Assad says Syria at war as battle reaches capital

World Jun. 27, 2012 - 07:15AM JST ( 19 )

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NeverSubmitJun. 27, 2012 - 08:56AM JST

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group which compiles reports from rebels,

Like clockwork, Rami in London(and only him) dishes out the daily precise body count figures.

Some defence experts said the Turkish plane could have been testing Russian-supplied Syrian air defenses.

Seems like a plausible explanation. I guess Turkey doesn't care so much about their own pilots.

Government forces seized rocket launchers, sniper rifles, machineguns and a huge amount of ammunition, it said.

And these weapons came from where? It's against international law by the way for any state to provide weapons to a non-state entity. The equivalent would be of North Korea arming the AUM group or Pakistan arming Al Qaeda. It's clearly against international law.

Turkey is the base for the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and shelters more than 30,000 refugees - a number Erdogan worries could rise sharply as fighting spreads. Rebel soldiers move regularly across the border and defectors muster inside Turkey.

That's funny, at first NATO denied providing any support whatsoever to the Rebels. And yes, Turkey's military support of a non-state entity is in contravention to international rules regarding military sales and assistance. What if Russia provided rocket launchers directly to Al Qaeda. Would that be acceptable?

So far there has been no sign of an appetite for intervention like that carried out last year by NATO against Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.

I don't buy it. Hillary is frothing at the mouth, just itching to start bombing. NATO will publicly claim that they don't want to get involved but behind the scenes they are no doubt plotting various invasion strategies.
2

bass4funkJun. 27, 2012 - 09:35AM JST

Like clockwork, Rami in London(and only him) dishes out the daily precise body count figures.

What are you talking about? So they should just leave the bodies there, let them rot, not to keep track because after 100, 200, 1000...who cares, who needs a body count, just keep on killing and don't worry who gets wasted. At this point, it really doesn't matter anymore, why would Assad care, a dead body is a dead body.

And these weapons came from where? It's against international law by the way for any state to provide weapons to a non-state entity. The equivalent would be of North Korea arming the AUM group or Pakistan arming Al Qaeda. It's clearly against international law.

I don't hear you having any problems with the Russians trying to supply arms to the Assad regime, where is your outrage about that? That too, is against international law, but hey, who's looking, right?
0

nandakandamandaJun. 27, 2012 - 11:27AM JST

Rami is not in London.

His figures, while no figures from there can be 'precise', are more trusted by Amnesty International and other neutral bodies, because he has a track record of neutrality. He does not advocate foreign intervention there and believes the Syrian people themselves must make the ultimate decision.
1

SuperLibJun. 27, 2012 - 11:44AM JST

The United Nations accuses Syrian forces of killing more than 10,000 people during the conflict

There's that Rami guy again....
2

lostrune2Jun. 27, 2012 - 11:45AM JST

And these weapons came from where? It's against international law by the way for any state to provide weapons to a non-state entity. The equivalent would be of North Korea arming the AUM group or Pakistan arming Al Qaeda. It's clearly against international law.

I don't hear you having any problems with the Russians trying to supply arms to the Assad regime, where is your outrage about that? That too, is against international law, but hey, who's looking, right?

Or Iran arming the Hezbollah and Hamas or the Shiite militias in Iraq. Syria is just getting a taste of its own ally's medicine.
1

SuperLibJun. 27, 2012 - 01:09PM JST

Syria is just getting a taste of its own ally's medicine.

And their own medicine as well. Let's not forget Syria's little "visit" into Lebanon all those years, plus the assassination of Rafic Hariri, plus support for Hezbollah who has been their proxy for attacks into other countries. For Iran, don't leave out the Taliban. Straight from Iranian factories to the front lines.

Assad might be starting to feel that noose tighten around his neck...
-4

NeverSubmitJun. 27, 2012 - 03:40PM JST

I don't hear you having any problems with the Russians trying to supply arms to the Assad regime, where is your outrage about that? That too, is against international law, but hey, who's looking, right

How is that against international law? Syria and Russia are both nation states and members of the UN. They're legally allowed to trade weapons with one another.

