Bloody Sunday in Syria: At least 136 killed in military operations

[oberliner]

Source: Al Bawaba

At least 136 people were killed on Sunday, among them 100 in the city of Hama, when the Syrian military stormed several cities across the country, human rights activists said. Abdul Karim Rihawi, head of the Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights, said “100 civilians were shot dead Sunday in Hama by security forces.”

According to AFP, Rihawi added that “five people were shot dead by security forces in several neighborhoods of Homs, whose residents took to the streets in support of the city of Hama.” On his part, Ammar Qorabi, who heads the National Organization for Human Rights, said that elsewhere, "19 people were killed in Deir Ezzor in the east, six more died in Harak in the south and one in al-Bukamal," near the border with Iraq.


Read more: http://www.albawaba.com/main-headlines/bloody-sunday-syria-least-136-killed-military-operations-386242

[W T F]

1. So, Why aren't we intervening like we did in Libya?

[Kurska]

2. Do you want us to?

Because I'm nearly on the verge of advocating it at this point. This shit makes me physically ill.

[Cool Logic]

5. It's statements like that that make me wonder if raising the debt limit

is a good idea.

No Money = No War

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. ~ Thomas Jefferson

[JI7]

6. so what is happening in Syria wouldn't be happening if we didn't have any money ?

[Cool Logic]

7. I didn't say that at all...

However, at $569,000 a shot, we will not be launching very many of these if we don't have any money.

[Duende azul]

14. If you want to save civilians, why not start stopping the drone attacks in Pakistan?

The perpetrators are well known. You can find them at a place near you.

[ManiacJoe]

3. Are there any rebels in Syria to help like we are doing in Libya?

[awoke_in_2003]

8. who the hell cares...

we need to stop being the world's police- we cannot afford it, and our country is falling apart.

[oberliner]

10. There are

The question is - does the US want to get involved?

What are the pros and cons?

[Duende azul]

13. Wow, that sort of rebels?

[pinboy3niner]

20. There is an opposition

There have been mass protests throughout Syria.

But if Libya's opposition has been described as 'ragtag,' Syria's is even moreso at this point. And its military is more powerful. And the Arab League is not calling for UN intervention.

[BadtotheboneBob]

9. Because, if I remember correctly...

... The Arab League, or maybe it was the OIC, told 'The West' to 'Butt out'... In so many words.

[Stuart G]

4. It is Hungary 1956 all over again. Here is a link for info on Hungary 1956

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956

[oberliner]

11. How do you see this playing out?

Any thoughts or predictions?

[Stuart G]

12. Those against the government will continue to be hunted down.

Who is going to support the rebels?
How can we support them?
Like in Hungary, those for freedom have to wait.
No one knows how long.

[oberliner]

19. Very sad

Is there anything that can be done to avoid this fate?

[inwiththenew]

15. There is no way you are going to do anything meaningful without boots on the ground

It is becoming abundantly clear in Libya, once again, that air power alone will not carry the day.

Syria has roughly 4 times the population of Libya and no coherent rebel/anti-government force. I am not advocating this just merely pointing it out.

[BadtotheboneBob]

17. No US Boots!

As dire as this situation is, let the Arab League send their troops to handle it. The KSA, UAE and Oman certainly have the monetary means to fund Egyptian and Jordanian forces whom are the closest to the Syria... No US intervention!

[pinboy3niner]

21. In Libya, the "boots on the ground" are the rebels

Only the neocons want U.S. and NATO boots on the ground there.

For protesters, the situation in Syria is dire. But, unlike in Libya, the Arab League is not calling for U.N. intervention. And even if they did, there is no way that the U.N. or NATO will intervene--they're already stretched in Libya. Any intervention would have to come from the Arab League--but that's a real fat chance.

Without arms and support, the Syrian protesters don't have a chance against the powerful military there.

[PurityOfEssence]

16. Sad...if they only had some oil...

...and weren't so close to Israel...

[oberliner]

18. What would happen if they had oil and weren't so close to Israel?

You think the US would intervene against the government in that case?

[Turborama]

22. I just checked, earnings from oil/petroleum exports are amongst the major source of foreign exchange

Slightly out of date, maybe someone can find a more recent set of stats?

Economy (2010 projected)

GDP*: $59.4 billion.

Real growth rate*: 5.0%.

Per capita GDP*: $2,664.

Natural resources:

petroleum, phosphates, iron, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower.
Agriculture: Products--wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets, and other fruits and vegetables; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, and other dairy products. Arable land--33%.


Industry:

Types--petroleum, textiles, pharmaceuticals, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seed extraction, and car assembly.

Trade:

Exports (2008 est.)--$13.6 billion: crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat. Major markets (2007)--Italy 22%, France 11%, Saudi Arabia 10%, Iraq 5%, Egypt 4%, Jordan 4%.

Imports (2008 est.)--$17.2 billion f.o.b.: machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, and paper. Major suppliers (2007)--Russia 10%, China 8%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Ukraine 6%, South Korea 5%, Turkey 4%.

*according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm

Looks like Italy and France have the most economic weight behind them. If they wanted to they could threaten to pull the pin on 1/3 of Syria's exports.

Also, their imports above only add up to 39%. I wonder who they import the other 61% from...

[Turborama]

23. Syria: 100 die in (Hama) crackdown as Assad sends in his tanks

Activists describe massacre in central city of Hama after armoured units break through barricades to crush protests

Ian Black, Middle East editor and Nour Ali in Damascus
The Guardian, Monday August 1 2011

Syria's uprising faced one of its defining moments when President Bashar al-Assad followed in his father's footsteps and sent in tanks to crush protests in the central city of Hama, killing up to 100 people and triggering a new wave of international outrage.

The National Organisation for Human Rights said that in total 136 people had been killed in Hama and three other towns. Activists described a massacre after armoured units ended a month-long siege to smash through makeshift barricades around the city just after dawn on the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

International media are still largely banned from Syria but citizen journalists ensured that the scale and brutality of the crackdown was visible to the outside world. Video clips posed on YouTube showed unarmed civilians taking cover from shelling and heavy machine-gun fire as hospitals struggled to cope with 200 casualties by mid-morning.

Bodies lay scattered on the streets, residents reported. "They started shooting with heavy machine guns at civilians, at the young men protecting the barricades," Omar Habal, a local activist, told the Guardian.

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/31/syria-hama-crackdown-tanks-protests