'More of missiles will arrive soon'
Syria has received the first shipment of S-300 air defense system from
Russia, President Bashar al-Assad was quoted as saying.
“Syria has received the first shipment of Russian anti-aircraft S-300
rockets,” Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar newspaper quoted Assad as saying in an
interview with Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV due to be broadcast later today. “More
of missiles will arrive soon,” Assad has said. (Reuters, 30 May)
Meanwhile, al-Akhbar reported that Assad will attend “Geneva 2” peace
conference sponsored by Russia and the U.S. on Syrian conflict. The newspaper
said, however, Assad was unconvinced of a fruitful outcome and said he would
continue to fight the rebels.
Al-Akhbar said Assad also stressed ties between his forces and Hezbollah
militants now openly fighting on the Syrian side of the Lebanese-Syrian
frontier.
“Syria and Hezbollah are part of the same axis,” al-Akhbar quoted him
as telling Al Manar. “The Syrian army is the one fighting and leading the
battles against the armed group, and this fight will continue until all those
who are called terrorists are eliminated.”
File photo: Russian S-300 air defense system (worlddefencenews.com)
File photo: Russian S-300 air defense system (worlddefencenews.com)
53 comments:
Iran will be getting them soon too. So much for the Zionist pip-squeaks and their "threats" LOL. All of occupied Palestine will be a NO FLY ZONE for Zionist mutts. These babies can knock off a plane as far as Cyprus. VIVA PUTIN.
It will most likely be manned by the Russians to begin with as the Syrian Army doesn't have the skills to operate them yet. The US and the EU will start sending arms to the rebels and the proxy war will continue.
The Syrian army has scored major victories against US/Zionist funded Takfiri terrorist cannibals and now holds "the balance of power" in the conflict, according to western intelligence analysis. The report also highlights that the "rebellion" is now unsustainable as Syrian military has regained total initiative and Russian deployment of the feared S-300 has neutralized the prospect of any foreign intervention.
Russia, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah won the day!
Turkey, Israel and Jordan will now be under a de-facto no-fly-zone..lol
Those who where frothing at the mouth making so much noise about NATO imposing a no-fly-zone over Syria are now going to have a one imposed on them...lol
It's funny how the Israeli defense minister was making all the idiotic noise about attacking the system as soon as they know it's on it's way to Syria..Now that it's IN Syria, will they attack? Sometimes the stupidity of the Israeli peep-squeak "generals" threatening Russia leave people wondering whether these "generals" actually have brains.
Zionists are indeed pip-squeak COWARDS who can only kill unarmed Arab women and children. Let's them crap eat now as they have been exposed as LOUDMOUTH COWARDLY SCUM. The Salafi terrorists are also crying in Istanbul. This US/Zionist instigated Takfiri terror is over as these thugs now know that Russia and Iran mean business and this is not Iraq and Af-pak. These cannibals will soon start killing each other and the process has already started in eastern Syria where the alCIAda Salafis are killing the FSA terrorists. Just watch the fun and it is egg on the ugly American faces a minute.LOL.
I have from day one that Zionism in the region and world is doomed as it is an evil ideology of LIES, LOOT and PLUNDER and the world is sick of it.
NICOSIA-Wednesday, May 29, Western intelligence sources reported heavy military air cargo traffic at Latakia airport. For the first time the largest of the Russian air fleet, the An-124 (Condor) along with numerous Il-76 were seen on the tarmac off-loading troops and large containers and heavy wheeled vehicles. Each large Russian transport carrying 60 tons of unidentified freight camouflaged under large tarpaulins. Moscow initially labelled these deliveries as “humanitarian aid,” until the S-300 were safely deployed and operational. This was in fact the first S-300 delivery to which gleeful and supremely confident President Assad referred to.
Continuing in the same vein, President Assad said that not only would the Syrian army react vigorously to any further Zionist attacks, he elaborated that Syria“would not stand in the way of any Syrian or allied groups that want to fight for the liberation of the Golan.”
In the meantime, fresh units of Hizballah forces entered Syria early Thursday, May 30, hours after the United States called the presence of the Hizballah fighters from Lebanon in Syria “unacceptable” and “dangerous” and demanded their immediate withdrawal. Already fighting on three fronts – Damascus, Homs and al Qusayr - independent military sources report that the new units will relieve the victorious Hizballah troops mopping up the terrorists in the region. Iran’s allies will be heading south to mop up the rebel stronghold of Deraa, capital of the Huran, where they will be fighting within 30 kilometers of Occupied Golan ceasefire line.
UN monitoring posts report the incoming Hizballah units organizing their equipment and getting set for rapid deployment along with the marshaling Syrian armored forces.
In Helsinki, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reacted harshly to the European Union’s decision – spearheaded by Britain and France – to lift its arms embargo on the Syrian terrorists: He made it clear that this decision had untied Moscow’s hands for supplying the government of President Bashar al Assad with new weapons.
“Every decision has two sides. If one side lifts its restrictions, then the other side may no longer feel compelled to keep its previously adopted obligations,” Shoigu said Wednesday. Russia is also strongly hinting of closer military cooperation with its key regional ally Iran.
A special interview with President Assad is scheduled for simultaneous broadcast Thursday night by Hizballah’s popular Al-Manar and Syrian state television channels.
Most loudmouth Zionists are in braindead coma like Sharon! LOL.
didn't someone in TEL AVIV say that the s/300 are stiil in Russia and that they haven't been delivered to Syria!.infact that same guy promised that Israel will do '''something'!.now let Israel bomb the systems and kill them together with the Russian technicians!
