tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13386385438075233512024-03-05T01:52:22.467-05:00Syrian Revolution DigestFollowing Main Developments / Monitoring Trends...Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.comBlogger574125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-30075024415785673632015-10-09T19:27:00.001-04:002015-10-09T19:30:04.749-04:00The Daily Digest of Global Delirium <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have made a comeback to a full-blogging mode using my new blog: <a href="http://www.thedailydigestofglobaldelerium.com/" target="_blank">The Daily Digest of Global Delirium</a>. Pay me a visit there. Syria remains a focus, but no longer the only issue on the table.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-46271554778736674712014-01-11T20:32:00.001-05:002014-01-11T20:32:44.163-05:00New Blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have been blogging for many years in both Arabic and English, so much so that things have gotten a bit too confusing for those who follow my writings. To make things easier, I gathered all my blog posts from all my blogs, and published all published articles, as well as my studies and papers, in one easily navigable site, which I continue to update on an almost daily basis:<br />
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<a href="http://ammarabdulhamid.com/">http://ammarabdulhamid.com/</a>.<br />
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I hope the new site will rise to your best expectations. If you have any comments on the design or content of the new site, do not hesitate to contact me. </div>
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Sincerely,</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ammar</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-56493412427093677242013-06-13T04:05:00.001-04:002013-07-10T20:00:53.277-04:00Another Chapter Ends! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">I started the Syrian Revolution
Digest to prevent the destruction and demise of my country, not to chronicle
it. By keeping a certain key segment of the public informed as to what is
taking place in Syria, and by circulating my posts by email to key officials,
policy analysts, media professionals and human rights activists, I hoped
to apply enough pressure on American and European leaders to have them
decide to intervene early on in the situation. I hoped that their timely
intervention would prevent the transformation of the peaceful protest movement
into an armed insurrection paving the way to a civil war. I have obviously
failed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">My subsequent attempts to mitigate
this failure by calling for the imposition of a no-fly zone and for providing
military and humanitarian support to moderate rebels have also come to naught.
But the battle is not lost yet. More and more influential public figures are
emerging every day in support of this position, including people like Senator
McCain and former President Clinton. President Obama might still choose to
ignore our pleas, and to persist in his catastrophic approach to the situation,
but there is little that I can do through this blog to change his
calculations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
So, and rather than insist on engaging in an activity that has lost its purpose
for me, I believe my cause is better served if I shifted my focus and
remaining supplies of energy elsewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">I know many of my readers have found
this blog useful and have come to rely on it as a dependable source of insights
and information, to them, I extend my sincere apologies for having to put an
end to it at this stage and hope they understand my reasoning and need for
doing so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">I have always been doing much more
than just blogging, of course. I lectured, wrote papers and op-eds, travelled,
met with officials and advised opposition groups as well as in-country
activists on a variety of issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Under the auspices of the Tharwa
Foundation, and in cooperation with a number of international organizations, I
have also organized a plethora of workshops meant to educate and build the
capacity of young activists and emerging local leaders. In fact, I am currently
involved in a program along these lines near the Syrian-Turkish borders. Over
the next few months, this will continue to be my focus, alongside my wife, who
preceded me to Turkey and is much more engaged in connecting with local
activists from across the country, and our two children who have changed their
entire career paths so that they could one day help in the reconstruction
processes in Syria. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">So, as one chapter ends for us,
another immediately begins. I just hope I can keep up. But I increasingly feel
out of my Aspergian depths at this stage...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-69638157833976601772013-05-08T00:41:00.027-04:002023-04-29T15:11:34.774-04:00Bare Naked Truth!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">No more masks. No more fig-leafs. With Alawite militias now coming
out in the open calling for “cleansing” and “liberating” their areas of Sunnis with
the support of established religious figures in their community, the sectarian
nature of the Assad regime and the ongoing crackdown can no longer be denied.
What we have now in Syria is de facto and de jure a genocidal venture. Indeed,
there are many Alawite figures who oppose it, and that gives us some hope for
the possibility of intercommunal reconciliation down the road, but for now, we
have to see realities for what they are. It’s time we removed the blindfold and
admitted to ourselves that we are once again allowing genocide to take place,
as we watch. And by the way, someone should tell Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov that those
already committed to perpetrating genocide are interested in politics only
inasmuch as they can be used as cover for their crimes. The Russians don’t seem
to have any compunction about being partners in this particular crime. The
question is: how does Obama feel?</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Tuesday May
7, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b> <b>128</b>, including 5 women, 4 children and 1 martyr under
torture: 46 reported in Daraa including 12 found in a mass grave in Sheikh Meskeen;
35 in Damascus and its suburbs; 9 in Hama; 9 in Qunaitra; 9 in Aleppo; 8 in
Homs; 7 in Idlib; and 4 in Deir Ezzor<b> (LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/world/middleeast/syria-golan-heights-united-nations.html?_r=0">U.S.
and Russia Plan Conference Aimed at Ending Syrian War</a> </b>Secretary of
State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V.
Lavrov, announced their agreement to arrange the conference after a day of
intense diplomatic meetings here. Mr. Kerry, who was visiting Russia seeking to
find common ground on the Syria conflict, told reporters at a joint appearance
with Mr. Lavrov in Moscow that the aim would be to push the government of
President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition to attend. The announcement
appeared to signal a strong desire by both countries to halt what has been a
dangerous escalation in the conflict, with evidence of chemical weapons use, a
surge in the number of civilians fleeing combat and a refugee crisis that is
overwhelming Syria’s neighbors. Israeli aerial attacks this past weekend on
suspected munitions sites in Syria heightened and further complicated the
tensions in the region. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/world/asia/obama-on-syria.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly&_r=0">No
Easy Answers on Syria, Obama Says</a> </b>Speaking at a news conference with
President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, Mr. Obama said: “Understandably,
there’s a desire for easy answers. That’s not the situation there.” “My job is
to constantly measure our very real and legitimate humanitarian and national
security interests in Syria,” he said, adding that that must be measured
against “my bottom line: which is what’s in the best interest of America’s
security.” Still, Mr. Obama sought to dispel suggestions that he faced a
credibility gap in the wake of intelligence showing that sarin gas was used on
March 19 in a Syrian village west of Aleppo and in the outskirts of Damascus.
He cited the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the NATO-led air
campaign against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya as evidence of his resolve.
“There have been several instances during the course of my presidency where I
said I was going to do something,” he said, “and it ended up getting done.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/07/web-monitor-syria-has-largely-disappeared-from-the-internet/">Web
monitor: ‘Syria has largely disappeared from the Internet’</a> </b>The outage
appears to have begun at 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, or 9:45 p.m. in Syria.
According to a blog post by Umbrella’s chief technology officer Dan Hubbard,
“On closer inspection it seems Syria has largely disappeared from the
Internet.” Many Syria-watchers feared that the Web shutdown was a precursor to
some sort of coordinated regime counterattack or campaign; that President
Bashar al-Assad had not wanted the world to see what he was about to do. No
such campaign ever appeared to come, however. Later, many Syria analysts
concluded that the regime may have been seeking to hamper rebel communication;
fighting near the Damascus airport at the time had potentially threatened one
of Assad’s key links to the outside.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57583191/sen-corker-on-syria-u.s-will-be-arming-the-rebels-soon/">Sen.
Corker on Syria: U.S. will "be arming the rebels soon"</a> </b>"I
do think we'll be arming the opposition shortly," Corker said Tuesday on
"CBS This Morning." "We're doing a lot more on the ground than
really is known but we do have to change the equation. ... The moderate
opposition groups we support are not as good at fighting, they're not as good
at delivering humanitarian aid."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/07/4-un-peackeepers-detained-by-armed-men-in-syria/">4
UN peacekeepers taken hostage in Syria</a> </b>Four U.N. peacekeepers
monitoring the cease-fire between Syria and the Golan Heights have been
detained by unknown captors, a U.N. spokeswoman said. But a rebel group called
the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigades claimed it is holding them. The spokeswoman for
the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force told Reuters Tuesday that the
peacekeepers were in the area where other U.N. observers were detained by
Syrian rebels for three days in March. Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the U.N.
peacekeeping department, said efforts are under way to secure the four
peacekeepers, who are all from the Philippines. In a statement that was posted
on the group's Facebook page Tuesday, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigades said the
peacekeepers are not their hostages, but are being kept with them for their own
safety.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/07/us-syria-crisis-turkey-idUSBRE9460C720130507">Turkey
condemns Israeli air strikes in Syria</a> </b>"The air strike Israel
carried out on Damascus is completely unacceptable. There is no rationale, no
pretext that can excuse this operation," Erdogan told a parliamentary
meeting of his ruling party. "These attacks are chances, opportunities
offered on a golden tray to Assad and to the illegitimate Syrian regime. Using
the Israel attack as an excuse, he is trying to cover up the genocide in
Banias," he said. Erdogan was referring to a Syrian coastal town where
anti-Assad activists said at least 62 people were killed by government fighters
over the weekend.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/06/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_meast+(RSS%3A+Middle+East)"><b>42
Syrian soldiers dead in reported Israeli strike, opposition group says</b></a><b>
</b>Concern about the possibility of broader war in the Middle East grew Monday
after reported airstrikes on Syrian military installations. The reported
strikes killed 42 Syrian soldiers, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday, citing medical
sources. It said 100 people remained missing. The Syrian government warned
Sunday's apparent strikes -- which followed one last week attributed by Syria
to Israel -- "opens the door wide for all the possibilities."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-06/216132-russia-says-chance-of-foreign-intervention-in-syria-growing.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2SYkFYpOH"><b>Russia
says chance of foreign intervention in Syria growing</b></a><b> </b>"We
are seriously concerned by the signs of preparation of global public opinion
for possible armed intervention in the long-running internal conflict in
Syria," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a
statement. Russia also voiced concern at Israeli air strikes against Syrian
targets, saying that they threatened to escalate tensions in neighbouring
countries. "We are looking into and analysing all the circumstances
surrounding the especially concerning reports of the May 3 and May 5 Israeli
air strikes," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that they
threatened to destabilise the situation in Lebanon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-06/216129-israel-to-reopen-airspace-after-syria-strike-military.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2SYkSgu94"><b>Israel
to reopen airspace after Syria strike: military</b></a><b> </b>"Civilian
aviation in northern Israel will resume regular operation following security
assessments," a statement said. An army spokeswoman told AFP that the
closure, originally scheduled to last until May 9, was expected to end later on
Monday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/06/us-syria-crisis-israel-idUSBRE9450DQ20130506"><b>Israel
says 'no winds of war' despite Syria air strikes</b></a><b> </b>Oil prices
spiked above $105 a barrel, their highest in nearly a month, on Monday as the
air strikes on Friday and Sunday prompted fears of a wider spillover of the
two-year-old conflict in Syria that could affect Middle East oil exports.
"There are no winds of war," Yair Golan, the general commanding
Israeli forces on the Syrian and Lebanese fronts, told reporters while out
jogging with troops. "Do you see tension? There is no tension. Do I look
tense to you?" he said, according to the Maariv NRG news website.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/07/israel-bombs-syria-nation-a-battlefield-for-the-world-s-powers.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+(The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles)">Israel
Bombs Syria: Nation a ‘Battlefield for the World’s Powers’</a> </b>The rebels
weren’t behind those fireballs. As the international community refuses to
officially intervene, Mike Giglio on how regional players are stepping up their
own involvement in Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/07/will-syria-still-exist-a-year-from-today.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+(The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles)">Will
Syria Still Exist a Year From Today?</a> </b>While Obama wrings his hands over
a ‘red line,’ the U.N. sits on the sidelines. How long until Syria as we know
it falls off the map? Janine di Giovanni sounds the alarm—again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://aranews.org/en/index.php/interview/216-kurds-should-not-fear-renewed-persecution-in-syria-expert-says"><b>Kurds
Should Not Fear Renewed Persecution in Syria, Expert Says</b></a><b> </b>Dr.
Nikolaos van Dam is the former Ambassador of the Netherlands to Iraq, Egypt,
Turkey, Germany and Indonesia, and author of The Struggle for Power in Syria
(2011). With a profound diplomatic experience in different areas across the
world and a broad knowledge on various outstanding causes in the Middle <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span>East, including the
Kurdish issue, Dr. Nikolaos van Dam observes the current developments in Iraq
and Syria with a special interest in the potential outcome of the ongoing
crises on the future of the Kurds. Dr. van Dam illustrates his views in this
regard through this exclusive interview.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/reported-israeli-airstrikes-in-syria-could-accelerate-us-decision-making/2013/05/05/72c6eafc-b5c2-11e2-92f3-f291801936b8_story.html"><b>Reported
Israeli airstrikes in Syria could accelerate U.S. decision process</b></a><b> </b>Now,
in part because of growing confidence in the rebel Free Syrian Army, “the
national security team and the diplomatic team around the president” favor
increased involvement, and their views are gaining momentum despite the caution
expressed by Obama’s political advisers, according to a senior Western official
whose government has closely coordinated its Syria policy with Washington and
who spoke before the reported Israeli strikes. The official discussed sensitive
diplomatic assessments on the condition of anonymity. Even U.S. lawmakers who
have expressed reservations about stepped-up U.S. involvement appeared to now
see it as inevitable. “If we are going to arm the rebels, we have to make sure
those arms are not going to end up in the possession of al-Qaeda supporters,”
Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://swampland.time.com/2013/05/07/what-if-al-qaeda-gets-syrian-chemical-weapons/#ixzz2SfCEyxqv">What
if al Qaeda Gets Syrian Chemical Weapons?</a> </b>“I think we should be
worried,” says Jeffrey White an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy and former military intelligence officer. “As the war progresses
and the rebels gain territory, assuming they do, inevitably they’re going to
close in on some of the regime’s chemical facilities.” In fact, that has
already happened. Earlier this year, rebel fighters with the powerful Jabat al
Nusra faction–a group the State Department calls an extension of al Qaeda in
Iraq–battled close enough to a major Syrian chemical stockpile near Aleppo that
the regime is believed to have relocated its weapons to another location.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/lessons-from-a-massacre-that-assad-looks-to-exploit#ixzz2SeSUEng6">Lessons
from a massacre that Assad looks to exploit</a> </b>The narrative is that the
regime's forces are driving Sunni families from Alawite areas, in Homs and
elsewhere, for the purpose of paving the way for a potential statelet on the
coast. But that narrative is inaccurate because such moves are not systematic
or universal. Sunni families were welcomed in the Alawite heartlands and
Alawite families are similarly leaving their areas in the country's middle when
there is violence and heading to the coast. These moves, therefore, suggest
that sectarian cleansing is not being conducted for the purpose of establishing
a potential state but for other strategic reasons to ensure the flow of Alawite
fighters from and into this area. As the rebels close in on the coastline, the
regime probably feels that such massacres will deepen sectarian tensions and
pit Sunni and Alawites against each other, thereby convincing the Alawites they
need to fight alongside the Assad regime for their survival. A similar ploy was
employed in the beginning of the conflict in 2011. A month into the anti-regime
protests, pro-regime militias - their fighters with accents and names
associated in Syria with Alawites - filmed themselves humiliating protesters in
the same village as the weekend's massacre.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">The Genocidal Truth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Lest we forget, this is the reality of what is happening in Syria today:
genocide. The images below are the villages of Byada and Raas Al-Nabea in
Banyas. <span style="color: red;">I had to remove the images on April 29, 2023 in order to comply with Blogger's guidelines on violence. The images show the bodies of children and adults who were killed during the massacre perpetrated by pro-Assad militias. </span></div>
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More information on the current Alawite militias carrying out the
ethnic cleansing campaign in Banyas has also surfaced.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The group spearheading the effort is called the Syrian Resistance and
is headed by one Mihrac Ural (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mihrac.ural.1?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/mihrac.ural.1?fref=ts</a>),
AKA Al-Kayyal (the weigher) and also Ali Kayyali, the fellow we <b><a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/2013/05/cleanse-and-liberate.html">recently
saw</a></b> in a leaked video (<a href="http://youtu.be/y0P4rhRjR9I">http://youtu.be/y0P4rhRjR9I</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">) </span>calling for ethnic cleansing as part of a “cleanse
and liberate” approach to consolidate Alawite hold on the coastal regions in
Syria. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Mihrac is the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Iskandarone, an organization created by the late Hafiz Al-Assad to “liberate”
and retrieve the Hatay region from Turkey. The movement was nothing more than a
propaganda stunt really and was rendered obsolete during the rapprochement with
Turkey under Bashar Al-Assad. But the growing rift between the two sides since
the onset of the revolution breathed a new life into the movement and
transformed into a fanatical Alawite militia fighting to maintain Assad rule
and seeking to cultivate support for his regime among the Alawite community in
Hatay. Mihrac himself is a communist, but religious Alawite figures such as
Sheikh Mouaffac Ghazal among others are also playing their part in the new
movement. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkd4d2CIpE1CBxvlzEyJsY2lCS9uXE88zv0OBbiumoXYPQeCZitMmFjZ9TPmQSc7lrMGjTb0Aag-aL6sn22lbdoAiplPeXrrfl0ysDtrt1UAGKIkT-vST39yk3QXAybFsFCE9t6NhjXQ/s1600/photo+(6).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkd4d2CIpE1CBxvlzEyJsY2lCS9uXE88zv0OBbiumoXYPQeCZitMmFjZ9TPmQSc7lrMGjTb0Aag-aL6sn22lbdoAiplPeXrrfl0ysDtrt1UAGKIkT-vST39yk3QXAybFsFCE9t6NhjXQ/s400/photo+(6).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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In this video from March 2013, we can see Mihrac and his people introduce
themselves defiantly at a time when their campaign was being planned. Their
message is simple: we are poor, we are not receiving military or financial support
from anyone, and we do what we do because we believe in the cause (link from a
Youtube channel affiliated with the group) <a href="http://youtu.be/yWiA7KqacNk">http://youtu.be/yWiA7KqacNk</a>
(this is another link to the view from a rebel YouTube channel: <a href="http://youtu.be/dXOGqT3gB3Y">http://youtu.be/dXOGqT3gB3Y</a>) Of course,
pro-Assad militias re supported logistically and financially by the Assad
regime.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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In this video, we see Mihrac speaking at a funeral of a local
militiaman following the massacre in Al-Bayda promising to fight on against the
terrorists of the Empty Quarter (reference to Saudi Arabia support to rebels)
under the leadership of Bashar Al-Assad <a href="http://youtu.be/SJeLuV1j2GE">http://youtu.be/SJeLuV1j2GE</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is an older video of Mihrac (January 2013) with English subtitles <a href="http://youtu.be/PwnQ4-D2cOQ">http://youtu.be/PwnQ4-D2cOQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Another leaked video from Banyas shows Alawite militias abusing and
transporting the corpse of a captive to unknown whereabouts <a href="http://youtu.be/IyOE_BngaS8">http://youtu.be/IyOE_BngaS8</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Stupefied? Dumb? Or Duplicitous? </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Carla Del Ponte <b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22428496#?utm_source=feedly">says</a></b>
that she “was a little bit stupefied by the first indication of the use of
nerve gas by the opposition" For their parts Syrians were <b><a href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/aug/18/carla-del-ponte-prosecution">stupefied</a></b>
by her previous fuckups as a prosecutor. Meanwhile, the White House <b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-06/216163-white-house-assad-likely-behind-chemical-arms-use.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2SYjiouNC">makes</a></b>
clear that “Assad likely behind chemical arms use,” and Peter Bergen <b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/06/opinion/bergen-chemical-weapons-syria/index.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)">considers</a></b>
“Al Qaeda's track record with chemical weapons” in Iraq, specifically with
chlorine gas. The problem with this analysis is that people who have been hit
by chemical weapons attack in Syria are rebels and their host communities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Violations Documentation Center has issued this report on <b><a href="http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports/chemical">use</a></b> of
chemical weapons by the regime in April 2013 in Damascus City! So, the story
regarding use of chemical weapons in Syria at this stage is that they are being
used methodically by the regime even in the country’s capital. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Rebels in <b>Qusair</b>, Homs Province, claim that their city was
targeted with napalm type bombs during aerial raid. They show this man as a
proof <a href="http://youtu.be/p9qyNvI6uIA">http://youtu.be/p9qyNvI6uIA</a>
this is the bomb that was dropped on town and caused the injuries <a href="http://youtu.be/a3XPawgE1oA">http://youtu.be/a3XPawgE1oA</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Attack on <b>Al-Bayda</b> by artillery continues <a href="http://youtu.be/BXyYDE1GdfQ">http://youtu.be/BXyYDE1GdfQ</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/nZX34LC0_gY">http://youtu.be/nZX34LC0_gY</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels in <b>Deir Ezzor</b> blow up a research center used as loyalist
headquarters by pro-Assad militias inside the military airport <a href="http://youtu.be/11sqb8-WU24">http://youtu.be/11sqb8-WU24</a> But the
pounding of the city with heavy artillery continues <a href="http://youtu.be/lbIIGpM-U-0">http://youtu.be/lbIIGpM-U-0</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/orbO-U80yzA">http://youtu.be/orbO-U80yzA</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The aftermath of a rebel attack on a loyalist convoy in Damascus
Suburbs <a href="http://youtu.be/3MXj0pAkico">http://youtu.be/3MXj0pAkico</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Pro-Assad militias execute an Egyptian prisoner who was fighting for
the rebels in <b>Eastern Ghoutah</b>, Damascus Suburbs <a href="http://youtu.be/0OpuRS_eh44">http://youtu.be/0OpuRS_eh44</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the other hand, rebels for the most part still treat the captured
and wounded pro-regime soldiers with some decency, not matter how reluctantly.
This video is from <b>Daraa</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/6MHk3A2h1cg">http://youtu.be/6MHk3A2h1cg</a>
Rebels are under constant pressure from activists in their midst to behave
according to legal norms, and oftentimes, this pressure works, albeit
violations among rebels are mounting. Pro-Assad militias on the other hand
operate under the opposite pressures: they are meant to misbehave torture, loot
and kill. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebel strongholds in Damascus City continue to be pounded: <b>Jobar</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/60jyJ9iNnj0">http://youtu.be/60jyJ9iNnj0</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/S2lNMY2Y-nM">http://youtu.be/S2lNMY2Y-nM</a> <b>Zamalka</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/-JSL7AaCGnc">http://youtu.be/-JSL7AaCGnc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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To the West, the pounding of Moadamiyeh Suburb continues <a href="http://youtu.be/5XzevFVdPp4">http://youtu.be/5XzevFVdPp4</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/1-J_9h230jM">http://youtu.be/1-J_9h230jM</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-24136430108855272342013-05-06T02:56:00.000-04:002013-05-06T02:56:16.940-04:00“Cleanse and Liberate!”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">As a pro-Assad militia leader explained that the driving philosophy
behind the current operations in Banyas and its surroundings is to “cleanse and
liberate” the only coastal town in Syria where Sunnis make up a majority, and
as hundreds of Sunni families are indeed being forced to flee, world attention
seems destined to focus over the next phase on the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-may-have-used-sarin.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly">allegations</a>
just brought by Carla Del Ponte that rebels were behind the use of Sarin gas in
Syria! And yet, miraculously, it’s the rebels and their supporters who are being
killed and displaced! Cut the bullshit!, pardon my Italian! Had rebels had access
to Sarin gas and had they had the necessary knowhow to deploy it, they might
have been tempted to use it during their months-long siege of various military airports
that keep raining death and havoc on their communities. The fact that they haven’t
reflects either a principled stand on their part, lack of access, or both, but
in all cases, it makes clear that the Sarin call in Syria has been heeded by
the Assadists only, not the rebels. QED</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Sunday May
5, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b> <b>116</b>, including 16 women and 21 children: 29 were reported
in Damascus and its suburbs; 21 in Banyas; 19 in Homs; 10 in Idlib; 10 in
Aleppo; 9 in Deir Ezzor; 7 in Daraa; 7 in Hama; 3 in Lattakia; and 1 in Raqqa<b>
(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/world/middleeast/after-strikes-in-syria-concerns-about-an-escalation-of-fighting.html?_r=0">Syria
Blames Israel for Fiery Attack in Damascus</a> </b>The attack, which sent
brightly lighted columns of smoke and ash high into the night sky above the
Syrian capital, struck several critical military facilities in some of the
country’s most tightly secured and strategic areas, killing dozens of elite
troops stationed near the presidential palace, a high-ranking Syrian military
official said in an interview. Israel refused to confirm the attacks, the
second in three days, and Israeli analysts said it was unlikely that Israel was
seeking to intervene in the Syrian conflict. They said the attacks in all
likelihood expanded and continued Israel’s campaign to prevent the Syrian
government from transferring weapons to Hezbollah, the Shiite militia and
political party in neighboring Lebanon that is one of Israel’s most dangerous
foes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-received-no-early-warning-on-alleged-israeli-strikes-in-syria-american-official-says-1.519427">U.S.
received no early warning on alleged Israeli strikes in Syria, American
official says</a> </b>Meanwhile, Syrian official tells the New York Times
strike hit elite Republican Guard units; local doctor reports at least 100
soldiers killed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-may-have-used-sarin.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly">Syrian
Rebels May Have Used Sarin</a> </b>“Our investigators have been in neighboring
countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals,” Ms. Del Ponte
said in an interview with Swiss-Italian television. “According to their report
of last week, which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not
yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims
were treated.” “This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by
the government authorities,” she added, speaking in Italian… The United States
has said it has “varying degrees of confidence” that sarin has been used by
Syria’s government on its people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-05/216070-commander-of-besieged-syria-airport-killed-activists.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2SUYpg7Ro">Syrian
rebels enter northern air base</a> </b>The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said rebels moved deep inside Mannagh air base, near the border
with Turkey, despite fire from government warplanes. The Aleppo Media Center
says rebels captured a tank unit inside the base and that the base commander,
Brig. Gen. Ali Salim Mahmoud, was killed. The fighting came hours after Israeli
warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital, setting off a series
of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made
guided missiles believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group,
officials and activists said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/exclusive-syrian-aid-in-crisis-as-gulf-states-renege-on-promises-8604125.html?fb_action_ids=10151370771791104&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210151370771791104%22%3A537963112915901%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151370771791104%22%3A%22news.reads%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D">Exclusive:
Syrian aid in crisis as Gulf states renege on promises</a></b> Food rationing
for refugees planned as $650m pledged to UN remains undelivered<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/opinion/keller-syria-is-not-iraq.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly">Bill
Keller: Syria Is Not Iraq</a> </b>t in Syria, I fear prudence has become
fatalism, and our caution has been the father of missed opportunities,
diminished credibility and enlarged tragedy. The United States has supplied
humanitarian aid and diplomatic pressure. But our reluctance to arm the rebels
or defend the civilians being slaughtered in their homes has convinced the
Assad regime (and the world) that we are not serious. Our fear that arms
supplied to the rebels would fall into the hands of jihadis has become a
self-fulfilling prophecy, because instead of dealing directly with the rebels
we left the arming to fundamentalist monarchies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and
they are predictably using lethal aid to appease the more radical Islamists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://world.time.com/2013/05/05/israeli-strikes-on-syria-file/?xid=rss-topstories&utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+(TIME%3A+Top+Stories)">Strikes
on Syria Signal an Emboldened Israel</a> … </b>a civil war that has gone on for
more than two years has changed Israel’s calculus. Israeli officials are
betting that Assad will not retaliate, both because his forces have their hands
full already and because any strike against Israel would risk Israeli counterstrikes
that might seriously degrade his advantages in the civil war, like airpower.
“They don’t want to open a new front that might be the last one they open,”
says one Israeli military official. “They would suffer a knockout punch.” One
measure of Israel’s confidence was the whereabouts of its Prime Minister:
Benjamin Netanyahu left on Sunday for a long-scheduled state visit to Beijing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">“Cleanse and Liberate”</span> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In this leaked video we see a leader of a pro-Assad militia known as
Al-Kayyal speaking to supporters during a recent recruitment rally explaining
the philosophy behind the current loyalist campaign in the coastal town of Banyas.
Al-Kayyak is a Turkish Alawite and leads a small militia of Turkish Alawite
recruits fighting for Assad in Syria. The religious scholar to his left is an
Alawite religious figure known as Mouaffac Ghazal. Al-Kayyal says that Banyas (a
town where the majority population happens to be Sunni Arab whereas the population
of the larger province happens to be Alawite) is the only outlet the “traitors”
[AKA the Sunnis] have to the sea and could be used to bring enemies from abroad,
hence the need to “besiege” and “cleanse” the town, “sooner rather than later.”
The essence of their resistance, he says, is to “cleanse and liberate.” Politics
is not their concern, he says. <a href="http://youtu.be/y0P4rhRjR9I">http://youtu.be/y0P4rhRjR9I</a>
Indeed, the city of <b>Banyas</b> is now being targeted by heavy artillery <a href="http://youtu.be/HGGWTJpNdJM">http://youtu.be/HGGWTJpNdJM</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Cleanse Your Mind <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Meanwhile, member of the UN commission member investigating possible
use of chemical weapons in Syria, Carla Del Ponte, <b><a href="http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE94409Z20130505?irpc=932">made a
statement in a press conference in Geneva</a></b> in which she seemed to assume
that rebels were beyond the use of Sarin gas in the incidents under investigation.
While she claimed that the results of the investigation provided “strong,
concrete suspicions” that Sarin was used, she said that the evidence was not “incontrovertible.”
She then added matter of fact that the use of Sarin was “on the part of the
opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities.” She offered no
evidence in this regard, but she seems to be referring to official claims made by
the Assad regime after an attack took place against the town of Khan Al-Assal for
which the regime blamed rebels – a ludicrous and unsupported claim that was nonetheless
widely circulated by international media at the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, Del Pone’s statement, as sensational as it is at this stage, does
not seem to reflect an official position by the commission itself, as such, an
official clarification needs to be issued soon. For the real story in Syria today
is the all too visible and ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign against the Sunni population
in coastal and central areas in Syria and the repetitive incidents of Sarin gas
use in a variety of locations across the country by regime forces. Incidents of
the regime use of Sarin have been corroborated by the Americans (shyly), the French,
the British and the Israelis. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Airport Cleansed!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Rebels <b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-05/216070-commander-of-besieged-syria-airport-killed-activists.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2SUYpg7Ro">took
over</a></b> huge segments of Minnigh Military Airport today. The progress
comes after a defector killed the Airport’s chief, Ali Salim Mahmoud, and some of
his top men two days ago. This is a rebel commander announcing the development two
days ago. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rebels in <b>Deir Ezzor</b> brought down a government chopper killing
its 6-men crew <a href="http://youtu.be/LjHU9-s5VHw">http://youtu.be/LjHU9-s5VHw</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Unfazed by Israeli raids, regime forces pound rebel strongholds in
Damascus City using rockets launchers on top of <b>Mount Qasayoun</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151449186943577&set=vb.558523576&type=2&theater">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151449186943577&set=vb.558523576&type=2&theater</a>
<b>Yarmouk Camp</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/v_rqmAOd6B0">http://youtu.be/v_rqmAOd6B0</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/RHqkmrtcOPk">http://youtu.be/RHqkmrtcOPk</a> Southern
neighborhoods <a href="http://youtu.be/C0zSgzdz5L4">http://youtu.be/C0zSgzdz5L4</a>
<b>Jobar</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/YdoetQKoE6c">http://youtu.be/YdoetQKoE6c</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And warplanes raid <b>Eastern Ghoutah</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/vqCRRgyC7y8">http://youtu.be/vqCRRgyC7y8</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/Wd6WrWHpWtU">http://youtu.be/Wd6WrWHpWtU</a> <b>Hamouriyeh</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/GFHHwZpQwio">http://youtu.be/GFHHwZpQwio</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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To the West of Damascus, the town of <b>Moadamiyeh</b> continue to be
pounded <a href="http://youtu.be/bVcSPLsDOQw">http://youtu.be/bVcSPLsDOQw</a> ,
<a href="http://youtu.be/1nK4hd4unVc">http://youtu.be/1nK4hd4unVc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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News editor at Syrian Satellite TV, <b>Khalid Khalil</b>, declares his
defection and apologizes to the Syrian people for the lateness in announcing his
decision, but says he was providing reports to rebels since the beginning of
the revolution <a href="http://youtu.be/VtTMMjQGWTA">http://youtu.be/VtTMMjQGWTA</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-88561726820913382642013-05-05T01:17:00.000-04:002013-05-05T01:17:56.182-04:00Bluff & Awe!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Ethnic cleansing is not only about how many people are killed, it’s
more often about how many people are displaced. With more than 6 million
internally displaced persons, 2 million refugees, and hundreds of thousands of
detainees and missing, the overwhelming majority of whom happen to be Sunni
Arabs, and considering the fact that it has only taken 2 years to achieve this
feat, the scale of the human tragedy in Syria assumes new proportions.
