Ayman al-Zawahiri Rants about Syria

by Aron Lund for Syria Comment

zawaThe al-Qaida emir, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, is a grumpy old man, but who wouldn’t be in his position?

Like his late predecessor Osama bin Laden, and indeed many grumpy old men, he has a habit of haranguing the world for its faults while angrily wagging his finger.

Today, for example, al-Qaida’s al-Sahab media agency issued a 20-minute voice recording of Zawahiri marking the 65th anniversary of the creation of the “occupation state of Israel”. In it, Zawahiri talks very little about Israel itself – because what is there to talk about, from his perspective? It’s evil, end of story – but he spends a lot of time using the Palestine issue to advance his own pet agenda. That’s also a habit he picked up from his predecessor.

Zawahiri’s first target is the USA. Obviously not a new enemy of his, but he’s unusally energetic in trying to redirect Muslim antipathy for Israel towards its main ally. He spends several minutes lambasting Washington as the driving force behind Israeli criminality, saying that the Americans are responsible for creating it, funding it, arming it and aiding it in every conceivable way. The US is also held to account for protecting corrupt Arab dictatorships which in turn help protect Israel.

Which brings us to his second target: the Muslim Brotherhood, or Ikhwan. They and other reformist Islamists are blamed for keeping the peace with Israel, for failing to implement sharia, and for helping to cover up the culpability of the USA. This is also not a new argument for al-Qaida, but it has gained a whole new importance since the 2011 revolutions, which brought some of these groups into positions of power.

He singles out a few places of concern: Tunisia (ruled by al-Nahda, a pseudo-Ikhwani group), Egypt (ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood itself), Palestine (partially ruled by Hamas, a Muslim Brotherhood franchise) and Libya (which isn’t really ruled at all, but where Ikhwanis and other Islamists are very active in what passes for politics).

To bolster his argument, Zawahiri then runs a clip by Omar Abderrahman, the Egyptian “blind sheikh” who is imprisoned in the USA for his involvement in the 1993 WTC bombing. On the recording, Abderrahman describes Egypt’s ex-president Anwar al-Sadat (and by extension his successors and anyone else responsible for upholding the peace with Israel) as being “a traitor, an infidel, an oppressor, and corrupt”. In 1981, Zawahiri was part of the organization that assassinated Anwar al-Sadat, to widespread acclaim among his fellow Islamists.

These days, of course, it is the Muslim Brotherhood that is upholding Sadat’s peace agreement, and therefore…

Omar Abderrahman is a religious heavyweight, and his word carries much greater weight than Zawahiri’s own – particularly in Egypt. So a radical fringe politician like Zawahiri has every reason to try to piggy-back on the blind sheikh’s credibility among more mainstream Islamists.

Having made these two arguments, which basically constitute the pre-2011 and post-2011 parts of the al-Qaida agenda (refocusing local struggles on the USA & undermining more moderate Islamists which threaten to sap his base of support), Zawahiri moves on to the rest of the world.

He first runs through the list of al-Qaida affiliates across the world, to praise the mujahedin in Somalia, Iraq and elsewhere. This is a standard feature of Zawahiri statements. It’s not like he and his guys in Pakistan are contributing much to the cause, so he needs to keep the base happy by giving credit where credit is due.

Zawahiri on Syria

The last third of the tape is exclusively dedicated to Syria. There’s no limit to the importance that Zawahiri attaches to this conflict. He presents the jihad in Syria – for which he uses the word al-Sham, which can also refer to the wider Levant – as a panacea for all ills afflicting the Muslim world.

Like with Israel, Zawahiri doesn’t pay much attention to Bashar al-Assad and the Baath, which is written off as an adjunct of the vast Shia conspiracy against Islam. Rather, the jihad in Syria is described as a two-front war against the USA and Iran.

Zawahiri claims that jihad in Syria is a way of achieving all goals of the Muslim world: it will aid in re-establishing a caliphate, in imposing sharia law, and in overthrowing the corrupt Arab and faux-Islamist governments now in place; it is also a way of combating Shiism and the global US hegemony, and therefore, so conveniently, a great way to liberate Jerusalem.

The USA is accused of trying to exploit the sacrifices of the Muslim world. It wants jihadis to do the heavy lifting in the battle against the Baath, while it is quietly building up a pro-Western opposition that can swoop in and seize power after Assad falls. This will serve the purpose of (again momentarily recalling his original subject) securing Israel’s borders. He calls on his followers to realize the danger and avoid falling into this trap – don’t leave the trenches and do not put down your arms until you’ve set up a proper Islamic state, he says.

To realize this goal, Doc Zawahiri says all Muslims must support the jihad in Syria, either by going there or by – for example – sending money. Such support is, by his reasoning, a “fard ein”, an individual duty incumbent on every able-bodied Muslim. It’s not something you leave to your government, or to the mosque, or to anyone else: but something YOU must do or suffer God’s punishment for neglecting.

He makes no similar call for the conflicts in Algeria, Somalia, Mali, Afghanistan, Iraq and so on – at this moment in history, it’s to Syria you should go. The priorities are clear.

The Jabhat al-Nosra and ISI split

In his statement, Ayman al-Zawahiri makes no explicit mention of Jabhat al-Nosra or the Islamic State of Iraq, or of the recent confusion about whether they should merge under the ”Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham” name or not. (Background here & here, and a recent piece by Aymenn Al Tamimi here.)

This is entirely in keeping with his tradition. Zawahiri has never even mentioned Jabhat al-Nosra by name. Instead, in the very vaguest of terms, he just calls on jihadis in Syria to unite around their common goals and rise above narrow party interests – and that’s all he says on the topic most important to al-Qaida in Syria right now.

But don’t let that fool you. This is just al-Qaida playing by the book. The original Jabhat al-Nosra and ISI statements in April came on the heels of a similarly vague Zawahiri statement. The timing then was probably no coincidence, and it is now likely to repeat itself. Just hours after the Zawahiri release, a leading Jabhat al-Nosra figure who goes by the nom de guerre of al-Gharib al-Muhajer al-Qahtani announced on Twitter (of all places) that “good news” about the unity of jihadis will be coming within two days.

So, it is possible that some form of an agreement has been reached on the future name, leadership and structure of the Syrian al-Qaida affiliate, in so far as there was a dispute about this before. Whether or not Zawahiri himself has been involved in deciding or mediating, we don’t know – but it seems very likely given the weight of the issue.

The intended timing of this statement is a little tricky to pin down. He speaks about how “these days” it’s 65 years since Israel’s creation was “announced”, which – if true – should put its production date sometime around May 14, three weeks ago. But it’s quite likely that its release now could be somehow coordinated with a statement from the Syrian branch(es), and that lends additional credibility to al-Gharib al-Muhajer al-Qahtani’s talk of “good news”.

So – keep your eyes on the jihadi forums, because big news about Jabhat al-Nosra may be about to arrive. Perhaps the al-Qaida wing in Syria will go by the new name of the ”Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham”, or perhaps it will stick with “Jabhat al-Nosra”; and perhaps there will be a merger with the Iraq organization, or perhaps not; perhaps there was really an internal split, or … perhaps not. Everything is still very unclear, but perhaps we’ll know one day, and perhaps that day will be Friday or Saturday.

— Aron Lund

Comments (354)


revenire said:

I enjoyed reading that Aron. Grumpy old man is right.

June 6th, 2013, 12:11 pm

 

habib said:

Lol, keep the Jihadis coming. Syria is a death-trap for them. The world will be a better place.

June 6th, 2013, 12:25 pm

 

Dawoud said:

I don’t care what this S.O.B. terrorist say. Making his comments your top article post only shows that Mr. Lund and “Syria Comment” is biased in favor of the murderous dictator. The Syrian people who oppose the dictator are NOT affiliated with this filthy terrorist. Is this defamation of the Syrian revolution in line with Iran’s declaration through its Lebanese puppet that the Syrian opposition is made up of “takfiri” foltks? Who defines what a “takfiri?” Can the Iranian puppet terrorist, Hasan Nasr, do so with his Syrian bloody dictator friend?

Stop your bias!

June 6th, 2013, 12:25 pm

 

Dawoud said:

P.S., Do you think that the Syrian people, who are busy surviving while opposing the murderous Bahar and his Shia Lebanese terrorist invaders, are listening to what this al-Qa’ida filthy terrorist is saying? No. Al-Qa’ida terrorist organization has been serving Iranian Shia interests. They did so in Iraq, which is now ruled from Tehran, and in Afghanistan. U.S. intelligence has for a long time found that Iran uses al-Qa’ida terrorist whenever it’s convenient to Iranian interests. I wouldn’t be surprised that the terrorist al-Zawahiri taped this message in Iran. Isn’t Iran now interested in saying to the West that the Syrian opposition is made up of terrorists? Iran is willing to do anything for its national interests. Didn’t Ayatollah Khomeini buy Israeli and U.S. weapons (the Iran-Contra Affair)in order to defeat the Arab Eastern Gate (Iraq)during the Iran-Iraq War? Yes, he did!

June 6th, 2013, 12:32 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Excellent article on the link between the two terrorists: Iran and al-Qaida

http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/AlQaeda

Alliance Against America: Al Qaeda and Iran

Iran (Shia) and Al Qaeda (Sunni) seem like unlikely bedfellows given the Shia-Sunni divide that often exists in Islamic society. This divide, however, has not precluded cooperation in certain conditions, as the two have found “common cause in their mutual hatred of America; both can see the virtue in having more anti-U.S. violence, whatever the source.”

Iran has collaborated with Al Qaeda covertly and often by proxy due to the latter’s notorious reputation. This covert cooperation began in the early 1990’s in Sudan, continued after Al Qaeda relocated to Afghanistan, and even manifested itself on Iranian soil before, during, and after the September 11 attacks. Although such cooperation has been known by authorities, for the first time in July 2011 the U.S. formally accused Iran of forging an alliance with Al-Qaeda that includes harboring Al-Qaeda operatives on Iranian territory and helping Al-Qaeda transit money, weapons and fighters.

This Alliance Against America between the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and the most infamous international terrorist group is a formidable and menacing threat to American interests. This report documents the development of the Iran – Al Qaeda alliance from the early 1990’s to the present day.

1992-1996
Origins: Iran, Al Qaeda and Hezbollah
[…]

June 6th, 2013, 12:35 pm

 

Aron Lund said:

Dear Dawoud,

every post is the top post until there is another post. This is how a blog works.

June 6th, 2013, 12:36 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Revenir
You said that Assad army,the majority are Sunni, could you please back this statement by reliable verifiable statistic?
The reason it is not true, first most of the officers in the army now90% are alawis, and most of the non officers ,the Sunni has defected, what is left is few sunni ,so show me recent statistic to back your wrong argument
With over 40,000 HA soldiers joined Assad army , it is clear most of Assad army are not Sunni

If you don’t have verfiable recent statistic, please stop saying that

June 6th, 2013, 12:36 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Mr. Lund
You said old men are grumby, may I remind you they are wise, while young men are rash and unwise, they lie emotionally when they argue,and deserve much less respect

June 6th, 2013, 12:45 pm

 

Dawoud said:

6. ARON LUND

Thanks Aron. But, for a change, please have a new post-unlike that most recent ones- that is NOT biased against the Syrian revolution. If I were convinced that a free Syria would be a heaven for al-Qaida’s terrorists, I would not have been a supporter of the ongoing Syrian revolt for freedom and dignity.

June 6th, 2013, 12:45 pm

 

Dawoud said:

P.S., Mr. Lund: We were told by the status quo authoritarians that democracy in Tunisia, Egypt, Occupied Palestine, etc. would only empower al-Qaida-friendly groups. Now, as you say, the top terrorist of this terror group is attacking the new democratically-elected leaders in these countries. One day, hopefully soon, he will attack the new leaders of Free Syria! Doesn’t this negate the argument of Bashar and Hasan Nasr?

June 6th, 2013, 12:53 pm

 

Mina said:

Daily lies of the BBC: Austria would withdraw its peacekeepers because of today’s events
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22795655

Problem: Austria announced more than a week ago such move as the logical step to take to the Franco-British (Qatari-Turkish) call for weaponizing the rebels even more.
http://austriantribune.com/informationen/131669-austria-ordered-peacekeepers-withdraw-golan-if-eu-arms-initiated-revolts

June 6th, 2013, 1:00 pm

 

Aron Lund said:

Majed – I don’t have much respect for al-Qaida members, young or old…

Dawoud – I’m reporting what AZ said, and how that may or may not relate to Jabhat al-Nosra, which is a major faction in the Syrian war. Whether that interests you or not, I don’t know, but it interests me. My posts tend to be mostly about Islamist groups, because that’s what I’ve been focused on lately. Posts by other people on this blog recently have been about protests in Turkey, the Hatay border issue, Jabhat al-Nosra’s internal problems, the Baniyas massacre, and Sheikh Mohammed al-Yaaqoubi.

June 6th, 2013, 1:07 pm

 

revenire said:

Brother Majed get your facts straight.

Fahd Jassem al-Freij is Sunni. He is the head of the army. He took over for martyr Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha – a Greek Orthodox – who was murdered by the Zionists.

Minister of Defense Hasan Turkmani, also killed by the terrorists, was Sunni.

The army is overwhelmingly Sunni and it is a lie to suggest that its leadership is Alawite. The head of the army is Sunni.

40,000 Hezbollah fighters have joined Syria’s war? Where do you come up with that nonsense? Let me guess – the Saudi or Qatari press organs? Maybe in Tel Aviv?

I will go further to assert no real Sunnis are fighting against Assad. Some who call themselves that are but that is like calling yourself a Jew or a Christian – it is meaningless. The head of Al-Qaeda – that grumpy old terrorist – isn’t Sunni either. He’s in a cult.

Thanks.

June 6th, 2013, 1:13 pm

 

revenire said:

Isn’t it ironic how Al-Qaeda and Israel are allies against Assad? How strange.

On one side we have Al-Qaeda (armed by its “enemy” the West), Israel, the US, the UK, France, Turkey, the Gulf satraps, etc. and on the other we have Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, Russia, China, etc.

Has anyone ever wondered why Al-Qaeda has never attacked Israel once? I am not suggesting a nefarious conspiracy – I think when you have the above powers lined up to change the Syrian government by force one doesn’t need to talk of conspiracies – it is obvious.

I remember Afghanistan and Reagan claiming Bin Laden et al were freedom fighters. Not much has changed.

June 6th, 2013, 1:20 pm

 

dawoud said:

12. ARON LUND

Ok, Mr. Lund, please consider this:

Currently, I am watching online Aljazeera Arbic and I just watched a segment on the press conference between Turkeys Islamist Erdogan and Tunisia’s Islamist PM (from al-Nahda Party) al-Areedy. The latter was talking about eradicating terrorists in the mountainous region along the border with Algeria. He said, as any Islamist-led government in the Arab World (including in a future Syria) would say, that no county would allow terrorist groups to rule it and decide its destiny. Similarly, the Islamist Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi is chasing al-Qaida terrorists in Sinai and throughout Egypt. Let’s assume that Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood (I am not a member nor associated with the Muslim Brotherhood nor with any group or party; I am a U.S. citizen registered as “independent,or “not affiliated”) gain power, do you think that they would allow al-Qaida to rule Syria or parts of it? Noway! The Muslim Brotherhood would unlikely gain 50% of any Syrian vote, and it would have to make coalitions. Besides, the Mus. Brotherhood is very pragmatic. Look how they REMOVED clauses from their proposed draft Syrian constitution to make it illegal for a Christian to run for Syria’s presidency. They now seem happy with George Sabra as interim leader of the Syrian opposition coalition. Mr. Sabra, in my opinion, has been a good leader given the difficult circumstances.

As another example, Hamdeen Sabhai (the most visible opposition leader in Egypt) and Salafis have challenged Morsi mockingly and publicly to “ban beer and liquor” and to declare Shari’ah rule! Morsi is too pragmatic to even respond to this. Mulsim groups that reach power instanlty become pragmatic, responsible, and moderate. Morsi talks about “jobs,” not “jihad!”
Thanks

June 6th, 2013, 1:24 pm

 

Aron Lund said:

Dawoud – All fine, but how does this affect my post about Ayman al-Zawahiri? I think we’re talking past each other.

June 6th, 2013, 1:28 pm

 

Akbar Palace said:

I was thinking of inviting Ayman al-Zawahiri to my local synagogue to enjoy the Rosh Hashanna new year festival. Apples and honey always bring a smile to people’s faces. And he may also get a kick out of blowing the shofar (ram’s horn).

http://www.chabadorlando.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4644/jewish/Rosh-Hashanah.htm

June 6th, 2013, 1:38 pm

 

dawoud said:

16. ARON LUND

You are giving this terrorist a bigger weight than he deserves. What the terrorist al-Zawahiri says now should be now no more than a footnote. It’s irrelevant. Even the Nusra front, we recently heard that it split after its terrorist leader declared his allegiance to al-Qaida. We really can’t now know how many of its members will remain once fighting stops. OR, we don’t know that this group itself will remain. I know that you write on Islamist movements, and it would have been more relevant-given the ongoing news about al-Qasir, to write (for example) on the terrorism of Hizballah and Abu al-Fadl al-abbas, etc. ………….
I respect your right to write on anything you wish, but I also have the right to complain that the emphasis should be somewhere else.

Thanks

June 6th, 2013, 1:41 pm

 

Tara said:

Aaron,

How about a post about the Shiaa militants flocking into Syria declaring a jihad to protect Zainab’s tomb. Are they one or multiple factions? Any info in regard to how many they are , their names, and who finance them etc.

June 6th, 2013, 1:51 pm

 

Aron Lund said:

Dawoud – I don’t know, I think AQ will be around in Syria for a long time still (in one form or other), and that they will continue to have a great impact on how the war is fought. The rumors of a split in their ranks are discussed at the end of my post, and in an earlier post.

Tara – I was going to earlier, but now there’s been a lot of reporting about this already, and I haven’t been keeping up.

Some good stuff here: http://jihadology.net/hizballah-cavalcade/

This was an interesting interview as well: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/04/syria-islamic-sunni-shia-shrines-volunteers

Enjoy.

June 6th, 2013, 2:02 pm

 

revenire said:

There is a huge difference between a legitimate government inviting Hezbollah into Syria and nations like the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar sending foreign jihadis into Syria.

If, for example, Iran sent 10s of 1000s of foreign jihadis into Israel to attack Israeli soldiers what would Israel do? Welcome them? Hardly. On the other hand, if the Israelis invited the US to send troops to help that would be the decision of a sovereign nation.

The sovereignty of Syria is at stake. One can’t argue that because they don’t consider Assad to be the legitimate president one can send men and weapons to overthrow him. It doesn’t matter who likes, or dislikes, Assad. I am sure there are people in the world who dislike Obama and consider his election tainted but those people don’t have the right to arm foreign mercenaries in an attempt to overthrow the US government. That is crazy thinking.

If that sort of thinking dominated international relations we’d be headed toward WW III very fast. Obama and the West have violated Syrian sovereignty.

The Peace of Westphalia has dominated the world since it was agreed upon.

June 6th, 2013, 2:14 pm

 

Tara said:

Aron,

Thanks.

Are you aware of any study looking at Shiaa jihadism across the the globe? We were recently aware of the US accusing Shiaa jihadists with the assassination attempt on the Saudi ambassador in Washington DC through what I believe Mexican drug dealers. Not too long ago, they were also found culpable for the bombing of the bus of Jewish tourists in Europe and some other prior terror acts in South America.
Anyone looked at that systemically?

June 6th, 2013, 2:25 pm

 

Observer said:

One with a white and one with a black turban.

One is threatening to destroy the US and Israel by invading Qusayr and one is threatening to destroy the US and Israel by invading Rif Damascus.

Both have their fatwas ready for the protection of the shrines and for the protection of the faith and for the liberation of Islam and Muslims.

Both are going to fight each other and drag the region into a sectarian war.

The 50 year war. Each civilization has got to have its medieval times.

Death of Sykes Picot right in front of our eyes. Great news indeed.

By the way this is NOT a war. This is a pure brutal repression of people’s desire for a say in their lives and for a stake in the future of their children after the combination of complete retarded hubristic incompetence and brutality and sectarianism left the majority of the people enslaved beyond hope.

The vast majority of the people wanted the regime to do genuine reforms and did not want to get into this mess. Now they are determined more than ever to extirpate the evil from its roots and no it is not a conspiracy to prevent non existent rethithtance as the inferiority complexed brutal retard would have it.

What an irony destruction of Qusayr on the fifth of June 2013 and the loss to the rebels who liberated Quneitra from his rethithtance on the 6th of June 2013.

Hehehehe the end is near.

But wait I have to go read RT and Xinhua and SANA and Press TV to get updated on the conspiracy.

Have you heard that the prethident of Venezuela wants “good relations” with the US now? I guess he cannot drink his oil now that the US is about to export its resources.

Hehehehe

June 6th, 2013, 2:28 pm

 

Citizen said:

Today in the town Pionersky
took place on 18 th Ministerial Session of the Council of Baltic Sea States CBSS, in which participating foreign ministers of 11 countries, including Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of juggling, in speculation and provocation that the red line is passed and the necessary military intervention, the Frente al-Nusra tried to import into Syria sarin …

June 6th, 2013, 2:35 pm

 

Atassi said:

Aron Lund
I have always enjoyed your articles and some of your panel conferences … You do add value and contents in many way, we just want to remind you that the Syrian revolution is moving in all directions now and many players with conflicting agendas roaming the Syrian landscape, This was not the choice of the Free Syrian people, many were believing in uncomplicated path to achieve a noble goals .. unfortunately the path to the Syrian freedom proven to be very tough and upheld the fact that the Mideast world is cruel place to be in… I know for facts that the ordinary Syrians will never support Al-Qaeeda nor adjust to the realities of being ruled by extremist.. will never happen

June 6th, 2013, 2:46 pm

 
 

dawoud said:

Aron Lund,

I actually posted a link in one of my comments two weeks ago from http://jihadology.net/hizballah-cavalcade/
It was about the invading Lebanese terrorists in al-Qasir. Wars corrupt both side, but I blame for this social corruption the person (Bashar al-Assad) who had chosen before the Syrian Revolutionaries/opposition turned to violence. I still believe that al-Qaida terrorists will be marginalized in a free Syria in the post-war era. No responsible Syrian party or leaders, regardless of whether they are Islamist or not, would accept al-Qaida’s terrorist label for their country.

