Bashar al-Assad

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Russian Arms Exporter: 'This Is Not a Threat, but ...'

The stuff we're selling to Syria works really well, he warns

(Newser) - It's Russia's turn in the war of words playing out over Moscow's role in supplying arms to Syria. In an interview with the New York Times , the man in charge of arms exports notes that Moscow has been sending missile-defense systems to Syria for some time, and...

UN Observers Abandon Syria Mission

They say it's become too dangerous

(Newser) - Another ominous development in Syria: UN observers called it quits today because of the rising violence. The Norwegian general in charge of the 300-person mission complained of a "lack of willingness" from both sides to stop fighting, reports the BBC . Gen. Robert Wood also noted a spike in violence...

Russia May Not Actually Be Sending New Copters to Syria

Officials say Clinton was likely referring to repaired helicopters

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton came out swinging against Russia Tuesday, accusing it of sending attack helicopters to the Syrian government , but US officials tell the New York Times the helicopters in question might not actually be new shipments. More likely, they are being returned to Syria after Syria sent them to Russia...

Cash-Strapped Syria Just Prints More

Move risks unleashing ravages of inflation

(Newser) - It's getting expensive for Bashar al-Assad to cling to power, so his regime is just printing new bank notes to ensure that Syria can pay salaries and other expenses, bankers tell Reuters, in a move that experts warn could lead to rampant inflation. Violence and sanctions have shrunk Syria'...

Clinton: Russia Sending Attack Helicopters to Syria

It's more bad news as situation deteriorates

(Newser) - Moscow apparently isn't just digging in its heels against international reproach of Syria. It's sending attack helicopters to Bashar al-Assad, says Hillary Clinton. The shipment is on its way and "will escalate the conflict quite dramatically," she said at a news conference, according to AP . Russia...

US Fears New Massacre in Syria
 US Fears New Massacre in Syria 
Jun 12, 2012 4:22 AM CDT

US Fears New Massacre in Syria

UN observers blocked from town of Haffa

(Newser) - The US and UN are warning that the Syrian government may be organizing another massacre, this time in the town of Haffa, where UN monitors have been impeded, reports the BBC . International envoy Kofi Annan says he is "gravely concerned" about the escalation of violence, and reports of mortar,...

Why Not Assassinate Bashar al-Assad?
 Why Not Assassinate 
 Bashar al-Assad? 
OPINION
Jun 11, 2012 1:24 PM CDT

Why Not Assassinate Bashar al-Assad?

Peter Beinart points out that it would fit with current US policy

(Newser) - Is there a logical reason the US hasn't assassinated Bashar al-Assad? It's a pretty unsavory idea, but "given how far we appear willing to go in prioritizing American security interests, it doesn't seem very radical," argues Peter Beinart of the Daily Beast . You might argue...

Syria Used Human Shields to Raid City: Activists

Damascus suburb of Douma reportedly site of 'raid-and-arrest spree'

(Newser) - Things are reportedly getting worse in Homs—and the towns of Al-Haffa and Rastan and the Damascus suburb of Douma aren't being spared, either, according to activists. A rundown of the latest from Syria:
  • The opposition reports that "civilians are being used as human shields to complete the
...

Sudan to Syria, Obama Protects &#39;Odious&#39; Regimes

 Sudan to Syria, 
 Obama Protects 
 'Odious' Regimes 
Nicholas Kristof
Jun 10, 2012 9:58 AM CDT

Sudan to Syria, Obama Protects 'Odious' Regimes

Kristof: US should be 'crystal clear about which side we're on'

(Newser) - In both Syria and Sudan, President Obama's "dithering" is "lame, ineffective, and contrary to American interests and values," writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times . Worse, by "taking prudence to the point of paralysis," he's protecting two of the most "odious"...

UN Monitors Shot At Trying to Probe Syria Massacre

Clinton, Cameron condemn killings

(Newser) - UN monitors came under small arms fire today while trying to reach the site of Syria's latest alleged massacre, Ban Ki-moon told the UN General Assembly today. Ban said he'd heard the news only "a few minutes ago," according to CNN, and denounced Bashar al-Assad as...

