The story in Syria is still quite simple for all attempts at
muddying the waters, motives and intentions: the Assads are trying to survive
by doing everything they can to plunge the country into civil strife. The
international community has an obligation to stop them, something that cannot
be done by leaving protesters to fend for themselves or by adopting the Assads’
version of events.
Thursday February 16, 2012
Today’s death toll: 70,
including 19 political detainees who were executed by loyalist militias along
the Ariha-Jisr Ashoughour Highway in Idlib Province. 12 more were killed in the
town of Kafrenboudeh in Hama Province, 3 in the town of Madaya In Rural
Damascus. More deaths reported in Deraa City and Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor
Province) and in Homs City as well as the towns of Houleh, Rastan and Qusayr in
Homs Province.
The bombing campaign
against Baba Amr and Insha’aat neighborhoods in Homs City has witnessed further
instantiation.
More locals have been
arrested in Zabadani, amidst worsening humanitarian conditions. 4 loyalist
troops were killed in clashes with rebels in Hama Province.
In Damascus City, a major
funeral for an activist killed by loyalist militias came under fire.
More high level defections
continue to take place, with Major General Fayiz Amr coming as the latest case.
In taped statements. Maj. Gen. Amr confirmed the use of poison gas against
protesters in Rastan but “on a limited scale.” He also spoke of the presence of
Iranian advisors taking active part in planning the ongoing crackdown.
Important Note: There is
much confusion concerning the official website of the SNC. So let me clarify
this: the first result that comes on the search engine is not it and
is actually a fake website meant to discredit the SNC by making seem that it is
connected to Al-Qaeda. This here is an
Arabic website created early on by people affiliated with the SNC but is not
the official the website of the SNC. This is the official website of the
SNC.
News
Op-Eds & Special Reports
I just wish that a
different title was used in this Washington Post article. Syrian resistance
leaders have no sympathy or ties to Al-Qaeda. Moreover, what James Clapper
actall;y said does not allow for this sweeping assertion. He said that the
attacks in Damascus and Aleppo bear 'all the earmarks of an al-Qaida-like
attack.' Previously, intelligence officials said that they have no conclusive
evidence to say that these were indeed Al-Qaeda attacks. In other words, what
we have here are theories and suppositions, and that’s how they should be
reported.
Let’s not forget here
what we know about the Assad regime:
·
They have staged in-country terrorist
attacks before, especially when they needed to detract attention away from their
troubling behavior (the attack on the U.S. Embassy in 2006, among others that
took place in that period)
·
They have from the very beginning of
their current predicament shown that their main plan calls for plunging the
country into a sectarian quagmire. As such, they are the greatest beneficiaries
of such attacks.
·
Previous intelligence reports dating
back from the 2003 onward have shown that the Assads have managed to infiltrate
Al-Qaeda network in the Levant, effectively taking control of it and
manipulating it to their interest.
·
Ever since the beginning of the
Revolution, the Assad have released hundreds of jihadi elements that they have
had languishing in their prisons, including the Al-Qaeda Number Four and the
mastermind of the 7/7 attacks in Madrid.
So, if there is AQ
activity in Syria, it’s not a case of the chicken coming home to roost but of
clientalism and manipulation taking to the next level. Jihadi networks,
including Al-Qaeda, have for long been one of the main weapons the Assads have
in their arsenals. If they are active in country now, we know who to blame, if
we choose to analyze things with our minds wide open. Otherwise, we’re better
off shutting our Clapper.
As I follow up on the
Skype call I helped arrange at Foundation for Defense of Democracies between
resistance leaders on the ground in Rural Damascus and Washingtonian policy
experts and members of the media, I facilitated communications with one of
those leaders, Muhhamd Zuka (AKA Mohamad Zoka), and translated an article by
him highlighting the main demands and expectations of the Syrian resistance to
Assad rule at this stage, as well as serving to introduce us to these rebels.
“The
world has no reason to be afraid of us. This revolution was launched to reclaim
the future for freedom and democracy. For this, we should be engaged and
supported. We are not one color, but a rainbow, committed to protecting our
national diversity and the values of tolerance for which Syrian society has
always been known -- not because the world wants it, but because it is our
heritage. Had we had any other agenda, the world would have already seen signs
of that on the ground. It has been almost a year since the revolution began,
yet, despite the regime's provocations, we remain committed to national unity,
and we shall not waver.”
