When you are the President of the United States, to condemn
means to act, that’s why President Obama cannot even bring himself to condemn Assad’s
proliferating crimes, for he is simply unwilling to act. His “better half”
might like bright red, but he seems partial to pink himself, at least when it
comes to his thinly drawn lines. It’s not that the President is afraid or
indecisive. No. He is simply ideologically indifferent to the suffering of
others. Since America is not the cause of what is happening in Syria, then, and
from his perspective, America has no responsibility there. Case closed, but
Hell just opened its doors, and its demons may not be so discerning.
Monday January
21, 2013
Today’s
Death Toll: 110, (including
8 children and 6 women), 31 martyrs were reported in Aleppo, 26 in Damascus and
its Suburbs, 17 martyrs in Homs, 12 martyrs in Daraa, 9 martyrs in Idlib, 9
martyrs in Hama, 3 martyrs from Raqqa who martyred in Daraa and 2 martyrs in
Deir Ezzor (LCCs).
Points
of Random Shelling: 260: 21 points that were shelled by warplanes, 4 points using TNT
barrels, 4 points using cluster bombs, 2 with vacuum and phosphorus bombs; 124
points were shelled with heavy artillery; 78 points were shelled with mortars;
56 points were shelled with missiles (LCCs).
Clashes: FSA rebels clashed with regime forces in 113 locations,
during which they liberated the Almashlab checkpoint in Raqqa, and targeted a
youth building housing shabiha in Hama. They also repelled several attempts by
regime forces to storm Daraya and Eastern Ghoutah (LCCs).
News
Moscow
Is Sending Planes to Lebanon for 100 Russians Leaving Syria It was not
clear whether the news signaled the beginning of a large-scale evacuation.
Russia has an estimated 30,000 citizens in Syria, including government and
military personnel, private contractors, and tens of thousands of women married
to Syrian men. Around a dozen Russian ships are in the Mediterranean off the
coast of Syria for naval exercises and could, officials have said, be used to
evacuate Russian citizens.
30
pro-regime forces killed in Syria blast A suicide car bomb exploded
Monday outside the headquarters of a local government-sanctioned armed group in
Syria, killing at least 30 armed people loyal to embattled President Bashar
al-Assad, according to an opposition group and state-run television. The blast
occurred at an old carpet factory in the eastern Hama countryside that was being
used by the local People's Committee group, according the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights.
Arab
League: Syria Envoy Mission Makes No Progress Nabil Elaraby, addressing
Monday's opening session of a two-day Arab economic summit in Saudi Arabia,
proposed that the gathered heads of state call for an immediate meeting of the
U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Syria
and establish a monitoring force to ensure compliance with the truce.
Syria
Assembles New Paramilitary Force Aided by Iran Syrian regime has
assembled a new paramilitary force, many trained by Iran, to fight what is
becoming a guerrilla war… The force, dubbed the National Defense Army, gathers
together existing popular committees of pro-regime civilian fighters under a
new, better-trained and armed hierarchy, the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said, according to AFP.
Atrocities
Plague Syria, Over 3,500 Children Killed “Media reports today (Friday)
from the scene of mass killings in the village of Hasawiya outside Homs said
whole families were among the dead in horrific circumstances,” said Maria
Calivis, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Assad's
mother leaves Syria Ms Makhluf’s ‘‘departure from Syria is another
indication of Assad losing support even from within his family'', said Ayman
Abdel Nour, head of the newly-formed group Syrian Christians for Democracy and
editor-in-chief of opposition news website all4syria.com.
Earlier
Special
Reports
The border zone between Turkey and
Syria has become crucial to the economic survival of many Syrians. As refugees
flee, activists bring in vital food and medicine, fighters smuggle in weapons,
and entrepreneurial types make money from the war. As soon as a Turkish police
patrol clears off, horses trot Turkish gas into Syria. A Syrian man hustles his
sheep in the other direction, for sale in Turkey. Generator providers and bread
sellers do well too.
The United States is the world's
strongest nation with the loudest voice. Can't President Obama speak out? I
know we're not ready to invade Syria or impose a no-fly zone. Americans don't
have the stomach for another war, or an invasion. But does that absolve us from
simply condemning the slaughter in the strongest possible terms?
If the crisis continues, Syria risks
not so much division into hostile states as happened in Yugoslavia, but control
by warlords who will persecute the Syrian people.