June 6th, 2013, 2:55 pm

 

dawoud said:

The Dictator’s terrorists:

http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/assads-foreign-jihadists-and-mercenaries-in-syria/

Assad’s Foreign Jihadists and Mercenaries
Posted on June 6, 2013

[Photo: 2 killed Afghan fighters for Assad in Damascus, according to Hama Echo]

Assad’s propaganda machine, along Russia Today, the Iranian Press TV, Western conspiracy theorists and so-called anti-imperialists, have from the very beginning of this revolution been trying to sell the world the story of the massive international conspiracy against Syria by a number of countries, implemented on the ground by foreign Jihadists, intelligence services and hired mercenaries. As both extremism and international involvement naturally but marginally grew over the course of more than two years, these propagandists constantly sought to point to incidents and marginal developments as proof for their disturbed notions of reality; while at the same time continuing to ignore the will and aspirations of the Syrian people, the genocidal onslaught of mass destruction against them and their right to resist it, and the role of regional imperialists Russia and Iran in their financial and military support for Assad’s regime.

Western mainstream media did not pick up much of it, obviously, their own approach in general has not differed much from Western governments’ approach to it. What did always find its way to the headlines was anything related to religious extremism. The “foreign Jihadi” factor, especially after being confronted with hundreds of their own citizens seemingly taking that path to Syria, has always been one of the most popular topics. But after Hezbollah openly admitted the involvement of its fighters in Syria some may now finally wonder: on what side do most of the [radical] foreign fighters in Syria stand?

The answer is that they have been standing on the side of Assad since the very beginning.
[…]

http://jihadology.net/2013/06/03/hizballah-cavalcade-kataib-sayyid-al-shuhada-another-supplier-of-iraqi-shia-fighters-in-syria/
Hizballah Cavalcade: Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada: Another Supplier of Iraqi Shia Fighters in Syria

NOTE: For prior parts in the Hizballah Cavalcade series you can view an archive of it all here.

Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada: Another Supplier of Iraqi Shia Fighters in Syria

By Phillip Smyth

Click here for a PDF version of this post

Figure 1: Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada’s symbol.

Following funerals for some of its members killed fighting in Syria, The Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (The Battalion of the Sayyid’s Martyrs or KSS) has quietly established itself as an Iraqi Shia militia force contributing combatants to the battlefront in southern Damascus. At present, the KSS’s main raison d’être appears to be as a source for Iraqi Shia fighters who can be used to “Defend the Zaynab Shrine”, a major Shia Islamic site in Syria.

The first reports of KSS’s existence occurred on April 14, 2013. In one press report, it was stated that KSS initially went by the names of Kata’ib Karbala (the Karbala Battalions) and later as Kata’ib Abu Fadl al-Abbas.[1] Interestingly, a group which had targeted American and Coalition forces in Iraq was and Iranian-backed “Special group” called Kata’ib Abu Fadl al-Abbas.[2] Adding further significance to the KSS’s earlier names and its links to Syria; KSS sends its fighters to Syria where they act as an intrinsic part of the Syrian-based Liwa’a Abu Fadl al-Abbas (LAFA).

It was reported that the KSS was formed due to splits within the Iranian-created and backed Kata’ib Hizballah.[3] These contentions were initially based on nameless sources and were reported by a small number of Iraqi Arabic-language publications. It was also claimed that Abu Mustafa Sheibani (Hamid al-Sheibani), a pro-Iranian militia leader, who had been involved with the creation of many so-called “Special Groups” (including Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib Hizballah) was KSS’s leader.[4] According to a Washington Institute for Near East Policy report, Sheibani “holds both Iranian and Iraqi citizenship” and when operating in Iraq, concentrated on the, “distribution of explosively formed penetrator (EFP) roadside bombs”.[5]

Based on the KSS’s few public appearances and its activity in Syria, it is likely the organization has a steady source of funding. Said funding allows the group to hold attention grabbing funerals and to put on airs of professionalism and organization. Nevertheless, based on Iraqi media, forums, and other social media sources, the size of the group’s membership, leadership, recruitment activities, and amounts of money it may receive remain unknown or unconfirmed.
[…]

June 6th, 2013, 3:04 pm

 

revenire said:

Atassi what revolution? Which Syrian people?

June 6th, 2013, 3:11 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Aron lund
You have no respect to AQ,do you have respect for HA,and Nasrallah?
Now that you admit that you are biased, the credibilty of your article has been severly damaged

Revenir
The head of the army according to the syrian constitution is the president,Bashar Assad, he is Alawi
Freige is a puppit,
You don’t show me reliable statistic, so your statement is wrong

June 6th, 2013, 3:24 pm

 

Atassi said:

revenire,
I indicted in my post “Free Syrian People” .. Syrians that are NOT salves to ” Allah Souria Bashar wa baas”. The Syrians that retain a form of dignity and aspiration. I know you are fishing and instigating anger .. not this time…
..

June 6th, 2013, 3:34 pm

 

revenire said:

Nah, just wondering what revolution and what Syrians? I’m Syrian and I don’t support the Western conspiracy’s puppets. I support, like 70% of all Syrians, Assad. We’re not afraid of elections either. Bring them on. We have one caveat: no cannibals will be allowed to run for office.

If you can’t answer simple questions that’s fine.

If you are angry that’s your problem but if words anger you I suggest not reading them.

Take care.

June 6th, 2013, 3:37 pm

 
 

revenire said:

Brother Majed is this incorrect? It says the MOD head is Sunni (like most of the army). We both know it is correct.

===========

Fahd Jassem al-Freij (Arabic:فهد جاسم الفريج( [1] (born 1 January 1950) is the Minister of Defense of Syria, taking office on 18 July 2012.

Early life and education[edit]
Freij was born in Hama to a Sunni family on 1 January 1950. He joined the Syrian Arab Army in 1969, and graduated as an armoured lieutenant from the Homs Military Academy in 1971.

Freij attended different courses and a higher military education: Bachelor in Military Sciences, Armoured Officer, Homs Military Academy, Staff Course, General Command and Staff Course and Higher Staff Course (War Course).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahd_Jassem_al-Freij

June 6th, 2013, 3:39 pm

 
 

Tara said:

Reve,

” I know you are fishing and instigating anger .. not this time”

Reve- hehe. you are definitely losing your touch.. I even told I don’t dislike you in the last thread.

June 6th, 2013, 3:50 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara I think that some assume the wrong thing about me. I am a truth teller not a rabble-rouser.

I’ve offered a peace plan many times.

I just asked Atassi what revolution and what Syrians. He doesn’t have to answer me. This is not a trial. We are just sharing ideas.

I like you too Tara.

June 6th, 2013, 3:58 pm

 

Tara said:

Reve

I read no truth in most of what you say.

June 6th, 2013, 4:07 pm

 

Aron Lund said:

22. Tara – Hm, good question. I’m not aware of such a study, but that certainly doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist… There are plenty of good material on Hezbollah, on Iraqi militia groups etc, and on Iran and its religious politics, but they tend to be treated separately. I’m not sure if there’s anything that looks at the broader phenomenon of “jihadi” rhetoric within Shia Islam. Perhaps in the drawers of some university somewhere.

One has to bear in mind that transnational, non-state Shia militant movements of this kind are developing right now, it’s pretty new compared to the corresponding Sunni phenomenon. There have been radical religious Shia groups, but for the most part only in a local context. Iranian and Hezbollah hit squads around the globe are different. Those are the actions of a state and its client movement for political gain. But things like the guy in the Guardian article is different. According to his interview, he went off spontaneously to fight a jihad alongside Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis and Iranians, for a purely religious cause. That looks more like what emerged within Sunni fundamentalist politics during the 1980s and 1990s, and ended up with al-Qaida.

25. Atassi – Thanks for the kind words. I completely understand that this situation was not anyone’s choice – it is the product of a cruel civil war, which in itself is mostly due to the Assad family’s disastrous dictatorship. I am also confident that al-Qaida’s agenda does not have majority support in the Syrian opposition, not even among the Islamist opposition members. They’re not a marginal actor, though, and they can have a much greater impact than their popular support would indicate. Iraq is a good example.

June 6th, 2013, 4:14 pm

 

revenire said:

Aron it had to be someone’s choice or weapons and funding to the “opposition” would not have flowed as they have.

June 6th, 2013, 4:18 pm

 

revenire said:

Hezbollah don’t take no mess
By Pepe Escobar

The “Friends of Syria” are appalled. Their much vaunted “rebel held” stronghold of Qusayr is gone. This BBC headline sums it all up: “Syria conflict: US condemns siege of Qusayr.”

For White House spokesman Jay Carney, “pro-government forces”, to win, needed help from by their “partners in tyranny” – Hezbollah and Iran. Right: so the “rebels” weaponized by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the CIA, not to mention jihadis of the Jabhat al-Nusra kind, are partners in what, “freedom and democracy”?

Spin out, facts in. This is a monster strategic defeat for the NATO-Gulf Cooperation Council-Israel axis. [1] The supply lines from Lebanon to Homs of the Not Exactly Free Syrian Army (FSA) gangs and the odd jihadi are gone. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) will next move to Homs and the whole Homs governorate. The final stop will be two or three Aleppo suburbs still controlled by the FSA.

There’s absolutely no way Qusayr can be spun in the West as yet another “tactical withdrawal” by the FSA. The rebels insist they “withdrew”. Nonsense. It was a rout.

(read the rest of the article here)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-060613.html

June 6th, 2013, 4:26 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Revenir
Where are the statistics that prove your point
None exist
So what you said is not true

June 6th, 2013, 4:34 pm

 

Atassi said:

What box !! Only see boxes under the gallows

June 6th, 2013, 4:39 pm

 

Citizen said:

Prime Minister Erdogan: A Dictatorial Leader within the Democratic System of Turkey
http://moderntokyotimes.com/2013/06/03/prime-minister-erdogan-a-dictatorial-leader-within-the-democratic-system-of-turkey/

…..
Gulf petrodollars will not help Erdogan nor will the whims of Washington and the increasing reliance on NATO when dealing with neighboring events. Erdogan needs to wake up to the reality that arresting journalists, threatening to send the supporters of the AKP onto the streets and blaming outside nations – all sounds like a leader who is trapped within the democratic institutions of Turkey. Therefore, the more he rants, the more it becomes clear that Erdogan is not only an internal threat to secularism but he is also a danger regionally because of his undiplomatic approach to events.
Even now, nobody knows the full extent of the ongoing political and social convulsions hitting Turkey because the crisis could spiral – or peter out based on many factors. Irrespective of this, it is clear that Erdogan is a very divisive figure and his rhetoric is not fitting for a major democratic leader.

June 6th, 2013, 4:47 pm

 

Citizen said:

WASHINGTON, DC June 4, 2013 DC Pro-Palestine Activist Interrupt Ehud Olmert’s Speech calling him a war criminal, a murderer, & a terrorist who should be arrested.

http://youtu.be/847zKQg0wTo

June 6th, 2013, 5:01 pm

 

revenire said:

Ghalioun Announces Death of the Coalition
The Syrian Observer 06-06-2013

The Coalition has suffered a crisis in trust, Ghalioun wrote on his Facebook page

Former president of the Syrian National Council confirmed to sources close to him that the Syrian National Coalition has lost its ability to work and can no longer survive.

Writing on his Facebook page about the fate of the Coalition, Ghalioun said: “I think that the Coalition in its past form has ended up as a sad expansion exercise which has removed all illusions about its ability to live and work.”

“The Coalition collapsed after a dangerous crisis in trust,” he wrote.

http://www.syrianobserver.com/News/News/Ghalioun+Announces+Death+of+the+Coalition

June 6th, 2013, 5:12 pm

 

dawoud said:

45. CITIZEN

First time I give you “thumbs up!”

June 6th, 2013, 5:13 pm

 

revenire said:

Brother Majed our army is a majority Sunni army led by a Sunni. These men are heroes.

June 6th, 2013, 5:14 pm

 

dawoud said:

Aron Lund

Dear Mr. Lund:

You have won my respect by saying the following truth:

“[…]it is the product of a cruel civil war, which in itself is mostly due to the Assad family’s disastrous dictatorship […].”

June 6th, 2013, 5:25 pm

 

Syrialover said:

ARON LUND

DAWOUD’s response to your lead post is appropriate.

A link and paragraph or two on Zawahiri would have been sufficient, instead of what reads like glorifying and sensationalising his personal role in the world.

As the saying goes, your kind of detailed attention, analysis and headlining is oxygen to these people and puffs up their chests with further delusions. And excites their followers.

My impression from extensive reading on the subject for some time is that al quaeda’s role in conflict is disorganized, delusionary, opportunistic, irrational and fleeting like all terrorist activities. They have no chance of establishing a political foothold, community acceptance or continuity anywhere.

Most significantly, those that claim to be following them have a disproportionate rate of mental illness, are social and economic dropouts or desperados, or criminals and psychopaths seeking an opportunity. People with no capacity to achieve anything in real life and the real world.

If you want to take the self-important ramblings and ravings of al Zawahiri seriously by all means, go for it. But you should not use this forum to showcase your personal interests.

You are adding to the huge distortions and damage done to the cause of Syrians by this issue, and giving great fuel and comfort to Assad’s and the Ayatollahs’ propaganda machines who have persistently lied, exploited and exaggerated on this as a core tactic.

June 6th, 2013, 5:25 pm

 

Citizen said:

Independent Syrian TV channel “Al-Akhbar” reported that more than 40 members of Egypt’s Salafi Islamist party led by Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail were killed in fighting in Al-Kseyre.

With reference to the information received from the press-secretary of the Salafi party “Samidun” TV channel also reported that in addition to these officially confirmed by a representative of the jihadists movement killed, in Syria there is still a lot of Egyptians – the followers of Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, who penetrated into the country through Jordan and Turkey.

It should be noted that Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, an ultra-conservative candidate for president of Egypt in 2012 by the Salafis, who supported the association of “Scholars of the Ummah”, was barred from the presidential race because his mother is a U.S. citizen.

June 6th, 2013, 5:36 pm

 

dawoud said:

51. CITIZEN

Citizen says: “Independent Syrian TV channel ‘Al-Akhbar'”

“independence” means freedom, and there is nothing free in dictatorial Syria of Bashar al-Assad!

Why are you ignoring these terrorists, who are Shia from Iraq and Lebanon?
he Dictator’s terrorists:

http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/assads-foreign-jihadists-and-mercenaries-in-syria/

Assad’s Foreign Jihadists and Mercenaries
Posted on June 6, 2013

[Photo: 2 killed Afghan fighters for Assad in Damascus, according to Hama Echo]

Assad’s propaganda machine, along Russia Today, the Iranian Press TV, Western conspiracy theorists and so-called anti-imperialists, have from the very beginning of this revolution been trying to sell the world the story of the massive international conspiracy against Syria by a number of countries, implemented on the ground by foreign Jihadists, intelligence services and hired mercenaries. As both extremism and international involvement naturally but marginally grew over the course of more than two years,
[…]

http://jihadology.net/2013/06/03/hizballah-cavalcade-kataib-sayyid-al-shuhada-another-supplier-of-iraqi-shia-fighters-in-syria/
Hizballah Cavalcade: Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada: Another Supplier of Iraqi Shia Fighters in Syria

Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada: Another Supplier of Iraqi Shia Fighters in Syria

By Phillip Smyth

Click here for a PDF version of this post

Figure 1: Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada’s symbol.

Following funerals for some of its members killed fighting in Syria, The Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (The Battalion of the Sayyid’s Martyrs or KSS) has quietly established itself as an Iraqi Shia militia force contributing combatants to the battlefront in southern Damascus. At present, the KSS’s main raison d’être appears to be as a source for Iraqi Shia fighters who can be used to “Defend the Zaynab Shrine”, a major Shia Islamic site in Syria.

T

[…]

June 6th, 2013, 5:41 pm

 

revenire said:

Sorry Dave but Phil Smyth and the “Free Halab” are propaganda mouthpieces.

June 6th, 2013, 5:50 pm

 

revenire said:

SL why not let Lund write what he wants? You can always start your own site and post whatever you like there. What is the big deal?

Al-Qaeda, and other similar perversions, is all the “revolution” ever was and ever will be.

June 6th, 2013, 5:52 pm

 

revenire said:

The straight story, no BS fairy tales about teenagers and graffiti:

This, in a nutshell, is how it happened. Qusayr had been under control of the Homs-based al-Farouk brigade, part of the FSA, for no less than 18 months. Six months ago, the SAA had already cleared the Syrian north-south highway, not far from the city – essential for all Damascus-Aleppo business.

Qusayr was strategically crucial as a key weaponizing depot for the FSA; Sunnis in Lebanon were relentlessly shipping them weapons through the Bekaa valley. So the first thing the SAA did was to encircle Qusayr. Then Hezbollah stepped in – as most of Qusayr’s population of 30,000 had already left for either Lebanon or Jordan.

The final, wily SAA tactic was to allow the Aleppo-based al-Tawhid brigade to sneak into Qusayr to help the al-Farouk. So when these twin top FSA brigades were properly encircled, the SAA pounced. Virtually no civilians were in town, apart from a few farmers nearby. There was no “genocide”.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-060613.html

June 6th, 2013, 5:56 pm

 

ghufran said:

What is the appoint of attacking Syrian army positions near Israel?
Rebels controlled a position in Qnaitra for few hours,then lost control, then this:

Following clashes in Golan Heights, dozens of Syrians attempt to enter Israel; IDF sends them back after determining Quneitra is safe. Meanwhile, wildfires caused by fighting manages to cross border

Yoav Zitun
Published: 06.06.13, 21:18 / Israel News

Dozens of Syrians arrived at the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria at around noon Thursday and requested entry into Israel.
The group was received by the IDF, which examined them at the crossing. However, after the IDF decided the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing was no longer dangerous, it decided to send the group back to their war-torn country

June 6th, 2013, 5:57 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Now, that Vladmir Putin is a single man, he doesn’t have time to waste with al-Assad and other murderous dictators. His behavior was that of a frustrated man in his marriage ready to make everybody’s life hell! Now, he can openly date 23-year old women (who are younger than his grandchildren) and be happy 🙂

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/putin-divorce-russian-president-wife-lyudmila-marriage-over_n_3397746.html

Putin Divorce: Russian President And Wife Lyudmila Say Marriage Is Over On TV
The Huffington Post | By Ryan Craggs
Posted: 06/06/2013 2:04 pm EDT | Updated: 06/06/2013 5:44 pm EDT

June 6th, 2013, 5:59 pm

 

Syrialover said:

TARA,

A few months ago I think I posted excerpts and links to an article which discussed the importance of external terrorism to the survival of Iran’s current leadership.

It explained that out of necessity they have to rely on terrorism and the nuclear pantomime to make their mark because they lack any real military capability, political sophistication and international respect and influence.

I have also read good analyses that says they desperately need to stoke the sectarian fires to help them stay in power as a theocracy – they have few other cards in their pack to play domestically.

June 6th, 2013, 6:01 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Putin ended his marriage, they are divorcing, even his wife for thirty year can not tolerate him,

June 6th, 2013, 6:01 pm

 

revenire said:

LOL Putin’s marriage is somehow of concern to us? Some of you need hobbies.

June 6th, 2013, 6:06 pm

 

Tara said:

SL,

Yes. I asked the question to have Iran lovers on SC stop telling us Terrorism is only made in Sunnistan. Terrorism is also made in Shiaastan and is global. Love expressions towards everything Iranian including the Iranian garbage, the Iranians photoes, the Iranian women and the Iranian art does get on my nerves and badly. I like people to be mot only comfortable in their own skin but also proud, not self-haters and wanna be Iranians.

June 6th, 2013, 6:13 pm

 

Tara said:

Dawoud,

23 yo dating Putin? I doubt he can have 72 yo wanting him.

June 6th, 2013, 6:15 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara maybe if a few of the Syrian women here post their photos I can take down all the ones of the beautiful Persian women I have all over my house.

Maybe Matt can add a photo gallery to the site?

June 6th, 2013, 6:22 pm

 

ghufran said:

David Dietz:

For those who want around the clock updates, detailed personal accounts, and insightful dissection on the daily violence and happenings in Syria, Oklahoma University Middle East Chair Josh Landis’s blog Syria Comment is the destination for everything Syrian related. From articles on the crumbling Syrian economy to roundups of the daily violence to op-eds for and against intervention in Syria, Landis offers a balanced perspective of what is transpiring in Syria from several angles and opinions. There is no better blog about Syria on the web today.
(other blogs the guy recommended for people interested in the Middle East are : shadi hamid-the atlantic, the arabist, Foreign policy and Juan Cole’s Informed Comment)

June 6th, 2013, 6:24 pm

 

Dawoud said:

62. TARA

Some older men, sadly, become nasty and start behaving like perverts. Putin’s macho behavior is well-known (wrestling, hunting, surround by Olympic female beauties, etc.). I suspect that he is a pervert, but-unlike other perverts-he has power and money. As you know by now, I am not a Marxit, but I agree with Marx on the “power of money,” which makes a very wealthy/powerful OLD/UGLY man very “attractive” and “young” to some women!!! Sad, but it happens. My father and sisters recently visited Palestine via Jordan for the first time in 15 years. My sisters were disturbed to know that some wealthy old Muslim men in Jordan are claiming to be nice and helpful so they marry much younger Syrian women refugees/widows!!! As you may imagine, this makes me angry and disturbed. You never ever help a brother or sister ONLY to take advantage of them. Shame on these Jordanian men, and shame on Vladmir Putin for abandoning his old lady-who, by the way,-is 5 years younger than him!

P.s., a few months ago I read a naive/sectarian/stupid “journalist” from Lebanon’s Wilayet al-Faqih newspaper describing Vladmir Putin as the leader of the “Resistance,” or “rejectionist” camp!!!!!!!! Maybe Putin now should convert to Shia Islam and benefit from its legalized adultery called “Zawaj al-Mut’ah,” or “pleasure marrige,” which last for a day or a few hours after the cleric is paid to write this momentarily contract. Speaking of legalizing ………..and paying taxes on it! I thought the State of Nevada was the only place for legalized @@@@@

June 6th, 2013, 6:37 pm

 

AMEERA said:

سقطت القصير رجعت القصير تحررت القصير انسحبوا من القصير
يعني نفس الفلم من ايام باباعمر و مو رايحة الا على هالشعب المسخمط والمعتر
الله لا يسامح كل ابن حرام عم يئتل سوري

June 6th, 2013, 7:51 pm

 

AMEERA said:

ريتو ان شالله طلاق قبرصي الله لا يعطيه العافية على هالعملة اخدها لحم ورماها عضم يبعتلو حما اصلن مبين مين عيونو انو عينو بيضة و نفسو خضرة. هلأ تزكر بعد ما ربتلو ولادو ٣٠ سنة تزكر انو مو مبسوط معها
لك روح يا بوتين الهي تزحلئ على ضهرك و ينكسر عصعوصك وما تعرف تنام مع حرمه تانية

June 6th, 2013, 7:56 pm

 

zoo said:

Saudi Arabia took over from Qatar and pushed away the MB, will it be as ‘successful’?

