http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/04/10/syrian-opposition-assads-overthrow-wouldnt-end-violence/
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/10/297605/kerry-to-attend-syria-meeting-in-turkey/
A senior US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that, “The secretary will be attending the next core group meeting in Istanbul on Saturday the 20th.”
The official made the announcement in London where Kerry is holding talks with his counterparts from the G8 group of leading industrial states. However, he did not elaborate on the details of the forthcoming meeting in Istanbul.
The United States, Britain, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are the leading members of the so-called Friends of Syria group. They held their last major conference in the Italian capital city of Rome in February.
Meanwhile, another unnamed US official said Kerry also met with six leaders of Syria’s Western-backed opposition bloc on the sidelines of the G8 summit.
The official added that the Syrian opposition coalition reiterated calls on Washington to supply them with arms during the meeting.
The crisis in Syria topped the agenda of today's talks during the London summit.
Many people, including large numbers of security personnel, have lost their lives in the crisis that broke out in Syria in March 2011.
Damascus says the West and its regional allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the militants.
MKA/SS
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/04/09/syrian-rebel-faction-merges-with-al-qaeda-in-iraq/
Jabhat al-Nusra had been publicly endorsed by al-Qaeda officials repeatedly as the preferred Islamist faction in Syria’s ongoing rebellion. AQI says that the merged group will replace the name Islamic State of Iraq with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
The problem has been growing ever since NATO imposed regime change in Libya, with the Gadhafi government collapsing while still controlling Tripoli, and the rebels not having any presence there, leaving arms warehouses open to widespread looting, allowing decades of stockpiled weapons onto the black market.
Syrian Opposition: Assad’s Overthrow Wouldn’t End Violence
Syrian Opposition: Assad’s Overthrow Wouldn’t End Violence
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By Mohammad al-Shazli
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The head of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCC) in exile, Haytham al-Manna, said that the Syrian regime is seeking to “clone the Algerian solution” to solve the crisis in the country. He called on “friends” of the regime to pressure the regime for serious negotiations that can “rescue those whose hands haven’t been stained with the blood of Syrians.”
Speaking to Mohammad al-Shazli, prominent Syrian opposition activist Haytham al-Manna said that the Syrian crisis must be solved politically and that a violent overthrow of the regime would only lead to more violence.
In an interview with Al-Hayat, Manna added that the conflict could not be solved militarily. He said, “We have the choice of either the Somalization of the country or a political solution. We blame the regime for wanting to clone the Algerian solution; it will not succeed.” He added that the opposition “will not succeed in reaching a military solution.”“Thus far, the regime has not made any progress toward serious negotiations,” he said.
“It is focusing on public relations and agreeing to anything it is offered. However, when it comes to implementation, there is no practical element to this approval.”Manna said he believed that without serious pressure by “friends of the regime” — such as Russia, China and Iran — on the regime for serious negotiations to rescue those whose hands haven’t been stained with Syrian blood, the regime won’t make “painful and necessary concessions in order to bring about democratic transition.” Manna added that the regime will not transfer presidential power to a transitional government.
He said that a political solution means that parliamentary and democratic institutions must start working. Manna noted that Syria “needs 20 years to get rid of the problems caused by the cult of personality and the dictatorial regime.” Manna called on all parties that care about the Syrian people to stop supplying arms to any party. He explained that, according to American analysis, the regime can survive for another two years and that “the problem is that we’ve put the state and the regime in one box.”
Manna noted that army defections were decreasing, amid growing fears on the part of minorities due to the militancy and the “Islamization” of the opposition, a reference to the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Manna said in response to a question: “I am convinced that the departure of President Bashar al-Assad would not spell the end of violence in Syria,” pointing out that “his violent overthrow will only lead to further violence.”
Manna said it is important that the joint UN-Arab League envoy continues with his mission. “At any negotiating stage we need a safety valve, and Lakhdar Brahimi represents this safety valve. We must keep him in place until the moment when he can act as mediator and as a person capable of intervening.” Manna stressed that “Brahimi should not resign before this moment.”
Manna blamed both the government and the opposition for the current situation in Syria and the “spread of a dark atmosphere.”“
Everyone is currently contributing to the spread of this dark atmosphere at all levels of the situation in Syria,” he said, pointing out that the authorities “do not recognize the usefulness or benefit of any political development, but are rather clinging to the military security solution.”
He also pointed out that the opposition includes a group that “believes in the virtue of victory, and that victory is possible if they can avoid the weaknesses experienced by the armed movement over the past year and a half.”
He added that “the political opposition has never been through a worse situation.”He said the dialogue between the NCC and the Syrian National Coalition was between individuals, not an institutionalized dialogue, pointing to the fact that some forces from outside the coalition were present. He said the Brotherhood will not give up its privileges, and explained that “there have been no serious proposals on the part of the coalition; they have only offered a few seats within the coalition to other opposition forces that are not part of it.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shakes hands with Haytham al-Manna of Syria’s National Coordination Body for Democratic Change during a meeting in Moscow, March 11, 2013. (photo by REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov )
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/10/297605/kerry-to-attend-syria-meeting-in-turkey/
Kerry to attend Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul: US Official
US Secretary of State John Kerry (file photo)
Wed Apr 10, 2013 5:54PM GMT
2
US Secretary of State John Kerry will take part in an upcoming meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria group in the Turkish city of Istanbul, official sources say.
A senior US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that, “The secretary will be attending the next core group meeting in Istanbul on Saturday the 20th.”
The official made the announcement in London where Kerry is holding talks with his counterparts from the G8 group of leading industrial states. However, he did not elaborate on the details of the forthcoming meeting in Istanbul.
The United States, Britain, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are the leading members of the so-called Friends of Syria group. They held their last major conference in the Italian capital city of Rome in February.
Meanwhile, another unnamed US official said Kerry also met with six leaders of Syria’s Western-backed opposition bloc on the sidelines of the G8 summit.
The official added that the Syrian opposition coalition reiterated calls on Washington to supply them with arms during the meeting.
“We are always considering a variety of options. We are going to continue to aid the opposition, working with them in terms of what they need, in terms of what we're willing to provide,” the official said.
The crisis in Syria topped the agenda of today's talks during the London summit.
Many people, including large numbers of security personnel, have lost their lives in the crisis that broke out in Syria in March 2011.
Damascus says the West and its regional allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the militants.
MKA/SS
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/04/09/syrian-rebel-faction-merges-with-al-qaeda-in-iraq/
Syrian Rebel Faction Merges With al-Qaeda in Iraq
Al-Qaeda Auxiliary Adds 'Levant' to Its Name
by Jason Ditz, April 09, 2013
Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), an official auxiliary of the parent al-Qaeda organization which was established to resist the US occupation of Iraq, has announced that it is formally merging with Jabhat al-Nusra.
Jabhat al-Nusra had been publicly endorsed by al-Qaeda officials repeatedly as the preferred Islamist faction in Syria’s ongoing rebellion. AQI says that the merged group will replace the name Islamic State of Iraq with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
“It is time to declare to the Levant and to the world that the al-Nusra Front is simply a branch of the Islamic State of Iraq,”confirmed AQI leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Baghdadi went on to say other alliances were possible so long as the group agreed to similar harsh definitions of Sharia Law.
French officials were quick to reject the idea that Jabhat al-Nusra would now be officially recognized as an international terrorist organization by extension of AQI’s existing definition, saying it is vital not to make any moves that could have negative consequences on the rebellion. The US had already blacklisted al-Nusra earlier in the year, saying they were so close with AQI as to be virtually indistinguishable in the first place.
The inclusion of the entire Levant in AQI’s new umbrella name could also set the stage for some infighting with other would-be auxiliary factions across the region. Multiple small Salafist groups have established themselves in the Gaza Strip in particular, and had been seeking al-Qaeda’s endorsement for the Palestinian region while fighting Hamas. Those groups have been too small to get any real endorsements like AQI had, but could seek to become more aggressive in an attempt to avoid being labeled Levantine also-rans.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/04/09/un-libya-arms-fueling-mali-syria-wars/
UN: Libya Arms Fueling Mali, Syria Wars
Arms Still Spreading at an 'Alarming Rate'
by Jason Ditz, April 09, 2013
A new UN report addressing the now fairly longstanding problem of arms smuggling out of Libya reveals that despite huge outlays of money from NATO the weapons continue to flow out of Libya at “an alarming rate,” fueling wars across the region.
The problem has been growing ever since NATO imposed regime change in Libya, with the Gadhafi government collapsing while still controlling Tripoli, and the rebels not having any presence there, leaving arms warehouses open to widespread looting, allowing decades of stockpiled weapons onto the black market.
The textbook example of the destabilizing influence of this was in Mali, where Tuareg mercenaries returned from Libya with modern gear and quickly routed the Malian Army, setting the stage for a war that now has France talking about a permanent occupationof Mali.
The new UN report reveals arms are cropping up across the whole region now, with significant amounts of weapons showing up in Syria. The report suggested that while the early shipments were made by smugglers, the sheer size and regularity of the ongoing shipments to Syria suggest the new NATO-backed Libyan government is involved in the transfers.
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