Syria

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Companion Posts:

• Report: Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the U.S. government
• The CIA’s Libya Rebels: The Same Terrorists who Killed US, NATO Troops in Iraq
• U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings
• Obama State Department Training Islamic Parties In Egypt For Upcoming Elections…
• Clinton: U.S. Will Work with Arab Spring’s Islamist Parties
• Muslim Brotherhood Takes Elections by Storm
• US-NATO Support "Al Qaeda in Libya"
• Libya: the West and al-Qaeda on the same side
• Libya: Al-Qaeda Flag Planted On Benghazi Courthouse…
• Desecrated: The Shocking Video Of Churchill's Desert Rats' Graves Being Smashed To Rubble... By The Libyans We Helped Liberate
• Graphic Video: Muslims Slaughter Convert to Christianity in Tunisia
• U.S. recognizes Muslim Brotherhood
• Clinton Admits We Are Now Reaching Out to the Muslim Brotherhood
• Is the Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrating the American Government?
• Obama Wants Billion-Dollar Egypt Bailout for the Muslim Brotherhood
• Obama’s Muslim Brotherhood Bailout Plan
• Obama proposes $800 million in aid for "Arab Spring"
• Obama Bypasses Congress, Gives $1.5 Billion to Muslim Brotherhood
• Officials from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood at White House
• Obama Administration admits to ‘hundreds’ of meetings with jihad-linked group
• Why Is Obama in Bed with the Muslim Brotherhood?
• Janet Napolitano Gives Top-Secret Security Clearance To Muslim Brotherhood
• State Dept Barred Customs Officials from Inspecting Muslim Brotherhood Delegation
• Obama’s Muslim Adviser Blocks His Meeting With Persecuted Maronite Christian Leader…
• Terrorist Hamas “Joining” The Muslim Brotherhood
• Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood Is Covertly Working With Marxists In Alleged Thirst for Islamist Power
• Syrian Christians Fear Genocide if al-Assad Falls to Muslim Extremists

The Obama Administration that hates war and ME intervention in places like Iraq and Afghanistan are now on a roll in places like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and working hard on Syria to topple dictators and install the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda.

Trading the dictator you know under the guise of democracy and bring in unknown Islamic Radicals creating more instability throughout the region.

The upcoming radicals are putting down the moderates Muslims while eradicating Jews and Christan from the regions they occupy.

This Administration is backing these leftist Islamic radicals throughout the ME.

When Iran had real marches by non-socialists in the streets wanting freedom from the Ayatollahs, this Administration did nothing to support them.

[American Patriot]

Ageusaf... I don't watch cable either. I have fox on at work, that's the only thing I get. But if you carefully look at the articles we've been posted almost NONE of them are through the big channels. A few are but very few.

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Putin on Syria: No state can decide another's government

Published: 20 June, 2012, 06:46



Russian President Vladimir Putin’s G20 statements about Syria's future seem to have made some world leaders rush to false conclusions. David Cameron claimed that Putin explicitly “does not want Assad remaining in charge in Syria.”

*British Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed that during the G20 summit, President Putin shifted his position and now wants President Bashar al-Assad out of power in Syria.

"There remain differences over sequencing and the shape of how the transition takes place, but it is welcome that President Putin has been explicit that he does not want Assad remaining in charge in Syria," Cameron told reporters at a news conference in the wake of the G20 summit in Mexico's Los Cabos.

"What we need next is an agreement on a transitional leadership which can move Syria to a democratic future that protects the rights of all its communities," Cameron added.

Cameron’s statement was refuted by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as “not corresponding to reality.”

During his speech, Putin clearly stated that no nation has a right to decide for another on “who should be brought to power and who should be ousted.”

Reiterating Russia’s firm position on Syria, Putin said that "it is important that after a regime change, if it happens, and it must happen only by constitutional means, peace comes to the country and bloodshed stops."

While many of the Syrian people indeed would like President Assad to go, "this is not the whole Syrian people," Putin said. All conflicting parties in Syria should cease violence and start negotiations “to agree in advance on how they will live together in a single country,” Putin added.

On Monday, on the sidelines of the summit, Putin had a very long meeting with US President Barack Obama. While the leaders did not come out with any groundbreaking statements, after two hours behind closed doors they managed to outline some common ground on the Syrian issue.

The presidents stated that they had agreed that they need to see a “cessation of the violence,” in Syria and that a “political process has to be created to prevent civil war.” There was no mention of any tougher sanctions on Syria or a reiteration of demands that Assad should step down at that point.

