In Syria, the US is not seated behind NATO troops, but rather behind the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Al-Nusra Front. Washington is allowing all of these groups to lead in the hope that it will reap the last-minute benefit: seeing Assad removed from power with the least possible effort.
Headlines describing the 24th Arab Summit held in Doha this week reflect profound division over Syria and Qatar’s role in effecting change in the Arab Region. Doha has taken over the presidency of the Arab league for what could be one of the most important years of the transitional period.
NATO’s refusal to respond to Alkhatib’s plea for Patriot missile-cover for rebel held areas of northern Syria will encourage the Al-Assad regime to continue to act with impunity, the Syrian National Coalition leader said on Wednesday.
Moaz al-Khatib, leader of the Western-based Syrian opposition coalition has resigned, citing frustrations with the body’s inability to advance the fight against President Bashar Assad.
“It is unfortunate that Moaz al-Khatib has resigned today as President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition. Sheikh Moaz is a fine and decent man who served the democratic cause of the Syrian people with dignity.”
The “eternal” alliance and “unbreakable bond” between Israel and the US is but the real threat, because it hasn’t been used for peace in the Middle East, but for wars, killing and blood.
Several bodies of international law provide standards applicable to the Syrian crisis, including international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and international human rights law
It has become clear in recent weeks that a change in the balance of power would have to precede any form of negotiation with the Assad regime. This change has now been demonstrated in the arming of the opposition, enabling it to deter the regime’s army, break its siege of Homs, and expedite its collapse in and around Damascus.
There is a complete lack of trust between the two sides, the opposition and the regime, and building such trust will require a great deal of time and effort.
Today, the Syrians are fighting a security-dominated and suppressive regime that resembles all fascist dictatorships. However, it cannot be labeled sectarian, as Maliki says, because Sunni and Christian pockets are fighting alongside Assad because they share the same interests or fears.
Obama’s logic is frightening, and his understanding of the region terrifying and in doubt, particularly as he is the man who saw a revolution in Bahrain and pushed Mubarak to step down while today he is saying that he is working hard to assess the situation in Syria!
Washington’s enthusiasm for the emergence of a government offering an alternative to the Assad regime is somewhere between well-guarded and non-existent.
In light of the absence of any signs pointing to an imminent military settlement or political solution, the opposition has no choice but to go back to the Syrian domestic scene and rely on its political and military powers to even out the balance of powers and impose the solution wanted by the Syrians.
Evidence has been found suggesting that Syria’s military used chemical weapons against its own people last month, in what one Israeli intelligence official said last night was a test to gauge the reaction of the US and its allies.
As much as the series of Russian statements towards the Syrian crisis can be described as being confused, it is obvious that they are following a clear and steady thin line. Firstly, there is no need to note the much overdue change which affected Moscow’s position towards the opposition, especially the National Coalition. It attacked its formation more than one month ago, just as it attacked the opposition abroad for a long time and in a manner going in line with the stand adopted by the regime in Damascus.
Both Britain and Washington have denied knowing Makdissi’s whereabouts, whilst rumors about Makdissi’s fate abound in Lebanon. As for the al-Assad regime, it has remained silent, insisting that Makdissi is on “administrative leave”. So what is the fate of Jihad Makdissi? Asharq Al-Awsat has obtained important details regarding Makdissi’s movements over his final days and weeks in Syria prior to his disappearance.
Al-Hayat Newspaper learned that Mikdad had traveled to Moscow to convey Syria’s ‘conservations on a number of the points in Librahimi’s plan.” Moscow “prefers to wait until it hears the details of Librahimi plan from him” in personm. But SANA reports that the Russian FM reiterated Russia’s support to a peaceful solution in Syria and renewed Russia’s known position on Geneva statement, affirming that there is no change in the Russian stance on Syria. AP focuses on Librahimi’s call for the formation of a transitional government with “full executive powers” to run the country until new elections can be held.
There is nothing so dangerous as a former superpower unaware of its own diminished role. What the Kremlin of Vladimir Putin today lacks in ideology, it more than makes up for in invidious posturing.
while Russia’s Putin reiterates Moscows differences with the EU over the situation in Syria, President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, calss for efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria
Secretary Clinton announced recently that Washington is re-organizing the front of the armed terrorist gangs in Syria, which means according to the Global Research that it will withdrew its support to the Istanbul Council (the Syrian National council), in signals to the American readiness to interfere after the American elections.
