Syria News Round-Up Feb. 9, 2015
Posted by Matthew Barber on Monday, February 9th, 2015
From a friend commenting on discrepancy in SOHR’s recent numbers:
SOHR is all over the place with numbers. This is his latest: here. The new number is 210k; he says that 100k are civilians 80%+ of which are men. He estimates 85k+ fighters unaccounted for across all sides. 1.5 million injured. 50% displaced. His detailed stats are here. His number of civilians jumped 40K from December stats. And his 210K total is off by ~35K if I’m totaling his numbers correctly. According to the numbers he’s listing, the total is 245K.
These are his numbers from December:
Meet ‘Average Mohamed,’ a gas station manager who’s using cartoons to fight ISIS recruitment – PRI’s The World
The 39-year-old Somali-American businessman by day has turned activist by night, creating the website “Average Mohamed.” It’s a series of animated cartoons voiced by Mohamed Ahmed (Average Mohamed) to rebut Islamic extremists recruitment videos.
“It takes an idea to destroy an idea and my concept was to create ideas.” says Ahmed, who was frustrated that the ideology Islamic extremists peddle was not being effectively countered. “The cartoons offer talking points to parents, mosque leaders, youth activists and law enforcement that they can use to thwart the narrative of extremists.”
The animated cartoon called “Islamic State Job Description” has a Disney-ish cartoon style but the voiceover is grim: “Average Mohamed asks: What do you think your job description is when you join Islamic State? Your job description is to commit genocide against Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and Jews; terrorize innocent women, men and children like your family, into blind obedience. Behead unarmed innocent people you round up; destroy World Heritage sites, mosques, tombs and shrines; empower unelected, self-nominated, murderous, bloodthirsty individuals as leaders. Not exactly DisneyWorld … like the propaganda says it is, is it?” …
War Fronts:
Islamic State pulls forces and hardware from Syria’s Aleppo – Reuters
Islamic State has withdrawn some of its insurgents and equipment from areas northeast of the Syrian city of Aleppo, rebels and residents say, adding to signs of strain in the Syrian provinces of its self-declared caliphate. …
Kurds recapture scores of Kobane villages from ISIL – al-Jazeera
Kurdish fighters say they have recaptured more than 120 villages in northern Syria from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). …
The political geography of Syria’s War: An Interview with Fabrice Balanche – Carnegie – Aron Lund
…You could follow the sectarian patterns across the map. In mixed Alawite-Sunni areas, the protests only took place in the Sunni areas. In Latakia, Banias, and Homs, the demonstrators clashed with Alawite counterdemonstrators. This pro-Assad mobilization was not simply organized by the government. Rather, it was part of the phenomenon of urban asabiyya (communal solidarity) that has been so well described by Michel Seurat in the case of Tripoli. In the Daraa Province, the population is almost exclusively Sunni and the demonstrations naturally spread—but they stopped right at the border of the Druze-populated Sweida Province, which did not sympathize with them at all. In Aleppo, the divisions were mainly social, between the well-to-do and poorer people, and between indigenous city dwellers and new arrivals from the countryside who lived in the slums. But the sectarian factor was present in Aleppo too, with Christians remaining staunchly pro-regime and the Kurds playing their own game, as we have seen with the autonomous cantons in Afrin, Ein al-Arab (Kobane), and Qamishli…
What’s behind the Kurdish-Arab Clashes in East Syria – Carnegie – Aron Lund
…The situation in Hasakah is peculiar. The city and the wider region is divided between Kurds and Arabs on the one hand, and internally among Arab tribes and villages, on the other. There are also significant Christian groups in the city, including Syriacs and Armenians…
The Battle for the Qalamoun Mountains – FP – Nour Samaha
Syrian army attacks Qamishli countryside, mass displacement reported – ARA News
Syria conflict: Dozens killed in heavy Damascus fighting – BBC
U.S.-led strikes kill 30 Islamic State fighters in Syria: monitors – Reuters
New map from Agathocle de Syracuse:
Kobani:
Experts: Kobane defeat a sign of ISIS weakening – Al-Arabiya
Islamic State in Syria seen under strain but far from collapse – Reuters
Syria’s Kurds celebrate after winning Kobani, but self-rule far off – Reuters
International Political Negotiations:
Syria: The Ultimate Example of Cynical Realpolitik – EU Observer – Mark Pierini
…What the interview reveals – for those who have not met both father and son – is that Bashar al-Assad will cling to power irrespective of the destruction it rqeuires. He will use any method to that end, from his residual stock of chemical weapons to alliance reversals to an extension of the conflict beyond Syria’s borders…
The US needs Turkey and vice versa — but it isn’t working – Business Insider – Soner Cagaptay
