic well, In Quraan it is mentioned that some will interpreted wrong, even it is a manifest book.
Old interpretation of Quraan does not distinguish between AN(mean on),and Fi(mean IN),they believe they are interchangeable, they are not ,and when you replace on with in or the other way around ,you change the meaning tremendously.
for example, there is a verse in Quraan says
Those who (an salatihem sahoon)and those who(fi salatihem sahoon) the meaning is completely different.this difference was not recognized by Bukhari and Turmizi,whose arabic language is second language.

Just in: new Assad reform. This time in Bab Amr

.

Norman,

You said

“taking revenge on a group for the deeds of the few called genocide, what did the Christians in Iraq have to do withe that war and was their sin, nothing accept being Christians, that is the kind the people you support want for Syria, the Syrian army will not let that pass, even if they have to destroy the Mideast so fasten your seat belts and make your GCC criminals do the same because the fire will burn them too,Syria will not sink alone.”

Norman

Let me take you through a mental exercise.  Let us change the setting to the USA on  9/112001 after the attacks on the World Trade Centre.  Understandingly, there were a backlash on the Arab and Muslim community in the US and some hate crimes.

Step out of yourself for a second and read this imaginary report from the Muslim and Arab community to the people of the US  in regard with me:

[Taking revenge on a group for the deeds of the few called genocide, what did the vast majority of Muslims have to do with the WTC and was it their sin?, nothing except being Muslims, …, the Muslim army of OBL will not let that passes, even if they have to destroy the US so fasten your seat belts and make your EU criminals (and the whole world that is showing solidarity with you)  do the same because the fire will burn them too, …]

Do you find the above statements acceptable?   Doesn’t it sound to you like a mental product of brainwashed delusional people.

DO Not not reply, I am waiting to hear your response. 

353-
Like an octopus,,their tentacles are everywhere needs blood meals to survive…. F… U.. your moment must be soon !

SYRIA: REBELS USING ISRAELI ARMS

Syrian media showcase images of weapons allegedly produced by Jewish State

Syrian media outlets reported Friday that President Bashar Assad’s security forces seized huge quantities of weapons used by rebels across the country, including Israeli-made arms.

According to the unconfirmed reports, Assad’s troops seized a machinegun, Israeli-made bombs, automatic rifles, various explosive devices, protective vests, night-vision equipment and military uniforms, among other things.

Syrian television showcased the weapons Friday evening and claimed that some of the arms originated in Israel. Some of the weapons featured Hebrew inscriptions, yet it was unclear who was holding the arms and where the images were photographed.

Weapons showcased on Syrian TV The latest Syrian reports are apparently meant to discourage anti-Assad rebels and present them as traitors who enlist the help of the “Zionist enemy” in their battle against President Assad. Notably, this was not the first time that images of weapons allegedly produced by Israel emerged during the so-called “Arab Spring.” In previous cases, both government forces and rebels used such images to portray their foes as traitors.

Last year, shortly after the beginning of the Libyan uprising against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, rebels presented weapons they claimed originated in Israel and were used by Gaddafi’s forces.

Excellent article by Robert Fisk.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-weve-been-here-before–and-it-suits-israel-that-we-never-forget-nuclear-iran-6294111.html

Syrian Hamster,

“whores of words”. Brilliant! I

Ah, I have very very soft heart to brilliance,charm, and sophistication whether embodied in writing, film production, music, painting or anything else for that matter.

Please write more.

Jurgen:

Do not listen to Majedkhaldoun. He does not know what he is talking about.

If you take his words to his own sheikh he would be rebuked and probably considered out of the Sunna wa-al-jama3a.

Mohammad interpreted al-Quran to his contemporaries opposite to what Majed Khaldoun said and claimed.

Majedkhaldoun claimed that it is easy for those who read and write Arabic to interpret al-Quraan and that is funny because I know for a fact that Majedkhaldoun’s Arabic is not that good. Look at his English and you can tell that he is not a textual person.

al-Quran as we all know had been a battleground for so many people (Actually many of those spent their lives learning language and linguistics…etc) who wanted to take the HUGE task and interpret it. It is a very hard task and you need to be up to it. Besides your linguistic knowledge you need the right historical information too, and we both know that Majedkhladoun is none of that. To prove this you can look at how Majedkhaldoun brought al-Bukhari and Turmudhi to the discussion and both are known to be Hadith specialists and has nothing to do with interpretation / Tafseer. Hadith and Tafseer are two different worlds.

al-bukhari has a famous book : al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Musnad min Hadith Rasul Allah wa-Sunanuh wa-Ayamuh, known as al-Jami’ al-Sahih.

al-Turmudhi on the other hand has a famous book called: Sunnan al-Turmudhi. Both men has nothing to do with Tafseer/interpretation of al-Quran.

It makes more sense to someone from the day and age of Mohammad to understand the riddles of the language of al-Quran more than us in this day and age. Majedkhaldoun in his dreams can understand every word in al-Quran. In reality it is a very hard and complex text to decipher and understand.

Sorry pals i dont want to get an other round of theology debates here, i think thats hard enough what is going on with the Syrians.

Islamic rats friends of SH attacked Der Sednia today.

Dear Jeurgen

Thank you from refraining to get engaged in hatred spreading debate.

I am so grateful that Syria attracts many great non- Syrians that care about her.

After targeting trains, gas lines, trucks, schools, orphanages and mosques it’s time for monasteries, not any one of them Sednaya, one of the oldest in the world, is the great Omayyad mosque next on the list!
Khara 3alekon w heek thawra bunch of Ignorant criminals!

رئيسة دير سيدة صيدنايا: سقوط قذيفة على الدير ولا اصابات

أكدت رئيسة دير سيدة صيدنايا في ريف دمشق الأم فيرونا في حديث صحافي “أن قذيفة مدفعية انطلقت من الجبل المقابل للدير واصابت إحدى غرف الدير من الجهة الشمالية واخترقت الجدار”، مشيرة الى ان الاضرار اقتصرت على الماديات.

As if the Syrian situation is not complicated enough:
اربيل- (ا ف ب): طالب عدد من ممثلي الاكراد السوريين السبت بإجراء استفتاء لتقرير مصيرهم في بلادهم بعد تغيير النظام فيها، فيما رفض اخرون اقامة اقليم مستقل كالذي يتمتع به اشقائهم في العراق.
وعقدت اكثر من 210 شخصيات كردية جاءت من 25 دولة أجنبية، مؤتمرا في اربيل حضره رئيس اقليم كردستان العراق الشمالي مسعود بارزاني، لبحث مستقبلهم في سوريا.

وقال حمد درويش سكرتير الحزب التقدمي الكردي في سوريا، ردا على سؤال حول طموحهم باقامة اقليم مشابه لكردستان العراق “في سوريا لن نحصل على نفس الشيء الذي لدى اكراد العراق لان الظروف مختلفة”.
واضاف “نطالب بان تثبت حقوقنا الوطنية في الدستور وان يوافق عليها اخواننا العرب” في سوريا.

ويمثل الاكراد تسعة بالمئة من الشعب السوري. وهناك 12 حزبا كرديا محظورا، كلها علمانية واكثرها تاثيرا حزب يكيتي والحزب الديمقراطي الكردي في سوريا (بارتي) وحزب يزيدي الكردي والاتحاد الديمقراطي (القريب من حزب العمال الكردي).
ومن جانبه، قال عبد الحكيم بشار سكرتير الحزب الديمقراطي الكردي في سوريا، ان “الشعب الكردي في سوريا سوف يقرر ما يريد وحق تقرير المصير يعني اجراء استفتاء للشعب الكردي ليقرر ما يريد وفق مبدأ اللامركزية”.
واكد أن “حق تقرير المصير لدينا مشروط بالحفاظ على الوحدة السورية”.
واشار المشاركون في المؤتمر إلى ان “سياسة التمييز” التي عاشوها على مدى عقود تتطلب “حلا ديموقراطيا” لقضيتهم.
كما طالبوا بالاعتراف بلغتهم وثقافتهم اضافة إلى منحهم حقوق في سياسية وادارية ولكن في في اطار وحدة البلاد.
ومن جانبه، قال سعد الدين ملا عضو اللجنة السياسية الحزب اليكيتي الديمقراطي الكردي في سوريا، ان “شعبنا الكردي سوف يقرر ما يريد عبر الاستفتاء وسنعمل بما يقرره بالفدرالية او الحكم الذاتي او اللامركزية”.
اما جواد الملا سكرتير المؤتمر الوطني الكردي في سوريا “حتما سيكون هناك حكومة كردية في سوريا. لكن بما ان الاحزاب الكردية والشارع (الكردي) غير متفقين الان يفضل ان يترك هذا الامر الى ما بعد سقوط النظام” السوري.
وتابع “بعدها يجرى استفتاء عام للشعب الكردي في سوريا، هل يريد البقاء ضمن سوريا او يريد الاستقلال”.

I heard that near Damascus Airport have been attacks, anybody can confirm that?

SNK

what happen to the sisters of the monastery?

Syria crisis worsens

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46176809#46176809

90%of destruction in Syria is caused by this wahabi piggy hamster:

أكد قائد كتيبية أبابيل في حلب النقيب المظلي المنشق عمار الواوي لـ”إيلاف” مسؤولية كتيبته” كتيبة أبابيل “عن مقتل رجل الأعمال الحلبي هيثم خانكان، مبررًا أن رجل الأعمال المقتول كان يموّل الشبيحة في مدينة حلب.
وأشار إلى “أن هذه العملية هي العملية الثالثة للكتيبة بعد تفجيرين لسيارة شبيح ومحل شبيح آخر”، وقال “وجّهت تحذيرات كثيرة، وعبر تصريحات وبيانات عدة للشبيحة، ولمن يدعمهم في حلب”، وأضاف دعوت الشبيحة إلى عدم قتل شعبهم، ووضعت أسماءهم وأرقام هواتفهم، بعدما وثقت المعلومات.
وقال “أعطيناهم مهلاً أكثر من مهل جامعة الدول العربية، لكنهم لم يرتدعوا”. وأوضح الواوي “وجّهت النداء أيضًا إلى مموّلي الشبيحة، أدعوهم الى التوبة، والوقوف مع الشعب، وأعدت التحذير مرارًا (ياعائلة بري وعائلة خانكان وعائلة زيدو…) ولم يصغي إليّ أي أحد”.
now we have a collection of anti government armed groups killing people right and left using Fatwas,self-made excuses and a variety of slogans to justify violence.

حجة vera wang texting while on the highway:

Hajj Juergen put a link to a very idiotic article about the Alawis few days ago. He asked you all what you think of the content and Majdkhaldoun volunteered and rambled about the Alawis some takfiri nonsense equal to the ignorance he came up with here regarding the interpretation of al-Quran.

Hajj Juergen asked you guys to inform him a little about your countrymen the Alawis and you failed to even provide one shred of information. Probably you were on the highway busy searching the internet while you driving looking for some boots or bags or probably buying some Iranian documentaries.

Again, Hajj Juergen wanted to know something about tafseer and you guys are failing him again and can not even come up with one decent info about that matter.

Please do not touch Der Sydnaia its the Makeh of the Syrian’s christians

It’s “dawe bellyali saeedeh” meaning in english “Enlighten in a happy night”, it’s a christmas song for Jesus when he comes that night and Bless everyone with love and peace

Losing the battle in the outskirts of Damascus will bring the fight to Damascus proper,after that we will not be able to make any predictions about the course of events.
Regardless of where you stand,pray for the safety and well being of innocent Syrians most of whom have little to do with this bloody tragedy.

dear @364

if you are not Syrian and you don’t contribute any goods for Syria then stay out of it please, its enough propaganda, its hearting every one there

364. JUERGEN said:

I heard that near Damascus Airport have been attacks, anybody can confirm that?

who tell you ? is It the ciphered military order?

dear @ 361

you too, enough is enough !!

371. Alan said:

ref: 364. JUERGEN

No, it is one his “friends” who told him

Juergen
I heared that the FSA control the road close to the Damascus airport but the airport is still working, however there is a major defection by rocket phalange,close to Damascus,and as a result the regime brought tanks to inside Damascus,and placed them in different part of Damascus,what is true is that guns sound are heared all night in Damascus,by Damascus residents.

Mjabali
Your hatred toward me is blinding you and making you lie , all islamic scholars say that the prophet did not interpreted Quraan, he discussed few verses only in his hadith, you do not know me to say my arabic is not good,and the truth is that you do not know much about history, please spare us your lies.

Tara the jardoon fan has lost it,she compares killing hundred of thousands of Iraqi
Christians in a country they lived in for five thousand years by her Saudi Wahhabi
Friends to killing of 3 people in the 300 million people US after 9/11,one of the killed ones in Arizona was copt and was mistaken for a Moslem .how logical is Tara,she should work for Aljazera 140000$ just for spreading her lies.

Turkey may provide Hamas with $300 million in annual aid

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-may-provide-hamas-with-300-million-in-annual-aid-1.409708

Hamas has been facing financial difficulties due to late and reduced payments from Iran; Meshal deciding between Qatar and Jordan for new Hamas headquarters, after leaving Syria.

{..}

The noose is closing on the Assad regime.
Yesterday 120 demonstrations in the city of Aleppo alone.
Today, the FSA is closing on Damascus.

And some rumors like this:
عاااااااااااجل عااااااااااااجل عاااااااجل انشقاقات في ساحة العباسيين وشارع بغداد في دمشق انشقاق لواء مع 600 عنصر انشقاق سرية صواريخ وتهدد بقصف القصر الجمهوري وافرع المخابرات والجيش الحر يهدد بقصف التلفزيون السوري اقسم انها معلومات مؤكدة

Kandi

Not good enough salary for me.

Kandahar, it is not a revolution of Muslims against Christians and Alawis. I am afraid that the minorities in Syria are fulfiling a self- prophesed future and making a historical mistake because they by supporting the tyrant are pushing it to
morph into that. Why can’t you guys understand this? When chaos prevails, no one can stop it and it will last forever.

Jad
The GCC boycott of the observers mission, their intention to arm the FSA further, and the “regime change” resolution they are trying to impose on Syria through the UN, is a clear provocation for an all out war.
This is happening now.
Nothing can now stop the Syrian Army to attack and dislodge the armed mutineers who are now exposing the civilians to death instead of protecting them. The army is in the process of eradicating the mutineers before they are able to obtain more advanced weapons from the GCC.
While in Edlib, the mutineers could obtain weapons through Turkey, in the suburbs of Damascus it is much harder. Zabadani is sealed off and the mutineers there are trapped, they can’t rescue the others.

The outcome of this war will decide what is next for Syria.

Please read AlQuds
الجيش السوري الحر يؤكد أن المعارك تقترب من دمشق

Thank you Haytham, the news are accurate and I mentioned some earlier

Neutral journalism is scarce resources nowadays. Read the full article.

http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/gilles-jacquier-killed-as-rebel-warning-to-truth-tellers-stay-out-of-our-regime-change/#comment-33276

Haytham

You know that rumors like these are often indication of desperation when one is loosing.

“And some rumors like this:
عاااااااااااجل عااااااااااااجل عاااااااجل انشقاقات في ساحة العباسيين وشارع بغداد في دمشق انشقاق لواء مع 600 عنصر انشقاق سرية صواريخ وتهدد بقصف القصر الجمهوري وافرع المخابرات والجيش الحر يهدد بقصف التلفزيون السوري اقسم انها معلومات مؤكدة”

Toto(you started)
Don’t run away from your lies.stay in the subject.What most of Syrians(even Sunnis )see in the horizon is uglier,filthier,Islamic Terrorist Tyran.Watch your friends monsters in Alfarook in the link above telling their victim:
What do you want befor dying wlak?

Assad loses control over Sabqa – Damascus suburbs

الأسد فقد سيطرته على سقبا- ريف

Arab chief seeks Russian, Chinese change on Syria

CAIRO – Agence France-Presse
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/arab-chief-seeks-russian-chinese-change-on-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=12522&NewsCatID=352

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said on Sunday he hopes Russia and China will change their stance on Syria and allow the UN Security Council to issue a resolution backing a League plan to end the crisis.

“I hope these two countries will alter their position concerning the draft UN Security Council resolution which would adopt the Arab plan,” Arabi said before leaving Cairo for the United Nations in New York.

“Contacts are under way” between the Arab League “and Russia and China on the situation in Syria,” Arabi added, in remarks reported by Egypt’s official MENA news agency.

