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Tag: Syrian Civil War

  • Jesus Statue in Syria: Large Statue is Erected During Civil War

    The Syrian Civil War has been going on for more than two and a half years, but both sides agreed to halt fire for three days to allow a giant statue of Jesus to be erected on a mountainside. It took the statue, which stands at 105 feet including the base, eight years to get to its current location of Mount Sednaya.

    The Jesus statue is made out of bronze and depicts Jesus with his arms raised up over the Syrian mountainside. The statue reportedly overlooks a route pilgrims took when traveling from Constantinople to Jerusalem. The statue itself measures in at 40 feet and the base it stands on is 65 feet, which brings the total height of the project to 105 feet, making it one of the taller Christ statues in the world.

    The Jesus statue project, called “I Have Come to Save the World,” is run by the St. Paul and St. George Foundation, which is based out of London. The statue was inspired by Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue, which stands at 130 feet including the pedestal. The foundation director and organizer of the project, Samir al-Ghadban, said that work on the project began back in 2005.

    While many people would have been ready to throw in the towel with all of the setbacks his group faced, Al-Ghadban pressed on, as he believed the statue would eventually serve as inspiration to Syrian Christians. Now that the statue is up, Al-Ghadban says the time and work invested in the project are all worth it because “Jesus would have done it.”

    Now that the statue is up, many wonder just how long the statue will remain standing. As Christians and other minorities are targets in the Syrian conflict, the safety of the statue is a concern. It doesn’t help that the Jesus statue is also near villages that have fighters linked to al-Qaida.

    [Image via Twitter]

  • Al-Qaeda, Free Syrian Army Stop Fighting in Azaz

    The BBC reported this morning that fighting between some of the rebel groups has come to a grinding halt in the town of Azaz.

    Militants linked to al-Qaeda and fighting under the banner of “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) attacked the town earlier this week, wresting the town from Free Syrian Rebels backed by the western world.

    Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, is continuing to try diplomatic mediation between the clashing factions in Damascus. Russian and U.S. officials have completely different opinions regarding the handling of chemical weapons evidence; where John Kerry is convinced by a UN report that the Syrian government forces backed by Assad are responsible for the weapons, Moscow is backing Damascus when it claims that Syrian rebels were responsible.

    The US has insisted on an addition to a UN resolution that would threaten military force in the event the Syrian government refused to comply with demands to turn over the weapons, but Russia objects to the mention of it, let alone adding it to the resolution.

    Paul Wood, the BBC’s foreign reporter on the Turkey-Syria border, said of the Azaz truce that “In the short term, if the rebels are fighting each other, they are not fighting the regime. But in the long term, the US and other Western governments might be more willing to support the FSA if they see real distance between it and the jihadis.”

    Meanwhile, the Guardian reported yesterday that Bashar al-Assad’s government will be seeking a ceasefire in Geneva regarding the future of his state’s existence.

    Qadri Jamil, Syria’s deputy prime minister, told the Guardian in an interview that “Neither the armed opposition nor the regime is capable of defeating the other side… This zero balance of forces will not change for a while.” He added that over 100,000 have perished in the fighting, and that the Syrian economy had lost $100 billion due to loss of production during wartime.

    Syrian rebels are hardly interested in any kind of ceasefire or truce that does not involve dethroning Assad, as evidenced by their repeated refusal to go to peace talks in Geneva unless Assad resigns first.

    If you want to see an interview about the civil war with some Syrian Christians who were interviewed by the AFP, you can watch this video:

    [Image via this YouTube footage of Syrian rebels fighting, posted this month]

  • Charlie Rose: Assad denies gas attack, is CIA lying?

    Charlie Rose: Assad denies gas attack, is CIA lying?

    Did Bashar Al-Assad use lethal gas to kill his own people? In an exclusive interview with Charlie Rose to be aired Monday night on PBS, Assad has emphatically denied that he had anything to do with the alleged chemical weapons attack that took place during August 2013.

    A teaser to the interview was played on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday morning followed by a tweet from the Charlie Rose Show

    It would be the height of naivete to believe a dictator’s assertions on their face value, but if the Iraq debacle has any lessons for America, then we cannot be so naive as to trust any “intelligence” coming out of Washington DC either.

    Unless you suffer from dementia, you would remember how we were fed the never ending stream of lies by mainstream media prior to the invasion of Iraq that cost us over 10,000 American lives, over 675,000 disability cases, and several trillions in treasure.

    As the famous middle-American saying goes, Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!

    Despite massive problems at home, President Barack Obama wants Pentagon to launch military strikes against Syria — and expects US Congress to rubber stamp authorize them first.

    If the war in Syria spreads all the way to Iran, will the American and European economies be able to withstand a sudden and massive blockade across the Gulf of Hormuz, without creating a cataclysmic oil and currency crisis? Why are there no protests outside White House and Capitol Hill with the same strength and ferocity as they were during Bush’s catastrophic Iraq and Afghanistan wars to stop this madness?

    Poll after poll shows overwhelming American public reluctance to sink deeper and deeper into yet another West-Asian conflict. Pro-war Senators are being rebuked in no uncertain terms at town-hall meetings.

    Outside Washington DC, the middle-class wages, jobs and living standards have remained where they were during 1970s. But inside the beltway, there appears to be a bi-partisan effort in favor of deeper involvement in Syria.

    Many members of Congress are tempted to seek juicy careers as multi-million dollar paid lobbyists for the finance-media-military complex which makes them extremely prone to vote “yes” for more wars and intervention. Still others could have “skeletons in the closet” as far as their personal lives are concerned, so for fear of unsavory revelations, they are susceptible to making choices in their own self-interest rather than public interest.

