Syria's Assad says Western plots against him foiled but war not yet won

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday his country had foiled Western designs to topple him but his army had not yet won the fight to end Syria's six-year-old insurgency.

In an televised address, Assad said that even though there were signs of victory after six-and-a-half years of civil war, the "battle continues, and where we go later and it becomes possible to talk about victory...that's a different matter".

He did not elaborate on that point.

However, he said the assistance extended by stalwart allies Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement had enabled the army to make battlefield gains and reduce the burden of war.

"Their direct support - politically, economically and militarily - has made possible bigger advances on the battlefield and reduced the losses and burdens of war," Assad added.

Assad vowed to pursue an offensive in Syria's vast deserts, where he is backed by Iranian-funded militias and heavy Russian air power that have allowed his troops to capture significant ground from Islamic State insurgents on several major fronts.

His government hopes to steal a march on U.S.-backed militias in the attack on Islamic State's last major Syrian stronghold, the Deir al-Zor region that extends to the Iraqi border. The eastward thrust, unthinkable two years ago when Assad seemed in danger, has underlined his ever more confident position and the dilemma facing Western leaders who still want him to leave power in a negotiated transition.

"Our army is achieving one gain after another every day to eliminate terrorists...We will continue to attack terrorists until the last terrorist on Syrian land," Assad said.

He said his country welcomed Russian-brokered local ceasefire deals that Moscow is seeking to extend elsewhere in Syria as these would end bloodshed and bring an end to the insurgency and pardoning of rebels who agree to lay down arms. (ontinueReading

Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow

washingtonpost.com - President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.

The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy since Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later.

Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia, which saw the anti-Assad program as an assault on its interests. The shuttering of the program is also an acknowledgment of Washington’s limited leverage and desire to remove Assad from power.

Just three months ago, after the United States accused Assad of using chemical weapons, Trump launched retaliatory airstrikes against a Syrian air base. At the time, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, said that “in no way do we see peace in that area with Assad at the head of the Syrian government.”

Officials said Trump made the decision to scrap the CIA program nearly a month ago, after an Oval Office meeting with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and national security adviser H.R. McMaster ahead of a July 7 meeting in Germany with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (ontinueReading

OOPS: U.S.-led coalition accidentally bombs Syrian allies, killing 18

WashingtonPost.com - Aircraft from a U.S.-led coalition accidentally bombed friendly Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State in northern Syria on Tuesday, killing 18, the Pentagon said Thursday. The bombing marks the worst confirmed friendly-fire incident in the nearly three-year-old war against the terrorist group.

The coalition said in a statement that the airstrike was requested by “partnered forces” near the town of Tabqa who accidentally targeted a group of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. The partnered forces believed that the SDF’s position belonged to the Islamic State, the statement said.

According to a U.S. official with knowledge of the accidental strike, an SDF unit in close proximity to the Islamic State defense lines reported its location incorrectly. When other SDF forces saw what they thought were Islamic State fighters, they ordered a strike–but it turned out to be on the SDF fighters who had provided the wrong location.

“The coalition has been working with the SDF for more than 2 years and have conducted thousands of strikes,” the official said in an email. “This was a very dynamic situation. ISIS was fighting to hold their position; they continue to lose ground. The ground units and Coalition Forces involved in this strike are well experienced and communicate often. Unfortunately, this dynamic situation resulted in loss of detailed location understanding.”

The incident highlights the inherent difficulties of using local ground forces in conjunction with Western air power on a battlefield with a small U.S. presence. There are roughly 500 U.S. Special Operations forces working with Syrian Democratic Forces spread throughout north eastern Syria.

“The general leadership of SDF in coordination with international coalition will investigate the reasons behind the accident in order to prevent it happening again,” the Syrian Democratic Forces General Command said in a statement.

Russia warns of 'negative consequences' if U.S. targets Syria

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia's deputy U.N. envoy, Vladimir Safronkov, warned on Thursday of "negative consequences" if the United States carries out military strikes on Syria over a deadly toxic gas attack.

"We have to think about negative consequences, negative consequences, and all the responsibility if military action occurred will be on shoulders of those who initiated such doubtful and tragic enterprise," Safronkov told reporters when asked about possible U.S. strikes.