He said the League’s decision to suspend its monitoring mission on the ground had been taken “because of a significant deterioration of the situation in Syria to ensure the security of the observers.” Arabi on Saturday said the League was pulling out its observer mission which had been on the ground for just over a month “after the Syrian government chose the option of escalation, which increased the number of victims.” The opposition Syrian National Council has called for protests outside Russian diplomatic missions against Moscow opposing a draft European-Arab UN resolution on the crisis that backs the League plan calling on President Bashar al-Assad to quit.

SNC chief Burhan Ghaliun was also travelling to New York on Sunday “to present the Syrian case… and demand protection.” European and Arab nations pushing the new resolution are reported to be reworking the draft after the withdrawal of the League monitoring mission.

The text, backed by Britain, France, Germany and Arab Security Council member Morocco, calls on the international community to back the Arab League plan to end the crisis.

The League plan looks to a halt in the violence and Assad transferring power to his deputy ahead of negotiations.

Moscow opposes the draft resolution, and has proposed its own draft assigning equal blame for the violence on both Assad and the opposition, an option dismissed by the West.

January/29/2012
CAIRO – Agence France-Presse
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi. REUTERS photo

Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi. REUTERS photo
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said on Sunday he hopes Russia and China will change their stance on Syria and allow the UN Security Council to issue a resolution backing a League plan to end the crisis.

“I hope these two countries will alter their position concerning the draft UN Security Council resolution which would adopt the Arab plan,” Arabi said before leaving Cairo for the United Nations in New York.

“Contacts are under way” between the Arab League “and Russia and China on the situation in Syria,” Arabi added, in remarks reported by Egypt’s official MENA news agency.

He said the League’s decision to suspend its monitoring mission on the ground had been taken “because of a significant deterioration of the situation in Syria to ensure the security of the observers.” Arabi on Saturday said the League was pulling out its observer mission which had been on the ground for just over a month “after the Syrian government chose the option of escalation, which increased the number of victims.” The opposition Syrian National Council has called for protests outside Russian diplomatic missions against Moscow opposing a draft European-Arab UN resolution on the crisis that backs the League plan calling on President Bashar al-Assad to quit.

SNC chief Burhan Ghaliun was also travelling to New York on Sunday “to present the Syrian case… and demand protection.” European and Arab nations pushing the new resolution are reported to be reworking the draft after the withdrawal of the League monitoring mission.

The text, backed by Britain, France, Germany and Arab Security Council member Morocco, calls on the international community to back the Arab League plan to end the crisis.

The League plan looks to a halt in the violence and Assad transferring power to his deputy ahead of negotiations.

Moscow opposes the draft resolution, and has proposed its own draft assigning equal blame for the violence on both Assad and the opposition, an option dismissed by the West.

January/29/2012

Arab FMs to meet next Sunday on Syria
2012-01-30 00:09:11
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/30/c_122626754.htm

CAIRO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — The Arab foreign ministers will hold an urgent meeting at the Arab League (AL) headquarters in Cairo next Sunday on the Syrian issue, the AL deputy chief said Sunday.

The meeting will be chaired by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who also heads an Arab ministerial committee in charge of handling the Syrian crisis, AL Deputy Secretary General Ahmed bin Helli was quoted by Egyptian official news agency MENA as saying in a statement.

The meeting will discuss a report by Sheikh Hamad and AL Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi, who are at the United Nations seeking support for the AL peace plan for the Syrian crisis, Helli said.

The ministers will also discuss the status of the AL observer mission in Syria, which has already been suspended, to decide whether to withdraw the monitors or alter the nature of their mission, he added

Syrian army enters restive Damascus suburbs to confront armed men
2012-01-30 00:09:25
DAMASCUS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — The Syrian military entered Sunday some restive suburbs of the capital Damascus to confront what the government described as “armed terrorist groups,” a witness told Xinhua anonymously.

The army has entered restive suburbs such as Douma, Harasta, Ghouta and Kafr-batna, the source said.

Earlier Sunday, an armed group targeted a military bus with a roadside bomb in the Damascus suburb of Sahnaya, killing six soldiers, including two officers, according to official SANA news agency.

Meanwhile, the Doha-based al-Jazeera TV cited activists as saying that at least 48 people were killed during the army’s operations in restive neighborhoods of Damascus.
(…}

378. HAYTHAM KHOURY
عاااااااااااجل عااااااااااااجل عاااااااجل انشقاقات في ساحة العباسيين وشارع بغداد في دمشق
لوين مستعجل ؟
ثمانية سنوات و نصف ، و الولايات المتحدة بأعتى امكاناتها لم تسطع الفصل في العراق وانسحبت باقتصاد منهك و بفردة جزمة في وجهة رئيسها! هل تظن ان كل أموالي قطر و السعودية ستكون كافية للفصل ؟ الاسرائيلي فقط من طرفكم يدرك البعد الحقيقي للموضوع ! خدلك اركيلة !

‎Why I defend Syria
Dr. Omar Dhaher
“I defend Syria because I do not want to see American or French tanks in the streets of Damascus with Israeli journalists covering the news freely, reporting scenes of falling statues of Assad with the intention of having them replaced with statues of apes. This did happen in Iraq. I defend Syria because I do not want to hear that Jewish extremists have come to swim in Barada River, claiming that they have been promised to do so as they are doing now at the River Tigris. I defend Syria because I see in it the Grenada of today, the last Arabic bastion of dignity. If it falls, God forbid, that will be the end of Arabs. Syrian brothers, do not allow Netanyahu to enter Damascus disguised with Saudi head dress and a Qatari sandal.”

“أدافع عن سوريا لأني أحب سوريا وشعب سوريا، ولا أريد أن أرى عراقاً آخر تُقطّع أوصاله ويُقتّل فيه الناس كل يوم بالجملة في الشوارع وفي الجوامع وفي الكنائس. أدافع عن سوريا لأني لا أريد أن أرى دبابات أمريكية أو فرنسية في شوارع الشام تترجل منها الصحفيات الإسرائيليات ليغطين بكل حرية وتشفي مشاهد سقوط تماثيل الأسد التي يراد أن تحل محلها تماثيل القردة. حصل ذلك في بغداد. أدافع عن سوريا لأني لا أريد أن أسمع أن متطرفي اليهود جاءوا يسبحون في نهر بردى ويدّعون أنهم موعودون بذلك كما يفعلون في نهر دجلة. أدافع عن سوريا لأني أرى أنها غرناطة العصر الحديث، آخر قلاع الوجود العربي، إن سقطت – لا سامح الله – فعلى العرب السلام. أخي السوري لا تدع نتانياهو يدخل دمشق متخفياً بغترة وعقال سعوديين وبنعال قطري”
د. عمر ظاهر
http://www.arabtimes.com/portal/article_display.cfm?ArticleID=25568

ALan,
LOLOL Good one 🙂

Haytham,
Seriously, Alabaseyyen plaza defected! Form who the Stadium next to it or the Supermarket?
Baghdad Street too? Oh I see it, if you check Google map you can see that Baghdad Street is moved to 7feer Alfo2a حفير الفوقا

Kandahar

Toto? Mea Culpa! What was I thinking by calling you Kandi? I like Foufou or Joujou but not Toutou.

I am watching Beauty and the Beast in 3D with my daughter as I am writing this post. Bell is ok but my favorite is Ariel. She is the prettiest. Can’t post much for the next hour or two as I like to give Yara, my daughter and the people I like my undivided attention but could not resist answering.

Dear Zoo @387

I called my Family in Damascus today, they confirm that the syrian’s armies enters all cities around Damascus and have all off them under control by now…

Damscuse is very quite and business as usual.

Good bless Syria , the Syrian people and the Syrian army

Ah.. Just saw something. I have a link I can’t wait to post…..Unfortunately, can’t cut and paste using a smart phone. Later.

Occupiers in any shape have no place in our homeland ever:
اغنية جوليا بطرس – مقاوم 2012
http://youtu.be/MuVrsWkuhGA

No to militarization of the uprising.
No to international intervention.
No to sectarianism.
It will destroy Syria and kill more Syrians.

هيئة التنسيق الوطنية في سوريا
معا من أجل سوريا حره وديمقراطيه
عن وضع الثورة؛
إنها في استمرار دائم، ولكن؛
من يحولها لمسلحة فهو يقتلها، السلاح لحماية المتظاهرين.
من يتخيل حلاً عن طريق الجامعة العربية، نقول له:لا، الجامعة لا شيء، الثوار كل شيء
من يتخيل حلاً عن طريق مجلس الأمن، نقول له: لا، المجلس للتفاوض على سورية
ثقوا بالشعب، كونوا جزءاً منه، مجلس الأمن لا يقود الثورة، لا تستمروا بالتفريط بالثورة
إنكم تشوهوها. تقولون بالسلاح وبالتدويل العسكري. هذا يعني أن السلاح من أجل التدخل العسكري، هذه كارثة حقيقية، القوى التي تعمل فقط من أجل هذا هي بالضبط كالنظام، تريد التضحية بالشعب الثائر.
سورية في خطر نعم، لأن الثورة في خطر فقط.
يتحمل النظام المسؤولية الكاملة عن أي تدويل وعسكرة، ولكن هناك أطراف في المجلس الوطني تتحمل نفس المسؤولية، وبما يخص حصراً تحويل الثورة لمسلحة ولخطر التدخل العسكري؛ أو ما يؤدي إلى مخاطر تتساوى مع التدخل الخارجي.
ثقتنا بالسوريين فقط، الثورة تنجح بقدراتهم، وقد نجحت في الأشهر السابقة.
لا نريد من يتقن القتل، أن يتحكم بمستقبل بلادنا
على النظام أن يرتدع وعلى هواة القتل ان يخرجوا من الثورة
فهي بدونهم ثورة حقيقية وعبرهم ثورة مضادة، ولكن مع تغيير في السلطة.

سيزولون، فالناس قد تصفق قليلا ولكنها ستكنس كل من لا يقود سورية نحو:
دولة مدنية، إعطاء الفقراء حقوقهم، العمل على استعادة الجولان، التنديد بكل من جلب التدخل العسكري.
نريد سورية لكل السوريين؛ المنطق الطائفي منطق تقسيم ومحاصصة وتدمير لإرث سورية في العلمنة والحداثة، كبنيات أولية.
لنعمل من أجل سورية لكل السوريين، القوى المدنية واليسارية ومختلف المؤيدين لهذا التوجه عليهم التشارك، وإلا فإن هناك الكثير الكثير من القذارات ستستخدم ضد سورية شعباً وأرضاً.
…………..
عمار ديوب

Zouzou,
I told you so! Ayman Abd Alnour is a LIAR:

بعد نشر أنباء تفيد بمنح حزبهم إدارة ذاتية في محافظة الحسكة
صالح مسلم لسوريا الجديدة: ما نشر في موقع كلنا شركاء كذبة كبرى بحجم المأساة السورية
2012-01-29
صرّح المهندس صالح مسلم رئيس حزب الاتحاد الديمقراطي لسوريا الجديدة بأنهم كحزب مشاركون في الثورة السورية منذ بدايتها. و أنهم استطاعوا الحفاظ على استمراريتها وسلميتها في المناطق الكردية كما رأوها مناسباً. و أضاف مسلم بأنهم لازالوا على موقفهم هذا و الذي يتناسب مع نهج هيئة التنسيق الوطنية التي هم جزء منها و أنهم يساهمون في جميع قراراتها ومواقفها.
و قال مسلم بأنه لا يمكن الادعاء بأنهم يقفون إلى جانب النظام الاستبدادي القمعي الذي سفك دمائهم على مدى سنوات و أضاف: نحن الحزب الكردي الوحيد الذي قدم شهداء في أقبية مخابرات النظام، فهل يمكن أن نقف إلى جانب جلادينا؟
و قال مسلم بأن الذين يعملون من أجل سفك الدم السوري وتسببوا في تسليح الثورة ولا يعرفون سوى العنف نهجاً ولهم علاقات مع بؤر لاتهمها الدم السوري يحاولون تلطيخ مواقف حزبهم ومواقف هيئة التنسيق الوطنية منذ البداية، ويشيعون مثل هذه الأكاذيب, مؤكدا ما نشر في موقع كلنا شركاء كذبة كبرى بحجم المأساة السورية على حد تعبيره.
و أضاف مسلم حزبهم يساهم في تأسيس النظام البديل الذي يراه مناسباً للشعب الكردي بل ولكل سوريا بعد زوال النظام الاستبدادي الراهن، وهو نظام الإدارة الذاتية الديمقراطية، قائلا بأن “الزبداني” قد بدأت بتطبيقه على أرض الواقع في الآونة الأخيرة على حدا تعبيره.
و قد كان موقع كلنا شركاء قد نشر يوم أمس خبرا مفاده بأن النظام السوري قد منح حزب الاتحاد الديمقراطي إدارة ذاتية في محافظة الحسكة و أن النظام أعطى الصلاحيات الكاملة لأعضاء الحزب لقيادة أمر الحدود وخاصة الوضع الجمركي، وعمليات التهريب التي تحصل بين الدولتين وفقا لما جاء في الخبر.
إعداد: مكسيم العيسى
http://thenewsyria.net/syria_article.php?z=ar&id=4568

“الجالية السوريية في اميركا Syrian People in Usa
كل ما تكتبه صفحات العورة عن سقوط ساحة العباسيين بيد الفوار … أو جعلها كراج للدبابات عار عن الصحة.
كل ما تروجه صفحات العورة عن قطع طرق في العاصمة دمشق عار عن الصحة.
كل ما يروج عن إيقاف حركة المطار أو تشديد أمني في العاصمة كاذب وغير صحيح.
سماع انفجارات قوية من جهة الغوطة و تحديدا من جهة المليحة حتى الساعة 11 ظهرا وشعر بها سكان جرمانا بشكل واضح و قوي.
…
حاولت صفحات العورة ترويج تنحي الرئيس بشار الأسد و سفره وهذا الخبر لا يحتاج إلى تعليق”

There is now a consensus that a political change at the top must take place but nobody seems interested in seeing Damascus being run by armed thugs who are now trying to stop flights to and from DIA by spreading rumors and attempting to get close enough to the airport to fire at it.
The latest campaign by the Syrian army received a green light from Russia and was met with relative silence from the US, nobody should push for a chaotic collapse of the regime especially armed forces, it is not good for anybody.

Qatar and KSA and the rest of GCC,are needed to send military support to the fSA, The number of FSA is getting much larger , they are groups that are getting closer to each other.
The leader of SNC must be one of the FSA

Qatar and KSA, GCC,FSA, SNC !!!

Damascus and Aleppo are beginning to rise actively against Assad. Of course the first movements are coming from poor areas like Ghouta, Douma, Sabqa, and other parts on Rif Dimasq. There is a dramatic change in the regime strategy. Now 4th Division must send troops to Damascus outskirts leaving some places without forces enough. It could lead to the final loss of Hama, Homs, Idleb and other provinces of Syria to the beneffit of FSA.

Assad milicias would centre their efforts in defending Damascus and Aleppo. But we should consider that if Assad forces could not totally control isolated villages as Rastan, Zabadani or Jisr Shugour, it may be much more difficult to control areas connected to Damascus Capital, where millions of people could defy the regime in a street milicias war. Also we should consider that there is a ring of poor suburbs around Damascus that could asphyxiate the city center in a gradual and dramatic aproach to Assad centres of power.

What has happened in Syria is a real nightmare for all but we are probably beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The 4th Division has probed not powerfull enough to subyugate the syrian people.

