The US Looks for a More Muscular Response to Syria; Damascus Sells Gold in a Sign of Poverty
Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Syria seems to be trying to sell Gold from its reserves in Dubai. A sign that it’s money is running low due to sanctions and revolt.
The Obama administration insists that it is about to make some important changes to its Syria policy. Everyone expects that it will assume greater leadership by helping to arm the opposition. So far Washington has raised the rhetorical bar while refusing action. Sanctions have been the most it is willing to offer. The other countries — Turkey, Saudi and France – have refused to take the lead. They want to see an American commitment before taking their hands out of the pockets. On the NSC, Steve Simon, who has not been keen on military involvement, seems to be making way for Derek Chollet, whose old boss was Anne-Marie Slaughter. She is for military intervention in Syria, as she made clear on the Charlie Rose Show that I appeared on with her, Fouad Ajami and Thomas Friedman. Ajami makes the most compelling argument for a more active US role in embracing the “future” in Syria. Here is what Josh Rogin has to say about Chollet’s appointment in Obama searches for a ‘Plan B’ in Syria:
The new push includes adjustments in personnel handling the portfolio. Before March, National Security Council Director Steve Simon headed up the internal interagency process. Now, multiple officials confirm that NSC Senior Director for Strategy Derek Chollet has been added to the leadership of the Syria policy team and has been coordinating the interagency process for several weeks. Simon, Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman, and State Dept. Special Advisor Fred Hof are still active on the Syria portfolio.
Clinton says Syria is at a “crucial turning point”. She will be in Paris tomorrow to try to figure out what the Western states can do that won’t suck them into another Iraq, but that will show some teeth. Right now, Russia is calling the shots in Syria. Ironically, the last country we pushed Russia out of, because we demanded greater control over its affairs, was Afghanistan. Most American policy makers today would probably agree that Russian controlled Afghanistan was much better than what came after. Ammar Abdulhamid suggests that Syria is more liberal and less Islamist than Afghanistan or even Egypt and Tunisia. He believes that US caution about the rise of Islamists in Syria is ill-founded. Amal al-Hanano hares Abdulhamid’s determination to promote secular and pacifist Syrian interests. She is calling on secular Syrians to organize and counter-balance the Islamists.
News Round Up
Syria Said to be Seeking Gold Sales From Reserves: Reuters Link
By John Irish and Amena Bakr
PARIS/DUBAI, April 18 (Reuters) – Syria is trying to sell gold reserves to raise revenue as Western and Arab sanctions targeting its central bank and oil exports begin to bite, diplomats and traders said.
Western sanctions have halved Syria’s foreign exchange reserves from about $17 billion, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday after a meeting with about 60 nations aimed at coordinating measures against President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
“Syria is selling its gold at rock bottom prices,” said a Western diplomatic source, declining to say where it was being sold.
A second diplomatic source confirmed the information, adding that Damascus was looking to offload everything it could to raise cash, including currency reserves.
On Feb. 27, the European Union agreed more sanctions including prohibiting trade in gold and other precious metals with Syrian state institutions, including the central bank.
Two gold traders in the United Arab Emirates said the Syrian government had been offering gold at a discount, with one saying it was making offers at about 15 percent below the market price.
The trader said Damascus was selling small volumes of around 20-30 kilos which were easier to offload, with offers being made through private accounts set up with free email providers……
The World Gold Council estimates Syria had about 25.8 metric tonnes of gold as of February 2012, representing about 7.1 percent of its total reserves….The Syrian pound hit a record low on the black market in March of around 100 to the dollar, compared to 47 before the protests erupted, sharply raising the cost of imports…
At Wednesday’s spot prices, Syria’s total gold reserves are worth around $1.36 billion. …
“The most stunning, unsettling conclusion I drew from the leaders of the Free Syrian Army was that they have essentially got no help from anyone. They are literally running out of ammunition while Assad’s forces are being resupplied by Iran and Russia,” Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) told The Cable in an interview.
Lieberman and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) spent their Senate recess on the Turkish side of the Turkey-Syria border, meeting with Turkish officials, FSA leaders, and refugees.
“What they want us to do is to lead. They want us to lead the Friends of Syria, who have given them increasingly sympathetic rhetoric but not the wherewithal to defend themselves,” he said
The Syrian internal opposition is buying weapons and ammunition on the black market at exorbitant prices and claims that large parts of the Syrian military are demoralized but are unwilling to break with the government until they see the opposition has real international support.
“They are all waiting for the U.S. to say ‘We’re in this,'” Lieberman said.
There was at least one State Department official inside the McCain-Lieberman meeting with leaders of the FSA, Gen. Mustafa al-Sheikh and Col. Riad al-Asaad, two U.S. officials confirmed. The FSA leaders asked the United States to provide RPGs, anti-aircraft guns, and ammunition. The FSA leaders also said they have proof that the Assad regime is using helicopter gunships to attack civilians in the city of Idlib, as apparently shown in this YouTube video.
Turkish officials told McCain and Lieberman that they were willing to let weapons flow over their borders and consider other more aggressive steps to help the internal Syrian opposition, but that they won’t do so unless Washington leads the way…..
Obama administration searches for a ‘Plan B’ in Syria
Posted By Josh Rogin Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -Foreign Policy
The White House is unhappy with the options it’s been given on Syria and is searching for a new strategy for removing President Bashar al-Assad, The Cable has learned.
“There was a fundamental decision made at the highest level that we need a real Syria policy with more options for the president,” one administration official with knowledge of the internal deliberations said. “Our allies were coming back to us and saying ‘What’s your next move?,’ and we were forced to admit we didn’t have one.”
The new push includes adjustments in personnel handling the portfolio. Before March, National Security Council Director Steve Simon headed up the internal interagency process. Now, multiple officials confirm that NSC Senior Director for Strategy Derek Chollet has been added to the leadership of the Syria policy team and has been coordinating the interagency process for several weeks. Simon, Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman, and State Dept. Special Advisor Fred Hof are still active on the Syria portfolio.
Chollet, the former deputy to Anne-Marie Slaughter at the State Department’s Policy Planning shop, has also been nominated to be the next assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, replacing Sandy Vershbow, who is now deputy secretary general of NATO. Chollet has taken on the day-to-day management of the interagency process while he awaits confirmation.
New options are now being considered internally, including another discussion of setting up buffer zones inside Syria, one administration official confirmed. The administration has also authorized direct contact with the internal Syrian opposition, including the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and at least one State Department official has met with the FSA’s nominal leaders in Turkey.
The rethink comes eight months after Obama explicitly demanded the Syrian leader’s removal, saying, “The time has come for President Assad to step aside.”
His administration is still struggling to come up with a way to make that call a reality…..
UN monitors flee Syrian protest after gunfire
By BEN HUBBARD,
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian security forces opened fire Wednesday on anti-regime demonstrators surrounding the cars of a U.N. team meant to monitor a shaky cease-fire, sending the observers speeding off and protesters dashing for cover, according to activists and amateur videos.
The fresh violence in a suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital, provided the first public glimpse of the work of the small team struggling to reinforce the international community’s stumbling efforts to end 13 months of deadly conflict in Syria.
The shooting, which wounded at least eight people, could also complicate the deployment of a larger U.N. mission to help a cease-fire take hold between President Bashar Assad’s forces and opposition fighters.
The difficulties of the team’s mission was clear Wednesday during its visit to the suburb of Arbeen, just northeast of Damascus.
The team did not announce its plans to visit the area, but a local activist said residents guessed they were coming when tanks posted throughout the area withdrew early Wednesday.
People quickly drew up signs as well as a list of the 34 residents killed since the start of the uprising and information on the scores who have been detained, an Arbeen activist named Ahmed said via Skype. He declined to give his last name for fear of retribution.
Amateur videos posted online showed hundreds of demonstrators crowding around at least three U.N. Land Cruisers, waving Syrian flags and chanting against the regime. In one video, a man with a microphone and huge speakers on the back of a pickup truck led the crowd in singing “Bashar, Bashar, we will not kneel!”
A handwritten sign apparently taped by a demonstrator on one of the cars read, “The murderer keeps killing, the observers keep observing and the people keep up the revolution.”
In another video, the protesters were walking down a boulevard surrounding the cars when a boom rang out, sending demonstrators scattering. Smoke rose in front of the crowd and the cars sped off, sirens blaring. In yet another video, protesters sprinted down side streets while gunfire is heard nearby.
Ahmed, the local activist, said the group was marching toward a square where the government had posted plain clothes security offices called shabiha and government supporters holding a counter demonstration.
“We started walking with the observers thinking that they’d protect us, but then the shabiha started shooting at us, even when the observers’ cars were at the front of the march,” he said.
After the observers left, security cars drove through the area firing, injuring about 20 people, he said.
“Once the committee was gone, there was no one else to see what they were doing,” he said.
The team’s head, Col. Ahmed Himiche, declined to comment on the incident, saying the team would report only to the U.N.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said eight protesters were wounded in Arbeen.
The group, which relies on an activist network in Syria, also said government forces shelled opposition areas in the provinces of Homs in central Syria and Idlib in the north.
For its part, Syria’s state news agency said roadside bomb attacks in Idlib and Aleppo killed 10 security officers and one civilian. The incidents could not be independently verified. The Syrian government bars most media from working in the country…..
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Syrian opposition forces of provoking the government’s backlash in order to thwart the cease-fire. He urged nations that have leverage with the opposition to force it to abide by cease-fire….
“There must be a tough demand not to allow any provocations and respect the cease-fire,” Lavrov said….
Clinton Says Syria Measures to Be Discussed Tomorrow in Paris
2012-04-18 By Roxana Tiron
April 18 (Bloomberg) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she will attend a meeting in Paris tomorrow to dicuss with allies what further measures may be taken against the Syrian government and in support of the opposition movement. The “ad hoc group” meeting will be led by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, Clinton said, speaking to reporters today in Brussels.
Syria is at a “crucial turning point” at which the government either will abide by the UN-backed peace plan or face further sanctions, she said.
Foreign Policy
The ceasefire appears to have broken down, as levels of violence remain high in several regions in Syria. Up to 70 people have been killed by heavy shelling in the Jourat al-Shayah, Qarabis, Bayada, and Khaldiya districts of Homs, areas that have remained out of government control. According to the Local Coordination Committees, clashes continued in Deraa and Aleppo, as well as in the Idlib province where government troops were accompanied by tanks and helicopters. The Syrian government has said it is willing to comply with Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan. However, the regime has only agreed to a small United Nations’ observer mission of 250 monitors, and it refuses independent air support despite recommendations of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said, “I think this is not enough, considering the current situation and considering the vastness of the country.” Meanwhile, the advance team of monitors has not yet been permitted to operate throughout the country as negotiations on a memorandum of understanding between the Syrian government and the U.N. team have stalled.
The leading voice of the opposition talks to PJ Media about the state of the conflict.: Syria’s Revolution: An Interview with Ammar Abdulhamid
by Barry Rubin, April 17, 2012
(Ammar Abdulhamid has been the most articulate and credible voice of the Syrian opposition and the movement to overthrow the current regime. Barry Rubin interviewed him to get a clearer view on what’s going on in Syria and on what the future prospects are for the bloody conflict.)
What should we know about the Syrian regime that we don’t already know?
That it is not reformable and that its key leaders can never be part of the solution.
What are the causes of the uprising?
Lack of developments when it comes to basic services and infrastructure along with increasing poverty, absence of any accountability on part of the leadership, the sense of impunity that corrupt officials on the local and national levels exhibit on a daily basis, the failure of President Bashar al-Assad to show himself as a true reformer, and his increasing involvement with the corrupt practices of his family and friends.
Can you describe for us the Syrian opposition, both within the country and outside?
We have two types of opposition: the traditional and the new. The traditional opposition is made of old parties and figures who have been around for decades, and the new one is made up of the activists who started and continue to lead the revolution.
The arrogance of the traditional opposition and their inability to provide effective representation and guidance to the revolutionaries created a problem of mistrust between the two, and does not augur well for the ability of such coalitions as the Syrian National Council (SNC) to provide effective leadership either now or during the transitional period. The new opposition is pragmatic, goal-oriented, and open to new possibilities as far as relations with the outside are concerned, or how the state should be administered in the future. The traditional remains ideological, dominated mostly by Leftist and Islamist elements, and unable to be proactive or to come up with actual strategies and programs for effective communication and representation.
So, the real dichotomy is between these two types of opposition groups, not between those inside the country and those outside.
You have often been critical about the organization and strategy of the leading opposition groups. Can you tell us more about your view, and also provide a description of the main opposition organizations?
Traditional opposition groups keep thinking along ideological lines, and they fail to listen to the protesters and their demands. They keep seeing leadership as a right rather than a responsibility. They keep confusing making policy with making pronouncements and confusing coming up with strategies with academic research. This is why they can never be effective leaders.
For this, the international community needs to conduct outreach efforts to identify leaders and forces on the ground. They need to work with existing traditional opposition in order to make them better at the task of communicating with grassroots protesters and enablers of the new emerging leadership. Many believe that the regime will never negotiate its way out of power, but it seems the same applies for traditional opposition figures and parties. They will never accept giving their positions to the new emerging figures; they seem incapable of coming to terms with the failure of their ideologies at inspiring this mass moment.
Many observers are concerned that the Syrian opposition might be dominated by Islamists who would institute an even worse government for Syria, at least in international terms. How would you respond to that view?
There are Islamists, that’s for sure. But Syria’s ethnic makeup is simply too diverse to allow for the kind of dominance we saw in Egypt or Tunisia. However, since winning elections is about organization and not just demographics, and since Islamists are better organized and funded, there is definitely a need for domestic and international players concerned about Islamist influence to begin preparing themselves with all seriousness for the transitional period ahead.
What is the strategy of the Assad regime in trying to survive?
Transforming the crisis into a sectarian conflict; play on minority fears about the Sunni Arab majority in order to bring these minorities to the side of the regime or at least to neutralize them. Use overwhelming force and foster the expansion of pro-Assad militias and death squads to terrorize and punish the population of restive communities. Play on the fears of Western powers toward Islamists by trying to cast the revolutionaries as Salafist. Rely on support from Iran, Hezbollah, the Maliki government in Iraq, and Russia to keep the international community at bay and incapable of adopting strong policies toward the situation….
Why should the world support the Syrian opposition’s struggle?
Besides the geopolitical gain of weakening Iran’s grip over the Middle East and containing its rise as a major source of instability there, there is the added humanitarian advantage of preventing a rapid balkanization of our troubled region. The Assads are driving the country and the region to the brink of implosion into warring ethnic enclaves. The world needs to stop them and to help the Syrians in their search for alternatives.
What do you think is likely to happen in Syria?
Irrespective of my wishes, the inability of the Obama administration to move quickly on this matter has allowed for the situation to turn into a proxy war involving all major regional players as well as Russia and China. This is going to be a longer-term struggle and the humanitarian cost will be too high. I will keep up my activities meant to support the local resistance and empower the more pragmatic and representative elements to emerge as the true leaders of Syria down the road, but this will not be an easy task.
We were let down by the leaders of the international community and the leaders of the traditional opposition, not to mention our intellectual elite, and it’s clear by now that we have no true friends. Still, we have no choice but to soldier on, as we transform from a protest movement into a more complex resistance and liberation movement.
(For more on Ammar Abdulhamid: he is a liberal Syrian pro-democracy activist whose anti-regime activities led to his exile in September 2005. He currently lives in the United States. He is the founder of the Tharwa Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to democracy promotion, and is a fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He writes Syrian Revolution Digest, a blog dedicated to following events and monitoring trends related to the Syrian Revolution.)
Any Given Friday
How a battle over a Facebook page became a war for the soul of the Syrian revolution.
BY AMAL HANANO | APRIL 18, 2012
….Last week, before the Facebook polling closed for the name of the April 13 protests — the day after the U.N. ceasefire deadline, the day in which solidarity was key — one name was in the lead: the Friday of the Armies of Islam. Yet another divisive (and completely off message) choice. This time, however, peaceful activists were ready to take action and fight back in a battle for the Friday name.
On Wednesday, April 11, media activists on Facebook and Twitter began a campaign to “rock the vote” for Friday’s name. They advocated the secular, inclusive choice, “A Revolution for all Syrians.” It was an intense campaign. Usually around 8,000 votes are cast each week, but last week there were more than 30,000. It was as much a battle between Islamic sentiment and secular inclusiveness as it was a struggle between those dedicated to solely an armed resistance, and those who still valued the power of nonviolent activism. ….
The gap between the two names slowly narrowed, and eventually the message of unity won by almost 2,000 votes. This small but significant victory unleashed palpable excitement among Syria’s online activists: There was a sense that they had been heard and gained control of the revolution’s message, at least for the moment. It was a needed boost of energy to a group of worn-out activists and, more importantly, it proved that a revolution within the revolution was not only possible but necessary.
ASSAD MUST BE FORCED TO ALLOW PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY
By Andrew J. Tabler
April 18, 2012
…Syrians are afraid to express their demands as part of the “Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, pluralist system” and have demonstrated in lesser numbers than expected over the past week. Even if a viable ceasefire can eventually be brokered, protests and other forms of civil resistance will be the key means to judge what the people want going forward…. severely limiting the people’s ability to use civil resistance to make Assad “step aside” — the stated goal of President Obama. The regime has had a far harder time dealing with civil resistance over the past year than armed resistance. Assad’s actions thus far indicate that he wants to use the Annan plan to grind down not only the armed opposition, but the overall protest movement as a whole….
WSJ RT Brussels: EU Goes Silent On Assad Departure
2012-04-18 By Laurence Norman
….Last August, to considerable fanfare, Washington and Brussels made a joint declaration on Syria. Enough was enough, they said. The rising death toll, continued repression and broken reform promises of President Bashar al-Assad …Officials note that Mr. Annan’s six-point plan is not just about stemming the violence. It also demands the Assad regime allows peaceful protests and accepts a Syrian-led political process to address what it calls “the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people.”
The hope in Brussels is that once the violence has ebbed, Mr. Annan will unleash a political reform and democratization process whose momentum will sweep away Mr. Assad, like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, Tunisia’s Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh before him.
Syria must be held to the law of war
By Laurie R. Blank and Geoffrey S. Corn, Special to CNN
April 4, 2012
Comments (634)
Haytham Khoury said:
April 18th, 2012, 10:35 pm
Haytham Khoury said:
Dear Jad:
Thank you for asking.
We formed with Michel Kilo, Hazem Nahar, Fayrz Sarah and Michel Aita the Syrian Democratic Platform.
Our effort is to save the country from the cycle of violence.
Also, we are trying to get the opposition united around a reasonable vision.
April 18th, 2012, 11:04 pm
ghufran said:
Two things caught my attention in the above collection of articles:
First, Ammar Abdulhameed being called a “leading voice for the opposition”
Second,the story of Syria selling gold
I am sorry to say that neither claims have much credibility.
Mr Abdulhameed is now irrelevant, not leading
SCB lost less than 13% of its reserve and no gold has been sold, yet.
Having said that, Abdulhameed has the right to speak, I am not sure who is listening though, and as for the gold story,that was a 14 K trap and the net is full of them, no disrespect intended.
April 18th, 2012, 11:21 pm
Sunny said:
LOL >>> Didn’t Clinton stand behind her husband while he was going into his mid life crises?! From cheating to mastering babies killing in Iraq and other countries around the world!! Didn’t Laura Bush stand behind her husband while he was drunk, and finishing what president Clinton started in Iraq?! When Syrian women protested in 1939 against the Ottoman, these women could not even vote in their countries, maybe they were second class citizens!! First Lady Asma Alassad’s reason to stand behind her husband shows integrity. Her husband is protecting his country and people from the US and EU hegemony and destruction, as the world has been watching Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Nigeria, Sudan …etc.
On the other hand, daaaaaaaaaaa selling gold is one of the daily economic activity around the world! At least Syria has the gold to sell at high price during financial hardship, and does not have to borrow from the World Bank or China to survive!! Or print without having gold as Dr. Ron Paul confronted the US financial experts!?
April 18th, 2012, 11:21 pm
MICHEL said:
Respect to Dr.Haytham Khoury, the interview is very interesting and promising
(we share the same last name 🙂 )
April 18th, 2012, 11:24 pm
Aldendeshe said:
“…….(For more on Ammar Abdulhamid: he is a liberal Syrian pro-democracy activist whose anti-regime activities led to his exile in September 2005. He currently lives in the United States. He is the founder of the Tharwa …….”
I would have some respect to this fella if he admitted to being an X Baathist from hardcore Baathist family for almost a generation that benefited a lot from Baathist media and given so many privileged and undeserving opportunities that non-Baathist will never dream off in Syria, including housings and others. These X Baathists will have no chance in new free Syria, all the talk about helping local revolutionaries is B.S., no one will take him for grain of salt when they find out his background.
April 18th, 2012, 11:37 pm
Aldendeshe said:
OK Haytham K, go tie in with Haitham Manna group and will give you backup support to counter SNC weight. But you will have to tolerate our verbals against comis, if you can manage that. All we need is a lot of cash. If we can not get it from the Emir or GCC, will get it when gold hit $2000 and oil hit $250. We have no control over gold prices, Goldman Sks have that, but for sure have control over oil prices.
April 18th, 2012, 11:46 pm
mjabali said:
Interesting video to show what discourse we have these days.
April 18th, 2012, 11:57 pm
jad said:
Mjabali
What do you expect from those sectarian filth? When the
Egyptian alqaeda terrorists are the ones supporting the mighty uprising we can imagine the result and when the ‘mothership’ of terrorism and terrorists is ksa we expect nothing but evil to come out of it, now they want to turn Syria into another Kosovo by sending weapons and terrorists with the help of the Americans, no wonder why the Iranians keep calling the US the ‘devil’:
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???? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????. ????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? (???????) ?? ?????? «??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????». ????? «?????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????»
{…}
April 19th, 2012, 12:19 am
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
It could be the Makhloof’s or Assad personal gold holdings that is being offered for fire sale. It could be Tlass stash being physically liquidated and value laundered out to Europe, he is known to have this and even drink from solid gold cups. Who knows, all of Syria’s public revenue is siphoned by these criminals thieves. Could be Asma and brothers wants to buy off Louboutin China factory with all its shackled slave labors and communist bosses.
April 19th, 2012, 12:34 am
Uzair8 said:
Prof Landis was on BBC Radio 5 last night:
Listen from a little after 3:17:00
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01g61x1
April 19th, 2012, 1:56 am
Antoine said:
GHUFRAN,
Do you agree with Abdulhamid’s views on SNC ?
I know you hate SNC.
That said, I think Abdulhamid wants to be a Ahmed Chalabi-in-the-making, its obvious he’s a neocon.
April 19th, 2012, 2:44 am
Antoine said:
MAWAL 95,
The explanation you gave for he lack of pro-regime rallies in the towns mentioned was unsatisfactory. If people are supportive of the regime, usually they would tend to show it, mainly in the form of rallies and demontsrations, no matter whether its a small village of 5000 or a provincial capital.
THe fact that no pro-regime rallies were held in Salamiyah, Kafr Buhum, and Mhrdaeh in Hama ; and al-Qaryatayn in Homs, is very damaging, given the fact that all these towns are majority Christian. So I will assume that most Syrian Christians are not pro-regime (not necessarily pro-opposition either).
Was there any pro-regime rally held in al-Boukamal in Deirezzor ?
April 19th, 2012, 2:49 am
Juergen said:
from the previous post
The Time 100 list has also Sh. Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani. They have a subcategory ROGUES, and the text about him might not have been aprooved by his US PR company:
Then there is Syrian President Bashar Assad. When he came to power in 2000, he seemed to be that mythical creature: a reformist autocrat. But the Arab Spring inspired many of his people to protest — and Assad, 46, responded by cracking down. He played on the fears of the ruling Alawite minority, businessmen and Syrian Christians to persuade them to stand by his secular ideology against the mainly Sunni Muslim uprising. As his father Hafez slaughtered thousands to preserve the regime in the 1980s, Bashar intends to prove he is the player in Syria to be placated — if only because he can kill most efficiently.
Chua-Eoan is TIME\’s news director
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2112121_2112117,00.html
April 19th, 2012, 3:10 am
Juergen said:
nice example how syrian state tv is buying opinions…
April 19th, 2012, 3:41 am
Mina said:
The Arbeen shooting on the crowd is very different in Ban Ki Moon’s account from what we read in mainstream media:
On Wednesday, he said, the advance team visited Jobar, Zamalka and Arbeen in suburban Damascus and reported the presence of military at checkpoints and around some public squares and buildings in all three locations. In Arbeen, he said, one armored personnel carrier was hidden, covered by a plastic sheet.
“The situation in Arbeen became tense when a crowd that was part of an opposition demonstration forced United Nations vehicles to a checkpoint,” Ban said. “Subsequently, the crowd was dispersed by firing projectiles. Those responsible for the firing could not be ascertained by the United Nations military observers.”
The secretary-general said no injuries were observed by the advance team but one UN vehicle “was damaged slightly during the incident.”
Ban said the team’s initial request to visit Homs – the city at the center of the 13-month conflict – “was not granted, with officials claiming security concerns.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/un-chief-syria-situation-grave-but-progress-possible-1.425234
And as for the non-refugees in non-Turkish hatay, it is “no comment”
Syria, Turkey and the camp cover-up
By Erin Banco and Sophia Jones
It’s like a well-choreographed play that Turkish officials have spent countless hours rehearsing. First, they helped form “committees” inside every camp to speak on behalf of the refugees. Now, they carefully scrub down the facilities only before admitting visitors, deny access to most media outlets, and even handpick refugees to speak with the press and outside organizations.
The story they’ve crafted is a simple narrative of suffering Syrian refugees, fleeing the bloody crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad, finding relief, commendable conditions and the chance for a new life. The trouble is, the situation often isn’t that clear-cut. The government of Turkey is “hiding something”, according to a prominent Turkish human-rights lawyer – a sentiment shared by many Syrian refugees inside the camps.
While reporting from refugee camps on the Turkish-Syrian border, we spoke to several people who said that they were encountering
“absolutely no problems”. Many other refugees, however, describe a vastly different reality – inadequate tents, unsanitary bathrooms, lack of food, preferential treatment of soldiers, and unnecessary detention practices.
It is common, though, for refugees to be paid off by the Turkish government to refrain from denouncing its wrongdoings, according to several witnesses in the camps. The Turkish government is also denying most of those in the camps legal status as refugees, allying itself with Islamist factions and marginalizing liberal elements, locking away “problematic” Syrians in off-the-books prison facilities,and obstructing media access, while local religious and political enmities are interfering with the humanitarian response.
All of these underreported issues have conspired to place already vulnerable people in an increasingly untenable situation.
Orwa, whose last name is withheld for his personal safety, is a Syrian refugee in the Yayladagi refugee camp in southeastern Hatay province, the site of United Nations envoy Kofi Annan’s most recent visit to Turkey. It was widely reported that Annan visited the camp, but according to Orwa and other Syrians residing there, he did not actually walk through and talk to refugees.
(…)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ND20Ak02.html
April 19th, 2012, 5:08 am
Mina said:
I wonder how many countries have these kinds of special amendments “Turkey ratified the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees with a provision that allows them the option only to apply refugee status only to people who have fled Europe. Turkey claims it has no international obligation under the Geneva Convention to provide refugee status to Syrians, and therefore, has no obligation to grant them permanent residency in Turkey, only in another country. ”
How is that possible? No Chechens? no Africans? no Afghans?
On what ground?
April 19th, 2012, 5:14 am
b said:
Joshua posts “UN monitors flee Syrian protest after gunfire”
Again baseless propaganda from an AP “reporter” in Beirut who watched a youtube video and talked to some “activist” on Skype.
The Xinhua reporter is in Damascus on the ground and talked to the head of the UN monitors: Head of UN observers denies coming under fire in Damascus’ suburb
Prof Landis, if you continue to build you opinion on such bad reporting you will likely err pretty big in your estimates.
April 19th, 2012, 5:17 am
Tara said:
Mr. B
When I clicked your name, I was directed to the moonofalabama blog. Are you the owner of that blog? If so I am curious to know why you write here. To get some more audience? Not enough people reading that site. All of us like to be heard, don’t we? I browsed that site once and found it skewed and utterly biased. May be that is why it is more productive to write here….just saying.
In any case, your argument above in #18 is baseless. You ignored the inherent bias of the Xinhua which taints its writing whether on of off location… Try again.
April 19th, 2012, 6:56 am
Tara said:
Bashar al Assad made it to the 100 most influential list because he is holding a whole country hostage where he behaves like God, deciding when to end Syrians’ lives. Had the fate of Syrians not been at stake, western powers could’ve forcefully removed him in split second. This has not happened yet in fear of more casualties to occur. This is where his influence comes from. The ability and willingness to slaughter in masses indiscriminately while giggling retardingly. Just like a horror movie….He can play God for now but for how long? Human Gods like Gaddafi end up miserablyand so he will.
April 19th, 2012, 7:27 am
Tara said:
Bronco
You want me moderated?
There is no insult when asking someone if he/she owns a blog.
I give you a full permission to address me as YOU. After all our opinions are biased by the “ME” in us. We are discussing a fate of a nation not a scientific article about (say) prostate enlargement.
Also, of you want to comment on a post I linked, please address it to me rather than to another commenter. It would appear then that you forgot my name again hencd decided to address it to someone else. That bothered me. I told you to write my name somewhere or .. would you like me to change it to something you would always remember? May be Batta?
April 19th, 2012, 8:07 am
bronco said:
#3 Ghufran
The anti-peace plan campaign is going full speed using more indirect and under the belt means to derail it. Rumors and media distortion and manipulation are flowing.
– The pathetic “Stepford wives” video
– The alleged ‘panic’ gold selling
– The appearance of a promising Shalabi-like leader of the opposition now that Ghaliun is on the way to the garage.
– From the grave ‘election voices begging’ calls for Sarkozy that Homs is Benghazi and France will save it.
– Desperate and distorted reports about the observers doing their job. It is obvious that the EOS want them out as soon a possible before they start to pin down the armed opposition for not adhering to the plan as it happened with the AL observers.
Next episodes include more imaginative ways to send ‘strong messages’ to Bashar al Assad and ‘weak messages’ to the opposition.
Great tabloid stuff.
April 19th, 2012, 8:14 am
Juergen said:
UN observer talks to an FSA soldier
April 19th, 2012, 8:16 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
If one analysis this crisis from an Alawis prospective it seems very evident a day by day that Alawis will separate and form their own country. What are their options?
In this survival war :
1-continue the current status (not practical)
2-share power with opposition Sunnis where ther Sunnis will have most of it (not durable because they will be cleansed as events show)
3-Win the current crisis and return to March 14th 2011 (impossible)
4-Federal union between Syrian provinces (Kurdish, Sunni, Durzi and Alawi).
Possible but MB and Islamists will not accept as they look at this as a Jihad.
5-Separate and form new nation (similar to south Sudan ) .
It looks that a day by day option 5 is the only exit for Alawis and minorities in Syria. Arabism, Syrianism, nationalism all ended up being just a plastic flowers which died with this crisis flames. Many strong powers will strongly support such a nation (except Turkey)…
At the end of the day let us be realistic and talk and think the way
90% of Sunnis are thinking: Alawis are infidel, not Moslems, Iran puppies ,Majous, Koffar, Traitors, Killers, Evils….not a single damn good thing about them!
That is how
90% of lay Sunnis think now thanks to Alsafa, Alwissal, Alarabia
And Aljazira….if that is the case then Divorce is the only exit…Right?
April 19th, 2012, 8:20 am
bronco said:
Tara
“I give you a full permission to address me as ___”
I need the permission from the moderator as that pronoun does not come out naturally anymore after the scolding I got.
I don’t think “Batta” suits ___ as Battas are plump and I doubt ___ are.
I hesitate between Joan of Arc and Barbarella.
* ____ know how to fill the blanks
April 19th, 2012, 8:22 am
zoo said:
Despite the rhetoric and outcries, Annan peace plan is going forward
Syria signs protocol for UN observer mission
AFP – 43 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/syria-signs-protocol-un-observer-mission-115056361.html
Syria on Thursday signed a preliminary accord outlining a protocol for a UN mission to monitor a fragile week-old ceasefire in the strife-torn country, the two sides announced.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad signed the deal with a member of a UN advance team, the ministry said in a statement.
“This agreement comes within the framework of Syrian efforts aimed at making the Annan plan succeed and to facilitate the UN observer mission while respecting Syria’s sovereignty,” the statement said.
A spokesman for UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who drafted the six-point ceasefire accord, confirmed in Geneva that an agreement had been concluded between the two parties.
“This agreement outlines the functions of the observers as they fulfil their mandate in Syria and the tasks and responsibilities of the Syrian government in this regard,” Ahmad Fawzi said in a statement.
“An effective observer team on the ground is vital if the lives of ordinary Syrian families are to slowly return to normal.”
He added that discussions were under way with members of the Syrian opposition to ensure they also comply with the ceasefire.
“The hard part lies ahead, a truly Syrian-led and -owned political dialogue to address the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Syrian people,” Fawzi said.
(…)
April 19th, 2012, 8:38 am
Mina said:
If it’s not in your newspaper, then change it
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/panetta-apologizes-new-us-military-photo-scandal
“US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta apologized Wednesday for gruesome, newly revealed photographs that show American soldiers posing with the bloodied remains of dead insurgents in Afghanistan. He said war can lead young troops to “foolish decisions” and expressed concern the photos could incite fresh violence against Americans.
The White House called the two-year-old photos “reprehensible,” joining Panetta and other top military officials in expressing regret for the latest in a string of embarrassing missteps by the US military in a war that’s built on earning the trust and confidence of ordinary Afghans. In recent months, American troops have been caught up in controversies over burning Muslim holy books, urinating on Afghan corpses, an alleged massacre of 17 Afghan villagers and other misdeeds.”
April 19th, 2012, 8:39 am
Mina said:
Tara,
You attack b for quoting the Chinese press agency, but in comment #16, I posted it from Haaretz, quoting Ban Ki Moon own words.
April 19th, 2012, 8:42 am
zoo said:
France is sneakily trying to push for arming the observers so Syria becomes under UN control
“France believes an effective force of international observers for Syria would need 300 to 400 observers equipped with “some robust munitions” to help end months of bloodshed in the country.
President Bashar Assad’s regime says it will accept no more than 250, while the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon have asked for 300 observers to be sent in.”
http://news.yahoo.com/france-favors-more-un-monitors-syria-114414986.html
April 19th, 2012, 8:43 am
Mina said:
Is it hug or strangulation?
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/industrial-deal-focus-israeli-talks-cairo-amman
April 19th, 2012, 8:46 am
Afram said:
Bonjour Monsieur mjabali:
Why the Arab Spring Will Descend Into an Islamic Ice Age.
mjabali:start stockpiling on heavy winter clothing.
The West should be prepared–metaphorically speaking–to start stockpiling on heavy winter clothing. An Islamic ice age is about to descend upon us. Be prepared.
The much vaunted and praised “Arab Spring,” which took the world by surprise in December 2010, is slowly but surely turning into an Arab winter, which will inexorably become an Arab Islamic Ice Age in the near future. Already, the icicles of pan-Islamism are beginning to form throughout the Maghreb (North Africa), and the West best come to terms with the reality that the mantra of “free and fair elections” does not translate into Arabic as Western-style democracy.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/46013
April 19th, 2012, 8:57 am
Jad said:
Terrorism continues, attacking army vehicle and a TAXI, so they can use the innocent killed civilians for the propaganda
‘Shoot the TAXI cab’
????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????
April 19th, 2012, 10:39 am
ghufran said:
This is just disgusting, they arrest peaceful activists but they release thugs and drug dealers:
????? ????? ?????? ??? ????????? ??? “?? ????? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???”.
????? ????? ??????? ???????? (? ? ?) ?? “??????? ????? ???? (21 ????) ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?????”? ???? ???????.
???? ????? ???? ???????? “???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ???????”? ????? ??? ?? ????? “?? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????”.
April 19th, 2012, 11:11 am
mjabali said:
Good morning Mr. Afram:
The long years of dictatorship plus the petro dollars transformed the area into this Ice Age that we started seeing its start.
The powerful western countries in their duel with the left did not understand the power and danger of the religious monster they were rearing. Now, it is too late I think and the blanket of conservatism is spreading and if you couple this with any economic collapse war is in the future. Political Islam does not have any economical solutions, or demographic planning, or ecological, or irrigation…etc. They promise you paradise and that is it.
I am lucky to live in the West where there is freedom and people can say what they feel.
April 19th, 2012, 11:13 am
Mina said:
Quiet regime change in Mali, or is Sarkozy selling to the US the last “confettis de l’empire”?
http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2012/04/19/crise-au-mali-plus-de-268-000-refugies-et-deplaces-depuis-mi-janvier_1687388_3212.html
The putsh was led by an officer who has been completely trained in the US http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_Haya_Sanogo “Il reçoit une formation militaire approfondie aux Etats-Unis entre 2004 et 2010, tout d’abord dans une base de l’Armée de l’air à Lackland au Texas, puis une formation d’officier du renseignement à Fort-Wachica en Arizona, enfin d’août 2010 à décembre 2010 dans le prestigieux cours de formation des officiers d’infanterie de l’Armée de terre à Fort Benning en Géorgie.” (The English version of the article has less details).
And now, the government is led by an ex-NASA scientist.
http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2012/04/19/un-cerveau-de-la-nasa-a-la-tete-du-gouvernement-malien_1687514_3212.html
http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2012/04/19/crise-au-mali-plus-de-268-000-refugies-et-deplaces-depuis-mi-janvier_1687388_3212.html
Ivory Coast, Mali, Syria, or is Sarkozy doing his best to be voted out by his traditional Gaullist supports? After having said “mission accomplished”? Time will tell…
April 19th, 2012, 11:13 am
ann said:
TEST
April 19th, 2012, 11:16 am
Son of Damascus said:
B,
“Prof Landis, if you continue to build you opinion on such bad reporting you will likely err pretty big in your estimates.”
Coming from someone from Moon of Alabama who tried to argue the that the artillery pictures provided by the US State Dept. were “fake” and inconclusive.
As if somehow the buildings in Baba Amr and other parts of Homs mysteriously developed a way to explode as if they were targeted by ROCKETS, ARTILLERY, and MORTAR fire for months.
“Again baseless propaganda from an AP “reporter””
So to prove that the Associated Press is baseless you quote Xinhua, as if Chinese State Media is known for their fair and balanced approach. Whats next you will quote SANA ?
April 19th, 2012, 11:19 am
annie said:
Will she listen ?
UN ambassadors’ wives produce video urging Asma al Assad to stop violence in Syria
This is the site of the petition :http://www.change.org/petitions/asma-al-assad-call-for-peace-in-syria#
April 19th, 2012, 11:25 am
mjabali said:
Mr. Syria no Kandahar:
The Alawis are Syrians and they feel Syrian. To keep this feeling with a population that most of which consider the Alawis infidels is not going to happen. The South Sudan case is similar.
Syrian Sunnis are exhibiting that they are part of a thing other than Syria. The violence that is taking place is making this rift larger. Islam for most of the Sunnis comes first and then Syria. It is showing day after day. The relation between the anti Assad and the other Arabic/Sunni countries is notable. You can not mask this.
Other Arabs feel they are the same as the Syrian Sunnis and those Arabs consider Alawis as a sort of an animalistic cult.
But, what would you do in face of the mass conviction that you are an infidel and satanic and the sort?
The Alawis should think with the other minorities in Syria. There is no one speaking for the minorities in this chaos.
salam
April 19th, 2012, 11:35 am
jna said:
In contrast to Joshua Landis’ comments above which seem to render invisible the UN ceasefire plan.
April 19th, 2012, 11:37 am
admir said:
@SNP
‘Send Baathists to eternal hell and damnation and Alawites to Iran or Iraq.’
alawites are indigenous to latakia and tartus areas (coastal regions) so they aren’t going anywhere (in contrast to christians who always emigrate and are dispersed).
also, iran and iraq wont accept them because they view alawites as ghulat and therefore kaffir (like sunnis). they work with them politically but dont recognize them theologically as ‘shia muslims’ (btw all those fatwas of yesteryears were window-dressng and cosmetic)
i’m afraid that SNK is right, the most likely stable solution is that they get their own independent state.
‘As to HezboAli, the same deal, pack up the military Shia and send them to Qom. ‘
again, the hezbollah party and militia is made up of indigenous shia lebanese arabs and are as much arab as maronite/sunni lebanese, otherwise the sunnis will have to be shipped to their masters turkey and maronites will have to be shipped to their protectors the west
‘Baathists and Alawites sent 15 million Syrians to live in foreign land’
syrians began immigrating long before the baathists or alawites came to power (as far back as 8th century BC in india), and the majority of them are christians (who left for economic reasons and werent chased out by alawites or baathists). so your claim is false and invalid
April 19th, 2012, 11:37 am
admir said:
mjabali
‘The Alawis are Syrians and they feel Syrian.’
except for the few alawite elites in damascus (like bashar), that is a bunch of BS! everyone knows that syria was forced into union with the help of french (in cooperation with the larger sunni states of aleppo and damascus). they disregarded the opinons and aspirations of the other religious and ethnic groups – like the kurds and alawites (only lebanon was taken into account because it was mostly christian at the time). because of this the alawis later took power in syria because they realized that syria wasnt going to get better with them out of power
unlike countries that existed for centuries with natural borders (like egypt), the country came into existence as a result of the sykes-picot agreement (agreement on a map drawn out by the europeans). in reality syria is a conglomerate of different nationalities
April 19th, 2012, 11:49 am
b said:
@Tara @19
@Son of Damascus @39
Yes, Moonofalabama.org is my blog. No, I have no need for more visitors to that blog. It has run for years with decent constant number of regular readers and commentators and I see no reason to change that.
Xinhua interviewed and quoted the boss of the UN monitors who said they were not shot at and didn’t flee. How could quoting an official be biased?
The AP reporter writes himself that all he did is watch a youtube video and a skype call with some “activist” to “report”. Ban Ki-moon said what the guy “reported” is wrong.
So where is the bias then? In this case it is obviously with the AP.
And no I have absolutely no problem to call out Xinhua for wrong reporting if its does such.
—
Those satellite pictures the State Department showed of “artillery deployed” did indeed not show any “deployed” artillery but only artillery in obvious military training areas.
That is what I proved in my post about those pictures, nothing else. If you have a problem with that please show where I erred.
Nowhere have I denied that the Syrian army has deployed artillery (mostly mortars). I have only stated that the pictures by the State Department did not show what the State Department said they were showing.
I do not see why there is a problem with that. I would also call out the Syrian government if I catch it with an obvious lie. So far I haven’t caught them.
April 19th, 2012, 11:59 am
jna said:
In the last topic Haytham Khoury wrote a comment, https://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=14373#comment-307324 , with a link to “Syrian activists to rebels: Give us our revolution back”.
In case readers here did not actually read the article I’d like to post this short exerpt:
““Mr. Annan’s plan is our main hope at this point and we are trying to have everybody abide by it,” says Haytham Khoury, a member of the Syrian Democratic Platform, attending Cairo’s conference. “We are contacting other opposition groups, trying to give hope to the people through media” to convey that “this is a very good step toward saving lives and regaining a completely peaceful revolution.””
Haytham, can you describe how the meeting in Cairo went?
April 19th, 2012, 11:59 am
mjabali said:
The Syrian National Party, I am sure, is not aware of the filth this man is posting on Syria Comment.
Any members of the Syrian National Party here?
Syria Comment has an obligation to make sure what is written under the banner of a big party really represent this party.
April 19th, 2012, 12:18 pm
Son of Damascus said:
B,
So the people running away are running from fire crackers?
or are they all paid by the Zionist/Salafi/Nato propagandist to run?
As for your “proof” that the Syrian Army was in “training” with those pictures, care to tell us what caused ALL the destruction in Homs, was that just building spontaneously combusted, and that Marie Colven and Remi Ochlik never died from being targeted by ARTILLERY?
How about the use of the Tulip shells by the Syrian Army against civilian locations, was that a “training” program as well?
“I would also call out the Syrian government if I catch it with an obvious lie. So far I haven’t caught them.”
Its been over a year and YOU STILL have not caught the Syrian government in a lie, I see now why Sharmine uses you as a “source”. A case of the blind leading the blind, and she wonders why none credible enough publishes her editorializing (that she claims to be “reporting”). Must be a conspiracy eh, nothing to do with the fact her stories are full holes and shaky “evidence” at best.
April 19th, 2012, 12:47 pm
mjabali said:
Admir:
You have a good point and I agree that Syria is a number of nationalities put together by Europeans. But, don’t you see that some of these groups are more committed to the idea of Syria? Don’t you see that the Alawis are for the Republic of Syria more than they are for their own state? What the realities on the ground are going to bring is something else.
Egypt and Syria went through similar histories and if you gave Egypt “natural” borders, don’t you think that Syria has the same? Or is Syria just an illusion created by the…?
April 19th, 2012, 12:50 pm
jad said:
B,
Welcome to SC, I appreciate your blog and I visit it often, keep the good work and thank you for your effort to show reality and expose the propaganda.
You will have some of the commentators here that they don’t like for their ‘own’ ‘reality’ to be questioned or exposed, it’s all a one side struggle while ‘fsa’ are innocent of any wrong doing, they are ‘angels’, they use nothing but ‘olive’ branches in retaliation.
Why Homs is destroyed? Well we can watch many youtube where the ‘angels’ were hitting residential buildings with explosives and RPG and where they were using schools and residential apartment to attack the army from and where they burn houses to take pictures of, so it’s not only the Syrian Army who did the damage it’s also the terrorist fighters….and they accuse you of being ‘biased’ for quoting the UN observers themselves…typical.
Here is the latest ‘achievement’ of the ‘angels’ killing 01 civilians in their ‘holy’ mission of killing 2 Syrian soldiers trying to protect Syria from them.
http://youtu.be/lZ4tOtXM7VM
“?????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????????? ?????????
?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ?????
???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? …?? ???? ?????? .. ??? ?? ? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?? “
April 19th, 2012, 1:06 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Dear Mjbali
I totally agree with every word you said. I am just being realistic and pessimistic. This crisis practically have divided Syria across many lines, Sunni/Allawi being the most dangerous one. Syria at this moment is a body with no soul, a soul with no hope, a hope with no life and a life with no spirit.
No sheep in the history of humanity had so many butchers like Syria since this crisis started.
Syria’s butchers are all crying as they cutting her body closing their eyes blaming it all on the regime. Syria’s butchers are all high quality educated ones promising complete democracy once they cut up her body.
Alawis and most Syrians are good people, very educated and very smart. Unfortunately the Bandar Plan is a compete success and the wahabi poison Has been successfully injected in many Syrian’s blood.
Who wants to live in syria any more? One more year of this wahabi democracy mania and Somalia will be better than Syria. Why are wahabi commenters here not going to support their cause in the wahabi Syria in the make?
I think minorities in Syria should strategically think of separation instead of dreaming of someone to save them from the wahabi dinasaur which has his mouth wide open to eat and burn every one and every thing.
April 19th, 2012, 1:12 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Yeah Jad RPG’s and IED’s destroyed Homs, the tanks/mortars/artillery had NOTHING to do with it…
All those videos we saw of artillery and rockets raining down on Baba Amr for a month were filled with humanitarian aid from the Syrian Army, not explosives…
May I ask why does the Syrian Army get a carte blanche for the murder of innocent Syrians? Why don’t you hold them to them same level of scrutiny as the FSA that you keep labelling them as terrorists?
April 19th, 2012, 1:20 pm
jad said:
Son of Damascus
I guess that you are simply charged without even reading what I wrote, for that, I’m not interested.
Here is what I wrote:
“so it’s not only the Syrian Army who did the damage it’s also the terrorist fighters”
I would like to see the American Army/Police reaction if someone attack a police station or a clinic in any American city, I guess we all know what came after 9/11, but for Syria to defend its sovereignty against terrorists is ‘forbidden’!
Here are some samples of the ‘angels’ attacking a ‘clinic’
??? 2012/1/30 ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????????
http://youtu.be/TuQZxLlbH1I
http://youtu.be/qAr7BwcM4DM
And here is the attack in Alhamidyeh
???? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ???????? ????
http://youtu.be/lKrfQ9L8NWw
April 19th, 2012, 1:36 pm
Mawal95 said:
Qatari Prime Minister said on 17 apr 2012 that his country would help armed groups fighting against the Syrian government if the current diplomatic efforts fail. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/236916.html . That is, he’s saying his country still hasn’t started to do so as of yet. I believe him.
The US minister for foreign affairs said on 18 Apr 2012: “We will continue to do everything we can to assist the opposition to be perceived as — and in reality become — the alternative voice for the Syrian people’s future.” With those words Clinton appears to be saying that on her information and belief about what’s on the ground in Syria, the foreign-supported opposition is neither perceived as nor has become in reality the alternative voice for the Syrian people’s future. I agree with her on that point if that’s what she’s saying (and if it’s not what she’s saying then I don’t agree with her). http://www.presstv.ir/detail/236935.html
As linked to at #92 ZOO yesterday 18 Apr 2012, Al-Akhbar has a report entitled “All quiet on the Damascus front”. I’d like to reiterate some nuggets in it:
April 19th, 2012, 1:55 pm
admir said:
Mjabali
well, if we are going to talk about history…
we should remember that egypt rarely had any longterm political instablilty during its past century, with the exception of a few major events (i.e. free officers coup, 1919 revolution, 2011 revolution/transition).
syria on the other hand, was unstable ever since it was made independent (with coups and counter coups etc.), it was only until the dictator hafez al-assad cemented his power and prevented any power struggle (by jailing/exiling and making deals with his rivals), as well as dominating the important positions with his family and coreligionists – that syria became relatively stable. the fact that the country was relatively stable under the boot of the dictator assads (much like saddam in iraq) makes me skeptical of the opposition, and i dont buy their claim ‘all groups muslims and christians lived in peace and equality before assad’
‘But, don’t you see that some of these groups are more committed to the idea of Syria?’
tell that to the kurds
‘if you gave Egypt “natural” borders, don’t you think that Syria has the same? Or is Syria just an illusion created by the…?’
syria’s current borders (which were drawn up by europeans) are not the same as its natural borders should be. for starters, in a syria with natural borders – turkey wouldn’t have alexandretta (what they call ‘hatay’) and israel wouldn’t have golan (what is considered part of syria’s quneitra governorate) – both of those would be part of syria. also there wouldn’t be a jordan or palestine/israel or lebanon – all of that would’ve been part of syria (btw they were also created with the help of europeans). finally, the eartern regions of syria (deir-ezzor, raqqah, parts of homs) would have been parts of iraq (based on the reality that tribal connections extend across borders in that region), and hasaka region would have been part of kurdistan (because they share the same ethnicity and culture that otherwise would have been supressed in syria).
April 19th, 2012, 1:56 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Jad,
I stand corrected regarding what you said about Homs to B. Nevertheless B was arguing that artillery was NEVER used, we both know that is an absolute farce to say the least.
Regarding 3arbeen I would like to quote Ban Ki Moon regarding what happened in 3arbeen yesterday (with a source much more credible than Chinese State News):
“The situation in Arbeen became tense when a crowd that was part of an opposition demonstration forced United Nations vehicles to a checkpoint.”
“Subsequently, the crowd was dispersed by firing projectiles. Those responsible for the firing could not be ascertained by the United Nations military observers.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17771249
So according to him there was gun fire, but according to B and yourself that never happened. So I ask what were the people in 3arbeen running from when the Shabeeha opened fire? Was that only fire crackers being shot at them? Why did the Shabeeha feel compelled to open fire on the UN observers and the protesters (there was absolutely no evidence of armed men in the group of protesters in the three videos being circulated)?
For the record the US Army never deployed artillery and fired indiscriminately at US civilians after what happened in 9/11. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for the level of barbarity displayed by the Syrian Army
April 19th, 2012, 2:02 pm
Juergen said:
DIE ZEIT has their reporters in Syria, today an excellent article was published, so far only in the written paper, as soon as this article is out in the net, I will post it. I think is one of the best i have read in a long time.
Here is an other article, but by a different author of this magazine.
“There are never large groups, such as a celebration of Independence Day on 17 April before the central bank. At most a few dozen protesters come to such parades. Therefore, according to their performances are hysterical. “I love him. I adore him. Without it, Syria is lost, a body without a head,” said Kamal Abbas, a 23-year government employee. His sweaty T-shirt shows through Assad’s portrait with sunglasses and uniforms. Others wear jackets that look like freshly starched summer uniforms “. Assad Arabia Che Guevara,” reads one on her back.”
http://translate.google.at/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zeit.de%2Fpolitik%2Fausland%2F2012-04%2Fsyrien-damaskus-reportage
April 19th, 2012, 2:09 pm
admir said:
Mjabali (continued)
normally alawites wouldn’t have been for their own state, because they see syria as secular and in which they would be treated equally with sunni arabs. when the french colonized syria most alawis were in favour of an autonomous (even independent) state because they suffered centuries of opression under sunni rule (worse than christians and jews were their status), and syria at the time was not really equal for all. many alawi leaders pleaded to the french for an independent state for fear they will be repressed and marginalized (one of the way to escape this was to join the french-led army and military).
many alawis still want to be part of syria (especially those living inland in damascus and aleppo and homs, whether pro-assad or not). but that belief of being part of syria is based on their view that either assad and the regime will win (pro-assad) or that the opposition is secular, pluralistic, and nationalist (pro-revolution) – both of which are far from guaranteed.
The opposition previously has avoided (or ignored mentioning) armed component of the revolution and opted for portests only, they have since changed course to arming the revolution based on the ‘realities on the ground’, they justify the arming in order to ‘defend’ protestors (despite being on the offence in attacking government military/security/police forces/vehicles). The opposition previously were against foreign military intervention and supported the ‘terroritorial integrity’ of syria. they have since changed course and called for a ‘no-fly zone’ and it is expected that they will ask for boots on the ground, also they have sacrificed territorial integrity by asking for safe/buffer zones (i.e. asking neighbouring turkey to invade) – the opposition claims that their change in opinion is based on the ‘realities on the ground’
the current trend has been that the conflict has been going more religious (religious themes on facebook, ikhwan controlling SNC, salafists influencing FSA and other armed gangs/terrorists, mosques and islamic centres worldwide becoming centres of donation for opposition, al-qaeda joining revolt, protestors urging jihad etc.). it is expected that there will be some sectarian conflict and even sectarian/civil war after the regime goes. if the current trend continues and the alawis fear they will be opressed or massacred, then they could change their stance and call for an independent alawi state on the coast based on the ‘realities on the ground’.