First, Washington should use
Patriot missile batteries in an offensive capacity against regime aircraft --
and deploy them defensively against SCUD and Fatah 110 missiles targeting
opposition-dominated areas along Syria's borders with Turkey and Jordan… Second,
Washington should provide a package of intelligence-sharing, military training,
and other security assistance to mainstream nationalist, non-extremist groups
that have been vetted by Western countries, both to increase their military
capabilities and in exchange for any chemical weapons captured from the
regime's stockpiles… Third, Washington and its allies should provide
local communities supporting mainstream groups that cooperate with Washington's
program to secure chemical weapons with a larger civil assistance program.
Large swaths of Syrian urban and rural areas have been ravaged by war, and the
task of providing services and rebuilding basic infrastructure will be
extensive.
To stave off disaster and play a
leadership role in shaping Syria’s future, the United States should provide
lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, forge a genuine national dialogue
that includes Alawis and Christians, and create an International Steering Group
(ISG) to oversee and lend support to the transitional process, including the
creation of an international stabilization force to provide protection to
Syrian civilians. You will need to engage directly with President Putin to
overcome already weakening Russian resistance to these essential endeavors.
My bout with the flu coincided with many important turns in the Syrian
crisis: the bloodiest week on record since the beginning of the Revolution with
close to 800 dead, the intensification of the ethnic cleansing campaign in Homs
(city and province), the opening of a new front in the war pitting Islamists
rebels against Kurdish fighters, and the intensification of battles in Western
Ghoutah in Damascus, especially in the suburbs of Daraya and Mouadamiyah, to
name but a few.
UN-Insanity: Before we delve in our
coverage of past events, however, it is important to highlight the insanity of
a recent
plan by the UN to deliver aid to the Syrian Regime. It is something
out of theater of the absurd. The UN plans aims to transfer “$519,627,047
to cover the period of January 1, 2013 to the end of June, 2013” as an effort aimed at “supporting the
Government of Syria’s efforts in providing humanitarian assistance to the
affected populations.” As to why would the UN expect a government that has
spent billions over the last 2 years trying to pound these very population into
submission be excepted now to reverse course and begin delivering aid to the
people it seeks to subjugate, no explanation is provided. This is simply
unbelievable. By funding Assad, the UN will be officially joining the war against
the Syrian people, not helping them. Opposition activists have been signing petition
and making calls to officials trying to convince them to put a freeze on this
plan, but so far, to no avail. Assad might have been right about the Cosmic
Conspiracy after all, but it is not against him, it’s against the people.
Ethnic Cleansing in Homs was
marked by an intensification of aerial raids and ground bombardment of restive
neighborhoods in Homs City and a series of attacks and massacres in surrounding
villages and towns, including a massacre against over 100 residents that took
place last week in the village of Haswiyeh:
Forces loyal to
President Bashar Assad swept through a small farming village in central Syria
this week, torching houses and shooting and stabbing residents in an attack
that killed up to 106 people, including women and children, activists said
Thursday. The assault on Haswiyeh outside the city of Homs took place on
Tuesday, but was only coming to light two days later as the scale of the
killings became more apparent. The attacks appeared to have sectarian motives
and bore a resemblance to the attack last May on the nearby village of Houla
that killed 108 people and drew international condemnation of the Assad regime.
Government, as usual, continue to blame “terrorists,” but activists
tell a different story and the victims just happen to be Sunnis. One villager told the
BBC the army was present at the time of the deaths.
Soon after Haswiyeh, another massacre took place. This one was in Kafar
‘Aya on the outskirts of Bab Amr neighborhood in Homs City http://youtu.be/BjLkvHhgmpQ Treating the
wounded http://youtu.be/26SR8xaEnfI ,
http://youtu.be/FGMQ_GxE5ws Some
doctors have to struggle to keep themselves from falling apart as they watch
more and more bodies being brought in http://youtu.be/rywPZBeUIIk
But for some children, help has come too late http://youtu.be/J876gDvU0rA
Today, another massacre took place in Baba Amr, 20 people were killed,
including a family that was set on fire. We see their bodies in this video, but
we see as well an injured member of Alawite militia said to be responsible for
the attack. He was treated, and according to Dr. Mohammad Al-Mohammad, he will
not be killed and will be taken a prisoner http://youtu.be/vqAdJuzEo4k
Divisions and increasingly rivalry among rebel groups as well as a more
coordinated campaign by pro-Assad militias took their toll over the city and
the province over the last week, but over the last couple of days, rebels have
managed to regroup and are now pushing back.
