The Syrian Crisis
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Reshaping the Middle East: Syrian Wars
Road Map Drawn Up by Syrian Traitors to Serve Imperialists, Gulf Monarchies
By Noureddine Merdaci
The following is a translation of an article originally published in The Sham Times.
December 11, 2012 "Information Clearing House" - It will perhaps take months, if not years, before we will be able to reconstruct the process by which Syria found itself trapped in this civil war. Obviously, Damascus had not measured the danger, not only for the regime in power, but even for Syria itself, now in danger of disappearing as a nation-state. However, the veil begins to lift on the circumstances of the "conclave" held in Doha in early November, which saw a heterogeneous "opposition" - divided, without a program and without perspective - provide itself with a leader, Moez Ahmed al-Khatib, and a "coalition."
But to achieve this, according to sources familiar with the matter, the Syrian "opponents" were ordered by Qatar to "find" an agreement, sine qua non, before leaving the room they were provided. This means that the "Syrian opposition" had a gun to its head, forcing it to reach this minimum agreement. Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, took a personal interest in the proceedings. In reality, the "revolt" in Syria, totally managed by foreign countries and their intelligence services, was a proxy war against the Syrian national state, a war which needed "Syrians at their service" only to serve as "local color."
In Syria, it is fighters coming from many Arab countries, elements of al-Qaeda, jihadists from Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan - well-armed - who kill Syrian civilians and fight against the Syrian army alongside a handful of deserters. So, in Doha, it was necessary to "unify" the opposition, whose credibility was placed in question, even by one of its main sponsors, the United States, which has applied its full weight to restore a semblance of consistency and visibility to an opposition created completely by France, Qatar, and the United States in particular, and supported by Turkey, which "persuaded" NATO to install "Patriot" missiles on its territory - more precisely on the borders with Syria. Doha has been a refocusing of a rebellion that had not been able to achieve the goals ordered by its sponsors.
In fact, we can better understand the situation when we know the terms of the "Doha Protocol," a document we have been able to consult, which contains the following 13 points:
1. Syria should reduce the number of soldiers of the Syrian army to 50,000;
2. Syria will assert its right to sovereignty over the Golan only by political means. Both parties will sign peace agreements under the auspices of the United States and Qatar;
3. Syria must get rid of, under the supervision of the United States, all its chemical and biological weapons and all of its missiles. This operation must be carried out on the land of Jordan;
4. To cancel any claim of sovereignty over Liwa Iskenderun (Alexandretta) and to withdraw in favor of Turkey from some border villages inhabited by Turkmens in "muhafazahs" in Aleppo and Idlib;
5. To expel all members of the Workers Party of Kurdistan, and to hand over those wanted by Turkey. This party should be added to the list of terrorist organizations;
6. To cancel all agreements and contracts signed with Russia and China in the fields of subsurface drilling and armaments;
7. To allow Qatari gas pipeline passage through the Syrian territory toward Turkey and then on to Europe;
8. To allow water pipes to pass through the Syrian territory from the Atatürk Dam to Israel;
9. Qatar and United Arab Emirates pledge to rebuild what has been destroyed by the war in Syria on the condition that their companies have the exclusive access to contracts for reconstruction and for exploitation of Syrian oil and gas;
10.To terminate relations with Iran, Russia and China;
11.To break off relations with Hezbollah and with Palestinian resistance movements;
12. The Syrian regime should be Islamic and not Salafi;
13. This agreement will come into effect as soon as power is taken ((Algerian) Editor's note: by the "Opposition").
This is the price of foreign pressures and of resignation and treachery on the part of Arab states. A high price, an exorbitant price for Syria that persons calling themselves "Syrian" have endorsed. Indeed, this agreement, or rather "Protocol," is thus the price that the Syrian opposition will have to pay once installed in power in Damascus, as stated in Article 13 of the "Doha Agreement."
In this way, each of the sponsors of the "revolt of the Syrian people" has helped himself according to his own interests and appetite. The United States, by disarming Syria and distancing the nation from its friends; Turkey, by retrieving Syrian villages and modifying the common borders according to its interests; Qatar, by being granted contracts for the "reconstruction" of the country; and Saudi Arabia, by the establishment of an Islamic regime of its devotion.