April 19th, 2012, 2:17 pm
admir said:
@SNP
‘They were brought up to Syria from Iraq and Iran for a specific malignant reason by specific plotting power and for intended purposes that are known to SNP.’
where is your proof of this (from reliable sources)? or are you just pulling these stories out of your ass?
‘They are not natives to Latakia, that is yet another fabricated fairytale, like many similar ones around.’
the only fairytale ive heard is the one coming from you claiming that they were from iran and iraq. conversely, there are evidences and hints suggesting that many sunni arabs in syria (and former ottoman empire) are of turkish origins and were later arabized.
‘Why in Lebanon should a similar Militant Shia group who publicly pledges an allegiance to foreign Shia power should have own military and be a state within a state.’
i dont know…maybe because militant sunni groups in syria and lebanon publicly pledge allegiance and support from a foreign sunni power? not to mention that they breifly had their own organized groups and a state within a state (baba amr, nahr-al-bared)
April 19th, 2012, 2:27 pm
jad said:
Dear Son of Damascus
How is it even possible that many of Homs buildings were destroyed if there was no battle between two sides?
Logically thinking the artillery happened from the Syrian Army in respond to the continuous explosives attacks and mortars targeting them and other areas of the city by the armed militias.
I didn’t write that the fire in Arbeen never happened, I wrote that I believe the UN Observer account more than Pokemon since they were in the middle of it, besides, B’s link is clearly saying that the UN Observers “denies coming under fire in Damascus’ suburb” which is also true, in the exact meaning of the news that the UN observer weren’t targeted.
Besides, did you know that 2 out of the 8 injured in Arbeen are actually Army and Security men and if the fire was aim to kill as all the propaganda media are trying to say, how come no fatal injuries happened there with such close range?
If I want to guess, I think the Syrian security team of the UN felt threatened with the crowds being around them or someone shot at them (possible) and they start shooting in the air to disperse the crowds and not directly at them.
For the record,
The Americans already destroyed two countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, killed hundreds of thousands of people, millions of refugees, and an endless civil wars with terrorism allover the world and alqaeda getting stronger, they did all that just in respond to 9/11.
I agree they were very extremely kind.
April 19th, 2012, 2:38 pm
b said:
@48 Son of Damascus
“As for your “proof” that the Syrian Army was in “training” with those pictures, care to tell us what caused ALL the destruction in Homs, was that just building spontaneously combusted, and that Marie Colven and Remi Ochlik never died from being targeted by ARTILLERY?”
I never denied that mortars were deployed by the Syrian army against the fighters in Baba Amr. I only proved that the State Department pictures of “deployed artillery”, published several days or weeks before Baba Amr, did not show what the State Department said.
What is your problem with that?
I have no good idea how Colven and Ochlik died – theories abound. But artillery, especially mortars, are not pin point weapons. To assume they were specifically targeted is therefore from a military/technical standpoint simply nonsense.
@60 @Son of Damascus
You write “So according to him there was gun fire, but according to B and yourself that never happened. So I ask what were the people in 3arbeen running from when the Shabeeha opened fire? ”
I never said that firing didn’t happen. I simply quoted news accounts.
As you quoted the UN it says “Those responsible for the firing could not be ascertained by the United Nations military observers”
You attribute that firing to the “Shabeeha” which then must mean that you have more information on this that than the UN has. The UN doesn’t know who fired. You assert you know. How? And why don’t you tell the UN what you “know”?
And now let’s ask the question that must always be asked “Qui bono?” Who would benefit from firing at a crowd just visited by the UN monitors? The Syrian government which wants to develop good standing with those monitors or the insurgent who want that UN mission to fail and the U.S. to wage war against Syria?
The answer to me is obvious.
I have no idea of your ability to seriously answer that question.
April 19th, 2012, 2:41 pm
sf94123 said:
Son of Damascus, My cousin’s apartment in Homs was gone. The “angels” damaged the entire building using explosive (firsthand information). The family had to relocate to a different region. Furthermore, many people in Homs were threatened and asked forcefully to leave their homes. If they refused, the “angels” started to shoot and destroy water reservoirs/tanks on top of their buildings. Soon they will leave if they haven’t done so already.
SNK is right, segregation/ human migration is already started and minorities were caught between a rock and a hard place. They should think of their survival and the hell with everyone/everything else. The big question is: would the regional and the international players allow them to do so? I doubt it? Very depressing!
April 19th, 2012, 2:42 pm
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
“…….if the current trend continues and the alawis fear they will be opressed or massacred, then they could change their stance and call for an independent alawi state on the coast based on the ‘realities on the ground’….”
Will wage war on any Alawi State seperated from Syria proper and task the Mujahedeen with a quota from every Moslem country, nation and tribes to fight them. Will hold Iran and HezboAli responsible unless they too send men to join the Mujahedeen quota.
April 19th, 2012, 2:45 pm
abbas said:
According to my calculations, Anan plan chance of success is only 2.843 %
April 19th, 2012, 2:47 pm
Mina said:
Admir, you say
“there are evidences and hints suggesting that many sunni arabs in syria (and former ottoman empire) are of turkish origins and were later arabized.”
Sounds to me like the old ‘no Palestinians in Palestine’ tune… old story. What are your evidence and hints?
The Arab tribes were all Shia? But the Umayyad were Arabs and abhored by the Shia. What about the different Kurdish dynasties? You place them where in your DNA research?
April 19th, 2012, 2:47 pm
abbas said:
very disappointed with SNK call for Alawi state, it’s like either we rule or we leave, what do you think the response will be from the 10 million Suunni in Damascus and Alepo
April 19th, 2012, 2:51 pm
Mina said:
Mjabali,
I don’t believe that Syria is an illusion and/or a patchwork created by Sykes Picot. With Palestine, it has been a very rich region, disputed for this reason by all the neighbouring empires for literally thousands of years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coele-Syria
The patchwork of minorities is just the remaining traces of this very long history and the commercial road it has always been, connecting the Silk road to the sea, among other roads.
April 19th, 2012, 3:00 pm
Son of Damascus said:
B,
“I never said that firing didn’t happen. I quote news accounts.”
No you just linked a communist State media that is well known and documented to suppress freedom of speech and journalism as proof:
“Xinhua interviewed and quoted the boss of the UN monitors who said they were not shot at and didn’t flee.”
How did I assert that the shooting was the Shabeeha well how about we reexamine what Ban Ki Moon actually said:
“The situation in Arbeen became tense when a crowd that was part of an opposition demonstration forced United Nations vehicles to a checkpoint.”
So when they approached A CHECK POINT the firing started, and as we SAW in the videos the protesters were RUNNING from the CHECKPOINT where the gunfire came from. It does not take the UN for me to ascertain who was responsible for the shooting, when the evidence is right there…
“I never denied that mortars were deployed by the Syrian army against the fighters in Babr Amer”
No you are denying the use of artillery, which is an absolute farce. You are denying and enabling killers to further target civilians indiscriminately with artillery fire, some of which is the largest of its kind (Tulip Shells).
By the way Mr. Expert the neighbourhood is called Baba Amr not Babr Amer…
“And now let’s ask the question that must always be asked “Qui bono?” Who would benefit from firing at a crowed just visited by the UN monitors? The Srian government which wants to develop good standing with those monitors or the insurgent who want that UN mission to fail and the U.S. to wage war against Syria?”
Umm are we talking about the same government that sent shabeeha to target the US ambassador to Syria? Or the same government seen filmed by the BBC attacking the AL observers vehicle? Or the same government that has systematically targeted civilians for the sake of their murderous thug of a leader? The same government that has killed numerous journalists? Or how about the government that tortured to death an innocent 13 year old and then decided to cut of his genitals and shoot him for good measure?
Before you doubt my abilities to answer any of your questions perhaps you should go and look up where my country is on a map, or actually learn about what the hell is going on there before you comment, because obviously you know jack about Syria.
April 19th, 2012, 3:02 pm
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
“….very disappointed with SNK call for Alawi state, it’s like either we rule or we leave,,,”
This is more accurate what they are saying:
“…very disappointed with SNK call for Alawi state, it’s like either we alone dictate, embezzle, corrupt, enslave or we leave and take all of Syria’s wealth with us…”
We are surrounded by dreamers, in Israel, in Syria, in Turkey, in Iran and in Lebanon.
April 19th, 2012, 3:03 pm
Son of Damascus said:
SF94123,
Please provide me with one link where I said or denied anything that has been documented against the crimes committed by the FSA.
Actually if you CHECK you would see that I ABHOR such things, and that I am NOT a supporter of an armed struggle for the freedom of my country.
And for the record the Assadi Army has done 100 folds more damage to Homs than the FSA is even capable of, so if you have indignation towards the FSA I suggest you reserve plenty for the Assadi Army as well.
April 19th, 2012, 3:08 pm
Jerusalem said:
The behavior of so called : Syrian ”refugees” in Jordan
[…]
???? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?????????? ?????? ???? 80 ????? ????? ?? ????? 20 ????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???????, ???? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ????????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ????????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????????? ?????? ?? ????????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????.
[…]
Peaceful protestors are spreading to Jordan too
???????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ????????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ????. ???? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????. ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????. ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????????.
http://www.arabtimes.com/portal/article_display.cfm?ArticleID=26792
April 19th, 2012, 3:09 pm
bronco said:
#64 Jad
“If I want to guess, I think the Syrian security team of the UN felt threatened with the crowds being around them or someone shot at them (possible) and they start shooting in the air to disperse the crowds and not directly at them.”
I fully agree with that version. Remember that the Syrian forces are responsible, at the UN request, for the security of the observers. They act like bodyguards and would not hesitate to hit at anyone who could present threat to the observers.
It is highly probable that some armed opposition hardliner want to target and kill one or more observers as this would derail the whole mission.
The Syrian security forces are on their teeth so this does not happen and the observers should be grateful to them.
Remember the french journalist Gilles Jacquier. He was killed by opposition fire, but the responsibility fell on the Syrian security because they did not protect him. I guess Syria does not want such scenario to repeat with the observers.
April 19th, 2012, 3:14 pm
Juergen said:
revolutionary film in style of the syrian soap operas
April 19th, 2012, 3:17 pm
Halabi said:
Nicely done Son of Damascus. I don’t think there is any way to reason with Assad supporters who can’t even admit that the regime lies. It’s one thing to back Bashar due to fear of civil war or democracy, but to actually believe the universal conspiracy is a different level of delusion.
Cui bono… I don’t know. Assad’s cronies have long argued that armed gangs only shoot at anti-regime protests and avoid men7ebak parades because the terrorists want to blame the government for the violence.
April 19th, 2012, 3:22 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Dear Jad,
“How is it even possible that many of Homs buildings were destroyed if there was no battle between two sides.”
Because as Paul Conroy has attest to numerous times that the regime systematically swept entire areas for 12 HOURS non stop but for a mere break at 1 in the afternoon for their lunch. The fact a man that was in Srebrenica said he counted more shells landing on Baba Amr in an hour than his entire time there.
“B’s link is clearly saying that the UN Observers “denies coming under fire in Damascus’ suburb” which is also true, in the exact meaning of the news that the UN observer weren’t targeted.”
As I said to B, according to a much more credible source than chinese state media ,the BBC said other wise.
As for your guesses, the video available does not in any way prove any of your points but rather what the activists on the ground had to say.
What the American did and continue to do in Afghanistan and Iraq is absolutely not justifiable, if any country had to pay the price that those two countries paid we both know it is KSA and not Afghanistan or Iraq (Neither of which were a real threat to US interests or were directly involved in planning and executing 9/11, unlike members of Al Saud clan…), I fully agree with the sentiments that these types of actions go against the very fabric of what the US constitution is based on.
A good book on the subject (which I’m pretty sure you would have read it already just in case) Plan of Attack By Bob Woodward
However they did not systematically target their OWN citizens and encircle US cities while they continuously bombarded them with artillery, mortars, tanks shells, and rockets. Big difference between what the US Army did and continues to do, and what the Assadi Army is doing.
April 19th, 2012, 3:26 pm
irritated said:
#40. annie said:
“Will she listen ?”
Who would listen to the corny cinematic debut of the housewives of two western diplomats on Youtube?
Check this other new corny revolutionary melodrama that Juergen has posted #77.
April 19th, 2012, 3:30 pm
Afram said:
68. abbas said:
According to my calculations, Anan plan chance of success is only 2.843 %
=================
Then,would you take boutros boutros-ghali?
http://youtu.be/uRTAUVqcYBY
April 19th, 2012, 3:37 pm
ann said:
House GOP challenges Pentagon on war powers for Syria – 04/19/12 8)
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/222571-house-gop-hammers-pentagon-on-war-powers-for-syria-
House Republicans demanded assurances from the White House and the Pentagon on Thursday that they will not be left out of the loop should the United States decide to take action in Syria.
House Republicans demanded assurances from the White House and the Pentagon on Thursday that they will not be left out of the loop should the U.S. decide to take action in Syria.
GOP members on the House Armed Services Committee tried to paint Pentagon officials into a corner on whether or not the White House would require congressional authority for military action.
“We have not exercised our constitutional responsibilities” to weigh in on matters of war, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) chided Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during Thursday’s committee hearing on the escalating conflict in Syria.
Panetta told members his department would fully abide by the statutes under the War Powers Act “as long as I am secretary [of Defense].”
The act specifically requires the White House to notify Congress anytime the United States seeks to take military action in a foreign country.
However, President Obama did not seek legislators’ approval when he ordered U.S. warships to the coast of Libya last March to support the NATO-led mission to oust former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
At the time, the White House claimed the U.S. role in Operation Unified Protector was so limited, congressional authority was not required.
But Jones told Panetta Thursday that decision “was really . . . kind of a snub to Congress,” adding that he was “very concerned” the same would happen in Syria.
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) jumped on that point, grilling the DoD chief on what exactly would be required for the U.S. to take action against the Assad regime.
[…]
April 19th, 2012, 3:37 pm
Equus said:
As I said to B, according to a much more credible source than chinese state media ,the BBC said other wise.
For instance, the BBC announced the collapse of tower 7 (third building to collapse during 9/11) at 11 am. However, physically the building came down 5 pm. I’m not sure how credible is that?? Unless BBC hires psychics to report news.
——–
I don’t mean to jump over the conversation; but it’s a common belief that the BBC is a credible source of information. Every information needs to be verified in multiple sources, there is no such thing anymore reliable source.
April 19th, 2012, 3:47 pm
Mawal95 said:
Consider Kuwait. That country was a creation by the British for the British’s own purposes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kuwait AND http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Ottoman_Convention_of_1913 ). Nevertheless today Kuwaiti political society exhibits a strong sense of national unity, and the great bulk of the indigenous Kuwaiti individuals have a strong sense of Kuwaiti patriotism and Kuwaiti identity. I’ve seen that firsthand myself in videos over the years from the annual Hala Febrayer Music Festival in Kuwait (which is pretty much my only firsthand contact with Kuwait). The fact that their country was formed as a happenstance of British scheming, with no concern for the locals, about a hundred years ago, is now ancient history, and it might as well have happened a thousand years ago. Similarly Moroccans are very patriotic about their Morocco. Arabs in each and every Arab nation are nationalistic and patriotic about their nation. You can see that on Arabic TV every day of the week, including on the pan-Arab shows such as the Hala Febrayer festival. The popular Arab mind is nationalistic. The popular Syrian mind is too. The Syrians have a deeply shared sense of Syrian nationhood. The Assad government sits in the driver’s seat of that patriotic engine, and the rebellious and boycotting dissidents are hugely disadvantaged by it politically.
April 19th, 2012, 3:57 pm
Jerusalem said:
????? ????? ??? ?????? … ??????? ????? ??????
???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???.???? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????????
???? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ?????????? ?? ?? ???? ???????.???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???????? “??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ???????”.????? “??? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ???… ?????? ??? ????? ?????”.??? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ???????? ???????? ???????
[…]
http://www.arabtimes.com/portal/news_display.cfm?Action=&Preview=No&nid=11033
April 19th, 2012, 3:58 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Equus,
Here are a some more credible sources from around the world, that quote Ban Ki Moon with the same quote.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3331205.ece
http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/04/19/ban_ki_moon_calls_for_an_expanded_un_mission_for_syria
http://www.cbc.ca/m/rich/news/story/2012/04/19/syria-un-ban-ki-moon-observers.html
Are they all lying or did the Chinese State Media (which is known to make up news) misquote the UN?
April 19th, 2012, 3:59 pm
ann said:
Syrian official brushes off warning – April 19, 2012
http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/7832864/syrian-olympic-official-mowaffak-joumaa-brushes-british-warning
DAMASCUS, Syria — The head of Syria’s Olympic committee brushed off a warning from Britain that he could be banned from attending the London Games, saying Thursday that he would be “honored” to be blacklisted for his ties to Syria’s president.
Syria’s Olympic head, Gen. Mowaffak Joumaa, is not on the list and said Thursday that he plans to attend the Games from July 27 to Aug. 12 unless he is notified of an official ban.
“I will be there and I will represent Syria,” Joumaa told The Associated Press.
“Once I am blacklisted, it would be an honor for me to be one of the citizens who were banned from entering Britain because of their country’s dignity and freedom,” he added.
[…]
April 19th, 2012, 4:02 pm
Juergen said:
“There is a tyranny of entire masses, which is most violent and offensive.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
April 19th, 2012, 4:07 pm
ann said:
Joint Chiefs’ leader: US will not send troops to Syria – 40 minutes ago 8)
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/19/11288720-joint-chiefs-leader-us-will-not-send-troops-to-syria?lite
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that the United States will not send troops to Syria or act unilaterally there. Gen. Martin Dempsey’s statement came only 24 hours after NATO Secretary-General Anders-Fogh Rasmussen said the organization has no intention of intervening in Syria.
During a House Armed Services hearing, Dempsey was asked whether the United States could send troops to Syria for a possible peacekeeping mission.
“At this point in time, congressman, a decision is that we will not have any boots on the ground and that that we will not act unilaterally in that part of the world,” Dempsey said.
He added that one day Syria could be a stabilizing force in that region, but that is more than a decade away.
“Long term this will become a stabilizing influence,” Dempsey said, adding, “but I think getting from here to there is going to be a wild ride.”
“I think we’re in for 10 or 15 years of instability in a region that has already been characterized by instability.”
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta echoed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department’s recent warnings that military intervention could ultimately bring more civilians deaths.
“We must also be mindful, as Secretary Clinton has noted, of the possibility that outside military intervention will make a volatile situation even worse and place even more innocent civilians at risk”
[…]
April 19th, 2012, 4:36 pm
zoo said:
US Syria policy a tacit nod to Assad’s firm grip
By ANNE GEARAN | Associated Press – 7 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/us-syria-policy-tacit-nod-assads-firm-grip-062614065.html
BRUSSELS (AP) — Despite oft-repeated U.S. demands that Syrian President Bashar Assad step aside, the Obama administration’s policy now reflects a consensus that Assad has a firm hold on power and that nothing short of an outside military strike will dislodge him quickly.
With rebel forces poorly armed and disorganized, efforts to pay them by Arab Gulf states failing, and sectarian divisions looming in Syria, the U.S. and its allies seem prepared to leave Assad where he is. Even if he could be ousted, the near future in Syria could involve civil war among ethnic groups now under Assad’s boot, or a slow and bloody war with rebels or proxy fighters armed from the outside.
The U.S. has edged toward supplying the rebels with communications gear and other nonlethal aid but has ruled out either a military assault or a supply of heavy weaponry for rebel forces.
“We are at a crucial turning point,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday.
Either a United Nations-brokered cease-fire takes hold “or we see Assad squandering his last chance before additional measures have to be considered,” Clinton said.
But even as she implies tougher international intervention, Clinton is not expected to announce a shift in the U.S. stance during a diplomatic huddle on Syria in Paris on Thursday.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said late Wednesday he still believes there could be progress in Syria and recommended the Security Council increase the number of observers to 300.
…
The United States backs the cease-fire between Assad’s forces and rebels, but the deal also inherently acknowledges that Assad controls the armed forces and holds the power to suspend attacks on civilians and rebels.
…
Syrian opposition members and international officials say no money has been sent yet, in part because the Arab governments stepped into a logistical thicket when they began trying to figure out how to route the money to the right people.
..
European countries are unlikely to get militarily involved without the United States, and Turkey has backed off from talk of creating buffer zones along the Syrian border. Any foreign military action could provoke anger from Russia and China, and open hostility from Iran, whose personnel have actively supported Assad’s government.
(…)
April 19th, 2012, 4:36 pm
ann said:
Syrian uprising takes toll on scientific community – 19 April 2012
Already tiny science budget cut in favor of military spending.
http://www.nature.com/news/syrian-uprising-takes-toll-on-scientific-community-1.10489
The civil unrest that erupted in Syria in March last year has left the country’s scientific community in turmoil, researchers say.
Heavy cuts have been made to research budgets, and work at the majority of Syria’s universities and research centres has ground to a halt.
Syria has four large universities with a strong science and technology focus. Three of these institutions — Al-Baath, Aleppo and Damascus — also have science or technology institutes attached. The most comprehensive science base in the country is at the University of Aleppo, where 65 per cent of the institution’s faculties and 70 per cent of its attached institutes have a science focus.
Mahmoud Haj Hamad, an inspector in the Ministry of Defense, has told SciDev.Net that many researchers are leaving Syria.
In a statement to SciDev.Net, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), which is based in Aleppo, said: “the current situation in Syria has not affected the progress of ICARDA’s global research program” but noted that “some of our work in certain parts of Syria has had to be reorganised”.
[…]
April 19th, 2012, 4:48 pm
jad said:
This is what the ‘peaceful’ crowds of Yabroud did to civilians who refused to go with them in the streets, yet people are still hallucinating about ‘oh peaceful’ Peaceful my foot!
Warning this is NOT a BBC so it must be fake.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.396349380385127.90419.279535285399871&type=3
??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? | ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? 18\4\2012 ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?????????? ?? 100 ?????? , ???? ????? ??? ??????? : ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? … ??? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ????????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ” ????? ” ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????
April 19th, 2012, 4:49 pm
Juergen said:
Well you assume that I have no means to understand that, well underestimation is a good starting point.
April 19th, 2012, 4:55 pm
jad said:
WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception
Shock and Awe, your enemy won’t have time to grasp their breaths, so does your citizens, keep moving them from a conflict to another and they will keep supporting you. The Shock and Awe doesn’t only apply on your enemies as you see, it applies on your people, your allies, foes, and no thanks to the mainstream media propaganda which keeps you on your feet awaiting to hear achievements and victories without questioning the credibility or source of information you are fed 24/7 non-stop.
{…}
Now back to our story, when the Shock and Awe fails and the conflict takes more time, people will start thinking, they’re not supposed to, but what to do, it’s a human nature, and you have to deal with it, in this case the only solution lies with Mainstream Media, you control it, or those who control it are your allies, ask them to intensify their propaganda, each news bulletin should have at least a line or two in its headlines about your cause, analysts should be available to discuss your point of view, you can accept some criticism but make sure those criticizing you don’t have the last words, bring someone to ridicule their replies and carry on, reports should be available, and if you don’t have news: create some for God sake.. Your plans will fail if the public starts asking questions.
With the introduction of social media and then citizen journalists who needs to verify credibility, so many blogs I personally wrote about the use of these tools to carry out the media campaign to justify the cause of demonizing your enemy then justifying their killings. The audience when they keep flipping from one news outlet to another to find the same news of such: “dictator killing own people’ and ‘public uprisings brutally oppressed by tyrants’ they’ll have no other choice but to buy such stuff, nobody would care to search for the other side of the story, so many sides your friends in mainstream media are providing, and if you don’t believe it there’re plenty of Youtube videos to prove it, and it just happens that all these videos (over 64,000 in the case of Syria) are so much filling the pattern: shaky videos from mobile phones, breathless citizens running across the streets, so much blood everywhere, sounds of explosions, and if that’s not available make it!
{…}
And here is where the Shock and Awe failed. The prolonged conflict in Syria gave time to many to revise and compare news aired on mainstream media with the actual ones, and the same Al Jazeera in coordination with its sister channel Al Arabiya exposed themselves when they were given information that the Zero hour in Syria is imminent and simultaneously both channels started broadcasting on an early Friday news of tens of thousands of anti-Assad protesters fill two mains squares in Damascus city, the Abbasid and Ommayad squares, thinking by this they’re giving the signal to NATO stooges to flood these two squares and at the same time to push those curious to go there to see for themselves then there will be ready planted ‘activists’ who will be filming any crowd, airing the same via satellite connections on those two pathetic channels who in turn will magnify the picture same like what they did with the initial Tahrir square
{…}
The Weapons of Mass Deception have much more damaging effects than those of Mass Destruction, they destroy the brain in addition to animalizing the human or in better words: producing the Sheeple audience.
http://arabisouri.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/wmd-weapons-of-mass-deception/
April 19th, 2012, 4:57 pm
jad said:
Well, go ahead, prove me wrong and translate what the soldiers are saying word by word, because I personally didn’t capture most of what they say and I’m the Syrian one, besides, where is the ‘celebration’? I don’t see them dancing or singing, unless shouting for Bashar is a ‘celebration’
You did it before and you are doing it again, claiming that you understand everything, yet it’s obvious that you don’t, very typical!
April 19th, 2012, 4:59 pm
jad said:
??????: ??????? ??? ????????? ???????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??????
???? ?????? “??????” ?? ???????? ??????? ???? ????? (ADLA MASSOUD) ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???:
1- ???? ????? ?? ???? 2042 ????? 14 ????? 2012 ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????.
2- ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ????? (???? ????? ???? ????? 2042 ????? 14 ????? 2012). ??? ??????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???????.
3- ??? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ? ??? ?????? ?????? SOMA ???????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? UNSM ?? ????? ????????? ??????? ???????. ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ????? SOMA.
??- ?????????? ????????
4- ??????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ??????? ? ?? ??????? ??:
5- ??? 10 ????? ???? ??????? ??????? :
??- ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????.
??- ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???????
??- ??? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????.
??- ???? ????????? ???????
?1- ???? ???????? ??????? ???????
6 – ???????? ?? 12 ????? 2012
??) ??? ???? ????? ????? ???????
??) ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ??????.
??) ???????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???????.
??) ?? ???? / ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????????? ????????? ?? ????????.
7 – ???? ??????? ??????? ??????:
[ … ]
April 19th, 2012, 5:10 pm
Afram said:
“The US Looks for a More Muscular Response to Syria”
What are the chance of U.S going to war with?
At the pump I pay 4.55 a gallon..Americans are fuming mad by the day,folks.
ghost of another American war,null&void.
United States Presidential Election will be held on November 2012.
then presidential inauguration in January 2013.
then midterm election for control of congress will be up for grabs..does Amreeka has political time to flex Mussels on syria?
>Remember Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter,behind Saudi Arabia.
With 81 per cent of Russia’s oil exports currently sold to Europe,old sick Europe,don,t mess with syria,beware of the bear.
dismemberment of America’s middle class is caused by foolish wars.
gas goes up…dollar will belly down south.
I think will be the financial equivalent of a nuclear first strike.
Yankees to syrians,solve your own proBlema-S’il vous plait
April 19th, 2012, 5:22 pm
Alan said:
98. AFRAM
It is a part of a landscape only a part? not traditional wars go at full speed against Syria and can be developed for revenge for Syria!
April 19th, 2012, 5:34 pm
Antoine said:
84. MAWAL 95 said :
“Nevertheless today Kuwaiti political society exhibits a strong sense of national unity, and the great bulk of the indigenous Kuwaiti individuals have a strong sense of Kuwaiti patriotism and Kuwaiti identity”
Yes, former Wilayat of al-Basrah.
April 19th, 2012, 5:38 pm
jad said:
Wondering about the 3% of the barrel of zift*?
????????? ?????????? ????? “?????” ?? ?????????? ??? ?? ?????
by ????: ????? ?????
????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? .. ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? .. ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ???? (??? ????) ??????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? .. ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ..?? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??? .. ??????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? .. ??????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???? “?????” ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? .. ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? 3% …
{…}
???? ?? ????? 3 ???? ?????? ????????? ????????
??? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ..????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ????? “??????” ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ????? .. ?????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????????? ..?????????? ??? … ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ?? “?? ????” ???? ???? ?? ?? “????” ..????????..??????? …
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=345908135456933
April 19th, 2012, 5:38 pm
Antoine said:
MAWAL 95,
The explanation you gave for he lack of pro-regime rallies in the towns mentioned was unsatisfactory. If people are supportive of the regime, usually they would tend to show it, mainly in the form of rallies and demontsrations, no matter whether its a small village of 5000 or a provincial capital.
THe fact that no pro-regime rallies were held in Salamiyah, Kafr Buhum, and Mhrdaeh in Hama ; and al-Qaryatayn in Homs, is very damaging, given the fact that all these towns are majority Christian. So I will assume that most Syrian Christians are not pro-regime (not necessarily pro-opposition either).
Can you show me one video of pro-regime rally in Bloudan town of Rif Dimashq ? This town is also majority Christian.
April 19th, 2012, 5:40 pm
bronco said:
#102 Antoine
Rallies and demonstrations are out of fashion. 13 Months of calling for NATO, Turkey, FSA, UN, cursing or supporting the regime have had no results.
The only people who would go to a demonstration now are either paid or bored at home or still living in an illusion.
The game is no more in the streets, it is in the political arena and it is time the street crowds start to realize it.
April 19th, 2012, 5:47 pm
Khalid Tlass said:
63. ADMIR said :
“Why in Lebanon should a similar Militant Shia group who publicly pledges an allegiance to foreign Shia power should have own military and be a state within a state.’
i dont know…maybe because militant sunni groups in syria and lebanon publicly pledge allegiance and support from a foreign sunni power? not to mention that they breifly had their own organized groups and a state within a state (baba amr, nahr-al-bared)”
Why, why , why….why….Mr. Admir, you tell me why the Shia regime of Iraq thought it okay to hang the former Sunni President of Iraq on Eid al-Adha day for Sunnis ?
April 19th, 2012, 5:51 pm
Tara said:
Bronco
If the demonstrations die out, then Assad wins and Syria becomes indeed his farm and all of us his slaves. The demonstrations gave to go on till we Chieve regime change. Otherwise, All the blood spilled would have been waisted in vain.
April 19th, 2012, 5:57 pm
Antoine said:
103. BRONCO said:
#102 Antoine
“Rallies and demonstrations are out of fashion. 13 Months of calling for NATO, Turkey, FSA, UN, cursing or supporting the regime have had no results.
The only people who would go to a demonstration now are either paid or bored at home or still living in an illusion.
The game is no more in the streets, it is in the political arena and it is time the street crowds start to realize it”
Ah, that is why you people will never win. Rallies and demos proclaim which point of view has more supporters on the ground. I can name you 1500 cities, towns and villages in Syria and challenge the regime to hold pro-regime demosntrations there, failing which it is natural logic that the regime does not have significant support on the ground except in the coastal mountains.
Btw stop peddling that lie that Damascus and Aleppo account for 10 million people, since 7 million of those live in the Reef and suburbs, all of which are famous/notorious for being opposition strongholds, whether in the matter of protests or FSA presence.
I have heard that between 1963 and 1970 lot of land reform was carried out by the regime in Hama Governorate, many poor peasants were benefitted. Well, where are those peasants and their descendants now ? Why haven’t we seen a single pro-regime rally anywhere in Reef Hama ?
Why doesn;t Bashar go and visit some of the peasnat villages in Reef Hama, I named them for you, Kubaybat, Uqayribat, Reef Salamiyah, al-Saan, Eltamneh, Shaziar, Sahel el Ghab etc.
On the other hand there are scores of anti-regime rallies in these areas.
April 19th, 2012, 6:09 pm
Antoine said:
105. TARA said:
“Bronco
If the demonstrations die out, then Assad wins and Syria becomes indeed his farm and all of us his slaves. The demonstrations gave to go on till we Chieve regime change. Otherwise, All the blood spilled would have been waisted in vain.”
Luckily, the people have realized that long ago. They live as long as coming out to protest.
April 19th, 2012, 6:11 pm
Alan said:
Yet Another Mini-Tet in Afghanistan: Karzai Has Good Reason to Suspect the US of Wanting to Dump Him
The US seeks to continue the Afghan war into a “perpetual state of low intensity guerilla conflict”, preventing the country to rebuild its infrastructure, says a prominent political analyst.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called for an investigation into what is described as the biggest coordinated Taliban attacks this year.
Karzai says intelligence failures on the part of US-led forces allowed the militants to sneak into the most secure neighborhoods. The weekend assault in the capital Kabul and elsewhere left over 50 people–including four civilians and 11 Afghan soldiers –dead.
Washington has dismissed Karzai’s claim, saying the attacks were likely carried out by the Pakistan-based Haqqani network. This comes weeks ahead of the NATO summit in Chicago, where Karzai is expected to ink a strategic pact with the US.
Meanwhile, the US is reportedly gearing up for a major offensive in the war-torn nation. Reports say the US-led spring offensive will be in the regions that control the main access routes into Kabul.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Webster Griffin Tarpley […]
April 19th, 2012, 6:13 pm
admir said:
@Mina
‘Sounds to me like the old ‘no Palestinians in Palestine’ tune… old story. What are your evidence and hints?’
Mina, palestine is a region and palestinians refer to a nationality not an ethnic group – the people living in palestine are arabs but the region they same from is palestine – thus you can call them palestinians (per nationality) just like you can call an arab living in syria ‘syrian’ since syrian is not an ethnicity.
those who claimed that there were no palestinians would have to admit that there is no palestine – a ridiculous claim.
the evidence and hints are the facts that many of the turks settled in syria since the times of the seljuk turks (starting with the zenghid dynasty) up until the end of ottoman rule in syria. much like the pieds noir (french descendants living in algeria), the turkish settlers living in then french syria had to leave for mainland turkey.
a large proportion of those turks who remained (and there were many who did), assimilated into arab culture and life and intermarried with arabs thereby mixing arab blood with turkish blood. across the border in iraq the best evidence given is the city of tel-afar, a city that claims of turkish descent yet the inhabitants speak arabic and practice the mesopotamian arab culture.
‘The Arab tribes were all Shia? But the Umayyad were Arabs and abhored by the Shia. What about the different Kurdish dynasties? You place them were in your DNA research?’
straw-man argument, i didn’t claim that the arab tribes were shia (although large number of tribes in the mesopotamian and gulf regions were). what i said was that ‘many’ (not all) sunni arabs ‘in syria’ (not all arabs).
yes there was also intermarriage between kurds and arabs and some kurds were even forced to hide their language, culture and identity because of the baathist regime (both in iraq and syria)
April 19th, 2012, 6:16 pm
Haytham Khoury said:
Dear JNA:
Thank you for asking.
The meeting in Cairo went very well. We discussed everything, including sectarianism, FSA (origin, structure, how to deal with this phenomenon), military intervention (pros and cons), the opposition and Kurdish problem. The SDP will form a committee that will discuss with the other opposition groups to formulate a common vision for the opposition.
Please find below the link for the final declaration of the conference
http://haytham-khoury3.blogspot.ca/2012/04/blog-post.html
April 19th, 2012, 6:19 pm
zoo said:
http://www.arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=32436
?????? ?????? 2042 .. ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?
???? ???? – ??????
??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? – ???????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ????????
(..)
April 19th, 2012, 6:20 pm
Uzair8 said:
Top story on Al Arabiya English website at the moment:
*******************************************************************
Assad’s ‘Crisis Cell’: leaked documents expose attempts to contain Syrian unrest
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Highly classified documents from a covert Syrian government unit have exposed attempts by the regime to contain the unrest sweeping the country since March 2011, leaked reports obtained by Al Arabiya reveal this week.
One month into the anti-government protests across Syria, a “Crisis Cell,” was formed by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to monitor events and decide to tackle the unrest with military-led solutions.
The cell included top intelligence, government and security force figures who documented events across Syria, gathering information which would reach the president directly on a daily basis.
But one member of the cell was not part of any official Syrian party. In fact, he was a political science graduate who has admitted to “knowing the right people” in getting the position that he did.
Read more:
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/04/19/208771.html
April 19th, 2012, 6:20 pm
admir said:
‘Why, why , why….why….Mr. Admir, you tell me why the Shia regime of Iraq thought it okay to hang the former Sunni President of Iraq on Eid al-Adha day for Sunnis ?’
i didn’t ‘thought it okay’ to hang the former Sunni President of Iraq on Eid al-Adha day for Sunnis. those who conducted the trial were flawed and only charged him with the 1982 killings of 100+ shiites in dujail (an insignificant event compared to the near massacre of the entire kurdish city of halabjah).
if you look at the video of the execution of saddam you will hear the killers proclaim ‘long live…’ and mention a religious figure who was killed under saddam’s regime (baqir al sadr, sadiq al sadr, etc.), indicating that they killed saddam for revenge and not justice – and that they were shia islamists.
that and the bombing of samarra shrine by sunni islamists were the key events that led to the civil war in iraq pitting shiites against sunnis – driving away almost 2 million sunnis out of iraq and increasing percentage of shiites in iraq by around 70%.
April 19th, 2012, 6:24 pm
Khalid Tlass said:
Mr. Admir, in a previous comment some time back, you angrily rejected the notion that al-Anbar is majority Sunni. Can you back this up with facts ?
I hope you know that recently the Diyala Governorate Council has voted for autonomy ?
April 19th, 2012, 6:28 pm
Khalid Tlass said:
ADMIR,
Which areas do you think the majority of Turkmen settled down in Syria ?
Also, do you think there are obvious anthropological and physical differences between Syrians of the 4 geographic regions ? ( Coastal mountains, Orontes Valley, Houran, and al-Jazira / al-Badia)
April 19th, 2012, 6:31 pm
admir said:
‘Will wage war on any Alawi State seperated from Syria proper and task the Mujahedeen with a quota from every Moslem country, nation and tribes to fight them. Will hold Iran and HezboAli responsible unless they too send men to join the Mujahedeen quota.’
that is like asking the mujahideen to free nagorno-karabakh from armenians and back to the hands of muslim azerbaijan (which they did), but when the mujahideen realized that it was for nationalistic reasons they abandoned the fight.
similarily if you tell mujahideen to ‘liberate’ alawite region back into the hands of the sunni muslim syrian, they aren’t going to fight because it will be for nationalistic reasons – they will only fight if you tell them that you are conquering that region for islamic caliphate and not syria (something that will cause intervention by countries like the west or russia)
btw you dont even know if russia will support it or not (since they have their interests there in the tartus port), also including the fact that if the regime or alawites retreat there, they might bring all their heavy weapons there with them.
and how will mujahideen fight the coastal state without world support through arms and money? the libyan rebels only won because of no-fly zone and some weapons (and that took them 6 months), in contrast it could take at least a year for the mujahideen (excluding intervention by west or russia and equal weapons on both sides).
April 19th, 2012, 6:37 pm
Tara said:
Dear Zoo
Did you read the article entitled “why Turks do not smile”. The article sounds plausible and applicable to the ME in general. What is your take in regard to that article? Do you agree with it? It is becoming one of my goals to make you smile…Is there a hope?
Also can you please save some links till after 8 pm EST. You have been slacking off lately during the evening hours when I have time to read. It seems to me that I am the only one “at work” then and kt becomes boring. You have to maintain your status being the first of the class all the time. I wouldn’t accept any less.
April 19th, 2012, 6:40 pm
Tara said:
Antoin @105
Live to demonstrate! I thank God for that.
April 19th, 2012, 6:41 pm
Uzair8 said:
From the documentary video in the article in #111. 15 min 55 sec:
“No decision would be made without the knowledge of the Republican Palace and the {Crisis} cell’s leadership. By Republican Place I mean not only Bashar al-Assad, but a plethora of figures that make up the regime such as Maher al-Assad and Anisi Makhlouf and the Religious Council.”
What is the ‘Religious Council’?
April 19th, 2012, 6:42 pm
admir said:
@Aldendeshe
nice comment there, who told you baathism started in moscow?
April 19th, 2012, 6:58 pm
admir said:
@Khalid Tlass
I apologize if i mispoke or misinformed, al-anbar is definitely majority sunni (though not exclusively sunni), maybe i was claiming that in a certain context.
however the recent declaration for autonomy of diyala is being spearheaded by sunni arabs. the province is mixed with a slight shiite majority. after the declaration there were almost spontaneous protests against it in diyala, just like there were in salah ad-din (another mixed province but with sunni majority)
April 19th, 2012, 7:05 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Live to kill
?????? ?????? ???? ????
April 19th, 2012, 7:05 pm
admir said:
@Khalid Tlass
‘Which areas do you think the majority of Turkmen settled down in Syria ?’
near aleppo and near the turkish region (idlib, hama) – some were in quneitra but after israel took over they were dispersed elsewhere.
‘Also, do you think there are obvious anthropological and physical differences between Syrians of the 4 geographic regions ? ( Coastal mountains, Orontes Valley, Houran, and al-Jazira / al-Badia)’
well i’m not an expert on syria but from what i studied the people on the coastal regions are more caucasian than than the rest of syria (which is why syrians elsewhere refer to the coastal people as ‘al-amaan’ i.e. german). the arabs in jazira and badia resemble the arabs across the border in al-anbar, iraq; whereas the the arabs in southern syria resemble the arabs across the border in jordan – i dont know what the arabs in the orontes valley look like.
April 19th, 2012, 7:13 pm
ann said:
Skepticism overshadows Syria’s gold reserves – 2012-04-20
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/20/c_131538987.htm
Governor of the Central Bank of Syria Adib Mayalah denied as ” baseless” some foreign media reports that the Central Bank of Syria plans to put for sale some of the gold reserves, saying such news aim to “discredit the Syrian economy and stir up public opinion.”
In a recent statement to private al-Watan newspaper, He stressed that the bank has abundance of hard currency, and there is no need to sell gold reserves.
President of the Goldsmith Association George Sargi also dismissed the report as “nonsense,” adding that the central bank has large quantities of gold that were confiscated over the past years.
[…]
April 19th, 2012, 7:25 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Moderator
In response to your question about my statement regarding :90% of Sunnis thinks that Alawis are infidel. I might be off a bit, but the reality is really painful. When I lived in Syria we could care less about who the neighbor is. In one building in Aleppo you could find a Christian, a Sunni, an Alawi, an Armenian and a Kurd.
This war on Syria was started by Alkaradawi declaring the president that he is a hostage of his clan, and by Alaaroor declaring that ????????? ??? ???? ?? ???????
KSA and Qatar directly sponser and almost employs these guys. The game is successful and Alfitna is going on. Did watch Alsaroot singing ???? ???? ???????
Did you see demonstrators singing ??????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ? Do you think that 90%is off? I hope so. I might be off up or down that is the question.
April 19th, 2012, 7:27 pm
Darryl said:
I would like to come out of retirement from SC perhaps just for this post just because I could not believe that the “Prom couple” Bronco and Tara are at each other’s throat.
Firstly Bronco, it is obvious that you have never seen a naked duck as they are actually not plumb as you describe them. This off course is due to the fact that the all Wise, all knowing and best of all deceivers Allah has given ducks the ability to run, swim and fly; and they cannot do that very efficiently and expend lots of energy, hence they do not build meat to become “plump”.
Perhaps the image you have of a duck is through seeing looney tune cartoons, although Daffy Duck was always portrayed to be muscular looking character. If I were you Bronco, I would bestow on Tara a description of a Swan as they are quite elegant in their natural habitat; that is on water.
Tara has been calling President B. Assad a Butta (Duck) perhaps that has been an inadvertent compliment given that he has been able to run, swim and fly away from all the danger that the west, GCC and the revolutionaries have thrown at him.
I will close my post by offering you a recipe for char-grilled duck thighs. Marinate the duck thighs (skin on) with hot chilli sauce (a specialty in Syrian and Lebanon), garlic, ginger and rosemary over night. Char grill to perfection and enjoy with a chilled bottle of fruity Chardonnay.
Some amount of Aspirin can be added to the marinate to make the meat a bit more tender (Aspirin being an acid) and it will also help the digestion process as the person’s blood will be slightly thinned to cope with the rich and elegant fat in the duck and lastly, to help if you get a hangover from drinking too much Chardonnay. Enjoy!
April 19th, 2012, 7:31 pm
jad said:
Jalal Chahda, a Lebanese anchor on Aljazeera, just ‘resigned’, another hack, this time both, his twitter and FB site:
Jalal Chahda
about an hour ago
???? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? , ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????
https://www.facebook.com/JalalChahda.Official
Jalal Chahda
? @jalal_chahda
???? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? , ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????
https://twitter.com/#!/jalal_chahda/status/193112809154945024
April 19th, 2012, 7:37 pm
Afram said:
103. Tara said:
Bronco
If the demonstrations die out, then Assad wins and Syria becomes indeed his farm and all of us his slaves. The demonstrations gave to go on till we Chieve regime change. Otherwise, All the blood spilled would have been waisted in vain.
=================
Hi Tara, Bronco.
Syria needs peace process, like of Northern Ireland to stop the madness.
The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian, 3% Druze, Kurds 9% + Turkmens and Circassians.
Establish Syrian council of Elders to negotiate for national parliamentary political system.
Create proportional quotas for all,its more effective at weakening the regime than reform.
A coalition government:
Say there are 100 seats, 15 for MB, 15 for women, the rest get divided between:
Sunni secularists, Alawis, Christians, Druze, Kurds, Turkmens, Circassians.
right a constitution /in which several political parties cooperate.
Appoint figurehead president.
Election time/bring in the Carter Center for election observation & monitoring, they good at leading the fight against corruption.
Then duplicate/The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Offer the abused Syrians compensation
April 19th, 2012, 7:57 pm
habib said:
“Karzai says intelligence failures on the part of US-led forces allowed the militants to sneak into the most secure neighborhoods.”
So by the logic of several folks here, the attack must have been an inside job, since it happened in “secure neighborhoods”. Am I right?
April 19th, 2012, 7:58 pm
Halabi said:
“Did you see demonstrators singing ??????? ???????? ????????? ????????”
For more than a year the pro-Assad side has been claiming that this is the main chant of the revolution. But as with 90% of their claims, this simply isn’t true.
As long as we are discussing percentages, what portion of Alawites believe deep down that every Sunni has been waiting for decades for the chance to kill the men and enslave the women, thereby justifying extreme violence against Sunnis?
Please, no need to answer. These types of arguments make things worse. Only one side today has called for equal rights for all citizens – the regime enshrined a racist constitution and all its slogans are based on one man/family: Assad’s Syria, Assad or we torch the country, no God but Bashar, etc.
Although pro-Assad thugs sometimes say ???? ???? ????, we all know that the slogan was first used by the revolution. I think it will continue to be a dominant theme to keep Syria together. There is hatred that must be overcome by all sides to save Syria, especially the one with the tanks and bombs who are destroying lives and property.
April 19th, 2012, 8:05 pm
jad said:
Since you are fluent in Arabic and in the Syrian dialect, could you please translate word by word of what they are saying.
April 19th, 2012, 8:07 pm
bronco said:
#19 Tara
“Are YOU the owner of that blog?”
April 19th, 2012, 8:21 pm
jad said:
‘???? ???? ????’ of the Pro-Asad thugs is not as good as ‘???? ???? ????’ from Pro-3ar3our ‘Angels’…not even comparable…and they should never ever be permitted to use it…shame on them!
Monsieur 3ar3our speaking to his 3ar3eer:
????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????
http://youtu.be/FLy0OnThDR0
April 19th, 2012, 8:21 pm
Aldendeshe said:
All you hear and read from this
Alawi-Baathi dictatorial regime and supporters is weird and retarded stuff that you can not make any sense off. Mockery, sarcasm, racism, Arrour, Qatar, Islamist, mundasseen, Israel, you name it, they throw it at you incoherently with obnoxiously rude loudness, leaving you shaking your head in disgust at the amateurish propaganda.
When this regime and those paid to defend it are going to respond to the specific grievances mentioned over and over against this evil Baathist –
Alawite monopoly rule. I don’t have time to give you the long, long list of the grievances, someone else maybe can, but hardly any human on earth that don’t know what this regime is about and the evil they are doing to own people and own country.
Posting articles about UN. this and that, U.S. giving the nod, Turkey chikining out, who cares about all those, your problem is with the Syrian people who wants you out and tried and convicted. You can have Ali (Amen) and his
mighty-mouse Shia army on your side, you will be defeated. There is no going back on this don’t you see that, you are not going to tire this power or this group, the end is you will tire yourselves and be weakened with your backers to the back wall.
I look at videos of Iran revolution and watch it with glee, not at the victory Iranian celebrating and stamping Iran Noble Shah pictures (what a great man he was), burning his effigies in the streets, no, I glee over it, knowing that these videos could be one day the Iranian people rising up, toppling the deceiving, corrupt mullahs, the munafekeen out of power with the same vengeance. Just as I watch my favorite videos of Russian toppling the commies out of power.
The day is coming, the videos are not going to be pretty for the
Alawites and Baathists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzHX7VE5sSQ
April 19th, 2012, 8:22 pm
Ghufran said:
http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today%5C19qpt999.htm&arc=data%5C2012%5C04%5C04-19%5C19qpt999.htm
Syria’s neighbors must remember that a war will not be limited to Syria and the outcome of such a war is uncertain, the only certain result of such an evil development is utter destruction and the end of the Levant as an inhabitable place for decent people who want to live and let live. I refuse to believe in this ungodly prophecy.
April 19th, 2012, 8:22 pm
Tara said:
Affram
I would support your proposal wholeheartedly.
What do you want to do with those who have blood on their hands?
April 19th, 2012, 8:26 pm
jad said:
?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? 14 ?????
??????? ???? ????
April 19th, 2012, 8:29 pm
ann said:
128. JAD
What is this Psycho saying?
Thanks
April 19th, 2012, 8:29 pm
Tara said:
Darryl
Nice to see you around. Stop being silly and come out of your retirement. 2wks ago, I was at a function and suggested Australian Shiraz. People spent few minutes talking about “Tara’s sophisticated taste. Was pretty good.
You missed a great shoes topic, Loubotin for all..men and women alike, children too.
April 19th, 2012, 8:32 pm
Aldendeshe said:
SC MOD, I appreciate what you are doing here. But not the extremes. The regime is an Alwite-sectarian one. There is no reason why this fact can not be stated on SC. Even CNN and NYT, LAT state the term as so. What are trying to do by sensoring this fact? We are fed up and don’t like or care about this minority any more in Syria.
April 19th, 2012, 8:42 pm
jad said:
Ann
What do you think a ‘psycho’ will say?
Nothing of importance, the usual rhetoric sectarian issues that will lead to more killing and will never help solve any of the slogans the Syrians revolt against.
What is disturbing the most is to know that this ‘psycho’ has lots of supporters who actually listen to his brainless ‘orders’.
April 19th, 2012, 8:45 pm
daleandersen said:
I knew that, sooner or later, the SC Moderator would give up on this band of idiots. I’m glad it was sooner…
April 19th, 2012, 8:48 pm
Halabi said:
I just worry about pro-Assad thugs (a term I hate to use but we-love-you is banned) losing their purity when adopting 3ar3our chants. Saying “I want to annihilate the followers of Mohammad” as this sniper does is much better. http://youtu.be/loUIglMuszo
Joining the multi-faith terrorist sleeper cells in Europe and the U.S. that Hassoun spoke of is much better than chanting for unity…
I think there is a darker reason why the Syrian military and we-love-you crowd uses the term 3ar3our and 3ara3eer when describing the opposition, even if they are Christians, non-believers or have never heard of this fringe televangelist. It’s because it rhymes with cockroach in Arabic, an insect that should be exterminated. It’s the same term used to inspire the killers in Rwanda.
For supporters of a government that releases Al Qaeda terrorists while arresting women who call for the end of violence, subliminal promotion of genocide is just part of a good days work.
April 19th, 2012, 8:58 pm
Tara said:
Are pro-regime going to express admiration towards Hillary now?
Is Bashar al-Assad a war criminal? US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won’t say so.
CNN..posted a portion of Clinton’s interview yesterday with Wolf Blitzer in which he asks her if Assad is a war criminal.
“I’m not going to get into the labeling, Wolf,” Clinton said. “We really don’t want to be labeling what we see which are clearly disproportionate use of force, human rights abuses, absolutely merciless shelling with heavy weaponry into unarmed civilian areas, even shelling across borders now in Turkey and Lebanon.”
(…)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/19/syria-crisis-bahrain-unrest-live#block-49
April 19th, 2012, 9:08 pm
jad said:
Good one, comparing an anonymous guy who may or may not be a true soldier to an ‘uprising’ ‘Figure’, freedom ‘Lover’ and beloved ‘Leader’ like 3ar3our is so convincing.
Let’s forget 3ar3our, how about Zou3bi, Ma2moun Al7omsi, or even Sarout to name few ‘leaders’ rhetoric and sectarian message of hate..what about the emails of Ghalyoun on Alakhbar where they used sectarian messages? How about the MBs ‘leaders’ or or or….aren’t all these people the political ‘leaders’ of the hijacked uprising..
On the other hand, not one of the Syrian official used any ‘sectarian’ word against any element of the Syrian society, not even once….yet, they are the ‘thugs’.
I like it when the same people who keep calling anybody who disagree with them as ‘menhebak’ or ‘thug’ get offended by calling them ‘3ara3eer’ and start crying ‘Rawanda’….I guess the anti-everything crowds are so sensitive when the are talked back to…
Regardless of whatever they write or preach or scream, the slogan ‘???? ???? ????’ is for every Syrian to use, Syria is for all and not to you or them, fhamowa ba2a!
April 19th, 2012, 9:17 pm
Tara said:
Pentagon remains reluctant to intervene in Syria, but defence secretary tells Congress all military options are under review
Thursday 19 April 2012 13.37 EDT
Protesters surround a United Nations observer vehicle on the outskirts of Damascus on Wednesday. Photograph: Shaam News Network/AFP/Getty Images
US defence secretary Leon Panetta disclosed Thursday the Pentagon has plans in place for establishing humanitarian corridors in Syria, an idea publicly aired by French president Nicholas Sarkozy earlier in the day in Paris.
Panetta, giving evidence to the House armed services committee, said the plan for humanitarian corridors was under review in the Pentagon along with other military options for intervention aimed at helping the Syrian opposition and toppling Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The Pentagon remains reluctant to intervene militarily in Syria, saying that the conditions that existed for action in Libya do not yet apply in the country.
