Rebels might have occasional successes in bringing down some of the
helicopter gunships and fighter jets taking part in bombarding their towns and
villages, but the battle cannot be won without serious support from external
parties. If Turkey and the world want to make a real difference in this fight,
rebels should be given what they need to neutralize Assad’s air power. Otherwise,
the pounding of Syria back into the Middle Ages, in terms of minds as well as
infrastructure, will continue.
Friday October
5, 2012
Today’s
Death toll: 127. The Breakdown: 10 children and 4 women
included. 36 in Aleppo, 28 in Damascus and Suburb, 19 in Daraa, 16 in Deir
Ezzor,12 in Homs, 11 in Idlib, 3 in Lattakia and 2 in Hama. 464 rallies took
place, including: 123 in Idlib, 117 in Hama, 63 in Aleppo, 53 in Deir Ezzor (banners
were raised saluting the Green Revolution in Iran out of appreciation for
recent show of support by Iranian protesters), 47 in Damascus and Suburbs, 29
in Daraa, 20 in Hassakeh, 7 in Homs, 3 in Raqqah, 2 in Lattakia (LCC).
News
Special
Reports
…if Turkey takes a more active role by
exerting control over the border area inside Syria, then the United States, its
allies, and other countries interested in regional stability should all lend
their support. This includes increased military, political, and humanitarian
support to the opposition. For its part, Washington should provide assistance
that helps defend and support areas in northern Syria where the FSA has a
measure of control, and where free political and social institutions are
emerging. These measures would help end the conflict, ensure direct and
immediate aid for the Syrian people, and give the United States a chance to
influence events after the regime falls.
In the coming days, Ankara is likely
to press Washington for more aggressive action against the Assad regime,
including U.S.-supported havens for refugees in Syria and measures to hasten
Assad’s fall. Washington’s response is likely to be sticking to the
soft-landing strategy while trying to slow Erdogan down…. given Obama and
Erdogan’s divergent policies on Syria, a storm between them appears almost
unavoidable.
Civilians and rebels say Bashar
al-Assad’s forces have been targeting medical facilities—even ambulances—in the
battle for key opposition city.
While the US and other Western nations
resist being drawn into the fighting in Syria, Turkey is feeling the direct
effects of bloodshed and refugees, putting pressure on Ankara to act.
Majed al-Muhammad, the commander of a
Syrian antigovernment fighting group, slammed his hand on his desk. “Doesn’t
America have satellites?” he asked, almost shouting. “Can’t it see what is
happening?”… If the West continues to turn its back on Syria’s suffering, he
said, Syrians will turn their backs in return, and this may imperil Western
interests and security at one of the crossroads of the Middle East.
While the Syrian conflict has been
characterised by fighting between the Sunni majority and ruling Alawite
minority, it has also given birth to some movements which aim to bridge the
sectarian divide, as Samer Mohajer and Ellie Violet Bramley report from Beirut.
Al-Arabiyah Leaks
Al-Arabiya television published
confidential security documents revealing that Iran assisted its ally Syria to
move chemical weapons. Also another leaked communiqué highlighted
Syrian-Israeli collaboration on joint border.
Ammar Abdulhamid & Khawla
Yusuf: The
Shredded Tapestry: The State of Syria Today
On funding of Rebel Groups
To be clear on the issue of funding of rebel groups, by now both Saudis and Qataris are funding Islamist and
Salafist militias, it's the not the ideology that matters anymore, but loyally. Still, the larger groups on the ground are so intermeshed that they use smaller units
that keep changing affiliations so all end up getting funding from both sides. The
funding is still minimal of course, and most of it disappears along the way
before reaching the fighters on the ground.
On Al-Arabiyah Leaks
I really don't know what to make of the current documents being published by Al-Arabiya channel. They look and sound too good to
be true. On the other hand, the regime has often done things to damage itself
and its image and seems unconcerned about that. From my own experiences with
security apparatuses, I know that the amount of paperwork they generate is prodigious, it's really a wonder that we haven't had such leaks before. Now that we have so many defectors from
security apparatuses, it makes sense that leaks are happening. Still, how can
we authenticate anything really?
Video Highlights
The Douma Martyrs Brigade declare capturing a military airport
in Eastern Ghoutah, Damascus Province, even as regime forces continue to
pound the region with helicopter gunships and MIGs http://youtu.be/miHEfZ3GPls Rebels also
took control of a number long-range missiles http://youtu.be/jOFFrRlCV3M The Brigade is
part of the Syria Martyrs Brigades, led by Jamal Maarouf, a pragmatist rebel
leader based in Jabal Al-Zawiyeh Region in Idlib Province. Attacking airports
have become part of their strategy to try to neutralize Assad air power, and
they have done this before in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo. This is the first such
attack in Damascus. More on Jamal and the rebels can be found in this
report, and my
recent op-ed in Foreign Policy.
Still in Eastern Ghoutah and in Douma, rebels bring down a
helicopter gunship http://youtu.be/fIMGrNjPFe4
, http://youtu.be/nlpbXWyqsLQ , http://youtu.be/BCgrz1HVJF4 Wreckage http://youtu.be/-akAwNWhQjA , http://youtu.be/kPZ16058FM8 The moment
when the chopper was hit http://youtu.be/XQspTyWV_2k
In nearby Saqba, many were killed http://youtu.be/O_8x_d8-kBE , http://youtu.be/lR8S0sIarww in a new
massacre caused by continuous shelling in which MIGs took part http://youtu.be/5SNEYokSjV4
In the town of Mouhassan, Deir Ezzor Province, rebels managed to
bring down a fighter jet: plane on its way down http://youtu.be/-W8f7bZDrLM Wreckage http://youtu.be/BLniTBwvYbU Rebels find
the parachutes of the pilot http://youtu.be/6bQ44B9HbNw
Meanwhile, MIGs pound the neighborhood of Sakhour in Aleppo City
http://youtu.be/JNfPTlKe9_4 , http://youtu.be/ID6ZWdWOciQ As heavy artillery
pound the neighborhood of Sulaiman Al-Halabi http://youtu.be/UJJWMaeTJkU
In Homs City, the pounding of restive neighborhoods with missiles intensified:
Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/pO_1D0dh-bc
, http://youtu.be/EKNKS-MrneQ , http://youtu.be/wHmStU-5NXE
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