Furthermore, the tragedy is playing out in the age of “never again” and R2P,
reports of this genocide are being broadcast around the clock through social
media so no one can feign ignorance, and all is being accomplished with minimal
recourse to WMDs. Obama’s red line has been irrelevant since the beginning, and
was nothing more than a meaningless bluff that was exposed as such when reports
of its violation were casually dismissed by the man who drew the line, and when
Israelis just showed the world how red lines are actually maintained… (Continue
below).</span></i></b><br />
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<b>Saturday May
4, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b> <b>271 martyrs</b>, including more than 30 women, 20 children and
1 under torture: 142 martyrs were reported in Banyas in Raas Al-Nabea Massacre which
took place on Friday; 33 in Homs; 29 in Aleppo; 21 in Damascus and its Suburbs;
14 in Daraa; 11 in Raqqa; 11 in Hama; 7 in Idlib; 2 in Deir Ezzor; and 1 in Hassakeh<b>
(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/04/israel-enforces-red-line-with-syria-airstrike-on-weapons-bound-for-hezbollah/#ixzz2SNBxHi3d">Israel
enforces 'red line' with Syria airstrike on weapons bound for Hezbollah,
officials say</a> </b>But the strike, which one official said targeted a
shipment of advanced surface-to-surface missiles, also raised new concerns that
the region's most powerful military could be dragged into Syria's civil war and
spark a wider conflagration. Fighting has repeatedly spilled across Syria's
borders into Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and the Israeli-annexed Golan
Heights during more than two years of conflict, while more than 1 million
Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring countries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/05/us-syria-crisis-blasts-idUSBRE94400020130505?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedly">Explosions
shake Damascus, Syria blames Israel</a> </b>Powerful explosions struck the
outskirts of Damascus early on Sunday, sending columns of fire into the night
sky, and Syrian state television said Israeli rockets had struck a military
facility just north of the capital. Israel declined to comment on the attack,
but the blasts occurred a day after an Israeli official said his country had
carried out an air strike targeting a consignment of missiles in Syria intended
for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. One of the sites hit on Sunday, the
Jamraya military research center, was also targeted by Israel in January.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Report-IAF-strike-in-Syria-targeted-arms-coming-from-Iran-312036">'IAF
strike in Syria targeted arms from Iran'</a> </b>Reports indicate the strike
targeted surface-to-surface Fateh-110 missiles that were stored at a warehouse
in the Damascus airport. The New York Times quoted American officials as saying
the missile shipment came from Iran. It is unclear whether the Fateh-110
missiles were intended for Hezbollah, who are said to already have a small
supply of them, or to Assad forces, who are running low on Fateh-110 missiles
that were used on opposition forces, the American official told the Times.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/05/04/3125776/israel-has-the-right-to-hit-missiles-obama-says-after-strike">Israel
has the right to hit missiles, Obama says after strike</a> </b>It is Israel's
right to prevent Hezbollah from getting weapons, President Obama said, a day
after Israeli jets reportedly destroyed Iranian missiles in Syria bound for the
Lebanese terrorist group. Neither the U.S. nor the Israeli governments have
confirmed multiple reports quoting anonymous officials in both countries as
saying that Israel was responsible for the strike early Friday on Damascus
airport. Obama, in his first remarks on the issue, in an interview Saturday
with Telemundo, also would not confirm Israel's role in the strike. He
emphasized, however, Israel's right to carry out such attacks. "What I
have said in the past and I continue to believe is that the Israelis
justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to
terrorist organizations like Hezbollah," Obama told Telemundo, in remarks
picked up first by the Reuters news agency. "We coordinate closely with
the Israelis recognizing they are very close to Syria, they are very close to
Lebanon," he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-04/216016-israel-syrian-chemical-arms-safe-hezbollah-does-not-want-them.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2SNhJPPsv">Israel:
Syrian chemical arms safe, Hezbollah does not want them</a> </b>"Syria has
large amounts of chemical weaponry and missiles. Everything there is under
(Assad government) control," Gilad said in a speech. "Hezbollah does
not have chemical weaponry. We have ways of knowing. They are not keen to take
weaponry like this, preferring systems that can cover all of the country
(Israel)," he said. He was apparently referring to Hezbollah's
conventional ground-to-ground missiles, whose number the Israelis put at around
60,000. "Chemical weapons kill those who use them," Gilad added.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22410392#?utm_source=feedly">Syrians
flee 'massacres' in Baniyas and al-Bayda</a> </b>Hundreds of Syrians have fled
coastal areas where activists say government forces have carried out massacres
in a campaign of sectarian cleansing. Video footage of mutilated and burned
bodies, allegedly from the town of Baniyas, has been posted online. Activists
said at least 77 people - 20 from the same family - were killed, a day after 72
died in nearby al-Bayda. The government said it had fought back "terrorist
groups" and restored peace and security to the area.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/04/syrian-sunni-families-die-in-assads-heartland?utm_source=feedly">Syria:
massacres of Sunni families reported in Assad's heartland</a> </b>Along with
the cities of Tartus and Latakia, Banias – which has seen relatively little
violence – is at the centre of the Alawite "heartland", referring to
the minority Shia sect of which Assad and many of his closest supporters are
members. Some analysts have speculated that, in the event of the breakup of
Syria, the Assad regime and Alawites might attempt to set up their own
mini-state in this coastal strip. According to some sources, Sunni families
were being blocked from fleeing south to the town of Tartus at government
checkpoints.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-04/216032-us-appalled-by-reports-of-syrian-massacre.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2SI609LDA">U.S.
'appalled' by reports of Syrian massacre</a> </b>"We strongly condemn
atrocities against the civilian population and reinforce our solidarity with
the Syrian people," State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said in a
statement. The opposition National Coalition had reported a "large scale
massacre" in the Sunni village of Bayda, in the southern suburbs of
Banias, a predominantly Alawite city on the Mediterranean. "The United
States is appalled by horrific reports that more than 100 people were killed
May 2 in gruesome attacks on the coastal town of Bayda, Syria," the US
statement said. "Regime and Shabiha forces reportedly destroyed the area
with mortar fire then stormed the town and executed entire families, including
women and children. "We extend our deepest condolences to the families of
the victims of this tragedy," it said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-04/216009-assad-makes-appearance-at-damascus-university-sana.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2SI609LDA">Syrian
president visits Damascus university</a> </b>The report says Assad inaugurated
on Saturday a statue dedicated to "martyrs" from Syrian universities
who died in the country's two-year-old uprising and civil war. A photograph
posted on Assad's Facebook page showed him surrounded by bodyguards as young
men, who appeared to be students, waved at him. Assad normally appears rarely
in public. But on Wednesday, Assad visited a Damascus power station to mark May
Day, according to the media.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/world/middleeast/obamas-vow-on-chemical-weapons-puts-him-in-tough-spot.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly&_r=0">Off-the-Cuff
Obama Line Put U.S. in Bind on Syria</a> </b>The evolution of the “red line”
and the nine months that followed underscore the improvisational nature of Mr.
Obama’s approach to one of the most vexing crises in the world, all the more
striking for a president who relishes precision. Palpably reluctant to become
entangled in another war in the Middle East, and well aware that most Americans
oppose military action, the president has deliberately not explained what his
“red line” actually is or how it would change his calculus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">…Continued </span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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… When world leaders fail to uphold their own rules and red lines, it
is the global order that is undermined, and the implications of that will be
felt in N. Korea, Burma, Congo, and a dozen other hotspots where red lines will
soon be obliterated, and instead with one messy conflict, leaders of the free
world will find themselves dealing simultaneously with many. This is for all
those experts who think the conflict in Syria could be contained. They use
smartphones and social media like robots, without understanding the real
implications of this technology in the age of hyperconnectivity. There are no locally
containable crises anymore. All conflicts are global. But some people can only
get this the hard way. Syria seems so far away to most Americans, and so at one
point did Chechnya, until she materialized in Boston. A few pro-Assad Syrians
based in Dubai sent Wall Street reeling, if only for few minutes this time, with
a hacked account and a fake tweet. Everybody’s vulnerable these days. A small
set of few determined individuals with a local grievance can undermine everyone’s
sense of security. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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This new leaked video shows scenes of the massacre perpetrated by
pro-Assad militias in the town of <b>Al-Bayda</b>, Banyas <a href="http://youtu.be/_tYK8AAW1sY">http://youtu.be/_tYK8AAW1sY</a> The picture below shows what happened to the bodies
that we see in the room after this video was made. They were set on fire. The white
and blue table can be seen in both the video and the photograph. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This video shows dead babies and children from the village of <b>Raas
Al-Nabea </b>(Banyas) which was also stormed by pro-Assad militias over the
last couple of days. Some of the bodies seem to have been burnt as well <a href="http://youtu.be/y-0ps541ZnY">http://youtu.be/y-0ps541ZnY</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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A major explosion occurs on top of <b>Mount Qasayoun</b> overlooking Damascus<span style="color: #31849b; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"> </span><a href="http://youtu.be/e84pVGsP6YU">http://youtu.be/e84pVGsP6YU</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/-Bus39arM4A">http://youtu.be/-Bus39arM4A</a> The top of Mount
Qasayoun is host to myriad of army bases and weapons depots and has been used
by Assadist militias to pound rebel strongholds in and around the city. Both activists
and Syrian State TV are saying that the explosion is the result of an air
strike raising the possibility that Israel might be behind it. The same
explosion as seen from <b>Barzeh</b> neighborhood <a href="http://youtu.be/el2En5bDOYo">http://youtu.be/el2En5bDOYo</a> Explosions
also took place near the town of <b>Al-Tal</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/SlDFiXxXJH0">http://youtu.be/SlDFiXxXJH0</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Local activists in the <b>Hameh</b> region west of Damascus show a
shell of one of the bombs that they claim were dropped by Israeli planes on
position of pro-Assad militias <a href="http://youtu.be/9hlvjwqnc3w">http://youtu.be/9hlvjwqnc3w</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, not all activists are jumping on board this interpretation of
events. While the Friday attack might have been the work of Israeli air force,
today’s attack, they insist, is the work of the regime as part of its
preparations to abandon Damascus. They believe that Assad and his circles are
now planning to withdraw to the coastal region, and that they are now
destroying all weapon stockpiles they cannot take with them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Earlier in the day, activists recorded this strange missile streaking
its way across the <b>Damascene</b> skies destination origins and destination
unknown <a href="http://youtu.be/H6TzN_LtjJQ">http://youtu.be/H6TzN_LtjJQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebel strongholds in Damascus and suburbs continued to be targeted by
warplanes, heavy artillery and rockets: <b>Zamalka</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/f-5Y63OtNyI">http://youtu.be/f-5Y63OtNyI</a> <b>Jobar</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/4FFgwvCq-bw">http://youtu.be/4FFgwvCq-bw</a> <b>Arbeen</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/eeyYHnO_6p8">http://youtu.be/eeyYHnO_6p8</a> <b>Barzeh</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/tfdfhpSVNyk">http://youtu.be/tfdfhpSVNyk</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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In Homs Province, several children were killed during the pounding of the
village of <b>Al-Bouaydah Al-Sharqiyeh</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/3bpnhb-766o">http://youtu.be/3bpnhb-766o</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Meanwhile, tensions are growing between Islamist and Kurdish rebels in
north Aleppo, with Islamist rebels said to be preparing to enter the
Kurdish-majority town of <b>Efrin</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/frLhlHUKsPQ">http://youtu.be/frLhlHUKsPQ</a>
The move seems to come as a response to the success of Kurdish rebels in the
town of Tal Tamr, in the Hassakeh province in the northeastern parts of Syria
in driving away Arab and Islamist rebels from their town following days of
fighting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-86979634227936414882013-05-04T01:22:00.002-04:002013-05-04T01:22:29.577-04:00A Regulation Massacre!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Just another “regulation” massacre took place in Syria on Thursday. No
chemical weapons were used. No red lines were crossed. The whole episode was
written in blood using only guns and knives, as was the case in most previous
massacres. In a sense, the whole thing was too mundane an occurrence to merit any
notice really – just a brief interlude in an ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign,
an ongoing act of folly, observed by all, making us all complicit to varying degrees
of shame.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Friday May
3, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b> <b>139 martyrs</b>, including several women and children as well
as 2 martyrs under torture: 37 were reported in Damascus and its Suburb; 35 in
Banyas (in Al-Bayda Massacre); 22 in Aleppo;15 in Homs; 13 in Hama; 7 in Daraa;
3 in Deir Ezzor; 4 in Idlib; 2 in Lattakia and 1 martyr in Hasaka. Pro-Asasd
militias perpetrated a massacre in the village of Bayda in Banyas killing more
than 200 residents as per latest counts. Victims, including many women and
children, were butchered and burnt <b>(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-04/215990-images-of-sabra-and-shatila-in-banias.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2SI609LDA">Images
of Sabra and Shatila in Banias</a> </b>Activists say fighting broke out in
Bayda early Thursday and that at least six government troops were killed.
Syrian forces backed by Alawite gunmen known as shabbiha from the surrounding
area returned in the afternoon and stormed the village, according to the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The gunmen torched homes and
used knives, guns and blunt objects to kill people in the streets, the group
said. It added that it had documented the names of at least 50 dead in Bayda,
but that dozens of villagers were still missing and the death toll could rise
up to 100. Amateur video showed the bodies of at least seven men and boys lying
in pools of blood on the pavement in front of a house as women wept around
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0">Administration
Includes Military Strikes in Possible Syrian Options</a> </b>…by attacking Mr.
Assad’s main delivery systems, the officials say, they would curtail his
ability to transport those weapons any significant distance. “This wouldn’t
stop him from using it on a village, or just releasing it on the ground, or
handing something to Hezbollah,” said one European official who has been
involved in the conversations. “But it would limit the damage greatly.” The
topic was alluded to on Thursday, when Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel met
with his British counterpart and talked about “the need for new options” if Mr.
Assad uses his chemical arsenal, the officials said. But while the military has
been developing and refining options for the White House for months, the
discussion appears to have taken a new turn, officials say, as they struggle to
determine whether the suspected use of sarin gas near Aleppo and Damascus last
month was a prelude to greater use of such weapons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22409372#?utm_source=feedly">Obama
foresees no US troops in Syria</a> </b>Mr Obama told reporters in Costa Rica on
Friday that as a commander-in-chief he could rule nothing out "because
circumstances change". But he added he did not foresee a scenario in which
"American boots on the ground in Syria" would be good for either
America or Syria. He also said he had already consulted with Middle Eastern
leaders and they agreed with him. Mr Obama reiterated that there was evidence
that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, but that "we don't know
when, where or how". He stressed that if strong evidence was found it
would be "a game changer for us" because "there is a possibility
that it (weapons) lands in the hands of organisations like Hezbollah" in
neighbouring Lebanon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/03/world/meast/israel-airstrike-syria/">Sources:
U.S. believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria</a> </b>U.S. and
Western intelligence agencies are reviewing classified data showing Israel most
likely conducted a strike in the Thursday-Friday time frame, according to both
officials. This is the same time frame that the U.S. collected additional data
showing Israel was flying a high number of warplanes over Lebanon. One official
said the United States had limited information so far and could not yet confirm
those are the specific warplanes that conducted a strike. Based on initial
indications, the U.S. does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian
airspace to conduct the strikes. Both officials said there is no reason to
believe Israel struck at a chemical weapons storage facilities. The Israelis
have long said they would strike at any targets that prove to be the transfer
of any kinds of weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorist groups, as well as at
any effort to smuggle Syrian weapons into Lebanon that could threaten Israel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/03/us-syria-usa-journalist-idUSBRE9420ZM20130503">American
journalist held in Syria believed to be in detention center</a> </b>The family
and employer of James Foley, a U.S. journalist missing in Syria since November,
say they now believe he is being held by the Syrian government in a detention
center near the capital, Damascus. That conclusion follows a five-month
investigation by Foley's family and his employer, GlobalPost, and was announced
on Friday in an article posted on the news organization's website. "With a
very high degree of confidence, we now believe that Jim was most likely
abducted by a pro-regime militia group and subsequently turned over to Syrian
government forces," GlobalPost CEO and President Philip Balboni said,
according to the article.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/technology/dell-products-make-their-way-circuitously-to-syria.html">Outwitting
Sanctions, Syria Buys Dell PCs</a> </b>The disclosure of the computer sales is
the latest example of how the Syrian government has managed to acquire
technology, some of which is used to censor Internet activity and track
opponents of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. According to internal
company e-mails, cash transfer statements, sales receipts and shipping
documents, the computer equipment was sold by BDL Gulf, which is based in Saudi
Arabia and is a large distributor of computer equipment in the Middle East. It
is an authorized dealer for Dell in the Middle East and Africa, and is also a
reseller for other computer brands, including Samsung and Acer. BDL sold the
equipment to Anas Hasoon Trading, a Damascus-based company with contracts to
provide computers to the Syrian government, according to billings records and
e-mail exchanges between the companies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/world/middleeast/syrias-unrest-puts-israelis-on-alert.html?pagewanted=all">Syria’s
War Has Once-Quiet Border Area in Israel on Alert</a> </b>Many increasingly see
no possible positive outcome of their neighbor’s bloody conflict, no clear
solution for securing their interests in the meanwhile. Israel’s military
leadership now views southern Syria as an “ungoverned area” that poses imminent
danger. “This is the new reality of the Golan Heights,” Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch,
an active reservist who is deputy commander of a unit focused on long-range
operations in enemy territory, said as he stood near the Merkava tank
positioned here. “Inside the bush, we have units that are ready to jump and
open fire. You can see here tanks, you can see forces — and there are many
things you cannot see.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/03/us-syria-crisis-israel-idUSBRE9420GS20130503">Taking
sides in Syria is hard choice for Israel</a> </b>The state is prosecuting an
Arab Israeli who briefly joined the rebel forces fighting to topple President
Bashar al-Assad. Arrested after his return to Israel, Hikmat Massarwa, a
29-year-old baker, is accused of unlawful military training, having contacts
with foreign agents and traveling to a hostile state. The trial hinges on the
unanswered question of who, if anyone, Israel favors in the war and if the
rebels will turn out to be friends or enemies. The prosecutor in Lod is trying
to depict Massarwa as having aligned himself with foes of Israel, but Judge
Avraham Yaakov is struggling for clarity. "There's no legal guidance regarding
the rebel groups fighting in Syria," he told a recent hearing. Matters
were simpler during the decades of unchallenged Assad family rule.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/fleeing-syria-refugees-arrive-to-a-different-kind-of-hell-in-greece/275531/">Fleeing
Syria, Refugees Arrive to a Different Kind of Hell in Greece</a> </b>Thousands
of Syrians are seeking refuge in Greece, but the country's economic and asylum
problems make for an unwelcome new home… Most refugees don't have a
government-issued pink card - the document they need to stay in the country
legally for a few months. Without it, many are arrested and thrown into
detention centers where they are given little food, no clean clothing, or bed
linen. They have no soap to wash themselves, no opportunity to call family or
friends. They are beaten. When released after six to 18 months, they must leave
the country; but having fled their own, most don't have authorization, and
trying to leave Greece without papers is also illegal. They can't stay in
Greece; they can't leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/opinion/obama-cant-go-it-alone-in-syria.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0">DANIEL
C. KURTZER: Obama Can’t Go It Alone in Syria</a> </b>Constructing an
international coalition of willing states — especially Russia, Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Qatar — is the only strategically wise option for the United States.
Without such a coalition, intervention won’t work. And without such a
coalition, America must reject unilateral military intervention in Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/05/03/slouching_toward_damascus_kerry">Slouching
Toward Damascus</a></b> In Syria's implosion, Secretary of State John Kerry
already faces a defining task. How hard is he prepared to push against Obama's
weary realism?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/assad-winning_720584.html">Is Assad
Winning? The Syrian regime’s information campaign is part of a larger war
against Western interests.</a> </b>Assad knows that keeping the White House on
the sidelines and preventing it from tipping the balance of power against him
on the battlefield with money, arms, and the coherent command structure that
would follow cash and weapons, is a large part of his struggle. Assad’s
information operations then are largely keyed to American sensibilities,
playing not only on the Obama administration’s misgivings, but also the fears
and concerns of the American public. In this instance, Assad’s intended
takeaway is simply this: why would Americans want to support in Syria the same
people who bombed an American city? Don’t Americans recognize that since I’m
fighting the same people, I’m essentially an American ally.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324763404578428141862143714.html">Saudis
Try to Quell Jihadists</a> </b>… the Syria conflict is exposing rifts and
contradictions within the kingdom over its tradition of aiding beleaguered
foreign Muslims. "There are tensions…between some elite decision makers over
how best to deal with the Syrian issue," said Michael Stephens, a regional
researcher at the British Royal United Services Institute think tank in Qatar.
"It is clear some princes favor an activist approach that involves
increased support for Islamist groups in Syria, while other princes remain
concerned over the…undermining of Saudi's internal security." Syrian
rebels and Arab officials say Saudi Arabia has shipped arms and aid to the
Syrian opposition, though the Saudi government hasn't confirmed or denied such
reports. But top Saudi government officials and religious leaders are ordering
its citizens to stay home, telling them instead to send money and prayers to
Syria's rebels.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/03/samar-yazbek-syrian-revolution-writing?CMP=twt_gu">Samar
Yazbek: The Syrian revolution has changed me as a writer</a> </b>I left Syria
in mid-June 2011, having been discredited, persecuted, threatened and arrested.
A year would pass before my return. I travelled between various towns and
cities, speaking about the revolution, conscious of the regime's prowess in
manipulating the media, and its success in duping the world into believing that
this was a war brought about by Sunni Islamists. I met with intellectuals,
politicians and diplomats. They had little idea of what was going on. Most
wanted to believe the story that it was a Salafist revolt. Their response was
always that the minority groups in Syria were under threat – that the
Christians and the Alawites would be in danger from the Sunni jihadis. This was
not true; it was a monster they had created to scare themselves. What I saw on
the ground told a very different story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/05/01/widespread-middle-east-fears-that-syrian-violence-will-spread/">Widespread
Middle East Fears that Syrian Violence Will Spread - No Love for Assad, Yet No
Support for Arming the Rebels</a></b> … a new survey by the Pew Research
Center, conducted before news emerged of alleged use of chemical agents by the
regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, found little regional support for
Western or Arab countries sending arms and military supplies to anti-government
groups in Syria. And there is even greater opposition among American and European
publics to such indirect Syrian involvement by their governments.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/the-abduction-of-bishop-bob">Firas
Maksad: The abduction of Bishop Bob And the uncertain fate of Syria’s
minorities</a> </b>Syria’s rebels, and those who support them, also have an
important role to play in promoting communal coexistence. It is difficult for a
Druze from southern Syria, or an Alawite from the coastal mountains, to join
rebel ranks when the uprising is morphing from a national struggle for freedom,
to one increasingly dominated by radical Islamists espousing sharia law. In
such a conflict, there is no space for diverse religious groups or moderate
Muslims. Instead, they will remain beholden to the relative safety of Assad
rule.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Quickly Noted</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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“The United States
should act in Syria in the way that it believes will best serve American
interests and most effectively respond to Syria's horrific violence, not
because it feels it must enforce an ill-advised red line.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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When you read the above <b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/05/03/how_syria_ruined_the_arab_spring?utm_source=feedly">advice</a></b>
just bear in mind that the one giving it was up until the beginning of the revolution
was advocating engaging Assad because he believed he was a reformer, and that
he was popular and beloved by his people. It’s indeed bewildering how the same set
of scholars and experts who, at one point, advocated engagement are now
advocating caution. In both instances Assad had more to gain than the United
States, and notions of human rights went by the wayside. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If the “Syrian nightmare” has indeed destroyed the “<span style="background: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-size: 10.5pt;">the spirit of fun,
hope, and positive change of the early Arab uprisings</span>,” such
experts and their precious advice bear much of the blame. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #31859c; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #31859C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent5; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">The Bayda Massacre<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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This gruesome video was taken and leaked by the perpetrators of the
Bayda massacre as part of their campaign to terrorize the local population. It
was initially posted on a variety of loyalist sites <a href="http://youtu.be/MgWsyS0aT5Q">http://youtu.be/MgWsyS0aT5Q</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The following videos were made by local activists and residents.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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This teenage girl was killed in her own bedroom, crouching near her bed
to hid herself. Her mother and younger sibling can be seen in a different
corner <a href="http://youtu.be/a0MfawjizLA">http://youtu.be/a0MfawjizLA</a> Entire
families were wiped out <a href="http://youtu.be/ygeTLIgY_2U">http://youtu.be/ygeTLIgY_2U</a>
A local lawyer and her 5 children were killed <a href="http://youtu.be/1zaAOWdoC58">http://youtu.be/1zaAOWdoC58</a> People were
killed in their homes <a href="http://youtu.be/y1jmmJD6bP0">http://youtu.be/y1jmmJD6bP0</a>
Some corpses were torched <a href="http://youtu.be/V5hC7U3LIc4">http://youtu.be/V5hC7U3LIc4</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/3Z9AxECO3RE">http://youtu.be/3Z9AxECO3RE</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #31859c; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #31859C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent5; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Other videos<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Food aid delivered by the SOC to the people of Hama Province <a href="http://youtu.be/pALbsYzHrVo">http://youtu.be/pALbsYzHrVo</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The aerial pounding of <b>Eastern Ghoutah</b>, Damascus, continues <a href="http://youtu.be/rldOdvMz6e0">http://youtu.be/rldOdvMz6e0</a> And the pounding by heavy artillery and tanks
from the top of <b>Mount Qasayoun</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/TXcDr0Kg_98">http://youtu.be/TXcDr0Kg_98</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-4580047478141522502013-05-03T00:09:00.002-04:002013-05-03T00:09:51.883-04:00Bridge Down!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">President Obama sought tooth and nail to distinguish himself from
his predecessor but ended up adopting foreign policies that produced similar
results: mayhem. Overindulgence and aloofness are two faces of the same coin.
He was too clever by half. Both his reboot and reengagement policies ended up
backfiring, and his desire not to step into a minefield in Syria ended up
creating a black hole that is slowly sucking all in. President Obama has always
sought to project an image of high intelligence, if not genius. But the key to
success in politics lies more in diligence and the readiness to wade in even
if, if not especially when, results are not guaranteed and the stakes high. It’s
hubris to think that you can choose your crises. The best you can do is often, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146077n">in the words</a> of
President Obama himself, “look before you leap.” Just don’t confuse staring
vacantly with looking. On a related note, and rather than invoking Dr. Seuss
when <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2013/0502/Jon-Stewart-channels-Dr.-Seuss-to-mock-Obama-s-red-line-on-Syria">mocking</a>
President Obama’s (in)famous red line on Syria, Jon Stewart would have been
more accurate if he used the term he had earlier reserved for Congress: procrasturbator. </span></b></i><br />
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<b>Thursday May
2, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b> <b>158 martyrs</b>, including 15 children,11 women and 3 martyrs
under torture. 31 in Aleppo; 29 in Homs; 28 in Banyas; 23 in Damascus and
Suburbs; 10 in Daraa ; 14 in Hama; 10 in Raqqa; 6 in Idlib; 5 in Deir Ezzor; 2
in Lattakia. In addition, there are dozens reportedly dead in the village of
Bayda in Banyas, but the tally is not clear yet <b>(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146077n">Obama: We must
"look before we leap" on Syria</a> </b>After evidence of chemical
weapons use inside of Syria, President Obama said today during a news
conference in Mexico, "We're going to look at all options" to hasten
the conflict's end, including providing arms to the Syrian rebels. But he
cautioned, "We want to make sure that we look before we leap and that what
we're doing is actually helpful to the situation as opposed to making it more
deadly or more complex."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0">Syrian
Forces Strike Rebels in Wide-Ranging Assaults</a> </b>The new fighting may have
left at least 200 people dead just in the area of the seaport, Baniyas, and a
nearby village, Bayda, according to activists affiliated with two
antigovernment groups, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local
Coordination Committees. They said entire families had been found dead in
Bayda, including the mayor and his children. Efforts to corroborate those
reports were difficult because of restricted access for journalists in Syria.
There were also reports of sectarian fighting near the border with Lebanon
around the Syrian town of Qusair, a flash point between Sunni fighters of the
insurgency and Shiite militants loyal to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant
organization that has sided with President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict and
partly depends on him for weapons. Activists and medical workers reached by
telephone said that civilians were trying to evacuate the area and that there
had been many people wounded.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE9410VP20130502">Assad
forces on the offensive from Damascus to Mediterranean</a> </b>The recapture of
Wadi al-Sayeh, which links the besieged rebel stronghold in Khalidiyah to the
opposition-held old city, appears to be part of a series of carefully focused
counter-offensives that mark a shift from the indiscriminate campaigns earlier
in the two-year-old conflict. Homs is a link in the corridor connecting Assad's
Damascus powerbase with the traditional Mediterranean heartland of his minority
Alawite community. It was an early center of the mainly Sunni Muslim uprising
against four decades of Assad family rule.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Following recent gains in rural areas
around Homs, Assad's forces surrounded the towns of Baida and Maqreb on the
road to the coastal city of Banias on Thursday, activists said, the latest
stage in a campaign to secure the corridor. They also seized Qaysa town on the
eastern edge of Damascus, part of a steady move north from airport on the
city's south-eastern edge which would create a line of control locking down the
eastern approaches to the city and close off weapons supplies from the
Jordanian border. A call issued by several activists in the area warned the
disparate rebel forces to pull together or face defeat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/02/us-officials-say-more-are-becoming-in-favor-arming-syria-rebels/#ixzz2SAMvP8DD">US
officials say more are becoming in favor of arming Syria rebels</a> </b>Officials
insisted Wednesday that no decisions have been made but said arming the rebels
is seen as more likely and preferable than any other military option. One U.S.
official described a new "reconsideration" within the administration
of the military options. The officials, who all spoke on condition of anonymity
because they weren't authorized to discuss publicly the options under
consideration, said most U.S. leaders prefer that the Syrians determine their
own fate, so arming the opposition is more palatable than direct U.S.
intervention.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-02/215831-up-to-100-feared-dead-in-syrian-massacre-monitoring-group.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2S6OJBmcR">Dozens
killed in Syria's Banias: watchdog</a> </b>The Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said the fighting broke out in the morning in the northwestern region,
killing dozens of people. Among them were at least seven soldiers, as well as
women and children, some of whom were "summarily executed." Syria's
official SANA news agency said troops killed "terrorists" -- the
regime term for insurgents -- and seized arms in an operation targeting rebels.
The opposition Syrian National Coalition accused the regime of seeking revenge
from the people of Banias because they were among the first to rise against the
government of President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. "Since this
morning, the army and pro-regime forces have been besieging the village of
Bayda at the southern entrance to the town of Banias," said the
Britain-based Observatory.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/02/us-uk-syria-chemical-weapons-claims">Syria
chemical weapons evidence 'too degraded' for proof</a> </b>British defence
secretary Philip Hammond fears West can no longer prove chemical weapons
attacks because blood and soil samples 'degrade over time'<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE9410YU20130502">U.N.
head, Security Council envoys discuss Syria as mediator wants out</a> </b>Diplomats,
speaking on the condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday that Brahimi wanted
to resign from the joint U.N.-Arab League role because he is frustrated with
international deadlock over how to end Syria's two-year war that has killed
70,000. The envoys from the permanent five veto-wielding members of the U.N.
Security Council declined to comment after meeting with the secretary-general.
A dispute between Russia and the United States over Syria has left the council
paralyzed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/may/02/syria-raqqa-hit-air-strikes-video">Syria:
eastern Raqqa 'hit by air strikes' – video</a> </b>Amateur footage purports to
show heavy shelling on the eastern city of Raqqa, Syria. A clip shows what is
believed to be a government warplane firing at the city on Wednesday, as more
footage shows the aftermath of more strikes in Raqqa, reportedly on Thursday.
Raqqa is the biggest city to fall into rebel control since the uprising began
in 2011. The Guardian cannot independently verify the contents of these clips<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22389484#?utm_source=feedly">Syria
conflict: 'My father wants me dead'</a> </b>Nearly one-and-a-half million
people have fled the fighting in Syria, according to the latest estimates. The
conflict, which has now lasted for more than two years, has not only divided
communities but also families. Twenty-one-year-old Loubna Mrie has been
denounced by her own family and says she believes her father wants her dead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-02/215777-official-syrians-attack-turkish-border-officials.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2SAs9l8JK">Seven
wounded by Syrian fire at Turkish border: officials</a><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/02/where-are-syria-s-chemical-weapons.html">Where
Are Syria’s Chemical Weapons?</a> </b>Multiple U.S. officials tell Eli Lake the
scary truth: in many cases, we simply don’t know. Plus: irregular militias
loyal to Assad have reportedly been training in how to use them… The assessment
that Syria is moving large amounts of its chemical weapons around the country
on trucks means that if Obama wanted to send in U.S. soldiers to secure Syria’s
stockpiles, his top generals and intelligence analysts doubt such a mission
would have much success, according to the three officials. “We’ve lost track of
lots of this stuff,” one U.S. official told The Daily Beast. “We just don’t
know where a lot of it is.” The large-scale movement of weapons, if it is in
fact occurring, would violate one of Obama’s earliest declared red lines
concerning Syria. Last August he said, “We have been very clear to the Assad
regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is, we
start seeing a whole bunch of weapons moving around or being utilized.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/05/syria-weapons-2/">Even With U.S.
Guns, Syria’s Rebels Still Might Lose</a> </b>Obama is considering a range of
weaponry to the rebels, as described in the Washington Post, including
surface-to-air missiles. The idea would be to ship them the weapons, bolster
their war effort, and watch them topple the blood-soaked dictator — without a
deeper U.S. military commitment. Except that few strategists consider that
realistic. Assad has a variety of advantages — an adaptive military estimated
at over 50,000; complete air superiority; chemical weapons — that he will
retain even if Obama opens a new arms pipeline. Overcoming those advantages
means getting, at the least, U.S. and allied airpower involved — a step the
Obama administration, and especially the military, want to avoid. Especially
since it might involve shooting down Iranian planes, a fateful step.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/05/02/syria-obama-rebels/2126599/">A
strong U.S. response to Syria? Experts say not likely</a> </b>Many analysts now
see the Obama administration taking a more limited approach that would not draw
the country into a wider war. "It's unlikely we would do anything
open-ended like a no-fly zone," said Kenneth Pollack, an analyst at the
Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/02/18011420-analysis-israel-prepares-for-the-worst-as-militants-eye-syrias-chemical-weapons?lite">Israel
prepares for the worst as militants eye Syria's chemical weapons</a> </b>Israel
has warned it will do whatever is necessary to prevent the Syrian government's
large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons from falling into the hands
of militants, believing that one day they may be used against Israel. It would
be better, Israeli leaders believe, to fight in Syria against Islamists armed
with non-conventional weapons than wait for them to attack Israel with them.
According to army sources quoted in the Maariv newspaper, Israel is sending
fresh troops to man forward bases that have not been used for years because it
was so quiet. The roads to the bases will also be paved and improved, the paper
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/05/01/obama-syria-red-line-column/2124551/">Ilan
Berman: Redrawing Syria's red line</a> </b>If Washington doesn't enforce its
own red lines on Syria, why would it hold Iran or North Korea to account for
their actions either?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21577066-horrors-syria-expose-wishful-thinking-heart-presidents-foreign">Dithering
over Syria: Horrors in Syria expose wishful thinking at the heart of the
president’s foreign policy</a> </b>It is true that the president faces only bad
choices in Syria. But he is partly to blame. While America and its allies have
dithered over calls to arm more moderate wings of the opposition or to impose
no-fly zones, the most alarming militants have grown in clout, including
fighters who have sworn fealty to al-Qaeda. In a cruel echo of his Cairo
speech, Mr Obama must now choose between tolerating conscience-staining
massacres and intervening at the risk of empowering violent extremists.
Completing his misery, cavilling over chemical weapons in Syria places in peril
Mr Obama’s credibility when he warns Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons—a
blunder that in turn would raise the nuclear stakes for other countries, just
as he observed four years ago… Alas, it is not in the gift of politicians—even
American presidents—to choose their own trade-offs. True, Syria’s horrors are
not Mr Obama’s fault. The blame lies with Bashar Assad and the callous
intransigence of such outsiders as Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But the slaughter
still mocks Mr Obama’s pieties about interdependence, and his glib plans for
win-win diplomacy. Balancing American interests and values is hard. Right now,
in Syria, he is advancing neither.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/what-we-know-about-chemical-weapons-in-syria/1653286.html">What
We Know about Chemical Weapons in Syria</a> </b>Gary Schmitt, co-director of
the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the conservative American
Enterprise Institute, however, believes Washington needs to act as soon as
possible, even in the absence of definitive evidence of chemical weapons use.