This is a virtual castration of Syria, to be stripped of its sovereignty just as Egypt was by the Camp David Agreements in 1979. Actually, it is as if the "opposition" - supported at arm's length by Qatar - were to demand the immediate recognition of Israel, with, however, as in Article 2 of the Doha protocol, a negotiated settlement.
This is a sharing of Syrian hoard! Nowhere is there any question of democracy, freedom, human rights, building a new Syria in which the Syrians, whatever their ethnicity, religion and belief, enjoy the same rights. Instead, each of the "sponsors" served himself first, taking whatever he wanted.
For those who know the turbulent history of the Ottoman Middle East, everything is explained, and Doha was the point of no return for a Syrian opposition that no longer had a voice. It was only to justify the "syrianity" of the events. This was clearly seen in Cairo when the new "boss" of the "coalition," Moez Ahmed al-Khatib, arrived in the baggage of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani for the Arab League meeting that took place in the mid-November.
In Syria, the scenario acted out for Libya is surpassed, and there is now danger of a general destabilization of the world, even that fragmentation for which American civilian "experts" and military have been working without interruption. We should consider this situation seriously!
Translated by Chrysanthie Therapontos, edited by Henry Crapo, translators for Humanité in English.
Road Map Drawn Up by Syrian Traitors to Serve Imperialists, Gulf Monarchies
Road Map Drawn Up by Syrian Traitors to Serve Imperialists, Gulf Monarchies
By Noureddine Merdaci
The following is a translation of an article originally published in The Sham Times.
December 11, 2012 "Information Clearing House" - It will perhaps take months, if not years, before we will be able to reconstruct the process by which Syria found itself trapped in this civil war. Obviously, Damascus had not measured the danger, not only for the regime in power, but even for Syria itself, now in danger of disappearing as a nation-state. However, the veil begins to lift on the circumstances of the "conclave" held in Doha in early November, which saw a heterogeneous "opposition" - divided, without a program and without perspective - provide itself with a leader, Moez Ahmed al-Khatib, and a "coalition."
But to achieve this, according to sources familiar with the matter, the Syrian "opponents" were ordered by Qatar to "find" an agreement, sine qua non, before leaving the room they were provided. This means that the "Syrian opposition" had a gun to its head, forcing it to reach this minimum agreement. Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, took a personal interest in the proceedings. In reality, the "revolt" in Syria, totally managed by foreign countries and their intelligence services, was a proxy war against the Syrian national state, a war which needed "Syrians at their service" only to serve as "local color."
In Syria, it is fighters coming from many Arab countries, elements of al-Qaeda, jihadists from Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan - well-armed - who kill Syrian civilians and fight against the Syrian army alongside a handful of deserters. So, in Doha, it was necessary to "unify" the opposition, whose credibility was placed in question, even by one of its main sponsors, the United States, which has applied its full weight to restore a semblance of consistency and visibility to an opposition created completely by France, Qatar, and the United States in particular, and supported by Turkey, which "persuaded" NATO to install "Patriot" missiles on its territory - more precisely on the borders with Syria. Doha has been a refocusing of a rebellion that had not been able to achieve the goals ordered by its sponsors.
In fact, we can better understand the situation when we know the terms of the "Doha Protocol," a document we have been able to consult, which contains the following 13 points:
1. Syria should reduce the number of soldiers of the Syrian army to 50,000;
2. Syria will assert its right to sovereignty over the Golan only by political means. Both parties will sign peace agreements under the auspices of the United States and Qatar;
3. Syria must get rid of, under the supervision of the United States, all its chemical and biological weapons and all of its missiles. This operation must be carried out on the land of Jordan;
4. To cancel any claim of sovereignty over Liwa Iskenderun (Alexandretta) and to withdraw in favor of Turkey from some border villages inhabited by Turkmens in "muhafazahs" in Aleppo and Idlib;
5. To expel all members of the Workers Party of Kurdistan, and to hand over those wanted by Turkey. This party should be added to the list of terrorist organizations;
6. To cancel all agreements and contracts signed with Russia and China in the fields of subsurface drilling and armaments;
7. To allow Qatari gas pipeline passage through the Syrian territory toward Turkey and then on to Europe;
8. To allow water pipes to pass through the Syrian territory from the Atatürk Dam to Israel;
9. Qatar and United Arab Emirates pledge to rebuild what has been destroyed by the war in Syria on the condition that their companies have the exclusive access to contracts for reconstruction and for exploitation of Syrian oil and gas;
10.To terminate relations with Iran, Russia and China;
11.To break off relations with Hezbollah and with Palestinian resistance movements;
