West Asia News and Discussions

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 30 Oct 2012 08:46

All modern Muslims have that duality. We saw that in Hyderabad.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 30 Oct 2012 12:56

Carl wrote:shyamd ji, it looks like the Kurdish PYD fears the oncoming wave of pan-Islamist (aka Sunni-Arab) hegemony too. So its reasonable to assume that they will always be rather uncomfortable with FSA.

Not surprised if they do but PYD has been pro Asad more or less from the outset. In the Kurdish areas they still have pictures/posters of Asad at the PYD offices. Which is why they are using Barzani to talk to them and get them to agree to side with the revolution. In march Barzani held a big convention for the Kurds, PYD didn't turn up but the others agreed to side with the revolution. But they are training Kurds in order to have enough power to have autonomy in Syria. Barzani is telling the visitors that only fall of Asad will allow an autonomous region in Syria. But for now PYD/PKK is telling the 11 Kurdish groups to not join the FSA/Revolution. In late June there was only 1 Kurdish party lead that joined the FSA.

habal · Post by **habal** » 30 Oct 2012 13:32

>Which is why they are using Barzani to talk to them and get them to agree to side with the revolution.

what revolution

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 30 Oct 2012 15:01

Philip wrote:The Saudis have a Jekylll and Hyde attitude towards the rest of the world.On the one hand they openly praise nations like India,want to interact with them,but secretly support Islamist terror groups in India and elsewhere to the hilt,undermining the Indian state .

Under the circumstances, unkil policy of using some of this scum to take out other scums while keeping them busy killing each other until oil runs out becomes irrelevant is the best bet....

eklavya · Post by **eklavya** » 31 Oct 2012 03:26

Bahrain government bans protests amid violence

Bahrain has banned all protests and gatherings amid clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifah said "repeated abuse" of the rights to freedom of speech and expression could no longer be accepted.

Protests would be permitted only once security and stability were sufficient to maintain national unity, he added.

eklavya · Post by **eklavya** » 31 Oct 2012 03:52

Qatar urged to free poet Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami

Human rights groups have urged Qatar to free a poet detained last year for what they say was peaceful criticism.

Mohammed al-Ajami is reported to be facing a secret trial on charges of "inciting to overthrow the ruling system" and "insulting the emir".

The case against him is said to be based on a poem he wrote in 2010 which criticises Sheikh Hamad Al Thani.

Al Thani running scared of poets ...

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 31 Oct 2012 05:12

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/ ... AC20121028
Syrian jihadist spillover haunts Jordan

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN | Sun Oct 28, 2012 11:19am EDT

(Reuters) - Jordan's announcement that it has foiled an al Qaeda plot to bomb the capital highlights the threat to Washington's ally from Islamist fighters hardened by conflict in neighboring Syria, and the danger of Damascus trying to export its crisis.
[...]
But the Syrian civil war could pose the gravest threat yet to Jordan's pro-Western King Abdullah, whether or not rebel fighters succeed in toppling President Bashar al-Assad after 42 years of Assad family rule. The overthrow of Assad by Sunni Muslim rebels could embolden hardline Sunni Islamists in Jordan, while a weakened but still fighting Assad may try to deflect pressure by spreading the conflict to his neighbors, Jordanian politicians say.

Mahmoud Kharabsheh, a prominent politician with an intelligence background, says Syria's role in letting al Qaeda fighters head to Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion has reinforced fears that Damascus could try the same in Jordan. "The Syrian regime will not leave a stone unturned to destabilize the kingdom. The Syrian regime is determined to export its crisis to neighboring countries to ... destabilize our security," said Kharabsheh, a member of the outgoing Jordanian parliament.

At the height of the bloodshed in Iraq, Damascus emptied its prisons of many radical Islamists and let them cross the border to fight the Western forces. This allowed Assad's secular government to get rid of domestic Islamist opponents, at least temporarily, and indirectly pin down forces of its U.S. enemies. Those radicals have returned home to fight Assad, and have been joined by fellow Islamists from Jordan.