Panetta, citing the divided nature of opposition groups inside Syria, said: “Outside military intervention could make a volatile situation worse”.
But Panetta, giving evidence alongside the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Martin Dempsey, said that all military options are under review in the Pentagon, ready to be implemented if Barack Obama gives the order.
(..)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/19/us-military-plan-syria-escalates?newsfeed=true
April 19th, 2012, 9:20 pm
jad said:
No need to worry because comparing an anonymous guy who may or may not be a true soldier to an ‘uprising’ ‘Figure’, freedom ‘Lover’ and beloved ‘Leader’ like 3ar3our is so convincing.
Let’s forget 3ar3our, how about Zou3bi, Ma2moun Al7omsi, or even Sarout to name few ‘leaders’ who spread rhetoric and sectarian message of hate..
what about the emails of Ghalyoun on Alakhbar where they used sectarian messages?
How about the MBs ‘leaders’ or or or….aren’t all these people the political ‘leaders’ of the hijacked uprising?
On the other hand, not one of the Syrian official used any ‘sectarian’ word against any element of the Syrian society, not even once….yet, they are the ‘th ugs’ and the freedom leaders are the ‘angels’ sure!!
I like it when the same people who keep calling anybody who disagree with them as ‘men hebak’ or ‘thug’ get offended by calling them ‘3ara3eer’ and start crying ‘Rawanda’….I guess the anti-everything crowds are so sensitive when they are talked back at…
Regardless of whatever they write or preach or scream, the slogan ‘???? ???? ????’ is for every Syrian to use, Syria is for all and not to you or them, fhamowa ba2a, no Syrian is leaving the homeland, and nobody will force any Syrian to leave, if any side doesn’t like it tough luck…they will learn!
April 19th, 2012, 9:22 pm
Afram said:
132. Tara said:
Affram
I would support your proposal wholeheartedly.
What do you want to do with those who have blood on their hands?
=================
Truth and reconciliation commission is a court-like justice body.
would be tasked to fix all wrongdoings.
April 19th, 2012, 9:41 pm
Halabi said:
I guess I hit a nerve. We-love-you is a terms that pro-Assad supporters use themselves and are proud of. On the other hand, 3ara3eer is mostly used by soldiers who graffiti the walls of villages they plunder all over Syria, or when they are spitting and abusing dead Syrians. (I will spare everyone the videos this time).
April 19th, 2012, 9:49 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Halabi,
Is it not sad how some people to this day think that Syria is Assad, as if our country was founded by the clan of Wahesh.
Most of the direct decedents of the founding members of our country are living in exile from the Mardams, Kouatlys, Azms, Khanis and Dawalibi, while the family that has raped, maimed and destroyed Syria continue to sit on their illegitimate throne.
Souria Al Assad ili kheirbet beitna, ma7aloun yefhamou ino Souria Hurra ou malla la beit Assad. Tuz be beit el Assad ou kil el bi7yeehun
April 19th, 2012, 10:16 pm
Ghufran said:
Bahrain and Saudi protests, especially in Bahrain, are poised to become more violent, efforts to shield these two countries from the wave of popular uprising are likely to fail, the regimes in the GCC will use the usual fig leaf of “foreign conspiracy” and may seek US help. If Bashar emerges as a victor from this crisis he will make sure that he returns the favor to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, toppling the syrian regime is now more important to KSA and Qatar than reforming their own governments.
If Syria gets out of this mess with a reasonable political formula that includes most parties, the whole region will follow and a new chapter in the middle east modern history will be written that can for the first time includes foreign words such as freedom and democracy, this is a challenge for all and not just the regime, it is a race between warmongers and advocates of peaceful change.
I agree with SOD, the term “Syria Al-Assad” is an insult to a country that invented the first alphabet.
April 19th, 2012, 10:26 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Afram,
I think you have a solid plan, however a major concern for me would be the sect allocation based system. If we look at Lebanon that has proved to be a disaster and people end up voting based on sect rather than politics, also as is the case in Lebanon the percentage of sects might be one thing today, and a whole other thing a decade down the road.
What I think would be a better solution is perhaps assigning certain cabinet positions to sects, positions that are usually assigned by the President and are not voted upon by the public. This might help ensure minority concerns are met, and that if a party such as the MB is the party chosen by the peoples vote they would still need to have members of the minorities in their cabinet to form a government.
April 19th, 2012, 10:34 pm
Ghufran said:
Muhammad Habash may be ready to change camps:
http://www.shamlife.com/?page=show_det&select_page=9&id=22250
April 19th, 2012, 10:41 pm
Halabi said:
Russian democracy – the absolute best case scenario for Assad’s Syria. Sure it’s better than Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and other disgusting goat-human/3arouri countries (curiously the repressive Islamic theocracy of Iran is never lumped in that list), but it falls short of what Syrians are actually demanding: freedom and democracy that civilized people enjoy in the West, where most men7ebaks who post here live.
Having Vowed Reform, Kremlin Said to Dilute It – WSJ
“Some of Medvedev’s promised moves to open up the political system that opponents say have since been weakened:
– Political party registration. New rules will let dozens of parties form. But parties won’t be allowed to form blocs that could boost electoral chances.
– Governor elections. Kremlin to reinstate voting, but retains influence in screening which candidates can run.
– Public television. Russia says it will launch a public TV network. But Kremlin is to appoint its top official.”
http://on.wsj.com/JGicmO
Here’s a BBC report from Taftanaz, a village that has been under siege for months and posed no real threat to the regime but was nevertheless brutally crushed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17779186
?????? ?? ??? ?????
The revolution has connected the pro-democracy side to almost every town and village in the country, forging a new Syrian identity based on common sacrifice and aspirations, a more powerful bond than those based on the worship of a family or sect. This shared identity is perhaps the most important result of the revolution and will form the basis of a democratic and united Syria in the future, after Assad flees into a luxurious exile while his supporters pay the price for his crimes.
April 19th, 2012, 10:44 pm
Ghufran said:
In the crowded market of press releases and speeches,the only one who is making sense is Lavrov:
http://www.shamlife.com/?page=show_det&select_page=9&id=22301
April 19th, 2012, 10:47 pm
jad said:
The west future is bright for hosting all kind of 3ra3eer!
April 19th, 2012, 11:20 pm
Afram said:
@148. Son of Damascus
constituencies elect their Representatives.
Then form a coalition government, syrians would have all the time national unity government, all-party coalitions, this will lead to no more national crisis..what the heck, create country wide inspector general’s office to to investigate fraudulent conduct by those in power.
April 19th, 2012, 11:21 pm
jad said:
??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????
??????? ??????
{…}
????????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????. ??????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????.
???? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ????????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????. ?? ?????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???????? ????????. ??? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??????.
{…}
????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???????. ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??????. ??? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? «?????????» ?? ???? ??? ???. ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????????… ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??????. ???? ?? ??? «?????? ?? ?????».
???????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ????? «?? ??? ???? ?????»? ?? ????? «?? ??? ???? ?????». ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???. ???? ????????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????????? ?????? ???? ???????. ??? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? «??????? ????????» ?????????. ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????.
{…}
??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????? ?? ?????… ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ???????? ??? «?? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ???????».
????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????. ??? ????? ?? ??????????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ????.
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/62603
April 19th, 2012, 11:25 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Althwora Altakfeereh
http://syria-politic.com/ar/Default.aspx?subject=575#.T5DYEIl5mc0
April 19th, 2012, 11:37 pm
jad said:
Washington’s options in Syria:
???? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? .. ??????? ??? ????? ??????
?? ??????
????????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???????: ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ????????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ????????? ?? ????? ??????.
???? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? «???? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? (?????? ?????? ????) ????? ??? ????? ?? ????. ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????. ??? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ????»? ????? ?? ?????? «??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????».
?????? ?? «??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???????»? ????? ??? ??? «?? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???????». ????? «???? ???? ?? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ???».
???? ?????? ?? ??????? ????????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?«????? ???????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????» ?????? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?«??? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????». ????? «???????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?????». ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????.
???? ?????? «????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???????????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???????. ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ????. ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ???????». ???? ?? «??????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ?????». ???? ?? «???? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??????????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????????? ?????????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ?????». ????? «??? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????».
{…}
?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ????????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??????. ???? ??????? ?? ????????? ????? «????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???????». ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? «?? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????».
???? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????? ???? ??? «???? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????????. ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ????????. ???? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ????????? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ??????».
??? ?????? ??????????? ???? ???? ???? ?? «?????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ???????. ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????. ?? ????? ????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????. ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? 10 ?????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ????????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????. ????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????».
{…}
April 19th, 2012, 11:50 pm
zoo said:
Paris’s trimmed “Friends of Syria” Photo Op
Foreign Ministers Meet in Paris to Discuss Syria
Jessica Menton | Apr 19, 2012 4:44pm EDT |
http://tv.ibtimes.com/foreign-ministers-meet-in-paris-to-discuss-syria/5084.html
April 19th, 2012, 11:52 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Afram,
“constituencies elect their Representatives.”
I totally agree, what I am saying is that cabinet positions (positions that are usually assigned, and not elected as in Defence Minister, Foreign Affaires, Minister of Interior…) those positions to be reserved to certain sects, while positions that need the vote of the general constituencies (like Majles El Shaab, President of the Republic) cannot be reserved based on sect, sex, or creed.
Personally I would like to avoid the whole sect based system all together, however realities on the ground dictates that we cannot overlook such things.
April 19th, 2012, 11:59 pm
jad said:
LOLOL 20 thumbs down in 30min on a forum where there are only 4 commentators, apparently al3ar3our is mad 🙂
April 20th, 2012, 12:05 am
zoo said:
Have the yoyos finally made up their mind?
Israeli defense minister: Assad ouster ‘positive’
Associated Press – 7 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-defense-minister-assad-ouster-positive-201102166.html
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister says the Syrian president has lost his legitimacy, and his fall would be “very positive.”
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says the exit of Syrian President Bashar Assad would weaken Iranian influence in the region. He says anti-Israel Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Gaza would suffer if Assad is overthrown.
“The toppling of Assad will be … a major blow to Iran,” Barak told CNN. “It will be very positive event.”
Israel considers Iran its most serious threat. Iran and Syria are close allies.
Barak said Thursday the world is not doing enough to force Assad out.
(…)
April 20th, 2012, 12:07 am
Son of Damascus said:
Dear Jad,
“On the other hand, not one of the Syrian official used any ‘sectarian’ word against any element of the Syrian society, not even once….yet, they are the ‘thugs’.”
Actually the new sham of a constitution is sectarian because it does not allow a Christian to be president of the republic. A man like the good Dr. Khoury would not be allowed to run for President.
Also the name the Syrian Arab Republic is sectarian of itself, because it alienates the Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, and other diverse and proud sects in our country. They are as much Syrian as you and I are (I am assuming you are of Arab heritage, correct me if I am wrong).
“no Syrian is leaving the homeland, and nobody will force any Syrian to leave”
I totally agree with you when you say Syria is for all, however when you worry about what might happen after Bashar, you are missing what Bashar is doing. Over 100,000 of our own brothers and sisters have been displaced living like refugees in our neighbouring countries, the only people driving Syrians today en masse out of our country is the regime and their brutal and relentless methods.
April 20th, 2012, 12:13 am
Halabi said:
Amen, Son of Damascus. It was never Assad’s Syria, we just had to live “as if” it were, as Lisa Wedeen explained in her excellent book [
+ Ambiguities of Domination ] .
Most Syrians no longer accept this humiliation and have rejected the criminals in power. The country has changed dramatically and just can’t be governed through fear anymore. This is what the pro-Assad side doesn’t get and never will.
The families you mentioned have suffered an injustice and I hope they return and help rebuild the country. Those with the capital and knowledge must return in order to honor our brethren in Taftanaz, Jassem, Hilfaya and all the other towns and villages that have sacrificed so much for freedom.
Of course Assad could win. Then his supporters would be in eternal bliss, killing, detaining and exiling anyone who disagrees with them while chanting their sick pledge:
????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???
April 20th, 2012, 12:30 am
Son of Damascus said:
Jad,
Lol, you might have a shot at Majed’s unbelievable record when he got all those thumbs down.
https://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=14166&cp=all#comment-304027
April 20th, 2012, 12:31 am
jad said:
Dear Son of Damascus,
Will remind you of that comment when things go south, don’t rush, I promise you that things are going from bad to worse, just wait and see how the fantasy Syria we are dreaming of will shatter infront of our eyes, ‘patience is a virtue’.
“A man like the good Dr. Khoury would not be allowed to run for President.” Thank God! (Sorry Haytham :))
“Syrian Arab Republic” You really think that I care much for the ‘Arabism’ fantasy? I don’t.
Let whoever wants to become a president win the election and I’m fine with him/her.
“the only people driving Syrians today en masse out of our country is the regime and their brutal and relentless methods.”
What about the ‘angels’ factor, aren’t they doing anything wrong, aren’t they using people’s houses to shoot and throwing people out of their houses?
In anyway, my message was clear enough, if anybody wants to distort it for political reason that is their choice but definitely not mine.
April 20th, 2012, 12:33 am
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
154. jad said:
??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????
??????? ??????
{…}
????????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????. ??????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????.
——————————————————————–
SNP can and will deliver a resolution to Syria without reliance on what you stated above. But first will explore the possibility, and give time allowance for a process, in the hope of reaching a wide ranging agreement with many concerned parties. Mainly to understand what are the various interests they have in a new Syria and they understand and feel secure about, what to expect is coming in a new Syria. This shall alleviate the need to use belligerence to implement various plans and policies and use the regions and international concerns as assets and partners rather than marked for conflict. But should these various interests persist in carrying out dead end solutions and or malignant plans in Syria. SNP will go it alone and deal with any of Syria’s adversaries alone as well.
April 20th, 2012, 12:37 am
jad said:
LOLOL I wish I can beat that record high one day! 53!!! WOW
April 20th, 2012, 12:37 am
Afram said:
@158. Son of Damascus
100 seat parliament
MB 15 seats
Women 15..
sunni secularists 35 seats
Alawis 13
christians 6..
kurds 6..
druze 5..
turkmans+sharkas 5…
all approx figures
to win you need two thirds+1=67 seats
sunni secularist:35+Alawi 13+women15+kurds 6=69/government formed
politics is dealing and wheeling..in secular democracy no need to worry about abuse of power..coz The constructive vote of no confidence would ruin any prime minister political career>
don,t get me wrong,you and I are on the same page
April 20th, 2012, 12:46 am
jad said:
SNP
How can you achieve such progress in a volatile and bloody war-zone conditions like in Syria today?
Any development of any kind, be it political, economical, social and environmental needs peace to start and stability to flourish, so any initiative regardless how ‘great’ or ‘promising’ it is, (Like Afram’s plan, ONLY 15 to women? Aren’t you generous my friend?) wont work until all conflict sides sit together on one table and talk, without that nothing will work, unless we want to destroy the country, the state and the society as the Americans and Europeans did to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
April 20th, 2012, 12:51 am
jad said:
Zoo,
The Yoyos already said that more than 8 times already…saying that for the 10th time won’t change a thing.
April 20th, 2012, 12:55 am
Aldendeshe said:
No one will sit with this sectarian regime. No fool will. They are out and done, the confrence was regarding various oppositions and regional, international countries. The dictator puppet and his regime finished, they can talk to the hand.
April 20th, 2012, 12:59 am
Son of Damascus said:
Halabi,
“Of course Assad could win.”
He won’t, past generations were willing to be subdued by fear, this generation has proven to be much more resilient, and will never bow down to this criminal regime.
April 20th, 2012, 1:03 am
Halabi said:
A glimpse of our ugly future. It would be nice to have a government that would stop these crimes, but they are too busy making sure a few woman don’t hold a silent protest in the capital…
“Syrian Sunnis and Shiites caught up in kidnapping tit-for-tat
IDLIB, Syria — In a rickety office building once used by agricultural engineers in the village of Hazano, rebels with the Missiles of Justice militia waited to hear word of negotiations about a hostage swap that night.
Sitting at an old metal desk, a Sunni Muslim rebel named Mustafa manned a phone, waiting for new reports of kidnappings. He had started a list of missing Sunnis in a notebook, including a young man in a white Mazda and a pharmacist.
The list didn’t include the names of the Shiite Muslim hostages the rebels were holding in a building somewhere in the village.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fg-syria-sectarian-20120420,0,2054810,full.story
April 20th, 2012, 1:13 am
Son of Damascus said:
Dear Jad,
“I promise you that things are going from bad to worse, just wait and see how the fantasy Syria we are dreaming of will shatter infront of our eyes, ‘patience is a virtue’.”
I fully agree, and one of the main reasons that is happening is because of the looking the other way mentality which is enabling the regime and the fundamentalists to hijack our country.
The sooner this regime falls, the better chance we have at preserving whatever of the State there is left and rebuild upon that, help combat not only Assadism and its sick mentality but as well the bigot terrorist fundamentalist mentality a la 3ar3our.
Both of them are venomous poison that should have no place in our society or country, but blood letting won’t solve the problem (whether FSA or Assadi Army) our voice and courage to say NO MORE is the best anti venom we can use against such poison.
The only reason history repeats itself is because we did not pay attention the first time around, lets pay attention and not let history repeat itself.
““Syrian Arab Republic” You really think that I care much for the ‘Arabism’ fantasy? I don’t.”
I know you don’t, but I pointed it out because it is sectarian and is something the regime believes in. The only ism I care about is Syrianism.
April 20th, 2012, 1:23 am
jad said:
This is smart and considered decision from the UN observer, I guess many will be mad at this news:
The UN observer won’t do any visit anywhere in Syria on Fridays:
???? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??? ??????
??? ???? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????? ” ?? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ? ?? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? “.
{…}
http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_news&id=8762d5136531b623fa8708d4b77406cc&ar=41082367
April 20th, 2012, 1:28 am
jad said:
Son of Damascus,
“I pointed it out because it is sectarian and is something the regime believes in.”
Apparently not only the regime even the oppositions believe in that too, and it was the main reason why the Kurds left snc.
“The only ism I care about is Syrianism.”
It’s the same ‘Ism’ I care about too, unfortunately it is the only ‘Ism’ the enemy of Syria are after.
April 20th, 2012, 1:35 am
Son of Damascus said:
Afram,
I know we are arguing semantics that I honestly wish would be the reality rather than this nightmare we are seeing.
I just believe that if you assign parliament into sect based percentages that would be a quick fix that in the long run hurt more than it helped. i.e. Lebanon
Personally I would prefer parliament to be based on just votes for political vision rather than religious or sect based vision. This is of course not to say that a religious or sect based group can’t run for parliament it just should not be pre defined. What if 5 years from know no one wanted to vote MB?
April 20th, 2012, 1:41 am
annie said:
Sorry for this long quote from Anand Gopal who has just returned from Syria on Tuesday, where he interviewed survivors of last week’s bloody battle for the town of Taftanaz in northern Syria. Reports say government forces continue to attack rebel strongholds in Homs, in Hama, other cities, in violation of a U.N.-backed ceasefire that took effect last week.
On Wednesday, U.S. Foreign Secretary—U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels, saying the situation in Syria has become even more urgent after last week’s shelling of a refugee camp at the Turkish border. Clinton said additional measures would follow if President Bashar al-Assad does not stick to the ceasefire negotiated by ex-U.N Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: We are at a crucial turning point: either we succeed in pushing forward with Kofi Annan’s plan in accordance with the Security Council direction, with the help of monitors, steadily broadening and deepening a zone of non-conflict and peace, or we see Assad squandering his last chance before additional measures have to be considered. Now, we will continue to increase the pressure on Assad.
JUAN GONZALEZ: On Wednesday, Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-regime demonstrators surrounding the cars of a U.N. team in a suburb of Damascus. Hundreds of residents had mobbed the observers’ vehicles chanting against the government and in support of the Free Syrian Army insurgent group. The gunshots wounded at least eight demonstrators and prompted the panicked crowd to flee, according to activists and videos shot at the event. Earlier, representatives of the United Nations and the Syrian government moved toward reaching an agreement that would allow a full contingent of 250 observers to deploy in Syria to monitor a fragile ceasefire. Anand Gopal, talk about this and the latest developments in Syria.
ANAND GOPAL: Well, I was in Syria before the ceasefire and after. And initially, there was a decrease in violence. But what you saw after a few days is Assad’s regime firing at protesters, shelling neighborhoods, without provocation and indiscriminately, to the point where the ceasefire is almost meaningless now.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to play a clip for you. This is the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s recent comments on Syria. He appeared on Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, new program on RT called The World Tomorrow.
HASSAN NASRALLAH: [translated] From the beginning of the events in Syria, we’ve had constant contact with the Syrian leadership, and we’ve spoken as friends, giving each other advice about the importance of carrying out reforms. Right from the beginning, I personally found that President Assad was very willing to carry out radical and important reforms. And this used to reassure us regarding the positions that we took. At more than one occasion, publicly, I used to give speeches and say this, and say this exactly. And in my meetings with various Lebanese and Arab and other political leaders, I used to tell them the same thing, that I am confident that President Assad wants reform, and he will carry out reforms, realistic, genuine reforms. But the opposition has to agree to dialog.
I’ll say more than this. This is the first time I say this. We contacted even elements of the opposition to encourage them and to facilitate the process of dialog with the regime. But these parties rejected dialog. And right from the beginning, we’ve had a regime that is willing to undergo reforms and prepared for dialog. On the other side, you have an opposition which is not prepared for dialog, and it’s not prepared to accept any—the reforms. All it wants is to bring down the regime.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Hassan Nasrallah on Julian Assange’s new program.
ANAND GOPAL: Yeah, that’s a—
AMY GOODMAN: Anand Gopal?
ANAND GOPAL: That’s a bit disingenuous. I mean, of course the opposition does not want to negotiate with the regime, just as the Egyptian people didn’t want to negotiate with Mubarak. What the people of Syria are faced with right now is slaughter, and there’s no chance for negotiation. I mean, it’s either being killed or somehow overthrowing the regime. And I went from village to village and town to town in northern Syria and saw this for myself, where towns were completely flattened and people were massacred in a number of places. The issue of negotiations is a nonstarter.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And you also interviewed some of the insurgents and the rebel army. Your sense of their cohesiveness and their ability to maintain that struggle against the government?
ANAND GOPAL: Well, on the ground, the revolutionaries have actually set up pretty robust alternative governments. I mean, they’ve overthrown Assad. They’ve set up these systems of participatory government councils, where people are elected and they have the right to instant recall. I mean, it’s really something that I’ve never seen. And I was in Egypt, I was in Libya. I’ve never anything like it. And even after the Syrian army offensive over the last three weeks, which went in and flattened a whole bunch of towns and villages, they’re still intact, and they’re still running the show in a lot of these towns.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about how you got in, what you expected to see, and then what you saw.
ANAND GOPAL: Well, I had a lot of questions about the nature of the insurgency in Syria. And, you know, of course, the U.S. and the West are supporting, at least in word supporting, the insurgency. So I was coming at it with a very skeptical and critical mind. We went over the border, basically crawling under a barbed-wire fence and hiking over mountains for a long period. But when I got into Syria, what I found was completely different from what I expected, in that in every town and village, it was essentially the entire population was mobilized in support of the revolution. I mean, you had from little children to old people. Really, I’ve never seen anything like that before. And it showed to me the extent to which the revolution had a—has a mass, democratic popular base, and Assad doesn’t.
AMY GOODMAN: And the effect of Kofi Annan, the special envoy for the Arab League and the United Nations, what he had proposed?
ANAND GOPAL: Well, he had proposed a ceasefire, which, as we mentioned, has really not been in practice. I mean, the regime is shelling towns indiscriminately.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you think? What are people calling for right now in Syria?
ANAND GOPAL: Well, people are—people are beyond calling for the overthrow of the regime. I mean, they’re in a desperate situation, so of course they’re calling for any kind of assistance they can get. And I understand and empathize, to an extent, with that. But some of the things they’re calling for, such as arming the revolutionaries would—I think would only spur Iran and Russia to arm the government, and perhaps lead to a pretty bloody proxy war. And we’ve been down that road before in Central America and in South Asia, so I think we have to be really cautious about that.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Anand Gopal, we want to thank you very much for being with us, journalist who covers Afghanistan, Egypt; writing a book, actually, about the Afghanistan war; has just returned from Syria after a week there.
source : http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/19/back_from_syria_journalist_anand_gopal
April 20th, 2012, 2:56 am
Halabi said:
This is an example of the regime charging sectarian tensions in Homs. Buthaina Shaaban talked about sectarianism from the first days of the protests in Daraa, and Bashar mentioned fitna more than Syria in his first speech, mostly to avoid his lisp.
“Homs is Syria’s third largest city, and the country’s most religiously diverse. Intermarriage was common for all but the most conservative, and it was considered gauche to discuss sect. In the months leading up to the revolution, Ali and Mohammad, who were both engaged to be married, spoke endlessly about saving up enough money to have a joint wedding. “We dreamed that our children would play together, and that they too would be best friends,” says Ali.
But as pressure mounted against the regime, Assad resurrected old sectarian tensions in order to bolster support from the country’s religious minorities. “The regime was trying to create fear among the Alawites and the Christians,” says Ali. “He [Assad] said to us, if the Islamists take over, they will kick you out of Syria.” Many of Ali’s Alawite friends, who hold government jobs, were offered extracurricular stipends—as much as $500 a month— to fan those fears through a graffiti campaign. “The Christians to Beirut, the Alawites to the grave” was one of the more common ones. Another friend was told to shout sectarian slogans at anti-government rallies. Ali says he doesn’t blame his friends for participating in the propaganda campaign. “They are poor, and were terrified that they would loose their jobs if they didn’t do it.”
But what was once propagandistic myth making on the part of the regime now seems to be coming true. In May, the government started handing out weapons to Alawite citizens. Nominally it was for self-defense, but if folks wanted to take the law into their own hands, well, that wasn’t discouraged either. Ali, who never publicly discussed his change of heart, took his government-issued AK-47 and gas mask and gave them to Mohammad’s younger brother, who had just defected from the army in order to join the rebels.
The Free Syrian Army, as the defected soldiers call themselves, say that they only defend protesters, but enough videos of FSA attacks on government soldiers and armed Alawites has emerged to make it clear that the opposition can be equally brutal, if given the opportunity. One of Ali’s Alawite friends was caught by the FSA shouting sectarian slogans at an anti-government rally. He was beaten until he confessed that he had been sent by the regime. He was allowed to go free, but the damage was done.”
http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/03/01/eyewitness-from-homs-an-alawite-refugee-warns-of-sectarian-war-in-syria/#ixzz1sYtkZzc4
April 20th, 2012, 3:17 am
Alan said:
Greenwald: Assange show – Kremlin propaganda? Look who’s talking!
http://rt.com/news/assange-greenwald-show-kremlin-487/
Assange’s The World Tomorrow has created a storm in the media that has taken no time at all to accuse the Kremlin of pulling strings. But in their anti-propaganda crusade some media are blind to their own practices, notes journalist Glen Greenwald.
The founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website had no illusions how his talk show would be perceived, especially with RT as the initial broadcaster. “A traitor” and “a Kremlin patsy” is what Julian Assange knew he would hear from his opponents.
This did not take too long to crystallize in a review by The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley, who lashed out at Assange and his choice of broadcaster.
“The show is unlikely to win high ratings or change many minds, but it may serve Mr. Assange’s other agenda: damage control,” writes Stanley, adding that there was something almost “atavistic” about the outlet the whistleblower picked.
“Russia Today is an English-language news network created by the Russian leader Vladimir V. Putin in 2005 to promote the Kremlin line abroad… Basically, it’s an improbable platform for a man who poses as a radical left-wing whistleblower and free-speech frondeur battling the superpowers that be,” reads the NYT article.
[ … ]
April 20th, 2012, 4:36 am
Tara said:
Factbox: Main points of Syria-U.N. deal on monitors
Reuters – 1 hr 0 mins ago
(Reuters) – Syria and the United Nations signed a preliminary agreement this week governing the responsibilities of the Syrian government and armed opposition groups for keeping a ceasefire that U.N. monitors will oversee, after 13 months of bloodshed.
Here is a summary of the main points of the agreement:
RESPONSIBILITIES OF SYRIAN GOVERNMENT
– “Cease armed violence in all its forms; complete the pullback of all Syrian army military concentrations and their heavy weapons from inside and around population centers and return them to their barracks or their places of temporary deployment”; implement other elements of the agreement with international mediator Kofi Annan.
– Syrian government will ensure “maintenance of security and law and order through the use of its police and law enforcement agencies in a manner consistent with international humanitarian and human rights law.”
– It will also ensure the safety of all U.N. staff “without prejudice to the freedom of movement for all personnel”, and “full and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to all populations in need of assistance”.
– No agreement was reached on the U.N. use of planes or helicopters. This “may be discussed and agreed at a later date”.
– Syrian government will allow “unhindered access of U.N. personnel to any facility, location, individual or group considered of interest”.
– Syria’s armed forces may “continue to maintain the security of strategic assets and installations, eg ports, airports, highways, refineries etc”
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ARMED GROUPS
The following responsibilities are “to be confirmed by (Annan) with and in respect of the armed opposition groups and relevant elements”:
– “A complete halt to the fighting and a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms.
– Freedom of movement for U.N. staff, no threat to their security, and full access for humanitarian personnel to all populations in need of assistance.
– Armed opposition groups must “cease all acts of aggression against Syrian army formations, bases, convoys and infrastructure … (and) against government agencies, buildings, infrastructure as well as private and public properties and not hinder the resumption of public services”.
– They must also “commit to stop all illegal activities according to Syrian law, including assassinations, kidnapping or vandalism; and to return all public and private property, stolen through violence, to their rightful owners”.
– They must “refrain from training, re-arming, regrouping or re-organizing military formations … cease public and private display of weapons … commit, in accordance with Syrian law, not to conduct or initiate activities such as establishing checkpoints, conducting patrols or policing activities (and) allow the safe return of all affected people to their places of residence”.
DEFINITIONS
– HEAVY WEAPONS: All weapons with a caliber above 14.5 millimeters, including artillery pieces, tanks, mortars, rocket propelled grenades, anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft weapons systems. Armored personnel carriers are not considered heavy weapons if mounted weapons above 7.62 mm caliber are disabled.
– PULL BACK FROM POPULATION CENTRES: This means the movement of army concentrations to their barracks or temporary locations at least 2 to 3 km outside the perimeter of the population centers (cities, towns or villages). This does not apply to barracks which already exist within cities and towns.
http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-main-points-syria-u-n-deal-monitors-101123415.html
April 20th, 2012, 7:38 am
zoo said:
Unless Turkey moves to to the middle ground, it will miss its political role in the region
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-importance-for-the-middle-east-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=18845&NewsCatID=416
Looking at the general picture it is not hard to conclude that Turkey is being left out of important diplomatic and political processes underway in the Middle East. Many attribute this to the fact that Ankara has started taking sides in regional disputes, particularly along the Sunni – Shiite fault line.
This contrasts with the impartial position Turkey held a few years ago as far as regional disputes were concerned. That impartiality was also favored by the international community, given that it placed Ankara in a unique position to play an important role as a regional mediator.
Today there is little ground left for Turkey to be a major mediator in the disputes of the region, whether these concern the Arab – Israeli dispute, or disputes between Arabs. As can be seen from the Syrian case, Turkey is now a country that is simply trying to ward of the negative fallout to itself from regional disputes, and one that is seeking assistance from NATO and the UN for this.
…
But for Turkey to be able to enhance its capacity as a democratic role model for the region, it is clear that Ankara will have to move to the middle ground again in terms of regional disputes, and not be party to them, if it wants to have increased credibility.
April 20th, 2012, 8:59 am
bronco said:
#177 Annie
Interesting debate. Have you read somewhere else about these “robust alternative governments” in several ‘towns”. Which towns is he talking about? Is he talking about the LCCs?
“ANAND GOPAL: Well, on the ground, the revolutionaries have actually set up pretty robust alternative governments. I mean, they’ve overthrown Assad.
They’ve set up these systems of participatory government councils, where people are elected and they have the right to instant recall. I mean, it’s really something that I’ve never seen.”
April 20th, 2012, 9:08 am
mjabali said:
Syria No Kandahar thanks for the link to the interview with the Salafi sheikh Duqmaq.
This man speaks frankly and my favorite sentence was when he said that the Alawis are more atheist that the secular ones.
Here is a translation for some of this man’s key ideas…
????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ????
Here Duqmaq is saying that al-Assad regime is “not only unjust but it is a secular atheist system.”
??? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????
Here Duqmaq said that what is going on is a “grueling war between the Persians and the Sunnis on the Sham land (Sham is a rubbery term to either denote to Damascus or a collection of States Syria, Lebanon…etc)
????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ????????? ?????? ????? “???? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????????
Here Duqmaq is praising the decree of Ibn Taymiyah that makes the Alawis infidels. He said that this decree is “very valuable and the need for this decree these days can not be hidden because the Assad regime added atheism to sectarianism and unjustness. The problem of the Syrian regime is not it is based on secularism, but add to that Nusairisim that is more atheist than secularism.
??? ????? ????? ??????? ???? “?? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????
In this paragraph Duqmaq describes al-Qaida Organaization that it “not anymore a pyramid structured organization in terms of a boss and those bossed and the like, but it is an ideological thinking and a practical path so whoever is convinced with this thinking became al-Qaida…
April 20th, 2012, 9:14 am
bronco said:
#180 Tara
As long as the opposition and the armed rebels do not accept officially and unconditionally this plan, violence will persist unabated. The Syrian government, that committed officially to the plan with the UN, can always say they are acting in self-defense.
This is why, despite the violence these days, the blame on the Syrian government is subdued while Annan is trying to get that hard to get commitment from the angry and disappointed opposition that consider the Plan as the consecration of its failure to topple the regime.
April 20th, 2012, 9:17 am
Tara said:
Bronco
Is that true? My understanding is that both the SNC and Colonel Ryad al Asaad officially accepted Annan’ plan. Not only them but also, the AL and Turkey both endorsed it.
April 20th, 2012, 9:45 am
Alan said:
Surprising Bazar!
China offered Syria of 100 billion dollars for Infrastructure! Russia offers membership in the Customs union! the friendly countries of Latin America offer possible supports! Gold is a basis of bases! what sense gold to change for toilet paper! it is possible to understand only that news about sale of gold enters into unsuccessful war of nerves! I can assure Americans that this toilet paper will be not necessary as world currency soon!!!
April 20th, 2012, 9:57 am
annie said:
French anyone ?
“Les Assad n’ont absolument pas peur de l’indécence de leur accusation. C’est vraiment l’hôpital qui se moque de la charité! Ce clan qui a porté au pouvoir une partie des alaouites accuse les manifestants d’être sectaires…Pourtant, quoi de plus naturel que la majorité des manifestants soient sunnites, à l’image de la population syrienne? Au moins les manifestants sont plus représentatifs de la société que le clan qui les dirige. Le présent article n’entend pas revenir sur la prétention du régime de défendre les minorités. Cette posture n’a pas plus de valeur que celle de résistant à l’impérialisme américain et à la résistance israélienne (lien).”
http://syrianfacts.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/le-piege-de-la-lecture-confessionnelle-repression-et-cooptation-comme-clefs-de-comprehension-de-la-crise-syrienne/
April 20th, 2012, 10:14 am
bronco said:
#185 Tara
The opposition has not only refused the sign officially the Peace plan, but they are trying to disrupt it, thus justifying the retaliation from the Syrian army. They reluctantly made some vague and contradictory declarations of conditional acceptance so as not to appear singled out.
Syrian opposition trying to disrupt Annan’s peace plan
Apr 18, 2012 21:26 Moscow Time
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_04_18/72190177/
The Syrian opposition is attempting to disrupt Kofi Anna’s peace plan and trigger violence. Reportedly, militants of the Free Syrian Army are using refugee camps in Turkey to make preparations for launching attacks on checkpoints. The Foreign Ministers of Russia and Morocco, Sergei Lavrov and Saadeddin al-Othmani discussed the situation in Syria at their meeting.
The Russian Foreign Minister said there are some people who are interested in seeing Annan’s plan end in a fiasco. In this case, other options, especially force, can be used.
“I have personally seen how my colleagues were disappointed when they got to know that the Syrian government had agreed with the Annan plan. Lately, mass media, especially the Western European and the Turkish press have provided a growing amount of evidence that the armed opposition had tried to provoke and trigger violence so as to break the ceasefire and find a pretext to “bury” the Annan plan. We were told that the Turkish newspapers had evidence that the Free Syrian Army militants misuse the status of refugee camps in Turkey. They are training to carry out attacks on Syrian checkpoints. This proves what they want to achieve now that the ceasefire is in force,” Sergei Lavrov said.
(…)
April 20th, 2012, 10:21 am
Jad said:
Bronco
The armed terrorist group backed by the oppositions’ puppets and directed by US, France and Turkey are responsible for most of the violence happening from the last week.
They don’t want to accept Annan’s plan because it will show their real size.
Today, until now, the news is saying that 22 Syrian killed, 16 of them are from the army and security forces and 5 terrorists and 1 innocent who was killed by a bomb put by the terrorists.
Lavrov and his assistant blamed the opposition for escalating the violence, while the colonial powers are threatening with the military intervention and to invade Syria.
I would like to see some of the 3ra3eer serving their old European masters and who are obviously supporting terrorism and sectarianism practicing democracy under the NATO occupation of Syria, how proud are they going to be with their achievement?
April 20th, 2012, 10:30 am
Afram said:
Hi mjabali.
Duqmaq is representing the Anolog islamists thinkers/one way state of mind.always negative=loser
you and I plus the majority are Digital thinkers/processes two states:positive and non-positive.so we can methodologically differentiate good from evil=agreeable to reason
April 20th, 2012, 10:31 am
Jad said:
Some of the injured armed militia men in Turkey complaining that they are not getting the money they’ve been promised and not being treated in private hospitals:
?????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????
April 20th, 2012, 11:01 am
Tara said:
Bronco
You are quoting a Russian source. My understanding is that there was an official acceptance of cease fire by the FSA and the SNC noting that the regime will not not comply despite its rhetoric of accepting the plan.
And that is exactly what happened.
The regime continued with violence, business as usual. The international community has been indeed keeping a low profile in regard to this “pseudo ceasefire” because the other alternative is… an all out war? Human corridors and safe havens, which no one yet ready to commit just 8 days after the deadline of Annan’s plan. The regime is playing with fire however. This is its last chance of political maneuvering and it is taking a tremendous risk of a violent end once the international community is fed up with the status quo.
April 20th, 2012, 11:09 am
mjabali said:
Good morning Afram
These type of people I would not call thinkers. Their line always fought against “Reason.” The word ??????? is their enemy. Ibn Taymiyah was a reactionary and wanted to stop people from studying philosophy, math and art and so forth.
Ibn Taymiyah’s logic is against science. He was not for progress or plural societies for sure
April 20th, 2012, 11:16 am
Ghufran said:
Bahraini regime is facing a major challenge over Formula 1 event, the regime can not win this one even if the race goes on. For years, the only response the royal family gave to demands of political reform is more marginalization of their Shia citizens and more neutralization of non Bahraini citizens in at attempt to change the demographic composition of that tiny kingdom.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/19/bahrain-braces-f1-unrest
April 20th, 2012, 11:26 am
bronco said:
#192 Tara
Not a single media has reported that the opposition has officially and unconditionally accepted the Annan peace plan. There were all vague declarations with lots of ‘but’ while the Syrian government has signed and committed unconditionnally to the plan. Yet, unless the other party commits too, the plan will encounter many difficulties.
Just days after Annan’s plan started, this is the opposition counter-Annan six point plan:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/interactive/2012/04/11/syrian-opposition-six-point-plan/
“Ammar Abdulhamid, who fled Syria in 2005 and has since lived in the United States, told Fox News that members of the main opposition groups, representing all political and religious backgrounds, helped draw up the new six-point plan. He added that he hoped the plan would achieve the goal of stopping the Assad regime’s violence and bringing about the Syrian leader’s ouster.
The plan calls for arming local resistance forces, establishing a safe haven for civilians and providing international aerial support for resistance fighters. It also calls for stepped-up diplomatic pressure on the Assad regime and its supporters, with specific steps taken to encourage defections by top government officials. These steps would include offers of amnesties, with specific start and end dates.
Finally, the plan calls for identifying countries willing to provide future peacekeepers who could be instantly dispatched to liberated territories to ensure stabilization and support ongoing efforts by opposition groups in regard to transition planning.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/11/exclusive-syrian-opposition-group-says-annan-plan-doomed-offer-alternative/#ixzz1sayZtOcs
April 20th, 2012, 11:42 am
zoo said:
Why the West is Supporting an Anti-Western Solution in Syria
By Yossef Bodansky | Fri, 20 April 2012 12:21 |
http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Intelligence-Report-Why-the-West-is-Supporting-an-Anti-Western-Solution-in-Syri.html
A Jihadist, Anti-Western Agenda is Being Forced on Syria
The international community has been blindly following a jihadist-driven agenda for Syria; a solution the majority of Syrians reject, but which Turkey and Qatar have been driving. It begs the question: why are analysts in Washington — or Paris or London — not digging more deeply into what is really happening, given that the solution they have endorsed is so profoundly anti-Western?
…
At the core is the confrontation between resurgent Sunni Arab Islam- ism and the region’s aspirant non- Arab Islamist hegemonic powers: Mahdivist Iran and neo-Ottoman Turkey.
The Fertile Crescent of Minorities — from east to west counter-clockwise: Ahwazi Arabs, Kurds, ‘Alawites, Druze, Maronites, Jews and Circassians — serves as the buffer, preventing a cataclysmic eruption.
Only a viable Fertile Crescent of Minorities — of which the ‘Alawites and Druze of Syria are presently the most beleaguered elements — can thus prevent the simmering Arab Middle East from conjoining with the Islamist ascent of Turkey and Iran and jointly creating an explosive critical mass.
Hence, the main challenge in resolving the Syria crisis is preventing the replacement of an ‘Alawite-Druze dominated Government by an Islamist- jihadist one. No less important is the imperative to restore and preserve a viable Syrian state via meaningful political reforms, as well as economic recovery and modernization of the entire region.
If a moderate, stable outcome was desired, then negotiations between the Syrian Liberation Army and the Assad Administration would need to be launched on the establishment of a nationalist government in Damascus, with emphasis on regionalization and diffusion of power which would ensure the rights of the Sunni Arab tribes, extended families and urban élite, as well as the nation’s minorities. The transformation of power through negotiations would ensure that all pertinent international agreements to which Syria was beholden would remain valid.
(..)
April 20th, 2012, 11:59 am
Afram said:
@193. mjabali Good morning
I meant Islamic thinkers according to Fiqh: ??? ????????
agree with you that Ibn Rushd’s (Averroes )philosophy has been replaced with Ibn Taymiyah Fiqh, so sad.
mjabali/here is a sample from burhans E.lEAKS
????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????
???? ??????? ??????? ???? «?????? ?????? ??????»? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ??????. ???? 26 ???? 2012? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????? (???? ??????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????)? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????. ???? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ??????.
??? ?? ????? ?? ???????:
??????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????.
????? ??? ?? ??????.
???? ????? ?????
Islamists hate women more than Israel
Basma qadamani Persona non grata
Tayfur, demanded from burhan to have her dismissed for being controversial member, his excuse is Basma featured with the French television channel, alongside Israelis!? ok, fire her, but Tayfur failed to say to burhan–replace Basma by another female!!
islamists figh is:
institutionalized discrimination against women.
April 20th, 2012, 12:09 pm
zoo said:
Ignoring Annan Peace plan, rebels violence getting closer to Israel.
At least 18 Syrian troops killed in new attacks: media
AFP – 1 hr 15 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/least-18-syrian-troops-killed-attacks-media-145414445.html
A powerful blast killed 10 security force personnel in the southern Syrian region of Quneitra on Friday, state television reported, blaming the explosion on “terrorists.”
“An armed terrorist group detonated a 100-kilogramme (220-pound) bomb in Sahm al-Jolan in the region of Quneitra, killing 10 members of the security forces,” the channel said.
The state run SANA news agency said the bomb was detonated by remote control and targeted a bus transporting government troops.
Quneitra is near the demarcation line with Israel, in the disputed Golan Heights.
A similar bomb attack in the town of Karak, in southern Daraa province, killed five soldiers, SANA said, also blaming “armed terrorist groups.”
Three soldiers and three civilians were killed in separate incidents elsewhere, according to state media.
(..)
April 20th, 2012, 12:12 pm
irritated said:
#197 Afram
One commenter wrote that Basma Qodmani is Ghaliun’s sister in law. That may explain why she is still at her post.
April 20th, 2012, 12:16 pm
zoo said:
No Friday Patrols by U.N. Observers in Syria: a severe blow to the activists
By ROBERT MACKEY
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/20/no-friday-patrols-by-u-n-observers-in-syria/
The Moroccan colonel leading a small team of United Nations military observers in Syria dealt a severe blow to the hopes of opposition activists late Thursday when he announced that his monitors planned to avoid working on Fridays, the traditional day of mass protests in the country.
Despite the fact that the cease-fire agreement brokered by the United Nations commits Syria’s government to allowing peaceful protests, the colonel, Ahmed Himmiche, told reporters in Damascus: “We don’t want to be used as a tool for escalating the situation. So we will avoid going out on patrol on Fridays.”
(..)
April 20th, 2012, 12:24 pm
Valerya said:
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_04_20/72394084/
Blast kills 10 security forces in Syria: state TV
A powerful blast killed 10 security force personnel in the southern Syrian region of Quneitra on Friday, state television reported, blaming the explosion on “terrorists”.
“An armed terrorist group exploded a 100-kilogramme (220-pound) bomb in Sahm al-Jolan in the region of Quneitra, killing 10 members of the security forces,” the television said.
April 20th, 2012, 12:26 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Today less than 3% (using Qatar barmeel alzift Khoarzmi number) were in the streets, >97% were in their homes afraid from the Shabiha.
Let us destroy Syria to keep the 3% demonstrating.
April 20th, 2012, 12:38 pm
zoo said:
After Syria, Iran is expanding ist car industry in Iraq
Iranian carmaker Saipa to launch assembly line in Iraq
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/apr/1207.html
Iranian carmaker Saipa will establish a car assembly line in Iraq with the nominal capacity to roll out 40,000 cars per year.
After commissioning a production site in Syria, Saipa is now planning to launch an assembly line in Iraq, which has the capacity to boost output to 120,000 cars per year through increasing working shifts, Fars news agency reported.
Iranian car manufacturers produced over 1.498 million units of different kind in the first eleven months of the past calendar year, which ended on March 19, Mehr news agency reported.
Iran has developed its domestic car industry for five decades and produced 1.6 million vehicles last year, about half of them made by Iran Khodro, which aims to export around 10 percent of its production this year, Reuters reported.
Even with sanctions, which have scared off some suppliers from exporting to Iran, Iran Khodro says sales rose 18 percent in 2010 and plans a 13 percent output increase this year to 860,000 vehicles
(…)
April 20th, 2012, 12:42 pm
irritated said:
#201 SNK
You are too generous. I would say less than 0.03%, it is another friday-fiasco for the SNC and the ones calling for ‘massive’ demonstrations.
They should try for the nth time a call for ‘massive strikes’
April 20th, 2012, 12:46 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
UN observers probably were given ??? for breakfast by the Syrian Regime, that made them sleepy and decided not to watch Aaroorists jumping in their post spiritual ceremony. EU can’t ban ??? from Syria, they are negotiating with Argentina to stop Syria from importing ??? , they think that ??? is calming down Syrians and making them less hostile which is against KSA wishes.
April 20th, 2012, 12:55 pm
Uzair8 said:
******************************************************************************
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
Frederick Douglass
******************************************************************************
April 20th, 2012, 12:57 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Pleath help Batta
You know you’re doomed when email scam artist catch up with your name and theft. Here is an email I recently received. I am sharing it so that those who “love” “popular batta” can now lend him a hand. I am waiting for similar emails from Athma (wife of soon to be deposed/hanged) dictator and from Hadeel/Luna/etc…. Batta fanclub, who will be portrayed as “not so secret lovers of deposed/hanged” former dictator.
From: President Bashar al-Assad
Date: April 13, 2012 7:10:00 AM PDT
Subject: Cabinet of the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad:
Reply-To:
Cabinet of the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad:
Hello,
I anticipate that you read this mail quickly and let me know your opinion on this classified information herein.
I would like you to assist me to move my resource to your country or any safe location.
This resource is my only security to help sustain my future amid the current crisis in my country and this is the main reason why I still hold onto the presidential seat.
This is my major reason of contacting you. It is very important that this resource is moved to a safer location for investment abroad.
I want you to assist me to invest the resource in your country.
Your immediate attention to this matter will be highly appreciated.Contact me immediately with my Email Address; ([email protected])
Thanks and God bless you.
Sincerely yours,
President Bashar al-Assad
April 20th, 2012, 12:59 pm
Mawal95 said:
Joshua Landis saw fit to link to a Reuters news report from mere anonymous sources that Syria was selling some of its gold holdings, but only selling the gold in tiny quantities. As linked to by #120 ANN, the Syrian Central Bank has issued a denial that it has sold any gold or intends to sell any. The president of Syria’s Goldsmiths’ Association, which works with the Central Bank in managing its gold holdings, also said it was a falsehood that the Syrian government was selling any of its gold. The Reuters report was a very shitty story because (1) it was false, (2) its information sources were unnamed, (3) the quantities of gold reportedly being sold were trivially small, (4) if Syria did decide to sell gold in exchange for foreign currency, bearing in mind the current price of gold is high by any reasonable reference point (US$1,653 per ounce), the decision to sell gold would be uninteresting with respect to the SYP and uninteresting respect to Syria.
April 20th, 2012, 1:03 pm
Mawal95 said:
Joshua Landis saw fit to link to a Reuters news report from mere anonymous sources that Syria was selling some of its gold holdings, but only selling the gold in tiny quantities. As linked to by #120 ANN, the Syrian Central Bank has issued a denial that it has sold any gold, and denies that it intends to sell any. The president of Syria’s Goldsmiths’ Association, which works with the Central Bank in managing its gold holdings, also said it was a falsehood that the Syrian government was selling any of its gold. The Reuters report was very rubbishy because (1) it was false, (2) its information sources were unnamed, (3) the quantities of gold reportedly being sold were trivially small, (4) if Syria did decide to sell gold in exchange for foreign currency, bearing in mind the current price of gold is high by any reasonable reference point (US$1,653 per ounce), the decision to sell gold would be uninteresting with respect to the SYP and uninteresting respect to Syria.
April 20th, 2012, 1:05 pm
Afram said:
205. Uzair8 said:
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
Frederick Douglass
===============
The limits of tyrants?
http://youtu.be/n4f89Jg-TnY
April 20th, 2012, 1:08 pm
Uzair8 said:
208 Afram
That’s an old video from 2007. What happened later to the ‘Red Mosque’….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lal_Masjid
I don’t see your point? Taleban school of thought (Deobandi) is a minority in Pakistan.
April 20th, 2012, 1:53 pm
Uzair8 said:
Galloway confronted over Assad comments
20 April 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17783704
April 20th, 2012, 1:58 pm
Afram said:
209. Uzair8 said:
208 Afram
That’s an old video from 2007. What happened later to the ‘Red Mosque’….
I don’t see your point?
==================
where was osama bin laden living with multi-wives?
my point pakistan is not nice either!!!
Apr 3, 2012 – Pakistani Muslim Radicals Warn Christians Not To Celebrate Easter
http://www.persecution.org
April 20th, 2012, 2:18 pm
Uzair8 said:
Iraqi PM Maliki says Turkey is becoming ‘hostile state’
Friday, 20 April 2012
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday that Turkey is becoming a “hostile state” in the region, accusing its premier of interfering in internal Iraqi affairs and of sectarianism.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/04/20/209095.html
April 20th, 2012, 2:23 pm
Uzair8 said:
Is it true today’s (friday) protest slogan was ‘We want our Gold back’ referring to the gold and other valuables taken by Shabeeha and co. while looting businesses and homes in rebel areas during the uprising, and now suspected of being offered for sale in Dubai?
April 20th, 2012, 2:58 pm
Antoine said:
LOOK WHO’S TALKING…
“Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday that Turkey is becoming a “hostile state” in the region, accusing its premier of interfering in internal Iraqi affairs and of sectarianism”
Nuri al Maliki and sectarianism go better with each other than Besho and his lisp.
April 20th, 2012, 3:03 pm
Tara said:
Antoine
Iraq Maliki is pethaps more sinister than Batta in my views. You would think that he should know and behave better after many years of the majority Iraqi Shiaa being crushed by a secular Saddam. Unfortunately, psychology tells us that abused individuals tend to abuse others when they have the chance. One would think the exact opposite. Sadly, it is not. It is very much counterintuitive. It seems to me that the abused should be emancipated but never allowed to come to power, otherwise they will inflict on other what have been inflicted on them. ME is full of psychological complexes. There is hardly any normal generation.
April 20th, 2012, 3:15 pm
Antoine said:
IRRITATED,
Today’s protests were the largest in months, I don’t know what you’re talking about, 3 % ? wishful thinking ?
These were the demonstrations today in al-Bab in Reef Halab. It has a population of about 50,000. Judging by the size of the protest, it is as large as any of the pro-regime rallies in Damacus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSdANcH_Ee4&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5leHzT1Gj0&feature=relmfu
This brave Syrian was killed by the people Irritated supports :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXsrJwS_7KA&feature=relmfu
Think about it, a rally in a town of 50,000 can get as large as a pro-regime rally in Damascus.
April 20th, 2012, 3:20 pm
Uzair8 said:
#210
To be fair George Galloway has distanced himself from the Assad regime although his overall view on the Syrian situation is influenced by his socialist, anti-war and anti-imperialist background.
In the video clip, from last nights BBC Question Time programme, the panelist is referring to comments by GG in the past in praise of Assad/Saddam.
I don’t think the following has been posted on SC previously:
George Galloway on Syria:
Published on 5 Apr 2012 by presstvlondon
April 20th, 2012, 3:22 pm
Antoine said:
TARA,
Do you think the Iraq scenario may be replayed in Syria when Batta falls ? Could be, if someone like Haytham Maleh took the reins. I wouldn;t be too displeased with that though, justice needs to be served.
April 20th, 2012, 3:23 pm
Uzair8 said:
Sorry, last post.
