Thursday May 10, 2012, 6:36 pm
noted

Thursday May 10, 2012, 7:38 pm
That should teach them.

Thursday May 10, 2012, 10:03 pm
Noted Thanks for sharing.

Thursday May 10, 2012, 10:42 pm
Don't hold your breath UN.
As to foreign terrorists doing this..oh yeah, they risked being shot, arrested, and stepping on landmines among a dozen other things to sneak into the country to blow themselves and innocent people up so that everyone would condemn them...don't think so Assad, you lying, murdering sob.

Thursday May 10, 2012, 10:50 pm
Forgot to add the fact that Al-Assad is willing to do this to his civilian supporters, his own military/policemen and school children just to bring more hate upon the opposition...I don't think there is any doubt to what he will/has done to those he thinks oppose him or his regime...no one is safe with this madman alive.

Friday May 11, 2012, 2:07 am
Noted. Thank you Cal.

Friday May 11, 2012, 12:35 pm
I feel so much better that that the UN condemned this violence......what a useless organization. They shake their finger to a massive incident of murder, and say,"You can't do this."

Friday May 11, 2012, 1:34 pm
Allan Y.:

> I feel so much better that that the UN condemned this violence.

Condemning the violence is better than supporting it. The U.N. is implicitly taking a stand against the countries that support it -- i.e., the Turkey, Qarar, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the U.S. and Al Qaeda. Standing up to these war-making powers requires political courage.

Do you side with the rebels? If so, that would explain why you want us to trash the U.N. and any other group that facilitates peace and conflict resolution.

Fear, Hate and Cynicism are the three main drugs the war-makers use to keep us dancing to their tune. Just say no to these deadly spiritual drugs. Take peace efforts seriously.

Friday May 11, 2012, 1:54 pm
Ellen M: writes:

> Forgot to add the fact that Al-Assad is willing to do this to his civilian supporters, his own military/policemen and school children just to bring more hate upon the opposition...I don't think there is any doubt to what he will/has done to those he thinks oppose him or his regime...no one is safe with this madman alive.

. .

Isn't that a bit like saying that Cheney blew up the WTC "just to bring more hate upon the" Democrats?

Do you really think Assad -- who was once hailed even by the U.S. as a "reformer" -- woke up one morning and concluded that it would be fun to start killing Syrians? The exact opposite is the case. Assad cannot afford to alienate Syrians. He depends on their support -- and he has it.

Most Syrians do not want foreign powers to turn their beautiful country into another Iraq or another Libya. In Libya, the U.S.-backed strife has led to the loss of 30,000 to 50,000 lives. Much of the country has been reduced to rubble. Is that what you want for Syria? Ask yourself what would happen to Syrian minorities -- Christians, Alewites, Shiites -- if the rebels were to succeed. What would happen to Syrian women, if the Islamists were to take over and smash the secular regime?

Syrians are happy that Assad is doing what he can to stop the subversive activities of the foreign-backed rebels and their terrorist pals. So by your logic, most Syrians are "madmen".

The real madmen are the war-addicted rulers of the Ziosphere. Their lust for war threatens not just Syria but the entire human race.

Friday May 11, 2012, 2:14 pm
I cannnot add much to what Charles O has said, but I shall note two extracts from the article. The first is self explanatory:--

"Large crowds gathered despite the security cordon, shouting slogans and chants in support of President Assad".

As for the second extract below, are the more than 2,100 Syrian security personnel murdered by armed insurgents in the past year not "people" too? The 9000 figure (which has been exagerrated by the opposition and is false) does not include them.

"The UN says at least 9,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011".

Friday May 11, 2012, 6:07 pm
Whoever is behind this, car bombs are horrible and it is sad that the people of Syria as still suffering the bloodshed and misery.

Saturday May 12, 2012, 2:58 am
It certainly is sad Ira H. And it is even more sad that the Syrian people - who were doing absolutely fine for themselves - have been subjected to outside interference by Qatar, the KSA, the Zionist Entity and "the West".

Saturday May 12, 2012, 4:41 am
This is just such a tremendous tragedy! Why can't people learn to live side by side and respect each other?

Saturday May 12, 2012, 7:48 am
Lindsay Kemp writes:

> Why can't people learn to live side by side and respect each other?

