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filed under Weapons">Weapons</a> (121) </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=76" title="View all posts filed under wikileaks">wikileaks</a> (5) </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=73" title="View all posts filed under Women">Women</a> (2) </li> </ul> </div> </li> <li style="padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:7px;"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.nawafir-tours.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/wp-content/themes/sc-v4/images/nawafir.jpg"/></a> </li> <li><h2>Reading</h2> <div class="book" align="left"> <table cellspacing="1" border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="82"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMy-favorite-Syria-Books%2Flm%2FR3U4JGRLSNHLRD&tag=syricomm-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325" title="Recommended Reading: Books on Syria" target="_blank"> <img src="/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/amazon/syria/1885942168.01._SCTZZZZZZZ_.jpg"/> </a> </td> <td align="center"><b> Syria Books</b> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div class="book" align="left"> <table cellspacing="1" border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="82"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FJoshua-Landis-recommends-these-books-on-Islam%2Flm%2FRCCVSYF15N9MF&tag=syricomm-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325" title="Recommended Reading: Books on Islam" target="_blank"> <img src="/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/amazon/islam/0231125739.01._SCTZZZZZZZ_.jpg"/> </a> </td> <td align="center"><b> Islam Books</b> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div class="book" align="left"> <table cellspacing="1" border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="82"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FJoshua-Landis-recommends-books-on-the-Middle-East%2Flm%2FR2523SC37HKBHF&tag=syricomm-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325" title="Recommended Reading: Books on the Middle East" target="_blank"> <img src="/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/amazon/middle_east/0465003508.01._SCTZZZZZZZ_.jpg"/> </a> </td> <td align="center"><b> Middle East Books</b> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </li> <li><h2>Greatest Hits</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/syriablog/2006/09/robert-kaplan-why-he-is-wrong-about.htm">Robert Kaplan – Why He is Wrong about Syria</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=245">“The Difference Between Wahhabis and Muslim Brothers,” by David Commins</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/syriablog/2005/03/riad-al-turk-interview-11-march-2005.htm">Riad al-Turk Interview: 11 March 2005</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://joshualandis.com/blog/?page_id=22">See All...</a></li> </ul> </li>  <li><h2>Blogroll</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://creativesyria.com/" title="Kamil-Alexandre’s Syria think-tank and museum">Creative Syria</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.juancole.com/">Juan Cole’s Informed Comment</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.syrianhistory.com/">Syrian History: Moubayed</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://72.232.60.155/~tharaorg/English/arabic/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1" title="Also has English site">Thara – Womens Rights</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.tharwacommunity.org/amarji/">Ammar Abdulhamid</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://nuralcubicle.blogspot.com/">Nur al-Cubicle</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://innocent-criminal.blogspot.com/">Innocent Criminal</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://imad_moustapha.blogs.com/">Syrian Diplomat in America</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.syplanet.com/node">Syria Planet (Aggregates Sy Blogs)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://openlebanon.org/">Open Lebanon</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://mideastpolicy.blogspot.com/">Mideast Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.pomed.org/" title="Project for Middle East Democracy">POMED</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/">PostGlobal</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://newsfromsyria.com/">Syria News Wire by Sasa</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://angryarab.blogspot.com/">Angry Arab</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://arabist.net/">Arabist</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://warincontext.org/">War in Context</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://levantwatch.blogspot.com/">Levant Watch</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.patrickseale.com/">Patrick Seale</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://arablinks.blogspot.com/">Missing Links by Badger</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://justworldnews.org/">‘Just World News’ by Cobban</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/">friday-lunch-club</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.turcopolier.typepad.com/">Col. Patrick Lang</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://culturepolitiquearabe.blogspot.com/">Yves Gonzalez</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.mom.fr/guides/syrie/syrie_c.htm">Guide de Syrie-sur-Web</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://all4syria.info/index.php">All4Syria – Ayman Abdel Nour</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.lobelog.com/">Lobelog – Jim Lobe and Friends</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://chinamatters.blogspot.com/">China Matters</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.leftlink.com/">LeftLink</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.monaeltahawy.com/blog" title="An Egyptian from the inside and outside">Mona Eltahawy</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://blog.mondediplo.net/">Le Monde Diplo Blogs</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.rtv.gov.sy/">Syrian TV and Radio</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.fw-magazine.com/">Forward – Sami Moubayed</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://tonykaron.com/">Rootless Cosmo by Karon</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/">Mondoweiss by Philip Weiss</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.marcgopin.com/">Marc Gopin</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss">Dreyfuss Report</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://qifanabki.wordpress.com/">Qifa Nabki</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://turcopundit.blogspot.com/">TurcoPundit</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.itoot.net/">Toot – Choice M.E. Blogs</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://enduringamerica.com/">Enduring America – Lucas et. al.</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://maghreblog.blogspot.com/">Maghreb Blog – Daadaoui</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://joshualandis.com/blog/">Syria Comment</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://yazanbadran.com/blog/" title="Syrian blogger studying in Japan">On Olives and Sake (Yazan Badran)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://fpwatch.blogspot.com/">Foreign Policy Watch</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/">Stephen Walt at FP</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/">Mark Lynch at FP</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://cjophillips.wordpress.com/">Christopher Phillips</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://blog.mondediplo.net/-Nouvelles-d-Orient-">Alain Gresh</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.mideastbrief.com/">MidEast Brief – Dan Siskin</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.netvibes.com/syriaconnect#News_-_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1">Syria Connect – News</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.islamcomment.com/" title="Islam News and The Two Seas Forum for Dialog">Islam Comment</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://mideastsoccer.blogspot.com/">Mid East Soccer – Dorsey</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://scaredsyrian.wordpress.com/">Scared Syrian</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://samirshishakli.blogspot.com/">Samir Shishakli</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.syrianstruggle.blogspot.com/">Syrian Struggle</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://theajnabi.wordpress.com/" title="Reporting on Uprising in Damascus">The Ajnabi</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/Thomas%20Pierret" title="Islam in Syria">Thomas Pierret: Islam in Syria</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/profile/nir-rosen.html">Nir Rosen on Syria</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://blog.frontierstrategygroup.com/">Frontier Strategy Group</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.middleeastclarity.com/topics/6/syria">Middle East Clarity</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://joshualandis.com/blog/?page_id=21" title="More Links">More Links...</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div id="content-right"> <div id="menu"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr><td width="525"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/" title="Syria Comment Home">HOME</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://joshualandis.com/blog/?page_id=698" title="SyriaComment Rules">SC RULES</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?page_id=9821" title="Joshua Landis in the News">LANDIS IN THE NEWS</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.ou.edu/ssa/" title="Syrian Studies Association">SSA</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://creativesyria.com/" title="Creative Syria">CREATIVE SYRIA</a> </td> <td> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.ou.edu/content/cis/administration/faculty/joshua-landis.html" title="Home Page of Joshua Landis"><font style="font-weight:normal;">|</font> Joshua Landis</a> </td> </tr> </table> </div>  <div id="content"> <div class="post" id="post-18054"> <h2> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death">al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death</a> </h2> <h2 class="post-date-title">Thursday, March 14th, 2013</h2> <div class="entry"> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>al-Nusra</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p><a title="Syrians Protest Demanding Exit of al-Nusra" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=57506" target="_blank">Syrians Protest Demanding Exit of al-Nusra</a></p> <blockquote> <p id="insummary">Activists take to streets of rebel-held Mayadeen in eastern Syria for third straight day to demand that Al-Nusra Front fighters leave town.</p> <p>Protests erupted after the Islamist Al-Nusra Front… set up a religious council in<br/> the east of Deir Ezzor province, where Mayadeen is situated, to administer<br/> affairs in the area.</p></blockquote> <p>NPR – <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/03/09/173732210/A-Chat-With-A-Radical-Fighter-In-Syria" target="_blank">An interesting interview with an Al-Nusra fighter</a>; his naiveté is both quaint and disturbing – via Conrad</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/01/jabhat-al-nusras-goals-extend-beyond-syria.html" target="_blank">Jabhat Al-Nusra’s Goals Extend Beyond Syria</a> – As the Syrian war intensifies, Hussein Jemmo examines the reasons behind the rise of al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, and argues that the battle for Syria is only one step in a wider regional strategy for this group.</p> <blockquote><p>…The speech suggested that the militant front has become the main force in the fight against the Syrian regime, with no mention of the Free Syrian Army… The speech indicates that the FSA is being subsumed. After having been the leading military entity in the Syrian revolution, the FSA has been pushed to the sidelines compared to Jabhat al-Nusra… In Aleppo’s countryside, a member of Jabhat al-Nusra showed me a booklet entitled “Regional War Strategy in Syria.” The booklet represents a serious vision by an al-Qaeda analyst. It is available on the internet and helps explain the carefully planned beginnings of jihadism in Syria. According to the study, “The title of the next battle of Damascus will be ‘survival of the smartest,’” and explains how the jihadist environment began to emerge in Syria.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>al-Raqqa</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p><strong>Events surrounding the takeover of Raqqa are still hazy. A number of reports refer to Jabhat al-Nusra as having taken over the city, or even to other groups such as Harakat Ahrar al-Sham and the Brigade of Huthaya bin al-Yaman. But these reports don’t mention the group Jabhat al-Wahdet al-Tahrir al-Islamiyya who identified themselves as such in the video in which they are holding the muhafiz and head of Raqqa’s Ba’ath party. Consistent with the observation that the “emir” of this group may be from Deir ez-Zor is the alleged participation of refugees who had previously fled Deir ez-Zor for al-Raqqa in the city’s takeover (still unconfirmed). Also unclear is who among / how much of the local population wanted this shift of support (from regime to opposition) to occur, and who was opposed to it. The battle of narratives (“Raqqa is liberated” vs. “Raqqa has been seized by outsiders”) is in full swing. –MTB</strong></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://pietervanostaeyen.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/the-fall-of-ar-raqqa-to-jihadism-jabhat-an-nusra-harakat-ahrar-as-sham/" target="_blank">The fall of ar-Raqqa to Jihadism ~ Jabhat an-Nusra & Harakat Ahrar as-Sham </a>by pietervanostaeyen – March 7</p> <blockquote><p>On March 4 2013 the city of ar-Raqqa was conquered by Syrian rebels. What is remarkable about this conquest is that the city fell to Jihadist troops. The (secular) Free Syrian Army hardly had any role in the battle for and conquest of the al-Assad stronghold.</p> <p>Although this news is widely spread amongst specialists inquiring and reporting on Jihadism in Syria, the traditional media seem to be ignoring this fact. In this blogpost I will try to point out the significance of the Jihadist groups in conquering this city.</p></blockquote> <p>The above blogger believes that:</p> <blockquote><p>[The] significance of Al-Raqqah’s fall to Ahrar al-Sham & Jabhat al-Nusra cannot be emphasised enough. Its position on Highway 4 between Aleppo to the W and Deir ez Zour to the SE makes it of critical strategic value. Deir ez Zour already dominated by Islamist rebel groups, especially members of Syrian Islamic Front’s Jaish al-Tawhid and of Jabhat al-Nusra. Linking Deir ez Zour & Al-Raqqah – with Iraqi border to the east, unites two Islamist rebel fronts and puts them in a very strong position to converge on Aleppo if necessary</p></blockquote> <p>Whereas in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syria-live/how-important-is-the-rebel-takeover-of-raqqa/article9334919/" target="_blank">How Important is the Rebel Takeover of Raqqa</a> it’s asserted that:</p> <blockquote><p>…how important is Raqqa in the broader fight against the Assad regime? The answer: not much. The taking of Raqqa, a city of about 250,000 people and now home to hundreds of thousands more internally displaced persons, and with little economic or military value, is just the latest in a wave of rebel victories across the north… The Syria conflict will be won or lost around a small patch of real estate in western Damascus – the areas that host several presidential palaces, the military’s fourth division and Republican Guard, not Raqqa or anywhere else… In the halls of regime power in Damascus few tears will be shed for, what it sees, a backwater desert outpost.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/10/syrians-bomb-northern-raqqa/1976777/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomWorld-TopStories+(News+-+World+-+Top+Stories)" target="_blank">Regime Attacks Raqqa, Rebels Conduct Executions</a></p> <blockquote><p>Videos posted online from Raqqa have shown government workers and troops lying dead in the streets, gun shot wounds in their heads. One video shows three bodies who it is claimed were executed for being “dogs of military intelligence”.<br/> Rights groups have reported summary executions of regime officials and troops following the capture of other areas.