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Borger writes: "Syria's former prime minister, Riyad Hijab, has claimed Bashar al-Asssad's regime is on the point of collapse, having lost control of two-thirds of the country, as he called on other top officials to follow his example and defect."

The two-year-old uprising in Syria may have the regime on its last leg. (photo: Reuters)
The two-year-old uprising in Syria may have the regime on its last leg. (photo: Reuters)


Former PM: Syrian Regime Is on Brink of Collapse

By Julian Borger, Guardian UK

14 August 12

 

Bashar al-Assad's former prime minister urges forces loyal to regime to follow his lead and defect 'for the good of the people'.

yria's former prime minister, Riyad Hijab, has claimed Bashar al-Asssad's regime is on the point of collapse, having lost control of two-thirds of the country, as he called on other top officials to follow his example and defect.

In his first public appearance since he fled Damascus with his family a week ago, Hijab told a press conference in the Jordanian capital, Amman, the Syrian army needed to "take the side of the people".

"I assure you, from my experience and former position, that the regime is collapsing, spiritually and financially, as it escalates militarily," Hijab said. "It no longer controls more than 30% of Syrian territory."

Hijab said that while he was prime minister he had been unable to stop the regime's policy of using heavy artillery against Syrian cities considered by the regime as being opposition strongholds. He said he had felt "pain in my soul" of the shelling of civilian areas.

"I was powerless to stop the injustice," he said, urging other senior figures to defect. "Syria is full of honourable officials and military leaders who are waiting for the chance to join the revolution. I urge the army to follow the example of Egypt's and Tunisia's armies take the side of people."

Opposition figures claim many other leading military and political figures in the regime have swapped sides but remained at their posts, either out of fear of what would happen to their families if they defected, or because they had been asked to stay by the rebels to supply intelligence on the inner workings of Assad's government.

Hijab is the highest-ranking defector to date. His flight from Damascus came a month after the defection of a Republican Guard general and former member of Assad's inner circle, Manaf Tlass, and the Syrian ambassador to Baghdad, Nawaf al-Fares.

In the past week the head of protocol at the presidential palace, Muhi al-Din Maslaman, has also defected.


 

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+7 # CandH 2012-08-14 15:26
"The U.S. government – and especially the neocon element – has been consistently planning regime change in Syria and Libya for 20 years, and dreamed of regime change for 50 years. Why are progressives are falling for a continuance of this decades-old neocon effort? The "Creel Commission" in action:

In April 1917, when Dem Prez Wilson led US into the war that he promised would “make the world safe for democracy,” he called on some of US's foremost progressive journalists to “sell” the war to a reluctant US population through the greatest propaganda campaign ever put together. Wilson’s anxiety over securing liberal support for the war effort brought him to recognize how well known “Progressive publicists” exercised credibility in the public mind through their previous work in exposing government and corporate corruption. One such journalist was George Creel['s…] Committee on Public Information (CPI). New Republic editor Walter Lippmann and “father of public relations” Edward Bernays were also brought on board…" http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/07/why-do-progressive-liberals-fall-for-humanitarian-war.html
 
 
+5 # RMDC 2012-08-15 02:28
Good points CandH. Obama is a liberal imperialist as opposed to the neo-con type which prefers direct US invasion. Netanyahoo is a neo con and would like a direct invasion of Iran. Obama prefers to starve Iran into submission, with maybe a smaller war at the end. Obama's job as president was, just as you say, to bring liberals on board for the neo-con return to colonialism. He's done quite a magnificent job of it -- covert wars across the middle east and all over Africa.


The result it is the same. Both require massive propaganda.

The Committee for Public Information was the text book propaganda technique. Hitler praised its effectiveness and borrowed some of its techniques.
 
 
+2 # Activista 2012-08-14 21:55
Hijab, a Sunni Muslim, as the most senior civilian official to defect, his flight after two months in the job .... AFTER TWO MONTH ON THE JOB - his assets are now unfrozen PLUS the $million+ payoff from AL CIADA - it is money stupid. Media PROPAGANDA is Hillarious - opposite is reality - invasion was defeated.
80% of Syria population - Damascus and Aleppo are liberated from the terrorists - 80% of the population supports Syrian government.
 
 
+5 # RMDC 2012-08-15 02:24
The article did not say how much Hajib is being paid by the CIA for his defection. There is no doubt that almost every high level official in the Syrian government and military has been made huge offers of cash to defect and then stage these PR events to persuade the world that Syria is about to fall and the West -- i.e., the US -- should take control of the country.

I seriously doubt that the CIA mercenaries, Saudi and Qatari soldiers, al Queda control 70% of the country. Most people in Syria still support Assad and they hate the so-called rebels.

But this is a war of attrition. The West has been fighting a proxy war in Syria for 18 months. Syria is totally blockaded. It will run out of food and other supplies necessary for life soon. The army will run out of ammunition.

The West can keep up its proxy war forever. That's happened many times in history. Remember Latin America in the 80s. Or the Afghan war.

It is an outrage that the UN -- created to end the scourge of war -- has been on the side of the Euro-American terrorists.
 
 
+1 # Activista 2012-08-15 07:09
"Syria is totally blockaded. It will run out of food and other supplies necessary for life soon"
The sea ports are open and Iraq (Shia) - long border - is not blockading/sanc tioning Syria. Another terrorist bomb attack in Damascus today targeted UN - killed civilians. Not good PR for "rebels".
West is bankrupted economically - we developed super bombs ($200 millions) and gave them to Israel (congress $70 million) - Israel PR claims that they can destroy Iran in one month ... watch price of OIL ...
Syria invasion is part of Iran war - to secure Israel's back - Syria has to be destroyed before the attack on Iran ... but Syria has decent air defense ..
Now I believe that bombing of Iran/Syria will start BEFORE November - to start crisis - not popular war and public will dump Obama (Netanyahoo boy is Romney).
 
 
+4 # fliteshare 2012-08-15 02:55
Beautiful piece of propaganda, Goebbels would be proud.
 
 
+1 # Activista 2012-08-15 13:00
Rebels took Lebanese hostages - this was kosher - now when Lebanese take Sunni hostages - it is crime against humanity. The media War propaganda is Hilarious.
 
 
+1 # Activista 2012-08-16 08:38
"al-Qaeda affiliate and other radical Sunni Islamist groups (rebels/insurge nts) are terrorizing US "liberated" IRAQ. Seems that Al CIAda in Iraq got new arms and new recruits via Turkey invasion of Syria - friends of Hillary. These are same people who bombed Syria Government in Damascus, the same organizations (Saudi, Qatar) that bombed NYC on 911. Israel runs US policy with motto - Enemy of our Enemy (now Iran/Syria) is our FRIEND.
 
 
0 # Johnny 2012-08-30 09:50
The Guardian, like the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NPR, etc., beautifully illustrate what now passes for journalism: uncritical regurgitation of government propaganda.
 

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