Nice work, Matt. You nailed it! I smell a rat, too. Maybe the Saudis can tell us more.

The growth of Islamist terrorist groups speak volume of how confused and immoral many seemingly religious people in the Middle East have become, they are the only group of people today that uses religion to justify killing, rape and theft. in that sense the NeoIslamists represent a fascist movement comparable to Nazism. Nusra, ISIS and similar groups are not just being financed by GCC official and semi official sources but they are also receiving aid from ordinary people especially in GCC countries and that is the troubling part. Journalists in countries where Islamist terrorist groups have a considerable presence reported that those groups indeed have some support from ordinary Muslims who are typically followers of Wahhabi version of Islam. The level of support those terrorists have in Syria is debatable but I would like to believe that it is far less than the GCC, Pakistan and other Wahhabi havens. I read posts claiming a link between those groups and the rise of Iran and the oppression forced by dictatorships in Muslim countries but real events on the ground make those claims weak, I still believe that the main reason for the emergence of those groups is poverty and illiteracy and that the main sponsor for those terrorist groups are dirty Bedouins with money.

Great work, Matthew. Excellent translations. Thanks also to AJN

You absolutely must continue translating!!! This could explain ISIS’s aims and strategy. Please continue translating!

Ghufran
I agree with most of your posts, and would like to add something about poverty and illiteracy. Not all the poor and illiterate are violent and so easily manipulated.
The problem is that Islam is now at a threshold very similar to the crisis of Christianity that led to the emergence of Protestantism.
Either the clerics and governements themselves admit that djihad cannot be considered as relevant for modern societies anymore, or they will continue their walk towards complete mutual destruction.
The whole way religion is taught in schools of the Gulf and the Middle East has to be reformed to let space for THINKING. To do that, one has to stop enforcing a literalist approach to the text.

Is crystal clear that the foreign policy of the KSA through Bandar pursues and embrace the path of training and financing the export of terrorism and a full mouth and the west bless behavior of Saudi Arabia, even been consulted and coverage of operational and logistics for some of those activities by the United States ! It is the political lowliness of America

This is extremely helpful.

What, I think, is particularly interesting is the very idea that an ex-Ba’athist Colonel may be in a leadership role in Al Qaeda in Iraq. Of course the Colonel may simply be a committed (or converted) jihadi. But it may also put the rise of Al Qaeda in Iraq in a whole new light. Namely, it may make the Al Qaeda insurgency seem much more of a direct consequence of the US destruction of the Sunni Iraqi state, rather than an indirect consequence of the ensuing chaos.

This would be an important lesson in a few ways.

First, it shows that the destruction of a regime like Saddam’s doesn’t just cause chaos and in that way space of extremists, but that powerful forces in the regime themselves will continue for many years in their efforts to achieve their national purposes. It would be comparable, say, to destroying the Iranian regime and imposing a non-Shi’ite government, and subsequently facing a Hezbollah-like organization attempting to carve out a Shi’ite state for over a decade.

Second, relatedly, it makes the ISIS attempt at a Sunni state across Syria/Iraq seem to have nationalist Iraqi Sunni overtones that were not, to me, evident before. That is, it may seem that upon the Iraqi Sunni community’s loss of the state apparatus, some of the regime’s forces are making an effort to create a Sunni state in a slightly different location (namely East Syria and West Iraq). To that degree, the ISIS effort would be more nationalist in overall effort than purely Jihadi.

Of course this is speculative on various levels. But more translations would clearly be great.

great work-please continue, it provides so much exclusive information!

Obama Sabotaging Syrian Peace

Obama initiated war on Syria. He wants regime change. He wants continued bloodshed, destruction and human suffering to get it. He deplores peace.

He bears full responsibility for nearly three years of conflict. He began it. He wants it continued. He says one thing. He does another. His policies speak for themselves.

On January 22, so-called Geneva II peace talks are scheduled to begin. Mid-2012 Geneva I talks ended in failure. Washington prevented success.
http://www.bobtuskin.com/2014/01/12/obama-sabotaging-syrian-peace/

I see no chance for Geneva to lead anywhere, only the people on the ground have the final say, the Islamists and the army, the army will never surrender power after what it went through in the last 3 years, they can dream but the Syrian army will stay in power ,

Matt,

-You translate: “The first account to expose the secrets of the Dawlat al-Iraq wa al-Sham organization [ISIS] and who runs it… Who is al-Baghdadi? Have you seen his picture? The names of his council? What are his plans? Wait for us soon…”

-“Wait for us soon…”

The mere attempt of posing rhetorical questions and tweeting multiple times “wait for us soon…” in an attempt to illicit readers’s curiosity sounds to me like fake theatrical performance of very poor quality in a dire time when the relationship of the regime and ISIS is being questioned. It is a quite simple and easy task for a Syrian intelligent officer to create a fake mujahid account, using some info known to the intelligence that created ISIS, creating vivid stories to make ISIS sounds like a legitimate jihadi group, not a regime creation. The goal is to distract people from investigating any possible connection.

The author apparently is playful. He posed several intriguing questions on different occasions and asked followers to wait for answers. It is very difficult to imagine that former “Islamists ” behave this way?

-The translation continues: “8) Nobody in the Dawlah organisation knew the Colonel 2 months prior to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi taking the leadership.

And if nobody in Dawlah organization knew the colonel Haji Bakr”, why would the organization followed his “bayaa” to the new ISIS leader? If Haji Bakr was no one before as evidence by his need to ” 6) The Colonel started growing his beard and changing his appearance and the way that he talked in the first weeks”, why would the organization follies his bayaa?

-“9) Colonel Hajji Bakr started meeting privately with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to restructure the new State and the first agreement was to give attention to two apparatuses:
10) An apparatus that could protect the cohesion of the State and protect it from the inside through security units that eliminate any threat to the entity and another apparatus that guarantees financial resources.”…15) It then reached 100 people; these detachments take their orders directly from the leadership and do not follow any regional emir….17) Their mission is to secretly eliminate anybody showing signs of dissent or disobedience: whether members of ISI or even field commanders or sharia legislators….18 ) So that assassination orders don’t go through the chain of command of the men of ISI and then become leaked, the Colonel appointed these detatchements to an officer and a former colleague of his named Abu Safwan Rifai.

This sounds to me like a copycat of Assad security apparatus, not a way a sharia-motivated terrorist group operates. I yet to hear that al Qaeda-style organizations are a miniature copy of the Assad regime. In my opinion, the Islamist terrorists are motivated by a twisted understanding of Shariia and Islam and I just simply doubt the existence of such security system in those terror groups.

I can go on finding many holes in this . I could be mistaken but it simply appears to me that the whole thing is written by some Syrian intelligence officer intoxicated by few shots of Arak.

Matt,

-” Everyone of al-Baghdadi’s council are 100% Iraqi; no other nationality is accepted because he doesn’t trust anyone.”
….

– “5) There was no previous acquaintance between the two; he was recommended to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Hafs al-Muhajir by middlemen and he was accepted under the condition that he connect them with leadership [commanders] and useful information in the army.”

So in one breath, he tells us that Abu Omar al-Baghdadadi council are 100% Iraqis yet his companion and first adviser was Abu Hafs. In another breath, the author (suffering from a short term memory loss) tells us that Abu Hafs, the closest person to Abu Omar al Baghdadadi is an Egyptian.

-“Addendum: Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the companion of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi is Egyptian and his name is Abd Al-Moneem Izz Al-Din Badawi. He had two other nicknames before he joined al-Baghdadi: 1. Abu Ayub 2. Abu Hafs”

—

On a lighter note, I am liking this. As I am suffering a mid life crisis, I now want to change my profession to an FBI agent. If…and only if, I do not get a pay cut. I am a Sunni girl and I was taught on this blog by loyalists that we, the Sunnis, are very good on money matters. Hence, I can’t possibly risk our collective reputation

More contradictions:

In the first episode we were told:

“2) Colonel Hajji Bakr feared losing members of Dawlat al-Iraq [to Syria] which would cause a weakening and fracturing in the State and an excuse
And therefore:

“4) Colonel Hajji Bakr advised Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to instruct all the commanders not to think about going to Syria and that anybody that went would be considered a defector and an outsider. 7) Colonel Hajji Bakr suggested the formation of a group of non-Iraqis that would go to Syria under the command of a Syrian, in order to block any Iraqi commander in al-Dawla from going. 8) He saw that this would protect Dawlat al-Iraq from defections and the new command in Sham would bring in non-Iraqis and attract new members from outside.”

In the second episode, the author of the tweet, inflicted again by a short term memory loss, makes a 180 degree turn and suddenly sends Haji Bakr and Baghdadi to Syria. They, at that time were no longer concerned about “a weakening and fracturing in the state of Iraq” as cited in the first episode, but rather blinded by envy of the Jolni’s international reputation:

“48) because the announcement of Dawlat al-Iraq wa al-Sham with Baghdadi not in Syria wouldn’t give it flare and [attract] many followers, since the people would wish to see al-Baghdadi and that his presence is effective.”

I found this clicking on “Hitler meme” linked by Matt.

I am, as an American citizen, ashamed of this American soldier inflaming a Sunni-Shias war. He is a disgrace!. Not only he is inflaming a religious hatred but his contempt to those he is training is obvious. What a shame!! I am glad that the US has not invaded Syria.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VqByx9N-l74

Syrian opposition
‘
القاء القبض على أمير جبهة النصرة في الرقة أثناء محاولته الفرار إلى لبنان

http://www.dampress.net/index.php?page=show_det&select_page=6&id=37662

Tara,

I think you’ve brought up a lot of good questions about the account of the author. I saw a few other apparent contradictions as well; after reading several times, I realized I was misinterpreting a few of them and that there was actually harmony in the account where I had thought there was conflict. But now you’ve brought up more issues that deserve attention. I’m limited in the degree of analysis that I can provide on this; I think we would all benefit by those who know more about the history of al-Qaida in Iraq to weigh in.

Regarding your last message, I don’t think there’s a conflict on those issues. He’s claiming that there used to be a policy against going to Syria, and that that policy changed, for specific reasons. He was afraid of losing high-level players to Syria, so he created Nusra as a token force to participate in the Syrian front, with manageable numbers of fighters. The notoriety and success of Nusra changed the game for him, since the arena overshadowed Iraq in terms of relevance.

That envy drove him to go to Syria and reclaim the glory of the battle for himself seems perfectly believable; jihadism is all about ego and playing into idealized heroic archetypes.

If this is fake propaganda, then I think the question to ask is who benefits? If ISIS is serving the regime’s purposes in causing division among Syrian rebels, then would the regime want to go to creative lengths to discredit it now, especially when attacking ISIS could unify the other rebel factions? Further, is there really anything here that’s more incriminating for ISIS than their own behavior on the ground? I’m not sure if there’s anything that damaging here.

There are plenty of questions still to be answered, and the authenticity of all this still isn’t established. That other rebels reported the death of “Hajji Bakr” does suggest there’s something to this, though it doesn’t entirely authenticate it either. Some people will likely interpret all of these elements as part of an elaborate scheme, though if that were the case, I’m not sure who it would serve… the regime? Nusra? FSA? Who has the most to gain by damaging ISIS’ image?

Lastly, going back to the first thing you said, about “a dire time when the relationship of the regime and ISIS is being questioned.” I just want to ask you: do you think that Ayman al-Zawahiri works for the Syrian regime? Was al-Qaida in Iraq something created by the regime? How about Nusra (who have engaged in some of the most successful campaigns against regime targets, not sitting around in-fighting with other rebels)? Ayman al-Zawahiri has been pioneering the new jihadism for decades, building al-Qaida, working with Bin Laden, etc. It’s clear from his own statements that he’s directly involved with al-Qaida in Iraq (now ISIS). So unless you can demonstrate that he’s on the Syrian regime’s payroll, you’ll have a hard time convincing me that ISIS is a “creation of the regime.” Letting extremist prisoners out of prison (or allowing jihadis across the border during the Iraq war) is one thing, but to equate that with engineering/directing AQI and Nusra is something else entirely, and not very tenable in my view.

There is a great deal of denial about the role of Islam in the region’s troubles. Religious Muslims refuse to admit that militant Muslims today are the most serious threat to global security and peace which put them in the same camp as militant Zionists (who are focused on Israel and are not sending suicide bombers to other countries) and drug cartels. If the piece above got it right about ISIS foundation, it simply tells us that militant Islam is today a large container that can suck in all types of thugs who just need to grow a beard and call for the death of infidels and Rafidas !!

Who in the world cares about either Al-Nusra Front or ISIS in Syria. Both Al-Qaida affiliates. Both are the creation of the Syrian Secret Service Ala-Assad. Both are hated by most if not all Syrians. Mister, get a life. Do not waste you time discussing these people. The Syrian people and their Free Syrian Army are fighting ISIS now, Next, it will be Al-Nusra Front. Followed by Hezbollah and the Iranians “Shiites” Corps. Auslander Raus.
Have a nice day.
Ed Jazairi

Matthew,

ISIS might not be a creation of the regime but the Syrian Moukhabarat did not just “release extremists from prisons and led them across the border into Iraq”. That is honestly just a lazy answer for it brushes aside any culpability the regime might have as nothing but mere accidental release of bad guys that came back to bite them.

My opinion is that ISIS is very much likely infiltrated by the Moukhabarat or they would’ve never released them from jail. Releasing Jihadis from jail would contradict Havez’s style of jailing them till they die as he did with all his opponents, Alawites included.

Is it a coincidence that both the regime and ISIS are going after the very same civil activists and journalists?

Is it a coincidences the regime never attacked a single ISIS stronghold but the next day one of these strongholds is taken over by the FSA they barrel bomb it as they did in Idlib?

This is a sinister regime that would go to any length to further its diabolical cause. The ugliness and extremism engulfing Syria is a direct result of its policies.

Please continue to translate… The most interesting thing I’ve read about ISIS and Nusra.

The fact that Nusra punished takfeer and takfeeris left to join ISIS explains the differences in behaviour. Baghdadi appears to be more like a king protecting his dawlah, rather than a Caliphate thinking about all Muslim world. I also heard assassination attempts at Julani from other sources. I believe what is written here is mostly credible.

Overall, amazing work, continue translating please.

Syrian opposition
–

Great job, Matthew. Keep up the good work. Thank you.

I enjoy reading the translations.

Can we get the source/context for the German-language video in comment #16?

Man, those opposition people are just so special. Everything bad that is happening in Syria is “credited” to the regime. For instance, if the notorious ISIS is not a creation by the regime, then it is nourished and strengthened by the regime.

