Despite the recent launch of the National Coalition and the positive
reception it had in international circles, much still needs to be done in order
to ensure opposition unity, at least as it related to the moderate forces.
Rebels still need to be brought on board, a decision-making mechanism needs to
be agreed, a plan for action needs to be formulated, and a vision for the
future of Syria needs to be finally proposed. Almost 21 months have passed
since the beginning of the Revolution, and we still don’t have a transitional government
or a transitional constitution, yet we still wonder why the international community
is not stepping in to support us! In the battle for international recognition and support,
we are yet to do our due diligence as opposition groups and activists.
Saturday November
24, 2012
Today’s
Death Toll: 82, including 2 women and 4 children: 35 in
Damascus and suburbs, 18 in Aleppo, 12 in Homs, 7 in Idlib, 4 in Hama, 4 in
Daraa, and 2 in Deir Ezzor. Points of Random
Shelling: 219: 67 by mortar;
118 by artillery, 34 by missile, and 10 aerial raids. Clashes: 122. Rebels liberated a
checkpoint, downed two helicopters and destroyed a number of tanks and radars
in Marj Al-Sultan military airport in the Damascus Suburbs (LCC).
News
Syria
Cautions on Patriots, NATO Reassures Kremlin Ankara and NATO have
reiterated that the deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey along the Syrian
border is for defensive purposes only, in a bid to ease Moscow’s fears.
Turkey
expects NATO Patriot missile decision within week Turkey expects
NATO to make a decision about deploying surface-to-air Patriot missiles along
its southern border with Syria within the next week, Defence Minister Ismet
Yilmaz said on Saturday.
Special
Reports
Rebels who have besieged Sheikh
Suleiman army base for nearly two months are confident it will fall in days,
giving them full control of a swathe of northwest Syria from Aleppo to the
Turkish border. Their optimism has been buoyed by a steady stream of defectors
from the ranks of the several hundred troops defending the strategic base, the
last major garrison still in army hands between the border and Syria's northern
metropolis.
As civil war continues, a generation
of Syrian children is living with untold grief and trauma… Children who have
been brutalized will reproduce the violence they experience—not because they
are “bad” but because violence has saturated their environment.
As one Iranian Revolutionary Guards
member told the Wall Street Journal in August, "Iran's borders extend
beyond geographic frontiers, and fighting for Syria is an integral part of
keeping the Shiite Crescent intact."… So if the Shiite crescent falls, the
nations that backed Hamas will have to live with an emboldened Israel in addition
to a weakened Iran and Russia—which is exactly what the U.S. and Israel would
like to see.
But where is the United States?
America has spent months trying to get the Russians and the Chinese to agree to
toothless U.N. resolutions to “end the bloodshed,” as though Moscow will
abandon Assad and Beijing really cares about chaos in the Middle East. Vladimir
Putin is not a sentimental man. But if he believes that Assad can survive, he
will do nothing to undermine him. In recent days, France, Britain and Turkey
have stepped into the diplomatic vacuum to recognize a newly formed opposition
that is broadly representative of all Syrians. The United States should follow
their lead and then vet and arm the unified group with defensive weapons on the
condition that it pursues an inclusive post-Assad framework. The United States
and its allies should also consider establishing a no-fly zone to protect the
innocent. America’s weight and influence are needed. Leaving this to regional
powers, whose interests are not identical to ours, will only exacerbate the
deepening sectarianism.
Now that the short term crisis has
transformed into a long term stalemate, the inadequacy of the temporary
protection regime of camps in Turkey is revealed. Turkey is a party to
international treaties arising from the basic obligation to open its border to
refugees. But the international community also has responsibilities.
… the rebel military council
leadership was not included in the Doha effort. Military leaders such as Akidi
thought they would be invited, but the invitations never came. This has added
to demoralization. U.S. and Syrian sources agree that to create military unity,
the CIA will have to push friendly intelligence services to pool funding and
other support behind a unified command. U.S. officials hope that process will
happen over the next month, but rebel leaders fear this could be too late.
Video Highlights
Another Alawite officer defects, Captain Mayyas Saqr Deeb http://youtu.be/ZzHzdKyHwuo
Rebels in Damascus storm the military airport of Marj Al-Sultan destroying
planes and armored vehicles in the process http://youtu.be/MiS3EtlB2VU
, http://youtu.be/Wqiu-jJJ-7M , http://youtu.be/m0RCk86Lgtw One of the
brigades taking part in the clashes http://youtu.be/d4Nb8uDzlxo
, http://youtu.be/18F-CAfv1GA A video
found on the mobiles of one of the prisoners taken during this campaign shows
loyalist militias torturing and mocking a detainee http://youtu.be/wk5iMk-AzDg
The pounding of Damascene Towns, Suburbs and Neighborhoods continues: Daraya
http://youtu.be/dGSksYTtPEQ , http://youtu.be/53Fl7qckOsE , http://youtu.be/lYeFDm3LZ1c Zabadani http://youtu.be/64xDwifxpp8 , http://youtu.be/Al9d02PQBno , http://youtu.be/FS9FVDD-4HU
Rebels and loyalist militias clash in Deir Ezzor City http://youtu.be/-vp3yqp9GqA
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