visionary Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=295144 Officials: US assists Turkey on Syria through secret talks, not troop deploymentThe United States and Turkey are coordinating a response to risks emanating from the Syrian crisis through closed-door talks within a working group mechanism, Turkish officials said on Friday, dismissing categorically any role for US troops in the joint effort. The question of possible US troop deployment emerged when US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said in remarks on Wednesday that the US was “providing whatever assistance they need to deal with the problems they [the Turks] are incurring,” without elaborating. He made the statement right after confirming that the US deployed troops to Jordan to help the Jordanian authorities handle the Syrian crisis, in response to a question over whether the US was assisting Turkey along the Syrian border as well. Later the British daily the Times reported that US, as well as French and British, special forces had been at the İncirlik airbase in southern Turkey for weeks, helping to contain the fallout from the war in Syria and getting ready in case the Syrian regime loses control of its large chemical weapons stockpile. Speaking to Today's Zaman on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Selçuk Ünal said the report on US troop presence was “definitely not true.” In an earlier statement, the Turkish General Staff also denied the report, saying such claims are untrue. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/13/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE88J0X720121013 Turkey cites Srebrenica in appeal for action on SyriaTurkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan rebuked the U.N. Security Council for inaction over Syria on Saturday, saying the world body was repeating mistakes that led to massacres in Bosnia in the 1990s. President Bashar al-Assad's forces used air strikes and artillery to bombard insurgents on several fronts in Syria, as the 19-month-old conflict risks dragging in regional powers. Turkey is increasingly entangled after intercepting a Syrian airliner carrying what it said were Russian-made munitions for the Syrian army, infuriating Moscow and Damascus. It has led calls for intervention, including no-fly zones enforced by foreign aircraft to stop deadly air raids by Assad's forces. But there is little chance of U.N. support for robust action. China insists any solution to Syria's crisis must come from within while Russia has said many Syrians still support Assad. Western nations meanwhile are loath to commit to any military action that could touch off a regional sectarian war. "The U.N. Security Council has not intervened in the human tragedy that has been going on in Syria for 20 months, despite all our efforts," Erdogan told a conference in Istanbul attended by leaders including Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby. "There's an attitude that encourages, gives the green light to Assad to kill tens or hundreds of people every day." http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/davutoglu-and-elaraby-criticize-un-security-council-on-syria-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=32356 Davutoğlu and Elaraby criticize UN Security Council on SyriaTurkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has criticized the decision-making process within the structure of the United Nations in comments that were echoed by Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, who also chided the U.N. Security Council for not taking any action on the Syrian issue. "The bloodshed and devastation of [syria] is taking place before our eyes. This situation is a threat against international peace and security. The security council should intervene,” Elaraby said in a speech to the Istanbul World Forum today. "There should be a proper decision-making process so that the voices of different nations can be heard within the international system. It is a must to have reforms in the U.N. system,” he added. Elaraby also criticized the U.N. Security Council and the international community for not taking any action on the Syrian issue. "We need a real change in the functioning of the U.N. Security Council. Why would a permanent member veto a resolution calling for the delivery of humanitarian assistance? The veto power is abused in the U.N. system,” he said. "I am proud of Turkey because of what it is doing in Syria,” said the former prime minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haris Silajdzic. “Turkey does this in the name of humanity, for all of us. We Bosnians know what it means when hundreds of people are killed and suffer every day."[/size] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/20121013143720566971.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount Rebel fighters 'capture' Syrian soldiersSyrian opposition fighters have said they have captured more than 250 members of the government's armed forces in the province of Idlib. The announcement on Saturday was accompanied by amateur video showing what the rebels claim are 256 captured Syrian soldiers who were displayed before the cameras. "All we know is that these prisoners are from al-Zainiyeh," Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reported from Antakya in neighbouring Turkey. "Al-Zainiyeh was where the Syrian army forces had withdrawn after opposition fighters had driven them out of the villages in that part of Idlib." The rebels took al-Zainiyeh three days ago and the prisoners may have been captured during that fighting. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the identity of the prisoners or where the video was filmed. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 7 hours agoThis video, posted by activists on Friday, reportedly shows the Free Syrian Army taking control over an ammunition depot in Eastern Ghouta (around 10km from Damascus). http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NtB-j_EuVSY about 4 hours agoInternational peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will visit Baghdad on Monday for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki over the 19-month uprising in Syria, Maliki's spokesman said on Saturday. Meanwhile Iraq is worryingly buying a ton of military helicopters and other weapons from Russia. about 3 hours agoAli Akbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister, has visited Qatar in the past week to discuss the fate of 48 Iranians kidnapped by rebels in Syria, a deputy foreign minister said on Saturday, according to Iran's Fars news agency. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian did not say who Salehi met while in Qatar, whose government is a major supporter of rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran's closest ally in the region. about 2 hours agoSyrian rebels have blocked army reinforcements advancing towards the town of Maaret al-Numan which has been under rebel control for nearly a week, according to AFP news agency. In its bid to retake the town, strategically located in the northwest on the road from Turkey to the embattled city of Aleppo, the army used warplanes to bombard Maaret al-Numan, killing two civilians and destroying three homes. Some 40 military vehicles, including 10 tanks, four-wheel-drive vehicles with mounted machineguns and buses full of troops were waiting some 10km south of the town, rebel fighters told AFP. about an hour agoSyrian rebels have engaged in fierce battles with the army in the central city of Homs, where regime forces are trying to wipe out pockets of resistance, a rights group and the state news agency said. There was intense combat in the districts of Bab Hud and Bab al-Turkman of Homs city, which is referred to by anti-regime activists as "the capital of the revolution" against President Bashar al-Assad. 5 minutes agoSyrian rebels have shot down a fighter jet in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group and a military defector said. "The rebels shot down the fighter jet in the west of Aleppo province, where fierce battles are taking place," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP news agency. "The jet was bombarding the village of Khan al-Asal." https://twitter.com/NuffSilence I was told by a knowledgeable source that the fall of long range missiles in the hands of Syrian rebels has caused panic in Turkey & US.11:33 AM However, the rebels assured Turkey that they have no clue how to operate these missiles. 11:34 AM We still seem have no idea what the hell we're doing on Syria. Why would we be surprised to see this? Next thing you know, we'll be surprised when Assad forces leave chemical weapons behind somewhere after losing control of some base to the rebels. What exactly are we hoping for? Assad wins and keeps control of everything, killing and destroying most of Syria in the process? Assad loses and somehow all long range missles and wmds self-disintegrate? https://twitter.com/NuffSilence An Assad jet goes for a final dive in Aleppo countryside. Salute the FSA! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G69TLc6jia0&feature=plcp11:56 AM https://twitter.com/farGar Assad war jet destroyed today! http://youtu.be/G69TLc6jia0 … 11:57 AM https://twitter.com/GinnySacksMole Rastan FSA take over Air Defense Battalion near Deir Foul to help lift siege of Homs 12:31 PM Rastan Homs Hamza Brigade were involved in attacking air force base in Deir Foul http://www.facebook.com/Hamza.Battalions1 12:57 PM Statement released by Farouq Battalions who were also involved in attack on air force base in Deir Foul http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=451834944860316&set=a.407216552655489.86675.406242312752913&type=1&theater 1:14 PM https://twitter.com/OnlySyrian Today FSA has destroyed two Assad's tanks in Sabe'a Bahrat in Aleppo1:46 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 ?Next thing you know, we'll be surprised when Assad forces leave chemical weapons behind somewhere after losing control of some base to the rebels. That has almost certainly already occurred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 God damn, ****ing Syrian regime. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/dozens-syrians-injured-while-trying-cross-jordan Dozens of Syrians injured while trying to cross into JordanDozens of Syrians were injured late on Saturday while attempting to cross into Jordan, officials say. According to a Jordanian security source, more than two dozen Syrians were injured late on Saturday after Syrian military forces opened fire on a group of some 400 refugees attempting to flee to Jordan. Among the injured were four men who suffered burns and shrapnel wounds after a missile attack on the group, one of whom is currently listed in "serious condition," according to the source. Saturday's incident comes amid a reported rise in the number of Syrians wounded while attempting to cross into Jordan, with the UN Refugee Agency reporting the arrival of 50 injured refugees last week alone. Activists and relief officials claim Syrian government forces are actively targeting Syrians attempting to reach Jordan as part of a month-long military clampdown they say is designed to cut off a refugee flow that has led to more than 200,000 Syrians entering Jordan. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9606691/Syria-despatch-rebel-fighters-fear-the-growing-influence-of-their-Bin-Laden-faction.html Syria despatch: rebel fighters fear the growing influence of their 'Bin Laden' factionStanding on a patch of muddy scrubland just inside Syria's broken border fence with Turkey, the rebel commander watched glumly as the group of jihadists crossed into his country. Scruffy, with long beards, some wearing khaki jackets and each clutching a black travel bag, the six men walked silently through the crowd of refugees who had assembled and were waiting to leave Syria. A driver in a pick-up truck quickly greeted the men and drove them away into the countryside. "Libyans", muttered the rebel Free Syria Army leader under his breath, shooting the men a dirty look. "We don't want these extremist people here. Look at them; we didn't have this style in Syria - who is this? Bin Laden?" In Syria's northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, these militant groups have grown in strength and in numbers, and now threaten to take over the revolution in this strategic part of the country. Driving along the winding lanes in the countryside of the "liberated" northern province of Idlib, the black Islamic flag often used by jihadists frequently flies at rebel checkpoints and on municipal buildings. The refusal by western governments to provide cash or armed support to the rebel Free Syrian Army, which is leading Syria's secular opposition to the Assad regime, has put it at a disadvantage. Resistance groups that adopt a more overtly Islamist hue are finding it easier to attract financial support from abroad. Religious fighting groups are the prime beneficiaries of money and weapons donated by the government of Qatar, as well by wealthy businessmen and religious leaders in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia. Secular rebel commanders also revealed that they are working to cut the supply lines of jihadist groups, and limit the influx of foreign fighters to their ranks. "We watch the borders. If we find supplies entering for [jihadist groups] we will take them," said one secular FSA fighter. "We have also caught 25 foreign fighters trying to cross from Turkey. We gave them to the Turkish intelligence." But moderates aligned with Gen al-Shiekh's men are suffering from a lack of credibility. Rebel commanders on the front lines have praised the battlefield prowess of Islamists – many of who learnt to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan – and are angered that the head of the Free Syrian Army was based in Turkey for so long, saying it stripped him of any legitimacy among fighters who were dying inside the country. "We are tired of paper tigers outside the country who have no link to the battlefield," said Abu Eissa, whose 16-year-old eldest son was killed in fighting in Idlib six months ago. https://twitter.com/OnlySyrian FSA has destroyed an Assad's checkpoint in Sabe'a Bahrat - Aleppo 1:52 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf 3 MiGs were shot down today. One in Homs suburbs, one in Aleppo suburbs, and one in KhanSheikhoon in Idlib.3:26 PM https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak Reuters: Syria has banned Turkish civilian flights over its territory5:07 PM