Whatever it is that is looming in the far horizon in Syria –
end of a regime, end of an era, end of Phase One, it is unlikely to bring an
end to violence and bloodshed. It could even pave the way for something more tragic,
unless we are ready with plans, visions and logistics to take charge of the
situation and push it in the right direction. We need leaders, both among the
ranks of the opposition and the international community, who are willing to
stick their necks out, just as rebels and activists have been, in order to
better manage the approaching transitional period. This is not a battle that can
be managed from the safety to our illusions and wishful thoughts. The sight of Assad
and his supporters reeling and scurrying in all directions should not blind us
to the fact that they are carrying death with them wherever they go.
Thursday December
13, 2012
Today’s
Death Toll: 138, including 7
children and 4 women: 69 in Damascus and suburbs (including 17 in Jdeidet
Artouz and Al-Fadal, and 4 during shelling of a bakery in Al-Hajar Al-Aswad),
29 in Aleppo, 20 in Idlib, 6 in Homs, 7 in Deir al-Zour, 4 in Hama, 2 in Daraa,
and 1 in Al-Hassakeh. Points of Random Shelling:
227. Clashes: 120. Rebels
were to destroy five tanks in different areas and destroyed a MiG while still on
the runway of the Deir Ezzor Military Airport. In Aleppo, rebels stormed the military
base at Khanassar, seizing a variety of guns and heavy artillery pieces, and
capturing 70 pro-Assad officers. Rebels also took control of the Air Defense
Unit belonging to the 111th Regimen. In Damascus Suburbs, rebels destroyed
two tanks travelling along the Airport Highway and took control of the military
engineering unit in Shaba’a. In the town of Malkiyeh in Al-Hassakeh Province, a
number of id-level defections were reported (LCC).
News
Special
Reports
"Radical Islamists are very
visible," Pierret says. "They always fight on the front line because
they're seeking martyrdom. For that reason, other groups often ask them to
spearhead attacks.
Currently around 102,000 Syrians are
registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees within Jordan, and
another 41,000 have 'appointments to register'. However, the Jordanian
government estimates an additional 100,000 people have crossed the border.*
More than 500,000 refugees have registered in countries across the region,
including Iraq and Turkey, but the true figure is likely to be much higher.
The establishment of a Syrian contact
group among these key powers – similar to the Dayton process that helped stop
the fighting in Yugoslavia – would aid negotiations that could lead to a
unified strategy for peace. The Assad regime must be convinced to accept change
and multi-party negotiations now because the window of opportunity is closing
rapidly.
Virtually every risk the
administration warned might be triggered by U.S. intervention has been made
all-too-real in the absence of U.S. intervention. This was abdication
masquerading as serious foreign policy; a flight from leadership gussied up to
appear as thoughtful restraint, prudence, realism.
“The shabiha came and told us they
wanted to protect us from the rebels, but then they wouldn’t let us go,” said a
young man in one video who gave his name as Mohamed Ibrahim al-Judud, and who
like others in the videos said he was able to identify the attackers by their
first names. “They killed my father, my mother and my brother.”
In a sign that perhaps the regime is
feeling vulnerable, Western officials said that Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad has targeted the rebels with Scud missiles.
Both rebel leadership and the United
States urged the Russian government to help push Syria's President Bashar
al-Assad into ceding power and end the battles closing in around his capital.
To win, the rebels have to conquer
Damascus and dislodge Mr Assad from the seat of his power, which he has vowed
to defend to the last breath. Although the rebels have been closing in
relentlessly on the capital, the real battle for the city has barely begun, and
the hard inner core of the regime's power has yet to be fully engaged.
Not really. Watch what the Kremlin
does, not what it says.
Op-Eds
The Syrian people will not soon forget
who came to their rescue in their dire hour of need -- and who did not.
Arabic
Press (Steven Miller, FDD Research Assistant)
The Salafi movement in Jordan
announced today that it appointed a new emir to lead Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria,
replacing Abu Gilbid al-Toubasi with Abu Anas al-Sahaba. Both al-Toubasi and
al-Sahaba are from al-Zarqa, a city northeast of the capital, and al-Sahaba is
the brother-in-law of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The group's statement did not
mention the fate of the former "emir" of Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.
Syria
Deeply
Video Highlights
A video leaked by a recent defector shows the launching of a Scud missile
http://youtu.be/dI6sMQxbb2Y An
activist captures another launch http://youtu.be/cdUs6TRyJU4
In Sha’aleh, Aleppo, rebels take control of the local radar station http://youtu.be/tKsa5TQwJO4 , http://youtu.be/OzPd1TlRtYM , http://youtu.be/4cuK0s4sjIE , http://youtu.be/unDj6--uJvc , http://youtu.be/jJmAjb4SD4w , http://youtu.be/3fty_1pNw6g But the
regime soon sends its MiGs to bombard the site http://youtu.be/6bKcmGYJ7vE
The merciless pounding of the town of Daraya, Damascus,
continues http://youtu.be/lNH6N8yC7v8
A leaked video shows pro-Assad militias preparing for battle in Arbeen,
Damascus http://youtu.be/WBe6OkaG1HI
The pounding of Deir Ezzor City continues http://youtu.be/0-KigBW-GuQ
Scenes from the clashes in Jabal Mouaf, Lattakia http://youtu.be/hojv8gz-XKU
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