US ambassador says satellite images proof of Syria government violence

[jimmy olsen]

He posted it on facebook? Really?

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/11/10378604-ambassador-ford-says-satellite-images-proof-of-syria-government-violence

Ambassador Ford says satellite images proof of Syria government violence

By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

The U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, on Friday said he posted satellite imagery on Facebook to show proof of President Bashar al-Assad's forces attacking residential neighborhoods.

Ford, speaking to NBC News from Paris days after the Feb. 6 closing of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, said shelling by Syrian forces was "just horrific and we want that government violence to stop."

Ford called Syrian government claims that terrorists are shelling Homs "ridiculous." (The city sometimes is referred to as Hims in English.)

The commercial satellite image on Facebook, titled "Security Operations Escalate in Hims," is dated Feb. 6 and has labels pointing out burning buildings, smoke, impact craters, military vehicles and armored vehicles.
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The western Syrian city of Homs, where opposition to Assad is strong, has endured a week of bombardments that have killed dozens of civilians and drawn condemnation from world leaders.

Photoblog: Satellite spots tanks near university housing complex in Homs

"I hear the devastating stories about newborns in Homs dying in hospitals where electricity has been cut and when we see disturbing photos offering proof that the regime is using mortars and artillery against residential neighborhoods, all of us become even more concerned about the tragic outcome for Syrian civilians," Ambassador Robert Ford wrote in a note accompanying the satellite image on Facebook.

He also appeared to take a veiled dig at Russia, which on Saturday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria. Diplomats said one Russian objection was a belief that the resolution disproportionately blamed Syria's government for the violence.

"It is odd to me that anyone would try to equate the actions of the Syrian army and armed opposition groups since the Syrian government consistently initiates the attacks on civilian areas, and it is using its heaviest weapons," Ford wrote.

He also called Feb. 6 "the most emotionally taxing day of my career as a Foreign Service Officer."

"I left Damascus with immense sadness and regret - I wish our departure had not been necessary, but our Embassy, along with several other diplomatic missions in the area, was not sufficiently protected, given the new security concerns in the capital," he wrote.

The State Department also posted images of Syrian military artillery supporting government operations around several cities, including Homs.

Also Friday, satellite image provider DigitalGlobe Inc. released photos that appear to show Syrian army tanks and other armored vehicles in the city of Homs.

DigitalGlobe said the images were taken late Friday morning Syrian time by the company's WorldView 2 satellite from about 480 miles (772 kilometers) above the Earth.
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Stephen Wood, director of DigitalGlobe's analysis center, said the photos show tanks, armored personnel carriers and other armored vehicles in the southern part of the city, some of them near apartment buildings.

The satellite images show an increase in the level of army activity in and around Homs from the previous 24 hours, Wood said.

Wood said no battle damage was visible in the photos taken Friday, but previous images captured by the company's satellites did show the effects of fighting.

Homs looks deserted, with very few cars on the streets in the satellite photos, he said.

DigitalGlobe company has been gathering satellite photos of Syria since mid-2011, he said.

Also in Syria:

Bombs: Two suicide bombers attacked security compounds in the Syrian city of Aleppo, killing 28 people, according to Syrian government officials. Troops and security forces fired on anti-regime protesters as they left mosques after Friday prayers nationwide.

Anti-Assad activists denied any involvement and accused the regime of setting off the blasts to smear the opposition as government forces pummel rebels in one of their main strongholds, Homs. State media touted the bombings as proof the regime faces a campaign by terrorists, not a popular uprising.

However, McClatchy News cited U.S. official blaming an Iraqi al Qaida branch for the blasts to exploit the situation. The officials quoted by McClatchy cited U.S. intelligence reports, which appear to verify Assad's charges of al Qaida involvement in the 11-month uprising against his rule.

Exit strategy: The Obama administration says it is seeing growing signs that the Syrian elite, including people close to Assad, are increasingly worried and beginning to prepare exit plans.
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Two U.S. officials said Friday that one Assad family member has moved large amounts of money out of the country to avoid U.S. and other sanctions on the country and provide a nest egg for a life in exile. Similarly, a senior member of Assad's national security circle has very recently left the country and appears to have settled abroad, they said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified intelligence. They would not identify either the family member or the official or give specifics about the money transfer or the apparent defection. But the examples they cited suggest a new level of planning and worry among the senior regime.

