With the current use of MIGs in the pounding of Aleppo and Homs,
Assad has deployed every weapon in his arsenal but the WMDs. By now, it’s a
toss-up as to what is more senseless and shameless: Assad’s crackdown, or the
reaction of world leaders.
Wednesday July 25, 2012
Today’s Death toll: 146. The Breakdown: 27 in Damascus and Suburbs, 23
in Aleppo, 21 in Homs, 15 in Hassakeh, 12 in Hama, 12 inidlib, 11 in Deir
Ezzor, 9 in Daraa, in Lattakia and 1 in Qunaitra.
Cities & Towns Under
Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen,
Moadamiyah, Haran Al-Awameed, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda,
Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Modan, Al-Hajar
Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh (Damascus City), Daraa
City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen,
Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Al-Ghanto,
Al-Bouaydah, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun
(Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City,
Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo,
Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Maar’at Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar
Shoureen, Ariha (Idlib)
The defection of the Charge
d’affaire in the Syrian Embassy in Cyprus, Lamia Hariri, was soon followed by
the defection of her husband, Abdelfattah Sabbagh, the Syrian Ambassador in the
UAE. There are also reports that the security chief in the Syrian Embassy in
Oman has also defected.
News
Op-Eds & Special
Reports
Moral
mantle for action in Syria slips from UN to Obama The Obama
administration has all but given up on the UN acting on Syria. It's beefing up
aid to rebels taking other steps. But China and Russia can still save the UN's
moral leadership by backing tougher sanctions on Assad.
Five
things international community must give Syria after Bashar al-Assad Syria
sits at the crossroads of a region undergoing tremendous upheaval and fragile
democratization. Transition in Syria after Bashar al-Assad will be impossible
without constructive international support. While the future of Syria must be
in the hands of its people, the end of the Assad era, however it comes, will
require resetting the way in which the world engages with the country. From
outsiders, Syria will need these five key things…
In
Syria, Kurdish Groups Divided Over Taking Up Arms Against Assad Though
the regime made an early effort not to anger the minority group, the killing of
a top Kurdish leader has led some groups to support violent resistance
Splits
widen within Syrian opposition As Syria's rebels
look beyond Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, distrust and jostling for power are
eroding their credibility.
Syria's
cyberwars: using social media against dissent Social
media fueled the Arab Spring. In Syria, it's helping the government quash it.
The Syrian uprising has opened a new chapter in the history of cyber-espionage,
and activists and experts are watching closely to see how it plays out.
Syria
crisis: 'a huge snowball that can destroy everything' The
regime faces insurrection everywhere, but rebels warn that without western
help, they will pay a heavy price for victory
Searching
for the Truth Behind the Houla Massacre Initially,
the United Nations was convinced that the Syrian government was behind the
brutal Houla massacre. But then, some began to have doubts. SPIEGEL traveled to
the town to interview survivors and witnesses -- and was able to reconstruct
the horrifying slaughter.
Al
Qaeda Taking Deadly New Role in Syria’s Conflict Al
Qaeda and other Islamic extremists are doing their best to hijack the Syrian revolution,
with a growing although still limited success that has American intelligence
officials publicly concerned, and Iraqi officials next door openly alarmed.
Inside
Syria: Foreign fighters join Syrian rebels in Aleppo battle On
Wednesday, CNN’s crew met a Libyan fighter who had crossed into Syria from
Turkey with four other Libyans. The fighter wore full camouflage and was
carrying a Kalashnikov rifle. He said more Libyan fighters were on the way.
Cause
for Celebration in Syria The fall of Assad’s
pro-Iranian regime is a net gain for the U.S., even if what replaces it isn’t a
reliable ally
The Time for
Kurdistan Region of Syria Has Come The Kurdistan Region
of Syria? Yes, it is possible. Now is the time to declare it. Today,
the Kurds of Syria are in a position to be a strong player in the new Syria and
the Middle East. But this depends a great deal on their Kurdish neighbors and
co-fighters – namely, the KDP and PKK.
Syria
Conflict: Breakaway Alawite State May Be President Bashar Assad's Last Resort
In the recent sectarian violence in
Syria, some observers see a grim pattern: Alawite fighters from President
Bashar Assad's minority sect, they say, are trying to carve out a breakaway
enclave for themselves by driving out local Sunnis, killing entire families and
threatening anybody who stays behind.
Guile,
Gas and Germs: Syria's Ultimate Weapons Part
I of a two-part examination of Syria's chemical and biological weapons—how
Syria built them, configures them. Poisoned
Missiles: Syria's Doomsday Deterrent Part II catalogues Syria's
present CBW stocks, investigates how Damascus has weaponized them, and ponders
possible scenarios for their use.
Christian
priest bears witness to Syrian bloodbath A
Jesuit priest thrown out of Syria for criticizing Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown
on pro-democracy forces is visiting North America… He’s bringing a message for
fellow Christians and others: It’s un-Christian and immoral to be fretting only
or mostly about the possible plight of the Christian minority in post-Assad
Syria, while doing little to save the overwhelming majority of Syrians being
massacred by the Assad regime. Rev. Paolo Dall’Oglio says the regime is “ethnic
cleansing” those who oppose it, and is sowing sectarian divisions much the same
way Slobodan Milosevic did in Bosnia in the 1990s.
Key
Role Floated for Syrian Defector "Someone like
Tlass is difficult to sell to the Syrian people," said Ammar Abdulhamid,
an anti-Assad activist based in Washington. "He certainly can't play any
leading role in a transition."
How and when to intervene are the only questions.
In “It's Time to Engage Iran, Russia on Syria,” Andrew
Parasiliti, the executive director of the International Institute for Strategic
Studies-US, argues against the establishment of safe havens in Syria because:
Safe
havens can also prolong rather than end the violence, creating a de facto
partition and potentially increasing the prospects of the division or collapse
of the state. A safe haven can also be a catalyst for mission creep, an
enticement for further military intervention by the US and others, and
facilitate an increase in the presence of foreign fighters, including
terrorists.
His alternative is to have Washington
open
an urgent new diplomatic front with Russia and Iran, the two countries which
retain the most leverage with Assad.
These are valid points of course. The problem is that
history is equally informative about the results of diplomatic engagement with
Iran and Russia. It, too, can prolong conflicts and/or lead to the
fragmentation of countries.
The reality is quite simple: you want to prevent the fragmentation
of Syria, you have to intervene in Syria: it will be messy and thankless mission,
but it’s far better than the much more messy and thankless alternative.
Video Highlight’s
Pro-Assad militias stormed the neighborhood of Qaboun
and executed people in their homes http://youtu.be/2M9lHu0zSgE
, http://youtu.be/aa81gnKEy_I
The neighborhood and its shops were ransacked http://youtu.be/AoMky2fLhqY
The pounding of the neighborhood and other restive
neighborhoods in Damascus City continues: Qaboun http://youtu.be/w-luEShen8A Al-Qadam
http://youtu.be/wWXLJZNccq4 Al-Hajar
Al-Aswad http://youtu.be/JQ8zpi53j2U
And choppers did their part http://youtu.be/4xoeQbNWv64
In Kinsafrah, Jabal Al-Zawiyeh Region, Idlib
Province: the dead we see her are the pro-Assad troops killed shortly following
their capture http://youtu.be/SE2UNat8yxM
during the liberation of the village http://youtu.be/bLcWGkmZeUo
Assad had pulled most of his troops from the region to send to Aleppo, allowing
the region to fall under the control of rebels http://youtu.be/z_MEYxTIhKI This is the leader of the local FSA unit
explaining what happened http://youtu.be/gMGl7sd0fd0
Battles continue to rage in Aleppo City: Sakhour http://youtu.be/scoOY1UxuaY Children
keep paying the price http://youtu.be/yH8NeLnINfQ
smoke rises over the City as the sounds of battle continue http://youtu.be/n7phXie5Np8 , http://youtu.be/YTGdp4DUduM Helicopter
gunships take part in the battles http://youtu.be/2c9QHqgCQ-Y
, http://youtu.be/v3lv6GW3Cy0 , http://youtu.be/O8Z87nlXYHg Impact of pounding
is all too visible in Salaheddine http://youtu.be/DQURLE7l_hc
Zibdiyeh http://youtu.be/1WJm-faJtWs
Kallasseh’s police station http://youtu.be/7UvRjYAgQf8
, http://youtu.be/haVG3KsFucc
The pounding of Old Homs continues: Abou Zar Mosque is hit http://youtu.be/IwabAbNj4zA In Jouret
Al-Shayah, tanks pound buildings into the ground http://youtu.be/rDR1cH6AIQY And mortar
rounds keep falling indiscriminately http://youtu.be/3bJByKt0I7I
, http://youtu.be/zh9oDT3d1qw
The pounding of Talbisseh, Homs Province, continues http://youtu.be/4VCuQtbrCy8 , http://youtu.be/gFqWTj5hCec MIGs take
part in the pounding of the town http://youtu.be/isUgAffyAB4
The explosions resulting from MIG action are spectacular http://youtu.be/w0DGygZmPxs , http://youtu.be/RIbjceF_-Go , http://youtu.be/IgOfV7e6X1k
In Lattakia, the pounding of Sunni-majority villages in Jabal Al-Akrad
continues http://youtu.be/cwE2gFjFSrQ
, http://youtu.be/Pg3HveppeJs
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