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I don’t feel like I can really interact with that average, everyday person. I get too frustrated, because A) they don’t realize what’s going on over there. And B) they don’t care.
— Former drone operator shares with NBC News, after getting a diploma that gives him a scorecard of killing more than 1,600 people.
Brandon Bryant says he was sitting in a chair at a Nevada Air Force base operating the camera when his team fired two missiles from their drone at three men walking down a road halfway around the world in Afghanistan. The missiles hit all three targets, and Bryant says he could see the aftermath on his computer screen – including thermal images of a growing puddle of hot blood. “The guy that was running forward, he’s missing his right leg,” he recalled. “And I watch this guy bleed out and, I mean, the blood is hot.” As the man died his body grew cold, said Bryant, and his thermal image changed until he became the same color as the ground. “I can see every little pixel.
— A former Air Force drone operator talks to Richard Engel of NBC News
The battle of Qusair ends Wednesday as Syria troops say they have retaken the city from the opposition.
![From nationalpostphotos:
Tens of thousands of people attended a candlelight vigil in heavy rain at Victoria Park in Hong Kong Tuesday, June 4, 2013 to mark the 24th anniversary of the June 4th Chinese military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing.
[AP Photo/Kin Cheung]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/ed0243681dee5ca91dbd7d2f7a5dfb4c/tumblr_mnvu9zSJh71s909gvo1_500.jpg)
From nationalpostphotos:
Tens of thousands of people attended a candlelight vigil in heavy rain at Victoria Park in Hong Kong Tuesday, June 4, 2013 to mark the 24th anniversary of the June 4th Chinese military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing.
[AP Photo/Kin Cheung]
(via nationalpost)
Source: nationalpostphotos
This has become not just a war within Syria. It has become a regional, sectarian civil war. Perhaps the best way to put it is to say that what was a war in Syria with regional spillover has now become a regional war with a Syrian focus.
Syria is in free fall. Crimes that shock the conscience have become a daily reality. Humanity has been the casualty of this war.
![Catching up on Syria, via reuters:
The Syria conflict continues to spread into neighboring countries. The Syrian town of Qusair becomes an international relief disaster as Red Cross prevented from entering.
On Sunday, Hezbollah and Syrian rebels fought in Lebanon, where at least a dozen fighters were killed. Syria’s two-year-old conflict has sucked in its smaller neighbor Lebanon. At least 80,000 people have been killed; at least 1.5 million Syrians are now refugees across the region.
Qusair becomes the epicenter of international focus:
Syrian rebels plead for help as army bombards strategic Qusair: Hezbollah, Syria’s army fighting to drive rebels from Qusair, a strategic town for rebel supplies and fighters. Syrian rebels said they will carry out attacks inside Lebanon in response to the assault on Qusair.
U.N. says the world watching response to Qusair: the United Nations said on Saturday that up to 1,500 wounded people might be trapped inside Qusair and U.N. officials called for an immediate ceasefire to allow them to receive treatment. Syria’s government says Red Cross will be allowed access to Qusair when fighting is over.
Russia blocks U.N. Security Council declaration on Qusair: Russia blocked a U.N. Security Council declaration of alarm over the bloody siege of Qusair.
U.S. State Department continues to plan peace talks: Four months into his term, Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to end the Syrian civil war . Russia and the United States are planning a peace conference for early June or even July.
[Photo: Lebanese soldiers inspect a site which was hit by a rocket, which residents say was fired from Syria on June 1, 2013 REUTERS/Stringer]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/348bb7db15d4b65a72501bc2bcbdae80/tumblr_mnrxb6N09A1qmaoalo1_500.jpg)
Catching up on Syria, via reuters:
The Syria conflict continues to spread into neighboring countries. The Syrian town of Qusair becomes an international relief disaster as Red Cross prevented from entering.
On Sunday, Hezbollah and Syrian rebels fought in Lebanon, where at least a dozen fighters were killed. Syria’s two-year-old conflict has sucked in its smaller neighbor Lebanon. At least 80,000 people have been killed; at least 1.5 million Syrians are now refugees across the region.
Qusair becomes the epicenter of international focus:
Syrian rebels plead for help as army bombards strategic Qusair: Hezbollah, Syria’s army fighting to drive rebels from Qusair, a strategic town for rebel supplies and fighters. Syrian rebels said they will carry out attacks inside Lebanon in response to the assault on Qusair.
U.N. says the world watching response to Qusair: the United Nations said on Saturday that up to 1,500 wounded people might be trapped inside Qusair and U.N. officials called for an immediate ceasefire to allow them to receive treatment. Syria’s government says Red Cross will be allowed access to Qusair when fighting is over.
Russia blocks U.N. Security Council declaration on Qusair: Russia blocked a U.N. Security Council declaration of alarm over the bloody siege of Qusair.
U.S. State Department continues to plan peace talks: Four months into his term, Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to end the Syrian civil war . Russia and the United States are planning a peace conference for early June or even July.
[Photo: Lebanese soldiers inspect a site which was hit by a rocket, which residents say was fired from Syria on June 1, 2013 REUTERS/Stringer]
Source: reuters
![From reuters:
Obama gives major foreign policy speech: President Barack Obama plans to limit the use of U.S. drone strikes and close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Obama also asked the Attorney General to report on how the Department of Justice investigates the media. The report is due by July 12, 2013.
