Syria : the path to world war

Syria takes center stage at UN news.yahoo.com... from the link, in part

Syria to cast shadow over U.N. meeting amid Iran hopes
Reuters Louis Charbonneau 1 hour ago
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a news conference in Andorra.
View gallery
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a news conference in Andorra, April 2, 2013. …

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A slew of international crises will take center stage this week as the U.N. General Assembly gathers in New York - Syria's bloody civil war, the possible appearance of Sudan's president despite an arrest warrant for alleged genocide, and outrage over a massive U.S. cyberspying program.

There are also some hopes for good news. Many of the 193 U.N. member states are looking for signs of a thaw in relations between arch-enemies Iran and the United States.

U.S. officials say a meeting is possible between President Barack Obama and Iran's newly elected centrist President Hassan Rouhani, and if it happens, it would be the first meeting of U.S. and Iranian government heads since before the 1979 revolution. That would mark a big change from the annual rants in recent years against Israel and the United States by Iran's former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the top agenda item will be Syria's 2-1/2-year civil war, which the United Nations says has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions, who have been forced to flee the country.

No one expects a breakthrough in the crisis this week, though there may be approval of a U.N. resolution backing a U.S.-Russian plan to rid Syria of chemical arms.

"Syria is the biggest peace, security and humanitarian challenge we face," Ban told reporters last week. "Let us be clear - the use of chemical weapons in Syria is only the tip of the iceberg."

"The suffering in Syria must end," he said.

no one can argue this "The suffering in Syria must end"

Obama give UN speech worldnews.nbcnews.com... from the link,in part

On the crisis in Syria, Obama called on the U.N. to pass a strong resolution to verify that Syrian leader Bashar Assad lives up to his commitment to get rid of his chemical weapons.
“If we cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the United Nations is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws,” he said. “On the other hand, if we succeed, it will send a powerful message that the use of chemical weapons has no place in the 21st century, and that this body means what it says.”

This will prove the UN is a failed entity

The president said that it was an “insult to human reason and the legitimacy of this institution” to suggest that anyone other than the forces of Assad used chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack in the Syrian civil war.
The United States says it has overwhelming evidence that loyalist forces sent sarin-gas rockets into a rebel neighborhood and killed 1,400 people, including civilians and more than 400 children.
Alluding to Americans’ disinclination to get involved in another Middle East conflict, Obama said that it would be a danger for the United States to “disengage, creating a vacuum of leadership that no other nation is ready to fill.”

No we just think for our selves and where is the Proof ?

“I believe that would be a mistake,” Obama said. “I believe America must remain engaged for our own security. I believe the world is better for it. Some may disagree, but I believe that America is exceptional — in part because we have shown a willingness, through the sacrifice of blood and treasure, to stand up not only for our own narrow self-interest, but for the interests of all.”

Now you say speak the Truth as to why you want us there, from the link

sacrifice of blood and treasure, to stand up not only for our own narrow self-interest, but for the interests of all

could that be forTPTB?

here is an UN update on Syria and the Chmical weapons
news.yahoo.com... from the link in part

Renewed push at U.N. for Syria resolution followed by peace talks
Reuters Steve Holland and Asma Alsharif 3 hours ago


By Steve Holland and Asma Alsharif

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama appealed to the United Nations on Tuesday to back tough consequences for Syria if it refuses to give up chemical weapons and urged Russia and Iran to end their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

At the same time, Obama said agreement on Syria's chemical weapons should energize a larger diplomatic effort to end 2-1/2 years of civil war - a sentiment that was echoed by the leaders of Turkey, Jordan and France, among others.

"I do not believe that military action - by those within Syria, or by external powers - can achieve a lasting peace," Obama told world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.

