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  1. #101
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    Not "different" TV stations.
    Sorry I should have said,"different" as in "from the crusader coalition state sponsored TV stations". I am sure that the crusader coalition has also no ulterior motives for offering "humanitarian" aid the the Syrian terrorists.

    ^ Agree nobody can identify who is bombing who.

    I do try and ask more important questions regarding the article but have yet to receive any views which dispute my concerns, Cest La vie.
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  2. #102
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Why do you think India, which sits on the Security council and does not support the sanctions against Iran, voted FOR the resolution against Syria?

    Are they part of your "crusader coalition" as well?



    (And such well known Christian luminaries as Togo, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Togo and Pakistan).

  3. #103
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Why do you think India, which sits on the Security council and does not support the sanctions against Iran, voted FOR the resolution against Syria?

    Are they part of your "crusader coalition" as well?



    (And such well known Christian luminaries as Togo, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Togo and Pakistan).
    Because india like h. clinton is giving a shit about people in syria ?

    Well if you are not totally retarded you should understand that the western governments dont care about people somewhere (syrian, libyan, iraq, vietnamese etc). So what the real reason under all this resolutions crap? Answer: replace assad with loyal vassal. Remove russian and iran ally in the region. Then proceed with Iran , then who knows. Maybe at last you will receive atomic bomb on your head.

    Siryan army fights with armed gangs ie free syrian army. Blame syrian government of all civilian casualties. Arm terrorists and blame government when it fight back. So convenient. If you are really care about people just stop arming the terrorists. Everything will be over in weeks. Not support them or you just encouraging them to continue fight, kill and be killed. Meanwhile civilians keep dying as well.
    Last edited by gas; 11-02-2012 at 01:30 PM.

  4. #104
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gas View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Why do you think India, which sits on the Security council and does not support the sanctions against Iran, voted FOR the resolution against Syria?

    Are they part of your "crusader coalition" as well?



    (And such well known Christian luminaries as Togo, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Togo and Pakistan).
    Because india like h. clinton is giving a shit about people in syria ?

    Well if you are not totally retarded you should understand that the western governments dont care about people somewhere (syrian, libyan, iraq, vietnamese etc). So what the real reason under all this resolutions crap? Answer: replace assad with loyal vassal. Remove russian and iran ally in the region. Then proceed with Iran , then who knows. Maybe at last you will receive atomic bomb on your head.

    Siryan army fights with armed gangs ie free syrian army. Blame syrian government of all civilian casualties. Arm terrorists and blame government when it fight back. So convenient. If you are really care about people just stop arming the terrorists. Everything will be over in weeks. Not support them or you just encouraging them to continue fight, kill and be killed. Meanwhile civilians keep dying as well.
    Somewhere in there I think you're following the official Syrian Government line.

    But it's hard to tell, because your grammar and punctuation are of kindergarten standard.

    But let's try just one sentence, shall we?

    Because india like h. clinton is giving a shit about people in syria ?
    Correct, and they want Assad to stop his forces from killing them simply for wanting democracy.
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  5. #105
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post

    But let's try just one sentence, shall we?

    Because india like h. clinton is giving a shit about people in syria ?
    Correct, and they want Assad to stop his forces from killing them simply for wanting democracy.
    You dont worth to speak to anymore.

  6. #106
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gas View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post

    But let's try just one sentence, shall we?

    Because india like h. clinton is giving a shit about people in syria ?
    Correct, and they want Assad to stop his forces from killing them simply for wanting democracy.
    You dont worth to speak to anymore.
    I think the phrase you are looking for is:


  7. #107
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    1:17pm UK, Saturday February 11, 2012

    Gunmen have assassinated an army general in Damascus, state media reports have said.

    The killing of Brig Gen Issa al Khouli in the Syrian capital came as shells once again rained down on the city of Homs, the epicentre of the uprising against president Bashar al Assad's regime.
    SANA said three gunmen opened fire at al Khouli in the morning as he left his home in the Damascus neighborhood of Rukn Eddine.
    Tanks fire upon Homs

    Al Khouli was a doctor and the chief of a military hospital in the capital. No one claimed responsibility for the killing.

    The attack indicates that violence in Syria is reaching the tightly controlled capital, which has been relatively quiet compared to other cities.
    Such assassinations are not uncommon outside Damascus. Army officers have been killed in the past, mostly in the restive provinces of Homs and Idlib.

    The news came as Syrian troops shelled the Baba Amr district in Homs, killing at least four people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees said 15 people were killed in Baba Amr on Saturday.

    Syrian troops have been trying to regain control of areas in Homs since last Saturday when they started a major offensive on rebel-held areas.
    Activists say up to 450 people have been killed in Homs since then.

    :: See more video and stories on our dedicated Syria page
    :: Read and watch Sky News' Alex Crawford's dispatch from Idlib
    :: Read and watch Sky News' Stuart Ramsay's report on his escape from Homs
    Sky News' Stuart Ramsay has been told rebels fear a "huge offensive" coming from the regime of Mr Assad.
    The report has come as Saudi Arabia again attempted to rally world powers around Syrian rebels by circulating a draft resolution at the United Nations General Assembly.
    The resolution is similar to the UN Security Council resolution condemning the regime that was vetoed by Russia and China in a move that triggered unusually harsh diplomatic language from the US and the UK.
    However, the Saudi resolution also calls for a UN special envoy to be appointed. General Assembly resolutions have no legal force, unlike those of the Security Council.
    British And Syrian Activist's Video Plea


    Danny Abduldayem, 22




    It is believed that up to 450 people have died in Homs, the epicentre of the rebellion against Mr Assad, alone over the past week.
    American analysts are now reportedly examining the possibility that al Qaeda may be involved in some of the attacks in Syria.
    On Friday, twin suicide car bombers carried out an attack on Syria's second city of Aleppo. The attack is believed to have killed 28 people and wounded 235.
    No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. The Syrian state blamed "armed terrorists", while the rebel Free Syria Army initially said it had carried out the attack, then quickly issued a denial.

    The New York Times has quoted unnamed analysts who said they checking whether al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq was responsible for the attack, which they said bore the hallmarks of a Sunni extremist group.
    One American official told the newspaper: "It is opportunism, plain and simple".
    In addition to the victims of the attacks in Aleppo, activists said another 44 people were killed across Syria on Friday - 28 civilians, nine soldiers and seven deserters.
    Security forces have deployed heavily outside mosques nationwide, firing on worshippers in some areas to prevent protests denouncing Russia's steadfast support for the Assad regime, activists said.
    The total number of people to have died since the uprising against Mr Assad began 11 months ago is believed to have soared past 7,000.
    :: Syria Opposition Stronghold Prepares For Attack
    :: Sky News' Stuart Ramsay's Escape From Homs
    :: Assad Regime: Who's Who
    :: Q&A: The Syria Uprising Explained



    Not sure there's enough links there, so here's another one

  8. #108
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    Al Khouli was a doctor and the chief of a military hospital in the capital.
    nice one.

  9. #109
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    Al Khouli was a doctor and the chief of a military hospital in the capital.
    nice one.
    On the face of it, seems an innocent victim, but then again you don't know what happened to protestors who might have been taken to that particular hospital....

  10. #110
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Why do you think India, which sits on the Security council and does not support the sanctions against Iran, voted FOR the resolution against Syria?

    Are they part of your "crusader coalition" as well?
    So what's your point? India doesn't give a shit about Syria's ruler, but it does give a shit about another socialist country much closer, one with (very likely) soon to have nuclear weapons, and one that is very Islamic (much like a not-so-small minority of India's) - and at present (at least) is not an enemy.

    Make better sense now?
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  11. #111
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Why do you think India, which sits on the Security council and does not support the sanctions against Iran, voted FOR the resolution against Syria?

    Are they part of your "crusader coalition" as well?
    So what's your point? India doesn't give a shit about Syria's ruler, but it does give a shit about another socialist country much closer, one with (very likely) soon to have nuclear weapons, and one that is very Islamic (much like a not-so-small minority of India's) - and at present (at least) is not an enemy.

    Make better sense now?
    None at all. If India are supporting Iran (because they need their oil and their trade), then I would imagine they'd do Iran's bidding and at least abstain from the UN resolution.

    But they didn't.

    Perhaps I should make better sense. Your "crusader coalition" is a figment of your (and George Galloway's) imagination. At least George gets money off the Iranians for peddling his bullshit.


  12. #112
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Some excerpts from the statement made by the Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri during Briefing on the Middle East (Syria) in UN Security Council:

    http://mea.gov.in/mystart.php?id=515818972

    " Resolution of this problem cannot be found in violence or armed struggle and its violent suppression. Nor can a solution be reached through prescriptions from outside. The Syrian people demand and deserve empowerment so that a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political solution can be found in an atmosphere free of violence and bloodshed. "

    "We unequivocally and strongly condemn all violence irrespective of whoever the perpetrators are and whatever justification is proffered. We also condemn all violations of human rights and rights of expression and peaceful assembly."

    "We had noted that the deployment of the League’s Observer Mission across several areas in the country had had a calming effect and are disappointed that the Mission was suspended on 28 January on account of a serious deterioration in the form of continuing violence. The report of the Observer Mission that the League made available to the Security Council clearly states that there is an armed element to the opposition which is also responsible for a number of violent acts. The continued presence and deployment of the Observers could have helped reduce the violence and present a more accurate picture of developments especially since the monitors had also confirmed that a lot of information in the media is exaggerated and misleading. The report of the Observer Mission also made an important point that the mission needs to be accompanied by a political process to address the grievances of the Syrian people, something that we strongly support. "

    "Mr President, we are firmly of the view that all sides need to cooperate with the League of Arab States. A political process must begin without any further delay. The process should be led by the Syrians and should respect Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity."


    Not quite the condemdation of the Syrian, Russian or Chinese position the crusader coalition propaganda has led some to believe.

  13. #113
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    news.outlookindia.com | CPI(M) Flays India's Stand on UNSC Resolution on Syria

    "CPI(M) today condemned the government's stand on voting for the resolution on Syria and said it should declare that it is against all efforts to "destabilize" Syria and that diplomatic efforts be pursued for a solution.

    The party Polit Bureau said in a statement that the explanation provided by the UPA government "obfuscates" the fact that a "serious attempt" is on to foment a civil war in Syria and armed groups and weaponry are being sent inside with the help of NATO allies in the region.

    Further, the talk of intervention on the ground of protecting democratic rights and liberties in Syria is "hypocritical" when given the record of many of the member states of the Arab League, like Saudi Arabia, which have the "full backing of the West for their despotic regimes", it said.

    "CPI(M) demands that the Indian government declare that it is against all efforts to destabilize the situation in Syria and that diplomatic efforts be pursued for a solution," the statement said.

    India had refused to support the resolution on Libya in the U N Security Council last year and abstained, the party said.

    It was this resolution adopted by the Security Council which paved the way for the United States and the NATO to launch a military attack and to effect a regime change there, CPI(M) said.

    The current resolution on Syria sponsored by the League of Arab States, with the backing of Western powers, would have led to a similar situation for external intervention, it said while pointing out that the resolution was, however, vetoed by Russia and China."


    Politicians in India making a point regarding the disgust at their countries decision to vote for the Syrian UNSC resolution.

  14. #114
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh
    The party Polit Bureau said in a statement that the explanation provided by the UPA government "obfuscates" the fact that a "serious attempt" is on to foment a civil war in Syria and armed groups and weaponry are being sent inside with the help of NATO allies in the region.
    That is obvious to any but the seriously stupid

    however, if you believe most of the west's news media, the Syrian army is attacking the poor civilians in Homs with artillery because they are nasty and undemocratic

  15. #115
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    At least George gets money off the Iranians for peddling his bullshit.
    You obviously don't watch the gold market whenever "problems" in Syria, Iran or Libya reaches the market.

  16. #116
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Any particular reason why this has been moved to be read only by the few?

  17. #117
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    I could give you one reason, but ********* will probably delete my post again.


  18. #118
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Hopefully now they can put in someone a little more perspicacious and trustworthy than a suspected war criminal.

    The head of a controversial Arab League observer mission to Syria has resigned, a league official said, as Arab foreign ministers meet to discuss their next move on the country's violent uprising.
    The official declined to say why general Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, a Sudanese former military intelligence officer, had decided to quit.
    A former member of the observer mission, Anwar Malek, quit in disgust last month, criticising Mr Dabi, whose suitability for the role has been questioned by human rights groups concerned about his past role in the conflict in Darfur.
    Mr Malek said the Arab observer team, which was suspended last month, was not acting independently and he felt powerless after witnessing "scenes of horror" in Syria.
    Meanwhile, foreign ministers of the Arab League have gathered in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss the Syrian uprising.
    The meeting comes amidst growing evidence that Al Qaeda is behind a series of terrorist bombings that the Syrian government and opposition have blamed on each other.
    On the agenda at the Cairo meeting are proposals for the Arab League to officially recognize the opposition Syrian National Council and to send in a new Arab League observer mission with participation by the United Nations.
    As the talks began, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported army shelling had killed at least four civilians in the central protest city of Homs, including three in the rebel stronghold of Baba Amr.
    The observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman says another 30 tanks and armed personnel carriers are on the way to Homs, which armed forces have pounded for more than week, killing at least 500 people, according to activists.
    Amateur video footage posted online allegedly shows Syrian military forces pounding the streets of the south-western city of Douma with anti-aircraft vehicles on Saturday.


    Syria has begun reinforcing its security forces in the country's second largest city Aleppo following twin car bombings there on Saturday which killed 28 people and injured hundreds more.
    US media reports citing unnamed American officials have said that the bombings in Aleppo and similar attacks in the capital Damascus in December and January are most likely to be the work of Al Qaeda.
    The terrorist group's leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, has appeared in a video released on Saturday on the group's websites urging support for the Syrian uprising.
    In the video titled Onwards, Lions of Syria, Zawahiri criticises the Syrian regime for crimes against its citizens, and praises those rising up against the government, SITE Intelligence Group reports.
    Zawahiri, shown in front of a green curtain in the eight-minute video, urged Syrians not to rely on Western or Arab governments, which he said would impose a new regime subservient to the West.
    "Don't depend on the West or America, or the Arab governments and Turkey," he said, according to the SITE translation.
    "[They] had deals, mutual understanding and sharing with this regime for decades.
    "Depend on Allah alone and then on your sacrifices, resistance and steadfastness," he added.
    The Al Qaeda leader described the government of president Bashar al-Assad as a "pernicious, cancerous regime that suffocates the free people in Syria."
    Since March last year, the Assad regime has waged a bloody crackdown on an uprising in which more than 6,000 people have been killed.


  19. #119
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Just shooting the off message messenger, I am sure a more compliant "suspected war criminal" can be found.

  20. #120
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    One step forward by the Syrian Government.

    Syrian Arab news agency - SANA - Syria : Syria news ::



    "DAMASCUS, (SANA)- President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday received a copy of the new draft constitution from the head of the National Committee charged with drafting a new constitution for the Syrian Arab Republic, during a meeting with the Committee's members.

    President al-Assad is to review the draft constitution before putting it to referendum.

    The Committee's members stressed their determination, since the Committee's first meeting after the presidential decree on forming it, to prepare an integrated formula of a constitution that guarantees the dignity of the Syrian citizen and secures his basic rights.

    They reiterated their keenness on a constitution that allows to turn Syria into an example to follow in terms of public freedoms and political plurality in a way to lay the foundation for a new stage that will enrich Syria's cultural history.

    The members briefed President al-Assad on the standards and mechanisms they have adopted to reach this end starting with the national principles, transparency and the peculiarity of the Syrian reality, along with preserving the achievements made over the past stage.

    President al-Assad expressed appreciation of the Committee members' efforts to carry out this national task, calling upon them to shoulder their responsibility as a Committee charged with preparing the draft constitution to explain its articles to the citizens with all possible means so that the citizen is the one to have the final decision to approve the constitution.

    "When the new constitution is approved, Syria will have passed the most important stage of laying down the constitutional and legal structure through the reforms and laws that have already been issued to take the country to a new era in cooperation with all spectrums of the Syrian people to achieve what we all aspire for in terms of developing our country to draw a brilliant future for next generations," said President al-Assad.

    On October, 16th, 2011, President al-Assad issued a presidential decision to form a national committee to prepare a draft constitution for Syria within a period of four months starting of the date of issuing the decree

    R. Raslan/H. Said"

  21. #121
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    "When the new constitution is approved, Syria will have passed the most important stage of laying down the constitutional and legal structure through the reforms and laws that have already been issued to take the country to a new era in cooperation with all spectrums of the Syrian people to achieve what we all aspire for in terms of developing our country to draw a brilliant future for next generations," said President al-Assad.
    This is a long winded way of saying:

    "This buys us some to time go and massacre as many opposition activitists as we can, and doesn't force us to change anything whatsoever, as we run the fucking government who make the laws".

    Pur-lease.

  22. #122
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    Several updated stories in this post:

    Middle East News

    Violence grips Syria after Arab League vows support to opposition

    Feb 13, 2012, 7:33 GMTBeirut - Syrian troops on Monday bombarded restive areas in the province of Homs with heavy artillery, and stormed areas near the capital Damascus, activists said, a day after the Arab League vowed to support the opposition.
    'The Syrian troops are heavily bombarding the area of Rastan (in Homs) with heavy artillery, hitting residential areas in the city,' said Hani Abdullah, a Syrian activist based in Damascus.
    Since the early hours of the morning, troops had been storming areas near the capital, and arrested men and women in the Damascus suburb that witnessed anti-regime protests last week, he added.
    The United Nations General Assembly is due to discuss the country's human rights situation in New York on Monday.
    Arab League foreign ministers called Sunday on the United Nations Security Council to form a joint Arab-UN peacekeeping force to observe a ceasefire in Syria, in the latest attempt to end the bloodshed and stop the country from sliding into a full-blown civil war.
    Damascus blasted the Arab League's decision, saying it is not concerned with any decisions taken while it is absent. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in the 22-member bloc in November.
    On Sunday, the Arab League also vowed to provide 'political and financial support' to the Syrian opposition.
    The meeting came after al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called on Muslims to support the Syrian rebels in their 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
    The Syrian regime has accused 'terrorists' of being behind the uprising that started against al-Assad in mid-March.
    The government has also blamed al-Qaeda for several bombings in Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, in which almost 100 people died.
    The United Nations estimated in January that more than 5,400 people had been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March. But the UN stopped counting when the violence escalated, saying it was too difficult to verify numbers.
    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which regularly updates the number of casualties, says more than 7,200 people have died.
    The way out for Assad


    13 February 2012
    Diplomacy begets more diplomacy. So is true with the way the Arab League is trying to address the Syrian crisis. The intention on the part of the 22-member organisation and the GCC States to persuade the United Nations to kick-start a parallel process of dialogue with the stakeholders in the crisis-hit country is appreciated.
    The premise is to include the Opposition in the dialogue process and accept it as a legitimate entity in brokering a thaw. This is quite close to what was exercised in Libya by granting the disjointed opposition stalwarts a comprehensive platform to campaign against Muammar Gaddafi. How effective that proves in the case of Syria is not difficult to guess taking into account the cohesive manner in which the Baath Party is cracking down on the opposition, it would be naïve to assume that it will scale down its tolerance level merely for the purpose of entertaining the international community. Nonetheless, President Bashar Al Assad too had hinted at getting on talking terms with the opposition provided it walked down the course of reforms and then for harnessing a pluralistic society.
    The word of mouth from the League, the opposition and the Assad regime are in need of a serious trial and tribulation process so that millions of hapless citizens could be spared of terror and persecution. The Arab League, which has offered to expand its monitoring module by including UN observers, can only make a good start if it directly reaches out to Assad. Taking the regional and international path of persuasion is quite time-consuming and the mayhem being unleashed in Homs and other flashpoints can’t stand that moment.
    Assad, at the same time, has to keep in mind that escalation of violence is proving detrimental to his intentions of reforms and he can’t count on it for a long time. An immediate halt on crackdown can make the difference, and nothing less than that could guarantee serenity in the region. Damascus has to bear in mind that Beijing and Moscow too have their limitations and the veto excuse can’t be taken for granted, especially in the wake of strategic realignment taking place between the US and China and Russia, alike. Assad should stop short of rupturing the diplomatic unanimity.
    Russia, China lose direction

    SYRIA, as a country not the government, has never benefited from the pieces of advice offered by Russia in the last decades. After the Israelis occupied Golan in 1967, former Soviet Union leader Nikolai Podgorny advised Syria to tolerate the transformation of the country into a resistance base to increase chances for a quick liberation, yet Golan remains under occupation until today. In 1981, another Soviet Union official advised President Hafiz Al-Hassad to wipe out extreme insurgency in Syria to prevent extension of an Islamic Caliphate from Kabul to Damascus.

    This advice led to the killing of over 30,000 people in Hama alone. The same thing happened when Vladimir Putin, who downplayed the open killing in Damascus, used his government’s veto power in the Security Council to frustrate efforts of the international community to stop the massacre of civilians, which has been going on for over a year.
    The recent position taken by Russia on the Security Council resolution is not strange or new, because it has fought from all fronts to protect Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic from facing trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The action was to ensure that the duo evade justice for their alleged involvement in the massacre and crime against humanity in the former Yugoslavia. However, justice eventually took its course and all suspects faced trial in Vienna.

    In spite of all these, one of the most notable members of the Soviet Union’s KGB, Vladimir Putin, has not learned from the previous incidents, so he continues to take chances with lost battles in international politics. He seems to have lost the right political direction, thinking the world is under the control of former Soviet spies. He played the same game in Libya when he closed his ears to the outcry of defenseless citizens while his ally, Muammar Gaddafi, was slaughtering them. He maintained the position that suppression is the only way to overcome the revolution, which eventually overthrew the regime of the colonel and rescued the country from the claws of the self-proclaimed ‘King of African Kings’, Russia, thus lost its stake. The same scenario is recurring in Syria and it has become worse, because Russia blames the opposition for the killings.

    The outcome of Russia’s stake in the Baath Syrian government is known ahead of time, so descendants of Khalid Bin Al-Waleed — the great companion of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in whose cities massacres are being committed, will not remain calm until they regain freedom for Syria to return to its previous position as the heart of Arabs that beats on righteousness.
    Yes, Russia has never laid a wager on a profitable horse. However, the most painful turn of events is the transformation of China — an economic and demographic world power — into the follower of a country controlled by the mafia. Did Beijing also lose direction in the world due to its failure to see the pool of blood in Syria or dictators merely flock together?

    It is pathetic that the hands of the entire world are now tied by the illogical veto at the highest authority when they should have rescued people from the dictatorial government, which believes blood is the fuel for continuity of governance, not the foreign foes or wars among countries. This is the reason for the entire world’s loss of confidence in the United Nations (UN). The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has described the situation in the UN in a manner that reflects the thoughts of most people, saying it has become the hostage of Russian adventurer with people’s blood. Referring to the Syrians, he asserted, “By the grace of God, who is always on the side of those with patience, we will continue to endure until God rescues them. God’s mill grinds slowly but surely.”

