₦airaland Forum

[b]In a sharp escalation of the U.S. role in Syria's bloody civil war, the White House announced late Thursday that it will provide military aid to rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad after confirming that his government used chemical weapons against the opposition.

Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes told reporters on a conference call that President Barack Obama had heard pleas from Syria's rebel Supreme Military Council (SMC) for more help. "Our aim is to be responsive," Rhodes said, underlining that the new assistance would have "direct military purposes."

Rhodes brushed aside repeated questions about whether this meant Washington would now start providing weapons to the rebels, insisting he could not give an "inventory" of the aid. But while he never explicitly confirmed that Obama had decided to to arm the opposition, he left little doubt about Washington's new course of action.

"The president has made a decision about providing more support to the opposition. That will involve providing direct support to the SMC. That includes military support. I cannot detail for you all of the types of that support for a variety of reasons," Rhodes said. The assistance is "aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the SMC on the ground."

Obama reached the decision after America's intelligence community concluded that "the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year," Rhodes said. Those attacks killed at least 100-150 people, he added. Rhodes said Assad's forces used chemical weapons on March 19, April 13, May 14 and May 23.

The confirmation—and a new United Nations study that raised the death toll from Syria’s bloody civil war to nearly 93,000—ramped up pressure on Obama to escalate American involvement in the conflict. The president has been weighing whether to arm the opposition, help create safe areas for refugees, or impose “no-fly zones” inside Syria enforced by American-led forces. Obama last year called the confirmed use of chemical weapons a "red line" that would make him reconsider whether to arm the rebels, but he later hedged that statement.

Republican Sen. John McCain, who for months had publicly pressed Obama to step up U.S. involvement, preempted the White House announcement in remarks, announcing on the Senate floor that U.S. intelligence agencies had confirmed the use of chemical weapons and thanking the president for opting to send weapons to the rebels.

“In just a couple of minutes, the president of the United States will be announcing that it is now conclusive that Bashar Assad and the Syrian butchers have used chemical weapons,” McCain said.

“The president also will announce that we will be assisting the Syrian rebels in Syria by other assistance” but the president “had better understand that just supplying weapons is not going to change the equation on the ground of the balance of power,” the senator added. "These people of the Free Syrian Amry need weapons and heavy weapons to counter tanks and aircraft, they need a no-fly zone."

“Just providing arms is not enough,” McCain said.

(Later, in a joint written statement with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, McCain seemed to indicate a decision had not yet been made: “A decision to provide lethal assistance, especially ammunition and heavy weapons, to opposition forces in Syria is long overdue, and we hope the President will take this urgently needed step."

Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that a military proposal for getting weapons to the rebels also calls for a "no-fly zone" inside Syria to protect civilians fleeing the fighting and rebels who might train there.

The Journal, citing anonymous officials, said the U.S. military was looking at a “no-fly zone” that would stretched some 25 miles into Syrian territory.

Rhodes emphasized that "we have not made any decision to pursue a military operation such as a no-fly zone.”

Such an effort "would carry with it great and open-ended costs for the United States and the international community," Rhodes said. And it would be "far more complex to undertake that effort in Syria than it was in Libya."

He added, "Furthermore, there's not even a clear guarantee that it would dramatically improve the situation on the ground."

Rhodes said Obama would consult with Congress and American allies on next steps—notably at next week’s summit of the Group of Eight rich countries plus Russia in Northern Ireland. The White House has not given up on a negotiated solution.

A spokesman for Republican House Speaker John Boehner, Brendan Buck, emphasized the need for the administration to keep lawmakers in the loop.

“It is long past time to bring the Assad regime’s bloodshed in Syria to an end,” Buck said. “As President Obama examines his options, it is our hope he will properly consult with Congress before taking any action.”

SOURCE: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/white-house-u-syria-rebels-military-aid-chemical-220823223.html[/b]

sexkillz: [color=#000030]See as people gather.

To some, this is their first time of coming close to a plane, active or inactive. I can imagine them scrambling to touch it. [/color]

You psycho, banned me on the romance section for being cocky. Fuc-k you douchebag.

Slowly back away from the door, get a match box and gas then burn the house down. Sh1t, just looking at this snake is giving me the creeps... Yaalk!

ighoosagie: him wan break Methuselah record?

Same thing I was thinking. The dude is too old, he's outlived his children and some his grandchildren and he's still hanging on...

gluv01: Wow! am waiting for his son to marry me
I'll wait...i must wait

Not with that poor grammar and lazy attitude...hehehe

Idi Amin: bros, u hav a point but pls check ur grammar next time

Is your English grammar better than the man who you quoted? Do they write the English Language in shorthard as you've written yours? Do you know how many errors you've commited just from the simple sentence above. Nigerians with our inferiority complex, thinking we're better than others sometimes. So far the average Joe understands what his points are, I'm okay with it.

