Assad Interview: 'West Is More Confident in Al-Qaida than Me'

Assad Interview: 'West Is More Confident in Al-Qaida than Me'. HT: Spiegel.

In an interview with SPIEGEL, Syrian President Assad continues to describe the rebels as terrorists, accuses the West of lies and maintains that he is only seeking to defend his country. The leader also admits mistakes.

In an interview to be published in the Monday issue of SPIEGEL, Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks out about inspections of his country's chemical weapons, possible new elections and the role of Germany, the United States and Russia in his country's crisis. He also continues to vehemently deny any role in chemical weapons attacks on civilians and the armed opposition. "We did not use chemical weapons," he tells the magazine. "This is a misstatement. So is the picture you paint of me as a man who kills his own people."

He also expresses doubts about the United Nations report on the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack. "No one can say with certainty that rockets were used," he says. Instead, he accuses the rebels themselves of using Sarin gas.
Addressing the chemical weapons inspections now beginning in Syria, he says: "We're very transparent. The experts can go to every site. They are going to have all the data from our government." Until the weapons are destroyed, they will remain "under full control," he adds.

'I Would Like to See Envoys from Germany'

Assad also criticizes the international community. "It seems to me that the West is more confident in al-Qaida than me," he says. As for US President Barack Obama, he says: "The only thing he has is lies." In contrast, he describes the Russians as "our real friends," adding that they "understand the reality here much better."
Assad also suggests that Germany could act as a mediator in the conflict. "I would like to see envoys from Germany come to Syria to discuss the reality," he says.

The Syrian president also admits that his army has cooperated with Hezbollah in fighting that has taken place in areas on the border with Lebanon.

Asked if he believes a solution to the Syrian crisis could still be negotiated, he counters, "With the militants? No. Because by its very definition, a political opposition doesn't have an army."

Assad also raises the prospect of early elections before his term as president expires in August 2014. "I'm not in a position to say right now whether I will run or not," he says. "If I no longer know that I have the will of the people behind me, then I will not run."


He also concedes, "There were personal mistakes made by individuals. Every human makes mistakes. A president also makes mistakes." One can't just say "they did everything and we did nothing, 100 percent and zero percent," he adds. Reality has "shades of gray."

Finally, addressing the potential outcome of the Syrian conflict, Assad says: "We don't have any other option than to believe in our victory." The Syrian leader says he also doesn't have any fears about his own well-being. "If I were afraid," he says, "I would have left Syria a long time ago."


SPIEGEL International will publish the full interview in English on Monday. 

Saudi black op team behind Damascus chem weapons attack – diplomatic sources

Who'd have thunk it?

Saudi black op team behind Damascus chem weapons attack – diplomatic sources.(RT).

“Based on data from a number of sources a picture can be pieced together. The criminal provocation in Eastern Ghouta was done by a black op team that the Saudi’s sent through Jordan and which acted with support of the Liwa Al-Islam group,” a source in the diplomatic circles told Interfax.

The attack and its consequences had a huge impact on the Syrian situation, another source said.
“Syrians of various political views, including some opposition fighters, are seeking to inform diplomats and members of international organizations working in Syria what they know about the crime and the forces which inspired it,” he told the agency.

Liwa Al-Islam is an Islamist armed group operating near Damascus headed by the son of a Saudi-based Salafi cleric. The group claimed responsibility for the bombing of a secret governmental meeting in Damascus in July 2012 that killed a number of top Syrian officials, including Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, his deputy Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani.

The allegations mirror a number of earlier reports, which pointed to Saudi Arabia as the mastermind behind the sarin gas attack, which almost led to US military action against Syrian government. Proponents of this scenario say intelligence services in Riyadh needed a false flag operation to provoke an American attack in Syria, which would tip the balance in favor of the armed opposition supported by Saudi Arabia.

While the majority of Western countries say they are certain that the Syrian government carries the blame for the attack, Damascus maintains that the rebel forces must be behind it. Russia shares this conviction too, calling the incident a provocation.

Back in March US President Barack Obama said the use of chemical weapons would be a ‘red line’ for the Syrian government, crossing which would prompt America’s intervention into the bloody Syrian conflict. After the August attack, which the US believes has claimed some 1,400 lives, the president was called on his words by many supporters of the Syrian opposition both at home and outside of the US.