    By: Ahmed Al-Jarallah
    UNITED NATIONS:Arab and western states will launch a fresh bid at the United Nations this week to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, setting off new diplomatic hostilities between Assad's friends and foes.
    Saudi Arabia and Qatar have drawn up a resolution backing an Arab League plan to end the 11-month-old crackdown on protests which could be voted on at the UN General Assembly this week.
    The move follows Russia and China's veto of virtually the same resolution in the UN Security Council eight days ago.
    Russia and China are expected to oppose the new text but no one can veto resolutions in the 193-nation General Assembly, though they carry less weight.
    Arab foreign ministers, meanwhile, on Sunday said they would open contacts with the Syrian opposition and called for a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping mission in the besieged country.
    After a meeting in Cairo they also announced the end of a controversial Arab League observer mission sent to monitor violence in Syria, but which was pilloried for being toothless in the face of a 11-month crackdown on protests.
    Syria rejected the latest moves by the Arab League.
    In telephone talks with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "stressed that action on the specific requests of the League will be a matter for the Security Council to consider."
    "The Secretary-General appreciates and commends the continued efforts of the League of Arab States to stop the violence in Syria and to seek a peaceful resolution of the crisis that meets the democratic and legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people," Ban said, according to his spokesman Martin Nesirky.
    The new battle at the United Nations will see UN human rights chief Navi Pillay brief the General Assembly on Monday about Syria. The meeting was called by assembly president Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, who is from Qatar.
    Pillay is no longer keeping a count of the dead in Syria as she says accurate information is unobtainable. Syrian activist groups say more than 6,000 have died since protests erupted last March.
    The draft resolution "fully supports" the plan for Syria agreed by the Arab League last month, calling for Assad to transfer powers to a deputy so that elections can be held.
    It condemns violence by all sides in Syria but specifically calls on Assad's government "to immediately put an end to all human rights violations and attacks against civilians."
    China and Russia vetoed the UN Security Council resolution on February 4 because they said it was "unbalanced". Russia, in particular, has opposed any move that would force Assad, a key Moscow ally, to stand down.
    Russia has maintained its stance. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday that Moscow was ready to follow the Security Council veto with additional "strong measures" should the West continue to refuse to acknowledge the Syrian opposition's role in the crisis.
    The United Nations leadership is also maintaining its tough stand, with Ban repeatedly calling on the government in Damascus to end the violence.
    Ban "urges all in Syria and in the international community to exert maximum efforts to help bring about a stop to the violence and a peaceful resolution to the crisis," according to Sunday's statement from his spokesman.
    "All violence must stop. The Secretary-General once again calls on the Syrian government to comply with international law and immediately end the shelling and use of force against civilians."
    Two of Ban's key human rights advisors have again warned Assad that his "systematic attacks against civilians could constitute crimes against humanity."
    Francis Deng and Edward Luck, the secretary general's special advisors on prevention of genocide and the protection of civilians, said they are "alarmed" by accounts of the government shelling of Homs and other cities.
    The advisors said that even the government's claims that it is fighting armed groups could not be used as an excuse to fire on civilians.
    "They underscore that both state and non-state actors have a responsibility to protect populations and can be held accountable for inciting or committing atrocity crimes," Deng and Luck said in a statement.
    The pair said they were also "gravely concerned" by growing tensions among sectarian communities in Syria.



    Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012
    Death toll on the rise as Syrian forces resume bombardment of Homs

    Monday, 13 February 2012








    By Al Arabiya with Agencies











    Syrian forces resumed their bombardment of the city of Homs on Monday after Arab countries called for U.N. peacekeepers and pledged their firm support for the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad.

    Opposition campaigners said tank fire was concentrated on two large Sunni Muslim neighborhoods that have been at the forefront of opposition to Assad. They said scores of people were killed on Sunday after a lull in shelling the previous day. Al Arabiya put Sunday’s death toll at 36, including 15 in Deraa.

    The government’s assault on Homs has spurred Arab countries to ostracize Assad and promise tougher action. At a meeting in Cairo on Sunday, Arab League foreign ministers pledged for the first time to aid the opposition battling to overthrow Assad.

    The League also called on the U.N. Security Council to authorize a peacekeeping force, a challenge to Russia and China which have so far used their veto power to block action by the world body, most recently on Feb. 4.

    In Homs, government troops concentrated their fire on Baba Amro neighborhood in the south of the city and al-Waer in the West, which borders the Military College, a main assembly point for tanks and government troops, opposition campaigners said.

    “Tank shelling has been non-stop on Baba Amro amd the bombardment on al-Wear began overnight,” activist Mohammed al-Hassan told Reuters by phone.

    He said al-Waer, scene of large pro-democracy demonstrations for months, had come under attack in the last several days from pro-Assad militia known as shabbiha.

    “We heard that the Free Syrian Army has started responding by attacking roadblocks being manned by shabbiha. Communications with al-Waer have been cut off and the sound of shelling can be now heard,” Hassan said.

    Opening communication channels


    The Free Syrian Army, led by defectors, has taken the main role in armed opposition to Assad’s government. Accounts on the ground are difficult to verify because Syria restricts access by journalists.

    The resolution approved by Arab League ministers in Cairo called for “opening communication channels with the Syrian opposition and providing all forms of political and material support to it,” a remarkable statement from a body once known for keeping out of the internal affairs of its members.

    The Arab League has turned decisively against Assad, led by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies who have long resented Assad’s close ties to Shi'ite regional rival Iran.

    The resolution did not spell out whether its proposed joint U.N.-Arab peacekeeping force would involve armed troops, or whether the aid offered to the opposition would include weapons.

    If so, it would be the second time in less than a year the Arab League had called for outside intervention in an Arab state. Its decision to back a no-fly zone in Libya last March led to Western bombing that helped bring down Muammar Gaddafi.

    Syria’s uprising, in which more than 6,000 people have died, has become one of the bloodiest of the Arab Spring revolts sweeping the region since the end of 2010.

    Any peacekeeping mission would require consensus from foreign powers, who have been divided on how to resolve a conflict that is descending into a civil war.

    Moscow and Beijing drew strong criticism from the West after they prevented the Security Council on Feb. 4 from backing an Arab plan that called for Assad to give up his powers. However, Western powers so far have shown no appetite for military action, despite their condemnation of the repression of the uprising.

    Syria called the League’s resolution “a flagrant departure from the group's charter and a hostile act that targets Syria’s security and stability.” Assad’s government says it is fighting an insurgency by militants funded from abroad, and Arab states have turned against it as part of a regional power grab.

    Friends of Syria


    Earlier on Sunday, Tunisia said it would host the first meeting on Feb. 24 of a “Friends of Syria” contact group made up of Arab and other states and backed by the West. A similar Libya contact group played a vital role in coordinating Western and Arab aid to that country's rebels last year.

    “The Syrian people deserve freedom as much as their brothers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other Arab states that witnessed major political change,” Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Ben Abdul Salem told the ministers in Cairo.

    On Sunday armor-backed troops raided the al-Inshaat district of Homs, which has seen several incursions by loyalist troops over the past week. Tanks ran over civilian cars and troops ransacked houses and burned furniture in the streets as collective punishment, a statement by the Coalition of Free Homs said.

    “The regime wants to punish the civilian population for supporting the Free Syrian Army,” the statement said.

    A Syrian Red Crescent aid convoy had reached Homs and volunteers were distributing food, medical supplies, and blankets to thousands of people affected by the violence, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

    “The population, particularly the wounded and sick, are bearing the brunt of the violence,” the ICRC chief in Damascus, Marianne Gasser, said.