Well, Syria has had the capability to track, lock on and shoot down aircrafts over its neighbours' territories ever since they aquired the S-200 decades ago.
http://geimint.blogspot.se/2007/09/syrian-sam-network.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-200_Angara/Vega/Dubna
@Anonymous May 30, 2013 at 9:17 AM
"I have from day one known that Zionism in the region and world is doomed as it is an evil ideology of LIES, LOOT and PLUNDER and the world is sick of it".
Yes! give that man a Ciiigar! Brother, Zionism is in its last throws.
Iran has emerged as a world power, and theirs not a damn thing that the Zionist Global Imperialist, can do about it. For 4 years I monitored this Blogg, and cringed at the comments by the Self hating Iranian Anons that lambasted the Mullahs, their People and Nation. They should all be ashamed of themselves Now!
It turns out that the Mullahs knew what they were doing all along, by appealing to the morale of the Iranian People and the world, they manage to defeat the corruption of the Anglo/Zio/American West. Western Civilization is falling and is morally bankrupt. The Printing of fake money,counter feit credit, Austerity measures, and Zionist controled world banking policies have virtually destroyed the prosperity of Western Nations. Now their trying to start world war3. But this evil plot of the Zionist will fail miserably like the rest! Humanity will be free from the curse of Henry kissinger and his Ilk! last but not least I would like to thank, Mr. Nader Uskowi for all the years he worked so hard to provide a forum for us to express our views be they pro or con.
Viva Iran, Viva Syria, Viva Hezbollah, and free Palestine!
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=311_1369928086 --- A huge mercenary brigade consisting of Russians and Ukranians offer to help Syria.
As thousands of Hezbollah men aid Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces and fight alongside them in Qusair, they are faced with an organization that until recently was their close ally –Hamas. Arab media reported Thursday morning that according to Syrian opposition sources, in light of Hamas' support of Syrian rebels, Hezbollah is demanding of Hamas men still in Lebanon to leave the country "immediately and within hours."
Lebanese officials close to Fatah said that a Lebanese defense official said to Hamas' representative in the country, Ali Baraka, that all people affiliated with Hamas in Lebanon are no longer welcome in the country. The decision came as a response to the Palestinian Islamist movement’s role in the ongoing war in Syria against the regime of President Assad.
Baraka himself denied the report to Lebanese newspaper Al-Liwaa. "We contacted Hezbollah officials who were surprised from this report," the Hamas representative claimed. "Hamas is staying in Lebanon and nothing has changed so far," he clarified.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem elaborated on the regime's relation with Hamas Wednesday. "No Arab country gave Hamas what Syria has given them," the Syrian minister claimed. Moallem never confirmed that Hamas is taking part in the Syrian battle against the Assad regime, yet said: "Syria was put on the US terrorist organizations list because of its support of Hamas and because it hosts it in its territory. In my last meeting with Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal, he said that Hamas will leave Syria because of its foreign relations issues and that the organization will move to Qatar."
In April, the London Times reported that Hamas, which terminated ties with the Assad regime, began training the Free Syrian Army rebels in Damascus. Diplomatic sources told the Times that members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades are training the opposition organization members in areas under their control. That development confirmed that Hamas has officially disconnected from Syria and adopted Qatar as the new patron.
The Assad regime has given Hamas refuge since 1999, when the organization was expelled from Jordan. It became part of the "resistance axis," composed by Iran and Hezbollah as well, yet with the start of the uprising it found itself jammed between the loyalty to the regime and its obligation to its Palestinian supporters, who mostly support the opposition. As the only Sunni movement in the axis it could not have turned its back on the Sunnis, fighting the Alawites – the dominant community in Syria for the past few decades. As the civil war intensified, Hamas shut its offices in Syria and Mashaal left Damascus.
bye bye no fly zone
bye bye israel
bye bye usa
bye bye al kaida
god save the TSAR
if the israel was able to destroy s300,
then it was not called s300
this time flying rockets to tel aviv
Most loudmouth Zionists are in braindead coma like Sharon! LOL.
http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=639 --- Greece provides Israel assistance on S-300!!!
S300 is useless against the greater majority of Syrian opponents of Assad.
Syria's Assad 'confident in victory' over Salafi cannibal terrorists
The Syrian president's comments were in line with a forceful and confident message his stable government has been sending in recent days, even as Russia attempts to launch a peace conference in Geneva, possibly next month. The strong tone coincided with recent military victories in battles with armed terrorists trying to topple him.
The interview was broadcast as Syria's main political opposition group appeared to fall into growing disarray.
Assad, who appeared animated and gestured frequently in the TV interview, said he has been confident from the start of Syria's conflict more than two years ago that he would be able to defeat his opponents.
"Regarding my confidence about victory, had we not had this confidence, we wouldn't have been able to fight in this battle for two years, facing an international attack," he said. President Assad portrayed the battle to unseat him as a "world war against Syria and the resistance" — a reference to the Lebanese Hezbollah, a close ally.
"We are confident and sure about victory, and I confirm that Syria will stay as it was," he said, "but even more than before, in supporting resistance fighters in all the Arab world."
Assad has said he would stay in power at least until elections scheduled in 2014, but he went further in the interview, saying he "will not hesitate to run again" if the Syrian people want him to do so.
Taking a tough line, he also warned that Syria would strike back hard against any future Israeli airstrike.
