Assad says Arab world ready to join the fight against Israel

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Assad says Arab world ready to join the fight against Israel

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Storm clouds gather over Jerusalem: The conflict in the Middle East is growing more dangerous and destabilizing by the day. May 31, 2013 – JERUSALEM - Syrian President Bashar Assad told Al-Manar TV on Thursday that “there is pressure … Continue reading →

President Assad Orders Commanders to Target Israel, US Interests if assassinated

TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered his army
commanders to target Israel and the US interests in the Middle East region
in case he is assassinated by the terrorists, informed sources said on
Monday.

President Assad's remarks came after he attended several meetings with his
senior commanders, and discussed the country's security situation with them,
the Algerian Al-Shorouq Oline newspaper quoted informed sources close to the
Syrian government as saying on Monday.

In the meetings presided by President Assad, Syria's top army commanders
told him that "the foreign hostile states will strive to assassinate him
instead of launching a military attack on Syria".

According to the report, a Persian translation of which was released by the
Iranian students news agency, the Syrian army commanders have told the
President that the spy agencies of certain western states and Syria's
neighboring countries have smuggled hi-tech missiles into Syria to provide
armed rebels and terrorist groups with a chance to target President Assad's
likely residence.

In response, President Assad has ordered his military commanders to target
Israel and the US positions in the region, specially in the Red Sea and the
Mediterranean Sea, if the western states succeed in assassinating him.

Earlier this month, President Assad voiced his readiness for dialogue with
the opposition and political parties in Syria. The Syrian leader also
proposed general elections, adoption of a new constitution as well as a
national reconciliation conference.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks
by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being
reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been
killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the
deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after
President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the
US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos
through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have
been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and
terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad's government have
received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid
for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials,
reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration
has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian
Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control
infrastructure.

According to the report, material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib
near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out
of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons - most bought on the
black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian
military in the past - has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars
in funding each month.

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=59783

Almost impossible to prevent Assad from using chemical weapons, US Army chief says

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has largely ruled out sending in ground troops to secure Syrian chemical weapons under hostile circumstances, but the Pentagon could provide some forces if the Assad regime ever agrees to a peaceful transition, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that it will be nearly impossible to prevent the Syrian government from using its chemical weapons, so the US must rely on deterrence and continue warning Syria that using them would be unacceptable.

“The act of preventing the use of chemical weapons would be almost unachievable,” Dempsey said during a Pentagon press conference. “You would have to have such clarity of intelligence, you know, persistent surveillance, you’d have to actually see it before it happened, and that’s — that’s unlikely, to be sure.”

Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Panetta says his biggest concern is how the US and allies would secure the chemical and biological weapons sites scattered across Syria and ensure the components don’t end up in the wrong hands if the regime falls, particularly under violent conditions. He said the US is preparing no options for having US ground troops in that country if the regime falls while under attack.

But, he added, “you always have to keep the possibility that, if there is a peaceful transition and international organizations get involved, that they might ask for assistance in that situation.”

There are widespread worries among allies and countries in the region that if Syrian President Bashar Assad is toppled, Islamic extremists could gain control of Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons, which includes sarin and mustard gas.

And there are lingering worries that Assad might use his chemical weapons, perhaps on his own people, in a last-ditch effort to save his regime.

President Barack Obama has said the regime’s use of chemical weapons against the rebels would be a “red line” and change his “calculus” about possible military intervention there.

Fears escalated early last month when US officials said there was evidence that Syrian forces had begun preparing sarin, a nerve agent, for possible use in bombs. But Panetta later said that it appeared the Syrian government had slowed its preparations for the possible use of the weapons.

The Pentagon has put together a variety of options for securing the weapons under a range of circumstances, Dempsey said. And he acknowledged the US has been in contact with NATO allies, such as the Czech Republic, who have developed capabilities for handling chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. 

But Dempsey said no specific request has been made of the Czech Republic.

