America Ready to Take Action against Syria as Iran Warns of 'Harsh Consequences'

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: America is ready to take action against the Syrian regime and has "prepared options for all contingencies," as Western leaders summon their advisers to discuss how to handle the crisis.

Chuck Hagel, the American defence secretary, said the US was still assessing the evidence from Wednesday's chemical weapons attacks in Damascus, that are thought to have killed up to 1,300 people.

Four American warships have moved into the Mediterranean as President Barack Obama weighs up his options.

"President Obama has asked the defence department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that," said Mr Hagel, speaking in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur as part of a south[-]east Asia tour.

"Again, we are prepared to exercise whatever option, if he decides to employ one of those options." » | Harriet Alexander | Sunday, August 25, 2013

Saudi Arabia Backs Push to Carve Out Liberated Southern Syria
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia is backing a push by Syrian opposition rebels to carve out a "liberated" area in southern Syria, opening a key route of attack on Damascus.

The Kingdom is working with American intelligence officials in Jordan to help build a strong rebel force in southern Syria that can fight to seize control of Damascus, and offer a 'west friendly' counterweight to the proliferating hardline Islamist rebel groups, high level Syrian opposition sources and eyewitnesses have told the Daily Telegraph.

"Saudi Arabia is supporting groups here that are not religious extremists.

Americans are supervising the flow of arms and the Saudis pay for them," said a rebel who called himself Ahmed Masri speaking to the Daily Telegraph from the southern city of Deraa.

Saudi Arabia is also said to be supporting a US-led programme to train Syrian rebel fighters in Jordan. A well-placed opposition lobbyist based in Jordan told the Daily Telegraph that "the Americans are doing the training, but Saudi is paying the money for it".

Those receiving training are mainly moderate Sunni Muslim tribesmen from central and southern Syria, many of whom have served in the Syrian army.

Many are chosen by local opposition military councils established in southern Syria.

"They are asking us to take part in a 15-day training programme," said one Syrian fighter in Jordan speaking on the condition of anonymity. » | Ruth Sherlock, Magdy Samaan and Suha Maayeh in Amman | Friday, April 05, 2013

Damascus Mosque Suicide Bomb Blast Aftermath
Footage showing the aftermath of a suicide bomb blast at a mosque in Damascus on Thursday, in which a Sunni Muslim preacher was killed. The explosion took place during evening prayers inside the mosque. The prominent cleric and supporter of President Bashar Assad, Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, died in the blast along with others who were in attendance at the mosque

Full Speech of Bashar al-Assad, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Damascus 06/01/2013

BBC: Syria crisis: US decries Assad 'Western puppets' speech – The US has condemned a speech by Syria's President Assad that denounced his opponents as "puppets of the West". » | Monday, January 07, 2013

Related »

Damascus Demonstration: To Hell with Freedom, We Want an Islamic Caliphate and Weapons | The Internet - September 14, 2012

Warning! This Is One of Cameron's Most Stupid Suggestions! David Cameron Surprises Allies with Suggestion of Arming Syrian Rebels
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has split the western alliance with his unexpected proposals to open the door to arming the Syrian opposition, just as the US is becoming alarmed at its Islamist make-up and human rights abuses.

Downing Street is floating striking proposals to alter the European Union's embargo on Syria to allow arming the rebels, under the pretext of recognising their "right to self-defence". Rebels are demanding a shopping list of weapons they say will allow them to "finish the job" of removing President Bashar al-Assad.

But with rebel groups openly admitting to executing prisoners, and radical Islamist groups taking more prominent roles in the fighting, Mr Cameron's initiative has caused surprise in the US state department and elsewhere.

"It's amazing," said one western diplomat familiar with the startled US response. "Questions have to be asked in London as to what Cameron is thinking."

The diplomat was speaking in Doha, the Qatari capital, where a disparate collection of Syrian exiles has spent the week with western and Arab backers trying to cajole them into a semblance of unity.

