Libya’s new rulers offer weapons to Syrian rebels


Syrian rebels held secret talks with Libya's new authorities on Friday, aiming to secure weapons and money for their insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

By Ruth Sherlock, in Misurata

11:34PM GMT 25 Nov 2011

At the meeting, which was held in Istanbul and included Turkish officials, the Syrians requested "assistance" from the Libyan representatives and were offered arms, and potentially volunteers.

"There is something being planned to send weapons and even Libyan fighters to Syria," said a Libyan source, speaking on condition of anonymity. " There is a military intervention on the way. Within a few weeks you will see."

The Telegraph has also learned that preliminary discussions about arms supplies took place when members of the Syrian National Council [SNC] – the country's main opposition movement – visited Libya earlier this month.

"The Libyans are offering money, training and weapons to the Syrian National Council," added Wisam Taris, a human rights campaigner with links to the SNC.

The disclosure came as rebels raided an air force base outside the city of Homs and killed six pilots, according to a statement by the country's military.

Rebel attacks have become daily occurrences since the onset of the insurrection. The conflict has claimed at least 3,500 lives, mainly as part of a crackdown by the government.

Syria's regime has continued to defy pressure from the Arab League, ignoring yesterday's deadline to accept the deployment of 500 human rights observers, raising the possibility that economic sanctions may be agreed this weekend.

Last month, Libya's interim government became the first in the world to recognise Syria's opposition movement as the country's "legitimate authority".

Large shipments of weapons have not yet been sent, said activists, mainly because of logistical difficulties. But proposals for a "buffer zone" inside Syria, monitored by the Arab League, or the likely emergence of an area inside the country controlled entirely by rebels could solve this problem.
"The [Libyan] council's offer is serious," said Mr Taris. Turkey, which has denounced President Assad's regime, is already sheltering about 7,000 Syrian opposition activists, including the leader of the Free Syrian Army, the nascent rebel movement, in a "safe zone" along Turkey's border with Syria.
Sources in the Libyan town of Misurata suggested that some weapons may already have been sent. Some smugglers were caught selling small arms to Syrian buyers in Misurata, said a man who trafficked guns to Libya's rebels during the country's civil war.

Post-conflict Libya is awash with arms, many of them taken from the vast military stores maintained by Col Mummar Gaddafi's regime. Kalashnikov assault rifles, modern missiles and even tanks found their way into Libya.

Libyans feel closely aligned to the Syrian cause, said Hameda al-Mageri, from the Tripoli Military Council. "Bashar sent Gaddafi weapons when he was fighting us. There are hundreds of people who want to go to fight in Syria, or help in other ways if they can."

But Libyan officials deny the claims. "This is what you hear in the street," said Ramadan Zarmoh, the leader of the Misurata military council. "Officially there is none of this. I would never send any fighters to fight outside the country."

Ministers from the Arab League are expected to meet in Cairo over the weekend to consider sanctions on Syria.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, and his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, on Friday pledged to keep up talks with Syrian opposition groups in an attempt to support a transition to a stable democracy.

"They were clear on the importance of the Syrian regime accepting the Arab League's initiative to end the violence and they agreed on the need to continue talking to the Syrian opposition movements to support the transition to an inclusive and stable democracy," a Downing Street spokesman said.
Measures under consideration are believed to include suspending all flights to Syrian airports, halting any transactions with the country's central bank and freezing any Syrian government bank accounts. However, it remains unclear whether there is sufficient support to introduce them. Lebanon has publicly opposed sanctions.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Media Lies Used to Provide a Pretext for Another "Humanitarian War": Protest in Syria: Who Counts the Dead?

by Julie Lévesque

 

Global Research, November 25, 2011

 

According to numerous reports from the Western media, human rights organisation, as well as the UN, countless peaceful civilians have been killed by the Syrian forces since the beginning of the unrest in the country in mid March. But where do the numbers come from?

Many media reports on the alleged deadly repression by the Syrian government fail to mention the sources of their information, which are very often referred to solely as "human rights groups" or "activists":

"Rights groups said Sunday that troops cracking down on pro-democracy protesters killed eight people in northern Idlib province and four more in central areas near Hama. (Syrian Forces Kill 12 as ICRC Head Visits Damascus, Voice of America, September 4, 2011.)