Kharabsheh said the Syrian government might again try to use its ideological opposite, al Qaeda, as it struggles for survival. "They are two imminent dangers and their interests could easily coincide to destabilize Jordan," he said. Scores of Syrians had been arrested in recent months after gathering information and acting as agents provocateurs in Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp, which houses tens of thousands of Syrians who have fled their country, he added.

Then on October 21, Jordan state TV said intelligence services had foiled the plot by an al Qaeda-linked cell to bomb shopping centers and assassinate Western diplomats in Amman, using weapons and explosives smuggled from Syria. Although some expressed skepticism about the threat posed by 11 al Qaeda suspects who were arrested - including teenagers and young students - there is little dispute that the Syrian conflict has galvanized Jordan's jihadists.

HISTORY OF ENMITY

Despite urging Assad to step down, Jordan has tried to accommodate the Syrian authorities, fearing any overt intervention would revive tensions with Damascus. That hostility reached a peak in 1981 when Syria was accused of being behind a failed assassination attempt on Jordan's prime minister and Amman harbored the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.

Since the latest conflict broke out, Jordan has shown restraint in dealing with Syrian gun and mortar fire across its borders, with Amman trying to insulate itself from the military fallout, according to diplomats and politicians. This contrasts with Turkey, whose forces have repeatedly fired on Syria since five of its civilians were killed early this month by shells and mortars from across the border.

But the combination of turmoil across Jordan's northern border and growing demands for reform inside the Hashemite monarchy, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world, have left Amman particularly vulnerable. One Western government official visiting the region last week compared Amman with Beirut, where a car bomb killed a prominent anti-Assad intelligence chief earlier this month and plunged the Lebanese into political crisis.
"I worry more about Jordan than Lebanon," he said. "Lebanon has been through this before and has the coping mechanisms."

ISLAMIST SLEEPER CELLS?

Jordanian analysts say Islamist groups are gaining ground among Syrian rebels, creating a new generation of battle- hardened jihadists like the "Arab Afghans" mujahideen who went to Afghanistan to fight Soviet troops in the 1980s and returned home to wage jihad against their pro-U.S. governments.

Political analyst Sami Zubaidi said jihadists who believe in waging holy war were sheltering among ultra-orthodox Salafi Islamists who support non-violent action. "There are sleeper cells in the jihadist Salafi groups in Jordan which did not find an arena inside Jordan and went to Syria," he said. "A lot of these jihadists go to Syria and get armed and develop their skills as though it was a training course before they return to Jordan armed to hit Jordanian targets," he added.

Growing deprivation in impoverished areas such as the Jordanian city of Zarqa creates recruiting grounds for jihadists heading to Syria. Zarqa is the hometown of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, once head of al Qaeda in Iraq who is blamed for the 2005 Amman hotel bombings which killed more than 50 people.

Only this month, two Jordanian Salafists were killed in Syria's southern city of Deraa, just across the Jordanian border, while battling Syrian troops. They were among at least 250 jihadists who are estimated to have crossed into Syria. The longer that conflict in Syria continues, the more fighters may be drawn to the battlefield. But for many in Jordan's security establishment, the biggest threat comes from the mayhem that would result from the toppling of the Assad regime.

"This is what scares me; if the regime falls in Syria and radical Islamist groups become influential there, it will be easier for these extremist groups to work here in Jordan and destabilize the country," said Hazem al-Awran, a former parliamentarian.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 31 Oct 2012 08:24

So this entire "liberate syria" experiment is essentially to put 1000s of weapons into the hands of jobless and unemployable jeehardies who can then migrate from one state to another (like they already do in provinces across pakistan). IOW< the grand idea of the NATO fudd-duddies is t make a massive Pakistan out of west asia. With Iranians playing the role of the Hazaras and Iraq==baluchistan. Nice.

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 31 Oct 2012 08:32

Ab bahoot maza ayega are o kalia would exclaim gabbar Singh!

While slowly unkil is going to be self sufficient in oil with fracking and Canada oil

The wick is now set in Middle East where oil is ready to explode....

