30 jun

english.ruvr.ru – Sergei Lavrov off to Brunei to meet US Secretary of State on Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is leaving for Brunei today where he will discuss the Syrian issue with US Secretary of State John Kerry and participate in the meeting of Russian and ASEAN ministers, as well as in the ASEAN regional forum on security and the session of ministers of the East Asia Summit due on the 1st and 2nd of July.
At the meeting with his US counterpart Lavrov is expected to clear up the US position on convening an international conference on Syria. In spite of numerous declarations of the urgent need to convene Geneva-2, it is still not clear when it will be convened and who will participate in it.

Press TV – Syria militants down helicopter near Aleppo

Foreign-backed militants in Syria have downed a Syrian government helicopter near the northern city of Aleppo.
The civilian helicopter was carrying exam papers for schoolchildren and all seven people on board, including the deputy head of the Education Ministry were killed.
In a video released by the militants recently, advanced anti-aircraft missiles have been used to bring the helicopter down.

voltairenet.org – Congress against arms delivery to Syrian ”rebels”

An Ad hoc group of Congress members held, Thursday 27 June 2013, a special closed session on Syria with CIA Director John Brennan (pictured), in the presence of Vice President Joe Biden and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.
The meeting, originally scheduled for only members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was to focus on authorized interrogation techniques. But its agenda and the list of participants, including members of the Foreign Affairs Committees of both chambers, were altered at the last minute.
Although the details of the discussions are unknown, it nevertheless transpired that congressmen voted down the CIA plan the supply weapons to the ”rebels” in Syria. They deemed there were no grounds to consider the possible victory of the ”rebels” as a solution to the current problem.
This sudden and unexpected change of position leaves Washington without a policy for Syria.

Patrick Cockburn – Foreign media portrayals of the conflict in Syria are dangerously inaccurate

Every time I come to Syria I am struck by how different the situation is on the ground from the way it is pictured in the outside world. The foreign media reporting of the Syrian conflict is surely as inaccurate and misleading as anything we have seen since the start of the First World War. I can’t think of any other war or crisis I have covered in which propagandistic, biased or second-hand sources have been so readily accepted by journalists as providers of objective facts.
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Slogans replace policies: the rebels are pictured as white hats and the government supporters as black hats; given more weapons, the opposition can supposedly win a decisive victory; put under enough military pressure, President Bashar al-Assad will agree to negotiations for which a pre-condition is capitulation by his side in the conflict. One of the many drawbacks of the demonising rhetoric indulged in by the incoming US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and William Hague, is that it rules out serious negotiations and compromise with the powers-that-be in Damascus. And since Assad controls most of Syria, Rice and Hague have devised a recipe for endless war while pretending humanitarian concern for the Syrian people.
It is difficult to prove the truth or falsehood of any generalisation about Syria. But, going by my experience this month travelling in central Syria between Damascus, Homs and the Mediterranean coast, it is possible to show how far media reports differ markedly what is really happening. Only by understanding and dealing with the actual balance of forces on the ground can any progress be made towards a cessation of violence.
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The plan of the CIA and the Friends of Syria to somehow seek an end to the war by increasing the flow of weapons is equally absurd. War will only produce more war.

Hela intervjun med Brzezinski som refererades i ett inlägg från Press TV som det länkades till i gårdagens inlägg – nationalinterest.org – Brzezinski on the Syria Crisis

29 jun

Christof Lehmann – Major Regional Military Campaign against Syria in August – September

The USA, along with anti-Syrian allies, is preparing a major military campaign against Syria in August – September 2013. The United States has officially begun arming predominantly foreign insurgents. US Special Forces are training insurgents in Jordan for the coming campaign. Meanwhile, the international opposition against the arming of the insurgents and the covert war on Syria becomes more vocal.
On 26 June, the Wall Street Journal reported, that the United States´Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, has begun transferring weapons to predominantly foreign, anti-Syrian insurgents in Jordan.
A Palestinian nsnbc correspondent in Jordan reported, that the additional 300 US Special Forces, which have remained in Jordan after a regional military exercise a month ago, who are stationed in and near the Jordanian city al-Mafraq, are involved in training foreign insurgents, including insurgents with ties to al-Qaeda associated organizations, in special operations.
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So far, all signals are set for a major military assault on Syria in August and September, and the Geneva 2 conference remains an elusive goal. Willingness, from the side of the US Administration, to work with Russia and other partners toward the Geneva 2 conference, is by many analysts perceived as stall tactic, while military preparations continue and intensify, and the “Syria Crisis” is evolving into a regional war.

USA har problem att flytta all den enorma mängd militärmaterial man har i Afghanistan ut ur landet, de behöver hjälp med detta av bl.a. Ryssland och Iran. Kan det vara en hållhake dessa länder kan utnyttja angående Syrien, om ni lämnar Syrien hjälper vi er ur Afghanistan? Men sen är det just det som Narwani avslutar med som gör att man har svårt att tro på en anständig upplösning, västs mäktiga väktarråd, de ljusskygga finansayatollorna består av bortskämda vaneförbrytare som är vana att få sin vilja igenom och för vilka det inte tycks finnas någon gräns för vilka metoder man är beredda att ta till.

Sharmine Narwani – The US’s Afghanistan Exit May Depend on a Syrian One

Washington’s options in Syria are dwindling – and dwindling fast. Trumped up chemical weapons charges against the Syrian government this month failed to produce evidence to convince a skeptical global community of any direct linkage. And the US’s follow-up pledge to arm rebels served only to immediately underline the difficulty of such a task, given the fungibility of weapons-flow among increasingly extremist militias.
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There are around 750,000 major pieces of American military hardware costing approximately $36 billion sitting in Afghanistan right now. The cost of transporting this equipment out of the country is somewhere close to the $7 billion mark. It would be easier to destroy this stuff than removing it, but given tightening US budgets and lousy economic prospects, this hardware is unlikely to be replaced if lost.
Getting all this equipment into Afghanistan over the past decade was a lot easier than getting it out will be. For starters, much of it came via Pakistani corridors – before Americans began droning the hell out of that country and creating dangerous pockets of insurgents now blocking exit routes.
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While it is obvious to all that the combined weight of Russia, Iran and China could tip that balance in favor of an expeditious American exit, what would motivate any of these three – who have all recently been at the receiving end of vicious US political and economic machinations – to help?
A grand bargain over Syria would surely be a sweetener: you and your allies exit Syria, we’ll help you exit Afghanistan.
The problem with Washington though, is that it never fails to botch up an opportunity – always striving for that one last impossible power-play which it thinks will help it gain dominance over a situation, a country, an enemy.
There remains the concern that the US’s oft-repeated Al Qaeda mantra – “disrupt, dismantle, defeat” – will prove to be its one-stop solution for every problem.
And that is the exception to my premise about a Syrian exit. That US spoilers who cannot accept even the perception of vulnerability – let alone an outright defeat – may instead choose to catapult the entire Mideast into a region-wide war for the sake of avoiding a painful compromise.

