Who Arms Syria ?

UPDATE for October 7 further down
=> Including complete interview with Ahmadi Nejad !
Latest NEWS UPDATE on October 15

Today, Al-Jazeera published the preview of an interview taken with Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad. It should have been recorded during his visit to the United Nations in New York. As to the subject of Syrian armament, Ahmadi Nejad rejected U.S. allegations of Iran sending weapons to the Assad regime over Iraqi airspace. Instead, he pointed out that any military support in this conflict for any of both sides, government and opposition, would only lead to tribal war that should destroy Syria's integrity.



Ahmadi Nejad might be a liar or not, his words seem to have the truth when it comes to arming Syria, especially when he said something like: "There are many in line before us who have always armed Syria".

I still remember another graduate who left university about the same time like me and who had something to do with material sciences. On some occasion I heard that his new employer had sent him to Syria on a German Airforce plane that took off for Damascus regularly once a week carrying military advisers and arms specialists. Because of that regular flight the plane was reportedly nicknamed "Damascus Airways". That was around 1980 under the rule of Hafiz Al-Assad who had since been regarded as being even more cruel than his son who followed him in office, until Bashir Al-Assad only recently blew the fuse and topped his father.

At first, such news of military cooperation between Syria and NATO member Germany took me by surprise because Syria was considered an ally to the Soviet empire at that time. I understand they still have a Russian naval base. Furthermore, German arms exports are very much restricted by law (what we call "Kriegswaffen-Kontrollgesetz"). Later I came to think that any Western nation, providing military equipment and being driven by the forces of an international market, would try to sell their stuff even to the devil. So, it cannot be Russia, China or Iran alone that are to be blamed for weaponry trafficking.

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Al-Jazeera's complete interview with Ahmadi Nejad, Part I:



Al-Jazeera's complete interview with Ahmadi Nejad, Part II:



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UPDATE on October 15, 2012:

Citing videos and witness accounts, Human Rights Watch said in a recent report Syrian government forces were using cluster bombs. The report says the bombs are Soviet-made, but it also says it's unclear how or when Syria may have acquired them. The Syrian government has declined all allegations.

Russia questioned the report's veracity. "There is no confirmation to this," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency. "There are loads of weapons in this region, including in Syria and other countries of the region, and arms are supplied there in large quantities and illegally."

Read the complete news on CNN's website:
Syria denies using cluster bombs.

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Subject relevant visitor request to "blueprint news" from Moscow on October 15, 2012: