519 replies to this topic

[visioninthedark]

people support Asad cus of his stance on Israel and US, but Syria has to open up to the world and do business with the rest of us

staying isolated isnt possible these days, and people no longer care about Israel and US what they care about is what effects them, food prices, health, schooling and standard of living, Egypt policy hasnt changed towards Israel even after the revolution so i guess people dont care too much about foreign policy

with facebook and twitter information moves fast, today there were demontrations in Latakia and also small parts in Damascus, and after the shootings on the protesters more people are joining the cause

I agree Asad might ride this one out, Syrians dont want to get ride of him like Gaddafi, but at the least they want is reform and change to come to Syria

Syrian people are very nice and alot of them are highly educated and know what they are doing

Commenting on the highlighted bit in your post above - totally agree with you on this.

I think the whole world is moving to a new era - and the freedom to access, distribute and obtain information has put REAL power into people's hands ....

The time of dictatorships is over. If not today then tomorrow. The time when any minority could forcibly control any majority is over.

The sooner the dictators see this - the better. If they don't, it won't stop the inevitable, but simply increase the suffering and bloodshed.

At the end the people en masse will always win.

There will be those who will see conspiracy theories and other agenda in what is happening in the middle east ..... but I guess that is simply how they personally view things through their own lenses ....

I think it is all very simple .... as a teacher of mine once said .... the simplest answer is almost always the most correct when it comes to group actions or dynamics ....

People are seeing what others in the region are doing, they are getting inspired, and already being frustrated and fed-up for all kinds of reasons, they are rising up against their respective dictatorial regimes.

That is a good thing in the long run.

Finally, there is an awakening.

The dictators can kill, but how much can they kill? Eventually, they will fall.

[aamirzs]

Israel used a Turkish military base to launch one of its recent airstrikes against Syria from the sea, a reliable source told RT. Israel has been under scrutiny since last week, when it was reported to be responsible for a July 5 depot attack in Latakia.

News that Turkey assisted Israel in attacking another Muslim state could result in serious turmoil for Ankara, once the information is confirmed.

"Our source is telling us that Israeli planes left a military base inside Turkey and approached Latakia from the sea to make sure that they stayed out of Syrian airspace so that they cannot become a legitimate target for the Syrian air force," RT's Paula Slier reports.

Relations between Turkey and Israel were strained until March 2013, as a result of a flotilla incident which happened more than three years ago. In protest against Israel’s refusal to apologize, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and severed military ties.

The two agreed to normalize their relationship after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ankara has been known for its assistance to foreign-backed militants, allowing them to train on Turkish territory before infiltrating into Syria.

Shortly after the July 5 airstrike, the Free Syrian Army said that rebels were not responsible for the attack, which destroyed Yakhont anti-ship missiles being stored there.

"It was not the FSA that targeted this," Qassem Saadeddine, FSA’s Supreme Military Council spokesman told Reuters. "It is not an attack that was carried out by rebels.”

The FSA suggested the attack “was either by air raid or long-range missiles fired from boats in the Mediterranean.”

Rebels described massive blasts, saying that the firepower exceeded the capability of weapons available to the opposition. They speculated that the attack was launched with the use of modern military weapons, like those which may be possessed by Israel.

On Saturday, US officials speaking on condition of anonymity also revealed Israel’s involvement with the explosions. They did not provide details on the extent of the damage or the number of missiles struck.
At the same time, Britain’s Sunday Times cited its Middle East intelligence sources who reported that a contingent of 50 Russian-made Yakhont P-800 anti-ship missiles were targeted and destroyed. However, the newspaper claimed that Israeli submarines carried out the attack rather than the Air Force.

Israel has declined RT’s request for comment and refused to confirm or deny the information.
“We can't comment about these reports,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson’s Unit said.
Netanyahu also hesitated to comment on reports when speaking to CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

"My policy is to prevent the transfer of dangerous weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other terror groups as well. And we stand by that policy," the PM said.