Press TV – Brzezinski: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, their western allies orchestrated Syria crisis

The former US national security adviser says the ongoing crisis in Syria has been orchestrated by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and their western allies.
“In late 2011 there are outbreaks in Syria produced by a drought and abetted by two well-known autocracies in the Middle East: Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” Zbigniew Brzezinski said in an interview with The National Interest on June 24.
He added that US President Barack Obama also supported the unrest in Syria and suddenly announced that President Bashar al-Assad “has to go — without, apparently, any real preparation for making that happen.”
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Brzezinski also warned again any US-led military intervention in Syria or arming the militants fighting government forces there.
“I’m afraid that we’re headed toward an ineffective American intervention, which is even worse. There are circumstances in which intervention is not the best but also not the worst of all outcomes. But what you are talking about means increasing our aid to the least effective of the forces opposing Assad. So at best, it’s simply damaging to our credibility. At worst, it hastens the victory of groups that are much more hostile to us than Assad ever was. I still do not understand why — and that refers to my first answer — why we concluded somewhere back in 2011 or 2012 — an election year, incidentally that Assad should go.”

inserbia.info – Russia accused Saudi Arabia of “arming international terrorists in Syria”

28 jun

Nya ondsinta planer enligt Lamb, att ta makten över ekonomin i Syrien genom IMF-metoden att göra landet skuldsatt hos västs storbanker!? Och.. han har också uppgifter om att ledande personer erbjudits 50 miljoner dollar för att avgå och lämna Syrien!
Franklin Lamb – War by Another Name in Syria, The Obama Administration prepares a “Marshall Plan” to reconstruct Syria, but not for the Syrians ….Economic imperialism to achieve what funding and arming the Gulf sponsored rebels could not?

What Washington has in mind constitutes an attempt to gain control over Syria by controlling its economy via contracts for rebuilding the country and “lending” the hoped for post-Assad Syrian government as much as 300 billion dollars to be secured by Syrian assets. IMF economists estimate the value of the public sector in Syria, exceeds half a trillion dollars. Under the US-led pan, creditors can take control of ownership of the public sector, if Syria accepts the plan for pledges to secure debt. The buyers of the debt will be largely American and indirectly Israeli businessmen as well as from the Gulf. Qatar specifically is gambling on this plan, to work with “international parties”, to immerse Syria in debt, and then drive the country to sell the private sector at a very small fraction of their true values.
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Some who are warning against the scheme point out that Syrians are capable of rebuilding their own country and have the labor force and raw materials to do it. Foreign aid will be welcomed by the Syrian government but not at the price of ceding the Arab Syrian Republic to a new western crafted economic order. What is hidden in the war on Syria is reported to be much bigger than has been divulged to date, and involves winding down the military actions in favor of economic aggression against the Syrian population which the layers of US sanctions to date is just a harbinger.
In this context, according to Western Diplomatic sources, the US government and some Gulf countries have tried to bribe Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Syria’s President, to break with the government and leave the country. Some other well-known figures have also been offered large sums of cash to break ranks. Last month, one prominent Syrian nationalist who works with the government told this observer of receiving a $ 50 million dollar offer to defect and leave Syria. The official rejected the bribe and ridiculed the government that made the offer by explaining that as proud Syrian nationalists, no amount of money would break the sacred bond between Syrians and their country.
With respect to Mr. Makhlouf, he did not react to being placed on the US Treasury Department’s “Specially Designated Nationals” (SDN) list which blocks assets and prohibits, under severe penalties, U.S. citizens from dealing with them, nor did he dignify an American clemency offer with even a reply.
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This week, Syria’s President put the goal of the Marshall Plan for Syria succinctly, without identifying it, “What is happening in Syria is a project for those states to push a non-submissive state towards the brink and to look for a new president who says ‘yes’ (to their orders). They have not found and they will not find in the future,” Assad stressed while adding, “The interference is a blatant violation of international law and the sovereignty of this country; they (western states and their Gulf allies) want to destabilize the country and spread chaos and backwardness.”

Undrar vad det är för rapport Press TV hämtat detta från, att CIA leder en uppladdning i Jordanien för förnyade attacker med nya vapen som planeras för augusti!
CIA readies Syria rebels for August attack: Report

The US intelligence agency is stockpiling weapons shipped by the U.S. as well as European and Middle Eastern allies in Jordan to prepare the militants for a concerted onslaught against the Syrian government in August, a report says.
The CIA will continue mobilizing arms, including anti-tank missiles, in Jordan for three weeks to lay the ground for the assault, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The agency will spend another two weeks on choosing among the militants and training them, the report adds.
The CIA is working with France to move arms obtained by the European countries to Jordan and Saudi Arabia is expected to send shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, known as Manpads, to the militants being trained in Syria’s southern neighbor, according to the U.S. daily.
From August, the CIA will coordinate sending hundreds of trained militants into Syria every month as part of the agency’s cover plan authorized by President Barack Obama earlier this month, the paper added

Christof Lehmann – U.S. – Russian Top-Diplomats to Discuss G2 Conference. Syria Crisis has become Regional War

U.S. and Russian officials, led by Top-Diplomats John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov will be meeting next week to discuss developments of the situation in Syria and the Middle East and the planned G2 Conference. The Syria Crisis has evolved into a de facto regional war which is likely to intensify, as both sides doubt, whether it is at all possible to hold a meaningful, international conference on Syria.

Press TV – Russia slams arming Syria rebels as contradictory to Geneva talks

Russian Foreign Minister has slammed Western efforts to supply more arms to Syrian insurgents as a bid to regain lost ground before the Geneva Conference, saying the scheme contradicts the very essence of the peace talks.
Speaking at a Friday press conference in the Moroccan Capital of Rabat, Sergei Lavrov said, ”The activities aimed at providing weapons to the opposition, which have recently intensified, only means that the precondition [set by the foreign-backed militants to restore a balance of power on the battle ground] is supported by the West and other countries which are going to supply such weapons, this contradicting the very concept of the conference, which is to begin without any preconditions.”

Congressman Walter Jones Introduces Resolution to Prohibit Use of War Power in Syria without Congressional Approval

Yesterday, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) introduced a resolution to prohibit the use of war power against Syria without congressional authorization.

Syria: the Art of Standing on the Right Side of History – orientalreiew.org

The ongoing Syrian crisis will be certainly viewed by future generations as a classic example of how a completely false reality, as presented by the dominant Western political class and corporate media, has inscrutably resulted in the moral and political reinforcement of the opposing party, which was desperately defending the principles of law and justice under unprecedented pressure from a transnational party of war.
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The public reaction in the West on Putin’s performance at the G8 suggests that there exists a conscious or perhaps unconscious awareness of this here. Putin has successfully adopted the trend to reformat the matrix imposed on the minds in the West. Western politicians are so entangled in their web of lies, particularly on the Syrian issue, that a reasonable and straightforward speech by the Russian leader based on irrefutable facts and common sense could leave them dumb, curious, and stunned. And the people are able to sense who is standing on the right side of history.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned against supplying arms to the militants in Syria, saying the risks of the move are too high.
Press TV has conducted an interview with James Jatras, former US Senate Foreign Policy analyst in Washington

Horrific video of beheading raises questions of arms supply to Syrian rebels

sana.sy – Al-Jaafari: No meaningful conference can be held if weapons continue to flow into Syria

”As long as the US administration and the EU continue to prepare weapons to be sent to the armed terrorist groups whom they call ‘rebels’, they won’t come to the negotiating table, for they know that they are supported politically, militarily, financially and through media.”
”Why would they come to negotiations in Geneva when they are getting millions of dollars from Qataris and Saudis and receiving logistical support from the Turkish government and weapons from Western powers?”
He added that the UN has to be transparent, indicating that Syria submitted a written request to the Secretary-General to investigate the role of Qatari intelligence in kidnapping members from the Filipino peacekeeping troops in Golan, demanding that the UN Secretary-General or United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations supply the Syrian government with a written response on the outcomes of the investigation. ”In fact, they conducted no investigation.”
”The Qataris and Saudis have drowned this organization in petrol money, and the official letters that we address to the UN members and the secretary-general are there and everybody can find them on the internet…I have addressed 408 letters since the beginning of the crisis describing every single detail related to every incident.” On the international conference on Syria, al-Jaafari said that the Syrian government is committed to the importance of holding it in Geneva as opposed to ”oppositions” on the other side linked to ”foreign agendas” from where they get financial, political, and diplomatic and media support.

Press TV – Ex-UK PM Blair threatens Syria, Iran amid calls for military action

Full Disclosure: What the Media Isn’t Telling You About War in Syria – benswann.com

27 jun

Press TV – Massive blast near church in Damascus leaves four dead

voltairenet.org – Meeting to prepare international peace conference on Syria ends in failure

The second USA-Russia-UN meeting, which was held on 25 June 2013 in Geneva, was no more successful than the one held on 5 June: Participants parted without fixing a date for ”Geneva 2” or drawing up the list of participants.
Wendy Sherman (USA), Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilo (Russia), and Lakhdar Brahimi (UN) could not get their act together and failed to set out the modalities for the Syria peace conference.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the ”armed opposition” has been suffering one defeat after another.

sana.sy – Army eliminates Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in several areas, some non-Syrians

sana.sy – Moscow stresses necessity of speeding up international Syria conference

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed in a phone call with the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan the regional situation, mainly the situation in Syria.
Kremlin said in a statement on Thursday that the two sides ”expressed readiness to coordinate efforts for a political settlement to the crisis in Syria,” adding that they agreed to continue contacts.

Press TV – Arming Syria militants, too risky, Merkel says

Press TV – Al-Nusra Front leader CIA operative: Former al-Qaeda member

Det här är nog ett av de viktigaste motiven bakom destabiliseringskampanjen mot Syrien, att förstöra och bryta sönder nationer som västs finans-ayatollor inte har kontroll över – Jurriaan Maessen – Henry Kissinger: Balkanized and Broken-Up Syria “Best Possible Outcome”

Kissinger has commented previously on the desirability of breaking up dissenting nations into smaller fragments, after which the emerging chaos may facilitate their introduction into a global order. This, in essence, is the rule of divide and conquer. These recent comments by Kissinger are in step with previous statements in which he promulgates the idea that social upheaval and mass civil unrest are to be used as a means of merging nations (including, by the way, the United States) into an “international system”.
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These words may shed some light on the words uttered by Kissinger and his fellow supranationalists, in essence revealing they are very much aware of the fact that the mere proposition of a world state will not make it so- may even backfire on them when proposed too directly- and that the same goal may be better achieved via the fragmentation and balcanization of nation-states, whether in the East or West, in order to then merge those fragments into a global construct, usually described as the new world order.

nyhetsbanken.se – USA-stödda rebeller angrep kloster

En vördad syrisk munk och eremit, fader Fran?ois Mourad, har dödats under ett angrepp på ett franciskanerkloster i en övervägande kristen by i norra Syrien nära den turkiska gränsen, rapporterade Vatikanradion.

26 jun

Webster Tarpley i ett nytt radioprogram – Under Cover of Snowden Snowjob, Kerry and Hague Attempt White House Palace Coup to Bomb Syria – om det som togs upp i ett inlägg här nedan den 14 juni, att andra än Obama i maktsfären i USA vill agera brutalare mot Syrien – John Kerry called for ‘immediate’ airstrikes on Syria

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich – Syria: The “Western Faces” Behind The Terror, Perpetuating adversaries to kill each other is a time-tested tactic

In 2006, Time Magazine revealed that the US had been agitating, funding, and supporting ”opposition” in Syria. According to the magazine, the US was ”supporting regular meetings of internal and diaspora Syrian activists” in Europe. The document bluntly expresses the hope that ”these meetings will facilitate a more coherent strategy and plan of actions for all anti-Assad activists.”
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What is most revealing about the abovementioned Time Magazine piece of 2006 is that America’s efforts to aid the opposition and undermine Assad were run through a foundation operated by Amar Abdulhamid, a Washington-based member of a Syrian umbrella opposition group known as the National Salvation Front (NSF). Abdulhamid was a visiting Fellow at the Saban Center (2004-2006) before moving on to the Neocon-run National Defense of Democracies.
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It came as no surprise that John McCain who was a member of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) formed to rid Iraq of Saddam Hossein, and a cheerleader for the Libya intervention, the Egyptian opposition to Mubarak, for bombing Iran, and so on…..visited Syrian “opposition” (via Turkey) in order to encourage more bloodshed. And expectedly, he was de-briefed — not at the White House, but at the Saban Center!
Soon after McCain’s presentation at the Saban Center, the White House disputed UN’s account and claimed that that Syria had crossed the “red line” and used chemical weapons.

Press TV – Britain and France not part of solution to Syria crisis: Bashar al-Jaafari

The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari says Britain and France cannot be part of a solution to end the crisis in Syria.
According to Bashar al-Ja’afari, France and Britain cannot be objective, impartial, and neutral in their stance toward Syria crisis.
“When France and Britain are deeply involved in forging the terrorism within Syria, helping the terrorist, providing them with weapons and political support, that means France and Britain are not the right suitable powers to intervene with this regard. They cannot accuse the Syrian government of something that they judge or call it allegations. They are judging Syrian government of being behind it,” al-Jaafari said.
He added that, “They are an integral part of the problem, not an integral part of the solution.”

Press TV – US, Russia to meet for Syria peace conference: UN

The United Nations says US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet next week to facilitate international peace conference on Syria.
On Tuesday, following talks in Geneva between senior US, Russian and UN diplomats, the UN said in a statement that, “The meeting has been informed that Minister Lavrov and Secretary Kerry would be meeting next week.”
”The discussions were constructive, and focused on ways to ensure that the Geneva Conference on Syria can take place with the best chances of success,” the UN said in the statement.

english.ruvr.ru – Russian FM hopes US will clarify its position on Syria next week

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hopes that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will clarify Washington’s stance on Syria at a meeting in Brunei on July 1-2.
”The meeting with John Kerry will be held on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit on 1-2 July in Brunei,” Lavrov said.
”We expect more clarity as to what is the U.S. position with respect to our joint initiative on Syria [Geneva II Conference]”, the Minister added.
Unfortunately, however, at this stage, there is no way to offer a specific date for the conference, Lavrov continued.
”It is clear that for now we do not see the possibility to offer a specific date for the conference. First of all, this is because the opposition is not ready at all to participate in it without its ‘preconditions’. In this respect we rely on the efforts of our Western partners, especially the U.S.”, Lavrov asserted.

