"Why Manaf Tlas is Uniquely Qualified to Serve the Opposition," by a Supporter

“Why Manaf Tlas is Uniquely Qualified to Serve the Opposition,” by a Supporter

Monday, September 24th, 2012

“Why Manaf Tlas is Uniquely Qualified to Serve the Opposition,” by a Supporter
For Syria Comment, Sept 24, 2012

A letter from a supporter of Manaf Tlas

It has now been nearly three months since Manaf Tlas’s defection. At the time, his flight from Syria was hailed as the most significant defection.

Every defector has a past association with the regime he leaves. Manaf Tlas has been attacked by some in the opposition because he was part of the Asad regime. The Tlas family has been associated with this regime for decades. There is no question that the family benefited from their position. Manaf’s father was the defense minister. His brother has been a high profile Businessman. Manaf himself served in the Republican Guards and has had a close personal relationship with Bashar al-Assad for most of his life. During the last three months, Manaf has tried to explain why that past makes him particularly qualified to serve the opposition today and why he has come out squarely against the regime that he was born into.

For the first few weeks after his flight from Syria, Manaf disappeared from sight. Most suspected that he was in France. His first public communiqué was made on July 17^th. On July 25^th, he appeared on Al Arabiya Television Station.

He was also briefly filmed attending Umra in Saudi Arabia, when he was interviewed by the Saudi-owned Ashraq alawsat.

He also visited Qatar at this time, but the trip was not covered by the media. This left many with the impression that Manaf was Saudi’s man. This view was mistaken. Indeed, Manaf was warmly welcomed by the Emir of Qatar in Doha on his trip there.

Turkey, in particular, seems to believe in Manaf’s potential. His trips to that country have reportedly helped cement a solid relationship over the past three months

Lately, Mr. Tlas was interviewed by both David Ignatius of the Washington Post and BBC-Arabic where he gave his last public interview.

Where does Manaf stand today?

The Syrian opposition has been deeply divided. Mistrust and backstabbing have been widespread among opposition factions. No one from the opposition wants to hand leadership to another faction for the sake of unity. Manaf’s background and close previous association with the regime makes it particularly difficult for him to quickly earn the trust of the majority in the opposition. The Islamists think he is too secular. The exiled opposition see him as an insider who was himself part of a regime that they have fought for too long. The pro-regime people, on the other hand, consider him a traitor and an opportunist. Manaf has been highly critical of the regime’s leadership while he calls for unity and moderation when it comes to dealing with the institutions of the government. He has often talked about a “road map”. His strategy builds on the following foundation:

1- No foreign intervention.

2- The need to reassure Alawites that they can split from the regime ruled by the Assad family without fear of retribution or marginalization in a new Syria.

3- The need for the various factions of the opposition and the FSA to unite and reconcile their differences (easier said than done).

4- The need to ensure that Syria does not lose its minorities and its historic cultural and religious mosaic.

5- The need to preserve institutions like the Syrian Army and to prevent an Iraq-like destruction of most Government institutions

The above 5-point plan constitutes what he sees as a “safety net” that will preserve Syria in a post-Assad era.

Will Manaf succeed?

Syria’s opposition needs a national leader desperately. It is important to note that by its very nature, the Syrian regime is constructed to prevent any such leaders from emerging. Indeed, to date, the opposition is struggling to unite behind a single person/entity. Each faction sees this as its only chance. Manaf’s military background is important in this chaotic environment. His secular credentials could attract a large following including the country’s minorities. Alawites were heavily represented in the Republican Guard division that he led. Many reportedly respected and trusted him. This relationship is crucial, if the opposition is to convince Alawites to stop fighting.

Manaf faces many formidable challenges. Many claim that Manaf cannot serve the opposition because he is a member of the Tlas family. His brother, Firas, was a prominent businessman whose success was due to his family’s position. Those in Manaf’s camp do not dispute this but point to the fact that the two brothers led two distinctly separate and independent lives. Surprisingly, there are many that still believe that Manaf’s exit has been coordinated with the palace. This cannot be further from the truth. The final question in the BBC interview addressed this very point. Clearly, Manaf’s response should put this issue to rest. Those close to him claim that as a military officer, dedicated to his troops and country with broad name recognition, Manaf is well placed to serve the opposition cause.

Those that know Manaf doubt that we have seen the end of him. He has chosen a seemingly slow and deliberate path forward. His effort to promote unity and his five-point plan for ending the regime and bringing Syria out of civil war

Manar Tlas’s interviews

First communiqué

Al Arabia statement
David Ignatius’ opinion piece The Washington Post Part of the BBC interviewfrom the BBC site 3 minutesPart of the BBC interviewposted by someone 16 minutesPart of the BBC interview 12 minutes

Syrian defector says opposition can win

L’Express interview: “Nous ne voulons pas être libérés par une intervention étrangère”

BFM interview Text – French

Extract of BFM interview video

Al Jazeera chosen part – Arabic

Manaf’s argument that “”We must convince Alawites that they do not have to commit Suicide along with the regime,” is key to sparing Syria from a much longer and more brutal civil war. So long as Alawites believe that they must stand by Assad’s side in order to save themselves, they can and will destroy Syria.

A Syrian defector’s mission
August 30, 2012 12:36 AM
By David Ignatius in the Washington Post

Syria’s most prominent military defector says the key to political transition in the country is to provide a “safety net” that persuades Alawites they won’t be massacred if they break with President Bashar Assad.

“My main work is to convince the Alawites that they do not have to commit suicide along with the regime,” said Manaf Tlass, a former general in the Syrian army who left the country in July. He spoke Tuesday at a location in France where he has taken refuge. It was his first in-depth interview since he broke with Assad, who was once his close friend.

Tlass said that before there can be a political transition, there must first be a channel of trust between the opposition Free Syrian Army and reconcilable members of the military who are ready to break with Assad, much as Tlass did. Without such links, he said, Assad’s overthrow would plunge the country into a period of anarchic violence and Syria’s chemical weapons would be up for grabs.

“Today, many Alawites are not happy with what’s happening on the ground, but where is the safe zone for them?” he said. “Alawites need to know that there’s a strong side that will guarantee their safety if they defect.” Though Tlass is a Sunni Muslim, he commanded a unit of the Special Republican Guard, which is about 80-percent Alawite, the ethnic minority from which Assad and his inner circle are drawn.

Tlass, 49, spoke movingly about his break from Assad, who, he said, has so bloodied his name that he will never be able to rule Syria effectively again. It began in the spring of 2011, when protests were spreading and Tlass offered to meet with demonstrators. He told Assad about an April 2011 meeting in Darayya with young rebels, whose fathers were silent but obviously proud. “This is the revolution of the fathers through their children,” Tlass warned, noting that such a conflict would be impossible to win by force.

Assad was a changeable, uncertain man, increasingly swayed by the harder line of his family, especially his brother Maher and his cousin Hafez Makhlouf, who heads the internal branch of Syrian intelligence. “If you impose power, people will be afraid, and they will step back,” Makhlouf admonished Tlass.

Tlass says that by May 2011, his counsel of outreach was ignored and his contacts were being arrested after he met them. This was the case even in Rastan, a town in central Syria where his father was born. After Tlass tried to make peace there, he was scolded by Makhlouf. Tlass stopped commanding his army unit after that.

The rupture came in July 2011, when Assad summoned him and asked why he wasn’t leading his troops. Tlass said he responded that the president and his men weren’t sincere about compromise. “You are making me a liar. You and Syria are committing suicide,” he recalls saying. Assad responded that such counsel was “too simple,” and that he was moving to the “security option.”

“You are carrying a heavy load – and if you want to fly, you have to drop that load,” Tlass says he told Assad at that last meeting. “But it seems the heavy load – the family, the inner circle – has won.”

Tlass says he thought at first that he could stay in Damascus, in silent opposition to the hard-liners’ policies. But as the violence increased to countrywide slaughter, he says, “my conscience could not bear it anymore.” He began thinking about how to flee by the end of last year.

The former general still has the rugged good looks that made him a charismatic military leader, which has led some to speculate that he might play a role in a Syrian transition. But Tlass says he doesn’t want any position in a future government, and is focused only on his “road map” for avoiding sectarian strife. He’s probably wise to disavow political ambition, as his wealth, secular lifestyle and prominent background (his father was defense minister) make him a target for a populist, Islamist opposition movement.

I first met Tlass a half-dozen years ago in Damascus, which may be one reason he decided to break his silence and give the interview. When I asked him what he would say to Assad if he could send him one more message, he was overcome by emotion for a moment and left the room. When he returned, he said: “How can anyone think he is protecting his country when his air force and tanks are hitting his own territory?”

AP, Monday September 10 2012, GREG KELLER

Associated Press= BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s most prominent defector said in an interview that aired Monday that he opposes any foreign military intervention in the country’s civil war and that he is confident the opposition can topple President Bashar Assad’s regime.

But Manaf Tlass, a Syrian general who was the first member of Assad’s inner circle to join the opposition, said the rebels need weapons.

“The Syrian people must not be robbed of their victory, they must be given support, aid, arms,” Tlass said in a recorded interview that aired Monday on French television station BFM.

He called on outside powers to give the opposition “all the aid and support” needed to topple Assad.

Comments (101)

zoo said:

Syria’s military opposition is a sinister mascarade

Syria: the foreign fighters joining the war against Bashar al-Assad

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/23/syria-foreign-fighters-joining-war

Jihadi veterans of Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan join callow foreign idealists on frontline of Aleppo

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Aleppo
The Guardian, Sunday 23 September 2012 18.00 BST
…
Chechens, Pakistanis, Libyans, Saudis – the composition of the foreign fighting units in Syria is exotic
…

September 24th, 2012, 9:57 am

Eliot Higgins said:

I think before everyone gets too enamored with Manaf Tlass his alleged past relationship with the French far right, alleged funding of the Voltaire Network International, and claims his family’s publishing house printed a variety of anti-Semitic texts should really be more closely examined.
http://brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/manaf-tlass-and-his-french-far-right.html

September 24th, 2012, 10:00 am

Manaf Tlass? OMG…

We had the fiasco of Borhan Ghaliun the French and Turkey’s favorite, then the ineptia of Sayda, the Saudi and Qatar’s Kurdish favorite. Now France and Turkey, desperately looking for a Sunni figure that could “unite” the opposition have decided to try out and pump out Manaf Tlass. After all Manaf’s sister is very rich and powerful and has a nice parisian salon when she meets the high society and ministries, then why not? A Sunni from a famous and well off family taking the country away from a “peasant” alawite.

Another fiasco in perpective? Fabius and Davutoglu are pathetic and failed foreign ministries. All their attempts to ignore the obvious solution of a dialog with the regime, has made the crisis even worse. It’s time they and the Gulf ‘democracies’ face the reality and show they care more about Syrian lives lost than their overinflated ego.

Manaf Tlass? OMG

September 24th, 2012, 10:14 am

Mina said:

You won’t find news about the people, as long as OIL is running

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/53693/Business/Economy/Libya-exports–pct-of-its-production,-Ras-Lanuf-re.aspx

“Libya exports 70 pct of its production, Ras Lanuf refinery near pre-war levels”

September 24th, 2012, 10:20 am

Despite Israeli’s leader claims, the proof is now made that, without the USA, Israel is zero

Bibi in a Box: Netanyahu Loses Support on Bombing Iran
Sep 24, 2012 1:00 AM EDT

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/09/23/bibi-in-a-box-netanyahu-loses-support-on-bombing-iran.html

After months of bluster on Iran, the Israeli leader is losing steam.