الجزيرة ماجد عبدالهادي يتقارب الصراع المسلح بين الجيش الحر وكتائب الأسد من العاصمة 29 1 2012

OPPOSITION GROUPS IN SYRIA: MYTHS AND REALITIES
By Andrew Spath
{…}
“The challenge is most apparent among the two most prominent and internally diverse umbrella organizations – the SNC and the National Coordinating Body (NCB). While disagreements within the SNC have been apparent since its genesis, [9] in-fighting flared recently over a draft agreement between the two organizations, signed by SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun and NCB representative Haytham al-Manna, that was summarily rejected by the SNC executive council. [10] The most contentious points of disagreement are support of foreign intervention, dialogue with Assad’s government, and relations with the Free Syrian Army. [11] Fissures within the opposition in general, and within the SNC itself, are exacerbated by a lack of coordination and clarity in public statements. Contradictions between personal views of the Council’s members and its stated positions on international intervention plagued the effort to bring together the SNC and NCB in December. [12]

The divisions among regime challengers do not end there. There are, of course, significant differences between secularists and Islamists. [13] But even among the Islamists, as seen recently in Egypt, different views persist about the direction of the revolution and visions of a post-Assad Syria. Only recently have leading Muslim scholars from various Islamic trends come together in search of a formula to unite in support of the revolution. [14] Moreover, growing feelings of frustration toward the larger opposition organizations persist among many protesters on the ground. With a growing power vacuum on the ground, divisions are sharpening between the activists on the ground and the opposition in exile. [15] Bearing the immediate threats of the government’s violent tactics to suppress the uprising, it is not surprising that some protesters feel the dissident parties in exile are “in one valley and the [domestic] revolutionaries in another valley.” [16]

The oversimplification of a singular “opposition” suggests that there is a coherent and coordinated government waiting in the wings that will facilitate a smooth transition upon Assad’s downfall. The model reflects the Libyan experience of creating an internationally recognized transitional council as the legitimate representative of the opposition, a designation sought by the SNC since October and one that may facilitate international intervention. [17] While the Libyan opposition became decidedly militarized, the Syrian National Council is treading a fine line between advocating military intervention and its commitment to “safeguarding the non-violent character of the Syrian revolution” that bolsters its domestic and international legitimacy. [18] Recently, the SNC began direct coordination with the Free Syrian Army, though the body has been careful to convey that the FSA is not its “armed wing.” [19] Unlike the Libyan Transitional Council, however, the Syrian National Council has yet to gain international recognition as the sole representative of the Syrian people partly because of the challenges to coordinate and unite the various opposition factions.”
{…}
“Across the board, opposition organizations have worked to dispel the fears of minorities and challenge the framing of the crisis in sectarian terms. [21] They have charged the government with provoking sectarian conflict and have made it a point to highlight the significant involvement of Alawis, Druze, Kurds, and Christians in their ranks and on the street, particularly in highly heterogeneous cities like Tartous and Banias. [22] Since the beginning of the revolution, concerted displays explicitly against sectarian discord demonstrate the alternative narrative of national and confessional tolerance and the shared plight of life under autocracy. [23] Protest chants, official stances of opposition groups, and online Facebook pages[24] explicitly reject the politicization of Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious identities. Prominent Druze leader Walid Jumblatt called on the Druze forces in the Syrian military not to participate in the suppression of the opposition. [25] Prominent Christians like Michael Kilo and Fayez Sara are notable members of the opposition, and some Christian leaders have recently stated that they “stand with the demands of the Syrian people.” [26]

At the same time, should a power vacuum, military intervention, or other sources of violence escalation add to fears of anarchy and chaos – an image Bashar al-Assad refers to frequently[27] – a convergence of people into their respective ethno-confessional social groups is very possible. Recent months have not been absent of explicitly sectarian attacks and rhetoric, particularly in areas of Homs. [28]

A nuanced view of the situation displays that sectarianism is “not merely a scarecrow wielded by despots to resist change… but is also not an undying and eternal fact.” [29] Across the board, opposition groups have maintained strong nationalist and anti-sectarian language in their founding documents and public statements. Comparisons with Syria’s neighbors in Iraq and Lebanon, and the vast sectarian violence that were part of civil wars in each country, provide little leverage for anticipating what will unfold in Syria. Iraq’s sectarian crisis was exacerbated by foreign military intervention, and Lebanon’s ethno-confessional composition is more balanced than the Sunni-majority Syrian society. Despite representation of the various minority communities in both the active support and active opposition to the government, many Syrian minorities are taking a more passive “wait and see” approach to the crisis. The challenge is that the longer people wait and the more they see, the more likely it is that fears of violence will increase and sectarian divisions will harden. Simply, sectarian violence is an open question rather than a foregone conclusion.

The declared anti-sectarian nature of the revolutionaries across organizations provide a better model for post-Assad governance than the prospect of smaller insurgent groups that may seek to exploit sectarian identities for political or material purposes. A turn to violent opposition of any kind plays directly into the hands of the government as it attempts to divide, and thereby weaken, the opposition by exploiting fears of “leaping into the unknown.” [30]

More careful assessments of the situation in Syria will consider the complexities of both opposition politics and dynamics of sectarianism. Questions remain as to whether the leading opposition organizations can allay sectarian anxieties. Their best chances of doing so are through further inclusion of the many segments of Syrian society, sustained inclusive rhetoric, and coordination among the opposition bodies in the absence of unification.”

http://www.fpri.org/enotes/2012/201201.spath.syria.html

Excellent well written article today on the 7ee6an Walls website.
Article written by True and about his observations during a recent trip to Damascus.
http://7ee6an.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/from-syria-with-by-true/

Syria you’re not a lone, a beautiful video of solidarity from all around the world:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9mu-fvH8K4

The MB and their friends are bunch of hateful group.
The war against them is not limited to Syria, it is not new either. Abdulnaser nicely jocked about their retarded agenda

جمال عبد الناصر يتحدث عن حواره مع الاخوان عن الحجاب

Memo To: SANDRO LOEWE

RE: “…The 4th Division has probed, but is not powerful enough to subjugate the Syrian people…”

Right. Maher’s men aren’t numerous enough to put down the tens of thousands now up in arms against the Assad Mafia. More to the point, Maher needs to work behind the scenes in the shadows. He can’t operate effectively in the light of day with the whole world watching. He’s a horrid man, a character out of Shakespeare, like Richard III:

QUEEN
Out, devil! Thou slewest my husband in the Tower,
And my poor son at the battle of Tewksbury.

RICHARD
Ere you were queen, yea, or your husband king,
I was a pack-horse in his great affairs;
A weeder-out of his proud adversaries,
A liberal rewarder of his friends:
To royalize his blood I spilt mine own.

QUEEN
Yea, and much better blood than his or thine.

In Lebanon
there was an attempt to assassinate Wisam Al Hassan,some said Ashraf Rifi, both high security officers.The syrian Mukhabarat may be involved.

408: “The syrian Mukhabarat may be involved”.

Dont worry, just call your beloved Aljazeera and they will make it a sure news.

I think the opposition officially entered a phase of unprecedented hysteria.

#405 JNA
ref: “True” article

It is a depressing article that ends with a very condescending statement, probably expected from a typical pseudo-intellectual Syrian bourgeois expat.

#409

“The opposition officially entered a phase of unprecedented hysteria”.. and Majedakhaldoon too

Nabil Fayad
مقالة للمناقشة:
دولة قوية، معارضات متنافرة وشعب منهك: سوريّا ( 1 )!

أسئلة تطرح علينا من طرف أميركي يعمل اليوم في الحملة الانتخابيّة للمرشح ” المورموني “، ميت رومني؛ ولمّا كنّا على تواصل شبه متواصل مع معظم المحافظات السورية، فإننا نعتقد أن إجاباتنا كانت أقرب إلى الواقعية والحيادية من غيرنا على الأرجح. ولمّا كان توخي الشفافية هو أهم ما نبحث في سوريا الحديثة، فإننا سنقدّم هنا بالحرف ما قلناه للطرف الأميركي:
مما لا شك فيه أن فرضيات كثيرة تطرح اليوم حول مسألة بقاء النظام السوري أو سقوطه. ورغم أننا ننتمي قولاً وفعلاً إلى المعارضة، إلا أن فرضية السقوط تبدو مخيفة لنا، أهمه أنه لا أحد يعلم على وجه الدقة ما الذي يمكن أن يحدث في اليوم التالي لسقوط النظام؛ هذا غير أن المعارضة الأقوى للنظام اليوم هي تلك السلفية-الإسلامية، التي قد تكون أكثر شراسة وإقصائية من السلفية الليبية التي أعقبت سقوط القذافي، بسبب التراكم التكفيري الموجود في المجتمع السوري التعددي؛ إضافة إلى تنافر المعارضات السورية وافتقادها لرؤيا واضحة لما بعد النظام، هذا غير ضبابية المشهد إن تسلمت إحدى تلك المعارضات الحكم، وذلك بالنسبة للشارع السوري، الذي يعاني من فلتان أمني غير مسبوق في تاريخنا ما بعد الفرنسيين، ولا نعتقد إلا أنه سيزداد انفلاتاً إن سقط النظام.
الأسباب التي ترجح برأينا احتمالية بقاء النظام السوري الحالي:
1 – امتلاك النظام لمنظومة أسلحة دمار شامل لا تبدو ملامحها الحقيقية معروفة للكثيرين. وهي التي تحول دون حصول مناطق عازلة أو ممرات آمنة داخل سوريا، كما طالب بذلك المعارضون السوريون في الخارج أو الأتراك الإسلاميون منذ الأيام الأولى للحراك المعارض. وكان طرف قطري قد حكى معنا شخصياً في شهر تموز الماضي عن مناطق عازلة على الحدود السورية التركية، ثم تكرر الحديث في شهر تشرين الثاني الماضي عن منطقة عازلة في الرمثة على حدود الأردن؛ هذا غير الحديث الفرنسي عن ممرات آمنة داخل سوريا. هذا كله لم يتحقق والأسباب كما قلنا عدم إمكانية تحديد نوعية الرد السوري على ذلك. نذكر هنا أن ثلاث قواعد غربية موجودة في تركية وقبرص تقع تحت نطاق المدافع السورية التقليدية. النظام السوري، بعكس نظام القذافي، لم يتخل عن منظومته التسلحية، إن لم يكن قد زاد عليها. وهذه نقطة افتراق هامة جداً تميز بين النظامين البعثي في دمشق ونظام القذافي في طرابلس.
2 – ثمة مسألة هامة جداً تميّز هنا بين النظام السوري من جهة، والنظامين السابقين في مصر وتونس من جهة أخرى: في مصر وتونس، كان ثمة تمايز واضح بين مؤسسة الرئاسة والمؤسسة العسكريّة-الأمنية؛ من هنا كان بالإمكان تغيير مؤسسة الرئاسة دون أن تنكسر المؤسسة العسكريّة-الأمنية، وبالتالي دون أن ينكسر البلد برمته. في سوريا الوضع مختلف تماماً لأسباب لسنا في وارد ذكرها الآن. في سوريا ثمة تلاحم عضوي بين مؤسسة الرئاسة والمؤسسة العسكرية-الأمنية وإلى حد ما المؤسسة الاقتصادية. لذلك فإن أي إسقاط محتمل للمؤسسة الرئاسية سيعني حكماً إسقاط المؤسسات الباقية وبالتالي إسقاط البلد كلّه إن لم يكن إنهاءه. سوريا تختلف سياسيّاً عن غالبية دول العالم. في سوريا لا توجد مؤسسات مستقلة عن النظام. في كل دول العالم تقريباً الدولة كمؤسسات مستقلة عن النظام الحاكم ومعارضاته. بمعنى أن المؤسسة تبقى حتى وإن تغيّر النظام. في سوريا، التلاحم غير قابل للانفصال بين النظام والدولة؛ فخمسون عاماً من حكم البعث، أعجبنا ذلك أم لا، جعل معادلة الدولة = النظام الأمر الأكثر طبيعية في سوريا. بغض النظر عن عدم وجود معارضة في سوريا، الطرف الثالث في المعادلة السياسية الدولية: دولة، نظام، معارضة.
3 – إن من يتابع خطاب المعارضة السورية الخارجية التي يغلب عليها التيارات السلفية، يعرف عمق الدور الذي لعبته هذه المعارضة وستلعبه لاحقاً في إجهاض أي حراك شعبي يدعو إلى نوع من الديمقراطية في سوريا. فالخطاب الفئوي الأقلوي الإقصائي التكفيري، المعبّر عنه بأسوأ ما يمكن عبر محطات الإقصاء الديني ( وصال وصفا )، ساهم إلى حد بعيد في تحشيد الغالبية العظمى الصامتة من أجل منع سقوط النظام. لأنه لا يعقل أن ننتقل من استبداد سياسي بمرجعية حاضرية إلى استبداد طائفي بمرجعية مغرقة في الماضوية. إن الغالبية العظمى من السوريين، وأقصد بذلك الأقليات الطائفية إضافة إلى السنة العرب من الحداثويين والليبراليين واليساريين والعلمانيين والتجّار الذين لا يخشون شيئاً أكثر من المجهول، يتخوفون بشدة من وصول هكذا منظومة تكفيرية إلى رأس الهرم في سوريا. إن التجربة الليبية الكارثية جعلت الغالبية السورية العظمى الصامتة تخشى من حالة فوضى أو سلفية يمكن أن تأتي في اليوم التالي لسقوط النظام؛ بغض النظر عن تهديد الحرب الأهلية التي نتلمس ملامحها في مناطق التماس الطائفية الساخنة، الأمر الذي تلعب فيه محطات الشحن المذهبي والتحريض العنفي الدور الأبرز. الشارع السوري منقسم كما لم ينقسم من قبل. وهذا أيضاً معاكس للحالات التي شهدناها في مصر وتونس وليبيا، حيث كان النظام في واد والشعب في واد آخر. وهذا كلّه مؤشر على المفارقة البنيوية بين سوريا من جهة، وكل من مصر وتونس وليبيا، من جهة أخرى.
4 – في ما اصطلح على تسميته بدول الهلال الشيعي، ثمة حلقات مترابطة عضوياً إلى درجة هائلة؛ بالتالي فإن أي حديث عن كسر إحدى الحلقات لا يمكن أن تسمح به الحلقات الأخرى لأنه سيسقطها كلها. وما سمعته شخصياً عن الحلقة الأضعف من مسئولين أمريكان في واشنطن عام 2005، أي سوريا، لا يمكن أن يكون واقعياً؛ لأن الحلقات الثلاث الأخرى، إيران والعراق ولبنان، لن تسمح به. وهذا أيضاً يميّز الوضع السوري عن غيره من دول ” الربيع العربي “.
5 – بعكس ما يتصور كثيرون، فإن الوضع الخارجي بدأ يميل إلى صالح النظام السوري: الانتخابات الفرنسية وحاجة ساركوزي إلى أصوات الأرمن خلقت شرخاً هائلاً مع الأتراك؛ ومعروف أن ساركوزي وأردوغان هما عرابا المعارضة السورية الخارجية؛ هذا الخلاف انعكس على الفور خلافات ” غير ديمقراطية ” في صفوف المعارضة السورية الخارجية التي تدعو ليل نهار إلى إسقاط هذا النظام لأنه غير ديمقراطي، وهو ما انعكس بدوره على الشعارات الإقصائية العنيفة التي ظهرت في يوم الجمعة، السادس من كانون الثاني. كذلك فإن مرض أردوغان، ودخول أميركا في دوامة الانتخابات سيزيدان من فرص البقاء أمام النظام السوري.
6 – إن روسيا كقوة دولية تعود للصعود من جديد ترى أن مناكفة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية أمر هام للغاية من أجل ترسيخ نوع من التفوق لها من جهة، كما أنها تتخوف من المخاطر المرافقة لوصول منظومة حكم سنية متطرفة إلى سوريا تنسّق مع حكومة العدالة والتنمية أو تدور في فلكها من جهة أخرى. – هذا غير التخوّف الروسي من انتقال الموجة السلفية الإسلامية إلى شمال القوقاز وباقي الجمهوريات ذات الغالبية الإسلامية في روسيا الحالية.
7 – ترى الصين في موجة السلفية السنية التي يقودها حزب العدالة والتنمية اليوم أنها تشكّل خطراً على أمنها القومي. ففي غرب الصين توجد أقلية الإيغور التركمانية في اقليم كسيانغ جين، الذي يسميه أردوغان والقاعدة تركستان الشرقية. يضاف إلى ذلك أن وسط آسيا هو الحلقة الأهم في السيطرة على قلب العالم والجسر الأوراسي. وقسم كبير من شعوب تلك المنطقة ناطق بالتركية القديمة.
8 – تنظر الأوساط المالية والنفطية الروسية إلى سوريا والمنطقة ككل على أنها جزء من مناطق الصراع على خطوط إمداد الطاقة. وهنا يتدخّل بقوة العامل الجيوبوليتيكي للنفط المترافق مع مخاوف جيوسياسية لروسيا من نشر الدرع الصاروخي في تركيا. من هنا يمكن أن نفهم اعتبار روسيا أن إسقاط النظام السوري مسألة أمن قومي روسي داخلي.
9- منذ بداية الأزمة في سورية، وقبل أن تظهر ملامحها، وتعلن مبررات تحركاتها الشعبية لإقناع الداخل والخارج على حد سواء بالقضية المتفق عليها فيما بين أطياف الشعب، أي ” الحرية الفكرية”، رُسمت المعارضة وتكونت من رحم الدول الغربية والعربية بسرعة البرق، مما جعلها تأخذ الطابع الإعلامي “الهجومي” على النظام، دون برنامج واحد موحد، يرسم سياسة المرحلة القادمة، بجميع ظروفها، الأمر الذي كشفت عنه مؤخراً الخلافات المدوية فيما بين المعارضة، لأن وجودهم فرضته الأحداث لا القضية أو الأشخاص. وبالتالي فالمعارضة ممزقة قبل أن تُعلن، ولن تستطيع أن ترقع ما مزقه النظام في تنظميها رغم إعلامه المتخلف.
10- استطالة الزمان بالحراك لم تكن قط في صالح المعارضة. فدخول العصابات على خط المعارضة؛ تفشي القتل الطائفي والتصفيات السياسية على الساحة السورية؛ الممارسات الإجرامية التي تركت الانطباع بين عامة الناس بأن المعارضة وراءها وهي ليست كذلك – كلّ هذا خلق حالة من التململ الشعبي وصلت حدود الرفض؛ بغض النظر عن سيف الفقر الذي بدأ يطل بقامته فوق رؤوس الجميع؛ وإحساس اللاأمان الذي دفع بكثير من سكان المناطق المضطربة القادرين على ذلك، كحمص مثلاً، إلى هجرة أماكن سكناهم والفرار باتجاه مناطق أكثر أماناً، ما تزال تحت قبضة النظام القوية.
11 – افتقاد القوى المعارضة المسلحة الموجودة على الأرض المرجعية الواحدة، وممارساتها الانتقامية بحق من تعاون مع النظام أو عمل له؛ بمعنى أننا خرجنا من منظومة أمنية ذات مرجعية واضحة، إلى منظومات لا حصر لها، أكثر أمنية وسلطوية من تلك السابقة، وتفتقد بالكامل إلى المرجعية التي يمكن أن تتيح للمواطن العادي فرصة اللجوء إليها إن أحس بالمظلومية.
معارضة أم معارضات: أبرز قوة في النظام هي ضعف المعارضة!
مما لا شكّ فيه أن المعارضة صارت جزءاً من التقاليد الديمقراطية في أي بلد يعمل بهذه المنظومة السياسية. ومما لا شكّ فيه أيضاً أن سوريا تفتقد منذ أكثر من نصف قرن ما يمكن أن نسميه ” بالمعارضة الحقيقية “، رغم ما يحاولون ادعاءه بما يفيد العكس؛ هذا غير الافتقار المطلق في هذا البلد التعددي الهام للتقاليد الديمقراطية بشكلها المعاصر. من هنا، فالصورة السياسية مشوهة تماماً ولا بد من إعادة إصلاحها إن أردنا لهذا البلد الخروج من زمن القرون الوسطى.
ما يميّز المعارضة السياسيّة، الخارجية والداخليّة على حد سواء، افتقادها الكامل للتقاليد السياسية الحقيقية العلمية، بسبب غياب البلد، كما قلنا، عن كافة أشكال الحراك السياسي الفعلي. لذلك فالتخبط والإقصائية أهم صفتين للمعارضة بكافة أشكالها؛ ولا بد للزمن أن يقوم بدوره هنا إن أردنا التعلّم من التجربة ومفهوم الصح والخطأ.
إن من تابع أدبيات أحد طرفي المعارضة الخارجية، المجلس الوطني، من الطرف الآخر، هيئة التسيق، في مظاهرات يوم الجمعة الذي أعقب الفشل في التنسيق بين الطرفين، يكتشف دون عناء مدى إقصائية تلك المعارضة وإرهابية مفرداتها؛ بغض النظر عن نكهتها التي تزداد سلفية مع كل أسبوع، حتى بدأت تظهر وكأنها طالبانية بلبوس علماني.
إن وجود معارضة علمية حضارية سلمية واعية هو أهم ما تحتاجه سوريا الجديدة. لكن الواقع أن المعارضة بشكلها الحالي هي النظام مكرر، وإن بصورة أكثر تشويهاً. لذلك نعتقد أن إصلاح المعارضة هو الخطوة الأولى من أجل إعادة بناء سوريا سياسيّاً.
توصيف المرض بدقة هو نقطة البداية في صيرورة العلاج السياسي لمرض سوريا ديمقراطياً. وإذا ما أردنا الخروج من أمراض الماضي، لا بد من أن نتجرّأ على قول الحقيقة للمريض، مهما كان المرض خطيراً. إن أبرز مواصفات المعارضة ” غير الإيجابية ” هي تلك التي يمكن تصنيفها ضمن إطار ” أمراض النظام “، التي طبعت الحياة السياسية في سوريا ككل:
1 – الفئوية. فرغم أن المعارضة تتهم النظام بأنه جماعة فئوية تمثّل شريحة معينة من الشعب، فالمعارضة لم تخرج عن هذا التأطير المَرَضي السوري، مهما حاولت إيهام الناس بما يفيد العكس، عبر نوع من الإجراءات التجميلية الخارجية التي لا يمكن أن تنفي عن تلك المعارضة فئويتها الطائفية الواضحة. إن فئوية المعارضة الطائفية واحدة من عناصر قوة النظام، لأنها تبقي تلك المعارضة ضمن إطار طائفي ضيّق، لا يمكن إلا أن يثير حفيظة باقي مكونات الشعب من غير المنتمين لتلك الفئة الطائفيّة.
2 – الإقصائية. فرغم أن طروح تلك المعارضة تحاول أن تطبع ذاتها بالطابع الديمقراطي نظريّاً، إلا أنها في مواقفها العملية هي الأكثر إقصائية بين كل المكونات السياسية للمجتمع السوري. وكما أشرنا من قبل، فقد تبين من مواقف المجلس الوطني الإقصائية من هيئة التسيق، أن الإقصائية، إن لم نقل العنف، هي السمة الأميز لتلك المعارضة.
3 – الماضوية-السلفية. فرغم أن من يسوّق للمعارضة أمام الرأي العام الخارجي هم العلمانيون عموماً، فإن السلفيين هم من يقودون الحراك الداخلي على أرض الواقع. هذه الماضوية السلفية ستزيد من فئوية المعارضة ومن إقصائيتها، من ناحية؛ وستولد ماضويات-سلفيات ” ردات-فعليّة ” عند الطوائف الأخرى من غير جماعة الغالبية التي تشكل الحاضن الاجتماعي للحراك الشعبي، من ناحية الأخرى.
4 – افتقادها للحس العلمي-المعرفي في مقاربتها للوضع السوري. فالمعارضة السورية، خاصة المجلس الوطني، ما تزال تتعامل بمنطق ردات الفعل الغرائزية في مقاربتها للشأن السوري. فإذا كانت غرائزية النظام هي التي تحتل صدر صورة الصراع بين النظام وأعدائه، فإن غرائزية المعارضة هي الرد الأوضح على ما يفعل النظام.
5 – افتقادها الحقيقي للنَفَس الديمقراطي. إن ما نراه على الساحة السورية كل يوم، يؤكّد بما لا يدع مجالاً للشك أن المعارضة السورية لا تعرف ألف باء الديمقراطية؛ بمعنى أن الشعب السوري مدعو للثورة اليوم على منظومة إقصائية دكتاتورية، كي تحل محلّها مجموعة إقصائية دكتاتورية أخرى.
6 – ارتهان المعارضة للخارج بالمطلق. فرغم كل المظاهر الخادعة، المعارضة السورية مرتهنة للخارج بالكامل. بل إن بعضاً من أبرز رموزها، كان يستعد لمفاوضة النظام من أجل العودة إلى سوريا سلمياً. هذا يعني، أنه لولا الصدام بين النظام وأعدائه من العرب وغير العرب الذين كانوا على علاقة في غاية الحميمية مع هذا النظام الذي كان أكثر توتاليتارية من الآن، واضطرار أعداء النظام إلى استخدام رموز سورية من أجل ضرب النظام داخلياً، لما ظهرت هذه المعارضة بهذا الشكل على الإطلاق.
7 – النفاق الوصولي. الحقيقة أن الموقف من الديمقراطية غير قابل لأن يتجزأ. لا يمكن أن نفهم كيف يمكن لداعية ديمقراطي أن يحارب نظاماً لأنه غير ديمقراطي، ثم يطلب من طرف عربي لا يفهم ألف باء الديمقراطية أن يدعمه في مسعاه؛ لا يمكن أن نفهم كيف يطلب داعية ديمقراطية سوري المساعدة في تغيير الدستور من عربي لا علاقة له بالدساتير.
كل هذا – وهو غيض من فيض – يجعل المعارضات السورية محط تساؤل استفهامي وربما استنكاري من كثير من مكونات المجتمع السور

