We Are All To Blame For Syria

Written by Nanice

The Arab League. The damned Arab League. Where oh where are you? And Jordan and Turkey and Saudi and Qatar and everyone else in the region that should step up. That should have stepped up. Where are you? Why are you waiting for the United States to handle Arab affairs? (In all fairness Jordan and Turkey are bursting at the seams with the refugee crisis.) So why didn't the United States or the European Union get involved earlier as opposed to now? Way before well over 100,000 people have died and now over 3-4 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid? 

Obama and Cameron condemned atrocities, but sat on their hands and waited. The Arab League condemned atrocities as well, but just sat on their hands. Nowhere to be found. As usual. As always. I can't be disappointed because I am always disappointed. Now chemical weapons have been used so now "we care." The world "cares." The EU "cares." Saudi "cares." France "cares." Israel "cares." The United States "cares." Obama "cares." And so on.

The day Bashar Al- Assad started killing children is when the world, The EU, the Arab League, the US, Obama, Cameron, etc., etc., should have "really cared." They didn't then. They don't now. 

Obama wants to save face and make Americans think he's doing the right thing by going to Congress. What happens if they say no? No to intervention? Will he over ride them anyway? What is his motive NOW vs. 2 years ago? And why does the US get tell the other Arab countries what to do? 

I'm not for US involvement, but I'll be damned if it happens in my name and makes the situation worse. I won't blame the US or EU fully. I will blame the Arab League, KSA, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, China and Iran. I will blame everyone but not the US wholly. Why? Because the US does nothing that doesn't protect or benefit Israel. You know this. You should know this. If you don't, you know now.

And all you "Hands off Syria" people, what is your solution? "Hands off!" "Hands off!" Then what? What happens next? No plan huh? No. No plan. Just keep hands off Syria so things stay the same. All I can say now is, SORRY. Sorry children of Syria because all we can say is "Hands Off Syria!" And we can say we need intervention now, and those are short term, easy out solutions that make us feel better. But we do not project. We cannot think. We have nothing else in place for your future. We have no long term solution for you. So you will continue to die and for that I'm so very sorry.

And all you who urge me to call Congress to vote yes or no on strikes? I've been calling Congress. I've called them to ask what their plan is either way. I've called Congress to ask them what their long term goals are for Syria should they vote yes. I've called Congress to ask them what they will do if Assad is weakened and opposition takes over? What Congress will do if Assad strikes back? Or what they will do if he lashes out even harsher on his own people. I've called Congress to ask what if there are more civilian casualties? I've called Congress to say, if you decide not to strike what are your plans now because we've dug our heels in too deep?! What is the next step? What are the next 10 steps? Surely they have a plan? Surely they've thought this out! Surely we all have, haven't we?

I can't be mad and place all blame on countries who I expect to act. I can't be mad at them at all. Not entirely. Countries are run by people, who although have power, they are people just like you and me. They might have the best of intentions, they might have the worst of intentions, but either way there has been no overwhelming flood of public pressure on a world-wide scale to these people in power until now. 

Why? 

Because chemical weapons have been used and now the threat of foreign intervention is real. Very real. So real it now has an affect on us? Now we, you and me, those of us who call ourselves "activists", those who wanted to help but didn't know how, all of us, we, you and me, are frantically trying to help Syrians and ourselves (let's not joke) by either pressuring these powers to intervene or to keep their hands off. Where were we, you and me, and activists and global citizens; those who wanted to help but didn't know how or when? Where were we when the Houla massacre took place? Where were we when it happened in Daraa? When it happened in Hama? In Aleppo? When the refugees reached into the tens of thousands? Then hundreds of thousands? When it reached 1 million? When there was a mass exodus of refugees to Iraq? Iraq for crying out loud! Where were we? We, and you and me, we are to blame. All of us. All of us are to blame because we waited too long. We waited for it to come to this. I am to blame because I sat in the comfort of my own home listening to the screams and cries of Syrians. Men and women and elders and children, all begging for help. I sat in the comfort of my own home while children were butchered, mothers & daughters were raped, while their fathers and husbands were being tortured. I am to blame while I stayed up all night looking through the awful videos and decided to wait.

Break Their Backs

Carpet Bombing and Targeting Civilians
(A look at Syria's war crimes)

"Revolution means democracy in today's world, not the enslavement of peoples to the corrupt and degrading horrors of totalitarianism." ~ Ronald Reagan

The object of war has and will forever be the total destruction of one's enemy. This is the very reason war should never be taken lightly. For no matter how measured the acts of aggression are, no matter how precise the bomb, no matter how careful the soldier aims... somebody dies. And more often than not, it isn't the other combatant. It is the civilian population in and around the battle field that bears the brunt of war. It is upon their backs that the war is waged. It is upon their backs that the battles are won or lost.

Assad has been waging a campaign of "total war" against his own citizens. The line between combatant and civilian has all but vanished in the eyes of the Syrian Army. The man with a kalashnikov is no longer the primary target. Instead it is the little boy playing amongst the rubble, the little girl hiding in the doorway of her house, and the war weary mother who has buried her husband. This is what war becomes when one's enemy no longer is so easily defined. This is how war degrades the value of life by shrouding it in hate. 

Western leaders should be quick to remember that in the war for Syria's freedom it was Assad that fired the first shot. When his people rose up to demand their rights it was the Nero of Damascus that set Syria ablaze. Every death, every martyr, every slaughtered baby rightfully belong to Assad's long list of war crimes. He started this war. It was his brutality that left the masses with no other option but to side with armed rebels. And it will be his brutal tyranny that will inevitably lead to his own downfall. 

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." 

~ JFK

Today Human Rights Watch released statements pointing out Assad's war crimes. Once again the human rights group has pointed out that Assad has been using cluster ammunition to carpet bomb the civilian areas of Syria's cities. They pointed out that Assad has moved on from rocket attacks to heavy "dumb" bombs to level neighborhoods. And in the end they mentioned the ballistic missiles that Assad has begun to use against civilian areas not even involved in direct combat between the rebels and his own forces. 



These sorts of attacks would seemingly warrant some form of UN intervention in any other country. Yet in Syria the attacks, after more than two years of armed conflict, are becoming a part of daily life... or survival of it at least. While children are forced to live without the basic assurance of their safety, lack of access to schools, and face starvation at times; the UN avoids interaction. 