12. The Syrian regime should be Islamic and not Salafi;
13. This agreement will come into effect as soon as power is taken ((Algerian) Editor's note: by the "Opposition").
This is the price of foreign pressures and of resignation and treachery on the part of Arab states. A high price, an exorbitant price for Syria that persons calling themselves "Syrian" have endorsed. Indeed, this agreement, or rather "Protocol," is thus the price that the Syrian opposition will have to pay once installed in power in Damascus, as stated in Article 13 of the "Doha Agreement."
In this way, each of the sponsors of the "revolt of the Syrian people" has helped himself according to his own interests and appetite. The United States, by disarming Syria and distancing the nation from its friends; Turkey, by retrieving Syrian villages and modifying the common borders according to its interests; Qatar, by being granted contracts for the "reconstruction" of the country; and Saudi Arabia, by the establishment of an Islamic regime of its devotion.
This is a virtual castration of Syria, to be stripped of its sovereignty just as Egypt was by the Camp David Agreements in 1979. Actually, it is as if the "opposition" - supported at arm's length by Qatar - were to demand the immediate recognition of Israel, with, however, as in Article 2 of the Doha protocol, a negotiated settlement.
This is a sharing of Syrian hoard! Nowhere is there any question of democracy, freedom, human rights, building a new Syria in which the Syrians, whatever their ethnicity, religion and belief, enjoy the same rights. Instead, each of the "sponsors" served himself first, taking whatever he wanted.
For those who know the turbulent history of the Ottoman Middle East, everything is explained, and Doha was the point of no return for a Syrian opposition that no longer had a voice. It was only to justify the "syrianity" of the events. This was clearly seen in Cairo when the new "boss" of the "coalition," Moez Ahmed al-Khatib, arrived in the baggage of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani for the Arab League meeting that took place in the mid-November.
In Syria, the scenario acted out for Libya is surpassed, and there is now danger of a general destabilization of the world, even that fragmentation for which American civilian "experts" and military have been working without interruption. We should consider this situation seriously!
Translated by Chrysanthie Therapontos, edited by Henry Crapo, translators for Humanité in English.
Road Map Drawn Up by Syrian Traitors to Serve Imperialists, Gulf Monarchies
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The United States had at one time enormous stockpiles of nerve and blister agents dating back to World War I. Congress ordered the stockpiles destroyed, which was done safely over a number of years, The US has the technical resources to deal with Syria's chemical weapons. Why Jordan has to bear the burden of having those processes on its soil is unclear to me.
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Syria regime using missiles, barrel bombs: US
The Syrian regime has begun using missiles and barrel bombs against opposition rebels in the past week or so, a top US official said Wednesday, denouncing the increasing use of "vicious weapons."
Amid reports that Scud missiles have been fired, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she "was not in a position to confirm types of missiles, simply to say that we're seeing missiles employed now."
"I would also say that we're seeing use of another egregious weapon. It's kind of a barrel bomb, which is an incendiary bomb that contains flammable materials," she told journalists.
Citing US administration officials, the New York Times reported Wednesday that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad had fired Scud missiles from the Damascus area against rebels in northern Syria recent days.
"The total number is probably north of six now," another US official told the Times.
Nuland said she could not confirm the type of missiles being used as that would reveal US intelligence, and White House spokesman Jay Carney also said he could not discuss intelligence matters.
But this marks a significant escalation of the fighting in the 21-month rebellion, which has already claimed some 42,000 lives, according to a British-based watchdog.
"The idea that the Syrian regime would launch missiles within its borders at its own people is stunning, desperate and a completely disproportionate military escalation," Carney said.
The report came just after US President Barack Obama said his administration recognized the Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, opening the way for increased US aid to the rebels.
"As the regime becomes more and more desperate, we see it resorting to increased lethality and more vicious weapons moving forward," Nuland said.