<br/> The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday that at least 14 people have been killed in government airstrikes on the northern Syria city of Raqqa.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/03/raqqa-syria-destruction.html" target="_blank">Raqqa Lies in Ruins</a></p> <blockquote><p>The armed opposition has dragged the Syrian army into yet another battle that will lead to yet more destruction and bloodshed. With this, Raqqa city, where the situation had been calm for two years, has joined the tragic flow of incidents in Syria.<br/> Contrary to expectations, Raqqa — controversially — did not initially join the “Syrian revolution.” When the incidents first broke out, diffident protesters took to the streets, but they soon stopped. The city’s movements remained peaceful until the end of last year. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad even prayed in one of Raqqa’s mosques during Eid al-Adha last June.</p> <p>The agreement with the Free Syrian Army leaders in the Kurdish regions, and the heavy blow that was dealt to the militants and Jabhat al-Nusra in Aleppo triggered quick action to achieve another victory. There was also news about militants coming from Iraq, and they paved the way for the battle of Raqqa city by taking over its suburbs without any real resistance. They then tightened their grip on al-Tabqa city and its areas of strategic importance, such as the Euphrates Dam. All of these steps were leading up to a large-scale offensive on the city, which started with a blockade on its central prison and ended with frequent incursions from different entrances to the city.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>New Resources</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p>Free e-book from Al Mesbar Studies & Research Center and the Foreign Policy Research Institute: <strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.fpri.org/docs/201303.west_and_the_muslim_brotherhood_after_the_arab_spring.pdf" target="_blank"><i>The West and the Muslim Brotherhood after the Arab Spring</i></a></strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Good BBC documentary: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://youtu.be/Ln8-_9D_a88"><strong>A History Of Syria With Dan Snow</strong></a></p> <blockquote><p>“The conflict in Syria can only be understood by knowing the history of Syria”</p></blockquote> <p><iframe style="width: 527px; height: 302px;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ln8-_9D_a88" height="292" width="518" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Christians</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.businessinsider.com/syrian-christians-dream-of-life-without-assad-or-radical-islamists-2013-3?op=1" target="_blank">Syrian Christians Dream Of Life Without Assad Or Radical Islamists</a> The story of Deir Ezzor’s Christians: attacked by the regime, helped by the FSA, scared of the Islamists…</p> <blockquote><p>Abu Ibrahim says he and his family are the only Christians left in Syria’s devastated city of Deir Ezzor, and he is terrified Muslim extremists could make their already difficult life hell. Yet every Sunday, he and the family peacefully hold prayers…</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Mar-12/209729-jets-bomb-homs-as-mortar-fire-rocks-damascus.ashx#ixzz2NHXAaDJj" target="_blank">Jets Bomb Homs as Mortar Fire Rocks Damascus</a></p> <blockquote><p>Mortar bombs struck a Christian neighborhood and a football stadium at game time in Damascus Monday, killing six civilians and wounding at least 24 in what appeared to be an escalating campaign by rebels to sow fear in the Syrian capital…</p> <p>In the latest attacks, four mortars bombs hit Bab Sharqi, a predominantly Christian area known for its old churches. One fell in a park, two near an ice cream shop and a fourth hit a house nearby.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Mar-09/209385-an-uncertain-future-for-syrias-minorities.ashx#axzz2N40ormmE" target="_blank">Uncertain Future for Syria’s Minorities</a></p> <blockquote><p>The Muslim commander of the local rebel garrison appears to be trying to allay any fears among the roughly 2,500 Christian residents who have stayed in the village since the fighting in January, saying he won’t impinge on anyone’s rights…<br/> “I am not convinced that these people want freedom and democracy,” said Fadi, a Christian civil engineer from Damascus, voicing a common view that the rebels are led by extremists. “I sympathized with them at the start, but after all the destruction, killing and kidnapping, I prefer Bashar Assad.”</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-03/11/c_124439627.htm" target="_blank">Christian Neighborhoods, Damascus Suburbs, Homs Refinery Hit by Rebel Attacks</a></p> <blockquote><p>One child was killed and 9 others wounded when a bomb shell hit their school bus in Damascus.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Syrian Jihad and Jihad for Syria</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=573949" target="_blank">Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun’s jihad against the jihadists</a>: Syria’s top Sunni cleric appeals to Syrian youth to join the military. The feelings of Syria’s Sunnis are divided regarding this regime-linked figure; he has some influence but many Sunnis view him as a tool of the establishment.</p> <blockquote><p>One of the pillars of President Bashar Assad’s leadership is secularism, but nearly two years into a fight which it says is spearheaded by hardline Islamist terrorists, Damascus has decided to employ its enemy’s tactic: jihad. The highest official Sunni Muslim body in Syria, closely linked to the government, issued a religious decree on Sunday calling on Syrians to join the military, which it called both “a national and a religious duty”.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/hundreds-of-russian-islamists-fighting-assad-in-syria-expert-says/476629.html#ixzz2NDamy0z2" target="_blank">Hundreds of Russian Islamists Fighting in Syria</a></p> <blockquote><p>Rais Suleimanov, head of the Kazan-based Volga Center for Regional and Ethno-Religious Studies, said he got this number from Russian militants themselves, who he said have “no interest in exaggerating it.” He said the militants come from CIS countries including Ukraine and from different regions of Russia, among them Tatarstan and the volatile North Caucasus, where Russian law enforcement is battling an intractable insurgency of separatist Islamist militants.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.npr.org/2013/03/13/174156172/with-official-wink-and-nod-young-saudis-join-syrias-rebels" target="_blank">Judge convinces young Saudis, “convicted for demonstrating” in Saudi Arabia, to go and “fight the real enemy”–Shiites in Syria:</a></p> <blockquote><p>In one documented case, a Saudi judge encouraged young anti-government protesters to fight in Syria rather than face punishment at home. Mohammed al-Talq, 22, was arrested and found guilty of participating in a demonstration in the north-central Saudi city of Buraidah.</p> <p>After giving 19 young men suspended sentences, the judge called the defendants into his private chambers and gave them a long lecture about the need to fight Shiite Muslims in Syria, according to Mohammed’s father, Abdurrahman al-Talq.</p> <p>“You should save all your energy and fight against the real enemy, the Shia, and not fight inside Saudi Arabia,” said the father, quoting the judge. “The judge gave them a reason to go to Syria.”</p> <p>Within weeks, 11 of the 19 protesters left to join the rebels…</p> <p>Saudi authorities have a strategic goal in Syria, he said. “Their ultimate policy is to have a regime change similar to what happened in Yemen, where they lose the head of state and substitute it with one more friendly to the Saudis,” al-Qahtani said.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/08/west-training-syrian-rebels-jordan" target="_blank">West training Syrian rebels in Jordan</a> Exclusive: UK and French instructors involved in US-led effort to strengthen secular elements in Syria’s opposition, say sources Julian Borger and Nick Hopkins, guardian, Friday 8 March 2013</p> <blockquote><p>Western training of Syrian rebels is under way in Jordan in an effort to strengthen secular elements in the opposition as a bulwark against Islamic extremism, and to begin building security forces to maintain order in the event of Bashar al-Assad’s fall.</p> <p>Jordanian security sources say the training effort is led by the US, but involves British and French instructors.</p> <p>The UK Ministry of Defence denied any British soldiers were providing direct military training to the rebels, though a small number of personnel, including special forces teams, have been in the country training the Jordanian military.</p> <p>But the Guardian has been told that UK intelligence teams are giving the rebels logistical and other advice in some form.</p> <p>British officials have made it clear that they believe new EU rules have now given the UK the green light to start providing military training for rebel fighters with the aim of containing the spread of chaos and extremism in areas outside the Syrian regime’s control.</p> <p>According to European and Jordanian sources the western training in Jordan has been going on since last year and is focused on senior Syrian army officers who defected….</p> <p>“What has happened of late is that there has been a tactical shift,” said Julien Barnes-Dacey, a Middle East expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations thinktank. “Islamist forces have been gaining steam in the north and Jordan is keen to avoid that in the south. Having been very hands-off, they now see that they have to do something in the south.”</p> <p>He added: “There is a feeling that Jordan simply can’t handle a huge new influx of refugees so the idea would be to create a safe zone inside Syria. For them it’s a no-win scenario. Everything they had been seeking to avoid has come to pass.”</p> <p>For western and Saudi backers of the opposition, Jordan has become a preferable option through which to channel aid than Turkey. Ankara has been criticised for allowing extremist groups, such as the al-Nusra Front, become dominant on the northern front while it focused on what it sees as the growing threat of Kurdish secessionism.</p> <p>“The Americans now trust us more than the Turks, because with the Turks everything is about gaining leverage for action against the Kurds,” said a Jordanian source familiar with official thinking in Amman….</p> <p>Syrian rebels have said that in the past few months there had been a relaxation of the previously strict US rules on what kinds of weapons were allowed across the border, and that portable anti-aircraft missiles had been released from Turkish warehouses where they had been impounded.</p> <p>Matt Schroeder, who tracks the spread of such weapons for the Federation of American Scientists, said the recent appearance of modern, sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles in the hands of such fragmented rebel groups was deeply troubling in view of their capacity to bring down civilian airlines…</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <div>Foreign Policy</div> <div> <blockquote><p>The Islamic State of Iraq, a militant jihadist group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, has <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/https://exchange.ou.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=XEc3Hnq7k0KZL49yozFuWAuhKMW38s8IV4bxGGrZMj0LYXteaCFidoDsu1o3IOPeRja668MbUco.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fr20.rs6.net%2ftn.jsp%3fe%3d0019hdSwlVp7262hQ7LXGw3uG8L8BCrdQFVbwxzEFv1ER5X6e1yCQo7RW1mFjbD5P3iui8j-Mqk-iOu-blJ_Fg8BbKFaoM93ywjjrhq3eiUZuznAh_GEVgMHlrpvvEJdeoKWedUYIZ6pxQl-U1D5DR_ReHRHlYmf0xPpnB5C37eH0GHmS49cHpOr_AIzhKt_cNJZcJzZOjX0iyVrov0VrJotltN6h5sMTp3OYJsKTuaKXKwC_-PXMf90FgyizYDXS69qqvgzeAIbTk%3d" target="_blank">claimed responsibility</a> for a massacre of nine Iraqi guards and 48 Syrian soldiers who sought respite in Iraq from Syria’s civil war. The massacre is considered one the conflict’s most deadly episodes of cross-border fighting. The U.S. has condemned this attack as an act of “terrorism” because it claims some of the Syrian troops sought <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/https://exchange.ou.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=XEc3Hnq7k0KZL49yozFuWAuhKMW38s8IV4bxGGrZMj0LYXteaCFidoDsu1o3IOPeRja668MbUco.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fr20.rs6.net%2ftn.jsp%3fe%3d0019hdSwlVp727gjECa1ueOLAp_O0k2yeb6Pd7VrqHHevwmcDHmpPY0BzJekcww-_DtY1BgLfYIoLFmxxop7mKYVxCtOrthGpYiPrUtecKiFrhrLlEGM0Xf-ywih_-iv0J2TnGWqjd_7qVJFAHp0_rzBZFKTw3t4zbg0gNTvuPnQvjnrq6fkS5o8g%3d%3d" target="_blank">medical treatment</a> in Iraq. Meanwhile, Syria’s grand mufti, Sheik Ahmad Badr al-Deen Hassoun, has issued a religious degree urging Syrian parents to enlist their children in the Syrian Army. The grand mufti is a Sunni and also closely linked to the Assad regime. His degree is significant for two reasons: it appeared to call for jihad; and it suggests the Assad regime lacks a sufficient supply of soldiers, prompting concerns that Assad may enforce compulsory service into the armed forces. This speculation is corroborated by reports that the Syrian government is <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/https://exchange.ou.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=XEc3Hnq7k0KZL49yozFuWAuhKMW38s8IV4bxGGrZMj0LYXteaCFidoDsu1o3IOPeRja668MbUco.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fr20.rs6.net%2ftn.jsp%3fe%3d0019hdSwlVp727k6812uComMlB9AK-OCz2ZOLYcNiI3xL7ubywsE5ILjFkFaCoTZPlk3PqEaUGokl4l9TiLoqIWOo7YGLYYYZ855knjgMxpa50o5-0wDwv16iv6kbzCqJOLoNy6JJMKf9BOu3uMxBuKkhXnIroOOKv1EFrJK4pSBfiC4FE6Avo41ZxTkwotmo-5K5UQQ-7iYpn_qC0z4IBNCWdJ3FFgMjK4jgK1Q7XiFu-hZrux4Qwvi3FO0XDoE6KIVmlqoAe7ASAH_eIuxTnzxkzb88Rhc0GQFysbBMOkR_g%3d" target="_blank">recruiting and training Syrian women</a> to become soldiers in a force named the “Lionesses for National Defense.” A video posted to Russia Today’s Arabic channel shows women marching in army fatigues, carrying Kalashnikov rifles, chanting slogans in support of the Syrian regime. Their duties consist largely of checkpoint control.</p></blockquote> </div> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>River of Death</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The regime tries to outdo itself in the production of horror</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/mar/11/syria-bodies-river-aleppo-massacre?CMP=twt_gu" target="_blank">Guardian: The story behind one of the most shocking images of the war</a></p> <p>Why did the bodies of 110 men suddenly wash up in the river running through Aleppo city six weeks ago? A Guardian investigation found out.</p> <blockquote><p>It is already one of the defining images of the Syrian civil war: a line of bodies at neatly spaced intervals lying on a river bed in the heart of Syria’s second city Aleppo. All 110 victims have been shot in the head, their hands bound with plastic ties behind their back.</p></blockquote> <p><img class="alignnone" style="width: 844px; height: 511px;" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://interactive.guim.co.uk/2013/mar/aleppo-b-assets/topPic.jpg" width="846" height="613"/></p> <blockquote><p>It’s a picture that raises so many questions: who were these men? How did they die? Why? What does their story tell us about the wretched disintegration of Syria? A Guardian investigation has established a grisly narrative behind the worst – and most visible – massacre to have taken place here…</p> <p>There are no women on the grisly slideshow of dead men that is replayed in melancholy slow motion every time a relative arrives. Nor are there more than a handful of males aged over 30. Most of the dead dragged from Aleppo’s Queiq River were men of working age.</p> <p>Another thread strongly unites the fate of the river massacre victims; each of them had either been in the west of the city, or had been trying to get there. They had to pass though checkpoints run by the Syrian army, or their proxy militia, the Shabiha. The process involved handing over identification papers that detailed in which area of the city the holder of the papers lived…</p></blockquote> <p><img class="alignnone" style="width: 618px; height: 426px;" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://interactive.guim.co.uk/2013/mar/aleppo-b-assets/pics/aleppoGraphic.png" width="602" height="429"/></p> <blockquote><p>Two other men who had been arrested at regime checkpoints and later freed were also interviewed. Both alleged that mass killings had taken place in the security prisons in which they had been held. They identified the prisons as Air Force intelligence and Military Security — two of the most infamous state security facilities in Syria.</p> <p>“If they took you to the park, you were finished,” said one of the men, who had been freed in mid-January. “We all knew that. It is a miracle that I am standing here talking to you.”