If the recent airstrikes are proven to have been carried out by Israel, the July 5 strike will be the fourth known Israeli air attack against targets in Syria this year. The previous three attacks targeted an area near Damascus on January 30, May 3, and May 5.

In late January, an airstrike hit a weapons convoy that carried Russian-made SA-17 surface-to-air missiles, marking the first incursion by Israel into Syrian airspace in six years.

In May, Israeli warplanes conducted two days of airstrikes, targeting a shipment from Iran of Fateh-110 missiles. Such missiles have the capability to strike Tel Aviv from southern Lebanon.

LINKhttp://rt.com/news/i...ria-turkey-089/

[aamirzs]

Reports: Israelis hit Russian anti-ship missiles near Latakia

CNN: U.S. officials confirm Israel was behind July 5 strike on Russian Yakhont missile cache • Israel declines to comment • If true, attack on anti-ship missiles is fourth known Israeli airstrike against Russian weapons in Syria this year.

Various foreign media outlets reported over the weekend that Israel was behind the mysterious July 5 explosions at a Syrian arms depot in the port city of Latakia, but provided conflicting details.

CNN reported on Saturday that the Israel Air Force had targeted the Syrian weapons storage facility from the air, while The Sunday Times reported that Israel had attacked the site from the sea using the Israel Navy's Dolphin-class submarine.

The facility, which was reportedly destroyed entirely, housed Russian-made Yakhont missiles among other weapons. According to CNN, Israel fears that these anti-ship cruise missiles would jeopardize its naval forces. If true, the strike near Latakia, first reported by CNN, was the fourth known Israeli air attack against targets in Syria this year. According to reports, all four strikes had targeted advanced weapons provided by Russia to Syria.

Israeli officials declined to comment on the reports. U.S. officials likewise refrained from making any public comment. Israel maintains it is not involved in Syria's two-year civil war except to stop weapons transfers.

CNN cited three American officials as confirming that Israeli jets had perpetrated the July 5 attack. The Arabic-language Iranian satellite network Al-Alam, owned by the state-owned media corporation Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, quoted high-ranking Syrian officials as denying the CNN report.

Many Syrian media outlets reported extensively on the initial attack, and many speculations were made, but no official claim of responsibility has been made.

CNN reported further that the U.S. and Israel were closely monitoring the region due to the likelihood that additional Russian weapons would be transferred from Russian warships into Syria at other points along the coast. U.S. officials believe, CNN reported, that several Russian shipments have already made their way to Syrian President Bashar Assad's army in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti paper Al-Seyassah reported over the weekend that Iraq declared that it couldn't stop the supply of weapons by air from Iran to Assad's supporters. The paper also said that Tehran has complied with a Hezbollah request and will send 2,000 additional Revolutionary Guards soldiers to help the Shiite forces in Syria.

In Syria, meanwhile, the civil war took on a different turn as a senior commander of the Free Syrian Army was murdered by anti-Assad jihadis over the weekend, and in Aleppo clashes erupted between moderate rebels and extremists belonging to the Nusra Front. The slain commander, Kamal Hamami, was part of a group of officers who defected from the Syrian army to join the rebels when the uprising began over two years ago. This group initially sought to cooperate with Israel once Assad was removed from power.

A Free Syrian Army spokesman reported that Hamami, also known as Abu Basir, had set up a meeting with representatives of the Nusra Front, who ambushed and murdered him.

"Our respond to the murder of Abu Basir will be tough. We will wipe the floor with his killers," the spokesman said. "Extremist mercenaries who have infiltrated Syria are even more dangerous than Assad, and we will fight them to the death."

Meanwhile, in a particularly harsh editorial, The Washington Post criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's conduct in the face of the Syria crisis. Titled "Obama's feckless Syria policy is likely to fail," the editorial argued that the problem was not the stalled weapons deliveries but rather "an extraordinary failure of leadership by Mr. Obama."