Benjamin Netanyahu was fuming. For the first time in months, the Israeli leader had allowed a discussion in his security cabinet about Iran’s nuclear program and it wasn’t going well.

September 24th, 2012, 10:27 am

Tara said:

You know Zoo it is not acceptable anymore to say that you won’t open links to shelter yourself from watching atrocities. If you continue to defend the regime, then you owe it to yourself first to know what you are defending. Do you not agree?

September 24th, 2012, 10:37 am

habib said:

“The former general still has the rugged good looks that made him a charismatic military leader, which has led some to speculate that he might play a role in a Syrian transition.”

What a qualification! Is this family made entirely of playboys? Anyone remember Razzaq Tlass?

September 24th, 2012, 10:57 am

Maybe the Saudis should take example on the Ottoman caliphs when they imposed a quarantine for the hajjis?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19698335

September 24th, 2012, 10:58 am

Uzair8 said:

Read this on Al Arabiya earlier.

When were the minorities oppressed?

By Michel Kilo

Monday, 24 September 2012

[Selected quote]

When the regime was caught off-guard by the people’s unity during their latest uprising, it found no viable investment to utilize other than the disunity it had sown and the fracture it had instigated, and so the first thing the regime bargained on was sectarianism. It was obvious from day one that the regime had constructed an air-tight plan to awaken dormant differences, and so it sent its security forces to Christian and Alawite villages warning them from their Sunni neighbors and sent to the Sunni villages those who would scare them from their Alawite and Christian neighbors, declaring at each instance its utmost readiness to protect the frightened; a plan aimed at occupying their towns and villages to ensure that those explosive elements were successfully implanted. This is indeed what the regime had done in “Al-Ghab”, for example, as it planted fear in the heart of the Christians of “Al-Sqailabiya” from their Sunni neighbors living in “Qala’at Al-Madeeq”, and vice versa. When a delegation from Al-Sqailabiya went to Qala’at Al-Madeeq to clarify matters, they met on the way a delegation from Qala’at Al-Madeeq heading their way to understand the reasons behind their wish to attack their town. When the reality of the situation became clear to both parties, both returned to their respective towns trying to rid it from the security personnel that had spread there.. In the end, when the regime failed at turning both communities against one another, it dealt brutally with Qala’at Al-Madeeq, many of its citizens finding nowhere else to go other than the homes of their brethren and friends, the Christians of Al-Sqailabiya.

http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/09/24/239842.html

September 24th, 2012, 11:13 am

Manaf and other super-rich should start thinking about people’s real problems and not just about helping their relatives to avoid prosecution for corruption
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/oxfam-report-yemeni-women-worse-off-after-revolution-as-humanitarian-crisis-grows/2012/09/24/fe8028c2-0606-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html

(NB, Yemen was already among the 30 poorest countries on earth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Yemen)

September 24th, 2012, 11:16 am

Tara

Who do you think will win the competition of the worst videotaped atrocity, the rebels or the army? Is Youtube attributing an award?

If you enjoy being in the jury, I don’t.

September 24th, 2012, 11:52 am

Yemen “pacified” by Qatar and Saudi Arabia

Yemeni women worse off after revolution

24/09/2012
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31195

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Women in Yemen are worse off now than a year ago, when they played a significant part in the country’s revolution that promised political and economic change, an international aid agency has concluded.

In a report released Monday, Oxfam International said four out of five Yemeni women claim their lives have worsened over the past 12 months. Faced with an intensifying humanitarian crisis, which has left a quarter of women between the ages of 15 and 49 acutely malnourished, they say they’re struggling to feed their families and are unable to participate in the country’s transition.
…

September 24th, 2012, 11:55 am

The UAE cracking down on ‘militias’ close to Moslem Brotherhood organization. The Moslem Brotherhood is banned in the UAE.

http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31193

UAE Islamist group denies reports it has an armed wing

24/09/2012

DUBAI, (Reuters) – An Islamist group in the United Arab Emirates denied reports that its members had set up an armed wing with the aim of seizing power and establishing an Islamic state in the Gulf Arab country.

Local media in the UAE reported on Thursday that Islamists, who had been detained by the Gulf state’s authorities in the last few months, confessed to setting up a secret organisation with an armed wing.

“These accusations are not true and are baseless, except in the minds of those who fabricated them,” the al-Islah group said in a statement sent to Reuters on Sunday.

“How is it possible that a group of civilians consisting of university professors, teachers, lawyers and businessmen turn into a military organisation?”

The UAE is holding some 60 members of al-Islah which is suspected of having links with Muslim Brotherhood organisation – banned in the UAE, the privately owned al-Khaleej newspaper reported. Two other newspapers, including state-owned al-Bayan, ran similar reports. None gave named sources.

September 24th, 2012, 11:59 am

Young girls rights in ‘modern’ Turkey

Father sells off rape victim following village meeting

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/father-sells-off-rape-victim-following-village-meeting.aspx?pageID=238&nID=30841&NewsCatID=341

A father has agreed to avoid pursuing revenge against the alleged rapist of his 13-year-old daughter in exchange for livestock, the marriage of the victim and her assailant, as well as a bride from the offender’s family, daily Sabah reported today.

September 24th, 2012, 12:01 pm

The UAE will have eventually to answer to the Syrian people in regard to providing shelter to Bushra al Assad, a know partner to Batta al Assad in plotting to kill Syrians.

September 24th, 2012, 12:02 pm

In Egypt, Salafists are replacing the Moslem Brotherhood in jail, with an extra rarely used by Mobarak, the gallows.

Egypt court upholds death sentence of 14 Islamists
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/egypt-court-upholds-death-sentence-of-14-islamists-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=30869&NewsCatID=352

An Egyptian court today upheld the death sentence of 14 Islamists convicted of the murder of seven people in the Sinai Peninsula last year.
..
The country’s top cleric had approved the death sentences, as is customary.

Six men will be hanged. The eight others were being tried in absentia.

September 24th, 2012, 12:07 pm

14. Tara

The UAE, KSA and the Syrian government have found they have a common enemy they all hate: The Moslem Brotherhood and their derivatives.

September 24th, 2012, 12:10 pm

Atassi said:

I am a supporter of the idea of giving Manaf Talss an chance to demonstrate himself as being a constrictive opposition builder, I am certain he can bring new ideas and credibility to any presumed future settlement … We all should help him as much as we can in his mission…..

September 24th, 2012, 12:34 pm

Zoo

Interesting development in the UAE. Alliances are built while the Syrian people are butchered and eyes are wide shut..

September 24th, 2012, 12:39 pm

Brahimi tells UN Council Syria conflict worsening
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/53718/World/Region/Brahimi-tells-UN-Council-Syria-conflict-worsening.aspx

Any news of the Damascus meeting yesterday?

In Egypt, the president travels but on the ground, things are going nowhere: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/53707/Egypt/Politics-/Intellectuals,-rights-advocates-blast-draft-Egypt-.aspx

September 24th, 2012, 1:23 pm

Observer said:

So for the sake of argument and for the sake of looking out of the box:

1. The regime survival becomes acceptable as the regional players decide for whatever reasons be it a) divided oppositin b) chemical weapons safety c) minorities rights etc…. So what form will it have? Reforms if true and deep would spell the end of the regime; cosmetic and symbolic would spell the postponement of another explosion or a low level civil war. The only conclusion that I have now is that the survival of the regime would entail a complete crushing of the opposition.

2. The opposition wins by attrition whereby there is slow and relentless shrinking of the authority of the state and of the ability to control the ground. In that case we have a failed state and the situation will become one of a focus of instability both local and regional.

3. The regime is defeated and we will have a post invasion Iraq like situation whereby the losing community will be marginalized and the centers of power will shift. In this situation I predict internicine conflict and infigthing similar to the post Libya scenario with uncontrolled militia.

4. Regional players plans as I see them: Iran is willing to accept a rump but loyal enclave for its interests

5. Russia has little except to prevent a precedent and to bloody the West’s nose.

So I do not see any new news in this latest posts.

Finally, rumor has it that Manaf was sent out specifically to save the regime by actually presenting himself as an alternative that can guarantee some continuity.

Cheers

September 24th, 2012, 1:57 pm

Visitor said:

Manaf may not have any role in post assad Syria.

If Manaf insists on becoming part of the new Syria he has to be stripped of his rank and agree to becoming a private conscript in the FSA. He will have to go to the front and fight as a private under the command of trusted FSA commanders. He also has to give up all his wealth because it belongs to the Syrian people. He just stole it.

Manaf’s father must be indicted and tried for his role in the first 7Hama massacre. He at the least will have to answer to the question as to why he did not do anything to prevent that massacre. He will have to be punished accordingly.

September 24th, 2012, 2:16 pm

Jasmine said:

IMHO Manaf is an opportunistic figure,but if his contribution is going to help moving Syria on the right track towards peace,he should be given the chance pre-cautiously to help but not to be a leader.

Syria needs time to develop its real political life in a democratic way and therefore moving forward is the aim, and should not aim toward revenge but to achieve accountability and from both sides which is easily said than done.

There are no decent politicians nowadays,half of them are corrupted and the other half are crooks and the successful ones are both usually.

September 24th, 2012, 2:41 pm

DamascusTribune
Once again, #Assad thugs planted a vid. of beheading a man. It’s fake &the original one is from Mexico. Do not spread it please.

http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/damascustribune-once-again-assad-thugs-planted-a-vid/

A related update from shortly earlier:

DamascusTribune
#SYRIA|RT PLS: WARNING 2 THE MEDIA: #ASSAD THUGS PLANTED A HORRIBLE VIDEO OF BEHEADING A MAN & MADE IT APPEARS TO BE DONE BY THEM. THE ORIGINAL VIDEO IS FROM MEXICO. THEY USUALLY DO THAT TO UNDERMINE THE CREDIBILITY OF MEDIA & USE IT TO SUPPORT THEIR CLAIMS OF BEING VICTIM TO MEDIA WAR OF INFORMATION FABRICATIONS.

http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/syriart-pls-warning-2-the-media-assad-thugs/

September 24th, 2012, 3:37 pm

The Syrian government may benefit greatly from Egypt’s realignment toward Iran and away from the USA as well as the hatred and visceral rejection KSA and the UAE have for the Moslem Brotherhood.

Egypt’s Morsi resets ties with US
By M K Bhadrakumar
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NI25Ak02.html

The picture that emerges from Morsi’s stunning interview is that the US has suffered a huge setback to its regional strategy in the Middle East.
…
In immediate terms, the fallout is going to be serious in Syria. A Western intervention in Syria now can be virtually ruled out. On the other hand, without an intervention, a regime change will be a long haul. In turn, Turkey is going to be in a fix, having bitten more than it could chew and with the US in no mood to step in to expedite the Arab Spring in Damascus. (Obama called up Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan last week to extend moral support.)

