Deaths by Shooting: The Rebellion Begins in Hama, Part 1

Deaths by Shooting
The Rebellion Begins in Hama, Part 1
July 19, 2015
last edits August 2

(re-posted August 1 for Armed Forces Day in Syria, which this event marked 4 years ago)

Here's a little more historical revisionism on the "peaceful" Arab Spring "protests of 2011," ruthlessly crushed we were told by the "Assad regime," forcing the protesters to take up arms and fight and forcing others to support that, unavoidably leading to a grinding civil war that's claimed hundreds of thousands of lives...

In contrast to cities like Deraa, Baniyas, and Homs, Syria's central city of Hama (alt: Hhamah, Arabic: حماه ) got a slower start. The first soldier from Hama province was killed where he was stationed, in Douma, Damascus, on March 30 per the opposition Violations Documentation Center (VDC). That's nearly a month before they record any Hama civilians killed, on April 22. That was a Friday protest-turned-violent with sniper shootings that spurred the earliest western news reports of a deadly crackdown in Hama (ACLOS section). 10 civilian men from different parts of the province are listed as killed by shooting, perhaps in some protest in the city, or elsewhere. No explanation is provided.

From there, daily violence went up and down but with more up, through May and June and into July. Protests, prayers, and funerals were all disrupted by disputed shooting and deaths. An alleged protest singer, who was more likely an informant for the government, was slaughtered by disputed parties around July 4 (see part 3). At least three men were robbed and/or savagely murdered at or near a certain checkpoint between July 7 and 9 (see part 4) The authorities kept on blaming armed gangs, or "terrorists" supported by outside powers, bent on both destabilizing and demonizing the Syrian government. "Activists" and their political supporters of course blamed a regime unwilling to bow to their legitimate requests, and prepared for any level of brutality.

It was this contentious situation the US ambassador at the time, Robert Ford, was faced with when he visited Hama in early July and showed support for the protests. This visit and his statements, compared to his job history and the facts, are covered in a part two to this article. In short, he found no signs of armed opposition like Damascus claimed, and concluded there could not possibly be any - a message he simply repeated more firmly after the events of July 31 - considered next - clarified the point for him

July 31: A Real Massacre in Hama
Wikipedia's Siege of Hama page currently says:

Over 500,000 citizens had rallied in the city on 29 July, following Muslim prayers in which a pro-rebel cleric told the congregation "the regime must go".[23] Local support for the government had imploded by 30 July in both Homs, Deir ez-Zor and Hama.[23][24][25] President Assad sent his "Terror Buses" packed with private Alawite militia and party loyalists into Hama on 30 July.[26]

That sounds like a recipe for massacre, and no surprise, a killing by the Army and by Alawite "Shabiha" thugs was alleged on July 31 (see ACLOS section, needing updated)

One horrible video among several published shows a man with the whole upper 2/3 of his head blown away and missing, and the remaining chin and jaw somehow halfway off the neck (or ??).  Presumably he was shot by something massive at the very spot he's found, laying on a city street by fellow protesters who were not hit by the ... sniper with a heavy anti-aircraft gun? RPG or mortar shell?

But on closer inspection, he's shed almost no tissue or even blood here, nor en route. The blood trail is one damp spot right under his head, as shown at right.He wasn't shot here or carried here, but laid, from a pickup bed probably, for no clear reason but to be seen dead on a city street.  The worst bleeding even stopped some time ago, there's no other blood in any direction, and this "trail" leads to massacre marketing.

The sold product was purchased: 'Scores dead' as Syrian tanks storm Hama city, Al-Jazeera reported on July 31: 

The National Organisation for Human Rights, a Syrian activist group, said ... at least 100 deaths in Hama, after tanks and soldiers stormed the city ... US President Barack Obama said he was appalled by the Syrian government's use of violence against its people and promised to work with others to isolate President Bashar al-Assad. "The reports out of Hama are horrifying and demonstrate the true character of the Syrian regime," Obama said in a statement released by the White House on Sunday." 

The Guardian on August 1 spoke of "up to 85 who reportedly died in Hama on Sunday, the bloodiest day yet of the uprising." That would be the major, civilian portion, as we'll see, of more than 100 killed. The  VDC lists 87 civilians from Hama killed this day. All are adult males, killed by shooting, many or all with the notes "Died by gunfire" and no further information past name and area, which is often vague. Men from Hama:(blank), Hama:Hama, and a few from specified areas, were killed. Repeat family names: Tarsha x2, al-Masri x4, Mlieh/Mleih x2.

