Raqqa, Syria's First Rebel-Freed City, Now An Islamic Hell

It's sad really, the Syrian revolution started as an effort to bring freedom and democracy to a country run by a nasty dictator, albeit a secular one. But what they have managed to do was replace that nastiness with something far worse.

An article on Al Arabiya talks about what happened to the city of Raqqa in eastern Syria. Initially referred to as the "bride of the revolution," it was the first city to gain freedom from Bashar al-Assad's forces back in March. At the time, the people there were elated. But not so much now that the rebel forces- the likes of the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL)-  that took control of the city have turned the place into an Islamic hell.

“At the time we were all happy with the liberation, it was not important who was there. Raqqa was for all Syrians and all those who helped liberate it,” said one of several residents and activists contacted by Reuters via Skype.

[snip]

In the weeks that followed, prisons appeared in public buildings, electricity was cut off and shops were banned from selling tobacco, considered anti-Islamic by the ultra-puritan, masked Islamist fighters who began patrolling the city.

“They also closed the universities saying that because women are also taking lessons there it should be shut,” said a resident whose son is a media activist and is now wanted by the Islamists.

[Snip]

“When Raqqa was liberated we thought now that the regime is out, the era of freedom has begun. People started cleaning the streets. We thought we were living a dream,” said another resident who, like most Raqqa locals, declined to be named for their safety. “It was dream. They killed it.”

Public executions have become commonplace, churches have been burned, and the streets empty out by nightfall since the only buildings that have electricity are the ones the rebels stole.

Many of the activists  have left, blaming the Free Syrian Army for basically handing over the city to the jihadists. One activist, no longer living there, had this to say:

“All the FSA cared for was stealing and accumulating money. From the first day of Raqqa’s liberation they left it to the Islamic State."

I think Syria, at this point, is a lost cause.

Jihadists Chop Down 150-Year-Old Tree In Syria

Atme has been a Free Syrian Army (FSA) stronghold fighting Bashar al-Assad's forces for a while, but jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL) have just taken control. This does not sit well with local FSA fighters, like Abu Leila ,who want nothing to do with the jihadists, but seem at a loss to prevent the inevitable takeovers that are happening in rebel held regions of Syria.

According to Leila ISIL:

“have taken over Atme... They have set up checkpoints across the town." [snip] "Atme was oxygen for the (rebel) Free Syrian Army. ”  Atme was being used  “as an entry point for everything from weapons to food, and as an exit point for the wounded” into Turkey’s hospitals, said Abu Leila.

And wherever the jihadists go they bring their supreme ignorance with them.

There was a a 150-year-old oak tree standing next to an ancient shrine in Atme, a Syria/Turkey border town.  Because jihadists don't like shrines, they took over the site and stopped people from worshipping there.  When that happened the locals started praying next to the tree, so the jihadists chopped it down claiming the people were worshipping the tree.

According to a pro-jihadist source:

“Thank God almighty, the tree... aged more than 150 years has been removed, after people were worshipping it instead of God,” said the source on Thursday via his Twitter account named “our call is our jihad”.

He also posted pictures of a man in a black mask using an electric saw to cut down the tree. A black Al-Qaeda-style flag bearing the Islamic profession of faith had been planted on top of the tree.

Such stupidity on so many levels.

Syrian Snipers Target Pregnant Women and Others In Game Of Target Practice

In a civil war where neither side is worth rooting for, and where both sides are responsible for horrific crimes against humanity, you support the side which is the least evil. In Syria, that's Bashar al Assad, by virtue of the fact that al-Qaeda factions have all but taken control of the rebel forces. I have been posting videos and information about the horrors of the al-Qaeda linked extremists fighting in Syria, now here's something allegedly from Assad's side:  Snipers targeting pregnant women.

War surgeon Dr. David Nott, who spent over a month in Syria, claims that snipers are using civilians as target practice, and turn it into a game, targeting different parts of the bodies.

“From the first patients that came in in the morning, you could almost tell what you would see for the rest of the day. It was a game. We heard the snipers were winning packets of cigarettes for hitting the correct number of targets.”

On one day more than six pregnant women were caught by sniper fire and on another day two heavily pregnant women were targeted. They survived but their unborn babies died, one suffering a bullet to the brain.

