WarSclerotic

Israeli officials: Terrorists may get Syria’s weapons – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Weapons include advanced SA missiles, high-trajectory long-range rockets and missiles, and biological and chemical weapons, officials say.

By Amos Harel

With violence mounting, the growing threat to President Bashar Assad’s regime is raising concern in Israel that weapons from Syria’s military could fall into the hands of terrorist groups, defense officials told Haaretz on Monday.

Following the bloody weekend assault on Homs by Assad’s forces, Israeli defense sources said large amounts of weapons could be transferred to Hezbollah, in Lebanon, or to other organizations.

	A member of the Free Syrian Army at a protest in Idlib on Monday.
	Photo by: AP

The weapons include advanced SA missiles, high-trajectory long-range rockets and missiles, and biological and chemical weapons, the officials said.

Speaking last week at the Herzliya Conference, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: “It is difficult to predict exactly what will happen in Syria. We’re watching for attempts to pass advanced weapons systems that could edge the delicate balance in Lebanon to Hezbollah.”

Incoming Israel Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel told foreign journalists in Jerusalem last month that, as far as Assad’s fall is concerned, “the question is when, not if. And the big question is what will happen the following day.”

Eshel said Israel’s immediate concern is Syria’s huge cache of chemical and biological weapons – coming mainly from East European states – and into whose hands it will fall.

“What has been passed on to Hezbollah so far? What will be passed on in the future? What will be divided between the two factions in Syria?” he asked.

Israel has been warning for several years that Syria may provide Hezbollah with advanced weapons systems. The foreign media reported that Hezbollah has maintained training bases and arsenals in Syria, near the Lebanon border, since 2008. Arab media reported Syria had moved Scud missiles to Hezbollah camps in Lebanon and that advanced SA missiles had been set up in the mountains of Lebanon.

Other reports, unconfirmed by Israel, said Israel considered attacking convoys carrying weapons from Syria to Lebanon on several occasions in recent years.

However, the concern is greater now because Assad’s forces seem to be losing their grip on the state. This could result in passing weapons to Hezbollah, or in radical Sunni factions taking over the arsenals, the officials said.

After Muammar Gadhafi’s regime collapsed in Libya last year, the army’s caches were looted and SA missiles and rockets found their way to various terror organizations – from militias in east Africa, to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

Iran calls US assets ban an ‘ant… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.

By Reuters

TEHRAN – Iran on Tuesday rejected as an “antagonistic move” a tightening of US sanctions that targets the Islamic state’s central bank and gives US banks new powers to freeze assets linked to the Iranian government.

“It is an antagonistic move … a psychological war which has no impact … There is nothing new, it has been going on for over 30 years,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a weekly news conference.

“Sanctions will not have any impact on our nuclear course.”

The move, in an executive order signed by President Barack Obama, was the latest measure to target the Central Bank of Iran, and was intended to close loopholes in existing sanctions Tehran has faced.

In a letter to Congress, Obama said Iranian banks were hiding transactions to undercut the financial sanctions the United States and other powers have imposed in response to Iran’s nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at building bombs.

Iran says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity and not to build bombs.

Syria’s death toll mounts on eve of Lavrov visit; U.S. closes embassy, UK recalls envoy.

Tuesday, 07 February 2012

A damaged armored military vehicle after clashes between President Bashar al-Assad forces and Free Syrian Army in Cairo square near Khaldiyeh area in Homs. (Reuters)

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Iran boosts nuke work in bunker as U.S. and Europe plan major amphibious drill.

Tuesday, 07 February 2012

Iran last month confirmed it had begun refining uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent at Fordow. (Illustration by Amarjit Sidhu)

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We have lift-off | Jerusalem Post – Blogs.

On My Mind: Syria’s future in Rus… JPost – Opinion – Columnists.

By REUTERS

Too confrontational on Iran? – JPost – Opinion – Op-Eds.

BBC News – Syrian crisis: Homs army assault continues.

The Syrian army has resumed heavy shelling in the restive city of Homs as Russia’s foreign minister is due in Damascus for talks.

Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed since government troops began pounding known strongholds of opposition groups.

The BBC’s Paul Wood, in Homs, says residents fear troops are planning to launch a ground assault.

President Bashar al-Assad is trying to face down a months-long uprising.

Our correspondent says the Syrian army started firing mortars at about 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT). There has been fairly heavy fire, he adds.

Russia, along with China, has faced international condemnation after vetoing a UN resolution that backed an Arab League peace plan for Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, due to hold talks with Syrian leaders, said Western reaction to Moscow’s veto had bordered on “hysteria”.

His office said he was heading to Damascus because Moscow sought “the swiftest stabilisation of the situation in Syria”.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: “Our hope and expectation is that foreign minister Lavrov will use this opportunity to make absolutely clear to the Assad regime how isolated it is and to encourage Assad and his people to make use of the Arab League plan and provide for a transition.”

Our correspondent – one of the few foreign reporters in Homs – says that as night fell in the city, government forces continued to fire shells into residential areas.

He said residents were burying their dead in mass graves under the cover of darkness, but were still coming under fire.

Unconfirmed reports said troops had been moved up to within 1km (0.6 miles) of the parts of the city under bombardment, increasing fears of a ground attack, he adds.

Syrian authorities deny firing on houses and say security forces killed “tens of terrorists” in Homs on Monday.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the escalating violence in Syria “totally unacceptable before humanity”, his spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

He urged “all concerned in Syria” and the international community to redouble efforts to try to stop the violence.

The US said on Monday it had closed its embassy in Damascus and removed all remaining staff because of security concerns.

German UN Ambassador Peter Wittig said supporters of the Arab League plan – which calls for President Assad to step down – needed to explore ways forward.

He said Berlin was proposing an international contact group that he described as “a broad-based coalition of friends of the Arab League and friends of Syria above all”.

“Our fears have come true,” he said. “Assad used the situation once again as a licence to kill – that’s the sad aftermath of the veto.”

The Syrian government says it is fighting foreign-backed armed groups.

Thousands of former army soldiers have defected to the rebel side, forming the Free Syrian Army.

Human rights groups and activists say more than 7,000 people have been killed by Syrian security forces since the uprising began last March.

The UN stopped estimating the death toll in Syria after it passed 5,400 in January, saying it was too difficult to confirm.

President Assad’s government says at least 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed.

Syrians trawl through hacked emails of Bashar’s presidential aides | FP Passport.

Move over, WikiLeaks: There’s a new sheriff in town.

The shadowy hacker collective Anonymous struck again late Sunday evening, exposing the email accounts of top aides to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and posting the passwords online for all to see (most of them were — literally — “12345”).

Expatriate Syrians pounced, gleefully delving through this treasure trove and pulling out newsworthy gems (some even joked about sending replies from the accounts, for example, “Curse your soul, Hafez”). There were few smoking guns, but one email, from U.N.-based press aide Sheherazad Jaafari to Damascus-based press aide Luna Chebel, was particularly interesting. It advises the presidential office on how to best handle Assad’s Dec. 7 interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters. If this is the quality of staff work Bashar al-Assad is getting… well, it explains a lot:

Hello dear,

Please let me know if you need anything else.
Barbara will be here on the 2nd and the interview will be on the 4th because she is leaving on the 6th so that would give you some time to do the editing.

Thank you.

After doing a major research on the American Media’s coverage on the Syrian issue and the American Society’s perspective of what is happening on the Syrian ground, I have concluded some important points that might be helpful for the preparation of the upcoming interview with Barbara Walters.

I based my research on online articles written about the Syrian issue, my personal contacts with the American journalists, my father and Syrian expatriates in the States.

The Major points and dimensions that has been mentioned a lot in the American media are:

The Violence:
* The idea of violence has been one of the major subjects brought up in every article. They use the phrases “the Syrian government is killing its own people”, “Tanks have been used in many cities”, “airplanes have been used to suppress the peaceful demonstrations” and “Security forces are criminals and bloody”.

Bloodshed:
· Bloodshed is another subject brought up in the American media. There is no mention of how many “soldiers and security forces have been killed”. They think that bloodshed is done by the government to attack the “innocent civilians” and “peaceful demonstrators”. Mentioning “armed groups” in the interview is extremely important and we can use “American and British articles” to prove that there are “armed gangs”.

Reform:
· The American audience doesn’t really care about reforms. They won’t understand it and they are not interested to do so. Thus, a brief mention of the reforms done in the past couple of months is more than enough.
· It is very important to mention the huge economical and political transformation that Syria has gone through in the last 11 years. Somehow, there needs to be a clarification that reform started since H.E took the office.

Mistakes:
· It is hugely important and worth mentioning that “mistakes” have been done in the beginning of the crises because we did not have a well-organized “police force”. American Psyche can be easily manipulated when they hear that there are “mistakes” done and now we are “fixing it”. Its worth mentioning also what is happening now in Wall Street and the way the demonstrations are been suppressed by police men, police dogs and beatings.

Torture Policy:
“Syria doesn’t have a policy to torture people” unlike the USA, where there are courses and schools that specializes in teaching police men and officers how to torture criminals and “outlaws”. For instace, “the electric chair and killing through injecting an overdose amount of medicine”…etc.
*We can use Abu Ghraib in Iraq as an example.

The Comments:
· The comments that follow any article in the American Media are a very important tool to use in the interview. The Americans now believe that their government has failed two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are asking their government to stop interfering in other countries businesses and sovereignty and to start taking care of the American internal issues.

Obama popularity’s decline and incline through the past 3 years:
· It is worth mentioning that when Obama asked H.E to step down he himself have had a 70% decrease of his popularity in the States.
· It would be worth mentioning how your personality has been attacked and praised in the last decade according to the media. At one point H.E was viewed as a hero and in other times H.E was the “bad guy”. Americans love these kinds of things and get convinced by it.

Facebook and You tube:
This is very important to the American mindset. The fact that Facebook and youtube are open now-especially during the crises- is important.

The International media:
· We should mention that in the first month the international media was allowed in Syria. Both al Jazeera and al Arabia’s offices were open but when they started to manipulate what is happening and “make up facts”, the Syrian government became more cautious about who will enter the country.

10) Civil war in Syria and the neighboring countries:
We can use Noland and Hillary’s statements encouraging armed groups to not give up their weapons as a “clear” way of asking for a civil war in Syria.

11) The opposition:
* a brief mention of the opposition “figures”. Syria doesn’t have an opposition leader with a “ready” agenda; they are all from the previous generation. The opposition was asked to meet by the Syrian government but most of them refused to attend.

Key Points:
The government’s crackdown, the bloody regime, civil war, security forces and violence, Tanks, you tube torture clips, Pres. Assad IGNORES the bloodshed and the “help” of other countries and the Arab League”, Army defectors, Robert Fords return to the US for “Security reasons”, Syria is an authoritarian government.

The Broadcasting hours and channels:
· The interview will be broadcast across ABC News platforms – including World News, Good Morning America, This Week, ABC Radio, a full edition of Nightline, and full-length treatment across the digital space (for ABC News this now includes Yahoo as well – which means you can reach as many as 100 million people. ABC News and Yahoo recently joined forces – which is another reason why so many people now bring their interviews to us).

The exact dates/times for all these broadcasts depends on when the interview is done.

This is all ABC News – every platform. The entire interview would run on ABC News Digital; “Nightline” will devote an entire broadcast; “World News” at least one night, maybe two; “Good Morning America” a segment; “This Week” a segment. And so on.

Syria: Assad Secret Memos Reveal Tactics On Dealing With Press; Barbara Walters | World News | Sky News.

(ANONYMOUS !  Protector of the people!  All the honor…. – JW )

Private messages between the president and his advisers have been revealed by hacking group Anonymous.

The Syrian government’s computer system has reportedly been hacked, to reveal private memos, documents and emails apparently advising President Bashar al Assad on how to tackle reactions to his crackdown on protesters.

Hacking group Anonymous claim the documents show how advisers close to the president offer their thoughts on how he should deal with questions from the press amid the government’s on-going military campaign.

One email appears to advise Assad on how to approach his interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters, who spoke to the leader late last year.

“Mentioning ‘armed groups’ in the interview is extremely important and we can use American and British articles to prove there are armed gangs,” the adviser writes.

The president was also advised to mention the way protests are sometimes handled in western countries, adding that “Syria doesn’t have a policy to torture people, unlike the USA… We can use Abu Ghraib in Iraq as an example”.

Sky’s foreign affairs editor Tim Marshal said of the hacking: “The translations of the emails from Arabic to English do not prove that they are what the hackers say, but it would have taken a solid knowledge of how the Syrian government and political public relations works to make them up,” he said.

“The emails are not particularly damaging to the Syrian government, which would mean if forged someone has gone to a lot of effort for little gain.

“This suggests they are real, and while not devastating, they throw some light on the government’s thinking.”

An email goes on to explain that admitting to errors committed early on may be a good way of shaping public opinion.

“American psyche can be easily manipulated when they hear that there are ‘mistakes’ done and now we are ‘fixing it,'” the email says.

Continuing to generalise about western thought processes, the adviser says Facebook and YouTube are “open now” and that these things are “very important to the American mind-set”.

The adviser continues: “It would be worth mentioning how your personality has been attacked and praised in the last decade according to the media,” adding that he should make more of the “hero” and “bad guy” images because “Americans love these kinds of things and get convinced by it”.

Another memo appeared to uncover the identity of a suspected defected diplomat who had recently given an anonymous interview to a western reporter.

The hacking by Anonymous is the latest in a number of high-profile attempts by them at revealing classified information. Earlier this month hackers from the same group intercepted FBI calls with Scotland Yard.

President Assad’s crackdown started almost a year ago, and this weekend saw operations intensify in the city of Homs, where Sky correspondent Stuart Ramsey is with activists.