"The sin of silence when they should protest makes cowards of men." 

~Abraham Lincoln

Currently the G8 are meeting to discuss a wide array of issues. Potential war with North Korea has many of the countries sidetracked from the current crisis in Syria. Yet the issue of Assad and the Syrian rebels is said to be up for conversation. But just how much will come out of a distracted and unwilling convention of Western leaders? 

At the same time it is important to note that Barack Obama promised "dire consequences" if Assad crossed the "red line" with chemical weapons. But what about the use of ballistic missiles? Should it be acceptable to allow a dictator the option of annihilating his own citizens just as long as they don't have to suffer like the Kurds did under Saddam? Should we not consider the use of cluster bombs, carpet bombing, and ballistic missiles as being a "step too far"? 

It is clear when looking at Assad's war crimes that the UN is woefully ill-equipped to deal with Syria and it's supporters (Russia, China, and Iran). When it comes to standing toe to toe with Putin and Assad it would appear that the UN has no stomach for that fight. And for that reason the civilians of Syria must have their backs broken under the weight of a tyrant who knows no limits to his cruelty. 











Source Documents 
(Note that not all sources are listed)

Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/10/syria-aerial-attacks-strike-civilians
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/04/10/death-skies

The New York Times
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/filmmakers-capture-chaos-after-air-strikes-in-syria/

Frontline (PBS)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BHUKBaFetJY

Raining Fire

Cluster Bombs And Syria
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Cluster Bombs Don't Just Kill Militants)

Over the past six months there have been 119 locations where cluster bombs have been verified to have been used against the civilian population within Syria. 156 known cluster munitions have been verified to have struck and/or have been targeted against civilians. This means that in those 119 locations, Syria's government has used multiple cluster munitions on the same location. And with each and every attack there has been children like the one above either killed, wounded, and physically and emotionally scarred by the heartless brutality of these indiscriminate attacks. 

Human Rights watch has identified two such attacks in just the past two weeks. Between the two cluster bombs dropped there were 11 civilians killed (of which were two women and five children) and 27 others wounded. It is important to note that these were just the results of two cluster bombs. 

As of March 5th the world was given evidence of new cluster bombs entering the conflict. These Soviet made weapons were not known to have been used prior to this attack. A fact that points to the continued support of the Assad regime by the Russian government. It also points to the fact that Assad is expanding his ruthless campaign of slaughtering civilians while he pretends to be looking for a "peaceful resolution". 

(Russian Made, Assad Approved)

The ShOAB 0.5 is a weapon that is not only old but has been proven to be both deadly upon impact and a prolonged killer upon the battle field. Not only does it spread out over a large area when dropped but many of the little grenade like bombs are left unexploded. This means that they can detonate at any time and kill those trying to save wounded or clear out the initial fatalities. It also means that they pose the same risk as landmines once the battle is over or the war has ended. 

In the past Assad has used cluster bombs ahead of military or Shabiha militias to clear the way for his troops. Now Assad appears to be carpet bombing areas simply to drive the death toll upward. At times it doesn't even seem that the Syrian army needs to have any indication that rebels are in the area for them to justify the use of weapons like cluster munitions. All that is apparently needed is for the military to believe that the local citizens at one time supported the rebel cause. 

For the children of Syria this "death from above" method has left them seeking more creative ways to hide. In the past they had been able to hide in their homes from the government militias and military forces. By simply staying indoors when the shelling began or the gunfire grew louder they could at least pray for protection. Yet cluster munitions void that strategy. With cluster munitions, if the neighbor is suspected of a crime... so are you.

I have said over the past two years that I believe Assad will only get more violent as the war goes on. Cluster munitions are just one way he is proving me to be correct in my assumptions of him. If these weapons are not stopped and Assad is not given limits to his madness... what kind of new hell will he unleash next?

Generational Scars

The Lion And His Pride
(A return to Syria)

April 14th, 2012. Students At Aleppo University gather to make the universal S.O.S.

January 16th, 2013. Students gather for exams just before Assad's jets bomb the University.

The Medz Yeghern, the Great Crime, was a holocaust the world has never officially recognized. When dealing with their own "question" of what to do with a large population of "undesirables" the Turks came to a ghastly conclusion. On April 24th, 1915 the Young Turks launched what would become known as the Armenian Genocide. This massive crime would lead to the deaths of somewhere around 1.5 million Armenian victims. And by the time of its completion the Armenian community would be left struggling to survive. 

Upon the launch of their massacres the Young Turks realized that one of the first targets of their attacks had to be the intellectuals and community leaders of the Armenian society. Attacking these individuals would leave the community at large helpless and make it difficult for Armenians to organize any form of resistance. So on April 14th of 1915 the Young Turks set out across the Ottoman Empire to round up and deport and kill all Armenian intellectuals. 

The Syrian regime under Assad has overlooked the usual step of targeting intellectuals up until yesterday. Though there have been round ups of protesters and attempts to kill off those who organize the "opposition forces", Assad had in the past exercised restraint when dealing with the countries academia. So in comparison to the two years of conflict prior yesterdays attack stands out only due to its intended target.

It is said far to often in the developed world that the children are our future. It is said that we should view our children as our greatest resource as a nation or society. More poignantly it is remarked that the youth of our nation is our treasure.

In this war to maintain power Assad has spent an untold amount of treasure to secure his own future. His barbarism has stripped Syria of most if not all of its resources as the Syrian people go hungry, grow cold in the winter, and die as disease can no longer be prevented. In this war to crush the hearts of his own people, Assad now targets his nation's youth alongside Syria's children.

It wasn't long ago that the world watched as the Shabiha (ghosts) slaughtered the children of Homs. It wasn't long ago that we watched as Assad bombed bakeries as the starving waited for a little bread. Now we watch as Assad attempts to stifle discontent amongst those seeking a better life through education. Now we watch as Assad squanders the only resource Syria has left... the only hope of a brighter tomorrow.

Obama and the West told Assad recently that there was only one weapon he could not use. They told Assad that there was just one line in the sand that they would not allow him to cross. Without the use of chemical or biological weapons Assad is free to kill the students of Syria. Without the use of tactical nuclear strikes Assad is free to slay the children of his nation. And as long as we don't have to watch it, Assad is allowed to continue to feed upon Syria's innocents like a lion trying to regain control of his pride.

