What To Do About Syria

[Dino Velvet]

I guess these are the guys wearing the white hats.

[Stavros]

Maybe he was just hungry. Animal heart is eaten in many cuisines. Nevertheless, I don't think human heart is going to become a popular dish...

[Dino Velvet]

Maybe he was just hungry. Animal heart is eaten in many cuisines. Nevertheless, I don't think human heart is going to become a popular dish...

Hungry for some Alawite or Shia Tartare. Eat a few Tatars while yer at it.

[Ben]

Despite Horrific Repression, the U.S. Should Stay Out of Syria:

http://www.fpif.org/articles/despite...y_out_of_syria

[sukumvit boy]

Good ones Dino!
But I think the Tartars are more likely to eat us.

Thanks to Hollywood I know the guys wearing the white hats.
Although sometimes they ain't white and don't wear a hat.

[Dino Velvet]

One person's rebel is another person's terrorist.

http://news.yahoo.com/islamist-rebel...081841223.html

Video shows Islamist rebels executing 11 Syrian soldiers

Reuters – 57 mins ago


BEIRUT (Reuters) - A video published on Thursday showed fighters of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in Syria executing 11 men they accused of taking part in massacres by President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
The film is believed to be from eastern Deir al-Zor province and dates from some time in 2012, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group.
The Observatory's head, Rami Abdelrahman, said the Nusra Front has recently been releasing several videos of their past operations. He said the man seen executing the prisoners in the video - a Nusra commander - had been killed in March 2013 in battles with local tribes in the province.
The footage shows the commander, his face covered in a black balaclava, shooting each prisoner in the back of the head as they kneeled, blindfolded and lined up in a row in the sand.
"The sharia court for the eastern region in Deir al-Zor has sentenced to death these apostate soldiers that committed massacres against our brothers and families in Syria," the executioner said on the video.
Islamist militants with black flags shouted "God is great" as each man was shot. The executioner returned to some victims, firing more bullets into them to make sure they were dead.
Videos of executions and torture have become increasingly common in Syria, where more than 94,000 people have been killed in a conflict now in its third year, according to the British-based Observatory, which has a network of activists in Syria.
Such videos posted online are hard to verify due to government restrictions on access for independent media.
The Nusra video is the second video to be published in the past two days showing executions by fighters who say they are from al Qaeda-linked groups.
A video issued on Wednesday from the northern province of Raqqa, which is controlled by Islamist rebels, showed three blindfolded men sitting on the curb of a central roundabout before being shot in the head with a pistol.
A man speaking in the video said the executions were revenge for killings in the coastal town of Banias two weeks ago. Photos and videos of the alleged Banias massacre showed dozens of mutilated bodies, many of them children, lying in the streets.
(Reporting by Erika Solomon; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Three rebels, two of them carrying Jabhat al-Nussra flags, stand behind
a row of 11 kneeling men prior to executing them in what is said to be
Deir al-Zor, in this still frame from video obtained from a social media website
on May 16, 2013. Fighters of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in Syria executed
11 men they accused of taking part in massacres by President Bashar al-Assad's
forces, a video published on Thursday showed. Social Media Website/Handout via Reuters Tv


"What's up with the Angels? You think they fire Scioscia?"

[Prospero]

The gut response to this guy eating a dead soldier's lung (not a heart) is of course deep horror and revulsion. As it was reportedly among the commanders of these rebels who have vowed that this man will be punished.

But war almost always prompts atrocities - from all sides. It is suggested that the solider whose body he defiled had on him photographs of women being raped, tortured and murdered by Syrian army forces. Such acts of extreme violence on the living are surely worse than disrespecting dead bodies.

All armies have committed acts of wanton cruelty. It doesn't make it right, but this terrible conflict is bringing forth the very worst of human nature from all sides. As did wars from the beginning of recorded history.

[Dino Velvet]

this terrible conflict is bringing forth the very worst of human nature from all sides.

Yes it is. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving support to either side. I'll always feel bad for those caught in the middle trying to survive day to day. Too many unpredictable factors for us to even dip our toes into the mess.