These protests are an unprecedented challenge to President Bashar al-Assad — and his family, which has ruled the country for more than 40 years. The cost has been high: at least 200 dead, according to human rights groups, and many cyber activists have been jailed. (Deborah Amos, Syrian Activist In Hiding Presses Mission From Abroad, NPR, April 22, 2011.)

At least 75 people have been killed today in Syria during mass protests, local human rights activists told Amnesty International [...]

Thirty were killed in the southern town of Izzra’, 22 in Damascus, 18 in the Homs area and the rest in other towns and villages, activists said [...] (Scores killed in Syria as 'Great Friday' protests are attacked, Amnesty International, April 22, 2011.)

Although the necessity to remain "anonymous" where dissent is said to be life threatening may under certain circumnstances be understandable, this stance inevitably raises suspicions: The "'numbers" can be used to demonize the government, as part of covert operations by any state or organisation looking for regime change in Damascus. It is no secret that the overthrow of the Syrian regime has been a long-sought goal by several foreign powers, including the U.S. and Israel.

The reliance of the mainstream media on information emanating from anonymous groups provides a biased understanding of the Syrian protests, which in turn supports the broader objective of destabilizing the Syrian regime.

When information from unknown sources pertaining to the death toll is published either by a mainstream media or a recognized human rights group, it is invariably picked up and considered as "factual evidence" by other news sources or think tanks, without further verification. Moreover, in the process the information is subject to further distortion. Here is an example of this phenomenon:

Rights group Amnesty International said on Friday that it has recorded the names of 171 people killed since the first protesters died in Daraa on March 18.

The group based its tally on information received from rights activists, lawyers and other sources and said the majority appeared to have been killed by live ammunition fired by the security forces. (Protesters killed in southern Syria, Al Jazeera, April 9, 2011.)

The above news article is based on the following statement by Amnesty International:

At least 171 people are believed to have been killed during three weeks of unrest in Syria, Amnesty International said today after at least eight more fatalities during protests.

The death toll from today's clashes could rise significantly, according to reports from human rights activists in the country.

Amnesty International has recorded the names, via information received from sources including human rights activists and lawyers, of 171 people killed. (Death toll rises amid fresh Syrian protests, Amnesty International, April 8, 2011.)

The original information from Amnesty international (AI) is that “171 people are believed to have been killed”, a statement showing that although “it has recorded the names of 171 people killed”, this information could not be confirmed. Al Jazeera fails to report this "uncertainty" and by doing so makes it a fact rather than an assumption, that 171 people were killed.

Here is another example of blatant distortion:

Despite a pledge to end its crackdown, Syrian security forces continued to suppress anti-regime protestors, killing at least eighteen on Thursday in the city of Homs (al-Jazeera). (Jonathan Masters, Assad's Broken Promises, Council on Foreign Relations, November 3, 2011.)

This is an analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations, the famous and extremely powerful U.S. foreign policy think tank. It is based on the following article from Al Jazeera where the information related to the killing is markedly different:

"Dozens of people have reportedly been killed in the flashpoint city of Homs, as Syrian security forces bombarded residential areas with tanks.

The reported deaths occurred in the Bab Amro district of Homs on Thursday, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an activist group monitoring the country's uprising, said. (Syria “violence defies peace deal”," Al Jazeera, November 4, 2011.)

Al Jazeera’s wording “reportedly been killed” and “reported deaths” shows the deaths have not been confirmed. The Qatari media also mentions that these claims come from one source only, namely from an activist group called Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC). The article from the CFR changed Al Jazeera’s allegations into concrete facts.

When it comes to counting the dead, the LCC is very often cited in the mainstream media as a source for reports on killings committed by the Syrian authorities, as we can see in the examples below:

Another opposition group, the Local Coordination Committees, said it could not corroborate the Syrian Observatory’s account of the military casualties, though it also called Monday one of the uprising’s bloodier days, with at least 51 civilians killed. “We don’t have any confirmation of what they’re claiming,” said Omar Idlibi, a spokesman for the Local Coordination Committees. (Nada Bakri and Rick Gladstone, Syria Faces New Threats as Opposition Seeks Allies, The New York Times, November 15, 2011.)

