Syria Turning Into Cemetary For Hezbollah

[Bloodrock44]

Hezbollah commanders getting whacked in Syria. Who woulda thunk it?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...24GwDQ&usg=AFQjCNGdLvNS34duFW-NHkV6xK1FhCNuzA

It appears that the Syrian war is turning into a cemetery for the most prominent leaders of Hezbollah .

That most recent victims are Ali Bazzi and Ali Saleh.

Hezbollah lost one of the most prominent field commanders during the clashes in Syria, Ali Hussein Bazzi who hails from the town of Bint Jbeil of south Lebanon near the borders with Israel.

Bazzi will be buried Monday in Haret Saida, according to Lebanese media reports.
The announcement of Bazzi’s death comes hours after the announcement of death of Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.

Salah who hails from the town of Abbasieh in the Tyre district will be buried late Sunday in the Dhahieh , Hezbollah’s stronghold south of the capital Beirut

Hezbollah also announced the death of Ali Sami Raad who hails from the city of Baalbeck and who” died while performing his sacred Jihad duty in Syria”. The party also announced the death of Khalil Dhia who hails from the town of Bafliyeh in the in the Tyre district .


ali hussein saleh Hezbollah commander
Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.


President Michel Suleiman again called on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria and abide by the Baabda declaration.

“Getting involved in foreign affairs in defense of a cause or weapons leads to the demise of the state,” Suleiman said on Saturday during the unveiling of statues of former presidents since the Independence at the Baabda palace, in reference to the Shiite group.

Thousands of Hezbollah fighters are reportedly helping the Syrian president Bashar al Assad forces against the mostly Sunni rebels who are trying to topple the 40 year old dictatorship. This is resulting in escalation of tension between the Lebanese Sunnis who support the rebels and the Shiites

The Baabda Declaration was issued following a national dialogue in 2012, and was championed by President Suleiman and signed by all the Lebanese parties including Hezbollah

 

[SAYIT]

Hezbollah commanders getting whacked in Syria. Who woulda thunk it?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...24GwDQ&usg=AFQjCNGdLvNS34duFW-NHkV6xK1FhCNuzA

It appears that the Syrian war is turning into a cemetery for the most prominent leaders of Hezbollah .

That most recent victims are Ali Bazzi and Ali Saleh.

Hezbollah lost one of the most prominent field commanders during the clashes in Syria, Ali Hussein Bazzi who hails from the town of Bint Jbeil of south Lebanon near the borders with Israel.

Bazzi will be buried Monday in Haret Saida, according to Lebanese media reports.
The announcement of Bazzi’s death comes hours after the announcement of death of Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.

Salah who hails from the town of Abbasieh in the Tyre district will be buried late Sunday in the Dhahieh , Hezbollah’s stronghold south of the capital Beirut

Hezbollah also announced the death of Ali Sami Raad who hails from the city of Baalbeck and who” died while performing his sacred Jihad duty in Syria”. The party also announced the death of Khalil Dhia who hails from the town of Bafliyeh in the in the Tyre district .


ali hussein saleh Hezbollah commander
Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.


President Michel Suleiman again called on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria and abide by the Baabda declaration.

“Getting involved in foreign affairs in defense of a cause or weapons leads to the demise of the state,” Suleiman said on Saturday during the unveiling of statues of former presidents since the Independence at the Baabda palace, in reference to the Shiite group.

Thousands of Hezbollah fighters are reportedly helping the Syrian president Bashar al Assad forces against the mostly Sunni rebels who are trying to topple the 40 year old dictatorship. This is resulting in escalation of tension between the Lebanese Sunnis who support the rebels and the Shiites

The Baabda Declaration was issued following a national dialogue in 2012, and was championed by President Suleiman and signed by all the Lebanese parties including Hezbollah

Woo. That's some really tragic news. So does this mean that the rebels are allied with and supplied by Israel against Assad or that Hezbollah is allied with and supplied by Israel in support of Assad? It's so confusing.

 

[Bloodrock44]

Hezbollah commanders getting whacked in Syria. Who woulda thunk it?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...24GwDQ&usg=AFQjCNGdLvNS34duFW-NHkV6xK1FhCNuzA

It appears that the Syrian war is turning into a cemetery for the most prominent leaders of Hezbollah .

That most recent victims are Ali Bazzi and Ali Saleh.