Earlier this month, Israel had struck near Damascus, targeting suspected shipments of advanced weapons purportedly intended for Hezbollah. Syria did not respond at the time.
Assad said he has informed other countries that Syria would respond next time. "If we are going to retaliate against Israel, this retaliation should be a strategic response," he said.
The recent Russian delivery of S-300 missiles and their associated radars to Syria is seen by experts as a potential game-changer: not just in terms of the country's robust air defence capabilities but also in terms of the signal it sends about Moscow's willingness to back its long term Syrian allies.
The S-300 is a highly capable Russian-built anti-aircraft system that is also able to shoot down in-coming ballistic missiles. In many ways it is an equivalent to the US Patriot system that Nato has deployed to Turkey to protect its airspace.
It takes some time for crews to become proficient in operating this kind of weapon and it might take further time to integrate it into Syria's wider air defence system.
But its presence would significantly complicate Zionist ability to operate in Syrian airspace and make the US and other Western air forces more cautious should there be renewed hollow talk about establishing "no-fly" zones over Syria.
AnonymousMay 30, 2013 at 2:32 PM,
And ?
The S-200 has proven to be an antiquated, fixed, bulky and hence easy to target air defense asset that has shown very vulnerable to active jamming, notably because of its huge mechanically steered air search radar prone to saturation. Its operational history in both Lybia and Syira itself over the past decades have repeatedly shown that it cannot do anything credible against other aircraft than slow-moving, large-RCS, non-maneuvering targets such as tankers, transport, B52-style heavy bombers, AWACS or JSTARS assets.
And this with reason, since it was designed from the ground up to fulfill that very task, that is interdicting airspace to the latter type of strategic aircraft. The S-300 on the other hand has been designed from that start to create an all-altitude, fast flying, multi-target tracking, air defense system to counter precisely ALL kinds of threats, with multiple radars and missile types within a single battery, would it be posed by the aforementioned targets, or by supersonic figher-bombers, low-RCS cruise missiles, PGMs and up to F-35 like 5th generation aircraft. One american air force commander once said the S-300 effectively constitutes a de-facto no-fly zone for non-stealth, 4th generation aircraft such as the F-16 the IDF possesses in large quantities. Even more so with the state of the art, top of the line S-400 Triumph that Russia has yet to offer significantly for exports. Comparing the S-200 and the S-400 is like putting an F-86 Sabre and a F-14 fighter... The S-300 is a game changer, just as the US and Israel themselves have repeatedly stated, and desperately put so much effort on all fronts to prevent its proliferation against their enemies. This is the beginning of a new era of military balance in the region.
Syrian involvement is bad news for Hezbollah. As much as people favoring the continuation of four decades of Assad’s dictatorship in Syria like the idea, Hezbollah will lose for obvious reasons: During its past confrontations with Israel, Hezbollah was credited for defending the Lebanese soil and a majority of Lebanese, on all sides, appreciated the role they were playing. Now killing Syrians to defend Assad? They will lose all the good will they generated in Lebanon. And because the Hezbollah is a Lebanese party, not a Syrian one, they will come up losers in their own country, especially if the conflict spills over to the border areas of Lebanon. Hezbollah has made its biggest blunder ever, and sooner it gets out of the Syrian quagmire, better off they are.
Assad’s overconfidence is premature. He has not faced an international attack, as he likes to repeat the phrase, as in the quotation above. He has faced an uprising by his own people wanting to get rid of four decades of Assad dictatorship, and interference by opportunistic Al Qaeda-type terrorists. No matter who finance the latter, it is hardly an “international attack.” And because the genuine opposition wants democracy, Assad might win battles, but will not win the war.
Governments are difficult to be overthrown. They control the armed forces of the state that will fight on their side until the end;. the other side has the rag-tag militants. The transfer of power happens early if the rulers decide to give up power, as was the case with the Shah of Iran or Ali in Tunisia, or if the armed forces turn against the ruler, and not necessarily violently, as the case with Egypt’s Mubarak. Naturally in both cases, the Shah’s decision and the Egyptian Army’s, were prompted by massive popular protests, resulting in a situation that the rulers could not rule anymore, unless they decide to turn against their own people and literally start killing the opposition, as is the case with Assad in Syria.
I am not saying of course that the revolutionaries cannot ever succeed; we’ve had successful examples in Cuba, for example. But the governments generally have a way to survive. Even in Somalia! The opposition should be smart, not like the ones in Syria, to receive the support of the majority of the people behind them. Then, and only then, they could force the dictator out, or have the state’s organ of coercion change side. The Syrian conflict, especially if it ever becomes an “international” event, as Assad says, can go on for a longtime, and especially for its religious undertones (religious conflicts and wars can go on forever). It has the potential of becoming a Syrian quagmire, where all foreign actors , including Hezbollah, will lose. Better not to get involved!
After that developments (Red line for the israel, and the S-300 delivery plans), the Islamic Republic has gained additional immunity from a wider military action by its Western enemies.
Those Western threats, at this time, have faded from a dubious possibility to a bluff or a joke, due to the recent development of situations.
Russia has affirmed its positions, that translate emerging benefits for the Islamic Republic's situation.
Syria's decision, not to respond to the recent Zionist attacks; at that time, was the correct one and has given Russia better hand in its dealing with the West, as well as provided an additional time for Russia and Iran to improve their defence capabilities.
A-F
Iranian policy makers are very astute and they have based their decisions on Iran's strategic interests and the pervasive support for Shias, regardless of who is in power. It was the shah who encouraged Imam Musa Sadr to form the forerunner to the Hezbollah and Amal that put the Shias in Lebanon at the top of the food chain.