    Activists said Red Crescent aid teams had been to districts populated by members of Assad's Alawite sect but had not reached Sunni neighborhoods that bore the brunt of shelling.

    A YouTube video showed a doctor in the Sunni al-Bayada district with the bodies of three men on the floor, the body of a woman on a table and an injured man on a bed, with no signs of any medical equipment except for an oxygen bottle.

    “We do not have any medicine, equipment or staff. The hospital is this four meter (yard) by four meter room,” the doctor said.

    “The Red Crescent does not come here because the (army) shells it when it tries. Most of cases we receive are dying form bleeding because we don't have any blood units.”

    Homs is dying


    A lull in the bombardment earlier in the day prompted anti-Asssd rallies in Qusour, Bayada and Khalidua and Bab Houd districts of Homs.

    Demonstrations also broke out in Houla in the nearby countryside, which has also been under bombardment.

    YouTube footage showed hundreds of youths holding shoulders and dancing under white-and-green Syrian flags from the time before Assad’s Baath Party took power in a 1963 coup.

    “Dignified Homs is dying. The world sold it by its silence, Mothers are suffering, but our dear God does not forget anyone,” an activist sings as a crowd dances in front of him.

    In the city of Hama, 50 km (28 miles) north of Homs, loyalist forces backed by tanks and armored vehicles raided neighborhoods on Sunday near the countryside where the Free Syrian Army has been active.

    “It is the third day of such incursions. They fire heavy machineguns and anti-aircraft guns at random, then they go in and raid houses and arrest dozens of people. The objective is to separate Hama from the countryside,” activist Fady al-Jaber said from Hama.

    He said tank fire killed three people on the edge of the city on Saturday and that families had started to flee the area.

    In Lebanon meanwhile, refugees from the Syrian city of Homs which is besieged by President Bashar al-Assad's troops, gave graphic accounts of what they had endured.

    As the military pressed its onslaught on Homs, refugees who had fled the city across the border to Lebanon told of the horrors they had witnessed.

    “The army of Bashar al-Assad destroyed our homes,” Abu Ibrahim told AFP.

    “Before, we were bombarded by mortars or rocket-propelled grenades, but now they are using tanks and helicopters.”

    Ibrahim said his 10-year-old daughter Nada had refused food since seeing dead bodies littering the streets of the besieged city.

    The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and International Committee of the Red Cross said their “volunteers are distributing food, medical supplies, blankets, and hygiene consumables to thousands of people” in Homs.

    “The population, particularly the wounded and sick, are bearing the brunt of the violence,” the ICRC’s Marianne Gasser said in a statement.

    Funerals of victims


    Crowds on Sunday attended the funerals of some of 28 people killed in bombings of two military sites in the northern city of Aleppo on Friday -- attacks the government cited as proof of its contention that it is fighting foreign-backed terrorists.

    At one funeral, Ahmed Badr al-Din Hassoun, mufti of Syria, appealed to the opposition to end its campaign.

    “Enough. Enough. Enough. Why, brothers in the opposition, do you want to burn down your country? Why do you want to shed blood?” he said.

    State television reported that Assad, who says he is introducing reforms to meet the opposition demands, received a new draft constitution on Sunday.

    “When the constitution is recognized Syria will have taken the most important step toward a legal and constitutional framework for transitioning the country to a new era...that will achieve what we all aspire to,” Hassoun was quoted as saying.

    U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon had broached the idea of a joint Arab-U.N. mission this month as he bemoaned the Security Council’s failure to agree a resolution on Syria in the face of Chinese and Russian opposition.

    On Sunday, Syrian government newspaper al-Thawra accused Arab nations of being in the pay of Western powers, accusations echoed by Damascus’s ambassador to Cairo.

    The United States and its allies are bringing “pressure to bear” on Syria, White House chief of Staff Jacob Lew said.

    “Since August, we have been bringing pressure to bear,” Lew told Fox News.

    “There’s a lot of pressure being brought to bear and I think that it’s been effective and it will be effective. This regime will come to an end,” Lew said.

    While the civil war in Syria has been, for the most part, fearsomely asymmetrical to the regime's advantage, the government has been hit by shadowy elements, including the assassination of a general in Damascus on Saturday and bombings in the commercial center of Aleppo a day before. Still, the loosely organized antiregime forces that go under the name Free Syrian Army are struggling to forge a united front — or even a set of priorities and tactics. TIME's Rania Abouzeid sat in a meeting of rebels from northern Syria in Turkey as they tried to plot out a campaign, even as the regime is believed to be mining the border and massing troops in the area.
    The former captain quickly peeled off his dripping wet black jacket, took off his shoes and made his way toward the sobya — a stove that acts as a heater — a few steps in from the door to dry off. His deputy, a sergeant, hung up his military jacket, the only part of his uniform he still wore, before removing his drenched socks and huddling near the stove. The two defectors had just crossed the mountainous frontier from Syria to Turkey to attend the meeting that was about to take place. "The device you made doesn't work," the captain told Abu Hikmat, a bearded, shaggy-haired man in a black ivy cap who, like most of the other men in the room, was seated on a thin mattress on the floor. "What? Really? Let's talk later," Abu Hikmat says. (See Alessio Romenzi's photos of Syria under siege.)
    There was more pressing business on Thursday night in this safe house in a village not far from the Turkish border with Syria. For the next three hours, the 11 men in the small, smoky room discussed tactics and strategies to "liberate" the northern Syrian region of Idlib. Peaceful protests were not part of their plans.
    TIME is withholding the real names of the participants, who were largely from the battered northern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour, to protect them. There were four defectors from the Syrian army; three representatives of Syrian refugees from Yayladagi camp (the largest of several camps in Turkey); a few more Syrian refugees who weren't staying in the camps but were responsible for smuggling supplies including food, phones and light weapons to defectors on the other side of the border; and a self-described Syrian military strategist living in exile that we'll call "the doctor," because that's how the men in the room addressed him.
    Abu Hikmat, a civilian "revolutionary commander" who describes himself as a "bridge that supplies pass over," opens the discussion. "We don't have ammunition," he says. "We need money for supplies."
    "The opposition that has money is the Muslim Brotherhood, [radical Saudi-based Sunni cleric Sheik Adnan] Arour, and the Free Syrian Army [FSA] command. Forget about them, they won't help you," the doctor says. "The Free Syrian Army in Turkey is a game, a facade to tell the world that that there is a command. I am here to tell you that nobody on the outside says you are militias, everybody knows that [Turkey-based FSA commander] Riad al-Asaad is controlled by the Turks, the Syrian National Council [the de facto opposition group] represents itself. The revolution inside must unite, and every area should set up an operations command center. I'm here to help you with that."
    The men listen intently as the doctor, a stocky man with a bushy white beard, thick gray hair and a bulbous nose, begins to outline his plan. A metal teapot bubbles on the sobya. A dozen small, hourglass teacups are filled and passed around. The doctor lights up his pipe. "We must liberate Idlib because it's easier, the number of security forces in Idlib is less than elsewhere," he says. (See photos of the Free Syrian Army joining anti-Assad protests.)
    "You're wrong, doctor," says the captain, a handsome, intense man who, despite his relatively low rank, is clearly a leader. "There are 1,500 soldiers in Khirbet al-Jouz alone," he says, a village just across the border from the Turkish village of Guvecci.
    "What I'm saying," the doctor continues, "is that liberating the governorate of Idlib is better than liberating a village like Khirbet al-Jouz. We need to make big strategic gains. Europeans won't send their children here to die for us. We must liberate an area. If a group needs ammunition, what can it do?" he asks rhetorically. "If we have 10 guns, we'll sell two, buy ammunition and overrun a checkpoint. Don't wait for London or Paris. We are men, we are brave, the only thing we lack is organization. There are at least 1,000 revolutionaries in Idlib."
    "Are they all with us?" asks Jihad, a mustachioed refugee staying in Yayladagi.
    "Most of them," replies the captain.
    Signs Syrian opposition making inroads in Damascus

    BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press

    Updated 06:09 p.m., Sunday, February 12, 2012


    BEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen assassinated an army general in Damascus Saturday in the first killing of a high ranking military officer in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March, the country's state-run news agency said.
    The attack could be a sign that armed members of the opposition, who have carried out attacks on the military elsewhere in the country, are trying to step up action in the tightly controlled capital, which has been relatively quiet compared to other cities.
    SANA news agency reported that three gunmen opened fire at Brig. Gen. Issa al-Khouli Saturday morning as he left his home in the Damascus neighborhood of Rukn-Eddine. Al-Khouli was a doctor and the chief of a military hospital in the capital.
    Capt. Ammar al-Wawi of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group that wants to bring down the regime by force, denied involvement in the assassination, which came a day after two suicide car bombers struck security compounds in Aleppo.
    Such assassinations are not uncommon outside Damascus and army officers have been killed in the past, mostly in the restive provinces of Homs and Idlib.
    Violence in other parts of the country left at least 17 people dead as regime troops pushed into rebel-held neighborhoods in the central city of Homs and seized parts of the mountain town of Zabadani, north of Damascus.
    The U.N. estimates that 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March. But that figure is from January, when the world body stopped counting because the chaos in the country has made it all but impossible to check the figures. Hundreds are reported to have been killed since.
    Syria's turmoil began with peaceful protests against Assad's rule, sparking the fierce regime crackdown. But it has since grown more militarized as army defectors and armed protesters formed the Free Syrian Army.
    After Russia and China last weekend vetoed a Western and Arab attempt at the U.N. to pressure Assad to step down, the FSA's commander said armed force was the only way to oust the president. Western and Arab countries are considering forming a coalition to help Syria's opposition, though so far there is no sign they intend to give direct aid to the FSA.
    Arab foreign ministers were to meet in Cairo on Sunday to decide their next step. An Arab League official said the ministers were likely to consider calling for a joint Arab-U.N. team of observers to be sent to Syria to investigate Assad's adherence to past promises to halt the violence.
    Damascus allowed in Arab League observers in December, but the mission was halted amid the accelerating bloodshed. The Syrians would be unlikely to accept a new observer team.
    The ministers in Cairo also may discuss formally recognizing the main opposition Syrian National Council in a show of support, but such a step does not yet have full agreement among the ministers, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
    Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad warned that "he who bets on the collapse of Syria is betting on failure," and said the government will "overcome difficulties" through its program of reforms and dialogue with opponents. The opposition has rejected the regime's reform promises and offers of dialogue, saying they will settle for nothing less than Assad's ouster.
    Speaking to reporters in Damascus, he gave a vehement defense of the regime, denying it was shelling residential areas in Homs or other cities and laying out the state's stance that it faces armed terrorists who reject attempts at reconciliation.
    He denounced the Free Syrian Army as "reminiscent of criminals, drugs addicts and people who have come out of prison." He said attacks by the group had killed 1,500 members of the military and security forces since March, and accused Arab countries of "encouraging armed groups to launch terrorist attacks.".

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of Assad's top allies, warned Arab countries on Saturday not to give aid to the opposition.
    Speaking to tens of thousands of supporters in Tehran on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad said countries in the region that have never held free elections are trying to write a "prescription for freedom and elections for others" with the help of the United States.
    "This is the most bitter and ridiculous joke of history," Ahmadinejad said.
    On Saturday, Damascus gave Tunisian and Libyan diplomats 72 hours to leave the country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told reporters. The move was in retaliation to the north African Arab nations' eviction of Syrian ambassadors earlier this month.
    For the past week, Syrian forces have been bombarding rebel-held neighborhoods in Homs, aiming to regain control of one of the main cities involved in the uprising. Activists say more than 400 people have been killed in the campaign.
    On Saturday, Syrian troops shelled the Baba Amr district in Homs, killing at least nine people, and another in the Bab Sbaa area, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees said 15 people were killed in Baba Amr on Saturday.
    The Observatory also reported that regime troops moved into parts of Zabadani, north of Damascus, after intense shelling and after rebel soldiers pulled back to spare residents' property from further damage. Three people were killed in the bombardment, the group said.
    Troops and rebel soldiers battled in Douma, a suburb of Damascus, said Mohammed Doumany, an activist there. The Observatory said troops stormed the Grand Mosque in Douma and detained a number of people who were inside.
    The Observatory also reported a rare clash between troops and defectors late Friday in the northern Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun but had no details. It said troops shot dead an activist in the area.
    In Idlib, where rebels control some areas, army defectors detonated roadside bombs and hand grenades against military vehicles near the village of Kfar Oweida Friday night, killing at least 10 soldiers, the Observatory said.