Such weapons were "very, very concerning and indicative of the regime's desperation and the regime's brutality."
She said the barrel bombs were "incendiary bombs which contain flammable material that can be like napalm" or can be packed with nails and launched from the air or from a launcher.
Syria regime using missiles, barrel bombs: US
Syria regime using missiles, barrel bombs: US
The Syrian regime has begun using missiles and barrel bombs against opposition rebels in the past week or so, a top US official said Wednesday, denouncing the increasing use of "vicious weapons."
Amid reports that Scud missiles have been fired, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she "was not in a position to confirm types of missiles, simply to say that we're seeing missiles employed now."
"I would also say that we're seeing use of another egregious weapon. It's kind of a barrel bomb, which is an incendiary bomb that contains flammable materials," she told journalists.
Citing US administration officials, the New York Times reported Wednesday that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad had fired Scud missiles from the Damascus area against rebels in northern Syria recent days.
"The total number is probably north of six now," another US official told the Times.
Nuland said she could not confirm the type of missiles being used as that would reveal US intelligence, and White House spokesman Jay Carney also said he could not discuss intelligence matters.
But this marks a significant escalation of the fighting in the 21-month rebellion, which has already claimed some 42,000 lives, according to a British-based watchdog.
"The idea that the Syrian regime would launch missiles within its borders at its own people is stunning, desperate and a completely disproportionate military escalation," Carney said.
The report came just after US President Barack Obama said his administration recognized the Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, opening the way for increased US aid to the rebels.
"As the regime becomes more and more desperate, we see it resorting to increased lethality and more vicious weapons moving forward," Nuland said.
Such weapons were "very, very concerning and indicative of the regime's desperation and the regime's brutality."
She said the barrel bombs were "incendiary bombs which contain flammable material that can be like napalm" or can be packed with nails and launched from the air or from a launcher.
Syria regime using missiles, barrel bombs: US
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haha, Assad is so desperate he is launching barrel bombs and Scuds. He is so done!
pmaitra
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Just look at the weapons the Syrian and imported rebels are using.
Also: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ia-fires-Scud-missiles-on-its-own-people.html
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Syrian regime approaching collapse, NATO chief says
By Michael Pearson and Saad Abedine, CNN
December 14, 2012
(CNN) -- Defeat could be near for Syria's embattled regime, NATO and Syrian ally Russia said Thursday.
"I think now it's only a question of time," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Brussels, Belgium, where he and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the deployment of two Patriot air-defense batteries to Turkey's border with Syria.
The al-Assad government is "approaching collapse," Rasmussen said. "I urge the regime to stop violence, to realize what is the actual situation and initiate a process that leads to the accommodation of the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov offered a similar view from Moscow, noting what he said were rebel reports that victory was imminent.
"We need to look the facts in the eye," the state-run RIA Novosti news service quoted Bogdanov as saying. "Unfortunately, we can't exclude a victory by the opposition."
His comments came as opposition groups said they had seized a military base near Damascus and amid calls by the Local Coordination Committees for rebels to push for the fall of the capital.
"We all know that the battle is not going to be easy and that the regime will defend its existence by the most brutal means, as we have become accustomed to seeing," the opposition group said. "We know that the regime will spare no resources in destroying any hold it may have before its collapse, as we have witnessed in all other Syrian cities."
Diplomatic efforts to help end the 21-month conflict, which opposition activists say has claimed more than 42,000 lives, have so far failed.
A rebel victory would unleash a host of complications for the shattered country, including the need to quickly assemble a functioning government; to provide humanitarian assistance as winter approaches; and to address the status of the chemical weapons currently held by regime forces.
The regime has shown no signs of backing down. On Thursday, the LCC reported that 138 people had been killed by government forces, including seven children and four women. Sixty-nine of the deaths occurred in Damascus and its suburbs, it said.
Syrian state TV, citing a foreign ministry official, denied Thursday Western accusations that the government has used Scud missiles against rebels inside the country, a move analysts and world leaders have described as a dangerous escalation in President Bashar al-Assad's campaign against the rebellion.