Previous comment wouldn’t allow me to edit even with several minutes left.
The video of George Galloway was in fact posted before on SC by Mawal, if I’m correct.
April 20th, 2012, 3:31 pm
irritated said:
#216 Antoine
“These were the demonstrations today in al-Bab in Reef Halab”
It was a procession for a funeral and it looked peaceful with balck flag and Allah u Akbar.
50,000? I would say 5,000 maximum.
In the last video, how do you know who shot the guy?
April 20th, 2012, 3:49 pm
ann said:
Syria Fatigue
Syria is fading from world press
April 20th, 2012, 3:54 pm
Antoine said:
221. IRRITATED said:
“It was a procession for a funeral and it looked peaceful with balck flag and Allah u Akbar.
50,000? I would say 5,000 maximum”
Did you even read it properly ? I said the population of the town is close to 50,000 ; which means almost 10 % of the population was in the rally, now you have to consider that most of the participants were young adult males, they all have wives, children, old parents, sisters, that will add up to pretty much 80 % of the town being anti-regime.
The regime is clearly losing support, I challenged MAWAL 95 to show me pro-regime rally videos from 4 Christian majority towns – Kafr Buhum, Salamiyah in Hama , Qaryatayn in Homs ; and Bloudan in Rif Dimsashq, he failed to do so.
April 20th, 2012, 3:57 pm
Tara said:
Antoine
I am for justice to be served. I don’t think it is in me to forgive and volunteer the blood of children, mothers, and the innocents. I was happy that Saddam faced his fate. I am however against collective punishment or punishment for moral support. I hope indiscriminate chaotic killing, Iraqi -style does not happen in Syria after regime change. Am I sure it won’t happen. I am not sure. Not after I saw what Shabeehas were capable of doing. People can easily become very very ugly. It will all depend on how the regime change is going to happen. The more violence inflicted on us, the more likely a violent outcome will ensue. This is in my view the historical error the regime supporters are committing. Assad is going to vanish eventually. By not helping with the process, they are accepting the risk of possible retaliation.
April 20th, 2012, 3:58 pm
ann said:
Russia submits UN draft resolution on monitoring mission in Syria
Russia submitted a draft resolution to the Security Council on Friday “stipulating the formation of a UN monitoring mission for the initial period of three months with 300 members,” Tass news agency reports, citing Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich. The draft further calls on the complete implementation of Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan, which aims to stop the violence in the country and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
[…]
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-04-20/#id29893
April 20th, 2012, 4:02 pm
ann said:
Looks like little Napoleon Sarkozy will be out of office before Assad 8)
Francois Hollande favors military action in Syria under UN mandate – 2012-04-21
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/21/c_131541393.htm
PARIS, April 20 (Xinhua) — French socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande Friday said he was favorable to France’s participation in demanding a military intervention in Syria under UN mandate.
“If it is done in the framework of the UN … we will participate in this intervention,” said the 57-year-old socialist candidate who is leading in polls for the upcoming presidential election on radio Europe1.
[…]
April 20th, 2012, 4:10 pm
Uzair8 said:
Just read a blog article on AJE. Probably nothing you weren’t aware of already.
Blush is off Syria’s ‘Rose of the Desert’
Thu, 2012-04-19
http://blogs.aljazeera.com/middle-east/2012/04/19/blush-syrias-rose-desert
Check out this comment by ‘Maweei’ from the comment section at the end of the article:
“from rose in the desert she will be a rose in a cell.Roses dont grow well with out sunlight.but you and your husband have taken the sun away from a lot of people.”
April 20th, 2012, 4:32 pm
jad said:
Haytham Manna talking about the enemies of Syria meeting and the call for intervention by the armed groups:
???? ????? 24: ??????? ???? ????
http://youtu.be/uRf-o-z1Bzw
About Annan plan:
???? ??????: ??????? ???? ????
April 20th, 2012, 4:34 pm
Alan said:
Leon Panetta: US military planning for greater role in Syria conflict
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0419/Leon-Panetta-US-military-planning-for-greater-role-in-Syria-conflict
April 20th, 2012, 4:37 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Abo Hamza was sent to hell yesterday by the great Syrian Army,congratulation to all free syrians:
April 20th, 2012, 4:45 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Asthma’s Humanitarian efforts for the Palestinians is commendable:
April 20th, 2012, 4:46 pm
Antoine said:
229. JAD said:
“5000? You are very generous, they are no more than a 1000 with Alqaeda flags leading them.”
I just said that it was a very large rally as far as the eye could see, and could stand up to any of the recent pro-regime rallies in Damascus.
I picked these 2 anti-regime rally videos for you JAD, I know you will enjoy, hehehe,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Pel8NFZ10&feature=relmfu
April 20th, 2012, 4:47 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Qamishli 300000 people city…,200 to 300 demonstrators less than 1 per thousand …in 100
Years this will be up to 1%
Same part time paid dancers:
April 20th, 2012, 4:56 pm
Alan said:
Turkey: The odd man in
By Peter Lee
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/ND21Ad02.html
April 20th, 2012, 5:03 pm
jad said:
How War Reporting in Syria Makes a Larger Conflict Inevitable
Posted By Russ Baker
We get major-media reports from Syria with increasing frequency. What’s wrong with these reports are that they are generally devoid of power analysis.
This recent New York Times article [2], for example, headlined “Neighbors Said to Be at Violent Odds in Syrian Crackdown,” is based almost solely on accounts of refugees interviewed in Lebanon. Here’s the lead paragraph:
Sunni Muslims who have fled Syria described a government crackdown that is more pervasive and more sectarian than previously understood, with civilians affiliated with President Bashar al-Assad’s minority religious sect shooting at their onetime neighbors as the military presses what many Sunnis see as a campaign to force them to flee their homes and villages in some sections of the country.
In other words, ethnic cleansing, perhaps a precursor to the kinds of large-scale horrors we saw in Rwanda and Yugoslavia. The inevitable conclusion is that any decent person would support international efforts to stop this. Based on past history, in Libya, in Iraq, and elsewhere, that would evolve quickly into military intervention. In fact, on Sunday, the pace quickened. In a meeting Sunday [3] in Istanbul, the US and allies began actively moving toward direct intervention. Arab nations agreed to pay $100 million to rebels and the Obama administration to send them communications equipment.
[ … ]
http://whowhatwhy.com/2012/04/02/how-war-reporting-in-syria-makes-a-larger-conflict-inevitable/
April 20th, 2012, 5:05 pm
irritated said:
#244 Antoine
“The regime is clearly losing support,”
I think it is the other way around. Many protesters are changing sides after the mess of the FSA, the wild attacks on public properties and on the army, and the dead end the opposition brought the country to. No more dreaming of NATO, Turkey or Chapter 7 at the UNSC.
Of course in some village and towns the hardliners are still trying to motivate people but it is on a down slope as protesters realize that peaceful demonstrations don’t make headlines unless they are really huge like in Egypt and Bahrain these last days.
April 20th, 2012, 5:11 pm
Antoine said:
SNK,
Qamishly 150,000 not 300,000 ; and negative influence of PKK plus huge presence of Syrian Assadi Army because its border town.
the great thing is that the Assyrian Church of the East which has strong presence in Qamishly, openly supported the Syrian Uprisisng as early as 2011, plus Assyrian Democratic Organziation (ADO) fully behind Uprising.
Mas’oud Barzani should liberate Qamishly.
April 20th, 2012, 5:12 pm
Antoine said:
236. IRRITATED said:
“…..bla bla bla”
Prove your claims, show me any town or village where former anti-regime people will say live on camera that they are “changing sides” (lol). I have furnished visual evidence, so should you ( and not in Damascus, Aleppo,Sweida2 or the coastal area).
Btw what protests are you talking about in Egypt ? There isn’t a single headline of that in the Guardian or the Telegraph. Take an aspirin and stop hallucinating.
And about Bahrain, crowd of 50,000 dispersed by just 5 teargas shells, nuff said.
April 20th, 2012, 5:17 pm
Antoine said:
Kafranbel, Reef Idleb , a large village where hardliners are “still trying to motivate the people”.
Kafranbel never ceases to amaze me.
April 20th, 2012, 5:20 pm
Juergen said:
Ann
April 20th, 2012, 5:21 pm
Antoine said:
Ariha, Reef Idleb – another city where “hardliners are still trying to motivate the people”
April 20th, 2012, 5:27 pm
Antoine said:
Al Waaer, Homs City, near Baba Amro
Hardliners trying to motivate the people :
Lets see if you can count the numbers in this video,
Mr. JAD.
April 20th, 2012, 5:33 pm
Antoine said:
I’m sure many people know this story – that back in early January, during the A.L. mission, one A.L. official – an Iraqi diplomat – was quoted as saying that Syrian sources have told him that Bashar al Assad and his mukhabarat have the names and addresses of 3,000 young men who are leading and organizing the protests around the country, and that it will take until the end of February for him to arrest them all, and that by the end of February, most of the anti-regime protests will have ended.
Well, February has ended and so has March, April has 9 more days to go, what about your predictions Mr. Diplomat ?
April 20th, 2012, 5:38 pm
jad said:
Kafrhabel
800 protester
Ari7a
300 protester
Waer
400 protester
April 20th, 2012, 5:40 pm
Tara said:
Not exactly an award-winning colorful photography.
http://lightbox.time.com/2012/04/12/victims-of-assad/#20
I wish I can get to the real base for why a very decent individual may browse these photos and feel general contempt to these people whereas, the same decent individual may browse some other pictures of women and children and feel exactly the opposite. I know exactly how some feel. I sense it between the lines. Is it the way they dressed or what they represent?
April 20th, 2012, 5:42 pm
anwar said:
I heard the gov’t is infiltrating the opposition with bearded thugs set to portray them as terrorists…
they are really using every trick in the book
It is all the lost for them we are way past the point of no return. Morale in Damascus is very low with high unemployment & prices.
Who is Assad really ruling right now aside from his Shabiha and a bunch of paid off clowns?? You think the Christians are loyal to the regime ?? lol…
April 20th, 2012, 5:49 pm
Tara said:
Ban is not impressed with the regime’s rhetoric of accepting Annan’s plan. How long time has to pass with the status quo until it is officially declared a failure? 3 month?
http://www.smh.com.au/world/un-chief-attacks-syrian-failure-on-peace-20120420-1xcfm.html
BEIRUT: The United Nations Secretary-General has given a dark appraisal of the Syria conflict, accusing its government of failing to carry out nearly every aspect of the peace plan that took effect a week ago, obstructing work by an advance team of ceasefire monitors and doing nothing to alleviate an intensifying humanitarian crisis.
April 20th, 2012, 5:51 pm
Tara said:
From the “weak” FOS dinner yesterday.
http://translations.state.gov/st/english/texttrans/2012/04/201204194281.html#axzz1sTZcmjGD
Paris, France
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Alain, thank you for convening us and hosting us. I think we are all here out of a sense of great frustration and outrage over what we see occurring in Syria. We also are hopeful that, despite the evidence thus far, the mission of Kofi Annan can begin to take root, starting with monitors being sent, but remembering that it’s a six-point plan and that it’s not a menu of options. It has to be a complete acceptance by the Syrian government of all six points.
Let me just make a few comments. First, we continue to support the monitoring mission, even though we are aware that the increased violence could jeopardize the deployment of the monitors and put their lives at risk. So we’re in a dilemma. We think it’s important to get independent sources of observation and reporting on the ground, but we do not want to create a situation where those who are sent in to do this mission themselves are subjected to violence. So we need to continue to work and move toward a Security Council authorization so that we have the authority to proceed when the times are right.
Secondly, I think we have to do more to take tougher actions against the Assad regime. We need to start moving very vigorously in the Security Council for a Chapter 7 sanctions resolution, including travel, financial sanctions, an arms embargo, and the pressure that that will give us on the regime to push for compliance with Kofi Annan’s six-point plan.
Now, I’m well aware that at this point such an effort is still likely to be vetoed, but we need to look for a way to keep pressing forward. I met at length with Sergey Lavrov earlier today in Brussels. He was, as usual, very intent upon laying responsibility on all sides, and in particular on the opposition, but he also has recognized that we are not in a static situation but a deteriorating one.
Next, we have to keep Assad off balance by leaving options on the table. And Turkey already has discussed with NATO during our ministerial over the last two days the burden of Syrian refugees on Turkey, the outrageous shelling across the border from Syria into Turkey a week ago, and that Turkey is considering formally invoking Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which triggers consultations in NATO whenever the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the parties is threatened.
I also believe we have to increase our support for the opposition. I can only speak for the United States. I know that others are pursuing different types of support. But we are expanding our communications, logistics, and other support for the Syrian opposition. And in cooperation with Turkey, we are considering establishing an assistance hub that will try to co-locate Syrian activists and help them coordinate the collection and distribution of assistance to opposition groups inside Syria. And we do have continuing dialogue among our high-level officials with the Syrian National Council.
Next, I want to thank you, Alain, and your team for hosting the Sanctions Working Group in Paris here two days ago. About 50 countries attended. They agreed to expand the coalition of countries imposing financial sanctions, expand the scope of the sanctions, and improve the effectiveness of the existing measures by reaching out to the private sector. The next meeting will be co-chaired by the United States and hosted in Washington, likely in mid May.
We also need to strengthen our humanitarian assistance. We’ve done more over the last month than we had before, but it is still not adequate. And we have to stay in very close touch with Turkey and Jordan about their humanitarian needs because they’re bearing the burden of caring for the refugees, and the rest of us need to help them. I think it’s also important to hear from both Turkey and Jordan about how they see the situation. I was very pleased that Ahmet was able to brief the G-8 ministers at the meeting I hosted last week and then brief the NATO ministers at our dinner last night.
And finally, we are working to establish an accountability clearinghouse in order to keep track of all of the terrible stories of abuses and crimes against humanity that are coming out of Syria. We think collecting that information can be a useful means of not only keeping track for future purposes but also sending a message to those in the regime and those in the military that they are being watched and a record is being kept.
So I think, Alain, this is a timely moment, because the Security Council is meeting as we speak. And we should, I hope, come to some resolution about what further action we wish out of the Security Council, despite even the fact that the first time around it might not be successful. But we should be, as we say, laying down markers about what is expected.
April 20th, 2012, 6:01 pm
Mawal95 said:
Today’s Friday protests were branded by the protesters ???? ?????? ????? ????? . If you search for that Arabic text at Youtube, Youtube will give you a list of protest videos from around Syria today and you can observe turnout size. Here the list: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=videos&search_query=%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A9+%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%B1+%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%B2%D9%85+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AF&search_sort=video_date_uploaded&uni=3
Another way to see turnout size is to go to http://www.onsyria.com/?cat=39&parent=1&page=1 which in case you don’t know is an anti-regime site which compiles protest videos from around Syria and organizes them by Syrian province and by date.
There were no large crowds anywhere. In many locations, today’s turnout was a pale shadow, a huge decimation, of what it was last year.
In the video linked to by Antoine above, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5leHzT1Gj0 , the anti-regime demonstration in Al-Bab City in Aleppo province today was easily the largest demonstration in Al-Bab this past year. It is noteworthy that throughout year 2011 there were either no demonstrations on Fridays in Al-Bab City at all or else the turnout was truly miniscule, just a couple of dozen people showing up. It is to be noted as well that Al-Bab has so far not experienced any violence perpetrated by protesters (to my knowledge anyway). I have said on this board approximately a dozen times before that whenever a neighborhood has serious violence committed by protesters, it decimates subsequent turnout at anti-regime protests in that neighborhood. I suppose the same may eventually happen in Al-Bab because it has happened before in so many other localities.
Among the extreme examples of that phenomenon is Idlib City, which is the second-largest city in Idlib province. Last summer Idlib City had only small demonstrations. A number of other towns in Idlib province had larger turnout size than Idlib City last summer. But the turnout size grew in Idib City later in the year, and the protests were peaceful and civil, and by December Idlib City’s Friday demonstrations definitely had the biggest crowds in all of Syria. Bigger than anything in Homs, Hama, or outer Damascus. Then the protest movement in Idlib City was taken over by armed rebels. Now today, Friday, there was essentially no demonstration in Idlib City at all, judging from what I can see at Youtube this evening, and that’s been true for many many weeks now on Fridays in Idlib City.
The population of Al-Bab city in Aleppo province was 112,000 in year 2004 according to the government’s Central Bureau of Statistics at http://www.cbssyr.org/General%20census/census%202004/pop-man.pdf (and someone estimated a year 2010 city population of 145,000 according to http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-202&srt=pnan&col=adhoq&msz=1500&va=&pt=a ).
The population of Manbij city (???? ????) in Aleppo province was 205,000 in year 2004 according to the above publication by the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics. The Friday protest today in Manbij today was attended by only about three dozen people and the majority of those people were younger than 18 years of age. For today’s protest in Manbij see http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=videos&search_query=%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A8%D8%AC&search_sort=video_date_uploaded&uni=3 . Last week’s protest in Manjib was of a similar tiny size: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE0gg6utjtM .
In light of (1) the tiny turnout in the demographically similar Manbij city (located about 40 kilometers from Al-Bab city) and (2) the smaller turnout in Al-Bab city up until now, I must suspect — and I can be wrong — that some of today’s protesters in Al-Bab city were brought in by bus from elsewhere. Here’s an illustration of bussing. The following video is from Manbij city on 12 Dec 2011. It is the largest anti-regime demonstration I’ve ever seen in Manbij. It is substantially bigger than anything in Manbij on a typical Friday, either before December or after. I think or suppose that the crowd on 23 Dec 2011 had been bused in, because of the buses I see in these two videos of their protest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEVaI3iZIEU , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlJmNJyg8rA
April 20th, 2012, 6:05 pm
Antoine said:
No way the populations of al-Bab and Manbij can be in 6 figures. No way. Check out Google Maps and see the satellite image of these towns, they are tiny. no way more than 50,000 can ever fit in these towns.
Btw what about the large turnout in Kafranbel, Ariha, Marrat Misreen, Marrat al Nauman, in Edleb ; and al-Waaer in Homs City ?
April 20th, 2012, 6:18 pm
Tara said:
New definition of women’s right?
Iranian Actress Breaks Taboos, Sparks Scandal By Posing Topless
By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1203.html?utm_source=Payvand.com+List&utm_campaign=f99433dcf4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
An Iranian actress living in Paris has been praised for her courage and criticized for her indecency after posing topless for a French magazine and posting the photo on her Facebook page. Golshifteh Farahani, who moved to France last year, says Iranian authorities have told her not to return home.
April 20th, 2012, 6:19 pm
jad said:
“I heard the gov’t is infiltrating the opposition with bearded thugs set to portray them as terrorists…”
No need, the armed opposition are filled with those and they pay them ‘salaries’ from ksa and qatar.
????????: ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????
http://arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=32825
They import those alqaeda Jihadists from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi, Libya and recently from Tunisia. Just today three Tunisians Alqaeda Jihadists were killed in Syria.
???? ???? ? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????
???? ???? ???? ????
????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ? ??:
??????? ?????
???? ????
???? ??????
??????? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ? ???? ??????? …?????? ?? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ????
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=328509473882501&set=a.311264412273674.71937.311261682273947&type=1
—————–
#254
Large turnout? Where?
Kafrhabel 800, Ari7a 300 and Waer 400.
April 20th, 2012, 6:27 pm
daleandersen said:
Memo To: ANTOINE
RE: “…Besho and his lisp…”
Careful, dude. I hope you’re not calling our glorious President
a faggot…
April 20th, 2012, 6:28 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Antoine
30,0000 is with the suburbs.
No church or priest or bishop or dickon support Wahhabi movement. In qamishli demonstrations the same 3 Christians go and have Assyrian flag with them in front of the mosque (
I know them by name), all Assyrians in qamishli call them idiots, they are probably the only ones supporting this.
In addition to abdulahad stepho (SNC), their strategy is just in the 3% chance that this uprising will win we want part of the cake.
April 20th, 2012, 6:38 pm
jad said:
Afram
What do you expect from Taliban to promote? Liberty and Freedom?
Check out what the other guy is promoting in #219, yet,
he is not even a Syrian and never been to Syria, I guess 
his hatred is eating him from the inside…
“I wouldn’t be too displeased with that though,”
Irritated
5000? You are very generous, they are no more than a 1000 with Alqaeda flags leading them.
April 20th, 2012, 6:39 pm
Antoine said:
JAD,
April 20th, 2012, 6:39 pm
Antoine said:
I always maintained that the poster Ghufran is not completely balanced though many people think he is. His latest comments about Bahrain and Saudi reflects
his wishful thinking syndorme.
To think Bashar is going to win and somehow the protestors in Bahrain, who till this day have failed to seriously even worry the regime and who get killed by teargas rather than shells, will topple the regime, is not only evidence of
juvenile wishful thinking but betrays 
his real feelings : much more hostility to the GCC rather than the regime who brutalizes his own people.
The Arab Spring is about survival of the fittest – Libyans won, Egyptians lost, Yemenis lost, Syrians are still on, Bahrainis failed to even make a mark.
Of all the Arab spring countries, it is only in Syria that there are still failr large and numerous protest rallies coming out in all major cities, towns and villages, not only on Fridays but even on weekdays, and it is only in Syria where the revolt has spread to the greatest geographical extent.
In Bahrain and KSA, the protestors lack physical courage and tenacity, we have seen that, how easy it is too disperse them just with teargas and batons and birdshot, how easy it is for the regime to arrest them, brutalize them using the minimum of force, what can you say about people who die from teargas rather than bullets. The fact that even incompetent GCC has been able to crush them attests to how effective these protesters are. Sure there will be escalation in the coming days, but it will be very easy for the Government to crush them. Anybody who thinks Bahrain is going anywhere is thinking wishfully, sorry for being rude Ghufran , bursting your bubble , and
revealing your true sympathies. You will probably be more happy at Bahrain regime toppling than with a change of regime in Syria.
April 20th, 2012, 6:49 pm
Mawal95 said:
According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics (CBSSYR.ORG), Maarat al-Neuman, ???? ???? ??????? , had a population of 150,000 in year 2004. According to WORLD-GAZETTEER.COM it had a population of 84,000 in year 2010. According to CITYPOPULATION.DE it had a population of 58,000 in 2004. I must presume the CBSSYR figure is correct but it is probably using a wider definition of the city boundaries.
The following is a video of today’s anti-regime gathering in Maarat Al-Neuman. I say the crowd size is “not large” and I say it is “small”. Antoine #254 says it is “large”. If this crowdsize is what the anti-regimers consider large, then they are either badly in denial or they are badly without ambition in respect of crowdsize. Call it “large” or call it “small” you cannot down the regime with this kind of crowdsize in Idlib province: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgoV3MddbwU
The turnout in Kafranbel today was smaller than it has been in the past, both the now long-distant past and the more recent past. I did not bother to look at turnout in Ariha, Marrat Misreen, today. What happens in Idlib province is ultimately of no consequence, when it’s confined to Idlib.
April 20th, 2012, 6:53 pm
Alan said:
Syria II
April 20th, 2012, 6:55 pm
Norman said:
How do you think the crises is going to end,
1} Divided Syria
2) The government wins by force and continue the same system
3) The government wins and impliment the reform it is talking
about.
4) The opposition wins and show maturity by not seeking revenge and allowing all to play politics
5) The opposition wins and seeks the ultimate revenge by implementing ethnic cleansing and pushing the Alawat out of the cities and directing them to the mountains.The Christians will be included in this one one way or another, they might be forced to leave the country as they can not protect themselves’
6) The opposition understands that they can not win and that nobody can be trusted to help and that everybody is useing them, so sit withe government to set the System that Syria needs to have a better Syria withe guarantee that president Assad will not run and will not accept the nomination of any party for the election of 2014,
I am looking forward to your crystal balls.
April 20th, 2012, 7:01 pm
Tara said:
What fatigue? Large demonstrations and nice songs! Click on the Guardian blog and enjoy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/20/syria-crisis-bahrain-unrest-live?newsfeed=true#block-22
1.49pm: Syria: Some of the largest demonstrations for weeks have taken place across Syria, according to video footage from activists.
This was the scene in the Damascus suburb or Douma.
Similar numbers appear to have taken to the streets of Aleppo, according to this clip.
Smaller, but still significant protests, were filmed in Kafranabel, in the north west, and Hama and Homs in the centre.
April 20th, 2012, 7:08 pm
Uzair8 said:
Russian Reversal: Flip on Syria before Syria flips on you
4/20/2012
[Selected quote]
While Moscow may believe that it is merely protecting its interests which are under siege, its strategy is also based on a bluff. It assumes that Assad, with its help, will survive and that the various external threats to intervene will never occur. But, what happens if its bluff is called? What will Russia do if the Turks create a large, “humanitarian buffer zone”, as they have threatened, or if some U.S.-European-NATO conglomerate generate no-fly zones, which would necessitate the destruction of those Russian-supplied anti-aircraft defenses, or if, through Arab funding and arming of the rebels, the Syrian army continues to suffer massive defections and slowly but surely runs out of money, arms, and the will to fight? Does Russia have a plan B? Would it, or could it, truly obstruct those moves? Moreover, even if Assad were to survive, it will take years before the capacity of the Syrian state and economy will return to pre-2011 levels, making it unlikely that it will be a useful Russian vassal.
Russia would have much to gain if it flipped on the Assad regime now………
Read more:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markadomanis/2012/04/20/russian-reversal-flip-on-syria-before-syria-flips-on-you/
April 20th, 2012, 7:11 pm
jad said:
Antoine,
I despise them as much as any other Syrian, but the other side is making me sick for all the immoral tricks and hate they are spewing in the society, I don’t trust them at all.
To be an anti government doesn’t give anybody the right to sacrifice the State and all the Syrians for chaos and to become partner with the Syrian people’s enemies the way we are seeing, or to keep calling for occupation and using the filthiest filth this world have to kill Syrians in the name of ‘terror’.
Almost 14 months since the uprising start and the opposition political ‘leaders’ didn’t come up with a single national and rational plan that is applicable, and that can bring Syrians around it.
They turned the Syria into hell, the poverty they forced over the average Syrian abou a7mad is pure evil, the sectarian strife they create in our societies is disgusting, the crimes committed under the name of the ‘rebels’ by terrorists are unimaginable and to make it worse the opposition radical ‘leaders’ defended them for no reason.
Those opposition leaders are the ugliest image of any ugly regime the Syrian can see, and the disaster is that they are keep going in the same exact wrong direction without even a try to fix or use logic to unit Syrians around the right cause, where is the slogan of ‘dignity’? nobody is saying it anymore, they replace it with meaningless shouting and cursing that will get them nowhere.
Why let criminals to hijack this movement? For what did all these Syrians die then? Definitely not for Nato occupation like ‘Iraq’ as you previously support and wanted to see.
I will never ever sell my country for the unknown and I’ll never ever believe that colonial powers want the best for us, we already know that they hate our Independence and what they want is political revenge and to support our enemies, so any Syrian who puts his/her hands in the hands of our historical enemies and occupiers are traitors to all and every Syrian.
To hell with this hijacked revolution, it stinks with treason.
April 20th, 2012, 7:17 pm
Uzair8 said:
213. Afram said:
Yes Pakistan has many problems but it isn’t a tyranny. There is at least some hope in pakistan in Imran Khan at the next election.
People talk about how the interfering GCC nations aren’t exactly democratic. Put democracy to one side. Can we say these countries are cruel like the Assad regime? Gaddafi, Mubarak and Ben Ali were bad but even they weren’t as cruel as this regime. In terms of cruelty this regime is on another level.
What was the name of the syrian female activist who while under arrest was told by her captor that what was hapenning in Libya was nothing compared to what would happen to regime opponents in Syria?
Most muslims, as well as most people, have problems in their own countries and only take a serious or active interest in foreign situations when they reach a certain level. So yes, other countries are not perfect and have issues but that doesn’t mean non-Syrians cannot support the oppressed people of Syria.
April 20th, 2012, 7:39 pm
ann said:
Putin Pins Hope on Syria Cease-Fire to Combat U.S. Supremacy – April 20, 2012
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-20/putin-pins-hope-on-syria-cease-fire-to-combat-u-dot-s-dot-supremacy
Vladimir Putin is counting on a diplomatic victory in Syria to assert Russia’s influence in global foreign policy as he prepares to return to the Kremlin, analysts and former diplomats from Moscow to London said.
As the U.S. and Gulf states demand Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad step down, Putin has shielded a regime that is Russia’s biggest Middle East ally and buys 8 percent of the country’s arms exports. Russia accused the West and its allies of sabotaging a cease-fire brokered by Russia. Qatar and the U.S. have expressed skepticism about United Nations envoy Kofi Annan’s efforts to broker a peace agreement backed by Russia.
[…]
April 20th, 2012, 7:45 pm
Uzair8 said:
The Annan process.
Some benefits for the regime:
– Gives his troops a rest until the next military phase.
– Keeps his supporters, but particularly Silent bloc and fence sitters, on side. Shows them the regime is trying to resolve this and gives them further excuse to remain with the regime or at least silent.
Imagine this. Assad can say to the likes of Mufti Hassoun or Sheikh Buti that he is trying alternative approaches to solve the crisis, forcing them to reluctantly bite their tongues and hold back any complaints or disillusionment.
– It gives Assad legitimacy that the international community is engaging with the regime and not ignoring it.
– If the ceasefire holds into May then maybe the upcoming ‘elections’ may actually take place, with the regime claiming wider participation and ‘reform’ in action.
April 20th, 2012, 8:02 pm
Mawal95 said:
The following is an anti-regime protest video in the town of Kafr Nabl on 17 Apr 2012. In the crowd there is a big banner saying in English language: “UN! Take back your dumb Don Quixote’s: they are not better than the Arab League’s ones.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=aYDkIfcFM6M#t=11s
Syria’s foreign minister Al-Moallem said a couple of days ago (quoted at SANA): “There is a lack of objective media coverage of the events [about Syria in the foreign media]. More than 70 international and Arab channels are distorting facts, and this biased media is part of the conspiracy against Syria.”
Now, the main reason why Syria and Russia, and other real friends of Syria, want a UN observer mission to be in Syria today, and why they wanted the Arab League’s observer mission last December, is that the Western and most Arab news media have failed to see and report the objective reality. There is such as thing as objective reality. The foreign media have spectacularly failed to deliver it.
The mission of the UN observers is to observe the reality, objectively. At least that’s the Syrian government’s idea of what their mission is. It’s no surprise that the protesters don’t welcome it. Western and most Arab media reports about Syria are built on a foundation of bigotry and prejudice that favours the protesters in the foreign mind and exacerbates the ill-informed and unjustified moral support the protesters receive from foreign sources.
April 20th, 2012, 8:23 pm
bronco said:
#262 Tara
Sorry, there is nothing ‘massive’ about the reported demonstrations, despite the repeated call by the SNC.
I sincerely doubt that by next friday they’ll reach the magic number of a ‘million’. Davutoglu and others are wrong again when they predicted that when the observers will be present, a Tahrir square of ‘million’ protesters would happen in Syria.
It is obviously dwingling, fatigue, despair or coming to terms with the political reality.
April 20th, 2012, 8:27 pm
Afram said:
265. Uzair8 said:
213. Afram said:
Yes Pakistan has many problems but it isn’t a tyranny. There is at least some hope in pakistan in Imran Khan at the next election.
=====================
hope in pakistan??!!!??
isn’t a tyranny!!!tyranny by the people of pakistan
Z-Man Sir Salman Rushdie on Islamist Imran Khan
http://youtu.be/1K1A0OXu5uw
April 20th, 2012, 8:30 pm
bronco said:
#261 Norman
I opt for 6) but it will take time
April 20th, 2012, 8:33 pm
Tara said:
Bronco,
I have heard this in commentary from the regime supporters every single Friday since the beginning of the revolution. I remember spending many many Thursday nights in my bed tossing and turning worried that no one demonstrates the following morning. My concern was always baseless yet the mnhebaks never failed to willfully underestimate the size and the impact wen when they were literally massive. Most of the activists are now jailed yet new generation is probably in the make. 57 were killed by Batta today. Would the blood of the 11,000 go in vain? May be…I am slowly losing my trust in divine justice. And if so, I will never see Syria again…
April 20th, 2012, 8:53 pm
irritated said:
One more opposition frustration:
Bahrain Formula 1 and Egypt massive demonstrations against the army are stealing the headlines.
Homs opposition say they want the observers, while “one group of anti-Assad protesters in the city of Kafranbl say: “UN take back your dumb Don Quixotes, they are not better than the Arab League’s ones.”
April 20th, 2012, 8:58 pm
ann said:
Turkey: The odd man in – Apr 21, 2012
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/ND21Ad02.html
Erdogan abandoned his policy of engagement with Assad and joined the chorus calling for his ouster.
In Syria, however, no foreign intervention has materialized out of the expressions of Western and GCC outrage, Assad is still in Damascus, and Turkey, instead of basking in another deft “right side of history” Arab Spring maneuver, is now locked into an agenda of confrontation with a desperate and rather resourceful neighbor.
Turkey has not cut its losses by exploring rapprochement with the Syrian government; instead it has emerged as the patron of the feckless (the Syrian National Council – SNC), the reckless (Free Syria Army – FSA), and the opportunistic (Friends of Syria).
Erdogan seems to be intent upon digging a deeper hole for Turkey with his mouth, talking up the horrors of the Assad regime so that reconciliation will be politically impossible for him.
[…]
April 20th, 2012, 9:07 pm
Aldendeshe said:
Col Pat Lang has a post on his blog Sic Semper Tyrannis entitled:
Assad’s options – it is short and worth reading and I’d be interested in the reaction of others on this site. Here’s the link:
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2012/04/assads-options.html
April 20th, 2012, 9:25 pm
Jonathan said:
Col Pat Lang has a post on his blog Sic Semper Tyrannis entitled:
Assad’s options – it is short and worth reading and I’d be interested in the reaction of others on this site. Here’s the link:
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2012/04/assads-options.html
Lang concludes:
… BHO came into office willing to see if Assad really wanted a deal. This was not to be. AIPAC’s “pound of flesh” in the formation of the “hope-change” administration included several representatives of the Zionist set to include Jeffrey Feltman (Asst SecState for NE), Dennis Ross, and various lesser lights. Not surprisingly, these people reported that Assad was “insincere.” Why Hillary Clinton did not see through this is a mystery to me. Then Bibi came to power. He and his neocon allies in Washington made it clear that they were not really interested in Syria or the Palestinians. They wanted the US to prroduce an Israeli friendly regime in Iraq. That failed but they also wanted Iran crippled so that Iran could not challenge Israeli hegemony in the ME. They are stil working on that.
Throughout the Bush ’43 era and into the BHO period the neocons pushed the idea that Westernised “liberals”: and ethno-religious minorities should be brought to power in the region believing that as minorities they were willing to make nice with Israel. An unendingsearch for “good” Islamists took place over the last five years. Discreet contacts were made to encourage them against the “old bulls” like Mubarak. The Arab spring was a direct product of this neocon and academic fathead meddling in the Arab and Islamic worlds.
The Syrian Sunni Islamist revolt is a direct result of that effort. What you have in Syria is a civil war bewtwee the forces of semi-westernization on the government’s side and the forces of Sunni Islamism backed by Saudi Arabia on the other. In this struggle. the lefty media (and Fox) have never seen or heard Rebel BS that they did not really love.
What options does Assad have. 1- He can fight through to a total defeat of the rebels, 2- He can surrender to US demands for the end of his government. Arrest, trial and death will surely follow for him and his. 3- He can flee into exile where he can brood until brought back for trial and death.
Which course of action do you think he will choose?
April 20th, 2012, 9:25 pm
bronco said:
#272 Tara
The opposition made a fatal mistake when they resorted to arms, despite every single Western countries (except Turkey, KSA and Qatar) warning them vehemently that they may loose the revolution if they do. They could have resisted and suffered more deaths but peacefully. Yet they chose to retaliate under the pretext of defending themselves. It went out of control with uncontrollable armed gangs, Al Qaeda, personal vendettas, arms smuggling, military confrontations where a lots of soldiers and civilians died or were displaced.
Turkey and the others made a huge underestimation on the resilience of the Syrian government and never imagined the extent of the support it got from big players like Russia and China. They and Qatar bear the greatest responsibility in the pitiful situation of the opposition now. They have not stopped encouraging the opposition by hosting the FSA, threatening Bashar al Assad of Qaddafi’s fate and assuring the opposition that they will help toppling him.
Then Turkey started to realize it was going totally wrong and that the end was not near. It was overwhelmed with refugees, yet it continued boosting the armed opposition by threatening of ‘humanitarian’ corridors. After the Annan’s peace plan was voted at the UNSC, Turkey is now simply dumping the opposition as it realized its own security is at stake.
It is very clear that Turkey is no friend to Syria, neither to the opposition nor to government. Their interest comes first.
The opposition is now in the cold, weaken and is receiving verbal support from the same ones who drove them to that situation .
Of course it is pathetic that these people were filled with hopes and now they see that they are about to loose and they are fearful for their future.
What the western countries predicted about the danger of armed rebellion has just happen.
April 20th, 2012, 9:28 pm
Juergen said:
I told you folks that i am very happy about one article “DIE ZEIT” has published yesterday. So far they have not published it online, sometimes they do it, sometimes not. To me this is an award winning article, i made an translation, and i hope not all of the award winning style is gone. Its a very long article, the name of the magazine says it all ” Die Zeit”- the time. You all will need some time to read it. I have posted it on my blogspot page, and the article will be on for an week from now. Anyone who wants an PDF of the article in german, please say so, i will distribute the pdf then to the moderator. The author is kept secret for the time being by the magazine for obvious reasons.
http://amana-tours.blogspot.de/
April 20th, 2012, 9:33 pm
jad said:
Irritated,
I guess you hit someone’s nerve,
he is loosing his ‘coolness’ and you can tell when 
he starts laughing (lol) and giggling (heheh) for no reason 😉
#236
“I just said that it was a very large rally as far as the eye could see”
April 20th, 2012, 9:34 pm
Tara said:
Bronco,
Self defense is a human right. I sincerely doubt the Batta can be ever toppled peacefully, not with his sectarian-based regime. Please do not jump to a conclusion that the opposition is losing. We are far from losing…. Our struggle is against a regime that have demonstrates an unimaginable ruthlessness. We knew from the get go it isn’t going to be a picnic but we all have come to a stage where we wholeheartedly believe????? ??? ??????
Any how, I found this on Heetan quoted by OTW from Msysaloon blog. I wish one of the most important people in my life reads it and seriously thinks about it.
On another note, somebody who should know better sarcastically asked me how I can change my politics from supporting the “resistance” to opposing it bitterly because of the Syrian revolution. I say that if the murder of over ten thousand people by a tin pot dictator is not enough to change your politics then I don’t know what will. What is truly astounding is that I ever thought that I had something in common with such people.
I say it now clearly, if your compass for what is right or wrong is some “cause” or ideology, then you are on the way to self-destruction. Dogma can never substitute for reason when it comes to morality.
—/
If you have Dubai satellite, please put it on right away. Lots of good songs. The Tunesian Bushnaq is on. To die for…
April 20th, 2012, 10:01 pm
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
Syrian Nationalist Party
Metaz K M Aldendeshe
Chief Strategist
All that aside. They have made no positive contributions to Syria, they plundered the nation and brought it down to the lowest levels in every field. Syria is bone dry, culturally, economically, socially, spiritually, morally and in any other ranking category. They deprived Syrians of all human rights, monopolized the government, administration, trade, commerce, army, the economy, the schools, the right to anything and all state benefits. Used the entire nation as slaves to support their clans and rule, they embezzled all public funds and natural resources, the list of crimes are long, very long.. It is inhumane crime to hold the entire noble Syrian nation hostage in the hand of
criminal regime sect that is ruled mostly by Alawites.
Why in Lebanon should a similar Militant Shia group who publicly pledges an allegiance to foreign Shia power should have own military and be a state within a state. Why Lebanese should tolerate this abuse to their noble Lebanese nation. Why
Shia sects are holding so much contempt to the region people. We need solution, we need real international intervention, not more U.N. mockery. It is just the start… will continue..
April 20th, 2012, 10:22 pm
Aldendeshe said:
During a vacation-meeting last week in Henderson, Nevada, I was asked how SNP can face up to Arabs after calling them all these names. I was so infuriated with this stupid question, the asker go it back from me and ruined his vacation.
I said, the question should be how these Sunni Arabs and Turkmen should face Syrians after having supported Alawites-Shia and Baathist rule over Syria’s Sunnis for more than 40 years. Sent billions to them to keep’em afloat. Arab Sunni contempt to Syrians is even more criminal than Shia contempt for Syria’s Sunni.
At least the
Shia somehow with their demeaning character and religion, demented leaders taught them to hate Syria’s Sunni on account of Muwaiwa and Yazid’s Syrian army that “CLAIMS” no prove of that, responsibility to the slaughter of their MAHDI. But why Arab Sunni have this contempt to Syria’s Sunni? Why they have shown so much callous to their suffering and misery, what excuse they have?
I said the rule of engagement from now on with Arabs and Turkmen is this:
????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????
April 20th, 2012, 10:23 pm
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
@SNK
What Baathists and Alawites did to Syria and Syrians is unforgivable. The list of heinous crimes is too many to innumerate here. It will take few generations and a lot of good will and remorse from both evils for 500+ years to trust again, if ever.
Send Baathists to eternal hell and damnation and
Alawites to Iran or Iraq. They should bring back and keep what they stole in Syria so we don’t have to chase them for it. That is the best plan for Syria. As to HezboAli, the same deal, pack up the military Shia and send them to Qom.
Baathists and Alawites sent 15 million Syrians to live in foreign land, they were even extorted not only to pay exit tax, but even annual immigrant tax to the Alawites. Time is up, move on.
The decision is reached last week in a meeting in Henderson, Nevada, LEAVE or
will level Syria on Baathist and Alawites heads and rebuild it without the filth.
April 20th, 2012, 10:23 pm
Norman said:
Bronco,
I agree with you about (6) but i am not as optimistic, i think it is going to be war until the finish by either side,
April 20th, 2012, 10:25 pm
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
SC MOD, Not impressed, but thanks for bringing in the quality posts to the front.
April 20th, 2012, 10:36 pm
ann said:
UN Security Council reaches preliminary deal on Syria observers
The UN Security Council has reached a tentative agreement on a resolution that would increase the number of UN ceasefire observers in Syria from 30 to 300, the Associated Press reports, citing France’s UN ambassador. Ambassador Gerard Araud said the text of a resolution negotiated over many hours on Friday would be sent to capitals overnight and the council would meet at 11am EDT on Saturday to vote.
[…]
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-04-21/#id29900
April 20th, 2012, 11:27 pm
ann said:
On Syria, Russia Resolution Rules, France Jives, US Spins, 300 to Go
By Matthew Russell Lee
UN System, April 20 — How far is Washington from New York, or noon from 5 pm? At the US State Department’s noon or 1 pm briefing, Inner City Press asked spokesperson Victoria Nuland about a Syria resolution introduced at the UN in New York:
Inner City Press: I’ve heard that Russia has actually now introduced a resolution for the 300 [observers], sort of jumped the gun or beaten you to it, and that France is saying it’s going to introduce one for 500. And I just wondered, can you confirm the Russian draft has been circulated? And between the two, which one would the U.S. prefer?
MS. NULAND: I understood from my colleagues in New York, at U.S. Mission to the United Nations, that they were all now working off a single draft, but I’m going to send you up to them for the work that’s ongoing up there.
[ … ]
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin explained to the press:
“This is a three month mandate and I think the process that already started. So the idea is that now the Secretariat and the mission and the Syrian government and the opposition must know that the SC will be authorizing the full-fledged mandate so we hope it’s going to send a strong and good political signal and we hope the people who have been courageous enough to go there with the advanced party will know that they are not in limbo. That they are more people will come and the Secretariat and the Security Council is taking this exercise very seriously… It’s going to be up to 300 unarmed military observers and an appropriate civilian element.”
[ … ]
“the Russian text was a good text. Our goal is limited, our goal is to send an observers mission to Syria, so in a sense the Russian text was a very good text, it was a very good basis, so the amendments that we have brought to the text are, in a sense, really, I think the text will have changed, but not dramatically because again it was a good basis and we want only to send 300 people there, so really… we have to take into account the danger for the observers, so that’s the reason why we are precizing [sic, probably from French, necessary] that the Secretary-General will have to assess the situation on the ground, you know, simply to say ‘well actually, I can send them’ or ‘Actually, I have to withdraw them’ or ‘Actually, I can send them only on some spots.'”
[…]
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1nuland042012.html
April 20th, 2012, 11:32 pm
ann said:
Syria’s Draft Resolution – April 20, 2012
Page 1: http://www.innercitypress.com/syr1blue042112.jpg
Page 2: http://www.innercitypress.com/syr2blue042112.jpg
Page 3: http://www.innercitypress.com/syr3blue042112.jpg
.
April 20th, 2012, 11:42 pm
bronco said:
#274 Tara
Your notion of “self defense” is over simplified. The Syrian government is claiming it is a acting in self defense to protect a large part of its population from the violence of the rebels. According to your definition, Israel is right to fight the Palestinians in self-defense to defend itself. The US was right to attack Iraq in self-defense. Israel is right to attack Iran in self defense etc…
Self-defense and humanitarian morals are now the new ways to justify aggression and violence when there is no real willingness for patience and diplomacy.
I am sorry, but morality has nothing to do with politics and diplomacy.
In one year, the opposition has shown it is as mean as the regime it wants to ‘change’ and much less united and in addition it will create chaos and irreversible divisions in the country.
Between two evils, it is time to choose the lesser and keep the country united.
I already rarely share your enthusiast for some commenters in this blog and I certainly never appreciated OTW writings nor the blog you recommend. Sorry for that.
April 20th, 2012, 11:58 pm
irritated said:
Sorry for the lengthy #284, it was an error that I was not allowed to correct or delete. I have asked the moderator to delete it.
April 21st, 2012, 12:10 am
zoo said:
Davutoglu snubbed Juppe over the photo op of the mini FOS improvised meeting in Paris
FM nixes French plan on Syria election show
Serkan Demirta? Serkan Demirta? [email protected]
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/fm-nixes-french-plan-on-syria-election-show.aspx?pageID=238&nID=18944&NewsCatID=338
Turkish-French ties experienced a new round of friction April 19 after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu refused to participate in a press conference with the foreign ministers of the Friends of the Syrian People group on the grounds that the event was a “pre-election show.”
..
According to Turkish officials, French President Nicholas Sarkozy wanted to use this meeting on Syria as an opportunity to show Paris’ influence under his rule on world politics by flaunting this before his rival, Socialist leader François Hollande. “They rushed to hold this meeting, and they were very disorganized,” an official said.
(..)
April 21st, 2012, 12:25 am
jad said:
A very good and true article by Sharmine Narwani about the Western journalist unprofessional covering of the middle east and the importance of introducing accountability for what they write:
Western Journalist: Visa Denied
By Sharmine Narwani
Item number five on UN Envoy Kofi Annan’s 6-point plan for Syria is the following:
“(5) Ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them.”
At a delicate moment in the hard-fought Syrian conflict that could potentially destabilize the entire Middle East, the United Nations believes getting more journalists into Syria is one of the six most urgent actions to consider?
Why? Are foreign reporters trained in special “observer” skills – with unique truth-detecting abilities bubble-wrapped in bullet and mortar-proof goop? And what will they see that Syrians – who know Syria best – cannot observe for themselves?
What the UN is really demanding – let’s be honest here – is for the Syrian government to open up the country to “Western” journalists. Yet, in all the conflicts covered in recent years, I cannot recall one that has been more badly covered by the mainstream western media than this Syrian crisis.
Almost to a person, western journalists are blaming their substandard coverage on the fact that they have been denied entry into Syria. And also – to a person – they seem to think that the world needs them there to understand what is going on inside the country.
Paul Conroy, the Sunday Times freelance cameraman who was injured by an explosive in Homs in February, tells the BBC’s Hard Talk that Syrians need their events verified by people like himself and his now-deceased colleague, war correspondent Marie Colvin, in order to be believed:
“It is a sad state of affairs that it does need people to go in…and actually be Western and be official journalists to make it real in the public eye.”
Is that like a Western-journalist-verification-stamp of some sort? Does it come with a guarantee – for accuracy in reporting?
Because, right now, I honestly cannot think of a group of people less capable of verifying things in Syria than western journalists. And it is not because they aren’t physically there or can’t string together more than two words in Arabic. It is largely because they feast at the trough of their own governments’ narratives on All Things. Western journalists are heady with a sense of righteousness leached from the oxymoronic “western values” shoved down our collective throats. Those same western values that demand “accountability” and “transparency” from all nations – while offering cover for western governments to hack their way through Muslim and Arab bodies in endless “national security” wars.
{…}
The Syrian crisis is not about reforms any longer – it has become a geopolitical battle for influence in the Middle East, with NATO, the GCC and BRIC nations taking sides. Western media fails to address this larger picture, so glaringly obvious to people in the region. Instead it focuses almost entirely on the “David vs Goliath” or “good vs evil” themes that appeal to a broad audience of dumbed-down media consumers. These populations in turn become perception “leaders” when they back foreign military adventures in opinion polls broadcast back to us by – you guessed it – western media. And in that neat trick, your western government checks off a tick-box called “citizen approval.”
{…}
Toss those western journos out of Syria unless they can demonstrate independent, objective, responsible reporting of this conflict. False narratives are costing Arab and Muslim lives. And media “combatants” need not apply to practice their craft in this region any longer.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/sandbox/western-journalist-visa-denied
April 21st, 2012, 12:29 am
zoo said:
For those who doubt about what Ataturk represents for Turks
Was Atatürk not a dictator?
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/was-ataturk-not-a-dictator.aspx?pageID=449&nID=18926&NewsCatID=411
If you are concerned about media freedom in Turkey, you should not miss the latest case opened against Ahmet Altan, editor and columnist of the liberal daily Taraf: An Istanbul prosecutor recently accused Mr. Altan for “insulting Atatürk,” which is crime that is punishable by up to six years in prison. (Atatürk, for the record, is not just “the Father of all Turks” as his surname-by-law literally means, but also the “Supreme Leader,” the “Eternal Chief,” the “Prime Teacher,” the “Unmatched Hero” and the “Everlasting Sun” of the Turkish nation, as various official texts call him.) But how, exactly, did Mr. Altan “insult” Atatürk? Well, by simply stating in one of his columns that “Atatürk was a dictator.”
..
Sure he was. From 1925 to 1938, the golden era of Turkey’s single-party era, Atatürk had absolute and unchecked political power. He not only banned all opposition parties and figures, but also closed down all civil society institutions, from Sufi orders, to feminist clubs, to freemasons.
And had Atatürk not obtained power by force?
Sure he did. He never competed with his opponents in free and fair elections. He rather relied on arbitrary courts which executed an estimated 5,000 of his dissidents. One of his Atatürk’s prominent political rivals, Ali ?ükrü Bey, a parliamentarian, was murdered by none other than one of Atatürk’s devotees. Meanwhile, Atatürk’s most notable political rival, war hero Kaz?m Karabekir, spent more than a decade under house arrest.
(…)
April 21st, 2012, 12:30 am
jad said:
Diplomatic war in the UN between Syria and the khalijis
??? «???????? ???????» ????? ?? ??????? ?? ????????
???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????. ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????????. ?? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????? «??? ???? ?? ????»
???? ????
??????? | ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ?? ?????. ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????. ?? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????.
?? ?? ???? «?????? ??????» ??????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ????????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????????. ??? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????. ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???????.
?? ???? ??????? ????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ??????????. ?????????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????????.
??? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ???? «?????? ?????? ??????» ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? (7 ?10 ???? ??????) ???? ??? ??? ??? ??????.
{…}
????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? «????? ??????»? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????. ???? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? ????? «?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ????????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ??????? ????????? ????? ?????? «?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??????» ?«????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????????».
?????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????? 2042? ??? ????? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? «??????? ??????? ????????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ???????? (????????) ?? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ???????».
{…}
???????? ????? ???? «?????? ??? ????????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??????»? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ??? «??? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????».
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/62669
April 21st, 2012, 1:01 am
Alan said:
291. JAD
?????? ?? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ??? ????? ! ??? ????? ! ????? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ( ?????? ) ??? ??? ????? ???????
April 21st, 2012, 6:49 am
Juergen said:
the comment is funny, the Duck father…
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3649404431690&set=a.1191561747159.29827.1171830975&type=1&theater
demonstrations inside Palmyra’s famous Baal temple
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3649426792249&set=a.1191561747159.29827.1171830975&type=1&theater
nice message
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3649447952778&set=a.1191561747159.29827.1171830975&type=1&theater
April 21st, 2012, 7:17 am
zoo said:
Is is a sign that the Peace plan may work?
Syrian activists: Homs calm as UN team visits
By BASSEM MROUE | Associated Press – 6 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-activists-homs-calm-un-team-visits-103108712.html
…
In contrast, much of Syria was quiet Saturday, activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Homs was peaceful for the first time in more than a week.
“Until now I have not received any report of violence, including the city of Homs that was witnessing daily shelling,” said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory. “It is quiet until this moment, unlike the past day
April 21st, 2012, 8:27 am
zoo said:
UNSMIS is born…
http://news.yahoo.com/un-council-reaches-tentative-agreement-syria-001554104.html
The final draft would establish a United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria, to be known as UNSMIS, “comprising an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers as well as an appropriate civilian component” for an initial period of 90 days.
…
The compromise language in the final text says the expanded mission “shall be deployed expeditiously subject to assessment by the secretary-general of relevant developments on the ground, including the consolidation of the cessation of violence.”
…
The preliminary agreement between Syria and the United Nations on the deployment of U.N. observers says they will have freedom to go anywhere in the country by foot or by car, take pictures, and use technical equipment to monitor compliance with the cease-fire engineered by Annan.
The observers, who report to Annan daily, will have freedom to install temporary observation posts in cities and towns, to monitor military convoys approaching population centers, to investigate any potential violation, and to access detention centers and medical centers in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian authorities, the agreement says.
…
The final text underlines “the need for the Syrian government and the United Nations to agree rapidly on appropriate air transportation assets for UNSMIS.”
…
Meanwhile, diplomats meeting Friday in Geneva to discuss the humanitarian situation agreed to a draft plan that budgets $180 million to provide food, medicine and other supplies to about 1 million people inside Syria. It comes on top of the aid that is delivered to refugees who have fled abroad.
