I will never again underestimate the human capacity for
indifference. Ours is a very public crucifixion, yet it might as well be
happening on Mars. Some eyebrows are raised here, some dismayed looks can be
detected there, and outbursts of condemnation and expressions of sympathy can
be heard from time to time. Some sent aid to alleviate occasional political
pressures, but not a guilty conscience, because guilt does not seem to factor
much here. Some sent weapons, but not enough to determine the outcome for either
side. The stalemate continues. It’s as if people are following this on their
game consoles rather than TV or computer screens. The point is simply to score
high, or move up a level or two, but not win. All the world's a PlayStation, And
all the men and women merely digitized action figures.
Thursday April
4, 2013
News
Jordanians
and Turks Are Focus of Syria’s Ire The criticisms in the state news
media appeared to be part of an intensified propaganda response to new rebel
gains in the two-year-old conflict and President Bashar al-Assad’s further isolation.
It included snippets of an interview that Mr. Assad had given to a Turkish
television station, in which he also denounced the Arab League for granting
Syria’s seat to the opposition coalition bent on overthrowing him.
Jordan's
assistance to rebels ratchets up tensions with Syria A front-page
editorial in the government daily al-Thawra accused Amman of adopting a policy
of "ambiguity" by training the rebels while at the same time publicly
insisting on a political solution to the Syrian crisis. Jordan is "playing
with fire," state radio said. "Jordan's attempt to put out the flame
from the leaked information will not help as it continues with its mysterious
policy, which brings it closer to the volcanic crater," al-Thawra said.
Red
Cross: Syria Humanitarian Crisis Worsening Peter Maurer, president of
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said aid workers had been
able to do make more trips into opposition-held areas in the past two weeks,
indicating Damascus may be softening its stance on convoys into such territory.
He said the workers were "not pleasantly surprised" by what they
found in areas accessible for the first time, with the need for food,
sanitation, water and medicine increasing. "We saw devastation and
destruction," he said. "What we were able to achieve is not enough.
The needs are growing exponentially while our ability to react is growing
linearly," he said.
No
agreement on Syria access for U.N. chemical arms inspectors "There's
no agreement on access yet," a U.N. Security Council diplomat told Reuters
on condition of anonymity. "The inspectors won't be deploying until
there's agreement on access and other modalities." There has been an
exchange of letters about access for the investigators between Syrian
Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari and the head of the U.N. Office of Disarmament
Affairs Angela Kane, according to a letter from Kane obtained by Reuters on
Thursday.
Bombs
Hit Damascus Like Shooting Stars as Battle Intensifies Syrian
businessman Ammar Sinan was having dinner at a Damascus restaurant last week
when mortar rounds fired by rebel insurgents fell “like shooting stars” a few
streets away. “There were bombs, then the sound of sirens and then the whoosh
of the Katyusha launchers responding to the source of fire,” Sinan said in an
interview in Beirut. “Damascus is a dying city. You see it breaking up and
there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said.
How
Syria’s Women Can Help End the Civil War Syrian activist Mouna Ghanem
tells Barbara Walters that the best way to get rid of Assad is through
negotiation—and women need to be at the table.
Syrian
Spillover: An interactive map tracking the internationalization of Syria's
civil war. In this map, we've tried to track some of the international
incidents and influences of the Syrian civil war. It is not comprehensive, and
suggestions are welcome. It shows an uprising that increasingly travels like an
electric current across filaments of ethnic and sectarian identity, regardless
of borders. As the power vacuum grows, so will the opportunities for foreign
countries to interject themselves further into the conflict.
Special
Reports
In
Syria, the only way out is a political deal Ideally, this effort would
require countries like Russia to give up their support for Assad and persuade
him to step down in exchange for guarantees that the political transition will
be agreed to by all sides once the dictator is gone. Countries such as the
United States, that support the Syrian opposition through the Syrian National
Coalition, should make clear that any assistance will be conditional on the
opposition refraining from reprisals and committing to integrate all the
different parts of Syrian society into the post-Assad political system.
Why Putin supports Assad The
Russian president and his supporters are convinced that both the Arab spring
and the series of revolutions in the post-Soviet states were orchestrated in
the United States… Putin’s distrust of the United States has growing support
among the Russian electorate, even if they have little direct influence on foreign
policy… Playing on these sentiments, Putin presents the intentions of the
United States in the Middle East as colonialist.
Will
Syria’s Refugee Crisis Drain Jordan of Its Water? Jordan is one of the
most water-stressed countries in the world, subject to an ongoing drought that
has devastated agricultural prospects in the country’s northern areas for
nearly a decade. The large and rapid influx of Syrian refugees into the border
cities of Ramtha and Mafraq, home to the Za’atari refugee camp, has strained
water supplies to the breaking point — for two weeks in February, parts of
Mafraq town had no water whatsoever. Summer’s soaring temperatures will put
additional demands on a poor region that can hardly support its own population,
let alone the surge of new refugees that are expected as the war in Syria
grinds on.