[Photo: REUTERS/Larry Downing]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/ee923c6c0fd44887369a850e60a794f7/tumblr_mn9ll4LMEd1qmaoalo1_500.jpg)
From reuters:
Obama gives major foreign policy speech: President Barack Obama plans to limit the use of U.S. drone strikes and close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Obama also asked the Attorney General to report on how the Department of Justice investigates the media. The report is due by July 12, 2013.
[Photo: REUTERS/Larry Downing]
Source: reuters
A solid primer to catch up on what evolved last night:
Josh Rogin reports on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s approval of a bill to arm the rebels.
While not the defining legislation at this point, the proposal was approved last night by a Senate panel 15-3 and will be brought to the full Senate for a vote. Even after it has the chance of passing through the Senate, it is not clear what opposition group fighting against the Syrian government will receive American arms. That will be a tough one to tackle.
It’s something to watch. Definitely give Rogin’s writing a read through.
AFRICA
Mortar lands in Congo city of Goma as U.N. secretary general arrives in capital (AP)
Egyptian security abducted in Sinai freed (Al Jazeera)
Egypt’s Morsi calls on people of Sinai to “give up their arms” (BBC News)
World Bank pledges $1 billion to aid peace in Africa’s Great Lakes (Reuters)
Mugabe signs Zimbabwe constitution into law (Reuters)
AMERICAS
Mysterious respiratory illness kills two, leaves five others hospitalized in Alabama (AP)
ASIA
North Korea has named hardline general as new military chief, state media shares (AP)
North Korea leader sends “special envoy” to China (NYTimes)
Iran bars candidates for June Presidential election (Reuters)
China premier to discuss trade ties with incoming Pakistan government (Al Jazeera)
EUROPE
Hague says, “we are working on lifting the arms embargo for the Syrian opposition” (Al Jazeera)
Ukraine prime minister bars reporters from government meetings after protest (Reuters)
France boosts up Africa and Middle East embassy security (Reuters)
Germany backs call to put Hezbollah armed wing on EU terror list (Reuters)
MIDDLE EAST
Sunni fighters backing Syria rebels fight Assad supporters in Lebanon’s Tripoli (Al Jazeera)
Refugee numbers drop dramatically on the Jordan-Syria border (Al Jazeera)
Rafah border crossing off Egypt and Gaza reopens after abduction (Al Ahram)
Syrian National Coalition to attend Friends of Syria meeting in Jordan’s Amman Wednesday (Al Jazeera)
Syria opposition calls for reinforcements in embattled Qusair (Reuters)
Syrian Death Map
Via the Guardian:
The conflict in Syria continues to claim lives, over a year since the war started - especially in west of the country. This map, created for us by the team at CartoDB, uses data from Syrian Shuhada - also used by the UN - and each circle represents the number of people who died each day. The play button starts the calendar of deaths, which can be paused at any point
Via CartoDB
One of these online activists involved in “the media war” is curating a casualties database based on information from several websites that have already documented killings or casualties from direct sources. The “Syrian Revolution Martyr Database” (www.SyrianShuhada.com) currently collects detailed info and links to 22.601 deaths since March, 2011…
…The Vizzuality team worked on the visualization. The map is powered by CartoDB to manage and serve the timeseries data and uses d3.js for the animated datapoints and graph.
The man behind the Syrian Suhada database —who did not share his personal information— launched the project in early May 2011. He designed the website and back-end database, and populated it initially with the first available data on casualties. Currently a team of 2 curate the data contained on the site
Image: Screenshot, Syria conflict: a year of deaths mapped. Via The Guardian.
Source: futurejournalismproject
AFRICA
South Sudan’s army says their city Boma was retaken from rebels (Voice of America)
Egypt troops search Sinai villages for kidnapped soldiers (Ahram Online)
Security guards fire rubber bullets at South Africa strikers (Reuters)
Congolese army and rebels clash for a second day near Goma (Reuters)
Nigeria seeks Niger’s military support against rebel group Boko Haram (Reuters)
ASIA
Chinese fishing boat with a crew of 16 released by North Korea after two weeks (AP)
Myanmar court sentences Muslims for killing Bhddhist monk during sectarian unrest (AP)
Roadside bomb kills six policemen in western Afghanistan, official says (AP)
South Korea sees North Korea’s threats at “unprecedented” levels (Voice of America)
EUROPE
Russia says two rebels were killed in North Caucasus (Reuters)
European Union mission seeks to rebuild Mali army after U.S. faltered (Reuters)
MIDDLE EAST
Israel fires back at Syria after gunshots were fired at its troops (Reuters)
New wave of bomb attacks in Iraq in weeks of unrest, deaths reported Tuesday (BBC news)
Syria says its army destroyed an Israeli vehicle in Golan Heights, IDF says jeep was “damaged” in exchange of fire. (Haaretz News)
Kerry works with Oman to finalize a deal for an air-defense system for Oman (AFP)
A Guardian editorial takes angle that “having rejected the option of talking to Assad, neither the US nor Britain can lead from behind.” The conflict has gone on for two years now and there hasn’t been a solid attempt to talk to Assad, as this editorial points out, and what actions can superpowers take when rejecting such talks?
A recent wave of nationwide deadly violence has resulted in numerous deaths and a cause of concern, 10 years after the United States invaded Iraq. With the rocky region of the Middle East and the ongoing civil war in Syria, Iraq is more unstable than ever. BBC has a special report following the goings-on of Iraq.