Obama's feebleness on the Syrian issue is confusing and worrying important American allies including Turkey and Israel, who are wondering whether they can still rely on the U.S. to serve as an influential power in the region, the editorial said.

LINK

[Skull-Buster]

Bashar Al Kalb acts as a lion when killing his own people, yet he hides with his tail between his legs when Israel attacks Syria.

[motorola]

What happened to those all singing, all dancing anti aircraft weapons from russia that Assad purchased? Were they not designed to stop this sort of thing?

Next they'll use a sea based attack to take the AA missiles!

As for people saying "Oh no Israel attacking Syria" - The only country in the region that can get away with doing something in terms of political backlash is the israelis.

[blueazure]

^^ IAF strikes have almost always been stand off attacks from the safety of Lebanon and israeli airspace , and that too against fix SAM sites.( old legacy SA 6 etc)

implementing a no fly zone is a different story ,

[Hulegu]

crazy stuff.

[aamirzs]

Chemical attack in Damascus kills hundreds

More than 650 people were killed in fierce Syrian army bombardment with chemical weapons of Damascus suburbs, the opposition said, branding it a "massacre" and calling for international intervention.

While the Syrian National Coalition gave a toll of 650 dead, a Britain-based monitoring group said earlier that at least 100 people had been killed and the number was rising.

"This figure will surely go up. The raids and bombardment are continuing," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which gathers its information from activists and medics.

It did not comment on allegations by anti-regime activists that the army had used chemical arms in its bombardment of the densely-populated Ghouta suburbs where rebels have been holding out against government forces.

According to activists, hundreds of people died of gas inhalation and exposure to chemical weapons.
Syrian authorities, for their part, denied charges that the army used chemical arms.

"Reports on the use of chemical weapons in [the suburbs of] Ghouta are totally false," state news agency SANA said. "It's an attempt to prevent the UN commission of inquiry from carrying out its mission."

Britain said it would refer the alleged chemical weapons attack, which could not immediately be verified, to the United Nations.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his country will refer the opposition charges of a massive chemical weapons strike to the Security Council.

He was "deeply concerned" by the reports and said if they were proved they would mark a "shocking escalation".

The Al-Watan newspaper said the Syrian government had "pledged to co-operate and facilitate the work" of a UN team of chemical inspectors who launched a mission in the country on Tuesday.

The Syrian National Coalition called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting.

"I call on the Security Council to convene urgently," National Coalition leader Ahmed al-Jarba told Al-Arabiya news channel, condemning the bombardment of the suburbs as a massacre.

The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), a network of activists reported hundreds of casualties in the "brutal use of toxic gas by the criminal regime in parts of Western Ghouta".

And in videos posted on YouTube, the Syrian Revolution General Commission, another activist group, showed what it called "a terrible massacre committed by regime forces with toxic gas, leaving dozens of martyrs and wounded".

The attack "led to suffocation of the children and overcrowding field hospitals with hundreds of casualties amid extreme shortage of medical supplies to rescue the victims, particularly Atropine," the LCC said.

Eastern Ghouta "was also shelled by warplanes following the chemical attack that is still ongoing which led to hundreds of casualties and victims, among them entire families," it said.

In one video, children are seen being given first aid in a field hospital, notably oxygen to help them breathe. Doctors appear to be trying to resuscitate unconscious children who show no signs of bleeding.

The authenticity of the videos could not immediately be verified.

The Observatory said "regime forces ... stepped up military operations in the Eastern Ghouta and Western Ghouta zones of the Damascus region with aircraft and rocket launchers."

The heavy bombing on the outskirts of the capital could be heard by residents of Damascus, where a grey cloud capped the sky.

The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a vast network of activists on the ground and medics, said the army operation was aimed at the recapture of Madhamiyat el-Sham, an area south-west of Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory called for inspectors to hastily visit the stricken sites and ensure access for medical aid.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon insisted on Monday that the inspectors be granted unrestricted access to Syrian sites where chemical weapons have allegedly been used in the country's 29-month-old conflict.

