Syria 3

'Syrian Opposition Cannot Agree on Anything' (and vid)

http://rt.com/news/opposition-syria-assad-otrakji-865/

"When we say opposition we really are talking about politicians who have assumed leadership roles in opposing the Syrian regime,' Camille Otrakji, a contributing editor with Syria Comment online magazine, told RT. He explained that the Syrian opposition should be distinguished from the Syrian people.."

Deaths in Syria: Counting them (Politically) Correctly (and vid)

http://rt.com/news/syria-death-count-political-875/

'The British-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) is one of the most widely-quoted sources of Syrian casualty figures. However, the group is currently experiencing an ownership row, which has left media outlets wondering hwo reliable this source is. Critics say both brands of SOHR are ultimately propaganda vehicles of the opposition.

'Frankly, I don't think people using these figures have any objectivity. They have an agenda, a clear agenda. It's to justify, by any means possible, that Assad's regime is a brutal massacring regime and it needs to fall as soon as possible...', freelance journalist Sukant Chandan told RT."

Twenty-Eight Martyrs, 235 Wounded in Twin Terrorist Bomb Blasts in Aleppo City

http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2012/02/10/399598.htm

"...At 9 AM on Friday morning, a terrorist bomber driving a white microbus with a fake license plate carrying the number 475475-Syria broke through the security barrier at the entrance of a law enforcement department in the crowded area of al-Arkoub, blowing himself up,' the statement said, adding that 11 were killed in the attack and 130 were wounded, both civilians and law enforcement personnel.

The statement said that a few minutes late, another suicide bomber driving a white microbus blew himself up while trying to break into the military security branch in the New Aleppo area, claiming 17 lives and wounding 105 people, including military personnel, civilians andeven children who were in the park near the branch.

Both bombings caused significant damage to nearby buildings and cars, and the first explosion left a crater two meters deep, the statement added...Crowds gathered and marched in the streets of Aleppo towards Saadallah al Jaber Square as soon as the bombings took place, denouncing these crimes and foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs..."

*graphic and gruesome photos of bomb victims*

Blasts Bring Aleppo into Syrian Fray

http://rt.com/news/syria-blast-unrest-attack-005/

"Two explosions have rocked the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, killing 28 people and injuring a further 235 with conflicting reports on the Free Syrian Army's involvement in the attacks. Syrian state news said that two cars packed with explosives targeted a branch of military intelligence and a security forces base on Friday morning.

The state channel laid the blame at the feet of armed terrorist groups in the city, calling the blasts an attempt to destabilize Syria. Initial reports following the attack say a person from the Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the attacks. Later statements from the opposition appear to contradict this.."

Syrian Government and Rivals Trade Blame for Aleppo Blasts (and vid)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16993591

"The Syrian government and opposition have blamed each other for two bombs targeting security compounds in the country's second city Aleppo. State television said at least 28 people were killed, including civilians and members of the security services. 'Armed terrorist gangs were responsible, according to state TV. The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said it had clashed with security forces in the area but that the government was behind the explosions.

Col Malik al Kurdi, the FSA's deputy leader, told BBC Arabic the movement had been monitoring the activity of security forces personnel and members of the pro-government Shabila militia inside a Military Intelligence compound and a riot police base in Aleppo on Friday morning. 'When they were gathering in a square to go to the mosques and repress demonstrations, two groups from the FSA targeted the two buildings with small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire,' he said.

'After violent clashes, there was an explosion inside the Military Intelligence building. We think it was the regime trying to stop the operations of the FSA..."

Aleppo Resident George Blamed the Free Syrian Army for Friday's bloodshed in Aleppo (hear interview)

And on and on it goes.......

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/world/middleeast/syrian-general-killed...

I think the recent bombings in Aleppo, like the two in Damascus recently are a calculated attempt to widen the fight beyond the local centers of Homs, Idlib and Deraa. This suggests to me that elements among the anti-Assad forces recognize the reality that at present there is no general insurgency. Manufacturing one is the next order of business.

What Chances For Syria?  -  by Fyodor Lukyanov

http://rt.com/politics/columns/unpredictable-world-foreign-lukyanov/syri...

"Based on what we know from the Libyan experience once can expect the following scenario: Arab countries start to massively provide the Syrian opposition with arms. The West joins those efforts. Then a campaign will be launched to de-legitimize the Assad regime. The first step will be taken by, for example, Qatar or some other Arab state, which, will recognize the so-called 'Free Syrian Army' as a legitimate government.

That will mean that UNSC sanctions will not be necessary, it will be enough to respond to this 'government's' demand for assistance. Arabian Gulf states continue to send weapons to the opposition. The West contributes with moral and material support while continuing pressure on Damascus and an indirect campaign against Assad...

A significant part of the population, experts say more than 50 per cent, is still inclined to support the regime..[but] the prospects for Assad to survive after all this turmoil are not bright. He must act quickly and smartly and understand international realities.."

NATO's Secret War on Syria  - by Stephen Lendman

http://uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.com/2012/02/natos-secret-war-on-syr...

"...Syria's target one, then Iran. Whether full scale war's planned isn't clear. Washington seeks total regional dominance. Nothing's off the table to achieve it."

I hear the imperialists are trying to do an end-run around the Security Council vetos of China and Russia by having the General Assembly vote on a resolution that will start the war moving along nicely. It won't be binding, but it will provide a thin veneer of international cover for imperialist intervention in Syria.

General Assembly resolutions against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and against the US embargo in Cuba are frequent, numerous, and overwhelmingly supported, but routinely ignored. But as soon as they vote for imperialist intervention, that's enough to send in the troops.