</p> <p>The man, in his early 20s, refused to be identified even back in the relative safety of the east of the city. Nowadays, he spends his mornings on the banks of the river, waiting for more bodies to float down.</p> <p>The concrete ledge from where the bodies were recovered is now covered by waters which, on 29 January, had receded leaving the sodden remains exposed, blood oozing from single bullet wounds to each of their shattered skulls…</p> <p>“Before I left the prison, they took 30 people from isolation cells and killed them.”</p> <p>Abdel Rezzaq said he was being held in Block 4, within earshot of the solitary confinement cells and the area where he alleges the prisoners were taken, then executed. “They handcuffed them and blindfolded them and they were torturing them till they died.”</p> <p>“They poured acid on them. The smell was very strong and we were suffocating from it. Then we heard gunshots. The next day they put me and some of the others in front of men with guns, but they didn’t shoot at us. They freed me later that day.”</p> <p>“I heard women screaming. They were pouring alcohol on us and cursing us. Only God got us out of there, no-one gets out alive. And only god knows what happened to the rest of the people who were in there. I will fight for this cause because I want the whole world to see what is happening.”</p> <p>“I was there for a month,” he said. “Then one night they took us to an area outside, it was near a park and I thought that was it. I was preparing for death by praying and they started shooting along a wall where they had lined people up. There were about four guys next to me, to my right, and they stopped shooting. I heard one officer say ‘let them go’. And here I am. I will stay waiting for these bodies for the rest of the war. I cannot believe I am here.”</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/11/aleppos-river-of-death/" target="_blank">Aleppo’s river of death</a> By Donatella Rovera</p> <blockquote><p>Aleppo’s Kweik river, keeps washing up the bodies of men and boys who have been shot in the head at close range. Some have their hands tied behind their backs, some have marks suggesting torture. Virtually every day this past week I have been getting early morning phone calls informing me of more bodies in the river – two on Sunday, four on Monday, seven on Tuesday, three on Wednesday… All eventually float to the same spot in the Bustan al-Qasr district of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, under the control of opposition forces but just a few hundred meters downstream from an area held by government troops. It is too dangerous to try to recover the bodies at the point where they first appear – it’s too close to the government-controlled zone and right in the line of their sniper fire. Instead, local volunteers wait for the bodies to float another 300 meters or so downstream where they can be retrieved more safely. On March 3, I arrived just as two corpses had been recovered from the river. On the face of one, something had been written with a blue marker. I had to look closely because the writing was pale and partially erased by the water and mud – the body was floating face-down when it was found. On the forehead was written “al-Assad ” and on the left cheek “Surya;” the writing on the right check and the chin could not be deciphered. People thought the two illegible words might have been “u bas” – as in the pro-regime refrain: “al-Assad, Surya, u bas” ([President] al-Assad, Syria and that’s it).</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Women</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p>Syrian Women’s Day, March 8, 2013 by Aida Dalati</p> <blockquote><p>Between the years 1174 to 1260AD Ayyubid royal women banned together with Damascene daughters of the local Ulamaa (scholars) and built learning centers Madrassas for the Damascus and Aleppo youth, and Zawiahs-hospices for the terminal ill.</p> <p>Some of the women’s work includes, Safwat-al-Mulk’s Peacock cupola (Qubbat al-Tawawis) built by the Seljuk widow of Taj al Dawleh, a spacious mosque and Sufi hospice located near the entrance of the Straight Street which I pass by every time I go to see my upholsterer. Also Princess Zummurud Khatoun’s Madrasat Khatuniyya the fifth madrassa-school built in Damascus and Princess Dayfa Khatoun’s Madrasat al Firdouse in Aleppo.</p> <p>The title of “Khatoun” in Ayyubid Seljuk refers to Queen, princess, lady or noble woman.</p> <p>In a span of these 85 years before Hulako the Mongol occupied Damascus, studies have found that out of the 147 persons who participated in building, 21 were women. Out of 69 Madrassas 15 were by built by women, (23% of the total) as were 6 (21%) out of the 29 Sufi hospices. In Aleppo 5 out of the 20 (25%) Khanqahs-Ribats (hospices) were also built by women. I find this to be a most delightful and empowering piece of history.</p></blockquote> <p>Chapter 19 Ayyubid Royalty in Damascus, Damascus Renaissance, Aida Dalati By Aida Dalati, to be published by Amazon, Photos available upon request</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2013/Mar-06/208986-arab-revolutions-have-made-women-worse-off.ashx#axzz2MxNFc9xk" target="_blank">Arab revolutions have made women worse off</a> (Moha Ennaji, The Daily Star)</p> <blockquote><p>“Though women across the Middle East participated actively in the Arab Spring protests that began in late 2010, they remain second-class citizens, even where popular uprisings managed to topple autocratic regimes. Indeed, the Islamist governments now in power in several countries seem more determined than the despots that they replaced to keep women out of politics. In conducting interviews with women in the region, I am struck by their pessimism. They fear the loss of their rights. They see economic disintegration all around them, raising the possibility of a further increase in violence. As social bonds fray, they feel increasingly vulnerable. More than once, I heard them express the view that things were better before the revolutions.</p> <p>Female representation in parliaments and Cabinets after the Arab Spring has been either absent or meager, and women activists fear Islamist parties will implement reactionary policies that discriminate on the basis of gender. In Egypt, for example, the Freedom and Justice Party, which dominates parliament, claims that a woman cannot become president. Egyptian women were heavily represented in the protests that brought down President Hosni Mubarak’s regime in 2011, but they have been largely excluded from any official decision-making role ever since.”</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Hezbollah and Lebanon</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/jabhat-al-nusra-hezbollah-confrontation.html" target="_blank">First Confrontation between Jabhat al-Nusra and Hezbollah</a></p> <blockquote><p>While the Iraq-Syria border was witnessing the first armed confrontation pitting Sunni jihadists against Iraqi and Syrian soldiers, leaving scores of people dead, a wide stretch of border between Lebanon and Syria was the scene of direct and unprecedented contact between <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/03/hezbollah-progress-challenges.html" target="_blank">Shiite Hezbollah</a> militants and Sunni jihadists belonging to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/01/jabhat-al-nusras-goals-extend-beyond-syria.html" target="_blank">Jabhat al-Nusra</a>. This new and serious development is likely to have serious repercussions in the coming weeks. There are several theories about how this situation came to pass.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=40561&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=6943f9a6a51d581802e5a98a2cbf8f07" target="_blank">A Divided Society: The Impact of the Syrian Crisis on Lebanon </a>Terrorism Monitor Volume: 11 Issue: 5, March 8, 2013 By: Nicholas A. Heras</p> <blockquote><p>…As Lebanon moves towards planned Parliamentary elections in June, the question of Lebanon’s role in the Syrian crisis will present a difficult political choice for certain communities, particularly the Christians. Lebanon’s Christian community is generally split between support for pro and anti-Assad political parties, but in an environment where the fear of a rising militant Salafist presence amongst Christians is growing, tenuous political allegiances may be switched to support parties, particularly the Free Patriotic Movement, that are aligned with what is widely seen in Lebanon as the greatest guarantee against Sunni militancy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/07/syria-lebanon/1970711/" target="_blank">Hezbollah backs end of Syria suspension from Arab League</a></p> <blockquote><p>On Thursday, the leader of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad, said Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour was right to call for an end to the suspension observed by all Arab states.</p> <p>“His statements accurately reflect Lebanon’s official stance on Syria.” Raad told Beirut news media of the call to reinstate Syria, which was suspended from the Cairo-based league in 2011.</p></blockquote> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Weapons</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.channel4.com/news/syria-war-rebels-assad-tank-video-russia"> New footage, said to be from a Syrian government tank, shows the desolation in Daraya outside Damascus, via Brian Wit</a></p> <blockquote><p>The Syrian National Coalition, the coalition of opposition forces which is supported by a number of countries including the US, UK and France, has also postponed a meeting to form a provisional government until March 20.</p></blockquote> <p>NYT – <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/russians-bring-dashcam-war-reporting-to-syria/" target="_blank">Russians Bring Dashcam War Reporting to Syria</a></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.youtube.com/user/newsanna/videos?view=0&flow=grid">http://www.youtube.com/user/newsanna/videos?view=0&flow=grid</a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.arabist.net/blog/2013/3/7/do-arms-transfers-represent-breakthrough-for-syrian-rebels.html">Do arms transfers represent breakthrough for Syrian rebels? </a>By <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.arabist.net/blog/author/paulmutter"> <img title="Author" alt="Author" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.arabist.net/universal/images/transparent.png"/>Paul Mutter</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.arabist.net/blog/tag/syria" rel="tag"> <img title="Tag" alt="Tag" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.arabist.net/universal/images/transparent.png"/>Syria</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.arabist.net/blog/tag/arms" rel="tag"> <img title="Tag" alt="Tag" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.arabist.net/universal/images/transparent.png"/>arms</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.arabist.net/blog/tag/uspolicy" rel="tag"> <img title="Tag" alt="Tag" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.arabist.net/universal/images/transparent.png"/>uspolicy</a></p> <p><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.arabist.net/storage/post-images/FSA%20fighters%20being%20instructed%20in%20the%20use%20of%20the%20ex-Yugoslav%20M79%20anti-tank%20rocket%20launcher%20YouTube.png?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1362633214253" width="480" height="264"/></p> <blockquote><p>FSA fighters being instructed in the use of the ex-Yugoslav M79 anti-tank rocket launcher (YouTube)</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/world/middleeast/in-shift-saudis-are-said-to-arm-rebels-in-syria.html">The <em>New York Times</em></a> reported last week that “Saudi Arabia has financed a large purchase of infantry weapons from Croatia and quietly funneled them to antigovernment fighters in Syria.” The effort was reportedly known to the US, but nothing was said for or against it so that it might proceed under the radar of a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.bruxelles2.eu/zones/moyen-orient/la-croatie-a-respecte-lembargo-sur-les-armes-tres-tardivement.html">European Union arms embargo</a> on Syria….</p></blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;">Iraq-Syria Overland Supply Routes: Syria By Joseph Holliday – ISW</p> <blockquote><p>…Assad’s withdrawal from northeastern Syria, combined with rebel gains along the Euphrates River, has reduced possible overland supply routes between Baghdad and Damascus to the Al Walid-At Tanf border crossing point. The recent ambush also demonstrates the capacity and willingness of militants on the Iraqi side of the border to disrupt this route. The Iraqi and Syrian governments appear well situated to maintain control of this last overland supply route, but if this route closes, the Assad regime will have to rely on air and sea resupply routes in order to continue its campaign against the opposition in Syria.</p> <p>Assad’s withdrawal from northeastern Syria, combined with rebel gains along the Euphrates River, has reduced possible overland supply routes between Baghdad and Damascus to the Al Walid-At Tanf border crossing point. The recent ambush also demonstrates the capacity and willingness of militants on the Iraqi side of the border to disrupt this route. The Iraqi and Syrian governments appear well situated to maintain control of this last overland supply route, but if this route closes, the Assad regime will have to rely on air and sea resupply routes in order to continue its campaign against the opposition in Syria.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Opposition</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/20133718032581292.html" target="_blank">Syria opposition to pick interim PM next week</a> [this week, i.e. yesterday]</p> <blockquote><p>The Istanbul meeting – to be held on March 12 and 13 – was called after former Prime Minister Riad Hijab, the highest-ranking civilian defector from Assad’s government, withdrew his candidacy, several coalition members said on Thursday. Hijab had run into opposition from Islamists and liberals in the coalition for his past ties with Syria’s ruling hierarchy…</p> <p>Coalition sources said the Syrian National Council, a large Muslim Brotherhood-influenced bloc within the 71-member coalition, had chosen three candidates for prime minister.</p> <p>They are Salem al-Muslet, a tribal figure from northeastern Syria who worked at think-tanks in the Gulf; Osama al-Qadi, a US-educated economist who heads an opposition taskforce drawing up plans for post-conflict economic recovery; and veteran opposition campaigner Burhan Ghalioun, a professor from Homs and previous president of the Syrian National Council.</p> <p>Asaad Mustafa, a former agriculture minister during the 30-year rule of Assad’s father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, is also in the running, the sources said. Muslet and Ghalioun, however, are members of the coalition, whose rules state that only non-members can join the provisional government.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/syrian-opposition-still-deadlocked-over-interim-government" target="_blank">Syrian opposition still deadlocked over interim government</a> [March 12]</p> <blockquote><p>The Syrian opposition has cancelled a meeting to elect an interim government for the second time in less than two weeks amid continuing internal divisions.<br/> The meeting, scheduled for this week after an earlier cancellation on March 2, is now scheduled to take place in Istanbul on March 20…</p> <p>The main task of the interim government would be to improve everyday life in areas of Syria where the insurgents have driven out government troops, the SNC source said. The interim government would also be based in “liberated” regions of the country…</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Politics, Aid, Economics</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p>Washington Post – <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/03/08/in-india-syrian-regime-courts-bric-countries/" target="_blank">Syria Woos BRICS </a>in India</p> <blockquote><p>During her three-day visit to India, senior Syrian minister Bouthaina Shaaban asked New Delhi to take the lead in drafting a strong statement in support of Syria, when the five nations — comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — meet at a conference later this month.</p> <p>“We want India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa to make a very strong decision to support a political solution in Syria, to support the right of the Syrian people to decide a future for themselves,” Shaaban, the political and media advisor to Assad, told reporters in New Delhi on Friday. Last year, the BRICS nations called for an end to the rhetoric of military action against Syria.