https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint You gotta hand it to Obama adm: they screwed up Syria w/their passivity, ignorance, just like Bush adm screwed w/his arrogance in Iraq 7:23 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/turkey-bans-all-syrian-aircraft-its-air-space Turkey bans all Syrian aircraft from its air spaceTurkey banned all Syrian aircraft from its air space on Sunday, days after intercepting a Syrian airliner carrying what it said were Russian-made munitions for the Syrian army. Asked if Syrian aircraft were now banned from Turkish air space, a Foreign Ministry official said: "Yes, civilian aircraft. Military aircraft were de facto banned way before." Syria said on Saturday that it was banning Turkish civilian flights over its territory. - Reuters https://twitter.com/CFKlebergTT Two difficulties w Turkey re Syria are: 1) Separating rhetoric from actual intentions 2) Knowing what is abt Assad and what is abt Kurds 9:59 AM https://twitter.com/OnlySyrian I filmed yesterday in Aleppo -Sabe'a Bahrat: RPG shell was launched by FSA targeting an Assad's tank. 10:22 AM Now - Heading to the grand Ummayed mosque in Aleppo Syria I hope to get back with good news 10:24 AM https://twitter.com/Nora0315 Pierre Gabriel, a Christian fighter of the FSA who was killed by Assad while protectng a mosque. True hero. http://twitpic.com/b44ojd 10:34 AM https://twitter.com/samdagher Today four blasts in less than 24 hours in Mezze neighborhood of Damascus underscoring evolving tactics of insurgency in Syria capital11:26 AM we told blasts targeted pro Syria regime reporter who lost legs restaurant & security official no word on other casualties Damascus 11:36 AM Ugh.... Who the hell comes up with these bombing ideas? https://twitter.com/KareemLailah 100 dead bodies were found today in Damascus suburb.11:45 AM Another massacre. Yesterday: https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf 25 points of shelling today. Another convoy is on its way up to Maarat Al-Nouman. One of the convoys was attacked by the FSA in Hama and most of it has been destroyed. Shelling on Ariha has resumed. Many parts of northern and western Idlib have been liberated including areas in Saraqib and Jisr Alshughoor. 6:39 PM think the issue of Islamists is blown way out of proportion by western media. It isn't only the issue of foreign "Islamists" but the local ones as well. People forget that the revolution and the resistance is riding on the backs of these scruffy bearded men. And these "Islamists" hold no hatred towards the rest of the people of the country I assure you. 8:20 PM https://twitter.com/blakehounshell Stupid question: Could the U.S. give the Syria rebels Stingers with some kind of expiration date?8:43 PM Tony Cordesman suggest some options for enhanced Stingers here http://cs.is/SyriaEqualizer 8:48 PM https://twitter.com/stcolumbia @blakehounshell To make a failsafe integral to system, it'd need to involve a lot of maintenance on missiles beforehand. 8:46 PM Even then, GPS trackers are useless, even if attached, if nobody can actually tell who's using them on ground. 8:46 PM the stinger has most potential for failsafing but SY will have so many loose MANPADS when gov falls it doesn't matter much 8:53 PM besides, with a lot of these failsafes, how much would it cost to buy off overrides from moderates? or steal them? 8:57 PM Not sure if they cover weapons that don't work if they leave a certain area. https://twitter.com/NMSyria Explosion in Mazzeh targeted the In House Cafe across from the Jala'a Sports Complex. Damascus. 10:53 PM Oct 13 http://www.lccsyria.org/10341 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 143[1] thus far, among them women, children and members of the Free Syrian Army. 48 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs, 17 in Idlib (including a family of 8 who were field-executed in Heesh), 20 in Aleppo, 13 in Deir Ezzor (9 of them due to the shelling of Hamidieh), 16 in Daraa, 13 in Hama, 11 in Homs (4 in Damascus in a funeral ), 2 in Latakia and 1 in Raqqa The dates on the LCC webpage for this are confusing, but it's definitely the death toll from yesterday. For some reason their main twitter account seems to have gone quiet the past few days, but the group rep is posting some LCC updates on her own account. http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 33,896 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky the fall of a warplane in ma`arrat al-nu`man http://youtu.be/OjiCQHPdXWY 6:37 AM resistance fighters destroyed a bmp vehicle & a t72 tank near arqoub square in aleppo city 12:38 PM resistance fighters killed +15 assad troops & destroyed a military tank & a bmp vehicle in karm al-jabal in aleppo city 12:33 PM resistance fighters have liberated the town of qimmat al-nabi yunus (latakia) 1:11 PM resistance fighters have liberated the town of al-fadghami in al-hasakah 1:15 PM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters have destroyed 3 military tanks near al-madlaji square (al-hurriyah square) in deirezzor city1:19 PM resistance fighters control all the town of ali bajliyah in al-raqqah 1:23 PM resistance fighters destroyed a military checkpoint & killed many assad troops in maskaneh (aleppo countryside) 2:21 PM again, resistance fighters have wiped out regiment 35 in latakia http://youtu.be/TRCExcTcskc 3:33 PM ]resistance fighters have liberated the town of umm batneh (golan, al-qunaytirah) 3:56 PM https://twitter.com/And_Harper 405 refugees x'd last nite to safety of jordan. Arrivals continue to be in range of 300 - 500 per night.3:48 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria 10:45PM - 202 martyrs so far across 3:49 PM Something overlooked by everyone today. Of the 202 killed, 100 tortured and executed bodies were found dumped at National Hospital of Daraya 4:40 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Wadi Aldayf is composed of about 6-7 buildings...FSA controls some and regime controls others.4:58 PM The regime has been surrounded for days and are low on weapons and supplies. Even food packages are being intercepted by the FSA. Hamdiyah checkpoint is under regime control but the checkpoint is surrounded and shelled by the FSA. 4:59 PM https://twitter.com/Nora0315 This is 8-year-old Rayan al-Amyan's story. Murdered by an Assad sniper in Daraa. https://twitpic.com/b47zcp 5:02 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-how-obama-bungled-the-syrian-revolution/2012/10/14/13c492d2-13b2-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html How Obama bungled the Syrian revolutionMitt Romney and congressional Republicans are doing their best to portray the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya and its aftermath as a signal foreign policy disaster for Barack Obama. But my bet is that when historians look back on Obama’s mistakes in the last four years, they will focus on something entirely different: his catastrophic mishandling of the revolution in Syria. The deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi were a calamity — but those losses were mainly the result of poor security decisions by mid-level State Department officials, not policy choices by Obama. The president’s handling of Syria, on the other hand, exemplifies every weakness in his foreign policy — from his excessive faith in “engaging” troublesome foreign leaders to his insistence on multilateralism as an end in itself to his self-defeating caution in asserting American power. The result is not a painful but isolated setback, but an emerging strategic disaster: a war in the heart of the Middle East that is steadily spilling over to vital U.S. allies, such as Turkey and Jordan, and to volatile neighbors, such as Iraq and Lebanon. Al-Qaeda is far more active in Syria than it is in Libya — while more liberal and secular forces are turning against the United States because of its failure to help them. More than 30,000 people — most of them civilians — have been killed, and the toll mounts by the hundreds every day. Of course, Obama is not solely responsible for this mess. But his serial miscalculations have had the consistent if unintended effect of enabling Syria’s Bashar al-Assad — first to avoid international isolation, then to go on slaughtering his own population with impunity. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/world/middleeast/jihadists-receiving-most-arms-sent-to-syrian-rebels.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimesworld& Rebel Arms Flow Is Said to Benefit Jihadists in SyriaMost of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster, according to American officials and Middle Eastern diplomats. That conclusion, of which President Obama and other senior officials are aware from classified assessments of the Syrian conflict that has now claimed more than 25,000 lives, casts into doubt whether the White House’s strategy of minimal and indirect intervention in the Syrian conflict is accomplishing its intended purpose of helping a democratic-minded opposition topple an oppressive government, or is instead sowing the seeds of future insurgencies hostile to the United States. “The opposition groups that are receiving the most of the lethal aid are exactly the ones we don’t want to have it,” said one American official familiar with the outlines of those findings, commenting on an operation that in American eyes has increasingly gone awry. The United States is not sending arms directly to the Syrian opposition. Instead, it is providing intelligence and other support for shipments of secondhand light weapons like rifles and grenades into Syria, mainly orchestrated from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The reports indicate that the shipments organized from Qatar, in particular, are largely going to hard-line Islamists. Actually the jihadis generally get their weapons from independant sources, not really through the governments themselves. Saudi Arabia is reportedly being pretty cautious about who they give weapons too and has slowed things to a trickle on their end. Qatar reportedly mainly deals with the Muslim Brotherhood and groups linked to them. The really hardline guys generally get weapons and funds from Salifi preachers and other extreme sources from the gulf countries and other places. Of course things do get confusing because of the different middlemen involved and because the groups are trying to coordinate and work together more these days. By far the most worriesome thing though is the increase in bombings and possibly the growing acceptance of them as a tactic by different groups. At first it was just the Al Qaeda linked guys, Nusra doing it, and the regime in at least some cases, but it seems others have been takening credit recently as well. https://twitter.com/shadihamid Syrian Kurdish leader Abdulhakim Bachar: US is using Syria to send msg to Arab populations not to revolt again.6:03 AM Kurdish leader: US called on Ben Ali/ Mubarak to leave quickly, but asked Assad to implement "reforms" 4 months into Syrian uprising. 6:02 AM Syrian Kurdish leader at IWF: Only way to explain US inaction on Syria is that it doesn't actually want revolution to succeed. 6:01 AM https://twitter.com/Nora0315 Man in Aleppo: "Either we accept Bashar al-Assad to be president or we will all be killed." 60Minutes7:11 PM https://twitter.com/AmalHanano Everything you feared would happen to Syria if Assad goes, is happening now, only Assad did it himself! Plan B, anyone?12:29 AM When executions, torture, rape, slaughtering children, burning people alive & cluster bombs are all okay, who needs chemical weapons? 11:56 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Syrian army has taken control of (what's left of) Omayyad Mosque in Aleppo.12:10 AM http://www.lccsyria.org/10345 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria:By the end of Sunday the LCC managed to document 220[8] martyrs, including 8 children and 3 women. 140 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs, including 100 found in the Local Hospital between Daraya and Mouadamiyeh; 21 in Idlib; 12 in Aleppo; 12 in Lattakia; 12 in Deir Ezzor; 11 in Homs; 9 in Daraa; 9 in Tartous; and 2 in Hama Seems like they undercounted this time. http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 34,124 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/15/us-syria-crisis-turkey-idUSBRE89E0AZ20121015 Number of Syrian refugees in Turkish camps exceeds 100,000The number of Syrian refugees housed in camps in southern Turkey has exceeded 100,000, the Turkish disaster management agency (AFAD) said on Monday, a level beyond which Ankara had previously said it would struggle to accommodate more. AFAD said in a statement there were now 100,363 Syrians at more than a dozen camps in Turkish provinces along the border. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/05/world/meast/syria-underground-school/index.html Cave becomes classroom for Syrian kidsA cave's interior has been carved into cube-shaped rooms. Improvised lighting, barely strong enough to illuminate the cavern, shows children sitting, legs crossed, on the bare floor. They are calling out boisterously, raising their hands eagerly, clamoring to answer questions. These are some of the students in Syria who, because of civil war, have deserted their schools and taken classes literally underground. "We want to keep educating our children," says the teacher, who does not give his name. "But in the city, there is always this imminent danger that the regime choppers or planes will bomb us or drop the TNT barrels."The school is in Kansafra, in a picturesque region known for its flowing green fields and its groves of olives, cherries and grapes. But none of that is visible from the classroom, which has no windows. The children's previous school, in the nearby town of Jabal Zawiya, was deserted. Abu Diyaa's video shows a gaping hole in that school's ceiling, the battle scars of what he says was shelling by regime fighter planes. https://twitter.com/WilliamsJon EU agrees 19th round of sanctions on Syria: 28 people added to travel ban & asset freeze. Syrian Arab Airlines banned from all EU airports. 8:47 AM https://twitter.com/IvanCNN Aerial blockade of Syria grows. EU bans all Syrian Airlines flights from European airports Monday...adds to existing ban on cargo flighjts 11:00 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf The FSA in DeirEzzor shoot down a helicopter near the Alhamdan military airport!9:05 AM https://twitter.com/RafifJ Western powers, in worrying about weapons falling "into the wrong hands," have made damn sure weapons fall into the wrong hands.7:11 AM Syrians set up a camp 4 refugees on Syrian soil just inside border w/ Turkey. 