. .

Most people can, Lindsay. But some can't. Some people have too much love for ideology, religion, ethnicity, or race, and too little love for life.

The human being is a bridge between the finite and the infinite. The human soul or condition brings together the desire for life and the desire for death. We live and die each day: We reach out, we become involved and entangled in life, then we pull back, let go, sort things out, surrender to fate.

But this spiritual cycle sometimes becomes blocked. Life becomes joyless, and death becomes alluring. People then seek out "Martyrdom". Or they march off to war and put their faith in Death and Destruction. Unable to kill themselves, they turn to killing others.

. .

In the U.S., we have a vast war industry. Its product is death and destruction. Initially, not many people want to buy this product, so the industry repackages it as "Freedom! Democracy!". Now, everybody wants the industry's gruesome product! We can bomb other countries into "Freedom!". Then everyone will Love Us! Everyone will shower us with Rose Petals -- as soon as they finish burying the children dismembered by our bombs. Then We'll All Live Happily Ever After in our new "Democracy!", where the orders come from Israel and NATO and "we the people" cease to matter.

So people are deceived by those who profit from war and equate war with "Freedom!". People think they are "Fighting For Freedom and Democracy", when, in reality, they are reducing countries to tyranny and desolation. We have too many people who want to kill and die for freedom and become "Martyrs" or "Heros", and too few who are brave enough to live for freedom and work for it, day by day.

Our war-making does not come cheap. Like other addictions, the war addiction leads to ruin. We lose our sons and daughters -- who come back spiritually or physically maimed, if they come back at all. We lose our economy, as trillions of dollars go up in smoke. And we lose our world -- all because we do not have the courage to think for ourselves and question the orders we have been given and the lies we have been fed.

Just say "No!" to the war pushers and the war promoters! They have destroyed Yugoslavia, Iraq, and now Libya. Don't let them destroy Syria. Draw the line!

Support peaceful reform and dialogue in Syria. Support reconciliation, mediation and negotiation. Resist the siren call of war and revolution.

Saturday May 12, 2012, 1:22 pm
sad

Saturday May 12, 2012, 2:10 pm
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/10/syria-envoy-says-british-french-belgian-fighters-killed/

Syria’s UN envoy said Thursday that British, French and Belgian nationals were among foreign fighters killed in the country’s mounting conflict and that there was Al-Qaeda involvement.

The ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, told the UN Security Council that 12 foreign fighters had been killed and 26 detained in recent clashes with Syrian forces.

“We have a list that contains 12 names of foreign terrorists killed in Syria, including one French citizen, one British citizen, one Belgian citizen,” Jaafari told the 15-member council.

He said a list of the 26 foreigners detained had been sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to the Security Council.

The 26 have “confessed they are terrorists and entered Syria to carry out terror operations,” he added. Some were “associated” with Al-Qaeda.

The ambassador later told reporters that those detained were mainly Tunisians and Libyans but there was one Palestinian and one Jordanian.

All of the “confessions” have been shown on Syrian television, Jaafari said.

The ambassador said that recent bomb attacks in Syria “carried the stamp of Al-Qaeda methods.”

Jaafari renewed condemnation of Gulf Arab states and Turkey who he accused of backing the foreign fighters and Syrian rebels.

Saturday May 12, 2012, 2:12 pm
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/2024521.html

Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told the UN Security Council on Thursday that suicide bombers who struck Damascus and killed more than 50 people came from countries "well known" to the international community, dpa reported.

Jaafari did not name the countries in an address delivered to the 15-nation council, which was meeting on international terrorism. But he had been accusing Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and also al Qaeda, for assisting the armed opposition in Syria.

Jaafari said the twin bombings in Damascus killed 56 people, wounded 372 others and at least 50 people were still unaccounted for.

"Syria expects the UN Security Council to clearly and strongly condemn these cowardly acts," Jaafari said.

Saturday May 12, 2012, 2:14 pm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31293.htm

Extremists Ravaging Syria Created by US in 2007


US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel funded and have backed regional army of Sunni terrorists since 2007 specifically to overthrow Syria and Iran.