</p> <p>India has until now walked the tightrope between the United States and Syria. It voted in favor of sanctions, but later abstained from another vote in the United Nations General Assembly, saying <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/ga11266.doc.htm">it opposed acts</a> that aimed at change of regime in Syria.</p> <p>On Wednesday, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/21291/Visit+of+Special+Envoy+of+the+Syrian+President+to+India">India’s foreign office</a> expressed its “deep concern on the security situation in Syria” and said that the Geneva Communique, which had called for respecting Syria’s sovereignty, must form the basis for a solution.</p> <p>On Friday, Shaaban also urged reporters to use the term “international community” with caution.</p> <p>“The BRICS is also a big part of the international community, so please stop using the term when you are referring to Western forces,” Shaaban said. Then she added, “It is very difficult to counter Western narrative.”</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p>FP – <a title="How the Muslim Brotherhood Hijacked Syria's Revolution" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/03/13/how_the_muslim_brotherhood_hijacked_syria_s_revolution?page=full" target="_blank">How the Muslim Brotherhood Hijacked Syria’s Revolution</a></p> <blockquote><p>The shadowy Islamist group that was all but destroyed in the 1980s is ruining the uprising against Bashar al-Assad.</p> <p>No one in Syria expected the anti-regime uprising to last this long or be this deadly, but after around 70,000 dead, 1 million refugees, and two years of unrest, there is still no end in sight. While President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal response is mostly to blame, the opposition’s chronic failure to form a viable front against the regime has also allowed the conflict to drag on. And there’s one anti-Assad group that is largely responsible for this dismal state of affairs: Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130310/shortages-food-fuel-power-syria-battered-war">Shortages of food, fuel, power as Syria battered by war </a></p> <blockquote><p>“Yesterday I did not make anything to eat as there was no electricity for the entire day,” says Umm Fadi, a resident of Artuz district near Damascus that has been caught up in the fighting between rebels and regime forces.</p> <p>Like most Syrians, the mother of four faces a shortage of oil and gas and has to resort to cooking on a wood fire or, when there is power, an electric stove.</p> <p>“A gas cylinder costs 3,500 (Syrian) pounds (49 dollars) and there is no oil… we have to wait for two or three hours patiently just to buy bread,” she says with a sigh. — Fear is palpable –</p> <p>But when it comes to violence near the capital, her fear is palpable. “The worst is yet to come,” she says.</p> <p>From the balcony of her home near Abbasid square on the edge of Damascus, she can see clouds of black smoke.</p> <p>“The rebels are at Jobar, two kilometres (just over a mile) away,” she says.</p> <p>“We hear gunfire and explosions all through the day and they are coming closer. People are hiding in their homes.”</p> <p> </p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/us-and-russia-as-viewed-by-the-s.html">Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib “The Regime Can’t Go On Like This,</a>‘</p> <blockquote><p>Says Syrian Opposition Leader.” Cengiz Çandar talks with Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib, leader of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, about the roles and interests of the United States, Russia and Iran in Syria and his efforts to arrive at a solution to the crisis.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.acus.org/viewpoint/can-syria-be-saved">Fred Hof – Can Syria be Saved</a></p> <blockquote><p>Syria’s descent into state failure now seems unchecked and inevitable….As the bodies pile higher while terrified, traumatized children go homeless and flee for safety with their parents, one must ask how long the United States can stay on its present policy course. Those who argue that you can’t lose a proxy war you don’t fight will, in the fullness of time, be proven wrong. Yet even if they are right, is there nothing to be said for using some of the tools at our disposal to neutralize those whose sense of invulnerability emboldens their savagery? Syria can be saved when self-doubt in the West gives way to something more worthy.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://dailystar.com.lb/Business/Middle-East/2013/Mar-07/209129-violence-aside-economics-alone-can-fragment-syria.ashx#ixzz2Mpoq5u2P" target="_blank">Violence aside, economics alone can fragment Syria</a><br/> March 07, 2013<br/> By Dominic Evans, The Daily Star</p> <blockquote><p>BEIRUT: Economic devastation is tearing Syria apart, perhaps irreparably, if fighting rages for another two years, according to a former minister now working on a U.N.-backed reconstruction plan.</p> <p>Abdullah al-Dardari said the damage wrought by the violence would already cost up to $80 billion, an impossible bill for a government which would soon be unable to pay state wages, let alone fund a nationwide program of rebuilding.</p> <p>As millions of Syrians are driven deeper into poverty and the ability of President Bashar Assad’s regime to provide basic services erodes, the forces pushing Syria toward disintegration will grow stronger, he said.</p> <p>“Economics alone can fragment Syria if we go on like this,” said Dardari, who served as Assad’s deputy premier for economic affairs for six years until shortly after the uprising against the president erupted in March 2011.</p> <p>Now working as an economist at the United Nations in Beirut, he heads a team devising a post-conflict plan – trying to bring Syrians from all sides of the crisis together to chart an inclusive political, economic and social reconstruction agenda.</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><img class="alignright" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/06/world/middleeast/SYRIA-SUB-WEB-MAP/SYRIA-SUB-WEB-MAP-articleInline.png" width="190" height="289"/><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/world/europe/syria-developments.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0">A United Nations vehicle crossed from Syria into Israel on the Golan Heights.</a><br/> By RICK GLADSTONE and ALAN COWELL<br/> Published: March 6, 2013</p> <p>…20 peacekeepers were detained near an observation post that had been evacuated over the past weekend after what she called “heavy combat in proximity” in the southern part of the area they control. The peacekeepers, in a convoy of trucks, had returned to investigate damage to the post when they were taken by about 30 armed rebels.</p> <p>Ms. Guerrero said that the peacekeeping mission was “dispatching a team to assess the situation and attempt a resolution,” and that the Syrian authorities had been asked to help. ….A video uploaded on YouTube by a group that identified itself as the Martyrs of Yarmouk claimed responsibility on Wednesday and said the peacekeepers would be held until Syrian government forces withdrew from the area around Al Jamlah, the site of the weekend clashes. The video does not show any of the captives, but United Nations vehicles are visible.</p> <p>A speaker in the video warns in Arabic: “If the withdrawal does not take place within 24 hours, we will deal with those guys like war prisoners. And praise to God.”</p> <p>The threat underscored the widening risk that the Syria conflict is destabilizing the Middle East, and raised new concerns about the agendas of some Syrian insurgent groups, just as Western nations, including the United States, were grappling over whether to arm them…</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/world/middleeast/syrian-insurgents-say-aid-isnt-getting-where-it-needs-to-go.html?ref=world&pagewanted=all#h[]">Syrian Insurgents Say Aid Isn’t Getting Where It Needs to Go</a><br/> By KRISTEN McTIGHE<br/> Published: March 6, 2013</p> <blockquote><p>Koert Debeuf, a Belgian who works in Cairo as a representative of centrist parties in the European Parliament, says he was smuggled from Turkey into Syria by rebel commanders in January to study conditions in the rebel-held territories. But when he asked the commanders to show him the Azaz refugee camp in northern Aleppo Province, he said he had the impression that they felt ashamed.<br/> “We need to take a leap of faith,” Mr. Debeuf said. “Of course things will go wrong, but what we are doing now, is going very, very wrong, and we are only making two people stronger: Assad and Jabhat al-Nusra.”</p> <p> </p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/world/middleeast/in-syrias-rebel-strongholds-foreign-aid-yields-anger.html?ref=world&_r=0">In Parts of Syria, Lack of Assistance ‘Is a Catastrophe’</a><br/> By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, March 8, 2013</p> <blockquote><p>SAWRAN, Syria — The United States and other international donors are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on humanitarian aid for Syrians afflicted by the civil war. But here in the rebel-controlled north, where the deprivation is most acute, that money has bought mostly anger and resentment: the vast majority of aid is going to territory controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, and the small amount reaching opposition-held areas is all but invisible.</p> <p>Rebels argue that the humanitarian assistance is in effect helping Mr. Assad survive the war of attrition. “Aid is a weapon,” said Omar Baylasani, a rebel commander from Idlib, speaking during a visit to a Turkish border town. “Food supply is the winning card in the hands of the regime.” …</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.todayszaman.com/news-309372-turkey-says-border-gate-attackers-linked-to-syrian-regime.html" target="_blank">Turkey claims that border crossing bombers are linked to Syrian regime</a></p> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Follow Up</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p>The article of the last post contained a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004">video depicting the destruction of a shrine</a>, referred to as an “Alawite Mazaar.” Alawis, Shi’ites, and Sunnis with a Sufi orientation all visit shrines built on or containing the tombs of reputedly holy individuals. In actuality, this could be a shrine frequented by Sunni Sufis or Sunnis influenced by Sufism, similar in appearance to the Alawi shrines. Sufi tendencies are often conflated with Shi’i practices by fundamentalist Sunnis and together opposed as “innovation,” “paganism,” or “associating something not-God with God”—in other words, directing devotion toward someone other than God. In Syria, various Muslims sects (as well as Christians) will often frequent the same holy sites together. The title of the video refers to the structure as a “pagan shrine,” an accusation that could be levied against a Shi’ite or Alawi shrine, but may just as easily be directed at any Saint-venerating Sufi-oriented sacred place. It is not specifically indicated that it is an Alawi shrine, as noted by readers. –MTB</p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> Posted by Matthew Barber at 2:30 am | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054" title="Permanent link to al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death">Permalink</a> | <a title="Print Article" target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054&print=true">Print</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comments" class="Comments are off for this post" title="Comment on al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death">98 comments</a> <br>Categories: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=98" title="View all posts in Aleppo" rel="category">Aleppo</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=20" title="View all posts in Hizbullah" rel="category">Hizbullah</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=30" title="View all posts in Iraq" rel="category">Iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=121" title="View all posts in Islamism" rel="category">Islamism</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=104" title="View all posts in Jabhat al-Nusra" rel="category">Jabhat al-Nusra</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=22" title="View all posts in Lebanon" rel="category">Lebanon</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=120" title="View all posts in Matthew Barber" rel="category">Matthew Barber</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=14" title="View all posts in Muslim Brothers" rel="category">Muslim Brothers</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=8" title="View all posts in Religion and Ethnicity" rel="category">Religion and Ethnicity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=38" title="View all posts in Russia" rel="category">Russia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=26" title="View all posts in Saudi" rel="category">Saudi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=105" title="View all posts in Syria Revolution 2013" rel="category">Syria Revolution 2013</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=48" title="View all posts in Weapons" rel="category">Weapons</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=73" title="View all posts in Women" rel="category">Women</a>  Translate: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054&langpair=en%7Ces&hl=en&ie=UTF8">ES</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054&langpair=en%7Cfr&hl=en&ie=UTF8">FR</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054&langpair=en%7Car&hl=en&ie=UTF8">العربيه</a> <br/><div style="float:left;margin-top:9px;"><script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751js_/http://feeds.feedburner.com/~s/Syriacomment?i=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script></div> <div style="float:left;margin-top:9px;margin-left:5px;"> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joshualandis.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D18054&t=al-Nusra%2C%20al-Raqqa%2C%20Calls%20for%20Jihad%2C%20River%20of%20Death" id="facebook_share_both_18054" style="font-size:11px; 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it should be obvious that it’s not always possible to provide an op-ed with each significant incident as it breaks. But in addition to this, a sentiment of frustration seems to be surfacing due to the perception that the blog’s bias is gradually trending toward the mainstream media’s simplistic regime-vilification and opposition-advocacy, the myopic narrative of “good guys and bad guys.”</p> <p><strong>In this article, I will try to complicate the “good guys versus bad guys” narrative.</strong></p> <p>According to most sources, only one military site in the entire muhafiza (governorate) of Raqqa remains under regime control. This means that the first muhafiza in Syria to be effectively “liberated” has been achieved by Islamist resistance. That only passing mention was made in the last post about the fact that other Islamists have in the same week kidnapped UN personnel in the Golan has contributed to the perception that Syria Comment is somehow becoming soft on the opposition and unconcerned with the issue of Islamism in the conflict. The capture of Raqqa is much more than the “changing of the guard;” it represents a change in the kind of power exercised. It is a visible shift to Islamism, something that many Syrians as well as outsiders linked to Syria find troubling.</p> <p>These events are significant, and do deserve greater attention. Raqqa, the first muhafiza to be (nearly) independent of the Syrian regime, is now controlled by Islamists—though with or without the approval of its inhabitants? Many questions remain unanswered about this incident. If the rumor is true that tribal authorities were ready for a change and facilitated the smooth nature of this takeover, one can’t help but wonder why local tribal leaders supported something like “Jabhat al-Wahdet al-Tahrir al-Islamiyya” as the new authority of their city, and install this “emir.” (“Emir” is a title of authority preferred by certain groups who believe in implementing an “Islamic state.”)</p> <p>This narrative is suspicious. The first striking oddity is the falling statue after take-over. It seemed quite normal at first—after all, we’ve seen countless such videos. But that was the funny part: we saw them during the opening months of the uprising. When have we seen them recently? In most cities that the rebels take over, the statues of regime figures tend to have disappear far in advance of the final takeover. Opposition activity precedes the takeover, when symbols of the regime are usually the first target and destroyed. How does a city where a statue of Hafez al-Assad has remained standing for two years suddenly fall without a fight? Furthermore, why does a tribal, predominantly Sunni city still have a standing statue of Hafez after two years?