Perhaps the British false flag poisoning may have a dampening effect on world reaction to
this false flag. There are many governments with egg on their face after rushing to throw out
the diplomats. That is clearly visible in
ABC
and BBC coverage, but not
Fox
coverage. They are much less reckless this time.
This was a very convenient timing to take the focus away for the IDF shooting Palestinian kids and journalist,
or the botched Skripal false flag operation. The new memo is Assad, gas, Iran, Russia, Putin.
There really is not even a conspiracy theorist out there who would suggest it was a Syrian
government operation any way. Only batshit crazy raving lunatics have suggested it was the
Syrian government. This is clearly the stupidest thing Trump has done. It makes the USA look
like a bunch of circus freak losers. Very sad and shockingly insane. This is the stupidest
piece of propaganda in modern history. The USA looks very, very bad. It looks like, from any
reasonable perspective, that they are actively aiding terrorists on purpose. Wow. Interesting
cosmetics. Interesting optics.
Its almost as if the USA government hates itself and actually wants a nuclear war where
everyone dies. I think the only thing that should be considered is whether the nutty freaks
in charge are actually humans. Humans are a great disappointment, so likely, yes, human
beings really can be that mentally deficient. Trump really is such a level of mental retard
that he hates himself and wants to be nuked, so he bombs Syria knowing full well they have
nothing to do with it. He hates his career now and wants out.
Based on previous cases, the most plausible hypotheses is that this is a false flag. This is what the answer to the question "Cue
bono?" suggests in this case, so this hypothesis should be considered first. Which put this page at some distance of neoliberal MSM
coverage, which is fully consistent with slightly skeptical approach adopted for this site. And in the absence of contradictory evidence
this hypotheses will be used as primary. The release of chlorine by itself is not compete impossibility, if
a bomb or shell hits a container with chlorine gas stored by the rebels in a particular building or shelter (and there were at least
one such storage facility already uncovered). The problem is the attribution of this event to government forces, which clearly
has no incentives to use such ineffective ammunition, which would clearly produce condemnation and possible military action or
retaliation strike by International Community led by the USA. They are not suicidal. There is a chance Assad did this -- but here's also a chance he
would walk in front of a moving train, or jump out of an airplane. There's no military advantage to this. None. On the other hand, there is stupendous value to terrorists to conduct a false flag
attack. MoA
@psychohistorian (67) Thanks very much for that posting of actual events on the ground in
Douma. They are further reason to believe that the alleged chemical gas attack was not the
work of the Syrian army. Clearly, the rebels were on the ropes and ready for a knockout blow.
We must ask: What might the Syrian government have gained by poisoning civilians and
incurring the wrath and condemnation of the "civilized" world? Absolutely nothing! From a
military standpoint, it was completely unnecessary, and from a public relations standpoint, a
predictable disaster. Hence, being rational actors, they would never have chosen to use
chemical weapons under the circumstances. Why is this so hard for Western nations and their
media to understand? The only reason that I can give is that it is in their interest not to
understand. It does not comport with their agenda, which is to topple Assad and weaken
Russia.
In other words the SAA launching a chemical attack on Douma makes no sense. The intention with chemical weapons is not so much to
kill as to deny area of land to the opponent. Jihadists are mixed with civilian population (and often use it a human shields).
So what area we can talk about? Being a suicide cult jihadists are not afraid to die, so the demoralizing effect, if any would be
small. Wearing chemical protection suits after such an attack hinders movement and this applies to both sides, so nobody benefits.
The key information comes with White Helmets which is British sponsored and MI6 infiltrated (and most probably controlled) organization. They and their
handlers are cable of pretty nasty provocations. And they have proven history of such things such as Khan Sheikhoun gas attack.
So any MSM that trust those guys is of a fish wrap quality. That includes WaPo, NYT and Guardian. the difference in treatment of
Israeli killing of Palestinians and Syria supposed chemical attack (which most probably is a nasty provocation of White Helmets and
associated with them organizations) are also pretty telling. Here is one comment from MoA (The
MoA Week In Review And Open Thread 2018-15):
I will never get used to how easily sentiment can be stirred up by propaganda (America) against some victims of
geopolitical violence (Syria) and almost completely occlude others (Palestine). we are a sick and twisted people. so
I make what I can in response: https://youtu.be/FS2XBqZQtQQ
We are talking
about the scandalous Oscar-winning organization "White Helmets". Several other similar organizations participated
too: the Pro-insurgent "Guta media Center" and the US-based Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS). They issued a joint statement with
the "Opposition-linked Civil Defense" (The White Helmets). There are lots of
details on the attacks and damage at Douma, but only a tiny mention that Jaish al-Islam
launched rockets into densely populated Damascus. Why are there no reports of death and
damage in those areas? And where did SAMS come from? White Helmets role immediately links this attack to Skripal case.
For mafia style structures like jihadist groups it is very difficult to get to the originators of the attack, as ordinary members
are bound by the "omerta" oath and will be killed if they talk something outside approved version. As they themselves committed
numerous crimes, defection is not a viable option iether and without relocation (and change of the name) is just a suspected death
sentence for the defector.
The attack supposedly happened (or was stage) on April 7, two days before John Bolton, a noted neocon warmonger begins work as Trump’s national security
adviser. So the White House reaction was the last hurrah of And on April 9 CIA Director Mike Pompeo has a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his
nomination as secretary of state.
Also there are interesting possible connection to Skripal affair. One commenter at Moon of Alabama asked the following question:
"Was the expulsion of diplomats and staff scheduled so that the
strikes take them in a situation of shifting and not being able to carry their daily work?"
Total number of victims is unclear. Supposedly they include women and children. But as many sites are reporting the astonishing fact
is that there are only
children in the broadcast footage.. what amount to a staged play like that of Goutha years
ago...
The total number of victims in
the range between 40 and 70 is reported. Higher number is from BBC coverage which refers to anecdotal evidence of various
medical and monitoring groups working in Syria – and, coincidentally, funded by the United States and Britain.
The Syrian state news agency SANA said the reports originated with “terrorists”on the verge of collapse due to offensive of
Syrian Army. Iran said that
The Washington Post
“Such allegations and accusations by the Americans and certain Western countries signal a new conspiracy against the Syrian
government and people, and a pretext for military action,”
Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement claiming that information on the reported attack is a false flag operation by
terrorists.
“The goal of these false conjectures, which are without basis, are designed to shield the terrorists and the implacable
radical opposition, who reject a political settlement”
Looks like large part of US government works against Trump: less than a week ago that Trump announced during a rally in Ohio that
he planned to get U.S. troops out of Syria "very soon." He repeated that he wanted the U.S. military out of the country in a press
conference on Tuesday. This attack clearly helps to block the withdrawal. Trump soon changed his tune and it happened even
before the attack, which is a weakness of such a hypothesis: "The White House walked back those claims a little on Wednesday, with
press secretary Sarah Sanders telling reporters the president isn't going "to put an arbitrary timeline" on withdrawal. " (ABC
News)
The crisis over Syria is likely to accelerate worsen already bad ties between Russia and the United States, which is the goal of
the Us neocons and is contrary to the desire of Trump (at least as voice during election campaign). On Friday, the administration
placed economic sanctions on some Russian tycoons. The sanctions give the United States a potent weapon to pressure international
financial institutions not to lend money to the well-connected Russians.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States' diplomatic policy on Syria for now is no longer
focused on making the war-torn country's president, Bashar al-Assad, leave power, the U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday, in a departure from the Obama
administration's initial and public stance on Assad's fate.
World leaders expressed shock and outrage Tuesday at reports of a suspected chemical attack
in northwestern Syria that killed scores of civilians, with one UK official suggesting the
incident amounted to a war crime.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has told CNN that removing Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad from power is a priority, cementing an extraordinary U-turn in the
Trump administration's stance on the embattled leader.
The Khan Sheikhun incident had been faked. An international investigation
found that half of the alleged casualties arrived in hospitals before the incident was said
to have happened. Nothing followed after Haley's last announcement. The administration was
apparently not willing to go beyond the one-off strike. The flip-flop was attributed to
confusion or infighting within the Trump administration.
It looks like a crude false flag designed as the preparation stage for the "decapitating" strike on the Syrian government forces.
The White House immediately declared readiness for military action in response this (yet unproven) "chemical attack". Against this
background, there are rumors about Russia's intention this time to respond to a missile attack not with just shooing the missiles
but attacking launching sites.
Neoliberal MSM as usual are filled with the emotional videos and photos of the victims including heartbreaking shots with
babies.
The attack repeats several elements of previous false flags the allegations of government forces lack any logic (why would Assad
use illegal means in the midst of the military success achieved by conventional weapons?)
SecDef Mattis is a key player in this drama. Mattis didn't buy the fake attack a year ago
which no doubt contributed to the flashy but ineffective US response. Putting the blame for
this latest fake attack on Russia and Iran (a difference this time) suggests an asymmetric
non-military response. Trump has
sanctioned Russia three times in the past month and bragged about it, so Putin is now his
go-to enemy. That Trump strategy (or lack of it) strengthens Russia
domestically and internationally, especially with China, which now is also under Trump administration attack with tariffs and
intellectual property issue. Some observers
suggest that this supposed false flag was a part of negotiations about captured specialist and munitions as reported by
Proof
Intel Drop, Trump, Bolton behind Syria chemical attacks, confirmed Veterans Today News - Military Foreign Affairs -
@8 the "chemical attack" was part of the negotiations. Trump is talking tough but Russia made
a believable threat to hit back.
@Pat Bateman | Apr 8, 2018 1:08:29 PM | 2
Yes, there is a "strategy" to pretend Russia is a criminal worse than other countries.
They even mentioned the word "weapons of mass destruction" again. It is a very real campaign
in a run up to war.
"It is regrettable to say that our Western partners had tried to disrupt today's
session. In the beginning they offered to observe a minute of silence in memory of people
killed in Khan Sheyhun, Idlib province, Syria. We proposed them to hold a moment of silence
to remember all victims of chemical weapons, primarily in Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran, Iraq,
and our partners somehow felt uncomfortable. [They] don't want to remember all victims of
chemical weapons," said Shulgin."
It has become this transparent.
Donald Trump in his Twitter acted in the best traditions of war propaganda. But there is often a stark difference
between what Trump says (or tweets ) and what he actually does. He called the Syrian leader an "animal", and
his Russian colleague an criminal accomplices. As usual this was done without any investigation whether the attack really took place
or was a staged provocation, and who is really responsible. Trump is definitely above such trivial things:
“President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay,” Trump said in back-to-back
tweets. “Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!”
This is almost exact replica on his reaction to the previous false flag attack using chemical weapons, when a hit of a rocket on
rebels' chemical storage produced a poisoness cloud (The
Washington Post):
Last week was the first anniversary of a sarin attack that killed more than 80 Syrians in the town of Khan Sheikhoun. That
occurred shortlyafter the administration said that it did not believe removing Assad from power was a priority. The Syrian
government was deemed responsible in a joint inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons.
The use of sarin at Khan Sheikhoun angered Trump and led him to reassess his attitude toward Syria and Assad.
“It crossed a lot of lines for me,” he said. “When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, little babies, with a chemical
gas that was so lethal,” then it “crosses many lines, beyond a red line, many, many lines.”
Three days after the attack, Trump ordered a missile strike on the Syrian airfield that had been used by planes that dropped the
sarin.
This statement is especially interesting in the light of the upcoming meeting of the presidents of Russia and the United States,
the preparation of which is under way, but now is increasingly unlikely to happen (The
Washington Post)
Whatever was driving Trump to leave Putin alone, it’s over,” said Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group, an analytical
firm. “Over the course of 48 hours, Trump basically sanctioned the Russian system and fingered Putin for backing the ‘Animal
Assad.’
“If the US confirms chemical weapons were used, I think we get a strike on Syria. As harsh as Friday’s sanctions were, they
also set the precedent for sanctioning anyone who benefits from the Russian system.”
The State Department stressed that there is a history of the use of "Syrian regime" of chemical weapons and that Assad and
his supporters "should be brought to justice, and further attacks – immediately prevented."
However, if last year the main goal of the United States was Bashar al-Assad, now they put emphasis on Russia in the State
Departement pres release: On the Chemical Attack in Douma
We continue to closely follow disturbing reports on April 7 regarding another alleged chemical weapons attack, this time
targeting a hospital in Douma, Syria. Reports from a number of contacts and medical personnel on the ground indicate a
potentially high number of casualties, including among families hiding in shelters. These reports, if confirmed, are horrifying
and demand an immediate response by the international community.
The United States continues to use all efforts available to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise,
accountable. The regime’s history of using chemical weapons against its own people is not in dispute, and in fact nearly one year
ago on April 4, 2017, Assad’s forces conducted a sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun, which killed approximately 100 Syrians.
The Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks prevented immediately. Russia, with its
unwavering support for the regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks, targeting of countless civilians,
and the suffocation of Syria’s most vulnerable communities with chemical weapons. By shielding its ally Syria, Russia has
breached its commitments to the United Nations as a framework guarantor. It has betrayed the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN
Security Council Resolution 2118. Russia’s protection of the Assad regime and failure to stop the use of chemical weapons in
Syria calls into question its commitment to resolving the overall crisis and to larger non-proliferation priorities.
The United States calls on Russia to end this unmitigated support immediately and work with the international community to
prevent further, barbaric chemical weapons attacks.
It is noteworthy that Russia for a long time warned that the groups in Eastern Ghouta are preparing a chemical attack against the
civilian population. At the press conference of the G-3 summit in Ankara, Vladimir Putin spoke about the presence of "irrefutable
evidence of militants' training provocations using toxic substances."
Moreover, during the clearing of the territory of Eastern Ghouta from the militants a small factory cabale of producing chrone
and chemical munitions, as well as the ammunition themselves was found and pictures of western equipment used were published.
It is absolutely unclear what should have been the motives of Assad, for whom the situation in Syria is becoming more favorable,
to use chemical weapons in Eastern Ghouta, knowing that he will be the first who will be suspected of it.
Government forces are actively advancing, and in fact are close to a complete victory in this province. A humanitarian corridor
was created to remove civilians from Eastern ghouta, and the militants themselves eventually agreed to leave the region with their
families.
For cornered militants who do not want to give up and leave Eastern ghouta provocation with chemical weapons – the only chance if
not salvation, then at least to delay the defeat. No wonder all the sources warned about the upcoming staging, stressed that it is
aimed at disrupting the offensive of government troops.
Russia representative stated that "we strongly refute this information and declare our readiness after the liberation of the city
Council from the militants immediately send Russian experts of radiation, chemical and biological protection to collect data that
will confirm the fabricated nature of these statements."
White house adviser Tom Bossert was in pretty militant mode on Sunday. He did not rule out military action against Syria amid
information about himatake. "I would not exclude anything. These are terrible photos. We're looking into assault.», – he said,
adding that this issue is being discussed by Trump and his close advisors.
April 2017 Trump already accused Damascus of using chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun based in very flimsy evidence and no
investigation by UN, and ordered a missile strike on the base of the Syrian air force Shayrat, with which the attack was
allegedly carried out. Compelling evidence of use by Damascus of chemical weapons in Khan Sheyhun the West was never presented.
As the US goal of the "regime change" becoming unattainable, Washington is increasingly voiced the idea to launch a
military action against Syria. So, in early March, the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, threatened, if not stop the offensive
in Eastern Ghouta, to strike at Damascus. And the current alleged "chemical attack" is a very convenient excuse to do so.
This time Russia was better prepared to thei false flag operation. They also has had
intelligence that such attack is planned. Moscow directly accused the West of using provocation with chemical weapons to prepare military actions against Damascus.
Later Russians inspected the area and found no signs that attack took place. Their conclusion is that all was staged
( Syria conflict: Russia says no evidence of
Douma chemical attack )
Missiles hit the Tiyas airbase, known as T4, near the city of Homs. Observers say 14 people
were killed.
Israel, which has previously hit Syrian targets, has not commented. Syria initially blamed
Washington for the strike, but the US, UK and France have all denied involvement.
It is unclear if the strike has anything to do with the suspected chemical
attack.
Earlier, Russia’s military directly denied that the Syrian army launched this chemical attack and accused Western
countries of staging false flag operation to justify strike on Syrian government forces
(ABC News):
"We decisively deny that information,” the head of Russia’s Reconciliation Center in
Syria, Major Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, told Interfax, referring to allegations that the chemical attack was caused by
a chlorine bomb dropped by pro-Assad forces.
“We express our readiness, after the liberation of Douma from militants, to immediately
send Russian specialists in radiological, chemical and biological protection for the collection of data, that will
confirm the fabricated character of these statements,” Yevtushenko said.
Yevtushenko then accused “a range of Western countries” of using the allegations of the
attack to try to hinder the Russian-Syrian operation to pull out militants from Douma.
“For that, that theme beloved by the West, the use of chemical weapons by the armed
forces of Syrian Arab Republic, is being used,” Yevtushenko told Interfax. He also said the allegations were being
made by groups like the White Helmets, which he accused of “being widely known for their
fake
news.”
Yevtushenko said that after Douma has been retaken by the government, Russia is ready to
immediately send its own chemical weapons experts in to “collect data that will confirm the fabricated character” of
the allegations.
Russia is warning the US against any "military intervention" in Syria over the
government's alleged chemical attack against civilians this weekend, saying any such response would be
"unacceptable" and lead to the "most serious consequences".
The foreign ministry in Moscow also says in a statement on its website that allegations
of the chemical attack are "fabricated," suggesting the claims were invented by rebel forces and the Syrian Civil
Defense known as the
White Helmets.
"It is necessary to warn again that military intervention under invented and fabricated
pretexts in Syria, where at the request of the lawful government there are Russian military personnel, is
absolutely unacceptable and can lead to the most serious consequences," the statement reads. "The aim of these
false speculations, that have no basis, is to shield the terrorists and the irreconcilable radical opposition, who
reject a political solution, at the same time while trying to justify possible armed strikes from outside."
Russia this time is unlikely to observe the bombing from the outside. The chief of the General staff Valery Gerasimov in response
to the word Hayley said: if there is a threat of life of the Russian military, the armed forces "will take retaliatory measures as a
missile, and the launching sites".
According to reports, the Russian air defenses Syria recently were enhances and the number of observation flights increased.
In 2012 US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton decided that she knew best what was good for the people of Syria. She
decided that President Assad "had to go": Calling off America's Bombs
(Common Dreams: Jeffrey Sachs, 9-5-13)
In coordination with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar she launched a war to invade Syria and overthrow the government. Training
and recruiting centers were set up in Jordan and Turkey. KSA provided the money.
Before the US got involved, this was a war with casualties in the 1,000's. Yet now around 150,000 people have died and cultural
and archaeological treasures have been destroyed. The US has inflamed a conflict that may have been ended quickly by the Syrian
government, had we not chosen to get involved. The other fact is that a majority of Syrians (55%) support Assad. Is it right for
the US to oppose the will of the Syrian people? Jeffrey Sachs discusses this more
Over 300,000 people have been killed by Clinton's policies. Assad remains in power. Hilary's
"Syrian Free Army" is in chaos. Meanwhile, Islamic extremists backed by Hilary's allies have invaded Iraq. Al nustra Front
emerged the major fighting force against Assad forces. It behaved completely ruthlessly and earned the nickname of headchoppers.
"An uneasy alliance of foreign-funded jihadists, Western intelligence, and NGOs like Doctors Without Borders" forged during
soviet occupation of Afghanistan is a fact in Syria too.
The USA plays on both sides in Syria: supporting ISIS and affiliated groups such as Al Nusra Front on one hand and simultaneously
trying to eliminate Islamic radicals that previously were trained and supplied with weapons by the USA. "There US and its coalition were supposedly fighting ISIL/Daesh but missed the massive convoys of oil
to Turkey that propped them up [financially]"
Turkey is a strong supporter of jihadists in Syria is a NATO member and formally the USA ally. Syria in the past was a
part of Ottoman empire and Erdogan positions himself of moderate autocratic Islamist hell-bent of restoring the old glory of
Ottoman empire and possibly acquiring back some of lost territories. They used to buy oil from jihadists. Turkish military intelligence
is especially active in jihadism support as well as support of "Turkoman" separatist on the borders with Turkey.
Previously time sarin materials were procured from Turkey.
There pare many foreign fighters (both mercenaries and volunteers), especially from Libya nd KSA. But also some from xUSSR area
and Western Europe, especially Britain.
At the beginning there was some real grievances the Assad government chose to ignore and suppress and that might helped to defuse
the situation, but it is very unlikely because foreign powers were strongly in favor of driving the conflict into civil war and deposing
Assad. They succeeded and the country is now destroyed.
Only few undisputed facts are know about Khan Sheikhoun attack
It is unknown who is responsible for attack. The major are three
The USA official -- Assad did it.
Russian Hypothesis (hit of jihadist chemical lab or storage by Syrian military jets released toxic fumes),
Lambasting the United States' aggression against Syria, Bolivian Ambassador to the United Nations Sacha Llorenti compared
the basis for the unilateral move to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's infamous 2003 presentation to the body,
when fraudulent evidence of an alleged Iraqi weapons program was presented to justify the US war on Iraq
Holding up an enlarged photo of Colin Powell's “weapons of mass destruction” speech, Llorenti made an impassioned plea
to hold the US to account for Thursday's unprovoked attack on Syria, noting the US history of imperialist interventions
in other nations, including Latin America.
"Now the United States believe that they are investigators, they are attorneys, judges and they are the executioners.
That's not what international law is about."
The Andean nation currently holds a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
"I believe it's vital for us to remember what history teaches us and on this occasion (in 2003), the United States did
affirm, they affirmed that they had all the proof necessary to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction but they were
never found … never were they found," the Bolivian envoy told the emergency Security Council meeting on Friday.
So far the most plausible is Russian hypothesis.
This is the second major sarin attack in Syria (it it was sarin, which is still unclear; some witnesses reported a strong
smell) . The previous one was a false flag operation in which over thousand people including women and children died.
previous (false flag) sarin attack was staged Syria in 2013 with the explicit goal to provoke Western military response like in Lybia.
This was so called "Ghouta chemical attack"; sarin was used in an attack in the Ghouta region of the Rif Dimashq Governorate of Syria
during the Syrian civil war.[51] Varying[52] sources gave a death toll of 322[53] to 1,729.[54] It were a part of rebels strategy
to weaken and isolate internationally Assad government, which coincides with the desires of the USA and its allies such as Turkey
and KSA.
On Tuesday April 4th 2017, videos and images emerged from sources belonging to Al Nustra within Syria showing what is claimed
to be a chemical weapon attack that targeted Al Sheikhun south of Idlib. There
were never independent investigators on the ground. All information is from Al Nusra sources. The attack occurred in the city Khan
Sheikhoun in Idlib province, an area on the Turkish border mostly controlled by al-Qaeda affiliated rebels.
Khan Sheikhoun was bombed by Assad air force and during or after bombing chemical subscrances were releases.
Coordinates of the target were known to USA as they were communicated as a part of Memorandum about avoiding incidents between the
USA and Russia. The USA has a drone in the vicinity which might have the footage of the attack.
Mechanism of delivery is unclear, but is was not sophisticated bomblet-based weapon of Russian origin.. No reliable photos
of the weapon exist.
Around than 80 people were killed by
suspected chemical weapons
in Khan Sheikhoun. A large proportion victims them were children (local inhabitants or hostages is not known) died, possibly
of gas poisoning
British Doctor from Khan Sheikhoun who reported about the attack previously held on terror charges in Britain, but managed
to escape to Syria.
Turkey performed autopsies of several victims and claims that they died form poisoning, althouth they do not say
what exactly it was.
The "known unknown" area is much larger. Even origin and chemical composition of toxic cloud is disputed (was it "sarin";
was it air attack of munitions depot explosion? what is staged event (aka false flag operation) or a blunder by Assad forces which accidentally
hit chemical depot in a school or close to a school. Here is attempt to collect the most interesting questions about this event
that I have found in various forums (collected from foreign sources, mostly from British and German):
Is not unilateral military intervention in a sovereign country that does not threaten the USA constituting an act of aggression,
a war crime by the UN statute? Or, as an exceptional nation, the USA is above the UN...
How can journalists and Western diplomats be so lacking in the desire or ability to question what they are told?
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2017/04/its-wmd-all-over-again-why-dont-you-see-it-.html, The Kremlin issued a statement
saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin found it "unacceptable to make groundless accusations against anyone without conducting
a detailed and unbiased investigation."
Cue bono? Effectively the USA acted as Al Nustra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nusra_Front) air force. Which
promptly initiated an attack on government forces in Palmira. Does this means that the USA foreign policy in Syria is now aligned
with Gulf monarchies policy and Israeli policies of dismembering this country and establishing a permanent Al Nusra Caliphate on
the part of the territory as well as possibly Kurdish enclave ? The Syrian regime may not have had a compelling motive,
believes Günther Meyer, the director of the Research Center for the Arab World at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. "Only
armed opposition groups could profit from an attack with chemical weapons," he told DW. "With their backs against the wall, they
have next to no chance of opposing the regime militarily. As President [Donald] Trump's recent statements show, such actions make
it possible for anti-Assad groups to receive further support."http://www.dw.com/en/is-assad-to-blame-for-the-chemical-weapons-attack-in-syria/a-38330217
Is not Israel the major beneficiary of this bombing? Syrians shot down an Israeli jet a week before using this airbase. Now this
airbase is destroyed.
On April 3, the USA government announced that the US is no longer insisting that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has to
step aside. The attack happened on April 4th, a day after. On April 6 after the attack, but before any investigation,
the USA goverment changed its mind. Did Trump reneg on his promises to fight ISIS and establishing détente with Russia after
unprecedented attack by neocons in Washington and folded? Removal of Bannon might be connected. Does this mean that Trump
metamorphosed into Hillary Clinton in around 100 days in office? Or does that mean that the president does not matter and deep state
rules the country?
Previous sarin attack was a false flag: The attack took place while UN weapons inspectors were in the country, on Assad's
invitation, said Meyer. Assad had asked them to investigate a chemical weapons attack from March 2013 outside Aleppo, which killed
Syrian soldiers. Former weapons inspector Richard Lloyd and MIT professor Theodore Postol cast further doubt on Assad's role in the
Ghouta attack. They reported in 2014 that the chemical weapons could have only been fired from rebel-held territory, with a range
of up to 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles).
The Nusra Front's weapons include chemical weapons and they inflicted casualties on Syrian army. This Al Qaeda
affiliate is today the most significant rebel group in the northern Syrian province of Idlib. Along with other jihadi groups, it
has turned itself into the "de facto ruler of Idlib." Syrian government reiterated the claim, echoed by Moscow, that the tragedy
occurred because the rebels had been stockpiling sarin gas, and the Syrian army had no way of knowing it was there.
What will be consequences (other then deserved Nobel Peace Price for Trump) for the USA if the investigation implicated the
rebels? BTW none of "volunteers" treating victims died from poisoning, despite working without HASMAT suits, which suggest that
at least "sarin" version is bogus.
What was the function of the buildings hit by air strike (hitting a depot of chemical weapons is the Russian version of events)?
it is clear they they were in or close to residential area were those private residences or not is unclear. What was exact time
of Assad forces attack? Rebels are known to store munitions in schools and mosques to protect them from air strikes. Why so many
children were affected if only two houses were hit. Outside school, in Syria children are usually accompanied by women.
There were less victims among adults.
Under the pact, the two countries have traded information about flights by a US-led coalition
targeting the Islamic State and Russian planes operating in Syria in support of the Assad government. Moscow was taking its action,
the Defense Ministry said, because it sees the US strike “as a grave violation of the memorandum.”
Which created for them a theoretical possibility to shoot down planes if they threaten Russian forces.
"dropped from up high" – gosh, the technical terminology scientists use makes their
reports difficult to follow. Naturally only Assad possessed the capability to drop something
from up high, so it must have been him.
I also note the report says some guy who was not from the hospital ran in shouting
"Chemical! Chemical!", whereupon others started grabbing people and washing them, and that
the alleged victims did not present as victims of a chemical attack.
But I daresay the press will conclude this is irrefutable proof that a chemical attack
occurred in Douma and that Assad – backed by the Russians – was responsible.
@47 den lille abe / 49 pft.... i mentioned it on the syrian thread yesterday... here is my
comment from that thread...
"yer local scam news from the usa daily press briefing.. aside from acknowledging the
horrific nature of 9-11 inflicted on the usa, there is of course no mention of the horrors
that it inflicted on many many more in the countries outside of the usa, thanks the usa's
phony war on terrorism..but of course, how can you have a war on terrorism, when you are the
terrorism globally? more fun stuff at the link, if you like being propagandized..
from heather nauert - "Next, and this is also related to Syria, I'd like to highlight
this: The Assad regime and Russia continue to falsely accuse the White Helmets through a
massive disinformation campaign, leaving its volunteers at significant risk. Many of you are
familiar with the good work that the White Helmets has – that they have done and that
they continue to do. The White Helmets are a humanitarian organization that has saved
thousands of lives and continues to save civilian lives after bombardments by Russian and
regime military forces. The United States and the international community continue to support
their heroic work."
"Russian and Syrian news services in the US have been censored, but you can still get
streaming jihadist propaganda from al Qaeda-controlled Idlib Province."
Looks like now they do not even care if this will be exposed as false flag operation.
"The United States has warned Russia that it would be ready to strike Syria again if
President Bashar Assad and his government use chemical weapons in the country, the Bloomberg
news agency said on Friday citing own sources.
According to the agency's sources, the warning was conveyed by National Security Adviser
John Bolton to his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, during their Thursday's meeting in
Geneva, Switzerland.
The agency says that Washington "has information that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may
use chemical weapons as he seeks to recapture one of the country's last rebel-held areas"
– in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.
During the talks with Patrushev, Bolton said the United States would respond with s tronger
military action that it has used in Syria in the past – in 2017 and 2018." Bloomberg and
AMN
*********
"Militants of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), aided by British intelligence, are preparing to
stage a chemical attack in northern Syria that will be used as a pretext for a new missile
strike by the U.S., the UK and France on facilities of the Damascus government, Russian Defense
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announced on August 25.
"According to the information confirmed simultaneously by several independent sources, the
active terrorist grouping Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is plotting a new provocation with the alleged
use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government forces against civilians in the Idlib
province A special group of terrorists who have been trained by specialists of the UK private
military company Olive to handle chemical warfare agents has also arrived in the area of Jisr
ash-Shughur ," Konashenkov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
Konashenkov revealed that the U.S. is already preparing for the new missile strike.
According to the statment, the US Navy's destroyer Sullivans with 56 cruise missiles on board
arrived in the Persian Gulf several days ago while a B-1B strategic bomber of the US Air Force
armed with AGM-158 JASSM air-to-surface missiles was redeployed to the al-Udeid air base in
Qatar.
"The actions by Western countries contrary to public statements are aimed at another
dramatic escalation of the situation in the Middle East and at disrupting the peace process
on the territory of Syria," Konashenkov warned.
Earlier this week,
the U.S., the UK and Franc released a joint statement , in which they condemned the alleged
use of chemical weapons by the Damascus government. The three countries vowed to "respond
appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime."" SF & Russian
MoD
---------------
Bolton, Pompeo and the neocons have made it clear that they at least have not abandoned
Regime Change in Syria as their objective. Whether or not Mattis and Votel are fully on board
with this is unclear to me. They may well be playing some separate game of their own involving
a madcap desire to maintain a US dominated zone in Syria east of the Euphrates River. Trump's
hand is not visible in this for me. Power appears to have fractured in Washington with regard
to ME policy
The Regime Changers seem to believe they will have another bite at the apple during the
Idlib liberation campaign when a White Helmet style "gas attack" can be staged and then used to
obtain Trump's acquiescence in a sizable set of attacks against Syrian forces this time as well
as facilities.
The Israelis seem to be out of the game on this one having made a deal with Russia and Syria
over stability on the Golan front line.
The 'Working Group on Syria, Propaganda Media', which is a group of British academics
who are interested in these matters, published a 'Briefing note' on the alleged chemical
attack in Douma on 7 April 2018, and other alleged chlorine attacks in Syria since 2014,
a few days ago.
I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in a serious examination of the
evidence on these matters.
In addition to being published on the 'Working Group' site, the note is reproduced on
the blog run by Professor Tim Hayward of Edinburgh, one of its members, and anyone
wanting to comment can do so there.
I am sure it's worthy and that I agree with it, but I struggle with the clunky prose:
telling us that chlorine released in industrial accidents has showed a less devastating
result on the victims and then a few lines later that the effects in Douma could only
have been produced by chlorine if released on an industrial scale. Still clunkier however
have been the attempts of British intelligence to fake chemical attacks. I hope they and
their jihadis do not try one in Idlib, but part of me is curious to see if they can even
be bothered to make it plausible. As one of the targets of their deception I am quite
offended by their carelessness.
Sic Semper optimistic. U.S foreign policy has a mind of its own. The nationalist here
in the States more than likely have very little to do with its change in direction. Like
bond market money, it has a long wide view of the world and its conquest.
The Olive Group, the mercenary firm that Konashenkov named, is under the umbrella of
something called Constellis Holdings, which also owns Academi, the mercenary company
formerly known as Blackwater, the company founded by Eric Prince. The CEO of Constellis
is a man named Jason Deyonker, a University of Michigan classmate of Prince's and the man
who bought out Blackwater, enabling Prince to move his operation to the UAE.
Why Russia, has been so ineffective against this group of crisis actors and the
propaganda they generate, is a little baffling.
Why have they not targeted the individuals and their activities with smart munition
air strikes?
Letting your ally get pummeled by another round of meaningless cruise missile
strikes,right under your nose, and now in proximity to your own forces is going to look
like nothing except weakness.
In the TASS article referred to, Konashenkov names the village near Jisr ash-Shughur
that the chlorine was allegedly delivered to as Halluz.
syria.liveuamap.com shows the village in Latakia province, but more accurate maps,
e.g. Google, seem to show it just inside Idlib, at coords 35.782,36.274. The village is
less than 2km from the Turkish OP at Ishtabraq Mount, itself right on the road linking
Halluz with JaS. Konashennkov even names the group the chemicals were delivered to as
Hizb al-Turkistani al-Islami.
The level of detail in the announcement is interesting. In your opinion Colonel, is
this an attempt to head off a false flag in this specific location, or a wider effort to
deter one - i.e. by signalling that the GRU knows exactly what the various parties are up
to?
As not even Reuters appears to have picked up this announcement (nor the fact that
yesterday a member of the Duma suggested deploying tactical nukes to Syria), I hope
Gerasimov reiterates his April red line announcement. For good measure VVP should do so
too this time - just so there can be no doubt of Russia's position.
IMO, now that Trump is aware of who and what the White Helmets are, he should arrange
for them to be tracked and then blasted into oblivion by some kind of traditional
ordnance. Call it an accident, collateral damage, fortune de guerre, whatever. It would
be useful to avoid another false flag poison gas incident as well as sending a message to
their handlers.
Some intriguing noises coming from China about sending troops for Idlib
operation...
'...Both China's ambassador to Syria as well as its military attache in the
country have raised the possibility of Chinese military operations in Syria alongside
the Syrian government.
Chinese Ambassador Qi Qianjin reportedly stated that the Chinese "military is
willing to participate in some way alongside the Syrian army that is fighting the
terrorists in
Idlib and in any other part of Syria," while military attache Wong Roy Chang reportedly
said the Chinese military could participate in an operation to retake rebel-held Idlib
if Beijing made the political decision for it to do so...'
That from Stratfor earlier this month...
Whether that actually happens is an open question...but it would seem that Russia and
Turkey are huddling to try to iron out a general agreement before shooting begins...
"... Is resettling a terrorist front group in the West a good idea? ..."
"... The White Helmets ..."
"... The Washington Post ..."
"... Syria conflict: White Helmets evacuated by Israel. ..."
"... The BBC story could have been written by the White Helmets themselves or by their press department. Or alternatively by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. First of all, the Israelis do not do humanitarian gestures. They helped bail out the White Helmets at the request of the U.S. because capture by the Syrians would have produced embarrassing revelations about how the group was funded and what its affiliation with terrorists was all about. And Israel's denial of involvement in Syria is nonsense, unless one considers demonstrated collaboration with the terrorist groups punctuated by nearly weekly bombing and missile attacks to be non-involvement. ..."
"... The British too are into the deception up to their eyeballs. The comment by Hunt and Mordaunt is complete fabrication regarding what the White Helmets represent. The same goes for the BBC account of how the group developed, which comes directly from the White Helmet's own propaganda division as amplified by Hollywood and the U.S. and U.K. governments. ..."
"... The White Helmets travel to bombing sites with their film crews trailing behind them. Once at the sites, with no independent observers, they are able to arrange or even stage what is filmed to conform to their selected narrative which consistently promotes tales of government atrocities against civilians to encourage outside military intervention in Syria and bring about regime change in Damascus. The White Helmets were, for example, the propagators of the totally false but propagandistically effective claims regarding the government use of so-called "barrel bombs" against civilians. ..."
"... Peter Ford, British Ambassador in Damascus from 2003-2006, recently described the group in an audio interview saying, "The White Helmets are jihadi auxiliaries. They are not, as claimed by themselves and by their supporters simple rescuers. They are not volunteers. They are paid professionals of disinformation." ..."
"... All their activities are directed at mobilizing Western opinion behind the jihadis with whom they associate. They co-locate their centers with the Al-Qaeda organization known as Al-Nusra and with other militant groups such as Jaish al-Islam. They have in the past been shown associating with and waving the flags of ISIS." ..."
"... The group is currently largely funded by a number of non-government organizations (NGOs) as well as governments, including the United States, Britain and some European Union member states. The U.S. has directly provided $23 million through the USAID (US Agency for International Development) as of 2016 and almost certainly considerably more indirectly. ..."
"... Perhaps the most serious charge against the White Helmets consists of the evidence that they actively participated in the atrocities , to include torture and murder, carried out by their al-Nusra hosts. There have been numerous photos of the White Helmets operating directly with armed terrorists and also celebrating over the bodies of execution victims and murdered Iraqi soldiers. The group's jihadi associates regard the White Helmets as fellow "mujahideen" and "soldiers of the revolution." ..."
"... The White Helmets were and are part and parcel of the attempt to overthrow a legitimate government and install a regime friendly to western, American and Israeli interests. For Israel in particular the ongoing chaos in Syria was and is part of its plan for dividing all of its neighbors into warring ethnicities and sects, making them less viable as threats to the Jewish state. ..."
Is resettling a terrorist front group in the West a good idea?
When is a terrorist group not a terrorist group? Apparently the answer is that it ceases to
be terrorist when it terrorizes someone who is an enemy of the United States. The most
prominent recent example is the Mujaheddin e Khalq (MEK), a murderous Iranian Marxist cult
which assassinated five Americans in the 1970s as part of its campaign against the Shah's
government. It was removed from the State Department terrorist list in 2012 by Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton after it had promised not to kill any more Americans but really because
it had bought the support of prominent politicians to include Elaine Chao, Rudy Giuliani, Newt
Gingrich, and John Bolton. It also had the behind the scenes endorsement of both the Israeli
Mossad and CIA, both of whom have been using it in their operations to kill Iranians and damage
the country's infrastructure. Someone high up in the federal government, perhaps Hillary or
even President Obama himself, must have decided that terrorists who kill only Iranians deserve
a get out of jail free card from the State Department.
There are other examples of cynical doublespeak from the Syrian conflict, including labeling
rebels against the Damascus government "freedom fighters" when in reality they were as often as
not allied with the al-Qaeda affiliated group Al-Nusra or even with ISIS. Frequently they
received training and weapons from Washington only to turn around and either join Al-Nusra and
ISIS as volunteers or surrender their weapons to them.
But perhaps there is no bigger fraud making the rounds than the so-called White Helmets. The
recent media coverage derives from the documentary The White Helmets , which was
produced by the group itself and tells a very convincing tale
promoted as "the story of real-life heroes and impossible hope." It is a very impressive
piece of propaganda, so much so that it has won numerous awards including the Oscar for Best
Documentary Short last year and the White Helmets themselves were nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize. More to the point, however, is the undeniable fact that the documentary has helped shape
the public understanding of what is going on in Syria, describing the government in Damascus in
purely negative terms.
The fawning Hollywood and Congressional depictions of the group go something like this: "the
White Helmets are an 'heroic' impartial non-government humanitarian volunteer group that
engages in 'first response' emergency rescue and medical treatment for all those who have been
impacted by the fighting in Syria. The Syrian government hates the group because it assists
victims of the fighting who are either rebels or living in rebel held areas. Recently, with the
Syrian Army closing in on the last White Helmet affiliates still operating in the country, the
Israeli government, assisted by the United States, staged an emergency humanitarian evacuation
of the group's members and their families to Israel and then on to Jordan."
Virtually all the mainstream media coverage of the White Helmets is bogus, but by far the
most ridiculous account of the Exodus from Syria came from the BBC. For those who are not
familiar with it, the BBC, which once upon a time had a reputation for journalistic integrity,
has become one of the worst pro-government propaganda shills of all time. Reading its articles
is even worse that having a similar go at The Washington Post , which is the prime
newspaper exemplar of fake news and phony journalism pretending to be a respectable news source
in the United States. Let's face it, Donald Trump has a point. Nearly all of the mainstream
media lies persistently these days but some sources are worse than others. People complain
about Fox, and rightly so, but CNN is the absolute pits when it comes to slanting its coverage,
as is MSNBC.
BBC's article is entitled Syria
conflict: White Helmets evacuated by Israel. It makes the following statements, many
coming directly from Israeli official sources, regarding the White Helmets, its activities and
the group's relationship to some governments, to include Britain:
"The IDF said they had
'completed a humanitarian effort to rescue members of a Syrian civil organization and their
families', saying there was an 'immediate threat to their lives.' The transfer of the displaced
Syrians through Israel was an exceptional humanitarian gesture." "Although Israel is not
directly involved in the Syria conflict, the two countries have been in a state of war for
decades. Despite the intervention, the IDF said that 'Israel continues to maintain a
non-intervention policy regarding the Syrian conflict.'" "A statement from Foreign Secretary
Jeremy Hunt and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said: 'White Helmets have
been the target of attacks and, due to their high profile, we judged that, in these particular
circumstances, the volunteers required immediate protection. We pay tribute to the brave and
selfless work that White Helmet volunteers have done to save Syrians on all sides of the
conflict.'" "Their official name is the Syrian Civil Defense and it began in early 2013 as an
organization of volunteers from all walks of life, including electricians and builders. Its
main task soon became to rescue civilians in war zones in the immediate aftermath of air
strikes, and it says its volunteers have saved the lives of more than 100,000 people during the
civil war."
The BBC story could have been written by the White Helmets themselves or by their press
department. Or alternatively by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. First of all, the Israelis do not
do humanitarian gestures. They helped bail out the White Helmets at the request of the U.S.
because capture by the Syrians would have produced embarrassing revelations about how the group
was funded and what its affiliation with terrorists was all about. And Israel's denial of
involvement in Syria is nonsense, unless one considers demonstrated collaboration with the
terrorist groups punctuated by nearly weekly bombing and missile attacks to be
non-involvement.
The British too are into the deception up to their eyeballs. The comment by Hunt and
Mordaunt is complete fabrication regarding what the White Helmets represent. The same goes for
the BBC account of how the group developed, which comes directly from the White Helmet's own
propaganda division as amplified by Hollywood and the U.S. and U.K. governments.
Just as important as what is said about the White Helmets' activities is the exclusion of a
great deal of credible negative reporting on the group. The carefully edited scenes of heroism
under fire that have been filmed and released worldwide conceal the White Helmets' relationship
with the al-Qaeda affiliated group Jabhat al-Nusra and its participation in the torture and
execution of "rebel" opponents. Indeed, the White Helmets only operate in rebel held territory,
which enables them to shape the narrative both regarding who they are and what is occurring on
the ground.
Exploiting their access to the western media, the White Helmets thereby de facto
became a major source of "eyewitness" news regarding what was going on in those many parts of
Syria where European and American journalists were quite rightly afraid to go. It was all part
of a broader
largely successful "rebel" effort to manufacture fake news that depicts the Damascus
government as engaging in war crimes directed against civilians, an effort that led to several
attacks on government forces and facilities by the U.S. military.
The White Helmets travel to bombing sites with their film crews trailing behind them.
Once at the sites, with no independent observers, they are able to arrange or even stage what
is filmed to conform to their selected narrative which consistently promotes tales of
government atrocities against civilians to encourage outside military intervention in Syria and
bring about regime change in Damascus. The White Helmets were, for example, the propagators of
the
totally false but propagandistically effective claims regarding the government use of
so-called "barrel bombs" against civilians.
Peter Ford, British Ambassador in Damascus from 2003-2006, recently described the group
in
an audio interview saying, "The White Helmets are jihadi auxiliaries. They are not, as
claimed by themselves and by their supporters simple rescuers. They are not volunteers. They
are paid professionals of disinformation." He noted particularly the large size of the
organization's "press department", saying, "This gives us an idea what the priority is for this
very dubious organization. All their activities are directed at mobilizing Western opinion
behind the jihadis with whom they associate. They co-locate their centers with the Al-Qaeda
organization known as Al-Nusra and with other militant groups such as Jaish al-Islam. They have
in the past been shown associating with and waving the flags of ISIS."
The group is currently largely
funded by a number of non-government organizations (NGOs) as well as governments, including
the United States, Britain and some European Union member states. The U.S. has directly
provided $23 million through the USAID (US Agency for International Development) as of 2016 and
almost certainly considerably more indirectly. Max Blumenthal has
explored in some detail the various funding resources and relationships that the
organization draws on, mostly in Europe and the United States.
Perhaps the most serious charge against the White Helmets consists of the evidence that
they
actively participated in the atrocities , to include torture and murder, carried out by
their al-Nusra hosts. There have been numerous photos of the White
Helmets operating directly with armed terrorists and also celebrating over the bodies of
execution victims and murdered Iraqi soldiers. The group's jihadi associates regard the White
Helmets as fellow "mujahideen" and "soldiers of the revolution."
So Israel's celebrated rescue of the White Helmets was little more than a theatrical
performance intended to perpetuate the myth that the al-Assad government was thwarted in an
attempt to capture and possibly kill an honorable non-partisan group engaged in humanitarian
relief for those caught up in a bloody conflict seeking to oust a ruthless dictator. The
reality is quite different. The White Helmets were and are part and parcel of the attempt
to overthrow a legitimate government and install a regime friendly to western, American and
Israeli interests. For Israel in particular the ongoing chaos in Syria was and is part of its
plan for dividing all of its neighbors into warring ethnicities and sects, making them less
viable as threats to the Jewish state.
The 800 White Helmets rescued reportedly will be resettled in the U.S., Britain and Germany.
One hopes those coming to America can end up in Los Angeles, where they would presumably mingle
with Hollywood big shots and the usual snowflakes while working on their next documentary. As
some of them are most certainly radical Jihadists, it will be interesting to observe exactly
how that will play out.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National
Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation that seeks a more interests-based
U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is www.councilforthenationalinterest.org,
address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is
[email protected].
Thanks for posting those links. I just had a look at Vanessa Beeley's blog and found a
link to an article on how Western NGOs and terrorist groups hire Syrian refugees as actors in
their videos through social media sites (in particular social media sites that advertise
jobs).
Unfortunately (and understandably perhaps, given the risk that might be involved) the
people at Inside Syria Media Center did not go far enough in their investigation to find out
where the money to pay the actors in these "documentaries" comes from.
"... You don't need to "evacuate" aid workers & paramedics, because they have nothing to offer, nothing to fear and want to stay and help people. You DO evacuate special forces & trained proxies. Because you spent money putting them there and the last thing you want is them getting caught or killed. ..."
"... So this is basically a brilliant way of getting hundreds of key ISIS figures our of Syria and resettled into Western countries. Just tidy them up and give them a white helmet. Do these sound like White Helmets to you? ..."
"... Who cares what actually happens to the real White Helmets, the West certainly don't. Especially as the real White Helmets and their families were mainly up in the north, Idlib, hundreds of miles from the Israeli border with no way of getting there. This is a sham. The key ISIS operatives are getting out via Israel while the ones that don't matter are on buses to Idlib, currently blocked as they try to pass through Iranian controlled territory. ..."
White Helmets "Rescued" By Israel Via Golan Heights In Overnight Operation
why?
You don't need to "evacuate" aid workers & paramedics, because they have nothing
to offer, nothing to fear and want to stay and help people. You DO evacuate special forces
& trained proxies. Because you spent money putting them there and the last thing you want
is them getting caught or killed.
So this is basically a brilliant way of getting hundreds of key ISIS figures our of
Syria and resettled into Western countries. Just tidy them up and give them a white helmet.
Do these sound like White Helmets to you?
Maadeh Nassar "The Commander of the 'Golan Knights Brigade", Ahmad Al-Nuhas Commander of
the "Brigade of the Sword of the Levant", Alaa Halaki "Commander of the Ababel army" and Abu
Ratib Nassar, leader of the 'Golan Knights Brigade" escape to Israelearly this morning.
No, me neither.
Who cares what actually happens to the real White Helmets, the West certainly don't.
Especially as the real White Helmets and their families were mainly up in the north, Idlib,
hundreds of miles from the Israeli border with no way of getting there. This is a sham. The
key ISIS operatives are getting out via Israel while the ones that don't matter are on buses
to Idlib, currently blocked as they try to pass through Iranian controlled
territory.
as for the cia,mi6 mossad sas white helmets they put out a statement thanking george
clooney and asking for the return of the oscar lost somewhere in the syriana
White Helmets are Mo$$ad and MI6. A branch of AlQaeda terrorists. The one we were told did
9/11(LOL!). 800 members and their families rescued and will go to germany,Canada, France and
Britain. Possible US too.
the rescue mission This shows you clearly who was behind the war in Syria. through idf
heliborne operations of ISIS leaders, especially the foreign ones. Netanyahu said that TRUMP
and Trudeau asked him to evacuate them.
Some 800 members of the controversial Western-backed White Helmets will be brought to Jordan
through Israel to be reportedly resettled later in the UK, Canada, and Germany. The UN is
overseeing the exodus. Hundreds of the self-described aid workers, who operate exclusively in
rebel-held areas, have crossed into Israel from southwestern Syria overnight on Sunday, German
tabloid Bild reported, citing its own correspondents in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Evacuation of white helmets plus families still ongoing here at syrian israeli border.
Plan is to drive asap to jordan. @BILDpic.twitter.com/KcBOdduM2t
The White Helmets' passage has been facilitated by Israel, according to Bild, which
reports they have been transferred through an Israeli military base. The evacuation kicked
off at 9:30 pm local time on Saturday and was expected to continue into the night. Several
roads were put on lockdown by the army and police as part of preparations for the exodus.
On Sunday morning, the IDF's Twitter account confirmed that Israeli forces had evacuated
"members of a Syrian civil organization and their families" at the request of the US
and "additional European countries." In a number of subsequent tweets, the military
said that some "civilians" were rescued from southern Syria "due to an immediate
threat to their lives," and because Israel wanted to make "an exceptional humanitarian
gesture."
Following an Israeli Government directive and at the request of the United States and
additional European countries, the IDF recently completed a humanitarian effort to rescue
members of a Syrian civil organization and their families
The civilians were subsequently transferred to a neighboring country. Israel continues to
maintain a non-intervention policy regarding the Syrian conflict and continues to hold the
Syrian regime accountable for all activities in Syrian territory
It did not clarify to which organization, if any, the evacuees belonged.
Israel previously
admitted that it has been providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian militants, treating
over 1,000 wounded rebel fighters in its hospitals. According to Israel's ex-Defense Minister
Moshe Ya'alon, the assistance was granted under the condition that the militants would not let
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Qaeda affiliated fighters slip into Israel and
would not do any harm to the population of Druze villages.
However, Israel has been
adamant about not taking in Syrian refugees, with hawkish Defense Minister Avigdor
Lieberman stating last month that while the Jewish state keeps providing "humanitarian aid
to civilians, women and children" camped on the Syrian side of the border, it "will
not accept any Syrian refugee to our territory."
It is supposed that the White Helmets will not stay in the Jewish state for longer than is
needed to transport them to the Jordanian border. The transfer has been confirmed by Jordanian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ambassador Mohammad al-Kayed, as cited by Ammon News.
Al-Kayed said that Jordan had granted the request on purely humanitarian grounds after
Britain, Canada and Germany each reportedly pledged to take in a share of the White Helmets
fleeing what they describe as potential persecution by Damascus. Last month, Jordan, which
already hosts some 1.3 million displaced Syrians, said it won't take any more in,
stressing the need for a "political solution."
Once in the Jordanian territory, the Syrians will be confined to a specially designated
restricted area where they will stay for a maximum of three months until handed over to one of
the Western countries, Al-Kayed noted , adding that the
scheme should not place any additional burden on Jordan, as the organization of their passage
has been arranged by the UN.
It's yet unclear how the members of the White Helmets, who have on multiple occasions been
reported as dealing with Al-Qaeda-linked militants, will be distributed among the potential
recipients, with Bild reporting that it is yet unknown how many of them will come Germany's
way.
A looming evacuation of the White Helmets from Syria was first reported by CBS News on July
14. The broadcaster reported that the issue was raised by US allies in conversations with US
President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the two-day NATO summit on July 11- July 12.
Reportedly, UK Prime Minister Theresa May personally interceded
on the White Helmets' behalf during Trump's visit to the UK, a day after the summit.
On Friday, CBS News reported
that the operation was to be launched "very quickly" and proceed in accordance with a
joint plan, thrashed out by the US, the UK and Canada.
Millions of YouTube viewers have been captivated by the 'Syrian hero boy' who manages to
rescue a little girl while under gunfire. Now a group of Norwegian filmmakers have told BBC
Trending they are behind it. They say it was filmed on location in Malta this summer with the
intention of being presented as real. Lars Klevberg, a 34-year-old film director based in Oslo,
wrote a script after watching news coverage of the conflict in Syria. He says he deliberately
presented the film as reality in order to generate a discussion about children in conflict
zones. Were they comfortable making a film that potentially deceived millions of people? "I was
not uncomfortable," Klevberg said. "By publishing a clip that could appear to be authentic we
hoped to take advantage of a tool that's often used in war; make a video that claims to be
real. We wanted to see if the film would get attention and spur debate, first and foremost
about children and war. We also wanted to see how the media would respond to such a video."
A tool that's often used in war; make a video that claims to be real. Well, that sounds like
warmongering propaganda to me, but hey, if Norwegian filmmakers want to wrap it up in a candy
coating of concern for children, well, that, too is a tool that's often used in war. When all
else fails, the proponents of war always pull out "save the little children." It used to be
"keep that brute from molesting your women," but now that women are emancipated, sort of, it's
usually "save the little children."
gjohnsit on Wed, 07/18/2018 - 5:35pm
On April 20, CNN finished a report on fake
news with
this statement :
If the channels are monetized -- which InfoWars has previously claimed they are -- the major
newspapers could have unknowingly supported disinformation and conspiracy.
Ads also appeared on The Jimmy Dore Show channel, a far-left YouTube channel that peddles
conspiracy theories, such as the idea that Syrian chemical weapons attacks are hoaxes.
Jimmy Dore questioned whether the attack even happened, and if it did happen, who did
it.
That made him a kook, even with liberals.
I apologize and stand corrected. Someone needs to do something about the Jimmy imposter
who looks like him, has the same show name, and posts videos with titles saying Syrian
chemical attacks are a false flag operation. I don't get why someone would do him dirty like
that.
Yea. False Flag Attack. That would be nuts, amirite?
So the OPCW released their first
report on the Douma chemical attack.
The OPCW released the results of their fact-finding mission regarding allegations of chemical
weapons use in Douma on April 7, 2018. The mission included on-site visits to collect
environmental samples, interviews with witnesses, and data collection. The OPCW writes that
lab analysis of the samples "show that no organophosphorous nerve agents or their degradation
products were detected in the environmental samples or in the plasma samples taken from
alleged casualties." The report does state that "explosive residues" and "various chlorinated
organic chemicals" were found in samples from two sites. The fact finding mission team is
still working on drafting final conclusions.
No organophosphorous nerve agents or their degradation products were detected in the
environmental samples or in the plasma samples taken from alleged casualties."
These findings contradict the White House assessment which was released on April 13th,
just days after the alleged attack. "A significant body of information points to the regime
using chlorine in its bombardment of Duma, while some additional information points to the
regime also using the nerve agent sarin," the White House stated.
Without waiting for a proper investigation President Trump ordered the United States
military to drop more than 100 Tomahawk missiles on Damascus. The U.S. relied on alleged
blood and urine data to justify this attack, but the OPCW makes no mention of any blood or
urine samples.
Despite the fact that the interim OPCW report only mentions chlorine two times, the
corporate media ran several headlines which state that chlorine was found in the samples.
"Interim OPCW report finds proof of chlorine used in Syria's Douma," Al Jazeera wrote.
Reuters ran a story titled "Chemical weapons agency finds 'chlorinated' chemicals in Syria's
Douma," and later issued a correction to clarify that it what the OPCW found was "'various
chlorinated organic chemicals' instead of chlorine." The BBC also changed its headline from
"chlorine gas" to "possible chlorine."
So the OPCW found evidence of a chlorine attack then? No, that isn't what they reported.
Check out what the
MilitaryTimes said about the report.
The team said in its initial report on Douma that two industrial gas cylinders were
discovered at different locations in the town: one on a top-floor patio and the other on a
bed in a top-floor apartment. It said it is working to establish how they got there and
whether they are linked to the alleged attack.
The team said it "needs to continue its work to draw final conclusions regarding the
alleged incident and, to this end, the investigation is ongoing."
Louis Charbonneau, the U.N. director for Human Rights Watch, said the OPCW should "move
quickly to finish its investigation and determine whether a chemical weapon attack
occurred."
So this is essentially what we know and don't know:
1) no nerve agent attack happened
2) the OPCW still hasn't determined if a chemical attack occurred, despite the mainstream media
saying otherwise (i.e. fake news).
3) the only chlorine found was in cylinders on the top floors of apartments.
As for those cylinders, is it likely the Syrian army would sneak them into rebel-held areas,
and carry them to top floors before releasing the chlorine?
Or would they more likely simply drop the chlorine from helicopters?
4) Jimmy Dore has not been proven wrong, and some of what Dore has claimed has been proven
right. Only the MSM has made patently false claims.
So the people doing the most screaming about fake news are the ones most wrong.
"... Repeated requests by Russia to obtain a sample of the alleged nerve agent for testing were rejected by the British government in spite of the fact that a military grade nerve agent would have surely killed both the Skripals as well as anyone else within 100 yards. As the latest British account of the location of the alleged poison places it on the door handle of the Scripals' residence, the timetable element was also unconvincing. That meant that the two would have spent three hours, including a stop at a pub and lunch, before succumbing on a park bench. Military grade nerve agents kill instantly. ..."
"... Nevertheless, the politically weak May government, desperately seeking a formidable foreign enemy to rally around against, insisted that Russia, almost certainly acting under orders from Vladimir Putin himself, carried out the killing of a former British double agent who had been released from a Kremlin prison in a spy swap and who was no longer capable of doing any damage to Russia. Putin apparently did all that in spite of the fact that he had an election coming up and would be the host of the World Cup in the summer, an event that would be an absolute top priority to have go smoothly. ..."
Poisoning enemies has a long history with Augustus Caesar's wife Livia allegedly a master of the art, as were the Borgias in Renaissance
Italy. Lately there has been a resurgence in allegations regarding the use of poisons of various types by several governments. The
claims are particularly damaging both morally and legally as international conventions regard the use of poisonous chemical compounds
as particularly heinous, condemning their use because they, when employed in quantity, become "weapons of mass destruction," killing
indiscriminately and horribly, making no distinction between combatants and civilians. Their use is considered to be a "war crime"
and the government officials who ordered their deployment are "war criminals," subject to prosecution by the International Criminal
Court in The Hague.
There are two important poisoning stories that have made the news recently. Both are follow-ups to reporting that has appeared
in the news over the past few months and both are particularly interesting because they tend to repudiate earlier coverage that had
been largely accepted by several governments as well as the media and the chattering class of paid experts that appears on television.
The first story relates to the poisoning of former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.
There was quite a bit that was odd about the Skripal case, which
relied from the start " on circumstantial evidence and secret intelligence." And there was inevitably a rush to judgment. British
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson blamed Russia less than forty-eight hours after the Skripals were found unconscious on a bench in
Salisbury England, too soon for any chemical analysis of the alleged poisoning to have taken place.
British Prime Minister Theresa May threw gasoline on the fire when she addressed Parliament shortly thereafter to blame the Kremlin
and demand a Russian official response to the event in 36 hours, declaring that the apparent poisoning was "very likely" caused by
a made-in-Russia nerve agent referred to by its generic name novichok. The British media was soon on board with a vengeance, spreading
the government line that such a highly sensitive operation would require the approval of President Vladimir Putin himself. The expulsion
of Russian diplomats soon followed with the United States and other countries following suit.
Repeated requests by Russia to obtain a sample of the alleged nerve agent for testing were rejected by the British government
in spite of the fact that a military grade nerve agent would have surely killed both the Skripals as well as anyone else within 100
yards. As the latest British account of the location of the alleged poison places it on the door handle of the Scripals' residence,
the timetable element was also unconvincing. That meant that the two would have spent three hours, including a stop at a pub and
lunch, before succumbing on a park bench. Military grade nerve agents kill instantly.
The head of Britain's own chemical weapons facility Porton Down
even contradicted claims made by May, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, and British Ambassador in Moscow Laurie Bristow. The lab's
Chief Executive Gary Aitkenhead testified that he did not know if the nerve agent was actually produced in Russia, a not surprising
observation as the chemical formula was revealed to the public in a scientific paper in 1992 and there are an estimated twenty countries
capable of producing it. There are also presumed stocks of novichok remaining in independent countries that once were part of the
Soviet Union, to include Russia's enemy du jour Ukraine, while a false flag operation by the British themselves, the CIA
or Mossad, is not unthinkable.
Nevertheless, the politically weak May government, desperately seeking a formidable foreign enemy to rally around against,
insisted that Russia, almost certainly acting under orders from Vladimir Putin himself, carried out the killing of a former British
double agent who had been released from a Kremlin prison in a spy swap and who was no longer capable of doing any damage to Russia.
Putin apparently did all that in spite of the fact that he had an election coming up and would be the host of the World Cup in the
summer, an event that would be an absolute top priority to have go smoothly.
Now there has been an actual death in Amesbury near Salisbury that has been attributed to novichok. On June 30 th ,
Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess were admitted to hospital after being found unconscious. Sturgess died eight days later. The May
government has not yet blamed it on Putin or even on a clumsy Russian operative that might have
inadvertently left behind a vial of poison or a used syringe,
though Home Secretary Sajid Javid came close to that when he suggested
that Russia was using Britain as a "dumping ground for poisons." Police suggestions that the poisoned couple appear to have handled
novichok infused material of some kind before succumbing appears to be contradicted by inability to find the actual source of the
alleged exposure.
British government dancing around the issue notwithstanding, there have been suggestions that the closest source of more novichok
might well be the U.K. government labs at nearby Porton Down, only seven miles from Salisbury and Amesbury, which increases suspicion
about the original story promulgated by Downing Street. Would the British government actually poison an expendable ex-Russian spy
and his daughter to divert attention from a domestic political problem at home? It's worth considering as the "blame it all on Putin
narrative" becomes even less credible.
The second story comes from Syria, where there is also a Russian hand as Moscow is aiding the government of Bashar al-Assad. The
by now notorious April 7, 2018 alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held Syrian city of Douma was widely blamed by Western countries
and the mainstream media on Assad's forces. This resulted in a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to order massive U.S.-led
retaliatory airstrikes against targets reportedly involved in chemical production in and around Damascus.
Trump blamed
"animal Assad" for
"using nerve agents" and both the media and most European governments followed that line, concluding that Damascus had ordered
the chemical attacks a mere moments after videos purporting to show scores of chemical attack victims first surfaced from rebel sources,
long before U.S. intelligence could have made its own assessment. A 5-page
White House assessment released on April 13th, just days after the alleged attack
asserted that sarin was used at Douma , claiming that "A significant body of information points to the regime using chlorine
in its bombardment of Duma, while some additional information points to the regime also using the nerve agent sarin."
Independent sources warned at the time that
not a single neutral observer was on the ground to confirm that chemical agents launched by the Syrian government had, in fact,
been used, but were ignored. All of the sources reporting the attack were either affiliated with the rebels who occupied the area
or were not physically present in Douma.
Now, finally, three months later, there has been a credible independent report on what was determined about the attack through
chemical analysis of traces recovered in Douma. A preliminary report published last Friday by the Organization for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found no traces of any nerve agent like sarin at the site. The OPCW report
states this clearly : "No organophosphorous nerve agents or their degradation products were detected in the environmental samples
or in the plasma samples taken from alleged casualties."
This means that the Trump Administration claimed to have details relating to an event in a foreign country that it did not know
and could not actually confirm to be true. And it used that as a justification for ordering an airstrike that killed people and destroyed
targets in Syria. Will the White House respond to the OPCW report and apologize, possibly to include reparations for an unjustified
attack on another sovereign nation? Don't hold your breath.
The Salisbury and Douma attacks are illustrative of just what happens when a government is prepared to dissimulate or even lie
to go the extra mile to make a case to justify preemptive action that otherwise might be challenged. Theresa May is, unfortunately,
still in power and so is Donald Trump. In a better world an outraged public would demand that they be thrown out of office and even
possibly subjected to the tender ministrations of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. With power comes accountability,
or at least that should be the rule, but it is a dictum that has for some time been ignored. Even given that, one might hope that
the blunders will not be repeated, but there is not even any assurance that either May or Trump is much given to "lessons learned"
or that a Mike Pence or Boris Johnson would be any better. That is our tragedy.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational
foundation that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is
www.councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134
and its email is [email protected].
Putin apparently did all that in spite of the fact that he had an election coming up and would be the host of the World
Cup in the summer, an event that would be an absolute top priority to have go smoothly.
[...]
Would the British government actually poison an expendable ex-Russian spy and his daughter to divert attention from a domestic
political problem at home? It's worth considering as the "blame it all on Putin narrative" becomes even less credible.
Mr. Giraldi,
these were my thoughts at first too, but I looked into the case quite extensively over the last several weeks and came to the
conclusion that Putin actually had more of a motive than the British government, et al.
This is my evolution on the Skripals' case:
On Skripal I'm not entirely certain, since I haven't really looked into the case. Also the timing of the incident seems
to be not what Putin would have chosen, in my opinion, since it was too close to the soccer World Cup events/celebrations in
Russia, and Putin usually tries to be conciliatory with the West before big sporting events like that in Russia, e.g. when
he released Khodorkovsky early before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, for example.
As I said before, I was agnostic about the Skripal case and tried to keep an open mind about it and not reflexively blame
it on (the) Russians (government), but you providing me with this additional information makes me actually more of a believer
in the official Western narrative now.
Repeated requests by Russia to obtain a sample of the alleged nerve agent for testing were rejected by the British government
in spite of the fact that a military grade nerve agent would have surely killed both the Skripals as well as anyone else within
100 yards.
It was hilarious to watch yesterday evening, as the presidential plane had been underway for two and a half hours, the consternation
on CNN.
As I expected, the vague accusations about Russian meddling in the elections continued this morning, on CNN.