Defections
on the increase all over the country: These are just a few of the defections
that took place over the last 2 days only
Over 200 troops
announce their defection on Al-Jazeerah in the Jabal Al-Zawiyeh region
in Idlib Province http://youtu.be/NpJss5jyqBU
Homs/Rastan http://youtu.be/a1VEuJhgEk4 , http://youtu.be/kt2AeILZnes , http://youtu.be/gWtL4g-a-oc Homs:
a new fighting unit formed http://youtu.be/lZs6_3kzEtg
Hama Province http://youtu.be/zvKGz4j-9PA , Deraa
Province http://youtu.be/9CqCxAvOFng
Former loyalists announce their
defections http://youtu.be/LHC9BpBIJBQ
New fighting unit
established http://youtu.be/ooPioTJT1VA
And another http://youtu.be/zlsgwY7Meag
Major General Fayiz
Amr,
head of the Director of the Air Technical School, announced his defection http://youtu.be/tCYqCSA2wtM Colonel
Muhammad Ali Khateeb, Office of the Inspector General of the Armed Forces,
announces his defection http://youtu.be/Fi3g2BksaQU
Rallies
continue to take place all over the country as they have been over the last
few months. Student rallies (high school and junior high students) in particular
have become part of daily life, often compensating for failure by adults to
stage their own due to heavy security presence. By now clips of these rallies
have become too familiar which is why I am not covering them as much as I used
below both in order to save time, as well as to keep the focus on the main
events.
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Homs
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Homs City
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Baba
Amr:
the pounding with rockets continue http://youtu.be/4spOrKjvezI
, http://youtu.be/plzAZScii_0 , http://youtu.be/nPyA2PNuEL8 , http://youtu.be/FeBm7LCr6Js , http://youtu.be/wcFOwSPLZEQ A whole
house comes crashing down as a result of pounding http://youtu.be/VR8mGa4B_xM Impact of
pounding http://youtu.be/SedcrC7qp2o
, http://youtu.be/_H2Sfx49m-g , http://youtu.be/vUl2_vinzg8 , http://youtu.be/dAQnlbTgXb0
Insha’aat: the pounding
continues under the rain http://youtu.be/97Ok3dPeLGM
Loyalist tanks and troops patrol the streets http://youtu.be/AMLTkUiw4Tk Impact of
pounding http://youtu.be/C34mFKT-6Vg
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Nighttime Rallies
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Ghoutah http://youtu.be/TOQRP1dKS7Q Qoussour
http://youtu.be/48BiQ7-l6Ek Wa’er
http://youtu.be/lwUd-k9sdFA Khaldiyeh
http://youtu.be/ZsRIIGLeZFY
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Homs Province
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Houleh: martyred baby http://youtu.be/-0t8swxKT1I
Rastan: children climb on
top of a tank captured by the FSA http://youtu.be/J6gAwS2sfKU
Impact of shelling http://youtu.be/P00Jxkbj5_o
Teer
Ma’allah:
funeral http://youtu.be/Q8fOChoIOEo
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Daytime Rallies
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Houleh http://youtu.be/26ZB23jviBQ
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Nighttime Rallies
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Qusayr http://youtu.be/kDtbkq39H98
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Damascus
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Damascus City
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Mazzeh: thousands attend a
funeral for local activist in a neighborhood a short drive away from the presidential
palace http://youtu.be/SIAVVvFFVgQ
, http://youtu.be/Gsn_FGULlrM , http://youtu.be/Jh95WgiXLKc , http://youtu.be/yNg88XbpgoA , http://youtu.be/nIG-NqrgZNg
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Daytime Rallies
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Qadam http://youtu.be/BKR_dfxTwYc Sitti
Zeinab http://youtu.be/e6ruZ9Whbuo
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Nighttime Rallies
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Kafar
Sousseh
http://youtu.be/ySOkZhJtUlA
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Eastern Ghoutah
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Douma: Funeral for a local
who died under torture in detention http://youtu.be/enA8G_qX744
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Damascus South
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Defectors
sabotage the communications lines to Damascus Airport http://youtu.be/D2XAma7T9i0
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Daytime Rallies
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Qatana (all girls rally) http://youtu.be/aEExeBq78zo
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West (Zabadani and Wadi Barada)
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Zabadani: local FSA
fighters blow a tank that was shelling the town http://youtu.be/e68vODY8nZk
