Syria

[Castel]

an intresting viewpoint.

The armed Syrian opposition has got their hands on chemical weapons, which they acquired from Libya, a media report claims. They allegedly plan to use it against civilians and pin the atrocity on the Bashar al-Assad regime.

The report by DamPress claims the opposition group in possession of the weapons is being trained in its use inside Turkey. No further detail on the alleged conspiracy is given.

The Libyan stockpile of chemical weapons was a matter of great concern during last year’s civil war in the country. There were fears that they may end up in the hands of the terrorists and used elsewhere in the world. However unlike Libya’s portable surface-to-air arsenal, no reports of the weapons going missing was made public.

Syria has a greater number of chemical weapons than Libya. Military experts say the agents in the Syrian stockpile are also more modern that what Gaddafi had produced for his military. Syria also didn’t join the Chemical Weapons Convention and is not obliged to declare what chemical weapons it possesses.

The chemical framing plot allegations comes days after British journalist Alex Thomson from Channel 4 news accused a Syrian opposition group of trying to set him and his crew up to be killed by government forces. He said a western journalist death would give bad publicity for Damascus.

Syria is sliding back into violence after a UN-brokered peace plan failed to bring the rival forces in the country to negotiation table. The worst of the incidents of renewed bloodshed were two massacres of civilians in the villages of Houla and al-Qubair.

Opposition blame the killings on pro-government paramilitary forces, while Damascus says both incidents were provocations carried out by terrorist groups. The UN observer mission currently deployed in Syria failed to establish for certain who committed the atrocities.

-RT

[bongo90]

there is so much mis-information going on that its impossible to know what is really going on or to take sides.

oh well fuck them all

[Harry3]

yeah, apparently the "blast" which "killed" those 4 or 5 syrian ministers may not have actually happened as a BBC journalist visited the site and there was no damage at all, there are rumours the ministers were actually assassinated by the Assad regime for fears they were involved in a coup.... which is made more believable by the fact 2 rebel groups owned up to the "blast" which makes it clear neither of them did it...

so yeah, whoever you choose to believe, the whole things a mess we need to stay well out of, sorry civilians

[Castel]

i believe the Russians.

why not eh?

[Castel]

what are the Russians saying today...

Syria has accused Western and Arab intelligence agencies of plotting to “hijack” its satellite channel frequencies in order to spread misinformation about the alleged advances of the rebels, military defections or the fall of certain cities.

“An Information Ministry source warned that Western intelligence are planning, in cooperation with some Arab parties, to hijack the frequencies of Syrian satellite channels,” state news agency Sana reported on Sunday.

The ministry said its goal would be to broadcast false news on an "alleged coup d'etat" and that for this purpose they could use “Syrian presenters and journalists who work for Arab and Western channels, or who might have been abducted.”

Similar alarms about a new plot against Syria were also broadcast through other official national media sources such as Syria TV, al-Dunia TV, and Sham FM.

It is not the first time Syria's Information Ministry has warned of misleading media reports pretending to be coming from official Syrian TV sources.

On Friday, the ministry announced that a satellite channel was using the logo of the Syrian Satellite Channel and its frequency. The channel was reportedly broadcasting nationalistic songs in an alleged test run before a massive media attack against Syria.

who do you believe?

[RocksteadyUK]

Thats pretty fukin insane! And what a sly way to be at war with someone. Dont use military... simply over take their media... broadcast what the rebels want to hear... rebels get confident.... more people join the rebels.... rebels fight your war.... you step in at the last moment and offer a helping hand (Money/debt) to the rebels..... Job done... Thank maam... ill just get yet another country that is surrounding Iran to join our side.

[Castel]

can't NATO stay out of something for once...

Fighter jets have bombed eastern areas of Syria's second city Aleppo, a BBC reporter near the city says.

The attack, which followed an artillery barrage, is seen as a significant escalation in the conflict.

Rebels launched an offensive against Aleppo at the weekend in an attempt to wrest the city from government forces.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says territorial gains made by the rebels will eventually result in a "safe haven" inside Syria.