In response to a question about whether the wealthy were fleeing the regime, the State Department said it had information that elite Syrians were looking for help from the opposition Syrian National Council in getting cash and relatives out of the country.

"We are beginning to see this trend accelerate," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

[chipwich]

Facebook is probably more important than the U.N. or an apathetic State department in terms of getting info to the public so he might as well.

[Sheilbh]

The US Ambassador to Syria has been an absolute hero in the past year.  A superb diplomat who's been doing an extraordinary job.  He deserves massive recognition when he goes home.

[Jaron]

The US Ambassador to Syria has been an absolute hero in the past year.  A superb diplomat who's been doing an extraordinary job.  He deserves massive recognition when he goes home.

What has he done?

[CountDeMoney]

The US Ambassador to Syria has been an absolute hero in the past year.  A superb diplomat who's been doing an extraordinary job.  He deserves massive recognition when he goes home.

Yeah, Ford's one of those rare bipartisan careerists at the State Department.  Actually speaks Arabic.  Imagine that.

[Mr.Penguin]

Wow, with out these satellite images would we never have known that the Syrian Army was attacking the city of Homs, I mean are there really people shooting at each other in that city, shocking...

[Sheilbh]

The US Ambassador to Syria has been an absolute hero in the past year.  A superb diplomat who's been doing an extraordinary job.  He deserves massive recognition when he goes home.

What has he done?

I imagine lots behind the scenes and I'm sure his dispatches must be of huge help.

But he's used his diplomatic position very well.  He's visited cities alleged to have been attacked by Assad (such as Hama) where he's been hugely well-received by the crowds of protestors, visited mass graves, met with opposition leaders and used Facebook very effectively to embarrass the regime in a positive way for the US.  Every bit of public diplomacy someone in his position could or should do, he has.  There have been some personal risks to it as well.  The government rent-a-mob has targeted him and the US embassy when he's about.

[Mr.Penguin]

Well, I have just seen these satellite images on the BBC News website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16995725, seriously those images could have been taken on any given date, they only prove that the Syrian Army are in possession of various types of artillery. They have about as much value as proof, as Colin Powell showing black and white satellite photos of a truck, to the UN and claiming that it was proof that Saddam Hussein still had an active WMD program back in 2003... 

[CountDeMoney]

Well Mr. Penguin, I'm sure we can count on your vote with Russia and China on this issue.

[Mr.Penguin]

Well Mr. Penguin, I'm sure we can count on your vote with Russia and China on this issue.

Just wearing my "Mr Critic" hat. Tired of the one sided and all to predictable reporting we are presented with doing almost any conflict at the moment, buzzwords like: "rooftop snipers", "indiscriminate Tank fire", "foreign mercenaries", "possible use of nerve gas". We have seen it in Kosovo, Iraq, Libya and now Syria, simply to much cookie cutter reporting for my taste...

[LaCroix]

question: isn't it better for israel (and thus the united states) that syria remain in political unrest and disruption? it cannot be good for the nation's economy.. "humanitarian" reasons aside

[Darth Wagtaros]

I think Israel was better off with an Alawite dictator firmly in charge rather than the free for all that can result, or worse, an outright Iranian proxy state instead of a merely Iranian supported one.

[LaCroix]

i don't think the end result will lead to an outright iranian proxy state

[Darth Wagtaros]

Maybe. Maybe not.  The Alawite, and Christians dont make up much of the population, but they depend on the Ba'athists for protection.  There is also a decent number of Shi'a there. A militant Moslem Brotherhood could make a real mess of things.

[LaCroix]

i don't think that would lead to a very stable country. see: lebanon

an overthrow of assad would of course result in a government with typical anti-israel sentiment, but it's not like that would really change much. arabs hate jews, news at 11. the key is a disruption of economy for a long term period, which revolution and a new government could accidentally accomplish. in the short term syria is at least preoccupied, which allows israel to focus on iran