• Syrian opposition elect a leader, who then lashes out at Russia, China and Iran
    18 replies, posted
[QUOTE](CNN) -- A central Syrian opposition group named a new leader Sunday and vowed new efforts to end the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Abdul Basit Sieda, a Syrian native now living in Sweden, is a minority Kurdish activist. His election to the helm of the Syrian National Council is widely viewed as an attempt to unite various ethnic factions. At a news conference, he called on officials in Syria, Russia, and China "to think carefully about the situation now because the whole stability of region, if not the whole stability of the world, is at stake here. We would like to call upon them to support the Syrian people." Russia and China have blocked U.N. Security Council resolutions that many other nations said could have pushed al-Assad to halt the killing. The two countries, which have major trade ties with Syria, said they want more balanced resolutions that call for a cessation of violence on all sides. Sieda also called on Iran "to admit the situation on the ground and respect the will of Syrians" and to prepare "for new relations with the Syrian people based on the full interest of the Syrian and Iranian people." A recent draft U.N. report accused Iran of exporting arms to Syria in violation of a ban on weapons sales, a Western diplomat told CNN last month. Some analysts say Iran has continued to arm Syria in its brutal crackdown on the opposition. Sieda vowed his country will be "a free democratic state." When asked how he planned to bridge a gap between the Syrian opposition in exile and the opposition inside the country, Sieda said, "We are in direct communication and contact with revolutionary forces inside. We are always communicating with them." He vowed to "do everything necessary to bridge that gap," but also insisted the gap was just a rumor. "The relationship between us and the forces inside has never been stronger," he insisted. While he railed against the violence committed by al-Assad's regime, the regime itself announced a new stage in its argument that "armed terrorist groups" are actually responsible for the violence in the country. A "documentary" shown on Syrian state-run TV revealed "that terrorists of various nationalities from the terrorist organization Jabhet al-Nasra, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, planned and carried out" bombings in Damascus on March 8. The cars used in the attack were driven by a Jordanian terrorist and a Syrian Palestinian, "and were trailed by an Iraqi," state-run news agency SANA reported. Jabhet al-Nasr is also known as the al Nusra Front. SANA also said 22 "army, law enforcement and civilian martyrs" were buried Sunday. The opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC) said 53 people were killed Sunday, including 26 in Homs. Among the dead was citizen journalist Khaled Bakr, founder of the Baba Amr media center, the LCC said. Baba Amr, a besieged neighborhood of Homs, came under weeks of incessant shelling by the Syrian regime earlier this year, opposition activists have said. Also in Homs, an entire battalion, part of Syria's air defense, defected and joined the opposition Free Syrian Army, the LCC said. At a mosque in Maarat al-Numan, part of Idlib province, El Mundo correspondent Javier Espinosa said he saw six bodies destroyed beyond recognition. "They were in pieces," he told CNN. Separately, there were three people dead inside homes being mourned. Residents said people were leaving a mosque when a rocket hit in the middle of the street, hitting no one. As residents gathered after to assess the impact, a second rocket hit. The rocket had Russian markings on the shell, Espinosa said. He described a siege in Maarat al-Numan similar to one he had previously witnessed in Homs. It was not immediately clear what effect the SNC's new leadership will have on Syrian opposition efforts. "The SNC is still an incomplete opposition bloc. It does represent various factions, but not everyone on the ground," said analyst Taufiq Rahim, a Dubai-based political analyst. "The election of a Kurdish activist like Sieda may send a signal to the other factions that the SNC is trying to consolidate the Kurdish support for the council, but I don't believe that either the ethnicity or the minority factor really matters at this point. What matters is taking real action on the ground and moving forward." Dozens of countries have recognized the SNC as a legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition, though many members of the group's leadership are expatriates. Al-Assad has said he will not deal with opposition members influenced from the outside. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday there was no alternative to U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan, despite mounting evidence that it's being violated daily. "The situation looks more and more grim," Lavrov said. "For the first time since the beginning of this crisis, we see the question of foreign intervention. And our position remains unchanged. We will never agree to sanction the use of force in the U.N. Security Council." He called foreign intervention a "dangerous game" and said it would have serious consequences in the entire region. He also blamed recent violence -- including reports of horrific massacres in Houla and Qubeir -- in part to opposition groups being supported by other nations. Russia, along with China and four central Asian nations, has signed a joint declaration rejecting armed intervention in Syria and reiterating support for Annan's peace plan. Amid the international talks, a humanitarian crisis looms within Syria, opposition groups say. "Several doctors have been detained to prevent them from aiding the wounded amid a state of panic among residents due to the abuses regime forces are committing against the people there," the LCC said. A doctor in the besieged city of Al Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, said he has to keep moving his makeshift hospital to prevent attack. Journalist Robert King documented the chaos in the hospital on video as medical staff rushed to save lives. King said he has seen snipers targeting children. CNN cannot independently confirm reports of casualties or violence in Syria, as the government has restricted access by international journalists.[/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/10/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2[/url]
Let the games begin
If the opposition can just name themselves the nation of (whatever), and "declare war" on Syria, that would moot the block. Actually I have no clue how it would work, but thank god someone's doing something.