Geneva-2 conference to be convened in August or September at best – diplomatic source

A Geneva-2 conference on Syria will be convened in August or even in September at best, a diplomatic source close to the Three-party meeting on Syria told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
The parties “have failed to agree exact dates,” the source said. “The meeting may be held not earlier than August or September.”

Analysis – Al Qaeda’s Syria rift may lead to open conflict among jihadis

A rift between Syrian jihadis and their fellow fighters from al Qaeda’s Iraqi wing may lead to internecine war among some of the most effective rebel groups in combating President Bashar al-Assad.
Trouble has been brewing since April over what Syria’s Nusra Front regards as a power grab by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq. Now, Baghdadi’s insistence that he will keep fighting as head of a united jihadi brigade in Syria, defying orders from al Qaeda chief Ayman Zawahri, has brought the two groups close to turning on each other.
”Tension is increasing, it is about to reach boiling point. Both sides are saying they are right. A clash between them could occur soon and if it happens, it will be ugly,” said a senior rebel commander in Damascus who is following the dispute.

Syria News 26.6.2013
* France arrests individuals recruiting terrorists to Syria
* Al-Jaafari: No meaningful conference can be held if weapons continue to flow into Syria
* Moscow: Tripartite meeting in Geneva agreed on necessity of holding Syria conference as soon as possible
* Medelci: Serious dialogue among Syrians is only way to resolve crisis
* Electric Power Company worker martyred, 3 injured by terrorist gunfire
* Unknown assailants stab 20 Syrians east of Beirut
* Army eliminates terrorists, destroys their hideouts and gatherings

25 jun

english.ruvr.ru – Russia, US, UN discussing new Syria conference in Geneva

Russia, the United States and the UN convened in Switzerland on Tuesday to prepare a new international conference for Syria, Geneva-2.
Deputy Foreign Ministers Gennady Gatilov and Mikhail Bogdanov are representing Russia at the meeting.
Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Elizabeth Jones will attend the meeting on behalf of the U.S.
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Special Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi are representing the UN.
The first meeting of this format was held in Geneva on June 5.
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Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said on Tuesday that a conference on ending the war in Syria would not take place in July as he had hoped, and called on the United States and Russia to help contain the conflict.
”Frankly I doubt whether the conference will take place in July. The opposition has their next meeting on July 4-5. So I don’t think they will be ready,” he said before starting a round of preparatory talks with U.S. and Russian officials in Geneva.

‘Obama Overtly supports Al-Qaeda, Provides Terrorists with Chemical Weapons’: Michel Chossudovsky

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey – Western hypocrisy: double standards, propaganda, cynicism

Mother Agnes responds to question about FSA, Mother Agnes Mariam during a seminar at the ‘Peace and Conflict Studies Centre’ at the University of Sydney, responds to a question from the audience claiming that 80% of FSA militants are Syrian.

24 jun

Press TV – Syrian army units engage insurgents around Hama, Aleppo

english.ruvr.ru – Spain remands Al-Qaeda suspects over Syria attacks

A Spanish court on Monday remanded in custody eight suspected Al-Qaeda members accused of sending suicide attackers to the civil war in Syria, officials said.
The National Court in Madrid said the suspects were part of an international network ”dedicated to radicalising, recruiting and sending mujahedeen to Syria to wage jihad and become martyrs”.

Press TV – Russia warns US, EU against arming Syria rebels

Russia warns the United States, the European Union and their regional allies against supplying more weapons to insurgents fighting against Syrian government.
In a statement on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed serious concern over the consequences of sending further arms to militant groups fighting against the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Press TV – Syria ready to attend Geneva conference without pre-condition: Syria FM

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem says Damascus is ready to participate in a peace conference in Geneva without any pre-conditions to help bring the bloodshed in the country to an end.
Speaking at a press conference in Damascus on Monday, Muallem said his country is ready to discuss the formation of a national unity government during the conference.
”We will head to Geneva not to hand over power to the other side…. We will go to Geneva in order to set up a real partnership and a broad national unity government,” he added.

Thierry Meyssan – G8 debates

On Syria, the Franco-British position is therefore to isolate Russia to force her to give in. Masterful in this role, summit host David Cameron denounced the ”dictator-who-killed-the-people-with-chemical-weapons.” He called for a Geneva 2 conference which would record the surrender of President al-Assad transferring power to the friends of the West. He confirms the imminent delivery of arms to the ”revolutionaries”, offers an honorable exit to ”Bashar” maintaining the Baathist government and distributing gas leases. For the flag, it is already known, it will be that of the French colonization.
This chatter breaks on Vladimir Putin. Questioned by the press upon his arrival, the Russian president declared before a stunned Cameron: ”I’m sure you agree that we should surely not help people who kill not only their enemies, but dismember their bodies and eat their intestines in public and in front of cameras.
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To humanitarian babbling, Putin responds with his view of the facts and international law. No, there is no revolution in Syria, but foreign aggression. No, Syria will not use weapons of mass destruction against its own people. Yes, Russia delivers anti-aircraft weapons to Syria to protect it from foreign attack. Yes, the delivery of weapons to the contras by the West is a violation of international law punishable in international courts.
Finally, at no time, were the French and the British able to back the Russian into a corner. Each time, Vladimir Putin was supported by another participant – often Germany’s Angela Merkel – expressing doubts.
Faced with Russia’s firm stand, David Cameron tried to convince his Western partners that the fortunes of war could still change: MI6 and DGSE are ready to provoke a military coup in Damascus. An officer recruited in the palace, could kill the president, while a general, recruited at the top of the secret service, would liquidate loyalists and take power. The new authorities would form a military dictatorship that would give way gradually to a parliamentary democracy.

arbejderen.dk – USA’s nederlag i Syrien nærmer sig

Da USA og dets mange allierede for mere end to år siden begyndte krigen mod Syrien, gabte de over et større bytte, end de kunne sluge.
I de seneste par måneder har de syriske forsvarsstyrker – den regulære hær og De Nationale Forsvarsstyrker (en form for hjemmeværn) – befundet sig i tilsyneladende uimodståelig offensiv. Ifølge en nylig artikel i Der Spiegel, mener det tyske efterretningsvæsen, at de syriske styrker kan angribe de såkaldte oprørere, når det passer dem.

Syrian archbishops ‘most likely dead’

Speakers at a conference in Oxford last week gave strong indications that the two Orthodox archbishops kidnapped near the Syrian city of Aleppo on 22 April had been killed.

Syrian Army battles insurgents in heart of capital, A car bomb rocked the central Mezzeh district of the Syrian capital Damascus killing and injuring a number of civilians. A three-year-old child was also among the people killed there.