The good thing is that the US and its allies may now be open to the idea of a national dialogue involving the Syrian government. In fact, the most recent Russian statements on Syria hint at an air of nascent expectations. On the contrary, nervousness with a touch of bitterness is already apparent in the comment by the Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper on the weekend, while taking stock of the United States’ growing difficulties with Egypt’s Brothers:

Will the US president allow his legacy to bear the headline of having kept Bashar al-Assad in power? It would be a terrible legacy to leave behind, no matter how much it could be justified by such arguments as the wisdom of living with yesterday’s tyrant because today’s tyrant could be worse – and what is meant here is not just the tyrant of unruly mobs, but also the tyrants of Muslim extremism and its relations with moderate Islamism in power.

Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia stayed away from the meeting of the quartet on Syria that Cairo hosted last Monday, without offering any explanation.

Simply put, Riyadh is unable to come to terms with Egypt’s return to the centre stage of Arab politics after a full three decades of absence during which the Saudi regime appropriated for itself Cairo’s traditional role as the throbbing heart of Arabism. Riyadh will find it painful to vacate the role as the leader of the Arab world that it got used to enjoying. Almost every single day, Saudi media connected with the regime pour calumnies on Egypt’s Brothers, even alleging lately that they are the twin brothers of al-Qaeda.
…

September 24th, 2012, 3:41 pm

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/first-step-towards-dialogue-syria

By: Marah Mashi

Published Monday, September 24, 2012

Sunday’s National Conference to Save Syria in Damascus saw regime opponents meet with human rights activists and foreign officials from regime-supporting nations to discuss solutions to the ongoing crisis.

Damascus – After several failed attempts and rumors of postponement, the National Conference to Save Syria was held at the Omayad Hotel in Damascus on Sunday.

(…)

Funny, on RT they said it was held at the 4 seasons, and then one of the article posted here said it wasn’t held at all… any idea?

September 24th, 2012, 3:56 pm

SANDRO LOEWE said:

I my opinion Manaf Tlass can be of great proffit to save the Army institution and the future of a new Syria. The army should not be dismantled to avoid what happened in Iraq.

I see very unrealistic trying to end an iron long lasting regime without using some kind of bridge (like Tlass) that can reassure high profile personalities. Of course he could lead the process but never try to become president.

But I think Tlass and other eventual ¨bridges¨ that can be used must bear in mind that the ¨Security police state¨ has to disapear once for all. So, the point is that negotiations should never take place with moukhabaraat high ranks by opposition to the Army.

September 24th, 2012, 4:03 pm

Citizen said:

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_09_24/Militias-in-Libya-and-Syria-outwit-the-CIA/

September 24th, 2012, 5:14 pm

Brahimi – Syria facing food crisis
UN Arab league envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, told the UN Security Council Monday that the country faces a growing food crisis and the Syrian government is portraying the conflict as a “foreign conspiracy”, estimates there are up to 5000 foreign fighters in the country, and has no intention of carrying out reforms. Brahimi also told the council that torture by the regime has become “routine” and that people were now afraid to go to hospitals, which were in the hands of government forces. He also said that while he has some ideas he needs more time in order to get together a plan for Syria.
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-09-24/#id37834

September 24th, 2012, 5:18 pm

قال المبعوث الدولي والعربي الى سورية الاخضر الابراهيمي، عقب جلسة مغلقة لمجلس الامن الدولي يوم الاثنين 24 سبتمبر/ايلول، قدم خلالها تقريره حول الوضع في سورية: ” لقد اطلعت المجلس بصورة وافية عما رأيته وسمعته خلال زيارتي دمشق والقاهرة وكذلك مخيمات اللاجئين في تركيا والاردن”.
واضاف الابراهيمي في مؤتمر صحفي انه “ليست لدي خطة كاملة، ولكن املك بعض الافكار، ووعدت المجلس بالرجوع اليه سريعا بمزيد من الافكار بعد زيارة اخرى الى المنطقة”.
ووصف الابراهيمي الوضع في سورية بأنه “في بالغ السوء ويتفاقم يوما بعد يوم ويشكل تهديدا على الامن والاستقرار في المنطقة وعلى السلم في العالم”.
وفي معرض رده على سؤال، اكد الابراهيمي: “لقد قلت للجميع في دمشق وفي كل مكان ان الاصلاح لم يعد كافيا والامر المطلوب هو التغيير”.
ونوه في نفس الوقت بأهمية اللقاءات التي اجراها مع المسؤولين السوريين والمعارضة الداخلية والخارجية، مشيرا الى انه “يمكن البناء عليها في المستقبل”.
واعتبر ان جهود المعارضة السورية في توحيد صفوفها حتى الآن مخيبة للآمال، الا انه ذكر بان المعارضة مستمرة في محاولاتها لتحقيق ذلك .
وشدد “اريد تمثيلا موحدا لكافة اعضاء مجلس الامن والجامعة العربية وهم يدركون ذلك”.
وكانت مصادر دبلوماسية مطلعة قد قالت ان الاخضر الابراهيمي اعلن خلال الجلسة بان الازمة في سورية تصبح امن يوم لاخر كثر دموية وان صعوبات حصول السكان على المواد الغذائية تتزايد.
ونقلت المصادر عن الابراهيمي قوله ان السلطات السورية تعتبر انه يشارك في العمليات القتالية بالبلاد حوالي 5 آلاف مقاتل اجنبي.
كما أكد نه لا يرى اشارات على استعداد دمشق والمعارضة لوقف العنف والجلوس الى طاولة المفاوضات.
ونوه المبعوث بأن السلطات السورية ترى بأن الازمة في بلادها بدأت نتيجة “مؤامرة دولية”.
هذا واعتبرت فيليس بينيس مديرة مشروع الأممية الجديدة في معهد الدراسات السياسية بواشنطن في حديث مع قناة “روسيا اليوم” من العاصمة الامريكية ان مهمة الابراهيمي هي جزء من المبادرة لحل الازمة ان كان عبر الرباعية او اجتماعات المعارضة الداخلية.
واشارت الى وجود عدة حروب اقليمية ودولية وطائفية وغيرها تدار داخل سورية على حساب الشعب السوري.
واكدت ضرورة وقف تزويد طرفي الصراع بالاسلحة، واصفة دور كل من روسيا، التي تزود النظام بالسلاح، والسعودية وقطر، اللتين تزودان المعارضة بالسلاح، بأنه “خطر جدا”.
http://arabic.rt.com/news_all_news/news/595390/

September 24th, 2012, 5:23 pm

Ignored by Western media, the Syrian Opposition meeting in Omeyyad Hotel in Damascus

September 24th, 2012, 7:33 pm

Manaf Tlass is of zero benefit to Syria and is of zero benefit to the opposition. He is a non-relevant.

September 24th, 2012, 7:47 pm

Darryl said:

Visitor,

Now that you are back from your business trip, are you going to leash and cane SOD as you promised?

I have another question for you. Allah in Surat Al-NaHal, Aya 4 said that He created mankind to be a clear enemy. Why didn’t Allah say “Be” as you say and make mankind a friend instead of an adversary?

September 24th, 2012, 7:50 pm

Darryl,

You mean the Baggage of Damascus or the Burden of the Revolution or the Shallow one of Khayyam’s ilk?

He will soon join his cohort in hades after he drinks his brain away.

—————

The verse you quoted refers to an argument that Ubay Ibn Khalaf, a well-known atheist, made when he brought pieces of decayed bones and threw them in front of Muhammad (PBUH) and asked with derision: do you, Muhammad, claim that your Lord can revive these bones and give them life?

The verse describes Ubay as an adversary because in his question he implicitly denied the unlimited Powers of Allah. Man is used to describe the generic type of atheist who is usually an ‘adversary’ or more precisely denier of Allah.

The same verse and same argument are also echoed in Surah Yassin towards the end.

You seem to confuse the story of Adam’s and Jesus’ creations by Allah with pro-creation.

September 24th, 2012, 8:13 pm

Ghufran said:

Is it just me or it is indeed the beginning of a new line of thinking that is infecting some people who until now were unwilling to explore whether it is better for Syrians to reach a compromise where the only losers are Qatar and militant Islamists?
Tlas is not the only figure who can build bridges, there are many Syrians who are not loyal to Assad but they are not in love with militant Islamists. It is tragic that it took 18 months for some of you to discover that destroying the army is not in anybody’s interest.
Anyway, to arrive late is better than not arriving at all. We need a cease fire, a credible force to monitor that cease fire and supervise elections where Bashar and other unacceptable figures are not running, enough is enough.

September 24th, 2012, 8:28 pm

بغداد – دفع الوضع الأمني المتدهور في العراق رئيس الحكومة نوري المالكي الى الاستعانة بخبرات الضباط المسرحين الذين خدموا في عهد نظام الرئيس العراقي الراحل صدام حسين، لضبط الوضع الأمني المتدهور في العراق.
وفي نهاية ايار/مايو، دعا المالكي الى تشكيل لجنة لإعادة ضباط الجيش السابق الى صفوف الجيش الحالي، وذلك بهدف المساهمة في اعادة الاستقرار الى البلاد، في خطوة يقول محللون إنها “تحمل ابعادا سياسية ومذهبية تنطلق من التوزان الهش الذي يحكم العلاقة بين مكونات المجتمع العراقي”.
وباشرت لجان تابعة لوزارة الدفاع باستقبال طلبات الضباط الراغبين بالعودة. واعلن وزير الدفاع بالوكالة سعدون الدليمي مؤخرا عن اكتمال إجراءات العودة للوجبة الأولى في محافظة نينوى التي تشمل 209 من ضباط الجيش المنحل.
ويقول استاذ العلوم السياسية في جامعة بغداد حميد فاضل ان مبادرة المالكي الذي يحكم البلاد منذ 2006، تأتي لكونه بات “بحاجة الى خبرة هؤلاء الضباط لتحقيق الأمن، خصوصا في المناطق ذات الغالبية السنية”.
لكن فاضل يرى أن “الهدف السياسي غالب على الهدف الأمني في هذه المبادرة” على اعتبار ان المالكي “يطمح في ان يقدم مشروعا وطنيا يتعدى حدود الطائفة الواحدة في الانتخابات القادمة” عام 2014.
It took Iraqi new junta nine years to realize how destructive and criminal their behavior was.

September 24th, 2012, 8:43 pm

Armed rebels testing a home-made rocket:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/09/19/world/middleeast/100000001793400/homemade-rocket-test.html?ref=middleeast

September 24th, 2012, 8:58 pm

العلويون ينشقّون “رغم ضريبة الدم”

لا شك أن حافظ الأسد أعاد بناء الجيش السوري ليكون جيشاً لنظامه كحال بقية جيوش الأنظمة الشمولية الديكتاتورية، ومن ثم جيشاً لحمايته شخصياً، فهو “الأب الأعلى، الفرد المُلهَم، والقائد إلى الأبد”. يشهد على ذلك إعادة بنائه للحرس الجمهوري وتجهيزه بأحدث أنواع الأسلحة التي يتفرّد بها من دون بقية وحدات الجيش السوري.
العديد من القوى والشخصيات المُعارضة تعتبر هذا الجيش لاوطنياً، بينما يسمّيه إعلام النظام وأدبيات حزب البعث “جيشاً عقائدياً”. والحقيقة أنه لا عقيدة لجيش الأسد سوى عقيدة حماية الأسد وعائلته ومحاسيبهم وحلفائهم من كبار اللصوص والفاسدين في النظام. لكن على الرغم من محاولاتٍ لم تتوقف لتطهير الجيش من كافة عناصره الوطنية عبر قتلهم أو تسريحهم أو تهميشهم، بقي فيه عناصر وأفراد يحملون قيماً وأخلاقاً إنسانية ووطنية، سرعان ما ظهرت بعد تفجّر الثورة السورية، وهم من اصُطلِح على تسميتهم بـ”المنشقّين”.

انشقاقات تنتهي بالموت

تمّت تصفية الكثير من ضباط وصفّ ضباط الجيش السوري الذين رفضوا قتل المتظاهرين السوريين، أو رفضوا اجتياح المدن وقصف القرى والبلدات والأحياء السكنية. من بين هؤلاء تمّت تصفية العشرات من الضباط، وصف الضباط العلويين في الجيش لأنّهم رفضوا إطلاق الرصاص على المدنيين، بدليل أنّه في حالات كثيرة لم يتم السماح للأهل بمعاينة جثامين أولادهم قبل دفنها، وباعترافات العديد من الذين ألقى الجيش السوري الحر القبض عليهم، ممّن كلفوا بتصفية من يعصوا أوامر إطلاق النار على المتظاهرين.

وكانت المعلومات تحدثت عن إعفاء العماد علي حبيب من مهامه كوزير للدفاع وتكليف العماد داوود راجحة، بعدما رفض حبيب اجتياح حماه، الأمر الذي دفع النظام إلى تشديد الحراسة عليه ومراقبة تحركاته بأمر مباشر من ماهر الأسد وآصف شوكت. بعدها اختفى حبيب لتعلن وفاته المفاجئة التي قيل إنها حدثت بواسطة حقنة من السم. ودُفنت جُثّته في قريته بصمتٍ في آب 2011 إضافة إلى وضع أولاده وبينهم عميد في الجيش، في الإقامة الجبرية.

كذلك، فإن موقف العقيد محمد أحمد سليمان من قرية أرزونة في طرطوس ليس سوى عيّنة من مواقف عديدة لضباط علويين في الجيش ستتكشّف مستقبلاً، إذ تمّ نقل العقيد محمد إلى عربين في بداية العام 2012، لكنّه رفض قتل أي متظاهر، وتقدم بطلبات متكرّرة إلى رؤسائه لنقله إلى مكان بعيد عن الأحداث كتعبير عن رفضه للقتل. لم يستجب له اللواء المسؤول عنه وهو من قريته نفسها، إلى أن تمّ قتله في كمين رتّبه النظام بسبب مواقفه الإنسانية من الثورة.

بداية الإنشقاقات المعلنة

بعد أربعة أشهر من بدء الثورة السورية انشقّ آفاق أحمد وهو مدير المكتب الخاص في المخابرات الجوية. كانت تلك أول ضربة تتلقاها المخابرات الأسدية بعد بدء الثورة. يقول آفاق إنّه أرسل تقريراً عن حال الشارع السوري الى جميل حسن، رئيسه المباشر، قبل أشهر من اندلاع الثورة السورية، حذّره فيه من انفجار الشارع السوري ونصح باتخاذ إجراءات تحد من تدخّل أجهزة المخابرات في حياة الناس. لكن العميد جميل حسن رفض اقتراحاته وفنّدها واحدة بعد الأخرى. فما كان من آفاق إلا أن انشق عن المخابرات السورية.

ويقول آفاق وهو من منطقة صافيتا موجّهاً كلامه للطائفة العلوية: هناك خمسة آلاف جندي غالبيتهم من العلويين قُتلوا خلال مواجهات مع الجيش الحر أو الثوار، وهؤلاء قتلوا في معركة ليست معركة العلويين. وطائرة بشار الأسد لن تحمل معها ثلاثة ملايين علوي. وهو يورطكم يومياً أكثر فأكثر بدماء وبحرب ليست حربنا.

يعاني آفاق وضعاً أمنياً ومعيشياً صعباً بسبب محاولة النظام إرسال مجموعة لاغتياله في الأردن، في حين باءت بالفشل محاولات إخراجه من الأردن إلى بلد آخر آمن.

إلى ذلك انشقّ المقدّم ركن تيسير علي ديب من القرداحة، عن القوى الجوية، في 17 أيار، يوم ظهر في فيديو وهو يشارك في التدريب في صفوف الجيش الحر، ويقول: “لما قامت الثورة ظننا ان هناك عصابات مسلحة، لكنّني عندما تعرفت على الجيش الحر اكتشفت أنه يتألف من جنود وضباط منشقين عن الجيش، لأنّهم شعروا بالظلم. وجدتُهم زملائي وإخوتي ونتعامل كمجموعة. لا أحد منهم يحب القتل، لا أحد منهم ترك منزله إلا نتيجة تهديم البيوت وردّ الظلم وحماية العرض، ووجدت معاملة جيدة بينهم ولا فرق بين واحد وآخر”.

في 14 أيلول أعلن العقيد الطيار الركن يوسف الأسد، رئيس الاستطلاع في قيادة الفرقة 20 جوية، وهو من طرطوس، انشقاقه عن الجيش النظامي. وقال في بيان انشقاقه “عن العصابة المجرمة وانضمامي إلى ثورة الشعب السوري”، إنه فعل ذلك “لِما قامت به هذه العصابة من قتل وتشريد واستعباد وظلم، وما قام به النظام من استخدام جائر للطيران بصنوفه كافة، في تدمير هذا الوطن وتدمير القرى والبلدات…”.

مسلسل انشقاقات الضباط العلويين سيستمر بسبب شعور هؤلاء الضباط والعناصر أن لا أمل في بشار الأسد وأركان حكمه وعائلته. فهو استغلّ الطائفة كوالده، ولا سيما شبابها في الجيش، ودفع بهم إلى المحرقة، لأجل استمراره في الحكم شهوراً إضافية. كان الأسد العامل الأكبر في تشويه صورة العلويين عند الشعب السوري والعالم.
على هذا فإن الإنشقاقات العسكرية للضباط وصف الضباط العلويين هي الوسيلة الأسرع والأقل كلفة، مادياً ووطنياً، لسقوط النظام، وهو ما يعيد صورة العلويين ناصعة عند الشعب السوري، الأمر الضروري لبناء سورية المستقبل، حرة واحدة مستقلة”.

http://www.nowlebanon.com/Arabic/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=439772

September 24th, 2012, 9:11 pm

Per Brahimi, Batta not interested on reforms and want to return the country to the “old Syria” ie his family’s farm.
—–
According to a diplomat at the private briefing, Brahimi said that Assad’s goal was to return his country to “the old Syria” without any intention of carrying out reforms. The envoy described a rapidly deteriorating country with routine torture, looming food shortages and damaged schools.

Syrian jets bomb Aleppo as envoy says Bashar al-Assad rejects reforms
Ian Black, Middle East editor
The Guardian, Monday 24 September 2012 15.06 EDT

Syrian air force planes bombed targets in the northern city of Aleppo, killing 15 people, including three children from one family, according to opposition sources. Fighting was also reported around Damascus and elsewhere across the country.

September 24th, 2012, 10:19 pm

وجه المجلس الوطني السوري المعارض الاثنين “رسالة الى العلويين”، دعاهم فيها الى عدم “القلق من انتصار الثورة والتغيير”، مؤكدا انهم لن يتعرضوا لاعمال ثأر او انتقام في حال سقوط النظام.
وبحسب وكالة “فرانس برس” ، جاء في هذه الرسالة “نطمئن اهلنا العلويين وجميع السوريين من كل الاتجاهات والتيارات والاطياف ومن جميع المكونات القومية والدينية والطائفية ان المسؤولية القانونية ستطال المرتكبين انفسهم فقط” في اشارة الى كبار المسؤولين في النظام من سياسيين وامنيين.
واضافت الرسالة “ليس لاحد ان يقلق من انتصار الثورة والتغيير الا من تلطخت ايديهم بدم الشعب وتورطوا بالفساد وسرقة المال العام”.

September 24th, 2012, 10:26 pm

قال السيناريست السوري المعارض فؤاد حميرة إن أكثر 20 ألف شخص ينتمون إلى الطائفة العلوية في البلاد قتلوا خلال الأزمة المستمرة منذ 15 آذار2011، ودعا الكاتب الموالين لنظام الرئيس السوري من أبناء طائفته “إلى الالتحاق بركب الثورة”، على حد قوله.
وكتب حميرة على صفحته الشخصية في موقع “فيسبوك”: “على جميع الأقليات وخاصة الطائفة العلوية أن تكف عن التفكير كأقلية، أن يفكر أفرادها بأنهم مواطنون فقط، عندها سيشعرون أنهم يدفعون فاتورة النظام وأفعاله السوداء بحق البلد منذ 42 سنة”.
وتابع: “نحو 20 ألف ضحية من الطائفة العلوية حتى الآن دفاعا عن نظام مارس بحقهم أبشع أنواع التفقير الممنهج ليصبحوا خدما له وعبيدا عند أولاده وأولاد مسؤوليه.. حراسا على أبواب ضباطه في الحر والقيظ والبرد والقر.. الحل هو التوقف عن التفكير كأقليات.. والبدء بالتفكير كمواطنين سوريين فنشعر جميعا بالظلم الذي لحق ويلحق بنا.
وقال في تعليق سابق: “لا أريد أن يبدو الأمر كأن الطائفة العلوية ترتكب مجازر بحق الطائفة السنية، فهذا تكريس لما يردده النظام وبعض المعارضين الموتورين”.
وأضاف: “هذه المجازر يرتكبها نظام يضم السنة والعلويين والمسيحيين والدروز والتركمان والأكراد وكل مكونات الشعب السوري، صراع الثورة إذا ليس مع الطائفة العلوية وإنما مع النظام فلا ضرورة من التركيز على البعد الديني للصراع لأن فيه خدمة لكل أعداء الثورة في الداخل والخارج”.
وشن هجوما على نظام الرئيس الأسد قائلا: “على الجميع أن يعلم حقيقة هامة هي أن آل الأسد منذ وصولهم إلى السلطة قاموا وبطريقة ممنهجة بالقضاء على كل المرجعيات الدينية والسياسية والعسكرية في الطائفة العلوية ليبقوا هم وحدهم المرجعية الوحيدة للطائفة”.
واعتبر أن إصدار بيانات استنكار باسم الطائفة العلوية أمر فيه كثير من المغالطات، موضحا: “إن في تركيز البعض على ضرورة أن يصدر العلويين بيانات استنكار وشجب للمجازر، يبدو كأنه إعطاء صك براءة لبقية المساندين للنظام من باقي الطوائف”.
تجدر الإشارة إلى أن السيناريست فؤاد حميرة عرف بكتابته لعدة نصوص تلفزيونية ناجحة أهمها “الحصرم الشامي” و”غزلان في غابة الذئاب”.

September 24th, 2012, 10:31 pm

عبد الباري عطوان
السوريون فتحوا قلوبهم قبل بيوتهم لكل اللاجئين العرب، واستوعبوا ابناءهم في مدارسهم، وعالجوهم في مستشفياتهم على قدم المساواة مع ابنائهم، واقتسموا معهم لقمة الخبز، يواجهون الآن بنكران الجميل وغلق الحدود، ويتعرضون لابتزاز السماسرة السياسيين قبل منتهزي الفرص وتجّار الحروب.
The Ba’ath slogan was in intensive care, now it is dead:
أمة عربية واحده ذات رسالة خالده
عرب معيزه

September 24th, 2012, 11:05 pm

Halabi said:

“Ignored by Western media, the Syrian Opposition meeting in Omeyyad Hotel in Damascus”

By ignored, the menhebak means that the meeting was covered by Reuters, AFP, AP, dozens of newspapers including the Financial Times, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, the National, and this is from a simple search. I didn’t see what Sana reported but I’m certain the meeting’s final communique which called for the fall of the regime and all its symbols wasn’t covered.

