by Daniel McAdams

March 20, 2013

from LewRockwell Website

 

 

 

In the name of democracy, the US government has supported a variety of armed opposition fighters in Syria seeking to overthrow that country's president, Bashar al-Assad, who according to a wide variety of information sources enjoys support from the majority of the Syrian people.

 

So to promote democracy in Syria, the US government has taken it upon itself to choose a new leader for Syria.

 

And in keeping with the US tradition of supporting the Chalabis of the world, this democratic answer to Syria's problems lives in Dallas, TX, and was educated in Indiana. He has not set foot in the country he now "rules" in more than thirty years. Also, he is, like the other US puppets to emerge from the phony "Arab Spring" an Islamist from the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

That is what the US government calls "democratic legitimacy."

 

It would be comical if the US was not on the verge of attacking Syria, perhaps on the false Tonkin pretense that the Syrian government recently used a chemical weapon in Aleppo. And irony is always lost on bullies: we are just ten years out from the last time the neo-cons neo-conned us into a war based on a lie.

 

Oh... but this time it is different, we are told.

 

This one is really for 'democracy'!

 

 

UPDATE

See this fascinating interview for a glimpse of the real feeling on the ground in Aleppo:

"People here don't like the regime, but they hate the rebels even more...

 

I, and many other residents of Aleppo saw firsthand how the armed rebels were acting on the ground, and the various crimes and looting they were committing with impunity.

 

Another reason is that there are foreign jihadi fighters with extremist ideologies here."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Syrian Opposition Leader

...Educated in Indianapolis
by Robert King
March 19, 2013

from IndyStar Website

 

 

 

Syria's main opposition National Coalition newly-elected Prime Minister Ghassan Hitto

speaks today at a Syrian opposition meeting in Istanbul.

Hitto is a former resident of Indianapolis.

OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images
 

 

A Syria-born American who lived, studied and worked in the Indianapolis area was elected today as prime minister of the Syrian opposition.

Ghassan Hitto, 50, was chosen to lead Syria’s main exile groups. He earned degrees in mathematics and computer science from Purdue University in 1989 after attending classes at its IUPUI campus.

Hitto was also a volunteer who helped stage the annual conventions of the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America. He worked for the North American Islamic Trust, an organization affiliated with the Islamic Society, said Ahmed El-Hattab, an Islamic Society leader.

Hitto left the Indianapolis area several years ago and has been living in Texas, but maintains friends here, particularly in the small Muslim community in Plainfield.

As leader of the opposition in Syria, The New York Times reports, Hitto will be funneling aid to rebels inside Syria who stand in opposition to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

El-Hattab, with the Islamic Society, described Hitto as ideologically moderate.

“I think he will do a great job,” El-Hattab said. “I have no doubt about it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aleppo Activist Edward Dark

-   ‘People Here Don't Like The Regime, but They Hate The Rebels Even More’   -
by Stephen Starr
March 15, 2013
from TheGlobeAndMail Website

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activist Edward Dark has been in Aleppo, Syria’s second city,

since the outbreak of revolt.

Here he talks to Syria Live about life in the city.
What is life in Aleppo like?

Is there electricity, water and internet access?

Can people go out shopping and visiting cafes?

What are people talking about on the street?

Are schools and university open?

 

 

The city is divided in half between rebel and government-controlled areas, and getting from one side to the other is difficult and risky.

 

Most roads have been blocked off, and there is very heavy traffic in the morning as people go about their business of trying to get things done. By early evening, the city streets are almost empty, hardly anyone at all ventures out at night. There are frequent and long-lasting power and water outages.

The garbage hardly gets collected at all in some areas; there is hardly any fuel, and what little there is is sold on the black market at highly-inflated prices. There is a shortage of medicine, and most hospitals have either shut down or are working in limited capacity due to shortages in power, supplies and staff.

 

Many of the well-to-do residents, businessmen as well as professionals, especially doctors, have fled the city and settled abroad. The university is still open, but a lot of classes are getting canceled and attendance is low.

 

Only a handful of schools are open, the rest house displaced refugees and have no classes at all.

 

Until last year you were active on Twitter, and then you left for a time. Why were you forced offline, if that was the case?

There have been frequent internet outages in Aleppo. The longest one lasted for just over a month. Add to that the terrible situation of the power supply, which can go off for days at a time.
 

When you got back online, you presented a very different view of the state of the uprising. What changed?

I, and many other residents of Aleppo saw firsthand how the armed rebels were acting on the ground, and the various crimes and looting they were committing with impunity. Another reason is that there are foreign jihadi fighters with extremist ideologies here.

 

This wasn't what we revolted for, to replace one group of criminals with another.
 

Aleppo has fallen off the map in terms of international media attention recently. What is the state of play there now? How close are rebel fighters from controlling the entire city?

The media pays attention to whatever fits their viewpoint and agenda with regards to the conflict in Syria. It's very common to see certain media stations either ignoring, exaggerating, and sometimes even outright fabricating facts on the ground.

 

Aleppo has been in a stalemate for a long time, and will likely remain so, hence the decreased interest in it. It is highly unlikely that rebels can overrun the entire city. The regime maintains a large force in the city, as well as a significant support base among the population.
 

Is there broad support for the revolt in Aleppo today, or is it localized?

People here don't like the regime, but they hate the rebels even more. The economic hardships and harsh living conditions brought by the rebel assault on the city [last July] added to their crimes and has significantly eroded their support among the people here.
 

How divided is the city in terms of opposition to and support for the revolt? Has it changed since the early days?

The city is divided in terms of support, yes. And as I have said earlier, support for the revolt has waned ever since the rebel assault on the city.
 

In your experience, are all rebel fighters dangerous and careless of civilians’ lives, or just some?

In my experience, the majority of rebels show recklessness toward civilian lives, as of course, so does the regime, but that shouldn't be an excuse at all.

 

Some rebel groups are no more than organized crime syndicates, opportunistically engaging in kidnapping, extortion and large-scale looting of factories and warehouses.

 

The fact that the ‘good guys’ in the rebels haven't been able to stop them casts a very dark shadow on all the rebels here.
 

Roughly, what percentage of the city is in government hands and rebel control respectively?

Roughly, you could say it’s evenly divided. But Aleppo is effectively surrounded by rebel fighters, and all major highways into the city are under various degrees of rebel control, making getting supplies here very difficult, especially fuel.
 

Are there signs the government is increasingly losing control of the city?

No, it’s in a state of stalemate. It doesn't look like it will be changing anytime soon.
 

Were the rebels that began fighting government forces last summer actually from the city? What does that tell us?

No, they were from the countryside around the city. That's another problem, and adds to the hostility towards them from the city dwellers.