I remember an interview on CNN before the elections, someoen said 'if Trump wins', the two of CNN burst into laughter.
I do hope Trump survives, politically and fysically.
Luckily is it not very ease to murder a president these days.
On top of that, Sept 11 made many all over the world quite suspicious.
I for one never believed that Russia would be so stupid as to try to murder two former spies in such a stupid way, and without
any motive.
MH17 is a similar case.
Assad also is not stupid, he had no interest whatsoever to use poison gas in Syria.
How Arafat died we still do not know, that was done professionally, or maybe not, if I had to kill him I would try to make his
death look natural, a clear cause.
Who had a motive is quite clear.
Until the unhinged May lets Yulia go free–if she's still alive–and go back to Russia and tell her side of the story, nothing will
change.
The so-called Deep State and its willing toady, the corrupt, lying MSM are accomplices in this False Flag and they are the
ones that should be in the dock at the ICC. But since the ICC is part of the Deep State, don't expect this to happen.
This Russian bashing has gotten completely out of hand. And now that Putin has stated that the sleazy Russian thief oligarch
Browder helped launder 400 million to the DNC-Clinton Mob, it's going to get very interesting, if not dangerous for humanity.
They need a BIG distraction to get the sheeple's thought off the truth that there is NOTHING to the Putin-Trump election meddling,
anything might happen, even a repeat of the Israeli masterminded 9/11 False Flag.
Does 'Lucky Larry' own anymore asbestos-laden skyscrapers?
i would love to make a formal complaint about conspiracies because there are people who will and do make trouble for others. it
has taken me a long time to come to that place – but it is no joke as dr. geraldi no doubt knows.
however, one needs the evidence and what has been lacking in all these accusations whether its russia and us elections, chemical
weapons in syria, or supposed poisoning of three people formerly associated with russia, there is suspicion, and there is narrative,
but little in the way of facts. and if any of these accusations were concerning single individual battling mere gossip and innuendo
or other nefarious behaviors, i have learned to discount nothing. look if you can't bring a coupon into a store, wait for coffee
without people launching into fits of fear of life . . . then who knows what triggers people's self defense. it apparently dos
not take much for the supposed superior people to make their inferiors look off kilt. i just take it granted that when i leave
my house, on occasion, i have visitors – as "nutty" as that sounds.
but these cases have multiple researchers and resources to bar on the matter and yet, the evidence is either mere narrative,
contradicted or has a variety of explanations just as reasonable or more reasonable. but what we have is an entire population
engaged in manufacturing not one but several cases in which the president of the us actually engaged in treason based on sketchy
financial dealings with russian banks and financial elites.
and i think this article makes the case that people with power who engage in wielding accusations should be held to the standard
of providing evidence. and while i am a little uncomfortable with our president engaging in open debate with our intel community
from overseas, his objection is well put. the process of evidence collection and by independent objective observers is unreasonable.
yet he found it quite convenient to buy the argument by the same intel agencies for said use in syria. the election is over, but
the war about the election, the level of dislike of the elected , i think it is fair to say has never been so widespread and deep
such that members of the government or government agencies would sign up to press the matter.
and quip reflctions about the damage being done and "it's all in one's head" just are insufficient to address the issues.
frankly, i think the country's not outraged because they are "drama fatigued" last week in attempting to capture a stray kitten
who disappearance has me overly stretched – i never used to like cats – bells rang and doors closed indicating that she had in
fact been enclosed on the patio – around two am or so – only to discover a cute little skunk was the detainee. whose release required
navigating around the house twice because the door locked actually worked. sometimes the evidence doesn't doesn't reveal what
was expected.
as for the kitten, evidence suggests she managed to punch her way through a steel mesh garage vent. now i suspect that someone
recently punched a hole in those mesh barriers, but that is speculation on my part, even likely speculation. however, minus the
proof that is all it is. a mysterious frustrating event.
With the sad demise of the woman of the couple, the continuing make-up story in MSM makes the twist that the nerve agent was found
in a perfume bottle. While of these two non-Russian people (who allegedly were former drug-addicts) one may suspect that they
pick up any strange bottle from the ground and have a sniff at it, this is completely surrealistic in the case of the Skripals.
The difference couldn't be bigger between these two couples. Anyhow, the clue that brings them four together is the vicinity of
Porton Down, where chemical weapons are stored & tested.
If I had to guess at what's been going on in Salisbury I'd wonder if a lunatic/evil employee at Porton Down has smuggled out something
nasty and is amusing himself with it.
The author laments that May and Trump are still in office.
She will last longer than he will. Trump will be out in three months either by impeachment and conviction or by other means. None
of this clandestine stuff like poisoning but by a military coup. I remember the era of 7 Days in May but that was not serious
just a storey teller weaving a good yarn. Today, we have members of Congress and large numbers of the media(probably over 50 percent)
calling for a Armed Forces take over.
The probable stumbling block is how to skip Pense and go directly to Speaker Paul Ryan. Or how to dispense with the chain of succession
entirely and enshrine Hilary or recall Obama until the emergency is over.
Is Mad Dog the man or will McMaster lead the coup? Remember, anyone wearing more than one star made the elite grade during the
Obama regime and some of the one stars had formative years as O-6 and O-5 while Obama ruled supreme.
Quickly, not instantly. If you had an atropine pen handy, you might survive, though it would leave you immobilised and dazed.
If the Skripals were dosed, it would likely have been at or near the bench where they were found. Residue on their clothing might
be weak enough to not kill the constable.
The only thing the Salisbury incidents provide evidence for is that our culture is prone to hysterical outrage over anything
relating to Russia or Putin.
And that's true even if it were rogue elements in the Russian security services.
What I really loved about the coverage of the Skripal "poisoning" were the pictures of the cops wearing hazmat suits to clean
up the park bench. In the same shot birds were hopping around apparently unaffected by the deadly nerve gas. So we're to believe
that this stuff could kill a big cop but not a 2 pound pigeon .
British secret service and its 3 main children – CIA, Mossad, Saudi General Intelligence Agency – are morally capable of committing
any horror imaginable against civilians, even their own.
The Anglo-Zionist Empire is desperate to find the One Ring That Rules Them All.
That's so naïve. When you commit a crime and have witnesses in your custody, you make sure they never talk. "Elementary, Watson",
as Holmes used to say.
That's why we have "journalists" and "historians," mass media and skoolink (yooniversities included), and I find it amazing
that the stories change as fast as the agendas.
Oh "These Kids today" that old refrain again, and it's getting old too, all the emphasis on kids anyway, from concerns about
posterity, to the unending posturing about faux parent related concerns sublimated in one way or another to the other mantra:
" oh the Children" thing that phony liberal types do.
But to the point:
What a pity Western "Intelligence" seems to have never heard the story of The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf'.
When do these little monsters ever get a chance to hear childhood stories nowadays glued to their carry style devices, wearable
devices, soon inserted devices , to hear any of the old wisdom? It now isn't all that likely. It is more the kids teaching
the kids in a modern high tech reality version of Lord of the Flies scenario.
When they are inevitably inducted into the professions as they will, replacing remnants of earlier generations that maybe still
had been somewhat exposed to folk tales and stories, or better TV of earlier times, well, don't be surprised that the rank and
file of the intelligence industry, like elsewhere is unable personally to easily navigate anything, much less possessing inborn
sensibility gained from age old culture and all that. Could it be in the whole Fake News genre too, it seems to indicate
some dialectic flaw in thinking, (a priori as it were.) I feel like it's coming from youngsters lacking any frame of reference/experience
blundering, not being held to account!
The Brat Pack was given free reign and away they go arrogant to a fault
What was folk knowledge is a cumbersome, anachronistic, vestigial relic of another era, sought to be replaced soon, by robots.
None of this clandestine stuff like poisoning but by a military coup. I remember the era of 7 Days in May but that was not
serious just a storey teller weaving a good yarn. Today, we have members of Congress and large numbers of the media(probably
over 50 percent) calling for a Armed Forces take over.
Watching too many old movies now , haven't we? LOL!!
The probable stumbling block is how to skip Pense and go directly to Speaker Paul Ryan. Or how to dispense with the chain
of succession entirely and enshrine Hilary or recall Obama until the emergency is over.
Ok, now you need to be put down or at least committed. LOL
I'm glad Litvinenko Sr. is taken care of in his old age by the Russian state:
BAD CHEMISTRY? Ft. Walter Litvinenko, Father of Alexander Litvinenko
Although he chose to leave Russian of his own will, the authorities were unlikely to welcome him back and his dramatic u-turn
looks like a calculated attempt to smooth the way for his return to the country of his birth.
Clearly relishing Mr Litvinenko senior's propaganda gift in the run-up to a presidential election expected to be won by
Vladimir Putin next month, Russian state TV said the unhappy exile had run out of money and that electricity and gas had been
cut off to his tiny Italian flat for non-payment of bills.
[...]
Alexander Goldfarb, the co-author of a book about the murder and a friend of the late Litvinenko, accused Russian TV of acting
in an irresponsible and inhumane manner, saying the Kremlin's propaganda chiefs had exploited his grief and troubled psychological
condition.
"They used the troubled psychological state of an elderly man for propaganda purposes in order to whitewash Alexander's
killers," he said.
"Walter is going through a really tough time in connection with his wife's death a few months ago and feels lonely. It happens
with old people."
Skripals 'were under Russian surveillance' – BBC Newsnight
Newsnight's Diplomatic and Defence Editor, Mark Urban, reveals that the Skripals 'were under Russian surveillance' and that
he personally had several meetings with Sergei Skripal last year.
I am very embarrassed for the GRU , they are even more incompetent than the French Secret Service combat swimmers who blew
up the that Greenpeace ship. Russia should have sent a Spetsnaz veteran with his trusty entrenching tool to deal with Skripal.
Or maybe one of their Kamikazi exploding dogs.
Maybe Putin did have them killed or poisoned because Russian intelligence had uncovered their plot to explode a dirty
bomb in London which had been set up so as to implicate the Russians. The plotters were foiled and hoist by their own petard.
I tell you a secret. GRU agents, on direct orders from Putin, killed JFK, burnt Giordano Bruno, crucified Christ, and poisoned
Socrates. What's more, they are also responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Didn't you suspect that?
I did not even know those you named had ever been in the GRU, let alone they were British moles.
If you wake up and there is snow all over the ground, that is circumstantial evidence that it snowed in the night. When a Russian
poisons Russians there is not all this Technical Tom sophistry, and motive is important especially when it supports the circumstantial
evidence.
' Theresa May is, unfortunately, still in power and so is Donald Trump. In a better world an outraged public would demand that
they be thrown out of office '
At least in the case of Trump, the problem with rejecting him is, as it always has been, the alternative.
It's literally oppressive that to date, no superior alternative to Trump has emerged. However, like it or not, one hasn't.
Is there a superior alternative to May? If there is, why didn't Brits get rid of that embarrassment? Next to her even John
Major looks like an outstanding statesman.
Every time I think about it, I do find it truly astonishing that we (the USA) launched a missile salvo into Syria based on an
obvious and now proven false flag, and very few people seem to care. This is one of those glaring, "hidden in plain sight"
contradictions to the narrative which tells me that, while the Deep State is finally losing some ground, its liquidation is far,
far from over and all kinds of things are going to fall apart as this thrashing monster slowly sinks beneath the waves.
Yes, interesting that PG has only now brought to a UR article that rather obvious possible connection between Porton Down and
the nearby poisonings.
I don't think it is one of his major areas of attention. Why else would he include with Trump the unfortunate May as someone
he would like to see people rise up against and throw out of office for offences unstated?
Her performance on Skripal right or wrong is hardly worth mentioning when deciding whether and when she has to go. Compared
to Brexit give it a 2 per cent weighting.
My guess is that we haven't heard the last of Ms. Hyphen-Cortez.
"Ocasio-Cortez hedges criticisms of Israel– 'I may not use the right words'
US Politics Philip Weiss on July 15, 2018
Rising Democratic star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex, soon to go to Congress from NY, all but apologized for using words "massacre"
and "occupation" about Israel, saying she spoke as an "activist," and she is no expert on the Middle East and is willing to "learn
and evolve." '
Her performance has included telling bald-faced lies, lies that are easily exposed as lies too. This is rarely if ever going
to add weight to any personal brand, let alone that of a political leader. She's toast!
Although some members of the Western-supported White Helmets may be in the business of
saving lives, the group is also a 'propaganda organization,' author Sy Hersh has told RT's
'Going Underground.'
The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist also spoke about reporting in the United States and
how it changed under the Obama administration, as well as the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and
his daughter in Salisbury, UK.
RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios.
RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.
James @23 . The OPCW FFM did visit a warehouse and suspected chemical weapon facility
...but dismissed them both rather quickly.
"2.7 Based on the equipment and chemicals observed during the two on-site visits to the
warehouse and the facility suspected by the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic of
producing chemical weapons, there was no indication of either facility being involved in
the production of chemical warfare agents. "
So when did the OPCW start putting out "interim" reports ? It appears to be both a
confession and a plea (to their main sponsors). A confession that they haven't got anything
at all to back up the original "Sarin attack" stories and a plea to any possible "experts"
out there who may be able to bend the flimsy evidence they have into evidence of a chlorine
attack. The media is just jumping the gun, probably in the knowledge that those "experts"
will be found before the final report comes out.
These are issues upon which circumstances of war or peace can turn. The OPCW is a disgrace
and discredits itself by being equivocal with language. The authors of its reports know
damn well what the consequences of imprecise language can be and how a glib turn of phrase
can inspire a holocaust response to a civilian population confined to a city where a
belligerent warmonger state can leap on their reports and rain devastation.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Shame on the OPCW for publishing a document that has been immediately
twisted. Shame on every senior scientist and every senior administrator for allowing this
to happen.
It would have taken no time at all to use text that was tight enough to leave no room
for gaming by belligerent media and state actors. This is a disgusting performance by a
critical party on which the whole world relies for competency.
Maybe some of the journalists are being dishonest but I see mainly confirmation bias.
The mainstream 'knows' that Assad uses chemical weapons. The mainstream also makes a
distincion between formal and informal thinking. Example about the Yemen war. in general
the war is seen as a proxy war with Iran, but even now I encounter articles which mention
this as claims or suspicions. This is not because there are doubts, but because they are
trying to get things right formally. On this type of formal statements the press is often
willing to be corrected, but it will not change any minds because it's just about the
distinction between 'strictly speaking' and 'extremely plausible'.
So in this case the OPCW mentions something about chlorine, but it leads nowhere. Well,
OPCW are being formal, so they can't state hard conclusions. Informally the hint is enough
to conclude(confirm) that even though there is no hard proof chlorine weapons were used.
Strong confirmation bias at work. Maybe you can just call this bad journalism. I prefer to
see it as a proof that the commonsense of the mainstream is way off.
@SomeGuy
I think you'll find that the reputation of the reporter, journalist and/or analyst is
more important than the site you visit to get your news. Some sites -- those I consider to be
corrupted (e.g., TruthDig)-- will publish articles from many different authors, only a small
fraction of which are reliable truthtellers and not misinformers/ disinformers/
propagandists/ self-censorer-for-job-security. I understand that this is a little pedantic,
but I just want to be clear: you should specifically be asking who to go to rather than where
to go for news and information.
Individual preferences will vary based on where you're from, what langauge(s) you speak
and what your interests are. As a layman and US expat residing in Germany, I've whittled my
primary sources of English geopolitical news down to b at Moon of Alabama, Craig Murray, and
Opinion contributors at RT English. For the awful state of US affairs, I read RT, look out
for stories by Ray McGovern and Philip Giraldi, Glen Ford and Margaret Kimberley, Chris
Hedges, The Saker and Ron Unz. Unz Review links to several of the above sources in its
"Alternative Media" list near the bottom of its homepage. A quick internet search can lead
you to the others.
In general, Western truthseekers must follow the money: stay away from authors funded by
Western governments, media, NGOs, and billionaire philanthropies/foundations/organizations.
Most Western truthtellers are freelancers that establish and maintain their own websites and
rely only on reader contributions or supplement their income with book sales and speaking
engagements.
@SomeGuy
I think you'll find that the reputation of the reporter, journalist and/or analyst is more
important than the site you visit to get your news. Some sites -- those I consider to be
corrupted (e.g., TruthDig)-- will publish articles from many different authors, only a small
fraction of which are reliable truthtellers and not misinformers/ disinformers/
propagandists/ self-censorer-for-job-security. I understand that this is a little pedantic,
but I just want to be clear: you should specifically be asking who to go to rather
than where to go for news and information.
Individual preferences will vary based on where you're from, what langauge(s) you speak
and what your interests are. As a layman and US expat residing in Germany, I've whittled my
primary sources of English geopolitical news down to b at Moon of Alabama, Craig Murray, and
Opinion contributors at RT English. For the awful state of US affairs, I read RT, look out
for stories by Ray McGovern and Philip Giraldi, Glen Ford and Margaret Kimberley, Chris
Hedges, The Saker and Ron Unz. Unz Review links to several of the above sources in its
"Alternative Media" list near the bottom of its homepage. A quick internet search can lead
you to the others.
In general, Western truthseekers must follow the money: stay away from authors funded by
Western governments, media, NGOs, and billionaire philanthropies/foundations/organizations.
Most Western truthtellers are freelancers that establish and maintain their own websites and
rely only on reader contributions or supplement their income with book sales and speaking
engagements.
Of course the "failing" (snark) NY Times, WaPo, and the "fake news" media like CNN, ABC,
NBC, CBS, Fox will not report in any depth the OPCW debunking of their hysterical
reporting on the alleged sarin gas use by the Syrian government as fact.
There have been so many instances of false media narratives from Iraq WMD mushroom
clouds to lies under oath on mass surveillance, that it amazes me why people continue to
believe anything presented by government agencies and their media partners.
I don't think NYT and WaPo will be failing (from a financial point of view) for much
longer - they will be funded by the government -
"The center may provide grants to or contract with specified entities to: support
local independent media to refute foreign disinformation and manipulation in their
communities"
"Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act"
https://www.congress.gov/bi...
Introduced in the Senate two years ago and not voted on. I'm sure that will generate
massive infusions of funds with Donald J. Trump appointing who runs the "Center for
Information Analysis and Response"
I hear Steve Bannon is looking for work, maybe Trump should just tweet his support and
proposed nominee and get the Senate to vote for it.
Exactly & I think that is changing. b's latest piece cites the BBC being forced to
change a headline saying "Douma attack was chlorine gas" because of a social media
campaign. The Brits at least are starting to see MSM channels for what they are and turn
to 'citizen journalists' & alt media for something closer to the truth. The main
organ of the Borg's propaganda machine is in trouble, at least in the UK.
Barbara, while I am glad some are pushing back against the propaganda of the BBC, I am
very skeptical that Britain in general is turning around from manipulating the public
with false stories. The Skripal affair and the big role they have played in all the false
narratives from Blair's fixing the intelligence on Iraq to "managing" the White Helmets
and of course the murky role they have played in our own election shenanigans.
I am not sure if any mainstream publication in the UK or the US can become credible
anytime soon, unless the entire lot top to bottom are fired and replaced.
Assertions only yes, but with a media fully on message with the Borg project in Syria,
evidence was always going to be a secondary concern.
I believe Trump's response following Khan Sheikoon was forced. Partly by Ivanka's
tears, but mostly by his determination to be the anti-Obama. He simply was not willing to
risk his credibility as CIC, as Obama did by his perceived inaction. Explaining to the
American people, over a largely hostile media, that the attack was a Mossad-assisted
false flag (even if the IC knew/suspected this) was just not feasible, so he responded,
but with a symbolic strike only. Good optics & domestic politics, pure & simple.
Perhaps this option did not even occur to Obama.
Ghouta was totally different. It certainly appeared that had it not been for Mattis we
may not be having this discussion now. But going forward things have changed. The 'Assad
uses CW' propaganda narrative has been degraded by over use (even more so the 'Russian'
Novichok nonsense) and this OPCW report adds to that process. I am not at all sure that
the WH's next effort will be believed by large swathes of voters. Given this, Trump may
now feel able to threaten to unmask these folk for what they are. That threat alone, in
the right ear, may spike their guns for the remainder of the conflict.
I see a pattern emerging in the strategy of the real war here; on the Borg/swamp/Dem
liberal establishment, which seems to be to get them to overplay their hand. Trump seems
to be a master at this everywhere from the White Helmets & Russiagate to Maxine
Waters.
We'll see what Trump believes when the SAA finally moves against Idlib. The Russians have
said they have intel that the White Helmets are preparing yet another false flag chemical
attack in that province. If Trump buys into it, we'll know he's completely compromised.
Also, as I expected the turks have told Syria hands off Idlib -
"A senior adviser to Turkey's president, speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity,
declared Ankara would not stand by if Damascus moved on Idlib. "Idlib is a red line for
us. As you know, we have our forces deployed there," said the adviser."
Americans need to strapped to chairs with their eyes clamped open, Clockwork Orange style.
and shown endless loops of the horrors and war crimes being done in their names.
I would just take issue with one thing in this interview, chlorine was used in WWI and it
WAS lethal the way it was used in 1915. People and animals died in April and May of 1915.
There were also a few "chlorine bombs" lobbed that had some effect early in the war. So for
him to say chlorine is not lethal is false. It's not very effective but can work in certain
circumstances.
Hersh has lost his balls he is trying to play safe how sad. Grow a pair Hersh, you wrote
about the first Syrian Sarin attack that Hillary Authorized that killed over 800 men women
and children. How the Sarin came from Lybia transported through Turkey and given to ISIS.
Chlorine WAS used as part of agent Orange, the defoliant - in Vietnam. The Chlorine by
product created was TCDD, specifically 2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-P-dioxin - a byproduct
of Chlorine. TCDD is cancer-causing and causes other nasty health effects...
White helmets have been caught out staging things, even had 1 of their members pretend to
be hurt or dead for photos. Typical Islamics full of taqiyya and hatred for everything else
blaming anything and everything for their own disasterous ideology.
I watched programs on the White Helmets in Syria and the stories told by witnesses that
said their loved ones were trapped in bombed out buildings and they asked them for help
retrieving their children and the White Helmets told them get them out yourself?? Also people
said that their clothes were always spotless in a war zone??? The White Helmets headquarters
was vacated and there was ISS flags still on the walls where they were for months at a time??
These are no do gooders that's for sure!!!!
Its very hard to find any evidence the white helmets have saved 1 life but i have loads of
them working with ISIS and making fake videos or playing with half dead/dead children with
syringes,ask civilians in Syria and so far never heard of them
From comment of chet380, Jul 7, 2018 7:03:08 PM (19): "Notwithstanding the counter-evidence and the strong counter-arguments, the decision by the OPCW to include references to 'chlorinated
chemical compounds' guaranteed that the 'attack' scenario would continue to be advanced.Is it possible that the UK, US and/or France
put pressure on the OPCW to make the inclusion so they would not have to admit they were wrong and that they were fooled? The fraud
of the White Helmets should have been exposed by the OPCW inspection, but this interim report will give them continued life."
Notable quotes:
"... Interestingly the MI6 outlet in Coventry, the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights (SOHR), does not confirm a 'gas' incident. ..."
"... The "Sarin" organophosphate use the 'rebels' claimed is thereby debunked. No degradation products of such chemicals were found. The "various chlorinated organic chemicals" are unsurprising. Chlorine is widely used for water purification and cleaning and "chlorinated organic chemicals" will be found in any household. ..."
"... The preliminary OPCW report says nothing about the concentrations in which these substances were found. Without knowing the concentrations, which may may be extremely low, one can not come to further conclusion. The report includes none of the witness statements the fact finding mission took. In various TV reports the medical personal of the one hospital involved in the stunt said that none of their patients were affected by chlorine or chemical weapons. ..."
"... After the 'rebels' claimed the 'chemical attack' and published their staged videos of stacked bodies U.S. President Trump tweeted that he would retaliate for the strike. Politically he could not pull back from that even when Secretary of Defense Mattis voiced his doubts about the 'rebel' claims. Trump attacked Syria with a series of cruise missiles most of which were shot down by the Syrian air defense. A civil chemical laboratory was destroyed during the attack but no one was hurt. ..."
"... They cannot admit everything was staged. And the report is not at all clear, so anyone can give it the desired spin. ..."
"... They didn't find anything relevant. See Appendix 3 of the report. There's no mention of traces of chlorine which I would find hard to believe anyway, they refer to chloride Cl- as in NaCl (table salt) or organic chlorides, of which they do name at least one. ..."
"... The Guardian employs Olivia Solon, a digital journalist (whose specialty is in writing about and recommending particular IT consumer hardware or software products) based in California, with no knowledge or access to knowledge about Syria, its politics or history, to write an article defending the White Helmets and defame the investigative journalists Eva Bartlett and Vanessa Beeley. That practice seems to be par for the course for The Guardian and other print and online newspapers. ..."
"... And yes, the corporate MSM is definitely profit-driven. When "news" was separate from "entertainment," there was some free press possible, but once they were combined, any imaginary wall between sponsors and newscasters was removed. ..."
"... Here in the US, CBS was founded by William Paley, who had been in charge of radio propaganda for the US Army Office of Psychological Warfare. CBS was owned by Westinghouse, which became the world's largest military contractor during WW II. ..."
"... Neither CBS and NBC ever generated even 5% of their parent companies revenues. The real profits were in consumer products and war. And so, not just their news, but all of their programming promoted world views that encouraged consumption and war. ..."
"... Almost all reporters covering international news are working for the various government and private intelligence agencies/think tanks and many domestic reporters as well. ..."
"... This has been the case for over 50 years if not a century. Many of the critical reports are likely written by the agencies/think tanks. Many CIA interns work at MSM for example and reporters are recruited as early as college if not high school through thr corporate government education system. ..."
"... Regarding comments of journalists, the problem may not always be with them. There have been countless discussions on the influence of intelligence agencies. Most people would choose to do the right thing when given the choice. However, if the choices are following orders or "suicide by nailgun", most people would choose to live another day. ..."
"... The British-created Anglo-American funded black propaganda organisation, the so-called White Helmets were the primary source for the claims of Sarin use by the SAG in Douma. In as just world, the White Helmets as proven liars would now become international pariahs. That they will still be hailed as heroes in the West and western MSM so just how sick the West and western MSM really are. Perhaps now that the OPCW is free to cast blame for "chemical weapons incidents", they should name and shame the United Kingdom for its black propaganda. ..."
"... Well, we all knew a false flag op was pending. So here it is. Also Trump is a POS. ..."
"... When the White Helmets and the rebels staged the 'Douma' chemical attack they were probably expecting that Douma would not be liberated and that no serious inspection would take place to debunk the 'fake' attack. That was bad luck for them. Contrary to the other chemical "attacks" locations, an inspection on location has taken place early enough and the masks may be falling. ..."
"... There are critically important information here from Vanessa Beelley False Flag Fail: How Syrian Civilians Derailed White Helmet 'Chemical' Stunt in Eastern Ghouta that Bernhardt has not mentioned. ..."
"... The White Helmets specifically stated that the protesters had ruined their chemical attack and ruined their communications with the UN, and that the Americans would not come to their assistance because of it. This incident explains important aspects of the false flag: ..."
"... 1) So close to impending defeat, the terrorists were really desperate to induce the Americans to save them, and really believed they would do so; ..."
"... the conflicting signals given out by the MI6 proxies SOHR I would read as a damage limitation act specifically in response to the civilian protest; ..."
"... It would appear that MI6 feared news of this protest would be spread, so that they needed to protect their proxies. ..."
"... Unfortunately, despite this information being published by Vanessa Beeley, I haven't seen any other mention of it. The protesters endangered their lives by this protest, at least one of them [or another hostage? - this is not clear] was shot dead for it, and all of them were sentenced to death. They deserve due publicity for it and it is really important to an understanding of the incident as a whole. ..."
"... Bernhardt, I am afraid I don't share your apparent confidence in this OPCW report. It is far too little and lopsided after months of investigation, and appears to be designed to test the waters for a decision confirming that chlorine was used as a weapon, and to coordinate with the MSM to prepare the ground for such a decision. In that case, the MSM reaction to the report is highly consistent with such an objective. ..."
"... Why did the the report make no caveats about the chlorine compounds, why did they include no data about concentrations, why did they emphasise the chain of custody of the (probably trivial) chrorine compound samples (and only those samples), why no information on witness testimony, why no mention of the witness testimony in the Hague, why mention (totally irrelevant) testimony of alleged witnesses in Turkey and biological samples taken in Turkey for which no plausible chain of custody exists? ..."
"... This report is a scandal, an outrage. This report itself is a false flag, it is designed to appease those observers who know the incident was a false flag by using carefully ambiguous wording, while preparing the ground for a full-blown 99% dishonest and 100% misleading report condemning the Syrian government. ..."
"... For Trump self inflicted ego wound somebody will pay. ..."
"... If the OPCW can no longer be trusted; then what? The U.S. has done an admirable job of destroying trust between countries. ..."
"... Nice article, however I tend to disagree partially on the last part, the US administration and the alleged rebels are two faces of the same coins, rebels are funded by the administration from various sources and they acr in response to commands from it, see the southern command operations where this approach of command was openly divulged by various reports and accounts. The reason for the Administration to get into Syria was to further weaken the middle eastern countries for a specific and obvious reason, and each strike and wall destroyed goes into this direction..the bigger picture explains it all.. ..."
"... So, as expected, this latest OPCW report will have no effect on the establishment narrative. The good guys vs bad guys scenario is the only approved version, and with no alternative versions being offered in the MSM, it is the one that the most people will believe. ..."
"... I suspect some of the stupidest staged events are just experiments to monitor how many people will simply buy anything. ..."
Syria - OPCW Issues First Report Of 'Chemical Weapon Attack' in Douma
On April 7 2018 Syrian 'rebels' claimed that the Syrian government used chlorine gas and Sarin in an attack on the besieged Douma
suburb near the Syrian capital Damascus. They published a series of videos which showed the dead bodies of mainly women and children.
During the night the incident allegedly happened Douma was hit with artillery and air strikes in retaliation for earlier deadly
attacks by some 'rebels' splinter groups on Damascus city. Jaish al-Islam, the main 'rebel' group in Douma, had already agreed to
leave towards Idleb governorate.
The claim of the 'chemical attack' was made shortly after U.S. President Trump had announced that he wanted U.S. troops to leave
Syria. It was designed to "pull him back in" which it indeed did.
Moon of Alabama published several pieces on the issue:
It seemed obvious from the very first claims of the 'gas attack' that it did not happen at all. The Syrian government had no motive
to use any chemical weapon or an irritant like chlorine in Douma. It had already won. The incident was obviously staged, like others
before it, to drag the U.S. into a new attack on Syria.
Even a prominent opposition outlet said that no 'chemical attack'
had taken place. As
noted on April
9:
Interestingly the MI6 outlet in Coventry, the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights (SOHR), does not confirm a 'gas' incident.
In its version of events some 40 people
died after their shelter collapsed:
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights issued a higher death toll, saying at least 80 people were killed in Douma, including
around 40 who died from suffocation. But it said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them.
Main stream media, which have quoted SOHR for years, now ignore it and
report of a 'chemical
attack' as if it were a proven reality.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) send a Fact Finding Mission (FFM) to Douma and investigated the
incident. Today it
published an interim report and some technical results:
OPCW designated labs conducted analysis of prioritised samples. The results show that no organophosphorous nerve agents or their
degradation products were detected in the environmental samples or in the plasma samples taken from alleged casualties. Along
with explosive residues, various chlorinated organic chemicals were found in samples from two sites, for which there is full chain
of custody. Work by the team to establish the significance of these results is on-going. The FFM team will continue its work to
draw final conclusions.
The "Sarin" organophosphate use the 'rebels' claimed is thereby debunked. No degradation products of such chemicals were found.
The "various chlorinated organic chemicals" are unsurprising. Chlorine is widely used for water purification and cleaning and "chlorinated
organic chemicals" will be found in any household.
In the technical notes of
the OPCW report note that one of its laboratory found "dichloroacetic acid", "trichloroacetic acid", "chloral hydrate", "trichlorophenol"
and "chlorphenol" in some of the samples its fact finding mission took at the claimed incident sites. These are all substances that
are no surprise in any upbuild environment and especially within any home.
Dichloroacetic acid" is for example "a trace product
of the chlorination of drinking water". Chloral hydrate
is likewise "a minor side-product of the chlorination of water when organic residues such as humic acids are present". The other
substances are also not uncommon and of various household uses.
The other OPCW laboratory found only "No CWC-scheduled chemicals" and "2,4,6-trinitrotoluene" residues in the samples. Trinitrotoluene,
also known as TNT, is an explosive widely used in military ammunition. The second laboratory does not report the chlorinated organic
chemicals the other laboratory found.
The preliminary OPCW report says nothing about the concentrations in which these substances were found. Without knowing the concentrations,
which may may be extremely low, one can not come to further conclusion. The report includes none of the witness statements the fact
finding mission took. In various TV reports the medical personal of the one hospital involved in the stunt said that none of their
patients were affected by chlorine or chemical weapons.
After the 'rebels' claimed the 'chemical attack' and published their staged videos of stacked bodies U.S. President Trump
tweeted that he would retaliate for the strike. Politically he could not pull back from that even when Secretary of Defense Mattis
voiced his doubts
about the 'rebel' claims. Trump attacked Syria with a series of cruise missiles most of which were shot down by the Syrian air defense.
A civil chemical laboratory was destroyed during the attack but no one was hurt.
The now published preliminary OPCW report reinforces the doubts about the 'rebel' claims. There was no 'chemical attack' in Douma.
The incident was staged.
One hopes that Trump has learned from this episode and will in future refrain from violent threats over incidents for which no
plausible and vetted evidence is provided.
Posted by b on July 6, 2018 at 03:23 PM |
Permalink
Thanks for this report, even though in my case you're "preaching to the choir".
I wish I could share your closing optimism: "One hopes that Trump has learned from this episode and will in future refrain
from violent threats over incidents for which no plausible and vetted evidence is provided."
Hope springs eternal. But even though I'm not rabidly anti-Trump, I think he will remain unwilling to refrain, or is incapable
of refraining, from impulsively responding with bluster, bombast, and chauvinistic bumptiousness when his buttons are pushed,
regardless of the validity of the stimulus.
Trump, whose narcissism is second to no one's, is devoid of the introspective humility contemplated by the axiom "Fool me once,
shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me"; his ego will not process the possibility that he can ever be fooled.
Alas! Trump is definitely a "Threaten first and ask questions later" kind of guy.
Thanks for the report b. I was surfing the net as I prepared a meal and saw that the BBC is pushing this hard.
The BBC is even writing about the April chemical weapon scam as being added proof.....sad
The elite keep trying to start a war with anyone to keep the focus off their failure as the "leaders of the free world" BS.
When are the elite going to realize their temper tantrums aren't working?
I hope they don't get their shooting war and I hope their economic war provides their final undoing.....think of the waste
of human and other resources over the past 70 years.....let alone the centuries that the private finance/property scam has been
going on.
Still, Ard-Tagesschau says the following (originally in German): "In the battles for the Syrian rebel stronghold Duma, chlorine
gas was apparently used in April. The OPCW found traces of this in gas cylinder residues."
Sure enough I agree with you B, but
for the MSM the OPCW report reads different.
They cannot admit everything was staged. And the report is not at all clear,
so anyone can give it the desired spin.
"The OPCW found traces of this in gas cylinder residues." Claiming that the OPCW found "traces of chlorine" is like claiming one
found "traces of oxygen" or "traces of hydrogen" when one found water (H2O).
The occurrence of a basic element in a compound
is not a "trace" of the basic element. That's chemistry 001. Journalists nowadays seem to lack most basics of higher education.
They didn't find anything relevant. See Appendix 3 of the report. There's no mention of traces of chlorine which I would
find hard to believe anyway, they refer to chloride Cl- as in NaCl (table salt) or organic chlorides, of which they do name at
least one.
What to expect from the 'Tagesschau' - same old, same old. They're making stuff up again, almost certainly out of willful ignorance
and bias.
@6 b
I figure it's even worse than that. They're not even asking the most basic question: Am I a competent person?
My guess is a great many of these folks avoid asking that question on purpose.
It would seem that a common (and deliberate) ploy used by the MSM these days is to use journalists with no particular knowledge,
experience or insight in an area to write articles that need that knowledge or experience.
The Guardian employs Olivia Solon, a digital journalist (whose specialty is in writing about and recommending particular
IT consumer hardware or software products) based in California, with no knowledge or access to knowledge about Syria, its politics
or history, to write an article defending the White Helmets and defame the investigative journalists Eva Bartlett and Vanessa
Beeley. That practice seems to be par for the course for The Guardian and other print and online newspapers.
Plus The Guardian and others rely on dubious sources like Bellingcat and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, whose credentials
are laughable at best, as "experts" in their chosen areas of reporting.
All the Western MSM are now entirely driven by the pursuit of sales revenue and profit and are now no different from outlets
peddling entertainment. No surprise really when news media outlets are now owned by the same individuals or corporations that
own film studios, TV stations, online media and TV channels, book and comics publishers, and games publishers.
Jen @8. Great point on the strategy of using "journalists" with no background in the topic they're tasked to 'report."
And yes, the corporate MSM is definitely profit-driven. When "news" was separate from "entertainment," there was some free
press possible, but once they were combined, any imaginary wall between sponsors and newscasters was removed.
Still, considering who owns the MSM, I'd say their main purpose is not to sell commercials, but to sell the most profitable
"products" of their owners.
Here in the US, CBS was founded by William Paley, who had been in charge of radio propaganda for the US Army Office of
Psychological Warfare. CBS was owned by Westinghouse, which became the world's largest military contractor during WW II.
NBC was owned by GE, which was also one of the largest military contractors in the world.
Neither CBS and NBC ever generated even 5% of their parent companies revenues. The real profits were in consumer products
and war. And so, not just their news, but all of their programming promoted world views that encouraged consumption and war.
Almost all reporters covering international news are working for the various government and private intelligence agencies/think
tanks and many domestic reporters as well.
This has been the case for over 50 years if not a century. Many of the critical reports are likely written by the agencies/think
tanks. Many CIA interns work at MSM for example and reporters are recruited as early as college if not high school through thr
corporate government education system.
Everyone likes to supplement their income and many are convinced its their patriotic duty to disseminate propaganda. For some
its a chance to join the elite class, even at a low level. Obviously getting the 6-8 corporate entities that own 80% of the media
to go along is not difficult especially as those who go rogue will be punished by members of the business roundtable responsible
for most advertising , which would of course dry up as punishment
Now monitoring the internet and social media with big data analytics allows almost Total Information Awareness. They can see
in real time whats working and to what extent and what is not. They can then fill holes or modify the story as needed. They know
they dont need to get 100% believability. This is why they have not shut down dissenting comments. They are useful, for now.
I suspect some of the stupidest staged events are just experiments to monitor how many people will simply buy anything. At
some point they will feel confident enough to simulate an alien invasion of beings capable of taking human form. This will necessitate
martial law which thw fearful will gladly accept, and a global governement led by the countries with the largest space force.
Funny how the US still needs Russian Rockets to launch satellites so its Space Force has a way to go yet. I guess I wont be around
for the fun since time is not a friend of old men
Regarding comments of journalists, the problem may not always be with them. There have been countless discussions on the influence
of intelligence agencies. Most people would choose to do the right thing when given the choice. However, if the choices are following
orders or "suicide by nailgun", most people would choose to live another day.
Speaking of experiments to monitor how many people will believe anything, some good claims from the MSM come to mind: 40% of
North Koreans are on crystal meth, the Russians killed the last clown in Aleppo, and the Breatharians (people who purportedly
survive on only air and sunlight).
thanks b... unfortunately, i tend to see it much like what @8 jen says... these folks are unsure about their next pay check and
are happy to write with a chatham house /scl / cambridge analytica slant knowing what is expected of them.. they ask no questions
and are unwilling to articulate the false flags that have shaped all this discussion of opcw and chemical attacks in syria.. in
this respect i also agree with @5 pnyx... they are unwilling or unable to raise these questions for fear of dismissal.. more and
more people recognize what a poor state the msm is in today.. that is my hope anyway..
b said:"One hopes that Trump has learned from this episode and will in future refrain from violent threats over incidents for
which no plausible and vetted evidence is provided."
Unfortunately, probably no one here in the land of theater, will ever hear about this report. As to DJT, he'll do whatever
it takes to enhance his appearance with the morons. His learning curve only bends toward his own enhancement. To him and his minions,
truth doesn't matter...
There's unlikely to be any real investigative journalism regarding opcw reports, considering the papers in uk are owned by mega
millionaires who profit from war and the Middle East land grab.oil ect. Plus the owners featured largely in the off shore tax
haven leaks- relavent here not so much regarding tax, but what that hidden money is invested in, Gun running, slave labour, buying
rebels? It's a small world, media moguls own it.
The British-created Anglo-American funded black propaganda organisation, the so-called White Helmets were the primary source
for the claims of Sarin use by the SAG in Douma. In as just world, the White Helmets as proven liars would now become international
pariahs. That they will still be hailed as heroes in the West and western MSM so just how sick the West and western MSM really
are. Perhaps now that the OPCW is free to cast blame for "chemical weapons incidents", they should name and shame the United Kingdom
for its black propaganda.
Thanks Bevin @ 16
I do follow that site, but had'nt looked recently. Really Good, no doubt your aware of 'the canary ' good article on this subject!
Both sites I recommend to one and all.
When the White Helmets and the rebels staged the 'Douma' chemical attack they were probably expecting that Douma would not
be liberated and that no serious inspection would take place to debunk the 'fake' attack. That was bad luck for them. Contrary
to the other chemical "attacks" locations, an inspection on location has taken place early enough and the masks may be falling.
Your early call that the MSM would go with the chlorine findings to support the attack is proving true across the board --
there is not a chance that an admission of having been mistaken is going to happen.
james @13 I think it's clearly true, not just a hope, that fewer and fewer people take the media seriously. Those who still watch
mainstream and cable 'news' programs are a pretty small minority, and the MSNBC/FOX side of that is probably acknowledged even
by most of its consumers, as 'my side' comfort food rather than 'news' as we used to understand it.
The media's lock-step Western-Empire perspective _is_ frightening, but we also need to remember recent election results that
have gone against the empire's wishes. Just a couple days ago in Mexico, for example. Real alternative and real (whether socialist,
left, right, or libertarian) populist media is having an impact, I think, and we may be able to turn things around in the West
before the next world wars start.
Vanessa Beeley interviewed at least two witnesses who - seeing that the government forces were about to liberate Hamouriya
village in Douma from the terrorists under whose control they had suffered for 6 years and thereby feeling empowered - on 6th
March at 3pm decided to publicly protest against the terrorists by marching through Hamouriya carrying Syrian national flags.
They were met by members of the White Helmets and the terrorists, who blamed them explicitly for ruining their chemical weapons
false flag.
Critically importantly, the White Helmets had already released news for the claimed false flag that morning and the night before,
and they had already collected 30 dead bodies from all over Douma and brought them to the hospital, and had already started filming.
The protest critically negated the propaganda message of the false flag chemical attack - if the Syrian Army had really been
dropping chemical weapons on Hamouriya the night before with intent to kill civilian women and children, why would the civilians
immediately afterwards start marching through the city carrying Syrian national flags, and having raised the flag at key points
in the city? It makes the whole flase flag [even more] implausible. The White Helmets then wrapped one hostage in a Syrian flag
and shot him dead as a warning. Fortunately the two witnesses interviewed (and hopefully most of the protesters) were able to
escape soon afterwards with the help of the nearby Syrian Army.
The White Helmets specifically stated that the protesters had ruined their chemical attack and ruined their communications
with the UN, and that the Americans would not come to their assistance because of it. This incident explains important aspects
of the false flag:
1) So close to impending defeat, the terrorists were really desperate to induce the Americans to save them, and really
believed they would do so;
2) Having already announced the false flag the previous night and having collected so many dead bodies in preparation, the
existence of the protest creates a credibility problem for the terrorists and White Helmets, to which they seem to have responded
with various conflicting signals;
3) In particular, the conflicting signals given out by the MI6 proxies SOHR I would read as a damage limitation act specifically
in response to the civilian protest;
4) It would appear that MI6 feared news of this protest would be spread, so that they needed to protect their proxies.
Unfortunately, despite this information being published by Vanessa Beeley, I haven't seen any other mention of it. The
protesters endangered their lives by this protest, at least one of them [or another hostage? - this is not clear] was shot dead
for it, and all of them were sentenced to death. They deserve due publicity for it and it is really important to an understanding
of the incident as a whole.
Bernhardt, I hope you will update the article above to include some of Vanessa Beeley's reporting on this incident.
Bernhardt, I am afraid I don't share your apparent confidence in this OPCW report. It is far too little and lopsided after
months of investigation, and appears to be designed to test the waters for a decision confirming that chlorine was used as a weapon,
and to coordinate with the MSM to prepare the ground for such a decision. In that case, the MSM reaction to the report is highly
consistent with such an objective.
Why did the the report make no caveats about the chlorine compounds, why did they include no data about concentrations,
why did they emphasise the chain of custody of the (probably trivial) chrorine compound samples (and only those samples), why
no information on witness testimony, why no mention of the witness testimony in the Hague, why mention (totally irrelevant) testimony
of alleged witnesses in Turkey and biological samples taken in Turkey for which no plausible chain of custody exists?
Posted by: V | Jul 7, 2018 12:36:26 AM | 25 Finally, straight shooting from the OPCW.
About time...
This report is a scandal, an outrage. This report itself is a false flag, it is designed to appease those observers who
know the incident was a false flag by using carefully ambiguous wording, while preparing the ground for a full-blown 99% dishonest
and 100% misleading report condemning the Syrian government.
The correct response to this report is very loud and active and persistent protest against it.
The Russians should make very strongly worded complaints and criticisms about it both at the OPCW and at the UN (maybe they
have, I wouldn't know).
So, following your logic (which I mostly agree); what value/good are elections?
None, near as I can tell.
Time for something new?
But then I digress; what to do about false flag chemo attacks?
If the OPCW can no longer be trusted; then what? The U.S. has done an admirable job of destroying trust between countries.
¿Has anyone here read Peter Ford's piece on OPCW? I believe it fits somewhere in the discussion. Unfortunate this choir is so
small. Keep writing and Protest Loudly!
Hi Nice article, however I tend to disagree partially on the last part, the US administration and the alleged rebels are two
faces of the same coins, rebels are funded by the administration from various sources and they acr in response to commands from
it, see the southern command operations where this approach of command was openly divulged by various reports and accounts. The
reason for the Administration to get into Syria was to further weaken the middle eastern countries for a specific and obvious
reason, and each strike and wall destroyed goes into this direction..the bigger picture explains it all..
... to clarify , every "regime" that threatens Israel openly is to be brought down ... Libya, Iraq,, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Iran
, Egypt's Nasser and the list goes on..
"Yesterday the OPCW reported that, contrary to US and UK assertions in the UN security council, there was no nerve agent attack
on jihadist-held Douma by the Syrian government, precisely as Robert Fisk was execrated by the entire media establishment for
pointing out. The OPCW did find some traces of chlorine compounds, but chlorine is a very commonly used element and you have traces
of it all over your house.
The US wants your chicken chlorinated. The OPCW said it was "Not clear" if the chlorine was weaponised, and it is plain to
me from a career in diplomacy that the almost incidental mention is a diplomatic sop to the UK, US and France, which are important
members of the OPCW.
"Trump's reaction to yet more lying claims by the UK government funded White Helmets and Syrian Observatory, a reaction of
missile strikes on alleged Syrian facilities producing the non-existent nerve agent, was foolish. May's leap for British participation
was unwise, and the usual queue of Blairites who stood up as always in Parliament to support any bombing action, stand yet again
exposed as evil tools of the military industrial complex.
"Hillary Clinton, true to form, wanted more aggressive military action than was undertaken by Trump. Hillary has been itching
to destroy Syria as she destroyed Libya. Libya was very much Hillary's war and – almost unreported by the mainstream media – NATO
bombers carried out almost 14,000 bombing sorties on Libya and devastated entire cities...."
If you put Murray, MoA, The Skwawkbox, Strategic Culture, Dissident Voice and a few of the better aggregators together you've
got a better Daily Newspaper than The Guardian or Le Monde ever was, far better.
By the way, unless I'm mistaken (it wouldn't be a first!) Ghandi was asked what he thought about Western Civilisation when
he replied that "It would be a good idea". It still is an idea worth looking into. It would look just like socialism.
@28 BM... i think it was daniel who left that link here at moa a few days ago.. i read it..
@29 BM.. i tend to agree with you, but see @6 b for more clarity...
@32 pft... it is my observation that the msm in the usa is so usa centric, they know shit about canada, or the rest of the
world.. i could be wrong, but that is my general view on what ''americans'' consume for news in the usa.. the indoctrination is
heavy.. i would like to think people like @33 V are the norm, but i mostly think people are tuned out of the news - excluding
the older generation - above 60 or 70 especially - who still consume the shit via the tv..
@41 mike.. in other words, the usa foreign policy is built around looking after israel.. most here at moa would agree with
that.. will the usa ever get it's head out of israels ass? one can hope, lol..
This one was real, but even the Aum Shinrikyo sect showed all those years ago how how difficult it is to pull off an effective
chemical weapons attack, requiring an enclosed space like the metro system. But that's never the point. Instilling mass fear and
panic, not to mention being 'news friendly' is what makes such attacks, sponsored proxy false-flag or not, so enduringly popular
. To borrow a well known ad phrase ' Once you pop, you can't stop '
Journalists nowadays seem to lack most basics of higher education. b.
Yes + they have zero comprehension of basic numbers. Amazing. (Nobody wants to read my exs..) Nowadays, they are not supposed
to have any knowledge whatsoever; they have become scribal hacks, merely write, film, show, expose, what they are told or do haphazard
copy-pasta.
They are bought servants, nah compradors, and their presence is completely useless (A.I. and some guidance, input from above
by 7 -say- very smart ppl would do the job faster and cheaper, for the whole W world) they are actors whose function is to pretend
that a 'fourth estate' is necessary to uncover facts, inform the populace, air dissenting points of view, have debates, and so
on Lies.
Aware they are past their sell-date, one can smell the desperation. The reaction is to become more subservient, toe the line,
preserve what can be, become more in-groupy and shaft colleagues who might stray away from the prescribed hyper-rigid guide-lines.
Collectively, they have fantastic potential power and means of control (network savvy, present at the switches, etc.) but they
are so dumbed down and terrified of status and monetary loss they are like deer caught in the headlights, to stay on track they
secretly pray at dawn, conjure the fates, or whatever. The mansion with pool, the ginormous mortgage, Junior, etc. in the US.
In France, the monetary aspect is less vital; being excluded from the movers and shakers, the in-ppl, the heady, sexy, wonderful
Parisian life.. no.. no.. help
Part of how a 'post-truth' environment comes about. The other driver is the underlying aim, i.e. the imposition of one narrative
over another, the Rovian creation of realities which can only be managed by wielding power violent enough to make the 'other
- the people - the adversary' accept and bow down to the proffered narrative, and never object, call out the lies. Using this
template requires careful calculations which, it appears, have gone off kilter in the US.
Maybe one should consider that there were never any Chem-WMD attacks in Syria at all (pace Seymour Hersh, heh, but that is
a personal beef of mine..) - there are always limited hangout ppl who try to cobble up one narrative with another and make a living
out o that.
So far, I'm seeing BBC (as above), al Jazeera, ABC, Reuters, Qatar Tribune twisting the report to say it was a Chlorine attack.
PressTV, RT, and Sputnik News say the report clears SAA.
The latter is an absurd "virtual crime scene" in which crack reporters claim to prove that the Syrian government used chemical
weapons on their own people.
So, as expected, this latest OPCW report will have no effect on the establishment narrative. The good guys vs bad guys
scenario is the only approved version, and with no alternative versions being offered in the MSM, it is the one that the most
people will believe.
O k see if I can help, kind of kill or cure! The shock to us all may be to much ! There is no squirrel !
They made it up, yes I know it's kind of tuff !we all looked for a squirrel they distracted us. There was no people poisoned by
Russians in Salisbury, Amesbury the chlorine attack in Syria yes made up.What the tv and papers said was a lie, to program us
all like a laptop !!!
Whilst we were out squirrel huntin, they got through half of world 3 we never noticed. They formed a dictatorship. Sold all
your urban buildings services and council houses to one an other. And devalued us all by about 60% But i'l go easy for now. Couse
from there on things went down hill !!! Warm regards
By the way, I read somewhere recently that Chlorine rapidly degrades Sarin and therefore no one would use them together. But I
can't find the reference now. Can anybody help?
47. hrc = Bloodthirsty killer; sociopath coming out the gate. Likewise. POS. Trump was not a mass murderer until a couple months
in. Didn't take him long to join the club.
It would seem that a common (and deliberate) ploy used by the MSM these days is to use journalists with no particular knowledge,
experience or insight in an area to write articles that need that knowledge or experience.
I wonder if these "news reporters" were not selected based upon their "sex appeal" to a superior?
Posted by: Pft | @10
I suspect some of the stupidest staged events are just experiments to monitor how many people will simply buy anything.
I agree. These zany false flag events might be designed to map the approach to an asymptote .
(In analytic geometry, an asymptote (/ˈæsɪmptoʊt/) of a curve is a line such that the distance between
the curve and the line approaches zero as one or both of the x or y coordinates tends to infinite stupidity)
richardstevenhack
•
a day ago Must see interview with Sy Hersh, investigative reporter. [SPOILER: He does NOT
talk about the infamous tape about Seth Rich.]
'Propaganda organization': White Helmets 'engage in anti-Assad activities' – author Sy
Hersh
Sy has a new book out called "Reporter" A Memoir" which is mostly autobiographical about his
career as a reporter, with references to his My Lai massacre reporting, his start with the
Chicago papers as a crime reporter, and later experiences.
Very interesting comments on My Lai, on the Syrian war and the chemical attack incidents. He
has pretty much nothing to say about the British Skripal incident except that he's been told by
people in the US that Skripal was reporting to one of Brit intelligence agencies on Russian
Mafia activity in Europe - which he says pretty much indicates who might have wanted to poison
Skripal.
Hey B please parse the NYT's front page propaganda piece on the Ghouta chemical event in
today's paper "Horrific Details on Syria Chemical Attacks Left Out, for Now, From U.N.
Report".
"... "The Pentagon planners have probably finally realized just how important the White Helmets are to the regime change operation," ..."
"... "The fact that they have been so successful in proving fake imagery and fake evidence just means that they can be relied upon whenever there is a need for a pretext for another missile attack or even a full-scale invasion." ..."
Washington's decision to resume funding for White Helmets after a brief freeze highlights
how important the controversial group is for the US-promoted regime-change agenda, journalists
and Syrian conflict observers have told RT. "The Pentagon planners have probably finally
realized just how important the White Helmets are to the regime change operation," Mike
Raddie, co-editor of BSNews and an anti-war activist, told RT. "The fact that they have
been so successful in proving fake imagery and fake evidence just means that they can be relied
upon whenever there is a need for a pretext for another missile attack or even a full-scale
invasion."
The anti-war activist recalled how the so-called Syria Civil Defence units, better known as
the White Helmets, have been instrumental in the justification of the US strikes on Syria in
April of 2017, and the trilateral strikes by the UK, France, and the US in April 2018.
When the media is controlled by people responsible for false flag operation chances to use investigation to
discredit this false flag operation, no matter how many evidence they have is close to zero
In other word false flag operation is perfect weapon for the "sole superpower" and due to this status entail very little
risks.
Notable quotes:
"... Today's false flag operations are generally carried out by intelligence agencies and non-government actors including terrorist groups, but they are only considered successful if the true attribution of an action remains secret. ..."
"... False flags can be involved in other sorts of activity as well. The past year's two major alleged chemical attacks carried out against Syrian civilians that resulted in President Donald Trump and associates launching 160 cruise missiles are pretty clearly false flag operations carried out by the rebels and terrorist groups that controlled the affected areas at the time. ..."
"... Because the rebels succeeded in convincing much of the world that the Syrian government had carried out the attacks, one might consider their false flag efforts to have been extremely successful. ..."
"... The remedy against false flag operations such as the recent one in Syria is, of course, to avoid taking the bait and instead waiting until a thorough and objective inspection of the evidence has taken place. The United States, Britain and France did not do that, preferring instead to respond to hysterical press reports by "doing something." If the U.N. investigation of the alleged attack turns up nothing, a distinct possibility, it is unlikely that they will apologize for having committed a war crime. ..."
"... The other major false flag that has recently surfaced is the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury England on March 4 th . Russia had no credible motive to carry out the attack and had, in fact, good reasons not to do so. ..."
"... Unfortunately, May proved wrong and the debate ignited over her actions, which included the expulsion of twenty-three Russian diplomats, has done her severe damage. Few now believe that Russia actually carried out the poisoning and there is a growing body of opinion suggesting that it was actually a false flag executed by the British government or even by the CIA. ..."
"... The lesson that should be learned from Syria and Skripal is that if "an incident" looks like it has no obvious motive behind it, there is a high probability that it is a false flag. ..."
False Flag is a concept that goes back centuries. It was considered to be a legitimate ploy
by the Greeks and Romans, where a military force would pretend to be friendly to get close to
an enemy before dropping the pretense and raising its banners to reveal its own affiliation
just before launching an attack. In the sea battles of the eighteenth century among Spain,
France and Britain hoisting an enemy flag instead of one's own to confuse the opponent was
considered to be a legitimate ruse de guerre , but it was only "honorable" if one
reverted to one's own flag before engaging in combat.
Today's false flag operations are generally carried out by intelligence agencies and
non-government actors including terrorist groups, but they are only considered successful if
the true attribution of an action remains secret. There is nothing honorable about them as
their intention is to blame an innocent party for something that it did not do. There has been
a lot of such activity lately and it was interesting to learn by way of a leak that the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) has developed a capability to mimic the internet fingerprints of
other foreign intelligence services. That means that when the media is trumpeting news reports
that the Russians or Chinese hacked into U.S. government websites or the sites of major
corporations, it could actually have been the CIA carrying out the intrusion and making it look
like it originated in Moscow or Beijing. Given that capability, there has been considerable
speculation in the alternative media that it was actually the CIA that interfered in the 2016
national elections in the United States.
False flags can be involved in other sorts of activity as well. The past year's two major
alleged chemical attacks carried out against Syrian civilians that resulted in President Donald
Trump and associates launching 160 cruise missiles are pretty clearly false flag operations
carried out by the rebels and terrorist groups that controlled the affected areas at the time.
The most recent reported attack on April 7th might not have occurred at all
according to doctors and other witnesses who were actually in Douma. Because the rebels
succeeded in convincing much of the world that the Syrian government had carried out the
attacks, one might consider their false flag efforts to have been extremely successful.
The remedy against false flag operations such as the recent one in Syria is, of course, to
avoid taking the bait and instead waiting until a thorough and objective inspection of the
evidence has taken place. The United States, Britain and France did not do that, preferring
instead to respond to hysterical press reports by "doing something." If the U.N. investigation
of the alleged attack turns up nothing, a distinct possibility, it is unlikely that they will
apologize for having committed a war crime.
The other major false flag that has recently surfaced is the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and
his daughter Yulia in Salisbury England on March 4th. Russia had no credible
motive to carry out the attack and had, in fact, good reasons not to do so. The allegations
made by British Prime Minister Theresa May about the claimed nerve agent being "very likely"
Russian in origin have been debunked, in part through examination by the U.K.'s own chemical
weapons lab. May, under attack even within her own party, needed a good story and a powerful
enemy to solidify her own hold on power so false flagging something to Russia probably appeared
to be just the ticket as Moscow would hardly be able to deny the "facts" being invented in
London. Unfortunately, May proved wrong and the debate ignited over her actions, which included
the expulsion of twenty-three Russian diplomats, has done her severe damage. Few now believe
that Russia actually carried out the poisoning and there is a growing body of opinion
suggesting that it was actually a false flag executed by the British government or even by the
CIA.
The lesson that should be learned from Syria and Skripal is that if "an incident" looks like
it has no obvious motive behind it, there is a high probability that it is a false flag. A bit
of caution in assigning blame is appropriate given that the alternative would be a precipitate
and likely disproportionate response that could easily escalate into a shooting war.
"... When she assured him that the UK was fully behind the white helmets and that funding would remain in place, there was a cheer from around the house. I'm amazed that Bolton allowed the administration to cut off funding when even the UK idiots in parliament want to fund the propaganda arm of the head choppers. ..."
Posted by: john wilson | May 12, 2018 8:06:41 AM |
7
The question we all want to know is, did Trump appoint lunatic Bolton entirely of his own
volition, or was he forced to appoint this psychopath? The reach of the US deep state seems
to be limitless. A curious thing happened the other day when someone in the US administration
announced that America would no longer be funding the white helmets propaganda outfit. Over
here in the UK parliament an opposition member of parliament was practically foaming at the
mouth with rage and demanded of prime minister Mrs May that the UK would be continuing to
fund the white helmets.
When she assured him that the UK was fully behind the white helmets and that funding
would remain in place, there was a cheer from around the house. I'm amazed that Bolton
allowed the administration to cut off funding when even the UK idiots in parliament want to
fund the propaganda arm of the head choppers.
"... When she assured him that the UK was fully behind the white helmets and that funding would remain in place, there was a cheer from around the house. I'm amazed that Bolton allowed the administration to cut off funding when even the UK idiots in parliament want to fund the propaganda arm of the head choppers. ..."
Posted by: john wilson | May 12, 2018 8:06:41 AM |
7
The question we all want to know is, did Trump appoint lunatic Bolton entirely of his own
volition, or was he forced to appoint this psychopath? The reach of the US deep state seems
to be limitless. A curious thing happened the other day when someone in the US administration
announced that America would no longer be funding the white helmets propaganda outfit. Over
here in the UK parliament an opposition member of parliament was practically foaming at the
mouth with rage and demanded of prime minister Mrs May that the UK would be continuing to
fund the white helmets.
When she assured him that the UK was fully behind the white helmets and that funding
would remain in place, there was a cheer from around the house. I'm amazed that Bolton
allowed the administration to cut off funding when even the UK idiots in parliament want to
fund the propaganda arm of the head choppers.
"... Today, Theresa May is claiming -astonishingly – that the UK attack on Syria is "to deter chemical weapons attacks in Syria and the UK". I don't think the motive for a Skripal false flag could be more starkly demonstrated. ..."
"... It is also worth noting that the most ardent supporters of this military action, outside Saudi Arabia and Israel, are the Blairites in the UK and the Clinton Democrats in the USA. The self-described "centrists" are actually the unhinged extremists in today's politics. ..."
"... This attack on Syria is, beyond doubt, a huge success for the machinations of Mohammed Bin Salman. Please do read my post of 8 March which sets out the background to his agenda, and I believe is essential to why we find our nations in military action again today. Despite the fact the vast majority of the people do not want this ..."
March 4 2018 Sergei and Yulia Skripal are attacked with a nerve agent in Salisbury
March 6 2018 Boris Johnson
blames Russia and calls Russia "a malign force"
March 7 2018 Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia arrives in
London for an official visit
March 13 2018 Valeri Gerasimov, Russian Chief of General Staff,
states that Russia has intelligence a fake chemical attack is planned against civilians
in Syria as a pretext for US bombing of Damascus, and that Russia will respond
militarily.
March 19 2018 Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia arrives
in Washington for an official visit
April 8 2018 Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia arrives
in Paris for an official visit
April 8 2018 Saudi funded jihadist groups Jaysh
al Islam and Tahrir al-Sham and UK funded
jihadist "rescue group" The White Helmets claim a chemical weapons attack occurred in
their enclave of Douma the previous day – just before its agreed handover to the Syrian
army – and blame the Syrian government.
April 11 2018 Saudi Arabia pledges
support for attack on Syria
April 14 2018 US/UK/French attack on Syria begins.
I have always denied the UK's claim that only Russia had a motive to attack the Skripals. To
denigrate Russia internationally by a false flag attack pinning the blame on Russia, always
seemed to me more likely than for the Russians to do that to themselves. And from the start I
pointed to the conflict in Syria as a likely motive. That puts Saudi Arabia (and its client
jihadists), Saudi Arabia's close ally Israel, the UK and the USA all in the frame in having a
powerful motive in inculcating anti-Russian sentiment prior to planned conflict with Russia in
Syria. Any of them could have attacked the Skripals.
Today, Theresa May
is claiming -astonishingly – that the UK attack on Syria is "to deter chemical
weapons attacks in Syria and the UK". I don't think the motive for a Skripal false flag could
be more starkly demonstrated.
We do not yet know how many children and other civilians have died so far in what the media
always pretend are magically "pinpoint" attacks on Syria. Denying the "collateral damage" is
part of the neo-con playbook. The danger is that they will not stop but continue to push,
testing how far they can go in weakening Syrian government forces to promote their jihadist
allies on the ground, before they spark a real Russian reaction. That way madness lies.
It is also worth noting that the most ardent supporters of this military action, outside
Saudi Arabia and Israel, are the Blairites in the UK and the Clinton Democrats in the USA. The
self-described "centrists" are actually the unhinged extremists in today's politics.
This attack on Syria is, beyond doubt, a huge success for the machinations of Mohammed
Bin Salman. Please do read my post of 8 March which sets
out the background to his agenda, and I believe is essential to why we find our nations in
military action again today. Despite the fact the vast majority of the people do not want
this
Support of Trump strikes after false flag in Douma characterizes him as neocon and imperialist.
Notable quotes:
"... I know nothing of France, but that Macron fellow seems to be a pure-blooded little weasel. ..."
"... His Rothschild past is well-know, his weasel-like behavior with Trump and Mayhem is typical, he cleverly outmaneuvered the electorate to put his "new party" in power, full of unknowns, after manipulating the weak "socialist" Hollande in the previous government. ..."
"... His domestic policy is to privatise everything, remove the rights workers have gained over the last 70 years, get rid of 120000 jobs (as if others have not tried this for 200 years in France, and it has not helped!) and to do it quickly before people can follow each step. ..."
Bashar was compelled to return to Syria and become the nominal political leader after the death of his very tough, ruthless
father, Hafez al-Assad.
The other day I saw a passing reference to something I'd never before known – that Richard Nixon paid a state visit to Damascus
to see that ruthless father. I was gratified the author mentioned the Bushie use of Syria as a place to torture people. Both the
Nixon visit and the routine torture transactions with Syria show that "we" were ok with Syrian dictators – just as we were with
all those other dictators coddled by the US.
But when Holy Israel finally gets around to setting up Land Grab #3, suddenly Assad is an obstacle.
France To Revoke Major Award From Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Briana Koeneman , Katherine Biek Apr 17, 2018
The Legion of Honor is France's highest award. It's presented to citizens who have "demonstrated outstanding merits in the
service of the nation, in a military or a civilian capacity." .
.
.
The move comes just days after France, Britain and the U.S. launched military strikes on targets in Syria in response to the
reported chemical attack. Syria has denied any involvement in the alleged attack.
Genuine Hero Assad suddenly become dirtbag Assad. Except for his success in defeating the latest NATO aggression, what had
changed? I know nothing of France, but that Macron fellow seems to be a pure-blooded little weasel.
