Asia
Video of a rebel commander in Syria eating the body organs of a soldier loyal to the Bashar al Assad regime has sparked a global outcry, with human rights groups calling for an immediate end to the savagery and impunity. Western analysts are also once again debating the wisdom of U.S. and European support for the largely Islamist opposition, backing that has included financing since before the “revolution” began, arms shipments, training, and much more.
The footage in question had been circulating online and in news rooms for at least a week, but experts and reporters were unsure of its authenticity. Now, less than two weeks after the Obama administration announced that it may start overtly arming rebel forces in Syria, the video has been confirmed as authentic. In fact, the cannibalistic militant leader has reportedly even boasted of the crime in interviews with Western media outlets.
The "varying degrees of confidence" the Obama administration has claimed for intelligence reports of chemical weapons use by government forces in Syria may become more varied and less confident if evidence cited by a United Nations investigator is substantiated.
Visits made by several members of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo this past weekend proved to be highly controversial this week, as leaders in other Asian nations criticized the visits because the remains of persons convicted by Allied military tribunals as war criminals are enshrined there.
President Obama has some company he might not want among world leaders condemning the bombing attack at Monday's Boston Marathon.
One of the most prominent and powerful rebel factions fighting on behalf of the Obama administration-backed “regime change” operation in Syria formally announced that it was merging with al-Qaeda in Iraq, sparking fresh concerns about the U.S. government arming, training, and funding the so-called “revolution.” The latest news comes on the heels of reports that the war-torn nation is on the verge of becoming a haven for Islamic extremists on par with Afghanistan and Iraq as foreign jihadists continue flooding into Syria.
Two days before the explosive announcement, purported al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri called on all Islamic fighters in Syria to join together in the bid to oust the existing regime and seize power.
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