Scores of death among the army and security officers (28)
http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=109973

SYRIA- A bus carrying army personnel near Sahnaya, was attacked Sunday by “An armed terrorist group which planted an explosive deveice and remotely detonated it, killing six persons, including two officers, and injuring six others.”

On Saturday, at Damascus countryside 7 official militants were killed, when an armed terrorist group attacked a bus between Adra and Douma towns.

Also at 3 AM Saturday, an oil pipeline at south of al-Quriye in Deir Ezzor was exploded by an explosive device that planted by terrorist group. The explosion caused a fire around the place at a pipeline that was filled with oil, and to lose about 2000 barrels of oil.
…..

In Hama, the hideouts of armed terrorist groups at al-Farayeh, al-Hamediyeh, Bab al-Qubli and al-Hader neighborhoods were stormed by Syrian Authorities which seized large amounts of weapons, ammunition, communication devices and stolen archeological findings dating back to the first millennium B.C.

Authorities also recovered 7 state and private cars which the armed terrorist groups stole from different places in the country. The armed terrorist group used holes in walls of al-Hamediyeh bakery to target the military and civilians in neighborhood.
……
Twenty eight army and law-enforcement martyrs were carrying Saturday to their final resting places from Tishreen, Homs Military and Damascus Police Hospitals.
….
SANA indicated that “martyrs were killed by armed terrorist groups in Homs, Hama, Daraa, Deir Ezzor and Damascus Countryside during the line of duty.”

To those menhebbaks on this forum:

You ideal bubble world in Damascus is getting to its end. It´s not that I did not like the peace and calm in the streets of the capital. Or the happiness of living a quiet life, with good food, good people and good disconection from the crazy world we live in. But the problem is that to get this idealized and irreal damascene life we had to pay an expensive bill that grew and grew to the profit and beneffit of regime suckers. And that will cost too much to the following generation in terms of educational, critical thinking and professional development.

From some years to the date I have seen crystal clear that this way of driving the country is going nowhere. How can Damascus people keep all day insulting policemen, corrupt officials, bussinessmen, justice corruption, etc, etc, as they always do, while they defend the role of the president and the regime. It´s simply unsustainable and schizophrenic. Now we are months or maybe years away from the end of this decaying system of thinking. Young people in Syria will enjoy a much more human life.

Maybe this is in the interest of some of you

Russland und der arabische Frühling
http://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/aktuell/2012A04_kle.pdf
Interview mit Rafik Schami (tw auch zur politischen Lage in Syrien):
http://www.videoportal.sf.tv/video?id=029f38fc-60d6-44bb-85a4-cf3cdee34091

Give Tartus to the Russians and they’ll change side?

How to get Russia on board in Syria? Hint: Think of the sea
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/how-to-get-russia-on-board-in-syria-hint-think-of-the-sea-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=12543&NewsCatID=424

This is where Putin’s support to al-Assad comes in. The Russian base in Tartus, which al-Assad’s father leased to Moscow in the 1970s, represents a long line of Russian naval stations in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, Tartus is the last Russian warm-water base.
…
The question now is how to allay Russia’s warm-water anxiety. The ideal solution would be to offer Russia a maritime base somewhere else on the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, no state seems eager to accept this proposal, not even the last Russia-friendly nation in the Mediterranean, the Greek Cypriots. Though there are two sovereign British bases on Cyprus, the people there know that they would be opening up a can of worms with Turkey if they were to offer Russia a military foothold on the island.
…
Thus, the only alternative to Tartus is Tartus. The Syrian opposition needs Russia to get rid of al-Assad. Hence, the opposition needs to reassure the Russians that once al-Assad falls, Moscow will continue to enjoy access to the Tartus base – and there are some signs this could be already happening. Russia will get on board in Syria if assured that it can continue to sail in warm waters.

Hold your horses
The time is not yet right for foreign military intervention in Syria
Jan 28th 2012 | from the print edition
http://www.economist.com/node/21543542/print

“I STICK my neck out for nobody,” drawls Rick in “Casablanca”. “A wise foreign policy,” says Captain Renault. But is it? Over the past ten months Syria has slid to the brink of civil war. Firefights, ambushes, massacres and bombings take place almost daily. Defying international sanctions, the regime kills protesting citizens by the dozen. The opposition, once hostile to all violence, has started to take up arms that increasingly pour in from neighbouring Lebanon. Aided by army defectors, it gains and loses control of small patches of territory, but it will not soon win the upper hand without more help.

Some outsiders, including the emir of Qatar and a growing number of analysts at American think-tanks, have begun to call for military action. One argument for intervention is consistency: the bloodshed in Syria is even worse than it was in Libya under Qaddafi. If outside powers have a responsibility to protect people from a mass-murdering tyrant, then surely Syria, where more than 5,000 have been killed in a campaign of state violence, is a prime candidate. Another is that several regional powers are already backing proxies in this fight. Iran and Russia aid the regime; Saudi Arabia and Turkey favour the rebels. Left alone, the rival camps will fuel a worsening conflict that could destabilise the entire region.
Military action would satisfy the understandable desire to do something—anything—in the face of terrible suffering. But it is unlikely to bring the conflict to a quick or satisfactory end, not least because opponents of the regime are divided. Dissidents have formed clashing camps and defectors follow rival officers, each commanding only a few hundred men.

There is no workable plan for an intervention. A no-fly zone would be useless, as the Syrian air force has not flown. Safe havens near the borders could protect citizens but they would soon need defending against regime troops. Striking the army—as in Libya—is an option but would not change the overall situation. Unlike in Libya, no unified rebel force is ready to sweep into the capital, secure the streets and take control.

Even if there were a plan, the cost of a botched intervention would be far higher in Syria. Like Iraq, where the American invasion of 2003 ignited a conflict that killed more than 100,000 people, it has a complex ethnic and sectarian make-up. Perhaps selective strikes on the regime’s most brutal and murderous troops could stop some of the killing and weaken morale among Syria’s rulers—but then again, it might just as easily persuade Bashar Assad to kill even more ferociously.

Military intervention does not make sense unless it has the legitimacy of widespread international backing and the likelihood of success. As yet, it has neither of these things.

Instead, therefore, the outside world must pursue diplomacy. Just now the opposition’s most likely source of outside support is the Arab League, which sent an unarmed observer mission to Syria last month. Predictably, the mission failed to stop the killing. Since then, six Gulf states have withdrawn their members—and rightly so, given that the regime used the observers as cover for its violence.

Yet the mission has set the stage for the Arab League to call on the UN Security Council to endorse a plan under which Mr Assad would transfer power to his deputy in two months and conduct elections in five. This too might fail, but it heightens diplomatic pressure on Mr Assad’s remaining supporters abroad, especially Russia.

Russia will soon have to choose between its troubled ally and the rest of the region. Although it has just sold $550m worth of fighter jets to Syria, its support of the regime has weakened slightly this month. It may eventually be persuaded to back a deal similar to one that this week ended a violent stand-off in Yemen. Under the auspices of several Gulf states, the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, received immunity from prosecution in return for going into temporary exile to allow for a peaceful transition of power.

In Syria that will take time, if it happens at all. Meanwhile, Western countries should help the opposition groups with sanctions and supplies such as medicines. Such aid is modest and piecemeal, but at least it will not make things worse.

Pro-government hactivists deface Al Jazeera coverage of Syrian violence
By Sean Gallagher | Published about 3 hours ago

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/pro-government-hactivists-deface-al-jazeera-coverage-of-syrian-violence.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

The Al Jazeera English website was attacked and defaced on January 29 by hackers supporting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Targeting the news organization’s “Syria Live Blog,” which has been providing ongoing coverage of the Arab League’s observer mission to Syria and developments in the ongoing unrest in the country, the hacker group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army posted pro-Assad and pro-Syrian government images to the site.

The relationship of the Syrian Electronic Army to the government itself is unclear. However, the group’s domain was registered in May of 2011 in Tartous, Syria, and its site is hosted on servers maintained by the Syrian Computer Society—a group Assad was the head of before assuming Syria’s presidency, and introduced the Internet to Syria in 2001.

The attack started at about 2:30 PM Central Time, just after Al Jazeera posted a report on casualties reported by the Local Coordinating Committees, an activist network in Syria. On their own site, the Syrian Electronic Army announced the “code re-penetration” of the site by a “professional Syrian battalion” of hackers, denouncing Al Jazeera for broadcasting “false and fabricated news” to “ignite sedition” among the people of Syria and achieve the goals of “Washington and Tel Aviv.”

(…}

I have seen the evil regime

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/i-have-seen-the-evil-regime-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=12541&NewsCatID=423

I have spent the last two weeks in Damascus and its suburbs, and I have seen the Syrian regime’s brutality and oppression with my own eyes.

