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Syria Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 29, 2013 12 Comments
Another in my ongoing posts from Israel: We spent the day on the Golan Heights and the Lebanese border near Metula.  We were accompanied by my good friend from Moscow days who I mentioned in a prior post. We were led by Hadar Sela of BBC Watch blog, who lives on the Golan and has an amazing knowledge of the topography, history, people, and politics. I had intended to do one blog post -- but soon realized there was just too much to cover so I'll break it down into three posts to run on separate days -- The Battle of Tel Saki, The Valley of Tears, and The Lebanese Border.  The blog posts will track our journey from the southern to northern Golan, then down to Metula in northern most Israel. We started the day where we stayed overnight last night, Kibbutz Sha'ar HaGolan to the south of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), in the shadow of the Golan Heights: [caption id="attachment_60600" align="alignnone" width="501"](Kibbutz Sha'ar HaGolan, Israel - Map View) (Kibbutz Sha'ar HaGolan, Israel - Map View)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_60601" align="alignnone" width="547"](Kibbutz Sha'ar HaGolan, Israel, view towards Golan Heights) (Kibbutz Sha'ar HaGolan, Israel, view towards Golan Heights)[/caption] We then drove on the snake-like Highway 98 up the side of the Golan Heights facing Jordan across a deep ravine.  The border fence along the road is shown in this photo -- my reaction was the same as yours probably is -- that's the border fence!  We were assured that the Jordanian policing of its side of the border together with the topography was sufficient. [caption id="attachment_60603" align="alignnone" width="527"](Highway 98, Israel, climbing Golan Heights - Jordan Border Fence) (Highway 98, Israel, climbing Golan Heights - Jordan Border Fence)[/caption] Note also the red triangle signifying a minefield -- something we would see repeatedly throughout the Golan even away from the border.  Vigorous warning signs not to leave the established roads and pathways were everywhere.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 13, 2013 5 Comments

We noted several days ago the latest "who bombed it?" mystery, Did Israel just destroy Syrian depot holding Russian missiles? While answers remain sketchy, unnamed U.S. sources reportedly are pointing to Israel, via CNN: A series of explosions on July 5 at a critical Syrian port was...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 09, 2013 6 Comments

Many weeks ago we suggested that one outcome of Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Assad, particularly the conquest of Qusayr, would be car bombings in pro-Hezbollah sections of Beirut. That prediction appears to be coming true. Via The Daily Star of Lebanon: A...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 30, 2013 6 Comments

While everyone is focused on protests in Cairo, the war continues in Syria. Via Al Jazeera, Syria army launches intense bombing of Homs: Air strikes killed at least three civilians as Syrian government forces intensified their attacks and pressed forward with a new bid to retake several...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 21, 2013 10 Comments

Via Lebanese website Naharnet: Syrian rebels have recently received new weapons that could "change the course of the battle" against the Syrian regime, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army told Agence France Presse on Friday. "We've received quantities of new types of weapons, including some that...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 13, 2013 24 Comments
Via The Wall Street Journal, Syrians Used Chemical Weapons Against Rebels: U.S. Officials
The U.S. has concluded that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have used chemical weapons in the country's civil war with rebels, U.S. officials said, a determination that could lay the ground for a decision by the U.S. to arm the rebels and take other steps expanding American involvement in the conflict. The finding comes nearly two months after the White House informed Congress that U.S. intelligence agencies believed with "varying degrees of confidence" that Mr. Assad has used chemical weapons, likely including sarin gas. President Barack Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons by Mr. Assad would cross a "red line" for the U.S. A senior U.S. official said the determination could be used by the White House to sign off on a proposal to arm moderate Syrian rebels and other measures now under consideration.
CNN, White House: Syria crosses 'red line' with use of chemical weapons on its people:
The White House acknowledged Thursday the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale a number of times, according to a statement. The administration also indicated it will increase the "scope and scale of assistance" to rebels in Syria following its acknowledgment that the Bashar al-Assad government has used chemical weapons in the civil war, according to the statement.
Time, Red Line Crossed: U.S. Officials Confirm Syrian Chemical Weapons Use:
The development, announced Thursday by White House Deputy National Security Advisor For Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes, puts the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over President Barack Obama’s “red line” announced in August 2012 promising severe consequences for the use of chemical weapons. “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized,” Obama said at the time. “That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.”
Given that this announcement comes on the heels of major Syrian-Hezbollah-Iranian gains, including retaking the city of Qusayr, expect claims that this is a pretext to arm the rebels. Update: Prelude to war? Remember, it's Bad or worse in Syria:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 05, 2013 5 Comments

After three weeks of often intense artillery barrages and air strikes, Hezbollah took over Qusayr near the border with Lebanon. While the Syrian government is proclaiming victory, the Syrian government was the tale on the dog -- it was a Hezbollah operation. But NOW Lebanon reports the...