At least 60,000 people have died during Assad’s two-year crackdown on rebels, according to a recent UN estimate.

Opposition fighters have seized large swaths of territory in northern Syria, and on Thursday activists said they now control parts of a strategic air base. But despite significant rebel advances on the battlefield, the opposition remains outgunned by government forces and has been unable to break a stalemate on the ground.

Panetta on Thursday said he believes there is a strong likelihood that Assad will ultimately leave power.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-troops-could-help-secure-syrian-weapons/ 

Syria 'has chemical weapons that could be used within two hours'

The Syrian regime has “dozens of 500-lb bombs” being armed with Sarin nerve gas, according to reports of satellite imagery from seen by the Pentagon at the end of last year.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad delivers a rare televised speech to the nation Photo: BBC

The bombs were being loaded on to vehicles near Syrian airbases and could be airborne within two hours, if President Bashar al-Assad ordered their use, the officials told President Barack Obama.

The details of the briefing were released to the New York Times and explain a sudden warning issued by Mr Obama to the Syrian regime at the beginning of December.

His statement, which said that any use of chemical weapons would have “consequences” and that “the world would act”, was followed by private messages to the Syrian authorities from Russia and neighbours including Turkey and Iraq that they would be held “personally responsible”.

Those messages, which diplomats told the paper were coordinated from American, European and Arab capitals, seem to have been enough to deter the weapons’ use for the time being, if it were intended.

Leon Panetta, the US Defence Secretary, who said the regime would cross a “red line” triggering military intervention if it used the bombs, followed up a week later by saying the worst fears were over.

 



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9787329/Syria-has-chemical-weapons-that-could-be-used-within-two-hours.html

Assad rejects dialogue with “Western puppet." EU: He must step down

Syrian ruler Bashar Assad calls for full national mobilization against outside forces whom he blames for orchestrating the conflict in his country. In his first public appearance Sunday in seven months, the Syrian ruler outlined what he called a peace plan. He invited “those who have not betrayed Syria” to a conference of reconciliation, followed by the formation of a new government and an amnesty. But Assad added, "We will not have dialogue with a puppet made by the West.” The first stage of a political solution would require that the regional powers stop funding and arming the opposition. He vowed to defeat the rebellion fighting to overthrow his regime, calling the rebels “terrorists” and “criminals” who harbor al Qaeda’s extremist ideology.

The European Union reacted to the speech by calling on Assad to step down to allow political transition.

Assad spoke before cheering supporters at the Opera House in central Damascus.



http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/3382/

US officials: Syria utilizing Iranian missiles

US officials: Syria utilizing Iranian missiles

 

The Syrian military in recent days has fired at least four Iranian-made ballistic missiles at rebel positions, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, raising concerns the Assad regime may be resorting to more lethal weaponry to maintain power.

According to the report, the Syrian military has increased its utilization of Iranian-made Fateh-110s missiles, suggesting the Islamic Republic is stepping up its support for Syrian President BasharAssad.

"It certainly shows more aggressive action by the Syrian regime, aided by the Iranians," a senior US official was quoted by the Journal as saying.

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=298441

"It could be a sign of new tactics or desperation," he said.

Assad sends warplanes to bomb capital’s suburbs

 

 

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian ground and air forces bombarded rebel strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus and other areas around the country Friday while anti-government forces targeted a military post near the capital with a car bomb, activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes targeted neighborhoods around the capital including Douma, which troops have been trying to recapture for weeks. Two air raids there Thursday killed 12 people and caused heavy damage.

The Observatory added that a car bomb blew up outside a military intelligence building in the northern Damascus suburb of Nabk but had no immediate word on casualties.

An amateur video posted online showed a strong explosion with black smoke billowing from Nabk and the narrator said the blast targeted the military intelligence facility. The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting on the events depicted.

The violence came two days after the U.N. said that more than 60,000 people have been killed since Syria’s crisis began in March 2011 — a figure much higher than previous opposition estimates.

