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206807 tn?1331936184

Teenager, 15, Executed By Islamist Rebels in Syria

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.http://news.yahoo.com/teenager-15-executed-islamist-rebels-syria-154751521--abc-news-topstories.html
11 Responses
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317787 tn?1473358451
Darn I wish there was an edit button

I first meant to say what happened to this child is horrific
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317787 tn?1473358451
I thought our government was in deep debt.
I guess they will create more money..or obtain a new credit card
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Avatar universal
With any luck, we will send Holder over there with Kerry to ensure that an arms transfer goes well....  I've mentioned before that there are very few people that we've "armed" that we haven't had to go back and deal with later.  I don't know why it keeps happening.  I just wish we would have learned from the previous attempts of "do good", gone bad.
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Avatar universal
I agree.
I feel compelled to do something for the poor civilians caught in this web, but I just cannot see a viable solution. There is no good outcome here, no matter what and aside from helping the innocent civilians, if possible, I think we need to stay out of it.
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206807 tn?1331936184
I haven't seen any evidence to convince me there is a "Good Guy" force in Syria. Why would we even consider arming any of them? Back to my "déjà vu" post, Haven't we learned anything?
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Avatar universal
http://www.jpost.com/International/Tehran-seeks-Islamic-revolutionary-alliance
Iran’s intention to form a united front with Egypt was also demonstrated by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi who said that relations were “gradually improving” and that there was a need to “be a little patient.” He went on to state, “I’m very hopeful about the expansion of the bilateral relationship,” he told Reuters.

Prof. Barry Rubin, the director of the GLORIA Center and a columnist for The Jerusalem Post, wrote in his Rubin Reports blog that the anti-Semitism of the two regimes are similar.

Rubin notes, “This is not just rhetoric but their political analysis: evil, subhuman Jews bent on world conquest and destroying Islam are running the United States but at the same time America is the centerpiece of the conspiracy to destroy Islam.”

He goes on to say that both are revolutionary regimes and a main difference between the two is that Morsi is more pragmatic and “smarter at using the United States whereas Iran’s rulers continue to antagonize it.”

It may seem off topic since the op was on Syria but Iran is a moving force in this war and its tentacles are far reaching.
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Avatar universal
I don't know Glass, even though I am close to Israel, I am no expert but I know the US has always been a great friend to Israel in terms of military (arms) and diplomatic support but never has the U.S. brought troops in and I don't think Israel ever asked that or would ever want that. It is a very proud and tough little nation and though Israel definitely needs the US support, troops is not on the wishlist as far as I know.
What I see as worse case scenario is that the Middle East will explode quite literally but the West will still not be safe. There are terrorist cells everywhere in Europe and the Americas. Iran is the new Reich.
Just my take on it, but I am no expert.
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206807 tn?1331936184
I guess when they eventually start using our weapons against Israel; we can go over there and get killed with them to when we defend Isreal. I say go for it as long as War Hero Kerry will personally go over there and over sees everything to make sure our weapons don’t fall in the wrong hands.
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206807 tn?1331936184
déjà vu?

United States
The United States supported the Taliban through its allies in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia between 1994 and 1996 because Washington viewed the Taliban as anti-Iranian, anti-Shia and pro-Western.[273]Washington furthermore hoped that the Taliban would support development planned by the U.S.-based oil company Unocal.[274] For example, it made no comment when the Taliban captured Herat in 1995, and expelled thousands of girls from schools;[275] the Taliban began killing unarmed civilians, targeting ethnic groups (primarily Hazaras), and restricting the rights of women.[181] In late 1997, American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright began to distance the U.S. from the Taliban. The next year, the American-based oil company Unocal withdrew from negotiations on pipeline construction from Central Asia.[276]
One day before the capture of Mazar, bin Laden affiliates bombed two U.S. embassies in Africa, killing 224 and wounding 4,500, mostly Africans. The U.S. responded by launching cruise missiles on suspected terrorist camps in Afghanistan, killing over 20 though failing to kill bin Laden or even many Al-Qaeda. Mullah Omar condemned the missile attack and American President Bill Clinton.[277] Saudi Arabia expelled the Taliban envoy in protest over the refusal to turn over bin Laden, and after Mullah Omar allegedly insulted the Saudi royal family.[278] In mid-October the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to ban commercial aircraft flights to and from Afghanistan, and freeze its bank accounts worldwide.[279]

Adjusting its counterinsurgency strategy, in October 2009, the U.S announced plans to pay Taliban fighters to switch sides.[280]
On November 26, 2009, in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, President Hamid Karzai said there is an "urgent need" for negotiations with the Taliban, and made it clear that the Obama administration had opposed such talks. There was no formal American response.[281][282]
In early December 2009, the Taliban offered to give the U.S. "legal guarantees" that they would not allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries. There was no formal American response.[147]
On December 6, U.S officials indicated that they have not ruled out talks with the Taliban.[283] Several days later it was reported that Gates saw potential for reconciliation with the Taliban, but not with Al-Qaeda. Furthermore, he said that reconciliation would politically end the insurgency and the war. But he said reconciliation must be on the Afghan government's terms, and that the Taliban must be subject to the sovereignty of the government.[284]
In 2010, General McChrystal said his troop surge could lead to a negotiated peace with the Taliban.[285]
Allegations of connection to CIA There have been many claims that the CIA directly supported the Taliban or al-Qaeda. In the early 1980s, the CIA and the ISI (Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency) provided arms and money, and the ISI helped gather radical Muslims from around the world to fight against the Soviet invaders.[286] Osama Bin Laden was one of the key players in organizing training camps for the foreign Muslim volunteers. "By 1987, 65,000 tons of U.S.-made weapons and ammunition a year were entering the war." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban#United_States
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Avatar universal
This is just horrific.
They are like AlQueda when they moved into Afghanistan. They terrorized the people there, dragged women through the streets and beat them for having their heads uncovered, closed down girls schools, just endless dorms of terror to less extreme Muslims.
I just don't know what to think about Syria...it is like they (and we) are damned if we do and damned if we don't.
Disheartening to say the least.

But guess who the media will complain about as the big oppressor in the Middle East?     Right. lol
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206807 tn?1331936184
Yes Kerry you Dumb A$$, this is exactly who we should be considering sending Arms to!!!

"It looks like the U.S. government will give serious thought this week to arming Syrian rebel groups, days after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces re-captured the key city of Qusair.Secretary of State John Kerry, according to an AP report, has pushed back his mideast trip this week because the White House is planning to discuss sending weapons to some rebel groups"

http://news.yahoo.com/report-john-kerry-cleared-schedule-discuss-arming-syrian-004545378.html
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