23 jun

Thierry Meyssan menade i sin senaste artikel att USA inte ville något annat med sitt prat om direkta vapenleveranser till ”rebellerna” i Syrien än att Free Syrian Army skulle likvidera extremisterna.
”Washington no longer hopes to conquer Syria, just to have the FSA liquidate the Al-Nusra Front.”
Ett inlägg på Press TV för några dagar sedan gav stöd åt teorier om att försök görs för att skapa konfrontationer mellan grupperna – ”The al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front has assassinated a large number of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) officers, a report says.”
Och idag kommer det här uttalandet – english.ruvr.ru – Hollande urges Syria rebels to retake extremist-held zones – kanske har Meyssan rätt!?

French President Francois Hollande urged Syrian rebels on Sunday to ”retake” zones that have fallen into the hands of extremist Islamist groups.
”The opposition must retake control of these areas and push these groups out,” Hollande told reporters in Doha.

voltairenet.org – Fiasco for ”Friends of Syria” meeting

The meeting of the ”Friends of Syria” held on Saturday, 22 June, in Doha (Qatar), closed unsuccessfully. France, the United Kingdom and the United States had announced at the Lough Erne G8 summit that they would officially be arming the Free Syrian Army. On 14 June, the latter had provided the list of weapons and ammunition they needed.
Not only did the meeting bring together a mere 11 members out of 121, but it also came short of taking responsibility for the official delivery of weapons in violation of UN resolutions.
…
The day before, Paulo Pinheiro, Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Syria, stated that Western leaders would be held personally liable for the crimes committed by the ”rebels” with such weapons [1].
According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, two Member States took an formal stance against the official delivery of weapons. Accordint to his British counterpart, William Hague, the UK is one of them. London would therefore have shifted position.

voltairenet.org – Arms deliveries to ’Syrian rebels’ equally liable for crimes committed

The delivery of weapons to Syrian rebels is in breach of UN resolutions. This enables the victims’ families to sue individually before the International Criminal Tribunal those leaders who should decide to do so, and allows Syria to file a suit against their states with the International Court of Justice.
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chairman of the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry for Syria, told the press on 21 June 2013, that “States who provide arms have a responsibility in terms of the eventual use of these arms to commit gross human rights violations, war crimes or crimes against humanity.”

Press TV – Foreign-backed militants kill five in Damascus bombings

Reports say one of the attacks targeted a police station in the northern Damascus neighborhood of Rukn al-Din. Three people, including civilians and police officers, were killed in the first explosion which went off behind a bakery near the police station.
The second incident involved mortar rounds which targeted a security compound in Bab Musalla, leaving at least two others dead.

Press TV – Jordan against intervention in Syria, PM says

Jordan has said it is against any military intervention in Syria, ruling out any attempt by the United States to use its land for a possible war on Syria.

CIA Secretly providing Training for Syrian rebels – latimes.com – U.S. has secretly provided arms training to Syria rebels since 2012

CIA agents and special operations troops have trained the rebels in anti-tank and antiaircraft weaponry in Jordan and Turkey.

Finian Cunningham – Friends of Syria Meeting in Doha: Saudi slip signals Iran obsession in Syria

The international criminal conspiracy known euphemistically as the “Friends of Syria” gathers once again in Qatar this weekend to discuss how to expedite their covert war for regime change in Syria.
…
On the eve of the Qatar meeting this weekend, the London-based Financial Times reported:
“Saudi Arabia, which competes with Iran for regional influence, considers the Syrian conflict a direct threat to its national security, with its potential to strengthen an alliance between powerful Shia elements in a string of countries stretching from Iran to Lebanon, via Iraq and Syria.”
The first thing to note from this disclosure is that the conflict in Syria is not about “supporting pro-democracy Syrian rebels” as the Western governments and media and their regional allies have been making out for the past two years. It is clearly about regime change in Syria and a competition for regional influence, in particular between Western-backed Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Felicity Arbuthnot – Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and now Syria: Chear-leading Another Blood Bath in the Name of Peace

Stephen Gowans – Syria, The View From The Other Side – innehåller bl.a. en intressant genomgång om hur oroligheterna började.

The first press reports were of a few small protests, dwarfed by the far more numerous and substantial protests that erupt every day in the United States, Britain and France. A March 16, 2011 New York Times report noted that “In Syria, demonstrations are few and brief.” These early demonstrations—a few quixotic young men declaring that “the revolution has started!”, relatives of prisoners protesting outside the Interior Ministry—seem disconnected from the radical Islamist rebellion that would soon develop.
Within days, larger demonstrations were underway in Dara, where citizens were said to have been “outraged by the arrest of more than a dozen schoolchildren.” Contrary to a myth that has since taken hold, these demonstrations were hardly peaceful. Protesters set fire to the local Ba’ath Party headquarters, as well as to the town’s main courthouse and a branch of SyriaTel. Some protesters shot at the police, who returned fire. [2] One can imagine the reaction of the New York City Police to protesters in Manhattan setting fire to the federal court building, firebombing the Verizon building and opening fire on police.

Ministers agree to arm Syria militants
When the stakes are high, then it is time to up your game. This is according to US Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the Syrian situation.
Though it may be just a game to Kerry and his allies, it is serious business for the Syrian people.
After tens of thousands have been killed, along with infrastructure that has been destroyed, the Americans and their Qatari allies want to up the ante and send more money and arms to insurgents, whom Russian President Vladimir Putin label as organ eaters

Webster Tarpley’s radioprogram 22 juni – Kerry Coup to Start Bombing Syria Fails, Rebuffed by Obama’s Hand-Picked JCS Chair; Washington Post Reveals that Chemical Weapons Rap Against Assad is Baseless

UN: Impossible to determine Syria chemical attack perpetrator

Press TV – Syria militants receieve anti-tank, anti-aircraft weapons: FSA member

A spokesman for the foreign-backed Takfiri militants in Syria says the armed groups have been supplied with heavy weapons including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles by ‘brotherly nations.’

‘Friends of Syria’ agree to arm Syria militants

US leaves 700 troops in Jordan after training exercise: Obama

22 jun

UPPDATERING

Christof Lehmann – Qatari Military Officers Supplied Chemical Weapons to Syria Insurgents. Turkey was Informed

Chemicals, which were used in a chemical weapons attack against Syrian civilians in the Khan al-Asal district of Aleppo in March 2013, have been delivered to the insurgents by two Qatari military officers. The Qatari officers transported the chemicals through Turkey. Turkish authorities had foreknowledge and approved of the operation. The chemical weapons attack in Khan al-Asal killed at least 25 and injured more than 100 Syrian civilians.
The information was published by the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, which states that the intelligence is part of security information from “a certain regional state”

Passar på att påminna om artikeln där vitten till händelsen i Khan al-Asal i mars, som det talas om i artikeln ovan, får komma till tals – Syria chemical weapons: finger pointed at jihadists

Michel Chossudovsky – Israeli Intelligence News: Syria Rebels Possess Chemical Weapons, US-NATO Delivering Heavy Weapons to the Terrorists

The following report by the Israeli Intelligence news outlet Debka (quoting Turkish police sources acknowledges that Al Nusrah rather than Syrian government forces have chemical weapons in their possession:

från globalresearch.ca – The Imperial Agenda in Syria. GRTV Feature Interview with Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky – Fighting Al Qaeda by Supporting Al Qaeda in Syria: The Obama Administration is a “State Sponsor of Terrorism”

english.ruvr.ru – Kerry calls for support to end Syria ‘imbalance’

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday that supporters of the Syrian opposition will step up military and other aid in a bid to end an ”imbalance” on the ground in President Bashar al-Assad’s favour.
Kerry, speaking at a ”Friends of Syria” conference of foreign ministers in Qatar, said Washington remained committed to a peace plan that includes a conference in Geneva and a transitional government picked both by Assad and the opposition.

english.ruvr.ru – Syria talks agree military aid to rebels: statement

Foreign minister of countries supporting the Syrian opposition on Saturday agreed to provide it ”urgently” with materiel to support rebels in their fight against regime forces, a final statement said.
The ministers agreed to ”provide urgently all the necessary materiel and equipment to the opposition on the ground, each country in its own way in order to enable them to counter brutal attacks by the regime and its allies and protect the Syrian people,” it said.