Idi Amin: bros, u hav a point but pls check ur grammar next time

Is your English grammar better than the man who you quoted? So far the average nairlander understands what his points are, it's okay for me.

They look good together.

All you did was just replace the heads and faces of the original watchmen pictures with that of the Nigerian celebrity. You also did some healing. It's cool by the way.

CAME ACROSS THIS JOKE, THOUGHT I SHOULD SHARE WITH EVERYONE.

HOW TO MESS IN PUBLIC & RETAIN UR IMAGE.

To mess for public dey sweet but if
dem catch u, no be small
embarasment o! Just follow dis
guidelines & u are on ur way to being
a star in dis profession.
1. Wen u enter a hall, check d wind
direction,if na closed hall wit air
condition or fan,beta 4 u. Maximum
impact.
2. Make sure say u sidon face d wind
direction. ...
3. Make sure say u get enof leg space.
U go soon knw why!
4. Form ajebo by crossin ur legs every
now &then.
5. U don ready 2 execute, try hold am
until time wey d hall dey noisy incase
ur mess na d type wey dey sound like
AK47.
6. Now carefuly cross ur leg, right over
left.
7. Elevate d right yansh.
8. Release small (sound check)
9. If no sound, allow make d mess flow
steady.
10. Allow time 4 proper circulation.
NOTE:
1. Make sure say no be u be d first
person to complain.
2. Wen pple begin dey shout "Jesus"
who do dis wan. E no go better for d
person wey do dis kind thin," simply
ask "why som persons no fit respect
demselves 4 public places?na wa o"
3. No shout pass odas if not u go
become suspect.
4. Take style disengage from d area,
relocate to another zone and repeat d
exercise!
Trust me,u will go places wit dis
profession.d world must hear of u
more dan Micheal Jackson..

I hope tthat made you laugh.

That's a RAMCOWGOAT!

.

Made my day. Totally hilarious.. haha!!

The title of this thread should be called POWER STRUGGLES BETWEEN POLITICIANS

.

Afam4eva: That's what i was saying in the other thread before some Massob members lynched me. I thank God i'm still alive to tell the story. There's nothing wrong in asking people to sit at hime but they should be appealed to rather threatened. We need to do away with this attitude of always threatening people to do something or else....

Nice one there.

The Ndigbos should put the civil war behind them. They fought hard and they lost harder. In wars, there's usually that one side taking it harder. Biafra would never been a lone state. Nigeria would forever remain together. They should learn from the American civil war, the war did not bring division to the Yankees and the southerners, instead, it made them this great nation they are today. Every year they reenact the civil war just for fun, our Igbo brother's should learn from them. Let's forget the past and live for the future.

MASSOB = BOM AS-S.

[b] A teenager selling coffee in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo was arrested by Islamist rebel fighters for insulting the Prophet Mohammed, beaten and then executed in front of his family, a watchdog group claims.

The boy, Mohammed Qatta, 14, reportedly refused to give a customer coffee, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Sunday.

"Even if [Prophet] Mohammed comes back to life, I won't," the boy said, who was known by his nickname "Salmo."

Extremist rebels driving past in a black car overheard the comment, the opposition Aleppo Media Center said. Qatta was taken away by the fighters and later brought back, his head wrapped with his shirt and his body covered with marks from whipping.

The rebels then read out the boy's sentence - not in a Syrian accent, but in classical Arabic. They accused the boy of blasphemy and told the crowd - which included the boy's parents - that anyone who insulted the Prophet would suffer a similar fate.

Qatta was then shot in the mouth and neck. A graphic photo was released late Sunday of the dead boy clearly showing wounds that matched the reports.

The boy's parents confirmed the accounts in an interview posted online on Monday by the Aleppo Media Center. In it, his father stoically recounted the execution while his mother wailed.

"Why did they kill my son," she cried. "We are not for or against anybody in this conflict, may God take revenge on them."

The Islamists and their group have yet to be identified. Large swathes of rebel-held Aleppo are under the control of al Qaeda-linked rebel groups who have set up Sharia courts and welcomed large numbers of foreign fighters into their ranks. The United States and its allies have struggled with the question of whether to arm an extremely fragmented opposition force whose strongest elements have pledged allegiance to al Qaeda.

Aleppo is expected to become of the focal point of Syria's two-year civil war in the coming days as Syrian forces look to take back full control of Syria's most populous city in a new offensive reportedly dubbed "Northern Storm."

SOURCE: http://news.yahoo.com/teenager-15-executed-islamist-rebels-syria-154751521--abc-news-topstories.html[/b]

This is mind blowing.