Syria enters a new phase

[Winehole23]

The United States on Tuesday appeared to open the door to eventually arming the Syrian opposition, saying if a political solution to the crisis were impossible it might have to consider other options.


The comments, made by officials at both the White House and the State Department, marked a shift in emphasis by Washington, which thus far has stressed its policy of not arming the opposition and has said little about alternatives.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...81K1EX20120221

[Winehole23]

As fighting continues in Syria, President Obama indicted that the U.S. could beef up its role there, saying the U.S. cannot be a "bystander" as Syrian President Basha al-Assad continues the "slaughter of innocents."


"It's important that we not be bystanders during these extraordinary events," Mr. Obama said in remarks after a White House meeting with Danish Prime Minister e Thorning-Schmidt.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_1...e-a-bystander/

[FuzzyLumpkins]

this current conflict stinks of cold war bull and i was really hoping that we would not see that type of foreign policy have to be used. Russia does not want to lose its Mediterranean port for obvious reasons and is not going to even have a thought of relenting until they have some guarantees.

Up until that point its going to be NATO arming the rebels and the Russians arming the regime. That will be bloody indeed. Just like old times.

Only shot of that not happening is if this newfangled replacement government can coalesce enough and have enough internal support to give concessions to the Russians.

I really do not know enough about the rebel leadership or Syria as a whole really as regards to their views on the Russians. I imagine that the last few months have done little to please the rebels though whatever came before.

[Drachen]

Didn't want to start a new thread so I thought I would use this one since this is kinda a new phase.

Syria: Internet and mobile communication 'cut off'

The internet has been cut off and mobile phones have been disrupted in Syria, monitoring firms have said.

Networking firm Renesys said the country's connection protocols were unreachable, "effectively removing the country from the internet".

Local reports suggested that the internet had been down since early afternoon, and that telephone lines were only working intermittently.

The Syrian government has blamed "terrorists" for the disconnection.

"The terrorists targeted the internet lines, resulting in some regions being cut off," Syria's minister of information told a pro-government television station.

According to activists, it has been known for similar communication cuts to occur in isolated areas before military operations.

Amnesty International has described the reports as "very disturbing".

Renesys, a US-based company which tracks internet connectivity worldwide, said on its blog: "In the global routing table, all 84 of Syria's IP address blocks have become unreachable."

According to its systems, access was disconnected at 12:26pm local time (10:26 GMT).

[RandomGuy]

Didn't want to start a new thread so I thought I would use this one since this is kinda a new phase.

Syria: Internet and mobile communication 'cut off'

The rebels have also been overruning military bases and capturing more sophisticated weapons.


Syrian rebels take two military bases in heavy fighting
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...ab3_story.html

In the past week alone, rebels have taken control of about a half-dozen military bases across the country as well as the Tishreen hydroelectric dam near the Turkish border.
Both of the bases taken Tuesday were used by the Syrian air force, one of the deadliest threats to rebel fighters, according to opposition groups. The Syrian military has regularly blasted rebel positions, as well as residential neighborhoods, with jets and helicopters in recent months, killing thousands.

Still, rebels also have had a number of recent successes in shooting down Syrian military aircraft, a possible sign that they have been able to confiscate heavier weaponry, potentially including surface-to-air missiles, after taking over government military bases.

Two helicopters were shot down in Aleppo province Tuesday, according to activists. A video of one of the attacks posted online shows what appears to be a *surface-to-air missile slamming into a helicopter in a ball of orange flame.

We are seeing the final phases as Assads military disintegrates, IMO.

3-12 more months and he will be brutally murdered after being captured, if he does not commit suicide.

will hit the fan when that happens as all the neighboring countries work to install a crony in power, most notably Iran.

As soon as that happens, expect massive waves of refugees as the Aloites (sp?) flee vengeful sunni militias. You saw something similar in Iraq and Yugoslavia, you will see it in Syria.

[Drachen]

The rebels have also been overruning military bases and capturing more sophisticated weapons.


Syrian rebels take two military bases in heavy fighting
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...ab3_story.html






We are seeing the final phases as Assads military disintegrates, IMO.

3-12 more months and he will be brutally murdered after being captured, if he does not commit suicide.

will hit the fan when that happens as all the neighboring countries work to install a crony in power, most notably Iran.

As soon as that happens, expect massive waves of refugees as the Aloites (sp?) flee vengeful sunni militias. You saw something similar in Iraq and Yugoslavia, you will see it in Syria.

Maybe its time to deploy those mini internet in a box kits that they were talking about after egypt to turkey who just might "lose" them near the border.