Text of White House Statement on Chemical Weapons in Syria
New York Times Published: June 13, 2013
Following is the statement issued by the White House in the name of Benjamin J. Rhodes, deputy national security adviser.
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THE NATION
Clerics call for ‘jihad’ in Syria
15 June 2013 CAIRO – Influential Sunni clerics from several Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Egypt have called for ‘Jihad’ against the regime in Syria. “We must undertake jihad to help our brothers in Syria by sending them money and arms, and providing all aid to save the Syrian people from this sectarian regime,” they said in a statement at the end of a gathering in Cairo. “The flagrant aggression of the Iranian regime, of Hezbollah and of their sectarian allies in Syria amounts to a declaration of war against Islam and Muslims.” Lebanon’s Iran-backed Shia movement has been fighting alongside the forces of President Bashar Al-Assad, a member of the Alawite offshoot of Shiaism, against Syria’s rebels.
Saudi Arabia’s top cleric Abdulaziz al-Shaikh has urged governments to punish the “repulsive sectarian group” while Qatar-based Sunni cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi has called on Sunnis to join the rebels. Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, which helped Assad’s troops overrun the strategic town of Qusayr, has been roundly condemned by Arab countries.
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12 Jun 2013 Hassan Hassan (blog)
Rebels carry out sectarian cleansing in eastern Syria
A rebel armed group calling itself “As-Sadiq Al Ameen” has committed what appears to be a massacre against Shia civilians in Deir Ezzor.
UPDATE: Another video shows fighters from Jund Al Rahman rebel group were also involved, along with “several other groups”. Click here for a comprehensive playlist of the videos related to the events, by Brown Moses.
UPDATE 2: Also check this important interview with Omar Abu Lilah, spokesman of the Free Syrian Army in the eastern region, by Zaid Benjamin. Abu Lilah said many groups took part in the operation, including Jabhat al-Nusra whose fighters blew out some of the Shia houses. Abu Lilah said those who were killed were not civilians but armed men who had attacked FSA fighters and killed some. He said the armed Shia fighters worked with the regime to retake a vital check point near Deir Ezzor. Four fighters from Liwa al-Qadisiya, which controls the check point, were killed.
He said the Shia fighters worked in a group called the National Army, formed by an officer from Mo-Hassan city in Deir Ezzor. This group, according to Abu Lilah, seeks to stoke tensions in the area by spreading news that Shia fighters from Iraq and Lebanon are in the province. The FSA then decided to raid village and capture the fighters – he said the number of fighters wanted by the FSA is over 265, a “large number of them have been killed”. He said a few of the fighters have been captured by the opposition fighters and are being investigated about the National Army and other information. He also told Zaid that the village is now under full control of the FSA for its strategic significance.
According to Zaid, the rebel group that led the operation is “Liwa Mu’ta”, which is close to Jabhat al-Nusra.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 60 Shiites were killed in the attack – at least 10 rebels were killed…..
http://www.hhassan.com/2013_06_01_archive.html
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Egypt cuts diplomatic ties with Syria |
| Al-Jazeera |
President Mohamed Morsi announces closure of embassies in Damascus and Cairo, and calls for imposition of no-fly zone.Last Modified: 16 Jun 2013 05:16 |
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s president, has announced that Egypt is cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria and has ordered that Damascus Embassy in Cairo to be closed.
Morsi told thousands of supporters in a rally held on Saturday that his government is also withdrawing the Egyptian charge d’affaires from Damascus.
Morsi also called on Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group to leave Syria, where the group has been fighting alongside troops loyal to embattled President Bashar al-Assad against the rebel forces.
“We stand against Hezbollah in its aggression against the Syrian people,” Morsi said. “Hezbollah must leave Syria – these are serious words. There is no space or place for Hezbollah in Syria.”
The Egyptian president also called on the international community to implement a no-fly zone over Syria, where the UN says that more than 93,000 people have been killed since a popular uprising escalated into civil war more than two years ago.
The rally that Morsi addressed on Saturday was called for by loyalists to the Egyptian president to show solidarity with the people of Syria. However, Morsi also used the occasion to warn his opponents at home against the use of violence in mass protests planned for June 30, the anniversary of his assumption to power.
