Britain To Arm Syrian Rebels; Russia Retaliates By Shipping 10 MiGs To Assad
Following Russia's first shipment of S-300 Rockets and the CNN-reported deaths of American and British citizens, it seems the situation in Syria is escalating 'behind-the-scenes' with little attention being paid in general. Whether it is the deaths or not, but according to the FT, the 'war-by-proxy' is growing in numbers as the UK is poised to ship arms to some rebel factions in Syria as soon as this summer. "The precise timing has not yet been finalized and no decision has yet been taken. But we are likely to be ... shipping arms to the rebels by August," one official noted, adding that "the rebels need ammunition, and a lot of it, just to keep fighting." The US had secretly undertaken significant lobbying efforts of EU member states to get the EU arms embargo amended and this week Britain and France forced through that deal opening the door for the supply of weapons. Adding to the angst, Russia's MiG aircraft makers said on Friday that it planned to sign a new agreement to ship at least 10 fighter jets to Syria.
Britain and France this week forced through an amendment to an EU arms embargo that opened the door for the supply of weapons to opposition forces....Britain’s Foreign Office insists that no final decision on whether to arm the rebels has yet been made. But a senior UK diplomat told the Financial Times that Britain could be in a position to arm the rebels this summer if, as many expect, the planned peace conference in Geneva fails to make headway.“The precise timing has not yet been finalised and no decision has yet been taken. But we are likely to be ... shipping arms to the rebels by August,” the official said. “What I expect is that over the next two or three months western powers will move low-grade arms supplies in bulk to the rebels. The rebels need ammunition, and a lot of it, just to keep fighting.”...Syrian rebel sources are also saying they are expecting the first new arms supplies to come from Britain as early as this summer....Russia’s MiG aircraft maker said on Friday that it planned to sign a new agreement to ship at least 10 fighter jets to Syria, a move that comes amid international criticism of earlier Russian weapons deals with the Assad regime,...Russia has said it is only providing Assad with weapons intended to protect Syria from a foreign invasion, such as air defence missile systems....Syria now is Russia’s last remaining ally in the Middle Eastand hosts the only naval base Moscow has outside the former Soviet Union.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/05/30/turkey-captures-al-nusra-fighters-plotting-major-attack/
( Hello , UN and US - choose to offer any comments now on whom might be using those chemical weapons in Syria ? )
Turkey Captures al-Nusra Fighters Plotting Major Attack
Reports: Fighters in Southern City Had Chemical Weapons
by Jason Ditz, May 30, 2013
Turkish police have arrested 12 fighters from the Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra. The full details of the arrests, which spanned three cities but appeared to center around a plot in the southern city of Adana, remain unclear.
The raid in Adana netted a large amount of heavy weapons, and reports are that 2 kg of sarin nerve gas was also found, though provincial officials later said that they had only found “unidentified chemicals” and wouldn’t confirm what they were.
Though Turkey is openly backing Syria’s rebellion, the al-Qaeda-backed Nusra fighters have been suspected in past attacks in southern Turkey, with an apparent eye toward bringing Turkey more directly into the civil war.
A chemical weapons attack in a major southern Turkish city like Adana (where nearly 2 million people live) would be a huge game-changer in Turkey, and if the plot hadn’t been foiled it is entirely possible the Erdogan government would, as it has in past terror attacks, simply blame the Syrian military for the attack, virtually obligating a military response.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/05/30/syrian-rebels-spurn-peace-talks-issue-more-demands/
Syrian Rebels Spurn Peace Talks, Issue More Demands
Won't Even Consider Attending Unless Hezbollah Withdraws
by Jason Ditz, May 30, 2013
Next month’s Geneva Conference looks like it will have to do without the rebel Syrian National Coalition (SNC). After announcing they would take part last Friday, then saying they hadn’t decided Wednesday, the SNC now says they won’t be there.
The latest statement came from SNC acting President George Sabra, who says that the group won’t even consider taking part in the peace talks unless Hezbollah and assorted other pro-government militias unilaterally withdraw from Syria first.
“Syrians’ lives are more important than any political solution,” Sabra added, meaning it seems that the efforts to broker a solution to end the fighting is going to be taking place without any representation from any of the rebel factions in Syria.
The Syrian government has promised to participate, though they added that any transition deal would be predicated on a referendum supporting it. In the end, the Geneva conference seems like to center around the US and Russia debating a settlement to someone else’s war with no way of actually making the deal happen.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/05/30/mccains-syria-photo-op-included-rebel-kidnapper/
( Violation of NDAA ? )
McCain’s Syria Photo-Op Included Rebel Kidnapper
Spokesman Says Incident 'Regrettable,' McCain Didn't Know
by Jason Ditz, May 30, 2013
Sen. John McCain’s Monday decision to sneak into Syria for a photo-op with rebel commanders is quickly going from publicity stunt to embarrassment, with the revelation that one of the “commanders” in question is the head of a kidnapping ring.
According to freed kidnap victims, the photo shows Abu Ibrahim, the leader of the rebel Northern Storm brigade, which has been fighting in Aleppo and whose strategy has centered around kidnapping foreigners and Shi’ites and holding them for ransom.
McCain’s spokesmen have issued statements terming the incident “regrettable,” but insisting that McCain had no way of knowing who the rebel commanders he took pictures with were, adding that none introduced themselves as Abu Ibrahim.
Which of course underscores the problem with McCain’s visit. He was eager to endorse the rebels and rushed headlong into the country to give his imprimatur to the civil war, but he showed little interest in finding out who the rebels he was posing with were, or what they stood for. That they were on the side of a war that McCain is hoping to suck the US into was simply good enough for him.
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