Micron(sic) has nothing to recommend him but deviousness. His Rothschild past is well-know, his weasel-like behavior with
Trump and Mayhem is typical, he cleverly outmaneuvered the electorate to put his "new party" in power, full of unknowns, after
manipulating the weak "socialist" Hollande in the previous government.
His domestic policy is to privatise everything, remove the rights workers have gained over the last 70 years, get rid of
120000 jobs (as if others have not tried this for 200 years in France, and it has not helped!) and to do it quickly before people
can follow each step.
If the workers do not work together, not only the railways, but the rest of public services, will go and we'll be as
bad as the USA, which Micron (sic) obviously admires.
We did not know of his likely international delusions of grandeur, but nothing would surprise me now.
backwardsevolution , April 21, 2018 at 9:18 pm
rosemerry – good post. I read where Macron's election team was composed of some of the same Americans that got Obama elected.
They just hopped on a plane and repeated the process in France.
More info on "media" at link below.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
ROBERT BRIDGE | 21.04.2018
Useful Idiots? New Yorker Magazine Fails Litmus Test for Media Impartiality on Syrian War
Interesting article at link below.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- –
APRIL 20, 2018
A Tale of Two Atrocities: Douma and Gaza
by DOUG NOBLE
The mainstream media once again have enthusiastically endorsed Donald Trump's latest
strike on Syria, pulled off without Congressional approval and in blatant violation of US and
international law . (emphasis added)
See link below on "media" and "Syria Strikes." Are illegal acts of war "okay"?
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-- –
APRIL 18, 2018
Out of 26 Major Editorials on Trump's Syria Strikes, Zero Opposed
ADAM JOHNSON
Strange how the media seems to have moved away from Washington's claims
about a "chemical attack" in Syria just as more and more evidence comes to light that
seriously undermines the US narrative.
The media is reduced to accusing those who question
the narrative -- even with evidence -- of being "conspiracy theorists." Virginia State
Senator Richard Black is a retired US military officer and JAG officer with a Purple Heart
earned in Vietnam.
He is not buying the mainstream media and Trump Administration claims
about the attack. He has followed the Syria war closely and in 2016 even took a trip to
Syria. He joins today's Ron Paul Liberty Report to shine the light on the falsehoods being
spread:
Syria's government forces have discovered a depot of German and UK-manufactured chemical
weapons left by terrorists in the town of Douma, a Syrian official says.
"In the depot with chemical weapons left by terrorists in Douma, we have found chemicals
from Germany, the United Kingdom, from the Porton-Down laboratory in Salisbury," Russia's
Sputnik news agency cited Syria's Deputy Ambassador to the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ghassan Obaid as saying after a briefing in The Hague on Thursday.
Obaid called on OPCW inspectors to visit the site and expressed hope that the inspection
will ultimately prove the allegations against Damascus to be wrong.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's had said earlier that containers with
chlorine and smoke bombs made in the UK and Germany had been discovered in the territories
freed from militants in Eastern Ghouta region in the suburb of the capital city of Damascus.
New false-flag operations against Damascus are "possible, since our American partners are
once again threatening to take military action against Syria, but we will not allow that,"
Russia's permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW), Aleksandr Shulgin, said during a press conference in The Hague on Thursday.
"Two gas cylinders, allegedly dropped by the government forces from helicopters, were found
in two apartments."
One of the cylinders lacked any makeshift upgrades, such as fins, to make it usable as an
aerial munition, and, surprisingly, it was not even deformed .
"It's quite peculiar that the cylinder was not deformed, which doesn't fit its purported
fall from a big altitude on concrete floor."
The other cylinder, while fitted with some crude fins, also remained in nearly pristine
condition despite its "fall."
"The cylinder has partially retained impermeability and is almost undamaged, which is
impossible after a fall from some 2,000 meters , the usual altitude used by the Syrian army
helicopters," Kirillov said.
The cylinder was likely hauled by the "authors of the staged video" from outside, the
official stated, as "multiple chips and dragging marks at the stairwell" indicated. An
apartment below was being used by its owner to breed chickens, and all the livestock
miraculously "made through the so-called chemical attack alive," according to Kirillov.
Assignation of guilt for the alleged chemical attack in Douma continues to be based on
assumptions on Assad's "intent and capabilities" and the White Helmets videos. Interesting to
have such a weak response direct from a senior intelligence bureaucrat.
Her response gets even weaker when asked about claims the videos were faked: "It just
doesn't seem consistent with what the rebels would do."
Wow! The supposed Douma 'chemical attack' killed so many humans, but the chickens survived
unharmed. Luckily the Porton Down assassins were not around to cremate the inconvenient avian
witnesses, unlike the Skripal guineapigs and cat.
"Russian experts performed a detailed analysis of the information on the ground,"
Major-General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection
(RKhBZ) Troops, said. "Two gas cylinders, allegedly dropped by the government forces from
helicopters, were found in two apartments." ... The cylinder was likely hauled by the "authors of the staged video" from outside, the official
stated, as "multiple chips and dragging marks at the stairwell" indicated. An apartment below
was being used by its owner to breed chickens, and all the livestock miraculously "made through
the so-called chemical attack alive," according to Kirillov.
"... Now giving odds on the OPCW report being "inconclusive" --- if I were planning a campaign of fake chemical attacks I would first want to be sure my assets were in place at the OPCW. There is reason to assume that every committee and group of the UN is infiltrated with US assets. ..."
"... "France's Ambassador to the OPCW Philippe Lalliot called the display of Syrians in The Hague 'obscene.'" Apparently it is obscene to present evidence but not staged videos with shaving cream sprayed on the faces of dead bodies. ..."
"... Even better is the unintentionally hilarious comment by the U.K. envoy: "The OPCW is not a theater," said Peter Wilson, Britain's envoy to the watchdog in a statement. ..."
"... Syrian dirty war Backfires on International Media i like how Elijah Magnier refers to the msm - "Salafist Wahabist apologists".... think i will use that too.. ..."
"... I thought western media had sunk as low as it could go until I seen the MSM articles on the witnesses from Douma that are appearing at the Hague. The witnesses are termed 'unidentified people', even though the boy and the doctor, and perhaps several others appeared in the white helmet video and all witnesses are named. ..."
Syria/Russia have assembled a large body of evidence regarding the White Helmets, the
staged filming and other falsifications which show convincingly that no chemical attack
occurred.
Now giving odds on the OPCW report being "inconclusive" --- if I were planning a campaign of
fake chemical attacks I would first want to be sure my assets were in place at the OPCW. There
is reason to assume that every committee and group of the UN is infiltrated with US assets.
"France's Ambassador to the OPCW Philippe Lalliot called the display of Syrians in The
Hague 'obscene.'" Apparently it is obscene to present evidence but not staged videos with shaving cream
sprayed on the faces of dead bodies.
Even better is the unintentionally hilarious comment by the U.K. envoy: "The OPCW is not a theater," said Peter Wilson, Britain's envoy to the watchdog in a
statement.
911's been discussed here from time-to-time. Most agree it's a major false flag. I see it
as the implementation of the Operation Northwoodsplan from
1962 (2 smallish pdfs) for essentially the same geopolitical goals. Such discussions have
previously occurred on Open Threads where they belong. As you see, I really don't have
anything to discuss as I've already made my conclusion and judgement.
false flag attack... very interesting to see now how the Skripal affair and the Douma
incident are going to develop. Because if, for instance, Douma will be widely (i. e. in
Western societies) acknowledged as a false flag attack, and we are pretty close to that -
then this opens a door for the acceptance of former false flag attacks (the so-called
conspiracy theories).
Don't want to go into detail here, but I'm convinced that the majority of terror attacks
in the West in the last twenty years were false flag, i.e. the official story doesn't reflect
what really happened.
From my own research I can say that for 9/11, London 7/7, Boston 2013, Nizza 2016, Berlin
2016.
Again, I don't want to discuss that stuff here. My point is that the unmasking of Douma as
a staged event, or Skripal as false flag, could make these former staged events fall like
domino pieces. Not in days or weeks, but over the years.
I thought western media had sunk as low as it could go until I seen the MSM articles on the
witnesses from Douma that are appearing at the Hague.
The witnesses are termed 'unidentified people', even though the boy and the doctor, and
perhaps several others appeared in the white helmet video and all witnesses are named.
Posted by: Harry Law | Apr 26, 2018 6:32:50 PM |
47
That US,UK and French aggression on 14th April which caused the loss of 3 buildings and no
casualties could go down as the biggest own goal of this war on Syria. Now it is possible that
Syria will acquire the S300 and deny US and Israeli air supremacy.
They can stop Israeli Jets
lobbing missiles from Lebanese airspace, they also have the range to lock on to Israeli Jets
taking off from Israeli airfields. Israel is very concerned, as they should be. The Syrians
should thank Trump, May and Macron.
On the Skripal affair, the best information I've found (trying to keep up) is at Craig
Murray's blog (the following
page as the most recent discussion):
As with this interesting comment:
Clive P April 22, 2018 at 12:29
I have been reading the blogs for some time but this is my first post. Like Craig I was
a senior civil servant but in the ministry of defence not the fco. I had plenty of dealings
with all three intelligence agencies. It seems to me that the reason none of the MSM are
doing any investigating/reporting of the Salisbury affair, apart from official handouts, is
that the government have slapped a D-Notice over the whole incident and it is not possible to
report that a notice has been issued.
Here is another theory as to what happened. The Russians pardoned Skripal and allowed
him to leave (spy agencies have an understanding that agents will always be swapped after an
interval – it's the only protection they have and helps recruitment). In the UK Skripal
would have been thoroughly debriefed by MI6 and MI5 (his ex-handler lives near Salisbury). If
at some point they discovered that Skripal was giving them false information, perhaps he was
told to do so by the FSB as a condition of his release, lives may have been endangered/lost.
If he also was also involved in the 'golden showers' dossier then elements in the US would
have a reason to act as well. The whole incident was an inside job not to kill him, hence the
use of BZ, but to give him a warning and a punishment. The whole thing is being treated as
though the authorities know exactly what went on but have to cover it up.
A D notice is subsequently clarified in the thread as classified/off limits by the UK
government.
Sorry, not clear on the BZ reference, as to what this means.
Would appreciate additional links with info from recent days.
This looks like taken directly from Godfather. "Mafia style governance" in other words ;-)
Notable quotes:
"... The experts just make it up, the pols know this but unless they can prove the military bosses are lying, they have to go along with it. ..."
"... We, us the people, we die, that is our role ..."
"... 'Not in my name': Galloway calls on British public to reject calls for Syria military action: https://www.rt.com/uk/423805-galloway-syria-war-uk/ ..."
"... But who cares about us? Now is Trump and the brainwashed journalists that want a war, nothing seems to be able to stop and reverse this sickness. ..."
By now 18 months in office, agent orange will have reached the same SOP as everyone else who
has political power does when they are dealing with circumstances where A) they lack much experience of dealing with the
issue, and B) there are to quote that other donald who
isn't a duck. "There are many 'known unknowns'".
That is you must defer to the 'experts' not because you necessarily believe their assessment
to be correct, but because they are
the types whose job it is to make such assessments. So that if things do go tits up, king
mandarin cannot be blamed.
He was acting upon "the best advice available at the time" & if things work out then the
trumpet can trumpet his genius strategy.
If they don't work out that's tough, but the bossfella did his/her part.
This has long been held to be the only way an elected leader can survive a war. Everything
is a gamble, so unless you
really know what you are doing/have great outside the loop intelligence, following the advice
of the military bosses is
really the only option they can see. They are weak, vain, self-obsessed and incapable of
understanding how Jo/Joe Shitkicker feels about stuff.
A couple of examples.
The first worked out OK for humans but bad for the warmongers. When GH Bush snared Iraq into
Gulf War 1, the plan had always been to use Iraq's reclamation of their traditional lands from
the Anglo American puppets as an excuse to grab all of Iraq - Kuwait's oil was running out,
which was why the emir had been siphoning off Iraqi oil in the first place. So the American led
band of greedies, crooks & charlatans chased the retreating Iraqis back - bombing shooting
and poisoning em with depleted uranium absolutely mercilessly. But for whatever reason (who
knows? honour, honesty, maybe even humanity or maybe someone paid him off we will never
discover the truth) Norman Schwarzkopf wasn't down with such ruthless murder.
He publicly declared the military objectives had all been met and continuing on wasn't just
pointless it was inhumanity approaching a war crime. GH Arsefeatures must have been ropeable,
but he knew going against Norm's advice was just too fraught. If anything, absolutely anything
went wrong with what was a pretty damned risky plan, as Iraq hadn't been put under siege for
long at all before the attack, there were big numbers of Iran/Iraq war veterans - troops who
hadn't been deployed in Kuwait waiting in Iraq. Bush would take the fall as he had gone against
'expert' advice. No redemption thatcher style for him, so he declared victory and began the
siege which junior tried to finish.
The second example? This is a link to
part 17 of a 26 part documentary on the 1914 to 1918 half of the 20th century eurowar.
It is made by the bbc, but I hasten to add during an all too brief moment in the 1960's when
the BBC had been forced to resile from spewing spurious tales - propaganda, and calling it
fact.
If you haven't seen this series I strongly suggest you get a copy and watch it. This is the
people who fought, chiefly the shitkickers
in the trenches on all sides doing the talking. In addition there is input from the pols' &
military bosses via daily journals & diaries.
Episode 17 is about Ypres which was a piece of Belgian western front which protruded east
across the line the Austro/German troops occupied, aka a salient.
The Brits held the western side, Germany the other.
By 1917 everyone was well sick of the war and the politicians had begun to distrust the
judgement and sometimes the
motives of the military. The Battle of the Somme which cost more than a million brit casualties
had been fought in the
summer of 1916, nothing had been gained. More than a million young men had died for nothing -
absolutely fucking nothing.
Now that the summer of 1917 was approaching the army wanted another 'offensive'. Ypres was the
battlespace they had selected. Once a beautiful town even more striking architecturally than
Bruges, Ypres was leveled by the arseholesi - few if any of whom were Belgium.
So all the brit military bosses (army & navy - the airforce hadn't taken off yet [pun
alert]) were meeting with all the political leaders in the cabinet room.
Lloyd George, the consummate brit pol of the early 20th century, was Prime Minister and he
was extremely skeptical of any big plan, as logic dictated that when both sides were as dug in
& evenly matched as the allies & axis were, the chances of either side achieving
anything beyond the deaths of another million or two humans were slim as New York model.
Watch the doco - Lloyd explains how Haig and his gang had bundles of colourful maps with
arrows pointing every which way, plus a fine art in talking absolute bullshit.
When Lloyd George detects that some of the more gullible pols are lapping up Haig's
nonsense, so he interjects with his doubts - that any further "send em over the top" strategies
can achieve anything other than the death of millions more humans.
The meeting adjourns for lunch. When they all come back the Sea Lord, Admiral Jellicoe, the
man now believed to be responsible for the brit navy's worst maritime disaster ever, the 1916
battle of jutland where 5000 brit sailors were killed in the space of a few hours and Admiral
Beatty who was Jellicoe's 2IC was heard to say offhandly "I say, there seems to be something
wrong with our bloody ships today". Thousands of men die and the elitist prick believes it's
time to be droll. Check out pix of Beatty he always wore his naval cap 'rakishly' forever
playing the jaunty gentleman sailor.
Anyway Jellicoe whose incompetence as the head of the British Grand Fleet resulted in badly
designed ships adopting really dangerous explosive handling practices was so bad the brits had
to make him out to be a hero & promoted him to First Sea Lord, pipes up at the Ypres
meeting straight after lunch , with the claim that the attack must go ahead because if the
Germans keep control of Zeebrugge which is a Belgian port just north of Ypres that was in
German hands & was being used as a submarine base, England will face famine and mass
starvation within a few months as the navy cannot protect their shipping supplies to
england.
It was complete nonsense which Haig and Jellicoe likely dreamed up at lunch. We know it was
a crock because Lloyd George was left with no alternative but to approve warmonger/mass
murderer Haig's plan. The battle went ahead, another million or so died in what the diggers
termed the worst bloody stunt of the war. Long story short; the farmland around Ypres was like
Dutch lowland, constructed below sea level. The artillery barrages had wrecked the drainage
system and the entire battle space turned to mud blood, and corpses - fall into a shellhole
which was easy on the slippery duckboards and you're toast, the mixture of bacteria bubbling
away in the Ypres Soup guaranteed that if you could swim with a full pack and gear, any cut or
wound would become irretrievably infected. The medics played catch up footy behind gangrene,
chopping bits off a bloke until there was nothing left.
These then are the roles:
The experts just make it up, the pols know this but unless they can prove the military
bosses are lying, they have to go along with it.
We, us the people, we die, that is our role
ps watch the doco and see how documentaries can be made.
I challenge anyone to name a modern war prosecuted by the US government and its allies that did not involve at its root the direct
fabrication of blatant lies on enormous levels, both as a casus belli and also to manipulate public opinion in favor of
hostilities.
The clandestine activity represented by these *provocations* isn't even good spycraft. The Skripal case and the latest use
of chlorine gas in Syria are risible, clumsy, amateur attempts to wangle the empire into war that the callowest rube could see
through. And yet, it's working its magic on the media. The politicians, suborned by the war machine, give unanimous bipartisan
assent.
Saddam's WMD, Gulf of Tonkin, etc., etc. And now a ridiculous false flag attack in Syria. Did it take place at all? But the
narrative is all. The press in the USA is more effectively controlled and conformist than in Germany in the late 1930s and nobody
goes around beating up journalists or sending them to a KZ. The Syrian Gov't is winning the civil war, things are going well but
what Assad really needs is to have the crap bombed out of his military by Uncle Sam. What transparent bullshit.
This was a great talk show. Many excellent points made, depicting neoliberal
propaganda as "it is". Must see video.
Notable quotes:
"... That's exactly what we did. Cancelled our cable six months ago and joined TYT ..."
"... All corporate media outlets romanticize and support death and destruction because they believe the public loves it. So give em what they want, and corporate media profits skyrocket. Sad and shameful. ..."
I wonder how proud Bernie would be if he watched any of Jimmy Dores videos.. My TOP
"Progressives" Bernie/Tulsi/Nina/Jimmy/Ronan but there are PLENTY of other great progressives
that I forgot to mention. #Bernie2020#Tulsi2020#JusticeDems2018
Rachel Maddow is another compromised "journalist" failing to cover Syria. Jimmy, I know
you see Maddow the same way I do, so I thought you and your subscribers would want a heads-up
on Aaron Mate's April 12, 2017 article at the Intercept, "MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Sees a
'Russia Connection' Lurking Behind Every Corner." The article includes a video showing Maddow
repeatedly pounding the drum about alleged Russian influence on Trump.
The Intercept's
quantitative study of all 28 Rachel Maddow episodes in the six-week period between February
20 and March 31, showed 53 percent of the broadcasts were Russia-focused segments. Mate
points out "the 'above all else" focus on Russia lacks concrete supporting evidence."
The
article also mentions Maddow is often dubbed one of the smartest TV journalists, but in my
view, if she's so smart, why isn't she honest?
The public doesn't need "smart but unethical"
journalists, because they are a dime a dozen. We need news people with astuteness and
integrity combined. Some of the world's most destructive people have been brilliant but evil.
Anyway, the article is a good read.
Can't we show some pictures of the people WE kill, the children WE kill when we drop our
bombs? Someone pointed out how they show pictures of our missles when they are launched and
none of the damage we do. And we only show pictures of the dead people when THEY drop bombs,
etc. Shouldn't we also show the people we kill.
That's exactly what we did. Cancelled our cable six months ago and joined TYT, and support
several independent youTubers including Jimmy Dore. We need independent media especially
now
The American public, by in large, have no sympathy for the innocent civilians who suffer
the horrific bombing attacks carried out by the U.S. Military. All corporate media outlets
romanticize and support death and destruction because they believe the public loves it. So
give em what they want, and corporate media profits skyrocket. Sad and shameful.
-- Here is the terrorist camp in Turkey, run by a British officer James le Mesurier:
"James le Mesurier founded both Mayday Rescue and the White Helmets after "retiring" from the
British Army and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Mayday Rescue's annual budget is $35
million, with the funds coming from USAID, the UK Conflict Security and Stability Fund, and
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To date, an estimated 3,000 recruits have been through the
Mayday Rescue training programs and deployed into 120 different locations in rebel-held parts
of Syria."
-- Here is another dishonorable British officer, Paul Tilley:
"Tilley ran British government
communications during the Libya invasion, working directly out of 10 Downing Street. In
November 2014, soon after le Mesurier was founding Mayday Rescue and the White Helmets,
Tilley "retired" from the British service to found the strategic communications firm.
Incostrat provides the social media and other communications services for Mayday and
the White Helmets."
– Any Qs about le Mesurier' and Tilley' devotion to militant Islamists and fanatical
Israelis when good money is paid for the devotion??
British government official agencies are the patrons, managers and funders of the White Helmets, who have been the go-to source
for the mainstream Western media reporting on the ongoing Syrian war. For good measure, the U.S. State Department's Agency for International
Development (USAID) has kicked in $23 million to finance Mayday Rescue, the cutout between the White Helmets and the British Ministry
of Defense, the Home Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and 10 Downing Street. This is all a matter of public record, yet
no Western major media outlet has bothered to include these "data points" in their lavish coverage of the White Helmets.
Mayday Rescue was founded by James le Mesurier, who founded both Mayday Rescue and the White Helmets after "retiring" from the
British Army and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Mayday Rescue has its headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey, where it runs a training
program for the White Helmet recruits. Mayday Rescue's annual budget is $35 million, with the funds coming from USAID, the UK Conflict
Security and Stability Fund, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To date, an estimated 3,000 recruits have been through the Mayday Rescue
training programs and deployed into 120 different locations in rebel held parts of Syria.
Another element of the British government flowchart backing the White Helmets is the communications and media firm Incostrat,
founded by Paul Tilley, another British Army veteran, who ran the Ministry of Defence's Strategic Communications for the Middle East
and North Africa. Tilley ran British government communications during the Libya invasion, working directly out of 10 Downing Street.
In November 2014, soon after le Mesurier was founding Mayday Rescue and the White Helmets, Tilley "retired" from the British service
to found the strategic communications firm. Incostrat provides the social media and other communications services for Mayday and
the White Helmets.
All very neat.
In January 2015, the British Ministry of Defence renamed its Security Assistance Group (SAG) the 77th Brigade. The name change
was in honor of the legendary World War II era British special warfare operator Orde Wingate, who as a Major General in the British
Army founded the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade, which conducted "long-range penetration" operations in the CBI theater. The renamed
current 77th Brigade, according to its own website, conducts "non-lethal engagement and legitimate non-military levers as a means
to adapt behaviors of opposing forces and adversaries," including information activities and outreach. By its own public description,
the 77th Brigade is "an agent of change." They are nowadays referred to as "Twitter Troops" and "Facebook Warriors."
The Guardian revealed it was spending £2.4m ($3.3m) for private contractors to deliver "strategic communications and media
operations support to the Syrian moderate armed opposition", in what was described as Britain running a "Free Syrian Army press
office".
Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam), a newly formed coalition of around 50 Islamist factions funded by Saudi Arabia, was one
of the groups considered by Britain to be part of the "moderate armed opposition".
Why is the British government so into neocon themes or are they merely acting at the behest of our neocons?
The British Deep State clearly have a bee in their bonnet about Putin & Russia. Maybe that's why they acted to take down Candidate
Trump during the last election.
The Brits have a long history of antagonistic relations with Russia. The phrase "The Great Game" originally referred British-Russian
power ploys in central Asia in the latter half of the 19th century. Pax Americana has "inherited" some aspects of the British
Empire and British Imperialism. No wonder the Brits want to play along with us in that area. They have history there. The force
of that not to be underestimated.
I bought this book a couple of years ago, but have not done more than skim it yet. The reviews are helpful for getting an idea
of what it's about.
BTW, my current preference is to use the "neocon" label in a more limited fashion referring to those who espouse that philosophy
directly. I think most people working for the empire aren't philosophical true believers so much as ambitious opportunists who
tend to be flexible in their ideology. After reading more history, I came to develop a fondness for that old fashioned label "imperialist."
It explains much on it's own. No extra political ideology is required.
It is very clear that the WH operation is a brain child of the Clinton/Obama regime with British and Saudi participation. The
British actually have conducted the operation.
More to do with Saudi and Arab interests. Doesn't help that they are aligned with Zionists on this matter, but I wouldn't say
neocons are the key factor.
As for Russia the obsession mystifies me; Neocons, Rupert Murdoch, exiled oligarchs and associated riffaff in London throwing
money around, institutional inertia from the cold war?
Thank you for this information. I come here often to get a different perspective from what I hear non-stop on popular "news" outlets.
I had this problem when I was teaching research writing. The journalism majors researched only by calling someone to get nice
quotations about the "facts"--as their source told them. They did not believe in doing any other sort of research really. Got
to beat those deadlines, you know.
Orde Wingate!! Wingnut extraordinaire, as only England can produce them. A proto White Zionist & Likudnik. The Israelis see
him as almost a founding father! I think there's even a statue. He's put out as a military genius but, really he was one of those
special forces types who hover between tactical & operational levels, which disguises the lightweight effect of their operations:
Preferably against light opposition. What he set up in the CBI theatre was glamorized, at the time, because the Brits had screwed
up the defence of Burma so badly. Britain's fading glory, & the Indian Army's biggest & best operations awaited Slim (General).
Read; 'Quartered Safe Out Here'.
Yup. That was my first reaction: Orde Wingate was practically the original Christian Zionist, a real nutjob in terms of his personal
beliefs and politics. Rather telling, if he's seen as the patron saint of the White Helmets.
Tomorrow 26-4 the Russians are flying a number of Syrians to the Netherlands for a press conference of the Russian delegation
with the OPCW.
We'll see if the Syrians will be able to access the Netherlands. Considering the neocon-puppy-status of our glorious prime-minister
(who might have to step-down because of repeatedly lying to parliament) I wouldn't be surprised if this will be refused.
I can think of two other important questions, what is the point of lying? and who exactly do
they think they are fooling?
Firstly it is worth saying that both sides are likely to exaggerate the effectiveness of
their systems, deliberately or otherwise. Let us start with the US claim of 100%
effectiveness of their weapons system and 0% of the Syrian/Russian systems, this is plainly
nonsense. Even with no air defences at all a certain number of malfunctions would be expected
to happen. The Syrian/Russian claims are also likely to be wrong, many of the claimed
intercepts were just as likely to be malfunctions.
So what is the point of lying?
First off, a reputation for unreliability is bad for sales, pure and simple. Nobody is
going to be enthusiastic about spending large amounts of money on stuff that doesn't work
very well, this would apply equally to both sides.
Secondly, the appetite of the general public for war in general and superpower
confrontation in particular is going to be somewhat diminished if it is perceived that the
other side is technologically equal or even superior. This factor is logically going to be
more important to the side likely to initiate conflict.
So who do they think they are fooling?
Potential customers for weapons systems are usually not going to be naive enough to take
the manufacturers claims at face value, they are likely to employ their own experts to assess
the various claims. They will not be completely immune to deception of course.
Each other. Neither side would want their opponents to have the best information
available, for obvious reasons. It is notable that both sides appear to have declined to
fully commit their latest equipment, the Russians in particular. It is likely that both sides
have reasonably good intelligence on what happened, neither side is likely to be fooled
easily.
The general public are the most obvious targets of deception and the most easily fooled.
It is one thing to risk a superpower conflict when your population in general is confident
that you have a clear technological edge and are likely to escape the worst. It would be
quite another matter to get the public on board if they believed they were up against a more
or less equal opponent and were likely to get thoroughly nuked. Once again this logic applies
far more strongly to the side likely to initiate a conflict for they are the ones who must
manufacture consent. For this reason it would appear that the Russians have somewhat less
motivation to lie than their US counterparts.
They lie because they can and after lying their pathetic lives away they are not even
aware that they are lying. Hilary can fall down the steps in front of hundreds of cameras and
lie that she did not fall. Joe Biden can lie to a reporter that he graduated number one in
his law class and totally ignore the school records that he graduated in the bottom of his
law class.
"... The "attack" on Syria had two purposes: a saving of face, and a disposal of old ordnance. ..."
"... I suspect that only Israel had any real interest in saving the face of their hired boogeyman. Trump being a flunky of Israeli, he did what he had to do. ..."
At the same time it is clear that there was an understanding between the governments to
insure that Russian red lines were not crossed. The evidence for the Douma gas attack is
non-existent. The film evidence has now been thoroughly de-bunked as part of the information
operations (propaganda) of the White Helmets scheme funded by the Saudis and largely conducted
by the UK info warriors of 77 Regiment. It seems clear that US DoD was not privy to that IO
project and for that Reason SECDEF Mattis was blind-sided by the deception. The struck targets
(successful or not) have long been known to the US IC as facilities of the former Syrian
Government chemical warfare programs. The Russians were told to stay out of those areas and so
a reasonable compromise was made with a president easily fooled by social media and under heavy
pressure by a population equally easy to deceive.
Nevertheless, most of the missiles failed and that failure must be dealt with.
Col. Pat Lang at his best -- explaining how military systems and strategies work.
But Lang wrote: "It seems clear that US DoD was not privy to that IO project and for
that Reason SECDEF Mattis was blind-sided by the deception."
That would not have happened if Mattis -- and Trump -- included Phil Giraldi and Unz
forum, as well as Lang's own SST in their daily intelligence diet.
Phil Giraldi exposed the White Helmets almost a year ago --
and for Eva Bartlett's on-the-scenes coverage of White Helmets activities in Syria.
The Corbett Report can be found on the Unz Forum. Corbett painstakingly deconstructed a
Guardian hit-piece on Beeley, Bartlett and Tim Anderson, reproducing the emails in which the
Guardian journo accused those independent correspondents of collusion with a Russian
propaganda effort
Unz Forum also hosts the Jimmy Dore show which amplified a corporate-media interviews of
Jeffrey Sachs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O2TRzA2ezk
, who told (what is presumably) a large audience that US has been engaged in the deliberate
destabilization of Syria and killing of Syrian citizens since at least 2012, (and that it
should STOP!);
False flags, needed, on both sides. In the West that means catching of-handed the media,
all media, all alternative media, by infusing lies, firehosing bloat, short attention span
snippets to decoy and on, nothing yet invented to the rescue. That seems to work still, since
the public still baits the flying dung, a given, and the scribes and editors, the graphically
endowed complying.
Military back and forth, "arena" sports, pro-wresling, nothing more, nothing much. The
better teams can as well play video games to see who "wins". War is essentially obsolete,
makes the superstructures of the war machines on all sides obsolete. The main reason is
environmental toxicity which blows back with a vengeance, war having no impact on population
numbers, war having an impact on migration numbers and directions though. The migration
effects of local wasteland wars seems to be interpreted by dumb elites globally as
desirable(herding and how to herd large numbers of humanoids), a learning experiment. Our
guess, in the long term, an unefficient weapon.
The information interchanges, essentially deciding on the rules of the local experiment,
of the major players, open up views on how a global elite can function. For now in the early
stages, but since global rule is unavoidable, an encouraging phenomenon.
The back country, our "gens de rien", our "deplorables" yet do not, will never, understand
what is driving their sorry asses. The middle class of "shepherd dogs" tow the line of the de
facto power, no independent thinking to be expected. The internet is as obfuscating as the
printed press and TV ever was. Give or take, seventy percent of it ignorance of
writer-editors, thirty percent of incapacitation to see anything but career and individual
interests in the short term.
Technology(hard and soft, as they go together) has been wrestled from the hands of
independent players, the major example being Asssange, who had an impact on the exact
granular outliers, where it matters, and has been put aside silently by the ones, the only
ones that should be grateful and could have had an impact on using chaos of the masses,
globally, to counter the dummer, short-term policies of the elites, and pressure for faster
and cleaner global rule. The middle class as a whole sucks up to power, they have done so
always historically.
In all, the world goes well, the Chinese are ahead, the Russians and most independant
power nuclei(Iran, Brasil(fell of the wagon), Turkey, most of Asia), now align themselves
regarding systemic thinking. Nationalism of course is dead most local elites know this, even
in the US, and probably Putin, the overt advertising to the Russians just a decoy. Sunny
Islam has no rational stategy, and in the short term, bets everything on breeding.
Consumerism(dead man walking), has truly dumbed down the masses globally, regarless of
other factors. It has been the biggest success of capitalism Western style. Again the world
goes well for having global rule act more decisively, where it matters, to step up local
experiments into global strategy, in the long term.
The main problem to be addressed, since it affects all other burning issues, as ecological
toxicity, and on, by reinforcing these positive tendencies. One single person less, has at
least a fifty percent larger impact than any other measure of redress on survival of the
human race per individual. The local experiments of global attitudes hopefully are a start to
smarter elites behaviour. Our elites have failed for a long time now, anything progress has
been a detour to decay and sludge, and timeliness is pressing.
I think you mean 77th Brigade (a propaganda and psi ops unit).
The 77th Regiment were the East Middlesex -- and were disbanded in 1881.
BTW, the 77th Brigade takes its number from the Chindits -- Orde Wingate's Indian Army
special operations unit, who carried out deep penetration raids against the Japanese in
Burma.
Wingate was a rather fanatical Zionist and helped set-up the Haganah, the precedecessors
of the IDF.
My inclination has been to believe the Russian side from quite early on, mostly on the basis
that the claimed US targeting spread simply doesn't seem credible. To aim 76 missiles and
guided bombs at the Barzeh "complex" seems ludicrous overkill, for a small group of basically
civilian buildings that once were part of the chemical weapons program but according to
recent OPCW inspections are no longer in use as such. The spread suggested by the Russians,
on the other hand, seems much more credible for a punitive strike, especially if you assume
the US did not expect Syrian only defences to work effectively and thus did not plan for much
redundancy.
As this becomes more widely accepted, it makes the US action in Syria much less of a
defeat for Russia (because they had to stand by and watch their ally get pummelled) and much
closer to something that is actually a win for Russia and an embarrassment for the US. It all
helps to push the credibility of Russian air defences to still higher levels.
If the Russian government goes through with the suggested plan to deliver the promised
S300 systems to Syria in response, then this will have been a major defeat for those behind
this shameful incident and this shameful war -- primarily the Israelis and US Israeli lobby,
along with the Saudis. Doing so would be the absolute best way to make those behind the
attack grind their teeth in frustration, so hopefully Russia will go through with it this
time rather than coming to some "compromise" with Israel.
At some point, Russia needs to end the impunity Israel has to strike at Syria at will, and
to declare an exclusion zone over the whole of Syria for all un-invited foreign air forces
(ideally this would include a deal with Lebanon to allow that country also to exclude Israeli
air operations from its own airspace). The need to rebuild Syria is endlessly hampered by
regular attacks and the threat of them. Once the recovery of territory on the ground is
complete or nearly so, the best way to do this would seem to be to first make the Syrian air
defences, backed up by Russian forces in extremis, strong enough for the task. Then to
authorise the Syrians to retaliate to Israeli strikes on a tit for tat basis with missile
attacks on Israeli territory. Then to announce a full exclusion of US and other intruding air
forces, perhaps in conjunction with an offensive to recover territories in the east after
Idlib has been settled.
Imo this is what the Russians need to do if they are to bring the Syrian matter to a
successful conclusion, but it will mean some more tense confrontations with the various US
sphere forces.
Mr. Lang sounds like Mr. Buchanan in his latest piece published here: someone who considers
himself dissident, but who thoughtlessly accepts that his Uncle Sam is the good guy.
The article, especially this paragraph
"The US has been committed to global war for seventeen years. This has been a special kind
of war waged against Islamist guerrillas and terrorists worldwide. Such a war often demands
equipment quite different from that used against states, especially a peer state. In that
context relatively scarce funds have not been devoted to product improvement on things like
TLAM (Tomahawk). Instead the funds available have been devoted to UAVs (drones) and the
incredible costs of large ground forces in the absence of conscription. The Obama
Administration liked to use the armed forces but did not think of them with anything like the
high priority it gave to its social programs. The resulting sequester of defense funding
played a role in the decline of US equipment efficacy against that of the Russians. There
will be a change in that funding."
begs some questions:
1. Does Mr. Lang support the attack on the alleged "Syrian government chemical warfare
connected sites"? He sounds like he does. But why?
2. Does Mr. Lang support US military conscription? He sounds like he does. But why?
3. Does Mr. Lang believe that more money should be spent on US military equipment like
Tomahawk missiles for use against the government forces of Syria and Russia? He sounds like
he does. But why?
I also wonder why Mr. Unz sees this new author as "interesting, important, and
controversial," with a "perspectiv[e] largely excluded from the American mainstream
media."
and for Eva Bartlett's on-the-scenes coverage of White Helmets activities in Syria.
Is the Trump Administration/DoS trying to gaslight us?
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert yesterday: we "are very grateful for all
the work the White Helmets continue to do.. on behalf of the US government and coalition
forces.. I just exchanged emails with them the other day peoples bills are still being
paid..'
Maybe there is another possibility.
Merely speculating.
Mr. Trump claims he sent 100 plus missiles to impress whoever he needs to impress. They are
satisfied. He looks tough.But he sends in only 20.
The Russians claim he sent in 100 and they nullified 2/3. They look good.
If 2/3 of 100 were nullified, should there not be more random craters with missile remnants
or duds recovered by the Syrians?
Why would you want our missiles to work against the Russians? This debacle has given us at
least another six months of relative peace. The SAA can now continue clearing out jihadist in
the East. FUKUS won't try again after making some adjustments to harden the electronics, but
that will take some time. The only other option would be an overwhelming attack, winning
through sheer numbers, but in that case the Russians will certainly counterattack, & I
don't think CENTCOM wants to find out first hand how effective Russian offensive missiles
systems are.
Note: If I were to guess, the Tomahawk attack was almost completely neutralized. It was
the B-1, firing at relatively close range, that scored the hit on the "chemical weapons
complex." This is why the Russians are sending the S-300 to Damascus.
If Russia declared Syria an exclusion zone Israel would call that bluff within
weeks.
Presumably it wouldn't be a bluff, and presumably the need for it not to be a bluff is why
the Russians haven't done it yet.
In that theater of operations the Israelis would absolutely massacre the Russian
presence and any reinforcements. Israel would easily take apart any integrated air defense
system and accompanying ground units the Russians could employ by combined commando raid,
ground incursion and air/missile strikes.
This appears to be pure fantasy.
Regardless, Israel isn't going to go to war with Russia merely to defend its freedom to
attack Syria any time it wants. For all the wailing by Israel advocates, it just isn't that
important to them. So long as they can get away with it, they'll do it. When they are forced
to stop, they'll stop.
I believe if Israel sees its existence threatened it will act decisively.
Israel's existence is not meaningfully threatened by the loss of their ability to launch
illegal attacks on Syria at will. The idea that it is, is a lie put about by the Israel lobby
to rationalise and justify its actions.
Is the Trump Administration/DoS trying to gaslight us?
LOL. Why, yes, now that you mention it. Quelle surprise , eh?
The "attack" on Syria had two purposes: a saving of face, and a disposal of old
ordnance.
I suspect that only Israel had any real interest in saving the face of their hired
boogeyman. Trump being a flunky of Israeli, he did what he had to do.
Old ordnance or semi-0ld, revenue must be generated for the MI-complex. The bigger it
grows, the more maintenance it requires. Disposal of old weaponry is just a form of cashflow.
The wealthy and powerful insist on remaining wealthy and powerful. Your money is required to
maintain that wealth and power. You will surrender your money to the powerful, or you will
die. A simple equation.
New air defense systems will soon be delivered to Damascus
the Syrian Defense Ministry "analyzed in detail" the results of the missile attack of
the United States and its allies.
"Based on it, a number of changes have already been introduced into the air defense
system of the country, which will further increase its reliability ," Rudskoy said.
While the air defense systems were not named, it is widely believed to be the S-300
system.
The latest Syria bombing: tactically irrelevant, it showed the foundation of the
F.UK.US-Israel empire, air power, ineffective and was a major strategic defeat.
BBC took on Vannessa Beeley recently, too. Will NYT and WaPo be next? The anti-Russia agenda
continues along with the anti-truth-in-Syria agenda.
AriusAmerican 5
During the Bush II fiasco, there were anti-war protests. The protests disappeared after
Obama took office. And he was given a Nobel Peace Prize for talking about peace. But everyone
went along with Obama's wars. No protests. And that's how they like it. They want support and
tend to get it from the MSM and party lackeys. And if they don't get support, the one thing
they don't want are massive protests, calls to congress, etc. As long as there's little to no
resistance their war agenda continues.
PS
The HuffPoUK article tears into Beeley but at the bottom has a Russian submission to the
Security Council of a report she did of the White Helmets. That report negates the
article/story! HuffPoUK claims this is part two of a series and that part three will "look at
evidence presented against the White Helmets." That should be interesting.
The October 2016 dinner invite was delivered to Waters by a representative for the Corniche
Group, an international holding company belonging to the family of the London-based Saudi
billionaire Hani Farsi. Farsi was seeking Waters' presence at a fundraising dinner he had
organized on behalf of The Syria Campaign.
Beeley and others are getting the same sort of treatment that Alan Winnington and Wilfred
Burchett- both of whom had their passports revoked, by respectively the British and
Australian government.
Winnington told the truth about the Korean war in the Communist Daily Worker while Burchett,
beginning with his reports of Hiroshima, which told the truth about nuclear bombs, later
repeated the offence in Korea and Vietnam.
Their names will be remembered long after the last bits of jewelry and expensive furnishings
have been auctioned off from the homes of the whores who work for the bourgeoisie.
Here is a video of someone who was in Aleppo documenting events at the fall of Allepo, and is
also discussing the White Helmets issue on the Jimmy Dore Show
"... RT's Arabic service also tracked down an 11-year old boy filmed in the "attack," and found him in completely good health and able to answer questions of the RT reporter. He told her he was with his mother when they were urged to enter the clinic. "We were outside," the boy said, and they told all of us to go into the hospital. I was immediately taken upstairs, and they started pouring water on me." ..."
"... US still paying White Helmets despite $200mn-aid freeze for Syria recovery, State Dept. confirms | 20 April 2018 ..."
"... This shit just keeps getting deeper, and so many questions to ask, but the main question is why would Trump ever believe any intelligence agency was telling him the truth? The last time I looked, it was the intelligence agencies that lied, leaked, and this time set Trump up. ..."
The celebrated White Helmets of Oscar
fame appeared to have made their own feature film in Duma on the night of the alleged chemical
attack...
At the center of the controversy over an alleged chemical attack in the Damascus suburb
of Duma on April 7 are the White Helmets, a self-described rescue operation about whom an
Oscar-winning documentary was made.
Reporter and author Max Blumenthal has
tracked
the
role of the White Helmets in the Syrian conflict. He reported that the White Helmets were created
in Turkey by James Le Mesurier, a former British MI5 agent. The group has received at least $55
million from the British Foreign Office and $23 million from the U.S. Agency for International
Development as well as millions from the Kingdom of Qatar, which has backed a variety of extremist
groups in Syria including Al Qaeda.
Blumenthal writes,
"When Defense Secretary James Mattis
cited
'social
media' in place of scientific evidence of a chemical attack in Duma, he was referring to video shot
by members of the White Helmets.
Similarly, when State Department spokesperson Heather
Nauert sought to explain why the US bombed Syria before inspectors from the OPCW could produce a
report from the ground, she
claimed
,
'We have our own intelligence.' With little else to offer, she was likely referring to social media
material published by members of the White Helmets.
"
The reference to social media as evidence in the most serious decision a leader can make -- to
engage in an act of war -- is part of a disturbing trend. Then Secretary of State John Kerry pointed
to "social media" as evidence of the Syrian government's guilt in a 2013 chemical attack in the
same Damascus suburb. But as Robert Parry, the late founder and editor of this site,
pointed
out
in numerous reports, Syrian government guilt was far from a sure thing.
Rather than wait for the arrival of a team of experts from the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to assess whether chemicals had even used in this latest incident,
Trump gave the order to bomb.
Gas!
The possible role of the White Helmets in the latest alleged chemical attack was first
revealed by veteran Middle East reporter Robert Fisk,
writing for
The Independent
.
In "The Search for Truth in the Rubble of Douma-And One Doctor's Doubts Over the Chemical
Attacks," Fisk
reported
that
he tracked down 58-year-old Syrian doctor Assim Rahaibani.
A White Helmet (Photo: whitehelmets.org)l
The doctor told Fisk that he learned from fellow physicians who were on duty at the clinic the
night of the attack. Rahaibani said patients were brought in by "jihadi gunmen of Jaish el-Islam
[the Army of Islam]" in Duma and that
the patients appeared to be "overcome not by gas
but by oxygen starvation in the rubbish-filled tunnels and basements in which they lived, on a
night of wind and heavy shelling that stirred up a dust storm."
Rahaibani told Fisk,
"I was with my family in the basement of my home three hundred metres
from here on the night but all the doctors know what happened. There was a lot of shelling [by
government forces] and aircraft were always over Duma at night – but on this night, there was wind
and huge dust clouds began to come into the basements and cellars where people lived.
People began to arrive here suffering from hypoxia, oxygen loss."
Rahaibani continued:
"Then someone at the door, a 'White Helmet,' shouted 'Gas!', and a panic began.
People started throwing water over each other. Yes, the video was filmed here, it is genuine,
but what you see are people suffering from hypoxia – not gas poisoning."
Fisk writes that,
"
There are the many people I talked to amid the ruins of the town
who said they had 'never believed in' gas stories – which were usually put about, they claimed, by
the armed Islamist groups.
These particular jihadis survived under a blizzard of shellfire
by living in other's people's homes and in vast, wide tunnels with underground roads carved through
the living rock by prisoners with pick-axes on three levels beneath the town. I walked through
three of them yesterday, vast corridors of living rock which still contained Russian – yes, Russian
– rockets and burned-out cars."
Significantly,
Fisk reported that locals told him that White Helmets left with jihadists
bused out of Duma in a deal made with the Syrian government and Russia, which provided security for
the transfer.
Other Reports
Other reporters have corroborated what Fisk found. Reporter Pearson Sharp of One America News, a
conservative Christian TV network and supporter of President Trump,
interviewed
doctors
and witnesses at the clinic.
They also said there was no chemical attack and that strangers
came into the clinic and shouted "Gas!" and filmed the reaction.
RT's Arabic service also tracked down an 11-year old boy filmed in the "attack," and found him
in completely good health and able to
answer
questions
of the RT reporter. He told her he was with his mother when they were urged to enter
the clinic.
"We were outside," the boy said, and they told all of us to go into the
hospital. I was immediately taken upstairs, and they started pouring water on me."
* * *
Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army/Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. She was
also a US diplomat and was in US Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. She resigned from the US government in March
2003 in opposition to the lies the Bush administration was stating as the rationale for the
invasion, occupation and destruction of Iraq. She is the co-author of "Dissent: Voices of
Conscience."
Tags
Politics
The director of the OPCW, Ahmet Uzumcu, a former career
diplomat with the Turk foreign ministry – a former Turk
ambassador to the Zionist Apartheid State (7-28-1999 to
6-30-2002). He was also, amazingly, Turkey's former
representative to NATO. Being a Turk with qualifications like
this would make anyone suspect that his credibility was fragile
to nil.
This shit just keeps getting deeper, and so many questions to ask, but the
main question is why would Trump ever believe any intelligence agency was
telling him the truth? The last time I looked, it was the intelligence
agencies that lied, leaked, and this time set Trump up.
Since his son in law enjoys parties out on the Hampton with George
Soros, perhaps ol' George can fill him in and carry the "facts" back to
Trump....first hand. CNN waits.
Trump is a huckster, and is all in for anything related to scamming
Americans and anyone else who would believe what he says or does. It
has nothing to do with 'Intelligence'.
I noticed on the previous alleged gas attack the oppo seemed to look
for the whitest kids possible. I guess they couldn't find enough this
time, but dress them up nice for the cameras lol.
Ha! That's what I was saying before the tomahawk strike... is there a way to
target the white helmets first? Save us from their lies in the future.... I guess
we'll be forced to leave that heavy lifting to Assad and Putin.
"jihadi gunmen of Jaish el-Islam [the Army of Islam]" Galloway posed a question to the British Government and people that
deserves an answer from the likes of their PM.
'Why are we supporting a group that calls itself the Army of Islam?'
Well maybe because they stink on ice and everyone thats pulled their head
out of their ass noticed. Even taken at face values both of these stories
and many others defy basic logic.
That's especially embarrassing since, if this was a staged fake event, the
official experts fell for it or more likely pretending they fell for it.
I'm not sure but MSM might still be pretending to fall for it*.
A good
journalist would be there finding out about the "White Helmets" for
example, who is in charge and by what authority they have being there.
* long list of pretenders includes congress and the dotard.
The possible role of the White Helmets in the latest alleged chemical
attack was first revealed by veteran Middle East reporter Robert Fisk,
writing
for
The Independent
. Actually, Vanessa Beely reported it almost a week
before the honorable Mr. Fisk
"Rogers did not respond to either email, according to journalist Max
Blumenthal, who obtained the messages. Instead of giving the stage to the White
Helmets during his Barcelona concert, Waters denounced the organization.
"The White Helmets is a fake organization that exists only to create
propaganda for jihadists and terrorists.""
RW, despite his Jewish Heritage, has loooooong been outspoken against
Israeli fuckery in Syria, Palestine, Lebanon etc etc
Not to the same
scale/degree as Norm Finkelstein, but he's an intellectual and does it for
a living; not that RW's isn't real smart.
Fact is, due to his music he can reach so many more ordinary people.
Shows you how fucking dumb Clooney & his White Helmets are approaching
Waters, oblivious to the fact he's been calling out Zionists/Others for
decades.
We need more great people like him in the struggle.
In no way MSM will drop "Russiagate" theme. They are way too invested in it. Douma attack changes nothing at all, contary to
the author claims.
Notable quotes:
"... the Russian Conspiracy Theory -- rammed down the throats of everyone around the globe since Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States -- has finally been laid to rest. ..."
"... Russia may or may not act, but it is rather unlikely that they will -- at least in the short term -- as the full combined might of the West is still an overwhelming force that no one nation can contend with. Russia knows this, and they are not stupid. But this is not to say that things cannot, nor will not, change in the future. ..."
"... Meanwhile, the chatter of Russian collusion, via the corrupt and dying MSM has petered out, as even those suffering from an extreme case of brainwashing find it hard to comprehend how a puppet can so easily slap its master across the face and get away with it. ..."
"... If President Trump was truly a puppet of Vladimir Putin -- or at least once was -- then parties in the know would have promptly released the evidence, destroying Trump in the process. The reason why it hasn't happened is simply because the evidence doesn't exist. ..."
"... Hilariously, it is the MSM who cry wolf about fake news and conspiracy theories, while at the same time, pushing their own half-truths, fake news and conspiracy theories. ..."
"... It is sad to see how far the "guardians of the truth" have fallen and how decadent the MSM has become. They are so greedy and corrupt that they have pushed us towards a path that places the West on the precipice of war with a global, nuclear power. ..."
"... The Demorats need impeachment to fire up their base and get their cash. They filed a lawsuit to generate propaganda points for the MSM to wallow in. ..."
"... The Main Stain Media are still pushing the Russia Narrative every chance they get, as a side show now, a little jab here a little jab there not really attached to anything. ..."
But the Russian Conspiracy Theory -- rammed down the throats of everyone around the globe
since Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States -- has finally been laid
to rest.
With a resounding boom as the missiles landed in Syria, the hopes and dreams of the MSM
proving that President Trump is simply a Russian puppet were shattered in one swift tactical
strike.These strikes came at a great risk, as they hit key Syrian assets -- assets that President
Putin and his Russian forces vowed to protect. Acting together
with its joint allies , Britain and France, the United States struck out against Syria for
what the Western Intelligence community claims were chemical attacks against the Syrian
civilian population, orchestrated by its own government.
Whether or not these claims are true is debatable (and highly suspect) but regardless, the
chips have fallen, and we are now in a precarious position as the West once again plunges
itself, ham-fisted, back into the cold war era.
Russian leaders have vowed that there will be consequences for these acts against an ally
they have sworn to protect. Yet to this date, no retaliation has seemed to occur.
Russia may or may not act, but it is rather unlikely that they will -- at least in the short
term -- as the full combined might of the West is still an overwhelming force that no one
nation can contend with. Russia knows this, and they are not stupid. But this is not to say
that things cannot, nor will not, change in the future.
Still, this has come at a cost. Russia has once again been forced into further isolation, as
its Western peers condemn their actions and threaten them with even more trade sanctions.
Pushed to the point of desperation, who knows what actions they will take in the coming
years?
Meanwhile, the chatter of Russian collusion, via the corrupt and dying MSM has petered out,
as even those suffering from an extreme case of brainwashing find it hard to comprehend how a
puppet can so easily slap its master across the face and get away with it.
If President Trump was truly a puppet of Vladimir Putin -- or at least once was -- then
parties in the know would have promptly released the evidence, destroying Trump in the process.
The reason why it hasn't happened is simply because the evidence doesn't exist.
Hilariously, it is the MSM who cry wolf about fake news and conspiracy theories, while at
the same time, pushing their own half-truths, fake news and conspiracy theories.
It is sad to see how far the "guardians of the truth" have fallen and how decadent the MSM
has become. They are so greedy and corrupt that they have pushed us towards a path that places
the West on the precipice of war with a global, nuclear power.
The final nail in the Russian collusion coffin has been put in place, but at what cost?
A dumb article: The Russians have not vowed anything. As Lavrov has stated publicly, "there will be consequences" is a
factual observation, not a vow to revenge anything. Revenge does not help. It is not the way Putin thinks -- Putin thinks in
terms of interests and the trade off between risks/costs and benefits.
"With 4 indictments, 2 guilty pleas, not sure how anyone thinks it's over. AS for the Syria attack. . . "
Four indictments that have NOTHING to do with Trump colluding with Russia and are SOLEY upon the people indicted. Two
guilty pleas for "lying" which your side is advocating that lying is no longer an issue we should care about.
AS FOR SYRIA: Interesting you put the Syria strike on Putin when it was obviously led by Britain and France or are we now
to believe they along with Trump are Putin puppets too? However, you do seem to be FINALLY admitting your "NGO"'s are nothing
but state sponsored shams intent on manipulating the world wide masses to believe their propaganda. After all it was YOUR
people who claimed there was a supposed chemical attack and demanded retaliation.
Keep spinning in circles, as the dog who chases his tail is in a world all of his own making.
Reaper • Sat, 04/21/2018 - 09:58 Permalink
BS. The neo-cons know the strike was deliberately ineffective. The Demorats need impeachment to fire up their base and
get their cash. They filed a lawsuit to generate propaganda points for the MSM to wallow in.
JailBanksters • Sat, 04/21/2018 - 09:59 Permalink
The Main Stain Media are still pushing the Russia Narrative every chance they get, as a side show now, a little jab
here a little jab there not really attached to anything.
We haven't seen anything like this since the Russians were accused of hacking the Federal Election, over to you Bob.
Well that's right Jim, and now for something completely different.
"... This popular question completely misses the point. The US attack on Syria is a clear and indisputable war crime against a sovereign country regardless of whether Syria used a chemical weapon in driving the Washington supported terrorists from Douma. ..."
"... It is unlikely that the UN Security Council will condemn Washington, which pays 25% of the UN's budget. Moreover, the Security Council is loaded up with Washington's vassals, and they will not vote to censure their liegelord. ..."
"... Putin is wasting his time taking the matter to the Security Council, unless his purpose is to prove that every Western institution is completely corrupt. ..."
"... During the entirety of the Cold War no US ambassador to the UN spoke aggressively and disrespectfully to the Soviet representative as Nikki Haley speaks to the Russian ambassador. During the Cold War no American president would have tolerated Nikki Haley. The crazed bitch would have instantly been fired. ..."
"... Until Washington is effectively resisted, Washington's European vassals, the UN Security Council and the OPCW will stand with Washington. ..."
Many, including Russia's President Putin, have asked why the US launched an illegal attack on Syria prior to the chemical weapons
inspectors examining the site of the alleged chemical attack.
This popular question completely misses the point. The US attack on Syria is a clear and indisputable war crime against a
sovereign country regardless of whether Syria used a chemical weapon in driving the Washington supported terrorists from Douma.
No one acted to stop Washington's war crime. Some of Washington's vassals, such as Germany and Italy, refused to participate in Washington's
war crime, but no one attempted to block it. The impotent UN Security Council, to which Russia is wasting its time appealing, the
EU, NATO, Russia and China themselves did nothing to stop Washington's Nazi era war crime.
Russia said that if Washington's attack harmed its citizens, there would be military consequences, but Russia did not protect
its ally Syria from the attack.
Perhaps it doesn't matter as Washington's attack was carefully conducted so as to have no effect except to serve as a face-saver
for Trump. Apparently no one was killed and no damage was done to anything real except to a facility in which anti-venom for snake
bites was being produced.
On the other hand, it does matter, because of the perception that the American presstitutes have created that it was a great victory
for America over the evil Syrian government and the evil Russian government that supports them. This perception, which the presstitutes
have created with their fake news, justifies the war crime and will lead to more attacks on Syria.
It is unlikely that the UN Security Council will condemn Washington, which pays 25% of the UN's budget. Moreover, the Security
Council is loaded up with Washington's vassals, and they will not vote to censure their liegelord.
Putin is wasting his time taking the matter to the Security Council, unless his purpose is to prove that every Western institution
is completely corrupt. As most informed people already know this, I don't understand the point of proving the known. Putin should
read Eric Zuesse's article before he puts too much faith in the UN.
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/04/17/how-us-has-virtually-destroyed-un.html
As I have written on a number of occasions, I admire Putin's Christian character of sidestepping the beatings he continuously
takes from Washington in order to save the world from the massive deaths of a world war. The problem is that by turning the other
cheek, Putin encourages more aggression from Washington. Putin is dealing with neoconservative psychopaths. He is not dealing with
common sense.
During the entirety of the Cold War no US ambassador to the UN spoke aggressively and disrespectfully to the Soviet representative
as Nikki Haley speaks to the Russian ambassador. During the Cold War no American president would have tolerated Nikki Haley. The
crazed bitch would have instantly been fired.
The Russian government is captured by delusion if the Russians believe that the US government, in which Nikki Haley is Trump's
choice to be America's spokesperson to the world, in which the crazed neoconservative war monger John Bolton is a principal influence
over US military and foreign policy, and in which the President himself is under threat of indictment for wanting to normalize relations
with Russia, has any prospect of avoiding war.
The best chance of preventing the oncoming war is Russian-Chinese-Iranian unity and a defeat for American arms in a regional context
not worth the Washington psychopaths launching of nuclear weapons. Until Washington is effectively resisted, Washington's European
vassals, the UN Security Council and the OPCW will stand with Washington. Once Washington experiences a defeat, NATO will dissolve
and with this dissolution Washington's ability to threaten other countries will lose its cover and evaporate.
Amazingly BBC newsnight just started preparing viewers for the possibility that there was no
sarin attack, and the missile strikes might just have been for show, i plying Trump did it
for political reasons. Narrative changing a bit.
#Germany's state media senior correspondent (who is in Damascus right now & also visited
Douma) on primetime evening news on German television: "#Douma chemical attack is most likely
staged. A great many people here seem very convinced."
I too hope he will return soon, he seems to be one of the last sane voices of the msm.
Hopefully high viewer rates help to bring him back, but he wouldn't be the first one to
vanish from the screen, despite high ratings.
"... It is perfectly possible that the British government manufactured the whole Salisbury thing. We are capable of just as much despicable behavior and murder as the next. ..."
"... Tucker Carlson of Fox News has it nailed down.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M28aYkLRlm0 ..."
"... This "civil war" has been nothing but a war for Syrian resources waged by western proxies. ..."
"... So now, In desperation borne out of their impending defeat, the imperialists have staged a chemical attack in a last throw of the dice to gain popular support for an escalation in military intervention. Like military interventions of the past, it is being justified in the name of humanitarian intervention. ..."
Why is the prime minister of the United Kinkdom on the phone discussing whether or not to bomb a Sovereign country with the highly
unstable, Donald Trump?
Can she not make up her own mind? Either she thinks it's the right thing to do or it isn't. Hopefully,
the person on the other end of the phone was not Trump but someone with at least half a brain.
Proof, let's have some proof. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so. Russia is saying it's all a put up job, show us your
facts. We are saying, don't be silly, we're British and besides, you may have done this sort of thing before.
It is perfectly possible that the British government manufactured the whole Salisbury thing. We are capable of just as
much despicable behavior and murder as the next.
Part of the Great British act's of bravery and heroism in the second world war is the part played by women agents who were
parachuted into France and helped organize local resistance groups. Odette Hallowes, Noor Inayat Khan and Violette Szabo are just
a few of the many names but they are the best known. What is not generally know is that many agents when undergoing their training
in the UK, were given information about the 'D' day landings, the approx time and place. They were then dropped into France into
the hands of the waiting German army who captured and tortured and often executed them.
The double agent, who Winston Churchill met and fully approved of the plan was Henri Dericourt, an officer in the German army
and our man on the ground in France. Dericourt organized the time and place for the drop off of the incoming agents, then told
the Germans. The information about the 'D' day invasion time and place was false. The British fed the agents (only a small number)
into German hands knowing they would be captured and the false information tortured out of them.
Source :- 'A Quiet Courage' Liane Jones.
It's a tough old world and we are certainly capable of a Salisbury set-up and god knows what else in Syria.
From The Guardian articles today that I have read on Syria, it makes absolutely clear that if you in any way question the narrative
forwarded here, that you are a stupid conspiracy theorist in line with Richard Spencer and other far-right, American nutcases.
A more traditional form of argument to incline people to their way of thinking would be facts. But social pressure to conform
and not be a conspiratorial idiot in line with the far-right obviously work better for most of their readers. My only surprise
it that position hasn't been linked with Brexit.
Did anyone see the massive canister that was shown on TV repeatedly that was supposed to have been air-dropped and smashed through
the window of a house, landed on a bed and failed to go off.
The bed was in remarkable condition with just a few ruffled bedclothes considering it had been hit with a metal object weighing
god knows what and dropped from a great height.
"More than 40 years after the US sprayed millions of litres of chemical agents to defoliate"
The Defoliant Agent Orange was used to kill jungles, resulting in light getting through to the dark jungle floors & a massive
amount of low bush regrowing, making the finding of Vietcong fighters even harder!
It was sprayed even on American troops, it is a horrible stuff. Still compared to Chlorine poison gas, let alone nerve gases,
it is much less terrible. Though the long term effects are pretty horrible.
Who needs facts when you've got opinions? Non more hypocritical than the British. Its what you get when you lie and distort though
a willing press, you get found out and then nobody believes anything you say.anymore. The white helmets are a western funded and
founded organisation, they are NOT independent they are NOT volunteers, The UK the US and the Dutch fund them to the tune of over
$40 million. They are a propaganda dispensing outlet. The press shouldn't report anything they release because it is utterly unable
to substantiate ANY of it, there hasn't been a western journalist in these areas for over 4 years so why do the press expect us
to believe anything they print? Combine this with the worst and most incompetent Govt this country has seen for decades and all
you have is a massive distraction from massive domestic troubles which the same govt has no answers too.
""I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes," [Winston Churchill] declared in one secret memorandum."
The current condemnation by the international community and international law is good and needs enforcement. But no virtue
signalling where there is none.
But we're still awaiting evidence that a chemical attack has been carried out in Douma, aren't we? And if an attack was carried
out, by whom. But before these essential points are verified, you feel that a targeted military response is justified. Are you
equally keen for some targeted military response for the use of chemical weapons, namely white phosphorus, in Palestine by the
Israaeli military? Unlike Douma, the use of these chemical weapons in the occupied territories by the IDF's personnel is well
documented. But we haven't attacked them yet. Funny that.
Instead of "chemicals" why not just firebomb them - you know like we did to entire cities full of women and children in WW2?
Hamburg 27 July 1943 - 46,000 civilians killed in a firestorm
Kassel 22 October 1943 - 9,000 civilians killed 24,000 houses destroyed in a firestorm
Darmstadt 11 September 1944 - 8,000 civilians killed in a firestorm
Dresden 13/14th February - 25,000 civilians killed in a firestorm
Obviously we were fighting Nazism and hadn't actually been invaded - and he is fighting Wahhabism and has had major cities
overrun...
Maybe if Assad burnt people to death rather than gassing them we would make a statue of him outside Westminster like the one
of Bomber Harris?
Remember the tearful Kuwaiti nurse with her heartrending story of Iraqi troops tipping premature babies out of their incubators
after the invasion in 1990? The story was published in pretty much every major Western newspaper, massively increased public support
for military intervention............................and turned out to be total bullshit.
Is it too much too ask that we try a bit of collective critical thinking and wait for hard evidence before blundering into
a military conflict with Assad; and potentially Putin?
Well, this is the sort of stuff that the Israelis would be gagging for. They want Assad neutralised and they are assisting ISIS
terrorists on the Golan Heights. They tend to their wounded and send them back across the border to fight Assad. What better than
to drag the Americans, Brits and French into the ring to finish him off. Job done eh?
Are you sure you are not promoting an Israeli agenda here Jonathan?
Incidentantally what did we in the west do when the Iraqis were gassing the Iranians with nerve agents in the marshes of southern
Iraq during the Iran Iraq War? Did we intervene then? No, we didn't we allowed it to happen.
Come on frip, you have to admit there was absolutely no motive for Assad's forces to carry out this attack. Why do you think the
Guardian and other main stream media outlets are not even considering the possibility the Jihadi rebels staged it to trigger western
intervention? I know, I know.. it's all evil Assad killing his own people for no other reason than he likes butchering people...
blah blah. The regime change agenda against Syria has been derailed, no amount of false flag attacks can change the facts on the
ground.
More than 40 years after the US sprayed millions of litres of chemical agents to defoliate vast swathes of Vietnam and in the
full knowledge it would be have a catastrophic effect on the health of the inhabitants of those area, Vietnam has by far the highest
incidence of liver cancer on the planet.
Then more recently we have the deadly depleted uranium from US shells that innocent Iraqis are inhaling as shrill voices denounce
Assad.
The Syrian people are heroically resisting and defeating western imperialism. This "civil war" has been nothing but a war
for Syrian resources waged by western proxies.
So now, In desperation borne out of their impending defeat, the imperialists have staged a chemical attack in a last throw
of the dice to gain popular support for an escalation in military intervention. Like military interventions of the past, it is
being justified in the name of humanitarian intervention.
But if we have a brief browse of history we can see that US & UK governments have brought only death, misery and destruction
on the populations it was supposedly helping. Hands off Syria.
Further points about the White Helmets and East Ghouta.
The White Helmets claim to support all Syrian people although when Jaish al-Islam
surrendered to the SAG and were exiled to northern Aleppo (or where ever), all the White
Helmets fled with Jaish al-Islam. I've always thought that volunteer first responders were
honor-bound to stay with the people they support so the White Helmets are really there to
support terrorists like Jaish al-Islam. As that fat f**k, victor of East Aleppo and
high-ranking terrorist official, Sheikh Abdullah al-Muhaysini, said "the White Helmets are
the civil defence of the mujahadeen" and only the the mujahadeen.
There have been stories in the western media claiming that the doctors in Douma who had
the balls to stay behind with their patients (unlike the ball-less White Helmets) and were
denying the attack involved chemical weapons were intimidated by the regime - not something
the reporters actually in Douma seemed to detect, which suggest that people on the ground in
terrorist-controlled areas felt some degree of safety with the Syrian government, enough at
least to risk their lives.