A U.S. official said Syrian forces in Damascus loyal to al-Assad had fired at least four short-range Scud missiles from the capital into northern Syria, presumably at rebel groups.
Rasmussen said NATO also had detected launches this week.
"We can't confirm details of the missiles, but some of the information indicates they were Scud-type missiles," Rasmussen said. "The use of such indiscriminate weapons shows utter disregard for the lives of the Syrian people. It is reckless, and I strongly condemn it."
The predictions of defeat for al-Assad and his forces come amid rising international recognition of the Syrian opposition.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama extended U.S. recognition to the rebel coalition. The more than 100 nations in the Friends of Syria group followed suit on Wednesday and pledged at least $110 million in humanitarian aid.
Coalition Vice President George Sabra said rebels were pleased with the gestures, but had hoped the United States would go further by naming the group not just as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people but as their sole legitimate representative.
Syrian officials belittled the declarations. Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi said the recognition was comparable to Syria recognizing "Liverpool Football Club as the sole representative of the British people while in fact it represented very little," Britain's Independent newspaper said.
Also Thursday, Amnesty International urged rebel leaders to free a Ukrainian journalist accused of working with Syrian government officials and to respect international accords on human rights.
"There are increasing reports of opposition forces carrying out horrific abuses of captured government soldiers, journalists and some other civilians," Amnesty said Thursday. "The coalition must condemn these grave abuses in the strongest possible terms and do its utmost to prevent them."
The LCC called on rebels to deliver a knockout punch to the regime while protecting civilians, religious sites and the nation's cultural heritage.
It also urged rebels to preserve any documents found in offices of state security services seized by rebels in preparation for possible war crimes trials.
"These documents contain massive amounts of incriminating evidence against the regime and its symbols and will be required to hold the regime accountable, compensate victims and retain a historical record of decades of state behavior," the group said.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said U.S. government-trained medical workers have reached an estimated 410,000 patients in Syria, performed 22,370 surgeries and had partnered with a group -- which she would not identify for security reasons -- that has set up 20 field hospitals in the country.
"I don't think any of us has a crystal ball as to exactly how this is going to go, but we do believe that the Assad regime's days are numbered," Nuland said. "The opposition in recent days and weeks has made a number of significant captures, in particular major military facility outside of Aleppo with the last Sheik Suleiman base and other important military installations."
She urged Russian officials to withdraw support for the al-Assad regime.
Syrian regime approaching collapse, NATO chief says - CNN.com
By Michael Pearson and Saad Abedine, CNN
December 14, 2012
(CNN) -- Defeat could be near for Syria's embattled regime, NATO and Syrian ally Russia said Thursday.
"I think now it's only a question of time," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Brussels, Belgium, where he and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the deployment of two Patriot air-defense batteries to Turkey's border with Syria.
The al-Assad government is "approaching collapse," Rasmussen said. "I urge the regime to stop violence, to realize what is the actual situation and initiate a process that leads to the accommodation of the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov offered a similar view from Moscow, noting what he said were rebel reports that victory was imminent.
"We need to look the facts in the eye," the state-run RIA Novosti news service quoted Bogdanov as saying. "Unfortunately, we can't exclude a victory by the opposition."
His comments came as opposition groups said they had seized a military base near Damascus and amid calls by the Local Coordination Committees for rebels to push for the fall of the capital.
"We all know that the battle is not going to be easy and that the regime will defend its existence by the most brutal means, as we have become accustomed to seeing," the opposition group said. "We know that the regime will spare no resources in destroying any hold it may have before its collapse, as we have witnessed in all other Syrian cities."
Diplomatic efforts to help end the 21-month conflict, which opposition activists say has claimed more than 42,000 lives, have so far failed.
A rebel victory would unleash a host of complications for the shattered country, including the need to quickly assemble a functioning government; to provide humanitarian assistance as winter approaches; and to address the status of the chemical weapons currently held by regime forces.
The regime has shown no signs of backing down. On Thursday, the LCC reported that 138 people had been killed by government forces, including seven children and four women. Sixty-nine of the deaths occurred in Damascus and its suburbs, it said.
Syrian state TV, citing a foreign ministry official, denied Thursday Western accusations that the government has used Scud missiles against rebels inside the country, a move analysts and world leaders have described as a dangerous escalation in President Bashar al-Assad's campaign against the rebellion.