“The women were all shot through the uterus, so that must have been where they were aiming for... This was deliberate. It was hell beyond hell,” he told the paper.

Although Nott can not be certain which side was responsible, he believes it was Assad's.

Either way, they're all animals.

More here, and here.

Freed Belgian Hostage Claims Rebels Launched Gas Attack In Syria

Italian reporter Domenico Quirico and Belgian teacher Pierre Piccinin- who were abducted by rebel forces in Syria and then pawned off to different Islamist groups, and were just released after five months in captivity-  have some very interesting things to say about their hostage days and what is going on in the country.

Treated like an animal Quirico said this of Syria and his captors:

"Even children and old people tried to hurt us. Maybe I am putting this in overly ethical terms but in Syria I really found a country of evil," he said.
[snip]
"Our captors were from a group that professed itself to be Islamist but that in reality is made up of mixed-up young men who have joined the revolution because the revolution now belongs to these groups that are midway between banditry and fanaticism," he said.

"They follow whoever promises them a future, gives them weapons, gives them money to buy cell phones, computers, clothes."

Such groups, he said, were trusted by the West but were in truth profiting from the revolution to "take over territory, hold the population to ransom, kidnap people and fill their pockets".

The rest of his story here.

In the interview on RTL's Le Journal (see below), Piccinin claims that the rebels and not Bashar al-Assad's government forces were responsible for the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta.  Apparently, information they garnered from a skype conversation the rebels had in English, the attack was a means of forcing the West into the conflict. Thank you Obama.

The following information was posted on the EretzZen YouTube channel:

"In this conversation, they said that the gas attack on two neighborhoods of Damascus was launched by the 'rebels' as a provocation to lead the West to intervene militarily," Quirico told Italy's La Stampa. "We were unaware of everything that was going on during our detention in Syria, and therefore also with the gas attack in Damascus."

While stating that the rebels most likely exaggerated the accident's death toll, the Italian journalist stressed that he could not vouch whether "the conversation was based on real facts." However, he said that one of the three people in the alleged conversation identified himself as a Free Syrian Army general, La Stampa reported.

Based on what both men have learned, Peccinin told RTL that it would be "insane and suicidal for the West to support these people."

"It pains me to say it because I've been a fierce supporter of the Free Syrian Army in its rightful fight for democracy since 2012," Piccinin added.

"There was sometimes real violence...humiliation, bullying, mock executions...Domenico faced two mock executions, with a revolver," Piccinin told RTL.

Both men were kidnapped in Syria last April by a group of armed men in pickup trucks who were believed to be from Free Syrian Army.

According to Piccinin, the captors soon transferred them over to the Abu Ammar brigade, a rebel group "more bandit than Islamist."

"We were moved around a lot...it was not always the same group that held us, there were very violent groups, very anti-West and some anti-Christian," Piccinin said.

Just more proof that we have no clue what is going on in that country.

Croissant Fatwa By Syrian Rebel Islamists In Aleppo

And one for the 'stupid fatwa' file:  no croissants for the residents of the Islamist rebel-held section of Aleppo, Syria because they represent the Christian European victory over Muslim imperialism during the Ottoman Empire. Not that there's any truth to that fanciful tale.

A sharia committee in a rebel-held area of Aleppo issued a fatwa deeming croissants ‘haram’ (forbidden in Islamic law) because of their “colonial” significance, pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.

I'm sure those living in Aleppo had no clue that their fight for freedom against Bashar al-Assad's oppression would end up with something even worse.  The ban against croissants isn't the only thing they're having to deal with. Women have already been banned from wearing "immodest" clothing and makeup.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is also showing its conservative bent.

A fatwa issued by the Council of the United Judiciary, affiliated with the rebel Free Syrian Army, stipulated a year in jail for anyone not fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Out of the frying pan.

Al-Qaeda To Establish Islamic State In Syria, Claims FSA

Looks like there will soon be fighting in Syria on 3 fronts- Bashar al-Assad's forces versus the Free Syrian Army (FSA) versus the al-Qaeda linked and influenced Islamists.  The latter two will probably duke it out after al-Qaeda announces an Islamic state in the northern part of Syria where the rebel forces have prevailed. According to an anonymous rep of the FSA this is going to happen once they are done with Ramadan, the first day of Eid.