The inspectors, expected to visit three sites including Khan al-Assal near Aleppo in the north, are due to be in Syria for 14 days, with the possibility for an extension of the mission.

LINK

[aamirzs]

Syrian opposition claims 1,300 killed in chemical attack

[aamirzs]

Don't watch if you don't have the stomach for it ... makes me mad!

http://www.youtube.c...B8mEMSEOq0#t=74

[aamirzs]

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un (“Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return")

[caliph]

really sad. Muslim world just watching but wont do anything.

However I wouldnt be surprise if Zionist are involved to sway world attention away from egyptian massacres. Assads military is secrecly being assisted by zionist like Egyptian military

[aamirzs]

We should say Two Rakat Namaz to 'invoke Allah' to stop all this and punish all those involved.

[Skull-Buster]

Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Rajiuoon

I watched many videos and pics and it burnt my heart.

Unfortunately, Muslims have become so blind in their conspiracies that they will keep saying that Assad the dog is righteous and innocent and the rebels are israeli agents. May Allah's wrath fall on Assad and his cronies and may Allah open the eyes of Muslims.

[warhead]

force of lies is at concealment work again. Previously in Turkey and also in Syria inside the houses of militants chemical weapons were found out but these ofcourse were not attended a bit not by anyone media, un etc.. In a strike when they retreat after bombardment or any conflict they can detonate those equipment taking out the civilians and say that Syria did it which is very unlikely.considering the opposition is on the run and mb is taking a hit and possibly suspects american involvement in egypt coup(considering saudi financial help to egypt coup. etc.) america decided to play some more cards there so this is another concealment case to take nato in.

[gnak]

my perspective

Assad not stupid to use chemical weapons while he seems to be winning the war

especially on the eve of arrival of UN inspectors

[cheif No 1]

Here comes the Bashar Lanti's sympathizers.

[aamirzs]

my perspective

Assad not stupid to use chemical weapons while he seems to be winning the war

especially on the eve of arrival of UN inspectors

* Assad Army stopped UN inspectors from going into those effected area's.

* Video which came out specially of hospital they all say it was chemical attack ... even the outside specialist in this area, said that it was a nerve gas attack.

[aamirzs]

Hundreds of dead cats and dogs are removed from the streets of Damascus suburb hit by nerve gas attack

[gnak]

this isnt the first time chemical weapons been used in the conflict

it was used in aleppo back in march by the rebels

then tried to put the blame on assad's government

whos to say they not responsible this time around also?

[aamirzs]

^^^ This time they fired surface to surface missile ... not one or two atleast 10 in early hours ... media and people recorded it!!!

[gnak]

^^^ This time they fired surface to surface missile ... not one or two atleast 10 in early hours ... media and people recorded it!!!

10 missiles and ppl have recorded it, pls post a video link showing such things

[butterfly]

this isnt the first time chemical weapons been used in the conflict

it was used in aleppo back in march by the rebels

then tried to put the blame on assad's government

whos to say they not responsible this time around also?

Who is this that goes by the name of gnak.......Indian?

[gnak]

Gas attack reported before it happened

The Islamic politics and cultural website Islamic Invitation Turkey claims that several videos were uploaded one day before the reports on chemical weapons use near Damascus in Syria. This evidence shows that the terrorists massacred people then recorded the scenes to deceive the world, but they gave themselves away. Terrorists in Syria uploaded the video of their crimes in East Ghouta, Damascus on August 20, 2013 and then blamed the Syrian government for the attack early on August 21, 2013, says the IIT website. This evidence supposedly shows the massacre by terrorists in Syria and their struggle to convince the public that the Syrian regime is behind the massacre. You will see that the terrorists uploaded the videos before the massacre and their so-called allegation of the time when the chemical weapons attack by the Syrian Army occurred.

full story here

another note theres also reports that Syrian soldiers found chemical agents in rebel tunnels in Jobar

a rebel held suburb of Damascus

full story here

according to google earth Jobar is about 5km west of Ghouta where the gas attack happened

[aamirzs]

US Navy moves in on Syria as options weighed

WASHINGTON — U.S. naval forces are moving closer to Syria as President Barack Obama considers military options for responding to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad government. The president emphasized that a quick intervention in the Syrian civil war was problematic, given the international considerations that should precede a military strike.