[Dino Velvet]

Sunni Al-Qaeda "Freedom Fighters" now having problems with each other.

http://news.yahoo.com/insight-syrias...135153068.html

Insight: Syria's Nusra Front eclipsed by Iraq-based al Qaeda

By Mariam Karouny | Reuters – 1 hr 40 mins ago


By Mariam Karouny
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The most feared and effective rebel group battling President Bashar al-Assad, the Islamist Nusra Front, is being eclipsed by a more radical jihadi force whose aims go far beyond overthrowing the Syrian leader.
Al Qaeda's Iraq-based wing, which nurtured Nusra in the early stages of the rebellion against Assad, has moved in and sidelined the organization, Nusra sources and other rebels say.
Al Qaeda in Iraq includes thousands of foreign fighters whose ultimate goal is not toppling Assad but the anti-Western jihad of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri - a shift which could extend Syria's conflict well beyond any political accord between Assad and his foes. The fighting has already cost 90,000 lives.
The break-up of an important part of Syria's opposition, already splintered into hundreds of armed groups, worsens the dilemma faced by the West as it debates whether intervention to support the rebels will result in arms being placed in the hands of hostile Islamist militants. And if the West were to intervene, it may now be under pressure to attack al Qaeda opposition forces rather than Assad.
"Nusra is now two Nusras. One that is pursuing al Qaeda's agenda of a greater Islamic nation, and another that is Syrian with a national agenda to help us fight Assad," said a senior rebel commander in Syria who has close ties to the Nusra Front.
"It is disintegrating from within."
Others said that Nusra's Syrian contingent has already effectively collapsed, with its leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani keeping a low profile and his fighters drifting off to join other rebel groups.
Nusra fighters have claimed responsibility for the deadliest bombings of the two-year-old Syrian conflict and their brigades have led some of the most successful rebel offensives against Assad's forces.
The group was formally designated a terrorist organization by the United States six months ago, a step which Washington said was vindicated by a declaration in April that it was merging with al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq. Washington now says Nusra is little more than an al Qaeda front.
A U.S. official said on Friday: "We continue to be concerned about the influence of extremist groups, including al Qaeda in Iraq. This is why we have been coordinating and discussing with partners the need to continue to strengthen the moderate opposition and channel any assistance through the moderate opposition, including the Supreme Military Council."
The U.S. moves to isolate Nusra have drawn criticism from Syrian rebels and opposition leaders, reflecting the fact that Nusra was able to win grudging support beyond its core Islamist base because of its fighters' discipline and battlefield successes.
Many Syrians turned a blind eye to the growing presence of foreign and Arab jihadi fighters in its ranks because Nusra fighters cooperated with other rebel brigades, worked to curb looting and provided help for displaced Syrians.
By contrast the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has moved into northern Syria to take tighter control over al Qaeda operations in the country, has few admirers among Syrian fighters.
They see him as a brutal figure with little time for the intricacies of Syria's struggle, focused less on toppling Assad and more on imposing a radical Islamist rule including religious courts and public executions. Many accuse him privately of hijacking their revolution.
"We reject his presence here on the ground. He should take his fighters and go back to Iraq," said a Nusra source who is close to Nusra leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani. "We are not happy with the way he operates nor with his methods."
BAGHDADI STEPS IN
Baghdadi's announcement in early April that his Islamic State of Iraq was formally merging with Nusra to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant clearly took the Syrian Nusra rebels by surprise.
Golani said he had not been consulted and, while swearing allegiance to al Qaeda's Zawahri, insisted his fighters would continue to operate under their own Nusra Front banner.
"Golani pledged religious allegiance to Zawahri, but not political or military (allegiance)," said the Nusra source close to Golani. "It was an attempt by Golani to keep his distance from Baghdadi."
But the move did not help. Soon after, in a direct challenge to Golani, Baghdadi traveled from Iraq to a town in Syria's Aleppo province, where he was joined by Arab and foreign jihadis who had formerly fought for Golani's Nusra.
Rebels say the rift continued to widen and the foreign and Arab wing is now operating formally under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, while many Syrian Nusra fighters have dispersed to join other Islamist brigades.
"The situation has changed a lot. Baghdadi's men are working but Nusra is not working formally anymore," said another Nusra source. "Those with Baghdadi are the fiercest fighters of all. The brothers are trying to avoid them as much as possible."
The source, and other Syrian Nusra fighters who spoke to Reuters, said they feared Baghdadi's supporters would alienate Syrians in the same way that their hardline agenda turned Iraqis against them, paving the way for U.S.-backed Sahwa militias to turn the tide against al Qaeda in western Iraq in 2007.
"A TRAP FOR GOLANI"
Nusra sources said they were waiting for Zawahri to settle the issue, hoping he would call on Baghdadi to return to Iraq.
"We have two choices now. Either Zawahri announces the separation of Syria's Nusra from Iraq's Islamic State, or he orders Baghdadi to stay (in Syria) and if this happen then its a disaster," said one Nusra source. "Baghdadi has harmed the Nusra Front. He caused great damage and broke up the front."
But the Syrian rebel commander, who is from a Western-backed rebel group, said that Baghdadi already had Zawahri's blessing when he moved in.
"They set a trap for Golani," he said. "They wanted a foot inside (Syria) and helping Golani at the start with men and arms provided that, until they became stronger so they took over."
In a telling video published this week, masked fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant executed three men they said were officers from Assad's Alawite minority sect in the eastern town of Raqqa.
After the shootings there were only muted chants of support for the fighters and activists said that small protests broke out at night condemning the execution and calling on the fighters to fight Assad instead of executing people.
Several Nusra fighters said they feared that if Baghdadi's influence continued to grow, his ultra-radical agenda would see the Iraqi Sahwa phenomenon played out again in Syria.
"We as Syrians do not want a repeat of that. The Baghdadi men have declared the Nusra fighters who left him... as infidels. We still reject his state, if Zawahri does not put an end to this then the situation will get worse," one said.
The senior rebel commander said he even expected the growing clout of Baghdadi's fighters would finally end the West's reluctance to intervene militarily in Syria - not against Assad, but his hardline enemies.
"We expect soon drone attacks, like Yemen, to begin against al Qaeda members," he said.
GOLANI GOES TO GROUND
Meanwhile Golani, who was formally declared a terrorist by Washington on Thursday, is now in hiding. "He has gone to ground until the problem is solved," said a source close to Golani.
Even though few people even know what Golani looks like, and fewer still have met him, he has gained popularity among Syrians and songs have been written to celebrate his exploits.
His real name is not known even to some of his fighters and many people long suspected that he was a fictitious fighter created to give a Syrian 'front' to the Iraqi al Qaeda.
Sources say he is Syrian and in his 40s, roughly the same age as Baghdadi. He is currently in rural Damascus province, they say, accompanied by some of his remaining fighters.
Baghdadi, an Iraqi, helped fund Nusra fighters, who also had financial support from private donors in Arab Gulf countries. The Iraqi wing is financed from al Qaeda's global support network.
One Nusra fighter said he believed Baghdadi held a personal grudge against Golani because of his standing in Syria.
Golani, a radical Sunni Muslim, won popularity in Syria even among some Christians, according to the Nusra fighter. "Baghdadi did not like this," the fighter said.
"Baghdadi and the (al Qaeda) leadership consider the Muslim Brotherhood, the Free Syrian Army and other factions including Christians as infidels and when they saw Golani was on good terms with them they were not happy."
"That is why he announced the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant without any consultation with Golani, and he is in charge to operate in his old failed way."
(Editing by Dominic Evans, Giles Elgood and Peter Graff)

