Arise Syria the great from your shackles..

Despite the lack of a military will  by  the World powers more help is needed to stop the mass and habitual killing of protesters.
Syria will no doubt implode from the inside if the economy continues to slide. As one diplomat put it "When they are no longer capable of paying the salaries of bureaucrats, the army, the police and their Alawite militia this crisis will balloon and bring about the collapse of the regime,this is a train wreck waiting to happen." Signs of stretched resources and fraying loyalties are already apparent so let us hope that Russian reticence to a meaningful United Nations resolution condemning the regime remains only as that and no financial assistance is afforded to it so it can continue the brutality so far displayed. Recent statements from Moscow are a little more reassuring however not enough.
By allowing the slaughter of his own people for the preservation of himself and his inner circle  has he lost any semblance of legitimacy and should be tried for crimes against humanity. This regime can not be part of a reform process with so much blood on it's hands.  Due to this lack of a military will  and the political get out of jail cards offered by the International  community and the World powers more help is needed to stop the mass killing of protesters.
For Syria's allies in Lebanon, the first step to support Damascus has already been taken. After months of delay, Prime Minister Najib Mikati formed a new Lebanese government  dominated by pro-Syrian parties, including Hezbollah.
That followed five months of political vacuum after Hezbollah and its allies toppled Western-backed Saad al-Hariri's coalition in a dispute over a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the killing in 2005 of statesman Rafik Hariri.
Hezbollah supported pro-democracy movements that toppled Western-backed leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, but officials say it will not stand idly by as international pressure mounts on Assad to yield to protesters. Hassan Nasrallah now sounded more like President Truman  who once famously said about the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza " he may be a bastard but he is our bastard" that he too did not care if Khamenei and Assad tortured and murdered their own people - so far as they kept him in business.
The fear for Israel is Asaad opens two fronts against Israel on the Golan and South Lebanon buying him more time to weave his deceit .
My gut feeling is despite international hesitation  there is growing real disassociation between his regional trading partners and military patrons.
Assad has become a liability to his partners and enemies and the extent of the evil his brother exhibited is an affront to humanity.
Aleppo rise up and make us proud, Damascus stand tall and show us the way don't lose thousands of yearsof noble history for four decades of misery. 

Syria responds

Yet again Syria has responded to anti government protests in the most brutal manner. Despite being given opportunity after opportunity to lead the reforms Bashar Al Asaad has chosen to take the path of repression.
Further sanctions by the European Union are more symbolic than effective and until his patrons in Russia apply more pressure this regime will continue to kill at will. Bashars regime no doubt will demand that Hizbollah open up a front with Israel and may even go as far as limited operations in the Golan to try to divert the momentum of anti government protesters and frighten an already tense region into believing that an all out war could ensue.
For a regime to encourage further misery for it's own preservation at the expense of it's citizens and regional neighbours is barbaric. 
Signs from Moscow earlier this week were a little more encouraging and may put further pressure on Asaad  if he thinks that Russia will find his replacement.
As the economy is getting shakier by the day the ability to continue to meet the salaries of the Army,bureaucrats  and regime loyalists becomes more difficult cracks will show.
The regime will crumble from within and if  the peoples of Aleppo and Damascus which so far have been relatively quite but have  shown signs of stirring, join the other anti regime protesters the regime is all but doomed and anything that Iran or Hizbollah could concoct would be futile.
Repression does not work and the Arab determination to be free from tyranny will not disappear. If Bashar and his bloodthirsty brother are not brought to account soon then more innocent lives will be sacrificed.

Thoughts at the end of the night.

Talking democracy.
I can't quite understand what people think democracy really  is. When Hamas won elections that did not meet western expectations suddenly they became pariahs. When the United Kingdom did not have a conclusive result you got a coalition of the sick effing the dead .Each culture in it's own way rebels against repression and in the transformation may become as repressive as it's predecessor. Change is inevitable, suffering optional .
Tonight I experienced a diversity of encounters all of them fascinating in their own way but also disturbing.
Disturbing in the fact that elitism, racism and ignorance were not only thriving but breeding as well. Now call me old fashioned but there were unwritten rules that were boundaries  for people to respect.
Today I for the first time felt shocked when comments like " I have black friends " ah " but Labradors don't count" were the mildest of offensive words that slipped off the tongues of supposedly intelligent people.
Once politics was discussed the conversations became even more animated . All is fair in love and war but unless economic considerations are accounted for then we are all going to be at each others neck. Life really is too short, let us try to achieve happiness which is a journey not a destination, otherwise the hardships of life will make us bitter not better.
We are living in an age where past brutal behaviour is no longer acceptable. When change is inevitable lay back and enjoy it and one should always remember that the universe has a way of correcting itself.
For me democracy is the right to self determination, the knowledge that one can criticise their leaders without fear of repercussion , the right to economic and political freedom without interference or intimidation.  Where meritocracy is acknowledged and mediocrity catered for. No one is intimidated or revered but all are appreciated for their part in the mechanics that make us live and thrive whether we are soldiers sailors tinkers or  tailors rich men or  poor men  beggars or thieves .
That is what is to be free to live in a multi plural environment that we can thrive in not just live.