[Jazba-e-Kashmir]

father finds the bodies of his 2 daughters really heart breaking!!


http://www.zemtv.com...ch-and-comment/


made me cry...

[caliph]

US Navy moves in on Syria as options weighed

WASHINGTON — U.S. naval forces are moving closer to Syria as President Barack Obama considers military options for responding to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad government. The president emphasized that a quick intervention in the Syrian civil war was problematic, given the international considerations that should precede a military strike.

its really a shame. where are the so called muslim armies? bunch of clowns repressing their own people

[gnak]

Hacked Emails Reveal Washington-Approved Plan to Stage Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria

Alleged hacked emails from defense contractor Britam reveal a plan approved by Washington and funded by Qatar to stage a chemical weapons attack in Syria and blame it on the Assad regime, fulfilling what the Obama administration has made clear is a red line that would mandate US military intervention.




link 1

link 2

[aamirzs]

Who ever is responsible will be answerable in grave.

[aamirzs]

Turkey Sends 400 Tons of Military Aid to Syrian Rebels



"Twenty trailers crossed from Turkey and are being distributed to arms depots for several brigades across the North," said Mohammad Salam, a rebel operative who witnessed the crossing from an undisclosed location in Hatay, agencies reported.

The delivery is being called the single biggest weapons cache to reach the rebels since the unrest began two years ago.

The shipment follows last week’s gas attack in the suburbs of Damascus that killed anywhere from dozens to over 1,000 civilians.

Syrian officials, who said they discovered chemical weapons in a rebel hideout outside the capital, blame the rebels for the attack.

The consignment - mostly ammunition for shoulder-fired weapons and anti-aircraft machine guns - came into northern Syria via the Turkish province of Hatay in the past 24 hours, and was already being handed out, the sources added.

One rebel officer told Reuters the flow of arms bound for rebels had increased since opposition groups accused the government of launching deadly chemical weapons attacks in Damascus on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and several other Arab Persian Gulf states have backed the insurgents.

A senior officer in the Persian Gulf and Western-backed Supreme Military Council, an umbrella group for rebel units, said there had been an increase in rebel-bound arms shipments coming into Turkey, particularly since the reports of a chemical assault.

The government has dismissed Syrian opposition accusations that it killed well over 1,000 civilians with poison gas in Damascus suburbs on Wednesday. A UN investigation team is already in Damascus at the invitation of the Syrian government to probe chemical attacks in the country.

Weapons still waiting to cross into Syria included more sophisticated anti-tank guided weapons, the officer added, without elaborating.

He, and other sources, said money for the shipments came from the Persian Gulf, without naming countries.

Western diplomats said they fear some of the increasing flow of Persian Gulf-financed weapons could end up in the hands of groups linked to the al-Qaeda.

LINK

[gnak]

there's a report from Reuters dated Aug 2012 that rebels obtained chemical weapons from Libya

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has now acquired chemical weapons from Libya, Reuter's Khaled Oweis reports from Amman. It was previously thought that Ghaddafi's weapons had been dismantled, however usage by Libyan rebels has proven otherwise. His stockpile is thought to contain mustard gas and sarin, two dangerous agents that can induce death or permanently disabilities along large areas. This dangerous development occurs as public opinion seems to be turning against the rebels, due to attacks on Sunni tribal elders in Aleppo, a city that has been the stronghold of support for the government. The rebels earlier promised to turn the city into the "grave of the tribes" according to one rebel leader, a reprisal against the Berri clan that has been actively fighting them alongside government forces. Photographs from Aleppo seem to show rebels donning chemical weapons mask, others showing others in fresh unopened packaging, such as the M-42A1 gas mask. It is unlikely that the rebels have captured these masks from Syrian storage areas as they are manufactured in the United States, suggesting they may be part of the non-lethal aid that the Obama administration has tasked the CIA in handling to the rebels. It is feared that these weapons may fall into the hands of Al Qaeda on transit from Turkey, potentially entering Europe placing the entire continent at risk from catastrophic attack. Al Qaeda and the Free Syrian Army have been fighting primarily from Turkish territory, the former having no official support from Turkey, however have been using western equipment, including 24 MANPADs suggesting some material support.

