Obama wants to arm al-Qaeda --- O is just another interventionist president willing to sacrifice American interests for the US war machine. Maybe his children will be forced into servitude.
On Jun 18, 6:51 am, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/17/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE95C1... > **** > > ** ** > Putin says West arming Syrian rebels who eat human flesh**** > > **· **Tweet <http://twitter.com/share>**** > > By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Alexei Anishchuk**** > > AMMAN/LONDON | Mon Jun 17, 2013 6:20am EDT**** > > AMMAN/LONDON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, arriving in > Britain ahead of an international summit set to be dominated by > disagreement over the U.S. decision to send weapons to Syria's rebels, said > the West must not arm fighters who eat human flesh.**** > > In Syria <http://www.reuters.com/places/syria>, rebels fought back on > Sunday against forces of President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese > Hezbollah allies near Aleppo, where Assad has announced a campaign to > recapture the rebel-held north after seizing a strategic town this month.*** > * > > After months of deliberations, Washington decided last week to send weapons > to the rebels, declaring that Assad's forces had crossed a "red line" by > using nerve gas.**** > > The move throws the superpower's weight behind the revolt and signals a > potential turning point in global involvement in a two-year-old war that > has already killed at least 93,000 people.**** > > It has also infuriated Russia <http://www.reuters.com/places/russia>, Cold > War-era ally of Syria, which has sold arms to Assad and used its veto at > the U.N. Security Council to block resolutions against him.**** > > Russia has dismissed the U.S. evidence that Assad's forces used nerve gas. > The White House says President Barack Obama will try to lobby Putin to drop > his support for Assad during this week's G8 summit hosted by British Prime > Minister David Cameron.**** > > After meeting Cameron in London, Putin said Russia wanted to create the > conditions for a resolution of the conflict.**** > > "One does not really need to support the people who not only kill their > enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the > public and cameras," Putin said.**** > > "Are these the people you want to support? Are they the ones you want to > supply with weapons? Then this probably has little relation to the > humanitarian values preached in Europe for hundreds of years."**** > > The incident Putin referred to was most likely that of a rebel commander > filmed last month cutting into the torso of a dead soldier and biting into > a piece of one of his organs.**** > > Both sides have been accused of atrocities in the conflict. The United > States and other countries that aid the rebels say one of the reasons for > doing so is to support mainstream opposition groups and reduce the > influence of extremists.**** > > DOUBTS OVER CONFERENCE**** > > The U.S. plan to arm the rebels also places new doubt over plans for an > international peace conference called by Washington and Moscow, their first > joint attempt in a year to try to seek a settlement.**** > > After meeting Putin, Britain's Cameron said the divide between Russia and > the West over Syria could be bridged, although they disagreed about who was > at fault.**** > > "What I take from our conversation today is that we can overcome these > differences if we recognize that we share some fundamental aims: to end the > conflict, to stop Syria breaking apart, to let the Syrian people decide who > governs them and to take the fight to the extremists and defeat them."**** > > Britain has not said whether it too will arm the rebels, but the issue is > contentious even within Cameron's Conservative-led government. Nick Clegg, > the deputy prime minister from his Liberal Democrat coalition partners, > said: "We clearly don't think it's the right thing to do now, or else we > would have done it."**** > > Under its new posture, Washington has also said it will keep warplanes and > Patriot surface-to-air missiles in Jordan, an ally whose territory it can > use to help arm and train rebel fighters. Washington has 4,500 troops in > Jordan carrying out exercises.**** > > Washington has not ruled out imposing a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, > perhaps near the Jordanian border, although it has taken no decision yet to > do so.**** > > Jordan's King Abdullah rallied his own armed forces on Sunday, telling > military cadets: "If the world does not help as it should, and if the > matter becomes a danger to our country, we are able at any moment to take > the measures to protect the country and the interests of our people."**** > > Washington hopes its backing will restore rebel momentum after Assad's > forces seized the initiative by gaining the open support of Hezbollah, > Lebanon's Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia, which sent thousands of seasoned > fighters to aid Assad.**** > > Just a few months ago, Western countries believed Assad's days were > numbered. But with Hezbollah's support he was able to achieve a major > victory this month in Qusair, a strategically located rebel-held town on a > main route from Lebanon.**** > > FIGHT FOR ALEPPO**** > > Since then, the government has announced major plans to seize the north, > including Aleppo, Syria's biggest city and commercial centre, largely > rebel-held for nearly a year. The United Nations says it fears for a > bloodbath in the north.**** > > Rebels say they are fighting back against government offensives in the > north. An opposition operations room in northern Aleppo said fighters had > destroyed an army tank and killed 20 troops at Marat al-Arteek, a town > where opposition sources say rebels are holding back an armored column sent > to reinforce loyalists from isolated Shi'ite villages.**** > > "Assad's forces and Hezbollah are trying to control northern rural Aleppo > but they are being repelled and dealt heavy losses," Colonel Abdeljabbar > al-Okeidi, a Free Syrian Army commander in Aleppo, told al-Arabiya > Television.**** > > He said Hezbollah had sent up to 2,000 fighters to Aleppo and the > surrounding areas, but expressed confidence the opposition would prevail.*** > * > > "Aleppo and Qusair are different. In Qusair we were surrounded by villages > that had been occupied by Hezbollah and by loyalist areas. We did not even > have a place to take our wounded. In Aleppo, we have a strategic depth and > logistical support and we are better organized," he said. "Aleppo will turn > into the grave of these Hezbollah devils."**** > > Battles were also fought inside Aleppo itself, where thousands of loyalist > troops and militiamen reinforced by Hezbollah have been massing and > attacking opposition-held parts of the city, driving rebel fighters back.*** > * > > Opposition activists said the army was also airlifting troops behind rebel > lines to Ifrin, in a Kurdish area, which would give access for a bigger > sweep inside the city.**** > > "For a week, the rebel forces have been generally on the retreat in Aleppo, > but the tide has started turning in the last two days," said Abu Abdallah, > an activist in the area.**** > > Hezbollah's support for Assad, a follower of the minority Alawite offshoot > of Shi'ite Islam, against mainly Sunni Muslim rebels has increased fears of > sectarian violence spreading into neighboring countries.**** > > In Lebanon, security sources said gunmen had shot dead four Shi'ite Muslim > men in an ambush in the Bekaa Valley close to the Syrian frontier. It was > not clear who was behind the shooting.**** > > Lebanon is still rebuilding from its own sectarian civil war, fought from > 1975-1990. Fighting between Sunnis and Shi'ites was also behind most of the > violence in Iraq in the decade after the U.S. invasion of 2003.**** > > ** ** > > __._,_.__ > > __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