A U.S. official said Syrian forces in Damascus loyal to al-Assad had fired at least four short-range Scud missiles from the capital into northern Syria, presumably at rebel groups.
Rasmussen said NATO also had detected launches this week.
"We can't confirm details of the missiles, but some of the information indicates they were Scud-type missiles," Rasmussen said. "The use of such indiscriminate weapons shows utter disregard for the lives of the Syrian people. It is reckless, and I strongly condemn it."
The predictions of defeat for al-Assad and his forces come amid rising international recognition of the Syrian opposition.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama extended U.S. recognition to the rebel coalition. The more than 100 nations in the Friends of Syria group followed suit on Wednesday and pledged at least $110 million in humanitarian aid.
Coalition Vice President George Sabra said rebels were pleased with the gestures, but had hoped the United States would go further by naming the group not just as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people but as their sole legitimate representative.
Syrian officials belittled the declarations. Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi said the recognition was comparable to Syria recognizing "Liverpool Football Club as the sole representative of the British people while in fact it represented very little," Britain's Independent newspaper said.
Also Thursday, Amnesty International urged rebel leaders to free a Ukrainian journalist accused of working with Syrian government officials and to respect international accords on human rights.
"There are increasing reports of opposition forces carrying out horrific abuses of captured government soldiers, journalists and some other civilians," Amnesty said Thursday. "The coalition must condemn these grave abuses in the strongest possible terms and do its utmost to prevent them."
The LCC called on rebels to deliver a knockout punch to the regime while protecting civilians, religious sites and the nation's cultural heritage.
It also urged rebels to preserve any documents found in offices of state security services seized by rebels in preparation for possible war crimes trials.
"These documents contain massive amounts of incriminating evidence against the regime and its symbols and will be required to hold the regime accountable, compensate victims and retain a historical record of decades of state behavior," the group said.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said U.S. government-trained medical workers have reached an estimated 410,000 patients in Syria, performed 22,370 surgeries and had partnered with a group -- which she would not identify for security reasons -- that has set up 20 field hospitals in the country.
"I don't think any of us has a crystal ball as to exactly how this is going to go, but we do believe that the Assad regime's days are numbered," Nuland said. "The opposition in recent days and weeks has made a number of significant captures, in particular major military facility outside of Aleppo with the last Sheik Suleiman base and other important military installations."
She urged Russian officials to withdraw support for the al-Assad regime.
Syrian regime approaching collapse, NATO chief says - CNN.com
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U.S., rebels urge gloomy Moscow to help oust Assad
Syria's rebel leadership and the United States seized on Russian pessimism over President Bashar al-Assad's future to urge Moscow to help push its ally into ceding power and end the battles closing in around his capital.
"We want to commend the Russian government for finally waking up to the reality and acknowledging that the regime's days are numbered," the U.S. State Department spokeswoman said after a senior Kremlin envoy conceded publicly on Thursday that Assad's opponents could win the 20-month-old civil war.
"The question now is, will the Russian government join those of us in the international community who are working with the opposition to try to have a smooth democratic transition?" U.S. spokeswoman Victoria Nuland added in Washington.
In Marrakech, where his new coalition won recognition from other international powers as the legitimate leadership of Syria, rebel political leader Mouaz al-Khatib said he believed Russia, ally and arms supplier to the Assad dynasty since Soviet times, was looking for ways out of its support for a lost cause.
"I believe that the Russians have woken up and are sensing that they have implicated themselves with this regime, but they don't know how to get out," al-Khatib told Reuters. He held them "particularly responsible" for helping Assad with arms but said Moscow need not "lose everything" in Syria if it changed tack.
Under President Vladimir Putin, wary since last year's Libyan war of what Russia sees as a Western drive to use the United Nations to overthrow national leaders it dislikes, Russia has blocked U.N. efforts to squeeze Assad, who has also had strong support from his long-time sponsor Iran.
But Mikhail Bogdanov, a deputy foreign minister and the Kremlin's special envoy for Middle East affairs, was quoted as saying in Moscow: "One must look the facts in the face."