this report since been deleted from Reuters webpage but alot of other websites have copied and reposted it

Levant Basin real reason behind war in Syria?

[blueazure]

^^ that is highly likely

there have been reports of rebels over running syrian military depots full of chemical agents .

[SLD10]

Hacked Emails Reveal Washington-Approved Plan to Stage Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria

Alleged hacked emails from defense contractor Britam reveal a plan approved by Washington and funded by Qatar to stage a chemical weapons attack in Syria and blame it on the Assad regime, fulfilling what the Obama administration has made clear is a red line that would mandate US military intervention.




link 1

link 2

very strange email ! Official computer, but no antivirus nor firewall installed in this computer. IN each company dealing with sensitive material, security is top priority...

Fake mail !

But after all when CIA released documents about iranian revolution stating that they helped the revolution to happenned, so it's not a secret anymore that USA are behind all the arabs spring movements.

[aamirzs]

U.N. chemical weapons experts interviewed and took blood samples on Monday from victims of last week's apparent poison gas attack in a rebel-held suburb of Syria's capital, after the inspectors themselves survived sniper fire that hit their convoy. Military chiefs from the United States and its European and Middle Eastern allies met in Jordan for what could be a council of war

[clibra]

my perspective

Assad not stupid to use chemical weapons while he seems to be winning the war

especially on the eve of arrival of UN inspectors

Yes, u.s. and western media is playing exactly same game as they played in Iraqi war, remember WMD ?

[clibra]

* Assad Army stopped UN inspectors from going into those effected area's.

* Video which came out specially of hospital they all say it was chemical attack ... even the outside specialist in this area, said that it was a nerve gas attack.

Which media said that " Assad Army stopped UN inspectors from going into those effected area's" ? If it's western one, be careful, they could produce any lie to achieve the goal. If it's an Assad media, it's possible to be a cover-up.

[clibra]

^^^ This time they fired surface to surface missile ... not one or two atleast 10 in early hours ... media and people recorded it!!!

Do you have link ?

To speak frankly, even after see the viedo with my own eyes, I don't trust western media 100 percent, they have records that produce a film with actors and then say it's a news. remember the scene that Iraqi people help to pulled down the statue of saddam hussein?

[aamirzs]

^^^ the video (which is removed) produced by Syrian Rebel ... anyway in THESE kinds of conflicts BOTH sides have bloody hands ... western media or NOT! The reality is that NO one is innocent here ... Arab League have given green light to attack ... what I heard US is attacking in couple of days and NO one can do anything about it ... mean time more life will be lost.

[warhead]

Also latest american excuse about delay. Firstly Syria had to recover evidence before they are destroyed by terrorists add this to biased un work.they have found some stockpiles of chems.us will consider all as fake and will try to do anything to attack. Afterall their true identity the force of concealment is totally revealed.Considering previous cases like chems found in Syria Turkey chem attack against Syrian army now this everyone can choose what to believe.

[gnak]

very strange email ! Official computer, but no antivirus nor firewall installed in this computer. IN each company dealing with sensitive material, security is top priority...

Fake mail !

But after all when CIA released documents about iranian revolution stating that they helped the revolution to happenned, so it's not a secret anymore that USA are behind all the arabs spring movements.

fake email u say

even Britam themselves admitted to been hacked

link here http://www.cyberwarn...d-site-offline/

below another document leaked from them

Lined contracts with major international companies. Among them HALLIBURTON, Shell, and BP