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North (The Qalamoun Region )
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Nighttime Rallies
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Eltal http://youtu.be/6eEUiciVSm8 Qarrah
http://youtu.be/wHRuq8Whg6A
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Hama
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Hama City
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Daytime Rallies
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Taybat
Al-Imam http://youtu.be/pqacdx29IX8
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Nighttime Rallies
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Hama Province
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Kafrenboudeh: victims of a
recent round of pounding (gruesome) http://youtu.be/ciQXH9pZJIg
Their funeral http://youtu.be/ZWoesakHIp0
There are twelve martyrs in all http://youtu.be/sGmQPz1wtLo
Salamiyeh: Funeral http://youtu.be/GOa5C9-ECsI
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Daytime Rallies
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Ellatamneh http://youtu.be/YDsmVEP4u0Q
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Idlib
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19
locals from the village of Sanfarah and neighboring villages in the Sahel
Al-Rouj Region were taken away from their homes in a raid by loyalist militias
then executed on the highway connecting Ariha and Jisr Ashoughour http://youtu.be/LsVw7vZryoE , http://youtu.be/AOZpU-0PzyQ
Close-ups
of some of the martyrs http://youtu.be/h8zirI-2EsU
, http://youtu.be/rIyUyi56CO8 , http://youtu.be/ovbZwzZe9U0 , http://youtu.be/NiX0ncu8uRE Sanfarah
Martyrs http://youtu.be/7vXm4EEUxlY
More martyrs http://youtu.be/Ttf_nQaGiDI
, http://youtu.be/FNeK6SSe51s
Ma’arrat
Al-Nouman:
Funeral http://youtu.be/U8sKicPp2Sk
Sarmeen: Funeral http://youtu.be/rw2l_Ac7tz8
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Daytime Rallies
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Jarjanaz http://youtu.be/d43HWPC6024 Ma’arrat
Masreen http://youtu.be/h-MS8pqBg5s
Darkoush http://youtu.be/oA7JqIFgYLc
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Deraa/Hauran
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Deraa City
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Al-Balad:
Sounds
of gunfire can be heard in the areas surrounding the city at dawn denoting a
battle between loyalist militias and members of the local resistance http://youtu.be/jqvGx2e42Z0 , http://youtu.be/j_jTdkwHUfE , http://youtu.be/NUtb4N--BlE Qoussour:
more armored vehicles head towards Al-Balad http://youtu.be/kyUfO9wzHPM Gunfire
intensifies soon after their arrival http://youtu.be/fP4wE1xF-Io
, http://youtu.be/52aNoZy3UoE , http://youtu.be/DTdiZxRfV9g Occupants
of this car were hit http://youtu.be/Pf75Uy2RwnQ
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Deraa/Hauran Province
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Basr
Al-Harir:
tanks pound their way into town http://youtu.be/I_kA_oKAlWU
Gunfire reverberates in the streets http://youtu.be/AOQwEiusboA
Mhajeh: funeral http://youtu.be/gQX9gzKArKk
Da’el: student rally
disperse when tanks pass through the streets http://youtu.be/bAzNlyoNrEM
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Daytime Rallies
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Aleppo
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Aleppo City
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Nighttime Rallies
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Sheikh
Maqsoud http://youtu.be/WRlSZp_1xYg
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Aleppo Province
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Al-Atarib: the pounding went
on for another day http://youtu.be/DNlla174sls
Martyrs http://youtu.be/UmsR3IqmF5U
, http://youtu.be/oqw1HlUssOI
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Nighttime Rallies
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Tal
Rif’aat
http://youtu.be/YTqoSjG2cF0
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Deir Ezzor
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Nighttime Rallies
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Qourieyh http://youtu.be/N0151I-N09o
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Hassakeh
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Daytime Rallies
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How typical that Russia, China and Iran block the UN on grounds that they oppose any external influence on Syria whilst Assad has all his weapons from Russia and is actively being supported by Iranian advisers.
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