Hezbollah lost one of the most prominent field commanders during the clashes in Syria, Ali Hussein Bazzi who hails from the town of Bint Jbeil of south Lebanon near the borders with Israel.

Bazzi will be buried Monday in Haret Saida, according to Lebanese media reports.
The announcement of Bazzi’s death comes hours after the announcement of death of Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.

Salah who hails from the town of Abbasieh in the Tyre district will be buried late Sunday in the Dhahieh , Hezbollah’s stronghold south of the capital Beirut

Hezbollah also announced the death of Ali Sami Raad who hails from the city of Baalbeck and who” died while performing his sacred Jihad duty in Syria”. The party also announced the death of Khalil Dhia who hails from the town of Bafliyeh in the in the Tyre district .


ali hussein saleh Hezbollah commander
Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.


President Michel Suleiman again called on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria and abide by the Baabda declaration.

“Getting involved in foreign affairs in defense of a cause or weapons leads to the demise of the state,” Suleiman said on Saturday during the unveiling of statues of former presidents since the Independence at the Baabda palace, in reference to the Shiite group.

Thousands of Hezbollah fighters are reportedly helping the Syrian president Bashar al Assad forces against the mostly Sunni rebels who are trying to topple the 40 year old dictatorship. This is resulting in escalation of tension between the Lebanese Sunnis who support the rebels and the Shiites

The Baabda Declaration was issued following a national dialogue in 2012, and was championed by President Suleiman and signed by all the Lebanese parties including Hezbollah

Woo. That's some really tragic news. So does this mean that the rebels are allied with and supplied by Israel against Assad or that Hezbollah is allied with and supplied by Israel in support of Assad? It's so confusing.

It is. I understand they've replaced one of the commanders with a guy named Farhard.

 

[MJB12741]

The least the USA & Israel could do is send body bags while the Syrians continue to party massacring each other.

 

[waltky]

Hezbollah usin' new tactics in Syria...

HEZBOLLAH DEVELOPS NEW TACTICS IN SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
Apr 12,`14 -- The commandos infiltrated Syrian rebel-held territory near the Lebanese border, watching rebel fighters come and go from a two-story villa before slipping inside to plant a powerful bomb. The next morning, they detonated it as three rebel explosive experts and four assistants met inside, turning the villa to rubble in seconds.

The operation late last month in Syria's western Qalamoun region was carried out by fighters from Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, several Lebanese officials close to the militants have told The Associated Press. The Shiite group has sent hundreds of its fighters into Syria to shore up President Bashar Assad's overstretched troops, helping them gain ground around the capital, Damascus, and near the Lebanese border. But with its own casualties mounting in a civil war that activists say has killed more than 150,000 people in three years, officials say Hezbollah has turned to a variety of new tactics - including complicated commando operations - to hunt down rebels and opposition commanders.

The aim of the new strategy, that includes hit-and-run attacks as well as reconnaissance missions, is to help Assad hold onto power, limit Hezbollah casualties and attack groups that want to launch attacks inside Lebanon itself. "Hezbollah is also well aware of its comparatively limited manpower capacity," said Charles Lister, an analyst with the Brookings Doha Center. "So exploiting an ability to inflict damage on the enemy without expending significant resources ... is a natural strategic development." Hezbollah has a long history of guerrilla attacks. It fought Israel in the wake of its occupation of south Lebanon until it pulled out in 2000, relying on hit-and-run assaults to combat Israel's army.

Hezbollah fighters walk through a field at the Lebanon-Syria border, near the northeastern Lebanese town of al-Qasr, Lebanon. The Shiite group has sent hundreds of its fighters into Syria to shore up President Bashar Assad’s overstretched troops, helping them gain ground around the capital, Damascus, and near the Lebanese border. But with its own casualties mounting in a civil war that activists say has killed more than 150,000 people in three years, officials say Hezbollah has turned to a variety of new tactics - including complicated commando operations - to hunt down rebels and opposition commanders.

In Syria, the turning point in Hezbollah's strategy came after the group helped secure the Syrian border town of Qusair last June, said the Lebanese officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Hezbollah military tactics. After that battle, they say rebels ambushed and killed four elite Hezbollah fighters after Syrian troops told them the area was secure. Now, Hezbollah sends small groups of fighters to observe areas before entering, the officials say. One official said Hezbollah also has linked Syrian territories where it is present to its bases in Lebanon via a secure, hard-wired telecommunication network it has been using back home for years. The fighters avoid using mobile phones or other equipment easy to monitor, the official said.