He said: “The implementation of this plan started last week with the killing of Commander Fadi El-Qash and his brother in Dana village, followed by the killing of senior member of the Supreme Command Council, Kamal Hamami, and will be followed by more assassinations of officers and important figures in the FSA.”

The sources confirmed that “the FSA circulated this information within limited, trusted circles as soon as it became available, and will avoid any confrontation that could weaken the rebels in their fight against the government forces.”

He claimed that the FSA was currently “deploying units and erecting checkpoints in towns that will be targeted according to the plan, and strengthen our presence in these towns to stop them becoming prey to the Islamic state.”

Meanwhile, the FSA source said “we will try to sit down and talk to the Islamic state if we find someone who listens, in order to avoid bloodbaths and clashes which would reflect negatively on the fight against the government forces.”

He added, however, that “whatever we do, there will definitely be war between us.”

The BBC reported on Tuesday that the FSA, following the killing of Hamami, said: “The Islamic state had threatened to kill all of the other members of the Supreme Military Council, another sign of the escalating struggle within the armed uprising.”

 And weapons are headed for the rebel opposition forces from the EU and the US.

It's going to get even uglier and bloodier in Syria, before the dust finally settles, whenever that happens.

Fadel Shaker- Singer Turned Islamist Boasts About Killing Two Lebanese Soldiers

44-year-old Fadel Shaker used to be a famous Lebanese singer until the Syrian war turned him into a Salafist militant who believes music is haram (forbidden). Joining radical Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir's terrorist ranks, he is now a fugitive, along with Assir (or Ahmed al-Asir, as he is sometimes called), after they killed 17 Lebanese army soldiers in Sidon.

In a video that has recently surfaced, Shaker proudly announces that he was responsible for killing two of those soldiers, and wounding four.

“We killed two of your carcasses [sic], you dogs, you pigs… two carcasses and four injured pigs [sic],” Shaker said.

Oddly enough, Assir opposes both the Bashar al-Assad regime and fellow Lebanese terrorists Hezbollah. I guess it's that whole Shia versus Sunni conflict.


Sources: Naharnet,  Now News

FSA General Wants Shariah For Syria, Demands West Supply Arms

Interviewed on Al-Jazeera, General Abdel Baset Tawileh, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Northern Front commander, was asked what "form of state" did he support. His answer:

"I would like to see a civilized state, with Islamic law."

Civilized and Islamic law in the same sentence is a joke, but he goes on to say that he also wants the army to have a "clear Islamic nature."

He also demands that the international community supply the FSA and rebels (the jihadist, Islamist militants who behead and eat people's internal organs) with arms and ammunition. He gives the world 1 month  to supply the weapons or the FSA will "reveal all the evidence we have (about use of chemical weapons)."  Not sure when the interview took place, since the alleged evidence has already been provided.

Of course, no mention of the fact that the rebel opposition have been caught with their own chemical weapons.

His interview here.

However, Bashar al-Assad is totally to blame for what is going on in that country. He's a nasty dictator. Had he made some changes when the people first started protesting, it would never have escalated to a civil war, and opened the door for the Islamists to take over.

The Battle Between Sunnis and Shiites- by Bret Stephens

The Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens pens an interesting article about the Sunni Shiite civil war that is playing out all over the Muslim world, and the dangers of just sitting it out.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the prominent Sunni cleric, said Friday that Hezbollah and Iran are "more infidel than Jews and Christians." Coming from the guy who once lauded Hitler for exacting "divine punishment" on the Jews, that really is saying something.

That the war in Syria is sectarian was obvious almost from the start, despite the credulous belief that Bashar Assad ran a nonsectarian regime. That a sectarian ruling minority fighting for its life would not fold easily was obvious within months, despite happy guarantees that the regime's downfall would come within weeks. That a sectarian war in Syria would stir similar religious furies in Iraq and Lebanon was obvious more than a year ago, despite wishful administration thinking that staying out of Syria would contain the war to Syria alone.