Paying the Piper: How America’s Iraq War haunts its Failed Syria Policy – Informed Comment – Michael MacDonald
The Syrian Opposition Meeting in Cairo: One Small Step – MEI – Geoffrey Aronson
…The Syrian conflict might still take many years to resolve. But the noninflammatory tone of the meeting in Cairo could mark one small step along the long path of dialogue and negotiation required to bring Syria’s destructive civil war to an end…
Engaging in Politics, Assad-Style – Al-Hayat – Yezid Sayigh
…More likely is that the U.S. will abandon the effort to unseat Assad, without recognizing his legitimacy or resuming direct political contacts. This may be enough for his regime to survive, but with ever-dwindling resources. Already, the concentration of business deals in the hands of ruling family has sparked the flight of many of the businessmen whose continued stake in Syria had previously been a crucial mainstay for the regime. Coming at a time when the regime desperately needs income, and has even granted the private sector the right to import oil to compensate for the inadequacy of Iranian supplies, this reflects complete unwillingness to change how it operates…
Secret dialogue between Syrian regime and opposition in Beirut – Al-Bawaba
U.N. plan for Syrian cease-fires frozen – The Daily Star
Regional Analysis:
A report that outlines Iran and Hezbollah involvement in the conflict: THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS – The Washington Institute – Phillip Smyth
A discussion about some of the report’s findings: The most important thing in the Middle East that no one is talking about – Business Insider – Armin Rosen
…As Smyth explains, Iran has used the Syrian civil war to expand its influence over the Shi’ite communities in the broader Middle East and advance the clerical regime’s strategic and ideological goals. Iran’s support for the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad is well-documented…
Jordanian Pilot Execution:
Video Of Jordanian Pilot’s Death As Horrific As It Was Symbolic – NPR – Robert Siegel
Barbarians Burn Pilot Alive – Daily Beast
… The king says that when Jordan joined the coalition, the F-16 pilots were told only volunteers had to take part. “Every single pilot raised his hand and stepped forward,” the king tells Charlie Rose in the video clip used by ISIS.
In fact, in Jordan there was some negative reaction to that interview at the time. It appeared to many Jordanians as if the king was playing to an American audience, not to their own concerns. Many had expressed doubts about whether the coalition war really was Jordan’s war. …
Experts React to ISIS’s Gruesome Execution of Jordanian Pilot – Rand
After Burning of Muaz al-Kasasbeh, Jordan & al-Azhar’s Gestures of Vengeance Will Not Heal – Syria Comment – Matthew Barber
… Both Jordan and al-Azhar’s reactions seem more akin to the sickness than to a solution. Allowing our disgust at IS brutality to define our response risks transforming us into their image, something that would spell victory for them and legitimize their war against the world. …
Just Because You Quote Clint Eastwood Doesn’t Make You a Cowboy – FP – Steven Simon and James Fromson
Jordan’s Executions of Jihadists Could Backfire – CNN – Lina Khatib
The Islamic State’s Psyops – Ultimate War – Red (team) Analysis – Dr. Helene Lavoix
Crime and Punishment in Jordan – FP – David Schenker
How to read the medieval scholar the Islamic State used to justify al-Kasasbeh murder – Prof. John Hoover
Just when you think ISIS can’t get any worse – MEI
Angry Jordanian Crowds Rally over ISIL Murder of Pilot, but some blame US, King – Juan Cole
Isis has reached new depths of depravity. But there is a brutal logic behind it. – The Guardian – Hassan Hassan
Jordan’s Executions Are Not the Answer to ISIS Brutality – HRW – Eric Goldstein
… While the government’s desire to address public outrage is as understandable as the outrage itself, executing death row prisoners does not weaken ISIS. This round of executions, the second in two months, is a further regression by a country that was until recently a regional leader in resisting use of the death penalty. On December 21, Jordan ended an eight-year de facto moratorium on executions by hanging 11 men convicted of murder. In that case as well, authorities cited public sentiment as the reason behind the executions.
The executions of al-Karbouli and al-Rishawi were carried out following trials that included an appeals process. But to dispatch them from death row to the gallows immediately following news of al-Kasasbeh’s murder, to which they had no connection, amidst official vows to avenge his death, shows that revenge was a motive in ending their lives. Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment under all circumstances, as a practice unique in its cruelty and finality. But to execute death row inmates in response to external events alarmingly suggests that retaliation against third parties is driving policy, rather than justice based solely on fairness and individualized guilt.