"We have to work closely with the opposition, because more and more territory is being taken," she told reporters in Washington. That would become a safe haven which would provide a base for further action by the opposition, she said.

Mrs Clinton said the pace of events was accelerating inside Syria and called on the opposition to be prepared for a transition of power, adding that it was not yet too late for President Assad himself to prepare for such a handover.

-BBC

[Castel]

The US government has made repeated covert attempts to block arms and oil shipments to Syria, the Wall Street Journal reports. Officials said Washington also provided rebel forces with key military intelligence against President Bashar al-Assad.

The WSJ cites unnamed government officials in its report, which claims that the US has tried to coerce Iraq into blocking flights crossing through its airspace that are suspected of carrying weapons and supplies to the Assad government.

In addition, US intelligence agencies have moved to block ships believed to be transporting military equipment to Syria from traversing the Suez Canal.

Washington has recently intensified its covert efforts against Syria, in line with its stated aim of removing of President Bashar Assad.

"There is a renewed effort to crack down in any way possible," a US official told the WSJ, referencing Washington’s plan to control transit on the Suez Canal.

Officials stated that Washington had been feeding key intelligence, including satellite imagery, to the Turkish and Jordanian militaries, which support the Syrian rebel army.

There were also reports of the CIA coordinating and sharing intelligence with certain Syrian opposition groups.

The WSJ report cites the US troop withdrawal from Iraq in November of last year as the strategic opening for a possible arms supply route into Syria. The CIA tracked 76 cargo flights from Iran crossing Iraqi airspace en route to Syria in January and February.

The CIA claimed that the Iranian and Syrian governments disguised the alleged military equipment as farming materials and cut flowers.

-RT

FLOAT PARADE?!?!

[GordonFrown]

isnt al assad the bad guy on call of duty 4?

yes i thought this too

[Castel]

Washington’s reaction to blasts in Damascus is a downright justification of terrorism, slams Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. US State Department announced that terror acts in Syria are not surprising in light of the Assad regime’s actions.

“This is direct endorsement of terrorism. How are we supposed to understand that?” Sergey Lavrov shared his astonishment at a press conference in Moscow. “This is a sinister position, I cannot find words to express our attitude towards that.”

Lavrov also expressed his surprise that the UN Security Council refused to condemn acts of terror in Syria. The US permanent representative to the UN Susan Rice has stated that terror acts in Damascus contribute to speeding up the adoption of a resolution on Syria according to the Chapter 7 of the UN Statute, which implies harsh sanctions, including resorting to force.

“In other words this means ‘We are going to support such acts of terrorism until the UNSC does what we want’,” Lavrov commented on the US representative's actions.

-RT

[Castel]

Syria Tweets: 'War & Peace' snap-shots from conflict zone

link

seems nato n rebels r cunts.. according to russia.

[Castel]

well

Al-Qaeda gaining experience in Syria, eyes 'Islamic state to fight Israel and Iran'

An Iraqi Al-Qaeda operative has admitted that his organization is taking part in the Syrian uprising against President Assad. The revelation comes amidst increasing evidence that Al-Qaeda is gaining a foothold in Syria.

Abu Thuha, a 56-year-old Al-Qaeda operative living near Kirkuk in northern Iraq, described the Islamist organization’s grand plans to an Iraqi reporter for The New York Times.

“We have experience now fighting the Americans, and more experience now with the Syrian revolution,” he noted. “Our big hope is to form a Syrian-Iraqi Islamic state for all Muslims, and then announce our war against Iran and Israel, and free Palestine.”

[Castel]

Obama authorizes covert US support for Syrian rebels

US President Barack Obama has signed a secret order allowing the CIA and other American agencies to support rebels seeking to overthrow the Assad regime, a US government source told Reuters.

Obama reportedly gave the order, known as an intelligence “finding”, earlier this year. The presidential finding also provides for US collaboration with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies.

[Harry3]

some of my posts in this thread have been deleted? wtf?

[Castel]

its a conspiracy