What should be obvious today is that we are at the dawn of a much wider Shiite-Sunni war, the one that nearly materialized in Iraq in 2006 but didn't because the U.S. was there, militarily and diplomatically, to stop it. But now the U.S. isn't there. What's left to figure out is whether this megawar isn't, from a Western point of view, a very good thing.

Regarding Syria, and referring to Barack Obama:

Had he armed Syria's rebels early in the conflict, he could have empowered a moderate opposition, toppled the regime, sidelined Sunni jihadists, prevented the bloodbath we now have, stemmed the refugee crisis and dealt a sharp strategic setback to Iran—all without any U.S. military involvement.

He's absolutely right.  At the beginning, before the foreign Islamist extremists started pouring into Syria, it was just the ordinary seculars crying out for help. The West's help. Not the jihadists.  Remember the "We Miss Bush" banners in Kafrandel?  The world should have stepped in (and I don't mean physically) long before Syria turned into a battleground for the jihadists.



Read the whole thing here.

Syrian Islamist Rebels Found With Sarin Gas In Turkey

There have been reports that Assad's forces have chemical weapons, but Syrian Islamist militants with Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front) were caught in southern Turkey with a cylinder of sarin gas and a load of weapons. They had planned on using the sarin in a bomb which was to be set off in Adana, Turkey.

Twelve suspected terrorists were taken into custody by Turkish anti-terror forces, although five were later released.

For more information check out Syria Report, which is updating the post with links to news sources.

That's not to say Bashar al-Assad doesn't also have his dirty hands on some chemical weapons.

There are no heroes in this war.

Sharia and No Infidels In Syria- Says Albanian Jihadist Fighter - Video

No doubt Bashar al-Assad is a tyrant, he has ranked in Parade Magazine's Top 10 World's Worst Dictators for many years. He was number 3 in 2011. And it's obvious he has massacred many of his own people, but what's actually going on in Syria is harder to determine since Islamist militants (many foreign) have joined the fight alongside the Free Syria Army (FSA). I will write more on this subject, but in the meantime, the following is a video of an alleged Albanian jihadist fighting in Syria against the Assad regime. According to the person who uploaded this video to YouTube:

This video footage of an Albanian jihadist in Syria shows him speaking in Arabic with an obvious non-Arab accent. He says that there are no more kuffar (infidels or non-Muslims) there anymore, that Sharia will rule, and that he and his buddies will go next to Jerusalem to do the same. These Wahhabis who encourage the ethnic cleansing of non-Muslims are being given the green light and all sorts of support by Western countries to go do their deeds in Syria, against a population whose ancestors have lived there for thousands of years.

Nun Claims Syrian Rebels Beheaded Christian and Fed Him To Dogs

Everyone is making the Syrian rebels out to be heroes and Bashar al-Assad as a monster (and clearly he is), but some of those rebel fighters are equally monstrous. More than likely it's the Islamist faction, those same extremists that are bucking for a shariah-run Syria once Assad is gone and are quickly gaining power, who are responsible for the following incident. But it demonstrates that Christians will not fare well in a post Assad regime, and that extremist Muslims will continue to act like barbarians in their quest to Islamize the world.

A nun sounded the alarm that the Syrian conflict was becoming sectarian when she said that a Christian man was beheaded by Syrian rebels in the northern town of Ras al-Ayn on the Turkish border, and his body was fed to dogs, a British newspaper reported Monday.

Sister Agnes-Mariam de la Croix speaking from her sanctuary in Lebanon said the newlywed taxi driver, Andrei Arbashe, was kidnapped after his brother was heard complaining that the rebels fighting against beleaguered President Bashar al-Assad were behaving like bandits, The Daily Mail reported.

The 38-year-old Arbashe, who was soon to be a father, was found headless by the side of the road, surrounded by hungry dogs, Sister Agnes-Miriam, who is mother superior of the Monastery of St James the Mutilated, added.

“His only crime was his brother criticized the rebels, accused them of acting like bandits, which is what they are.”

Mid-December, the newly formed Syrian National Coalition obtained wide recognition including from the United States and the European Union. France and British were one of the earliest countries from the Western world that recognized the coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people in November.

But Western powers until now are hesitant on whether to supply the opposition fighters with weapons. Western support so far has been in terms of non-lethal military equipment.

