Tracking Syria's Defections

Interactive: Tracking Syria's Defections -- Al Jazeera

This visualisation tracks senior military officials, members of parliament and diplomats who quit Assad's regime.

When the Syrian uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime began in March 2011, many analysts believed the regime would remain intact, given the strict loyalty test officials and diplomats have to endure before receiving important positions in the army or government.

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My Comment: Al Jazeera has set-up an excellent interface to track defections in Assad's government and security forces. The link is here.

Bottom line .... many are still supporting the Assad regime.

Syrian Rebels Are Now Using Heavy Weapons

Syrian Rebels Wield Heavy Weapons In Attack An Airport -- New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s rebels shelled an airport near Aleppo on Thursday in what was described as one of the first known instances of insurgents using captured heavy weapons, as opposition activists warned that fighting for the city, the country’s main commercial center, would likely intensify.

A Syrian activist said President Bashar al-Assad’s army appeared to be preparing for an all-out assault.

“We have seen military reinforcements making their way to Aleppo,” said Abou Firas, an activist in Aleppo using a satellite Internet connection because telephone and Internet service from the city was cut off. “We were worried about massacres but now we are issuing a warning about a war of extermination to be launched by the regime.”

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More News On Syria's Civil War

Syria crisis: two new 'massacres' near Damascus - live updates -- The Guardian
Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera

In Syria, Both Sides Now Have Heavy Weapons In Aleppo -- NPR
Syria conflict: Aleppo rebels attack Menagh army base -- BBC
Syrian Rebels Attack Military Airport as Clashes Rage -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Rebels Use Captured Tank Against Syrian Forces -- ABC News/AP
Syrian rebels pound military airport -- CNN
Syria: rebels turn guns of captured tank on regime -- The Telegraph
Syrian Rebels Turn Captured Tank on Assad's Forces -- Voice of America
Syria forces attack Damascus district -- Al Jazeera
Both sides accused of atrocities in Syrian fighting -- Washington Post
Syria conflict: Jihadists' role growing -- BBC

Syria: UN Security Council inaction earns reprimand from General Assembly -- Christian Science Monitor
UN General Assembly sets Friday vote on resolution asking Syria’s Assad to relinquish power -- Washington Post/AP
Russia opposes U.N. General Assembly Syria resolution -- Reuters

Atrocities in Syria show the rebels' true colours, and have given Assad a boost in the propaganda war -- Daily Mail
Russia’s Support for Syria Costs It Friends and Money in the Middle East -- Anna Nemtsova, Daily Beast
Analysis: No happy outcome in Syria as conflict turns into proxy war -- Samia Nakhoul, Reuters
Syrian Crisis Pits Russia Against US -- Alon Ben-Meir, Epoch Times
In pictures: Aleppo fighting -- BBC

President Obama Authorizes Covert Support For Syria's Rebels (Update)

Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have criticised Obama for moving too slowly to assist the rebels. Photograph: Reuters

Obama Signs Order Supporting Syria's Rebels, Reports Say -- The Guardian

US government source acknowledges that US is collaborating with a secret 'nerve centre' operated by Turkey and its allies

Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorising US support for Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow the Assad government, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence finding broadly permits the CIA and other US agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust President Bashar al-Assad.

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More News On President Obama Ordering Covert Support For Syria's Rebels

Obama inks 'secret order' to aid Syria rebels -- Al Jazeera
Exclusive: Obama Authorizes Secret U.S. Support For Syrian Rebels -- Reuters
Obama authorized covert support for Syrian rebels, sources say -- CNN
Obama gives the ‘secret’ order for CIA to help Syrian rebels dispose of Assad's brutal regime -- Daily Mail
Reports: Obama OKs support for Syrian rebels -- USA Today
Obama authorizes secret US support for Syrian rebels -- NBC
Obama authorizes covert US support for Syrian rebels – reports -- RT
Report: Obama authorized aid to Syrian rebels -- Politico
Reports: Obama OKs covert Syrian-rebel aid -- UPI
U.S. eases arms purchases for Syrian rebels -- Kansas City/McClatchy News
CIA authorised to offer intelligence support to Syrian rebels -- The Telegraph

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta: U.S. Military Action Against Iran Remains An Option

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak leads U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta through an honor cordon in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 1, 2012. Panetta is on a five-day trip to the region to meet with leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Jordan. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Panetta, In Israel, Stresses That U.S. Military Action Against Iran Remains An Option -- Washington Post

ASHKELON, Israel — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta stressed Wednesday that if economic sanctions do not compel Iran to end its nuclear program, the United States will have to consider military options to destroy it.