When ISIS and other Islamist factions are fighting for turf, power and influence, the opposition duly claims that it is FSA fighting against the ISIS.

Can we find any opposition member who is man enough to admit there is something wrong in their revolution and they should take blame for it?

Great Work Matthew.

I hope you continue to update English Readers on the leaks. There are of course additional contradictions with realities in the more recent leaks (concerning the popular uprising against Da’esh).

If one is to assume that the tweets are genuine, then Tara’s concerns can be partially explained by the fact that Twitter does not provide for a coherent structure. It is obvious that the writer designed each tweet for its independent impact as well as for the impact of the sum of the tweets. However, impacts of each individual tweet seems to be the more important issue to the writer.

If these tweets are not authentic, then I would fully agree with you that they are a clever production. The most dangerous part of this would be to give a flawed impression about the characters that move this gang and its structure.

In the end, many of the points you have raised are not new to people on the ground, i mean those no one listens to. They have known through first hand experience that Alqaida will resort to thievery and extortion. Stories of that were commonplace on facebook as well as in other Arabic written articles a while before the leaks. Heck, everyone knows that like its sister terrorist organization Hizbuallah, much of the “running” budget of AlQaida comes from Drug money and illegal activities with Hizbullah having the primacy with respect its seemingly legitimate covers as normal businesses in the US, Canada, Africa, and the Middle East.

19. Sami

As Barber said, and you guys ignored, are you claiming Zawahiri is a puppet of Assad as well?

In that case, I’ll be rolling on the floor laughing.

More than twenty djihadists from Belgium have died in Syria in the recent months (out of 200, just from Belgium and just for the ones that have been identified). Maybe it’s high time for the technocrats in Brussels to start actually working on youth’s unemployment in the EU? Or address hate speech, wherever it comes from?

http://www.20minutes.fr/article/1273219/ynews1273219?xtor=RSS-176

Sigh… Two smartasses that can’t be bothered to read carefully, and who cannot rebut without their wanton arrogance getting in their way.

I neither claimed ISIS is nourished by the regime nor did I claim Zawahiri was paid by the regime.

If you two cannot read or don’t comprehend the English language properly it is not up to me to teach it to you.

To the Agents of Death and Dictator Apologists on this blog,

Why would the regime release Jihadis that it claims to be fighting from its jails, all the while it tortures civil activists in its dungeons?

Why is Tal Malouhi still in jail? Or Iyad Sharbaji? Abdul Aziz Khayer? Anas Shagouri? Islam Dabbas? Khalil Matouk? or the thousands others just like them?

Why was Omar Aziz killed in jail? Giath Mattar? Dr. Abbas?

Nice piece of detective work Mr. Barber. Follow the money to get the bottom of it.

Yarmouk is a test case. The Assad Regime must allow aid in by road or air ASAP. A ceasefire nationwide must take root.

Prayers for Syria.

31. ADAM NEIRA bla bla bla

Matt,

Who benefits? The regime of course. I don’t believe that the regime created ISIS to divide the rebels as you tried to suggest. And I do not believe that Zawahiri is an Assad ‘s puppet. I believe OBL and Zawahiri are genuine authentic non-mercenaries terrorists and I do not believe that a prototype Islamic terrorist is egotistical figure looking for fame and notoriety. I believe an authentic genuine Islamist terrorist is motivated by twisted understanding of Islam.

I think the regime planted the seed for ISIS creation and protected ISIS to validate its narrative that the Syrian revolution is not a revolution for freedom and dignity but rather a global enemy i.e. terrorism. In another word, the regime did not protect ISIS to divide the rebels. The regime help building it to validate its narrative and hence the benefit of creating stories to make ISIS sounds a “legitimate” (if you will) Islamist terrorist organization when it is not.

Syrian revolution erupted 3 years ago in response to the brutal oppression Syrians were subjected to for over 40 years during the rule of the father and the son. The regime immediate response was not to call it as it is: a revolution for freedom and dignity but rather an American-Israeli-Saudi-Qatari-Alqaeda-global conspiracy. Slowly but surely the regime changed the above narrative to an improved one that the regime is fighting against global terrorism. It did not take the regime long to take Israel, the US, and the west out of the equation as it would be impossible for it to Batta and co. To fabricate data in an attempt to prove the west culpability, so what is better than to go under the cover of fighting terrorism? After all terrorist organizations remained shadowy and much of their structure, operations, and organization is not known.

The regime released notorious terrorists it has used in the past to destabilize Iraq few months after the revolution erupted while continued to imprison and torture peaceful activists such as Tal Al Malouhi, the 17 yo activist. Why? The regime made sure not to obstruct those terrorists from reconnecting with their old friends and co-terrorists and to establish their own organization on Syrian land. The regime never bombarded ISIS establishments in Raqqa! Why? The regime gave Raqqa on a silver plate to ISIS. Why?

The FSA is now fighting ISIS and losing some ground to it. The regime has been providing artillery shelling of those areas under the FSA control to help ISIS advancing and taking them over again. Why?

Long story short, the regime is not fighting global terror. The regime is fighting a revolution for freedom and dignity. What is happening on the ground tells as that the regime is willing to support, nourish, and protect Islamist terrorism as long as it collides with its agenda whatever that agenda might be whether it is for protecting its own As* or destabilizing another country to maintain Batta’s regional power play.

33. Tara

The ISIS see FSA and their ilk as doing the bidding of the US, and the FSA has to turn against the Jihadists if they want western help. That is the caveat.

So who benefits if FSA wins? The US. The Jihadis have an obvious interest in annihilating the FSA now, because the FsA will turn against them if Assad falls.

It is so obvious that it hurts to see people grasp at straws for explanations that will make the FSA look good.

And if anyone doubt that Salafists would kill their own just to make Assad look bad:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/afghan-suicide-vest-girl-treated-like-a-slave-by-family-who-tried-to-make-her-blow-up-police-checkpoint-9055479.html

Salafism is pure Satanism.

There is Controversy question: Is Mr. Barber has a Charter of these Islamists with all their diversity / And specifically Islamic Front supported Saudi Arabia/ to identify the future of Syria in freedom, democracy and dignity? let’s come the start from the curriculum vitae of the warring forces to know what are the ideology of each of them to knoe what future will syrians have especially the integrity of their heads, their women and children, and their material possessions!

Habib,

“So who benefits if FSA wins? The US. ”

How does the US win if the FSA wins and the Assad falls?
What would the FSA gives to the US that Assad did not?

Let me see how you answer this very simple question? But please do not say Israel security. Israel was never as secured as it was with Batta.

37. Tara said:

Do you even follow the news? Western leaders have done nothing but prop up “moderate rebels” the last few years, without western funding they would be nothing. The West and Qatar supports FSA over Jihadis, that is common knowledge.

The Jihadis are funded by Saudis and friends. It is now a war between these two sides, and Assad can look on from the sidelines. Bandar is not pleased with the US, therefore he supports the Salafists.

سورية.. مسلحون يطلقون النار على قافلة إنسانية تابعة للأنوروا ويمنعونها من إيصال المساعدات إلى مخيم اليرموك

http://arabic.rt.com/news/640458/ :روسيا اليوم

This strike a different tone than the usual propaganda sponsored by Le Monde, talking about 1,200 prisoners taken by the army from Yarmuk “to an unknown destination”
http://syrie.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/01/11/a-lapproche-de-geneve-2-le-regime-syrien-redouble-de-ferocite/

‘You need to go to Geneva’: Opposition source reveals threat made by Britain and US over Syria peace talks

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/you-need-to-go-to-geneva-opposition-source-reveals-threat-made-by-britain-and-us-over-syria-peace-talks-9057247.html

“A new Twitter account that appeared last month is making waves within the jihadi community”, says Matthew Barber.

Back to basics: whoever is behind this account, how come a Twitter account plays a role in the communication between jihadists in Syria? Can we accept that Twitter and Facebook are ACTORS in a conflict that has caused the death or the expatriation of millions of people? What would be the consequence on the ground if suddenly all these accounts were suspended? Wouldn’t it be better?

Syrians err – it is the first part of Step A
keep talking about revolution, democracy or freedom in the spirit of 2011 – this is a naive move! Now for Syrians no choice except one: defeating terror which especially incoming from outside.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/damascus-yarmouk-starves-relief-convoys-attacked
“Palestinian ambassador to Syria, Anwar Abdul-Hadi, told Al-Akhbar, “We will try for the sixth time to deliver aid to the people under siege. In previous attempts, militants created problems and prevented the trucks from entering. Two days ago, militants prevented us from pulling the wounded … out of the camp.” “

Questions one can not but think about regarding this twitter account:

1-The timing of this account coincides with the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. It is obvious that the Islamic State wanted a big piece of the pie. This angered someone so they are putting up their history.

2- All of these tweets should be put together so it makes an article. The man, or men, behind it, meant to write something like an article in the form of answers to questions they pose themselves.

3- The one behind the tweets is kind of trying to show that al-Nusra is good guys and ISIS is bad, where in reality they are the same outfit at the end of the day.

4- the Arabic of the man behind these tweets is not that good. (he is not religiously educated as obvious)

5- This twitter account should be read in Arabic to get a real reading, with all due respect to the effort of mr. Barber.

I love these tweets from this feed:

البغدادي في نفسه لايحب الخروج من الشام فقد وجد فيها حرية واتباع وجنود ومملكة على الارض تجعل منه يشعر بأنه فعلا أمير

بدلا بدلا من كون البغدادي سابقا متخفيا في العراق اصبح أكثر حرية وتنقل في سوريا مما جعله يميل نفسيا ويقتنع بسرعة بالمطالبين
له بالبقاء

I saw a video of two of the soldiers of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham standing on the roof of a government building in al-Raqqa, and I know what the first tweet means. When the Islamic State’s soldiers found a city with a governor’s office, a public library, many churches, many Shia mosques, many Sunni mosques, the biggest dam in Syria, and some oil fields why not declare a state?

The Syrian opposition was lost: some in hotels and jet lagging, while others stealing what they can, not to forget the many al-Assad killed. The Islamic State saw an opening and they took the chance. They had been controlling many good assets for over a year now. Why not have a state?

Remember: the Syrian Opposition disappeared and let these goons rule. The Syrians were busy with something while The Islamic State of al-Iraq and al-Sham was setting up a state.

Anyone saw any video with the schools they set up and what they are teaching the Syrian children?

The Islamic State showed their cards fast…and it was ugly…
These foreigner takfiri fighters did nothing but mayhem upon Syria…

yeah because it is the rebels besieging Yarmouk and denying anything to either enter or exit…

What’s just so dumbfounding is this same person dares to lecture about propaganda while quoting a Hizballah mouthpiece, known for churning out propaganda from the likes of Amal Ghoryab and Sharmine Narwani.

Now this same person wants to get rid of Twitter and Facebook because Facebook and Twitter killed some many civilians in Syria and not the regime barrel bombing, and gassing them with Sarin…

i am not going to discuss with people who have hailed victories of “rebels” whose only succesful weapons in the last few years have been suicide bombers (usually imported ones, even from rich western countries, and more than once very young people).

you probably consider the story of this afghan girl as hezbollah propaganda as well?

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25711953

Uzair-8
Syria: Categorized as a “Failed State”

The atrocities committed against the Syrian population by the US-NATO sponsored Free Syrian Army (FSA) create conditions which favor sectarian warfare.

Sectarian extremism favors the breakup of Syria as a Nation State as well as the demise of the central government in Damascus.

Washington’s foreign policy objective is to transform Syria into what the National Intelligence Council (NIC) calls a “failed state”.

Regime change implies maintaining a central government. As the Syrian crisis unfolds, the endgame is no longer “regime change” but the partition and destruction of Syria as a Nation State.

The US-NATO-Israel strategy is to divide the country up into three weak states. Recent media reports intimate that if Bashar Al Assad “refuses to step down”, “the alternative is a failed state like Somalia.”

One possible ”break-up scenario” reported by the Israeli press would be the formation of separate and “independent” Sunni, Alawite-Shiite, Kurdish and Druze states.

According to Major-General Yair Golan of Israel’s IDF “Syria is in civil war, which will lead to a failed state, and terrorism will blossom in it.” The Israel Defence Forces are currently analyzing “how Syria would break up”, according to Major General Golan (Reuters, May31, 2012)

In November, United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi intimated that Syria could become “A New Somalia” ,… “warning of a scenario in which warlords and militia fill a void left by a collapsed state.” (Reuters, November 22, 2012)

”What I am afraid of is worse … the collapse of the state and that Syria turns into a new Somalia.”

“I believe that if this issue is not dealt with correctly, the danger is ‘Somalisation’ and not partition: the collapse of the state and the emergence of warlords, militias and fighting groups.” (Ibid)

What the UN envoy failed to mention is that the breakup of Somalia, was deliberate. It was part of a covert US military and intelligence agenda, which is now being applied to several targeted countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, which are categorized as “failed states”.

The central question is: who is failing the failed states? Who is “Taking them Out”?

The planned break-up of Syria as a sovereign state is part of an integrated regional military and intelligence agenda which includes Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan. According to the “predictions” of the National Intelligence Council, the breakup of Pakistan is slated to occur in the course of the next three years.

Mathew,

I have been studying like you for long years the Syrian Issues. Long time ago I left libraries and got inside reality. Suffered from reality and enjoyed it too. I was on the ground.

Last week near north syrian borders, very near to Ras Al Ain I was in a restaurant and the guy working there (syrian peasent 19 years old) had come 5 months ago from that area now controlled by AL QAEDA.

When I asked him about ¨who¨are those Al Qaeda, he answered in less that half a second: ¨they are the men of Assad, we know them, they are there to destroy the revolution. They are being paid and promoted by Assad, Russia and co.¨

Sometimes the simplest people will give the clearest view of reality. Those who apparently know less will theach reality.

Al Qaeda was CIA in Afganistan, Al Qaeda was a mixture of Wolkovitz-Mossad-Pakistani Sercret Services at 9/11. Now Al Qaeda is the Assad-Russian branch.

Al Qaeda as we want to imagine it does not exist. It is being orchestrated by different centres of power using mercenaries and stupid militants in cover ops.

I hope Assad the sucker is soon out of power. This bastard deserves the worst destinty. Probably a bomb will end his life in coming years.

Today I read drugs are being used by rebels to get resistance against stress of war, lack of food, etc. The issue of the new was the testimony of a criminal oficial from the Assad Regime explaining:

¨We detain them and hit them but they do not feel the pain and smile. So we have to wait until the effects of drugs disappear and then follow ïnterrogation¨.

So the new is that they took drugs. The fact that Assad is torturing detainees is totally asumed as natural. God fuxxx the Assads and the Ayatollas.

Firstly, when you ask me a question that translates to further discussing with me.

Secondly, I have only advocated from day one peaceful means in toppling the regime you so gladly cheerlead for.

Thirdly, the BBC is not a mouthpiece for Hizballah and is considered one of the most balanced news sources out there. The same CANNOT be said of Akhbar.

Fourthly, shou jab tozz 3a mar7aba? Afghanistan is not my concern. Syria is, the fact you so quickly distract from the subject at hand show how little you know or care about Syria.

ضاقت بهم جميع السبل، ولم يبقَ أمامهم إلا انتظار الموت، ليس بواسطة الأسلحة التقليدية أو بالقصف العشوائي، بل من الجوع أو من نقص التغذية في جنوب العاصمة السورية دمشق جراء حصار فرضه النظام السوري منذ أكثر من عام.

بعد كل هذه المعاناة قرر نحو ثلاثين ألفا من سكان المنطقة الجنوبية التجمهر والتوجه إلى حاجز البيرقدار -والمعروف أيضا بحاجز الوحش وهو الذي يفصل بلدة يلدا عن بلدة حجيرة- لعلهم يستطيعون الضغط على عناصر الحاجز بكثرتهم فيفتحوا لهم الطريق ليفروا مما وصفوه بالجحيم.

موت محتم
وبالفعل، نجحت صيحات الرجال والشبان وأجبرت عناصر الحاجز على فتح الطريق أمام ألفين فقط منهم، فظنوا أنهم قد نجحوا أخيرا بكسر حصار لطالما كان مطبقا على صدورهم، ولكن ما حدث بعد ذلك يلخص الموقف بكلمتين فقط: الموت المحتّم.

فالمنطقة التي ذهبوا إليها هي بلدة حجيرة، التي سيطرت عليها المليشيات الشيعية منذ نحو الشهرين، فاستقبلهم عناصر من أفراد لواء أبي الفضل العباس العراقي، وحزب الله اللبناني وغيرهم بالرصاص الحي بحسب ناشطين، وأكدوا وجود حالات اغتصاب وثقوا منها نحو عشرين ضحية.

ويؤكد المتحدث باسم مجلس قيادة الثورة في دمشق فاروق الرفاعي خروج أعداد كبيرة من قاطني مخيم اليرموك الذي يعاني سكانه الأمرّين جراء الحصار المفروض عليهم، تُجاه حاجز الوحش لدى سماعهم بفتحه.

ويضيف الرفاعي في حديثه للجزيرة نت أن الناس خرجوا من مخيم اليرموك ومن جميع أحياء جنوب العاصمة وتوجهوا نحو حاجز الوحش بعد سماعهم أن العناصر المتواجدة عليه قد فتحته بوجه الأهالي الغاضبين، وخصوصا أهالي المخيم لأنهم يعانون ما لا يمكن وصفه من الجوع ونقص التغذية، حيث بلغت حصيلة الوفيات في مخيم اليرموك جراء الجوع ونقص التغذية 46 شخصا موثقين بالاسم من أصل 68 في كافة أحياء جنوب العاصمة.

ويروي مراسل شبكة دمشق في جنوب العاصمة أبو محمود نصر بصوت متهدج قصة إحدى السيدات التي نجت هي وابنتها من الموت، فيقول إن إحدى النساء الناجيات من موت محتم حدثتنا قائلة بأن جنود النظام حاولوا الاعتداء على ابنتها مرارا، وأنهم ضربوها وابنتها أثناء محاولة الاغتصاب حتى جاء بعض الشبان الذين كانوا يحاولون الخروج من المنطقة معهما وصرخوا بالعناصر في محاولة لإنقاذهما، فكان نصيبهم الضرب المبرح من العناصر، ومن ثم تم إعدامهم ميدانيا رميا بالرصاص الحي.

http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/0a7271b0-afab-46d0-8efd-30eb6acab02e

As I feel helpless reading unbelievable stories of brutality, I can’t do anything except wishing Bashar and all those who participated or cheered the killing of Innocent Syrians to fare a horrible death Qaddafi-style.

Last week near north syrian borders, very near to Ras Al Ain I was in a restaurant and the guy working there (syrian peasent 19 years old) had come 5 months ago from that area now controlled by AL QAEDA.

When I asked him about ¨who¨are those Al Qaeda, he answered in less that half a second: ¨they are the men of Assad, we know them, they are there to destroy the revolution. They are being paid and promoted by Assad, Russia and co.¨

Sometimes the simplest people will give the clearest view of reality. Those who apparently know less will theach reality.

1. DOMINIQUE :
Nice work, Matt.
3. J L:
Great work, Matthew.
4. LIKOMIK:
You absolutely must continue translating!!!

8. TOBIAS LANG :
great work-please continue,
23. JOE :
Great job, Matthew.
24. SHOWME:
I enjoy reading the translations.
26. SYRIAN HAMSTER :
Great Work Matthew.
……………… etc…
54. Alan
MATVEY ! OCHEN HOROSHO BUBBLE!  At the Arabs: excessive of praise is the defaming!

//.//.//.
U.S. diplomats say they blacklist the Syrian Kurds for a number of reasons:

They accuse the Syrian Kurds of not cooperating with the opposition.
They accuse the PYD’s leader Salih Muslim of cooperating with Bashar al-Assad’s militias.
They accuse Rojava of marginalizing other Kurdish groups.
And the State Department is wary of offending Turkey’s sensibilities by recognizing another Kurdish entity on Turkey’s borders.
None of these are good reasons and, indeed, in many cases, they are simply wrong.

The Syrian Kurds do cooperate with the opposition, although they also have warned the United States repeatedly about the growing radicalization of the opposition. This is a message that the State Department has not wanted to hear, and so they have effectively punished the messenger. They also demand that the opposition recognize their own right to autonomy, a demand Iraq’s Kurds long made.

Salih Muslim strongly denies cooperating with Bashar al-Assad’s militia, although he acknowledges talking to all groups. That is effectively what John Kerry has blessed by pushing for Geneva II. Given how the Syrian Kurds have suffered under Baathist rule, PYD officials take special umbrage at the notion that they favor Assad.

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq does not like Rojava because it does not like competition. Masud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, has never been able to shed his tribal mindset. Many Syrian Kurds do not like the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq because its tribal policies are unattractive to the Syrian Kurdish mindset. In addition, many Syrian Kurds—indeed, the vast majority it seems—favor political groups closer to Turkey’s Kurds. Barzani has the State Department’s ear, however, and seems intent on having the United States take sides in what is effectively an internal Kurdish political dispute.

Turkey, of course, hates Rojava because it opposes Kurdish autonomy and because Rojava maintains close relations with the Kurdistan Workers Party which for years waged an insurgency against Turkey. That insurgency is over, however, and Turkey itself has entered peace talks with the former insurgents. How ironic it is that the State Department bends over backwards for Turkey, a state which has supported al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, pursued policies that compromise NATO systems to China, and has helped Iran avoid sanctions.

The last thing the United States should do is undercut the only stable, secular, democratic, and functioning section of Syria. But that is exactly what President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry seem intent on doing. Rather than treat Rojava like a pariah, it’s time the United States treats it like a model.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/01/13/repeating-the-iraq-mistake-in-syria/#.UtSEW0qAFdA.twitter

http://www.maysaloon.org/2014/01/dying-for-big-picture.html

heartbreaking piece by Maysaloon

“Take a good long look at this man photographed by the Watan Syria team as they distributed blankets to internally displaced people in Deir al Zor, Syria. This is what a broken man looks like. He has nothing except the time left before he dies. It doesn’t matter what his name is, or what his story is. He’s a man who was born in the wrong part of the world and with the wrong type of passport. Because that’s how it is. People like him are not allowed to change their own condition, to ask for freedom or dignity. They have to crouch down beneath military boots and the “big picture”, or freeze and starve to death quietly in bare hovels.”

Assad is the stupid president of a stupid generation of stupid politicians and stupid corrupt militars and officials.

What we see in Syria happen today is the result of 50 years perverting and eroding the basis of syrian civil society by the Baath Party first, by the Alawite Mafia later, and by the Assad Ring of Power at the end.

Lies and more lies from a regime based on crime and fear, tortures, assassinations, executions, fear, corruption, clan organization, etc. That was Syria and nothing of that will remain. Maybe even syrians will disappear.

When was I that they “stroke Israel”?

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/91544/World/Region/Lebanon-Qaeda-loyalists-will-continue-striking-Ira.aspx

Turkey cracks down on charity suspected of arming Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2014/0114/Turkey-cracks-down-on-charity-suspected-of-arming-Al-Qaeda-affiliates-in-Syria

In Damascus, starvation claims Palestinian refugees As siege on Yarmouk camp enters eighth month, its poorest residents run out of food; sides mull letting in aid ahead of talks (Times of Israel)

Yarmouk is a test case/microcosm. The Assad Regime must allow aid in by road or airdrop ASAP. A ceasefire nationwide must take root.

As the saying goes “Truth is the first casualty of war” and the reports coming out of Syria about Yarmouk are not clear. In siege situations like this, the fighters inside the besieged camp have some real concerns about aid trucks coming in. If the trucks coming in from outside are manned by people “scoping out” the vantage points of the fighters who are hidden from aerial and lateral view in various buildings in the densely built up urban zone, think “Trojan Horse” method of war.

Also, some of the fighters may have some real concerns for their safety if they surrender and “safe passage” is promised. (Case in point…Grozny Feb. 2000).

So what needs to happen from here is the following…

(Assuming that the actual population of the camp/suburb is reported to be approx. 20,000, but it may be higher. It is definitely less than the pre-civil war 125,000 as many people have fled.)

Calories Required @ 2,500 min. per person per day = 50,000,000 total calories required. (Water may not be as much of a concern due to existing storage, bottled supplies and snowmelt, but obviously the water supplies must be boosted. Energy for cooking, lighting etc. plus medicine, blankets, clothing etc. are obviously needed as well.)

As a bare minimum (based on 100 grams = 500 calories of concentrated high energy emergency food ) what is required is 10,000 kgs of food plus extras, water medicines, clothing etc. of 40 tonnes which would make 50 tonnes per day.

To build trust, the Assad Regime must allow, for a minimum period of ten days (leading up to and including the talks in Montreaux) a minimum of ten (10) fully loaded 5 tonne trucks, into the camp per day. The drivers should come from inside the camp themselves and they must be guaranteed safe passage on their exit, return and round trips.

The cost of this operation, which could be provided by the international community if the Assad Regime is a bit short of a buck, should be no more than $150,000 per day. This amount is a pittance to shift the dynamic in the conflict, and to allow some breathing space. (The cost of housing and feeding the refugees in various countries that have enough problems of their own is connected to this dynamic. The long term objective is to make sure that the temporary refugees do not become permanent ones. Ideally they must return to their country.) If the various international “players” in the cage fight/proxy war that is the current Syrian Civil war cannot in their wisdom see to it that the above plan is worthy of consideration and implementation then we are all in trouble. I repeat…When there is no disgust at evil you no longer have a civilisation.

A warning for various people who think they can hide behind their hermetically sealed borders and ignore what is going on…The world is interconnected in quite amazing ways right now. Various “genius” strategist may think they have covered all the threat bases, but polio, a microscopic bacteria that can spread from one region to the next very quickly, may be the killer that gets under everyone’s radar. Also countries that have immunised their tribe’s children, should realise that polio can mutate and evolve into other strains that are impervious to their vaccines.

Prayers for Syria.

P.S. Some disingenuous people are claiming that the opposition SNC fighters and their allies inside the camp are “besieging” the residents, when it is clear that the people outside the camp have much more food options than those inside. Thus the people inside the camp are the ones being besieged by those outside. Think medieval castles, forts and moats.

More “leaks”
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/al-qaeda-leaks-ii-baghdadi-loses-his-shadow

ADAM NEIRA : a descendant of Kings David and Solomon!

Why suddenly appeared and expressed concern about the Yarmouk refugee camp , a small area of ​​the all map of the Syrian Arab Republic? And why depends source (Times of Israel) to inquire about the Palestinian issue, and does not depend Palestinian source?
You are cheat!
Why talk about Grozny and not talking about Baghdad or Kabul?

That was the subject of interest from the perspective of publicity and Israeli interest 100%
remove the mask. the role does not fit you!
You M U S T search for the listeners on the excellent shores of Australia

MINA

You know perfectly Assad and Ru$$ia is behind Al Qaeda branch for Sham and The Levant in a higly developed covered op. Or is still Bin Laden monitoring the world from under the sea?

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Let us stop letting cheating ourselves please.

The SNC has agreed not to attend to GENEVA CIRCUS 2.

There is no need to legitimate the WAR and OIL games of dirty yankee lobbies and dirty russian mafias.

In other terms: Fxxx them all.

In addition to the usual destinations for Syrian officials, ex officials and their families (Lebanon,the UAE and Russia/ Ukraine), more people from Assad circle and their relatives are applying for “political asylum” in Western Europe and even the US taking advantage of new changes in immigration law that were put in place to help Syrians abroad who can not go back and Syrians inside Syria who are afraid for their lives.
Syrian major fm channel, sham fm, is flooded by calls from people in coastal areas who can not get basic assistance, jobs or even salaries from the beloved regime, that includes widows who lost their husbands in the war fighting rebels.
I said that before but it may be helpful to repeat the obvious:
This is a war where the poor are the first to die and the last to be rewarded. Rich Syrians, pro and anti regime, are the least likely to send their kids to fight but they are the first to incite violence and the fastest to collect the spoils of war.
If you really care about Syria forget the politics and do what you can can to help the millions who need you, the GCC, the West, regime people and thawrajiyyeh have decided that what matters is who wins and nothing else, for most Syrians they can only hope for help from God and true charitable individuals.

Ghufran,

Nice comment. But we cannot stop fighting inside or outside syrian borders, by intelectual, media or waepons. Everyone must fight as everybody must help the needed too.

Had we stopped fight on 20 march 2011 then Assad and their excrements would be even harder to destroy. Now their end is near and those syrians who survive will probably one day know what some kind of freedom or civil rights mean.

Syria had to face this change sooner or later. By 90´s I interviewed one of the only oppositors to the regime at his home, an elected parlamentary, and he told me: sooner or later there will be a blood bath since the stupids in charge are unable to reform the system from inside.

“a lose-lose situation…”

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/91589/World/Region/Turkey-president-urges-shift-in-Syria-policy.aspx

The descendants of Kings David and Solomon are worried that their power is slipping because of growing public awareness of their terrible achievements in the past, such as the destruction of Iraq. They were thwarted in their planned destruction of Syria and are now determined to show their power over at least sixty cowardly US senators to achieve the destruction of Iran.

The descendants of Kings David and Solomon in America say they are a tiny minority – just two percent – yet they are able to control sixty percent of the US Senate in any important matter, such as maneuvering the US military to attack Syria or Iran – in the middle of negotiations!

http://youtu.be/VNcSfHrtzJE?t=40s

This is a U-turn in Turkish government policy on Syria:
Turkey should re-calibrate its Syrian diplomacy and security policies in the face of realities, President Abdullah Gül urged Jan. 14 in his address to Turkish ambassadors convened in Ankara for an annual conference.

“The key for the settlement of both internal and external issues is common sense, collective mind, dialogue and the empathy. I am of the opinion that we should re-calibrate our diplomacy and security policies given these facts in the south of our county and given the threat perception of (political) centers around us,” Gül advised. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was also present during Gül’s speech.
“We are pondering what to do for the realization of a win-win situation in the region; the way for that is patience, calmness, insistence and when necessary silent diplomacy. But I believe difficulties could be overcome through diplomacy and I am confident that Turkey is playing and will play very important roles thanks to its rooted tradition of diplomacy and diplomats,” he said.
(Gul may be grooming himself to take the PM seat)

Palestinian minister says Syria rebels blocking Yarmuk aid

Read more: http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jan-14/244035-palestinian-minister-says-syria-rebels-blocking-yarmuk-aid.ashx#ixzz2qQ8TeS6V

I cannot imagine how would react the world if Israel was blocking a palestinian camp killing its population of starvation.

If Assad does then no problema, go on, Russia, Iran and the US will cover your crimes, Mr AKHOU SHARMUTA AL ASSAD.

When you can read so many dogs writing on forums, on newspapers, on diplomacy defending the killing of civil populations on the name of Status Quo and global stability then you realice that you do not need to believe in God to let yourself explode in front of a power center or in the middle of politicians and militars.

US is playing with RUSSIA a very dangerous dimplocay that could explode in their face at any moment soon. Obama will hate the moment he was elected for ending wars because he is the main cause of the worse humanitarian disaster in the last 50 years.

Sandro #54,

Conspiracy theories have never brought any good for the Arabs. That of the peasant boy is no different.

This tragedy (the so called “Syrian revolution”) should now be called off. Sane Syrians who love their country, should reunite behind Assad (believe me, I’m not a fan of his) to save Syria from the Salafi jaws that are closing on Syria (and as a consequence, on Iraq and on Lebanon).

As bad as it may sound; First fight and destroy the Salafists and their sick ideology, then find a better, less costly way to remove the Assads. Extreme Islamism is much greater danger to Syria than the Assads.
.

AMIR

I believe you mislead the whole scheme. Al Qaeda, Islamists and all that shit are the result of criminals and dictatorships. Sometimes it has been directly created by the regime and allies like Iran and Russia, and sometimes is the natural reaction of people under wild pressure and death.

You in Israel have crazy and mad people but as a result of democracy you do not have extremist solutions to extreme problems.

Once Assad is destroyed then all that extremesit movement that has been created to fight extreme dictatorship will erode and evaporate like a drop of wáter under the desert sun.

By suggesting the idea of following the egyptian scheme you just condemn syrians to be slaves and dogs for 40 years more. Maybe this is the best for Israel, Iran, Russia and US.

The whole system of Assad dictatorshit was created to avoid anyone being able to destroy it:

¨Assad or Chaos, Assad or Nothing, Assad Forever¨

Now we know the real meaning of those we think childish slogans. They were not childish they were evil.

Maybe now we can better understand why Bush chosed the Total Destruction Option against Saddam Regime. If he failed it was because Russia and Iran worked hard behind the scenes to avoid any stability. But the fact is that now Iraq is not as unbreakable as in the years of Saddam. It takes time. Just persist on the idea. Finally these dogs will fall.

“Extreme Islamism is much greater danger to Syria than the Assads.”

Every major massacre against civilians has been perpetrated by the regime. The regime gassed innocent civilians with Sarin. The regime barrel bombs schools and bread lines. The regime shoots SCUDs at civilians (without the luxury of Patriot missiles to protect them). The regime released many of the Jihadists leaders from its own dungeons and attacked moderates and killed civil activists in order to bolster its sick rhetoric that they are fighting jihadists. The regime has turned two out of the three major cities in Syria into rubble with its indiscriminate and systematic attacks.

Btw your comment can so easily be mistaken for an Assad propagandists that with me just changing one vowel you would’ve sounded like every Assadists nutter out there:
“Sane Syrians who love their country, should reunite behind Assad (believe me, I’m not a fan of his) to save Syria from the Salafi jews that are closing on Syria”

Among opponents of the Syrian regime has become clogged in thinking! Stop everything at the regime hatred. They still have hyperbole and come up on the ruins of Syria!

51. SANDRO LOEWE

If he was a sucker, he wouldn’t be able to pound your Salafist friends into submission and defy the West on a daily basis.

53. Tara

Maybe you should ignore the lies of that Qartari dictatorial mouthpiece then.

Sandro,

“…Once Assad is destroyed then all that extremesit movement that has been created to fight extreme dictatorship will erode and evaporate like a drop of wáter under the desert sun”.

This is exactly where we differ. If I could agree with what you said, then I’d say fight till the end (of Assad). But I’m worried that once the Jihadies are established, nothing and no one will be able to remove them. There will be no Syrian army to take control over the post Assad Syria. Look at Gaza, look at Iran. The minute the Islamists are established, the battle of the moderate elements is lost beyond recovery. “Erode and evaporate”? … think again.

This, BTW, has nothing to do with Israel. Israel can live with a Salafi Syria. They are more dangerous to you, Arabs than to the Jews.
.

81. Amir in Tel Aviv

Our amnesiac friend Sandro seems to have forgotten what happened to the Jihadis in Afhghanistan.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/01/14/214444/on-scene-in-damascus-war-devastates.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/14/syrian-palestinian-refugee-egypt-mahmoud?CMP=twt_gu

http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/14/meet-the-32-year-old-militiaman-holding-libyas-oil-hostage/

The Salafi Militant Muslims are danger to the whole world. They are danger to Arabs, Jews, “moderate” Muslims, Americans, Europeans….etc… They are even a danger to themselves.

Anyone who does not see how these guys do not want to live with the rest of the people of this world you would fooling yourself/selves…

surreal…even un media news outlet is acting to protect assad.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/01/14/gag_order

84. mjabali said: The Salafi Militant Muslims are danger to the whole world.

agreed. that’s why it’s a mistake for the west to cater to iran & assad needs to be toppled. they’re the head of the snake.

NOW investigates the fraught ties between Iran and al-Qaeda members

Iran’s interest in the Abdullah Azzam Brigades is nothing new: it also underlines the paradoxical relations the Islamic Republic maintains with al-Qaeda and Palestinian salafi groups.

Rich syrians fled and do not care about Syria anymore.

Journalist were all killed or kidnapped.

Brave men died first.

Poor people is the last witness of Assad-Iran-Russia-US wild cruel and dirty politics. Starvation until death.

Great Powers against rebels and trying to drive Assad to an international agreement without the agreement of Syrian Populatuion,

No one there to defend the poor and the needed, now 75 % of syrians.

Great Stupids defending the Status Quo owners.

Real rebels (not fake russian funded), islamists or not, are 100 times better and more human than Obama itself. Obama is now a total shit in the face of world politics history.

speaking of the poor:

Teenager Mazen al-Asali hung himself in late December after returning home without food to feed his starving mother.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/91678/World/Region/Syria-regimetolerated-opposition-to-boycott-peace-.aspx

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/91675/World/Region/Hamas-urges-militants-to-leave-Damascus-camp.aspx

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/91665/World/Region/Syrian-rebels-kill-Belgian-commander-linked-to-AlQ.aspx

i’ll pray for you, mina.

Haven’t seen Omen for awhile, guess he/she was on a Pop Secret mission sent by Orvile Redenbaucher!

Jokes asied welcome back.

Now it looks that the anti-imperialists are posting BBC, CNN, etc. Now all Mass Media promoting the War Criminal Assad as their sollution to the syrian problem.

Now everything make sense: world powers have agreed to cooperate against any other popular revolutions. They will always be one united shit. From Putin the homosexual lover to Obama the junky pacifist to Assad the emtpy head King. All of them are the same enemy of the people of Syri

The Politics of the Islamic Front
Posted by: Aron Lund

http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54204

Omen,

Don’t forget to pray for Aron Lund as well.

Do you know a single country where an armed-opposition says “sorry, we won’t participate to negociations unless we have the upper hand on the battlefield”for six months and then when it is a bit defeated says, “sorry, we can’t negociate, it would be a suicide” ?

Civil wars have only one exit: negociations.

George ‏@ArtWendeley 3h
There are real efforts by the #Syria|n regime to appease secular rebels and divide them from Jihadists.

Aboud Dandachi ‏@AboudDandachi 3h
@ArtWendeley I am a secular rebel,and Ill see the devil take the country before Ill reconcile with the Eye Doctor butcher.

George ‏@ArtWendeley 3h
There are real efforts by the #Syrian regime to appease secular rebels and divide them from Jihadists.

Aboud Dandachi ‏@AboudDandachi 3h
@ArtWendeley I am a secular rebel,and Ill see the devil take the country before I’ll reconcile with the Eye Doctor butcher.

ISIS needs to be taken out quickly otherwise they could do some real damage to the Syrian rebels.

Saudi must intervene with fighter jets targeting ISIS positions in coordination with Syrian rebels. Assad can’t do much as his air defences are probably knocked out in the north and east and around rebel held areas of Aleppo. I don’t know.

Iraqi government and Sunnis of Anbar can squeeze ISIS further by going after them in Iraq, as they already seem to be doing. Concerted and intense pressure in Syria and Iraq could help knock ISIS off balance and cause panic in the organisation.

About Saudi intervention, I remember Sh. Yaqoubi predicting over a year ago aerial intervention by a friendly power(s) very soon. It hasn’t happened, however, could it still happen but against ISIS?

It’s possible. The Islamic Front is said to be a Saudi project to unite the rebels and distance the opposition from the extremists (ISIS). Will Saudi stand by and watch the Syrian rebels lose precious manpower to an ISIS fight back and suicide bombs?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Btw, ISIS scum probably martyred Abdul Qader Saleh too, as I read yesterday.

Finian Cunningham
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2014/01/geneva-ii-washingtons-plan-b-regime-change-syria/

ISIS IS ASSAD-RUSSIA-IRAN-SADR-NASRALLAH

This is not conspiration theory. This is the most probable theory.

The conspiration theory is that of a world organization called Al Qaeda ruled but dontknowwho, from dontknowwhere and funded dontknowhow.

Conspiration Theory is believing that 8 young arabs ruled by a bearded man in the caves of Afganistan are able to hit the heart of the Empire provoking the invasión of Afganistan, Iraq, etc.

Please use your brain.

Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi ‏@Shaykhabulhuda 6h

أدعو قادة الجبهات والثوار لسحب الاعتراف بالائتلاف وتشكيل وفد جنيف وحشر النظام في الزاوية وإملاء شروط الثورة عليه خلال المفاوضات.

Google translation:

I call on the leaders of the fronts and the rebels to withdraw recognition of the coalition and the formation of a delegation of Geneva and Hasher system in the corner and dictate the terms of the revolution during the negotiations.

ALAN,

Do you know what?

Address by Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi

Cordoba Conference of the Syrian Opposition 9/1/14

In the Name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate

Your Excellency, representative of the Foreign Minister of the host State, brothers and sisters, peace be upon you.

We meet here, while blood is being shed in our country, in an attempt to save it from more destruction, killing and bloodshed. We have come from several countries, despite the differences in opinion amongst us, to come out united with one position, to remove some of the disparity and conflicts that have stormed this uprising and the politicians representing it.

Let us make the title of this meeting the Words of Allah All Mighty in The Holy Quran: “Cling to the rope of Allah all together and do not disperse”.

The rope of Allah is The Quran, it is The Truth; it is not men nor institutions, not the coalition- nor this or that. It is the Truth for which our people stood up to defend and to reach.

We sit here to discuss, but the real makers of the revolution are the ones who are carrying guns and standing behind canons in the land of jihad in Syria.

To those noble revolutionists, mujahids, who rose up again, I send the words of Allah All Mighty, “Those who answered Allah and His Messenger, after being touched by calamities, for those who do good amongst them and practice taqwa: there is indeed ample reward”.

It is an uprising after an uprising to correct the channel of the uprising. [?]

However, we all, whether we sit in political arenas or in the trenches of revolution, are but servants of the people and guards of this country. No one is a guardian of this people no matter how much they carry of guns or opinion.

War is a necessity-it is not a business; as a poet says, “if there is no way other than spears to ride, out of necessity one has to ride them”.

You will not find a people or a sane person being choosing weapons and killing while being able to reach his goals through dialogue and words.

The Lord of the worlds tells us in the Holy Quran about peace, He says: “If they opt for peace; opt for it and rely on Allah”. Nevertheless, we forget that before this Verse is what He Almighty says, “And prepare for them whatever you can of strength and stallions of horses, to deter the enemy of Allah and your enemy”.

Negotiations which stem from weakness will not beget but defeat. Our poet al-Mutanabi, set forth from Aleppo words that should be written with gold, when he says,

“To bear up harm and see its perpetrator
Is a food that makes people’s body very lean.
No one should wish for the life of the
As some way of living is worse than death.
Every pardoning that comes from weakness
Is a pretext that only mean people use.
Concessions are easy to make by people without honor;
A wound does not hurt a dead person”.

We are tired of trading the causes of our people and the revolution of our community. We are exhausted and frustrated seeing money elevating some people and relegating others; and seeing the media putting forward some and backward others. It is Allah All Mighty who brings forward or backward, it is jihad that elevates or relegates.

Voices and votes are being sold- others are being bought. The voice of our people is almost disappearing. It is the voice of our people that cannot be sold or bought because the price of it is the blood that has been put forward in the fields of war and battle, in defense of liberty, dignity, religion and honor.

Syria is an Islamic state, whether you like it or not, whether you want it or not. The identity of this state puts together religions, cultures and ethnicities. Syria’s history is the best example of tolerance, forgiveness and mutual coexistence. We do not accept using arms to force this identity or to negate it. Our people have not lose anything despite all of their sacrifices, because they still carry their belief and their dignity. These are the two most important elements a person needs for triumph in any battle.