“It’s rare that you ever get 100 percent certainty of the kind that the
administration is saying that it wants right now, and that sort of chain of
custody—i.e., who did what, who’s to be blamed—it’s rare that you get that kind
of intelligence,” Schmitt said. “And if
you use that kind of standard, what happens is that you delay making decisions,
which in this case are really causing an immense amount of instability in the
region, in addition to the loss of lives.” Specifically, he thinks the United
States should create a no-fly zone and a safe zone to harbor civilians. “And then—again this is not an easy thing to
do—we ought to be able to define who it is in the Syrian opposition that we
want to support and arm, with the idea that if we give them sufficient military
assistance, [they] will flock to our side.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Al-Baydah Massacre & Ethnic cleansing</span>
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Observers, experts and officials who are concerned about the fate of
the Alawite and other minority community in Syria are justified of course. The
more violence this conflict gets the more reasons to worry we have in this
connection. But, for now, we should be very mindful of the fact that the genocide
currently taking place in Syria, no matter how paradoxical and mad this may sound,
is being perpetrated against the majority Arab Sunni population. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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More than 95% of the dead, the missing, the detained, the internally
displaced and the refugees are Sunni Arabs. The Arab Sunni population makes up
less than 65% of the population. Every major documented massacre that has taken
place since the beginning of the revolution to date has targeted the Arab Sunni
population in one part of Syria or another. But the hardest hit of all are the
Arab Sunni population of central Syria, especially Homs, where ethnic cleansing
targeting Sunnis have been going on for the last two years. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But the ethnic cleansing campaign seems to be slowly moving to the
coastal regions, with today’s loyalist militia attack on the town of Al-Bayda
where close to 200 civilians have been executed according to latest reports. It
seems reasonable to assume that the massacre may not be aimed at driving the
Sunni population out of coastal areas, as this would be tall order at this
stage, the Arab Sunnis population makes up close to 40% of the coastal population.
For now, the purpose seems to be to spread fear and keep the Sunni population
under control and the coastal areas relatively quiet as Assad and his militias
focus their attention elsewhere. It’s a culling process rather than an all-out
extermination effort. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Why is it important to know that? Because, as the majority population
that maintains substantial presence in every corner of Syria, the Arab Sunni
population is the organic cement that is holding the country together. The more
beating they receive the more fractured the country gets and the more radical
they themselves become. The U.S. cannot stall this radicalization process by
ignoring opposition pleas for western support, and by failing to appreciate the
depth of the tragedy the Arab Sunni population of Syria is living through. The
Sunnis of Syria cannot be relied upon to care about anyone’s rights at this
stage unless people begin caring about theirs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">The Battle in Tal Tamr <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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The other conflict in Syria pits Arab against Kurds, and recently it
has been heating up again. In the Kurdish-majority town of Tal Tamr in the
Hassakeh Province, the Kurdish local popular defense committees (YPGs) have for
days being battling against tribal militias manned by former members of the
Baath Party, elements that may no longer necessarily loyal to the Assad regime
but which are afraid of living under Kurdish hegemony. The tribal militias were
also supported by small units affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. At this
stage, and after dozens of dead and wounded, the battles seem to have been
resolved in favor of the local YPG fighters. But the situation remains tense.
Tensions are also rising in the nearby provincial capital of Al-Hassakeh, with
its highly mixed population: Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, among other minorities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">The Battle for Damascus International
Airport <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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In the last few hours, two suicide bombings took place in and around
Damascus International Airport followed by intense clashes pitting loyalists
against rebel groups and Jabhat Al-Nusra. Major segments of the airport seem to
have fallen under rebel control, at least temporarily. It’s not clear whether
rebels intend on taking control of the airport. These videos are said to be
taken from the scene <a href="http://youtu.be/G6y-XnUn9yc">http://youtu.be/G6y-XnUn9yc</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/M_X_Hp71_iQ">http://youtu.be/M_X_Hp71_iQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Bridge Down<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The famous Suspended Bridge of Deir Ezzor City, built during the French
Mandate in the mid-1920s came tumbling down today due to targeted pounding of
its foundations. Deir Ezzor City and the entire northeastern parts of the
country have lost a major part of their modern identity today <a href="http://youtu.be/LzyWWfCVmNg">http://youtu.be/LzyWWfCVmNg</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/osBCr9nODxc">http://youtu.be/osBCr9nODxc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Aerial bombardment of <b>Raqqah City</b> leaves 10 dead <a href="http://youtu.be/tEzZxrGyJJA">http://youtu.be/tEzZxrGyJJA</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Clashes take place between rebels and Turkish authorities near the
border crossing of <b>Akcakale</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/konCmnh0d8Y">http://youtu.be/konCmnh0d8Y</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The pounding of rebel strongholds in Damascus City continues: <b>Jobar</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/bUVHJwxwRv4">http://youtu.be/bUVHJwxwRv4</a> <b>Barzeh</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/Zr3jW6B8NqE">http://youtu.be/Zr3jW6B8NqE</a> <b>Zamalka</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/CmicaxLUiIg">http://youtu.be/CmicaxLUiIg</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Aerial raids continue against the towns of Eastern Ghoutah: <b>Ain
Terma</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/N6EZ6AN7nxs">http://youtu.be/N6EZ6AN7nxs</a>
<b>Kafar Batna</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/KWkwzV17imk">http://youtu.be/KWkwzV17imk</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/Wnv0-hY71xI">http://youtu.be/Wnv0-hY71xI</a> <b>Saqba</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/-xYEzFQcSX0">http://youtu.be/-xYEzFQcSX0</a> <b>Mleihah</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/W_maeeMOLp0">http://youtu.be/W_maeeMOLp0</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Leaked video:</b> pro-Assad militias perpetrating a massacre
somewhere in Damascus Suburbs, the exact date and whereabouts are not known,
but the video was uploaded on April 18. We see throats being slit and a
military truck then being used to run over the corpses of the dead <a href="http://youtu.be/3RV9zlG6bL8">http://youtu.be/3RV9zlG6bL8</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A second leaked video from <b>Hama City</b> shows a convoy of pro-Assad
militias transporting corpses of dead civilians and rebels <a href="http://youtu.be/PCVFCu30GTc">http://youtu.be/PCVFCu30GTc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Necessity is the Mother of Invention: rebels keep inventing their own
smart weapons delivery systems to become a more effective fighting force on the
field while protecting lives <a href="http://youtu.be/WIs-UoC7vC4">http://youtu.be/WIs-UoC7vC4</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/PB8n899aoqQ">http://youtu.be/PB8n899aoqQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rebels and loyalists clash in <b>Sahel Al-Ghab</b>, Hama <a href="http://youtu.be/FVrEzQWu9go">http://youtu.be/FVrEzQWu9go</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/UoVITKRdEig">http://youtu.be/UoVITKRdEig</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-91291607613474639852013-05-02T01:11:00.003-04:002013-05-02T01:11:59.121-04:00Aid and Fallout!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Delivering aid just to create the appearance of doing something knowing
that it could never be enough to reverse the tide will not win appreciation, make
friends or end the conflict. Syria will continue to fall apart, dragging the
region along with it. Meanwhile, policymakers will keep limiting the debate to
Syria ignoring the real issue of fallouts and its implications for regional
stability.</span></b></i><br />
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<br /></div>
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<b>Wednesday
May 1, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b> <b>95 martyrs</b>, including 6 women, 8 children and 2 martyrs
under torture: 36 reported in Damascus and Suburbs; 18 in Aleppo; 16 in Hama;
14 in Homs; 5 in Deir Ezzor; 3 in Daraa; 2 in Hassaka and 1 martyr in Lattakia <b>(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/01/syria-assad-reportedly-makes-rare-public-appearance/">Syria's
Assad reportedly makes rare public appearance</a> </b>The broadcast showed
Assad speaking to staff on the occasion of International Workers Day, or May
Day, at the Umayyad Electrical Station in the Tishrin Park district. Similar
still images also appeared on a page used by the Syrian presidency on the
popular social network Facebook…The television showed Assad, confident and
wearing a dark business suit, talking with workers and shaking their hands.
Later he is shown encircled by the staff in a garden.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-01/215730-syria-activists-say-rockets-hit-central-damascus.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2S6OJBmcR">Syria
activists say rockets hit central Damascus</a> </b>The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said the rockets fell on the Bab Mesalla
neighborhood in central Damascus. Initial information indicates that there were
casualties, but the number could not be obtained immediately, the Observatory
said. It said police sealed off the area, which has restaurants, shops and a
main public transportation station linking Damascus with the southern provinces
of Daraa and Sweida. Meanwhile, the Observatory said that a bomb exploded in a
nearby neighborhood, near police headquarters on Khalid Bin Walid Street. It
said several people, including children, were wounded in the blast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/01/us_delivers_first_aid_shipment_to_free_syrian_army">U.S.
delivers first aid shipment to Free Syrian Army</a> </b>"The Syrian
Support Group was the U.S. government's key partner in organizing and
delivering the supplies directly into Syria. With the protection and oversight
of General Idris and Col. Abdel Jabar al-Akaidi, the supplies will be
distributed to units under the command of the Supreme Military Council
operating throughout each of Syria's 14 provinces," the SSG said in a
statement provided to The Cable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/01/syrian_activists_draw_their_own_red_line_in_front_of_the_white_house?fb_action_ids=10152759171010567&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%2210152759171010567%22%3A519824291386559%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210152759171010567%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5b%5d">Syrian
activists draw their own red line … in front of the White House</a> </b>A group
of Syrian activists extended a long, symbolic red line in front of the White
House Sunday in a call for the Obama administration to respond aggressively to
the Syrian regime's alleged use of chemical weapons. The Syrian American
Council, a U.S.-based group that supports the Syrian opposition, organized a
series of events in the Washington area over the weekend and coordinated the
White House protest. The group's sign, directed at President Barack Obama,
reads "Your credibility is on the line."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/un-faces-ghost-of-iraq-in-evaluating-chemical-weapons-use-in-syria/2013/05/01/b600f946-b1aa-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html">U.N.
faces ghost of Iraq in evaluating chemical weapons use in Syria</a> </b>For
U.N. inspectors, the inquiry is reminiscent of the days when they scoured
Iraq’s deserts and industrial parks more than a decade ago in fruitless pursuit
of lethal stockpiles of chemical weapons that had long before been destroyed
and nuclear facilities that no longer existed. There are stark differences
between Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and President Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. For one,
the United States, which led the push for invading Iraq, appears reluctant to
intervene militarily in the war in Syria. For another, U.N. inspectors may
never be permitted to step foot in Syria to examine the sites in question,
making it extremely difficult to establish definitively whether chemical
weapons were used and by whom. But officials at U.N. headquarters also see parallels
between the Iraq and Syria cases — and potential pitfalls. Among them is a
big-power rift between the United States and Russia and the reactivation of
several veterans of the Iraq inspections, including Sellstrom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://world.time.com/2013/05/01/can-syrias-rebellion-win-the-war-by-selling-oil/#ixzz2S6GG6ZUh">Syria’s
Opposition Hopes to Win the War by Selling Oil</a> </b>From their perch at the
margins of the conflict or overseas, the opposition’s leaders are struggling to
create an iota of legitimacy among the fighting factions on the ground. “Oil
will be one of the main resources for the government’s budget,” Yasser Tabbara,
advisor to the Syrian National Coalition’s interim Prime Minister Ghassan
Hitto, told TIME on Wednesday. Speaking by phone from Chicago, where he has
lived for years, Tabarra said opposition leaders were thrashing out details of
how to begin commercial oil production by using experts who have defected from
the regime, including Syria’s deputy oil minister. Since the regime controls
the oil pipelines, as well as the existing export terminals on the
Mediterranean, rebel groups would have to truck barrels of oil across rebel
territory into Turkey, where the nearest refineries are situated and where they
could—if they can produce enough oil—export to the rest of Europe. “It is part
of a larger plan to preserve the institutions and to keep as many public employees
working a s possible,” Tabarra says. Still, analysts warn that the plan is
deeply flawed—and in fact, that the E.U.’s decision could intensify the
violence in Syria, by setting up a deadly competition for control of a resource
that has languished amid two years of grinding civil war… Complicating the
issue is the fact that several of the rebel-held oil fields are believed to be
under the control of Jabhat al-Nusra,which has declared its allegiance to
al-Qaeda. “There is no way the E.U. is going to do business with al-Qaeda,”
says Ayham Kamel, a Syria analyst for the Eurasia Group in London.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/opinion/miller-obama-syria-no-win/index.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_meast+(RSS%3A+Middle+East)">Aaron
David Miller: Obama's no-win options in Syria</a> </b>The fact is, Obama has no
good options. He'll pick the least worst one, providing some kind of weapons to
the rebels. That will make us feel better, neutralize the liberal
interventionists and conservative Republicans who've been blasting him and
respond to those who say he's backing away from his red line. It won't turn the
tide in Syria or necessarily prevent al-Assad from using chemical weapons. The
other alternatives -- do nothing or design a proactive and comprehensive
military strategy to take out the al-Assads -- aren't in the cards. But make no
mistake: Sooner rather than later, the president will likely be faced with
another decision point along the slippery slope of U.S. military intervention
in Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=180359938">Syrian
President Showing Renewed Confidence</a><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Syrians opposed to
Assad accuse him of encouraging and planting extremists in the ranks of the
rebellion, including releasing hundreds of jihadis from prison early in the
uprising, knowing full well that they were bound to take up arms against it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ammar Abdulhamid, a
Washington-based Syrian pro-democracy activist and director of the Tharwa
Foundation, said that while the regime has probably lost control over these
cells by now, their presence has helped it achieve its goal… <o:p></o:p></div>
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Abdulhamid said
that if groups like al-Nusra increase their profile in Syria, there will be a
greater willingness among some Western leaders to listen to Assad's argument
again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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"The mantra of
'Either us or the extremists' is slowly but surely regaining some of its
popularity and relevance in decision-making circles in the West," he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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The children of <b>Kafrenbel</b>, Idlib, wonder how long it will take
Obama before he decides to step in <a href="http://youtu.be/TBoKUTYWLws">http://youtu.be/TBoKUTYWLws</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lebanese preacher <b>Ahmad Al-Assir</b> fights alongside Syrian rebels during
a brief tour of the town of Qusair <a href="http://youtu.be/dyOr6ruATYo">http://youtu.be/dyOr6ruATYo</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels combat loyalists in <b>Al-Sayih Neighborhood</b> in Homs City <a href="http://youtu.be/WSI60HbalVU">http://youtu.be/WSI60HbalVU</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels and loyalists clash in the town of <b>Ariha</b>, Idlib <a href="http://youtu.be/pKus3sufiBk">http://youtu.be/pKus3sufiBk</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/fSXXy9BdSbA">http://youtu.be/fSXXy9BdSbA</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Regime pounds rebel strongholds in Damascus City: <b>Al-Qadam</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/lVNtILWqRpE">http://youtu.be/lVNtILWqRpE</a> <b>Jobar</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/1Bq-I2m9jho">http://youtu.be/1Bq-I2m9jho</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The nearby suburbs of <b>Eastern Ghoutah</b> were targeted by fighter
jets and heavy artillery: <b>Saqba</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/YKFcd02MRQA">http://youtu.be/YKFcd02MRQA</a>
<b>Misraba</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/9a6IU3IF1NE">http://youtu.be/9a6IU3IF1NE</a>
<b>Arbeen</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/IXPZ7FITQf4">http://youtu.be/IXPZ7FITQf4</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-8173527035778399102013-05-01T01:06:00.002-04:002013-05-01T01:06:58.672-04:00Beware the Fallouts!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Isolationism might be the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/world/american-public-opposes-action-in-syria-and-north-korea.html">popular</a>
choice for Americans today, but what’s popular and what’s right are not exactly
the same, which is why American culture has often embraced the maverick. It’s
time to do so again today. Intervention in Syria may not be popular, but it’s
the right thing to do. It’s even the American thing to do, even if most
Americans may fail to see it at this stage. We cannot blame the weary, but we
can surely blame their leaders for hiding behind their peoples’ weariness and
for failing to explain to them the consequences of inaction.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Tuesday April
30, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b><b> 173 martyrs</b>, including 6 women, 9
children and 14 martyrs under torture: 53 reported in Hama; 49 in Damascus and Suburbs
including 13 in the Marjeh can bombing; 19 in Aleppo; 17 in Idlib; 13 in Homs;
11 in Daraa; 8 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Raqqa; and 1 in Lattakia<b> </b> <b>(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-preparing-to-send-lethal-arms-to-syrian-opposition-officials-say/2013/04/30/3084d0d4-b1a6-11e2-bbf2-a6f9e9d79e19_story.html">Obama
moving toward sending lethal arms to Syrian rebels, officials say</a> </b>Yet
even as Obama voiced caution in responding to what he has called the “red line”
on chemical weapons use, officials described him as ready to move on what one
described as the “left-hand side” of a broad spectrum that ranged from “arming
the opposition to boots on the ground.” “We’re clearly on an upward
trajectory,” the senior official said. “We’ve moved over to assistance that has
a direct military purpose.” Officials did not specify what U.S. equipment is
under consideration, although the rebels have specifically requested antitank
weapons and surface-to-air missiles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/world/middleeast/nasrallah-warns-that-hezbollah-is-ready-to-come-to-syrias-aid.html">Leader
of Hezbollah Warns It Is Ready to Come to Syria’s Aid</a> </b>The leader,
Hassan Nasrallah, declared in a televised speech that Hezbollah could become
more deeply involved in the future, and warned that Syria had “real friends”
who would not allow it “to fall into the hands” of America, Israel and Islamic
extremists, the forces that the Syrian government routinely blames for the
two-year uprising against it. He appeared to be referring to Iran, a patron of
both Hezbollah and the Syrian government, as well as Hezbollah itself, whose
well-organized guerrilla fighting force, honed by past battles with the Israeli
military in southern Lebanon, is widely considered more effective than
Lebanon’s army. Hezbollah relies on Iran and Syria to supply its arms. “You
won’t be able to bring down Damascus and you cannot bring down the regime,
militarily,” Mr. Nasrallah said. “The battle will be long.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-01/215672-obama-balks-on-syria-chemical-arms-threat.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2RupKxZG5">Obama
balks on Syria chemical arms threat</a> </b>With the U.S. disengaging from the
unpopular war in Afghanistan and still smarting from the difficult conflict in
Iraq, Obama has been reticent to unleash American military power in the Syrian
fighting, a civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people. The
president said the conflict is a “blemish on the international community
generally.” But he added that he was not prepared to rush to respond to growing
evidence that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, something he had termed
would mark the crossing of a “red line” and a game-changer. “I meant that we
would have to rethink the range of options open to us,” Obama said. But when
measuring additional action, Obama said, “I’ve got to know I’ve got the facts.”
“We don’t know who used them. We don’t have a chain of custody that
establishes” exactly what happened. Obama further declared that the
international community had to be completely confident in the assessment that
chemical weapons have been used. Syria urged the United Nations to send
scientists to investigate its claim of a chemical attack by rebels in Aleppo,
but said it does not trust U.S. accusations that such arms were used elsewhere
in the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/world/middleeast/bomb-in-central-damascus.html?_r=0">Bombings
Hit Syria as Obama Urges Caution on U.S. Role</a> </b>The blasts in Syria,
which killed at least 13 people in Damascus and at least five at the Bab
al-Hawa crossing in northern Syria, came a day after an attempted assassination
of Syria’s prime minister in central Damascus from a bomb aimed at his
motorcade. The prime minister, Wael Nader al-Halqi, survived the attack but at
least five others including a bodyguard were killed, Syria’s state news media
reported. In a news conference in Washington, Mr. Obama said that despite an
American intelligence assessment last week that there was evidence that
chemical weapons had been used in Syria, the evidence had not yet surpassed his
“red line” for a change of American strategy regarding the conflict, in which
President Bashar al-Assad is fighting an increasingly violent insurgency.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/30/syria-chemical-weapons-obama-rebels/2124079/">Rebel
advocate: Obama's call for Syria probe 'a bluff'</a> </b>"Obama will never
get the concrete evidence he wants unless there's a full U.N. investigation, to
which Assad will not agree," said Abdulwahab Omar, a Syrian anti-Assad
activist based in London. "That means Obama will never be obliged to do
anything," he said. "You can call it a bluff. He tried to show that
the United States would be prepared to intervene when things get serious, when
in reality, the U.S. is not prepared to intervene unless its own interests are
directly affected."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/syria-war-us_n_3187453.html">Syria
War Draws Caution From U.S. Joint Chiefs</a> </b>The chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said Tuesday he is "cautious"
about U.S. military intervention in Syria because of doubts that it would halt
the violence or achieve political reconciliation. He cast doubt on the
effectiveness of establishing a no-fly zone, saying that only about 10 percent
of the casualties suffered by anti-regime forces are caused by air strikes. He
said 90 percent are caused by small arms and artillery, which would be
unaffected by a no-fly zone. Dempsey, an Army officer who is the nation's most
senior military commander and chief military adviser to the president, also
said the Joint Chiefs have "not yet" been asked to look at options
for putting American ground forces inside Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-30/215592-russia-bans-passenger-flights-over-syria-aviation-agency.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2RupKxZG5">Russia
bans passenger flights over Syria</a> </b>The federal agency Rosaviation said
the ban on flights over Syria went into force on Monday and will remain until
further notice. "The federal air transport agency believes that in this
situation commercial interests cannot prevail over the safety of people who use
the services of Russian airlines," it said in a statement. The ban comes
after the crew of a charter plane flying from the Egyptian resort of
Sharm-el-Sheikh to the Russian city of Kazan on Monday said it had come under
threat when it flew over Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-30/215553-activists-15-syrian-rebels-die-in-battle-for-base.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2S0W7gbnI">Activists:
15 Syrian rebels die in battle for base</a> </b>The Britain-based Observatory
for Human Rights said the rebels tried to storm the Mannagh base in the
northern province of Aleppo late Monday but the regime deployed fighter jets to
the area. The jets pounded rebel positions around the helicopter base, which is
located near Syria's border with Turkey, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the
Observatory's director. On Tuesday, 15 rebels were killed in a hit on the base,
said Abdul-Rahman, whose group relies on a network of activists on the ground.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/30/us-syria-crisis-humanitarian-idUSBRE93T0C220130430">Running
the gauntlet: delivering food in Syria</a> </b>Matthew Hollingworth said in an
interview last week that WFP is trying to feed 2.5 million people every month
inside Syria - a tenth of the population - and a million outside, in a conflict
that has left 70,000 dead. He says his organization will need to almost double
the number of people it reaches by the end of the year. "It's no secret
that the conflict is intensifying, or has been intensifying over the last
month," said the WFP's deputy regional emergency coordinator. "The
two parties of the conflict are digging in." "We are trying to keep
up with the enormity of the crisis and the impact of the brutality," he
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57582040/at-least-500-europeans-fighting-with-syria-rebels-study-finds-stoking-radicalization-fears/">At
least 500 Europeans fighting with Syria rebels, study finds, stoking
radicalization fears</a> </b>The EU's Gilles de Kerchove told the BBC there
were at least 500 Europeans taking part in Syria's civil war, and it was
"likely many of them will be radicalized" fighting alongside some of
the known Muslim extremist militias in the country, and that the returning EU
nationals would pose, "a serious threat" to security in European
nations. Peter Neumann, Director of the International Centre for the Study of
Radicalization (ICSR) at London's King's College, was led the report. He
believes the number of fighters from countries including the United Kingdom,
France, Germany, Sweden and Belgium to be "at least in the mid-hundreds to
high-hundreds."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/30/3373357/already-unable-to-cope-with-refugees.html#storylink=cpy">Already
unable to cope with refugees, Syria’s neighbors brace for more</a> </b>The
United Nations says about 1.5 million Syrians have fled to the countries that
border Syria, and just as on the Lebanese border, more are waiting to enter
Jordan and Turkey as well. Aid agencies already have said they cannot cope with
the problem in its current state, let alone the arrival of more Syrians, a
trend that appears inevitable as Syrian government troops push to regain
territory lost to rebels along the Lebanese and Jordanian borders. Many of
those fleeing now have been displaced inside Syria multiple times, and
officials in Aarsal, which lies on a longtime smuggling route between the
countries, say they’re expecting the biggest influx yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/rita-from-syria/syrians-deserting-fsa-faust-wants-his-soul-back?utm_source=feedly">Syrians
deserting the FSA: Faust wants his soul back</a> </b>In the midst of this harsh
war, Syrians have found themselves at a crossroads: obliged to choose between
either their personal interest and life or the country's freedom. A question
occurs to me here – Is it possible for fighters who quit the FSA to go back to
their old lives? It seems highly improbable, given that Syria has been ripped
into so many different pieces with different authorities holding sway over
particular areas – here the regime, there such and such battalion. The country
is now a hotchpotch of hot and cool areas. Families have been displaced across
the country in their millions. Most fighters are wanted by intelligence forces
and they can't go back to their original villages and towns, nor can they meet
their families who were forced to flee. This is how our lives – and not just
that of FSA fighters – have been trapped, in the eye of a tornado that is
hurtling at breakneck speed. Where and how we get off is anyone’s guess. One
thing is for sure – it won’t be an emerald city.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0430/Did-someone-fire-missiles-at-a-Russian-jetliner-flying-over-Syria?utm_source=feedly">Did
someone fire missiles at a Russian jetliner flying over Syria?</a> </b>R ussia's
foreign ministry said in a statement that it will "take the necessary
emergency measures to clear up the details of the story and work in cooperation
with the Syrian authorities." But some aviation experts say they are
skeptical that anything of the kind could have happened, and suspect the event
may have been "staged," perhaps for political reasons. "This is
a fairy tale. Nothing like that could have happened, it's just been
staged," says Magomed Tolboyev, one of Russia's most famous test pilots.
"It's too silly to discuss." But others say it could have happened
and, if so, it's a very serious warning for civilian aircraft to avoid flying
over Syria. "A passenger plane has no means of preventing a missile
attack, but it does have a system that warns of approaching objects and
automatically makes the plane go up or down in response," says Valery
Entanaltsev, executive director of the Fund for Developing Aviation
Infrastructure, an industry-supported public organization. "It's not clear
who was behind this shooting, but it needs to be thoroughly investigated. Maybe
it was a provocation. It's a very worrisome development," he says.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/04/29/red-line-or-punch-line/">Max
Boot: Red Line or Punch Line?</a> </b>Instead of doing something about Assad’s
war crimes, Obama prefers to ask for a full United Nations investigation, which
could take years–if ever–to reach a definitive finding. This is rapidly turning
the U.S. into a global joke: the superpower that issues ultimatums it has no
intention of enforcing. But the consequences of inaction are no joke because
they are, as former U.S. army officer Joseph Holliday argues, a virtual
invitation for Assad, now that he has seen the world will do nothing, to expand
his use of chemical weapons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-syrian-rebels-frustrated-by-obamas-caution/2013/04/30/51b39b00-b1dd-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html">David
Ignatius: Frustrated by Obama’s caution on Syria</a> </b>Obama said in the
televised news conference that he wanted solid evidence of chemical weapons
that could prompt international action against Bashar al-Assad. “If we end up
rushing to judgment without hard, effective evidence, then we can find
ourselves in a position where we can’t mobilize the international community to
support what we do,” Obama said. But Idriss countered that his forces have
enough information now to answer Obama’s questions of how, where and when the
weapons were deployed on four separate occasions. He welcomed U.S. plans to
train his forces but said this strategy will be useless if Assad continues the
chemical attacks. Idriss claimed the regime could deliver the chemical weapons
with planes and Scud missiles, which he said must be destroyed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #c4bc96; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;">
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">An Appeal <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1234862815/syria-inside">A Kickstarter
project worthy of support:</a></i></b> Black comedy movie from Syria 2013.
While the director was shot dead we want to continue with your help!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Quickly Noted <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>1. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey <b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/syria-war-us_n_3187453.html">argues</a>
“</b>that only about 10 percent of the casualties suffered by anti-regime forces
are caused by air strikes” and that “90 percent are caused by small arms and
artillery, which would be unaffected by a no-fly zone.” The problem with this
logic is its failure to note the 10% of the casualties caused by air strikes
are happening in those liberated parts of Aleppo, Raqqah, Deir Ezzor and Idlib
where local elections can take place and local legitimate governing bodies can
truly emerge should there be a no-fly zone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
No one in the opposition has advanced the argument that a no-fly zone
will stop the killing everywhere in Syria. Our argument has and continues to be
focused on the need for allowing legitimate local governments to emerge and
actually govern in liberated areas, because it will be mostly up to these governments
to legitimize a political process meant to put an end to this crisis. A no-fly
zone will go a long way in allowing this to happen. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>2. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Micah Zenco <b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/30/hawking_something_syria_intervention?page=full">argues</a></b>
that “Advocates of military intervention need to define their strategic
objectives in Syria and outline how the use of force can accomplish it. So far,
no one has done so.” Let’s assume he is correct, that o one has done so, but
let’s ask this as well: have people like him who advocate nonintervention outlined
the risks that this policy entails for the future of the region and the global
order, including potential impact on the national security? Have they tried to inform
the American people of these risks? Let Sunni and Shia extremists carve out
havens for themselves throughout the Middle East. Then let’s see if American and
Western officials try to keep their countries safe from the fallouts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Battles on the outskirts of Hama City continues <a href="http://youtu.be/c_w9H6TmVBM">http://youtu.be/c_w9H6TmVBM</a> Locals dig through
the rubble in search of the dead and wounded <a href="http://youtu.be/c_w9H6TmVBM">http://youtu.be/c_w9H6TmVBM</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Homes catch fire in <b>Moadamiyeh</b> Suburb in Damascus on account of
the continuous pounding <a href="http://youtu.be/UlA4-1eZSbQ">http://youtu.be/UlA4-1eZSbQ</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Shelling of neighborhoods inside Damascus City often takes place from
artillery positions on top of Mount <b>Qasayoun</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/U_KOwtSgH1g">http://youtu.be/U_KOwtSgH1g</a> This leaked
video shows a sample of the soldiers taking part in the pounding, while
accusing rebels of using drugs, it’s regime soldiers who often do <a href="http://youtu.be/iSb4ol6PJtQ">http://youtu.be/iSb4ol6PJtQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Missile launchers are also used, especially in targeting rebel
strongholds in Eastern Ghoutah: <b>Kafar Batna</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/9A0ieqk_-uw">http://youtu.be/9A0ieqk_-uw</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Clashes between loyalists and rebels in the town of <b>Mta’iyeh</b>,
Daraa Province <a href="http://youtu.be/YcLdVStar9M">http://youtu.be/YcLdVStar9M</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Regime forces pound the border point of <b>Bab E-Hawa</b> on the border
between Aleppo and Turkey <a href="http://youtu.be/dXdV3NspPkE">http://youtu.be/dXdV3NspPkE</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/ZJ3p7S_Ywig">http://youtu.be/ZJ3p7S_Ywig</a> cluster
bombs have been used, and people are scurrying in all directions <a href="http://youtu.be/ykWG1PSJlLY">http://youtu.be/ykWG1PSJlLY</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/nwmwAwtqbhk">http://youtu.be/nwmwAwtqbhk</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/5iVgeyWRdNk">http://youtu.be/5iVgeyWRdNk</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-4358287576282972012013-04-30T00:53:00.000-04:002013-04-30T00:53:22.721-04:00Hear Our Voice!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Earlier today, President Obama voiced his concerns over use of chemical
weapons in Syria to Mr. Putin, but does he have time to hear some Syrians voice
their own concerns over the issue? For we are indeed concerned, Mr. President, concerned
that you are becoming desensitized in this connection, desensitized to the point
of continued inaction, of accepting a status quo of continued suffering and impunity,
of hiding behind the convenient cover of popular apathy. But while an American
President’s primary responsibility is to the American people, he is also answerable
to countless of millions beyond America’s borders – people whose fate to a
great degree is determined by his policies and decisions. Many of those people wish
that you could hear their concerns and respond to them through meaningful
actions.</span></b></i><br />
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<br /></div>
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<b>Monday April
29, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death Toll:</span></b><b> 119 martyrs</b>, including 10 women, 8
children and 1 martyr under torture: 36 in Damascus and Suburbs, 34 in Aleppo,
8 in Daraa, 7 in Homs, 7 in Idlib, 6 in Hama, 6 in Deir Ezzor, 3 in Lattakia, 1
in Raqqa and 1 in Qunaitra <b>(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/29/us-syria-crisis-bomb-idUSBRE93S06620130429">Syrian
prime minister survives Damascus bombing, six die</a> </b>Six people were
killed in the blast, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said. Previous rebel attacks on government targets included a December bombing
which wounded Assad's interior minister. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
condemned the bombing, which he described as a "terrorist attack." As
prime minister, Wael al-Halki wields little power but the attack highlighted
the rebels' growing ability to target symbols of Assad's authority in a civil
war that, according to the U.N., has cost more than 70,000 lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/29/russia-plane-safety-threatened-over-syria-but-it-lands-safe-with-no-injuries/#ixzz2Rtyv4lfI">Russia:
Plane's safety 'threatened' over Syria, but it lands safe with no injuries,
damage</a> </b>The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted the press service of
Rosturism, the Russian state tourism authority, as saying the plane came under
rocket fire Monday. But a statement on the ministry's website did not give
details, saying the plane's crew saw "signs of war activity which, in the
crew's opinion, threatened the safety of the plane." Foreign Ministry
spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told the ITAR-Tass news agency that the plane
was carrying 159 people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/29/Sources-to-Al-Arabiya-30-Hezbollah-bodies-arrive-to-Lebanon-from-Syria.html">Bodies
of 30 Hezbollah fighters arrive to Lebanon from Syria</a> </b>The sources added
that Al-Quds Brigade commander, whose known by his nickname, Abu Ajeeb, was
also killed in Syria in battles against rebels. Reports have emerged that
members of the Lebanese Shiite group were fighting with forces loyal to Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad against rebels. Former Hezbollah chief Subhi
al-Tufaili told Al Arabiya in an interview earlier this week that at least 138
Hezbollah fighters have been killed in the Syria fighting. Tufaili added that
Hezbollah, who is backed by Iran and the Syrian regime, was told to fight with
the Assad forces in direct orders from Tehran. However, the Shiite group has
repeatedly stated that it was not taking part in the fighting in Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/29/american-doctor-gives-proof-of-chemical-weapon-use-to-u-s/">American
doctor gives 'proof of chemical weapon use' to U.S.</a> </b>On Monday,
Syrian-American doctor Zaher Sahloul was near the Syrian border in Turkey,
where he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that reports from physicians indicate
there had just been another attack. Sahloul believes this is the sixth recent
chemical weapons attack Syria. “We have medical proof,” Dr. Sahloul told
Amanpour. “Patients had respiratory and neurological symptoms.” Physicians working inside Syria are collecting
samples and giving them to Dr. Sahloul ‘s organization, The Syrian American
Medical Society.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22347669">Obama voices Syria
chemical weapons concern to Putin</a> </b>In a statement, the White House said
on Monday that Mr Obama and Mr Putin talked on the phone on Monday, with the US
leader "underscoring his concern over Syrian chemical weapons". Washington
has repeatedly criticised Russia - along with China - for blocking tougher
action against Syria in the UN Security Council, including new sanctions. Mr
Putin and Mr Obama are scheduled to hold face-to-face talks in June. Mr Obama
last week promised a "vigorous investigation" into the issue. He
warned that it would be a "game changer" for US policy if the reports
about chemical weapons were to be proved true.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/world/middleeast/israel-says-its-not-asking-us-to-intervene-in-syria.html?_r=0">Israel
Says It Is Not Seeking U.S. Intervention in Syria</a> </b>The official, Yuval
Steinitz, the minister of strategic and intelligence affairs and international
relations, also said that his government saw no comparison between American
policy toward Syria and the Obama administration’s announced intention to stop
Iran from gaining nuclear capability. “We never asked, nor did we encourage,
the United States to take military action in Syria,” Mr. Steinitz said at a
conference in New York sponsored by The Jerusalem Post. “And we are not making
any comparison or linkage with Iran, which is a completely different matter.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57581992/hagel-wait-to-get-the-facts-before-acting-on-syria/">Hagel:
"Wait to get the facts" before acting on Syria</a> </b>"We are
continuing to assess what happened, when, where...working with our allies and
our own intelligence agencies," said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during
a press conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Itsunori Onodera. "I
think we should wait to get the facts before we make any judgments on what
action, if any should be taken, and what kind of action… Asked in a follow-up
whether he could rule out any unilateral U.S. military action, or whether any
such action might require the cooperation of the international community, Hagel
replied, "My role is to present to the president...options for any
contingency. I won't speculate on those options, nor publicly discuss those
options."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/29/video-amateur-singers-heartbreaking-song-for-syria-sweeps-the-arab-world/">Video:
Amateur singer’s heartbreaking song for Syria sweeps the Arab world</a> </b>The
song seems to have tapped into the agony of two years of war, which is felt not
just in Syria but across a sympathetic Arab world, as evident in the crowd’s
reaction. It is especially powerful for those most affected by the conflict.
