President Bashar al-Assad accused the West on Wednesday of supporting al Qaeda militants in Syria’s civil war and warned they would turn against their backers and strike “in the heart of Europe and the United States”.
Assad also launched his strongest criticism yet of neighbouring Jordan for allowing thousands of fighters to cross the border to join a conflict he insisted his forces would win and save Syria from destruction.
John Kerry: “look, the only way to stop incidents like sandy hook and the marathon bombings is to start world war three in the middle east. our overlords command us – long may they reign.” Photograph: Pool/Reuters
“We have no choice but victory. If we don’t win, Syria will be finished and I don’t think this is a choice for any citizen in Syria,” the defiant president said in a television interview.
Assad’s forces have been fighting back across the country against rebels who have taken control of much of rural Syria and seized a provincial capital in March for the first time in two years of fighting.
The conflict started with mainly peaceful demonstrations but descended into a civil war in which the United Nations says at least 70,000 people have been killed. Islamist militants have emerged as the most potent of the anti-Assad rebels.
Drawing parallels with Western support for anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s, some of whom later formed the al Qaeda organisation which attacked the United States in Sept. 2011, Assad said Washington and Europe would regret supporting rebels in Syria.
“The West paid heavily for funding al Qaeda in its early stages in Afghanistan. Today it is supporting it in Syria, Libya and other places, and will pay a heavy price later in the heart of Europe and the United States,” he told al-Ikhbariya channel. – from france24, Assad warns West against supporting ‘al Qaeda rebels’
jihadists being exported to syria, mali, from france
In a report published on the 11th of April French daily Le Monde admits that rebels fighting the government of the Syrian Arab Republic are dominated by Japhat Al Nosra, a terrorist group linked to Al Qaida. The admission comes after two years of non-stop disinformation trumpeted from all French mainstream media outlets from the official right to the official left, disinformation that has attempted to convince the French public that democratic revolutionaries are fighting a war for human rights and freedom against a brutal, tyrannical dictator, who is ‘’ killing his own people’’.
This puerile and deeply dishonest narrative has now been utterly discredited, as the facts about the terrorist nature of the Syrian rebels have become too obvious to ignore. In an article entitled ‘The New Visage of French Jihadism’ it is reported that French jihadists are leaving France in their hundreds to join the ‘holy war’ against the Syrian Arab Republic, with many more joining jihadist groups in Mali. – from global research, France’s Media Admits that the Syrian “Opposition” is Al Qaida. Then Justifies French Government Support to the Terrorists
US DOUBLES AID TO AL QEADA IN SYRIA
The US readied a package Saturday of up to $130m in non-lethal military aid to Syrian opposition forces while European countries consider easing an arms embargo, moves that could further pressure the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
US secretary of state John Kerry was expected to announce the plans about the defensive military supplies at a meeting Saturday that was bringing together the Syrian opposition leadership and their main international allies.
The supplies possibly could include body armor, armored vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment.
US officials said the details and costs were to be determined at the meeting. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss Kerry’s announcement.
Kerry met with Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib before the conference began. – from the guardia, uk, US prepares $130m military aid package for Syrian rebels
Secretary of Defense Hagel summoned by dark overlords
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel headed to Israel on Sunday in a weeklong trip to the Middle East that will be dominated by worries over Iran‘s nuclear program and Syria‘s raging civil war.
In his first trip to the region since taking over as Pentagon chief nearly two months ago, Hagel planned to discuss with his counterparts the final details of an elaborate $10 billion arms deal that will provide US military aircraft and missiles to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In a two-day visit to Israel, Hagel will seek to counter criticism from some US lawmakers and pro-Israel groups that he is too soft on Iran and too hostile to the Jewish state — a charge he has vehemently rejected.
Hagel will likely tout the arms deal as a demonstration of Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security and as a way of countering Iran’s military power and nuclear ambitions.
The United States and Israel have disagreed over the urgency of the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, with Washington maintaining there is still time to see if tough sanctions and diplomacy persuade Tehran to change course. – from afp, Pentagon chief heads to Israel
al qeada in syria demands air support from u.s., allies
The Syrian opposition urged the U.S. and allies to use drones against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, provide weapons to opposition fighters, and create a protected “no-fly zone” airspace within Syria at a meeting of allies in Istanbul yesterday.
The demands reflected opposition frustration with the failure of the U.S. and its allies to provide the intelligence and equipment they say is necessary to defend themselves from the regime’s continued attacks.
“The technical ability to take specific action to prevent the human tragedy and suffering of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, is available in the form of specific intelligence and equipment,” the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces said in a statement. “Syrians understand that such ability is within the reach of a number of members of the Friends of Syria Group, yet nothing serious has been done to put an end to such terror and criminality.” - from bloomberg, Syrian Opposition Pushes for Drones, Weapons as Allies Meet
US, UK and France training Syrian rebels in Jordan
In the past three months some 200 men have already received training in two camps in the east and the south of Jordan, Der Spiegel reports. The military training focuses on the use of anti-tank weaponry, the news magazine reported, citing what it said were participants and organizers. It adds that there are plans to provide training for a total of 1,200 fighters from the Free Syrian Army – the opposition force battling the regime of President Bashar Assad.
The report said that some of the Americans wore army uniforms, but it did not specify whether they worked for private firms or represented the US military.
Last October the Pentagon confirmed that a small group of US special forces and military advisers had spent the summer in Jordan training the country’s military to act in case Syria used its chemical weapons. Reportedly, select groups of Syrian rebels were trained, too.
As Britain’s The Guardian reported on Friday, the US is not alone in their efforts. UK and French instructors are also in Jordan training the Syria rebels.
Though the American, British and French Defense Ministries have not commented so far on the information about the FSA being trained in Jordan, this move does not contradict either the US plans for non-lethal directaid to Syrian opposition or British understanding of the EU arms embargo enforced on Syria. - from russia today
Syria says Jordan ‘playing with fire’ over assistance to rebels
Jordan tightens security along Syrian border as tensions soar amid reports of arms shipments to anti-Assad forces – from the guardian, uk