By Tony Cartalucci

May 11, 2012 - A 2007 New Yorker article written by renowned journalist Seymour Hersh revealed a plan under the Bush Administration to organize, arm, train, and deploy a regional army of Sunni terrorists, many with ties directly to Al Qaeda, in a bid to destabilize and overthrow both Syria and Iran. The plan consisted of US and Israeli backing, covertly funneled through Saudi proxies to conceal Washington and Tel Aviv's role, in building the Sunni extremist front.

According to Seymour Hersh's 2007 article, "The Redirection: Is the Administration's new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?," (1) Saudi Arabia, a more credible candidate for openly interfacing with the militants, openly admitted that it was a danger, but that they "created it," therefore could "control it," in meetings with Washington. The plan called for not only setting up enclaves in nations neighboring Syria, including Lebanon, Jordan, and US-occupied Iraq, but also for building up the Muslim Brotherhood, both inside Syria's borders and beyond - including Egypt.

Hersh's work now holds new relevance as revelations that indeed a Sunni-extremist element is behind the violence in Syria, including a horrific bombing in Damascus (2) that has killed scores and injured hundreds. That these Sunni elements are openly supported by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, with militants and weapons flowing in from the above mentioned Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, (3) just as planned in 2007, shows clearly that the US-Israeli-Saudi plan is unfolding just as intended.

As the West feigns shock and horror over the rise of their Sunni front, from Egypt to Syria, and beyond, along with the resurrection of the Muslim Brotherhood, who Hersh confirmed was already benefiting from US and Saudi aid in 2007, it is clear that in reality this is the fruition of a complex premeditated plan, years in the making.

The accomplices include Neo-Conservatives Dick Cheney, Elliott Abrams, and Zalmay Khalilzad - who also serves on the board of the US State Department's National Endowment for Democracy, (4) a chief facilitator of the "Arab Spring" destabilizations that brought the Muslim Brotherhood (purposefully) back into the Middle East's political landscape after Arab nations fought difficult battles against their brand of violent extremism and anti-secular policies. Martin Indyk of the State Department under former President Clinton, former Ambassador to Israel, and a director at the corporate-financier funded think-tank, the Brookings Institution, was also mentioned in Hersh's report, and was a co-author of the infamous 2009 "Which Path to Persia?" report, (5) openly declaring US machinations in bringing down the Iranian government.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar is noted by Hersh as instrumental in coordinating efforts between the Saudis, Israel, and the United States, while the political party built up around pro-Saudi Lebanese tycoon Rafic Hariri set the groundwork in Lebanon for the creation of a violent Sunni front.

With Sunni-extremists committing increasingly frequent and violent atrocities across Syria, the US and the Western media in general, has attempted to portray it as a natural progression of Syria's internal conflict - when in reality, based on Hersh's report and confirmed again more recently as the source of the rebels' funding and support is revealed, it is clearly the result of this long-planned act of foreign aggression against Syria, perpetrated by the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and their Sunni proxies in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hersh's report had warned of the tragic consequences to be expected once this Sunni-front had been unleashed, namely, according to former CIA agent Robert Baer in Lebanon, " Sunni Arabs carrying out a "cataclysmic conflict." Baer warned of the need to protect Christians from a predictable onslaught by Sunni extremists - an onslaught now playing out against Syria's 10% Christian population, according to the LA Times' "Church fears 'ethnic cleansing' of Christians in Homs, Syria," (6) and more recently in USA Today's distorted, but still telling, "Christians in Syria live in uneasy alliance with Assad, Alawites." (7)

Christians are not the only minorities being targeted by the US-Israeli-Saudi terrorist front, but all minorities are as is secularism itself, being systematically targeted, as is the case after the NATO-backed dismemberment of Libya. (8)

As the US State Department, and the US representative to the UN, Susan Rice attempt to portray terrorist violence in Syria as the fault of Syria's government for not yielding to "international" demands - we must remember that while they are absolutely correct - it is not because the Syrian government has reaped the consequences of inciting its own people into violence, but is instead suffering the consequences of disobeying foreign interests who have at their disposal a vast terrorist army they have been preparing for years - designed solely to undermine and depose the Syrian and Iranian governments.

