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Saturday, December 8, 2012

State of the war in Syria: Most of Damascus now in FSA hands!

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As these maps published Friday by the Institute for the Study of War show, Bashar al-Assad now controls less than half of his capital city of Damascus, and is basically holding up in his stronghold of downtown Damascus. It is these facts on the ground that are now driving this recent flurry of international activity around Syria.

The Syrian people are on the verge of winning this war with very little help from the US or anyone else in the international "community" and NATO and Russia and everyone else are all scrambling for a way to deal with that.


The Battle for Damascus: The Current State of Play in Syria
by Institute for the Study of War on Dec 07, 2012
Recent rebel victories in the Syrian capital region, such as the closure of the Damascus International airport, have led to speculation that the Assad regime may be close to collapse. While this is possible, it is also important to recognize that the regime still maintains control of downtown Damascus despite these significant victories for the opposition. This elevates the question of where specifically the regime still maintains control in Damascus.
Were any Syrians invited to this meeting today?
Russia and US in Geneva talks over future of Syria
But foreign minister says 'brainstorming session' with UN envoy does not signal Moscow's support for Assad is waning
Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 9 December 2012 11.46 EST
Russian and American diplomats have met in Geneva to discuss the future of Syria with the UN envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, according to the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, who insisted the meeting did not imply Moscow had softened in its support for the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad. More...

They describe the regime's tactics this way:
The regime has consolidated much of ita forces in Damascus city center and reduced patrolling in suburbs with robust opposition presence. In retaliation for rebel activity in these neighborhoods, the regime is responding broadly with air strikes and artillery, and with civilian massacres in the Sunni southern neighborhoods of Damascus.
Whatever crimes and mistakes may have been made by fighters on the opposition side, they don't rely on tactics that specifically target civilians the way Assad does.

That is why I will continue to point out that those Kossacks who promote the view that both sides in this civil war are equally bad are spreading Assad's propaganda and are objectively on the side of the regime and in support of its policy of mass murder.

The so-called anti-interventionist "left" is still in complete denial as to the true nature and current situation in Syria as a glance at today's Global Research quickly shows. They still fully support the fascist Assad regime.

Post these statements under delusional:
[I]t appears that the hounds of hell are desperately barking for some action on Syria. Frustrated by the successful efforts of the Syrian government to turn back the western backed and armed terrorists, their stooges and proxies, they have gone back to old tactics again...here they go again, trying to put the international community in a receptive mood to the idea of attacking Syria by claiming that the Assad government, not them, is desperate enough to use chemical weapons, specifically sarin gas.
...
“I think there is no question that we remain very concerned, very concerned,” Panetta said, “that, as the opposition advances, in particular in Damascus, that regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons.”

Panetta has things backwards, like all of them. The terrorist “opposition” is not making advances, even though they try. They are getting their collective behinds kicked. The Syrian Arab Army remains very strong and in good spirits.
Clearly they are lying or completely delusional about how the tide of battle is going, but the troubling thing about all this talk, coming from the pro-Assad forces, about a Western-backed false flag chemical attack, makes me fear greatly that Assad is planning to use chemical warfare in spite of all the warnings. In fact, for Global Research, that is already a foregone conclusion. We don't even have to wait for the attack to see how they'll call it:
Any use of chemical weapons will obviously have the fingerprints of terrorists, not the Syrian government, all over them. Cui bono (to whose benefit) is such an attack? It’s obvious, as has been since the beginning of these fascist, imperialist wars.
and why not, they already blame US imperialism for all the deaths in Syria:
The hungry monster of US imperialism is not satisfied with having killed around 35,000 Syrians, a large number of them defense forces.
Is it the US imperialists that are dropping cluster bombs on Syrian cities or is it that US imperialism is forcing Assad to do it?

Carl Davidson once recommended Global Research to me as a creditable source. I wonder if he still does?



In this evenings broadcast, the channel formerly known as Russia Today is also expecting chemical attack in Syria but they are also claiming that it is the opposition that has and will be using chemical weapons. This is very troubling talk from a source that rarely bothers to mention how many people are being murdered in Syria.

GRAPHIC VIDEO: This is what Bashar did today | 9 December 2012



Here are my related diaries on Syria:
Syria: Obama's moves Assad's "red line" back as SOHR reports 42,000 dead!
UPDATED: #Syria goes dark as "cleansing" begins in Damascus
BREAKING: #Assad's Troops Wipe Out a Playground Full of Children in #Syria
BREAKING: #Russia denies #Syria-n army on brink of collapse
BREAKING in Syria: Explosion rocks #Damascus as people use "Truce Day" to protest regime
We condemn Israel. So why the silence on Syria?
Norodom Sihanouk at his finest & more on Syria
Meet a Syrian who doesn't think both sides are equally bad and is betting her life on it!
Two statements about Syria
Syria Today: New videos from the revolutionary war
Syrian Defector: Assad behind "terrorist" bombs
How Assad fights "terrorism" in Syria
REVISITED: FSA says it killed Russian General in Syria
Turkey attacks Syria
Truth Out: How Assad helped France kill Qaddafi
Panetta: Unilateral U.S. Military Intervention in Syria Would Be a Serious Mistake
BREAKING: 305 Syrians slaughtered in bloodiest day yet
Syria: Secret source of rebel arms revealed
BREAKING: Amnesty on Syria - Assad Regime guilty on indiscriminate slaughter
Syrian Revolution Digest shows "disgusting" photos!
Syria: The Killing Field the World is Learning to Live With
Barack Obama's Courtship of Bashar al-Assad
LIVE VIDEO: “World Silence is Killing #Syria” Rally in #DC
Free #Syria responds to Robert Fisk
UPDATED: #Assad: "#Syria doesn't need a green light!"
#Obama opposes French support for #Assad's opposition in #Syria
BREAKING: Amnesty site hacked, Assad propaganda posted
BREAKING: 630 Slaughtered in new massacre in Syria
Special message from Syrian children to Obama
Assad's Redline and Obama's Greenlight!
General Meade at Gettysburg
Tell US gov't to stop endangering Syrian activists
UPDATED: #Obama "green lights" #Assad's slaughter in #Syria
Syria: Turning Battlegrounds into Playgrounds
BREAKING: Bashar al-Assad is alive as deaths in Syria reach 25,000
The Left and the Arab Spring
Iran increasing its intervention in Syria
Syria: Images from the Battle of Aleppo
Fears grow of WMD attack in Syria
UPDATED: FSA says it killed Russian General in Syria
BREAKING: Syria releases new images of Bashar al- Assad | Are they fakes?
NOT BREAKING NEWS: Just another massacre in Syria
UPDATED: Syrian prime minister defects
Syria: FSA says Iranian pilgrims really Republican Guard
Syria: Aleppo under Siege!
BREAKING: UN votes to condemn Assad Regime as Reuters posts false story on Syria
BREAKING: Kofi Annan resigns as envoy to Syria
Syria: Bashar al-Assad not heard from on Armed Forces Day!
BREAKING: Senior Syrian diplomat to Armenia defects
BREAKING: Big Explosion hits #Damascus #Syria
UPDATED: Syria's Charge D'Affaires Quits London Post
BREAKING: Ground assault on Aleppo begins!
BREAKING: Protests across Syria in spite of Assad regime violence
ALEPPO: Step outside the Matrix and witness the Horror
UPDATED: US fears massacre in #Aleppo, #Syria
BREAKING: Reports of clashes between Jordan Army & Assad's Syrian army
BRAKING: Obama stops Putin from re-arming Assad in Syria
Syria: Foreign meddling increases as crisis builds
BREAKING: Aleppo, Syria bombed with fighter jets
BREAKING: Syria issues a correction, it has no WMD to use
BREAKING: Arab League asks Assad to step down!
Bashar al-Assad: New images released as slaughter continues in Syria
no blood for oil
BREAKING: Activists report toxic gas attack in Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Glenn Greenwald sees Islamist Terrorism as main issue in Syria
Will Syria's Assad make a chemical attack in Damascus on Saturday?
BREAKING: I know where Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is!
BREAKING: Massive Fire near #Assad's Presidential Palace in #Damascus, #Syria
BREAKING: Is Syria's Bashar al-Assad dead or dying?
BREAKING: Damascus explosion kills Defense Minister, other key figures
The battle for Damascus is coming
BREAKING: General Strike in Damascus
BREAKING: Intense fighting reported in Damascus now!
BREAKING: Syrian defector spills beans as important new defection reported.
Does Syria's Assad have something on Kofi Annan?
Tremseh Massacre in Syria: What we know
BREAKING: ~227 reported massacred by Assad's forces in Tremseh, Syria today!
Syria: Is Assad regime on the verge of collapse?
BREAKING: Russian Warships reported in Syria
BREAKING: #Russia changing on #Assad but not as fast as conditions in #Syria
UN Observers say violence in Syria is ‘Unprecedented’
BREAKING: Defection of major Assad insider reported in Syria
BREAKING: WikiLeaks releases 2.4 million #Syria emails
When did "Never Again" become "Whenever?" | #Douma
BREAKING: Incredible mass rally in Aleppo, Syria today!
BREAKING: HRW releases torture report on Syria
BREAKING: Syrian General defects with 293 to Turkey
BREAKING: Items not in the MSM on Syria
My response to Phyllis Bennis: Where is the non-violent opposition in Syria?
BREAKING: Syrian Air Force attacks Douma, 10m from Damascus, thousands flee
BREAKING: As Syria Burns, UN Blows More Smoke
BREAKING: Kofi Annan to propose Syrian unity gov't sans Assad!
BREAKING: Douma, Syria under massive attack, another massacre feared
BREAKING: Another mass defection from Syrian army
BREAKING: #NATO says No War in #Syria shoot down of #Turkey jet
NATO meetup tomorrow as more defect from Syria
BREAKING: Turkey calls for NATO consult on downing of jet by Syria
BREAKING: Senior Syrian Officers Defect
UPDATED: Russia reported to be preparing to evacuate from Syria
BREAKING: Syria fighter pilot defects
BREAKING: Britain stops Russian ship carrying attack helicopters for Syria
BREAKING: Russian troops headed to Syria
Qaddafi forces Strike Back in Libya
BREAKING: UN suspends mission in Syria
Libya & Syria - two videos - no comment
BREAKING: Russia denies supplying Syria with NEW attack helicopters
Syrian people rise up against the massacre
Another "Houla style" massacre in Syria
Fake Houla Massacre Photo: Was the BBC set up?
Idlib, Syria protest today on anniversary of Kent State killings
BREAKING: Massive protests in Syria following Friday pray
Syria is bleeding
Syria: Ceasefire faltering as mass protests breakout

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