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Will War With Syria Cause The Price Of Oil To Explode Higher?
Are you ready to pay four, five or possibly even six dollars for a gallon of gasoline? War has consequences, and a conflict with Syria has the potential to escalate wildly out of control very rapidly. The Obama administration is pledging that the upcoming attack on Syria will be “brief and limited” and that the steady flow of oil out of the Middle East will not be interrupted. But what happens if Syria strikes back? What happens if Syrian missiles start raining down on Tel Aviv? What happens if Hezbollah or Iran starts attacking U.S. or Israeli targets? Unless Syria, Hezbollah and Iran all stand down and refuse to fight back, we could very easily be looking at a major Read more…
Russia warns US of ‘extremely dangerous’ fallout of strike on Syria
Lavrov made the remarks during Read more…
Iranian trucks carrying missile materials intercepted en route to Syria
Four trucks with Iranian license plates were intercepted by Turkish authorities two weeks ago at the Öncüpınar Border Gate in Kilis province, which lies to the north of Syria, a country to which Turkey has been blocking the delivery of arms shipments since pro-democracy protests turned bloody in the Arab country.
Although the contents of the trucks were not publicized by customs officials, Taraf stated that on Friday it obtained reports confirming the trucks’ dangerous load. According to the daily, one of the trucks was carrying four six-meter-long cylindrical tanks and heat-resistant materials, while the other three were carrying 66 tons of sodium sulfate, all of which were on Read more…
Syria-bound ship with arms changes course
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, Jan. 11 (UPI) — Cyprus allowed a Russian-owned ship suspected of carrying ammunition bound for Syria to leave port after agreeing to switch course, officials said Wednesday.
The St. Vincent-Grenadines-flagged ship Chariot was heading from St. Petersburg, Russia, to the Syrian port Latakia when it made an unscheduled docking at the Cypriot port Limassol Tuesday for refueling after bad weather, RIA Novosti reported.
The ship was allowed to return to sea Wednesday, but Cypriot officials gave no indication of its new destination.
“It has been decided the vessel will be released after the ship decided to change its destination and will not go to Syria,” Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said.
The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said the ship carried a “dangerous cargo,” but didn’t violate the European Union arms embargo on Syria.
Cypriot media said the Chariot, owned by the St. Petersburg firm Westberg Ltd., was carrying 35-60 tons of ammunition and explosives meant for the Syrian Defense Ministry.
Seized Iranian ammunition exploded in July near Cyprus’ biggest power station, killing 13 people, RIA Novosti said.
Israel says 10 killed on Golan, Syria inflated toll
The Israeli army on Monday said 10 people had been killed during Sunday’s “Naksa Day” protests along the Syrian ceasefire line, describing Damascus’s toll of 23 as “exaggerated.”
Troops in the Golan Heights remained on high alert after Sunday’s bloodshed in which Syrian state television said 23 people were killed and 350 wounded when Israeli troops shot at protesters marking the anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War.
But the Israeli military said it counted 10 protesters dead — none of whom was killed by Israeli fire.
“We are aware that around 10 of the casualties that the Syrians reported yesterday were killed by the fact that they used Molotov cocktails in the Quneitra area that hit some Syrian landmines,” Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovitz told AFP.
“I think there is solid ground to believe that (the Syrian figures) are exaggerated,” she said. “A big number of them died as a result of their own deeds.”
Asked whether any protesters were killed or wounded by Israeli fire, she was Read more…
UN Experts to Consider Proposal Condemning Syria
Photo: AFP An image taken from a video posted on YouTube, May 20, 2011, shows a Syrian soldier pointing his rifle and firing at anti-regime protesters during a demonstration in Hama, north of Damascus
U.N. Security Council experts are expected to discuss a draft resolution on Thursday that would condemn Syria for its crackdown on peaceful protesters.
The draft – put forth by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal – appeals for an immediate end to violence in Syria. It also condemns what the European sponsors call a “systematic violation of human rights” that includes killings, arbitrary detentions, disappearances and the torture of peaceful demonstrators.
Rights groups estimate that roughly 1,000 people have died since the government started a crackdown to stop protests against Read more…
Why the world is quiet as Syria crackdown continues
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, pictured here at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome Friday, also spoke in Italy about the US plan to keep pressure on Syria for political reforms.
The United States on Monday suggested it is using the current weak position of the Syrian government on the world stage to try to pressure it into dropping its support for Hezbollah, the extremist organization in Lebanon.
In an interview with the US-funded Radio Sawa, US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said the US is demanding from the Syrian government that it immediately cease its assistance to Hezbollah and treat Lebanon as a friendly and sovereign country.
Aside from that development, however, the US – like much of the international community – appears to have adopted a muted response to Syria in the wake of its continuing crackdown on dissidents.
Officially, the Obama administration says that unlike Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, President Bashar al-Assad still has time to reverse Read more…
Authorities gun down protesters in Syria and Yemen
Thousands of Syrians called for the ouster of President Assad, while Yemenis demanded their leader step down. In both countries, protesters were shot by security forces.Thousands of Syrian mourners chanted slogans calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad at the funeral of a soldier killed during a recent clash between demonstrators and government troops.
Eyewitnesses and activists said at least two people were shot dead during an anti-government protest in central Syria. The actions could not be independently confirmed, but witnesses said gunmen wearing black clothes opened fire on hundreds of people gathered in the town of Talbiseh, north of Read more…
Syria bars medical access for protesters: HRW
(Reuters) – Syrian security forces prevented wounded protesters reaching hospitals and stopped medical teams from treating them in two towns during last Friday’s demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
Pro-democracy protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s 11-year rule have been shaking the country, known for its heavy-handed security apparatus, for more than three weeks.
Protests after mass Friday prayers have generally been the largest because emergency law, in force since the Baath Party took power in 1963, bans any gatherings and demonstrations not sponsored by the state.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said 27 people were killed in the southern city of Deraa and one other in the Damascus suburb of Douma on Friday.
“To deprive wounded people of critical and perhaps life-saving medical treatment is both inhumane and illegal,” said Sarah Leah Witson, HRW’s Middle East director.
“Syria’s leaders talk about political reform, but they meet their people’s legitimate demands for reform with bullets.”
Based on witness accounts, HRW said security forces set up a roadblock near a bridge in Deraa to prevent protesters crossing to the other part of town.
One witness said about 50 soldiers were in front, surrounded by several thousand uniformed and civilian-clothed members of security services as well as snipers.
When protesters ignored the army’s warnings to stop, security forces fired with Kalashnikovs and snipers opened fire at the same time. Read more…
Syrian-bound Iranian plane forced to land in Turkey
(AFP)
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — An Iranian cargo plane en route to Syria has been forced to land in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakir airport for an inspection, security forces said on Sunday.
The plane, a civilian Ilyushin, landed on Saturday night on the orders of the Turkish authorities. Military fighter planes were on standby in case the plane refused to comply.
An inspection of the plane is on-going to check whether the aircraft has any illicit or military material on board, security sources added.
Turkish authorities forced another Syrian-bound Iranian plane to land in Diyarbakir on Wednesday last week.
After a search lasting several hours, the plane was found to be Read more…
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