Looking back at Aleppo only about 65% of the local population stayed behind to go under
government control, while in East Ghouta it seems that 80% of the local population stayed
behind to go under government control even those who fled a while back to
government-controlled areas. It looks like the Syrian government really has turned the corner
with its real "heart and minds" approach.
It looks more and more that everything was staged and everything was controlled by Western
intelligence agencies with the specific goal.
Notable quotes:
"... That kind of reminds me of when Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress were explaining how to get rid of Saddam without plunging Iraq into mayhem and destabilising the wider region. ..."
"... If the price of selling arms to Saudi Arabia is having to stage nerve agent attacks in the UK and in Syria, one has to ask: Is it really worth it? ..."
Read Robert Fisk in the Independent. He, as always, has nailed it. The Brits and the US have
no authority to take action with their past record of use of Chemical and Atomic weapons.
The Syrian Negotiation Commission has called for action to deter Assad from killing
civilians. What they envisage is that each time Assad launches a deadly attack on
noncombatants, allied forces reply by taking out one of the strategic assets he uses to
kill civilians. It could be an airfield, it could be a command centre. If the target were
aircraft, that would simultaneously inflict a cost on the regime and deprive it of the
means of dropping its barrel bombs and toxic, yellow cylinders. The objective would be to
make Assad pay a price for killing his own people, a price he has not paid until now.
Eventually, or so runs the hope, he would be deterred.
That kind of reminds me of when Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress were
explaining how to get rid of Saddam without plunging Iraq into mayhem and destabilising the
wider region.
The UK andcFrance bares a heavy responsibility for the current situation in Syria. The
cavalier attitude that the ConDems took to international law during the Arab spring
encouraged the Saudi s and their proxies to distablise the recognised Govt. Assad is no
paragon of virtue, but prior to the insurgency steps were in place to make the country a
better place for its citizens, and whilst its true poltical dissent was not allowed, people
could live their lives and go about their business in safety.
In an interview on BBC 1 on 8 February 2004, UN Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix accused the US
and British governments of dramatizing the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, in
order to strengthen the case for the 2003 war against the government of Saddam Hussein.
Ultimately, no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were ever found.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Blix said, "I have my detractors in
Washington. There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things
in the media."
[ It is interesting to note that Allan Ramsay likewise deplored "a friendly alliance
between the camp and the counting-house" for exactly the same reasons (Letters on the Present
Disturbances, p.34). Ramsay maintained that of the evil consequences of such alliance "the
two last wars carried on by England against France and Spain, furnish a most melancholy
illustration. To obtain the sole and exclusive commerce of the western world, in which the
French and Spaniards were their rivals, was the modest wish of our merchants, in conjunction
with our Americans. The fair, and truly commercial, method of effecting this would have been,
by superior skill, industry and frugality, to have undersold their rivals at market: but that
method appearing slow and troublesome to a luxurious people, whose extraordinary expences*
required extraordinary profits, a more expeditous one was devised; which was that of driving
their rivals entirely out of the seas, and preventing them from bringing their goods at all
to market. For this purpose, not having any fleets or armies of their own, the powers of the
State were found necessary, and they applied them accordingly" (ibid., pp.32 f.).
Knorr, K. E. 'Ch02-Part2 British Colonial Theories 1570-1850'. In British Colonial
Theories, 1570-1850. The University of Toronto Press, 1944. ]
Sacrificing women and children to achieve nefarious goals such as preparing the ground for
invasion dictated by economic or geopolitical interests is a typical Western intelligence agencies
plot.
The notion of inaction, of standing by and watching as Assad kills and kills and kills,
racking up a death toll in Syria of 500,000
On May 12, 1996, Madeleine Albright defended UN sanctions against Iraq on a 60 Minutes
segment in which Lesley Stahl asked her "We have heard that half a million children have
died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth
it?" and Albright replied, "We think the price is worth it."'
Sure, here's the UN OPCW investigation report which directly blames the Assad forces for
chemical attacks. Take as much time as you need.
https://undocs.org/S/2016/738
I couldn't find the paragraph which directly blames Assad's forces.
I note it does refer (at para 44) to Assad's allegation that a video had been staged. It
concludes that the patients on the video "appear relatively unaffected by the typical
symptoms.
No red eyes, tearing, paleness, sweating, cyanosis or breathing difficulties can be
observed from the footage. The patients interviewed in the video show little or no signs of
having been exposed to a toxic chemical".
"Charities"? Lol. I'll bet money nearly all of those 'charities' are actually PR fronts for
thuggish Islamist rebels.
A bit like how all the Syrians the Guardian manages to reach for 'skype interviews' are
positively desperate for massive aeriel bombardment of their own country, chastising the west
for not supplying the bearded types with anti-aircraft missiles and even suggesting targets
for American bombs.
I have recently taught two Syrian professionals. Of course Assad is evil, but they tell me
that some of the rebel militias are much more brutal and intolerant than Assad and if they
win Syria will go the way of Libya.
They also told me (which shocked me somewhat) that the
White Helmets tend to be hard line Islamists and send out propaganda videos which Western
media fail to question thoroughly.
"... The "Mannequin challenge" is regarded by many here as demonstrating that the White Helmets are a black op. but I suspect it was a sophisticated effort to discredit the reporting by Vanessa Beeley of the connections between the White Helmets and Al Qaeda/Al Nusra/HTS that seems to have worked. ..."
When the dust has settled in Syria and people get round to writing their memoirs the White
Helmets will be revealed to be nothing more to the British government than a sophisticated
black propaganda op.
Their name Syrian Civil Defence means that Syria's real civil defence is invisbile and
suggests that the White Helmets are part of an alternative Syrian government.
Their nickname, White Helmets, how can anyone believe they're a black propaganda op?
Their MO, helping people and videoing it even though they seem to only help certain people
and disappear when the video cameras stop running.
That they're involved in certain very dubious acts with the terrorists just suggests how evil
the Syrian government must be to "force" their opponents to behave in this way and allow
their supporters in the West to overlook their murderous brutal nature.
The "Mannequin challenge" is regarded by many here as demonstrating that the White
Helmets are a black op. but I suspect it was a sophisticated effort to discredit the
reporting by Vanessa Beeley of the connections between the White Helmets and Al Qaeda/Al
Nusra/HTS that seems to have worked.
@Ghost Ship 24. Total BS logic and totally slanted commentary. I would expect this level of
'analysis' in Guardian commentary but they don't allow commentary.
The White Helmets are terrorist killers who sometimes put on white helmets and do
propaganda that only ever supports their terrorist faction. They are guilty of direct and
complicit in crimes against humanity and they are fully funded by the UK and USA.
The barbarity of the white helmets is in no way a barometer of how bad Assad is. It is a
barometer of the disgraceful terrorism unleashed by western nations against Syrian people and
its government. The white helmets are a measure of the depraved warmongering of the west,
saudi and israeli governments.
I second b's recommendation to watch the Ikhbariya TV short documentary on the alleged attack
(16 min). Here are 13 doctors and nurses who actually worked at the Douma hospitals at the
time of the alleged attack stating plainly that nothing of the sort happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSrRV-zdNic
I think it is clear the "Chemical attack" did not happen. If you are the Empire you surly
have your operatives securely, and secretly stationed within any "independent" OPCW body,
especially if you intend to use "chemical attack" as your justification to slaughter innocent
people for the interests of the AngloZionist/Wahhabi Empire.
Martin Scorsese could not have done a better job. From the grad seines of men in haz-mat
suits around Surrey to the suffocating children in Duma it could hardly be better
orchestrated.
The Empire only needs 30-35% agreement in the public to be successful and so far they have
at least that.
Who is stalling the investigation.. ..? A much more complex affair than the present
hype and simultaneous denial (different factions) of the Douma 'chem attacks.'
White Helmets are not just masquerades of 'charities' who support the Agressors (US-uk-isr
etc.), yes the WH make these clumsy in ya-face false 'savior' vids and so on as propaganda in
Syria. But they fulfill other functions, the 'theatrical' actions on the ground and the vids
don't justify the expense, which is considerable. Happily I can finally quote ppl more
courageous than myself:
Syria: The Darker Side of the NGO Complex. Preying on Children of Conflict.
Feb 2017, 21st Cent Wire, with V. Beeley. (vid 38 mins.)
The "White Helmets" were supported by murdered British MP Jo Cox . Although apparently
a loyal soldier to the war party, Jo became a nuisance to her leftist intellectual husband
and to the war party, so an assassin was called in and a patsy was arranged.
A few days ago (April 14, @314) Bakerpete kindly linked to an article on blogmire.com which
discusses the famous Karl Rove quote about how they, the actors, create reality and while we
study that reality they have already moved on. A quote from Rob Slane (thank you) from the
article:
"Yet while I'm doing so, the narrative is moving on. I'm falling into exactly the trap
that Karl and his disciples have laid. They want two sorts of people: those who just blindly
accept that it was the Russians wot did it, or that it was Assad wot did it; and those who
spend their time asking questions about the official explanations. The first group call the
second group conspiracy theorists and nutters. The second group call the first group dumb
sheeple. And the Globalist Deep State laughs and laughs and laughs as the two groups battle
it out to make sense of what has happened, leaving it free to march on to create the next
reality. Truly I tell you, these Bolsheviks have learnt their Hegelian Dialectics well."
If Rove has set a trap for us, is it a trap we can get out of or avoid falling into in the
first place? And if so, how? If Karl Rove wants these two sorts of people, who are the people
he doesn't want because I want to be one of them. Do I try to predict their next fucking
move? Instead of waiting for today's zerohedge article to appear with the headline "Will
Armenia Be The Next Victim of Western-backed Regime Change" and thinking I should have
guessed that one, maybe I should have been poring over maps, articles weeks, months ago, and
gleefully coming up with the solution: the next area of conflict will be Armenia. Take that,
Karl Rove. But then what?
Or I could go backwards into history to examine where the real power has always been, how
it is wielded, who exactly has wielded it and for what purposes, in order to come up with
patterns and likelihoods of future behaviours and realities. That road gets lonelier the
further you travel down it, and cold winds there await you.
Jen@115 - "...If that's the case, then wouldn't spraying victims of a chlorine gas attack
with water - the White Helmets' standard first-response catch-all medical treatment - only
make most of their symptoms worse?"
I think the mystery visitors to the Douma clinic were just yelling "Gas attack!" without
specifying chlorine as they started the water-dousing panic. They were not White Helmets.
Flushing skin/hair/eyes with reasonable amounts of water would dilute and wash away any
hydrochloric/hypochlorous acid that it happened to create. Spritzing with a spray bottle
would probably be a bad idea for decontamination.
Jesrad@128 - Eglin is home to the stateside part of CENTCOM and the 4th MISG (formerly
PsyOps). Deception of or otherwise 'shaping the opinions of' the American public is part of
their mission. Whatever they don't do, the DoD and State Department does through their
various propaganda efforts directed at American citizens, who are compelled to pay for that
propaganda. Funding Middle East wars is kind of a self-licking ice-cream cone when PsyOps is
part of the budget. Thus, my endearing love for CENTCOM - the pall bearers of western
democracy.
All - The endless Syrian CW narrative has a much more strategic purpose in case anyone
forgot. Israel - SCUDS - CWs. That's why Libya and Iraq were suppose to be and existential
threat to Israel that justified ANY preemptive protective attack. And that was exactly why
Assad/Syria was suppose to be such a threat to Israel - remember? They can't let the CW
narrative die.
Israel needs to keep its own people terrified of Assad's 'hidden' CW-tipped missiles.
Americans must fully believe Assad has a hidden CW stockpile for use on Israel. That way,
when Israel uses the Assad (or maybe ICRG) CW missile false flag to justify a preemptive,
protective attack (and land grab), Americans will willingly send their sons and daughters to
die in a war against them for Israel. Nobody will even question it in the US. I can see Wolf
Blitzer rolling around under a coffee table in Tel Aviv with his gas mask on backwards and
the air raid sirens wailing in the background. CNN: "Wolf! Wolf... for God's sake... Can
you hear me? Are you OK, Wolf? Any Sarin symptoms yet? DAMN YOU, Gasser Assad!"
Angela Merkel is not stupid - things are way worth than that.
She's got a PhD in physical chemistry, and what's rather mind-boggling in that context is the
fact that her husband Joachim Sauer is a professor of chemistry and one of the worlds
foremost experts in surface chemistry.
In the 2000s this guy was in the top 30 list of the worlds most extinguished chemists - let
that sink in for a second.
The couple Merkel/Sauer knows exactly how to evaluate that so-called evidence, yet... - as I
said the situation is way worse as generally anticipated.
"If, as the terrorist supporters claim, Chlorine was used in the 'chemical attack', the
OSCE investigators are unlikely to find any physical evidence of it. Chlorine dissipates
and leaves no unique traces in the dead body." - B
Does the OPCW have any coroners? I believe it leaves scarring in the lungs
"Chlorine required a concentration of 1,000 parts per million to be fatal, destroying
tissue in the lungs , likely through the formation of hydrochloric acid when
dissolved in the water in the lungs (2Cl2 + 2H2O → 4HCl + O2)"
It has been less than two weeks. There should be bodies available to examine unless Assad
has carted them off to his Crematorium in Damascus where he disposes of his victims in front
of his bust of Adolf Hitler.
Well, to answer the final question, it is indeed possible...
Thanks for the peace very well done B. But here comes more work to do. The NZZ today is
publishing a peace about Belgian firms selling 96 t of Isopropanol to Syria which is
described as precursor substance needed for the manufacturing of Sarin, between 2014 and
'16(Nervengift,
https://www.nzz.ch/international/syrien-belgische-firmen-liefern-stoff-fuer-nervengift-ld.1378789)
insinuating the Assad did this. What do you make out of this? It seems to me this is an
important matter to counter.
"... The Russians are stopping the investigation, the BBC informed me, numerous times. Of course they forgot to mention all the real reasons that the UN want to slow them down. Once the OPCW find nothing, they can say 'those pesky Russians stalled the investigation, so that we wouldn't find evidence'. It's brilliant really. Just like the tired old plots from the movies, the UN need some new story writers. Shabby, stale and predictable, to say the least. ..."
..The joint UN-OPCW team was headed by Guatemalan Edmond Mulet who was presumably
vulnerable to blackmail because he was once active in child trafficking as described
here.
If Edmond Mulet is involve in Douma gas investigation, Syria Arab Republic and Russia
Federation are guilty. Beside a child trafficking he's a fucking anti Dr. Assad.. Pls
read NYT below...
How the Security Council Failed the Syria Chemical Weapons Investigators and
Victims
By Edmond Mulet
Dec. 29, 2017
"....From August 2015 to October 2016, a team of investigators looked into eight cases
of the use of chlorine as a chemical weapon and one case involving the use of sulfur mustard.
Three attacks were attributed to the Syrian government and one to the Islamic State. The
Security Council failed to reach agreement on any consequences for these crimes.
A few weeks after an April 4 sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, which killed
approximately 100 and injured at least 200, I accepted the job to lead the investigative
team....."
This information was posted by Christian Chuba @ 68:
'... Does the OPCW have any coroners? I believe [chlorine gas] leaves scarring in the
lungs
"Chlorine required a concentration of 1,000 parts per million to be fatal, destroying
tissue in the lungs, likely through the formation of hydrochloric acid when dissolved in the
water in the lungs (2Cl2 + 2H2O → 4HCl + O2)" ...'
If that's the case, then wouldn't spraying victims of a chlorine gas attack with water -
the White Helmets' standard first-response catch-all medical treatment - only make most of
their symptoms worse? The eyeballs need irrigation with water but other symptoms must be
treated differently.
Burning pain, redness, and blisters on the skin if exposed to gas. Skin injuries similar
to frostbite can occur if it is exposed to liquid chlorine
Burning sensation in the nose, throat, and eyes
Coughing
Chest tightness
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. These may appear immediately if high
concentrations of chlorine gas are inhaled, or they may be delayed if low concentrations of
chlorine gas are inhaled.
Fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema) that may be delayed for a few hours
"... The first effect of inhalation of chlorine is a burning pain in the throat and eyes,
accompanied by a sensation of suffocation; pain, which may be severe, is felt in the chest,
especially behind the sternum. Respiration becomes painful, rapid, and difficult ; coughing
occurs, and the irritation of the eyes results in profuse lachrymation. Retching is common
and may be followed by vomiting, which gives temporary relief. The lips and mouth are parched
and the tongue is covered with a thick dry fur. Severe headache rapidly follows with a
feeling of great weakness in the legs; if the patient gives way to this and lies down, he is
likely to inhale still more chlorine, as the heavy gas is most concentrated near the ground.
In severe poisoning unconsciousness follows; nothing more is known about the cases which
prove fatal on the field within the first few hours of the "gassing," except that the face
assumes a pale greenish yellow colour. When a man lives long enough to be admitted into a
clearing station, he is conscious, but restless; his face is violet red, and his ears and
finger nails blue ; his expression strained and anxious as he gasps for breath; he tries to
get relief by sitting up with his head thrown back, or he lies in an exhausted condition,
sometimes on his side with his head over the edge of the stretcher in order to help the
escape of fluid from the lungs. His skin is cold and his temperature subnormal; the pulse is
full and rarely over 100. Respiration is jerky, shallow and rapid, the rate being often over
40 and sometimes even 80 a minute ; all the auxiliary muscles come into play, the chest being
over-distended at the height of inspiration and, as in asthma, only slightly less distended
in extreme expiration. Frequent and painful coughing occurs and some frothy sputum is brought
up. The lungs are less resonant than normal, but not actually dull, and fine riles with
occasional rhonchi and harsh but not bronchial breathing are heard, especially over the back
and sides ..."
". . .and the Syrian Government was accountable for the release of sarin in an April
2017 attack in Khan Shaykhun, the head of a Security Council-mandated investigation said
Tuesday."
That may be what he said "on Tuesday", but here's what the actual UN report said on
October 26th of 2017:
"To date the Mechanism has not found specific information confirming whether or not an
SAAF Su-22 operating from Al-Shayrat airbase launched an aerial attack against Khan Shaykhun
on 4 April 2017."
To the best of my knowledge there has been no subsequent report, so the above quote is the
official final statement on the results of the investigation, regardless of anything that Mr.
Mulet may have said at some later date.
Also, if one reads the entire report, he will find numerous hintings, not so very subtle,
about false flag possibilities, and also hinting that the reader should not take everything
in the report at face value. It is a very interesting read, for those things if for no other
reason.
So now we live at a moment in history when non-establishment actors have investigated the
alleged attack in Douma before the OPCW even gets there. And as is clear, and as b posits,
this stalling action holding up the visit is to allow time for someone - anyone, please -
among the establishment forces to come up with a counter to the truth already revealed.
I suspect that the evidence on video - captured by simple enough cameras and spread
through the Internet around the world now - combined with the fact of numerous ordinary folks
strolling around the killing field without suffering any harm, has made this false flag
untenable beyond any saving of face.
Propaganda only works to crowd out the truth, so that people never encounter the truth.
But propaganda doesn't work in open battle against the truth, when people are hearing both
sides. The process takes time, but like water it wears down the tallest wall.
What's really good is that the enemy has shown repeatedly that it doesn't understand the
failure of its tactics, and so it keeps using the old playbook. And with each ploy, the
tactics fail more miserably, and the true evidence accumulates more forcefully. And probably
here in Douma they'll tangle themselves in even more ridiculous fabrications just to keep the
OPCW away forever.
So maybe it won't be this one. Maybe this isn't the ploy that builds and builds to leave a
big enough smoking gun to discredit the entire western apparatus. Perhaps we are not quite
there yet. But it's obvious that Russia thinks we're getting closer.
I'll call it now and say we are in the post-tipping point age of the information war.
The next ploy will fail even more miserably. And the one after that will fail even worse.
And very soon, who knows, a smoking gun could appear that brings the common people out in
their multitudes, in one of those synchronicity moments of truth that the aristocrats and
privileged functionaries of the establishment fear more than anything in creation.
Mulet was in close contact with Hillary Clinton's State Department during this period.
Search his name in Wikileaks' diplomatic cables, and you'll come up with numerous
results.
In essence, he's a tool of western power. The JIM report was just one more act to bolster
the Western narrative. Also, note that his UN-OPCW JIM report was not accepted by either the
UN or the OPCW. After the rejection, he wrote the aforementioned op-ed for the New York
Times , and he most likely was the source of
a leak of OPCW test results to Reuters , which supposedly linked all the sarin attacks to
the Syrian government. This article has been essential in providing "independent"
confirmation of Assad's guilt, even though it's essentially just leftovers from the
politicized JIM investigation.
Recently, Mulet has popped up on 60 Minutes and the neocon Vice News as a
talking head to keep the "Assad gasses his own people" narrative alive. On Vice he
explicitly advocates for the FUKUS air strikes.
The Russians are stopping the investigation, the BBC informed me, numerous times. Of
course they forgot to mention all the real reasons that the UN want to slow them down. Once
the OPCW find nothing, they can say 'those pesky Russians stalled the investigation, so that
we wouldn't find evidence'. It's brilliant really. Just like the tired old plots from the
movies, the UN need some new story writers. Shabby, stale and predictable, to say the
least.
A big part of being the "leader of the free world" is to manage events to fit the narrrative.
Given the US/UK strategy of fake chemical attacks to be blamed on Russia and Syria it is
important that the work of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons be
managed. OPCW reports deriving from Fact Finding Missions either have to be buried or
prevented.
The OPCW employs an FFM when requested by a country, with the resulting report sent to
that country only. The Salisbury FFM was requested by UK, the FFM report was sent to UK,
where it was buried and will never be publicized.
Douma has a different dynamic because the FFM was requested by Russia, with the ensuing
report bound to be made public, so it was necessary to prevent the FFM from doing its job.
That's when the US puppet Peter Drennan with his Keystone Kops UN police agency was injected
into Douma, to prevent the FFM from taking place.
Gumby @153 -
"Also, note that his UN-OPCW JIM report was not accepted by either the UN or the OPCW"
Okay, I know that people will say that it was rejected at the UN because of the Russia UNSC
veto trump card but do you have a reference to the OPCW rejection?
Assad coercing witnesses in Douma
Yikes, I read the BBC link. I was hoping to find an obvious falsehood because the WH's and
NGO's have been getting sloppy lately but it's the perfect lie . They claim 'to have
heard from' people who have had their families threatened.
So how does one go about refuting this? The lying NGO's in the UK are basically saying
that they got a cell phone call from one of the medical workers left in Syria. Oh, and they
can't tell you who because they will face reprisals. I hate those lying SOB's.
I may have been a bit imprecise there because the OPCW process is extremely murky. But
basically, after Russia vetoed the JIM report at the UN, the U.S. made a proposal to the OPCW
Executive Council to condemn the Syrian government for its use of chemical weapons. I'm not
positive, but my understanding is that if this proposal had succeeded, it would have
essentially adopted the JIM report as an official OPCW document. There's very little
reporting on this maneuvering around this, but here's what the AP said:
Members of the OPCW's Executive Council were scheduled to meet later Friday to debate their
response to the report.
A draft decision put forward by the United States, Colombia, Estonia and Saudi Arabia is
expected to be discussed.
It calls for the council to demand that the Syrian government immediately stop using
chemical weapons and to express "its strong conviction that those responsible for the use
of chemical weapons must be held accountable," according to a copy of the draft text seen
by The Associated Press.
Executive Council decisions are generally adopted by consensus, but with the United
States and its allies at loggerheads with Russia and its supporters, it is likely to be put
to a vote.
The U.S. was forced to withdraw its proposal. Again, the specifics of this are murky, but
you can read Sputnik 's brief report on that here. Russia doesn't have veto power on
the OPCW-EC, meaning, I assume, that the resolution was going to fail in the EC by a vote.:
https://sputniknews.com/world/201711241059415284-us-syria-rejection-opcw/
The upshot of all this is that Mulet's JIM Report is not an official document of either
the UN or the OPCW. Its official status now is essentially just the opinion of its
authors.
By the way, regarding the UN, it's obviously true that Russia exercised it's veto power
against adopting the JIM report. And they also used their veto power to strike down the
proposal to extend the JIM's mandate (which, thanks to the U.S., was voted on before the
JIM's report was even released). However, it's worth noting that the U.S. has a comfortable
built-in majority at the UN, which essentially necessitates a veto to combat. Even many of
the states that backed the U.S. on both of these proposals agreed with Russia that the JIM
was flawed. Russia further argued that its work had become completely politicized. Which is
not surprising given Mulet was head of it
Note for example, the comments by the Ethiopian ambassador:
TEKEDA ALEMU (Ethiopia) expressed regret that the Council had not been able to adopt the
draft resolution since the Mechanism had been created on the basis of consensus. Ethiopia
had voted in favour of the text because there remained credible allegations of chemical
weapons use in Syria, he said, adding that renewing the mandate should ensure continuity of
the Mechanism's work. Despite today's outcome, Ethiopia was hopeful that the Council' unity
would be restored and compromise found, because failure to renew the mandate would be send
the wrong message to the perpetrators. However, today's outcome should not be interpreted
as an a priori endorsement of the Mechanism's report, he cautioned, emphasizing that its
final version was expected to establish clear responsibility for the two incidents
mentioned. Those responsible for the use of chemical weapons should be punished on the
basis of robust and conclusive evidence, he said, underlining, however, that it was
impossible to overlook the concerns of the Russian Federation and Bolivia, which was the
reason why politicization must be avoided.
" QUESTION: Syria, to pick up on where we were on Tuesday with the OPCW still not having
gotten access to Duma and apparently still that situation is still the same. One, do you have
anything to say about that? And secondly, you and I had a little bit of a conversation about
potential – your belief that the Russians and/or Syrians are tampering with any
evidence of the chemical attack. Does the continued delay give you more concern that that
might be the case?
MS NAUERT: Yeah. So to address both your questions, we can confirm that the OPCW team has
still not been able to enter Duma in Syria. It is now 12 days since the attack took place on
men, women, and children, those innocent civilians, in Syria. We have credible information
that indicates that Russian officials are working with the Syrian regime to deny and to delay
these inspectors from gaining access to Duma. We believe it is an effort to conduct their own
staged investigations. Russian officials have worked with the Syrian regime, we believe, to
sanitize the locations of those suspected attacks and remove incriminating evidence of
chemical weapons use.
We have also watched as some people have seemingly been pressured by the government to
change their stories about what actually occurred that night. We have reports from credible
people on the ground who have indicated that they have been pressured by both Russia and
Syria to change their stories, to try to change their stories so that it doesn't appear that
Russia and Syria are responsible for those attacks. We certainly know that Syria is
responsible for those attacks."
Imo, the only reason NATO's unimaginative weasels, dorks and 'boffins' chose chemical
weapons on which to base their childish smear campaign is that Ordinary Citizens are less
familiar with chemical weapons, and their effects, than with most of the violent methods used
to kill and maim people in times of war (and peace).
Napalm is worse than chemical weapons.
So are white phosphorous and Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME) used by "Israel" against
Palestinians.
They're worse because the intention is to maim without killing.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the irony. So we have Bolton in his first week on
the job and Mattis "The Butcher of Fallujah" authorize an illegal missile strike in response
to an "alleged" chemical weapons attack... both members of the Bush administration that used
white phosphorus and napalm in Iraq.
And who reported it at the time... none other than George Monbiot and The Guardian:
Until last week, the US state department maintained that US forces used white phosphorus
shells "very sparingly in Fallujah, for illumination purposes". They were fired "to
illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters". Confronted with the new
evidence, on Thursday it changed its position. "We have learned that some of the
information we were provided ... is incorrect. White phosphorous shells, which produce
smoke, were used in Fallujah not for illumination but for screening purposes, ie obscuring
troop movements and, according to... Field Artillery magazine, 'as a potent psychological
weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes...' The article states that
US forces used white phosphorus rounds to flush out enemy fighters so that they could then
be killed with high explosive rounds." The US government, in other words, appears to admit
that white phosphorus was used in Falluja as a chemical weapon.
...
There were widespread reports that in March 2003 US marines had dropped incendiary bombs
around the bridges over the Tigris and the Saddam Canal on the way to Baghdad. The
commander of Marine Air Group 11 admitted that "We napalmed both those approaches".
Embedded journalists reported that napalm was dropped at Safwan Hill on the border with
Kuwait. In August 2003 the Pentagon confirmed that the marines had dropped "mark 77
firebombs". Though the substance these contained was not napalm, its function, the
Pentagon's information sheet said, was "remarkably similar". While napalm is made from
petrol and polystyrene, the gel in the mark 77 is made from kerosene and polystyrene. I
doubt it makes much difference to the people it lands on.
OT but very relevant to the Skripal/Douma incidents.
The Guardian has an article
today headlined " The taboo on chemical weapons has lasted a century – it must be
preserved " which is a bare-faced lie as the Guardian should know because the British used
chemical weapons against the Russian in August, 1919, less than a century ago, and the
Japanese, among America's closest allies used them against the Chinese in World War 2.
The strongest case for Churchill as a chemical warfare enthusiast involves Russia, and was
made by Giles Milton in The Guardian on 1 September 2013, which prompted this article. Milton
wrote that in 1919,scientists at the governmental laboratories at Porton in Wiltshire
developed a far more devastating weapon: the top secret "M Device," an exploding shell
containing a highly toxic gas called diphenylaminechloroarsine [DM]. The man in charge of
developing it, Major General Charles Foulkes, called it "the most effective chemical weapon
ever devised." Trials at Porton suggested that it was indeed a terrible new weapon.
Uncontrollable vomiting, coughing up blood and instant, crippling fatigue were the most
common reactions. The overall head of chemical warfare production, Sir Keith Price, was
convinced its use would lead to the rapid collapse of the Bolshevik regime. "If you got home
only once with the gas you would find no more Bolshies this side of Vologda."
A staggering 50,000 M Devices were shipped to Russia: British aerial attacks using them
began on 27 August 1919 .Bolshevik soldiers were seen fleeing in panic as the green chemical
gas drifted towards them. Those caught in the cloud vomited blood, then collapsed
unconscious. The attacks continued throughout September on many Bolshevik-held villages .But
the weapons proved less effective than Churchill had hoped, partly because of the damp autumn
weather. By September, the attacks were halted then stopped.
"The 'chemical incident' has likely been faked. It suspiciously happened just a few days
after U.S. President Trump had announced the he wanted the U.S. military to leave Syria. A
year earlier a similar incident was claimed to have happened after a similar announcement by
Trump. The U.S. had responded to the 2017 incident by bombing an empty Syrian airfield."
Watching reports coming out of Syria in real time, I thought it was a genuine strike.
Same as I thought the JK build up was the real thing and also the 59 missiles a year ago.
Once the dust, smoke, and the fog of war had cleared, it became apparent that this, was
yet again a choreographed move, same as the missiles on Shayrat airfield.
I may well be wrong, as I do not go along with group think here, but this strike seems a
preemptive move by Trump to prevent a push for for US military action in Syria that will take
us to WWIII.
Why has the fact finding mission (FFM)of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) not visited Douma?
The OPCW inspectors are held up by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security
(UNDSS) which has a say about any movement of UN aligned organizations in areas that might be
dangerous. The UNDSS is led by an Australian police / intelligence officer. The holdup seems to
be intended.
On Sunday April 8 videos were published of an alleged 'chemical attack' in Douma near
Damascus. At that time the area was under control of Jaish al-Islam, a Salafi terrorist
organization financed by Saudi Arabia. The various videos from terrorist supporters like the
'White Helmets' were unconvincing. They showed obviously arranged
scenes of an alleged 'barrel bomb' and manipulated bodies of dead children that
had been moved and decorated with shaving foam to superficially fit the claims of a
'chemical incident'. Another video showed people in a hospital being doused with water for no
apparent reason.
An often quoted opposition news outlet, the Syrian Observatory in Britain, denied that a
'chemical attack' had happened. It reported on April 8 of suffocation after a shelter
collapsed due to bombing:
[I]n among the casualties there are 21 civilians including 9 children and 3 women were killed
as a result of suffocation caused by the shelling which destroyed basements of houses as a
result of the violence bombardment that stopped about an hour ago on Douma area.
The 'chemical incident' was likely faked. It suspiciously happened just a few days after
U.S. President Trump had announced the he wanted the U.S. military to leave Syria. A year
earlier
a similar incident was claimed to have happened after a similar announcement by Trump. The
U.S. had responded to the 2017 incident by bombing an empty Syrian airfield. A day after the
incident the Salafi terrorists of Jaish al-Islam gave up and left the area under a ceasefire
deal arranged with the help of the Russian military in Syria. The ceasefire deal does not allow
the Syrian army to enter the area, only the Russian military police is allowed.
Russian military police immediately
entered the area and investigated the house where, allegedly, people were killed by
'chemical weapons'. They found no evidence that such an event had taken place. The Syrian
government asked the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical aWeapons (OPCW) to
investigate the case.
Many internationalnews teams have since
visited the area where the incident allegedly took place. The also visitedthe field hospital shown in
one of the opposition videos. Doctors at that hospital deny (vid) that any patient of theirs had
been affected by a chemical attack. The cases they had seen had breathing difficulties caused
by the inhalation of dust thrown up through exploding bombs and artillery. Alleged 'victims'
shown in the hospital video claim (vid) they were paid to perform.
The regime-change shills are denying that any claims of the hospital staff working in the
now government controlled Douma could be true. Medics are liars, unless they are controlled by
Jihadis. See for example this shoddy propaganda piece by the Guardian:
Syrian medics 'subjected to extreme intimidation' after Douma attack by Martin Chulov in
Beirut and Kareem Shaheen in Istanbul. karlof1 , Apr 19, 2018 12:56:35 PM |
72
According
to Lavrov , the UN security team did come under fire by terrorists who were tipped off as
to who they were and when they'd arrive. Lavrov's
comment echoes that made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who
observed "Someone does not want an unbiased professional investigation to take place."
"... Sky News cuts of British General. https://southfront.org/sky-news-cuts-off-former-british-general-while-he-questiones-douma-chemical-attack / ..."
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
(@lloyd_rm)
It is worth noting that the British Government approved exports of dual use precursors for
chemical weapons including sarin to Syria between 2004 and 2012, after the civil war began
and after Assad was accused of using gas. CAEC report (2015): pic.twitter.com/TsvthAcZRR
April 13, 2018
Further down his thread is a tweet where someone has a screen-grab of a Mail Online story
from 2013. It talks about leaked information about clearance given by the US Government for a
British security company to stage a chemical weapons attack in Syria in order to provide a
pretext for bombing.
I have no idea whether this is true or whether it was genuinely from Mail Online, perhaps
someone with more know-how than me could find out.
At first, I laughed at the Russian suggestion that the attack on Douma had been staged.
Now I'm not so sure.
Your article appears to apportion blame solely to Assad and you don't even attempt to address
the opposition in Syria. Nobody seriously questions that the Syrian governments war has
killed many thousands and thousands of civilians. How can you not refer to the international
jihad and the make up of these fighters, as well as the sieges they laid on villages, town
and cities and the cruelty they inflicted upon the people?
The Syrian Arab Army is a composite of Sunni, Shia, Christians, and different ethnicity's,
what convinces you that they have in any way wantonly killed civilians? The soldiers have
family all over Syria, plus no mention of the 300,000+ civilians that have been liberated
from Eastern Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta in the last several months.
I find this article very bizarre indeed. The most simple explanation for the disaster in
Syria is that a sovereign state protected its national interest from an international
contingent of mercenaries. There are Moroccans and Chechnyans, Uighurs and Brits, Saudis as
well as Syrians in this armed army. What other options did a state such as Syria have when
fighting against ISIS, Al Qaida, Al Nusra and 'The Army of Islam', Jaysh Al-Islam? All have
which have direct connections to our major ally in the region, Saudi Arabia.
Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I can not find any reference at all to the enemy in
this article. It's written as if the 8 year war has simply been an extermination war against
civilians and completely out of context with reality.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld helped Saddam Hussein build up his arsenal of deadly
chemical and biological weapons. As an envoy from President Reagan 19 years ago, he had a
secret meeting with the Iraqi dictator and arranged enormous military assistance for his war
with Iran. Mr Rumsfeld, at the time a successful executive in the pharmaceutical industry,
still made it possible for Saddam to buy supplies from American firms. They included viruses
such as anthrax and bubonic plague, according to the Washington Post.
The USA provided $1.5 billion worth of Pathogenic, toxigenic and other biological research
materials were exported to Iraq; 1985-89.
1) US based company, Alcolac International exported mustard gas to Iraq; 1987-88.
2) Almost 150 foreign companies supported Saddam Hussein's WMD program; 1975-
3) US directly attacked Iran by hitting Iran's oil platforms; 1987.
4) US directly attacked Iran's navy in unproportioned and unreasonable war; 1988.
5) US shot down Iranian civilian airliner in the Iranian territory; 1988.
This is the equivalent of a pathological paedophile giving a sermon against child abuse
when the US preaches its corrupt moral practices regarding Syria!!!
RT has an article out this morning quoting Lavrov (whose diction is always, impeccably,
exact)
to the effect that Russia now has "no reason to *not* supply its S-300 missile system to
Syria"
in light of the US strike. Several well-sourced Syrian accounts were reporting the sale of
S-300s
to Syria as a done deal, but I think this is premature. Lavrov is asking the US and Israel to
give
Russia a reason not to provide the S-300 to Syria. Lavrov is saying the fate of the S-300 in
the
MIddle East is now open for renegotiation. On the other hand, Lavrov knows that neither the
US
nor Israel can be trusted to abide by the terms of any negotiated outcome. So in the *best*
case
scenario, he may be hoping to gain by this gambit a significant (if temporary) reduction of US
/ Israeli
/ Saudi military interference in the Russian attempt to bring Syria to political
settlement.
Would Israel rather: (1) see the US withdraw from a Syria that does not have the S-300?
(2) see the US remain within a Syria that does have the S-300?
The US will not bomb any Syrian S-300s while Russia is around. Israel would have to
take this task on itself. But does Israel *really* want to take on this task? Given that
it could go very badly in any number of ways?
Posted by: WJ | Apr 20, 2018 11:12:32 AM |
194Don Bacon , Apr 20, 2018 11:20:44 AM |
195
@193
The S-300 carrot & stick has legs.
> May 30, 2013 - Israel could overcome advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles if they were
deployed in Syria but any strikes on the system would be difficult.
> Dec 1, 2015 - For Israel, more problematic have been Russia's plans to sell the less
advanced, but hardly less problematic S-300 missile system to both Syria and Iran
Coming after the RF Military spokesmen suggested Syria should be allowed S-300 air
defense, Mr Lavrov joins:
Lavrov: After US-led strikes, Russia has 'no moral barriers' on S-300 deliveries to
Syria RT
Following the US-led bombardment of Syria last week over an alleged chemical attack by
Damascus, Russia says it has no reason to not supply its S-300 missile system to Syria,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Moscow agreed with its international partners about 10 years ago to not deliver the
S-300 to Damascus. "We took into consideration their argument that this would destabilize
the situation, despite the missile systems being a purely defensive system," Lavrov said in
an interview to RIA Novosti.
But given the latest spiraling of the crisis – in particular the use of the
alleged Douma chemical attack as pre-text for striking Syria – things may take a
U-turn. While around a decade ago, Moscow "heeded" the calls of its partners and put the
deliveries on hold, the Russian foreign minister said it now has "no such moral
obligation."
In the wake of the US-led operation on Syria, Russia said it may consider sending
supplies of S-300 missile systems to Damascus. Moscow believes it is "possible to return to
mulling over the issue, and not only with regard to Syria but also to other states as
well," Russian General Staff Spokesman General Sergey Rudskoy stated[.]
And in other news, DNC today filed $multi-million lawsuit against Russia, Trump and
Wikkileaks for conspiring to defeat Hillary in 2016.
ZH link
Guess they filed this action without knowing Rudy Guiliani has just joined Trump's legal
team.
First question for Plaintiff: Why was the FBI denied access to the hacked servers?
His name was Seth Rich
Oh, and good luck collecting from Russia and Wikkileaks.
Trump and Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by
stupidity.
The rest of the Rothschild/Zionist/Deep State swamp has long hidden behind such useful
idiots, including most of the elected/bureaucratic/bankster/militarist puppets infesting NATO
countries.
The Rothschilds et. al. cannot avoid the label of malice, as they have long acted
purposefully on the declaration in the mid-1700's: "I care not who sits on the British throne,
the man who controls the money supply controls the Empire... and I control the money supply."
Baron Mayer Rothschild
"If my sons wanted no wars, there would be none." Baron Mayer Rothschild's wife.
For 300 years the Rothschilds have controlled the political and economic levers that
resulted in the endless line of wars. The Balfour Declaration by which the British gov't
stupidly endorses to this day was written to (and largely by) the Baron Rothschild of that
day.
Attempting to discern intent by the visible layer of the otherwise well-disguised Rothschild
Promised Land agenda is a fools errand.
"By deception thou shalt do war." The Mossad motto. The Rothschild modus
oprandi.
"For 300 years the Rothschilds have controlled the political and economic levers that
resulted in the endless line of wars. The Balfour Declaration by which the British gov't
stupidly endorses to this day was written to (and largely by) the Baron Rothschild of that
day."
If we have allowed these people to yank our chains for the past three centuries, then it
must be because they are a f*ck of a lot smarter and more motivated than the rest of us
stupid Gentiles.
But we believe in a system in which the smartest and most motivated should rise to the
top...
"... The treaties which promise US allies that an attack on them will draw US military support for their collective defence – Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), Article 4 of the Australia New Zealand US Treaty (ANZUS), Article 3 of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio), and the Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Pakistan and Israel defence treaties – are dead letters. ..."
If you haven't read John Helmer's " Bear and sitting Duck suggest it be added to your
weekend read.
@ S 33
Thanks for clarifying.
A few snips:
US President Donald Trump didn't mean to start a revolution. President Vladimir Putin tried
persuading him not to. But on April 14 the revolution was launched by American warplanes,
surface ships and a submarine.
The outcome is that the US can no longer count on air superiority anywhere in the world
where Russian air defences operate, backed by Russian command-and-control systems. Without
air superiority, the US has no force multiple on the ground of the magnitude required for the
Pentagon to attack; that is, the ratio of American men and firepower the Pentagon calculates
for making sure their enemies on their ground can be defeated.
This is revolutionary, and has spread instantly to every war front -- the Russian lines
with NATO; the Korea-Japan front; the Taiwan Straits and South China Sea for China; and the
Indian Ocean for India and Pakistan.
The treaties which promise US allies that an attack on them will draw US military
support for their collective defence – Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO),
Article 4 of the Australia New Zealand US Treaty (ANZUS), Article 3 of the Inter-American
Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio), and the Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan,
Pakistan and Israel defence treaties – are dead letters.
So long, shock and awe – that was the American warfighting doctrine against people
who lack Russian-standard defences. [.]
The S-300, which Iran and Greece operate, and the S-400, which guards the Russian naval
and air bases in Syria and which Turkey is acquiring, are capable of striking both aircraft
and missiles. This is the game-changer for Syrian defence against Israel if the S-300 is
delivered, as the Russian Defence Ministry is now proposing. [.]
Russia has transferred forty Pantsir-S1 air defense systems to Syria' Air Defence.
This is the latest air defence technology (the system is in service since 2012) - a combined
short to medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system
against aircrafts, helicopters, precision munitions, cruise missiles and UAVs.
You face the same the liars with the sexed up dossier who went on to murder hundreds of
thousands in Iraq and Libya. This is all too reminiscent of previous interventions
Consider WW1, Suez, Iran 1953, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen and every other western
militarily intervention in the ME - whether directly or by proxy - and identify one that hasn't
just caused more instability, death, violence and displacement than there was already?
e are caught between a rock, in the form of the recklessness of Donald Trump, and a hard
place, shaped by the cruelty of Bashar al-Assad. This is the choice that now confronts citizens
and their representatives in Britain, France and the US. The reasons to resist signing up for
any project led by Trump should be obvious, with the newly published testimony of James Comey,
the FBI director he fired, providing a fresh reminder.
Trump is a congenital liar who is devoid of empathy, a narcissist with a nihilist's view of
the world. These are not mere character defects; they have a bearing on the decisions the de
facto leader of any action in Syria would take. Among the reasons I opposed the 2003 invasion
of Iraq was my fundamental distrust of George W Bush and his circle, especially on the matter
of motive. Trump, with his tweeted mood swings – first, vowing to withdraw from Syria
altogether, then threatening an imminent missile bombardment, then signalling a delay –
makes Bush look like a statesman.
But even if a moral paragon were sitting in the Oval Office, there would be grounds for
restraint. The record of past western military interventions in the Middle East is bloody and
shaming, as the peoples of both Iraq and Libya can testify. Barack Obama, no gung-ho cowboy,
was the commander-in-chief in the latter case. And yet what was originally billed as a discrete
military action to prevent an impending civilian slaughter in Benghazi escalated into a
bombardment that led to regime change and mayhem. It stands as a textbook illustration of
western bombs' ability to make a bad situation worse.
It's clear now that although Assad has 'won' the war a status quo of him ruling a
predominately Sunni country can't be returned to. He seeks to terrorise and punish the
Syrian people under the protection of Russia and Iran.
Even though the army which has made such huge sacrifices for the Syrian state is about 70%
Sunni?
The US and her allies have to intervene, otherwise the rule of international law is
worthless.
Why? Even if your premise above were true, which it isn't, why is it our job to intervene
in every country with an imperfect system? Or are you proposing we bomb every Middle Eastern
country where people are privileged and granted citizenship merely on account of their
religion?
I love these guys who won't do their own research. Why not? Axe to grind? This is just one
example from 2013. There's more but I'm too busy to look up public shit for you.
Spot on look what happened to Sadaam after he switched to the Euro for Iraq oil sales.
Ghaddafi had similar plans.
Without reserve currency status and petrodollar with US economy will collapse under the $21T
dollar debt.
Russia and China have recently agreed a bilateral trade agreement which cuts out the
dollar.
The US cannot permit this ...as always follow the money.
Some people murder others for political and ideological reasons the military industrial
complex starts wars and conflicts ,murdering millions for profit....evil personified
Could this whole drama be because China and Russia are ditching the petrodollar?
I watched the video of the attack and it looks fake to me.. those children are not crying
because of chlorine.. they have their eyes wide open..first thing you do when you have
chlorine in your eyes is touch your face and close your eyes..whole thing looks dodge..just
my opinion. Those children are wide eyed and looking at the camera..something you wouldn't do
if you'd just been gassed.
We, along with the US, France and Gulf states have supported, armed and trained "rebels"
in Syria the whole time. We've had, as have others, special forces operating inside
Syria
So, there would never be rebellions against totalitarian dictators if it weren't for the CIA
and MI6.
I don't buy this. It's very convenient if you're an anti-war person who doesn't want to
face an ethical dilemma. But it's not real.
"Remarkable how Saddam Hussein gassing Iranian troops by the thousand, while world powers
helped him do it and covered for him at the UN is treated as a minor exception to non-use of
chemical"
He also used poison gas to kill thousands of his own Kurdish civilians, the Reagan
administration was in many ways a moral cesspit. They knew exactly what he was doing. A
spokesman said the Iranians - who never used Chemical Weapons on principle - used the poison
gas, on Iraqi Kurds. I think Reagan never really understood this, that is my assessment of
his character, he saw what reality he wanted to see, but nothing else.
" Back then the death toll in Syria stood at around 100,000. More than 400,000 have died
since that day. The proof is there if we can bear to look at it. Inaction, too, can be
deadly"
And how many died after the war was "won" in Iraq. And how many would have died trying to
remove assad. Toppling assad would almost certainly not have brought peace. Your analysis is
simplistic and blinkered and definately doesn't contain any proof of anything. Sometimes
there's just not a solution. The current proposed bombing campaign smacks of
somethingmustbedoneism. Those responsible for the gas attacks must face justice. But it might
have to be further down the line.
Barack Obama did not tell the whole story this autumn when he tried to make the case that
Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attack near Damascus on 21 August. In
some instances, he omitted important intelligence, and in others he presented assumptions as
facts. Most significant, he failed to acknowledge something known to the US intelligence
community: that the Syrian army is not the only party in the country's civil war with access to
sarin, the nerve agent that a UN study concluded – without assessing responsibility
– had been used in the rocket attack. In the months before the attack, the American
intelligence agencies produced a series of highly classified reports, culminating in a formal
Operations Order – a planning document that precedes a ground invasion – citing
evidence that the al-Nusra Front, a jihadi group affiliated with al-Qaida, had mastered the
mechanics of creating sarin and was capable of manufacturing it in quantity. When the attack
occurred al-Nusra should have been a suspect, but the administration cherry-picked intelligence
to justify a strike against Assad.
In his nationally televised speech about Syria on 10 September, Obama laid the blame for the
nerve gas attack on the rebel-held suburb of Eastern Ghouta firmly on Assad's government, and
made it clear he was prepared to back up his earlier public warnings that any use of chemical
weapons would cross a 'red line': 'Assad's government gassed to death over a thousand people,'
he said. 'We know the Assad regime was responsible And that is why, after careful deliberation,
I determined that it is in the national security interests of the United States to respond to
the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike.' Obama was going
to war to back up a public threat, but he was doing so without knowing for sure who did what in
the early morning of 21 August.
He cited a list of what appeared to be hard-won evidence of Assad's culpability: 'In the
days leading up to August 21st, we know that Assad's chemical weapons personnel prepared for an
attack near an area where they mix sarin gas. They distributed gas masks to their troops. Then
they fired rockets from a regime-controlled area into 11 neighbourhoods that the regime has
been trying to wipe clear of opposition forces.' Obama's certainty was echoed at the time by
Denis McDonough, his chief of staff, who told the New York Times : 'No one with whom
I've spoken doubts the intelligence' directly linking Assad and his regime to the sarin
attacks.
We're now in a strange position where the media is actually behind the government. May is
doubtful about bombing because she's a politician and so has to constantly monitor her
popularity, but the only people left still writing in 'newspapers' are still programmed to
want war and bombing because it always used to sell.
The UN duly investigated and in October concluded unambiguously that the Assad regime had
used sarin gas.
You omitted to mention that the same report also concludes that ISIL deployed Sulphur
Mustard, isn't this the same gas that France claims to have evidence regarding the recent
incident?
Besides, how much evidence do we need? Even before Douma, Assad's use of chemical
weapons had been documented seven times this year alone.
The link you provided to back-up this claim contains no substantiative evidence to
attribute those incidents to Assad.
Clearly both sides in this conflict appear to have used chemical weapons, making
assumptions or false accusations of blame at this stage is incredibly dangerous. I'm in total
agreement with Jeremy Corbyn, we need a solid investigation on which the international
community can act. Any potential escalation of this awful conflict must be avoided at all
costs, particularly when it involves a nuclear armed superstate, considering the on-going
humaitarian crisis in Syria and how it has already affected the world. Furthermore we must
not allow a cabinet of a minority government to make any final decisions on the UK
involvement in further militrary action, our elected representatives MUST be allowed
to debate and decide a course of action, otherwise our democracy is in a far worse state than
I could have possibly imagined.
Theresa May leads a minority government propped up by an unlawful bung to a right wing
extremist group. May, her Cabinet of half wits and her self serving party have a mandate for
sweet FA, and that includes killing people in our name.
There is massive, overwhelming opposition in the UK to May's attempt to join Trump &
Macron in bombing Syria and to by-passing our democratic parliament, but who would have
thought it?
The media are generally presenting Theresa May with a free ride to cause death and
destruction on a massive scale. Claiming she's joining an international coalition (even
though it consists of only 2 other countries) and having the backing of the Cabinet and
therefore possessing the authority to go to war.
The reality is that she's virtually politically isolated and working in defiance of the
British people. Labour - and most other opposition parties, including the Lib Dems, SNP,
Plaid, and the Greens are totally against military intervention and calling for a full,
democratic debate in Parliament.
Then the Conservative Party itself is bitterly divided over the issue.
And only 22% of British people would support the war effort, according to a poll in the
Times.
The timing is being forced by Donald Trump and the US, so where's the substance in the
Conservative claim that they're 'taking back control'?
And then any intervention is likely to cost billions, so what about The Deficit? And what
about that magic money tree?
Moreover, the Government maintain we cannot allow such inhumanity in Syria to go
unchallenged. So where is the outcry at defenceless citizens being killed in Gaza? And in
Yemen? And in Saudi Arabia? What accounts for the blatant double standards? What are they not
telling us?
And why does the British Goverment justicfy selling all these lethal and inhumance weapons
to these countries in the first place?
Where is the media reminding the Government of what happened in Iraq, in Libya and in
Afghanistan?, whenever we intervened?
Where is the media remembering the findings of the Chilcott Report?
If this was Labour nationalising the railways or expropriating land in an emergency bill
to launch a massive house-building programme, the BBC and mass media would quote every
adversary and critic they could muster and express total outrage at any attempt to by-pass
Parliament.
The Syrian conflict is a hugely complex quagmire and we enter it at our peril. We need a
much more objective Press to scrutinise Government policy, before this lunacy unravels and
triggers a seriously calamitous hot war between the Superpowers, from which we'd all be
losers.
Jeremy Corbyn is often mocked and scorned by the media for his measured reactions, but his
call for the UK to use its influence to defuse tensions makes him one of the only responsible
and mature political leaders around right now!!
The government and the BBC have been using the words "suspected chemical attack" in Syria and
that Russia is "highly likely" to be responsible for the Salisbury affair.
Now if that isn't official doubt I don't know what is.
Still May happy to drop bombs on this basis without parliamentary approval (if Donald says
so that is)!
This is pathetic. The mouthpieces of the British government (Guardian and BBC) have spent the
last week on a steady pendulum of demanding war, shitting themselves, then when the rhetoric
calms down a bit, demanding war again. The U.K., its security agencies and its house-trained
media are destabilising the world.
"... How about some basic honesty about the role the US and it's allies have played in fostering and continue if this civil war. That, coupled by a complete retreat of US imperial neoliberal ambitions across the entire region, you know, might just be incredibly effective ..."
"... Are we seriously going to pretend we and our allies haven't provided financial, technological, diplomatic, political and military support to this extremely heterogenous group of rebels, without which the whole uprising (a legitimate uprising, sure, but certainly not a viable one) would have been over in a few months, without any of the atrocities, tragedies and destruction of the past 6 years? ..."
"... For Europe and the US to have any credibility the double standards applied has to come to an end ..."
"... Sorry but the arguments in the article don't hold water. Reeks of the longstanding agenda of the war profiteers and the Clinton gang to invade this country. On hypocritical reasons. ..."
Here's an idea Jonathan for another solution. How about some basic honesty about the role
the US and it's allies have played in fostering and continue if this civil war. That, coupled
by a complete retreat of US imperial neoliberal ambitions across the entire region, you know,
might just be incredibly effective
But nor can we watch the brutal dictator slaughter his own people
Why not? We're watching Israelis shoot and kill unarmed Palestinians, we're
watching our favourite Saudis bomb and kill Yemeni civilians, we're watching our
Nobel-winning inspirational Myanmar leader oversee the persecution, massacre and forced
displacement of an entire people, we're watching the North Korean leader oppress and starve
his people while stepping closer to a nuclear war against a currently volatile superpower,
we're watching the Philipino head of state launching a literal war against low-level drug
dealers and junkies, we're watching several central Asian dictators imprison and torture
dissidents and oppress their people while robbing them of their national wealth, we're
watching the Chinese and Russian leaders do pretty much the same, we're watching the Turkish
leader kidnap dissidents from EU countries, imprison thousands of alleged dissidents and
invade a neighbouring country to fight against part of said countries' inhabitants, we're
watching corrupt politicians, media and judges completing the final touches of a coup in the
fifth largest country in the world, and then there's Africa, which is a whole other chapter.
What specifically is it about Syria that made you decide that yeah, all these things are
pretty bad, but that's the one thing we really have to do something about?
Perhaps that was why, five years ago, the House of Commons voted to leave the Assad
regime untouched. Back then the death toll in Syria stood at around 100,000. More than
400,000 have died since that day. The proof is there if we can bear to look at it. Inaction,
too, can be deadly.
Inaction? Really? Are we seriously going to pretend we and our allies haven't provided
financial, technological, diplomatic, political and military support to this extremely heterogenous group of rebels, without which the whole uprising (a legitimate uprising, sure,
but certainly not a viable one) would have been over in a few months, without any of the
atrocities, tragedies and destruction of the past 6 years?
For Europe and the US to have any credibility the double standards applied has to come to an
end. Israel has to comply with UN resolutions and the US has to stop using its veto to block
those resolutions that seek to make Israel comply to international standards of acceptable
behaviour.
If we can't do that we can forget getting Assad or Putin or anyone else to respect
anything we have to say. As it stands the so called West has no moral authority in the Middle
East.
But nor can we watch the brutal dictator slaughter his own people
Why is this supposed slaughter such an imperative when we seem to approve of and even
profit from selling weapons to slaughters elsewhere in the region
Sorry but the arguments in the article don't hold water. Reeks of the longstanding agenda
of the war profiteers and the Clinton gang to invade this country. On hypocritical
reasons.
"... Conveniently missing from this short history of Syria: That the US was actually heavily involved using the CIA in getting rid of Assad. Had that not been the case, perhaps there would have been no prolonged civil war. ..."
"... Oh, I know challenging the holy West and its exceptional leading nation is verboten nowadays, but can we at least be honest about what is really going on today? Syria is being punished for not joining the coalition of the willing in 2003 by being subjected to the same illegal war by false claim as Iraq was then. ..."
Conveniently missing from this short history of Syria:
That the US was actually heavily involved using the CIA in getting rid of Assad. Had that
not been the case, perhaps there would have been no prolonged civil war.
It would be just another dictator, the likes of which can be found all over the world
without columnists noticing it.
Strangely though, all that is deplored is that the US didn't do even more. That they
didn't also do a full blown invasion.
"Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk
his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one
piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in
America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the
leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the
people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a
Communist dictatorship
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is
easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for
lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any
country."
– Hermann Goering (as told to Gustav Gilbert during the Nuremberg trials)
Pay for what? Be President of a country marked out for regime change by the West and
successfully managing to fight off the West's proxy armies of terrorists over seven years in
defence of that country?
Oh, I know challenging the holy West and its exceptional leading
nation is verboten nowadays, but can we at least be honest about what is really going on
today? Syria is being punished for not joining the coalition of the willing in 2003 by being
subjected to the same illegal war by false claim as Iraq was then.
Assad has always acted in this like any other authoritarian government anywhere in the Middle
East would, fighting a civil war. Israel is just as ruthless when facing a threat to its
authority.
This mess was financed, planned, egged on and armed by the U.S., it's junior partners and
its clients in Turkey and the Gulf. And it goes back years before the rebellion against
Assad. The Wahabbi rebels have been given billions in cash, arms and training, funneled
through Turkey and the Gulf states.
Now we have Washington, London and Paris shrieking outrage and promising revenge against a
strongman they unleashed as the result of yet another regime change adventure. And then
there's the incredible hypocrisy and cynicism of using Al-Qaeda affiliated actors to do
it.
Assad's wartime iteration, like ISIS, is the result of American greed, ambition, pride and
the old imperialist bent for aggression as a way of imposing its geopolitical will.
Watch the Unbearable video gain. The children are no foaming at the mouth, their colouration
is not cyanotic, they do not appear to be in respiratory distress. The premise of the
argument is not based on fact. These children are not the casualties of a gas attack. GROW UP
and recognize the propaganda.
The article takes a self-righteous moral high ground while calling for some vague affair of
violence. I can't help but notice that these articles by people who pretend to be moderates
and centrists have a habit of turning reality and morality on their head. It's dangerous and
very Orwellian stuff.
The question that I struggle to answer is, "Are journalists like this actually duped by
propaganda themselves, or are they knowingly part of the process of dissemination?"
What I do not struggle to see is that they are undoubtedly part of the prevailing
neolib/neocon philosophy which we rapidly need to dismantle.
Trump strangely immature twits on Douma attack disqualify his as a statesman.
Notable quotes:
"... the strike has been definitely an act of aggression against a sovereign state despite an objection of a permanent SC member, namely Russia. ..."
"... Now the gates of hell are open, international law has been demolished, and this happened because Putin agreed to accommodate Trump's strike, said Ivashov. ..."
"... I'd consider that a good conclusion of the fictional chemical weapons story. The story has fallen to pieces altogether, anyway. The poisoning of Skripal ended with the old spy in good health; with Boris Johnson being caught lying; with [the chemical weapons control body] OPCW refusing to connect Skripal's poison to Moscow; and with Brits keeping Miss Skripal incommunicado under duress, away from her fiancé and the rest of her family, a clear sign of a collapsing story. ..."
"... The Syrian part of this story collapsed as well, after Robert Fisk , one of the very best British Middle East observers (next to David Hirst) visited Douma and delivered a report straight from the donkey's mouth, i.e. as told by a doctor of the clinic videoed by the White Helmets. ..."
"... The Russians actually located some people who are seen in the video, and they say it was staged. ..."
"... An interesting bit of data, proving that preparations for the strike were carried out before the alleged attack, has been published by the Cyprus banking community blog. They say the British air base of Akrotiri on Cyprus had its perimeter urgently strengthened (by the British company Agility) on April 5, that is before the alleged Douma gas attack ..."
"... The OPCW could dispel the mist around both cases, that of Skripal and that of Douma, but do not hold your breath. It appears that OPCW is as integrated into the machinery of the Masters of Discourse as any other international body. Refusal of OPCW to allow Russia to take part in Skripal investigation, despite the clear requirement of its own charter, makes its conclusion doubtful, at best. ..."
"... While inability of OPCW inspectors to enter Douma despite all efforts of Damascus and Russians to facilitate their entry tells us they are not eager to investigate; like they weren't eager to enter Khan Sheykhun last year. ..."
"... please! Trump validated an obvious false flag – again – and launched the strikes before any kind of investigation could have challenged it – again. He's no "hero". He's a weak man at best . Please don't insult real heroes and real bravery. ..."
"... if somebody looks like an idiot, behaves like an imbecile, speaks like a stupid asshat it's very likely you are dealing with an idiot. Stupid bringing boltons and haleys to his circus just had some unforeseen by idiot consequencies. ..."
... Let us face it: Putin did not stop the strike and he didn't make the offender pay a
price for this breach of the Law of Nations.
... ... ...
What is worse, Trump's strike destroyed what was left of the international law structure
established by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. These three giants created the UN and its
Security Council in order to avoid such eventualities by forbidding aggression, and the
strike has been definitely an act of aggression against a sovereign state despite an objection
of a permanent SC member, namely Russia.
Now the gates of hell are open, international law has been demolished, and this happened
because Putin agreed to accommodate Trump's strike, said Ivashov.
... ... ...
The Russian military experts here in Moscow told me that out of a hundred missiles fired by
the US and their allies, only one or two were modern cruise missiles ("nice and smart") and
they destroyed the research institute in Barzeh. (It was not a "chemical weapons centre", just
a chemical research institute; it's destruction was a copy-paste of Bill Clinton's bombing of
the pharmaceutical factory in Sudan over a similar pretext.)
All other missiles were old and at the end of their service; they had to be utilised
somehow, and so they were. A few of them might have been downed by Syrian anti-aircraft fire,
others fell without inflicting much damage.
The Russian experts who were in contact with the US military told me that the US military
used this occasion for retraining and refreshing reserve pilots; what they call "a milk run".
This combination of old missiles and less experienced pilots helped to lower the efficiency of
the strike. And both sides, the Russians and the Americans, admitted that the deconfliction
line was operative all the time, to avoid eventualities.
I'd consider that a good conclusion of the fictional chemical weapons story. The story
has fallen to pieces altogether, anyway. The poisoning of Skripal ended with the old spy in
good health; with Boris Johnson being caught lying; with [the chemical weapons control body]
OPCW refusing to connect Skripal's poison to Moscow; and with Brits keeping Miss Skripal
incommunicado under duress, away from her fiancé and the rest of her family, a clear
sign of a collapsing story. Hopefully, Jeremy Corbyn will be able to use May's debacle for
his political advantage.
The Syrian part of this story collapsed as well, after
Robert Fisk , one of the very best British Middle East observers (next to David Hirst)
visited Douma and delivered a report straight from the donkey's mouth, i.e. as told by a doctor
of the clinic videoed by the White Helmets. He said:
"There was a lot of shelling [by government forces] and aircraft were always over Douma at
night – but on this night, there was wind and huge dust clouds began to come into the
basements and cellars where people lived. People began to arrive here [to the clinic]
suffering from hypoxia, oxygen loss. Then someone at the door, a "White Helmet", shouted
"Gas!", and a panic began. People started throwing water over each other. Yes, the video was
filmed here, it is genuine, but what you see are people suffering from hypoxia – not
gas poisoning."
The Russians actually located some people who are seen in the video, and they say it was
staged. (Western media says they were threatened into saying what they said). I have more
trust in Fisk's report, than in the Russian one, but that may be my own prejudice. Anyway, both
versions are not mutually exclusive, they do not contradict each other, but they undermine the
fake story that provided the cue for the strike.
An interesting bit of data, proving that preparations for the strike were carried out
before the alleged attack, has been published by the Cyprus banking community blog. They say
the British air base of Akrotiri on Cyprus had its perimeter urgently strengthened (by the
British company Agility) on April 5, that is before the alleged Douma gas attack . The
second British air base, Dhekelia, carried out similar works on April 12, a week later, before
the decision to strike had been adopted by the British government. The Dhekelia works were done
with great speed and urgency, and road-constructing equipment had to be taken from the nearby
villages of Xylotympou and Ormideia. The payment to the local workers had been routed via HSBC
bank in Hong Kong, they say. And indeed these bases (forcibly retained by Britain) were used
for the strike on Syria.
The OPCW could dispel the mist around both cases, that of Skripal and that of Douma, but
do not hold your breath. It appears that OPCW is as integrated into the machinery of the
Masters of Discourse as any other international body. Refusal of OPCW to allow Russia to take
part in Skripal investigation, despite the clear requirement of its own charter, makes its
conclusion doubtful, at best.
While inability of OPCW inspectors to enter Douma despite all efforts of Damascus and
Russians to facilitate their entry tells us they are not eager to investigate; like they
weren't eager to enter Khan Sheykhun last year.
Meanwhile, the Western media and the Jihadi groups on the ground are busy to create a new
web of lies instead of the old one. Now they say the Fisk report is suspicious because he was
allowed in by the Russians. We can learn of their attitudes from the following twit
"Salih @Salih90119797 Apr 17 More
Replying to @Elizrael
We salute Israel in spite their crimes in Palestine we hope they'll continue their strikes
every part of Syria; Iran regime should comedown"
These "Islamic rebels" are actually Israel's stooges rather than warriors of the Prophet.
Anyway, people who manufactured these beautiful and complicated simulacra, are still around,
and doubtless they will prepare a new one, if it will be necessary. In my view, the two
presidents have made heroic efforts at saving their countries and mankind from destruction;
both risked their good names, their positions, their reputatiosn to go that far. Trump
minimized the bombing, Putin minimized the response.