In addition to lies, menhebaks are always ready with delusions. Somehow the ultra-conservative Sunni takfiri Muslim Brotherhood is now best friends with the Shiite theocracy. The evidence: Morsi made a very short trip to Tehran where he all but defecated in Ahmadinejad’s beard. Iran returned the favor by mistranslated his speech. That’s the behavior of the closest allies – I’m sure Bashar is planning to invite all his buddies over for one the infamous Assad key parties…

September 24th, 2012, 11:19 pm

Hamoudeh al-Halabi said:

The Great Shaykh Muhammad Said al-Kahil Passed Away
http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/the-great-shaykh-muhammad-said-al-kahil-passed-away/

This Month in Sayf al-Dawleh, Aleppo
http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/this-month-in-sayf-al-dawleh-aleppo/

This Month in Ansari Mashhad, Aleppo
http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/this-month-in-ansari-mashhad-aleppo/

September 25th, 2012, 12:41 am

Atheist Syrian Salafist Against Dictatorships said:

Bravo Ghufran! that’s more like it. I started writing a long comment comparing your usual view of our revolution to these late entries, but I thought it too negative and am opting for the above short commendation. I am so glad you’re starting to see the light!

EVERYBODY! LISTEN UP! DON’T FORGET! The slogan of the revolution from day one was and still is:

حرية حرية

واحد واحد واحد ، الشعب السوري واحد

For the people said:

I do not know much about Manaf Tlass aside from what I had been reading here and there. But I must say: Very interesting!When one reads the whole package, this man’s message becomes more clear! It is a pitty, if only Syrians put more energy trying to unite and reinforce than dividing and attacking each other.
Caution is understandable , but I see more than words for once and a project built on basic nationlistic points everyone would logically agree upon. From the sincerity I somehow felt in his arguments I would say the opposition should make better use of his presence on their side that is another huge blow to the regime, and for once one that avoids the destruction of the country.

September 25th, 2012, 12:50 am

Don’t know if you can bear to watch nearly 1.5 hours of talk, but here is Haytham Manna, Lu2ai Hussein, Laith Shbeilat and Mulhem Droubi yakking it out, in Arabic of course (if you’re Syrian, that shouldn’t be a problem, ya?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgczpALTMYc&feature=player_embedded

Well, we can go round and round and round and jawbone (نطق حنك)for hours on end, but the point that we’re going to reach is this: we want all fighting, killing, destruction, THE MADNESS to stop, but is the regime willing to pull back now after all it has done? Who is going to convince it/FORCE IT to pull back and stop its military solution? And when we suggest that the revolutionaries/rebels should be the ones to silence their guns first aren’t we basically inviting the regime to collect its breath, declare victory and just sit tight and let people keep talking (just like it did by allowing the conference to take place in Damascus despite the unprecedented language coming out of it?) I can imagine Bashar’s security honchos sitting around sipping whiskey and smoking cigars, just like the Corleone Family lieutenants would, with one saying with a wave of the hand “let’em talk, let’em knock themsleves out! We ain’t going nowhere; they’ll soon understand that.”

Must be catching folks, I’m becoming just as verbose as HM & Co.

September 25th, 2012, 4:40 am

After the Turks, now the Jordanians want the “ungrateful” Syrians refugees to be sent back to their country. Where is Angelina Jolie?

Syrian refugees clash with Jordanian police
By JAMAL HALABY | Associated Press – 41 mins ago

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

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Angry over harsh living conditions in their desert tent camp in Jordan, dozens of Syrian refugees clashed with Jordanian police, hurled stones and smashed charity offices and a hospital, officials and refugees said Tuesday.

The rioting late Monday in the Zaatari camp was the worst violence since the facility opened in July near the Jordan-Syria border. About 26 policemen were injured by stones thrown by the refugees, a police official said.

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

September 25th, 2012, 9:00 am

Snubbed by Obama, sulking to be facing a woman in a superior power position, Morsi gets another chance from Smily Hillary.
The attached strings are not mentioned.

Clinton reassures Egypt’s Mursi on U.S. assistance
By Andrew Quinn | Reuters – 5 hrs ago

http://news.yahoo.com/clinton-reassures-egypts-mursi-u-assistance-034630848.html
…
The U.S. official said Clinton’s meeting with the Egyptian leader was relaxed and warm and waved away suggestions that the president’s “ally” comment reflected broader uncertainty in the relationship.

“We’ve moved past that,” the official said.

September 25th, 2012, 9:11 am

Dawoud said:

Bushra al-Assad’s self-exile out of her brother’s dictatorship to Dubai is a vote of no-confidence that the murderous al-Assad family could continue its tyranny.

Tara, et al.:

Do you agree with me that President Morsi’s initiative should NOT be quickly dismissed? You probably now know that I am the most anti-Hizbillat and Iranian government person (I only despise Israel more). However, Morsi is speaking against foreign intervention not only because he knows that the West would never intervene (covertly the West is happy that Syrians are killing each other and creating a failed state that would not challenge the Zionist entity for years to come), but also that such an intervention would taint the blessed Syrian revolt and turn its courageous revolutionaries into collaborators. He likely supports providing arms to the rebels. His inclusion of Ayatollah’s sectrian Iran is intended to reduce its support for the dictators, which Tehran may do if it becomes that Bashar are on his way out. Tehran may pretend that it was never really on the dictator’s side since it joined the group of President (impressive/courageous/independent) Morsi. A face-saving solution!

Free Syria and Palestine!

September 25th, 2012, 9:13 am

It seems that the FSA headquarters has been moved to Syria in a deliberate attempt to force the West to take over from Turkey the responsibility to protect the FSA from air raids.

Qatar calls for no-fly zone in Syria
Reuters – 18 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/qatar-calls-no-fly-zone-syria-125644727.html

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Qatar has called on world powers to prepare a “Plan B” for Syria within weeks and set up a no-fly zone to provide a safe haven inside the country in case international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi fails to make progress in the crisis.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said he believed that Arab and European countries would be ready to take part, despite their public reluctance to commit the forces needed for such a mission.

Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, strongly supports the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels, while Shi’ite Iran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite minority is an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.

Western powers, meanwhile, have made clear that they are opposed to direct intervention and the United Nations Security Council will not sanction action against the wishes of Russia and China.s

September 25th, 2012, 9:25 am

he knows that the West would never intervene (covertly the West is happy that Syrians are killing each other and creating a failed state that would not challenge the Zionist entity for years to come), but also that such an intervention would taint the blessed Syrian revolt and turn its courageous revolutionaries into collaborators.

Agree with this bit but not the hatred part. Disgust (قرف)?, Yes; would be happy to see the AssMAA go to hell/get just punishment meted out? Yes. Ditto for those heartless Iranians and any others who are aiding the murder of innocent Syrians.

September 25th, 2012, 9:28 am

Dawoud

Yes. I agree on the 2 counts. Bushra’ “immigration” to Dubai is a covert admittance on her part that the revolution shall emerge victorious. I also view Morsi’s initiative similarly and support it. I am hoping that the Mullahas are pragmatic enough to see the writing on the wall.

The MBees meet

Egypt’s Morsi to discuss Syria in Turkey visit

CAIRO – Agence France-Presse

Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Morsi will travel to Turkey on Sunday for discussions expected to focus on the conflict in Syria, state media reported.

Morsi’s visit will be his first to Turkey since he became Egypt’s first democratically elected civilian president in June.
..
Egyptian Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed said in mid-September that Turkey would offer a $2 billion aid package to Egypt to fund infrastructure projects.

September 25th, 2012, 9:29 am

For the anti-Bashar SC commenters, Manaf is now their only hope and their savior. The are scrambling to justify their flip.

If this is what the Sunni community can produce as leader, no wonder 59% of Syrians, according to the poll, will vote for an Alawite.

September 25th, 2012, 9:36 am

Did Obama really shun Morsi? Or was it also a logistical problem just like what happened with Bibi?

Carney responded that the president was not referring to the deaths and that it was “offensive” to suggest otherwise.

Obama was scheduled to attend a reception for world leaders in New York on Monday night before addressing the general assembly on Tuesday morning.

He is being criticised by Republicans for failing to meet the Israeli leader Binyamin Netanyahu either in New York or Washington to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme.

The Republicans are portraying this as a snub to what they say is America’s closest ally.

Carney repeated, diplomatically, that it is a logistical problem, with Obama and Netanyahu in New York at different times. He added that Obama had spoken with leaders in the region frequently over the past month, particularly leaders from Egypt, Israel, Yemen and Turkey.

No bilateral meetings with any leaders are planned, Carney said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/24/obama-middle-east-unrest-un-speech

September 25th, 2012, 9:39 am

Son of Damascus said:

Zoo,

@45

The better question is where is Asmaa? Why is she not helping the refugees?

Do you remember her interview on CNN about Gaza and the plight of children there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0nASbOg3B8

It must be children orphaned by her husband and the people he has displaced don’t count in her books…

September 25th, 2012, 9:48 am

What happened with Bibi and Morsi is the same.
Obama snubbed them both and humiliated even more Morsi by letting meet with Hillary, a foreign minister. He could have at least asked the VP Joe Biden, a man, to be present. Knowing the little regard Morsi has for women in power, that was an intended message.

The photo says it all: Hillary triumphant and Morsi sulking.

Anyway Morsi has not choice, he needs the money.

September 25th, 2012, 9:49 am

#54 SOD

Asma Al Assad is not welcomed with refugees that have been brainwashed to hate the Assad.

I guess Queen Rania should make an appearance in these camps, don’t you think? That’s the least she could do. I also think Abdel Halim Khaddam as well as Manaf Tlass should leave their salons in Paris to come and cheer them up as well as collect funds.
Syria is bankrupted, it can’t do much anymore as it did for the Iraqi refugees.

September 25th, 2012, 9:56 am

“If this is what the Sunni community can produce as leader, no wonder 59% of Syrians, according to the poll, will vote for an Alawite.”

Even after I told you to READ the article you still FAILED to understand it. They polled regime OPPONENTS in that poll.

So yeah 59% of the OPPOSITION said they would vote for a QUALIFIED Alawi candidate (so much for the opposition is sectarian talk), which you saw as “proof” that Syrians still support Besho…

September 25th, 2012, 9:59 am

Are you still infatuated with Asma al Assad?

September 25th, 2012, 10:00 am

I do not support Manaf, I know exactly who he is and as such would never support him.

Khaddam beyswa nuss sirmayeh…

One is trying hard to be part of the opposition and the other is as useful as a doorstop.

“brainwashed to hate the Assad.”

So over 150 000 people have been brainwashed to hate Assad? And all those TNT Barrels, Mortars, Shells, Helicopter Gunship attacks, Fixed Wing Attacks, massacres, devastations and destruction had nothing to do with it?

The question you should ask Zoo is why were these people refugees in the first place?

September 25th, 2012, 10:06 am

Are you with Ghaliun and Sayda?