John Ging, who heads the coordination and response division of the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the plan still needs Syria’s approval, particularly the question of how many aid workers will be allowed into the country.
April 21st, 2012, 8:36 am
Alan said:
???????????? ????????? ???? ????? ??????
April 21st, 2012, 8:43 am
zoo said:
Analysis: Assad foes doubt Syria truce but have few options
By Dominic Evans | Reuters – 18 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-assad-foes-doubt-syria-truce-few-options-175942899.html
“It’s unfortunate that some countries have not fully supported the plan,” said one Western diplomat in the region. “If you say it’s got a 3 percent chance, it further decreases the likelihood of success.”
…
But, like other powers caught up in Syria’s crisis which also include neighboring Turkey, the Gulf states may fail to follow up their strong words with actions, leaving Annan’s ceasefire plan as the only viable option.
“Given the absolute lack of any stomach for U.S. intervention, Turkey’s unwillingness to intervene unless it is under U.S. and European leadership, and the clear signs of posturing from Saudi Arabia but lack of any real follow-up, I don’t see the strategic purpose of collapsing the Annan agreement,” said Shashank Joshi of the military think-tank RUSI.
From Syria’s perspective, Assad may also have a strong interest in ensuring the ceasefire stays in place.
An agreement reached between the United Nations and Syria this week makes specific demands on Syrian rebels as well as the government, effectively assigning joint responsibility for a cessation of the bloodshed.
That marks a diplomatic achievement for authorities in Damascus which have said since the outset of the uprising against Assad that they are battling foreign-backed militants.
[ … ]
April 21st, 2012, 8:43 am
Alan said:
??????:??? ????? ????? ????? ????????? ?? ?????
??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????????? ???????? ?? ?????. ????? ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? 20 ?????/????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ” ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ????????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? . ???? ?????? ??? ” ?? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????”. ????? ????? ??? ” ?? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???????”.
[ … ]
April 21st, 2012, 8:57 am
Juergen said:
Amir
have you seen this video?
I just love it…
An israeli commercial from couple of years ago for an internet company. at the end it says : in real life its still not possible, but on the internet relationships like that are formed every day. enjoy.
April 21st, 2012, 9:01 am
bronco said:
#289 Jad
The presence of UN observers make the presence of journalists on the ground useless and possibly detrimental to the mission as they are all biased by the prejudice carried from their home country foreign policy or their own political convictions.
Instead of having the journalists looking for victims to interview and document the abuses, the UN should call the Syrian government to set up a non political Commission in agreement with the the Red Crescent and the UN where people would come and make their depositions and complaints so as to document the events that lead to the killing of the relatives and destruction of their properties.
Later, corrective actions could be taken like compensation or indictments if the case calls for it. It is necessary to build trust first so people are not afraid to report to this organization. It may be premature to imagine such commission but it is necessary that its foundation are built now under the UN supervision.
News reporting that call for tears and revenge are solving nothing and not helping the Syrians.
April 21st, 2012, 9:02 am
Alan said:
Students tear-gassed in clashes with police in Canada
In Canada, riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of students protesting outside a government building in central Montreal. At least two demonstrators and two officers were injured in the violence and seventeen people were arrested. Students are angry at a planned 75 percent rise in tuition fees. They’ve been demonstrating almost daily since declaring a boycott on classes over two months ago, with the government refusing to back down. Citizen journalist Bernard Desgagne says that the situation is getting more violent and that the police reaction towards protesters is too brutal.
April 21st, 2012, 9:04 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
The moderation on SC reaches new heights of absurdity. Now it becomes artistic. An artistic censorship. Syria Tishreen Comment with shiny logos of muzzling.
.
April 21st, 2012, 9:10 am
Alan said:
Syria stuck between rock & hard place?
April 21st, 2012, 9:10 am
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Juergen,
I didn’t know the commercial you posted. Nice.
Here’s another commercial by YES, the TV satellite company. Iranians demand their leaders not to bomb Israel on Monday, because on Monday they watch the TV series “Danny Hollywood”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2MyoR0-ivU
.
April 21st, 2012, 9:20 am
Juergen said:
Amir,
thats hilarious, i wish such commercials would show some the absurdity of their actions…
April 21st, 2012, 9:36 am
Syrialover said:
289. Jad said: “A very good and true article by Sharmine Narwani about the Western journalist unprofessional covering of the middle east”
What is Sharmine Narwani, 13 years old or something?
Journalists should not be allowed into conflict areas, she is pompously declaring. Hilarious! Imagine the gaps in knowledge of world history if that was the case.
In particular, she insults the memory of Marie Colvin and Anthony Shadid, brilliant journalists who died in the process of bearing witness to what is happening in Syria. Over the years, both of them made a crucial contribution to the world’s understanding of what actually happened inside certain conflict zones.
And it’s an insult to Syrians to suggest that they should not have journalists allowed in to witness what is happening to them as has been the case in other places for centuries.
Sharmine Narwani, note the name, an armchair commentator throwing Syrians under the nearest bus so she can hiss irrationally about “western journalists” and western everything else.
Another switched-off hypocrite, living a comfortable, safe, privileged and free life in the west, but hurlng childish insults at the west while telling people trapped inside Syria what’s good for them.
April 21st, 2012, 9:42 am
Tara said:
Bronco
“I already rarely share your enthusiast for some commenters in this blog and I certainly never appreciated OTW writings nor the blog you recommend. Sorry for that.”
You didn’t like Why-Discuss?! How could you?
And I also do not share your enthusiasm for some commenters on this blog especially the girl ones. Sorry for that too.
April 21st, 2012, 10:35 am
Juergen said:
Abdel Razak Tlass shows UN observers an badly hit national hospital in Homs.
April 21st, 2012, 10:56 am
ghufran said:
the brutality and corruption of the Syrian regime is old news, very few will argue against a regime change and the people’s right to have a more free and democratic political system, however,many people ignore the eleohant in the room: Thuggery. Whether you like the regime or not,you have to be really worried about where the society is going when one of the safest countries in the world became, rather quickly, a hotbed for assassins, thieves, smugglers, kidnappers and common thugs.
The usual “Shabeeha” charges to explain every illegal and thuggish act in Syria may be comforting to some but it does not tell the truth: you can not expect a third world country with miilions of poor, uneducated and marginalized people to suddenly behave in a civilized manner in a crisis just because a regime change is on the table.
Thuggery is not an excuse to preserve the regime but it should put pressure on sane people to abandon violence and seek a political settlement before Syria becomes too broken to fix.
April 21st, 2012, 10:57 am
ghufran said:
a 17 year old dude will rule Jordan if something happens to the half irish king of Jordan while travelling abroad:
http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=latest\data\2012-04-21-14-55-48.htm
I did not plan on commenting on issues like “who did what”, because I understand how violent and deceitful the regime and many of its adversaries are, but is it not the FSA that was bragging about “liberating” the same hospital Tlas is now crying over?
Nurses from that hospital were brutally killed and vidoes and pics declaring the victory of the FSA over a hospital filled the internet.
Take the shame factor away and you can do anything.
April 21st, 2012, 11:10 am
ghufran said:
Randa Slim on Syria:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/20/opinion/slim-syria-uprisings/index.html?hpt=imi_t4
Randa argues in favor of strengthening local revolutionary councils, but those councils have so far failed to attract the same people who have resisted toppling the regime for fears of reprisals, islamist domination, chaos or a mix of the three.
April 21st, 2012, 11:22 am
Uzair8 said:
From AJE Live Syria blog:
2 hours 14 min ago – Syria
Syrian activists said that columns of smoke rose from the Mezze military airport in Damascus after hearing a huge explosion in the area. The blast was followed by heavy gunfire inside the airport.
Activists reported that security forces closed Sumaria road near the airport and blocked access to and from the capital, as police vehicles were seen rushing towards the fighting.
Mezze military airport hosts air force and defence divisions and an intelligence brigade.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-apr-21-2012-1734
April 21st, 2012, 11:51 am
VOLK said:
UN System, April 21 — After Russia on circulated a draft resolution to deploy 300 military observers to Syria, and France then followed with its own draft speaking of human rights — which it opposes in the pending Western Sahara resolution — the US State Department told Inner City Press it believed there was only one draft.
And soon that became true: France dropped human rights, and the call for “independent” air asset the the threat of action under Article 41 of the UN Charter if the Assad government does not comply.
And so on Saturday morning, after the surreal read out of a statement on the coup d’etat in Guinea Bissau, the Security Council adopted the Russian introduced draft, now with further co-sponsors, by a vote of 15 – 0.
Russia’s Ambassador Vitaly Churkin spoke first after the vote, saying that the Libya model is a thing of the past. Indeed. France’s Gerard Araud spoke next, bloviating about things dropped from the resolution, such as the possibility of sanctions.
Ironically, the Guinea Bissau Presidential Statement explicitly mentioned the possibility of targeted sanctions. But it came out of the Syria resolution. And so it goes at the UN. Watch this site.
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1hrus042112.html
April 21st, 2012, 12:02 pm
Afram said:
309. ghufran said:
1-the brutality and corruption of the Syrian regime is old news.
2-however,many people ignore the eleohant in the room:
3-where the society is going when one of the safest countries in the world became,rather quickly, a hotbed for assassins.
==========================
great questions ghufran.
Elephant in the room:why the syrians steadfastly ignored the khalijee elephant in the room?we know he is a foe not a friend.
at this stage the syrians are the”ball”not the ballplayers.
NOW, the regime is playing ball with the khalijees, damn, he is good at it.
majority of syrians plus western Gullibility like UN wives are ignorant& ill-advised about the region historical ballgame.
its true all syrians want freedom and corruption free governing.
but the gulf ZIFT Sahara has something else on their mind, Damascus.
why Damascus? coz they lost Baghdad/its sunni-shia thing.
They lost Abbasid Caliphate capital Baghdad to Shia so they like to Reconquer Umayyad Caliphate capital Damascus from shia control!! This is the ball-game..not freedom
It doesn’t take a lot, really, to figure this out.
Poor Qatari-saudi train has been derailed by Assad Mechanics
Burhan & co.are just window-dressing!
April 21st, 2012, 12:12 pm
Mina said:
It is almost the fiftiest time that al Jazeera reports explosions and defections in this Mezze military airport. How many stones remain?
April 21st, 2012, 12:19 pm
bronco said:
#306 Tara
Sorry but I missed Why-discuss’s comments as I think he left before I discover this blog. I meant the others I don’t want to name that you keep praising.
Then don’t mix approval with enthusiasm.
April 21st, 2012, 12:28 pm
Uzair8 said:
314. Mina
Maybe there is infighting in the military/security/intelligence services at that location? It won’t help loyal Assad troops if they hear news of trouble back at base. A very dangerous scenario as the military bases and airports etc are vulnerable while troops are spread elsewhere across the country. Assad regime already has its hands full in this ‘hit-the-mole’ campaign without having to deal with trouble breaking out out at base. It doesn’t have enough loyal forces.
April 21st, 2012, 12:34 pm
Tara said:
Bronco
I know that. I was just playing…
Why left long time before your arrival, specifically on July 21 last year. You’d love him…, I think. Ironically, he was a staunch regime supporter…
April 21st, 2012, 12:35 pm
jad said:
??? ?????? – ???? ?????
http://youtu.be/ul64kQJ__l4
?????? ?????? ??????? http://www.facebook.com/doc… | http://www.documents.sy | [email protected] | ?????? ?????? ??????? 2012
?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????
In an Interview with Syrian director, Najdat Anzour, he talks about his new movie King of the sand. Anzour talks about Syrian-Saudi Arabia relations, where he confirms that the movie has no relation with the bad situation in both countries. Anzour confirms again that he is fixed in attitude and position, supporting the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, the Syrian government as
April 21st, 2012, 12:50 pm
Uzair8 said:
Perhaps the UN Monitors can pop down to Mezze airport to see what’s happening there?
April 21st, 2012, 12:50 pm
Alan said:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/04/20/Syrian-civil-war-prospects-worry-Moscow/UPI-34611334940778/
Syrian civil war prospects worry Moscow
MOSCOW, April 20 (UPI) — The crisis in Syria is either headed toward political negotiation or toward full-blown civil war, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there were serious questions about the sustainability of a Syrian peace plan. An April 12 cease-fire appeared to hold, though violence is reportedly escalating in the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday there were “violations and provocations” to the cease-fire and warned the country was headed toward serious crisis if both sides refused to lay down their weapons.
“The issue in Syria now is the choice between a transition toward peaceful, nationwide talks or a descent into civil war,” the ministry said in a statement cited by Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during a Friends of Syria meeting in Paris, accused the government in Damascus of trying to wipe the rebel city of Homs “off the map.”
Some governments accuse Damascus of war crimes in its assault on opposition groups inside the country. The Syrian government, however, maintains its fighting a rebellion.
“The shelling of Homs and other cities must end, immediately,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said in a statement. “The government must pull back its troops and heavy weapons from the population centers, immediately.”
[ … ]
April 21st, 2012, 1:17 pm
Syrian Nationalist Party said:
??????, ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ? ???????.
Can someone please translate the article in the link below to or discuss its details here in English and or Russian. This article about the ongoing Alawites control and corruption in Syria, as we speak. This is from Communist Al-hakika website, it detail the ongoing trashing and bad faith Assad Baathist corrupt regime is implementing under the KofiAnnan U.N. plan. This is why what Ambassador Rice said of not renewing the deal in 90 days is not acceptable to Syrians, it should be 9 days only.
Here is the link to the Arabic article:
http://www.syriatruth.org/???????/????????????????/tabid/94/Article/7193/Default.aspx
April 21st, 2012, 1:17 pm
Mina said:
Alan,
Sure they’ll soon help the Turks build a wall around Hatay… Birds of a feather flock together..
April 21st, 2012, 1:18 pm
Atheist Syrian Salafist Against Dictatorships said:
#309
Thuggery=the Assadist regime.
April 21st, 2012, 1:48 pm
Halabi said:
The videos of Assad’s soldiers insulting and taunting corpses just don’t stop. I think they are meant to send a message to the opposition of brutality they should expect even after they die, and the sectarian language is to lift the spirits of the we-love-you crowd.
Graphic images of business as usual for Assad’s soldiers.
http://youtu.be/XNkqgfO8Fd0
Will the Syrian military ever address this behavior and at least put on a show of accountability? How about a confession and apology on Syrian TV? Of course not. This is what Assad’s military is all about – regime supporters see these thugs as heroes and expect the opposition to accept their rule and label those who don’t as traitors or terrorists. The soldier did call one of the dead men a 3ar3our, which we all know is a sub-human species that must be annihilated…
April 21st, 2012, 1:49 pm
Mina said:
317 Uzayr
I have stopped watching al Jazeera around June 2011 and by then they had already announced this infighting and defections half dozen of times. Since them I have read it here now and then. They sound like an old record. Maybe it’s because they need to feed their so called live blog with something in the absence of news?
April 21st, 2012, 1:58 pm
jad said:
Those are 5 of the ‘civilians’ killed in Syria, it turned out that they are 5 Tunisian alqaeda fighters and the ‘revos’ add them as civilians in the martyrs’ list….this is why the UN is not filtering the names anymore, they are only interested in the numbers…and they want us to believe their findings:
???????? – ???? 5 ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ???????
http://youtu.be/zGu3dyfu0VY?t=2m9s
“???? 5 ???????? ??????? ” ??????? ” ??? ??????? ??????? …. ?? ???? … ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ??? … ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? . ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? … ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ?? … ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?”
April 21st, 2012, 2:01 pm
Uzair8 said:
325 MINA said:
“Maybe it’s because they need to feed their so called live blog with something in the absence of news?”
I don’t know. User’s on AJE blogs are accusing moderators of giving free reign to ‘spammers’ to disrupt comment on the blogs. Apparantly at least one leading pro-revolution blogger (probably the main blogger on Syria) has been banned and others seem to have left in protest.
Don’t know what is going on.
The Syrian electronic army (or similar) may think they are succeeding in disrupting comment on Syria but the users, and silent readers on AJE blogs and the rest of the world can see their behaviour and it will backfire.
April 21st, 2012, 2:31 pm
Alan said:
UN Security Council votes to send 300 observers to Syria
http://rt.com/news/un-security-council-monitors-syria-635/
April 21st, 2012, 2:47 pm
Ghufran said:
Tony Karon believes that political opposition is a bigger threat to the regime than armed rebels: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/03/syria-as-his-adversaries-scramble-for-a-strategy-assad-sets-his-terms/
Thugs and armed rebels are a bigger threat to the society than to the regime. Their acts make is much harder to unite Syrians against the noble goal of a regime change.
April 21st, 2012, 3:13 pm
jad said:
Terrorists in Hama killed 5 members of the same family leaving three kids alone without any help.
????? ??? ??? ?????????? ??? ????? ????? 19 4 2012
April 21st, 2012, 3:15 pm
Ghufran said:
Shhhh, keep quiet, this is Bahrain not Syria:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/apr/21/bahrain-protester-death-video
April 21st, 2012, 3:51 pm
jad said:
The Syrian soldier’s actions is bad and disrespectful and this kind of actions need to be rejected by the Syrian government and the Army publicly, and the Syrian soldiers need to be trained not to do such actions.
Saying all that, I still support the Syrian Army, and I believe that they are our brothers who are losing their lives for all of us.
I didn’t hear them saying anything obviously sectarian as claimed, can anybody point it out, probably I missed something.
Again, what the soldiers did is wrong and should be condemned and corrected by the Syrian Government and needs to stop.
———————————————————
Now, if I may, I have some points to raise about the clip in #325:
Why those men where killed and how?
Nobody knows for sure, but a quick check, we find that the ‘revos’ called them victims of the army shelling of the town of 3lma in Dar3a in Feb 25th, and also claim that the Syrian Army destroyed the houses over the heads of the people living inside:
???? ????? ???? ???????
“??????: ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ???????”
http://www.csr-sy.com/index.php?l=2&sons=redirect&id=135&identity=18006
Reality check:
The footage in #325 shows something different, it shows that those three killed men are wearing military pants and apparently killed in the outskirt of the town not inside the town inside the houses the army destroyed over their heads, which means that they were probably fighting with the same Syrian army soldiers shown in the same clip, which explain the anger and disgust language the soldiers use, since if those armed men weren’t killed the soldiers will be in their places as dead corpses.
Another quick search of that incident gives another piece of information,
????? ???? ???? ???? ????? 25-2-2012
?? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ????????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ? ?????? ??? ??????
13???? ??? ?? ???? ????
https://www.facebook.com/SyrianRightsCommunity/posts/358899820798725
The link claims that Katibet AlMohajreen and Ansar did fight with the Syrian army and killed some of them but it doesn’t say if they had any casualties, however, a look at the victim list clearly say that only 2 out of the 13 victims are actually civilians who happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time while giving no information whatsoever about the other 11 killed men (not a single woman) which leaves us one option: the victims were actually killed in the fight with the Syrian army, OUTSIDE the town and NOT as a result of destroying houses as claimed.
April 21st, 2012, 3:57 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Erdogan and Davutoglu will go in history of Turkey as the dummiest politicians in the history of the middle east (maybe as bad as Saddam). Regardless of how good or bad the Syrian government is, how can any reasonable politician puts Syria in acidic environment facilitating its integration into states (Kurdish, Alawi and Sunni)
When the same acid is going to dissolve turkey into the same components?!!
April 21st, 2012, 3:58 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Re: Sharmine Narwani’s latest “article” Western Journalist: Visa Denied
In this article she concentrates on just one provision of the UN backed 6 point plan while conveniently fails to mention how the Syrian regime has NOT met any of the other points including the one she is arguing… I digress
“What the UN is really demanding – let’s be honest here – is for the Syrian government to open up the country to “Western” journalists.”
No, what the UN and the rest of the world is demanding is for the Syrian government to remove the cloak of darkness that keeps fuelling the fog of war, which only plays to their prerogative, for as long as free press is not allowed in and given unfettered access this brutal regime can “control” the news outcome, and keep saying everything is fabricated in Doha because these videos are shot by dissidents and therefore their account does not count. Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin were killed for that very reason.
“And it is not because they aren’t physically there or can’t string together more than two words in Arabic.”
Last I checked she lives in comfortable London, and herself can barely string together a few words of Arabic. Is she talking about herself here?
“Western journalists are heady with a sense of righteousness leached from the oxymoronic “western values” shoved down our collective throats.”
Again rather odd coming from someone that is or at least calls herself a “journalist” and lives in the West… Or is London not a Western city to her?
“Which major western journalist risked career for truth on affairs related to the Middle East?”
There are some that risked their lives which is worth a lot more than their careers, and ultimately died trying to tell the truth. Or are the death of Anthony Shadid, Marie Colvin, Remi Ochlik don’t count, or how Arwa Damon, Paul Conroy, Mani and countless others risked their lives because this criminal regime would not allow it.
How about Nir Rosen a figure that is despised now by the opposition because he was willing to sell out for a scoop and access, does his work in Syria not count as well? I would like to see this so called “journalist” try to embed herself for one day in one of the hot spots around Syria and prove her “truths”.
“”No Syrian Visa” tries hard to distract from the reality that most western journalists never actually go out to the front lines of conflict when filing their stories. Increasingly, reporters are sent out in organized pools by host governments”
Those are called government minders, its why journalist risk their lives to be smuggled into Syria, something this pathetic excuse of a journalist has no clue what it means.
She wonders why nobody other than Akhbar publishes her crap, no Sharmine the Western Media does not want to publish your crap because of a conspiracy but because it is nothing more than crap.
April 21st, 2012, 4:18 pm
Mina said:
From an Angry Arab correspondent on the ground:
“Developments in Syria
I asked a well-informed Syrian to update me on developments. Here is part of what he wrote to me (I am translating from Arabic):
“Situation in Syria needs a lot of talk…What is important is that life has stopped completely in more than half of the republic and death has visited everywhere. Political life is now completely in the hands of the Russians and the security situation has stagnated and it is pretty bad. Free Syrian Army is a collection of groups drawn from highway robbers, quarter thugs, and a cocktail of mercenaries. The dangerous elements in it are the fighters of Al-Qa`idah, who are well-armed and well-trained. Saudi Arabia has become a major player in the internal Syrian file and the real and public arm of Israel through arming and financing of groups by proxy, and through the control of mosques and some clerics. Army is losing terribly daily (despite its unity) due to lack of preparedness and long idleness. Defection are still small and individual in relation to what is being heard in the media. Syrian Security apparatus (Amn) is who has drenched the country in blood. There were many cases in hot cities and districts where people demanded the intervention of the army and the expulsion of Amn, but things happened in reverse [meaning, Army was expelled and Amn took over], so that developed toward rejection of Army and Amn alike. Overthrow of the regime is now an impossible operation in the foreseeable future, and the military defeat of the Arab right requires a political solution and compromises to cut off lines of military supply.”
[ http://angryarab.net/2012/04/21/developments-in-syria-2/ ]
If someone does not want to believe that the security apparatuses are not easily going to give up their privileges…
April 21st, 2012, 4:30 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Any pro-cadaver/revolution interested in one week vacation in Edlib?free breakfast:
???? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? 7 ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ?????.
??? ?? ?????? ??? 3 ??? ?? ??? ???7 ?????????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ???????? “???? ???? ???? – ???? ???? ????”? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ???????.
?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? “???? ????”? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????.
???????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????.
????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ??????.
???? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? – ???? ?? ???? ???????.
????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ???????? “???????”? ????? ??? ??????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ????????.
?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? 10 ????? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?????.
???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? 1100 ??? ????? 500 ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? – ????? ????? ??????.
??? ?????? ?????? ????? 3 ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????.
?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ?????.
http://www.shukumaku.com/PDA/Content.php?id=45404
April 21st, 2012, 4:34 pm
Tara said:
SOD
She might be very well on the regime’s payroll.
Also, the Serjon guy or whatever his name is who writes in Arabic should be very careful in not getting sued in the new Syria for public defamation. It is one thing when a Tara says she likes or does not like Asma, Basma or Samar Yazbek on a blog but a whole another thing when a published “writer” use cheap vulgar language in defemation of “public” figures. All those so called writers will be held accountable in future Syria and better watch out.
April 21st, 2012, 4:35 pm
Alan said:
They Can’t Stop Building Walls
Israel’s Mental Illness
by FRANKLIN LAMB
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/04/20/israels-mental-illness/
It may be that researchers would want to examine as long ago as the period from the 3rd century BC until the beginning of the 17th century in order to find a regime so frenetically building walls and barriers in a hopeless quest to hold onto stolen lands as we in Lebanon may soon witness in the south of the country. It was back in 221 BC that in order to protect China from the land claims of the Xiongnu people from Mongolia, the Xiongnu tribe being China’s main enemy at that time who sought the return of lands they claimed the Chinese had stolen, that the emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of a wall to guard China’s territorial gains.
April 21st, 2012, 4:36 pm
Mawal95 said:
The UN observers in Homs city today met with Khalid Abu Salah. As evidence of that fact, here’s a photo taken today: http://twitter.com/#!/dylan_johnsons/status/193744985038917632/photo/1 . In case you don’t know the name Khalid Abu Salah, here’s a 30-second introduction to him that was recorded in Homs on 10 Apr 2012 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDzmp2ySpSU
The UN observers in Homs city today also met with Abdel Razaq Tlass. A video of that was posted above at #308 Juergen. As a supplement here’s a photo taken today of Rezaq Tlass with the UN observers at the Homs National Hospital: http://twitter.com/#!/dylan_johnsons/status/193752319417004032/photo/1
On 2 Apr 2012 the Homs National Hospital was attacked and destroyed by armed rebels. Commenter JAD posted some material about that on this board at the time. The attack was carried out by a rebel brigade called “Al-Farouq” brigade, the leader of which is Abdel Rezaq Tlass. Here’s footage of Rezzaq Tlass and the brigade attacking the Homs hospital on 2 April. Notice that at time 2:18 in the video recorded on 2 April, Rezaq Tlass is seen running with a deadly weapon at the exact same location where’s he’s seen walking today with the UN observers in the above photograph: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bR8Qlr8ws4I#t=131s
In the following video we have Razzaq Tlass appearing on camera a day after the 2 Apr 2012 attack saying “Al-Farouq purified the National Hospital in Homs city”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLYQ85dOG1I . The truth, I say, is they destroyed the hospital in an act of pure sabotage.
We can say that the UN observers are getting to meet the rebels on the ground. I’ve no problem with that, and I expect the Syrian government has no problem with it either, since we all want the UN observers to be well informed.
However, from the point of view of law and order in Homs city I’m disturbed and distressed that a high-profile wanted criminal like Rezzaq Tlass had the freedom of manoeuver to meet the UN observers at the Homs hospital today. Similarly, from the point of view of law and order in Homs city it’s distressing to me that Rezaq Tlass was able to appear carrying a rifle at an anti-regime street rally in Homs on Friday 13 Apr 2012, as seen in the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC_ECPKrbmc
As quoted by #321 ALAN above, today a Russian foreign ministry statement said: “The issue in Syria now is the choice between a transition toward peaceful, nationwide talks or a descent into civil war.” I flatly disagree with that, because I know the rebels have no intention of turning to a civil political process. Rather, the issue in Syria now is whether the government in the upcoming weeks is going to allow what it allowed to happen in January. It appears to be already allowing it. I’m distressed about that.
It is necessary to hit the rebels with the iron fist of the Syrian army — it’s the only thing that can bring back law and order and civility.
April 21st, 2012, 4:43 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Tara,
It is really pathetic that these so called “journalists” are nothing more than shill artists, resort to name calling and attacking people when someone challenges their shilled and callous narratives, as if their Anti Western rhetoric is enough cover for their BS narratives.
If you are on Twitter read the crap that she writes, attacking every journalist that risked their lives as hacks.
I would not be surprised if this stooge is paid by the regime, who else tries to argue that the death of 35 people is not a massacre.
April 21st, 2012, 4:52 pm
Antoine said:
So, why didn’t the terrorists in Homs kill the UN Observers ?
More to the point, why did the UN Observers trust their lives and safety with hardcore terrorist holdouts in Homs, why did they move about with hradcore FAS terrorists like Tlass ?
April 21st, 2012, 5:28 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Antoine
Alfarook are worse than Almokabarat and Alshabiha:
April 21st, 2012, 6:17 pm
daleandersen said:
Memo To: ALAN
RE: “…Sorry, moderator…”
You are forgiven, Alan. Now go and sin no more…
April 21st, 2012, 6:59 pm
Antoine said:
SNK,
You did not answer my previous question…..will Qamishli peole support Masoud Barzani over Assad ?
Also what language do they speak in Qamishli, Bahdini or Kurmanji ?
April 21st, 2012, 7:07 pm
ann said:
3 Tunisians killed in Syrian fighting – 2012-04-22
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/22/c_131542680.htm
TUNIS, April 21 (Xinhua) — Three Tunisian nationals were killed by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the local newspaper Attounissiya reported on Saturday.
The three young Tunisian nationals infiltrated into Syria with two others from Tunisia’s southern town of Ben Guerdane in March to join the Syrian opposition in its fight against the Syrian regime.
The families of the victims asked the country’s foreign affairs ministry to repatriate the bodies of their slain relatives, according to the report.
In February, five other Tunisians arrived in Syria through Turkey to join anti-government fighters. Four of the five men were reportedly arrested while the fifth managed to escape
[…]
April 21st, 2012, 7:15 pm
ann said:
Security Council changed prerogatives in Syrian crisis – Churkin to RT – 22 April, 2012
http://rt.com/news/churkin-un-resolution-syria-interview-652/
What was troublesome to me in the statement which was made by Ambassador Rice and by some colleagues from West-European countries, even though they supported this Russian draft and the adoption of this resolution, is that they missed an opportunity to send a signal to the opposition. They kept criticizing the government saying nothing about what they expect from the opposition, which is in fact outlined very clearly in the Security Council resolution which they themselves had just voted for.
And all those predictions of doom and gloom, and threats of various plans which are being hatched somewhere, those things are not productive. I think they are distracting from the implementation of the Kofi Annan plan and from the political effort of the Security Council. And they may give ground for some extremists to believe that their cause still has some prospect for taking over the political process which we are trying to see established in Syria.
So, you know, we are not naive. Even though the Security Council voted unanimously today, we know that some members of the Security Council, some important members of the international community, are still continuing to think in confrontational terms towards the Syrian government. Incidentally, one very important aspect of what happened today by the vote of the Security Council in favor of this resolution is that the Security Council has by and large re-established its prerogatives in the Syrian crisis as the international body which holds primary responsibility for matters of international peace and security.
So all those who talk and make statements and convene and gather and discuss various groups of “friends” – or not – of Syria, must also be respectful of Security Council resolutions and must contribute to its successful implementation.
RT:So you are saying that there is definitely a feeling that the “Friends of Syria” are undermining Russia’s efforts, indeed China’s efforts, and of course the Syrian regime?
VC: Well, they are not in line. Not in line with the resolution which was passed today by the Security Council and the resolution which was passed a week ago on deploying the advance group of monitors. And, you know, when they keep piling up sanctions against the Syrian government and say nothing about the need for the opposition to enter into dialogue with the Syrian government , of course it is not in line with the Security Council resolution which we adopted today and of course it is not a positive contribution to the support and the implementation of the Kofi Annan plan.
[…]
April 21st, 2012, 7:36 pm
bronco said:
#340 Mawal95
I think it is necessary that the UN observers talk to the rebels, even the extreme ones who have blood on their hands. They are part of the problem and part of the solution.
If the observers want to build some trust and bring the rebels leaders to a political process, they would be foolish to exclude them now. In doing so they’ll appear to be on the side of the government and this is exactly what the foreign enemies of Syria are hoping it would happen so they can kick the UN observers out, under the pretext they are biased ( like they did with the AL observers). Then they can proceed with Plan “B”, the destructive plan of Syria to bring it to its knees in front of the USA-EU-Israel grand plan for the new middle east.
I think that the more the UN have access to the military ‘heroes’ of the rebels, the more chance they have to a fair evaluation of their state of mind and report it to Annan, so he can establish some kind of ‘stick and carrot’ strategy with give and take to bring the rebels in the next step, which is the dialog.
I imagine that similar contacts are being established with the FSA in Turkey to unify the rebels demands.
Until now, I think Annan with the help Russia and China has done a good job in calming down the antagonists.
While it is a long and difficult task, full of dangers, I think Syrians, on both side want a stop that, even if they have to make painful compromises.
April 21st, 2012, 7:40 pm
Halabi said:
I can’t read Sharmine’s articles, but sometimes I see her discussing Syria with a (pro-Hezbollah) friend on Facebook. Sharmine sees Al Qaeda, Israel, the U.S., the U.K., France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as colluding to destroy Syria in order to “weaken Iran a teeny-weeny bit.”
When asked how these supposed enemies have come together, she said “pond scum gravitates to each other in murky water.” Deep analysis, please send this ‘lady’ a pulitzer.
For some people, denying millions of Syrians their basic rights is a small price to pay in order to reduce pressure on an oppressive theocracy or maintain support for an armed, sectarian ‘party’ in Lebanon. Whatever happens in Syria doesn’t matter anyways, which is why they accept the government narrative even though a rational person must reject Syrian media because it lies. (How many different confessions of the killing of Saria Hassoun can the we-love-you crowd accept?)
Others, who love their country and fellow citizens, care about human rights, dignity and freedom for all. The crimes happening in Syria, from all sides, must be investigated by real patriots, not Assad’s soldiers and security forces who spit on bodies and try to cover up abuses, like they did in Al Bayda.
Here is a report someone put together about the (Clock square) protest in Homs last year. http://youtu.be/Cv8WJa28K2U
No weapons, no sectarian chants, which was at the time when we-love-you crowds were all chanting ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??
This revolution wasn’t good enough for Assad supporters back then, and it isn’t now. Peaceful protest was denied from day one and self-defense isn’t allowed either. The Syrian people should suffer, in silence, and wait for a regime that has hijacked the country for four decades to offer reforms. I wonder why Syrians from Daraa to Khirbet al-Jouz aren’t opting for that choice.
April 21st, 2012, 7:43 pm
Tara said:
Why on tabletops?
Syria Elite Dance to Dawn as Risk of Assad Overthrow Fades
Thursday, April 19, 2012
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/19/bloomberg_articlesM29Q9J0D9L3501-M2PYB.DTL&ao=all#ixzz1sWHP6Ur3
April 19 (Bloomberg) — Sometime after midnight on a recent Thursday in Damascus, restaurant manager Aziz Asfahani joined friends at the newly opened Bartini lounge bar, where Syria’s elite dine and dance till dawn on tabletops to the thump of patriotic songs.
(………….)
April 21st, 2012, 7:51 pm
Tara said:
Halabi
“No weapons, no sectarian chants, which was at the time when we-love-you crowds were all chanting ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??
This revolution wasn’t good enough for Assad supporters back then, and it isn’t now. Peaceful protest was denied from day one and self-defense isn’t allowed either. The Syrian people should suffer, in silence, …”
Exactly! The revolution wasn’t good then and isn’t good now. It will never be good no matter what shape or form it aquires as long as it asks for people to claim ownership of their own country..Assad or we will scorch the country.
“send her a Pulitzer”. I like that!
April 21st, 2012, 8:07 pm
DAWOUD said:
351. TARA
Tara,
I had decided to stop posting on this pro-dictator blog, whose editors (I don’t include Professor Landis) are pro-dictator and biased against Sunni Syrians, BEFORE reading your comments. It’s commentators like you, Tara, who motivate me to keep coming back!
My peace plan for Syria is for the Arab League (without the Sectarian Nuri al-Maliki’s attendance) to meet and agree to supply anti-tank/anti-MIG missiles in order to destroy’s Bashar’s T72/62 tanks and jets that are terrorizing civilians.
Free Syria, Free Palestine! Down with Bashar, Iran, Israel, and Hizballah!
April 21st, 2012, 8:25 pm
Tara said:
This in my opinion the best piece I read in regard to the media handling Asma since the Vogue’s infamous article up until the “desparate housewives” petition. Asma was not declared the “Rose of the Desert” back then because she is educated, beautiful, and chic Syrian women, rather because she was considered a “product” of the western culture. The German and British housewives plea to Asma asking her to instill some sense in her dictator husband was nothing but a covert racism in my opinion. Asma, to them, is a product of the western culture, albeit misguided, remains a hope for peace by virtue of her being “one of them”. I, for one, despite my great appreciation of the western culture refuse this way of thinking. It is covert racism and nothing but…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/20/asma-al-assad-syria-petitio
Asma al-Assad as a hope for peace because she wears Louis Vuitton? Pah
In addition to this laughable angle, the piece was packed with declarations of Asma’s “enigmatic” existence: she was, as the piece’s title proclaimed, a “rose in a desert”. The title implied more than simply a painful cliche. Roses are unable to grow in the desert for obvious botanical reasons that hopefully need no further explanation. Thus, Asma was not a “product” of the Muslim or Arab world. Heavens no. She was, with all her class, elegance, education and wardrobe successes, a product of the ever-constant “western culture”. She was, as both the title and feature announced, a sight of beauty in a barren, deadly land. She was not a rarity in the desert, but an edaphological miracle. Yeah. Gag.
….
The sad truth is that when Asma al-Assad is clad in Louboutins and Louis Vuitton, speaking flawless British-accented English, she is the slightly tan-skinned enigmatic persona of “western civilisation”. We applaud her. When she’s a propagandist for tyranny, however, she is simply “misguided” but remains a hope for peace. And we must guide her back to her proper senses.
(….)
April 21st, 2012, 8:31 pm
DAWOUD said:
I am in the process of sending an email to Professor Landis with my previous messages to make him see why his moderators and editors (who are undoubtedly pro-dictator and pro-Hizballah/Iran) are unfairly blocking my comments because I am both a SUNNI Syrian and anti-dictator!
April 21st, 2012, 8:33 pm
ann said:
Russia Draft to Deploy 300 to Syria Wins 15-0, France Dropped Human Rights
By Matthew Russell Lee
UN System, April 21 — After Russia on circulated a draft resolution to deploy 300 military observers to Syria, and France then followed with its own draft speaking of human rights — which it opposes in the pending Western Sahara resolution — the US State Department told Inner City Press it believed there was only one draft.
And soon that became true: France dropped human rights, and the call for “independent” air asset the the threat of action under Article 41 of the UN Charter if the Assad government does not comply.
And so on Saturday morning, after the surreal read out of a statement on the coup d’etat in Guinea Bissau, the Security Council adopted the Russian introduced draft, now with further co-sponsors, by a vote of 15 – 0.
Russia’s Ambassador Vitaly Churkin spoke first after the vote, saying that the Libya model is a thing of the past. Indeed. France’s Gerard Araud spoke next, bloviating about things dropped from the resolution, such as the possibility of sanctions.
Ironically, the Guinea Bissau Presidential Statement explicitly mentioned the possibility of targeted sanctions. But it came out of the Syria resolution.
[…]
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1hrus042112.html
April 21st, 2012, 8:44 pm
Jad said:
Thawra Zbaleh!
The mission just started and the terrorists armed gangs are shooting and hiding between the UN observers side
?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????????? “????? ?????”
April 21st, 2012, 10:35 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Jad
????? ??????? ??????
I hope so
April 21st, 2012, 11:45 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Islamic revolution in Syria
Our leader forever is our master Mohammad!
George Sabra and Abdulahad Stepho should join this:
April 22nd, 2012, 12:02 am
Ghufran said:
When all Syrians are leaders there will be no voters.
No disrespect but how can a “plan” that includes supplying anti tank and anti aircraft be a peace plan? This is like killing poor people to end their misery and calling that “merciful “.
Almaliki is sectarian but he is not much worse than most GCC leaders, expecting the AL to promote freedom and democracy is not different from asking a prostitute to support an abstinence campaign.
Arab leaders, including Bashar,have a lot in common, however, the level of blood shed in Syria and the conflict with iran is what brought the Syrian regime to the front line. How do you think the Saudi regime will respond to a similar challenge to the royal family especially if people take arms?
Call things by their name instead of hiding behind the used -to -death Sunni and Shia cover, the disease is the same and the cure is the same. Violence is a disease and is never a cure.
April 22nd, 2012, 12:08 am
Syria no kandahar said:
Revolution of friends of Alaaroor, Alzoahri, HBJ, Sarkozi, Stepho and George Sabra:
Mohammad religion all glory
Jesus religion all dancing!!
??? ???? ??? ??
??? ???? ??? ??
April 22nd, 2012, 12:55 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
The crapiest (revolution )in history
We want to say it clearly,we don’t want to see Alawis
???? ???? ???????
????? ?? ???? ????
April 22nd, 2012, 1:00 am
Halabi said:
From the Bloomberg article that Tara linked to in #350.
““They’re frightened that a victory for the opposition means a decade of instability” if rural-based anti-Assad forces lacking economic competence take power, said Joshua Landis, director of the Middle East Studies program at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, who once lived in Syria.
The commercial elite see the opposition as “a disorganized bunch of country bumpkins” who will take over and “stuff the ministries full of their friends,” Landis said.”
To rephrase, businessmen are worried that economically unsophisticated “country bumpkins” will pack the government with friends leading to a decade of instability if the revolution wins, so they decided to back a ruling family (of country bumpkins) who have presided over terrible governments and doled out jobs and agency contracts to cronies for four decades.
Some of the commercial elite Landis is thinking about owe their fortunes to something other than market forces, be it sweetheart deals, exclusive import licenses and plain theft of public money. They know that they can’t operate in a fair economy, and the most unsavory of the bunch who financed Shabiha will probably have to flee, and that’s why they are afraid. Because with or without Assad, Syria will have a lost decade.
Many businessmen I know, wealthy players from different backgrounds in Aleppo and Damascus, are worried about their prospects if Assad stays because this regime will lead to more sanctions and instability. They haven’t joined the revolution for a more basic fear: people who protest or speak their mind tend to get shot in Syria. They just have more to lose than the poor.
Also, there is no comparing the intellectual capacity of the revolution and the pro-Assad crowd. I have many friends who support the regime, but very few of them scored above 190 in the baccalaureate. Those that did tend to support the regime for sectarian reasons. Unless the revolution is literally hijacked by an invading Taliban army, the economy will be better managed in the future by the repressed talent that has always existed in Syria.
April 22nd, 2012, 1:18 am
Alan said:
344. DALEANDERSEN SAID:
Memo To: ALAN
RE: “…Sorry, moderator…”
You are forgiven, Alan. Now go and sin no more…
you addressed with the indication of my name earlier. and now repeat it! I ask you not address to me! I hope for understanding.
April 22nd, 2012, 1:54 am
daleandersen said:
DAWOUD
RE: “…moderators are undoubtedly pro-dictator and Iranian stooges…”
I’ve no doubt your email to Dr Landis will blow the doors off the SC terror campaign of censorship and fascist tyranny. Go get ’em, Dawoud! Hold nothing back…
April 22nd, 2012, 2:54 am
Alan said:
Any comments about american freedum of informations ?
“Human Rights Has Become the New Face of Modern Imperialism”
04/01/2012
A human rights activist takes a swipe at the United States for its refusal to criticize human rights violations in its client states such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) said that the United States uses human rights issues as a pretext to attack independent states which refuse to listen to its dictates.
[ … ]
April 22nd, 2012, 3:37 am
Mina said:
No freedom of speech in new Tunisia, the director of a TV channel which screened “Persepolis” last year is now on trial!
http://www.lemonde.fr/tunisie/article/2012/04/20/le-proces-persepolis-interroge-la-liberte-d-expression-en-tunisie_1688451_1466522.html
April 22nd, 2012, 3:54 am
Alan said:
Tempering Iron Dome: US may spend $680 million on Israeli missile shield
http://rt.com/news/us-israel-military-aid-iron-dome-637/
April 22nd, 2012, 4:07 am
Alan said:
Such comments can be undoubtedly immediately resolved! whether not so?
Options for U.S. Policy in Syria
http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2012/0419_syria_wittes.aspx
April 22nd, 2012, 5:01 am
Shami said:
People who are suffering of minority paranoia should be better outside Syria and the arab world.
This minority paranoid mindset has massacred more than 50 000 innocent syrian cilivians under false pretexts.
April 22nd, 2012, 5:07 am
Mina said:
Shami, are you trying to say that “There is no such thing as a tolerance problem in the Middle East” ?
While in Bahrain… money is on parade! No comment!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17803310
“Bahrain ‘confident’ Grand Prix will not be disrupted” (Say it loud, some may believe you)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17796833
“Bahrain: Activist found dead ahead of Grand Prix” (Found dead… the police may conclude he died in an accident…)
April 22nd, 2012, 5:16 am
Shami said:
Mina ,from the begining of Islam with the Umayyad empire and untill the take over by these dictatorial secular military dictatorships ,the islamic civilization has generally proved to be the most religiously tolerant place compared to what was known in other places in the world and in other civilziations ,more tolerant than post-renaissance Europe.
Mina ,the mass murderers that you are trying to defend day and night are the worse killers why are you going to the little Bahrain and forget the huge assadist massacres ?
Because you feel good when assad kills 50 000 syrians who do not share your views.Tolerance you said ? hypocrisy ?
April 22nd, 2012, 5:25 am
mjabali said:
Shami:
Before you call for religious cleansing and kicking people out Syria, would you care to discuss these points?
The legacy of the Ummayyads is foreign to Syria. The Ummayyads are invaders and nothing else to the Syrians. They treated Syria and Syrians like their own slaves and property.
The number of religious squabbles during the era of the Ummayyads is big. The Ummayyads established their rule over the Syrians with the sword, and Islam came with the sword too. There was no tolerance here, I am not fooled. There was never tolerance between the “majority” of “muslims” and the “muslims” from minority group. There was and is hatred and history of violence. Syria is a prime example.
What came after the Ummayyads till the 20th C. for Syria is nothing but foreign occupations and foreigners fighting on the land of Syria.
From the Ummayyads till today and tomorrow, the history of Muslims is immersed in violence and the word tolerance does not exist in their dictionary as facts speak.
The historical events say that there is always one group of “muslims” butchering another group of “muslims.”
Islam became a rubbery term with time. Every group claimed that they are the ones who hold the keys to paradise and the rest are infidels going to hell. Violence between “muslims” against each other is called for everyday. The internet can show you what is written everyday. None can hide this fact.
The majority of “muslims” are from a certain group, but, does this make them right and “true muslims” or more “muslim” than any other minority group?
April 22nd, 2012, 5:58 am
Mina said:
What tolerance? The Umeyyads one that people remember during Ashura?
The Christians supported the Muslims at the beginning in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, because they had enough of Byzantine colonization, but you can’t really say that the Islamic empire was ever ‘tolerant’, or if it was it was just an accident, because if any ruler decided to apply fiqh and shari’a, bye bye tolerance. Having said that, of course the standards of the Middle Ages were not today’s, but I suspect that if “heretics” as the Zaydis have survived, it is mainly because the rule of the centralized empires and kingdoms never extended too far outside in the countryside and moutain regions.
But what imports more is to be intolerant towards other minorities and religions in the 21th century…
The kind of Islam that the Gulf rulers are showing as an example is to their religion what Nazism was to German culture.
Is it okay for you that Gulf citizens are too rich to assume their own municipal maintenance duties, including the police, for which they have to hire Syrians, Pakistanis, Yemenis, etc ?
You claim that the Asad father and son have killed 50,000 people. Could you come with some evidence?
April 22nd, 2012, 6:15 am
Shami said:
Could you come with some evidence?
What is the number you agree with ?
Ok go back to you lament for Bahrain.
Mjabali, your approach is not different from that of the zionist, heteredox sects, christian and ideological islamophobs, whereas there is a solid consensus of renowned western scholars on Islam that agree with my statement.
Your views are theirs : (Bat Ye’or and co)
http://www.srpska-mreza.com/History/pre-wwOne/Ye_Or.html
I challenged you to give me an exemple of comparable tolerance in other places in the world within the same historical eras.
Anybody who do not feel part of this civiliziation is the facto marginalized and this has nothing to do with tolerance, this is auto-marginalization, it’s your choice.
It’s normal that we are proud of our cultural heritage as muslims, regarding our wonderful civilizational achievements for centuries.
April 22nd, 2012, 7:19 am
mjabali said:
Mina:
Tolerance= kick you out of your historical land into the unknown instead of killing you…
April 22nd, 2012, 7:21 am
mjabali said:
Shami:
Cliche after cliche: please come up with something new.
“Islam” or the majority of “muslims” did not treat many “muslim” sects well at all. There was and is no tolerance from the majority of “mislims” to the minority sects. There is contempt and intolerance. So do you want me Mr. Shami to lie and shove the violence and intolerance exhibited by “muslims” throughout history under the rug?
Call me whatever you want anytime anywhere it won’t change the truth about the connection between intolerance and “muslims.”
April 22nd, 2012, 8:08 am
Mina said:
Shami,
You are mentioning a new figure, 50,000, while we read in most reports some 9,000 including one third from the army, so I ask you, where do you get your figure from?
Could you apply your discourse to what is going on in Tunisia? A trial because of screening Oscar-selected Persepolis (sooooo blasphemous: attacking the veil and showing even a picture of God, in the shape of a bearded guy, as the young girl figures out).
How are the Muslims ever going to live normally with Christians who think normal to depict God and the prophets, and who may even bow and kiss icons? Either they go through a reform, and accept other people’s beliefs, either they will continue to be ostracized. Tolerant Islam has died with the Seljuqs, the Ghaznavids, the Ottomans, the Safavids, the Wahhabites, the Khomeinists.
People and believers are pawns in the hands of sick-minded people. Don’t ask why they don’t produce art anymore.
April 22nd, 2012, 8:08 am
Shami said:
Mina:You claim that the Asad father and son have killed 50,000 people. Could you come with some evidence?
why did you erase the father’s death tool in your answer to your own question and btw ,the son is alive and still killing and has all your support.
The number of civilians killed by bashar is already over 10 000 plus thousands of missing people.
Bahrain you said, Mina?
April 22nd, 2012, 8:40 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Attacking Aleppo-Alrakka highway is a new milestone for the terrorists, what kind of ceasefire is this? Highways in the northeast have been safe so far, not any more.
The scorpions are all over now:
???? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ” ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?????-??? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? 42 ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????”.
???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?? “?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? 42 ????? ????? ????? 13 ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?????”.
???? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? 50 ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ?????50 ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???.
?? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????.
[ … ]
http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=5e0d62e40a3a4c024545b4c66bda8b5b&ar=706489147
April 22nd, 2012, 8:46 am
Shami said:
Mina, as i said that most of renowned scholars of Islam (almost all of them non muslims, arab christians included) agree with my statement on Islam’s empires tolerance (the Ottomans included of course).
Why would you agree with the islamophobs amongst the zionist, christian, paranoid minority mindset, ideoligical anti-islam people and not with the renowned scholars of islam from the best universities in the world? (almost all of them non muslims but christians, jews, atheists, arab christians included)
April 22nd, 2012, 8:46 am
zoo said:
Who is breaching the ceasefire?
As Syria cease-fire wavers, rebels head back to battle in battered sedan, pickups
A Western journalist who made a rare visit inside Syria confirmed a breach in the UN cease-fire yesterday, as rebels engaged a military convoy.
By David Enders, McClatchy Newspapers / April 19, 2012
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0419/As-Syria-cease-fire-wavers-rebels-head-back-to-battle-in-battered-sedan-pickups
Rebels here fought the Syrian military yesterday in a breach of a United Nations-sponsored cease-fire that was rare primarily because it was witnessed by an independent journalist who had entered the country surreptitiously earlier this week.
Related stories
The fighting began in this city near the Lebanese border in the early afternoon after a group from the Free Syrian Army, the name claimed by most of the rebels who have taken up arms against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, attacked a military convoy near the city.
Fighters here had said earlier this week that they were respecting the cease-fire brokered by UN Syria envoy Kofi Annan at the behest of Riad al-Assad, a Syrian army colonel who defected and is now the nominal leader of the rebels in Turkey.
The fighting in Qusayr took place as a UN monitoring team visited Douma, a site of frequent clashes between the rebels and the military on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria’s capital.
In Hama, another site of frequent violence north of Homs, antigovernment activists reported two deaths yesterday and a number of demonstrations against the government. They also reported that the military was increasing the number of checkpoints between Hama and Idlib, a city in the country’s north that rebels had held until March and that’s part of the rebel supply line from Syria’s border with Turkey.
The Farouq Brigade
The fighters in Qusayr, most of whom belong to the Farouq Brigade, the Free Syrian Army’s largest group, accused the government of violating the terms of the cease-fire by increasing the number of troops in the area during the past week. They said that shelling, which has been heard and seen in nearby villages frequently since Sunday, was intended to protect the government forces as they set up checkpoints along main roads here in hopes of disrupting rebel movements.
As tanks began shelling Qusayr, rebels here grabbed their weapons and headed in the direction of the fighting. They were obviously mismatched, as they loaded nothing heavier than rocket-propelled grenades into a pair of pickups and a sedan whose windows had been shot out in a previous battle.
“We are still respecting the cease-fire,” said Mohammed Idris, a commander in the Farouq Brigade here. “What is going on now is defense.”
(..)
April 22nd, 2012, 9:41 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Mina just agree with this renowned scholar:
Shami can you tell us who did these:
9/11
Safar balak(1.5 Armenians and 250000 Assyrians killed)
Who killed and displaced hundred of thousands of Iraq Christians
Who kicked out,killed,robbed and tortured Alhamedia Christians in Homs.
These are just few…
If you really care about Islam you should be the first one to fight Wahabism which is infiltrating Syria rapidly and turn Many Syrian Moslems into Wahabis.
April 22nd, 2012, 9:49 am
zoo said:
UN visit to Homs
Photo of Abderrazzak Mohammad Tlass, still alive and well, with UN observers.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/294974_397939233559475_279535285399871_1283190_1432499684_n.jpg
It is another Tlass, Abdel Aziz Tlass who was reported killed a few months ago.
http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/7084/Default.aspx
April 22nd, 2012, 10:04 am
Shami said:
SNK,
The massacre of armenians of Anatolia happened in the last years of the empire ,when the political authority was taken by secular nationalist officers inspired by western nationalist ideologies(same kind of baath,ssnp…),btw they were helped by extremist armenian nationalists when they toppled the sultan.(tashnaq).
April 22nd, 2012, 10:11 am
Afram said:
The False History of Muslim Intolerance
“destroy all the churches”
1-Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches in arab muslim land.
2-Governor of Iraq al-?ajj?j bin yousef,murdered a million plus his jails were full with prisoners.