The Financial Times’ Abigail Fielding-Smith reports, “Syrians abroad,
especially those from Aleppo, describe breaking down in tears over it.” Though
the power of Hamdan’s song appears to stem in part from his decision to avoid
taking sides or placing blame, his sudden popularity has put him under
political scrutiny and some pressure. “Inevitably there has been speculation
over which ‘side’ Hamdan is on,” according to the Financial Times story.
“According to an interview with the singer in Lebanon’s Daily Star newspaper,
people have even made threats against him on Facebook.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22347152#?utm_source=feedly">Veteran
Italian war correspondent missing in Syria</a> </b>Domenico Quirico, 62, an
experienced war reporter, entered Syria from Lebanon on 6 April saying he would
be out of touch for a week. La Stampa says there was sporadic phone contact
until 9 April since when nothing has been heard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/syrian-teenager-self-immolates-in-beirut-suburb">Syrian
teenager self-immolates in Beirut</a> </b>The National News Agency reported
that a Syrian youngster set himself on fire on Sunday in Beirut’s Corniche
al-Mazraa and is currently in critical condition. The nineteen-year-old,
identified as Ahmad Mahmoud Youssef, reportedly attempted to self-immolate in
the area's Barbour Square due to financial hardship and debts he was incapable
of paying. Youssef was rushed to the Geitaoui Hospital where he is being
treated for third degree burns.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/links-between-alleged-chemical-attacks.html">Links
Between Alleged Chemical Attacks In Saraqeb, Idlib, and Sheikh Maghsoud, Aleppo</a>
</b>Today there's been fresh reports of an alleged chemical attack on the town
of Saraqeb, Idlib, with photographs and videos from the scene posted online.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/29/hacking-guardian-syria-background">The
Syrian Electronic Army: Bashar al-Assad's shadow warriors Phishing attack is
latest by pro-Assad hackers operating out of Dubai, who target sites with views
opposed to their own</a> </b>But unlike Tunisia, Egypt and Libya – whose former
regimes were caught badly off guard – Assad's government has been fighting
back. It has created an increasingly rambunctious group of
counter-revolutionary hackers. These hackers have a twin function: to punish
western news organisations seen as critical of Syria's regime, and to spread
Damascus's alternative narrative. This says that the war in Syria isn't a
popular uprising against a brutal, despotic family-military dynasty but rather
an attempt by Islamist terrorists to turn Syria into a crazy al-Qaida fiefdom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/euro-mayors-youths-syria-19066376#.UX8IlbWsh8E">Euro
Mayors Try to Keep Youths From Going to Syria</a> </b>Through much of western
Europe, scores of Islamic youths have heeded the call to take up arms for a
cause that is only a few hours away by plane. The phenomenon has alarmed
authorities amid signs that the insurgency is becoming increasingly radicalized,
with strong infiltration by al-Qaida. European authorities see a double danger,
one that's summed up by Somers who describes the youths as "cannon
fodder" in Syria — and potential "full-blown terrorists" if they
make it back home alive. But it all raises a conundrum: In a free society, how
can you prevent these young people from packing up and leaving?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-29/syrias-refugee-entrepreneurs-find-a-home-in-jordan">Syria's
Refugee Entrepreneurs Find a Home in Jordan</a> </b>To tap into the pool of
talented entrepreneurs set adrift by the war, Oasis500 has been actively
recruiting Syrian entrepreneurs—through personal networks, placed articles in
publications owned by Abdulsalam Haykal, a Syrian media entrepreneur, and ads running
on Facebook (FB), Twitter, LinkedIn (LNKD), and Jordanian radio stations. To
help pave the road from Aleppo to Amman, the accelerator is also paying travel
and some housing expenses for Syrian entrepreneurs. The efforts are paying off.
In the accelerator’s first boot-camp class after beginning the outreach, which
is funded in part by the governments of the U.S. and Jordan, 13 of 60
participants were Syrians. Oasis500 invested in two of those entrepreneurs: Ali
Kaj and Judy Samakie, who’s building an e-commerce site to help Jordanians find
and order healthy food—a problem in a region where it can be hard to find
health-conscious or even vegetarian meals. The current boot-camp session has
attracted nine Syrians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3751238.ece">Rebellion
unveiled: Kurdish women join war on Assad</a> </b>Ruken reads Nietzsche and
Aristotle, smokes Gauloises Blondes and last month she shot her first man dead
with a Russian-made assault rifle. Amid an increasingly Islamicised struggle in
which bearded men, religious conservatism and Islamic slogans have become the
face of Syria’s revolution, the 27-year-old commander of 40 Syrian-Kurd
fighters in Aleppo, all of them women, is unusual in every way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-30/215505-fleeing-war-syrians-find-little-damascus-in-cairos-outskirts.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RurHaMB5">Fleeing
war, Syrians find ‘Little Damascus’ in Cairo’s outskirts</a> </b>The sprawling
new development in the desert west of Cairo has become a hub for the Syrian
refugees, but its long parallel avenues lined with residential blocks are a far
cry from the narrow streets and bustling markets of old Damascus… In Cairo, the
new arrivals have carved out a “Little Syria” for themselves, where flags of
the Free Syrian Army flutter in the cement landscape, and shops brimming with
shawarma spits and pastries are frequented by patrons with Syrian accents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21576678-america-needs-take-action-against-bashar-assad-acid-test">The
Economist: Chemical weapons in Syria - Acid test: America needs to take action
against Bashar Assad.</a> </b>Chemical weapons are not much use on the
battlefield, but they can demoralise the rebels and spread terror among the
population. They may have an indirect purpose, too, for Mr Assad. If he uses
them and the outside world fails to take action, his supporters are likelier to
conclude that he will stay in power and his opponents will lose faith… Mr
Obama’s wariness is worsening a dreadful situation. As the fighting drags on,
the rebels are being increasingly radicalised. They will eventually be a source
of global jihad. The millions of refugees inside and outside Syria are
suffering grievously. Violence and misery are spreading—to Iraq, where Sunni
and Shia are killing each other again; to Lebanon, which has lost a prime
minister to sectarian rivalries; to Jordan, overrun by refugees. Israel fears
that Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shias’ party-cum-militia, will end up hardened by
war and armed with sophisticated weapons. Arguing about soil samples hardly
seems like an adequate response… Mr Obama is instead leading Mr Assad to
believe that his threat is empty. For a man trying to persuade the world that
Iran will cross a red line if it builds a nuclear bomb, that is the wrong
message.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/assad-reading-the-signs/">Tony Badran:
Assad Reading the Signs</a> </b>When viewed from Assad’s vantage point, it
would appear that the US administration has been receptive to every talking
point his regime has chalked up. There could be only one explanation, as far as
Assad is concerned: the US is pragmatic. It’s willing to play ball. If this
were confined to Assad, perhaps it wouldn’t be much to be concerned about.
However, when this perception of a convergence between the US position and
Assad’s talking points extends to Washington’s regional allies, it becomes a
matter that affects the US position and credibility in the region. These allies
have been waiting for a sign from the White House that it will, in fact, go all
the way in Syria. Unfortunately, Assad’s reading is proving to be correct: the
Obama administration will do no such thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/29/a_friend_in_need_jordan_aid?utm_source=feedly">A
Friend in Need: As Syria implodes, the United States and its allies need to
help Jordan help itself.</a> </b>There's one place, though, in which the United
States should be getting involved that has only upside. Among many troubling
trends of the Syrian civil war has been the creation of enormous amounts of
refugees in countries that are ill equipped to handle them. Lebanon and Turkey
have absorbed more than 750,000 refugees, but no place has felt the brunt of
Syria's huge population displacement as much as Jordan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/shelley-deane/syria-life-cycle-of-civil-war?utm_source=feedly">Syria:
the life cycle of civil war</a> </b>Providing shadow governance structures,
especially where local councils involve the encouragement of voluntary
participation (rather than through recruitment or ‘conscription’) indicates a
future capacity to out-administer the incumbent central government. A review of
resilient Syrian opposition groups or shadow administrations suggests that the
nature of governance as well as the nature of warfare and violence is shaping
the strategic logic of civil war transitions as a means of significant social
change in the Middle East and North Africa.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #c4bc96; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;">
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Quickly Noted <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Ribal al-Assad published an op-ed under Project Syndicate <b><a href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-contradictions-of-syria-s-civil-war-by-ribal-al-assad?utm_source=feedly">arguing</a></b>
against sending military aid to Syria rebels to avoid turning “a catastrophe
into an apocalypse,” as he put it. But the problem here is not in the argument but
in failing to fully disclose the identity of the man making it. Ribal is the
paternal cousin of Bashar Al-Assad, a man whose interest in opposing Bashar goes
only as far as trading places with him. Failure to note this family connection
is frankly dishonest. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As for the argument itself, diplomacy is definitely needed to seal the
deal, but diplomacy has no chance in hell achieving anything unless military conditions
on the ground have changed drastically in favor of the rebels. Diplomatic and
military realities often play off each other, a fact that is obvious and known
to all seasoned politicians, diplomats and military planners. But Ribal
Al-Assad cannot and will not see this because the only change he is interested in
is one that brings him to power, keeping Syria, in effect, as a private holding
of the Assad family. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Activists in <b>Saraqib</b>, Idlib, claim that their town witnessed an
attack using chemical weapons <a href="http://youtu.be/GruGM0-97m8">http://youtu.be/GruGM0-97m8</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/jMIyLKKWQ00">http://youtu.be/jMIyLKKWQ00</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/BBflE_hujGA">http://youtu.be/BBflE_hujGA</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A video showing the car bomb explosion that targeted the vehicle of PM
Halki in the plush neighborhood of <b>Western Mazzeh</b> in Damascus <a href="http://youtu.be/fZa_QP18Blo">http://youtu.be/fZa_QP18Blo</a> As Syrian TV
covered it <a href="http://youtu.be/AcKngzvDc4Q">http://youtu.be/AcKngzvDc4Q</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-51720856492049184032013-04-28T00:47:00.003-04:002013-04-28T00:47:51.770-04:00Hold the [Red] Line!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">To President Obama, paraphrasing Toto: It's not in the way that you
told us, It's not in the way you say you care, It's not in the way you've been
treating your friends, It's not in the way that you'll stay till the end, It's
not in the way you calculate or the things that you say that you do: Hold the
line; Crises are not always on time. Nor are they convenient or easy to handle.
But the fact is: ignoring them will not make them go away. </span></b></i><br />
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<b>Saturday April
27, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/27/rebels-attack-sprawling-air-base-in-northern-syria/2117169/">Rebels
attack air base in northern Syria</a> </b>In Saturday's fighting at the Abu
Zuhour air base in northwestern Idlib province, the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said there were casualties on both sides. The base
has been under rebel siege for months. The Observatory and the Local
Coordination Committees said the Syrian air force conducted several air raids
during the fighting to ease pressure on government troops inside the air base.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22316517?utm_source=feedly">Cameron
fears Iraq effect holding West back in Syria</a> </b>UK PM David Cameron has
expressed concern that international action in Syria may be being held back
because of fears of a repeat of the Iraq war. It follows evidence from the US
and the UK that Syrian government troops may have used chemical weapons. Mr
Cameron said world leaders must look at Syria and "ask ourselves what more
we can do."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10022753/Syria-Al-Qaedas-battle-for-control-of-Assads-chemical-weapons-plant.html">Syria:
Al-Qaeda's battle for control of Assad's chemical weapons plant</a> </b>The
fight for al-Safira is no ordinary turf war, however, and the prize can be
found behind the perimeter walls of the heavily-guarded military base on the
edge of town. Inside what looks like a drab industrial estate is one of Syria's
main facilities for producing chemical weapons - and among its products is
sarin, the lethal nerve gas that the regime is now feared to be deploying in
its bid to cling to power.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-syria-crisis-hezbollah-idUSBRE93P09720130426">Lebanon
dragged in as Hezbollah joins Syria war</a> </b>The Shi'ite Muslim group,
designated a terrorist organization by the United States, is the most effective
military body in Lebanon and its growing involvement in Syria's quagmire has
angered Lebanese Sunni rebel sympathizers. The Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek,
famed for its colossal Roman ruins, now feels like a garrison town. Hezbollah
men in military fatigues and police outfits are everywhere. As are Jeeps and
Chevrolets with blacked-out windows - the group's vehicles of choice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/world/middleeast/islamist-rebels-gains-in-syria-create-dilemma-for-us.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">Islamist
Rebels Create Dilemma on Syria Policy</a> </b>Across Syria, rebel-held areas
are dotted with Islamic courts staffed by lawyers and clerics, and by fighting
brigades led by extremists. Even the Supreme Military Council, the umbrella
rebel organization whose formation the West had hoped would sideline radical
groups, is stocked with commanders who want to infuse Islamic law into a future
Syrian government. Nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular
fighting force to speak of. This is the landscape President Obama confronts as
he considers how to respond to growing evidence that Syrian officials have used
chemical weapons, crossing a “red line” he had set. More than two years of
violence have radicalized the armed opposition fighting the government of
President Bashar al-Assad, leaving few groups that both share the political
vision of the United States and have the military might to push it forward.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/27/us-usa-syria-military-options-idUSBRE93Q0C620130427">Analysis:
No good military options for U.S. in Syria</a> </b>Possible military choices
range from limited one-off missile strikes from ships - one of the less
complicated scenarios - to bolder operations like carving out no-fly safe
zones. One of the most politically unpalatable possibilities envisions sending
tens of thousands of U.S. forces to help secure Syrian chemical weapons. Obama
has so far opposed limited steps, like arming anti-government rebels, but
pressure to deepen U.S. involvement in Syria's civil war has grown since
Thursday's White House announcement that President Bashar al-Assad likely used
chemical weapons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/0427/Obama-s-red-line-on-Syria-An-Iraq-like-slam-dunk-moment-video/(page)/2">Obama’s
'red line' on Syria: An Iraq-like 'slam dunk' moment? (+video)</a></b> President
Obama said a 'red line' would be crossed if the Syrian regime used chemical
weapons against rebels. Might that propel the US into war, as those elusive
'weapons of mass destruction' did in Iraq?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #c4bc96; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;">
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Destroyed tanks and BMPs in <b>Jobar</b> Neighborhood, Damascus City,
following clashes between rebels and loyalists <a href="http://youtu.be/_o_UM9LmKRA">http://youtu.be/_o_UM9LmKRA</a> The pounding
of the neighborhood with heavy artillery position on top of Mount Qasayoun continues
<a href="http://youtu.be/iOi1__YbAFo">http://youtu.be/iOi1__YbAFo</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/zM5-TrAqSqM">http://youtu.be/zM5-TrAqSqM</a> The pounding
<b><i>from</i></b> Mount Qasayoun <a href="http://youtu.be/QW-uZqlRIPA">http://youtu.be/QW-uZqlRIPA</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Aerial bombardment on nearby Eastern Ghoutah continues: <b>Saqba</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/iOi1__YbAFo">http://youtu.be/iOi1__YbAFo</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/26REwk2wHLI">http://youtu.be/26REwk2wHLI</a> Fires rage
in <b>Kafar Batna</b> after an aerial raid <a href="http://youtu.be/NsgdtnMeWV4">http://youtu.be/NsgdtnMeWV4</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/ZRAUhjIeWVI">http://youtu.be/ZRAUhjIeWVI</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rebels in <b>Al-Qusair</b>, Homs, claim that this body belongs to a
Hezbollah operative they recently killed in battles. Hezbollah acknowledge the death
of this operative known as Abu Ali Rida or Hussain Salah Habeeb, we see his obituary
at end of the clip <a href="http://youtu.be/KbZZ5EQLOlQ">http://youtu.be/KbZZ5EQLOlQ</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Aerial bombardment on rebel strongholds in the mountains of North
Lattakia intensifies: <b>Salma</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/Ez7UxVG_IKU">http://youtu.be/Ez7UxVG_IKU</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/b4PChIF9Vqs">http://youtu.be/b4PChIF9Vqs</a> Rebels
try to bring down a jet <a href="http://youtu.be/2A1yGIN-xlg">http://youtu.be/2A1yGIN-xlg</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rebels in <b>Na’eemah</b>, Daraa, destroy a radar station <a href="http://youtu.be/MDxVs3FsMGU">http://youtu.be/MDxVs3FsMGU</a> and try to
bring down an overflying jet <a href="http://youtu.be/YnwmtXFZ7e4">http://youtu.be/YnwmtXFZ7e4</a>
But MiGs soon destroy the position <a href="http://youtu.be/iOi1__YbAFo">http://youtu.be/iOi1__YbAFo</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Heavy clashes between loyalists and rebels take place on the outskirts
of <b>Hama City</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/KE1iWtacUx0">http://youtu.be/KE1iWtacUx0</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of rebel strongholds in <b>Deir Ezzor City</b> continues <a href="http://youtu.be/bXl2pMnqSMI">http://youtu.be/bXl2pMnqSMI</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-40551495205697485102013-04-26T23:41:00.003-04:002013-04-26T23:42:17.628-04:00The Adventures of Professor Calculus in the White House!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Syrians have been demanding a no-fly zone long before the death toll
reached 1,000. With the official death toll now around 100,000, we can safely
say that <a href="http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/26/17929004-obama-agenda-iraqs-impact-on-syria-decision?lite">President
Obama</a> is not in the habit of rushing into things, jumping to
conclusions or shooting from the hip. In fact, President Obama has just demonstrated
the veracity of a very interesting hypothesis, namely that refraining from
action for long enough period can have the same devastating effect as rushing
into it. Now, and on the basis of these findings, would the President be willing
to undertake some course correction? Would he finally <a href="http://newsle.com/article/0/71820599/">change</a> his “calculus?” </span></b></i><br />
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<b>Friday April
26, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b><b> 139 martyrs</b>, including 16 women, 14 children and 5 under torture: 29 in Damascus
and Suburbs; 27 in Homs; 19 in Idlib; 16 in Hama; 15 in Daraa; 11 in Hasakeh;
11 in Deir Ezzor; 11 in Aleppo <b>(LCC).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/26/syria-chemical-denial.html">Obama
says Syria chemical weapons reports a 'game changer'</a> </b>U.S. President
Barack Obama issued a cautious warning Friday that Syria's reported use of
chemical weapons could be a "game changer" that could provoke
international intervention in the country's ongoing civil war. Although U.S.
intelligence reports Syria may have crossed that line, Obama did not commit to
any specific action… "We have to act prudently," he said. "We
have to make these assessments deliberately. But I think all of us ...
recognize how we cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like
chemical weapons on civilian populations."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-says-chemical-arms-escalate-syria-crisis-113111898.html">Turkey
says chemical arms use would escalate Syria crisis</a> </b>Turkey said on
Friday any use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would
"take the crisis to another level", but remained cautious about any
foreign military intervention in the conflict on its border… "We have been
hearing allegations of the use of chemical weapons for quite some time now and
these new findings take things to another level. They are very alarming,"
Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Levent Gumrukcu said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Deputy-FM-Action-on-Syria-red-line-sends-message-to-Iran-311203">'Action
on Syria red line sends message to Iran'</a> </b>Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev
Elkin warned Friday that a failure by the international community to act
against Syria for using chemical weapons would show Iran that the US does not
act when its "red lines" are crossed. Elkin was speaking in an Army
Radio interview a day after US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that the
US intelligence community believes that some chemical weapons, likely sarin
gas, have been used in the Syrian civil war. Hagel's announcement came after
Israel's top military intelligence analyst said Tuesday that the regime of
Syrian President Bashar Assad had already used chemical weapons in its fight
against the country's opposition.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/world/middleeast/white-house-in-no-rush-on-syria-action.html">U.S.
Not Rushing to Act on Signs Syria Used Chemical Arms</a> </b>President Obama
repeated his past assertions that the use of chemical weapons would cross a
line and produce an American response, but he indicated that he was not yet
satisfied with what he had been told, calling it “preliminary.” He gave no hint
about what would convince him or what action he might take. “We have to act
prudently,” he told reporters before a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
“We have to make these assessments deliberately. But I think all of us, not
just in the United States but around the world, recognize how we cannot stand
by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian
populations.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57581556/white-house-obamas-red-line-not-crossed-on-syria-chemical-weapons/">White
House: Obama's "red line" on Syria chemical weapons not crossed</a> </b>The
White House said the evidence of Syrian chemical weapons attacks is still too
thin and President Obama's red line has not been crossed, and that means
military intervention by the United States in the Syrian civil war is not
imminent and not guaranteed but more study and investigation is needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://newsle.com/article/0/71907612/">U.S. Seeks Support for Syria
Intervention</a> </b>US President Barack Obama met Tuesday with Qatari Emir
Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in Washington. Obama was due Friday to confer with
King Abdullah of Jordan for their second summit in less than a month. Meanwhile,
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel visited the United Arab Emirates, on the final
stage of his first tour to the Middle East since becoming Pentagon chief
Pentagon nearly two months ago. "It is clear that a decision has been made
in Washington and elsewhere that the situation in Syria has reached the point
of no return and requires international intervention," Oraib Rentawi of
the Amman-based al-Quds Centre for Political Studies, told dpa. "These
meetings are designed to determine how and what type of intervention will take
place."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-syria-crisis-chemical-weapons-idUSBRE93P0UG20130426">"Evidence"
of Syria chemical weapons use not up to U.N. standard</a> </b>Weapons
inspectors will only determine whether banned chemical agents were used in the
two-year-old conflict if they are able to access sites and take soil, blood,
urine or tissue samples and examine them in certified laboratories, according
to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which works
with the United Nations on inspections. That type of evidence, needed to show
definitively if banned chemicals were found, has not been presented by
governments and intelligence agencies accusing Syria of using chemical weapons
against insurgents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/world/middleeast/syria.html">Syrians
Report Broad Fighting and Suspicious Airstrike</a> </b>Activist groups in
eastern Syria asserted that the military airstrike, which hit the eastern city
of Deir al-Zour, was carried out by a warplane that had flown across the border
with Iraq. Some accused Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq, whose
Shiite-dominated government is engrossed in a worsening conflict with Sunni
militants, of ordering the strike. Others said the plane was a Syrian Air Force
MiG that had crossed into Iraqi airspace before turning back into Syria for its
bombing sortie.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-syria-crisis-offensive-idUSBRE93P0N520130426?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedly">Syrian
air strikes, shelling batter rebels in Damascus suburbs</a> </b>Assad's forces,
which have been trying to dislodge rebels from several outlying districts south
and east of the capital, focused their assault on Jobar, just inside central
Damascus. The army seized the town of Otaiba on Wednesday, cutting a weapons
supply route from the Jordanian border into the eastern fringes of Damascus
that rebels had used for eight months.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syria-clerics-kidnapped-bishops-20130426,0,3416859.story?track=rss">Muslim
clerics in Syria urge release of kidnapped bishops</a> </b>Imams and preachers
at mosques throughout the Syrian capital said in Friday sermons that the kidnappers were “violating the sanctity of Christian and
Islamic clergymen,” the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Greek
Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim
were abducted Monday when gunmen stopped their vehicle near the battleground
northern city of Aleppo, where both are based. The deacon who was driving their
car was shot and killed in the attack. The two were on their way back to Aleppo
from a “humanitarian mission” to neighboring Turkey, church officials said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22285555#?utm_source=feedly">Covert
help for Syria's rebels in Jordan</a> </b>More evidence has come to light of
Syrian rebels receiving training from Western sources in neighbouring Jordan -
but the Jordanian Islamists are also taking an interest in the conflict, as the
BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse reports.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/26/damascus-economic-dead-zone">Damascus,
the city where everything's for sale but no one's buying: Syrian capital has
escaped fighting that has ravaged Homs and Aleppo, but it has been reduced to
an economic dead zone</a> </b>In a city that lives in fear of car bombings and
to a soundtrack of artillery salvoes and air strikes against rebel positions,
nightlife is a thing of the past. Damascus was once famous for its clubs,
restaurants and tourist attractions. Now they are struggling to survive a
crisis that is crippling the economy as well as killing and displacing Syrians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/middleeast/syria-campaigns-to-persuade-us-to-change-sides.html?pagewanted=all">Syria
Plays on Fears to Blunt American Support of Rebels</a> </b>Confident they can
sell their message, government officials have eased their reluctance to allow
foreign reporters into Syria, paraded prisoners they described as extremist
fighters and relied unofficially on a Syrian-American businessman to help tap
into American fears of groups like Al Qaeda. “We are partners in fighting
terrorism,” Syria’s prime minister, Wael Nader al-Halqi, said. Omran al-Zoubi,
the information minister, said: “It’s a war for civilization, identity and
culture. Syria, if you want, is the last real secular state in the Arab world.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/aleppo-scenes-from-a-city-of-ruins/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fmiddle_east+(TIME%3A+The+Middle+East+Blog)">Photo
Essay - Aleppo: Scenes from a City of Ruins</a> </b>Italian photographer
Alessio Romenzi has been chronicling the Syrian civil war for months. The
following pictures of his are from a few days in mid-April spent in the
battle-scarred city of Aleppo. They include a glimpse of a rebel fighter
encamped in the famed Great Mosque of Aleppo, built nearly a thousand years ago
by the once mighty Umayyad dynasty.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-27/215206-liberal-court-in-aleppo-struggles-for-influence.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2RczFG4nQ">‘Liberal’
court in Aleppo struggles for influence</a> </b>The Shariah courts have the
backing of an array of hard-line rebel groups whose fighters help enforce their
decisions in rebel-controlled districts of Syria’s main northern city. The
judges of the rival Unified Judicial Council mostly lack the firepower to
enforce their writ, but Chief Justice Marwan Kaed, who was a civil judge in
Bashar Assad’s regime, is proud of presiding over a more liberal legal system.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2013/0426/Syria-chemical-weapons-Pentagon-weighs-evidence-plans-response?utm_source=feedly">Syria
chemical weapons: Pentagon weighs evidence, plans response</a> </b>Pentagon
officials say they are still trying to confirm reports that Syria has used
chemical weapons against civilians, but that they are preparing a military
option for any outcome.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/26/obama_syria_dilemma?utm_source=feedly">Aaron
David Miller - Obama's Syria Dilemma: Damned if he does; damned if he doesn't.</a>
</b>Whatever Obama does on Syria, he should make sure that he doesn't say
anything that he's not prepared to act on. "As president of the United
States, I don't bluff," he famously said with regard to U.S. policy toward
Tehran. It's just as good advice when it comes to America's approach to
Damascus. U.S. street cred is already at all time low in the Middle East. We
don't need what remains of U.S. credibility to be lost in the gap between the
president's words and his deeds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/world/middleeast/israel-sees-obamas-response-on-syria-as-gauge-for-iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly&_r=0">Israel
Sees U.S. Response to Syria as Gauge on Iran</a> </b>But to the Israelis, how
Mr. Obama navigates the next few weeks will be viewed as a gauge for what he
might do later regarding the potentially bigger confrontation in the region. “There
is a question here: when a red line is set, can we stick by it?” Zeev Elkin,
Israel’s deputy foreign minister, said Friday in a radio interview. “If the
Iranians will see that the red lines laid by the international community are
flexible, then will they continue to progress?” Mr. Obama, during his visit to
Israel and Jordan last month, repeated that Iran would not obtain a nuclear
weapon on his watch. Yet judging when it would be too late to stop Iran is an
even greater intelligence challenge than determining whether chemical weapons
were used in Syria near Aleppo and Damascus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/26/syria_chemical_weapons_strategy_obama?utm_source=feedly">Joseph
Holliday - Assad’s Chemical Romance: How the Syrian dictator’s cynical and
clever chemical weapons strategy outfoxed Obama.</a> </b>The Syrian regime's
subtle approach deliberately offers the Obama administration the option to
remain quiet about chemical attacks and thereby avoid the obligation to make
good on its threats. But even more worrying, Assad's limited use of chemical
weapons is intended to desensitize the United States and the international
community in order to facilitate a more comprehensive deployment in the future
-- without triggering intervention.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Calculus <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57581556/white-house-obamas-red-line-not-crossed-on-syria-chemical-weapons/">White
House</a></b>: “red line not crossed” + military intervention “not imminent” = Slaughter
Can Continue. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/26/syria-chemical-denial.html">President
Obama</a></b>: use of chemical weapons could be “a game changer.” Indeed, instead
of hide-and-seek Assad might now be expected to play possum, at least until the
current storm of vague reports and speculations blows over. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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War planes dropped explosive barrels on the town of <b>Saraqib</b>,
Idlib <a href="http://youtu.be/FXs_g87gftE">http://youtu.be/FXs_g87gftE</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/9Lu2uYPcAfI">http://youtu.be/9Lu2uYPcAfI</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/TJIUka-Aj-E">http://youtu.be/TJIUka-Aj-E</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of rebel strongholds in Eastern Damascus, including
Eastern Ghoutah, intensifies: <b>Jobar</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/Yx0TuURx1B4">http://youtu.be/Yx0TuURx1B4</a>
Tanks take part in the pounding <a href="http://youtu.be/AhfquH3Z0Xw">http://youtu.be/AhfquH3Z0Xw</a>
Rebels damage one of the attacking tanks <a href="http://youtu.be/XkKskWXcTqg">http://youtu.be/XkKskWXcTqg</a>
A building catches fire <a href="http://youtu.be/GFuYty1NPSM">http://youtu.be/GFuYty1NPSM</a>
<b>Zamalka</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/JEZSxkywxP4">http://youtu.be/JEZSxkywxP4</a>
The Southern Highway <a href="http://youtu.be/MeC6vFAfiP0">http://youtu.be/MeC6vFAfiP0</a>
<b>Misraba</b> targeted by warplanes <a href="http://youtu.be/ajaA3m3d6cs">http://youtu.be/ajaA3m3d6cs</a>
<b>Douma</b> and <b>Arbeen</b> as well <a href="http://youtu.be/76dYuhwL844">http://youtu.be/76dYuhwL844</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/WfsnGj9oI0w">http://youtu.be/WfsnGj9oI0w</a> <b>Ain
Terma</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/oPgYcOWGBww">http://youtu.be/oPgYcOWGBww</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Warplanes pound rebel strongholds in <b>Daraa City</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/5MuqZgmcEYI">http://youtu.be/5MuqZgmcEYI</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/Alwun6GrdaU">http://youtu.be/Alwun6GrdaU</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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A bomb leaves a family in pieces near the village of <b>Ghariyeh</b>,
Daraa Provcince <a href="http://youtu.be/8BnsUbWAI8w">http://youtu.be/8BnsUbWAI8w</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Scenes from the clashes between loyalists and rebels in the mountains
of <b>North Latakia</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/b701AnV3ETQ">http://youtu.be/b701AnV3ETQ</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/Tx-GzHWKXPo">http://youtu.be/Tx-GzHWKXPo</a> The
resort town of <b>Salma, </b>a rebel stronghold, is now being pounded by fighter
jets <a href="http://youtu.be/8mJ-61Hy4zA">http://youtu.be/8mJ-61Hy4zA</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/VJCpInLfbCc">http://youtu.be/VJCpInLfbCc</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/aKsFzQ5vSeU">http://youtu.be/aKsFzQ5vSeU</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/19_Jr8ljy24">http://youtu.be/19_Jr8ljy24</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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An aerial raid on the town of <b>Alboukamal</b> in Deir Ezzor province <a href="http://youtu.be/LtKe2klV78s">http://youtu.be/LtKe2klV78s</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/Fy5UibmGnrs">http://youtu.be/Fy5UibmGnrs</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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War planes target the city of <b>Tabqa</b> in the liberated province of
Raqqa <a href="http://youtu.be/_BrnYT2WLMY">http://youtu.be/_BrnYT2WLMY</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-44025491320555647412013-04-26T02:38:00.003-04:002013-04-26T02:38:54.948-04:00On the Broken Hand!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">On the one hand, U.S. involvement in Syria will under no
circumstance be a cakewalk. On the other hand, broken as it is at this stage, the
longer we wait the more complex the task will be. For the U.S., there is no
running away from this, irrespective of the wishes of its leaders. </span></b></i><br />
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<b>Thursday April
25, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/25/rebels-charge-that-assad-continues-to-use-chemical-weapons.html">Rebels
Charge That Assad Continues to Use Chemical Weapons</a> </b>On Thursday, the
Syrian Support Group (SSG), a U.S.-based advocacy organization that has pressed
Obama to provide the Syrian opposition with advanced weapons, issued a report
that said two chemical weapons attacks were conducted on April 25 in the
southern part of Daraya, a suburb of Damascus. One doctor working from the
Daraya medical center said 75 victims were treated for symptoms including
“muscle spasms, bronchial spasms, headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and miosis”
following a 1 a.m. rocket strike. Another 25 victims were sent to the medical
center complaining of similar symptoms when a second attack hit the area at 7
a.m. local time, according to the SSG and a statement from the local
coordinating council of Daraya, a media group affiliated with the Syrian
opposition.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/us-syria-usa-chemical-whitehouse-idUSBRE93O14P20130425?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedly">U.S.
believes Syria used chemical weapons but says facts needed</a> </b>U.S.
intelligence agencies believe Syria's government has likely used chemical
weapons on a small scale, the White House said on Thursday, but added that
President Barack Obama needed "credible and corroborated" facts
before acting on that assessment. The disclosure of the assessment, which
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said was made within the past 24 hours and the
White House said was based in part on physiological samples, triggered
immediate calls for U.S. action by members of Congress who advocate deeper U.S.
involvement. But while President Barack Obama declared that Syrian use of
chemical weapons would be a game-changer, his administration made clear it
would move carefully - mindful of the lessons of the start of the Iraq war 10
years ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/25/hagel-says-evidence-chemical-weapons-were-used-in-syria/#ixzz2RVAnrJZa">Lawmakers
demand 'action' in Syria after intel confirms chemical weapons use</a> </b>Top-ranking
lawmakers on both sides of the aisle declared Thursday that the "red
line" in Syria has been crossed, calling for "strong" U.S. and
international intervention after administration officials revealed the
intelligence community believes chemical weapons were used. Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate
intelligence committee, were among those urging swift action. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50145604n">McCain: "Chemical
weapons being used" in Syria</a> </b>"The president of the United
States said that if [Syrian president] Assad used chemical weapons it would be
a game changer, that it would cross a red line," said Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., adding that in light of recent reports that chemical weapons were used
on a small scale in Syria, "I think it's pretty obvious that red line has
been crossed."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/25/syria-rebels-chemical-weapons/2113541/">Rebels:
West should react to Syria's chemical attacks</a> </b>Several groups including
the Syrian Network for Human Rights say Assad has been using weapons like sarin
gas far more frequently than has been reported. Early this week, an
intelligence chief for the Israeli Defense Forces said Israel concluded Assad
used them last month. In a report released exclusively to USA TODAY, the
network said Syrian human rights observers such as itself have concluded that
Assad's forces have used chemical weapons on "10 separate locations in
Syria" in four provinces over the span of several months starting in
December. "Beginning at Homs, and then in the suburbs of Damascus, and
then at two attacks inside Damascus in Jobar neighborhood," Damascus-based
activist Sami Ibrahim, of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, told USA TODAY. Ibrahim
says his group — a Syrian group of human rights activists that collects
victims' accounts of the conflict — can back up its claims of chemical weapons
use by Assad. Its report says Assad has been using "different types"
of chemical weapons, including sarin gas, on at least two separate occasions in
suburban Damascus and Aleppo. "We have videos of those killed, we have
photos, we have testimony from the eyewitnesses, from the doctors inside the
hospitals; they are speaking inside the video," Ibrahim said of his
report's findings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/25/us-has-range-military-options-in-syria-after-revelation-regime-use-chemical/#ixzz2RWNE2xwk">US
has a range of military options in Syria after revelation of regime use of
chemical weapons</a> </b>The military options could include establishing a
no-fly zone or a secured area within Syria, launching airstrikes by drones and
fighter jets and sending in tens of thousands of ground forces to secure the
regime's chemical weapons caches. Setting up a no-fly zone over Syria would
present a greater challenge than it did in Libya because Syria has a more
sophisticated and robust air defense system. Crippling it would require jamming
the radars and taking out the missile sites, or possibly even using some type
of cyberattack to interfere with the system.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0">Syria
Claims Disruption of Rebel Supply Lines</a> </b>The official SANA news agency
said that soldiers fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad had
overwhelmed the opposition in the town, Otaiba, to such an extent that they
“discovered a number of tunnels which were used by terrorists to move and
transfer weapons and ammunition.” Terrorist is the word used by Mr. Assad to
describe armed opponents, backed by the West and many Arab states, seeking his
overthrow in a revolt that is now more than two years old. The rebels see
Otaiba as a crucial way station for supplies of weaponry and food in their
campaign to advance toward the capital, Damascus, and have been resisting a
furious government onslaught there for weeks. Rebel fighters on the ground said
Thursday that, despite the official claims, the insurgents were still holding
on to some parts of the town. An activist who had been involved in the fighting
and who wished to be identified only as Ammar said the claimed capture of
Otaiba was an exaggeration. “Both sides are still fighting," the activist
said. "The regime are attacking from the east side, the Free Syrian Army
from the west side.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicyi.org/content/fpi-board-directors-urge-us-action-after-assad%E2%80%99s-chemical-attacks">FPI
Board of Directors Urge U.S. Action After Assad’s Chemical Attacks</a> </b>"Other
nations, such as Iran and North Korea, will be watching the American reaction
closely. If the U.S. government itself
declares that a red line has been crossed in the use of such weapons but then
takes no action, this may give Iran, in particular, confidence that it can move
forward in developing a nuclear weapon without fear of any action by the United
States. It may choose to ignore
President Obama's repeated warnings that development of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable
to the United States. This is a critical moment for the Obama
administration. We urge the President
and his advisers to take the necessary action to save countless innocent lives,
deter further dangerous actions by Assad and others, and restore confidence in
American global leadership."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-25/215032-syria-air-strikes-near-damascus-ngo.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RWVijPcG">Syria
rebels launch attack in central Hama after months of calm</a> </b>Heavy clashes
erupted for the first time in months in Syria's central city of Hama Thursday
as rebels tried to relieve pressure on comrades under attack from President
Bashar Assad's forces elsewhere, activists said. They said at least seven
people were killed and dozens wounded when fighting broke out at 4 a.m. in
Hama, a historic symbol of dissent against four decades of Assad family rule.