However, on Tuesday, the two states have divided in opinion once again.

Speaking at the summit, Obama clearly ruled out any possibility of Assad staying in power in Syria, as he has “lost all legitimacy” in Washington's view. Obama confirmed that despite the intensive talks, neither Russia nor China have agreed to any plan that includes the removal of Assad from power.

“It’s my personal belief, and I’ve shared this with them, is that I don’t see a scenario in which Assad stays and violence is reduced,” he said. “But I do think they recognize the grave dangers of all-out civil war."

[AGEUSAF]

Ageusaf... I don't watch cable either. I have fox on at work, that's the only thing I get. But if you carefully look at the articles we've been posted almost NONE of them are through the big channels. A few are but very few.

Well that was exactly my point. Tonight on the news wasn't a single mention of anything. You would swear that nothing was going on in the entire south west asian, middle east theater.

I am really wondering what the entire deal is at this point.

[American Patriot]

Well that was exactly my point. Tonight on the news wasn't a single mention of anything. You would swear that nothing was going on in the entire south west asian, middle east theater.

I am really wondering what the entire deal is at this point.

I think a lot of us are wondering about this, and how they determine what is "important news". For instance today they talked about some really inane shit on FNC, though they did cover the Holder hearings a lot.

They talked about some "traveler" that "patted down" a TSA agent. The rest of the story was that she (the traveler) walked over to the SUPERVISOR after she had been patted down and demonstrated exactly what had been done to her.

As it turns OUT, she was a TSA agent in the SAME AIRPORT and KNEW the PEOPLE and was bitching about the way she had been handled and showed the asshole supervisor and was then arrested....

for doing the exact same thing she'd had done to her.

They covered some shit about dogs. And some other idiotic crap as well.

But not a damned thing was mentioned that I heard about Asia.

[vector7]

CIA officers in Turkey vet Syrian Muslim Brotherhood Rebels for Receiving Arms

DEBKAfile June 21, 2012, 10:22 AM (GMT+02:00)

US media report CIA officers, in S. Turkey since April, are deciding which rebel groups will receive the heavy weapons - RPGs, ammunition and antitank arms - passed across the Turkish border by Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood and other intermediaries, and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This is Washington’s first admission of US intelligence involvement in the Syrian conflict and supply of US heavy weapons to Syrian rebels as far back as April.

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Russia slams Britain over Syria-bound ship

Published: 06.21.12, 18:35 / Israel News

Russia has harshly criticized Britain for pressuring a Russian-operated ship heading to Syria with a load of weapons to turn back, saying that Moscow won't abide by European Union sanctions on the Arab state.

Russia has continued to provide its longtime ally Syria with weapons and diplomatic support despite the Syrian regime's violent crackdown on a popular uprising that began in March 2011. (AP)

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Middle East File: Senator McCain calls for US-led military coalition to oust Assad; Washington, London influence UK company to terminate marine insurance on Russian ship transporting “refurbished” combat helicopters to Syria; Muslim Brotherhood wins presidential vote in Egypt

Leave a Comment Posted by periloustimes1 on June 19, 2012



- UPDATE 1: Syrian Air Force Pilot Defects, Lands MiG-21 Fighter Jet at King Hussein Air Base in Jordan (source)

- UPDATE 2: CIA Officers Stationed in Turkey Coordinating Flow of Arms to Syrian Rebels via Muslim Brotherhood, Weapons Financed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar (source)

- Rumors of War: Moscow Denies Report Russia, China, and Iran Planning Maneuver in Insurgency-Wracked Syria; Israeli Media: Russian Commandos Intend to Escort Assad to Safe Asylum

- Egyptian Crisis: Military Rulers Strip Presidential Post of Critical Powers, Postpone Announcement of Election Run-Off Results, Mubarak-Appointed Judges Dissolve Parliament; Angry Muslim Brotherhood Vows to Thwart Army Coup

Pictured above: Muslim Brotherhood supporters protest against Egypt’s military government in Cairo, on June 20, 2012.

On Monday, US Senator and past Republican presidential candidate John McCain called for the USA to lead a military coalition against Syria’s five-decade-old Arab Socialist Ba’ath regime and its leader, President Bashar al-Assad.

“The Syrian opposition needs to know that the United States stands with them and that we are willing to take risks to support them when they need it the most,” McCain, who is also the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think tank in Washington. “Inaction denies us the opportunity to have influence with forces in Syria who will one day inherit the country, ceding that to foreign states that may not always share our values.”