Margaret Kimberley – Obama’s Syrian Press Pass: The Media are Loyal to the System, not to their Profession

The corporate media are the megaphones of humanitarian death, as dispensed by the U.S. and its allies. If Obama says “Assad must go,” the high-paid press do all in their power to make the public crave his blood. “The media are loyal to the system, not to their profession, their readers, or their listeners.”
The existence of a compliant media plays a major role in allowing American presidents to create so much violence and chaos around the globe. Far from being a check on officialdom, the press are part and parcel of the machine which crushes so many lives in this country and abroad.
Long gone are the days of the Pentagon Papers, when media outlets competed with one another to break stories which officialdom wanted to keep hidden. Now the press lords work hand in hand with politicians to make certain that they have carte blanche whenever they want it.
…
It is best to assume that presidents and members of congress are lying when they make justifications for waging war. The media must also be added to the liars’ list. They have little interest in giving us easily provable facts when there is favor in need of currying. History will judge not only our political leaders harshly, but every institution which aided and abetted them. The corporate media ought to be placed at the top of that ignominious list.

”Arming Syria militants West’s huge mistake”, an interview with Entifadh Qanbar, Middle East expert

slut på uppdateringen ___________________________

Christof Lehmann – Spain Breaks Up Al-Qaeda Cell Recruiting for Syria. EU Split over Illegal Syria War

In an early morning raid on Friday, Spanish security forces have broken up an al-Qaeda linked terrorist network, based in northern Africa. The terrorist cell was under suspicion of sending fighters, including minors to Syria.

Press TV – UN rejects US claim on Syria chemical weapons

UN experts say they do not confirm the claims by the United States, France and Britain that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the militants.
…
“If you are the opposition and you hear” that the White House has drawn a red line on the use of nerve agents, then “you have an interest in giving the impression that some chemical weapons have been used,” said Rolf Ekeus, a Swedish scientist who headed UN weapons inspections in Iraq during the 1990s, the article read.

english.ruvr.ru – US leaves about 700 combat-ready troops in Jordan after training exercise

english.ruvr.ru – CIA and US special forces secretly training Syrian rebels – report – AB – USA utbildar syriska rebeller

english.ruvr.ru – What’s beyond the “Red Line” – a view from Moscow

The White House has once again drawn a “Red Line” saying that it possesses information about the use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces, and this demands American interference in the civil war in Syria. It’s significant that American policy planners lack fantasy. Without inventing anything new, they are repeating step-by-step the awful spectacle that was played by Washington ten years ago when a similar “Red Line” was discovered in Iraq by American pathfinders.

voltairenet.org – G8: Cameron contemplates a military dictatorship in Syria

According to the Times of London, British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested to his NATO partners the idea of assassinating President Bashar al-Assad and organizing a military coup in Damascus.
In such a scenario, the new Syrian leader would break with the anti-Israeli resistance, while most of the Baathist apparatus would remain in power.
This is not the first time that ”the camp of democracy” plans to set up a military dictatorship in Syria.

voltairenet.org – ”Friends of Syria” meeting in Doha: 110 no-shows out of 121 members

The ”Friends of Syria” are scheduled to meet on 22 June 2013 in Doha (Qatar). Discussions will focus on arms shipments to the ”Free Syrian Army,” in the presence of its ”chief of staff” General Salim Idriss.
The 11 participants, to whom General Salim Idriss already submitted his list of grievances on 14 June, regard him as an eminent interlocutor. However, despite his title, there is no such thing as an ”FSA joint chiefs of staff,” but merely a coordination by NATO of groups fighting under this label.
For all of that, out of 121 Member States, only 11 will take part in the meeting (Germany, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, United States, France, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, United Kingdom and Turkey). The other 110 members will keep a safe distance.

telegraph.co.uk – Syria: ‘I saw rebels execute my boy for no more than a joke’

This mini-report from ANNA gives an update on the progress that the Syrian Army is making by defeating the terrorists of the ”Free Syrian Army” (FSA) and al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front) in various parts of the country, from al-Quneitra to Damascus and Homs.

21 jun

Press TV – Senators introduce bill to block US arming Syria militants

Four bipartisan US senators have introduced a bill aimed at prohibiting the administration of President Barack Obama from providing military assistance to militants in Syria.

20 jun

Christof Lehmann – Russian Top-Diplomats elicit Difference between Russian and Western Engagement in Syria

Several Russian Top-Diplomats have reiterated, that there is a difference between the Russian and Western engagement in Syria. The differences are, among other, that one side adheres to international law while the other is violating it. Russia stands firm in its rejection of any foreign powers attempts to impose a solution on Syria, reiterates the need for an international conference, and points out, that the “opposition” fails to work toward an international conference.

Syria News 20.6.2013
* Moscow: al-Nusra will get western weapons if imported to Syria
* A large container vessel, carrying weapons to the armed gangs in Syria, crashes, off the Yemeni shores
* Army kills terrorists, seizes weapons in several provinces
* Protestors demand Erdogan to quit, demonstrations continue

19 jun

Finian Cunningham – Putin stands up to G8 warmongers on Syria, reaffirming support for Assad govt.

Russian President Vladimir Putin can take credit for standing up to the G8 warmongers on Syria. Thanks to the feisty Russian leader’s political courage, an all-out war in Syria may have been averted – at least for now.

Press TV –John Kerry called for ‘immediate’ airstrikes on Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for “immediate” airstrikes on Syria following the White House’s claim that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against foreign-backed militant groups.
At a White House meeting last Wednesday, Kerry ”vociferously” pushed for air strikes on Syrian airfields, Bloomberg reports.
Kerry had postponed a trip to the Middle East to attend the White House meetings where senior U.S. officials discussed “all options” against Syria.
His call for airstrikes was met with resistance as General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that a series of budget cuts known as sequestration had undermined the Pentagon’s ability to implement such a plan.
Gen. Dempsey also said that Kerry’s plan lacked clear entrance and exit strategies, noting that taking out Syrian airfields could not be achieved by simply dropping “a few bombs,” rather it would require more than 700 airstrikes, according to Bloomberg.