Islamic State:
Scenes from Daily Life Inside ISIS-Controlled Mosul – Vanity Fair – Molly Crabapple
Islamic State executes 7 men in Aleppo and al- Raqqa – SOHR
Kayla Mueller’s Parents Opposed Military Mission to Rescue Her From Islamic State – FP – Sean D. Naylor
ISIS and Syria’s Southern Front – MEI – Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
…the rebels in the south comprise a diverse array of fighters whose relative lack of infighting and increased cooperation mean that the regime is not on the verge of any decisive gains in the area. However, the prospect of the fall of Aleppo to the regime in the north, though not imminent, is an ever growing concern among non-jihadi rebels, many of whom feel increasingly squashed between the regime, ISIS, and JN…
Fledgeling Gaza ISIS Groups Operate Under Watchful Eye of Hamas – Newsweek – Lucy Draper
ICSR Insight: The Islamic State Model – ICSR
ISIS : al-Hayat media ~ From inside Aleppo – pietervanostaeyen
ISIS media outlet al-Hayat releases another video featuring the British ISIS hostage John Cantlie.
Anti-Islamic State Militias:
Westerners join Kurds fighting Islamic State group in Iraq – AP
‘Thousands’ of Iraqi Christians form their own militia to fight Isis militants in northern Iraq – The Independent
Want to Hurt the Islamic State? Here’s How. – FP – Christian Caryl
…The Kurds have an army, and they’re willing to fight and die. So why isn’t the United States sending them the weapons they need?…
Compulsory military service raises concerns among Syrian Kurdish youth – ARA News
Miscellaneous:
Syrian Refugees and Regional Security – Carnegie – Benedetta Berti
…Lebanon faces rising unemployment and decreasing wages as Syrians are forced to accept work for lower wages, harsher conditions, and fewer rights than their host counterparts. Wages in the service and agricultural sectors have decreased by as much as 50 percent in Lebanon between 2011 and 2013—with similar dynamics occurring in all host countries. This has created intense domestic pressure that affects economic performance, social cohesion, and ultimately internal stability…
Prince Charles tours camp for Syrian refugees; UK raises aid – WP
NBC Weapons: Smashing The Syrian Caverns Of Doom – Strategy Page
…Finally, in late 2014 Syria began destroying a dozen underground facilities used to produce and destroy chemical weapons. This effort was delayed several times during 2014 but eventually the Syrians got going under the threat of air strikes on their military facilities…
How Syrian rebel fighters fell for ‘honey trap’ hackers – Christian Science Monitor
…A hacker, using a fake Skype or Facebook profile, would strike up a conversation with a target and invite him to swap photos. The hacker’s photo, invariably that of an attractive woman, would contain malware that once downloaded by the target would copy chat logs, tactical strategies, and contact details from the target’s device, according to FireEye’s research…
To Be Syrian and a Professor: Recipe for Tragedy – Al-Fanar Media
…Syrian professors have two choices: Stay in their country and risk their lives or scatter to the winds and live largely in isolation…
UN sets sights on Syria antiquities, Islamic State oil, ransoms – Reuters
Refugee artists raise awareness for Syria’s plight – DW
Comments (48)
Ghufran said:
That was a good collection of posts.
SOHR has made many mistakes over the years but it is still a useful source of info. People who want to see the whole have to check various sites and be ready to find info that does not necessarily fit their line of thinking.
The war in Syria will not end any time soon but 2015 may bring new changes that could improve the chances of reaching a level of violence that is lower than 2013 and 2014.
Keep in mind that the western alliance in the 1940s worked with governments they did not like because they were facing the nazis. Militant Islam is a common enemy to most states and that will dictate policies in 2015 and beyond.
SOHR numbers clearly point to the fact that the old slogan of a regime killing its own people is dead, we have a multifaceted war where many participating parties committed atrocities but nobody was able to win the war, all Syrians lost including alawites who paid the heaviest price in fatalities compared to their percentage of population, that does not mean that their side was good and the rest was evil.
Stop the war first and then we can talk about why, how and when, all other ideas are doomed to fail.
February 9th, 2015, 11:27 pm
Juergen said:
He did it again, this time he claims that no one uses barrel bombs…
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31327153
February 10th, 2015, 2:58 am
Uzair8 said:
Is Buthaina Shaaban still Assad’s adviser? It seems so.
February 10th, 2015, 11:13 pm
Ghufran said:
Brzezinski: Assad has more support than any group opposing him.
“I’m not really sure we knew what we were doing.”
Notice how the USA is slowly taking the side of the party that seems to have the upper hand. A reversal will happen if things change and rebels seem to be winning. The point is that the international community is not interested in seeing Syria move to democracy, they are after their own interests, Syrians will discover this fact the same way other nations that experienced self destruction did.