These records may be slightly padded, massively inflated, or accurate - it's not certain. The names may or may not be correct. But it seems to be the best available representation of what activists allege was the day's death toll.

The presumptions was protesters murdered by security forces, and nothing I've seen yet directly contradicts that. But as research precedent suggests, it's totally reasonable to wonder if any of these were local civilians killed by extremists, based on political or religious differences. To most people July 2011 might seem a bit early in the conflict for that, but this is too early in the article to decide that. The vague 80+ is not all going into that "at least 100 deaths," and the other part changes the surface appearance, like rocks along the bottom of a low-running river.

Deaths at the Prison, Hader Police Station, etc.
Another competing set of allegations, both of which became obscured by the massacre of 100, involves other alleged violence, in a prison, and/or against state security forces.

Gulf News mentioned, in a report on the day's violence, unconfirmed government claims that "eight police were killed while "confronting armed terrorist groups" in Hama." (primary source perhaps in time - it wasn't easy to find). Continuing, it says state news "said the military entered Hama to purge armed groups that were terrorising citizens, an account dismissed as "nonsense" by a US diplomat in Damascus." (That would be Robert Ford or a deputy - again, see part 2.)

Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya's report included as an aside to the main shooting in the city, another incident of interest; "Activists said security forces also stormed Hama’s central prison to break up a mutiny and opened fire on prisoners."

So we have a prison clash - prisoners and possibly guards dead, numbers unclear - and the government says "policemen" died. As usual, stories differ, and maybe these are just two different stories.

The fullest list we'll start with is the opposition VDC with 26 regime forces fatalities with death, location Hama, on July 31, 2011. All are adult male, non-civilian, killed by "shooting." They cite this or similar Arabic-language Syrian Interior Ministry articles - not any reports from their own network or other opposition groups. I'll use their victim ordering, name transliteration, and other details as the basis for each entry below.

Partial confirmation comes from the pro-government Syrian Center for Documentation (SCD), with no single link I know of. I found several matches clustered around martyr #100, with others perhaps scattered later on or earlier (I may dig deeper, later).

Further, several matches were found in a huge list I didn't trawl entirely, provided in 2015 by the pro-Assad Dr. Shadi Nasr here on Blogspot (Arabic). Each of those killed July 31 is listed something like "tasked with maintaining security and order in the city of Hama with his colleagues and had the honor of martyrdom after he was assassinated by bullets malevolent by armed terrorist groups were irrigated his blood pure soil of the beloved Syria."

Photos are from one or another of these pro-government sources.

4 Hussein Mohammed, policeman from Aleppo

1 Ahmad Fadl Al-Aakel - Warrnat (Warrant) Officer First Class (category-wide typo there, corrected here) from Idlib  Kafrenbil  Martyrdom location Hama: Souran - VDC

2 Hassan Muhammad Deeb al-Mustafa    - Policeman  from Tartous  Kharab 24 unmarried Police Command Personnel In Hama-External Branch - VDC

3 Hassan Ameen Salih - Policeman - from  Tartous  Haderiya  23 unmarried Police Command Personnel In Hama-External Branch - VDC

4 Hussein Rasheen Al-Mohammad - Policeman  from Aleppo  Ezaz- Ghaytoun   21- Police Command Personnel In Hama - Hader Police Station - he joined the Internal Security Forces on 2/10/2010. with a rank of the Police Command in Hama - Hader Police Station. - VDC - SCD adds DoB 1991-01-01

5 Rateb Fayad Shamma - Warrant Officer First Class - from  Homs - VDC

6 Sami Ahmad Shaaban - Policeman - from Tartous  Sendyanah- Ein Hafadh age 27. Notes: From Police Command Personnel In Hama - External Branch - VDC - Nasr adds "joined the force 07.23.2005 after graduating from the College of the brave martyr ... on 31.07.2011 was tasked with maintaining security and order in the city of Hama with his colleagues and had the honor of martyrdom after he was assassinated by bullets malevolent by armed terrorist groups..."

