The Syrian Crisis

[Singh]

Re: Iran criticises Arab League over Syria

No secret re: what are the Arab Leagues' opinion on Syrian civil war.

 

[arya]

Re: Iran criticises Arab League over Syria

No secret re: what are the Arab Leagues' opinion on Syrian civil war.

sir they will not say any word on that

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Syria poses problems from hell | Other Views | NewsObserver.com

There are mounting reports that the United States is getting more deeply involved in supporting the Syrian rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad. There is a strong argument for everyone doing more to end the Syrian civil war before the Syrian state totally collapses and before its sectarian venom and refugees further destabilize Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. But I hope that before President Barack Obama gets more deeply involved in Syria, he gets satisfactory answers to the following questions:

The uprising against Assad began March 15, 2011. His downfall has been predicted every month since. Why has he been able to hold on so long?...

The Syrian Christians, who are 10 percent, and some secular Sunni Muslims, particularly merchants, have also thrown in their lot with Assad, because they believe that either he rules or chaos does. None of them believes the rebels can or will build a stable, secular, multisectarian democracy in Assad's wake. Why do we think they are wrong?...

What are Qatar's and Saudi Arabia's goals? Are we to believe that these two archrival Wahhabi fundamentalist monarchies, the two main funders and arms suppliers of the Syrian uprising, are really both interested in creating a multisectarian, multiparty democracy in Syria, which they would not tolerate in their own countries?...

This is the problem from hell. Sometimes the necessary and desirable are impossible, which is why I commend the president on his caution, up to now.

Obama has not been cautious, he has been secretive about his support of FSA with arms from Libya.

 

[Virendra]

I had got a hint of it when the British PM said he was ready to consider arming Syrian rebels.
I mean they always walk the same line US and Britain don't they?

 

[SajeevJino]

Is bashar al-assad dead????????

Unconfirmed reports say he is dead, what is fueling these reports are: bashar missing in action from public for past 4-5 days. There is no new picture/video of him

Me also get the Same Image from the Facebook ..but is this real Image confusing that only one photo was released till now ..but image shows some 3 more camera's there ..

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Is bashar al-assad dead????????

Unconfirmed reports say he is dead, what is fueling these reports are: bashar missing in action from public for past 4-5 days. There is no new picture/video of him

Could that photo be of his late brother, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1994?

Bassel al-Assad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or a bad photoshop?

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Me also get the Same Image from the Facebook ..but is this real Image confusing that only one photo was released till now ..but image shows some 3 more camera's there ..

Good observation.

 

[Armand2REP]

Could that photo be of his late brother, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1994?

Bassel al-Assad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or a bad photoshop?

The rumour is he was shot by his Iranian head of security. It doesn't look like gunshots to me.

 

[nrupatunga]

@W.G.Ewald This could be photoshop, but chances are that this person being bassel is remote. If not dead, bashar maybe fatally wounded??? No idea. Unless he makes an appearance, these rumors will not die.

Read on net that as per israeli "experts" that iran is securing the syrian army and has threatened anyone about disclosing any information on bashar. Except for few high level individuals in the regime no one knows the actual state of bashar. Again take this FWIW.

 

[nrupatunga]

Russia will oppose any move by Syrian opposition to take Syria's U.N. seat

One senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity that the opposition may push for the Syrian U.N. seat in September when world leaders gather at the United Nations for the annual high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

An Arab diplomat, however, a move to transfer the Syrian U.N. seat to the opposition could come much sooner.

The Syrian National Coalition, which is recognized by the Arab League as the sole representative for Syria, opened its first embassy on Wednesday in Qatar in a diplomatic blow to President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia is a member of the 9-nation U.N. credentials committee, as is the United States. That committee reviews requests to accredit diplomats to the U.N. and makes recommendations to the General Assembly. Russia does not have a veto on that committee or in the 193-nation General Assembly.But it does have a veto on the Security Council,

There are several precedents for a national opposition movement taking over a country's U.N. seat. In 2010, the General Assembly recognized a representative of Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast's U.N. ambassador.

