OPPOSITION REPORTS COUP IN DAMASCUS

Middle East Newsline (MENL) ^ | March 17, 2005

[EternalHope]

OPPOSITION REPORTS COUP IN DAMASCUS

NICOSIA [MENL] -- The regime of President Bashar Assad, said to have fled Damascus, has come under severe strain amid its military redeployment in Lebanon.

Lebanese opposition sources said the Assad regime has been divided over the decision to withdraw thousands of troops from Lebanon. The sources said some elements of the military have refused to follow orders for the pullout of troops as well as intelligence agents from both central Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Syria's military was said to have increased deployment around Damascus amid tension within the regime. Opposition sources said the Syrian military has undergone a split, with a rebel faction having taken control over parts of the capital.

The rebel faction was said to be led by Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan and Firas Tlas, the son of former Defense Minister Mustapha Tlas. The sources said this group, which included Syrian intelligence chief in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh and Maj. Gen. Ali Madi, has rebelled against Assad's decision to withdraw from Lebanon.

[EternalHope]

This is a reputable source. However, a thread on FR earlier today debunked the basic story.

The debunking thread is here:
eyewitness says no way

So... Not sure what's going on. It seems plausible, but we have a FREEPER on the scene who sees nothing unusual.

[Fenris6]

So lets call it psy-ops. Now, to what purpose?

[lnbchip]

The only source for this story in every news report is the Lebanese opposition. I have a strange feeling that this is a bad case of wishful thinking. But, it's funny that this is about the 4th or 5th separate news story on this. Wow, the various Middle East news agencies are really wanting this to be true.

[Ron in Acreage]

If this is true the MSM and democrats would be celebrating by now.

[Navy Patriot]

This may be disinformation designed to discredit and undermine Assad's opposition, by attributing the report to them and having it easily recognized as false.

[deepFR]

These stories are becoming as frequent as Elvis sightings in the 80's.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Just out of morbid curiousity, WHO IN CONTROL of the valley on the Lebanon side of the Lebanon/Syrian border where all those WMDs are buried? Because one, or both, of those two Syrian factions might be crazy enough to try and dig those WMDs up to use to tilt the balance in their favor. O_O

[RightWhale]

They would have to be nutzoid to try to use any WMD they might or might not have. Even the NYT would be on their case.

[Red Badger]

I won't believe it til I read it on DEBKA.......

[lupie]

Did you see this? What do you think?

[Quix]

Interesting. Wouldn't this sort of thing be kept under the table and out of sight as long as possible?

[henkster]

No, I doubt it is disinformation from Syria. No dictator will ever foment rumors of his own demise. They have a way of becoming self-fulfilling. It gives hope to the oppressed.

My guess is that there is something afoot here.

And this interior minister; his dad was Mustapha? Wasn't he the guy who designed the "henchman incinerator" for Dr. Evil?

"I'm not dead, but I'm very badly burned."

[hispanichoosier]

If this is true the MSM and democrats would be celebrating by now.

Why would the MSM and 'Rats celebrate a coup/civil war in a Muslim country? They're the ones who laud Islamist extremists.

[Ron in Acreage]

Why would the MSM and 'Rats celebrate a coup/civil war in a Muslim country?
Because Bashar Assad is pulling out of Lebanon as Bush asked him to. The coup would be a defeat of Bush and the ongoing pullout. Anything that goes against Bush is all they care about. If the pullout succeeds, that would be another Mid east victory feather in Bushs cap.

[hispanichoosier]

Well, I would view any internal turmoil in a Muslim country as a victory. If it keeps them at each others' throats, they can't be focused on Israel or America.

[RolandBurnam]

lol.

[Wiz]

My first impression of the news with the title was dominoes of democracy flicking onto Syria, but with reports suggesting revolt by hardliners and denial of the report as suggested in the link, the hope faded away.

[Joe Boucher]

You can call it Oz for all anyone cares.

I'd just love to see a major disruption of life in Syria.
Maybe a civil war there instead of them fomenting another one in say Lebanon.

Let's see what the majority of Syrians think about freedom breaking out in much the rest of Asia minor.

[Bogeygolfer]

I'm going to have to disagree as well. A disruption in the pullout is nothing next to yet another domino in the process. While a coup would likely be by a strong arm faction opposed to the US, it would be percieved as yet another step along the way. Anything negative in Syria will outweigh anything in Lebanon imho.

[FreedomNeocon]

Well the original (and other than MEMRI so far) source of it is http://www.free-lebanon.com

And they are still updating... who knows if its true, or psyops, or partially true (ie the 'oppostion' is putting out rumors of what they are TRYING to do, etc)

In any case, its definately intresting.

Of course the USUAL SUSPECTS were soooo quick to run in and tell people how stupid and childish they are to 'fall for this'. (where is stategerist today?). Still could easily be nothing, but still...