According to the opposition network, the Local Coordination Committees, at least five people were killed during the military offensives -- three in the central province of Homs, one in the eastern border town of Tal Kalakh and one in Idleb along the Syrian-Turkish border. (Roula Hajjar, Syria: Activists report manhunt for defectors and protesters, Los Angeles Times, September 5, 2011.)

Secret police opened fire and shot teargas to disperse more than 10,000 protesters in Deir Ezzour, in Syria’s tribal east, an activist from the Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union (SRCU) told Al Jazeera. Ten protesters were wounded and around 40 were arrested, he said.

The SRCU is the name given this week to one of Syria's grassroots opposition networks. The SRCU works alongside the Local Coordinating Committees (LCC), another grassroots opposition network. (Al Jazeera Live Blog – Syria, June 3, 2011.)

At least 2,200 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the unrest, by the United Nations’ count. An activist group, the Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union, said on Tuesday that 551 people were killed during Ramadan alone. The group said 130 others were killed on July 31, the eve of Ramadan, in an attack on the city of Hama, which was also the scene of a ferocious crackdown in 1982.

On Tuesday, four people were killed in Hara and two others in Inkil, two towns in Dara’a Province, according to the Local Coordination Committees, another group of activists who document demonstrations. (Nada Bakri, Syrian Security Forces Fire on Worshipers as Ramadan Ends, The New York Times, August 30, 2011.)

The above article mentions a "UN count" as if it were an independent source of information. However, according to one of its reports, the UN also relies on the same sources of information, the LCC, and it mentions in a note that it is unable to confirm if the information given by the LCC is true:

"At the time of writing, the mission had received more than 1,900 names and details of persons killed in the Syrian Arab Republic since mid-March 2011; all are said to be civilians [26]

26. This information is compiled by local coordinating committees active within the Syrian Arab Republic in documenting the names and details of victims. The mission is unable to verify independently this information." (United Nations, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic - A/HRC/18/53, September 15, 2011.)

What are the Local Coordination Committees (LCC)?

According to the Christian Science Monitor, the LCC is part of the non-elected Syrian National Council (SNC). Even though most of its members are in exile and its members in Syria are unknown, the SNC is presented as the legitimate Syrian authority, and has been recognized by the National Transitional Council of Libya, another non-elected body recognized by Western powers as a "pro-democracy" representative of the Libyan people.

"Syrian opposition leaders meeting Sunday in Turkey formally created the Syrian National Council, bringing together most of the disparate groups seeking to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The council includes the Local Coordination Committees, which has organized most of the protests across the country; the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood; and Kurdish groups; among others, the Associated Press reports. Almost half the members are from inside the country, according to the Washington Post, overcoming a key concern that the council would rely to (sic) heavily on exiles. (Ariel Zirulnick, Syrian oppositon groups formally unify, overcoming key hurdle, October 3, 2011.)

The LCC are somewhat "anonymous". They refused a telephone interview, but agreed to answer some questions by email. They stated that for security reasons they could not reveal how many members the LCC includes, but claim 13 members of the LCC are in the SNC. “We have enough people to run demonstrations on ground, for media and relief action.”


LCC Logo

The members allegedly come from different backgrounds and are from all age groups; some are active inside Syria, the others outside the country. The LCC says that their members, in and outside Syria, have been threatened, arrested and tortured by the Syrian authorities. When asked how they became a source of information for the foreign media, the LCC says it is because they provide credible facts.

And what is the ultimate goal of the LCC? “Our goal is to change the regime in Syria, and as the first step, to end the mandate of the current President, who is now politically and legally responsible for the crimes committed by his regime against the Syrian people and a safe transfer of power in the country.”

Basically, the LCC wants regime change in Syria and it seems to be the major source of information for the western mainstream media and human rights organizations. This opposition group claims to provide “credible facts”, however there is no way to verify these facts. The so-called facts could well be propaganda intended to discredit the actual regime and galvanize public opinion in favour of the regime change the group aspires to implement.

Although the LCC spokesperson refused to disclose the names of its members, some have appeared in the mainstream media. One of their members, or collaborator, is Rami Nakhle, a cyberactivist living in exile in Beirut, Lebanon.

