In
the first major battle of Cold War II, Russia and its allies (the Assad regime,
China, Iran, Belarus, Venezuela, etc.) are winning, so far. Forget about
killing Bin Laden and ousting Qaddafi, if Obama loses Syria, that and the
regional chaos that will ensue will be what he is remembered for. If Obama’s
strategy is to wait for November, the battle might just be lost by then, and
his legacy set in blood and stone.
Sunday June 17, 2012
Death tolls: 60. The Breakdown: 17 in Homs, 18 in
Damascus (15 in Suburbs and 3 in City), 11 in Hama, 5 in Deir Ezzor, 5 in
Daraa, 4 in Aleppo.
News
Associated
Press journalist wounded in Syria
Op-Eds
& Special Reports
Group of Tel Aviv Arabs
post Anti-Assad signs in Nazareth: But Israeli Arabs remain deeply split
over events in Syria.
The
rebels risked a great deal in allowing journalists to embed with them, but they
needed to get their message out, not through the opposition “leaders” in
London, and in answer to the regime’s version of events. Commander al Sheikh
told Shelton, “We want the people of the world to understand us as people, to
see our revolution from a human prospective. The Syrian people cannot turn
back. We must fight until victory.”
A great roundup by Rhonda Parker,
with reference to the Digest and a personal interview
Excerpts
In an interview published yesterday
by American PBS Newshour, self-proclaiming Alawite “Shabiha active member” Abu
Jaafar, said he is “ready to kill women and children to defend his friends,
family and president.” "Sunni women are giving birth to babies who will
fight us in years to come, so we have the right to fight anyone who can hurt us
in the future," said the Alawite militiaman, a member of the ancient
offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the
powerbase of his regime belong.
Syrian
dissident and pro-democracy activist in exile, Ammar Abdulhamid, has been
calling for more active international intervention in Syria, and added another
addendum in his Syrian Revolution Digest Syria
report last night.
Stated
Abdulhamid, “I wouldn’t ask for intervention had it not been a reality of our
lives already, had Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Belarus and Venezuela not chosen
to intervene from the onset in our affairs, siding with the Assads, arming them
to the teeth, helping circumvent sanctions, (and) shielding them from
accountability. Things need to be made equal. We need to be given a fighting
chance. Assad is conducting a war of attrition against the rebels, while
carving out his own personal fiefdom, hedging his bets. We only have one bet:
staying the course, come what may.
Meanwhile, in
an opinion piece for A&E the National had the soul-searching title, “When tanks
crush children, Syrians must ask: who are we?”
The piece
documents activists who feel there is a military strategy behind the madness
and civilian carnage - including the brutal massacres and targeting of
children.
“By outsourcing
the dirty work to local militias, the regime distanced itself from the
monstrosity of the crimes while deceptively placing the perpetrators within the
blurry category of ‘armed gangs,’ said one hama activist.
Another
activist from Homs said: "This is what they want to see: we are 20
massacres away from an opposition-free Syrian coast."
Abdulhamid also
stated in an email interview late tonight that he didn't feel the Free Syrian
Army had the time or resources to take civilian hostages, as some pro-Assad
media have been alleging in regards to the Christian and Sunni civilians
trapped in Homs.
"Basically,
at this stage, the few local fighters in Homs City are locked in a fight for
survival against pro-Assad militias, they do not have the time or the capacity
to take hostages, and the regime does not care about the well-being of hostages
anyway. Having hostages - even Alawites - will not stop pro-Assad militias,
who, for months now, have been bombing both Sunnis and Christian neighborhoods,
destroying mosques and churches, without any hesitation."
Said
Abdulhamid, "The truth of what is happening in Syria is quite simple:
Assad and his militias are trying to re-subjugate their opponents using all
means at their disposal, including resorting to ethnic cleansing along the
coast and in central Syria in preparation for a possible breakup of the country."
He also stated
that Assad and his supporters realize "they have lost control of major
swathes of the country, and that their opponents are committed to staying the
course until Assad is brought down."
For this
reason, Abdulhamid said, "...They are carving out a territory that will
remain, by virtue of its ethnic makeup, completely loyal to Assad, and so it
can serve as a base that will keep the Assads as active players in the regional
scene even after the state falls apart."
He added,
"With the help of Russia and Iran, Assad is creating a win-win scenario
for himself: reestablishing control over all the country, or becoming the
undisputed leader of a critical chunk of it that might be declared as an
independent state at a certain point in the future."
Video Highlights
Qudsaya, West Damascus: the
impact of shelling by pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/Agn9qsreFTA
, http://youtu.be/TgfOGvYQSkg Buildings
catch fire http://youtu.be/6X234GKD2xo
Zabadani, West Damascus:
playing cat-and-mouth with snipers http://youtu.be/Yjbzi6jAQy8
Douma, East Damascus:
buildings catch fire due to shelling http://youtu.be/439C6HMQ4g8
Martyrs http://youtu.be/SJ4tbVaCzRE The
pounding resumes at night http://youtu.be/wNhHQoZPreY
Dmeir, East Damascus:
locals leaving the town at night to escape the shelling http://youtu.be/OpzmCM3mySU
Talbisseh, Homs: treating victims
of the shelling http://youtu.be/8Tx3EOMim0k
, http://youtu.be/ULzlgawK6gE Martyrs
http://youtu.be/e_XLnzh5D5Q The
pounding http://youtu.be/ROozcTOfJNU ,
http://youtu.be/FKcfowlMdoc , http://youtu.be/oFHlpAWEaW0 , http://youtu.be/nKNOHZ3SqDg , http://youtu.be/Drd1forE2AU
Rastan, Homs: a child
martyr http://youtu.be/EH40I07gJlQ Martyrs
http://youtu.be/vR1cgbITI5I The cemetery
is pounded even as people try to bury their dead http://youtu.be/S20e3lCOc2Q The pounding
continues http://youtu.be/HFnjOYeFL7E
Houla, Homs: pro-Assad
militias set houses on fire http://youtu.be/KtMHHWr69CU
At night, the pounding resumes http://youtu.be/7dQV5jtRs2g
Homs
City:
the pounding continues http://youtu.be/jGng_BX1-Ig
, http://youtu.be/jty5H6PcJ3E , http://youtu.be/zOWGSJuBQAI
Bou
Leil,
Deir Ezzor: martyrs http://youtu.be/GDyLvNPv9PU
, http://youtu.be/r6hTiERlUvI , http://youtu.be/FQeVxN3YjkU
The real thing can be seen in
action here: (Karak, Daraa Province), but it’s been used all over the country,
as I have been documenting over the last few weeks
I read that article about those Shabiha members. It is really scary reading. And the reason to that is Assad are using people with low IQ. They don't use their brains, they don't understand the aftermath of killing. They have a salary of about $200/day and they can increase that money stealing electronics equipments, money and jewellery. And they do all this "for protecting our president"! And killing babies and children are because they will grow up and became a future enemy to the alawites. So Assad can deny but he is not trusted. And how can Asma Assad look at her own children knowing that her husband shabihas or ghosts are killing everything that can breath. My last question will be...Has a future Syria any use for those NONE rocket scientist or shall they be placed in a Syrian Gulag camp where they will end their days?
ReplyDeleteStig-Åke Persson
Sweden