Both have made some mistakes. Mr Putin made his big mistake when he gave Israel carte
blanche to bomb Syria whenever she feels like it. Israeli strikes (and there were more than a
hundred of them last year) created the air of permissiveness and that allowed Trump to follow
in Israel's footsteps. If Israel bombs Syria, and Russians do not react, why can't Trump? It
appears unfair for the US to be bested by its satellite. If you permit Tom to grab your
girlfriend's pussy without a single objection, you must be expect that Dick and Harry will try
to repeat this feat. Israel created the precedent, the US used it.
I asked Senator Alexey Pushkov, the head of the foreign relations committee, whether he
doesn't think it was a mistake, in hindsight. He justified the policy saying that Russia came
to Syria in order to fight jihadi groups, ISIS, Al Qaeda et al, not Israel. Russia is friendly
to Israel, Iran and Turkey, and it does not want to sort out local disagreements. Pushkov
stressed that Russia always censured Israeli raids on Syria, though it didn't act against them.
As a matter of fact, if Russia criticized Israel, it was done very, very quietly. The only time
this condemnation was made public, happened just now, when the Israeli strike occurred in a
very tense moment.
Mr Trump made a mistake when he fired the missiles instead of firing Mueller. But anyway,
thank you, Mr Trump, for limiting the damage. Try to complete the withdrawal from Syria, while
at it.
What is worse, Trump's strike destroyed what was left of the international law structure
established by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.
That was accomplished by Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Gerhard Schroeder when they bombed
Kosovo without an SC resolution – simultaneously transforming NATO from a defensive
pact to an instrument of US imperialism.
The truth can't be hidden any more the army can't just run amuck at will. Trump and Putin are
playing the long game they don't want war they can make more money elsewhere. It's a new day
thank God.
General (Ret) Leonid Ivashov, an important Russian military observer
I would avoid, despite his high public profile, Ivashov as entirely reliable contemporary
military observer. At least I would be very cautious when referencing him. He has his moments
but many of his "predictions", not to speak of advice, were not exactly prescient, to put it
mildly. Paradoxically, it was his consistently grim, almost to the point of being apocalyptic
view of Russia all long that I simply stopped paying attention to him. obviously, reality
turned out to be much different. In the end, him "cooperating" with Dugin is not exactly a
good sign.
This would be too good a result even for the best, latest, and most update systems. The
unimpressive outcome of the attack can be explained easier by Trump's decision to minimise
the damage, as indeed the Israeli military says.
Anything Israel's military says on this issue is irrelevant and, as always, driven by
purely ideological and political considerations. Here is a taste:
Israel's worst nightmare is competent and properly armed Syrian Air Defense and this is
precisely where it is going right now in the area. Per best–subsonic TLAMs of any
variety represent with appropriate targeting within integrated system easy targets for
something like S1s, which were created from the inception as anti-TLAM systems. Recent IAF
strike in Syria (about couple weeks ago) was to prevent deployment of Iranian TOR-M1 in
Syria. So, Israelis' opinions on this issue can not absolutely, especially having IDF
"stellar" record of bluster and boasting, be taken seriously. Here is an opinion of high
ranking US military-intelligence officer which is rather revealing.
Kosovo was Blair's first real taste of bombing the innocents and how he liked it. It was
hardly surprising to see the veteran warmonger popping up yet again after the Douma hoax and
as always he was calling for bombs as the solution. It's always bombs with Blair and it seems
he just can't help himself. Which ever side Blair is backing is certain to be the side which
is wholly in the wrong. This is the trusted Blair principle and with its 100% record of
success, it will save hours of research trying to get a handle on just where the real blame
lies in any given crisis. Interestingly, you could substitute the US for Blair and you would
get the same result.
The main question is whether this Russian fight aversion will encourage the Americans to
carry out a future strike, or whether Trump will rein in his adversaries.
Any potential future strikes will diminish Russian fight aversion. Previous Russian
restraint was commendable and useful but that part of the conflict is over now. Too many
people "in charge" never experienced – or even contemplated – real, personal,
consequences for their actions. This will have to change.
In my view, the two presidents have made heroic efforts at saving their countries and
mankind from destruction; both risked their good names, their positions, their reputatiosn
to go that far. Trump minimized the bombing, Putin minimized the response.
Nigga please! Trump validated an obvious false flag – again – and launched
the strikes before any kind of investigation could have challenged it – again. He's no
"hero". He's a weak man at best . Please don't insult real heroes and real
bravery.
Well, I don't know how you can be certain that it isn't Putin. Those writing the script
might well choose Putin or create another monster to play the role. Putin has been called the
new Hitler by the well known democrat and war criminal: Hillary Clinton; and by the clown
pretending to be a man and British foreign secretary : BoJo. But I'm not sure that Russia
will play the role of Germany. It may well be China. In that case, Hitler will be the Chinese
"dictator"
It will be the "whites" against the yellow peril. The MSM and Hollywood, will of course
"educate" the masses about this new danger for western "democracy" and "values".. I dare
predict that even Russia will be on board
That's unfair competition. Putin is a normal human being, clearly superior in every way
compared to intellectually handicapped nonentities like Trump, Merkel, Macron, May, etc. The
West needs Nixons, De Gaulles, and Kohls to stand a chance.
Suicidal policies of the US have achieved almost impossible: an alliance between Russia
and China. Russian poet Alexandr Blok wrote more than 100 years ago the poem "Scythians".
Here is a relevant part of it (translated by Alex Miller):
We shall abandon Europe and her charm.
We shall resort to Scythian craft and guile.
Swift to the woods and forests we shall swarm,
And then look back, and smile our slit-eyed smile.
Away to the Urals, all! Quick, leave the land,
And clear the field for trial by blood and sword,
Where steel machines that have no soul must stand
And face the fury of the Mongol horde.
But we ourselves, henceforth, we shall not serve
As henchmen holding up the trusty shield.
We'll keep our distance and, slit-eyed, observe
The deadly conflict raging on the field.
We shall not stir, even though the frenzied Huns
Plunder the corpses of the slain in battle, drive
Their cattle into shrines, burn cities down,
And roast their white-skinned fellow men alive
Normally I enjoy Israel Shamir's reporting. However, in this piece he writes as a military
analyst, which he is not.
On the one hand there is nothing to be gained by using satire to describe the recent
strike on Syria. There is nothing funny about it politically or militarily.
Next, it has already been reported on other sites that the Syrian military hardware used
to deflect the large majority of US missiles has been heavily upgraded to support better
responses even when using rather dated missile technology.
Israel Shamir has also recently written in other pieces that Putin has little liking for
Isreal's Netanayu and that in all of the meetings the two had, the Israeli prime minister
received very little to nothing as Putin ignored his requests.
It has also been reported that Syria will receive the upgraded S-300 missile systems. And
it is expected they will be moved into the hands of Syrian troops rather quickly.
In terms of US hardware, there is really no such thing as "old" as much of the hardware is
junk in any case. Since the Vietnam Conflict, US military suppliers have attained a very well
deserved reputation for producing low quality weaponry with only a few exceptions
withstanding (ie: F-16). In fact, all of the recent, major US military systems that have been
placed into operations or trial-testing have proven to be less than adequate for their
tasks.
Finally, quite a number of military analysts have already demonstrated that Russian
missile technology is, at the minimum, ten years in advance of similar US technology. Right
now there is no contest.
The Russians know how to build exceptional equipment at a fraction of the cost that the US
spends on similar equipment. And they will continue to do so.
This is the single reason that the US did not go for the throat in this recent attack as
foolish as it was. What we have now is similar to the US Army facing the Wehrmacht in WWII;
there was no contest between the two as German soldiers and their equipment were far and away
the best in the world at the time. This time however, the US will not be able to count on
overwhelming numerical superiority and its manufacturing prowess to subdue a well armed
adversary since it has lost both a long time ago
This article is a lot of useless verbiage focusing on the kabuki theater by which the masses
need to be distracted.
The reason for this madness has nothing to do with any of the reasons stated. My best
guess is that It has to do with the global ponzi scheme that is the US dollar. Trump goes
along with it because he has been counseled that this is necessary to prevent a global
economic collapse. Same for France and Britain. This discredits the conspiracy theory that
the global elite want a collapse.
What amazes me is that Russia knows what the real reason for this insanity is, but they
also stick to the prescribed talking points. As do the author and most of the commenters
The reason (for Putting being in bed with Israel and generally doing nothing) could be
something as simple as Russia's recognition that it is in no position to take on the
US-Israel combine. Why resist when you fear getting your nose bloodied?
I suspect that if Putin could turn the clock back, he would do so and rewrite his March 1
speech to refrain from bragging about weaponry and abilities that he himself does not seem to
believe in. He is normally a man of very few words, invariably polite in the old nineteenth
century style. So what got into him on March 1?
Yes but those psychopaths don't mind And they don't mind reminding Putin " you don't want
WW3 .Do you ?"
then those psychopaths use the rational thinking on the part of Putin as an endorsement of
their cunning treacherous anti human anti citizen anti civilizatioanl activities .
Well, Trump lost me. He is too much like his enemies. The Deplorables are in desperate need
of leadership. But none of that matters with regard to Syria. What matters is Imperial
aggression, having been blunted, must finally be stopped at Damascus. And this must be done
without provoking a nuclear war. Putin has made much progress toward this end. If he is
successful he will get full credit. Trump will get none.
Playing rope a dope is painful and makes a fighter appear weak. The Anglo/Zio Empire is in
steep decline. Time favors Putin.
Israel is NOT on good terms with Russia. Israel, along with Saudi Arabia, France, Briton
and the United States, is AT WAR with Russia. The difference is the Israelis must keep their
options open. When the U.S. is just another big country in the Americas Russia will be the
arbiter of peace in the region. Israel may have to come to terms with the Palestinians and
may have to give up claims on Lebanon and Syria.
Now, with the neocon madman, Bolton, on board, we will watch our MIIC storm Syria and
confront Russia so that manipulating-Israel can keep Syria's Golan heights which it now
occupies. The true Endgame, of course, is not Syria but IRAN. THE Neocons hold grudges longer
than any.
I agree, civilization-wise Russia is a lot more West than East. The only difference is,
over many centuries Russians learned to live peacefully side-by-side with Muslims and
Buddhists, who represent the Eastern civilization.
That's why I called the alliance between Russia and China almost impossible. It is quite
unnatural. The only driving force for it is the US policy of provoking both Russia and China
at the same time. The US and its obedient vassals in the EU succeeded in building high level
of distrust in Russia, so that ordinary people (not oligarchs, but looks like Putin got a
taste for being popular among the real people, not just the most successful thieves) consider
China a lot more trustworthy than the West. While there is certain level of respect for the
US in Russia, maybe because its bullying is naively straightforward, a large chunk of the
population simply despises spineless, subservient, and utterly hypocritical Europe. I left
Russia in 1991. Back then this was unthinkable. Things changed.
A few years ago Pat Buchanan rightly wrote that Obama administration made sure that when
the US needs Russia as a counterbalance against China, Russia won't be there for them. Trump
faithfully continues this suicidal policy. China has money (enough to finance Russian
projects, projects in Asia and Africa, and seriously undermine the US dollar by introducing
oil futures trading in yuans at the same time), whereas Russia has weapons. Both have very
determined people (as quite a few events in Syria clearly showed). Bottom line is, the US
with all its sidekicks stands no chance against Russia or China separately, and even less
chance against both of them together. I am sure that, being unnatural, the alliance between
Russia and China won't live long after the downfall of the US from its position in the world.
But the way things stand now, it will certainly last until that downfall.
Personally, I am not sure that Pax Sinica is going to be any better than Pax Americana,
but history shows that all dominant Empires eventually lose that position. In the last 20-30
years the US elites did everything to speed up the demise of this particular Empire.
This is the 4th round of jousting in Syria by my count
1) September 17, 2016 – US warplanes "accidentally" hit Syrian airbase right after
cease-fire
2) April 7, 2017 – Trump fires Tomahawks at airbase to punish Assaf for chemical
weapons
30 February 7, 2018 – US decimated pro-regime and Russian mercenary forces
3) April 13, 2018 – UK/US/ France fire missiles to punish Assad for chemical
weapons
This latest one had the makings of beginning a bigger war but through back channels they
both backed down. To their credit, neither military wants to get in to a direct conflict.
"A few years ago Pat Buchanan rightly wrote that Obama administration made sure that when
the US needs Russia as a counterbalance against China, Russia won't be there for them. Trump
faithfully continues this suicidal policy"
One can not dismiss "stupidity" as an explanation. To be an American president one needs
only strong voice, presentation skills and to be ready to serve american"national interest"
which is of course private interests of different groups being the "Israel national interest"
and MIC the most important ones. They're interlinked.
That said, I don't believe those who really have power in the USA and tell the President
what to do, are stupid. So this apparent "US policy of provoking both Russia and China at the
same time" seems to me unconvincing. We do not have enough information to know what is really
going on.
The division between East and West is an artificial one. Of course "west" is not christian
any more. And I don"t know if we can say that "west" was really christian once.
Anyway, Christianity wouldn't have existed without the "East". The Greek Miracle is a Myth.
Plato wouldn't have existed without the "East".
"Personally, I am not sure that Pax Sinica is going to be any better than Pax
Americana"
Well, historically Chinese empire seems to be less aggressive than any other empire we know
of.
They are not interested in civilizing the barbarians But maybe that isn't true anymore.
Empires, like people, do change.
Grudge ?
I fear the hatred among Muslims against Israel and the USA is greatly underestimated.
Maybe Norman Finkelstein understands, in speeches he explained why Israeli jews are of the
opinion that there never can be peace between them and surrounding Muslims, because of what
the zionists did, and still do, to Palestinians.
Therefore, I suspect, the Israeli plans, to a large extent already executed, to destabilise
the whole Middle East.
Putin therefore is their big enemy.
Now Germany is about to buy USA Predators, I predict more terrorist acts in Germany
If Trump hasn't been skinned yet by the neocons in Washington, it's because he
judiciously brought into his camp the worst warmongers, John Bolton and Nikki Haley as
human shields in the case of a neocon attack: nobody can accuse a man whose security
adviser is Bolton and the UN ambassador is Haley of being soft on Putin. Now they can't
voice their indignation. As they say in the army, it's better to have them inside the tent
pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.
if somebody looks like an idiot, behaves like an imbecile, speaks like a stupid asshat
it's very likely you are dealing with an idiot. Stupid bringing boltons and haleys to his
circus just had some unforeseen by idiot consequencies.
As for Putin – it's pure shame, even have no desire to speak about his slick policy.
He's surely not an idiot, but his goals more and more differ from mine.
I hope this praise of Trump is a rhetorical device. The US has committed to law that is
immutable by Congress, which says the US must refrain from use or threat of force (UN Charter
Article 2(4).) "But we used armed force in a feckless, half-assed way" doesn't cut it.
What this sissy fight tells us is that the memory of JFK has taught Trump to choose his
options from the menu – bomb this or that or the other thing. Bitch about the menu, ask
for other options, like peace, and CIA will kill you. As such, Trump is irrelevant to US
conduct. He does what CIA will let him do. US policy continues unchanged.
I disagree in presenting the aggression on Syria as a fight between Trump and Putin.
This aggression against Syria is a terrorist act made by coward and criminal people
throwing bombs and running away. (If they are real christians, they should realized that they
have committed a mortal sin). Yet, on the positive side, it has showned that neither Trump
nor Putin want a real war and the Apocalypse.
Russia in not fighting the Empire because the Empire is managed by the Devil but because
the Empire want to bring Russia to mercy. Russia has no choice; Russia has to fight to avoid
"de passer sous le joug".
The Chinese are dealers and traders, the Empire is their biggest customers, they dont want to
kill their customers as long as they can do business with him. That is probably the rationale
to avoid them being dragged into a conflictual situation.
Both Russia and China are not driven against the Empire by idelogy, only Iran is, and when
Iran is fighting against the Empire, Iran is figthing the Devil.
Russia is involved in the Middle-East crisis almost by accident. The 2 Chechnya wars gave
Russia some real allergy to the terrorists and Tartus is also an important outpost on the
Mediterranean Sea.
The Middle-East crisis is driven by Israel and the Zionists and as long as the zionists
are running the Empire, the crisis will go on. They want to reduce all the Arabs in the
Middle-East to the state of the Palestinians in Gaza. The victims are the people of Syria,
Lybia, Irak, the Yemen and Lebanon and the US, the UK and France do not care.
The US with theirs Europeans dominions are fighting there on behalf the Zionists.
Only a major worldwide economic crisis could bring down the Empire, bring peace to the
Middle-East and push the Israelis to an other migration.
Jatras an excellent commentator who has long experience in DC as a senate advisor and US
diplomat asks the questions that this silly article by Yoda Shamir fails to ask
' The question remains: will the US peacefully relinquish its position as the sole
arbiter of authority, legality, and morality in a unipolar world in favor of a multipolar
order where Russia's and China's legitimate interests and spheres of influence are
respected? Or will we continue to risk plunging mankind into a global conflict?..'
Jatras also gives a great 35 thousand foot overview of the events of recent days and some
of what is being discussed going forward in terms of Syria
And oh yes he does address only tangentially the entire thesis of the silly Yoda Shamir
article here
' There was even some speculation that the whole thing was a charade worked out in
cooperation with the Russians.
Even if true (and it's unlikely) the mere fact that Trump would have to engage in
such a ruse speaks volumes about the weakness of his position.
"Whatever Trump says, America is not coming out of Syria," writes Patrick Buchanan. "We
are going deeper in. Trump's commitment to extricate us from these bankrupting and
blood-soaked Middle East wars and to seek a new rapprochement with Russia is
"inoperative"..'
So much for Yoda Shamir's joustfest
comparing these two articles is a prime example why Jatras is a respected commentator
' 3. Russia is in reality militarily weak and tottering economically. Very plausible,
very plausible indeed. Putin's March 1st boastful speech then makes perfect sense as the
desperate bluff of the desperate leader of a desperate state '
Yet another koolaid addict popping up out of nowhere here on Unz and spreading manure
lavishly
' Another friend who has spoken with military commanders in the CENTCOM AOR told me:
All of the knowledgeable aircraft commanders are usually scared shitless about
the prospect of a legitimate air-to-air skirmish with a SU-30 or any Russian air
superiority fighter '
And this about Russian air defense capability
' Any air defense engineer with a security clearance that isn't lying through his teeth
will admit that Russia's air defense technology surpassed us in the 1950′s and we've
never been able to catch up. The systems thy have in place surrounding Moscow make our
Patriot 3′s look like fucking nerf guns '
' I wrote a piece for the Unz Review yesterday. You can see it over there. There were
over a hundred comments. Most of them were favorable, but some were just awful '
The Russians are predestined to fight 'the West'
Instinctively they have always known this
Rationally they have always tried to explain it away
War and Peace can be read as a coming of age story of the Russian Nation
Somehow the Russian Elite is more susceptible to the lure of 'the West' than the Russian
commoner
The commoner knows in her gut that 'the West' is her mortal enemy
No doubt that Russia will eventually go all the way against 'the West'
Dragging her feet is just the way Russia always has behaved in existential conflicts
When Napoleon and Hitler came knocking on her door she behaved no different
This time it is different though
I sense that Russia will want to finish this conflict for good
I expect they will go full Carthago on 'the West', erasing them from history
Russian leaders do seem remarkably sensible, especially when viewed from a western country
where hysteria is the norm.
It is because of this sensibility I fear the worst. The mass-delusion gripping the Western
political class disconnects them from reality, I can't see this ending well. I would not be
surprised if a Western politician announced: "We need to destroy the world in order to save
it"
Once the Russian Leaders realize the extent of Western delusion the sensible thing to do
might be wiping them out for good.
The only problem with this solution would be that I would be wiped out as well.
The nature of power is evil. It's not about "Jewish power". It's about Power.
Agree completely
Also would say that the whole Israel wagging the US dog is not realistic either
Look rationally at the Empire structure we see the vassals like EU and Nato states plus
Japan South Korea, Taiwan etc always falling obediently in line
Just today Assad called France a 'Slave' and sent back his silly French Legion of
Honor award that they gave him in 2001
Slave just about nicely sums it up
Yet Israel is able to operate with more freedom than the galley slaves why is that ?
It's because Israel is the most valuable of the empire's properties an unassailable
fortress in the most geopolitically important region
One could argue that the power of the US Jewish lobby is the thing that let's Israel
exercise the kind of independence that the slaves cannot
I have no truck with calling Israel out on its crimes against the Palestinians that has to
stop but Israeli society is much smarter and realistic than koolaidland US
I hope it won't come to that, as I live in the US. The hysteria is scary, though. Here it
is fuelled by sore losers, Killary and her handlers: she and most of them are guilty of so
many crimes (real criminal offenses that put normal people to jail for many years) that they
need a distraction. MIC also wants justification for even more money thrown into its maw.
Their greed and the perfidy of various self-proclaimed liberals endanger us all.
Yet Israel is able to operate with more freedom than the galley slaves why is that ?
It's because Israel is the most valuable of the empire's properties an unassailable
fortress in the most geopolitically important region
One could argue that the power of the US Jewish lobby is the thing that let's Israel
exercise the kind of independence that the slaves cannot
In fact quite the opposite. Little Israel controls half a continent (North America) in the
same way that little (Imperial) Britain controlled the Indian sub-continent. When Great
Britain lost India (the Jewel in the Crown) its power was gone, and when Israel loses the US
(its Jewel in the Crown) it's power is also gone.
"Solving Other People's Problems in the Middle East"
Establishment journalists and politicos write and say the darndest things, advanced as
common sense under the sway of reigning nationalist and imperial ideology. Take the New
York Times ' chief White House correspondent Peter Baker. In a page-one "news analysis"
last Sunday, Baker wrote the following about Donald Trump's recent missile strike on Syria:
"The strike brought home Mr. Trump's competing impulses when it comes to Syria -- on the
one hand, his manful chest-thumping intended to demonstrate that he is the toughest one on
the international block, and on the other, his deep conviction that American
involvement in the Middle East since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has been a waste of blood
and treasure .He did little to reconcile those impulses with his retaliatory strike to punish
the government of President Bashar al-Assad for a suspected chemical attack a week ago that
killed dozens of people. But then again, he reflected the contradictions of an American
public that is tired of trying to solve other people's problems in the Middle East
." (emphasis added).
The sheer tonnage of bullshit contained in this short passage is striking. Baker lacked the
decency to note that (as everybody knows) Trump's missile spasm was intended to distract U.S.
public attention from his troubled political situation at home. It was a transparent dog-wag
that worked for a day or two.
Most baffling is is French president Emmanuele Macron's fierce reaction. There's no other nation which has suffered so much
from terrorist attacks as France. And yet now its president is determined to use his fighter planes as the de facto airforce for
the the jihadi extremists. Macron went even as far as making his statements with the Saudi prince at his side, the leader of a
country which is known for funding the jihadis!
Weird times.
Jay_Q123 -> RudolphS 13 Apr 2018 16:25
Macron just got back from a few days hanging on out with the Saudi Arabian elite, who have
been the most destructive force in the Syrian war and spreads terrorism all over the world
guaranteed to spend tens of billions on French weapons.
Agreed Macron is so proud about the weapons Saudi Arabia bought of him. And strangely enough
Saudi Arabia supports the ISIS head choppers in Syria, I think of a coincidence. And I didn't
mention the gaz pipeline crossing Syria, that if Russia/Assad win, will be beyond the control
of Europeans, a real bummer, given that Russia controls the supply east of Germany. I guess
civilian death, is the only thing in the forefront of the France/UK/US preoccupations.
Surely, they wouldn't condone civilians dying for geo-political reasons?
Yes, I remember Rice, Cheney, Bush, and Rumsfeld telling the world that they had evidence
that Saddam was hoarding WMD. I'm still waiting to hear what it was. Now M. Macron spouts the
same ambiguous nonsense expecting us to take his word for it.
Trump publicly states that US troops are being withdrawn from Syria. The next thing you
know, Assad is allegedly gassing civilians. That makes a whole lot of sense doesn't it? If
there's a sure-fire way of making sure you're on the wrong end of a bit of American 'shock
and awe,' it's gassing innocents. Assad must have a death wish; or so they'd have us believe.
The more I read about this fiasco, the more I think David Icke is the most rational man on
the planet.
Western neoliberal governments lost the remnants of patina of legitimacy on international
scene and now look like bloodthirsty predators, they always were.
But where is the incontrovertible proof that the regime is in fact responsible for the attack
rather than 'rebel groups' now on the point of final defeat, who'd wish to draw in the major
NATO powers? Why would the regime afford the US, France and UK the pretext to do one thing
that'd undermine Assad's otherwise certain victory? The timing seems odd indeed while Saudi
Arabia, Turkey and Israel act with impunity against minority populations. Each of the latter
has form and interest the destruction of Syria in this proxy war.
The UK thinks it's "highly likely" Assad is to blame for the chemical attack. France says
it has evidence Assad is responsible but won't say what it is. US Secretary of Defence Mattis
believes a chemical attack took place but says there's no evidence. And depending on the day
of the week, Russia believes there was either no chemical attack or if there was then it was
staged by the UK.
And for good measure we appear to be going headlong into war on the basis of all this.
The UN investigations concluded that the chemicals had come from Syrian Army stocks which
there wasn't much doubt about to start with. Where they were less conclusive was the matter
of who had deployed them given the capture of large stocks of munitions by the terrorists
early in the war. On the basis of cui bono? it seems more likely that it was the
terrorist side who sought to provoke Western intervention by staging chemical incidents
rather than the Syrian Government who had little to gain and much to lose from the use of any
kind of WMD.
First Blair holding onto an idiot's shirt tails to attack a Middle Eastern country based
on hearsay and no coherent withdrawal policy. Now we have May and Macron holding the hands of
an even bigger idiot whose populist thoughts change by the minute so no hope of any
withdrawal plan.
Does May and her hawks (Gove, Johnson) really want to be compared with Trump, Kim, Putin,
Assad, W Bush, Blair et al in the history books?
The rebels in Syria have a history of using sarin, chlorine and mustard gas against troops
and civilians. But Washington, London and Paris are completely dummy on this. Not a whisper.
Rather straight to accusations and threats against the regime they have been trying to
overthrow for years.
I don't know who did it. But I know who lies every time they take a breath if they
consider it in their interests. Truth is the first casualty. I don't believe any of them.
Noticeable that the Guardian live coverage provides Western refutations of Russia's claims of
evidence regarding a staged false attack, but doesn't actually cover the evidence the
Russians have provided - testimony from medical staff who claim to be witnesses. Now I'm not
so stupid as to take these claims as gospel, the Russians are just as capable as anyone of
finding a couple of fake or pressured witnesses. However the failure of the Western press to
even elaborate on the evidence, even just to ridicule and debunk it, is suspicious.
An unusual triple alliance is emerging from the Syrian war, one that could alter the balance
of power in the Middle East, unhinge the NATO alliance, and complicate the Trump
administration's designs on Iran. It might also lead to yet another double cross of one of the
region's largest ethnic groups, the Kurds.
However, the "troika alliance" -- Turkey, Russia and Iran -- consists of three countries
that don't much like one another, have different goals, and whose policies are driven by a
combination of geo-global goals and internal politics. In short, "fragile and complicated"
doesn't even begin to describe it.
How the triad might be affected by the joint U.S., French and British attack on Syria is
unclear, but in the long run the alliance will likely survive the uptick of hostilities.
But common ground was what came out of the April 4 meeting between Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meeting
in Ankara, the parties pledged to support the "territorial integrity" of Syria, find a
diplomatic end to the war, and to begin a reconstruction of a Syria devastated by seven years
of war. While Russia and Turkey explicitly backed the UN-sponsored talks in Geneva, Iran was
quiet on that issue, preferring a regional solution without
"foreign plans."
"Common ground," however, doesn't mean the members of the "troika" are on the same page.
Turkey's interests are both internal and external. The Turkish Army is currently conducting
two military operations in northern Syria, Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield, aimed at driving
the mainly Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) out of land that borders Turkey. But those
operations are also deeply entwined with Turkish politics.
Erdogan's internal support has been eroded by a number of factors: exhaustion with the
ongoing state of emergency imposed following the 2016 attempted coup, a
shaky economy , and a precipitous fall in the value of the Turkish pound. Rather than
waiting for 2019, Erdogan called for snap elections this past week and beating up on the Kurds
is always popular with right-wing Turkish nationalists. Erdogan needs all the votes he can get
to imlement his newly minted executive presidency that will give him virtually one-man
rule.
To be part of the alliance, however, Erdogan has had to modify his goal of getting rid of
Syrian President Bashar Assad and to agree -- at this point, anyhow -- to eventually withdraw
from areas in northern Syria seized by the Turkish Army.
Russia and Iran have called for turning over the regions conquered by the Turks to the
Syrian Army.
Moscow's goals are to keep a foothold in the Middle East with its only base, Tartus, and to
aid its long-time ally, Syria. The Russians are not deeply committed to Assad personally, but
they want a friendly government in Damascus. They also want to destroy al-Qaeda and the Islamic
State, which have caused Moscow considerable trouble in the Caucasus.
Russia also wouldn't mind driving a wedge between Ankara and NATO. After the U.S., Turkey
has NATO's second largest army. NATO broke a 1989 agreement not to recruit former members of
the Russian-dominated Warsaw Pact into NATO as a quid pro quo for the Soviets withdrawing from
Eastern Europe. But since the Yugoslav War in 1999 the alliance has marched right up to the
borders of Russia. The 2008 war with Georgia and 2014 seizure of the Crimea were largely a
reaction to what Moscow sees as an encirclement strategy by its adversaries.
Turkey has been at
odds with its NATO allies around a dispute between Greece and Cyprus over sea-based
oil and gas resources , and it recently charged two
Greek soldiers who violated the Turkish border with espionage. Erdogan is also angry that
European Union countries refuse to extradite Turkish soldiers and civilians who he claims
helped engineer the 2016 coup against him. While most NATO countries condemned Moscow for the
recent attack on two Russians in Britain, the
Turks pointedly did not .
Turkish relations with Russia have an
economic side as well. Ankara want a natural gas pipeline from Russia, has broken ground on
a $20 billion Russian nuclear reactor, and just shelled out $2.5 billion for Russia's S-400
anti-aircraft system.
The Russians do not support Erdogan's war on the Kurds and have lobbied for
the inclusion of Kurdish delegations in negotiations over the future of Syria. But Moscow
clearly gave the Turks a green light to attack the Kurdish city of Afrin last month, driving
out the YPG that had liberated it from the Islamic State and Turkish-backed al-Qaeda groups. A
number of Kurds charge that Moscow has betrayed
them .
The question now is, will the Russians stand aside if the Turkish forces move further into
Syria and attack the city of Manbij, where the Kurds are allied with U.S. and French forces?
And will Erdogan's hostility to the Kurds lead to an
armed clash among three NATO members?
Such a clash seems unlikely, although the Turks have been giving flamethrower speeches over
the past several weeks. "Those who cooperate with terrorists organizations [the YPG] will be
targeted by Turkey," says Turkish Deputy Prime Minister
Bekir Bozdag said in a pointed reference to France's support for the Kurds. Threatening the
French is one thing, picking a fight with the U.S. military quite another.
Of course, if President Trump pulls U.S. forces out of Syria, it will be tempting for Turkey
to move in. While the "troika alliance" has agreed to Syrian "sovereignty," that won't stop
Ankara from meddling in Kurdish affairs. The Turks are already appointing governors and mayors
for the areas in Syria they have occupied.
Iran's major concern in Syria is maintaining a buffer between itself and a very aggressive
alliance of the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia, which seems to be in the preliminary stages of
planning a war against the second-largest country in the Middle East.
Iran is not at all the threat it has been pumped up to be. Its military is miniscule and
talk of a so-called "Shiite crescent" -- Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon -- is pretty much a
western invention (although the term was dreamed up by the King of Jordan).
Tehran has been weakened by crippling sanctions and faces the possibility that Washington
will withdraw from the nuclear accord and re-impose yet more sanctions. The appointment of
National Security Advisor John Bolton, who openly calls for regime change in Iran, has to have
sent a chill down the spines of the Iranians. What Tehran needs most of all is allies who will
shield it from the enmity of the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia. In this regard, Turkey and
Russia could be helpful.
Iran has modified its original goals in Syria of a Shiite-dominated regime by agreeing to a
"non-sectarian character" for a post-war Syria. Erdogan has also given up on his desire for a
Sunni-dominated government in Damascus.
War with Iran would be catastrophic, an unwinnable conflict that could destabilize the
Middle East even more than it is now. It would, however, drive up the price of oil, currently
running at around $66 a barrel. Saudi Arabia needs to sell its oil for at least $100 a barrel,
or it will very quickly run of money. The on-going quagmire of the Yemen war, the need to
diversify the economy, and the growing clamor by young Saudis -- 70 percent of the population
-- for jobs requires lots of money, and the current trends in oil pricing are not going to
cover the bills.
War and oil make for
odd bedfellows . While the Saudis are doing their best to overthrow the Assad regime and
fuel the extremists fighting the Russians, Riyadh is wooing Moscow to sign onto to a long-term
OPEC agreement to control oil supplies. That probably won't happen -- the Russians are fine
with oil at $50 to $60 a barrel -- and are wary of agreements that would restrict their right
to develop new oil and gas resources. The Saudi's jihad on the Iranians has a desperate edge to
it, as well it might. The greatest threat to the Kingdom has always come from within.
The rocks and shoals that can wreck alliances in the Middle East are too numerous to count,
and the "troika" is riven with contradictions and conflicting interests. But the war in Syria
looks as if it is coming to some kind of resolution, and at this point Iran, Russia and Turkey
seem to be the only actors who have a script that goes beyond lobbing cruise missiles at
people.
"... The best solution being that he defeats all rebel forces as quickly as possible. The UN Chemical Weapons people can then go in ( or even before ) and try to collect some evidence. ..."
"... It is all about oil and supremacy in the region. Since when has our government or that of any western Country - cared about their people. Canon fodder - that is what we are. ..."
'.....Given Russia's presence, it would not be easy...... '
Understatement of the century. If you start bombing strategic military targets you are
quite, likely to hit Russian planes and troops.
As I said yesterday - What is the point ? Assad ( helped by his ally Russia ) has all but
won the war ( which makes his use of chemical weapons surprising / a big mistake ) - The best
solution being that he defeats all rebel forces as quickly as possible. The UN Chemical
Weapons people can then go in ( or even before ) and try to collect some evidence.
Meanwhile, the Saudis are bombing Yemeni children with UK manufactured bombs.
The Syrian situation was made far worse by the USA / France and the UK arming extremist
Islamic groups during the ' Arab Spring ' in an attempt to depose the legitimate ruler of a
sovereign nation.
We don't say much about China's interference in Tibet these days, do we ?
Or the effect of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War ?
"here are many, many notable historians who state the death toll as high as 135,000 "
The biggest single death toll in WWII was the low level firebombing of Tokyo, large areas
of Japans capital city were wiped out. With houses as flammable as you can ever imagine, an
unimaginably horror filled event. The Japanese death toll was around 100,000 dead. You are
saying more died in Dresden?
"On this day, U.S. warplanes launch a new bombing offensive against Japan, dropping
2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo over the course of the next 48 hours. Almost 16
square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and
130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the worst single firestorm in recorded
history." https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo
It is all about oil and supremacy in the region. Since when has our government or that of any
western Country - cared about their people. Canon fodder - that is what we are.
OK so let's attack Saudi for what they are doing in Yemen.
And Myanmar for their behaviour. Then there's Mexico, where the cartels keep murdering people. Really, let's apply the same standards everywhere.
How will this proposed action change anything? The Syrians have hidden everything that matters, the Russians will get 90 minutes warning
of the targets .... It's a PR exercise on the usual lines of "Something must be done .... this is something
..... "
Russia has transferred forty Pantsir-S1 air defense systems to Syria' Air Defence.
This is the latest air defence technology (the system is in service since 2012) - a combined
short to medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system
against aircrafts, helicopters, precision munitions, cruise missiles and UAVs.
Israeli's deep incursions in Syria and the bombing of military bases also used by Russian
military have provided a lot of information about the capabilities and limitations of the Russian
military technology deployed in Syria.
Sure, here's the UN OPCW investigation report which directly blames the Assad forces for
chemical attacks. Take as much time as you need.
https://undocs.org/S/2016/738
I couldn't find the paragraph which directly blames Assad's forces.
I note it does refer (at para 44) to Assad's allegation that a video had been staged. It
concludes that the patients on the video "appear relatively unaffected by the typical
symptoms. No red eyes, tearing, paleness, sweating, cyanosis or breathing difficulties can be
observed from the footage. The patients interviewed in the video show little or no signs of
having been exposed to a toxic chemical".
As I've said , I consider the term 'putinbot' - infantile and indicative of a lack of logical
argumentation as it is - as a compliment, since it appears to be code for those who retain
the ability to think for themselves and not fall glumly for the latest official line.
since the OPCW proved it was Putin who tried to murder British civilians with nerve
agents.
Actually, they proved no such thing, but in any case it's irrelevant to the discussion at
hand.
Personally I am uncertain what has happened regarding the chemical attack in Syria however it
is pretty clear to me what has happened and continues to happen in Yemen and Palestine.
Send Dearest Jeremy to Damascus with one of his megaphones and a bunch of his most loyal.
I am not sure what he will yell down the megaphone, but whatever it is I am sure it will make
him feel better about protesting, something.
so you have an answer for the Russian narrative but not for the British viewpoint.
Laughable and ridiculous. What source do you have for the Russian military's claim ?
Let me guess ? Some obscure blog site or RT?
The notion of inaction, of standing by and watching as Assad kills and kills and kills,
racking up a death toll in Syria of 500,000
On May 12, 1996, Madeleine Albright defended UN sanctions against Iraq on a 60 Minutes
segment in which Lesley Stahl asked her "We have heard that half a million children have
died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth
it?" and Albright replied, "We think the price is worth it."'
From tomorrow the weather in some parts of the UK stops being an utter bastard and starts to
look like spring. The sun will get its hat on, hip, hip, hip, hooray!
Go out and listen to the birds, look at the blossom. Lots of good in the world.
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also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs .
Just in case anyone asks for an example of US diverging from Israeli objectives (I realise
that I did not elucidate on that in my post), US air strikes have focused entirely on ISIS
and have, up to now, left the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah alone. There's no
doubt that the Americans are very closely tied to Israeli objectives, but they certainly
aren't being controlled by a 'Zionist elite', America still fights for America. As I outlined
above, it's really only the British government that doesn't appear to have anything even
beginning to resemble an independent foreign policy.
I watched RT for the first time last night and it was interesting.
But right now its like we are being ruled by lunatics. It is absolutely sickening. Quite
literally some moron in the White House is tweeting, 'My bombs are bigger than yours' and
'The missiles are coming.' And they still let him in rule one of the most powerful countries
on the Earth with a vast mass of WMD and Theresa May is trying reason with a fucking moron.
Hey Guardian if Trump is talking like this my swearing is the least of our problems, so
please don't moderate. We need someone to Moderate the madmen.
hallelujah - the Russians have decided to allow the UN chemical weapons inspectors to now
visit the site. Of course they vetoed it initially because out of a sense of tidiness, they
wanted to clean up the place before guests came.
Overthrowing the B'aathist regime would also cause chaos. You have several proxy wars going
on in Syria. Having jihadists groups with links to Saudi/ Iran etc fill the void is hardly a
great prospect. We've just seen the back of ISIS after all.
Perhaps the place they visited to check if an attack happened was the wrong place, who knows?
Does seem rather perverse though to predict an impending gas attack and then go and carry it
out yourself.
We, along with the US, France and Gulf states have supported, armed and trained "rebels"
in Syria the whole time. We've had, as have others, special forces operating inside
Syria
So, there would never be rebellions against totalitarian dictators if it weren't for the CIA
and MI6.
I don't buy this. It's very convenient if you're an anti-war person who doesn't want to
face an ethical dilemma. But it's not real.
This is a sensible article. Funny how those shouting abuse offer NO alternative and would
rather turn a blind eye to children being gassed, than be part of a country that has the
moral fibre to stand up to this butchery.
Sergei, you are the one with imagination. I wonder why the putinbots have gone quiet about
salibusry since the OPCW proved it was Putin who tried to murder British civilians with nerve
agents.
better the devil than allah looking at the state of the islsmic world maybe?
but meanwhike lets excuse putin and asdad...
you are jeremy corbyn and i donate my 5 pounds to charity
The Syrian Negotiation Commission has called for action to deter Assad from killing
civilians. What they envisage is that each time Assad launches a deadly attack on
noncombatants, allied forces reply by taking out one of the strategic assets he uses to
kill civilians. It could be an airfield, it could be a command centre. If the target were
aircraft, that would simultaneously inflict a cost on the regime and deprive it of the
means of dropping its barrel bombs and toxic, yellow cylinders. The objective would be to
make Assad pay a price for killing his own people, a price he has not paid until now.
Eventually, or so runs the hope, he would be deterred.
That kind of reminds me of when Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress were
explaining how to get rid of Saddam without plunging Iraq into mayhem and destabilising the
wider region.
I'm going to post a comment by another user posted yesterday as he said it far more
eloquently than I could
R Reddington InterestedReader2 1d ago
Your just another armchair warrior.
So you think going to war is a good idea well you first then and dont forget your flack
jacket and rifle.
The media onslaught has moved past the attack in Salisbury by a "weapon of mass
destruction" (quoting Theresa May) which could only be Russian, except that was untrue, and
was extremely deadly, except that was untrue too. It now focuses on an attack by chemical
weapons in Douma which "could only be" by the Russian-backed Assad regime, except there is
no evidence of that either, and indeed neutral verified evidence from Douma is
non-existent. The combination of the two events is supposed to have the British population
revved up by jingoism, and indeed does have Tony Blair and assorted Tories revved up, to
attack Syria and potentially to enter conflict with Russia in Syria.
The "Russian" attack in Salisbury is supposed to negate the "not our war" argument,
particularly as a British policeman was unwell for a while. Precisely what is meant to
negate the "why on earth are we entering armed confrontation with a nuclear power"
argument, I do not know.
Saudi Arabia has naturally offered facilities to support the UK, US and France in their
attempt to turn the military tide in Syria in favour of the Saudi sponsored jihadists whom
Assad had come close to defeating. That the Skripal and Douma incidents were preceded by
extremely intense diplomatic activity between Saudi Arabia, Washington, Paris and London
this year, with multiple top level visits between capitals, is presumably supposed to be
coincidence.
I am not a fan of Assad any more than I was a fan of Saddam Hussein. But the public now
understand that wars for regime change in Muslim lands have disastrous effects in dead and
maimed adults and children and in destroyed infrastructure; our attacks unleash huge
refugee waves and directly cause terrorist attacks here at home. There is no purpose in a
military attack on Syria other than to attempt to help the jihadists overthrow Assad. There
is a reckless disregard for evidence base on the pretexts for all this. Indeed, the more
the evidence is scrutinised, the dodgier it seems. Finally there is a massive difference
between mainstream media narrative around these events and a deeply sceptical public, as
shown in social media and in comments sections of corporate media websites.
The notion that Britain will take part in military action against Syria with neither
investigation of the evidence nor a parliamentary vote is worrying indeed. Without Security
Council authorisation, any such action is illegal in any event. It is worth noting that the
many commentators who attempt to portray Russia's veto of a Syria resolution as invalid,
fail to note that last week, in two separate 14 against 1 votes, the USA vetoed security
council resolutions condemning Israeli killings of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza.
The lesson the neo-cons learnt from the Iraq war is not that it was disastrous. It was
only disastrous for the dead and maimed Iraqis, our own dead and maimed servicemen, and
those whose country was returned to medievalism. It was a great success for the neo-cons,
they made loads of money on armaments and oil. The lesson the neo-cons learned was not to
give the public in the West any time to mount and organise opposition. Hence the
destruction of Libya was predicated on an entirely false "we have 48 hours to prevent the
massacre of the population of Benghazi" narrative. Similarly this latest orchestrated
"crisis" is being followed through into military action at a blistering pace, as the four
horsemen sweep by, scything down reason and justice on the way.
Labour calls for the attack on Douma to be "fully investigated". That sounds unarguable.
But then what? Jeremy Corbyn issued the same call after the chemical attack that killed at
least 74 at Khan Sheikhoun a year ago: demanding there be a "UN investigation and those
responsible be held to account". The UN duly investigated and in October concluded
unambiguously that the Assad regime had used sarin gas. But Corbyn greeted that verdict
with silence.
The report that Mr Freedland provides a link to, actually says:
"5. While the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic works to establish
the facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic chemicals for hostile purposes in the
country, it is not mandated to reach conclusions about attributing responsibility for
chemical weapons use. 1 Following a determination by the FactFinding Mission that a specific
incident in the Syrian Arab Republic involved or likely involved the use of chemicals as
weapons, the Mechanism conducts an investigation to identify, to the greatest extent
feasible, the perpetrators, organizers, sponsors or those otherwise involved. In conducting
its investigation, the Mechanism relies on findings of the Fact-Finding Mission regarding the
use of chemicals as weapons in each incident and pursues a rigorous independent examination
of the available information surrounding such use so as to identify, to the greatest extent
feasible, those responsible."
It doesn't appear to be claiming to be concluding "unambiguously that the Assad regime had
used sarin gas." Am I missing something here?
Mr Freedland's allegation that "Corbyn greeted that verdict with silence" is highly
suspect:
"RT:Today, Moscow says it has evidence that rebels have used sarin gas. Earlier Britain
said that Assad forces were behind the chemical attack. But why didn't Britain and the US
come forward with the same sort of hard evidence that Russia has come forward with?
JC: That's an interesting question. I can't speak for the British or the US
governments, but they made these allegations about the use of chemical weapons – and
there are apparently stocks of chemical weapons being held in Syria, which may well have
fallen into opposition hands, or may still be in government hands, or maybe both – but
the assertion was made that they had been used. But no hard evidence came up, and indeed,
there was a great deal of skepticism surrounding the evidence that was never presented. And
the Russian evidence today appears much stronger, and they said they were going to put that
evidence in the hands of the United Nations - that has got to be a good thing. However,
proving or not proving this doesn't end the crisis, there has to be the rapid resumption of
talks by Geneva too, all parties must be involved – including Iran. If we're to bring
about a settlement, there's got to be involvement of Iran, as well as all the different
parties in Syria."
"... British governments, both Labour and Conservative, have, in pursuing the so-called 'national interest' abroad, colluded for decades with radical Islamic forces, including terrorist organizations. They have connived with them, worked alongside them and sometimes trained and financed them, in order to promote specific foreign policy objectives. Governments have done so in often desperate attempts to maintain Britain's global power in the face of increasing weakness in key regions of the world, being unable to unilaterally impose their will and lacking other local allies. Thus the story is intimately related to that of Britain's imperial decline and the attempt to maintain influence in the world. ..."
"... But whereas Sharif Hussein was a follower of orthodox Sunni Islam, Ibn Saud adhered to the radical doctrine of Wahhabism, which Winston Churchill was moved to describe as " bloodthirsty ..."
"... British support for the mujahideen, married to the huge support provided by Washington, was indispensable in the eventual success of these self-styled 'holy warriors' in taking control of a country that had embraced modernity and turning it into a failed state mired in religious oppression, brutality, backwardness and poverty. ..."
"... Britain, along with the US, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, covertly supported the resistance to defeat the Soviet occupation of the country. Military, financial and diplomatic backing was given to Islamist forces which, while forcing a Soviet withdrawal, soon organized themselves into terrorist networks ready to strike Western targets. ..."
"... Islamic resistance ..."
"... We trust the Western leaders are prepared for the enormous beneficial possibilities that could just possibly open up if the Afghan rebellion were to succeed. ..."
"... Manchester, England is home to the largest Libyan community in Britain, and there is strong evidence to suggest that when the Libyan uprising broke out MI6 facilitated the ability of Libyan Islamists in Britain to travel to Libya to participate in the fighting. Among them was Salman Abedi, who it is thought received military training in the country before being allowed to return to the UK thereafter. ..."
"... This brings us on to Syria and, as with Libya, the question of how so many British Muslims have been able to travel from the UK to Syria via Turkey to take part in the anti-Assad insurgency since 2011? It also brings into sharp focus a policy that has veered between the ludicrous and the reckless. ..."
"... As for the recklessness of Britain's actions in Syria, look no further than the country's recent participation in the illegal missile strikes that were carried out in conjunction with the US and France, justified on the basis of as yet unproven allegations that Syrian government forces had carried out a chemical weapons attack on Douma, just outside Damascus. The only beneficiaries of such actions by the Western powers are Salafi-jihadist groups such as ISIS (whom it was later reported took advantage of the missile strike to mount a short-lived offensive), Al-Nusra and Jaysh al-Islam. ..."
"... The latter of those groups, Jaysh al-Islam, is a Saudi proxy. It was the dominant group in Douma and throughout Eastern Ghouta until the district's liberation by the Syrian Army and its allies with Russian support. ..."
Britain's strategic relationship with radical Islam goes back decades and continues to this
day. There is no more foul a stench than the stench of hypocrisy, and there is no more foul a
hypocrisy than the British government painting Bashar al-Assad as a monster when in truth he
and the Syrian people have been grappling with a twin-headed monster in the shape of
Salafi-jihadi terror and Western imperialism. Both are committed to destroying Syria as an
independent, non-sectarian state, and both are inextricably linked.
Author and journalist Mark Curtis charts in detail
the contours of this history in his book 'Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion with Radical
Islam':
" British governments, both Labour and Conservative, have, in pursuing the so-called
'national interest' abroad, colluded for decades with radical Islamic forces, including
terrorist organizations. They have connived with them, worked alongside them and sometimes
trained and financed them, in order to promote specific foreign policy objectives. Governments
have done so in often desperate attempts to maintain Britain's global power in the face of
increasing weakness in key regions of the world, being unable to unilaterally impose their will
and lacking other local allies. Thus the story is intimately related to that of Britain's
imperial decline and the attempt to maintain influence in the world. "
As far back as the First World War, when the Middle East began to assume strategic
importance in the capitals of Western imperial and colonial powers, the British ruling class
went out of its way to identify and recruit loyal local proxies in pursuit of its regional
objectives. Britain's relationship with the Arab tribal chief, Ibn Saud, who would go on to
establish Saudi Arabia in the early 1930s, began in 1915 with the Darin Pact, demarcating the
territory then controlled by Saud as a British protectorate.
The following year, the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans erupted. Begun and inspired by
Saud's fierce rival, Sharif Hussein, head of the Hashemite Arab tribe, the revolt was heavily
bankrolled and supported by the British – a period immortalized in the exploits of
British military agent T E Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia.
But whereas Sharif Hussein was a follower of orthodox Sunni Islam, Ibn Saud adhered to the
radical doctrine of Wahhabism, which Winston Churchill was moved to describe as "
bloodthirsty " and " intolerant ." Regardless, when it came to its imperial
interests there was no tiger upon whose back the British ruling class was not willing to ride
during this period, and which, as events have proved, it has not been willing to ride
since.
The most egregious example of this policy, one that continues to have ramifications today,
was the support provided by the UK to the Afghan mujahideen in the late 1970s and 1980s. The
insurgency's objective was the overthrow of Kabul's secular and left-leaning government, whose
crime in the eyes of the Islamist insurgency's US and UK sponsors was that it had embraced the
social and economic model of Moscow rather than Washington during the first Cold War.
British support for the mujahideen, married to the huge support provided by Washington, was
indispensable in the eventual success of these self-styled 'holy warriors' in taking control of
a country that had embraced modernity and turning it into a failed state mired in religious
oppression, brutality, backwardness and poverty.
Mark Curtis again:
" Britain, along with the US, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, covertly supported the
resistance to defeat the Soviet occupation of the country. Military, financial and diplomatic
backing was given to Islamist forces which, while forcing a Soviet withdrawal, soon organized
themselves into terrorist networks ready to strike Western targets. "
While Washington's primary role in channeling military and financial support to the Afghan
mujahideen, known as
Operation Cyclone , may until have succeeded in overshadowing London's role in this dirty
war, declassified British government cabinet papers which were made public in 2010 and
reported in the UK media make grim reading.
They reveal that three weeks after Soviet forces arrived in Afghanistan at the request of
the Afghan government in Kabul, struggling to deal with an insurgency that had broken out in
the countryside, the Thatcher government was planning to supply military aid to the "
Islamic resistance ." A confidential government memo provides a chilling insight into
the insanity that passed for official policy: " We trust the Western leaders are prepared
for the enormous beneficial possibilities that could just possibly open up if the Afghan
rebellion were to succeed. "
It will be recalled that out of the ensuing collapse of Afghanistan emerged the Taliban,
under whose rule the country was turned into a vast militant jihadist school and training camp.
Many of the most notorious Islamist terrorists began their careers there, fighting the Soviets
and then later broadening out their activities to other parts of the region and wider world. In
this regard, Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda loom large.
Other notorious names from the world of Salafi-jihadism for whom Afghanistan proved
indispensable include the Jordanian Abu al-Zarqawi, who founded Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) during
the US-UK occupation, an organization that would over time morph into ISIS.
Abdelhakim Belhaj and other Libyan Islamists cut their jihadist teeth in Afghanistan in the
1980s. Returning to Libya, they formed the Libyan Islamic
Fighting Group (LIFG) in the eastern city of Benghazi. Though the group may have been
disbanded in 2010, having failed to topple Gaddafi despite repeated attempts to assassinate the
Libyan leader with, it's been
claimed , the support of Britain's MI6, former members of the LIFG, including Belhaj, were
important actors in the 2011 Libyan uprising.
By way of a reminder, the uprising in Libya started in Benghazi and would not have succeeded
without the air support it received from NATO. Britain's then prime minister, David Cameron,
was key in pushing for that air support and the sanction of the UN under the auspices of
Security Council Resolution 1973. Though protecting civilians was central in wording of this
UNSC resolution, it was shamefully distorted to justify regime change, culminating in Gaddafi's
murder by the 'rebels.'
Staying with the LIFG, in the wake of the Manchester suicide-bomb attack in May 2017, which
left 23 people dead and 500 injured, the fact that the bomber, a young Libyan by the name of
Salman Abedi, was the son of a former member of the LIFG, did not receive anything like the
media attention it should have at the time.
Manchester, England is home to the largest Libyan community in Britain, and there is strong
evidence to suggest that when the Libyan uprising broke out MI6 facilitated the ability of
Libyan Islamists in Britain to travel to Libya to participate in the fighting. Among them was
Salman Abedi, who it is thought received military training in the country before being allowed
to return to the UK thereafter.
This brings us on to Syria and, as with Libya, the question of how so
many British Muslims have been able to travel from the UK to Syria via Turkey to take part
in the anti-Assad insurgency since 2011? It also brings into sharp focus a policy that has
veered between the ludicrous and the reckless.
Emblematic of the former was ex-prime minister David Cameron's
claim , which he made during a 2015 Commons debate over whether the Royal Air Force should
engage in air strikes against ISIS in Syria, that fighting as part of the Syrian were 70,000
moderates.
As for the recklessness of Britain's actions in Syria, look no further than the country's
recent participation in the illegal missile strikes that were carried out in conjunction with
the US and France, justified on the basis of as yet unproven allegations that Syrian government
forces had carried out a chemical weapons attack on Douma, just outside Damascus. The only
beneficiaries of such actions by the Western powers are Salafi-jihadist groups such as ISIS
(whom it was later
reported took advantage of the missile strike to mount a short-lived offensive), Al-Nusra
and Jaysh al-Islam.
The latter of those groups, Jaysh al-Islam, is a Saudi proxy. It was the dominant group in
Douma and throughout Eastern Ghouta until the district's liberation by the Syrian Army and its
allies with Russian support.
Given the deep and longstanding ties between London and Riyadh; given the fact,
reported towards the end of 2017, that British military personnel were embedded in a
training role with Saudi forces in Yemen; given the news that a British special forces sergeant was
killed in northern Syria at the end of March this year while embedded with the Kurds, revealing
for the first time that British troops were operating in the country on the ground –
given all that, the question of who else British special forces and military personnel may be
embedded with in Syria is legitimate.
In the context of the British state's long and sordid history when it comes to riding the
back of radical Islam in pursuit of its strategic objectives, readers will doubtless draw their
own conclusions.
John Wight has written for newspapers and websites across the world, including the
Independent, Morning Star, Huffington Post, Counterpunch, London Progressive Journal, and
Foreign Policy Journal. He is also a regular commentator on RT and BBC Radio. John is currently
working on a book exploring the role of the West in the Arab Spring. You can follow him on
Twitter @JohnWight1
The biggest damage from the strikes on Syria was to the credibility of the US, French and
Airstrip One governments. In the days of dubya at least some effort was put into the false
flags.
Great article, except the USA did not "acquire the Philippine Islands", it invaded! The
Syrian disaster is best explained by a Columbia University professor, who was mistakenly
booked on MSNBC, as Jimmy Dore explains:
"... The Russians have clearly prepared for such an attack ever since the Shayrat strike the very powerful Russian radars in Syria are capable of tracking any flying object and the Syrian SAM batteries are networked into that system and are fed that radar data in real time ..."
"... As for the Pantsir yes this point defense system is the perfect tool to shoot down cruise missiles it is the successor of the Tor SAM system that was designed specifically to shoot down T-hawks ..."
"... The older SAMs did not perform badly according to the Russian MoD assessment the S125 is a 1950s era system that the Serbs used to down two F117s and an F16 much more difficult targets than a T-hawk ..."
If taken at face value, one detail that stands out is that the Russians' original boast
that the missile attack was thwarted by "old Soviet-era air defense" is not true. 47 of the
71 intercepts they claim were done by modern Pantsir and Buk systems that Syria purchased
around 2010. The older systems had noticeably worse performance than the modern systems.
The other interesting tidbit there is that the Russian General claims that "the survey of
this and other facilities revealed neither this number of ammunition fragments nor the
corresponding number of craters". In other words, as FB states above, that even though 25
missiles hypothetically got through in the attacks on Barzeh and Djaramani, the damage on the
ground does not correspond to that many missiles.
' I don't believe that "the fix was in" because the runways of major military airports
were targeted. There was no guarantee that the Pantsir and Buk's would be as effective as
they were. I don't see Putin happily agreeing to have those airport runways put out of
commission. a bit of deconfliction, yes, a total charade, no '
I agree with this on the basis of sound logic. There is no way that we can know the facts
about what kind of communuication and coordination [if any] took place behind the scenes. But
we have a lot of inconsistencies in the US narrative first we were told that eight targets
were going to be hit then, post facto, it was just three.
One of the sites the Barzeh research center in Damascus area was supposedly hit 76 times
this on an area of about one acre [half a hectare...5,000 square meters]. Looking at high
quality pictures of the site after the attack it is clear that adjacent buildings only meters
from the targeted site are undamaged as are light poles surrounding the whole complex as well
as stands of pine trees again only meters away
The idea that 76 450kg high explosive warheads detonated here is visibly absurd and is
quite easy to analyze technically using accepted and authoritative engineering methods for
explosive effects
I consider it proven beyond doubt that there is no chance whatsoever that 76 missiles hit
that site I doubt it would even be one tenth of that
And it is also logical to ask why would you even launch 76 missiles on a one acre complex
that has three buildings a single T-hawk can take out a building or even a ship as seen on
the pentagon show off video below
The answer is obvious of course no military professional would send 76 missiles on one
small target that is simply bullshit
So that brings us to the next logical question if they did not send 76 missiles at Barzeh
where did they go ?
Well that's what makes the story of airfields targeted but the missiles intercepted
believable
Let's remember we are dealing with Proven Liars here everybody knows that recetly
Phil Giraldi had an article here titled 'Liars Lying About Everything '
The few pictures I've seen of interception attempts were all too high in the sky to be
targetting a TLAM or a Storm Shadow which are ground following missiles. They need to fly
high enough to avoid power lines but that's it. (Apparently in Iraq 1, hitting power lines
was the main mechanism by which they and most lost US Marine Corps helicopters were destroyed
).
The professional military people knew what was at stake in limiting the damage engendered by
the war crime engaged in to placate the neocon power structure. Since armageddon was at
stake, even according to Mattis's own statements, he apparently was able to rein Trump in to
some degree, according to this contribution and more clearly from some other reports. We now
also have increasing proof that the "chemical weapons" thing was a provocation, though the
yankee regime's worldwide propaganda wurlitzer keeps playing the same nihilist song. I agree
with others who have concluded that if Mattis is eliminated, that is when we will have to
worry. Presumably, for now, since the normal secrecy is combined with a laudable profound
survival instinct, the military will keep a lid on any investigations this generates. If not,
as Whitney has indicated, we are in deep shit.
What exactly do you know about the flight characteristics of cruise missiles ?
Over on the other thread you first tried to argue that the Barzeh site I discussed in my technical
analysis was not the site of the missile strike
Then when I provided a sat image released by the pentagon and published in newspapers
around the world confirming definitively that the site I analyzed in my original
comment was indeed the site of the missile strike you said this
' I didn't say it was a fake picture. I said it was a demolition site. The same site
being demolished as a conjecture. The best alternative at the moment is that the
payloads were not 450 kg '
I then pointed out to you the physical fact of flight that removing 450 kg from the
nose of a winged cruise missile would shift its center of gravity in the aft direction and
make the missile unflyable
Not being able to argue with the laws of physics you then suggested that the 450 kg
warhead was replaced by an equal weight with less explosive power since we had already
established that the lack of damage to nearby structures was inconsistent with 76 claimed
T-hawk hits on that small site
At which point I mentioned that your statements were on a level with the Prince Charles
infamous 'tampon' phone call hence your new nickname Tampon Phil
Now here you are again just asking for more punishment
You may also wish to consult a topographical map of
Syria to see some of the mountains that these cruise missiles would have to fly over to
reach those inland targets
You will note the north to south mountain chain along the coast including the
Anti-Lebanese Mountains that rise to 10,000 ft
My discussion of the T-hawk technical characteristics in that link above includes such
crucial parameter as wing loading and thrust to weight ratio which determine this flight
vehicle's climb rate and turn rate
' The few pictures I've seen of interception attempts were all too high in the sky to be
targetting a TLAM or a Storm Shadow which are ground following missiles.
They need to fly high enough to avoid power lines but that's it '
And how do they get over those mountains Tampon Phil ?
Are they ground following there too ?
And also please let us know the scaling method you used to determine the height of those
missiles from photos that would be helpful
Yes there is no question that the US would have targeted Syrian airfields apparently a few
did get through at one airfield but the others were fully rejected
Laymen who know nothing about aircraft or missiles do not understand the complexities and
detail involved they simply accept the brochure 'information' presented on wikipedia and such
about the capabilities of such flight vehicles
This does not shed any light on a fascinating and important subject important because now
we have had some air combat between US and Nato airpower [Ship, sub and air launched cruise
missiles vs. Russian air defenses]
Clearly the Russians won there was not a single death on the Syrian side the US did
destroy a few buildings most notably the Barzeh research center in the Damascus area
We can tell the Russians won this round because the US is claiming completely ridiculous
stuff that they launched 76 T-hawks with a combined TNT tonnage of nearly 40 tons yet little
pine shrubs standing 20 feet away are completely intact
I mean how stupid ?
Clearly the US is claiming such a high number of attacks on the three buildings that they
did hit because they failed to hit those airfields and we know that they failed to hit those
airfields because if they did we would have satellite imagery being boastfully released
You can tell as much by the information that is withheld as you can by the information
they give out
Now for some basic technical facts cruise missiles are not hard to shoot down once they
are spotted but the hard part is spotting them because they are small and thus do not bounce
back strong radar reflections
They can fly close to terrain although this is not always the case as I have
explained previously and depends on the ingress route and the type of terrain along that
flight path ie if it is required to fly over mountainous terrain it must fly quite high
In 1999 the Serbs shot down a number T-hawks with their 1950s era Soviet equipment here is
the remains of one T-hawk airframe in the Belgrade Aviation Museum
Once spotted on radar the T-hawks and similar subsonic cruise missiles are sitting ducks
they have no means of evading missile shots either from an air to air missile launched
from a fighter jet or a surface to air missile launched from an air defense battery
A fighter jet relies on a radar warning receiver to alert the crew that it has been
targeted by a missile shot and the crew can instantly commence evasive maneuver which is
basically going into a steep banked turn so as to break radar lock and evade the missile
shot
Cruise missiles have no such RWR and it would be pointless to equipment with such since
they have very poor turning performance
This is due to their very high wing loading which is the ratio of wing area to aircraft
weight a T-hawk weighs about 3,000 lb but has a wing area of only about 10 square feet for a
wing loading of 300 lb/ft^2
That is about three times as high as a passenger jet's wing loading and as much as five
times higher than a fighter jet
Think of wing loading and how it relates to maneuverability by considering a person
carrying a backpack if that person is running and they need to change course having that
extra weight on their back will not let them zigzag like a runner carrying no weight
The same is true for climb performance think of carrying 100 lb in your backpack and
climbing up a set of stairs
The physical laws of flight performance are based on Newtonian Mechanics and cannot be
argued with
The thrust to weight ratio of a cruise missile is about comparable to that of a passenger
jet the thrust of the T-hawks Williams turbofan engine is about 700 lb against a weight of
3,000 lb that is less than 0.25 thrust to weight
A powerful fighter like an F15 will have a thrust to weight ratio of close to unity or
even above ie it's engine thrust is actually equal to or greater than its weight and the
airplane can thus climb straight up like a rocket
So the key in defending against subsonic cruise missiles which fly at about the same speed
as passenger jet, about 500 mph [800 km/hr] is to pick them up on radar
The Russians have clearly prepared for such an attack ever since the Shayrat strike
the very powerful Russian radars in Syria are capable of tracking any flying object and the
Syrian SAM batteries are networked into that system and are fed that radar data in real
time
We also saw in some of those missile intercept videos near the Damascus airport that
Syrian jets were taking off and landing this is because the jets would use their onboard
radar to find the cruise missiles and data link that info back to the SAM batteries
A fighter is easily capable of taking down a cruise missile with an AA shot also but this
all comes down to pilot skill and training something which the SyAAF may not be dealing with
on a regular basis considering their focus on the fight against ground targets in Jihadist
areas
As for the Pantsir yes this point defense system is the
perfect tool to shoot down cruise missiles it is the successor of the Tor SAM system that was designed
specifically to shoot down T-hawks
The older SAMs did not perform badly according to the Russian MoD assessment the S125
is a 1950s era system that the Serbs used to down two F117s and an F16 much more difficult
targets than a T-hawk
The S200 is a huge missile with a 350 km range exceeded only by the latest S400 long range
missile introduced into service only a couple of years ago
It flies extremely fast 2,500 m/s which is about Mach 8 it is even faster than the new
S400 missiles which fly at 2,000 m/s by comparison the USN Raytheon SM6 air defense missile
used on Aegis missile ships flies only at M3.5 about 1,000 m/s
The high speed of the S200 is actually its disadvantage against a slow moving target like
a cruise missile the laws of physics tell us that the faster the vehicle is flying, the
larger its turn radius will be thus the big S200 is not going to do well against cruise
missiles this is not surprising
Overall the Russian MoD version of events is certainly way more credible than the US
version which is full of holes
Looks like it was all about Turkey. "Turkey seems to me to be the swing state here. You cannot isolate Russia without Turkey.
Not only do they uncork themselves form the Black Sea , there will be no NATO fodder with
casualties that no one cares about. Turkey is a big chunk of NATO. This is to sy nothing
about trade. Sanction sound nice and dandy in the US, but in Turkey it wrecks their
economy."