February 10th, 2015, 11:32 pm
Uzair8 said:
Apparently there was an article on Daily Sabah which is now seemingly unavailable (deletion, moved?).
A webcache of the page is still available:
“The Turkish Army is allowed to pray in congregation for the first time in 90 years.”
http://sunniport.com/index.php?attachments/turkish-army-prayers-png.1674/
February 11th, 2015, 10:47 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
It is worth a Reading. Day after day I realice
that israelis are much more realistic than arabs
http://mosaicmagazine.com/response/2015/02/what-the-president-thinks-hes-doing/
February 11th, 2015, 7:05 pm
Mina said:
http://angryarab.blogspot.de/2015/02/i-think-that-human-rigths-watch-and.html
In this article by HRW, they post a video that they say show a barrel bomb being used by Syrian regime army. But the video (released by Syrian rebels) show what they say a TNT bomb. You need better translators? And I wish that HRW would condemn equally barrel bombs and the specialty of Syrian rebels known as “cannon of hell”. I don’t think I saw one tweet by HRW staff about that brutal weapon.
February 12th, 2015, 9:22 am
Uzair8 said:
Why has Al Jazeera English (AJE) website changed it’s format? It looks a mess and I can’t make sense of it. There’s also text over headline images that looks like it shouldn’t be there. I bother with it less and less now. A shame. Also whats happened to the comment section after every article? If its been removes then I can understand that as there were enough reasons/justifications to get rid.
February 12th, 2015, 12:05 pm
ALAN said:
عزير
A shame? Yes, it is a shame of Al-Thani family
Al-Thani viðskipti að stofni til blekking
http://linkis.com/www.ruv.is/frett/25nOa
February 12th, 2015, 5:43 pm
Daniel Demeter said:
SOHR’s own casualty figures really seem to challenge the opposition narrative that “Assad has killed over 200,000 people!” I’ve often used their numbers in debates with regime opponents, as they’ve continuously shown government (and allied) combatant casualties as being higher than opposition combatant casualties. Being able to inflict such high casualties on the government side, with far less advanced weaponry at their disposal, seems to undermine the romanticized argument that opposition militia formed to defend civilians, or that they are somehow more morally righteous.
Of course the alternative interpretation is that many of those reported as civilian casualties were actually opposition combatants. That would undermine the opposition’s claim of high civilian casualties, which they tend to blame solely on the regime.
February 12th, 2015, 9:23 pm
Syrialover said:
ALAN,
In all the nonstop flow of bad news from Syria, there is still good news from other places.
This article for example, “Goodbye, Putin – Why the President’s Days Are Numbered”.
It explains the longer the Russian war against Ukraine continues, the more likely it is that President Vladimir Putin’s regime will collapse. This war is going to prove a disaster for Russia financially and destroy Putin’s reputation internally.
Despite Putin’s bluster, the authoritarian regime he has constructed is exceedingly brittle.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142840/alexander-j-motyl/goodbye-putin
February 13th, 2015, 3:22 am
ALAN said:
In a new report from the UN, it is revealed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were maintaining regular contact with members of the so-called Islamic State since May of 2013. Initial reports from the IDF stated that this was only for medical care for civilians, but that story fell apart when the UN observers identified direct contact between IDF forces and ISIS soldiers, including giving medical care to ISIS fighters.
Observations even included the transfer of two crates from the IDF to ISIS forces, the contents of which have not been confirmed at this time. Further the UN report identified what the Syrians label a crossing point of forces between Israel and ISIS, a point of concern brought before the UN Security Council. This report from the UN strengthens the claims by the Syrian regime that Israel is heavily involved in operations within the nation.’
February 13th, 2015, 2:58 pm
ALAN said:
‘We’d be terrorists’: US could destroy ISIS only by turning Iraq, Syria into ‘molten glass’ – Congressman
http://rt.com/usa/231907-usa-isis-terrorism-grayson/
https://soundcloud.com/rttv/direct-american-role-in-strengthening-jihadists-rt-news
http://youtu.be/xsH8trFon0k
February 13th, 2015, 6:33 pm
Daniel Demeter said:
I like Alan Grayson. He was at the forefront of House members opposed to U.S. military intervention against the Syrian government, and can’t fault him for sticking to those principles. But the idea that this is a “1,200 year old civil war” is deflecting the responsibility the U.S. played in creating ISIS to begin with. This situation largely came about due to the misguided 2003 invasion of Iraq.