Mr Cameron and European allies, including France and Italy, believe that any success should be rewarded with a bolder approach by the West on providing arms. » | Ruth Sherlock, in Doha and Richard Spencer in Idlib Province, Syria | Saturday, November 10, 2012

My comment:

What is Camoron trying to do? Turn Syria into an Islamist stronghold, or what? Go back to sleep, David! We'll call you when we want your advice. – © Mark

At Least 6 Dead, Many Injured in Car Bomb Attack in Damascus Suburb Jaramana
A crowd gathers in front of a building damaged after a car bomb in Jaramana district, near Damascus, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA October 29, 2012 (Reuters / Sana)

Syria: Iran Vows It Will Not Allow Assad to Fall
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran pledged that its "axis" with Syria will "never" be allowed to break when Tehran sought to bolster President Bashar al-Assad by sending a senior envoy to Damascus.

Mr Assad made his first appearance on state television for over a fortnight, promising to continue the struggle against his enemies "without respite".

Iran has been trying to guarantee the survival of Mr Assad, who serves as Tehran's only reliable ally in the Middle East, by supplying Syria's regime with funds, weaponry and expert personnel to aid the campaign against rebels.

Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, came to Damascus as a visible symbol of that support.

"Iran will never allow the resistance axis – of which Syria is an essential pillar – to break," he said. The "axis of resistance" refers to the Middle East's anti-Western powers: Iran, Syria and the armed groups, Hizbollah and Hamas, although in reality the latter has already broken away by ending its presence in Damascus.

Iran and Syria both claim that foreign countries have caused the uprising against Mr Assad with the aim of destroying the "axis". During his visit, Mr Jalili echoed that message. "What is happening in Syria is not an internal issue but a conflict between the axis of resistance on one hand, and the regional and global enemies of this axis on the other," he said. » | David Blair, Richard Spencer in Aleppo | Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Syria: Assad Regime Retakes Control of Damascus Suburbs
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Assad regime claimed to have retaken control of Damascus on Sunday night after its most elite fighting force ruthlessly overwhelmed rebel strongholds in the city's Sunni suburbs.

Backed by heavy artillery and helicopter gunships, the 4th Armoured Division, commanded by President Bashar al-Assad's feared younger brother Maher, swept through three rebel-held districts and laid siege to a fourth.

It was confirmed by the Israeli military last night that Mr Assad remains in the capital, following rumours in the aftermath of last week's attacks that he had fled for the coastal city of Latakia.

Sunday's counter-offensive effectively ended rebel hopes of capturing the Syrian capital and bringing a swift end to an uprising that has ground on for 16 months, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated yesterday has now killed over 19,000 people.

For more than a week, the rebel Free Syrian Army, the FSA, had fought a tenacious campaign to "liberate" Damascus, launching the wave of daring assaults at the heart of Mr Assad's most-heavily fortified citadel.

Hopes that a quick victory was in their reach were boosted by the most audacious strike of all – a bomb that struck a meeting of the regime's 14-man national security council, killing four of the president's chief lieutenants, including his powerful brother-in-law. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent and Ruth Sherlock in Beirut | Sunday, July 22, 2012

Syria Crisis: 'This Could Be a Turning Point'
Ian Black and Martin Chulov discuss the implications of the killing of three key figures in Bashar al-Assad's inner circle. The attack has opened a new phase in the conflict and proves the Free Syrian Army is capable of striking at the heart of the regime in Damascus
Watch the video here | Ian Black, Martin Chulov, Phil Maynard and Mustafa Khalili | Thursday, July 19, 2012

Syria: Bashar al-Assad 'Flees to Latakia'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An information blackout was in place around President Bashar al-Assad after an attack in Damascus that killed three top regime officials amid reports the Syrian leader had fled to his family's coastal stronghold.

Opposition sources and a Western diplomat stated Mr Assad was in the coastal city of Latakia, directing the response to the assassination of his top lieutenants, according to Reuters.

Mr Assad, who has not made a public appearance since Wednesday's bombing, was said to be commanding the government operation but it was not clear whether Assad travelled to the Mediterranean Sea resort before or after the attack.

"Our information is that he is at his palace in Latakia and that he may have been there for days," said a senior opposition figure, who declined to be named. » | Damien McElroy | Thursday, July 19, 2012



President Assad swears in new defence minister » | Thursday, July 19, 2012

Inside Story: Has the Damascus Attack Broken Al-Assad?.
The attack in Damascus has dealt a huge blow to the government, so we ask if the civil war is turning into a revolution.

Fighting Rages On Across Syrian Capital
Damascus battles continue as UN Security Council is to decide on resolution calling for sanctions against Assad regime.