Meanwhile, the 60-year-old nun condemned Britain and the West for supporting anti-Assad fighters in spite of growing evidence showing human rights violations committed by them. She listed murder, kidnapping, rape and robbery as rising crimes.

“The free and democratic world is supporting extremists,” Sister Agnes-Miriam said from her sanctuary in Lebanon. “They want to impose Sharia Law and create an Islamic state in Syria.”

In December, Washington blacklisted the opposition al-Nusra Front group, saying it was linked to al-Qaeda. U.S. officials fear that groups such as al-Nusra Front to hijack the 21-month Syrian uprising. The Syrian conflict killed more than 45,000 people.

Christians in Syria, who many of them still support Assad regime, were previously given concessions by the Syrian regime to appease them. The Christians, a minority , also skeptical over regime change in the country as they fear the rise of Islamists.

There are no winners in this war, other than the Islamists.

Source: Al Arabiya

Syrian Women Upset With Rise Of Islamists In Opposition

It's the women of the Arab Spring- that turned into a civil war in Syria- that I most feel sorry for. At least those that truly did or do yearn for freedom. They were (and continue to be in Syria) instrumental in helping to oust the various dictators they believed held their freedom in shackles, only to discover that their battle for equality will continue under the Islamists that now lead their countries.

They're still struggling in Syria, and some women over there are running scared now that they see hardline Islamists in the opposition movement are gaining strength, which inevitably means they will have gained nothing when the battle against Bashar al-Assad's regime is finally won.

These men, they say, are extremists who are expanding control, waving the black flag of Jihad and excluding women in a way that mirrors the male domination of the autocratic regime that is still clinging to power.

"All opposing Syrian factions insist on marginalizing women," said Maya al-Rahbi, a human rights activist, "which means that these factions are not a true representation of the Syrian people. Half of the population is left out."

Rahbi, director of a Damascus-based women's research center, said "this indicates how patriarchal these groups are and how unbelieving they are in democracy, which can never be achieved without giving women their rights."

Another woman, Majida, is an anti-government activist who does not want to use her real name to protect her safety. She told Women's eNews in an email interview that only three of the 60 leading members of the new Syria National Coalition, which was established in November in Qatar, are women. That ratio overlooks the female momentum behind the opposition fighters and blatantly ignores their active participation in the Syrian conflict for the past 21 months.

Women's rank in the opposition, in fact, mirrors that of the Syrian establishment, where the few female ministers in the government are channeled into "female" ministries such as Social Affairs and Labor.
"We, women, have been fooled," Majida said. "How can such a weak representation be accepted? Do three women reflect the role of the female population in Syria? Did they forget what women died during the revolution by organizing protests themselves? How thousands of us were arrested and tortured just like men? It is men who chose the armed conflict, limiting the physical role of women to some extent. But our suffering was greater than theirs, because murder, rape and torture always affect women and children more than men in armed conflicts."

Rahbi echoed that outrage. "Where are all the mottos we've been hearing since the beginning revolution? Where did the calls for 'freedom, dignity and justice for all citizens' go?" she said.

She added that, "This reminds us of the same oppressive regimes and of their same policies against women. Why then did women take part in the revolution from the very beginning? Why did they sacrifice and lose their loved ones? Why were they killed, arrested, exiled and stranded? Why the revolution in the first place?!"

Indeed they've been fooled. In essence what they have done is unwittingly help their men folk pave the way for the re-emergence of Islamists which were outlawed in those countries. They realize they will have fewer freedoms under the Islamists than they had under their dictators, but it's too late now.

Syrian Man Kills Pro-Assad Russian Wife

In Syria, not only do you have to worry about the rebels or Bashar al Assad's army (depending on who you support),  you now have to watch out for family members as well.

A Syrian merchant in his 40s shot dead his Russian wife in the embattled northern city of Aleppo because she supported President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the killer's cousin told AFP on Wednesday.

Clothes shop owner Mohammed on Tuesday evening used a pistol to shoot his wife dead after an argument in their home in the rebel-held district of Maysar in southwestern Aleppo, said Ahmed, a 30-year-old government employee.

“The argument broke out when he criticized Assad, while she defended him,” said Ahmed. “The fight escalated and he shot her.”