Notable quotes:
"... Suffice it to say, that the information from these US-funded organizations is invariably unreliable. Their sole task is to create a justification for more carnage. ..."
"... In fact, the appointments of warhawks John Bolton and Mike Pompeo to the national security team, suggests that Trump may be planning a major escalation in the near future. The president has aligned himself with a Zionist right-wing fringe who see the conflict as a proxy-war with Iran that must be won in order to establish US-Israeli regional hegemony and maintain a stranglehold on vital resources and pipeline corridors. Trump's missile attack is just a minor skirmish in that much larger war. ..."
"... I am a card carrying deplorable. I prefer Trump to Mueller. But I can no longer defend Trump. He is a Zionist first and an American second. ..."
"... I don't believe that "the fix was in" because the runways of major military airports were targeted. There was no guarantee that the Pantsir and Buk's would be as effective as they were. ..."
"... If Trump gets in trouble for a fake missile attack in response to a fake chemical weapons attack that made use of non-existent WMD, then what can I say? ..."
"... Regardless of Trump's ignorance, who still believes in presidents having real power by status of function alone, Obama never mattered neither, the pot-shots were a worthy experiment on how to apply global rule, by global consensus ..."
"... "Or perhaps we should judge Trump by the company he keeps. Bolton in Washington and Israel/Saudi Arabia in the MENA. The scum of the earth." ..."
"... Yes, I base my opinion of Trump's loyalties on exactly that. It started with his appointment of Nikki Haley and all the Trumpeteers on ZH chanting "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". Just seeing the way his choices of neocons and Goldman Sachs thieves for his inner circle were being defended by people who claimed to have voted for him kept me from defending Trump. ..."
"... Turkey seems to me to be the swing state here. You cannot isolate Russia without Turkey. Not only do they uncork themselves form the Black Sea , there will be no NATO fodder with casualties that no one cares about. Turkey is a big chunk of NATO. This is to sy nothing about trade. Sanction sound nice and dandy in the US, but in Turkey it wrecks their economy. ..."
"... Seems to me that Trump is trying to walk a tightrope here he likely knows the 'chemical' attack is a false flag and his response was designed to appease the zios without actually causing much damage ..."
In short, the attacks accomplished nothing except, perhaps, to temporarily mollify the
warmongering western media and their bloodthirsty puppetmasters in the foreign policy
establishment.
The fact that Trump felt compelled to launch the attacks before the chemical weapons
inspectors from the OPCW had even touched down in Damascus, shows that Washington is not
interested in providing justifications for its criminal aggression. Similar to claims of Russia
hacking the 2016 US elections or the alleged use of toxic nerve agent in the Skripal incident,
the case against Syrian President Bashar al Assad was based on the thin gruel of uncorroborated
allegations by jihadist-linked organizations on the ground whose long history of staging
provocative incidents to foment a crisis is part of the public record. We're not going to waste
our time on that nonsense here. Suffice it to say, that the information from these
US-funded organizations is invariably unreliable. Their sole task is to create a justification
for more carnage.
... ... ...
Some readers will remember that Trump tacitly revealed his motivation for the attacks in a
tweat he delivered just days before the incident. Here's what he said on April 11:
"Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia
Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama.
Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No
Collusion, so they go crazy!" The Real Donald Trump
What Trump is saying is that his real enemy is Mueller not Putin. It's Mueller, the bigwig
Dems and the media that are fomenting this Russphobic hysteria and trying to destroy Trump. And
that's what precipitated the 'wag the dog' scenario that unfolded on April 14th. Trump was
trying to get his enemies off his back by incinerating a few empty buildings in Syria. And, it
almost worked, but now information is beginning to leak-out that could be damaging to both
Trump and his chief lieutenants.
... ... ...
...how does one explain this tidbit from RT:
"Before we took the action, the United States communicated with the Russian Federation to
reduce the danger of any Russian or civilian casualties," (US Ambassador to Russia) Jon
Huntsman said, claiming that "all the targets were linked with the Assad regime's illegal
chemical weapons program."
The US ambassador to Russia said that the US strikes were coordinated with Russia to avoid
a great power confrontation." (RT)
Military analyst Publius Tacitus is even more explicit in a post at Colonel Pat Lang's
website, Sic Semper Tyrannis. He says:
"Russia was told where we were going to strike. Russia in turn warned the Syrians. Both
the Syrians and the Russians evacuated key personnel and equipment from the target sites. Any
claim by the United States that we caused devastating damage or destroyed essential
capabilities is total fantasy." (Trump's big Flop in Syria", Publius Tacitus, Sic semper
Tyrannis)
... ... ...
In any event, we can see that the April 14 missile attacks were largely a symbolic
muscle-flexing exercise that was aimed at pacifying Trump's domestic rivals rather than
punishing Assad for crimes he never committed. (It is worth mentioning that there have been
many credible reports that the US used banned substances in its siege of Raqqa last year.) The
fact that Putin limited his response to a perfunctory denunciation, suggests that Trump
achieved his objectives. (In other words, he avoided WW3) Here's part of what Putin said:
"Russia condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack against Syria, where Russian
military personnel are assisting the legitimate government in its counterterrorism
efforts.
Through its actions, the US makes the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Syria
even worse and brings suffering to civilians. In fact, the US panders to the terrorists who
have been tormenting the Syrian people for seven years, leading to a wave of refugees fleeing
this country and the region.
The current escalation around Syria is destructive for the entire system of international
relations." (Kremlin, RU)
Putin is right. Washington's support for the Sunni extremists in Syria has prolonged the war
and turned the country into a smoldering wastelands. Unfortunately, it does not look like the
US is going to throw in the towel anytime soon. In fact, the appointments of warhawks John
Bolton and Mike Pompeo to the national security team, suggests that Trump may be planning a
major escalation in the near future. The president has aligned himself with a Zionist
right-wing fringe who see the conflict as a proxy-war with Iran that must be won in order to
establish US-Israeli regional hegemony and maintain a stranglehold on vital resources and
pipeline corridors. Trump's missile attack is just a minor skirmish in that much larger
war.
Prof Emeritus Steve Cohen essentially concurs with your analysis. Tonight Cohen expressed
concern that the national drumbeat against Trump essentially checkmates any efforts to repair
US-Russian relations.
As an aside, UR readers are referred to Robert Fisk's very recent report in the UK
Independent that the purported Syrian gas attack actually arose from artillery-induced
asphyxiation in underground tunnels.
I don't believe that "the fix was in" because the runways of major military airports were
targeted. There was no guarantee that the Pantsir and Buk's would be as effective as they
were. I don't see Putin happily agreeing to have those airport runways put out of commission.
a bit of deconfliction, yes, a total charade, no. This could have quite easily escalated
Why fiasco ?
The effectiveness of anything can only be judged by knowing what the objective was.
Those who want Syria, or/and Assad attacked, most of them, have the idea that something was
done.
Difficult for USA propaganda media to state that Trump did nothing.
Then there now is the fact that Syrian systems are quite capable of resisting missile
attacks.
Possibly Israel will think twice before launching another attack.
So in my opinion, what Trump did is possibly a great success.
If Trump gets in trouble for a fake missile attack in response to a fake chemical weapons
attack that made use of non-existent WMD, then what can I say? It's really Trump himself more
than the neocons who's to blame. His refusal to grow a pair and stand up to Washington will
ultimately be his downfall.
What Trump is saying is that his real enemy is Mueller not Putin. It's Mueller, the
bigwig Dems and the media that are fomenting this Russphobic hysteria and trying to destroy
Trump. And that's what precipitated the 'wag the dog' scenario that unfolded on April
14th.
It's long past time for Trump to fire Mueller. The fake 'RussiaGate' investigation is over
and didn't find anything actionable. How much longer is Trump going to allow this little
fishing expedition to go on?
Trump was trying to get his enemies off his back by incinerating a few empty buildings
in Syria. And, it almost worked, but now information is beginning to leak-out that could be
damaging to both Trump and his chief lieutenants.
As a candidate, Trump never hesitated to call out the BS in DC. But if, as president, he
goes along with this kabuki-theater, then he deserves what he gets.
Regardless of Trump's ignorance, who still believes in presidents having real power by status
of function alone, Obama never mattered neither, the pot-shots were a worthy experiment on
how to apply global rule, by global consensus. Next to it, Gaza comes to mind, even the South
African government of "natives" see the potential for Boers containment as inspired by Gaza.
Pot-shots, latter Russia moves, Chinese containment attitudes:
By experimenting, science progresses, the science of governing, the size of experiments,
containment, all these goodies that matter and can make for advancements in efficiently,
ruling the human mess into survival. Building data, in a few years, resulting into something
of predictability in a global context, over longer periods of time. More of this dipping into
the chest of tools.
The element to be accented: local experiments, global intent.
"Or perhaps we should judge Trump by the company he keeps. Bolton in Washington and
Israel/Saudi Arabia in the MENA. The scum of the earth."
Yes, I base my opinion of Trump's loyalties on exactly that. It started with his
appointment of Nikki Haley and all the Trumpeteers on ZH chanting "keep your friends close
and your enemies closer". Just seeing the way his choices of neocons and Goldman Sachs
thieves for his inner circle were being defended by people who claimed to have voted for him
kept me from defending Trump.
I figured that he was getting support from a pool of neocons and that made him one of
them.
The missile attacks confirmed Israels control over the U.S. gov which was proven by the fact
that Israel did 911 and got away with killing some 3000 Americans. Israel and her ziocons
control the U.S. gov lock stock and gun barrel and are destroying America.
Assad has never used gas attacks on the Syrian people , these attacks were perpetrated by
the CIA and the MOSSAD and MI6 and NATOs Operation Gladio, these people are satanist war
mongers straight from HELL.
God bless Assad and Syria and Putin and Russia for standing against these satanic forces
that are HELL bent on destroying Syria.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American people
believe is false." CIA director William Casey (CIA director, 1981-1987)
Turkey seems to me to be the swing state here. You cannot isolate Russia without Turkey.
Not only do they uncork themselves form the Black Sea , there will be no NATO fodder with
casualties that no one cares about. Turkey is a big chunk of NATO. This is to sy nothing
about trade. Sanction sound nice and dandy in the US, but in Turkey it wrecks their
economy.
What a bunch of shite. It just shows that Mike Whitney and his fans have no idea of what
is actually going on behind the scenes, and continue to glom on to the MSM shrieks of Mueller
and Russia, Russia, Russia.
If you believe this had anything whatsoever to do with Mueller then you're a chump and
clearly don't even deserve to be enlightened. I would suggest turning off the CNN, but you're
already infected.
Mueller has been cock-blocked and Trump is in command. The revelations to come from the IG
Report and more are going to be delicious. There will be much wailing and gnashing of
teeth.
The point was to send a message to Assad that the US and it's allies are able and willing to
take action should he try to cross the red line drawn around Saudi Arabia. Once the war winds
down and the Syrian state starts regrouping and rebuilding there's naturally going to be a
payback time against the regional actors who poured so many resources into trying to demolish
the Syrian state. This means Saudi Arabia which is vulnerable in a number of ways. SA is a
huge customer and spends billions in the US and allied countries and is thus under the US
umbrella of protection as a valuable ally. There's bound to be a lot of nervousness in Riyadh
right now so the US must demonstrate a willingness to act militarily to them.
So he's brought NATO to the table regarding funding, is about to solve the greatest
crisis/threat to the world by bringing NK to the table re; Denuclearization, and has plans to
solve the ME situation (which you clearly know nothing about) using the GCC.
Yet he's a feckless, nutless POS.
You seem to be somewhat lacking in judgement. Beyond redemption with your TDS. A crazed
loon.
Did you miss the first part of the IG's report? Do you realize what's to come? Nah, it's
all Russia, Russia, Russia nonsense with your ilk.
Keep it up – you keep us amused with your ignorant thrashing about.
You raise points of doubt and effectively deal with them yourself. Putin would have been
very unlikely to have been involved in any detailed negotiations over targets. These would
have been dealt with by his military commanders. If airfields were targeted then it would
appear details were indeed known to the Syrian defenders. This goes some of the way to
explain the abysmal success rate of the US missiles in this fiasco as Mike Whitney and many
others rightly call it. So a hoax it certainly was and one to compare with the hoax gas
attack in Eastern Ghouta.
Trump is in the pockets of the Zionists, and has become a Zionist because the one thing he
understands is which side his bread is buttered on. To make sense of anything we do in the ME, you only need to ask one question: "What does
Israel want."
It just seems like a very dangerous ploy for a meaningless reward (the natural resources
Syria and strategic importance of Syria are very modest).
Maybe true, except for the fact that Syria, under Assad's leadership serves as a
convenient land route over which sophisticated weapons produced in Iran are delivered to
Hezbollah defense forces in Lebanon. In my opinion, this is the primary reason behind current
US and Israeli efforts being made to destroy Assad. The bottom line is that Israel has been
attacking it's weak neighbors for such a long time, until they simply find it impossible to
live with the reality of being unable to invade Lebanon on the slightest pretext. In addition
and more ominous, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Rouhani has publically stated that Hezbollah
defense forces may eventually extend their protection to the Palestinian people held captive
in the Gaza Strip
This is what tomfoolery looks like- when "I love mah Generals" and you allow them to
"lead the way."
At the same time we have a "three-pete" of the absolutely idiotic accusations that Assad used
chem-WMDs on his own civilians. Everyone that uses the internet can ferret out the truth.
This isn't ten years ago. This is 2018. Doesn't Intel realize how immature they appear? I'm
not only mad as hell, I'm SO disappointed in just how stupid the Government of the United
States appears to anyone with half a brain.
I'm ashamed of the Country I thought I loved.
I am a card carrying deplorable. I prefer Trump to Mueller. But I can no longer defend
Trump. He is a Zionist first and an American second.
Seems to me that Trump is trying to walk a tightrope here he likely knows the 'chemical'
attack is a false flag and his response was designed to appease the zios without actually
causing much damage
Iran doesn't want to escalate the situation and give Trump any leverage on Iran deal. Iran
wants to deprive any moral political or legal supports from EU to USA on this.
Trump pulls out. Rest remains same. This will give Iran moral political and legal
authorities to pursue its nuclear program with China and Russia . This will have domino
effects on other areas of these 3 countries – how to conduct business internationally.
So a choreographed coordinated attack works for Iran. Trump is happy. His base angry. His
enemies can't go after him for few hours or days . Mad madam prostitute Nick Halley has to be soothed by Kudlow telling her she was not a
demented rat.
Why are many commenters so excited? Everything is appropriate: fake missile strike in
response to fake chemical weapons use.
That's a good way to put it. Just wish Trump had exercised more restraint in his tweet, he
should not have called Assad a "monster". The real monsters are right here in the US, the
Israel Lobby and the Deep State led by Rod Rosenstein the fucking weasel, and the biggest
monster of them all is right there in the White House with him, Mike Pence, the one who hired
Rosenstein, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, John Bolton. Pence the Ziocon has been working hard to
subvert Trump since Day 1. He wants to be president.
"... It turns out that news reports citing UOSSM tend *also* to cite or refer to "French intelligence," especially if the report has to do with local conditions or events within Syria. So perhaps the "partnership" between the UOSSM and the White Helmets in Syria represents, in large part, the coordination of British and French military propaganda/intelligence services ..."
"... I had already heard that French intelligence was using Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as cover in Syria, but was not aware that UOSSM in Syria is likely--at least in part--another French intelligence front. ..."
"... My own impression is that the NGO-ification of military and state intelligence of the degree and sophistication we see in Syria is a relatively recent phenomenon, predicated in part on the disseminating capacities of social media platforms. Is this right? ..."
"... My wife and I stopped donating to MSF a few months ago, based on their evident lack of neutrality in Syria. ..."
No, but you just sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole. From what I can tell, there is the already established link between
White Helmets and Mayday Rescue, which seems to be an extension of or front for the 77th.
It turns out that news reports citing UOSSM tend *also* to cite or refer to "French intelligence," especially if the report
has to do with local conditions or events within Syria. So perhaps the "partnership" between the UOSSM and the White Helmets in
Syria represents, in large part, the coordination of British and French military propaganda/intelligence services.
I had already heard that French intelligence was using Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as cover in Syria, but was not aware that
UOSSM in Syria is likely--at least in part--another French intelligence front. How common is this kind of multinational coordination
of intelligence/propaganda front groups, if that is what this is?
My own impression is that the NGO-ification of military and
state intelligence of the degree and sophistication we see in Syria is a relatively recent phenomenon, predicated in part on the
disseminating capacities of social media platforms. Is this right?
"How common is this kind of multinational coordination of intelligence/propaganda front groups, if that is what this is?"
The coordination and interoperability among these special operations units is intense and has grown rapidly over the last decade.
Even in the 80s this joint combined exchange training was the norm. Now it extends into live operations.
This 77th Brigade is an odd mashup linking civil affairs and PSYOP capabilities, but kept within the Tier 1 special operations
community. I never heard of it before, but it's a logical progression. We probably have a similar military capability, but i have
no idea what it is.
My wife and I stopped donating to MSF a few months ago, based on their evident lack of neutrality in Syria. The reply from their
Donor Relations office did nothing to dispel that impression. In it, MSF admitted that "extreme insecurity has forced us to remove
our medical teams from the front lines of the conflict. As a result, in order to do what we can to help alleviate the suffering
of Syrians, we have partnered with several hospitals and medical clinics to provide support, with medical supplies and expertise
from a distance...Though our teams may not be physically present on the front lines, we receive regular reports..."
I think we can guess who those "reports" are from.
Looks like people were bombed and the shelter became full of dust and smoke. That led to some suffocations. Later this was
played as chemical attack.
The scenario is classic. Put artillery near residential houses and mercilessly shell residential building on government
side killing civilians. Wait for return fire which produce its own set of victims. Stage the false flag operation based on
return fire victims and the fact that civilians suffered.
Thanks
for this video. I have had a gut-full of the west and it's lies to take over countries in the Middle East. It's making me sick. What's
happening on a daily basis to the people of Palestine and Syria are war crimes, pure and simple.
The country I live in, Australia,
is not on the side of the good guys. We were not on the right side in Libya and Iraq either. I'm so sick of this shit. This is all
so the US and their creepy allies, including the head-choppin' Saudis, can put a pipeline through Syria to Europe to compete with
Russia and so they can use Syria as a jumping off point to invade Iran. Poor Iran.
The CIA threw out their Democratically elected
leader and installed a Dictator who they kept in place for 48 years, using the Shah's brutal secret police. The US hates the Iranians
for chucking the puppet out. Iran had every right to do so. God knows how they must feel being under constant threat. Israel have
been assassinating their citizens for years and launched the Stuxnet virus (with help from the US) to attack their infrastructure,
accidentally infecting the world, including Australia at the time. Thanks to them, every group in the world now has the code for
that virus. They modified the code and released it again behind Obama's back.
Israel's illegal nukes can't reach Iran but they will
definitely use them against Iran if they can get into Syria to use it as a base for attack. Then what happens to the world? Israel
have demonstrated clearly, their disinterest in Human Rights. The only people on the planet they care about are Israelis. Damn Israel
and damn the US. Macron is a wanna-be Napoleon and Theresa May is Thatcher- Lite. Both of them are sucking on the tail-pipe of that
clown, Trump and are keeping the world in a state of perpetual war. Hands off Syria, wankers!
Aside from this video, there is now overwhelming evidence confirming that this was yet another false flag chemical attack
designed to demonise Assad. This isn't the first time. Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, the Balkans - all suffered a similar fate
designed to hoodwink the public in supporting war and resource grab.
it was only a couple of years ago that Assad and Russia were subjected to the same scenario and proven to be utterly false.
How long must we swallow these crimes? History is replete with the same state-sponsored crimes against populations. Governments
are not acting in our best interests and never have.
Therefore, there is absolutely no excuse for people to believe the utter bullshit spread around the mainstream media which excels
in poor journalism and is determined to push this disgusting propaganda on behalf of their respective governments and intel agencies.
Until the public is prepared to comprehend that such false flag attacks are a long used formula by US-NATO for carving up the
Middle East then it will continue with impunity. I hope everyone shares this video on social media in order to counter lazy thinking
and the obvious lies that characterize what passes for news.
Can't vouch for the authenticity - video claims to be interviewing 13 staff from the hospital
at Douma. It's from a news service privately owned and loyal to Assad. Definitely some of the
same info emerging from Fisk and Sharp.
The video is definitely genuine. I watched it all, and it looked very credible. Fisk mentioned
that the doctors present at the event in their ER were away in Damascus and not available -
there were obviously here making this video. It may be that they were under some constraint,
and not able to speak entirely freely.
The Colonial ratfuckers recent unprovoked, lie-based attack on Syria got me wondering
about Russia's apparent impotence. I'm quite uncomfortable with that notion but can't dismiss
it completely because I can't get a 'handle' on what Russia's strategy is.
Steve Gowans' latest commentary on Syria sets out his summary of US/NATO's Permanent War
agenda in Syria.
Despite its pessimism (if one takes it as a 'realistic' assessment), it goes a long way
toward explaining the magnitude and complexity of the task Russia took on when it agreed to
intervene in Syria.
Being pessimistic, it doesn't broach the subject of potential Bright Sides to the
conflict, or the flaws in the US/NATO Strategy.
One rather obvious flaw which came to mind is the fact that Neoliberal Colonialism has
inflicted pain on almost every country on the planet and have recently underlined their
God-given right to continue doing so ad nauseum - without opposition or consequences.
A correspondent for US network CBS gained access to the alleged attack site in Douma on
Monday. Seth Doane spoke to residents of a building where at least 30 bodies are reported to
have been found.
"All of a sudden some gas spread around us," one man said. "We couldn't breathe, it
smelled like chlorine."
Another resident, who said many members of his family were among those killed, showed the
CBS crew a yellow compressed gas canister that appeared to have punched a hole in the roof of
the building. The canister looked similar to others photographed in the wake of other alleged
chlorine attacks.
A Swedish journalist who also visited the building in Douma said he had felt a discomfort
in his throat and smelled a strong odour as he entered its basement.
"All of a sudden some gas spread around us," one man said. "We couldn't breathe, it
smelled like chlorine."
_____________________________________
The videos showing persons (White Helmets?) rushing into the site of the alleged chemical
attack and pouring water on the "victims" speak for themselves. Likewise, the ancillary
first-person reports by medical personnel: 1) affirming that there were no symptoms of chemical
poisoning among the dead or injured, and 2) corroborating the reports of third parties rushing
in and clamoring "Gas!", "Chemical attack!", etc.
It's obvious enough to any observer with a modicum of rational skepticism that this is the
old "fait accompli" version of the Big Lie: just keep repeatedly and firmly insisting
that X took place (or X never happened), until a critical mass of complacent, credulous, and
submissive useful idiots accept the assertions as fact.
It wouldn't surprise me if, along with all that water being thrown around, a few White
Helmet-types also poured around, or even boiled, some ordinary household laundry bleach to
provide the unmistakable whiff of chlorine gas in the air.
In sleight-of-hand and similar deceptions, once the audience buys into the premise, it only
takes minimal cues to reinforce the fake reality projected by the illusion-master.
I agree calling him "an actor" is wrong, however this particular boy, according to their
(the boy and his father) interview did this for food, he wasn't affected by the dust and
smoke event.
Rossiya 24 TV channel has interviewed a Syrian boy named Hasan Diab who participated in the
filming of the "chemical attack" video. Here is my translation of the article:
Syrian boy Hasan Diab, who was presented in a staged White Helmets video as a victim of a
chemical attack in Douma, revealed the details of its filming.
"We were in a basement. Mom told me there's nothing to eat today, we'll only eat tomorrow.
We heard someone yelling on the street, they yelled "go to the hospital". We ran to the
hospital, and as soon as I have entered, they grabbed me and started to douse me with water.
Then they put us on a bed with other people." -- said the boy during his appearance on
Rossiya 24 channel.
The channel's military reporter Evgeniy Poddubny noted that the boy was compelled to take
part in the video.
"The boy had nothing to eat, he was offered rice, dates, and cookies for this filming." --
said Poddubny.
Hasan's story was confirmed by his father, who added that there had been no chemical
attach in the town.
"When I found out that my child was in the hospital, I asked for time off at my work and
ran there. There were no chemical weapons whatsoever. I smoked on the street and felt
nothing. I entered the hospital and saw my family. The militants gave me dates, cookies, and
rice for participating in that filming and let us go home. My child was fine." -- the boy's
father told the channel.
France used to produce some pretty fine leaders, but lately, it's like a different place.
Hollande was the most ridiculous, gutless thing we ever saw. He was laughably pompous and ineffective and dishonest and even
cowardly, vis a vis the US.
Macron probably ranks second worst. He's making a mess of France, he's blubbering all kinds of nonsense about the EU, he's
busy putting troops in Syria against all international law, he is not liked by the people, and he is virtually a French doormat
for America.
Sarkozy showed the odd bit of promise, but he was largely talk with no worthy efforts. And he was immensely corrupt. Imagine
taking 20 million euros from Qaddafi and then participating in the scheme to kill him? Or the case of the senile woman who was
France's wealthiest woman, from whom he took many millions for his campaigns, doing so in private without other members of the
family or strict legal supervision.
Hard to see the same country we saw in de Gaulle's time and that of his immediate successors.
'I am an equal of Putin' - well, he's right in a way - they're both leaders of a country. Beyond that, there is NO comparison.
Maybe he admires Putin - which is good, if he tries to emulate him, even better because Putin, after all, is one of the few great
current leaders of the world. Macron has a very long way to go, but with many years experience, if he gets the chance, MAY become
a better leader than some, but never will be the match of Putin.
The simple fact is that the US failed to overthrow Assad and thus is defeated in Syria, and the recent episodes are merely the
dying throes of a defeated neoliberal empire
Notable quotes:
"... The truth of this scenario is * one* thing that leads Russia to point out that the US is essentially incapable of acting as a rational international "partner." ..."
I agree with almost everything you say. But, from my perspective, your account and the
account of Kori Schake simplifies and somewhat idealizes the mechanism of--call it--"US
policy." What Trump himself wants the US to do in Syria--disengage completely--may very well be
true. But "US policy" is not determined by what Trump wants, but by the negotiations and
struggles between the President and other powerful state-corporate factions. The ongoing nature
of these negotiations and struggles produces no coherent or rational narrative behind US action
in Syria, but rather a series of self-contradicting escalations and de-escalations, depending
upon who holds the strongest hand at any given moment.
The truth of this scenario is * one*
thing that leads Russia to point out that the US is essentially incapable of acting as a
rational international "partner." It is not *just* the US's deception that makes this so, but
the fact that not even the US' deception in recent years can be gamed, because there is no
*single* coherent aim behind it: not even American deception can be trusted, in other
words.
I find all this pretty convincing. And so I am less certain than some others that *anybody*
is yet in a position to say what the US will do or not do in relation to Syria in the next few
weeks or months. I do think that a careful reading of several reports coming out of the White
House since late February suggest that Trump is neither in control of nor even always aware of
the concrete policies toward Syria and Russia that have been planned and implemented by his
administration. So while I hope that you are right, and that everybody is able to recognize
what is obvious--that there is no way for the US to "win" in Syria at this point without
risking nuclear war--I am unfortunately not convinced that this is so.
We dont have to rely on seeing missile parts to know the Pentagon is lying about the air
strikes. We have high resolution pictures of the target site at the research center and we have
the claim that they hit that site with 76 cruise missiles with 1000 lb warheads! The level of
damage does not match that claim. Not even close.
Carefully examine the photos. One building is still heavily intact...maybe 30-40 %. Only the
smaller one is obliterated. But notice, not only are these rather small college campus size
buildings, each one is hollow. They all have an open courtyard inside. So they are in fact
smaller than they first appear. It would take no more than 3 or 4 missiles to destroy each one,
if that.
We are looking at a strike from about 10 missiles, not 76.
That is an absurd claim, and they were forced into it because that was the only site they
could show extensive damage on. The other two shown were much too small to obscure the truth.
This claim of an electronic attack and the Syrians firing at phantom targets is also absurd.
While Russia certainly networked the Syrian long range radars to tighten up their airspace,
most of Syria's guns and missile systems are elderly.
They are not even digital nor can they be
slaved to a network. For a buk system, for example, to fire on a target...the operator must
acquire that target on his tracking and guidance radar on the launcher. If the target cant be
detected (it's not really there) by the guidance radar, no launch is possible. It doesn't
matter if the networked surveillance radar tells them something is out there, the guidance
radar must lock onto something to fire.
Even more so for some of their other systems. The only thing they would possibly launch
towards a phantom target would be an s 200, on the chance that its semi active homing head
would be operational by the time it was near the presumed target...sort of like getting a jump
on the target.
We have been hearing stories of the financial political corruption increasingly common here
in Britain and in high places.
However confirmation now of one of the most sordid stories - buried of course by the British
apology for news - our MSM.
Theresa May and her family personally have made possibly millions, by the illegal and
unsanctioned attack on Syria the other day.
The British media is silent. But Russia Today has now exposed what is clearly - I would say
in the eyes of most - a resigning matter.
Her family blatantly and it seems secretly making money out of her disgusting warmongering.
Her hands covered in blood from Iraq, Libya, Syria etc etc profiting every time Bae systems are
involved. You couldn't make it up - as they say.
This happened 3 hours ago. Wolf Blitzer can't believe his ears he does his best to argue the
other side, saying well, France and UK joined the bombing, so it must true, you aren't
suggesting everyone was wrong or something? – are you suggesting the president had bad
intelligence? – but Paul isn't buying.
"I still look at the attack and say, you know, either Assad must be the dumbest dictator on
the planet -- or maybe he didn't do it. I have yet to see evidence that he did do it,"
"The only thing that would galvanize the world to attack Assad directly is a chemical
attack. It killed relatively few people compared to what can be killed with traditional bombs
and so you wonder really what logic would there be for Assad to be using chemical weapons,"
We have a feeling this bombing is going to turn into a major scandal as it becomes clear
what is intuitively obvious – it was a false flag, and this time they're going to get
caught on it.
Was the whole thing 3D chess on Trump's part? Did he deliberately go along with the hoax
knowing that he would make sure the hoaxers get caught?, and finally free himself from the
neocon morons in Washington?
What about a fourth type of retaliation, cleaning out the
financier/Zionist/pro-Western/liberal infestation inside Russia? This wouldn't require
China's approval, and would lead to a much healthier and stronger Russia in the long run.
In my view, China has done far more to get itself out of AZ control and on the path to
pursuing its national interests than Russia has. It is depressing to read most Russian blogs
as they keep harping on what needed to be done years ago.
I can hardly believe that I actually read an article like this.
First they delay the OPCW then they claim that Russia and Syria cleaned up the site -
several acres where gas was spread all over but those Russians caN clean it all in 24 hours,
every trace. They can also hide all the bodies.
Now we here that the medical staff are intimidated and can't say who was treated for
what?
But...but...where are the 500 victims???
This is shear desperation and totally P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C
The attempt to coordinate a ground assault of Damascus with a US-Nato aerial bombardment
leading to the decapitation of the regime was a key part of the original March plan as
reported by Theyssan, Magnier, and in a recent Sputnik article detailing the capture of
embedded U.K. operatives in Ghouta. There were reports on the night of the strike of
coordinated al-Islam and Daesh ground attacks in the country, but I do not know the details.
In general, I think the US-UK played through the original March script with modifications
occasioned by necessity, and are now thinking through a plan to repeat that script somehow.
Others disagree. We are probably all wrong.
The public will totally buy it. We have been conditioned to fear the Russians for a reason
after all. Anybody in their vicinity would tell them what they want to hear--otherwise they
could get Skripaled.
Also, the source for the Guardian piece turns out to be a kind of international White
Helmets parent group--the UOSSM. They played a role in the 2017 chemical attack investigation
and later had to withdraw their testimony as unqualified: http://theindicter.com/uossm-admits-that-doctor-reporting-alleged-khan-shaykhun-
aerial-attack-was-not-qualified-to-do-that/
"... In other words, French intelligence blows. (I am referring to the discovered caches of chemical weapons and the elaborate tunnel-structures under Douma.) ..."
From declassified French intelligence dossier on 4/7/18 Douma:
- The French services do not have any information to support the thesis that armed groups in
Ghouta have sought to obtain or have had chemical weapons.
In addition, they believe that a
manipulation of massively disseminated images from Saturday, April 7 is not credible,
especially since the groups present in the Ghouta do not have the means to carry out a
communication maneuver of such magnitude.
In other words, French intelligence blows. (I am referring to the discovered caches of
chemical weapons and the elaborate tunnel-structures under Douma.)
"... War stories, however, have a habit of growing darker. For the same 58-year old senior Syrian doctor then adds something profoundly uncomfortable: the patients, he says, were overcome not by gas but by oxygen starvation in the rubbish-filled tunnels and basements in which they lived, on a night of wind and heavy shelling that stirred up a dust storm ..."
The search for truth in the rubble of Douma – and one doctor's doubts over the
chemical attack
Exclusive: Robert Fisk visits the Syria clinic at the centre of a global crisis
This is the story of a town called Douma, a ravaged, stinking place of smashed apartment
blocks – and of an underground clinic whose images of suffering allowed three of the
Western world's most powerful nations to bomb Syria last week. There's even a friendly
doctor in a green coat who, when I track him down in the very same clinic, cheerfully tells
me that the "gas" videotape which horrified the world – despite all the doubters
– is perfectly genuine.
War stories, however, have a habit of growing darker. For the same 58-year old senior
Syrian doctor then adds something profoundly uncomfortable: the patients, he says, were
overcome not by gas but by oxygen starvation in the rubbish-filled tunnels and basements in
which they lived, on a night of wind and heavy shelling that stirred up a dust storm. . . .
here
"... They've had a weekend to work on the damage control strategy (as they say) and the Wall Street Journal has a slobbery article about how Bolton yielded to Mattis and agreed to fewer targets. ..."
"... If it's true that 2/3 of the missiles were intercepted and the WSJ article is mainly cover up propaganda, it's actually pretty cleverly done (and scary, frankly). I wonder how much of the war history I've been taught over the years is accurate. ..."
"... Trump, lying sack of shit bragging about Bolton and successful hit on Syria.: They didn't shoot one down. The equipment didn't work too well their equipment! blah-blah-blah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W9jS3-gt7w ..."
"... This is the lying ass many of you still can't condemn! Get over it already - he's a Zionist quisling, always was and still is! ..."
They've had a weekend to work on the damage control strategy (as they say) and the Wall
Street Journal has a slobbery article about how Bolton yielded to Mattis and agreed to fewer
targets.
If it's true that 2/3 of the missiles were intercepted and the WSJ article is mainly cover
up propaganda, it's actually pretty cleverly done (and scary, frankly). I wonder how much of
the war history I've been taught over the years is accurate.
Trump, lying sack of shit bragging about Bolton and successful hit on Syria.: They didn't
shoot one down. The equipment didn't work too well their equipment! blah-blah-blah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W9jS3-gt7w
This is the lying ass many of you still can't condemn! Get over it already - he's a
Zionist quisling, always was and still is!
An American journalist who gained access to the war-torn town of Douma, where the US,
France and the UK charged that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against
civilians, says he found "no evidence" of a chemical weapons attack. "We were brought in with a
government escort and shown the areas where the chemical attack allegedly happened. We were
able to speak with residents in the area. We were even able to visit the hospital where the
White Helmets showed the videos of people being hosed down," reporter Pearson Sharp of OAN
revealed in a report from the ground in Syria Monday.
"When I went into the town, we didn't know what to expect, but we were brought to one of the
neighborhoods close to where the attack happened. I spoke with a number of residents, probably
about 10 residents in that neighborhood. This was about a block and a half from where the
attack supposedly happened Um, not one of the people I had spoken to in that neighborhood said
that they had seen anything or heard anything about a chemical attack on that day [Saturday,
April 7]," Sharp said.
The reporter said he later spoke with another 30 to 40 residents of the town. "I went up to
random people. I know there's a lot of concern from people that the residents being interviewed
are plants -- they're Russian operatives or they're staged interviews or things like that. We
just randomly went up to different people -- nobody came up to us -- and interviewed probably
30 to 40 people. Consistently, not one person in the town said they heard anything about an
attack," Sharp said.
"When I asked them what they thought the chemical attack was, they told me -- all of
them -- it was staged by the rebels who were occupying the town at that time. They said it was
a fabrication or a hoax. When I asked why, they told me it was because the rebels were
desperate and needed a ploy to help the get the Syrian Army off their back so they could
escape," he continued.
"Residents told me the terrorists staged this to get Western powers to attack the Syrian
Army, so they could escape."
Following the alleged incident in Douma, Trump, UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French
President Emmanuel Macron authorized a military operation to fire missiles at a chemical
research facility near Damascus, a weapons storage site and a command base on Friday night.
Damascus and Moscow maintain that there was no chemical attack by the Syrian state in
Douma.
The report is nowhere to be found on the OANN site. Don't embarrass the Trumpster!
"One America News Network (abbreviated as OANN), is an American conservative cable news
television channel launched on July 4, 2013 that is owned by Herring Networks, Inc. The network
is headquartered in San Diego, California, and operates a news bureau in Washington, D.C. and
New York City.
Originally launched with the intention of targeting a conservative and center-right
audience,OAN states a goal of delivering credible national and international news coverage
throughout the day while its prime time political talk shows illustrate a conservative
perspective.According to the Washington Post, the channel has risen to greater prominence due
to its pro-Trump coverage."
The delay definitely represents a blunder by Syrian government from propaganda purposes, but
war is war and may be British tried to do some additional troubles. Who knows. It now exploited
to the fullest extent possible.
"Part of the concern, Matt, is the longer that it takes to get OPCW inspectors in to take
a look at soil samples and other information that they can get on the ground, that delay
further degrades any evidence that's on the ground. So that is our chief concern. We want
them to be able to get in as quickly as possible, as safely as possible, but we also want
that evidence to be as pure as possible for their investigation."
you mean like how the UK gave that same opportunity to russia when it first blamed russia
for the skripal event? righto..
matt lee last response "QUESTION: Okay. But – so – but you're just saying then
– because the bottom line here is you're saying, "Just trust us."
"QUESTION: But you've not mentioned sarin. You've – or has that actually been --
MS NAUERT: In that background briefing, that was mentioned. We have information that leads
us to believe that both chlorine and sarin were used in the attack.
...
QUESTION: Hi. Thanks. You still stand by the proof that you say the U.S. has on this, right?
You --
MS NAUERT: I certainly do, yes. "
" QUESTION: Could I ask – hi. Could I ask you to square to – square for us
your desire to have the inspectors go in and establish the veracity of evidence on the one
hand, but on the other hand your rush to attack and strike Syria? Could you square that for
us?"
MS NAUERT: The United States has excellent intelligence gathering. Other countries do as
well. We do not take these decisions, we do not make these decisions, lightly. As we saw what
happened with information that led us to believe that sarin and chlorine gas were used in
this most recent attack, the United States, the UK, and France got together, had
conversations about telling Bashar al-Assad that this has to stop. And we believe in the
efforts that took place on Friday night that we showed them that we are very serious about
this, and that the world will stand up, the world will act together, and we will not tolerate
the use of these illegal chemical weapons to kill innocent men, women, and children.
QUESTION: Right. I am trying to understand that the inspectors, the OPCW inspectors, were
supposed to go in on Saturday, and the strike happened Saturday morning. I mean, they
could've waited, like 20 hours, 24 hours, to ensure that the whole world can see that
evidence.
MS NAUERT: Okay, Said, once again, we have our own intelligence. We have our own
intelligence. The OPCW is something that we back strongly, but it can also take quite a bit
of time for the OPCW to gather its information and compile a report. If we look back to last
year – and I can have my colleagues double check this right now – I think it took
quite a few months, at least several months, before the OPCW was able to come out with its
official report about what substance was used on the ground in Khan Shaykhun.
So I would ask you: Should the United States and her allies wait around for Bashar
al-Assad to use more chemical substances on his people? Should we wait around for that formal
investigation that could take months and months when we have seen nine chemical attacks take
place this year alone? I think the United States was right in its decision, backed by our
allies, to take action and show Bashar al-Assad that he will be held to account."
The Chinese newspaper the Global Times agrees with the Saker:
"Washington's attack on Syria where Russian troops are stationed constitute serious
contempt for Russia's military capabilities and political dignity. Trump, like scolding a
pupil, called on Moscow, one of the world's leading nuclear powers, to abandon its "dark
path." Disturbingly, Washington seems to have become addicted to mocking Russia in this way.
Russia is capable of launching a destructive retaliatory attack on the West. Russia's weak
economy is plagued by Western sanctions and squeezing of its strategic space. That the West
provokes Russia in such a manner is irresponsible for world peace Western countries continue
bullying Russia but are seemingly not afraid of its possible counterattack. Their arrogance
breeds risk and danger."
Yes, I also follow the Global Times editorials, and have friends in China
Simon Chow nails it, in my opinion
America is playing checkers (or some other child's game). Russia is playing Chess, and we
know how good they are at that. China is playing Chinese Chess and that is fking impossible
to understand for a westerner subtle does not cover it .. and China has the father
(godfather?) of all generals and military strategists, Sun Tzu . go figure
I agree, the fat lady is out there somewhere warming her vocal chords.
Talking about chess In my humble opinion all the suffering and foreign occupation of Syria
could end in less than a month if Russia would have the guts to threaten (behind closed doors
or overtly) that if the attacks and occupation of Syria will not stop Russia will provide the
weapons necessary to nullify the military superiority of Israel to all relevant enemy of
Israel and of course to Syria. The timed leak in the news that Russia considers providing
S-300 to Syrian is a good start but obviously not firm and strong enough, According to Paul
Craig Roberts "to restate the point once again, the passivity of the Putin government in the
face of Washington's aggressiveness is leading directly to nuclear war and the end of life on
earth". I think Russia can be "passive" by not attacking US but can be very engage by
threatening were it hurts the most the safety of Israel. Cheers
It is an old metaphor. I think it was used on Atimes years ago: Americans play Monopoly,
Russians play chess. Someone added (it could have been me) and Chinese play Go! That was a
response: Americans play poker, the game of the 'achievers'. The response was: Americans play
poker with loaded dices' and if their bluff is called, they pull the gun and 'take it all'.
If I am not mistaken, the verbal joust originated in Australia!
From the rules:
• Sacrifice: Allowing a group to die in order to carry out a play, or plan, in a more
important area.
Interesting
From the Global Times
'Drill a warning to secessionist forces'
The news that the People's Liberation Army will conduct live-fire military exercises in
the Taiwan Straits on April 18 has shocked Taiwan. It is a clear warning against recent
pro-independence activities on the island, especially head of Taiwan's administrative
authority Lai Ching-te's advocacy for independence.
Secessionists should not fantasize that the US will come to their rescue, even though the
US had passed the Taiwan Travel Act. National unity is in the core interest of China, which
is determined and capable of shattering any foreign intervention. Once Beijing decides to
take action, it won't be stopped by any other force.
We believe that if the mainland were to take a military strike against
"Taiwan-independence" forces, Washington would have no effective means other than
protest.
The planned military drills will be a reconfirmation of Beijing's bottom line. Let the
bombing and shooting drills alert Taiwan, rather than letting them actually occur on the
island. The mainland does not wish to end the Taiwan question with a military showdown,
however, how the situation develops depends on how much rationality remains in the Taiwan
administration.
The Ukraine, North Korea .. Sth China Sea .. Syria
Russia, cold war
China, trade war
America is somewhat busy at the moment.
Could it take on a direct confrontation over Taiwan?
I think Syria is too strategically important to be 'allowed to die' .. but, then, I cannot
play Go
What about the 'rumors' that China will build a base in Vanuatu? "We would view with great
concern the establishment of any foreign military bases in those Pacific Island countries and
neighbours of ours," Mr Turnbull said. Ahem!
Could America take on a direct confrontation over Taiwan?
If Taiwan is 500 kilometers off the coast from California, America just might give it a
try. But alas, Taiwan is 500 kilometer off the coast from Fujian Province. Only a deranged
America would take the bite. Let's see if America is deranged. Lately there are signs it is
down that slippery slope.
What I meant, is the China is choosing its timing and confrontation very carefully
America is the next door neighbour who has watched the plum ripen every day, fearing that
pesky Chinese neighbour will steal it and eat it
Not being careful, or just being plain dumb, the American knocked over a hornets nest and
and now too busy dealing with the angry hornets to keep an eye on the plum
Every single country (!) on this list- except for Bolivia – abstained in the latest
UNSC vote to stop aggression against Syria Russia, China, Bolivia voted in favor. USA, UK,
France vited against. With just ONE vote the resolution would have passed
Kazakhstan is a member of the SCO..why did they not join Russia and China to support this
resolution?? I am beginning to think the SCO is just hype.
One thing's for sure: I'm going to miss Bolivia when their term ends this year
The resolution was never going to pass. The US, the UK and France all posses the veto
power of a permanent member of the UNSC. Thus, it does not matter how many voted in favor.
The resolution was defeated.
I think I remember seeing at least one statement from another country that said that there
was purpose of voting in favor of a veto'd resolution. Why bother. Especially when the US is
infamous for blackmailing and armtwisting nations that vote against them. It was only a few
months ago that Nutti Nikki declared the US was 'taking names' of those who opposed the.
There isn't any reason to vote for a resolution that is already and certainly veto'd.
Actually, you see this alot also in bodies like the US Congress. Once a side has the votes to
know they won (or lost), then a single vote doesn't mean anything. Thus a congressperson can
vote a way that pleases the voters (or the lobbyists) and know that they are doing so with no
impact on whether the measure passes or fails. You sometimes see members of congress voting
for and against the same bill so they can take either position in the next campaign!
Anonymous, you are of course correct. It's the SC and not the GA so any veto will bring down
the resolution. Thank you for correcting my mistake. I also understand perfectly your point
about tactical voting.
However:
It would send a powerful message to the empire (and the world) if Russia were not so
isolated in her diplomatic efforts, even if a resolution is vetoed!..As Saker mentioned above
noone seems to care about the higher values of international law. By keeping a low profile
and abstaining these countries are basically confirming that there is no diplomatic way to
stop the aggression.
what is happening to Russia funnily reminds me of what happened to me as a kid – I was
maybe 9.
there was a bully in our neighborhood park where we used to play – he was 3 or 4 years
older than most of us. He used to beat all of us individually (I was the youngest in the
group) – but then I would come behind him when he was not looking and hit him with a
brick etc.
so one day all the kids gathered (not sure whose idea it was – not mine – but I
approved and joined them) and agreed to circle the bully and at 1..2..3..we were all to jump
at him and to start beating him I thought it was a great idea.
so we went there and did that – 1..2..3 – I jumped on the bully and started
kicking him – only to realize that everybody else just stayed where they were. I was
the only one fighting him Even my brother didn't join me.
I hope the same thing does not happen to Russia – but if it does – just be
prepared – and never trust psychopathic Anglo – west
Bolivia has a democracy that has elected governments that actually favor their people over
corporations, and god forbid, that don't favor foriegn (American) corporations over their own
people.
Thus, the US has already declared Bolivia an enemy. They don't seem to be number 1 on the
American kill list, but they are already on the list.
At this point in time, the UNSC is blocked to both sides. Neither side can pass a UNSC
resolution against the other. One side had 2 and now 3 vetos. The other side has 2 vetos.
Nothing is passing.
Which means that neither side can claim UNSC sanction for their wars. Which in turn really
makes any war illegal. Not that any of the Axis of Evil care about that. For the record,
Trump violated the US Constitution in two ways (at least) by attacking Syria, thus, if the
system were honest, he would now be impeached. Of course, the system is not honest, but it is
highly rigged.
Since Russia and China don't seem to be starting any wars of aggression, that lack of
ability to get a UNSC certificate for wars of aggression won't matter much to them. But, also
don't expect them to pass anything condemning the Axis of Evil through the UNSC.
The UNSC is now only for making speeches. Both sides then use these messages in their
psyOps operations. PsyOps is the right word because both sides now view propaganda as warfare
by other means.
Vietnam brought forth the term "hearts and minds." That's what they psyOps wars are
fighting over. The hearts and minds of everyone. Or at least those who are paying attention,
and of course getting more to pay attention to your psyOps is a part of the battle as
well.
The UNSC is thus a tool in these psyOps wars. The Russians make their case. Nutti Nikki
screams, rants and threatens. Each is then used as propaganda both at their own people at
home and at the rest of the world. It will stay that way as long as no one repeats the Soviet
mistake of the Korean War era and gets so fed up with it that they don't bother to show up
and cast their veto.
One interpretation of these comments is that diplomacy is just a bunch of fancy talk to
create fodder for psyops. While NATO and other military organizations may view it that way,
from another perspective, making speeches in a public meeting like this, where a resolution
is on the line, can serve to entrench or resolve conflict. As part of a larger diplomatic
strategy.
The 'hearts and minds' concept originated in the Malaya campaign in the
50's–counter-insurgency–and it was never about hearts and minds, it was about
'killing people in order to save them'– a precursor of 'humanitarian intervention'
–basic BS, in other words.
Part of the so-called psyop then was head-chopping of communist Chinese by the British
soldiers, I seem to recall.
Kazakhstan is one of the founding members of the Eurasian Economic Union. But it has always
made its position clear that its membership is based upon economic and not political union.
So its vote was not all that surprising. It's called hedging your bets.
Russia has a lot of options and none of them involve attacking US/NATO forces directly.
And General Rudskoy already hinted at one of them, the S300 to Syria and to possibly some
other countries. A great idea, but only one of Russia's options.
Following from that, the first thing Russia should do, a long with Iran, Hizbullah and
Syria, is exactly what it has been doing: securing more and more of Syria. Since the last
time AZ axis did this, Syria's situation on the ground is much improved. By the next time
they try, it will be much better still. Eyes on the prize.
Next, the S300. Russia has to impose a painful cost to the enemy without triggering a war.
That's where Israel comes in. Russia needs to help Syria (Russia should not do this herself)
to bring down a handful of Israeli jets and capture their pilots alive. You will see
immediately of the situation changes once 2, 3 or 4 of those most precious of souls are
captured. Your head will spin. They will trade whatever they have to to get them back.
Capturing American pilots would not have anywhere near the same effect. And British or French
pilots? Don't make me laugh. Nobody really cares about the hired help.
Russia also has the option of soft retaliation. The empire has troops all over the world
and faces insurgencies in many places. I'm just sayin'. Sometimes accidents happen when you
are fighting insurgencies.
Believe me, I understand how disgusted you are by the situation. But this has been
Russia's role in the world forever. Defending Europe and the world from the mongols, the
Prussians, the Swedes, Napoleon, the Turks, Hitler has earned Russia zero gratitude. But
nevertheless, many of us see. Even I, who am not a Christian, can see the analogy clear as
day.
Sinking gas/oil platforms of Levithian field by "unknown assistants" might be a similar
"symbolic" response. Similar to US attack of uninhibited buildings, this response by a third
party against an ally of US (nominally ally, in reality the master) would send the message,
without too much of a risk.
Your comments about the Israeli reaction to the loss of its planes and the capture of their
pilots is right. Read the Israeli press and especially the comments that follow the stories.
Israeli hubris is not to be believed. The commenters (much less the article authors)
can´t acknowledge that US missiles were shot down (albeit, with integrated modern
radars, electronic interference, etc, acknowledged) by Syrians with Soviet era junk.
"... Yes it is annoying that USA keeps bombing Syria, and yes it ruins the lives of the families that lose loved ones in such attacks. But they do not hinder the progress of the Syrian army. Which likely will have wrapped up everything that is politically easy to wrap up in Syria this year. The border with Israel, Idlib and the kurds being the last more politically difficult parts. ..."
The consequence has not come yet. Those that expected that Russia would sink every American
vessels and fire of off thermonuclear weapon at Washington, has no real connection to
reality.
Such an action would be the dream of neocons and liberals in the western world. Russia
will win as long as they can avoid a full on attack on Syria by USA and getting themselves
dragged into a conflict with USA or one of its clients.
Yes it is annoying that USA keeps bombing Syria, and yes it ruins the lives of the
families that lose loved ones in such attacks. But they do not hinder the progress of the
Syrian army. Which likely will have wrapped up everything that is politically easy to wrap up
in Syria this year. The border with Israel, Idlib and the kurds being the last more
politically difficult parts.
In reality, Russia and Assad won from this attack I think, it made them look good
internationally, it made USA look bad, Trumps supporters are in an uproar right now.. This is
not like last year when the democrats supported his attack and his base kinda thought it was
acceptable..
This time everyone thinks Trump is a lunatic, even his most fanatic supporters such as
Alex Jones that has been being over backwards to protect Trump have lost hope in him
When Russia unified with Crimea, it lost the international moral initiative which it had,
now, it is absolutely regained it. This attack while it caused no damage to Russia or the war
effort for Syria also gives Russia an excuse to do whatever it wants back.
The consequence of the USA strike could be something like.
1. Giving Syria better and "forbidden" in the style of S400 or S300.
2. Giving Syria more and more advanced pansirs.
3. Giving Syria advance anti-ship missiles, enabling them to take out every USA ship off
their coast.
4. Arming groups that oppose USA over the world state actors or non-state actors, either
covertly or openly with advanced weapons.
5. Revealing classified information about USA that perhaps USA got Russia to agree it would
not reveal. Could be anything, proof perhaps that the USA gold reserve is empty perhaps that
USA did 9/11, anything really.
6. A purge of USA backed fifth columnists inside of Russia.
The consequence will be something alone the line of causing long term severe consequence
for USA but causing no problem for Russia or even being beneficial.
It is well respected in some European countries (exchange of students, graduates,
qualifications, etc. .. see the relations with France for ex.) I couldn't turn up a map of
the district with clear labels / the damage this article gives it a try (don't agree with all
it says, see maps):
It was (imho) just an ordinary lab facility, probably over-used, for multiple purposes,
incl. training students. The very idea that chem weapons were developed / produced there is
grotesque. Note that in the pix of the rubble (google it) one can intuit that it was at least
partially emptied out before the attack. The usual stuff which spills about, like furniture,
computers, file cabinets, curtains, piles of paper, sci. equipment like huge fridges, lab
benches, blackboards, endless chairs, lights, etc. is missing.
OT i liked this post i just read at craig murrays site, so i am reposting it...
"Hatuey April 17, 2018 at 16:11
Let's get back to basics here.
If there's 2 countries in the world that are definitely not in a position to be arguing that
we need to bomb anyone in the middle east, it's Britain and America. Jesus Christ almighty,
that should be the unquestionable starting point in any discussion about human rights there.
The middle east looks like World War Z because of these crackpots.
Once bustling modern cities in the middle east, with hospitals, universities, water, and
everything you'd expect to find in a European city, are now crumbling lifeless carcasses
because of these nutters.
War is peace for these guys. I mean that. Where we worry about war, they worry about peace.
Because who is going to buy their guns and ammo if there's peace? And that's all they are
selling. Coffee's for closers. The more misery and division they sow, the more sales they
reap."
These skirmishes (not skirmishes to those who live or die because of them), even ones that
are war crimes, as this was, seem to me to be in large part ways in which the major powers test
out their combat systems. I would think the Pentagon would like to test the Russian defense
systems, and the Russians can't be completely sorry they got the opportunity to see how those
new systems worked under operational conditions. The winners are the arms manufacturers. The
losers are everybody else.
"... Actually, there is nothing like "American policies" in the Trump era. The Washington Post carried two reports this week underlining the utter confusion within the Trump administration. Even the president is not necessarily the last word. ..."
"... One of these two astonishing reports titled Trump a reluctant hawk has battled his top aides on Russia and lost (here) narrates shocking details on how the former NSA in the White House HR McMaster simply hoodwinked a bumbling Trump into approving the proposal to expel 60 Russian diplomats from the US last month: ..."
"... The second WaPo report (here) narrates how even the famous Nikki Haley can no longer pretend to be Trump's authoritative voice. ..."
Actually, there is nothing like "American policies" in the Trump era. The Washington Post carried two reports this week underlining
the utter confusion within the Trump administration. Even the president is not necessarily the last word.
One of these two astonishing reports titled
Trump a reluctant hawk has battled his top aides on Russia and lost (here) narrates shocking details on how the former NSA in
the White House HR McMaster simply hoodwinked a bumbling Trump into approving the proposal to expel 60 Russian diplomats from the
US last month:
The next day, when the expulsions were announced publicly, Trump erupted, officials said. To his shock and dismay, France and
Germany were each expelling only four Russian officials The president, who seemed to believe that other individual countries would
largely equal the United States, was furious that his administration was being portrayed in the media as taking by far the toughest
stance on Russia
Growing angrier, Trump insisted that his aides had misled him about the magnitude of the expulsions. "There were curse words,"
the official said, "a lot of curse words."
The
second WaPo report (here) narrates how even the famous Nikki Haley can no longer pretend to be Trump's authoritative voice.
I'm reminded of Roman Emperor Caligula (AD 37-41). He had a favorite horse by name Incitatus whom he once planned to designate
as Roman consul. Caligula used to hold parties for friends in the steed's grand stables. In a fit of exuberant joy, he once named
Incitatus a Minister of State.
The Trump presidency has not quite reached that point yet, but bizarre things are happening in the Washington Beltway – like in
Caligula's decadent Rome in decline and fall. India will be well advised to keep distance.
"... Lavrov knows the game and he handled it in a mature, sensible way. ..."
"... Thanks for the Lavrov interview transcript - I never could have watched it. Lavrov is 100% real, and the other guy is just an English punk, of the false-tough-rude kind that they have specialized in producing for, all of my life certainly, and perhaps for much longer before then. ..."
"... But it's indicative. No BBC interviewer would normally be that unprofessional. I've got used to BBC presenters moving well clear of the neutral zone but this was out of the ordinary. The interviewer would not have been permitted to employ that attack dog approach were there not a strong consensus behind it. ..."
"... That aggressive and bull-headed consensus is what we've also seen in the Commons and in public statements. I've seen a little of American TV recently and it's equally strong there. ..."
Some, like me, prefer to read transcripts than watch interview videos.
Here's
the BBC/Lavrov HardTalk interview transcript. One is clearly all about objectivity while
the other promotes fantasies. It's entirely possible to remain calm when the facts are on your
side, which tells you why the BBC reporter's agitated.
Thanks for the Lavrov interview transcript - I never could have watched it. Lavrov is 100%
real, and the other guy is just an English punk, of the false-tough-rude kind that they have
specialized in producing for, all of my life certainly, and perhaps for much longer before
then.
But more than that, thanks for this: "entirely possible to remain calm when the facts
are on your side"
Wonderful observation. Something I had never quite seen.
"I just got done watching Lavrov's interview on Hard Talk, which was painful. It's deja vu
all over again for anyone who remembers MSM tactics in 2002-2003."
Very painful indeed. I watched it all through and wished I hadn't.
But it's indicative. No BBC interviewer would normally be that unprofessional. I've
got used to BBC presenters moving well clear of the neutral zone but this was out of the
ordinary. The interviewer would not have been permitted to employ that attack dog approach
were there not a strong consensus behind it.
That aggressive and bull-headed consensus is what we've also seen in the Commons and
in public statements. I've seen a little of American TV recently and it's equally strong
there.
We've been thwarted in the Ukraine, knocked back in Syria, and R2P is losing the little
hold it had. Do we, in this extraordinary BBC interview, see a hint of desperation on the
part of our rulers and mentors?
"... "We the G7 Leaders...fully support all efforts made by the US, the UK and France to degrade the Assad regime's ability to use chemical weapons and to deter any future use, demonstrated by their actions taken on April 13. This response was limited, proportionate and necessary..." ..."
"We the G7 Leaders...fully support all efforts made by the US, the UK and France to degrade
the Assad regime's ability to use chemical weapons and to deter any future use, demonstrated by
their actions taken on April 13. This response was limited, proportionate and necessary..."
Welcome to the 'rules based international order'...
President Macron recently stated that he has „proof" that CW were used in Douma and
that is was the Syrian Army. Now the French govt has released the „evaluation
nationale" but it seems no-one is paying attention to it.
After reading the document carefully one can only reach one conclusion:
There is NO PROOF whatsover in this evaulation and it is obviously addressed to an audience
considered to be incapable of critical thought. The format of the document is rather revealing
because it contains no offical ID from a French „service" or ministry (just
„Republique Francaise") and the authors are unknown (so no official takes personal
responsibility for its content, like the phony „assessment" on CW released by the WH in
2017)
In order to find out who committed a crime, forensic evidence is extremely important, as we
all know from detective thrillers and court-room dramas. But in this case, there is NO FORENSIC
EVIDENCE (no criminal investigation by a CSI-unit). There are only unverified pics and videos
posted on YouTube by the White Helmets (WH).
It is impossible to verify WHERE these pics/vids were taken and also WHEN because the
metadata have been tempered with. The WH of course have NO CREDIBILITY whatsoever, being a
cover for the massive „strategic information" (incessantly demonizing Assad) created by
MI6, who also ran the massive PR for the artificial „rebels" in Syria. (See
voltairenet.org for more on this).
And yet this is the basis for the „assessment" of the French govt. They write that „French experts have analyzed the symptoms (visible in the pics and vids) which can be
described as follows (respiratory distress, asphyxiation, cyanosis, skin-burns, excessive
salivation, etc.) Taken together, these symptoms are characteristic für a CW-attack,
especially for suffocating-agents. The use of asthma-sprays supports the thesis that such
agents were used."
So instead of a forensic examination and autopsy, all we get is an interpretation of
symptoms to fit the frame of the Assad-gasses-his-own-people horror-narrative. To this, they
add statements from anonymous people working (in Douma) for medical NGOs like UOSSM (created in
France in 2011, PR-front group) and SAMS (US directed front group) who claim that about a
hundred people „stormed" their health facilities in Douma and at least 40 died as a
result of the CW-attack.
They use medical staff of course as „CREDIBILITY-ENHANCERS" because in general people
tend to trust doctors, nurses and paramedics, hence the „White Helmets" (and the faux
„nurse" telling the heat-wrenchning, invented tale of the incubator-babies in Iraq) I asked a friend who works for one of the biggest chemical companies in Germany (BASF) about
the symptoms and he said they are consistent with a chlorine-exposure but that does NOT mean
that it could ONLY have been chlorine. Very similar symptoms occur when people have been
exposed to SMOKE-INHALATION (German: Rauchgasvergiftung)
And now it gets really interesting because a video has been released by Russian and Syrian
TV stations in which two medical students who work for the emergency department of the Douma
hospital, say that the people shown in the WH-video had indeed been exposed to
SMOKE-INHALATION. (see links below)
A house in Douma had been hit by an airstrike which caused a fire in the lower floors and
the partial collapse of the upper floors. So these people had breathing difficulties and were
taken to the emergency dept of the hospital where they were given first aid. Suddenly some men
appeared and shouted „this was a gas-attack!". They then began to douse the patients with
cold water (from a hose), which caused panic (children screamed of course). These
„dramatic" scenes were filmed then the strangers disappeared as quickly as they had
arrived.
I cannot verify if these medical students told the truth, but given the political context, I
have much more reason to believe them than the White Helmets or the French DGSE.
Just one more thing, the brochure from BASF about the dangers of chlorine contains one
sentence that caught my eye:
„Wasser verstärkt die oxidative und ätzende Wirkung von Chlor" (Water exacerbates the corrosive effect of chlorine (because hydrochlorid acid is formed
through the moisture
So why would medical experts then hose down these alleged „chlorine" victims? Of
course they would not. So this too, seems to show that the whole scene was staged.
The French govt also argues that the use of CW in East-Ghouta was both in a tactical and
strategical sense a military stroke of genius but I'll spare you the BS except for one
argument:
The „strategic" aspect was that Assad wanted to punish the civilians in
„rebel-held" areas and by creating „terreur et panic" they achieved their aim of
surrender.
„Because the war is not over for Assad, he wants to demonstrate thru these ruthless
attacks, that resistance is futile "
This is baloney of course because the Russians and the SAA are winning and have
painstakingly negotiated with the „rebels" and arranged for them to be evacuated in
buses to Idlib. (Can anyone imagine the US-military doing such a thing after 7yrs of
war?)
AND President Assad knows very well that the civilians in rebel-held areas were captives,
treated like slaves, starved for food (sold by the rebels at exorbitant prices) and brutally
executed if they refused to live under Sharia-law. So there was absolutely no need to
„punish" them for anything.
(„Good heavens!") fmr. British military brass (even SF) now disagree with the French
„evaluation" and their own government:
„Given the operational situation in Eastern-Ghouta on April 7, we estimate with
high-confidence that the responsibility (for the non-existent CW-attack) can be attributed
to the Syrian Regime".
(Sound familiar?)
And finally they put in this „disclaimer" when they say
„Les services francaises are not in the possession of any information which would
support the thesis, that these armed groups in East-Ghouta have endeavored to acquire CW
for themselves or that they were already available to them."/BLOCKQUOTE>
(Now that is a BIG Lie even the MSM knows that the "rebels" have used CW (i.e.in Aleppo
see Scott Ritter on this, Carla del Ponte, Seymour Hersh, Vanessa Beeley, etc.)
„Furthermore we regard a manipulation of the released pictures as implausible,
because the groups present in Ghouta had no access to the means necessary to exercise a
communication-manouver of this magnitude"
this absurd claim does not even deserve a comment )
The biggest lie comes at the end when they claim that
Assad has not declared all his CW to the OPCW, has kept a clandestine CW-programm all the time (since 2013
has intensified the use of CW continually and that the Russians are in on this.
And then follow the (by now familiar) highly-manipulative phrases which are supposed to
be imprinted on our brains now:
Undoubtedly a chemical attack was launched against civilians on April 7 in Douma
There is no other plausible scenario then the action of the SAA as part of a major
offensive to retake East-Ghouta
Russia has undeniably actively supported these operations and the clandestine policy of
the SARG for the use of CW
The French govt also argues that the use of CW in East-Ghouta was both in a tactical and
strategical sense a military stroke of genius but I'll spare you the BS except for one
argument:
The „strategic" aspect was that Assad wanted to punish the civilians in
„rebel-held" areas and by creating „terreur et panic" they achieved their aim of
surrender.
„Because the war is not over for Assad, he wants to demonstrate thru these ruthless
attacks, that resistance is futile "
This is baloney of course because the Russians and the SAA are winning and have
painstakingly negotiated with the „rebels" and arranged for them to be evacuated in
buses to Idlib. (Can anyone imagine the US-military doing such a thing after 7yrs of
war?)
AND President Assad knows very well that the civilians in rebel-held areas were captives,
treated like slaves, starved for food (sold by the rebels at exorbitant prices) and brutally
executed if they refused to live under Sharia-law. So there was absolutely no need to
„punish" them for anything.
(„Good heavens!") fmr. British military brass (even SF) now disagree with the French
„evaluation" and their own government:
„Given the operational situation in Eastern-Ghouta on April 7, we estimate with
high-confidence that the responsibility (for the non-existent CW-attack) can be attributed
to the Syrian Regime".
(Sound familiar?)
And finally they put in this „disclaimer" when they say
„Les services francaises are not in the possession of any information which would
support the thesis, that these armed groups in East-Ghouta have endeavored to acquire CW
for themselves or that they were already available to them."/BLOCKQUOTE>
(Now that is a BIG Lie even the MSM knows that the "rebels" have used CW (i.e.in Aleppo
see Scott Ritter on this, Carla del Ponte, Seymour Hersh, Vanessa Beeley, etc.)