"Unfortunately, the victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be ruled out." The Syrian government, he said, was "losing control of more and more territory" and Moscow was preparing to evacuate Russian citizens if necessary.
Nuland said Bogdanov's comments demonstrated that Moscow now "sees the writing on the wall" on Syria and said Russia should now rally behind U.N. efforts to prevent a wider bloodbath.
"They can withdraw any residual support for the Assad regime, whether it is material support (or) financial support," she said. "They can also help us to identify people who might be willing, inside of Syria, to work on a transitional structure."
DIPLOMACY
International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has met Russian and U.S. officials twice in the past week, is seeking a solution based on an agreement reached in Geneva in June that called for the creation of a transitional government in Syria.
But Russia has repeated warnings that recognition of al-Khatib's coalition, notably by the United States, is undermining diplomacy, and rejected U.S. contentions that the Geneva agreement sent a clear message that Assad should step down.
Nuland said the Brahimi meetings could lay the framework for a political structure to follow Assad:
"We've said all along to the Russians that we are concerned that the longer that this goes on, and the longer it takes us to get to an alternative political path for Syria, the only path is going to be the military one and that is just going to bring more violence.
"We all ought to be working together."
Bogdanov, whose government has suggested that Assad himself should be allowed to see through a transition he has promised, suggested the rebels and their allies were set on a military solution and he gave little hint of detente with Washington.
"The fighting will become even more intense and (Syria) will lose tens of thousands and, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of civilians," Bogdanov was quoted as saying. "If such a price for the removal of the president seems acceptable to you, what can we do? We, of course, consider it absolutely unacceptable."
The head of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said elsewhere: "I think the regime in Damascus is approaching collapse."
A U.S. official said: "Assad probably still believes that Syria is his and illusions can die hard. But Assad and those closest to him have got to be feeling the psychological strain of fighting a long war that is not going their way."
DAMASCUS BATTLES
But Al-Khatib, who played down Western concerns of sectarian Sunni Islamists in rebel ranks, warned that the fighting was far from over, even as it has begun to rattle the heart of Assad's power in Damascus. On Wednesday, a car bomb killed at least 16 people in a nearby town which is home to many military families.
"The noose is tightening around the regime," al-Khatib said.
"(But) the regime still has power. People think that the regime is finished, but it still has power left, but it is demoralized and however long it lasted its end is clear."
Day and night, Damascenes can hear the thunderous sound of bombardment aimed at rebel-held and contested neighborhoods.
The city's streets have now turned into a labyrinth of checkpoints and road blocks, with several major roads permanently closed off to traffic by concrete barriers.
"We escape from one place and trouble follows," said one grandmother, Um Hassan, as she described to Reuters her family's flight from one neighborhood to another as fighting seeps into the capital. "I don't know where we can keep running to."
Nonetheless, al-Khatib played down demands for their allies to provide heavier weaponry - a request long resisted by governments wary of anti-aircraft missiles and other hardware reaching Islamist rebels who might turn them against the West.
"The Syrian people ... no longer need international forces to protect them," he said, not specifying whether he meant a no-fly zone, arms supplies or other military support.
The opposition chief said he was willing to listen to proposals for Assad to escape with his life - "The best thing is that he steps down and stops drinking the blood of the Syrian people" - and outlined three scenarios for a change of power:
Al-Khatib ruled out the Russian proposal suggesting Assad hand over power to a transitional government while remaining president, saying it was "disgraceful for a slaughtered nation to accept to have a killer and criminal at its head".
The British-based Syrian Observatory said war planes bombed rebel-held eastern suburbs of Damascus on Thursday and artillery was hitting Daraya and Moadamiyeh, southwestern areas near the centre where rebels have been fighting for a foothold.
Syria has relied on war planes and helicopters to bombard rebel districts but Damascus denied accusations by U.S. and NATO officials that it had fired Scud missiles in recent days. The foreign ministry said the long-range missiles were not used against "terrorist groups," a term it uses for the rebels.
At least 40,000 people have been killed in Syria's uprising, which started in March 2011 with street protests which were met with gunfire by Assad's security forces, and which spiraled into the most enduring and destructive of the Arab revolts.
U.S., rebels urge gloomy Moscow to help oust Assad | Reuters
Akim
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Syrian terrorists threaten to execute today Ankhara Kochneva. They demanded for her ransom of $ 50 million.