Press TV – Al-Nusra Front assassinates Free Syrian Army officers: Report

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front has assassinated a large number of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) officers, a report says.
The Arabi-Press report also said the al-Nusra Front systematically threatens the families of FSA officers.
Fearing the influence of al-Nusra Front, most FSA officers do not have the courage to speak out about numerous treasons committed by the al-Qaeda offshoot against the ongoing revolt in Syria.

Jason Ditz – In Drills, US and Jordan Prepare to Attack Syria, ‘Eager Lion’ Drills Seem a Little Too Eager

Manlio Dinucci – The ”Lion, eager” to tear Syria to pieces

G8 Final Communiqué, Lough Erne 2013

english.ruvr.ru – Ban Ki-moon for speedily convening conference on Syria

english.ruvr.ru – No new arms deal with Syria – Putin’s aide

Russia has been implementing the contracts signed with the legitimate Syrian government on perfectly legal grounds, Voice of Russia’s Margarita Bogatova has cited the Kremlin’s top foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov as saying Thursday.
Mr. Ushakov added no new arms deals have been put through as of yet.

syrianews.cc – John McCain’s Barbarian Friends Target Another Scientist, in Damascus

Yesterday, June 18, a coward sociopath remotely detonated an IED attached to the car of Dr. Seham Dannoun, with her in it. Professor Dannoun was rushed to the hospital, where physicians were forced to perform bilateral above the knee amputations on her, as her femurs were shattered, her musculature decimated, and her veins and arteries completely gone.
Dr. Dannoun is the most recent of leading Syrian professors targeted for assassination, including professors of cardio-thoracic surgery, and architectural and nuclear engineering.

syriareport.net – Footage shows brutal execution in Aleppo

Footage showing the brutal execution of three people has gone viral on social media. The video, sent to Syria Report, shows a number of men, some of them armed, holding a man down, with his hands bound.
Two militants proceed to take turns in beheading the man. One of the men has a handheld transceiver clipped to his waist, while another carries handcuffs.

Russian Advanced Weapons for Syria: Unrevealed Secrets of Vladimir Putin’s Recent Visit to London

During his recent visit to London and meeting with British Prime Minister Cameron, President Putin passed on a message to the US and France in response to their recent announcement that they will arm the [Al Nusrah] fighters in Syria.
As Russia is a sovereign nation dealing with the sovereign, legitimate government of Syria, some new arms which have never left Russia before [never previously deployed in Syria] will be delivered to the Syrian military.
The Patriot Missiles will be hit and repealed with S 300 SAM [already installed in Syria].
…
A British intelligence report stated that Putin went to London bringing his own Russian cooked food and did not consume anything from Britain including water as he even brought his own water with him reportedly because he had concerns of being poisoned.

Ajamu Baraka – The Empire’s New Clothes: The Naked Imperialism of “Humanitarian Intervention”

18 jun

Russia wasn’t isolated at G8, not all agree Assad used chemical weapons

Putin: Arming Syria militants could one day end up in Europe

english.ruvr.ru – Russia, U.S. have forged broader common ground on Syria – Ryabkov

Moscow and Washington are drawing nearer in their approaches to the Syrian settlement, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. ”First of all, one must state that common ground is growing between Russia and the United States on Syria,” Ryabkov said. Voice of Russia correspondent at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, reported.
Disagreements persist on the Syrian problem, but chances for holding a conference in Geneva have grown, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. ”In the Russian side’s opinion, chances for an early convocation of the conference – without specifying the date – have grown,” he said.

english.ruvr.ru – Statements on Assad’s future in final communique would be unacceptable for Russia – Ryabkov

Statements on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s future in the G8’s final communique would upset the political balance being formed for the Syrian settlement, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Voice of Russia correspondent in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, reported.
”This would be unacceptable for the Russian side. Moreover, this would-be absolutely wrong, and in our opinion, fully upset the political balance being formed with such difficulty in the interests of maintaining a reasonable process,” Ryabkov said in Lough Erne.

Russia Today – Russia promises to veto no-fly zone in Syria

Jag fastnade särskilt för en kommentar till den här artikeln på Russia Today – Moscow tut-tuts arms supplies to Syrian ‘liberated areas’ citing Hatla massacre

America has lost the propaganda war and now resorts to thinly veiled lies that everyone can see through. They lost the propaganda war simply because, unlike in 1991 where they practically dictated the information available to to the international public, they no longer control information and people all over the world now call them out on their propaganda. More damaging is the fact that America’s Middle Eastern ”allies” who are involved in these attack on Syria are some of the least democratic states on the planet so, the arguement for ”freedom” and ”democracy” ; doesn’t wash.

Doug Bandow – The Biggest Fool of All

Despite his evident reluctance to take America into the Syrian civil war, President Barack Obama appears to be traveling down that road step-by-step. He has decided the U.S. will provide weapons to the insurgents. If that action fails to transform the conflict, he will face increasing pressure for Washington to do more. And if he does, he risks involving the country in another senseless conflict — and ruining his presidency in the process.
It may be pure coincidence, but the president acted only after Bill Clinton warned that the current occupant of the Oval Office could end up looking like a “total wuss” and being “lame” if he did not intervene in the Syrian killfest.
…
It’s bad enough if President Obama made his decision because he genuinely believes that the U.S. needs to fight another war in another Muslim nation. It’s far worse if the president acted to ensure that he doesn’t look like a wuss and a fool. For there’s no bigger wuss and fool than someone who allows Bill Clinton to manipulate him into going to war.

17 jun

Intervju med Syriens president Al-Assad i en tysk tidning, en dålig engelsk översättning, isyriareport.net
(kanske är översättningen bättre HÄR)

english.ruvr.ru – US and Russia want to stop violence in Syria and push both sides to negotiating table

Russia and the United States disagree on how to end the conflict in Syria but want the bloodshed to stop and the warring parties brought to the negotiating table, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
”Our positions do not fully coincide, but we are united by the common intention to end the violence, to stop the number of victims increasing in Syria, to resolve the problems by peaceful means, including the Geneva talks,” Putin said after talks with U.S. President Barack Obama at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.

Press TV – Russia not to permit no-fly zone over Syria: Foreign Ministry

Russia will not permit the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Syria, Foreign Ministry spokesman says following reports that US and its allies are planning such a move.
“I think that we will not permit in principle such a scenario,” Alexander Lukashevich said at a news briefing on Monday.
”We saw with the example of Libya how such a zone is introduced and how such decisions are implemented. We do not want a repeat of this in respect to the Syria conflict,” he added.
Reports that the US government was preparing to impose a no-fly zone over Syria were fuelled after Pentagon confirmed on Saturday that the US will keep its F-16 warplanes and Patriot anti-aircraft missiles in Jordan after the end of the joint drill this month.
”All these maneuvers about no-fly zones and humanitarian corridors are a direct consequence of a lack of respect for international law,” Lukashevich added.

Press TV – Qatar, Israeli regime discuss arming Syrian militants

An Israeli regime’s coordinator has met Qatari officials in London to discuss arms deliveries to Syrian foreign-backed militants, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported.
The report cited unnamed Qatari government security sources as saying that the regime’s Coordinator on Syrian Affairs Afif Shavit and Qatari officials agreed during their meeting in London late in May to cooperate to arm the Syrian militants.

almanar.com.lb – Syrian Army Progresses towards Al-Bahdaleyya South-East Sayyeda Zeinab Shrine

Peter Dale Scott – Washington’s Battle Over Syrian Foreign Policy: Will Hawks Or Doves Prevail?