“Doha’s influence may have decreased, but it can still use its established channels to maintain leverage over armed groups. ”

Syria Is Now Saudi Arabia’s Problem

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/06/syria_is_now_saudi_arabias_problem?page=0,1

The battle for a town on the Lebanese border marks the kingdom’s first attempt to lead Syria’s fractured opposition.

Qusayr is arguably the first battle in Syria to be completely sponsored by Saudi Arabia, marking the kingdom’s first foray outside its sphere of influence along the Jordanian border. Riyadh has now taken over Qatar’s role as the rebels’ primary patron: In one sense, the Saudis can also claim a victory in Qusayr, as they have successfully put various rebel forces under the command of their ally in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Chief of Staff Gen. Salim Idriss.

Although the Syrian rebels received military aid from various countries and private donors, Qatar initially emerged as the main sponsor of the opposition.
Its alliance with Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood helped it control the political opposition and the armed rebels’ most prominent factions, including Liwa al-Tawhid in Aleppo.

But under increased pressure from the Untied States, Qatar has recently handed over the “Syrian dossier” to Saudi Arabia. Members of the Syrian opposition coalition made a two-day visit last month to Riyadh for the first time to coordinate with the Saudis. The opposition’s delegates were asked by Riyadh to restructure the Syrian National Coalition, the umbrella group for the opposition, which they bitterly did three weeks later.

In response, Saudi Arabia has stepped up its aid. Riyadh provided the rebels with 35 tons of weapons, though the kingdom failed to provide them with the better-quality arms the FSA’s chief of staff had requested.

Significantly, Liwa al-Tawhid joined the battles in Qusayr — a significant step, because the militia had always worked closely, and almost exclusively, with the Qataris and the Brotherhood. According to Gulf sources close to the Syrian opposition, Liwa al-Tawhid’s commander, Abdulqader al-Saleh, has recently met with representatives of Saudi intelligence to coordinate military activities. Rebel fighters from Aleppo’s Military Council and from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor also joined the battles.

June 6th, 2013, 7:59 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Ameera
When a man divorce his wife for thirty year and marry another woman less than half his age, usually this means his end is near

June 6th, 2013, 8:03 pm

 

zoo said:

Mc Cain is as brilliant as ever

McCain says Assad is winning in Syria, urges U.S. aid to moderates
By Mark Seibel | McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — President Bashar Assad is winning the civil war in Syria, Sen. John McCain said Thursday, saying the United States must rethink its policy there and in the rest of the Middle East if it wants to avoid a regional war that would weaken many of America’s closest allies.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/06/193267/mccain-says-assad-is-winning-in.html#storylink=cpy

June 6th, 2013, 8:04 pm

 

zoo said:

The SAA in a move to retake the heartland?

With fresh momentum, Syrian regime turns sights on retaking densely populated heartland

By Albert Aji And Zeina Karam, The Associated Press June 6, 2013

http://www.canada.com/news/Wish+fresh+momentum+Syrian+regime+turns+sights+densely+populated/8489894/story.html

Josef Holliday of the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think-tank , said he believes Assad is not aiming for outright victory over the rebels in all of Syria. “The objective is survival in what they (regime loyalists) consider the strategically important parts of Syria, with the majority of the population,” he said.

Following the victory in Qusair, the regime’s next targets are rebel-held areas in and around the city of Homs, a government official told The Associated Press. As Syria’s third-largest city and one-time epicenter of the uprising, Homs holds both strategic and symbolic importance for the regime.

Securing Homs could boost the momentum for Syrian troops in rolling back rebel gains in other parts of the country, including northern Syria, where the sides have been locked in a stalemate for months. Pro-regime media outlets have said government forces are preparing to move to retake the contested northern city of Aleppo next.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and commercial hub, was overrun by rebels last summer, and remains one of the country’s bloodiest battlegrounds as rebels and regime forces fight over it.

Hezbollah fighters were instrumental to the regime victory in Qusair, but it’s not clear whether they will participate to the same extent in future battles deeper inside Syria.

Jeff White of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said the rebels were in for trouble, unless they improve their military and political command structure and get more weapons.

“The regime has laid down the challenge, and the rebels will have to respond, or they will have a bleak future ahead of them,” he said.

Holliday, the analyst, said that although Assad may succeed in expanding his control and cling to power, the conflict in Syria is likely to go on for a long time.

“No one is going to win this war. It’s going to go on for a while,” he said.

June 6th, 2013, 8:12 pm

 

Ghufran said:

The humerous comments by our posters about Putin was a welcome distraction from the daily barrage of bad news from Syria.
Here is a good read from the Guardian by Charles Glass:

Lebanon suffered 15 years of civil war until all-party discussions in Taif, Saudi Arabia, largely brokered by Syria, forced the country’s sectarian leaders to sign a document that none of them liked. The war, though, ended. A similar accord in Geneva would probably be imperfect, but it would allow Syrians space to govern themselves without foreigners pushing them towards an unattainable all-out victory. It would also deprive the rival theocrats in Iran and Saudi Arabia of the opportunity of fighting their war to the last Syrian.
Europe raised the stakes on 27 May by dropping its embargo on arms deliveries to the rebels, prompting Russia to surpass the EU with the S-300 air defences that would make a no-fly zone over Syria more problematic than it is already. Syria does not need more weaponry. It needs peace. That means dragging both sides to the table without preconditions.
Some rebels are using the regime’s alleged deployment of the nerve gas sarin as another reason to avoid negotiations and prolong the war. Yet the possible escalation to chemicals, which do devastating and long-term harm to all Syrians, is a reason to talk, not to fight. More war will bring more weapons and more fighters from all over the world, making it worse than ever to be a Syrian.

June 6th, 2013, 8:18 pm

 

AMEERA said:

العمر مالو علاقة بس هيك كل الرجال مالن امان بحبو اللحم الطري المشدود وما بيحسبو حساب الحرمة يلي ضيعت عمرا بالطبخ و النفخ و الغندرة للافندي وبس تؤلن هدا عيب بردوا عليك ايه الشرع حلل اربعة او بألك هاي اول نظرة والاولى الك

لك ضريب يمصع هيك جنس اكال نكار

June 6th, 2013, 8:19 pm

 

Syrialover said:

Maybe with Putin it’s going to be like Berlusconi’s wife in Italy. She got angry, wanted divorce, then turned on him and gave his enemies ammunition. Though in Putin’s Russia that would mean she got live ammunition through her head.

Yuk. Now we are in for details of the nasty little rooster’s tacky “love life” with women 30 years younger and several inches taller. And prison for anyone who is indiscreet about Vladimir and Viagra (Pussy Riot, you hear that?)

How pathetic for Russians.

Note: Pussy Riot are the brave and intelligent young women who have been flung into prison for years because they sang songs that satirized Putin, including one with the title “Putin wet his pants”.

June 6th, 2013, 8:51 pm

 

zoo said:

#74 SL

Obviously you were not born when the president of the USA preferred a young dark jewish girl to his piggy christian wife.

June 6th, 2013, 9:02 pm

 

Syrialover said:

Here’s an informative and well considered article on the emergence of Shia Jihadism and what it means. (Sorry if it was previously posted and I missed it).

“The rise of Shia jihadism in Syria will fuel sectarian fires”

EXCERPT:

“One only needs to consider how Sunni jihadism came to life after the Afghanistan war against the Soviets in the 1978s to conclude that the idea of exported Shia jihadism is here to stay. And we are likely to see it developing to engulf the region if the factors behind its rise are not addressed.

In Syria, this trend has been in the making since the early days of the anti-regime uprising. Videos emerged from the conflict showing Alawite militia leaders portraying the conflict as a cosmic war between Shia and Sunni, one that dates back to the 7th century.

One Alawite militia leader said that the “battles you are fighting now are 1,400 years old” and “you are fighting on the side of Imam” Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet who was killed by the Umayyads’ army, based in Damascus.

In Damascus the shrine of Sayyida Zainab, Hussain’s sister, has been used as a recruitment tool. Shia fighters have come from Iraq, Yemen, Iran and Lebanon to defend the shrine from being attacked. Hizbollah’s involvement has also been incremental, first by claiming it was defending Lebanese Shia villages, then defending Shia villages on the Syrian side of the border, and then by announcing recently it is fighting on the side of the regime. Hizbollah has described the death of its fighters as “martyrs [who died] while performing jihadi duties”.

The fear is that the incremental escalation will potentially include, as some informed sources say, the demolition of holy shrines to galvanise reluctant Shia fighters. Religious sentiments among Shia are steadily building and, with time, these sentiments may be entrenched. The symbolism of the Zainab shrine, for example, is increasingly becoming an esoteric concept that does not need to be expounded.”

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/the-rise-of-shia-jihadism-in-syria-will-fuel-sectarian-fires

It is followed by an interesting comment from a group called Shia Rights Watch who deny that Hezbollah is anything to do with the Shia faith. It also claims:”Associating Shia Muslims with Iran is one of the biggest mistakes that politicians and media outlets do.”

June 6th, 2013, 9:10 pm

 

zoo said:

Hezbollah will not move inside Syria for further fights

Margaret Warner reporting from Beirut

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june13/syria_06-06.html

June 6th, 2013, 9:12 pm

 

Syrialover said:

ZOO, and didn’t Clinton cop a savage humiliation and ordeal over that! But Putin will see it as a way to win votes in his murky primitive world.

June 6th, 2013, 9:12 pm

 

Tara said:

Syrialover@74

Yes. Yuk.

June 6th, 2013, 9:14 pm

 

zoo said:

Top cleric reveals Saudi Arabia close affinities with Al Qaeda

Top Saudi cleric endorses Egyptian Qaradawi’s anti-Hezbollah stance
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/73386/World/Region/Top-Saudi-cleric-endorses-Egyptian-Qaradawis-antiH.aspx

Saudi Grand Mufti praises Sunni cleric al-Qaradawi for his condemnation of Shi’ite Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria and his call for Jihad against Al-Assad regime
Reuters , Thursday 6 Jun 2013

June 6th, 2013, 9:17 pm

 

zoo said:

#78 SL

What ordeal? Was he jailed? He lied publicly and his piggy wife become a failed secretary of State.

June 6th, 2013, 9:20 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

those who don’t know nothing about the S300 and its capability and how to counter against them, make comments claiming NFZ would be difficult, advance stealth planes can not be detected by S300, ,S300 are worthless in Syria,Damascus is 40 mile from border,and they will be destroyed easily,I read that Russia will not send S300 to Syria because Syria can not protect them,it will be very embarassing to Russia when they will be destroyed,

June 6th, 2013, 9:22 pm

 

dawoud said:

76. SYRIALOVER

Thanks for this informative link. I watched yesterday Aljazeera’s بلا حدود program interview with Iraq’s VP Tariq al-Hashemi, who was forced into exile by Iran’s Iraqi puppets and their bogus charges. He basically warned all Arab nations, including Morsi’s Egypt, of befriending Iran’s Wilayet al-Faqih. Had SA ad UAE not chosen to undermine Egypt’s new leaders, maybe Morsi would not have considered any ties with Iran. Still, I don’t believe that he should.

Again, thanks for this link on Iran’s axis of Shia terrorist “jihadist,” who are from Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen (Houthis), Bahrain (the population of Bahrain is 700,000; only 300,000 are citizens), etc.

June 6th, 2013, 9:42 pm

 

dawoud said:

Unlike Bashar (War Criminal) al-Assad (who became “president” through hereditary/dictatorial/shabiha means), Turkish PM Erdogan obtained his power through the ballot box!!!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/07/us-turkey-protests-idUSBRE94U0J920130607

Turkish PM cheered in show of strength as protests go on

(Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told thousands of cheering supporters on Friday his authority came from the ballot box and urged them not to be drawn into violence, in a show of ruling party strength after a week of fierce anti-government protests.
[…]

June 6th, 2013, 9:50 pm

 

Ghufran said:

I see that the thumbs up- thumbs down clown is back , congratulations to those of you who have nothing better to do than practicing this form of self fellatio.
Lebanese bankers and three reps from the EU held a conference in Beirut to start planning for a post war rebuilding campaign in Syria ( and Lebanon), the UN and Dardari estimate that $ 60-100 billion will be needed !!

June 6th, 2013, 9:58 pm

 

Tara said:

Dawoud,

Thanks for the link in # 84

“But despite the unrest, Erdogan remains by far Turkey’s most popular politician, his assertive style and common touch resonating with the conservative Islamic heartland.

His AK Party has won an increasing share of the vote in three successive elections and holds around two thirds of the seats in parliament. A man who rarely bows to any opposition, he clearly has no intention of stepping down and there are no obvious rivals inside or outside his party.”

June 6th, 2013, 9:59 pm

 

zoo said:

Hezbollah Don’t Take No Mess
By Pepe Escobar

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Hezbollah-Don-t-Take-No-Me-by-Pepe-Escobar-130606-274.html

….
When will the NATO-GCC axis ever learn? Hezbollah’s Sheikh Nasrallah staked his reputation by going on air and promising a victory. Once again, he delivered. Contrary to Western spin, Hezbollah did not do it by itself; it was a combination of SAA, Hezbollah and Iranian specialists applying superior tactics and displaying crack urban warfare knowledge.

It’s also easy to forget that a prime wet dream among US Think Tanklanders these past few months was the possibility of pitting Hezbollah against al-Qaeda-linked jihadis inside Syria. They got their wish.

Hezbollah fighters though don’t need to overextend themselves and venture inside Syria further than Qusayr — which is roughly 10 km from the Lebanese border. Their “mission” is in practice to secure the Syrian side of the Lebanese border.

And talk about precious timing; the “fall” of Qusayr totally blew away a monster chemical weapons propaganda orchestrated by Paris. French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius is breathlessly spinning that “Bashar’s army” used sarin gas against the “rebels.” French media is gung-ho for a military intervention.[2]

There is a slight problem though. Buried in sensationalist reports in Le Monde or Liberation is the fact that the French scientific analyses — based on two samples, one of them collected by Le Monde reporters — do not specify who used sarin, the government or the “rebels.” Even UN experts, in their official report, have admitted as much.

So once again — don’t mess with Hezbollah. One can imagine the ear-splitting wrath levels in Washington, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Riyadh and Doha. Their “response” — or revenge — may include setting Lebanon on fire. The usual imperial courtiers, Brookings Institution-style, are already mourning a Middle East prey to an “aggressive Russian-Iranian axis.”[3] What about the aggressive NATO-GCC-Israel axis bent on totally destroying Syria to install an Islamist, pro-Western puppet state?
….
As for the Geneva II talks — co-sponsored by Washington and Moscow — their next preparation meeting will only happen in three weeks or so. This means that even if Geneva is on — and that’s a major “if,” considering the “rebels” in disarray are bound to boycott — it will be in early July or even later. Plenty of time for the SAA to keep advancing. But also plenty of time for the NATO-GCC axis to keep denying the “Syrian people” the fateful decision over who should lead them out of this ghastly proxy war.

June 6th, 2013, 10:03 pm

 

Ziad said:

Pro-Hezbollah Sunni Sheikhs Face
Assassination Attempts in Lebanon

At dawn on June 3, Sheikh Maher Hammoud, the imam of the al-Quds Mosque in Sidon, became the target of an assassination attempt as he left his home to lead prayers. At approximately the same time, another sheikh, in northern Lebanon, found himself the target of a similar attack.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/assassination-attempt-lebanon-sheikhs-pro-hezbollah.html

June 6th, 2013, 10:03 pm

 

Dawoud said:

“His job keeps him completely busy,” his wife says!!!!! But, I guess, it doesn’t keep Putin away from fooling around with women half his age. Putting his wife on TV to smile and say that she was happy and OK is like all the politicians’ wives who stand by their cheating husbands and SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess now I know why Putin thinks it’s normal to support a murderous dictator like Bashar al-Assad! If you emotionally abuse your wife, the mother of your children on NATIONAL TV, you have no soul and no dignity (do you remember when GW Bush said that he looked at Putin and saw his soul?)!

June 6th, 2013, 10:06 pm

 

Syrialover said:

The picture of Syria’s so-called national army now embedded in history.

A lot is captured in a few short tweets from Qusayr by the BBC’s Lyse Doucet.

A town not rescued by the good guys, but conquered by a vicious invading force aided by foreign mercenaries.

She says: “Told only 150 households still in Qusayr, about 500 people..used to be a city of 30,000 ..”

These thugs in uniform triumphantly survey their massive damage to every private home and public building.

They then rush around in a thieving and looting frenzy before leaving and heading off to their next assignment.

Quote:”For those who ask – we saw in Qusayr mattresses, tvs, fridges, furniture etc being piled onto trucks, motorcycles, bicycles..by soldiers”

See https://twitter.com/bbclysedoucet

June 6th, 2013, 10:10 pm

 

Ziad said:

Funny fabrication by Al Arabia

الأسد ينشر رسماً في “فيسبوك” وهو يغزو دولة خليجية

قوات من جيش النظام معززة بدبابات وطائرات وهابطين بالمظلات تقتحم مدينة بالخليج

http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/syria/2013/06/06/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%83-%D9%88%D9%87%D9%88-%D9%8A%D8%BA%D8%B2%D9%88-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-.html

June 6th, 2013, 10:18 pm

 

dawoud said:

86. Tara

Yes, and Erdogan-unlike Dictator Bashar or Bathar-is not afraid of FREE elections. He will win the referendum on constitutional reform. He will be elected president, and his party will retain majority after the next elections. His opposition is a bunch of losers who don’t understand that Turkey is not Syria. In Turkey you can challenge your rulers in free elections. If you win you win, but if you lose you have no right to seek a regime change. Can you imagine if the 49% who voted AGAINST Obama in the 2012 US elections (voter turnout was almost 50%) demand his resignation or they would march and camp in Washington D.C.? This would never happen here in the USA because it would require licensing and it would be investigated as a conspiracy to overthrow a democratic elections. The same can be said about Egyptians, who don’t understand that Morsi was elected democratically and can’t be overthrown by demonstrations. Conversely, the fraudulently “elected” dictators (like Mubarak and Bashar) could and should be overthrown by popular uprisings and demonstrations.

June 6th, 2013, 10:21 pm

 

revenire said:

Hassan Hassan was said to be embarrassed to collect a paycheck for that one. He’s a very sectarian fellow.

June 6th, 2013, 10:26 pm

 

Syrialover said:

Oh boy ZOO #81, I didn’t realise how little you observe and understand the west!

Incidentally, Hillary Clinton still looks good at 65 and is impressively physically and intellectually vital. No points scored in trying to scoff at her appearance.

June 6th, 2013, 10:27 pm

 

revenire said:

SL only your side believes nonsense from the BBC. It must be hard to sing to the choir day after day.

June 6th, 2013, 10:29 pm

 

revenire said:

“Hillary Clinton still looks good at 65.”

Perhaps to a man that has spent 10-15 years rotting away in a prison. For most men she looks like some sort of beast – one that is ugly inside and out. I wonder how Bill Clinton tolerated her – oh, that’s right he didn’t. He had his girls on the side.

June 6th, 2013, 10:31 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE #93, the brilliant Hassan Hassan deserves a much bigger paycheck and wider acclaim than you’d be getting for your contributions to the Syrian issue, and he’s probably half your age. And as usual, your comment does not reflect if you’ve read the article I posted in #76.

June 6th, 2013, 10:34 pm

 

Syrialover said:

Sure REVENIRE, let’s try to imagine what a striking figure you will cut at 65. The male equivalent of Bouthaina Shabaan?

June 6th, 2013, 10:38 pm

 

dawoud said:

98. Syrialover

Is Bouthaina Shabaan still around? Ever since Lebanon’s terrorist Hasan Nasr-Satan حسن نصر الشيطان has become Bashar al-Assad’s cheif spokesperson/propagandist I have never heard from her!

June 6th, 2013, 10:42 pm

 

revenire said:

I’ve always considered Hassan a hired gun for the Gulf dictators. His work is shallow and sectarian. It is not a surprise you like him.

June 6th, 2013, 10:49 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE #95. Yeah, yeah we know how much you hate and fume at those pesky external eye witnesses.

The Syrian army are set up to be thieves many times over. They are operating on resources diverted from the ordinary citizens of Syria, they use this to smash up their homes and livelihoods, and then go around loading their trucks and rucksacks with possessions stolen from these people.

But those young soldiers “serving Assad” have also themselves been robbed of dignity, integrity, very likely their future sanity, security and a country where they can live normal lives and build a future. That’s if they survive.

June 6th, 2013, 10:53 pm

 

revenire said:

I guess the people celebrating the army victory in Qusayr are really celebrating being looted. 😉

The odd thing about your wildly inaccurate post is that you don’t seem to mind Nusra looting. The fact is terrorists took over Qusayr and destroyed it – the army liberated it.

Honestly, it sounds to me like you are hurting over the humiliation the FSA faced at the hands of the army.

Get used to it.

June 6th, 2013, 11:01 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE you don’t even read Hassan Hassan. You couldn’t bear to and manage to keep writing the lightweight rubbish you do.

Imagine if Assad had a journalist anywhere near that calibre on his side. But by definition he never would.

Hassan is an outstanding Syrian talent working on what happens to be the best resourced and highest quality paper in the Middle East.

Roll on the day when such a person can earn a living back home in Syria and Syrians can have a paper near that standard to read.

June 6th, 2013, 11:03 pm

 

revenire said:

Dabaa was liberated faster than I expected.

June 6th, 2013, 11:05 pm

 

revenire said:

SL don’t be silly. It is a government owned rag. UAE. Emirs. Etc. You can fawn over it all you like. I am happy for you.

June 6th, 2013, 11:09 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE, interesting you can’t deny the army smashing up the town and looting it, using resources diverted from the Syrian people and aided by foreign mercenaries.

Instead you offer your default ritual bark about al-Nusra.

June 6th, 2013, 11:12 pm

 

revenire said:

And SL, this is not a newspaper we are on – it is a message forum. None of us are writing for publication except perhaps Matt, Josh, Aron and a few others. Certainly not me but I am flattered you’ve noticed my lightweight rubbish. I will try to maintain these standards.

🙂

June 6th, 2013, 11:12 pm

 

revenire said:

SL I don’t care if they looted it. If our boys were able to get some new things for themselves that is A-OK with me. They worked hard.

Smashing it? LOL there is a war on.

You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

June 6th, 2013, 11:14 pm

 

Syrialover said:

Interesting REVENIRE that you put in more effort and words here than any newspaper would ever publish. Having a say to an audience obviously matters to you.

Top marks to whoever owns the National Newspaper in the Gulf. They are putting enough funding into it and permitting it enough freedom to be a high quality publication. In powerful contrast to publications in Syria, Egypt or Tunisia allowed under their braindead, paranoid dictators.

But then, in your thinking Syrians unlike everyone else don’t deserve to have quality media.