New UN Resolution Unlikely to Change Russia and China's Minds on Syria (and vid)

http://rt.com/news/syria-un-resolution-russia-097/

"A week after vetoes from Russia and China put an end to a UN resolution on Syria, its supporters are coming back with another draft. Saudi Arabia, backed by the West and the majority of Arab countries, is hoping the document will be presented before the UN General Assembly, Reuters reports. Unlike the UN Security Council, no country has the power of veto in the assembly, but its resolutions have no legal force.

Little in the text appears to have changed since the previous presentation. The resolution lays the blame for the Syrian violence, which has taken thousands of lives, at the door of President Bashar al Assad. It also calls for him to step down before a transitional period to a democracy. Sara Marusek, a researcher from Syracuse University, said the resubmission is not unexpected:

'It doesn't seem like the West is ever willing to negotiate and compromise. They are interested in regime change in Syria, and they will not stop until they deliver a different government that is more sympathetic to Western interests.."

Defending the UN Charter by Use of the Veto  -  by Ronda Hauben

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29245

"...Up until the Arab League Observer Mission had been sent to Syria on December 24, 2011, there had been two main narratives describing what was happening in Syria. One was that the violence in Syria was by government against its people. The other was that the violence was also perpetrated by armed groups attempting to destabilize Syria. There had been no independent way to judge between thse two narratives.

The Observer Mission Report of January 22 provided such an independent judgement. By detailed observations in the Report, the Observer Mission documented that there were armed opposition elements attacking civilians and government officials, blowing up trains and pipelines, civilians buses and killing not only Syrian civilians but also a French journalist..."

World War and the Russia-China Veto  -  by Carla Stea

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29141

"It's troubling indeed, that although Mrs Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had never set foot in Syria during the period about which she professed expertise, she was, nonetheless invited to address the UN Security Council on December 9, 2011, and much of the Western media quoted her as the authoritative source on Human rights abuse by the Syrian government, citing her poorly substantiated remarks on numerous occassions.

It is especially troubling because, at the January 31, 2011 Security Council meeting on Syria addressed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, the French Minister, the Qatari PM and other diplomatic luminaries, Mr Muhammad Ahmed Mustafa AL-Dabi, the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria, who had traveled throughout Syria from December 24, 2011 through January 18, 2012, who had interviewed a broad spectrum of Syrians from members of the Syrian opposition to Syrian government officials, and Syrian citizens, was not invited to that meeting to present facts about the reality on the ground in the Syrian Arab Republic.

However, Mr. Al-Dabi's Report, dated January 27, 2012 presents too many 'inconvenient truths' which undermine and discredit the campaign to demonize the Syrian government. So transparency and accountability were sacrificed for the sake of propaganda.."

Road to Damascus...And On To Armageddon  -  by Diana Johnstone

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/13/road-to-damascus-and-on-to-armage...

"What if pollsters put this question to citizens of [Canada,] the United States and the European Union:

'Which is more important; ensuring disgruntled Islamists freedom to overthrow the secular regime in Syria, or avoiding World War III?'

The West's collective delusion of grandeur, the illusion of power to 'make reality', has a momentum that is leading the world toward major catastrophe.

And what can stop it?

A meteor from outer space perhaps?"

certainly not our own silent 'loyal opposition'..

an obscene comparison: NYC/London police did not use machine guns against tent cities ...

but then, you and Fidel just continue your dialogue in peace

nor were they invaded by foreign forces..

Well then, was not the OWS movement started by a Canadian group which would make them "foreign"? Yeah it was... So by your own logic OWS is an attack from a foreign entity that's duped thousands of national citizens into doing its bidding... so by rights we should be machine-gunning them just like the Syrians (and a few others).

Syrian Envoy Blasts Canada For 'Deplorable' Sanctions

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syrian-envoy-blasts-canada-for...

"...Canada is helping to worsen the life of the Syrian citizens and the sanctions will bring no result, ' Mr Akbik said in a lengthy interview Monday in his Syrian embassy office in Ottawa. 'This is really deplorable, the Canadian stand towards the current events in Syria,' he added. 'Since the first day of the insurgency in Syria, the Canadian government took a belligerent position against the Syrian regime.'

Barbara Martin, director general of the deparment's Middle East Bureau, said Canadian sanctions imposed as part of an international effort were triggering a dive in the value of Syria's currency while creating breadlines and electricity blackouts. 'This is really deplorable for a bureaucrat to sit and talk and give their opinions. They get high salaries and live like kings here in Canada while our people are suffering from sanctions,' said Mr Akbik...

He outlined what he called a Western-led conspiracy that is determined to overthrow his government. 'Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has no use for good friends Iran and Syria, because they are Shiite,' he said. The 'neo-colonialist western schemes' of the United States, Britain and France aim to 'turn the Middle East into little entities which are weak, which are all belligerent to each other because of sectarian or national problems...they want to control the gas and petroleum in the Middle East, by which they will manipulate the rising powers like China or Russia.."

And none of the Brits or Qataris have armed or given paramilitary training to Occupy Wall Streeters or black bloc anarchists, either. The terrorist organization created by western intelligence agencies, "Al-Qaeda", has not attacked NYC/London similarly at any time during the 'Arab Spring'. The government of Turkey sent no weapons to protesters in NYC/London. An obscene and ridiculous comparison indeed.

The Nazis had collaborators in various European countries, too. Same with the Contras recruited from all over Latin America as well as Nicaragua. It didn't make them legit.

What would they say in Washington and London if Cuba, Russia, or China were to aid and abet armed insurrections in the USA or Britain and use Mexico, Scotland and Ireland as staging countries to launch terrorist attacks and murdering soldiers, police, women and children and destroying vital infrastructure in the process? Who would orchestrate such despicable acts of terrorism against other countries like this? From which fascist regime did they learn this "strategy of tension" baloney?