Damascus-based activist Maath al-Shami said government troops were firing rockets and mortars from the Qasioun mountains overlooking the capital down at orchards near the southern suburbs of Daraya and Kfar Sousseh. The Observatory says troops were also fighting rebels in Aqraba and Beit Saham, also south of Damascus, near the capital’s international airport.

The army command said in a statement Thursday night that troops carried out operations in suburbs of the capital including Douma and Daraya.

“Regime forces are facing very strong resistance in Daraya,” said al-Shami via Skype, but said that government forces had been able to advance down the main street in the suburb.

The government capture of Daraya would provide a boost to the regime’s defense of Damascus. It is close to a military air base as well as the government’s headquarters and one of President Bashar Assad’s palaces.

In the north, rebels resumed a week-old offensive against regime-held airbases. The government’s air power poses the biggest obstacle to advances by opposition fighters.

Activists said there were battles around the military air base of Taftanaz in the northern province of Idlib close to the Turkish border and near the international airport of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and commercial center.

Fadi al-Yassin, an activist based in Idlib, said the rebels killed on Thursday the commander of Taftanaz air base, a brigadier general.

“The battles now are at the gates of the airport,” al-Yassin said via Skype. He added that it has become very difficult for the regime helicopters to take off and land at the base.

He said warplanes taking off from airfields in the central province of Hama and the coastal region of Latakia are participating in attacking rebels around Taftanaz.

The Syrian Army General Command said troops directed “painful strikes” against the “armed terrorist groups” of Jabhat al-Nusra, a group the U.S. claims is linked to al-Qaida-linked organization. The Syrian military says the extremist group is carrying out the Taftanaz attack, and that dozens of fighters were killed.

Aleppo airport has been closed since Monday. A government official in Damascus said the situation is relatively quiet around the facility, adding that it is up to civil aviation authorities to resume flights.

A man who answered the telephone at the information office at the Damascus International Airport said, “God willing, flights will resume to Aleppo very soon.”

Syrian rebels are fighting a 21-month-old revolt against the Assad regime. The crisis began with pro-democracy protests but has morphed into a civil war.

 

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/assad-sends-warplanes-to-bomb-capitals-suburbs/

Russian warship heads to Syria in preparation for a possible evacuation

Moscow officials have acknowledged that citizens will be pulled out of the country should Assad’s regime fall

 

 

The Kremlin is sending another warship to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia has a naval base, Russian news agencies reported.

The reports Sunday by the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agency cited an unidentified official in the military general staff as saying the Novocherkassk, a large landing ship, has set sail from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. She was “accompanied by a combat ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” according to a Russian news source.

The Novocherkassk was the third vessel of its kind dispatched since Friday from Russia to Tartus, AFP reported, and was expected to arrive in the area in early January.

The reports gave no information on the ship’s intent. But Russian diplomats have said that Moscow is preparing a plan to evacuate thousands of Russians from Syria if necessary. The Defense Ministry announced two weeks ago that several ships were being dispatched to the Mediterranean.

Syrian opposition leaders reported in September that Russia was completing the withdrawal of its citizens and military personnel from its naval base in Syria.

Moscow has operated the naval facility at Tartus since signing an agreement with Damascus in 1971. Although it is merely a ship repair and refueling station with a limited military presence, it is the sole remaining Russian military base outside of the former Soviet Union. 

 

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/russian-warship-headed-for-syria-in-preparation-for-a-possible-evacuation/

Russia urges Assad to open dialogue with opposition

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Moscow does not back calls on Assad to step down, but “"We actively encouraged... the Syrian leadership to maximally put into action its declared readiness for dialogue with the opposition.” Lavrov spoke to reporters after meeting Thursday with Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad and before his talks Saturday with Syrian peace mediator Lakhdar Brahimi. He made it clear that Assad must put all options on the table after 21 months of violence that claimed more than 45,000 lives.

 

http://www.debka.com/newsupdatepopup/3307/