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Lo / AFP - Getty Images
Soldiers from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) detain alleged "shabiha" members identified as Mehsin Mohamed Ahmed and Mohamed Azezz, from Aleppo, and accuse them of stealing from homes and giving important information to the Syrian regime, in an undisclosed location in the north of Idlib province on June 19, 2012.
NORTHERN SYRIA – Every war has its demons. The chaos of bullets and bombs gives rise to a certain breed of men who join the fight for the thrill of killing, and to stand before begging prisoners and cowering women in damp tattered clothing.
In Syria these monsters in civilian clothing who are the enforcers for President Bashar Assad’s regime are called the “shabiha.”
I’m staying in one of their family’s homes.
Syria’s ghost-like devils
It’s a small house with a vaulted stone ceiling. The shower is a bucket on the floor that slopes into a drain. There’s an outhouse in the garden with a fig tree. The house looks like many in this rural village flanked by olive, walnut and almond groves.
Syrian troops withdraw from 'secondary towns' and pound Aleppo
The shabiha left this village when the army pulled out to re-group and attack Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital and the focus of the battle to control the north of the country. Before they left, there were about 50 shabiha in the village by most rebel counts.
Some lived among the rebels as spies. Others operated as plainclothes commandoes, arresting rebels or just shooting them and their families. I’ve seen a video of shabiha using a chainsaw to cut off a rebel’s head. I saw a shabiha prisoner tied up with wires. The rebels accused him of raping 10 girls. The youngest girl was said to be just 14.
NBC's Richard Engel reports from Syria, where government loyalists are launching a major counter-offensive to maintain control of Aleppo, the nation's largest city, which is considered to be critical to the survival of the Syrian government.
Shabiha is a difficult word to translate into English. It comes from the word Syrians used to describe the luxury Mercedes favored by the Assad family’s operatives that the enforcers of the regime used to move money, smuggle weapons and intimidate opponents.
Whenever someone in a flashy Mercedes with tinted window passed by, Syrians would say the car was a ‘shabah.’ It literally means the car was a ‘ghost,’ mysterious and not to be trifled with. The thugs who drove these phantom cars became known as shabiha – the ghosts who worked in the dictatorship’s deep shadows.
After the fighting started here the Assad government turned the shabiha into a militia. It armed them and sent them to infiltrate, execute and spy on the rebels. Now the shabiha are more feared than Syrian troops. Their evil has become legendary.
Rebels talk of the shabiha like devils, deadly as the regime’s chemical gas. But herein lies the danger.
Engel: Myth vs. truth in the Syrian conflict
Stringer / Reuters
After months of protests and violent crackdowns, a look back at the violence that has overtaken the country.
Who is really who?
I’m not sure if this house was really owned by any shabiha or their relatives. The owner’s son is accused of being shabiha, but the rebels have no solid proof that he did anything wrong at all. And there’s no proof either that the young man I saw tied up with wires, his eyes covered with a bandana, actually raped any girls.
Every war has revolutionary justice. Here that justice is carried out in the name of fighting shabiha.
No one knows exactly how many shabiha work for the regime. If the Assad government falls, the rebels will likely – almost certainly – carry out executions of suspected shabiha.
A man I spoke to this morning said all shabiha should be executed without mercy, and their property sold and distributed among their victims. The man’s own cousin is among those accused of being shabiha.
CFR.org: What you need to know about the Syria crisis
Slippery slope
But how will Syrians know when justice is being served or miscarried?
Machine guns operated by motorcycle brakes? Get a glimpse at the rebels fighting against Assad's forces in Syria's mountainous Jabal al-Zawiya area.
There’s also a disproportionate number of Alawites, accused of being shabiha. The Alawites are the minority Shiite Muslim sect to which Assad belongs and which has held a disproportionate amount of power since his family came to power in 1970. But the Alawites make up only 10 percent of the population, sowing resentment among the country’s Sunni population, who make up the majority of Syria’s 22 million people.
PhotoBlog: Who are the Syrian rebels?
Syrians need to prepare for the aftermath if the Assad regime falls. Atrocities that could be considered war crimes have been committed in this country and Syrians should rightly demand that the perpetrators be held accountable.
But Syrians must be careful not to engage in a murderous campaign of hunting ghosts. The shabiha are real, but they can’t be everywhere.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Millionaire medalists: Does Olympic spirit live on?