7 Shadi Fahde Ibraheem - Policeman - from Homs:  Quseir- Naarah - age 29 Martyrdom location Hader Police Station- Hama. Notes: Police Command Personnel In Hama- Hader Police Station - VDC - SCD DoB 1982-02-01

8 Salah Ibrahim Al-Zanak - Colonel  - from Tartous  Banyas: Deir Al-Bishl Martyrdom location Homs Road- Hama - Another source mentioned that he was a Lieutenant - VDC

9 Abdul-hakeem Abdul-kareem al-Khalid - Policeman - from Hama Mwarrek (Morek) 33 Married and had four children Martyrdom location Hader Police Station- Hama. Notes: Police Command Personnel In Hama- Hader Police Station - VDC - SCD DoB 1978-02-15

10 Abdulla Khatib, policeman from Aleppo

10 Abdullah Muhammad al-Khateeb - Policeman  - from Aleppo  Efreen   age 21 Martyrdom location Hader Police Station- Hama Cause of Death Shooting Rank Policeman Notes Police Command Personnel In Hama- Hader Police Station - VDC - SCD DoB 1991-01-09

11 Adnan Mostafa Sakhyata - Warrnat Officer First Class  - from Idlib  Khan Sheikhoun   age 41 Married and had three children. Police Command Personnel In Hama - Hader Police Station - VDC - SCD DoB 1969-12-01

12 Ali Muhammad Khalil - Policeman  - from Hama  Masyaf- Hakre Aataq age 36 married Police Command Personnel In Hama- Central Security Unit - VDC - SCD DoB 1974-09-15

13 Ghassan Mohammad Al-Hamwi - Warrant Officer First Class  - from Homs  - VDC

14 Fadi Hussein Kouk Oghlie - Policeman  - from Aleppo  Arab Azzah 23 unmarried Police Command Personnel In Hama- Central Security Unit - VDC

15 Qadour Khaled Al-Halabi     Warrnat Officer First Class  Adult - Male  Hama  Mwarrek   46 Married and had four children Police Command Personnel In Hama - Hader Police Station - VDC

16 Muhammad Ahmad Sam'o - Policeman  - from Aleppo  Tatiyah 23 unmarried Police Command Personnel In Hama - Central Security Unit - VDC

17 Muhammad Rashid Al-Satouf - Policeman  - from Hama  Kafrenabaudeh - 30, unmarried. Notes: he joined the Internal Security Forces on 23/10/2010 with a rank of the Police Command in Hama - the Security and Riot police Units - VDC 

18 Muhammad Suleiman Quteish - Warrnat Officer First Class  - from Idlib  Marzita age 48, married with 7 children, Police Command Personnel In Hama - Hader Police Station - VDC - SCD DoB 1963-05-04 

19 Muhammad Tahir al-Sayadi - Corporal  - from Hama  Mohardet Zalaqiat 43, married with 7 children. Martyrdom location Hader Police Station - Hama. Police Command Personnel In Hama - Hader Police Station - VDC - SCD DoB 1968-07-10

20 Mahmoud al-Abboud, policeman
from Idlib province, age: almost 37,
leaving a widow and 7 orphans

20 Mahmoud Jomaa al-Aboud - Policeman  - from Idlib  Heesh - age 37 (not quite)  Police Command Personnel In Hama - Field Branch - VDC. Dr. Nasr adds he was "married and has seven children" and DoB 08/01/1974 - he died one day short of his 37th birthday.

21 Naem Jameel Al-Tareef     Warrant Officer First Class  - from  Hama  Rabe'ah - age 43. Martyrdom location Hama. Notes: He died due to an attack on the Officers' Club in Hama  - VDC

22 Safwan Mohamad Soubhi Wardeh - Sergeant  - from Aleppo  Al-Atarb. Age 21 - Martyrdom location Hama: Suran - VDC 

23 Hassan Muhammad Yassin -21, unmarried - Policeman - from Idlib  Papolin. Martyrdom location Hama. Notes: with a rank of the Police Command in Hama - the Security and Riot police Units he joined the Internal Security Forces on 23/10/2010. - VDC - SCD area: Edlib adlb-baboulin DoB 1991-03-15 (the uprising started on his 20th birthday before it took his life a few months later)

24 Fawzy Mohammad Al-Abbas - Sergeant  Adult - Male  Hama  Harbnafsa - married - Martyrdom location Hama - VDC  

25 Souleman Abbas Souleman - Warrant Officer First Class  Adult - Male  Hama  Mesyaf - 46, married - Martyrdom location Hama Souran - VDC

26 Redwan Mohammad Kheir al-Mohammad  - Warrant Officer First Class  Adult - Male  Raqqa - 44, married - Martyrdom location Hama: Souran - VDC

So by this, 13 policemen and 13 military servicemen were killed. Many were older, aged around 40 or older, and others seem to be  20 to 24, with few ages in between. A few too many have exactly 7 children. These details may not all be exactly correct, but there seems little reason to doubt that many or all these people were killed, many wives widowed, children orphaned, other family and friends bereaved. A nation was also wounded here, neither for the first nor the last time.