</p> <p>To those who know the city, al-Raqqa is an unusual. In Syria it is considered a social space characterized by open-mindedness. Syria’s most important folklore dance troop comes from Raqqa, and men and women dance together in the city’s dance festival. It is a city that produces many cultivated intellectuals, sports champions, and artists. Something is different about al-Raqqa: its muhafiza was one of the few that has remained calm during the last two years (on par with Sweida—yet it is Sunni). The tribal configuration of Raqqa have long been regime supporters. According to local lore, the particular relationship between the Sunni tribes of Raqqa and the regime can be explained by virtue of the held tradition that these tribes were Shi’i in origin. I don’t have the part of the story that explains how tribes originally Shi’i became Sunni, but the belief is that when the Alawi came to power, the Raqqan tribes “remembered their roots,” and a “natural” affinity has existed ever since. Whether or not this traditional knowledge can provide a satisfactory understanding for the close ties with the regime, the question remains: Why would tribes with a long history of being in the regime’s confidence now suddenly abandon it, especially considering that the retaliatory air strikes would be anticipated?</p> <p>If my Raqqan contact (a professional living in the city who belongs to one of the tribal bodies itself) is correct, they haven’t. Evidently, the tribes have NOT altered their position of support for the regime. Local citizens were taken by surprise and shocked by the abrupt takeover of the city. In other words, if this is true, then the Islamist rebels are a foreign, uninvited presence whose agenda runs contrary to the will of the residents. Furthermore, the city and tribes are apparently not capable of doing anything about it.</p> <p>No one seems to know anything about the mysterious “emir” heading this Islamist force. In the conquest video, did he really have trouble asserting that he was with the FSA and therefore switched to “Jabhat,” or were “FSA” the first words spontaneously out of his mouth, before coming back to the title of his Islamist group? Upon further viewing, it almost seems that FSA is what comes most naturally to him, and it takes effort to pronounce the Islamist affiliation. It’s hard to read and seems a bit suspicious. Ultimately, he distances himself from the FSA and identifies with Islam.</p> <p>Slightly more can be gleaned from Jabhat al-Wahdet al-Tahrir al-Islamiyya’s debut video, which can be seen here:<br/> <object width="530" height="298" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KGvlmWx1bz0?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><embed width="530" height="298" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/KGvlmWx1bz0?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"/></object></p> <p>In it they state that they are comprised of a number of small groups that have banded together to form the larger body of “Jabhat al-Wahdet al-Tahrir al-Islamiyya.” They state that their agenda is to attack the regime’s forces, protect public places, and support the Free Syrian Army. They also announce that they are establishing shari’a courts to mete out justice to those who err. They also make the vague statement: “we are going to judge others before they judge us.”</p> <p>The “emir” doesn’t seem readily visible in this video. The man seated to the right of the table, behind the row of crouched men, seems to resemble the mustached fighter seated with the row of men to the right of the couch with the emir and his two conquered officials in the post-takeover video.</p> <p>Some have wondered if the “emir” is not Syrian. This is unlikely, based on the accent. There are many Syrian “ethnicities” spread throughout Syria, and it is hard to place origin by mere appearance. He certainly does seem quite different from everyone else in the room, and it gives him the appearance of being “foreign,” at least to the rest of the bunch. He also doesn’t seem particularly charismatic, and one wonders how he was chosen to lead this front as “emir.” He and two other fighters with him (one by the door, one on the couch) have beards and mustaches, but not all the men in the room have beards. It’s not possible to say which of the men in the room were with the Jabhat group, and which were with the Muhafiz. The man introducing the clip seems eager to please.</p> <p>To the left of the “emir” is Suleiman Suleiman, the Head of the Ba’ath Party in Raqqa, claimed to be an Alawi. On the right is the Muhafiz of Raqqa, Hasan Jalali (Abu Wa’el). According to sources claiming to have known his history, he was a mulaazim in the army (lieutenant), later became the Mudiir Naahiya al-Nabak (Director of the District of Nabak), later a qiad ash-shurta (police chief), then the Mu’awin Wazir al-Dakhaliya (Assistant to the Minister of the Interior), before finally becoming the Muhafiz (Governor) of al-Raqqa. While Mudiir of the Naahiya of Nabak, he lived in Deir Atiyah, and according to local residents, he took a lot of money from people in the area. Regime personnel have always had their strategies to extract bribes from the citizenry, and he had his. Most people depend on motorcycles rather than cars in those communities, and these generally lack license plates. Supposedly he used this as a pretense to confiscate motorbikes, requiring the owner to pay rishwe before being able to take back the vehicle. Of course, stories abound among people excited to see the capture of an enemy about his former depravity, and none of this is confirmed.</p> <p>Still to be answered is how many men Jabhat al-Wahde has on the ground, and how they were physically able to pull off the rapid takeover. Also unclear is the exact extent of regime presence still in the muhafiza; the one regime base left should have around 3,000 men since it is classified as a liwa (brigade), but there may be less due to recent needs to deploy troops elsewhere. Additionally a military airport is still under regime control; unknown are the extent of its fortifications.</p> <p>Amidst all the questions, one thing is certain: The Ba’athists do look unhappy.</p> <p><strong>Two Years Ago</strong></p> <p>These events represent great change in Syria. A faction of the readership is saddened by the movement in this direction, and also feels that Syria Comment is not confronting this reality openly enough. To consider the orientation of Syria Comment toward these events, let’s return for a moment to the beginning of the conflict.</p> <p>While inside Syria at the beginning of the uprising, I wrote an article for Syria Comment called “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=9986&cp=all">Syria in Fragments: Divided Minds, Divided Lives,</a>” detailing new phenomena that I noticed, namely rifts of opinion that were forming between different groups of Syrians with whom I had daily contact. I was struck by how quickly this divide formed and how unable Syrians were to hear each other’s concerns across this divide. What became obvious was that sentiments regarding the regime and the uprising began to visibly polarize along confessional lines.</p> <p>The reader’s responses to this article were telling. Despite substantial praise, some readers attacked the article for “being sectarian” or for “promoting sectarianism.” One comment judged it as participating in “…Western Orientalist and Neo-Orientalist tendencies to divide people along ethnic and religious lines. Such an approach is profoundly racist.” Another reader invoked Edward Said to suggest that I was following an Orientalist penchant for superimposing artificial sectarian categories onto other societies—to define identity, I suppose, as I saw fit: “I am either a person of a sect that fights with other sects or I am nobody.”</p> <p>Rather than concealing such a strategic agenda, the article’s account of personal encounters was primarily edited material that I had extracted from my own journaling, as I tried to make sense of what was happening for myself in a Syria that was suddenly transforming remarkably from the one I had known. The motivation was to understand an undeniable pattern that became clearer each day with every individual, family, and community I visited: that though a number of Sunnis supported the regime, and a tiny sliver of Christians (and one or two Alawis) supported the opposition, most of those participating in the uprising were Sunni, and most members of religious minorities stood with the regime.</p> <p>The idea of my critics seemed to be that I would create sectarianism just by talking about it—that I could conjure up rifts where previously there was unity. And though the article had the aim of creating empathy for the minority communities that opposed the uprising, it was often members of those communities who found it so offensive. For anyone infused with Ba’athist ideology, vocally commenting on Syria’s milieu of diversity was a breach of sacrosanct convention (unless to affirm peaceful coexistence). “There are no Alawis or Sunnis in Syria—just Muslims,” Alawi young people would tell me in the first months of the uprising. Lovely thought, but the Sunnis didn’t agree. Those participating in the uprising also challenged my premise, claiming that Syria would be “one” against the regime. They consistently mentioned the few Christians (and the one Alawi they’d heard rumor of) who were participating in the dissent, and maintained that it was a struggle for the freedom and rights of all Syrians. They disliked any suggestion that the uprising would be “Sunni” in character, and the article—and others of its kind—became targets of abuse from those on both sides of the conflict.</p> <p>These reader’s reactions mirrored the very division inside Syria that the article was highlighting. As both sides tried to convince us that neither Syria nor the uprising were sectarian, several problems became apparent. While maintaining that there was no sectarianism in Syria, regime supporters ironically explained the uprising as an insidious sectarian current of hateful Salafism. Being simultaneously terrified of both Islamism and the regime, many members of minority communities were content to not understand the uprising, and to instead chorus Ba’thist clichés, trying to reinforce the groupthink of obedience, adopting the identity required of them, and waiting and hoping that the regime would quickly quell the “Islamist” disturbance that was not only fearsome for what it might have stood for, but which unsettled all by disturbing the balance of conformity and submission.</p> <p>As the terrified child of an abusive parent or the fearful member of an authoritarian cult who says, “Let’s all just do as Father wants,” many minority Syrians were distressed and angered when others broke with conformity to rock the boat. Their unquestioning devotion to the national figure of adulation has earned them the moniker minhebakjiin (those who participate in the cult surrounding government-placed billboards with the slogan “we love you” printed next to the president’s picture). (Some, with the clarity of age, would slow down and acknowledge their years of abhorring the regime. Their reason for the drastic shift to support it was: “We are not ready for democracy. We don’t even know what it means. This is not the right way or moment to create change in Syria.”)</p> <p>Since the unity of Syria was the religious mantra, any dissent had to be explained as a sectarian anomaly, a form of terrorism that must be propelled by religious extremism. This was a narrative of denial regarding the participation of ordinary Syrians in the uprising. To this day, the regime cannot simply acknowledge that there are Syrians unhappy with it. (This makes the regime’s recent overtures for dialogue perplexing; how can you dialogue with a party you don’t believe exists? What solution can you seek when you won’t admit that much of the population you ruled is fighting you?)</p> <p>On the other side, Sunni activists and rebels responded to concerns that a Syria without Bashar would resemble an Iraq without Saddam by singing such platitudes as: “Syria is not Iraq; Syrian culture is different from Iraqi culture; Syria is used to everyone living together in peace; the Christians are the original Syrians, no one will attack them or their churches.”</p> <p>Both sides of this argument have been proven wrong: those who maintained that Syria was not a sectarian place have had to admit that it is, often by observing rebel attacks on the civilians of their own communities; and those with the opposition who assured us that the uprising would not inflict harm on minority communities have had a unpleasant wake-up call as to the character of a good segment of the rebel fighting force. Two years later, the verbal violence among readers of this blog runs parallel to the killing on the ground in Syria. The frequent use of “rat” to describe one’s perceived opponent is reminiscent of the Hutu use of “cockroach” to describe Tutsis prior to the genocide. Let’s just say the comments section of Syria Comment isn’t a place I’d want my (imaginary) children to spend time.</p> <p><strong>The Early Warnings of Sectarianism</strong></p> <p>In the initial days of the Syrian uprising, during the adrenaline of the (at that point still inspiring) “Arab Spring,” many were searching (from the comfort of their own homes) for their next rush, and Syria seemed to hold a lot of promise. Amidst the stampede of appeals for “intervention,” Dr. Landis belonged to a minority of voices urging caution regarding the danger of a “sectarian conflict.” Though it was an unpopular position, Syria Comment remained one of the few entities opposing intervention (back when we wondered if intervention might truly be on the table), not out of any love for a corrupt, selfish, tyrannical regime, but out of a concern that without the proper kind of transition, the future could be worse.</p> <p>The original position of those in this camp was to point-out the obvious faults of the rebels and by demonstrating that they also had a dangerous capacity to do harm, to advocate leaving the regime alone, while still recognizing its abuses and not defending its actions. The fear was that the security vacuum in removing Assad would replay the events that ensued when Saddam was deposed, and the statements of Iraqis longing for the days when he provided security were a constant echo.</p> <p>Trying to provide a critical understanding of the conflict has often not engendered appreciation. Since the beginning, Syria Comment has been attacked by readers on both sides of this civil war, and accusations of “pro-Alawi supremacy” and “pro-intolerant Islamists” can be found together in response to the same post. The dilemma was predicting which of the two contenders would be the lesser evil in the long run, and it was felt that security in the now would be better than uncontrolled sectarian chaos. Looking back at the tremendous loss of life, many would maintain that this was the right position, but that the regime’s violence has surpassed even our worst expectations helps to explain why the discussion of Islamism’s problematic character has lately become muted.</p> <p>Even the staunchest critic of the opposition, who holds that rising Islamism will pose the gravest threat to the long term health of the country, is so dismayed by the tremendous loss of life in the short-term as regime brutality pounds countless towns into gravel, that he or she now sits counting the days until the regime falls. Over time, it has become more difficult to follow this line of criticizing the opposition and holding that the regime should be left in power, due to the extreme proportions of violence it uses. After two years, maintaining that “the alternative could be worse” began to frustrate the public, since: “what could be worse than pulverized towns?”</p> <p>And yet, all the predictions of sectarian hatred are coming to fruition: the Islamist presence is rising (in Raqqa’s case apparently against the popular will) and in many places it is demonstrating incredible intolerance for non-Sunnis. While the Islamist role in the immediacy of the conflict might not be grinding towns into rubble, when war-time ends, will it be better than the severe rule of militant nationalism?</p> <p><strong>The Sectarian Reality Now</strong></p> <p>A reader recently provided this video showing mujahidiin in Syria blowing up an Alawite Mazār (Arabic مزار) which is a Saint’s tomb, mausoleum or shrine. The Alawites traditionally do not build mosques, but visit saint’s shrines or “mazārs.” Watching it is almost more painful than the many videos of wounded people, because more than a physical attack on the body of a political rival, it represents a spiritual attack on the soul of what others consider most sacred.