- In Japan, a nuclear ghost town stirs to life
- Olympic security plan turns London into fortress
- Myth vs. truth in the Syrian conflict
- 'Building Tomorrow' -- one school at a time
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Leave a Comment:
Again a one sided story. All the bad guys are Assad's men....what a bunch of crap.
But of course.
You have to admit though that the Rebels have been far more receptive of UN monitoring and media coverage. To date, the Assad Regime seems to enjoy secrecy.
Ultimately this conflict is just the latest in a very much broader Arab war in which the Sunni Muslims are finally standing up.
All of these conflicts should be viewed collectively as nothing other than a war the sunni muslims of the Arab world are fighting to end the repression they have endured by these minority muslim controlling parties for a very long time.
These revolutions have a real chance at creating the environment for a better middle east in the long term. And hey, if not, at least they are fighting each other.
Is the U.N. and the press go after the Rebels for atrocities the same as the Syrian government?? If you look at where the Rebels reported massacres, all those areas were controlled by the Rebels themselves. What the Western Nations call atrocities is Standard Operating Procedure in the Middle East. Regardless of what group wins the battle, the war will last for another 100 years.
In terms of reprisals, it doesn't matter who wins. The penalty for losing will be torture, rape and executions.
I have full faith in the Syrian Rebels that when they win they and remove Assad from power that they will not engage in rape, torture and executions because that would make them just like Assad.
Why would someone fighting against such atrocities simply become the atrocity that they are fighting against?
The only way to deal with insurgencies is by killing the leaders.
Once the leaders are gone then the insurgencies go way down. Do they go away? No. But they are much weaker.
al-Assad has to meet the same fate as Saddam and Kadhafi if the rebels are to succeed long-term.
.
You say the only way to deal with insurgencies is by killing the leaders. Then you suggest that Assad has to go the way of the other two sovereign leaders who were fighting against insurgency.
Either you don't know what insurgency means, you are making two separate and unrelated points, or you are being ironic, and suggesting that the Western leaders that have been behind all three of these "civil wars" need to go.
If it's irony, you're quite the crafty and clever visionary. Even if you are painfully redundant, I'll still wear a button with your face on it. Until your check bounces, that is...
dwighthuth
I don't know, you'd have to ask all the dictators who allegedly fought against atrocities and then committed the same atrocities and even worse. It happens all the time.
God knows what these biased paid pipers like Engels are writing!
"Atrocities that could be considered war crimes have been committed in this country and Syrians should rightly demand that the perpetrators be held accountable."
In that case, there are many in the world who qualify for this "accountability" business!
Most know the key politicians and leaders, who deserve to be punished with utmost priority!
I am intruiged by the reportage. It is almost as if the journalists are not just embedded with the rebels, but in fact partners now. After all, a half good journalist would attempt to establish if the accusations made were even true ( he would not just report what he is told ) in regards these individuals - after all, they may just have been not very enthusiastic to see the rebels and got themselves grabbed to be made examples of. Alternatively they may belong to some other sectarian group not liked by the rebels. Either way, this is not journalism, its crossed over to where the 'journalists' ( Stockholm syndrome ) are in fact rebel sympathisers - and not remotely journalists. A couple of nights ago on the BBC I observed a scene with again a group held by rebels being abused - the journalist made no comment on the treatment being meted out, and I am equally sure he did not check up on what happened to those guys ( for all one knows summarilly killed ). I also note a consistent use of terms by these 'journalists' intended to dehumanize the opposition to the rebels - that is a standard psychological approach used to indoctrinate one's own troops to prepare them for killing the enemy - remember vietnam etc etc and the perjorative terms. Any war you like you find the same thing. It is sad that 'journalists' have deviated so far from the responsibility of their calling. It will be like Iraq again, after the war all the things that happened sort of leaked out, while during the war our 'jounalists' were chearleading safely embedded with our forces and spouting only what they were told to spout.
Did you read the whole article? Maybe you missed this part:
"I’m not sure if this house was really owned by any shabiha or their relatives. The owner’s son is accused of being shabiha, but the rebels have no solid proof that he did anything wrong at all. And there’s no proof either that the young man I saw tied up with wires, his eyes covered with a bandana, actually raped any girls."
To me, that sounds like an attempt to establish if the accusations were even true in regards to these individuals.
No proof of anything, but he reports on it anyway. Great reporting. I heard a guy down the street, drunk off his rocker, mumbling something--maybe I should report on it!