Central Damascus is strictly controlled by the regime’s security forces. The city’s central roads and squares are filled with police, and there is a heavy security presence. There are a lot of armed security vehicles, blocked roads and heavily protected military complexes throughout the city.

The biggest hotel in Damascus, the Four Seasons, was also one of the emptiest places I saw.

Throughout our long conversations with the managers there, I learned that the hotel has had to fire more than two thirds of its 650 workers and close two of its three high-end restaurants since the revolution began 10 months ago.

Police at the security checkpoints are looking for suspicious-looking people to arrest, both entering and leaving Damascus. On my third day, I was able to get out of the city by taking extreme care to avoid the security’s watchful eyes. Outside Damascus is a completely different story. Only a 20-minute drive brings one to places that are filled with rebels’ revolutionary flags, placards insulting Bashar al-Assad, and graffiti everywhere. 

Most, if not all suburbs, are holding “mudahara” protests every night. When I first witnessed a mudahara on Jan. 14, in the Damascus suburb of Qaboun, the regime’s irregular forces, the “shabihas,” attacked unarmed protestors in front of my eyes. Two or three minutes into the demonstrations, when people began chanting “hurriyet,” or “freedom,” Kalashnikovs began shooting indiscriminately into the crowd. 

My friends tried to protect me by hurrying me into a car, but it was too late for us to speed away from the scene. I saw shabihas dragging one protestor, shot seconds before, into their car. I saw several others arrested and given heavy beatings. A shabiha in his mid-40s, with white hear and a clean-shaven face, let us go after our driver calmly explained that we were just passing through and had been stopped by the protestors.

This was a lifetime’s experience for me, but something protestors in Syria are going through every day.

During my stay I visited countless families who had lost their sons; saw orphaned little children who still didn’t know what happened to their fathers, uncles and relatives. The regime’s security forces sometimes randomly kill people simply because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

But the misery doesn’t end there. 

The regime’s security forces systematically arrest all the relatives of a person they just killed in order to silence them. I have heard of many arrested and tortured just because their last names are the same as somebody killed by the security forces. The al-Assad regime clearly demonstrated to me its skills in terrorizing its people. 

I visited more than half a dozen different Free Syrian Army (FSA) branches in various cities and the FSA appeared much stronger than anyone described before. Except for central Damascus, every city has its own FSA organization. Some of them were recently formed and are growing fast, others are already taking over the streets during the evenings. They establish their own checkpoints in these ghettos to protect the protesters. I heard over and over again from people on the ground that their only hope is for the FSA to succeed. 

Judging from the many FSA leaders and soldiers I talked to, it is clear how determined they are against the Assad regime. Despite all odds, Syrians I talked to, especially in the Rif Dimashq province, are determined more than ever to overthrow this regime. It is up to other governments to be part of this revolution.

by بقلم: نارام سرجون on Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 5:41pm
ماحدث في الأشهر الأخيرة من تغير في المشهد الاقليمي وتقلبات الدول والعلاقات في مأساته وغرائبيته أشبه “بالكوميديا الالهية” للشاعر الايطالي “دانتي أليغييري” الذي وصف في ملحمته الخالدة التصورات المسيحية للآخرة وقسّم ملحمته الى ثلاثة أقسام هي: 1- الجحيم 2- والمطهر 3- والجنة ..

والكوميديا الدولية في الربيع العربي أطلقت “مرحلة الجحيم” في تحول أمير بدوي جاهل من أتفه ماأنجبته جزيرة العرب الى منظّر للحريات ينضوي تحت جناحه مثقفون عرب .. والكوميديا تجلت في اندفاع السعوديين المعروفين بحكمهم القروسطي الظلامي خلف شعارات الحرية والعدالة والثورة والبكاء على الشعب السوري ..والكوميديا أيضا تجلت بظهور شخصيات من قاع تخلف المجتمع العربي لتتلاعب بمصير الشعب السوري مثل العرعور والقرضاوي .. بل تجلى الجحيم كله في انقياد مثقفين عرب وسوريين لقيادات دينية وخارجية متناقضة معها تماما مثل برهان غليون وكل رهط استانبول .. والكوميديا الدولية تأبى الا أن تتوج هذا الجحيم الفكري بتصريحات الناتو عن الحرية وحقوق الانسان فيما هو يبول عليها وعلى أبنائها ..
مرحلة الجحيم في الثورات العربية هي التي توّجها وصول “قيادات” اسلامية هزيلة متواطئة مع الغرب .. وفي سورية وصلت الى ذروتها في الظهور المسلح للارهابيين والمهربين الذين سرقوا اسم الثوار من قواميس الشرق المجاهد ومن مسلسلات باب الحارة في محاولة لاستدراج البلاد الى عنف وقلاقل أدت الى كثير من الضحايا والشهداء والى تراجع الشعور العام بالأمن ..
“جحيم” الربيع العربي لن يصل الى “المطهر” الا بعد نبذ هذه التيارات الاسلامية المشوهة بالنفط والغاز التي تطفلت على الاسلام الحقيقي الذي كان اعاد اكتشافه جمال الدين الافغاني ومحمد عبده فقام القرضاوي بايمانه الرث .. ببيعه بالدولار
لكن متى ستنتقل الأزمة السورية الى مرحلة المطهر ..؟؟ أي متى ستنتهي مرحلة الجحيم؟؟ وأين تسير الأحداث بعد ذهاب المراقبين العرب؟
الكل متفق الآن أن الوضع السوري سيتغير بشكل دراماتيكي في أحد اتجاهين ..اما أن يتغير التماسك في المحور السوري-الايراني-الروسي، واما ان يتفكك المحور المقابل الغربي- العربي- التركي بتراجع أحد مكوناته ..
محور الشر العربي –الغربي المناوئ للشعب السوري يصر على تصعيد الجحيم .. والسؤالان اللذان يشغلان كل المحللين السياسيين وكل السوريين هما: هل ستغير روسيا اتجاهها أخيرا مما يعني أن مرحلة الجحيم بلا نهاية وأن لامطهر ولاجنة بعده؟ والسؤال الثاني -وهو أكثر الحاحا – هو لماذا لم تحسم الدولة السورية بشكل كامل؟ هل كما يشاع بأن للاعتراض الروسي على الحسم العسكري أثر؟ هل الدولة من الضعف بحيث لاتتحرك ضد المسلحين؟ اذا ماذا ننتظر؟

لايستطيع أحد الادعاء أنه يعرف يقينا أي جواب الا “الراسخون في العلم السياسي” .. ومايلاحظ أن كل من يواجه السؤال من معسكر السلطة والمعارضة لايعطي جوابا قاطعا عن سبب تأخر الحسم وتبدو عليه الحيرة أحيانا مما يزيد في الحيرة ..خاصة وأن الجميع يدرك مدى قوة السلطة عسكريا التي لن تحتاج الى كبير عناء لالحاق هزيمة ماحقة بالمسلحين خلال أيام ..
فيما يخص السؤال الأول المتعلق بروسيا، فان من يطرحه ليس هو الجانب الرسمي السوري بل هو معسكر الشر الخليجي الاستانبولي .. والغاية منه ابقاء الوطنيين السوريين والشارع السوري في حالة ذعر وهو الذي يمور بالتفاؤل بعد ثبات الدولة السورية في وجه أعنف هجوم عالمي اعلامي- سياسي- ارهابي على دولة .. فتركيز محور الشر على هذا السؤال هو لابقاء المواطن السوري قلقا وينظر الى الخلف لحماية ظهره وليس الى الأمام لمواجهة الأشرار والمشكلة الرئيسية .. وبالطبع لاشاعة الاحباط والتشجيع على النجاة من سفينة “تايتانيك” الغارقة .. وكذلك يروّج الثورجيون تلك الاحتمالات لابقاء القيادة السورية وجمهورها متوترا ويفكر في تقديم تنازلات وطنية في المفاوضات السرية (التي تجري الآن بصمت مع السوريين كما يعتقد) خوفا من مفاجأة تغير روسية تقلب المعادلة على السوريين في آخر لحظة .. خاصة بعد أن تبين أن روسيا تمسك بلجام الغرب وتشده بقوة بعيدا عن سورية..
اعلام الثورجيين والعربان لايستحي طبعا ولايعنيه ان احتقره المشاهد السوري لأن هذا الاعلام توقع انقلابا روسيا في كل يوم منذ عدة أشهر .. حتى أن أحد المعلقين رد ساخرا على هذه القراءة الساذجة بالقول: المعارضون وحلفاؤهم قد وصلوا الى حال يرثى لها في تمنياتهم بشأن روسيا.. ومن يستمع لنبوءاتهم يعتقد أن روسيا ستقرر احتلال سوريا بنفسها .. وأن الأسطول الروسي وحاملة الطائرات قبالة طرطوس جاؤوا لانزال قوات برية للغزو الروسي لسوريا ..!!
بالتأكيد يستغل الاعلام “المراهق” بعض المقولات ويجترّها ليل نهار من مثل أن روسيا باعت العراق وليبيا … وروسيا في النهاية تبحث عن مصالحها .. بل ان الطبال عبد الباري عطوان كلف نفسه وساهم في قرع الطبول وحمل هذه “البطيخة” من قبل الصحافة الاسرائيلية بترويج فكرة أن الروس في النهاية سيبيعون من أجل مصالحهم قبل كل شيء .. وقد غاب عن هذا الصحفي الطبال وغيره – الذي لم تصدق نبوءة واحدة له حتى اليوم – ان روسيا في اصرارها على دعم السلطة السورية تدعم مصالحها هي في بقاء نظام الحكم الحالي وان كل البدائل ستجعل روسيا نفسها متسولة لمصالحها في الشرق..
الاعلام “الرشيد” الخليجي لايستحي حتى من تذكيرنا واستغلال تجربتنا مؤخرا من طعن بعض الأصدقاء ويريدنا أن نؤمن أن الروس سيطعنوننا في الظهر كما فعل الآخرون باعتبار أن كل من كانوا أصدقاء طعنونا في الظهر من صغيرهم حمد الى كبيرهم أردوغان مرورا بصبيان لبنان وملوك رقصة العرضة بالسيوف السعودية ..
لابد أن نعترف الآن ان الشخص الوحيد الذي فاجأنا هو أردوغان أما حمد وصبيان لبنان مثل سعدو وجنبلاط فتاريخهم لايدل على أن لهم أخلاق الفرسان بل هم لايجيدون الا الغدر .. وأمثال وليد بيك جنبلاط لم نعتبر طعنتهم غير متوقعة بل في الحقيقة ما فاجأنا هو تأخر وليد بيك في اخراج نصل خنجره من غمده .. والقياديون السورين كانوا يرون بأطراف أعينهم تحركات ظلال جنبلاط على الأرض خلفهم .. ويتمتمون في كل مرة : يا الله !! هل هذا هو فعلا ابن كمال جنبلاط الذي يقال أنه وطني يريد اعلاء منطق الفروسية وقيم الموحدين؟؟
يكثر الثورجيون من النظر الى روسيا ومن أخذنا عنوة لنرى معهم مسرحية من الخيال السياسي اسمها (حتى أنت يابوتين؟) .. لكن لاأدري لماذا ينسى الثورجيون ظهورهم .. ولايلتفتون .. فهناك مرشح بينهم للانقلاب عليهم وهو ان انقلب انتهت كل اللعبة .. انه تركيا ..ومن هنا يمكن تفسير تلكؤ السوريين في الحسم العسكري الذي يحير الجميع ..فكيف ذلك؟؟
في الحقيقة هناك بعض الهمس الخفيف بين مراقبين غربيين متابعين “للربيع العربي” وصلتني شذرات من آرائهم عبر الايميل من خلال سؤالين وجهتهما لهم ..الأول: عن احتمال انهيار النظام في سوريا اذا ماتغيرت المعادلة بغياب العامل الروسي ..والثاني عن تفسير الغموض في موقف الدولة السورية من الحسم العسكري !! .. فعادت جميع الأجوبة تقول انه لاتوجد أية مؤشرات قوية تؤدي لانهيار النظام .. وبالطبع لادلائل على تغير الروس .. بل على النقيض ..ان تحت السطح مايعاكس ذلك ..
تقول هذه الآراء ان لاحيرة في الاجابة عن سؤال الحسم العسكري ..فالسوريون لديهم كل الامكانيات للحسم ..لكن من الواضح أنهم ينتظرون مفاجأة ..أو يعملون على انتاج مفاجأة ..وهم يتصرفون بنفس خطوات الخصم الذي يريد احداث خرق في الموقف الروسي ..لكنهم كما يبدو يعملون على احداث خرق في المعسكر المناوئ لهم ..وحظوظهم في ذلك أوفر .. اما لماذا فان تقدير الدولة السورية هو ان “مايمكنك تقطيعه بالملعقة لاتقطعه بالساطور” .. وهم مهتمون جدا بأن يتم شلّ المعارضة المسلحة بدل تصفيتها دمويا ..فالسوريون لايفضّلون “حماة” ثانية ولا “عنف الثمانينات” ولا طريقة عبد الحليم خدام ورفعت الأسد، خاصة ان المسلحين يتمترسون في أحياء سكنية .. بالطبع يعمل السوريون على اختراق المسلحين استخباراتيا بعناية، في الوقت الذي تظهر فيه دلائل على أن هناك جهدا لاحداث خرق يشل المسلحين تماما ويشكل حالة صدمة للمعارضة يتمثل في غياب قوة رئيسية داعمة !!
الاختراق العسكري صار واضحا فأحد التقارير التركية يشير الى صورة أحد مسلحي الجيش “الحر” الذي ظهر في احدى اللقطات يرفع شارة النصر كان أحد الذين ألقي القبض عليهم سابقا بتهمة حمل السلاح وأطلق سراحه وهناك تحذيرات من أن هناك كثيرين ممن تم تجنيدهم في المعتقلات لصالح الاستخبارات السورية تم زرعهم في مفاصل المسلحين ..وعملية الاستئصال ناضجة معلوماتيا الآن على الأقل ..
اما بخصوص تغييب احدى القوى الرئيسية المساندة للمعارضة فتقول تفاصيل هذه الآراء أنه فيما يتطلع التحالف المناهض لسوريا لاحداث خرق في موقف روسيا ليكون بداية النهاية في اللعبة السورية فان على هذا التحالف ان ينظر خلفه قليلا.. فلربما وجد أحد الحلفاء للمعارضة قد “كوّع” .. فاللاعب التركي مثلا يبدو متلكئا عن متابعة المشهد واستئناف المباراة ..بعبارة أخرى ليست روسيا هي التي ستنقلب وتغير اتجاه الاحداث .. بل تركيا هي المرشحة أكثر بكثير للانقلاب على مواقفها السابقة ..والمتابع لما يقوله الصحفيون الأتراك مثل علي بولاتش في صحيفة “زمان” الموالية لحزب العدالة والتنمية وابراهيم قره غول وعاكف ايمري يمكن أن يهرش رأسه قليلا في حيرة ..وربما هز رأسه بعد ذلك موافقا ..
وقد لفت أحد الردود نظري الى تصريحات طازجة لعلي أكبر ولايتي كبير مستشاري الأمام علي الخامنئي في الشؤون الخارجية وفيها تحدث بودّ عن تركيا وأن “الأصدقاء” الأتراك يراجعون مواقفهم ..!! وهذا رجل لايتحدث هراء ولايمنح الصداقة جزافا ..