3-The Orthodox Church says that the al-Qaeda-linked Brigade Faruq is responsible for the “ongoing ethnic cleansing of Christians.” About 90% of Christians in Homs are believed to have been forced out by the Sunni Islamic militia, who are going door to door and forcing Christians to flee
http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=47091
muslims invaded India sub-continent at the orders of Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef, from year 700-1850,muslims killed 8 million indians plus burned down 6600 hundu temples:faithfreedom.org
The Arabian Peninsula:Omar bin alkhatab ethnically cleansed all the christians and jews,then omar was killed by a slave-abu loua’louah,I wonder why!?
muslims began to destroy the Sepulchre church where Jesus was buried..the pope called for a crusade
Omro bin al-as/ burned down Ancient Library of Alexandria,in Alexandria,Egypt on the orders of Omar bin alkhatab
Islam ruined civilazations.. never did build one..show me where?
April 22nd, 2012, 10:11 am
Shami said:
Afram,the alexandria library had been already burned before Islam.
Your sources are of very low(and old) islamophobic level.
Your orhodox church source is a mukhabarati shoe.
If you can not live within your muslim environment ,and thus only wishing death and humiliation to the syrian muslims ,how shall we consider you?
April 22nd, 2012, 10:15 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Brilliant response from Shami woo..you are islamophobic level..that is all ..Afram turn into christianophobic..
So when you have nothing to say, just turn into the islamophobic song.
April 22nd, 2012, 10:23 am
Shami said:
SNK,it’s obvious ,check your and his sources.
April 22nd, 2012, 10:35 am
Mina said:
Shami,
I am Muslim, just like you, or precisely, UNLIKE you.
Mali, hostages, Niger, hostages, Nigeria, mass killings, Libya, tribal interfight, Iraq, sectarian interfight, Syria, sectarian tribal fight, Pakistan, sectarian killings… a reform is needed and it won’t come from those idiots on qanat al nas or wesal tv.
When are you going to understand that no matter how heretic your neighbour is, he is a Bani Adam just like you, and your human brother?
April 22nd, 2012, 10:40 am
Tara said:
I would like to have another term to describe Islamophobes. Islamohate may be? The term Islamophobia appears to be an underestimation of the ugliness of those who hate. Phobia is a psychological disorder characterized by illogical fear. It does not indicate *hate*. People who hate are ugly and the term shoud point to their ugliness. I just like to call things by ots name. I like to *Oversimplify* things. Any suggestion?
April 22nd, 2012, 10:57 am
Halabi said:
Syria Truth cites the Institute for Study of War as confirming the death of Abdel Razzak Tlass. It also labels the study as a “field report.” Both claims are false.
The study mentions Abdel Razzak’s reported death with a footnote: “after days of unrelenting artillery barrages in Baba Amr, Syrian and Iranian state media reported Tlass’ death on February 9.”
Here’s the Press TV story. http://presstv.com/detail/225813.html
Shabiha media celebrated Tlass’s death at the time, called his group the “katakeet brigade” and mocked the “strategic withdrawal.”
This is but a small example of the lengths that the delusional pro-Assad side will go to alter history. Why not admit that the reporting of Tlass’s death and the destruction of his brigade was false? It’s tough to know what’s really happening in the fog of war…
But they can’t do it. Their power is based on feeding Syrians a constant stream of lies, and then killing those who refuse to believe them. And the truth has become clear for others. After months of the indiscriminate shelling of Homs, Assad’s soldiers were able to kill some journalists and hundred of innocent civilians, but couldn’t defeat the so-called armed terrorist groups they were after.
April 22nd, 2012, 11:07 am
Son of Damascus said:
Tara,
Islamohaters is good but I prefer one of these:
Bigots, dogmatist, sectarian, hidebound, and prejudice.
April 22nd, 2012, 11:20 am
Afram said:
386. Shami said:
SNK,it’s obvious ,check your and his sources.
==========================
Islamaphobia–is a manufactured crisis by muslims to crush dissent
my sources:in America pre-9/11,The number of Islamic places of worship in the United States:1,209 in 2000 then soared 74%!! the overall number of mosques quietly rose from 1,209 in 2000 to 2,106 in 2010.from 1,209 to 2,106 ,folks,is this Islamaphobia?KSA HAS ZERO CHURCHES???
No churches or synagogues have been destroyed in Saudi Arabia since it was established in 1932 —because none are allowed.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-02-29/islamic-worship-growth-us/53298792/1
40 Pakistani Christians including men, women and children were arrested for holding prayers in a private home in Riyadh. Needless to say,their prayer-books were confiscated.
Moreover, in the 1990?s, Christian religious services in the American Embassy were terminated at the Saudi government’s request. And even websites devoted to other religions and to religious freedom and tolerance are blocked by the Saudi government.
Freedom House documented how the Saudi government is involved in propagating internationally a “religious ideology that explicitly promotes hate, intolerance, and other human rights violations, and in some cases violence, toward members of other religious groups, both Muslims and non-Muslims.”
In Indonesia, especially in the Moluccan islands, thousands of Christians were massacred and tens of thousands driven from their homes in the last decade alone by Islamist mobs.
In Egypt, Christians face persecution in the form of rapes, kidnappings and forced conversions as well as economic discrimination and restriction on their property and on what they can build.
However, radical Islamists adhere to medieval traditions and laws mandating the Jihad. According to the Dictionary of Islam: conquered by jihad, subjugated people are given three choices:
1) convert,
2) pay a head tax Jizya,or
3) die.
Thirteenth Century jurist Ibn Taymiya, often was quoted by Osama bin Laden, wrote that spoils of war “received the name of fay since Allah had taken them away from the infidels in order to restore them to the Muslims…. [The] infidels forfeit their persons and their belongings which they do not use in Allah’s service to the faithful believers who serve Allah and unto whom Allah restitutes what is theirs….”
This creed dictated that in conquered regions, ancient religious sites be confiscated and infidels banned from using them. Thus, the Dome of the Rock was constructed on the ruins of the Temple Mount in 691 AD., Al-Aqsa Mosque over the Basilica of St. Mary in 712, AD, and the Grand Mosque of Damascus, was built over the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in 715 AD.
In India, the Vikramasli temple was razed to the ground in the 13th Century, and its foundation- stones thrown into the Ganges. According to scholar K.S. Lal, thousands of Hindu temples were destroyed and their stones used to build mosques.
[ … ]
http://www.faithfreedom.org/articles/persecution-by-islam/islam%e2%80%99s-religious-intolerance/
April 22nd, 2012, 11:26 am
Son of Damascus said:
Halabi,
“After months of the indiscriminate shelling of Homs, Assad’s soldiers were able to kill some journalists and hundred of innocent civilians, but couldn’t defeat the so-called armed terrorist groups they were after.”
Regimists would have us believe that the FSA destroyed Homs and Syria. All the heavy weaponry that was and still being used by the Assadi Army are filled with fun balls, not deadly explosives.
For example the Homs hospital that some here are blaming the FSA for its destruction. Notice how all of them failed to mention that there was a snipers nest on the roof of the hospital, and that snipers nests are used to kill and not defend. Or the fact that Syrian State Hospitals have been turned into torture chambers by the Moukhabarat, and people have been killed by the security service at hospitals.
History to them is what the Assadi’s tell them it is, common sense be damned.
April 22nd, 2012, 11:32 am
Alan said:
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/399480.html
Russia plays key role in swinging events in Syria from confrontation to political result
UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (Itar-Tass) — Russia played “the decisive role in reversing the series of events in Syria from confrontation and violence to the political result.
This idea was expressed to reporters on Saturday by Russian chief delegate to the UN Vitaly Churkin after a meeting of the Security Council that unanimously adopted resolution 2043, based on the Russian draft; the resolution sets up a Mission on monitoring in Syria.
According to the Russian ambassador, Moscow “worked very assiduously so that the Security Council should take the correct road in a Syrian settlement”. “Nevertheless, we are not so na·ve to disregard the fact that there are influential forces which, apart from putting this strategy into doubt, want it to end in a flop,” Churkin said.
He had in mind statements by some countries made at the Security Council that “they have excellent plans concerning the situation in Syria”. In the ambassador’s opinion, all this is detrimental to the Kofi Annan’s plan and peaceful political evolution in Syria, will be pernicious for them and lead astray.
[ … ]
April 22nd, 2012, 11:54 am
Halabi said:
Ma fi shi, Bahrain-style
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/22/us-motor-racing-prix-atmosphere-idUSBRE83K0H720120422
This kind of reporting is why Bahrain is reluctant to allow foreign media in and why the Assad regime kills journalists. Both governments want to escape from truth and reality, but in all fairness the Bahrain monarchy has used a fraction of the violence unleashed in Syria.
April 22nd, 2012, 12:03 pm
Jad said:
Is it even possible that terrorists attack and destroy buildings in Home?
NO, they dont use by olive branches, they never ever destroy any building? school or hospital, they are incapable od doing nothing wrong.
????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ????????
????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?????
????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???? 60 ???? ?????? ????????? 26 2
Snipers? terrorists in Homs don’t do that at all not from civilian houses nor from the streets or roofs.
NO, they don’t even have snipers, it’s all lies:
??? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ????????
??? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????? ???????? ????
Do they ever fabricate and circulate any clips of burning people?
NO, they never do that, it’s all the regime propaganda 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/homs.lccs/posts/380981841924951
Sunday at 16:53 ·
???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? – ??????? ???
?????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????
??? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??? ????????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????
?????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ????
?????? ???? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?????
???? ???? ?????????? ?? ?????? ?????
1. ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??????
2 ?? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?? ????? ??? ????? – ???? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ????
3.????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???
???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???
April 22nd, 2012, 12:12 pm
jna said:
391. Son of Damascus said:
For example the Homs hospital that some here are blaming the FSA for its destruction. Notice how all of them failed to mention that there was a snipers nest on the roof of the hospital, and that snipers nests are used to kill and not defend.
I’m afraid this makes no sense to me. Use of snipers is deployed defensively as well as offensively. For example see:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/71-1/711apxnf.htm#tasks
April 22nd, 2012, 12:20 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Another achievement in this wahabophilic Syrian nightmare killing of Dr Issa Mossa at Albaath university,Embryology attending .The only brains which will remain in Syria will be Alaaroor and Alarefi civilizationhaters brains.
April 22nd, 2012, 12:30 pm
Jad said:
‘but in all fairness the Bahrain monarchy has used a fraction of the violence unleashed in Syria.’
Let’s see their reaction when the truly peaceful Bahraini protesters become militarized and the revolution get hijacked by Alqaeda and when they start the killing mission of other Bahrainis and using mortars, RPG, putting bombs in their cities, bombing schools, hospitals, gas pipelines, trains, food trucks, roads, sectarian killing, getting weapons, getting money and support from every media and devil In the world with ‘Friends of Bahrain’ meetings.
Then will talk of ‘fairness’
April 22nd, 2012, 12:32 pm
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Dawoud,
The SC moderator is not “pro-dictator and pro-Hizballah/Iran”. You’ll have to trust me on that. I’m against any moderation as you know. But this does not mean that it is OK to smear and tell lies about the person who is moderating here.
.
April 22nd, 2012, 12:41 pm
Tara said:
Dawoud
And he is truly pro-Syria. Trust me on this one.
April 22nd, 2012, 12:45 pm
Halabi said:
The snipers at the hospital in Homs were defending scores of decomposing bodies in the morgue and temporary storage trailers outside the hospital from terrorists who wanted to give these dead people some dignity by placing them in the ground… Or maybe Assad’s soldiers were just holding on to these bodies until lord Bashar could drop by to raise the dead.
April 22nd, 2012, 12:58 pm
Alan said:
http://rt.com/news/bahrain-grand-prix-protests-674/
More clashes expected after Bahrain GP goes ahead
The Formula One Grand Prix took place in Bahrain Sunday, despite becoming a focal point for internal protests, and attracting international censure. A fresh outbreak of violence was reported in the immediate aftermath of the race.
[ … ]
April 22nd, 2012, 1:01 pm
Tara said:
Mina
You believe any media report and any YouTube link mentioning the dead in Bahrain, post revolution Tunisia and post revolution Libya but you refuse to believe the same media and the same YouTube links an regard to the Syrian regime’s crimes. Isn’t that dissociated belief system a prototype textbook example of hypocrisy? … I despise hypocrisy and fake indignation more than I despise *hate* itself.
April 22nd, 2012, 1:02 pm
Badr said:
Tyranny in any way, shape, or form is an evil, and all the excuses in the world for it are lame, and don’t make it any less malign.
April 22nd, 2012, 1:02 pm
Son of Damascus said:
JNA,
From the link you posted here are the defensive tasks of a sniper unit:
Cover obstacles, minefields, roadblocks, and demolition missions.
Perform counterreconnaissance tasks to kill enemy reconnaissance elements.
Engage enemy OPs, armored vehicle commanders (while they are exposed in their vehicles’ turrets), and ATGM teams.
Damage vehicle optics to degrade enemy movement capabilities.
Suppress enemy crew-served weapons.
Disrupt follow-on units with long-range small arms fires.
Where exactly does it say build a snipers nest atop a hospital for defensive measures?
Or the fact that the snipping of civilians and children is a valid defensive act?
The only reason to build a snipers nest atop a hospital is to kill, NOT SAVE anyone.
Furthermore again from the link you posted:
“Snipers should be tasked to support any unit that is defending a strongpoint. The characteristics of the sniper team enable it to perform independent harassment and observation tasks in support of the force in the strongpoint, either from within or outside of the strongpoint.”
So the hospital is a strongpoint for the Assadi Army, since when are hospitals ok to be a military strongpoint in which to wage war, is it not criminal to use such a place as a military strong point?
April 22nd, 2012, 1:14 pm
zoo said:
Security Council changed prerogatives in Syrian crisis – Churkin to RT
Published: 22 April, 2012, 00:07
http://rt.com/news/churkin-un-resolution-syria-interview-652/
The latest resolution on Syria, unanimously passed in the Security Council, may finally put things “on the right track” in the troubled country, Russia’s envoy to the UN exclusively told RT.
RT:The Security Council has just agreed to boost the number of observers. Do you think this time around the mission will be a success?
Vitaly Churkin: We certainly hope so.
…
So, you know, we are not naive. Even though the Security Council voted unanimously today, we know that some members of the Security Council, some important members of the international community, are still continuing to think in confrontational terms towards the Syrian government. Incidentally, one very important aspect of what happened today by the vote of the Security Council in favor of this resolution is that the Security Council has by and large re-established its prerogatives in the Syrian crisis as the international body which holds primary responsibility for matters of international peace and security.
So all those who talk and make statements and convene and gather and discuss various groups of “friends” – or not – of Syria, must also be respectful of Security Council resolutions and must contribute to its successful implementation.
(…)
April 22nd, 2012, 1:26 pm
Alan said:
Dawoud !
You’ll have to trust him on that!
April 22nd, 2012, 1:28 pm
Norman said:
What is happening in Bahrain and Syria and the way people look at events from supporters and opponents indicate to me that the conspiracy against the Arab Nation by dividing it into Arab Sunni and Shia and even Muslim Sunni and Shia, what is sad is that the plan is getting the support from Arab and Muslim leaders, It is always easier to avoid being attacked by creating conflicts between the enemy,
April 22nd, 2012, 1:30 pm
ann said:
Syria says it won’t go the Libya way – 22 April 2012
http://twocircles.net/2012apr22/syria_says_it_wont_go_libya_way.html
Damascus : Amid mounting international pressure, Syria Sunday asserted that it will not allow itself to be invaded like Libya and rubbished the opposition as a rag-tag collection of Al Qeada elements and rank criminals who are supported by the West in league with some powerful Arab nations.
“In 16 days, the political system collapsed in Tunisia. In 18 days, the system collapsed in Egypt. Libya took much longer to go, and that was because of foreign intervention,” Fayssal Mekdad, Syria’s vice minister of foreign affairs, told select journalists in the Syrian capital.
“We don’t want Syria to be invaded. We will find a peaceful solution to the situation,” Mekdad, also Syria’s former Permanent Representative to the UN, said amid opposition activists’ claims of government troops pounding a Damascus suburb, a charge denied by Syria.
Mekdad, a suave, seasoned diplomat known for bating for Syria in international fora, pointed out that foreign intervention has destroyed Libya, but asserted that “Syria will not go the Libya way.
He blamed the Western powers and their Arab allies like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for funding and arming the opposition in Syria and underlined that they are under instructions to unleash chaos in the Middle East country.
The armed opposition, according to Mekdad, are characterized by divisions and are fragmentary that makes it difficult for the Syrian government to open dialogue with them. The opposition, said Mekdad, consists of some Al Qaeda elements that came from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood which are being funded by foreign powers.
“The Al Qaeda elements and the Muslim Brotherhood are in a minority. Most of the opposition consists of criminals, drug addicts, smugglers and former prisoners,” he said.
“Billions of dollars are being spent by Saudi Arabia and Qatar for funding armed opposition who are killing civilians and targeting Syrian police and armed forces,” he said.
Mekdad, however, drew a distinction between armed opposition and political opposition which will be participating in the May 7 parliamentary elections.
Underlining Syria’s commitment to the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan, Mekdad blamed the opposition for not keeping part of its bargain by resorting to relentless violence.
He was speaking a day after the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution in New York Saturday, which seeks to expand the number of UN cease-fire observers in Syria from 30 to 300. The resolution also calls for an immediate end to the violence by both the government forces and opposition activists.
Why is Syria being targeted? Mekdad alleged that the West was targeting Syria, a multi-religious and multi-cultural country of 24 million people, because it’s the only part of the region that they have not succeeded in controlling.
“Syria is the last state in the region that supports the Arab cause. The moment Syria collapses, the Palestinian cause will be finished,” said Mekdad, while accusing Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and others for compromising the Palestinian cause.
He claimed that although the UN says 11,000 people have been killed since the Arab Spring-like protests began in Syria 13 months ago, the majority of casualties included Syrian security forces, police and civilians.
[…]
April 22nd, 2012, 1:31 pm
Son of Damascus said:
An example of the nobel snipers that some people here like to pretend are there for defence:
In the video (Hama) you can see the snipers gesturing to the people that they will see what will happen when the UN monitors leave. How very nobel of them!!
April 22nd, 2012, 1:32 pm
jna said:
Son of Damascus
It’s known that government buildings have been the subject of attack by the opposition; killing security, burning, looting.
It’s known that the militarized opposition attacked the hospital and held it for a day or two before being routed.
April 22nd, 2012, 1:36 pm
Alan said:
SNC Correspondence with US Leaked by Lebanese Daily
For almost a week now, Lebanese al-Akhbar daily has been publishing a trove of emails claimed to be obtained from Pro-Assad cyber activists who have hacked into the email account of “Syrian National Council’s” president, “Burhan Ghalyoun”, in protest of what they described as the fabrication of emails meant to smear the reputation of the Syrian President “Bashar al-Assad” and Syria’s First Lady.
These leaked emails, which have not yet been denied or condemned by anyone of the so-called “SNC”, contain Ghalyoun’s letters of coordination with the Coordinator of the U.S Peace Envoy to the Middle East’s Office – “Fredric Hof”, Saudi Foreign Minister “Saud Al-Faisal”, as well as a reporter of Israeli Channel 10 which goes back to October of 2010.
[ … ]
April 22nd, 2012, 1:41 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Jna,
It is also well known that the government set up snipers atop the hospital that was killing children and civilians.
There is absolutely no excuse to setup a snipers nest atop a hospital that shoots at civilians, and denies them medical treatment where the injured are taken to make shift field hospitals instead of the proper hospitals.
If people are being denied entry and shot on sight if they approach the hospital, of what use is the hospital of then, other than to kill and maim?
April 22nd, 2012, 1:49 pm
bronco said:
#379 SHAMI
Unfortunatly Islam has many faces so people judge on the face they see most prominent. The most prominent now in news is the extremist and untolerant Islam.
The moderate Islam should have better PR’s to counter the bad images that the ‘other’ Islam is propagating through all the spectacular verbal sectarian attacks by clerics and the terrorists acts that are filling the news headlines.
While Israel is a terrorist country, most Jews are not, but their silence about the abuses of Israel is making them accomplice and they often are misjudged because of their laxism towards Israel’s abuses.
The same applies to the moderate Islam, it is much too silent and tolerant about the “islamists” destructive declarations and actions, so they end up by being blamed as well.
As long as the moderate Islam refrains from condemning openly and convincingly the ‘islamists’ terrorist actions and sectarian provocations, they’ll be perceived as accomplices and demonized.
It’s high time they speak out and denounce unanimously and unambiguously the moslems who are giving of Islam hysterical, cruel and primitive images.
April 22nd, 2012, 1:49 pm
Halabi said:
Son of Damascus, the pro-Assad posters don’t expect you to read their links and analyze the material. A part of me cringes when their propaganda has been deflated because I imagine it’s very difficult for many of them to type a few coherent sentences, but then I remember what they are defending.
Anyways, hospitals have been used to torture protesters – the regime apologists know this to be true because Syria Truth said it is. They also know that the Wahhabi revolution hasn’t attacked churches and Christian villages all over the country, but they continue with tales that have long been debunked.
I believe it was Some Guy in Damascus who filmed the church that was allegedly strafed with machine gun fire last summer. That story came from one of Landis’s trusted sources in Damascus who hasn’t publicly reported anything new since then.
But there are other inept propagandists who still don’t think it’s time to quit.
????? ????????? ?? ???: ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????????? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ???????
Translation: Syrian state media reported yesterday that a man named Salah Najm-aldin Al-Rij fired his gun in the air during a protest in Anadan, a few miles outside of Aleppo, and said the protesters are traitors who are receiving funds from abroad.
In other words, Syrian news inadvertently admits that a pro-Assad Shabiha thug violated the cease-fire. Of course no news if the man was arrested. ?????? ??????
April 22nd, 2012, 1:58 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Bronco,
Its about your own perception of Islam, not what the moderate Muslims have to say.
In the United States, females that are victims of rape are not able to receive an abortion in many states because of Christian Zealots, also many homosexuals are denied their basic rights because of Christian Zealots. Not to mention that many young Americans grow up not being taught the Theory of Evolution because it so happens to contradict the Christian faith.
Do these backwards laws not only shame the American Constitution but is an absolute abomination of Jesus’s message of tolerance, and understanding, absolutely.
Are the actions of the Zealots an indication of the teachings of Christianity or are they more likely an indication of the backwards people that are using Christianity for their own agenda?
Hate is prevalent in all forms, moderates speak out in all faiths. Sadly and unfortunately the despicable actions of the few wholly overshadows what any moderate has to say, whether in religion politics or life.
April 22nd, 2012, 2:03 pm
jna said:
Son of Damascus
First you argue that a sniper position on top of the Hospital would serve no defensive purpose, and I disputed that. Now you argue that:
1. the snipers were killing civilians and children.
2. the hospital denied treatment to the injured.
3. People were shot on sight if they approached the hospital.
If your latest 3 points are true then I would not dispute that these actions are very wrong. But I would like to see evidence before concluding your last 3 points are true. And I have a problem with taking opposition reports as evidence, a topic which has been much discussed here.
April 22nd, 2012, 2:07 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Jna,
Since the footage I would link comes from the opposition, you would have a problem with them because you would claim they are fake and untrustworthy since they came from dissidents. If I post the Channel 4 News report about the despicable and ugly reality that goes on in State hospitals you will claim zionist conspiracy.
For the record I have posted numerous videos showing snipers, and soldiers bragging about their sniped head shots, as did Halabi.
A snipers position atop a hospital is not a defensive task, but a countermeasure act. By doing so they automatically nullify any hospitality that the citizens would expect at a hospital. This was a civilian hospital not a military hospital there is NO EXCUSE to have a snipers nest atop of it!
April 22nd, 2012, 2:16 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Halabi,
To them Syrians can’t protest against Assad unless they are paid to, its incomprehensible to them that Syrians are fed up with Souria AlAssad.
To them freedom and dignity can be bought…
April 22nd, 2012, 2:28 pm
mjabali said:
Tara:
Do you believe in freedom of speech?
I am asking you this because:
A: you claimed that you are from a family that “produces culture” as well as from the Sunni religious establishment.
B: You called to go after a journalist who is expressing his own take on things.
April 22nd, 2012, 2:33 pm
mjabali said:
Bronco:
You are right, “moderate Islam” is disappearing and in its place we have the aggressive form that Wahhabism espouses.
The other is not tolerated in this prevalent form.
You are right about the role of the “moderate” Muslim clergy that should take the leading role to ease the tension we have today.
The literature of hate is going uncontested.
People forgot about religion in the advanced world today and together they became equal citizens in a state. Each worship in their own way. Too bad in Syria and the Middle East we do not have this feeling.
April 22nd, 2012, 2:42 pm
Jad said:
‘Peaceful’ and ‘Civilian’ terrorists killed while attacking other Syrians, I’m sure that they will become civilian ‘victims’ for some on here, as usual!
???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ????
??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???????? .
? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????
???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? .
http://arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=32981
April 22nd, 2012, 2:49 pm
Afram said:
409. Son of Damascus said:
Bronco,
Its about your own perception of Islam, not what the moderate Muslims have to say.
In the United States, females that are victims of rape are not able to receive an abortion in many states because of Christian Zealots, also many homosexuals are denied their basic rights because of Christian Zealots. Not to mention that many young Americans grow up not being taught the Theory of Evolution because it so happens to contradict the Christian faith.
====================
1-America is a secular state.
2-abortion is legal in every state.
3-The American Gays have full civil Rights.
4-Afram is atheist humanist card-carrying I have full rights.
the American law above every one,you abuse it BAMMM you go to jail.
think of president NIXON
on the other hand muslims murders their girls & boys,in america,canada,london,paris…….. “Honor killing”
“Honor killing” under growing scrutiny in the U.S
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1095744648001/a-look-at-honor-killings-in-us/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57409395-504083/honor-killing-under-growing-scrutiny-in-the-u.s/
http://youtu.be/S5yHUfw89cc
Another US Honor Killing
http://exposethemedia.com/2011/05/22/another-us-honor-killing-muslim-womans-death-ruled-accident-slammed-head-on-coffee-table
“Honor killing” under growing scrutiny in the U.S
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1095744648001/a-look-at-honor-killings-in-us/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57409395-504083/honor-killing-under-growing-scrutiny-in-the-u.s/
http://youtu.be/S5yHUfw89cc
Another US Honor Killing?
http://exposethemedia.com/2011/05/22/another-us-honor-killing-muslim-womans-death-ruled-accident-slammed-head-on-coffee-table
April 22nd, 2012, 3:04 pm
Halabi said:
Faysal Alkasim on Arab Islamophobes.
http://www.al-sharq.com/articles/more.php?id=288525
For better or worse, the Arab world is going to try political Islam and nobody knows what the outcome will be. Constraining extremists is the duty of both supporters and opponents of Islamic parties, but there needs to be agreement on what is extreme behavior. Demanding basic rights like freedom of speech and assembly is only considered extreme by those who define liberty as the privilege of worshiping the Assad family.
April 22nd, 2012, 3:09 pm
Halabi said:
“the American law above every one,you abuse it BAMMM you go to jail.
think of president NIXON”
Nixon was pardoned, a controversial act by Ford, so he shouldn’t be used as an example of the universal application of the rule of law in the U.S. But that doesn’t matter to the pro-Assad crowd that belong to an alternate reality where no facts or history exists, just evil Islamic terrorists trying to bring down the greatest, most peaceful leader the world has ever known.
April 22nd, 2012, 3:21 pm
ann said:
Little Napoleon is On His Way OUT! OUT! OUT!
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/France-s-Sarkozy-fights-to-keep-job/-/1637132/11470824/-/9q78hgz/-/
Don’t Let The Door Hit You in The Back You little Monster 😀
April 22nd, 2012, 3:33 pm
ann said:
Looks Like israel, Saudi Arabia and GCC Put All Their Eggs in Sarkozy’s Basket!
[…]
Hollande, a center-left candidate, called for a European Central Bank rate cut in an interview Friday on French radio station Europe 1.
Asked if, as president, he would participate in a U.N.-led military intervention in Syria, Hollande said: “Yes, if it is at the request of the United Nations, we would participate in this intervention.”
[…]
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/France-s-Sarkozy-fights-to-keep-job/-/1637132/11470824/-/9q78hgz/-/
Syria will be Sarkozy’s downfall!
.
April 22nd, 2012, 3:49 pm
jna said:
Son of Damascus
Hopefully this time around the opposition won’t demand that the observers leave as was the case with the AL observers. Under UN provisions there will soon be 300 observers plus many foreign press. Maybe we’ll start getting a more neutral picture of what is happening in Syria.
April 22nd, 2012, 3:52 pm
Afram said:
@424. Halabi said:
Nixon was pardoned, a controversial act by Ford, so he shouldn’t be used as an example of the universal application of the rule of law in the U.S. But that doesn’t matter to the pro-Assad crowd that belong to an alternate reality where no facts or history exists, just evil Islamic terrorists trying to bring down the greatest, most peaceful leader the world has ever known
===============
Nixon was forced out of office,pardoned yes,its a legal act in america,a controversial act..you bet ya,historians say the act saved america from a political civil war.
Assad is the product of arab islamic culture,all the people in arab land are in/on the same bloody culture boat/each one is a copy-carbon of the other…king & presidents R US
the islamists who murdered Qadaffi are not better either..GOOD LUCK for being ruled by MB,folks..hundreds of thousands of muslims will be standing infront of western christian embassies to escape the love of sharia law rule.why go west?saudi chopping off hands NO good???
April 22nd, 2012, 3:53 pm
ann said:
Information minister says 75 media outlets granted entry visas to Syria – 2012-04-22
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/22/c_131543923.htm
DAMASCUS, April 22 (Xinhua) — Syrian information minister said Sunday that more than 75 media outlets have been given entry visas to Syria since March 25, according to official SANA news agency.
Adnan Mahmoud made the remarks during a meeting with an Indian delegation that more than 400 Arab and foreign media outlets had visited Syria since the outbreak of unrest in mid-March, 2011, while some 150 others would be invited soon to cover the forthcoming parliamentarian elections slated for May 7.
He stressed that Syria is committed to UN-Arab League joint special envoy Kofi Annan’s six point peace plan, noting that armed terrorist groups have stepped up their crimes and terrorist acts on a daily basis.
“Those groups are a tool of murder and sabotage that receive commands from foreign countries like Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Western countries and the United States,” he said, warning that those countries work feverishly to stymie Annan’s plan and to call in foreign intervention.
[…]
April 22nd, 2012, 3:54 pm
Mina said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17808954
“Egyptian officials say they have scrapped an agreement to supply Israel with natural gas.
Israel received around 40% of its gas supplies from Egypt and uses it to generate electricity.
The announcement comes after the cross-border pipeline suffered numerous sabotage attacks which cut supplies.
The Israeli Finance Minister, Yuval Steinitz, said the move was of “great concern”, and overshadowed peace agreements between the countries.”
They can probably ask Qatar to supply them!
More details here
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/39931/Business/Economy/BREAKING-Egypt-unilaterally-cancels-gas-deal-with-.aspx
April 22nd, 2012, 3:58 pm
ann said:
Gunmen blast cargo train in northern Syria – 2012-04-22
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/22/c_131543814.htm
DAMASCUS, April 22 (Xinhua) — Armed groups targeted a cargo train with explosives on Sunday at the outskirts of the northern Idlib province, causing big damages to the train and injuring the train’s six-member crew, state-run SANA news agency.
One of injured is in a grave condition, said SANA.
The train was targeted by a roadside bomb planted by ” terrorists,” which has damaged 75 meters of the railway and caused one carriage to overturn and another one was derailed, SANA quoted George Muqaebari, head of the General Institution for Railways, as saying.
Muqaebari said the losses are up to tens of millions of Syrian pounds, noting that the train was used to carry fuel to operate an energy station in the northern province of Aleppo.
He stressed that Syria’s losses in the sector of railways have been estimated at 1.7 billion Syrian pounds (27.8 million U.S. dollars) over the past 13 months.
[…]
April 22nd, 2012, 4:00 pm
ann said:
Syrian officer killed in roadside blast in northern Syria – 2012-04-22
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/22/c_131543764.htm
DAMASCUS, April 22 (Xinhua) — An army officer was killed and 42 others were injured in a roadside bomb explosion that targeted a military bus Sunday in northern Syria, state-run SANA news agency.
An armed terrorist group targeted a bus carrying a number of army officers on the Raqqa-Aleppo highway in northern Syria, killing one of them and wounding 42 others, three of them in a critical condition.
“Terrorists” are committing more crimes against civilians and law-enforcement agents and smash public and private properties, said SANA, adding that two other explosive devices were dismantled on the spot.
[…]
April 22nd, 2012, 4:04 pm
ann said:
Annan Says Weapons To Be Put Down by Gov’t, Opposition & “Others” – AQ?
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, April 22 — Early Sunday morning Kofi Annan issued a statement in his own name that “I urge all forces whether governmental, opposition or others to put down their weapons and work with the United Nations monitors.”
One wondered, what forces with weapons are these “others,” neither governmental or opposition?
Inner City Press has asked Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi “what is meant by these ‘other’ forces that are different than the ‘opposition.’ Some could see it as a reference to Al Qaeda or other non-Syrian fighters. Is that what is meant?”
If that is the reference, it seems strange to also call on these “other” forces to “work with the UN monitors.” What would Al Qaeda say? “We want to work with the UN – please send us to UNAMA in Afghanistan”?
The work schedule of the monitors is also in question. On April 20 Inner City Press asked US State Department Spokeperson Victoria Nuland:
Inner City Press: The Moroccan colonel who’s leading the UN team there now has been quoted that he’s not going to take his team out on Fridays. He doesn’t want to be used politically. There’s a quote to that effect. And I’m just wondering, since it seems that one of the purposes of the observer mission is to allow people to protest, and that’s a big day they want to protest, what would the U.S. think of that?
MS. NULAND: Well, first of all, I haven’t seen the comments of the Moroccan lead. As I said, all of the modalities for these peacekeepers are being reviewed based on the experience of the initial group, and they have to be worked out through a new Security Council resolution, and obviously, we have to see how it goes on the ground.
Transcript here. More has been written since, about the Colonel’s comments. So Inner City Press has asked Fawzi:
“do you have a comment or gloss on the Moroccan colonel saying the observers would go out on Fridays, to not be used? On Friday I asked the US State Department, particularly in light of Friday being a/the big protest day, but they hadn’t yet seen the quote. Can you comment or explain the Colonel’s statement?”
[…]
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria1others042212.html
April 22nd, 2012, 4:12 pm
bronco said:
$415 SOD
Christianity has had its long period of painfully oppressing people, but now, none of its factions would resort to terrorism and except for very specific issues about catholic priests celibacy, women priests, abortion and gay rights, it is fairly quiet compared to the daily hysteria of some Moslem clerics that call for oppression of the infidels, the killings of heretics and for violent jihad.
That they exist is natural, there are black sheeps everywhere but what is shocking and unacceptable is that they are encouraged by some states who fund them, give then access to public TV programs and media and do not throw them in jail when they deserve to be. This is what is reflecting negatively on other moslems worldwide.
It seems that most Moslems shy off criticizing these extremists and they seem to remain fairly silent about the human rights abuses in Wahhabi ruled countries, as if they were betraying an “Omerta”.
I have yet to see moderate Moslems taking a firm position against the extremists and blasting them openly. Even Turkey’s government is mute when the need comes to criticize the abuses that are so obvious in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Moderate Moslems need a Moslem spring where they could liberate themselves and express without fear what they really want as a society and fight against the extremists to disallow them the opportunity to make the agenda for them.
April 22nd, 2012, 4:14 pm
Halabi said:
So Afram, Nixon didn’t go to jail like you inferred in your post: “the American law above every one,you abuse it BAMMM you go to jail. think of president NIXON”
It’s customary in civilized society for people to apologize for mistakes – instead of doubling-down with manufactured fears of a “political civil war.”
I do like the pivot to attacking Islam and Arabs. Nice one…
Another revision of recent history: the opposition forced the Arab League observers to leave Syria. This is fiction.
The AL observers were probably recalled for political reasons, but that decision wasn’t in the hands of the opposition. The observers had legitimate security concerns, as outlined in the report that the pro-Assad crowd loves but probably hasn’t read.
The observers didn’t witness a single attack by the FSA on military or civilians, they just reported on the aftermath. The only time they saw violence is noted in the following section:
“In Latakia and Deir Al-Zor, the Mission faced difficulties from Government loyalists. In Latakia, thousands surrounded the Mission’s cars, chanting slogans in favour of the President and against the Mission. The situation became out of control and monitors were attacked. Two sustained light injuries and an armoured car was completely crushed.”
April 22nd, 2012, 4:32 pm
bronco said:
$433
“I urge all forces whether governmental, opposition or others to put down their weapons and work with the United Nations monitors.”
The “others” is the most challenging issues for Annan.
If his UN team , as we have seen, is trying to establish a communication with the FSA leaders, it is another story to have access to armed criminals, Al Qaeeda that have no defined leadership.
In my opinion, the FSA and the ‘official’ opposition will be soon pressed by Annan to clean up their ranks of criminals and even to fight against them to ensure the credibility of the opposition as a partner for a dialog.
The ‘official’ opposition is aware that if it fails to adhere to Annan’s plan and refuses to impose on its “circumstancial allies” the respect of the ceasefire, the Syrian army will feel justified in mounting ferocious attacks with thousands of casualties and the total destruction of the armed opposition as well as the armed gangs.
Therefore it is in the ‘opposition’ interest to eliminate the ‘independent’ armed gangs who are opposed to the peace plan.
This Annan’s declaration is the first clear ‘warning’ to the armed opposition. I think that more will come soon..
April 22nd, 2012, 4:36 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Afram,
1-American is a secular state:
I did not say it was not, what I said is that there are laws that are based wholly upon Judeo-Christian dogma, such us not teaching Theory of Evolution in schools.
(I will side step the fact that In God We Trust is imprinted on all US currency Bills)
2- Abortion is legal in every State:
That is not a fully correct statement: “Since the Supreme Court handed down its 1973 decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, states have constructed a lattice work of abortion law, codifying, regulating and limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion”
http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_OAL.pdf
While abortion is legal under federal laws, each state can and is regulating abortion. So much so that it is nearly impossible in some cases for even victims of rape to get an abortion, even for victims of rape in the military.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/30/military-abortion-rape-victims_n_1121640.html
For the record when the state regulates health care providers to deny abortions to individuals that CHOSE to get it, is in itself the State denying the individual.
3-The American Gays have full civil Rights.
Last I checked 39 states limit marriage to between men and women, and define it in special provisions to be limited between man and woman.
http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/human-services/same-sex-marriage-overview.aspx
I know how the judicial system works in the US, and also aware that if it was not for the judicial system in the US, African Americans would still be treated as second class citizens and we would not see a US president that is of African American descent serving in the White House.
April 22nd, 2012, 4:41 pm
Juergen said:
Faisal Alqasem:
The participation of the general population was at the
French Revolution 1%
Russian Revolution 7%
Iranian Revolution 10%
Tunisian Revolution 15%
Egyptian Revolution, 18%
20% Syrian Revolution
The Syrian Revolution makes the greatest of all time. It is normal that only a portion of the people involved in a revolution. This small group was in the story is always the one that has brought about major changes and victories. This is an old law of nature.
???? ????????? ?? ?????? ???????? 1% ?? ?????
??? ?????? ???????? 7%
??? ?????? ????????? 10%
??? ?????? ???????? 15%
??? ?????? ??????? 18%
( ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? 20% ) ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ???????.
?? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? .. ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? .. ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??????????? ???????? .. ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????????? ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? .. ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???????? .. ??? ????? ?????? ??????
??????? ???? ??????
April 22nd, 2012, 4:44 pm
zoo said:
Any condemnation by the OIC?
Muslim mob burns Catholic church in Sudan capital
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/muslim-mob-burns-catholic-church-in-sudan-capital.aspx?pageID=238&nID=18989&NewsCatID=357
KHARTOUM, Sudan – The Associated Press
An Easter Sunday Service is held with very few attendees in a church in the capital Khartoum on April
A Muslim mob has set ablaze a Catholic church frequented by Southern Sudanese in the capital Khartoum, witnesses and media reports said on Sunday.
..
The mostly Christian and animist South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011, some six years after a peace deal ended more than two decades of war between the two sides. But tens of thousands of southerners remain in Sudan, a legacy of the civil war that drove hundreds of thousands of them to seek relative safety in the north of what was then a single Sudanese nation.
(..)
April 22nd, 2012, 4:48 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Bronco,
“none of its factions would resort to terrorism”
But they do as you expressed the exceptions, and were it not persecuted by the State (instead of enabled which is what the Assad regime is known to be guilty of) these bigots would be much more powerful and louder.
Also in one of the ugliest moments in the history of our earth the Catholic Church turned a blind eye to the slaughter of 11 million people in concentration camps, not to mention what the protestant churches were guilty off.
State sponsored terrorism is the worst of its kind, for it uses and abuses the ideals and faiths of people to manipulate it into destruction and hate.
I abhor ALL religious extremism, and I don’t need a reminder every day from Christians that what the Christian Right, or the IRA, or Skin Heads, or West Boro Baptist church or any extreme fringe group that uses the name of Jesus for hate. For I as a muslim who took the time to learn about Christianity discovered with my own eyes that Christianity does not call for hate and bigotry.
If I did not read about the Christian faith, and learn more about it most likely my perception of the teaching of Christ would be different, no?
April 22nd, 2012, 5:14 pm
Juergen said:
The disappearence of moderate islam or i prefer the term peoples islam is evident and yet strange. You have what i call the cancer of Islam the wahabi/salafiya movement who happen to be less than a 1% of the total muslim population and yet their programm and their standings are far more spread than their quantity. If a journalist in the west looks for answers relating an story about islam he will find most likely the wahabi standpoint the most clear and most found statement. Its much easier to have one rigid answer than a shaky this depends on… answer. Thomas Bauer has written an nice book about the fact that modernity does not cheerish cultural ambiguity, and this is where the salafi movement is meeting with the modern western world, both dont like that there is more than one reality, more than one answer possible.
The other day i read that muslim man in general dont shake hands with women, and thats just one example how far salafi thoughts have entered even mainstream muslim thoughts. An other issue i was reading about is the different ways muslims throughout the world read the Quran, you can find the salafi point of view in almost all books about islam that there are only 7 traditions to read the Quran, even though many islamic scholars have come up with almost 50 ways of reading. What happen to the nice tradition to celebrate Maulid of Muhammed? I dont know of any mosque in Berlin which is celebrating that offically, not because people have forgotten the date, because of precautious reasons, the debates within the congregation would be better avoided. Mainstream islam should much more stress that the biggest biddah( new tradition, not known to the first islamic ummah) is represented by the Salafi movement themselves.
Der Spiegel published that in Rastan the regime has fooled the UN observres. The army had changed their uniform for the local police uniform.
http://translate.google.at/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Fpolitik%2Fausland%2F0%2C1518%2C829027%2C00.html
April 22nd, 2012, 5:18 pm
Afram said:
438. Juergen said:
Faisal Alqasem:
The participation of the general population was at the
French Revolution 1%
20% Syrian Revolution
The Syrian Revolution makes the greatest of all time
===================
really???!!!???
its Faisal opinion!!, rather than being a historical fact.
No comparison at all-zilch
if the french had Cable tv, Facebook, Cnn, aljazeera Zift, tweetzer, cars, planes and trains..do you think, maybe, just maybe french participation would/could go up & reach the stratosphere???
the french brought down their king plus the catholic church
No more in the west church an state politics.
Islam is state then religion, saudi has no Constitution, only chopping off hands islamic sharia law rule..steal a stick of gum, you lose a hand, drink a beer 80 lashes, love someone..they stone to death.
syria is no Kandahar or Qandahar
April 22nd, 2012, 5:33 pm
jna said:
443. Juergen
“Der Spiegel published that in Rastan the regime has fooled the UN observres.”
Would be better phrased, “Der Spiegel published that, according to opposition accounts, in Rastan the regime has fooled the UN observres.”
April 22nd, 2012, 5:56 pm
Tara said:
Mjabali
There is a big difference between freedom of speech and defamation. Sometime in the past specifically around August 7th, a commenter who knows himself posted a link, a poem written in Arabic by a published “writer” who supports the regime.
The poem was a despicable sexual vulgarity accusing Samar Yazbek of a sexual relationship with Aroor, describing what she did to him, reflecting a porn fantasy of a deranged individual, the writer that is. This is not what I call freedom of speech and I am against it. A writer like that should be held accountable and punished.
It was then, when I decided not to carry a conversation with the commenters who chose to post that link. I tried to find the link but for some reason most posts from August 7th disappeared. So yes, calling Alawis heretics for instance is not a freedom of speech, and in the same token, desacring the image of prophet Muhammed is not freedom of speech… It is a “hate, not so much in disguise.
April 22nd, 2012, 7:00 pm
Halabi said:
I received this joke from a pious Muslim friend in Syria that I think the Islamophobes here would enjoy.
??? ???? ???? ????????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????.. ?? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????.. ?? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????
?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ????
?? ???? ???? ???????
???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????
????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?????????
????? ?????????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????
???? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ??????
April 22nd, 2012, 7:12 pm
Tara said:
Mjabali,
By the way, in an earlier comment, you said that you are not aware of any Damascene who “produce” a cultural impact on the society for the last 100-200 years. Have you never heard of..say..Nizar Qabbani? Did you think he was Lebanese?
April 22nd, 2012, 7:13 pm
ann said:
UN observers tour central Syria, establish liaison with all parties – 2012-04-23
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/23/c_123018709.htm
DAMASCUS, April 22 (Xinhua) –The spokesman of the advance team of UN observers said the group visited two central regions and established contacts with all parties there on Sunday.
Briefing reporters in the capital Damascus late Sunday, Neeraj Singh said the team visited Hama province and Rastan town near flashpoint Homs province.
The spokesman, who is an Indian national, refused to give further details on the observers’ activities because “the precise details are premature to talk about.”
Singh went on to say that the team is preparing for the arrival and deployment of more observers.
[…]
April 22nd, 2012, 7:35 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Killing in name of god:
http://www.syriatruth.org/??????/??????????/tabid/97/Article/7192/Default.aspx
April 22nd, 2012, 7:45 pm
Tara said:
Batta’s lovers, enjoy!
http://on.fb.me/JhVdDs
???? ???? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? “????” ????????? ??? ???????? ???? 100 ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? “???????” ???? ??? 4 ??????.
?? ??????? 5 ??? ???? ????? ????? (?????? 10) ???????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ??????? (20) ????????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ?????? (27) ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ???? ??????? (29)? ??? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?????? 48 ????????.
??? “???????” ??? ??????? ???? ?????? (26) ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????. ??? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? “??????” ???? ?????? (34) ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? 39 ?? ?????? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ???????. ?? ?????? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ??? ?????? (68) ??? ?????? 81 ?? ??????? ???????.
??? ?? ?????? “????” ?? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? “???????” ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????????? ???: ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? “???? ??????” ????????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????.
April 22nd, 2012, 8:10 pm
Afram said:
Allahu Akbar,,Allahu Akbar..Bahrain is on fire
The great persian empire is expanding like a blowfish or may I say faster than Formula 1 Grand Prix car.
http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today\22z499.htm&arc=data\201244-22\22z499.htm
April 22nd, 2012, 9:08 pm
ann said:
Syrian opposition undermined by splits and infighting, emails show – 23 Apr 2012
Syria’s main opposition group’s efforts to topple the regime are being frustrated by defections, split factions and deep ideological divisions, leaked emails from the leader of the Syrian National Council show.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9219643/Syrian-opposition-undermined-by-splits-and-infighting-emails-show.html
Messages published in the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper were purportedly lifted from SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun’s account by pro-regime hackers in retaliation for last month’s expose of President Bashar al Assad’s private correspondence.
They disclose how splits and factional infighting are undermining the Council’s capacity to combat the regime.
In one message dated Feb 26, Mohammed Farouk Tayfour, the leader of the influential Muslim Brotherhood bloc and deputy president of the SNC, wrote to Mr Ghalioun demanding that spokesman Bassma Kodmani be removed from her position after she expressed that Israel is a necessity in the Middle East, apparently appearing alongside Israelis in an interview with a French TV station.
“She should stop her statements that are harming the council,” he wrote.
Occupying one quarter of the SNC’s 270 seats, the Muslim Brotherhood’s sway has alienated other factions in the umbrella group.
Last month the Syrian Kurdish opposition walked out amid claims that the SNC refused to include wording about the rights of Kurds. Representing around 10 per cent of the Syrian population, losing the Kurdish minority represents a dangerous fragmentation of the Syrian opposition.
“The Kurdish National Council is not ready for dialogue with us at this moment. A dialogue will only take place after their next conference, in two or three weeks”, listed the minutes of an SNC meeting on April 4.
The continued discord highlights what activists have called a failing of the international community to recognize the exiled SNC, circumscribing its political clout inside Syria.
Last month the Friends of Syria group — which includes Turkey, the US, Britain, France and Gulf states — recognized the SNC as “a legitimate representative of the Syrian people,” falling short of recognition as the legal government in exile they had hoped for.
“Because there wasn’t any real impetus for change from outside in the first five-six months, that killed the opposition, made them look weak on the Syrian street,” political activist Rami Jarrah said.
[…]
April 22nd, 2012, 9:34 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Did Abdelrazak Tlass beard lover enjoy FSA killing of Dr Issa Mossa?
April 22nd, 2012, 9:39 pm
ann said:
Sharmine Narwani Post Confronting Hate Mongering On The Previous Thread:
https://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=14373#comment-307799
Must Read!
April 22nd, 2012, 10:22 pm
jad said:
Erdogan is threatening Syria with Nato:
????????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ???????
??????? ???? ????? ??«???????»
???? ??? ?????
????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????????.
???????? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????. ???? «???? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??????. ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???????. ???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????. ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? (?? ???? ?????) ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????».
???? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????? 51 ?? ????? ????? ???????.
??? ??????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????. ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?? «??? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?????. ???? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? (???? ?????) ??? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ???».
?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? 300 ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?«?? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????. ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???????. ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????».
???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? «??? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ???????? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? 60 ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? 290 ????»
[ … ]
http://assafir.com/Article.aspx?EditionId=2132&ChannelId=50924&ArticleId=2093
April 23rd, 2012, 12:01 am
ghufran said:
for those who still thnik that the regime can be reformed:
???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????.
[
http://www.alarabiya.net/mob/ar/209559.html ]
I do not have time to list all of the non violent anti regime syrians who were subjected to unlawful arrest, torture and illegal detention, but there is rarely a day without such shabeehi behavior. I suspect that the doctor will be released but why did he have to be arrested in the first place?
FYI, the guy is a secular activist who was a member of the communist party. feel free to correct me if the story is not true.
April 23rd, 2012, 12:04 am
jad said:
Here are some of the work of Alqaeda’s students terrorist in Homs that some on here insist that they did NOTHING wrong.
Sure! stay in your fantasy lands:
?? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ” ????? ???? ”
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.398602826826449.90910.279535285399871&type=1
April 23rd, 2012, 12:11 am
jad said:
Release my comment, now.
April 23rd, 2012, 12:30 am
jad said:
I don’t have time to this childish and useless tricks.
April 23rd, 2012, 12:33 am
jad said:
????? | ???? ???? ???? ??? ?????? «???????» ?? ??????? ?????????? ???????
????????? ????????? ?? ????? «????? ?????»
????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???????
??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? 300 ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? «???? ????? ???????? ??????». ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?????. ???? ???? «??? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???????».
????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? «??????? ??????? ?????» ????? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ??????. ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ??? ?????. ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??????.
?????? ????? ????? ??? ????????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???????. ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????. ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????.
??? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? (????) ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? «?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? _ ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? 42 ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????». ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? «?????? ??????? ?????» ???? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ????.
????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????. ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?????????? ????? ????? «??? ????? ?? ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????????? ??? ???». ????? ???? «??? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ???????». ????? ??????? ??? ???? «?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????».
????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ???. ????? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ????????? ??????????? «?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????»? ?????? «?? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ???».
[ … ]
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/62748
April 23rd, 2012, 12:53 am
jad said:
SYRIA: UN Working With NATO to Provide Pretext for Intervention
UN “aid” program to be used in establishing NATO “humanitarian corridors.”
by Tony Cartalucci
Recently reported in Reuters’, “UN seeks Syria nod for major aid operation,” the UN is seeking to bring in “aid workers” and open offices all across Syria in order to carry out what they call a “major humanitarian operation.”
Syria has criticized certain nations of what is clearly the “politicizing of humanitarian aid.” Fortune 500-funded US policy think-tank, Brookings Institution has openly stated that US foreign policy would best be served by taking advantage of “gaining humanitarian access” allowing the West to “add further coercive action to its efforts” to topple the Syrian government. Specifically, Brookings foresees gaining such access may lead to establishing “safe-havens and humanitarian corridors” protected by NATO military forces, in yet another example of the “mission creep” that led to regime change in Libya. Such “creep” would give proxy militant forces unassailable positions to continue their campaign of violence against the Syrian people.
Despite the UN’s “peace plan” being fully rejected by both the Syrian rebels and their Western and Arab League backers who have openly pledged cash, weapons, and support for them to continue fighting, in full violation of the proposed ceasefire, the Western media has instead accused the Syrian government of failing to meet its obligations. As the West continues to fuel the violence, and if “humanitarian access” is approved, military intervention will be proposed to combat what will be claimed to be Syrian government “belligerence.”
{…}
Al Jazeera regular, Michael Weiss of HJS, openly admits that “diplomatic options” are merely being peddled to satisfy public opinion and that ultimately NATO will act unilaterally, outside of the UN, to militarily intervene.
{…}
Wall Street and London are determined to intervene in Syria with or without UN approval, illustrating again the absolute fraud that is “global governance” and international “rule of law.” When the West decides to intervene, it must be made sure that they do so openly as perpetrators of a war of aggression, as defined by the Nuremberg trials – the very precedence of the willfully abused international law now at play.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30443
April 23rd, 2012, 1:23 am
jad said:
The new ‘beloved’ leader of the revo in a Albab, northern of Aleppo is Ayman Alzawahri!? Ahleen!
??????? ?????? ?? ???? ???: ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?? ?????
???? ??? – ???
??? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?? ????? .
?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? .
???? ??? ?????? ??? ( ??? ??????) ??? ?? ???????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ???????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ???????? .
???? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? .
????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ????????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???????.
? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ???? “??????” ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????????? ??????????? ????????? ? ???????? ? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ????????? ???? ?? ????? ????????? .
{…}
http://arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=33103
April 23rd, 2012, 1:31 am
Juergen said:
Sabah al khair to all, i hope i can give everyone a good fresh start in the day. This german lady choir went surely out of their usual way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Fitlco_c9Vc#!
Enjoy!
April 23rd, 2012, 1:37 am
jad said:
A blow to the saudi plan to invite Ghalyoun in the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement:
???????? ???????? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? «??? ????????»
???? ????
??????? | ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????.
????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????????.
??? ????????? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?? 7 ??? 10 ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ????????? ??????? ????????? ????????.
{…}
?? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? «??? ??????? ??????????». ????? ???? ???????? ???? ????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ??????.
??? ???? ??? ????????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??????.
{…}
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/62713
April 23rd, 2012, 1:41 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Alaaroor stripping:
April 23rd, 2012, 2:30 am
Antoine said:
April 23rd, 2012, 2:36 am
Tara said:
Ak@145 from the previous thread,
I stand by my comment to ban that individual. Using an offensive slang to disparage gays is not acceptable, nor is it acceptable to comment on the assumed sexual preference of any commenter. This is a cultural “tashbeeh” and is repulsive and deplorable. Had a comment like that particular one not been trashed, I would have no interest in being on this site.
April 23rd, 2012, 7:10 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
The lion king on Syrian border: Alassad Amotaaheb ,Thanks Arabs!
???? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ??? “????? ???????” ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????????.
http://www.syrianow.sy/index.php?d=12&id=3245
April 23rd, 2012, 9:01 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Bearded, mustachless wahabi terrorists kills another Dr today,They can’t stand educated Syrians ….remember they killed 300 Iraqi nuclear scientists:
??? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????.
????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ?? “???????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ?????”.
?? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????14 ???? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??? ????? ????.
??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????.
???? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ????????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????????? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ????????.
April 23rd, 2012, 9:10 am
Tara said:
Bronco @437
“Moderate Moslems need a Moslem spring where they could liberate themselves and express without fear what they really want as a society and fight against the extremists to disallow them the opportunity to make the agenda for them.”
I agree. Moderate Muslims should indeed launch a huge PR campaign to the effect of what you said above. There is a big deficiency in that regard. One would hope that rich GCC countries would take the lead on that. That is exactly why we need a spring in the KSA to lead such effort. HBJ can do the job too, but he is too busy handling ME crisis.
I like the number sign. I get jealous otherwise. Its a chromosomal thing.
April 23rd, 2012, 9:10 am
Juergen said:
Cartoon
left : Oh Muslims, see this is an american-israeli conspiracy!
right: Oh World, its an islamist conspiracy!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=346593945389725&set=a.195360150513106.46691.195201890528932&type=1&theater
April 23rd, 2012, 9:12 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Totally agree, I think the (Syrian revolution ) has a major rule in this PR to show the world moderate Islam, especially the honorable Shiek Alaaroor, The revolution Shiek, he should be sitting with the Pope to teach him the tolarance which KSA practices. This Syrian spring is transferring a beautiful picture about moderate Islam, for example the (burial brigade) or the hanging of mentally handicapped in Duma and much more…many of (Islamohaters) decided to declare their Islam after watching that…Thanks Abdelrazak Tlass …Thanks Khaled Abosalah …Thanks Omer Altellawi…your staged Aljazera Massacres had beautified and risen the star of moderate Islam..
April 23rd, 2012, 9:30 am
Mina said:
“The GCC countries… take the lead in a PR campaign for Moderate Muslims” ? I fail to see the logic. Do you think the GCC has ever done anything to promote moderate Islam ? It is precisely the contrary that commenters are arguing here.
It is not exactly in their interest, but probably from within Dubai shopping malls and 5 stars hotels, the difference does not appear too evident.
Why otherwise would they be crushing on Sufism and not allow freedom of expression for the other religions within their sheikhdoms?
April 23rd, 2012, 9:33 am
Mina said:
Before they can promote anything “moderate” maybe they should start with a conference on defining the word?
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/saudi-boy-4-kills-his-father-who-refused-buy-him-playstation
“An angry 4-year-old Saudi boy shot and killed his father for refusing to buy him a PlayStation, Saudi media reported on Monday….”
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/mp-asks-parliament-discuss-kidnapping-egyptian-lawyer-saudi-arabia
“Parliament will discuss Monday a statement by Adl Party’s MP Mostafa al-Naggar about the kidnapping of an Egyptian activist and lawyer who defends Egyptian detainees in Saudi Arabia.
The statement claims that the lawyer, Ahmed al-Gizawy, was abducted by the Saudi authorities while performing Umra, or minor pilgrimage.
“I’ll submit tomorrow a statement to Parliament about the kidnapping of Ahmed al-Gizawy in Saudi Arabia, demanding information about the circumstances of the incident and an intervention to lift injustice off him,” Naggar tweeted on Sunday.
According to the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper, Naggar referred in the statement to unconfirmed news that Gizawy was sentenced to one year in prison and 20 lashes for lese-majesty, which he considers a violation of Egyptians’ dignity.
Saudi authorities detained Gizawy last Tuesday following a TV show on which he criticized King Abdullah for detaining dozens of Egyptians there.
His wife, Shahenda al-Gizawy — who was with him when he was arrested — said, “We arrived at Jeddah airport on Tuesday at 6 am. He was arrested and I was left free. I had to complete the trip with the group we were with. It’s scheduled to return after the end of the Umra on 28 April.”
She said that on their arrival they were surprised to learn that her husband had been sentenced to one year in prison and 20 lashes.”
The number of kidnappings seems like a good criteria to define a civilized country. Suddenly, South America and the Arab world get very close.
April 23rd, 2012, 9:55 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Some of the victims of Wahabi (moderate Islam ):
http://syria-politic.com/ar/Default.aspx?subject=584#.T5Vflol5nTo
April 23rd, 2012, 9:58 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
If this report is true,it is a major victory for Syrian Alqaeda and the beginning of dissolution of the Syrian state:
http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/7203/Default.aspx
April 23rd, 2012, 10:04 am
Tara said:
Mina
Thanks for volunteering an opinion. My comment was addressed to Bronco. I am interested in HIS opinion. I am not interested in a schizophrenic belief system. You just can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t shed tear on death in Bahrain showed on Youtube links and denies these tears when reviewing same Youtube links when coming from Syria. You either believe Youtube or not. Same applicable to your attitude in regard to the media. You believe the exact same media outlet when it discusses Bahrain and not when it discusses Syria. Sorry but I really have no interest. I am only interested in genuine exchanges.
April 23rd, 2012, 10:08 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Mina
You need a special permit to respond,The same way the FSA terrorist got a permit befor they occupied Alhemedia Christian Homsis houses.
You can’t just give an opinion or post your comment here without ???? permit.if you want a free monthly pass to respond the whole month free you can just close one eye on FSA crimes and just
See the other side,If you want a yearly free pass to
Respond close both eyes on FSA crimes and make up stories on the other side.if you want a liife time pass you can’t have it …you have to be Khaled Tlass or the old Arboud.
April 23rd, 2012, 10:46 am
Tara said:
SNK
No need for permit. Every one can post what they want when they want. I was only expressing my interest and who can influence my opinion.
It is MY interest and I can be interested in anything I want. It is called a freedom of interest.
April 23rd, 2012, 11:03 am
Mina said:
SNK
Yep, noticed that long ago… As they have it now: you can’t be Muslim and not support the Wahhabis, otherwise you are a schizophrene! Then they even make “tashkil” and explain you that actually the Salafis are different from the Wahhabis, etc, etc.
The GCC is just sooooo famous for its achievements in art, culture, tolerance, freedom, social improvements, workers rights, education, women equality,respect, what did I forget?
April 23rd, 2012, 11:05 am
jad said:
After calling for Alzawhri, more terrorists are getting into Syria to lead the military attacks, nothing new:
?????? ????: ??????? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ????????
?????? – ???? ???
???? ????? “?????? ????” ?? “???? ???? ??????? ??? ??”??????? ????????” ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ?????????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????????”? ????? ?? “?????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ???????”.
????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? “????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??” ????????? ??????????” ????? ?????? ??? ????? “??????” ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????”.
????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ???? “?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?? ??? ?? 4 ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ??????”.
[ … ]
http://arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=33148
April 23rd, 2012, 11:25 am
zoo said:
As other sanctions did not work, there’ll be no more caviar or perfumes for Syria.
The ironic part is that caviar comes from Russia and Iran and souk al Hamidieh is full of perfumes… A bonus for both
http://news.yahoo.com/cheering-protesters-greet-un-observers-syria-142403600.html
In Luxembourg, the European Union banned the sale of luxury goods and products that can have military as well as civilian uses to Syria.
..
The only precedent in international relations for the luxury ban is one imposed by the EU in 2007 on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
That ban included foods such as caviar and truffles, high-quality wines and spirits, perfumes and purebred horses.
April 23rd, 2012, 11:35 am
bronco said:
#472 Tara
“One would hope that rich GCC countries would take the lead on that.”
KSA has been the main promoter of extremism, I think it would oppose violently any “moderate Islam” as any sign of ‘moderation’ will certainly bring down the royal family and the whole system.
The same applies to Qatar at a lesser degree because of its very small population.
They are the main enemies of moderation but most moderate moslems hesitate in denouncing their evil influence because of their financial power and the poverty of most Arab countries.
For now, the only Arab country that dared antagonizing KSA and Qatar, unafraid of the consequences, is Syria, that has been an example of ‘moderate’ Islam in the region.
I hope it’ll remains so, despite the recent attempts by the enemies to throw Syrians against each other based on their religion under the pretext of extracting them from an ‘evil’ and arrogant dictatorship.
April 23rd, 2012, 11:55 am
zoo said:
Are the USA and the Western countries getting worried about extremists because they could get close to Israel’s borders? Did the terrorist attack in Kuneitra rang a bell?
Fears of extremism taking hold in Syria as violence continues
By Liz Sly, Published: April 22
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/fears-of-extremism-taking-hold-in-syria-as-violence-continues/2012/04/22/gIQA8CInaT_story.html
BEIRUT — As Syria’s revolution drags into its second year amid few signs that a U.N.-mandated cease-fire plan will end the violence, evidence is mounting that Islamist extremists are seeking to commandeer what began as a non-ideological uprising aimed at securing greater political freedom.
Activists and rebel soldiers based inside Syria say a small but growing number of Islamist radicals affiliated with global jihadi movements have been arriving in opposition strongholds in recent weeks and attempting to rally support among disaffected residents.
Western diplomats say they have tracked a steady trickle of jihadists flowing into Syria from Iraq, and Jordan’s government last week detained at least four alleged Jordanian militants accused of trying to sneak into Syria to join the revolutionaries.
A previously unknown group calling itself the al-Nusra Front has asserted responsibility for bombings in the cities of Damascus and Aleppo using language and imagery reminiscent of the statements and videos put out by al-Qaeda-affiliated organizations in Iraq, although no evidence of the group’s existence has surfaced other than the videos and statements it has posted on the Internet.
Syrian activists and Western officials say the militants appear to be making little headway in recruiting supporters within the ranks of the still largely secular protest movement, whose unifying goal is the ouster of the regime led by President Bashar al-Assad.
..
Flow of jihadis reported
U.S. officials and Western diplomats in the region, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, say they have seen several indications that al-Qaeda-like groups are trying to inject themselves into the Syrian revolution, although they stress that the Islamist radicals’ impact has been limited. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called on “mujaheddin” to head to Syria in support of the rebels earlier this year, and Western diplomats are convinced that operatives affiliated with al-Qaeda carried out a string of bombings in Damascus and Aleppo between December and March.
The diplomats say dozens of jihadis have been detected crossing the border from Iraq into Syria, some of them Syrians who had previously volunteered to fight in Iraq and others Iraqi. There may also be other foreign nationals among them, reversing the journey they took into Iraq years ago when jihadis flowed across the border to fight the now-departed Americans.
(..)
April 23rd, 2012, 12:06 pm
jerusalem said:
This video shows Freedom of expression US style during Condoleezza Rice speech
http://www.safeshare.tv/w/GGxLzcMaIX
———-
US war-murdered 20-30 million since WW2: arrest today’s War Criminals
http://piazzadcara.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/us-war-murdered-20-30-million-since-ww2-arrest-todays-war-criminals/#comment-1558
April 23rd, 2012, 12:17 pm
jad said:
A very good article and good interviews with Pro-Government Syrians:
Anti-Imperialist Syrians Speak Out
Syrian Sovereigntists Oppose Imperialist Destabilization of Their Country
by Joshua Blakeney
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of acquainting myself with a segment of the vast Syrian community who oppose the ongoing covert interventions in Syria and who generally think their current government is doing a good job, all things considered. An intrepid citizen journalist named Michelle Robinson drew my attention to a network of marginalized pro-Assad Syrians based in my city of residence, Calgary, Alberta. Whereas most activists in the West have been hoodwinked by the Zionist-influenced media into blindly supporting the broadly defined “Syrian opposition” my fellow Calgarian had the independence of mind to seek out these opposers of the opposition who offered a more nuanced — and in my view reasonable — analysis to the Syrian debacle.
Michelle artfully produced a series of You Tube interviews with these Syrians, many of whom are receiving hostility from well-funded, well-protected Islamist groups which, for ideological reasons, oppose the Assad government and it’s many supporters. When they call the police to report the death threats they’ve been receiving these Syrians get asked “are you pro-Assad or anti-Assad?” With the Canadian neocon government funding anti-government elements in Syria it is not surprising that these Canadian-Syrians who endorse the Syrian government feel that they are being unjustly treated by the Canadian state and it’s supposed “law enforcement system.” Indeed these Syrian patriots even went so far as to insinuate that the Canadian state was consciously nurturing Islamist groups in order to import the Middle East’s sectarian problems into Canada which would have the effect of making Canadians more likely to view the world through Israel’s anti-Arab spectacles.
I also went to interview these pro-government Syrians at an undisclosed location and was thoroughly moved by their compelling testimony. These Syrian sovereigntists contend that there are reactionary terrorists destabilizing their country at the behest of the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel. These, often non-Syrian, terrorists are being characterized as “human rights activists” by the mainstream media in the West because Israel and its stooges in the US government benefit from a terrorized, factionalized Syria. These Syrians are thus grateful that their government led by President Assad is using the military to weed out the insurgents who are, literally, killing their family members and destroying their nation. They legitimately fear their country degenerating into civil war and internal sectarianism.
All of those I interviewed emphasized the fissiparous nature of Syria, with it’s eighteen different ethnic groups that are unified by the current government led by the largely secular President Assad. Of course, a comparatively secular government that unites disparate ethnic groups and stands up to the Zionist colonizer, that has illegally occupied the Golan Heights since 1967, is anathema to imperialist interventionists.
{…}
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/04/22/anti-imperialist-syrians-speak-out/
April 23rd, 2012, 12:20 pm
zoo said:
So does any big power, why singling out Russia?
Moscow Mixes Profit with Principle in Syria
April 20, 2012 05:17 PM
By: Stephen Blank
http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=39294&cHash=19405935c96536bf18facb8228d410b7
To hear Moscow tell it, Russia’s aims in Syria are only motivated by principle. It opposes the use of ambiguous UN resolutions to permit intervention to forcibly democratize a country, an outcome that it believes invariably leads to protracted war. Russia is also against forcing out Bashar al-Assad. Moscow fears he will be replaced by a Sunni Arab regime that may then become a terrorist Islamist regime.
But, behind the headlines and official meetings, the truth is rather more prosaic. It is quite clear that Moscow opposes any autonomous democratic politics whether it occurs in Libya, Syria or closer to home. Moscow fears that such examples will reverberate throughout Russia and the CIS as they did in the previous presidential election.
…
But perhaps the most cynical aspect of Russian policy here – beyond its hypocrisy, invocation of the old colonialist tactic of gunboat diplomacy, and open contempt for Sunni Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar who strongly oppose Assad’s rampages – is its shameless quest for material gain out of this crisis. Thus on March 17, Mohammad al-Kishto, Chairman of the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, announced that Gazprom would take over the Croatian energy company Ina’s oil and gas fields in Syria worth billions of dollars. This allows Syria to claim that it has not been hurt by the departure of foreign oil and gas firms because of the availability of Russian competition (Vecerniji.hr, March 17).
More to the point, these oil and gas fields are undoubtedly the price exacted by Moscow for its services rendered to Damascus. Indeed this second example of neo-colonialist takeover should hardly surprise anyone who closely follows Putin’s polices. In his Question and Answer session with the State Duma on April 11, the outgoing Russian Prime Minister asserted that Moscow has invested repeatedly in the Middle East not out of any ideological solidarity with them but in order to make money and advance its interests (premier.gov.ru, April 11). Clearly, in this case Moscow charged a price for its support of Damascus and it has now been paid.
(..)
April 23rd, 2012, 12:25 pm
Juergen said:
two articles of Robert Fisk
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-counterrevolution–the-next-deadly-chapter-7665823.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-this-is-politics-not-sport-if-drivers-cant-see-that-they-are-the-pits-7665994.html
April 23rd, 2012, 12:29 pm
zoo said:
First serious toll for the US and Israel from ‘democracy’ in Egypt. More will probably follow
Israel says peace treaty at risk after Egypt scraps gas deal
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/israel-says-peace-treaty-at-risk-after-egypt-scraps-gas-deal-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=19054&NewsCatID=352
CAIRO/JERUSALEM – The Associated Press
Israel’s energy minister is urging Egypt to reverse its decision to stop supplying Israel with natural gas.
Uzi Landau says the canceled deal will not only exacerbate power shortages this summer but also disrupt an already shaky peace treaty between the two countries.
(..)
April 23rd, 2012, 12:33 pm
Uzair8 said:
Are we seeing the surprise sight of bearded soldiers amongst Assad troops because army barbers have been called to the frontline to make up for the shortage of loyal manpower?
April 23rd, 2012, 12:47 pm
zoo said:
Anyone has seen that Youtube clip that the KSA mouthpiece refers to?
UN delegation of the “terrified” in Syria
23/04/2012
By Tariq Alhomayed
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=29362
…
A YouTube video-clip has appeared showing the international monitors being targeted and shot at by forces belonging to the tyrant of Damascus, whilst members of the FSA formed a human barrier to protect them as they were beset by panic. Indeed this video-clip shows one FSA member protecting one of the international monitors from gunfire, reassuring him by saying “don’t be afraid!” Of course, anybody who views this YouTube video-clip understand the extent of the irony inherent in this situation, and as the saying goes, the worst disaster is the one that brings laughter, particularly when we are looking at a UN monitoring delegation transform into a delegation of the “terrified”.
April 23rd, 2012, 12:50 pm
Halabi said:
I wonder how Ayman Al Zawahiri will make contact with the nascent Al Qaeda in Al-Bab. Maybe Abu Musab Al Suri, who was recently released by Assad and is now reportedly operating from Iran, could help out. .. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303299604577323750859163544.html
Arabi Press seems like a great source. The report said no protesters or armed men from Al-Bab, a small city near Aleppo where Hikmat Shihabi’s family is from, have been killed, despite many attacks on police and civilians that killed two unnamed people.
Of course, like all pro-Assad propaganda, this is a lie. There are many martyrs in Al-Bab. Here are some recent ones:
http://youtu.be/XHzEw148IsY
http://youtu.be/13OCLGebasI
http://youtu.be/F7XxEieA0i4
It’s important to note that Assad’s top cleric, mufti Ahmad Hassoun, has threatened Europe and the U.S. with sleeper cells who are ready to strike with suicide bombs. Assad’s Syria has sponsored terrorist groups in Iraq and his security apparatus has killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians over the years. But now we have to believe that the good people of Al-Bab are the terrorists.
April 23rd, 2012, 12:56 pm
Uzair8 said:
The latest Shaykh Yaqoubi tweet:
The liberation of Palestine will be done through Syria, as told in several hadiths; ousting Assad is the first right step towards it.
http://twitter.com/#!/Shaykhabulhuda
April 23rd, 2012, 12:57 pm
Afram said:
483. zoo said:
In Luxembourg, the European Union banned the sale of luxury goods and products that can have military as well as civilian uses to Syria.
==================
I see the Euro zoned-Out zombies didnt ban the traditional Afghani designer baggy pants for allahu akbar Chanter’s?
Pants are dual use goods/ normally used for civilian purposes have also military applications,hehhaaa
1-can be used as life saving floatation device during flood season.
2- a place to hide Hand Grenades
Mullah Burhan is wearing one and testing it for leaks in Istanbouly bathtub but having a problem hiding the 3% yellow zift rubber ducks inplace of the Bazookas..Europeans are just outright ridiculous, folks.
April 23rd, 2012, 1:02 pm
jad said:
Alqaeda clergy and its supporters and Jihadists keep telling us the same mantra for over 70 years, let’s add another one to the list, Alsheikh Aldajal:
?????? ??? ?????
???? ??? ?????? ?? ????????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????, ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????! ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????, ??? ???????, ???? ??? ???????. ???? ????? ??? ???? ??????????, ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ???, ????? ?? ??? ????? ?????, ????? ??? ?????????, ?????? ??????? ?????????? ?????????. ????????? ????? ??????? ?????, ?????, ??? ??? ?????, ???????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??????????? ??????? ?????, ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?????????, ???????? ????? ????? ??????, ?????, ?????? ?????, ??? ?????? ??? “????????? ???? ??? ????????”.
?? ???????, ?????? “????????? ???? ??? ????????” ???? ????? ???? ??????? ?????????? ??? ????????? ?????????; ?? ???? ????? ?????????, ???? ??? ???, ??? ???? ????? ????????, ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????. ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ???????, ?????? ????????, ????? ?? ??????, ???? ??? ??????? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? “????????? ???? ??? ????????” ???????? ????.
???? ????? ?????, ?????, ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?????, ??? ??? ???????? ???????? ????????? ??? ????? ????????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????. ???? ????, ??? ?? ??? ?????, ????? ??????, ????????; ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????. ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ?????. ??? ???, ?????? ????, ?? ??? ????, ???? ?????, ????? ????? ??????, ????? ????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ????? ???? ?????? ????.
???? ???, ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??????????, ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????, ????, ????? ???? ??? ?????. ??? ???????, ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??????????? ??? ?????????, ???????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ??? ???????, ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??????.
??????????, ???, ???? ?????? ?? ???????, ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???????. ?????, ????? ??????? ???????, ???? ??????? ???, ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????????.
[ … ]
http://www.alarabalyawm.net/pages.php?articles_id=19372
April 23rd, 2012, 1:09 pm
jad said:
Very true reflection of many highly scored bachaloria students who are obviously strong supporters of Adnan Al 3ar3our:
???? ??????
????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ?????????… ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????… ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ???..
?? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ??????.. ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ???????.. ?? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ????.. ?? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??????!!.. ?? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ????????.. ?? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ??????.. ???? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ???????.. ?? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ?????.. ?? ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ???? ?????.. ?? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??????.. ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ??????… ???? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???.. ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ???????… ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ????????…
https://www.facebook.com/the3rd.direction/posts/353289864728426
April 23rd, 2012, 1:32 pm
Tara said:
Bronco
Qatar has done many good things in the Arab world and you know it. Qatar was friendly with Bashar until he started his killing spree. It is not right to judge people/countries based on whether they support Batta or not.
April 23rd, 2012, 1:37 pm
jna said:
In Syria, Lebanon’s Most Wanted Sunni Terrorist Blows Himself Up
Lebanese terror leader Abdel Ghani Jawhar detonated himself accidentally in Syria, raising questions about the kind of company the rebels are keeping
Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/23/in-syria-lebanons-most-wanted-sunni-terrorist-blows-himself-up/#ixzz1st6HwkAb
April 23rd, 2012, 2:03 pm
Mina said:
“Qatar has done many good things in the Arab world”
such as what?
Weren’t the commenters discussing ideology, and moderate Islam?
Qardawi may seem a moderate if one only knows him through al Jazeera’s religious programme “al-shari’a wa-l-haya” (shari’a and life), but any other speech or writing show his real face.
April 23rd, 2012, 2:08 pm
bronco said:
#497 Tara
Qatar nationals are 300,000. It is a absolute monarchy with the world’s highest GDP per capita. In fact it is a paternalistic and conservative family run business.
While it has money, it still remains a political ‘amateur’ compared to Iran, Turkey and most Arab countries.
For now it is learning the ropes of diplomacy and has faced many failures with Syria, with Hamas, with post-revolutions Libya and the Talibans. It is trying to emulate Turkey in taming extremist Islamists, but until now, none of these attempts have succeeded. In the contrary it has antagonized most Arab countries who are becoming suspicious of its real motives and its use of money to manipulate poor countries. In addition its cozyness with the USA and Israel does not play in its favor with the masses.
So, it is possible that after a few years or trials and errors Qatar succeeds in taking a recognized political role in the region besides supplying gas. Until that time, I doubt it can seen as a serious leader in promoting ‘moderate’ Islam in the region.
April 23rd, 2012, 2:20 pm
anwar said:
“The latest Shaykh Yaqoubi tweet:
The liberation of Palestine will be done through Syria, as told in several hadiths; ousting Assad is the first right step towards it.”
If the revolution keeps making statements like this then it will truly be Bashar forever. Israel is the reason this butcher is still in power. Try to win them over instead of making baseless claims.
April 23rd, 2012, 2:22 pm
bronco said:
#498 JNA
The West growing fear of Islamist extremists infiltrations in Syria gets confirmed every day now. The credibility of the armed opposition is in a down slope, until it stops denying and complaining and actively clean up their ranks from the terrorists.
April 23rd, 2012, 2:26 pm
Alan said:
moderator! do you continue mean acts?
April 23rd, 2012, 2:29 pm
zoo said:
Sanctions on one side, humanitarian help on the other
Syria: UN Humanitarian Aid awaits Government agreement
http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=118265
The UN has presented a multi-million dollar plan to respond to humanitarian needs in Syria, but still lacks government approval to implement it.
The US$180 million UN plan includes dozens of projects to respond to the needs of one million people over six months, with the bulk of the money going towards food and health care, but also for the repair of basic services and to support livelihoods to avoid a descent into poverty by many Syrians affected by a deteriorating economy.
A separate $84 million plan by UNHCR to respond to the needs of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan has been funded at less than 20 percent since it was launched at the end of March.
The director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, John Ging, presented the plan to governments, NGOs and regional organizations at a meeting of the Syria Humanitarian Forum, the international platform used to discuss humanitarian concerns in Syria, on 20 April.
“Syria has recognized there are serious humanitarian needs and that urgent action is required,” Ging said. “We now need to get agreement from the Syrian authorities to implement the Response Plan. In the meantime, we’re mobilizing resources to make it happen.”
(…)
April 23rd, 2012, 2:33 pm
Aldendeshe said:
Where is the MANDO SODA you promised me REVLON? Are you wtill on the agency payrol man, where are you?
April 23rd, 2012, 2:34 pm
bronco said:
Does anyone has access to the list of journalists and press agency that got a official visa to Syria and also the ones who are already there.
It is becoming very annoying to read disclaimers that there are no western journalists in Syria and then an article pops out written by a CBC, CBS, or BBC journalist who is there and we don’t know about it.
April 23rd, 2012, 2:41 pm
jad said:
Finally, the west is recognizing there own local radicals, good luck!
Islamic teacher under fire for calling on Welsh muslims to support fight for sharia law abroad
An Islamic teacher whose group was at the centre of an anti-terror raid on a Cardiff community hall has come under fire for calling on Welsh muslims to “physically” support the fight for sharia law abroad.
Abu Hajar, of Grangetown, Cardiff, is one of the leaders of the Islamic group Supporters of Tawheed, which on its website says its core belief is the “domination of the world by Islam”.
The group – which according to its website also rejects democracy and freedom, describing them as “false deities” – hit the headlines in January when one man arrested during a raid on a meeting in the city’s Canton Community Hall told an officer “I will chop your head off” before shouting “I’m going to shoot you with a machine gun”. Mohammed Abdin, 21, was subsequently jailed for eight months for the threats.
It is understood the raids were prompted by members of the Muslim community, who feared the meeting was providing a place for radical Islamists to network.
Mr Hajar has previously said the group is simply interested in spreading the message of Islam and does not preach violence or extremism.
{…}
Monmouth MP David Davies said fundamentalism was “unacceptable in our community”.
He said: “They [fundamentalists] have a rather warped interpretation of the Koran that seems to have taken hold of a worrying number of people across the world who follow Islam.
“That particular interpretation is incompatible with the principles of equality for men and women and democracy we take for granted.
“For some people a literal interpretation of the Koran is that all laws are handed down by God and that man does not have the right to change and alter laws.
“That is incompatible with a democracy.”
He said Britain was “more enlightened” and we should not apologise “for our own culture”.
The MP claimed our culture was often wrongly put on an equal footing with those holding fundamentalist values. “Our values are better than other peoples,” he said.
“We believe in equal rights for men and women, and do not discriminate against gays, and believe everyone should be free to practise religion – but that the government should be separate.
“These are values that are incompatible with extreme values in Islam.”
Saleem Kidwai is chairman of the Muslim Council of Wales. He claimed if Hajar wanted change he would have to be “part of the system.”
“You can make as many videos and shout as much as you want but it won’t make any difference,” he said.
“If you’re a citizen of this country then you have to be an active member of the political process.”
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/04/22/islamic-teacher-under-fire-for-calling-on-welsh-muslims-to-support-fight-for-sharia-law-abroad-91466-30802972/#ixzz1stGrg5Yw
April 23rd, 2012, 2:47 pm
Uzair8 said:
502. Anwar
There are many muslims who are unsure of whether to support the syrian revolution or not. They naturally sympathise with the plight of the people but are worried about things getting worse after Assad (the appearance of a worse tyrant). They also fear that Syria may end up in the sphere of western/Nato/Zionist hegemony.
The purpose of presenting the Shaykh’s comments is to reassure and win over them people.
We may not be happy with the position of Mufti Hassoun and Sheikh Buti but they can possibly justify their positions.
Early on in the uprising (Arab Spring) the influential Yemeni Shaykh Habib Umar was asked about the uprisings and revolutions. One of his quote:
“There is no doubt that this a time of tribulations and that there are more tribulations to come. We have been informed about them on the tongue of Prophethood. We have been warned against taking sides and contributing to these conflicts. We have taken a covenant to clarify to all what their duty is. People may then accept this advice, in which case they are then set to receive the mercy of Allah, or they may reject it. Allah will in the end call everyone to account.”
See video (video information contains transcript).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owwSl8TxPmc
The Shaykh is from the influential Sufi Ba’Alawi clan of Yemen. I don’t know his recent position on Syria.
Shaykh Yaqoubi of Syria at first tried to advise both the regime and the opposition. The regime continued its brutality so the Shaykh threw his support behind the revolution.
April 23rd, 2012, 2:52 pm
Afram said:
495. Uzair8 said:
The latest Shaykh Yaqoubi tweet:
The liberation of Palestine will be done through Syria, as told in several hadiths; ousting Assad is the first right step towards it.
http://twitter.com/#!/Shaykhabulhuda
===================
If any of you see Shaykh Yaqoubi floating in the Indian Ocean,no need to worry.his afghani super-pants ready deployed.
seriously funny this shiek,Israel was established 1948
Assad senior came to power 1970
1948 > 1970=22 sunni rule, question/why palestine remained occupied not being liberated by the sunnis, 48 > 70???
Israeli mantra: NEVER AGAIN, Israel has 300 nukes..super-pants do no good.
what you see is sunni/shia thing taking place right now in syria
not fight for freedom!! nor a civil war, but a religious war
a month before the syrian intifawda, qatar-saudi met and planed to hijack not to adopt the syrians political hope
how else can we explain saud faisl call to arm the (protesters) foreign evil-doers?
April 23rd, 2012, 3:05 pm
Uzair8 said:
Continuing from #507.
The true scholars know more but do not reveal.
During this uprising Shaykh Yaqoubi, in reply to a question, mentioned the Sufyani (an end time Syrian tyrant). Read his answer carefully as it hints at knowing more than they let on:
“Time if full of unrest and hardships; the Sufyani has not yet appeared and Allah is the one who knows; imam Mahdi will emerge only after him; yet between the two, there are wide wildsin which the Jewish people would have power over the land of Sham, which is part of the job of the coming Sufyani. If I had the choice, I would have withdrawn from all public activities; but the dress of shari’a puts on us the obligation to support the oppressed and clarify the rulings, even if we know through the reality that what comes after is worse. Having knowledge of the Divine decree to be should not prevent us from following the command of the shari’a; so long as Allah put us in the position of fatwa, admonishment and guidance. Remember these words, as we rarely express it in this clear way.”
http://www.yanabi.com/index.php?/topic/423222-sh-yaqoubi-q-a-on-the-mahdi-and-the-sufyani/
Those favoured by God Almighty are given knowledge and even access to the Lohay Mahfooz (‘Preserved Tablet’).
Anwar, I understand this will be irrelevant to you as you are christian. However, amongst muslims there is a battle of hearts and minds going on in which some people use the ‘resistance’ and zionism arguments to discourage support for the revolution.
April 23rd, 2012, 3:22 pm
Uzair8 said:
#512 Afram
I don’t want to divert away from Syria too much so hopefully this is my last comment on this.
My view on the Saudis is that they didn’t want to get involved but they had to be do something as pressure from their own population was increasing. They also knew if the Arab Spring spread to Syria and the regime fell, they (Gulf nations) would be next. Yes they have their own interests, one of which is to counter Iranian/Shia influence around the region. However, the Saudis have only dragged their feet and given Assad chance after chance. Assad hasn’t given them anything in return (real compromise) so the Saudis are becoming fed up and coming to the conclusion that Assad has to go and the rebels must be armed etc.
April 23rd, 2012, 3:34 pm
Mina said:
Ha ha ha! As if the Saudis have not been all around Zabadani for many years already!
April 23rd, 2012, 3:38 pm
Afram said:
Emissaries are in Moscow
Regime-SNC are talking..yala khilsat, Mabrook
The Accords will be officially signed in Moscow soon
April 23rd, 2012, 3:59 pm
Afram said:
Obama says:Use Tech to Abuse Rebels evil doers,We’ll Sanction You
Executive order fingers entities backing Iran,Syria.
If you use technology to help a repressive regime commit human rights abuses, you’ll find yourself slapped with US sanctions. That’s the message from President Obama, who this morning announced a new executive order specifically targeting those backing Iran and Syria via technology, though it could be expanded to other regimes, reports the Washington Post. The new sanctions will include a US visa ban and financial restrictions on a number of Syrian and Iranian businesses and government agencies, along with a lone Syrian individual.
Obama announced the sanctions in a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the AP reports. “National sovereignty is never a license to slaughter your own people,” he said, drawing a parallel between the Holocaust and modern day atrocities. He also called for the first-ever National Intelligence Estimate of the potential for mass-killings around the world. “We must tell our children about a crime unique in human history: the one and only Holocaust,” he said. But “remembrance without action changes nothing.”
http://www.newser.com/story/144566/obama-use-tech-to-abuse-rebels-expect-sanctions.html
April 23rd, 2012, 4:30 pm
Juergen said:
Bronco
Juergen Todenhöfer was in Syria 2 weeks ago, seems like he got an offical visa after his 2 hour arrest the last time he traveled with an tourist visa.
April 23rd, 2012, 4:32 pm
Antoine said:
I would personally like Ghufran to comment on this.
April 23rd, 2012, 4:46 pm
bronco said:
#518 Juergen
Thanks, I wonder why the list of journalists allowed in Syria remain secret.
April 23rd, 2012, 4:47 pm
Antoine said:
HALABI,
Do you think most of the people of al-Bab are pro-revolution ? Why was the City quiet in 2011 ?
Also do you know anything about Manbij ?
However I have heard that Hassan Turkmani was from Turkman-Bareh, which has already joined the revolution.
April 23rd, 2012, 4:58 pm
Uzair8 said:
Can Iran continue to allegedly support the regime financialy or help sell syrian oil?
Exclusive – Half Iran tanker fleet storing oil at sea
Mon Apr 23, 2012
(Reuters) – Iran has been forced to deploy more than half its fleet of supertankers to store oil at anchorage in the Gulf as buyers of its crude cut back because of sanctions, two Iran-based shipping sources said.
Read more:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/uk-iran-tankers-idUKBRE83M0VA20120423?feedType=RSS&feedName=GCA-GoogleNewsUK
**********************************************************************************
A second piece of information. The article isn’t in english so I’ll give the link to the forum thread where I came across the 2 stories.
“Meanwhile, Iranian economist Hossein Raghfar claims that the second phase of Ahmadinejad’s subsidy cuts will increase inflation by another 60% and “destroy domestic production.”
According to Central Bank statistics (doubted by everyone, including Conservative members of parliament) prices have risen 44% for dairy products, 47% for vegetables, 46% for meat, and 34% for chicken.”
http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/235001408-iran-forced-to-store-oil-for-lack-of-customers/page__pid__2386220#entry2386220
April 23rd, 2012, 5:59 pm
Tara said:
Bronco#503
I copied this from a post I wrote several month ago
Qatar has always supported Arab causes. Qatar, until recently, was one of the biggest Arab supporter of Besho boy when we were all deceived by his “resistance” stand. It played a power broker role for all Lebanese factions by sponsoring the Doha Agreement. It hosts and supports Aljazeera without which internationalization of the Syrian, Tunisian, Egyptian, Yemen, and Libyan revolutions possible and by doing so prevented a replay of The horrific Hama-I scenario in all these countries.. As it did in Lebanon war, and Gaza. It led the AL into its first historic unprecedented potent move by imposing sanctions on the tyrants in Damascus. A move that pained and humiliated Assad’s regime bitterly. Qatar also maintains an ability to connect with all walks of political forces from Islamists to seculars which props her up to be an influential power broker. Wealthy and nationalistic,…a good combination.
while to regime suppoeters, Qatar is the evildoer now because of its anti-Assad stance, Qatar remained at the forefront of Arab nationalism in my opinion. I hope that HBJ et al seriously reform their internal politics and adopt a leadership position of moderate Islam. The problem I see is with KSA being hijacked by demented sheiks (who takes fanaticism as their mean of living) and being by virtue of its size and wealth the leadrer of the GCC
April 23rd, 2012, 6:26 pm
Antoine said:
523. TARA said :
“and by doing so prevented a replay of The horrific Hama-I scenario in all these countries.. ”
Oh come on…..nobody other than the Asad can do Hama.
April 23rd, 2012, 6:54 pm
ann said:
In Syria, Lebanon’s Most Wanted Sunni Terrorist Blows Himself Up – April 23, 2012
Lebanese terror leader Abdel Ghani Jawhar detonated himself accidentally in Syria, raising questions about the kind of company the rebels are keeping
http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/23/in-syria-lebanons-most-wanted-sunni-terrorist-blows-himself-up/
TIME has learned that Abdel Ghani Jawhar, one of the leaders of the Sunni fundamentalist terror group Fatah al-Islam, died in the Syrian city of Qsair on Friday night. The founding cleric of Fatah al Islam, Sheikh Osama al Shihabi, confirmed Jawhar’s death to TIME with a quote from the Koran: “‘We are for God and to him we return.’ We as Mujahideen are used to being killed and if God wants to give those killed dignity he gives them martyrdom. This is the path of righteousness.”
According to Abu Ali and another fellow fighter, Jawhar arrived in Qsair two weeks ago with a group of 30 Lebanese fighters. While many were members of Fatah al-Islam, they were not traveling under the terror group’s banner. Instead they called themselves mujahideen, holy warriors seeking to help fellow Muslims under attack by the Syrian regime. Jawhar, an explosives expert and a charismatic commander, sought to train fellow fighters how make bombs. In the short time he had been in Qsair, says Abu Ali, he was able to set up dozens of improvised explosive devices destined for members of the Syrian security forces. “His aim was to make a tour in all the districts of Syria to teach the fighters on how to fight a guerrilla war.”
For his efforts, Abu Ali calls Jawhar a hero and a martyr. For Syrian rebels seeking international assistance in their battle to force Syrian President Bashar Assad out of office, it’s a public relations headache. The Free Syrian Army, as well as other Syrian resistance groups, has long sought to downplay regime accusations that the rebels are aligned with Islamic fundamentalists and pro-al-Qaeda groups. While Fatah al-Islam has denied any association with al-Qaeda, there are links between the group and individual members. The implication that an al-Qaeda affiliated group is helping Syrian rebels build bombs and foment a guerrilla war could radically alter perceptions in the West, bringing to a halt discussions of arming the rebels and establishing a no-fly zone. “The death of Jawhar on Syrian soil emphasizes the fears of the international community that if they gave weapons to the Syrian rebels they will end up in the hands of radical groups,” says Lebanese University professor and Fatah al-Islam expert Talal Atrissi. “The Syrian opposition will be embarrassed from the fact that such a man is fighting alongside the rebels.”
Jawhar is also implicated in the murders of a Lebanese general, a major in Intelligence and a Member of Parliament. He nearly succeeded in killing the head of the Lebanese army as well as the head of Internal Security. His death in Syria, says the official, may be seen as a welcome comeuppance in some quarters, “but for us, it’s devastating. It’s an issue of personal revenge between Jawhar and the Intelligence service.” It also raises concerns over the insurgency struggling across the border in Syria.
[…]
April 23rd, 2012, 7:00 pm
Antoine said:
MAWAL 95, JAD, Bronco,Mina, are sure to like these :-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0WH22WNno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf7X76ilBlk&feature=related
April 23rd, 2012, 7:00 pm
bronco said:
523. Tara
Qatar started well and helped ‘financially’ South of Lebanon, but then there was the “international success’ of the Libyan war that Qatar supported actively by convincing the AL to allow NATO’s intervention and by participating financially and militarily.
Suddenly Qatar saw itself politically powerful having been able to influence the AL and the international community. It thought it has matured into a strong political player in the region and could intervene in the Arab regional issues to help the western community that would give it the regional political importance it is seeking. Yet by its childish games with Syria through the AL and the take over of Al Jazeera to support its ambitions, it has spoiled all the good relation it had with Hezbollah, Syria and Libya. It is trying to keep a good relation with Iran but I doubt this will last.
I am sure Qatar is not popular at all in Arab countries compared to a few years ago.
Maybe it is time it reviews, like Turkey, its failed diplomacy in the Middle east and in particular with Syria to regain the reputation of impartiality it has lost.
April 23rd, 2012, 7:15 pm
daleandersen said:
Memo To: ANN
RE: “…Abdel Ghani Jawhar…”
Thank you for posting the obituary of this great man. I can see that you are a true daughter of the jihad.
April 23rd, 2012, 7:19 pm
zoo said:
Activists: UN observers a bad copy of the AL observers?
http://supportkurds.org/news/monday-23-april-2012/
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: The death toll of people killed today in Hama has risen to 28 martyrs for whom the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has records. They were killed during the shelling of the neighbourhood of Mashaa Al-Arba’ein in Hama. Also, they are 5 unidentified bodies because of the burning.
5 members of the Syrian regular forces killed in Hama and Daraa including a colonel who was killed when his car targeted in Hama and a lieutenant colonel who was killed yesterday, after midnight, near the town of Al-Sanameen in Daraa.
….
According to activists when they called the UN observers to report the breach of the ceasefire the reply was “Tell the people not to protest so they don’t get shot at.” This observer mission has already got a lot to do if it is going to redeem itself and prove that it isn’t just a bad copy of the Arab League observers.
April 23rd, 2012, 7:36 pm
Halabi said:
Antoine, thanks for posting the videos. I don’t know if the torture video is authentic, but the falqa is standard fare in Assad’s dungeons. It’s just one of the many humiliations that thousands of Syrians have endured, from all sects, a violation of Syria’s new and old constitution which will never be addressed under by this regime.
I don’t have any inside information about Manbij and Al-Bab. Aleppo governorate was pretty quiet until Ramadan, when the crackdown on Hama and Homs spurred protest in the countryside and poorer neighborhoods in the city. I believe that the majority of Syrians are against the regime and biased toward the revolution, because people understand that there are no reforms from Assad, just more falqas and humiliation. In that sense, the people of Aleppo in general are with the revolution in my opinion.
Of course the Christian community, merchants and some from the middle class support Assad, but as Ehsani said, Christians are in decline in Aleppo and the elites are by definition a minority, leaving Assad with a very narrow base of support. Whenever a small window opens for a peaceful protest in Aleppo, thousands flock to the street, as with the funeral of Aleppo’s mufti in September. http://youtu.be/j_kUX0TS3KM
But the people haven’t been willing or able to take territory and control parts of the city, which is why sustained protests haven’t been possible. Hopefully the monitors’ presence will force the shabiha to retreat so Aleppo’s peaceful protesters can have their say.
April 23rd, 2012, 7:47 pm
Ghufran said:
?.??? ????? ???? ????
http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today%5C23qpt477.htm&arc=data%5C2012%5C04%5C04-23%5C23qpt477.htm
April 23rd, 2012, 8:11 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Minorities National Council:
http://syria-politic.com/ar/Default.aspx?subject=589#.T5Xwdol5nTo
April 23rd, 2012, 8:23 pm
Tara said:
I have a burning question in regard to the Mullah Khamenei. What do the faithful do when they first meet him? Kiss his hand? Can some one please answer?
April 23rd, 2012, 8:43 pm
Tara said:
Iraq shuns, Egypt open to Turkey’s route offers
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News
Iraq has not yet responded to Turkish proposal to determine a safe alternative route to Syria for land transportation, says Economy Minister Zafer Ça?layan. The minister was speaking at a ceremony to mark the launch of a Ro-Ro line to Egypt
….
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iraq-shuns-egypt-open-to-turkeys-route-offers.aspx?pageID=238&nID=19105&NewsCatID=344
April 23rd, 2012, 8:50 pm
Ghufran said:
The $ was sold for as low as 69 lira today despite the blood shed, the weapons smuggling and credible reports of jihadist infiltration of opposition areas.
Everybody on paper said that Annan plan is the best option on the table even for seekers of regime change, but in reality, fighting factions have not yet accepted the principle of compromise especially on the GCC side, this opens the door wide open for violence which now may reach areas outside Syria’s borders. The regime has so far refused to delay parliamentary elections for obvious reasons: satisfying Russian demands, creating another PR stunt and ensuring that only “acceptable” opposition members are allowed to win seats at the PA.
April 23rd, 2012, 8:50 pm
Syria no Kandahar said:
Minorities are Syria’s spices, that is why Alaaroor like their meat.
April 23rd, 2012, 8:55 pm
Tara said:
William Scott Scherk,
Please meet real women: This would be a whole different experience than silly little “toned” women. I use “toned” for lack of a better word to express repulse and sarcasm in regard to a poster’s crazed view about “white men”.
Women form new opposition in Syria
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/women-form-new-opposition-in-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=19038&NewsCatID=352
A group of Syrian dissidents – mostly women led by Syrian journalist and human rights activist Bahiya Mardini – have created a new opposition group called the “Free Syrian Union,” in order to draw attention to the situation of women and children who are being subjected to violence in Syria.
“Women and children in Syria are affected most by the violence in Syria. Women are being raped, tortured and killed. We think Asma al-Assad is a criminal because hundreds of children are killed there and she doesn’t do anything, while her husband kills the children”, Bahiya Mardini told the Hurriyet Daily News in an interview.
Bahiya Mardini is the great-granddaughter of a family who fled to Syria from the southern Turkish province of Mardin about a century ago. A lawyer, human rights activist and journalist who works for “Reporters Without Borders,” Mardini defected from Syria nine months ago.
Women form new opposition in Syria
“The big problem in Syria is that nobody talks about the situation women seriously. But when there is a war in a country, the women are affected most. The people who share this idea have come together to do something for women and children in Syria,” she said.
Mardini said women are subject to a lot of violence in dissident cities in Syria. “The regime destroyed everything in people’s lives. The women became refugees, they lost their families. There is violence, kidnap, rape. A 22-year-old woman Yara Micheal Shammas was arrested for 44 days without any charge, for instance. There are hundreds of situations like this in Syria.”
Mardini added that they would be compiling the cases of violence against women in Syria and that they aimed to take these cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to her, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s wife Asma Assad is also responsible for the deaths of women and children.
[ … ]
April 23rd, 2012, 9:05 pm
Ghufran said:
Egypt’s PA president referred to Israel as “the Zionist entity” when he praised the cancellation of Egypt-Israel gas deal. Revoking Camp David accord will be next on the PA list. Do not think that Egypt does not matter when it comes to Syria,Egypt always did matter. It remains to be seen how the MB and the SMC can find ways to live together.
April 23rd, 2012, 9:16 pm
Ghufran said:
(?? ???? ???? ????? ??????
???? ????? ????? ????? )
?? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????
???? ??????? ???????? ????
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????? ????? ?? ??? ????
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?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???
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April 23rd, 2012, 9:26 pm
Ghufran said:
Al-Qardawi clips collected by pro regime sites from 2004-2009
April 23rd, 2012, 11:25 pm
jad said:
???????? ????????? ?? ?????: ????? ?????? «???????? ???????»
???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ??????? ????????????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ??????????. ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ??????????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?????
??? ????
???? | ?? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ????????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ????????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ????. ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? «???????» ??????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????.
????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ???????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????????. ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????. ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????: ???????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ?????????? ???? ??????? ????.
?? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ???????? ??????: «?? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????»? ???? ??«???????» ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????. ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ????????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ????????? ????? ??????? ????????? ????????. ??? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ???????? ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?????????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ?? ???? ????????? ????? ????? ???????? «????? ?????? ????»? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ???????.
{….}
?????? ??? ?????????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???????? ????????? ??? ?? ????. ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????. ?????: «??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??? ????? «??????? ????????»»? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ???????? ??«???????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ??????????? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ??????. ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???????? «???????»? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???????».
{…}
«?????? ????»: ???????? ????????
{…}
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/62836
April 24th, 2012, 12:17 am
jad said:
Who is the ‘real’ woman, Bahia Mardini?
She is the wife of Ammar Qurabi who was forcing her on the opposition and negotiating her salary in Euro!
???? ???? : ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????. ??? ( ???? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????????? ???? ?????) ????? ?? ???? ?????? ” ?? ?? ??” ??????? ???? ??????? . ??? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ” ???????” ????? ??? ???? ” ???? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ???”. ???? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ? ????? ???????? ???????? ? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????????. ???? ????????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ” ??????” ???????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? .
??? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? . ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???. ???? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ? ?? ?? ???? ” ?????” ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ! ( ????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ” ?????” ???? ???). ???? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????. ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????!
????? ? ????? ????? : ??? ?? ?????? . ??? ???? “???????” ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??????????? ????????? ???????????? . ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ” ???????”. ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ” ???? “??? ?? ????? ??? ???????. ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ” ???????”.
http://syriapromise.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/?????-???????-????????-???????-????-?/
April 24th, 2012, 12:40 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Jad,
Did you see any further reports about eastern Dearalzor falling in the hands of Terrorists:
April 24th, 2012, 1:00 am
daleandersen said:
Memo To: TARA
RE: “…What do the faithful do when they first meet Mullah Khamenei…”
The hard core faithful kiss his arse. The moderately faithful suck his toes…”
April 24th, 2012, 1:01 am
Uzair8 said:
While translating some of Shaykh Yaqoubi’s arabic tweets I came across this interesting one:
???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????
We call on Saudi Arabia to take the initiative and the leadership of the international military actions to overthrow the Syrian regime
http://twitter.com/#!/Shaykhabulhuda
April 24th, 2012, 1:02 am
Syria no Kandahar said:
Terrorists in Albokamal cutting someone neck(gross):
April 24th, 2012, 1:05 am
jad said:
Dear SNK,
This is the first clip I see about that.
If it’s true I think that we might see the use of the Syrian jet fighters bombarding that whole region soon.
You may get my comment a bit late since the moderator chose me and Alan to ‘moderate’ without any time frame or any of the rules he has, because apparently we are the ‘bad’ guys who are spreading the ‘hate’ around this ‘love and peace’ site of his…at the same time his email friends are allowed to write any personal attacks they want without a word…..thinking by doing that he is ‘punishing’ us and will shut us up and make us leave…tough luck, we are staying and he can’t stop us from writing our opinions.
April 24th, 2012, 1:24 am
Alan said:
moderator! stop to hypocrisy!
Ghalioun Emails: Qatari Money and Lost Democracy
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/ghalioun-emails-qatari-money-and-lost-democracy
April 24th, 2012, 1:40 am
Juergen said:
CBS 60 minmutes on Christians in the Holy Land
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/04/60-minutes-profiles-palestinian-christians-michael-oren-falls-on-his-face-defending-israel.html
April 24th, 2012, 2:05 am
Alan said:
Moderator! Here so looks the level admissible by you comments ! Shame!
543. DALEANDERSEN said:
Memo To: TARA
RE: “…What do the faithful do when they first meet Mullah Khamenei…”
The hard core faithful kiss his arse. The moderately faithful suck his toes…”
April 24th, 2012, 3:41 am
Juergen said:
Bronco
You know such regimes live from creating secrets and keep the majority away from the facts.
Here is what Todenhöfer wrote, it isnt availbale on a website, so i had to translate it for all here.
The rebels of Homs
(Published in the F.A.Z. on 04/13/2012)
Syria in April. Omar is a rebel of the “Free Syrian army” (FSA). My son Frederic and I met him in Damascus in a dark back room. On 27 February, he fled with his comrades from Baba Amr, the district of Homs, which was their stronghold for months. He wants to return to Homs. In order to avenge his younger brother, who died in his arms.
Omar had joined the rebels soon. He saw how the army had fired on peaceful demonstrators. Even children were killed. Not specifically, but did not care.
The number of his comrades in Baba Amr he estimates to 2000. Ten percent were deserters. Even the French, British, Americans and Iraqis were there. As a consultant and trainer.
I ask him about the open letter of “Human Rights Watch,” which accuses the rebels, hostage taking, torture and killing of civilians. Omar replied that the FSA kidnap only freizupressen to prisoners.
They kill civilians and not normal, but only traitors. You will not be tortured, but “heard hard.” Once they are convicted, they would be executed. Around him were 20 Alawite collaborators “executed” was. By head shot or cutting the throat.
Although he had heard from relatives that Assad in the rest of the country still have 50 to 60 percent behind. But a majority did not interest him. Assad is a man of Israel. He will always fight him.
The next day we meet near the Umayyad Mosque Rana, a 22-year-old student of history. She wants to demonstrate in the suburbs of Damascus continued. While their demos were always smaller. You have no choice.
