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Published on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 by CommonDreams.org
Syria's Assad Refuses to Leave Power, Vows 'Iron Fist' Against Threats
Assad's forced accused of killing more than 5,000 since uprising began
In a speech on Tuesday at Damascus University, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad blamed foreign conspiracies for unrest in Syria, and disparaged attempts from the Arab League to intervene in the violence.
Al Jazeera has video of part of Assad's speech:
Reuters reports that
His approach to unrest, casting it as a foreign conspiracy and countering it with violent repression and hazy promises of reform, resembled that of other Arab leaders confronted by mass protests in the past year. Three have been toppled.
Despite the persistent upheaval in Syria, in which insurgent attacks have begun to eclipse civilian demonstrations, Assad's security forces seem to retain the upper hand.
Assad remained defiant throughout the speech. Al Jazeera reports:
Striking a defiant tone, Assad urged Syrians to remain steadfast, telling them that "victory is near" and that outside forces had been unable to "find a foothold in the revolution that they had hoped for".
He also pledged to hit back at so-called terrorists following a pair of deadly bombings in Damascus and speading violence blamed on anti-government forces.
"There can be no let-up for terrorism -- it must be hit with an iron fist," he said. "The battle with terrorism is a battle for everyone, a national battle, not only the government's battle."
Assad, whose forces are accused of killing more than 5,000 people since the ongoing uprising against his rule began, is coming under increasing scrutiny from neighbouring countries.
That thousands of Syrians that have been locked up was notably absent from Assad's speech. The Guardian writes:
The appearance was Assad's first in public since Arab League monitors entered Syria last month, an idea he claimed was his own while attacking the pan-Arab body as a failure. There was no mention of withdrawing forces from cities or freeing thousands of prisoners, in line with an agreement between Damascus and the league.
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Show AllThe United States of Israel is trying to overthrow the government of Syria because it is one of the very few true allies of the Palestinians left in the Arab world and it would be a great victory for those who would like Israel to expand expand even more.
I disagree that the major reason has to do with Palestinians. Syria is an ally of Iran and the road to conquering Iran goes through Damascus. With Syria down, Iran is weakened considerably. Make no mistake that what ever you think about Assad (and fully 50% of Syrians support him) the opposition is not a single cohesive stable group but instead are many groups with as many different agendas.
The US and NATO countries are spending a lot of time and money training outfts like the Free Syria Army in urban warfare in order to destabilise Syria. Full civil war is a very likely outcome.
Alternet really draws the Nazis, doesn't it?
Oh, damn! Common Dreams is drawing them now too!
Troll.
Government Shill ALERT!
For some reason, there is virtual silence regarding the strong Syrian Orthodox Christian support for Assad and his brutal crackdown (Assad being a moderate Shia himself). I only learned of it from a Christian Syrian couple who run a small middle-eastern food shop we frequent. The topic of the events in Syria came up and they stated that they were fully behind Assad, characterizing him as "defending Syrian Christians". They characterized the Syrian protest movement as "muslim extremists".
They make the best sleek and baba ganouj in Pittsburgh, but I practically coughed my mouthful of sleek up. In an earlier visit, they characterized the Palestinian movement similarly. I may not be giving them much business anymore.
A check on some internet sources confirmed what they said. There is a strong sectarian element to the current crackdown. Forget the "Muslim extremists". Like the murderers of Sabra and Shatilla in Lebanon, the Christians can be the worst thugs in the whole Levant. Yet, you will never hear them called "terrorists"
This is clearly an intellegence operation at overthrowing leaders that are no longer useful. NGO's are just agencies of the state department and intellegence complex, veiled in noble sounding names like Freedom House and the National Endowement for Democracy. What a joke. It was clear we have provocetuers in there when that funeral got shot up. Assad may be a sick asshole, but hes not stupid. He's not going to shoot up a funeral with the whole world watching. The media makes the leaders seem like paranoid nutjobs whenever they actually say they are being sabatoged by foreigners (ie the US and their NATO bitches) but I am certain they are actually right.
And its puts me in a really annoying spot because I hate having to defend dickheads like Assad. But, with Libya serving as the most glaring example, the country will turn into a real hell hole if he leaves. But wake up people, nothing is what it appears to be.
True. The violence in Syria was instigarted by the CIA and their current lackeys, Al Qaeda. The ante has been upped on both sides. It's another gringo regime-change-for-resources caper.
This comment hasn't even a toehold on reality.
Then enlighten us with the reality.
Mookin, since you have nothing but ad hominems and opinion unsupported by any argument I have to assume you are a drive-by troll. Have you been to Syria by any chance? Do you know anything?
My comment is one of the few on this board that HAS reality as its basis--I have spent time in the Middle East, including in Syria, and you have probably never left the US.
I have LIVED outisde the US for the past 20 years, as of January 1 of this year. In Mexico, in several countries in South America, and in several countries in the Middle East.
I can manage in at least 7 languages. Therefore, I am able to be INFORMED.
You are not informed. You are simply pimping for the Empire.
Syria and Libya were the two remaining socialist states in the region. Libya, since the demise of Quadaffi, is no longer a socialist state. Syria still is.
These two states are the real targets of western imperialism in the area because of their socialism, which the west cannot exploit, so their leaders are demonized as heartless fiends, while oppressive capitalist leaders in the area are treated quite sympathetically by the media.
Russia foolishly went along with the west's invasion of Libya, but has signaled the west that it will not sit idly by if Syria is attacked. Russian warships have recently been stationed in Syrian ports.
These commenters, when they're not proud bigots or NWO conspiracy crackpots, are lost in abstractions and devoid of human feeling.
I love the way the CIA got a guy to set himself on fire in Tunisia and kickstart the whole thing off. Now that's what I call dedication to your work ethic!
Tunisia has nothing to do with this. It doesn't have any resources the US is currently after.
Don't try to move the pea to under another shell, pal. The CIA drove the whole scenario of destruction in Libya.
Tunisia has nothing to do with the so called Arab Spring? You're not very clued up, are you?
Mookin Troll, are you carbon or silicon based?
This is different than Egypt in that there is an armed insurrection going on so each side would like to blame the other for any bombings or other atrocities of War.
It has been a Cvil War, more than folks demonstrating.
Empire of War has hurt all of the Mid East as well as the rest of the world.
You know the "friend of my friend" thing is true a lot of the time, and Syria has been steadfast for the Palestinians, but I am not sure it was out of altruism, and their domination of a lot of Lebanon historically hasn't been always the best thing for Lebanon.
I don't know that this was instigated by the West, but I am not that sure that Assad's ouster is going to be that bad for the people there. Assad is NOT a good guy, regardless of his country being socialist or not.
Of course he is not a good guy. FAUX says so right? Do I support Assad? No. But you support all the western imperialists moves. Do you know what percentage of people support Assad? Or whether the Christians in that country support Assad? I bet you don't. You just take the facts from FAUX news and regurgitate them here.
And I see your buddy Mookins along here for your "moral" support.
I am someone--possibly the only one posting here--who has spent a fair amount of time in the Middle East, including some time in Syria.
No, I don't claim that Assad is Mary Poppins. But if one uses the yardstick of measuring leaders by the amount of damage they do to folks in their own country, plus in other countries on the planet, he's a lot more Mary Poppins than Obama.
Let's get real here: On a scale of one to ten for responsible leadership on the planet, Obama is at absolute zero, while Assad is probably about a 4 or 5.
Right now the most responsible leaders on the planet are in this hemisphere, but not in North America. They are in South America (excluding those in Chile and Colombia). And the US is trying to destabilize them, too.
The bad guy in this scenario is obvious.
Is anyone else getting suspicious of this '5,000 or more killed in Syria' talking point that is parrotted endlessly? It's been echo-chambered 5,000 for a long time now and as far as I know the instability is continuing and deaths also. It sounds awfully like the 'WMDs in Iraq' and the 'wipe Israel off the face of Earth' to me.
There's no doubt people are being killed and it may even be 5,000 for all I know but this figure, it turns out, is an unsubstantiated estimate by just one person.
It may be substantially fewer than 5,000 particularly if it was expedient and in the interest of the estimator to exaggerate.
"His approach to unrest, casting it as a foreign conspiracy and countering it with violent repression and hazy promises of reform, resembled that of other Arab leaders confronted by mass protests in the past year"
And you don't think there was any foreign money or meddling behind it? Not even when oil could be had? CIA anyone?
The US/Israel/Saudis/Turkey are funding and organizing al-Queda terrorists who murder Syrians. All in an attempt to further US domination of the Middle East. Beware of "humanitarian" imperialist propaganda -- "lets prevent a massacre" type lies are always peddled the most during Democratic presidencies, to get mindless "progressives" to support criminal, aggressive wars for Wall Street.
No one in the United States of America would ever be arrested for daring to protest their Government. Were Libyans and Iranians and Russians and Chinese arming US Citizens and providing them with material support with the Goal of overthrowing the Governmnet of the United States of America by force the US police forces and National Guard would NOT resort to force.
The fact is this. One of the major leaders of the Syrian faction resisting the Governmnet is from outside the Country and iis calling for an Islamic State. It is also a fact as admitted to by oneof the leaders that arms and material support are coming into Syria from Turkey to support this resistance.
This was the model used in Libya.( Estimates are that NATO bombings killed 60000 in Libya)
Yep, the US is at it again.
It's in debt to its eyeballs, doesn't have a pot to piss in, but every cent it scrapes together from taxes goes to fuel its cronies Big Guns and Big Oil in the imposed war for resources.
In Nicaragua, at the inauguration for Ortega, the prsidents of Venezuela and Iran call for peace.
Who's the bullying baddie in this scenario?