Here is their 'update' from this morning

--------------------------------------

March 18, 2005

Damascus Rebellion: Update #4

Syria's Secret Wars

The following information arrived from Syria last night:

The Air force base of Dumair around the capital Damascus has been attacked. This base for the Syrian Air force is in charge of protecting the capital Damascus. Maher el Assad who is in charge "temporarily" of the Air Force Military Intelligence command gave the orders to attack the base. There are around 15 Syrian officers pilots dead, the base has been "cleaned up" after the attack and the presumed casualties have been declared "transferred" to a different military base within Syria. Another attack was launched against a similar military base around Katana and West of Homs in Syria, we have no reports yet of the number of casualties there. This news was confirmed from delicate sources within the Syrian Military.

The withdrawal of the Syrian Army from Lebanon precipitated a negative moral effect on the Alawite regime in Syria. Things were getting unstable inside the Syrian military after the withdrawal from Lebanon. On one side between Sunnis and Alawite and the other side between Old Guard officers and New Guard in charge of the regime.

When President Bashar Assad assumed power in Syria, his first move he did was to replace the Old Guard by a New Guard to better protect his regime interests. Indeed, General Ghazi Kannan was removed from "Military Intelligence" duty and given the "Interior Ministry" in Syria. General Hassan Khalil who headed the Military Intelligence was also removed from his post and replaced by his deputy then General Assef Shawkat, Bashar's brother in law.

The removal of Ghazi Kanaan from the military Intelligence didn't prevent Kanaan from retaining a powerful structure within the Alawite command in Syria, indeed he had and still has popularity among the Army and Intelligence officers.

To consolidate his relations with the West, Kanaan kept in contact with the "CIA" station based in Jordan. He hoped that one day they will help him consolidate Syria under his control in a fashion that he will become Syria's strong man in the future. He mislead the Americans many time in Iraq, and is still misleading them by playing a double game in helping and deceiving them at the same time to gain US trust to enforce his political stature inside Syria and gain the momentum to defeat the US Forces in Iraq--an old traditional Syrian game .

Ghazi Kanaan, unhappy from his withdrawal of his Military Intelligence position, pushed General Rustom Ghazaleh, his trusted "lieutenant," to fill his place in the Syrian Military Intelligence for Lebanon, a structure that control a billion dollar industry in that country. Rustom is a loyal officer that does not oppose nor object to Ghazi's sympathies and loyalties. When President Assad decided on the withdrawal of the Syrian Troops from Lebanon, Kanaan, to test the water with Bashar Regime, financed and supported a military and intelligence network within the Army and the Intelligence apparatus to stay loyal to him and extend his influence on the ground. Kanaan's, staying behind the scenes, network started to distribute news among the Syrian Army against the withdrawal from Lebanon and its danger to the Alawite community. Without taking any chances, the Regime alarmed that this situation could spread inside the military and go out of control, 3 military bases were attacked simultaneously around 3 AM by Air and Land assault. Most of the Syrian officer dead were military pilots at the Doumair base in charge of protecting Damascus. There are some casualties in Katana and around Homs bases also, we do not have details yet as this hour. We will try to provide few names at a later stage.

Intelligence indications coming from Syria reported that Kanaan was rallying support among the Army barracks and Intelligence networks in Damascus. President Bashar Assad left the capital leaving Gen. Assef Shawkat in place trying to defuse the tension and find a compromise. There are no indication of the whereabout of President Assad as this hour. Reports indicate he was between Aleppo and Western Syria, some demonstrations were held yesterday in Tartous favoring his support .

The situation is calm today but the tension remains very high within the military, yet things can break out any minute . The situation looks normal but is not normal.

The divisions are deep within the Army and Intelligence command between Gen. Assef Shawkat, Bashar and Maher Assad versus Ghazi Kanaan and his group of officers in the Army and Intelligence. There is a temporary "truce" declared to figure out the outcome of this reality but nobody can predict its durability as every camp is reinforcing its potential for survival. Both Syrian camps have weight, influence and power within the Alawite constituency in Syria.

Yesterday, by instruction of Ghazi Kanaan, Syrian General Rustom Ghazaleh held a meeting with all the Security Chiefs of the Lebanese Intelligence services in the Presidential Palace in Lebanon with the knowledge of President Lahoud. The purpose of the meeting was to put a political plan into action to clear them and clear Syria from any involvement in Prime Minister Hariri's murder. Technically, after taking their time to remove and clear all evidence of Syria participation in the Hariri murder, General Jamil Asseyed, in a secret understanding with General Rustom Ghazaleh, held a press conference yesterday putting himself at the service of the investigation.

We hope our friends in Damascus had a nice Party last night as we warn them the situation is not as "normal" as they think. The Regime in Syria is not going to brief the US Press, nor the Embassy nor the Syrian Public as to what is being prepared and done secretly behind the scenes. Things are reaching a serious stage.