    Whatever opposition there is to these seemingly endless wars is coming from the far-right wing of the GOP led by Rand Paul, the high profile but powerless Senator from Kentucky.

    So is the tide of public opinion enough to force a “no” vote out of Congress on Syria? We are about to find that out this week.

    [image via wikipedia]

  • Sarin Found in Syria Clothing Samples, Says Cameron

    As the U.S. Congress debates the merits of bombing Syria, the British Prime Minister is also pushing the case for intervention in the Syrian Civil War. Speaking at the G20 summit today in Saint Petersburg, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron asserted that new tests have turned up positive for sarin gas in Syria.

    According to The Gurardian, Cameron stated that the new tests confirm sarin was part of an attack in eastern Damascus back in late August. The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to deride the House of Commons, insinuating that Labor Party members chose to play politics instead of choosing what he called the “right” path. Cameron’s motion to involve the British military in a response to chemical weapon use in Syria was rejected by the House of Commons one week ago.

    Sarin has been classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction. The chemical is a nerve agent that can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin, acting as a sort of pesticide for humans. It causes complete loss of muscle control, including those used to breathe.

    One of the issues at hand is whether the Syrian government, rebel forces, or both have used Sarin as a chemical weapon. According to the Guardian report, Cameron stated that he is “confident” that the Assad regime is behind the chemical attacks. This sentiment is rejected by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who maintains that Syrian rebel forces could have also been behind Sarin attacks. Russia, a member of the U.N. Security Council, is a close ally to the Assad regime.

    This is not the first time positive tests for Sarin gas have come out of Syria. As far back as early June, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced that sarin gas had been detected in urine and blood samples smuggled out of Syria by French journalists.

    (Image courtesy Harry Metcalfe via Wikimedia Commons)

    (via The Guardian)

  • John Boehner backs Obama for Military Action in Syria

    Despite many constituents strongly disagreeing, John Boehner has verbally backed Obama after he called for American military action in Syria after learning Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, possible use of chemical weapons in the country’s civil war.

    “I’m going to support the president’s call for action. I believe my colleagues should support this call for action,” Boehner said. “We have enemies around the world that need to understand that we’re not going to tolerate this type of behavior.”

    “The use of these weapons has to be responded to and only the United States has the capability and capacity to stop Assad and to warn others around the world that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated,” said Boehner after meeting with Obama. “I appreciate the president reaching out to me and my colleagues in the Congress over the last couple of weeks. I also appreciate the president asking the Congress to support him in this action. This is something that the United States as a country needs to do. I’m going to support the president’s call for action. I believe my colleagues should support this call for action. We have enemies around the world that need to understand that we’re not going to tolerate this type of behavior.[emphasis me] We also have allies around the world and allies in the region who also need to know that America will be there and stand up whether it is necessary.”

    Other conservatives, among others, are urging support for military action including Nancy Pelosi and Eric Cantor.

    Pelosi sent a letter to her colleagues Tuesday urging support for military action saying, “It is in our national interest to respond to the Syrian government’s unspeakable use of chemical weapons.”

    President Barack Obama was confident that Congress would pass a resolution. Obama said, “So long as we are accomplishing what needs to be accomplished, which is to send a clear message to Assad, to degrade his capabilities to use chemical weapons, not just now but also in the future.”

    After congress returns from summer recess next week, the house and senate will be expected to vote on whether or not they will also be in agreement with Boehner, Pelosi and Cantor, in their task to seek approval of the military action.

    Main Article Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

  • France: Sarin Gas Attacks Confirmed in Syria

    French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius this week confirmed that the nerve gas sarin has been used during the ongoing Syrian civil war.

    According to a Guardian report, both the British and French governments claim to have found evidence for sarin in urine and blood samples smuggled out of Syria by French journalists. Fabius stated that the French government has provided its findings to a UN investigation into chemical weapon use in Syria. Though it is still unclear whether the Syrian government or rebels used Sarin gas first, Fabius stated that there is now some proof that it has been used by the Syrian government. He said that France would be talking with the U.S. and U.K. about possible reactions to the news.

    Sarin is a nerve agent that has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN. As a chemical weapon, sarin can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin. Contact with the gas can cause loss of muscle control, including the muscles involved in breathing, leading to asphyxiation.

    Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011, when government forces began firing on “Arab Spring” protesters. The protesters soon organized into armed militias, and a sporadic war has continued to be waged across the country. The UN estimates that around 80,000 Syrians have died during the civil war.

  • TV Correspondent Killed in Syrian Fighting

    With the fighting in Syria showing no signs of slowing, those covering the civil war are now finding themselves in more danger than ever. According to a report from the Associated Press, a Syrian TV correspondent was gunned down on Monday during fighting near the border of Lebanon and Syria.

    The Syrian government has reported that Yara Abbas, a correspondent for the Syrian government-owned Al-Ikhbariyah TV station, was killed by rebels near an air base in the Homs province. Two other station employees were also injured, a cameraman and an assistant.

    The incident reportedly took place near the town of Qusair, where heavy fighting between Syria’s government and rebels has taken place this month.

    The Syrian civil war grew out of protests that begain in 2011 during the so-called “Arab Spring.” Protesters in the country demanded the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, and the Syrian military was soon called in to end protests. After the military fired on protesters, opposition groups formed into armed militias, igniting a sporadic war with flash points occurring throughout the country. The United Nations has estimated that around 80,000 Syrians have died during the conflict.