June 6th, 2013, 11:27 pm

 

revenire said:

I doubt we know each other well enough for you to tell me my motivations or beliefs but I will share one with you: I am 1000% behind Assad and our army and I don’t care what they have to do to win as long as they win.

Issues like accusations of looting coming from terrorist supporters like the BBC I laugh at and if true my only comment is they deserve loot.

June 6th, 2013, 11:34 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE said about the army in Quysyr: “I don’t care if they looted it. If our boys were able to get some new things for themselves that is A-OK with me. They worked hard.”

I guess he could hardly type for giggling at his own wit.

But he also really doesn’t care. For him, Syrians unlike the rest of the world don’t deserve to have a professional, disciplined army serving the national interest and respecting and protecting its citizens.

June 6th, 2013, 11:35 pm

 

Ziad said:

Qatar

Democracy? That’s for other Arabs

Rumours of a change at the top do not include moves to democracy

Many Qataris take pride in the leadership their city-state has played in the Arab awakening over the past two years. But some now question whether the emir, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is frittering their wealth away on foreign ventures. “What have billions bought us in Syria?” mumbles a Qatari official. “We’ve failed to bring down Mr Assad and left 4m Syrians homeless.” Others in an emirate long loyal to a puritanical Wahhabist version of Islam wonder why they are helping the troublesome Muslim Brotherhood abroad.

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21579063-rumours-change-top-do-not-include-moves-democracy-democracy-thats

June 6th, 2013, 11:45 pm

 

Syrialover said:

REVENIRE declares himself a 100% Assad supporter.

And unless he declares that he also lives in Syria because there is no reason to leave, he is also a 100% hypocrite and parasite who clearly has something major to lose if the regime goes down.

Something he has gained at the cost of other Syrians who have had no choice but to live in the corrupt mess, terror state and and economic disaster the Assads built.

I hope he parades his support for Assad proudly and loudly to all around him if he lives in the west, and jokes at the suffering of Syrians and the destruction of the country like he does here on this forum.

And I hope he loudly expresses his regret and despair forever after Assad has gone.

But somehow I think not. The REVENIRES keep their mouths shut and pull on the mask where it matters to keep their nest feathered.

June 6th, 2013, 11:47 pm

 

Syrialover said:

I am laughing at how REVENIRE currently scores an instant automatic 3 thumbs up even before his posts have been up there long enough to read.

No wonder I and most others here don’t bother with the voting system.

June 7th, 2013, 12:06 am

 

Syrialover said:

DAWOUD #99

Robert Fisk did a suck=-up review of a book by Bouthaina Shabaan last month. And there is this courtesy of UZAIR8 a couple of weeks ago:

From Youtube

RT Interview With Syrian President Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban

Published on 14 Apr 2013

Russia Today (RT) correspondent Sophie Shevardnadze conducts an interview with ex-Minister and current advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Bouthaina Shaaban, about the conflict in Syria and potential ways to solve the crisis. She states that the BRICS countries can take a firm position on the Syrian issue similar to that of Russia in order to prevent the continuation of supply of arms to terrorists and to initiate dialogue with opposition members in Syria.

Shaaban also states that at the heart of this conflict is another long-standing issue, the Arab-Israeli conflict with all its ramifications from the issue of Palestine and the occupation of its land to the issue of the Golan and weakening Iran too.

June 7th, 2013, 12:22 am

 

Syrialover said:

In answer to the question about superwitch Bouthaina Shabaan by DAWOUD #99

Robert Fisk did a silly suck-up review of a book by Bouthaina Shabaan last month. And there is this courtesy of UZAIR8 a couple of weeks ago:

From Youtube

RT Interview With Syrian President Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban

Published on 14 Apr 2013

Russia Today (RT) correspondent Sophie Shevardnadze conducts an interview with ex-Minister and current advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Bouthaina Shaaban, about the conflict in Syria and potential ways to solve the crisis. She states that the BRICS countries can take a firm position on the Syrian issue similar to that of Russia in order to prevent the continuation of supply of arms to terrorists and to initiate dialogue with opposition members in Syria.

Shaaban also states that at the heart of this conflict is another long-standing issue, the Arab-Israeli conflict with all its ramifications from the issue of Palestine and the occupation of its land to the issue of the Golan and weakening Iran too.

June 7th, 2013, 12:25 am

 

Ziad said:

Mother of Tunisian Jihadist Weeps as She Apologizes to the Syrian People

The mother of a Tunisian Jihadist, Sami Kamal bin Aashour, appeared on Tunisian TV “al-Tounisiya”, where she publicly apologized to the Syrian mothers and the Syrian people for her son who left to fight “Jihad” in Syria without his parents’ knowledge.

June 7th, 2013, 12:40 am

 

revenire said:

The West’s gift to Syria: brainwashed Tunisian jihadis bringing death to all.

June 7th, 2013, 12:49 am

 

Citizen said:

Russian Navy Deployed To Mediterranean By Putin For Syria’s ‘National Security’
http://www.inquisitr.com/690818/russian-navy-deployed-putin-syria-national-security/
….
The Russian navy currently has 16 ships in the Mediterranean sea. Russian General Valery Gerasimov plans to rotate Russian navy ships out and keep a permanent presence of 12 Russian ships.

The Syrian conflict is apparently behind Putin’s decision to create a permanent Russian navy presence in the Mediterranean sea. Putin claims the sea is a “strategically important region, where we have interests connected with ensuring Russia’s national security.”…..

June 7th, 2013, 1:35 am

 

Citizen said:

http://nyti.ms/11ILARW
Israel Prepares for an Uncertain Future
JUNE 6, 2013By Tamir Elterman
With Hezbollah joining in Syria’s two-year-old civil war, Israeli Defense Forces staged military exercises to prepare for a potential conflict with northern neighbors.

June 7th, 2013, 1:43 am

 

Altair said:

The real question is, why should we care what Zawahiri says and why post anything he says? I don’t believe his words carry much weight inside Syria, and probably not much outside it either.

In Jordan for example, AQI is believed to be responsible for the murder of Syrian American filmmaker Mustafa Akkad and his daughter (on the occasion of her wedding no less), not exactly an act that gives people like Zawahiri any credibility.

June 7th, 2013, 5:30 am

 

Mina said:

Morsi the Saint has more ideas about what to do in Syria than in his own country!

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/1/73310/Egypt/Egypts-Khaled-Said-Three-years-on,-still-no-justic.aspx

June 7th, 2013, 5:58 am

 

Citizen said:

اسلامكم =الطاقة اللازمة لخراب بيوتكم !
🙂 الله أكبر!!!!!!

June 7th, 2013, 7:36 am

 
 
 

Citizen said:

If the U.S. and Europe will intervene in the Syrian conflict, Russia will help Syria.
June 6, 2013 radar “Voronezh-DM” in Armavir has taken over military duty by order of President of the Russian Federation.
Radar “Voronezh-DM” in Armavir – Radar new generation is able to detect enemy missiles over 6,000 km (about 1 hour flight time, which gives alert about the country and knock it). June 6, 2013 has taken over military duty by order of President of the Russian Federation.
Vladimir Putin: “it is necessary to create the conditions for a permanent presence of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean, to observe the naval forces of other countries” (ie NATO).
Yuri Zemsky – The commander of the Russian Navy task force in the Mediterranean, “connections are in readiness to face the suddenly-emerging challenges in the region, and so on”

http://youtu.be/He18AefZZ50?t=1s

June 7th, 2013, 8:32 am

 
 

Tara said:

We still don’t know how many were killed in the last three weeks of fighting. But what we have seen is a city that’s died.

Qusair – the Syrian city that died
By Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22809589

On our second visit to Qusair since it fell to government forces in the early hours on Wednesday, we found a calmer place, with none of the edginess or frenzied celebration we witnessed in the immediate aftermath of battle.

There’s more traffic on the streets but it’s almost all soldiers travelling in tanks and trucks, on motorcycles and bicycles.

Most are piled high with mattresses, TVs, fridges and furniture as soldiers move from one abandoned building to the next, taking away as much as they can carry.

June 7th, 2013, 8:46 am

 

zoo said:

113. Syrialover

It seems you are coming back to your usual strategy of attacking personally the carrier because you have no arguments to attack the message.

It is usually a sign of disarray and impotence.

June 7th, 2013, 8:48 am

 

zoo said:

# Revenire

There has been no massacre as it was hammered by the opposition. Most civilians were allowed to leave the town. Without the human shields, the terrorists were lost and they renounced to their desire of martyrdom by cowardly withdrawing.

I have no problem with the SAA looting the houses in ruins where the terrorists used to plot their vicious attacks.

It is a huge victory and the defeated will always find ways to denigrate it and find excuses.

June 7th, 2013, 9:04 am

 
 

zoo said:

Excellent initiative in line with the future ‘peace plan’ between Syria and Israel

Russia can replace Austria in U.N. Golan monitoring force: Putin

Reuters June 7, 2013

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is ready to send peacekeepers to the Golan Heights to replace Austrian forces after Vienna said it would recall its troops from a U.N. monitoring force due to worsening fighting in Syria.

“We could replace the leaving Austrian contingent in this region on the border between Israeli troops and the Syrian army,” Putin told the RIA Novosti news agency.

June 7th, 2013, 9:12 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

“I have no problem with the SAA looting the houses in ruins where”

And I am not surprised!

June 7th, 2013, 9:13 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Theives say
I have no problem with the SAA looting the houses in ruins

June 7th, 2013, 9:17 am

 

zoo said:

Tara

Put your glasses on

…where the terrorists used to plot their vicious attacks.

June 7th, 2013, 9:18 am

 

zoo said:

The new ‘mongols’ are coming…

The rise of Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus
New wave of radicalism predicted as region undergoes transition

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.rise.of.islamic.extremism.in.central.asia.and.the.caucasus/32798.htm

US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, and expected regime changes in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan threaten to destabilise the region, providing radicals with a platform from which to operate, claims Growing Islamic Extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus – Situation and Outlook.

June 7th, 2013, 9:21 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

I don’t wear glasses. I have pretty sharp eyes. I can see well.

June 7th, 2013, 9:22 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Zoo said

The new ‘mongols’ are coming…

yes it is persians

June 7th, 2013, 9:23 am

 

zoo said:

Qaradawi confirms what everybody knows and recommends a stupid solution to the problem

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/07/opinion/abdo-shia-sunni-tension/index.html

“How could 100 million Shia (worldwide) defeat 1.7 billion (Sunnis)?” Qaradawi asked, speaking May 31 in Doha, Qatar, about the two largest Muslim sects. “Only because they (Sunni) are weak,” he said, attempting to inspire the Sunnis to go to Syria to fight against al-Assad and prove their strength.

June 7th, 2013, 9:24 am

 

zoo said:

#137 Tara

Then you have no excuses…

June 7th, 2013, 9:28 am

 

zoo said:

More tantrum expected from Erdogan.

Pope recognizes the mass killings of Armenians as ‘first genocide of the 20th Century’

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pope-recognizes-the-mass-killings-of-armenians-as-first-genocide-of-the-20th-century.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48389&NewsCatID=359

Pope Francis described the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as “the first genocide of the twentieth century” during a meeting with a delegation led by Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics on June 3.

June 7th, 2013, 9:36 am

 

Ziad said:

ZOO

There are no glasses to sharpen the image of the mind’s eyes.

June 7th, 2013, 9:39 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

What can I say? You have no problem with anything Batta and his militia do including looting the houses of poor people. Heroic theives indeed!

May be you should have one of your friend buys you an item from the “Sunni market”. Along with Asma pictures, and something Persian, you are all set..

June 7th, 2013, 9:50 am

 

majedkhaldoun said:

They kill , they destroy, they loot, and they rape
those persians are savages ,they are the new Mongols

June 7th, 2013, 9:57 am

 

Sami said:

For those celebrating the looting of houses and cleanup and disinfection of Syrian cities; I hope you never feel the emptiness of seeing your possessions looted, where you lose not only your worldly possessions but the means that you had not only to feed your own family but that of 200 families. I hope you never experience the pain and sorrow of hearing about a loved one murdered in one of those “hardly a massacre” instances which you love to deny, and then seeing her corpse paraded on TV.

Maybe if you experience these horrible circumstances you might change your callous position but I won’t ever wish it on you…

June 7th, 2013, 10:04 am

 
 

revenire said:

It seems to me Brother Majed has more than a tinge of anti-Shia bigotry in his beliefs. He rails on and on about Iran and Shia.

Putin has offered to send troops to the Golan? I welcome Vladimir to Syria.

I don’t remember the pro-terrorst people here caring when the terrorists looted Aleppo or grabbed oil wells. That was okay with them. It is hypocritical to say the least.

They really seem desperate after the loss of Qusayr.

June 7th, 2013, 10:13 am

 

Citizen said:

133. ZOO
/Excellent initiative in line with the future ‘peace plan’ between Syria and Israel/

Today, in the province of Quneitra on the Golan Heights militants captured the checkpoint for a few hours, which was repelled an army division as a result of fierce clashes.
Group of terrorists after the defeat, took the corpses accomplices and went in the direction of the village of Al-Qahtani, where burned dead foreign mercenaries. Some of the wounded militants were taken by Israeli ambulance automobiles to Israel .
After the collision, the Syrian artillery bombed harboring terrorists in this village.

June 7th, 2013, 10:17 am

 

Ziad said:

SAMI

Some soldiers do bad things. You give a 20 something a gun, he confuses power with justice. Things get much much worse when he is a religious fanatic and thinks he is doing God’s work against infidels.

http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Anything-That-Moves-ebook/dp/B008FPSTOQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370614529&sr=8-1&keywords=kill+everything+that+moves

Without a shred of doubt the FSA and Nusra have committed thousand times more looting, field executions, kidnapping for ransom, and all sorts of bad deeds. I am awaiting the liberation of Racca to hear about the horrors committed their during the occupation.

June 7th, 2013, 10:22 am

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

Next step of the US-Israel-Russian plan to protect Assad mafia:

Pullout austrian UN soldiers from Golan and put Russian soldiers to protect Israel and Assad at the same time.

June 7th, 2013, 10:23 am

 

Citizen said:

….
S-300 placed deep inside Syria, complement the Mig-35 half-squadron supply, in order to protect the deep territory from airborne attacks, thus sustaining the regime, while SA-8 and Pantsir patrolling around the countries periphery use their EO in order to passively detect and intercept enemy aircraft. The Mig-35 aka Mig-29M2 is an extensive redesign of the Mig-29, 48 of which Syria operates since the 1980s. This constellation disables the no-flight zone NATO openly threatened to impose on Syria and will be announced immediately following an enaction of such a NATO policy. It is now left for NATO to either declare zero-tolerance to JIT readiness on behalf of its enemies or to admit defeat.

This Russian policy protects its Eurasian Petroleum grid interests [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/CEN-01-310513.html] against typical Anglo-American terrorist extortion and overtake policies. This grid results from two Anglo-American policies, which leave Russia no choice but to take on as much Chinese money as possible for the export of Petroleum and other resources and weapons and to defend that grid. These policies are:
1. Beefing up of China with western Science and money.
2. Trying to overtake Russia

Israel is now challenged by means of a combination of 3 hostile rings:
1. An intensive artillery guerrilla around Israel, especially in the Lebanon
(Hezbollah), which intensively covers Haifa, and in Gaza(Hamas),
which intensively covers Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and Be’er-Sheva.
2. Direct Russian military defense of Syria in the air, on the ground and at sea.
3. An Iranian nuclear umbrella to Jihadist fronts across EMEA.

This is while US military experiences sequestration and there’s no 5th generation fighter jet on export by the USA, since the F-35 cannot match these terms.
http://essential-intelligence-network.blogspot.com/2013/06/russo-iranian-jit-readiness.html

June 7th, 2013, 10:30 am

 

zoo said:

#143 Tara

In “sunni” markets they only sell photos of Al Zawahiri, Qardawi, Al Assir and your favorite sumo HBJ…
I guess you have them already on your living room walls. I am sure with these esthetic faces everywhere your house doesn’t look ‘peasant’ at all.
I just worry about your daughter getting nightmares.
Maybe a photo of Asma will soothe her?

June 7th, 2013, 10:35 am

 

Uzair8 said:

Rana Kabbani ‏@RanaKabbani54 5h
#Assad MP #Shalash says regime will not only counterattack #Israel, but even is prepared to ‘reconquer Andalusia.’
Brace yourself, #Spain!

Amjad of Arabia ‏@amjadofarabia 5h
@RanaKabbani54 “secular” regime LOL!

June 7th, 2013, 10:36 am

 

revenire said:

Has “Amjad” left Saudi Arabia?

June 7th, 2013, 10:44 am

 

Uzair8 said:

I just read on Shiachat that, allegedly, a ‘Lebanese Mustaqbal dude and supporter of Syrian opposition’ is said to have made some despicable comments. Can someone confirm this as I don’t understand the arabic.

Apparently at 1:34 min and 32sec:

http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/235014302-syrian-army-regains-full-control-of-qusayr/page__st__75#entry2593403

If true, can anyone tell us more about this guy and his party. The regimists won’t be allowed to generalise about the revolution. Already they are using ‘they’ to tar the opposition with his alleged comments.

Never heard of this guy. Why should the revolution be judged on his comments and potentially scare away muslim support for the uprising.

June 7th, 2013, 10:47 am

 

revenire said:

The sooner Iran gets the bomb the better for the world.

June 7th, 2013, 10:47 am

 

Citizen said:

Meet the ‘Friends of Jihad’
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2013/06/06/meet-the-friends-of-jihad/
Time for al-Qaradawi to go on al-Jazeera and upgrade his jihad to include Russian missiles (after all these are infidel weapons). Why not set an example and volunteer himself to the front line?

June 7th, 2013, 10:50 am

 

zoo said:

# Sandro

For once, you’re right to the point. Russia seems prepared to broker a peace deal between Syria and Israel at the condition that Bashar Al Assad and a secular government are maintained in Syria.
It appears that the USA is in total agreement. Turkey has lost the opportunity to play such a role anymore. Russia is taking over.

If Russia succeeds, its star will rise very high and it would re-enter triumphant in the Middle East. The losers would be France and the UK. That’s why they are agitated and noisy because they feel they are been excluded from that Russia-USA process.

As minorities have always had affinities with each other, it is very probable that an Alawite lead government would have more common ground with the Jewish state than an Islamist lead government.

Russis is playing its cards very well.

June 7th, 2013, 10:51 am

 

zoo said:

These french journalists are said to have crossed illegally from Turkey to Syria. The Syrian government has no record of their entry in Syria, therefore it is up to the Turks to find them. The only obligation the Syrian government has is to jail them for illegal entry in the country

France seeks release of two journalists missing in Syria
By AFP | June 7, 2013

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2013/06/france-seeks-release-of-two-journalists-missing-in-syria/

Since the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in March 2011, at least 24 journalists, including several foreigners, have been killed in the strife, according to the Reporters Without Borders watchdog group/AFP

“I demand that these journalists be freed immediately,” Hollande told reporters in Japan, where he is currently on a tour, without mentioning the names or affiliation of those missing.

June 7th, 2013, 10:59 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

Problem with short memory?

In case you forgot what the “Sunni market” is.

Nearby, women browse shops that have become a “Sunni market”, where shabbiha bring in stolen furniture and clothes from Sunni areas after the army has raided them.

“These are the spoils of war,” one woman shrugs. “It’s our right to take them.”

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE85I0EI20120619?irpc=932

June 7th, 2013, 11:18 am

 

Uzair8 said:

130. Zoo said:

‘I have no problem with the SAA looting the houses in ruins where the terrorists used to plot their vicious attacks.’

Mr Edward Dark, if you are reading this, what say you about this comment?

On a general point, imagine what they (regimists) would be saying if the rebels/Islamists were gathering war booty (ghanima as they call it).

Plenty of opportunism and lack of principled consistency.

June 7th, 2013, 11:21 am

 

Ziad said:

Moroccan King Declines to Meet
With Erdogan

Erdogan’s visit to Morocco, which had been initially scheduled for two days, fizzled out. No one expected that King Mohammed VI would not receive the Turkish prime minister. He was received by Benkirane, who also belongs to a “moderate” Islamist movement.

The AKP leader cut short his trip to Morocco to head to neighboring Algeria, where he was welcomed by Abdelmalek Sellal, head of the government, since the Algerian president has been in France for a long recovery.

This visit has not generated much interest among Algerians, who have been almost indifferent to it. This was confirmed to Al-Monitor by the leader of the Islamist Front for Justice and Development, Abdullah al-Djaballah.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/during-protests-erdogan-visits-north-africa.html

June 7th, 2013, 11:24 am

 

Ilya said:

Well Jihadists as i know where living in houses that were left by scared civilians once they took over some of the cities,i don’t remember pro rebel commentators complaining about this.
Also these savages were looting houses,factories then selling goods for cheap to turkey, or simply destroying house,factories,Churches.
Most of the building destroyed there so whats big deal about furniture as everything must be rebuild from ground up?

June 7th, 2013, 11:29 am

 

ghufran said:

Halab front is next, regime media is saying that AK Saleh is dead:
أفادت قناة “الإخبارية السورية” عن “مقتل قائد “لواء التوحيد” في الجيش السوري الحر واسمه عبدالقادر صالح في إشتباك مع الجيش السوري بحلب”

June 7th, 2013, 11:57 am

 

revenire said:

The Turks aided the terrorists in looting all of Aleppo. These people cheered them on. They only play victim for their side and don’t care if Alawite women are raped and Shia shrines are destroyed. Tara herself called for shrines to be destroyed.

Most Sunnis killed were killed by the Takfiri terrorists. The SAA is led by a Sunni. The army is majority Sunni.

If they are looting homes that belonged to terrorists, or terrorist supporters, that is only justice. Is anyone surprised soldiers are angry? I am surprised they are not looting them and then burning them to the ground but the SAA is a professional army and tolerates no criminal activity.

I doubt there is any looting going on by the SAA, or their allies.

This looting story is based on a report from the BBC and they used photos from Iraq to claim that the SAA had committed a massacre. They are prostitutes.

The BBC admitted faking the photo:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/fake-journalism-slaughter-slant-houla-massacre-sparks-media-blame-game/31119

http://archive.org/details/FakedNewsReportsPromotingUsWarWithSyria-ExposedpartIi

http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=20039

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/05/29/243579/bbc-uses-iraq-photo-for-houla-massacre/

http://endoftheage.blogspot.com/2012/07/bbc-uses-2003-picture-from-iraq-to.html

June 7th, 2013, 12:09 pm

 

revenire said:

The truth is the terrorists raped the people of Qusayr and there is no looting going on.

