Posted By Ty McCormick
Top news: Speaking from Croatia on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an overhaul of the Syrian opposition, saying that the current leadership body, the Syrian National Council (SNC), is out of touch with fighters on the front lines. “This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes, but have, in many instances, have not been inside Syria for 20, 30 or 40 years,” she said. “We’ve made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition.” Clinton’s remarks hint at a more active role for the United States, which has expressed dismay at the opposition’s lack of discipline and perpetual infighting. Next week, members of the opposition are due to gather in Doha, where their leadership will likely be restructured.
Inside Syria, violence continued Wednesday amid renewed airstrikes and clashes between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. A bombing in the Sayyida Zeinab area of Damascus left at least six people dead. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels said they had begun arming Palestinians living in the Yarmouk enclave of Damascus against Assad and fighting between rebels and Kurds in northern Syria threatens to open a new front in the war.
Hurricane Sandy: As of Wednesday evening, roughly 6 million homes and businesses spread across 15 states were still without power.