Syria's Assad says opponents 'used up all tools' to oust regime
Source: The Associated Press
Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview published Thursday that his government had fended off everything his enemies had thrown at him and that the only remaining threat to his rule was a far-off — and improbable — foreign intervention.
In comments to the state-run Al-Thawra newspaper, Assad rejected the idea that what has transpired in Syria for more than two years is a revolution. Instead, he reiterated his past claims that it is a conspiracy by Western and some Arab states to destabilize his country.
Throughout the crisis, Assad has insisted that his government is not facing a popular rebellion, but rather a Western-backed conspiracy against Syria, accusing the rebels fighting to topple his regime of being terrorists, Islamic extremists and mercenaries of the oil-rich Arab Gulf states that are allies of the United States.
"The countries that conspire against Syria have used up all their tools — moral, material and psychological — and they have nothing left except direct (military) intervention and this is too big for them to attain," Assad said in the interview.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/07/04/syria-assad-.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Plenty of Syrian-Americans do too. If the insurgents come to power, it's the end of Syrian Christendom and the end of social space for secular people. This is like the Khmer Rouge vs. Lon Nol. Lon Nol was a nasty ruler, but I'd take him any day vs. Pol Pot.
http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article=7042
The Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army, or FSA, is the largest group within the Syrian armed opposition. It is an umbrella group comprising small, ideologically moderate, and uncoordinated militias and battalions operating at local levels. ... The FSA is made up of small, localized battalions from all across Syria, organized loosely through provincial military councils. These battalions tend to fight in small geographic areas in defense of their hometowns and are less ideologically driven than others. It is estimated that there are as many as 50,000 fighters who align themselves with the FSA.
The Syrian Liberation Front
The Syrian Liberation Front, or SLF, also known as the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front or Jabhat al-Tahrir al-Souriya al-Islamiya, is an alliance of approximately 20 brigades and battalions across Syria. An estimated 37,000 fighters are affiliated with the SLF, making it the largest coalition of rebels independent of the Free Syrian Army. ... SLF-affiliated groups are considered to be ideologically moderate Islamists, putting them at odds with some of the extremist groups operating in the country.
The Syrian Islamic Front
The Syrian Islamic Front, or SIF, also known as Jabhat al-Islamiya al-Tahrir al-Souriya, is an alliance of approximately 11 brigades and battalions across Syria, most notably the Ahrar al-Sham brigades. An estimated 13,000 fighters are affiliated with the SIF. SIF-affiliates are viewed as conservative Salafists, who are more religiously motivated than the Free Syrian Army or the Syrian Liberation Front. Most SIF-affiliated groups, however, are considered to be Syrian nationalists that don’t share the most extreme ideological elements of Al Qaeda-affiliated groups such as support for a transnational Islamic caliphate.
The Nusra Front
The Nusra Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, is an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, comprising approximately 6,000 foreign and domestic fighters. The Nusra Front has reportedly been receiving significant funding, arms, and training from Al-Qaeda and the Al Qaeda-affiliated group, Islamic State of Iraq. Some of Nusra’s fighters are foreign jihadists, many of whom are veterans of the Iraqi insurgency; it is unclear, however, what percentage of the Nusra Front’s supporters are foreign fighters as opposed to Syrian nationals.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/report/2013/05/14/63221/the-structure-and-organization-of-the-syrian-opposition/
Human Rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have detailed how Bashar's government and secret police routinely tortured, imprisoned, and killed political opponents, and those who speak out against the government. Since 2006 it expanded the use of travel bans against dissidents. In that regard, Syria is the worst offender among Arab states.
"During its decades of rule... the Assad family developed a strong political safety net by firmly integrating the military into the government. In 1970, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, seized power after rising through the ranks of the Syrian armed forces, during which time he established a network of loyal Alawites by installing them in key posts. In fact, the military, ruling elite, and ruthless secret police are so intertwined that it is now impossible to separate the Assad government from the security establishment.... So... the government and its loyal forces have been able to deter all but the most resolute and fearless oppositional activists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad
Amnesty International Documents Torture Inside Syria on a Scale Not Seen for Decades
(New York) -- Individuals caught up in the massive wave of arrests during the Syrian uprising are being tortured on a scale not seen inside Syria for decades, Amnesty International reported today, based on interviews with victims and eyewitnesses who escaped to Jordan.
The scale of torture and other ill-treatment in Syria is reminiscent of the dark era of the 1970s and 1980s under President Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current president.
Amnesty International said that the testimonies of torture survivors presented yet more evidence of crimes against humanity being committed by the Syrian government under President Bashar al-Assad.
In its report released the day before the one-year anniversary of the start of mass protests in Syria, the human rights organization said individuals arrested and detained for being involved in the protests described a set pattern of torture which began with severe beatings upon arrest.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/amnesty-international-documents-torture-inside-syria-on-a-scale-not-seen-for-decades
There has never been a dictator who did not use his secret police to arrest, imprison and often torture his political opponents and those who speak out too publicly. Dictators do not stay on power with the consent of the governed but through fear and repression.
Assad may be no worse than some dictators - his father, the Shah of Iran and the latest North Korean family dictator come to mind - but no one believes that he only arrests, tortures and often kills just jihadists. Well, I shouldn't say that no one believes that.
But very few believe it and Amnesty International is definitely not one of them.[/ i]