The attack on the villa in Qalamoun also showcases the turn to commando-style fighting. Syrian state media said Syrian troops carried out the attack. However, Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Akhbar that is sympathetic to Assad, said both Syrian troops and Hezbollah special forces carried out the attack. Observers of the group and experts say the Qalamoun attack was consistent with similar operations carried out by Hezbollah in the past. "Covert and targeted Hezbollah operations further into Syria's interior or into `enemy territory' is not such a surprising development," Lister said. "After all, Hezbollah training incorporates all the capabilities necessary for such operations, and there is a precedent for similar tactical evolutions, particularly against Israel."

MORE

 

[Lipush]

All of Israel's enemies will hopefully perish this way!

 

[aris2chat]

I wish all the hezbullah that are in Syria were refused reentry to Lebanon, but the border is far too porous.
Backed by Iranian money, sanctions by the US won't be that painful. However when the next election Hezbullah will need money for billboard and painting.

US legislation targets Hezbollah
dw.de/us-legislation-targets-hezbollah/a-17560074
Middle East

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced legislation to toughen economic sanctions against Hezbollah. But analysts say the bill isn't really anything new - and is more about the message.

On the heels of Hezbollah's claim earlier this week that it has helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defeat the insurgency in his country, a bipartisan bill is being introduced in US Congress to put the financial squeeze on the group. The Hezbollah International Financial Prevention Act aims to impair Hezbollah's fundraising channels by imposing severe new sanctions on the organization's financial network worldwide.

"Right now, Hezbollah uses its global financial connections to launder money and help fund terrorist activities," Congressman Brad Schneider, one of the initiators of the legislation, said in a press statement. "This bill will help stifle that financial network and give the United States more tools to crack down on Hezbollah's global terrorist activities.".................

 

[georgephillip]

Hezbollah usin' new tactics in Syria...

HEZBOLLAH DEVELOPS NEW TACTICS IN SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
Apr 12,`14 -- The commandos infiltrated Syrian rebel-held territory near the Lebanese border, watching rebel fighters come and go from a two-story villa before slipping inside to plant a powerful bomb. The next morning, they detonated it as three rebel explosive experts and four assistants met inside, turning the villa to rubble in seconds.

The operation late last month in Syria's western Qalamoun region was carried out by fighters from Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, several Lebanese officials close to the militants have told The Associated Press. The Shiite group has sent hundreds of its fighters into Syria to shore up President Bashar Assad's overstretched troops, helping them gain ground around the capital, Damascus, and near the Lebanese border. But with its own casualties mounting in a civil war that activists say has killed more than 150,000 people in three years, officials say Hezbollah has turned to a variety of new tactics - including complicated commando operations - to hunt down rebels and opposition commanders.

The aim of the new strategy, that includes hit-and-run attacks as well as reconnaissance missions, is to help Assad hold onto power, limit Hezbollah casualties and attack groups that want to launch attacks inside Lebanon itself. "Hezbollah is also well aware of its comparatively limited manpower capacity," said Charles Lister, an analyst with the Brookings Doha Center. "So exploiting an ability to inflict damage on the enemy without expending significant resources ... is a natural strategic development." Hezbollah has a long history of guerrilla attacks. It fought Israel in the wake of its occupation of south Lebanon until it pulled out in 2000, relying on hit-and-run assaults to combat Israel's army.

Hezbollah fighters walk through a field at the Lebanon-Syria border, near the northeastern Lebanese town of al-Qasr, Lebanon. The Shiite group has sent hundreds of its fighters into Syria to shore up President Bashar Assad’s overstretched troops, helping them gain ground around the capital, Damascus, and near the Lebanese border. But with its own casualties mounting in a civil war that activists say has killed more than 150,000 people in three years, officials say Hezbollah has turned to a variety of new tactics - including complicated commando operations - to hunt down rebels and opposition commanders.