Posted by David Gerstman on June 04, 2013 4 Comments

1) Music lives in Israel Arsen Ostrovsky interviewed Zubin Mehta about performing Israel: According to Mehta, "it's hard to find an emblem of cultural, national pride that burns as bright as Israel's success in classical music." He adds "the amount of culture going on in a small...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 04, 2013 2 Comments

On May 23 I wondered Will Qusayr be Hezbollah’s Stalingrad? It's hard to know what really is going on, with pro-Assad forces claiming great progress while rebel supporters claim they are hanging on and receiving reinforcements.  There has been a mostly futile attempt to gain world...

Posted by David Gerstman on May 30, 2013 11 Comments

In an interview today, President Bashar Assad of Syria claims that Russia has delivered some of the S-300 missiles he bought.The Lebanse paper, Al Akhbar, quoted from an exclusive interview Assad gave to Hezbollah's Al Manar television channel. "Syria has received the first batch of Russian...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 30, 2013 8 Comments

By most accounts, Hezbollah's large-scale intervention combined with unending supplies of weapons and advisors from Iran and Russia have helped Assad turn the tide against the rebels. Until that intervention, and even in the initial weeks, it looked like the rebels would hold on in Qusayr after inflicting...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 27, 2013 16 Comments

The EU's arms embargo on the Syrian conflict -- which effectively meant an arms embargo on the rebels -- expired tonight after there was no agreement reached to extend it. This means that arms can be sent to rebels, although it's unclear if that will happen...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 25, 2013 6 Comments
I mentioned the other day how the fight in Syria wasn't going quite as easily as many predicted for Hezbollah, with it suffering heavy losses even trying to take a modestly-sized border city, Will Qusayr be Hezbollah’s Stalingrad? As of the latest reports, rebels are still in control of parts of al-Qusayr, but the situation is very murky with pro-Assad sources proclaiming victory and anti-Assad forces denying.  Hezbollah officials are quoted as admitting the fight is much tougher than expected, and today saw round-the-clock shelling of the city. (video added) Against that backdrop, Hezbollah's leader proclaimed that it was in the fight in Syria to the bitter end, as reported by The NY Times, Hezbollah Leader Orders Full Fight to Save Assad:
The leader of the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Saturday decisively committed his followers to an all-out battle in Syria to salvage the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, saying that Hezbollah was fighting abroad to “immunize” Lebanon from an Israeli invasion he said would surely follow if Syrian rebels prevailed. “It is our battle, and we are up to it,” the leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared, in his most direct embrace yet of a fight in Syria that Hezbollah can no longer hide now that dozens of its fighters have fallen recently in and around the strategic Syrian town of Qusayr. Outgunned Syrian rebels have held on for a week there against a frontal assault by Hezbollah and Syrian forces.

The speech was delivered via videotape on the 13th anniversary of the end of Israel’s 15-year occupation of southern Lebanon after years of battling Hezbollah’s guerrillas, which the group considers its greatest victory. Mr. Nasrallah seemed to be preparing his followers for the heavy price in lives and political capital that the organization could pay as it embarks on an unprecedented intervention in a neighboring country, a move that could deeply destabilize Lebanon.

The Lebanese website Naharnet reports:
On his party's involvement in the battles alongside Assad's forces, he said: “A political and economic world war was launched on Syria and thousands of fighters were sent without anyone complaining.” “Meanwhile, Hizbullah's involvement was considered a foreign interference,” he noted. Nasrallah explained that Syria is the resistance's backbone: “We cannot stand still and let the break the resistance's main supporter.” Nasrallah said Hizbullah fighters joining the war in Syria are not forced “go willingly and aspire to take part in the resistance.” “You will find tens of thousands of fighters that are ready to take all fronts and participate in the battles. No one is forced into the war,” he assured.
The leader of the Lebanese Sunni opposition, Saad Hariri, mocked Nasrallah's speech,

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 23, 2013 15 Comments

One of the key battles in Syria is for control of Qusayr, currently under rebel control.  Via NY Times, Syrian Forces and Hezbollah Fighters Press Assault on Key City: Official Syrian and Hezbollah news outlets said the government offensive was making rapid headway in retaking Qusayr, a strategically...

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