Syrian government

Russia and China have prevented the UN Security Council from imposing sanctions on the Syrian government for its alleged use of chemical weapons. On Tuesday they vetoed a UNSC resolution that had been drafted by Britain, France and the United States. The measure won nine votes in favor, while China, Russia and Bolivia opposed it. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the draft resolution as “totally inappropriate” and that it would have undermined efforts to end nearly six-years of conflict in Syria.

Israel struck a Syrian military position after a tank shell landed in an open area in the occupied Golan Heights. The IDF fired on a Syrian government position on Wednesday night after a tank shell landed in uninhabited Israeli territory during reported clashes between Syrian government and rebel forces. The shell casued no casualties. The IDF did not specify how it attacked the Syrian post, but Syrian media said that Israeli helicopters attacked the position. Press TV reports: Tel Aviv has targeted the region several times over the past few years.

Back in 2013, the catalyst used by the US to intervene in the Syrian conflict which started in the aftermath of the Arab Spring (which according to some was inspired by CIA intervention), was a YouTube clip allegedly showing a sarin gas attack by Assad troops on his own people in the town of Ghouta, which reportedly led to hundreds of casualties. Subsequently, the video was shown to have been a hoax, but by then it was too late as the US was actively involved in the proxy war, which in the summer of 2013 nearly escalated to a naval conflict between the US and Russia.

Submitted by Rania Khalek via TheAntiMedia.org,

The Syrian government - a dictatorship known for imprisoning, torturing and disappearing dissidents - is easy to vilify. And over the last five years of Syria’s civil war, it has committed its share of atrocities. But there is more than one side to every story, and US media coverage has mainly reflected one side—that of the rebels—without regard for accuracy or basic context.

As Iran pledges to continue support for the Syrian government, they have also warned that a US plan to deploy more troops to Syria will worsen the crisis. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday: “We have announced from the start of the Syria crisis that any foreign intervention in Syria without coordination with its government will further escalate the crisis“ Press TV reports: President Barack Obama will announce plans on Monday to send up to 250 more military personnel to the war-torn country, US administration officials have said.