I hope that this meeting comes out with serious steps introducing the way to victory, whether in battlefields or in negotiation arenas. We thank the Spanish government for this initiative. Some countries far in distance bring togetherness, whilst others close by in distance bring disparity.

The last word is to the regime and its mercenaries, I say, “Do not think Allah is heedless of what the oppressors perpetrate. “The oppressors will know for sure where they will end”.

Thank you for listening, peace be upon you.

https://www.facebook.com/shaykhabulhuda/posts/10152219393437580

Related to the the Sh. Yaqoubi statement in #103:

Syria opposition holds first “unified” meet ahead of peace talks

By Oliver Holmes

CORDOBA, Spain | Thu Jan 9, 2014

(Reuters) – Disparate Syrian opposition groups, including several Islamist rebel representatives, met for the first time in the Spanish city of Cordoba to seek common ground ahead of peace talks with President Bashar al-Assad’s government later this month.

After nearly three years of conflict the opposition has fractured into competing groups with different regional backers and the West is pushing to gather a unified body of opposition members to attend negotiations on January 22, dubbed “Geneva 2”.

[…]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/uk-syria-crisis-opposition-idUKBREA080PA20140109

MINA said:

¨Civil wars have only one exit: negociations.¨

Do not be navie. You are talking nonsense declaring universal rules like the one above. Most civil wars end with:

– One winner side
– One loser side
– Population killed, tortured, stolen, abused, starving, freezing
– No negotiations, new rules and history written by the winner

2:38 thank you, sami. that made me hungry actually.

95. Mina said: Civil wars have only one exit: negociations.

i’m sure you’re familiar with some version of this:

the parable of the scorpion and the frog.

A scorpion enlists a frog to take him on his back across a stream, even though the frog is astute enough to protest that the scorpion “will surely sting me and I will die.” The scorpion points out that if he stings the frog, he will die too. The trusting frog thus takes on his passenger, is stung by him, and the two creatures drown together. But before the frog drowns he asks, “Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion, even though it costs us both our lives?” to which the Scorpion replies, acceptingly, “It is my nature.”

99. Alan said: Finian Cunningham

alan, would a regime afraid of western plots engineering its removal agree to meet with european intelligence agents as reported today in wsj?

96. Uzair8

Lol, I guess he’ll get what he asked for.

The hubris of the pathetic “FSA” is its downfall.

Let’s test the early MSM narrative, how many Alawites in the delegation?

– Walid AL-MOALLEM, vice-premier ministre et ministre des affaires étrangères et des émigrés (chef de la délégation),
– Omran AL-ZOUBI, ministre de l’Information, vice-président (chef adjoint de la délégation),
– Bouthayna CHAABAN, conseillère politique et médiatique du président de la République (chef adjoint de la délégation),
– Faysal AL-MIQDAD, vice-ministre des affaires étrangères et des émigrés,
– Housameddin ALA, ministre adjoint des affaires étrangères,
– Bachar AL-JAAFARI, représentant permanent de la République arabe syrienne auprès des Nations unies à New York,
– Ahmed ARNOUS, conseiller du ministre des affaires étrangères et des émigrés,
– Louna AL CHEBEL, chef du bureau de presse du président de la République,
– Ousama ALI, bureau du ministre des affaires étrangères et des émigrés.

Ils seront assistés par une délégation technique dans laquelle figurent :

– Ahmed KOZBARI, député à l’Assemblée du Peuple,
– Mohammed Khayr AKKAM, professeur à l’Université de Damas,
– Hicham AL-QADI, membre du cabinet du ministre des affaires étrangères et des émigrés,
– Abdel-Karim KHWANDA, membre du cabinet du ministre des affaires étrangères et des émigrés,
– Amjad AISSA, bureau de presse du président de la République,
– Tamim MADANI, représentant permanent de la République arabe syrienne auprès des Nations unies à Genève,
– Mohammed MOHAMMED, membre de la représentation permanente de la République arabe syrienne auprès des Nations unies à Genève.

Here is the difference between Sharon and the iPad Retard

Sarin, used by who exactly?
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/01/15/214656/new-analysis-of-rocket-used-in.html

Syria minister says Geneva II ‘won’t solve crisis’

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syria-minister-says-geneva-ii-39-won-39-165119358.html#OJyEUIM

Not a single scholar would consider as part of djihad to boobytrap houses until soldiers come to search them
http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/urgent-ia-soldiers-asking-to-be-rescued-from-under-the-rubble-in-anbar/#axzz2pxyG10wO

Can anyone confirm that members of the ruling regime are now in various European countries or even in the US. I heard that the family of Kheir Bek is in the US. Others have put 750 000 dollars in European bank accounts per person by the way to get a residency position such as Jamil Alassad daughter.

Rumors are one thing confirmations are another.

I would bet it is true. No Western bank would refuse a little tip, in these days of fragile economy. Switzerland has always been hailed as a model of stability and neutrality.

After 9 years of an “investigation” that was full of scandals, leaks and manufactured witnesses,etc, the trial for Hariri assassination started with the sole purpose of framing Iran and Hizbullah, after sticking it to Syria did not work. We have a bunch of highly paid incompetent UN employees who really need to justify the ungodly price tag behind the investigation of the murder of Hariri, however, the latest statement from the chief prosecutor made things even more confusing, the man said that Hariri was killed by a suicide bomber who was inside a van.
That will raise many eyebrows since it took the plaintiff 9 years to spell the beans and draw a scenario that is more characteristic to Al-Qaida type attack (suicide bombing) than an attack by Hizbullah who gained nothing from the killing of a moderate and accommodating Sunni politician like Hariri.
The whole thing is a circus, my favorite part was when Lebanon was forced to pay “its share” for the cost of the investigation !!

http://news.yahoo.com/lebanese-forces-capture-second-leader-al-qaeda-linked-150131333.html
how many days will this one last?

Western diplomats said to seek Syrian help against al-Qaeda militants
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/western-diplomats-said-to-seek-syrian-help-against-al-qaeda-militants/2014/01/15/4771ee8e-7e2f-11e3-97d3-b9925ce2c57b_story.html
A top Syrian government official said Wednesday that Western intelligence officials have visited Damascus to solicit cooperation against militants linked to al-Qaeda, a claim that appeared intended to buttress the regime’s attempts to win back international support in the name of fighting terrorism.

The assertion came as the fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) retook control of many areas in Syria that the group had lost to more-moderate rebels this month, dashing hopes of the Syrian opposition that the extremists’ influence could be quelled ahead of crucial peace talks in Switzerland next week.

The young commander Shaker Wahib
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/iraq-isis-shaker-wahib-zarqawi.html

John Kerry – Secretary of State , Briefing Room, Washington, DC
January 16, 2014
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/01/219915.htm

Saudi-Qatar rivalry divides Syrian opposition

http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-qatar-rivalry-divides-syrian-opposition-194432541.html

As per Alan’s link in #121, John Kerry states:

The Syrian people need to be able to determine the future of their country. Their voice must be heard. And any names put forward for leadership of Syria’s transition must, according to the terms of Geneva I and every one of the reiterations of that being the heart and soul of Geneva II, those names must be agreed to by both the opposition and the regime. That is the very definition of mutual consent.

This means that any figure that is deemed unacceptable by either side, whether President Assad or a member of the opposition, cannot be a part of the future. The United Nations, the United States, Russia, and all the countries attending know what this conference is about. After all, that was the basis of the UN invitation send individually to each country, a restatement of the purpose of implementing Geneva I. And attendance by both sides and the parties can come only with their acceptance of the goals of the conference.

We too are deeply concerned about the rise of extremism. The world needs no reminder that Syria has become the magnet for jihadists and extremists. It is the strongest magnet for terror of any place today. So it defies logic to imagine that those whose brutality created this magnet, how they could ever lead Syria away from extremism and towards a better future is beyond any kind of logic or common sense.
—

The bottom line is that Assad not acceptable to the opposition and therefore will not participate in the transitional government and of course If Arour is nominated and the regime does not approve, he is out too.

He he, راحت عليك يا بطة

And also, please note that Kerry acknowledges that Batta’s brutality creatures extremism so it is is unimaginable that Batta can lead Syria away from extremism.

I say the coalition must go to Geneva II and simply states Assad is not acceptable to the Syrins.

http://youtu.be/Z_2DeScLQzc?t=1s

In reality, Bandar bin Sultan is the protégé and successor of Bin Laden; he has deepened and systematized global terrorism. Bandar’s terror network has murdered far more innocent victims than Bin Laden. That, of course, is to be expected; after all he has billions of dollars from the Saudi treasury, training from the CIA and the handshake of Netanyahu!

Kerry has just declared that the only acceptable outcome for the coming Syria negotiations is for Assad to be replaced by the US-backed transitional government. This despite Syria’s compliance with the Russian deal to remove Syria’s chemical weapons. Of course, the only reason Syria is in such violence is the US covert support for the hired mercenaries that have tried and failed for nearly three years to overthrow Syria’s government. The problem is that these hired mercenaries see themselves as the new government of Syria, and will likely turn on the newly installed US puppet regime, meaning the violence will continue.

Obama Style fighters
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BeBiGnaIEAE0kD5.jpg:large
http://youtu.be/RFugl4fBhHc

It looks like some of you still do not understand that Geneva 2 is a circus and a photo op, the real work is done by Russia and USA. Syrian government team does not have a single military or security chief and nobody with guns from the opposition side has accepted the concept of Geneva to start with. what you will see on paper and in press releases is a pile of garbage that means nothing. Kerry can say anything he wants but he knows that for a deal to be reached Russia needs to be on board. Mr Kerry has been selling hot air to Syria’s opposition for 3 years.

here are some events we’ve read about in the latest weeks

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/world/middleeast/syria.html?referrer=
(or here:
http://www.myantiwar.org/view/271489.html )

and here is how le monde twists it

http://mobile.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2014/01/16/syrie-plus-de-1-000-morts-dans-les-combats-entre-rebelles-et-djihadistes_4349399_3218.html

(they don’t give any explanations on the civilians killed in the al kindi hospital, so that quick readers may think it is the army)

# 128 Ghufran

I disagree Ghufran. You need to watch this again:

http://bcove.me/f30s4tuw

The outcome of Geneva II is binary. The two parties will either agree on a name to lead the transitional government, or they don’t. If they do, there is hope, if they do not, there is continued war.

The opposition has the upper hand in this process. They will be able to produce tens of names to suggest for the transitional government, including people who are currently affiliated with the regime. They will show the world that they are flexible and willing to compromise.

The regime side will not be able to produce more than ONE name, which will be voted down by the opposition. They will show the world how rigid the regime structure is.

If this is the outcome (Assad and only Assad), no one will be able to block action in the United Nations anymore, including Russia and China.

I think it is game over for Assad and his cronies. I hope the opposition will jump on this chance. Kerry made this statement specifically to assure them.

I think it is game over for Ordinary revolutionaries! There has been a consensus on the need to put end to all forms of Takfiri Wahabi radicalism and destructive! This is the moment of truth! All countries of the world have become afraid of contagion into its territory! Enough winding and turnover!

http://youtu.be/GFOTpMwgExk?t=13s

http://intellihub.com/2014/01/16/greeks-cypriots-protest-syrian-chemical-weapons-burial-in-mediterranean/
While Greek (and Cypriot) leaders exclaim the recovery in their economies (factual data aside), the reality is that they remain low-man-on-the-totem-pole among the European Union (despite holding the Presidency).
Nowhere is this better illustrated than the world’s decision to sink two ships carrying Syria’s chemical weapons in the waters near Greece and Cyprus. As KeepTalkingGreece notes, the first stage of destroying Syria’s chemical weapons has reportedly already begun with the aid of Norway, Denmark, Russia, China, Finland, UK and USA, among others. The chosen dumping ground for more than 800 tonnes of chemical weapons… Crete./………….

NIGHTMARE!

Hopeful,

Brilliant ! That is exactly it.

The coalition must go. Kerry’s statement can not be more definite and they have it now publicly.

I think that Batta is praying for the coalition to refuse to go to Geneva II. If the coalition doesn’t the war will go forever and the West will not support the opposition anymore and that what Batta wants. He thinks that Iran and its tail HA will be able to win the war and as long as Asma can shop, Syria will be fine.

It would be a historical mistake not to go. While I understand the emotional part of not sitting with the killers on one table, going to Geneva II can’t hurt the Syrian people. Had we, the Syrian people, won the war military ; we wouldn’t sit with those sub humans, but the fact of the matter is that we did not and perhaps we couldn’t. It is imperative to go. As long as the coalition team insists on Batta and his clique not be included in the transition, we can’t lose. It is either Batta out or the war continues. And if the war continues because Batta wants in, the world will realize then that Batta must be forcefully removed.

Hope this materializes:
Syria’s foreign minister said on Friday that his country was prepared to implement a ceasefire in the war-torn city of Aleppo and exchange detainees with the country’s opposition forces as confidence-building measures before a peace conference next week in Switzerland.
( question: who has authority over rebels ? )

AJE blog this afternoon:

Some key points from yesterday’s interview with SNC spokesman Khaled Saleh:

[…]

– We have doubts on the initiative proposed by Walid Mualim about ceasing operations in Aleppo, especially it does not cover other provinces. It is only meant to buy time and continue to kill.

ISIS is back in control of Jrablos, this is according to aksalser which also published pics of severed heads of rebel fighters who were slaughtered by ISIS and had their heads posted on the wall of the cultural center in the city:
استعاد ” تنظيم البغدادي ” السيطرة على مدينة جرابلس، بعد ساعات على تحريرها من قبل الثوار، و قام بإعدامات ميدانية طالت عدة أشخاص أبرزهم ابن عم الشهيد يوسف الجادر ( أبو فرات ).
و قالت مصادر ميدانية إن المدينة تم تطويقها بعد أن سيطر الثوار على المركز الثقافي آخر معاقل التنظيم في المدينة، و قامت قوات ” داعش ” القادمة من الغندورة و تل شعير، باقتحام المدينة و استعادة السيطرة عليها.
و أعدم ” تنظيم البغدادي ” بعد سيطرته أربعة قياديين في الجيش الحر، بالإضافة إلى عدة عناصر، عرف من بينهم ابن عم الشهيد يوسف الجادر ( أبو فرات )، كما قام بقطع رؤوسهم و تعليقها على أسوار المركز الثقافي.
This is not a good time to be a Muslim, I genuinely feel sorry for Muslim kids in western countries today, the animals of ISIS could not have survived without the support of some Muslim individuals and Muslim governments, before you accuse non- Muslims of attacking Muslim countries and Muslim interests look in the mirror !!
Even when it comes to freedom and democracy, Arab Spring countries are regressing, Egypt is taking a U-turn and seems to be ready for a military junta rule again, Islamists are being chased around and jailed all over Egypt, and less than 40% of Egyptians voted and a 98% of them approved the new constitution, this is more like an Assad election except that the Bedouins of the GCC are as silent as a house mouse over this since Sisi is not a Rafidi !!