“Alaa Ebrahim ‏@Alaa_Ebrahim_tv 22h
#Qusiar Watching people in tears while visiting houses they were forced out of 18 months ago is very difficult”

June 7th, 2013, 12:12 pm

 

revenire said:

HNN Homs News Network

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/969958_465548336870021_1810725869_n.jpg

THIS IS THE IMAGE OF THE BRUTAL TERRORIST AND COMMANDER OF THE AL-TAWHID BRIGADE “ADBEL QADER SALEH” A.K.A “HAJJI MARA’A” WHO WAS CRUSHED BY OUR AWESOME TROOPS !!

HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM HIS CRIMINAL CAREER:

1. Ordered the burning of the priceless “Ancient Markets” in Aleppo
2. Ordered the looting from the Omayyad Mosque in Aleppo.
3. Ordered the killing and kidnapping of many innocent civilians and imposed his own royalties on business owners.
4. Supervised many “Shariah Court” trials which he used to justify executing kidnapped civilians ..
5. Robbed and looted and burned down Malls, Car Showrooms, Factories and smuggled the stolen equipment and goods to Turkey.
6. Robbed and looted the Jewelry stores of Aleppo.
7. Was a known drug Trafficker before becoming Commander of the Terrorist Brigade.

THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE TERROR AND HORRIFIC CRIMES THAT THE LEGENDARY HEROES FROM THE SYRIAN ARAB ARMY HAVE NOW STOPPED AND SAVED SYRIANS FROM … – J

June 7th, 2013, 12:29 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

I should wait for confirmation first, however, I can’t hold back my passion.

Abdul Qadir Saleh is a martyr. A true hero. Syria can be proud of it’s brave son who answered the call and rushed to Qusair despite the odds seemingly massively in the regime’s favour. A true leader.

Forever he will live in the hearts of Syrians. He always appeared an honourable man. Trustworthy and with the interests of Syrians foremost in his mind.

With leadership such as this victory is assured. Our martyrs are with us. A whole army of them.

From today, we are all Abdul Qader Saleh….

June 7th, 2013, 12:56 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Remember how previously on SC I would explain the reason for the length (time) of the uprising is possibly due to heaven wishing to expose all ‘actors’.

Imagine if the regime fell quickly, some standing with the regime, having maintained silence for the short period, could have claimed they weren’t with the regime or come up with some other defence.

The longer the uprising continued such people have had to reveal their positions.

From Asma to Hezbo. Buthaina Shaaban to Iraq (regime). Muallem to PFLP. Etc etc.

Hezbo has been forced into the open. Even some Turks, presumably a sizeable portion who backed Assad, are now finding some freedoms they hold dearly under threat. They should ask themselves, would they deny the Syrian people their freedom from tyranny? This may not be coincidence. Heaven may well wish to deal systematically and expose those deserving. The wheat seperated from the chaff.

Hezbo and Iran have been drawn to the open on the battlefield. The mother of all Heavenly punishment may well be around the corner and they will not escape it. Russia too better be careful. It will get it’s cummuppance through loss of interests in Syria and the region. Worse may come later as Prophecy indicates it will face military defeat around the Syrian/Turkish area.

The punishment may well come from a US led intervention. Heaven has in history punished a people by the hands of another (even if they be non-believers). Remember Nebuchadnezzar attacked the Children of Isreal? The invaders were called ‘Our Servants’ (in the Quran), in the context of being used by Heaven to punish the Children of Isreal who had gone astray. [I may write more on this later after re-checking].

June 7th, 2013, 1:22 pm

 

dawoud said:

http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=51595
معركة القصير: سقوط الهالة.. بعد إماطة اللثام
صبحي حديدي
JUNE 6, 2013

[…]
.. وهنا، في القصير، كانت العين السورية تواجه مخارز شتى: النظام، في أشرس توظيف لآلته العسكرية الإيرانية والروسية، وميليشياته الطائفية، وقطعان الشبيحة والمرتزقة؛ و’حزب الله’، في ذروة قصوى من انفضاح ‘سلاح المقاومة’ الذي قيل إنه لن يستدير إلى الداخل في أيّ يوم، فأعطى تمريناً تمهيدياً على بطلان ذلك الوعد حين استدار لتوّه على الشعب السوري، الشقيق الذي ألجأ أهله ومقاتليه؛ وشراذم المأجورين، الطائفيين، زاعمي حماية المقامات الروحية، و’اللّطامين’ من المهووسين بالقتال ‘تحت راية الحسين’…
العبرة في المآلات، مع ذلك، لأنّ المعادلة ليست مقتصرة على مقاومة العين للمخرز، حين تقتضي الحال على غرار ما شهدت القصير، بل هي في عين تواصل الشخوص إلى أمام، إذْ تبصر الحقّ والمستقبل؛ وفي مخرز يعتريه صدأ محتوم، إذْ يهبط إلى حمأة الباطل والماضي.

June 7th, 2013, 1:36 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Somethings to look out for. Convergence of a few factors coinciding about the same time may help shape the direction of events in the coming months.

The Hamas Factor

We are led to believe Hamas has been training rebels for a while now. In parts of Damascus and probably other parts of Syria as well as outside Syria (Jordan?). We may begin, increasingly, to see the results of this on the ground.

Perhaps, and it’s very possible, Hamas may significantly enter the battlefield too if it’s not already present on the frontline in some form. This as a result of Hezbo affecting the balance of power.

EU/Western Arming Of Rebels

You may well see the UK and France move forward with the idea of seriously arming opposition fighters. Then it’s game on. More advanced weaponry will make a difference and ask some tough (and different) questions of the regime forces.

Rebel Training

There have been previous reports of the US training rebels in Jordan. You’d have thought we’d be seeing the start of the conveyor belt and some of these fighters making their presence felt in Syria.

June 7th, 2013, 1:38 pm

 

dawoud said:

115. SYRIALOVER

Thanks for making me aware of Bouthyna Shaaban’s existence. I had thought that Lebanon’s sectarian killer Hasan Nasr-Satan حسن نصر الشيطان القاتل الطائفي الحقير عميل ايران وولايه الفقيهhas assumed her role through his countless cult-of-personality videotaped speeches.

June 7th, 2013, 1:40 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Btw. I’m back. InshaAllah.

Who cannot be inspired by the courageous Syrian people and heroes like Abdul Qader Saleh?

Who can remain a bystander on the face of a concerted regime and co. onslaught against the Syrian people?

Jab Karam Hota Hai Halaat Badal Jate Hain

June 7th, 2013, 1:42 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Putin said Russia would send Russian troops to replace Holland troops, would he accept also US and british troops?

For those who consider Qusair battle is the end, I assure them the fight will continue, and HA has to fight inside Lebanon.

June 7th, 2013, 1:45 pm

 

revenire said:

Qusayr is done.

June 7th, 2013, 1:51 pm

 

revenire said:

Abdul Qadir Saleh was a terrorist. He died like they all will.

The army is rolling through Syria now. Nothing will stop them.

Russian and Iranian arms are pouring in. Volunteers from all over the world are streaming in to drive the Takfiri devils out.

We want to see Russian troops land in the Golan. Iran should offer its brave soldiers also.

This is true freedom brothers.

June 7th, 2013, 1:55 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

We are beggars at the doors of Heaven. Our hopes are in Heaven. We present the suffering of the Syrian people, the fate of the innocent children unimaginably treated by this regime.

We are but sinful seekers of the Bounty of God.

If the Grace of Almighty God smiles upon our humble pleas, then that will be that.

June 7th, 2013, 2:24 pm

 

apple_mini said:

Suppose I am a Syrian who does not care about Sunni or Shia.

Now foreign “volunteer” fighters keep coming in Syria and raging war, Shia fighters will certainly leave after the war is over while Sunni fighters are here to stay since they are building a caliphate with sharia law.

I think I am forced to make my mind and decision, right?

June 7th, 2013, 2:27 pm

 

Ziad said:

Uzair8 #177

“We present the suffering of the Syrian people, the fate of the innocent children unimaginably treated by this regime.”

Thank you for making the Almighty aware of what is going on in Syria.

June 7th, 2013, 2:36 pm

 

Atassi said:

revenire
LOL .. you wish.. your scenario will never be achieved , your master Assad want to surrender some of the Syrian land to the Iranians and Russians and move with his thugs to the coast ..Wishful thinking indeed, the free Syrians will defeat the sectarian invaders and dig a deep hole for Assad’s, their sectarian militias and thugs.
The Free Syrians done it many years ago.

June 7th, 2013, 2:39 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

Apple Mini

Allow me to use the term ‘we’.

The Syrian people will decide. If they, after thanking them for the help, decide to politely ask (repeatedly if necessary) the foreign fighters to kindly return to their homelands, and if they repeatedly refuse or insist on staying and implementing their own agendas then unfortunately we (the syrian people) will fight them. With the help of neighbouring/regional muslim countries if necessary.

Having successfully removed the regime the syrian people would be capable of dealing with other challenges. Particularly those parties who have little or no support amongst the population.

June 7th, 2013, 2:43 pm

 

Uzair8 said:

179. Ziad said:

Isn’t that what we do in supplications? Present/mention things God Almighty is aware of:

“Ya Allah, help the Syrian people for the sake of the oppressed and the innocent children…”

June 7th, 2013, 2:48 pm

 

Citizen said:

Mercenaries from the North Caucasus in the ranks of the extremist organization Djabhat Al-Nusra
they do not speak Arabic, do not speak Russian ! stupid misguided road /Knights of Al-Zawahiri/.

http://youtu.be/LT_WSlInebw?t=4m23s

June 7th, 2013, 2:59 pm

 

Ilya said:

Citizen i do hear them speaking Russian with accent though )
Dagestancy probably
they are idiots they have no clue where they are shooting 🙂

June 7th, 2013, 3:11 pm

 

revenire said:

Israeli intelligence sees war over in “weeks”

Surge by Iran-Hizbullah-Syria axis stuns Israeli intelligence community

“Assad is not going to sit quietly if he wins,” an official said. “He will take revenge against anybody he feels helped the rebels, and he could attack us to restore his radical credentials.”

Officials said the community was stunned by the rapid advance of Assad’s military, backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hizbullah. They said the offensive marked a significant improvement in the capabilities of the Syrian military as well as its coordination with foreign allies.

“If they [Assad forces] continue at this rate, they can wrap up the war within a few weeks, and leave the north for a later stage,” the official said.

“Those fighting against Assad are mostly foreigners, paid by Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” another official said. “There is not much left of the indigenous rebel movement.”

Read entire article here: http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/06/06/surge-by-iran-hizbullah-syria-axis-stuns-israeli-intelligence-community/

June 7th, 2013, 3:37 pm

 

zoo said:

160. Tara

I know that ‘sunni’ markets will sell exclusively “sunni” stuff ‘stolen’ by the heretics, therefore you would find no persian artwork, just splendid photos of Ben Laden, al Zarkawi and all the Islamist Sunni heroes.

You can complete your collection with this one

http://img1.imagilive.com/0513/Tina_Hamad_bin_Jassim_bin_Jaber_Al_Thani.jpg

June 7th, 2013, 3:44 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Citizen
I know you are deluded by propaganda, but why don’t you compare F22 with mig 35, the general rule is that Russian arms are no contest to American arms

Revenir you said Qusair is finished, I will remind you in the future

June 7th, 2013, 3:44 pm

 

Citizen said:

186. REVENIRE
نسمع شوي من عند جلعاد:
SYRIA – ISRAEL IS LOSING THE BATTLE
http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/syria-israel-is-losing-the-battle.html

June 7th, 2013, 3:45 pm

 

zoo said:

Majed

Please do, and remind us also about the fall of Damascus that your predicted 3 times.

June 7th, 2013, 3:46 pm

 

Citizen said:

Rogozin called new Russian ballistic missile “the killer of  ABM”

The U.S. missile defense will not be able to keep from hitting the target a new intercontinental ballistic missile, which was test-fired successfully held the day before

June 7th, 2013, 3:52 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

I could not verify the death of Abdulqader Saleh, I know the news were propagated by Ghufran, previously all his propagated news proved to be fabricated, Ghufran would you verify the news

June 7th, 2013, 3:56 pm

 

zoo said:

Revenire

Furious of KSA intervention in the coalition and the growing cozyness between the FSA and KSA, Qatar has probably cut down the salaries of its militias, Al Tawhid.
KSA won’t pay the salaries of Moslem Brotherhood’s fighters, it will help the Salafists. Therefore the cohesion necessary to face the SAA that has upgraded its military strategies is crumbling thus exposing the FSA to a total collapse.
Despite the hundred of US military advisors that have trained the rebels for months, it seems that with an ‘army’ kacking central command and with antagonistic sponsors, it’ll be impossible to obtain sustained result.
I think the FSA, if ever existed, is living its last days.

June 7th, 2013, 3:58 pm

 

Majed97 said:

Erdogan is losing on all fronts now…

EU and Turkey clash over protests.

Turkey must investigate the excessive use of force by police against anti-government protesters, a senior EU official has said in Istanbul.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele was speaking ahead of talks on Turkey’s ambition to join the EU.

In response, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said similar protests in Europe would be dealt with more harshly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22817460#

June 7th, 2013, 4:00 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Zoo
You support the new Mongols from Persia who kill destroy rape and loot,
You predicted a lot of things that did not happen , you are the master of false predictions, and you glee for the death of Sunnis, there is no difference between you and Majoos

June 7th, 2013, 4:03 pm

 

zoo said:

Egypt is special destination for Iranians: Persian tourists

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/73424/Business/Economy/Egypt-is-special-destination-for-Iranians-Persian-.aspx

Some Sunni Muslims were up in arms over the flow of tourism from the Shia-majority country, since they see them as “heretics” and suspect that Iran is trying to spread the Shia faith in the Sunni-Muslim world.

Iranian businessman, Mohamed Redha, who has described Egypt as a “special destination” above the many countries he has visited, says he expects that an enormous number of Iranians will come.

“Tourism will contribute to the rapid political and economic development in both Tehran and Cairo,” he predicts.

Redha praised the Egyptian civilisation and the ancient monuments, confirming that the visit went without a hitch.

“I have been informed how ancient Egyptians lived throughout the centuries and I can’t believe that I’m standing in front of one of the world’s seven wonders!” Redha said as he stared at the Giza pyramids.

“I loved visiting Egypt, which has an inveterate history, like Iran,” said 27-year Hamed Dilshah, an Iranian engineer.

“I really liked the great Nile River, the Red Sea and the water activities there.”

June 7th, 2013, 4:03 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Hasan Nasr-Satan’s lies and al-Manar TV propaganda! Showing pictures of old Israeli weapons from S. Lebanon in Al-Qasir!! Lies and Lies! Shame on him and his Iranian Wilayet al-Faqih masters!

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4389596,00.html

Syria: Hebrew-inscribed flare found in al-Qusair
Hezbollah TV channel shows alleged IDF weapons found in town recently retaken by Assad’s forces; IDF: Probably date back to 2000 pullout
Roi Kais
Published: 06.07.13, 20:16 / Israel News

June 7th, 2013, 4:04 pm

 
 

zoo said:

A Hezbollah fighter recounts battles in Syria

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syria-hezbollah-fighter-20130607,0,7747054.story


Hassan said his squad, which worked near Syrian forces but received its orders from top Hezbollah commanders, battled rebels affiliated with Al Nusra Front, a Sunni militia with links to Al Qaeda.

“They were well-trained. They were focusing on sniping and shooting mortar [rounds]. We got two mortars right by the municipality building,” Hassan said, adding that four of his men were killed and the fighting prolonged because Hezbollah engineers had to be called in to clear land mines.

“You were fighting people who were using civilians as human shields, that is mainly what slowed us down,” he said. “We were thinking of finishing the job faster.”

June 7th, 2013, 4:12 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

الأمم المتحدة: لا يمكن نشر قوات حفظ سلام روسية محل النمساوية في الجولان المحتل

June 7th, 2013, 4:17 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Dawoud
It is called Taqiyyeh(dissimulation)

June 7th, 2013, 4:21 pm

 

Citizen said:

188. MAJEDKHALDOUN
WE satisfied with SUPERSONIC TRAINER YAKOVLEV YAK-130 And like all russian military planes it will probably work without wasting billions on its construction!!!

http://youtu.be/dJUJZN_xCoM?t=7s

June 7th, 2013, 4:21 pm

 

Citizen said:

200. MAJEDKHALDOUN
الأمم المتحدة: لا يمكن نشر قوات حفظ سلام روسية محل النمساوية في الجولان المحتل
المصدر ؟

June 7th, 2013, 4:27 pm

 

Citizen said:

This is a brilliant strategic offer by Putin, which would literally put the Russian military as a “buffer” at the border between Israel and Syria. This would most probably prevent any Israeli “funny business” against Syria.

Ban ki Moon would be very clever to accept such an offer, no matter how much Israel screams against it. I do not know how much such a move depends upon Israel’s accepting this, but congrats to Putin for having offered his troops to the UN for this purpose.

June 7th, 2013, 4:30 pm

 

Tara said:

Assad or will burn the balad

U.N. says half of Syria’s population will need aid by end of year
Fri Jun 7, 2013 1:48pm BST

Read more here:
http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKBRE9560J320130607?irpc=932

June 7th, 2013, 4:31 pm

 

revenire said:

Russia has the best weapons-systems – hands down. Nothing can touch them.

Putin has checkmated Obama in Syria.

June 7th, 2013, 4:53 pm

 

revenire said:

Brother Majed yes please remind me of Qusayr in the future. Remind me every day if you like. I enjoy reliving victories and remembering the defeat that gave us victory.

Your entire operation has collapsed.

I am starting to smell a total rout coming on.

June 7th, 2013, 5:02 pm

 

Tara said:

Reve,

Russia is nothing. The only reason why Putin appears strong is that we have a weak president. Had The Republican won the election, Syria would have been free by now.

June 7th, 2013, 5:02 pm

 

revenire said:

I doubt that Tara. I believe the West has tossed everything they could in so far and come up empty. All that is left is direct intervention – war. I don’t think the US military wants that. Obama might but his generals don’t.

I think Romney is just as weak as Obama. In fact, to me they’re both idiots cut from the same cloth.

You’re not stupid. You know it’s over. Only bravado keeps you from admitting it.

I am not sure what freedom means to you. To me Syria is free now and was free before this war started. I guess your idea of it is anything minus Assad? I am not sure why one man means to much to you. He will be up for elections and if another Syrian gets more votes Assad will be gone.

June 7th, 2013, 5:22 pm

 

revenire said:

I trust the Syrian government is smart enough to reject ANY ceasefire calls. It is just a move of desperation to save the terrorists. Now is the time to go all-out to smash this once and for all.

June 7th, 2013, 5:27 pm

 

Ilya said:

Tara
Russian wars under Putin
Russian Counter terrorism operation in Chechnya success, terrorist have been purged from there.
NATO Georgian invasion of south Ossetia,Result
Russian/South Ossetian/Abkhazian victory, like 6 days 🙂
Russian support of Syrian people,fighting foreign mercenaries,also will be victorious unless NATO other countries decide unlawful invasion on all fronts.
Can weak leader achieve such results?
haha who are you kidding.

June 7th, 2013, 5:27 pm

 

Tara said:

Ilya,

Hehe. You misunderstood.

I wasn’t talking about Putin. I was talking about Russia itself. Russia is a third world country acting as a world power.

June 7th, 2013, 5:34 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara no, no – Russia is a super-power.

If it is so weak why doesn’t Obama just launch the attack tonight? You know he wants Assad gone badly.

It is time to admit what the truth is Tara: this is an Anglo-American conspiracy against Syria, Hezbollah, Iran and Russia.

I won’t hold it against you but stop with the “revolution” and “freedom” stuff. It was never about that.

June 7th, 2013, 5:37 pm

 

zoo said:

Hysteria among the “Sunni” religious leaders calling for Sunnis to wake up from their “coma”. Hezbollah did a great job. It’s time for Sunnis to do a serious soul-searching and clean up their ranks from the parasites that have distorted and abused Islam for far too long

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130607/news/706079725/

Speaking on a Gulf TV station, Sheik Mohammed el-Zoghbi called on “young men in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Kuwait, Jordan, Yemen,” urging them to go to Syria to fight. “We must all go to purge Syria of this infidel regime, with its Shiites who came from Iran, southern Lebanon and Iraq,” he shouted during an appearance on Al-Khalijiya TV.

June 7th, 2013, 5:40 pm

 

Tara said:

Reve

I think it is a conspiracy against Anisa.

June 7th, 2013, 5:40 pm

 

revenire said:

The defeat at Qusayr was bigger than anyone imagined.

June 7th, 2013, 5:41 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

REVENIRE

You suffer childish nightmares. Russia may be a super-power but Israel and US are three times more powerfull. Russia is simply cooperating with US and Israel by doing the bad job… while US and Israel denounce Assad the evil but they let him kill the opposition for the good of Israel, US and Russia strategies on politics, oil and gas.

Frankly I think you are really out of reality. You act like a child playing while this is not a game, this is a war where millions of people are suffering daily and the God Dog is killing people and sending his army to die.

June 7th, 2013, 5:47 pm

 

Ilya said:

Russia was on verge of Collapse in 1999 just before Putin came to power.
Financially and physically country was breaking apart thanks to Yeltsin and his western Zionist advisers.
Thank god Putin came cleaned this mess, i agree he rules with iron fist,that what was needed to save Russia.
Russia is not super power yet it will take some time to get there its on right path right now.
Democracy does not work in Russia,Russian people need strong leaders this is when they succeeded.
Gorbachev,Yeltsin,they were good @ destroying powerful nation, both did more harmful than good to our people with their democratic approach.

June 7th, 2013, 5:51 pm

 

Tara said:

If I was a regimist, I wouldn’t get that excited about Qusayr. It took 2 armies supported by air and artillery power (the Assad’s militia and HA mercenaries) 3 full weeks to overcome few very lightly armed rebels. And in order for the so called victory to happen, the whole city was bombarded to rubble. I do not see how this is being called victory.

If anything that “victory” tells a story of coward and impotent militias. I always thought HA is much more accomplished than that. Such a weak performance. May be low T syndrome?

June 7th, 2013, 5:54 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

According to some former diplomats and officials Putin had homosexual relationships while in the secret services of KGB at the former Democratic Republic of Germany. This fact and the will to hide it would explain why he always try to be more macho than any man. He is pathetic trying to appear as a model of russian masculinity to supply the lack of democratic popularity.

June 7th, 2013, 5:59 pm

 

zoo said:

The opposition prefers that Syrian die and put the blame on the international community.

Opposition Spokesman Won’t Commit To Syria Peace Talks
June 07, 201312:00 PM

11 min 29 sec Listen
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=189521153

Leaders from around the world are urging Syrian opposition and government groups to hold talks aimed at ending the two-year-old civil war there. But the Syrian opposition won’t commit to negotiations. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with Khalid Saleh, Chief Spokesperson for the Syrian Opposition recognized by the US.