„Furthermore we regard a manipulation of the released pictures as implausible,
because the groups present in Ghouta had no access to the means necessary to exercise a
communication-manouver of this magnitude"
this absurd claim does not even deserve a comment )
The biggest lie comes at the end when they claim that
Assad has not declared all his CW to the OPCW, has kept a clandestine CW-programm all the time (since 2013
has intensified the use of CW continually and that the Russians are in on this.
And then follow the (by now familiar) highly-manipulative phrases which are supposed to
be imprinted on our brains now:
Undoubtedly a chemical attack was launched against civilians on April 7 in Douma
There is no other plausible scenario then the action of the SAA as part of a major
offensive to retake East-Ghouta
Russia has undeniably actively supported these operations and the clandestine policy of
the SARG for the use of CW
Re: but the French stick to their surreal script .
„Given the operational situation in Eastern-Ghouta on April 7, we estimate with
high-confidence that the responsibility (for the non-existent CW-attack) can be attributed to
the Syrian Regime".
I guess this is a matter of national pride and tradition. They invented surrealism after
all. Although "we estimate with high-confidence that" could be also impressionistic:
impressions are the higher truth.
Re: otherwise they could get Skripaled. ??? Does it mean "Do what we say if you do not
want to share the fate of your pets", slow, painful death?
UOSSM looks to be a prime front for French military intelligence. Perhaps their recent
"testimony" is not unrelated to the problems Macron
is having spelling out what, exactly, the French intelligence confirming the attack amounts
to.
The thing is, France, if you want to play with the big boys here, you first need to do a
much better job of impoverishing your citizens, lowering the level of their education,
worsening their health care, and removing all domestic safety nets to the extent that you
can.
Your citizens are uppity and skeptical because they have the relative leisure to think.
Remove from them this leisure, and then they too will believe.
"Then, if you do find a distinction there: where's the distinction between "arming and
training in the field" and "directing and assisting"?"
Unless we're logic chopping I have to confess I can find none. I think Putin's noble but
as yet ineffectual UN Speech - "Do you even now not realise what you have done?" - will
search us home in the coming years, as the facts of what we have done or caused to be done in
Syria surface.
Many years ago I read an account by a young woman in Germany of her experiences up to
1945. Melitta Maschman had been a convinced Nazi and proud of the achievements of the Nazi
years. That pride shines through her account, even though the account was written long after
she had rejected her earlier convictions. Those convictions had been real enough too. From
memory - I don't choose to read the book again - she was one of the few who attempted to keep
the fight going even after the end of the war.
Melitta Maschman had a journey to make. Slowly, after the war, she had to come to terms
with the fact that the time she had been so proud of was a time of horror. That the fighting
men whose achievements she had been so proud of were also implicated in - or responsible for,
as you imply the distinction is hair-splitting - the atrocities of the Eastern Front.
I think her account might have been genuine, as was her post-war rejection, though of
course one can never tell from a book. Genuine or not, on a less dramatic, less monumental
scale, that's the journey English and American patriots must slowly prepare for too. You must
not be too critical if some of us are still reluctant to make that journey.
Update : Interfax reports that the Russian military has discovered a rebel-owned chemical weapons lab in Douma.
The Russian Defense Ministry says that components for Mustard Gas production were discovered along with cylinders of chlorine
at a alb belonging to militants in Douma.
Additionally, Moscow has said it is stunned by a French statement that Russia is obstructing OPCW experts from entering Syria's
Douma (echoing Ambassador Ward's). the Russian foreign ministry confirms OPCW expoerts are already in Douma.
* * *
And on the game goes...
While Russia's foreign ministry warns that Western powers are interfering with OPCW's work in Syria (noting that the chemical
weapons experts' access to Douma is being hampered by remaining militants, supported by Washington),
as Caitlin Johnstone details , we are now being told by US officials (and I assure you I am not making this up) that if the Organization
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons doesn't find evidence that the Syrian government conducted a chemical weapons attack in Douma
last week, it's because Russia hid the evidence .
"It is our understanding the Russians may have visited the attack site,"
reports U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Ward.
"It is our concern that they may have tampered with it with the intent of thwarting the efforts of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission
to conduct an effective investigation."
I guess the idea is that this international top-level investigative team on which tremendous credibility has been placed by the
western world can be thwarted by Russians showing up with a Hoover and spraying some Febreze in the air like a teenage stoner when
mom comes home? I'm not sure, but given the immense dearth of evidence we've been seeing in support of the establishment Douma narrative
and the
mounting pile of evidence contradicting it, it sure does sound fishy.
The Independent 's Robert Fisk has published a report which affirms
the story so many westerners have been dismissing
as Kremlin propaganda for days now after interviewing a doctor from the hospital of the area where the Douma attack was supposed
to have occurred. Dr Assim Rahaibani told Fisk that what was in actuality an outbreak of respiratory distress among occupants of
a dusty oxygen-deprived tunnel was made to look like the aftereffects of a chemical weapons attack when a member of the White Helmets
started shouting about a gas attack in front of a bunch of video cameras. Everyone panicked and started hosing themselves down, but
in the video, according to Rahaibani, "what you see are people suffering from hypoxia -- not gas poisoning."
This report was independently backed up by a reporter from One America News Network named Pearson Sharp, who
gave a detailed account of his interviews with officials, doctors, as
well as many civilians on the street Sharp says he deliberately selected at random in order to avoid accusations of bias. Many people
hadn't even heard that a chemical weapons attack had taken place, and the ones who had said it was staged by Jaysh al-Islam. The
staff at the hospital, including a medic-in-training who was an eyewitness to the incident, gave the same story as the account in
Fisk's report.
The increasing confidence with which these unapproved narratives are being voiced and the increasing discomfort being exhibited
by empire loyalists like Ambassador Ward indicate a weakening narrative in the greater propaganda campaign against the Assad government
and its allies, but don't hold your breath for the part where Fox News and the BBC turn around and start asking critical questions
of the governments that they are meant to be holding to account.
The journalists who have been advancing the establishment narrative on Syria aren't about to start reporting that they've gotten
the entire Syria story assballs backward and have been promoting a version of events manufactured for the benefit of CIA-MI6-Mossad
agendas. You're not about to see CNN, who last year
staged a fake scripted interview with a seven year-old Syrian girl to manufacture support for escalations against Assad, suddenly
turn around and start asking if we're being told the full story about what's happening Syria.
Watch them closely. Watch how they steadfastly ignore the growing mountain of evidence and keep promoting the Syrian regime change
agenda that the western empire has been
working toward for decades . Watch them dismiss all evidence they can't ignore as Kremlin propaganda and shift the narrative
whenever things start to look bad for them. Those riding the crest of the wave of establishment media are too far gone into the blob
to ever admit error and change. The least among us aren't about to stop constructing a public reality tunnel which depicts them as
heroes of truth, tear it all down, and start advancing a narrative which makes them look like fools at best and villains at worst.
It will not happen.
Luckily for us, it doesn't need to. Internet censorship is still far from closing the door on our ability to network and share
information, and we've been very effective at sowing skepticism among the masses. The war propagandists are not nearly as good at
their jobs as they want to believe, and we can beat them.
They work so hard to manufacture support for war because they require that consent. If the oligarchs try to launch a war against
a disobedient nation amidst very clear opposition from the public, they will shatter the illusion of freedom and democracy that their
entire empire is built upon, and then they're exposed. Corporatist oligarchy has succeeded in weaving its web of dominance because
its oppression has thus far remained hidden and its depravity disguised as humanitarianism. They cannot expose themselves by transgressing
a loud NO from the public or else the masses will realize that everything they used to believe about their country, their government
and their world is a lie.
They won't risk that. We can force them into retreating from open war by circulating facts and information and keeping a healthy
level of skepticism circulating among the public. Watch them squirm, move goalposts and shift narratives, and point and yell about
it whenever it happens. We can win the media war against the propagandists. We have truth on our side.
* * *
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That fact-finding body (OPCW) could change the whole paradigm IF it finds conclusive evidence this was a false flag event,
and IF they trumpet their findings to the world, and IF people get all the real ramifications of such a potential finding/announcement.
This said, I fully expect their "findings" to be a masterpiece of ambiguous language and weaslespeak.
This body after all is a creation of politicians and bureaucrats answering to many governments. They, almost certainly, will
"punt."
The OPCW had better release their findings if they contradict the "official" narrative before they fly out from Douma as they
could well end up like the passengers on MH17.
That in itself will be another problem because the "good guys" will know within minutes that Russia did it.
"No conlusive evidence was found" will be the finding which either side can spin to their desire.
Russia - there is no evidence so there was no attack
US - the evidence was no conclusive but only because enough time has passed that it degraded to the point where a good sample
could not be located.....and Russia kept the inspectors from the site in order for this to happen.
I saw an interesting tweet over at Charles Shoebridge. " To be clear, I don't dispute that
as UK govt says cleaning up nerve agent may 'cost millions and take months'. But I do dispute
that the same UK govt and media saying this can also with any consistency then suggest Russia
has cleaned up Douma in just a few days. Jihadists claim that sarin was used as well as
chlorine.
Was the goal of the attack to initiate Russia turkey split? If so the attack was very nasty, has typical for British imperial
provocations sophistication, and was pretty successful.
Notable quotes:
"... Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said images of victims of the purported attack were staged with "Britain's direct involvement." ..."
...The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Macron and the two leaders
agreed to coordinate their actions to avoid further military escalation in Syria. It was
unclear how this might influence the direction of events.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said images of victims of the
purported attack were staged with "Britain's direct involvement." He provided no evidence.
As Global times put it: "One of the major characteristics of the Trump administration's diplomacy is willfulness and
recklessness, as if the all-mighty US has the right to do everything. However, the stronger a country is, the greater the
responsibility it has to maintain world peace and order."
Trump's Attack on Syria Shows the US Still Considers Itself a Global Policeman | The Nation
The attack demonstrates that the United States still considers itself to be not simply the indispensable nation
but a global policeman above the law. With the president claiming the right to use military force anywhere without
congressional authorization -- and Congress so supine that, with few honorable exceptions, it does not object -- and the
foreign-policy establishment across the board claiming the right to use force in direct, open, and arrogant
violation of international law, we have reached the point where the US president acts as cop, judge, jury, and
executioner.
With this president, of course, illegality has become the norm. Trump and our allies unleashed the attack even
as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was traveling to Syria to provide an
independent, authoritative investigation of the attack on Douma and determine whether or not in fact chemical
weapons were used, and if so, by whom. Trump preferred, in Alice in Wonderland fashion, sentence first, verdict
after.
To protect the Syrian people from the horrors of alleged chemical-weapons use, we unleash missiles and bombs on
the Syrian people. To enforce an alleged -- and, if true, grotesque -- violation of the international chemical-weapons
ban, we trample the international ban on wars of aggression. Yes, yes, Trump says the mission was "perfect," and
called it -- in an absurd echo of George W. Bush's infamous 2003 pronouncement about the Iraq War -- "mission
accomplished." The media feature the tactical questions of how and what and when. We hear all the usual nonsense
about smart weapons, surgical bombing.
This raid -- celebrated by neocons and their liberal interventionist allies alike -- derives from America's unipolar
moment after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Then the heady liberal interventionists decided,
in Madeleine
Albright's words
, that the United States was the "indispensable nation," that we could act because "we stand
tall and we see further than other countries into the future." From that came the arrogant assumption that the
United States could scorn the same international laws that it had championed at Nuremberg after World War II.
Former State Department official Anne Marie Slaughter spoke for the bipartisan consensus when she tweeted, "I
believe that the US, UK & France did the right thing by striking Syria over chemical weapons . [even] if it is
illegal under international law. But it at least draws a line somewhere & says enough."
We have arrogated to ourselves the right to attack other sovereign countries when they offend our judgments of
proper behavior -- about human rights, against civil war on the European continent, against chemical weapons. Of
course, we do not attack our allies such as Saudi Arabia in Yemen, or Israel in Gaza for engaging in such
activities.
... ... ...
Seeing growing violence in Syria -- sparked by revolt generated by Assad's brutal reign -- Obama decided that like Ben Ali in
Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Assad must go. Even though Assad posed no threat to the United States, Obama dispatched the CIA
and Special Forces to train and arm the insurgency against Assad. But many of those arms, ostensibly intended for "democratic" rebel
forces, ended up in the hands of ISIS and other
terror groups. The conflicts between Assad, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Turks, and Persians grew more complex. Iran and
Russia came to the aid of a sovereign head of state that the United States, in conjunction with its Gulf "allies,"
had been waging aggressive war to topple.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed; millions uprooted...
Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of The Nation.
"... In the absence of a coherent US strategy toward Syria, this latest attack may even stoke the fires of Syrian nationalism. ..."
"... Of course, new regional alignments will become inevitable. Turkey and Israel have backed the US attack. ( here ) The Turks' bazari instincts are legion and President Recep Erdogan senses a historic opportunity to project Turkish power into Syria and realize his "neo-Ottoman" dream. Trust him to overreach. ..."
"... Israel is a bit down due to the messy confrontation at the Gaza border ; or else, it would have jumped into the fray. Israel's best bet will be that the US keeps an open-ended military presence in a Syria that is balkanized and weak and is in no position to reclaim the lost territory in the Golan Heights that are under Israeli occupation since 1967. ..."
"... Tehran has hinted at "regional consequences." But Iran's style will be to avoid direct conflict with the US and opt instead to intensify its political work and consolidate its wide networking with various groups on the ground, which systematically keep undermining the US presence in Syria and Iraq. No doubt, Iran will intensify the politics of "resistance" against Israel. ..."
The US President Donald Trump's mind took a fourth U-turn in almost as many days on Friday
since he began speaking about his decision to withdraw the American forces from Syria and leave
it to "others" to handle the endgame in the conflict. He swung to the extreme threatening a
rain of missiles on Syria, only to back-track a day later to hint there might not be any attack
at all, and finally to announce a joint US-UK-France attack on Friday.
If the former US Deputy Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, an experienced career diplomat,
got the impression that POTUS was playing a video game, it comes as no surprise. Indeed, the
most striking thing about the US strike on Syria is its futility of purpose beyond a symbolic
value to impress the domestic constituency that POTUS is a forceful decision-maker, who unlike
his predecessor Barack Obama, lays down 'red lines' and follows up.
Actually, it is a cowardly stance. Trump hastened to strike just hours before the
investigation by the team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was due
to begin in Douma – as if time was running out to act with impunity. Clearly, Trump felt
the compulsion to be seen acting. He had no authorization from the Congress nor did he secure a
mandate from the UN Security Council to launch aggression against a UN member country.
"There's an obligation, particularly when dealing with matters of peace and security, to act
consistently with the Charter of the United Nations and with international law in general. The
UN Charter is very clear on these issues.
"The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace
and security. I call on the members of the Security Council to unite and exercise that
responsibility. I urge all Member States to show restraint in these dangerous circumstances and
to avoid any acts that could escalate the situation and worsen the suffering of the Syrian
people."
On the other hand, the attack on Syria was carefully choreographed. Paris has disclosed that
Moscow was informed in advance. Indeed, "deconfliction" proceedures were under discussion
between the Pentagon and Russian Defence Ministry for the past 2-3 days. The attack clinically
targeted alleged chemical weapon sites in three cities in Syria – Damascus, Hom and Hama.
No military bases or assets were attacked. The missiles scrupulously avoided locations where
there could be Russian personnel. Care was taken to avoid "collateral damage". In fact, there
has been no reported casualty. On the whole, it is as if a riveting fireworks show has been
conducted.
The Syrians claim they shot down a number of incoming missiles. But like in the Sherlock
Holmes story, the dog didn't bark – not a single move has been reported by Russia to
intercept the incoming missiles. Moscow simply watched a brawl unfold between the US, UK and
France on one side and the Syrian regime on the other. Moscow instead turned on its propaganda
apparatus to take the maximum advantage of the senseless, almost bizarre missile attack. If the
OPCW team turns in a 'Nil' report from Douma shortly, Russian propaganda can be trusted to go
for Trump's jugular veins.
The US attack will not create any new facts on the ground. The comprehensive victory of the
Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad in the 7-year conflict is becoming an irreversible
reality. Arguably, this could be the last waltz of the western interventionist powers in Syria
who had hoped to overthrow the regime and failed miserably. In the absence of a coherent US
strategy toward Syria, this latest attack may even stoke the fires of Syrian
nationalism.
Russia has spoken of "serious consequences", without elaborating. Will Russia escalate the
situation? Seems unlikely. It is hard to see a Russian reaction on the ground – although
Moscow is watchful that the western strategy ultimately threatens the Russian presence in
Syria. Much depends on the next western move. The NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is
expected in Ankara on Monday.
In a strongly-worded statement, President
Vladimir Putin has warned that the "escalation in Syria is destructive for the entire
system of international relations. History will set things right, and Washington already bears
the heavy responsibility for the bloody outrage in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Syria." Russia proposes
to convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council "to discuss the aggressive actions
by the US and its allies," Putin said.
Of course, new regional alignments will become inevitable. Turkey and Israel have backed
the US attack. (
here ) The Turks' bazari instincts are legion and President Recep Erdogan senses a historic
opportunity to project Turkish power into Syria and realize his "neo-Ottoman" dream. Trust him
to overreach.
Israel is a bit down due to the
messy confrontation at the Gaza border ; or else, it would have jumped into the fray.
Israel's best bet will be that the US keeps an open-ended military presence in a Syria that is
balkanized and weak and is in no position to reclaim the lost territory in the Golan Heights
that are under Israeli occupation since 1967.
All eyes are on Iran. But Tehran will not speak its mind . Tehran's eyes are
cast on the May 12 deadline when Trump must decide on the sanctions waiver to the July 2015
nuclear deal. The big question now is whether Trump would tear up the Iran nuclear deal in the
present circumstances when the US needs the support of its European allies.
Tehran has hinted at "regional consequences." But Iran's style will be to avoid direct
conflict with the US and opt instead to intensify its political work and consolidate its wide
networking with various groups on the ground, which systematically keep undermining the US
presence in Syria and Iraq. No doubt, Iran will intensify the politics of "resistance" against
Israel.
The Russia-Iran partnership in Syria is steadily morphing into an alliance, which is in
mutual interests. The defeat of the US-Israeli-Saudi containment strategy against Iran may turn
out to be the most significant and enduring outcome of this US attack on Syria.
"... Col.-Gen. Rudskoi chose his words carefully by hinting that Russia could also supply countries other than Syria (eg., Venezuela, North Korea, Lebanon, Iraq, etc.) The remark stems from President Vladimir Putin's hugely significant statement on Saturday regarding US attack on Syria when he said, inter alia: "The current escalation around Syria is destructive for the entire system of international relations. History will set things right " ..."
"... Trump's impetuosity to attack Syria is in defiance of the international system and it may open a Pandora's box. Ironically, Israel, as "frontline state", has the highest stakes if the unwritten understanding between the US and Russia unravels. (Moscow had collaborated with the Barack Obama administration and Israel to slow down the supply of S-300 missiles to Iran.) Equally, Turkey will have to think twice before venturing into further land grab in Syria if Damascus regains control of its air space. ..."
"... The Israeli think tank The Institute for National Security Studies had done a very informative paper in 2013 entitled Syria, Russia, and the S-300: Military and Technical Background. ..."
There is no triumphalism in the US, Britain or
France over the missile strike in Syria on Friday. The mood is rather defensive. Indeed,
evidence is still lacking on the alleged chemical attacks in Douma, which was the alibi for the
missile strike. There are no tall claims, either, as regards the effectiveness of the missile
strike in military terms.
On the contrary, Damascus is in upbeat mood. April 14 has been declared a day of
celebrations. After all, the Syrian forces single-handedly faced the Western assault. The
Russian reports underscore that Syrian air defence system was highly effective. The Defence
Ministry said in Moscow on Saturday that there haven't been any Syrian casualty. Moscow attests
that the Syrians shot down as many as 71 missiles out of the total 103 fired by the US, UK and
France. Neither Washington nor London and Paris has so far contradicted the Russian
assessment.
President Donald Trump is the solitary voice crowing about the missile attack. He tweeted
bombastically:
So proud of our great Military which will soon be, after the spending of fully approved
dollars, the finest that our Country has ever had. There won't be anything, or anyone, even
close!
But Trump was grandstanding in front of the domestic audience and avoided making any
specific claims about the success of the strike by his "smart" missiles. In sum, this has been
a theatrical show.
The military balance in Syria now comes into play. For the Syrian regime, this is baptism
under fire. Only recently, the Syrians had shot down an Israeli jet. Now they have scored 70%
hit on Friday.
The Syrians are equipped with Soviet-era air defence systems developed in the 1960s. What if
the Russians upgrade the systems? This is exactly what the head of Russian General Staff's Main
Operations Directorate Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi hinted in Moscow on Saturday:
"A few years ago, taking into account a pressing request from some of our partners, we
abandoned the supplies of the S-300 missile systems to Syria. Considering the latest
developments, we deem it possible to get back to discussing this issue, not only in relation to
Syria, but to other countries as well."
No doubt, it will be a game changer if Russia equips the Syrian army with deterrent power to
inflict unaffordable costs on potential aggressors. Iran has shown how such a strategy can work
when it helped the Hezbollah in Lebanon to acquire deterrence against Israel.
In fact, Jerusalem Post newspaper has highlighted the Russian general's remark. The paper
notes that if Moscow carries out the threat, "Israel's air superiority is at risk of being
challenged in one of its most difficult arenas And it could be just a matter of time before an
Israeli pilot is killed." The
JP report adds,
Syrian air defenses are largely Soviet-era systems, comprised of SA-2s, SA-5s and SA-6s,
as well as more sophisticated tactical surface-to-air missiles such as the SA-17 and SA-22
systems. The most up-to-date system that Moscow has supplied to the Syrian regime is the
short range Pantsir S-1, which has shot down drones and missiles that have flown over
Syria.
The advanced S-300 would be a major upgrade to Syrian air defenses and pose a threat to
Israeli jets as the long-range missile defense system can track objects like aircraft and
ballistic missiles over a range of 300 kilometers.
The system's engagement radar, which can guide up to 12 missiles simultaneously, helps
guide the missiles toward the target. With two missiles per target, each launcher vehicle can
engage up to six targets at once.
Col.-Gen. Rudskoi chose his words carefully by hinting that Russia could also supply
countries other than Syria (eg., Venezuela, North Korea, Lebanon, Iraq, etc.) The remark stems
from President Vladimir Putin's hugely significant
statement on Saturday regarding US attack on Syria when he said, inter alia: "The current
escalation around Syria is destructive for the entire system of international relations.
History will set things right "
Trump's impetuosity to attack Syria is in defiance of the international system and it
may open a Pandora's box. Ironically, Israel, as "frontline state", has the highest stakes if
the unwritten understanding between the US and Russia unravels. (Moscow had collaborated with
the Barack Obama administration and Israel to slow down the supply of S-300 missiles to Iran.)
Equally, Turkey will have to think twice before venturing into further land grab in Syria if
Damascus regains control of its air space.
"There is no truth to the rumor that, after watching an episode of "Gilligan's Island" on
TV, President Trump ordered a search party sent out for the passengers and crew of the S.S.
Minnow.
But there might be some truth that he does tend to get carried away with what he sees on television. We saw that last week
when he launched a missile strike on the basis of what he admitted was his emotional reaction
to a video.
james • 7 hours ago
maybe someone could tell him the white helmet propaganda videos he's watching are paid for
by usa-uk... it might slow him down a bit...
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) was one lawmaker who opposed Trump's strike on Syria --
noting that only Congress has the power to authorize the use of force except in cases of
self-defense. "President Trump's decision to launch airstrikes against the Syrian government
without Congress's approval is illegal and -- absent a broader strategy -- it's reckless,"
Kaine said in a statement. "Today, it's a strike on Syria -- what's going to stop him from
bombing Iran or North Korea next? The last thing Congress should be doing is giving this
president a blank check to wage war against anyone, anywhere."
Michigan Republican Congressman Justin Amash agreed. "These offensive strikes against Syria
are unconstitutional, illegal, and reckless," Amash said in a tweet . "The next
speaker of the House must reclaim congressional war powers as prescribed in Article I of the
Constitution. @SpeakerRyan has completely abdicated one of his most important
responsibilities."
... ... ...
International Law
Trump's strike on Syria is a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter
-- to which the United States is a party -- according to a number of legal experts. "This
military action is illegal," Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's
National Security Project,
said in a statement . "In the face of constitutional law barring hostile use of force
without congressional authorization, and international law forbidding unilateral use of force
except in self-defense, President Trump has unilaterally launched strikes against a country
that has not attacked us -- and without any authorization from Congress. Doing so violates some
of the most important legal constraints on the use of force."
...the Russian government has reacted with fury to the Trump's strike on Syria -- and is
promising there will be consequences. "The worst apprehensions have come true. Our warnings
have been left unheard," Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in a
statement. "A pre-designed scenario is being implemented. Again, we are being threatened. We
warned that such actions will not be left without consequences. All responsibility for them
rests with Washington, London and Paris. Insulting the President of Russia is unacceptable and
inadmissible. The U.S. – the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons –
has no moral right to blame other countries."
Iran's Reaction
Iran, which also has forces engaged in Syria, condemned the allied attack. "The attack is the
blatant violation of international laws, as well as ignoring the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Syria," Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said . "No doubt the US and its allies that are
engaged a military intervention in Syria without any substantiated document and before any final
report of the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and have supposed
themselves as the world police and judge, are responsible for regional and international
repercussions of the adventure, and should be held accountable."
... ... ...
Dave Majumdar is the defense editor for The National Interest . You can follow
him on Twitter:@davemajumdar.
A response from the Russians will probably be that the Syrians and other countries are
supplied with high-quality S300 rockets. Then the US can probably only very limited
countries raid and kill people without being in danger of being shot down.
Don't underestimate the US because we don't use maximum force. There's a reason for
that. We're trying to avoid a wider conflict with Russia and believe me, I don't think they
want it either. Right now, Russia has the upper hand because no Russians in this attack
were killed and no chemical weapons themselves, only the facilities where they make them
were destroyed. This was a waste in my opinion. And if we're afraid of a wider conflict,
then we shouldn't have been there in the first place. I was not gung ho on this
venture.
No, I do not underestimate the Americans. But you are unwise if you underestimate the
Russians. But no matter who is stronger. In any case, a war between you and Russia would
lead to the end of the world. No nation would become immediately. This was the order and it
was not corrected! Mankind has been lucky again.ergeben, result! The nuclear weapons are
detonated. A life on earth is at this huge potential, a spring to 100 mega tons, no longer
possible. Hiroshima had 16 kilos of tons. A mosquito against an elephant. There are no
winners. Therefore, such a confrontation must never be repeated again. Get your men back. I
hope the world woke up this day. If only one rocket had hit a Russian unit, the Russians
would have to fire back immediately. This was the order and it was not corrected! Mankind
has been lucky again.
It really boils down to control of warfare. Nobody at the top (you know who you are)
wants chemical weapons anymore, since they now have so many new toys to play with, so the
objective is to make chemical manufacturing too expensive to use.
On another note, it's been fun watching the bold play and takeover leading to the
divvying up of Syria. This is but another step in the process of forming the New Middle
East. Turkey as the role model for Muslim Democracy.
This whole thing looks like a very carefully orchestrated exit strategy by Trump and his
allies. Just ten days ago Trump announced that U.S forces will be leaving Syria and froze
the funds to be spent in Syria. This obviously must have made hawks in D.C and London very
nervous because leaving Syria in this way would look like loss of prestige for U.S and
allies. So this fake chemical weapons attack was planned and opportunity was given for
Trump and Theresa May to look tough ! Now U.S can leave Syria and Trump can still look like
a tough guy ! The Russians probably don't mind because they will be happy by the departure
of American forces from the Syrian region.
It is amazing how many Americans trolls there are here. These degenerates are wilfully
blind to the mendacity of the most potent evil on earth... America. This evil empire lied
about Iraq's WMDs and attacked it, resulting in 100's of thousands of deaths, but its
degenerate apologists shed nary a tear for the evil of their kind. A pox on all of you.
If Russia decides to let it go, then there should be minimal consequences. If Russia
decides to retaliate militarily in some way, shape or form, then there will be massive
consequences.
Theresa May's
decision to authorise British military action over the skies of Syria by royal prerogative
rather than obtaining the backing of parliament was the wrong thing to do. Even if the prime
minister thinks it was done for the right reasons. It was wrong because the government's plans
should have been articulated so that MPs could have had a chance to endorse – or reject
– a motion to bomb Bashar al-Assad's weapons factories. It was wrong because there was no
emergency – an exception used when after a debate MPs retrospectively endorsed action
against Muammar Gaddafi's
Libya . It was wrong because only prime ministers can recall parliament – and there
was time to do so. It was wrong because decisions about how to police the unlawful use of
weapons of mass destructive terror in Syria turn upon judgment rather than available facts.
Parliament is the best place to assess whether the use of military force serves the overall
interests of a nation in such cases. This is especially true of a government without a majority
of its own. Jeremy Corbyn's resurrection of an old idea for a
war powers act , which would force the PM not to authorise the active and large-scale
deployment of British forces overseas without the approval of the House of Commons, ought not
to be dismissed.
But it should be accompanied by a wider recognition that the days of self-regulation of
cabinet government are over. Observing the parliamentary convention would be better than
creating an act where fractious disagreements over the precise nature of the circumstances in
which the law is to be applied – especially in a situation as fluid and volatile as war
– prevail.
Investigators of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) entered the
Douma district in east of Syrian capital Damascus on Tuesday to start investigating the
allegations of chemical weapons use, state TV reported.
No more details were disclosed about the entry of the team to the previously rebel-held
district, where an alleged gas attack by Syrian troops reportedly killed dozens of people and
triggered off the US-led joint airstrikes on Syria on Saturday morning.
Syria has strongly rejected the allegations as fabrication by the rebels and Western
countries to justify a military attack on the country.
The OPCW investigators, who arrived in Damascus on Saturday, have held several meetings with
Syrian officials.
The Syrian government and its ally Russia had urged the OPCW to send a team to Douma to
investigate the alleged use of chlorine gas.
Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said his government is keen to cooperate with
the investigators, state news agency SANA reported.
Mekdad said that the investigators had held meetings with the Syrian government and
discussed about carrying out its work with transparency, impartiality, and accuracy.
The US-led military strike on Syria has been widely criticized for prejudgment before the
investigators reach a conclusion on if there was a gas attack or who should be responsible for
it.
It is not the first time that the Syrian government has been accused of using chemical
weapons. In April, 2017, the US launched a similar missile attack on a Syrian air base in the
central province of Homs over the same allegation.
"... It also says a great deal about our media that one of the greatest living British journalists is employed only by The Independent, a newspaper which has become extremely marginal, while other genuine greats like Jon Pilger, with a fantastic pedigree, do not have access to UK mainstream media at all. 60,000 people on average are reading my journalism here every day, but no mainstream outlet will carry it. ..."
Robert Fisk is one of the very few excellent investigative journalists still employed in the
UK. He is twice winner of the British
Press Awards ' Journalist of the Year prize, and seven time winner of the British Press
Awards' Foreign Correspondent of the Year. He is extremely smart and knows the Middle East very
well. He has just made his way – not accompanied by Russian or Syrian government
officials – to Douma and this is what he reports.
If you care to search for Robert Fisk on twitter, the attacks on his reputation and
integrity at this very moment from achieve nothing neo-con trolls and media lackeys are
astonishing. He is in Douma – they are at their desks.
--- Audio link deleted ---
It also says a great deal about our media that one of the greatest living British
journalists is employed only by The Independent, a newspaper which has become extremely
marginal, while other genuine greats like Jon Pilger, with a fantastic pedigree, do not have
access to UK mainstream media at all. 60,000 people on average are reading my journalism here
every day, but no mainstream outlet will carry it.
* is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British Ambassador to
Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to
2010.https://www.craigmurray.org.uk
The Russians have in their pocket (filmed I believe) a notable at the Douma (only) hospital
(can't remember who) that has described the White Helmets filming as; a bomb destroyed the
top floor of the hospital and the film crew moved bodies and kids to the basement and doused
them with hoses and sprayed them with Ventolin (asthma inhaler – blue). This provided
the film used to justify the Cruise missile attack Fri 13th. 2018.
The Russians have rumbled the Douma false flag and the OECD chemical weapons investigators
are on their way to the Douma hospital (basement) to find no chemicals, they report in a few
weeks.
Lavrov has said that the British ordered the Douma rebels to make a chemical warfare White
Helmets type movie fast, in desperation, since the Russians/SAA forces attack was moving fast
and they could obtain support bombing. The whole of East Ghouta has been taken by the
SAA.
A decent video exposure on TV, or even a simple web search, completely debunks the 'White
Helmets' that filmed the fake gas attack in the Douma hospital in East Ghouta. Re. my earlier
email.
May didn't wait (in panic) for parliament approval and went ahead with military action (8 of
our missiles wasted at £6.3M). The 11 'handlers' (said to be officers) are not in the hands of the Russians (who have
swopped theirs for ours previously) but are held by the SAA and could well have have spilled
the beans. If they are paraded (filmed) and spill the beans things will get ugly for May et
al.
Two medics from the Douma hospital have been interviewed on video. I ran onto the videos a
day or so back, but cannot find them at the moment.
A bombed building collapsed and caught fire, trapping people in the basement who died of
smoke and dust inhalation and asphyxiation. Some wounded were taken to the hospital, some
with injuries, others needed treatment only for smoke and dust inhalation. This is when the
film crew rushed in shouted chemicals and told everyone to douse themselves with water.
There are two videos of the dead. One I think is actually taken where the people died. The
frothing around the mouth and other discharges look genuine. These victims were then moved to
a different place and videoed to make the 'CW' attack seem more widespread. This is the
second video where bodies are obviously dumped and some shaving cream applied.
The Syrian Civil Defense, more commonly known as the White Helmets, has emerged as one of
the most effective propaganda tools for Islamist militants in Syria, with the group staging
numerous provocations to draw in foreign military intervention to aid the militants in their
quest to establish Shariah law in the Arab state. English singer Roger Waters, who was a member
of the Pink Floyd rock band, slammed the White Helmets as "a fake organization that exists only
to create propaganda for jihadists and terrorists," during a concert in Barcelona on April 13.
His comments were met with cheers from the crowd.
He said the White Helmets encourages governments in the West to attack Syria and he called
on people living in Europe and North America to urge their governments not to do so.
"If we were to listen to the propaganda of the White Helmets and others, we would be
encouraged to encourage our governments to start dropping bombs on people in Syria. This would
be a mistake of monumental proportions for us as human beings," Mr. Waters insisted.
"What we should do is go and persuade our governments not to go and drop bombs on people.
And certainly not until we have done all the research that is necessary so that we would have a
clear idea of what is really going on. Because we live in the world where propaganda seems to
be more important than the reality of what is really going on."
The White Helmets have been suspected of having ties to the al-Qaeda* franchise, with
members of the organization reportedly assisting affiliates of the terrorist group in
executions and other human rights violations.
Many took to social media to praise Mr. Waters for lifting the White Helmet's façade
and exposing the group.
Spanish crowd erupts in cheers as @rogerwaters calls the White
Helmets a "fake organization" fronting for jihadist insurgents and denounces the Western
bombing of Syria. Bricks in the wall of imperial deceptions are crumbling. https://t.co/B515yQUkKY
Until a few days ago, I knew very little about The White Helmets, other than hearing about
their 'good works' .Having tried to find out more about them -- I now think they're a bunch
of Islamist-allied charlatan scumbags, who should have ALL Govt funding withdrawn
IMMEDIATELY.
Mr. Waters is one of many who have been very vocal in their opposition to the strikes
against Syria by the US, France and the UK, which were supposedly carried out in retaliation to
an alleged chemical attack in the city of Douma earlier this month.
An engineer at the now-bombed-out research facility north of Damascus, which the US claims
was the heart of Syria's chemical weapons program, says the labs were making medicine and
testing toys for safety. RT Arabic correspondents have visited one of the main targets of the
US-led missile attack on Syria, the Scientific Studies and Research Center in the Barzeh
district in northern Damascus. The three-story building was pelted with 57 Tomahawk missiles
launched from US warships and 19 air-to-surface missiles, the Pentagon said.
The massive bombardment left it lying in ruins, with its walls and roof almost completely
collapsed and lab equipment scattered around.
The morning after the strike, several media outlets, including RT, AFP, CBS News and others
were given a tour to the former research facility, now little more than a pile of rubble.
Macron is a neoliberal. As such he is a Washington marionette. So what other behaviour you
would expect from him ? He is no Charles de Gaulle
And UN charter was violated by the USA already so many times, that it is difficult to take its existence seriously. The USA
clearly view itself above the law at least since 1991.
"Ten days ago, President Trump was saying 'the United States should withdraw from Syria.' We convinced him it was
necessary to stay." Thus boasted French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, adding, "We convinced him it was necessary to stay
for the long term."
On Monday, the head of the far-left France Insoumise party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, said that
there was no proof of the chemical attacks which were used as a pretext to the US-led
strikes.
"It's in this context that morals and the adherence to the resolution of the United Nations
does not fully prove advantageous, that we intervened, without any proof. I'm not saying
without certainty or conviction. I'm not saying that intelligence services are incapable of
evaluating the situation," he added.
"But according to international law and international action, we can only act based on proof
confirmed by institutions that are responsible. However, these institutions were in the process
of conducting their investigations at the time of the strikes," he said during parliamentary
debate on the airstrikes.
He further noted that strikes were carried out without a mandate from the United Nations
"I'm adding that not only did we not have any mandate from the United Nations, but we did not
at all consider any regional organization involved in the situation in Syria, or at least
Western ones," he added.
Melenchon went on to stress that the attacks were carried out without consideration of "the
people in whose name we claim to act."
The leader of the far-right Front National, Marine Le Pen, also said that Macron had not
offered any evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
On Sunday, Macron defending the strikes claiming that he convinced US President Donald Trump
to keep troops in Syria. Wh ,> 1 hour ago
Think about it, the three stooges strikes chemical sites irresponsibly in order to make
them
airborne to kill more civilians. Fortunately non of the sites that were bombed did NOT
have
any airborne of chemical syndrome, that meant there were no chemical weapon at those
sites. Douma must have been targeted but those missiles were shoot down. They will make
false flag again in order to destroy Douma to erase false evidence.
"... And in the later articles posted here, he writes: "That puts Saudi Arabia (and its client jihadists), Saudi Arabia's close ally Israel, the UK and the USA all in the frame in having a powerful motive in inculcating anti-Russian sentiment prior to planned conflict with Russia in Syria. Any of them could have attacked the Skripals." ..."
I have never ruled out the possibility that Russia is responsible for the attack in
Salisbury, amongst other possibilities. But I do rule out the possibility that Assad is
dropping chemical weapons in Ghouta. In this extraordinary war, where Saudi-funded jihadist
head choppers have Israeli air support and US and UK military "advisers", every time the Syrian
army is about to take complete control of a major jihadist enclave, at the last moment when
victory is in their grasp, the Syrian Army allegedly attacks children with chemical weapons,
for no military reason at all. We have been fed this narrative again and again and again.
We then face a propaganda onslaught from neo-con politicians, think tanks and "charities"
urging a great rain of Western bombs and missiles, and are accused of callousness towards
suffering children if we demur. This despite the certain knowledge that Western military
interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have had consequences which remain to this day
utterly disastrous.
I fear that the massive orchestration of Russophobia over the last two years is intended to
prepare public opinion for a wider military conflict centred on the Middle East, but likely to
spread, and that we are approaching that endgame. The dislocation of the political and media
class from the general population is such, that the levers for people of goodwill to prevent
this are, as with Iraq, extremely few as politicians quake in the face of media jingoism. These
feel like extremely dangerous times.
"I have never ruled out the possibility that Russia is responsible for the attack in
Salisbury"
Time for timid half-truths is over. If by now you haven't identified the Skripal affair as
the joint UK/US production it is, Act I of the AngloZionist war on Syria, Russia and
humanity, your analysis isn't worth the pixels it's written on. There is zero doubt. Case
closed. Especially after this:
I wish you realize that appeals to skepticism and lines like "I'm not fan of Putin/Assad"
get you nowhere. You are facing a brutal, fact-twisting, intellect-insulting, lying,
propaganda machine. Any concession you make to their "arguments" comes with the smell of
blood. They'll mock your "moderate" views and will try to make you look weak and foolish as
Sky-news did. You can't be only half-brave, half-informed and half-right. And why engage
those shameless liars if not to destroy completely their blatant lies?
When Hungary prepared democratically laws to stop Soros meddling in Hungary Soros phoned
Brussels, spoke to Juncker and Tusk, the next day Timmermans tried to intimidate the
Hungarian government.
Just now there have been Hungarian elections, anti migration and anti Soros Orban was
elected.
European parliament member Sargenti now wants to take Hungary's voting right in the EU
away.
Sargenti is on the 231 member list that seem to be followers of Soros.
As Jimmy Carter once said 'those that want war do not expect that they themselves are going
to be hurt'.
That in the next world war anyone will be more than hurt, killed, the war mongers do not
understand, cannot believe.
Please, why don't you mention the other possibilities, instead of "the Russian one"?
Bit harsh to criticise Craig Murray on that score. I see your point, and it would be a
valid point to raise with an establishment journo who has been generally an effective part of
the anti-Russia propaganda campaign, but Murray has discussed the other options on many
occasions (and been the brunt of some pretty harsh establishment bullying in response).
In this case, it can safely be regarded as just efficient writing.
Even if Assad did use gas, which he obviously didn't, who the heck are the Americans, the
British, and the French to lecture anyone on morality, given that they unlike Assad did
practice chemical warfare, and killed uncounted millions around the globe with "conventional"
means in order to loot them, and to "punish" Assad as the bankster with an Oedipus complex
Macron put it?
Mr Murray lost his job because he stood up for the right thing in 2004 and he has been
abused ever since. His sanity has been called into question ever since he suggested the
British government weren't telling the truth. His brief period in an instiuttion after Blair
sacked him has been brought up more than once.
I suspect Craig's position of apparent open-mindedness has arisen from a lengthy Sky News
TV interview with the appalling Kay Burley. He was careful in an eighteen minute segment not
to give cause for Burley to label him as a Putin bot. He was most careful not to take the
focus off the weakness in the British government's position and I think that was correct.
As soon as you see the tissue of lies emanating from London the innocence of Moscow
follows naturally. Mr Murray was correct not to allow himself to be provoked by Kay Burley
and she was visibly annoyed by her failure.
Sky News tried to bury the confrontation but somebody recorded it and you can find the
interview at craigmurray.org
The ever excellent Campaign Against the Arms Trade is back in the English High Court
again today in its continuing attempts to ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia. It is against
UK law to sell arms to a country which is likely to use them in breach of international
humanitarian law , and that Saudi Arabia consistently and regularly uses British
weapons to bomb schools, hospitals and civilians is indisputable.
Why didn't the High Court ban arm sales to UK army, which is using them in breach of
international humanitarian law, consistently & regularly since its colonial era, in
Vietnam & Korea wars, Blair's Iraq WMD illegal war, Cameron's illegal Libya bombing, and
now May's illegal attack to Syria.
Saudi arabia Yemen's war pale in comparison to UK long history of atrocities. What a
British hypocrite law enacted in a kangaroo judicial system? A country of government infested
with shameless warmonger liars & paedophiles, yet popularly elected by its people. What a
great Anglosaxon-West civilization & glorious demoncrapcy system to be spread around the
world for easy subversion & regime change.
Proven guilty Iraq war criminal Tony Blair is walking free, repeating his same lies again
to push for illegal Syria attack. Yet not a single war protest from UK people. Touch a LBGT
issue or Trumps visit, British will gone hysteria protest in London, oh what a great nation.
World Capital of paedophiles, war criminals & pathological liars.
How can God save the Queen that connive criminals, with stolen wealth soaking with
innocents blood.
I appreciated the frame you provided.
That's a very serious charge against Great Britain -- sadly, I found it a somewhat
compelling and disconcerting.
I suspect that in all of this there are fears that it's a response to enemies without as
opposed to enemies from within. I have no idea where this notion comes from -- that states
can act as authority for UN missions without the consent of the UN. Great Britain's press
here sounds very much like the legal gymnastic of the US to invade Iraq and has much weight
-- I agree.
The chaos in Libya, Syria, the Ukraine is the direct result of US and EU manipulation. I
just don't know how to support "wrongness" on so many levels and consider myself a person of
integrity. The humanitarian crisis in all of the regions is exacerbated by our own violations
of law and foreign policy best practices.
Not a bad article, but superficial. Does not address the why question and the huge
ideological difference between Russia and the 'West' which leads to war.
Agree. Resisting lying provocation to war should be done with what ZUSA terms "moral
clarity." Said another way, No Quarter, No Mercy. If the need is felt to characterize Assad, the only things that needs be said are that he
is the legitimate leader of a sovereign nation, and that attempts to topple him, by ZUSA
& Anglos, are in direct violation of United Nations charter.
I have never ruled out the possibility that Russia is responsible for the attack in
Salisbury, amongst other possibilities.
And I have never ruled out the word which can not be spoken, that ISRAEL was behind both
attacks, to justify getting their US/UK/French lackeys to do in Syria what they can not
without taking losses, attacking Syrian cities with cruise missiles.
Poisoned toothpaste and exploding phones: New book chronicles Israel's '2,700'
assassination operations
Poisoned toothpaste that takes a month to end its target's life. Armed drones. Exploding
mobile phones. Spare tyres with remote-control bombs. Assassinating enemy scientists and
discovering the secret lovers of Muslim clerics.
A new book chronicles these techniques and asserts that Israel has carried out at
least 2,700 assassination operations in its 70 years of existence. While many failed,
they add up to far more than any other western country, the book says.
The main beneficiary of the recent cruise missile attacks against Syria is Israel, so
let's be honest and see what happens.
From an April 2003 Haaretz article:
The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neoconservative intellectuals, most of them
Jewish, who are pushing President Bush to change the course of history. Two of them,
journalists William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer, say it's possible.
This is a war of an elite. [Tom] Friedman laughs: I could give you the names of 25
people (all of whom are at this moment within a five-block radius of this office) who, if
you had exiled them to a desert island a year and a half ago, the Iraq war would not have
happened.
So, aside from selling weapons to Syria and Iran – and thus, giving up control over
those weapons – what exactly should Putin have done to continue receiving your
approval? Start WW3?
Another question: if this is just a staged play of good cop, bad cop – why does the
puppet master behind the scenes not advance the plot? Why the need for silly diversions into
the bucolic English countryside, and for embarrassing cameos by French boy princes?
Not sure where you are from, but some countries – particularly those that have
experienced it at home – consider war a serious business, not quite the same as a bar
brawl in Dodge City.
I keep hearing that the Qatar – Europe pipeline is the source of the Syria War, what I
cant understand if their so desperate for this why does it need to go through Syria, theres`s
other ways like across SA and up the red sea?
In Murray's first post on the Skripal story, he lists other possible suspects as Orbis
Intelligence (who produced the Steele dossier) and the state of Israel:
And in the later articles posted here, he writes: "That puts Saudi Arabia (and its client
jihadists), Saudi Arabia's close ally Israel, the UK and the USA all in the frame in having a
powerful motive in inculcating anti-Russian sentiment prior to planned conflict with Russia
in Syria. Any of them could have attacked the Skripals."
The West would simply like him to meet his obligations and stop gassing people as there
is an international agreement against killing people that way. Why can't he just stick
to the normal use of high explosives to blast them to pieces?
Why can't he just stick to the normal use of high explosives to blast them to
pieces?
Because that process is still under Israeli patent protection??
Didn't he and various generals plainly state that retaliation would be swift and
immediately delivered to any such platform?
Yes, if Russian military assets in Syria are targeted or hit. The US strike was the
warfare equivalent of a plate smashing fit thrown by a hysterical tranny. Just a loud
demonstration of impotence and fishing for attention. It's better handled unanswered. Now, if
the tranny decides to go in a full abuser mode, Putin may seriously mess up her makeup.
US officials and the presstitutes tell us that the illegal US missile attack on Syria
destroyed chemical weapons sites where chlorine and sarin are stored/manufactured.
This
satellite image, taken Monday morning, shows the Barzah Research and Development Center in
Damascus after it was struck by coalition forces.
If this were true, would not a lethal cloud have been released that would have taken the
lives of far more people than claimed in the alleged Syrian chemical attack on Douma?
Would not the US missile attack be identical to a chemical weapons attack and thus place
the US and its vassals in the same category as Washington is attempting to place Assad and
Putin?
What about it, you chemical weapons experts?
Do chemical weapons only release their elements when they explode from intended use but not
when they explode from being militarily attacked?
There is no evidence in Syria of chemical residue from the chemical weapons facilities
allegedly destroyed by US missiles.
No dead victims.
No reports of hospitals treating Syrian casualties of the American chemical attack.
The OPCW said there was no chlorine and sarin there.
Remember when....March 31, 2005 - The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the
United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction reports that the intelligence community
was "dead wrong" in its assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities before
the US invasion.
the lendman article suggests that missiles deliberately targeted and destroyed
non-chem-weapons sites that were being used to develop anti-cancer drugs.
that information is completely mistaken because otherwise the official reports would be
incorrect.
And on the left here you'll see our chemistry lab cleverly disguised as an office
building. We have no need for any of the essential components such as reasonable delivery
methods, power supply, storage tanks, pipes, etc. We're cutting edge, unlike all those
American plants:
The Russian envoy to the chemical weapons watchdog group, OPCW, said that non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) funded by the UK and US carried out the April 7 chemical attack in the
Damascus, Syria suburb of Douma.
Russia's permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), Alexander Shulgin, said Russia has irrefutable evidence that there was no
chemical weapons incident in Douma .
"Therefore, we have not just a "high degree of confidence ," as our Western partners
claim, but we have incontrovertible evidence that there was no incident on April 7 in Douma
and that all this was a planned provocation by the British intelligence services, probably,
with the participation of their senior allies from Washington with the aim of misleading the
international community and justifying aggression against Syria," he stated. -
Sputnik
Shulgin added that the US, UK and France are not interested in conducting an objective
investigation of the attack site. " They put the blame on the Syrian authorities in advance,
without even waiting for the OPCW mission to begin to establish the possible facts of the use
of chemical weapons in Syria ," he said.
The nine-member OPCW mission people has yet to deploy to the city of Douma according to the
organization's Chief, citing pending security issues.
"The Team has not yet deployed to Douma. The Syrian and the Russian officials who
participated in the preparatory meetings in Damascus have informed the FFM Team that there
were still pending security issues to be worked out before any deployment could take place .
In the meantime the Team was offered by the Syrian authorities that they could interview 22
witnesses who could be brought to Damascus ," OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu said as
quoted by the organization.
The Russian Envoy says that the controversial "
White Helmets " were one of the anti-Assad "pseudo-humanitarian NGOs" which staged the
event. As Disobedient Media and others have reported, the White Helmets are funded in large
part by the United States.
"The Syrian Civil Defense Force (aka the White Helmets) is funded in part by United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) . Included here are two links showing contracts
awarded by USAID to Chemonics International Inc. (DBA Chemonics). The first award was in the sum of $111.2 million and has a Period of
Performance (POP) from January 2013 to June 2017. It states that the purpose of the award will
be to use the funds for managing a " quick-response mechanism supporting activities that pursue
a peaceful transition to a democratic and stable Syria ." The second was in the sum of $57.4 million and has a POP from
August 2015 to August 2020. This award was designated to be used in the " Syria Regional
Program II " which is a part of the Support Which Implements Fast Transitions IV (SWIFT IV)
program."
Via Disobedient Media
Moscow says they have confirmed that " these structures [NGOs] on a fee-based basis
cooperate with the governments of the United States, the UK and some other countries ."
Russian experts who conducted the verification of reports on the use of chemical weapons
in the Syrian city of the Douma, found participants of video filming, presented as evidence
of the supposedly occurring chemotherapy, according to the Russian Envoy to OPCW . -
Sputnik
"Everything has been developing according to the script that was prepared in Washington.
There is no doubt that Americans are playing the 'first violin' in all of this . The United
States, the United Kingdom, France and some other countries after the "fake" addition from the
White Helmets and their ilk in Douma, immediately pounced upon the Syrian authorities with
accusations," Shulgin said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has alerted the OPCW that Russia "may have tampered" with the chemical
attack site in Douma ...
"It is our understanding the Russians may have visited the attack site," U.S. Ambassador
Kenneth Ward said at a meeting of the OPCW in The Hague on Monday.
" It is our concern that they may have tampered with it with the intent of thwarting the
efforts of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission to conduct an effective investigation ," he said. His
comments at the closed-door meeting were
obtained by Reuters .
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shot back in a BBC interview, saying " I can
guarantee that Russia has not tampered with the site ."
Earlier, Britain's delegation to the OPCW accused Russia and the Syrian government of
preventing the international watchdog's inspectors from reaching Douma.
The inspectors aim to collect samples, interview witnesses and document evidence to
determine whether banned toxic munitions were used, although they are not permitted to assign
blame for the attack. -
Reuters
"Unfettered access is essential," the British delegation said in a statement. "Russia and
Syria must cooperate."
Moscow says the OPCW delay is due to the Western air strikes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov said the British accusation that Russia was to blame for holding up the inspections was
"groundless".
"We called for an objective investigation. This was at the very beginning after this
information [of the attack] appeared. Therefore allegations of this towards Russia are
groundless ," Peskov said.
***
On Friday we reported that Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow has
"irrefutable evidence" that the attack - which allegedly killed over 40 people, was staged with
the help of a foreign secret service.
" We have irrefutable evidence that this was another staged event, and that the secret
services of a certain state that is now at the forefront of a Russophobic campaign was involved
in this staged event ," he said during a press conference according to AFP.
According to defense ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, the Kremlin has
evidence that Britain was behind the attack.
Quoted by
Reuters , he said: " We have... evidence that proves Britain was directly involved in
organising this provocation ."
As RT
further adds , the Russian Defense Ministry presented what it says is " proof that the
reported chemical weapons attack in Syria was staged." It also accused the British government
of pressuring the perpetrators to speed up the "provocation." During a briefing on Friday, the
ministry showed interviews with two people, who, it said, are medical professionals working in
the only hospital operating in Douma, a town near the Syrian capital, Damascus.
During a briefing on Friday, the ministry showed interviews with two people, who, it said,
are medical professionals working in the only hospital operating in Douma, a town near the
Syrian capital, Damascus.
During a briefing on Friday, the ministry showed interviews with two people, who, it said,
are medical professionals working in the only hospital operating in Douma, a town near the
Syrian capital, Damascus.
In the interviews released to the media, the two men reported how footage was shot of
people dousing each other with water and treating children, which was claimed to show the
aftermath of the April 7 chemical weapons attack. The patients shown in the video suffered
from smoke poisoning and the water was poured on them by their relatives after a false claim
that chemical weapons were used, the ministry said.
"Please, notice. These people do not hide their names. These are not some faceless claims on
the social media by anonymous activists. They took part in taking that footage," said
Konashenkov.
"The Russian Defense Ministry also has evidence that Britain had a direct involvement in
arranging this provocation in Eastern Ghouta," the general added, referring to the neighborhood
of which Douma is part. " We know for certain that between April 3 and April 6 the so-called
White Helmets were seriously pressured from London to speed up the provocation that they were
preparing ."
According to Konashenkov, the group, which was a primary source of photos and footage of the
purported chemical attack, was informed of a large-scale artillery attack on Damascus planned
by the Islamist group Army of Islam, which controlled Douma at the time. The White Helmets were
ordered to arrange the provocation after retaliatory strikes by the Syrian government forces,
which the shelling was certain to lead to, he said.
The UK rejected the accusations, with British UN Ambassador Karen Pierce calling them
"grotesque," "a blatant lie" and "the worst piece of fake news we've yet seen from the Russian
propaganda machine."
So when will Moscow release their evidence for the whole world to see? Or is it maybe
waiting for the US to first release its own proof that Assad launched the attack?
"... "We managed to find direct participants in the shooting of this video and interview them. Today we are presenting a live interview of these people," ..."
"... "Douma residents in detail told us how the filming was conducted, in what episodes they took part themselves and what they did." ..."
Sergey Lavrov explained
indisputable evidence proves the April 7 Douma CW incident was staged by special services of a
foreign country. The guilty one is either America, Britain, France, Israel, or perhaps elements
from these countries working together. Lavrov said the following: "The mission of the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has set off to Syria not so quickly
and without abundant enthusiasm but under our and Syrian pressure.
It is due to arrive in
Damascus in the morning of April 14." "We expect the mission to go without any delay to Douma
where Russian specialists who examined this place have not found any confirmations of the use
of chemical weapon." "We have the irrefutable data that this (CW incident) was staged.
(S)pecial services of a country, which is now seeking to be in the first ranks of the
Russophobic campaign, were involved in this staged event." The incident was fake, no evidence
of toxic substances found in Douma, no one ill or hospitalized from chemical exposure, no one
dead. Syria's UN envoy Bashar al-Jaafari said US-supported terrorists
"acquired chemical
substances from Libya a long time ago from the Libyan stock."
"This operation was facilitated
by the Turkish intelligence, Saudi intelligence and the American and French intelligence
services. They smuggled chemicals from Libya to Istanbul on board of civilian airlines and the
guy who was in charge of transporting these substances was a guy named Haitham al-Qassar,"
adding: Damascus "denied maybe 1001 times similar to 1001 nights Arabian nights using any
chemical substances against our own people."
"And we provided all the necessary and required
justifications for saying that. So it's time to digest and metabolize what we are saying."
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov slammed America and other Western
countries for making "indiscriminate and unfounded accusations" against Syria, adding:
"The
Russian Defense Ministry has plenty of evidence that on April 7, a planned provocation was
carried out in Douma with the aim of misleading the world community."
"The provocation's real
purpose today is clear to everyone – to prod the United States to launch missile strikes
against Syria."
Russia has clear evidence of Britain's involvement in the scheme. Video and
other images of the fake incident were staged.
"We managed to find direct participants in the
shooting of this video and interview them. Today we are presenting a live interview of these
people,"
Konashenkov explained.
"Douma residents in detail told us how the filming was
conducted, in what episodes they took part themselves and what they did."
It was staged, not
real, a transparent hoax exposed to the light of day.
After the filming, individuals involved
fled with foreign help. Days leading up to the April 7 incident,
"London put pressure on
representatives of the so-called White Helmets group in order to facilitate the implementation
of the provocation," Konashenkov added. East Ghouta is totally liberated, over 170,000
residents evacuated to safety, including around 63,000 US-supported terrorists and family
members. Syrian forces now control the enclave, things stabilizing so residents can return home
if they wish.
"Russia reserves the right to counter any attack on Syria," RT reported.
US officials and the presstitutes tell us that the illegal US missile attack on Syria
destroyed chemical weapons sites where chlorine and sarin are stored/manufactured. If this were
true, would not a lethal cloud have been released that would have taken the lives of far more
people than claimed in the alleged Syrian chemical attack on Douma? Would not the US missile
attack be identical to a chemical weapons attack and thus place the US and its vassals in the
same category as Washington is attempting to place Assad and Putin?
The first videos and photos that have emerged on social media show what appear to be the
strikes by the US, the UK and French militaries in the Syrian capital.
Syrian state TV reported that Syria's missile defenses shot down 13 missiles south of
Damascus.
The Chairman of the United States Army Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford,
however, said he was not aware that any missiles were intercepted, adding that the military has
yet to assess the operational data. He confirmed that manned aircraft were involved in the
airstrikes that hit three facilities in Syria that the US claims are part of its chemical
weapons program.
One of the targets was a scientific research center in the greater Damascus area, Dunford
said. The second was "a chemical weapons storage facility" in the vicinity of Homs, which,
according to Dunford, housed sarin and chemical weapons precursors. The third target was also
located near Homs and was identified by the general as a Syrian Army command post and storage
facility.
The blast area of just ONE cruise missile is 150ft/2 = 7000m/2
How many hit this target allegedly? You can even see the matrix caused by the layering of
the photo shopping software when you zoom right in (its not present on the first photo)
Fucking amateur hour LMAO
There really is not even a conspiracy theorist out there who would suggest it was a Syrian
government operation any way. Only batshit crazy raving lunatics have suggested it was the
Syrian government. This is clearly the stupidest thing Trump has done. It makes the USA look
like a bunch of circus freak losers. Very sad and shockingly insane. This is the stupidest
piece of propaganda in modern history. The USA looks very, very bad. It looks like, from any
reasonable perspective, that they are actively aiding terrorists on purpose. Wow. Interesting
cosmetics. Interesting optics.
Its almost as if the USA government hates itself and actually wants a nuclear war where
everyone dies. I think the only thing that should be considered is whether the nutty freaks
in charge are actually humans. Humans are a great disappointment, so likely, yes, human
beings really can be that mentally deficient. Trump really is such a level of mental retard
that he hates himself and wants to be nuked, so he bombs Syria knowing full well they have
nothing to do with it. He hates his career now and wants out.
chlorine gas is no big deal. Sarin is destroyed by fire.... There is a reason everyone
stores these away from People. Not saying Orange is right, by any means in fact the opposite,
but this story is a bit of a reach.
Not necessarily. There is no magic way to make this stuff go away. Incineration doesn't
solve the problems of the metal containers. All of this stuff would be making its way into
their environment, causing illness and death in the coming years. It takes decades to
properly neutralize this stuff. Lighting it up with Tomahawks definitely isn't the best way,
and without a doubt some of it would be immediately released into the surrounding area.
However small or not so small that amount is:
I used to manage a small apartment complex swimming pool. Dry Chlorine was mixed into a
40gal concentrated tank and a small squirt was pumped into the filter circulation all day
long. A newbee once lifted the top off the tank to have a look inside. Lucky I was there
(telling him, don't do thattttttt) I about had to carry him out of the room. There would be
reports all over that area if a few hundred gallons or more of Chlorine had been blasted into
the air.
Russia can do nothing alone. NATO is way too strong.
Notable quotes:
"... my honor is called solidarity ..."
"... my honor is loyalty ..."
"... by not taking any action the Russians also failed to deter any future attacks. But what could the Russians have done? ..."
"... Sic transit gloria mundi ..."
"... Trump demonstrated that the U.S. can still bomb non nuclear countries without regard for the Constitution, international law or common decency. The Deplorables demonstrated that elections will not change anything. Only the death of the U.S. dollar will end Anglo/Zio Imperial aggression. ..."
"... Russia was outgunned, so they did not respond. It was probably a wise decision. They did damage control admirably, and now have an opportunity to improve the Syrian arsenal with obvious justification. ..."
"... Slowly but surely, Russia is tightening the noose in Syria. Air defenses are improving. ..."
"... My precious, too many players want to start a real war between the Mercans and Russians. Aside from the casual suspects (KSA and Israel), Chinese also objectively benefit from the confrontation, which explains their aloofness. Should this come to a nuclear war, Chinese will be the one and only winner. For this old smart monkey is still sitting on the tree, and nothing has changed since Chairman Mao times. ..."
"... For Iran, this war will certainly enhance the Iran-Russia axis and thus may postpone the US aggression. Turkey loves it too because it can play both sides. ..."
"... Ironically, only the USA and Russia will be the biggest losers regardless of the outcome. ..."
"... In UNSC, China has surprisingly took abstained neutral stand, allowing it to play the coordinator role & denying US UK Fr to get any legit for attack. This avoid relegating UNSC into two sides shouting. Nikki Harley was thus preempted her wish of striking with or without UNSC mandate since all ended agreed to let UN conduct independent inspection. Overall, this continue to lock US UK Fr inside UNSC framework. ..."
"... The general idea seems to be containment of Russia, hemming them in within their own borders and cutting them off from being able to extend their influence outward. ..."
"... As part of this any allies of theirs such as Syria come under attack; if the west can't own them then they're to be reduced to chaos and rendered into costly burdens for the Russians. ..."
"... It's all a very cynical and calculated plan that fits into the overall picture of encircling the Russians to stymie their development and influence. NATO expansion up to their borders, the Ukraine coup, encirclement, picking off vulnerable allies, economic warfare and political subversion without end, the pattern is clear. At some point an actual clash might come about, not necessarily now with Syria as the trigger but somewhere all along the entire line of points of friction. Unfortunately it seems inevitable that something bad is going to happen somewhere down the line as the irresistible force meets the immovable object. ..."
"... As a fervent anti-war activist since the sixties, I have been appalled at all the regime change the US has and continues to do around the world including both military covert operations and economic warfare. Well Putin had me at his 2007 Munich speech. ..."
About a month ago Nikki Haley announces to the
UNSC that the USA is ready to violate the rules of this very self-same UNSC should a chemical
attack happen in Syria Then the Russians announced that they have evidence that a chemical
false flag is being prepared in Syria Then a chemical attack (supposedly) takes place (in a
location surrounded and, basically, controlled by government forces!) The OPWC sends
investigators (in spite of western powers loudly proclaiming that no investigation was needed)
The AngloZionists then bomb Syria Next, the UNSC refuses to condemn the violation of its own
rules and decisions Finally, the US Americans speak of a 'perfect strike'
Now tell me -- do you get a sense that this is over?
If you tell me that 32/103 is hardly perfect, I will reply that you are missing the point.
In fact, if anything, 32/103 is further incentive to bomb again!
Let's look at the differently for a second and ask this: what has the AngloZionist attack
actually demonstrated?
The western general public is so terminally zombified that false flag
attacks can now be announced 4 weeks in advance The Europeans now live by the motto " my
honor is called solidarity " (a variation of the SS motto " my honor is loyalty
") Led by the USA, western countries have no objections to wars started in violation of their
own national laws The UN Security Council has no objections to wars started in violation of the
UN Charter and International Law The PRC leaders, in their infinite wisdom, act as if they have
nothing personal at stake and act like bystanders The Israelis, via the UN Neocons, are now in
total control of the Empire and use it to "clean house" next door
Oh, I hear the objections. They go something like this:
But the attack was a dismal
failure! So what? the Empire did not pay any price for executing it. But the US Americans did
blink! The attacked from Jordanian airspace and from the Red Sea! They avoided the Russians
completely! They are afraid of them! So what? They still bombed a Russian ally with total
impunity. But, surely you are not suggesting that the Russians should have started a war
against the USA over a strike which did not even kill a single person?
No, of course not, but by not taking any action the Russians also failed to deter any
future attacks. But what could the Russians have done?
Now *that* is the right question!
Let's look at it a little closer. Roughly speaking, the Russians have a choice of 3 types of
retaliatory measures: political, economic and military. However, each one of them has a
specific set of prerequisites which are currently problematic to say the least:
Measures
Political
Economic
Military
Prerequisites
Assumes a minimal amount of decency, integrity and respect for the rule of law by the
rest of the planet.
Assumes that other countries, especially China, would be willing and able to support
such measures.
Assumes that Russia has the military capability to defeat the AngloZionist
"coalition".
Current reality
Russia can moan, bitch, complain, protest, appeal to higher values, logic or facts --
nobody gives a damn.
The Chinese and the rest of them are not willing to do anything at this time to
support Russia.
Russia can militarily defeat the AngloZionists, but only by risking the future of our
planet.
This really can be summarized a simple sentence: the AngloZionist Hegemony is a threat for
the entire planet, but nobody besides Russia and Iran is willing to take it on. Ain't that an
irony!