February 14th, 2015, 2:41 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ISIS & HEZBOLLAH, THE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN: POLITICAL ISLAM EXTREMISM
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Feb-15/287463-geagea-hezbollah-isis-two-sides-of-the-same-coin.ashx
February 15th, 2015, 2:38 pm
Uzair8 said:
Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi – 4 hrs ago:
Denunciation of Denmark terrorist Attacks
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi
In the wake of the terrorist attacks which took place in the past two days in Copenhagen, Denmark, we would like to express in the strongest words our condemnation of these attacks and show our solidarity with the Danish people and the Danish government.
As Muslim scholars, we denounce any violence done in the name of our religion, Islam, which should be source of peace and should motivate its Muslims to spread love and show Mercy to all humanity.
Therefore, we call upon Muslims to abandon violence and opt for peaceful means to protest or object if they do not agree with something in the society where they live.
Furthermore, I would like to remind my fellow Muslims living in Denmark or elsewhere in Europe, that there is a contract between them and the governments, it is a sacred covenant based on respecting the law and abiding by all legislations. People’s lives and wealth and all their rights are protected in Islam regardless of their religion and Muslims do not breach their covenants nor are they treacherous. Muslims are not at war with Denmark nor are they at war with the West, and war cannot declared by individuals or groups; it is based on political relations between countries.
I am sure that there are a lot of differences between Muslims’ cultures wherever they come from and the Danish and Nordic or European cultures, part of which is unlimited freedom of speech, which sometimes causes us a lot of unrest and anger. Our answer to this should be in trying to present a beautiful image of Islam, and a perfect example of the matchless character of the Prophet of Islam. This way, people will love him and welcome us.
Putting explosives and killing people is a source of destruction not only to us, but also to our communities, to our religion, and to the good that is in the societies in which we live. Please, give people a chance to love us as Muslims by showing them love, even if you do not like them or like what you do; love indeed is a the most powerful way to win people to your side.
I reiterate my condemnation of the terrorist attacks and my solidarity with the Danish people and call for the Danish Muslim community to unite against violence; as violence begets hatred to Muslims and Islam, which we are struggling to remove.
https://www.facebook.com/shaykhabulhuda/posts/10153310149467580
February 15th, 2015, 8:47 pm
Akbar Palace said:
This situation largely came about due to the misguided 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Daniel Demeter,
I disagree. “This situation” (many dead arabs and muslims killed by arabs and muslims) started way before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Moreover, the Bush “surge” worked to quite well to minimize violence. But Obama had to “prove” Bush was wrong for going to war, so Obama dismantled all that was accomplished and retreated. Now Obama is basically returning to the Bush policy without admitting it. Obama should be tried for treason.
February 15th, 2015, 10:40 pm
SimoHurtta said:
Akbar a quote from Twitter
Yousef Munayyer @YousefMunayyer
“If you take out Saddam’s regime I guarantee you it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region” – @netanyahu to Congress 2002
Hmmmm for decades we pay for and die in these “positive reverberations” (for Israel). Well who is more crazy Netanyahu with his lunatic “advices” or those western leaders who are ready to listen to that Zionist mental hospital patient?
February 16th, 2015, 4:15 am
Akbar Palace said:
Sim posts another false “Quote” NewZ
Sim,
As usual, your quote is bullshit. You seem to think every time you post something from an anti-Israel website it’s true.
Here is the text of BB’s address to the Senate in 2002, if you’re really interested in truth.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/netanyahu4-10-02.htm
Hmmmm.
While you’re searching for more false quotes Sim, why don’t you post something a little critical of the daily mass murders of arabs and muslims at the hands of arabs and muslims? Or do you just care about what joos do?
Moreover, getting rid of Saddam did have positive reverberations, that is, until Obama had to “prove” GWB was wrong by dismantling all the the USA accomplished. Check Iraq Body Count. After the surge, Iraq was experiencing very low levels of violence, and better yet, Saddam and his mass graves of 300,000 dead were not growing. Iraqis were voting for the the first time.
Now the world wants Obama to pick up where Bush left off. What a surprise….
February 16th, 2015, 8:26 am
Akbar Palace said:
Sim isn’t interested in the brutal murders of 21 christian egyptians this past weekend, he is more interested in what Netanyahu had to say to congress in 2002…
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/02/16/egypt-hits-isis-affiliated-terrorists-in-libya-after-video-showing-mass/
February 16th, 2015, 8:39 am
Jasmine said:
Bibi just discovered today that he is fighting at three fronts ,Lebanon,Golan and Gaza for survival,soon the Egyptian frontier will be added hopefully.
Bibi’s new name is panic.