Morsi repeated the allegation that Egyptians loyal to the now-ousted regime of autocrat Hosni Mubarak were behind the planned protests and that they were working against the January 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/201361519182028756.html
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NEW YORK TIMES Op-Ed Contributors
Geneva Talks Hold the Only Key to Syria
By JAVIER SOLANA and JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER
Published: June 11, 2013
It took almost a year for the Geneva communiqué on Syria of June 2012 to be dusted off and for diplomacy to be given another try. The agreement last month between Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia to launch a new political process, Geneva II, marked an important opportunity. An opportunity that is already wilting under intense strain.
Yet after two years of destruction and 80,000 deaths, it is precisely such a bold and inclusive political approach, rather than military action, that still offers the best — and perhaps the only — chance of averting even greater suffering, radicalization and regional implosion.
To succeed, the West must urgently step up its diplomatic maneuvering and make the ending of the conflict a priority over wider political ambitions. This will entail real deal-making to ensure that all of the key international and regional actors have a sufficient stake in the process to back it fully, and so press their allies in Syria to do likewise. Unpalatable compromises will be needed — in particular, accepting that Bashar al-Assad’s fate must be a question rather than a precondition for the transition process and that Iran must play a role in any diplomatic process. For the sake of Syria, the wider region and Western security interests, this should now be the strategic imperative.
Javier Solana has served as foreign minister of Spain, secretary general of NATO, and E.U. High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is a former secretary general of NATO and a former foreign minister of the Netherlands.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/opinion/global/geneva-talks-hold-the-only-key-to-syria.html?_r=2&
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TV Interview with Roland Dumas
Published on Jun 15, 2013
France’s Former Foreign Minister, Roland Dumas, has stated in a televised program on LCP that UK government officials had told him about preparations for war in Syria two years prior to the start of the 2011 protests and conflict. The reason given for this war is the Syrian government’s anti-Israel stance that made Syria a target for Western-backed regime change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz-s2AAh06I&sns=em
Former French Foreign Minister: The War against Syria was Planned Two years before “The Arab Spring”
In an interview with the French TV station LCP, former French minister for Foreign Affairs Roland Dumas said:
‘’ I’m going to tell you something. I was in England two years before the violence in Syria on other business. I met with top British officials, who confessed to me that they were preparing something in Syria.
This was in Britain not in America. Britain was organizing an invasion of rebels into Syria. They even asked me, although I was no longer minister for foreign affairs, if I would like to participate.
Naturally, I refused, I said I’m French, that doesn’t interest me.’’
Dumas went on give the audience a quick lesson on the real reason for the war that has now claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
‘’This operation goes way back. It was prepared, preconceived and planned… in the region it is important to know that this Syrian regime has a very anti-Israeli stance.
Consequently, everything that moves in the region- and I have this from the former Israeli prime minister who told me ‘we’ll try to get on with our neighbours but those who don’t agree with us will be destroyed.
It’s a type of politics, a view of history, why not after all. But one should know about it.’’
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Independent.ie
Tony Blair: The West must intervene in Syria
Emma Clark, Sam Lister, David Hughes and Arj Singh – 15 June 2013
THE West must intervene against the Syrian government’s regime to prevent “catastrophic consequences”, Tony Blair has said.
The former prime minister fears both sides of the conflict will begin to use chemical weapons as an “acceptable form of warfare” if no action is taken, and urged Britain to help America arm the Syrian rebels, in an interview with The Times.
“I feel very strongly that we are in danger of a failure with catastrophic consequences,” he told the newspaper.
“This is no longer a civil war between fractions within Syria. We should be taking a more interventionist line.
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Blair’s dirty money: As his tentacles reach Mongolia, how the ex-PM is making millions from some of the world’s most evil regimes
- Tony Blair is to advise Mongolian leaders on ‘good governance’
- The former Prime Minister won’t say how much he is earning from the deal
- Mr Blair is said to be worth between £60million and £80million
MAIL ONLINE By Paul Scott
PUBLISHED: 23:44 GMT, 14 June 2013 |
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Live Leak Video: Former US Republican Congressman, Ron Paul speaks about Obama’s Syria WMD Claim June 2013
“If you don’t do something, Al-Qaeda will be more armed by US weapons.