The Politics of the Islamic Front, Part 4: The State
Posted by: Aron Lund

http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54233

Anger in Italian town over Syrian chemical transfer

Plans for the disposal of Syrian chemical weapons at an Italian port are meeting with local opposition. 560 tonnes of Syria’s most toxic chemicals are to be transferred from a Danish ship to an American one. The so called ‘priority one’ chemicals are changing ships at the Calabrian town of Gioia Tauro. But inhabitants of the town are worried and angry over the consequences if anything were to go wrong in the transfers of the dangerous chemicals.
http://youtu.be/FITwe5smtVE?t=1s
nightmare

Anger in Italian town over Syrian chemical transfer

Alan,

Fortunately, that’s one town Assad won’t be able reduce to rubble. One of those small little
benefits of a free society.

Tawfeeq Dunia, an alawite anti regime activist , suggesting that most alawites are worried abut their existence and their well being if the regime is gone, if he is right, forcing Assad and his family out may not be as hard as some here say if a deal that preserves employment of second and third tier army and security officers and an agreement to combat Islamists are reached.
Mr. Dunia believes that alawites fall into 3 groups:

The first group is willing to support a new Syria without Assad.

The second group is the silent majority that is fears the regime’s security forces but also sees islamists as a big threat to their existence.

The third group includes people who are connected to the regime, many are low ranking army and security officers who are afraid of losing their jobs (and probably their freedom)if the regime is removed, some are big players who are deeply involved in corruption and brutality, etc.

آ- الغالبية العظمى من المسيسين يرفضون ادعاءات النظام ويرفضون الانجرار خلفه, وهم ضد عملية التحريض الطائفي, وضد قتال شعبهم تحت أي يافطة أو شعار من شعارات النظام . وهؤلاء دفعوا وما زالوا يدفعون أثماناً غالية نتيجة هذه المواقف . وهم معارضة علنية لكنها مجزأه مثلها كمثل غالبية المعارضة الوطنية الديموقراطية واليسارية والليبرالية و القومية … و … وهم جزء من الأحزاب والتجمعات السياسية الوطنية السورية .
ب- توجد شريحة واسعة صامتة تعاني من الخوف والرعب ، استطاع النظام من خلال أجهزة قمعه اخراسها . وهذه الشريحة تزداد انحيازاً للنظام بازدياد التحريض الطائفي للنظام ، وازدياد نفوذ المنظمات الطائفية ( داعش ، النصرة ، … ) التي على شاكلته في الجهة الأخرى .
ج- شريحه ثالثة – وهي كبيرة – من الناس التي ارتبطت بالنظام . وهذه الشريحة اكثر من قسم …. فمنها من هو شريك عائلة الأسد منذ البداية ومارس النهب والفساد والقمع وكل موبقات النظام. وقسم ثان ارتبطت لقمة عيشه بهذا النظام مثل الضباط الصغار والموظفين في أجهزة الأمن والجيش وضباط صف وجنود , وهذه الشريحة تكونت لديها قناعه أن ذهاب النظام هو ذهابها , لذا فهي على قناعه أنها تقاتل دفاعاً عن مصلحتها وليس دفاعاً عن آل الأسد . أضافة الى وجود شريحة من الناس استطاعت الديماغوجيا أن تقنعهم أنهم يدافعون عن وحدة سوريا وعن الوطن السوري , وهذه الشريحة قليلة العدد لكنها موجوده .

I do not know many people who think Geneva 2 will change things quickly but the idea that Syrians from different backgrounds with conflicting political positions will sit down and exchange ideas, even through a mediator, is a step in the right direction.
For Geneva to achieve anything, parties involved need to admit that they can not shape Syria to perfectly fit their needs and their friends needs. Personally I would like to see a time table for Assad’s departure, the release of all political prisoners, POWs exchange, an end to the siege of many syrian towns, a coalition to fight the islamist terrorists called nusra, Isis ,etc and an agreement where alawites receive reasonable guarantees that the new regime will not be a cover for a witch hunt that will target them when Assad is gone.
Regime media is spreading news showing that Assad does not expect, and probably doesn’t want, Geneva 2 to succeed:
نقل زوار الرئيس السوري بشار الاسد لصحيفة “الراي” الكويتية، عنه قوله:”إننا ذاهبون الى مؤتمر جنيف – 2، وقد أرسلنا أسماء الوفد وكل التفاصيل المتعلقة به الى الأمم المتحدة، غير أننا نعتقد ان المؤتمر وفي حال انعقاده في موعده لن يأتي بشيء لأحد، عازياً السبب الى اننا سنجتمع مع أشخاص لا يملكون الأرض ولا أي سلطة على المسلحين، وإذا قدمنا لهم قدرات معيّنة او شراكة ما، فلن يستطيعوا القيام بأي شيء لأنهم لا يملكون المبادرة ولا القدرة على التعاون مع السلطات الحالية القائمة”.

NC vote :
Half of the members did not show up, those who did voted as follows:
58 yes. 14 no. 1 blank. 2 abstain
نتيجة تصويت أعضاء الائتلاف على الذهاب إلى جنيف 2 : 58 موافق – 14 غير موافق – 1 ورقة بيضاء – 2 ممتنع عن التصويت

Come on Assad the democrat will show now his democratic skills in Geneve 2. By the way someone must remind Assads that weapons (even chemical) and torture tools are forbiden in the conference hall.

http://youtu.be/LxXCgOeVrZ4?t=26s

It appears that John Kerry having learned nothing from last August’s embarrassment, the US is back to playing their propaganda games, and getting caught at it.

I welcome the coalition decision to go to Geneva II. I am sure it is a sad sad day for Batta and company.

We are now at the end of the rope. The coalition is playing by the book and Batta failed to convince the western world that he is fighting Islamists. To the contrary, the US and France have publicly acknowledged ge that his brutality brought on the extremists and that it is inconceivable that he can stay and lead Syria out of extremism. France had also suggested that he is feeding extremism to taint the revolution. The regime in Geneva II has literally nothing of substance to offer. How could it offer anything of substance when Assad is convinced that he own Syria and her people are his slaves? It will fail miserably! The regime will not transition the power. There is actually no regime. It is Batta and Batta alone. No one will dare to offer a thing and the world will soon realize that Assad can only be removed by using force because he understand no other language. The Syrians learnt that long time ago…. In Hama 1982. It is the Western world who will learn that in Switzerland.

#146 Alan

This reminded me of the 1970’s Soviet Union propaganda videos….

It took the world powers 3 years to bring parties of Syria’s war to sit down and talk peace but it will take some Syrians another 10 years to understand why it was wrong to use violence to change a regime and why it was wrong to use terrorists as allies. What both the regime and KSA backed rebels are doing is trying to convince big players that they are better than the other side in fighting Islamists, freedom, democracy and the well being of syrians are not the primary motivation for Geneva , those of you who think Geneva is about a radical regime change are naive. Yes Assad may have to go, and I support that, but what those big players want is another Assad to fight their wars. They see the regime as a lesser threat than Islamists and they may keep Assad if they can not find another chief they can entrust with fighting the new war. Wake up
حياتي اته
الغفران أقوى من الانتقام

ALAN,

This video with some cretins chanting Assad slogans is really pathetic, it makes me feel sorrow for you and your past. What has happened to you in your childhood to become this?

Assad confirms he will never leave power or talk about leaving power. This is his answer to Geneva 2. Last time the mothafaxxar of his father Hafez was in Geneva was to say goodbye to the US, he met Clinton and one year later died. Let´s hope history repeats.

And let´s hope the fake prophet Nusf Allah of Hezb Zbele Party invasors of Lebanon, follow his track.

Mr. Bashar Al Assad should be impaled in the Malki Square of Damascus. And later coverded in liquid bronze to remain forever as a statue of who should never return in the future generations.

Once again we have a typical Arab Elections Result: 98%
Here is a nice comment from Juan Cole on it
http://www.juancole.com/2014/01/shame-danger-egypts.html

The worst of the commentators here are closet pro regime Shabiha that claim that they fault the regime for its use of violence but again and again and again portray any dissent as destabilizing. These would find peaceful protest too much all in the name of a fake stability; these closet Shabiha would have found the “Damascus Spring” and the Declaration of Damascus in 2001 “too much” and it is the same closet Shabiha that argued that we needed to have emergency state for more than 50 years in the name of a fight with Israel that was non existent.

This is not stupidity. This is criminal acquiescence of the illegitimacy of the regime.

The regime is illegitimate from its very foundation from its very essence and from its very nature and is the ONLY source of instability and radicalization of the society.

Juan Cole posted on the revolution within the revolution when he noted that the Syrian people revolted against both the regime and ISIS and organization that was and remains brutal and dictatorial.

Geneva 2 will show what we say in Damascus: Follow the Liar to his doorstep. That is at Geneva 2 let see if the regime is willing to have an agreement on the very principles of Geneva 1 of a transitional government

Today they are saying that they are not giving up power. If they go and show their true face I wonder who will continue to support their stance.

It is not the person of iPad Retard; it is the security house of cards that need to be dismantled brick by brick and for a truth and reconciliation commission to take over and to prevent endless revenge killings and a genocide of the Alawi community.

If they think that they can continue to rule the country like they did they are criminally insane towards their own supporters.

If the regime fails to deliver this time; we will have full blown 20 year civil war and millions of dead and wounded.

It boggles my mind why people continue to talk of the regime instead of talking of asking what the Syrians want.

Freedom

Once again we have a typical Arab Elections Result: 98%
Here is a nice comment from Juan Cole on it
http://www.juancole.com/2014/01/shame-danger-egypts.html

The worst of the commentators here are closet pro regime Shabiha that claim that they fault the regime for its use of violence but again and again and again portray any dissent as destabilizing. These would find peaceful protest too much all in the name of a fake stability; these closet Shabiha would have found the “Damascus Spring” and the Declaration of Damascus in 2001 “too much” and it is the same closet Shabiha that argued that we needed to have emergency state for more than 50 years in the name of a fight with Israel that was non existent.

This is not stupidity. This is criminal acquiescence of the illegitimacy of the regime.

The regime is illegitimate from its very foundation from its very essence and from its very nature and is the ONLY source of instability and radicalization of the society.

Juan Cole posted on the revolution within the revolution when he noted that the Syrian people revolted against both the regime and ISIS and organization that was and remains brutal and dictatorial.

Geneva 2 will show what we say in Damascus: Follow the Liar to his doorstep. That is at Geneva 2 let see if the regime is willing to have an agreement on the very principles of Geneva 1 of a transitional government

Today they are saying that they are not giving up power. If they go and show their true face I wonder who will continue to support their stance.

It is not the person of iPad Retard; it is the security house of cards that need to be dismantled brick by brick and for a truth and reconciliation commission to take over and to prevent endless revenge killings and a genocide of the Alawi community.

If they think that they can continue to rule the country like they did they are criminally insane towards their own supporters.

If the regime fails to deliver this time; we will have full blown 20 year civil war and millions of dead and wounded.

It boggles my mind why people continue to talk of the regime instead of talking of asking what the Syrians want. It comes from people who are not free themselves and who have nothing but an elitist contempt for their fellow human beings. I know that first hand as many members of my feudal family continue to think that the riffraff are not worthy of making a contribution to public life.

Spare us the fear of Islamists. No one can defeat the extremist Islamic thought except Muslims. No one can defeat the extremist Sunni or the extremist Shia that have taken over from Kabul to Marakesh except their fellow Muslims. Not the US not Israel Not the regimes Not the drones. The people empowered and free Kapish Comprende?

Islamist Rebels Reject ‘Hollow’ Syria Peace Talks

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/01/19/world/europe/19reuters-syria-crisis.html

Mannaa’ described how Lavrov responded when asked about rebels advances around Damascus (last year):
روسيا تنظر إلى الأزمة السورية من واقعين .. الأول هو انتشار الجماعات التكفيرية المتطرفة، والثاني مجريات الواقع السوري، ففي إحدى اللقاءات مع وزير الخارجية الروسي سيرجي لافروف، كان الوضع الميداني في الغوطة لصالح الثوار وهم على أبواب العاصمة، وقال له الدكتور عارف دليله، ماذا تنتظرون، حتى يدخل الثوار إلى القصر الجمهوري.. عليكم أن تتحركوا الآن، فرد لافروف: إذا دخل الثوار إلى القصر الجمهوري لن نرسل طائرة لإنقاذ الأسد.. فهم بذلك يكونون حسموا الصراع
On one hand, the Russians were ready to accept a new regime (in theory) but on the other hand they seemed unconvinced that rebels have enough power and support to finish the job.
Mannaa’ asked Lavrov how the USA and Russia will be able to force Assad to step down if they could not make him release political prisoners like dr AA Alkhayer !!

I used to admire and respect Mr. Manaa’ but in this interview http://youtu.be/XiSLqIEUous he sounds like a bitter loser. He claims that the US and Russia are forcing the rebels and the regime to come to the negotiation table kicking and screaming. Well, after three years of destruction and killing, shouldn’t we be thanking them instead of complaining?

157. GHUFRAN
مضمون التعليق ضرب من الوهم !
الروس لن يتركو سوريا أبدا حتى لو اضطروا اللجوء الى القوة ! ان فشل مخططات التحالف غير المتجانس ،المصطف بعناد للاطاحة بالنظام الحاكم في سوريا تعتبره روسيا انتصارا لها بالفم الملآن !!!
لن تفلت الأمور من يد روسيا أبدا! و من يعرف الروس يدرك أن نفسهم طويل و يتمتعون بالحنكة و لا يوفرون جهدا في الوصول الى مصالحهم ! سورية تقع في مجالهم الحيوي! كما أنه توجد علاقة مصيرية بين صلابة دمشق و صلابة موسكو و لن تفشل سوريا لأن روسيا دولة ليست فاشلة و لذلك انتحر هتلر 🙂

ALAN,

Do you find all this problema with syrian people demanding freedom and dignity and a dictatorship destroying the whole country funny? I think who find it funny is an idiot.

Jihad Maqdisi gave an interview to the NY Times, here is a piece about Christians in Syria:

Q. Christians are widely seen as staying close to the regime, believing it is the source of their security. Do you agree?