From Spring to Summer

As the Western hemisphere officially celebrates the the first day of summer Syria braces itself for what could be a decisive and bloody Friday . The Arab spring is now the Arab Summer.
After a  weak speech  by Bashar Al Asaad that signaled that the regime was unable and unwilling to reform despite international calls for him to implement change and caused thousands to pour onto the streets to show their disappointment, it has become self evident that his rule is in it's dying throes.
With the economy in shambles and the population no longer appeased by his vague references for a national dialogue and blaming saboteurs,foreign conspirators and germs as the cause of the Syrians people's desire for freedom after more than four decades of autocratic rule, it is time for more pressure to be applied by the international community.
Despite the lack of a military will  by  the World powers more help is needed to stop the mass and habitual killing of protesters.
Syria will no doubt implode from the inside if the economy continues to slide. As one diplomat put it "When they are no longer capable of paying the salaries of bureaucrats, the army, the police and their Alawite militia this crisis will balloon and bring about the collapse of the regime,this is a train wreck waiting to happen." Signs of stretched resources and fraying loyalties are already apparent so let us hope that Russian reticence to a meaningful United Nations resolution condemning the regime remains only as that and no financial assistance is afforded to it so it can continue the brutality so far displayed.
By allowing the slaughter of his own people for the preservation of himself and his inner circle  has he lost any semblance of legitimacy and should be tried for crimes against humanity. This regime can not be part of a reform process with so much blood on it's hands.

The silence of the lambs

In only his third address since the uprising began in March, Bashar Al Assad managed to talk without saying anything of significance. Blaming the current unrest on conspirators he looked confused as he waffled on to a handpicked audience.
The International Community 's reticence about regime change given the fiasco in Libya has meant that the embattled President will continue to slaughter his civilians with impunity.Whilst there are calls for Turkey to apply more regional pressure the Russian resistance for any meaningful United Nations resolution in effect gives this homicidal regime a carte blanch for mass murder.
Instead of using this opportunity for significant reform and to curtail his psychopathic brother Maher's growing blood lust, the Good Doctor like many dictators have done lays the blame squarely on others. With a pro Assad government in Lebanon he might buy himself a little more time but that is all.
This regime has proved itself to be past its sell by date. His legitimacy has expired. Let us hope that internal squabbles in Moscow do not continue to hamper efforts to properly sanction the crimes this regime perpetuates on a daily basis against it's citizens and that the Lebanese do the right thing instead of being a pawn in this megalomaniacs arsenal.
This is the real silence of the lambs.

Russia Syria and Iran

A tragedy of significant proportions is unfolding before our eyes in the continuation of the monstrous  crimes against humanity being committed by the Assad regime. As Russia's last important sphere of influence in the Arab Middle East, Moscow is hampering any  significant action by the United Nations security council critical of Syria.
With growing signs of defection amongst the Army not wishing to shoot its civilians Bashars  bloodthirsty and homicidal brother Maher who heads up both the Republican Guard and the 4th Army Division, of whom the 120  soldiers who were killed defected from, has relied on Iranian mercenaries to continue the slaughter.
Reports from Syrians fleeing to Turkey confirm their presence.
This regime will never reform and will always use torture and slaughter as a mainstay of their power.
The Russians have a huge role to play if they don't want Syria out of it's orbit. The killings can not continue and those  responsible for the barbaric genocides including but not limited to Bashar , Maher and their brother in law  General Assef Shawqat have to be tried at the Hague.
The International Community have to find a reforming successor quick and if Russia want to remain influential and have a possibility of a Mediterranean naval base and a good geopolitical ally they should pave the way.
With Moscow having a good working relationship with Tehran , Farsi mercenaries are not the answer and Moscow must make it clear to the Iranians.
Russia has found Iran a useful ally in a host of political hot spots. In Chechnya, despite the use by the Chechen rebels of Islamic themes in their conflict with Russia, Iran kept a very low profile. In Tajikistan, Iran helped Russia achieve a political settlement, albeit a shaky one. In Afghanistan, Russia and Iran stood together against Taliban efforts to seize control over the country. They work together in relation to Azerbaijan, which neither Iran (with a sizable Azeri population) nor Russia wishes to see emerge as a significant power. In particular, the two states have worked to limit the development of Caspian Sea-area hydrocarbons by Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Turkmenistan. In addition, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expands eastward and Turkish influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia increases, many Russian nationalists see close Russian-Iranian relations as a counterbalance.Syria has to be saved from this blood thirsty regime.
So they should find an alternative  leader who will remain sympathetic to their empire mentality and desires but acknowledges the Syrians aspirations to be free from tyranny and fear and the right to choose their destiny.
Otherwise they will lose any remaining credibility in the geopolitical outcome and become irrelevant as Asaad will no longer be tolerated by the world at large. 

Change or be changed.

As Britain and France push for a United Nations resolution condemning Syria that is acceptable to Russia more troops and tanks are gathering around the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour, near the Turkish border.
Led by the Good Doctor's  feared evil and cruel brother Maher " the Butcher "another massacre is in the making as the one hundred and twenty soldiers that were killed recently were most probably executed for refusing to fire on civilians. This could show signs that the edifice of Bashar 's regime is finally crumbling if dissension in the Army becomes widespread. 
If the Army is prepared to side with the people as they did in Egypt we could see rapid regime change.
Eager to blame everything on armed gangs and Al Qaida the Syrian regime has tried to depict them as "trained to use weapons, commit massacres, mutilate bodies and steal military uniforms and equipment, but are also trained to participate in the media misdirection against Syria, making the satellite channels that broadcast such videos accomplices in the crimes and massacres committed by armed terrorist groups against civilians, policemen and security and army personnel".
Joshua Landis - a US Syrian-watcher who tends to be sympathetic towards  The regime  told the New York Times "Bashar al-Assad has modern tanks and helicopters, a well-trained army, and lots of firepower. The opposition has Facebook."
However as more  Army and Security personnel defect to the side of decency it will only be a matter of time before regime change takes place.
Massacres as in the past are no longer acceptable and the Hague awaits this evil regime for the crimes against humanity that they have perpetuated and in the words of that other war criminal Tony Blair "change or be changed ". A warning to all dictators in the region I think.