Latest from Syria

[MJB12741]

Now over 80,000 dead & still going strong in Syria.

Rockets Hit Lebanon as Nasrallah Vows Victory in Syria War (4) - Businessweek

 

[MJB12741]

With Iranian rockets & Russian missiles to Assad, Syria's war may become international.

Will Israel destroy Russian missiles? - Israel Opinion, Ynetnews

 

[ForeverYoung436]

Now over 80,000 dead & still going strong in Syria.

Rockets Hit Lebanon as Nasrallah Vows Victory in Syria War (4) - Businessweek

I don't think anyone cares about those 80,000 Arabs if they weren't killed by Israelis. In fact, Sherri's heart bled so much for the Syrian soldiers who killed those civilians, but not a tear over the Syrian civilians.

 

[MJB12741]

Yes but what about all the times she has grieved over all the Israeli children murdered by the Palestinians?

Now over 80,000 dead & still going strong in Syria.

Rockets Hit Lebanon as Nasrallah Vows Victory in Syria War (4) - Businessweek

I don't think anyone cares about those 80,000 Arabs if they weren't killed by Israelis. In fact, Sherri's heart bled so much for the Syrian soldiers who killed those civilians, but not a tear over the Syrian civilians.

 

[waltky]

Syrian war becoming Sunni/Shia regional conflict...

Sunni Extremists Call for Jihad Against Shi’ites Over Syria
May 30, 2013 – In a further sign that Syria’s civil war is increasingly becoming a theater of battle between Shi’ite and Sunni extremists – under the respective flags of Hezbollah and al-Qaeda – a group of Sunni radicals in Egypt is citing the Syrian situation in its appeal to Sunnis everywhere to support a jihad against Shi’ites.

Twenty Egyptian Salafists including Mohammed al-Zawahiri, the brother of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, urged Sunnis to target Hezbollah and others involved in the fighting in the Syrian town of al-Qusair (al-Qusayr).

According to U.S. and Syrian opposition officials, thousands of Shi’ite fighters from Hezbollah, Iran and Iraq have been involved in the fighting around the rebel-held town near the Syria-Lebanon border in recent weeks. “Hezbollah and all who participated in the attack on Qusayr and other Muslim countries must be fought,” said the message, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. “Iran and Hezbollah seek to divide the region into mini-states that follow their brand of Shi’ism.”

The message urged Sunnis to “deploy, whether you are light or heavy, to support and assist our people in the Levant in order to deter the aggression from them.” It also made reference to attacks against minority Sunnis in Iraq, accusing Shi’ites of harboring a “deep hatred for our Sunni people everywhere that is no longer a secret.” “We call upon the Sunnis in general in the countries that are ruled by the Shi’ites, and the mujahideen in particular, to target these countries and move the battle inside them …”

Countries ruled by Shi’ites are Iran and Iraq, while Syrian President Bashar Assad is an adherent of the Shi’ite Allawite sect. Among the rebels fighting him are Sunni jihadists including those belonging to the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front/Islamic State of Iraq (also sometimes labeled jointly as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.)

MORE

See also:

State Dept.: Al-Qaeda Headed for ‘Defeat’, But Arab Turmoil Helping Other Terrorists
May 31, 2013 -– The State Department’s annual report on terrorism, released Thursday, echoes President Obama’s assertion that al-Qaeda is “on a path to defeat” but concedes that it remains capable of inspiring and carrying out attacks. The report also highlights how Islamist terrorists have been able to take advantage of “tumultuous events” in the Arab world, from Libya to Syria.

The 2012 Country Reports on Terrorism says that the Ayman al-Zawahiri-led group – which the administration calls the “AQ core” – has been “significantly degraded” by setbacks including the deaths of key leaders in 2011 and 2012. Even so, it “still has the ability to inspire, plot, and launch regional and transnational attacks from its safe haven in Western Pakistan.” “Along with AQ, the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, and other like-minded groups continue to conduct operations against U.S., Coalition, Afghan, and Pakistani interests from safe havens on both sides of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border,” the report says.

Despite blows to AQ and two of its affiliates – al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQIM) in Yemen and al-Shabaab in Somalia – “tumultuous events in the Middle East and North Africa have complicated the counterterrorism picture.” Among these, the report cites the conflict in Syria and instability in post-Gaddafi Libya. In Syria, the report says that al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), operating under the pseudonym al-Nusrah Front, has “sought to portray itself as part of the legitimate Syrian opposition and attempted to hijack Syria’s struggle for democracy.” It says al-Nusrah has claimed nearby 600 attacks inside Syria since late 2011, including more than 40 suicide attacks.

