Reply With QuoteI wonder, even if Russia manages to keep their pet monkey...then what?
There will be a day of reckoning, whether it is this year or twenty down from now.
When Syria is free, they will remember what Russia 'did' for them
Formation of SNC Military Council Causes Uproar among Fighters in Syria and Turkey
NewsFree Syrian Army (FSA) chief Colonel Riad al-Asaadsaid that he has not been involved in the formation of a military council. “I don’t know about the objectives of this body,” said Asaad, a figurehead for the collection of army deserters and civilians who have taken up arms. (*******)
This is so predictable.
Last edited by Universals; 03-02-2012 at 07:30 PM.
I wonder, even if Russia manages to keep their pet monkey...then what?
There will be a day of reckoning, whether it is this year or twenty down from now.
When Syria is free, they will remember what Russia 'did' for them
Yes, that´s what I ment. Sending arms to Syria would just bolster current direction of events, many more militas would be created, many more civilians would take arms (from both sides) and it would go classical civil war way. As for Assad, I didnt mean him in particular when I said I have no idea who will win, I ment regime. Frankly, Assad right now looks like puppet figurehead with old men within the regime calling the shots and they can remove Bashar whenever they want to and replace him with someone more to their liking like Maher. So even resignation of Assad would probably change little to nothing, regime would still remain in place unchanged. That is for example what king Abdullah II of Jordan says when he claims that resignation of Assad is only secondary because without fall and replacement of regime, nothing will change.Originally Posted by Universal_Soldier
Syrian capital is a city changed in a year
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Sy...460.php#page-1DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Shops and restaurants close early in Damascus these days, their owners eager to get home before dark, which sometimes brings shootings and other crime. Blast walls and checkpoints ring government buildings to guard against car bombs. Residents struggle with spiraling prices and power outages.
In my first visit in nearly a year, I found Damascus transformed by Syria's deadly and divisive uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime. A capital once considered one of the safest in the world has become tense with worries over violence. A city that had grown boisterous and optimistic with an economic blossoming in recent years is now grim with fears for the future.
Electricity outages lasting up to 12 hours a day have forced residents to buy private generators, and the din from their engines echoes along the commercial Hamra Street. Much of what I saw reminded me of Iraq and my hometown of Beirut, where 22 years after the civil war ended, electricity cuts are still frequent due to the dilapidated infrastructure. At one point when I got stuck in a hotel elevator, I thought for a split second that I was back in Beirut.
Prices have tripled in the past few months, and companies have begun laying off employees or slashing salaries.
A joke making the rounds among Syrians underscores the daily grind of shortages, inflation and uncertainty. A man brings home a chicken for his wife to cook, but she tells him there's no gas for the stove. "What about the microwave?" No electricity, she says. How about even the heater in their main room? No fuel.
At which point, the chicken jumps out of the bag and cries, "Long live Bashar Assad!"
My last visit here was in April, two weeks after the first protests began in the southern town of Daraa, sparked by the arrest of schoolchildren who had scrawled anti-government graffiti.
At that time, the capital felt untouched, still bustling with tourists and with young Syrian entrepreneurs with big plans. Since succeeding his father in 2000, Assad kept an iron grip on politics, but carried out economic liberalization that fueled the growth of the middle class and brought a commercial vibrancy to what had long been a drab capital. Foreign banks, international boutiques, cafe chains, Western-style malls and hotels mushroomed across Damascus.
The protests in Daraa were only just beginning to spread to other parts of the country when I was last here. But the regime was showing the first signs of concern. I had been reporting from Damascus for only nine days when the order came from the Information Ministry — I had 45 minutes to leave the country. The result was a rushed dash to pack my things and drive to the border.
Since then, Assad's regime has waged a fierce crackdown on the uprising that a U.N. official said Tuesday has left more than 7,500 people dead. Damascus has not seen the mass protests as in other cities, much less the deadly bombardment or pitched battles between security forces and armed dissidents. Instead, the seat of Assad's rule has seen flare-ups of violence that set residents on edge.