The plan for military action was put on pause after a Russia-brokered deal with Damascus, which agreed to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons. Experts from OPCW are currently in Syria preparing for the disarmament.

Video - Evidence Of The Syrian Army Using Munitions Linked To The August 21st Sarin Attack.

Video - Evidence Of The Syrian Army Using Munitions Linked To The August 21st Sarin Attack.HT: BrownMosesBlog.

Since the UN report into the August 21st sarin attack confirmed the use of a previously unknown munition in the attack, which I had previously named the UMLACA (more details here), there's been a lot of debate about whether or not the Syrian army has such a munition.  There's been multiple videos of the munitions posted online by the Syrian opposition, and they've been consistently described as being fired by Syrian government forces.  From those videos, I've been able to identify at least two types of these munitions, one type linked to the August 21st sarin attack and past alleged chemical attacks, and a second, high explosive, type.

The following video from Daraya, Damascus, published on Decemeber 29th 2012, was highlighted by @hesbol on a blog post attempting to discern the range of the UMLACA.  It shows what seems to be a high explosive version of the UMLACA being launched and detonating.
As the camera tracks the flight of the UMLACA it's very distinct outline can be clearly seen

In the video it's claimed that the munitions are fired from Mezzeh airbase, and it's actually possible to confirm they are coming from the direction of Mezzeh airbase.  At the start of the video we see the launch, and the outline of the hills behind it.

Using Google Earth we can position the virtual camera facing north from Daraya, looking towards Mezzeh airbase, and it's clear the topography matches what we see in the video

The structure at the top of the hill is the HQ of Maher al-Assad's 4th division, which can be seen here on Wikimapia. 

A report from the Institute for the Study of War examining the situation in Damascus in December 2012, shows that the area north of Daraya, including Mezzeh airbase, and the 4th division terrain to the north, were under the control of the Syrian army, and it seems, from what we can see in the above video, that the UMLACA was fired by Syrian government forces.  This not only shows the Syrian army have been using the munitions, but they've been using them since December 2012.

Update:  Launchers For Munitions Linked To The August 21st Sarin Attack Filmed At Mezzeh Airbase

130K militants from 49 states fighting in Syria: US agency.

130K militants from 49 states fighting in Syria: US agency.(IIT).

The American Pentapolis Agency of statistics has said in a report that the number of dead Arabs in the ranks of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) is increasing and cleared that a number of fighters of foreign nationalities in Syria are from 49 countries from the five continents of the world.

It added that there are at least 130 thousand non-Syrian militants in Syria, some are Arabs and others from non-Arab countries.

The statistic is as follows: Tunisia 1902 dead – Libya 1807 dead – Iraq 1432 dead – Palestine 1002 dead – Lebanon 828 dead – Egypt 821 dead – Saudi Arabia 714 dead – Yemen 571 dead – Morocco 412 dead – Algeria 273 dead – Kuwait 71 dead – Somalia, 42 dead – Oman 21 dead – Bahrain 19 people – 9 dead Emirates – Qatar 8 killed – Sudan 3 dead – Mauritania one dead.

The statistic conducted by the US Agency was confined to the numbers of dead Arab militants without the any statistic on the number of foreign dead militants.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the UN, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.

Rocket-head like object with suspicious liquid inside found in car in Turkey.

Rocket-head like object with  suspicious liquid inside  found in car in Turkey.(HD)

Turkish police have seized an object said to resemble a rocket warhead and liquid likely to be chemical that were found in a car they had stopped on a highway in the central province of Kayseri, and detained three people including a Syrian national.

The car, heading to Istanbul from the southeastern province of Mardin, was stopped by police in Kayseri on Sept 21. Officers seized a device wrapped in tinfoil under the front passenger seat, which was thought to be a rocket warhead and taken under examination.

Following the discovery, police detained three people, Turkish citizens A.Ç. (59), F.T. (54) and Syrian citizen A.S. (30), who were all in the car and asked for an expert team to identify the object.

Crime scene investigators and a team from the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) were sent to the scene.

The 19-centimeter-long device had a suspicious liquid inside and had Russian writing and numbers on it, surrounding a picture of a skull, the reports said.

A special expertise team working under the General Staff was charged with fully examining the device.

Kayseri Governor Orhan Düzgün issued a statement on Sept. 21 saying AFAD members and a team from Erciyes University Medical School carried out the initial investigation. He added that the three suspects were still in custody.