Obama stepped back from launching unilateral military action against Syria this month, setting in motion a diplomatic effort that led to Russian assistance in persuading Syria to agree to give up its chemical weapons after a poison gas attack on August 21 that U.S. officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

In a bid to ensure Syria fulfills its promise, Obama's challenge at the United Nations was to persuade world leaders to apply pressure on Damascus with a U.N. Security Council resolution that includes tough consequences should Assad not surrender his chemical weapons stockpiles in a verifiable way.

"The Syrian government took a first step by giving an accounting of its stockpiles. Now, there must be a strong Security Council resolution to verify that the Assad regime is keeping its commitments, and there must be consequences if they fail to do so," Obama said.

The worry from the U.S. side is that Russia might veto any resolution that contains even an implicit threat of military force against Syria. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday in an effort to agree on the wording of a resolution this week.

Negotiations on a draft in New York have come to a standstill while Russia and the United States struggle to reach an agreement that would be acceptable to both, diplomats say.

"We had a very constructive meeting," Kerry told reporters after meeting with Lavrov at the United Nations for about 90 minutes. "Very constructive."

Lavrov made no public comments after the meeting.

A senior U.S. official said the U.N. envoys for the two countries would now need to do more work on the draft resolution.

in other Syria news sana.sy... to many to list but one of importance from the link

Army inflicts heavy losses upon al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in many provinces

Provinces, (SANA) - The Syrian Arab Army on Tuesday continued its operations against the armed terrorist groups in many provinces, killing dozens of them and destroying their gatherings and dens...Read more

as if this was not going to happen

world powers get Syria Chemical weapones deal, China in play, so syas Kerry
worldnews.nbcnews.com... from the link

World powers reach deal on removal of Syrian chemical weapons, sources say

By Andrea Mitchell and Erin McClam, NBC News
World powers have reached a deal to compel Syria to hand over its chemical weapons — a resolution that includes enforcement language but is not explicit on military action, diplomatic sources told NBC News on Thursday.

The United States and Russia have been at odds on how to force the handover. Those two countries negotiated the deal, and France played a large role in helping come up with compromise language, the sources said.

The deal includes a resolution with so-called Chapter 7 authority, a reference to a United Nations provision that allows member countries to take military and nonmilitary action to confront threats to peace and security.

The U.S. and Russia reached agreement earlier this month on the outlines of a plan to rid Syria of chemical weapons. Syria satisfied the first part of the plan last week, when it gave the world a catalog of its weapons stockpile.

The agreement envisions the removal of chemical weapons from Syria by the middle of next year.


Secretary of State John Kerry met Thursday with Wang Yi, the foreign minister of China, and a senior State Department official later told reporters that China backed a “mandatory and binding U.N. Security Council resolution” enforcing the handover of the chemical weapons.
The official would not go into detail about China’s position on how such a resolution would be enforced.

So China played a big part in this and it will be a year from now, seems no war after all

and no the is no US air strikes or ground troops the real faces of the syrian war come into the light of day news.yahoo.com... from the link

Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Western hesitation to support moderate rebels in Syria has strengthened the hand of jihadists among them, giving an increasingly Islamist tint to the rebellion against Bashar al-Assad, rebels in Aleppo say.

They spoke about what led 13 rebel groups, including theirs, to join Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front Wednesday in rejecting the Western-backed National Coalition and its Syrian Military Council.

A joint statement said the Coalition "does not represent us, nor do we recognise it".

It also called on everyone fighting to topple the Syrian president to unite under a "clear Islamic context that... is based on sharia (Islamic law), making it the sole source of legislation".

That was an apparent reference to the jihadists' aspirations of creating an ultra-conservative Islamic state in Syria.

It has raised fears in the West about an increasing radicalisation of the rebellion and drew a sharp warning from Coalition chief Ahmad Jarba that extremists were trying to "steal our revolution".

The rebellion has always consisted of disparate groups, ranging from a handful of Western-style liberals to mostly moderate Muslims and, again, a small number of jihadists.

as if this not what it was or is all about , from the link if you missed it ...

It also called on everyone fighting to topple the Syrian president to unite under a "clear Islamic context that... is based on sharia (Islamic law), making it the sole source of legislation".

Syria's war a lost cause Assad to remain in power www.foxnews.com... from the link

Syria's Assad will remain in office: minister
Published October 01, 2013AFP
24e403287d70594ecacc505cfac3393bfaa5672a.jpg
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gives an interview with Venezuelan television station TeleSUR in Damascus, in a picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on September 25, 2013 (SANA/AFP/FILE)
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syria's President Bashar al-Assad will remain in office, and has the right to decide to run for reelection next year, Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said on Tuesday.

"Syria is staying put: the state, the nation, the people and the president. This is the Syrians' choice," Zohbi told journalists.

"All the people call for President Bashar al-Assad to be president of this state, whatever the opposition, the Americans and the traitors say," he added.

Conflict broke out in Syria 30 months ago after Assad's regime launched a crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests demanding political change.[/ex[ 100,000 lives lost for nothing

some might think this ia a good sign ..
worldnews.nbcnews.com... from the link

Disarmament experts arrive in Syria

Bilal Hussein / AP
A convoy of inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons prepares to cross into Syria at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa, eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on Oct. 1.

By Ryan Lucas, The Associated Press
Wading into the world spotlight, international inspectors arrived in Damascus on Tuesday to begin the monumental task of overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons in the middle of a civil war.

The inspectors from a Netherlands-based chemical weapons watchdog have around nine months to complete their mission that calls for finding, dismantling and eliminating President Bashar Assad's estimated 1,000-ton arsenal.
Their task has been endorsed by a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for Syria's chemical stockpile to be scrapped by mid-2014. The deadline is the tightest that the experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have ever faced.

An advance team of 19 inspectors and 14 U.N. staff members arrived in Damascus late Tuesday afternoon in a 19-vehicle convoy escorted from the Lebanese border by two Syrian Foreign Ministry representatives. The experts set up a logistics base for its immediate work, the U.N. said in a statement.
Experts at The Hague, where the OPCW is based, said Sunday the inspectors' priority is to reach the first milestone of helping Syria scrap its ability to manufacture chemical weapons by a Nov. 1 deadline, using every means possible.

The destruction mission could include smashing mixing equipment with sledgehammers, blowing up delivery missiles, driving tanks over empty shells or filling them with concrete, and running machines without lubricant so they seize up and become inoperable.

Some of the inspectors will be double-checking Syria's initial disclosure of what weapons and chemical precursors it has and where they are located. Others will begin planning the logistics for visits to every site where chemicals or weapons are reported to be stored.
Within a week, a second group of inspectors is scheduled to arrive and form teams that will fan out to individual locations.

the road is paved with good intentions, this can only lead to one thing ...boots on the ground

this might be the one to bring Turkey in news.yahoo.com... from the link

Syria jihadists 'advance toward Turkey border post'
Jihadist militants with the Al-Nusra Front patrol the Syrian village of Aziza, on April 4, 2013.
View gallery
.
AFP 1 hour ago

Beirut (AFP) - Hundreds of jihadist fighters from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have advanced in northern Syria towards a border post with Turkey, an NGO said Wednesday.

"Hundreds of ISIL fighters advanced overnight towards Bab al-Salameh, which is closed from the Turkish side," said Rami Abdul Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The advance comes after fighting between the group and the Northern Storm rebel brigade, which is part of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).

ISIL has seized the town of Azaz, which lies several kilometres (miles) from the border, as well as at least two villages nearby.

Unable to repel the jihadist group, Northern Storm forces pulled back as ISIL fighters moved into the area, Abdul Rahman said.

View gallery."Jihadist militants with the Al-Nusra Front patrol the …
Jihadist militants with the Al-Nusra Front patrol the Syrian village of Aziza, on April 4, 2013 (AFP …
ISIL fighters entered Azaz on September 18, sparking deadly fighting with FSA forces and prompting Turkey to close its side of the Bab al-Salameh border.

more on Turkey in a thread