Journalism. Laughable. Not how I was taught, nor you, I assume. Good post. Not enough fiery catch phrases to incite replies. This is mine however. A nod to your critical eye.
Many are missing that Syrian rebels are supported by the barbaric, bigoted, seventh century desert mindset Sunni Saudi & co al-Qaida, MB and other militants.
As per Sunni Muslims logic, Bahrain should have a Sunni ruler.
"certain breed of men who join the fight for the thrill of killing, and to stand before begging prisoners and cowering women in damp tattered clothing."
You talk about it!
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.
They are indulging in rapings, lootings, killings and genocides of non-Muslims (Darfur, S. Sudan, Nigeria and spreading like wild fire in many regions and Muslims (Mali, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places.
Sunni Saudi backed Salaffi and MB new chapters are opening up in Egypt. Just watch the fate of Christians, women and Israel as the time goes by.
We see these Sunni Muslims inventing problems even in most of the non-Muslim nations.
They are responsible for 80 percent of world problems in Muslim and non-Muslim nations and these Sunni Islamic religious Nazis are establishing new world records.
Unfortunately, objective journalism was one of the first casualties when this all started ten years ago - or was it all the way back in VietNam? Today, "embedded" journalists are pretty much "in-bedded" with the armies they are with - all you get is one side of the story.
Well, since the regime won't allow foreign journalists to report on their activities, what do you expect? I'll tell you what. Why don't you go knock on Assad's door and ask him for an interview so we can get the other side of the story. Oh, just let me take out a life insurance policy on you first.
"It comes from the word Syrians used to describe the luxury Mercedes favored by the Assad family’s operatives that the enforcers of the regime used to move money, smuggle weapons and intimidate opponents."
How many are talking/writing or even mentioning about Sunni Saudis and co!
Just check all languages of the UN, human rights groups, media (Engels) and others!
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.
Through the Muslim immoral trafficking gangs, these barbarians have assembled all varieties of poor and helpless girls and women from all over the world in their harems and brothels.
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.
Twice are too much to tolerate.
Syria’s ghost-like devils
And the ghost devils are the west and the terrorist. The West and Saudi Arabia are the biggest funders of terrorism in the world. Msnbc cnn fox and main stream media are liers and all propaganda news.
Paranoia is what the regime wants to instill in the opposition and this is nothing new in war. The war crimes committed are on the heads of the regime as well as the rebels. The regime expects and wants these crimes to be committed.
Yes, the actions of the opposition are all the regime's fault. You see? Its all a conspiracy I bet Assad and his "thugs" started this revolution themselves just to kill people and the rebels are secretly fighting for him. /sarcasm
You should take your pills man.
By using the Ghost Soldiers, Assad is instilling fear and paranoai in his own subjects that when it comes to his end all that will be around him are those who sided with him because they feared being killed by his military along with those who feared being killed by joining his military.
Regardless Assad's use Ghost's Soldiers is much more determental to his own cause than saying that he is going to use chemical weapons.
Now no one in his own regime knows if they will be targeted by Assad's Ghost Soldiers.
SevenSevens
I'll take my pills if you take those remedial reading lessons you've been putting off.
The New York Times just reported that the secret Ninja Warrior on the left (our right) is Storm Shadow.
They're quoting "SOLID EVIDENCE" given to them by Benjamin Netinblahoo, who read it off the back of the same paperwork that told him that guy who bombed the bus that looks like Weird Al's cousin is a secret Hezbollah version of the T-1000.
Contrarian right-wing Iranian supporters seem to be out in full force today, spouting their nonsense.
Several of you obviously did not read the article before commenting.
But the one important thing that you seem to forget is that your friend, Assad, does not allow any journalists except from Iran into Syria. Maybe you should be reading a little more about your buddy, Assad:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Syria
You have a very large Sunni population that is completely dominated by a Shiite cult, the Alawites. The tiny Christian minority in Syria long ago made a choice to support Assad and were rewarded with plum jobs in the government and military. Very bad choice.
Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International consider Syria to be the most repressive government in the world. That's scary. The only country that actually supports Assad is Iran. This is because Iran is the only Shiite-controlled, Shiite-majority country except for Iraq which is moving closer to the Iranian orbit every day. Syria was an important ally because they were Shiite controlled, even though Shia only comprised about 10% of the population. But even the Iranian and Iraqi Shia consider the Alawites a cult.
There will be huge blowback when the rebels win. There will be mass executions of both Christians and Alawites. Paybacks are hell. But Assad's people have killed well over 100,000 Syrians and maimed another 100,000. Add to that around 50,000 Lebanese they they have killed as well.
The Assad government is an evil bunch and being an apologist for them is a little like defending Jerry Sandusky and forgetting to mention the victims.
No, I am just commenting on what I have (a) seen on visuals taken by these so called journalists and presented, and (b) on their choice of wording, and (c) the same pathetic 'journalism' we saw in the run up to, and in, the Iraq war. Finally, I base my interpretation on the fact that I spent three years in a foreign military involved in a low level guerrilla/terrorism kind of war and have some awareness of how tribal societies like to make examples of any random non tribe related person(s) who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to send a message of get with the program and show enthusiasm - or very big 'else'. This behaviour, uncontrolled, cuts across tribal/sectarian and even political lines. Example: The the old soviet union where it was unwise to be anything but the most enthusiastic soviet out there.
Finally, at a tactical level the rebels essentially never have a definitive uniform. Their tactic of late seems to be to move 500 or 1000 fighters into a civilian area ( city ) and thus force a fight. Clearly they have no concern for the civilians they conciously place at risk by this technique - so I would not ascribe any higher value set to them than displayed by Assad.
"Syria is none of our business. Don't fall for these lies again." ~ Ron Paul
Ha, I thought N Korea was "the most repressive gov in the world". Or is that just when the media decides to demonize them? I bet a month from now it will be Iran or some other nation that does not agree with our interests.
If true about the Christians siding with Assad in Syria then why are the Christians not doing their duty in taking out Assad?
Assad's Christians are no different than those who support Assad in the killing of the Syrians.
They should be brought up on charges as well.
A cross for every single one of them for assisting in the oppression and murder of a people when they know that Jesus died on a cross for them to end such oppression and persacution.
Umm Chris? Before advising others to read, you might want to crack a book of your own and read up on what happens to your speeches when you build them on foundations of fallacious arguments.
You beg the question of people calling the West on the carpet being right wing Assad apologists, which first off is simply hilarious since the real right wingers are the ones that want to plug their ears to his side of things, deny all roles in the conflict and unilaterally bomb Syria. Why you would accuse people who will not turn a blind eye to the meddling and warmongering of the West and demand their accountability of being right wing warmongers shirking accountability is beyond me. But don't let understanding of who is preaching what get in the way of a good baseless argument.
Second, and this is the one that really devolves your argument down to the worth of a used colostomy bag, is where you start heaving around non sequiturs about child molesters and claiming that's the same thing as "supporting Assad". Whatever. That probably came as a side effect of the same opium OD you got "Humanitarianism Is An Incoming Bunker Buster" from.
Next thing you'll be telling us is that Al Qaeda simply "sprung into being" like the Isos in Tron because the Brookings Institute and other NATO mouthpieces told you so. And of course, the flags they still fly over the buildings of every country we've "eradicated" them from since 2003 are really just replicas they got with 2 proof of purchase stamps from a box of Frosted Flakes. And that would include the flags flying over the Free Syrian Army documented numerous times on video.
Listen. Sidestepping the lack of credibility of a country that lied to THE EARTH about why it was necessary to poison an entire country with depleted uranium in 2003, using its propaganda machine, tends to bring out a little Joe Paterno in its own right.
Check your own devastated undergarments before sniffing the air out of concern for someone else's.
Just when one thinks that the media could not be more biased in favor of the rebels and try to paint them as saints while the govt. forces are portrayed as two headed demons that spit fire out of their asses, one finds a story like the one above!!! Please, do some real reporting and tell us where these peasants rebels/terrorists are getting their weapons and supplies from. I smell mad interference by Europe to try to enter this country and steal all of its natural wealth and resources.
Report: Rebels Responsible for Houla Massacre
By John Rosenthal
June 9, 2012 4:00 A.M.
It was, in the words of U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan, the “tipping point” in the Syria conflict: a savage massacre of over 90 people, predominantly women and children, for which the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad was immediately blamed by virtually the entirety of the Western media. Within days of the first reports of the Houla massacre, the U.S., France, Great Britain, Germany, and several other Western countries announced that they were expelling Syria’s ambassadors in protest.
But according to a new report in Germany’s leading daily, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the Houla massacre was in fact committed by anti-Assad Sunni militants, and the bulk of the victims were member of the Alawi and Shia minorities, which have been largely supportive of Assad. For its account of the massacre, the report cites opponents of Assad, who, however, declined to have their names appear in print out of fear of reprisals from armed opposition groups.
According to the article’s sources, the massacre occurred after rebel forces attacked three army-controlled roadblocks outside of Houla. The roadblocks had been set up to protect nearby Alawi majority villages from attacks by Sunni militias. The rebel attacks provoked a call for reinforcements by the besieged army units. Syrian army and rebel forces are reported to have engaged in battle for some 90 minutes, during which time “dozens of soldiers and rebels” were killed.
“According to eyewitness accounts,” the FAZ report continues,
The FAZ report echoes eyewitness accounts collected from refugees from the Houla region by members of the Monastery of St. James in Qara, Syria. According to monastery sources cited by the Dutch Middle East expert Martin Janssen, armed rebels murdered “entire Alawi families” in the village of Taldo in the Houla region.
Already at the beginning of April, Mother Agnès-Mariam de la Croix of the St. James Monastery warned of rebel atrocities’ being repackaged in both Arab and Western media accounts as regime atrocities. She cited the case of a massacre in the Khalidiya neighborhood in Homs. According to an account published in French on the monastery’s website, rebels gathered Christian and Alawi hostages in a building in Khalidiya and blew up the building with dynamite. They then attributed the crime to the regular Syrian army. “Even though this act has been attributed to regular army forces . . . , the evidence and testimony are irrefutable: It was an operation undertaken by armed groups affiliated with the opposition,” Mother Agnès-Mariam wrote.
I realize the above is a long read for a comments section. It is worthy of your time, maybe. Also, please note, the author is jewish. There is a big difference between being jewish and being zionist. Not all jews are zionist, just as not all americans are imperialists.
Einstein, for example, was totally against zionism, calling it a form of terrorism.
American Imperialism is also a form of terrorism.
Am I less American because I don't support the lies that the American propaganda machine dishes out? I don't think so.
Freedman 1, is he a self hating Jew, or does he like Shiksa's, or does he eat bagels, with Bacon. Why even throw that in. Are you trying to say that by being Jewish, he is bias, or maybe a Zionist, or a Jew for Jesus. He could even be a Jets fan, and likes Tebow.And to what point. You have no idea, what the author is truly about in his quiet moments at home. Let the article stand on face, as it is interesting without the disclaimer. Thanks for sharing
I threw that in pre-emptively, because invariably somebody throws in the fact that Richard Engel is jewish, usually with slurs attached, and always because of the apparent bias that Engel shows.
Can apprecate that. Again, Thanks for sharing!!
Have to wonder how today's media would have reported the revolutionary war or even the civil war.
Oh wait each side always has it's own media, so the information we get in reality never really matters. It's war they are both killing each other. At this point I could honestly care less. The attempt is to drag the rest of the world into it with them. From both sides.
I remember during the Libyan conflict Gaddafi's forces fired grad rockets FROM a city (Al baida, I think) into the desert and then the rebels and media flipped sh!t for this "grave injustice and disregard for human rights".
(Can't find video, sorry.)
Then later on in the conflict I saw this nice little video of the rebels oh so proud and triumphant firing grads into Sirt and then complaining to the reporter that they were low on ammo. ha. I didn't find the original video, but I think these two make my point.
Use of grads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idTw2K9-890
Indiscriminate firing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jMBWqaAPIM
Muslims enjoy killing especially when they feel slighted or wronged. There may be a few ghosts agents working for Assad, but I bet the people who get accused of Shabiha, will be mostly Alawites with little to no evidence required for their execution. This sounds like the perfect excuse for the Sunnis to rid themselves of all the Alawites in their country.
Suuure, Muslims are to blame and they love killing. Like Christians or Atheists are any different. I come from a country where Atheists killed over 80 million people, and their excuse also was that the working class was wronged and that it was time to fix it. Protestant Christian Lord's Resistance Army in Africa that rapes women, chops off limbs and cuts off the noses of their prisoners simply for being Catholic, Muslim, or Pagan also feels that true Christians were wronged and it is time to fix things. Nothing like a good sermon, some speaking in tongues, and sacking a heathen village, eh? Truth is, humans kill for very earthly reasons, religion or some vague political ideology are just noble looking flags to wrap their respective causes to make them look more noble. It is one thing to fight for a piece of land in Palestine, it is the other if you say that God gave it to you a few thousand years ago. It is one thing to resist occupation, it is the other to think that you are suffering for Allah's sake. It is one thing to steal someone else's oil, it is the other if you believe that you are a noble crusader for democracy. People are the same, whether they are in the Middle East or Midwest. Put them into right circumstances and they will kill, massacre, rape, torture.
No other group kills wantonly like muslims, none! In the modern day civilized world the islamists stand out as ruthless, cowardly, brutal killers whether it is other muslims or civilized citizens and it's always against the innocent, women, children, civilians. Muslims will always try to refer to centuries ago barbarism practiced by all kinds of people including islamists, but to focus on the modern world, the only brutal, cowardly killing in the name of a religion is by muslims. This hate filled scourge of the world has taken once prosperous, successful, educated nations and turned them into a cesspool of failed states. The world should think about the beauty, art, commerce, and success of all the Northern African nations before the rise of islam about 1300 years ago. Since then ni nations have become nothing more than backward, corrupt, illiterate, brutal bastions of the most hate filled culture in the world, islam.
Jack you are wrong. There are numerous groups that commit horrid atrocities out there. Your media chooses to put only Muslim extremist groups in the spot light because your government has interests in the Middle East and needs justification for waging wars. There are Christian terrorist groups that commit horrid crimes in our modern times. There are Hindu groups that commit suicide bombings. There are Atheist Communist groups that bomb public places and chop peasants into pieces. And finally there are governments that commit terrorism (U.S. and Israel included). U.S. and Israel do not care about collateral damage either. You will bomb and kill as many civilians as it takes as long as your country achieves her goals. You have proven it in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Sure you don't kill for God. You kill for money or geopolitical reasons. But murder is murder. Be it for Allah or for money. Sure you will call me anti-American, but I'm not. I'm just being objective. Human being is a very peculiar beast, and the beast will continue murdering. Don't flatter yourself, you are no better than them. Personally you might be a good person, but overall your people are as capable to commit unimaginable crimes as Arabs, Jews, Russians or anyone else in the world. And they do commit unimaginable crimes just like everybody else. Palestinian walks into a hospital and blows it up. You drop a bomb on a hospital and blow it up. Same thing. Nothing you say will change it. By all means love your country, but if @!$%# really hits the fan here and your precious economy and system of government and police collapses you will see some bloody massacres. Ethnic groups will fight and kill each other just to survive here in United States. The only reason we are not killing each other right now is because we have a system that restrains us and provides our basic needs such as cheap food. Remove that and we will be not better than them Syrians. There will be lynchings, pogroms, looting, rapes, bombings, and beheadings. And if we take up arms and march on Washington D.C. our government will shoot, bomb, and shell us just like Assad is doing to those rebels.
OK - so western reporters cant tell the rebels from the regime thugs...plain clothes, all look alike...any plain clothes fighter caught by the rebels will be accused of being a shabiha... and deny it. Any plain clothes fighter caught by the Shabiha will be accused of being a rebel... and deny it.
You know what, who cares. Let the Syrians figure this out.
This is soooooooooo sad. Just a few months ago, Vladimir Putin , Hugo Chavez and Obama were calling Assad to congratulate him on winning his last election.
Our president will have one less petty tyrant to align himself with if this guy flees his country.
you need a program to tell theses towel heads apart !!! Rebels ! Brotherhood ! Jihads ! All sound the same too me !!!!! all blowing there towns to rubble !
Sam (#12), that's not very kind. Just above you, Musafir's avatar is wearing a 'towel' but he has made the most refreshingly intelligent post this site has ever seen. Don't judge by clothes, 'towels', yarmulka, fish bumper stickers, just as I wouldn't judge you by your red neck.
Just to echo many other comments. It appears that NBC reporter (Mr. Engel) is so much pro rebels as are the most western countries. It is a plain civil war (and until recently it was always called a massacre by Assad). Many of the rebels are either extremist Muslims or even aligned with Al-Qaeda. It really beats me that US politicians and media are so much pro rebels. The same was in Kosovo war as well as in Bosnian war. The sad truth is that great majority of US politicians do not know the history of those countries nor ethnic backgrounds and wishes of the plain local people. For example why is BIH (Bosnia and Hercegovina) propped as a state when the great majority of the population are Serbs followed by Croats. The very few percent of the population calling themselves Bosnians in reality are again Serbs and to smaller extent Croats who took Muslim religion when the area was occupied by Turks in 12-19 century.
your right !
Civil War doesn't involve murdering innocent women and children. That is called genocide.
Perhaps the biggest message here to the entire world is the nature and belief of islam. We have one islamic faction fighting another, islam demands killing of non-believers, so if any one is perceived as a non-believer he must be killed. This is not a war for democracy, this is not a war for freedom, this is not a war for a better life, this is not a war for education, women's rights, a stable government, equality of income, etc. etc. This is another sad but true example of the backward, illiterate, hate filled, cruel culture of islam, nothing more, nothing less. When will our world awake?
your right ! and they don't want too stop there or with Israel ! it's the world they want !
I find it strange that the US government and MSN and other corporate media are all supporting Al Qaed and the Islamic terrorists now. I guess the "war on teror" was a fraud all along.
But its okay, I can use the fact that Obama the Pentagon the CIA and the MSM supoprts Al Qaeda and Islamic terrorism to discredit their anti social political agenda. Thanks!!
What started as a protest to voice grievances, has degraded in a sectarian blood bath. IF (and that's a big if) Assad had stepped down, much earlier, there might have been a chance for a Syria Democracy. And, even then, they would have been in the same quandary as Egypt. The nastier this fight gets, the nastier the peace will be!
The same thing happened in America. A few businessmen got together to voice their grievances in a non-violent manner where British soldiers then shot and killed the protestors that led to the Revolutionary War and America's freedom from a tryannical regime that used the American colonies in its war with France.
The Syrians in Syria that are fighting back against Assad are doing nothing different than Americans did a few hundred years ago....which is why we should support them....all of the Syrians so that they can cast their votes via the ballot box.
Who cares what it's about? They are doing a great job of killing each other, we should stay out of it.
MUSLIMS ARE NOT HAPPY
> They're not happy in Gaza .
> They're not happy in Egypt .
> They're not happy in Libya .
> They're not happy in Morocco .
> They're not happy in Iran .
> They're not happy in Iraq .
> They're not happy in Yemen .
> They're not happy in Afghanistan .
> They're not happy in Pakistan .
> They're not happy in Syria .
> They're not happy in Lebanon .
> So, where are they happy?
> They're happy in Australia .
> They're happy in England .
> They're happy in France .
> They're happy in Italy .
> They're happy in Germany .
> They're happy in Sweden .
> They're happy in the USA .
> They're happy in Norway .
> They're happy in almost every country that is not Islamic!
> And whom do they blame?
>
> Not Islam...
> Not their leadership...
> Not themselves...
> THEY BLAME THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE HAPPY IN!
> And they want to change the countries they're happy in, to be like the
> countries they came from, where they were unhappy.
> Try to find logic in that!
How do they feel about Canada or Mexico? I don't think they are happy in Israel. I think they once had a good time in Sicily and parts of Spain. Can anybody say Istanbul, Constantinople, over and over real fast?
you dont know what your talking about at all.. almost every thing you typed is false.
Is coincidencia or fate, "africanamericans" get same filings...
People that do this kind of work are known as "useful stooges" in the Intel business.....Russian as well as Free World.
They are generally chosen for their low IQ levels rather than patriotism; many would make good suicide bombers.
Its risky business being a spy or provocateur within such a group of dedicated fighters as the Free Syrian Army, and they like the helicopter pilots Assad and his Russian advisors are sending to fight a losing battle are in for some disappointments...when they are finally "outed" or their choppers come face to face with some HE shaped charges.
No one will mourn their passing, which will likely be violent, and those who do survive the Civil War will be hunted down by the victors....because their names are already on Syrian Military and Intelligence lists of personnel which will eventually be captured.
Some might consider defecting while they still can...
nbc news and violent islamic terrorists are one
ok for all of u who really think u know whats going on in syria u r so wrong ...... im lebanese from north of lebanon and let me tell u we as lebanese we suffeed for 3o years from the assad rejim tese ppl has no heart or feeling they just kill because of money and taking ppl things ..... in syria u can even talk about politic or u ll be throwing in some secret jail and no body knows where u r ..... and as the assad is a president and he sees that more then half of the country doesnt want him shouldnt he get the message ? or he should kell more then half of the ppl to stay as a president?
I hope Assad kills more of your Islamic scum bretheren.
you and assad are gonna have the same end and u lll keep each other company in hell u mo%*#
What Assad doesn't realize is that by using Ghost Soldiers to infiltrate the Syrian Rebels that only Assad knows who the members are, even Assad's own forces should begin to fear Assad's Regime.
As Assad tightens his grip first around his own subjects they will begin to feel just the Syrian Rebels. Used and betrayed by Assad as nothing more than cattle for slaughter in glory of himself
Assad is much more of a terrorist than Osama Bin Laden was as he has killed over 19,000 Syrians since March 2011, a little over a year ago.
Assad is commiting genocide plain and simple and his actions cannot be condoned by the world community, especially the United States of America, the UK, Spain and other countries that have felt the same type of bloodlusting at the hands Al Qaida and the Taliban.
It is certain that the Syrians want a Democratic Society based upon this statement
"Those who recently defected from the regime must not take part in leading the transitional period," Othman told The Associated Press from Istanbul, where he is based. "After the transitional period, the Syrian people will choose whomever they want through the ballots."
The more that Assad uses his Ghost Soldiers to report the actions of the Syrians even those loyal to Assad back to Assad military command so any sign of dissent can be shelled with artillery to kill the dissent more and more Syrians will leave the side of Syria to join the rebels.
The only Syrians left that will be between Syria and Assad will be those who have chosen to take the side of Assad because they do not want to die.
Hitler alos used the same tactic during his regime. It was called the SS of whom wanted power just like he did. Hitler used his agents to report on the actions of his own soldiers so that no dissent occured which actually caused more dissent and a less cohesive military unit that ultimately led to Hitler commiting suicide in a bunker surrounded by Reds.
Just like Darius did so many years before Assad is slowly abadoning those who support him as he becomes more and more paranoid that the lone assassin, who is amongst Assad's own subjects is slowing making his way to Assad where one night the Asp will slither into Assad's room smiling with joy as it pieces Assad's soul releasing Syria from its devil in the dust and finally giving Syria its heart and voice back in electing her leaders from ballots.
Either by Assad's own hand or the hands of the Syrians, Assad will meet his end.
We as Americans should support the Free Syrians in their fight as helping them take out Assad will take out another terrorist dictator nor only for the Middle East but for the entire world.
As long as Assad is allowed to live he will bolster Al Qaida and Taliban forces that I am certain that all of the Middle East is tired of being around.
Death to Islamic dumbocracy! Death to Al Qaeda terrorist scum.
Long Live Assad! God Bless Assad for destroying the Islamonazi filth
You are cracy and estupid...
If you hate Islamic Terrorism al qaeda scum then support Assad and the Russians in their fight against Al Qaeda and Islamic Terrorism.
The USA gov/ Media supports Islamic terrorism in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucusus region.
The USA gov is allied with Saudi Arabia aka Mecca.
Islamism is a tool of the pentagon. They are using it to spread chaos and enslave the world.
for ur info al quaeda or whatever u call it it was made in usa and yes they should all be terminated but those ppl in syria they r not alquaeda they r soldiers and didnt want to follow that ass#%$ assad and kill their own ppl .... go get more education and take some history lessons and then maybe after that u can join this kind of a conversation
Everyone who knows Brian should keep an eye on him. He sounds like he too may have purchased guns and ammo off the 'net. He defends miltias so he's probably one of America's idiot White supremacist militias. Illiterate, inbred and armed. You go Brian. Maybe the FBI will find you and make you a martyr.
The Alawites have been controlling the majority of the population through intimidation and tactics that are similar to those used by the Saddam Hussein regime. Bashar Al-Assads's father was a murderer and now like his father Bashar is murdering too. He uses these "ghosts" to incorporate plausible deniability into his slaughter of his citizens as if he's going to survive this.
Sorry but I don't think he'll survive even with Russian and Chinese backing. He's about to gas everyone in Syria. "If I can't have Syria, No one will have it!". The Syrian rebels should attempt another high level bombing to kill him.
Assad is a Socialist and Syrian women have rights. Dont let Al Qaeda take over in Syria. Dont let the Mudslime pigs create their Mudlsime Caliphate.
God Bless Assad. I hope he kills One Million Islobic maggots today.
God bless you Assad!
MSN.COM = Islamo Nazi terrorist sympathizer Media
Take out assad and his wife and game over !!
Oldman SW Missouri = Islamic Terrorist Sympathizer
Sure Oldman. That tactic worked against Indians when America wanted the land. Should work now.
GE / NBC = Islamic terrorist supoprters
I am going to protest outside of GE/NBC with a sign on 911 that says
NBC SUPPORTS ISLAMIC TERRORISM
I have a sign that reads, "Brian needs medication. Please help"