Hmmm.....Related: Syrian detained as Turkish police seize suspected chemical substance, warhead.

Russia will not use its right of veto in UN Security Council on Syria.

Russia will not use its right of veto in UN Security Council on Syria.(RBTH).

Russia is not going to keep using its right of veto in the UN Security Council "on principle," Sergei Ivanov, the head of the presidential administration, told reporters at a security conference in Stockholm on Saturday.

Ivanov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about it in the meeting of the discussion club in Valdai.

Ivanov said that, if it becomes clear who used chemical weapons in Syria, "it will be a totally different issue."

"However, it needs to be proved. Until it hasn't been proven our stance remains as it is," Ivanov said. More here.

Syrian detained as Turkish police seize suspected chemical substance, warhead.

Syrian detained as Turkish police seize suspected chemical substance, warhead.(TZ).

Turkish police on Saturday seized some amount of suspected chemical substance and a rocket warhead from a suspicious car stopped in central province of Kayseri and detained three people, including a Syrian national.
According to the Kayseri Police Department, counterterrorism teams stopped a suspicious car along the Kayseri-Malatya Highway early on Saturday. Police found a rocket warhead as well as some amount of suspected liquid chemicals in the car and detained three people, including a Syrian national.Police stepped up security around the area and the teams from the General Staff are still examining the seized materials.

Confirmed - Al-Nusra Producing Chemical Weapons in Turkey.

In the rabbit video it's stated at 6:44 that the name of the group is the "Reeh Sarsar" (Cold Wind) Chemical Battalion, with the flag on the wall showing the same name.Source.

Confirmed - Al-Nusra Producing Chemical Weapons in Turkey.(Aydinlikdaily).

The investigation into chemical weapon production in Turkey continues. Haitham Kassab, the number one suspect in the indictment, has given details of his contacts in Turkey and work that they have carried out in his statement to the prosecutor's office. Kassab's expressions have revealed how Syrian terrorist groups have made Antakya into a center for exporting terrorism. According to the chemical weapons investigation conducted by the Adana Public Prosecutor's Office, Syrian terrorist groups set up a camp in the Antakya district of Hatay. Haitham Kassab has openly admitted operations they have carried out, and the network that terrorists established in Turkey.

Haitham Kassab, who was charged with a 25-year prison sentence for being a member of and supplying weapons to a terrorist organization, explained to prosecutors the activities that he conducted in Turkey on behalf of Syrian terrorist groups. Kassab's confessions showed that Antakya has become the operations center for Syrian terrorists.

Events started when Haitham Kassab rented a home in Antakya on the instructions of Abul Hassan and Tammam, officials of the Syrian terrorist group Ahrar ash-Sham. Following the settling of Kassab in Antakya, the representatives of Syrian terrorist groups began to knock on his door and give him tasks. Kassab supplied electronic circuits for the integrated explosive systems used against armored vehicles in Syria, from the instruction of a terrorist named Abu Ukhba.

Syrian terrorists are quite comfortable in Antakya. In fact, deliveries are being made to a place next to the Antakya State Hospital in the city center. The terrorist group Al Haq Battalion which fights in Homs found Haitham Kassab through a man called Abu Mohammed. The Al Haq Battalion requested chrome pipes from Kassab to be used in the production of mortars. The mortar is the most widely used weapon type against civilians in Syria. Kassab's tasks that he completed included providing "time fuses", "chrome pipes used in the production of mortars" and most importantly providing "raw material for the production of chemical weapons."

'Alahu Akhbar' - Islamist blitzkrieg in Syria: Jihadists wiping out moderate rebels.

'Alahu Akhbar' - Islamist blitzkrieg in Syria: Jihadists wiping out moderate rebels.(RT).

'If Washington really wants to topple President Assad, it would have to make a choice between either officially declaring its support for Al-Qaeda and its global expansion agenda, or joining Moscow and battle Islamic extremists in the Middle East.'