</p> <p><object width="530" height="398" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0PFowslfXm4?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><embed width="530" height="398" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/0PFowslfXm4?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"/></object></p> <p>Here is another video, showing Syrian rebels forcing a Shi’ite man to destroy a Shi’ite mosque—his own mosque: http://youtu.be/aX8KUUKSWgc</p> <p><object width="530" height="398" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aX8KUUKSWgc?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><embed width="530" height="398" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/aX8KUUKSWgc?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"/></object></p> <p><strong>The Christian District of Damascus</strong></p> <p>The Christian districts of Damascus now come under daily fire from Syrian rebels. Mortars are fired from Jobar, Qabun, and the area east of Zabladani. The targets are Qasaa’ and Bab Tuma. Within the past few weeks, multiple churches have been attakced. The Chaldean Orthodox church-building was hit by one such projectile, and another nearly-hit the Latin Catholic church. Also in February, two mortars were fired into the French hospital in Qasaa’. Christian-owned businesses in Qasaa’ and Christian homes around George Khuri park have all been hit by various projectiles. One homemade mortar damaged three houses in one shot, terrorizing the entire neighborhood. These attacks are not new; they’ve been occurring for some time. They are now increasing in frequency, however, and currently around two mortars per day are hitting Qassa’. This is in addition to bombings that have targeted Christian areas, such as the October 21st bombing in Bab Tuma that killed 20 people. In the provinces of Homs, Idlib, and Aleppo—regions lacking effective regime protection—numerous churches have already been destroyed.</p> <p>Rebels have attacked Christian villages, with broad-daylight killings in streets. Monasteries and places of pilgrimage have been bombed and hit with rockets. Each day al-Jazeera airs images of rebels in Jobar pushing toward ‘Abbassiyiin Square, depicted with heroic sensationalism, as if to boost morale and drive them on. On the other side of that front, Christians tremble like peasants behind a crumbling castle wall, hoping that Syrian troops will manage to keep out the advance. Considering recent vigilante justice on the part of rebels in Yarmouk (hanging Palestinians accused of collusion with the regime and executing police at point-blank range), their fear seems warranted.</p> <p>The Damascene Christians have formed some local militias to try to protect their areas, though they mostly do not carry weapons and are reluctant to display a public presence. They are trying to learn the lesson of the traditionally Druze suburb of Jeremana, where six local Druze patrolmen were attacked and killed. Jeremana was hit several times by car bombs, rockets, etc. When locals erected checkpoints, they effectively created visible targets, something that the Christians are now trying to avoid. The Christian ability to protect themselves is quite limited, however, especially in Qasaa’ which is most vulnerable, having no walls and being surrounded by streets on all sides. The places for launching the attacks are so obviously nearby that the opposition’s tired argument that “the regime is attacking its own supporters to keep them loyal through fear” is no longer convincing.</p> <p>Many people are terrified of the rise of Islamist power in Syria, and with regular assaults on minority civilian communities, it should not be difficult to understand why they side with the regime, even though many of them have despised the regime their entire lives. When I recently brought up the regime violence in Idlib and Aleppo with one of my Christian friends in Qasaa’, pressing him about the fact that the majority of the FSA are ordinary Syrians from ordinary families, he said, “Look, I know that. But we’re worried about the minority of extremists. 2% of the FSA can kill all the Christians in Syria.”</p> <p>The idea that sectarian tensions didn’t simmer from the beginning of the conflict—or even before—is absurd. A Christian friend climbed into a taxi in Jobar in the first few weeks of the uprising. The driver asked him what sect he belonged to. He replied, “I’m Syrian” (a typical Ba’thist response, favored by minorities who would prefer to be “Arab” or “Syrian” than feature their vulnerable label—but then that’s what the Ba’ath party is all about…). The driver replied, “Well, at least you’re not one of these Alawi who are oppressing us,” a typical attitude in the uprising’s moments of birth among—not all—but many. And while yes, in general the oft-touted statement that “all groups live together in peace in Syria” was true, anti-Christian sentiment is not new. Aleppine Armenians remember a time prior to Hafez al-Assad (and the brutal suppression of sectarianism so characteristic of Assad rule) when men in trucks with La ilah illa Allah painted on the sides terrorized Armenian neighborhoods with threats that they would kill the inhabitants, shouting the taunt “Ya Arman maskiin, tahat as-skiin!” (Poor Armenians, under the knife-blade!).</p> <p>When still in Syria, I remember asking a friend who lived in Harasta why he hadn’t brought his car when he came to meet me for lunch in Damascus. “Well, you know I am from Tartus,” he explained. “I can’t drive my car anymore. If people in my neighborhood see my Tartus license-plates, they will think I am Alawi and attack me.” (He was Isma’ili, not Alawi, but opposition fighters tend not to view Shi’i sects with much nuance; all have become subsumed under the label of “Shi’ism,” the detested villain.) A young Alawi man on the outskirts of Damascus had his throat cut by men posing as soldiers while he was walking home in his neighborhood one night. Such acts of sectarian animosity characterized even the earliest days of the uprising, prior to the regime’s large-scale assaults on communities of rebellion. They have continued up to recent attacks, such as the combination car-bombing/mortar assault on the lower middle-class Alawi neighborhood of Jebel Mezze last November. These attacks are often poorly covered by the media; while 11 were reported dead in the Jebel Mezze attack, locals allege that the death toll was closer to 60 with around 100 injured.</p> <p><strong>The Trajectory of Opinion</strong></p> <p>Due to his ability to humanize the community holding power in Syria, Dr. Landis has been attacked for “maintaining a pro-regime position.” The irony is that while the mainstream media is perhaps finally catching up to the sectarian problem, and just starting to talk about Islamism and violence against minorities, this is coinciding with greater reader complaints that Syria Comment is now ignoring Islamism and focusing primarily on regime abuses.</p> <p>The threat of sectarian violence and instability was high enough (for those who perceived it) to warrant maintaining a position against arming the opposition during the heavy assault on Homs in early 2012. At that time, when such an assault was still something new, those in favor of intervention would ask Dr. Landis with incredulity how he could still feel hesitant about supplying weapons or full-scale external intervention. In that period, thousands of Alawi, Christian, and neutral or pro-regime Sunni refugees fled the Hama and Homs areas for the Christian enclave of Al-Waadi. (Some were forcefully evicted by Syrian rebels; some friends in Homs reported that their neighbors, three elderly people living in the old city, were unable to travel due to their health. Rebels showed up, told them they needed their house for a military base, and expelled them onto the street in their pajamas, without allowing them to take any money or valuables from their home.)</p> <p>While the rebels and regime battled in Homs, armed militants from outlying Sunni villages invaded a mixed Sunni-Christian area at the southern end of al-Waadi. These self-proclaimed holy warriors erected makeshift checkpoints and began stopping vehicles (as the mukhabaraat were doing in Homs) as part of an ethnic hunt; the targets were any Alawi families who might be passing by. The insurgents were unsuccessful in their quest for Alawi blood because government forces came to the area and restored order. Several Christians were killed in the streets before the government could contain the renegade gang, however, and fear incited a second surge of refugees (who had already fled Homs) from the southern part of al-Waadi northward and deeper into its mountainous territory.</p> <p>Also during the Homs assault, Alawi civilians in the city became targets. I spoke in that period with one Alawi family whose home was in an Alawi area of Homs; in just a single day they counted 17 bombs launched into their neighborhood by rebels. This illustrated the uncomfortable paradox of Syria at that point: the forces of the regime cracked down violently on dissent, yet conversely they were the only source of protection and stability for most of the country. While the government was cracking down on Homs to crush resistance that threatened its sovereignty, it simultaneously intervened in areas like al-Waadi to maintain security. Countries spearheading the regime-change agenda, often as authoritarian as Syria’s dictatorship, called on Syria to cease its crackdown. (When Saudi Arabia voted to suspend Syria’s Arab League membership, it killed several of its own protestors at peaceful demonstrations in the same few-week period.) The regime knew that if it withdrew from Homs, the city would never again be under the authority of the Syrian state, and the country would fracture. Those on the outside again wondered which was the lesser evil: a desperate government willing to employ every measure against armed elements wanting to secede, or a vacuum of security in which sectarian violence could proliferate.</p> <p>As the war has expanded however, the regime as a source of security has shrunk in proportion to it as a source of threat. It does still provide security to minority communities in Damascus and other areas where it has control, but it is also a source of danger from which most Syrians have no security.</p> <p>Yesterday I spoke to a Sunni Syrian friend who recently found out that her fiancé (though not having participated in any demonstrations or resistance activity) was arrested by Syrian mukhabaraat while at his job teaching in a university. He was tortured to death in a detention center. Would the sectarian terrorism against minority civilians in the regime’s absence be worse than the current terrorism on the part of the regime against Syrians in oppositional territory? This is the enduring question, and will continue to be hotly debated. The answer depends on gaining an accurate sense of regime violence vs. violence of extremists within the opposition—something that we do not have and about which there is no consensus.</p> <p>In light of recent events, the positions of Dr. Landis and others who warned of sectarianism and fragmentation have proved durable. The rise of Islamist power, as well as the plentiful evidence of increasing anti-Shi’i/anti-Alawi violence have demonstrated that their original predictions have come to pass. But even though this camp has rightfully maintained that forcibly deposing the regime would spell a sectarian bloodbath, many who belong to it secretly want to see Assad fall, because we know how corrupt and cruel his faction is, we’re tired of the torture and violence, and we long to see things resolve and begin to move on, toward some kind of new reality. The takeover of Raqqa seems to confirm that Islamism will be a big part, if not the definition, of that new reality. That many are so ready for a change can explain why <em>Syria Comment</em> has seemed to lately focus primarily on regime abuses (they are abundant) and to have neglected sectarian violence and critical discussion of the opposition, including the new power in Raqqa, which for many readers represents the heartbreaking loss of “their” Syria, a Syria where religion did not figure into the foreground and where tolerance was strictly enforced.</p> <p><em>* Matthew Barber is a graduate student at the University of Chicago who was living in Syria during the first 6 months of the uprising and who has written for Syria Comment in the past.</em></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> Posted by Joshua at 9:00 pm | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004" title="Permanent link to “The Uprising and the New Syria: Islamists Rise in Raqqa while Damascene Christians Dodge Fire” By Matthew Barber">Permalink</a> | <a title="Print Article" target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004&print=true">Print</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004#comments" class="Comments are off for this post" title="Comment on “The Uprising and the New Syria: Islamists Rise in Raqqa while Damascene Christians Dodge Fire” By Matthew Barber">433 comments</a> <br>Categories: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=11" title="View all posts in Alawites" rel="category">Alawites</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=9" title="View all posts in Christianity" rel="category">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=121" title="View all posts in Islamism" rel="category">Islamism</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=120" title="View all posts in Matthew Barber" rel="category">Matthew Barber</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=8" title="View all posts in Religion and Ethnicity" rel="category">Religion and Ethnicity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=31" title="View all posts in Shiites" rel="category">Shiites</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=105" title="View all posts in Syria Revolution 2013" rel="category">Syria Revolution 2013</a>  Translate: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004&langpair=en%7Ces&hl=en&ie=UTF8">ES</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004&langpair=en%7Cfr&hl=en&ie=UTF8">FR</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004&langpair=en%7Car&hl=en&ie=UTF8">العربيه</a> <br/><div style="float:left;margin-top:9px;"><script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751js_/http://feeds.feedburner.com/~s/Syriacomment?i=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script></div> <div style="float:left;margin-top:9px;margin-left:5px;"> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joshualandis.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D18004&t=%22The%20Uprising%20and%20the%20New%20Syria%3A%20Islamists%20Rise%20in%20Raqqa%20while%20Damascene%20Christians%20Dodge%20Fire%22%20By%20Matthew%20Barber" id="facebook_share_both_18004" style="font-size:11px; 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Both describe how the city was conquered. The Islamic Front leader has trouble saying that he is part of the Free Syrian Army and quickly credits the conquest of Raqqa to the Islamic Front. He is given the title of “Amir” or Prince, which is a Jihadi term. The Baathists sitting in their blue blazers, look very old-school and unhappy. The difference in style and dress between the new revolutionary forces and the old authoritarian Baathists is readily apparent. The Baathists are older, well groomed, and white haired. They have all the hallmarks of functionaries who are used to authority. The fighters are young, sport beards and confident. The leader wears a turban – some believe his accent gives him away as a foreigner – but one friend writes: “the guy is Deiry [from Deir az-Zor] & everything about him is Deiry, except no mustache. ” There can be little doubt that we are witnessing a changing of the guard. The group the Emir mentions is Jabhat al-wahdet al-tahrir al-islamiyya. The Islamic Front of Unity and Liberation. I am told the militia was made up largely of local tribes and they used their connections to take the city with little fighting.<br/> <object width="530" height="298" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Weq3t6SJyfE?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><embed width="530" height="298" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/Weq3t6SJyfE?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"/></object></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6hFwEmgylJ4">Video of Raqqa victory of the Islamic Front and the tearing down of Hafez Assad’s statue</a></p> <p>About <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/https://exchange.ou.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=N0Vsrmk6b0aKIUGoaN2R__tIKjQX7s8IBNe7CkMLt3UCkR-Hp-6nHkMXysWLePxeWWyWVhuCOpY.