Most of the reported casualties were civilian, they said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3749322.ece">Revealed:
tragic victims of Syria’s nerve gas war</a> </b>The chemical attack that killed
Yasser Yunis’s family was a small, almost private affair. Had the 27-year-old
car mechanic not managed to struggle out of the doorway of his home in Aleppo
on to the street in the darkness of night, clutching his infant son to his
chest, no one might have ever known what wiped out the family. They died
twitching, hallucinating and choking on white froth that poured from their
noses and mouths. Their doctors believe that they were killed by nerve gas.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/middleeast/a-hired-killer-in-syria-reconsiders-his-role.html?pagewanted=all">A
Hired Killer in Syria Reconsiders His Role</a> </b>Abu Rami said he was paid
15,000 Syrian pounds, or $215, per month, which is around the minimum wage in
Syria. Payments were higher, he added, for those who accepted missions outside
their own neighborhoods and for killing armed opponents. A confirmed kill
earned a bonus of 2,000 pounds… Life changed for Abu Rami in January, however,
when his older brother, in a bid to extract him from the shabiha, took him to a
workshop organized by an opposition group that promotes dialogue over violence.
The group, Building the Syrian State, known by its acronym B.S.S., is a
political movement founded by a longtime opposition figure, Louay Hussein, that
focuses on removing Mr. Assad by political, not military, means… “It was an
astonishing result,” Mr. Joudeh said. “In just four days he experienced a
dramatic change in both behavior and personality.” For example, Mr. Joudeh
said, one of the workshop’s first activities was to write down roles models
based on their spheres of influence. Abu Rami put down the leader of Hezbollah
and Mr. Assad: but “after the first day of the workshop, he went back to that
paper and tore it off the wall,” Mr. Joudeh said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/25/six-times-the-white-house-discussed-the-syria-red-line/#ixzz2RW7xJ0Tv">Seven
Times The White House Discussed The Syria Red Line</a> </b>Ever since August
2012, the Obama administration has defined the use or proliferation of chemical
weapons as a game-changer that would be a “grave mistake” for the Assad
government. But the “red line,” and threat of a resulting response by the U.S.,
has never been clearly defined by the White House. Obama has qualified his
statements by saying the red line would be crossed with “a whole bunch” of
chemical weapons. He has also never explicitly promised a military response to
the use of chemical weapons, though his administration’s comments have
suggested such a possibility. For now, the White House is only saying it will
investigate further, and stay prepared.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/the-case-for-intervening-in-syria/275299/">The
Case for Intervening in Syria: More than two years into the uprising, the
balance of power does not look like it's tipping in favor of the rebels.</a> </b>A
bloody, grinding stalemate in Syria will not only empower Islamist extremist
groups, who are currently still limited in their support and power inside
Syria. It will also increase tensions in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq.
Both scenarios have catastrophic consequences for regional stability and for
the position of the United States in the Middle East. The Syrian crisis has
long since reached the point where, the least bad--and the least
risky--scenario is a serious international effort to shift the military balance
toward resistance forces, and specifically those that are not radical Islamist.
Multilateral intervention is needed toward this end, and only the United States
can lead it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/25/syria-uneasy-christians-both-sides-closing-in">Syria's
uneasy Christians feel both sides closing in</a> </b>Traditionally regarded as
loyal to Assad, Christians are facing aggression from Islamist rebels, and,
whatever their sympathies, are becoming a trapped minority in a disintegrating
country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://prospect.org/article/us-set-intervene-syria?utm_source=feedly">Is
the U.S. Set to Intervene in Syria?</a> </b>“Since the mid-1920s chemical
weapons have been taboo—not that they haven’t been used by Mussolini in
Ethiopia, the Japanese during a battle in China, or the Egyptians in Yemen, but
the only major use of chemical warfare has been by Saddam Hussein against the
Iranians and his own Kurdish population in the 1980’s.” The use of chemical
weapons in Syria would be the first time they’ve been used since the Chemical Weapons
Convention was signed in 1993, Juul notes, “So maintaining the taboo here is
important.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/25/the-thick-red-line-white-house-says-syrians-used-sarin-gas-but-action-may-be-slow/#ixzz2RWAtnjgz">The
Thick Red Line: White House Cautious on Chemical Weapons Use in Syria</a> </b>Catching
up with the assessments of France, Great Britain and Israel, the Obama
administration now says it believes that chemical weapons, including the lethal
nerve agent sarin, have been used in Syria. Given that President Obama has
declared chemical weapons use a “red line,” this could mean war. But it almost
certainly won’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-s-meaningless-red-line_719144.html">Lee
Smith: Obama’s Meaningless ‘Red Line’?</a> </b>It is very unlikely that the
administration is now going to find sufficiently compelling evidence, because
the White House has designed its conditions so that they would be virtually
impossible to meet, evidently because it does not want to do anything to bring
down Assad. In a conference call this afternoon, a senior Obama administration
official explained that the White House is “pressing for a comprehensive U.N.
investigation that can credibly evaluate the evidence and establish what took
place in association with these reports of the use of chemical weapons.” That
investigation, said the official, “needs to have credible access in order to
ascertain exactly what took place.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">On the Broken Hand<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Approaching the conflict in Syria from the <b><a href="http://prospect.org/article/us-set-intervene-syria?utm_source=feedly">perspective</a></b>
of “maintaining the taboo” on use of chemical weapons is not enough, and will surely
not end the conflict. Classical containment no longer works. The focus in Syria
should be on stopping state-level impunity. At this point in the development of
global order, state-sponsored crackdowns and state-instigated civil wars are
not issues that can be tolerated as domestic affairs, because their repercussions
will reverberate across the world. Classical interpretations of sovereignty need
to be reassessed. Security is no longer a local concern. The tendency for overt
authoritarian and corrupt practices such the ones observed in Syria today pose
a clear and present danger to global order, they need to be curbed and punished.
Attempting to contain the conflicts they generate is no longer sufficient to
ensure global security, because the repercussions in such an interconnected world
are hard to predict. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Case in point: chemical weapons are now being used in Syria, and the
fate of huge stockpiles is now at stake. If one rogue state gets away with it, what
would stop another rogue state from following suit? This was the question that the
crackdown in Syria posed even without the use of chemical weapons. Use of chemical
weapons simply ups the ante. Moreover, with the identity of the Boston
attackers in mind, and the fact that there are Chechen groups now operating in
Syria, and while there is no clear organizational connection between the two theaters
at this stage, we cannot but wonder about the future and its possibilities. Indeed,
conditions are fast ripening for the emergence of such connections. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Containing the fallouts from this situation requires serious involvement
through supporting moderate rebels and imposing a no-fly zone in order to facilitate
the emergence of local governance structures. It will be up to these structures
to maintain local law and order as well as a system of accountability that prevents
vendettas and stands up to extremists. Assad has to go as well, the sooner the
better. In order for the current global order to have any legitimacy, it cannot
give a pass to someone willing to engage in such unspeakable acts of horror. Accountability
is critical to legitimacy. That makes involvement in Syria a pretty toll order,
but that’s the nature of the challenge, and it will not disappear or get any
simpler just because we are wary of it. The reality is Syria has already been broken,
and the world already owns it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the <b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/syria-has-become-a-mediterranean-somalia-will-we-make-the-same-mistakes/article11532796/">words</a></b>
of Timothy Garton Ash, a professor at Oxford University: “In a no-polar or G0
world, with multiple competing powers, both global and regional, having an
interest in a fractured country, such civil and proxy wars become more
difficult to stop… Unless we develop new ways of conflict resolution, strong
enough to constrain this new world disorder, the 21st may be bloodier yet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-83376460523833873632013-04-24T23:51:00.002-04:002013-04-24T23:52:10.015-04:00Obama’s Great Failure!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">A policy of doing the right thing only when it is cheap and
easy is prescription for disaster, and disaster is exactly what we have now in
Syria, as a result of this policy. But, let’s be clear here: No facet of
intervention in Syria will be easy, or cheap, but intervention is still a moral
and a strategic must. Millions of lives are at stake, so is the fate of an entire
region with all her peoples. Lebanon Iraq and Jordan are already beginning to
feel the spillover effects of the conflict in Syria. The fact that WMDs have
begun to be used, even if on a limited scale at this stage, is not a good omen
at all. And the longer we wait the worst the situation will get. But in order
for the U.S. to do the right thing here, we need a courageous president in the
White House, one that is willing to face the truth, then relay it honestly to the
American people, even if they are reluctant to hear it. No matter how wary and weary
the American people are at this stage, there are certain things that their government
still needs to do in order to maintain the global order and keep them and all
of us safe. Regrettably, President Obama seems incapable of rising to the challenge.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Wednesday
April 24, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/24/free-syrian-army-general-clear-proof-chemical-weapons-used/">Free
Syrian Army general: ‘Clear proof chemical weapons used’</a> </b>“We took some
samples of the soil and of blood. The injured people were observed by doctors
and the samples were tested and it was very clear that the regime used chemical
weapons,” General Salim Idriss told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday. Idriss
said his doctors gave the samples to “observers” of the civil war in Syria, but
refused to name which groups. Both Britain and France now say soil samples
indicate “some use of chemical weapons.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/24/hagel-skeptical-syria-chemical-weapons/2110303/">Hagel
skeptical of Syria chemical weapons claims</a> </b>Any U.S. response to Syria
will be based on American intelligence findings, Hagel said in his first public
remarks since an Israeli official alleged Monday that the Syria government had
used chemical weapons. "Suspicions are one thing," Hagel told
reporters traveling with him. "Evidence is another."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/24/syria-un-soil-sarin-gas?fb=native#_=_">Syria
crisis: UN to study soil samples for proof of sarin gas</a> </b>United Nations
investigators will examine soil samples collected by western intelligence
agencies and enter Syrian refugee camps in an effort to assess claims that the
Assad regime has used sarin gas against its opponents. Proof of sarin use would
increase pressure on the Obama administration which, after the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, is deeply reluctant to intervene in what could be another
protracted and unwinnable conflict.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Syria-We-would-not-use-chemical-arms-even-against-Israel-310930">Syria:
We wouldn't use chemical arms against Israel</a></b> "Even if Syria does
have chemical weapons, our leadership and our military will not use them either
against Syrians or against Israelis, above all for moral reasons and
secondarily on legal and political grounds," Omran al-Zoabi was quoted by
Interfax news agency as saying at a Moscow university. He said Syria would not
resort to chemical weapons even if it had to go to war with Israel and use
"all resources".<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/us-syria-crisis-mortars-idUSBRE93N0RB20130424">Syrian
army seizes strategic town near capital</a> </b>Syrian forces loyal to
President Bashar al-Assad seized a strategic town east of Damascus on
Wednesday, breaking a critical weapons supply route for the rebels, activists
and fighters said. Rebels have held several suburbs ringing the southern and
eastern parts Damascus for months, but they have been struggling to maintain
their positions against a ground offensive backed by fierce army shelling and
air strikes in recent weeks. "The disaster has struck, the army entered
Otaiba. The regime has managed to turn off the weapons tap," a fighter
from the town told Reuters via Skype. "The price of a bullet will go from
50 Syrian pounds to 1,000 Syrian pounds ($10) now, but we must pay and retake
it. It's the main if not the only route."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22279313#?utm_source=feedly">Syria
crisis: 'Heavy clashes' at Aleppo Minnigh airbase</a> </b>Rebels took hold of a
key military position outside the Minnigh airport on Tuesday and launched a
raid the following day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. "The
rebels, who have laid siege to the airport for months now, entered it for the
first time around dawn," Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the UK-based
activist group, told AFP news agency. Heavy fighting was taking place in the
grounds, he added.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-church-officials-say-2-aleppo-based-bishops-who-were-kidnapped-remain-missing/2013/04/24/8cded17e-acc2-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html">Minaret
of famed 12th century Sunni mosque in Syrian city of Aleppo destroyed</a> </b>Standing
inside the mosque’s courtyard, a man who appears to be a rebel fighter says
regime forces recently fired seven shells at the minaret but failed to knock it
down. He said that on Wednesday the tank rounds struck their target. “We were
standing here today and suddenly shells started hitting the minaret,” the man
says. “They (the army) then tried to storm the mosque but we pushed them back.”
The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other Associated Press reporting
of the events depicted.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-24/214895-pope-francis-calls-for-two-bishops-seized-in-syria-to-be-freed.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RPunHj6V">Pope
Francis calls for two Syria bishops to be freed</a> </b>Pope Francis on
Wednesday appealed for two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Syria to be freed and
for the bloodshed to end, speaking during his general audience on St Peter's
Square. The pope told around 100,000 people present on the square that there
were "contradictory reports" about the fate of the two bishops and
asked that "they be returned quickly to their communities".<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/us-syria-crisis-brahimi-idUSBRE93N10O20130424">Syria
accuses U.N. envoy Brahimi of interfering</a> </b>Brahimi told a closed-door
session of the United Nations Security Council last Friday that Damascus was
"surprised and embarrassed" by a January offer of talks from
opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib, and its response was "slow and confused".
At the conclusion of his remarks, which were later circulated by U.N.
diplomats, Brahimi suggested Assad "voluntarily forego" the right to
stand for another term as president in an election scheduled for next year. Syria's
foreign ministry said in a statement that if Brahimi wished to continue his
role, he must show impartiality and realize that "the Syrian people are
the only decision-makers who will choose their representatives". "The
briefing ... was marked by interference in the Syrian Arab Republic's internal
affairs and a lack of neutrality which should characterize his mission,"
the ministry in a statement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-24/214931-qatar-faces-backlash-among-rebel-groups-in-syria.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RPruCEjK">Qatar
faces backlash among rebel groups in Syria</a> </b>Tiny, U.S.-allied Qatar has
emerged as one of the strongest international backers of the rebellion against
Syrian President Bashar Assad. Many in the Syrian opposition laud Qatar, saying
it has stepped in while the international community has failed to intervene or
send military aid that would help tip the balance in favor of the rebels, three
years into the uprising-turned civil war that has ravaged the country and
killed more than 70,000 people. But its role has also caused tensions within
the ranks of the highly fragmented rebellion and political opposition. Some
rebel brigades complain they are left out in the cold from the flow of money
and weapons, sparking rivalries between secular and Islamist groups. Fighters
and opposition activists worry that Qatar is buying outsized influence in
post-Assad Syria and giving a boost to Islamist-minded groups if the regime
falls.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/24/tech/syrian-electronic-army/index.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_meast+(RSS%3A+Middle+East)">What
is the Syrian Electronic Army?</a> </b>One key question revolves around how
close the group is to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which
has been involved in a bloody civil war for more than two years. On that
subject, all the signs are of "tacit support," says Helmi Noman, a
senior researcher at the Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs at the
University of Toronto. He has been tracking the Syrian Electronic Army since
May 2012, when it first emerged as an organized group with a Facebook page and
then its own website. "What we know is their domain name was registered by
the Syrian Computer Society. We looked into the Syrian Computer Society and
discovered that it was headed by al-Assad in the 1990s, before he was
president," said Noman. "It's hosted on the network of the Syrian
government, which is interesting because it's the first time we've seen a group
with questionable activities being hosted on a national computer network."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22277462#?utm_source=feedly">From
Belgian school to Syrian battleground</a> </b>A camera shakily films a group of
rebel fighters preparing to pray, lined up in rows, their weapons at their
feet. A young man walks into shot and takes off his rifle before briefly
turning towards the camera. "That's Brian," says Ingrid de Mulder,
pointing at her nephew in the online video on her computer. "I'm 100%
sure. That's him. No doubt." Nineteen-year-old Brian de Mulder from
Antwerp is one of hundreds of Europeans authorities believe to be in Syria. "It's
not the Brian brought up by his mother," says Ingrid. "Brian was
athletic, he was sporty, he was helping everybody. We never saw him like this.
For me it's a programmed robot."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-24/syria-open-backyard-refineries-as-war-reaches-oil-field.html">Syria
Open Backyard Refineries as War Reaches Oil Field</a> </b>“There is also little
proof the national coalition has much oil under its control,” David Butter,
associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa program at London-based
Chatham House said. “It’s all very sketchy.” The fields of the east and
northeast are in areas where Islamist militants predominate, the Economist
Intelligence Unit said in an April 24 report. “The majority of the fields are
controlled by al-Qaeda; some by the Free Army; some others by the Kurds,” said
Rami Abdurrahman of the Coventry, England-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights. “We cannot confirm what percentage each controls.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000;">Analyses
& Op-Eds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-nuclear-implications-of-syria-s-chemical-threat-by-bennett-ramberg?utm_source=feedly">Bennett
Ramberg: Syria’s Chemical Genie</a> </b>Recent statements from US officials
have not been reassuring. In January, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
said that the US was not pursuing options that involve “boots on the ground” to
secure Assad’s arsenal during the conflict. At the same news conference, Martin
E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, conceded that preventing the
Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons would require such clear,
comprehensive intelligence that obtaining it is “almost unachievable.”
Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 17, Dempsey added
that he had no confidence that US forces could secure the arsenal given the
number of sites. Such remarks from senior military authorities suggest that
Obama’s warnings may be hollow. Worse, they inspire little confidence that the
US can deal with future cases in which countries with nuclear assets find
themselves in revolt, civil war, or political collapse – and with compromised
domestic atomic safeguards risking the spread of nuclear havoc to other
regions. Such risks demand examination and planning. But, to rely on the US
government alone to plot the most effective strategy in the shadow of possible
internal group-think is asking too much. Outside vetting – including published
reviews by congressional investigative bodies, think tanks, and scholars –
could add important insights.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/24/could_john_mccain_s_roadmap_for_intervening_in_syria_work">Could
John McCain's roadmap for intervening in Syria work?</a> </b>“No one should
think that we have to destroy every air defense system or put tens of thousands
of boots on the ground to make a difference in Syria. We have more limited
options. We could, for example, organize and overt and large-scale operation to
train and equip Syrian opposition forces. We could use our precision strike
capabilities to target Assad's aircraft and Scud missile launchers on the
ground, without our pilots having to fly into the teeth of Syria's air
defenses. We could use similar weapons to selectively destroy artillery pieces
and make their crews think twice about remaining at their posts. We could also
use Patriot missile batteries outside of Syria to help protect safe zones
inside of Syria.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://blogs.ft.com/the-world/2013/04/chemical-weapons-in-syria-bashar-al-assad-hovers-over-a-red-line/">Chemical
weapons in Syria: Bashar al-Assad hovers over a red line</a> </b>In the past,
Damascus has backed down when faced with the credible threat of force: for
example, in 1998, under Bashar’s father, Hafez al-Assad, when Turkey massed
tanks on Syria’s border until it ceased supporting Kurdish insurgents; or in
October 2005 when Bashar sent an emissary to sue for peace in Washington as the
Bush administration readied reprisal options against his funnelling of jihadi
volunteers into US-occupied Iraq. The problem now – in addition to the
passivity of the international community – is that the Assad clan and its
hardline, mostly Alawite support base sees this conflict as existential. They
are prepared to destroy Syria and, after more than 70,000 deaths, wade through
the blood of the Syrian people to impose their right to rule. So it is no
longer about testing limits. There are none.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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A video found on the mobile phone of a pro-Assad militiaman captured and
killed by rebels. The place of the massacre is believed to have taken place a
few days ago in the town of <b>Al-Otaibeh</b> in Damascus Suburbs, which fell completely
back into regime hands earlier today (Wednesday) <a href="http://youtu.be/qkRcA9gLJaA">http://youtu.be/qkRcA9gLJaA</a> A second
clip shows the corpses being gathered in a ditch and set on fire <a href="http://youtu.be/i9y6Y_8lAyQ">http://youtu.be/i9y6Y_8lAyQ</a> A third video
from the same mobile seems to show the perpetrators <a href="http://youtu.be/caqj--dkFwo">http://youtu.be/caqj--dkFwo</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Meanwhile, rebel strongholds in Eastern Ghoutah get targeted as well: <b>Dhiabiyeh</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/xzcKUy8SKlY">http://youtu.be/xzcKUy8SKlY</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/wg2A8suJm7Y">http://youtu.be/wg2A8suJm7Y</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Multiple missiles hit the suburb of <b>Daraya</b>, Damascus <a href="http://youtu.be/_jm-fLaH910">http://youtu.be/_jm-fLaH910</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/no52BNW6lYc">http://youtu.be/no52BNW6lYc</a> Fighter jets
targeted the suburb as well <a href="http://youtu.be/YUuGH7LGqvo">http://youtu.be/YUuGH7LGqvo</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels attacking <b>Minnigh Military Airport</b> in Aleppo claim that these
corpses belong to Iranian soldiers fighting for Assad <a href="http://youtu.be/vgGTtfpTpgc">http://youtu.be/vgGTtfpTpgc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels in Lattakia claim that these grad missiles targeted the Alawite town
of <b>Qardaha</b>, Assad’s hometown <a href="http://youtu.be/hFEGHowXpPw">http://youtu.be/hFEGHowXpPw</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Aleppo City, rebels claim that pro-Assad militias bright down the
historic minaret of the Aleppo <b>Omayad Mosque</b>, one of the oldest in the
world <a href="http://youtu.be/vqcTkCEzfow">http://youtu.be/vqcTkCEzfow</a> Targeting
mosques and minarets in particular have been a modus operandi for pro-Assad
militias since the early weeks of the revolution. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-64782065684962320442013-04-23T22:18:00.000-04:002013-04-23T22:18:21.114-04:00Repeatedly!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Assad has “repeatedly” used chemical weapons, according to
Israel, but the U.S. continues to dither. Whatever the reasons, this tendency
to dither even when clearly set red lines have been clearly crossed has served
to strengthen Assad’s resolve and is one way the U.S. has become complicit in Assad’s
crimes. Providing humanitarian aid is not enough to alleviate the culpability
and the guilt. Action is needed. A no-fly zone is needed. Many would say that
there is no use asking for something when the political will for it is clearly
lacking. But then, perhaps if we asked for it “repeatedly,” the political will
for it might just materialize. Isn’t that what advocacy is about? Besides, a
no-fly zone is part of the solution, we cannot make do without it so we cannot
give up on it. How can we “guarantee” anyone’s safety when we have no ability to
guarantee ours?</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Tuesday April
23, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> <b>136 martyrs</b>, including 7 woman;
9 children and 12 under torture: 53 in Damascus and Suburbs; 28 in Aleppo; 18
in Homs; 13 in Idlib; 13 in Daraa; 4 in Hama; 3 in Raqqa; 3 in Deir Ezzor; and
1 in Banyas<b> (LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/world/middleeast/israel-says-syria-has-used-chemical-weapons.html?_r=0">Syria
Used Chemical Arms Repeatedly, Israel Asserts</a> </b>“The regime has
increasingly used chemical weapons,” said Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, research
commander in the intelligence directorate of the Israeli Defense Forces,
echoing assertions made by Britain and France. “The very fact that they have
used chemical weapons without any appropriate reaction,” he added, “is a very
worrying development, because it might signal that this is legitimate.” General
Brun’s statements, made at a security conference here, are the most definitive
by an Israeli official to date regarding evidence of possible chemical weapons
attacks on March 19 near Aleppo and Damascus. Another military official,
speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the evidence had been
presented to the Obama administration — which has declared the use of chemicals
a “red line” that could prompt American action in Syria — but that Washington
has not fully accepted the analysis.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-syrias-use-of-chemical-weapons-unclear/2013/04/23/2c4800ce-ac3b-11e2-a198-99893f10d6dd_video.html">White
House: Syria’s use of chemical weapons unclear</a> </b>White House Press
Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday the administration has made no conclusions on
whether or not Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have used chemical
weapons against civilians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/23/us-syria-crisis-kerry-idUSBRE93M18520130423">United
States, Russia agree to try to revive Syria plan</a> </b>U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry said on Tuesday he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
had agreed to look for ways to revive a Syrian peace plan, but admitted that
doing so would be extremely difficult. Kerry, speaking after talks with Lavrov
and NATO colleagues in Brussels, also backed away from earlier comments
suggesting he was calling for increased NATO contingency planning on Syria. Kerry
said he and Lavrov had discussed ways to revive a peace plan agreed in Geneva
last June that called for a transitional government. "We are both going to
go back, we are going to explore those possibilities, and we are going to talk
again about if any of those other avenues could conceivably be pursued,"
Kerry said. He said that while there might be a difference of opinion between
Russia and the United States about when and how Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad might leave office, "I don't think there's a difference of
opinion that his leaving may either be inevitable or necessary to be able to
have a solution." But, he stressed: "I would say to you that's it's a
very difficult road ... No one should think there is an easy way to move
forward on this."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130423/us-obama-qatar-syria/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage">Obama:
US will work to up support for Syria rebels</a> </b>President Barack Obama says
the U.S. and Qatar will continue to work on more support for the Syrian
opposition in the coming months. His remarks come after Secretary of State John
Kerry said Sunday that the U.S. will double its nonlethal assistance to the
opposition. That's an additional $123 million in supplies that could include
armored vehicles, body armor and night vision goggles. Obama spoke in the Oval
Office alongside the emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (HAH'-mihd bihn
JAH'-sihm ahl THAH'-nee). The Qatari leader is one of several Mideast leaders
Obama has invited to the White House following his trip to the region. Obama
also says he and the emir spoke about Egypt and Middle East peace. He says both
leaders are under no illusions about the difficulties in solving the region's
problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/23/us-syria-crisis-lebanon-idUSBRE93M0MW20130423">Anger
in Lebanese streets as Syria border fighting rages</a> </b>Long-standing
sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been further fuelled this week by heavy
clashes in the border region. Lebanese Sunni Muslims support the Sunni-led
opposition fighting Assad. Most Lebanese Shi'ite groups support Assad and the
Alawite sect to which he belongs, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam which has
largely supported the Assad family's four-decade rule. Along the border,
pro-Assad forces - including fighters believed to be from Lebanon's powerful
Shi'ite guerrilla movement Hezbollah - have made strategic gains in recent
days. They appear to be creating a crucial corridor between Assad's seat of
power, Damascus, and the Alawite stronghold region along Syria's Mediterranean
coast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/23/boston-syria-messages-of-support/2107517/">Boston
reciprocates love to Syria in wake of attacks</a> </b>Thirteen Tufts University
students and Somerville, Mass., residents created a sign about peace and safety
for the Syrians who had offered condolences to Boston, after the marathon
bombings, on a banner dated April 19. "I feel like a lot of people express
sympathy when bad things happen in America; often we don't see the same
happening from our end to their end," said Tufts junior Yeehui Tan, 22,
who organized creating the Boston banner. "This is a step in changing
that." The activist group that posted the Syrian sign, Occupied Kafranbel,
put the image of the Boston-created banner on their Facebook page Sunday —
signaling the message reached Syria. Connection with this group was the goal,
Tufts junior SaraMarie Lee Bottaro, 20, said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/false-report-of-white-house-blast-shakes-up-stock-markets/1647633.html">False
Report of White House Blast Shakes Up Stock Markets</a> </b>A false report of
explosions at the White House and injuries to President Barack Obama sent U.S.
stocks plunging Tuesday before they recovered quickly. The Associated Press
said hackers broke into its Twitter account and wrote: "Breaking: Two
explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured." Within
minutes, the most widely watched U.S. stock index, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average, fell about 130 points, erasing the day's gains. But the Dow regained
the losses just as quickly when it became obvious the reports were a hoax. A
group called the Syrian Electronic Army is claiming responsibility for the
cyber attack. Its claim has not been verified. The group has claimed similar
attacks on other news organizations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22263331#?utm_source=feedly">Syrians
live in fear as kidnappings increase</a> </b>Gunmen loyal to both sides kidnap
people - sometimes for political reasons but more often as a money-making
criminal enterprise. So most people in Damascus think it is safer to stay at
home after dark. It is another way in which the war is destroying Syria's
social fabric and it will make putting this country back together a much harder
job, whoever wins the war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-24/214836-damascus-sees-eu-plan-to-buy-rebel-oil-as-act-of-aggression.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RKvxRjbv">Damascus
sees EU plan to buy rebel oil as act of aggression</a> </b>The EU will be
trading “with the so-called opposition Coalition, which represents no one in
Syria,” the letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security
Council said. The decision is an act of “complicity in the theft of resources
that belong to the Syrian people, represented by the current, legitimate
government,” they added. “The European Union is following its political and
economic campaign that targets the national economy and the daily bread of
Syrian citizens,” the ministry added, referring to EU sanctions on the Assad
regime.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-24/214835-syria-rebels-army-in-fierce-battle-for-al-qusair.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RKwSN3R5">Syria
rebels, army in fierce battle for Al-Qusair</a> </b>Fierce clashes pitted
Syrian rebels against government troops assisted by Hezbollah fighters in
several villages near the border with Lebanon Tuesday, as a military source
told AFP the army expects to seize Al-Qusair, a rebel stronghold, “within
days.” “The army is leading the campaign on the northern and eastern fronts,
and Hezbollah is leading the fight on the southern and western fronts,” said
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel-Rahman. “The army is
advancing in the Al-Qusair region, and the capture of the city is just days
away, at most,” the military source said on condition of anonymity. “The aim is
to cleanse the region of terrorists in order to guarantee the safe return of
residents” who fled fighting in the area, the source added, using the regime
term for rebels.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-24/214833-brahimi-tells-security-council-syria-situation-hopeless.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2R4KXFvqL">Brahimi
tells Security Council: Syria situation hopeless</a> </b>U.N.-Arab League envoy
Lakhdar Brahimi described the situation in Syria as “hopeless” in a recent
closed-door briefing to the U.N. Security Council, according to a document
leaked Tuesday. He added that dialogue was impossible when all warring parties
were confident of victory. During his briefing Friday, the text of which was
published by Lebanon’s Elnashra in full Tuesday, Brahimi acknowledged that the
growing regional dimensions of the conflict increasingly made it resemble a
proxy war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-23/214777-syrian-bishops-in-hands-of-chechens-church-sources.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RL16yqmT">Syrian
bishops in hands of 'Chechens': church sources</a> </b>"The news which we
have received is that an armed group... (of) Chechens stopped the car and
kidnapped the two bishops while the driver was killed," an official from
the Syriac Orthodox diocese who declined to be named said in a statement posted
online. Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim, head of Aleppo's Syriac Orthodox diocese and
Boulos Yaziji, head of the Greek Orthodox diocese in the same city, were
kidnapped on Monday near the Turkish border, the statement said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/23/bashar_s_war?page=full">Bashar's
War: For the Syrian regime's faithful mouthpieces, victory is always around the
corner.</a> </b>In a conflict where new media -- both pro- and anti-regime --
have helped shape events on the ground, the traditional Syrian state media feel
robotic and derivative. The print media coverage consists largely of rewritten
SANA news releases, while Radio Damascus's call-in shows -- and their
suspiciously articulate participants -- sound like playacting. The one bright
spot is Syria's official television: If you can detach from the content of the
coverage, the reports are frequently so acid and sarcastic that they're
hilarious.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/23/we-dont-want-them-in-our-revolution-syria-rebels-decry-al-qaeda-interlopers/">‘We
don’t want them in our revolution’: Syria rebels decry Al-Qaeda interlopers</a>
</b>With the Syrian revolution faltering and secular rebel groups
disintegrating amid infighting and civilian abuses, it is the jihadists who
have benefitted most. Syrians believe these groups have hijacked a secular
revolution. “We don’t want them here,” shouted Ahmad Fartawi, 35, when queried
about the organization. “We don’t want them in our revolution. These people
don’t help our cause,” the computer peripherals salesman explained bitterly
while biting into a falafel sandwich.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/04/23/running-out-of-excuses-on-syria/">Jennifer
Rubin: Running out of excuses on Syria</a> </b>The appropriate House and Senate
oversight committees should get senior officials under oath and have them
explain why the administration, unlike the French, British and Israelis, won’t
acknowledge the use of chemical weapons and whether the president simply is
refusing to acknowledge the obvious for fear of having to act. As for the White
House press corps, once again they are demonstrating an utter lack of interest
in pressing the White House on important issues. It’s time for them and for
Congress to do their job; the president sure isn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.arab-reform.net/sites/default/files/ARB_67_Syria_A.Al-Bunni_April13_Final_Layout_En.pdf">The
Syrian Revolution and Future of Minorities (PDF)</a> </b>In a nutshell, there
is no fear for Syria’s minorities, but as the Syrian saying goes, “he who does
not go to the market shall neither buy nor sell”. It is futile therefore to
talk about a better and more secure future for the next generations, or commit
to democracy and citizenship rights, if all sectors of the population do not
take part in making change possible or help in the demolition and reconstruction
process. Extricating ourselves from the present situation does not happen by safeguarding
the status quo, but by tearing it down. Likewise, a neutral, fearful or
hesitant position on the part of Syria’s minorities, and allowing themselves to
be swayed by provocative and exaggerated claims against the revolution, will
only lengthen the birth process, bring more pain and suffering and distort the
revolution’s future and its dreams of a dignified and fee nation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Don’t Rush to Judgment<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Things are seldom what they appear to be in Syria. This has been true
long before the Revolution, and is increasingly true now, hence the need for careful
examination and constant review of available evidence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We actually don’t know yet who is behind the <b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/world/middleeast/syria-lebanon.html">kidnapping</a></b>
of the two Christian Archbishops in Syria. Archbishop Ibrahim had turned
increasingly critical of late of the government stances on the revolution and her
violent tactics. The Assads have very limited tolerance for overtly critical clergymen
in their midst. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Not long ago, one of Assad’s top supporters within the Sunni religious establishment,
Sheikh Ramadan Al-Bouti, was killed in an incident at first described as a
suicide bombing attack that left 90 dead. But a video that emerged few weeks later,
whose validity was finally confirmed by Syrian State TV, told a different story,
supporting claims that the loyalist Sunni cleric was actually assassinated by
his own body guards, and that the whole scene was later staged, poorly, to back
government claims of suicide bombing attack. Though, we cannot to date be sure
of the exact reason for which the regime chose the dispense of their servile
cleric, it exploited quite well to send different messages to the international
community, to its supporters, and to that critical segment of the population still
clinging to silence and irrelevance. All in all, the death of Al-Bouti was
useful, and perhaps that’s in itself is sufficient explanation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, could the regime be behind the kidnappings of the two archbishops? Of
course, it could. But so could any myriad of actors at this stage, especially
when you take under consideration the possibility <b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-23/214777-syrian-bishops-in-hands-of-chechens-church-sources.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2R4KXFvqL">raised</a></b>
by church officials that a group of Chechen fighters is behind the kidnappings.
