Syrian opposition: Bloodbath by government could be imminent in Homs

Syrian opposition: Bloodbath by government could be imminent in Homs

www.cnn.com

The Syrian government has warned protesters in the city of Homs that it has a 72-hour deadline to stop demonstrations, hand in weapons and surrender defecting military members -- or face bombardment, Lt. Col. Mohamed Hamdo of the opposition Free Syrian Army said Saturday.

The deadline would come Monday night.

The Syrian National Council, the country's leading opposition movement, had warned earlier of a potential bloodbath at the hands of the Syrian regime in Homs.

And Israeli President Shim

(visit the link for the full news article)

If Assad starts bombing the city of Homs, it will most likely lead to some type of foreign intervention. An aerial bombing campaign would give certain organizations good reason to implement a no fly zone like they did in Libya, which this article hints might happen.

I wonder if Russia and Iran still plan on standing by Syira amid all this international condemnation. Even Iran has spoken out against the violence in Syria.

It looks like things might get real ugly starting Monday night.

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


I think this is going to spiral into a war...

Syria has deployed tanks... Turkey has issued warnings and has deployed military units of there own near the border.

Out of this entire mess Turkey has been the wild card as of late. From NATO / ally of the west, to being cozy with Iran and Syria, to positioning themselves to be a power broker of sorts in the ME, to revoking Iransit right of air passage and threatening, essentially, and invasion / incursion of Syria to end the bloodshed.

This brings us back to the question from a few others threads.

Should a governments treatment of its people be included when it comes to intervention by foreign military? Should military force be used for strictly humanitarian events?

This could be it, this could be the straw that broke the camels back!! Everyone better watch this one like a hawk! I will be glued to the latest updates on this one. Lets hope they (the Syrian goverment ) see sense!

Libya 2.0 .

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


I would expect to hear of an imminent no fly zone over Syria because of this. Wait for Obama to make some huge announcement on par of "We got Osama" and expect the bombs to start dropping

reply to post by Xcathdra


I agree, this will most likely spiral into a war.

I'm still uncertain exactly how though because there are many possible options. I have always thought that Turkey would be used instead of NATO due to the Syrian dislike of the West.

It's still all up for grabs though, anything could happen. Russia has been quiet over the last week or two, I'm expecting them to come out with some type of announcement soon.

reply to post by Nomad451


I could see it happening as you mentioned. Obama is probably waiting for the right moment, it will probably be a press release. I believe the Osama announcement was on a Sunday night, perhaps our favorite Sunday night prime time show will be interrupted by White House special announcement (Okay I admit this is probably not likely but I was just naming some possibilities).

I have no doubt Syria will turn into a war-zone very soon and it will be the spark to ignite he whole region and get everyone involved.. As soon as the US hits Syria it'll be dominoes.

I don't really know what Obama will do or say to announce their "intervention" but I think it will be done in a press announcement of some form. Certainly possible by the weekend or next week

Originally posted by HeavierThanLight
This could be it, this could be the straw that broke the camels back!! Everyone better watch this one like a hawk! I will be glued to the latest updates on this one. Lets hope they (the Syrian goverment ) see sense!

Are these people freedom fighters or mercs? If they are just mercs for the most part doesn't slaughtering them make sense?--------------------------

reply to post by wonhunlo


From what I have looked into Syria appears to be full of mercenaries fighting under the disguise of "military defectors". Assad has every right to defend his country (I do acknowledge that he is a strict dictator and is known to use excessive force). If American veterans took up arms against the government on U.S. soil I'm guessing it would get bloody, I imagine foreign troops would be brought into the USA because I don't think American troops would fight their own people, that's just my take on it.

The media certainly has put a spin on the situation over there.

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed

I wonder if Russia and Iran still plan on standing by Syira amid all this international condemnation. Even Iran has spoken out against the violence in Syria.

Russia will not get directly involved, they will aid the Syrian regime and make sure that any US/NATO intervention is costly, protracted, and could lead to a broader confrontation, and ultimately war.

They just want to start the fire, and throw gasoline on it from a safe distance.

Meanwhile in Iran....

let the chinese, russians and india intervene for a change

I mean, they don't want to see people killed either, right ?

reply to post by syrinx high priest


I'm not completely sure, but I sense a bit of sarcasm.