Sarin Gas Use in Syria. “This Has Tonkin Gulf Written All Over It”: Pat Buchanan

Christof Lehmann – Dumas, “Top British Officials Confessed to Syria War Plans Two Years before Arab Spring”

Whether Dumas will ever have to testify before an international war crimes tribunal under oath and risk of perjury, to tell a judge who exactly the “top British officials” were, who attempted to recruit Dumas, who allegedly rejected the offer of “taking part” is doubtful as long as the International Criminal Court, ICC at The Hague remains the sole option for the prosecution of war crimes.

UK preplanned war on Syria?

nyhetsbanken.se – Israels Golanpoker

Troligtvis kommer zonen att fortsätta att bli en reservoar för ackumulering av en terroristarmé, särskilt om USA beslutar att ge väpnat stöd till terroristerna i Syrien. Desto mer så eftersom den aktuella operationen ”Northern Storm” för att torka ut rebellgrupper nära Aleppo kommer att ha samma resultat som verksamheten i al-Qusayr: de omringade terroristerna kommer att söka skydd.
Det ser ut som om väst är angelägna att skapa en ny ”fristad” åt dem.
Med tanke på att situationen i Turkiet troligen inte tillåter landets regering att fortsätta att aktivt stödja rebellerna, skulle Golanhöjderna kunna få en ökad betydelse för rebellerna. Varken Washington eller Bryssel eller Tel Aviv är det minsta avskräckta av Golanhöjdernas juridiska status som en demilitariserad zon. I krig åsidosätts de moraliska frågorna.

nyhetsbanken.se – Anhöriga till gisslan stämmer John McCain

16 jun

Press TV – Powerful explosion rocks Syrian capital Damascus

A powerful explosion has rocked the al-Mazzah neighborhood in the Syrian capital Damascus, witnesses say.

Thierry Meyssan – Sarin gas is as volatile as Washington’s promises

Did Syria or did she not use sarin gas against its armed opposition? After poring over newspaper columns, Paris, London and Washington came up with a positive answer. The red line had apparently been crossed. War would therefore be imminent. In reality, this media game comes too late. In terms of international law, Syria is not a signatory to the chemical weapons Convention and may use them freely. Moreover, inventing that Damascus has used weapons of mass destruction is a perfectly futile ploy, considering that the war is practically over.
…
Once accepted that sarin gas was used by the regular army, the White House has a legal argument for doing what it has done illegally since the beginning of the conflict: supply arms to the ”Contras” [4]. Rushing into the breach, General Salim Idriss, commander of the Free Syrian Army has ordered anti-tank rockets and surface-to-air missiles. They can be helpful, but not decisive, because what his ”army” needs is men much more than hardware. However, U.S. deliveries should be limited to small arms and ammunition: the war is coming to an end. Washington no longer hopes to conquer Syria, just to have the FSA liquidate the Al-Nusra Front. Those who believed in Washington’s promises will pay the costs. Turkey is paralyzed by a political uprising against the Muslim Brotherhood, incarnated by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while Washington has forced the Emir Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar to yield the throne to his son Tamim. The moment of the new division of the Middle East, between Russians and Americans, is at our doorstep.

english.ruvr.ru – ‘Russia supplies arms to legitimate government of Syria, we are not breaching any international laws’ – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that both Russia and Britain want the conflict in Syria to be settled as soon as possible. ”The blood is on the hands of both parties in Syria”, Putin said speaking at the joint conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
”One should hardly back those who kill their enemy and eat their organs and all that is filmed,” he said referring to recent rebel footage.
”Do you want to support these? Do you want to supply arms to these people?”
”It has hardly any relation to the humanitarian and cultural values that Europe has been professing for centuries,” he continued.

english.ruvr.ru – Saudi Arabia plans to supply anti-aircraft missiles to Syrian rebels

Saudi Arabia plans to supply the Syrian opposition with anti-aircraft missiles to counter President Bashar al-Assad’s air force, German news weekly Der Spiegel reported Sunday.
The article, citing a classified report received by the German foreign intelligence service and the German government last week, said Riyadh was looking at sending European-made Mistral-class MANPADS, or man-portable air-defence systems.
Der Spiegel noted the shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles can target low-flying aircraft including helicopters and had given mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan a decisive edge against Soviet troops in the 1980s.
Saudi Arabia is a key supporter of the Syrian rebels and has long advocated providing them with better weaponry.

Patrick Cockburn – Only an all-out war can depose Assad. Anything less is like being ‘half-pregnant’, World View: Syria’s insurgents cannot win just by getting a few more weapons. If the West intervenes, it will be as a main player

Better by far for the G8 leaders to compel all parties in Syria to go to Geneva, agree a ceasefire, establish a UN mission in Syria to monitor it, and then seek to negotiate long-term solutions.

Tim Marshall – Syria: Obama’s Response Is Not All It Seems, An ambiguous statement from the White House on Syria’s use of chemical weapons does not mean Barack Obama is ready for action

Press TV – UN anti-Syria resolution biased: Russian Foreign Ministry

Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly criticized as ”one-sided” the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) recent resolution against Syria, calling on the international community to change its approach to the crisis in the Arab country.
In a Saturday statement, Russian Foreign Ministry said, “The resolution is biased and counterproductive.”
The ministry also stated that the resolution, initiated by the United States, Britain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, ignored the atrocities of the foreign-sponsored militants including those against women and children.
“It [the resolution] is directed against the government of Syria and ignores the crimes committed by … opposition,” the statement added.

Press TV – Syria rally hits US embassy in London

Hundreds of protesters calling for an end to the conflict in Syria and western intervention in the country have rallied outside the US embassy in London.
Around 400 demonstrators carried Syrian flags as well as placards reading “Hands Off Syria” and “Don’t be fooled again”, in reference to the claims of chemical weapons use in Syria and its similarities with the falsifications about weapons of mass destruction claims before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Israeli Professor: Assad Won, Global Media Cannot Be Trusted
Israeli University of Haifa Professor, Kais Firro, who is an expert on Syrian and Lebanese affairs has stated on Israeli TV that Syrian President has not only won militarily but also the public opinion battle, while indicating that the Global Media cannot be trusted and that most Syrians trust local Syrian news outlets.

Här syns han då på bild, den fd utrikesministern från Frankrike, Roland Dumas, som citerades i gårdagens inlägg!

Om Carla Del Ponte, som i en FN-rapport sade sig sig ha fått uppgifter som pekade mot att de sk rebellerna använt kemiska vapen, från början av maj – UN accuses Syrian rebels of carrying out sarin gas attacks which had been blamed on Assad’s troops

Webster Tarpleys radioprogram 15 juni – Obama Takes Half-Step Towards Abyss in Syria; After Qusayr, Terrorist Death Squads Face Defeat in Aleppo

Michel Chossudovsky på Press TV – Obama orders arming Syria militants