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “The
Shredded Tapestry,” and my recent essay “The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.”
Quickly Noted
* Mr. Daniel Pipes is advocating a different interventionist policy in
Syria: http://youtu.be/gVFLZ_jV-fs. in
an interview on Fox News, he says that, while his heart bleeds liberally for
all those whose would suffer, and suffer in vain as he would have it, the U.S.
should indeed interfere in Syria, but only to shore up the collapsing Assad
regime, and do it just enough to maintain a state of stalemate between the
different combatants. After all, since both sides are inimical to America’s
interests, why not have them kill each for as long as possible. It’s undeniable
that at this stage, America has few friends left in Syria. She started with few
to begin with, and missed her opportunity to reverse the tides by failing to
intervene on the side of peaceful protesters and moderate rebels back in the
Summer of 2011. But adopting Pipes’ approach would go beyond getting cynical
about the whole thing by becoming downright maniacal, complete with a
straight-jacket and a mask. What next? Using refugees as subjects of scientific
experiments instead of letting them go to waste wallowing in those miserable
camps? Or shall we just “exterminate the brutes?”
Video Highlights
Damascus City: scores of missies fall on the neighborhood of Jobar
(Apr. 3) http://youtu.be/YjjKatw-Eig
But in nearby Abbasyeen Square, rebels put up a fight http://youtu.be/RYf0uq5tXpk The neighborhood
of Barzeh is also pounded with missiles http://youtu.be/ZfEdFkxsQ3A , http://youtu.be/kDetW-MZutM Homes catch
fire at night http://youtu.be/OiEN6iWMvx4
Digging through the rubble ion search of the wounded http://youtu.be/g6vYQNKwNb4
Damascus Suburbs: West of Damascus, tanks continue their deadly
rounds of Daraya http://youtu.be/VYOjLRJI6B8
Missiles fall http://youtu.be/8VqBmjFLBGE
, http://youtu.be/1BO1-6AaGc8 Clashes
continue http://youtu.be/c0Y-1oKFcDY The
pounding of nearby Moadamiya continues http://youtu.be/Ge5e0nDwrtI Clashes in Zamalka
http://youtu.be/waDRTk4qjd0
Homs City: the pounding of Qarabees neighborhood resumes http://youtu.be/VxtjCCNfB7U
Raqqah City: rebels continue their siege of the last few loyalist
strongholds http://youtu.be/-mDEsRw6zAs
Except for three major camps, including the military Airport at Tabqa, the
province is completely under rebel control.
Zaatari Camp: A sandstorm http://youtu.be/7ZImVuwh7vE
Denial Pipes's idea doesn't look so crazy or inhumane when one considers that almost every side , Assad, Secular rebels , Islamic rebels want to exterminate Israel and refuse to make peace.
ReplyDeleteWhat incredible blindness that the Arab Spring World don't see that makes them just the same as Assad and Gaddafi.
Freedom, respect and dignity for Muslims only it appears.
Even at her strongest, Syria never had the ability to threaten Israel, that's the borders remained quiet. No one in Syria today can threaten Israel security, it's Israel who has the ability to exterminate her enemies, and there are a variety options available to Israel to secure her borders even in case of chaos in Syria. So, let's focus on ousting a regime that is bringing the regime into a meltdown and putting together a new order that can help us re-stabilize the region and meets the legitimate aspirations of her people for freedom and dignity. That's why we had the revolution and that's what most Syrians still want.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are right Ammar. However let us note it is not if Syria has the ability at present to threaten Israel it is if Syrians WANT to destroy Israel that counts. It almost seems "de rigour" in Muslim culture to hate Israel. I would like to see Muslims learn to wage peace and not war.
ReplyDeleteI ardently support Israel and am myself a product of the holocaust. I also ardently supported the Libyan revolution and the now the Syrian revolution. During this I have been shocked to see the virulent, almost mindless or actually indoctrinated-without-thinking hatred expressed towards Israel, where loyalty to religion usurps adherence to the principle of good and do no harm.
I have managed to tolerate this hatred while at the same time still maintaining my support simply because I understand that the basic principle of freedom must apply to all and not to just a select group. This is , after all , the lesson of my inheritance and I will apply it despite the stubbornness of others on both sides.
Or am I wrong to support freedom for all? Is Daniel Pipes right after all? This I have a nagging doubt.
ReplyDeleteYou are quite right in supporting Freedom for all of course, and hopefully freedom, once achieved, will pave the way for peace yet. We still have to keep this dream alive.
ReplyDelete