When asked what those negative consequences could be, he said: "Look at Iraq, look at Libya." (Source)

Turkey's Erdogan: 'Confirmed evidence' US-led coalition supports ISIS & other terrorists in Syria

RT.com - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said "it's very clear" that the US-led coalition is supporting terrorist groups in Syria, Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL) among them.

"They give support to terrorist groups including Daesh (Arabic for IS)," Erdogan said.

Saying that the US have accused Turkey of supporting IS, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday the Turkish leader blamed the US-led coalition for assisting terrorists themselves.

Apart from IS, he also mentioned Kurdish People's Protection Units in northern Syria (YPG) and Democratic Union Party (PYD) as groups supported by the coalition.

"We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos," he added.

Erdogan has also called on Saudi Arabia and Qatar to join Russia, Turkey and Iran in peace talks on Syria. On Tuesday, the Turkish leader said officials of these Gulf states should be included in the talks of foreign ministers in Kazakhstan next month, as their countries had "shown goodwill and given support'' to Syria, AP reported.

However, the Turkish president stressed that Ankara itself would not take part should Syrian Kurdish groups - whom he called "terrorist organizations" - be invited to take part in the meeting.

Commenting on Ankara's accusations, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Erdogan's claims were "ludicrous."

Saying that there is "no basis for truth" in Erdogan's statement, Toner added that Washington is "100 percent behind the defeat and destruction of Daesh, even beyond Syria and Iraq."

The State Department also praised Ankara's efforts in northern Syria, saying that they have been "very efficient, very successful." The US is in "constant contact" with Turkey, Toner added.

"The evidence [mentioned by Erdogan] is quite ample, [the US] have been doing it for a number of years, including running secret CIA operations through Jordan, then through Turkey and into Syria," Michael Maloof, a security analyst and former Pentagon official, told RT.

He added that Erdogan's comments were "disingenuous," however, as "he continues to supply arms [into Syria] as well, with his ultimate aim [being] to go after the Kurds, and ISIS is secondary."

On Tuesday, Moscow also accused Washington of "sponsoring terrorism" in Syria. (FullText)

Syria Conflict: Putin is encouraged, Assad is safe with a weak America

(NeewsWeek - Those who advocate modest military measures to stop or at least slow the mass murder of Syrian civilians by Russia and its Assad regime client should not evade the patently unfair question they are often asked: "Are you willing to risk World War III?"

As important as it is to defend civilians—for both humanitarian and policy reasons—the answer, of course, must be no. And even if world war is a remote possibility, any circumstances possibly bringing the armed forces of nuclear powers into contact are troublesome.

But what of those who use the World War III ploy to argue for continued American passivity (coupled with soaring, empty rhetoric) in the face of defiant, unspeakable atrocities executed by those who have come to count on total impunity? Are they answerable for nothing in terms of risk?

If Russian President Vladimir Putin concludes, on the basis on American behavior in Syria, that Uncle Sam is an empty suit—willing to talk about everything but stand for nothing—is that a risk-free outcome in Syria and the world beyond?

If anything at all has been learned from the past five years of Levantine murder and mayhem, it is this: What happens in Syria does not stay in Syria. Even if it did—as Obama administration senior officials hoped it would, way back when—American passivity in the face of mass homicide would still have raised questions and inspired objections, both moral and policy-related.

But nothing about this abomination has been contained within Syria, other than a ruling family and an enabling entourage preserved by Russia and Iran.

Winning!: Bashar al-Assad, Unrepentant, States He Expects to Rule Syria Until 2021

- Despite “thousands of Syrians wiped out through the terrorists,” he stated, “no the first is speaking about war crimes” by his armed opponents.

The blasts that until lately echoed night and day in the mountaintop, shelling digital rebel-held suburbs, have subsided recently, and Mr. Assad, radiating confidence, was on the pursuit to persuade the Western public their governments had designed a mistake in backing his opponents.

Which was pretty good by itself, he stated, but Islamist ideologies according to “bad interpretation” had root prior to the war coupled with fueled it. He rejected analysts’ contentions that his government had faster the procedure because they build mosques and funneling jihadist fighters to Iraq throughout the U . s . States occupation.