1st 100 tents up; 200 to go. Join hands, roll up sleeves. 11:31 AM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters have destroyed al-abbarah [tunnel] military checkpoint in al-jadiddeh neighborhood in aleppo city6:40 AM resistance fighters have destroyed a tank in wadi dayf (ma`arrat al-nu`man) 8:42 AM resistance fighters shot down a warplane in aleppo 11:36 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 http://www.acus.org/natosource/arming-syrias-rebels-least-bad-option Arming Syria's Rebels: The Least Bad OptionAiding the less ugly, less bad guys in the Syrian resistance, and even finding a few actual good guys to support, isn’t about installing a pro-American government in post civil war Syria. It’s about minimizing the prospects for a worst-case scenario—by shortening the era of conflict and so, hopefully, reducing the radicalization of the population and limiting the prospects that Syrian society as a whole will descend into all-out chaotic massacres and civil conflict. And it’s about making sure that other people in Syria, unsavory on other grounds as they may be, who don’t like al-Qaeda type groups and don’t want them to establish a permanent presence in the country, have enough guns and ammunition to get their way. This is not a plan to edge the United States toward military engagement in Syria; it is aimed at reducing the chance that American forces will need to get involved. And, by accelerating the overthrow of Assad, it’s also a strategy for putting more pressure on Iran, pressure that represents our best hope of avoiding war with the mullahs as well. The whole point here is to keep our troops at home. . . . http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/15/Guerrilla_Country_Syria_Jebel_Zawiya Guerrilla CountryWelcome to Free Syria, where the ammunition is scarce and roving packs of wild dogs subsist on corpses. Majid al-Khalaf is watching pictures on his cell phone. Photos of his father appear on the screen, framed in flowers and hearts. The man is living, and smiling. On the next video, though, it is hard to recognize him: He lies on a blanket, with only his feet and his face, swollen and dirty, remaining. The rest of his body is a bloodied skeleton. Abdullah al-Khalaf, who died at age 41, was a good rebel sniper. Two months ago, he was betrayed by one of his cousins. The army captured him, killed him, and dumped his body in the olive groves, where it was eaten by dogs. At that time, the practice was so common that dogs had started to proliferate. Today, they have turned on the living, moving in packs outside the villages of Jabal al-Zawiya, a cluster of 33 villages in the northern governorate of Idlib. Villagers have been forced to hunt them down in order to cull their numbers. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/15/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE88J0X720121015 Peace envoy seeks Iranian help for Syria ceasefireInternational peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi appealed to Iran to help arrange a ceasefire in Syria during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha as rebels and government forces fought street by street and village by village on Monday. Brahimi made the request in talks with Iranian leaders on Sunday in Tehran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's closest regional ally in his campaign to crush a 19-month-old uprising. The veteran Algerian diplomat said the civil war in Syria was getting worse by the day and stressed the urgent need to stop the bloodshed, his spokesman said on Monday. He suggested the truce be held during the Eid holiday, which starts around October 25 and lasts several days. It would "help create an environment that would allow a political process to develop". There was no immediate response from either side and with fighting raging on Monday in several Syrian cities and in the countryside, it was not clear if they would want to put the brakes on any battlefield advantages. http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/heat-seeking-missiles-in-syria-the-sa-7-in-action-with-rebels/ Heat-Seeking Missiles in Syria: The SA-7 in Action with RebelsThroughout this year, as fighting intensified in Syria and antigovernment fighters grew in numbers and in strength, it had seemed inevitable that they would acquire heat-seeking shoulder-fired missiles and turn them against the Syrian military aircraft. This blog had documented the part-by-part appearance in rebel hands of one old heat-seeking system, known as the SA-7. Since midsummer there have been occasional sightings of full systems but none, as far as we know, showing the system in actual use. Two videos recently posted on YouTube suggest that what had been expected is now occurring. The first video, embedded below and posted today, shows what would appear to be a two-man hunter-killer team with an SA-7, waiting for an aircraft from hiding behind a building. Matthew Schroeder, an analyst who covers missile proliferation and the arms trade at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, noted “the glint of the missile’s seeker head, so the missile is in the tube.” This, along with the visible battery and grip stock, indicates that the system is complete.The man with the SA-7 does not loiter; he is soon picked up by another man on a light motorcycle. The second video shows what appears to be a weapon of the same class being fired at a passing fixed-wing jet. The video is not perfect. And it is not possible in the jerky and grainy video to determine which type of missile is in use, but at about 2:02 its audio seems to capture the sound of a missile’s launching and then shows the telltale corkscrew signature of the weapon through the air.The missile appears to miss and – from here things become less clear – it is possible that the video shows lingering flares from the area where the missile traveled in flight. This might be the signature of a countermeasure system in the targeted aircraft, which dumped the flares to confuse and thwart the missile’s seeker head. https://twitter.com/HannahAllam Susan Rice to UN Sec Council mtg on Mideast: 'Nasrallah’s fighters are now part of Assad’s killing machine,' Hezbollah leaders plot w/Iran1:24 PM https://twitter.com/AmalHanano Another Assad plane falls from the sky: 1:28 PM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters captured caption roni ibrahim rashed (pilot) near the town of al-bab (aleppo)2:04 PM https://twitter.com/weddady the bulk of Syria air defense system network is made of outdated soviet system, most batteries are static: Sa-2 Sa-3 5:45 PM Mobile part of Syria air defense is made of Sa-6, smaller quantifier of Buk system..also obsolete 5:46 PM All of the Syria air defense system has major blind areas, and is further limited by radars vulnerable to ECM and topography.. 5:47 PM Weakest aspect of Syria air defense network: low altitude, total dependence on centralize command & control, obsolete tech 5:48 PM The "formidable Assad air defenses" is the kind of good-sounding lie u give to think tank types to propagate then hide behind. 5:57 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf A convoy that headed from Hama to MaaratAlNouman was attacked after Haish. Half of it was destroyed and the other half withdrew to Haish. 6:51 PM Alhamdiyyeh checkpoint. It is still surrounded by the FSA...but is still under regime control unfortunately. 7:13 PM After the FSA took down 8 checkpoints in MaaratAlNouman, they have had 2 military bases surrounded and shell them daily. But they haven't been able to take control yet, for 2 main reasons. The first being that these bases are very well fortified and protected. The second reason being that the FSA is running low on weapons and are waiting on a large weapons shipment to support the FSA members that have Wadi Aldayf and Alhamdiyeh checkpoint surrounded. From other FSA groups in Idlib. Their supply run was interrupted...and they are waiting to get their supplies. Wadi Aldayf is composed of at least 6 or 7 buildings...and is a large base. Many of the buildings are now under FSA control. 7:27 PM http://www.lccsyria.org/10349 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaWith the end of Monday, the Local Coordination Committees documented a total of 100 marytrs, including 7 children and 3 women: 34 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs, 29 marytrs in Aleppo, 15 martyrs in Deir Ezzor, 5 martyrs in Idlib, 4 marytrs in Daraa, 4 martyrs in Raqqa, 4 martyrs in Homs, 3 marytrs in Hama, 2 martyrs in Lattakia. The Free Syrian Army downed 3 planes, 2 in Aleppo and a plane in Bokamal and have stopped a military convoy on the road to Aleppo-Raqqa http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 34,224 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koala Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 https://twitter.com/AmalHananoEverything you feared would happen to Syria if Assad goes, is happening now, only Assad did it himself! Plan B, anyone? 12:29 AM Excellent question. It looks like Plan A, which is to do nothing, appears to continue to be this brilliant administration's only answer. Of course it makes sense to do nothing, since doing nothing has worked so wonderfully in Syria up to this point. We watched peaceful protests transpire calling for justice. Did nothing We watched peaceful protest get cut down by gunfire. Did nothing We watched gunfire expand to violent campaign against all activists. Did nothing We watched the activists eventually pick up guns to defend themselves. Did nothing We watched the defensive posture of activists descend into tit-for-tat violence. Did nothing We watched the tit-for-tat violence devolve into running street battles. Did nothing We watched the street battles deteriorate into wholesale destruction of cities. Did nothing We watched as tanks, jets, and artillery destroyed what was left of the cities. Did nothing We watched the wholesale destruction descended into a brutal civil war. Did nothing We watched as the civil war spilled across the border in Lebanon. Did nothing We watched Hezbollah get involved, possibly sparking a broader ethnic war. Did nothing We watched as the ethnic war attracted the attention and presence of jihadists. Did nothing. We watched as Turkey, a NATO ally, got attacked by the Syrian army. Did nothing. Now we are watching while Turkey creeps towards a conventional war with Syria, which will certainly spark a regional war if not WWIII. And. We. Are. Still. Doing. Nothing . That, folks, is the definition of insanity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/15/holy_warriors?page=0,0 Holy WarriorsA field guide to Syria's jihadi groups. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/militant-jihadists-rise-in-arab-world-imperils-regions-stability/2012/10/15/8764c256-14ad-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html Militant jihadists’ rise in Arab world imperils region’s stability Jabhat al-Nusra fighters operate openly at a headquarters in a mosque in the embattled northern city of Aleppo and have won praise from other rebel units for their bravery. On Friday, the group was identified as a participant in an operation to wrest control of an air defense base outside Aleppo that contained sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, according to a video posted on YouTube. On the streets of Syrian cities, small signs are surfacing that the extremists are winning some sympathy. Early this month, protesters who marched through the streets of Aleppo interspersed their calls for weapons to be provided to the Free Syrian Army with chants of “Jabhat al-Nusra,” according to a video uploaded onto YouTube. The longer the conflict persists, the greater the likelihood that support for the radicals will grow, said Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center in London. The sheer brutality of the Syria conflict is likely to further radicalize many people who joined the initially peaceful uprising with no goal other than to topple the governing regime, he said. In addition to Jabhat al-Nusra, a number of smaller and perhaps more radical jihadi groups have surfaced, including the Mujaheddin al-Shura, which appears to have lured a number of foreign fighters, including Britons, to northern Syria and is thought to have carried out the kidnapping of two European journalists in July. No Syrian group has yet expressed any interest in or affinity to the wider global jihadi movement and its obsession with targeting America, but that could change if the conflict drags on, Lister said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/16/us-syria-crisis-rebels-idUSBRE89F0WO20121016 Syrian rebels agree to form united leadership: sourcesSyria's divided rebels have agreed to set up a joint leadership to oversee their battle to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad after coming under pressure from their foreign supporters to unite, two rebel sources said on Tuesday. The decision, taken by dozens of rebels including Free Syrian Army leaders at a meeting inside Syria on Sunday, aims to improve military coordination among fighters and create a single leadership which they hope outside powers would be prepared to arm with more powerful weapons. "The agreement has been reached, they only need to sign it," one rebel source said. The foreign backers "are telling us: 'Sort yourselves out and unite, we need a clear and credible side to provide it with quality weapons'." He said Qatar and Turkey were the main forces behind the agreement. It is the latest attempt to bring together Assad's disparate armed opponents, most of whom have been fighting nominally under the FSA's banner but in practice have operated independently. The new leadership will include FSA leaders Riad al-Asaad and Mustafa Sheikh - criticized by many rebels because they were based in Turkey - and recently defected General Mohammad Haj Ali, as well as heads of rebel provincial military councils inside Syria like Qassem Saadeddine, based in Homs province. Other sources say Riad Al-Assad is not included. http://www.bnowire.com/inbox/?id=1190 UK police charge 26-year-old man in hostage-taking of British, Dutch journalists [in syria]A 26-year-old man [A] arrested on 9 October was this evening, Tuesday, 16 October, charged as follows: [A] Shajul Islam (18/3/86), together with others, within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, between the 17 July 2012 and the 26 July 2012 unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned John Cantlie and Jeroen Oerlemans against their will. Contrary to common law and section 63B of the Terrorism Act 2000. He was remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on the morning of Wednesday, 17 October. A 26-year-old woman arrested on Tuesday, 9 October on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism was this afternoon released without charge. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/20121016141647212762.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount 'Airstrikes' pound Syrian rebel strongholdsSyrian government warplanes have unleashed a series of airstrikes on opposition strongholds in the country's north, activists have reported. The raids were reported to have hit Idlib and Aleppo provinces on Tuesday, with activists describing them as some of the worst since rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad made advances in the region over the past week. Amateur videos claimed to show an airstrike on Maarat Herma in Idlib province and damaged buildings in Maarat al-Numan in the same province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pre-dawn air raids around Maaret al-Numan were the "most violent" since rebels captured the strategic town last week. The warplanes targeted the blockade of the highway to second city Aleppo, the theatre of intense fighting for the past three months, it said, adding rebels responded with anti-aircraft fire. Army shelling of nearby Kafr Nabal killed two children, aged six and 10, said the observatory, adding they were among at least 70 people who died in bloodshed across the country. Another five children under the age of six died along with two adults in shelling of homes at Mayadeen village in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, added the Britain-based group. http://staff.blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 6 hours agoAfter Syria's neighbours have seen thousands of refugees flood across their borders, camps are now being built inside Syria for those displaced by the fighting. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr has more. about 4 hours agoFrance will on Wednesday host a meeting of Syrian revolutionary groups and diplomats in a bid to boost support for civilian groups managing rebel-held areas, the foreign ministry said. Foreign ministry deputy spokesman Vincent Floreani said representatives of five "civilian revolutionary councils" will attend the meeting, along with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. Diplomats from around 20 countries are expected to participate, but details of which countries will be represented were not disclosed. France has said it wants to support such civilian groups in charge of areas "liberated" from the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, mainly in the north of the country. [source: AFP] about 2 hours agoThe Syrian government is interested in exploring a ceasefire in the 19-month conflict as proposed by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdisi said on Tuesday. But he stressed that for a halt to the violence, the rebels and their backers would need to be involved too. "In order to succeed in any initiative, it takes two sides," Maqdisi said in answer to a question from AFP. "The Syrian side is interested in exploring this option and we are looking forward to talking to Mr Brahimi to see what is the position of other influential countries that he talked to in his tour," he said. "Will they pressure the armed groups that they host and finance and arm in order to abide by such a ceasefire?" [source: AFP] 27 minutes agoTurkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he had suggested to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad three-way talks including Egypt on the Syria crisis, given the apparent Saudi objection to Iranian involvement in a current quartet. Egypt formed that group with Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but the latter stayed away from a meeting hosted by Cairo last month. Riyadh's no-show was seen by diplomats as a reaction to the presence of Shi'ite Muslim Iran, the major rival of the Sunni Muslim kingdom for regional power and influence. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi subsequently cancelled a meeting of the four regional powers on Sept. 26 because of the absence of Erdogan from the U.N. General Assembly, according to Cairo's presidential spokesman. [source: Reuters] https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf We still dont know where my mom's Aunt is...or any of her sons and daughters...or their kids... MaaratAlNouman2:13 AM Convoy in Sahyan tried entering Wadi Aldayf in MaaratAlNouman but was attacked by the FSA as they destroyed 3 tanks. Convoy retreated. 6:57 AM Video showing the convoy headed from Sahyan to Wadi Aldayf...it was attacked by the FSA and forced to retreat. 7:06 AM https://twitter.com/ZeinakhodrAljaz SNC would welcome a ceasefire later this month as proposed by Brahimi but responsibility lies primarily w/ govt, leader Abdel Basset Sayda3:05 PM https://twitter.com/Brown_Moses 5 new cluster bomb videos from across Syria already and I've not even started looking yet.3:24 PM It's certain the air force are dropping these ones, RBKs are air dropped only. 3:40 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Oct-17/191704-syria-conflict-deepens-sectarian-rifts-in-lebanon.ashx#axzz29XoWP4hg Syria conflict deepens sectarian rifts in LebanonARSAL: This Lebanese border town has become a safe haven for war-weary Syrian rebels, a way station for wounded fighters and home to hundreds of frightened Syrian refugee families. Residents of Arsal, a Sunni Muslim town of 40,000, say they have strong motives to help those trying to topple Syria's regime: they themselves were harassed and abused by it during three decades of de facto Syrian control of Lebanon. But in siding with the rebels, many of them fellow Sunnis, Arsal is also deepening rifts with its Shiite Muslim neighbors in the Bekaa Valley that runs along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria. Large areas of the scenic valley are controlled by Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite militia that is supporting and - according to the U.S. and the Syrian opposition - also fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces. For now, Lebanon's rival political and religious groups have largely tried to keep a lid on domestic tensions stoked by the conflict next door, with collective memories here still scarred by Lebanon's own 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. But any major escalation in Syria or miscalculation by the combatants' Lebanese supporters could ignite Lebanon's explosive sectarian mix. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf CONFIRMED: The regime is sending shabiha and soldiers in cement trucks from Hama to MaaratAlNouman as a "disguise" to hide from the FSA.7:56 PM 28 martyrs in DeirEzzor today. 19 in the Almayadeen massacre. 18 children. 9:43 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Germany has announced it is willing to start taking Syrian refugees. Europe stepping in to fill the gaps left by our Arab "brothers"1:19 AM The level of ignorance towards what's really happening in Syria among Americans is UNBELIEVABLE. 4:15 AM I won't deny that when you do explain to them the situation, they are 1) very appalled that they didn't know better & 2) face turns white. 4:17 AM https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2 Turkish officials signal their intent to accommodate up to 400,000 Syrian by June 2013, indication of escalation expected in Syria4:27 AM https://twitter.com/monicagprieto UN's World Food Programme saidprices for basic provisions have nearly doubled in Syria4:46 AM Cooking gas, a rare commodity, is now available on the black market at a 400 per cent mark-up 4:46 AM https://twitter.com/ZeinakhodrAljaz Brahimi holding talks with officials in Lebanon on Syria conflict4:49 AM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters have liberated an airforce defense base in abu dannah (17 miles to the east of aleppo city)5:07 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2161767&l=cfbf05597b&id=217848338242310 Idlib: Kafrouma: A helicopter was downed over agricultural fields south of the town5:29 AM http://www.lccsyria.org/10353 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe LCC managed to document 134 martyrs in Syria with the end of Tuesday, among them 17 children and 6 women. 33 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs;29 in Aleppo; 27 in Deir Ezzor, among them 20 due to the aerial shelling of Mayadeen; 16 in Idlib; 9 in Daraa; 7 in Homs; 6 in Hama; 3 in Lattakia; 3 in Raqqa; and one person from Jableh who was martyred in Hama. Also, while the regime’s army shelled 25 areas in Syria and committed 3 massacres, the Free Syrian Army responded to the violations of the regime with 2 operations in Raqqa and in Eastern Ghota http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 34,358 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 6 hours agoSyrian rebels have acquired heavy weapons that have forced the government's air force to bomb rebel-held zones indiscriminately from high altitude, France's foreign minister said before meeting rebel groups on Wednesday. Laurent Fabius, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's harshest critics, made his comments ahead of a closed door conference in Paris with civilian members of rebel councils that run areas seized from central government control. They included representatives from Maarat al-Numan, a town whose seizure last week cut the main route from Damascus to Aleppo. "In a certain number of these zones, Bashar al-Assad is bombarding them with MiG fighter jets, and what is particularly horrible is that he is bombarding them with TNT," Fabius said. "But at the same time there are now weapons that are forcing the planes to fly extremely high, and so the strikes are less accurate," he told reporters. Amateur footage of rebels using shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles have emerged in recent days. - Reuters about 4 hours agoArab League chief Nabil ElArabi has called on the Syrian government and the armed opposition to agree on a truce for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday that starts on October 26. A statement from the Arab bloc said Arabi called on "the Syrian government and armed Syrian opposition to respond to calls for a truce and stop violence and military action during the days of Eid." He also asked for international support for a truce during the four-day holiday that marks the climax of the annual hajj pilgrimage. [AFP] about 3 hours agoPope Benedict is to send a delegation to Syria to show solidarity with all those adversely affected by the country's civil war. The Vatican's Senior Advisor of Communications, Gregory Burke, said on Wednesday that the Pope wanted to send a sign to the Syrian population that they have not been forgotten. "The Pope has decided to do this essentially as a sign of solidarity, not only with the Christians in Syria, certainly, but really as a sign for them, the Christians, but also that Syria has not been forgotten by the rest of the world," he explained. "It's an interesting delegation. You have bishops from around the globe, chosen from different areas around the globe, and three cardinals as well. But you also have two experienced diplomats, the Vatican foreign minister and the ex-foreign minister, who has a long history of diplomatic skills." [Reuters] about 2 hours agoSaleh Mubarak, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, talks to Al Jazeera about the potential for an Eid ceasefire. He says the opposition would welcome any attempt to save Syrian lives but that they don't trust the regime would honour any truce agreement. I don't know why people keep bringing up ceasefire, it doesn't really do anying but slow down the killing for a few days at best, and give the regime some extra time and access to areas they wouldn't normally be able to get into. 4 minutes agoJordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Nsour visited al-Zaatari camp, housing Syrian refugees, on Wednesday and said work will start immediately on setting up a second camp in Mreijeb al-Fhood in Zarqa. Construction will take 60 days and the Jordanian Armed Forces will be responsible for setting up the Zarqa camp. https://twitter.com/DamascusSYR BREAKING: The turkish army is currently shelling Syria'n positions in response of shelling from Syria.23 children were killed by Assad today in Syria. Over 2700 since March 2011. Having trouble getting twitter to work at the moment.... https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov Turkish army strikes back at Syria after a mortar bomb falls in Hatay's Altinozu district. Authorities say stepped up security measures.1:12 PM https://twitter.com/DSyrer FSA shoots down a fighter jet in Aleppo (You can see the pilot ejecting & opening his parachute) - 1:55 PM Amazing how FSA manages to down an average of 1~2 planes/helicopters per day. Assad's AF will be eventually gone if they maintain this rate. 1:58 PM Communist Activist Suhair Atassi chilling with a bunch of FSA soldiers in Tel Abyad - Raqqa2:14 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443684104578062842929673074.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet Syrian Rebels Get MissilesANTAKYA, Turkey—Some Syrian rebel factions have obtained advanced portable antiaircraft weapons, according to rebels and regional officials, a development that could alter the Syrian war's trajectory and fan U.S. concerns that such weapons could end up in the hands of anti-Western Islamist militias. Video footage uploaded to the Internet earlier this week appears to show rebels in Aleppo using weapons that military experts and rebels say are heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missiles, the first documented instance in the conflict. Versions of the weapons—also known as man-portable air defense systems, or Manpads—have been smuggled into the country over the past two months through https://twitter.com/blakehounshell WSJ says "Most of the shoulder-fired missiles in rebel arsenals have come from Libya, smuggled into the country through the Turkish border"9:44 PM "Other shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles…have been supplied by militant Palestinian factions" 9:47 PM "In July, the U.S. effectively halted the delivery of at least 18 Manpads sourced from Libya" 9:48 PM This isn't the first time I've seen claims that the rebels are getting or have missles and such, but there have been a few videos showing some recently I think. On the other and there's still remarkably little evidence of usage, and most if not all aircraft that goes down still seem to be getting shot down by aa guns, not missles. That said, these could make quite a difference, and one would think there will be more to come still from taking bases in Syria if not from smugglers. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/opposition-fighters-town-qusair-homs-province-roam-streets-tank-they-claim-they-seized Opposition fighters in the town of Qusair in Homs province roam the streets on tank they claim they seizedActivists posted a video purporting to opposition fighters in the town of Qusair in Homs province roaming the streets on a tank they claim they seized from regime forces. https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters shot down a warplane in idlib 6:25 AM an assad warplane has dropped an explosive barrel near nur al-shuhadaa mosque in aleppo city. +10 people were killed & +30 injured 10:00 AM https://twitter.com/blakehounshell Well this sure looks like a helicopter being shot of the sky in Syria …11:07 PM http://www.lccsyria.org/10360 The Local Coordination Committees in SyriaWednesday ended with 155 documented martyrs including 13 children and 8 women. The distributions were as follows: 48 in Damascus and its suburbs, including 10 martyrs executed in-field in East Ghouta; 46 in Aleppo, including those that died in the Shaar Massacre; 27 in Idlib, including those that died in the KafrNabal Massacre; 12 in Homs; 7 in Raqqa; 6 in Deir Ezzor; 4 in Hama; 3 in Daraa, and 2 in Latakia http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 34,513 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 https://twitter.com/AJELive Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for a Syria ceasefire while rejecting a Turkish plan for Assad replacement http://aje.me/S5byhP 5:35 AM https://twitter.com/tweets4peace People like this need 2 stay away from Syria (& they're far from Islam). FSA helped free photographer from random grp. http://bit.ly/RaPAsq 5:40 AM https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria Seven Syrian soldiers, one of them wounded, have fled to Hatay, Turkey.5:20 AM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky from the heroes in deirezzor: liberation of the bridge (al-jisr) military compound 5:25 AM resistance fighters have liberated zalebiyah square in deirezzor 5:27 AM resistance fighters destroyed 2 tanks & a bmp vehicle near the town of basidah (idlib) 5:45 AM resistance fighters are bombing wadi al-dayf military compound (idlib) 5:51 AM resistance fighters ambushed & killed +35 assad troops & destroyed 2 t72 tanks in khirbat qiratah (daraa) 5:55 AM https://twitter.com/NOW_Syria Syrian regime forces are shelling the neighborhoods of Homs with warplanes and tanks -Al-Jazeera6:19 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Massacre in MaaratAlNouman!! 10 entire families! No known numbers yet! [video of people pulling lots of bodies and body parts out of rubble]7:05 AM Little infant is the only survivor! MaaratAlNouman she was pulled out from underneath the rubble/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=66HahTcZjLo 7:07 AM The massacre occurred when a shelter housing 10 families in MaaratAlNouman was shelled. Death toll still unknown. Only 1 infant survivor. 7:17 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/world/middleeast/syrian-war-reaches-damascus.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0 Denial Is Slipping Away as War Arrives in DamascusWar has come to Damascus. Not on the scale of Aleppo or Homs, at least not yet. But the difference from just a few months ago is unmistakable. With sandbagged checkpoints every half-mile and soldiers methodically searching vehicles for weapons, simple movement is becoming impossible. “Where is Damascus headed? Are we the next Aleppo?” Rifa asked a few days later. “How soon before our city, our markets, are destroyed?” This is the center of Bashar al-Assad’s power, the stronghold he tried for months to shield from a popular uprising that has inexorably been transformed into a bloody civil war. As his troops battled insurgents all around the country, Mr. Assad was determined that here, at least, he would preserve an air of normalcy, of routine, of certainty that life would go on, as it had before. Such illusions are no longer possible. The reality of war has crept into daily life, and there is a sense of inevitability. Even supporters of the government talk about what comes next, and rebels speak of tightening the noose around this city, their ultimate goal. Damascus was once known for its all-night party scene. Now, few people venture out after dark, and kidnappings are rampant. Gasoline is increasingly scarce, and as winter approaches, people are worried about shortages of food and heating oil. Streets are closed at a moment’s notice, traffic diverted, bridges shut down. Even longtime residents and taxi drivers get lost and have to weave in and out of parking lots to avoid barriers and dead-end streets. Shelling and machine-gun fire are so commonplace, children no longer react. ****ing hell...and this is just Egypt. http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268743/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ma4kVgfc UN: 150,000 Syrian refugees have fled to EgyptThe U.N. refugee agency said Thursday the number of Syrian refugees who have fled their country's civil war and found shelter in Egypt has now topped 150,000 - a significant jump from last month's figure of 95,000. The director of UNHCR in Egypt, Mohamed Dayri, said that despite the growing number of refugees in Egypt, only 4,800 Syrians have registered with the agency in Cairo. He called on Egyptian authorities to help UNHCR deal with the "rising emergency" of Syrian refugees here. A U.N. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, suggested Syria's neighbors who have taken in refugees - Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan - are "reaching (the) saturation point," prompting an influx into Egypt, where the cost of living is cheaper. Egypt does not share a border with Syria, but the Egyptian government allows Syrians to enter without a visa. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/01/10/syria-more-world-war-than-civil-war.html Is the Conflict in Syria a World War Or a Civil War? https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf 30 martyrs from the massacre in MaaratAlMouman. Only 3 have been identified. The rest may never be identified due to severe disfigurement.9:17 AM https://twitter.com/CFKlebergTT At least 44 killed by air strikes in MaaretalNouman, Syria, rescue workers tell AFP correspondent at scene.9:24 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Hafez al-Assad in his rightful place. pic.twitter.com/xcJaxVbg3:34 AM Explosives attached to a motorcycle, blasts near al-Othman mosque in Kafarsouseh. - Damascus 9:59 AM Smoke rising from the Ministry of Interior building in Kafarsouseh following explosion. Damascus 10:05 AM https://twitter.com/And_Harper Back in Jo. 401 x'd last nite. Busy day @ Zaatri with Patriach of Jerusalem & King of Morocco. Brahimi also visiting Amman.10:48 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2164645&l=1e58202402&id=217848338242310 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria: The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 144 thus far, including women, and children: 41 martyrs were reported in Idlib; most of them in Maaret Al-Nouman, 34 in Damascus and its Suburbs, (including 9 who were field-executed in Yarmouk Camp, 7 in Hamouria, and 4 who were field-executed in Qadam); 28 in Aleppo, (including 16 who were found in Zahra Society); 14 in Homs; 10 in Daraa, (including 7 who were field-executed in Maaroba); 6 in Quneitra; 5 in Deir Ezzor; 5 in Hama; and 1 in Raqqa 10:30 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-18/191911-turkish-army-stages-military-drill-near-syria-border-report.ashx#axzz29guVyHTI Turkish army stages military drill near Syria border: reportTurkey's army on Thursday staged a new military drill near its border with Syria, amid heightened tensions between the two neighboring countries, Anatolia news agency reported. The exercise in Suruc near Sanliurfa province in the southeast, which is only 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Syrian frontier, involved mostly tanks, said Anatolia, adding that it could be seen from the Syrian side of the border. Ankara has in recent months staged a number of military drills along its border with Syria, including one in August. The one in August involved Turkish tanks accompanied by armoured personnel carriers and tactical missile-launching platforms deployed at the Oncupinar crossing in southern Kilis province. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10-18/in-syria-sunni-rebels-besiege-shiite-villages In Syria, Sunni rebels besiege Shiite villagesAnyone who tries to slip out of the Shiite villages of Zahraa and Nubl is risking his life. Sunni rebel snipers stand ready to gun down anyone who dares. Roads are blocked with barricades and checkpoints. For more than three months, Syria's rebels have imposed a smothering siege on the villages, home to around 35,000 people, maintaining they are a den of pro-regime gunmen responsible for killing and kidnapping Sunnis from nearby towns. Al-Hajji limps from a gunshot wound he suffered in February, when a gang of Shiites from Zahraa beat and kidnapped him."Only when my family and others kidnapped about 20 of their own and threatened to kill them was I released," he said. He showed a photograph taken after his release, his face bruised and a deep cut across his cheek. He pointed to a neighborhood of Zahraa in the distance and said it had been home to pro-regime snipers and machine gun nests that shot at "everything that moves" in Beyanon. "They killed and wounded so many of us, we had to block the road," he said. A friend, Khaled Mohammed Saraj, a 29-year-old carpenter, was kidnapped by Shiites in July while driving near Zahraa at 6 a.m. "They kept me in an underground room for six days," recounted the father of two. Three others were also held there, he said, though their captors did not abuse them. They were eventually released in a prisoner exchange. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Oct-18/191900-hariri-hezbollah-can-no-longer-hide-its-crimes-in-syria.ashx#axzz29guVyHTI Hariri: Hezbollah can no longer hide its "crimes" in SyriaFormer Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused Hezbollah Thursday of fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces against rebels, while strongly denying the party’s charges that his Future Movement was involved in the 19-month-old bloody conflict in Syria. “The Lebanese -- Shiites, Sunnis and Christians -- know very well, even from the mouths of senior Hezbollah officials, the nature of [the party’s] involvement in what it alleged to be ‘a jihadi duty’ alongside the machine of killings, repression, crackdown and subjugation facing the Syrian people,” a statement released by Hariri's media office. “There is no longer anything that can help to cover up this clear crime committed by Hezbollah first against Lebanon before Syria, especially it is fully aware that the days of its ally in Damascus are numbered,” it added. Uh oh..... http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jtsAExtrU32qU2Gb7KGM6X78CdoQ?docId=CNG.b7490d699f872ba1c830ddc9ac429b95.6d1 Jordan arrests Zarqawi cousins on way back from SyriaJordanian authorities have arrested two cousins of slain Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as they returned home from conflict-hit Syria, a Salafist leader told AFP on Thursday. "Border guards on Tuesday arrested Zayed Sweiti and Firas Khalailah, who are cousins of Abu Musab on their way back from Syria, where they spent five month," Mohammad Shalabi, known as Abu Sayyaf, said. Jordanian-born Zarqawi was killed in an air strike by the US military in Iraq in 2006. "A third jihadist, Mohammad Najmi, was also arrested with Sweiti and Khalailah. The three men decided to return to Jordan because there was no fighting against Syrian regime troops in the area the were in," Abu Sayyaf said. "The intelligence department is currently interrogating them." https://twitter.com/AmalHanano Don't you love a regime that cuts off electricity all day & switches it on at night so helicopters can bomb people's homes properly?6:09 PM https://twitter.com/KareemLailah Much respect to FSA in Idleb for releasing 10s of Assad's captured soldiers.6:13 PM https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=542465972447210 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaBy the end of Thursday LCC could document 230 martyrs including 10 women and 15 children. 69 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs most of them were in Hamorya and Saqba massacres along with 9 martyrs were field executed in Yarmouk refugees camp and 4 were field executed in Qadam. 53 maryrs in Idlib most of them in Maarrat Alnoman massacre, 35 in Aleppo including 6 were found in Jam'eyat Alzahra, 24 in Homs, 18 in Daraa including 7 were field executed in Ma'raba and 4 were field executed in Inkhel, 14 in Deir Ezzor, 8 in Hama, 6 in Qunaitra and 3 martyrs in Raqqa. LCC could also count 134 point at which the regime army randomly shelled civilians including 22 points were bombarded by war planes. Regime forces also dropped explosive drums at 6 points which are Hamorya, Saqba, Shefoniya and Douma in Damascus suburbs, Maarrat Alnoman in Idlib and Western suburbs of Aleppo. FSA documented 36 points of clashes with regime army and fulfill 13 operations and could capture many forces of regime army 5:37 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Over 200 dead for the second day in a row again. Hopefully the death toll isn't going up to what it was every day for a while after the bombing that killed Assad's brother in law. Oh yeah, and crazy **** is going on in Lebanon again after another assassination, which many believe to be Assad's doing. And of course there's the refugee crisis which only gets worse, and worse, and worse. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/19/us-lebanon-explosion-idUSBRE89I0N620121019 Beirut car bomb kills leading Syrian foeSenior Lebanese intelligence official Wissam al-Hassan, who led the investigation that implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, was killed by a huge car bomb in Beirut on Friday. Hassan was also the brains behind uncovering a bomb plot that led to the arrest and indictment in August of former Lebanese minister Michel Samaha, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a setback for Damascus and its Lebanese allies including Hezbollah. Saad al-Hariri, the son of Hariri, accused Assad of killing the top intelligence official. The bomb, which exploded in a busy street during rush hour, killed seven other people and wounded about 80, officials said. The attack prompted Sunni Muslims to take to the streets in areas across the country, burning tires in protest. Rubble and the twisted, burning wreckage of several cars filled the central Beirut street where the bomb exploded, ripping the facades and balconies off buildings. Hassan, a Sunni Muslim from northern Lebanon, was a leading opponent of Assad within the Lebanese intelligence services."He is dead," an official who worked with Hassan told Reuters. Two Syrian officers, including General Ali Mamlouk, the head of the Syrian national security bureau, were also indicted with Samaha in an unprecedented move against the more powerful neighbor - a major player in Lebanon's affairs for decades. The indictment said their targets included politicians and religious figures. Hassan had been a close aide to Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who was killed in a 2005 bomb attack. He led the investigation into the murder and uncovered evidence that implicated Syria and Hezbollah, Lebanon's pro-Iranian Shi'ite Muslim group. Hariri supporters accused Syria and then Hezbollah of killing him - a charge they both deny. An international tribunal accused several Hezbollah members of involvement in the murder. "His (Hassan's) killing means striking the head. The (anti-Assad) officials are all exposed now and in danger of assassination. It will be easy to assassinate them now or they will have to leave the country. He was their protector," the official said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-20008421 In pictures: Beirut blast http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21564840-despite-huge-risks-involved-time-has-come-west-and-arabs-intervene?frsc=dg|a The killing fieldsDespite the huge risks involved, the time has come for the West and the Arabs to intervene in Syria IS IT because America and Europe have tired of their own wars that they have started to turn their back on other people’s? The number of dead in Syria has passed 30,000. Some days over 250 bodies are added to the pile, which brings to mind Iraq at the insurgency’s peak in 2006-07. Were the next few months to stretch into years, as now seems likely, Syria’s great cities would be ground to rubble and the whole Middle East would choke on the dust. To prevent this catastrophe, NATO needs to start making the humanitarian and strategic case for intervening in Syria. Grounding President Bashar Assad’s air force could save many thousands of lives. Giving the rebels scope to organise and train could help bring the war to an end. Speeding the fall of Mr Assad might give Syria a chance to re-emerge as a nation at peace with itself and its neighbours. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/19/163243899/turkey-urges-international-intervention-in-syria Turkey Urges International Intervention In Syria"How long can this situation continue? I mean in Bosnia, now we have Ban Ki-moon [the UN secretary general] apologizing 20 years after. Who will apologise for Syria in 20 years' time? How can we stay idle?" That's what Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu told The Guardian about the situation in Syria. He went on to say that Turkey had been deeply involved in the diplomatic effort to bring the conflict to a peaceful resolution. "But there should be a much more concerted effort by the international community," he said. "The best way we can see now is direct humanitarian intervention." At the same time, The New York Times reports, Turkey continued its diplomatic pursuit, joining the fray and calling for a ceasefire during the upcoming Id al-Adha holiday. https://twitter.com/WilliamsJon BBC World News being deliberately jammed from within Syria. Unclear who responsible, but blatant violation of international TV regulations 4:38 AM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters have liberated suleiman al-halabi neighborhood in aleppo city3:57 AM resistance fighters have liberated al-sheikh maqsoud police station in aleppo city 3:58 AM resistance fighters defeated hezbollah's thugs & liberated the town of jouseh near the lebanese border 5:01 AM resistance fighters have liberated a military compound between damascus & al-sayyidah zaynab. more details later. Resistance fighters have liberated ali al-wahsh street in al-sayyidah zaynab (damascus countryside). Resistance fighters have liberated fayez mansour street in al-sayyidah zaynab 5:14 AM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Lets be clear about one thing: I have no doubt that Assad & his stooges are behind this explosion.11:36 AM Info now that Wessam Hassan was targeted in explosion. Wissam Hassan was once in charge of Info Branch in the Lebanese Security Forces. 11:48 AM Wessam Hassan was involved in the arrest of Michel Samaha (Assad stooge caught planning terror attacks in Leb). 11:52 AM Confirmed: Major General Wessan Hassan was assassinated in the Sassine explosion today. 11:57 AM Samir Jeajea: Wessam Hassan has sent his family to Paris, he knew what was coming. 12:05 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Hizbollah supporters in the Dahye neighborhood of Beirut have fired celebratory gunshots in light of Wessam Hassan's assassination. Class4:44 PM With the just discovered 75 bodies just now, death toll in Syria today rises to 239. Two hundred and thirty nine. 4:48 PM https://twitter.com/BreakingNews UN Security Council condemns 'terrorist attack' that killed senior Lebanese security official Wissam Al-Hassan - statement via @Reuters4:52 PM https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2 17 Lebanese killed in an ambush by the syrian army at the border,reported Voice of Lebanon radio, crisis spreading too fast11:15 AM Roads blocked, gunmen in Akkar, shooting in Tripoli btwn anti-syrian and alawites militias, things going out of control 12:48 PM Streets of Beirut almost empty right now 3:48 PM Army closed entry to Tarik al Jedid a sunny neighborhood of beirut, many military vehicles in the area. Army all over actually,small sitting I'm front of government siege in downtown Beirut 4:07 PM Lebanese opposition ask for resignation of PM Najib mikati after blast in Beirut 4:56 PM https://twitter.com/OnlySyrian Good news from Suleiman alHalabi area in Aleppo ;it's under full control of FSA while FSA is moving towards al-Arqoub area5:21 PM https://twitter.com/samersniper The BMB armored vehicle that was seized by FSA about an hour ago after destroying 2 army checkpoints in Qusair Homs pic.twitter.com/oY2LXXAf5:11 PM https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=542958845731256 By the end of Friday the LCC managed to document 245 martyrs, including 20 children and 12 women: 86 martyrs were reported Deir Ezzor including 75 martyrs were found in the Cemetery after they were field executed, 57 in Damascus and its Suburb, 32 in Aleppo, 25 in Idlib, including 7 in Maarshourin, 14 in Homs, 11 in Raqqa, including 7 martyrs were executed by the regime forces, 10 in Daraa, 8 in Hama, and 2 in Lattakia http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 34,988 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Excellent question. It looks like Plan A, which is to do nothing, appears to continue to be this brilliant administration's only answer.Of course it makes sense to do nothing, since doing nothing has worked so wonderfully in Syria up to this point. We watched peaceful protests transpire calling for justice. Did nothing We watched peaceful protest get cut down by gunfire. Did nothing We watched gunfire expand to violent campaign against all activists. Did nothing We watched the activists eventually pick up guns to defend themselves. Did nothing We watched the defensive posture of activists descend into tit-for-tat violence. Did nothing We watched the tit-for-tat violence devolve into running street battles. Did nothing We watched the street battles deteriorate into wholesale destruction of cities. Did nothing We watched as tanks, jets, and artillery destroyed what was left of the cities. Did nothing We watched the wholesale destruction descended into a brutal civil war. Did nothing We watched as the civil war spilled across the border in Lebanon. Did nothing We watched Hezbollah get involved, possibly sparking a broader ethnic war. Did nothing We watched as the ethnic war attracted the attention and presence of jihadists. Did nothing. We watched as Turkey, a NATO ally, got attacked by the Syrian army. Did nothing. Now we are watching while Turkey creeps towards a conventional war with Syria, which will certainly spark a regional war if not WWIII. And. We. Are. Still. Doing. Nothing . That, folks, is the definition of insanity. What do you think we should be doing? And how would we do it without turning an internal conflict into regional call for jihad to resist American imperialism. These are genuine questions. I'm not being sarcastic and I'm not attacking you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 What do you think we should be doing?And how would we do it without turning an internal conflict into regional call for jihad to resist American imperialism. These are genuine questions. I'm not being sarcastic and I'm not attacking you. I think we all have to be honest about what is happening in Syria. It's a world war right now, even if no one wants to call it that. Syria thinks they can not only kill as many people as they want at home, but also attack their neighbors with impunity. The Turkish government is pulling every last hair out at the lack of support we've given them, the Qatari's and Saudis have been furious at us. Jordan is struggling to support the refugee situation even with the help we've given them. Lebanon is pretty much Assad's playground and anyone who tries to get in his way is taken out. Iraq pretends to be neutral, but it's clear the government sides with Assad and probably supplies him. Arab and European countries want to do something to help, but no one wants to lead and in many cases the US has tried to quiet down our allies and keep things bottled up in a way that only makes things worse in the long run. We can either sit around and watch the region and the world world go up in flames, or we can support our allies and stop undermining them when they want help. I don't know what the best plan is right now, but it seems like some sort of intervention is becoming increasingly necessary. A Turkish-Arab enforced safe zone in Idlib is probably the best bet at this point and then we see where we go from there. But I'm not wedded to this idea. The main thing is to deal with the airstrikes and refugee crisis while also keeping extremists and jihadis from gaining more ground I don't see why any limited intervention by the international community with or without UN approval would turn into an anti-US jihad, I think we have much more to fear from an angered, rejected, and isolated Syrian population that somehow defeats Assad through increased terrorist bombings and jihadi domination. (or from the stuff we're doing in Pakistan, Yemen, or Afghanistan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Oct-20/192099-mikati-ready-to-announce-his-resignation.ashx#axzz29o4SwgLa Mikati ready to announce his resignationPrime Minister Najib Mikati will announce his resignation Saturday, according to government sources who met with him following Friday’s car bomb assassination in Beirut which claimed at least five lives and left 110 wounded. According to the sources, Mikati said he could not bear the repercussions of the attack and had already informed his Cabinet of his decision to quit. He had also communicated his intention to resign to President Michel Sleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri, they added. After heading a security and judicial meeting at the Grand Serail later in the evening, Mikati headed to the headquarters of the Internal Security Forces General Directorate, where he was briefed on the security situation. He then returned to the Grand Serail and issued a statement saying: “I will deal with the event with the appropriate decision during Saturday’s Cabinet session.” The sources said this “appropriate decision” to which Mikati referred would be his resignation, in light of the fact that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of being behind the crime, and that this would demand of his Cabinet actions he would be unable to take. The sources said Mikati’s final decision regarding his resignation would depend on the reactions of his allies as well as those of the March 14 coalition. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/2012/10/19/98b4f104-1a1e-11e2-b235-9cd54b35db6f_story.html U.S. steps up support of Turkey amid Syrian conflictThe U.S. government is intensifying its intelligence sharing and military consultations with Turkey behind the scenes as both countries confront the possibility that Syria’s civil conflict could escalate into a regional war, according to U.S. and NATO officials. The Obama administration has said it wants to avoid getting drawn militarily into Syria and for months has resisted pressure from Arab allies and some Republicans to back Syria’s rebel groups more forcefully. But as Syria’s internal conflict has increasingly spilled across its northern border into Turkey, the U.S. government has stepped up cooperation with its key NATO ally. In recent weeks, military officials from both countries have met to make contingency plans to impose no-fly zones over Syrian territory or seize Syria’s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, U.S. officials said. U.S. intelligence agencies were also the source of a tip that led the Turkish military to intercept and ground a Syrian passenger plane en route from Moscow to Damascus last week on suspicions that it was carrying Russian-made military hardware, according to U.S. officials. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/world/middleeast/bomb-blast-in-beirut-lebanon.html?