Syria will one day be free. Syria will one day be able to hold its head up high without the yolk of Assad's regime around its neck. The only question now is who will lead it? Who will take the Nero of Damascus's place if the educated minds are simply killed off? Who will lead the masses if the youth, a portion of the population driven by more than religion and politics, are driven out of the country? Has Syria not had enough of old world dreams and selfish mens' desires for personal gain?

The free world has turned their backs on yet another opportunity to liberate and instead are now helping the extremist gain ground upon fertile soil. Just as they did with Egypt, the world has turned their backs and allowed Syria to descend into darkness. And in the end the neglect of the West will not be forgot when the next regime gains power. The sin of silence has already been committed and if history is any indication the reward is far from sweet.

When the Turks finished their genocide the world turned away almost immediately. Armenia, the Assyrians, and the Pontic Greeks were all left to fend for themselves as the Great Powers cut up the maps of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Three distinct cultures were left to struggle as the new century seemed to pass them by. The sin of silence has left each culture scarred to this day. Armenians around the world still fight for recognition of their ancestor's suffering. And yet the reward for their struggle remains out of reach.

Just as the Young Turks' handiwork lives on almost a hundred years after they have gone, Assad's sins will live for generations to come. Even if the educated, the intellectuals, and community leaders are marched off to firing squads; Assad's sins will never vanish. No matter how many children Assad's regime devours, the next generation will bear these scars. No matter how many mothers and fathers vanish into Assad's black prisons and torture chambers, the Syrians yet to be born will carry on their legacy. Just as the Armenians, Syrians will have to reconcile this travesty for what seems like an eternity.

Watching The World Burn

Damascus's Nero Promises Chemical Attacks
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Syrian Baby Killed In Syrian Air Strikes)

Today Assad made it clear to the UN and US that his military had "chemical weapons that could be used within two hours". Bashar al-Assad said in no uncertain terms that his air force had "dozens of 500lb bombs" ready to be deployed at a moments notice. Expanding on the subject Assad assured the West that these bombs were already or were currently being armed with sarin nerve gas. Assad stated that air bases across the country were already armed with these chemical weapons and the planes simply had to be sent up to start spreading his toxic payloads. 

This message out of Syria's regime appears to be a delayed response to President Barack Obama's warning that the use of chemical weapons would have "consequences". In many ways this response can also be looked at as Assad's way of thumbing his nose at the West. After all, much like Saddam Hussein, Assad views this war as a war of annihilation and that if he survives it he will have won. And after nearly two years of a war his regime launched it is obvious that Assad still controls Syria. After all, he controls the military, the sky, and the flow of food and fuel. 

(Man Holds His Wounded Son)

Before this war began the Syrian people had been led to believe that the war planes Assad had purchased by the dozen were meant to defend against Israeli aggression. Assad had made it appear as though he was planning to either stand up to Israel or even go on the offense. Yet the military build up continued as Assad's stance with Israel remained stagnant. Nobody would have guessed that these planes were meant to put down the threat Assad saw within Syria itself. 

Before this war began the Syrian people had little interest in the difference between the majority Sunni Muslims and the ruling minority Alawi Shia Muslims. Yet it appears now that this split between the two groups was always on the mind of Assad. His father had risen out of the Syrian version of an air force. He had taken control by appearing as a military hero. Assad on the other hand didn't have this image to hide behind. He appears to have known all along that the religious differences would eventually trump the old image his father had created. 

Now it is painfully obvious that the Alawi and their handful of loyalist are fighting a war of religious greed. This is a war the ruling class must win. It is a struggle to maintain the dominance of the version of Islam that Assad holds dear.

We know from the history of war in the region that once religion mixes with political power the use of unconventional warfare suddenly becomes acceptable. When Saddam needed to subjugate the Kurdish peoples of northern Iraq the use of chemical weapons was justified by drawing upon the Koran. When the Iraq-Iran war became a stalemate the Iranians decided it would be acceptable to force men onto the front lines or face death... and the deaths of their families. 

Assad is no different from those who came before him. The tide of war has turned against Assad in recent months. Rebels are finding ways to turn the big guns back on Damascus. No matter how many of his own citizens he kills, Assad can't seem to turn back his foes. Where ever Assad goes the rebels rise up to meet him. In this aspect Assad is fighting a guerrilla war in his own homeland.

(Lucky Syrian Baby Brought to Field Hospital)

So how long do we have before Assad decides to launch his final push back against the Free Syrian Army? 

Nobody can say for sure when the attack will come. Assad has already used organized and systematical torture, starvation and deprivation, shutting off the grid, cluster bombs, fire bombs, indiscriminate artillery shelling, blitz attacks followed by Shabiha mobs, aerial bombardment, summary executions, attacking refugee camps, and the butchering of children. So chemical weapons are just the next step in a failed attempt on Assad's part to keep control of Syria's government. 

More importantly, and the more direct question here, is how many more need to die before the West decides to intervene?

Obama's White House offered a seemingly endless flow of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people trapped by this war. Today the news has finally admitted that their "bighearted" President's gesture was just that. Over a million Syrians have no access to this food and water. Instead the humanitarian aid goes to waste as the Syrian people remains hungry and homeless. 

If we add those million lives to the already 60 to 100 thousand civilian casualties in Syria will the West finally consider the "red line" to have been crossed? 

Children who come out looking for food and fuel for their families are often kidnapped by Syrian military and killed or used as slaves and gang rapes. Those who are returned are often dead or close to it. But after the Houla massacre it is obvious that this is not the "red line" that Obama was talking about. 

Will we really have to wait till the chemicals are falling from the sky before we decide to act? It is time to wake up America. It is time to wake up Europe. This is a deliberate act of genocide being conducted by a failing tyrant. His regime is not afraid to take Syria to the very edge of the abyss. So why are we fooling ourselves in imagining that not even Assad would plummet all of Syria into the pits of hell?

If They Were Christians Would We Help?