Call your member of the Congress and let your voice be heard”
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=28e_1371289241
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7 News
How Obama crossed his own line on Syria after months of debate
Reuters 15 June 2013
http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/article/17617569/
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“Edward Dark”, a Syrian activist on Twitter who supported the ‘revolution’ reassessed his views after the rebels entered Aleppo and he had a chance to observe them.
edward dark
@edwardedark
activist working for a free democratic Syria. No to war. No to extremists. Donate for displaced families in Aleppo here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=F8NQAKYT2Z3VJ …
Syria
How We Lost The Syrian Revolution
Edward Dark, Al-Monitor 28 May 2013
So what went wrong? Or to be more accurate, where did we go wrong? How did a once inspirational and noble popular uprising calling for freedom and basic human rights degenerate into an orgy of bloodthirsty sectarian violence, with depravity unfit for even animals? Was it inevitable and wholly unavoidable, or did it not have to be this way?
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/syria-revolution-aleppo-assad.html#ixzz2WNPdkbVt
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The first British fighter to die in Syria interview/documentary filmed over his jihad and death.
The first British fighter to die in Syria” MUST WATCH” interview/documentary filmed over his jihad and death.
He admits murdering surrendered soldiers gets married in this film made by a fellow USA jihadi.The exclusive footage focuses on recruits from a hardline Sunni militia of more than 700 foreign fighters in the Katiba al-Muhajireen (the battalion of migrants) and follows Ibrahim al-Mazwagi, the first British fighter to die in Syria. He was killed in February this year, aged just 21.The video is the first intimate access to the previously unseen lives of this band of jihadi brothers, and shows them fighting and killing on the frontlines, talking about jihad, and even getting married.
We can’t accept enemies of Allah for our religion – killing us, abusing our religion, belittling it, taking our lands. Ibrahim al-Mazwagi, British rebel fighter in Syria
Fighters from the west are flocking to Syria in growing numbers, with estimates that there are now about 80 British recruits in the country among as many as 700 Europeans.In the footage, filmed by an American Muslim convert, Mazwagi can be seen conducting target practice and joining battles on the frontline. He justifies his decision to come to Syria and says: “Well, I’ve always known about jihad, seen the Mujahadeen on TV and everything.”
Later in an interview he adds: “Our religion is one of superiority and honour, you know. We can’t accept enemies of Allah for our religion – killing us, abusing our religion, belittling it, taking our lands. This is not something we stand for. So the Mujaheddin, those who practise jihad, are those who defend the Muslims.”
Filmed over several months, the young British jihadi fighter can be seen shooting weapons, going shopping for cereal, and joining a key battle for a Syrian army base called Sheik Suleiman in western Aleppo. He talks about his family back in London and how they support his actions.At one point, while hanging off the side of a truck, he is asked if his mother knows where he is and replies: “I remember I called my mother once. I told her I am going on an operation tomorrow.”
They are happy I’m taking my own path, doing my own thing and helping people. At the same time they don’t understand entirely why I’m here.Abu Islam, Canadian rebel in Syria
She said: “Make sure you’re not at the back. Go to the front.” Laughing, he adds: “I don’t think my mother loves me that much. No, I’m joking. She must love me for her to say that. Hamdullah (thank God), she understands.”
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2fb_1371244035
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6,113 Foreign Terrorists Killed in Syria
Posted on June 12, 2013 by Womens Rights Advocate
ALMANAR REPORTS THAT 6,113 FOREIGN TERRORISTS HAVE BEEN KILLED, SEVERELY WOUNDED OR MISSING IN SYRIA.
http://friendsofsyria.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/6113-foreign-terrorists-killed-in-syria/
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Man Behind Syrian ‘Chemical Weapons’ Claim Is Fiction Writer Who Ran Benghazi Cover-Up
Alex Jones’ INFO WARS
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
June 14, 2013
Ben Rhodes, the White House national security advisor behind the claim that President Bashar Al-Assad used chemical weapons in Syria, is a fiction writer with zero educational background in government, diplomacy or national security who also played a key role in covering up the truth behind the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi…….
