Russia and China are looking really bad in this civil war...

Russia will be the big loser...

Some are real generals and some fake ones.

Of course, armies of dictators, especially ME Muslim ones, there too many generals!

There are plenty of Colonels licking their chops and waiting for promotions. Does the name Khadafi ring any bells?

DAMASCUS, Syria -- As the announcement was made Saturday evening that Russia and China had vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the actions of the Syrian regime, some Christians inside the country celebrated.

One man from the western Syrian town of Qatana called his relatives to say "mabrook," or congratulations, on the result of the vote. A lounge bar in Damascus offered two alcoholic drinks for one in a happy hour offer.

But in Christian homes around the country the prevailing sentiment is one of relief rather than delight -- they link the survival of the Assad regime to their own.

"Thank god for Russia. Without Russia we are doomed," said a Christian woman from Damascus recently.

http://tinyurl.com/73j564x

Who cares they all hate us anyway

You don't want to be the last rat on a sinking ship.

Sooner or later Assad will be left standing there with his member in his hand wondering how he let it all slip away. ...Bring on the next dictator so they can overthrow him or her ...etc etc etc

Tomvet,

"Who cares they all hate us anyway"

Not us. Just you. :)

If Assad goes, then it will be Sunni Islamic al-Qaida, MB rules.

No one knows which general will be left or killed!

Can any one predicat how it will be in Egypt after one year?

It is interesting that the bastion of Islam - Sunni Islam - is Saudi Arabia. That is the country that gave birth to every one of the 9/11 terrorists. That is the country where women are forced to be veiled, cannot drive, etc. That is the country that is against any other form of Islam other than Sunni. That is the country that is pushing for Assad to be dethroned.

Saudi Arabia allows Christians to enter the country as foreign workers for temporary work, but does not allow them to practice their faith openly. Because of that Christians generally only worship in secret within private homes. Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam are prohibited. These include Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols, and others.

That is the country that also has lots of petroleum. To them, anything other than Sunni Islam is heretical. That's why Saddaam had to go, And Assad, and Mubarek. It appears to be a consolidation.

Why does the United States support this consolidation of strict Sunni Islam? Are we naive - or are there other forces in play?

This all part of in the Last days of Prophecy

Jeremiah said in Ch 49

Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized
on her: anguish and sorrows have taken
her, as a woman in travail.How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of
war (not just a few) shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.

There is still time........ Russia is eyeing its big prize

Russia the real loser? You kidding me, Syria is the linchpin in the future attack on Iran. If Iran messes with the Straits of Hormuz and closes it down, Gazprom will be rich!!!!!!!!! The price of crude will skyrocket and Europe and Japan will be begging for Russian oil. The Russians aren't stupid. Yeah they lose a naval base maybe, but the profits from $200-$300 a barrell oil will be a boon for them.

I thought it sounded like a lot of generals too, then I wondered how many in the US armed forces? Statutory limit is set at near 500:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_(United_States)

Nice to see someone posting some sense.

It’s incredibly sad to see how ignorant most of these comments are.

To all you people who think Syria is just your typical Arab country with a tyrant
waiting to be overthrown, you are in for a surprise, because it’s quite the
opposite!

The fact is, you are being LIED to by your media. All the major corporate run media outlets out there such as CNN and BBC have political agendas to operate by, and therefore, everything you ever hear about the Middle East is always negative and violence filled, making you afraid of theis region, and view it as a threat to your life, so that, when the time comes, and a war needs to be waged 'against terrorism' you will have no objection giving your tax dollars to fight wars which only benefit the military industrail complex, the financial institutions, and any added bonuses such as oil fields, and last but not least, the protection under all circumstances of the State of Israel.

To anybody who things Imperialism is a thing of the past, think again!
Its alive and its kicking in places all over the world like South America, Africa, and especially the Middle East!

America and its NATO allies just love sticking their fingers in the Middle East to see what treasures and wealth they can pick up along the way.

Its just hillarious that so many people are oblivious to the fact that America is the biggest state sponsor of terror aroudn the world. Isn't it funny that Saudi Arabia (where the 9/11 attackers came from) is America's best friend in the Middle East? Yet America went into Iraq to fight Al Qaida, instead of the country that funds it. America gets the sweet crude oil, and the ruling Saudi family continues its rule of oppression, and throws its money at spreading fundamentalist Islam and sponsering extremism.
And yet it is these nations currently attacking Syria.