Many (8 total) were listed as killed at Hader police station, and others at Police Command Personnel In Hama - External Branch, which might be the same place, or a different one. Hader police station is labeled on Wikimapia as here, behind the civil defense station, in the northwest of Hama. See map.

These three others - also called police - were with the "central security unit," which actually might be the central prison mentioned, with live shooting at the inmates. However, none of the civilians VDC lists dying in Syria this day has "prison" in their martyrdom location or notes - only perhaps these three policemen are specified that way.

The map at left (the dump part explained below) shows the relation between the station and the central prison across town in the southwest; at nearly 4km apart, an incident at one cannot be directly related to or confused with the other. This must be two different incidents, the prison one seeming less substantial but still deadly - for those running it. It's likely a real uprising/takeover attempt would be coordinated with outside attacks, maybe with an intent to merge the stories. But they don't seem to be able to explain each other at all, and I don't see the stories merged anywhere, yet.

It's reported soldiers were restoring order / fighting rebels in the city, and thus possibly dying from that. But consider this: some clues suggest the attackers didn't just shoot into the police station, but took it over for a period - they apparently collected at least 13 bodies of their victims and held them overnight - suggesting a large armed group, with a base and so on. They may have hit other places, if just in passing. One victim is listed by the VDC as dying in an attack on the "officer's club" (probably somewhere in the same area). And considering the map, it's worth wondering if any servicemen were killed at home. This may have been a morning attack, and just north of Hader station, Wikimapia lists "compound villas / officer housing."

Also, consider the timing of the event: August 1 is Army Day in Syria, as president Assad's special address marked it on the day after this massacre, lauding the military's steadfastness against terrorists (PDF link English version).

As for the larger portion of the day's toll, the 80+ civilian deaths by shooting, let's re-consider it in this light: were they all gunmen killed by security forces in these attacks or in clashes after (provoked)? Were they peaceful protesters hit instead of the attackers, or at least a pure mix of different kinds of security forces victims?

Or is some chunk of this local civilians killed by the same terrorist gangs that seemingly went on a new level of attack that day? Could it even be the majority of the victims fit that bill, being loyalists, Alawitres, or just disposable people? From my research, it's more likely than not to be the case. But at the moment, it seems hard to get and information about and impossible to settle. And so we focus on what we can see direct evidence for.

Terrorists Dump Their Trash

It was reportedly the next day, August 1, but maybe July 31 itself, when a horrible scene unfolded on a bridge over the verdant and aromatic Orontes river at the northern edge of Hama (placement explained below). In a scene noted widely at the time but left murky, a pickup truck full of at least 6-7 bloodied corpses of men in civilian dress clothes was driven to the middle of a highway bridge.

In broad afternoon daylight a jeering crowd carried the bodies one by one to the railing and, shouting Allahu Akbar, rolled them over into the water tens of meters below. As each one hits, he comes apart somewhat and blood races ahead in a red streak north up the river as his body snags on bottom debris. A total of 8 corpses, one wrapped in a rug, make that splash.

This video was covered prominently, in fact, by CNN's Arwa Damon on August 2. Some like Syria 360 call this report a "whitewash," but by CNN standards it's not bad. It questioned activist claims, unusually, and said it just wasn't clear what happened; while "the posting on the video says the bodies are anti-government forces being dumped by thugs loyal to President Bashar al-Assad," it wasn't actually clear who the victims were. "Were they among the 1,600 civilians or 370 security forces slain in the unrest?"

This is the closest the corporate media can get to saying activist claims were patently untrue. And she probably didn't even line it up with the available evidence like I will here to virtually prove it. It was just evident in so many ways the guess seemed unavoidable even to a known rebel massacre marketer like Damon (see reportage on the Khamis Brigade Shed Massacre in Libya, for one example).

