Top Links: McCain’s Syria visit, possible Russian missile sales just two more examples of a civil war turning ‘cold’

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Top Links: McCain’s Syria visit, possible Russian missile sales just two more examples of a civil war turning ‘cold’

Top Story: The Syrian Civil War is showing traits of a cold war as Sen.

Sen. John McCain visits Syrian rebel leaders Monday.

May. 28, 2013, 12:39 PM EDT

By John Flowers

Top Story: The Syrian Civil War is showing traits of a cold war as Sen. John McCain visits rebels, the EU arms embargo ends and Hezbollah and Russia throw in for Assad.

John McCain spent several hours in Syria Monday, meeting with leaders from the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army. (The Daily Beast)

And here’s a picture from that meeting. (Elizabeth O’Bagy)

“Nothing quite like finding out via twitter that my father secretly snuck into Syria and met with rebel leaders.” (Meghan McCain)

Sen. Lindsey Graham: “Best wishes to @SenJohnMcCain in Syria today. If he doesn’t make it back calling dibs on his office.” (Lindsey Graham)

“Who’s looking fwd to the ‘I was in Syria, my friends’ Senate floor speech from @SenJohnMcCain” (Steven Dennis)

This visit comes on the heels of two big developments in the Syrian Civil War. First, the European Union could not reach agreement on a new arms embargo. That means more weapons for the rebels, which in turn may mean Russia sells anti-aircraft missile to its ally, Syria — and that, in turn, could endanger next month’s scheduled peace conference. (The New York Times) and (NPR)

“EU lifts arms embargo on Syria as Russia sells missile batteries to Assad. Who said the era of proxy wars was over?” (Christopher Mims)

The second big development is that, over the weekend, the head of Hezbollah made it official: The group has entered the war to protect their (read: Iran’s) interests. (Associated Press)

“This battle is ours… and I promise you victory,” says Hassan Nasrallah. (BBC)

Hezbollah is helping in a key fight, for the city of Qusair. (The Washington Post)

It’s location is important to both sides: For rebels, it provides a link to Lebanon and for Assad, a link to supporters on the coast. (The Guardian)

Reporters working for Le Monde report they’ve witnessed chemical weapons attacks by Assad’s forces first hand. (Le Monde)

Of course, while “chemical weapons” may grab the headlines it’s the sectarian massacres that are racking up the largest body count. (Reuters)

An excellent article on the Saudi/Qatar division supporting different factions of Syrian rebels. The Saudis are supporting the (relatively) more moderate camp because “in the past, when the Saudis have backed ultraconservative Islamist militants … they have also experienced blowback domestically.” (Time)

John Flowers