From Syria to Burma
(The Darkness Visible series)

(Just Another Funeral in Syria) 

Over the past few months I have found it hard to not ask myself if things would be different if the current genocide victims were not Muslim. From Syria (where Assad, an Alawi, slaughters Sunni Muslims) to Burma (where the Buddhist regime targets Muslims for extermination) the victims all have one thing in common. Their faith. 

The response given by the United Nations and the Western governments that help guide it has reminded me since the start of how the UN responded to Bosnia. In 1992 the Serbian forces within Bosnia decided that the Muslims had to die to help create a "Greater Serbia". The United Nations responded just as one might have expected. Their actions helped further the cause of the Christian Serbs while punishing the Bosnian Muslims. No arms were allowed to be distributed to the Bosnian forces so as to help defend themselves and their families. Aid to the Bosnian community was seemingly given under the conditions that Bosnian Muslims would not defend themselves but commit to damned attempts at "diplomacy". All the while Serbs were allowed to funnel arms and ammunition across the border from Serbia so as to fuel their war upon Islam. 

The entire time I spent studying Srebrenica I couldn't help but ask myself... if the dead weren't Muslims would the West care? 

In Syria today the Alawi, a minute percentage of the population, have taken every action to reduce the Shiite population while securing power for the Shia minority. Dehumanization began from the very start of the protest against Assad. But it wasn't the rebels who were comparing their opposition to cockroaches. Instead it was Assad who was laying the ground work for genocide. And it was Assad who began working his way through the steps of genocide as if reading them from a book. Yet in Syria today the UN and US can be seen as only helping the Shia die in a little more comfortable ways than Assad would wish. They do not seem willing to stop the bleeding. 

Children are massacred in waves of violence not seen in the region since Saddam's campaign to annihilate the Kurds. Yet the UN did nothing more than ask Angelina Jolie to come and visit the refugee camps... across the border in safety. Aid has been slow (it wasn't till recently that America secured 1.5 billion in aid... with vast restrictions on its use of course) and at times has been left rotting on docks in neighboring countries so as to never arrive. The only thing that the UN seems competent to deliver has been the dirty white tents that help cameras capture the appearance of UN aid. Most aid has arrived through private organizations that have stretched themselves to the limit so as to save at least some of the refugees who have fled. 

Those left in Syria have been subjected to mortars, artillery, jet and helicopter attacks, and scud missiles that may be used to deliver chemical weapons. The dead are buried wherever a spare patch of ground can be found. Water, food, and electricity are subject to Assad's desire to either starve a region out or reward a region for their loyalty. All of these are seemingly random since Assad has begun to see rebels behind every rock and around every corner. 

So why does the West not act to help end the genocide in Syria? 

(Humanitarian Aid Remains Behind Blockades While Rohingya Starve To Death)

In Burma the Buddhist regime has been praised almost religiously by the West as the governments of Europe and America prepare to race in and claim as much of the economy as they can before China gets it all. In doing business with the Myanmar government the governments of the West are funding genocide. For decades now, of and on, the Burmese have been attempting to slaughter the Rohingya minority and all other Muslim groups. Under the Junta regime the Rohingya were not only dehumanized but often massacred. This latest burst of genocidal slaughter was just an extension of the decades of systematic slaughter the Junta perpetrated. 

As the violence spread the Rohingya were rounded up into camps where the Burmese military was seen attacking the Rohingya who attempted to flee. When it wasn't the military killing Rohingya it was the Rakhine mobs that the police let through from time to time to keep the Rohingya terrorized. In effect the Myanmar government was establishing concentration camps like those the Serbs established for the Bosnian Muslims. Yet the West refused to call these "refugee" camps what they truly were. Instead we now find ourselves in a place where Rohingya are banned from leaving the camps and aid is blockaded from entering the camps. 

Food and water have been restricted while the Burmese Muslims are starved to death. Babies, some seen on previous post, are left forever harmed by this cruelty... if they survive at all. Yet the West fails to go beyond their business prospects in Myanmar. 

Once again I have to ask, if the Rohingya were not Muslims would the West care anymore?

Many "humanitarians" in the media and Western culture have spent years upon years trying to get governments to help the victims in Darfur and the Congo. The obvious difference in this post is that the victims in this case are predominately Christians. And the attackers are predominately Muslims. This is not to say that genocide in these two cases should not be protested or should not be stopped. But it is painfully clear that those speaking out for the victims share a fairly obvious link to the victims themselves. Their faith.

With this we should all take a look at the reasons for why we get involved. And more importantly we should take a real hard look at the reasons why we tend not to get involved. Both are the sources for our inaction when faced with genocide. And both have effects that last for generations. By not taking action to help those in need we show our true selves... our greatest weaknesses... and most of all our prejudices.

Assad's al-Anfal

Syria's Inevitable End Game
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Iraqi Kurdish Children Killed in Gas Attacks)

As the fighting worsens in and around Damascus the West has begun to realize that Assad has no way to leave the battlefield with any honor left intact. This fight to maintain control of Syria has left the dictator helpless as the country has descended into the abyss of war. It is in this sense of desperation that has become nearly palpable in the heart of Syria. A sense of desperation that is leading to more hopeless means of combat. Helping fuel the fear of another al-Anfal genocide within the region. 

In 1986, toward the end of the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam Hussein launched the worse campaign of genocide since the Nazis conquest of Europe. Attacking the Kurdish villages in northern Iraq, Saddam targeted all minority populations as well, the dictator embarked upon a war of annihilation. This was a barbaric battle to rid Iraq of those who Saddam deemed to be "non-Iraqi" or "non-Arabic" populations. 

"... Allah willed to justify the Truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the Unbelievers..." Koran 8:7 

Saddam took the name of his genocide from the Holy Koran. Yet his war was far from holy. It was so barbaric and ghastly that not even the Western world couldn't look the other way. This was a war that would scar the minds of world leaders for decades to come. 

For the first time since the world wars the West would watch as gas was used to kill off thousands of people in just a matter of minutes. Men, women, and children died where they were standing as the shells carrying the gas fell from above. The images of children gasping for air were suddenly seen around the world. All were victims of Saddam's al-Anfal. 

Today Turkey joined the United States in warning the world of the lingering threat of Assad's vast chemical weapon stores. The United States State Department managed to piece together strong words of warning for Assad as they talked about the "red line" these unconventional weapons presented. Turkey on the other hand has a very real fear of these weapons being used along the border with Syria. After all, chemical and gas don't know the limits of the battlefield and rarely behaves as the murderers intend. 