“Today, after 98 days of protests, he is living in denial,” says Rami Nakhle, a Syrian working in Beirut with the Local Coordination Committees, a clearinghouse for Syrian opposition protests and activities “It has become clear to everybody that Bashar al-Assad cannot change. He doesn’t realize that Syria has changed forever but he’s still the same president we heard last time, in April.” (Nicholas Blanford, Assad's speech may buy time, but not survival, The Christian Science Monitor, June 20, 2011)

The activist has a privileged relationship with Al Jazeera, according to NPR:

When the Arabic channel Al-Jazeera broadcasts the latest news, the images come from Nakhle's network. (Deborah Amos, Syrian Activist In Hiding Presses Mission From Abroad, April 22, 2011.)

It should be noted that Al Jazeera played a key role in promoting the regime change in Libya.

CyberDissidents.org, a website presented by the Bush Center as a “Voice of Freedom Online”, offers a brief portrait of Nakhle, which is not unlike the other portraits found in the mainstream press, which describe him solely as a cyber-dissident, as if he never had any other occupation:

"Rami Nakhle is a 27 year cyber-dissident. His use of social media to spread information about the Syrian Revolution caught the attention of Syrian authorities, causing him to flee to Lebanon in January 2011. For the past three years, he has been working under the pseudonym Malath Aumran. Although the Syrian secret police have discovered his real identity, he continues to use this pseudonym to retain recognition from his online followers.

Despite these threats from the Syrian government, Nakhle continues to work in hiding, continuing his campaign for freedom through Facebook, Twitter, and full-access interviews with prominent news sources like BBC and The New York Times. (CyberDissident Database)

Portrait of Rami Nakhle on CyberDissident.org

The U.S. government and NGOs doing CIA work, such as Freedom House, are major sponsors of cyber-dissidence:

"Political dissidents from China, Iran, Russia, Egypt, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba will travel to Dallas to join with Fellows of the George W. Bush Institute, experts from Freedom House, Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the U.S. Government and other leaders in the field to discuss the successes and challenges of Internet-based political dissident movements around the world.

The George W. Bush Institute today [March 30, 2010] announced it will co-host a conference on cyber dissidents with the human rights organization Freedom House on April 19, 2010. (George W. Bush Institute and Freedom House to Convene Freedom Activists, Human Rights and Internet Experts to Assess Global Cyber Dissident Movement," Business Wire, March 30, 2011)

Rami Nakhle doesn’t hide his interests in American organisations. On his Facebook page, he lists the following as “interests”: National Democratic Institute (NDI), chaired by Madeleine Albright, Human Rights Watch and the U.S. Embassy Damascus.

Nakhle’s interest in these organisations clearly shows which side he’s on, just like SCN member Radwan Ziadeh, former fellow of the National Endowment for Democracy, another organization well-known for its links with the CIA.

In an interview with the Guardian, the cyberactivist claims to be harassed by the Syrian secret police, on his Facebook wall. It might be true, but it would be a rather unusual tactic for a secret police, which usually, as its name says, acts secretly. Such harassment is more likely to be black propaganda -- people opposed to the regime trying to make the Syrian authorities look bad. A kind of "cyber false flag" on Facebook, for everyone to see. 

The "Syrian uprising" seems to be a copy and paste of the "protest movement" in Libya, which was conducive to a NATO invasion and regime change. The mainstream press has once again one principal source of information – the opposition groups. The media neglects military casualties and fails to report that armed gunmen, 17 000 according to a report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, are among the protesters. A non-elected body, the SNC, ironically is upheld as a democratic movement and is offered "credibility" as well as extensive mainstream media coverage.

Global Research Articles by Julie Lévesque

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Zionist Bernard Henry Levy: "Settlments are not 'colonies' but 'implantations'!"