Mohammed then went outside and told onlookers that his wife, whom he had met in Russia during a business trip and married four years ago, “would not stop her provocation by expressing support for Bashar, and that he could not take her attitude any longer,” said Ahmed.

There is no police presence in Maysar. The rebels did not arrest the man.

I wonder if anything like that happened here during the Romney/Obama battle for the presidency.

Syrians Demonstrate In Support Of Jihadist Group Designated As Terrorists

It's tragic, what's happening in Syria.  A secular albeit dictator-run country with a leader hell-bent on staying in power even if it means massacring his own people is headed down an equally hellish path. The people of Syria, like their Arab Spring brethren, started out fighting for freedom, but what they could potentially end up with (and most likely will), like their Arab Spring brethren, is far worse.

What president Bashar Al Assad has been claiming all along- about battling foreign terrorists and Islamists- has finally come true. I don't believe it was so in the beginning, but in these long 18 months of battle Islamists have joined the fray, and it appears they're now the ones poised to prevail, along with their hardcore Islamic ways.

Already, some rebels and other opponents of Mr Assad have sought to implement their particularly harsh version of Sharia on a small scale, particularly using corporal punishment against suspected criminals and government supporters.

Rebel interrogators in this town, about 20 kilometres from the Turkish border, said they had beaten the legs of detainees with sticks.

Insurgents in nearby Mare' threatened to amputate the hands of alleged thieves and paraded them through town in an effort to publicly shame them, residents said.

In Aleppo, where fierce fighting between insurgents and government forces has raged for weeks, one rebel leader said he had ordered lashings using rubber hoses and knotted ropes.

And according to The National, many of the people, particularly the conservative rural folk, seem to want the change.

Abu Yaqoub, a 26-year-old Muslim cleric in rebel-held Tell Rif'at, believes Sharia would provide the best form of government for Syria in a post-Assad era.

"God willing," Mr Yaqoub replied, when asked if Islamic law should be imposed nationwide.  

Read more about the situation regarding the Islamists in The National.

And to further demonstrate just how influential the Islamists have become, Syrians took to the streets in protest of the Obama administration designating one of the rebel jihadist groups- Jabhat al-Nusra- a terrorist organization. Since they are linked to al-Qaeda, yes, that would make them terrorists, but obviously thousands of Syrians don't seem to care.

The protesters demonstrated under the slogan: "There is no terrorism in Syria except that of Assad."

Protesters in the Eastern Ghuta region, just outside Damascus and which has come under regular air raids by the regime army, held up a sign reading: "Thank you to all the 'terrorists' in Syria who are fighting Assad."

"We are all Al-Nusra Front," it said, in reference to the jihadist group blacklisted by Washington on Tuesday.

Lines of children and men linked arms and carried the three-starred flag of the revolution as they called for downfall of the regime in the street as shopkeepers looked on.

Since  no-one else was helping them while they were being slaughtered, they feel indebted to the Islamists. What they fail to realize is that they will want something in return. In essence what the Syrians are trading is one form of oppression for another.

What an epic fail on the part of the U.N.

Lebanese and Syrian Officials Indicted For Terror Plots In Lebanon

Here's a bizarre story out of the Middle East.
The cast of characters: a former Lebanese Maronite Christian politician best buddies with Syria's Bashar al-Assad and in cahoots with the regime, a Lebanese man, a spy pen, and a Syrian general. The plot: kill Christians and Muslims in the northern part of Lebanon (Akkar). The objective: create sectarian violence between Sunni Muslims and Christians, and Sunnis and the bizarre Muslim Alawite sect (they celebrate Christmas!) to which Assad belongs.
Apparently, Michel Samaha (the former Lebanese minister) solicited a man (known only as 'Kfouri') to arrange for bomb attacks on Sunnis during their Ramadan Iftar fast-breaking banquets, at the same time that Christian Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi was due to visit the area. The targets were Syrian opposition and Sunni dignitaries.
Kfouri apparently went to the authorities with his story, convinced them that Samaha had asked him to "secure a group of trusted young men to transport explosive devices to the north and set them off there in exchange for a sum of money," the police handed him a handy dandy spy pen camera, and he was able to tape incriminating conversations with Samaha. With that evidence, including the exchange last Tuesday of $170,000 cash plus 24 explosive devices (four of which weighed 15 kilograms) Samaha was arrested, and subsequently indicted.