He guaranteed his visitors, six American and British journalists and policy analysts, that the new trend of openness, transparency and dialogue was dawning in Syria, a note which was a part of a concerted public-relations push by his top advisors and officials. He spoke of the struggle over identity in the centre East, as well as the best of each and every Syrian to become a “full citizen, in each and every concept of this word.”

“Until this moment, we have a dialogue through different channels,” even going to the U.S States, Mr. Assad stated. “But that does not mean to stop our sovereignty and transfer Syria right into a puppet country.”

“Let’s guess that these allegations are correct which president has wiped out their own people and also the U.S. helps the Syrian people,” Mr. Assad stated. “After 5 years . 5, who supported me? How do i be considered a president and my people don’t support me?”

Actually, yesterday, the Un special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, adopted by Amnesty Worldwide along with other worldwide legal rights groups, condemned the digital rebel groups’ indiscriminate shelling of presidency-held parts of Aleppo, attacks which have wiped out lots of civilians in recent days. (Source)

The worst drought in 900 years helped spark Syria's civil war

(Mashable) - The drought that played a role in triggering the catastrophic Syrian Civil War was the worst such climate event in at least the past 900 years, according to a new study published this week.

The study bolsters the conclusions from other research that found that because of human-made global warming, the drought was made three times more likely to occur, and that it was one of a number of factors that led to the outbreak of hostilities in 2011.

The new study examined tree-ring records showing the annual precipitation history from recent years back to the year 1100, across an area stretching from southern Europe to northern Africa to the Levant region of the Middle East.

The Levant region encompasses Cyprus, Israel-Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, found that in the western Mediterranean, recent droughts have not yet departed from their natural variability, but in the east, including Syria, they have.

The conclusion about the Levant drought in particular increases confidence in computer model projections of future climate conditions.

Syria, already a catastrophe, seems on the verge of an uncontrollable disaster

(washingtonpost) - Suddenly, after four years of brutal civil war, Syria this week became even more of an uncontrollable military, diplomatic and humanitarian disaster.

“We are not blind to what is happening,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Tuesday, as he prepared for a meeting in Munich of stakeholders from outside Syria. “We are all very, very aware of how critical this moment is.”

The Thursday gathering could well be the last gasp of a three-month, Kerry-orchestrated effort to bring together powerful countries on all sides of the conflict — from Russia and Iran on behalf of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to the United States and its partners on the opposition side — to try and forge a political solution that would allow them all to focus their efforts on defeating the Islamic State.

What seemed possible even two weeks ago, however, now seems all but hopeless. Failure of planned peace negotiations could lead President Obama finally to a decision he has long resisted — whether to more fully arm and back rebel groups whose cohesion and commitment to a democratic and secular Syria he mistrusts.

In recent days, Russian bombardment of opposition forces north of Aleppo, a rebel stronghold, has severed opposition supply lines and threatens to allow government-aligned forces to encircle the city. In a letter sent to the Obama administration this week, Russia proposed to stop the bombing on March 1, allowing it to continue for another three weeks. (Full Story)

Russia and the Curse of Geography

(theatlantic.com)- Vladimir Putin says he is a religious man, a great supporter of the Russian Orthodox Church. If so, he may well go to bed each night, say his prayers, and ask God: “Why didn’t you put mountains in eastern Ukraine?”

If G-d had built mountains in eastern Ukraine, then the great expanse of flatland that is the European Plain would not have been such inviting territory for the invaders who have attacked Russia from there repeatedly through history. As things stand, Putin, like Russian leaders before him, likely feels he has no choice but to at least try to control the flatlands to Russia’s west. So it is with landscapes around the world—their physical features imprison political leaders, constraining their choices and room for maneuver. These rules of geography are especially clear in Russia, where power is hard to defend, and where for centuries leaders have compensated by pushing outward.

Western leaders seem to have difficulty deciphering Putin’s motives, especially when it comes to his actions in Ukraine and Syria; Russia’s current leader has been described in terms that evoke Winston Churchill’s famous 1939 observation that Russia “is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside of an enigma.” But it’s helpful to look at Putin’s military interventions abroad in the context of Russian leaders’ longstanding attempts to deal with geography. What if Putin’s motives aren’t so mysterious after all? What if you can read them clearly on a map?

For Russia, the world’s largest country by landmass, which bestrides Europe and Asia and encompasses forests, lakes, rivers, frozen steppes, and mountains, the problems come by land as well as by sea. In the past 500 years, Russia has been invaded several times from the west. The Poles came across the European Plain in 1605, followed by the Swedes under Charles XII in 1707, the French under Napoleon in 1812, and the Germans—twice, in both world wars, in 1914 and 1941. In Poland, the plain is only 300 miles wide—from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Carpathian Mountains in the south—but after that point it stretches to a width of about 2,000 miles near the Russian border, and from there, it offers a flat route straight to Moscow. Thus Russia’s repeated attempts to occupy Poland throughout history; the country represents a relatively narrow corridor into which Russia could drive its armed forces to block an enemy advance toward its own border, which, being wider, is much harder to defend. (Full Text)

Saudi FM: Assad must go or face 'military option'

(Yahoonews) - United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must leave office or face being turfed out by force, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said Tuesday, warning of stepped up support for Syrian rebel groups.

Jubeir rejected Russian calls for an international coalition to help Assad fight the Islamic State group, and said the Syrian leader's best option would be to step down.

"There is no future for Assad in Syria, with all due respect to the Russians or anyone else," Jubeir told reporters in New York after meetings with Saudi Arabia's allies.

"There are two options for a settlement in Syria. One option is a political process where there would be a transitional council," he said, describing this as the "preferred option."

"The other option is a military option, which also would end with the removal of Bashar al-Assad from power," Jubeir warned.

"This could be a more lengthy process and a more destructive process, but the choice is entirely that of Bashar al-Assad."

Jubeir would not be drawn on specifics of what the military option would look like, but noted that Saudi Arabia is already supporting "moderate rebels" in their battle against Assad.

"Whatever we may or may not do we're not talking about," he said, adding: "There is a Free Syrian Army that is fighting against Bashar al-Assad.

"There is a moderate Syrian opposition that is fighting against Bashar al-Assad and this opposition is getting support from a number of countries, and we expect that this support will continue and intensify."

Jubeir said the best option would be for Assad to accept the principles of the Geneva I agreement signed at a peace conference in 2012, laying the groundwork for a transitional government.

Under this plan, he said, Assad would immediately cede power to an executive council made up of both members of his regime and opposition figures. Full Story

Target Of Future Drone Attack Urges American Intervention In Syria

TheOnion

DAMASCUS—The target of a future U.S. drone strike aimed at taking out anti-American extremists strongly urged swift U.S. military intervention in Syria, sources confirmed Thursday. “President Obama and American forces must step in and help us overthrow Assad,” said the radical Islamist who will be the object of what will one day be an intense and lengthy manhunt by the CIA and whose death will reportedly be hailed as a major strategic victory by counterterrorism officials. “There needs to be a new regime in Syria immediately.” At press time, a non-target of a future drone strike, currently indistinguishable from the target of one, was saying the same thing.

Israel Aims To Stay Out Of Syria Conflict Despite Golan Friction.

(Reuters) - Israel aims to stay out of Syria's civil war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, despite violence eroding security on the Golan Heights border area.

The strategic plateau, most of which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, saw fierce fighting last week between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and Syrian rebels near the armistice line patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers.

"Israel is not getting involved in the civil war in Syria, as long as the fire is not directed at us," Netanyahu told his cabinet in broadcast remarks

Full Story.

Syria: Opposition Could Get Seat At U.N.

(Breitbart) - The leader for the Syrian Opposition Coalition on Tuesday called for the Syrian Opposition to take the seat of the Syrian Government at the United Nations on Tuesday. State Department Deputy Spokesman Patrick Ventrell declined to announce support or opposition to the request but only said that it would be something for the United Nations to decide. Ventrell did note, however, that the United States recognizes the Syrian Opposition Coalition as the "legitimate representative of the Syrian people."

Full Story.