The report notes that al-Nusrah “says it is fighting to establish an Islamic caliphate encompassing the entire Levant,” and that its leader last April publicly pledged fealty to AQ and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Other reports have named al-Nusrah as among the most effective of the various rebel groups fighting to topple the Assad regime – and just one of a number of Sunni jihadist elements engaged in the conflict. When the Obama administration last December blacklisted al-Nusrah (by amending AQI’s designation as a foreign terrorist organization to add al-Nusrah as an alias), the move was criticized by dozens of Syrian rebel groups, including the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army.

Concerns have grown over the past year that weapon shipments to the anti-Assad opposition, mostly originating from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were mostly benefiting extremist groups. The U.S. so far has supplied only non-lethal aid to the mainstream opposition, but some members of Congress are pushing for the arming of “vetted” rebel groups. The European Union this week edged closer to arming rebels, agreeing to lift an arms embargo on Syria.

Libyan ‘security vacuum’

 

[RoccoR]

waltky, et al,

There is a certain amount of truth to this.

Syrian war becoming Sunni/Shia regional conflict...

(COMMENT)

Syrian non-combatants are reporting that, where ever Hezbollah joins the fight in favor of the Assad Regime, they also bring with them a Sunni-Shi'ite confrontation.

There is a couple reasons for this. Iran wants it to happen. Iran eventually want to inspire a conflict between HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH, once a pro-Iranian Shi'ite regime is stabilized in Syria; and Israel weakens HAMAS to a serious degree. It is why Iran helps HAMAS and encourages it to instigate conflict and provoke war.

BTW:

• AQIM = al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
• AQI = al-Qaeda in Iraq or al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia [formerly: Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (JTJ) out of Jordan]
• AQAP = al-Qaeda Arabian Peninsula

Most Respectfully,
R

 

[MJB12741]

Personally I think it doesn't much matter to Israel who winds up ruling Syria. While the Syrians continue to massacre each other, Israel just keeps on making more contributions to the world to better the lives of civilized humanity.

 

[Trajan]

putin kept Kerry waiting 3 hours to see him , then 2 days later announces he sending anti aircraft batteries to Syria........

this is a proxy war and obama better wake up, ala 67 and 73.But alas, we are so far behind, I am not sure it will matter or f there are ANY good outcomes here...what a mess.

 

[irosie91]

waltky, et al,

There is a certain amount of truth to this.

Syrian war becoming Sunni/Shia regional conflict...

(COMMENT)

Syrian non-combatants are reporting that, where ever Hezbollah joins the fight in favor of the Assad Regime, they also bring with them a Sunni-Shi'ite confrontation.

There is a couple reasons for this. Iran wants it to happen. Iran eventually want to inspire a conflict between HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH, once a pro-Iranian Shi'ite regime is stabilized in Syria; and Israel weakens HAMAS to a serious degree. It is why Iran helps
HAMAS and encourages it to instigate conflict and provoke war.


Most Respectfully,

thank you Mr R. fellow posters---lets us keep in
mind----everytime a holy jihadist slits a throat
or bombs a cafe ----whether sunni or shiite---it is
all good----it is all for the sake of DAR AL ISLAM --
a minor sacrifice in the HOLY JIHAD toward the
FULFILLMENT of divine prophecy in the name of
a pile of "pbuhs"

when do they get to saudi arabia?

 

[georgephillip]

waltky, et al,

There is a certain amount of truth to this.

Syrian war becoming Sunni/Shia regional conflict...

(COMMENT)

Syrian non-combatants are reporting that, where ever Hezbollah joins the fight in favor of the Assad Regime, they also bring with them a Sunni-Shi'ite confrontation.

There is a couple reasons for this. Iran wants it to happen. Iran eventually want to inspire a conflict between HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH, once a pro-Iranian Shi'ite regime is stabilized in Syria; and Israel weakens HAMAS to a serious degree. It is why Iran helps HAMAS and encourages it to instigate conflict and provoke war.

BTW:

• AQIM = al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
• AQI = al-Qaeda in Iraq or al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia [formerly: Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (JTJ) out of Jordan]
• AQAP = al-Qaeda Arabian Peninsula

Most Respectfully,
R

Rocco...what effect did the US invasion and occupation of Iraq have on Sunni v Shia violence throughout the Middle East? As I recall, Iraqis were puzzled by why the US military required Sunni sheiks to stand on one side of the room during meetings while their Shia counterparts were assigned the opposite wall.