Yet for all the warnings and all the nervousness surrounding the use of chemical weapons the Syrian government has already begun deployment of chemical weapons to the embattled areas. In Aleppo the West believes that enough chemical shells could already be in place to kill the local population without warning. Hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians could be at risk as this post is being written. Even an upwards of a million civilians could be at risk as chemical weapons make their way across the country.

“Today I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command: The world is watching,” President Barack Obama. 12/3/2012

It is clear now that Assad has every intention to use some measure of chemical weapons on his own citizens. It is also clear that Assad will use these weapons without warning and without relent. Once the gas begins to flow it will not stop till the UN or US step in to stop it. A level of commitment that the White House has finally begun to show it is willing to take on. 

But the question remains... just how many Syrians will have to die before the West starts to take military action to stop the genocide in Syria? 

A spontaneous offensive with the use of chemicals as it's spearhead will kill hundreds of thousands of Syrians in a matter of days at best. With Syrian civilians clustered together, so as to avoid the fighting, their populations are gathered in small areas. Gas will allow their numbers to be drastically decreased in the first few hours of the attacks. This appears to be what Assad is hinging his bets upon as his chemical weapons are now being deployed. 

“This is a red line for the United States,” Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. 12/3/2012

We may be watching. We may have plans to take action to stop the attacks. But as of now the United States can not nor will not be able to prevent the gas from being used. Once again the West has put themselves in a position where they can not protect those in the most need of it. We have failed the Syrians. 

This will be Assad's end game. 

The final stages of his rule are falling in place. The rebels are closing in upon their old master's stronghold. Assad is now nothing more than an animal... an animal that has been backed into a corner. Yet like most beast, Assad won't go down without a fight.

If the West wants to declare checkmate it should had already entered the fight and prevented this scenario from ever taking place. Now we have little we can do but attempt to limit the number of civilians Assad can take to Hell with him. Yet even this depends upon men like Barack Obama who have done nothing to stop us from getting to this point to begin with. 

How much more of this wretched war can Syria take? 

The Truth Will Always Find A Way

WARNING: Very Graphic Content. Viewer Discretion Is Advised.
(Part of the Darkness Visible series)



No sooner had I posted the prior update on Syria that a video out of Aleppo leaked out onto the web. This video is the latest look at what an "all out push" by Assad looks like. MIG jets once again bombing civilian targets as heavy artillery "softens" the the targets ahead of Assad's military.

This video is not pleasant for anyone to watch. The deaths of these civilians could have and should have been prevented. But this is what it looks like when the world does nothing. This is what it looks like when good men remain silent while evil men go unopposed.

It is time to wake up. It is damn well past the time to stop this cold blooded slaughter of innocent civilians. Assad must be stopped.

Blacked Out In Hell

Assad Guarantees No Syrians Will See This Post
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Internet Shut off at 10:30am Across Syria) 

With the war in Syria grinding its way through the 20th consecutive month the Assad dictatorship has apparently become desperate to stop the uprising from having access to its lifeblood... the outside world. In a move that has drawn harsh criticism Bashar al-Assad has shut down the Internet within Syria. It is not clear if the services will return under foreign pressure. But it is clear to human rights observers as to why Assad has taken this dramatic action in his attempt to smash his opposition.

Media blackouts have been common when it comes to Assad and his massacres. Before the last two massacres there were minor interruptions in communications with the outside world. In the last pogrom Assad interrupted the Internet surrounding Houla in an attempt to black out any videos arising from the area. These attempts to stifle the truth from flowing out of Syria failed. So now we must ask if this new nationwide black out is a smoke screen like it had been back in Houla?

We do know now that Assad is fighting fierce battles in and around Damascus. The war for Aleppo was lost to a stale mate for Assad's forces. Now the war is coming with even more ferocity to the capital city. Car bombs rack the Syrian army every time they try to rush off to a new guerrilla street fight. Planes that had ruled the air around Aleppo are now being brought down by Free Syrian Army surface to air missiles. And yet the fighting seems to still be stuck in grid lock as Russia and China continue to poor money into Assad's reserves. 

With Russia printing Assad's money for him the dictator can continue to pay off Iranian mercenaries and Shabiha thugs. The flow of cash means that Assad can continue to pay for his secret prisons and purchase new tools with which to torture his own citizens. These billions of dollars means that Assad can use his own money, thus keeping Russia's hands clean, to purchase more Iranian weapons and Chinese ammunition. It also means that Assad has the money to fund an all out push for wide spread atrocities across the country.

In addition to cutting Internet services Assad also cut cellphone services in the country. This makes it appear that the dictator has admitted that cellphone pictures have been the leading source of "eyewitness testimony" against his war crimes. After all, it was the cellphone videos uploaded to YouTube that first alerted the West to the horrific war crimes committed by the Shabiha in Houla. It was the images of children having been bound and executed by Assad's thugs that first raised concern amongst governments in Europe and the Americas. So once again we must pose the question of whether or not Assad is preparing to launch an all out push against his opposition across the country? And how far will Assad take the country before the lights come back on? 

Some outside sources have suggested that the cutting of communications was an overreaction to the car bomb attacks that rocked suburbs of Damascus earlier this morning. Around 50 people were killed in the attacks. Yet it is hard for Alder's Ledge to buy into this excuse since the car bombs were set off in Christian and Druze neighborhoods. A fact that rules out any sympathies an Alawite Islamic leader might have for the dead. In addition the very leader that cut the communications is the same leader that began targeting Christian and Druze Syrians shortly after the uprising began. 

(Syrian Neighborhood Rocked By Explosions This Morning)

We do know that Assad had already made plans to make a push somewhere around the international airport where rebels had been attacking for days. And shortly after cutting communications Assad did in fact start such a push against the Free Syrian Army. And in an effort to get planes back in the air and landing at the airport Assad has begun shelling civilian areas nearby. In this assault to reopen the airport Assad has sent the bulk of his forces into the villages of Babila and Hujaira to the south and Harran al-Awamid to the east. These are also areas where the cellular communications were slashed ahead of the military's arrival. 

