There has never really been a pro US opposition group within Syria that has any numbers, in fact most of the important groups like the Local Coordination Committees or the local units of the FSA have been saying for a very long time that the US would rather see Assad stay.
And as for the analysis of the wsws ( Socialist Equity Party) the step children of the Healy-ites, one would be better off just reading their movie reviews rather than political analysis which is supporting the slaughter of the Assad regime like so much of the so called Left in the US does. Cort On Sun, May 12, 2013 at 2:56 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > > > > US Prepares For War With Syria as pro-US Opposition Loses Ground > > By Thomas Gaist > > May 10, 2013 "_ Information Clearing House_ > (file:///C:/Users/MICHAE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/wlmailhtml: > {FE8317C8-F508-41AF-8708-97FB52074BD2}mid://0000006 > 1/) " -"_ WSWS_ > (file:///C:/Users/MICHAE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/wlmailhtml: > {FE8317C8-F508-41AF-8708-97FB52074BD2}mid://00000061/) " - - Calls for a > war > with Syria mounted yesterday, despite mass popular opposition to war in > the > United States, amid reports that US-backed Islamist opposition forces > fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have suffered > serious > reverses. > > Speaking on NBC News yesterday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip > Erdogan pressed for Washington to take military action against Syria. > > He repeated unsubstantiated allegations that the Assad regime has used > chemical weapons, which have been refuted by UN investigator Carla del > Ponte, > claiming, It is clear the regime has used chemical weapons and missiles. > Claiming that a red line had been crossed, he said: We want the United > States to assume more responsibilities and take further steps. And what > sort of steps they will take, we are going to talk about this. > > Erdogan dismissed out of hand reports that chemical weapons used in Syria > were in fact used by the US-backed opposition. > > He stressed that his government would support US imposition of a no-fly > zone in Syria, which would involve destroying Syrian air defenses and > shooting down any Syrian aircraft that took to the skies. > > Erdogans calls for military action were echoed across the American press. > The Washington Post s editorial board called for an air campaign as > well as arms for the moderate opposition aimed to quickly tip the > military > balance against the Assad regime. Wall Street Journal columnist Bret > Stephens proposed a long list of attacks against Assad, including sending > in US > ground forces: disable the runways of Syrian air bases, including the > international airport in Damascus use naval assets to impose a no-fly zone > over > western Syria supply the Free Syrian Army with heavy military equipment, > including armored personnel carriers and light tanks; and be prepared to > seize and remove Syrias chemical weapons stockpile, even if it means > putting > boots (temporarily) on the ground. > > The calls for war come amid reports of major setbacks in Syria for the > US-backed opposition, reflecting its small size and lack of popular > support, > and growing military assistance from Russia, Iran, and Lebanon for the > Assad > regime. > > After two months of heavy bombardment, government forces have retaken the > strategic town of Khirbet Ghazaleh from the rebels, re-opening > government transport routes to Deraa, the city where initial opposition > protests > began two years ago. Opposition leaders acknowledged it as a major > setback. > Tomorrow, the big tragedy will happen, the regimes supply route to Deraa > will reopen, and the officers will go back and ammunition will be > resupplied > and the bombardment will resume, said Abu Yacoub, commander of the > Martyrs > of Khirbet Ghazaleh brigade. > > Yesterday, BBC Middle East bureau chief Paul Danahar wrote that the Free > Syrian Army (FSA) amounts to little more than men with guns, united only > by the fact that they point their guns in the same direction. He said > the FSA is not a cohesive force and lacks a command structure. > > A Jerusalem Post article of May 3rd entitled Is Assad Winning in Syria? > describes the defeat of opposition militias around Qusayr by Hezbollah > forces, as well as the capture of Otaiba by Assads forces last week, > indicating the growing strength of Assad vis-à-vis the US proxy forces. > According > to the article, morale among supporters of the regime has improved > markedly > in recent weeks. It concluded, Assad shows no signs of cracking. > > Under these conditions, Assads allies are stepping up military deliveries > to Damascus. The Russian government has announced plans to sell S-300 > anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria, in a $900 million deal that would > substantially bolster the Syrian regimes capacity to defend itself > against US > and Israeli airstrikes. > > Secretary of State John Kerry criticized the sale as destabilizing, and > the Israeli government appealed to Russia to halt the transaction. Syrias > purchase comes in after Israeli air strikes that used long-range stand-off > missiles to attack Damascus from beyond the Syrian border. > > On