February 16th, 2015, 1:46 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Bibi just discovered today that he is fighting at three fronts
Jasmine,
The fight already took place habibi. Your side lost.
Of course, if you wanna go again, that’s fine too, just don’t cry when the GOI flattens your missile launchers and the school or hospital your side fired from. It’s tough to have it both ways.
It’s just like ISIS. They’re begging for war (like you), and then when they eventually get their asses kicked, they wonder what happened.
My suggestion is for muslims to get rid of the cult of death and destruction from within, but no one listens to me!
February 16th, 2015, 2:38 pm
Jasmine said:
Nasrallah ‘s talk today was very impressive,he is a rare leader,god bless him.
February 16th, 2015, 3:08 pm
Akbar Palace said:
…he is a rare leader…
Jasmine,
What is so “rare” about a muslim leader who pounds his chest about defeating Israel while he’s actually killing arabs?
Actually, they’re all too common.
February 16th, 2015, 3:31 pm
Jasmine said:
Why people hate the truth and principled strong leader who speak with conviction and solemn believes in justice,why defiance is not a virtue any more and cowards are sacred nowadays?
February 16th, 2015, 3:39 pm
Mina said:
If we needed a proof of the total insanity and duplicity of the so called “Syrian activists” romanticized by the Western media for 4 years, one just need to look at this picture.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-week-review-february-8-15
Are they going to say again that it’s the evil Asad militias who made the installation? What kind of brain washing are they doing on these kids?
February 16th, 2015, 4:54 pm
Mina said:
And more of the same
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31485439
The English speaking media have definitely changed side.
Le Monde tries its best to stay on the MB side (Ayad was not happy with the “Rafale” being sold to Egypt) but with a little tip of a few billion for a plane no one else is wanting to buy, France will soon get back in the row and its media as well
February 17th, 2015, 2:08 am
Ghufran said:
It does not look like the NC and the rebels will be able to convince the UN and the USA to include them or their demands in any future settlement in Syria, I am not even sure there will be a settlement with rebels after it became evident that most of them are chess soldiers dominated by Islamists and controlled by Turkey.
Khoja the Uthmani revolutionist attacked both the UN envoy and the US and declared that his party does not want to meet the UN envoy who like all of us watched rebels shell Damascus airport and bomb the gas pipeline that supplies Damascus and keeps power plants running. Keep in mind that Aleppo is now encircled by Syrian army troops and that the southern front built by Jordan and Islamists with direct help from Israel has suffered major setbacks.
The big news in 2014 was the loss of public support for rebels and the big news in 2015 will be the exclusion of rebels and the clowns in the NC from any future deals with the Syrian regime.
February 17th, 2015, 9:09 am
Daniel Demeter said:
AKBAR PALACE – That’s a fairly partisan/delusional assessment. al-Qaeda in Iraq, the predecessor to ISIS, formed entirely due to the overthrow of the Baath regime in 2003 and subsequent dismantling of the Iraqi security apparatus. There were no such groups operating in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion, and it is unlikely there ever would have been had the Iraqi state not been dismantled.
If you want to make some convoluted argument that Iraq’s internal conflicts prior to the 2003 invasion somehow made that invasion inconsequential… go for it?
February 17th, 2015, 3:05 pm
ALAN said:
CIA and Mossad are behind Boko Haram and ISIL
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3dc_1424156420
February 17th, 2015, 4:41 pm
Akbar Palace said:
There were no such groups operating in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion…
Daniel Demeter,
What about Saddam Hussein? He killed more Iraqis then all the terror groups combined.
I am always amazed how anti-war pundits ignore the greatest source of blood and violence.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/colinfreeman/100276809/tony-blairs-iraq-critics-should-remember-that-saddam-filled-far-more-mass-graves-than-isis/
February 17th, 2015, 5:10 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
This is the end of the war in Syria. Assad, Iran and Hezbollah, the CHIITE AXIS are destroying the last pillars of FSA and moderate revolutionaries.
Those who expected and fought for a Syria where dignity, freedom, democracy and an end to corruption and clientelism as well as an end to the dog dictatorship was posible have lost.
Assad will remain in power in Syria, 10.000.000 people or more will be permanent displaced and 4.000.000 million living outside Syria may not return. Syria will become at last 25 % chia.
Lebanon will remain a hijacked state under the weapons of Iran and Hezbollah and the violent dogs of Assad.
Iran will remain the international power bróker Obama wants it to be.
Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia will have lost a lot of power and expectations for the future of the Near East.
Obama will strike a deal with Iran and Iran will control the Middle East for the next 50 years.