  23. #123
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Lots of words harry, but that is not surprising.

    Only one thing missing, the "text" of the alleged Arab League resolution. Until that is publicised all this conjecture is irrelevant. Or is policy based on the number of times the unseen "resolution", from the "civilised" Arab league, is linked by the coalition crusader media outlets, or the times the "political leaders" of elected and unelected world regimes call the Syrian Government names?


    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    as we run the fucking government who make the laws
    Are you suggesting that unelected masses should be making the laws of a country? Should we get the "tribes" to come to a conclusion and submit a block vote as practised in Libya before the "revolution"?

    Are you suggesting that the alternative, the bombing of Syria back to the stone age, a la Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Vietnam, Pakistan ...., by the crusader coalition, is a better solution.

    Wouldn't the call for a "complete" ceasefire from the Russians, Chinese and Syrian Government be the best step forward, to reinforce the latest steps by the Russians and the Libyan Government.

  24. #124
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    as we run the fucking government who make the laws
    Are you suggesting that unelected masses should be making the laws of a country? Should we get the "tribes" to come to a conclusion and submit a block vote as practised in Libya before the "revolution"? (1)

    Are you suggesting that the alternative, the bombing of Syria back to the stone age, a la Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Vietnam, Pakistan ...., by the crusader coalition, is a better solution. (2)

    Wouldn't the call for a "complete" ceasefire from the Russians, Chinese and Syrian Government be the best step forward, to reinforce the latest steps by the Russians and the Libyan Government. (3)
    (1) Don't be so obtuse (or thick). I'm not "suggesting" anything like the nonsense you propose, but stating as a fact that a bunch of handpicked Assad cronies does not constitute a fairly elected government. And you know it.

    (2) Why is bombing "the alternative"? What's wrong with allowing opposition parties and free and fair elections? (Other than it will result in Assad and most of said cronies being kicked out).

    (3) A complete ceasefire would be a wonderful solution. But since Assad seems pretty keen to eliminate any opposition by foul means or foul, I doubt it will happen.

    Imposing a ceasefire is nigh on impossible.

    By far the best solution is (2). And you know why that won't happen.

    If Assad won't give up his dictatorial grip without a fight, then give him a fucking fight before he kills as many as his dad did, or more.

  25. #125
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    What would you say, OhOh, if Assad started using chemical weapons on civilians? Would that draw a line for you?

    CAIRO, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Russia, which has vetoed previous U.N. resolutions condemning violence in Syria, signaled Monday it may shift its stand amid fresh violence.
    Russia is prepared to promote dialogue and a "regional security agreement" between gulf countries and permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
    But CNN reported it remained uncertain whether Lavrov 's comment indicated Russia would support the resolution Monday.
    The comment came after Lavrov met with the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, who had attended an Arab League meeting Sunday in Cairo.
    The league is calling for a joint peacekeeping mission with the United Nations to oversee a cease-fire and has urged member states to cut ties to Syria and give political and financial support to the opposition in the country.
    Syrian Ambassador to the Arab League Yousef Ahmad said his regime was "not interested" in any league resolution decided in its absence. The league suspended Syria's membership in November. Meanwhile, CNN reported renewed violence in Syria, where the Local Coordinating Committees, a network of opposition activists, reported more than 680 people died last week and more than 7,000 since the uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad began 11 months ago.
    CNN reported Monday the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition activist group, said tanks, armed personnel carriers and military trucks entered Idlib in northwest Syria, where four people were reported killed by gunfire from Syrian security forces.
    In the restive city of Homs, two civilians were killed in shelling, and three soldiers were killed elsewhere in the Homs province after a failed army attempt to storm the town, the Observatory said.
    Arab League ministers discussed a U.N.-Arab force of 3,000 observers, pan-Arab TV network al-Jazeera reported -- far larger than 200 or so observers in the league mission that was suspended last month.
    The United Nations has historically deployed armed peacekeepers only with the host country's consent and when it believes there is peace to keep, al-Jazeera and The New York Times said.
    Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi, the controversial Sudanese general who led the earlier league mission, resigned from that post Sunday, contending he performed his role "with full integrity and transparency" but alleging the situation was skewed.
    He was accused by opposition activists of bias toward the regime.
    League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby recommended appointing former Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib, who was named U.N. special envoy to Libya last year, as Dabi's replacement.
    U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had no immediate comment on the league's actions Sunday, but urged the world body last week to contribute to an expanded form of the Arab observer mission, which was set up to monitor Syria's compliance with a November cease-fire agreement that was never implemented.
    He called the violence carried out on Syrian civilians "unacceptable."
    The U.N. General Assembly planned a public debate Monday on Syria, including a draft Saudi proposal calling for support of the Arab League plan, an assembly statement said.
    U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay was to report on Syria's human-rights conduct.
    Arab governments planned to put forward a General Assembly resolution condemning Syria and calling on U.N. members to endorse the league's call for a national unity government in Syria.
    General Assembly resolutions are non-binding.
    Tunisia Sunday offered to host a meeting of a "Friends of Syria" contact group, similar to the international alliance that brought pressure on Libya, organized by Arab and Western nations. The meeting would take place Feb. 24.
    Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, a key player in the league's efforts to bring peace to Syria, said he backed the proposal.
    Syria broke a half-day lull in the regime's assault on the western city of Homs, near Lebanon, Sunday afternoon, killing at least 14 people, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights opposition group said. Twenty-six people were killed altogether in Syria Sunday, including eight government soldiers in Hama, it said.
    The death toll is difficult to confirm because Syria has barred most foreign reporters from entering the country.
    The Syrian army began distributing gas masks to its soldiers Sunday, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported, while opposition activists said Assad forces transferred grenades and mortars containing chemical agents to a Homs school building, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
    Both newspapers said opposition figures were concerned the moves could signal the regime's intention to use chemical weapons against its citizens.
    Damascus had no immediate comment on the reports.

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