Thursday, Iran vowed to respond to the Israeli raids with blows under > the belt in several locations. Irans envoy to Syria, Ali Akbar Salehi, > promised full and unlimited support from Iran, politically, militarily, > and > economically, to the Syrian leadership and people, against the takfiris > [Al Qaeda-type Sunni extremist forces], terrorists, Israel, the US, and > all > who dare attack this country. > > Also on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah announced that > Syria would supply his militia special weapons it never had before, > calling the decision game-changing. The weapons are apparently being > transferred as a response to Israels air strikes on Damascus. This is > the > Syrian strategic reaction, he explained. > > These deliveries highlight the broad regional implications of the proxy > war Washington has waged against the Assad regime, relying primarily on > Islamist forces tied to Al Qaeda, and the risk of a US war in Syria > escalating > into a regional or even global conflict. > > There is broad opposition in the working class to the US drive to war in > Syria overseen by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. A > recent > poll pegged popular opposition to war at 62 percent of the US population. > > The conflict has already taken a horrific toll on the Syrian people. Over > the past several months, the number of Syrians displaced from their homes > by the war has increased from 2 million to 4.25 million. A total of 6.8 > million Syrians, including 3.1 million children, are classified as in > dire need > of humanitarian assistance by the UNs Office of the Coordination of > Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). > > Jordanian officials have stated that Syrian refugees now make up 10 > percent of Jordans total population, with this figure set to explode to > 40 > percent by mid-2014 on current trends. > > The ramping up of US military operations against Syria is accompanied by > diplomatic efforts to bring about a post-Assad government on terms > favorable > to US imperialism. Secretary of State John Kerry has sought an agreement > with Russia, which would pave the way for a power-sharing arrangement. > > This plan also received significant endorsement in US strategic and media > circles. Zbigniew Brzezinski, a prominent architect of US imperial policy, > issued a strong criticism of proposed US military action against Syria, > proposing instead to try to involve Russia and China in US plans to remove > Assad through diplomacy. > > He said, The various schemes that have been proposed for a kind of > tiddlywinks intervention from around the edges of the conflictno-fly > zones, > bombing Damascus and so forthwould simply make the situation worse. > None of the proposals would result in an outcome strategically beneficial > for > the US On the contrary, they would produce a more complex, undefined slide > into the worst-case scenario. The only solution is to seek Russias and > Chinas support for U.N.-sponsored elections in which, with luck, Assad > might > be persuaded not to participate. > > Along these lines, David Ignatius of the Washington Post proposed a > military transition government that would include reconcilable elements > of > Assads army, under the leadership of US-backed General Salim Idriss, a > defector who now commands Syrian opposition forces. > > Effectively, US officials are hoping that, in the context of negotiations > jointly organized by the Russian government, they could persuade Syrian > officers to organize a coup to oust Assad, and then make a deal with the > US-backed opposition. Their plan involves a new ruling coalition composed > of > opposition and regime elements, described by Ignatius as a military > transition > government that would include reconcilable elements of Assads army. > Assad would be removed, though lower-ranking members of his government > might > remain. > > Copyright © 1998-2013 World Socialist Web Site > > Link to the article: > > http://www.actionla.org:8080/actionla/front/detailed3.jsp?newsId=1071&title=5/10:%20US%20Prepares%20For%20War%20With%20Syria%20as%2 > 0pro-US%20Opposition%20Loses%20Ground&filename=1368344918489&ext=jpg > > =================================================== > =========================== > Peace NO War Network_ http://www.PeaceNOWar.net_ > (http://www.peacenowar.net/) > War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate > Not in our Name! And another world is possible! > > Information for antiwar movements, news across the World, please visit:_ > http://www.PeaceNoWar.net_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/) > e-mail: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > Tel: (213)403-0131 > > Please Join PeaceNoWar Listserv, send e-mail to: > [email protected]_ (mailto: > [email protected]) > > Please Donate to Peace No War Network! > Send check pay to: > ActionLA/AFGJ > > ActionLA > P.O. Box 751 > South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751 > (All donations are tax deductible) > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > -- *A means can be justified only by its end. But the end in its turn needs to be justified. (Also quoted as "The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.") 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