Yesterday, three U.S. Senators strongly questioned Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta about U.S. contracts with the Russian arms dealer Rosoboronexport — the same company selling billions in arms to Syria. Panetta didn't have an answer. Keep the pressure on and tell Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to cease all contracts with Rosoboronexport now. Together we will make a difference. —Tom | |||||||||||||||||||
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The death toll in Syria is now frequently exceeding 100 civilians a day. Men, women and children are being targeted by the Syrian government — and the United States is doing business with the same company supplying weapons to this brutal regime. The U.S government has signed a contract for nearly $1 billion in business with Rosoboronexport — the Russian arms dealer that supplies the Syrian government with weapons capable of targeting homes and streets and murdering thousands of innocent Syrian civilians. Tell Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to cease all contracts with Rosoboronexport now. The situation in Syria is intensifying. The Syrian regime is slaughtering innocent civilians every day. And 25,000 Syrian citizens have registered as refugees, almost 200,000 people are now displaced within Syria, and the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating. While the United States calls on the world to sanction Syria's government, our own Department of Defense is signing contracts with a company that has provided $4 billion dollars' worth of weapons to the Syrian regime. This is unconscionable. Condemning Syria's regime is not enough. We must also condemn those who are engaging in business with the regime — and especially those that provide the means to enable the continued slaughter. But the United States is entering into contracts with the same company that is responsible for supplying weapons to the Syrian government and providing their military with the means to perpetrate widespread and systematic attacks on civilians. Demand that Secretary Panetta stop doing business with Rosoboronexport — the company responsible for supplying weapons to Syria's murderous government. Thank you for your support. Together we will make a difference in the lives of people facing mass atrocities in Syria. Sincerely, Tom Andrews  President United to End Genocide | |  | ||||||||||||||||
ABOUT UNITED TO END GENOCIDE We are United to End Genocide, the largest activist organization in America dedicated to preventing and ending genocide and mass atrocities worldwide. We are faith leaders, students, artists, investors and genocide survivors, and all those who believe we must fulfill the promise the world made following the Holocaust — "Never Again!"Syria Crisis: Idlib Assaulted By Regime Troopshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/10/syria-crisis-idlib_n_1336541.html?ref=topbarBy ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press BEIRUT -- Syrian troops pushed ahead with a new assault on the northern region of Idlib on Saturday, shelling one of the centers of the uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule and sending families fleeing for safety as armed rebels tried to fend off the attack. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky. The military operation has raised fears that the regime is planning a new all-out offensive in Idlib like the bloody siege last month that captured a restive part of the city of Homs, further south. While the fighting raged, U.N. envoy Kofi Annan met with Assad in Damascus during a high-profile international mission trying to bring a halt to fighting and arrange talks between the two sides to end the country's yearlong conflict. But the mission was already hitting dead ends. Assad told Annan that any political dialogue was doomed to fail "as long as there are armed terrorist groups that work to spread anarchy and destabilize the country," according to the state news agency SANA. The regime blames terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy for the uprising, not protesters seeking change. The opposition as well has rejected dialogue, saying it is impossible to talk to Assad's regime after a crackdown that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 7,500 people. Activists put the toll even higher, at more than 8,000. In the town of Idlib, a number of families fled, clutching their belongings, according to an Associated Press team in the town, the main center of the northern region. A group of women and children huddled with blankets in a room of one building. Troops that are moving in place to encircle the town battered it with dozens of tanks shells from dawn until noon, the AP team said. Armed opposition fighters dashed through the streets, taking cover behind the corners of buildings in clashes with the troops. Wounded fighters were pulled into trucks to be sped to clinics for treatment. A group of men used shovels to destroy speed bumps along one street to allow ambulances and other rescue vehicles to drive faster. Military reinforcements have been pouring into Idlib this week, including dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers, activists said, reporting that dozens have been killed in the area in recent days. Their casualty reports could not be independently confirmed. The moves suggested the regime was now turning its focus on Idlib after recapturing the rebel-held district of Baba Amr in the central city of Homs, in a monthlong assault that reportedly killed hundreds and devastated the district. The Homs bloodshed further fueled calls among Arab countries and the West for action to stop the crisis, which many fear is moving closer to civil war as the opposition turns more to armed resistance. The U.N. estimates that more than 7,500 people have been killed since Syria launched its crackdown on the uprising, which began a year ago as peaceful protests against Assad. Activists put the toll at more than 8,000. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sought to defend his country's stance on the crisis before Arab leaders, angered by Moscow's blocking of international pressure on Syria's president to step down. Last month, just as the Homs offensive was heating up, Russia and China vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would have supported an Arab League peace plan calling on Assad to hand over his powers. That brought accusations that Russia, a longtime Assad ally, was giving Assad diplomatic cover to intensify his crackdown. "We are not protecting any regimes," Lavrov insisted at a heated session of the Arab League in Cairo on Saturday. "We are protecting international law ... We are not looking for a special prize or geopolitical interest here." He said Russia was trying to prevent "interference in domestic affairs of states, not to mention military interference" - something he hinted other Arab countries should be concerned about, given the upheaval of the Arab Spring the past year. "We certainly believe that all outside actors must be extremely careful in addressing problems which your countries are facing," he said. He said Russia was trying to "promote a peaceful resolution" to Syria's crisis and that the immediate mission now is to halt violence and enable humanitarian assistance to reach those in need in Syria. "If we agree to this, then we shall not really engage in discussing who is to blame" for the bloodshed, he said. "This could be done later by authority or international structure empowered to do this." Speaking after him, Qatar's prime minister sharply criticized Lavrov's remarks. "There is systematic genocide by the Syrian government," Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani said, adding that Arabs are not looking for a cease-fire anymore after "genocide" and "systematic killings" of Syrians. Annan's visit to Damascus marks a new international push for peace nearly a year after protesters took to the streets to demand Assad's ouster, inspired by Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Since then, the regime has dispatched snipers, tanks and civilian gunmen to crush dissent. As the death toll mounted, protests have spread, and some have taken up arms to defend themselves and attack government forces. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters Friday that Annan's priority is to immediately halt all fighting by government forces and opposition fighters - if not simultaneously, then first by government troops, followed by the opposition. Ban said a cease-fire should be quickly followed by inclusive political talks to resolve the yearlong conflict. But there is a widening gap between opposition leaders who say only military aid can stop Assad's regime, and Western powers who fear more weapons will exacerbate the conflict. So far, Western powers have declined to intervene. Unlike Libya, where a U.N.-sanctioned bombing campaign helped rebels topple Moammar Gadhafi last year, Syria has key allies in Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and shares a border with the region's closest American ally, Israel. Outright war in Syria could spark a regional conflagration. Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, was appointed last month as the joint special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League. ___ AP photographer Rodrigo Abd contributed from Idlib. AP correspondents Albert Aji in Damascus and Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report. WARNING: Some of the images below contain graphic content.  PLAY FULLSCREEN ZOOM        Senate Hearing Probes U.S. Arms Purchases from Rosoboronexporthttp://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/03/07/senate-hearing-probes-u-s-arms-purchases-from-rosoboronexport/For Immediate Release: March 7, 2012 Washington, DC – Human Rights First today praised Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) for recognizing that U.S. arms purchases from a Russian company enabling atrocities in Syria “makes no sense.” Cornyn raised the U.S. Defense Department’s purchase of arms from Rosoboronexport – a Syrian arms provider – during today’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Syria featuring Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey.“Senator Cornyn hit the nail on the head today,” said Human Rights First’s Sadia Hameed. “It makes absolutely no sense for the U.S. to continue doing business with companies that are so clearly enabling atrocities. It’s hard for the U.S. to have credibility in pushing for a cease fire in Syria when it’s buying arms from the same company supplying those carrying out the ongoing atrocities there.” Russia remains the top supplier of weapons to Syria and recent reports from human rights monitoring organizations confirm that Russian weapons have been found at the site of atrocities in Homs. According to Thomson Reuters, at least four cargo ships have left a Russian port used by Rosoboronexport for the Syrian port of Tartus since December 2011, and another Russian ship carrying ammunition and sniper rifles, a weapon Syrian forces have used on protestors, docked in Cyprus in January before delivering its cargo to Syria. In January, Rosoboronexport signed a deal with the Syrian government to sell 36 combat jets capable of hitting ground targets, and the company’s chief spokesperson Vyacheslav N. Davidenk recently declared his intention to continue supplying arms to Syria. Rosoboronexport benefits from a nearly $1 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Defense—signed on May 26, 2011, months after the crackdown began. The U.S. signed a no-bid, fixed price foreign sales contract worth $375 million to purchase the Mi series of rotorcrafts and spare parts with an estimated completion date of March 26, 2016. The contract reportedly comes with an option for $550 million in additional purchases, raising the total to nearly $1 billion. Public contract records show ongoing business between the U.S. Army and Rosoboronexport, with a transaction as recent as November 3, 2011. The United States can withdraw from this contract at any point. When questioned about the contract, Secretary Panetta confirmed the purchase of the Mi-series helicopters for the Afghan Army, but stated that he was not sure if the company it sourced from was Rosoboronexport. In a follow-up question, Dempsey speculated that the sale may have been the result of a competitive bid, which all public reports indicate it was not. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Carl Levin (D-MI) echoed concerns about continued trade with Rosoboronexport. Human Rights First encourages the Defense Department to immediately provide the Committee with more details and answer why this contract would continue given the ongoing atrocities in Syria and Russia’s enabling role. “The American people deserve answers about why the U.S. is doing business with those who are so closely aligned with the atrocities in Syria. It’s time for the U.S. to reevaluate this deal,” Hameed concluded. For more information or to speak with Hameed, please contact Brenda Bowser Soder at bowsersoderb@humanrightsfirst.org or 202-370-3323 | |||||||||||||||||||
BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
10 March 2012
Exposed -- U.S. doing business with Syrian arms supplier 8MAR12 & Syria Crisis: Idlib Assaulted By Regime Troops 10MAR12 & Senate Hearing Probes U.S. Arms Purchases from Rosoboronexport 7MAR12
IT is unbelievable the American government is dealing with a major Russian arms supplier to the Syrian government while assad is slaughtering thousands of Syrians for demanding freedom, democracy and human rights. This must stop now! I am ashamed the American government is dealing with rosoboronexport while the Syrian people die every day struggling for their freedom. Please sign the petition to Sec of Defense Panetta demanding ALL contracts with rosoboronexport be ended now. And check out the article from Human Rights First in the U.S. governments dealings with rosoboronexport....
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