A. Nobody managed to read well the real position of Syrian Christians, and everybody started accusing them of siding with one side against the other. Syrian Christians believed in the change and that this change is inevitable in Syria, but they wanted evolution instead of armed revolution. Today after all this blood and the real threat of jihadists, the majority of Syrian Christians chose to be among the silent majority of Syrians, and that is so different from siding with any side. We can’t blame them, because the future is really still uncertain. I see Christians in Syria as the best to play the role of the bridge between other Syrian communities

141. Asghar Palace
After every game there are other game Revenge!
Shimon Peres said: (punish Syria because it did not make peace with Israel), he did not specify a succession of by whom? There is no war without loss, but we know from history that the victory of the Nazis when they arrive to the outskirts of Moscow was followed by a disaster for Germany and it master!
It’s a matter of time…. ..

The concept of Ummah is a myth and the Baathist slogan of One Arab Nation is a lie.
Many Muslims are still mentally living in the middle ages, this is why a thug with a beard, Arifi, has this stat on facebook:

الصفحة الرسمية للشيخ د. محمد العريفي .

6,604,476 likes · 1,145,225 talking about this

160. SANDRO LOEWE
Jesus said from the cross: I pray for them!!! I pray for U 2 !

The “Hook is in the jaws of Magog”
http://youtu.be/UPiMzSQCtG8?t=19m35s

Here’s a picture of a suit talking to a head-wrap:

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25799942

Alan,

I see this guy Ken O’keefe is a bright light bulb of information. A 9-11 “truther” and follower of David Icke, who believes in the Protocols and that the world is controlled by a group of reptiles. Yes, reptiles.

You won’t find Ken questioning why Gazans (Hamas) need to fire missiles into Israel instead of building up their own infrustructure.

freedom for prisoners in Israeli jails! Stop the Judaization of the remaining Palestinian Arab land, Stop building settlements , stop assassinations, stopped all that can be reflected upon you evil!! Greeting to Mr. Newton!

ALAN

Are you trying to be at the level of Jesus?

First you should be Christian then you should be with the poor, the needed, the sick and the peacefull instead of defending criminals and assassins like the dictatorship who bulleted peacfull demonstrators (including children and women) during long months.

If Jesus was born in Syria on in 1978 he would have died at under tortures in a Baathist Assad prison in march 2011 at the age of 33.

Please do not forget your pills.

Sandro Loewe,

Thank you.

(Reuters) – A powerful alliance of Syrian Islamist rebels rejected upcoming peace talks on Sunday, meaning that even if the talks reach an unlikely breakthrough in the three year old civil war, it will be harder to implement it on the ground.

(the NC can now claim that they have nothing to do with the Islamic rebels, who will continue to fight, this will also allow KSA to fund rebels with one hand and play the diplomatic game with the other hand since rebels will not be part of any agreement the NC may reach with the regime)

Allowing Islamists more control in Syria will only make things worse, look at Libya:

Libyan army chief of staff killed in clashes with Tripoli gangs
Mohamed Karah becomes latest official to be killed in Libya, dying from a gunshot wound to the head, say security sources

I hope they solve things in Geneva 2 although many signs point to the other way, like having 30 people representing the opposition and the hard stance of al-Assad.

Again: I hope they agree on something and call for immediate cease fire and have all the Syrians unite to kick these crazy jihadi goons out.

US making things worse in Mid-East
By Fareed Zakaria

Read more: US making things worse in Mid-East – Columnist – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/us-making-things-worse-in-mid-east-1.466133#ixzz2qtWedPXd

The NC changed its mind 2 days before Geneva 2
أعلنت الهيئة السياسية للائتلاف، تعليق المشاركة في مؤتمر “جنيف 2” والذي سينعقد في سويسرا، الأربعاء القادم، وذلك بعد دعوة بان كي مون، الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة لإيران.

/why Gazans (Hamas) need to fire missiles into Israel instead of building up their own infrustructure/.

Israel and the Logic of Violence in Palestine

http://journal-neo.org/2014/01/19/israel-and-the-logic-of-violence-in-palestine/

Breaking News:

Assad denies all massacres he did by saying he never killed civilians.

Looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

Agree with Mjabali that the Syrians need to unite and kick the jihadi and the regime goons together out.

This regime and its mirror image are two sides of the same coin.

What goes around comes around. Pretending to be against the regime in name only will not cut it. They have to give up power, face the courts, and spend time in jail and have their illegal possessions confiscated.

Then a period of about 20 years of truth and reconciliation and perhaps payment of reparations to all the houses destroyed and the loss of income and the loss of life will have to be considered on the wealthy members of the community of regime supporters.

750 000 $ to get a residency permit per person in the EU is what the regime families are paying these days. They can therefore afford to pay reparations.

This is just the beginning. I hope and pray and implore that the iPad Retard runs for election again and that the Drum in Geneva tells all that there is no such thing as sharing power.

Let the truth come out of how depraved this regime is. To its very core.

Why Iran cannot be invited to GII! KSA, Qatar, Russia, and USA are invited!
– Iran has a deep hand in Iraq
– Iran has a DEEP, effective LONG Hand IN LEBANON “Hezbollah”
– Iran is Part of the struggle in the Syrian conflict
– Iran is the Syrian government deep pocket and money talk
– Iran proved to be a regional power and can’t be ignored
If Iran left on the sideline this regional power play will not be obligated to observe of any of the GII outcomes.
The KSA, SNC and the Obama administration are creating additional mistake and will be prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people ..

“US Secretary of State Kerry, white courtesy telephone, please!!”

So much for a puppet transitional government the US wants to install before the election.

Now, the only shot the US government has (literally) is an assassination of Al-Assad before elections are to be held this May.
http://whatreallyhappened.com/ru/content/syria%E2%80%99s-president-bashar-al-assad-%E2%80%98significant%E2%80%99-chance-i%E2%80%99ll-seek-new-term

/Moscow has insisted on Iran’s participation in the talks and said that not inviting the republic would be “an unforgivable mistake.”/
http://rt.com/news/iran-syria-peace-geneva-916/

Mr JL ! I think that the Russians were right far-sighted!
What is your view about this?

CIA-connected Terror Group Issues Threat Ahead of Russian Olympic Games
http://www.infowars.com/cia-connected-terror-group-issues-threat-ahead-of-russian-olympic-games/
http://youtu.be/OqZXakDjpR8?t=55s

Bloody, violent global redistribution of property
speeches Western rulers plaintext!

http://youtu.be/La3hEUPfsW0

Norman Finkelstein
Kerry’s “Framework Agreement” – The End of Palestine?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/kerrys-framework-agreement-the-end-of-palestine/5364924

The whole thing is diabolical. The Israelis—with, of course, active and critical US connivance—have managed to completely shift the debate and shape the agenda. The only issues now being discussed are the Jewish state and the Jordan Valley, which, in terms of the international consensus for resolving the conflict, never figured at all. (Even in prior bilateral negotiations presided over by the US, such as at Annapolis, these were at most peripheral issues.) The key issue (apart from the refugees), in terms of the international consensus and in prior bilateral negotiations, has been the extent of the land swap along the border: Will Israel be allowed to annex the major settlement blocs and consequently abort a Palestinian state? But the debate has completely shifted, because annexing the settlement blocs is a done deal.

Sorry Alan,

I am near to vommit after reading too many posts from Russian Propaganda System. It is simply the same fxxxing soviet style but even worse with smell of gas-oil mafia and vodka drunken pedophile Putin mafia.

Those ¨terrorists guys¨in the video are KGB members acting like very bad actors. This is very low if you think we are going to swallow it.

Freedom for Syria, Assad go !!! Iran out of Geneva !!!

What will Assad now do without Iran ??? Maybe he will be forced to stage a huge ¨terrorist attack¨ in Damascus with hundreds of victims … probably.

The Guardian now has a large file, also available at akslaser, about torture of prisoners that allegedly took place in Syria’s prison:

“Syrian government officials could face war crimes charges in the light of a huge cache of evidence smuggled out of the country showing the “systematic killing” of about 11,000 detainees, according to three eminent international lawyers.

The three, former prosecutors at the criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone, examined thousands of Syrian government photographs and files recording deaths in the custody of regime security forces from March 2011 to last August.

Most of the victims were young men and many corpses were emaciated, bloodstained and bore signs of torture. Some had no eyes; others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution.

The UN and independent human rights groups have documented abuses by both Bashar al-Assad’s government and rebels, but experts say this evidence is more detailed and on a far larger scale than anything else that has yet emerged from the 34-month crisis”

Decent people should not disagree on the fact that torture was and still is a commonly used tool in Syria’s prisons to keep the regime “in control”, however to pretend that the only torturers in Syria now are the regime people or to suggest that other Arab and Muslim countries are less likely to use torture is simply a fallacy. I hope that I will see the day when human life is respected in Syria and to watch the kings of torture in and outside Syria face justice.
The report is painful to read and the pics are heart-breaking regardless of where you might be in the political spectrum.

187. SANDRO LOEWE
It is unreasonable to be nervous in all your comments! Do you think that this could serve your point of view? You are mistaken!
You go out frequently of courteous, and your words makes readers averse!

ALAN,

You are mistaken if you think your are going to get something positive by defending crimes against syrian populations. At the end your consicience will pay for it. This is written in the Bible.

When I see scenes like the famine and starvation in children of Yarmouk I cannot keep calm.

Those who try to argue in cool and stable mode because they have no feelings towards suffering populations are despicable.

I really believe the sons of responsable of human suffering will suffer as punishment of natural events.

So please stop thowing your garbage in the SC and try to explain why there is no democracy and no freedom in Syria. Why people has been tortured, stolen and mistreated during 40 years of Assadism..

Try to do it come on.

To loyalists: if you continue to support the regime after reading this, please now that you are criminals.

Evidence are now out documenting industrial scale torture and killing of prisoners by the Syrian regime… Thanks to a defector who imaged the tortured and butchered detainees after their death during his employment by the regime. The defector saved 55,000 digital images of 11,000 victims on a memory stick. The 55,000 images were examined by forensic experts and painted a picture off gruesome war crimes.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/20/evidence-industrial-scale-killing-syria-war-crimes?CMP=twt_gu

“The procedure was that when detainees were killed at their places of detention their bodies would be taken to a military hospital to which he would be sent with a doctor and a member of the judiciary, Caesar’s function being to photograph the corpses … There could be as many as 50 bodies a day to photograph which require 15 to 30 minutes of work per corpse,” the report says.

“The reason for photographing executed persons was twofold. First to permit a death certificate to be produced without families requiring to see the body, thereby avoiding the authorities having to give a truthful account of their deaths; second to confirm that orders to execute individuals had been carried out.”

Families were told that the cause of death was either a “heart attack” or “breathing problems”, it added.

“The procedure for documentation was that when a detainee was killed each body was given a reference number which related to that branch of the security service responsible for his detention and death.

“When the corpse was taken to the military hospital it was given a further number so as to document, falsely, that death had occurred in the hospital. Once the bodies were photographed they were taken for burial in a rural area.”

Three experienced forensic science experts examined and authenticated samples of 55,000 digital images, comprising about 11,000 victims.

“Overall there was evidence that a significant number of the deceased were emaciated and a significant minority had been bound and/or beaten with rod-like objects,” the report says. “In only a minority of the cases … could a convincing injury that would account for death be seen, but any fatal injury to the back of the body would not be represented in the images … The forensics team make clear that there are many ways in which an individual may be killed with minimal or even absent external evidence of the mechanism.”

The inquiry team said it was satisfied there was “clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of detained persons by the agents of the Syrian government. It would support findings of crimes against humanity and could also support findings of war crimes against the current Syrian regime.”

De Silva told the Guardian that the evidence “documented industrial-scale killing”.

He added: “This is a smoking gun of a kind we didn’t have before. It makes a very strong case indeed.”

Calls for Assad or others to face justice at the international criminal court in The Hague have foundered on the problems that Syria is not a member of the court, and that the required referral by the UN security council might not be supported by the US and UK or would be blocked by Russia, Syria’s close ally.

Nice said: “It would not necessarily be possible to track back with any degree of certainty to the head of state. Ultimately, in any war crimes trial you can imagine a prosecutor arguing that the overall quantity of evidence meant that the pattern of behaviour would have been approved at a high level.

“But whether you can go beyond that and say it must be head of state-approved is rather more difficult. But ‘widespread and systematic’ does betoken government control.”

Crane said: “Now we have direct evidence of what was happening to people who had disappeared. This is the first provable, direct evidence of what has happened to at least 11,000 human beings who have been tortured and executed and apparently disposed of.

The UN withdrew Iran’ invitation.

High time that the Iranians understand how much contempt we have for them.

Iran used Taqqyieh ( ie deception) with the UN. They lured Ban to invite them to Geneva telling him that they support the peace conference and shortly after the invitation, they declined it. He he…They miscalculated… They did not imagine that despite the invitation, they will be booted out. Are they going to declare victory this time too? A victory of being booted out is well deserved in my opinion.

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-invited-syria-peace-conference-ban-234314580.html

The UN leader said Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had repeatedly assured him that he “understood and supported” the aim of the peace conference to set up an interim government.

“The secretary general is deeply disappointed by Iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment,” said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.

“He continues to urge Iran to join the global consensus behind the Geneva communique.

“Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, he has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran’s participation,” Nesirky added.

Ban was “dismayed” by the storm growing around the peace conference, the most intense diplomatic bid yet to end the near three-year war.

UN officials said Zarif had apparently promised Ban a statement accepting the Geneva communique would be made.

But just before the UN announcement, Iran’s envoy to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, reaffirmed his government’s rejection of conditions for attending this week’s meeting.

“Iran has always been supportive of finding a political solution for this crisis,” Khazaee said in a statement.

“If the participation of Iran is conditioned to accept Geneva I communique, Iran will not participate in Geneva II,” he added.

Ban had contacts with the US and Russian foreign ministers before excluding Iran again.

The Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition, welcomed Ban’s about turn and said it would be in Switzerland this week.

Criminals,

Please know that 55,000 images were taken of the11,000 tortured and then butchered detainees were to confirm to Batta and his regime that execution took place!!

I quote

“second to confirm that orders to execute individuals had been carried out.” Now this is not a conspiracy theory. These were 55,000 images physically present and examined by forensic expert that are documenting war crimes.

I called you shabeeha before. Now and after this, I can’t call you anything but criminals!! I honestly pity your mothers! Did your mothers know they were raising criminals.

