WarSclerotic

White House: Bashar Assad Regime In Syria Does Not Deserve To Rule.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration ramped up its criticism of the Syrian government Wednesday, accusing it of continuing to “mow down” its citizens despite promises to halt a brutal crackdown on reformers. The White House said President Bashar Assad cannot be trusted, does not deserve to rule and must leave power.

“The words of the Assad regime have no credibility when they continue to be followed by outrageous and deplorable actions,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement that noted that the violence was getting worse just days after the government agreed to an Arab League initiative aimed at ending the crisis. “They have already flagrantly violated their commitment to end violence and withdraw security forces from residential areas,” he said.

“The United States continues to believe that the only way to bring about the change that the Syrian people deserve is for Bashar al-Assad to leave power,” Carney said.

He said the administration is deeply disturbed by continued reports of government-backed violence. Witnesses said more than 200 people have been in killed in two days this week. The violence came after Assad agreed to allow in foreign monitors under the Arab League plan, return troops to barracks and release political prisoners. On Wednesday, a witness and two activist groups said government forces surrounded residents of a Syrian village and killed more than 100 people in a barrage that lasted for hours.

“Time and again, the Assad regime has demonstrated that it does not deserve to rule Syria. It’s time for this suffering and killing to stop,” Carney said. He called on the international community to unite in warning Assad that Syria will face additional measures, including more punitive sanctions, unless the regime changes course.

At the State Department, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the stepped-up violence signaled that Syria’s acceptance of the Arab League is merely a “stalling tactic.”

“This is not the behavior of a government that is getting ready to implement the Arab League proposals,” she told reporters, adding later that: “We’ve got lots of promises as the government continues to mow down its own people.”

Nuland said the U.S. would continue to press for more action on Syria at the U.N. Security Council, including an endorsement of the Arab League plan. The Security Council has been unable to reach consensus on imposing sanctions on Syria, as the United States and Europe have done on their own, due to opposition from permanent, veto-wielding members Russia and China. However, Russia last week submitted a draft resolution to the council, which Washington sees as a sign Moscow may be ready to support U.N. action.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the proposed resolution by phone earlier this week, the State Department said.

Syria Troops Attack Northwest Town, Killing At Least 100: Reports.

BEIRUT — Government forces surrounded residents of a restive Syrian village in a valley and killed all those trapped inside – more than 100 people – in a barrage of rockets, tank shells, bombs and gunfire that lasted for hours, a witness and two activist groups said Wednesday.

The attack on Tuesday pushed the death toll for two days of violence across Syria to more than 200, and was one of the deadliest single events of the entire nine-month uprising against President Bashar Assad’s authoritarian rule.

The White House reacted by renewing its call for Assad to step down, saying his regime does not deserve to rule.

The offensive targeted the village of Kfar Owaid, about 30 miles from the northern border with Turkey. It is part of the rugged mountainous region of Jabal al-Zawiyah, which has been the scene of clashes between troops and army defectors and intense anti-government protests for weeks. Syrian troops began attacking the region on Saturday, residents said.

“It was an organized massacre,” said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “The troops surrounded people then killed them.”

Syrian officials have not commented on the allegations.

The White House said Assad’s regime has no credibility and has “flagrantly violated” its commitment to end violence. The statement said the Obama administration is deeply disturbed by continued reports of government-backed violence against the Syrian people.

One villager who is an anti-government activist told The Associated Press by telephone that scores of residents and activists fled Tuesday morning to the nearby Budnaya Valley, where they were completely surrounded by troops. The forces bombarded them with tank shells, rockets and heavy machine gun fire. The man, who identified himself only as Abu Rabih for fear of government reprisal, said troops also used bombs filled with nails to increase the number of casualties.

“What happened yesterday was a crime against humanity,” Abu Rabih said. He said 110 people were killed in the attack and 56 of the dead were buried in Kfar Owaid on Wednesday. Others were buried in villages nearby.

According to activists, all of those in the valley were unarmed civilians and activists, there were no armed military defectors among them.

Abu Rabih said the Jabal al-Zawiyah region has been under intense attack by government forces since Saturday.

Assad agreed Monday to allow foreign monitors under an Arab League plan aimed at stopping the bloodshed. But the huge toll from the crackdown on Monday and Tuesday has reinforced opposition suspicions that Assad is just playing for time to stall a new round of international condemnation and sanctions. The crackdown has already left Assad internationally isolated and under tremendous pressure from the Arab world as well as the west.

The Arab League plan calls for Syria to halt its crackdown, open talks with the opposition, withdraw military forces from city streets and allow in human rights workers and journalists

Despite intensified violence, the Arab League appeared to be going ahead with its plans to send the monitors.

In Cairo, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby appealed to the Syrian government to shoulder its responsibilities to protect civilians in compliance with its pledges to abide by the League’s plan. He expressed deep concern about reports of an escalation of violence, especially in the provinces of Idlib, Homs, Daraa and Deir el-Zour.

The 22-member Arab League has also suspended Syria’s membership and leveled economic and diplomatic sanctions.

The White House warned Damascus that additional steps will be taken to pressure Assad’s regime if the Arab League initiative is not fully implemented.

In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said “everything must be done to stop this murderous spiral into which Bashar Assad is leading his people more every day.” He added: “It is urgent that the U.N. Security Council pass a firm resolution demanding the end to this repression.”

The German government’s human rights commissioner, Markus Loening, called for an immediate end to violence against deserters and demonstrators. “It is dreadful to see how Bashar Assad and his helpers are clinging onto power and trampling on the Syrian population’s wish for dignity and freedom.”

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said “it is unacceptable” that so many people were killed even after Assad’s regime agreed to an Arab League plan to halt the bloodshed.

Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian National Council described the attack as “brutal massacres and genocide” saying the group has sent messages to members of the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on Syria. The SNC also urged the international community in a statement for international protection of the Syrian people.

Assad’s regime agreed to allow the monitoring mission after Arab leaders warned they would turn to the U.N. Security Council to try to end the crackdown.

The Syrian conflict, which began with peaceful protests in March, has become increasingly militarized in recent weeks, with clashes nearly every day between troops and army defectors who have joined the movement against Assad. Idlib province has witnessed some of the most intense clashes. The U.N. says more than 5,000 people have died in unrest since March.

On Wednesday, the Observatory said security forces shot dead three people in the Damascus suburb of Zabadani and one in the northern town of Saraqeb. It added that troops stormed the town of Dael in the southern province of Daraa wounding dozens of people. The LCC said 12 people were killed Wednesday, five of them in the central province of Hama.

Activists said this bloody crackdown may be an attempt by the regime to crush defectors before the monitors arrive in the country. On Monday, security forces killed up to 70 army defectors as they were deserting their military posts in Idlib near the Turkish border, activists said.

“The regime is trying to control the situation before the Arab League send its observers but it’s over. The regime will go,” Abdul-Rahman said.

Abdul-Rahman corroborated the account of the witness in Kfar Owaid. He said troops on the outskirts of the village surrounded and fired on crowds of civilians and activists trying to flee out of fear they would be detained. The group, which uses a network of local activists to collect information on the crackdown, said 111 were killed in Kfar Owaid Tuesday.

The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, also said more than 100 people were killed. The accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has banned most foreign journalists and places heavy restrictions on the work of local reporters.

In Damascus, the Iranian embassy said Wednesday that five Iranian engineers who work at an electricity station in the central Syrian city of Homs have been kidnapped. It said the engineers were kidnapped Tuesday in the restive city that has witnessed intense anti-regime activities.

Israel, Turkey strengthen air for… JPost – Diplomacy & Politics.

    The Israel Air Force has reestablished a coordination mechanism with Turkey which works to prevent aerial misunderstandings and potential clashes over the Mediterranean Sea.

Once long time friends and training partners, ties between the IAF and the Turkish Air Force came to an end following Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in 2009.
Despite the breakdown though in diplomatic and military ties, the IAF continued to maintain an open line of communication with the Turkish Air Force to prevent potential misunderstandings when pilots from both countries encounter one another flying over the Mediterranean.

This too came to an end though in September when a United Nations commission, established to investigate the 2010 Turkish flotilla incident, determined that Israel’s sea blockade over the Gaza Strip is legitimate. It said however that the Navy raid on the Mavi Marmara ship, which ended with nine dead passengers, was excessive and unreasonable.

A senior IAF officer said Wednesday that the coordination mechanism was recently reactivated as part of the countries’ efforts to stabilize and improve ties. Two weeks ago, The Turkish military attache to Israel attended an IAF briefing for foreign military officers at the Uvda Air Force Base on the sidelines of the IAF joint maneuvers with the Italian Air Force.

The officer said that the IAF would also likely invite Turkey to participate in a large-scale international aerial drill that it will be hosting in Israel in 2013. The IAF has significantly increased the number of joint training drills it holds with foreign countries in recent years.

“There is nothing preventing them from participating,” the officer said.

US warns Syria’s Assad to stop killing – JPost – Middle East.

    WASHINGTON – The United States said on Wednesday it is “deeply disturbed” by reports of the indiscriminate killing of scores of Syrian civilians and army defectors and warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that the violence must stop.

Activists said Syrian forces killed 111 people ahead of a mission to monitor Assad’s implementation of an Arab League peace plan, which White House press secretary Jay Carney called a flagrant violation of Damascus’ commitment to the deal.

“We urge Syria’s few remaining supporters in the international community to warn Damascus that if the Arab League initiative is once again not fully implemented, the international community will take additional steps to pressure the Assad regime to stop its crackdown,” he said in a statement.

Washington has called repeatedly for Assad to step down since authorities launched a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators seeking his ouster, and said the latest killings were further evidence he did not deserve to rule.

“Bashar Assad should have no doubt that the world is watching, and neither the international community nor the Syrian people accept his legitimacy,” Carney said.

‘IDF must be vigilant on northern front amid S… JPost – Defense.

    The situation in Syria is unstable and the IDF needs to keep a watchful eye on daily developments along its northern front, Commander of the Israel Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan said Wednesday.

“We are following events in Syria all the time because what happens there could impact the region,” Nehushtan said during a briefing at the Palmachim Air Force Base in central Israel.

Nehushtan’s comments came as Israel is increasingly concerned about the possibility that Syria will transfer advanced weaponry, such as long-range missiles and sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah has been reported to be making efforts to transfer such weapons from Syria over concern that they could potentially be lost if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime is toppled.

Summing up 2011, Nehushtan said that the IAF carried out hundreds of air strikes, thousands of sorties, tens of thousands of flight hours and around 30 interceptions of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system.

Asked about recent comments made by US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey regarding the nuclear threat posed by Iran, Nehushtan refused to comment.

“The IAF will continue over the coming year to monitor the challenges that Israel faces and to provide security for the people of Israel,” he said.

‘US, Israel on same page over Ir… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.

    The United States understands the true military threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program and is on the same page with Israel regarding the severity of the issue, Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said Wednesday, according to Channel 10 news.

“The Americans are aware of the true intelligence and they understand that the Iranian threat is not something innocent, but something real,” Vilnai said.

The home front defense minister was responding to a CNN interview of Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey earlier Wednesday, in which he said the US recognizes Israeli concerns about Iran’s development of nuclear technology.

Vilnai said that the mind-set in Washington was “different two years ago,” and that the US position vis a vis Tehran’s nuclear agenda today mirrors the one held in Jerusalem.

The Iranian threat is “militant and nuclear and only the naive still believe it is peaceful,” Vilnai said, adding that “[the US] completely understands this now.”

Speaking to CNN, Dempsey said he was concerned that the US will get drawn into conflict with Iran, and said the United States is collaborating with Israel on the Iran issue.

“My biggest worry is they will miscalculate our resolve,” Dempsey said, referring to Iran. “Any miscalculation could mean that we are drawn into conflict, and that would be a tragedy for the region and the world.”

“We are trying to establish some confidence on the part of the Israelis that we recognize their concerns and are collaborating with them on addressing them,” he continued.

Dempsey went on to say that the US is “of course” using a variety of means to gather intelligence on Iran.

“It would be rather imprudent of us not to try to understand what a nation who has declared itself to be an adversary of the United States is doing,” the general said.

Dempsey’s comments echoed those of US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who told CBS on Monday that the US understands Israel’s concerns, and warned of the quickening pace of Iran’s nuclear-arms development.

Despite efforts to disrupt the nuclear program in Iran, Tehran has reached a point where it can assemble a bomb in a year or potentially less, Panetta said during the interview with CBS News.

When asked by CBS News anchor Scott Pelley if Iran can have a nuclear weapon by 2012, Panetta answered: “It would probably be about a year before they can do it. Perhaps a little less. But one proviso, Scott, is if they have a hidden facility somewhere in Iran that may be enriching fuel.”

When asked what steps the US would be willing to take in order to prevent a nuclear attack, Panetta said that if intelligence is received that Iran is proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon then “we will take whatever steps necessary to stop it.”

“There are no options off the table,” he added.

Top US general: Military options achievable – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey warns Iranian regime against ‘miscalculating our resolve.’ Any miscalculation, he says, ‘could mean that we are drawn into conflict, which would be a tragedy for the region and the world’

Ynet

US General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says in an interview with CNN published Wednesday, that preparations are being made for a possible strike in Iran, while warning the Tehran regime against “miscalculating” the American intentions and playing a dangerous game that could lead to a disaster.

“I am satisfied that the options that we are developing are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary,” Dempsey said during a visit to Afghanistan, adding that there was no guarantee Israel would give the United States warning if it decided to attack Iran.

“We are trying to establish some confidence on the part of the Israelis that we recognize their concerns and are collaborating with them on addressing them,” said the top general.

Dempsey with President Obama. ‘Iran playing a dangerous game’ (Photo: AFP)

Dempsey has been touring the globe in the past few days, CNN reported. From Iraq to Afghanistan, Kuwait to Saudi Arabia, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff heard about growing concerns over Iran’s ambitions.

“My biggest worry is they will miscalculate our resolve,” he said. “Any miscalculation could mean that we are drawn into conflict, and that would be a tragedy for the region and the world.”

Gathering intelligence

Washington suffered a heavy blow in its secret war against Tehran with the recent loss of a US spy drone over Iran. Asked about the issue, Dempsey told CNN that the loss of the drone was not the end of American efforts to figure out what Iran was doing.

“If you are asking, ‘Are we gathering intelligence against Iran in a variety of means?’ the answer is of course,” he said. “It would be rather imprudent of us not to try to understand what a nation who has declared itself to be an adversary of the United States is doing.”

Behind the scenes, CNN said, Dempsey is quietly leading the ongoing military planning for an attack against Iran’s nuclear weapons in the event the president gives the order to do so.

“We are examining a range of options,” he said, echoing the “all options on the table” line used by administration officials.

Dempsey’s comments come on the backdrop of Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s declarationthat the US believes Iran is capable of developing a nuclear weapon within a year’s time, if it chooses to do so.

Panetta guaranteed that this was a “red line” for the US, which would take any possible step to prevent it.

According to CNN, the Pentagon is pushing back against suggestions that Panetta has speeded up the US prediction of when Iran could have a nuclear weapon.

“Nothing has changed about the views he has expressed – repeatedly – of the concerns about where Iran is headed and about the approach the United States and the international community need to continue to take,” Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said Tuesday.

“I think what he meant in general was they could have the nuclear weapons capability in a year, I think was how he captured that,” Kirby said. “We all recognize that is a difficult process – could be that fast, might not be that fast.”

Assad losing control as 10,000 soldiers desert Syrian military – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Scores killed in Tuesday’s clashes, including 14 troops ambushed by opposition.

By Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel

More than 10,000 soldiers have deserted the Syrian army, sources say, with as many as half the conscripts not reporting in the last three call-ups.

According to Western intelligence agencies, even though the top brass is still loyal to President Bashar Assad, lower-level officers are deserting in large numbers, and in some cases, whole units have deserted en masse.

	A demonstrator protests against Syria’s President Bashar Assad in Damascus, earlier this week.
	Photo by: Reuters

The army is considered the main factor safeguarding Assad’s regime, after mass protests began in the south in March and spread throughout the country, inspired by the demonstrations elsewhere in the Arab world.

On Tuesday, at least 73 people were killed in Syria in clashes between the army and opposition, most of them in Homs in the west and Idlib in the northwest. The 73 dead added to the 100 who were killed on Monday, among them 14 soldiers ambushed by opposition forces, human rights groups said.

The groups added that Assad’s forces were transferring wounded opposition activists from hospitals to army bases to prevent them from testifying to Arab League observers expected to arrive under a deal struck on Monday.

The observers would ensure that the army and opposition adhere to a cease-fire and end the violence.

A new law imposes the death penalty on anyone “smuggling arms to be used in terrorist activity.”

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak predicted this month that the Syrian regime would collapse within weeks. Barak said it was impossible to know who would rule Syria in the future, but in any case it would be a blow to the alliance between Iran and Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah.

Another sign of the Syrian regime’s frailty is Hamas’ decision to move its headquarters from Damascus, as the Palestinian group that runs the Gaza Strip prepares for a possible post-Assad era.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the unrest in Syria, most of them anti-Assad activists; in recent days dozens have been killed every day, on average. Still, the army has suffered many losses, mainly from ambushes by opposition forces and ex-soldiers. In some remote districts the opposition groups are getting stronger and the army is having problems operating.

The opposition is still weak in the two large cities, Damascus in the south and Aleppo in the north. The Syrian Republican Guard, concentrated mostly in Damascus, is well armed and considered loyal to Assad, making it more difficult to organize demonstrations in the capital.

Still, even in Damascus, rockets have been launched at army vehicles.

One of the main worries in the West is the fate of the army’s rocket and missiles caches, as well as its chemical weapons. According to several media reports, Hezbollah has transferred several long-range missiles from Syria to Lebanon.

In the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets into Israel.

At this stage there is no proof that Hezbollah has transferred chemical weapons. Chemical weapons are not easy to maintain and handle, and as far as is known, Hezbollah does not have such expertise.

Israeli Military Intelligence recently presented the government with a report stating that unrest in Arab states will continue into next year. Military Intelligence says the unrest might topple the regimes in Syria and Yemen; in Yemen, outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh still has not relinquished all his powers despite the uprising in that Arabian Peninsula country.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security.

DEBKAfile Special Report December 21, 2011, 8:45 AM (GMT+02:00)

US Gen. Martin Dempsey

Just 24 hours after US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CBS that Iran could build a nuclear bomb in a year or less, Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff issued a warning: “Iran is playing a dangerous game that could ensnare the Middle East, the Middle East and others into conflict and a renewed arms race.” During a stop in Afghanistan, the general spoke to CNN of concerns about Iran’s ambitions from Iraq to Afghanistan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
He was described as quietly leading the ongoing military planning for an attack against Iran’s nuclear weapons if the president gives the order to do so. “We are examining a range of options,” said the US general. “Don’t push it,” he warned Iran.

debkafile‘s military and Washington sources say it should be noted that in the space of 24 hours, America’s two top security figures have referred to war with Iran as a realistic and imminent possibility. This is a big step from the customary US references to a military option as being on the table as a last resort for halting Iran’s march toward a nuclear bomb still calculated to be some years in the distant future.

Gen. Dempsey went on to say: “My biggest worry is they (the Iranians) will miscalculate our resolve. Any miscalculation could mean that we are drawn into conflict, and that would be a tragedy for the region and the world.”

There is no guarantee that Israel will give the United States warning if it decides to attack Iran, he said, “But America is sharing intelligence with Israel. We are trying to establish some confidence on the part of the Israelis that we recognize their concerns and are collaborating with them on addressing them,” the US general said.
Gen. Dempsey clarified another controversial point when he said the loss of the drone is not the end of US efforts to figure out what Iran is doing. America is gathering intelligence against Iran in a variety of means. “It would be rather imprudent of us not to try to understand what a nation who has declared itself to be an adversary of the United States is doing.”

Lebanon news – NOW Lebanon -Pentagon plays down remarks by Panetta on Iran.