The Syrian rebel army has the same legal status as the Hells Angels. They're just a roaming gang of thugs. They have no authorization to purchase or receive military grade weapons.
-3

NeverSubmitJun. 27, 2012 - 03:46PM JST

The United Nations accuses Syrian forces of killing more than 10,000 people during the conflict

And no comment from the UN about the atrocities committed by the Syrian rebels? Why only the one-sided comment from the UN. Are the rebels all pious angels? Either they are nor the news we are getting is heavily biased.

Ask yourself why so much fighting is in civilian areas. I'll give you the answer, that's the tactic of the rebels. Draw the Syrian police into a firefight in civilian areas to maximize damage.

If the rebels who truly pious and honorable they would steer clear of all residential areas.

One of the few journalists to actually spend time with the rebels was Alex Thomson.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9321068/Channel-4-journalist-Alex-Thomson-says-Syria-rebels-led-me-into-death-trap.html

Interesting insight into the strategy of the rebels.
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NeverSubmitJun. 27, 2012 - 04:32PM JST

Rami is not in London.

His figures, while no figures from there can be 'precise', are more trusted by Amnesty International and other neutral bodies, because he has a track record of neutrality. He does not advocate foreign intervention there and believes the Syrian people themselves must make the ultimate decision.

If Rami is so neutral and fair why is it that in all these 15 months of fighting he has never attributed any civilian deaths to the Rebel forces. Do you honestly believe that in 15 months of fighting not one civilian was hurt or killed by rebel gunfire? If you believe that than you're a simpleton fool.

So then ask yourself why is it that the Rami and his fake activist group attribute all civilian casualties solely on Syrian police and soldiers.

Is real combat so cut and dry? Is this way really about one side being pure, honest and just and the other side being evil and horrible. I think reality is not so simple. But Rami tries to present it as such. Therefore I doubt him. Much like I doubted the Damascus blogger when she first started post. The same newspapers that are quoting Rami's figures now all used to quote hers, until she was exposed as a total fraud.
1

Ben JackJun. 27, 2012 - 05:41PM JST

And no comment from the UN about the atrocities committed by the Syrian rebels?

You do this a lot. You claim things that when checked turn out to be untrue. On May 11, 2012, it was reported that the UN Security Council condemned the bombings in Damascus and told both the regime and the rebels that the violence must end. Now is it okay for us to talk about the people killed by the Assad regime?

They're just a roaming gang of thugs.

Does that mean you have given up claiming they are foreigners running around Syria speaking foreign languages?

Interesting insight into the strategy of the rebels.

So, now we can trust the media? We can't trust the media? Could you please make up your mind?

It is obvious you do not like Rami. However, how about actual proof that something is amiss? You keep suggesting something is amiss, but you do not actually say anything specific.
1

nandakandamandaJun. 27, 2012 - 06:05PM JST

Thank you for throwing up a 'fact', asking me if I believe it and without waiting for an answer calling me "a simpleton fool".

My answer is that I believe civilians are getting caught in crossfire from the rebels and the regular government troops; other civilians are being deliberately targeted by the Shabiha militiamen death squads who are permitted to do the dirty work of the government. I believe that the government is trying to crush the uprising by force, as Assad's father did before, and having the heavier weaponry is causing greater collateral civilian damage. I believe that a civil war is just that and will need to be played out internally with no outside interference, but that it will involve grim and desperate suffering, mutilation and death in massive numbers. I have no idea who will win, one tribe or another, one branch of Islam or another, one political faction or another. That will be in Allah's hands, and there is nothing the UN can do about it.

Russia and Iran will continue to arm the present regime, and others will try to arm the opposition. Neighboring countries will look on in alarm, as a political vacuum in such an unstable area is dangerous for the wider community. Iran might feel obliged to step in and take over. I do not think NATO should in any way get involved. It will be a Phyrric victory for whoever comes out in control.
2

SuperLibJun. 27, 2012 - 07:25PM JST

Ask yourself why so much fighting is in civilian areas.

Oh, NeverSubmit, I think most people come to these threads and ask themselves why someone has turned himself into such a mouthpiece for Assad. That's a bigger mystery than any question you could ever ask us.
0

SerranoJun. 27, 2012 - 08:17PM JST

Hey, Baby Assad was elected president of Syria with 97.2 % of the vote! He's real popular!
-1

NeverSubmitJun. 27, 2012 - 11:42PM JST

Oh, NeverSubmit, I think most people come to these threads and ask themselves why someone has turned himself into such a mouthpiece for Assad. That's a bigger mystery than any question you could ever ask us.

Cute little attempt into dragging me into some kind of childish name calling battle but I won't fall for it.

I'm not interested in personal attacks or attacking the character of other posters.

I think it's a fair question to ask why the rebel forces always choose to fight in civilian neighborhoods. I'm pretty sure the Geneva convention stipulates that warring parties should try to avoid populated areas. Yet the rebels have made it their strategy to hide in the suburbs and homes. It's disgusting if you ask me.

And today, the rebels killed 7 civilians at a Syrian TV station. Don't expect it to make the headlines in the Western press though. Nor don't expect any comment from the "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights"

I know it's the norm among many to limit their news sources to only Reuters and AP. Unfortunately, that leads to distorted perceptions.

There are other sources out there.

This is from the Vatican newswire, since they do have people there.

http://sacns.scripturelink.net/2012/06/syrian-rebels-using-hostages-as-human.html
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nandakandamandaJun. 28, 2012 - 12:22AM JST

NeverSubmit, I agree with you that the attack on the TV station is horrible.

It ** is** being reported everywhere, you know.
1

SuperLibJun. 28, 2012 - 02:17AM JST

NeverSubmit: I'm not interested in personal attacks or attacking the character of other posters. I think it's a fair question to ask why....

You keep talking about how all of the information comes from "this one guy" when the article clearly gives a UN estimate that's right there in the article for everyone to see. It's right above your words. Everyone read it. I think it's fair to ask why you would do that since there is no debate whether the words are actually there or not. So....why did you do that?
-2

NeverSubmitJun. 28, 2012 - 06:17AM JST

NeverSubmit, I agree with you that the attack on the TV station is horrible

Then why support these terrorist rebels? Their tactics are beyond reproach.

They massacred civilian employees of a private TV station. They draw the Syrian police and army into a firefight inside suburbs and near homes, as a tactic to mazimize collateral damage. They try to lure journalists into traps so they can have them killed as a propaganda tactic. They plant bombs in civilian areas, apparently in total disregard of nearby civilians.

Nobody should be supporting these ruthless terrorists and for heaven's sake nobody should be providing them with arms.

The Syrian people by the way despise the rebel army.
1

Ben JackJun. 28, 2012 - 06:49AM JST

Never Submit,

Let's review, shall we? You claim the UN does not condemn rebel activities. You are shown to be incorrect. You claim a person representing casualty figures is in London. You are shown to be incorrect. You claim foreigners are running around Syria speaking foreign languages and never back up this claim. You claim the Russian foreign minister said there were foreigners running around Syria speaking foreign languages. You are shown to be incorrect. You call other people names and question people's intelligence and then claim you do not want to get drawn into name-calling. You claim you don't expect the TV station attacks to be reported in the Western press, when they are being reported everywhere and it is clear that the rebels did this. You claim people here are "supporting" the rebels, when I have seen little or nothing of this. In fact, the only one I see regularly supporting a specific side, but not backing up their claims, is you. You consistently back the Assad regime side and have done so from the beginning. All while claiming you are not taking sides. Care to explain that?
1

Ben JackJun. 28, 2012 - 06:51AM JST

The Syrian people by the way despise the rebel army.

All of them do? Most of them do? Cool. Prove it, please. It would be nice if you finanlly actually backed up something you said with facts of some sort.