_r=0 Blast in Beirut Is Seen as an Extension of Syria’s WarA powerful bomb devastated a Christian neighborhood of this capital city of Lebanon on Friday, killing an intelligence official long viewed as an enemy by neighboring Syria and unnerving a nation as Syria’s sectarian-fueled civil war spills beyond its borders and threatens to engulf the region. The blast, which sheared the faces off buildings, killed at least eight people, wounded 80 and transformed a quiet tree-lined street into a scene reminiscent of Lebanon’s long civil war, threatened to worsen sectarian tensions. By nightfall, black smoke from burning tires ignited by angry men choked the streets of a few neighborhoods in the city, which has struggled to preserve a peace between its many sects, including Sunni, Shiite, Christian and Druse. Within hours of the attack, the Lebanese authorities announced that the dead included the intelligence chief of the country’s internal security service, Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, instantly spurring accusations that the Syrian government had assassinated him for recently uncovering what the authorities said was a Syrian plot to provoke unrest in Lebanon. “They wanted to get him, and they got him,” said Paul Salem, a regional analyst with the Carnegie Middle East Center. But if the attack was targeted, the blast was most certainly not. The force of the explosion left elderly residents fleeing their wrecked homes in bloodied pajamas and spewed charred metal as far as two blocks. Residents rushed to help each other amid the debris, burning car wreckage and a macabre scene of victims in blood-soaked shirts. https://twitter.com/LizSly Meanwhile in Syria: the theme of today's protests was: "America, has your hatred not been satisfied by our blood?" 245 dead (LCCs)7:22 PM https://twitter.com/agh_yan FSA releases 60 Alawites POW in Idlib as a good will gesture, only those not guilty released per statement http://sham-newspaper.com/article-aid-129.html7:24 PM https://twitter.com/alihashem_tv ArabLeague SG Nabil AlArabi was hospitalised after his health condition deteriorated7:34 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati to resign from his position following today’s events.10:48 PM https://twitter.com/Joyce_Karam Best case scenario is he [Mikati] gets assigned by the President to form a national unity gov.,worst longterm vacuum, no elections10:49 PM violence and sectarian war didn't fit in 150 words. Although, i can't see Hizballah, strongest player, wanting this now. 11:08 PM Hezbollah has no acceptable alternative to Lebanon PM Mikati. They have to work with him if he decides to go for national unity government 12:49 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_LEBANON?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Lebanon PM links car bomb to crisis in SyriaLebanon's prime minister says the deadly car bombing in Beirut has links to the civil war in neighboring Syria. Friday's blast killed the country's intelligence chief and seven other people. Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday the blast is linked to the intelligence chief's recent case, in which he exposed an alleged plot by Syria to sow chaos in Lebanon. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Oct-20/192140-mikati-says-suspends-decision-to-resign.ashx#axzz29qEANPYR Mikati says suspends decision to resignPrime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday he suspended his decision to resign and would wait for President Michel Sleiman to consult the National Dialogue Committee on the matter. “I am committed to my decision [to resign] until the president finalizes his consultations with the National Dialogue Committee but I am still committed to my original decision,” Mikati told reporters following a Cabinet meeting that discussed the recent assassination of the head of the police’s Information Branch, Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan. Mikati said during consultations with Sleiman prior to the Cabinet session the president advised him not to resign at the present time “so as not to plunge the country into a state of paralysis.” “The president has asked me for a period of time to allow him to consult with the members of the National Dialogue Committee,” Mikati said. The prime minister admitted that his position was complicated by perceptions that the Sunni community in Lebanon was being targeted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/20/us-syria-crisis-turkey-idUSBRE89J06U20121020 Turkish retaliatory fire has killed 12 Syrian soldiers: reportTurkey's military has fired on Syria 87 times, killing 12 Syrian soldiers and destroying several tanks in retaliation for Syrian shells and mortars landing on Turkish territory, a Turkish newspaper reported on Saturday. Turkey has been carrying out a series of retaliatory strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's forces fighting rebels along the border since Syrian shelling killed five Turkish civilians in a Turkish frontier town at the start of October. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/world/middleeast/syrian-government-booby-traps-rebels-ammunition.html?hp&_r=0 Syrians Place Booby-Trapped Ammunition in Rebels’ GunsThe government of Syria, trying to contain a rapidly expanding insurgency, has resorted to one of the dirty tricks of the modern battlefield: salting ammunition supplies of antigovernment fighters with ordnance that explodes inside rebels’ weapons, often wounding and sometimes killing the fighters while destroying many of their hard-found arms. The practice, which rebels said started in Syria early this year, is another element of the government’s struggle to combat the opposition as Syria’s military finds itself challenged across a country where it was not long ago an uncontested force. The government controls the skies, and with aircraft and artillery batteries it has pounded many rebel strongholds throughout this year. But the rebels continue to resist, mostly with small arms. Doctored ammunition offers an insidious way to undermine the rebels’ confidence in their ammunition supply while simultaneously thinning their ranks. “When they do this, you will lose both the man and the rifle,” said Ghadir Hammoush, the commander of a fighting group in Idlib Province who said he knew of five instances in which rifles had exploded from booby-trapped ammunition. The practice has principally involved rifle and machine-gun cartridges, but also the projectiles for rocket-propelled grenades and perhaps mortar rounds, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen rebel leaders in Syria and many fighters, as well as an examination of shattered rifles and the contents of a booby-trapped cartridge. The tactic is highly controversial, in that it is potentially indiscriminate. The primary source for doctored ammunition has been the Syrian government, which mixes exploding cartridges with ordinary rounds on the black markets through which rebels acquire weapons, the commanders said. Some booby-trapped ammunition may also have entered Syria from Iraq, where during the most recent war the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency secretly passed doctored ammunition to insurgent groups, several American veterans and officials said. The United States runs a similar program in Afghanistan, trying to undermine the Taliban. The United States has provided humanitarian and communications aid to the Syrian rebels, but has refused to supply weapons of any kind. https://twitter.com/alihashem_tv PM Mikati: we took several important decisions in our cabinet sessions. PM Mikati: we asked the ministry of communication to hand to the investigation team the communication data. Mikati: today I call on forming a national unity government7:23 AM Mikati: I told the president that history taught me that patriotic decisions means paying heavy prices. Mikati: I told the president that I want to resign, but I'll put the decision on hold 7:28 AM Mikati links the Samaha case to the assassination of Wissam AlHasan 7:31 AM Mikati: my sect is being targeted 7:36 AM Lebanese PM Najib Mikati said he we will stop going to the government HQ and will avoid taking decisions 7:43 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria-activists-20121021,0,7129788.story Syria activists adapt to new roles as relief volunteersWhen Hytham was released from a Syrian prison in the spring after his third incarceration for being an opposition member, he expected to return to the streets with thousands of other activists to call for the fall of the government. Instead, he found an opposition landscape that had been transformed from one of demonstrations and peaceful dissent to that of an armed uprising. Now Hytham, who graduated from medical school last year, volunteers in the field hospitals that dot Damascus and its suburbs, treating civilians injured in government shelling and airstrikes and rebels wounded in fighting. He moves carefully through the city and its myriad checkpoints, smuggling desperately needed medicine and medical supplies. "Those our age are focused on the actual work, providing humanitarian aid or working in the field hospitals, or maybe have even joined the Free Syrian Army," said Hytham, once a member of the group Freedom Days, which promotes peaceful forms of dissent. "The days of the protests were nicer, but I still feel like I am giving something to the revolution." Like Hytham, who for safety reasons did not want to use his real name, most activists have made a difficult transition: No longer demonstrators, they now risk their lives as relief volunteers amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in a conflict that has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives. An estimated 1.2 million Syrians have been displaced, and an additional 1 million are in urgent need of assistance because they have run out of money for food and other necessities, according to the United Nations. The country is facing a "critical shortage" of medicine, the World Health Organization says, and the humanitarian situation is expected to worsen as winter approaches. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/activists-morning-say-shelling-fighter-jets-town-maarat-al-numaan-destroys-five-homes Activists this morning say shelling by fighter jets on the town of Maarat al-Numaan destroys five homesActivists said on Sunday morning that shelling by fighter jets on the town of Maarat al-Numaan in Idlib has destroyed five homes. They have sent us two new videos from there. The first purports to show a fighter jet shelling on the town. The second shows the damage caused by the shelling on the ground. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012102015822475786.html Opposition calls for 'day of rage' in LebanonLebanon's opposition March 14 coalition has encouraged a massive turnout for Sunday's funeral for the slain intelligence official Wissam al-Hassan, and for a "day of rage" against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Saad al-Hariri, leader of the opposition, has urged all of Lebanon to attend the funeral in central Beirut, an appeal which could transform the ceremony into a powerful political rally. Friday's bombing, which according to officials left two others dead and scores more wounded, has added to fears of renewed sectarian violence in the country, still scarred from a long civil war. Protests erupted in several Lebanese cities the day after three people, including Hassan, a senior security official opposed to the Syrian regime, were killed in a car bombing in the Lebanese capital. "Every one of you is personally invited tomorrow to Martyrs' Square to the prayers for Wissam al-Hassan," Hariri said in a statement broadcast by Future Television on Saturday. "All of Lebanon, which Wissam al-Hassan protected from the plots of Bashar al-Assad and Ali Mamlouk ... exposing himself so that you would not be blown up." Hariri was referring to the Syrian president and a Syrian general indicted in August over an alleged bomb plot in Lebanon. http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/syrias-wealthy-businesses-feel-civil-war-squeeze-658496/ Syria's wealthy businesses feel civil war squeezeSyria's wealthy, long cultivated by President Bashar Assad as a support for his regime, are seeing their businesses pummeled by the bloody civil war. Factories have been burned down or damaged in fighting. International sanctions restrict their finances. Some warn that their companies are in danger of going under, worsening the country's buckling economy. Mr. Assad may not have lost the backing of Syria's business elite, but some are losing faith. Many of those who can have fled abroad, hoping to ride out the turmoil, which is now in its 19th month and is only getting worse as rebels and regime forces tear apart the country in their fight for power. Several businessmen interviewed by The Associated Press say resentment is growing against Mr. Assad over the crisis -- but they also aren't throwing their lot in with the rebellion. They are hunkering down, trying to salvage their companies. One young businessman said his family factory in the suburbs of Damascus was damaged Wednesday, with windows blown out and part of the ceiling was destroyed when warplanes hit rebels in a neighboring building. Its several hundred employees had to hide in the basement until fighting eased enough that they could be bused out to safety. "I feel that they are both just as bad as each other," he said of the rebels and the government. "I could have died today because they [the rebels] were across the street from us, and they [the planes] could have bombed us." Syria's economy has been heavily hurt by the conflict, which activists say has left more than 30,000 dead. Inflation has risen to at least 36 percent. The currency has dropped around 50 percent, now trading at 75 pounds to the dollar on the black market, according to the factory owner. The government estimates economic losses at $34 billion -- almost half the gross domestic product -- though the opposition puts the losses at nearly three times that amount. Fuel shortages have become widespread as the regime burns through hard currency to import diesel and oil at the same time that it finances the war effort. Though the economic blow has been hard, "we are not at the stage that the rug has been pulled from under the regime," said Anthony Skinner, head of Middle East and North African division at Maplecroft political risk consultancy. Mr. Assad so far has been able to keep his head above water with financial support from top ally Iran, he noted. https://twitter.com/martinchulov Lebanon police chief says slain intel chief, Wissam al-Hassan to be buried next to Rafiq Hariri - such is his status in anti-Assad bloc10:51 AM https://twitter.com/ZeinakhodrAljaz Turkey PM says Yemen's power transfer deal, which allowed Yemen President to step down is no longer suitable model for a solution in Syria11:03 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Four children and two others have been found under the rubble in Saqba, Damascus. Four of the six are refugees from Homs.. RIP10:31 PM Shelling on Jdaydet Artouz has started. Military reinforcements reading to enter. Damascus 12:25 AM Army has started to enter Jdaydet Artouz - they were spotted near the Royal Palace (a wedding hall) across street from bakery. 