http://syrianrevolutiondigest.blogspot.com/
Not So AAA!<http://syrianrevolutiondigest.blogspot.com/2011/08/not-so-aaa.html> *U.S. and European attitude towards the Syrian Revolution leave much to be desired, so perhaps, it is about time Syrian activists and dissidents stopped desiring much from the U.S. and Europe. * *Tuesday August 2, 2011 * 24 dead on Monday (including 3 in Albou Kamal, 5 in Hama, 2 in Lattakia, 1 in Sermeen in the Idlib province, 3 in Homs City, 1 in the Damascene suburb of Zabadani, and 6 in the Damascene suburb of Arbeen) ... On Tuesday, 12 people died in all, including 5 in Hama City, 1 in the Damascene suburb of Kisweh, 3 in Rastan and 3 in Deir Ezzor City More reinforcements, including tanks, armored vehicles and troops were sent to Deir Ezzor Province, with units storming into the border town of Alkbou Kamal, and others shelling parts of Deir Ezzor City killing at least 3 people Meanwhile, hundreds were arrested in a mass detention campaign throughout the country, with special focus on Damascene suburbs and neighborhoods *Links* ** *Protesters across Syria come under fire<http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/08/201182221249684251.html> * Tens of people were reportedly wounded when they came under fire on Tuesday in the western Damascus suburb of Muadhamiya, the northeastern city of Hasaka, and the port city of Latakia. *Analysis: Syria - Is it on the threshold of a civil war?<http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=232024> *** Assad over the past 48 hours has demonstrated that whatever the outcome of this debate, the role of the tank as an instrument of war against civilians remains highly relevant in the Middle East. *Analysis: Syria army keeps cohesion but risks overstretch<http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/02/us-syria-army-idUSTRE7713FK20110802> * (Reuters) - The Syrian army, a vital pillar of President Bashar al-Assad's power, is showing little sign of the serious splits and defections the opposition seeks in its ranks, despite strains caused by his military repression of unrest. *In Syria, 'brother of a whore' gets tossed like trash<http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/02/syria.video/'> * Violent fringe elements have appeared during the Syrian tumult. One study last month from the International Crisis Group said some anti-government elements have taken up arms. However, that report said, "the vast majority of casualties have been peaceful protesters, and the vast majority of the violence has been perpetrated by the security services." *Escalating Violence in Syria Paralyzes the West<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/01/washington-avoids-syrian-crackdown-in-hama.html> * Washington and NATO rationalized its bombing of Libya on humanitarian grounds. Then why cant anyone muster a threat against Syria? *Arab leaders largely silent on Assad, Syria's crackdown on protesters<http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/arab-leaders-largely-silent-assad-syrias-crackdown-protesters> * The important thing is to remain committed to the peaceful nature of the movement, despite ongoing provocation by the regime and the moral cowardice of the international leaders, says Ammar Abdulhamid, a leading Syrian activist based in Washington. Admittedly, this will get more difficult from now onward. Western leaders, including American officials, may claim that the reason they dont get tough on the Assads is the lack of cohesion among Syrian opposition groups, but that is simply put hogwash meant to justify their inability and/or unwillingness to formulate a clear policy at this stage. Forming a dysfunctional behemoth made up of individual and groups that are ideologically and philosophically at odds is the not the right way to successfully manage the transitional process. What you need for that is the ability to attract pragmatic elements from all different political, social and religious backgrounds in order to support whatever makeshift council protest leaders on the ground will eventually field once they are given then opportunity to do so, that is, once the violence is brought to a halt. The meeting that Secretary Clinton held with Syrian activists earlier on Tuesday was largely a symbolic affair, a mere pat on the collective back of a people who have expected and yearned for much, much more from the elected officials of a country that still boasts a AAA rating by Moodys, albeit with a negative future outlook. I dread to think what rating will be assigned to America if Moodys launched a new system based on a countrys foreign policy. Be that as it may, the Revolution goes on, in the face of crackdown, lies, attempts at hijacking the cause by fringe elements, and the cowardice of world leaders. The Revolution is still AAA in my book, with a positive future outlook! *Saying goodbye (All died in the last 24 hours) * A Hamwi widow mourns her husband http://youtu.be/cUdFDqGKVJg A Hamwi father thanks people for showing up to his sons wedding, and begs them to forgive his son who was a bit reckless if he did anything wrong to anyone http://youtu.be/BcFFUdmO6wY A father from the Damascene neighborhood of Moadamiya kisses the feet of his dead son, because he is a martyr http://youtu.be/o5y1e664W9U , he addresses his son and reminds him that he had a haircut on the previous day http://youtu.be/Z3-jo5tnzgY A Homsi father saying goodbye to his son http://youtu.be/0Gs_fNZEI3I *Funerals* A funeral for an activist in the Damascene suburb of *Moadamiya* http://youtu.be/hr-kW2Vsvdg , http://youtu.be/cfOcqt3C-Cc , http://youtu.be/TtRKE22Ewqg A funeral for an activist in Idlib provinces *Saraqib* http://youtu.be/g346P237wz4 Mass funeral for a number of activists in the Damascene suburb of *Arbeen* http://youtu.be/8yuyhDkFbgk , http://youtu.be/WvofpqOtPZY , http://youtu.be/WfJpWpJYJV4 A funeral for an activist in *Homs City* http://youtu.be/ZlRPz8VTsJM A funeral for an activist in *Lattakia* http://youtu.be/bPMfyx-2CTI , http://youtu.be/fjDxbbeQ6Vo , kissing and laying the martyr in his final resting place http://youtu.be/S5juLFG4lTA A funeral for an activist in *Nayrab* http://youtu.be/UHxeW5XxmQE A funeral for an activist in *Idlib City* http://youtu.be/-iMR9DR8kjo *Two snipers in Action in Hama City* http://youtu.be/A_aD_RXd_jc , One of their victims http://youtu.be/rlzmiFILfGg Another of their victims http://youtu.be/2xdG64GIpKM *Shelling Around the Clock* http://youtu.be/wfb_MLJrkZo -------- http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/08/03/syrian-massacre-continues-as-world-assesses-limited-range-of-options/ Syrian Massacre Continues, as World Assesses