The latest news coming from the north of Syria suggests that a series of clashes between the former allies have already left a number of casualties and a change of the operational situation in the Syrian civil war.
The FSA leaders have recently acknowledged that clashes between their brigades and Islamist rivals haves reached boiling point.
Last weekend, the very same day Russia’s FM Sergey Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry hammered out an agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons disarmament, the clashes between FSA associates and the most notorious jihadist groups operating in Syria, the al-Nusra front and the ISIL, were reported by the Daily Beast. 
Islamists attacked first, by blowing up the brother of a commander of the Allahu Akbar Brigades, a local FSA group. In retaliation the group launched a counter offensive, killing four jihadists.
On Wednesday militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized the town of Azaz controlled by the anti-Assad Storm of the North Brigade, affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, some five kilometers from the Syrian-Turkish border. Five FSA fighters reportedly died in clashes, with over 100 people taken hostage.
“The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has seized complete control of Azaz. They are in control of the town's entrances,” Abu Ahmad, an activist inside Azaz, told the AFP news agency. 
The shootout in Azaz began after ISIL gunmen attempted to detain a German doctor who has been working as a volunteer at a private hospital in Azaz, accusing him of taking photos of their positions. The doctor managed to escape and is safe now, Rami Abdul-Rahman told the Associated Press, the head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. But as a result of the clashes FSA’s Northern Storm Brigade has had to withdraw from Azaz.
The ultimate goal of the jihadists must be a crossing at Bab Al Salama on the Syrian-Turkish border, currently controlled by the FSA. The Bab Al Salama is one of the few still operable crossings used by the Syrian opposition to deliver weapons, fighters and humanitarian aid from neighboring Turkey.
Local activist Abu Louay al-Halabi told Al Jazeera that “By taking Azaz, the Islamic State is a step closer to controlling the crossing. Its objective seems to be taking over the whole countryside north of Aleppo.”
In yet another shootout, fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group clashed with FSA’s Rasoul group rebels and drove them out of the town of Raqqah in Syria’s north last Wednesday, reported Lebanon’s Daily Start last week. In this town that fell out of Assad’s control last March, the jihadists stick to the same modus operandi – they detonated a car bomb killing two FSA commanders.

After a fierce fight at Rasoul group headquarters, the FSA militants had to withdraw to Turkish territory.
While last weekend Russia and the United States reached a deal on a framework that will see the removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons by mid- 2014, Islamic extremists in Syria made it clear they are not interested in soothing the conflict.
In fact, extremists have taken the Lavrov-Kerry deal to strip Damascus of chemical weapons as a clear signal to act.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri announced that Islamist militants must avoid any alliances with other rebel forces supported by the west and the Gulf Arab states.

“I warn my brothers and people in Syria of unity and jihad and against coming close to any of these groups,” said Zawahri as quoted by Reuters.


The news came as no surprise, particularly after the publication last week of the defense consultancy IHS Jane's report about almost half of the rebel forces fighting against the Syrian government being either hardline Islamists or open jihadists with strong Al-Qaeda links.

IHS Jane's report insists there are 100,000 fighters opposing President Bashar Assad’s forces at the moment, of which no less than 45,000 are Islamic extremists that are actually the spearhead of the anti-Assad forces. 
Al-Qaeda associates might really succeed in squeezing FSA moderates out of Syria which would automatically put Russia in an awkward position of conducting useless negotiations, with a Syrian opposition swiftly losing its remaining political clout. 

But that would also mean that the US could only supply weapons directly to Al-Qaeda jihadists as the only remaining force capable of opposing President Bashar Assad.

In that case Moscow would be left with only one imperative: to support the legitimate government of democratically elected President Bashar Assad in order to prevent the Middle East from sliding into the uncontrollable chaos of total jihad. 

In turn, if Washington really wants to topple President Assad, it would have to make a choice between either officially declaring its support for Al-Qaeda and its global expansion agenda, or joining Moscow and battle Islamic extremists in the Middle East.

A Full Extremist-To-Moderate Spectrum Of The 100,000 Syrian Rebels .

A Full Extremist-To-Moderate Spectrum Of The 100,000 Syrian Rebels.HT: BusinessInsider.

Who are the approximately 100,000 rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad?

Assad claims that “80 to 90% of those [the Syrian government is] fighting belong to al Qaeda."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry claims that 15% to 25% of the opposition is "bad guys" who belong to an extremist groups.
Neither is accurate.

The complex reality is that there are as many as 1,000 individual armed rebel groups, each of which fall somewhere on the spectrum from al-Qaeda ideologue to secular Syrian Arab Army defector.