12:43 AM Security forces and army have shut down the three main entrances to Jdaydet Artouz. People not being allowed in or out. 12:30 AM http://www.lccsyria.org/10379 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe LCC managed to document 123 martyrs for Saturday, among them 6 women and 5 children. 67 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs, including 14 in Saqaba and 10 in Erbeen; 19 in Aleppo; 14 in Deir Ezzor; 9 in Homs; 7 in Idlib; 4 in Daraa; and 3 in Hama http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 35,111 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 LEBANON http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20017397 Beirut funeral for Wissam al-Hassan followed by clashesProtesters have been trying to storm the HQ, after a new call for Prime Minister Najib Mikat to resign. Police have fired warning shots and tear gas. Friday's attack also killed one of Mr Hassan's bodyguards and a woman nearby. Opposition figures have blamed neighbouring Syria for the attack. Many have protested against Syria and its Lebanese allies amid fears the Syrian conflict could spill over. "Really, we are waiting for the fall of the regime in Syria. Until that happens, there can be no peace in Lebanon," one woman in Martyrs' Square said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/us-lebanon-explosion-march-idUSBRE89K08N20121021 Angry mourners march on Lebanon PM office, demand he quitAngry mourners marched on Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati's offices in central Beirut on Sunday, breaking through an outer security barrier and scuffling with police who fired tear gas in response. "Mikati leave, get out," chanted hundreds of protesters following the funeral of a slain intelligence chief. They also chanted slogans against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who they accused of being behind the killing of Wissam al-Hassan. https://twitter.com/RulaAmin Hassan will b buried next to Rafiq AlHarriri's grave site here at Martyr sq in downtown Beirut7:46 AM Prayers for Hassan at Muhamad al Amin mosque ... Crowd outside is not as big as March 14th had hoped ..some already leaving 8:32 AM Rafic Harriri was killed in a carbomb in 2005,then Hassan was in charge of Harriri security in his chief of protocol, Hassan could have easily been in Harriri's car,but he wasn't 7 years later he is killed by another car bomb 8:36 AM Violence at the lebanese PM office as mourners headed to the grand serail to demand the govt resigns, teargas and gunshots 9:40 AM Lebanese army deploys more troops, APC's and troops around the grand serail 9:43 AM https://twitter.com/LeShaque Oh dear! The Syrian independence flag is involved in the clashes at Hasan's funeral. #Lebanon9:25 AM I don't want to sound like a politician but it looks like the funeral protest was infiltrated by saboteurs. These guys came ready. 9:27 AM All hell has broken loose at Hasan's funeral. 9:30 AM Some idiots at the funeral tried to storm the Grand Serail and ended up in clashes w/ security forces 9:59 AM https://twitter.com/oh_bergine Saad Hariri asking for the people to go back to their houses. We are peaceful not violent. We want this gvt 2 resign in a peaceful manner9:54 AM Saad Hariri: I asked my own security to protect the Serail 9:56 AM https://twitter.com/monicagprieto Shooting in Tripoli, clashes in Beirut. Saad Hariri calls on March 14 supporters to withdraw from streets9:59 AM Saida/Beirut road blocked by demonstrators, clashes in Tripoli and Beirut, militias showed up in Naameh, Lebanon on the edge (again) 10:04 AM Protesters block Nejmeh Sqaure in South Lebanon’s Sidon with burning tires (so how sheikh Ahmad Assir intends to get back this afternoon?) 10:12 AM Situation much better in DownTown Beirut, calm around Gran Serail now, but degenerating in Saida, Tripoli, Naamah and Zahleh 10:33 AM SYRIA https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters arrested a captain & 2 soldiers in suleiman al-halabi in aleppo city5:20 AM resistance fighters destroyed a tank & killed & injured many assad troops near the town of kafr rouma 5:24 AM resistance fighters destroyed 2 military tanks south of ma`arrat al-nu`man 5:22 AM resistance fighters destroyed 5 military vehicles & killed +15 assad troops in al-sheikh sa`id in aleppo city 10:13 AM heavy clashes continue in al-zabadani. resistance fighters control most of the city 10:23 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I'm a bit um...skeptical about this: http://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/56574/report-tens-of-thousands-of-syrians-leave-lebanon REPORT: Tens of thousands of Syrians leave Lebanon following Ashrafieh explosionA Syrian national justified his return to Syria by stating that he found in Syria security which was lost in Lebanon, adding that "they prefer to die in their country instead of dying in Lebanon". A few days were enough to lead tens of thousands of Syrian national to return back to their country, as they flocked to al-Masnaa crossing point, which witnessed the departure of more than 36 thousand Syrians over the last few hours. This unprecedented move went in line with disorganization in completing official and legal procedures, making the General Security members to ask the Lebanese Army for assistance. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/us-jordan-qaeda-plot-idUSBRE89K0CK20121021 Jordan foils Qaeda plot, arrests 11 militants : state TVJordan foiled a major plot by an al Qaeda-linked cell to destabilize the key U.S. ally's security by bombing shopping centers and assassinating Western diplomats, state television said on Sunday. Security forces detained 11 suspects in connection with a plot going on since June to carry out attacks in the capital Amman using smuggled weapons and explosives brought from Syria, according to security officials cited by television. "Their plans included getting explosives and mortars from Syria," a security source told Reuters. The attacks, aimed at western and commercial areas, would likely have resulted in the death of thousands, according to Jordanian authorities. The security source said the suspects had manufactured explosives "aimed at inflicting the heaviest human losses possible." http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2012/Oct-20/192102-a-war-chest-for-syrias-opposition.ashx#axzz29vA8XF5l A war chest for Syria’s oppositionLeft on its current course, America’s sensibly cautious policy toward Syria is unfortunately going to come to an unhappy end: The jihadist wing of the opposition will just get stronger and gain more power to shape Syria’s future. But what’s the right alternative? How can the U.S. help the Syrian opposition while avoiding another costly military intervention in the Muslim world? If the U.S. helped coordinate funding, the Free Syrian Army would have several advantages: A better organized opposition might defeat the regime, it would be better able to govern a post-Assad Syria, and it could help the U.S. control Syria’s chemical weapons. That’s a trifecta – three good things in one.The Obama administration took a small step in this direction last summer by authorizing the Syrian Support Group to help the rebels. Leaders of the group fanned out inside Syria looking for army defectors who could establish new military councils to coordinate the flow of weapons and money. When I was inside the country, I met the councils’ commanders for Aleppo, Hama and Idlib – who seemed like solid military leaders. They just didn’t have enough guns or money to distribute. Closer links with the rebels have helped fill the intelligence gap. For example, a Free Syrian Army representative sent a report to the State Department in late September that warned: “What we were worried about a few months ago is in the process of happening right now; extremists are more visible. ... This is due to lack of support to moderate groups.” The funding situation has improved slightly this month. About two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are said to have created a small “Gulf Fund” to be disbursed by the military councils. The commanders will be paid $150 for each named fighter (including the serial number of his weapon). Col. Abdul-Jabbar Akidi in Aleppo is receiving about $2.5 million under this program; Col. Afif Suleiman in Idlib is getting about $4.5 million. The U.S. should consider adding money for nonlethal assistance, including training, communications and intelligence. The right next step is to gather into one pot all the official contributions, lethal and nonlethal, from the U.S. and its Arab and European allies. Then let the Free Syrian Army commanders distribute the money and weapons to fighters, in ways that will build discipline.You don’t have to sign off on this whole war chest to agree that it’s time for the U.S. to experiment with strategies that could produce something other than the bad outcome that’s now ahead. http://nytweekly.com/columns/intelarchives/05-25-12/#.UIOY-CVppfE.twitter APPLYING THE LESSONS OF IRAQ TO SYRIAThere is no doubt that the Iraq war experience is not to be repeated. This conviction is driving policy toward Syria, but the West has learned the wrong lessons from the Iraq example. The United States military intervention in 2003 and the chaos and waves of sectarian killing that followed in Iraq haunts the West into indecision, and irreparable damage is being inflicted on Syrian society. The world stands by and watches while the Syrian regime violently represses the uprising, increasing sectarian tensions and radicalism, while sanctions erode the economy and weaken the middle class. The longer this lasts the closer Syrian society will move toward fulfilling President Bashar al-Assad’s prophecy that his regime’s fall would be worse than “tens of Afghanistans.” There is a different lesson to be learned from policy toward Iraq before 2003, the period when Saddam Hussein was “engaged,” became an ally of the West by fighting Iran and was kept in power even after his invasion of Kuwait for fear of the unknown if he fell. From 1991 to 2003, the West allowed the Baath Party of Saddam Hussein to drive Iraqi society back to the Stone Age and contributed to the process with policies of containment. Sanctions punished the Iraqi people while strengthening the regime. Saddam flourished under the oil-for-food program by distributing oil coupons to his supporters in Arab countries and financing his lobbyists in the West. Devaluation of the currency meant that the middle class was driven to poverty and those who were lucky to emigration. https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky assad's thugs have executed 6 people in the town of al-taibah (daraa)2:02 PM defection of brigadier general abdul razzaq aslan 2:16 PM resistance groups join ahfad al-rasoul brigade in al-raqqah 2:44 PM a report says assad's forces have captured the military commander of ahfad al-rasoul brigade. the brigade didn't comment 3:16 PM 15 troops have defected to resistance fighters near the town of kafr takharim 3:19 PM https://twitter.com/Brown_Moses The opposition in Aleppo invent a new weapon, a shotgun grenade launcher 3:36 PM The rebels have done a lot of inventing with slingshots, homemade tank-cars, remote controlled cars and other things, of course that isn't to say that they all work particularely well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 LEBANON http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/us-lebanon-explosion-beirut-idUSBRE89K0IV20121021 Gunfire in southern Beirut, ambulances heardGunmen armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades exchanged fire in southern districts of Lebanon's capital Beirut on Sunday night, security sources said, and residents could also hear the sound of ambulance sirens. https://twitter.com/NMSyria Intense gunfire next to my family in Beirut. Lebanon5:40 PM Most of the shooting is from sniper fire. 5:59 PM Gunfire coming from the Arab University Engineering Faculty and from the Sports area near the Cola intersection. 5:56 PM Breaking: Lebanese army has clashed and chased after group of armed men in Cola. 6:39 PM New TV: Ambulance sirens heard - entering Tareeq Jdeede and Cola to treat any wounded. 6:40 PM SYRIA https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss There is now a Jesus Christ Brigade in Damascus: 4:13 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Massacre in Albarra in JabalAlzawiyah Idlib!! They were all residents that fled MaaratAlNouman! Thats where my family went! 4:41 PM Al7amdillah no one from my family was martyred during this massacre in Albarrah. But all these people are like family as well. 5:03 PM 5 names were released from the massacre in #Albarrah. They were all from the Matar family. 4:52 PM https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY BREAKING: regime forces have just opened fire on a peaceful sit in that began 10 minutes ago in Midan area of central Damascus.7:24 PM BREAKING: protesters who just attempted to sit-in by al mushtahid area of Midan were opened fire upon leaving 2 civilians dead Damascus 7:26 PM Plz RT: 100s of protesters in Midan area just now met with heavy gunfire 3 civilians now confirmed to be killed, dozens wounded 7:32 PM BREAKING: Midan area in central Damascus has just witnessed an extreme deployment of military elements, situation very tense 7:34 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2173316&l=ffa23c6ac4&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination CommitteesThe LCC managed to document 135 martyrs by the end of Sunday, including 6 children and 8 womens; 70 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs "including 8 martyrs in Sbina and 9 martyrs in Harasta", 23 in Aleppo,19 in Idlib, 6 in Homs 3 of them were martyred in Damascus suburbs, 5 martyrs in Daraa,4 in Raqqa, 3 in Qunaitera, 3 in Lattakia and 2 in Qamishly 5:53 PM http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 35,246 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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