Over several days in the city this week, I visited some sites that were centerpieces of Assad's "New Damascus."
The Four Seasons Hotel's shopping mall, for example, was only a year ago a festive middle-class stomping grounds. Young people would flock to the sidewalk tables of its Costa Coffee and nearby Rotana Cafe for tea and waterpipes or stroll among its high-end shops. But on a recent day, the complex was largely empty.
Top U.S. admiral: Arming the Syrian rebels would help oust Assad
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/po...elp_oust_assadIf the international community gave the Syrian rebels arms, communications equipment, and intelligence, that would help speed President Bashar al-Assad's removal from power, the top U.S. military official in Europe said Thursday.
Navy Admiral James Stavridis, Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander-Europe, told the Senate Armed Services that NATO is not doing any "detailed planning" for ways to aid the Syrian opposition or protect Syrian civilians. But under intense questioning from the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Stavridis admitted he believed that giving material aid to the rebels would help them get better organized and push forward the process of getting the Assad to step down.
"Yesterday the secretary-general of NATO, Mr. Rasmussen, told The Cable, quote, ‘We haven't had any discussions about a NATO role in Syria and I don't envision such a role for the alliance,'" McCain said, referring directly to our Feb. 29 exclusive interview with Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
"Is it true that NATO is doing no contingency planning of any kind with respect to Syria, including for the provision of humanitarian and medical assistance?" McCain asked Stavridis.
"We're not doing any detailed contingency planning at this point, senator, and there's a reason for that. Within the NATO command structure, there has to be an authorization from the North Atlantic Council before we can conduct detailed planning," Stavridis said. The North Atlantic Council is the body charged with making NATO policy decisions.
After getting Stavridis to confirm he believes the Syrian crisis is now an armed conflict between government and opposition forces, McCain then asked Stavridis if the provision of arms, communication equipment, and tactical intelligence would help the Syrian opposition to better organize itself and push Assad from power.
"I would think it would. Yes, sir," Stavridis replied.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Loc...nce-at-un.ashxBEIRUT: Russia will continue to veto United Nations Security Council resolutions that it sees as leading to military intervention in Syria, according to Alexander Zasypkin, Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon.In an interview Friday, Zasypkin spoke to The Daily Star about Russia’s role in the conflict between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and anti-government protesters that has enveloped the country for nearly a year.
More Russian gasoil reaches Syria as crisis deepens
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/1-more-russ...164407666.htmlLONDON: Syria has received the latest in a series of Russian gasoil shipments just days after Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned against military intervention in Syria and as European countries evacuated embassy staff in Damascus.
The delivery arrived aboard one of up to seven tankers that have recently shipped fuel from the Black Sea to Syria, traders and shipping sources said.
The fuel is crucial to Syria's isolated government as former trading partners have dropped out for fear of violating international sanctions.
Venezuela recently emerged as another rare supplier of fuel, declaring it would send shipments to President Bashar al-Assad's government "whenever required".
Is that some sort of revelation? If given arms that will help oust Assad. If one gives arms to Mexico drug cartels it will increase violence ........oh.
The EuroAmericans have returned to 19th century imperialism; how about Russia helping 'free' them from their governments instead?
Yeah, how about you try that?
Well, they are already trying to collapse my country too.
Come on and try. I assume you're leading the liberating brave Russian troops into combat?
Got me there. I admit it would be far easier to punch around some 3rd world countries in the Middle East instead.
No, they'll be supplying the rebels in your land, off course.
Sad to see the USSR is not around any more; it did a good job showing the Europeans that they have no business playing control the world.
Yeah, so why don't you paradrop with your fellow soldiers into Syria and help Assad to "stabilize" his country, and to make sure Ze Evil West's "imperialism" won't go any further?
But the USSR had that right to control the world? I see.
Btw, have you even be around when the USSR still existed? And not just as a toddler playing with your toy tanks.
The same old argument by the same old nutjobs.
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