Via FLC

"... on the radio, the main news program called Forum featured a lengthy (16 min) interview of … Bernard-Henri Levy! True to himself he speaks with grandeur and uses theatrical wording to bluff. The interviewer must have been an admirer, nice questions, no contradiction. Here is my translation:

Journalist: Is it possible to place the responsibility on one side, for instance Israel doesn't want peace, the settlements that had never expanded as much as during the negotiations?
BHL: There is not one responsible, there are two. Sure Nethanhayu has his part when he multiplies the settlements, but the Palestinians bear a responsibility as heavy or more than the Israelis with their demand to freeze the colonization before returning to the negotiating table. The Palestinians say they will only negotiate if Israelis stop the "implantation," and the Israeli side says the "implantations" are part of the negotiation.
Journalist: As years go by the situation is not improving, there are more and more settlements every year, the day will come when it will not be possible to relocate them.
BHL corrects. He says he prefers "implantations" (in the French language the word colonies is directly linked the French colonialism and is badly regarded). He says it is not a colonial situation and cannot be compared with the French colonial enterprise. He went on to say that removing them would not be a problem since it represents a minute part ("infime") of the territories (such a blatant liar).
Journalist: Yes, but the best part of the land.
BHL: Well, better land … and worst land too you know. And trust me if you look back at Zionism's history since 1948, it is not the best land. One of the virtues of Zionism has been that it fructified arid land

Summary: The Swiss radio took pride in having a Swiss move, placing Switzerland in center stage, and renewing a tradition of quiet diplomacy from a neutral country without any colonial background, war or power. But that was about it.
Once again apart from a possible and hypothetic role for Mrs Micheline Calmy-Rey, what is this all about? Contrary to some commenters on Mondo, I believe it is a wholehearted, genuine initiative (not a fair one, but something to talk about), but it is led by sideline people who do not represent the civil society. I mean retired Yossi Beilin from a marginal party and Yasser Abed Rabbo who must in the PLO because he has always been in PLO and he's a buddy of the other PLOist … and ? These people must be utopian and must live in their bubble, it's as if they never look back to see if they have followers, it's as if they believe they have the right theoretical solution and do not care whether it is actually applicable or not.
Shocking to me was this lame sentence on the GI's web site: "A live broadcast of the conference at 19:00 Israel-time will be available here." Israel-time! Just to remind Palestinians that they live under Israel-time … or worse, this broadcast is for Israelis only. Bad luck though: the broadcast did not work...."

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 10:46 AM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

mishandling demonstrators

Obama is using a different gas
than the one Adolf used....

 

While, Saif el Islam Qaddafi might be tried for :

mishandling demonstrators

While, Husny + Gamal Mubarak are being tried for:

mishandling demonstrators

 

Who shall bring to a trial the "authority" that is

mishandling the "Occupy" demonstrators ??

all over Northern America .

Raja Chemayel

Posted by Tlaxcala at 10:10 PM
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

THE SYRIA CONSPIRACY

THE SYRIA CONSPIRACY PART 2

PART 1

FOUND IT!!! FLASHBACK-SYRIAWATCH-EXPOSED!HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION-Who makes the fire sound in Syria! STAGED GUNBATTLE!!!

[I HAD TO COMB FOR HOURS IN MY ARCHIVES FOR THIS VIDEO,I HAD SENT IT TO A CHAT FORUM,BUT WHEN I SEARCHED AND FOUND IT THERE,TURNS OUT IT HAD BEEN ...Hacked By Dr.eXe & Ejram-Hacker (POST WAS GONE) SO I RETURNED TO MY ARCHIVES AND AFTER COMBING I GOT IT..

ALSO SEE.. Honesty of the Syrian Revolution? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peL2CRYdlmo Syrian Revolution terrorists pretend to be dead to fluff up the death toll as they are photographed. They come back to life on video.

Posted by Nysoulcontrolla aka Ali at 8:31 AM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Erdogan to Asssad – Leave and Live

"Who’s going to stop the Zionists from using the US military to attack Iran?" asked Kevin Barrett.

"So who can stop them? Who can prevent a ruinous war on Iran?" he added, "Only the US military." he answered."

"All they need to say is: “The answer is no.”" he advised

".....The Zio-con traitors will whine: .....“Doesn’t the military have to obey executive orders and congressional mandates” ?

"Once again, the answer is no." he repeated, "If the executive orders a war crime, or congress mandates a war crime, those orders are null and void. The proper course for a military person ordered to participate in a war crime is to arrest, or in the worst-case scenario kill, the person or persons giving the illegal order." he argued. "An Israeli attack on Iran would not only be a war crime; it would be a clear example of the most terrible, most evil of all war crimes: the crime of aggression. Any US officer who participates in an attack on Iran would be committing the worst possible war crime – the worst possible crime against humanity.