But as long as west and GCC do not do some heavy lifting within syria, will it help SNC???

 

[pmaitra]

US ex-soldier 'fought in Syria with terror group'

A former US soldier has been charged with using a weapon outside the US as he fought against Syrian government forces, prosecutors say.

Eric Harroun, 30, served in the US Army from 2000-2003, and allegedly fought in Syria with the al-Nusra Front.

Al-Nusra is deemed a terror group by the US as an alias of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

As the US calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, it has also expressed concern about militant groups fighting in Syria.

If convicted, Mr Harroun would face a maximum sentence of life in prison. He was arrested as he returned to the US on Wednesday.

Source: BBC News - US ex-soldier 'fought in Syria with terror group'

 

[pmaitra]

Russia anger at Syrian Arab League opposition seat

Russia has criticised the Arab League's decision to allow Syria's main opposition coalition to take the country's official seat at its summit.

Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad called on the emerging "Brics" nations to seek an end to the Syrian conflict.

In a letter to South African President Jacob Zuma released by Syrian state media on Wednesday, he said Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa should push for a political solution to the crisis.

Source: BBC News - Russia anger at Syrian Arab League opposition seat

 

[W.G.Ewald]

US ex-soldier 'fought in Syria with terror group'



Source: BBC News - US ex-soldier 'fought in Syria with terror group'

As if the US knows its military support to FSA does not also go to al qaeda. Put Obama and Kerry on trial, DoJ assholes.

 

[nrupatunga]

Netanyahu: Assad's silent ally

Alliances between states do not require meetings between leaders, exchanges of ambassadors and declarations of support and affection. Mutual interests that the parties understand and act upon are sufficient.

Netanyahu had a number of motives. First, he wanted to put some space between Syria and Iran, in the hope that Damascus would stand aside in the event of an Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz and Fordow.

Second, Israel's loss of its alliances with Turkey and later with Egypt, compounded by apprehension about a deteriorating security situation in the south, pushed Jerusalem into buying quiet on its northern borders.

The third motive was to weaken Hezbollah, while the fourth was to address concerns that the Syrian rebels were in fact Al-Qaida operatives and that the fall of Assad's regime would turn Syria into a hostile Islamic state.

Netanyahu's first step was to undertake indirect negotiations with Syria, brokered by U.S. diplomats Dennis Ross and Fred Hof in late 2010. Israel was to withdraw from the Golan Heights in exchange for full peace and Syrian disengagement from Iran.

Many things have changed in the intervening two years. Assad has been pushed back into the arms of Iran, which is providing his regime with weapons, money and diplomatic support.

Hof has left the U.S. State Department. Now a senior fellow with the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, he is now calling for increased American involvement in toppling Assad.

Israel has moved closer to its old allies, Jordan and Turkey, who are arming Assad's opponents and stirring the Syrian political cauldron, each supporting a rival opposition faction. Israel has also opened a "good fence" on its Golan Heights border with Syria and has begun to provide medical treatment to injured Syrians. The GOC Northern Command, Yair Golan, meanwhile, is fantasizing about a Golan "security zone" that would be controlled by a pro-Israeli Syrian militia − a cognate of the erstwhile South Lebanon Army.

Netanyahu is still wary of goading Assad and potentially entangling Israel in Syria. It is not clear whether Obama, on his recent visit, demanded that Netanyahu harden his position vis-a-vis Damascus. The point is interesting only if Netanyahu is preparing for the moment when circumstances will force him to change sides; his apology to Turkey was the first step in that direction.

 

[nrupatunga]

https://twitter.com/AJELive/status/318720228248940545

[B]AJELive "@AJELive[/B] 
Al Jazeera exclusive: #UN working on secret contingency plans for #Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-#Assad

So is the end near??