Daraya, Western Ghoutah, Damascus Suburbs:
Pounding by MiGs http://youtu.be/n1pqLRyJHJM
, http://youtu.be/N_2OZByFhMw
Incendiary Cluster Bombs are used http://youtu.be/r8hyXC72BGI
Missiles and rockets are also used http://youtu.be/Y3n2AN8V6zY
The destruction http://youtu.be/TqrMQO0DnwI
Collecting the dead from under the rubble is a daily routine http://youtu.be/bjwqlYqWeQk and a
nighttime activity as well http://youtu.be/ETrjvMGAJz8
But Assad pro-Assad ground troops continue to be held at bay http://youtu.be/f3R5hNqJSYk And many are
killed http://youtu.be/QTjOxNtc3wc Nearby
Mouadamiyah was not spared http://youtu.be/UzSwZRs84d8
, http://youtu.be/gz3A0PG72vo
And the pounding of Eastern Ghoutah went on all throughout this
period http://youtu.be/483jCFljkkM , http://youtu.be/mgi354EH_gg , http://youtu.be/RD-z1YNRxSk Pulling
bodies from under the rubble in Hamouriyeh http://youtu.be/xQL3XXQ550w , http://youtu.be/_DMFubmxIvs Mayhem in Arbeen
http://youtu.be/qRh4BLEZpg8
On the overall course of battles in Damascus, I had this to
say to Mike Giglio of the Daily Beast a few days ago:
“I think the rebels
have been forced to halt their push into Damascus for now, on account of the
brutal bombardment of host suburbs by the regime,” says Ammar Abdulhamid, a
U.S.-based dissident and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies… But
most analysts expect that Assad will soon face another push from the rebels in
Damascus—and that the capital will remain battered by conflict for months to
come. “The battle is not over,” says Abdulhamid of the Foundation for Defense
of Democracies. “As usual, in a few weeks, after reconsidering their tactics,
regrouping and acquiring some more supplies, a new drive [by the rebels] will
begin. Giving up is simply not an option for either side.”
Serekanye/Ras Al-Ain: Islamist
rebels deployed tanks in their fight against Kurdish militias in town and
reportedly shelled civilian neighborhoods. The Kurdish militias are members of
the so-called YPG or local protection units established by residents in
cooperation, as many believe, with PYD, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK in
Turkey. Islamist rebels seem to have moved into town weeks ago specifically to
contain what they consider to be growing separatist threat by the local Kurdish
population and have been supported by some local Arab tribes. Meanwhile,
Kurdish groups across the Kurdish-majority areas in the northeast remain too
divided to pose any such threat, and have been calling for some form of
administrative autonomy. Kurds have also been concerned over the increasing
Islamization of the Revolution as most Kurds remain staunchly secular. The
rebels are reportedly to be coordinating their moves with members of the Syrian
National Council and the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as certain tribal leaders,
including Nawaf Al-Bashir. Jabhat Al-Nusra is involved as well, but mostly
through its affiliates.
Further underscoring the ideological divide on this issue among
revolutionaries, most YouTube networks dedicated to the revolution, such as
Sham News Network bill their videos of the clashes: “clashes between FSA and
Assad militias.” Naturally, Kurdish sites refer in their coverage to “terrorists”
or Erdogan and Nawaf Al-Bashir Brigades”
Videos: Islamist rebels deploy tanks http://youtu.be/8Z2_hbkiY_Y , http://youtu.be/aoml_qrBuyg and arrest
and beat local civilians who are obviously unarmed accusing them of being PKK
members http://youtu.be/fd3zTmXZkTg Some
of the Kurdish fighters involved in the clashes http://youtu.be/dYDN1D8nZF8 Rebels
saving an injured colleague http://youtu.be/UdBc9ZD854I
Local Kurds saving an injured civilian http://youtu.be/ZBvUmQ52V7E
Clashes from the point of view of rebels http://youtu.be/ey2qUVaTeWk Use of the
agreed revolution’s flag in this clip, rather than the black banner of Islamist
groups, indicates that not only Islamist groups are taking part in the clashes
on the side of the rebels, tribal groups are involved as well, perhaps at this
stage leading the charge http://youtu.be/fsdwydb4QLI
As part of the increasing propaganda campaign meant to incite rebels against
Kurds, this is one of the video clips being circulated through social media, it
shows PKK fighters in Turkey mocking the Islamic prayer rituals http://youtu.be/BRZTtpmJJ1E
No comments:
Post a Comment