يبدو الأمر صعبا قليلا .. ولكن في رأي هؤلاء المراقبين فان تركيا كانت رأس الحربة الرئيسي في المشروع ضد سوريا غير أن حساباتها تعثرت كثيرا ولم يسقط الأسد في الأسابيع الأولى كما توقعت (أو كما زيّن لها) رغم كل التهديدات والضغوط والعنتريات التركية .. والأزمات بين الدول المتجاورة قد تحتمل عداوة باردة لسنوات وعقود كما هو الحال عبر التاريخ لكنها لاتحتمل سخونة متواصلة وحرائق الا لشهور معدودة خاصة في غياب قدرة من الطرفين على بقاء العيش في الحريق ..بل انه حتى الحروب الطويلة تمر بفترات برود واستراحة .. والأزمة السورية التركية تجاوزت تلك المرحلة ويجب أن تصل الى استقرار ..وبرود النار
الأتراك صاروا الآن يعرفون أن الاستمرار في اللعبة ورطة وأن الرهان على الحصان الخاسر ليس “شطارة” .. وهم يعرفون أن رسائل ايرانية وروسية صارمة قد وصلت اليهم وان كل الدعم من الغرب تبخر .. والأهم أن رسالة الشعب السوري كانت الأكثر حسما ورآها القياديون الأتراك حيث وصل هدير ساحة الأمويين الى قلب مكتب أردوغان حتى اهتزت صورة كمال أتاتورك على الحائط من صدى الحناجر السورية الغاضبة .. أي أن الأتراك اكتشفوا أنهم سيحاربون نيابة عن الآخرين وسيعيشون على حدود الحرائق وربما يلسعهم اللهيب ..علاوة على ذلك فان الأسد لن يطيل سكوته ويستطيع ببساطة اطلاق حرب عصابات في تركيا ردا على عصابات الاخوان القادمة من حدود تركيا ..لتنتقل الحرائق الى تركيا
في تقديرهؤلاء المحللين يلاحظ أن المسؤولين السوريين يتوقفون كثيرا عند كلمة “الحل السياسي” .. وربما ما يقصدون ليس الحل السياسي عبر حل مع المعارضة الخارجية –التي سقطت وطنيا ولادور لهت في الأزمة الا دور الكومبارس- بل عبر حل مع دول “المحور المتآمر” .. ولاتبدو لهجة السياسيين السوريين متحمسة للحسم العسكري حتى وان ذكرها الرجل الهادئ وليد المعلم .. فالحسم السوري تردد بسبب اتصالات ووساطات تريد سحب تركيا من المشروع .. وانسحاب تركيا هو الضربة القاضية للمعارضة ومشروع قطر والسعودية .. والسوري يدرك أن انسحاب تركيا يشبه مايسمى “بقتل الثؤلول الأم” وانقطاع الشريان المغذي للتمرد .. وسيسقط التمرد المسلح بالتالي نفسيا وعسكريا .. وستكون هناك ضربة نفسية خاصة اذا تمت مقايضة أسرى أتراك برأس رياض الأسعد .. حيث يتردد في بعض الأوساط أن هناك أسرى أتراك لم يظهرهم الاعلام السوري تلبية لرغبة تركية ..ويعرض الأتراك المساعدة في اطلاق سراح الايرانيين المخطوفين مقابل الأتراك الضباط (الايرانيون اختطفوا لهذه الغاية) .. لكن السوريين يريدون الى جانب اطلاق الايرانيين رأس رياض الأسعد وبعض الرؤوس الأخرى (؟؟؟).. ليس لأن الأسعد عقل عسكري عملاق وليس لأنه يشكل خطرا عسكريا .. بل لأن الخيانة في العقيدة العسكرية السورية لاتغتفر .. وقد تجرأ الأسعد على ارتكاب الخيانة ..وهذا مالايقبله الجيش السوري وقيادته ..

القضية محرجة جدا للأتراك وصعبة الاخراج رغم أنها ليست مستحيلة منذ أن قيل ان حسين الهرموش قد تمت مقايضته .. وقد يكون السيناريو المقترح بتصفية الأسعد وبعض زملائه بافتعال معركة داخلية في الجيش الحر أو نسفه كليا والادعاء أن عملاء المخابرات السورية اغتالوه .. بل ان أحد المعلقين لم يستبعد أن المسلحين المتسللين من تركيا الذين يجدون القوات السورية بانتظارهم وتتربص بهم وتقتلهم بالعشرات على الحدود التركية يتم التخلص منهم بالتدريج عبر اتفاق بين السوريين والأتراك بتزويد السوريين بكل معلومات تحركهم وقنواتهم ليتم اصطيادهم على الحدود في الشراك السورية.. وبذلك تتخلص تركيا تدريجيا من هذا العبء دون احراج نفسها..
ومايلفت النظر أنه بالرغم من تصريحات أوغلو فلاشك أن العنتريات التركية تراجعت نسبيا ..والسوريون لايعنيهم بقاء جماعة استانبول تمارس نشاطها السياسي وثرثراتها في ضيافة أردوغان الذي يقدم لهم القهوة التركية فهي في النهاية عبء على تركيا طالما انها فشلت في الوصول الى السلطة في سورية وربما لن يطول الوقت حتى تتذمر القيادة التركية من تواجدهم .. بل ان مايعني السوريين هو قطع تركيا لصلتها بالمسلحين ومساعدتها على التخلص منهم بهدوء .. وعدم ايوائهم في معسكراتها ..ومما يشاع الآن أن الحسابات المالية للجيش الحر في تركيا تتعرض لما يشبه الاغلاق والحصار ..
ان انسحاب تركيا الذي يتوقعه البعض هو أمر لامفر منه لمصلحة تركيا قبل كل شيء.. التي في النهاية تريد مصالحها وليس مصالح برهان غليون وبسمة قضماني ..أما انقلاب روسيا فهو محتمل جدا .. ولكن في حالة واحدة فقط .. هي عندما يتراجع شاطئ البحر المتوسط الشرقي الى حدود ايطاليا !!!..
ويعتقد هؤلاء أن العرب (القطريين والسعوديين) يراقبون بقلق تململ تركيا وربما يتناهى الى مسامعهم شيء عن انقلاب تركي ..وهم يريدون الامساك بتركيا واقناعها بالاستمرار قبل أن تنزلق من أيديهم .. فسارعوا لذلك الى دفع القضية السورية الى مجلس الأمن وأوقفوا بسرعة عمل مراقبي الجامعة العربية .. بل وأعلنوا صراحة استعدادهم لتمويل المسلحين وشددوا من أوامر تحريك مجموعات القتلة في المدن السورية لاستفزاز النظام ليقوم بعمل عنيف يفضي الى تدهور الأحداث بشكل ما أو انطلاق حرب أهلية مما يعطي أملا لتركيا بالبقاء مع محور المؤامرة ..
النظام يعتقد انه يهز العصا الغليظة الآن للمسلحين وينظر في نفس الوقت الى تركيا التي ستحدد مصيرهم ..!! وهي بذلك لن تعيد بناء سفنها التي احترقت في دمشق بل على الأقل لن تحرق ما بقي من السفن التي قد يقودها حزب آخر وتركي آخر في رحلة “الغفران” .. ويرى هؤلاء الخبراء أن الأسد جاهز تماما للحسم وبدأ التحرك وهو لايستطيع انتظار المفاجأة الى مالانهاية .. بل ان التلكؤ بالحسم قد يفقده قيمة الانجاز اذا ما تأخر ..الأتراك بدورهم ينتظرون ليقرروا .. واذا ماقرر الأتراك الصفقة فلن يبقى للمسلحين سوى شمال لبنان من ملجأ .. واذا ماتجمعوا هناك .. كانت نهايتهم… والمنطقة كلها تنتظر الصفقة السورية التركية اذا ماتمت ..حتى مصر صار كثير من جمهورها مقتنعا أن مصير ومستقبل مصر مرتبط بأحداث سوريا ..فسقوط سوريا سيعني ان مصر أقبلت على التفكك مثل سوريا .. واذا نهضت سوريا أنهضت معها مصر وأنقذتها من مصير التفكك..ولذلك لاقت جهود الاسلاميين المصريين في اظهار الدعم والتأييد للثورة السورية في المظاهرات الاحتفالية الأخيرة بعض الفتور من الجمهور المصري المتابع ..
في الحقيقة لاأستطيع تحديد اين تكمن القوة او الضعف في هذه الآراء وفي فرضية انقلاب تركيا .. فهي اجتهادات متابعين وباحثين في الشأن السياسي من وجهة نظر غربية محايدة ..لكن من الملاحظ أن صوت تركيا في بداية الأزمة كان عاليا ومصحوبا بالضجيج فيما كان صوت روسيا هادئا .. ثم حدث تبدل منذ الفيتو الرورسي حيث ارتفع صوت روسيا وخفت صوت تركيا .. مما يجعلني أكثر ميلا للاعتقاد أن مالم يتوقعه الثورجيون هو مفاجأة ليست في انقلاب روسي بل ربما في انقلاب تركي ..هذا الانقلاب الذي انعكس في صوت أحد الثورجيين الذين استمعت اليه وهو في مجلس خاص يكيل السباب المقذع وأبذأ البذاءات بحق تركيا وأردوغان ..
وهنا فانني أطرح سؤالا مشروعا:
لماذا تفتش روسيا عن مصالحها ولاتفعل تركيا ذلك؟ أي ماالمانع من حدوث هذا الاتجاه لدى أردوغان فينقلب الرجل على المعارضة السورية؟ لاتقولوا لي ان أردوغان رجل لايبيع ولايغير كلمته وأنه قد أمسك “شنباته” عندما تعهد بدعم البلطجيين والمهربين السوريين وسماهم ثوارا..لاتثقوا به كثيرا فمن يطعن بشار الأسد وشعب بشار الأسد بهذه الطريقة الرخيصة سيطعن الثورجيين والاستانبوليين .. وبرهان وبسمة ..وشقفة وطيفور .. وحمد وعرعور ..واللاذقاني وجعارة وعبد النور ..وكل ثورجي وطرطور .. وسيكون موقف الثورجية مضحكا وهم عراة من غير الطربوش والشروال التركي ..

انها الكوميديا الالهية التي بدأها حمد وأردوغان والتي قد ينهيها أردوغان نفسه بنسختها العربية الأصلية للمعري أي “برسالة الغفران” .. وستنقلب عندها الكوميديا الالهية برأيي .. الى العناية الالهية ..وصدق من قال …سورية ..الله …حاميه

More on Syrian Kurds views

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/29/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

(CNN) — At least 64 people were killed in Syria on Sunday, according to an opposition activist group, as the Arab League suspended a monitoring mission designed to protect Syrian civilians from government-sponsored violence.
…..
Meanwhile, Syrian Kurdish political groups met in Iraq to formulate a plan to protect their rights if al-Assad is ousted. All but a few Kurdish parties attended the meeting in Irbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
In their final statement Sunday, the groups agreed to support decisions and recommendations made by the Kurdish National Council.
While the Syrian groups are willing to unite with the Arab opposition in Syria, they want more self-determination and autonomy in a post-Assad Syria. The Kurds also continue to reject taking up arms and say they are afraid of Islamic undertones in the opposition groups.
“We are calling for a decentralized government because Syria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country,” Abdul Hakim Bashar, chairman of the Kurdish National Council, told CNN. “We demand a secular state, so Islamist movements don’t try to interpret the system for their benefits by applying Islamic rules in a disfigured way.”
However, one of the main Syrian Kurdish parties, the Democratic Union Party, or PYD, said it was excluded from the meeting.
“We have been working to unite Kurdish people and converge between different views within the Kurdish movement in Western Kurdistan and Syria,” the party said in a statement. “This conference by the Kurdistan Democratic Party is a plan to divide rather than unite the Kurdish people.”
……
“We alert the public that any recommendations and decisions issued by the so-called conference is not representative of the Kurdish people in Western Kurdistan,” the group said.
Kurds are Syria’s largest ethnic minority, comprising between 10% and 15% of Syria’s population.
….

Bronco,

You may have missed that rhythm.

The Arabic spring left no one Arabic army standing, wonder if the Iraq invasion was also an american spring gift to the Arabs. The first decade of the 21th century resulted in more killing of Arabs then probably all other natural disasters hit the earth for the decade.
I am wondering how many people killed in drug war vs Arabic spring vs natural disasters, i think Israel is benefiting from Arabs death, USA benefiting from drug war death.
the GCC pigs are on a lose run to conquer and defeat the rest of the Arabs.

Sandro,

Are you in Damascus right now? (feel free to ignore the question if you don’t feel safe)!
.

This past Friday’s street protests were branded “the Friday of establishing self-defence” حق الدفاع عن النفس . The following videos were recorded on Friday (27 Jan 2012; or possibly later in one or two cases; the upload dates are 27, 28 and 29 jan 2012). In each case the videos show a lot of armed rebels intermixed with an unarmed street-protest crowd. The crowd chants “God protect the free army” (allah mhiye el-jaysh el-hur).

In Kefr Nabl in Idlib province: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D21SLTxDB4

In Idlib city: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEoL4WhKZyU ALSO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16am4SfLtPg

In Kefr Takharim in Idlib province: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csQALgjoF18

In a city in Daraa province: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWCrrLkZ1So

In Homs city: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGQcehCHuTQ ALSO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySxBspsoMrc

In a neighbourhood of Al-Rastan in Homs province: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdEPOnRDRIA

All the above were uploaded by http://www.youtube.com/user/MrAA991/videos

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said on 24 jan 2012 that a “security solution” in Syria has become a “popular demand by the Syrian people.” For my own part, I demand that the security forces act vigorously and promptly to disarm and arrest and/or kill all of the protesters in the above videos who are illegally carrying AK-47s and RPG launchers.

Arab League seeks Beijing, Moscow support on Syria
By Mona Salem | AFP – 7 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/arab-league-seeks-beijing-moscow-support-syria-183452306.html

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi is fighting an uphill battle to court Russia and China to win their support at the United Nations for the latest Arab plan aimed at ending the bloodshed in Syria.

Russia has made it clear that regime change in Damascus constitutes a “red line,” but Arabi said on Sunday as he left for New York that his organisation was in talks with Moscow and Beijing.

He hoped the two veto-wielding countries would change their stand on a draft resolution under discussion at the UN Security Council, based on an Arab proposal for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power to his deputy.

The Arab League chief, accompanied by Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani, is to present details of the plan to the council on Tuesday.

Qatar says the plan foresees the “peaceful departure” of the Syrian regime.

It also calls for an end to the violence and a power transfer, with Assad handing over responsibilities to his deputy, before the launch of negotiations between the government and the opposition.

The Syrian authorities have flatly rejected this formula.

And Moscow, which along with Beijing represents one of Damascus’s staunchest allies, remains hostile to the Arab proposition, saying it crosses its clearly drawn lines.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday also slammed the Arab League’s decision to suspend its hard-won monitoring mission in Syria.
{…}

John R. Bradley has been doing social and cultural research in the Middle East for well over a decade. In 2008 he published a book about Egyptian society in which he predicted Egypt would have an Islamic revolution. That prediction has still not come true because (a) those who agitated for the ouster of Mubarrak last year included substantial numbers of secularists as well as Islamists, and (b) the parliament now controlled by the Islamists currently still doesn’t have a lot of power, and (c) the army remains hugely popular with the masses of the Egyptian people and continues to control the executive government, and the army leadership is currently still not Islamic. John R. Bradley is still predicting an upcoming Islamization in Egypt akin to what happened in Iran and not akin to what happened in Turkey. He has a newly published book called AFTER THE ARAB SPRING. He says the analysts in the foreign policy departments of the Western governments are seeing the Middle East all wrong, a point on which I can fully agree with him.

An eleven-minute video interview with him dated 26 Jan 2012 including talk about Syria is at http://rt.com/news/arab-spring-islamist-revolution-723/ . Among other things he says that the most popular motive for the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria was economic dissatisfaction. The motive of having fair elections and free expression was only a very secondary consideration for most of the ordinary people who joined the uprising. Neither the Islamists nor anybody else has a solution for the economic dissatisfaction. But if the ruling Establishment is removed from government, then it is the Islamists who get the bulk of the votes to replace them.

John R. Bradley on 1 Dec 2011: Greatly exaggerated reports of the Assad regime’s imminent demise have been a steady staple of the Western media for nine months and counting. The truth is that, in and of themselves, economic sanctions by the Arab League will make no difference to Assad’s chances of survival in the medium term. Such sanctions tend to hurt most, slowly and cruelly, a country’s middle class, as the examples of Iraq and Iran clearly illustrate. Foreigners imposing economic sanctions hope they’ll increase the divide between the regime and the people. Historically this doesn’t happen. When people feel pressured by the sanctions and they look at where the pressure is coming from, they find it’s from the foreigners not from the regime…. If a popular uprising against Assad had ever been on the cards, it would have already happened. In fact, all the evidence suggests that he still enjoys massive support among the mostly secular Syrian population, who rightly fear that the only alternative to their president is an extraordinarily vicious and prolonged civil war. http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/analysis/59334/syrian-revolt-faces-secular-opposition

John R. Bradley’s assessment and forecast is that Egypt is going to go much more Islamic, but Syria is not. The reason why Syria is not is that the secular Establishment is going to remain in power in Syria. If that’s right, it means Joshua Landis’s sectarian assessment and forecast for Syria is wrong. If, however, the Syrian Establishment were somehow overthrown then, no matter how it was overthrown, the Islamists would end up getting the bulk of the votes and would take over the Syrian State. Secular-minded Syrians who wish for the overthrow of the regime would end up very dissappointed about what would take its place, just as the secular anti-Mubarraks in Egypt are going to be very dissappointed. The regime’s comprehensive reform program, together with aggressive fightback against armed rebellion, is the only sensible pathway out of the current crisis.

