Syria threatening dissidents around the globe

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Assad regime has been threatening (and worse) Syrian dissidents even outside Syria (Hat Tip: Weekly Standard). Syrian embassy staffers are tracking and photographing antiregime protesters and sending reports back home, Syrian activists and U.S. officials say. Syrian diplomats, including the ambassador to the U.S., have fanned out to Arab diaspora

Hamas between a rock and a hard place

The Syrian uprising has left Hamas between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, Syrians who claim 'Palestinian' roots have suffered along with the rest of Syria during Assad's crackdown. On the other hand, most of Hamas' leadership lives in Damascus. What's a terror organization to do? Syria's crackdown on government opponents has deeply embarrassed Hamas, which is anxious not to anger its

UN: Assad says Syrian 'police actions' have stopped

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday that military and 'police' operations against protesters in Syria have stopped. In a phone call with Assad on Wednesday, Ban "expressed alarm at the latest reports of continued widespread violations of human rights and excessive use of force by Syrian security forces against civilians across Syria, including in

They can't stop blaming Israel

Here's a cartoon that appeared in the 'Palestinian' daily al-Quds:

The caption reads: 'The Al-Raml [Refugee Camp] in Latakia [Syria]': 'We Thought Those Were Israeli Warships' Israelis don't fire on unarmed civilians like that.

Al-Assad stadium in Latakia

Above is a picture of al-Assad Stadium in Latakia, where thousands of opponents of Bashar al-Assad's government are currently being detained.

'Palestinian refugee camp' attacked in Latakia, Obama still won't call for Assad's overthrow

Arab countries and 'Palestinians' are furious after Syrian Naval forces shelled a 'Palestinian refugee camp' in the Syrian port of Latakia. But the United States says that it cannot confirm the shelling, and American President Barack Hussein Obama still will not call for Bashar al-Assad to step down. Syria came under sharp Arab and international condemnation on Monday after activists said

Syria rejects Spanish peace plan, Turkey threatening Assad

Syria sent a special envoy to Syria last month to try to convince Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to accept a peace plan. The plan would have included a grant of asylum for Assad and his family in Spain. Assad turned it down. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero sent Bernardino Leon, who was at the time one of his senior aides, to Damascus in July "to propose a transition plan for

Syrian navy fires on demonstrators in Lattakia

Off the coast of the Syrian port city of Lattakia on Sunday, the Syrian navy fired upon demonstrators against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Let's go to the videotape.



I can't ever recall a navy being used to fire upon civilians. But I'd guess it's quite effective. The people doing the firing don't see the victims.

Can Assad be forced out?

Here's an interesting take from Paul Pillar that might explain why the Obama administration has not called for throwing out Bashar al-Assad.Even if regime change is the goal, another requirement to make meaningful any discussion of sanctions—or use of any other policy tool—is some specificity about how the current regime will go. Regime change encompasses a very wide range of scenarios, after

Turkey preparing for war with Syria?

There are several ways one could take this article, but the bottom line is that Turkey believes that it will need troops to handle some sort of confrontation with Syria in the foreseeable future, whether as part of NATO or to protect refugees from Syria, or for some other reason. In anticipation of what is expected to be a massive influx of Syrian refugees, Turkey has taken extraordinary measures

WaPo demands that Obama lead or something

The Washington Post (no, you won't see this from the New York Times) is demanding that the Obama administration step up and lead the charge to get Bashar al-Assad to stop murdering his own people and quit. It is therefore worrying that the international response, though improving, remains inconsistent. Turkey is the leading example: Its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has condemned Mr.

US slaps sanctions on Syria, Assad laughs

As Bashar al-Assad's army killed 15 more Syrians on Wednesday, the United States sanctioned the Syrian dictator, which probably gave him a good laugh. Syrian forces killed 15 civilians in the city of Homs on Wednesday, an activists' group said, despite international calls for President Bashar Assad to end a bloody crackdown on protests against his rule.

The United States said the world was

Syrian defense minister resurrected?

Left for dead on Tuesday, ousted Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib (middle) appeared on Syrian television on Wednesday (Hat Tip: Soccer Dad). Former Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib appeared on Syrian state-owned television Wednesday in order to dispel rumors of his death, which were published by websites affiliated with Syrian opposition groups.

"My health condition has kept me from

US welcomes Saudi withdrawal of ambassador to Syria, but....

At Monday's State Department briefing, spokesman Mark Toner said that the US welcomes Saudi Arabia's withdrawal of its ambassador to Syria, but.... the U.S. has no plans to do so. "This is a choice by any sovereign nation whether to recall its ambassador. It clearly sends a message to the government," said Toner. "For our part, we've talked about this last week and continue to believe that

Bombshell: Turkey calls on Assad to step down

Israel Television has just reported on Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to Syria on Tuesday. Neither Assad nor Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem greeted Davutoglu at the airport. Davutoglu met with Assad for five hours and told him that Turkey calls on him to step down and make a peaceful transition of power.

I have not seen confirmation of this report elsewhere.

Syrian

Could the end of Assad lead to a compromise on the Golan?

Eyal Zisser has a lengthy analysis of what the success of the Syrian uprising might mean for Israel. I urge you to read the whole thing. I want to particularly call your attention to this: The Syrian regime should be considered a strategic threat to Israel because Bashar al-Assad has sought to develop nuclear capabilities. He provided support to Hamas and Hizbullah - not the kind of support his

Assad has defense minister executed

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had defense minister Ali Habib (middle in the picture at top left) executed within a day after he was fired, according to Syrian opposition websites. Habib was fired on Monday. Websites affiliated with Syrian opposition gropus reported on Tuesday that General Ali Habib was found dead in his home a day after he was dismissed as defense minister. On Monday, Syrian

How to stop Assad

Writing in the New York Daily News, Benny Weinthal has a plan for how to stop Bashar al-Assad. Sadly, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay's recent comment that the "world is watching" sums up the failure of the international community to stop Assad's lethal assaults against Syrian protesters.

Just watching is not enough. A mix of potent sanctions, robust diplomatic action and a

Syrian Baath party website hacked

The website of the Defense Ministry of the Syrian Baathist party was hacked on Monday. Here's what it looks like:

And here's a close -up of the part of the website that's in English:

Heh.

Saudi Arabia withdrawing ambassador from Syria

It's a sad commentary on the lack of American leadership in foreign affairs that 'our friends, the Saudis' are taking the lead to do what America should have done weeks ago. After 70 more people were killed by the Syrian army on Sunday, the Saudis have announced that they are calling home their ambassador from Syria for consultations. When will Obama and Clinton wake up and do the same? "What is