[Stavros]

Is Syria turning into a new Afghanistan? The EU this week at the prompting of Britain and France agreed to lift a long-standing arms embargo on Syria, which has raised the prospect of arms being shipped to rebels without knowing who will be in possession of them in five or ten years time, or next week for that matter. The dynamics have been shaped by the fractured opposition and its inability to consolidate territorial gains while constantly weakening the Government, whose armed forces are proving to be more effective than was expected over this length of time. The Russian support, and the support of Iran and Hezbollah has raised the prospect of the conflict for Syria becoming a proxy war on two levels: the Saudi/Qatar backed conflict with Iran read as a Sunna-Shi'a conflict; and the freedom-loving west against Iran and those nasty Russians.

Israel sent a delegation to Moscow to warn of the consequences of sophisticated weapons systems (specifically the S-300 missile and radar anti-aircraft system) surviving a change of regime in Syria, because it would limit the effectiveness of the Israeli jets in Middle Eastern airspace, which they own, in a manner of speaking. Who in Syria can actually operate the S-300 is not known, probably nobody, unless he speaks with a Russian accent. Does this mean if Israel tries to or does destroy the batteries of such weapons, if delivered, if they know where they are, Israel and Russia could attack each other?

The recipe for a deepening of a conflict with no visible resolution is made more rather than less likely by the EU decision, which comes in advance of the Geneva conference where, one would have thought, it could have been used as a bargaining chip. What isn't clear to me is whether or not William Hague was acting with the French as part of an EU initiative, or whether it is the one means whereby the USA can add its salt to the dish without being seen to, even though it is widely known that it has military advisers in Turkey and Jordan, and special forces guys are probably showing rebels how to fire a gun in the suburbs of Damascus.

The EU is gambling with a coalition of opposition groups that cannot agree with each other on tactics or end-games; Hezbollah in Lebanon is gambling on being on the winning side at the end, as is Iran, but other than a rickety compromise all round, what does victory look like in Syria? If the government 'wins', does it recognise that dictatorship doesn't work, and begin a transition to return Syria to parliamentary democracy? If the militants 'win' does it mean they recognise democracy doesn't suit them and replace one dictatorship with another?

The refugee crisis, which in Afghanistan displaced over a million in Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and to a lesser extent in India, continues to cause concern, not least to Jordan. Israel, needless to say, has not taken any. Neither have we.