And, if these reports are indeed true, whose interests could these Chechens be
serving: Al-Qaeda’s or the FSB’s? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Today Syria is not just host to rebels and loyalist militias, we now
have mercenary groups, made up of foreign and domestic elements, willing to
sell their services to the highest bidder. In the northeast, Jabhat Al-Nusra
itself is selling oil to the regime, then, using the funds to provide goods to the
local population as part of its heart and minds campaign. The regime is funding
the rebellion, the rebels are enabling the crackdown. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Moreover, all different sorts of security agencies now have their
agents in the field and are funding their own little fighting groups on both
sides, implementing agendas that seem to reflect calculations not necessarily related
to the current goings-on in Syria. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As for the Assad, and even though I, like so many others, tend to refer
to him as if he is still in charge, in reality, he is NOT. He is just a tool at
this stage wielded by a military-security complex run by people whose ultimate loyalty
now is to Iran, Russia and themselves. No one represents or speaks for Syria,
or any of her ethnic communities. All Syrians are now fodder in a complex
proxy-war. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As for my comments yesterday trying to explain Assad’s take on American
policy towards him, it’s important to note, that irrespective of what the
reality is, and what I personally believe, this is what Assad himself seems to
think, as he <b><a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/2013/04/betting-on-america.html">explained</a></b>
in his own words. As a descendant of a dynasty that profited from the shifts
and contradictions of American foreign policy, I can understand how he came to
believe what he believes about America. Directly and indirectly, and often
unintentionally, the U.S. contributed to the way Assad thinks and behaves
today, which makes the U.S. complicit in what is taking place in Syria at this
stage. The U.S. needs to understand that and takes responsibility for it. The U.S.
is far from blameless in this, and the hand wringing by American officials is quite
hypocritical. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Rebels in Aleppo claim these corpses belong to Iranian militias
operating in the village of <b>Nabol</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/xnG3uoImruc">http://youtu.be/xnG3uoImruc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fighter jets continue their raid against rebel strongholds around Damascus<b>:
Zamalka</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/EIj9JdnNvQ8">http://youtu.be/EIj9JdnNvQ8</a>
<b>Al-Qadam</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/rHlrhTIG9-c">http://youtu.be/rHlrhTIG9-c</a>
<b>Jobar</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/TvN_2qCnu2I">http://youtu.be/TvN_2qCnu2I</a>
<b>Moadamiyeh</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/TS8zEj2pguU">http://youtu.be/TS8zEj2pguU</a>
<b>Daraya</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/eSBRLMZMSJc">http://youtu.be/eSBRLMZMSJc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels in <b>Mayadeen</b>, Deir Ezzor Province, pound the military airport
with homemade rockets <a href="http://youtu.be/bCQ1ZO1qnk0">http://youtu.be/bCQ1ZO1qnk0</a>
Meanwhile, <b>Deir Ezzor City</b> comes under heavy pounding <a href="http://youtu.be/A75I7zhO69Y">http://youtu.be/A75I7zhO69Y</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The village of <b>Bashiriyeh</b>, Idlib Province, comes under heavy
pounding <a href="http://youtu.be/VforzTFS-gg">http://youtu.be/VforzTFS-gg</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/1vZssGtK3QM">http://youtu.be/1vZssGtK3QM</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/AiR1UupatxM">http://youtu.be/AiR1UupatxM</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-30731446126279709792013-04-22T23:52:00.003-04:002013-04-23T03:15:23.713-04:00Betting on America!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">You let a man get away with murder once and he might think that
you didn’t notice, twice, and he might think that you are infirm of purpose,
but letting him get away with it, shall we say, 100,000 times, and he might
just mistake you for an ally, your rhetoric notwithstanding. This is how Assad
thinks about America. But don’t take my word for it, take <a href="file:///C:/Users/Amarji/Google%20Drive/Home/SR%20Digest/Archive/2013/Apr13/v">his</a>:
“The Americans have been pragmatic from the very beginning and never pursued
any course to its [logical] conclusion. They would eventually side with the
victor."</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Monday April
22, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> <b>106 martyrs</b>, including 3 women,
5 children, and 8 under torture: 47 in Damascus and Suburbs; 24 in Aleppo; 12
in Idlib; 10 in Homs; 4 in Daraa; 4 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Hama; 1 in Raqqa; and 1
in Lattakia <b>(LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/22/us-syria-crisis-killing-idUSBRE93L0OO20130422">Up
to 500 feared dead in Damascus suburb: activists</a></b>At least 109 people
have been documented as killed and up to 400 more are likely to have died in an
almost week-long offensive by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
on a rebellious Damascus suburb, opposition activists said. If the accounts are
confirmed, the killings in the mainly Sunni Muslim suburb of Jdeidet al-Fadel
would amount to one of bloodiest episodes of the two-year-old uprising against
Assad. Many of the dead were civilians, the activists said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Apr-23/214731-lebanese-salafists-call-for-jihad-in-syria.ashx#axzz2R4KXFvqL">Lebanese
Salafists call for jihad in Syria</a> </b>The calls by Sidon’s Sheikh Ahmad
Assir and Tripoli’s Sheikh Salem alRifai, staunch supporters of the Syrian
uprising, came as the newly appointed head of Syria’s opposition National
Coalition warned that Hezbollah’s role in fighting in the central Syrian
province of Homs amounted to a “declaration of war.” “What is happening in Homs
is a declaration of war against the Syrian people and the Arab League should
deal with it on this basis,” George Sabra said in Istanbul shortly after the
opposition bloc announced his appointment as interim chief. “The Lebanese
president and the Lebanese government should realize the danger that it poses
to the lives of Syrians and the future relations between the two peoples and
countries.” His statement follows reports that fighters from Hezbollah were
taking the lead in the Syrian regime’s battle against rebel groups the
Al-Qusair area of Homs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/22/us-syria-crisis-bishops-idUSBRE93L13120130422">Syria
says two bishops kidnapped by rebels</a> </b>SANA news agency said the Syriac
Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul
Yazigi, were seized by "a terrorist group" in the village of Kfar
Dael as they were "carrying out humanitarian work". A Syriac member
of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Abdulahad Steifo, said the men had
been kidnapped on the road to Aleppo from the rebel-held Bab al Hawa crossing
with Turkey. Several prominent Muslim clerics have been killed in Syria's
uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, but the two bishops are the most
senior church leaders caught up in the conflict which has killed more than
70,000 people across Syria.<br />
<b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130422/eu-eu-syria-sanctions/?utm_hp_ref=media&ir=media">EU
lifts Syria oil embargo to bolster rebels</a> </b>he decision will allow for
crude exports from rebel-held territory, the import of oil and gas production
technology, and investments in the Syrian oil industry, the EU said in a
statement. Any export or investment initiatives will be taken in close
coordination with the leaders of the Syrian opposition, the bloc's 27 foreign
ministers decided at a meeting in Luxembourg. The move marks the first relaxing
of EU sanctions on Syria in two years as governments try to help ease shortages
of vital supplies in areas held by the opposition in the civil war-struck Arab
state.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/rebels-warn-hezbollah-to-stay-out-of-syria-1.516760">Rebels
warn Hezbollah to stay out of Syria</a></b> Syrian National Coalition urges the
Lebanese government to 'adopt the necessary measures to stop the aggression' of
the pro-Assad Shi'ite group.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/22/syrias-pro-assad-hackers-are-hijacking-high-profile-twitter-feeds/">Syria’s
pro-Assad hackers are hijacking high-profile Twitter feeds</a> </b>On Saturday,
hackers identifying as members of the Syrian Electronic Army defaced four
Twitter accounts owned by CBS News, including the “60 Minutes” account, which
had 320,000 followers until it was disabled by Twitter in apparent response to
the hacks. The messages were among some of the pro-Assad hackers’ most
elaborate, a long string of messages that accused the United States of
supporting terrorism in Syria as part of a larger plot to impose a one-world
government.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/health-experts-leishmaniasis-on-the-rise-in-war-torn-syria/1642735.html">Health
Experts: Leishmaniasis on the Rise in War-Torn Syria</a> </b>Health workers in
northern Syria have reported a dramatic rise in cases of Leishmaniasis--locally
dubbed “Aleppo Button Disease” for the sores it produces--and are calling on
the World Health Organization and other international agencies for help. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-23/214684-car-bombs-on-the-rise-in-syria-report-shows.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RF3wET00">Car
bombs on the rise in Syria, report shows</a> </b>The introduction to the VDC
report notes that both the regime and the rebels have accused each other for
bearing responsibility for all those unclaimed car bombs and explosions, which
thus far have killed 1,156 civilians and rebels – including 120 children and 93
women, and only 106 opposition fighters – and 389 regime soldiers. The Daily
Star could not independently verify the contents of the report.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/syrian-opposition-to-establish-moderate-form-of-islamic-law#ixzz2RFLVXVdS">Syrian
opposition to establish moderate form of Islamic law</a> </b>he legal code was
drawn up by Muslim scholars, judges and top anti-Assad politicians in advance
of meetings this week in Istanbul convened by the Syrian National Council
(SNC), where transitional justice arrangements are being discussed. The
opposition hopes that an interim government, as yet unformed, will apply a
version of the new legal system nationwide, after it goes into effect in areas
currently controlled by the insurgents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://world.time.com/2013/04/22/no-exit-syrias-war-through-the-eyes-of-a-fighter-on-both-sides/#ixzz2RF5cuG9O">No
Exit: Syria’s War Through the Eyes of a Fighter on Both Sides</a></b> Rebel
fighter Siraj, who only uses one name to protect his family still in Damascus,
understands that reluctance. Something has happened over the course of the war
that corrupted even the most upright of leaders, he says. Once he defected from
the Syrian Army in early 2012, he quickly climbed the ranks of a well-regarded
rebel brigade fighting near Homs. But he was blinded in one eye in the battle
of Baba Amr and escaped to Lebanon for surgery. When he returned to Syria a few
months later, he was shocked by the levels of corruption and thievery within
the ranks of his own brigade. The weapons he arranged to have smuggled over the
border from Lebanon had been sold off for cash, and comrades who once winced at
firing a gun now relished in the kill. Acts of battlefield barbarity had become
commonplace. He saw corpses mutilated and watched opposition fighters steal
from the populations they were supposed to be defending. “I started thinking,
‘Why am I in this fight?’ I sacrificed my life, my sight, my education because
I thought I was on the right side. But the way they were behaving, they made me
think this side isn’t so good either.” Disillusioned, Siraj joined a Salafist
brigade near Damascus similar to Jabhat al-Nusra. Al-Nusra stands out for its
designation as a terrorist group, but there are many fighting brigades in Syria
that share its jihadi ethics and prowess on the battlefield. They may not have
formally joined al-Qaeda, but they do not disguise their admiration for the
global terrorist organization. Siraj’s experience with the jihadis gave him
pause. He appreciated their discipline and ironclad rules — no stealing, no
killing of women and children, and no raping. But he soon realized that the
group, largely made up of foreign fighters, had a different vision for his
country. “They saw another Syria,” says Siraj. “A land for fighters, a place
for guns, for training, where there is no law and no government. They wanted to
make Syria a land of jihad. And I thought, ‘What about our revolution?’” So he
left, eventually ending up in an apartment where he lives with other refugees
of the Syrian war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.merip.org/mero/mero041613">Peter Harling & Sarah Birke: The
Syrian Heartbreak</a> </b>The regime and its allies have lost any moral
standing in what they chose early on to frame as an existential struggle, in
which self-serving ends justify abominable means. Much of the opposition, in
response, has gradually adopted a similar worldview, brandishing its enemy’s
ruthlessness to excuse its own excesses, to the point of no longer recognizing
them as wrong. “I see the change in myself and in my men,” commented one rebel
commander with discomfort. He described moving from feeling sorry for his
opponents to summarily executing them. Several months later, he has stopped
worrying about it. More than ever, one side’s casualties erase any regret for
the other’s losses. Fighters see their predicament as a zero-sum game: Kill or
be killed. Even some of the smartest activists have started to say that
soldiers (and, in some cases, ‘Alawis) -- who they once described as “brothers”
-- deserve whatever they get for failing to desert the regime.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Assad’s American Bet<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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In his meeting with a Lebanese delegation from the pro-Hezbollah March
8 coalition on April 21<sup>st</sup>, Assad <b><a href="http://www.assafir.com/article.aspx?EditionId=2443&ChannelId=58805&ArticleId=1907">revealed</a></b>
an important element in his thinking at this stage when he told his guests that
“The Americans have been pragmatic from the very beginning, and never pursued
any course to its [logical] conclusion. They
would eventually side with the victor."<o:p></o:p></div>
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Over the years, the Americans have given Assad plenty of reason to
think like this. Even under the Bush Administration, pressures on Assad were
lessened in order to allow for Syria’s participation in the Annapolis peace
conference. Under the Obama Administration, he was treated as a reformer for
reasons more closely linked to the Administration’s ideological stands than
Assad’s own record. Then, and ever since the beginning of the Revolution, and
despite calls on him to step down, Assad has been allowed by the Administration
to literally get away with murder, not once or twice, but 100,000 times by
conservative estimates, as red lines keep shifting and vanishing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Assad has been given too many opportunities before, and has been allowed
to get away with too many things to think differently. His father’s own career,
especially, his relations with various American administrations would also go a
long way in reinforcing this. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At this stage, Assad’s entire strategy seems hedged on surviving long
enough for America to come around and hitch her regional wagons to him again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Leaked video from the village of <b>Mukharram</b>, Homs Province, shows
pro-Assad militias setting the corpses of several rebels on fire <a href="http://youtu.be/2IG3y5S9Qm4">http://youtu.be/2IG3y5S9Qm4</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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An Alawite supporter of Assad in Tripoli Lebanon gets abused by local
rebel sympathizers, as sectarian tension keep escalating <a href="http://youtu.be/FPBPkrB9kS0">http://youtu.be/FPBPkrB9kS0</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels in Aleppo showcase their gains from a recent takeover of a loyalist
position, known as <b>Al-Alkamiyah</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/k8hvJGWztZs">http://youtu.be/k8hvJGWztZs</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/VNvZf51_uR0">http://youtu.be/VNvZf51_uR0</a> Scenes
from the clashes <a href="http://youtu.be/h2KweUjprAY">http://youtu.be/h2KweUjprAY</a>
The position of a strategic importance and its capture could facilitate the
takeover the military airport a <b>Minnigh</b>. <span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Loyalists take up positions around the town of <b>Hraak</b>, Daraa
Province <a href="http://youtu.be/YRPtm0jJj-w">http://youtu.be/YRPtm0jJj-w</a>
Prepare their own tanks for the looming confrontation <a href="http://youtu.be/e5FRcJULDEI">http://youtu.be/e5FRcJULDEI</a> and their
anti-aircraft batteries <a href="http://youtu.be/oTtjqeayeVQ">http://youtu.be/oTtjqeayeVQ</a>
Rebels and loyalists clash near <b>Khirbet Ghazaleh </b><a href="http://youtu.be/lQbBUjFmlhw">http://youtu.be/lQbBUjFmlhw</a> and around <b>Basra
Al-Sham</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/gCMwSsIk_xA">http://youtu.be/gCMwSsIk_xA</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The intensive pounding of <b>Jobar</b> Neighborhood, Damascus City <a href="http://youtu.be/eCnia0HIY-g">http://youtu.be/eCnia0HIY-g</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/TEkXMxdabkA">http://youtu.be/TEkXMxdabkA</a> leaves a
family of 5 dead <a href="http://youtu.be/NDNluhqKjRw">http://youtu.be/NDNluhqKjRw</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Aerial bombardment on rebel strongholds in Eastern Ghoutah, Damascus
Suburbs, continues: <b>Saqba</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/Cs42CzEZNH0">http://youtu.be/Cs42CzEZNH0</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/voqIhyRFGXs">http://youtu.be/voqIhyRFGXs</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/oNqedJTNYos">http://youtu.be/oNqedJTNYos</a> <b>Kafar
Batna</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/ziZM6UaWSFI">http://youtu.be/ziZM6UaWSFI</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/tM7WHjqiFWE">http://youtu.be/tM7WHjqiFWE</a> <b>Zamalka</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/pBQx6ICaEU8">http://youtu.be/pBQx6ICaEU8</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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To the West, the suburb of <b>Moadamiyah</b> continues to be pounded <a href="http://youtu.be/myC3GICbQoE">http://youtu.be/myC3GICbQoE</a> Nearby <b>Daraya</b>
comes under aerial attack <a href="http://youtu.be/uvYXL-Um3Kk">http://youtu.be/uvYXL-Um3Kk</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/FksTL-Kaqio">http://youtu.be/FksTL-Kaqio</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-62858344267969445452013-04-22T03:33:00.000-04:002013-04-22T03:33:18.950-04:00Humpty Dumpty Has Fallen!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">As world leaders continue to obsess over guarantees that no
one is in a position to provide, Assad and his militias continue their
slaughter, and the country continues to fall apart. We have passed the point of
no return. The old is dead, and the new is stillborn. Syria is no more. This is
the dawn of the age of warring fiefdoms. Who will rake in the spoils of their wars,
I wonder? Who will benefit from our suffering? It will be a pity if it went to
waste.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Monday April
22, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> 566 martyrs, including tens of women
and children: 483 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs most were
killed in Jdeidet Al-Fadl Massacre; 23 in Aleppo; 21 in Idlib, including 14 in
Maghara village; 15 in Homs; 12 in Daraa; 7 in Deir Ezzor; and 5 in Hama<b> (LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/world/middleeast/syrian-troops-move-on-rebel-held-town-near-damascus.html?_r=0">Slaughter
Reported Near Damascus</a> </b>Shamel al-Jolani, an activist who lives nearby,
said area residents were able to document the names of 80 people who had been
killed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that
tracks the conflict through a network of contacts in Syria, said the victims
included 71 men, 3 children and 6 women. It said 19 of the men were rebel
fighters. Residents said the death toll was much higher — and the Observatory
said the total could reach 250 — but that it was difficult to identify and
count the victims because the fighting was continuing and because many of the
bodies had been disfigured. “They’re just scattered limbs and charred bodies
that are completely unrecognizable,” Mr. Jolani said in an interview conducted
over Skype.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/21/world/meast/syria-record-body-count/index.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_meast+(RSS%3A+Middle+East)">Syrian
activist group: Record number of dead found</a> </b>The bodies of at least 566
people who were killed over a six-day period across Syria were found Sunday,
according to Local Coordination Committees in Syria, an opposition group based
in the country. That is the highest number of victims discovered in a single
day since the war began in March 2011, according to LCC spokeswoman Rafif
Jouejati. At least 450 bodies were found in the Damascus suburb of Jadidat
al-Fadel, LCC activist Abu Aasy said. Over the past six days, some 3,000
members of the security forces stormed the area, and the dead include at least
300 civilians and 150 members of the Free Syrian Army, he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-21/214489-kerry-says-doubling-us-non-lethal-aid-to-syrian-opposition.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2RASCZK00">Syria
aid package falls short of opposition demands for arms</a> </b>The U.S. is
doubling its non-lethal aid to opposition forces in Syria to $250 million, U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry announced Sunday, falling short of opposition
demands for military aid. At the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul late
Saturday, the Syrian National Coalition called on international backers to
carry out "surgical strikes" on positions used by President Bashar
Assad's regime to fire missiles on civilians. While this latest U.S. aid
package will not include arms, Kerry said Sunday that the rebels' foreign
backers were committed to continuing support to them and "there would have
to be further announcements about the kind of support that that might be in the
days ahead" if Syrian government forces failed to pursue a peaceful
solution to the crisis. Kerry also said that foreign backers have agreed to
channel all future assistance through the rebels' Supreme Military Council.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/2013/04/guarantees.html">New Aid To
Syria Comes With Fear Of Funding The Wrong Opposition</a> </b>Western governments
are still investigating claims of chemical weapons use, but the Syrian
opposition arrived at the meeting seeking interventions to neutralize Syria's
chemical weapons and ballistic missile capabilities. They also want a no-fly
zone, and a lot more weapons. But many among the opposition's backers are wary
of shipping arms to the fractious Syrian rebels, for fear that they'll end up
in the hands of Islamist units like the al-Nusra front, that recently announced
an alliance with al-Qaida.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/21/us-syria-crisis-lebanon-idUSBRE93K0DN20130421">Syria
fighting flares both sides of Lebanese border</a> </b>Syrian troops and
Lebanese Shi'ite militias attacked rebel-held areas on the two countries'
border on Sunday, in the heaviest clashes of Syria's civil war in the strategic
region, Lebanese and Syrian sources said. At least two towns held by Sunni
Islamist rebels in the al-Qusair region near the Orontes River were overrun
after sectarian clashes escalated early last week, threatening to bring in
Iranian-backed Hezbollah openly into the battle, the sources said. On Saturday,
in the first attack well inside Lebanese territory, rockets hit the town of
Hermel, a Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley, causing damage but no
casualties. A Hezbollah fighter was killed in the Shi'ite border town of Zita,
inside Syria, residents said. Six rebels were killed in clashes in the Syrian
city of Qusair on Sunday and one woman was killed in Syrian air strikes in the
region, opposition campaigners said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-22/214590-germany-will-respect-syria-embargo-changes.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2R4KXFvqL">Germany
will ‘respect’ Syria embargo changes</a> </b>Speaking in Istanbul after a
“Friends of Syria” meeting Saturday, Westerwelle said the embargo would be
discussed when EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg Monday. “If there are
one or two countries in the European Union who think there is no risk that arms
will fall into the wrong hands,” then Germany “will have to respect that,”
Westerwelle said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22238128#?utm_source=feedly">Syrians
held over violence in Jordanian refugee camp</a> </b>Eight Syrians have been
arrested on suspicion of inciting violence at a refugee camp in Jordan,
officials say. The arrests come after an incident on Friday in which some 100
camp residents threw stones at police who would not allow them to leave the
camp. Ten police officers were injured - one so badly he had to undergo
surgery, said a government spokesman. UN officials have warned the flood of
refugees fleeing Syria threatens to overwhelm those providing assistance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Jordan-opens-skies-for-IAF-drones-flying-to-Syria-310654">'Jordan
opens skies for IAF drones flying to Syria'</a> </b>'Le Figaro' quotes Western
military source as saying armed Israeli drones conducting surveillance in Syria
by way of Jordan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/apr/19/inside-syrian-refugee-camp">A
city that’s not a city – inside a Syrian refugee camp: Readers share their
experiences through GuardianWitness to help us document the reality of life for
refugees</a><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investigative
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-syria-kidnappings-on-the-rise-as-lawlessness-spreads/2013/04/21/b0bb2f2e-a854-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html">In
Syria, kidnappings on the rise as lawlessness spreads</a> </b>“People are taken
just for the money to release them,” said the director of the Britain-based
watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, who uses the alias Rami
Abdulrahman. Kidnapping was relatively unknown in Syria before the uprising
began. The first reported abductions in the conflict occurred in summer 2011
and involved Sunnis, many of whom support the opposition, and Alawites, who
mostly support the government. In many cases, there were tit-for-tat
kidnappings in which one group took a set of hostages to negotiate the release
of others, activists and monitoring groups say.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/29/130429fa_fact_mogelson">THE
RIVER MARTYRS: Day by day, a city at war with the regime collects its dead.</a>
</b>In recent months, the jetsam has included bodies. At the end of January, a
hundred and ten murdered men and boys were fished out and laid on a concrete
bank, their hands bound behind their backs, their skulls broken by bullets. The
killings became known as the River Massacre. Those whom no one recognized, or
who were unrecognizable, were taken to Cobblers’ Garden. Since then, the
graveyard has steadily grown. Recently, while I was there, a small pickup
arrived with the two-hundred-and-thirty-fourth victim from the river, the
ninety-fourth delivered to the park.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-22/214591-kurdish-women-warriors-battle-in-syria.ashx#axzz2R4KXFvqL">Kurdish
women warriors battle in Syria</a> </b>“Women can shoot machine guns,
Kalashnikovs and even tanks – just as well as men,” said Engizek, 28, wearing
trousers and a sleeveless jacket, her dark hair bound tightly behind her head. “Women
are an integral part of our rebellion,” she told AFP in a deserted alleyway
squashed between bullet-riddled and blasted buildings amid the sporadic crackle
of sniper fire. Fighters like Engizek – whose Committees for the Protection of
the Kurdish People (YPG) brigade is 20 percent women – are the hidden face of
Syria’s armed rebellion against the regime of Bashar Assad.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/rita-from-syria/syrian-activist-communities-battle-inside">Syrian
activist communities, the battle inside</a> </b>The third kind of activist is
still true to the peaceful aims of the original protest and still active.
Although they are the fewest, they are the most vulnerable to brutal arrests,
executions and torture, given that they are considered the most dangerous by
the regime.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Some of the dead in the latest and largest massacre so far: the massacre
at <b>Jdeidet Al-Fadl</b>, Damascus. The clips that have emerged so far are few
<a href="http://youtu.be/14PntvwGnYM">http://youtu.be/14PntvwGnYM</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/fWrcK3twHQg">http://youtu.be/fWrcK3twHQg</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/WHh0gmvn5lU">http://youtu.be/WHh0gmvn5lU</a> This leaked
video was reportedly made by a member of the pro-Assad militias who perpetrated
the massacre. We can hear someone in the background addressing the bodies of
the dead rebels saying “You’re going to see the Houris (maidens promised to martyrs
in Paradise), you sons of bitches?” <a href="http://youtu.be/FSHjsbLeYxg">http://youtu.be/FSHjsbLeYxg</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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An aerial raid hits a school in <b>Al-Magharah</b>, Idlib province
killing many children <a href="http://youtu.be/Qf5js-YA8B8">http://youtu.be/Qf5js-YA8B8</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/vLmCEz5mKLQ">http://youtu.be/vLmCEz5mKLQ</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/9Xk6ph0DPZA">http://youtu.be/9Xk6ph0DPZA</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/hgVoh4SD59M">http://youtu.be/hgVoh4SD59M</a> and wounding
many <a href="http://youtu.be/4kQON3-ZdBE">http://youtu.be/4kQON3-ZdBE</a> The
funeral <a href="http://youtu.be/VFINuTjXZeA">http://youtu.be/VFINuTjXZeA</a> ,
<a href="http://youtu.be/wXIJcDl22Ig">http://youtu.be/wXIJcDl22Ig</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/75F7Sd21Tl4">http://youtu.be/75F7Sd21Tl4</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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An aerial raid on the suburb of <b>Moadamiyah</b>, Damascus. We can clearly
see the bombs as they hit their targets in the first clip <a href="http://youtu.be/uGfwxn5z6lI">http://youtu.be/uGfwxn5z6lI</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/l-ZCajq3lOM">http://youtu.be/l-ZCajq3lOM</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/bhTYh8yKh94">http://youtu.be/bhTYh8yKh94</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/eS8xhlZr-DA">http://youtu.be/eS8xhlZr-DA</a> Nearby <b>Daraya</b>
continues to be pounded as well <a href="http://youtu.be/Nfj8yG-3wG0">http://youtu.be/Nfj8yG-3wG0</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/OKpRUpe0PNo">http://youtu.be/OKpRUpe0PNo</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The vicious pounding of rebel strongholds in the eastern parts of
Damascus City and Suburbs continue: <b>Zamalka</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/B7f9Cwbof-g">http://youtu.be/B7f9Cwbof-g</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/H_XTAwccNXs">http://youtu.be/H_XTAwccNXs</a> <b>Jobar</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/R0JhQuzDd78">http://youtu.be/R0JhQuzDd78</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Leaked video from the town of <b>Maarabah</b>, near Damascus shows
pro-Assad militias torturing two captives to death, including setting the head
of one of them on fire while he is still alive, then outing out the fire, and continuing
the torture <a href="http://youtu.be/gYkv1MriNPw">http://youtu.be/gYkv1MriNPw</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rebels in the neighborhood of <b>Sheikh Maqsoud</b>, Aleppo City,
renovate a church that was hit during the regime bombing campaign <a href="http://youtu.be/t5ImWSRamyU">http://youtu.be/t5ImWSRamyU</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In <b>Khaldiyeh</b>, Aleppo, rebels use the few tanks under their
command to pound loyalist positions <a href="http://youtu.be/ZEAhGQ5KUSo">http://youtu.be/ZEAhGQ5KUSo</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/JNIZO2aqPyY">http://youtu.be/JNIZO2aqPyY</a> Some of
the shells used <a href="http://youtu.be/uCQKkziPYfY">http://youtu.be/uCQKkziPYfY</a>
Preparing the automatic machineguns <a href="http://youtu.be/iviGDG4edQc">http://youtu.be/iviGDG4edQc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels use homemade rockets in pounding <b>Kuweiris</b> Military
Airport, Aleppo <a href="http://youtu.be/5PxLirjLR0M">http://youtu.be/5PxLirjLR0M</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-77428854326746818592013-04-21T00:55:00.002-04:002013-04-21T00:55:35.884-04:00Guarantees!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Our friends want guarantees, our enemies want guarantees, our
people want guarantees, because everybody is afraid of something, everybody has
something to lose. Well, the rebels have nothing left to lose, and as such they
cannot offer guarantees. They have to be given something first. Shall we say: greater
logistical support and a no-fly zone so they can actually control the territories
that they liberate? Once that happens, rebels will have something that they are
afraid of losing, meaning that they could now venture into the business of
providing guarantees.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Saturday April
20, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> <b>82 martyrs</b>, including 2 women
and 8 children: 28 in Damascus and Suburbs; 17 in Aleppo; 13 in Homs; 10 in
Deir Ezzor; 8 in Hama; 4 in Daraa; 1 in Idlib; and 1 in Raqqa<b> (LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-20/214469-heavy-clashes-in-syria-near-lebanon-border.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2R4KXFvqL">Heavy
clashes in Syria near Lebanese border</a> </b>The clashes around the contested
town of Qusair, close to the Syria-Lebanon boundary, had intensified over the
past two weeks amid a fresh offensive by the Syrian army and a pro-government
militia known as Popular Committees, backed by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah
group. The border region near the provincial capital of Homs is strategic
because it links Damascus with the coastal enclave that is the heartland of
Syria's Alawites, a sect from which Assad hails, and is also home to the
country's two main seaports, Latakia and Tartus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/20/us-syria-crisis-conference-idUSBRE93J0EI20130420">Syria
opposition voices frustration with international backers</a> </b>One senior
opposition figure said arms were already being sent from some countries but
acknowledging this at the meeting would provide cover for countries like Saudi
Arabia and Qatar to openly help the rebels. "The world must know if they
don't agree on our right to receive weapons this will be the last meeting the
opposition attend. We will not attend any meetings after this," he told
Reuters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/world/middleeast/kerry-says-us-to-double-aid-to-the-opposition-in-syria.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly&_r=0">Kerry
Says U.S. Will Double Aid to Rebels in Syria</a> </b>Mr. Kerry made the
announcement at a meeting with foreign ministers from 10 European and Middle
Eastern nations that was convened here to decide how to help the opposition in
the bitter civil war in Syria, which has killed more than 70,000 people. A
portion of the new American aid, the State Department said, will help provide
additional “nonlethal” supplies to the military wing of the National Coalition
of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, an umbrella organization formed
in November to unite the various rebel groups that have been trying to
overthrow President Bashar al-Assad for two years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Amarji/Google%20Drive/Home/SR%20Digest/Archive/2013/Apr13/Syria%20opposition%20must%20distance%20itself%20from%20%22terrorists:%22%20Germany">Syria
opposition must distance itself from "terrorists:" Germany</a> </b>"We
expect from the opposition that they clearly distance themselves in Syria from
terrorist and extremist forces," Westerwelle told reporters in Istanbul at
a meeting of Syrian opposition leaders and their international backers. "We
are skeptical as the German government when it comes to delivering weapons
because we are concerned that weapons could fall into the wrong, namely
extremist, hands, but it is a matter that must now be discussed in the European
Union."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/friends-of-syria-call-on-damascus-for-a-solution-based-on-geneva-communiqu.aspx?pageID=238&nID=45307&NewsCatID=352">Friends
of Syria call on Damascus for a solution based on Geneva communiqué</a> </b>U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters during a press conference that
Syria’s main opposition National Coalition (SNC) had issued a declaration that
focused on a political solution ‘in parallel’ of the communiqué signed June 30,
2012 under the chairmanship of former U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria,
Kofi Annan. The only way for the Damascus regime is to come to the table and
agree the international agreement, Kerry said. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also
echoed the words of his American counterpart. “We are calling for an immediate
solution based on Geneva communiqué,” Davutoğlu said. SNC’s declaration
announced April 21 firmly rejected "all forms of terrorism’" and
vowed that weapons it attains would not fall into the wrong hands, as a move to
appease Western countries’ worries over the gaining influence of al-Qaeda
affiliated al-Nusra Front. The coalition added that it would not allow acts of
revenge against any group in Syria, vowing protection of different ethnicities
and confessions of the country. Kerry also insisted that the declaration was
foreseeing a “plural” Syria. Meanwhile,
the group also agreed that future aid would be channeled through the rebels'
supreme military command as General Idris, Chief of Staff of the rebel forces,
also briefed the foreign ministers during the meetings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-fbi-aurora-man-wanted-to-join-al-qaida-in-syria-20130420,0,6035401.story">FBI:
Aurora man wanted to join al-Qaida in Syria</a> </b>Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, 18,
appeared in U.S. District Court after being arrested Friday at O'Hare
International Airport as he was to get on an airplane to Istanbul, Turkey, FBI
officials said in a press release. Tounisi, a U.S. citizen, was charged with
knowingly attempting to provide material support and resources, namely
personnel, to a foreign terrorist organization, a felony.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/20/us-syria-crisis-oil-clashes-idUSBRE93J0BS20130420">Rebels
battle with tribesmen over oil in Syria's east</a> </b>One dispute over a
stolen oil truck in the town of Masrib in the province of Deir al-Zor, which
borders Iraq, set off a battle between tribesmen and fighters from the Nusra
Front, an al-Qaeda linked rebel group, which left 37 killed, according to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The fighting, which started in late March
and lasted 10 days, was part of a new pattern of conflict between tribal groups
and the Nusra Front, said a report from the Observatory, a British-based group
which opposes Syria's government and draws information from a network of
activists in the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22200360">Damascus: The
changing face of Syria's capital</a> </b>President Assad was on TV this week.