June 7th, 2013, 6:09 pm

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

Sunni this, Sunni that, Sunni…Sunni…Sunni….

You should start checking under you bed for a Sunni monster lurking around?

My Yara is Sunni but she is very sweat..

June 7th, 2013, 6:13 pm

 

zoo said:

France moves beyond the limits of ridicule

France studies high-tech means to track potential arms for Syrian rebels

June 08, 2013 12:44 AM
By Jamey Keaten

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jun-08/219762-france-studies-high-tech-means-to-track-potential-arms-for-syrian-rebels.ashx#ixzz2VZTcPTwt

June 7th, 2013, 6:15 pm

 

Ziad said:

Al-Jazeera and Co. Challenge Qusayr Victory

Many Arab satellite channels are in denial over news of a Syrian army victory in Qusayr. For the past several weeks, Qusayr had been a top news item on the major channels, as networks hosted military experts to shed light on the battles between the Syrian regime and its opposition. Yet once images confirming an opposition defeat began to surface, the channels adopted a unilateral discourse of sectarian incitement.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/al-jazeera-and-co-challenge-qusayr-victory

June 7th, 2013, 6:21 pm

 

zoo said:

Tara

There are “good” sunnis and “bad’ sunnis. We only hear the bad ones shouting. Maybe it is time to raise your voice too and cover theirs.

June 7th, 2013, 6:22 pm

 

zoo said:

The Al Qusayr humiliating defeat inflicted by ‘heretics’ sends a shockwave to the Saudi Sunni communities.

http://arabnews.com/news/454372

A Muslim union headed by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi yesterday called for a “Day of Rage and Support” for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) battling Syrian regime troops backed by a Shiite axis.
The Association of Muslim Scholars urged its millions of supporters to demonstrate, stage peaceful sit-ins, make speeches and pray for the Syrian fighters on Friday, June 14.

June 7th, 2013, 6:29 pm

 

revenire said:

Ha ha some of them are still too stunned to respond to Syria’s victory at Qusayr.

“According to some former diplomats and officials Putin had homosexual relationships while in the secret services of KGB at the former Democratic Republic of Germany.”

LOL Sandro are you sure they don’t mean the Saudi or Qataris?

June 7th, 2013, 6:33 pm

 

zoo said:

Just for Juergen. Having failed in rallying anyone to their cause ..

Kafranbel tries sarcasm

http://hurryupharry.org/2013/06/07/kafranbel-tries-sarcasm/

June 7th, 2013, 6:33 pm

 

Ziad said:

Kafranbel has a new message out. Where is Juergen?

https://twitter.com/freiheit_0/status/342974058700361729/photo/1

June 7th, 2013, 6:37 pm

 

Dawoud said:

218. TARA

Yes, and I think that as soon as HA (the Terrorist Lebanese Shia Iranian-puppet party led by Hasan Nasr-Satan حسن نصر الشيطان)decided to PUBLICLY assume the leading role in al-Qasir, It SIMULTANEOUSLY began digging its own grave. The day Syrians (with significant Lebanese assistance) invade Beirut’s Southern Dhahiya to seek justice from Beirut’s Iranian-puppet Hasan Nasr-Satan, everybody should remember al-Qasir!!!!!!

June 7th, 2013, 7:09 pm

 

Ilya said:

Al-Qassab: Moving rodents in vans and flatbeds near Al-Rubay’a were followed to Al-Qassab where SAA laid into them: 11 dead rats and the rest fled to Turkey. Nobody picked up the bodies.

Al-Kabeer: These rats were shot to death while carrying off loot stolen from a citizen’s home:
But rebel supporters would never acknowledge that rebels doing such things on daily basis.
http://syrianperspective.blogspot.com/2013/06/first-post-june-7-2013-assads-endgame.html

June 7th, 2013, 7:13 pm

 

revenire said:

Ha ha that’s one of Kafranbel’s better efforts. Bravo!

June 7th, 2013, 7:21 pm

 

SANDRO LOEWE said:

226. revenire said:

Ha ha some of them are still too stunned to respond to Syria’s victory at Qusayr.

Hahahaha You mean Iran´s Victory at Qusayr…. (Syria has lost his meaning since the day it felt under control of a criminal mafia)

Where is Assef Shawkat? Fighting in Qusayr too?

June 7th, 2013, 7:40 pm

 

Ziad said:

The ‘Tribune of Anatolia’: America’s Dark View of Turkish Premier Erdogan

The US is concerned about its NATO ally Turkey. Embassy dispatches portray Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a power-hungry Islamist surrounded by corrupt and incompetent ministers. Washington no longer believes that the country will ever join the European Union.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-tribune-of-anatolia-america-s-dark-view-of-turkish-premier-erdogan-a-732084.html

June 7th, 2013, 7:41 pm

 

Ilya said:

http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/06/face-to-face-with-syrias-snipers/?hpt=hp_inthenews
CNN interview Aleppo snipers who shooting civilians ,this is amazing…

June 7th, 2013, 7:49 pm

 

Ziad said:

Qusayr Residents Start Returning to their Town after its Liberation by the Syrian

Residents chant after they returned to their homes in Qusayr “One! One! One! The Syrian people are One!”

June 7th, 2013, 7:53 pm

 

majoos said:

I think we could all agree that Assads (Evil) forces will slowly but surely prevail in the upcoming months with reservations of bigger changes in the political arrangement of adjacent countries or declarations of war zones e.t.c.
The Russian replacement for the Austrian Un forces can be expected which would further consolidate Assads stance.

Is Saudi Arabia and the bastions of refuge in Northern Lebanon the next target of the frenzy Hisbalah Army?

June 7th, 2013, 7:54 pm

 

Tara said:

It is now official. HA launched the Sunni-Shiaa war and all Sunnis are now being called for jihad against the Shias . Anti -Shiaa sermons are everywhere and HA is the only one to blame. The Middle East is dying in front of our own eyes…. And their will be no winners.

Sermons on Syria fan Mideast sectarian flames

In Tehran, the non-Arab power behind the Shi’ite strand of Islam followed by a minority of Muslims, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for restraint and unity, blaming Western powers and Israel for fomenting the sectarian strife.

In Qatar, the International Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni body headed by influential cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, condemned the “Qusair massacre” and called for “a day of rage” in support of the Syrian people next Friday, according to a statement posted online.

populous Arab state, where the Arab Spring protests of 2011 brought the Sunni Islamist Muslim Brotherhood to power, a leading cleric and Brotherhood member led televised prayers on Friday in which he described Hezbollah – ‘the party of God’ in Arabic – as “the party of Satan”.

“God, break the backs of Bashar and his supporters,” Salah Sultan, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, said at a Cairo mosque. “God, break the back of Hezbollah, the party of Satan, God, break the back of Iran.”

In the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, where Shi’ites and Sunnis have fought, a hardline cleric, Sheikh Bilal Baroudi, told worshippers: “Hezbollah is responsible for the consequences of this jihad invasion against Sunnis in Qusair.

“The response that is coming will be harsh.”

In Beirut, where the Shi’ite southern suburbs erupted in joy after the fall of Qusair, prominent Sunni preacher Da’i al-Islam al-Shahhal urged followers to resist Iranian attempts to control Iraq, Lebanon and Syria as a step to conquering the Gulf states:

“I call on all those zealous and concerned to help us,” he said. “Stand with us financially and morally to foil the plan.”

Senior Saudi cleric Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, in comments in al-Madina newspaper, underlined Sunni suspicion of such calls:

Shi’ites, he said, “pretend to be Muslims and try to get closer to the Sunnis … in order for them to be able to plot against Islam … these days their hostility has become more apparent in their war against the Sunnis in Syria.”

Appeals for a united front, notably against Israel, which once won Hezbollah widespread respect among Sunni Arabs, now fall on deaf ears following the Shi’ite movement’s overt drive to save Assad and provide a bulwark for Iranian influence.

As one Lebanese woman in a Sunni neighborhood of Beirut put it, as she listened with disdain to festivities echoing from a Shi’ite stronghold after Hezbollah’s victory at Qusair: “What are they celebrating? You’d think they’d liberated Jerusalem.”

In the Gaza Strip, whose Palestinian Hamas rulers were once allies of Assad and Hezbollah, hardline cleric Imad al-Daya told worshippers that Qusair had exposed the “fraud” of Hezbollah’s rhetoric about leading “resistance” to Israel.

“Wake up,” he told worshippers. “This is a war of religion.” Shi’ites, he added, had always been “a knife in Muslims’ backs”.

In the Red Sea city of Hurghada, where some Iranians have been on holiday lately, preacher Mohamad Daraz, whose Salafist movement sees the Brotherhood as too liberal, said: “God, annihilate the Shi’ites and those who cooperate with them.”

http://news.yahoo.com/sermons-syria-fan-mideast-sectarian-flames-182300194.html

June 7th, 2013, 8:02 pm

 

majoos said:

Erdogan is bitting the hand wich has fed him!

“Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,”Interest lobby thinks would threaten us now about to enter the stock market speculation…. Now I stress that, despite the interest we got to the lobby. This interest lobby, thinks that would threaten us now about to enter the stock market speculation. Once I got to know very well, we are the nation’s brow yedirtmeyeceğiz them,”he said.
http://www.habermonitor.com/en/haber/detay/erdoganyedirtmeyecegiz-interest-lobby-of-the/126108/

Is the old, “one-minute” Erdogan back? The revenger of the oppressed muslim world , it s getting exiting!

June 7th, 2013, 8:03 pm

 

zoo said:

Foreign fighters streaming in Syria in different bands are gradually overpowering the Syrian local rebels with their ruthlessness and their extremist ideologies. If Bashar al Assad were to leave, it is expected that these two clans with clash violently in the areas occupied by the rebels.

WASHINGTON — Foreign Islamist extremists are streaming into Syria, apparently in response to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah’s more visible backing of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a development that analysts say is likely to lead to a major power struggle between foreign jihadists and Syrian rebels should the Assad regime collapse.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/07/193368/analysts-foreign-militant-islamists.html#storylink=cpy

June 7th, 2013, 8:03 pm

 

revenire said:

Message from the ruins of Qusair
By Charles Krauthammer, Published: June 6

On Wednesday, Qusair fell to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Qusair is a strategic town that connects Damascus with Assad’s Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean, with its ports and Russian naval base. It’s a major strategic shift. Assad’s forces can now advance on rebel-dominated areas in central and northern Syria, including Aleppo.

For the rebels, it’s a devastating loss of territory, morale and their supply corridor to Lebanon. No one knows if this reversal of fortune will be the last, but everyone knows that Assad now has the upper hand.

What altered the tide of battle was brazen outside intervention. A hardened, well-trained, well-armed Hezbollah force — from the terrorist Shiite group that dominates Lebanon and answers to Iran — crossed into Syria and drove the rebels out of Qusair, which Syrian artillery has left a smoking ruin.

This is a huge victory not just for Tehran but also for Moscow, which sustains Assad in power and prizes its warm-water port at Tartus, Russia’s only military base outside of the former Soviet Union. Vladimir Putin has stationed a dozen or more Russian warships offshore, further protecting his strategic outpost and his Syrian client.

The losers? NATO-member Turkey, the major supporter of the rebels; Jordan, America’s closest Arab ally, now drowning in half a million Syrian refugees; and America’s Gulf allies, principal weapons suppliers to the rebels.

And the United States, whose bystander president, having declared that Assad must go, that he has lost all legitimacy and that his fall is just a matter of time, is looking not just feckless but clueless.

Resd the rest here >
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-message-from-the-ruins-of-qusair/2013/06/06/32b64cc0-ced9-11e2-8f6b-67f40e176f03_story.html

June 7th, 2013, 8:07 pm

 

zoo said:

#236 Majoos

The rule at the UN is that members of the security council are not allowed to send UN peacekeepers. Therefore Russia is excluded.

June 7th, 2013, 8:09 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara nah. You’re not hearing a call for jihad. Sunnis support Bashar. What you are hearing is the death throes of this fake revolution.

You will be okay. I am sure I could arrange to put in a good word for you with the security services if you ever care to visit Damascus in a year or so.

June 7th, 2013, 8:10 pm

 

majoos said:

@Tara
The facts you mentioned support my assumption that the dynamics discharged in the past two years particularly considered HA role in the past months and their role in the conquest of Qusair.
Where do you think the next major battlefields will unfold besides the many in Syria?

June 7th, 2013, 8:10 pm

 

dawoud said:

237. Tara

Again, Sister, this is an excellent article!

June 7th, 2013, 8:11 pm

 

revenire said:

Russia should just send 1000 Spetsnaz to Tartous. Just for to rub it in Obama’s face.

June 7th, 2013, 8:12 pm

 

zoo said:

Reve

I think that Bashar’s strategy is to secure the West and possibly Homs and Aleppo then leave the FSA and the foreign fighters to exterminate each other in their struggle for exclusive control of the areas they have both occupied.

June 7th, 2013, 8:12 pm

 

Dawoud said:

Lebanon’s (I mean Hizbistan’s) foreign minister, Mansour, the old guy with the dyed hair and lifted face 🙂

The title of this article: “What is Mansoor doing with Hizb….’Terrorizing al-Qasir’?”

http://www.almustaqbal.com/storiesv4.aspx?storyid=574194

ماذا “يفعل” منصور مع حزب.. “إرهاب القصير”؟!

“سقوط القصير” هو ما كان ينقص وزير الخارجية في حكومة تصريف الأعمال عدنان منصور لتقترن نظرياته واجتهاداته حول “النأي بالنفس” بالتبعية التي تربط حزبه أي “حزب الله” بإيران والنظام السوري، فترتفع النبرة على طاولة جامعة الدول العربية خلال المؤتمر غير العادي لوزراء الخارجية العرب، حتى ليتحوّل لبنان بفضل بعض وزرائه الى “أضحوكة” العالم العربي.
صودف “سقوط” القصير، بيد من هم ليسوا من أهلها وغرباء عن أرضها، في صباح اليوم نفسه الذي تحدث فيه منصور على مسامع وزراء الخارجية، وبالطبع فإن كلامه لم يتناغم مع قرارات جامعة الدولة العربية التي التزم لبنان في مقدمة دستوره قراراتها، كما أن كلام منصور، وكما في كل مرة منذ اندلاع ثورة الشعب على الطاغية في سوريا، يلاقي ردوداً عربية وداخلية غير مرحّبة بمواقفه التي وصفت مؤخراً بـ”الفضيحة”.
يا لفرحة منصور وتعاسة نظرائه! فحزبه حقّق “النصر الإلهي” على شعب عربي وطرده من دياره ومن بين أهله، وكأن الوزير بالتالي انتصر على كل نظرائه في الجامعة لأن الحزب لم يخيّب ظنّه! فقد غادر منصور لبنان يوم الثلاثاء الماضي مستبقاً نقاشات الاجتماع وقراراته بقوله “إن “حزب الله” حزب سياسي ولا يمكن التعامل معه على أنه إرهابي”. وعاد من القاهرة مقللاً من قيمة الأفكار التي طرحت خلال الاجتماع ومن أهمية الاجتماع بذاته، على الرغم من ترؤسه له، باستثناء طبعاً ما قيل عن “حزب الله” وما اتّهم به الحزب زوراً!
واتّضح من خلال كلام ما بعد الاجتماع، الذي ألمح إليه منصور قبله، بأن “اللبيب من الإشارة يفهم” إنما حين يشاء، ولأنه مدرك أسباب التئام الوزراء في القاهرة، فقد كان مقصوداً التخفيف من و
[…]

June 7th, 2013, 8:15 pm

 

majoos said:

I come back to Erdogan bc in my perspective the further developments in Turkey will be more than crucial i the outcome of this looming great fitna war.

Other relevant wording he used:
“I salute Istanbul’s sister cities Sarajevo, Baku, Baghdad, Damascus, Gaza, Mekka and Medina from Istanbul”
[Crowd chants “Allahu Ekber”/”God is Great”]
….
Our citizens who have been manipulated by terror organizations must now see the game that is afoot and withdraw.”
[Crowd chants for a long time: “Give us permission, we will raze Taksim to the ground.” The Prime Minister waits for them]

June 7th, 2013, 8:17 pm

 

Tara said:

Reve,

“You will be okay. I am sure I could arrange to put in a good word for you with the security services if you ever care to visit Damascus in a year or so.”

Ah.. That is too sweet. I am speechless.

Last time I visited Damascus, A dark-window big black car waiting for me on the runway. What are you sending me this time?

June 7th, 2013, 8:18 pm

 

Tara said:

Majoos@243

Libnan.

June 7th, 2013, 8:19 pm

 

zoo said:

As scores of foreign fighters have been killed, the question is who are the real “invaders”??

“Latest figures from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is generally regarded as the most authoritative recorder of Syrian casualty figures, showed that 2,219 foreigners have been killed fighting on the rebels’ behalf since the conflict began. That’s more than the 1,965 dead who were identified as defectors from the Syrian army.

“Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s involvement was considered a foreign interference,” Nasrallah scoffed in his speech last month.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/07/193368/analysts-foreign-militant-islamists.html#storylink=cpy

June 7th, 2013, 8:20 pm

 

majoos said:

It not right to group all the nominal Sunnis together.

At first Sunni-Kurds and Sunni-Arabs or Tuks/Turcomans don t fell very united not in Syria nor Turkey or Iraq.

Additionally we have to consider little theological rifts as the fact that the Shrine of Zeynab is of none or even negative significance for takfri fractions whereas for many Sufi orders of there is a lot in Syria it s considered sacred.
Ethnical and theological dIfferences among the Sunni denominations are of a far greater intensity as within the Shia or the Christian.

June 7th, 2013, 8:25 pm

 

revenire said:

Tara watch this one. It won’t hurt. This guy is one of yours.


He really comes across nuts and angry at everyone. He says everyone betrayed the revolution and with the fall of Qusayr all Syria will fall.

Tell me what you think of this message from this doctor (not sure what kind of doctor he is).

June 7th, 2013, 8:26 pm

 

ghufran said:

Speaking in her office on the shores of Lake Geneva, Mrs Pillay expressed her fears that Mr Assad could use a new round of peace talks brokered by the US and Russia to escape responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands in his offensives.
The conference, due to assemble within weeks in the Swiss city, will attempt to form a transitional government that includes both the government and opposition. Foreign Office officials said today the issue of justice had not been part of the preparations.
“Those who are most responsible must be held to account. As High Commissioner for Human Rights I am particularly watchful that justice is not sacrificed for peace,” said Mrs Pillay.
As a veteran of courts that pursued justice for victims of apartheid and international trials on Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Mrs Pillay said she feared the sponsors of the peace talks — known as Geneva II — would overlook the suffering of Syrians in pursuit of a ceasefire pact. “Peace may be what people probably want immediately. I am saying there has to be accountability — it has to be part of that peace. Victims hunger for justice.”
(Telegraph)

June 7th, 2013, 8:27 pm

 

revenire said:

Ghufran Pillay is just angry because Qusayr fell. They all are. Forget about her. She has nothing to say about Syria. She needs a new hobby.

June 7th, 2013, 8:29 pm

 

majoos said:

@reveniere

That guy is somehow right in what he claims.
The takfiris were promised more support from the begin with. But all of the sudden since February/March most of the supply routes in Turkey and Jordan were disabled by the “West”.
The diplomatic channels were also put on block, the takfiri fighters became cannon fodder

June 7th, 2013, 8:31 pm

 

zoo said:

The SNC still believes in Santa Claus

Syrian rebels: Not time for peace talks

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-rebels-not-time-for-peace-talks/2013/06/07/1a7a2fb8-cfac-11e2-8f6b-67f40e176f03_story.html

“We need to change the balance of power on the ground” ahead of proposed talks, Khalid Saleh, spokesman for the umbrella Syrian Opposition Coalition, said in an interview here. “We need our friends to start putting more pressure,” on Assad’s forces by using air strikes and supplying weapons to rebel forces, he said.

But while Saleh predicted that the United States, Britain and France were all on the verge of changing their non-intervention policies, none of those countries has yet made a commitment to provide arms and other lethal help to the rebels.

June 7th, 2013, 8:31 pm

 

majoos said:

reveniere, how likely you d estimate the possibility that, as Tara said, Lebanon will be the next battlefield.
Will the Sunni have any chance without Erdogans help.
We ve t consider that Erdogan is currently alienating himself from “the Interest-Lobby” grip!

June 7th, 2013, 8:34 pm

 

majoos said:

Not participating in any negotiations show clearly the the Rebels can t autonomously act in this war. Otherwise they would at the latest now begin to engage in talks just to consilidate some gains or at least save the way outnumbered combatants.

June 7th, 2013, 8:38 pm

 

zoo said:

Reve

The guy is saying what Bashar al Assad already said: The Gulf countries are cowards and “half-men”.

June 7th, 2013, 8:40 pm

 

ghufran said:

ان نجحت الثورة يعودون أبطالا, و إن لم تنجح فيستمرون بحياتهم المترفة في باريس او واشنطن, فهم لم يخسروا كل ما يملكون ولا من يحبون
اشتعلت صفحات التواصل الاجتماعي السورية المعارضة خلال الساعات الماضية غضبا،وامتلأت بالشتائم المقذعة بحق نائب رئيس “الائتلاف” السوري المعارض سهير الأتاسي على خلفية صورة لابنها عبد الرحمن. وتداولت هذه الصفحات صورة تظهر ابنها عبد الرحمن الفرا مع إحدى عشيقاته في أحد المرابع الليليلة، والذي لم يجر تحديد ما إذا كان في فرنسا حيث تقيم رسميا منذ خروجها من سوريا، أو في مكان آخر.
وأجمعت النقاشات والتعليقات التي تداولتها هذه الصفحات على تقطتين أساسيتين، وهي أن مسؤولي المعارضة السورية يدفعون الناس إلى الموت في سوريا، بينما أولادهم يقضون لياليهم الحمراء في المرابع الليلية وأماكن اللهو. أما النقطة الثانية التي اشتركت التعليقات في الإجماع عليها ، والتي ترتبط بالقضية الأولى، فهي مصير الأموال التي يتلقاها “الائتلاف” و”المجلس الوطني” تحت عنوان إغاثة المنكوبين السوريين، وما إذا كانت تصرف من قبل قادة “الائتلاف” هؤلاء وأبنائهم على ملاذاتهم الشخصية، كما كتب أحد المعلقين على صفحة “الثورة السورية”!؟
يشار إلى أن “الائتلاف” كان كلف سهير الأتاسي بملف اللاجئين السوريين والمساعدات الإنسانية
This phenomenon is not limited to Suhair, many Syrians incite violence on both sides while they sit comfortably in the West, Turkey or Qatar, they have nothing to lose regardless of how this war ends.

June 7th, 2013, 8:40 pm

 

revenire said:

Majoos I doubt they can get anything going in Lebanon. Their threats are just hot air. This ragtag bunch can’t take on any army face to face. They take civilian hostages and nest in cities.