Repeating from previous post:

Economic sanctions will make no difference to Assad’s chances of survival in the medium term. Such sanctions tend to hurt most, slowly and cruelly, a country’s middle class, as the examples of Iraq and Iran clearly illustrate. Foreigners imposing economic sanctions hope they’ll increase the divide between the regime and the people. Historically this doesn’t happen. When people feel pressured by the sanctions and they look at where the pressure is coming from, they find it’s from the foreigners not from the regime.

Another previous post:

The trade sanctions are an attack on the economy and the people of the country at large, especially on the middle class. In countries around the world people have responded by “rallying around the flag” under comparable circumstances. In Syria the regime owns that flag. The effect of the sanctions on Syrian spirit is that they strengthen patriotism and increase national unity. The political beneficiary of this is the regime.

The Syrian army cleared Damascus suburb ,

ناشطون: الجيش السوري يستعيد السيطرة على ضواح حول دمشق

آخر تحديث: الاثنين، 30 يناير/ كانون الثاني، 2012، 01:42 GMT

.

– http://wsodprogrf.bbc.co.uk/arabic/dps/2012/01/syria_arableague_16x9_hi.mp4

– http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

– http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/multimedia/2012/01/120129_syria_arableague.shtml?bw=bb&mp=wm&bbcws=1&news=1

أفاد ناشطون ان قوات الجيش السوري قد سيطرت على ضواح في شرق دمشق كانت قد سقطت في يد قوات جيش سوريا الحر المنشق بعد يومين من القصف والقتال.

وذكرت وكالة رويترز للانباء نقلا عن احد هؤلاء الناشطين من منطقة الغوطة الشرقية عند اطراف دمشق قوله “جيش سوريا الحر قام بانسحاب تكتيكي. قوات النظام اعادت احتلال الضواحي وبدأت في عمليات اعتقال من منزل لمنزل.”

وكان الجيش السوري النظامي قد بدا حملة عسكرية السبت الماضي في الضواحي الشرقية للعاصمة تهدف الى استعادة السيطرة عليها من عناصر جيش سوريا الحر.

ويقول الناشطون إن أكثر من ألفي جندي و 50 دبابة استخدمت لتعزيز العملية العسكرية الأحد.

ووصف أحد الناشطين عمليات القتال بـ”إنها حرب مدن، هناك جثث ملقاة في الشوارع”.

وقال ماهر النعيمي المتحدث باسم جيش سوريا الحر ان الدبابات دخلت ضواحي الغوطة الشرقية ولكنه امتنع عن الخوض في تفصيلات العمليات.

وقال النعيمي إن “الدبابات دخلت ولكنها لا تعرف اين جيش سوريا الحر. مازلنا نعمل قرب دمشق”.
مواجهات عنيفة

وكانت اعمال العنف والمواجهات التي شهدتها سوريا الاحد قد اسفرت عن مقتل نحو 66 شخصا على الأقل بينهم 26 مدنيا.

وكان بين القتلى 26 جنديا و 5 رجال أمن و9 من العسكريين المنشقين عن الجيش.

وسقط ستة من القتلى في دمشق و 12 في الضواحي وثمانية في حمص وأربعة في حماة وأربعة في إدلب.

وقال الناشطون إن قوات الجيش المدعومة بالدبابات قصفت المناطق التي يسيطر عليها الثوار شرقي وشمالي المدينة.

وأفادت التقارير بمقتل 26 شخصا على الأقل نتيجة الاشتباكات التي وقعت في ضواحي العاصمة التي وصفها ناشطون بأنها الأعنف منذ اندلاع الانتفاضة.

وقالت مصادر إن 14 مدنيا وخمسة من الثوار قتلوا في أنحاء مختلفة من العاصمة دمشق الأحد، بينما افادت تقارير بمقتل 12 شخصا يوم السبت.

وقال المرصد السوري لحقوق الانسان ان ما لا يقل عن 16 جنديا سوريا قتلوا الاحد في هجومين منفصلين، احدهما شمال غربي البلاد، والثاني قرب العاصمة.

واضاف المرصد، ومقره لندن، ان عشرة جنود قتلوا عندما تعرضت قافلتهم الى هجوم في كنسفرا في منطقة جبل الزاوية.

كما نقلت وكالة الانباء السورية الحكومية عن مصدر رسمي قوله ان “عصابات ارهابية مسلحة” قتلت ستة جنود آخرين، منهم ضابطان، عندما تعرضت حافلة عسكرية لنقل الجنود الى هجوم قرب ضاحية سحنايا قرب دمشق.
دمشق تدين

ويأتي هذا التصعيد بعد إعلان الجامعة العربية تعليق عمل بعثة المراقبين العرب في سوريا، وقد أدانت دمشق هذا القرار.

وقالت الحكومة السورية ان الهدف من هذا القرار زيادة الضغط الدولي والتمهيد للتدخل الاجنبي في سوريا.

وكان الامين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربي قد ذكر في وقت سابق ان القرار اتخذ بعد التدهور الحاد في الظروف الامنية في انحاء من سورية، وتزايد وتيرة العنف.

كما يأتي القرار في وقت تسعى فيه الجامعة الى الحصول على دعم الامم المتحدة لخطة سلام تتضمن تنحي الرئيس بشار الاسد عن الحكم.

وأوضح العربي في بيان أن قرار التعليق يأتي “بالنظر الى تدهور الاوضاع بشكل خطير في سوريا والى استمرار استخدم العنف.”

وبالرغم من تعليق عمل المراقبين إلا أنهم سيبقون داخل سورية في الوقت الحالي.

وبدأت مهمة المراقبة في ديسمبر/ كانون الأول بهدف التحقق من التزام دمشق بخطة للجامعة العربية لإنهاء إراقة الدماء في الانتفاضة المستمرة منذ حوالي عشرة أشهر. لكن عدة دول سحبت مراقبيها منذ ذلك الحين.

وتنتقد المعارضة السورية المهمة وترى انها غير فاعلة، فيما تشير تقديرات إلى أن حوالي 200 شخص قتلوا في سورية منذ قرار تمديد عمل البعثة، والذي تم اتخاذه الثلاثاء الماضي.

وكان وزير الداخلية السوري محمد الشعار اكد السبت ان قوات الأمن عازمة على “تطهير البلاد من المارقين والخارجين على القانون”، وإستعادة الأمن، حسب وصفه.
مجلس الأمن

دوليا تتجه الأنظار إلى مجلس الأمن التابع للأمم المتحدة الذي قد يصوت على مسودة قرار صاغته الجامعة العربية وبريطانيا وفرنسا وألمانيا.

ويدعم القرار في مسودته دعوة الجامعة العربية للرئيس السوري بشار الأسد لنقل سلطاته إلى نائبه كي يشكل حكومة وحدة وطنية مع المعارضة خلال شهرين، ويدعو لمزيد من الإجراءات العقابية إذا لم تستجب الحكومة السورية.

لكن روسيا، العضو الدائم بمجلس الأمن، قالت إنها لن تدعمه.

ومن المتوقع أن يتوجه الأمين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربي بخطاب إلى مجلس الأمن يوم الثلاثاء.

ويجري العربي بالفعل محادثات مباشرة مع مسؤولين روس لمحاولة إقناعهم بالتخلي عن معارضتهم للقرار.

Drear Mr. Haytham Khoury

Nothing wrong to be in the opposition, but you need to have couple of characteristics to be taken seriously

1- honesty
2- dignity
3- patriotism

What I can see from you comments , I believe , that almost you are missing all of them, therefore , in any democratic process you ended by having only one votes , yours !

there appears to be a hell of alot of weapons in the hnads of the rebels in Syria all of a sudden!!!

where did the arms come from?

norman
The FSA as Maher Nu3aimi said he attacks and leaves, he will not stay there, but the army can stay only short time ,then FSA attacks again.

There are many rumors in Syria, and the regime is loosing trust in their soldiers, this psychological problem,(no longer trust), will confuse the regime

Memo To: HANS IN YOUR PANTS

RE: “…the GCC pigs are on the loose…”

Yes they are. Best you stand to the side, lest you get trampled…

ا كنت سوري فاسمع ما يقال عنك ! واذا لم تكن فاسمع ما يقال عنا ؛ قال هتلر: أعطني جندي سوري وسلاح ألماني وسوف …أجعل اوروبا تزحف على أناملها … قال الملك عبد العزيز:سوريا لا تحتاج الى رجال فرجالها أهل ثبات، قال فيديل :الفرنسيون حمقى لانهم احتلوا دولة شعبها لا يمل ولا يضعف.. قال صدام حسين : في كل نقطة دم سورية يولد مجاهد.. قال كيسنجر : لا يوجد …. و لم ….. أجد اعند من رجال سوريا. قال الحجاج يوم…ا … عن أهل الشام لايغرنك صبرهم ولا تستضعف قوتهم فهم إن قاموا لنصرة رجل ما تركوه إلا والتاج على رأسه وإن قاموا على رجل ما تركوه إلا وقد قطعوا رأسه فانتصروا بهم فهم خير أجناد الارض وأتقى فيهم ثلاث 1- نسائهم فلا تقربهم بسوء وإلا أكلوك كما تأكل الأسود فرائسها 2 – أرضهم وإلا حاربتك صخور جبالهم 3- دينهم وإلا أحرقوا عليك دنياك

منقولSee More

لا يمكن لأحد بعد اليوم ان يطالب بحكم سوريا مطلقاً، ولا يمكن لأي عاقل ان يقبل بدمار الدولة السورية من اجل حكم قادم برائحة البترول الصحراوي والإستعمار الجديد.

إنه تحدٍ جديد على ابناء سوريا الوطن ان يأخذوا به حفاظاً على بناء الدولة منعاً للفوضى والحرب الأهلية. إنه تحدٍ جديد للحياة في الحفاظ على الحياة لكل ابناء سوريا.

فالسوريون موزاييك بشري رائع، لا يمكن حكمه من قبل جهة او طائفة او عرق واحد، هذا الخليط لا يمكن ان يحل مسائله إلا عبر الحوار، وماغير ذلك مهما ادّعى اصحاب العقول والإيديولوجيات، او المرتزقة الجديد، وبائعو الوطن، فإنه قارب تائه ينشر ظلامه على اشرعة الموت والخراب في كل انحاء الوطن.

لا تهدموا سوريا، لا تهدموا وتدّمروا الوطن السوري الجميل.
لا تنساقوا بإلاعيب الأخر، وتذكّروا العراق، وديموقراطية العراق، والعراق الجديد الذي عث به كل مخرب خلال السنوات الأخيرة، انظروا البداية في ليبيا، وما سيليها. وهاتان الدولتان تملكان النفط للبناء إذا سمح لهم بالبناء.
اما نحن السوريون، فماذا نملك لنعيد البناء؟ ما لدينا من نفط وثروات لكي نبني ما نرغب بتدميره؟
اصحوا، من سباتكم ومن جحيم غرائزكم، وحافظوا على بنيانكم، حافظوا على تاريخكم الإجتماعي والإنساني والحضاري والمدني، قبل ان تهب النار وتلتهم الجميع.
تنازلوا في اية جهة كنتم، تنازلوا من اجل حوار لا يستخدم به السلاح، بل العقل وخلاصة التجربة التاريخية لسوريا.
لم يعد قبل الظلام القادم برائحة الموت، إلا امل ضئيل في حوار على طاولة واحدة للإتفاق على ما سيتبقى من حلم جميل اسمه سوريا.

د. فاضل فضة

Rumors all abound that Bahsar has bailed out.
Anyone in Syria hearing anything?
Looks like spring is in the air….

JUSTICE only in the US. Frank Wuterich US sollider will not go to jail over the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha.

Thank you Mr. Bush for liberating Iraqis in the name of freedom and weapon of mass destruction. Civilians in Syria await NATO with passion. They are about 30 millions, you can bleed as you please in the name of freedom like in Libya.

After a long day of news,rumors and lies,it is clear that not much has changed on the ground except that there is a retreat of anti regime armed forces, the FSA claims it is tactical and the regime claims it is not. The high number of casualties in Greater Damascus indicate that there was bloody confrontations and not just “karr wa Farr”. A lot of people I heard,and confirmed some,were not able to call Damascus from other cities in Syria. The army leadership holds the key for any resolution up or down,and it seems like Syrian soldiers and officers are ready for this madness to end in one way or the other.

An eye opener and worrying analyses of how the west works when they want to intervene military in any country, the same steps done on Iraq are now done on Syria:

كيف تعرف ان العدوان وشيك على بلادك؟
أعزائي الشعوب المستضعفة في كون تحكمه قوة واحدة غاشمة. إذا كنتم تنتمون الى دول:
1- لا تقع على طرق رئيسية لإمدادات الطاقة او اي موقع ستراتيجي،
2- اذا كنتم لا تملكون مصدرا للطاقة
3- اذا لم يكن لديكم جيش قوي
4- اذا لم يكن في وجودكم خطر على الكيان الصهيوني
5- اذا لم تكونوا متحالفين مع دول مارقة في التعريف الأمريكي للمروق.
6- اذا كنتم تضعون ثقتكم في الدولار وليس في أية عملة اخرى
7- اذا كنتم تؤمنون بالليبرالية دينا وبالسوق الحرة مذهبا
فأنتم في منجى – الى حين – من غضب الولايات المتحدة ، والحرب ليست وشيكة عليكم. ولكن اذا كان من سوء حظكم ان لديكم متناقضات لأي من النقاط السبع المنجية أعلاه، فالله يكون في عونكم ، انتم في دائرة الخطر، ولن ينفعكم وقوفكم في حفر الباطن تحت القيادة الأمريكية ، ولاتسليم برامجكم التسليحية للولايات المتحدة، ولا حتى كشف عوراتكم. لقد اصبحت لنا خبرة في كيفية تحرك الديناصور الأمريكي ، والأحمق هو من لايعتبر بالدروس التي مرت عليه. وبعد استعراض الاعلام العراقي قبل الإحتلال
الأمريكي في اربعة أجزاء هنا
http://ishtar-enana.blogspot.com/2012/01/1_22.html
وهنا
http://ishtar-enana.blogspot.com/2012/01/2.html
وهنا
http://ishtar-enana.blogspot.com/2012/01/3_25.html
وهنا
http://ishtar-enana.blogspot.com/2012/01/4_28.html
، اود ان انقل اليكم استنتاجاتي عن المؤشرات التي ستعرفون منها إن الحرب وشيكة على بلادكم اذا كانت هدفا.
++
كيف تعرف ان العدوان وشيك؟
1- نظام عقوبات
2- اقامة قواعد عسكرية في الدول المحيطة
3- احتضان معارضة تعيش في الخارج وتقبض رواتب من السي آي أي
4- توحيد قوى المعارضة في الرقم (3) (توحيدا تكتيكيا لأن مثل هذه المعارضة الانتهازية والمتمولة لا يمكن ان تتفق فيما بينها، لأنها اصلا لا تبحث عن مصلحة شعبها، ولكن امريكا تستغل جشعها وتطلعها للحكم في توحيدها ضد هدف واحد هو الاطاحة بالنظام القائم، وبعد انتهاء المهمة تستغل امريكا تناقضات تلك المعارضة للايقاع بها وتفكيكها. انظروا ما يحصل في العراق)
5- حملة تشويه وشيطنة وأكاذيب للهدف المراد الاطاحة به
6- شخصنة النزاع على شخص الحاكم وليس على النظام كله. وكأن المشكلة كلها في شخص واحد. حتى يقول الشعب: لماذا لا يرحل وينقذنا؟
7- تعيين دولة مجاورة (او اكثر من واحدة) تكون رأس الحربة للتغلغل اذا لم تكن الدولة تقع على بحر او محيط حينها يكون النفاذ اليها من هناك
8- انزال قوات خاصة عربية (في الدول العربية لتقارب السحنات) واذا لم يكن فأجنبية تتخفى بلباس المحليين
9- تدريب في دولة مجاورة او بعيدة، لقوات معارضة على عمليات تخريب او قتال.
10- استخدام المنظمات الاقليمية (الجامعة العربية) والمنظمات الدولية (أذرع الامم المتحدة) كأدوات تجسس او تحسس او خداع بفكرة ان امريكا تسمح بالحل الدبلوماسي وان الحرب آخر خيار لها.
11- موضة فرق تفتيش او تحقيق الخ من المنظمات المذكورة في رقم (10) وتستخدم هذه عادة للتجسس او لاستفزاز الحكومة بطلبات تعجيزية او لتقديم تقارير كاذبة او لاطالة المهلة حتى تستعد امريكا للمعركة.
12- تحركات الوزراء الأمريكان ومساعديهم على الدول المحيطة بالدولة الهدف او في الاقليم او في العالم، وتحرك على الحلفاء المترددين. حين تزداد تلك الجولات تعرفون ان الحرب وشيكة
13- تكثيف الحرب النفسية والمعلوماتية
14- استخدام دولة حليفة وصحافتها لاذاعة اخبار كاذبة (علاقات بارهابيين، اكتشاف اسلحة نووية الخ ) لئلا تتهم امريكا بالكذب للمصلحة، ولزيادة الاقناع، في حالة العراق كانت بريطانيا وألمانيا، مؤخرا صارت قناة الجزيرة هي الأداة المفضلة.
15- حين يتحول الاعلام الأمريكي والغربي والعميل العربي الى صوت واحد ولايسمح بالاعلام المضاد او الآراء الاخرى المغايرة.
16- المناورات (المقررة سابقا كما يقال) التي تجري في البلدان المحيطة بالهدف
17- اكبر مؤشر على اقتراب الحرب طبعا هو نشر الجنود في الدول المحيطة (منذ مايسمى الربيع العربي، صار للتدخلات العسكرية اسلوب يختلف: المخابرات و القوات الخاصة والضربات الجوية بطائرات بدون طيار.) ولكن تبقى هناك قوات اسناد في محيط الدولة الهدف.
18- اقامة محطات طائرات تجسس بدون طيار قريبة من حدود الهدف
19- حين تبدأ الدول العميلة المحيطة بالهدف في اجراءات عصبية للضغط على معارضيها او من يحتمل ان يعارض ضرب الدولة الهدف، واعتقالهم او كتم اصواتهم.
20- حين تحرك امريكا اساطيلها في المحيطات القريبة ثم تعلن ان هذه تنقلات روتينية مجدولة سابقا.
21- عادة توقت الحرب الأمريكية مع بداية حكم الرئيس او قبل اشهر قليلة من انتخابات الدورة الثانية. انتبهوا لهذه التوقيتات.
22- موضة (الربيع العربي) أن تقوم ثورة مصنوعة من حشود جماهيرية، وهناك مسلحون من القوات الخاصة الأجنبية المتسللة تطلق النار عليها ويتهم جيشك وقواتك، وتنطلق صرخات: ابادة. يحدث هذا عادة حين يكون جيشك قويا والمطلوب تفكيكه وحله بدءا من احداث انشقاق بينه والشعب. (هذا تنويع بدلا من ارسال قوات غازية برية كما حدث في افغانستان والعراق. يمكن تسمية هذا الاسلوب: الاحتلال الأمريكي الناعم بواسطة منظمات المجتمع المدني الممولة من وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية)
الناشر: عشتار العراقية
http://ishtar-enana.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post_28.html

