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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRussia'a Putin Calls John Kerry A Liar On Syria
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a liar for denying that al-Qaida was fighting with the Syrian opposition in that country's civil war.
Speaking Wednesday to his human rights council, Putin recalled watching a congressional debate where Kerry was asked about al-Qaida and denied that it was operating in Syria, even though he was aware of the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra group.
Putin said: "This was very unpleasant and surprising for me. We talk to them (the Americans) and we assume they are decent people, but he is lying and he knows that he is lying. This is sad."
more...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_KERRY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-04-15-52-33
Drale
(7,932 posts)snappyturtle
(14,656 posts)the Jabhat al-Nusra group known to be in Syria.
The Russians also gave us a heads up on the Boston
bomber so altho we need to listen with caution, Putin
is right on this imho.
bunnies
(15,859 posts)But he's right on this one.
Harmony Blue
(3,978 posts)so what Putin said is correct.
David__77
(23,418 posts)Yes, there are also some other powerful Islamist terrorist groups beside AQ within the opposition. The man who cannibalized a government soldier on film was, however, a "moderate" member of the FSA.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)The al-Qaeda linked Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front) in Syria, has been held responsible for having instigated a sectarian racist war against civilian Kurds in Syrias northern Kurdish region, the outcomes of which recently led to the massacre of hundreds of Kurdish women and children, some of whom were raped and beheaded by jihadists, says Syrian opposition officials, witnesses and victims.
Human rights activists in Syrias Kurdish region have confirmed that 450 Kurdish civilians, mostly women and children, were slaughtered indiscriminately inside their homes at the hands of jihadists of the al-Nusra Front in Tal Abyad, Tal Hassil and Tal Aran areas of Syrian Kurdistan from July 28 August 2, 2013.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/rozh-ahmad/mass-slaughter-of-civilian-kurds-in-syria-ignites-heavy-clashes-and-mass-exodus
last1standing
(11,709 posts)n/t
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)Presented with historically understandable skepticism about the quality of U.S. intelligence about Assad using chemical weapons, Kerry said this:
The intelligence community, represented by DNI Clapper, has released a public document, unclassified, available for all to see in which they make their judgment with high confidence that the facts are as they have set forth. So you know, I think that speaks for itself.
Clapper, as you may recall, is a sworn liar. That, like so much of Kerry's testimony yesterday, indeed speaks for itself.
http://reason.com/blog/2013/09/04/john-kerrys-morally-linguistically-and-h
blm
(113,063 posts)that was not working alongside Al Qaeda.
Kerry didn't say that Al Qaeda was not in Syria opposing Assad.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)I mean, the most important thing here is to ignore what Kerry actually said in order to agree with Putin that he's a "liar."
Get with the program.
SEN. JOHNSON: What do we know about the opposition? I mean, what is -- have we been tracking them for the last two years? I mean, it seems like -- and this is more of an impression I have as opposed to any exact knowledge, but it seems like initially, the opposition was maybe more Western-leaning, more moderate, more democratic, and as time has gone by, it's degraded, become more infiltrated by al-Qaida. That -- is that basically true? Or to -- (inaudible) -- has that happened?
SEC. KERRY: No, that is -- no, that is actually basically not true. It's basically incorrect. The opposition has increasingly become more defined by its moderation, more defined by the breadth of its membership and more defined by its adherence to some, you know, democratic process and to an all-inclusive, minority-protecting constitution, which will be broad-based and secular with respect to the future of Syria. And that's very critical.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/running-transcript-senate-foreign-services-committee-hearing-on-syria/2013/09/03/35ae1048-14ca-11e3-b182-1b3bb2eb474c_story_4.html
ProSense
(116,464 posts)Out of those, 15 to 25 percent might be in one group or another that we would consider bad guys, Kerry said.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/john-kerry-15-to-25-percent-of-syrian-opposition-are-bad-guy
What you posted shows Kerry rejecting the claim that it has become "become more infiltrated by al-Qaida."
What Kerry stated is that he doesn't believe all the "bad guys" are members of al-Qaeda. He's saying the vast majority of the opposition are not.
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)A top ranking Republican House member says Secretary of State John Kerry is being "disingenuous" in his estimate of the number of jihadists in the Syrian rebels forces.
House Homeland Security Committee chairman Mike McCaul (RTexas) told reporters that he was "stunned" to hear Kerry tell House members on Wednesday that the number of jihadists serving in the Syrian rebel forces comprises less than a quarter of anti-Syrian government fighters.
McCaul says he's learned in various briefings that the number of jihadists migrating to Syria to take on the government there is closer to 50 percent.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/320315-mccaul-stunned-at-kerrys-estimate-of-jihadists-among-syrian-rebels
ProSense
(116,464 posts)jakeXT
(10,575 posts)http://reason.com/blog/2013/09/04/how-many-extremists-are-in-syria-anyway
Bolo Boffin
(23,796 posts)Putin misrepresented what Kerry said.
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)blm
(113,063 posts)Why is that unbelievable to you? You prefer to believe the RW memes that Kerry and Obama are palling around with Al Qaeda?
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)trained humanitarian democratic rebels ?
Catherina
(35,568 posts)FarCenter
(19,429 posts)Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is likewise directly active in Syria. Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Dua, masterminded the July attacks on two Iraqi prisons that sprung hundreds of al-Qaeda members and sympathizers. He had in April announced that AQI, branching out, would henceforth be known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. (Al-Sham refers to what is today Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.)
Baghdadi also proclaimed his assumption of the leadership of al-Qaeda across the Fertile Crescent, pointing out that in 2004 Osama bin Laden had appointed his predecessor, AQI founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, commander of the area. In August, the State Department revealed that Baghdadi had transferred his base of operations to Syria, certainly making it harder for Iraqi security forces to pinpoint his whereabouts. The United States is offering a $10 million reward for information resulting in his capture or death.
Mohammad al-Golani, a Syrian who worked with Zarqawi in Iraq and now leads the al-Nusra Front , claims to be independent of Baghdadi, instead reporting directly to al-Zawahiri. Nonetheless, on the battlefield, the two al-Qaeda affiliates are cooperating in the fight to bring down Assad.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/undermine-al-qaeda-syria.html