Charles Lister of IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center recently published a fantastic article detailing "specific nature and composition of the insurgency itself." According to Lister, nearly half of the rebel forces are jihadist or hardline Islamists.

We've drawn on Lister's insights and other estimates to establish a rough breakdown of the rebels fighting Assad, Read and see the full story here.

Grounds to believe Syria chemical attack was smart provocation – Putin.

Grounds to believe Syria chemical attack was smart provocation – Putin.(RT).

Russia has every reason to believe that the use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb in August was an adroit and smart provocation, President Vladimir Putin has said.

“We have every grounds to believe that it was a provocation. Of course, it was adroit and smart, but, at the same time, primitive in terms of technical performance. They took an old Soviet-made missile, which was taken out of service in the Syrian army long ago. It was most important to have ‘made in the USSR’ written [on the missile],” Putin said at the Valdai discussion forum on Thursday. 
The Russian president pointed out that the August 21st attack in Damascus was not the first time chemical weapons had been used in Syria. 

“But why other cases have not been investigated?” he asked. 

The chemical weapon attack must be thoroughly investigated and those behind it must be identified, Putin told the Valdai Club meeting in Russia’s Novgorod Region.  

“No matter how difficult it might be, but if in the end we manage to answer the question… as to who committed that crime – and that was certainly a crime – the next step will follow. Then, together with our colleagues from the United Nations Security Council we will have to define the level of responsibility of those who committed the crime,” Putin said.

He stressed that measures like military strikes cannot solve every international issue, while should also be brought to the UNSC rather than discussed in the US Congress.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW  

Related:

One nun puts entire US intel community to shame over 'stage-managed' Syria footage

Video- Are these Syrian Rebel held 'Hostages' still alive? WHERE ARE THEY? 

"Boots on the Ground" - Russia, U.S. could send servicemen to destroy chemical weapons in Syria.

"Boots on the Ground" - Russia, U.S. could send servicemen to destroy chemical weapons in Syria.(RBTH)

Servicemen from several countries, Russia included, will help Damascus safely transport and destroy its chemical weapons, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday.

"The defense ministry is currently holding consultations 'regarding the size of the contingent' which might be send to Syria," the newspaper quoted its source in the Russian General Staff as saying.
It is expected that the group would be comprised of experts from the nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection forces of Russia, the source told the newspaper. It is also possible that a special purpose brigade could be sent to the operation site, the newspaper reported.
Russian and U.S. delegations discussed the issue of ensuring the security of the Syrian chemical weapons program's facilities during the recent talks in Geneva, the daily reported. 

Under the agreements reached which concern the security of the areas where work will be carried out, servicemen from Russia, the United States and a number of European countries will participate, the newspaper reported citing a source.

Russia and the United States have powerful and specialized subdivisions of chemical protection forces, the source said. As to the involvement of Europe, for example, that of the United Kingdom and France, their participation in the operation will lower the risk of possible aggression by the Syrian opposition, a Russian diplomatic source said.
The exact number of servicemen Russia will send to Syria is still unknown, the newspaper reported. "Different variants are being considered. The exact number and composition of the contingent will depend on how many soldiers our foreign partners will allocate for this mission," the newspaper quoted its source in the Russian General Staff as saying.
The total number of participants from all countries could amount to up to 10,000 people, the source said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has told Interfax that Russia's contribution to the liquidation of the Syrian chemical weapons stockpile would be considerable and not only involve political support but material as well. "Our assistance will be material, not only political. This could include experts' input, technologies and many other things," Ryabkov told Interfax.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has recently said that Russia may participate in security efforts during the implementation of the initiative on chemical weapons, Ryabkov said.

Senate Panel Authorizes Limited Military Strike In Syria.

Senate Panel Authorizes Limited Military Strike In Syria.HT: Zero Hedge

And like that, the first step to all out war has been taken:

• SENATE PANEL AUTHORIZES LIMITED U.S. MILITARY STRIKE IN SYRIA

Vote breakdown: 10 Yes; 7 No; 1 Present. The measure includes new language saying U.S. policy is to "change the momentum on the battlefield in Syria" in way that brings about negotiated settlement of conflict, leading to a democratic govt in Syria. In other words: a pro-Qatari/Saudi coalition government that will permit the passage of natgas pipelines under Syria, through Turkey and into Europe, breaking Gazpromia's marginal energy monopoly over the broke continent.
Next up:

• FULL U.S. SENATE TO CONSIDER SYRIA RESOLUTION NEXT WEEK

After that the House, and it's cruise missiles away.
And now, and as always, the ball is in Putin's court.

