ANA: #Eastern Ghouta #Damascus #Syria: video that clearly shows when Syrian regime forces have been attacked by… http://fb.me/1GRRqPZv3
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It is interesting to note that behind the tank (either a T-62 or T-72) there is a rather improvised looking armoured car and a motley collection of other vehicles, accompanied by infantry. The whole thing is witness to the top-heavy nature of the regime’s forces – an impressive collection of heavy armour and weapons backed up by a very underdeveloped logistics and transport system – how often have we seen soldiers transported in buses, vans or open top trucks.
The whole thing gives the impression of a military purchasing policy designed to please militarily ignorant political leaders who take delight in owning and watching vast quantities of impressive fighting hardware without understanding that these need to be backed up by a well-developed transport & supply system.
This top-heaviness of the regime forces is undoubtedly proving a considerable weakness in the regime’s struggle against an opposition which has made the disruption of the regime’s supply lines through ambushes and IED attacks a major part of its strategy.
The impressive hardware requires a huge and efficient logistics network to supply & maintain it. As the opposition steps up its attacks on the regime’s supply lines weapons such as tanks will tend to become increasingly immobile and ineffective for lack of spare parts, fuel, ammunition and transporters. Troops will become increasingly pinned down in static positions because their transport vehicles are very vulnerable to attack.
The regime has increasingly had recourse to air-power, but helicopters and warplanes are fuel and maintenance hungry and if the logistics system is inadequate an increasing number will become grounded for longer and longer periods as they wait for repairs or fuel.
October 1, 2012 § Leave a Comment
by William A. Cook
[youtube http://youtu.be/PfoaLbbAix0?]
Clowns befuddle a crowd. They appear a pretense of the normal but caricatured to evoke laughter, surprise, at times derision, but always in context where they absorb self-deprecation, become the butt of jokes, become the audiences’ self, a make believe self, receiving the jibes, jests and buffoonery never allowed when alone. Thus do they become vessels of deep seated self- ridicule, inhibited expression, personal inadequacy, a self-conscious parody of the normal. They are used images, commodities to be bought and sold for the purchaser’s benefit, set amidst their fellows as manikins to be pinched and probed, facsimiles of all, but receivers of ridicule to protect their brethren.
Fighting rages on in Damascus, Aleppo
- Forces go door-to-door in Hama telling people to evacuate before demolition begins, residents say
- Bulldozers have razed 120 buildings and remain active in the area, a resident says
- The district, which once had 30,000 people, was a hotbed for “peaceful and militant” opposition
- The razings and intimidation of residents have “only fueled more anger,” the resident adds
(CNN) — Syrian security forces are overseeing the systematic displacement of thousands and then demolishing their neighborhood in the western flashpoint city of Hama, residents told CNN.
Tanks completely surround the Mesha Alarbaeen district in Hama — once home to about 30,000 mostly poor residents as well as the hub of opposition activity in the city — as bulldozers operate inside, tearing down homes.
“So far they have razed 120 buildings,” Osamah, a Hama resident who visited the neighborhood on Sunday, told CNN.
The neighborhood had been “the main gathering place” for those “peaceful and militant” who oppose President Bashar al-Assad’s government, according to Osamah.
That is until last June, when the security forces decided to enter the district and completely take it over, several activists said.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported a “massive presence of terrorist armed gangs that threaten” the people of Hama. Other SANA articles referenced how security forces had found large amounts of weapons in the area.
The government has consistently referred to anti-government forces as terrorists.
‘Friends of Syria’ meet in New York
“The security forces started using artillery fire to shell several positions in the neighborhood,” Abdallah — another resident — told CNN from Meshaa Alarbaeen.
“Some of the poorest people live here. The security forces targeted their homes indiscriminately. They really tried to make life impossible for the residents.”
A few weeks ago, security forces allowed bulldozers to enter the district.
Several amateur videos purportedly shot over the last two weeks support the activists’ claims. They show bulldozers flattening entire blocks while operating under the watchful eyes of security forces.
Eyewitnesses said security force members have been going building-to-building asking people to evacuate their homes.
“Most of the residents have left their homes. The majority of them went to neighboring areas in the province. Some are still sleeping in the streets, and only a few of them remain in their homes,” Abdallah said.
Another resident reached by phone Sunday said she’s been living on the street, along with her two kids, for five days after her husband was detained by authorities and her home was burned. She did not want to be named for safety reasons.
Some Shabiha — gangs loyal to the regime — resort to other extreme tactics to intimidate those who do not want to leave their homes.
“A few days ago, a regime loyalist gang stormed one of the activists’ homes and brought out his wife, undressed her and made her stand on tank as it drove through the neighborhood,” Khaled, an eyewitness told CNN.
Residents said the anti-government sentiment is only growing, even after the razing of homes and intimidation of residents.
“The government wants to deny the activists popular support through leveling Meshaa Alarbaeen,” Osamah said. “But this incident has only fueled more anger here.”
Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann courted controversy today by claiming that falafel and other “jihadi foods” should be banned from school lunches in the United States.
In an interview with local television station KSTP in Minneapolis, Bachmann explained that after visiting a local elementary school she was shocked to find that falafel – a fried vegetable patty popular in the Arab world – was being served as a option on the vegetarian menu.
Ostensibly in the studio to discuss her close race for reelection against Democratic challenger Jim Graves, Bachmann instead used the time to appeal for a nationwide movement against Arab cuisine.
Startled by the parochial nature of her statements, KSTP anchor Chris Johnson felt obliged to challenge her reasoning:
“I have to ask Ms. Bachmann, why is that a problem? I mean some children like the taste of falafel, what’s wrong with that?”
“Chris, falafel is a gateway food,” responded Bachmann, “It starts with falafel, then the kids move on to shawarma. After a while they say ‘hey this tastes good, I wonder what else comes from Arabia?’ ”
“Before you know it our children are listening to Muslim music, reading the Koran, and plotting attacks against the homeland.”
“We need to stop these terror cakes now, before they infiltrate any further.”
God Hates Chick Peas
Bachmann stopped short of advocating a ban on all Arab food, saying that “responsible adults can probably use Arab food safely in moderation.”
However, she made clear that she was frightened by the pace at which the cuisine has permeated the U.S.:
“I have a friend in Texas who has to homeschool her children because her local public school forces students to eat hummus. Its everywhere now. This is really scary stuff.”
Bachmann then intimated that the widespread use of Arab foods in American schools could be the sign of a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top:
“I have no proof that President Obama is forcing our children to eat Arab and Middle Eastern food. But it would certainly fit the pattern.”
Bachmann has a history of controversial statements regarding Islam and the role of Muslims in America.
She says her first priority upon returning to congress will be to introduce a bill protecting America’s children from the dangers of Muslim cooking:
“We must ban falafel and other jihadi foods in schools before its too late.”
Publiée le 2 juil. 2012 par HumanRightsWatch
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/03/syria-torture-centers-revealed Former detainees and defectors have identified the locations, agencies responsible, torture methods used, and, in many cases, the commanders in charge of 27 detention facilities run by Syrian intelligence agencies. The systematic patterns of ill-treatment and torture that Human Rights Watch documented clearly point to a state policy of torture and ill-treatment and therefore constitute a crime against humanity. Interactive Map: http://www.hrw.org/interactive-map-syria-torture-centers
