Crisis in Syri� #19

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Op zondag 3 maart 2013 03:51 schreef sp3c het volgende:
ik heb protocol 1 letterlijk gequote

er is geen ban op area bombardment

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An attack by bombardment by any methods or means that treats as a single military objective a number of clearly separated and distinct military objectives is considered to be an indiscriminate attack and is prohibited.

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Op zondag 3 maart 2013 03:52 schreef ATan het volgende:

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Ja dat is er wel want het gaat nog verder:

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Op zondag 3 maart 2013 03:56 schreef sp3c het volgende:

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de sleutel hier is an attack that treats as a single military objective a number of clearly seperated and distict military objectives

als redelijkerwijs aangenomen kan worden dat de doelen met elkaar verbonden zijn dan is het bombs away

als er dan bommen op een woonwijk vallen dan is dat pech gehad

wat Assad doet is duidelijk niet volgens de regels, de tapijtbombardementen op het Tora Bora gebergte waren dit wel

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de sleutel hier is an attack that treats as a single military objective a number of clearly seperated and distict military objectives
als redelijkerwijs aangenomen kan worden dat de doelen met elkaar verbonden zijn dan is het bombs away

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Op zondag 3 maart 2013 04:02 schreef ATan het volgende:

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Het moet dan wel een groep van hetzelfde zijn. Een kazerne met daarnaast een vliegveld mag je niet met een enkel (tapijt)bombardement doen.

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Assad: UK is 'famously unconstructive' towards Syria - video

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The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, accuses the British government of being 'na�ve, confused and unrealistic' in its approach to his country. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Assad rejects the notion that the UK may help bring an end to the civil war, complaining arming rebel fighters will only heighten violence. William Hague and John Kerry have both promised to assist anti-Assad rebels in Syria with aid and equipment

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The "resistance" myth is dead

It is possible for an individual to hold the wrong views for the right reasons, just as it is possible to hold the right views for the wrong reasons. There is nothing wrong with believing in something at one stage, and then, when presented with a different set of facts, change our views completely. The same holds true for what was once referred to as the "resistance" axis in the Middleast: Iran; Hezbullah; Syria and Hamas.

There are some who had become so attached to the world view and ideology of the resistance axis, and had so internalized its discourse and nomenclature, that it has no effectively shaped their perception of the facts in such a way that it is not possible for them to understand what is happening Syria, they are epistemologically limited to what the Party wishes them to believe. This is nothing new, and human history is littered with failed experiments of alternative realities, whether of National Socialism or even Communism. History, however, is also littered with those who rejected "groupthink" and rejected the opinions and values that they had once held dearly and passionately.

If the idea of "groupthink" or of being epistomologically limited to understanding something only in a sanctioned mode of thought sounds familiar, then that is because such concepts had emerged in various literary forms, most notably in Orwell's (n�e Blair) 1984. For those who haven't ever read this book, I suggest you turn off your laptop or smartphone and immediately get your hands on it. In 1984, Orwell speaks of a totalitarian and authoritarian government that has been so successful in repressing its citizens, that it has even started limiting the language that they speak so that it would not even be possible for them to think of dissent, let alone express it.

In 1936, Orwell went to Spain to fight for the Communists as part of the Republican forces fighting back the fascist insurgency that eventually took over the country. During this time, it became clear to Orwell that Soviet Communism was not what he thought it was, and that rather than liberating people, it simply replaced one set of oppressors for another. This served as the inspiration for his other great story, Animal Farm, where the animals that revolt against the humans eventually find that the pigs who come to hijack their revolution are barely different from their former oppressors.

But Orwell is just one amongst many intellectuals and thinkers whose originally held beliefs were challenged by reality and who were forced to re-evaluate. Sartre denounced the Soviet repression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, along with other communist intellectuals, arguing that socialism cannot be imposed "at bayonet point". Not only did he condemn the violence, but he also boycotted all Soviet intellectuals who did not unequivocally condemn the oppression. The similarities with what is happening in Syria today are striking, and we find no less a division amongst intellectuals and writers who oppose imperialist designs on the region, but who were then plunged into crisis when the "heroes" of the resistance turned out to be nothing more than murderous thugs whose methods equalled if not exceeded anything that we had seen from imperialist adventures in the region.

The pseudo-intellectual who waxed poetic about the outrages and abuses of Abu Ghreib or Guantanamo Bay remained strangely silent about the torture dungeons in Syria or Evin Prison in Iran. In 2009 the Green uprising was dismissed as a "foreign plot", and, but for the tens of thousands of videos documenting the abuses committed by Assad's forces in Syria, would have done the same for the Syrian revolution. There is no doubt that foreign hands are meddling in Syria, but should that make the cause of toppling the regime there any less worthy? The answer is a clear and resounding no. You cannot be against some injustice but not all of it without forfeiting your moral integrity. It is no argument to claim that because the Syrian regime, along with Hezbullah and Iran, have championed and suffered for the Palestinian cause, that this should give them a mandate to absolute power and control over the affairs of the People. There is no sovereign higher than the will of the People, for without them, in all their chaotic contradiction, there is no "resistance", no culture and no history.