Walters Sorry for Trying to Score Job for Assad Aide

She tried to help Syrian leader's media adviser find job, university place

(Newser) - Barbara Walters has apologized for trying to find a job and a spot at an Ivy League university for one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's aides. Emails obtained by the Telegraph reveal that the veteran ABC journalist struck up an ill-advised friendship with Assad media adviser Sheherazed Jaafari as...

Opposition Reports New Massacre in Syria

Unconfirmed reports say more than 80 dead, including women and children

(Newser) - Syrian opposition leaders say pro-government forces are responsible for another massacre on the scale of the one in Houla . Early reports say about 80 people were killed today in Hama province, with about half of the victims women and children, according to the BBC and Reuters . As in Houla, witnesses...

Syria Kicks Out Diplomats
 Syria Kicks Out Diplomats 
Jun 5, 2012 7:48 AM CDT

Syria Kicks Out Diplomats

As Putin heads to China to discuss their partnership with Assad

(Newser) - Syria kicked out diplomats from 11 countries today, in response to those same 11 countries booting Syrian ambassadors in the wake of the Houla massacre. The ousted countries include the US, Britain, France, Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Canada, CNN reports, though the US ambassador had already...

80 Killed as Syria Rebels Dump Annan Plan

Peace plan looks 'essentially dead'

(Newser) - Syrian rebels killed 80 government soldiers this weekend, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today, after the regime ignored its Friday deadline to implement Kofi Annan's peace plan. A rebel spokesman told Reuters that they had "decided to end our commitment" to Annan's plan. "We...

Assad Warns: 'We Will Not Be Lenient'

Syrian President addresses parliament for 1st time since January

(Newser) - Under pressure from all sides, Bashar al-Assad spoke publicly for the first time since January today, and his message wasn't one of peace. The Syrian president warned that his country is facing a "real war," and said he will not be lenient with the terrorists he says...

Annan: Risk of 'All-Out Civil War' Growing in Syria

He says world needs action, not words, from Assad

(Newser) - Kofi Annan's plan may be Syria's last hope for peace, but Annan himself didn't sound too optimistic today. "The specter of all-out civil war, with a worrying sectarian dimension, grows by the day," the UN envoy told a meeting of the Arab League in Qatar....

Not So Fast on Syrian Intervention

 Not So Fast on 
 Syrian Intervention 
henry kissinger
Jun 2, 2012 8:43 AM CDT

Not So Fast on Syrian Intervention

We might cause more problems than we fix: Henry Kissinger

(Newser) - Henry Kissinger thinks the US and the world should slow down any movement toward military intervention in Syria. In a Washington Post essay, he raises a series of questions about this type of "humanitarian intervention," a doctrine he says has emerged in the wake of the Arab Spring...

UN Council Condemns 'Outrageous' Houla Massacre

Only Russia, China, and Cuba vote against it

(Newser) - The UN Human Rights Council sent Syria its harshest rebuke yet in an emergency meeting on the Houla massacre today, approving a resolution to condemn "in the strongest possible terms such an outrageous use of force against the civilian population." Almost the entire 47-nation council approved the US-...

Here's One Reason Russia Is Balking on Syria

Influential Russian Orthodox Church worries about nation's Christians: NYT

(Newser) - So why is Russia digging in so hard against UN action in Syria? The New York Times ' Ellen Barry provides an interesting look at one often overlooked factor: the powerful Russian Orthodox Church. Church leaders oppose action against Bashar al-Assad because they want to protect the nation's Christians,...

Clinton Calls Out Russia on Syria

'Their policy is going to help contribute to a civil war'

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton didn't mince words today when it came to Russia's persistent backing of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. The Russians "keep telling me they don't want to see a civil war," Clinton told youth leaders in Denmark today, according to Voice of America...

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