This thread is for events and what is taking place inside Syria. Like the Concerning Iraq thread. It is a Continuation thread. Wherein those that do not want to put up a New thread over some event. Then they can place it in here so that we can keep up on as much of what is happening there. Here are some things that have taken place in the last couple of months. Syrian opposition to elect new president..... The Western-backed Syrian opposition group will begin a three-day meeting in Istanbul later Sunday to elect a new president and discuss the offensive by Islamic militants straddling Iraq and Syria, an official with the group said. Mustafa Osso said the Syrian National Coalition will pick a replacement for its current president, Ahmad al-Jarba, in a vote expected on Tuesday. He said the top two candidates for the job are senior coalition members Hadi Bahra and Muwaffaq Nairabiyeh, who belong to Jarba's Democratic bloc. Jarba, who was elected in July of last year has already served two six-month terms — the maximum period allowed by the coalition. A statement by the group said that in addition to a vote for a new president, the coalition will also elect three vice presidents, a secretary general and a political committee. The statement said the coalition will be "discussing the military changes in Syria and the region in general, and its impact on the course of revolution." Women members will also be pushing for a vote to institute a quota to ensure they make up 30 percent of the coalition members, said Mariam Jalabi, director of the group's New York and United Nations offices.....snip~ http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae...-ML-Syria/id-4ac133074db54e0388e2b8ab45241fd6 Yep believe it or not.....the MB backed Rebels will Elect a New President of Libya. Even though Assad still rules. Even while ISIL is taking control of what it can inside Syria. Of course this puts the MB backed rebels directly in opposition of the New Caliphate. To make matters worse.....they have lost their conflict with Assad. Yet BO is sending them some more aid. What say ye?
Also, ISIL has gone after the Kurds inside Syria. Islamic militants on offensive against Kurds..... Islamic militants using weapons they recently seized in neighboring Iraq intensified an offensive against Kurdish areas in northern Syria as they fight to expand the territory under their control, activists said. Islamic State fighters captured several Kurdish villages and killed dozens of fighters in the area this week, according to activists. Mustafa Osso, a Turkey-based Kurdish activist who has wide contacts in northern Syria, says the aim of the offensive is to take the entire Kobani area. Osso says those standing against the Islamic State group are mostly members of the People's Protection Units, the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party. "We have called for support from Kurds around the world," said Khalil, an official with the party. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, making up more than 10 percent of the country's prewar population of 23 million. They are centered in the impoverished northeastern province of Hassakeh, wedged between the borders of Turkey and Iraq.....snip~ http://news.yahoo.com/islamic-militants-offensive-against-kurds-140348894.html
This comes out of Syria moreso than Iraq. Terrorists Team Up in Syria to Build Next Generation of Bombs..... An alliance has been building inside war-ravaged Syria, with al Qaeda-linked terrorists there now working alongside hardened operatives from the prolific al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen to develop a new generation of bombs that could be smuggled aboard commercial planes, ABC News has learned. This potentially lethal partnership helps to explain why U.S. officials have so publicly expressed concern about thousands of Americans and other foreign fighters who joined terrorists in Syria, and it is at least part of what sparked a warning to airlines earlier this year to look out for explosives-laden toothpaste tubes, cosmetics and shoes. The U.S. government had obtained intelligence that associates of an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria – the Al Nusrah Front – and extreme elements of other radical groups were being joined by operatives from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based group behind the failed underwear bomb plot on Christmas Day 2009 and the plot a year later to take down cargo planes over the United States with explosives packed into printer cartridges. And the groups are jointly working to produce new and “creative” designs for nonmetallic explosives, leading U.S. analysts to believe that the group of radicals, who have worked with Al Nusrah Front, might be looking to target a U.S.- or European-bound plane, sources told ABC News.....snip~ https://gma.yahoo.com/terrorists-te...ombs-110406449--abc-news-topstories.html?vp=1
Obama to up support for Syrian rebels: White House..... A rebel fighter keeps watch over the Karm al-Jabal neighbourhood of Syria's northern city of Aleppo on May 25, 2014 Aboard Air Force One (United States) (AFP) - The White House said Wednesday it would be increasing support for the Syrian opposition, amid reports it is planning to begin training moderate rebels White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Air Force One that Washington would be "increasing support for the moderate opposition." Officially, US support for Syrian rebels has been limited to non-lethal aid amounting to $287 million, though the CIA reportedly participates in a secret program to train moderate rebels in Jordan. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Obama was ready to sign off on training missions for selected rebel groups, to counter the rising power of Al-Qaeda-linked extremists.....snip~ http://news.yahoo.com/obama-support-syrian-rebels-white-house-133911176.html
Btw.....that upping of the Aid was after BO issued an EO on May 7th 2014. President Obama extends national emergency with respect to the actions of Syria declared in Executive Order 13338..... On May 7, 2014 the SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House of Representatives the following message from the President of the United States; which was read and, together with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed: To The Congress of the United States: Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1622(d), provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency, unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to the actions of the Government of Syria declared in Executive Order 13338 of May 11, 2004–as modified in scope and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13399 of April 25, 2006, Executive Order 13460 of February 13, 2008, Executive Order 13572 of April 29, 2011, Executive Order 13573 of May 18, 2011, Executive Order 13582 of August 17, 2011, Executive Order 13606 of April 22, 2012, and Executive Order 13608 of May 1, 2012–is to continue in effect beyond May 11, 2014. The regime’s brutal war on the Syrian people, who have been calling for freedom and a representative government, endangers not only the Syrian people themselves, but could yield greater instability throughout the region. The Syrian regime’s actions and policies, including supporting terrorist organizations and impeding the Lebanese government’s ability to function effectively, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect the national emergency declared with respect to this threat and to maintain in force the sanctions to address this national emergency. The United States will consider changes in the composition, policies, and actions of the Government of Syria in determining whether to continue or terminate this national emergency in the future. Barack Obama. The White House, May 7, 2014. Source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov/.....snip~ http://groundreport.com/president-o...s-of-syria-declared-in-executive-order-13338/ Also this will have to do as a Start for whats been going on in and with Syria.....the Syrian Opposition or MB backed Rebels are buckling in the face of ISIL/ISIS. That's despite any aid given. Moreover the terrorists will just take from these Rebels. Just like Al Nusra does. So all of this is a waste of money.