Divide and conquer? (again)

 

[irosie91]

waltky, et al,

There is a certain amount of truth to this.

Syrian war becoming Sunni/Shia regional conflict...

(COMMENT)

Syrian non-combatants are reporting that, where ever Hezbollah joins the fight in favor of the Assad Regime, they also bring with them a Sunni-Shi'ite confrontation.

There is a couple reasons for this. Iran wants it to happen. Iran eventually want to inspire a conflict between HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH, once a pro-Iranian Shi'ite regime is stabilized in Syria; and Israel weakens HAMAS to a serious degree. It is why Iran helps HAMAS and encourages it to instigate conflict and provoke war.

BTW:

• AQIM = al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
• AQI = al-Qaeda in Iraq or al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia [formerly: Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (JTJ) out of Jordan]
• AQAP = al-Qaeda Arabian Peninsula

Most Respectfully,
R

Rocco...what effect did the US invasion and occupation of Iraq have on Sunni v Shia violence throughout the Middle East? As I recall, Iraqis were puzzled by why the US military required Sunni sheiks to stand on one side of the room during meetings while their Shia counterparts were assigned the opposite wall.

Divide and conquer? (again)

georgie----are you extremely stupid or just pretending. -----Long ago---more than
45 years ago ---when I was very young----I was in a position that brought me into
contact with lots of foreign born professionals in the US for further education----I was
a college student and they were recent graduates----and----it was a big place---
and some long hours. Lots of them were from India, Pakistan, Iran--- I am
a bit interested in ----"CULTURES" ----the hindus fascinated me---the sikhs facinated me
etc etc----everyone facinated me. One of the first PHENOMENA I noticed was that
the when the pakistanis encountered an Iranian---- DAGGERS would fly out of the
eyes of each. I had no idea why-----but we were all young and young people do
talk with each other-----young people far from home like to find someone
with whom to talk. It was in those years----more than 45 years ago---that I
learned about SHIITE and SUNNI---------to make a long story short they
have been killing each other for the past 1400 years -----sects of islam based on
an issue of ROYAL LINE-----shiites believe that the son-in-law of muhummad
was supposed to be the NEXT IN LINE-----sunnis don't In islamic "culture"--
the CALIPH is "holy"----appointed by the big guy in the sky----and something like
an avatar of muhummad ON EARTH------it is almost like the concept of the Japanese
emperor------something like a "god" In islamic law---bad mouthing the caliph is
BLASPHEMY ---a capital crime. Indonesia just passed a law that "INSULTING THE
PRESIDENT" is a crime worthy of a jail sentence----lets applaud Indonesia for not
making that crime CAPITAL as it is in strict shariah law.

I do not believe that you are as ignorant as you pretend to be----you just like
to annoy people

 

[RoccoR]

georgephillip, et al,

Yes, I guess you had to be there.

Divide and conquer? (again)

(COMMENT)

The table was very wide. It was an attempt to minimize casualties. You just wouldn't believe how violent these guys can get.

Most Respectfully,
R

 

[irosie91]

georgephillip, et al,

Yes, I guess you had to be there.

Divide and conquer? (again)

(COMMENT)

The table was very wide. It was an attempt to minimize casualties. You just wouldn't believe how violent these guys can get.

Most Respectfully,
R

Mr R---LONG LONG ago----right here in the USA----I was kinda privy to the fallout---
when an Iranian and Pakistani ---were assigned to be room-mates I had so
much fun interacting with them ----VERY SEPARATELY-----They both confided in me---
-about the OTHER GUY--------of course I never gave the slightest hint---to either that
I had any conversation at all with THE OTHER. I do not think you could possibly
succeed in explaining it to georgie.

uhm -----I am still wondering how all this will pan out-----like how hezbollah
is managing to keep cool when dealing with muslim brotherhood or hamas
people

 

[georgephillip]

putin kept Kerry waiting 3 hours to see him , then 2 days later announces he sending anti aircraft batteries to Syria........

this is a proxy war and obama better wake up, ala 67 and 73.But alas, we are so far behind, I am not sure it will matter or f there are ANY good outcomes here...what a mess.

Do you sense an impending '83 moment?

