On the death of Abu Khaled al-Suri yesterday:
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said he died along with six others when a fighter from the rival Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group blew himself up at an Ahrar al-Sham post in al-Halq.
Senior al-Qaeda commander killed in Syria – Middle East – Al Jazeera English – 2/24/2014.
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Why the dictator is not to be endorsed:
“Two simultaneous raids hit Neshabieh first. People were pulling the bodies of a women and her two children from one house when the planes came back and hit the crowed, killing another nine,” activist Abu Sakr told Reuters from the area.
Air raids in central Syria kill 18: activists | Reuters – 2/24/2014.
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“Back outside, even the hardiest can’t stand anymore fighting.”
Syria Rebels and Assad’s forces face off in Zabanani – YouTube – 2/24/2014.
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The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, made it clear from the beginning that Washington wants peace negotiations to be primarily about “transition” and the end of the government of President Bashar Al Assad.
But, since Assad’s army controls most population centres and main roads in Syria, this radical change in the balance of power will not happen until the rebels stop losing and start winning on the battlefield.
Times of Oman | Column :: Syria may see years of warfare before peace – Patrick Cockburn – 2/24/2014.
Cockburn’s use of quotation marks in this next paragraph echoes what I have stumbled upon in relation to the Free Syria Media / Army / National Coalition:
The “moderate” opposition — support for which was reportedly discussed at a two-day meeting in Washington of Western and Arab intelligence chiefs this month — is supposedly going to overwhelm the radicals and fight the government all at the same time. But repackaging some rebel warlords as moderates, simply because they are backed by the West and its regional allies, will be largely a PR ploy and unconvincing to Syrians.
It’s proving unconvincing to westerners too.
Related: Syria – “Moderate” Jew Hate | BackChannels – 2/21/2014.
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Moment of a shell landed in Yabroud Syria Impressive video – YouTube – 2/24/2014.
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February 23, 2014: China and Russia surprised everyone yesterday and went along with a UN resolution calling for the Syrian government and the rebels to provide access for humanitarian aid throughout Syria. To make this happen the UN had to, at Russian and Chinese request, take out clauses calling for war crimes, largely committed by the government, to be punished.
Syria: The Killathon Continues – 2/23/2014.
To get humanitarian aid to Syrians, it appears one must tacitly approve the tactics applied by dictators to their deeply subjugated constituents.
The “Killathon” article goes on to make quite a few useful observations, but this one spells the humanity of the regimes with a stake in Assad’s political survival:
Quds has been busy in Syria for over two years. Rebels accuse Iran of helping the government of adopt savage new tactics in the fighting around Damascus and elsewhere. These new methods involved mass killings of civilians, especially military age men, during daytime raids into pro-rebel villages . . . Now the rebels are facing “special troops” trained and advised by the Iranians. Rebels have seen Iranian transport aircraft landing at airports all over the country to deliver weapons, equipment and ammunition. These aircraft come in via Iraq, which refuses to do anything to stop them.
Iran’s latest forward operating base: Iraq!
That’s really not surprising.
Iranians Dial Up Presence in Syria – WSJ.com – 9/16/2013: “The busloads of Shiite militiamen from Iraq, Syria and other Arab states have been arriving at the Iranian base in recent weeks, under cover of darkness, for instruction in urban warfare and the teachings of Iran’s clerics, according to Iranian military figures and residents in the area.”
Update to December: Syria’s Assad ‘has secret Iraq oil lifeline’ – Middle East – Al Jazeera English – 12/24/2013 / Exclusive: Assad’s secret oil lifeline: Iraqi crude from Egypt | Reuters – 12/23/2014: “The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has received substantial imports of Iraqi crude oil from an Egyptian port in the last nine months, shipping and payments documents show, part of an under-the-radar trade that has kept his military running despite Western sanctions.”
I’ve no idea who’s “winning” in Syria, but I’m pretty sure Syrians are losing.
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From the Reuter’s piece cited: “Each ship switched off its satellite signals just before the delivery date in Syria, then reappeared on satellite tracking shortly after.”
Now that’s mafia style.
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Referring to the likes of Mr. Jaber, the ministry official said, “Even if you want the Statue of Liberty, there are those who can bring it for you at the right price.”
Syrian Businessmen Help Assad Regime Survive – WSJ.com – 5/24/2014.
The “Mr. Jaber” appears to be the brother of the other cited, Mohammed, not Ayman.
Odd note: I have heard of “suitcases full of money” traveling around the middle east, but the WSJ piece would be the first in which I’ve seen mention of the same so specifically: “Almost every month, he flies to Baghdad with suitcases filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash on behalf of the government, he said—showing a slip for a recent million-dollar deposit in an Iraqi bank. Wire transfers aren’t an option because of sanctions.”
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