#438 Ghofran

The withdrawal of the GCC observers, the dismissal of the observers report and the rush to move to the UN were big mistakes the AL did under the pressure of Qatar eager to flex its power before loosing the chairmanship of the AL.
The Russian expressed their surprise in the sudden shift from the AL protocol to the UNSC and made it clear that they won’t bow so easily to Qatar and the Western countries using the AL as a Trojan horse to a UNSC resolution calling for a regime change when at least 50% of the Syrians as well as the army is behind their president and when violent terrorist acts are now claimed by outlawed army mutineers.
The other consequence of the withdrawal of the observers is that it gave a greenlight to the Syrian army to perform the massive “cleanup” Bashar has promised and prevent the FSA mutineers to obtain new material with the money of Qatar and the GCC.
The AL and Qatar have come out irremediably discredited by that bad move. The UNSC will probably postpone taking the vote on that controversial resolution.
In the meantime violence will continue, now legally justified as it is now against outlawed armed mutineers.
The Arab FM will only meet in a week, hoping that they would see something changed on the ground that could give them hopes of a way out.
I guess in a week we would know if something have really changed.

majedkhaldounsaid:
“norman
The FSA as Maher Nu3aimi said he attacks and leaves, he will not stay there, but the army can stay only short time ,then FSA attacks again.

There are many rumors in Syria, and the regime is loosing trust in their soldiers, this psychological problem,(no longer trust), will confuse the regime”

(edited for personal attack)

I am concerned about the safety of people in the US. FSA is a total delusions, its a made up army of gangs and construction workers, its not really an army. The president and his army are fine. They have not flexed a muscle yet.

I expect England to introduce a resolution about Syria
Immidiate halt to violence by the regime
immidiate release of all prisoners
followed by starting negotiation between the regime and opposition.

Bronco,
I think that this step by Qatar and KSA is already planned and I won’t be surprised if the Russian accept the resolution or at least let it pass, that’s all they west needs to start occupying Syria a la Libye.

Did you see this add! WOW!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=273860402681432&set=a.203436473057159.49996.201934369874036&type=1

Looks like the israel lobby syop propaganda machine is posting in overdrive today! 8)

Relax people don’t let the sucm get under your skin

It’s just a hard push to influence the deliberations outcome of the UN security council on Syria

*** LOOK WHO’S SCARED OF SYRIA’S MILITARY CAPABILITY ***

Regional turmoil challenging Israel’s aerial superiority: air force chief – 2012-01-30

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/30/c_122626801.htm

JERUSALEM, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — Israel Air Force (IAF) Chief Maj. -Gen. Ido Nehoshtan warned on Sunday about the dangers of an increasingly weaponized Middle East, which he believed could pose a threat to Israel’s aerial superiority.

Nehoshtan’s comments came during the Annual International Space Conference in Herzliya, where he said he believed Syria posed the biggest danger to Israel’s aerial predominance, despite the country’s internal turmoil.

“Syria is a country with a large army and the internal process that it is undergoing increases the danger of weapons ending up in the hands of terrorists,” he said, quoted by the Ha’aretz daily.

Though Syria is being rocked by anti-government protests, Nehoshtan believes it is still acquiring advanced weaponry like anti-missile aircrafts and planes.

“Maintaining aerial superiority has always been an issue of concern to the IAF chief, but more so recently,” he said.

He also added that Hamas and other militant organizations are taking advantage of the instability in Egypt to operate in the Sinai Peninsula.

Since the turmoil in the Middle East began last year, Israeli army figures have warned about the dangers of hostile regimes in the region amassing advanced weaponry.

Earlier this month, Israel’s military intelligence director, Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, also warned about Syria beefing up its arsenal, with the help of Iran.

“They are providing (Syria) with knowledge, weapons and other means and recently with active involvement,” Kochavi said, “and we must prepare for the developing threats.”

The sharp u-turn of the AL was wrong but it was planned,this is why the whole budget of the first AL mission was less than what Moza spent on fixing her “cultural behind” in London. The brutality of the regime is now almost matched by the brutality of armed thugs and in both cases the loser is Syria,this is not to equate the oppressive regime with an oppressed population but it is a cry to go back to basic senses and realize that national peace can not be achieved by a national civil war. When was the last time you heard of an army that responds to bullets with smiles?
I fully support a regime change through non violent means which I still think is doable if the guns stop and allow patriotic Syrians to reach a political settlement before this wish becomes a fantasy.

Al Abbasyeen Plaza
العباسيين
http://youtu.be/GV32yjH8ldE

Rep. Diane Black, other congresswomen get undignified Saudi welcome – Jan. 29, 2012

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120129/NEWS02/301290044/Rep-Diane-Black-other-congresswomen-get-undignified-Saudi-welcome

WASHINGTON — Rep. Diane Black got an up-close look at gender segregation in Saudi Arabia during a trip to the Middle East earlier this month.

When the lawmakers asked to use the bathroom after a lengthy visit to the Saudi Defense Ministry, they ran into an unexpected challenge: no women’s restroom.

“It was kind of like, hmm, OK, I’ve heard about oppression, but really there are just some things that are natural and biological,” Black, a former nurse, said with a laugh in an interview last week.

The World Economic Forum 2011 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 131th out of 135 countries for gender parity, ahead of only Mali, Pakistan, Chad and Yemen. It was one of four countries, including Belize, Brunei Darussalam and Qatar, to score a zero for political empowerment of women.

“This just goes to show the extent to which the Saudi government doesn’t have women in mind,” she wrote in an email. “Not only are women invisible in their architectural plans, but also as full members in society.”

447. jad said:

Al Abbasyeen Plaza
العباسيين
http://youtu.be/GV32yjH8ldE

All is well once you expose their propaganda machine

Thank you JAD

Pro-government hactivists deface Al Jazeera coverage of Syrian violence – 8 hours ago

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/pro-government-hactivists-deface-al-jazeera-coverage-of-syrian-violence.ars

The Al Jazeera English website was attacked and defaced on January 29 by hackers supporting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Targeting the news organization’s “Syria Live Blog,” which has been providing ongoing coverage of the Arab League’s observer mission to Syria and developments in the ongoing unrest in the country, the hacker group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army posted pro-Assad and pro-Syrian government images to the site.

The relationship of the Syrian Electronic Army to the government itself is unclear. However, the group’s domain was registered in May of 2011 in Tartous, Syria, and its site is hosted on servers maintained by the Syrian Computer Society—a group Assad was the head of before assuming Syria’s presidency, and introduced the Internet to Syria in 2001.

The attack started at about 2:30 PM Central Time, just after Al Jazeera posted a report on casualties reported by the Local Coordinating Committees, an activist network in Syria. On their own site, the Syrian Electronic Army announced the “code re-penetration” of the site by a “professional Syrian battalion” of hackers, denouncing Al Jazeera for broadcasting “false and fabricated news” to “ignite sedition” among the people of Syria and achieve the goals of “Washington and Tel Aviv.”

This is the second attack against Al Jazeera this month claimed by the pro-Assad hacktivist group. In September, the group attacked Harvard University’s site, and keeps a graphic from Harvard’s site on its homepage as a trophy of that exploit. In August, the group attacked the Tumblr site set up by YourAnonNews in response to Anonymous’ attacks on Syrian government sites.

Syrian army retakes control of Damascus suburbs – Jan 30, 2012

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/30/64906563.html

The Syrian troops are retaking control of Damascus suburbs, an army source said on Monday, citing dozens of tanks and armored vehicles that have entered suburban areas which were earlier held by rebels.

My pleasure Ann!

أطفال سورية … إلى أين ؟!
في كل يوم نسمع نبأ استشهاد أطفال في سورية ونرى بأعيننا صور جثامينهم , باتت صورة الأطفال وتواجدهم مألوفا أكثر مما يجب في الساحة السورية اليوم ,

الأمر منذ البداية تجاوز حدود الوجع والألم و أصبح انتهاكا للطفولة واستغلالا لها من كل جانب .

أشاهد نشرة الأخبار على أحد القنوات المعارضة فأرى بروشور النشرة , طفلة بعينين واسعتين لم تتجاوز العاشرة من عمرها كتب على جبينها كلمة ” الحرية ” , و حين أتابع الأخبار في القنوات المؤيدة أرى طفلا يحمله والده على كتفه ليهتف باسم الرئيس رغم عدم اتقانه للكلام بشكل جيد بعد !

أرى صور الأطفال في المواقع الالكترونية وفي القنوات التلفزيونية في المسيرات والمظاهرات , أراهم ببراءة عيونهم , أراهم , أحياء أو أموات, بطفولتهم أيقونات يستغلها الآخرون بقصد أو بدون قصد .

منذ البداية قلت أن الأطفال خط أحمر لا يجب إقحامه في السياسة أيّا كان توجهها .

لم الأطفال خط أحمر ؟

– لأنهم لازالوا في مرحلة الطفولة , في المرحلة التي يحتاجون فيها الى الكبار ليرعوهم ويعتنوا بهم وبالتالي ليبعدوهم عن ساحات الخطر .

بالتأكيد , المجرم هو من يطلق رصاصه نحو الطفل . المجرم خارج عن امكانية تحكمنا بأفعاله , وأحيانا مهما فعلنا لا نستطيع ردعه . ولكن من مسؤوليتنا أن نحاول بإبعاد الأطفال عن ساحات الخطر .

– ومن جهة أخرى فبالإضافة لأن إبعاد الأطفال ضرورة لحماية حياتهم , فهو ضرورة أخلاقية أيضا تجاههم وتجاه أفكارهم التي لم تتبلور بعد , فبأي حق أطلب من طفل لم يتقن الكلام جيدا بعد أن يهتف بشعار ما ؟

كم منا في المرحلة الابتدائية خرج في مسيرات وهتف بهتافات لا يفهم معناها ولا يعي إلا أنه كان يقوم بذلك خدمة للوطن ؟

هل نريد لأطفالنا أن يعانوا مما عانيناه , أو أن يسيروا في توجهاتهم ؟

و للتوضيح ما أقصده بالأطفال كل من هم دون عمر الثامنة عشر , وأما ما أقصده بإبعاد الأطفال عن ساحات الصراع

فهو بإبعادهم جسديا وعدم تسيسهم فكريا ,كما يحصل في المدارس اليوم ,

وأيضا بعدم انتهاك حقوق طفولتهم بسبب الصراعات التي تحدث .

فالأطفال من حقهم أن نحتضن مخاوفهم لا أن نعمقها , من حقهم أن يلعبوا بألعابهم ويدرسوا بكتبهم , أن يفرحوا بالأعياد

من حقهم ألا يشاركوا في أي إضراب , أو في أي مسيرة أو مظاهرة أو إعلان سياسي .

إذا …

هذا هو المبدأ , ولكن , كم هي المسافة بين المبدأ والتطبيق ؟ وكم نقدر أن نتحكم بتلك المسافة ؟

الكلام بالمبدأ , والمبدأ بحد ذاته يصبح تنظيرا إن لم يصل لحدود التطبيق ,وليس التطبيق سهلا دائما حتى لو وافقنا جميعا على المبدأ. ولكن هذا لا يمنع أن بإمكاننا تقصير المسافة باستمرار وبإمكاننا فعل ذلك الآن فالآن وقته رغم آلاف الهموم الأخرى . بإمكاننا التطبيق ولو بحيز صغير كي لا يبقى المبدأ تنظيرا ,

على عاتق من تقع المسؤولية . ؟

المسؤولية تقع على عاتق أطراف الصراع , على عاتق المجرم الذي يوجهه فوهة سلاحه تجاه طفل

على عاتق الدولة و القوانين حين لا تحمي الأطفال ,

على عاتق الأهالي ,ولنذكر هنا أن الأطفال ليسوا آلات جامدة لا تشعر أو لا تفكر , هم يتأثرون بما يدور حولهم , بما يشاهدونه , بما يسمعونه من أهلهم من معلمهم , و للأطفال أعمار مختلفة فهم ليسوا بعمر واحد يستطيع الأهل السيطرة عليه دائما ومنعه من الخروج أو من التدخل .

تقصر المسافة هنا مثلا حين يسيطر الأهل على الأطفال الصغار ولا يخرجوهم معهم للساحات حتى ولو لم يستطيعوا السيطرة على الأطفال الأكبر عمرا

والأهالي أيضا ليسوا بقالب تفكيري واحد , البعض يفخر بابنه الذي يخرج بمظاهرة أو بمسيرة ويرى كم ابنه بطل يحب الوطن.

وأيضا تقع المسؤولية على عاتق وسائل الاعلام التي تستخدم صور الأطفال , وتحمسهم وتشيد ببطولتهم , والتي تستغل قصة استشهاد طفل ما لتدافع عن قضيتها وتخترق خصوصيته , وتلك التي تعرض صور الجثث و الأشلاء .

وعلى عاتق كل واحد منا من منبره الخاص , حين لا يدين كل مجرم يقتل طفلا و حين لا يدافع عن الطفولة أمام كل أب وأم ووسيلة إعلام .

بالنهاية ..

أنا , نعم أريد حريتي ولكن ليس بدماء الأطفال وليس بانتهاك طفولتهم وحقهم باللعب أو بالتعلم أو بالابتسام أو بالحياة !

ليسوا هم من يجب أن يصنعوا لي حريتي , بل أنا من يجب أن أفعل .

http://dmdoom.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/%D8%A3%D8%B7%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%9F/

Twitter is platform for lies: Saudi Mufti – Sunday, January 29, 2012

http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/twitter-is-platform-for-lies-saudi-mufti-2012-01-29-1.439921

Sheikh Abdul Aziz urged Saudi Arabia’s feared religious police– the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice– to crackdown on users of Twitter website, adding that there are several other “good and useful” websites which can be seen by Muslims.

Twitter has been at the centre on controversy after it announced last week that it would begin restricting Tweets in certain countries, marking a policy shift for the social media platform that helped propel the popular uprisings recently sweeping across the Middle East.

Twitter’s decision to begin censoring content represents a significant departure from its policy just one year ago, when anti-government protesters in Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab countries coordinated mass demonstrations through on the social network and, in the process, thrust Twitter’s disruptive potential into the global spotlight.