Interesting times we live in

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 31 Oct 2012 16:24

Assassination of Wissam Al Hassan in Lebanon - Bashar's way of delivering middle finger to Prince Bandar and revenge.

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 31 Oct 2012 16:49

pentaiah wrote:Ab bahoot maza ayega are o kalia would exclaim gabbar Singh!

While slowly unkil is going to be self sufficient in oil with fracking and Canada oil

The wick is now set in Middle East where oil is ready to explode....

Interesting times we live in

So, the west will be sufficient in energy, and Middle east, which supplies to India and China, will be in chaos? Is this the west's new game plan to stay on top?

And why should we get bahut maza from this? Hain jee?

habal · Post by **habal** » 31 Oct 2012 16:54

Hari Seldon wrote:So this entire "liberate syria" experiment is essentially to put 1000s of weapons into the hands of jobless and unemployable jeehardies who can then migrate from one state to another (like they already do in provinces across pakistan). IOW< the grand idea of the NATO fudd-duddies is t make a massive Pakistan out of west asia. With Iranians playing the role of the Hazaras and Iraq==baluchistan. Nice.

all culinary covert ops have similar details. Would not be suprised if the rent-a-mob FSA consists of Bangladeshis, Pakistanis & smattering of Yemenis/Libyans behind a few token local faces.

Saudis & their rent-a-mob jeehadies have to be coopted in any western venture into Asia.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 31 Oct 2012 17:00

eklavya wrote:
Qatar urged to free poet Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami

Human rights groups have urged Qatar to free a poet detained last year for what they say was peaceful criticism.

Mohammed al-Ajami is reported to be facing a secret trial on charges of "inciting to overthrow the ruling system" and "insulting the emir".

The case against him is said to be based on a poem he wrote in 2010 which criticises Sheikh Hamad Al Thani.
Al Thani running scared of poets ...

Didn't these fanatic barbaric scums offer asylum to Hussein provided he only insults Hindu gods and not their God? It was hailed by fake liberal Stalinist yellow brigade...wonder what they say now...

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 31 Oct 2012 17:37

Oil will be cheaper by dozen when unkil & co exit the the demand side of the market.
There by reducing the muscle of OPEC and back to Lawrence way of shifting gears " hatah tath" with a small bamboo stick ( hint watch Peter O Toole do that"

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 31 Oct 2012 18:02

>>Al Thani running scared of poets ...

But not artists apparently, at least not when they're from other countries - then he may even offer citizenship!!!

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 31 Oct 2012 18:13

pentaiah wrote:Oil will be cheaper by dozen when unkil & co exit the the demand side of the market.
There by reducing the muscle of OPEC and back to Lawrence way of shifting gears " hatah tath" with a small bamboo stick ( hint watch Peter O Toole do that"

Unkil has practically reduced it to 20% and will actually become a net exporter of energy fairly soon. I am not talking about solar or fission or some exotic stuff, it is basic oil and gas, but extracted through horizontal drilling and other new techniques that Unkil has perfected..if Om baba goes, it will only accelerate it as he is stopping some drilling to save the 'environment' which Republicans care rats a.s about. If those exotic things happen, then it is last nail in Arabaric coffin. (not to speak of tinpots in Russia)

So all the conspiracy theorists that use 'oil' to explain away lots of things will need some other myth to use as punching bag.

It will have profound impact of ME, and may see the main source of jehadi terrorism funds drying up. Once taliban or its proxies like Im the dim take over countries like TSP, etc., both economically and culturally ME can go back to 7th century which they so much like..and the civilised world can go back to forgetting they exist and nuke them if they give trouble.

For India this could be net + too...and it can happen not just in our lifetime, fairly early.

Added later: Sorry pentiah I saw your earlier post after posting this....you already covered the horizontal drill part...anyway love to see ME getting drilled horizontally by collective middle fingers of the buying world..

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 31 Oct 2012 18:15

JE Menon wrote:>>Al Thani running scared of poets ...

But not artists apparently, at least not when they're from other countries - then he may even offer citizenship!!!

The important condition in bold being as long as only Hindu Gods are denigrated.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 31 Oct 2012 18:18

abhischekcc wrote:So, the west will be sufficient in energy, and Middle east, which supplies to India and China, will be in chaos? Is this the west's new game plan to stay on top?

And why should we get bahut maza from this? Hain jee?

West (Unkil and NA to be more precise) becoming self-sufficient will help us because it takes one huge buyer off the market. The Arabarics will have to be less terrorist friendly and more market friendly and perhaps more India friendly too.

We can send Salman Kurshid to massage them and get oil even cheaper..

after all we are Ummah too.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 31 Oct 2012 18:20

Even if the US reduces dependence on ME oil - their allies need that oil (interdependence with the US) which is why they still need to protect that region.

--------

Now the US is apparently trying to set up a new opposition group that will accept Bashar to stay (doubt it will work).

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 31 Oct 2012 18:21

or Khursid and Soudis can play Ummah Ummah while draining infidels, just as Natwar & Sonia coterie did during Saddam.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 31 Oct 2012 18:30

By 2020, oil production is expected to rise by 68 percent above 2008 levels. This will decrease America’s oil imports by 60 percent

I think the impact will be even bigger considering the rapid growth of solar + energy efficient LED (total ban on bulbs coming) + less gas guzzling cars that massa log are buying these days..

The country with the world's highest oil demand, both volumetrically and per capita, now finds itself in the position where domestic supply growth far exceeds demand growth with every indication that this is a long term phenomenon. It is a major game changer, not just within the U.S., for the global oil and geopolitical balanc

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 31 Oct 2012 18:31

May be exploration and fracking for oil and gas near Indian and Chinese coasts would add to reduction in oil import from the middle east.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 31 Oct 2012 18:32

^^ our best hope is that the chinese will use nuclear and solar to an extent where oil becomes less and less relevant though they are behind the curve by about 30 yrs or so compared to Unkil.

Then we can have all the oil we want practically free, paid as protection money by dhimmified ME....dreaming that is.

sum · Post by **sum** » 31 Oct 2012 18:53

Was this attack by Israel on Sudan posted here?

Khartoum attack escalates Iran-Israel covert war

Sudan’s Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman had on Wednesday accused Israel of using its warplanes to attack the Yarmouk Complex where weapons were being manufactured. Two people died in the attack.

Analysts say the alleged strike by Israel, which Tel Aviv has neither confirmed nor denied, contained a bigger message for Iran. If Israeli planes could target a facility 1,900 km away with no one raising an alarm, they had the ability to strike Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, which is around 1,600 km away. After the strike, sections of Israeli media are talking about their country’s advancement in mid-air refuelling that allowed their planes to travel such a long distance undetected.
The Iranians are fuming about the complicity or incompetence of countries in the region which enabled the suspected Israeli flights to pass through their airspace unscathed as they headed towards Khartoum. “The regional countries must be vigilant and not allow their airspace [to be used] for such crimes,” observed Mr. Mehamanparast.

The Sudanese side raised the principle of national sovereignty, when it urged the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel for bombing the factory

The Iranians also rejected the allegation of connivance between Khartoum and Tehran in building weapons. Israeli media have alleged that the factory was being used to build additional stocks of the Iranian Shihab missile that has the range to attack Israel. Mr. Mehmanparast rubbished the notion, saying Israel “usually fabricates such excuses to cover up the crimes it commits” .

Sending a strong message of support for Sudan, Iran on Monday docked two of its warships — the helicopter carrier Kharg and destroyer Admiral Naqdi — at a Sudanese port on the Red Sea.

Observers say the Khartoum attack has a larger context. It was meant as an equaliser to the recent demonstration by Iran of its ability to penetrate Israeli airspace — highly protected by an array of radars — undetected using one of its drones flown by Lebanese ally Hizbollah. The bold intrusion raised a storm in Israel, whose unrivalled technological superiority seemed to have been suddenly dented. Media reports suggested the drone may have filmed Israel’s crown jewel — the Dimona nuclear complex.

sum · Post by **sum** » 31 Oct 2012 18:57

X-post:

sum wrote:Our new ally in the ME showing its friendship:

Saudis release terror suspect from Dharwad

A Dharwad native, Dr Usman Ghani, arrested from his workplace in Riyadh by Saudi Arabian police at the behest of the Indian government, has been released, his mother Fathima Khan said here on Tuesday.