In Syria, the turning point in Hezbollah's strategy came after the group helped secure the Syrian border town of Qusair last June, said the Lebanese officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Hezbollah military tactics. After that battle, they say rebels ambushed and killed four elite Hezbollah fighters after Syrian troops told them the area was secure. Now, Hezbollah sends small groups of fighters to observe areas before entering, the officials say. One official said Hezbollah also has linked Syrian territories where it is present to its bases in Lebanon via a secure, hard-wired telecommunication network it has been using back home for years. The fighters avoid using mobile phones or other equipment easy to monitor, the official said.

The attack on the villa in Qalamoun also showcases the turn to commando-style fighting. Syrian state media said Syrian troops carried out the attack. However, Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Akhbar that is sympathetic to Assad, said both Syrian troops and Hezbollah special forces carried out the attack. Observers of the group and experts say the Qalamoun attack was consistent with similar operations carried out by Hezbollah in the past. "Covert and targeted Hezbollah operations further into Syria's interior or into `enemy territory' is not such a surprising development," Lister said. "After all, Hezbollah training incorporates all the capabilities necessary for such operations, and there is a precedent for similar tactical evolutions, particularly against Israel."

MORE

Seymour Hersh shares some insight on the evolution of Obama's red line response in Syria:

"In the aftermath of the 21 August (Sarin gas attacks) attack Obama ordered the Pentagon to draw up targets for bombing.

"Early in the process, the former intelligence official said, ‘the White House rejected 35 target sets provided by the joint chiefs of staff as being insufficiently 'painful' to the Assad regime.’

"The original targets included only military sites and nothing by way of civilian infrastructure.

"Under White House pressure, the US attack plan evolved into ‘a monster strike’: two wings of B-52 bombers were shifted to airbases close to Syria, and navy submarines and ships equipped with Tomahawk missiles were deployed. ‘Every day the target list was getting longer,’ the former intelligence official told me.

"‘The Pentagon planners said we can’t use only Tomahawks to strike at Syria’s missile sites because their warheads are buried too far below ground, so the two B-52 air wings with two-thousand pound bombs were assigned to the mission.'

"Then we’ll need standby search-and-rescue teams to recover downed pilots and drones for target selection. It became huge.’

"The new target list was meant to ‘completely eradicate any military capabilities Assad had’, the former intelligence official said.

"The core targets included electric power grids, oil and gas depots, all known logistic and weapons depots, all known command and control facilities, and all known military and intelligence buildings."

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

Maybe Hezbollah can tell us what would be different in Syria today if Obama had eradicated all of Assad's military capability a year ago?

 

[MJB12741]

I have no problem with Syrians massacring each other in their own country except for the innocent children who are the victims of their own people.

 

[georgephillip]

Where are Syria's rebels getting their weapons?

"The full extent of US co-operation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in assisting the rebel opposition in Syria has yet to come to light.

"The Obama administration has never publicly admitted to its role in creating what the CIA calls a ‘rat line’, a back channel highway into Syria.

"The rat line, authorised in early 2012, was used to funnel weapons and ammunition from Libya via southern Turkey and across the Syrian border to the opposition.

"Many of those in Syria who ultimately received the weapons were jihadists, some of them affiliated with al-Qaida. (The DNI spokesperson said: ‘The idea that the United States was providing weapons from Libya to anyone is false.’)"

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

 

[SAYIT]

Where are Syria's rebels getting their weapons?

"The full extent of US co-operation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in assisting the rebel opposition in Syria has yet to come to light.

"The Obama administration has never publicly admitted to its role in creating what the CIA calls a ‘rat line’, a back channel highway into Syria.

"The rat line, authorised in early 2012, was used to funnel weapons and ammunition from Libya via southern Turkey and across the Syrian border to the opposition.

"Many of those in Syria who ultimately received the weapons were jihadists, some of them affiliated with al-Qaida. (The DNI spokesperson said: ‘The idea that the United States was providing weapons from Libya to anyone is false.’)"

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

As already mentioned, it is difficult to know the players in Syria without a scorecard but Hersh's wide dependence on "unnamed sources" and unreleased "top-secret documents" is not just convenient for the bookseller but the source of his suspect reputation:
Seymour Hersh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[aris2chat]

FSA just got 20 TOWs

 

[georgephillip]

Where are Syria's rebels getting their weapons?

"The full extent of US co-operation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in assisting the rebel opposition in Syria has yet to come to light.

"The Obama administration has never publicly admitted to its role in creating what the CIA calls a ‘rat line’, a back channel highway into Syria.

