Situation in Syria

[Beaker]

Seems to be getting worse and worse:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/07/world/meast/syria-scene/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

And the Gulf Arab states are expelling Syrian ambassadors:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16932556

 

[Deeper_Background]

US, France, UK, Turkey, Italy prepare for military intervention in Syria
Exclusive Report February 23, 2012, 10:29 AM (GMT+02:00) Despite public denials, military preparations for intervention in the horrendous Syrian crisis are quietly afoot in Washington, Paris, Rome, London and Ankara. President Barack Obama is poised for a final decision after the Pentagon submits operational plans for protecting Syrian rebels and beleaguered populations from the brutal assaults of Bashar Assad’s army, Washington sources disclose.
This process is also underway in allied capitals which joined the US in the Libyan operation that ended Muammar Qaddafi’s rule in August, 2011. They are waiting for a White House decision before going forward.

The US president is also waiting for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s report on the mood at a Tunis conference. He wants to know in particular if Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the UAR will support US-led Western intervention in Syria, both politically and financially.
http://www.debka.com/article/21762/

 

[qtlaw]

Pretty soon, the sun will not set on the American "Empire" either?

 

[Deeper_Background]

Exclusive: State Department quietly warning region on Syrian WMDs
Posted By Josh Rogin Friday, February 24, 2012 - 3:03 PM Share

The State Department has begun coordinating with Syria's neighbors to prepare for the handling of President Bashar al-Assad's extensive weapons of mass destruction if and when his regime collapses, The Cable has learned.

This week, the State Department sent a diplomatic demarche to Syria's neighbors Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, warning them about the possibility of Syria's WMDs crossing their borders and offering U.S. government help in dealing with the problem, three Obama administration officials confirmed to The Cable. For concerned parties both inside and outside the U.S. government, the demarche signifies that the United States is increasingly developing plans to deal with the dangers of a post-Assad Syria -- while simultaneously highlighting the lack of planning for how to directly bring about Assad's downfall.

Syria is believed to have a substantial chemical weapons program, which includes mustard gas and sophisticated nerve agents, such as sarin gas, as well as biological weapons. Syria has also refused IAEA requests to make available facilities that were part of its nuclear weapons program and may still be in operation. http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/02/24/exclusive_state_department_quietly_warning_region_on_syrian_wmds

 

[Beaker]

Another massacre in Homs:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/27/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?on.cnn=1

 

[Boom_70]

Meanwhile the muslim world is more concerned with inadvertent koran burnings in Afghanistan.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Another massacre in Homs:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/27/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?on.cnn=1

They approved the referendum with "89.4" percent of the vote.

Well, at least I give the regime credit for not claiming that 100.7 percent approved the vote.

 

[Beaker]

Meanwhile the muslim world is more concerned with inadvertent koran burnings in Afghanistan.

All of the Arabic states, and even Syria's former proxy, Hamas, has condemned the Syrian regime.

 

[Boom_70]

Full article behind pay wall but here is abstract from Jon Lee Anderson story in The New Yorker on Syria:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/02/27/120227fa_fact_anderson

This guy just amazes me. He always seems to be at the front of every uprising that has occurred in the last 20 years.

Seems pretty clear that the problems in Syria are going to get worse before they get better.

 

[Stitch]

Meanwhile the muslim world is more concerned with inadvertent koran burnings in Afghanistan.

All of the Arabic states, and even Syria's former proxy, Hamas, has condemned the Syrian regime.

Time for a joint communique. That will show Assad.

 

[YankeeFan]

Meanwhile the muslim world is more concerned with inadvertent koran burnings in Afghanistan.

All of the Arabic states, and even Syria's former proxy, Hamas, has condemned the Syrian regime.

Time for a joint communique. That will show Assad.

I'm shocked he hasn't issued a formal apology yet.

 

[YankeeFan]

The big problem in Syria is the sectarian divide.

It's ruled by a minority, which has -- to some degree -- protected other minorities.

If the regime falls, there will be lots of retribution.

The Times explore this today:

Abu Ali recalled hearing anti-Shiite slogans chanted in Homs by rebels in opposition to Syria’s alliance with Iran, which, like Iraq, is a majority-Shiite state in a region that is predominantly Sunni. He heard calls for “Christians to go to Beirut,” and “Alawites to the grave.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/world/middleeast/syria-crisis-highlights-paradoxes-of-assad-support.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

 

[Boom_70]

It always seems like most people are rooting for the rebels in these uprisings.

 

[YankeeFan]

Kurds are fleeing Syria -- and going to Iraq! (And, yes, it's Iraqi Kurdistan, but it's still pretty interesting.)

And, ethnic & religious minorities, are still terrified they'll be worse off under a new regime.

But the Kurdish activists remain divided, and so are not a full force in the drive to oust Mr. Assad. Like Syria’s Christians, many are deeply suspicious and fear that a new Sunni government will marginalize them even further. In meetings of Syrian opposition leaders, Kurdish representatives have quarreled over which rights, freedoms and powers Kurds would have — or would be denied — in a new Syria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/world/middleeast/syrian-kurds-flee-into-iraqi-refugee-limbo.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

 

[Boom_70]

How did the US decide to root for the rebels in this match?

I am bit bored of backing rebels. I 'd like to see us back the presiding leader like the good ole days..

 

[Azrael]

One of the few places in the modern middle east where we've never had any pull.

 

[Deeper_Background]

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert
Exclusive Report September 6, 2012, 10:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian rebels under Turkish command

Turkish army officers have assumed direct command of the first two Syrian rebel brigades fighting Bashar Assad’s government forces, according to exclusive sources. This step has sent military tensions rocketing on Israel’s northern borders with Syria and Lebanon in case of a backlash.
The rebel North Liberators Brigade in the Idlib region of northern Syria and the Tawhid Brigade fighting in the Al-Bab area northeast of Aleppo are now taking their operational orders from Turkish officers, who exercise their authority from headquarters outside Syria in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep. Nonetheless, Turkey is considered to have stepped directly into the Syrian conflict marking the onset of foreign intervention.
Western and Arab military circles in the Middle East expect Turkey to extend its command to additional rebel units – not all of them part of the Free Syrian Army. http://www.debka.com/article/22336/Turkish-officers-take-command-of-Syrian-rebel-brigades-N-Israel-on-alert