The Informer

14,165 innocent lives have been taken in Syria since March 15, 2011. Out of these lives, 1,110 have been children.

Thu, 03 May 2012 20:42:07 -0400

randomactsofchaos: Jeff Danziger (05/03/2012)

Thu, 03 May 2012 20:41:12 -0400

randomactsofchaos:

Jeff Danziger (05/03/2012)

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Tue, 01 May 2012 00:09:07 -0400

randomactsofchaos: Jim Morin (04/26/2012)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:28:18 -0400

randomactsofchaos:

Jim Morin (04/26/2012)

omarayloush: Don’t be another number. Be an individual, think...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:27:51 -0400

omarayloush:

Don’t be another number. Be an individual, think for yourself. Don’t bow down to any dictator or ideology. You cannot remain “neutral” in the face of injustice, then you become as guilty, if not more, than the oppressor.

freefreesyria: A handout picture released by the Shaam News...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:41:49 -0400

freefreesyria:

A handout picture released by the Shaam News Network purportedly shows a Syrian girl carrying the old national flag, adopted by the opposition, during an anti-regime demonstration in Daraa

The luxury we don’t have in Syria

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:14:58 -0400

The luxury we don’t have in Syria:

freefreesyria:

About a month ago the European Union, showing it will not be trifled with, barred Bashar al-Assad’s wife, Asma, and other women in his immediate family from shopping for luxury goods in Europe. For some reason, going cold turkey on Dior, Armani and Prada failed to bring down the Assad regime or to end its vicious attacks on the civilian population.

Now the Europeans, presumably with the staunch support of the Obama administration, have imposed an across-the-board ban on the sale of luxury goods to Syria — and yet, somehow, the killing continues.

The imposition of the luxury goods ban was cited in a New York Times editorial with all the solemnity usually reserved for naval blockades — as good an example of any of how we have gone to dreamland. In the dream, a vicious dictator, fighting for his own and his family’s lives, will somehow come to the bargaining table because he is down to his last Montblanc pen. Of course, more practical measures and boycotts have also been adopted, but it is always good to remember that severe boycotts were imposed on Saddam Hussein’s regime for about 12 years — and it still took an invasion to bring him down.

There is a lesson here.

With a kind of freeze-frame inevitability, the Syrian crisis unfolds in a predictable fashion. A year ago came the first rumblings of insurrection — a stirring in Daraa — and then demonstrations in the capital, Damascus, and, as expected, the violent response by the security forces. This produced a cascade of wishful thinking, with the U.S. and other Western governments saying Assad would be ousted in no time and the crisis would all go away.

It is all still with us.

An estimated 9,000 people are dead, the bulk of them civilians. Countless more have fled the country, seeking asylum or merely a gulp of water, in Jordan or Turkey. Assad, who has no legitimate claim to power, has turned his army and its guns against his people. He has shelled housing blocks and makeshift hospitals. Snipers have killed the merely curious. Journalists have been targeted and, in effect, murdered.

The standard arms embargo is being proposed. But it will have little effect. Already, the Russians are suspected of using diplomatic flights to bring in arms, and Iran, Syria’s real patron, does pretty much what it wants. And what it wants most of all is for the Assad regime to prevail.

The United Nations has sent in observers, as many as 12 of them, with possibly 288 more on the way. So far, the Assad regime has played a cat-and-mouse game with them — withdrawing tanks and troops when the observers arrive, bringing them back when they leave. Whatever the case, Assad will not allow the United Nations to stand between him and his enemies.

Syria replays Bosnia. Step by step this charade unfolds in a predictable fashion. We can see the outcome. Assad will agree to almost anything but do almost nothing. He cannot turn back. Too much blood has been spilled. Too many oaths of vengeance have been taken. The more the fighting goes on, the more radicalized both sides get. Assad’s father killed perhaps 20,000 in the city of Hama. It is still a family record; it may turn out to be only a personal best.

Just as the clumsy and ineffective measures that allowed things to get out of hand in Bosnia are being repeated, so should the solution — air power. This is part of the prescription advocated by John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, senators all. They propose bombing Syrian command and control facilities as well as supplying the opposition with weapons. (So far, I’ve been told, not even the promised communications equipment has shown up in any appreciable number.) They also recommend establishing safe areas within Syria so that the insurgents can be properly trained and given medical help, although putting them over the Jordanian and Turkish borders might be more feasible.

It’s impossible to know what would follow the Assad regime. An Islamic republic? Sectarian mayhem? But one way to avoid a disastrous outcome is for the United States to help organize the opposition and show that America is on the side of the protesters. Washington, though, has been on the sidelines, and the Europeans lack the military to do what needs to be done. In the meantime, both the Syrian people and the Assad clan will suffer — the former deprived of life and liberty and the latter of this season’s latest shoes.

freefreesyria: Homes lie in ruins in the Syrian town of...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 06:31:24 -0400

freefreesyria:

Homes lie in ruins in the Syrian town of Taftnaz, reportedly a result of shelling by government forces. (AFP/Getty Images / April 20, 2012)

doumarevolution: دوما : لافتات مظاهرة احرار ساحة الحرية...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:08:59 -0400

doumarevolution:

دوما : لافتات مظاهرة احرار ساحة الحرية 20-4-2012

spheritrea: Only if you want

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:06:08 -0400

spheritrea:

Only if you want

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Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:05:45 -0400

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Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:05:32 -0400

the-muslim-doctor: The Arab Spring’s Best Photos source 2011...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:08:31 -0400

the-muslim-doctor:

The Arab Spring’s Best Photos

source

2011 will always be one of the most influential years of my life.

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Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:56:18 -0400

freefreesyria: shababik: حمص .. meanwhile in homs…

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:47:50 -0400

freefreesyria:

shababik:

حمص ..

meanwhile in homs…

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Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:47:06 -0400

plane-ticket: Damascus, Syria

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:46:49 -0400

plane-ticket:

Damascus, Syria

FREESYRIA: I’ve been thinking about that one line that Senator John Mccain says...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:20:48 -0400

FREESYRIA: I’ve been thinking about that one line that Senator John Mccain says...:

freefreesyria:

I’ve been thinking about that one line that Senator John Mccain says in every interview when he is asked about the situation in Syria:

“It’s not a fair fight. It’s not a fair fight.”

those lines have been buzzing in my head all day.

I mean seriously what’s next?

the Arab/International…

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Tue, 17 Apr 2012 05:11:30 -0400

occupyallstreets: Faces of Syrians Fleeing Violence Fleeing the...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:55:22 -0400

occupyallstreets:

Faces of Syrians Fleeing Violence

Fleeing the violence in their home country, nearly 25,000 Syrians have sought shelter in Turkey, flocking to eight refugee camps spread along the border with Syria. This is what one of those camps looks like.

It’s been just over a year now since the uprising began against the regime of Bashar al-Asad in Syria. The violence has escalated steadily, and in the last few months has engulfed the northern province of Idlib, just over Syria’s border with Turkey. As towns like Idlib, Sarmin, Saraqeb, and Taftanaz burn, thousands of refugees have fled over the border and been gathered in a string of refugee camps organized by the Turkish Red Crescent.

In early April, as the world waited for a cease-fire deadline organized by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, thousands more refugees crossed into
Turkey. The Turkish government has begun a campaign to consolidate them into more permanent camps for what is starting to seem like a long stay.

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