"There Can Be Only ONE" - Did Al Qaeda Just Go To War With Syria’s Rebels?

Did Al Qaeda Just Go To War With Syria’s Rebels? (dissectednews).

Today, a major bombshell dropped in Syria, but it wasn’t dropped from one of Assad’s planes. It was news that the Islamic State of Iraq and Al Sham (Sham means, roughly, “the Levant,” or “greater Syria” – we’ll just call them ISIS, but they are often just referred to as Al Qaeda in Syria) attacked several Free Syrian Army positions – including the FSA headquarters in Deir Ez Zor, and the entire town of Azaz in northern Aleppo.

I’ll get the disclaimers out of the way first. News on both of these events is highly sketchy. In Deir Ez Zor, some of my sources suggest that what is going on is one step down from a hostage situation, with little bloodshed. According to this narrative, ISIS took control of the headquarters as more of a negotiating tactic than a frontal assault. Other sources deny the report entirely. The bottom line is that very little is known for sure about what’s happening at the moment in Deir Ez Zor.

Azaz is somewhat of a different story. First, I have significantly more contatcs who are either in northern Syria or who have contacts in northern Syria. Many journalists have spent a lot of time there (including many whom I’ve been in contact with in the past). They have trusted contacts in many cities and towns. Azaz, a key border town, is known to many of them because they have passed through that area on their way to other areas, and still others have spent time in the town. However, information from the Azaz media center has been cut off today. There are even reports that ISIS openly attacked the media center, killing a prominent activist. My sources reported this to me as a rumor, though it seems that the BBC’s Ian Pannel has more information .Hmmm....As McCain would say "Allah Akhbar - Thank God"!Read the full story here.

Prominent #Syria media activist Hazem Azizi killed in#Azaz by jihadis during rebel infighting today. Brother crying: “we let these guys in”

— Ian Pannell (@BBCiPannell) September 18, 2013

Jenan Moussa tweeted out a graphic picture that reportedly showed Hazem, before and after he was reportedly killed by ISIS. CNN has heard similar things about other activists:

Activists tell CNN Al Qaeda-linked ISIS sniper killed Omar Hadouli, head of Azaz Media Center in strategic Syrian town on Turkish border — Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN)September 18, 2013

Related:

Al-Qaeda linked group seizes complete control of Syrian border town with Turkey.

Video - Maaloula - Syrian Christian Resident Tells the World of Joint FSA & Al Qaeda Infestation.

Video - Maaloula - Syrian Christian Resident Tells the World of Joint FSA and Al Qaeda Infestation.

A Christian woman from the besieged town who had fled to Damascus tearfully told a BBC reporter about the Free Syrian Army and Al Qaeda Infestation, and begged Obama to stop sending them weapons “because they are killing us!” When asked what the rebels she saw terrorizing the town looked like, she said said they were wearing “Free Syrian Army” clothes.

Those would be the “good guys”Obama has been arming. Note that they have been fighting right alongside the al Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front. - See more at: http://noah.simonstudio.com/#sthash.lo31Jdmy.dpuf

Al-Qaeda linked group seizes complete control of Syrian border town with Turkey.

Al-Qaeda linked group seizes complete control of Syrian border town with Turkey.(HD).

                

An Al-Qaeda front group fighting in Syria on Sept. 18 overran the northern town of Azaz near the border with Turkey after fierce clashes with rebels, activists told AFP.

"The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has seized complete control of Azaz. They are in control of the town's entrances," said Abu Ahmad, an activist inside the town.

Another activist, a resident of the border town, confirmed the report.

"ISIS are in full control. They are detaining people from their homes, and they are manning all the checkpoints," he told AFP via the Internet, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The development comes amid increasing reports of fighting in northern Syria between ISIS and non-jihadist rebels vying to bring down President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

In a sign that Syria's conflict has grown highly localised in recent months, ISIS has fought side by side with rebels against government troops in other areas of the country.

In Azaz, reports emerged of continuing clashes.

Abu Ahmad said that after seizing the town, ISIS fighters were "on their way to the (nearby) Bab al-Salameh" border crossing with Turkey.