Panetta’s repeated emphasis on pursuing other options if diplomacy fails did not mark a change in policy but gave his remarks a harder edge than his previous statements.

His comments came amid deepening concern that Israel could launch a unilateral strike on Iran, and as Congress passed a new sanctions bill on Wednesday aimed at banks, insurance companies and shippers that assist Iran in selling its oil. There have been a series of visits to Israel by senior Obama administration officials, who are pressing the Israelis to give economic sanctions more time to persuade the Iranians to give up their nuclear ambitions.

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My Comment: The problem with this U.S. message is that I have doubts that Israel is listening to them. Israel has publicly given up on the diplomatic route, while US focus is to continue them.

What's my take on the whole situation .... this rush for war is not advisable. The Syrian conflict is now a full-blown civil war, Iraq is a few steps away from sectarian terrorism becoming the new norm in the country, the Kurds are starting to believe that they will be able to have their own independent state carved out in the heart of the Middle East, and unrest is rising in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Sheikdoms. Throw in an armed conflict with Iran will only exacerbate and inflame the other conflicts to a level not seen in the Middle East since the 1973 war.

The Iranian - Israeli Silent War (Commentary)

Iran, Israel Waging Silent War -- Walter Pincus, Washington Post

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei believes that his government is so deeply penetrated by U.S., Israeli and other intelligence agencies that when he eventually gives an order to build a nuclear weapon it will be quickly known.

As a result, Khamenei is creating redundancy in production sites, adding centrifuges and more low- and medium-level enriched uranium to Iran’s stockpile so when the time comes Israel will not have the capability to carry out a surgical strike against Tehran’s nuclear complex. Perhaps not even the United States could do it major harm.

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My Comment: They have been anything but silent. I still believe that Israeli does not have the capabilities to effectively stop Iran's nuclear program by a military strike .... but the covert war is another story, and I expect to see this heating up.

Former Mossad Chief Hints That Israel Will Be Attacking Iran's Nuclear Facilities In The Next 12 Weeks

Ephraim Halevy Photo by Yotam From

Former Mossad Chief: Iran Should Be Very Fearful Over Next 12 Weeks -- Haaretz

Ephraim Halevy quoted by New York Times amid speculation of Israeli plans to attack Iran, and just following U.S. Defense Secretary's visit to Israel.

Former Mossad chief and national security adviser Ephraim Halevy was quoted by the New York Times on Thursday saying that if he were Iranian he "would be very fearful of the next 12 weeks".

Halevy also told Israel Radio on Thursday that if the Iranians "continue to play their games" in nuclear talks with world powers, they would be underestimating Israel's resolve.

"[The Iranians'] math is off if they think they have open-ended immunity" in these talks, he said.

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More News On Israel's Former Mossad Chief Hinting Of An Israeli Attack On Iran's Nuclear Facilities

Former Israeli spymaster: Iran should be worried -- AP
'If I were Iranian, I'd be fearful of the next 12 weeks' -- Jerusalem Post
'If I were an Iranian, I would be fearful in coming weeks' -- YNet News
Israeli ex-intelligence chief hints at possibility of Iran attack in coming months -- JTA
Former Israeli Mossad chief warns Iran -- UPI
U.S. and Israel Intensify Talks on Iran Options -- New York Times

My Comment: Apparently the supreme leader in Iran is saying the same thing.

Picture Of The Day

An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter launches flares during practice for an upcoming fire power demonstration above the USS Abraham Lincoln under way in the Mediterranean Sea, July 25, 2012. The helicopter crew is assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Joshua E. Walters