McCain described the Obama administration’s policy of demanding Assad’s resignation and banking on Russia’s support for a United Nations/Arab League-brokered peace plan as weak and ineffective. “To say they are leading from behind is too general,” he said. “That suggests they are leading. They are just behind. Russia is unlikely to ever support a policy of regime change in Syria.”

A US-led invasion of Syria is precisely the scenario feared and denounced by foes of the West such as Russian Communist Party boss Gennady Zyuganov.

Meanwhile, the British government effectively blocked a Russian cargo ship, MV Alaed, from transporting a shipment of “refurbished” attack helicopters from Kaliningrad to Syria’s port of Tartus, where Russia maintains a naval base. The British marine insurer Standard Club said it had withdrawn cover from all the ships owned by Femco, a Russian cargo line, including the MV Alaed. According to The Telegraph,Washington informed London, which notified the insurance company.

“We were made aware of the allegations that the Alaed was carrying munitions destined for Syria,” Standard Club said in a statement. “We have already informed the ship owner that their insurance cover ceased automatically in view of the nature of the voyage.”

The MV Alaed picked up its cargo of Mi-25 “Hind” helicopters and missiles from Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave, where they were sent earlier to the Kremlin-owned Mil Factory 150 for servicing and repairs. The “flying tanks,” as the Mi-25 is sometimes known, were originally sold to Damascus at the end of the Soviet era. The ship headed south through the North Sea towards the English Channel but, as the MV Alaed neared the Netherlands, Dutch authorities hailed the ship. The captain then made an abrupt turn, making a run for Scotland. With no insurance covering the ship, maritime security sources say the Russian ship may have to return to port.

Under sanctions announced last year, the European Union has banned not only exporting arms to Syria but also providing related services such as insurance. Undeterred by Assad’s brutal crackdown on the 15-month-old uprising in his country, Russia, states The Telegraph, intends to comply with the stipulations of a 2007 contract by which it will supply 20 MiG-29 M2 fighter aircraft to Syria.

As we previously blogged, USsatellite imagery has revealed that the Russian Navy is preparing two amphibious landing vessels, Nikolai Filchenkov and Caesar Kunikov, at the Crimean naval base ofSebastopol. A spokesman for the Russian General Staff quoted by the Interfax news agency said the ships would carry marines charged with protecting the security of Russian citizens in Syria and evacuating a part of the base in Tartus. Fully loaded, the two vessels can carry as many as 600 troops and 24 tanks.

Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta, citing anonymous military sources, suggested that the soldiers would be drawn from the elite Pskov airborne brigades and special forces units stationed in Chechnya. Voice of Israel, moreover, alleges that the Russian commandos intend to escort Assad to a safe asylum inRussia.

Anticipated differences over Syriaemerged at the G20 summit inMexico after US President Barack Obama told the presidents ofRussia andChina, Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao, that Assad could no longer remain in power after the massacres of a large number of civilians. In response, Putin reiteratedMoscow’s long-standing support forSyria: “We believe that nobody has the right to decide for other nations who should be in power and who should not.”

Although there are underground reports that the USA’s leftist president may be a carefully groomed “Soviet mole,” it should be noted that Obama delayed his congratulations to Putin after the ex-KGB officer’s March election, which sparked protests in Russian streets, then Putin appeared to snub Obama by skipping the G8 meeting at Camp David in May.

Elsewhere on the military front, Russia, which recently completed the Peace Mission 2012 war game with Chinaand other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tajikistan, denies that it is planning maneuvers in Syria. Earlier this week, Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV reported that Russia, China, and Iran, which holds observer status in the SCO, were planning joint exercises in the war-wrackedMiddle East country. The drills were apparently to consist of some 90,000 ground, naval and air forces, as well as 400 aircraft, 1,000 tanks, and Russian submarines, destroyers, and the Kremlin’s sole aircraft carrier.

“This is absurd,” scoffed Igor Dygalo, aide to the admiral of the Russian Navy. The report said that Egypthad allowed 12 Chinese warships to navigate through the Suez Canal with the intent of heading for Syria.

The political convulsions taking place in Syria are simply the latest manifestation of the Arab Spring, which began last year in Tunisia. In the following months, popular uprisings and/or civil wars toppled corrupt, long-ruling regimes in Egypt,Libya, and Yemen. This past weekend in Egypt, the second “domino” in the Arab Spring, voters cast ballots in the country’s first-ever free presidential election, even though the country still remains under military rule.