"The rat line, authorised in early 2012, was used to funnel weapons and ammunition from Libya via southern Turkey and across the Syrian border to the opposition.

"Many of those in Syria who ultimately received the weapons were jihadists, some of them affiliated with al-Qaida. (The DNI spokesperson said: ‘The idea that the United States was providing weapons from Libya to anyone is false.’)"

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

As already mentioned, it is difficult to know the players in Syria without a scorecard but Hersh's wide dependence on "unnamed sources" and unreleased "top-secret documents" is not just convenient for the bookseller but the source of his suspect reputation:
Seymour Hersh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sy Hersh has been proven correct about some of his stories and not so correct in others; however, it isn't likely he's deliberately trying to mislead his audience, unlike the current occupant of the White House when it comes to Syria and Ukraine:

"In 2011 Barack Obama led an allied military intervention in Libya without consulting the US Congress.

"Last August, after the sarin attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, he was ready to launch an allied air strike, this time to punish the Syrian government for allegedly crossing the ‘red line’ he had set in 2012 on the use of chemical weapons.​＊

"Then with less than two days to go before the planned strike, he announced that he would seek congressional approval for the intervention.

"The strike was postponed as Congress prepared for hearings, and subsequently cancelled when Obama accepted Assad’s offer to relinquish his chemical arsenal in a deal brokered by Russia.

"Why did Obama delay and then relent on Syria when he was not shy about rushing into Libya?

"The answer lies in a clash between those in the administration who were committed to enforcing the red line, and military leaders who thought that going to war was both unjustified and potentially disastrous."

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

Obama and Kerry are sounding just as confident of the recent coup in Kiev today as they were about Sarin in Syria last August. Both politicians are more likely to lie about events then and now than Hersh is.

 

[Roudy]

Hezbollah commanders getting whacked in Syria. Who woulda thunk it?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...24GwDQ&usg=AFQjCNGdLvNS34duFW-NHkV6xK1FhCNuzA

It appears that the Syrian war is turning into a cemetery for the most prominent leaders of Hezbollah .

That most recent victims are Ali Bazzi and Ali Saleh.

Hezbollah lost one of the most prominent field commanders during the clashes in Syria, Ali Hussein Bazzi who hails from the town of Bint Jbeil of south Lebanon near the borders with Israel.

Bazzi will be buried Monday in Haret Saida, according to Lebanese media reports.
The announcement of Bazzi’s death comes hours after the announcement of death of Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.

Salah who hails from the town of Abbasieh in the Tyre district will be buried late Sunday in the Dhahieh , Hezbollah’s stronghold south of the capital Beirut

Hezbollah also announced the death of Ali Sami Raad who hails from the city of Baalbeck and who” died while performing his sacred Jihad duty in Syria”. The party also announced the death of Khalil Dhia who hails from the town of Bafliyeh in the in the Tyre district .


ali hussein saleh Hezbollah commander
Hezbollah field commander , Ali Hussein Saleh, nicknamed “Sheikh Hadi” who was killed in the clashes taking place in the Al Qalamoun mountain area in Syria.


President Michel Suleiman again called on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria and abide by the Baabda declaration.

“Getting involved in foreign affairs in defense of a cause or weapons leads to the demise of the state,” Suleiman said on Saturday during the unveiling of statues of former presidents since the Independence at the Baabda palace, in reference to the Shiite group.

Thousands of Hezbollah fighters are reportedly helping the Syrian president Bashar al Assad forces against the mostly Sunni rebels who are trying to topple the 40 year old dictatorship. This is resulting in escalation of tension between the Lebanese Sunnis who support the rebels and the Shiites

The Baabda Declaration was issued following a national dialogue in 2012, and was championed by President Suleiman and signed by all the Lebanese parties including Hezbollah

Woo. That's some really tragic news. So does this mean that the rebels are allied with and supplied by Israel against Assad or that Hezbollah is allied with and supplied by Israel in support of Assad? It's so confusing.

It is. I understand they've replaced one of the commanders with a guy named Farhard.

...his nom de guere being "Farthard".

 

[SAYIT]

Where are Syria's rebels getting their weapons?

"The full extent of US co-operation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in assisting the rebel opposition in Syria has yet to come to light.

"The Obama administration has never publicly admitted to its role in creating what the CIA calls a ‘rat line’, a back channel highway into Syria.

"The rat line, authorised in early 2012, was used to funnel weapons and ammunition from Libya via southern Turkey and across the Syrian border to the opposition.

"Many of those in Syria who ultimately received the weapons were jihadists, some of them affiliated with al-Qaida. (The DNI spokesperson said: ‘The idea that the United States was providing weapons from Libya to anyone is false.’)"

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

As already mentioned, it is difficult to know the players in Syria without a scorecard but Hersh's wide dependence on "unnamed sources" and unreleased "top-secret documents" is not just convenient for the bookseller but the source of his suspect reputation:
Seymour Hersh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sy Hersh has been proven correct about some of his stories and not so correct in others; however, it isn't likely he's deliberately trying to mislead his audience, unlike the current occupant of the White House when it comes to Syria and Ukraine:

"In 2011 Barack Obama led an allied military intervention in Libya without consulting the US Congress.

"Last August, after the sarin attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, he was ready to launch an allied air strike, this time to punish the Syrian government for allegedly crossing the ‘red line’ he had set in 2012 on the use of chemical weapons.​＊

"Then with less than two days to go before the planned strike, he announced that he would seek congressional approval for the intervention.

"The strike was postponed as Congress prepared for hearings, and subsequently cancelled when Obama accepted Assad’s offer to relinquish his chemical arsenal in a deal brokered by Russia.

"Why did Obama delay and then relent on Syria when he was not shy about rushing into Libya?

"The answer lies in a clash between those in the administration who were committed to enforcing the red line, and military leaders who thought that going to war was both unjustified and potentially disastrous."

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

Obama and Kerry are sounding just as confident of the recent coup in Kiev today as they were about Sarin in Syria last August. Both politicians are more likely to lie about events then and now than Hersh is.

According to Hersh, that's not exactly correct. In that same WIKI article he admits to fudging facts in speeches. If that is the case, how reliable are his anonymous sources and top secret docs which no one can examine? Convenient when writing a book, eh?

 

[georgephillip]

As already mentioned, it is difficult to know the players in Syria without a scorecard but Hersh's wide dependence on "unnamed sources" and unreleased "top-secret documents" is not just convenient for the bookseller but the source of his suspect reputation:
Seymour Hersh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sy Hersh has been proven correct about some of his stories and not so correct in others; however, it isn't likely he's deliberately trying to mislead his audience, unlike the current occupant of the White House when it comes to Syria and Ukraine:

"In 2011 Barack Obama led an allied military intervention in Libya without consulting the US Congress.

"Last August, after the sarin attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, he was ready to launch an allied air strike, this time to punish the Syrian government for allegedly crossing the ‘red line’ he had set in 2012 on the use of chemical weapons.​＊

"Then with less than two days to go before the planned strike, he announced that he would seek congressional approval for the intervention.

"The strike was postponed as Congress prepared for hearings, and subsequently cancelled when Obama accepted Assad’s offer to relinquish his chemical arsenal in a deal brokered by Russia.

"Why did Obama delay and then relent on Syria when he was not shy about rushing into Libya?

"The answer lies in a clash between those in the administration who were committed to enforcing the red line, and military leaders who thought that going to war was both unjustified and potentially disastrous."

Seymour M. Hersh · The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdo?an and the Syrian rebels · LRB 17 April 2014

Obama and Kerry are sounding just as confident of the recent coup in Kiev today as they were about Sarin in Syria last August. Both politicians are more likely to lie about events then and now than Hersh is.

According to Hersh, that's not exactly correct. In that same WIKI article he admits to fudging facts in speeches. If that is the case, how reliable are his anonymous sources and top secret docs which no one can examine? Convenient when writing a book, eh?

Good Point.

"Those who criticize Hersh's credibility especially point to allegations Hersh has made in public speeches and interviews, rather than in print.

"In an interview with New York magazine, Hersh made a distinction between the standards of strict factual accuracy for his print reporting and the leeway he allows himself in speeches, in which he may talk informally about stories still being worked on or blur information to protect his sources.

"'Sometimes I change events, dates, and places in a certain way to protect people... I can't fudge what I write. But I can certainly fudge what I say.'"[53]

Seymour Hersh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IMHO, Hersh still has more credibility in most cases than most of the politicians and generals he writes about, particularly when it involves the War on Terror.