Criminals,

Here is the story again, in Arabic:

كشف صور تعذيب أسرى تدين النظام السوري

إحدى الصور التي نشرتها وكالة أنباء الأناضول التركية (الجزيرة+وكالات) كشف فريق من المحققين الدوليين في جرائم الحرب وخبراء الطب الشرعي عما سموها أدلة مباشرة لعمليات التعذيب والقتل الممهنج التي يقوم بها نظام الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد، ورأوا أنها تشكل أدلة دامغة لإدانة النظام بارتكاب جرائم حرب وجرائم ضد الإنسانية.
وقال فريق المحققين إنه تلقى صورا بلغ عددها نحو 55 ألف صورة لـ11 ألف ضحية لعملية تعذيب وقتل ممنهج.

وأشاروا في تقريرهم إلى أن مصدر الصور ضابط شرطة سوري يعمل في توثيق قتلى التعذيب سلّم هذه الصور إلى المعارضة السورية.

وقالت وكالة الأناضول التركية للأنباء إن مصدر الصور خدم 13 عاماً في سلك الشرطة العسكرية التابعة لنظام الأسد، وتمكن بالتعاون مع عدد من أصدقائه من التقاط 55 ألف صورة، لـ11 ألف حالة تعذيب ممنهج حتى الموت، قامت بها قوات النظام على مدار عامين ضد معتقلين لديها.

وقال أعضاء الفريق -الذين سبق لهم أن عملوا في لجان تحقيق تابعة للأمم المتحدة في دعاوى مشابهة- إن الصور تشكل أدلة دامغة لإدانة النظام السوري بارتكاب جرائم حرب وجرائم ضد الإنسانية.

وأظهرت الوثائق بعد التدقيق، أن الضحايا تعرضوا للتعذيب وهم موثقوا الأيدي والأرجل، مع وجود حالات خنق متعمد، بواسطة أسلاك أو حبال، في حين أظهرت حالات أخرى أن بعض الضحايا فقدوا حياتهم بعد أن تم خنقهم بواسطة أحزمة مركبات مسننة، فضلاً عن استخدام الجوع كأسلوبٍ للتعذيب.

وأوضح الخبراء أن الصور سيكون لها تأثيرٌ على مسارات الحرب الأهلية في سوريا ومستقبل الأسد، ومحادثات جنيف.

Criminals,

Read the full report and watch the 10 sample images. Note the size of the chest of the dead tortured detainees. It is the size of a chest of an 8 year old. This happens from starvation in case some one is stupid enough not to know. May Allah curse the regime and those who support this criminality. May Allah inflict a punishment worse than the act on these criminals.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2014/jan/20/torture-of-persons-under-current-syrian-regime-report

Assad crimes undisguised:

http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/20/exclusive-gruesome-syria-photos-may-prove-torture-by-assad-regime/

Watch the middle clip.

So excluding Iran in the farcical Geneva II is considered to be victory to the opposition and its “friends” and backers.

Does it make sense if anyone has any serious mentality to resolve the killing in Syria?

It has become so clear that the opposition and its goons are trying to use this ruse to score a point before even the conference actually takes place.

Seriously, is that they are hoping they could do defeat the regime this way while the regime is gaining more ground on the battlefield?

Bahrain is in the conference, a country whose ruling monarchy family invited Saudi military to brutally crush a peaceful protest demanding human rights and democracy. Of course, Saudi is invited.

Let’s hope Russia can lead the way to play with those clowns and hypocrites.

Hardly a massacre is back again.
Here is the document 32 pages of it for Hardly a Massacre Regime insider supporter and ultimately responsible for covering up and distracting the world from the heinous crimes of these unbelievable animals and their sectarian hate filled theocrats in Tehran and Beirut

http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2014/jan/20/torture-of-persons-under-current-syrian-regime-report

I QUOTE:”Bahrain is in the conference, a country whose ruling monarchy family invited Saudi military to brutally crush a peaceful protest demanding human rights and democracy. Of course, Saudi is invited.”

This is how the people of Syria started their protest only to be met by incredible brutality. The difference with the intervention in Bahrain is that in Syria the regime does not have the means to crush the protest quickly and effectively and therefore the protests degenerated into a a civil war that was initiated and stoked by the regime and in typical arsonist fashion even created more mayhem than ever.

Read the 32 page report perhaps a ounce of humanity can take root in a soulless Hardly a Massacre apologist that has dehumanized the other a la KSA method.

Here we go again. Our sectarian opposition members are riding moral high horse.

Yet they ignore the fact that everyone is fully aware of the brutality and impotence of the regime. But in order to stick to their revolution, those “innocent” and “devoted” opposition people introduced the radical Islamists from around the world to lead the bloody war.

The painful and scary reality is that those backward monsters are far worse than the regime when it comes to butchering human beings.

While the opposition in true color is a puppet of countries like Saudi, Qatar and Turkey, plus those crowns of hypocrites like US and UK, we really do not take them seriously when they start talking about representing Syrians with unheard voice.

Obama/kerry transitional government for Syria

One of the biggest strategic mistakes of the armed opposition movement was to change the “revolution” from a revolt against a brutal and corrupt regime, that most Syrians were happy to get rid of, to a campaign against Alawites and minorities. That mentality made it much easier for those minorities, and even many moderate Sunnis, to put their hatred of the regime on the back burner after what they saw what the new thugs were up to.
In few months after the uprising turned bloody, mouthpieces of the rebels started making plans for alawite-free army and security forces and declared that the whole thing has to be uprooted only for Syrians to find out that the replacement offered was a bunch of new comers financed by the GCC and in bed with Islamists.
The new awakening that you see where ISIS is targeted was dictated by a change in politics not a change in heart, Syria was simply too small for the two competing forces, ISIS Versus non ISIS, to share. There is still a way out where previous enemies unite against a common foe, Islamists, and try to save what can be saved. A number of towns around Damascus have joined a new effort to stop the killing spree for the sake of Syria’s children who are more important than Assad, The GCC, Iran,etc.
Expect a lot of “new” info to suddenly appear implicating both parties, especially the regime, with one goal: PR.
The truth is that there are no clean players in this dirty war.
Most Syrian, indeed, are not players they are toys and actual victims

Wilayati of Iran attacks Geneva 2 and called it “illegitimate” if it is based on Geneva 1, he also said that the idea that the new Syrian government will be an equal mix of the regime and the rebels mean that half of the Syrian government will be supportive of terrorism.
أعلن علي أكبر ولايتي مستشار المرشد الأعلى للثورة للشؤون الدولية أن “إيران لن تقبل تلبية دعوة الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة للمشاركة في مؤتمر جنيف 2 إن كانت الدعوة مبنية على قبولها البيان الصادر عن جنيف واحد” واعتبر أن “قبول جنيف واحد يعتبر شرطاً مسبقاً وإيران لن تقبل بأي شروط مسبقة”.
ولايتي في تصريح لوكالة الأنباء الإيرانية الرسمية أكد “أن ما يبطل صحة بيان جنيف واحد هو مساواته بين الحكومة السورية التي تعتبر عضواً هاماً وملتزماً في الأمم المتحدة كطرف للحوار وبين الإرهابيين الذين ينتمون إلى جنسيات مختلفة ومعهم بعض الإرهابيين من سورية المدعومين من قبل الدول الإستكبارية
والإستعمارية مما يعني أن نصف الحكومة الإنتقالية ستكون داعمة للإرهاب”.
ولايتي شدد على “أن العقل و المنطق يرفضان أن تعطى شرعية للإرهابيين المدعوميين من كيان الإحتلال الإسرائيلي و بعض الدول الرجعية والإستعمارية”.

excluding Iran and insisting that the conference is a “funeral” for Assad (Jarba’s statement)means that the conference will be, as expected, a mere photo op and a theatre.
The hardline position by the NC is matched by Assad who hinted that he will run in 2014 and that he will not accept a PM from the NC.
The idea that an army that lost 30,000 soldiers, at least, will give its command to GCC employees and Nusra sympathizers is laughable, even if Assad says yes, the army will not follow.
It seems to me that both parties are raising their tone to shield themselves from future concessions and a potential backlash from their constituents. For a deal to be reached both parties have to look at their real size and consult the big daddies who are probably more flexible than the parties they support.

President Bashar al-Assad’s interview with Agence France Presse
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2014/01/president-bashar-al-assads-interview-agence-france-presse/

http://youtu.be/_Q6JNUKvsYU

202 Ghufran said:

“One of the biggest strategic mistakes of the armed opposition movement was to change the “revolution” from a revolt against a brutal and corrupt regime, that most Syrians were happy to get rid of, to a campaign against Alawites and minorities.”

Yes, I agree. But any dictator ruling a diverse society, who studies a bit of history, knows how easy it is to turn a freedom rebellion into a civil war. Many have done it before him, and he took a chapter of that book.

It was the inevitable result of a systematic campaign that the regime intentionally led. The real mistake was not recognizing that Assad will play this card, and moving quickly to stop him from doing so – by any means.

The timing of this report by three FORMER war crimes prosecutors is highly suspect, coming a day before peace talks are due to begin in Switzerland.

“The report by the former war crimes prosecutors was commissioned by Qatar, which supports Syrian rebel and opposition groups.”

The timing in releasing the report might be political but its content for anyone who bothered to read it is not.

A brilliant move by the Qatari’s to 1) fund the investigation that led to the report, and 2) making sure that the most credible legal people carry out the investigation. Amateurs would have simply leaked the photos to the press.

This may prove to be the single most effective move against Assad so far!

This report is timed for the Geneva conference.

Qatar wants to spoil Geneva.

Qatar funded extremists groups in Syria.

Qatari citizens funded extremists in Syria.

Now Qatar goes and buys some western lawyers and pr to write a FANCY report.

Their paid agents in Syria lost.

Waiting to see the next stunt.

The old fat ruler is a sore loser. Let him retire for real before he is standing up in front of an international criminal court for what he did in Syria.

Syria needs a solution not these fake stories, as if we do no know what the Assads did to Syrians.

Syrians need smart people to lead them to safety not people playing with their emotions.

I personally hate those playing us Syrians like fools.

I hope Geneva gets us somewhere.

#209 Mjabli

“This report is timed for the Geneva conference.”

I tend to agree

“Qatar wants to spoil Geneva.”

Qatar wants to make sure Geneva leads to Assad’s ouster

“Qatar funded extremists groups in Syria.”

Qatar funded FSA not the extremist groups

“Qatari citizens funded extremists in Syria.”

Yes, it is possible. There are Al-qaeda sympathizes all over the Muslim world

“Now Qatar goes and buys some western lawyers and pr to write a FANCY report.”

Lawyers are expensive, good lawyers are very expensive

“Their paid agents in Syria lost.”

They do not have paid agents in Syria. They have some outside Syria.

“Waiting to see the next stunt.”

Me too.

“The old fat ruler is a sore loser. Let him retire for real before he is standing up in front of an international criminal court for what he did in Syria.”

He did not order the torture or killing of anyone. He won’t stand any trial.

“Syria needs a solution not these fake stories, as if we do no know what the Assads did to Syrians.”

A solution cannot be found with Assad and his thugs in power

“Syrians need smart people to lead them to safety not people playing with their emotions.”

I agree.

“I personally hate those playing us Syrians like fools.”

I hate what Syrians have done to other Syrians.

“I hope Geneva gets us somewhere.”

Me too my friend.

Maysaloon : Why is Jihad Makdissi being interviewed about Geneva 2? And why now? And why at all? These are all very important questions that need to be asked, and they need an answer. I don’t agree with people who say that Jihad Makdissi represents the kind of people we want in Geneva 2, not because I have anything personal against him, but because he and the current he represents are irrelevant. There are two parties that need to be in Geneva 2, the regime and the Syrian opposition – the real Syrian opposition, however clumsy and divided it is.

It is important for us to clarify what we mean by the Syrian opposition, especially with regards to Geneva. People who refer to the Syrian revolution as a “crisis” are using a codeword that is acceptable to the regime and therefore makes them immune to its wrath. When they use the word “crisis” they tread a thin line, and acknowledge a very real problem that Assad is facing, but avoid using a term that de-legitimizes his rule. Mr Makdissi uses the word crisis. And as far as I know the man has never used the word revolution to describe what is happening in Syria, even before it became armed.

http://www.maysaloon.org/2014/01/jihad-makdissi-talks-elephants-and.html

Mjabali,

Are you doubting the substance of the report? And yes, I ask you to read it, watch the images, listen to the CNN interview that I linked last night with the former war crimes prosecutors that produced the report, and to think about the word “integrity” before answering.

Tara:

I know how it is in Syrian jails. I met people who were in those jails. Some friends of mine went through the same jails. Some of my friends are now in those jails. This Fancy expensive report is not going to tell me anything I do not know. Why Qatar orders this? Who are they? This is not an innocent report. When I read the headlines, I knew that these ex goat herders, current Jet setters, can not write these sentences, and when I saw who did it and who paid the money and how they released it before Geneva it was all obvious….

Would love to see a part two of these leaks. Even if they’re not proven to be true, they’re still very fascinating.

What do the leaks say about the recent infighting?

HOPEFUL and TARA good answers to MJABALI who really is very uncomfortable about what this report confirms.

MJABALI says in #214 “This Fancy expensive report is not going to tell me anything I do not know.”

Normal people would see it as very strange to know all about the industrial-scale brutality and murder of ordinary civilians by a regime, and yet not want the rest of the world to know it. Especially when there is forensic information which will help in getting it stopped and justice done to those responsible.

What kind of thinking is that? Shame?

For those who say “why didn’t they give this information to an NGO to report, why have the report sponsored by Qatar?”

The answer: the way it was done makes good sense.

It needed money and resources for sophisticated preparation – and it needed to be done fast. It probably had to be done at top speed to get it finished and out there pre-Geneva rather than post-Geneva, which is logical. Qatar helped make it happen because it had the funds available.

In contrast, we know the process would have taken much longer, taken a lot of scarce NGO resources, and it is unlikely to have been as legally and forensically watertight as the one we now have which can be said to be “war crimes tribunal standard”.

It is also likely that with an NGO the sources could not be guaranteed confidentiality(and in all likelihood protected and recompensed for their efforts).

Interesting, today the pro-Assad spammer has been posting an instant 12 thumbs up for comments on their own side, and the same neat measure of thumbs down to those who are not.

What a dishonest, pointless and ridiculous way to invest your time!

For those interested in more translations of the @wikibaghdady leaks, the folks over at reddit continued them, here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/syriancivilwar/comments/1wj5za/completed_english_translation_of_wikibaghdady/

[…] first 100 tweets have been translated into English and can be found on the Syria Comment website directed by Joshua Landis, an associate professor at the Oklahoma […]