I think if they try anything outside of shooting a few rockets in Lebanon the Lebanese army will clamp down on them.

June 7th, 2013, 8:45 pm

 

zoo said:

Another one who still believes in Santa Clausov

Erdoğan to try convincing Moscow on Syria question during planned visit

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-317686-erdogan-to-try-convincing-moscow-on-syria-question-during-planned-visit.html

In an upcoming planned visit to Moscow, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to try and convince Russian authorities to either soften their stance against the internationally recognized Syrian National Coalition (SNC) — the Syrian opposition in exile — or to agree on a transition in Syria without President Bashar al-Assad.

The deadlock on the Syria issue is now over whether Assad and his close cohorts will remain in the government, given that a political solution has almost been agreed on by all sides, including Turkey, Orhan noted. “What Turkey will try to do is convince Russia about a transitional period without Assad. But this seems difficult. Russia will defend Assad’s participation in possible presidential elections in the country [after the civil war comes to an end],” Orhan said

June 7th, 2013, 8:46 pm

 

majoos said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOATgJn-V4A
Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque

A truly nice example of dainty edifices in Damascus and the Arab World in total. After the major destructions on the rival building, the UMMAYAD mosque it can be considered Nr. 1 in Syria.

June 7th, 2013, 8:49 pm

 

Tara said:

Reve,

The guy is angry at every one and I can’t blame him. I can’t start to imagine how devastating for a doctor to watch wounded patients dying in front of his own eyes from treatable wound and not being able to help them while the murderous regime/HA are blocking their evacuation and the whole world is just watching.

It is a shameful episode in the history of humanity.

June 7th, 2013, 8:51 pm

 

ghufran said:

If true, this will raise many questions:

دبي، الإمارات العربية المتحدة (CNN)– أكد أحد شهود العيان في بلدة القصير عدم وجود أي أثر لمقاتلي الجيش السوري الحر في لمنطقة، وذلك بعد إعلان الجيش السوري النظامي فرض سيطرته على البلدة الإستراتيجية، القريبة من الحدود مع لبنان.
وقال الشاهد، وهو الصحفي علي هاشم، في تصريح لـCNN: “لم أشاهد أي مقاتل من الثوار أو الجيش السوري الحر في القصير، رغم أنني قمت بجولة واسعة ذهبت فيها إلى المعاقل السابقة للجيش السوري الحر، حتى أنني لم أسمع دوي إطلاق نار أو أي دلائل أخرى على وجود جيوب مقاومة لازالت موجودة حالياً.”
وأضاف هاشم: “بلدة القصير من شمالها لجنوبها ومن شرقها لغربها هي مدينة أنقاض، وخلال جولتي لم أستطع أن أجد مكاناً واحداً لم يصله الدمار
أما بالنسبة للمدنيين، قال الصحفي: “من المعروف أن سكان بلدة القصير يبلغ عددهم 50 ألفاً.. حالياً لا يوجد أثر لأي مدني في المدينة.”
وعند سؤاله عن إمكانية قيام قوات الأسد بالتوجه إلى مدينة حلب، قال هاشم: “بالأخذ بعين الاعتبار ما يجري حالياً في تركيا، يبدو أن الأسد يتحلى بثقة عالية، ومن الممكن أن يتمكن من السيطرة ليس على مدينة حلب فقط، بل على المناطق الحدودية مع تركيا.”
تأتي هذه الأنباء بعد أن تحدث معارضون سوريون عن وجود أحياء بأكملها بمدينة القصير لا تزال تحت سيطرة الثوار، بعد أيام على إعلان الجيش السوري، الموالي لنظام الرئيس بشار الأسد، سيطرته الكاملة على المدينة.
This raises more questions:
أعلن الجيش الحر في دير الزور شرقي سوريا، اليوم، حالة “النفير العام” لصد محاولة “اقتحام كبرى” للمحافظة ينفذها الجيش السوري.
وقال قائد المجلس العسكري بدير الزور المقدم مهند الطلاع، إن الجيش النظامي بدا صباح اليوم محاولة اقتحام كبرى لمدينة دير الزور، وذلك بعد نحو عام على سيطرة “الجيش الحر” على معظم أحيائها إضافة إلى معظم مناطق ريفها الشرقي.

June 7th, 2013, 8:52 pm

 

majoos said:

@reveniere

Do you entirely rule out that Erdogan steps in?
I think it s quite plausible he would.
Will Iran than in reply stand by his “Ally” Syria respectively Assad?

June 7th, 2013, 8:52 pm

 

majoos said:

Syria and Palestine first became majority Sunni under Otoman reign in the 17th and 18th century. Once numbering more than a million in the levante the Samaritans converted massively under the hardship under Ottoman rule.
Other groups e.g the Maronites emigrated in huge numbers to the Americas and France in the late 19th century.

June 7th, 2013, 9:01 pm

 

majoos said:

Was the Al-Aqsa mosque also constructed by the UMMAYADS?
And if yes can it have theologicly regarded have any significance for the Shiites?

June 7th, 2013, 9:08 pm

 

zoo said:

Majoos

Erdogan is tied up by delicate internal problems with the PKK, the new Constitution in the making, the 2014 presidential elections and the endless unpopular negotiations with Israel about the compensation for the Mavi assaults. He has now created for himself another problem with the Gezi park blatant mishandling.

He does not wish any more problems to popup, especially with the military who do not like him very much.
This is why he will play low key about Syria, agreeing with the USA and Russia and practically doing nothing while keeping the vocal part audible….

June 7th, 2013, 9:13 pm

 

zoo said:

Tara

When you trust blindly countries who have shown throughout recent history that they are unreliable and can stab you in the back, you shouldn’t be surprised that they’ll dump when you need them most.

The weakness of the opposition has been their naivety, their lack of brain and their ignorance of the complex geopolitics of the region.

June 7th, 2013, 9:19 pm

 

majoos said:

Maybe it comes to Erdogan that attack is best form of defence. There are not a lot of options left form him assumed he want s to stay in power.

June 7th, 2013, 9:21 pm

 

majoos said:

Is the “unrest” in Turkey orchestered by Britain, Soros and their media outlets to force Erdogan in to war in Syria?

June 7th, 2013, 9:23 pm

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

Yes. That is true.

There is a huge difference between the unwavering support extended by HA and Iran to Batta and the support offered by the GCC to the opposition.

June 7th, 2013, 9:29 pm

 

ghufran said:

Moaz is saying that AK Saleh is alive:
أعلن رئيس الائتلاف الوطني المستقيل معاذ الخطيب أن عبد القادر صالح قائد لواء التوحيد نجا من قصف كاد يودي به ومن معه، و ذلك في منشور على صفحته بموقع الفيس بوك.
و كانت التلفزيون الرسمي السوري و مصادر اعلامية أعلنت عن مقتله ظهر اليوم، و نفى ناشطون في وقت لاحق.
و أكد قيادي في لواء التوحيد لعكس السير أن “الصالح” بخير، رافضا الافصاح عن المزيد من المعلومات لأسباب أمنية.

June 7th, 2013, 9:33 pm

 

revenire said:

I don’t think Turkey will step in. I get the feeling he’s been warned off by Russia and Iran.

June 7th, 2013, 9:36 pm

 

Ziad said:

MAJOOS

What benefit can Erdogan gain from starting a war with Syria? Any whisper about a war will kill the tourist season, which usually causes the whole economy to spiral down. I think his army is totally unprepared for a war that might also involve Iran and Russia.
From his recent history he tried his hardest to get US and NATA to do the job. To me this indicates he is not prepared to do it alone.

June 7th, 2013, 9:40 pm

 

Syrian said:

Majoos really wants Turkey to get in the war, why is that Majoos?
Dose it have to do with”the occultation of the 12th imam, Imam Mahdi”?
And all that messianic current you are talking about before?
When you said this to Sandro
“You re fooling yourself when you think that oil money, human rights, politics or facebook are the driving forces behind the current happenings in the Middle East.
It s just religion and the underlaying messianic currents”

June 7th, 2013, 10:17 pm

 

zoo said:

Israel wary of security in Golan after Austrian pullout

Saturday, June 08, 2013

OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: After new clashes between Syrian troops and rebels in the Golan, and Austria’s announced withdrawal from a UN monitoring force, Israel is concerned about security along its ceasefire line with Syria.

“It is very worrying because, on the one hand, you have Jihadists and Islamists who are fighting there (on the rebel side) and, on the other hand, you also have government forces which are allied with (the Lebanese militant group) Hizbullah.

“We certainly don’t want to have Hizbullah on two fronts,” he said, referring to the presence of the group in southern Lebanon, next to the Israeli border.

June 7th, 2013, 10:30 pm

 

Syrian said:

The Iraqi’ Shia who are fighting in Syria already believe that the Mahadi has appears in Harasta Damascus
Watch this Iraqi imam or shaykh
http://youtu.be/4PvYNzGR9rs

June 7th, 2013, 10:40 pm

 

zoo said:

Tara

Not only the GCC but also the USA, France and the UK
In any case only fools would believe that the USA could be a reliable friend to a Moslem country.
Throughout history they have dumped all their moslem ‘friends’ in the ME when they were not needed anymore: the Shah, Mobarak, Ben Ali, Qaddafi…

June 7th, 2013, 10:40 pm

 

Syrian said:

Regime suporters better know what they are getting themselves into,
If you think the Sunnis are bad wait till you meet the ones on a messianic missions,lol

June 7th, 2013, 10:43 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Ghufran told us AQ Saleh died then now he is telling us A.Q Saleh is alive, how many times he did this, spreading fabricated news, then it turn out his news are fabricated, he promised us before he would not do it again , yet he repeated the same mistake,
I wounder about his patients.It reminds me with a joke, a doctor came out to talk to a family ,he thought they are the parent of his patient,telling them their son died, in few seconds their son came out and told his parent he is alive, the father slapped his son and told him do you think you know more than the doctor.
Ghufran be nice to your patients, verify before you tell such bad news.

June 7th, 2013, 10:44 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Majoos now is saying may be Al Aqsa Mosque was not built by the Omayya Khalifeh, and he is saying Shiaa has claim to this Mosque.
Majoos go read before you talk, some would think you are becoming delusional
Shiaa are rare in Syria, Shiaa originated in Lebanon, before it spread to Persia, and Khamenie has no Arabic root, it is not true.
Khamenie never ever went to Mecca, never performed pilgrimage either, his main belief is Taqiyyeh and hate of Sunnis, while he believe in MUtaa Marriage, he does not allow it to himself or his daughters or sisters

June 7th, 2013, 10:53 pm

 

Syrian said:

Sana tripped Guffran again

June 7th, 2013, 10:53 pm

 

Syrian said:

268. MAJOOS said:
“Syria and Palestine first became majority Sunni under Otoman reign in the 17th and 18th century. Once numbering more than a million in the levante the Samaritans converted massively under the hardship under Ottoman rule.”
Thanks The Lord for Ottamans then, I can never see myself paying 20% of my hard earned money to anyone, let alone the bloody rituals

June 7th, 2013, 11:08 pm

 

Ziad said:

MAJED

When you tell a peace of news while mentioning its source, you cannot be accused of lying or spreading false information if it turns out to be false. However if you tell the news without referencing the source, as you very often do, then you carry full responsibility for its veracity and can be blamed if it turns out to be untrue.

Remember your own prediction that Qusair will not fall and the Hizb men will be chased deep inside Lebanon?

June 7th, 2013, 11:14 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Ryad Al Asaad said the FSA is reformed, he looks very healthy, and wearing his military uniform, the U Tube is dated 6-6-2013

June 7th, 2013, 11:19 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Ziad(Jad)
Yes Hizballah will be chased inside Lebanon, it will take time But HA committed suicide.
Now smart boy, tell us How is it that when you spread fabricated news is not spreading fabricated news?

June 7th, 2013, 11:23 pm

 
 

Sami said:

Is this the new FSA under the directives of KSA?

Riad Al-Asa’ad looks well and recovered in this video, Idriss is missing in the picture but I think it has to do with him being in Geneva.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x82YiChTOAE

Does anyone know who is the person arguing with Asa’ad in the beginning of the video?

Some points from the video for those that don’t speak Arabic:

* Asa’ad greets the Syrian people, and the thuwar (revolutionaries), and greets the Kurdish forces as well.

* Starts mentioning Assad’s crimes (murdering children, targeting religious places, and use of chemical weapons).

* Calls the Assad militia 3isabat Al-Assad (Assad Gangs), names Hizballah as Hizb Al-Shaytan, and weirdly accuses Mouqtada Al-Sader as well? (can anyone explain the last one to me, did I miss something?)

* Says in response to Qusair they will reorganize the General Command but does not really explain how or what is being done except that weapons will be supplied to the revolutionaries. Ask all those countries that stand for freedom to help with the necessary support (Da3em).

* He re-affirms that the General Command has no political agenda nor affiliation to any groups. Their goal is topple the Assad regime and raise the blanket of persecution (Thulum) off the Syrian people.

* Long live free Syria

I am sure I might have missed a point or two, but I think I covered the important ones…

June 7th, 2013, 11:36 pm

 

Sami said:

Ziad,

“Without a shred of doubt the FSA and Nusra have committed thousand times more looting, field executions, kidnapping for ransom, and all sorts of bad deeds.”

Who committed the Houla, Qubair, Tremseh, Darayya, Banyas, Bayda and numerous other massacres?

Who has systematically attacked bread lines and hospitals?

Who has systematically and methodically levelled one Syrian town after the other with heavy artillery, barrel bombs, cluster munitions, and SCUD missiles?

Who has turned our schools into torture chambers, our sweet factories into rape dens, and our houses of worship into targets?

Answer these questions truthfully then we might talk.

For your information that factory that was looted is real and belonged to my family. My Grand Father started the company over 130 years ago, it survived the Turks, the French, even the Ba’athist “corrective movement”; I know my uncle won’t allow it to die, but lesser men would’ve.

That lady that was massacred in Darayya was real as well. Her name was Nezha Ayoub, she was killed and labelled as a “terrorist”. Her crime was being in Darayya.

June 7th, 2013, 11:42 pm

 

Ilya said:

Trophies of SAA after they ambushed and disposed of huge # terrorists if i got it right
http://youtu.be/8hmgmzQqWj8

June 7th, 2013, 11:46 pm

 

Sami said:

A study tracking Sunni Foreign Fighters in Syria by Washington Institute of Near East Policy and Flashpoint Intel Global Partners.

So far they have counted a total of 280 dead foreign fighters…

Convoy of Martyrs in the Levant
A Joint Study Charting the Evolving Role of Sunni Foreign Fighters in the Armed Uprising Against the Assad Regime in Syria

https://flashpoint-intel.com/upload/syria_martyrs/2013-06-02_Convoy_of_Martyrs_Report.pdf

How many did HA lose in three weeks? Either those thousand upon thousands upon thousand of “foreign fighter” are good at avoiding death or most of those “foreign fighters” are Syrian…

June 8th, 2013, 12:07 am

 

Syrian said:

Sami, he said the “followers” of Mouqtada Al-Sader because some of his men are leaving without his permission.

June 8th, 2013, 12:17 am

 

Sami said:

Syrian,

Thanks, watched it again and you are correct. I missed the 2atbaa3 part…

Didn’t Sader prohibit his followers from fighting? Would it be fair to call them followers if they don’t actually follow his directives? Semantics I guess…

June 8th, 2013, 12:33 am

 

Syrian said:

Sami yes he did prohibit them
Asa’ad just needs a better speech writer.

June 8th, 2013, 12:38 am

 

Ilya said:

Sami
Did not you see reports that most of these fighters have no ID on them,after some of them are killed their comrades simply burn them so noone would be able to identify them.
There is least 5000 foreigners fight killed by now.
Who could take this report seriously?
Looks like they took these numbers out of the sky, how can they verify these reports,if they don’t have access to Syria?
We cant trust this biased article.
Report said 7 killed in Russia(its actually 17 Dagestan,Chechnya,Kabardino-Balkaria are parts of Russia)
Russian FSB says there is 200 jihadis from Russia in Syria.

June 8th, 2013, 12:38 am

 

Sami said:

Ilya,

“There is least 5000 foreigners fight killed by now.

Not sure what your Method and Sources are but here is theirs:

In order to help gauge the importance and demographics of these arriving foreign fighters, we have engaged in an exhaustive ten month joint effort to find and catalogue their biographies, along with photographic and video evidence documenting their personal narratives. Much of this material has come to light after these various men were “martyred” in combat in the form of eulogies posted on password-protected jihadi web forums, Facebook pages, and occasionally through regional media sources. Social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter have provided a critical online bedrock for foreign fighters in Syria, opening to them a constant avenue for communication and an open path to share critical information, solicit contributions, and recruit fighters. Each day on Facebook, new names and photos of deceased foreign fighters are posted by rebel supporters who hope that their willingness to sacrifice will inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Though there have been multiple major foreign fighter mobilizations within the Sunni Muslim community since the early 1980s, this is the first time that researchers have gained access to such a substantial amount of detailed, original data to analyze. While calculating statistics on a shadow army operating on a chaotic foreign battlefield certainly has its challenges and limitations—and there may be some inherent degree of sample bias in the methods we have used—due to the sheer amount of authentic, credible information (a total of 280 individual fighters over 11 months of conflict, from July 2012 to May 2013) that has been aggregated here from a variety of different streams (traditional media, Internet platforms, and social media) and by multiple independent researchers, there are undoubtedly valuable trends and conclusions that can be extrapolated from it.

Anyone can make up numbers from thin air, but numbers with actual data and research behind them hold more sway in my opinion…

And here is something for you to chew on:

“It is perhaps even arguable that, at present, there are actually more foreign nationals fighting on the side of the Assad regime than with the rebels. Whatever the relative numbers, it is a question that is simply beyond the scope of this particular analysis.”

June 8th, 2013, 12:45 am

 

Ghufran said:

What is this fascination with cutting heads among Islamist terrorists about?
Belgium TV aired a video of another head- cutting ceremony in Syria championed by thugs who are apparently Belgian, now another investigation will be launched and more people will be convinced that Islamists are not just brutal but they have a strange severed heads fetish.

This is from ehsani in February, 2012:

It is hard to argue with the fact that my suggestion to the opposition to play Ghandi came with a free pass to the Syrian leadership to continue business as usual at least till 2014. To many, this was unrealistic, naïve and outright irrational.
The premise behind my recommendation is perhaps the realization (defeatist?) that the regime will not give in and hand the rein of power unilaterally. There are three reasons for that:
The leadership still thinks it can win.
The leadership thinks that giving up power is akin to signing its own death sentence.
The leadership thinks it is fighting evil.
( violence did not serve Syrians well, it only destroyed Syria and created war lords and more extremists who will continue to use violence with or without Assad , you can not undo this, the genie is out of the bottle)

June 8th, 2013, 12:57 am

 

revenire said:

Sami Jihadology is not a reliable source of information. It is a highly biased one. For example, it described Qusayr as a “meat grinder” for Hezbollah when it was actually a meat grinder for the Takfiris. Jihadology doesn’t mention that fact at all.

http://jihadology.net/2013/05/25/hizballah-cavalcade-the-qusayr-meat-grinder-hizballahs-dead-from-may-20-may-25-2013/

The tone of Jihadology’s posts regarding Hezbollah and Qusayr suggest the geniuses running the site thought the terrorists would win there and there would be hundreds of Hezbollah casualties.

On the contrary, Qusayr was a rout.

If you can’t see the bias at Jihadology I don’t know what to say. They, like you, have an interest in minimizing foreign mercenaries sent by the West to attack Syria. The Israelis said yesterday that the local fighters are nearly gone and all that is left is foreign fighters:

“Those fighting against Assad are mostly foreigners, paid by Qatar and
Saudi Arabia,” another official said. “There is not much left of the
indigenous rebel movement.”

http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/06/06/surge-by-iran-hizbullah-syria-axis-stuns-israeli-intelligence-community/

Hezbollah hardly lost any men in Qusayr. I do remember many of you (meaning terrorist supporters) claiming Qusayr was Hezbollah’s Vietnam. Well, if it was Hezbollah was the Vietcong.

June 8th, 2013, 2:15 am

 

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

the blue eyed anthropologists only see donkies and camels, never the horses or; more importantly, the real poeple.

June 8th, 2013, 6:16 am

 

Tara said:

Why is the coalition spokes person and general al Ass’ad still sound hopeful that the west is going to provide them with weapons when the west insisted there is no plan to do so. What am I missing?

Why is Qatar giving up on arming the rebels even in a clandestine way? What about Erdogan? The rebels can certainly be armed silently.

June 8th, 2013, 7:50 am

 

zoo said:

Belgian rebels decapitating an old man raises horror in Belgium

Belgian TV channel broadcast on Friday a video recorded in Syria showing terrorists speaking French and Dutch with a Belgian accent before beheading a man.

http://patdollard.com/2013/06/watch-graphic-belgian-jihadis-syrian-rebels-behead-man/

June 8th, 2013, 7:51 am

 

zoo said:

#303 Tara

Why are you surprised? KSA took over the arm supplies after the catastrophe that Qatar created by arming its MB militias. KSA hates the MB and prefer to arm the Salafists.
Erdogan is up to his neck with internal problems.
The lesson: If some people can’t make a revolution without relying on unreliable foreign powers, they might as well renounce to do it. It’s bound to fail lamentably and causes destruction, death and hatred.

June 8th, 2013, 7:58 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

My question is why do they still have hope?

A link was posted yesterday that stated the spokesperson of the coalition is hopeful that the West is going to eventually arm the rebels when the West clearly stated otherwise. Shouldn’t they have plan B instead of empty hopes?

June 8th, 2013, 8:07 am

 

zoo said:

Contrary to rumors, has Hezbollah become a more dangerous challenge to Israel?

Israel Is Losing Its Battle in Syria

by Gilad Atzmon / June 8th, 2013
http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/06/israel-is-losing-its-battle-in-syria/

Israel, Debka concludes, will soon find itself “face to face for the first time with Hezbollah units equipped with heavy arms and missiles on the move along the Syrian-Israeli border and manning positions opposite Israel’s Golan outposts and villages.”

Debka is correct to suggest that instead of “growing weaker, Iran’s Lebanese proxy is poised to open another warfront and force the IDF to adapt to a new military challenge from the Syrian Golan.”

Rather than The Guardian or the Le Monde, it is actually the Israeli Debka that helps us to grasp why Britain and France are so desperate to intervene. Once again, it is a Zionist war which they are so eager to fight.