Michael Stephens is a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, Qatar.

As Pressure Mounts, Syria's Assad Finds Himself with His Back against the Wall

HAARETZ.COM: A spike in defections, a waning of Russian support and the growing involvement of terror networks spell a grim future for the Syrian regime.

The recent events over the past week in Syria, particularly in Damascus, spell more bad news for President Bashar Assad, who is already facing a significantly ominous situation.

On Tuesday, Military Intelligence Chief Major General Aviv Kochavi spoke at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, but was careful about assessing when Assad's regime may collapse.

Various commentators have already been proved wrong about this issue – several times – but for those who are watching from Washington, London and even Jerusalem, the situation unfolding in Syria underscores the fact that the violence between Assad's army and relatively large rebel forces point to a significant deterioration.

The Syrian president can feel the ground shaking under his feet. Nawah al-Fares, the Syrian ambassador in Iraq who recently defected, estimated that with his back against the wall, Assad would use chemical weapons against the rebels. The West sees this as a reasonable scenario. And despite the terrible repercussions such a move may have on other places, it is doubtful that Assad will refrain from taking that step if he comes to the conclusion that it is an effective maneuver. » | Amos Harel | Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Assad's Brother-in-law and Top Syrian Officials Killed in Damascus Suicide Bomb
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and the Syrian defence minister have been killed in a bombing that struck at the heart of the country's security establishment.

State TV said President Assad's brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, and Gen Dawoud Rajha, the defence minister were victims of a blast during a high level security meeting. The Interior minister was also injured.

Gen Shawkat was the deputy defense minister and was among the most feared figures in Assad's inner circle. He is married to Assad's elder sister, Bushra.

Reports said the officials had been killed by a bodyguard in a suicide bombing in the capital of Syria but other reports said a device was placed within the building. A "terrorist bomb" which exploded at a national security building in Damascus during a meeting of ministers and security officials wounded several people, some of them critically, state television said.

The state-run news agency SANA reported that Wednesday's blast took place at the National Security building, a headquarters for one of Syria's intelligence branches. Activists in Damascus said by telephone that Republican Guards sealed off the Shami hospital in the capital after ambulances had brought casualties from the site of the explosion. Read on and comment » | Damien McElroy | Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Casualty of Media War: Gulf States Ditch Syrian TV Dramas

Syria Now Officially At War, Says President Bashar al-Assad
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Diplomats try again for peace but on the ground in Syria it is now war

As his helicopter gunships rained death from the skies and his artillery pounded villages with rebel sympathies, President Bashar al-Assad stated the obvious: Syria is at war.

"When one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory," he told his cabinet, in the safety of his heavily guarded palace in the centre of his capital Damascus. It appeared to be an attempt to stiffen the resolve of his followers, most of who[m] must now understand that the regime has decided to fight to the end, no matter how bloody or horrible that is. He pledged to eliminate "terrorists", and rejected hopes of a peace plan, which he called a foreign effort to impose a solution on Syria.

It has been obvious for a long time that much of Syria is effectively in a state of civil war. But last week there was a dangerous sense of escalation, with much of the north and west of the country now clearly out of government hands and perhaps as many as 100 people being killed every day.

Fighting spread into the capital, with rebels attacking in the suburbs. They claimed to have formed a battalion only four miles from where Assad made his announcement. Until last month, Damascus had been almost untroubled by armed clashes. » | Nick Meo | Saturday, June 30, 2012

Concerns Al-Qaeda May Be Behind Damascus Attacks
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and the opposition have traded accusations over Thursday's attacks in Damascus.

Chavez Accuses US of Trying to Topple Syria Leader
ARAB NEWS: CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is accusing the US government and its allies of provoking violence in Syria in an effort to topple its government. » | Associated Press | Published: Saturday, April 07, 2012, Updated: Monday, April 09, 2012

Russian Foreign Minister in Damascus for Assad Talks
Russia's foreign minister has arrived in Syria for talks with President Bashar al-Assad as the Syrian army's deadly bombardment of the city of Homs enters its fifth day.

Large crowds greeted Sergei Lavrov in Damascus.

His visit to Damascus comes three days after Russia and China vetoed any UN-backed measures against the Assad government over its crackdown on protesters.

Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh reports.