Spy Chief Says Assad Has Strengthened Hold on Power in Syria

-        The country’s top intelligence official said President Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power in Syria had “strengthened” over the past year, and that he has benefited from a deal to abandon his chemical weapons arsenal

-        Syrian activists reported that government helicopters dumped barrel bombs onto neighborhoods in Aleppo suspected of housing insurgents

-        Concern has been mounting in both Congress and in the Obama administration that the policy toward Syria is faltering on several fronts.

-        Assad government has delayed taking its most dangerous chemicals to the port of Latakia so they could be shipped out of the country for destruction under the terms agreement that calls for Syria to give up its arsenal of poison gas

-        They have also blocked shipments of medicine and food to besieged areas.

-        No one in this administration (Obama) thinks we are doing enough until the humanitarian crisis has been solved and the civil war ended.

-        Critics say such talks are unlikely to succeed unless Mr. Assad is weakened militarily and has some incentive to negotiate

-        The C.I.A warned that the chaos in Syria had become fertile ground for militant groups to stage attacks outside the country

-        Syrian government’s explanations for the missed deadlines are that security dangers posed by the Syrian civil war had created problems in transporting the chemicals to the port of Latakia. Western officials have suggested this is merely an excuse

-        Four percent of the dangerous chemicals have been sent to the port for removal

U.S. Penalties Over Violations of Iran Sanctions

-        The Obama administration penalized nearly three dozen companies and individuals in eight countries on Thursday, accusing them of evading Iranian sanctions

-        These actions should leave no doubt that those who seek to evade our sanctions, support Iran’s nuclear program or assist in Iran’s promotion of international terrorism will continue to be called to account

-        Joint Plan of Action- temporary agreement was devised to allow more time to negotiate a permanent accord

-        Iran froze much of its uranium enrichment activities will provide more access to United Nations nuclear inspectors

-        The Treasury said the network had helped supply money to Al Qaeda and affiliates, including the Nusra Front in Syria, which is among the groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian ally

Syrian Opposition's Calm at Talks Suprises as Officials Falter

-          The Syrian government officials were expected to present themselves as the grown-ups at the peace conference, but instead they took offense easily

-          The Syrians sent mixed messages, ignored meeting agenda and time limits for speeches, and in some  ways embarrassing their Russian allies

-          Russian officials have long said they are not committed to Mr. Assad personally but see no alternative that could stabilize Syria

-          A more immediate goal for the coalition is to increase support within the broader opposition

-          The regime delegation seems unorganized and fractured when that was what people expected from the coalition

-          Foreign Ministry delegates pledged to discuss a transitional government only to be contradicted by Mr. Assad’s advisers

-          Officials were under scrutiny from hard-liners in Damascus and feared retribution should a too-conciliatory phrase slip. It is also possibly they assumed the conference would never happen

-          “For the first time the regime had to sit down and hear the demands of the people,” said a coalition spokeswoman

-          The government also gained some support for its argument that its opponents are Western puppets; opposition delegates met daily with Western diplomats and submitted documents in English not Arabic

Rebels in Syria Claim Control of Resources

-          Islamist rebels and extremist groups have seized control of most of Syria’s oil and gas resources

-          The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is selling fuel to the Assad government

-          Although there is no clear evidence of direct tactical coordination between the group and Mr. Assad, American officials say that his government has facilitated the group’s rise.

-          The scramble for Syria’s oil is describes as a war within the broader civil war turning in the source of income into a conflict tearing the country apart

-          Syria was once an important supplier of oil to Europe and attracted international oil companies

-          The oil industry production is down from 400,000 (2011) barrels to 80,000 (2013)barrels a day

-          Violence has damaged pipelines and other infrastructure

-          Mr. Assad’s government not only purchased crude from the ISIS but in return has refrained from bombing the group’s headquarters in Raqqa and elsewhere although their locations are well known and clearly marked

-          While rebel oil revenues are small by world market standards they can help groups exercise local power as well as finance their operations

-          Recently most of the area’s rebel brigades have left the administration of the well to an Islamic legal commission set up to run local affairs

New's of Congress's Approval of Aid to Rebels Disrupts Syria Talks

- Syria’s information minister Mr. Zoubi said the American aid to the revels now with explicit congressional approval contradicted the United States role as a sponsor of the peace talks
- The U.S. representative in Geneva said the Assad regime is a magnet for terrorists. The regime’s brutality is the source of violent extremism in Syria today.
- The U.N. mediator said the negotiations were not easy before and will not be easy in the coming days but no one is willing to leave
- The U.N. has trucks loaded with food for up to 2,500 people waiting for authorization to proceed
- They are also prepared to supply specialized nutrition for children presumed to be suffering from acute malnutrition and stunted growth
- Western diplomats have said that if progress is not made soon they may take the impasse to the Security Council where Russia will be less likely to use its veto due to the upcoming Olympic Games

Despite Decades of Enmity, Israel Quietly Aids Syrian Civilians

-          Medics arrived to a scene in Syria to find an 8-year old was critically wounded after seeing (and remembering) his 10-year brother being decapitated by a rocket explosion

-          The mother was told if she wanted her son to live she should take him to Israel

-          The mother believes the older sibling was shielding the younger brother when the  explosion occurred

-          The internal conflict between Israel and Syria have killed nearly 130,000 people

-          Syrians fear the President Assad’s forces more than the Israeli soldiers who helped the wounded patients and their relatives

-          Nearly 200 Syrians have been treated at the Israeli hospital since March 2013

-          More than230 have been taken to a Hospital in Galilee

-          The costs are dived three ways between Israel’s Military Defense, Ministry of Health, and the hospitals

-          Israel’s defense minister said Israel can no longer remain indifferent and has been providing food and winter clothing to Syrian villages across the border fence

-           One Syrian whose 5-year old grand-daughter received aid in Israel said, “When there is peace, I will raise an Israeli flag on the roof of my house.”