In one of the taped conversations Samaha was heard saying “this is what Bashar wants,” and also shared that the explosives had been given to him by Syrian Security Chief Major General Ali Mamlouk. Mamlouk and a Syrian colonel have also been charged. They all could get the death penalty for the failed plot.

Pro-Assad Hezbollah criticized the arrest, but what do you expect from a terrorist organization.

I guess Syria wants to pull Lebanon into its private hell.

Sources: Al Arabiya, CS Monitor, Naharnet

Iranian Rappers Blast Syria's Bashar Al-Assad and Russia's Medvedev

In support of the ongoing massacre in Homs,  Iranian rappers blast Syria's tyrant Bashar Al-Assad and Russia's Medvedev. Translated by Memri.TV

I am linking to the video on Youtube because Google adsense might think it's too graphic.

Syria Releases 7/7 London Terror Attack 'Mastermind' To Get Back At The West

This is how mature leaders act: they release jailed terrorists as a threat and retaliatory measure against their perceived enemies- in this case, the whole Western world.

The man accused of planning the London 7/7 bombings in 2005 has been freed from a Syrian jail by the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Abu Musab al-Suri had been held in Syria, his country of birth, for six years after being captured by the CIA under its controversial extraordinary rendition program, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.

But his release is now said to have come as a warning to Western allies, the United States and Britain, about the consequences of turning their backs on the Syrian regime.

{snip} (As though we would side with a regime that has killed over 6,000 people in a little less than a year.)

Suri’s release is thought to be part of a Syrian backlash on its new Western foes. The Syrian was also identified as an al-Qaeda operations chief in Europe, also going by the name of Mustafa Setmariam Nasar.

His release was revealed by Syrian opposition website Sooryoon.net last week, citing local sources.

A statement on the site read: “The timing of his release raises a lot of questions and observers believe the release may indicate the regime is stopping security co-operation with the Americans and thus releasing all those Washington considers a threat to its interests.”

Though not as deadly as the 9/11 attack,  7/7 claimed 52 dead and over 700 injured.  Suri was also said to be linked to the train bombings in Madrid in 2004 (191 dead), and the 1995 Paris metro attack. Apparently, Spain has its sights set on Suri, but capturing terrorists has never proved to be easy.

Too bad he wasn't sent off to Guantanamo to join his jihad brothers-in-arms. 

His release, no doubt, will be a boon to al Qaeda.

Syrian protesters in Kafrandel miss George 'Dubya' Bush and the Republicans

Like many here and around the world, the Syrians in Kafrandel miss George W. Bush and the Republicans. Their president Bashar al-Assad, ranked number 4 in Parade Magazine's 2011 top 10 worst dictators, has been systematically killing thousands of his people (including allegations of rape, torture and murder of children), as he struggles to hang on to his power.

However, I'm not quite sure what they would have expected Bush to do, other than scare the bejesus out of the bad guys with his so-called cowboy tactics. He was criticized for his cowboy diplomacy, but in many ways it worked.





Photo: H/T Bad Rachel

Anti-Ship Missiles Delivered To Syria By Russia In Spite Of Calls For Sanctions

In spite of the fact that the majority of the world, including the Arab League is calling for sanctions against Syria, those darn Russians are still allegedly selling them arms.

Russia has delivered anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed military source as saying on Thursday, days after a United Nations commission of inquiry called for an arms embargo on Damascus.

Could the $300 million deal have anything to do with it?

The contract was completely fulfilled, almost ahead of time," Interfax cited the source as saying of the deal, estimated at $300 million. The source did not say when the deliveries had taken place.


Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in February that Moscow was pressing ahead with the deal despite Israeli concerns, indicating the missiles might have been delivered earlier this year.


"This weapon allows coverage of the entire coastline of Syria from possible attack from the sea," Interfax quoted the source as saying.

More than 4,000 protesters have been killed in the crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, but I guess the bottom line is farmore important to those Russkies than human lives.

For the rest of the story.