Limited Range of Options<http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/08/03/syrian-massacre-continues-as-world-assesses-limited-range-of-options/> By: David Dayen <http://news.firedoglake.com/author/dday/> Wednesday August 3, 2011 11:37 am [image: Tweet]Tweet<http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/08/03/syrian-massacre-continues-as-world-assesses-limited-range-of-options/#> [image: digg]<http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://fdl.me/pF9Voo&title=Syrian+Massacre+Continues%2C+as+World+Assesses+Limited+Range+of+Options> [image: stumbleupon]<http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://fdl.me/pF9Voo&title=Syrian+Massacre+Continues%2C+as+World+Assesses+Limited+Range+of+Options> <http://news.firedoglake.com/?p=21256&akst_action=share-this> If its possible, things are getting even more intense in Syria. The incursion into Hama <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14385981>, site of a large massacre of citizens at the hands of the regime in 1982, carries symbolic significance, as well as continuing the brutal repression which has killed or disappeared thousands since the start of the uprising. One Hama resident told Reuters that the regime is using the media focus on the Hosni Mubarak trial to finish off Hama. But the media glare hasnt totally turned away from Syria. UPI noticed<http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/08/03/Syrian-tanks-troops-storm-Hama/UPI-22001312374672/?spt=hs&or=tn>that tanks rolled into the central square. The Washington Post bore witness<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/syrian-troops-tanks-push-into-hama/2011/08/03/gIQAoZpsrI_story.html>to cut phone, water and electricity lines. This is the prelude to a massacre of an entire large city, as big as Benghazi. And Syria is feeling some external pressure <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/world/middleeast/03syria.html>. Russia, an important ally of Syria, signaled new support for possible Security Council action, Syrian democracy activists received a warm welcome in Washington, Italy withdrew its ambassador to Damascus, and the United Nations Secretary General and top rights official both issued blunt rebukes of Syria President Bashar al-Assads government. At the United Nations, the Security Council convened for a second day to discuss possible action that would punish Syria. Russia and China, two of the Councils permanent members, had threatened previously to veto a proposed resolution, but Kremlin officials in Moscow suggested on Tuesday that they might have softened their position. Whether that means Russia might now support a Security Council resolution or some lesser form of reprimand aimed at Syria remained unclear. We are not categorically against everything, Sergei Vershinin, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministrys Middle East and North Africa Department, told reporters in Moscow. We are categorically against what doesnt help bring forward a peaceful settlement. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General, made some of his strongest criticisms yet, saying through a spokesman that he believed the Syrian president had lost all sense of humanity. But what will that do, really, to a regime fighting for its survival? US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said at a Congressional hearing<http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/08/03/286501/amb-ford-u-s-must-amplify-syrian-opposition-voices-we-owe-it-to-them-to-remain-supportive/>that the US must amplify the voices of the Syrian opposition. But his thoughts speak to the delicate situation in which the US finds itself with respect to Syria: FORD: First of all the protesters there are peaceful. As I think I mentioned, the one weapon I saw a slingshot. As I said these men are not gunmen. But the second point I came with was, they are not against foreigners. We told them we were American diplomats and they said, Oh! America! Great! Go ahead! Please pass! Theyre not anti-American at all. In fact I think they appreciated the attention that the United States showed to their cause and that they were peaceful. But the people in Hama and elsewhere are quite committed to change and I dont think theyre going to stop. And so I think we owe it to them to remain supportive and it try to build that support wisely, carefully but to build that support. Emphasis on wisely and carefully. The US has limits to their options<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/world/middleeast/03policy.html?partner=rss&emc=rss>in Syria. The international coalition for direct action is not as big as it was in Libya, and even if it was, it would be completely unwise to jump into yet another civil war, even as the humanitarian concerns are arguably greater in Syria (these protesters are unarmed). Economic sanctions are an option without a lot of relevance considering the isolation of the country before the uprising. Tough talk is just that. Blake Hounshell has some interesting thoughts<http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/03/hounshell.syria.obama/> : For one thing, its not up to the United States whether al-Assad stays or goes thats a choice only the Syrian people can make. And with no way to know whether a majority supports regime change, it would hardly be wise to declare al-Assad illegitimate and denounce dialogue with the government as folly without a critical mass of Syrians making it clear they felt the same. Second, the Syrian opposition is a bit of a mess right now. Years of repression inside the country and fragmentation outside of it has (understandably) made it hard for a motley crew of activists, professionals and ideologues from all over the world to band together around a common agenda. The State Department has been urging the opposition to choose official representatives and start laying out a serious agenda for a democratic transition so that the silent majority of Syrians who have sat out the protests begin to see it a viable alternative to al-Assad, but these things take time. We dont necessarily have the ability to magically change events unfolding in the Middle East, as we have seen throughout this uprising. The Syrian people have bravely defied Assad, despite being unarmed and overmatched. I absolutely agree that they should be supported, but theres no one way to do that. Believe it or not, Tom Friedman has a decent<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/opinion/the-new-hama-rules.html>, if facile, column on Syria today. The words Lexus and olive tree dont appear. 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