Their protests were always peaceful. The FSA had to protect the demonstrators, mostly in the background. Their fighters had fired only when the demonstrators were in safety. Now much is out of control.
Rana feels left alone. Most people in Damascus and Aleppo are for Assad. The leader of the opposition in exile Ghalioun was just a media puppet that no one take seriously. Only NATO could topple Assad. That the cost of lives, would accept it. However, the intervention will not come, because Assad is an ally of the United States and Israel.
Together with Sharif, a Sunni engineer, two days later we drive to Homs. The city is still the most important, but perhaps also the last stronghold of the insurgency. Sharif said that the rebels had taken advantage of the withdrawal of the Syrian army during the visit of the Arab observer agreement approval contrary to the rise, says Sharif. The government had then vowed to never again engage in such wholesale services.
Since then, the government controls only about 25 percent of the city. In particular, the Alawite district and Baba Amr. 50 percent are controlled by the FSA, 25 percent are no man’s land. Of multiple checkpoints controlled by the regime, we reach the neighborhood of El Waer. We are in no man’s land.
Frédéric films. Behind us appears a white Corolla. He passed us and blocked the onward journey. The driver gets out and pulls his gun. What we filmed here, he asks, with thin lips. “The damage to the city,” replied Sharif pale. Through the car window, I ask the young rebel, show us the worst destruction. Puzzled, he gives us a sign to follow him.
Sinan, the FSA fighters conducted us through the almost deserted ghost town. About 60 percent of people are fleeing from the violence of both sides. He brings to us in miserable refugee families abandoned homes. They were able to save anything except her life, a few blankets, tin pots and a tiny gas stove.
On the way to a hospital, we stopped at a deserted restaurant. The hospital is only 300 meters. But the military situation is uncertain. Phone tries Sinan explore whether the road was free. From the roof of the inn, we see the silhouette of Baba bombed Amr. From the rebel district Khaldia rise to clouds of smoke. The neighborhood is under attack. But the FSA is active. As the ball strikes us clapping alongside one of their snipers, we retreat to the ground floor.
Above us we heard the hum of a Syrian UAV. A few hundred meters away, where we suspect the sniper hit, suddenly a grenade in quick succession. Sharif urges to go. We usually did not go too far to see the wounded or dead.
At the exit to Damascus maintains military vehicles at all. The road will be shot at by rebels. Some cars turn back, others continue in the convoy. We need to Damascus. The smoking Homs is not an option, although Sinan had offered to stay with him.
We do our very small Hyundai. Again and again emphasizes Sharif, asking Allah for help, on his earlobe. When finally arrives in Damascus? Appear as a half hour after the outlines of the city, we tap on the shoulder Sharif. “Allah Shukur Alhamdullah – thank God, not me,” he mutters.
In Damascus, life goes on as usual – although this can hardly imagine anyone in the West. Streets and shops are crowded. The war seems far away. Only occasionally reminiscent of the four major barriers to building bomb attacks by the security authorities.
Sharif is melting slowly. He had friends on both sides. The conflict made him sad. Already, killing not only government troops, but the FSA “their own people.” Of the 9,000 dead, at least half going to her account. Even women and children were killed by the rebels. In Homs and Alawite Shiite civilians were tortured mercilessly. The Western media reports put the things on their head.
Frederic and I mention, although we could confirm Sharif’s portrayal in part. In Damascus refugee homes, we have taken completely broken people who were brutally tortured by Homser rebels and wounded.
That is the tragedy of civil war, says Sharif would brave freedom fighters from terrorists. Whether the West knew that he would support in Syria desperados?
The rebels would have run. They no longer go to democracy and freedom, but only by hatred and revenge. Because they would have done differently than the Tunisian and Egyptian insurgents never to bring the whole nation behind him. Syria threatens to break up this increasingly sectarian revolution.
How many Syrians, he still dreams of democracy. But that is what Assad trying to impose now. Of course he would have had to do with its reforms much earlier. But better now than never! Syria is significant in terms of democracy, human and women’s rights further than Saudi Arabia.
At the beginning of the uprising, the government has made serious mistakes. However, the rebellion from the beginning had been armed. In just the first three months, over 200 soldiers and policemen were killed. He was at one of the funerals here. These soldiers are children of Syria.
The next day we visit the Greek-Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III. The sober argumentative church leaders understand themselves as advocates of religious tolerance in Syria. The coexistence of Christians, Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites, Druze, and Ismailis were a high democratic value. With the support of international revolution, he was threatened existentially. The West must act to stop fueling the conflict.
One should not confuse Bashar al-Assad and his father. The majority of the people standing behind him. He amazed by the “stereotyped” false reporting of foreign media. Much was made up.
The country needs to be reformed, in fact. The new constitution Assad was “an important step.” As a Christian, he called for a speedy silence the guns. But this time on both sides. And for an “all-party dialogue.” Violence is no solution. Meanwhile, the rebels killed more civilians than the state security forces.
Gregory has written a moving peace manifesto, a desperate “cry for help” We must settle before it is too late.
On the last evening we visit the tiny St. Theresa Church in Bab Tuma. On the gallery young Iraqi Arab Christians hymns samples of beguiling beauty. In silence we listen. With hundreds of thousands of fellow believers, these young people from the chaos in Iraq have fled to Syria. Where should they escape, even if Syria is in chaos?
The writer is the author of the book
“Demonizing Islam – Ten theses against hatred”
April 24th, 2012, 4:30 am
Juergen said:
Samar Yazbek public reading of her book in Paris, in French and Arabic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMpBwTjCltc
A similar event took place yesterday in front of the syrian embassy in Berlin. The event was interfered by a handfull of activists of the so called Ostermarsch movement ( an pacifist movement, first created in the 70s to call for an end of nuclear arms) insulted the attending writers, journalists, citizens by calling them salafi-wahabi friends who would call for an NATO strike against peaceful Syria under Assad. It was quite pathetic,it seems to be the new tactic of the syrian embassy to recruit old activists of the Ostermarsch -movement for their nasty propaganda. To be called a fascist zionist on Berlin streets was even new to me.
Here is a video of that public reading in German:
http://www.3sat.de/mediathek/?display=1&mode=play&obj=30565
April 24th, 2012, 4:41 am
Tara said:
DaleAndersen
Next time you feel prompted to use “vulgarity”, please do not address it to me. Ok?
I am sorry I asked the question if it prompts such a response.
April 24th, 2012, 6:50 am
Mina said:
“What annoys Maliki most that Erdogan has embarked upon a course of robustly strengthening ties with Kurdish leader Barzani. Ankara promotes an alliance between Barzani and Iraqi Sunni leadership with a view to challenging Maliki’s leadership in Baghdad.” (…)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ND24Ak01.html
April 24th, 2012, 8:14 am
bronco said:
Juergen #550
Thanks for posting it, the article describes well the dilemma and teh lost of illusions on both sides as well as the human aspects of the tragedy but it also dares to say something that would displease the opposition as it shows well that the revolution failed and brought the country to dead end.
“The rebels would have run. They no longer go to democracy and freedom, but only by hatred and revenge. Because they would have done differently than the Tunisian and Egyptian insurgents never to bring the whole nation behind him. Syria threatens to break up this increasingly sectarian revolution.
How many Syrians, he still dreams of democracy. But that is what Assad trying to impose now. Of course he would have had to do with its reforms much earlier. But better now than never! Syria is significant in terms of democracy, human and women’s rights further than Saudi Arabia.
At the beginning of the uprising, the government has made serious mistakes. However, the rebellion from the beginning had been armed. In just the first three months, over 200 soldiers and policemen were killed. He was at one of the funerals here. These soldiers are children of Syria.”
April 24th, 2012, 9:18 am
zoo said:
Was the very nearby Iranian cultural center targeted to provoke Iran’s intervention or further sectarian hatred?
Car bomb hits Damascus as more die in ‘ceasefire’
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/car-bomb-hits-damascus-as-more-die-in-ceasefire-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=19135&NewsCatID=352
DAMASCUS – Agence France-Presse
A pool of blood is pictured next to a damaged car after a bomb exploded in Damascus in this handout released by Syria’s national news agency SANA April 24, 2012. REUTERS Photo
A car bomb rocked central Damascus today, a day after nearly 60 were killed across Syria despite a hard-won ceasefire and the upcoming deployment of 300 UN peace monitors.
Three people were wounded when the blast went off in the Marjeh district of the capital, Syrian state television reported, blaming “terrorists”, the government term for rebels.
“An armed terrorist group detonated the car bomb near the Yelbugha complex in Marjeh, wounding three people and causing damage to nearby buildings,” it said.
[ … ]
April 24th, 2012, 9:20 am
bronco said:
Tara
An opposing point of view
“Bhauna Singh from Dubai said the reason why Dubai’s people came to Turkey was the hospitality of Turkish people and their smiling faces.”
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/arab-tourists-interest-in-turkey-increases-say-tourism-officials.aspx?pageID=238&nID=19073&NewsCatID=379
April 24th, 2012, 9:24 am
zoo said:
Assange Episode 2: Left & right in 21st century
http://rt.com/news/assange-world-tomorrow-zizek-horowitz-796/
Published: 23 April, 2012, 23:28
April 24th, 2012, 9:26 am
Halabi said:
And here are some of the dead from Hama yesterday.
I thought peace and tranquility returned to Hama in early August according to SANA. Unless the regime investigates these murders, it’s safe to say that Assad’s soldiers and security forces are responsible, part of a plan to kill a few thousand more Hamwis so the country will fear Assad again.
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April 24th, 2012, 9:45 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Masks as thin as Air
Not a single word from “resistance” “secular” camp on the Criminal Assad and his goons’ arrest of the Palestinian-Syrian marxist thinker SALAMEH KILEH, who is also wanted by the Israeli Authorities since 1972.
Disclosure: Salameh Kileh may be a Persona non grata among fake secularists and SC sectarian bullies. Evidence against him may include his writing which demonstrate his recognition of the genuine “people” nature of the Syrian Revolution, while at the same time exposing the fascist nature of Assad supporters’ camp. Here is first evidence:
????? ????- ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????. ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????.
TRANSLATION
Furthermore, Salameh is definitely hated by sectarian thugs who claim membership in 400 facebook pages, meaning that they must have known of his arrest, and yet decided to fail in protesting it or recognizing that the assad’s regime resistance and secularism are fake as theirs. If you ask why, here is why. He embarrassed their beloved regime media represented by Aldunia. Lucky syriatruth, they weren’t there.
I would like to reiterate what my friend Salameh said to aldunya mouthpiece fake journalist.
??? ??? … ??? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ..
how accurate. I am sure some recently discovered “pseudo journalists” will see in Salameh’s words an anti-women stance.
I urge regimsists to Sleep well, for they are up for the rudest awakening of their pathetic lives
April 24th, 2012, 10:32 am
DAWOUD said:
The Iranian GOVERNMENT is a sectarian wilyat al-faqih regime that supports the murderous dictator of Syria, Bashar, because he is killing mostly Sunni Muslims. The sectarian shia PARTY (it’s a fair game) Hizballah is doing the same thing.
Free Syria! Free Palestine!
April 24th, 2012, 10:40 am
Tara said:
I would like to share a post I wrote on a previous thread with some of you who are not aware of the “drama” going on on the previous thread. My post is up for comments. Feel free.
——
Sex Workers Against..
“The fact is, though, that being a female writer/journalist is not easy, and attempts to undermine women by invoking their gender or sexuality are nefarious and all too common, particularly in this profession. Disagree on the merits. And if this was all a fluke, WSS, examine your own knee-jerk invocation of demeaning gendered insults. They reveal more than you may realize. There really is no excuse.”
This was a good argument., and the name too. Although I feel no womanly sympathy whatsoever to Sharmine …for her betrayal of womanhood and motherhood assuming she is one.
I can agree with your point in principal. Sexuality should not be invoked in arguments. Whether against men or women. I am glad that you did not appeal on the woman in me to defend Sharmine against misogyny. The very use of misogyny concept in defending her is appalling. It is lame for women or their defenders to use “misogyny” against opponents as a cover up for their own failure. This is all too common. In Sharmine’s case, it is the epitome of hypocrisy to use misogyny in her defense when she willfully turned a blind eye on the worst case of misogyny women can experience, the slaughtering of their children.
I am personally aware of a woman from Hama who Batta’ s thugs asked her to choose one of her three young adult male children to be slaughtered. She asked the thugs to make that choice themselves and they did. They killed one in front of her very own eyes. They came a month later and killed the second…This is the regime supporters of Batta are defending. How possibly can someone try to defend it. It is just indefensible..
April 24th, 2012, 10:43 am
Juergen said:
Bronco
Yes, i still believe that Todenhöfer has some credits, but since the beginning his writings often lack the knowledge of the country and very sadly show his vanity. I know that some activists have met with him here in Berlin to question him about his defense of this regime after the atrocities which were committed. He seems until now very proud about his meeting with Assad ( he seems to enjoy meeting with such despotes, in Germany we have not forgotten his meeting with Pinochet f.e) , and sadly he does not recognize the immense pressure which lasts over the activists in Syria. His claim that reforms and democracy can only be achieved by this regime and through dialogue has prooved to be an dead end for me, such a regime will not change its roots , it may fool many by some cosmetic actions.
Do you think todays bomb attack was aimed at the iranian cultural center in Merjeh?
Süddeutsche Zeitungs has written an article about syrian refugees treated in a Munich hospital:
http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sueddeutsche.de%2Fmuenchen%2Fhilfe-fuer-syrische-jugendliche-rettung-aus-der-hoelle-von-homs-1.1339879
April 24th, 2012, 11:05 am
Dawoud said:
561. TARA
Tara, do you still remember my peace plan for Syria?
April 24th, 2012, 11:07 am
Tara said:
Bronco
Come on now. Walking in Hamidieh, how many stranger women or men smiled at you, had an eye contact with you or said Hi? How many you smiled at?
April 24th, 2012, 11:12 am
Tara said:
Dawoud
Yes Dawoud. I want to give Annan’s plan a chance..with a deadline. I know it will fail, but to have no regret..
April 24th, 2012, 11:15 am
Karabennemsi said:
@Juergen
There is no other way to reform and change Syrian politics than by reforming the current regime. The view you’re portraying here saddens me deeply, it appears that you can not know about the suffering of the biggest part of the Syrian population, who is sitting on the fence in this whole conflict, since most of the people don’t actually care too much about party politics and similar stuff but rather how to afford enough food for the rest of the month, and how to educate their children when even they have to work these days to ensure a family’s survival.
I lived in Dimasq for quite some time, and most of my dear friends there are telling me, that the time for discussing political reforms has long gone by, and absolutely none of the rather oppositional activists i personally know throughout the country, who were organising rallies and demonstrations about a year ago, support the militant uprising in any way, instead they regularly condemn it publicly. It is seen by most people as the highway to hell, and in case you actually took part in that sad little gathering near (not even in front of) the embassy here in Berlin, i feel obliged to ask you to broaden your point of view, since it seems to be narrowed into a very violent vision of the current situation in Syria, and obviously this can not be in the interest of the people of Syria, of whom i suppose you care about.
April 24th, 2012, 11:28 am
NASA said:
566. Karabennemsi
Good comment .. reflect majority of people living in Syria.
Thx
April 24th, 2012, 11:56 am
Dawoud said:
565. Tara
I also want to to give Anan’s plan a chance with a DEADLINE, after which the Arab League should meet (against the objections of Iraq’s sectarian al-Maliki-who is a puppet of the Iranian wilayat al-faqih government) and authorize the purchase of anti-tanks/warplanes missiles for the Free Syrian Army. Bashar will not go until the FSA defeats him and his allies-Iran and Hizballah! In addition, we need a northern-southern “safe area,” which would likely cause 80% of Bashar’s army to defect. This would be the best/fastest way to topple Syria’s longtime hereditary dictatorship!
Free Syria, Free Palestine!
April 24th, 2012, 12:23 pm
Juergen said:
Karabenemsi
Thank you for your comment. Its upon the Syrians to make that decision if this regime has the capability to reform. I have my deepest doubts about this capability. This is a regime which has not only eraded the hopes and aspirations for a future, it has furthermore made every Syrian an enemy to each other. I wish that Todenhöfers approach of an nationwide dialogue would indeed be the solution, he is right in his assumption that war and violence have never brought any good, and its most likely the product of failures in politics and diplomacy. The current leadership has proven to be working only in their interest, and may be and this is a big may be there are reasonable persons in the second row who could end this tragedy from spreading more misery for more Syrians. We had those fencesitters in the country i grew up in, they were also calling for an reformed communism with democratic elections and no political prisoners. The point is that we have discovered that such a regime needs oppression to function, and no one would choose to live under an regime if he has the free will to choose.
I would like to ask you to share your views and your comments in the future. I was by the way at the public reading demonstration. Did you choose your name for some good reason?
April 24th, 2012, 1:09 pm
admir said:
attempted coup in qatar?
http://www.forexcrunch.com/qatar-coup-attempt-report/
‘Initial reports are coming out of Qatar about an attempt by a military group to overthrow the current ruling elite led by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
It currently seems that the coup d’etat failed, although other reports say that gunfights are still raging in the palace. Instability in one of the usually stable oil producing countries could send oil prices higher, and trigger fresh worries…’
April 24th, 2012, 2:13 pm
Halabi said:
The virtual shabiha’s favorite tactic: to lie.
FT: Assad intensifies cyberwar against Qatar
The Qatari prime minister’s daughter is arrested in London. Qatar’s army chief stages a coup against the emir. Hamad bin Jassim, the prime minister, is sacked. None of these stories is true, but for a while Syria’s embattled regime tried to make them credible partly thanks to a group of loyal hackers.
Late on Monday, the so-called Syrian Electronic Army, the cyber activists who spam Facebook and Twitter with pro-government messages, hacked into the Twitter account of Saudi Arabia’s al-Arabiya news channel and planted the report of Mr bin Jassim’s removal. As al-Arabiya rushed to report that its social networks were infiltrated, the hackers posted news about an explosion at a Qatari natural gasfield.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1fa5d708-8e1c-11e1-bf8f-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1sz9bAvWv
April 24th, 2012, 2:53 pm
Alan said:
Elie Wiesel: Why is Assad still in power?
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/04/23/elie_wiesel_why_is_assad_still_in_power
April 24th, 2012, 3:01 pm
Karabenemsi said:
@ Juergen
Well I believe the heavy militarisation of the conflict in the last six months and the firsthand experience of what kind of consequences are inevitably connected to a civil war, have led many Syrians to the realisation that they would rather live in oppression than in constant threat of being reported as civilian casualties on the news in yet another fierce battle between army personnel and self-declared freedom fighters, who both recklessly accept these dead civilians as collateral damage while competing for short-term tactical positions.
However I think that this fatalism is the worst possible thing that could happen to Syria.
It is of the outmost importance, that the regime stops shooting at protesters, i do think it should continue to persecute violent opposition members and islamists, who unfortunately keep gaining importance in the conflict.
Nethertheless should you maybe remember that in the case of the old DDR there was a neighbour, who actually helped stabilizing the situation and financed the future transformation.
In Syria’s case there is nothing comparable to the BRD, so the change has to come from within, to ensure stability.
I am really sick of all the warmongering from especially NATO, and it is very hard to understand why Qatar rather finances additional weapons in Syria instead of care packages.
Maybe people underestimate the amount of newly felt freedom in Damascus, and some international newspaper commentators are definetely far too impatient, but believe me, political change has already been implemented, and I am rather confident that Bashar will actually lead Syria to democracy.
Personally i was astonished to read this essay a couple of weeks ago:
http://www.syriatrust.org/news/articles/content/????-?????-??-???-????????????-????-???-???-??????-??????
I remember indirectly working for the author a couple of years ago back in the day, and i think this level of political discussion is absolutely extraordinary for Syrian means, and it clearly shows that a lot of discussions are going on right now in the intellectual and artist elite of Syria on how to proceed in the transformation process.
It is a shame that the headlinemakers still care more about body counts and possible interventions and UN-observers – btw, i often dealt with the UN personnel in Syria, and they barely ever dared to leave their jeeps, most of their communication with locals was done through phone and internet although their huge compound is located right in the middle of the really rich Mezzeh area, the Austrian guys from the Jolan were different though.
I am honoured by your request to participate more often in here, i will try to do it every now and then, but unfortunately i’m pretty busy these days.
About my name:
🙂 I did actually choose it for a good reason, when i first came to the middle east as a nineteen year old boy, barely being able to ask for directions in Arabic, i had a pretty clear vision (which turned, of course, out to be mostly wrong) on what was awaiting me, since i had read all of Karl May’s middle east stories multiple times. And although I eventually had to accept reality, i still love the idea about this passionate German man travelling through the whole islamic world in order to gain knowledge and bring the word of the Lord, not being a missionary but instead reminding all kind of people how beautiful and easy life can be if one loves the other.
April 24th, 2012, 3:01 pm
Halabi said:
#573
“i do think it should continue to persecute violent opposition members and islamists, who unfortunately keep gaining importance in the conflict.”
No government should “persecute” its citizens. It’s abhorrent to suggest such a thing. But I understand the position give the poster is “rather confident that Bashar will actually lead Syria to democracy.”
April 24th, 2012, 3:24 pm
Karabennemsi said:
#574
Every country should persecute it’s citizens if they have broken the law. Otherwise there is no legitimate reason for any state to exist, this is very very basic understanding of society.
Mill described very detailed how these things are supposed to happen, if you are interested in liberal theories of social order and government, “On Liberty” can be recommended in this context.
However the government of course shouldn’t, since it should be the executive authority of a country.
April 24th, 2012, 3:41 pm
bronco said:
Owen Bennet BBC coming from Syria: Islamist extremists are now an integral part of the opposition. A young activist: Islamists have hijacked our revolution
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/04/24/owen-bennett-syria/player
April 24th, 2012, 3:50 pm
bronco said:
#564 Tara
My comment was a response to the article you posted that Turks don’t smile. I still think they don’t. They are far from being cheerful people.
Despite living in an alleged ‘brutal dictatorship’, Syrians in the streets always looked much happier and cheerful than Turks living in a successful ‘democracy’. This may changed with the “freedom of expression” and “tolerance” to gender segregation that will come with the promising “Islamic democracy”
Just listen to the above post from a BBC journalist about women protesters being segregated in demonstrations, a glimpse of the future of Syria in the eventuality of the fall of the ‘regime’ and the certain defeat of the “young idealists’ in securing a secular state ( i.e Egypt) .
Example of “FOE” Adel Imam is in jail…
April 24th, 2012, 4:00 pm
irritated said:
571. Halabi
Tit for tat. Qatar’s Al Jazeera lies vs Syria’s Al Dunya lies.
April 24th, 2012, 4:12 pm
bronco said:
Juergen
“Do you think todays bomb attack was aimed at the iranian cultural center in Merjeh?”
Yes, I am almost sure it was. The cultural center is just on the other side of the street, less than 20m and it is not protected by any guards. The photo is clear.
It would be an extraordinary coincidence if it wasn’t the target. In my view the perpetrators are Iraqi Sunni terrorists, helped by some opposition sympathizers, who are bringing in Syria their hatred toward Iran’s role in Iraq. It is an act of defiance and provocation.
In the absence of a firm protection of the borders by the army, Syria has become an open country with all sorts of criminals, terrorists, account settlers easily finding collaborators in need of money among the ‘armed opposition’ in a wave of destruction.
Their aim is chaos, not reforms or democracy anymore.
April 24th, 2012, 4:26 pm
Alan said:
below Russia gives a signal about that does concessions! it means that there are arrangements with the West and the Syrian problem goes on permission!
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/401281.html
Russia will not supply S-300 missile systems to Syria
MOSCOW, April 24 (Itar-Tass) — Russia will not supply to Syria S-300 missile systems, its arms supplies will be limited to defensive weapons, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday.
“We will continue cooperation in the military technical sphere, and we will fulfill all the existing contracts. S-300 systems are outside them,” he told journalists but did not elaborate on the types of weapons is supplied to Syria.
April 24th, 2012, 4:27 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Its all lies, 13,000 Syrians did not die, 100,000 detained were actually sent to Happy Land to enjoy a swim in the wave pool, and all the displaced are just visiting family members…
In the meantime lets just attack western imperialism while giving Russian imperialism the thumbs up, cause the Russians only want whats best for the region and not their interests…
Apologists is too good of word to call them, I believe denialists is a much better term.
April 24th, 2012, 4:31 pm
Afram said:
574. Halabi said:
#573
“i do think it should continue to persecute violent opposition members and islamists, who unfortunately keep gaining importance in the conflict.”
No government should “persecute” its citizens.
=========================
Note to Halabi:Islamists agenda is well known dictotership governing under islamic sharia law,citizens & citizenship is not part of their dictionary,they call the people under their rule Ru3att its literally means(colloquially Cattle)
I agree with Karabennemsi that the regime should keep on fighting the:villains,delinquents,evildoers,felons,jihadi hellhounds, hoodlums,lawbreakers,these are outcasts Not citizens
April 24th, 2012, 4:33 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Branco,
“In the absence of a firm protection of the borders by the army, Syria has become an open country with all sorts of criminals, terrorists, account settlers easily finding collaborators in need of money among the ‘armed opposition’ in a wave of destruction.”
So let me get this straight, because the regime is FAILING to protect Syrian borders (because they are too busy pounding Syrian cities with shells), and as you say people from Iraq are infiltrating into Syria to get back at Iran with the use of car bombs through the very same boarders that the regime is failing to protect, and this is somehow the fault of the opposition?
Where is the accountability to the regime?
April 24th, 2012, 4:37 pm
Alan said:
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/04/recolonization-of-syria-20-years-in.html
Recolonization of Syria 20 Years in the Making
Western corporate-financiers have plotted since at least 1991 to overturn not only Syria’s government, but to topple and co-opt the governments of every nation previously in the Soviet sphere of influence. US Army General Wesley Clark made it known during a 2007 speech given to the Commonwealth Club of California, that in 1991, then Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz said the US had 5-10 years to clean up the old Soviet “client regimes” before the next super power rose up and challenged western hegemony.
Clark would go on to say that shortly after September 11, 2001, while at the Pentagon, a document handed down from the Office of the Secretary of Defense indicated plans to attack and destroy the governments of 7 countries; Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Lebanon and Libya………….
April 24th, 2012, 4:39 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Afram,
“the regime should keep on fighting the:villains,delinquents,evildoers,felons,jihadi hellhounds, hoodlums,lawbreakers,these are outcasts”
But what if the regime and their paramilitary units are guilty of the same crimes, who persecutes them exactly?
And wouldn’t the regime that is known to lie and manipulate repeatedly use such an excuse to keep going after innocent civilians that are only guilty of not supporting this brutal regime?
April 24th, 2012, 4:41 pm
Juergen said:
Bronco
I remember the spot, though i never saw much activities going on there, i bought a book once there, the political testament of Khomeni, such things do exist… How do the locals call this most ugly half finished ruin building which is just across from the center? ( it makes the once wonderful Merjeh look small) I heard the story that since the crackdown of the ichuan rebellion the government didnt allow this construction of an major mosque and islamic center to be finished.
April 24th, 2012, 5:04 pm
bronco said:
#579 Juergen
I checked with people who saw the explosion. The bomb was placed around 150 m from the Iranian cultural center, and not 50 m. Yet, it may have been a warning.
The mosque is being ‘finishing’ for the least 6 years while the building is still there, unfinished and ugly.
April 24th, 2012, 5:31 pm
bronco said:
SOD
“Where is the accountability to the regime?”
What about the responsibility of the opposition supporting and applauding armed gangs killing army soldiers, thus leaving the borders unprotected?
Maybe the FSA should protect the borders, if they claim they want to protect the civilians?
April 24th, 2012, 6:01 pm
zoo said:
Big brother Turkey continues lecturing and verbally threatening of ‘isolation’ its regional neighbors, first Israel, then Syria, now Iraq.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-denies-role-in-iraqs-political-crisis.aspx?pageID=238&nID=19210&NewsCatID=338
In the phone conversation, Davuto?lu underscored that al-Maliki’s confrontational attitude would isolate him in the region. Davuto?lu complained about the Iraqi leader’s statement against Ankara which said “Turkey was becoming a hostile country.” Even the Syrian leader has not made such a statement, the Turkish minister told his Iranian counterpart, Daily News learned.
(…)
April 24th, 2012, 6:10 pm
Afram said:
@ Son of Damascus
HI
I,m over-whelmingly in favor of an end to this brutal cycle
foreign agents,jihadi hellhounds should be defeated first.
Mission Complete:when the outcasts are out of the picture,the Outcasts are given many opportunities to destroy syria by their khalijee zift sponsors.
I condemn syrian on syria violence..I like round tables dialogue,Burhan likes Chapter 7 of the UN.
The consequences of failure is“bad news”you can see what’s on the horizon…More Zift
April 24th, 2012, 6:12 pm
zoo said:
Ataturk’s legacy now includes a “font”, the “Ataturk Typeface”.
http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/features/atatrk-font-becomes-sensation-in-turkey_6283
…
Turks’ reverence for Mustafa Kemal, who is widely viewed as the savior of the nation, appears to know no bounds. From the beginning, the Turkish state encouraged a personality cult around the leader, endowing him with a larger-than-life persona that remains omnipresent today: His picture hangs in every government office, his image is on every piece of currency, and his sayings and speeches are memorized by schoolchildren across the country. A law that has stood unchanged since 1951 makes “insulting the memory of Atatürk” a criminal offense punishable by up to several years in prison.
…
And what of the Fort Worth, Texas-based company, Signfonts.com, that designed the Atatürk typeface? Özbalci didn’t reveal to owner Steve Contreras that the handwriting was Atatürk’s until after the font was finished. Because Contreras doesn’t know Turkish and wasn’t aware of the identity of the writer, he was entirely unprepared for the attention it has drawn.
“After I designed the font, Murat Özbalci wrote me and told me that it was a Turkish hero. I really wasn’t even aware that it was a big deal,” he said.
Yet today, many Kemalists fear that the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), which came to power in 2002, seeks to scale back Atatürk’s progressive legacy. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose wife wears a headscarf, is widely perceived to have an Islamist agenda at odds with a secular, pluralistic society.
April 24th, 2012, 6:31 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Branco,
So it is the responsibility if the FSA to protect our borders, Then do you support in arming them so that they can better protect our borders, since the Syrian regime has been incapable of doing so?
If we believe the Syrian regimes rhetoric that armed rebels and terrorists are to blame for all the chaos in Syria, at what point do we hold them responsible for the obvious failure at “securing” Syria? Its been over a year and they have not yet been able to deal with these “infiltrators” that keep causing the carnage and damage we see?
In the beginning people were arguing that the regime was showing “restraint” (if the killing and mowing down of protestors can be considered restraint) against these “infiltrators”, and that is why the government has not succeeded in “finishing” this quagmire. Yet after the “unrestraint security operations” in Baba Amr, Idlib and else where the regime has yet to solve this. When can we hold them responsible for such lapses in the security of our homeland, they are obviously ill-equipped and ill-prepared to deal with the Zionist/Western/Salafi conspiracy that is facing Syria?
My point is which ever side of the fence one might stand on, this so called leadership we have in Syria needs to be changed from the top down. For if you are on the side of the opposition you will see this regime as a corrupt, brutal, and thuggish clan of killers, and if you side with the regime you must hold them accountable for their failures at protecting the national interests of Syria.
April 24th, 2012, 6:32 pm
zoo said:
A surprise?
Israeli Foreign Minister: I Worry More About Egypt Than Iran
By: Ben Caspit posted on Monday, Apr 23, 2012
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/04/lieberman-egypt-worries-me-more.html
Israel is worried that the Egyptian revolution may turn against Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sent a warning document to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, recommending that three or four special divisions be designated to protect the southern border with Egypt. In his view, the situation in Egypt is worsening and may create pressure on the leadership to unite the nation around an external enemy
(..)
April 24th, 2012, 6:37 pm
Son of Damascus said:
Afram,
First I would like to make it crystal clear, being with the opposition DOES NOT mean being a supporter of the SNC. Burhan Ghalioun has proven not to be the decisive leader that the opposition needs as its leader, there are many more qualified Syrians that should be considered over him. (Funny enough my two favourite candidates are Christians, thats why I always find it odd when I am accused of being a MB sympathizer or 3ar3ouri).
“foreign agents,jihadi hellhounds should be defeated first.”
What foreign agents are you talking about exactly, I have read a lot about foreigners infiltrating into Syria to cause chaos but as of yet have not seen credible enough evidence to back up these claims (This holds true for the opposition claims that HA and Iran has supplied fighters to suppress the protesters as well).
There are a lot of rumours, most of them are just that.
As for the Jihadi Hellhounds, I consider the shabeeha to be of the same level. Both are extremists groups that believe in a fundamentalist cause that is poisoning Syria, however you cannot simply eradicate them (for that does not make you any better than them) but persecute them in a real and uncorrupted judicial system with a government that is not guilty of at minimum complicity in the death of thousands of Syrians.
Also it is extremely biased and unrealistic to hold the opposition responsible for most of the destruction and atrocities being committed in Syria when the government has been documented to be using the overwhelming force.
Side note:
I am sure you saw the pictures yesterday of the UN monitoring teams visit to a pro-regime part of Homs, did it not strike you to see that non of the buildings in the pictures showed any scars of shelling and carnage, while anti regime parts of Homs the buildings showed visible scars of shelling?
April 24th, 2012, 7:00 pm
bronco said:
#590 SOD
Frankly I am in admiration on the way the regime has been able to resist and protect the major cities from terrorist acts in view of the huge support the armed opposition is getting from Turkey, KSA, Qatar, Turkey, as well as the West extreme sanctions, the West threats, the AL sanctions, the biased media coverage and the terrorist attacks on pipelines, factories and public buildings.
It has intelligently defied the AL plan whose aim was to annihilate its sovereignty, and put Syria on its knees in front of Qatar, the USA and Israel as a failed state. It was able to use its alliance to oppose the conspiracy to humiliate it.
That there are only 2 or 3 hours electricity cuts in major cities is amazing, that Internet and mobile phones work without any interruption, that most of factories in Damascus and Aleppo are working normally, that Hamidieh is buzzing with activity, that there are no strikes, that most foreign embassies are open, these are extraordinary achievements that show that the government is not only protecting its citizens, but that it is supported by its citizens. While in restive areas, where armed gangs are trying to challenge the army, it is unfortunate that these armed gangs hide among the civilians, thus causing civilian casualties, despite the FSA who tend to prefer protecting itself by hiding in Turkey when its elements are cornered and abandon the civilians to bear the violence they have provoked.
The resilience of the Syrian government, its unity in the adversity is not to be ignored as it means that it has the support of the majority of its citizens in Damascus and Aleppo as well as Lattakia, Tartous and many other cities.
It is time to acknowledge that the revolution has failed and it is time for finding a compromise.
April 24th, 2012, 7:01 pm
Nour said:
To all those claiming to be part of the “revolution,” I am wondering how you think you can attract fellow Syrians to your cause when you engage in such repulsive, vulgar sectarianism. I haven’t been posting here for a while because of the level that discussions here had reached, and I am quite saddened to see that certain people still insist on maintaining such levels of dialogue and such utterly backwards mentalities. How can you convince us that you want to change Syria for the better, when your writings and declarations are dripping with utter hatred and the most backwards of mentalities?
April 24th, 2012, 7:02 pm
irritated said:
592. anwar
and you back in the gutter…
April 24th, 2012, 7:06 pm
Tara said:
Bronco
You are admiring the killing of 11,000, the rape, the torture, the savagery, and the brutality? The death of children and mothers? Do you not care about the life of human beings? What can I say Bronco? ……………….Things sometimes better left unsaid.
April 24th, 2012, 7:09 pm
Afram said:
593. Son of Damascus said:
Afram,
“foreign agents,jihadi hellhounds should be defeated first.”
What foreign agents are you talking about exactly
========================read>>
TIME:has learned that Abdel Ghani Jawhar, one of the leaders of the Sunni fundamentalist terror group Fatah al-Islam, died in the Syrian city of Qsair on Friday night. The founding cleric of Fatah al Islam, Sheikh Osama al Shihabi, confirmed Jawhar’s death to TIME with a quote from the Koran: “‘We are for allah and to him we return.’ We as Mujahideen are used to being killed
News of his death has been relayed by multiple—and unrelated—sources in both Syria and Lebanon.** According to a fellow fighter, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Ali, Jawhar had been preparing an explosive device to be used against the Syrian army, which had been attempting to enter the rebel-dominated town not far from Homs.
As Abu Ali narrated the tale over Skype, the sound of bombs and explosions could be heard in the background. Jawhar’s bomb went off prematurely, says Abu Ali. “He was killed directly. We wanted to send his body back to Lebanon but we couldn’t because it was torn into pieces.” Instead Jawhar’s fellow fighters were forced to bury what was left of him in a neighboring garden because it was impossible to reach the graveyard during heavy fighting.
According to Abu Ali and another fellow fighter, Jawhar arrived in Qsair two weeks ago with a (((group of 30 Lebanese fighters))).
While many were members of Fatah al-Islam, they were not traveling under the terror group’s banner. Instead they called themselves mujahideen, holy warriors seeking to help fellow Muslims under attack by the Syrian regime. Jawhar, an explosives expert and a charismatic commander, sought to train fellow fighters how make bombs. In the short time he had been in Qsair, says Abu Ali, he was able to set up dozens of improvised explosive devices destined for members of the Syrian security forces. “His aim was to make a tour in all the districts of Syria to teach the fighters on how to fight a guerrilla war.”
For his efforts, Abu Ali calls Jawhar a hero and a martyr. For Syrian rebels seeking international assistance in their battle to force Syrian President Bashar Assad out of office, it’s a public relations headache. The Free Syrian Army, as well as other Syrian resistance groups, has long sought to downplay regime accusations that the rebels are aligned with Islamic fundamentalists and pro-al-Qaeda groups. While Fatah al-Islam has denied any association with al-Qaeda, there are links between the group and individual members. The implication that an al-Qaeda affiliated group is helping Syrian rebels build bombs and foment a guerrilla war could radically alter perceptions in the West, bringing to a halt discussions of arming the rebels and establishing a no-fly zone. “The death of Jawhar on Syrian soil emphasizes the fears of the international community that if they gave weapons to the Syrian rebels they will end up in the hands of radical groups,” says Lebanese University professor and Fatah al-Islam expert Talal Atrissi. “The Syrian opposition will be embarrassed from the fact that such a man is fighting alongside the rebels.”
April 24th, 2012, 7:58 pm
bronco said:
#597 Tara
“You are admiring the killing of 11,000, the rape, the torture, the savagery, and the brutality? ”
Did I say that?
No, I don’t as much as I don’t admire the killing of 3,000 of the Syrian army, the sons, husbands, fathers and brothers of Sunnis, Kurds, Druzes, Alawites, and doctors, teachers because of their support for their legitimate government. I don’t admire the tortures and slaughter of the security forces, proudly filmed and published on videos as “successes” and the brutality of so called ‘peaceful victims’ on the other side. The only difference is that these crimes are lauded by an opposition increasingly divided and corrupted by misplaced heroism, greed, dangerous sectarian ideologies and egotism. Facing it, there is an increasingly united government and citizens desillusionned by this messy and macabre “revolution” that brought only misery.
April 24th, 2012, 8:34 pm
Ghufran said:
Another look at the stalemate in Syria
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/24/syria-warring-factions-lebanon
The moment when fighting factions accept the fact that Syria can not be ruled by one party or one sect has not arrived yet. Until this magic point is reached,keeping the violence at ‘acceptable levels” seem to be a doable first goal. Easing pressure on average Syrians may help also,I was amazed to read the disappointment some expressed on social media about the decline of the $ against the Lira ($ was sold as low as 67 lira today).
April 24th, 2012, 8:35 pm
bronco said:
#600 Ghufran
An excellent and realistic article. Thanks.
April 24th, 2012, 8:42 pm
Ghufran said:
With friends like these who needs enemies
http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/23/in-syria-lebanons-most-wanted-sunni-terrorist-blows-himself-up/
For the records,the label ” Sunni terrorist” used in the article reduces the value of that piece,terrorists come in a variety of shapes and forms and they have no religion.
April 24th, 2012, 8:44 pm
zoo said:
A blow to Qatar and Islamists in Libya?
Religion-based parties banned under new Libya law
AFP – 2 hrs 33 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/religious-parties-banned-under-libya-law-210021892.html
Libyan authorities on Tuesday passed legislation governing the formation of political organisations which rules out religious, regional and tribal platforms and bans foreign funding.
“Political parties and associations should not be built on the basis of regional, tribal or religious affiliation,” a member of the ruling National Transitional Council told AFP.
April 24th, 2012, 8:46 pm
zoo said:
After Erdogan and Juppe, Moncef al Marzouki as an interim Tunisian president, predicts and advises Russia, China and Iran on what they should do .
Syria’s Assad “finished”, Tunisian leader says
Reuters – 15 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-finished-tunisian-leader-says-092324090.html
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Bashar al-Assad’s international allies must realize the Syrian president is “finished” and persuade him to step down to avoid further bloodshed, Tunisian President Moncef al-Marzouki said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.
“The Russians and Chinese, and the Iranians must understand that this man is finished and they cannot defend him. They must persuade him to leave power and hand over to his deputy,” Marzouki told the regional Arab newspaper Al-Hayat.
Assad “will go one way or another … dead or alive,” he added.
(..)
April 24th, 2012, 8:54 pm
Ghufran said:
In Egypt,Ahmad Shafeeq is out,this leaves 2,Amr Mousa and Abu Alfutooh.
Amr Mousa is preferred by the US and the establishment but I think Abu Alfutooh may be Egypt’s next president.
Here is a short Bio:http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%85_%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AD
April 24th, 2012, 10:38 pm
omen said:
afram: Islam is state then religion, saudi has no Constitution, only chopping off hands islamic sharia law rule..steal a stick of gum, you lose a hand, drink a beer 80 lashes, love someone..they stone to death. syria is no Kandahar or Qandahar
so…you prefer secular based brutality over religious based brutality? how discerning of you.
brutality is brutality. what’s the difference?
if the punishment for theft is the chopping off of a hand, why doesn’t the punishment for rape follow the same logic?
April 25th, 2012, 2:01 am
omen said:
603. zoo said:
A blow to Qatar and Islamists in Libya?
Religion-based parties banned under new Libya law
AFP – 2 hrs 33 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/religious-parties-banned-under-libya-law-210021892.html
Libyan authorities on Tuesday passed legislation governing the formation of political organisations which rules out religious, regional and tribal platforms and bans foreign funding.
how many anti-interventionists predicted that gaddafi would be replaced by an islamist dictator who would only be worse than he?
how many defenders of this bloodthirsty regime are using the same islamic fearmongering? you’ll be proven wrong as the libya critics.
April 25th, 2012, 2:25 am
Nour said:
Libya is a complete mess. Passing any law right now means nothing there because on the ground there are still armed militants committing brutal attrocities and the country is in a state of chaos. No one opposed NATO intervention in Libya because they thought Qaddafi was a great guy, but because the consequences of foreign military intervention in any country are well-known to any rational person. Libyan cities were brought to ruin by NATO bombardment. The most conservative estimates put the death toll there at 50,000, with some estimates going as high as 130,000. All this so we can get corrupt and extremist figures to control the situation on the ground and create destruction and total insecurity for the people as a whole. It will possibly take generations to undo in Libya what NATO did in a few months. Anyone proposing this as a solution in Syria doesn’t really have Syria’s best interest in mind, but is merely salivating at the opportunity to satisfy a desire for vengeance.
April 25th, 2012, 2:50 am
omen said:
nour, libya is not a complete mess. from juan cole:
April 25th, 2012, 3:23 am
Mina said:
606 Omen,
You ask about the punishment for rape but you should know if you check the news once in a while (outside FB news) that recently Afghanistan and Morocco have cases which show that they think that in the 21th century it is decent to apply the point of one version of shari’a where the woman raped has to marry the rapist, otherwise SHE goes to jail.
I bet the GCC countries have similarly ‘inspired’ law, if ever a written law exist there.
SOD,
You are right, “it’s all lies” and Syria has no border with Iraq.
April 25th, 2012, 4:12 am
Mina said:
Omen,
Juan Cole shows journalists how one should write to get a work at al Jazzara. To be bold enough to state that “The Libyan transitional government provided uniformed troops to Tripoli’s major airport on Monday, relieving grateful Zintan militiamen who had been more or less doing volunteer duty there” and you deserve a barrel of zift!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_b4KcM0BKo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17233519
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/11/libya-tripoli-airport-militia
April 25th, 2012, 4:20 am
omen said:
oh, gawd, don’t make me work for it, mina. do i have to post every positive development i’ve seen on libya? you’ll just dismiss it all anyways.
i was intrigued by the development of political tourism happening now in libya. i hope the same for syria after the regime falls.
April 25th, 2012, 4:59 am
omen said:
p.s. good to see you again, mina!
April 25th, 2012, 5:02 am
omen said:
recently Afghanistan and Morocco have cases which show that they think that in the 21th century it is decent to apply the point of one version of shari’a where the woman raped has to marry the rapist, otherwise SHE goes to jail.
i saw that story. followed it on twitter: #ripAmina. the girl, at wits end, wound up killing herself. indeed, that was an outrage.
one of the UN monitors is from morocco and helped cover for bashar by denying their convoy was shot at by the regime!
April 25th, 2012, 5:11 am
Mina said:
Political tourism? expect contractors and a few mormons, jehovists, evangelists, ufo lovers, just the same as the “post-war” Iraq mix.
It’s the definition of “freedom” everywhere but in the GCC countries after all.
April 25th, 2012, 5:34 am
Juergen said:
Mina
welcome back, you may be interested in this blog article:
http://www.dimakhatib.com/2012/04/love-not-hatred-dear-mona.html
April 25th, 2012, 5:53 am
Juergen said:
nice cartoon
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367544099964569&set=a.245208858864761.75003.244870555565258&type=1&theater
April 25th, 2012, 5:57 am
omen said:
i’m none of those things, mina, and i would love to go. there are plenty like me.
this doesn’t sound like a “complete mess.” there wouldn’t be tourism at all if every corner was overrun by marauding rebels. an image critics like to paint.
such pessimism. one would think syrians would be eager to regain back tourism dollars. extra revenue is going to be needed to help the country get back on its feet again after the regime falls.
April 25th, 2012, 6:00 am
Alan said:
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_04_25/72856011/
Syrian border guards repel Islamic incursion
Syrian border guards have repelled an incursion by armed Islamic extremists from the territory of Iraq, the Syrian Al Watan reports.
According to the newspaper, the armed groups consist of mercenaries who have been hired by Saudi and Qatar authorities to influence the lineup in Syria by force.
Armed groups operating on the territories of other countries have tried to invade Syria before.
Washington Post reports that radical Islamists who are fighting on the side of the Syrian opposition have been trying to penetrate the territory of Syria and western diplomats say that groups of Islamists are infiltrating Syria from Iraq and other neighboring countries.
Kofi Annan concerned about resurgence of violence in Syria
Special Envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States Kofi Annan is concerned about the resurgence of violence in Syria that followed the arrival of UN observers in the country.
On Tuesday at a closed briefing for members of the UN Security Council Annan said that the situation in Syria remained unacceptable. Opponents of President Bashar al-Assad state that after UN observers visited the city of Hama a great many Syrians were put to death there.
The envoy wants to accelerate deployment of an expanded observer mission in Syria. Of the 300 anticipated observers there are still presently only 11 in Syria.
The second delegation of the opposition Syrian National Front for Change is arriving in Moscow today for talks on how to put an end to violence which has been going on in Syria for over a year.
========================
http://rt.com/news/annan-un-syria-violence-914/
Annan to UN: Violence in Syria unacceptable, expedite observer deployment
Kofi Annan has said the situation in Syria is “bleak,” expressing concern at reports the government was still conducting military operations. But experts say the West’s biased approach is to blame for that.
Addressing the UN Security Council in a videoconference, Annan, the organization’s envoy to Syria, called the situation in the country “unacceptable” and expressed his concern over media reports of government troops attacking the city of Hama, where UN observers are not present.
“If confirmed, this is totally unacceptable and reprehensible,” Annan said.
Annan also called for the speedy deployment of all of the 300 UN observers to monitor the observance of a ceasefire that has formally been in effect since April 30. ………….
April 25th, 2012, 6:48 am
Alan said:
Moderator ! stop your informations embargo ! raise mad blockade!
Drums of Intervention: Syrians refuse to dance to foreign tune
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzsrmJqIvzo
The UN’s bolstering its observer mission to Syria – as multiple reports continue that the teetering ceasefire is being violated by both sides. The rebels’ political leaders still want a UN-backed military intervenention. But the public have no appetite for foreign interference. RT’s Oksana Boyko reports from Damascus.
April 25th, 2012, 7:04 am
Alan said:
NGO Your Enemy: Bogus reports fuel intervention industry
Far from helping an embattled nation, NGOs operating in Syria are being accused of helping the push towards military intervention. Some are peddling unverified reports to deliberately encourage foreign action. The agencies hold sway with groups like NATO, which has weighed in on their findings before – with deadly consequences. RT’s Marina Portnaya has more.
April 25th, 2012, 7:08 am
Atheist Syrian Salafist Against Dictatorships said:
Nour @608 and all the other Assadist Mafiosi and Associates (AsMAA) apologists:
We keep hearing about how NATO killed and destroyed Libya and left it in the hands of armed militants and then the same is argued about Syria yet none of them is willing to ask why the wonderful leaders that were/are in place (Gaddafi, Asad) did not pre-empt all those horrid events by listening to their people and instituting real reform while they had a chance. If they were so popoular why not invite the UN to monitor either elections or referendums about their rule? Why were/are they so afraid of peaceful demonstration that they’d send their thugs and snipers and even tanks to stop them? WHY?
Because they knew they would be exposed for the real despots and dictators they really are, that’s why.
Thus, ASAD LIL ABAD AU NA7ROQ-L-BALAD (Asad forever or we’ll burn the country down). What a wonderful democratic slogan.
Once a despot always a despot!
April 25th, 2012, 10:30 am
Karabennemsi said:
@619
What you say is mostly true, but one can only ensure that this regime will not simply be replaced by another one, when the people are willing to make hard sacrifices for deeply structural reforms.
it starts on a very small scale by the decision not to answer violence with violence.
As long as there are dozens of militias who in part don’t even answer for their actions to their own conscience, the regime has every excuse in the world to circumvent real change.
April 25th, 2012, 10:49 am
Nour said:
ASSAD#619:
It is this type of labeling that turns people away from you. You claim to want to fight a system that doesn’t tolerate any different viewpoints than its own, while in practice you are doing the same thing. You and many in the so-called “opposition” cannot tolerate any opinion, idea, or thought that is not an exact replica of your slogans. So anyone that challenges anything you say immediately becomes a “mafioso”. This has in fact led to the justification of the murder of many Syrians by simply labeling them as “shabbi7a”, “loyalists”, “Regime trumpets, etc. thereby degrading them and rendering their killing acceptable.
You can keep repeating that the regime played a role in bringing the situation to what it is today, and I don’t disagree with you, but the bottom line is do we want to move to a better situation or do we simply want to exact revenge on the regime even if it means destroying the whole country.
No one in their right mind would not lay at least part of the blame on Saddam Hussein for what happened to Iraq, but does that make the US invasion any less destructive, and is Iraq in a better situation now than it was before? What I have said since the very beginning is that I want what is best for Syria, not simply what is worst for the regime, regardless of the consequences.
April 25th, 2012, 11:11 am
Atheist Syrian Salafist Against Dictatorships said:
Nour @621
To borrow your words, what is best for Syria is necessarily what is absolutely the very worst for the regime because the regime is a mafia-like organization; this is not a label to denigrate and libel, it’s a statement of fact.
Giving people the freedom to choose who rules them is a death sentence to the regime; there are no in-between choices, I’m afraid: you can’t have half a dictatorship or half a democracy.
Good night!
April 25th, 2012, 11:38 am
Nour said:
Atheist @622:
That is not necessarily true. Because what is worst for the regime could also lead to the destruction of the country. Toppling the regime in such a sudden manner will lead to consequences for the country that none of us want to see materialize. We have a chance and an opportunity to begin disassembling the regime and move to a better system through a calm, deliberate, studied process, and to simply blow up the country because we are too blinded by our hatred for the regime will only hamper this process.
April 25th, 2012, 1:04 pm
anwar said:
nah Mission Complete:
assad and his wife’s
head on stickAlawite back to the mountainsApril 25th, 2012, 1:48 pm
omen said:
10:49 am
it starts on a very small scale by the decision not to answer violence with violence.
tell me, karabennemsi, would you take your own advice? if you looked down the street and saw criminals going house to house, would you not seek to protect your family?
jews didn’t answer violence with violence. look at what happened as a result: the holocaust.
April 25th, 2012, 6:23 pm
omen said:
11:11 – nour, it amazes me to no end how regime defenders are more offended by discourse than they are by the rivers of blood flowing through the streets.
April 25th, 2012, 6:29 pm
equus said:
Obama Becomes Pinochet: The Growing Despotism in Washington
One of Obama’s most recent executive orders is an obvious study in pure hypocrisy.
He’s claiming that in order to help those “dissidents” in Iran and Syria (you know… the ones who aren’t from Iran and Syria but they pretend to be so they can get the paychecks from institutions like the National Endowment for Democracy and the State Department for committing acts of terrorism?) they are now claiming the authority to penalize various institutions and individuals who make it possible for the official governments of those countries to monitor the “dissident’s” activities.
Obama is actually hypocritical enough to make the claim that Iran and Syria are oppressing their people, committing “human rights violations” by trying to keep track of the foreign terrorists who are killing civilians on behalf of NATO countries in an effort to destabilize those countries.
How hypocritical is this? Let me count the ways:
[…]
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/obama-becomes-pinochet-the-growing-despotism-in-washington/
April 25th, 2012, 6:38 pm
omen said:
equus, state sponsored terrorism is worse than al qaeda.
i’m sure you agree with me but are simply unwilling to acknowledge so.
April 25th, 2012, 6:55 pm
jerusalem said:
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April 25 2012 06:01
http://www.arabtimes.com/portal/news_display.cfm?Action=&Preview=No&nid=11057
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April 25 2012 06:22
http://www.arabtimes.com/portal/news_display.cfm?Action=&Preview=No&nid=11060
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April 25th, 2012, 7:02 pm
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