The video, two postings with two different stories, for thee stories total including the one blaming pro-Assad "thugs" dumping "anti-government forces"
* RAW, Syria, GRAPHIC surviving protesters in Hama throwing their dead into the river 01,08 2011
* UPDATE [31/7/2011] Syria, Hama: "Peaceful" intellectuals dump bodies into river (GRAPHIC)
(note: July 31 someone's time...)

The second one embedded:

Damon's report for CNN translated the dialog, disproving the first posting's claim.

"Brother of a whore!" they shouted as the corpses splashed and the water ran red. "Animals!" "Dogs!" At one point, a voice asks mockingly, "This is a soldier?"

No, they were policemen, it seems. Damon passed on the differing responses of opposition activists, including one prominent but unnamed (I'm guessing Rami Abdlerahman of the SOHR) who "told CNN the state TV account was correct," the victims were "Syrian secret police" killed by Iraq insurgency veterans come home to do the same in Syria. "That same activist stressed that the antagonists are not representative of the protest movement," but ... they were real-life terrorists, in at least one "gang." Recall the VDC listed 13 of the victims as policemen, citing government records, and consider state media reported 13 bodies recovered from the river after this, as a still-available video posting with English subtitles explains (footage may be placed later). 

The exact number match might be a coincidence - in fact it seems 3 of the police may have died in the prison, presumably killed by mutinying inmates. Their bodies would not likely leave the premises. But other clues bear out the likelihood of this match among the rest. Note most victims wear uniform clothes - gray slacks, black socks, white dress shirt or undershirt. This seems like police station attire, with only distinguishing jackets, caps, and footwear removed.

The victims seem fairly fresh; the blood is wet and bright red. But the limpness suggests rigor mortis has already faded, consistent with a next-morning video (seen below) Unless rigor mortis hadn't set in, and this is a July 31 video, right after a morning massacre. It's possible some were never even killed on site but taken captive and executed later. Some victims seem to have been bound (see still above, a loose tie on the left wrist of a falling victim). The injuries suggest execution at least, and maybe worse: a hole in lower throat and sliced to shoulder are, I think, evident on the shirtless man tossed over the rails at 2:10.

The still above shows - besides a guy with a rifle - at least two other people filming the scene, footage that apparently was never published like this (leaked?) view.  Only about 8 bodies are seen in the video - a standard truckload. This to a dumped total of 13 means another truck likely brought the rest, probably after this one, in another dumping that was not filmed and shared like the first.

How many other terrorist incidents like this have Syria's "pro-democracy activists" or allies filmed like this, but failed to show or even mention, at least honestly? This one stray reporting was posted as Shabiha dumping protesters.

Location and Comparing Location Theories 
Location: the sun is a bit low, I'd guess afternoon but it's probably morning, from the east. The light is visibly from ahead of the truck, a bit from the far (right) side. This  means it's on a roughly east-west bridge. There's only one spot that easily fits, here on Wikimapia, and marked on the map above - on the northwest edge of Hama, truck pointed east. The river flows north here, and comparing it that way, the scenery visible (mainly to the north) seems to be an exact match.

above: looking west

above:  views to the southwest and west, across the bridge - nothing but a hill to the south, a house and small trees to the north.

left: views to the north up the river and to the northwest shore - note small shack at a dip in the shoreline and larger tree, those curving paths up the slope, etc.

below: the scene as recorded in two other months of August, from Google Earth. Note matches in the distance hous, the shack by the river, the curving road down to it, the fields across, and other details that totally match.

 

This match isn't 100% certain at the moment, but close enough easily for me to call it, and to venture this comparison of two assessments:

The CNN report said "Syrian state TV has aired the video, saying that the bodies are being dumped by anti-government protesters. A banner said the incident took place in Hama over the Orontes River." Yes, inside city limits even, or close, and over the Orontes river (by the way, the same river is called al-Assi upstream near Homs - between the stretches this river has floated hundreds or thousands of corpses in this war so far). The exact spot is 1.8 km west-northwest of the stricken police station. The driving direction was towards it, by how the truck is parked (may have U-turned). But it seems to be the following morning, not right after the event.

The victims seem fairly fresh; the blood is wet and bright red. But the limpness suggests rigor mortis has already faded - unless it hasn't set in, and this is a July 31 video, right after a morning massacre. Or perhaps they were never even killed on site but taken captive and executed later. In fact, this could explains Syria's claim of 8 police killed - they knew 13 were abducted, and saw 8 dumped on that video.