Bab al-Salameh has for months been under control of local rebels, chiefly the Northern Storm brigade. News of the seizure of Azaz came after a battle lasting several hours between Northern Storm fighters and ISIS.

Among those reported killed in the clashes was Omar Diab, a media activist from Azaz.Hmmmm....As McCain would say "THANK GOD".

Russia to provide UNSC with data for chemical weapons' use by Syrian rebels – Lavrov.

Video claiming to show a rebel group using chemical weapons to kill a rabbit .In the rabbit video it's stated at 6:44 that the name of the group is the "Reeh Sarsar" (Cold Wind) Chemical Battalion, with the flag on the wall showing the same name. As I noted in the above transcript, the third video calls the Operation "Reeh Sarsar" (Cold Wind), exactly the same name as the group in the rabbit video.


Russia to provide UNSC with data for chemical weapons' use by Syrian rebels – Lavrov.(RT).

“We have plenty of reports on chemical weapons use, which indicate that the opposition regularly resorts to provocations in order to trigger an intervention,” Lavrov is cited as saying by ITAR-TASS news agency.

The UN Security Council will consider the data provided by the Russian side, he added.

The US and its allies blame Assad forces for using sarin gas against civilians in a chemical attack near Syrian capital, Damascus, on August 21.
Despite the Syrian government denying the accusations and no proof of its guilt being presented by Washington, Obama announced that there would be “limited military” action against Assad because the use of chemical weapons can’t be tolerated.
But the US strikes were put on hold after a Russian proposal to hand the Syrian chemical weapons arsenal to international inspectors for destruction, a plan that received the full backing of Assad’s government.
The civil war, in which the Syrian government is fighting what it calls Western-backed Islamist militants, has been raging in the Arab country since March 2011, and has claimed over 100,000 lives, according to UN estimates.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW.

For in depth info on the chemical warfare in Syria go to Brown Moses Blog

Turkey's main opposition leader stands against war with Syria.

Turkey's main opposition leader stands against war with Syria.(HD).

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has again slammed the government’s desire to engage in a military operation against Syria, calling for peace in the region.

“We neither want war in our country, nor with our neighbors. We want Muslims to stop killing Muslims,” Kılıçdaroğlu said late on Sept. 17 in the northwestern province of Balıkesir, where he was attending a commemoration ceremony in the Bandırma district.

He also mentioned the words of the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, “War is a crime if it’s not obligatory,” and urged the government to pursue non-military actions to stop the violence in neighboring Syria.

“If there’s a problem in that country, let’s aid a resolution of that problem. But we should not hand weapons to them, cross the borders and send them there,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

The CHP head also criticized the government for “sending other people’s kids to war.”

“Your child doesn’t serve in the military, but you attempt to wage war on people’s children. If you will fight, send your own kids,” he said.

Video - Assessing Syrian Chemical Weapons Use.

http://www.rusi.org/syria Dr Igor Sutyagin, RUSI Research Fellow for Russia Studies, examines rebel claims of chemical weapons use in Syria, corroborating with his knowledge of Soviet weapons systems and the Syrian military.

Top Commander Says IRGC Not to Remain Cool in Case of US Attack on Syria.

Top Commander Says IRGC Not to Remain Cool in Case of US Attack on Syria.(Fars).

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari called on Washington to adopt a wise decision on Syria, warning that a US military move on Syria will trigger IRGC action.

"If the US makes any military move, it will face numerous problems," Jafari told reporters in Tehran on Monday.

"God willing, the US will adopt wise decisions in this regard and won't expose itself to danger," he added.

Meantime, Jafari underlined that if the US makes any mistake and embarks on a military attack on Syria, "the IRGC will act upon its responsibility", but he declined to explain more in this regard.

In relevant remarks late August, the IRGC Commander warned Washington to abort war plans against Syria, saying that the US will be faced with reactions coming from beyond the Syrian borders if it goes on with its aggression plans.

“The US imagination about limited military intervention in Syria is merely an illusion, as reactions will be coming from beyond Syria’s borders,” Major General Jafari said.

The IRGC commander pointed to the recent US threats of a military strike on Syria, and said when the White House leaders failed to rally international support to form a coalition for a new war in the region, they were made to resort to the so-called plans for limited war on Syria.

He stressed that those who assist the US in such military intervention would themselves face immediate crises in their national security.