He denied there was any such thing as a liberated area controlled by the rebels
in Syria, but the fact is that the only contact the President's men have with
large parts of the country is through the sights of a weapons system. That even
applies to districts of Damascus. The regime controls the core of the city. But
much of the sprawling, impoverished ring of suburbs around it is in the hands
of the rebels. That is why all day, and sometimes all night, there is the crump
of artillery fire from the Syrian army's positions directed into the concrete
jungles on the edge of town. The bangs are not constant. But they are regular
and steady and sometimes intense.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #c4bc96; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;">
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The pounding of rebel strongholds in and around Damascus City continues:
<b>Zamalka</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/eFq8BmZlDfY">http://youtu.be/eFq8BmZlDfY</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/hpAxlHiwqLw">http://youtu.be/hpAxlHiwqLw</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/UlKxhl5Pz7o">http://youtu.be/UlKxhl5Pz7o</a> <b>Daraya</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/yjf8bc5lhmM">http://youtu.be/yjf8bc5lhmM</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/2hSX-fPkh0M">http://youtu.be/2hSX-fPkh0M</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/7TFdWchxEyU">http://youtu.be/7TFdWchxEyU</a> Nearby <b>Moadamiyah</b>
was also targeted <a href="http://youtu.be/oVhVS3yvuCk">http://youtu.be/oVhVS3yvuCk</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/PtKAnQ2_1iA">http://youtu.be/PtKAnQ2_1iA</a>
Buildings catch fire in <b>Al-Qaboun</b> neighborhood due to continues shelling
by mortars <a href="http://youtu.be/-G4T6GkrKVY">http://youtu.be/-G4T6GkrKVY</a>
<b>Barzeh</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/T2i-0tDamDE">http://youtu.be/T2i-0tDamDE</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This leaked video shows a fighter jet attacking the Alawite village of <b>Al-Sifsafiyeh</b>,
we can hear someone in the background near the end of the clip saying “He’s
bombing us, he is a defector, son of a dog.” However, the clip, even though, it
was recently uploaded on this count, and is gaining new rounds on social media
sites, is actually old, and the incident was actually a pilot error <a href="http://youtu.be/XdbwD7GVGiw">http://youtu.be/XdbwD7GVGiw</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Home-made device used by rebels in their siege of the <b>Kuweiris</b>
Airport in Aleppo <a href="http://youtu.be/I5XDmmphLek">http://youtu.be/I5XDmmphLek</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Rebels in <b>Deir Ezzor City</b> destroy an army tank <a href="http://youtu.be/214zsqjb75Y">http://youtu.be/214zsqjb75Y</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-68043232613744187332013-04-19T23:45:00.003-04:002013-04-19T23:47:03.056-04:00From Kafrenbel With Love!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">All decent people of the world have a common enemy: those
who want to shape the world in accordance to their own desires, interests and
beliefs irrespective of the desires, interests and beliefs of others, those are
not willing to engage in the give-and-take of life in the name of whatever selfish
principle they hold. That’s why the people of Kafrenbel, Saraqib, Houleh,
Mayadeen, Daraya and Sanamein in Syria can stand in solidarity with the people
of Boston, irrespective of differences and distances.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Friday April
19, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> <b>138 martyrs</b>, including 17 women
and 26 children: 56 in Damascus and Suburbs; 26 in Homs most of them from Deir
Balbah; 21 in Idlib; 21 in Aleppo; 6 in Daraa; 3 in Hama; 2 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in
Raqqa; and 1 in Qunaitera<b> (LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/19/unarab-league-envoy-syria-not-cooperating-security-council-needs-to-take-war/#ixzz2QxHs5ikb">UN/Arab
League envoy: Syria not cooperating, Security Council needs to take war
seriously</a> </b>The joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria on Friday gave the
Security Council a grim assessment of the Syrian civil war, saying that
Damascus is completely uncooperative in negotiations. "With the Syrians, I
got nowhere," Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters after the closed-door
briefing… Brahimi also chided the Security Council for its ongoing deadlock
over the war. Western and Arab nations blame the conflict on Assad's
government. Russia insists on assigning equal blame to the Syrian rebel
opposition, and has used it veto, along with China, to block draft council
resolutions. "On the Security Council, with the Americans and the
Russians, we made some progress but it is too little," Brahimi said… Brahimi
denied rumors he was resigning. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-warns-jordan-southern-border-seethes-132850907.html">Syria's
Assad warns Jordan as southern border seethes</a> </b>Assad told Jordan this
week it would be playing with fire by supporting the rebels, saying the
Western-backed kingdom was just as vulnerable as his country to al Qaeda
militants gaining ground in Syria's two-year conflict. His comments came after
weeks of fighting in southern Syria, where rebels have seized military bases,
made advances close to the Jordanian border and the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights, and cut two main roads to Damascus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-20/214395-russia-slams-us-deployments-in-jordan.ashx?utm_source=feedly#axzz2QsSSeLZz">Russia
slams U.S. deployments in Jordan</a> </b>Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Alexander Lukashevich said such a move ran counter to internationally agreed
principles for ending the crisis through negotiations. “These are absolutely
not the actions that we now need to bring Syria out of its dead end,”
Lukashevich told reporters. “These actions exacerbate the Syria crisis, which
is now gaining the dimensions of a regional crisis,” the spokesman said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/world/middleeast/assailants-gun-down-syrian-official.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=feedly&_r=0">More
U.S. Support for Syria Rebels Would Hinge on Pledges to Abide by Law</a> </b>Secretary
of State John Kerry planned to meet with opposition leaders in Istanbul on
Saturday, as well as with foreign ministers from nations that are supporting
them, to discuss both what the United States plans to do to help the rebels and
what it expects from them. “It’s not a quid pro quo, but we want the opposition
to do more,” said a senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to
discuss the administration’s strategy. “Secretary Kerry will be discussing what
steps we want them to take.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_meast+(RSS%3A+Middle+East)#/video/world/2013/04/18/idesk-intv-babacan-on-syrian-refugees.cnn">Babacan:
Syrian regime will fall: Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan talks to CNN
about the ongoing war in Syria and the lack of support for Assad.</a><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.lccsyria.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Sanamein-Massacare-E.pdf">Al-Sanamein
Massacre “Insider Story” Testimonies Made by Survivors & Eyewitnesses on
the horrific Massacre (Violation Documentation Center in Syria, April – 2013).</a><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/mzuckerman/articles/2013/04/19/the-feeble-us-response-on-syria-is-a-moral-and-strategic-failing_print.html">We
Need a Game Changer in Syria: Syria is really a proxy religious war between the
Sunnis and the Shiites</a> </b>Another policy option is to impose a no-fly zone
over Syria. This would remove the decisive tactical advantage of Assad's air
force. This is feasible even though Syria possesses capable air defenses as
they are no match for U.S. air power. A no-fly zone would not immediately end
the conflict, but neutralizing the Syrian air force would erase one of the
regime's most decisive advantages. Control of the air did the job in Bosnia and
Kosovo. Keeping Assad's airplanes on the ground would show the Syrian military that
it was saluting the wrong guy. Meanwhile, the opposition will remember the
nations that came to its aid. Our closest allies, including Saudi Arabia and
Qatar, are arming the rebels and eager to see Assad go. Allowing Syria to
become an ungoverned land and thus a haven for terror and crime on the
Mediterranean will prove far costlier in the long run. It may even provoke a
larger regional war. And it must be wrong to let a massacre continue out of
fear that something worse may follow, allowing the moderates to lose out to the
radicals. If the Assad regime collapses, and if the jihadists ever acquire
weapons of mass destruction such as chemical weapons, then we will then have a
regional disaster. At the very least we should provide the Syrian resistance
forces with everything we can in the way of communications, intelligence and
other non-lethal assistance, and also seek to establish safe zones along
Syria's borders with Jordan and Turkey where refugees could escape. The
overthrow of Assad would remove the increasing Iranian presence in the region
and change the regional balance of power.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/18/its_time_to_act_in_syria?page=full">Dennis
Ross: It's Time to Act in Syria - American values and interests are at stake in
stopping the country's slow-motion destruction.</a> </b>The zero-sum nature of
the conflict makes it hard to create a political process that brings elements
of the opposition together with members of the regime who don't have blood on
their hands. The continuing Russian and Iranian protection of the Assad regime
also reduces the prospect of Assad choosing to go. And as long as he remains,
it is highly unlikely that there will be a political process to manage the
transition. While a political process is unquestionably desirable, it is not
made more likely by the ongoing military stalemate, which only raises the costs
and deepens the sectarian divide… While there are costs in acting, the costs of
inaction are growing by the day. Ironically, the costs of inaction may not only
be felt in Syria, with the Syrian public, and in the surrounding areas.
Inaction may also have implications for America's Iran policy. If we want
diplomacy to work with Iran on the nuclear issue, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
must be convinced that the United States will actually use force if
negotiations fail -- and America's hesitant posture toward Syria signals not
readiness to use force, but reluctance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/19/damascus-din-of-war">Damascus
fragments as the din of war grows louder</a> </b>State media report daily on
operations by the "heroic" armed forces against "armed terrorist
gangs" like Liwa al-Tawhid in Jobar or the Free Syrian Army in nearby
Qaboun – both suburbs of Damascus proper, not the surrounding Damascus region,
which is now largely beyond government control. "The steadfastness of the
army will defeat the terrorist plots and conspiracies," the slogan says. In
the city though, the reality is stalemate punctuated by sniper and mortar fire.
There are no ground operations by an army unused to street fighting and, it is
said, worried about casualties and mass defections: thus the constant use of
artillery and air strikes – like the one that killed 10 children in Qaboun last
weekend.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/04/19/obamas-syria-ruse/">Jennifer
Rubin: Obama’s Syria ruse</a> </b>The president was definitive, and if he
really didn’t mean what he said, then he shouldn’t have said it. The U.S.
dodging now signals to Tehran and Pyongyang that even when we draw a “red
line,” we may not really mean it. That imperils our ability to force Iran to
give up its nuclear weapons program and to contain Kim Jong Un. It is
symptomatic of this administration in which every line is apparently written in
sand. Neither Damascus nor Tehran (not to mention Jerusalem) believes we will
take military action if needed to prevent acquisition or use of WMD’s in the
Middle East. That makes it a far more dangerous place, and Americans far less
safe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/19/portrait_chechen_jihadist?page=full">Portrait
of a Chechen Jihadist: Meet Abu Hamza, a Chechen who went to Syria to fight.</a>
</b>With family in both Russia and Georgia, Abu Hamza, as he asked to be
called, has been crossing back and forth across the border between the two
countries for most of his 29 years. Late last year, in an unraveling marriage
and only able to find sporadic work, he followed his brother-in-law to Syria.
There, he joined a group of 60 or so militants opposed to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad -- one of the thousands of independent brigades that make up
the so-called Free Syrian Army.<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> </span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>"I went there
because I saw videos on the Internet of innocent women and children being
killed by the regime. I wanted to fight the [Syrian] government and help the
opposition; I wanted to kill Bashar," he said.<span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #c4bc96; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;">
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<i><span style="color: red;">Despite their ongoing
travails, over the last few days, Syrian activists, protesters and rebels
filled social media sites with condemnations of the attack in Boston. But, as
usual, it was the wonderful people of Kafrenbel, Idlib Province, who captured
the moment and sentiment.</span> <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights</span></b></div>
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Scenes from the aftermath of an aerial raid on the town of Saraqib, Idlib
Province <a href="http://youtu.be/W6o8TD--I_4">http://youtu.be/W6o8TD--I_4</a> ,
<a href="http://youtu.be/x91XaKlNduY">http://youtu.be/x91XaKlNduY</a> The
attack left 8 children and a woman dead. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels clash with loyalists in the neighborhood of <b>Boustan Al-Qasr</b>,
Aleppo City <a href="http://youtu.be/nRMBzNhGiGw">http://youtu.be/nRMBzNhGiGw</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/Z8eY5ho6j8I">http://youtu.be/Z8eY5ho6j8I</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of <b>Deir Ezzor City</b> by pro-Assad militias continue <a href="http://youtu.be/6euo2lm2UQU">http://youtu.be/6euo2lm2UQU</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/V_ggEqsLiIc">http://youtu.be/V_ggEqsLiIc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The battle for the town of <b>Basr Al-Harir</b> in Daraa Province intensifies
<a href="http://youtu.be/PGHgu7e6m3c">http://youtu.be/PGHgu7e6m3c</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/y5cvALJbUOQ">http://youtu.be/y5cvALJbUOQ</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/RtHvuS9cQoQ">http://youtu.be/RtHvuS9cQoQ</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/uCd3wt3jluY">http://youtu.be/uCd3wt3jluY</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/TRsWQDhlZ0o">http://youtu.be/TRsWQDhlZ0o</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/1F9RdyZkaN8">http://youtu.be/1F9RdyZkaN8</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of rebel strongholds in and around Damascus City by
pro-Assad militias continues: <b>Zamalka</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/qUh7dIj5onI">http://youtu.be/qUh7dIj5onI</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-64904783455070764322013-04-19T01:37:00.003-04:002013-04-19T01:38:12.215-04:00Red Line Crossed? Oh, No!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">They ignored his threats. They defied his authority. They
crossed his red line. Now he is on a mission to find a new subterfuge to keep justifying
his do-nothing policy. He is the 44<sup>th</sup> President of the United States,
Guardian of the (Dis) Order of R2P, Leader of the Flee World, and he is out for…
an exit strategy, and, generally speaking, anything that can keep him from having
to adopt a meaningful policy on Syria. But will he succeed? You can follow this
new series on Lifetime, following Project Runway, because CNN and other major
news outlets have safer stories and their own made-up controversies to cover.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Thursday April
18, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> <b>111 martyrs</b>, including 6 women,
9 children and 2 martyrs under torture: 53 in Damascus and Suburbs; 19 in
Aleppo; 13 in Homs 7 in Raqqa ; 5 in Daraa; ; 5 in Idlib; 5 in Deir Ezzor; and
4 in Hama <b>(LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/britain-france-claim-syria-used-chemical-weapons/2013/04/18/f17a2e7c-a82f-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html">Britain,
France claim Syria used chemical weapons</a> </b>In letters to U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon, the two European powers said soil samples, witness
interviews and opposition sources support charges that nerve agents were used
in and around the cities of Aleppo, Homs and possibly Damascus, the officials
said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
matter. The European accounts are in part aimed at countering accusations by
the Syrian government that opposition forces had fired chemical weapons during
fighting in the town of Khan al-Asal near Aleppo on March 19, killing 26
people, including Syrian troops. European diplomats acknowledge that Syrian
forces may have been exposed to chemical agents during the attack, but they say
it was a “friendly fire” incident in which the troops were hit when a
government shell missed its opposition target.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/18/us-usa-syria-chemical-idUSBRE93H1D920130418">U.S.
looks into possible chemical weapons use in Syria</a> </b>U.S. intelligence
officials are looking into the possibility that chemical weapons may have been
used in Syria in a limited form, although there is no consensus yet and
additional analysis is required, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. "More
review is needed," the senior U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on
condition of anonymity. The disclosure came as the U.S. Director of National
Intelligence James Clapper said at a Senate hearing that the Syrian regime of
President Bashar al-Assad "appears quite willing to use chemical weapons
against its own people." "We receive many claims of chemical warfare
use in Syria each day and we take them all seriously, and we do all we can to
investigate them," Clapper said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-us-jordan-troops-20130418,0,7018059.story">Step
toward possible military intervention in Syria: The Pentagon is sending about
200 troops to Jordan to help deliver aid to refugees and to plan for possible
military action, including a rapid buildup of forces.</a> </b>The Pentagon is
sending about 200 troops to Jordan, the vanguard of a potential U.S. military
force of 20,000 or more that could be deployed if the Obama administration
decides to intervene in Syria to secure chemical weapons arsenals or to prevent
the 2-year-old civil war from spilling into neighboring nations. Troops from
the 1st Armored Division will establish a small headquarters near Jordan's
border with Syria to help deliver humanitarian supplies for a growing flood of
refugees and to plan for possible military operations, including a rapid
buildup of American forces if the White House decides intervention is
necessary, senior U.S. officials said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/syria-hagel/">Pentagon Chief
Warns That War in Syria Could Be ‘Lengthy and Uncertain’</a> </b>Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel warned a Senate panel that intervening in Syria’s
grinding, brutal civil war risked plunging the U.S. into another bloody
conflict. Even as Hagel did so, however, he announced a contingent of soldiers
have deployed to neighboring Jordan as a hedge. “We have an obligation and
responsibility to think through the consequences of any direct U.S. military
action in Syria,” Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee this
afternoon. “A military intervention could have the unintended consequence of
bringing the United States into a broader regional conflict or proxy war.” Yet
Hagel said that to prevent spillover violence, last week he ordered an “Army
headquarters element” to go to Jordan to help coordinate contingency planning,
particularly over a potential chemical-weapons attack. CNN reports that up to
200 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Tex. will form a
potential “joint task force for military operations.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/asks-security-council-cross-border-aid-18988326#.UXCU-rWsh8E">UN
Asks Sec. Council for Cross-Border Syria Aid OK</a> </b>U.N. agency chiefs for
humanitarian affairs, refugees, women in conflict, and children in conflict
used the Security Council briefing to speak over the heads of the deadlocked
council nations to appeal to the world for support. The agency chiefs launched
their campaign Monday with an op-ed in The New York Times that said,
"There still seems to be an insufficient sense of urgency among the
governments and parties that could put a stop to the cruelty and carnage in
Syria."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://world.time.com/2013/04/18/syrian-rebels-capture-parts-of-army-base-in-homs/#ixzz2QsMbiOQD">Syrian
Rebels Capture Parts of Army Base in Homs</a> </b>The base is located near
Qusair, a contested Syrian town near a key highway between Damascus and the
coast. Dabaa is a former air force base and includes an airfield, which hasn’t
been used in the two-year conflict. The army has based ground troops in the
facility to fight rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad’s regime.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22195508#?utm_source=feedly">Israel
ready to act on Syria weapons, warns Netanyahu</a> </b>Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has told the BBC that Israel has a right to prevent weapons
from falling into the wrong hands in Syria. He said that if terrorists seized
anti-aircraft and chemical weapons they could be "game changers" in
the region. There have been growing calls for the international community to
arm rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. But there is increasing concern
that Islamist militants could use such weapons to further their own causes. Israel
has said its policy is not to get involved in the Syrian conflict. But in
recent months it has retaliated following Syrian firing into Israeli-controlled
areas in the Golan Heights.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-18/214209-syria-rebel-coalition-says-assad-isolated-from-reality.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2QsT1ZcK0">Syria
rebel Coalition says Assad 'isolated from reality'</a> </b>The opposition
Coalition said Assad's interview with Syrian state television "revealed
his isolation from reality and blindness to the corruption and devastation and
bloodshed that he has wreaked." Assad's "approach is like that of
tyrants before him," it said, pointing to "his claims of control and
denial of the other and the absence of reality and proposal of solutions that
bear no relation to the crises."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/syrias-christian-minority-lives-in-fear-of-kidnapping-and-street-battles/275084/">Syria's
Christian Minority Lives in Fear of Kidnapping and Street Battles: War-weary
from months of fighting, one community attempts to co-exist with rebel
militias.</a> </b>Ras al-Ayn, located along the border with Turkey, is a city
of 50,000 with a diverse population of Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen,
Armenians, and Chechens, and it's home to three Christian churches. Christians
make up an estimated 10 percent of Syria's 23 million citizens. Issam Bishara,
regional director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, recently told
Asia News that approximately 300,000 Syrian Christians have fled the country.
The increased sectarianism in the conflict, especially the growing influence of
Jihadi forces, has left many fearful of what's to come. Prior to the conflict, many
saw Ras al-Ayn as a beacon of tolerance between Muslims and Christians.
Residents say that they there is still a camaraderie among the citizens that
live there, but that problems arise from those fighting who don't live in the
city, be they FSA, YPG, or Islamists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syria-live/syrias-forgotten-casualties-the-chronically-ill/article11366917/?cmpid=rss1">Syria’s
forgotten casualties: The chronically ill</a> </b>According to the World Health
Organization , there are 168 medicines that will be “urgently needed” over the
next 12 months, including 92 essential drugs and 33 cancer treatments. Insulin,
oxygen, anesthetics, serums and intravenous fluids are no longer available in
many parts of the country. Before the crisis, more than 90 per cent of
medicines consumed in Syria were locally produced. Today, the national
production has been reduced by 90 per cent, aid organizations say.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/17/f-pazira-damascus-surreal.html?cmp=rss">Surreal
Damascus, shellfire and lattes in a city under siege</a> </b>So keen is the
besieged government of Bashar al-Assad to show that city life remains normal
that it trucks civil servants to the ministry of agriculture on the edge of
rebel-held Jobar in armoured vehicles… And in its way, Damascus still lives.
Its markets are crowded; its high-class hotels — the Sheraton and Four Seasons
— are open for business, albeit on a skeleton staff… Assad's armed opponents in
this civil war — most of them from the country's Sunni majority — have almost
surrounded his capital, and are close enough to fire mortars at ministry
buildings, even at the Sheraton hotel, when they have the time or inclination… Like
most cities under siege, the wounds of Damascus quickly become familiar. No one
any longer casts a glance at the ruined façade of the defense ministry, blasted
away by a car bomb last year. The outdoor restaurant of the city university,
where 15 students were killed by a mortar shell in March, has been cleaned up.
The fire-blackened wall of the military base above the Barada River, scene of a
truck bombing last August, has been repainted. But no paintbrush is likely to
whitewash the human damage of this war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my previous
briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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This leaked video purportedly shows <b>Alawite officers</b> being
tortured by their comrades. They are accused of having helped rebels in <b>Baba
Amr</b> Neighborhood in Homs City, and of desertion <a href="http://youtu.be/7oBEzt_AkKA">http://youtu.be/7oBEzt_AkKA</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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This video purportedly shows a Hezbollah fighter killed in the fighting
with rebels in the town of <b>Qusair</b>, Homs Province <a href="http://youtu.be/DIUu12bOZew">http://youtu.be/DIUu12bOZew</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels take control of the military air base of <b>Al-Dab’ah</b> in
Homs Province after a long siege <a href="http://youtu.be/VPZzHsCzB4M">http://youtu.be/VPZzHsCzB4M</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/bwDhFsKkiGA">http://youtu.be/bwDhFsKkiGA</a> The
liberation took place at night <a href="http://youtu.be/H-JQsedtqaA">http://youtu.be/H-JQsedtqaA</a>
Soon after, MiG fighters begin pounding the liberated base <a href="http://youtu.be/_zE0QpuvNOs">http://youtu.be/_zE0QpuvNOs</a> Removing the
statue of Hafiz Al-Assad <a href="http://youtu.be/kaugZ3AgwUc">http://youtu.be/kaugZ3AgwUc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels in Homs liberate the checkpoint at <b>Qarayatein</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/HIIEnfafnJ4">http://youtu.be/HIIEnfafnJ4</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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A mortar round falls on a group of rebels in the town of <b>Sheikh Sa’eed</b>,
Aleppo Province <a href="http://youtu.be/tCEWEzq-m0U">http://youtu.be/tCEWEzq-m0U</a>
An aerial raid on a different part of town leaves several dead <a href="http://youtu.be/cismgz1i8fQ">http://youtu.be/cismgz1i8fQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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In <b>Deir Ezzor City</b>, rebels quietly dig a tunnel under a building
known to house pro-Assad militias, then, they fill it with explosives and blow
it up from a distance killing an estimated 30 loyalists, as local activists
claim <a href="http://youtu.be/qkeEk04wENE">http://youtu.be/qkeEk04wENE</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Elsewhere in Deir Ezzpr Province, rebels pound the <b>military airport</b>
with homemade rockets <a href="http://youtu.be/TrzM50XCFoc">http://youtu.be/TrzM50XCFoc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Raqqah Province, rebels target the military airport near <b>Tabqa</b>
with homemade rockets as well <a href="http://youtu.be/MHAkELsoFdQ">http://youtu.be/MHAkELsoFdQ</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/2L8mMdFwj2Q">http://youtu.be/2L8mMdFwj2Q</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Locals in Aleppo City, come to identity the bodies that were collected
from the streets by rebels during the brief ceasefire brokered by the Red Crescent
two days ago <a href="http://youtu.be/2BvpPA80iBk">http://youtu.be/2BvpPA80iBk</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tanks keep trying to pound their way into rebel strongholds in the town
of <b>Daraya</b>, Damascus Suburbs <a href="http://youtu.be/vXaAyQ58IYw">http://youtu.be/vXaAyQ58IYw</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/BVwq2rNMK0Q">http://youtu.be/BVwq2rNMK0Q</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/jznZfCGAKMc">http://youtu.be/jznZfCGAKMc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-58594464818324110792013-04-17T22:26:00.000-04:002013-04-17T22:26:17.050-04:00Everybody Loves Al-Qaeda!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Yes, everybody loves Al-Qaeda, everybody spoils her and
exploits her, no wonder she misbehaves. Western governments often use her as an
excuse to intervene, or not, according to their particular calculations at the
time, and dictatorial regimes use her as an additional instrument of control
over their people, a tool for intimidation and punishment, as well as an
affordable means to fight their internecine wars, or conduct their occasional
campaigns against western interests. Today, Assad accused the U.S. of
supporting Al-Qaeda in Syria, yet all intelligence reports from before the
revolution claim that his regime is the biggest supporter of Al-Qaeda in the
Levant. Some fiends are just too bloody useful not to be embraced, by all. The
Assad regime itself had for long played a similar role to Al-Qaeda’s. Theirs
was a mercenary state par excellence. Now, the chickens have come home to
roost, but, the Assads have always had a vindictive streak, and they will not
go gently into that good night. To the brainwashed lot and downright idiots who
still believe in them, the Assads’ last stand will be viewed as heroic. It’s
good that the age of such fucked-up heroism is finally drawing to a close.
Unfortunately, Al-Qaeda will likely survive this apocalypse: she’s too fucking
useful to be left to die.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Wednesday
April 17, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> <b>157 martyrs</b>, including 10 women
and 7 children: 75 in Damascus and Suburbs most in Jdaidet Artouz; 38 in Homs;
12 in Idlib; 9 in Raqqa; 8 in Daraa; 7 in Deir Ezzor; 7 in Aleppo; and 1 in
Hama <b>(LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/17/us-syria-conflict-assad-idUSBRE93G0YN20130417"><b>Assad
says West will pay for backing al Qaeda in Syria</b></a><b> </b>"The West
has paid heavily for funding al Qaeda in its early stages in Afghanistan. Today
it is supporting it in Syria, Libya and other places, and will pay a heavy
price later in the heart of Europe and the United States," he told Syrian
television channel al-Ikhbariya, according to extracts published on the Syrian
presidency's Facebook page on Wednesday. Assad was speaking a week after
Syria's rebel al-Nusra Front, one of the most effective rebel forces battling
his troops, formally pledged allegiance to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/evidence-nerve-gas-aleppo-deaths/story?id=18977091#.UW8nA7Wsh8E"><b>Evidence
of Nerve Gas in Aleppo Deaths</b></a><b> </b>Dr. Hassan, the director of the
hospital in Afrin who did not want his full name used, said he didn't have
evidence about who was responsible for the attack in Sheikh Maqsood or what
kind of chemical was released. But he said the symptoms and treatment clearly
indicate that chemical agents caused the deaths of a woman and two children,
and injured more than a dozen people. Medical personnel involved refused to
give their last names, citing fear of retaliation. Patients exhibited
hyper-salivation, increased secretions, eye pain, muscle spasms and seizures,
and loss of consciousness, Dr. Hassan said. Volunteers who helped rescue
Yasser's family and medical staff who came in contact with the victims all
exhibited the same symptoms. Roughly 1,500 doses of atropine were used to
counter the poison, exhausting the local supplies in Afrin. A group of Syrian
doctors and activists who run Bihar Relief Organization provided an additional
2,000 units to the hospital in Afrin. The haphazard response portends
catastrophe if chemicals weapons are used in a larger scale.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-17/214104-un-lists-syrian-army-and-militias-as-sex-predators.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2QlhwdzF6"><b>U.N.
lists Syrian army and militias as sex predators</b></a><b> </b>he U.N. Security
Council Wednesday accused Syria's army and intelligence agency and a
pro-government militia of being sexual war criminals for rape and assaults on
women and children, along with the Al-Qaeda movement in Mali and various
African rebel movements. The "name and shame" tally of alleged sexual
predators and outlaws was in a report adopted unanimously by the U.N. Security
Council as part of a debate on "Women in Peace and Security." It was
drafted by Zainab Hawa Bangura, the U.N. chief's Special Representative for
Sexual Violence in Conflict.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/17/us-israel-turkey-syria-idUSBRE93G0H320130417"><b>Israel
hopes Turk deal defuses "friendly fire" risk over Syria</b></a><b> </b>A
continued diplomatic freeze might have been tolerable, Israeli officials said,
but not the possibility of inadvertently trading fire with Turkey should the
Syria crisis trigger major military intervention. Israel, Turkey and another
Syrian neighbor, Jordan, have been conferring with Washington on contingency
options should Damascus fall to a more than two-year-old insurgency and its
chemical weapons be taken by jihadi rebels or Hezbollah in Lebanon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-17/214047-obama-discusses-syria-in-talks-with-abu-dhabi-crown-prince.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2QliPwOwU"><b>Obama
discusses Syria in talks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince</b></a><b> </b>The
president will also meet the leaders of Turkey, Qatar and Jordan in the coming
weeks, as Syrian rebels renew their appeals for Washington to provide weapons
and as President Bashar al-Assad battles for survival.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-18/214139-syrians-take-up-backyard-refining-of-crude-oil.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2QligYKWC"><b>Syrians
take up backyard refining of crude oil</b></a><b> </b>The brothers get their
raw material from the Deir al-Zor countryside, driving two and a half hours in
their truck to purchase oil barrels from middlemen or those in control of the
oil fields: local tribes and the jihadist Nusra Front. Nusra got involved in
the oil business about six months ago, they say. “Nusra are operating in both
lines, business and fighting,” Ahmad says. The group has been labeled a
terrorist organization by the United States and its leader has pledged
allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri. But on the ground, Nusra has won
respect from some locals for its fighting prowess, discipline and ability to
organize daily life in rebel-held areas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/17/us-syria-conflict-damascus-idUSBRE93G0KG20130417"><b>Life
and death in Damascus's shrinking Square of Security</b></a><b> </b>Every
Damascene today is just one or two degrees removed from the latest casualty. On
a daily basis we hear the sonic booms and air raids of fighter jets, the
shelling from government-mounted missile batteries stationed in the hills
overlooking north Damascus, and rocket and mortar fire from rebels on the
outskirts… Damascus today feels smaller and emptier, shrunk to the dozen or so
districts under government control known collectively as the 'Square of
Security'. You can walk briskly from one end to the other in under two hours.
