American secret service operatives are distributing illegal assault rifles, anti-tank rocket launchers and other ammunition to Syrian opposition, the New York Times reports. But due to some rebels’ links to Al Qaeda, the CIA’s task is precarious. ­The paper reports that for weeks now, officers based in southeast Turkey have supervised the flow of illegal arms to numerous opposition factions ready... 

Damascus says all military operations will be halted by Thursday morning, but their troops will “remain on alert” to confront any possible threat. The announcement comes as Tuesday failed to bring the truce provided by Kofi Annan’s peace plan. “After our armed forces carried out successful missions in combating the criminal acts of terrorist groups and imposed the authority of the... 

Who needs diplomacy, or international law? Not former presidential candidate (R-AZ) John McCain, who became the first senator to publicly call for a US-led military strike on Syria in order to halt the nearly year-long conflict there. Taking the Senate floor, McCain said there will be no UN mandate for the air strikes he deems the only way to stop the violence – but that a mandate isn’t necessary.... 

People have been left without water or electricity as rebels destroy water pumps and power converters. Civilians are forced to stay inside as snipers shoot from the rooftops. ­RT in Damascus managed to contact an eyewitness in Homs, who says gunmen are killing civilians in the streets. Galina says leaving home is out of the question, as snipers “can shoot you in the back.” “They kill both young... 

Supporters of Bashar Assad's government demonstrate on his behalf over the weekend in Damascus, the Syrian capital. Since Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s sharp words last week, the Obama administration has stopped short of calling for President Bashar Assad to resign and has toned down its rhetoric. After sharply escalating its criticism of Syria’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy... 

The situation around Syria continues to be in the spotlight of the politicians and the media. In recent days the situation in the country has sharply deteriorated. The tone of the comments in various western media outlets is nearly the same: they are blaming President Bashar Assad. At some point Milosevic and Gaddafi were subject to similar attacks by the Western media. Would Syria be subject to the... 

The Syrian government yesterday lifted the country’s 48-year-old state of emergency to try to appease anti-government protesters. But demonstrations continued as opposition leaders dismissed the historic move as an attempt by President Bashar Assad to make out he was making reforms while maintaining his hardline rule. In the country’s third largest city, Homs, security officers opened fire... 

Speaking Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted the US was not yet considering a Libya-style military attack on Syria, saying that the situation was different primarily because Syrian President Bashar Assad hadn’t yet used air strikes on protesters. “Each of these situations is unique,” Clinton insisted, adding that the “police action” in Syria had...