Saturday May 12, 2012, 2:20 pm
The victors have heroes and martyrs. The losers have terrorists. Oddly enough, they use the same means to accomplish their ends. Even the worst kind of slave owner like George Washington can be held up as hero of freedom because his side won.

Monday May 14, 2012, 11:04 am
Frank, your analysis on why people want to kill and die is very refreshing. Too bad we never hear this kind of analysis from our corporate controlled media.

Also, Frank your information on the middle east is very enlightening. Care 2 needs to start a TV or radio station to air this valuable information put forth by individuals such as your shelves.

I learn so much more from the average world citizen in one day than I learn from the corporate media in a whole year. Cable TV, and radio shows like Rachel Maddow, Rush Limbaugh, and countless other mind narrowing shows are there to put our minds in a box to keep us programmed.

The only news on Syria you get from Al Jazeera day after day for the last year is how many people died in a car bomb. The rest is propaganda, bias, and distortion.

Monday May 14, 2012, 12:00 pm
Thanks, John D., for the article on the Seymour Hersh expose.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31293.htm -- Extremists Ravaging Syria Created by US in 2007

> A 2007 New Yorker article written by renowned journalist Seymour Hersh revealed a plan under the Bush Administration to organize, arm, train, and deploy a regional army of Sunni terrorists, many with ties directly to Al Qaeda, in a bid to destabilize and overthrow both Syria and Iran. The plan consisted of US and Israeli backing, covertly funneled through Saudi proxies to conceal Washington and Tel Aviv's role, in building the Sunni extremist front. ....

> Christians are not the only minorities being targeted by the US-Israeli-Saudi terrorist front, but all minorities are as is secularism itself, being systematically targeted, as is the case after the NATO-backed dismemberment of Libya.

-- Tony Cartalucci, Extremists Ravaging Syria Created by US in 2007, 11 May 2012

Most people don't realize the extent to which our war-addicted empire plays both sides against the middle.

Take Afghanistan in the 1980s. Under "Operation Cyclone", the CIA armed, trained and funded the drug-running Mujahedin terrorists. The terrorists were tasked with taking down the reformist government in Kabul. They specialized in blowing up schools where girls were being taught and slitting the throats of the school teachers. The U.S. gave them Stinger Missiles, which they used to shoot down planes and helicopters. The CIA also built the caverns at Tora Bora. Osama bin Laden was one of the chief beneficiaries of this $6,000,000,000 operation.

The government of Afghanistan at the time, like the government of Syria today, had a secular orientation. It attempted land redistribution and provided women with basic rights -- the right to go to school, the right to see a doctor, the right to remove the burkha. That is what the U.S. destroyed. We see our government as a champion of liberty and secularism, but the opposite is often the case.

After 2001, the government turned around and appeared to launch a war against all of Islam. But in reality, it continued to support the worst elements of Islam. In Iraq, the U.S. destroyed Saddam's secular regime and opened the country up to Al Qaeda.

We saw the same thing in 1999, when Clinton dismembered Yugoslavia and brought the genocidal KLA narco-terrorists in Kosovo. Once again, the U.S. allied itself with the most extreme Islamists, and American taxpayers were left to pay the $5,000,000,000 for the war. Europe picked up the $150,000,000,000 cost of reconstruction and environmental clean-up.

That is how the game is played. Politicians do one thing and cover their tracks by saying the exact opposite. Remember Iran Contra? Remember how vociferous Reagan was in condemning terrorists? It turns out he was secretly trading with them.

. .

> Nothing can be giving bin Laden greater pleasure than the spectacle of the West going to war to topple his hated foe, the "atheist Satan", Saddam Hussein. Even in his wildest dreams, he cannot have imagined what has now come to pass, Saddam about to go and Islam radicalised against the West.

-- Simon Jenkins, "Bin Laden's laughter echoes across the West", *London Times*, 19 Mar 2003

See Brendan O'Neill, "Today's 'Islamic Fascists' Were Yesterday's Friends", 29 Aug 2006. The Muslim Brotherhood was a creation of the British Empire. You will also find that Hamas was initially subsidized by Israel. Israel sought to use Islam to divide Palestinians and lure them away from the secular PLO.

So it's no surprise that the Israel, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and Al Qaeda are once again on the same side in the struggle to destroy the secular regime in Syria.