Obama was not a sunni, maybe he was a chiia, hahhaha o maybe a motherfuxxxxer
February 17th, 2015, 5:27 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Sandro,
I agree with your last post 100%.
February 17th, 2015, 8:38 pm
Jasmine said:
Daniel
I am amazed at the lies and propaganda which is working relentlessly to ensure the survival of an apartheid Israel.
The casualties from the American invasion to Iraq is estimated at half millions and that is a conservative figure(two of them are far relatives of mine).
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131015-iraq-war-deaths-survey-2013/
The destruction of the Iraqi nation by USA has brought the sectarianism and ISIS and this is going to be the nail in the coffin of the American diplomacy abroad,they tried regime change in Syria but it failed.
Chapeau to every Syrian soldier who is making me feel proud for being Syrian every single day.
February 17th, 2015, 9:24 pm
Ghufran said:
I am not in the party that believes the war is over or that Assad regime and its friends have won but it is obvious that the initial hopes of rebels and their supporters of a speedy regime collapse were proven wrong ( many of us predicted that as early as 2012), instead the rebels and their supporters managed to bring in Islamist terrorists and helped destroy half of Syria, at least.
Yes there will be a temporary shift in sectarian composition of population in Syria but those Syrians in neighboring countries will return eventually.
I see the war as a failure for all Syrians and a win for Syria’s enemies.
We are all victims, I am not in the mood to celebrate but I certainly want jihadists defeated, most people do.
February 17th, 2015, 11:32 pm
Mina said:
I am amazed no one comments on this picture. This is the PR of the so called moderates in Douma! How come the invest in “orange jumpsuits”? What is the parallel they want to express? That governements involved in civil wars are no better than IS?
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-week-review-february-8-15
Syrian children wearing orange jumpsuits stand inside a cage on February 15, 2015 placed near the debris of a building destroyed in bombardment by Syrian government forces on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma, during a protest to denounce the continuing killing of civilians in the Syrian conflict and the failure of the international community to stop the carnage. During the protest organised by Syrian activists, the children were imitating Jordanian air force pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh, who was reportedly burned alive by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, an act that was condemned by Muslim and Western leaders. AFP/Abd Doumany
February 18th, 2015, 4:08 am
SimoHurtta said:
Obama was not a sunni, maybe he was a chiia, hahhaha o maybe a motherfuxxxxer
Honored moderator isn’t it time to let Sandro the Sunni/Jewish Lion finally to join in full time his friends outside Syria Comment? He spends to much time in this playing ground with his ideological buddy Akbar the Jewish/Sunni Rabbit.
I am surely not an admirer of Obama’s foreign policy, but must we really read such infantile comments in the name of free speech? There also should be some minimum “intellectual” demands for the comments here. Do we really need constant Sandro “analyses” where everything is simplified to the persons of Murderer Assad, Criminal Putin, chiias in general and now to Motherfuxxxer Obama?
February 18th, 2015, 5:58 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
SIMOHURTTA
Have you come from the underworld to defend the honour of Assad, Obama, or the Lord of the Rings?
I am free to consider Assad is a criminal responsible of mass murder (in other words a dog) specially when it is a fact.
Would not you consider him a mass muerderer if he killed and destroyed your quarter family at Abou Rummaneh/Malki?
If you do not like to read the Word Motherfuxxxxer, then let me apologize.
But then let me talk clearer and let me tell you that I consider you and all supporters of the dictatorship and its crimes are intellectual co-authors of crimes against humanity and it should be punished and one day sooner or later it will be punished in the internet. It is repulsive from your side to see your double standards.
February 18th, 2015, 11:36 am
Jasmine said:
Mina @36
Why are you surprised at the low level of propaganda which the rebels can pursue to stigmatize the Syrian army?
They have sold their country to the Gulf years ago .
When ignorance was nourished with Wahhabism ,this is not a surprise to reach that low level of savagery,using children to fulfill their twisted ideology,this has nothing to do with freedom or democracy.
Assad was too patient with them,he should have hit them harder from day one.
This is not a revolution,this is repulsive and cheap way of manipulating the media.
Syria is half destroyed,thanks to those repulsive inhuman,disgusting .
February 18th, 2015, 12:11 pm
ALAN said:
Simohurtta
The Zionist regime and its bootlickers in the West want another regime change in Macedonia
http://rehmat1.com/2015/02/18/macedonia-jewish-lobby-wants-regime-change/
***
These are not “freedom fighters,” the dog are common criminals and mass murderers in the west prescribed regime change insert with hundreds of thousands of deaths, as the “Arab Spring revolution or” sold, the new terms for USrael criminal, despicable war of aggression.
https://urs1798.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/des-westens-menschliche-regime-change-bestien-bei-aleppo-syrien-syria/
***
Libya’s chaos is Obama’s shame
President Obama attacked Libya in 2011 without congressional authority, and then shirked any responsibility to help stabilize the country after deposing its dictator.