Sadly enough, it isn’t The Guardian or the New York Times that is there to reveal the latest development in Syria and expose Israeli lethal miscalculations. It is actually a ‘Zionist’ Israeli patriotic outlet that is providing the good

June 8th, 2013, 8:27 am

 

zoo said:

#306 Tara

The shock, deception and humiliation are too hard to bear. It’s not hope anymore, it’s denial.
There is no plan B, it seems like a dead end.

June 8th, 2013, 8:30 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo,

Strange you keep talking about the opposition humiliation. I never in my life felt as proud.. Really! And so all other Syrians. You can’t even start to imagine the ecstasy and pride one feels when fighting for freedom. The mere concept of revolting against slavery and oppression is an undeniable victory. We may or may not win but trust me we are very very proud.

June 8th, 2013, 9:08 am

 

habib said:

309. Tara

“And so all other Syrians.”

That would be about 30% of Syrians.

“and pride one feels when fighting for freedom.”

Sharia is freedom?

June 8th, 2013, 10:01 am

 

Sami said:

Lina Sinjab: Emotional farewell to Damascus

The BBC’s Lina Sinjab explains her deep emotion as she leaves her ruined home city of Damascus, where she has been reporting on the Syrian conflict for the BBC for the past two years.

Damascus, the city I grew up in. The city of jasmine trees, of spice markets and covered bazaars, the city of the Barada river and a history that goes back thousands of years.

It is no longer the same – it is completely different. I have covered the revolution since it started in March 2011, and I’ve kept my feelings for this city even as it has changed before my eyes.

Everyone thought that Damascus would be immune from the violence. That what is happening in neighbouring cities and towns would not affect the capital.

But they were wrong. Damascus has become another hot spot, witnessing government violence against peaceful protesters.

At the beginning, the regime managed to rally a lot of supporters behind the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad.

There used to be lots of rallies chanting for Assad: “Long live Assad”, “God, Syria, Bashar only”.

Then they became: “Either Assad or nobody”, then “Either Assad or we will burn the country”.

Today the slogans read simply: “We will burn the country.”

[…]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22826636

June 8th, 2013, 10:19 am

 

Sami said:

“That would be about 30% of Syrians.”

Based on what? The made up “NATO Study” that had nothing to do with NATO?

June 8th, 2013, 10:20 am

 

Sami said:

Reve,

When did I ever reference Jihadology? Is this another case of you making up things like IAF defeated by Assad?

Btw Jihadology is a much more reliable source than HNN or Syrian Perspective, if the latter two can even be described as a reference…

June 8th, 2013, 10:26 am

 

Ziad said:

SAMI #292

“Who committed the Houla, Qubair, Tremseh, Darayya, Banyas, Bayda and numerous other massacres?
Who has systematically attacked bread lines and hospitals?”

You mentioned six massacres by name and numerous others and assumed axiomatically that they were committed by the Government. SAMI, since you were not an eye witness to any of them, I cannot take your word for it. Not with all the PsyOps, manufactured videos, and the provably biased MSM. Lets apply the principle of who benefits (cui bono) to these massacres.

I saw a while ago a graph depicting how most of these massacres were synchronized with major events, like the SC meeting about Syria, with a very high level of confidence. Unfortunately I cannot reproduce this graph now, but it should be easy to verify its veracity. To explain this timed correlation we have only hypotheses to chose from;

a- The Syrian government is self hating, masochistic bent on destroying its case.

b- The opposition is trying to help its case.

From what I read, I firmly believe that the Syrian government is a smart, rational and coherent actor. I personally believe the second hypothesis. You can believe what you like.

Here is a video detailing the massacre of 16 kidnapped police officers killed in Douma Aug 23 2012, and how the FSA trying to trick us that those were civilians killed by the Assad regime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg8g4M3SKBA

I am curious how you would respond to this one.

Then there is the Houla massacre. Here is what I believe an objective report showing that it was perpetrated by the rebels.

Syria : One Year After the Houla Massacre. New Report on Official vs. Real Truth

http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-one-year-after-the-houla-massacre-new-report-on-official-vs-real-truth/5335562

Since this report is published by a site that often comes on the side of government, I do not expect you to lend it much credence, however there were two other independent reports published by the Frankfurter Algemeine and by Der Spiegel who blame the Houla massacre on the rebel side. Neither of these news media is known as regime supporter.

Lastly there are the massacres of Bayda and Banyas. It seems to me, yet I am not very sure, that these massacres were indeed committed by Alawi elements on the government side. Those are despicable, shameful crimes. I truly hope that their perpetrators well get their just punishment.

In conclusion I stand by my assertion

“Without a shred of doubt the FSA and Nusra have committed thousand times more looting, field executions, kidnapping for ransom, and all sorts of bad deeds.”

I am not trying to change your point of view. You are free to believe what you want.

June 8th, 2013, 10:28 am

 

apple_mini said:

SAA has completely cleared all villages around Al Qusair, including the last one Al Buwayda to which the rebels had retreated from Al Qusair.

It was like a blitz operation. I was actually a little shocked to see the progress. Of course I would give credit to SAA and Hezbollah. But I honestly believe the rebels are crumpling at least in Homs. Only a chaotic, disoriented and demoralized fighters can lose their ground that fast.

One activist acknowledges the huge loss of the rebels last night.

I’d like to include one comment on this news on Yahoo which has 92 thumb-up and 8 thumb-down so far:

Congratz Syria, I guess.

Secure your borders and find some damn peace. Tired of hearing about your war.

May secularism rule there.

June 8th, 2013, 10:49 am

 

zoo said:

#309 Tara

I am not sure the opposition and the rebels’s reaction these days express any “ecstasy”. You may be one of the few who still does.
What they express is confusion, fear, disappointment, and hopelessness

The ultimate humiliation will be when they will beg the USA and Russia to push for the convening of the conference as they fear that the SAA will continue to retake the major areas they still hold and leave him powerless.
This moment will come sooner than you think.

June 8th, 2013, 10:49 am

 

revenire said:

Sami for you Jihadology is… well, I don’t know what it is? A list of dead guys?

Reliable? Nah. Because if I go back on the Twitter accounts of the two head honchos there they were both dead wrong about Qusayr, embarrassingly wrong.

The good thing about this war is men’s word remain on the web so you can really rub it in their faces – especially when they support terrorism.

They should have named the thing FSA Cavalcade or Nusra Cavalcade because it was a rout in Qusayr and one the terrorists will never recover from.

Let’s see who is right.

Stick around buddy.

June 8th, 2013, 10:53 am

 

zoo said:

Tara

If you have the answer (309) , why ask me the question (306)?
Then don’t be surprised if I skip your questions.

June 8th, 2013, 10:55 am

 

zoo said:

Red cross evacuates the first batch of Al Qusayr wounded: 30 casualties

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/06/08/Some-wounded-evacuated-from-fallen-Syrian-city/UPI-34951370693740/

ARSAL, Lebanon, June 8 (UPI) — The Red Cross evacuated wounded from the Syrian city of Qusair, which was overrun by the army this week, Lebanese sources told The Lebanon Star.

A dozen vehicles transported about 30 casualties out of Qusair Saturday in what was described as the first of several evacuation convoys.

“This is the first batch of wounded people and the Red Cross is expected to bring in several other groups in the coming days,” said a security source whose name was not reported.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/06/08/Some-wounded-evacuated-from-fallen-Syrian-city/UPI-34951370693740/#ixzz2VdYaWHWx

June 8th, 2013, 11:02 am

 

zoo said:

Any ‘friends’ of Juergen among them?

Interior Minister: 50 German Nationals Fighting Syrian Gov’t

TEHRAN (FNA)- German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich confirmed that at least 50 German nationals are in Syria to help armed rebel groups in their fight against the Damascus government.

The German interior minister made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg on Friday. One of the topics the EU interior ministers discussed was devising a monitoring system for the European nationals returning from Syria.

“At least 50 fighters from Germany are now participating in the war against the Syrian government,” the German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, quoted Friedrich as saying.

“These people go with high determination to Syria, where they learn a deadly craft with which they can put their hatred into action by making time bombs when they return to Europe,” the German foreign minister said.

June 8th, 2013, 11:04 am

 

zoo said:

Sunnis and Israel united in their hatred for Hezbollah.
A real source of pride for the Shias who are used to be feared and despised by the Sunnis and Israel

Hezbollah a bunch of ‘Iranian-controlled killers’

http://www.timesofisrael.com/sunni-arab-world-lashes-out-at-hezbollah/

Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, said Saturday that Hezbollah must understand that Allah never sanctioned killing fellow humans, destroying mosques and sowing sectarian strife among the Muslim Ummah (nation)

June 8th, 2013, 11:11 am

 

revenire said:

“Who committed the Houla etc massacres?”

The terrorists you support did Sami. Who else? Let me guess you will tell us the regime did it right?

Now as to JIHADOLOGY – you raised it by using Aaron Zelin as a source above.

Don’t you read the stuff you post? Zelin runs Jihadology. He is a Zionist propagandist associated with WINEP – Washington Institute for Near East Policy (they cheered the Zionists killing Arabs many, many times).

He is a warmonger as well.

You should do your homework because what is the use of using a Zionist source to claim there are only 20 foreign jihadis and then promoting a man that runs a sick shrine to death online?

Doesn’t your side have one man who can hold up their end of an argument? Or is it always a rout like Qusayr was?

June 8th, 2013, 11:21 am

 

Tara said:

Zoo@ 318

إيه بدك تطول بالك

You are always trying to put up a fight with me. It tires me. I do better with kindness.

June 8th, 2013, 11:28 am

 

ghufran said:

This is a disturbing video if proves to be authentic:

June 8th, 2013, 11:30 am

 

zoo said:

Idriss grinds his teeth, throwing his venom to try to get the USA intervene and stop Hezbollah

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/06/08/FSA-Hezbollah-backed-Assad-recruiting-more-fighters-from-Iraq-Iran.html

The Syrian regime that is backed by the Lebanese Shiite group, Hezbollah, is currently recruiting more “sectarian” militia fighters from Iraq and Iran, the Free Syrian Army chief of staff told Al Arabiya Saturday.

Salim Idriss, who spoke to Al Arabiya via Skype, said the Syrian army lacks vitality, and needs “mercenaries from abroad.”

“The Syrian regime is putting Hezbollah fighters on the frontline…these well-trained fighters have high-fighting spirits and have the latest weapons,” he said, adding that “Iraqi and Iranian groups come second (in number).”

June 8th, 2013, 11:32 am

 

zoo said:

#324 Gufran

Disturbing? Why?

June 8th, 2013, 11:35 am

 

Ziad said:

الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية

تصريح صحفي حول آخر المستجدات في القصير.

بعد ٤٨ يوماً من المعارك المحتدمة على جبهة القصير، وبعد ملاحم بطولية قدمها أبطال الجيش الحر في الدفاع عن المدنيين؛ فرض الاختلال الهائل في ميزان القوى نفسه، وتمكن نظام الأسد والميليشيات الإيرانية الداعمة له من التوغل في المدينة والسيطرة على أحياء جديدة فيها.

يجدد الائتلاف الوطني السوري تحذيره من وقوع مجازر مروعة وجماعية في حال وقف المجتمع الدولي متفرجاً على …

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=469357883147346&set=a.378400488909753.87146.378067915609677&type=1

The comments are very interesting

June 8th, 2013, 11:38 am

 

zoo said:

Sunni rebels wounded are treated in Lebanon Shia strongholds

Syrian army ‘captures’ final rebel stronghold near Qusair
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22828142

Activists say that dozens of rebel fighters, including some foreign fighters, have been captured alive in Bouweida, but their fate is not yet known.

Dozens of wounded rebels have also arrived in Arsal awaiting treatment, with at least 28 wounded fighters receiving treatment in a hospital in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, a Lebanese security official told the news agency.

What’s clear though, he adds, is that the entire area has now come back under government control.

June 8th, 2013, 11:42 am

 

ghufran said:

zoo,
if Syria and the whole middle east is to have a chance, people in charge and citizens alike must rally around what unite them and not fight over what sets them apart. All Muslims respect and honor Hussein and most think he was unjustly treated but that was 14 centuries ago, raising a black flag with Hussein’s name written in red over a mosque, after a bloody fight, was WRONG, I condemn this action regardless of the excuses given.

June 8th, 2013, 11:49 am

 

Ziad said:

GHUFRAN

What is the big deal. This is a Shi’a mosque. Do you blame them if they are happy to reclaim it?

June 8th, 2013, 11:50 am

 

sf94123 said:

The video in post 304 should be emailed to David Cameron, Hollande, Erdogan and Hamad bin Jassim to thanks them for their successful efforts to bring freedom, democracy and dignity for Syrians.
http://patdollard.com/2013/06/watch-graphic-belgian-jihadis-syrian-rebels-behead-man/

June 8th, 2013, 12:02 pm

 

zoo said:

It’s so interesting how the victory of the SAA helped by HA is now been interpreted as a religious war by the frustrated western media running out of explanations.
Because a few hysterical Arab preachers pushed by Qatar and KSA called for a jihad against Hezbollah, they jumped to the scoopy conclusion that the region is moving to a religious war.

First the media called it a “revolution for freedom and dignity”, then it became a ‘regime change’ uprising, then a ‘civil war’ and now it is ‘religious war’.
It is Islam against Islam. Why is the brilliant OIC silent?

June 8th, 2013, 12:08 pm

 

ghufran said:

ziad,
Hizbullah has no right to claim any mosque outside Lebanon, they fought with the SA to defend their villages and their interests but that does not mean they should be allowed to raise a religious flag, or any flag, over a mosque inside Syria even if it was a shia mosque, the only thing a Hussein flag with his name written in red (blood symbol) does is inflame sectarian feelings at a time when Syrians are desperate to open a new page of reconciliation.

June 8th, 2013, 12:16 pm

 

revenire said:

Ghufran when the war is over we can all hug each other. Right now we’re fighting to clear Syria of Takfiris who behead people and eat their organs. I don’t see you talking a lot about the Takfiris raising the Nusra flag.

June 8th, 2013, 12:26 pm

 

revenire said:

All the cowards have left is suicide attacks against civilians:

Car bomb kills 7 people in central Syrian city

BEIRUT — A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car Saturday in Syria’s central city of Homs, tearing through an area largely populated by the regime’s Alawite sect and killing seven people, a state-owned TV station reported. Meanwhile, government troops took control of a key village as the regime presses its offensive to clear a path between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/08/3440255/car-bomb-explodes-in-central-syrian.html#storylink=cpy

Ya Hussain

June 8th, 2013, 12:31 pm

 

Ziad said:

GHUFRAN

“inflame sectarian feelings at a time when Syrians are desperate to open a new page of reconciliation.”

I agree, but let’s state who is inflaming sectarian feeling:

Nassrallah: “We are defending Sunnis, Shias, and Christians from Salafi terrorists.”

or

Qaradawi: “every Muslim trained to fight and capable of doing that [must] make himself available” for Jihad against Assad and Hezbollah in Syria”

“How could 100 million Shiites [worldwide] defeat 1.7 billion [Sunnis]? Only because [Sunni] Muslims are weak.”

June 8th, 2013, 12:37 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Ziad (jad)said
“What is the big deal. This is a Shi’a mosque.”
This is absurd, Omar Ibn Khattab Mosque is Shiaa Mosque,The majority of Qusair people are Sunni, I guess you distort the news ,just like you denied that those massacres committed by shabbiha,
Distorting news will not help you,

June 8th, 2013, 12:40 pm

 

Alan said:

…..
The US has ignited a vast Holy War in the Muslim World to try to divide and conquer them and impose new puppet regimes. But those who ignite Holy Wars die by Holy Wars when the Holy Warriors unite against them.

The US thinks the uprisings in parts of the Muslim World – Syria, Libya, Egypt – show that the world is divided. Of course, there are pro-Western, anti-Islamist minorities, especially in the capitals of the former US puppet regimes, but they are dead-enders, desperately trying to save themselves and their riches.

The Muslim World is united against Israel, the US, and Europe, especially the imperialist cinders of the UK and France. When the imperialists attack Muslims, they unite more. These are not totally corrupt puppet regimes like that of Afghanistan, which is loathed by almost all Afghans and will be replaced by Holy Warriors.
http://lewrockwell.com/douglas/douglas79.1.html

June 8th, 2013, 12:45 pm

 

Ziad said:

MAJED (TARA)

Did you watch the video? It says this is the mosque of مسجد الإمام الحسن المجتبى

not Omar bn Al Khatab. Give it up not so smart boy Majed, you are the biggest faker of news on this site.

June 8th, 2013, 12:46 pm

 

revenire said:

The Syrian government, nor Hezbollah, are not sectarian at all. The only ones spreading hatred are Sunni extremists, who really aren’t even Sunni – they’re in a cult.

June 8th, 2013, 1:00 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

to say labbayka ya husein, and put Shiaa flag over Sunni mosque is deep sectarian, shiaa against Sunnis

June 8th, 2013, 1:04 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Jad
No one more faker than you, This mosque is Omar Mosque since it was built,stop using taqiyyeh(Dissimulation)

June 8th, 2013, 1:08 pm

 

Ziad said:

No proof it is a sunni mosque.

Bombing and destoying Shia mosques and Husainias, sometimes over the head of worshippers beat this in sectarianism.

June 8th, 2013, 1:11 pm

 

majedkhaldoun said:

Ziad
It is registered in Awqaf ministry as Omar ibn Khattab mosque

June 8th, 2013, 1:18 pm

 

Tara said:

Alarabya broadcasted a new leaked video of the regime torturing the wounded.

Praise Zainab.

Hussain is thrilled. He is celebrating in his tomb.

June 8th, 2013, 1:18 pm

 

revenire said:

Ha ha. Stop the sectarian hate! I doubt you believe those reports. You play a sly game but I feel you’re laughing inside. No one believes the Saudi media. They are weird.

June 8th, 2013, 1:32 pm

 

revenire said:

Let’s be honest here. The Takfiris have desecrated mosques and churches all over Syria. The photos from inside Qusayr show what they did to the church there. It was horrible.

June 8th, 2013, 1:34 pm

 

apple_mini said:

I have made my comment before. The regime has been following its consistent policy and political message: they are fighting against foreign backed insurgents whose ideology is destroying the secularism. In reality, it is pretty accurate depiction of what has been going on in Syria.

SAA and Hezbollah must resist those provocation by those Sunni extremists and their provocateurs. It is not a war for the rebels to win hearts and minds. But it is for the regime. Even though we heard “Christians to Beirut, Alawites to the coffin” from the opposition from the very beginning of this conflict.

June 8th, 2013, 1:37 pm

 

Tara said:

Let them spread their evil black flags of death anywhere they go. It will only bring their end faster.

June 8th, 2013, 1:40 pm

 

revenire said:

Even the enemy admires the fighting prowess of the Resistance:

Hezbollah applies new training practices in Syria
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Jun-08/219769-hezbollah-applies-new-training-practices-in-syria.ashx

June 8th, 2013, 1:46 pm

 

revenire said:

The alliance between the Anglo-Americans, Israel and the “rebels” is all out in the open now (former opposition activist and Aleppo resident Ed Dark gets a mention):

Can David Cameron explain why he has put us on al-Qaeda’s side?
Just like Tony Blair over Iraq, the Prime Minister has lost touch with reality when it comes to Syria

The Prime Minister would do well to read the mea culpa published last week in Al-Monitor, by a pseudonymous writer from Aleppo who calls himself Edward Dark.

“So what went wrong?’ asks Mr Dark. “Or, to be more accurate, where did we go wrong? How did a once inspirational and noble popular uprising calling for freedom and basic human rights degenerate into an orgy of bloodthirsty sectarian violence, with depravity unfit for even animals?”

Mr Dark describes how the revolution has been captured by a collection of gangsters and fanatics. “This wasn’t what we revolted for,” he says in despair at the dreadful fate that has overcome the country he loves, “to replace one group of criminals with another.” Mr Dark now says he has given up on the revolution. He says that he has seen that the only way forward is “through reconciliation and a renunciation of violence”.

Yet Mr Cameron wants to escalate the fighting by arranging military support to the rebels. He told Parliament on Monday that he hopes this will “tip the balance” in their favour. Iran – in reality an essential part of any solution – will not be welcome at the negotiating table, and in Mr Cameron’s mind there is no future for Assad, which probably means that the war will drag on and on.

Read the rest > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10100943/Can-David-Cameron-explain-why-he-has-put-us-on-al-Qaedas-side.html

June 8th, 2013, 1:51 pm

 

Ziad said:

الثورة الصهيووهابية في سورية هي “ثورة طائفية” بلا أدنى شك،
هي هيجان قطيعي طائفي يمارسه بعض من مدعي المذهب السني في مواجهة كل المذاهب والأديان الأخرى، بهدف السيطرة على المذهب السني أولا من خلال وضعه ضمن حظيرة طائفية وشحنه بكل ما يلزم لضرب انتمائه الأول الوطني، ومن ثم السيطرة على كل المذاهب والأديان الأخرى،

الطائفية فيها ليست “وسيلة”،
بل إحدى أهم غاياتها،

إلى جانب الغايات السياسية التي على رأسها تسليم سورية ممزقة إلى المشروع الأمريكي-الأوروبي في المنطقة،

وإلى جانب الغايات الاقتصادية التي على رأسها ضمان سيطرة مسوخ الاخونجية والوهابية من أصحاب رؤوس الأموال على الاقتصاد السوري وتحويله إلى اقتصاد خاضع كليا للمصالح الغربية بصفتهم وكلائها في المنطقة،

لكن أيضا، وبلا أدنى شك:
كل رد طائفي بأي شكل كان، وتحت أي مسمى، على هذا الهيجان القطيعي، لم ولن يكون مختلفا من حيث الجوهر والشكل عن هذه الطائفية نفسها.

ولا يعني ادعاء “الدفاع عن الوطن” تحت مسميات وأجنحة طائفية إلا استبدال المسميات في العملية نفسها: تدمير سورية وتمزيقها والسيطرة عليها وبيعها..

الرد على الطائفية يكون فقط في تثبيت وتكريس المواطنة التي تعني المساواة المطلقة دون أي تمييز في الدستور أو في القوانين أو في الممارسات المؤسساتية بين السورييين/ات، على أي من أسس الدين أو الجنس أو القومية أو الاعتقاد، أو أي أساس مهما كان.

Bassam AlKAdi

June 8th, 2013, 2:15 pm

 

Ziad said:

من الجولان الى حيفا تحية لبواسل الجيش العربي السوري

June 8th, 2013, 2:49 pm

 

apple_mini said:

I believe it is time for the opposition to renounce violence in order to save the opposition. The deadly dream of democracy through violent revolution has been trampled by deadly mistakes of teaming with those extremists and soliciting foreign invasion.

Those in the opposition who can openly denounce violence will gain respects and earn more political power. Those who refuse to do so will be losing all influence in the future. To them, there aren’t many choices left or future to pursue.

June 8th, 2013, 4:55 pm

 

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