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fr20.rs6.net%2ftn.jsp%3fe%3d001O_T7uVW95frHePzD5VyhIiYzDqmmZIQ9Cjg6rdKmAjZVmMpCs0EdJDx6CoDqYe6dPwZd5jdNF17CSqQoZUOAulVweH19LIfmpsfTNBqtwUDuOovTfdBVk-xP7rz7SO2mWqwZ7MtPpZGLCLu233u3QCFj0vTaLvye0ChvvPYwz5RpTJy8S-98RQ%3d%3d" target="_blank"> 400,000 people have left the country since January 1</a> writes<cite> Antonio Guterres for the Internatinoal Herald Tribune. </cite>He said, “Syria is spiraling towards full-scale disaster.” Additionally, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report Tuesday depicting the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/https://exchange.ou.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=N0Vsrmk6b0aKIUGoaN2R__tIKjQX7s8IBNe7CkMLt3UCkR-Hp-6nHkMXysWLePxeWWyWVhuCOpY.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fr20.rs6.net%2ftn.jsp%3fe%3d001O_T7uVW95foWdhROxzWh6Rr8Yohht9GuL2kgmZMKF-dkQ6op4JoXuyiP-EQHlO8UGgmTfb5ie81D36lgQOLrDySZUDCqc6_DJh6WECvYnPHuh19BXv91q9NNqPGIlpaMiJv0qrGfu66jHiESVni120Iut9-m6fcoF6Gg-ax-f-DkZcjxZ9D-Wz1YoMZF-ZTzJBw7mK-vcJ1ayIeRca9lYtdZoCezocctXJ2tEvWRyXvaaD2mp_7DQc6-Hz2NRL60" target="_blank"> collapse of Syria’s education system.</a> About one-fifth of the country’s schools have been damaged from fighting, while others are being used as shelters for civilians who have been displaced by the conflict. About 2 million people are estimated to be internally displaced. Schools holding classes are severely overcrowded, and many teachers have not been reporting to work.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/03/syria-schools-1-1024x724.png"><img class="alignnone" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/03/syria-schools-1-1024x724.png" width="430" height="304"/></a></p> <p>According to a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://mena2010wjp.org/wp-content/upload/2010/07/Buckner-Saba-EBS-3.2.pdf">2010 paper</a> sponsored by Stanford University, nearly 40 percent of Syrian youth ages 15 to 24 dropped out of school before the ninth grade. And many Syrian youth, particularly women, faced crippling unemployment rates.</p> <p>Major offensive in Daraa Governorate and area near Golan</p> <p>The area around Daraa near the Golan Heights is being conquered by Free Syria Forces. While most attention is being paid to the north of Syria, a major push by militias in the south is unfolding. Videos by this same guy depicting conquests in the governorate of Deraa and interviews with fighters have been posted.</p> <p>Here is a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203435207243394670848.0004d7450d4bfedc19cb3&msa=0&ll=32.773131,35.840836&spn=0.099881,0.181789">map of the region in question</a></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a title="Syria Lost | تحرير حاجز الخيمة في درعا على حدود الجولان المحتل" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/34317/" target="_blank">تحرير حاجز الخيمة في درعا على حدود الجولان المحتل</a></p> <div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"><b>Al Jeeza: </b><a title="Syria Lost | الجيزة معارك تحرير حوران تحرير حاجز الساحة" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/28245/" target="_blank">http://syrialost.com/video/28245/</a></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;">Another checpoint and gives some details about the recent operations:<a title="Syria Lost | الجيزة معارك تحرير حوران تحرير حاجز الحنتور" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/28244/" target="_blank">http://syrialost.com/video/28244/</a></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"><b>Al Msayfra: </b>army base</div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"><a title="Syria Lost | سجود الشكر لله بعد التحرير" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/28322/" target="_blank">http://syrialost.com/video/28322/</a></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"><a title="Syria Lost | لحظة تفجير حاجز مدرسة اليرموك في المسيفرة" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/28323/" target="_blank">http://syrialost.com/video/28323/</a></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;">a checkpoint: <a title="Syria Lost | معارك تحرير حوران تحرير حاجز باسل في المسيفرة" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/28247/" target="_blank">http://syrialost.com/video/28247/</a></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"><b>Al Sahwa: </b>army base</div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"><a title="Syria Lost | صنم الأسد تحت أقدام الجيش الحر" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/28336/" target="_blank">http://syrialost.com/video/28336/</a></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"><b>Zaynoun: </b><a title="Syria Lost | زيزون المحررة مواقف رهيبةمن داخل السرية المحررة" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://syrialost.com/video/28350/" target="_blank">http://syrialost.com/video/28350/</a></div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;"></div> <div><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Syria Rebel Group Says It’s Holding UN Observer Troops Hostage</strong><br/> 2013-03-06 By Donna Abu-Nasr<br/> * Rebel fighters demand withdrawal of Syrian army from<br/> outskirts of village of Jamla: </span></div> <div></div> <div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2013/3/6/syria-live-coverage-more-than-1-million-refugees.html#1655">Islamist Group Captures UN Convoy at Golan<strong>.</strong></a> – Enduring America</div> <div> <blockquote><p>Yesterday we posted video, reportedly taken in Daraa province, that showed the Islamist “Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2013/3/5/syria-live-coverage-insurgents-capture-city-of-al-raqqa.html#2100" target="_blank">executing a group of prisoners of war</a>. Today, the group has released a video of fighters standing in front of a convoy of UN trucks. They say they have captured the UN workers and they are demanding that Bashar al Assad’s forces leave the area.</p></blockquote> </div> </div> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/qatar-lectures-kerry-on-arming-syrian-rebels/2013/03/05/f747704c-85bd-11e2-a80b-3edc779b676f_story.html">Qatar lectures Kerry on arming Syrian rebels</a><br/> By Anne Gearan</p> <blockquote><p>DOHA, Qatar — Qatar, which is widely believed to be providing weapons to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, gently lectured visiting Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Tuesday about American reluctance to get more involved in the two-year civil war that has killed more than 70,000.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/03/05/syria_s_house_of_cards?page=full">Syria’s House of Cards<br/> BY AMAL HANANO | MARCH 6, 2013</a></p> <blockquote><p>After two years, 1 million refugees, and more than 70,000 dead, some Syrians — and one American president — are still looking to protect their own interests rather than save a country…. Burn the cards. It’s time to go all in.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://news.yahoo.com/low-ammo-rebels-drive-northern-syria-slows-163345483.html">Low on ammo, rebels drive in northern Syria slows</a><br/> By STEVE NEGUS | Associated Press</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/05/184912/iraqis-call-for-us-military-aid.html">Iraqis Call for U.S. Military Aid After Nusra-Linked Assault on ‘Innocent Syrians’</a> <cite> By Roy Gutman | McClatchy Newspapers </cite></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/201335182832464199.html">Kerry Confident Arms Reaching Syria Moderates</a> <cite> Al Jazeera </cite></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2013/Mar-06/208985-western-outsourcing-of-regime-change-in-syria-may-mean-chaos.ashx#axzz2MlpyXT00">Western Outsourcing of Regime Change in Syria May Mean Chaos</a> <cite> By Moritz Pieper and Octavius Pinkard | The Daily Star </cite></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.aawsat.net/2013/03/article55294885">Al-Qaeda’s Syrian Revival, a Lesson for Egypt</a> <cite> By Hamad Al-Majid | Asharq Alawsat </cite></p> <div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/06/syria-opposition-assistance-britain">Syria opposition to receive more assistance from Britain,</a>The Guardian</div> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/world/middleeast/kerry-says-administration-backs-mideast-efforts-to-arm-syrian-rebels.html?_r=0">Kerry Says Administration Backs Mideast Efforts to Arm Syrian Rebels</a><br/> By MICHAEL R. GORDON</p> <blockquote><p>(New York Times) — DOHA, Qatar — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that the Obama administration supports efforts by Middle Eastern nations to send arms to the opposition in Syria, and had had discussions with foreign officials to make sure those arms go to moderate forces rather than extremists.</p> <p>Mr. Kerry’s comments were the most direct public affirmation to date that the Obama administration was supporting efforts to arm the Syrian resistance, provided that the arms are sent by other nations and that care is taken to direct them to factions the United States supports.</p> <p>His comments also signal a more transparent effort to coordinate military assistance for the opponents of President Bashar al-Assad. …. “There is a change in the international position and the American position,” Sheik Hamad said. “They are talking about weapons. We hope that this had happened some time ago because this would have maybe lessened the death and destruction that took place in Syria.”</p> <p>A major question is whether these efforts will be enough to turn the tide against Mr. Assad.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/as-syrian-refugee-population-nears-1-million-relief-agencies-cannot-keep-up/2013/03/04/1f0bf5f2-80f6-11e2-a350-49866afab584_story.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads">As Syrian refugee population nears 1 million, relief agencies cannot keep up</a></p> <blockquote><p>The spread of makeshift aluminum shelters erected by Syrians now outpaces new rows of U.N. canvas tents here in chilly northern Jordan, home to one of the world’s fastest-growing refugee camps. A vast black-market bazaar has sprouted from the desert sand, where enterprising refugees hawk bottled water and other basic necessities that most fellow camp residents can’t afford.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/130303/syria-terrorist-terrorism-al-nusra-suqur-al-sham-rebels-bashar-al-assad">In Syria, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter</a><br/> - Peter Gelling and Tracey Shelton</p> <blockquote><p>It’s a vital distinction that, as evidenced by US reluctance to intervene in Syria, could influence the outcome of the conflict.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/syria-crisis-israel_n_2806292.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics">Syria Crisis: U.S., Israel Leaders Worry About Who Follows Assad </a><br/> by Joshua Hersh</p> <blockquote><p>WASHINGTON — In a pair of speeches at the annual gathering of a major pro-Israel group, top U.S. and Israeli leaders expressed deep concerns about the civil war in Syria and indicated they worried as much about the situation that might emerge after the removal of the current regime as they have about the regime itself.</p> <p>“The United States and Israel have a shared interest in Syria,” said Vice President Joe Biden, during a generally warm speech before some 13,000 attendees at the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). “[President Bashar] Assad has been engaging in the brutal murder of his own citizens, and our position in that regard cannot be clearer: Assad must go.”</p> <p>But Biden continued, “We are not signing up for one murderous gang replacing another in Damascus.”…</p> <p>“The danger of these weapons falling into the hands of these terrorist groups is very real,” Netanyahu warned. “Terrorist groups like Hezbollah and al Qaeda are trying to seize these weapons as we speak — they’re like a pack of hyenas trying to feed off a carcass, and the carcass isn’t dead yet.”</p> <p>IDLIB, Syria — It’s a vital distinction that, as evidenced by US reluctance to intervene in Syria, could influence the outcome of the conflict. So which is it? Are they really terrorists? In exclusive interviews inside Syria with several senior Islamist rebel commanders, a complicated picture emerged.</p> <p>…“International backing gets messy if you can’t identify an opposition you can trust to carry on international interests,” Wagner said. “Yes, Assad is not a good guy, but the alternative may be worse. Better to watch what you ask for.”Western counterterrorism agencies also worry about the training men like Yousef Topprakaya — an Australian bricklayer who joined the Syrian uprising — may be receiving on Syria’s front lines.<br/> “Like a pack of hyenas feeding off a carcass and that carcass is not finished yet. ”</p> <p>After 27 days of pleading, the “valve was opened,” Idris told TIME in an interview at a hotel in Antakya, southern Turkey. (The command is based inside Syria, albeit close to the Turkish border.) He remains at the mercy of suppliers he declined to name but who are widely known — mainly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with the blessing of Turkey and Western states. “Our brothers in the field make demands as if I have any influence over our suppliers,” Idris said. “I can’t force them to give us ammunition. If they say ‘I don’t want to give you anything,’ what can I do?”</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://world.time.com/2013/03/05/syrias-many-militias-inside-the-chaos-of-the-anti-assad-rebellion/#ixzz2MlXfhXEs">Syria’s Many Militias: Inside the Chaos of the Anti-Assad Rebellion</a><br/> By Rania AbouzeidMarch 05, 2013</p> <p>The men on the ground aren’t necessarily waiting for Idris’s supplies — they have become adept at scrounging for weapons and ammunition, buying them from the regional black market or from corrupt regime soldiers, capturing war booty and making their own armaments, rockets and improvised explosives devices. Almost two years of a grinding civil war have necessitated such skills.</p> <p>But if the Military Command is to successfully stitch together the patchwork of factions and militias that make up the rebellion, it needs some form of leverage — and the funneling of weapons and ammunition into Syria is supposed to be its modus operandi. Although there are reports of new batches of armaments being shuttled mainly via Syria’s southern border with Jordan, as well as its northern one with Turkey, Idris says it’s all not enough: “We need between 500-600 tons of ammunition a week. We get between 30-40 tons. So you do the calculations.”</p> <p>So how will the Military Command succeed in imposing its authority when all of its various predecessors largely failed, and Islamist groups outside the Free Syrian Army (which itself is just a loose umbrella term) are growing in stature and influence?</p> <p>It’s not just about providing material support—the promise of prestige plays a part too. Although there are Islamist Jihadi units of various shades within the Free Syrian Army, other large independent groups like the Salafi Ahrar al-Sham brigades and Jabhat al-Nusra offer the strongest Islamist units within rebel ranks. The U.S considers Jabhat a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaeda although the group denies this and is widely respected by other rebels for its fighting prowess. Some FSA units are joining the Ahrar and Jabhat, not just because their networks of support seem to be more consistent, but because it has come to be perceived as a kind of graduation or a promotion, an acknowledgement that a particular FSA unit or an individual fighter is good enough to become a part of the most respected, most disciplined rank of fighters. It doesn’t hurt that the Ahrar and Jabhat turn fighters away, often because they aren’t considered pious enough, making acceptance into the groups a form of achievement…..</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2013/Mar-02/208536-us-policy-on-syria-is-self-defeating.ashx#axzz2MZh4JOsm">U.S. policy on Syria is self-defeating</a><br/> March 02, 2013 12:50 AM<br/> By Rami G. Khouri<br/> The Daily Star</p> <blockquote><p>The U.S. is reluctant to offer direct military aid to the rebels because it fears weapons might fall into the hands of groups the United States does not like, especially Islamist groups such as the <a>Nusra Front</a> or smaller groups with alleged affinities to Al-Qaeda that have grown rapidly in the past year and now spearhead military advances in parts of Syria. Presumably, that is because the U.S. does not want to arm Islamist or other unfriendly groups who might agitate against the U.S. or its allies, such as Israel, <a>Saudi Arabia</a> or Jordan.