The Islamic Republic with its close blood relationships with the dominant Shia clergy in Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and the wider Islamic world just sealed the eternal alliance. A very good book from Sunni scholars called DISTANT RELATIONS-Iran and Lebanon in the last 500 years explains the unbreakable Shia bonds in the region and wider Islamic world. There are over 150 million Shias in the region alone bolstered by Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian and Hezbollah power and they are not about to be dictated to by corrupt discredited petro-pimp puppets.
The Shias have awoken and there is nothing that can stop them due to SHEER DEMOGRAPHICS and Iranian power. The world is changing and getting delusional about it is useless. Let history take its own course.
The world is going through a massive Asia centric power shift and it is hard for some people to come to grips with the new global power balance. Putin is also extremely savvy internationally and he also knows that the bankrupt, deadbeat and loser US failed police state can no longer afford a final swan song war.
The Syrian situation is all about DEMOGRAPHICS and the SHIA CRESCENT. The fact is that President Assad has over 75% support from Shias, Sunnis, Druze, Christians et.al. The mostly foreign Salafis have generated mass hatred in the Muslim street by their cannibalism and atrocities and not A SINGLE MAJOR MUSLIM NATION (with the exception of petro-pimps will support them). These cannibals were opportunists and have lost the stomach to fight the superb and dedicated fighters of Hezbollah and the skilled professional Syrian military.
The Russian equation has altered the regional military balance as well.
My advice is sit back and watch the Middle-east unravel, and the final outcome will not be in the delusional image of the Zionists, neo-cons or desperate western imperialists gasping their last sighs. The rot has set in and it will not be contained for a while.
Now that the anti-Syrian western backed Salafi cannibal terrorism campaign is biting the dust it is worth examining the professional adn positive role of the Syrian military and its high morale, loyalty, dedication and unit cohesion. Some naive and delusional people had been predicting the end of Syria for the last 3 years and Iran for over 34 years.
The victory of the Syrian military will prove very costly for the Zionists as history has shown that victorious battle-tested militaries lose their gun shy apprehensions and take on all aggressors. President Assad alluded to the Occupied Golan as a new potential front against Zionist occupiers.
You posted these comments under the reply section to my comments. Which part is the reply? Or it doesn't matter. There was a script that had to be posted, and so happens it was posted here, right? Aside from that, this type of language, and indeed logic, might have some effect in some extremist Shia circles, but if you want to communicate your message to the outside world, I suggest a "radical" change in style and indeed content is needed.
This Assad regime is but a caricature of its old self. It has lost the legitimacy and indeed the influence it had in the region. This is true for the opposition as well. By banding with extremists, planned or imposed, it has lost its moral standing. For everyone’s sake, especially for the sake of the Syrian people who have suffered enough, let’s hope that the upcoming ‘Geneva 2’ talks would be positive and a step toward ending this conflict.
Zionists aren't funding the Syrian rebellion, knucklehead..... and nothing is going to save the Assads or maintain the Syrian alliance with the Iranian theocracy.
Mr. Nader, your argument makes no sense..Do you actually believe the nonsense you write? Trust me, there's no love for those Takfiri/Wahabis in Lebanon except in some small neighbourhoods in Tripoli.
Hezbollah's only following the natural progression of things. As in, IF the rebels "win", they'll automatically turn their guns on Lebanon and especially on Hezbollah. In case you haven't realize, the "rebels" are fighting FOR Israel - under different slogans and themes, of course. That's been proven many times over. The Israelis even conducted an air-raid for them in Damascus not too long ago. That air-raid was meant to coincide with a ground offensive by the rebels but was smashed by the Syrian army before they could even move.
The rebels have threatened Hezbollah many times to strike them. So think with me for a moment, if you're in Hezbollah's shoe, what would you do? Would you wait for the fight to come to you or you fight the rats while they're being pummelled by the Syrian army??? Kinda like Bushes stupid threat he made to Iran during their invasion of Iraq that "Iran was next". They gave Iran no choice than to enter the war in Iraq and wreak havoc on US plans - which they achieved quite successfully.
Hate them or love them, Hezbollah is now the de-facto protector and guarantor of security of all minority groups in Lebanon and in Syria. You really don't believe those Takfiris are fighting for democracy, do you? They HATE everybody that doesn't scream their version of "Allah Akbar".
Let history be the judge. In the meantime, Hezbollah is winning the war in Al-Qussir. ;)
And Oh, NONE of the Lebanese faction are any match for Hezbollah. They're only good at screaming and making all sorts of noise than actually doing anything.