Also called on militants in Syria outlaw and «attack on the Embassy of Ukraine and Russia now and in the future, to declare war to all Ukrainians, Russians and Iranians officially, does not allow any one Ukrainian, Russian or иранцу leave alive Syria, and attack their on their projects abroad»
P.S.. . In Syria officially there are about 400 Ukrainian women, who at different times had married the Syrians. They will enemy the militants?
I'm after, not povarachivaetsya tongue to call their opposition.
Only about this in the foreign media do not write. @SajeevJino After that did the leaders of opozitsii may require assistance from Moscow?
Also called on militants in Syria outlaw and «attack on the Embassy of Ukraine and Russia now and in the future, to declare war to all Ukrainians, Russians and Iranians officially, does not allow any one Ukrainian, Russian or иранцу leave alive Syria, and attack their on their projects abroad»
P.S.. . In Syria officially there are about 400 Ukrainian women, who at different times had married the Syrians. They will enemy the militants?
I'm after, not povarachivaetsya tongue to call their opposition.
Only about this in the foreign media do not write. @SajeevJino After that did the leaders of opozitsii may require assistance from Moscow?
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I wonder if Putin is going to be assertive in protecting his allies in Syria by dispatching a Russian naval and amphibious task force off the coast of Syria, just like the USSR did in the 1971 conflict to help India.
Of course, Russia is no longer a superpower, but maybe a show of force in support of Assad will make the West and the gulf states think twice about whether they want to continue supplying arms and money to the rebel groups.
Of course, Russia is no longer a superpower, but maybe a show of force in support of Assad will make the West and the gulf states think twice about whether they want to continue supplying arms and money to the rebel groups.
amoy
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Possibly Russia is prepared to give up Assad regime IMO. Perhaps more practically Russia shall back Iran to be more overtly and covertly engaged in the warfare while posturing like u said. Or its clout would be wiped out there quickly, like in Kosovo/Serbia.
Read more: Russia's deputy foreign minister reportedly says Assad losing control, while bomb blast kills 16 | Fox News
pmaitra
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Links:
BBC News - Fears grow for Ukrainian reporter held hostage in Syria
Syrian rebels set to execute Ukrainian journalist — RT
Syrian opposition victory possible, but at unacceptable price – Moscow — RT
Screenshot from a YouTube video showing Anhar Kochneva in captivity
Anhar Kochneva is seen here in a BBC interview recorded in Moscow in February
BTW, BBC has taken down the report about the Ukrainian journalists possible execution:
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Let's see Assad try bombing around this bad boy!
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Both Of them Does mistake...Syria and FSA..Nowadays no peace Process and Ahimsa..Just Tit for Tat..Egypt isn't create this type of protest..The early history repeats it..and one more Firstly Americans and West create a mega trouble they didn't study The lessons get from Afghans Arming Bin laden's groups fight against Soviet troops..US think they won..But they got the shock in 9/11 ..same think is now on Syrian Rebels ..you know I know they are not all of them are Rebels want to fight against freedom ( political Advantage) Mostly 60% of them are Terrorist they got nice lethal weapons from The US
and I know they will one day back against the US ..» Syrian Rebels: “When We Finish With Assad, We Will Fight the U.S.” Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
@Akim I know your Country peoples Threatened by both FSA and Assad Regime....Only one Hope is there send up some Ship and Bring up your citizens back to your Country ..
But No one Care the Human Lives...They just need power Not Humanity
and I know they will one day back against the US ..» Syrian Rebels: “When We Finish With Assad, We Will Fight the U.S.” Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
@Akim I know your Country peoples Threatened by both FSA and Assad Regime....Only one Hope is there send up some Ship and Bring up your citizens back to your Country ..
But No one Care the Human Lives...They just need power Not Humanity
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Akim
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@SajeevJino Not everyone can evacuate, especially in cities where there are fights. Evacuation of warships is not yet needed. Thank God, Syria has not Libya, over her no-fly zone.
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May God be with these peoples live...
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The CdG battle group is off the coast of Syria right now.
If Assad tries anything funny, it will be Libya all over again and his navy sunk to the bottom.
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