Syria under Bashir Assad (closed end 2014)

**davidbfpo** · 09-24-2012

An intrepid reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad has written this article:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...rs-joining-war

Interesting to note the differences between the Jihadists and the Syrians, although that does not explain the Jihadist's attrition rate completly.

He also has a PBS documentary, this was on the PBS website, but didn't load in the UK and I accessed it via:http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/...-frontlin.html

There is a second historical documentary, which is good round-up too.

**davidbfpo** · 09-25-2012

Via Twitter a Swedish report on the Syrian Jihadist movement:http://www.ui.se/upl/files/76917.pdf

**davidbfpo** · 09-29-2012

A good, comprehensive analysis:

Turkey’s cooperation with the Gulf states, reportedly establishing a secret shared command centre in southern Turkey to coordinate rebel attacks, may be designed to contain the influence of others and control which groups get arms. But Turkey’s recent regional resurgence in the Middle East is at risk of drowning in the Syrian quagmire.

Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/christo...-syria-problem

**davidbfpo** · 10-01-2012

A different angle to the war in Syria, an account by an ITN reporter on meeting snipers and other fighters on the government's side in Homs - with additional commentary set in Damascus:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...s-in-Homs.html

I assume there was a TV film report, but nothing on ITN's website appears to match.

**Wyatt** · 10-02-2012

This week on Al Arabiya there has been some releases of documents claiming that the pilots of the turkish jet were executed and that several damascus car bombs were set off by the regime. There has been almost no discussion of this on other media outlets.

I have always considered Al arabiya the saudi counterpart to Al jazeera however with something of this magnitude, and its lack of concurrent coverage, it raises to question of false news.

I know that it has been criticized as the advocate of saudi foreign policy, but al jazeera has faced the same re qatar. Is al arabiya a credible foreign source?

**Surferbeetle** · 10-04-2012

Al Arabiya News English, http://english.alarabiya.net

Al Arabiya, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Arabiya

Iraqi Perceptions of the War, SWJ, http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=2791

Jordan Rises as Internet Hub While King Curbs Expression, By Stephanie Baker - Oct 1, 2012 2:01 PM MT, Bloomberg Markets Magazine, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...xpression.html

Before there was an Arab Spring, there was a quiet revolution of sorts brewing in Jordan.

The country experienced a tech boom that gained speed as young Arabs toppled regimes from Egypt to Tunisia and millions were driven online for the first time. Jordan now hosts about three-quarters of all Arabic content on the Internet, according to the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Can it last? Doubts grew in September when the Jordanian parliament passed a law curtailing freedom of expression on the Internet and giving the government broad powers to block websites it deems inappropriate.

On a scale of 1 (most free) to 7 (least free), Jordan scores 5.5, or “not free,” according to the Freedom in the World 2011 report published by Washington-based Freedom House.

**Tukhachevskii** · 10-13-2012

Tentative Jihad: Syria’s Fundamentalist Opposition

**Rex Brynen** · 10-14-2012

Originally Posted by Wyatt

This week on Al Arabiya there has been some releases of documents claiming that the pilots of the turkish jet were executed and that several damascus car bombs were set off by the regime. There has been almost no discussion of this on other media outlets.

I have always considered Al arabiya the saudi counterpart to Al jazeera however with something of this magnitude, and its lack of concurrent coverage, it raises to question of false news.

I know that it has been criticized as the advocate of saudi foreign policy, but al jazeera has faced the same re qatar. Is al arabiya a credible foreign source?

So far the documents look fake to me.