With several million votes still to be counted on Sunday, the state-run Al-Ahram news website showed Mohamed Morsi, who heads up the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, leading with about 5,648,000 votes compared with about 4,705,000 for opponent Ahmed Shafik, who served as Egypt’s last prime minister in the last days of President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade regime. The 84-year-old Mubarak, who was handed a life sentence for failing to stop the killing of 900 protesters last year, recently suffered a stroke and is comatose in a Cairo hospital, although not on life support.

Egypt has no constitution in place, though the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces promises to appoint a 100-person panel to draft such a document. Shortly before the presidential run-off vote, the military ordered the dissolution of the Egyptian parliament, where the Freedom and Justice Party won a majority of legislative seats. Mahmoud Ghozlan, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood’s political front, denounced the move as “unconstitutional” and insisted that parliamentary speaker Mohamed al-Katatni will convene legislators on June 19.

“This parliament was chosen by 30 million voters over a period of three months, and the legislative power was handed to (lawmakers) chosen by the people,” Ghozlan said defiantly. “It is unconstitutional to dissolve it.”

According to a report from Al-Ahram, Hussein Ibrahim, a Brotherhood member and majority leader in parliament, denies that the national legislature has been dissolved. Still, Ibrahim vowed that the Brotherhood will not “give in to a coup d’etat. While casting his vote in the historic port city of Alexandria, he pointed out that Egypt’s military rulers must respect a March 30 constitutional declaration that gives only “the people” the authority to dissolve parliament.

As of Sunday, 40% of Egypt’s 50 million eligible voters had cast ballots, according to Farouk Sultan, head of Egypt’s Supreme Presidential Election Commission. In the first round of voting last month, 46% of voters participated.

[American Patriot]

I wondered when the Russians were going to start whining about Britain.

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Russia confirms Syria-bound ship carried helicopters

Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:48 p.m. CDT
By Thomas Grove and Steve Gutterman

MOSCOW/ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Russia acknowledged on Thursday that it was trying to send repaired combat helicopters to Syria and said it would continue to carry out arms contracts with President Bashar al-Assad's government despite Western and Arab criticism.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also made clear Russia and the United States remain at odds over a solution in Syria after a meeting between Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, saying Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a political process.

On the sidelines of an economic forum in St. Petersburg, where Putin courted foreign investment, Lavrov said that the Alaed, a cargo ship that changed course this week after losing its insurance cover off Scotland, was carrying weapons to Syria.

Britain's foreign minister Williams Hague said on Tuesday that the Curacao-flagged vessel had apparently headed back toward Russia after a London-based insurer withdrew coverage when informed of allegations it was carrying weapons.

Lavrov defended the abortive delivery and lashed out at the West over the incident, saying that the weapons could not be used against civilians protesting Assad's rule and that the insurance company had no right to withdraw coverage.

"The ship was carrying air defense systems, which can be used only for repelling foreign aggression and not against peaceful demonstrators, and it was carrying three repaired helicopters," Lavrov told Ekho Mosvky radio.
U.S. officials have called Russian arms deliveries to Syria reprehensible, and a senior Arab League official was quoted as saying in Russia on Thursday that "any assistance in aiding violence should be stopped".
"When you deliver military equipment you are helping to kill people. That should be stopped," Interfax quoted the League's deputy secretary general Ahmed Ben Helli as saying in response to a question about Russian military cooperation with Syria.

There is no full U.N. embargo of Syria, in part because Russia holds veto power as a permanent U.N. Security Council member.

"I will repeat: We are not violating anything, and we will continue to fulfill our contractual obligations," Lavrov said.

He said the helicopters, made in the Soviet era, had been repaired under a 2008 contract and shipped in dismantled form, adding that it would take at least three months to assemble them.

"And so to say that the Russians were bringing helicopters that could be used against peaceful demonstrators is a rather slanted position aimed to whip up passions and cast Russia in a bad light," Lavrov said.

Syria is Moscow's firmest foothold in the Middle East, buys weapons from Russia worth billions of dollars, and hosts the Russian navy's only permanent warm water port outside the former Soviet Union.

Russia has used its Security Council veto to dilute Western efforts to condemn Assad and secure his exit from power, arguing that it is not up to outsiders to decide the political matters of sovereign states.

