Uncensored News from Israel » Syria

Homs: urban battle, not massacre

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:28:00 +0000

The world media keep reporting on the massacre of civilians in Homs, but the very timetable should give one pause. There has now been heavy shelling for almost a week, and Assad’s tanks have not even reached the town center. That lends credibility to the Syrian government’s claim that it is conducting a major anti-rebel operation, as opposed to massacring an innocent civilian population.

US, Russia spar on morality

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:03:28 +0000

Russia predictably vetoed the UNSC resolution condemning Syria even after a major attack on Homs. Assad, however, called the attack a provocation.

The White House condemned Russia’s intransigence, declaring that any further bloodshed will be on the Russians’ hands. Perhaps. But look at the bloodshed the US provoked in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.

Tel Aviv held hostage of US Syrian policy

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:09:40 +0000

A few months ago we argued against the reports that Assad might launch regional war if Syria were attacked by Turkey. We believe that analysis was correct, because at that time Assad was rational. By now, he is probably not.

Thus his reported threat to annihilate Tel Aviv if the UNSC condemns his regime to Gadhafi’s fate must be taken seriously. Israel cannot intercept the 1,600 medium-range missiles that Syria has at its disposal. We could destroy some of them, but hundreds will remain for a massive strike. Recall that Syrian SCUDs have chemical and biological warheads.

At this point, Assad does not fear whatever retaliation Israel would inflict on Damascus, because the UNSC resolution means that he is likely on his way out, anyway.

We gain nothing by replacing the hostile but sensible Assad with the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.

Zabadani – litmus test for Assad’s goodwill

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:03:32 +0000

The case of the Syrian town of Zabadani on the Lebanese border proves that Assad is after the rebels and does not seek the senseless massacre of his citizens. In Zabadani, town elders agreed with the Syrian army that local residents—who are armed, like most Arabs in the region—will push the rebels out into Lebanon, clear the streets of barricades, and generally cease hostilities. For its part, the Syrian army undertook to refrain from entering the town.

So far, the agreement holds.

Israel prefers black refugees to white ones

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:14:47 +0000

IDF’s Chief of Staff said that the IDF is preparing for an inflow of Syrian Alawite refugees into Israel after Assad’s downfall. But wait, those would be very real refugees who face a specific threat to their lives because of their religious beliefs and long-time political dominance. Yet, Gantz’s words were taken with no outcry.

At the same time, leftists want our country to accommodate African economic migrants who claim to be refugees. This demonstrates a typical leftist preference for exotic beneficiaries: likewise, in the US they supported the anti-apartheid movement rather than anti-communist forces.

Russian Navy’s show of support for Syria is merely symbolic

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:51:42 +0000

The Russian aircraft carrier group that recently entered the Syrian port of Tartus will leave tomorrow. Clearly, due to Western pressure, the Russians can offer Assad only rhetorical assistance.

Arab mission in Syria achieved nothing – or everything?

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:09:36 +0000

After a week in Syria, the Arab League mission failed to prevent civil war. But it would be silly to imagine that shrewd Arab leaders do not understand the things that are clear to us—namely, that Assad simply cannot comply with any of their requirements. First of all, he cannot promise to keep his troops out of the towns because militias would take them over immediately if he did.

The Arab League’s goals are made clear by their cynical choice of Mohammed al-Dabi as the mission’s leader; al-Dabi is the former Sudanese minister of intelligence who was instrumental in the Darfur hostilities. Arab leaders do not care about civil war in Syria, but have to show their own people that they do care about their Arab brothers in Syria. Thus, mere rhetoric achieves their objectives.

NATO embeds Muslim radicals in Free Syria forces

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 11:10:26 +0000

Former Libyan rebels are streaming into Turkish military bases along the border with Syria. Reportedly, some are even being flown in by NATO. Attracted by Saudi pay and the license to commit violence, they are crossing the border to join the Free Syria Army, a loose band of some 5,000 deserters.

Our problem is not that they incite unreasonable violence in Syria, but that the West repeats its Afghan debacle by supporting another Al Qaeda-like group of Islamic radicals. They will continue to be hardened by their second short war in a year, and they will seek new adventures.

West provokes Assad for brutalities

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:06:44 +0000

The Free Syria Army, supported by the Saudis and NATO, ambushed Assad’s troops and killed some of them. That prompted Assad to send troops into nearby Homs, killing a few militiamen there. This was reported as an attack on civilians by Assad.

Now the West is perfectly entitled to overthrow Assad, even if it is outright stupid to deliver a second country to the Muslim Brotherhood. The West likewise can enlist Saudi insurgents to do its bidding. But let’s say honestly that Assad generally is not a butcher, but is defending his regime against terrorist insurgents hiding behind a live shield of civilians.

Assad’s chances are ebbing

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:03:08 +0000

Walid Jumblatt has reportedly struck the deal with the Syrian rebels. For decades he has been the best weathercock in the region. Initially the leader of the Druze vowed to support Assad, but he soon switched to neutrality, and has now guaranteed that neutrality by making a pact with the rebels.

No regime can survive the combined economic pressure of the entire world. Russia and Iran cannot match the Saudis in delivering free weapons to Assad. The rebels have been receiving much more weaponry and money than Assad’s loyalists. Syria’s borders are all hostile: Turkey and Jordan openly support the Saudis, while the Iraqi border, while theoretically friendly to Assad, is blocked by rebel districts in his own territory.

The Arab League boycott saps Assad’s legitimacy in the eyes of his subjects. Though NATO might not strike Syria for the fear of reprisals against Israel, Arab League aerial support for the rebels seems likely.

Overall, Assad’s prospects are pretty poor, and Israel will soon be facing a second Muslim Brotherhood state.