Can we please put troops in Syria to help the rebels if/when they ask? I don't like going to war or anything but they seem like they want democracy, we should focus on those who want it instead of those who don't like Iran or Pakistan.
[QUOTE=RichyZ;36279557]61% americans don't want war with syria not that i agree but you have to look at the problems with it i mean, we'd piss off russia, china, and iran by doing it, probably not enough to go to war, but relations are strained as it is and really, america needs a break from the interventionism shit, i didn't agree with the invasion of afghanistan/iraq either (to anyone who goes "but ur american u agreed with afghanistan/iraq")[/QUOTE] Well I guess Germany was just France's problem, then.
[QUOTE=RichyZ;36279557]61% americans don't want war with syria not that i agree but you have to look at the problems with it i mean, we'd piss off russia, china, and iran by doing it, probably not enough to go to war, but relations are strained as it is and really, america needs a break from the interventionism shit, i didn't agree with the invasion of afghanistan/iraq either (to anyone who goes "but ur american u agreed with afghanistan/iraq")[/QUOTE] I don't agree with Iraq either, I do agree with Afghanistan, but we've won and it's time to do the right thing and properly leave, not all just up and disappear, but do that proper fix it up a bit, show them that we're there to help and such, then leave them able to do their own thing. I think Syria just needs the military assistance to get it done, they're capable of fixing their own nation after we help them fight. Russia won't do shit, they're not much of a superpower anymore and as much as I'd love to not anger them, they aren't part of the solution are not really a big threat, Iran's already not happy with us, who gives a shit about them and China's the only real potential threat because they're so big and have a big part of our economy, but that's also a bargaining point as their economy relies on us buying from them, we could easily give more shit to Taiwan and such or even American production. Honestly it's all political problems and I don't much care about how someone thinks of us if we're helping keep civilians from being counted as casualties, their lives mean more to me than the fact that some country is butthurt about it.
[QUOTE=Apache249;36279664]Well I guess Germany was just France's problem, then.[/QUOTE] And then it was just Britain's problem after France was occupied, obviously. I'm joking, for those who can't tell.
[QUOTE=D-Roy;36279793]And then it was just Britain's problem after France was occupied, obviously. I'm joking, for those who can't tell.[/QUOTE] then russias
[QUOTE=Roof;36279835]then russias[/QUOTE] And to be fair, Russia would have been screwed if the U.S hadn't joined in, as would the U.K.
has there been much in the news besides Syria lately?
[QUOTE=Apache249;36279664]Well I guess Germany was just France's problem, then.[/QUOTE] Pretty much. Then Japan decided to attack. Not the best plan, Japan.
Holy fuck I cannot believe people are advocating intervention, again, after a decade. This must be how the neocons get what they want, EVERY time.
[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;36280850]Holy fuck I cannot believe people are advocating intervention, again, after a decade. This must be how the neocons get what they want, EVERY time.[/QUOTE] Intervention is fine if it's like Libya, or the first gulf war.
I don't think anyone should be doing an intervention just yet, and I wouldn't piss off Iran, China and Russia either
When ever I see one of these articles I go to RT.com to see the other side of the picture. It's sad to see how other's countries interests are going to get so many people killed :/ [URL="http://rt.com/news/syria-national-council-foreign-intervention-557/"]Assad forcing Syrians to seek international help - SNC leader[/URL] [URL="http://rt.com/news/syria-journalist-rebel-trap-436/"]Syrian rebels tried to get reporter killed in anti-Assad propaganda bid – report[/URL] But considering this: [url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9307411/The-Shabiha-Inside-Assads-death-squads.html[/url] I guess there is no other way.
[QUOTE=Nikota;36281387]Intervention is fine if it's like Libya, or the first gulf war.[/QUOTE] No. You can only have intervention like Iraq and Libya, or neither. The moment you say, "Weeellll, [I]sometimes[/I] it's okay and needed" is the moment everyone comes up the most bullshit excuses to intervene anywhere.
[QUOTE=draugur;36279855]And to be fair, Russia would have been screwed if the U.S hadn't joined in, as would the U.K.[/QUOTE] Not really. The USSR was already winning the war by the time the US ever made major contributions in a ground war against the Germans. It was a matter of how Europe would be divided, and how many lives it would take to destroy the Germans. If the US never joined the war, the USSR probably would have controlled most of Europe. [QUOTE=Apache249;36279664]Well I guess Germany was just France's problem, then.[/QUOTE] Until Germany declared war on the USA, yea it was.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.