Nader Uskowi May 30, 2013 at 7:28 PM
The syrian government is fighting an insurgency comprised of foreign terrorists and some syrians backed by an assortment of regional[saudi,qatar,turkey,jordan] and international powers[the west],if thats not an international attack I dont know what is,perhaps you were expecting[hoping for?]the sort of thing we saw in libya or iraq with the west intervening directly,just because the west is using its lackeys doesnt mean they are not in it up to their necks.What was hizballah supposed to do stay out of it?!,the attack on syria was as much aimed at hizballah and iran as it was syria,it was an attempt to weaken the axis of resistance and as such had to be confronted by the resistance,this was very much a case of what threatens one threatens all.The palestinians have once again made a stupid decision and have come out the big losers,I cant see the qataris giving hamas anything like the support they got from iran and syria,sadly hamas seems set to go down the same road as fatah/plo one of corruption and collaboration with the big losers being the palestinian people,still just as hamas emerged when the plo/fatah could not live up to the hopes and dreams of the palestinian people I`ve no doubt that new groups will emerge to compete with hamas
That seems very unlikely,the opposition is fragmented and has no control over the insurgents be they fsa or wahabist,they were still demanding that assad step down before any negotiations for christ sake!,assad on the other hand now that his armed forces are increasingly on the offensive and retaking territory from the insurgents has little incentive to deal with the insurgents unless its from a position of strength were he gets to dictate terms[his leadership is not up for negotiation],if the fsa insurgents had any brains they would be disassociating themselves as far and as fast as possible from the jihadis.Personally I dont see assad stopping until he has crushed the bulk of the insurgents and destroyed the jihadis,he then may do some token deal with whoever is left but I suspect a lot of them will be lucky if they can ever call syria home again
Folks in all seriousness the Salafi terror campaign in Syria is literally over as the alCIAda aka al Nusra cannibals have been declared as terrorists by the UN even and the idiot McCain has egg on his dumb face by having his photo taken with a Salafi beheader and mass murderer.
The confidence President Assad exudes is based on his knowledge that the Salafi terrorists have now turned on the mostly latte set "opposition" which mostly lives on US/EU handouts in Europe or Istanbul, much like the Iranian Tehrangelis set wistful fools.
Even as President Assad’s interview was broadcast in the region on Al-Manar and most Arabic channels, fissures within the Syrian "opposition" widened, with rebel military commanders demanding a significant new role in the main exile organization and the al-Nusra fighters turning their guns on the Istanbul based nargila opposition.
The disparity of the ground situation in Syria underscored the fact that President Assad has consolidating his position, buttressed on both military and political fronts by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, while the Western-backed opposition stumbled toward ever more serious disarray and oblivion.
This latest western fiasco also underscores a massive intelligence failure and their usual reliance on delusional "exiles" claims. It also highlights the tenacity and determination of the Syrian military which performed with exceptional heroism on the battlefield. It will be impossible for even the "moderates" to negotiate with President Assad because he feels that he is negotiating from a position of strength and able to deliver a military knockout punch.. The thud of artillery has long gone from Damascus, and there are few checkpoints in the past couple of months, and even the President is tooling around in his black Porche without much security, according to recent visitors. With a fresh infusion of victorious Hezbollah fighters, government forces will soon expel the terrorists from the last important crossroads and roll on to eastern provinces, while Iraq chokes off the supply of demoralized Salafis.
The dejected "oppositions" problems have not been lost on President Assad, who spoke contemptuously of his political adversaries in the Al-Manar television interview, describing them as exiles and paid stooges of hostile foreign governments — another indication that prospects for the Geneva conference are dim.
“We will attend this conference as the official delegation and legitimate representatives of the Syrian people,” he said. “But, whom do they represent? When this conference is over, we return to Syria, we return home to our people. But when the conference is over, whom do they return to — five-star hotels?”
USKOWI -you are very good!!-
-Another bizarre stance on your part, this time the Syrian issue?.
-YOU are very good in disappointing your readers!.
Unfortunatly Mr. Uskowi we have to admit that what started initially as a fully legitimate and peaceful uprising against Assad's policies has now taken an entirely different tone charged with a remarkable sectarian element leading both the battles and the interveining actors, would the be state actors or not. The uprising indeed very soon became enirely militarized and its independance and piliical integrity stained by their multiple backers, namely Qatar and Saudi Arabi which are actually the ones to blame for having started to funnel full spectrum support to Salafi -affiliated groups such as the Farouk brigades and Al-Qaeda-proclaimed Jabat Al Nusra, utterly destroying any chance for the rebellion to remain loyal to its founding pillars of liberty and justice. You want to bllame someone for today's miserable ongoing failure of the umbrella rebel groups, you can start looking there instead of systematically putting the entire blame on any kind of Assad's backers that came in only after. As far as the world knows, most of them have come from neighboring Iraq and their objectives in a post-Assad era have nothing to with the words democracy anf freedom, by their own admittance. One has to observe the kind of islamist directorates they have put in place in "Liberated" areas of Aleppo to realize what tomorrow's Syria would look like even partially governed by these fundamentals which unfortunatly constiute the most effective fighting force within Syrian rebel group to this day, hence the support they've garnered in the battlefield. Rebel groups have simply become too much involved in geopolitical games between gulf states, Turkey , the USA and Europe and have developped too far apart poles of influence to be considered a fully monolithic military-political entity one can support or condemn. Notwistanding Assads crimes against its own people, one can only understand widespread support in Lebanese villages bordering Syria for Hezbollah since they sustained regular acts of aggression and murder throughout the past couple of years , and Sunni grouls lerletrated acts of desecrations of Shia holy sites long before any direct involvment of the Shia group in Al Qusair or anywhere else in Syria for that matter. The conflict has spilled out of Syria's borders in Lebannon and is now taking place along sectarian lines, like it or hate it that's all what's left as a defining factor for the war, with actors capitalizing support on both sides in this regard. We cannot decently disqualify anyone fighting against this coalition of forces unholy to any kind of progressist let alone secular outcome in the event of Assad's fall, the same way we cannot praise anyone's virtue just because they are fighting the latter. Political agendas from all sides now govern what is really going on the ground, the people's aspirations have long gone out of this chessboard, from Washington to Moscow, in all classical fashion of proxy wars of the Cold War era.