The basis of the argument by these pseudo-intellectuals is that a select few know what is best for the many, and that injustice by a local ruler is preferred to injustice by an invader. A consistent and principled human being can and should reject this thesis. There is no grade to injustice, no measurable point where it is acceptable to submit to it and another where it must be fought against. Such a thesis is not only illogical but a regression of human thought and development. To quote Orwell's totalitarian "Big Brother" in 1984, "freedom is slavery" and the citizen becomes truly free, and truly liberated, when they not only accept slavery under Big Brother's auspices, but love it and accept it with all their heart. This horrific vision of society for the people of the Middle East was not apparent so long as the "resistance" axis kept the worst of its excesses hidden, and focused its efforts on foreign threats. However, when the ugly violence upon which these regimes rely was brought to bear on the Syrian people, the truth can no longer be denied - the "resistance" myth is dead.

Some might be terrified to contemplate this evident truth, and others will surely deny it because it has not yet become fully apparent to them. This rotting carcass that has weighed down our region for decades must no longer be allowed to exist, and in its place a new tree of thought must be nurtured, one which is based on principles and a consistency to the truth. It is not possible for somebody to speak about the liberation of the Palestinian people, or the sovereignty of Middle Eastern "states" without at first clearly articulating the primacy of the human being and her rights as the principle goal of such states. The Arab Spring, for all its imperfections, is not just a revolution against despots and tyrants, but against the ideologies that had justified repression in the name of a greater good. These ideologies must be fought and challenged with as much ferocity as Gaddafi or Assad's killing squads, or Mubarak's secret police.

http://www.maysaloon.org/

معاذ الخطيب في منبج وجرابلس

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Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib has visited rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Khatib, who fled Syria last year after being imprisoned several times, entered northern Syria from Turkey and toured the towns of Jarablus and Minbij (see map) one of his aides source told Reuters.

This video from activists purports to show Khatib in Minjib being greeted by supporters.

The opposition is hoping to establish a shadow government in northern Syria, but it postponed a planned meeting scheduled last week aimed at selecting an interim prime minister.

Part of the $60m US aid package announced last week by secretary of state John Kerry is aimed at establishing a shadow government in rebel-controlled areas.

Announcing the funds Kerry said: "As the regime continues to lose ground these funds will also help the opposition forces and political leaders be able to extend stability as well as build representative government and the rule of law, and extend that rule of law to newly-liberated areas."

Last month a delegation of opposition leaders to northern Syria narrowly missed a suspected assassination attempt at a Turkish border crossing.

The Guardian

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Opposition confirms Khatib's visit
The Syrian opposition coalition has confirmed its leader's visit to rebel-held Minjib and Jarablus, but it made no mention of subsequent missile attack.

In a statement the coalition said Moaz al-Khatib met local politicians, lawyer, and activists. He was also briefed by rebel commanders in the area, it said.

Khatib is now understood to have returned to Turkey.

The opposition is due to hold a press conference in the Turkish city of Gaziantep to announce the result of council elections for rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Khatib is expected to attend.

The Guardian

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Rebel gain
Rebels have gained control of most of a police academy south-west of Aleppo, according to the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said opposition fighters have been trying to gain control of the academy in Khan al-Assal for month.

Unverified footage from activists claimed to show rebels touring the building after seizing full control. This has not been confirmed.

The Guardian[/b]

شام حلب خان العسل اقتحام مدرسة الشرطة على يد الجيش الحر

شام حلب خان العسل اشتباكات بين الجيش الحر وعصابات الأسد 2 3 2013 ج4

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Dozens of Syrian troops killed in Iraq ambush
At least 42 Syrians and seven Iraqis are killed in Anbar by an attack on a convoy carrying troops who crossed into Iraq.



Unidentified armed men have ambushed a convoy carrying Syrian soldiers who had crossed into Iraq from the site of weekend fighting, killing 42 Syrians and seven Iraqis, security officers said.

The soldiers crossed into Iraq from the Yaarabiya border crossing, the scene of heavy fighting on Saturday between rebels and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, said Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Khalaf al-Dulaimi of the border protection forces on Monday.

The soldiers were first transported by Iraqi authorities from Nineveh province to Baghdad, and they were on their way back to be handed over to Syrian authorities on the border with Anbar province in western Iraq when the attack took place, Dulaimi said.