http://www.infowars.com/man-behind-syrian-chemical-weapons-claim-is-fiction-writer-who-covered-up-benghazi/
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Qatar’s emir poised to cede power to son
Albawaba News Published June 10th, 2013 –
http://www.albawaba.com/news/qatars-emir-poised-cede-power-son-498248
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Translation of excerpts from Nasrallah’s May 25 speech on Resistance and Liberation Day
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Jeremy Scahill & Noam Chomsky on Secret U.S. Dirty Wars From Yemen to Pakistan to Laos
Published on May 24, 2013
Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill and author Noam Chomsky recently sat down together at Harvard University to discuss Scahill’s groundbreaking new book, “Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield.” Amy Goodman hosted the discussion, which was sponsored by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard Kennedy School and the ACLU of Massachusetts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fBOTijssJkU
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Strange Love
How Obama and Al-Qaeda Became Syrian Bedfellows
by SHAMUS COOKE
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Is it the end of Sykes-Picot?
Patrick Cockburn on the war in Syria and the threat to the Middle East
http://www.lrb.co.uk/2013/05/23/patrick-cockburn/is-it-the-end-of-sykes-picot
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Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
Raqqa province: An activist from Homs city has identified to the SOHR the identity of 2 of the 3 men publicly executed on 14/5/2013 by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham in Raqqah city. The 2 men are Mustafa al-Jani, a dentist by profession, and his nephew Iyad Nawfal, who was a teacher. They are civilians from the village of al-Ashrafiya, north Reef Homs, and they come from a Muslim Alawite background. They are not, as stated by others, officers in the Syrian army or in the armed forces in any wa
https://m.facebook.com/syriaohr/posts/373953132713031
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Syria: Hizbullah Joins The Fight
26 May 2013
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2013/05/syria-hizbullah-joins-the-fight.html
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Funeral of Yara Abbas, young Syrian reporter, killed while reporting with Syrian army
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7jTkfM1A90&feature=youtu.be
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Malaysia Supported UN General Assembly Resolution on Syria
26 May 2013
It is disappointing that Malaysia chose to support the UN General Assembly resolution on Syria on 15 May 2013. Even if we did not want to vote against it — which is what 12 governments did, including Russia, China, Iran and Cuba — we could have at least abstained, together with countries such as Indonesia, India, South Africa, Brazil and 55 other sovereign states.
There is no need to reiterate that the resolution sponsored by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the US and France, among others, was terribly biased and one-sided. While it condemned the Syrian government for its “increased use of heavy weapons”, its use of “chemical weapons” and its “widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the resolution had hardly anything to say about the brutal violence of the militants fighting Bashar al-Assad or their human rights abuses.
The UN resolution also revealed its bias by recognizing the Syrian National Coalition “as the effective interlocutor needed for a political transition.” That the SNC is just one of many groups in a highly fragmented opposition and commands very little support within Syria itself is conveniently glossed over. Imposing the SNC upon the Syrian people in this manner is a clumsy attempt to effect a regime change of sorts.
More than the contents of the resolution, Malaysia should have taken cognizance of certain critical developments in Syria and the region in the last few months which should have persuaded us to adopt a different stand. After all, a number of other UN member states appear to have been influenced by these developments as reflected in the voting pattern on the resolution.
One, the horrendous violence perpetrated by the militants which has reached unspeakable proportions. It is not just the massacres they have committed in residential suburbs, markets, schools, universities and media centres that have shocked the world. The cruelty and barbarity of their violence has been an even greater shock. The video that has gone viral depicting a militant eating the liver of a murdered Syrian army soldier is a case in point. Even on the question of chemical weapons, it is the militants, according to UN investigator, Carla Del Ponte, who had resorted to sarin nerve gas attacks…..
http://www.globalresearch.ca/malaysia-supported-un-general-assembly-resolution-on-syria/5336502
Wikipedia: Dr Chandra Muzaffar is a Malaysian Muslim political scientist and an Islamic reformist and activist.
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Dr Bashar al Jaafari, Syria’s representative in the United Nations, reveals: “Qatar implicated in UNDOF kidnappings” – 16_05_2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZu1p59LHjc
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Generation Leftover
The Silent Death of the American Left
by JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
australiansforreconciliationinsyria.org 