McCain: Syrian rebels need heavy weapons

05-31-2013 • AP

Syrian rebels battling the forces of President Assad must receive ammunition and heavy weapons to counter the regime's tanks and aircraft or it will be impossible for them to prevail Sen. John McCain said.

Israel: Syria Missile Defense Acquisition a ‘Red Line’ for Military Action

05-30-2013 • antiwar

Meeting EU ambassadors, Israeli National Security Adviser declared the Syrian government’s imminent acquisition of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to be a “red line” that would obligate Israeli military action to prevent them becoming operational.

Israel Threatens To Attack Russian Missile Deliveries To Syria

05-29-2013 • Business Insider

Israel's defense chief said Tuesday a Russian plan to supply sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to Syria was a "threat" and signaled that Israel is prepared to use force to stop the delivery

Russia Sending Air Defense Missiles to Syria to Deter Foreign 'Hot Heads'

05-28-2013 • ABC News

The S-300, one of the world’s most advanced air defense systems, could make it harder for foreign forces to carry out airstrikes inside Syria, as Israel has done this year, or to impose a no-fly zone, as some members of Congress have called for.

E.U. to allow arms embargo for Syrian rebels to lapse

05-27-2013 • Washington Post

The Obama administration’s go-slow policy on Syria came under renewed pressure as European leaders opted to remove a legal hurdle that had blocked arms flows to rebel groups, while a top Republican critic swooped into Syria to dramatize

Getting Up-to-date on Syria

05-27-2013 • Lew Rockwell blog

A critical battle has occurred in recent days at al-Qusayr and is ongoing. This battle is described in detail: It says basically that the Assad (or government) forces have won much ground. Other reports suggest as much as 60-80% of the location.

Kerry: US, allies, ready to step up aid rebels

05-22-2013 • AP

The Foreign Relations Committee voted 15-3 to provide lethal assistance and military training to vetted rebel groups, and would slap sanctions on anyone — such as Iran or Russia — who sells oil or transfers arms to the Assad regime.

Spain backs sending defensive arms to Syria rebels

05-21-2013 • AP

Spain favors a partial lifting of sanctions against Syria that would allow the delivery of “defense material” to rebel groups to help protect the population, its foreign minister said Tuesday.

Syria Endgame Approaching Fast

05-21-2013 • http://www.counterpunch.org, by SHAMUS COOKE

The Fate of the Middle East in the Balance

The Terror Cartel Strikes in Idaho

05-20-2013 • http://lewrockwell.com, William Norman Grigg

During a May 15 visit to Stockholm, Secretary of State John Kerry warned Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad that if he doesn’t begin preparations to abdicate his office, "the opposition will be receiving additional support … and unfortunately the violence

Sectarianism in Iraq stoked by Syrian war

05-16-2013 • Washington Post

A recent tide of sectarian tensions that erupted into the worst violence seen in Iraq in five years is testing the government of Prime Minister al-Maliki, whose ability to contain the crisis could hinge on a conflict raging beyond his control in Syri

Syria Not Worth a Crisis With Russia

05-13-2013 • Lewrockwell.com

The vicious Syrian civil war has put the world’s two biggest nuclear powers on a collision course over a small Levantine nation of no strategic interest to Washington. This cannot be allowed to go on.

Syrian rebel bites heart of dead soldier: video

05-13-2013 • Reuters

A video of a Syrian rebel commander cutting the heart out of a soldier and biting into is emblematic of a civil war that has rapidly descended into sectarian hatred and revenge killings, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

Another Syrian Insurgent Provocation?

05-12-2013 • Lew Rockwell blog

2 powerful car bombs have gone off in a Turkish town. It is a dangerous turn of events particularly as Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has dug a deep hole for himself through support for the Syrian insurgents and as his strategy has collapsed,

Syrian Internet blackout enters second day

05-08-2013 • AFP

Syria’s Internet blackout entered into its second consecutive day, which the state news agency blamed on a fault in optical fiber cables. Landline phone services between Syrian provinces have also been down since Tuesday, SANA said.

Syria Traffic Goes “Dark” As Country Disappears From Internet

05-07-2013 • PrisonPlanet.com

While there have been no new military attacks on Syria since Sunday morning, something more peculiar happened in the past few hours, when according to Akamai and various other Internet traffic trackers

U.S. and Russia Plan Conference Aimed at Ending Syrian War

05-07-2013 • New York Times

Russia and the United States announced they would seek to convene an international conference aimed at ending the civil war in Syria, jointly intensifying their diplomatic pressure on the combatants to peacefully settle a conflict that