"Able Archer 83 was a ten-day NATO command post exercise starting on November 2, 1983, that spanned Western Europe, centered on the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE)

"Headquarters situated at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons. Able Archer exercises simulated a period of conflict escalation, culminating in a coordinated nuclear release.[1]

"The realistic nature of the 1983 exercise, coupled with deteriorating relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and the anticipated arrival of strategic Pershing II nuclear missiles in Europe, led some members of the Soviet Politburo and Soviet military to believe that Able Archer 83 was a ruse of war, obscuring preparations for a genuine nuclear first strike.[1][2][3][4]"

 

[georgephillip]

georgephillip, et al,

Yes, I guess you had to be there.

Divide and conquer? (again)

(COMMENT)

The table was very wide. It was an attempt to minimize casualties. You just wouldn't believe how violent these guys can get.

Most Respectfully,
R

How does the violence between Sunni and Shia in Iraq differ between April 15, 2003 and the latest Boston Marathon?

"Some of the worst Shia–Sunni sectarian strife ever has occurred after the start of the Iraq War, steadily building up to present.[12] Deaths from American and allied military collateral damage[70] have become overshadowed by the cycle of Sunni–Shia revenge killing—Sunni often using car bombs,with Shia favoring death squads.[71]

"According to one estimate, as of early 2008, 1,121 Muslim suicide bombers have blown themselves up in Iraq.[72] Sunni suicide bombers have targeted not only thousands of civilians,[73] but mosques, shrines,[74] wedding and funeral processions,[75] markets, hospitals, offices, and streets..."

"The violence shows little sign of getting opposite sides to back down. Iran's Shia leaders, some of whom have strong ties with Iraqi Shia, are said to become 'more determined' the more violent the anti-Shia attacks in Iraq become.[89]

"One Shia Grand Ayatollah, Yousef Saanei, who has been described as a moderate, reacted to the 2005 suicide bombings of Shia targets in Iraq by saying the bombers were 'wolves without pity' and that 'sooner rather than later, Iran will have to put them down.'"

Shia?Sunni relations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[irosie91]

georgephillip, et al,

Yes, I guess you had to be there.

Divide and conquer? (again)

(COMMENT)

The table was very wide. It was an attempt to minimize casualties. You just wouldn't believe how violent these guys can get.

Most Respectfully,
R

How does the violence between Sunni and Shia in Iraq differ between April 15, 2003 and
the latest Boston Marathon?

"Some of the worst Shia–Sunni sectarian strife ever has occurred after the start of the
Iraq War, steadily building up to present.[12] Deaths from American and allied military collateral damage[70] have become overshadowed by the cycle of Sunni–Shia revenge killing—Sunni often using car bombs,with Shia favoring death squads.[71]

"According to one estimate, as of early 2008, 1,121 Muslim suicide bombers have blown themselves up in Iraq.[72] Sunni suicide bombers have targeted not only thousands of civilians,[73] but mosques, shrines,[74] wedding and funeral processions,[75] markets,
hospitals, offices, and streets..."

"The violence shows little sign of getting opposite sides to back down. Iran's Shia leaders, some of whom have strong ties with Iraqi Shia, are said to become 'more
determined' the more violent the anti-Shia attacks in Iraq become.[89]

"One Shia Grand Ayatollah, Yousef Saanei, who has been described as a moderate, reacted to the 2005 suicide bombings of Shia targets in Iraq by saying the bombers
were 'wolves without pity' and that 'sooner rather than later, Iran will have to put them down.'"

Shia?Sunni
relations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georgie ---the information you cited IS important---but what
is YOUR POINT? Russia has supported this or that side in
MANY MANY conflicts in the middle east---in fact in all of the
islamic world for MANY MANY decades. I am ---uhm---not
young-----and not all that into world politics----certainly not when
I was a child in the late 50s----but even I remember---on the way
to the comics at that back of the newspaper---articles on
RUSSIAN SUPPORT for the southern side in the civil war in
Yemen Did you know that that war was something like a
BAATHIST THING? (I certainly didn't---I knew more about
dick tracey) To understand what is going on in the Middle
east-----you need to know about ----BAATHISM ---its big time
players----like NASSER, ASSAD, SADDAM, ARABISM -----
and both nazi and communist support thereof. All of them--
ie nazism, communism, arabism/islamicism are totalitarian
utopian ideologies------even though they vary in details----they
ALL have something in common------they all underlie lots
of wars and lots of genocides

 

[georgephillip]

