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

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? 

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)

An Eye For An Eye

-
House to House Fighting in Aleppo

What would you do if you were told that somebody you knew had attacked and maybe even killed your family and friends? How would you feel if the person was free to do this sort of thing over and over again? And if you had the opportunity to kill this person would you?

For the Free Syrian Army this seems to have been the case when they captured a police station in Aleppo today. The rebel fighters were led to believe that the police they had taken prisoner as a result were shabiha. And that appears to be the reason these police officers were not just executed but beaten and publicly humiliated before being butchered.

Some believe that the police officers were taken to a near by school where they were gun down. The video shows the four officers being lined up and put on their knees. Then the rebels yell out "G-d is good" and commence to firing into the police. For about a 30 to 45 seconds the gunfire and screaming are all you can hear. The riddled bodies of the prisoners collapse under a hail of bullets. Then the video ends.

This is not a simple execution. This is retaliation. Reprisals for what the hated shabiha have done all across Syria. And yet nobody can confirm that these police officers were actually Assam's militia. No one can tell us for sure that these poor prisoners weren't just the target of the rebels' collective frustrations.

No matter what the case it is still wrong by our Western standards to savagely beat prisoners of war. It is blatantly wrong to execute them... let alone with a barrage of bullets that last long enough to kill the prisoners 10 times over.

Human rights groups that have had sympathy for the rebels' cause now find themselves squeamish when it comes to supporting a fight as brutal as that which Assad himself has fought. Of course it is hard to compare 4 prisoners to 20,000 plus casualties Assad's campaign has racked up. And nobody can say that this is on the same level as slaughtering innocent children to terrify their parents (Assad's favorite method of oppression). But none the less it is the first step toward a bitter end where both sides fight a war with the idea of "an eye for an eye... a tooth for a tooth".

Meanwhile Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary, has noted that Assad is absent from the fight.

"His recent remarks show him for the coward that he is," Jay Carney referencing Assad. "He hides out of sight, encouraging the heavily armed Syria military to continue slaughtering civilians in his name."

Other Western governments have been noticing the same thing as the White House this past week. The Arab League has decided to go to the UN and make an official call for Assad to step down. One can only assume that Assad's lack of courage to come out into the open has spurred this unprecedented course of action onward. After all, since a bomb attack killed four of Assad's top officials on July 18Th the cowardly leader has been missing in action. And it seems that even the Arab League's request may not bring him back out into the open.

So now the world will wait to see what comes of Aleppo.

While Assad's neighbors plead with the West to force him to step down the commercial hub of Syria burns. This decisive battle the West wants to see in Aleppo appears to be a fight that could last weeks. For the the countless number of civilians trapped in the cross fire this battle may end in a humanitarian disaster not seen since Srebrenica. And all we here on the other side of the world can do is wait, watch, and pray.