The anti-Assad VDC  had (or would have) 13 police killed, and heard about these videos of 13 bodies tossed in the river within a day of that. Perhaps fearing the obvious connection, their director told CNN the dumping happened somewhere else, not in Hama. "Razan Zaitouneh, a Syrian activist, said activists doubt the incident could have happened at the Hama location because the river is dry at this time of year."

That's another claim we can check. Google Earth images show the river at this stretch wet and running, if green, in every image that I see. But focusing on this increasingly dry time of the year:
* Aug 25 and 27 2013, running with a wet, uniform surface the usual width.
* September 21, August 29, and July 17 2012: same, with only minor variations.
* All of 2011 is skipped but August 6, 2010 shows the same as the rest.

See two of these in the image above. Nowhere does it appear dry, although it could be low. The August 25 image shows a rough surface, maybe just tricking over rocks at the bottom. We don't get 2011 images, but the video suggests it's low - the bodies move little, hit objects and just stay there. They were recovered probably quite near. And we can say this seems consistent with a low, but not dry, Orontes river in the dry season - say, August 1.

So we can see it wasn't faked in any other place, unless it was a very well-chose site with so many exact similarities. And it was not faked, it seems, at any other time of year. The video relates to the massacre(s) of July 31, as armed terrorist groups began their efforts to destabilize the state.

Add July 21: a source I forgot - an investigative piece at Storyful (left blame unclear) passes on that the VDC's pals in the Local Coordinating Committees also pushed this video away from Hama on river dryness - however it wasn't a seasonal, but intentional draw-down.

1) The Assi river has been dry for a month and a half now because the dams at Rastan have not been opened to allow water to flow.

This is possible - we can see it usually flows but if it were totally stopped, that would be abother story. There are plenty of dams along the way. There are no satellite images of this span, or 2011 at all, to check against. But that's clearly the right spot, so are they alleging it was faked earlier? No, they say it happened far away... 



2) There is no such bridge in Hama.

False. Even the Storyful journalist figured that out with the help of a video (now gone), pointing to the same spot I just found as a clear and exact match.

3) There is no background noise whatsoever in the video Not even a splash. Nothing.



Microphone dynamics, dude, and little splash - it's so low they're almost just hitting the ground.

4) the way this video was distributed by unknown sources and the timing, suggests that it was released by the regime to justify an attack on Hama. This video was most likely taken in Jisr el Shughur, and shows pro-regime militia disposing on civilian bodies.



Except, the dumpers don't look like security forces, the dumped do, it seems rebels killed security forces in Jisr al-Shughour as well and lied about it, but this scene was clearly filmed at the bridge in northwest Hama.  

They go on to say that after four months, the regime can come up with no valid accusations against Hama, so they have resorted to making some up.

Local Coordinating committes - this is what they call themselves. Local means on the ground, with direct knowledge, and so they are a trusted source for many. But here at least, all they can come up with is easily falsifiable lies about the country's geography, in an effort to obscure and shift blame for the crimes of the terrorist allies? Weak, besides wrong. 

This Storyful report also addresses a theory that anti-government killers could only be members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the insults against presumably Muslim victims, as heard, (and are they presuming Sunni?) would be out of line for them. Apparently the Brotherhood are totally okay with Shia and Alawi? Even in Syria? I'm no expert on them, but ... how are they going to win and get support from Turkey, KSA, all their clerics, etc. with that attitude? They'd be called pawns of Assad and Iran. Sounds like crap to me.  But maybe it's true, and these aren't exactly MB members, but allies more of the Al Qaeda stripe, etc. Maybe this was a straw man argument they tore down.

And also a video transcription that adds:
Don’t film us, guys

Don’t film, don’t film

(implied: if you do, don't publicize)

God curse your origins ... Damn your religion
...
This one, his throat’s cut ... Good work, guys

Overall Conclusion
Do we actually need a conclusion here? Maybe ... later.

For snark, we can note President Obama did not cite the bridge dump video, or the Hader police station or officer's club attacks, as he "promised to work with others to isolate President Bashar al-Assad." But having it put back in this context - not the one Obama meant - the facts in Hama "are horrifying," and Obama would be right to say these terrorist crimes, and the resilience, defiance, and accuracy of their targets "demonstrate the true character of the Syrian regime" - and the true character of the sick conspiracy against them.