China and India aren't the best of friends, and since China has publicly supported Pakistan as of recently I imagine India will do it's best to stay out of this one unless China or Pakistan mess with India.

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by wonhunlo

 

From what I have looked into Syria appears to be full of mercenaries fighting under the disguise of "military defectors". Assad has every right to defend his country (I do acknowledge that he is a strict dictator and is known to use excessive force). If American veterans took up arms against the government on U.S. soil I'm guessing it would get bloody, I imagine foreign troops would be brought into the USA because I don't think American troops would fight their own people, that's just my take on it.

The media certainly has put a spin on the situation over there.

Does it make sense to take sides like that?
Syria was cooperating with CIA tortures and has been a most repressive state with physical violence.
IMHO rebels in all countries are cruel to a similar extent as their oppressors, but there are notable statistical differences. In China, when the Maoists fought the Nationalists, one thing that was standing out in public opinion was that the Communists did not torture as many people as happily as either the Nationalists or the Japanese. Now sooner or later the Communists gained the sympathy of the simple masses.
Syria is by far not like prewar Lebanon.
Watch the example of Libya. Gaddafi could have stopped the whole thing if he is willing to transfer power to someone he can talk to. Instead he started bombing his own folks (well not his own tribe to be sure).
Then you can rightfully debate the Western Media trying to beat the drums of war everywhere and seek business.

Sources for how many mercenaries? Are some of them by any chance actual Syrians who just defected to Turkey (and thus count as Turkish mercenaries), or, let's say, or Mexican troops paraded by Blackwater? It would not be the same IMHO...

War is never just, never good. But I can understand a revolution in spirit. I was also surprised on how easily Libyan rebels acquired an important weapons caché the past summer. Either they were extremely lucky and smart, and possibly had some invaluable intel from the internal enemies of the Colonel hastily pulling out, or they were pruposely left behind by Gaddafi so that there would be a longer dragged out war where Westerners are scared off - or they were the work of Western intel. At any rate, if you were fighting a rebel army against a long-term tyrant you all fear and hate wouldn't you accept?

Hungary chased out the Soviet-installed leadership in 1956. We waited for a minimal help. Not much was coming - some food, documentation and places for refugees. No weapons, no intel, just empty promises. We were not happy. The bloodbath starting Nov 4 set back an entire generation. With a little help, we could have sustained the fight and in time a compromise would have been born. No world war, Hungary was not rich in oil.

Syria is next to Israel.
This would be more vicious house-to-house. Bombing will not help much.

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


The many possible options is what scares the hell out of me. I take solace when there is a clear picture both sides see. When you have a pool of gas and 15 different people surrounding the pool all pointing fingers and laying blame, all it will take is a spark from one to ignite the whole mess.

How I long for the days of the cold war....

reply to post by Xcathdra


It must be getting close to Monday night in Damascus. I wonder exactly what time the deadline ends?

Today could be an interesting day, as you said all it takes is one spark. I believe today has the potential to be that spark, I hope I'm wrong.

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

It must be getting close to Monday night in Damascus. I wonder exactly what time the deadline ends?

Today could be an interesting day, as you said all it takes is one spark. I believe today has the potential to be that spark, I hope I'm wrong.

edit on 12-12-2011 by Corruption Exposed because: (no reason given)

I just remembered some info I saw in another thread dealing with Iran. Media was reporting Israel was moving military units near the Syrian border with the explanation for the move centering around Iran and and their nuke program. Im wondering if that might have been just an excuse. As we saw with Libya, Tunisia and to a lesser extent Egypt, border crossing were closed down to prevent items coming into or going out of the affected region.

I thought I saw somewhere that Jordan had moved some military units in that direction as well due to the social unrest in Syria. Before quoting me on that let me see if I can find the source for it.

Im wondering, with everything going on in the ME, if something is gonna happen, but not in the ME. It seems all of our attention lately, from media to blogs to government to the UN

reply to post by Xcathdra


I'm curious to know what you mean by something happening someplace other than the ME. Did you mean that possibly something would happen in Europe or North America?

Soooooooo is there any new's on this..? I can't seem to find any updates online, and I'm currently at work. Thanks.