No.

September 25th, 2012, 10:08 am

ATASSI said:

Fearful Alawites pay sectarian militias in battered Homs
25 September 2012
Reuters News
(c) 2012 Reuters Limited

(The identity of the journalist has been withheld for security reasons)

* Alawites say wealthy families forced to pay shabbiha in Homs

* Sectarian fears play into choice to support militias

* Alawites say they have nowhere to flee as fighting worsens

HOMS, Syria, Sept 25 (Reuters) – “Shabbiha” militias in Syria’s most shell-shocked city used to offer fellow minority Alawites protection out of solidarity. Now, security comes at a price: About $300 a month.

Alawite residents in Homs say they are being coerced into helping fund the war effort of the “shabbiha”, brutal sectarian militias supporting President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on an 18-month-old rebellion.

“The shabbiha exploit our fear. Every time, there is some excuse – they need food or ammunition. But it’s basically a silent understanding now that each month the wealthier families pay,” says Fareed, a greying surgeon who lives with his family in Zahra, an Alawite district of Homs.

The cost of war is rising at the site of the longest- running battle between Assad’s forces and the rebels. Fareed fears his children could be kidnapped for ransom if he doesn’t pay the shabbiha what they call “protection money”.

Shabbiha are formed mostly from members of Assad’s own Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam. They have been the fiercest enforcers of a bloody crackdown on the uprising led by Syria’s majority Sunni Muslims, even accused of massacres.

The disgust some Alawites have at the idea of paying for them symbolises a greater inner conflict many in their sect are struggling with: Do they risk rejecting the crackdown by their Alawite-led government and its brutal militias? Or do they buy in, literally, to the shabbiha argument that this is a fight for existence against Sunnis determined to take revenge?

“I’m not comfortable with it, it seems wrong. But I have no choice,” says Saeed, 40, a balding engineer in a slick black suit. “If I didn’t pay, I could be at risk. These guys are dangerous.”

After months of fighting, only the shabbiha-guarded Alawite enclaves like Zahra are relatively unscathed. Zahra has swelled to nearly 200,000 Alawites in recent months.

The neighbourhoods belonging to Hom’s large Sunni population have become graveyards of bombed buildings and shattered streets. Very few families remain.

“THE SAFEST PLACE IN SYRIA”

With jobs and money drying up due to the unrest, the $300 fee is no small sum.

But Alawites in Zahra say that while they know the money they pay is extortion, and that shabbiha violence towards Sunnis puts them more at risk, they are regularly reminded of how precarious their fate is.

As the sound of crashing mortars in the distance shakes the silverware on his dining room table, Fareed stops his rant against shabbiha and sighs.

“Some days, I think we really do need them to protect us,” the elderly doctor says, surveying his four children silently eating their meal.

The fight for Homs has fallen off the front pages as battles erupt in Syria’s bigger cities, Damascus and Aleppo, but it has not eased. Gunfire perpetually rings in the background. Buildings are collapsing in the daily hail of mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

Shabbiha gangs used to rake in money by looting rebellious Sunni districts in Homs after the army raided them. But now that source of cash has run dry. Asking for “protection money” may be a way to make up for that.

The groups have become well organised in Homs. They have divided Zahra into six regions, each with a local “boss”.

In each area, the boss sends young men with shaved heads and camouflage pants to monitor, strutting about with their rifles in hand. The army stays out, only manning road blocks on the outskirts of the district.

“There is no state presence in Zahra any more, even though it is surrounded by Sunni areas. Yet it is the safest place in Syria,” says Saeed, reluctantly giving the shabbiha their due.

One improvement residents say their donations funded is the building of two 20-metre high blast walls towering over Zahra’s main square. The street had once been within easy range of rebel gunmen atop buildings in neighbouring districts.

“This used to be the deadliest spot in Zahra,” says Manhal, the surgeon Fareed’s son, as he walks behind the two massive white-washed walls.

Instead of seeing residents scurrying below, all gunmen nearby can see now is a giant poster that shabbiha plastered over the wall: A portrait of former President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, who ruled for nearly 30 years until his death.

Frustrated rebels have taken to shooting at the picture instead. The eyes, nose and mouth are riddled with bullet holes.

NOWHERE TO GO

Not far from Fareed’s family home, Wael “the accountant” combs a thick glob of hair cream into his dark hair and gets on his motorbike to make the monthly rounds for his boss.

“In my area we have 15 families. I get the money for the boss whenever there is a need: weapons, gas, car repairs, food for our boys,” says the 25-year-old tough.

Wael doesn’t think what he does is exploitative. He sees it as a service that residents need to pay to maintain. Unhappy residents can leave Homs if they want, he argues.

“We even arrange convoys to help them get out – that costs 10,000 lira ($120).”

There is no end in sight to Syria’s civil war. International powers are too deadlocked to negotiate. Fighters show no interest in laying down their arms. Meanwhile, groups like the Alawites feel more vulnerable, and the shabbiha have taken advantage.

Umm Hani, a mother of two in Zahra, noticed the trend after a stunning bomb attack in July that killed four top security officials in Damascus.

“After that, the regime was shaken. And the shabbiha started to take more power, they started to demand more money. Without saying a word, they made their message clear: We are the ones responsible for you. Pay up.”

There are deep wrinkles around Umm Hani’s blue eyes after months of anxiety. Alawites like her feel trapped. She doesn’t have enough savings to leave Syria. She feels she would be unsafe in the mostly Sunni refugee camps on the borders. Paying is the only choice.

“Where can we go? Who would accept us? So we stay, and we deal with our new little pharaohs.”

(Writing by Erika Solomon; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

September 25th, 2012, 10:09 am

Erdogan attempts to mend his relation with Al Maliki. Maliki may not respond.

Iraq PM invited to Turkey amid frosty ties

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iraq-pm-invited-to-turkey-amid-frosty-ties.aspx?pageID=238&nID=30928&NewsCatID=338

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has received an invitation to visit Ankara from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a high-ranking Iraqi official said today.

Erdoğan “sent an official invitation to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki a few days ago to visit Ankara, the official said on condition of anonymity. “It is not certain if he will accept.”

September 25th, 2012, 10:10 am

#61 Tara

La dona e mobile…

September 25th, 2012, 10:12 am

Exposed: the crimes against Syria’s children

Shocking testimony collected from refugees in camps outside Syria has revealed that children have been killed, maimed and tortured in the country’s brutal civil war. They’ve also witnessed the deaths of parents, siblings, other children, and torture.

Link to the entire report, it is really appalling the level of barbarity being committed on innocent children.

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/untold_atrocities.pdf

September 25th, 2012, 10:23 am

It was the Duke who was fickle..

September 25th, 2012, 10:44 am

Muslim world seethes, but who is pulling the strings?
Hassan Hassan

Sep 17, 2012

knew Abdulsalam Minhibbak for the majority of my English language studies at the British Council in Damascus, between 2004 and 2006. A middle-class young man from the Syrian capital, he was not a practising Muslim. By Salafi standards, he would probably qualify as a disbeliever.

Yet in early 2006, he led mobs to burn the Danish embassy in Damascus after a Danish newspaper published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist. The cartoon sparked protests across the Muslim world. Rioters in Damascus stormed the embassies of Norway and Denmark, based in the same building.

[…]

Recently, years after my classmate led his march on the Danish embassy, a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks alleged that the Baathist regime in Syria incited the riots and orchestrated the embassy arsons. Six years later, I find myself wondering whether Abdulsalam could have put down his torch and stowed his rage, resisting becoming a pawn of the Syrian regime.

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/muslim-world-seethes-but-who-is-pulling-the-strings#full

September 25th, 2012, 10:45 am

44 Atheist,
So they all moved to al-Mayadin? The very TV channel that people here denounced as minhibak last year because its director was among the few to say what was the real Qatari agenda?

September 25th, 2012, 11:19 am

And who is “they”, pray tell!

Haytham Manna was interviwed on Mayadeen practically from day one. He appears on AL-3alam tv as well, and any other station that is willing to let him speak and tell his views. I don’t know about the Jordanian guy and whether he is a regular or about Luai Hussain who I suspect would get invited often due to his being part of the sanctioned “internal” opposition. The only one unusual guest is the SNC member mulhem Droubi. But in any case, I still believe the station has a regime slant on things and you can see that in the way Ghassan ben-Jiddo manipulates the questions and emphasizes things over others. It also depends on who he’s talking to: for example he knows that he can be told off by HM if he said something that misrepresents the situation or someone’s position.

At any rate Mayadeen is a known regime apologist station, a sort of Al-Jazeera in reverse, if you like. The purpose of hosting the discussion is primarily to highlight how “democratic” and “free” (I am going to get sick now!) the regime is for allowing the conference to take place in Damas (notwithstanding the detention of 3 very important opposition figures!). Ben Jiddo made such a fuss of reading the final communique of the conference that calls for “isqat al nizam bikull rumouzeh”, I mean, crikey, it wasn’t even subtle.

September 25th, 2012, 12:11 pm

By “they” I meant the presentator of al ittijah al mu’akis, who seem to have joined Bin Jiddo, as other journalists of aljazeera, from what I read here and there, a good news for me!
He was still on al jazeera a few months ago (sorry I can’t recall his name).

September 25th, 2012, 12:24 pm

It is my opinion that the so-called poll about 59% of Syrians voting for an alawite is not reliable and cannot be considered as accurate. It is quite likely the sample is not representative of the overall popoulation. It is also possible the pollsters have their own agenda.

After what happened in the last 50 years Syrian Sunnis can never trust a minority to rule over them.

People are sectarian even if they do not admit it. I prefer honesty over pretense when it comes to sectarianism. We know that Hafez came to power as a supposed secularit but ended up using nepotism to benefit those he trusted and who happened to be from his own sect. That is not a coincidence. He used the mantra of secularism to advance his sectarian agenda.

Therefore things have to be dealt with in real terms. Majorities have the right to rule and no one should question this simple fact. They are also the most qualified to safeguard the rights of the minorities since thay are the least prone to feel threatened by the minorites.

This should be settled once and for all.

I would never vote for a non-Sunni. And I offer no apologies for that precisely because of the experience of the last half century.

Sorry, I meant the journalists, not the guests. I didn’t realize that the guy who founded al Mayadeen was the very same Ben Jeddo!

September 25th, 2012, 12:30 pm

ghufran said:

اوضح عضو المنبر الديمقراطي المعارض في سورية ميشيل كيلو في اتصال مع قناة “روسيا اليوم” أن الاخضر الابراهيمي يعالج أزمة فائقة الصعوبة ولها تدخلات كثيرة خارجية وداخلية وفيها اطراف غير منضبطة على رأسها النظام السوري. واكد ان الابراهيمي لا يملك عصا سحرية لحل الأزمة حالا وبسرعة.
واشار الى ان فكرة رئيس وزراء قطر التي تحدثت عن خطة بديلة لحل الازمة تتضمن إقامة منطقة حظر جوي فكرة قديمة، متسائلا من سيقيم الحظر الجوي؟ الناتو وواشنطن غير مستعدين وتركيا ليس لديها القدرة ولا حتى ايران ستسمح بذلك، معتبرا انها فكرة مجرد كلام.
واعتبر المعارض السوري ان قطر مهتمة بأن تبقى الازمة السورية مستعرة قائلا “لا احد يعرف ماذا تريد قطر من سورية لكنها بالتأكيد لا تريد ان تكون سورية ديمقراطية.