The doctor had been arrested over his alleged links with two terror modules busted in Bangalore and Hubli recently. Bangalore police had said they had sought Interpol's assistance to get Ghani and two others extradited from Saudi Arabia.

Saudis found nothing, says released doc's mom
The mother of Dr Ghani, a Dharwad resident released by Saudi police, on Tuesday claimed her son was released because the Saudi authorities found nothing concrete in claims about his alleged terror connections.

When contacted, joint commissioner of police B Dayananda on Tuesday said he does not know any Usman Ghani. "I am not sure which Ghani you are talking about. We have sent a request for issuing a red-corner notice against one Usman Ghani. That's all I can say as of now."

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 31 Oct 2012 19:52

lesson to be learned from Israel: tactical difficulties are not an excuse. they can, and usually are, overcome. tactical details can be arranged to suit the mission, by hook or crook. beg, borrow, steel, whatever, but tactical details should never be an obstacle to strategic objectives, especially not against avowed enemies who plan on "wiping out" your land.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 31 Oct 2012 21:45

Syria: rebels battle for control of regime military bases

Syrian rebels are staging raids on major military bases across the north of the country, in an attempt to counter the regime's increasing use of devastating air strikes.

Image 1 of 3
Smoke rises after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet fired missiles at Hamouria Photo: REUTERS
By Richard Spencer, Aleppo7:21PM GMT 30 Oct 2012

Unable to progress in major cities where the regime has used air power to bombard their positions, rebels have now changed tactics in the deadlocked civil war by fighting for control of the bases.
Rebels are laying siege to an air intelligence base west of Aleppo and an airbase to the north of it, and fighting on the edge of two artillery bases either side of the city.
In the strategic town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib province, where rebels have cut the main road supplying the north of the country, the regime hit back with air strikes around two further bases being attacked by the Free Syrian Army.
The regime was also forced to use air power to support troops fighting rebels inside the capital Damascus itself for the first time on Tuesday, hitting the eastern district of Jobar.
There have been repeated air strikes across the country and particularly around Damascus since Sunday, despite the United Nations-backed ceasefire which formally ended at midnight on Monday. The strikes on the capital came amid reports a senior air force general had been shot dead by rebels in the city on Monday night.

Repeated assaults in the last two months by either side in major cities like Homs and Aleppo have moved front lines forward but rarely by more than a few hundred yards.

As the civil war has spread across the country, the rebels have slowly begun to take a more strategic approach. In Maarat al-Numan, after months of fighting, they finally managed to seize the main road from Damascus to Aleppo, which can now only receive supplies from Latakia to the west.

They are now attacking Wadi al-Deif, a military base 500 yards east off the road which is still in regime hands. On Tuesday, air force jets hit back, with some strikes hitting the town itself. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based activist group, said seven civilians, including four children, were killed.
In Aleppo, rebel forces fanning out of the west of the city have been laying siege since the weekend to the Zahra air intelligence base and coming under fire from the Ramoussa artillery base which they tried to assault to the south. Last night, artillery fire could be heard from a Rangers Base on the northern outskirts which is in a pocket of rebel-held territory and was being attacked for the first time.
Rebel spokesmen told The Daily Telegraph that they believed the Zahra and Ramoussa bases were crucial for the regime’s defences in the city, given its lack of manpower.
“They are very dangerous places,” Lt Abdullah Yassin said. “There is strong firing.” They say the use of air power by the regime is a sign of its weakness in numbers on the ground.
They believe that without regime bases from which to launch artillery fire a safe zone could be created in the north of the country near the border with Turkey, both for refugees and as a rear base for further rebel operations.
The government meanwhile announced that a senior air force commander, General Abdullah Mahmud al-Khalidi, was assassinated in Rukn al-Din, a district in north Damascus. The general, a father of four, was in charge of training, according to a statement by the Free Syrian Army claiming responsibility.
“In the context of operations against the criminal regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the Rukn al-Din Martyrs Battalion assassinated on Monday air force General Abdullah Mahmud al-Khalidi,” the statement said. It added that an air force intelligence official Sergeant Ahmed Abdul Haq, was also killed.