"The Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement of 1944 was based on negotiations between the United States and Britain over the control of Middle Eastern oil. Below is shown what the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in mind for to a British Ambassador in 1944:

"Persian oil …is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it’s ours.[6]

"On August 8, 1944, the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement was signed, dividing Middle Eastern oil between the United States and Britain. Consequently, political scholar Fred H Lawson remarks, that ‘by mid-1944, U.S. officials had buttressed their country’s position on the peninsula by concluding an Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement that protected 'all valid concession contracts and lawfully acquired rights' belonging to the signatories and established a principle of 'equal opportunity' in those areas where no concession had yet been assigned.’[7]

"Furthermore, political scholar Irvine Anderson summarises American interests in the Middle East in the late 19th century and the early 20th century noting that, ‘the most significant event of the period was the transition of the United States from the position of net exporter to one of net importer of petroleum.’[8]

"By the end of the Second World War, the United States had come to consider the Middle East region as ‘the most strategically important area of the world’.[9] and ‘…one of the greatest material prizes in world history’.[9]

"For that reason, it was not until around the period of the Second World War that America became directly involved in the Middle East region. At this time the region was going through great social, economic and political changes and as a result, internally the Middle East region was in turmoil.

"Politically, the Middle East was experiencing an upsurge in the popularity of nationalistic politics and an increase in the number of nationalistic political groups across the region, which was causing great trouble for the English and French colonial powers."

American intervention in the Middle East - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[irosie91]

"The Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement of 1944 was based on negotiations between the United States and Britain over the control of Middle Eastern oil. Below is shown what the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in mind for to a British Ambassador in 1944:

"Persian oil …is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it’s ours.[6]

"On August 8, 1944, the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement was signed, dividing Middle Eastern oil between the United States and Britain. Consequently, political scholar Fred H Lawson remarks, that ‘by mid-1944, U.S. officials had buttressed their country’s position on the peninsula by concluding an Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement that protected 'all valid concession contracts and lawfully acquired rights' belonging to the signatories and established a principle of 'equal opportunity' in those areas where no concession had yet been assigned.’[7]

"Furthermore, political scholar Irvine Anderson summarises American interests in the Middle East in the late 19th century and the early 20th century noting that, ‘the most significant event of the period was the transition of the United States from the position of net exporter to one of net importer of petroleum.’[8]

"By the end of the Second World War, the United States had come to consider the Middle East region as ‘the most strategically important area of the world’.[9] and ‘…one of the greatest material prizes in world history’.[9]

"For that reason, it was not until around the period of the Second World War that America became directly involved in the Middle East region. At this time the region was
going through great social, economic and political changes and as a result, internally the Middle East region was in turmoil.

"Politically, the Middle East was experiencing an upsurge in the popularity of nationalistic politics and an increase in the number of nationalistic political groups across the region,
which was causing great trouble for the English and French colonial powers."

American intervention in the Middle East - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

excellent ---georgie You are learning----It is absolutely true that
england and the USA etc -----made contracts with people in
middle eastern countries which involved developing the oil in those
countries and that is how those countries became wealthy----and
england and the USA got lots of oil. Russia saw the opportunity to
promulgate its SPHERE OF INFLUENCE by encouraging NATIONALIST movements
in arab countries so that the contracts would be breached by
NATIONALIZING the oil works. The 1950s were marked by
several very bloody conflicts over these breaches and for power
in arab countries-----and THE BEAT GOES ON------now you
understand why Russia supports ASSAD----the bloody murderer
of hundreds of thousands The PRO RUSSIA movement in the
middle east is called BAATHISM ----your good friend the very
bloody murderer SADDAM was a BAATHIST ----Baathists love
to kill -------they have murdered millions in genocides ----something
like Stalin

 

[georgephillip]

Did you miss this part?

"...the most significant event of the period was the transition of the United States from the position of net exporter to one of net importer of petroleum."

We were stealing their oil while the US was the globe's leading oil exporter.
Can you fathom the relative criminality that policy any more than the relative significance of Stalin's murders compared to those of your own countrymen like Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, and Bush?

American intervention in the Middle East - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[irosie91]

try again----the USA PURCHASES oil----not only does the USA, Great Britain et all
PURCHASE oil-----the USA, Great Britain et al
GAVE ITS TECHNICAL SKILL away to develope
the oil fields upon which impetigo afflicted
arabs squatted and defecated---and made them so wealthy in doing so that their "ROYALS" no longer have impetigo