</p> <p>That sounds like a reasonable policy, but in reality it is a total failure. In fact it brings about precisely that outcome that <a>Washington</a> says it wishes to avoid – the rise to prominence, or even dominance, of those Islamist groups the U.S. dislikes. So as the U.S. speaks boldly about bringing down the Assad regime, but does little on the critical military front to help bring this about, Islamist and other rebel groups whom the U.S. dislikes have received plenty of arms and made sustained gains militarily. They have therefore won the confidence of ordinary people across the land, enhancing the likelihood that these groups will dominate the post-Assad system of power.</p> <p>The wiser policy for the U.S. and other foreign states that oppose the Assad regime is simply to provide plenty of arms and other forms of military assistance (such as satellite intelligence) to groups it is already dealing with, such as the Syrian National Coalition, the <a>Syrian National Council</a> or the Free Syrian Army. If some weapons slip through to other groups, so be it – because withholding U.S. arms is not slowing down the acquisition of weapons by the Islamist and other groups the U.S. dislikes. American aid to the mainstream rebels, in turn, will enhance the likelihood of these groups dominating the post-Assad governance system, and of cordial ties between the U.S. and the new government that will arise in Damascus.</p> <p>American officials have been naive in withholding arms and criticizing rising Syrian Islamists, while expecting everything to work out for the best in the end. In reality, Washington may wake up to a situation in a post-Assad <a>Syria</a> in which it is ignored, criticized and marginalized for not helping the rebels when they urgently needed military help. This may facilitate the dominance over Syria of Islamists and other “bad guys” in American eyes. It is hard to think of a more simplistic, ineffective and counterproductive policy than the one the U.S. is now pursuing.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://mondediplo.com/2013/03/02iraq">The new normal in Baghdad</a><br/> by Peter Harling</p> <blockquote><p>After violence that shattered hundreds of thousands of lives and left nearly everyone with a tragic story to tell, life in Iraq has settled into a strange normality — with no discernible direction or clear future. “How do you make sense of the last ten years?” said a novelist, who is trying [...]</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3503/s/293cae7e/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Cnews0Cworld0Cmiddle0Eeast0Cthe0Esunni0Erise0Eagain0Euprising0Ein0Esyria0Eemboldens0Eiraqs0Eminority0Ecommunity0E85216650Bhtml/story01.htm">Independent: The Sunni rise again: Uprising in Syria emboldens Iraq’s minority community</a><br/> 2013-03-05</p> <blockquote><p>“Iraq or Maliki! Iraq or Maliki!” shout Sunni Arab demonstrators as they block roads in western Iraq in protest against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and discrimination against their community. Demonstrations by Sunni, in their tens of …</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://beta.syriadeeply.org/2013/03/michel-kilo-negotiated-tenuous-truce-ras-al-ayn/#.UTaUZ_a9LCS">How Michel Kilo Negotiated a Tenuous Truce in Ras Al Ayn</a> By Omar Hossino</p> <blockquote><p>Kurdish and Arab militias waged a bittkilled nearly 300 people. It took a diverse group of men and women, Kurds and Arabs, Alawites, Sunnis, Christians, tribal leaders and urbanites to broker Feb. 17’s tenuous peace.</p> <p>“We tried to have all sects represented,” said Ata Kaml Ata, a member of the Committee for the Protection of the Civil Peace and Revolution, a new group formed by Kilo…..“Our next priority is in Houran [as the southern plains of Daraa are known], regarding the kidnapped people between Houran and Swaida,” said committee member Ata.er battle for three months in the northern city of Ras Al Ayn, in Hassakeh province. Now, they’ve reached a truce that has managed to last into a third week, marking an early success for a nascent group of peacekeepers led by famed Christian dissident Michel Kilo.</p> <p>Syria’s northern towns and villages, with their complex ethnic and religious divisions, are a tinderbox for internecine fighting. They contain fault lines between ethnic groups, Kurds and Arabs, and among competing forces within each group — battle lines that could trigger a disintegration of the Syrian state. Ras Al Ayn is a microcosm of them, arguably the most complex town in the region. The months of fighting in Ras Al Ayn</p></blockquote> <p><strong>Barack Obama, Parochial Leader for Parochial Nation: Fouad Ajami</strong><br/> 2013-03-04<br/> By Fouad Ajami</p> <blockquote><p>March 5 (Bloomberg) — It wasn’t Barack Obama’s doing — at least not fully. The crowds in Paris and Berlin, and the Muslims in Cairo and Karachi, eager to be done with President George W. Bush, took the new standard-bearer of American power as one of their own, a cosmopolitan man keen to break with the embattled certitude of the Bush years.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=3cb8145d-d792-cc03-e287-dd4eaa61a0d3">STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON SYRIA</a> March 5, 2013 Washington, D.C. </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSBRE92417V20130305">Reuters.com – U.S. efforts on Iran not working, Syria planning underway</a>: Mattis</p> <blockquote><p>This service is not intended to encourage spam. The details provided by your colleague have been used for the sole purpose of facilitating this email communication and have not been retained by Thomson Reuters. Your personal details have not been added to any database or mailing list.</p> <p>If you would like to receive news articles delivered to your email address, plea</p></blockquote> </div> <div class="post-meta"> Posted by Joshua at 11:08 am | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17950" title="Permanent link to Capture of Raqqa – Daraa Offensive – Schooling Crisis – Kerry Supportive">Permalink</a> | <a title="Print Article" target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17950&print=true">Print</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17950#comments" class="Comments are off for this post" title="Comment on Capture of Raqqa – Daraa Offensive – Schooling Crisis – Kerry Supportive">683 comments</a> <br>Categories: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?cat=105" title="View all posts in 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cellspacing="3" width="100%"> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <img style="vertical-align: middle;" alt="Subscribe by Email" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/wp-content/themes/sc-v4/images/envelope.png" border="0"/> <a title="Subscribe by Email" target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=502389"> Subscribe by email </a> </td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2"> <h4 style="margin-top:5px;">AUTHOR:</h4> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a class="none" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.ou.edu/content/cis/ias/faculty/joshua-landis.html" title="Joshua Landis Home"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751im_/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/wp-content/themes/sc-v4/images/landis2.jpg" border="0"/> </a> </td> <td style="line-height:130%"> <p style="margin-top:0px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.ou.edu/content/cis/ias/faculty/joshua-landis.html" style="font-weight:bold">Joshua Landis</a></p> Director: Center <br/>for Middle East Studies <br/>and Associate Professor, <br/>University of Oklahoma <br/>405-819-7955 <br/><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/mailto:landis@ou.edu"> landis@ou.edu </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p style="padding-top:5px">Guest Author: Ehsani - Syrian-American Banker: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/mailto:ehsani22@mail.com">ehsani22@mail.com</a></p> <p style="padding-top:5px">Guest Author: Aron Lund - Swedish Analyst: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/mailto:aron.lund.syria@gmail.com">aron.lund.syria@gmail.com</a></p> <p style="padding-top:5px">Moderation:</p> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" align="center" cellspacing="3" width="100%"> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="center"> </td> </tr> </table> <ul> <li style="margin-top:20px;"> <h2>Recent Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death">al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004" title="“The Uprising and the New Syria: Islamists Rise in Raqqa while Damascene Christians Dodge Fire” By Matthew Barber">“The Uprising and the New Syria: Islamists Rise in Raqqa while Damascene Christians Dodge Fire” By Matthew Barber</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17950" title="Capture of Raqqa – Daraa Offensive – Schooling Crisis – Kerry Supportive">Capture of Raqqa – Daraa Offensive – Schooling Crisis – Kerry Supportive</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17922" title="Raqqa Falls – (4 March 2013) Assad’s Interview with Hala Jaber">Raqqa Falls – (4 March 2013) Assad’s Interview with Hala Jaber</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17917" title="Why the US is Reluctant to Support the Syrian Revolution (in Arabic)">Why the US is Reluctant to Support the Syrian Revolution (in Arabic)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17889" title="News Round Up (1 March 2013)">News Round Up (1 March 2013)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17835" title="Kerry at a Crossroads on Syria – Sending Mixed Signals">Kerry at a Crossroads on Syria – Sending Mixed Signals</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17814" title="Debate Over Death and Suffering in Syria; Rebel Unity Efforts">Debate Over Death and Suffering in Syria; Rebel Unity Efforts</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17756" title="News Round Up (18 Feb 2013)">News Round Up (18 Feb 2013)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=17770" title="10 Anti-tank Missiles Supplied to Military Council for Aleppo Fight">10 Anti-tank Missiles Supplied to Military Council for Aleppo Fight</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><h2>Recent Comments</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354622" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Juergen</a>: Great speech by Omar Offendum at the Nobel peace price forum in Minneapolis/ St. Pauls http://www.livestream.com/n...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354621" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Juergen</a>: How the Muslim Brotherhood Hijacked Syria’s Revolution The shadowy Islamist group that was all but destroyed in the 1980s...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354620" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Juergen</a>: remarks on the Dan Snow BBC feature on Syrian history “I watched Dan Snow’s documentary ‘A History of Syria’ (BBC Two, 11...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354619" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Juergen</a>: The new Amal Hanano article: The Syrian schoolboys who sparked a revolution “On March 20 last year, an intelligence...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354618" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">MarigoldRan</a>: It’s the general opinion of pretty much everyone on this blog that you’re retarded. I’ve already...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354617" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">revenire</a>: Observer I know you well enough by now to know you are a little drama queen who likes to give big speeches how you are going to...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354616" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Syrian Atheist Against Dictatorships</a>: Syria should marry her rapist, keep quiet and carry on as if nothing has happened – just so...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354615" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Syrian Atheist Against Dictatorships</a>: الفيديو-انتهى،-المجزرة-مستمرة على المرء، قبل مشاهدة الفيديو، اختيار الحقبة الزمنية التي ينتمي إليها...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354614" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Ghufran</a>: This is a war financed by GCC money and fueled by Syrian blood. Other factors like Iran and Russia play a role similar to turkey...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354613" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Observer</a>: Rev I drink the SANA and MANAR and MAYADEEN AND ALALAM AND RT ARABIC Kool Aid every morning when I wake up and I also love to...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18054#comment-354612" title="al-Nusra, al-Raqqa, Calls for Jihad, River of Death, March 14, 2013">Observer</a>: I am sorry to post the full article but it is essential reading. In essence it shows that the interests of Israel were...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18004#comment-354610" title="“The Uprising and the New Syria: Islamists Rise in Raqqa while Damascene Christians Dodge Fire” By Matthew Barber, March 10, 2013">MarigoldRan</a>: The retard’s being retarded again. What a retard. Most regime supporters have no life or jobs. They’re...</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://joshualandis.com/blog/?page_id=1517">View more recent comments ...</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <h2>Current Archives</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?m=201303" title="March 2013">March 2013</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?m=201302" title="February 2013">February 2013</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?m=201301" title="January 2013">January 2013</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?m=201212" title="December 2012">December 2012</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?m=201211" title="November 2012">November 2012</a></li> <li><a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_08_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Aug</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_07_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">July</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_06_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">June</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_05_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">May</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_04_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">April</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_03_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Mar</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_02_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Feb</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2006_01_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Jan</a> </li> <li>2005: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_12_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Dec</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_11_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Nov</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_10_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Oct</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_09_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Sept</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_08_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Aug</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_07_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">July</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_06_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">June</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_05_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">May</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_04_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">April</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_03_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Mar</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_02_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Feb</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2005_01_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Jan</a> </li> <li>2004: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2004_12_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Dec</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2004_11_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Nov</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2004_10_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Oct</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072751/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/bloggerarchive/2004_09_01_faculty-staff_archive.htm">Sept</a> <a 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