At least we are not going gently into that good night. Ours is
a well-documented public crucifixion, and while world leaders will keep trying
to wash their hands of it, the stain of it is already set in, and the stench
overpowering.
Wednesday
October 24, 2012
Today’s
Death toll: 150. The Breakdown: Toll includes 18 women and 13
children: 84 in Damascus and Suburbs (including 30 field-executed in Douma), 30
in Idlib (most in Kafrouma), 9 in Aleppo, 9 in Daraa, 7 in Homs, 5 in Hama, 4
in Deir Ezzor, 3 in Raqqah, and 1 in Hassakeh (LCC)
News
Special
Reports
VICE commissioned renowned war
photographer and videographer Robert King to embed with the ragtag troops of
the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, smack dab in the heart of a conflict that is
ripping Syria apart. He returned with footage that has made us very scared and
very sad for the future of the country.
Trying to identify corpses, digitally
documenting destruction, the activists want to be sure that 'one day no one can
say a piece of our history is missing.'
If the conflict in Syria continues
unabated, leading to full-blown sectarian war between Alawites and Sunnis, and
violent ethnic tensions between Arabs and Kurds, the scenario that is more
likely to unfold now is more along the Iraq model of de facto zones of
semi-independent control. Aleppo and Damascus would still likely be connected,
though they would be pulled in different directions thanks to countervailing
trade links. There would be a middling Druze enclave in the south. Alawites, or
at least those who survive the impending and unfortunate cataclysm, would
retreat to their traditional stronghold around the Mediterranean port of
Latakia… Syria's Kurds would likely turn to Turkey for support. They would
appreciate Ankara as a balancing force against Arab nationalism, a lesson they
would fast learn from the Iraqi Kurds, who have made Turkey their protector
against Baghdad since 2010.
NATO's conundrum is simple -- protect
its most Eastern member whilst simultaneously taking a stance on crimes against
humanity, or remain dormant and cater to the insular view of two countries that
place the resolution of Syria well and truly second to their own national
interests.
United Nations Syria envoy Brahimi
said both the Syrian government and rebels agreed to a cease-fire for Eid
al-Adha, but major disagreements could foil its chances of success.
Syria's rebels share some of those
misgivings. But they also see in the foreign extremists a welcome boost:
experienced, disciplined fighters whose battlefield valor against the
better-armed troops of President Bashar Assad is legendary.
More than 100,000 Syrians have already
fled westwards, including 7,500 Palestinians who had been refugees in Syria. In
northern Lebanon, the Free Syrian Army battling President Bashar al-Assad's
regime enjoys cross-border tribal links, and finds respite, medicine and
weaponry. The danger now is that Lebanon's state, always a tenuously negotiated
compromise, falls apart under this strain.” Lebanon is also a microcosm of
broader sectarian and strategic rivalries. Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran
jostle for influence, and pro- and anti-Assad factions often live adjacent to
one another in combustible cities like Tripoli.
Arabic
Press (Prepared by Steven Miller, FDD Research Associate)
Syrian authorities approved a $20.07
billion budget for 2013, an increase of 4 percent from last year, and Syrian
Finance Minister Mohamed al-Jalilati said that the budget reflects increased
expenditures on salaries and wages for 36 thousand new public sector employees.
He explained that government support for citizens includes subsidies on
petroleum products, electric power, and cooking supplies like flour, sugar, and
rice. Al-Jalilati did acknowledge that the economic growth rate in Syria is now
negative due to the ongoing conflict.
Russian Army Chief of Staff Nikolai
Makarov revealed information that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is using American-made
Stinger missiles in its fight against the Assad regime, but he noted that he
has not determined who delivered them to the FSA. The Russian Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Alexander Lukashevic warned Washington last week that sending missile
air defense systems to Syrian fighters would be equivalent to arming
international terrorists. It is noteworthy that Russia sold the Assad
government $1 billion in weapons last year, has made it clear that it will
oppose any UN Security Council arms embargo, and has used its veto 3 times to
oppose resolutions to put pressure on the Syrian regime.
Ammar Abdulhamid & Khawla
Yusuf: The
Shredded Tapestry: The State of Syria Today
Secretary Clinton has
gotten it wrong: Syria is not trying to exploit instability to Lebanon,
Syrian under Assad is doing it can to export instability to Lebanon.
Video Highlights
Massacre in Harasta, Damascus Suburbs http://youtu.be/BoKM1LM_KqI And in Douma
http://youtu.be/-g4go0LFS3s , http://youtu.be/tzqllFOYllQ MiGs pound
nearby Kafar Batna http://youtu.be/x8IERIPhPDI
and Hamouriyeh http://youtu.be/Lkh8HuvcnfY
and Madirah http://youtu.be/uHzsi7TnEq0
Scenes from the clashes in Harasta http://youtu.be/HNOtNl9MFSk , http://youtu.be/G7EJd4RvKXg , http://youtu.be/HCRXD-LDr7M
A massacre in Kafroumah, Idlib Province http://youtu.be/et3NE-ZGkes , http://youtu.be/R_FA_KpLH68 Children
among the dead http://youtu.be/Rul7zqq0pMo
Pulling bodies from under the rubble http://youtu.be/LTMlSJSXsgQ
In Hawash, Hama Province, a mother and her two daughters killed
in the pounding http://youtu.be/hLXKK325Y8A
A new coalition under the leadership of Lieutenant Qais Al-Qatana, is
formed in Al-Lajat region, Daraa Province, with the name Al-Omari
Brigades. http://youtu.be/ttq6GNfZESU
In Damascus, more rebel groups come together under the name of
Moujahidi Al-Sham http://youtu.be/JUHiyKF85p0
Leaked video showing abuse of detainees http://youtu.be/oRMCR94IxX8
Scenes from the battles in Turkman Mountains in Lattakia http://youtu.be/vIIWgjlnf4o , http://youtu.be/ukeL2xPn1Mc , http://youtu.be/rZORp0C7evk
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