Putin and Obama agreed during their first meeting as presidents on Monday that the violence in Syria has to end but they offered no new solutions and showed no signs of healing a rift over whether to impose tougher sanctions on Damascus.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also met Putin at a G20 meeting in Mexico, later said Putin had shifted his view of Assad and that discussions were now focused on a transition of power in Syria, but both Obama and Putin contradicted that.

"When David Cameron ... said that Russia had changed its position, that is the purest untruth," Lavrov said.

"It's clear that a blueprint under which President Assad must go away somewhere before anything happens in terms of an end to violence and a political process will not work, because he won't go," Lavrov said.

He said external players should press Assad and his foes to stop fighting and sit down for talks but not set conditions.

[vector7]

Companion Thread:

• Riddle Of Russia Reported Arms Sale To Syria/Iran

Syria: Russia sends back ship loaded with helicopters

Moscow has announced a cargo ship would deliver weapons to Syria under the Russian national flag despite being forced to abandon its voyage when Britain withdrew insurance cover.


Russian company Femco, showing their cargo vessel MV Alaed at an undisclosed location Photo: EPA

By Roland Oliphant, Moscow, Ruth Sherlock in Beirut and Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem

6:57PM BST 21 Jun 2012

The MV Alaed turned around in the North Sea, about 50 miles from the Scottish coast, after its London-based insurer withdrew third-party liability cover. The British authorities forced this move, suspecting that the ship was taking arms to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The Russian foreign ministry confirmed that the ship was carrying three MI-25 attack helicopters, newly reconditioned under a contract withSyria's armed forces, and an air defence system.

But the vessel, now bound for the port of Murmansk, will be re-flagged under Russian colours and then sent to Syria to complete the delivery. "[The helicopters] are the property of the Syrian side and must be returned to the Syrian Arab Republic after repairs," said a foreign ministry spokesman in Moscow.

Sergei Lavrov, the country's foreign minister, told a Russian radio station that Moscow "will continue to fulfil contracts to supply weapons to Syria".

The helicopter gunships are believed to be part of a batch that Russia sold to Syria 20 years ago. They have recently undergone routine upgrades.

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The MV Alaed had been sailing under the flag of Curacao in the Dutch Antilles. In theory, Britain could have boarded the vessel by obtaining permission from the Dutch government. Once the ship is sailing under Russian colours, however, the Kremlin believes that no such operation will attempted. The United Nations has not imposed an arms embargo on Syria, so the delivery would be legal under international law. But there is a European Union embargo - and British officials are understood to be willing to use this measure to stop any vessel carrying weapons to Syria that passes through UK territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles from the coast.

While Russia tries to arm Mr Assad, the CIA is understood to have taken a more hands-on role in the rebel campaign against the Syrian regime. America has not supplied weapons itself, but US intelligence officers are believed to be identifying suitable opposition groups to receive arms from regional allies.

CIA operatives in southern Turkey are helping to coordinate the delivery of automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank weapons, paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The aim is to ensure that weapons do not fall into the hands of fighters allied with al-Qaeda, a senior American official told the New York Times. Washington has resisted calls directly to arm the rebels, but has provided non-lethal supplies. The CIA and the State Department have also helped opposition fighters to develop logistics routes to move supplies into Syria.

Turkey has begun to loosen restrictions on the quality and quantity of weapons being sent to the rebels through its territory. "The Turks are gradually allowing more powerful weapons into Syria," said a Middle Eastern official.

Turkey is concerned about possible Syrian retaliation, fearing that Mr Assad could help Kurdish rebels from the PKK. A Western official in Washington said that assurances had been given that Turkey would not be "hung out to dry" if Syria were to strike back.

America is believed to have escalated its contacts with the rebel Free Syrian Army in March, partly because of the presence of extremist groups in Syria. Islamist militants are believed to have entered Syria to wage a parallel war against the Assad regime. As an Alawite Shia, Mr Assad is viewed as a heretic by the Sunni extremists of al-Qaeda.

[American Patriot]

But the vessel, now bound for the port of Murmansk, will be re-flagged under Russian colours and then sent to Syria to complete the delivery. "[The helicopters] are the property of the Syrian side and must be returned to the Syrian Arab Republic after repairs," said a foreign ministry spokesman in Moscow.

Uh, oh...... the important part up there says "Russian colors" which means it now becomes a ship flagged by the Russians, Russian "property" (Just as my boat would flagged as a US vessel if documented by the USCG). This is a "piece of Russian soil" at sea. Stop it, harass it, shoot it, you do the same to Russians.