If this is a new push to kill off as many "rebels" as the Assad regime can dig up or gather from the civilian population the West may never know. The fact is the lines of communication with the rebel militias are now cut. Outside of the foreign governments supporting the uprising, the rest of us will have to wait till information leaks out over the border into Turkey or Lebanon. What little news reporters are on the ground will also find it hard to get their reports out of the country. 

When the next massacre occurs we will have to wait to hear about it. When the next batch of children are sent off to an alleyway to be gunned down we will never be able to bear witness. When the next wave of Shabiha enter Syrian homes in the middle of the night the world will not hear their screams. This is precisely what Assad wants. The genocidal regime he has led now has all it has ever needed. A vacuum in which to operate. 

It is time for the world to wake up and take action. The darkness that has been covering Syria for nearly two years has now descended into pitch black. The monster in power now has the ability to operate without impediment. The people of Syria are now at risk of suffering far worse than they already have.

Source Document 

World Magazine

 http://www.worldmag.com/2012/11/deadly_twin_car_bombs_explode_in_a_christian_and_druze_suburb_in_syria

Forbes 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2012/11/29/syria-shuts-off-internet-but-can-they-really-block-information-flow/

Voice Of America 

http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-pushing-back-as-rebels-advance/1555248.html

BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20547799

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20493687

(note that not all documents used are listed)

The Tenth Circle of Hell

Improvised Warfare
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

As car bomb continue to blast their way into the Syrian Army's ranks it is obvious that Assad has no defense against the creative attacks the Free Syrian Army has to offer. On the battlefield Assad's forces can claim victory after victory even as they incur massive casualties. But now, as they try to consolidate their gains by massing in reclaimed areas, the resistance sparks... and the flames of Hell itself come up to lap the blood of Assad's men.

State controlled media in Syria claims that the attacks are futile and barbaric. The rest of the world can see that Assad's forces are unable to gain control even when their forces are present in an area. The rebels are able to penetrate Assad's ranks while setting up their attacks and are able to target commanders and vital equipment Assad's army needs to operate. While the main goal of car bombs is to inflict tremendous amounts of casualties and impart terror, the rebels have begun using them as weapons of assassination.

What few outsiders are aware of however is that these very same weapons of resistance are the same weapons that claim innocent lives without discrimination. Today when simultaneous car bombs erupted and managed to kill dozens of Assad's soldiers with each blast they also killed many civilians. Women and children remain trapped in areas where these tools of improvised weapons of war are in use.

The miserable reality of living under constant siege has forced hundreds of thousands of Syrians to flee their homes. In one day 11,000 Syrians fled the country. Of those 11,000 and estimated 9,000 of them braved ongoing battles, Assad's helicopters, and cold rain and Turkish border guards as they cut their way through the barbed wire and crossed into Turkey. This mass exodus has led to renewed calls in the Turkish government for action to help end the crisis after 20 long months of hellish fighting.

(Syrians Illegally Crossing Into Turkey)

Meanwhile the newly elected leader of Syria's largest opposition group (Syrian National Council) claims that the crisis is still ongoing due to lack of concern by the world community. George Sabra, a Christian who was repeatedly imprisoned by Assad's regime, the new SNC leader blames countries like America for offering nothing but "statements and encouragement". He notes that good intentions and polite words can not win a war for freedom. While the West offers a pat on the back Russia, China, and Iran offer Assad helicopters, snipers, naval support, ammunition, armor, money, and at times mercenary soldiers and military training. 

This lack of will to offer aid, without demands, has led the Syrian Free Army to utilize every sort of guerrilla warfare imaginable. The rebels use mortars, improvised rockets, roadside bombs, child soldiers, car bombs, and blitz style attacks. Unfortunately all these weapons of war have the side affect of causing civilian casualties just as often as they kill their intended targets. 

On the flip side the innocent people trapped in the crossfire have Assad's heavy artillery, jets, helicopters, and Shabiha to deal with. 

This constant threat has led to shortages of food, lack of electricity, and undrinkable water. Children who had been in school 20 months ago have not been back in almost two years. Jobs that existed prior to the war are gone and thus most of the country are unemployed. The only way to earn money now is fight for it or barter for it. Not that Syrian cash has any value outside of Syria... and what value it holds in Syria is minimal. 

All of this builds to the new reality most Syrians live with. This is the new Syria that the upcoming generation will remember for all their lives. This is the tenth circle of Hell.

From Where Even Demons Flee

"I Will Live and Die in Syria"
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Wounded Boy in Syria Seeks Comfort... Protection) 

It has been said many times that war is a kind of hell on Earth. In Syria the flames of Sheol lick the living as the torment of life in perpetual war seems far more contemptuous than that of death itself. This is a living death that knows not the religious affiliation nor political views of its victims. It does not target one over the other. This death is a tormentor without conscience. It attacks without mercy. It afflicts without pity. 

Under Assad the war has dragged on as new weapons make their way onto the battlefield. There is now evidence that the Syrian army has been using "cluster bombs" against its own people. These ammunition violates the laws that govern war amongst civilized nations. They are used to inundate an area and overwhelm an enemy. More importantly, they can't be targeted at one building or a small tactical area. They scatter to the wind and hit whomever happens to be near by. This is why they are so devastating when used in neighborhoods and small towns and villages.

(Cluster Bombs Found in Assad's Arsenal)

In Syria these cluster bombs appear to be used just before the appearance of Shabiha (thugs who are loyal to Assad for a price). Much like the Sudanese style of war, Assad is softening up the targets before allowing his Shabiha to enter in and kill whoever is left. In Darfur it is the Janjaweed who ride in and finish off the survivors. In Syria the Shabiha fulfill this cowardly act. 

(FSA Street Fighting Casualty)

In other attacks the cluster bombs have been targeted at schools and hospitals where Assad imagines the Free Syrian Army may be operating. In many cases the schools are occupied by refugees who have fled their homes in bombed out neighborhoods. It is in these schools that the Free Syrian Army often offer medical attention to the victims of Assad's indiscriminate campaign of bomb first and ask questions later.

Where the attacks fail Assad does not back down or deploy aid to the area. Instead the people he says he represents are left without power or water as winter approaches. No medicine or food is allowed to enter areas where Assad's forces are engaged. In this aspect Assad asserts that all those in his gun sights are guilty. Instead of targeting simply the rebels, Assad puts women and children under the daily anguish of siege warfare. 

