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Assad air force back in action in Damascus, hitting rebels
Reuters ^ | September 10, 2013 | Khaled Yacoub Oweis

Posted on 09/10/2013 9:46:24 AM PDT by maggief

* Government air strikes back ground forces in rebel-held suburbs

* Activists say first air raids in Damascus since before gas attack

* Assad opponents say shows he no longer fears imminent U.S. strike

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed rebel suburbs of Damascus on Tuesday for the first time in three weeks, in an offensive that opposition activists said showed President Bashar al-Assad no longer feared attack by the United States.

Not seen in action around the capital since before Aug. 21, when hundreds of people were killed in a poison gas attack that Western powers blame on Assad, government jets mounted attacks on three areas, some in support of assaults on the ground.

(Excerpt) Read more at trust.org ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: putinsyriacheckmate; syria
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To: Don Corleone

good idea

give Putin a 20 minute rebuttal after barry done flapping his gums

or assad

would sooner listen to either of them than some GOP rino, especially McQueeg


41 posted on 09/10/2013 10:51:12 AM PDT by silverleaf (Going to war without the French is like going hunting without an accordion.)
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To: austinaero
"There is no reason for Assad to hold back now. The world knows Obama is full of shiite, clueless and on the side of the rebels. Assad has more power now than he has had in a long time."

------------------------------------------>

He is so incompetent he will continue to bungle Syria. There are yet many more gaffes for Hussein and Kerry to make on Syria and other topics. <8^/

42 posted on 09/10/2013 10:55:17 AM PDT by hummingbird (Don't be afraid of the big words.)
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To: Parmenio

Mostly Iran backs Assad to stick it to the sunnis and the Saudis, to flank Iraq, and to allow their militant militias a foothold to organize against Israel and to give them an air bridge into Europe Africa and the Med

Assad would not let Hezbollah do to Syrians what Morsi and the MB tried to do in Egypt


43 posted on 09/10/2013 10:55:29 AM PDT by silverleaf (Going to war without the French is like going hunting without an accordion.)
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To: sickoflibs
"I wonder if napalm is OK"

------------------------------------>

Agent Orange, Mustard Gas, Botox -->

Oh, wait, Kerry has all of the Botox.

44 posted on 09/10/2013 11:02:19 AM PDT by hummingbird (Don't be afraid of the big words.)
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To: silverleaf
Assad would not let Hezbollah do to Syrians what Morsi and the MB tried to do in Egypt

Alawites in Syria outnumber Shiites in Lebanon and Syria put together. And obviously every Alawite male has received some formal military training, whereas Hezbollah is basically a jumped-up militia numbering perhaps 12,000 people. Military-age Alawites (16-50) are probably 500K, all of whom have some basic training. Hezbollah gets airtime because it's notorious, but its effect on the war is probably marginal. Ultimately, for Assad to have a sustainable peace if he wins, he needs to do to the Sunni Arabs something similar to what the Israelis did to the Pallies in 1948, convince the vast majority to leave for friendlier locales like Turkey, Jordan and other Sunni Arab countries.

45 posted on 09/10/2013 11:10:20 AM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: Zhang Fei

There’s lotsa empty space out there between eastern Syria and western Iraq

Give ‘em an AK-47, 40 acres and a camel


46 posted on 09/10/2013 11:15:01 AM PDT by silverleaf (Going to war without the French is like going hunting without an accordion.)
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To: maggief
Thank goodness he's gone back to killing people with bombs.
Now 0bama can golf with a clear conscience.
47 posted on 09/10/2013 11:20:47 AM PDT by TigersEye (Stupid is a Progressive disease.)
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To: 11th_VA

Meanwhile in the U.S. the ACLU and other Progressive groups plan more lawsuits against public displays of the Christian faith.


48 posted on 09/10/2013 11:26:12 AM PDT by TigersEye (Stupid is a Progressive disease.)
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To: cld51860
"INSTABILITY. (I hate when that happens)"

------------------------->

Thank you for clearing up the typo! I probably spent 5 or so minutes trying to figure it out - breaking it down in parts, etc.

Then, figured it was a word I just hadn't seen before!

*snicker*

49 posted on 09/10/2013 11:37:48 AM PDT by hummingbird (Don't be afraid of the big words.)
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To: maggief

...and does anybody think that, if this were a US revolt, that forces loyal to the government wouldn’t do the same? Or that the government, which condemns this elsewhere, wouldn’t feel justified in ordering it be done here?

Then why are our politicians so busy “deploring”, when they would do the same?


50 posted on 09/10/2013 11:44:08 AM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Love me, love my guns!©)
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Comment #51 Removed by Moderator

To: McGruff; Parmenio
"So you’re hoping Muslim extremest that behead Christians and elements of Al-Qaeda win this war?"

There have also been calls from neighboring, Hizballah-controlled Lebanon for help from Christians worldwide to support them in their effort. Maronites are the predominant Christian population in Lebanon.

Harb pledges to be forceful president [Maronite "ready to fight" Israel, "protect Hezbollah"]
Lebanese Lobby (Lebanon) ^ | 11SEP07 | Francis Matthew

Posted on Wed Sep 12 03:12:26 2007 by familyop

"Beirut: Boutros Harb, long-serving Maronite Lebanese Member of Parliament, is standing for president and reaching out to the Shiite Hezbollah, across the political divide in the country.

[...]

"I have proposed that the Lebanese army and government must be in control of declaring war, and that we should find a way to incorporate Hezbollah's forces into the army. But this has to be on the condition that the Lebanese government and army accept the full duty of being ready to fight and protect Hezbollah if Israel attacks," he said, adding that it was also important that Lebanon had to liberate the occupied territory of the Sheba'a Farms from Israel."



Lebanese leaders call for unity [All of them support the terrorists. ...always have.]
CNN International ^ | 20JUL06 | CNN
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1668991/posts

"The ship is sinking and all of us, the Lebanese, should stick together and work together to stop the Israeli aggression," Amin Gemayel, a Maronite Christian who served as president from 1982 to 1988, told the Arabic-language TV station Al-Jazeera . . . Michel Aoun, a one-time commander in Lebanon's 15-year civil war who now serves in parliament, said . . . "I don't think that Israel has the capability to destroy Hezbollah militarily because Hezbollah is not a group of armed men," Aoun said. "Hezbollah is a major part of the Lebanese social fabric."


Lebanon says army ready to fight [The truth about Lebanon.]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1670344/posts

Aoun is also a Maronite Christian.


Lebanon Turns to the Vatican to Halt Israeli Offensive
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1668754/posts

Vatican Condemns Israel for Attacks on Lebanon
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1665678/posts

On the Syrian-Lebanese-Iranian alliance.

Lebanon Is NOT Innocent (David Horowitz Slams The Lebanon “Innocent Bystander” Myth Alert)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1671142/posts

Ground to a Halt (Research shows: Suicide-bombers Communists, not Islamists
New York Times ^ | August 3, 2006 | ROBERT PAPE

Posted on Wed Aug 9 01:23:46 2006 by GodGunsGuts

...

In writing my book on suicide attackers, I had researchers scour Lebanese sources to collect martyr videos, pictures and testimonials and the biographies of the Hezbollah bombers. Of the 41, we identified the names, birth places and other personal data for 38. Shockingly, only eight were Islamic fundamentalists. Twenty-seven were from leftist political groups like the Lebanese Communist Party and the Arab Socialist Union. Three were Christians, including a female high-school teacher with a college degree. All were born in Lebanon.

...

Robert A. Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, is the author of “Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism.”



Iran is also communist, by the way (everything state-owned and much of it doled out to the families of clerics). I posted hundreds of articles on Iran and the need to take care of business there a long time ago, but anti-American, pecuniary, international socialist interests here threw trash in threads at nearly every article. Iran continues to build nuclear weapons.

AGI
Italy On Line

Special service by AGI on behalf of the Italian Prime Minister's office

LEBANON: D'ALEMA, ITALY HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE PART IN 5+1 ON I
(AGI) - Berlin, Aug. 26 - After having a protagonist role for peace in Lebanon Italy asks to take part in the 5+ 1 group that negotiates with Iran on nuclear. Foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema in an interview to "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" asks a place near to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. "We are Iran's most important commercial partners with Germany and we are pledged in Lebanon with Hezbollah. So we have the right to be included in the negotiation with Iran. The goal is not a new conflict but talks aimed at preventing Iran from having an atomic bomb, he said. Italy searched for a greater G8 involvement in the negotiation with Iran but it remained excluded from the 5 plus 1, the group that started a negotiation with Tehran offering incentives in exchange for the suspension of the uranium enrichment program. This exclusion was due to the fact that Rome was not part of the European trio (France, Germany and UK) that had tried the first mediation with Tehran and represented the EU in the 5 plus 1. D'Alema remembered that the United Nations and the EU had not a role in the Iraqi crisis, and warned that the new opportunity in Lebanon could not be missed now. "It is a very difficult mission full of unknown points but it is worth pledging or the only alternative would be a new burst of war" he said. The foreign minister, was sceptical on the possibility of a new UN resolution for the mission in Lebanon asked by the US. "I'm sceptical about it, because in these situations they always open long negotiations. The strategic plan is clear and the resolution was completed defining the rules of engagement. If they will make a new resolution soon I agree with them but the most important thing is getting there as soon as possible (In Lebanon)" he said.

[Scroll down on this page for another link and blurb in case the Italian government wiped that page.
http://www.williambowles.info/syria_lebanon/sl_newslinks_260806.html]

"IRAN: ITALY MUST RELY ON TEHRAN TO BOOST ROLE IN MIDDLE EAST, DIPLOMAT ["Main trading partner."]
AKI (Italy) ^ | 10AUG06 | AKI (Italy)
"Italy is Iran's main trading partner in Europe and commercial relations between the two countries were reportedly worth five billion euros in 2005."

Payvand's Iran News ...
8/6/03
Huge recovery in Iran's exports to EU
"The increase in Iranian exports was dominated by the rise in EU oil imports to eur 1.5 bn. It was led by Italy, Iran's biggest market, whose imports grew by eur 130 m to eur 500 m."

Italy defends Iran’s nuclear rights
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1933837/posts

IRAN: D'ALEMA, SANCTIONS WOULD ESPECIALLY DAMAGE ITALY>
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1639485/posts
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy
"(AGI) - Rome, May 26 - Economic sanctions under discussion against Iran would damage Italy in particular, which is an important trade partner of Iran."

Freed Italians eye return to Iraq [Italy paid a ransom!]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1231061/posts

Sgrena's 'truth' doesn't ring true
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1361764/posts

Italy to stop paying ransoms
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1361666/posts

20,000 in farewell to Italian 'martyr' (Huge Anti-USA demonstration)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1358260/posts

Italy Plans to Charge GI in Iraq Death
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1559896/posts

I warned Bush about Iraq: Italy's PM
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1512263/posts

Berlusconi protests over CIA ‘kidnap'
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434969/posts
THE VATICAN AND THE STANDOFF AT THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
Sergio Minerbi

Commencement Address at Boston College (Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Boston, Massachusetts, May 22, 2006. US Department of State)

Excerpts:

As a student of a Catholic high school, the Sisters of Loretta taught me, I am pleased to be at an institution of higher education with such strong and celebrated Catholic and Jesuit traditions . . . You see, I got my Master's Degree at Notre Dame. (Boos.) I acquired a passion for the fighting Irish . . . and my family has been college educated and Presbyterian ever since. (Laughter and applause.) . . . I wandered into a course on international politics taught by a Czech refugee who specialized in Soviet studies, a man who had a daughter by the name of Madeleine Albright. With that one class, I was hooked. I discovered that my passion was Russia and all things Russian.


Israel Asks U.S. to Ship Rockets With Wide Blast - State Department seeks to delay supply
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1681771/posts

Rice Calls for Israeli Restraint
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1665489/posts

US Supplies Fatah With Arms, Rice Decries “Occupation”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1718348/posts

US pressure prompts delay of [Israel’s] offensive (”We do not want escalations” - White House)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1680983/posts

U.S. Directs Criticism at Israel
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1680666/posts


Don’t Be a Sucker : U.S. War Department (1947)
http://archive.org/details/DontBeaS1947


52 posted on 09/10/2013 2:19:33 PM PDT by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of corruption smelled around the planet.)
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To: silverleaf
You might also be interested in reading comment #52.


53 posted on 09/10/2013 2:24:30 PM PDT by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of corruption smelled around the planet.)
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To: Parmenio

With the Sunni rebels destroyed, the Syrian government will give the Russians more control of Syria and its ocean ports. Then, the nations will look southward to Jerusalem with their jealousy of 1000s of years and their own worst kind of rebellion. The attitude has been intensifying and growing since about 2004. The largest Christian churches (and many of the small ones) in the U.S.A. and around the world have called for divestment from Israel.


54 posted on 09/10/2013 2:35:50 PM PDT by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of corruption smelled around the planet.)
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To: TigersEye

oh now that is quote-worthy

and remember Kerry stepping aboard his $100,000,000 custom yacht this summer while Syrians (and Egyptian Christians) were being killed by “conventional” weapons


55 posted on 09/10/2013 2:52:49 PM PDT by silverleaf (Going to war without the French is like going hunting without an accordion.)
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To: jimjohn

bump


56 posted on 09/10/2013 2:54:51 PM PDT by GeronL
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To: Parmenio

There are no good guys in this.

Not even Obama is a good guy in this.

The rebels are the classic evil, they murder and behead and mass rape minorities, like the 2.5 million Christians.

I would not take either side, but I am definitely not on the side of Al Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood.


57 posted on 09/10/2013 2:57:08 PM PDT by GeronL
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To: silverleaf
0bama's Progressive calculus is pretty easy to see here.

Death by nerve gas = unacceptable.

Crushed to death in the rubble of a building destroyed by a conventional bomb (while sleeping peacefully in your bed) = the approved Progressive method of murdering children.

58 posted on 09/10/2013 3:04:21 PM PDT by TigersEye (Stupid is a Progressive disease.)
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To: hummingbird

LOL


59 posted on 09/11/2013 7:37:30 AM PDT by cld51860 (Oderint dum metuant)
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