If the White House and Congress ordered the US military to participate in the long-planned Zionist attack on Iran, it would be more honorable, and more legally and morally defensible, to bomb the White House and Congress to smithereens and kill all the traitors in those usurped buildings, than to fire even one bullet in anger against a people who have never attacked or threatened us.

But it shouldn’t have to come to that. If our sane military leaders (assuming that isn’t an oxymoron) make it clear that they will “just say no” if ordered to commit more war crimes – especially if the war crimes in question are part of a treasonous and suicidal attack on Iran for Israel – the bribe-sucking traitors dressed as politicians will presumably refrain from issuing any such illegal orders."

According to Kevin Barrett "Jonathan Azaziah, an Iraqi-American Muslim hailing from an ethnic Jewish background, is a 9/11 truth supporter and an outspoken critic of Zionism quited writing for Veterans Today  – and his former Veterans Today editors Gordon Duff and Jim Dean’s supporting the Libyan uprising! due to the difference of opinion over Libya". In other words for supporting Nato's war crimes in LIBYA.
In case you missed it “Attack Gadaffi to save thousands of innocent Libyans”

 In case you missed it:  Gordon Duff: AMERICA MUST ATTACK GADDAFI NOW!

Kevin Barrett is still writing for Veterans Today because He is on the same Libyan page
with Gordon Duff and Jim Dean, most likely for different reasons.   

 "Let’s face it: Qaddafi was a failure". "brother"Kevin Barrett claimed, "Where Qaddafi Failed, Islam Will Succeed," he wrote, Kadhafi "was looking for unity in all the wrong places: Arab unity, African unity, “third-world” unity." Kadhfai "was the last great Arab secular nationalist, in the mold of his hero Nasser. With his passing, Arab secular nationalism is officially dead."
Nasser was an Arabic- Muslim-progressive hero for Arabs, Muslims (Except your brotherhood), and third-world.  

No Sir...

Arab nationalism is still alive officially in Syria the Arab fort who stood firm with Iran since day one saying no and still standing firm and in realty in every Arab country. They are there in Tahrir square chanting Syria and Egypt One Hand. The real Issue is not the Golden Dinar and the Silver Dirham, the issue is would fill the vacuum, Islamic Iran and Axis of resistance, or Nato puppets lead by Nato's caliphate in Istanbul.

Get out of the box, the hands of Jim, your Dean and Gordon, your cheif editor are soacked with the blood of tens of thousand innocent Libyans. Your Dean is hailing Nato's caliphate telling Assad – Leave and Live

Now its time to save thousands of "Inncent Syrians"
But he is worried about the cost, like in Libya Jim W. Dean, is "praying for a coup…the cheapest way out. But that could turn into a bloodbath, too."
"Assad still holds some cards." the Dean of VT claimed

In fact assad still holds all his cards. So far he used only one, the overwhelming majority of his people, and his loyal army. On the opposite side, his enemies burned almost all thier cards, they still have one, "humanitarian intervention", which shall turn into a III global war. Uncle Sam is broke.The world is changing. Washington should recognize the limits of its authority and resources. And it should stop starting unnecessary wars—like in Syria..."

So, I guess, Gordon Duff, after loosing his eyes (Spies in Beirut, Syria, and Iran)  may die waiting a Syrian moment, and a "real syrian" to say: What time is it?.

Syria is not Libya, and Assad is not Kadhafi, after the fall of Saddam, the first decided to resist and fight uncle sam, not to wait his turn, while the later dropped his pantes, to be screwed later by Nato's "Real Libyans" and thats where he really failed.

"All of Israel within Iran Missile Reach"
Panetta: Iran Raid Risks World Economy
Iran Dares Israeli Attack: We Wish They’d Commit Such Mistake

---

“Fighting against your own people is not heroism, but cowardice”

by Jim W. Dean, VT Editor

Erdogan Speaks to Turkish Parliament - Nov 22nd, 2011

Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan has once again stepped up to the historical plate and hit one out of the park.
He has publicly challenged Assad not to go the way of Hitler, Mussolini, Ceausescu, and Gaddafi. I am not sure Assad is listening. He has not been so far.