As it shrinks, Damascenes with a dark sense of humor have taken to calling it
the Triangle of Security. It includes the historic Old City, where the biblical
Saint Paul walked on the Street Called Straight. All the city's major
commercial districts are also in the Square-turned-Triangle, including the
ancient bazaar and contemporary shopping malls. It includes middle class
districts, parliament, various ministries and intelligence branches. It is here
that Assad and most government officials live. Assad's forces are increasingly
bringing artillery into the centre of this area, firing from the densely
populated area towards the rebels outside.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://sarabiany.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/flag-of-our-forefathers/"><b>The
Flag of our Forefathers</b></a><b> </b>Across every corner of Syria, at every
protest, Free Syrian Army checkpoint and every liberated square you’ll find the
red, white & green Revolutionary flag, standing tall – or more precisely,
Syria’s Flag of Independence. Despite the Assad regime’s attempts to
marginalize this flag by shamelessly slandering it as the “French” flag they
cannot cover up that it has been an important part of Syria’s history and that
every Syrian President from Muhammad Ali al-Abd of the Syrian Republic, to
Shukri al-Quwatli, Adib Shishakli, Hashim Atassi to even Assad have stood
before it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-75458746/">Syrian
opposition begins rewriting history in textbooks</a> </b>"The narrative is
going to be written and rewritten many times as the course of this tragedy
plays out," said Amr Al-Azm, a Syrian dissident and professor of Middle
East history at Shawnee State University in Ohio. "Right now they are just
taking things out, but as time goes on they will start to rewrite the history
books once we see who the victor is."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_kramer/galleries/72157630819437940/">The
Shiite crescent eclipsed: a photo essay</a> </b>The notion of a "Shiite
crescent" stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean has always
been problematic, for a very simple reason. While there are millions of Shiites
in Iraq and Lebanon, the swath of territory along the middle Euphrates in Iraq
and Syria is entirely Sunni. Mindful of this vulnerability, Iran decided in the
1980s to raise the profile of Shiism in Syria, with the cooperation of the
Syrian regime. The driver was the strategic relationship between Syria and
Iran, dating back to Iran's 1979 revolution. In support of this relationship,
Iran and Syria collaborated to forge cultural and religious ties. Syria has
only about 100,000 Twelver Shiites (of the same denomination as those in Iran,
Iraq, and Lebanon). But the pillars of the Asad regime (above all, the Asads
themselves) hail from the Alawite sect, two or three million strong, which in
recent decades has presented itself as a variety of Shiite Islam. Against this
background, Syria and Iran worked together to bolster Shiite influence in
Syria, as part of a strategy to legitimate the Iran-Syria bond and the Shiite
standing of the Alawites.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Quickly Noted<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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* Rebels in Homs Province managed to take control of Al-Dab’ah Military
Airport. Perhaps Assad’s second wind has turned somewhat foul.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The rebellious neighborhood of <b>Zamalka</b> in Damascus City
witnesses some intense pounding today <a href="http://youtu.be/b4Po9yaTckc">http://youtu.be/b4Po9yaTckc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebel forces in <b>Deir Ezzor City</b> pounding the remaining loyalist
strongholds <a href="http://youtu.be/DX2r7oKcgX0">http://youtu.be/DX2r7oKcgX0</a>
Targeting the military airport with homemade rockets <a href="http://youtu.be/uhS8r5BYji4">http://youtu.be/uhS8r5BYji4</a> The siege of
the airport continues <a href="http://youtu.be/uHhz9QXQAKk">http://youtu.be/uHhz9QXQAKk</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/l4RusW-s2NQ">http://youtu.be/l4RusW-s2NQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The pounding of <b>Eastern Bouyadah</b> village in Homs Province leaves
many dead and injured <a href="http://youtu.be/ma655Cvu1xM">http://youtu.be/ma655Cvu1xM</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/LuwnoCf_aUc">http://youtu.be/LuwnoCf_aUc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-53150414268730194862013-04-17T00:36:00.002-04:002013-04-17T00:37:08.557-04:00Lipstick on a Pig!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Assad’s amnesty deal <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria-amnesty-20130417,0,2730814.story">could</a>
free up to 7,000 prisoners, we are told, leaving 150,000 to go. How generous is
the Lord! How widespread the rejoicing!</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Tuesday April
16, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> 119 martyrs, including 19 women, 21
children, and 3 under torture: 49 in Aleppo most in Sakhour neighborhood; 19 in
Damascus and Suburbs; 16 in Daraa; 14 in Idlib; 8 in Raqqa; 5 in Homs; 5 in Deir
Ezzor; and 3 in Hama<b> (LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE93F0IE20130416"><b>Rebels
push Assad's army away from vital north Syria highway</b></a><b> </b>The two
sides are struggling for control of a highway that serves as the main route
into Aleppo, Syria's largest city, after President Bashar al-Assad's forces
broke through a six-month rebel blockade of two bases near the road. Rebels are
determined to re-establish the blockade of the bases, located outside the town
of Maarat al-Nuaman in Idlib province, because a government advance could upset
the balance of power in the heart of the rebel-held north. No side now fully controls
the highway.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/04/20134168550285748.html"><b>UN
agencies call for end to Syria 'carnage'</b></a> Leaders of five UN agencies in
rare joint appeal urge international community to find a political solution to
conflict.<br />
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-syria-crisis-aleppo-idUSBRE93F15X20130416"><b>Syrian
guns fall silent to allow Aleppo's dead to be collected</b></a><b> </b>Red
Crescent workers and members of an opposition local council drove into the edge
of the working class al-Sakhour district in north Aleppo to pick up the mostly
civilian dead, many of them hit by army sniper fire, as fighters from the two
sides looked on, activists and rebel military sources said. The opposition
Aleppo Media Centre said the majority of the bodies, which included children,
had already decomposed. Some had been lying in the streets and between
buildings for months. Three bodies were found with their hands tied and four
were burnt beyond recognition, the monitoring group said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-syria-crisis-prisoners-idUSBRE93F09B20130416"><b>Syria's
Assad cuts jail terms, activists not satisfied</b></a><b> </b>The move reduced
prison terms of inmates held for both crimes and misdemeanors and also cut by a
quarter the jail terms of "Syrians who had joined the terrorists" -
the term used by the government to describe the rebels trying to topple Assad…
Syrian opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib said the reductions would be seen as a
positive gesture only if the women and children among the detainees were
released in the coming days. "We want an amnesty on crimes and the release
of all innocents of which there are more than 160,000. Most importantly among
them are the women and children. If this happens we will say it is a token of a
Syrian solution," he wrote on his Facebook page.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-holds-suspects-who-arm-Syrian-islamist-rebels/1642519.html"><b>Turkey
Holds 10 Suspected of Arming Syria Islamist Rebels-Media</b></a><b> </b>The
suspects were arrested in Konya province, some 250 km south of the capital
Ankara, after police were tipped off that a "radical Islamist group'' was
persuading young men to join the Syrian insurgents, Turkey's private Dogan News
Agency said. According to the report, the men were also suspected of supplying
handguns and rifles to the rebels, who have been fighting to overthrow Assad in
a civil war that started as a peaceful street uprising two years ago. Konya
police declined to comment on the detentions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/04/16/technology-npr-hackers-sea.html"><b>NPR
website defaced by hackers supporting Syria: Syrian Electronic Army posts
messages in support of President Bashar Assad</b></a><b> </b>The group tweeted
that it would not say why it attacked @NPR. "They know the reason and that
is enough," it said… A subsequent Twitter exchange suggested that it had
to do with coverage of the conflict in Syria by NPR reporter Deborah Amos who
"has told of the hard toll the fighting there is taking on the Syrian
people," the blog post said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/167181#.UW3v6LWsh8F"><b>Gantz:
Syria Rebels will Turn Against Us: Chief of Staff estimates that after Assad's
fall, Syria rebels will fight one other and also fight Israel.</b></a><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0416/In-rebel-fighter-s-personal-story-the-arc-of-Syria-s-war"><b>In
rebel fighter's personal story, the arc of Syria's war</b></a> When The Monitor
first met Syrian rebel fighter Abu Omar last July, he was buoyant and
determined to bring down the Assad regime. Now his outlook is a bit more grim.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/opinion/syrias-forgotten-front.html?_r=0"><b>Syria’s
Forgotten Front</b></a><b> </b>Israel and the Syrian opposition don’t have much
in common, but they do share some important mutual enemies, namely Hezbollah
and Iran, both of which are fighting furiously to save Bashar al-Assad’s
government. This convergence of interests provides an opening for America to
quietly strike a deal between Israel and the leadership of the Syrian
opposition: Israel should agree to refrain from arming proxies inside Syria to
protect its border; and the Syrian opposition should work to keep extremist
groups like Hezbollah and Jabhat al-Nusra and other affiliates of Al Qaeda far
away from the Israeli frontier. This would demonstrate the Syrian opposition’s
bona fides to potential Western supporters and dissuade Israel from intervening
or arming allies in Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=58165"><b>Syria Is
Complicated -- Simultaneous Conflicts Always Are</b></a><b> </b>The war in
Syria is so enduring and vexing precisely because it is such a multi-layered
conflict, comprising at least six separate battles taking place at the same
time, argues Rami G. Khouri.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on January
15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Quickly Noted<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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* Yesterday, I put the <a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/2013/04/screwed-by-design.html"><b>wrong
link</b></a> for Moaz Al-Khatib’s speech. Sorry. Here is the correct link <a href="http://youtu.be/aeL0nJ415gc"><b>http://youtu.be/aeL0nJ415gc</b></a><b>. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In cooperation with the local chapter <b>Red Crescent</b>, a ceasefire
was observed in certain parts of Aleppo City to allow for rebels to retrieve
the bodies of dead civilians strewn in the streets. Most were in various
degrees of decomposition. The dead were victims of pro-Assad snipers <a href="http://youtu.be/9ZJ7lowPSGI">http://youtu.be/9ZJ7lowPSGI</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rebels in <b>Marrat Al-Numan</b>, Idlib, repel an offensive by
pro-Assad militias <a href="http://youtu.be/DCGhcPZ4VE8">http://youtu.be/DCGhcPZ4VE8</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/TWkTxFYew6M">http://youtu.be/TWkTxFYew6M</a>
Fighters in nearby Babouline do the same <a href="http://youtu.be/GfIsNe7A0x8">http://youtu.be/GfIsNe7A0x8</a>
<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Pounding of neighborhoods on the outskirts of the Kurdish-majority city
of <b>Qamishly</b> in Syria’s northeastern parts leave many dead <a href="http://youtu.be/CWSaUrqb3lY">http://youtu.be/CWSaUrqb3lY</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Amidst growing concerns over the possible use of chemical weapons by
pro-Assad militias, activists in the Kurdish majority town of <b>Efrin</b>,
Aleppo Province, organize a small workshop to inform people on how they could
protect themselves of treat the aftermath of exposure <a href="http://youtu.be/Uy9z-DbnYD4">http://youtu.be/Uy9z-DbnYD4</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This video purports to show a <b>Jordanian intelligence officer</b> declaring
his defection and his decision to join Jabhat Al-Nusra and its fighters in
Syria. The officer says that he made his decision after he was tasked with monitoring
the activities of JAN <a href="http://youtu.be/EoH_gWD8Ybs">http://youtu.be/EoH_gWD8Ybs</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rebels in the town of <b>Tabqa</b>, Raqqah Province, bring down a MiG
fighter <a href="http://youtu.be/xd6Z0F-Hpdg">http://youtu.be/xd6Z0F-Hpdg</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-821260401999504602013-04-16T00:36:00.000-04:002013-04-16T19:46:36.026-04:00Screwed by Design?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The U.S. is secretly “feeding” us, while Russia and Iran are
“secretly” arming Assad, now he has a “second wind,” and we are doubly screwed.
For fear of “mission creep,” the U.S. has so far been indulging in mission crap.
By refraining from doing what should be done, that is, supporting moderate
rebels and imposing a no-fly zone, and by keeping secret its humanitarian aid
to the Syrian population, thus allowing extremist to claim credit for it, the
U.S. has weakened moderate forces, strengthened the hand of extremists, and
gave Assad all the leeway he needed to plunge the country, and perhaps the
region, into chaos and mayhem. Had this been by design it wouldn’t have worked
so perfectly.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>Monday April
15, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> <b>75 martyrs</b>, including 7 women,
4 children and 1 martyr under torture: 47 reported in Damascus and Suburbs,
most in Douma; 9 in Aleppo; 7 in Daraa; 5 in Idlib; 3 in Deir Ezzor; 3 in Homs;
and 1 in Hama <b>(LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-feeds-syrians-but-secretly/2013/04/14/bfbc0ba6-a3b3-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html">U.S.
feeds Syrians, but secretly</a> </b>So secretive is the operation, however,
that almost none of the Syrians who receive the help are aware of its American
origins. Out of concern for the safety of the recipients and the delivery
staff, who could be targeted by the government if their affiliation to the
United States were known, the Obama administration and the aid workers have
chosen not to advertise the assistance… The bakery is fully supplied with flour
paid for by the United States. But Waisi credited Jabhat al-Nusra — a rebel
group the United States has designated a terrorist organization because of its
ties to al-Qaeda — with providing flour to the region, though he admitted he
wasn’t sure where it comes from.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/15/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE93E0EO20130415">Assad's
forces break rebel blockade in north Syria</a> </b>Rebels had kept the army
bottled up in the Wadi al-Deif and Hamidiya military bases in Idlib province.
But on Sunday, President Bashar al-Assad's forces outflanked the rebels and
broke through, the pro-government al-Baath newspaper said. The insurgents
counter-attacked on Monday but their front has been weakened in recent weeks
due to infighting and the deployment of forces to other battles, activists
said. The break-out from the bases, located outside Maarat al-Nuaman town, may
enable the army to recapture the main route into Aleppo, Syria's largest city,
and bolster their fragile supply lines in the heart of the rebel-held north.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syria-live/are-we-seeing-bashar-al-assads-second-wind/article11222855/">Are
we seeing Bashar al-Assad’s second wind?</a> </b>Mr. Assad has mostly delivered
on the promises and threats he has made over the duration of the uprising.
Early on he spoke of “ten Afghanistans” in Syria should outside forces
intervene, or fundamentalist takfiris and Islamic extremists dominating the
opposition. Though clearly propaganda at the time, today it is difficult to
dismiss his argument, a perspective that resonates with the millions of Syrians
exhausted by two years of conflict and instability… Though he is undoubtedly
losing the long-term war, Mr. al-Assad is being proved more correct as each day
passes. The result? An increasingly divided Syrian population and a country
that much harder to put back together. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-rights-group-says-damascus-army-bases-used-as-prisons-for-opposition/2013/04/15/a8c04726-a59a-11e2-9e1c-bb0fb0c2edd9_story.html">Leader
of Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood denies accusations group seeks to control
opposition</a> </b>“Our aim is not to tear apart but to unite the (Syrian)
opposition,” al-Shaqfa told reporters in Istanbul, where he is based. He blamed
accusations against his group on “lies and fabrications” that he said were
spread by President Bashar Assad’s regime. Some rebels say the Brotherhood is
trying to control the uprising through the political opposition’s exiled groups,
such as the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition umbrella bloc,
marginalizing fighters inside the country from non-Islamist groups. They say
the movement is positioning itself to take power once the war against Assad is
won. Tensions within the opposition rose last month with the election of
Ghassan Hitto as interim prime minister for the opposition. Some of his critics
claimed the Muslim Brotherhood orchestrated the choice of Hitto, a Syrian-born
U.S. citizen and a little-known figure prior to his election. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/15/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE93E0YN20130415?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedly">U.N.
aid groups say world must act now to save Syria</a> </b>If the international
community continues to dither the crisis could turn into a humanitarian
catastrophe that could scar the region for a generation, one of the leaders
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/47342/20130415/#.UWxqi7Wsh8E">Swedish Islamists in
Syria leave Säpo 'worried'</a> </b>Around 30 Islamists have travelled from
Sweden recently to fight or to be trained to fight in Syria, Swedish security
service Säpo revealed on Monday, expressing its concerns over the development.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-16/213855-wounded-syrians-flown-to-germany-for-medical-care.ashx?utm_source=feedly#ixzz2Qa2NMe2Y">Wounded
Syrians flown to Germany for medical care</a> </b>The injured, among them women
and children, were flown aboard a specially equipped air force plane and were
to be transferred to four German military hospitals in cities including Berlin
and Hamburg.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22156178#?utm_source=feedly">UK
concerns over chemical weapon use</a> </b>Foreign Minister William Hague said
the claims must be urgently investigated and perpetrators held to account.
Meanwhile, soil samples gathered from random sites in Syria, have been smuggled
to the UK for testing, British intelligence sources told the BBC. The evidence suggests
"some use of chemical weapons"' but it is not clear by which side,
the sources said. Syria is believed to have stockpiles of mustard gas and the
highly toxic nerve agent sarin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/04/14/world/europe/ap-eu-greece-syrian-arrested.html">Syrian
Man Arrested in Greece With Weapons Cache</a> </b>The official, who spoke to
The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to
speak to the media about the case, said he believed the weapons were headed for
Syria. There has been no official announcement by police. The arrest took place
Thursday when the man, who is a resident of Belgium, crossed the border with
Turkey in a tractor trailer, according to the official. Customs officials found
281 telescopic sights. The arrested man said he re-entered Greece after Turkish
customs authorities turned him back. He will appear in a Greek court Monday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2013/04/2013415114923968435.html">Al-Jazeera
- Syria: The Reckoning - The history of modern Syria offering an intriguing and
incisive perspective on the current war in the country.</a><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/04/syria-jabhat-nusra-opposition-hitto.html">Jabhat
al-Nusra, Ghassan Hitto Divide Syrian Opposition</a> </b>The National Coalition
and National Council, which are controlled by a liberal Islamic alliance, have
managed, on the other hand, to avoid until now any discussion about the true
nature of Jabhat al-Nusra and other Jihadist brigades, equally as Salafist and
jihadist as Jabhat al-Nusra. The time now is not for the discussion of any
trespasses, but for toppling the regime. Only afterward is the opposition
expected to discuss the conduct of Jabhat al-Nusra and other Jihadist factions,
their monopoly over the administration of cities, especially in al-Raqqah, and
the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib which, in some parts, has been transformed
into Islamic emirates.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/opinion/global/the-dangerous-price-of-ignoring-syria.html?_r=0">Vali
Nasr: The Dangerous Price of Ignoring Syria</a> </b>t is time America takes the
lead in organizing international assistance to refugees. America should not
hide behind the Russian veto. It should pursue a concerted diplomatic strategy
in support of arming the rebels and imposing a no-flight zone over Syria. That
would not only hamper Assad’s ability to fight, it would allow refugees to
remain within Syria’s borders, thus reducing pressure on neighboring countries.
It is time the U.S. took over from Qatar and Saudi Arabia in organizing the
Syrian opposition into a credible political force — failure to do that accounts
for the chaos that has paralyzed the group. There are powerful economic
sanctions that the U.S. could use to cripple the Assad regime. Finally, America
should build ties with the Free Syrian Army with the goal of denying extremist
groups the ability to dominate the armed resistance and gaining influence with
groups that will dominate Syria’s future. It was failing to build those ties in
Afghanistan that allowed the resistance groups who opposed the Soviet Union to
disintegrate into the Taliban and Al Qaeda.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2013/04/15/The-fatal-mobilization-of-Hezbollah-in-Syria.html">The
fatal mobilization of Hezbollah in Syria</a> </b>Truth is, the maliciousness
displayed by Hezbollah while managing its battle in Syria is met by chaos and
tension displayed in the rhetoric of other sectarian groups from among Sunni
extremists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-syria-and-iran-20130415,0,447311.story">Another
reason for U.S. to act on Syria: Sending message to Iran</a> </b>“There is a
relationship between what’s happening in Syria and Iran,” Ross said. “We want
very much to convince the Iranians to change their behavior, not just on Syria
but on the nuclear issue. And one of the
problems we have at this point is [that] they don’t believe that we will
actually use force. “The irony here is, if you want diplomacy to succeed, they
actually have to believe we’re going to use force,” Ross said. “Our hesitancy
in Syria, I think, plays to their perception that we won’t. So the more we’re
prepared to do in Syria, the more I think we actually may affect the Iranian
calculus in terms of the nuclear issues as well.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #c4bc96; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;">
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">The Living Martyr <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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In a conference in Istanbul on Islam and Transitional Justice, Syrian Opposition
Coalition leader, Moaz Al-Khatib, whose retirement is still in limbo, delivered
a powerful speech condemning Jabhat Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda ideology. After
spending the first part of his speech addressing the issue of transitional
justice, Al-Khatib turned his attention to the issue of Al-Nusra and the recent
admission by her leader to ties to Al-Qaeda. Al-Khatib reminded people of
Al-Qaeda’s beginning in Afghanistan and said that Al-Qaeda has been infiltrated
by myriad intelligence organizations and were carrying out agendas that have
nothing to do with Islam. In Iraq, he said, Al-Qaeda was controlled by Iran and
was responsible for deaths than the American invasion. He also reminded people
of the role that the Syrian security apparatuses played in supporting Al-Qaeda
and of the role of the late Al-Qaqa, the enigmatic preacher from Aleppo who was
responsible for recruiting Syrians then betraying them to the security
apparatuses, until he was killed in mysterious circumstances. He, then, called
on JAN members in Syria to leave the organization and establish a new group
with a new identity and a new vision to put the taint of al-Qaeda affiliation
behind them and serve a national Syrian agenda, rather than an external agenda.
Throughout his speech, he repeatedly kept saying that he was only providing
advice and that he is in no position to prevail on any group to do what it does
not want. The conference was boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood at the last
minute, and Al-Khatib’s words received a lukewarm response as we can see at the
end of the video. For all practical purposes, Al-Khatib is a walking martyr
now, he is challenging the regime, the rebels, the traditional opposition and
the international community with its different camps into doing the right thing
on Syria. He has made formidable enemies, while his friends are few and fickle http://youtu.be/aeL0nJ415gc<br />
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Rebels take control of another border along the Syrian Jordanian border
<a href="http://youtu.be/8x1R9U5W9m4">http://youtu.be/8x1R9U5W9m4</a> Meanwhile,
on the Turkish-Syrian border, thousands of refugees rush through Bab Al-Hawa
crossing in order to evade the constant bombardment <a href="http://youtu.be/NG6q7je4R48">http://youtu.be/NG6q7je4R48</a> Syrian MiGs
have in fact violated the Turkish airspace in their pursuit of people (see
around 2:25 and after). The Clip was taking on the Turkish side of the border <a href="http://youtu.be/wsQGYeQggII">http://youtu.be/wsQGYeQggII</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>400 new defectors</b> form a new rebel unit in areas south of
Damascus <a href="http://youtu.be/09Qsgf7fd3g">http://youtu.be/09Qsgf7fd3g</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The battle for the control of loyalist headquarters in <b>Shouqaif</b>,
Aleppo, left dozens of loyalists dead <a href="http://youtu.be/gFOvoksZkPs">http://youtu.be/gFOvoksZkPs</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rebels in Damascus Suburbs use home-made missile launchers to pound
security headquarters inside <b>Damascus City</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/RJ1WNQ_lLY4">http://youtu.be/RJ1WNQ_lLY4</a> Meanwhile,
the pounding of <b>Jobar</b> Neighborhood by pro-regime forces continues <a href="http://youtu.be/j_nxtVQeOzI">http://youtu.be/j_nxtVQeOzI</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/ZsveG8bHLkM">http://youtu.be/ZsveG8bHLkM</a> The nearby
suburb of <b>Zamalka</b> is also hit <a href="http://youtu.be/ew9GyWi-e8Y">http://youtu.be/ew9GyWi-e8Y</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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An aerial raid on the town of <b>Douma</b>, Eastern Ghoutah, Damascus
Suburbs <a href="http://youtu.be/4UzOKNO1hnU">http://youtu.be/4UzOKNO1hnU</a>
Send people scurrying in all directions <a href="http://youtu.be/phyNwKoEZew">http://youtu.be/phyNwKoEZew</a>
and leave many dead <a href="http://youtu.be/SsehG4KYTCc">http://youtu.be/SsehG4KYTCc</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/tRwcWSZ5O38">http://youtu.be/tRwcWSZ5O38</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/8L89s5ictrg">http://youtu.be/8L89s5ictrg</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/wEbjVaHNtII">http://youtu.be/wEbjVaHNtII</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/rg8VowGy4LU">http://youtu.be/rg8VowGy4LU</a> The havoc <a href="http://youtu.be/gq-H6vUg8cs">http://youtu.be/gq-H6vUg8cs</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/0uWnYkCFKug">http://youtu.be/0uWnYkCFKug</a> Sifting
through the rubble <a href="http://youtu.be/k6gIyOH0Wpc">http://youtu.be/k6gIyOH0Wpc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Other towns in Eastern Ghoutah were also targeted, including <b>Hamouriyeh</b>
<a href="http://youtu.be/dVT7JPfIVzQ">http://youtu.be/dVT7JPfIVzQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of the nearby suburb of <b>Qaboun</b> <a href="http://youtu.be/u8clI7mpqlI">http://youtu.be/u8clI7mpqlI</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/2tdYQWPDLoo">http://youtu.be/2tdYQWPDLoo</a> leaves these
children dead </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZDXWO2uf4Rc5KWG9V1FD2k1o66OnSU6Kb5YaCeg5vS3GnAfvxVU45zBP_b7q619C3AUfPn8IjneRZZJfbuQEAEO1Ems9_svPKqTxOV-orcOwm3JcLu8iNTMw9EtLhhvsk-yIj5BqfzI/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZDXWO2uf4Rc5KWG9V1FD2k1o66OnSU6Kb5YaCeg5vS3GnAfvxVU45zBP_b7q619C3AUfPn8IjneRZZJfbuQEAEO1Ems9_svPKqTxOV-orcOwm3JcLu8iNTMw9EtLhhvsk-yIj5BqfzI/s400/photo+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
In <b>Daraya</b>, Damascus Suburbs, tanks keep trying to pound their
way in <a href="http://youtu.be/iicNhOJLsWg">http://youtu.be/iicNhOJLsWg</a><br />
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Clashes in <b>Khirbet Ghazaleh</b>, Daraa Province, continues <a href="http://youtu.be/6R3LBt2-Elc">http://youtu.be/6R3LBt2-Elc</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/YhHZSKcZd0I">http://youtu.be/YhHZSKcZd0I</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/odCWqyIyvQ4">http://youtu.be/odCWqyIyvQ4</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the historic city of <b>Palmyra</b>, Homs Province, loyalist
militias pound the surrounding farm areas <a href="http://youtu.be/B_WJKF9oecc">http://youtu.be/B_WJKF9oecc</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/Va1tUTkYWZk">http://youtu.be/Va1tUTkYWZk</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Clashes in <b>Deir Ezzor City</b> continue <a href="http://youtu.be/tNvnhFSiJA0">http://youtu.be/tNvnhFSiJA0</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of the resort town of <b>Salma</b> in the Lattakia
mountains continues <a href="http://youtu.be/6rD-3IxTD0Y">http://youtu.be/6rD-3IxTD0Y</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/j3k5NSN5LPQ">http://youtu.be/j3k5NSN5LPQ</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338638543807523351.post-42827781703359077132013-04-14T23:44:00.002-04:002013-04-14T23:44:28.402-04:00The Political Zone!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">It’s time the U.S. intervened to stop the disintegration of
Syria and the ongoing slaughter there. It’s time an end was put to all the hedging,
wagering, and bet-placement through the imposition of a no-fly zone which,
after all is said and done, remains the only path that could get us to the coveted
political solution. It’s pretty hard to negotiate with a Scud. </span></b></i><br />
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<b>Sunday April
14, 2013</b> <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Death
Toll:</span></b> 124 martyrs, including 18 children, 7
women and 6 under torture: 34 reported in Damascus and Suburbs; 20 in Hassakeh,
mostly in Tal Haddad; 19 in Idlib; 18 in Homs; 18 in Aleppo; 8 in Daraa; 4 in
Raqaa; 2 in Deir Ezzor and 1 in Hama<b> (LCC).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/13/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_meast+(RSS%3A+Middle+East)">Symbolic
Syrian mosque destroyed; activists warn of phosphorus bombs</a> </b>Throughout
the past two years, the Omari mosque has been a gathering place for protesters,
the center of anti-government demonstrations in the city. At the start of the
uprising, it was briefly used as a civilian hospital for wounded protesters. The
mosque was the first place protesters gathered in March 2011 to protest the
arrest and alleged torture of teenagers who sprayed anti-Assad graffiti,
sparking the waves of weekly peaceful demonstrations that eventually spread
across the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/14/syria-jordan-spearhead-saudi-arms-drive">Syria:
Jordan to spearhead Saudi Arabian arms drive</a> </b>Fears over rising power of
al-Qaida-linked groups drives move to channel weapons to moderate rebel
fighters through Jordan<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/14/syrian-crisis-damascus-sound-war-bombs">Syrian
crisis: Damascus adjusts to the constant sound of war</a></b> Two years into
crisis, bombs, rockets and planes have become the new normal for Damascenes<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/14/lebanese-shiite-fighters-backed-by-hezbollah-fighting-inside-syria-near-border/#ixzz2QUXso7QN">Lebanese
Shiite fighters backed by Hezbollah fighting inside Syria near border</a> </b>The
sectarian tensions in the civil war have spilled over to neighboring Lebanon,
which has a similar ethnic divide and a long, bitter history of civil war and
domination by Syria. Deadly gun-battles have broken out in Lebanon in recent
months between supporters of both sides of the Syrian war. But more broadly,
Hezbollah's deepening involvement shows how the Syrian civil war is
exacerbating tensions between Shiites and Sunnis around the Middle East.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/syrias-second-revolution">Syria’s
second revolution? Women stand to be emancipated in more ways than one.</a> </b>Typically
characterized in the Western press as grieving widows and childless mothers –
bit players in an overlong masculine tragedy – Syria’s women have been prime
movers in the two-year-long struggle for emancipation, which carries a double
meaning in this context. Women have led the earliest demonstrations against the
regime, they’ve chronicled the uprising and its repression in vivid detail,
they’ve coordinated humanitarian relief efforts, and they’ve taken up arms.
Judging from what I’ve witnessed of the extensive reconstruction planning being
undertaken by the Syrian diaspora, women have also been the best organized and
most willing to bypass the pettiness and factionalism that have stunted their
male counterparts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special
Reports <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/15/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE93D0AF20130415?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedly">Al
Qaeda adds urgency to search for Syrian peace</a> </b>Saturday's meeting of 11
countries from the Friends of Syria alliance will come after the al-Nusra
Front, among the strongest formations seeking to topple President Bashar
al-Assad, pledged allegiance to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri on April 10. "We
will be meeting under the shadow of the advances of Nusra and other militants.
The recent al Qaeda statements have injected a new urgency for the
international community to push to end the conflict," said an official who
will attend the meeting on the conflict that has killed more than 70,000
people. Western powers, which want to see the end of the Assad family's 43-year
rule but do not want to intervene militarily in Syria, have been alarmed by the
advance of groups like the Nusra Front in a conflict which has deepened the
Middle East's sectarian divide.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mcmanus-column-syria-slippery-slope-20130414,0,3570735.column">McManus:
Inching closer to entanglement in Syria</a> </b>In Syria, the Obama
administration is already doing more for the rebels than it acknowledges in
public. The United States has quietly provided training for selected rebel
units on bases in neighboring Jordan. And last month, the New York Times
reported that the CIA had expanded its secret role in aiding weapons shipments
to the rebels from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. At this point,
Obama seems determined to supply just enough aid to try to tip the balance but
not enough to get entangled. But the administration's distinction between
lethal and nonlethal aid looks more and more artificial. The reasons that would
justify giving military aid to the rebels or imposing a no-fly zone over Syria
are only growing stronger. It's a debate Obama might prefer to avoid, but
that's the problem with a slippery slope.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-muddled-plan-for-the-clear-danger-in-syria/2013/04/13/bf0e4c2e-a38a-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html">A
muddled plan for the clear danger in Syria</a> </b>Mr. Ford said that “we need
to weigh in on behalf of those who promote freedom and tolerance.” Yet Ms.
Jones reiterated that the administration was opposed to providing “lethal
support” to any Syrian forces — notwithstanding the weapons and fighters that
Mr. Ford said were being supplied by Iran or the growing military capability of
al-Qaeda described by Mr. Clapper. Translation: It’s vital that Syria’s
moderate forces win, but we won’t counter the military support the extremists
are getting. Senators from both parties expressed exasperation with this
non-policy, but not as much exasperation as President Obama’s stubborn
passivity deserves. Mr. Clapper was asked whether the United States and its
allies were prepared to secure Syria’s chemical weapons sites. His answer, that
it “would be very, very situationally dependent,” was anything but reassuring.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2013/0414/Looking-for-Obama-s-agenda-in-Syria">Looking
for Obama's agenda in Syria</a> </b>For now, Americans remain uncertain as to
what good they can do in Syria. Proposals to arm rebels or create a no-fly
protective zone over rebel-held areas require certainty that the US is backing
those rebel leaders who will eventually create a democratic, stable Syria. And
any US arms must not reach radical, pro-Al Qaeda groups. Yet by not acting in
Syria, the US also risks a collapse of the Assad regime that might result in
the country’s stockpile of chemical weapons getting into the hands of
terrorists. In balancing these contending risks, the West and friendly Arab
nations should agree on what values they offer Syria. Opposing evil isn’t
enough – its hold on a country is more easily broken when its opposite is
asserted.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/syria-2013-rise-of-warlords.html"><b>Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.</b></a>” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/the-shredded-tapestry-state-of-syria.html"><b>The
Shredded Tapestry,</b></a>” and my recent essay “<a href="http://www.syrianrevolutiondigest.com/p/an-unbridgeable-divide.html"><b>The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.</b></a>” <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Video Highlights <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Rebels pound Hezbollah’s position inside Lebanese territories from
areas around the town of <b>Qusair</b> in Homs Province <a href="http://youtu.be/IPQrFi-bNGI">http://youtu.be/IPQrFi-bNGI</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of <b>Jobar</b> neighborhood continues <a href="http://youtu.be/kubnME-40DE">http://youtu.be/kubnME-40DE</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/mraC2JCuKD8">http://youtu.be/mraC2JCuKD8</a> Tanks try to
pound their way in <a href="http://youtu.be/JRiPrmp1quQ">http://youtu.be/JRiPrmp1quQ</a>
To the north, <b>Barzeh</b> neighborhood gets pounded <a href="http://youtu.be/sMtj74FJ4vg">http://youtu.be/sMtj74FJ4vg</a> Tanks and BMPs roan the streets of the southern
neighborhoods <a href="http://youtu.be/iDYy96TWoX0">http://youtu.be/iDYy96TWoX0</a>
Same in <b>Zamalka</b> neighborhood <a href="http://youtu.be/b_YbnuS_Zxc">http://youtu.be/b_YbnuS_Zxc</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Clashes between loyalists and rebels in Daraa Province continue to heat
up: <b>Khirbet Ghazaleh </b><a href="http://youtu.be/cByztTKRSN8">http://youtu.be/cByztTKRSN8</a>
, <a href="http://youtu.be/3aW6Tzs9f8U">http://youtu.be/3aW6Tzs9f8U</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/ynu6oqxVJoc">http://youtu.be/ynu6oqxVJoc</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Clashes heat up around <b>Jisr Ashoughour</b>, Idlib Province <a href="http://youtu.be/OUHQvDHBbvs">http://youtu.be/OUHQvDHBbvs</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/Rvkcv-B6XhE">http://youtu.be/Rvkcv-B6XhE</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/4fq4yeXJuXw">http://youtu.be/4fq4yeXJuXw</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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The pounding of rebel strongholds in <b>Homs City</b> continues <a href="http://youtu.be/ck8kOUg00KM">http://youtu.be/ck8kOUg00KM</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Aerial raids on the town of <b>Sheikh Saeed</b> in Aleppo Province <a href="http://youtu.be/6b4-g5V2h_k">http://youtu.be/6b4-g5V2h_k</a> , <a href="http://youtu.be/IBHl1x4Mh5s">http://youtu.be/IBHl1x4Mh5s</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">A blog post by Ammar Abdulhamid</div>Amarjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11185777161751801204noreply@blogger.com0