[vector7]

Egypt: Iranian, Chinese, Russian Vessels Allowed Crossing Suez Canal Towards Syria

20 JUNE 2012

• Comment

An official source in the Suez Canal authority said the Canal's administration would allow Iranian, Russian and Chinese vessels to cross the Canal towards Syria to take part in a maneuver off Syrian coasts as of next month.

The source noted that the Canal did not receive requests to allow the vessels to cross; noting that the authority doesn't have the right to prevent any commercial vessels from crossing the international waterway.

The security measures will be tightened while the vessels are crossing the Canal, the source said.

[vector7]

Turkish Warplane Vanishes over Syria Border

by Naharnet Newsdesk 10 minutes ago


The Turkish army announced Friday that it lost contact with a Turkish fighter jet over the border with Syria, according to media reports.
Turkey’s state-run news agency said “two pilots were on board of a military jet that disappeared on radar over the Mediterranean Sea in the south-west of the southern province of Hatay after departing from Malatya-Erhac air base at 10:30.”
Malatya Governor Ulvi Saran said that there was not any information regarding the missing plane at the moment.
Two pilots were on board, he said.
“The jet disappeared on radar at 11:58,” according to the Turkish news agency.
“Search and rescue operations for the missing jet are being conducted in the region,” the agency said.http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/4...r-syria-border

[American Patriot]

DAMN IT! The UFOS ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[vector7]

Turkey says warplane lost off Syria

ANKARA | Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:30am EDT

(Reuters) - Turkey said on Friday it had lost contact with one of its military aircraft while it was over the sea off the southeastern coast, and a television station said it had crashed in Syrian territorial waters.

CNN Turk television said Turkey was in contact with the Syrian authorities to get permission to conduct a search for the airmen, although there was no immediate official confirmation.

In a statement, Turkey's military said a search and rescue operation was underway. It lost radar and radio contact with the plane after it took off from Erhac Airport in the eastern province of Malatya.

Two crew were aboard the F-4 at the time of the crash, the Turkish state news agency Anatolia said on its website, citing Malatya governor Ulvi Saran.

The Hurriyet daily newspaper reported that the plane had gone down in international waters and that the two airmen had been found alive and well following a search operation by Turkish forces.

The Chief of General Staff declined to comment further on the incident beyond the written statement.

Turkish warplanes regularly patrol along and off Turkey's southern Mediterranean coast.

Pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen television station, which is based in Lebanon, quoted what it said were Turkish sources as saying a jet had been shot down by Syrian air defenses near the border with Turkey. There was no confirmation of that report.

[American Patriot]

So, the Syrians are trigger happy now. LOL

Good.

[vector7]

Yeah, and Turkey is a NATO member...

Turkey denies arms shipment to Syria opposition

ANKARA - Agence France- Presse



In this Friday, June 15, 2012 file photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter fires his weapon during clashes with Syrian troops near Idlib, Syria. AP Photo

Ankara denied Friday allegations that it is shipping weapons to Syrian rebels across the border, after a report claimed Turkey was among nations arming rebels fighting the regime in Damascus.

"Turkey does not ship weapons to any neighbouring country, including Syria," foreign ministry spokesperson Selcuk Ünal said when asked whether Turkey was involved in an alleged arms delivery to Syrian rebels.

The New York Times newspaper reported Thursday that US intelligence operatives in Turkey were vetting the flow of weapons to Syrian rebels to ensure they do not fall into the hands of Al-Qaeda militants.

The Times cited unnamed US officials and Arab intelligence officials as saying the weapons were being paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and taken across the Turkish border by a shadowy opposition network.

Ünal rebuffed Turkey's alleged role in any weapons delivery web into Syria, saying such articles were based on unidentified sources.

The weapons cited in the story include automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some anti-tank weapons, which have allowed the rebels to fight the far superior forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey, an old ally of the Damascus regime, broke with Assad last year as popular demonstrations in Syria were stomped on by bloody clashes that have taken at least 14,400 lives in 16 months.

Turkey is currently home to 32,750 Syrian refugees, arriving particularly from northwestern Syria that is close to the common border, said Unal. It also provides shelter to 12 Syrian generals who defected from the Syrian army to join up the ranks of the Syrian rebels, he added.
June/22/2012

[American Patriot]

32,750 weapons put into the hands of those refuges would be one hell of an army wouldn't it?

Just sayin'....

[Ryan Ruck]

Can't we just get Eric Holder to send them some weapons?