Anonymous May 31, 2013 at 8:20 AM
Well said
Iran has no immunity from Western military air power and will not develop any in the next few years.
the US and other Western nations have the ability to do vast damage to any part of Iran should it come to fighting.... and your claims of immunity are simply ignorant nonsense.
the S-300s being delivered will only supplement Syria's previous air defense systems from Russia after many months of installation and training...... and will prove only slightly more effective against Israeli attack than the system s that were TOTALLY WORTHLESS in past weeks.
or hadn't you noticed that Israel bombarded the area around Damascus without Syria being able to do a dam thing about it?
other than being completely wrong in suggesting that the Assads will regain control of Syria and re-establish their dictatorship,your comment is just plain nonsense.
Vistory is at hand! The only thing easier than writing long, rambling and delusional pro-Assad Hereditary "Republic" and pro-Ayatollah "Republic" comments online (while living the West, of course) is victory over the Zionist-Imperialist-Great Satan-Little Satan-US-UK-French-Takfiri-Wahabi-Salafi-Qatari-Saudi-Jordanian-Turkish Conspiracy against the Regime of the Sons, Nephews, Cousins, and In-Laws of the late Hafez Assad. My sources tell me that Assad Junior is even now driving his victorious Black Porsche into Occupied Tel Aviv (like Saladin on his white steed) and defeating the Zionists.
@Anonymous May 31, 2013 at 4:00 PM
"other than being completely wrong in suggesting that the Assads will regain control of Syria and re-establish their dictatorship,your comment is just plain nonsense".
Nonesense! is that all you got? If so then youre full of nonsense!
thats the problem, with you self hating Tehrangeles misfit exiled Orphans.
for the past 33 years of your miserable lives youve been blaming the regime of the Mullahs. Simply because you can't accept the reality that Middle east politics has changed since the days of Shaw n Shaw!
Face it! Al-Asad has won!
Anon at 3:26PM
Your claims and reasoning, stated in your first three sentences, I would compare to reasoning of those who say we (should) can nuke the North Korea.... because we have a superiority and they cannot still reach our mainlands.
Regarding your last concern that Syria was not able to prevent....israel, I would inform you that Syria was not in possession of the S-300 yet and the West utilized the most modern and recent methods as well as the newest weaponry to help israel in that kind of endavour. The West will have to work next couple years to invent newer tricks to be able repeat that kind of attack.
That painful experience has given Syria and Russia an opportunity to recognize and prepare appropriate countermeasures as well as to spoil an attempt by the West (US) to enter the conflict under the pretext to protect "innocent israeli population" from Assad's "genocide".
I am only here for last several months and I see many of you are loosing your time (or may be you are compensated?) during those couple decades opposing the Islamic Republic and working for evil purposes of her enemies.
A-F
How about this then junior!
Russia to sell latest jets to Syria
Sergei Korotkov, general director of the MiG company, told Russian news agencies Friday that a Syrian delegation was in Moscow to discuss terms and deadlines for a new contract for the sale of the latest MiG-29 M/M2 fighters to Syria.
He did not cite a number but said it would be "more than 10."
Russia has previously said that it would only fulfill outstanding arms contracts with Syria.
Syria and its Iranian allies have more than 120 of these aircraft in their joint inventories. Iranian pilots and instructors play a key role in Syrian military training and maintenance operations.
and also for the delusional set:
Janes Defence International in its latest missile assessment reports:
Report: New Iranian Missile Launchers Could Overwhelm Israeli Defenses at will
Iran now has enough launchers to send a salvo of medium range ballistic missiles that would overwhelm Israeli ballistic missile defense systems, according to a Wednesday report from IHS Jane’s.
A May, 26 broadcast on Iranian television showcased a collection of transporter erector launchers (TELs) capable of launching the Iranian Shahab-3 guided ballistic missiles.
“Iranian television footage showed at least 26 TELs lined up in two rows for the event, which marked their purported delivery to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, which operates the country’s ballistic missiles,” according to the report.
“The delivery of such a large number of missile launchers demonstrates the Islamic Republic of Iran’s self-sufficiency in designing and building the strategic system and shows the Iranian Armed Forces’ massive firepower and their ability to give a crushing response to the enemy,” Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said in a report carried by Iranian state news.
The more missiles Iran can launch at once, “the greater its chances of overwhelming defensive systems, such as Israel’s Arrow, which only have a limited number of interceptors ready to launch at incoming targets,” according to the Jane’s report
Syrian "oppostion" falls apart
Even as Mr Assad's interview was broadcast, fissures within the Syrian opposition widened, with rebel military commanders demanding a significant new role in the main exile organization.
''This is a low point,'' said Amr al-Azm, a Syrian-born history professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio. ''Unlike earlier screaming matches, you have a bad military situation on the ground and Geneva is looming and the opposition has nothing to play. This is as bad as it gets.''
It is obvious to even the most deluded wishful braindead that the US/Zionist Wahabbi cannibal terrorists are kaput. BTW, check-out the anger against the puppet imbecile Erdogan in Turkey as the streets are on fire from Istanbul to Ankara as the Turks have had it with his Syrian misadventure and failed warmongering, not to mention the spillover into Turkey and economic mess. This whole sorry Syrian episode has been a disaster for the US and its stooges. All kudos to Russia, Iran, Syria, Iraq and above all Hezbollah who once again proved their mettle as the ultimate warriors par excellence.
Iran cuts Hamas funding over Syria.
The two former close allies have also ceased military cooperation, effectively ending a warm relationship that saw Tehran provide weapons, technical know-how and military training to Hamas fighters.
The rupture has been caused by Hamas's refusal to toe the Iranian line by supporting President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite regime is religiously loosely related to the Shia Islam practiced by Iran's ruling theocracy.
Hamas - which runs the Gaza Strip - has sided with its Sunni co-religionists trying to unseat Mr Assad, in common with other mainly Sunni countries like Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Ghazi Hamad, Hamas's deputy foreign minister, described relations with Iran frankly as "bad" before adding: "Diplomatically, I have to use other words."
Asked about Iranian funding, he said: "I can say it is not like the past. I cannot give you the exact amount. For supporting the Syrian revolution, we lost very much.
"I cannot deny that since 2006 Iran supported Hamas with money and many [other] things. But the situation is not like the past. I cannot say that everything is normal."
He added: "I cannot say there is military cooperation."
While Hamas officials have previously said they would not retaliate on Iran's behalf if Israel attacked the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities - citing disagreements over Syria - they have previously been coy about funding from a country that is Shia and non-Arab.
Iran gave Hamas an estimated £13-15 million a month after its victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections - enough to cover its governing budget, said Dr Adnan Abu Amer, assistant professor of political science at Gaza City's Ummah University.
Tehran still sends a "tiny amount" to maintain ties and keep its much-trumpeted support of the Palestinian cause alive, he said. But relations have been all but severed.
Hamas' bureau in Tehran, just off the city's main boulevard and long treated as a de facto embassy, no longer has a permanent representative and is run by a skeleton staff.
"The Iranian support for Assad was the kiss of death to the relationship," said Dr Abu Amer, who is close to Hamas. "Hamas has lost from the disagreement financially and military and so far, no-one has replaced the Iranian support.
"Iran has lost its influence not only in Gaza but in Palestine as a whole and across the Arab world because it backed the Assad regime. Iran successfully presented itself after the 1979 Islamic Revolution as the champion of the poor and the oppressed and an opponent of imperialism and American influence. They have lost in two years what they gained in 30 and I think it won't be properly repaired."
Ahmed Yousef, an adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' prime minister in Gaza, called Iran's support for Mr Assad "shocking" and accused it of acting out of "sectarian" motives.
"We never expected that a country like Iran, which talked about oppressed people and dictatorial regimes, would stand behind a dictator like Assad who is killing his own people," he said. "To us, it shakes the basis of the Islamic principles that Iran has recited all these years after the Islamic Revolution."
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6d8_1370039402#YgCMAXi3z6mQpUsd.99
Palestinians are wretched ingrates anyway and Iran has done the right thing as its only alliance should be with Hezbollah and Syria which has withstood the test of time and history. Hamas is sending murderous Salafi terrorists to Syria and helping the cannibals with makeshift sewer pipe Qassam rockets. Even their fellow Arabs like Egypt hate the Palestinians backstabbing and have kept Gaza quarantined. This is good for Iran not to waste money on the useless infighting Palestinians. Hamas was formed by Zionist Shin-beth service anyway to divide the Palestinians and weaken Arafat's Fatah.
Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel's creation," says Mr. Cohen, .... Roni Shaked, a former officer of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123275572295011847.html
Russia confirms $1 Billion MIG29/M2 deal with Syria
MOSCOW-Friday, May 31, A high-level Syrian delegation was in Moscow to discuss “a new contract” for the sale of “more than 10” MiG-29 M/M2 fighters.
According to military sources, this Russian fighter-bomber is designed to operate in complex electronic jamming environments and is equipped with latest electronic counter-measures. This weakness was identified by Russian experts as Syrian army lacks appropriate ECM for overcoming the Israeli Air Force’s ability to disable Syria’s earlier outdated Russian-made electronic warfare systems.
Moscow is now offering to provide President Bashar al Assad and his air force with a key resource for delivering on his bold statement made in a TV interview Thursday, May 30: “We have informed all foreign parties that we will retaliate against any future Zionist attack.”
One wonders whether hamas`s new backers will be as generous as iran and syria were,somehow I cannot see the qataris providing hamas with any real weapons or aid and what does come will no doubt have a lot of strings attached,still there are other groups that iran and syria can aid who may eventually supplant hamas just as hamas began to supplant the increasingly corrupt and ineffectual plo/fatah.Sadly once again the palestinian leadership has demonstrated that they do not miss an opportunity to screw up and screw up badly,at the very least one would have thought that they would have remembered the old axiom about beggars cant be choosers.Hamas`s leadership have thrown away the only reliable allies they have ever had in return for the same bunch of arab stooges who have clearly demonstrated time and again that they do not give two sh!ts about the palestinians,I`m sure the israelis are laughing their asses off
@8:20 AM,
I have always been worried of the radicalization of the movement that could allow the extremists and terrorists taking initiatives simply because they are well armed. That’s why non-violent, pro-reform movements are always the preferred path. The Syrian experience is proving once again the supremacy of non-violent movements.
The path followed in any movement, however, also depends to the reaction of the government. In Syrian case, if you go back and check news reports in early days, you could see hundreds of thousands of people marching and chanting, pretty much as in the Arab Spring movements in other Arab cities. Assad, however, chose to ignore the peaceful nature of these protests and attacked them by force, and kept doing that. His action contributed to radicalization of the movement. Another factor that soon showed its dangerous and ugly head was defining the movement in sectarian terms. Religious wars are not hard to start, especially in that region, but they can go on forever once they are started. The radicalization of the movement and sectarian views allowed extremists to take advantage of the situation, and claim superiority because they were well armed and could confront an equally war-hungry government, ready to kill any number of civilians brutally.
