US ambassador Robert Ford (click title to entry - thank you) made several-high profile visits to locations at the centre of opposition to President Assad. Photograph: EPA
October 24, 2011 04:41 PM \
BEIRUT: The Syrian ambassador to Lebanon (click here) said Monday that President Bashar Assad is leading reforms and dialogue among all parties in the country in a bid to face what he termed the “conspiracy” against Damascus, during a meeting with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
“[The meeting] was an opportunity to assure Berri that reforms and dialogue in Syria are ongoing and being lead by President Bashar Assad,” Ali Abdel Karim Ali told reporters after meeting with Berri in Ain el Tinih.
“President Assad guarantees that the dialogue includes all parties so as to completely eliminate the conspiracy some are sowing against Syria, and the key role it plays in the region,” he added.
As international pressure mounts and anti-government protests continue, Syria and its allies have said that the situation in the Middle Eastern country is better than it was before, hinting that the uprising demanding reform and the fall of Assad is nearing an end….
To some extent, Assad simply reminds me of one of the 'same type' of dictator that talks about reform without delivering it. How long has this gone on and we are still hearing Assad play reformer while killing thousands of Syrians. That sounds like reform? I don't think so. The Syrians want new leadership and they are not getting it. Either Assad backs up his words with action or he needs to be indicted at the Hague for turning on his citizens. How many more thousands of Syrians have to die to end this?
October 24, 2011 06:13 PM
BEIRUT: The U.S warned Lebanon (click here) it could face serious consequences should it fail to fund the U.N.-backed probe into the assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri, during a meeting between the U.S. envoy to Lebanon and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun Monday….
…Connelly met Aoun, an outspoken critic of the international court who has repeatedly voiced opposition to Lebanon paying its share of the court’s bills, at the latter’s private office in Rabieh….
…The issue of cooperation and funding of the STL (Special Tribunal for Lebanon), which in late June indicted four members of Hezbollah over the 2005 assassination of Hariri, has been a contentious issue between Lebanon’s rival March 8 and March 14 alliances, as well as elements in the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati….
It is very difficult to believe all this time has gone by without a trial for the death of the late Prime Minister Rafic Harriri.
From the Daily Star in Lebanon. Lebanon has suffered over decades due to Assad's attempts to displace disgruntled Syrians as Lebanon being the reason for their unhappiness. It has always been based in ideological hared.
October 24, 2011 04:41 PM \
BEIRUT: The Syrian ambassador to Lebanon (click here) said Monday that President Bashar Assad is leading reforms and dialogue among all parties in the country in a bid to face what he termed the “conspiracy” against Damascus, during a meeting with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
“[The meeting] was an opportunity to assure Berri that reforms and dialogue in Syria are ongoing and being lead by President Bashar Assad,” Ali Abdel Karim Ali told reporters after meeting with Berri in Ain el Tinih.
“President Assad guarantees that the dialogue includes all parties so as to completely eliminate the conspiracy some are sowing against Syria, and the key role it plays in the region,” he added.
As international pressure mounts and anti-government protests continue, Syria and its allies have said that the situation in the Middle Eastern country is better than it was before, hinting that the uprising demanding reform and the fall of Assad is nearing an end….
To some extent, Assad simply reminds me of one of the 'same type' of dictator that talks about reform without delivering it. How long has this gone on and we are still hearing Assad play reformer while killing thousands of Syrians. That sounds like reform? I don't think so. The Syrians want new leadership and they are not getting it. Either Assad backs up his words with action or he needs to be indicted at the Hague for turning on his citizens. How many more thousands of Syrians have to die to end this?
October 24, 2011 06:13 PM
BEIRUT: The U.S warned Lebanon (click here) it could face serious consequences should it fail to fund the U.N.-backed probe into the assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri, during a meeting between the U.S. envoy to Lebanon and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun Monday….
…Connelly met Aoun, an outspoken critic of the international court who has repeatedly voiced opposition to Lebanon paying its share of the court’s bills, at the latter’s private office in Rabieh….
…The issue of cooperation and funding of the STL (Special Tribunal for Lebanon), which in late June indicted four members of Hezbollah over the 2005 assassination of Hariri, has been a contentious issue between Lebanon’s rival March 8 and March 14 alliances, as well as elements in the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati….
It is very difficult to believe all this time has gone by without a trial for the death of the late Prime Minister Rafic Harriri.
Rafic Hariri (offical site)
This is the death of the Lebanon Prime Minister and the current dominate political party is actually obstructing justice to the Lebanese people. Defunding the tribunal cannot be tolerated. This is an international outrage this has gone on for so long.
...The Washington Post:
A Lebanese police officer (click here) and U.N. investigators unearthed extensive circumstantial evidence implicating the Syrian-backed Hezbollah movement in the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, according to an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp....
Those that oppose the international courts, no doubt, have a reason to oppose them.
Israel has acted in support of the United Nations including returning Sebba Farms to Lebanon, but, it has never been enough for Assad. When given the unreasonable demands of Israel at times, one has to also reflect on its compliance in regard to these lands, including, Gaza and the West Bank. There have been huge concessions by Israel, but, the extremist leadership are never satisfied. Never.
The Syrian-Israeli 1967 ceasefire line has been, (click here) with few exceptions, quiet since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. While Damascus bitterly repudiates Israel's conquest of the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War, it has avoided direct entanglement with the Israel Defense Forces. Instead, Damascus adopted an unofficial policy of dispatching guerrilla proxies in Lebanon to attack Israeli personnel and their south Lebanese allies in the name of "resistance" to Israeli "occupation."
When Israel unilaterally withdrew its forces from Lebanon in May 2000, Syria faced a strategic conundrum. Specifically, when the United Nations (U.N.) confirmed Israel's withdrawal to the Blue Line—the internationally recognized Lebanese-Israeli frontier —claims of "occupation" could not be sustained.
To this end, Syria contrived a territorial dispute to justify sponsoring ongoing "resistance" against the Jewish state. This manufactured dispute centers around a small territory commonly known as the Shebaa Farms....
A Lebanese police officer (click here) and U.N. investigators unearthed extensive circumstantial evidence implicating the Syrian-backed Hezbollah movement in the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, according to an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp....
Those that oppose the international courts, no doubt, have a reason to oppose them.
Israel has acted in support of the United Nations including returning Sebba Farms to Lebanon, but, it has never been enough for Assad. When given the unreasonable demands of Israel at times, one has to also reflect on its compliance in regard to these lands, including, Gaza and the West Bank. There have been huge concessions by Israel, but, the extremist leadership are never satisfied. Never.
The Syrian-Israeli 1967 ceasefire line has been, (click here) with few exceptions, quiet since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. While Damascus bitterly repudiates Israel's conquest of the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War, it has avoided direct entanglement with the Israel Defense Forces. Instead, Damascus adopted an unofficial policy of dispatching guerrilla proxies in Lebanon to attack Israeli personnel and their south Lebanese allies in the name of "resistance" to Israeli "occupation."
When Israel unilaterally withdrew its forces from Lebanon in May 2000, Syria faced a strategic conundrum. Specifically, when the United Nations (U.N.) confirmed Israel's withdrawal to the Blue Line—the internationally recognized Lebanese-Israeli frontier —claims of "occupation" could not be sustained.
To this end, Syria contrived a territorial dispute to justify sponsoring ongoing "resistance" against the Jewish state. This manufactured dispute centers around a small territory commonly known as the Shebaa Farms....
