Civil War

A Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad flies past before firing missiles at Erbeen near Damascus January 26, 2013, in this picture provided by Shaam News Network. Picture taken January 26, 2013. REUTERS-Karm Seif-Shaam News Network-Handout (Photo: Reuters) - Russia, a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, will not permit no-fly zones to be imposed over Syria, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Monday.

“I think we fundamentally will not allow this scenario,” Lukashevich told a news briefing, adding that calls for a no-fly zone showed disrespect for international law.

Lukashevich spoke before planned talks between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a G8 summit in Northern Ireland which were expected to focus on the conflict in Syria that has killed at least 93,000 people.

Russia and the United States are trying to bring representatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his foes to the negotiating table, but Moscow has criticized U.S. plans to arm rebel forces and to consider imposing a no-fly zone.

“All these maneuvers about no-fly zones and humanitarian corridors are a direct consequence of a lack of respect for international law,” Lukashevich said.

He said Russia did not want a scenario in Syria that resembled the events in Libya after the imposition of a no-fly zone which enabled NATO aircraft to help rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

This is a copy of the full article provided by Reuters

Turkish government says it may use army to end protests

Published by Perfect Storm on June 17, 2013

(Photo: Wikipedia) The Turkish government has said it could use the army to end nearly three weeks of unrest by protesters in Istanbul and other cities. The government would use “all its powers” and the armed forces if necessary, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on state-run television. It is the first time the Islamist-rooted ruling party has raised the… Read more →

Thomas Drake, who was prosecuted for allegedly disclosing National Security Agency secrets years before Edward Snowden surfaced, says the U.S. government has an “industrial-scale” surveillance system that “the Stasi in East German would have drooled over.” Drake speaks with Reuters defense correspondent Andrea Shalal-Esa.

A look at the NSA’s Dark Star Data Center.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton discusses the Obama administration and implications of the United States signing the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty.

June 6 – Syrian rebels reportedly capture a U.N.-manned border crossing in the Golan Heights amid fierce fighting across the region.

AnaIysis: Israel could swoop on S-300 missiles in Syria, but with risks

Published by Perfect Storm on May 30, 2013

(Photo: Wikipedia) (Reuters) - Israel could overcome advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles if they were deployed in Syriabut any strikes on the system would be difficult and risk alienating its supplier, Russia. Israel has pledged to take preventive action, seeing a future Syrian S-300 as a “game-changing” threat to its own air space as well as to the relative free rein with which it now overflies… Read more →

Russia disclosed that it will provide Syria with sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles

Published by Perfect Storm on May 28, 2013

Fears are growing of a foreign-fed arms race in Syria as the European Union, driven by Britain and France, decided to allow weapons to be sold to the rebels, and Russia disclosed that it will provide Syria with sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles. Either development would significantly raise the firepower in the two-year civil war has already killed more than 70,000 people… Read more →

(Photo: AFP)

AFP Photo / Dimitar Dilkoff

A US Senate committee had passed a bill that would allow, if signed for the Obama administration to supply arms to Syrian opposition — a move that could threaten the entire region if these weapons end up in terrorist cells operating on the ground.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 15-3 vote showed bipartisan support among US politicians for arming the rebels.

It remains uncertain if the full Senate will vote on the legislation that calls to “provide defense articles, defense services, and military training” directly to the opposition on the ground Syria who “have been properly and fully vetted and share common values and interests with the United States.”

“I don’t think that this resolution, this bill will gain traction in the House of Representatives, and if it does we will have to wait and see if Mr. Obama signs this bill,” historian Gerald Horne told RT.

Horne believes that the Israeli lobby in Washington might sway US politicians including President Obama.

“The Israeli lobby in particular has been quite energetic and quite active in regard of lobbying for aid to the rebels, which is quite curious since if these rebels come to power, I dare say that Israel will have many sleepless nights,” Horne says.

The language of the proposed legislature is vague but it suggests the sale of small arms but specifies that “no anti-aircraft defensive systems” would be provided.

Despite fear that sending arms to the rebels might backfire if al-Qaeda linked cells get a hold of them, US lawmakers are adamant that weapons will be supplied to those groups “committed to rejecting terrorism and extremist ideologies.”

Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky has voted against the bill, warning “You will be funding today the allies of al Qaeda,” Paul said adding “It is an irony you cannot overcome,” quotes the Washington Times.

New Jersey democrat and co-author of the bill, Senator Robert Menenedez addressed such concerns and stressed that the proposed bill has in place a “tough vetting mechanism” to prevent terrorist from obtaining US arms. “Vital national interests are at stake and we cannot watch from the sidelines,”Menenedez concluded.

In the meantime, US Secretary of State John Kerry is on a mission to Jordan to meet with representatives from 11 nations, as part of a US-Russian roadmap to end Syria’s violence.

If the bill is to be adopted it Russia in the past has argued that arming the rebels would contradict international law.

RT has the full article

Poll shows 29 percent of voters think ‘armed revolution’ might be needed

Published by Perfect Storm on May 3, 2013

Picture: Wikipedia. We knew distrust of government was high. But a new poll shows that suspicion reaching new levels. According to a survey from Fairleigh Dickinson University, nearly a third of registered voters — 29 percent — believe an “armed revolution” might be necessary in the next few years in order to protect liberties. The poll from the university’s PublicMind… Read more →