September 25th, 2012, 1:02 pm

Syria civil war: ‘We expend the one thing we have, men. Men are dying

Three weeks after Syrian rebels entered the northern town of Aleppo, ammunition supplies had dwindled to 600 bullets and six rockets, resulting in a very bloody stalemate with Assad’s forces. But despite a ‘rotten’ process, supplies are finally on their way
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Aleppo
The Guardian, Tuesday 25 September 2012 09.53 EDT

“I met two Americans yesterday in Antakya (Turkey) . They told me that no advanced weapons would come to us unless we were unified under the leadership of the local military councils. So shoot the video and let me handle the rest.” Looking in the back, it was clear the ammunition was new. The RPG rounds were still wrapped in plastic.

Mohamed described where the weapons had come from. Different donors in Saudi Arabia were channelling money to a powerful Lebanese politician in Istanbul, he said. He in turn co-ordinated with the Turks – “everything happens in co-ordination with Turkish intelligence” – to arrange delivery through the military council of Aleppo, a group composed mostly of defected officers and secular and moderate civilians.
..
The rebel plan for the assault on Aleppo had been simple, Mohamed said. They were told by the leadership that if they took the fight to the heart of the city, the supply lines would flow. But three weeks after the rebels entered the town, the ammunition for a front stretching from the Saif al-Dawla boulevard in the north to the Salah al-Din neighbourhood in the south-west had dwindled to 600 bullets and six RPG rockets. The lines were close to collapse.

“They told us to start the rebellion and then we would get support,” Mohamed said. “The city was divided into three sectors and we split our forces and ammunition between the three fronts, but we didn’t imagine that we would enter Aleppo so easily. We took 60% of the city in the first few days. We overstretched our units, while the regime had decided to concentrate all his power to fight in one sector, Salah al-Din.

“We started pulling resources from the two other sectors and concentrated them here. At the same time the support we were promised stopped. That led to all three sectors buckling at the same time. We don’t have the ammunition we were promised. Every day the [Syrian] army is pushing forwards. So we expend the one thing we have, men. Men are dying.”
..
The major had been in Turkey looking for funds, and had now decided to spend a few days with Hussein before heading to his battalion. He described the difficulty of finding money and supplies across the border. “I tell you it’s rotten up there,” he said. “Everyone is willing to pay you just a little bit to buy you – the Muslim brotherhood, [the defected air force colonel] Riad al-Assad. They are rotten, playing with us. I sat for three weeks waiting there and nothing came.”

He had met the former head of the transitional national council, Burhan Ghalioun, in Turkey. “He took me with him into a meeting in Istanbul. I love this man, we met a prince in the Qatari armed forces. We talked and explained everything and he had an idea of what was going on, but he said the good times were coming soon. We left with nothing.
…
A few metres down the road a yellow taxi stood in the middle of the road, the windshield riddled with 18 bullet holes. Inside, under a thick layer of flies, were the bodies of a man and a woman. From their positions it seemed that in their last movements the man had tried to shield her, and she had tried to hide beneath him. In the back seat lay a dead chid.

(…)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/25/syria-bloody-stalemate-aleppo-rebels

September 25th, 2012, 1:10 pm

I don’t know why my comment @ 10:44 am deserved the 11 “likes”, but thank you. Great crowd!

September 25th, 2012, 1:55 pm

Hamad’s plan for Syria is a very good plan,

http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/ab3e9baf-0275-46d4-8468-d9272adc5d79?GoogleStatID=1

I support it 100%. And the UN need also support it,

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/25/240161.html

French President stresses the need to intervene in Syria. We cannot argue with that.

September 25th, 2012, 2:13 pm

September 25th, 2012, 2:23 pm

Syrian refugee newborns named Abdullah, Rania as token of appreciation

Women feeling violence back home find solace, security in Jordan

Sep 22, 2012

RAMTHA — Although their lives have been turned upside down by violence in their country, many Syrians who fled to Jordan are finding a sympathetic ear and security in the Kingdom.

“Being away from home is no longer an issue, as I feel safe here and surrounded by caring people,” Radwah Shalabi said, as she sat cuddling her two-week old son at the UNFPA clinic in the Cyber City complex, located in the Ramtha District, 90km north of Amman.

When she left her hometown of Daraa less than two months ago seeking refuge in Jordan, Shalabi was in her seventh month of pregnancy.

She said it was not easy walking for hours amid the shelling, while carrying her three-year old son.

On September 4, Shalabi said she gave birth to a baby boy and “named him Abdullah, after the King of Jordan who provided us with a safe place to stay in”.

http://jordantimes.com/syrian-refugee-newborns-named-abdullah-rania-as-token-of-appreciation

September 25th, 2012, 2:27 pm

It could be an idea for Queen Rania to visit the Syrian refugees in Jordan. To meet with and comfort the women and children. Make it a huge media event with local and international press and media coverage.

Perhaps the First Lady of Turkey could do the same in Turkey in a coordinated event.

We know Angelina Jolie has done something similar.

The moving and sympathetic coverage and pictures will go around the world bringing the plight of the syrian people to every home.

Asma al Assad’s silence would be deafening.

September 25th, 2012, 2:36 pm

Emir Qatar Hamad:
“نرى ان تدخل الدول العربية سياسيا وعسكريا لوقف العنف وضمان انتقال السلطة هو الحل على غرار ما حصل حين تدخلت قوات الردع العربية في لبنان في سبعينيات القرن الماضي وكانت خطوة ناجحة”،
وأكد ان “القضية الاساسية تظل القضية الفلسطينية واستمرار الاحتلال الاسرائيلية في الضفة العربية ومزارع شبعا الى جانب الحصار المفروض على قطاع غزة”، سائلا “لماذا لا يصدر المجلس الامني قرارا تحت الفصل السابع يلزم اسرائيل بوقف الاستيطان وفك الحصار عن غزة”
two reasons why this speech is worthless:
1. the intervention in Lebanon required a consensus that does not exist today, that intervention was not done to stop a revolution against an unpopular regime and it was not done to unseat a president or topple an existing government.
2. waiting for the UNSC to use chapter 7 against Israel is a total joke, the guy thinks we are dumb, he said what he said to cover his request to use chapter 7 against Syria.
Hammoudeh Afandi, start a regime change in your own Emirate before asking others to change their governments.
Hamad’s two points will be better received if they were made by somebody other than an Arab Sheikh.

September 25th, 2012, 2:38 pm

Erin said:

The Cairo doctrin has fallen aka COLLAPSED. It is time for the O adminstration to realize that the radical islam they are tyring to please is a mirage for democracy, civil rights, humanity and as Assad told the Americans frequently it is going to burn the USA interest over and over again.I wish more turmoil hit the arab world to make it clear that the radical interest is destroying the middle east.
Obviousely, the interest of the US here is not democracy for Syria or the middle east but it is the proxy war and other geopolitical interest which serves Israel ” as father Paolo even admitted”.
I am glad that Miss Piggy and her boss realize by the day that the best interest of the USA is not a regime like the Morsi regime to rule Syria, therefore, no weapon for the terrorists, but rhetoric and empty promises on TV and on the ground the elimination of this radicals is a daily chores being deligated to the syrian army.
Assad is not going to last, but he is finishing a good job by eliminating as much as possible of foreign Alqaida and its affiliate in Syria.
someone, posted up here by Michelle Kilo, that Qatar wants everything for Syria but not a democratic one, well hello, it took you guys that long to realize it or admitted it.
It is a dirty game being played at the expense of the syrians and who ever dies it is his/her loss, it is sad but the daily reality everyone in syria has to deal with.

September 25th, 2012, 2:52 pm

The Sumos of Qatar, having failed to dislodge Bashar al Assad, and failed to lure Libya and Tunisia toward their friends, the Moslem Brotherhood, now want to play the heroes of the Palestinians.

Hamas has refused to have an office in Doha, the Taliban too.
All the efforts of pathetic mini-Qatar to have some kind of role in the international diplomatical world have failed.

Why don’t they stick to buying more luxury hotels in Paris and continue the Olympics games bribing?

September 25th, 2012, 3:52 pm

72. GHUFRAN
اعتبر المعارض السوري ان قطر مهتمة بأن تبقى الازمة السورية مستعرة قائلا
“لا احد يعرف ماذا تريد قطر من سورية
من هم السوريون الذين يحتمل أن يوكلوا بأي دورى للقطري في مسألة البيت السوري و ترتيبه ؟ القطري لا يملك مساحة استماع لدى الذهنية السورية و عليه فان دوره ليس أكثر من استثمار مالي في الدم السوري
11,437 كم2 1,853,563 نسمة

September 25th, 2012, 4:16 pm

Should we brace ourselves to relentless attack on Qatar after HBJ’s deceleration of a new plan for Syria. It has been long due for the petrodollars to buy us an end of the slaughter of the Syrian people.

September 25th, 2012, 4:37 pm

علق الرئيس السابق للمجلس الوطني السوري برهان غليون على خطاب امير قطر في الجمعية العامة للامم المتحدة مشيرا الى ان الطرح الذي طرحه الاخير حول تشكيل قوات حفظ سلام عربية هو المخرج الوحيد من الازمة السورية، مشددا على ان العرب قادرين على ذلك وهذا من ضمن واجبهم.
وعن الموقف الاميركي تجاه الازمة السورية اكد في حديث لقناة “العربية” ان الادارة الاميركية ليس لديها اي نية للانخراط في اي عملية، معتبرا انهم يتعدون عن الملف السوري وهذه الادارة غشت الشعب السوري في بداية الازمة لانها تحمست كثيرا في بداية الازمة، ودعا الى ان تقف اميركا اما مسؤوليتها وتعمل على حل الازمة السورية.
here is what went wrong,and I am not trying to lecture anybody here:
some people assumed too much, they thought that foreigners actually gave a damn whether Syrians are free or not,others truly believed that an uprising against a brutal dictatorship can only produce liberal and honest revolutionarists and not thugs too.
few liberals tried to ignore the islamists and kept denying the obvious until that “obvious” started stinging their own buttocks,
finally,the biggest miscalculation of all was underestimating the support this regime has internally and externally and the regional and global consequences of a swift regime change.

September 25th, 2012, 5:20 pm

TARA

It is clear that ZOO is an unaplogetic supporter and active member of the regime who has espoused fully the one narrative of a WW conspiracy. I do not think that he brings anything to the discussion for there is zero give and take and open mind to the ideas or events are related by others. The only contribution he brings in my opinion is a window to the mentality.

The people on the ground have decided to finish the job with or without the support of the outside world.

It will take longer and will be bloodier but it will happen.

September 25th, 2012, 6:01 pm

اشتباكات بين الجيش السوري والجيش الحر في منطقة كسب في اللاذقية
this time it may be more than just a short battle, an army spoke person is telling the locals that this will be different from previous mini operations,but similar promises were given in the past only to see foreign jihadists and turkmen militias return,the regime in that area is being cursed by locals who do not want their villages to end up like Reef idleb, they also said that none of the faces they saw in AlHaffeh,for example, were familiar,some fighters did not even speak arabic. for good or bad, the people in that area are not turning against each other except in two villages that indeed witnessed sectarian cleansing, I also heard from various sources that the locals, sunni,christian and alawi, are very unhappy with what they called Turkmen backstabbing, I welcome any contrary notes on the subject especially from posters who know the area better than me.