Syria is by far the most tolerant of the Middle Eastern nations. The Syrian people have way more freedoms and rights than most other Arab countries.
They have a parliment, a constitution, nice right? And unlike what you might think, President Assad of Syria is actually very popular among his people! But your media doesn't want you to see that, or any of the millions that march in his support! What do all of America's Middle Eastern allies have? Nothing but Tyrants and their Monarchies!
If you didn't know that by now, you really have a lot of learning to catch up on. Thats If you really care to know how your governments screw things up around the world, and then asks you to pay for it in sensless wars.
Free your mind, and learn something new:

hxxp://www. informationclearinghouse.info

hxxp://www. globalresearch.ca

hxxp://www. voltairenet.org/en

Fix your own countries before you start worrying about others!

Leave Syria alone, they can fix their own issues!

Nice to see someone posting some sense.

It’s incredibly sad to see how ignorant most of these comments are.

To all you people who think Syria is just your typical Arab country with a tyrant
waiting to be overthrown, you are in for a surprise, because it’s quite the
opposite!

The fact is, you are being LIED to by your media. All the major corporate run media outlets out there such as CNN and BBC have political agendas to operate by, and therefore, everything you ever hear about the Middle East is always negative and violence filled, making you fear this region, and view it as a threat to your life, so that, when the time comes, and a war needs to be waged 'against terrorism' you will have no objection giving your tax dollars to fight wars which only benefit the military industrial complex, the financial institutions, and the oil companies and last but not least, the protection under all circumstances of the State of Israel.

To anybody who things Imperialism is a thing of the past, think again!
Its alive and its kicking in places all over the world like South America, Africa, and especially the Middle East! Divide and Conquer!

America and its NATO allies just love sticking their fingers in the Middle East to see what treasures and wealth they can pick up along the way.

Its just hilarious that so many people are oblivious to the fact that America is the biggest state sponsor of terror around the world. Isn't it funny that Saudi Arabia (where the 9/11 attackers came from) is America's best friend in the Middle East? Yet America went into Iraq to fight Al Qaida, instead of the country that funds it. America gets the sweet crude oil, and the ruling Saudi family continues its rule of oppression, and throws its money at spreading fundamentalist Islam and sponsoring extremism.
And yet it is these nations currently attacking Syria.

Syria is by far the most tolerant of the Middle Eastern nations. The Syrian people have way more freedoms and rights than most other Arab countries.
They have a parliament, a constitution, nice right? And unlike what you might think, President Assad of Syria is actually very popular among his people! But your media doesn't want you to see that, or any of the millions that march in his support! What do all of America's Middle Eastern allies have? Nothing but Tyrants and their Monarchies!
If you didn't know that by now, you really have a lot of learning to catch up on. That's If you really care to know how your governments screw things up around the world, and then asks you to pay for it in senseless wars.

Free your mind, and learn something new:

hxxp://www. informationclearinghouse.info

hxxp://www. globalresearch.ca

hxxp://www. voltairenet.org/en

Fix your own countries before you start worrying about others!

Leave Syria alone, they can fix their own issues!

And to all the Americans out there, you really need to worry about what your government is doing around the world. Spending all your money trying to protect Israel is going to bankrupt you!

Military dictatorships are funny that way.

Alan-3015148, the bible also has instructions on how to sell your daughter into slavery. So what's your point?

im just wondering how many billions of our tax dollars will be wasted in rebuilding syria like the 8 billion wasted or lost in araq some1 is getting rich out of all these WARS and it not the american people that pay taxes.

It is hard to fathom an uprising that is working to install a government worse than the dictatorship they overthrew, but that seems to be the case. They will install Sharia law and oppress themselves...Islam is far worse than fascism. Far worse than national socialism. Far worse than monarchy or dictatorship. Far worse than communism....Islam in control of a country is by far the worst possible model this world has ever seen. It is a threat to all nations.

A Theistic government is not necessarily bad though. If Christianity was the basis of a government as is the case to a large degree in America, you would have the rule of law based upon truth, justice and mercy with "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" as the backbone spirit behind the laws. Social issues would be contentious, but conservative laws are at heart meant to protect a society and do exactly that even if no one agrees with their principals. Conservative sexual values protects people from unwanted pregnancy, disease, broken homes etc...These problems exponentially multiplied since the sexual revolution in America in the 60's. I am not saying that they weren't already happening, but they were happening much less because our society was more conservative as a whole. The embracing of liberal sexual principals and ideals has been responsible for millions of deaths in the past 50 years, and is further eroding the backbone of what was once a strong society. Families are so important to be protected that conservative social stances need to be priority number 1 in all of our lives.

Honor God and he will bless this nation once again.

TOMORROWS HEADLINE : ASSAD defects to to Turkey, claims He wants to lead the rebels and over throw the Syrian Government. :-)

Hmmm. I guess then Assad would become a freedom fighter, sparticas.

I wonder if General Robert E. Lee was leading an army of freedom fighters?

freedman1; Why would General Lee have been a "freedom fighter"? Had he won, would he have freed the slaves?

Syria is a majority Muslim nation. So... obviously many of the refugees are going to be Muslims. Syria has been ruled by a family dynasty of brutal dictators for about 40 years. The people fighting the regime aren't terrorists, they're human beings who are fighting back after decades of repression, brutality, and dictatorship.

How about a link to back up your claims? Yes, a church was destroyed during heavy fighting, your other claims are suspect...

Syria is 10% Christian, and are protected by the constitution.

"If the regime goes, you can forget about Christians in Syria," said George, a 37-year-old dentist who, like others interviewed, asked to be identified by either a first name or nickname. "Look what happened to the Christians of Iraq. They had to flee everywhere, while most of the churches were attacked and bombed."

http://tinyurl.com/cwpbw4d

Followers of Islamic cult, especially Sunni Saudi inspired Islamic radicals and militants (al-Qaida, Salaffi, Wahhabi, MB and other label ones), are fast marching backwards to their seventh century desert tribal days of rapings, lootings, killings and genocides of non-Muslims (Darfur, S. Sudan, Nigeria and other places) and Muslims (Mali, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, and other places).

In Egypt a new chapter is opening up which will be bad for Christians, women and Jews.

In Syria, the fate of Christians will be worse.

Do Saudis permit Bibles, churches and non-Muslim religious places?

In Syria, Saudis and their agents al-Qaida, MB are backing Syrian rebels.

Wake up to Sunni Saudis games going all around the world before it is too late.

@freedman1

Quotes from the same link:

Many here fear revenge attacks against minorities, who helped buttress four decades of repressive rule by the Assad family, and the emergence of what they describe as a new dictatorship by the Sunni Muslim majority.

"In my opinion, [Assad] did not protect minorities, he protected himself," said the priest. "It's a regime of family, friends and corruption. And corruption does not have a religion."

Opposition activists blame the government's own policies for the deepening sectarian divide, including the use of Alawite-led security forces and a predominantly Alawite militia to beat, torture and kill protesters.

"This is their game," said Abdu, a 27-year-old Christian activist who has taken part in numerous antigovernment demonstrations. "They are playing the sectarian card."

Abdu is not afraid of a government dominated by Sunnis. He said he has often prayed in mosques, because that is where protesters gather before a demonstration.

"We were very welcome there," he said.

Even the Christians don't completely agree on what may happen. Time will tell.

WA-Moscow

sounds more like wa- jerusalem, we don't like his kind in Moscow.

There will probably be violence committed against Christians when and if Assad is overthrown and a democratic regime emerges (flawed or not). The sad truth is that there's a lot of violent intolerance in that region.

But that can't be an excuse for the political oppression of the vast majority of the population. You can't deny 9 Muslims a vote because it could potentially endanger the 1 Christian.

not intelegent, are you?

been to school at all?

the rebels are arab spring protesters and other decen t citizens along with former Assad's regime forces (25 generals have defected as a third gereral defected today bringing the total to 3 generals in the last 24 hours. The general bought with him his officials and foot soldiers. Assad's ship is sinking fast b/c Assad is a stinking rat thinking only of himself and willing to kill thousands more b/c he is "again" thinking only of himself. If Assad is lucky, he'll rot in a ICC prison for the rest of his life for crimes against humunity.

You're all heart!

You are right. Longer the battles merrier it is!

It will be a break for poor infidels.

Turkey is also fast marching backwards with Ergodans. Hope people recall about genocides of Kurds and Armenians before.

If atrocities and barbarism on girls, children and women are the criteria, then the most despotic, autocratic and bigoted Sunni Saudi ruler with his 5000 princes and princesses, Kuwaiti, UAE and other Arab League Sunni rulers and their rich sheiks are the biggest culprits in the history.

In killing of opponents again, these people have established world records.

If the US, Britain and others support such Sunni barbarians and beasts who treat girls and women as cheap sex slaves, then one can only conclude that Saudis, oil companies and their lobbyists determine what to see, how to lecture and where and when to act.

Rest like “human rights”, “killing of children and women”, “militants”, “terrorists”, “WMDs”, “chemical weapons” and so on are a pure hoax.

Similar hoaxes were played each time before Iraqi wars on directions of Saudi, oil companies and their lobbyists.

Now none of them are looking into Iraq, where at least a million have been killed and devastated.

Bob, you would do well to learn a bit of history before making those uneducated remarks. It does make me wonder why our government supports the rebels. Could it be that at heart, our president supports the Sunnis? Remember that Obama bowed to the Saudi king. The plot thickens. Wake up sheeplings!

Linda, remember Bush held hands and made out with the Saudi king. It seems you need to wake up.

The "Arab Spring" sounds nice, but we see what it did in Libya. The "Inspired' coup de etat installed Sharia Law. I can just see the women of Libya's hearts and smiles turn to stone when they heard that pathetic news. So many died just so they could further oppress themselves...

Of course our president supports Saudi Arabia. When did we last have an administration that didn't?

They will get the Government they deserve, just like we do. Get it?

So what? One Islamic nation changes into another. Big deal!

Did you want a Democratic government? Don't hold your breath. That's only in fairy tales. Democracy only works here.

@car: I think we are on the same side bud.

conservatives are trash

Did you want a Democratic government? Don't hold your breath. That's only in fairy tales. Democracy only works here.

I must have missed the memo. When did Congress start working?

Syria is allied with Russia and Iran so how much worse for our interests can it get. Why are the conservatives so fond of saying "the sky is falling" just like chicken little?

marklepew... my thoughts exactly. egypt was a loss of an ally for us. Syria is more of a wash if not a gain. With assad were on the losing side of interest due to iran and russia. With a new regime atleast we have a chance at gains some type of interest there. And at worst we can bomb there later with impunity because iran/russia/china could care less.

@Conservatives are trash
America is a plutocracy.

Democracy doesn't work, it just divides and conquers the populace. The people of Libya had it off better under Qaddafi than they have it now. Profit sharing checks for oil revenues, free cars for college students and newlyweds, along with free housing? What the @!$%# kind of deal do we get from our government? Oh yeah our tax dollars go to bailout corporations that screw us by sending the best manufacturing jobs overseas, etc. Oh, but we get to vote for these paltroons, so we are better. Democracy is the biggest sham ever created. We would be better off under a monarch that actually gave a @!$%# about how his nation/empire was doing ecoomically than what we have now. These fools don't give a @!$%#, only tell us what we want to hear so they can get re elected.

I have to agree Robert. Although I do think that a true Democracy would work. The US. is a capitalist system. That is why we have the problems we have. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.

We would be better off under a monarch that actually gave a @!$%# about how his nation/empire was doing ecoomically than what we have now.

King Robert. Then what? Feed them cake?

Actually after Damascus becomes a ruinous heap, Russia as a good gesture to the world will Swoop in to Police/occupy the country. Only Russia has a much much bigger prize in mind. Only to be eventually thwarted and destroyed when they enter the valley of Megido.

The rebels despise the Russians. The Russians can forget about having a port to the Meditarian.

I reject your assertion that some people "must" be ruled by a dictator. There is no one who deserves that kind of political oppression. To say that there are humans who aren't capable of handling basic freedoms is the argument people used to deny slaves their rights before the Civil Rights movement. They were wrong, and so are you.

Freedom fighters?

You think they're fighting for freedom?

Saudi Arabia backed - the bastion of freedom in the middle east.

It took NATO several months of heavy bombardment to flush Qaddafi out. If these Rebels have the same organizational and fighting skills as those in Libya, this war could go on for a long time.

The SFA is fighting for freedom. Freedom from Assad, freedom to install the government of their choosing... I mean, they're not just killing soldiers out of spite.

Who they're backed by is an interesting footnote, but only slightly relevant to their goals. And every regime that collapses from being oppressive and violent with their people makes the Saudis just a bit more uncomfortable...

Hey teacher, I have a lesson for you that you need to learn, "things can always be worse". Write that on the board ten times!

@IWonder: Oh yeah, you're one of those 'status quo, not so fast' conservatives.

EarnestJohnson57:

@IWonder: Oh yeah, you're one of those 'status quo, not so fast' conservatives.

As opposed to those "let's pass the bill so we can know what's in it, because all change is good" liberals.

Denver,

Seriously 18 months of debate and investigations and the republicans had to be told what is in the ACA? I would vote for some other party if your elected conservatives can't take the time to know what they voted for and passed. Maybe too much time at happy hour with John Boehner?

Transparency? BS! Congress would not divulge any details about the ACA. youtube.com/watch?v=KoE1R-xH5To

How's that marklepuke?

Propaganda BS. The two big massacres that made headlines as being perpetuated by Assad upon further investigatioin have now been shown to be the handiwork of therebels. Sorry, but I think crazy Islamists are far more liely to butcher folks than Assad, but the lies continue. The whole Arab Spring thing is nothing more than a large scale CIA coup against all the ME leaders who want to end the reign of the petrodollar. All of them, Qaddafi, Saddam, Assad, and the Iranians, want(ed) this to end ASAP. If it does our economy crashes, and that is the reason for all of this kabuki theater. Egypt is @!$%#ed, so is Libya now. It is funny how Libya has fallen off the media radar now. Why? It is a frigging disaster. It used to have the best standard of living in the entire ME, no it is a cesspool. The billions that Qaddafi had to create a Pan African bank to give out interest free loans to poor African nations is now in the hands of the western banking cartel, who continue to charge excess intetest on their loans to poor nations for aid. The World Bank and IMF are big scams that actually impoverish these nations. If they can't pay up, those nations have to give up their natural resources, and other capital like heavy industrial sites to western multinational corporations. IF Assad is ousted Christians and Alawites will be slaughtered for sure, like in Iraq.

tell that to this family -

http://www.aljazeera. com/indepth/features/2011/05/201153185927813389.html remember Hamza al-Khateeb, age 13.... Hamza al-Khateeb used to love it when the rains came to his small corner of southern Syria, filling up the farmers' irrigation channels enough so that he and the other children could jump in and swim.
But the drought of the last few years had left the 13-year-old without the fun of his favourite pool.
Instead, he'd taken to raising homing pigeons, standing on the roof of his family's simple breeze-block home, craning his neck back to see the birds circling above the wide horizon of fields, where wheat and tomatoes were grown from the tough, scrubby soils.
Though not from a wealthy family himself, Hamza was always aware of others less fortunate than himself, said a cousin who spoke to Al Jazeera.
"He would often ask his parents for money to give to the poor. I remember once he wanted to give someone 100 Syrian Pounds ($2), and his family said it was too much. But Hamza said, 'I have a bed and food while that guy has nothing.' And so he persuaded his parents to give the poor man the 100."
In the hands of President Bashar al-Assad's security forces, however, Hamza found no such compassion, his humanity degraded to nothing more than a lump of flesh to beat, burn, torture and defile, until the screaming stopped at last.
Arrested during a protest in Saida, 10km east of Daraa, on April 29, Hamza's body was returned to his family on Tuesday 24th May, horribly mutilated.
The child had spent nearly a month in the custody of Syrian security, and when they finally returned his corpse it bore the scars of brutal torture: Lacerations, bruises and burns to his feet, elbows, face and knees, consistent with the use of electric shock devices and of being whipped with cable, both techniques of torture documented by Human Rights Watch as being used in Syrian prisons during the bloody three-month crackdown on protestors.
Hamza's eyes were swollen and black and there were identical bullet wounds where he had apparently been shot through both arms, the bullets tearing a hole in his sides and lodging in his belly.
On Hamza's chest was a deep, dark burn mark. His neck was broken and his penis cut off.
"Where are the human rights committees? Where is the International Criminal Court?" asks the voice of the man inspecting Hamza's body on a video uploaded to YouTube.
"A month had passed by with his family not knowing where he was, or if or when he would be released. He was released to his family as a corpse. Upon examining his body, the signs of torture are very clear."
The original clip has since been removed, but a version with Hamza's castrated genitals blurred is still running [Note: this video is extremely graphic].
"When Hamza's mother came to see the body she was only shown his face," said the cousin, who was present at the time.
"We tried to tell the father not to look, but he pulled the blanket back. When he saw Hamza's body he fainted. People ran to help him and some started filming - it was chaos."
'He just disappeared'
April 29 was dubbed "The Friday of Ending the siege on Deraa", the border city where the torture of children had lit the spark for the Syrian uprising and where Maher al-Assad's forces lead the assault on a civilian population that killed hundreds.
Hamza didn't burn for politics, said his cousin, "but everybody seemed to be going to the protest, so he went along as well," walking with friends and family the 12km along the road from his home town of Jeezah north-west to Saida.
The firing began almost as soon as the villagers reached the edge of Saida, said the cousin.
"People were killed and wounded, some were arrested. It was chaotic we didn't know at that point what had happened to Hamza. He just disappeared."
A second source from the region, an activist, also spoke to Al Jazeera, confirming that Hamza had been among 51 protesters detained on April 29, he said, by Airforce Intelligence, which a number of detainees have reported as using brutal torture.
"They were all arrested by the anti-terrorism branch of the Airforce Intelligence," said the activist.
"They were all alive when they went into prison, but we received 13 bodies back this week and all had been tortured. The Airforce Intelligence are notorious for torture, they're barbarians. We're expecting another dozen bodies back in the coming days."
Responding to the video of Hamza's mutilated body, Syria's only private TV station, the pro-regime Al Dunia, aired an interview (Arabic) with a forensic doctor from Damascus' Tishreen Military Hospital.
Dr. Akram al-Shaar, who claimed to have supervised the autopsy of Hamza in Tishreen, said he found no signs of torture, claiming the marks on Hamza's body had been caused by natural decomposition.
Dr Shaar's testimony, however, is also the first public admission by a Syrian official that civilians arrested or injured or killed during the military assault on the Deraa region have been collected and transported to security facilities in Damascus.
Earlier this month, the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS) reported that the bodies of 244 civilians killed in the military assault on Deraa had been transported to Tishreen Military hospital, consistent with an apparent systematic regime campaign, first reported by Al Jazeera, to disrupt the treatment of dead and dying protestors.
After Hamza's body was filmed so the world could see how he died, the boy was buried in Jizah after last prayers for his soul in the local mosque. Following the ceremony, children walked through the streets of Jizah holding up a photo of Hamza and a banner that said he died a martyr, 13-years-old, under the brutal torture of the security forces.
All foreign media are barred from Syria but experienced local journalists and human rights researchers found no reason to doubt the authenticity of the footage of Hamza.
'A crime against humanity'
Hamza's father, Ali al-Khateeb, wanted to press charges against the army and security forces, said Hamza's cousin. Instead, Ali and his wife were visited by the secret police and threatened.
"They said: 'Enough of what has happened because of you already. You know what would happen if we heard you had spoken to the media,'" said Hamza's mother, clearly terrified as she spoke to the local activist, refusing to give further details on the circumstances of her son's arrest or death.
Hamza's father was briefly detained late Saturday afternoon, said his wife, after the secret police demanded he tell state media that Hamza was killed by armed Salafists, Sunni Muslim extremists, which the regime has claimed are driving the popular uprising.
"The father was asked to go to the security branch for half an hour so they could tell him their point of view about Hamza," said the cousin. "He was well treated."
Torture in Syrian prisons, long known as some of the worst in the world, is now "rampant" according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
"When you have mass execution and torture it rises to the level of a crime against humanity. In Syria, it appears clear that this has become widespread and systematic," said Ricken Patel, director of Avaaz, which has been documenting human rights abuses in the country.
"This is a campaign of mass terrorism and intimidation: Horribly tortured people sent back to communities by a regime not trying to cover up its crimes, but to advertise them."
If advertising its crimes is indeed the regime's strategy then it appears to be working: Within hours of the video of Hamza's mutilated body going online a protest broke out in Daraa city by hundreds of furious residents, defying the ongoing military siege to express their outrage at Hamza's torture and killing.
"People here are really furious about what happened to Hamza and this is another sign that the secret police and the authorities are criminals who cannot be trusted to make any reforms," said the activist, who travels widely in the Deraa region.
A week after his body was returned, a Facebook page dedicated to Hamza had more than 60,000 followers, under the title, "We are all Hamza al-Khateeb", a deliberate echo of the online campaign on behalf of Khaled Saeed, the young Egyptian whose death in police custody last year proved a trigger for the revolution in Cairo.
From the other end of Syria, in the far north-east, Rezan Mustapha, spokesman of the opposition Kurdish Future Movement said he and others had also seen the horrifying footage.
"This video moved not only every single Syrian, but people worldwide. It is unacceptable and inexcusable. The horrible torture was done to terrify demonstrators and make them stop calling for their demands."
But, said Mustapha, protestors would only be spurred on by such barbarity.
"More people will now go to the street. We hold the Syrian secret police fully responsible for the torturing and killing of this child, even if they deny it."
Some reactions didn't need any words at all. Though only one among his 20 other children from two wives, Hamza's 65-year-old father Ali appeared no less devastated by Hamza's murder than if he had lost his only son.
"How would any family feel if they saw that video of their own child?" asked Hamza's cousin. "I have never seen Hamza's father cry in his entire life. Now we see only tears in his eyes

The U.S. must be mapping the region for the future government to keep the Iranians out. When the armed versions of the drones -the MQ-1 Predator- starts flying missions over Syria it has to be loaded with topographical guidance so it can function in combat.

@Bump and Run
The US is there for OBSERVATION

@Conservatives are trash
The MQ-1 is a line of sight drone flown by a human. There is no need for topographical guidance. Besides, the area was topo mapped already and unless someone moved a mountain the data set is still good.

The UN observation mission was extended, wasn't it? The US has drones collecting intel under UN guidance.

That's not "being involved", that's just watching closely.

I thought that was Sean Penn!

Pippo,

worse people take over? Glad the founding fathers weren't like the conservatives of today..........talking points yes............. courage not so much

Good point, markepew.

Hitler came to power by democratic election.

Freedman1, A little more investigation would be advised before suggesting Hitler was democratically elected, he was appointed to the post of chancellor and with The Enabling Act of 1933 he was able to use it ruthlessly and with authority — virtually assured that Hitler could thereafter constitutionally exercise dictatorial power without legal objection.

marklepewe

how about founding mothers? Did they betray and usurp the power as well?

Nation of traitors

marklepew - thank you. I stand corrected. A good summation is located at

http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0403a.asp

I particularly am impressed by the last paragraph, which sounds hauntingly familiar:

The overwhelming majority of Germans did not seem to mind that their personal freedom had been taken away, that so much of culture had been destroyed and replaced with a mindless barbarism, or that their life and work had become regimented to a degree never before experienced even by a people accustomed for generations to a great deal of regimentation.... The Nazi terror in the early years affected the lives of relatively few Germans and a newly arrived observer was somewhat surprised to see that the people of this country did not seem to feel that they were being cowed.... On the contrary, they supported it with genuine enthusiasm. Somehow it imbued them with a new hope and a new confidence and an astonishing faith in the future of their country.

Good link ! If one reads the entire article in that link it has an eerie resemblence of thing happening today in the U.S. The Patriot Act, NDAA 2012 1031, provisions for a "civilian army" in the ACA, and various Executive Orders sure seem to be setting the stage for a similar outcome here. Maybe not by the current President, maybe not by the next one, but someone somewhere along the line will not be able to resist the temptation of all that power and control that the stage is set for the same thing to happen here. It's really quite scary when one stops to think about it.

Russia wants to be in Syria because of the port to the Mediterranean Sea.

The only people hurting will be the people of Syria, war creates casualties and damage to infrastructure. If the next person to rule does not get on the ball, and fast, Syria will be in trouble because the hordes are waiting to get in.

“What’s driving Russia’s position is Moscow’s deep discomfort at what happened in Libya and (its determination) that it not again sanction civilian protection as pretext for regime change." ~ Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations

@Freedman1
I get my information from my family living there not some hired thug.

I don't trust you as well.

You posted;

Hitler came to power by democratic election.

You are seriously incorrect..

there are western backed and paid mercenaries perpetrating the massacres. it's widely reported outside the us. the french, cia and mossad are bringing them in through turkey to topple assad to diminish syria's role in the iran-palestine equation. fact is stranger than fiction.

The sooner the better.

Agreed.

"the people will always win in another way. Start at the top, assasiante the leader. If his replacement is another dictator, take him out. After two or three egomaniacs are gone they start getting the message."

in addition to politicians globally the same logical solution should be applied to the banking cartels of the world!

Yeah, he used to be pretty much okay. Not a nice guy by any means, but better than Saddam and Ghaddafi.

And then he ordered the soldiers to fire on protesters demostrating for democratic reform. Things went downhill from there.

The funny thing is that some people still insist a "majority" of Syrians still support Assad as a leader. If that were true, all he had to do was hold a fair election! That ship sailed and now gunmen are prowling his capital. BraVO, sir.