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February 7th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, denounced international
condemnation of his country’s decision as “indecent and bordering on
hysterical”. But he announced that he would arrive in Damascus today
[tues] on a mission apparently designed to convince Mr Assad of the need for
some form of compromise.
Mr Hague revealed that Britain will work to create a “Friends of Syria”
international coalition, an initiative also backed by France and Germany.
“The aim of such a group will be to coordinate intensified diplomatic and
economic pressure on the regime, and to engage with Syrian opposition groups
committed to a democratic future for the country,” said Mr Hague.
The group will be similar to the “contact group” that coordinated
international opposition to Col Gaddafi’s regime but, facing repeated
questions on the issue, Mr Hague stressed that the Government was not aiding
the Free Syrian Army, the armed rebel group, or considering the creation of
a no-fly zone as was enforced in Libya.
“We are not contemplating arming anybody, and we have not been in contact
wit the Free Syrian Army,” he said.
President Barack Obama also stressed that the West was not ready to use force
again, while reiterating his call for Mr Assad to step down.
“It is very important for us to try to resolve this without recourse to
outside military intervention,” he told NBC. “And I think that’s
possible.”
However with Mr Assad intent on obliterating rebel areas and a high cost of
civilian lives, Western allies and the Arab League could soon feel obliged
to give greater consideration to providing material support to the FSA, a
group consisting of poorly equipped army defectors.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Conservative foreign secretary, became the
first prominent voice to call for assistance to be extended to armed rebels.
“We should be talking about logistical, communications, intelligence and
advice. It might not add up to a vast amount, but don’t underestimate the
impact on the morale of these extraordinarily courageous people in Syria,”
he told the Daily Telegraph.
European powers are already liaising regularly with civilian opposition groups
such as the Syrian National Council and have provided training on reporting
human rights abuses.
But arming the opposition is a task likely to fall first to Qatar, which
played a similar quiet but effective role with the Libyan opposition in
Benghazi. Sir Malcolm said it “would be no surprise if some of our
allies in the Arab world” were not already supplying or close to
supplying the FSA.
Mr Hague said the British embassy in Syria would be kept open for the time
being, as it provided a valuable source of information on the ground and a
useful channel to “impress on some members of the regime the gravity of
the situation”.
He said the location of the embassy made its security easier to enforce
compared to the American mission.
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