McCatchy Newspapers broke the code of silence and featured atrocities committed by the Syrian rebels. Even though the rebels are attacking the Syrian state, an act of terror in and of itself, the Western media has focused on acts by the government of Syria. UN and NGO rebel cheerleaders for the invasion by proxy are backing off somewhat. UN Secretary General Moon seemed to chastise the rebels for their wanton violence (see full McClatchy article) and Amnesty International provided a belated caution about rebel violence.
I the last few days, Russia offered Syria fuel in exchange for crude oil. China announced continued backing for the Syrian regime. India helped stop another United Arab League pro rebel resolution. Israel is concerned about al Qaeda terror attacks originating from the ranks of the rebels in Syria. Most pertinent for we the people is the speculation that the president is trying to get President Erdogan of Syria to deliver the beat down necessary for the current regime.
This week, watch as the U.S. corporate media conflates sovereign rights for self defense with “a massacre” as the Syrian Army recovers its second city, Aleppo. Should the Syrian government reward the rebel invasion by simply giving them the city?
Accounts of Syria rebels executing prisoners raise new human rights concerns
By Hannah Allam and Austin Tice McClatchy NewspapersFriday, August 3, 2012″WASHINGTON — Syrian insurgents fighting to unseat President Bashar Assad face a growing list of accusations that they’ve carried out executions and torture, muddying the Western narrative of a heroic resistance force struggling against a vicious regime.The issue of rebel conduct has come to the forefront this month largely because of a video posted online showing the aftermath of apparent executions of pro-Assad militiamen during the rebels’ capture of an intelligence center in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
“A reporter for the Turkish newspaper Milliyet witnessed the incident Tuesday and confirmed in a first-person account the circumstances of the killings: More than a dozen men were captured alive and then summarily executed in what advocacy group Human Rights Watch called an apparent “war crime.”
:The men “were forced into a building, then brought before a court of the Free Syrian Army on the back of a pickup truck, after which they were lined up and shot at lightning speed,” the Milliyet reporter wrote.” McClatchy, August 4 (Image: hovic
Russia to provide Syria with fuel:
MOSCOW, Aug 3 – Syria has reached an agreement with ally Russia to secure much-needed fuel as a delegation of ministers sent by President Bashar al-Assad asked Moscow to help alleviate the effects of sanctions on the war-torn country.
The trip was a rare foreign visit made by high-level Syrian officials, whose circles of support are shrinking as violence mounts between rebel fighters and forces loyal to Assad, who the West and Arab countries say must leave power.
Under the deal, Syria will export its crude oil to Russia in exchange for refined oil products, which Damascus sorely needs to keep its economy and military running. Reuters, August 3
Beijing maintains its stance on Syria
China reiterated its opposition to external unilateral force in Syria in a news briefing on Saturday, urging relevant countries to examine their own policies and motives rather than blame other countries.
China continues to support efforts at a peaceful, political solution for Syria and oppose outside intervention in Syria, Wang Kejian, deputy director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s West Asian and North African Affairs Department, said at a briefing. China Daily August 5
India is asserting itself:
NEW DELHI: India worked hard behind the scenes on Friday to dilute a Saudi Arabia-drafted UNGA resolution, which severely indicted Syria for the situation prevailing in the country, but finally abstained from voting after the draft could not be rid of reference to the July 22nd League of Arab States resolution that called upon Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down. The decision has further brought into focus India’s growing contrariness with the Arab League over Assad’s fate.s fate. TheTimes of India August 5
Israel fears terrorist attacks from al Qaeda fighters in Syria:
There is growing concern among security officials in Israel that cells associated with al-Qaida could carry out terrorist attacks against Israel from Syria.
In recent weeks, growing involvement of al-Qaida operatives in the fighting against the Syrian army has been noted. Extremist Islamists identified with various factions of the global jihad movement, including al-Qaida, currently number several thousand across Syria, and they are taking part in the fighting all over the country. Some are fully cooperating with the rebels’ Free Syrian Army, but some officers from the opposition forces contend that the Islamist activists will endanger Syria’s future following the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Haaretz, August 5
Obama asks leader of Turkey to go in and get that “regime change” done:
Obama brings Erdogan into bat AsiaTimes, August 4
The image the White House used to illustrate United States President Barack Obama’s phone call to Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed a simple but blunt message, according to the Turkish press: “Whack Bashar, Erdogan Bey”. However, in helping overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Turkish prime minister is hamstrung by a state of disarray in Turkey’s armed forces that he helped to engineer.
(If the Turkish press is right and the bat held by Obama in the photograph is indeed symbolic, we’re in real trouble.)