Armed men attacked the convoy from two sides with mortar rounds, automatic weapons and mines, killing 42 Syrian soldiers and seven Iraqis. Eight Syrians and four Iraqis were wounded, and three vehicles in the convoy destroyed, he said.

Major Ali Juwair al-Dulaimi from Anbar Operations Command confirmed the toll.

The past week has seen clashes between the Syrian army and rebels at the borders, which have brought the conflict close to Iraq.

Opposition fighters seized control of half of the northeastern Syrian border town of Yaarabiya, including a shared crossing with Iraq, in a battle with forces loyal to Assad on Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, A Scud missile fired from Syrian territory landed near a village opposite Yaarabiya, causing no damage but terrifying locals, according to the mayor of Telefar.

The conflict in Syria has previously spilled into Iraq. In September, a five-year-old girl was killed when three rockets struck a border town in the al Qaim area.

Iraq's precarious sectarian and ethnic balance has also come under strain from the conflict next door, where mainly Sunni Muslim insurgents are fighting to overthrow Assad, who is backed by Shia Iran.

Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia Muslim, warned that a victory for rebels in the Syrian civil war will spark a sectarian war in his own country, a civil war in Lebanon and a division in Jordan.

Al Jazeera English

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Op maandag 4 maart 2013 20:50 schreef Frikandelbroodje het volgende:

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Het lijkt nog echt waar te zijn ook nog. Rebellen begonnen pas twee dagen geleden de operatie om de stad in handen te krijgen, hoe is ze dat zo snel gelukt? Raar dat er in de media zo weinig aandacht voor is. Dit is de eerste provinciestad die de rebellen volledig innemen en de op vijf na grootste stad van Syri�. En hij is nog vrijwel volledig intact!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Raqqah

Rebellen halen standbeeld van Assad neer. D�ja vu naar Baghdad 2003.

لحظة سقوط صنم النافق حافظ الموجود في ساحة الإطفائية

Rebellen in hebben de geheime dienst van de luchtmacht onder controle. Burgers lopen gewoon over straat en vieren de bevrijding.

الرقة 4/3/2013 الجيش الحر يقتحم مبنى المخابرات الجوية

Volgens activisten is Raqqah zo snel gevallen omdat militairen in de stad massaal overliepen naar de rebellen, maar er zijn geen beelden van.

twitter:

Alexblx twitterde op maandag 04-03-2013 om 18:25:37 #Bashar #Assad - the people of #Raqqa are pissing on your Dictator father's broken memorial statue! #Syria #PICofPIShttps://t.co/6YHMGodLAu reageer retweet

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Op maandag 4 maart 2013 21:40 schreef Frikandelbroodje het volgende:

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Je bedoeld alexblx? Volgensmij komt hij uit Australi� en is hij ook geen Syri�r, maar ik vind zijn optimisme en vooral de manier hoe hij alles wat pro-Assad is in de zeik zet erg mooi, ik volg hem al een aardige tijd Maar niet echt betrouwbaar ofzo, post soms ook weleens wat over Debka bijvoorbeeld.

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Syrian rebels have captured the governor of northern Raqqa province after gaining control of most of the capital, AP reports citing the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It claims rebels are holding Hassan Jalili after clashes overnight near the governor's mansion in Raqqa city.

The Observatory's director, Rami Abdul-Rahman, said that Jalili is the highest-ranking official to fall into rebel hands since the Syrian crisis began nearly two years ago.

Syrian rebels have pushed government troops from most of the provincial capital, although the Observatory says clashes are still taking place in several places in the city.

If the opposition were to seize control of all of Raqqa, it would mark the first time an entire city has fallen into rebel hands.

The Guardian

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'Syrische luchtmacht bombardeert Raqqa'

Syrische gevechtsvliegtuigen hebben dinsdag bombardementen uitgevoerd op de stad Raqqa, een dag nadat rebellen de stad hadden ingenomen, aldus oppositiegroepen en bewoners.

''Het centrum van de stad is gebombardeerd. Ik telde zestig raketten'', zei een bewoner.

Sharif Shihada, een lid van het door de regering gecontroleerde parlement vertelde tegen televisiezender Al-Jazeera dat grondtroepen waren gestuurd om Raqqa te heroveren. ''De situatie voor deze terroristen zal plotseling veranderen'', zei hij, verwijzend naar de oppositietroepen.

Rebellen veroverden de noord-oostelijke stad maandag en haalden een standbeeld van de vader van de Syrische president Bashar al-Assad omver. De oppositietroepen arresteerden de gouverneur, het hoofd van de plaatselijke Baath-partij, het hoofd van de inlichtingendienst en de provinciale politiecommandant.

Raqqa zou de eerste grote stad zijn die geheel in handen is gevallen van de rebellen, sinds de opstand tegen het regime van president Assad in maart 2011 uitbrak.