Assad has pushed the envelope even more when he agreed with the Arab League to pull his troops back to the barracks, only to have them go onto the attack the next day.

It was a great humiliation and loss of face for the League, not something that they really needed or could afford.

Russia's Medvedev and Bashir Assad

Are their hypocrites among them? Of course, but they are everywhere. Throw a dart off the observation seating area in Congress and you have a better that even chance of hitting one.

But where Assad made a huge goof here, reneging on a deal in a day, that kinds of opens the door to other avenues of conflict resolution.

Assad still holds some cards. Russia has no intention of losing it’s only naval port on the Mediterranean. Iran wants to maintain it’s defense in depth with the Russian S-300 top of the line air defense missiles over Syria territory.
And China will not be leaving Iran hanging out to dry, even more so with Obama and Hillary making such a big deal over SE Asia military alliances.

The American dummies are making it very easy for China to offer a nuclear umbrella over Iran…and maybe Pakistan while they are at it. Then again, that’s what the ‘dummies’ might want.
But Erdogan is the semi wildcard here. The Israeli rhetoric has calmed down while Turkey got their F-16s upgrade package. And Gordon informed me this week that they have F-35′s on order.

Syrian Troops Continue to Desert

Have you noticed there has not been a peep in the news about oil drilling spats around Cyprus. It’s almost like if someone told all them to cool it.
I can’t imagine they got bought off, when the Super Committee turned up with dead chicken on the trillion dollars in budget cuts. Even Israel’s Iran attack hysteria has cooled down.
Meanwhile, more army troops seem to be deserting. What is happening to their families could determine whether enough joint them to turn it into a dam break.

They will need anti-armor munitions to discourage attacks against the towns.
There have been no car bombings or suicide attacks yet, but that could start up at any time. The Assad folks might even do it themselves to ‘prove’ the rebels are just terrorists, and they would not be the first. Maybe they can even borrow some frozen bodies from the Balkans from Israel that they keep in the freezer for when they need a few.

Erdogan Puts Death on the Table for Assad

News Report Text from Al Manar in Lebanon:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down for the sake of his own people and the region, reminding him of the tragic end of Adolf Hitler and ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Erdoğan said during his Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary meeting that “for the welfare of your own people and the region, just leave that seat.”

“Assad is showing up and saying he would fight to the death. For God’s Sake, against whom will you fight? Fighting against your own people is not heroism, but cowardice.

If you want to see someone who has fought until death against his own people, just look at Nazi Germany, just look at Hitler, at [Benito] Mussolini, at Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania,” he said.

“If you cannot draw any lessons from them, then look at the Libyan leader who was killed just 32 days ago in a manner none of us would wish for and who used the same expression you used.”

The prime minister referred to Assad’s remarks over the weekend, when the Syrian leader defiantly vowed to fight and die if needed as an Arab League deadline for his government to stop its lethal crackdown on protesters expired with 20 more people killed.

Condemning Monday’s attack on three buses carrying returning Turkish pilgrims to Turkey passing through Syria, Erdoğan called on Assad to find the perpetrators of the attack as well as those responsible for earlier attacks on Turkish missions in Syria.
Erdoğan has grown increasingly critical of the Syrian regime and said last week that the world must urgently “hear the screams” of Syria and do something to stop the bloodshed.
Turkey has allowed Syrian refugees and military defectors to take refuge on its soil and Syria’s political opposition has used Turkey as a place to meet and organize.
Assad’s deepening isolation and the growing calls for his ouster are a severe blow to a family dynasty that has ruled Syria for four decades and any change to the leadership could transform some of the most enduring alliances in the Middle East and beyond.

Tensions between the Syrian administration and Turkey have once again run high after three buses carrying Turkish pilgrims to Turkey from Saudi Arabia, where they had gone to perform the Islamic pilgrimage, were attacked at a check point in Syria on Monday.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the attack occurred near the central city of Homs, where Syrian activists reported at least nine people killed by security forces on Sunday. The statement said two Turkish citizens were injured in the attack.

In case you missed it: Gordon Duff Calling for unity??? What Time is It?

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian