Freies Politikforum für Demokraten und Anarchisten

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Syria faces public health catastrophes that will linger for decades due to toxic rubble dust, oil fire pollution and the US-led coalition's use of depleted uranium weapons on Islamic State targets, campaigners have warned.

The US last week admitted it had fired armour-piercing DU ammunition in its war against IS, and had hit not only military targets but also un-armoured civilian targets such as oil trucks, and despite promising otherwise.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/depleted-uranium-syria-iraq-1886394918

US Terror-Bombed Syria with Toxic Depleted Uranium(DU) Weapons

America uses banned depleted uranium (DU) weapons in all its wars, ongoing since first developed during the Vietnam era.

The 1925 Geneva Protocol and succeeding Geneva Weapons Conventions prohibited use of chemical and biological agents in any form as weapons of war.

Although no Geneva Convention or other treaty specifically bans radioactive uranium weapons, including DU ones, they’re illegal de facto and de jure under the 1907 Hague Convention, prohibiting use of any “poison or poisoned weapons.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46499.htm

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Fehim Tastekin reports that many Syrians blame Turkey, once a close ally of Damascus, for the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to United Nations and independent estimates.

Tastekin, a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse, reports from Damascus that “being a Turk in Syria is a bit difficult nowadays. No one will harass, insult or attack you, for sure, but everyone has a few words to say about Ankara’s transition from friend to foe.”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/01/syria-deep-anger-turkey-war-iraq-abadi.html

Russia tells Assad there is no military solution in Syria

Russia has told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that there is no "military solution" to the country's conflict, despite pro-government forces claiming victory over rebels in eastern Aleppo, according to a key Russian adviser to the United Nations' Syria envoy.

In an exclusive interview with Middle East Eye, Professor Vitaly Naumkin, the president of the Moscow-based Institute of Oriental Studies, said that Russia would continue to press Assad to accept a coalition government that would include members of the opposition. He did not specify which "opposition" groups he was referring to.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-no-military-solution-syria-russia-tells-assad-370256417

There is more than one truth to tell in the heartbreaking story of Aleppo

Our political masters are in league with the Syrian rebels, and for the same reason as the rebels kidnap their victims – money
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/aleppo-falls-to-syrian-regime-bashar-al-assad-rebels-uk-government-more-than-one-story-robert-fisk-a7471576.html

Congress authorizes Trump to arm Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft missiles
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/defense-ndaa-congress-manpads-syria.html

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

More than 1,000 combatants sent from Iran to fight in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria have been killed during the conflict, the head of Iran's veterans' affairs office said on Tuesday.

"The number of martyrs from our country defending the shrines has now passed 1,000," Tasnim news agency quoted Mohammad Ali Shahidi Mahalati, the head of Iran's Foundation of Martyrs' and Veterans' Affairs, as saying.

Iran has sent military advisers, as well as volunteer fighters recruited from Afghanistan and Pakistan, to work with Assad's forces. They are known in Iran as "defenders of the shrines" in reference to Shiite holy sites in Syria.

Shahidi did not specify the nationalities of those killed. Shia Iran is a staunch supporter of Assad and provides both financial and military support for his government.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/more-1000-combatants-iran-killed-syria-says-official-728745534

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

As experts on Russia and Turkey are wondering just how receptive US President-elect Donald Trump will be to their agendas in the Middle East, Moscow and Ankara have been involved in a series of talks over Syria.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/russia-view-turkey-role-syria.html

Battle of Aleppo: Tens of civilians killed in Syrian air strikes, say reports

The WHO has declared all hospitals in eastern Aleppo out of service after days of heavy air strikes
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/breaking-syrian-bombardment-kills-27-civilians-aleppo-monitor-902102039

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Buried deep inside Saturday’s New York Times was a grudging acknowledgement that the US-armed “moderate” rebels in Syria are using their US firepower to back an Al Qaeda offensive, reports Robert Parry.

A curious aspect of the Syrian conflict – a rebellion sponsored largely by the United States and its Gulf state allies – is the disappearance in much of the American mainstream news media of references to the prominent role played by Al Qaeda in seeking to overthrow the secular Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

There’s much said in the U.S. press about ISIS, the former “Al Qaeda in Iraq” which splintered off several years ago, but Al Qaeda’s central role in commanding Syria’s “moderate” rebels in Aleppo and elsewhere is the almost unspoken reality of the Syrian war.Even in the U.S. presidential debates, the arguing between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton has been almost exclusively about ISIS, not Al Qaeda.
Though Al Qaeda got the ball rolling on America’s revenge wars in the Middle East 15 years ago by killing several thousand Americans and others in the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist group has faded into the background of U.S. attention, most likely because it messes up the preferred “good guy/bad guy” narrative regarding the Syrian war.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=79572

Turkish-backed gangs release joint declaration on Aleppo attack
http://anfenglish.com/news/turkish-backed-gangs-release-joint-declaration-on-aleppo-attack

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

It’s a long shot and certainly not altruistic, but the effort by Russia and the United States to develop a viable plan for Syria might just work in everyone’s favor.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/us-russia-agreement-syria-political-will.html

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Iran hosted the defense ministers of Russia and Syria at its own Defense Ministry. The stated aim was to exchange views and discuss the “war on terror.” This time, unlike previous such gatherings, it was Iran and not Russia that formed the political axis of the discussions. During the talks in Tehran, the three defense ministers confirmed their respective governments’ determination to “continue military operations until terrorism is rooted out,” especially in Syria.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/iran-russia-syria-defense-ministers-tehran-meeting.html

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Turkey’s inability to produce a realistic strategy toward Syria and to coordinate its policy with its allies is coming home to roost, leaving it facing multiple dilemmas that are unlikely to be resolved soon. Ankara’s war with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its related effort to prevent Kurds from gaining ground in northern Syria remains Turkey’s main problems.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/turkey-syria-kurds-face-multiple-dilemmas.html

Israeli Deputy Minister Admits He Visited Syria

Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara, a member of the Likud faction, admitted on Saturday he visited in Syria since the beginning of the civil war there.

Kara, the deputy regional cooperation minister, was asked about his experience in Syria at a cultural event in Be'er Sheva. He said that the situation is "very hard, a very serious situation, you can't even imagine… It's a whole other world. When you crossover from Israel to Lebanon or Syria, you see the difference."
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.721938

Can US, Turkey keep up appearances in Syria?

A terrorist group linked to the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Tartus and Jableh in Syria on May 23 that killed more than 150 civilians and wounded more than 200 others. Maxim Suchkov points out that the attack in Tartus occurred deep inside government-controlled territory. Russia maintains a naval base in Tartus and an air base and reconnaissance center in Khmeimim in the Latakia region. The suicide attacks, Suchkov suggests, could be a catalyst for a Russian “first strike” strategy against terrorist and aligned Salafi groups
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/turkey-syria-isis-sur-russia-kurds-terror-pkk-ypg.html#

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Israel's concerns have increased over Syria's civil war because of the growing influence wielded by Iran and its proxies in their northerly neighbour, according to a several former diplomats who spoke to Middle East Eye.

Throughout the five bloody years of Syria’s civil war, in which more than 250,000 people have been killed, Israel has claimed to have had no clear strategy other than to remain neutral.

However, with regional foe Iran playing a crucial role in protecting their ally President Bashar al-Assad, Israel has become increasingly concerned about what lies beyond its northern border, which has prompted a more considered approach to the conflict, according to a senior former diplomat.

“The Israeli security establishment believes that the main threat Israel is facing in Syria is in fact Iran and its local proxies like Hezbollah," said Tzvi Magen, a former diplomat and now a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security.

“Israel is mostly concerned with the growing strength of the Iranian axis."
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-why-israel-may-be-dragged-syria-s-civil-war-1336390078

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

A lot of speculation has arisen over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting in Moscow April 21 with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The last time the two leaders met was Nov. 30. Since then, both have accumulated enough issues to discuss in person, while recent regional developments added the flavor of urgency to the talks.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/russia-israel-putin-netanyahu-visit-intrigue.html#