September 25th, 2012, 6:06 pm

Qataris are amateur politicians with deep pockets. They have nothing of a democracy, Qatar is a family managed business, they have no advice to give to anyone. Aside for their money, no one in the West take them seriously.

In any case, even with the Doha accord that sealed the end of the civil war in Lebanon, leaving the criminals, christians, druzes and moslem unpunished, and the financing of the massacre in Libya, this country has never been able to take any position of prestige in the international diplomacy.
They’ll need many generations to be able to have a smell other than their gas and their money.

Their new plan for Syria is another balloon. Egypt and KSA made it clear that Qatar is too irrelevant to play with the large moslem countries in the region. Qataris better concentrate on their diabetics and their diet for obeses as well as restraining the high level corruption that makes them buy Olympic games and Soccer events. They are desperate to be seen as big and they remain ‘small’.

For some commenters, they have integrated Bush’s ideology: If you are not with us, that means you are against us.
If you love Qatar and Turkey and hate Iran, Russia and China, then you are ‘good’, otherwise you are evil.
Then I am “evil”…

September 25th, 2012, 7:48 pm

Here is the interview just in case you like to be lulled to sleep.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2012/09/24/exp-qatar-pm-plan-b-syria-amanpour-cnn.cnn

September 25th, 2012, 9:13 pm

It’s a new day and (I suppose) the one on which Ghufran wears the revolution demonizing hat? OK, you’re not lecturing, excellent! but why accuse the opposition of miscalculating -to give the impression that it was a set plan with some people sitting down and drawing up a flow chart of “we do this, they do that, then we…”.

More importantly, why start in the middle? What about the Assadists’ “miscalculation” , and such a word is almost too neutral when used to describe the VERY calculated criminal and bloody response from the regime to the peaceful demonstrations, micro-managed to the smallest detail. The calculated officialdom/media response and the early “they want a sectarian war” declarations. You can certainly talk about a flow chart here.

You keep dumping the responsibility on the opposition for making mistakes, for relying on this or that, for accepting money from this dirty ruler or that, but you cannot run away from the glaring fact that this whole tragedy is 100% the making of the Assadists: when they decided to unleash their campaign of terror on the peaceful demonstrators, and at every turn chose to escalate the situation rather than try to enact serious and credible reforms that the majority would have been quite happy to accept (and declare Assad a hero) if they saw them leading to real and meaningful change.

“Bloody idiots, they should have realized that the regime will never allow itself to be pushed around or dictated to by its own people. What absolute folly to even think about changing this regime, they should just go back to their homes and let their masters run the country.” is the hidden message behind your analyses ever since I started reading your comments here.

Well, sorry mate, but every single drop of Syrian blood, every single cry of agony and pain, every mother’s tear over her dead child, and every single crushed building will forever and SOLELY be the responsibility of Assad and his Mafiosi associates. I despise the long beards, but for once I am going to partially borrow the words of one of them: “putting Assad and his thugs (and this does not mean Alawis as the Sheikh said, hark!) in the meat grinder and feeding their flesh to the dogs” will not be enough punishment for their “miscalculation” in Syria.

There, you can quote me on that.

September 25th, 2012, 10:09 pm

#88 Tara

Thanks for a real sleeper interview despite the gesticulation of Ammanpour trying to put some life in the dullness of the talks.

It just confirm what I said. Just look at the heading: “a Small Country with Big Power” . It was clearly a CNN deliberate sarcasm in giving that interview such a ridiculous title. Any way HBJ is so dumb that he probably saw it as the beginning of the international recognition of Qatar’s “grandeur”.

It is clear that nobody will ever take Qatar seriously. They are just small, mostly obese and very rich lunatics who dream to be “big”. If they were, they would send money to the miserable refugees camps in Jordan instead of sitting in their diwania, playing with their toes and devising the next alphabetical bloody plot for a ‘democratic’ Syria.
I hope we see more of these interviews with HBJ, they are a real bonus for Bashar Al Assad and uplifting for his supporters.

September 25th, 2012, 11:06 pm

#86 Ghufran

The key question Morsi must ask himself is whether the bloodshed will stop if and when Bashar al Assad steps down leaving a leadership void.
In my view, the Arab quartet should theoretically secure a military force to prevent the chaos if and when the Syrian army will find itself headless. Building that armed force is a gigantic and probably impossible diplomatic task and can never be done in a matter of months.

Morsi will soon come to the conclusion that removing Bashar is the last step to consider in any plan to stop the violence and to “build a consensual democracy”. Bashar’s presence in that last step is essential as he has a large support among the Syrians.

September 26th, 2012, 12:38 am

Why won’t the Syrian regime allow an international investigation into the use of rape and sexual torture by Syrian security forces? A former (defected) security branch chief agreed to be interviewed and claimed that under his watch no such crimes were committed. Was Fergal Keane naive enough to expect him to admit to such practices even though he has switched sides?!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19718075

September 26th, 2012, 2:27 am

Explosion in Umayyad’s square army headquarters
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/explosions-strike-top-syrian-army-building
“Syria’s conflict, once a peaceful protest movement, has evolved into a civil war …”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19725308
“… For much of the past 18 months, rebel groups have been fighting against Mr Assad’s regime.”

Iranian news channel Press TV says one of its reporters, named as Maya Naser, was shot dead by snipers in Damascus

September 26th, 2012, 5:04 am

A milestone! If TV station owners start to be responsible, maybe some positive developments will follow

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/53813/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-sheikh-to-face-charges-of-denigrating-Chr.aspx

“Egyptian prosecutors have referred prominent Islamist Sheikh Abu Islam Ahmed Abdullah, owner of the Umma and Mariya television channels, to criminal court to face charges of defaming the Christian faith.

The referral comes after two lawyers filed legal complaints accusing Abdullah of showing contempt for Christianity by burning copies of the New Testament in front of the US embassy in Cairo during protests in mid-September against a US-made film mocking Islam’s Prophet Mohamed. (…)”

September 26th, 2012, 5:10 am

Qatar in Syria, mirror of KSA in Lebanon?
http://angryarab.blogspot.de/2012/09/ali-baba-is-looting-damascus.html

From Angry Arab’s correspondent in Syria, Akram:

“Amid the brutal fighting between the Syrian regime and the armed opposition groups and while the Syrians are occupied in securing their daily bread, and without a prior notice, Bashar Al-Assad has signed a decree that would reshape the life of hundreds of thousands of Syrians in Damascus for coming decades. As in each time it is about making a critical decision, the decree has been circulated and constructed within a tight circle under cover of darkness while the so-called “Council of People” (the Syrian parliament) was enjoying a deep sleep. The decree, holding the name 66/2012, gives the starting signal for the development of two zones in the southern part of Damascus with a total area of 10 square Km. The current landuse of the tow the zones is dominated by agriculture though they are partly occupied by several informal settlements inhabited by tens of thousands of people, who are, in their vast majority, extremely poor and don’t have titles supporting their ownership of their own houses.

What’s more is that the legislation privileges the real-estate developers (Rami Maklouf’s “Bena Properties” is only an example to not forget the Kuwaiti developer Al-Futeim and other GCC firms like the Qatari Al-Dyiar and the UAE Imaar ) in selecting the lots that are suitable for their projects and, to a less degree, the most powerful owners who have the capacity to form coalitions while, in practice, the only option available for the less capable owners is to give up their lands through an auction controlled by the corrupt municipal council of Damascus. (…)

September 26th, 2012, 6:20 am

Ahmad Matar:

له لسانُ مُدَّعٍ
يصولُ في شوارعِ الشَّامِ كسيفِ عنترة
يكادُ يلتَّفُ على الجولانِ والقنيطرة
مقاومٌ لم يرفعِ السِّلاحَ
لمْ يرسل إلى جولانهِ دبابةً أو طائرةْ
لم يطلقِ النّار على العدوِ
لكنْ حينما تكلَّمَ الشّعبُ
صحا من نومهِ
و صاحَ في رجالهِ
مؤامرة !
مؤامرة !
و أعلنَ الحربَ على الشَّعبِ
و كانَ ردُّهُ على الكلامِ
مَجزرةْ
مقاومٌ يفهمُ في الطبِّ كما يفهمُ في السّياسةْ
استقال مِن عيادةِ العيونِ
كي يعملَ في ” عيادةِ الرئاسة
فشرَّحَ الشّعبَ
و باعَ لحمهُ وعظمهُ
و قدَّمَ اعتذارهُ لشعبهِ ببالغِ الكياسةْ
عذراً لكمْ
يا أيَّها الشَّعبُ
الذي جعلتُ من عظامهِ مداسا
عذراً لكم
يا أيَّها الشَّعبُ
الذي سرقتهُ في نوبةِ الحراسةْ
عذراً لكم
يا أيَّها الشَّعبُ الذي طعنتهُ في ظهرهِ
في نوبةِ الحراسةْ
عذراً
فإنْ كنتُ أنا ” الدكتورَ ” في الدِّراسةْ
فإنني القصَّابُ و السَّفاحُ
و القاتلُ بالوراثةْ !
دكتورنا ” الفهمانْ ”
يستعملُ السّاطورَ في جراحةِ اللسانْ
مَنْ قالَ : ” لا ” مِنْ شعبهِ
في غفلةٍ عنْ أعينِ الزَّمانْ
يرحمهُ الرحمنْ
بلادهُ سجنٌ..
و كلُّ شعبهِ إما سجينٌ عندهُ
أو أنَّهُ سجَّانْ
بلادهُ مقبرةٌ
أشجارها لا تلبسُ الأخضرَ
لكنْ تلبسُ السَّوادَ و الأكفانْ
حزناً على الإنسانْ
أحاكمٌ لدولةٍ
مَنْ يطلقُ النَّارَ على الشَّعبِ الذي يحكمهُ
أمْ أنَّهُ قرصانْ ؟
لا تبكِ يا سوريّةْ
لا تعلني الحدادَ
فوقَ جسدِ الضحيَّة
لا تلثمي الجرحَ
و لا تنتزعي الشّظيّةْ
القطرةُ الأولى مِنَ الدَّمِ الذي نزفتهِ
ستحسمُ القضيّةْ
قفي على رجليكِ يا ميسونَ
يا بنتَ بني أميّةْ
قفي كسنديانةٍ
في وجهِ كلِّ طلقةٍ و كلِّ بندقية
قفي كأي وردةٍ حزينةٍ
تطلعُ فوقَ شرفةٍ شاميّةْ
و أعلني الصرَّخةَ في وجوههمْ
حريّة
و أعلني الصَّرخةَ في وجوههمْ
حريّةْ

September 26th, 2012, 6:25 am

Anyone who believes the “confessions” on Syria TV is absolutely brain dead. The so-called defector from the FSA previously said he killed some men in Aleppo in March. Yet it was Ali Haidar who convinced him to drop his weapons and join the government-sponsored dialogue.

http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=5d48ace8ffb5a4763c2d56103667fb40&ar=379844116

For the record, zero people have defected from the revolution to join the regime, while hundreds of thousands have left Assad and his worshipers to fight for freedom. Or to put in words that sectarian opponents of the revolution understand, there have been defections from both sides…

September 26th, 2012, 6:23 pm