Posted on 03/18/2012 10:27:05 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Saudi Arabia is delivering military equipment to Syrian rebels in an effort to stop bloodshed by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, a top Arab diplomat said on Saturday.
"Saudi military equipment is on its way to Jordan to arm the Free Syrian Army," the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"This is a Saudi initiative to stop the massacres in Syria," he added, saying that further "details will follow at a later time."
The announcement came two days after the conservative Sunni-ruled kingdom said it had shut down its embassy in Syria and withdrawn all its staff.
It also followed a brief meeting on the Syrian crisis last week between Jordan's King Abdullah II and the Saudi monarch King Abdullah in Riyadh.
There was no official reaction to the statement from the Saudi capital, but Jordan flatly rejected the report.
"Jordan categorically denies the report," government spokesman and information minister Rakan Majali told AFP.
(Excerpt) Read more at ca.news.yahoo.com ...
H/T to Drudge.
Next step.....
The proxy war begins...
fyi
“Saudi Arabia is delivering military equipment to Syrian rebels in an effort to stop bloodshed.” The rebels seem to be behind the car bombings, the harassment of the Christians, and God knows what else. It would be nice if we could tell the Saudis to go to hell. Obozo kowtowing to the Saudis and turning Libya into a mess shows he’s still sucking up to them.
The faster we pass House Bill 1380 and use natural gas instead of gasoline the faster we’ll start cutting the cash flowing into the Middle East. They can all go pound sand then.
Isaiah 17
Syria Says Opposition Must Give up Arms First
*********************************EXCERPT*************************************
Syria has told international envoy Kofi Annan in a letter obtained Saturday by The Associated Press that it is "keen to end violence" but insists that armed opposition groups give up their weapons first.
The Syrian response falls far short of U.S. and European demands that Syrian forces stop fighting first — and even Russia's insistence that both sides lay down their arms simultaneously.
But it does leave the door open for talks, and Annan is sending a team to Damascus on Sunday to continue discussions on implementing his proposal to end the yearlong conflict. Annan said Friday that if the team makes sufficient progress he will consider returning to Damascus, where he held two rounds of talks last weekend with President Bashar Assad.
The Syrian letter asks Annan, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, "to provide guarantees to the Syrian government that the armed groups will cease all armed aggressions and give up their weapons to the dedicated authorities in exchange of a full pardon."
The Syrians said they want the "guarantees" because of "the lessons" they learned dealing with Arab League monitors.
The monitors were supposed to ensure Syrian compliance with an Arab League plan that Assad's government agreed to on Dec. 19 calling on Syria to remove heavy weaponry, such as tanks, from all cities, free all political prisoners and allow in human rights organizations and foreign journalists. But the monitors were withdrawn in late January amid heavy criticism that the Arab League mission had failed to stop the crackdown.
Thanks Ernst for thinking of me! It was very nice of you :)
But how the Saudis are going to get the military gear inside? Lebanon’s is closed because of Hezbollah and Syria closed its border gates with Turkey.Syria took it a step further by seeding landmines with Turkey’s border land routes. Syria also closed its borders with Jordan also and that leaves one country left:Iraq
Well that part of Iraq is Sunni country.
You are correct.
Nite...we'll see what tomorrow brings.
The reason why Syria is still getting arms from Iran is because Iran is shipping weapons and men via cargo airplanes.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20120317/172223863.html
A lot of the arms are chanelled through Iraq. The types of fanatics who have made life hell for Iraqis can now be armed in Syria as well.
The Port of Latakia is essentially, an Iranian port. They are building a base there. Tons of stuff flowing in. As well as “advisers.”
I would be happy to see Syria turn into an Iran-vs-Muslim-Brotherhood war, where both sides are eliminated. Make Syria a roach motel and keep al-Queda too busy fighting on the Sunni side there to bother us.
You underestimate the power of businessmen that want to grow their businesses. So long a Syria is allowed to meddle and disrupt, business is constrained.
With a friendly Damascus and then Lebanon, there will be an open trade lane from the Gulf to the Med that presently either does not exist or is very cumbersome.
With the trade increase, Iran will be further isolated.
There are religious considerations, but business drives the events
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