Those hundreds of thousands of demonstrators and protesters of the early days are still the backbone of the Syrian opposition and any new government that is formed. They are real Syrians in search of freedom and now normalcy in their country. The moderate factions of the opposition, if they can get their act together, can and should receive their support. Meanwhile, however, the key is to bring the armed clashes to an end. The formation of a transition government representing all Syrian factions, pro-government and opposition is needed to bring calm to the country before any long-lasting solution could be found to what has become a real quagmire.
Anonymous May 31, 2013 at 4:51 PM
No but they have stomped your jihadi/fsa friends in qusair but good,ouch!!,but dont worry I`m sure those brave takfaris you love so much will eventually bring about a sharia sunni caliphate in what was once syria,pity about all those non sunnis but hey they were just infidels anyway right?!
Nader Uskowi June 1, 2013 at 5:09 AM
It was not all peaceful protests you also had violent protests by foreign backed extremists who saw an opportunity to try and overthrow the government and started attacking the security forces in the hope that they would trigger a government collapse or a nato "intervention",you had an influx of weapons and fighters from libya,you had foreign exiles calling for the overthrow of the government and claiming to represent the protestors,but what you did not have was the massive popular protests that we saw in Egypt or bahrain,there was still a majority who supported assad and still do
4:00 PM all the free loading mullah boys are now living in LA and Toronto and are busy like you spinning their usual garbage.
Your analysis is very sound. Even NATO now acknowledges that President Assad has won completely and the regional balance has swung to a new Iran centric power bloc that has momentum and sheer weight of numbers on its side. Just look at the on-going mess in Turkey which fell to Wahabbi terrorists and destabilized itself.
There is a very sobering analysis by Patrick Cockburn about the changing Muslim order with Iran at the helm.
Is it the end of Sykes-Picot?
"Turks are big on rhetoric but disappointing in ability. The Iranians are just the opposite, cool calculating and masters of strategic thinking and action".
Meanwhile, foreign countries are gaining influence with the help of local proxies, and in so doing the fragmented rebels supporters are repeating the mistake Washington made ten years ago in Iraq. In the heady days after the fall of Saddam, the Americans announced that Iran and Syria were the next targets for regime change. This was largely ill-informed hubris, but the threat was real enough for the Syrians and Iranians to decide that in order to stop the Americans acting against them they had to stop the US stabilizing its occupation of Iraq and lent their support to all of Americas opponents regardless of whether they were Shia or Sunni.
From an early stage in the Syrian uprising the US, Nato, Israel and the Sunni Arab states openly exulted at the blow that would soon be dealt to Iran and to Hezbollah in Lebanon: Assads imminent fall would deprive them of their most important ally in the Arab world.
Sunni leaders saw the uprising not as a triumph of democracy but as the beginning of a campaign directed at Shia or Shia-dominated states.
The Turks are big on rhetoric but often disappointing when it comes to operational ability, one Arab leader says. The Iranians are just the opposite. The recent US imposed deal between the government and Turkey's victorious Kurds could easily unravel. A long war in Syria could open up divisions in Turkey just as it is doing elsewhere.
Iranian correctly calculated the weakening US position in the world and American populations lack of appetite for a another destructive war that has already bled their economy dry and cost thousands of dead and maimed.
Many distinct conflicts have become tangled together in Syria: a mostly foreign stoked uprising against the legitimate secular Syrian government which is also a sectarian battle between Sunnis and the rising Shias; a regional struggle between Shia and Sunni which is also a centuries-old conflict between an Iranian-led grouping and Iran's traditional enemies, notably now the US, tiny oil flushed Qatar and Saudi Arabia trying to create an unattainable Sunni power bloc by enticing a fragmented Turkey government by a Wahabbi leaning mercurial autocrat Erdogan through financial inducements. Finally, at another level, there is a reborn Cold War confrontation: Russia and China v. the West. The conflict is full of unexpected and absurd contradictions, such as a purportedly democratic and secular Syrian government being confronted by the absolute monarchies of the Persian Gulf who are also fundamentalist Sunnis and run some of the most repressive regimes from Bahrain to Jordan.
While savagely repressing demonstrations in their own countries, the rich Arab states helped turn mostly civil protests into an insurrection which has torn Syria apart. However, despite billions of petro-dollars spent, the Syrian government refused to buckle and decisively regrouped with Russian weapons and unflinching Iranian, Hezbollah and global support, while the region's other kingpin Egypt mostly sad on the sidelines or sided with Iran. President Assad proved correct in predicting that diplomacy will fail, that his opponents inside and outside Syria are too divided to agree on a peace deal. He may also be right in believing that greater foreign intervention is a clear probability. The quagmire is turning out to be even deeper and more dangerous than it was in Iraq for the US and is coalition of the unwilling.
7:52 PM Russia as usual is investing in a deadbeat regime.
5:16 AM Sunni caliphate or Shiite theocracy, they're both apply the sharia law and are cut from the same old moth eaten cloth.
7:52 PM Russia as usual is investing in a deadbeat regime.
5:16 AM Sunni caliphate or Shiite theocracy, they're both apply the sharia law and are cut from the same old moth eaten cloth.
thank you, Anon 4:51. for a comment that the donkeys actually believing that the Assads aren't going to end up dead or exiled from Syria, deserve to read.
Post a Comment