(FSA Rebel Helping Woman Through "Sniper Alley")

For those who find themselves alive after the first wave of aerial bombardment the fight to survive is simply beginning. Survivors of what happens next have reported that within minutes of the bombs dropping the artillery opens up. These heavy weapons are often stationed in neighboring villages or neighborhoods. They are kept hidden near homes, mosque, and refugee shelters so as to keep the Free Syrian Army from returning fire. This very act of "hugging" civilian targets is also forbidden by the Geneva Convention. It is considered a war crime. 

When the target has been blasted by both the air and land those left alive are still struggling to remain so. In almost every case of Assad's blitz the barrage is followed by Syrian Army and Iranian snipers. These silent killers set up shop where their sights can be targeted down long open pathways. The result is that a street or becomes a "Sniper Alley". This was used by the Serbians in Bosnia to drive the death toll up as the Serbs killed off the "Muslim threat". 

(The Most Common Victims of the Shabiha) 

As the attack comes to its climax the Free Syrian Army braces for the arrival of the Shabiha. The Syrian Army will often give a short burst of artillery or send in Russian built helicopters to keep the target under control as the thugs ride in. These killers have often gone door to door looking for victims. They are said to be after the rebels alone and yet the Shabiha actions point to their real motivation. 

Killing off entire families and specifically targeting children the Shabiha loot the homes of their victims and take anything they view as valuable. In doing so the Shabiha are showing the West that Assad's money is running out and instead of offering a set pay scale the Nero of Damascus is paying off his militia just as Bashar in the Sudan does. Like the Janjaweed, the Shabiha are extracting their pay from the very people Assad is attempting to repress. 

The end result of the cluster bomb thus is that the original goal of Assad's war against the Sunni is achieved. The rebels are subjected to total war and the Sunni majority is subjugated by the Alawi Shia in power. It does not matter to Assad that the people he is killing are his own countrymen. It doesn't bother Assad's wife that almost a third of all the deaths in this war have been children (under the age of 18). 

Both sides are becoming desperate.

(FSA Executing Surrendered Syrian Soldiers)

The Free Syrian Army has begun openly shooting Syrian soldiers who surrender or attempt to defect form Assad's ranks. In the past the Free Syrian Army had welcomed Syrian soldiers who wanted to leave Assad. Now, with the war approaching 2 long years, the FSA seems unwilling to accept surrender. What had begun as a war of annihilation against the people of Syria is now a war of attrition. Either Assad's forces will perish or leave Syria or the Free Syrian Army will be killed off entirely. 

This is hell. No better word can describe it.

Sinking To A New Low

Syria's Hope Lost To War
(Part of the Lost Childhood series and The Darkness Visible post)

(Syrian Boy Recruited To Fight For The Rebels)

Every time I think about Syria a part of my soul screams out. I pray for the people there. I pray for their safety. I pray for peace. The images of their youth being killed by Assad's forces haunt me. The images of their cities burning never leave the back of my mind. Every day I do not write about their struggle is a day where my soul remains restless. It pleads with me to scream. 

That is why it has hurt in ways I never thought imaginable to see this struggle for freedom to be degraded into a fight for survival. I have watched as Russia (the motherland of oppression) has continued to supply Assad with the tools he needs to continue his reign of terror. I have watched China stand in the way of diplomacy as it trickles money into Assad's pockets through Russian hands. And I have been sickened to see Iranian snipers remaining diligent in their attacks on innocent Syrian citizens. 

This could have all been avoided... this could have been stopped. 

(Wounded Innocence) 

When Barack Obama took action in Libya he claimed he was stopping "genocide". It was the key word he knew would justify pushing regime change on the Libyan people. He didn't mention the black Africans that were being killed by the Libyan Arabs. He didn't mention that the people he was helping were already a group of armed combatants... combatants that had sparked the conflict. Obama just knew that by using the word "genocide" he could justify using American might to get his way. 

This is why Obama does not act to stop the genocide in Syria. I have posted in several articles in "The Darkness Visible" series why this war of Assad's can be classified as genocide. I have made it clear that Assad is pushing his version of Islam while attempting to subdue or destroy an opposing religious sect in the process. The rebellion in Syria is a response to Assad's own actions. Unlike Libya, this conflict was started by the regime... for the regime... and will only be ended with a change of regime. 

Something Obama and the West seem reluctant to approach. 

But that is not what has drawn me back to Syria tonight. It is the fact that the Free Syrian Army (the rebels) are now openly using child soldiers that has troubled me. The use of a child as a combatant for any cause can not be ignored. These children are the very source of Syria's hope. And this act of abuse is now poisoning any hope Syria has left. 

For over a year now I have watched as images of Syria's youth flashed before my eyes. Their young lifeless bodies captured in horrific images that have robbed me of sleep. Those who remained shown the sheer horror of what had happened upon their faces. For over a year those most innocent of souls have been my driving force in writing and screaming for them.... for their future. 

If Syria is to live, if it is to thrive, it must have a source of strength to draw upon. When a child is robbed of their most valuable years this source of strength is damaged. The inspiration for their future is crumbled. And the evil we wish to protect them from is given a place in their soul from which it can not be removed. These acts leave scars that time can only fade... not heal. 

For the Free Syrian Army it has taken over almost two years to reach this point of desperation. They have been massacred. They have been imprisoned in hellish conditions. And they have watched as their cities, homes, and families were stripped away from them. But this act, even out of desperation, can not go unpunished. 

It takes grooming and force to make a child fight. It takes abuse, both physical and emotional, to keep a child on the battlefield. And it takes a heartless monster to allow these children to die fighting a battle grown men could not win. 

(Wounded Rebel Leaving the Battlefield)

Sadly it appears that the West is set to act now that the fighting has claimed so many. They do not seem to have the stomach to send in troops though. They don't have the spine to send in planes though. Instead, the West is ready to prosecute the Syrian rebels for the use of children soldiers. This crime against humanity seems to be the straw to have broken the camel's back. 

We will not go after Assad for bombing out cities and hiding his troops amongst mosque and schools. We will not go after Assad for organizing massacres of children and then calling the dead terrorist. We will not go after Assad for systematically targeting a specific religious sect of Islam. 