They are trying to impose a NFZ in the north. So Hollande is due in KSA on the 4th Nov, he could visit UAE too.

eklavya · Post by **eklavya** » 31 Oct 2012 23:01

JE Menon wrote:>>Al Thani running scared of poets ...

But not artists apparently, at least not when they're from other countries - then he may even offer citizenship!!!

India should offer artistic asylum to Mohamed Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 01 Nov 2012 00:32

And pour water over super power thanks to GCC supersheikhdom money plans?

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 01 Nov 2012 13:05

Gas explosion from a truck in Riyadh kills 14. Many skeptical and saying it was a bomb and not a gas explosion

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 01 Nov 2012 13:12

^^ Vacuum bulb plast ? or is it Toilet gases explosion ?

Saudis need more training from pindigenous experts from lawhore police dept to better explain unexplainable bum blasts.

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 01 Nov 2012 17:51

Toilet gas is highly flammable mostly methane with low flash point and fire point

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 02 Nov 2012 01:22

RIyadh fuel tanker explosion was "near KSA National Guard HQ & Nayef University for Security Studies". http://t.co/hYQaTXHu

Now definitely very suspicious. Nayef uni is where the intel get trained.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 02 Nov 2012 02:39

Kurdish demonstrations in Istanbul reaching a head.

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 02 Nov 2012 02:53

Toilet gas explosions next to Saudi intelligence training centre, can there be any better rotfl material?
Hope clown prince Bandar wasn't tweeting away from his commode I-pad when toilet gas exploded

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 02 Nov 2012 03:23

Big protest on Nov 4th in Kuwait. Jordanians reportedly transferred 16k troops to deal with protesters if things escalate. US is now building links with opposition quietly but won't make any public statements yet. Jordan is doing this in exchange for $6bn to help King A solve his own demonstration problems.

The Kuwaits had the choice between morocco jordanian or Pakis as saudis have used them for various things. Jordanian guy (former chief of GID) brought in as a consultant, he wasnt that good so he said speak to the joranian authorities. So they bought them in, the Saudis shared with the Jordanians everything they knew on kuwaiti opposition, jordanians did same and saudis were impressed that the jordanians knew as much and almost better than the saudis.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 02 Nov 2012 04:18

shyamd ji,

is the Kuwaiti opposition led by Shi'ite?

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 02 Nov 2012 07:19

Remember king Abdallah's wife is a Kuwaiti and king Husain wife Noor was American.
Just as chogyal of Sikkim had American Hope as wife.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 02 Nov 2012 14:06

RajeshA wrote:shyamd ji,

is the Kuwaiti opposition led by Shi'ite?

Not sure, but I am sure there is a small one. The shi'ites are supposedly being co-opted into the police/military ranks to deal with protesters too.

eklavya · Post by **eklavya** » 02 Nov 2012 15:13

Syria plan hits fierce resistance

US-backed efforts to create a ruling council for the Syrian opposition hit fierce resistance on Thursday, highlighting the obstacles to uniting the uprising against Bashar al-Assad as the country slides deeper into civil war.

The plan came under fire from both established regime opponents who could lose status under it and grassroots activists, with many fearing it will prove impossible to bring together the increasingly autonomous armed groups fighting on the ground.

Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, said on Wednesday that the SNC should no longer be considered the “visible leader” of the opposition, and called for greater inclusion of those “on the front lines fighting and dying”.

Radwan Ziadeh, a senior SNC member, cautioned that the proposed initiative would struggle to gain legitimacy.

The council’s proponents “don’t want an overt military presence because it makes it harder for international community to deal with it,” he said. “[But] these guys are running the show.”

Lack of sway over the military factions on the ground would be particularly problematic for the body if it is intended to negotiate truces and ceasefires.

Qatar getting increasingly associated with the failure of the Syrian opposition.