By 2013, Libya had become a chaotic hellhole mired in a permanent war. Today it is a new beachhead and recruiting ground for the Islamic State.
Obama’s illegal, ill-considered, and immoral drive-by war in Libya ought to be a permanent stain on his presidency. The recent video of masked ISIS killers beheading 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya deserves to be the emblem of this president’s rash foreign policy.
***
For most of us that have been hurt and disgusted by the regime change agenda pursued by the West since at least 1997, revelations that the US has lost a lot of money to corruption by its fifth columnists here, make for good humour. Obviously, the US is not alone, as indeed will be revealed in the fullness of time. Think of the likes of Britain, Sweden, Denmark, among other hostile countries.
The money that was gobbled by enterprising locals could run into billions of dollars in the last 15 or so years.
You cannot help but laugh at the regime change pursuers.
It’s regime change agenda that needs changing.
February 18th, 2015, 12:54 pm
Uzair8 said:
I heard this last night/early hours on BBC Radio 5. Worth a listen. Under half an hour long.
Interview with a man who describes how he became Putin’s number one enemy.
– On corruption he points to Putin wearing a watch on his wrist which is worth more than his annual salary.
– He points to how the Russian secret police stole $230 million paid by him in tax to the Russian government.
– At the end he describes what happened to the lawyer who discovered this ‘theft’ and testified thinking the government would be thankful for the discovery.
Listen from 2:33:50
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0528rmc
February 18th, 2015, 1:23 pm
Uzair8 said:
This is important.
Regarding the situation around Zahraa there was a lot of chatter yesterday online. It’s even mentioned on the ‘Feedburner’ above how the SAA apparently reached Zahraa. The same claims were made on Iran Military Forum (IMF). Eventually someone posted the following on IMF yesterday. Remember over there they don’t tend to admit to bad news:
“The soldiers were surrounded by rats in a big counter offensive by them on Rtayan village after SAA took control of it today morning in a surprise attack!
The number of soldiers were 15 and the fighters of nearby Zahra city came to their help and broke the seige on them and took them back inside Zahraa city!
Thats the whole story of the soldiers who entered Zahraa today!
The situation now is about half of the village in SAA hands and the other half is in rats hands and very fierce battles going on!
The rats have brought in very big reinforcements to the village to take it back but they failed to take full control of it yet and it seems the biggest fighting force in Aleppo for the tats are fighting right now for this village!
Lets wait till tommorow and lets see what happens!
“
http://www.iranmilitaryforum.net/military-conflicts/updates-on-military-action-in-syria/msg289407/#msg289407
The follow up comments talk about significant losses for SAA although another user disputes this.
February 18th, 2015, 1:33 pm
ALAN said:
Obama Destroyed Libya
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41020.htm
Bush committed this error in Iraq. Obama made it in Libya. And now he’s doing it again in Syria.
February 18th, 2015, 2:12 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
43. ALAN
¨Obama Destroyed Libya¨
Yeah, and you and your paranoic gang of Assadists and anti-sionists Ayatollahs destroyed Syria forever more.
I feel free to say YOU and YOURS because you personally support all crimes committed by Assadists and Iranian, Iraqi and Afgani mercenaries.
February 18th, 2015, 4:59 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
¨Reports began surfacing last week that the Obama administration is offering Iran technical concessions on its nuclear infrastructure in exchange for Iran’s use of its leverage to tamper regional turmoil.¨
What Obama seems to miss is that the whole turmoil has been generated by Iran and Assad in order to Obama to make regional concessions to the Chiia Axis. The idea is very simple, but maybe occidental minds think islamic regimes are too stupid to elaborate this machiaveli mechanism ?
February 18th, 2015, 5:34 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
The Real Reason The West Is So Passive In Syria
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2014/06/11/the_real_reason_the_west_is_so_passive_in_syria_110572.html
February 18th, 2015, 5:35 pm
Mina said:
Ambass Ford has seen the light. No accountability, for sure.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/02/18/257024/once-a-top-booster-ex-us-envoy.html
February 19th, 2015, 3:10 am
ALAN said:
/Ambass Ford has seen the light/
Always when the US official commits a atrocious mistakes, which result in the victims, it remains unpunished.
They are E X E P T I O N A L .
February 19th, 2015, 3:55 pm
Post a comment