We simply will target the rebels for crossing the last line in the sand we had left. 

I believe that if it is to be the place of any court to prosecute war crimes and genocide then it is the court's responsibility to prosecute these sins every time by every side. Assad should be the first of the murderers to be marched out and executed for his sins against humanity. Then we can start finding those responsible for the massacres on both sides. And we must track down those who brought children to the battlefield... both as weapons and shields. 

We can not pick and choose our battles when it comes to these issues. Not even when it become inconvenient.

Hundreds Dead... Assad Still Lives.

The Lion Strikes Again.
(part of The Darkness Visible post)

As the world grumbles about the unjustifiable attacks Assad carried out over the weekend the death toll keeps ticking upward. The Syrian Free Army claimed that there were over 400 dead in Daraya, Syria after the regime blitzed the town. Now we know the death toll in this latest massacre is at the very least 200 but most likely closer to the 400 mark. This was yet another hunting trip for the lion of Damascus.

Sending his shabiha door to door once again the beast reaped his reward as the butchers murdered scores of innocent Syrians. Men, women, and children were all taken out into the streets and beaten to death then shot to finish them off. Those who dared to fight back were shot down where they were found. Anyone who cooperated was treated as a friend at first... then shot in the back.

This is how Assad works. This is how a genocidal maniac kills his victims as the world watches from the sidelines. And all we can do is watch as the dead scream out for help.

Bed sheets become burial shrouds as Assad's bloody footsteps encircle the Syrian capitol city. Daraya is just southwest of Damascus. It was under the Syrian army's guns for weeks as the artillery threatened to wipe the town off the map. Helicopters appeared as the night began. Then the blitz. People's homes became their coffins as Assad's forces entered the city.

Abu Kinan told the Guardian, "One of the massacre survivors told me that when the Syrian army stormed their alley, they put more than 50 people up against the wall.

"As they began spraying them with bullets, he threw himself to the floor. He was covered with blood though he was not shot. He pretended that he was dead. Four of his family were killed."

So where is the outside world as Syria suffers yet another crushing blow from the mad man of Damascus? Where is Obama and the White House, with its professional mourners? Where are the big hearted Europeans when yet again more Syrian children are put against the wall and shot between the eyes?

It is clear now that the world has stopped paying any attention whatsoever to Syria's pain. Images of butchered children and blood splattered woman have left us callous. The sights of war torn cities and smoldering villages have left Europe numb to the suffering of Syria's vulnerable. Videos of bloodied bodies laying in the streets as rag tag soldiers tip toe between them has taken to its toll on American sensibilities. Yet despite all this... those we have turned our eyes away from still suffer regardless of who is watching.

This is not the time to turn our backs on the Syrian people. This is not the time to grow weary in the face of such despicable acts as these. We must once again raise our voices and clearly state our demands that the Western world act and act now to stop the killings in Syria. We must demand that our leaders take all necessary actions to put an end to the madness Assad has unleashed upon Syria's innocent civilians. And most of all, we must demand that those in the outside world who supported Assad be punished for their support of crimes against humanity.

Because when we fail to act...

.... this is what happens.

Peace be with you Syria

-
What a beautiful land you will be for our enemies...
(Part of The Darkness Visible post) 

When we think of Syria we do not usually take time to think about the roots of Christianity. Yet it was in Damascus that Saul became Paul. It was here in Syria that the world of Christianity ceased to focus on converted Jews and shifted to the rest of humanity. And in spite of all this the history of Christianity in Syria seems forgotten at best.

Just a century ago a fifth of Syria's population were Christian. Today only about five percent of Syria's population is Christian. And it is this tiny community that is falling into the darkest chapters of Syria's rebellion. Soon the history of Syria's Christians could be more than just forgotten.

Assad has been a cruel dictator. His ruthlessness has made him a villain in the eyes of the civilized world. His tactics have made him a war criminal. And his supporters are just as extreme as their opposition. Yet it is both the brutal regime and the rebels alike that are putting the squeeze on Syria's Christian community.

“The armed [rebels] in Syria [have] murdered more than 200 Christians in the city of Homs, including entire families with young children. These gangs kidnapped Christians and demanded high ransoms. In two cases, after the ransoms were paid, the men's bodies were found,” according to a priest in Homs.

It is clear to many outside of Syria that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is not as pure as some would make them out to be. There are extremist within the rebel movement that are attempting to spread the violence beyond politics and into the realm of genocide. And there are those in the FSA that have perverted the ideals of freedom with their radicalized versions of Islam itself.

As for Assad and his Alawite following, the killing of Christians and the destruction of Christian holly sites has been accepted since the beginning of the the uprising. Assad's loyalist have long been skeptical of the Christians and have often accused the Church of supporting "terrorism". These accusations have long been tucked beneath the socially acceptable charge of "Zionism" due to the belief that all Christians are sympathetic to Judaism and Israel.

For the Christians in Syria the lack of understanding and tolerance within the Muslim communities has simply reached its boiling point. The extremist on both sides of Syria's conflict are now armed with the tools to bring about their wicked goals. Unarmed communities like the Syrian Christians thus find themselves surrounded by snakes with no way to defend themselves. And that is where we find Syria's Church today.

Persecution for their beliefs has long been part of being a Christian in Syria. However in the past 17 months life has become almost unbearable as the fighting becomes more and more sectarian in nature. Entire families have been killed in many attacks while in some attacks entire congregations have been targeted. These brazen attempts at "cleansing" Syria of its Christian past point to a genocide the world dares to overlook. They also leave many asking if Christianity can survive within Syria?

Some within the Syrian Christian community have supported Assad in hopes of keeping the tyrant they currently have for not knowing what kind of monster might replace him. Others are supporting the rebellion in the belief, if hopeful at best, that democracy might actually be snagged from this brutal uprising. All are waiting to see if they will be able to weather this storm.

So as I have ended these post for weeks now I invite you to pray for Syria. Today I ask that you might pray for the Syrian Christians as they face one of the darkest chapters in their long and colorful past in Syria. May G-d show them mercy and guide them through this dark night. May their faith only be strengthened during this storm. And may we never forget their suffering... their contributions to Syrian culture... their dedication to their G-d even in the darkest hours.