 

[nrupatunga]

Syria: A Multi-Sided Chess game

In some ways the Syrian civil war resembles a proxy chess match between supporters of the Bashar al-Assad regime-- Iran, Iraq, Russia and China -- and its opponents -- Turkey, the oil monarchies, the U.S., Britain and France.

The blockbuster was the U.S.-engineered rapprochement between Israel and Turkey. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and buried the hatchet. The apology "was offered the way we wanted," Erdogan said.

When did this happen???

Qatar ally Ghassan Hitto, a Syrian-American was anointed prime minister, causing a dozen SNC members to resign. The Free Syrian Army, too, says it will not recognize Hitto.

Overall a nice article.

 

[Armand2REP]

This tank kill is crazy... Assad tanks must be blind.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

David Ignatius: Sorting out the rebel forces in Syria - The Washington Post

The disorganized, Muslim-dominated opposition prompts several conclusions: First, the United States will have limited influence, even if it steps up covert involvement over the next few months. Second, the post-Assad situation may be as chaotic and dangerous as the civil war itself. The Muslim rebel groups will try to claim control of Assad's powerful arsenal, including chemical weapons, posing new dangers.

Although the Syrian revolution is two years old, the rebel forces haven't formed a unified command. Gen. Salim Idriss, commander of the Free Syrian Army, has tried to coordinate the fighters. But this remains a bottom-up rebellion, with towns and regions forming battalions that have merged into larger coalitions. These coalitions have tens of thousands of fighters. But they lack anything approaching the discipline of a normal army.

Even though the rebels have only loose coordination, they have become a potent force. They have seized control of most of Aleppo and northern Syria, and they are tightening their grip on Damascus, controlling many of the access routes east and south of the city, according to rebel sources. Free Syrian Army leaders believe that the battle for Damascus will reach its climax in the next two to three months.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Sorting out the Syrian opposition

The biggest umbrella group is called the Jabhat al-Tahrir al-Souriya al-Islamiya. It has about 37,000 fighters, drawn from four main subgroups based in different parts of the country. These Saudi-backed groups are not hard-core Islamists but are more militant than the political coalition headed by Sheik Moaz al-Khatib, who last week claimed Syria's seat in the Arab League.

The second-largest rebel coalition is more extreme and is dominated by hard-core Salafist Muslims. Its official name — Jabhat al-Islamiya al-Tahrir al-Souriya — is almost identical to that of the Saudi-backed group. Rebel sources count 11 different brigades from around the country that have merged to form this second coalition. Financing comes from wealthy Saudi, Kuwaiti and other Gulf Arab individuals. Rebel sources estimate about 13,000 Salafist fighters are gathered under this second umbrella.

A third rebel group, known as Ahfad al-Rasoul, is funded by Qatar. It has perhaps 15,000 fighters.

The most dangerous group in the mix is the Jabhat al-Nusra, which is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq. By one rebel estimate, it has grown to include perhaps 6,000 fighters. But this group, perhaps fearing that it will be targeted by Western counterterrorism forces, is said to be keeping its head down — and perhaps commingling with the Salafist umbrella group.

Idriss and his Free Syrian Army command about 50,000 more fighters, rebel sources say.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Analysis: World plans for a post-Assad Syria - Features - Al Jazeera English

The United Nations has a project codenamed "Syria - The Day After". Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has put his deputy, Jan Elliason, in charge of the response. After wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have no appetite to get directly involved in the reconstruction of Syria, meaning that by default, the UN will probably have to take the lead.

UN planners have been looking at a range of options. They fear that if Assad is eventually defeated, there could be widespread retribution against his minority Alawite sect, and the swift deployment of human rights observers and UN monitors is one possibility.

Humanitarian and medical supplies are being stockpiled in the region. Officials are well-aware that Syrians are dying not only as a direct result of the fighting, but due to lack of treatment for battlefield injuries and from disease.

UN officials would even consider deployment of a peacekeeping force in Syria as another option if the circumstances were right. But deploying such a force would take considerable time, and would require the authorisation of the UN Security Council, which continues to be deeply divided on all Syrian matters.