The so-called "Christian West" has become a willing host for its Zionist parasite and the
only ones with the courage and moral integrity to take it on are Orthodox Christians and
Muslims! Sic transit gloria mundi indeed
But what is even more important is this: while it is true that the US Neocons did not
succeed in delivering the kind of massive attack they would have wanted to, and while it is
true that the US attack was just about as lame as can be, you need to completely forget about
these facts. Facts simply don't matter. And neither does logic. All that matters are
perceptions!
And the perception is that "we" (the AngloZionist rulers and their serfs) "kicked" Assad's
"ass" and that "we" will "do it again" if "we" feel like it. That is all that matters in the
Empire of
Illusions which the AngloZionist Hegemony has become.
As soon as you understand that, you also will have to agree that Trump was right: it was a
"perfect strike" (again, not in reality, but in the world of illusions created around it).
So now we come full circle.
The AngloZionist Hegemony demands that the entire planet bows down and worships
it . Except for Russia and Iran, everybody meekly goes down on their knees or, at most,
meekly looks away. In their own delusional reality, the 'Mericans feel empowered to smack down
Russia or Iran at anytime. There is nothing Iran can do to stop them, and while Russia can, she
can only do that at the risk of the future of our entire planet.
Now you tell me -- do you really think this is over?
That's clearly a civilian assertion. By no way, the US can defeat Iran, unless they are
ready to send 500 000 grunts there. And they are not. No US president will survive a 10 000
body bag return.
They can use air power for sure, but that will never be enough to force Iran to bow.And
I'm quite sure the Russian will provide them everything they have to help Iran.And China
probably too.
Without even mentioning destruction of Barbaric Saudi and closin Ormuz strait. It's
clearly not over but the US are not as powerful as you think.
Well, firstly, I don't think the future of our planet is at risk, if you mean by that
extinction of life on Earth. Current arsenals can't do that, even in the worst case scenario.
Nor even can they extinct human race either. Lots of deaths? Yes, sure. Extinction? Nope.
Secondly, there is no rule of law because there is no punishment. Once punishment is
delivered, things will change quickly. I agree with you that political or economical
punishment will not work. But military punishment will do. Sink some US carriers or destroy
some Israel bases, and you will see how they become well-behaved.
Trump demonstrated that the U.S. can still bomb non nuclear countries without regard for
the Constitution, international law or common decency. The Deplorables demonstrated that
elections will not change anything. Only the death of the U.S. dollar will end Anglo/Zio
Imperial aggression.
It is not only Russia and Iran that does not bow down. North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela,
Phillipines, China etc. Etc. These countries have done as much as the Russians have. Its not
like Russia sank a carrier or anything and it's not like Russia is defender of the world on a
crusade to defend the planet. They are only acting because they are in the crosshairs.
If America was targeting Cuba, Russia would not say or do anything against America.
While both vessels [USS Winston Churchill, USS Donald Cook] carry as many as 90 Tomahawk
missiles -- the main weapon used in the Friday evening strike on Syria -- neither ship in
the end fired a shot. Instead, according to a person familiar with White House war
planning, they were part of a plan to distract Russia and its Syrian ally from an assault
Assad's government could do little to defend itself against.
It worked. Pentagon officials on Saturday said they faced little resistance to their
targeted attack on what they said were three Syrian chemical weapons facilities. Most of
the Syrian countermeasures, including defensive ballistic missiles, were fired after U.S.
and allied weapons hit their targets, Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie said
Saturday.
"No Syrian weapon had any effect on anything we did," McKenzie said. He described the
joint U.S., French and U.K. strike as "precise, overwhelming and effective."
Where can I get correct assessments? For, umm . research yeah.
Russia was outgunned, so they did not respond. It was probably a wise decision. They did
damage control admirably, and now have an opportunity to improve the Syrian arsenal with
obvious justification.
Slowly but surely, Russia is tightening the noose in Syria. Air defenses are
improving. The next step is likely to be an arsenal of anti-ship missile's. If necessary
ICBMs might follow some sort of mutual defense treaty.
At some point, Syria itself will be able to deliver the bloody nose to the USA that is so
necessary for justice and world peace. That point will be reached when Syrian abilities to
inflict pain outweigh the costs of escalation
My precious, too many players want to start a real war between the Mercans and Russians.
Aside from the casual suspects (KSA and Israel), Chinese also objectively benefit from the
confrontation, which explains their aloofness. Should this come to a nuclear war, Chinese
will be the one and only winner. For this old smart monkey is still sitting on the tree, and
nothing has changed since Chairman Mao times.
For Iran, this war will certainly enhance the Iran-Russia axis and thus may postpone
the US aggression. Turkey loves it too because it can play both sides.
Ironically, only the USA and Russia will be the biggest losers regardless of the
outcome. It seems they both realize that and are treading carefully. But can they manage
to get out of the clinch? And for how long they can be avoiding the all-out conflict? So no,
-- it's definitely ain't over. We hates it, but the best is yet to come.
You forget ballsy little Bolivia defends Russia in UN with both votes and condemnation of
barking Nikki. It looks like they are offering all they have -- moral condemnation of Empire
and her vassals.
The reason I give it a lot of weight is that the night before the bombing, either Vanessa
Beasley or Eva Bartlett called in to Israeli News Live and gave 12 points explaining what
Syria was expecting to happen and it seems it pretty well went down as they had said. I'm
sorry I can't find the broadcast link. Apparently the Russians said if the strike went into a
second day they would strike back even if Russians were not hit. Looks like the "strike" was
pretty well pre-determined by both sides.
Gave each side a look at the others capabilities and allowed US a chance to waste missiles
and Northrup sell new ones. Same old, same old.
Every time my country says or does something insane (which is often) this Lee Greenwood
song goes thru my mind with modified lyrics. "Ashamed to be an American, where I'm duped to
think I'm free".
How can it be over ? It is a war in progress. One side of the warring party is creating
they own reality, and present it on the world stage with absolute conviction, and
determination. This fake reality is part of the war game , it should not be considered as
lies or staged events. It is war ! Fake reality is part of the repertoire , just like the
missiles. It is war , no rules just brutal conflict.
The other side not understanding any of it. They are running around , like chickens in the
rain. UNSC talk , talk and talk some more. Nobody give a them. They are counting how many
missiles they intercepted , they are analyzing , they are theorizing . Do something you are
about to be wiped off !
Act 2 . China sells tickets. Total now of two hundred missiles used; nothing much
destroyed. Top brass satisfied. Neocons, mollified. Audience, US, asleep in our seats as
usual.
Act 3 . The big love scene: Trump and Putin do Romeo & Juliet, audience
confused. Back to sleep. China offers no refunds.
The Chinese and the rest of them are not willing to do anything
at this time to support Russia. Russia can militarily defeat the AngloZionists, but
only by risking the future of our planet.
Saker correctly pointed out Russia is showing unnecessary weakness in only moaning &
bitching with empty threats that nobody bother, relegating itself to a weakling gas
station.
But to falsely accused China & the rest not willing to do anything at this time to
support Russia is too far fetch, a foolish remark like a whining self pitied child blaming
everyone for his own spilled milk.
Does Saker expect its few allies China, NK, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, SAA to launch attack on
US Nato when RuA refused/not permit?
Economically, China is known to have financially back the entire costly war, signed
numerous huge deals worth hundreds of Bil with Russia to booster its sanctioned economy,
deliver re-construction materials, medicine & food for tens of millions soldiers &
Syrians. A astromical cost.
Military, it has also supply lot of weapons & ammunition under so called old contract
with SAA, sent in its most senior advisors & Special forces to help fighting & get
train, esp to mop up Uyghur ISIS terrorists(CIA assets).
It even cut short a mammoth 40 vessels Liaoning a/c strike group drill in SCS to declare a
unprecedented proximate live firing drill in Taiwan Straits, literally forcing existing USN
three strike groups to tied down in SCS. This sent a very clear signal that if US start a hot
war in Syria with Russia, China might open another war front to take back Taiwan which USM
will be overstretched to defend.
Also China despatched its Defense Minister in a high profile visit to Russia, declaring
its military solidarity with Russia against US tyranny (a rare glaring mentioned of US
name directly) . This sent a very strong signal to USM, China may intervene directly or
asymmetrically.
China also took an unusual hard stand in a looming trade war, threatened to fight at all
cost without slight compromise, hence refusing Trumps any leeway to back down while he up
ante to save face.
China foreign ministry further declare the trade war will not limit in trade but shall
utilize all asymmetric tools, including non cooporation in strategic issues, sanction of US
hugely profiting investments in China. Also Trumps redneck farming vote bank was purposely
targeted to pressure him in coming Nov election. With China $4T war chess & US people
resistance, US can ill afford to fight China if Syria war breakout. Every major war will see
USD artificially hike >30% historically for expenditure mileage.
In UNSC, China has surprisingly took abstained neutral stand, allowing it to play the
coordinator role & denying US UK Fr to get any legit for attack. This avoid relegating
UNSC into two sides shouting. Nikki Harley was thus preempted her wish of striking with or
without UNSC mandate since all ended agreed to let UN conduct independent inspection.
Overall, this continue to lock US UK Fr inside UNSC framework.
China Prez Xi also in Baao seminar announced expedite opening of China huge financial
market. This stirred the world into frenzy to prepare for huge investment, skillfully denied
US ability to pull EU, Jp & others to joint US trade war. All US financier & trade
bodies will loathe any trade or hot war that will derail their golden opportunity.
What else happen behind door we won't know. But whatever we can see now, China has done
every heavy lifting it could, very comprehensive & well plan, short of attacking USM in
Syria which it can't with limited projection force.
Yet Saker is accusing China & others are doing NOTHING to help Russia, when Putin is
refusing to even take down a Israel airfield as a warning to USM. Killing a chicken to
frighten the monkey.
Is Saker demonstrating a typical Russian nature, unappreciative & endless blaming,
always ready to throw ally under bus? This might explain why Russia has few or no true
trusted ally, even ex-Soviet countries. Assad Syria & Iran interest are seen routinely
been sacrificed.
Will China one day decided Russia is not a trusted ally afterall to reconsider US G2
invitation?
I think the point of the article was precisely that the US is not as strong as it thinks.
Hence, the attack was all for "show" so the US can perpetuate the delusion it can handle
Russia/Iran. The danger is that this delusion may cause a major misstep, especially if (when)
the US starts believing it's own bullshit and really pokes the bear.
The general idea seems to be containment of Russia, hemming them in within their own
borders and cutting them off from being able to extend their influence outward.
As part of this any allies of theirs such as Syria come under attack; if the west
can't own them then they're to be reduced to chaos and rendered into costly burdens for the
Russians.
It's all a very cynical and calculated plan that fits into the overall picture of
encircling the Russians to stymie their development and influence. NATO expansion up to their
borders, the Ukraine coup, encirclement, picking off vulnerable allies, economic warfare and
political subversion without end, the pattern is clear. At some point an actual clash might
come about, not necessarily now with Syria as the trigger but somewhere all along the entire
line of points of friction. Unfortunately it seems inevitable that something bad is going to
happen somewhere down the line as the irresistible force meets the immovable object.
The problem here is that moving to a multi-polar world will require many countries to
contribute what and where they can as we fight a very entrenched international Cabal. But,
the largest responsibility lies with the people living within the Evil Empire and its vassal
states. Those whose counties are committing these atrocities need to step up and call foul on
their own governments. This is difficult to do since the Project Mockingbird press
continues to spew unbelievable lies on a non-stop basis. But those lies are getting more and
more difficult to believe. Unless your brain is totally disconnected, you have to realize
that what they are saying is inconsistent and illogical.
Besides calling and berating my representatives, signing petitions, etc. I have taken to
wearing a teeshirt with a picture of Putin and the Russian bear (Putin in a suit, not riding
the bear bare chested).
I wear it to all social events for the purpose of starting a discussion. Most Americans
are not engaged. They have little trust in their government and most feel like there is
nothing they can do about it. I live in the mountain west where people are more libertarian
and more willing to fight. I try to provide them with ammunition and point them to places to
go to get "real" news. I tell them not to "believe" any news, but get a variety of points of
view and use their own minds to determine what is true.
A few years ago, I was very disturbed when I kept hearing Dr. Stephen Cohen say that Putin
was the greatest statesman of our time. As I had studied Soviet history in school, I had sort
of kept abreast of what was happening in Russia. As an economist, I was aware of how the
West, especially the USA, came to help Russia with Democracy and "free markets". It was
obvious to me that we were just assisting in selling Russia by the pound to the moneyed
class. I had followed Dr. Cohen over the years as well. But sceptical of his assessment of
Putin, I have gone back and watched and read almost everything Putin has said and watched
what Russia has done and I believe Dr. Cohen is correct.
As a fervent anti-war activist since the sixties, I have been appalled at all the
regime change the US has and continues to do around the world including both military covert
operations and economic warfare. Well Putin had me at his 2007 Munich speech. The one
the West called a rant.
Finally someone was calling out this criminal behavior on an international stage! Putin
has continued with these messages and as far as I can see, Russia is operating accordingly.
No one country, not Russia, not China, no one can destroy this international Cabal on its
own. It will take a concerted effort of all peace seeking people from around the world to
force their governments on a different path. Starting in my case with the people of the
USA.
I emailed the OPCW yesterday. I asked for the location of the Douma inspection
team at precisely the time the research center was attacked. I heard that they
were at the airport and only hours away from the site. I thought this would
give credence to the theory that the site was attacked just so it would
interfere with a proper inspection. They declined to release any info for the
protection of their workers and the integrity of their work. I guess we will
have to wait for the report.
Russia and the Syrian regime have been accused
by western diplomats of denying chemical weapons inspectors access to sites in the town of
Douma, where an attack killed dozens and prompted US-led missile strikes over the weekend.
Russia and Syria had
cited "pending security issues" before inspectors could deploy to the town outside Damascus,
said Ahmet Üzümcü, the director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons, at a meeting of the OPCW's executive council.
Syrian authorities were offering 22 people to interview as witnesses instead, he said,
adding that he hoped "all necessary arrangements will be made to allow the team to deploy to
Douma as soon as possible".
Meanwhile, the Trump administration delayed action on sanctions against Russians suspected
of helping Syria's chemical weapons programme, contradicting remarks on Sunday by the US envoy
to the UN, Nikki Haley.
It would be legitimate to wonder if the U.S. MIC will stealthily add to the long list of sanctimonious sanctions the interdiction
for any western vassal state to buy the vastly superior Russian weapon systems in a not so distant future. One can feel it coming.
Needless to say this kind of short sighted vision will be the straw that will break the camel's back.
These sanctions are ultimately going to hurt more the USA than Russia because little by little countries are leaving the American
sphere of influence for the more balanced and reasonable Eurasian one. Nobody wants to stay with a maniac like Nikki or a fool
like trump...
The Americans will be begging to be integrated once they hit the bottom.
"... Rouhani told Putin that the joint military strikes against Syria were an "aggressive measure" aimed at boosting the defeated terrorists' morale. ..."
"... He warned that if aggression and blatant violation of international regulations were to become easy and cost-free, "we would witness new instability in the regional and international system." ..."
"... The Russian president, for his part, said the strikes conducted by the US and two Western countries against Syria under any pretext were a blatant violation of international law and an international crime. ..."
"... Putin said the missile attack on Syria was carried out before the announcement of the results of investigations into the use of chemical weapons in the Arab country. ..."
"... Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the Western countries' so-called proof of the purported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government in the town of Douma was "ludicrous" for experts. ..."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the "aggressive" US move to carry out military strikes
against Syria reveals that Washington has direct ties with terrorists.
"The Americans showed such a reaction when they felt that the terrorists were dislodged
from an important region like Eastern Ghouta," Rouhani said in a phone call with Russian
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, a day after US-led strikes on Syria.
The strikes, conducted by the United States, France and Britain, hit three sites, one in
Damascus, and two in the city of Homs, which US President Donald Trump claimed were "associated
with the chemical weapon capabilities" of the Syrian government.
The tripartite Western countries announced that strikes were carried out as a punitive
measure against Damascus for a suspected poison gas attack they claimed was purportedly
conducted on April 7 by the Syrian government on Douma, the largest town in Eastern Ghouta near
the Syrian capital, which reportedly killed 60 people and injured hundreds more.
Rouhani told Putin that the joint military strikes against Syria were an "aggressive
measure" aimed at boosting the defeated terrorists' morale.
He warned that if aggression and blatant violation of international regulations were to
become easy and cost-free, "we would witness new instability in the regional and international
system."
"The attack by the US and its allies against Syria showed that we are facing new problems
and issues in the way of a final fight against terrorism in Syria and that we must have more
consultation and cooperation with each other," the Iranian president told his Russian
counterpart.
In a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, on Saturday,
Rouhani denounced recent airstrikes against Syria, saying such attacks ran contrary to the
principles of international law and were considered as a blatant sign of support for
terrorism.
"At a time that terrorists are suffering a defeat in Syria on a daily basis, such aggressive
act certainly means support for these defeated groups," the Iranian president said.
US-led attack on Syria, international crime: Putin
The Russian president, for his part, said the strikes conducted by the US and two
Western countries against Syria under any pretext were a blatant violation of international law
and an international crime.
Claims about the use of chemical weapons in Syria are baseless and against the realities on
the ground, he added.
Putin emphasized that Tehran and Moscow have a common stance on many regional and
international developments.
Both Tehran and Moscow are giving Damascus a helping hand in its countrywide
counter-terrorism battles. Iran has been offering military advisory assistance to the national
Syrian army, while the Russian air force is providing air cover to its ground operations.
Putin said the missile attack on Syria was carried out before the announcement of the
results of investigations into the use of chemical weapons in the Arab country.
He added that the United Nations was founded to build consensus among countries, adding that
it should not serve the political interests of certain powers, because it would create more
chaos on the international scene.
The Russian president emphasized that acts of aggression would not stop his country's fight
against terrorism and extremism in the region, particularly in Syria.
He also stressed the importance of more efforts and consultation among Iran, Russia and
Turkey in order to restore peace and stability to Syria after the US-led military strikes.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the Western countries'
so-called proof of the purported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government in the town
of Douma was "ludicrous" for experts.
The Russian top diplomat added that Washington, London and Paris told Moscow that there were
purported "irrefutable facts" as for the suspected chemical attack, so that, they could justify
the strikes that they had delivered earlier in the day.
TAXCOLLECTOR2017, 1 hour ago
Part of the false premise was that Assad used chemicals on the terrorists. When John Kerry
said they were rebels and they needed US support the US has never admitted they are
terrorists. As if US support and presence among the terrorists is irrelevant. Nothing they
have done since 2013 has changed what began in 2011 7 years waited and everyone knows how it
began in Syria. It's only now that the Zionists are having to answer the facts here. Then
again, the facts have answered themselves.
Usa , 1 hour ago
The USA always fights terrorists, they fought Taliban's, Alqaeda. But they ignore ISIS? Rings
bells....They created ISIS, Taliban and Alqaeda
Marek Kolenda , 3 hours ago
Only Russian S409 or S500 can destroy B1 bombers flying on highest altitude.
TAXCOLLECTOR2017 , > Marek Kolenda 1 hour ago
Those bombers are sitting in Turkey.
Bozek Jilek , 4 hours ago
The US gave BILLIONS in Weapons, Arms and Training to Moderate headchoppers and then
pretended to be fighting them, but then rushed into Syria to protect them when they started
losing, hoping and dreaming to get rid of Bashar Assad.
TAXCOLLECTOR2017 , > Bozek Jilek 1 hour ago
The John Kerry speech was all about supporting them in 2013.
Nari, 4 hours ago
The west know where their meat comes from! It comes from the slaughterhouse! Yet those animal
lovers still enjoy the protein the meat offers. So long as they don't see the kill they will
eat the meat.
Point here is the western public know their leaders are behaving badly when it
comes to foreign policy but just as long as the public are spared the gore it's fine to
continue to run the national policy (country) despite the horrific ongoings of their foreign
policy!
How far one can play stupid will ultimately be determined by what is important to
them. If being liked and accepted is their first priority then people will play dumb till
they reach the grave. Passive people only short change themselves! Take your gaze from off
the floor and look at the people you fear, dislike, or are brainwashed about. Being powerless
is a choice!
TAXCOLLECTOR2017 , Nari 1 hour ago
No one ever gave them permission. Most don't take insults well. Few even know the diatribe is
controlled, and would never admit it. That's a tough wall to penetrate.
Miriam , 5 hours ago
Just listen to the regurgitated (weak) excuses by UK politicians and journalists in defence
of the right to withhold vital information by the intelligence services because it comes
under the term "classified". How convenient to keep secret from the public incriminating
material/data that would irreparably damage the reputation of the government and its secret
services when such information would reveal overwhelming guilt in a terrorist act committed
under cover.
NO MORE ZIONISTS , 7 hours ago
STOP FRANCE TERROR --- French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he convinced US
President Donald Trump to keep troops in Syria.
Macron made the remarks in an interview broadcast by BFM TV, RMC radio and Mediapart on
Sunday, where he also defended his country's participation in the joint air strikes on
Syria.
"We convinced him it was necessary to remain there...We have complete international
legitimacy to act in this framework," he said. "We have three members of the (United Nations)
Security Council who have intervened."
The announcement was made several hours after US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki
Haley said that the US would not pull American troops out of Syria until its goals were
accomplished.
Stafford , 8 hours ago
It is well known although often forgotten that the USA intervenes both clandestinely and
overtly in the internal affairs of sovereign states. With the Syrian terrorists, there has
been circumstantial but no particular identification of US activity in specifically
supporting with weaponry the forces against the Syrian Government in the media. It would be
useful if the full text of the OPCW findings about alleged events in Syria were made public.
Great, I voted for Trump in the hopes he would not be a warmonger since Hillary certainly
was. Looks like I should not have bothered after all.
I can only imagine what Putin et al are thinking. They know they and Assad were not behind
that attack, and they know we know, or should know. What this means is that they will have to
come to view our government the same way America used to view the Communists. As dangerous,
fanatical lunatics.
Once you come to view someone not as a rational actor, but as deranged, the dynamics
change, and in very dangerous ways. You cannot appease or come to terms with a lunatic. All
reasonable options begin to disappear, leaving behind only the last resorts.
The Kremlin has accused the US, the UK and France of 'hooliganism' and breaking
international law, after a coordinated series of missile strikes on Syrian airbases last night.
The accusations come as Russia continues to claim chemical attacks by Assad's forces on his own
people were staged by civilian volunteer force the White Helmets. At a highly charged emergency
Security Council meeting, in New York, Russian diplomat Vassily Nebenzia condemned the strikes
as 'unleashing a wave of chaos.' Russia demanded a vote on a UN resolution condemning 'the
aggression' against Syria, but this was struck out by the Security Council.
... ... ...
In a heated exchange with his American counterpart Nikki Haley, Nebenzia said: 'Why are you
seeking to plunge the Middle East into such difficulties, provoking one conflict after another,
pitting one state against another?
... ... ...
A resolution needs at least nine 'yes' votes to be approved.
The vote reflected the deep divisions in the U.N.'s most powerful body, which has been
paralysed in dealing with the seven-year Syrian conflict and chemical weapons use in the
country.
... ... ...
Despite the coalition attacks, Russian channels continue to insist the chemical attacks were
staged by the White Helmets.
A video shared on the embassy's official twitter channel appeared to show two Syrian doctors
who were in Douma, the scene of the attack, declaring that no patients had symptoms specific to
chemical bombs.
The tweet was accompanied with the post: 'Breaking - people from the White Helmets "chemical
attack" video explain how it was staged. Retweet to beat jihadist lies!'
General Disarray, Boom Town Wish You Were Here, United Kingdom, about 9 hours ago
Yes Russia will retaliate and the UK will more than likely be the target....
"... And if there's no chance that we can fix it I will recommend to the president that we do our level best to work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and a better deal. ..."
SPEAKER: What is your view as to whether America should withdraw unilaterally from the Iran nuclear agreement?
MIKE POMPEO: I want to fix this deal. That's the objective. I think that's in the best interest of the United States
of America.
SPEAKER: But if the agreement cannot be changed. My question is pretty simple. We're running very close to a deadline
on certification.
MIKE POMPEO:And if there's no chance that we can fix it I will recommend to the president that we do our level
best to work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and a better deal.
SHARMINI PERIES: Pompeo is a member of the Tea Party movement, and is generally viewed as a pro-war hardliner who has previously
vowed to cancel the Iran agreement ...
... ... ...
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, let's just take the issue of Iran, for starters. There he said at the hearing that he would not try to get
out of the Iran nuclear deal, that he wants a better deal. But in the past he's talked about getting out of the Iran nuclear deal.
And not only that he said that regime change is the only way to deal with Iran. And as CIA director he also downplayed the CIA's
assessment that Iran was complying with the deal although at the hearing he said he has no reason to deny that Iran is complying.
So he says very different things and in different places. But I think his actions and his statements in the past speak louder than
the words at the hearing, which were quite deceptive, and he's trying to win over Democrats. So he was evasive on some of the issues
that he has been very clear about in the past, such as striking Iran, North Korea, and certainly he was open about the president's
right to bomb Syria.
... ... ...
SHARMINI PERIES: Right. Now, speaking of Syria and the tensions that are arising with Russia over the chemical attack that Russia
now says, and in fact Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, is on record saying they have information that some one else, some other
country, initiated this attack in Syria. This is really a heightening the tension between Russia and the United States. So let me
go to you on this, Phyllis, first, and then we'll go back to Medea. But your take on this rising tension between U.S. And Russia?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: This is a very, very dangerous moment, when we have Trump, with all of his own proclivities towards war and against
diplomacy, surrounding himself by what looks like a clear war cabinet. The danger of escalation in Syria is very serious. It could
lead to a direct clash between the two most powerful nuclear weapon states in the world, the United States and Russia. You have completely
opposite claims emerging from Washington and Moscow, with the U.S. claiming that they know, even though they also agree that they
don't have information, but they know that chemical weapons were used as they were used by the regime in Syria. They seem to know
a lot for a government that admits it doesn't know anything yet.
The Russians, on the other hand, have variously said that another country might be involved. Another Russian diplomat has said
that there was no chemical attack at all. So for myself, I don't actually believe any of these claims by any of the governments.
I'm waiting to hear what the report is of the team that's on its way to D ouma right now, the town outside of Damascus where the
alleged chemical weapons attack occurred. The team of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons. That's the the internationally
acknowledged, internationally credible team that will be determining whether or not chemicals were used, what chemicals were used
if there were any, who was affected, what delivery systems, et cetera. They are not mandated to determine who fired or who gave the
orders to fire. That's a much more political question that will come back to the Security Council and may stall there, we don't know.
But at the moment we don't know at all what happened in Douma on that weekend 10 days ago. So I think that we need to do everything
possible to ramp down this level of rhetoric. When the U.S. continues to talk about the inevitability of new strikes against Syria,
knowing that this is a direct violation of both, again, international law and U.S. domestic law and threatens the possibility of
retaliation against U.S. troops in the region, U.S. warships in the Mediterranean, U.S. warplanes in the skies, and, most importantly,
threatens the possibility, the likelihood, of killing more Syrian civilians. We are facing a very, very urgent crisis even before
we get to the possibility of serious escalation.
So this is something that Congress needs to take very seriously. And unfortunately in what we've seen in the Pompeo hearing there
was simply not enough, not enough pushing for this candidate to be the supposed leader of diplomacy in the United States, to push
him on the necessity not of saying well, we hoped that we could have a diplomatic solution, but if not well then nothing is off the
table. That's not OK. That's not acceptable to the U.S. chief diplomat. And we are simply not hearing enough pressure to make that
position known.
... ... ...
But I was going to put it in the context of remember that we have Bolton as the national security adviser, who did not have to
have a confirmation hearing. This is why somebody like Jeff Merkley, a senator from Massachusetts, came out and said he will not
vote for Pompeo because he recognizes it as part of this larger cabinet, that this is a war cabinet, and therefore a vote for Pompeo
is a vote for war. So I would say continue the fight not to get a confirmation for Mike Pompeo.
SHARMINI PERIES: Phyllis, is that even possible?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: Absolutely. And it's crucial. This is exactly what we need to be focusing on right now. The way the votes come
down, it's very, very tight. There are at least, at least one Republican, Rand Paul, who has said he will vote against Pompeo. It
looks like McCain will not be there because of his illness. That cuts out two votes. So it's certainly a possibility. But it's going
to take an enormous amount of work. Enormous numbers of phone calls and visits and protests and threats of not voting back those
members of Congress who, who would go ahead and vote for this person as being the new head of diplomacy. This is as urgent as it
gets.
SHARMINI PERIES: All right, Phyllis. I thank you so much for joining us. Phyllis is with the Institute for Policy Studies New
Internationalism Project. And Medea Benjamin, thank you so much for joining us. And Medea's from Code Pink. Thank you both.
Nonsense lead . The regime change trope is totally bi-partisan as yesterdays air strikes clearly indicate. Pompeo etal like
most American federal government officialdom are now lackeys and on the payrolls of the MIC , CIA, and banksters. There is no
Iran nuclear deal , Trump is right about that . Iran has moved under Russia's nuclear umbrella as North Korea is now under China's,
making the rush to develop nukes unnecessary at the present time. Obombers treaty was/is a worthless face saving effort, after
the destruction of Libya.. Trump increasing represents the wishes of the duopoly, not the electorate, his latest terror attack
on Syria bumped his popularity 5% across Americas, knocking down the looming Stormy scandal perhaps...
Phyllis: "But at the moment we don't know at all what happened in Douma on that weekend 10 days ago."
We do know, because we listen daily to the other side of the story too. There was NO Chemical attack . The White Helmets
filmed the deception.
These two Workers of the Douma Hospital's Emergency room, are eyewitnesses of the Lie that was sold by the Western MSM,
which is a tool of the Deep State:
-Syrian Eyewitnesses Reveal How Douma Provocation Was Made- (Published by Sputnik, on Apr 13, 2018)
Arguing for a right-wing Congress to overturn decades of executive war making "privilege" is a bit of a lost cause at this
point. Pompeo is the latest iteration in a long line of those at the State Department who have ditched diplomacy in favor of war.
gustave courbet > novychelovek
Consistent theme in caricatures of other nations/groups relates to their inherent "otherness." Be it Clapper's comment
about Russians being "genetically driven" to "co-opt," or Kim Jong-un's reputation as a madman, or Iran's fundamentalist world
view, they have in common the tendency to project a fundamentally irrational disposition on one's adversaries.
In reality, most governments, be they pseudo-democratic, theocratic, etc are motivated by pragmatic self-interest. In Iran's
case, they can use history to compare non-nuclear states to nuclear powers in regards to US bellicosity and see a clear
pattern.
The key unknown is how many rockets were decoys this time
Notable quotes:
"... Were dummy missiles launched to deceive the Syrian defenses? ..."
"... The Pentagon and their friends in the lame stream corp. would never lie to the Amerikan Sheeple would they;-) ..."
"... A dummy cruise missile makes no sense. In order to have similar range/flight characteristics with the real one, you will need more of less the same engine/fuel/navigation/guidance system. And gain what? The cost of the terminal guidance sensor and the explosives? ..."
"... A very important essay that I completely agree with. http://thesaker.is/ask-yourselves-are-we-the-bad-guys/ ..."
"... Let anyone think that anyone in NATO actually cares about the use of chemical weapons, I will point out that the single biggest chemical attack in the last decade--if not well beyond that -- was when the vetted, moderate rebels poisoned the water supply to Damascus early last year. The water was unusable for weeks and killed a lot more than 40 people. ..."
"... The psychopath and sociopath UK/US/France & Co would always trample any rules or laws that they set up to pursue their intestests, be it $$$, be it resources, be it military and/or ideological dominance. ..."
"... War is about propagnda as much as about bombing itself, if not more important. US Army is lying and is confident its helper the MSM will get its message through American people's brains. ..."
"... RT, PressTV, Global Times and other government-affiliated sources are generally more objective than western mainstream media, but I worry that they may omit certain info that is uncomfortable to them. ..."
"... I think I will walk over to my neighbour and de declare his house and car and wife a "vital national interest" and see what happens..... ..."
"... Note that the US Navy ships were in the Red Sea not the Mediterranean - that is to keep them further away from Russia's Kinzhal missiles based in Southern Russia. Immediately after the strike Russia sealed an agreement for the use of a base in Iran - ships in the Red Sea no longer safe! ..."
"... There is nothing new about this. The Empire never accepts its mistakes and failures until its too late. Lets just hope they never kick this habit until its too late. ..."
"... FWIW, the attack pattern yesterday is pretty much what one would expect from a wide-area, short-range air defense probe, not a strike mission. The US and Israel already have the general geographical positions of longer- and mid-range air defense radars and communications networks mapped out for the time being. Taking those out will necessarily mean killing Russian soldiers. They'll only do that when they go all out. ..."
"... Or it was a successful SIGINT/mapping mission, not a strike mission, and neither the Pentagon nor Tel Aviv care to advertise that fact. Russian command staff plays the 'old, dumb Soviet generals' throwback act and brags about their supposed air defense success. In the meantime, they know exactly what happened and why FUKUS did it, and don't care to advertise that fact. Everything is intel to them. ..."
"... Just 22 per cent of the public would support a cruise missile attacks against Syrian military targets, a new poll shows. 43 per cent of the British public oppose missile strikes on Syria, according to the latest YouGov research commissioned by the Times. A significant 34 per cent of respondents said 'don't know'. ..."
"... The high failure rate of these 'Made in USA' missiles will be used to sell the missile stock update in addition to the allocated $10.8 billion for modernization and additional nuclear warhead capabilities. Smedley Butler could have never imagined just how much of a racket war (especially the one of terror) would turn out to be. ..."
"... 100 missiles from US, UK and France is a political commitment, not just a military test. At any rate, the military failure is also a political failure. A year's effort since the 59 Tomahawk attack hasn't improved the success rate. Must be very worrying for the US military. ..."
"... They already pretty much destroyed whatever small chances Trump ever had at being re-elected ..."
report of strike and the description
in the Pentagon
briefing on the strike. According to the Pentagon only three places related to non-existing Syrian chemical weapons were targeted:
This combined military strike was directed against three distinct Syrian chemical weapons program targets.
...
In summary, in a powerful show of allied unity, we deployed 105 weapons against three targets.
It does not make any sense to send 35 cruise missiles against each of those not hardened, not defended targets like the
now destroyed Barzeh research center which
was a small two story building complex
(pic of destruction) and had been
declared free of chemical
weapons and weapon research by the OPCW. Why would the U.S. military use such a high number of precision weapons against only three
targets? This is extremely unusual and does not make sense at all.
The Russians , as well as
othersources on the ground, report in detail of
many more targets:
Four missiles targeted the Damascus International Airport; 12 missiles – the Al-Dumayr airdrome, all the missiles have
been shot down.
18 missiles targeted the Blai airdrome, all the missiles shot down.
12 missiles targeted the Shayrat air base, all the missiles shot down. Air bases were not affected by the strike.
Five out of nine missiles were shot down targeting the unoccupied Mazzeh airdrome.
Thirteen out of sixteen missiles were shot down targeting the Homs airdrome. There are no heavy destructions.
In total 30 missiles targeted facilities near Barzah and Jaramana. Seven of them have been shot down.
At least six airports were targeted according to the Russian report. The Pentagon reports no strike on Syrian airports but claims
to have launched a way too high number of cruise missiles for each of the claimed three target. The Syrian opposition outlet SOHR
reports of eight targets and says that at least 65 of the cruise
missiles were downed by the Syrian air defenses. The Russians say 71 were shot down while the Pentagon says none of its cruise missiles
were hit.
At least three other sources confirm the Russian version of events. The Pentagon is lying. The attack was a U.S. attempt to disable
the Syrian air force by destroying its airports. It failed and the Pentagon is hiding that failure. Will the U.S. media report this
discrepancy?
Not unrelated to the strike on Syria is the Skripal case where the mysteries continue to pile up.
I saw a couple of parts of missiles and maybe Russian MOD needs to display the pieces they have collected. Most amerikans believe
their invincibility. In fact they want a second round and Russia does seem to agree there will be another attack before May 12th
now that idlib part deux has started.. ghouta was only to stop the US from taking the city while the army was busy in idlib.
The legality of the US strike has (rightfully) been questioned.
UN Charter, Article 2:
-All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security,
and justice, are not endangered.
-All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity
or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
Article 51 of the Charter covers self-defense.
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack
occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international
peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to
the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present
Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.
Obviously the US has not been attacked by Syria so SecDef Mattis has reworded the self defence law. "But as far as the legal
authority under the Article II of the Constitution, we believe the president has ever reason to defend vital American interests,
and that is what he did here tonight under that authority."
here
What "vital American interests" in Syria are being defended? Of course no reporter asked that vital question. Mattis has said
that if Syria employs its chemical weapons against its citizens then it might do the same against US troops so it must be stopped.
Of course the US troops are in Syria illegally, claiming to be anti-ISIS but actually trying to overthrow the Syria government.
So the US creates a vital American interest by illegally occupying a country with military forces and then has to defend that
interest against that country. That's how to Make America Great Again?. . .No.
105 missiles at 3 targets ? How stupid do they think we are ? No I think b might be on to something, a failed attempt to hit the
Syrian airforce, it could be credible....
Are Guardian columnists ignorant or what? The latest ignoramus/useless idiot is
Andrew Rawnsley :
Syria has paid a terrible price for the west's disastrous policy of doing nothing
Has he really missed all the shit the United States, United Kingdom, France, etc. have been doing in Syria or has he just received
a large well-padded brown envelope from MbS? If the US and others such as the democratically-elected governments of Qatar and
Saudi Arabia had stayed out of Syria, the whole shitpile would have been over in weeks if not days. It's Obama, Clinton, Sakozy,
Cameron and all the other useless idiots who are responsible for the mess in Syria.
"What "vital American interests" in Syria are being defended? It is Zionist/Israeli/Rothschild interests being advanced, see the
Oded Yinon Plan. The groundwork for this plan began before the Balfour Declaration, and was simply transferred to the US via the
privately-owned banking cartel, Rothschild-controlled Federal Reserve (created in 1913) when the British Empire sank into irrelevance
for the Zionists post WW1. Don't forget the Barn Rothschild in the 1700's saying "I care not who sits on the British throne, he
who controls the money supply controls the Empire... and I control the money supply." So the US Empire is controlled by those
who control the US-peto-dollar money supply... the US Federal Reserve.
This is why so much of US "foreign policy" makes no logical sense. But include the Rothschilds/AIPAC/etc., plus the Saudi wahabbists
and US "policy" makes completely logical sense.
I hope the US is telling the truth actually. The number of US ships heading that way suggests they want to have so many missles
to launch they will just overwhelm the air defenses. This is scary shit.
Regarding the legal basis for the attacks, Jon Schwarz has an
article up: Donald Trump Ordered Syria Strike Based on a Secret Legal Justification Even Congress Can't See . . .How can this
be constitutional, given the fact that Article I, Section 8 of America's founding document declares that "The Congress shall have
Power To declare War"?
The problems with that line of thinking, it seems to me, are two:
Saying that the Congress has the power to do something doesn't mean that the president can't do the same thing.
A brief attack upon another country doesn't rise to the level of a war, and obviously Trump did not declare war on Syria.
The most important event following the strike was the vote in the Security Council on the Russian resolution condemning the strike.
It lost the vote, but voting with Russia were Bolivia, thank you to the truly democratic President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, and
China. China. Let that sink in for a moment. China. Four nations abstained, so there was a very easy way for China to say, "I
don't have a dog in this fight," and abstain. Or, China, could have voted against the resolution, joining its trading partners
the U.S., Britain, France, Sweden, Poland, etc. But China voted in favor.
This clearly means that when the U.S. starts bombing Russian installations anywhere, they will have to deal with the Chinese
as well as the Russians. This will not happen.
A dummy cruise missile makes no sense. In order to have similar range/flight characteristics with the real one, you will
need more of less the same engine/fuel/navigation/guidance system. And gain what? The cost of the terminal guidance sensor and
the explosives?
I think I was a little late to the discussion on another thread, so if you don't mind I think I'll re-post here:
b (and several commenters) are correct that this Syrian attack was a win for Russia. Russian S-400 and other defensive countermeasures
were 100% effective--not a single iFUKUS aircraft penetrated Syrian airspace and US naval vessels were prevented from striking
Syria. As for the swarm of gnats, the Syrians were allowed to test their own metal and in spite of creative attack vectors also
received an exemplary grade (unlike the US, Russia and its allies seem very good at "teaching a man to fish"), even against Trump's
new, improved missiles. Sure, iFUKUS is able to save a little face by announcing a perfect win, just like they announced the virtually
perfect strike last year (even though Syrian aircraft were taking of from there within a few hours). And I also fear the naval
buildup is a signal that this is not the last chapter in this book, but as for this particular chapter there is a reason the Syrians
are celebrating.
I haven't heard any more about the Russian report that the French didn't actually do anything--they probably kicked the Russian
shin under the table and hissed "Shut up! We already cashed the Saudi check!" The MbS visits to the three protagonists removes
any doubt about the real reason for this attack, but the French definitely seem to be losing enthusiasm for a swim after dipping
their toes in the water and finding it way too hot. [Actually, AP noted that the French might have been tasked with a second wave
attack, but when at some point during the first wave Russia scrambled its aircraft (photos were posted on SyPers, I think, showing
Russian aircraft buzzing around a couple days earlier prominently displaying anti-ship missiles), the second wave was nixed. This
actually sounds quite plausible.]
I think the consequences Russia promised will be mostly in the refusal to let the whole chemical false flag industry story
drop. There was an announcement that Russia knew for a fact that Britain had ordered the E Gouta false flag, which seems like
a pretty strong statement and would indicate not only might the good guys have captured iFUKUS terrorist trainers fessing up to
some of their involvement, along with reportedly captured British CW munitions, but I recall from a year or so ago an Iranian
general chuckling and remarking that they had penetrated all of the iFUKUS command centers and knew everything that was going
on. Russia might be privy to intercepted communications as well, although they no doubt don't want to burn their assets.
Likewise they were tipped by someone at the Swiss lab about the Skripal affair. There was a reason it was Russia who was clamoring
to get the OPCW involved (as the proper authority for this type alleged incident), and it looks like it's paying off. In spite
of the Brits' attempt to carefully limit the scope of that involvement--like a TV lawyer, "Just answer the misleading question!
Yes or No? Did the Porton Down lab find evidence of a toxin that is something like an organophosphate?" Yes, BUT... was obviously
the answer the Brits did not want to get out. So the Skripals were hit with BZ to make a scene and get them into isolation, where
the frame-up of Russia could begin by carefully seeding A-234 about to make the case; but they got nervous when the OPCW inspectors
finally arrived that the "evidence" might be too degraded, since that's what this type of non-persistent agent does, so they re-applied
fresh, new samples straight from the lab. Unfortunately this was duly noted by some brave scientist, that the "evidence" was simply
too perfect, and Russia was tipped off. But now that this evidence is in the hands not just of Russia but of third parties, May
and BJ are going to look very bad indeed.
Let anyone think that anyone in NATO actually cares about the use of chemical weapons, I will point out that the single biggest
chemical attack in the last decade--if not well beyond that -- was when the vetted, moderate rebels poisoned the water supply
to Damascus early last year. The water was unusable for weeks and killed a lot more than 40 people.
Looking at Trump's string of tweets for the morning of April 11, it looks very likely he had to act on Syria or be impeached.
Any time both side of congress and senate are in unison, Trump faces impeachment. This is also the reason Mattis and the pentagon
under him are lying about the Ghouta CW and the effectiveness of the US strike. I doubt there will ever be any major attacks on
Syria or the Russian forces there under Trump, though there may be more symbolic moves if Trump is facing impeachment. Even symbolic
moves have to be sold to the swamp as highly detrimental to Syria and Russia.
Just to say... What a community! And what a host!! B should be super-proud. Probably the sole bar in the world where you walk
in and find people discussing and arguing basing themselves on the UNSC live or on official documents and reports released by
governements and organisations. I doubt you'll find a university where the elite applies the rules followed here.
#1 May 12th, coz the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem is supposed to happen a couple of days later. Is that what all the
build up of an 'invicible armada' is about?
There is an interesting analysis by A Russian Admiral as to why the attack had such limited success: sputniknews.com/analysis/201804151063583839-syria-us-missile-strike
It makes sense, they had no time to coordinate and probably thought they had a soft target in Syria if they avoided all the Russian
sites. Wrong and it is interesting that the full weapon complement was 300 missiles, perhaps to defend if Russia did attack?
Regarding the 'successful strikes'; my thoughts precisely B. It is telling that nobody in the MSM world was commenting the striking
discrepancy not in terms of missile hits but in terms of targets. Obviously FUKus tried to weaken the Syrian airport infrastructure
and failed badly.
There are rumors the intention was to add more attack rounds but that this intention was thwarted by the start
of the Russian combat aircraft.
Yes, this map is really interesting, the text from 2 days ago goes into detail on strikes that never happened. And if you refresh
the site, all the 2 day ago "strikes" on the map disappear. Nice catch!!
Both Tomahawk and air to surface missiles were used. I had read one report of
missile coming in over Idlib province. These where most likely lauched by the Brits whos planes took off from Cyprus. They may
have launched them off the coast of Turkey, flying over Hatay province Turkey, and Idlib.
US launched air to surface missiles from Jordan. One or more US ships in the Red Sea launched Tomahawks.
There have been a number of comments that thius or that cannot be right because Tomahawks do not do this or that, but what
air to surface missiles were used and what are their flight characteristics?
The brits launched 8? (I forget their name at the moment) according to Russia MoD. The US tried a few of its new 'smart' missiles
(6?), but what other types did US launch from the air?
Amongst this mix, I think there would be quite a variation in flight characteristics.
In follow-on to my earlier post at 22. Jim Stone has some info on why the attack stopped (recall that they had 300 missiles available
for this):
"I am going to stick with my assessment that something big was going to happen that caused the U.S. to stop the attack.
All the cruise missiles could report their status to the launch site, and the U.S. was sitting there watching them vanish before
they reached their targets. "reporting back" was early 90's tech, that the cruise missiles had even then.
So it would have been ominous to watch them vanish, And then suddenly, Russian planes were in the air, preparing to attack.
That did happen, regardless of whatever any claims are.
And within 20 minutes (before they reached their targets) it was suddenly announced that the attack which was supposed to
last for days was suddenly over, after only about an hour. Something big happened, and no one is saying what. My guess is that
Russia made the right threat."
Laws and rules are designed and laid out for the yellow/brown/black people and the powerless small potatoes to obey and follow
through.
The psychopath and sociopath UK/US/France & Co would always trample any rules or laws that they set up to pursue their
intestests, be it $$$, be it resources, be it military and/or ideological dominance.
Remember how the Westerners came to "discover" America and then claimed it theirs without ever asking permission from
the indigenous American who had been living there long before they came. Till now they've been whitewashing their illegal squatterings
and killings as "given" to them because they're "exceptional people" blessed by God .
Remember how the British demanded China to legalise the drug trade when it ran into 20 million tael silver trade deficit. When
China refused, they used guns and boats to force China to take their opium for exchange of China's fine silk, tea and porcelain.
Remember how the stolen diamonds and rubies from India are still sitting on the British crowns, which are worn by HM Queen.
Stealing, lawlessness and bullying are all impregnated in UK/US/Fr's DNA.
After my post @18 I read a recent piece at SST by J. J notes the posture of Trump recently. Arms folded, a look of dejection or
defeat. He has only had this look since being pushed into the Syria strike. The lunatics that are called elected representatives
in the US may soon vote Trump out of office. They want Syria destroyed and Russia crushed under their heel. That is when we will
see war.
War is about propagnda as much as about bombing itself, if not more important. US Army is lying and is confident its helper
the MSM will get its message through American people's brains.
Just shows how schizophrenic US has become. iFUKUS will not back awy from further attacks, I'am sure. Hope Russia is now decided
to supply Syria with S-300 or even S-400.
Does anybody know of a good news aggregator that does not censor/weed out publications that do not conform to "preferred narratives"?
Google News seems to have gotten worse (almost no western indy media at all) as of late and it's become practically useless. NewsNow
is a little better but seems to include a limited number of sources. RT, PressTV, Global Times and other government-affiliated
sources are generally more objective than western mainstream media, but I worry that they may omit certain info that is uncomfortable
to them.
The Pentagon claims that 76 missiles hit Barzeh. Ludicrous.
Posted by: shargash | Apr 15, 2018 11:37:42 AM | 13
Barzeh is also in a densely built-up residential area, according to Sputnik. 76 missiles to hit a few small buildings and only
4 / 8 / 12 for whole aerodromes? That's because Barzeh is a residential area and the missiles are "for the protection of civilians"
after all ...
Note that the US Navy ships were in the Red Sea not the Mediterranean - that is to keep them further away from Russia's
Kinzhal missiles based in Southern Russia. Immediately after the strike Russia sealed an agreement for the use of a base in Iran
- ships in the Red Sea no longer safe!
There is nothing new about this. The Empire never accepts its mistakes and failures until its too late. Lets just hope
they never kick this habit until its too late.
@Peter AU 1 | Apr 15, 2018 1:07:21 PM | 30
I agree, he looks flummoxed but he is a tough guy and he may be able to fight though, although the Bolton hire is scary.
The plus side is the US strike was not a success, no matter how the msm tries to spin it. This may explain why the US is going
to issue all new, shiny Russian sanctions tomorrow.
The new sanctions and this strike will also serve the deep state's objective of blocking any meeting between Putin and Trump,
or maybe not, Putin his a shrewd apple and may see through all of this.
Given relative high success rate of Russian air defence systems, the US just helped prove and advertise the effectiveness of Russian
military equipment. I would be interested to know if Russian military equipment sales go up in the weeks to follow.
This is what some anonymous entity posted at Breaking Defense:(excerpt follows)
The missiles struck at the heart of the Syrian chemical weapons enterprise, taking out three sites, one in Damascus, and two
further north near the city of Homs, that produce and story[sic] chlorine and sarin precursor materials. The strike was remarkable
for the number of widely dispersed assets used to hit the three targets:
From the Mediterranean, the U.S. Virginia-class submarine USS John Warner fired six Tomahawk missiles, and the French frigate
Languedoc launched 3 SCALP missiles.
In the Red Sea, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Monterrey fired 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles, while the
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Laboon launched another seven Tomahawks.
In the Arabian Gulf, another Burke, the USS Higgins, shot an additional 23 Tomahawks.
Additionally, U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers launched nineteen 2,000-lb. Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM). The
extended range variant, which was used in this strike, has a range of about 1,000 km.
British Typhoon and Tornado aircraft also launched 8 2,900-lb. Storm Shadow cruise missiles with a range of over 500 km.
French aircraft shot a further nine SCALPs.
It's not yet clear which bases the allied aircraft launched from, although the B-1s probably came from al-Udeid in Qatar and
Anglo-French aircraft from Europe.
NOTE: "Arabian Gulf" suggests someone in the Pentagon, especially Navy. That's what they do.
b - "The attack was a U.S. attempt to disable the Syrian air force by destroying its airports."
Do you mean the runways, specifically? The tactic of grounding aircraft by damaging runways is used, but it is understood as
a temporary (hours, maybe a day or two) at best no matter how big the crater. Several smaller craters or a deeper crater require
more effort to repair, but do not substantially increase the time the runway is unuseable (hours, days). Typical western scenarios
have cruise missiles or stand-off weapons taking out the air defenses first, followed by aircraft using precision munitions to
destroy all the aircraft and infrastructure.
FWIW, the attack pattern yesterday is pretty much what one would expect from a wide-area, short-range air defense probe,
not a strike mission. The US and Israel already have the general geographical positions of longer- and mid-range air defense radars
and communications networks mapped out for the time being. Taking those out will necessarily mean killing Russian soldiers. They'll
only do that when they go all out.
They need a better picture of the quantity/type of short-range systems defending the longer-range systems, or short-range systems
deeper inside Syria that may not have been noticed or ever turned on. Any intel is intel - positions will change, but you'll know
to focus on an area tomorrow to pinpoint targets if you know they are there today.
On an attack like the one yesterday, you attempt to get a few cruise missiles inside or beyond the longer-range defenses. You
want to appear to attack deeper, high-value targets (actual or suspected) that may defended with short-range SAM systems. Those
systems (Pantsirs in the case of Syria) don't fire up their radars revealing their presence until a missile gets close enough.
So you have to make that happens. You want to make sure they are nervous about a significant attack and watching for one. I think
that part went swimmingly.
The cruise missiles don't even have to strike anything. Probe one site, then maneuver to the next one and probe it. Or probe
a site approaching from one direction/altitude, then divert and approach from a different one. You don't even have to have a specific
target - just buzz an area to see if its defended at all and by what equipment. Everything, including the cruise missile itself,
is gathering data and sending it off to someone. At the end of the mission, run the missile into a plausible target or destroy
it. See? It wasn't a probe, it was a failed strike mission. There were xx number of apparent attacks, so there must have been
xx number of cruise missiles fired. Hah - your expensive cruise missiles are worthless!
It failed and the Pentagon is hiding that failure.
Or it was a successful SIGINT/mapping mission, not a strike mission, and neither the Pentagon nor Tel Aviv care to advertise
that fact. Russian command staff plays the 'old, dumb Soviet generals' throwback act and brags about their supposed air defense
success. In the meantime, they know exactly what happened and why FUKUS did it, and don't care to advertise that fact.
Everything is intel to them.
Soviet leadership were psychopaths and didn't quite understand the US. The Russians, today, know what psychopathy looks like
from up close. The current crop running Israel and the US are just not that clever. Russia can see right through them and realize
how dangerous they are. They know exactly where this is going and what's at stake.
Israel and the US are still obsessed with the success of the 1967 Six Day War. Land-grabs, resource-stealing and Arab-killing
require total air dominance first. That is being arranged. Exhausted opponent forces like the Egyptian troops Israel was facing
in 1967? Check - that is the job of the Saudi and US Special Forces al Qaeda and ISIS contingents - Syrian troops are determined
but exhausted today, and have lost most of their military equipment. [By the way, the Egyptian troops sent to the Sinai in '67
were exhausted because they had been fighting the flip-flop army of northern Yemeni tribes. Nobody defeats the flip-flop army!]
I'm not an army guy so can't speak to whatever the ground invasion of Syria will look like. The writing is on the wall for
me about the Syrian air defenses, though. Russia interrupted the 'destroy all air defenses' phase for a few years, but the Israeli-firster
US deep state demands we finish the job. For Christ's sake, they exhumed Bolton's corpse and a week later Tomahawks are flying.
The US Administration and Pentagon have been well-sheckel'd and properly trained to kiss the ring of MbS for easy cash. Time to
earn that pay... er, make the little people earn that pay. The way to Iran is through Syria and the Israelis and Saudis
are getting impatient.
I wonder how likely it is that the missiles flying towards Barzeh were seen at the time as missiles that overshot any strategic
targets and considered as a lower priority by the air defense forces. Because the three targets the Pentagon got to parade around
feel like a waste of missiles intended to make intercepts look less efficient than they were.
Another hypothesis about the scrambling of Russia jets well after the show started is perhaps to be found in reference to B1 bombers.
Although strike points of US cruise / crude missiles can perhaps be extrapolated from flight paths, the BI (stealth) bombers could
fly in relatively close and launch at targets at the last minute.
Coming up for Trump (in addition to his increased domestic problems) is North Korea. Probably President Kim will now be even more
disinclined to disarm than he previously was. The US: "Trust us, if you disarm we won't take advantage of your weakness.". . .uh-huh.
Paveway, Makes sense. However, we now are informed that Russia is delivering more and more sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons
systems to Syria in response to this attack.
@47
Notice the absence of the destroyer Donald Cook. On that we have this
article from Stars & Stripes: (excerpt)
As images of sick or dying children flooded global media all week, the U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Winston Churchill
was en route to the Mediterranean to join a flotilla of allied warships, including another U.S. destroyer, the USS Donald Cook.
It was a ruse.
While both vessels carry as many as 90 Tomahawk missiles – the main weapon used in the Friday evening strike on Syria –
neither ship in the end fired a shot. Instead, according to a person familiar with White House war planning, they were part
of a plan to distract Russia and its Syrian ally from an assault Assad's government could do little to defend itself against.
Without having read all the posted comments, but while in the process of putting together an opinion piece analysis for a French-langauge
newspaper in Switzerland, I can say that the French were involved. The number of weapons used can be explained by a simple fact:
everybody was testing weapons. After such tests, on the manufaturers' websites, one usually finds the desigation "battle tested"
for those thus tested. This increases their salability.
One thing should be perfectly clear by now. The corporate empire's goals will never change. Regime change, and a failed state
in Syria, are a must to further the global hegemony desired.. And, all for the sake of profits.. Hopefully, the alliances strong
enough to blunt this monstrous goal, are not involved in the "war show" going on...
mali 37
Yes. Congress, senate... they seem to have the belief that if the US launches a devastating strike on Syria without caring if
Russians are killed, that the Russians will back off and run home. Pentagon knows that if they do this, Russia will strike back
and with the lunatics in congress and senate trying to run the asylum, this will quickly lead to MAD.
@ 46 link to magneir is worth reading.. i am quoting the last part which is especially interesting..
"Turkish President Erdogan expressed his support and later satisfaction with the US strikes on Syria. Russia answered by asking
him to deliver the city of Afrin to the Syrian government. Iran's special envoy for Syrian affairs Ali Akbar Velayati overtly
stated that the next objective is Idlib. Therefore, it is now feasible for Turkey to pull out of its dozen observation bases around
Idlib, even as Russia pulled out of Afrin prior to the Turkish attack. And Russia expects Erdogan to cancel the previously agreed
sale of the S-400 missiles any day.
Thus, the compass points to Idlib, Rastan, Jisr al-Shoughour and the Syrian Army forces gathering in rural Lattakia, ready
to divide Idlib after liberating the many villages around it.
This will bring the world to the next "chemical attack" appointment in the next operational theatre of the Syrian army and
its allies. Would the US stand by al-Qaeda? Why not? It has never really been a question of the use of chemical weapons, since
the US holds the largest stockpile of chemical weapons worldwide: the real issue is the defeat of the US faced with the dominance
of Russia over the Levant."
also for anyone who missed it.. i was away friday, but the daily usa press briefing propaganda sheet from friday rarely disappoints!' https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/
Posted by: PavewayIV | Apr 15, 2018 2:11:41 PM | 48
Really interesting, thank you! Could it be that this assessment worked both ways; Russia now knows what the US knows and will
make its info moot? As fastfreddie noted, Russia is going to bring Syria new equip. I am inclined to think, even in the face of
your excellent comment, that this was intended to be a serious hit.
I believe our latest Axis of Evil had every intention of
destroying all of Damascus, the Syrian infrastructure, airports, planes, all except for the Russian sites. They were surprised
by Syrian capabilities and cut the mission short.
When the State Dept did their show and tell on the mission, they did not look like people who had won, they looked like people
who had just had an unsettling experience.
The sudden announcement that the US is putting new sanctions on Russia on Monday may be their way of saving face as these are
new, new sanctions from what I have read so far.
The proportion of missile failure was even greater than for the 59 Tomahawk attack a year ago on the Sha'ayrat airbase. In a year
they haven't been able to find a solution. This is quite grave for the US military.
I know Russia has staked out a willingness to continue to exercise diplomacy, but might they at least float some demurs about
hosting Macron in Russia in May?
I think whatever your opinion of the strikes on Friday evening (stateside), there are only two worldviews for which you
would frame and fit the events to line up with that worldview.
I was trying to explain why this is happening to my wife on Friday and why America feels the need to get its rocks off by launching
tomahawks. She had catholic parents who believe in certain issues of eschatology, namely nuclear war, and have drilled the idea
into her since what I am hoping was a safe age to do so. Nonetheless, the intricacies of the Syrian conflict is only understood
by years of following the events. And so it is difficult to unpack these intricacies on her, (would she even care to understand
these) just like how it is difficult to respond to a friend at work when they comment on Assad gassing his own people.
I discovered the Saker's blog during the flareup in Donbass and watched as the airport there changed hands to the east in a
ridiculous display of wanton destruction. From there, the Syrian war became important to me. Almost four years later and we sit
watching the final moments, hoping for peace, but knowing the diabolical forces inhabit our western governments which will not
relinquish their Wolfowitz Doctrine. This we know.
Which leads me to my thought about the two worldviews and which Trump no doubt plays a large part:
To my mind, one can either FEEL that this is indeed a desperate moment of the west OR you feel that the elites
in the west are resigning themselves to the fate of jumping ship, arranging their finances for the move, and are getting ready
to leave western nations (particularly the US) with the check. In other words, these assholes just order the fanciest lobster
in the tank, ordered more than one drink, and are getting ready to sneak out the bathroom window because they can't pay.
So does Donald Trump really LOVE America? Is he a true-believer in the west and is dissed so hard by Sparta that he feels compelled
to go all-in? In my mind, it would be better if he weren't and so would let America fall into the hundred-year darkness which
we are about to descend. And not from nuclear winter will we be shrouded in the cloth of the untouchables, but from weening ourselves
from centralized gov't teets. The only question is, will Putin and co. and Europe's vassal-states allow these orchesTRAITORS to
slip themselves into their realm, cryogenically-frozen to be awoken centuries from now at the right moment when centralization
and globalization again stretches its gnarled-limbs out upon the unsuspecting world.
If the guns stand down, that may be the only thing we can hope for. Certainly never expect the fine-feathered elite to be brought
before the court of public opinion. But then again...Putin is a wily fox.
I love the thinking and analysis. I saw this as combining two major purposes
1) political - to give Trump his diversion, and marshal wavering supporters to show he is a man of action. By attacking the
sites the OPCW had certified were chemical sites (even though empty and de-activated for years) he can claim to have acted decisively
without laying the ground for longer-term US involvement.
2) Militarily - the strike was to identify and weaken the SAS Air Defence system. Targeting airports is futile. Targeting the
Air defence network (radars, mobile missile launchers) is critical. All the airports targeted were key air defense nodes controlled
by the SAA (my guess is others in the north near Aleppo are controlled by Russian elements). Israel claimed it had destroyed most
of the Syrian air defense network in Southern Syria recently. While factually untrue, it does indicate the direction of their
concern (and US concern).
On this level, the 100 missile strike was a test and probably gave the US their much needed info on the electronics of a larger
operation. Once the carrier strike group arrives, with a first wave capability that numbers over 1000 missiles, we will see the
real results of this confrontation.
If this confrontation was won by the Russians, the CSG will threaten, make a show of force, claim success and back off. It
dare not risk a 71 % failure for a 1000 missile attack. If the US feels it has the electronic warfare info it needs to overwhelm
the Syrian systems, IMO it will go for another attack lasting days as the US (pentagon and political types) have been humiliated
by Putin for too long to let it slide. They will still avoid the Russians but they will not leave a bridge, electrical plant,
water plant or other piece of infrastructure undamaged.
Or perhaps what you say is true of the preplanned air attack that was originally to follow the ground invasion of Damascus
by citizen militias (al-Islam led by embedded U.K., US, and Jordanian operatives) in response to a false flag chemical attack
in Ghouta. The rhetorical script was for the most part followed even as the purpose and force of the attack had changed: the purpose
was now to distract from the impending revelations of the U.K. /US Salisbury-Ghouta conspiracy; the force had to account for the
presence of Russian troops across the whole of Syria, as opposed to isolated in one quadrant of the country, as had been the plan
when the original conspiracy was hatched. The Russian discovery of this plot--in early to mid February--undermined the UK US major
operation that was to take down Damascus, leading to a partitioned Syria the major hub or which would be controlled by US and
Israel. No wonder why everybody hates the Russians.
i had seen it when it came out and various posts related to it, but in light of what has happened the past month, it really
needs continued and greater exposure for many more people to see...
Just 22 per cent of the public would support a cruise missile attacks against Syrian military targets, a new poll shows.
43 per cent of the British public oppose missile strikes on Syria, according to the latest YouGov research commissioned by the
Times. A significant 34 per cent of respondents said 'don't know'.
Voters from all main parties were overall against launching cruise missile attacks, but the majority (51 per cent) of 2017
Labour voters oppose the move while the Tories are almost evenly split (33 per cent support strikes, 34 per cent oppose).
However, at 61 per cent, a majority do believe the Syrian government or their allies were "probably" responsible for the chemical
attack in Douma. Only 10 per cent said they thought "the claims are fabrications" or "something else happened".
Over the weekend it was reported by Syrian opposition activists and medics on the ground that over 40 people were killed in
a suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town near the capital.
The Syrian government and Russia deny both the involvement of Assad, president of Syria, and that chemical weapons were used.
The new YouGov results seem to suggest the British public opposes intervention. But asked whether they would support the enforcement
of a 'no-fly zone' over Syria, an overwhelming 60 per cent said they would back the move.
Deputy political editor Steve Hawkes tweeted: "YouGov polls says 22% back airstrikes – 60% a no fly zone. Presumably they have
no idea what a no fly zone would trigger".
-----------------
As we can see, the public is thoroughly miseducated by the media but suspicious. The good news is that Corbyn will not suffer
for his very cautious anti-intervention position, but the imperialists do not suffer particularly either. It is interesting why
there is such a gap between agreeing that "Syrian government is guilty" and supporting the airstrikes.
I can see three reasons for half of the public being in the 61% that believe that "Syrian government probably did something
nasty" and 78% "bombing is Syria is ill-advised". One is the conviction that UK (and the other Western countries) support atrocities
perpetrated by KSA etc., so there is no need to follow from "atrocities" to "stop selling arms", and even less with "intervention".
The second reason is that a large part of the public does not care about human rights in the Middle East but worries that "Islamist"
and/or chaos can be a disastrous replacement of the current government. Even if they believe that it is tyrannical and "guilty".
Third, the wisdom of bombing "just a bit, not to change situation too much" is hard to absorb -- not impossible, but at par
with assorted total BS, like improving your luck by purchasing a crystal (apologies to crystal owners here, perhaps I should change
the example).
It does not make any sense to send 35 cruise missiles against each of those not hardened, not defended targets
Well, not including the costs for the launches, these missiles go for about $ 1.4 million a piece. Times 100, makes for a quick
$ 140 million bucks.
The high failure rate of these 'Made in USA' missiles will be used to sell the missile stock update in addition to the
allocated $10.8 billion for modernization and additional nuclear warhead capabilities. Smedley Butler could have never imagined
just how much of a racket war (especially the one of terror) would turn out to be.
As long as the US and its vassals make a living off of killing innocent people somewhere else, there will be no end to 'missile
strikes', or worse. Since an all out nuclear conflict would also ruin the profit model of the armament industry, it will be as
unlikely to happen as peace.
Mankind needs a lot more evolving in order to survive the psychopathy of its warmongers, war profiteers, poliwhores and presstitutes.
Is there anybody that believes weapons could ever be outlawed on planet earth? The probability of that happening is equal to
the probability for lasting peace.
Not only did Russia seal a deal to use 2 Iranian military airfield, part of the deal was to locate S300 and Pansir systems.
And thats only the bits publically admitted.
So thats the Arabian gulf tied up, and forget about attacking Iran.
A lot of the confusion re success rates and targets is, IMHO, down to the Russian electronic warfare systems, which seem formidable.
FWIW, the attack pattern yesterday is pretty much what one would expect from a wide-area, short-range air defense probe, not
a strike mission.
I'm not sure I agree with that. 100 missiles from US, UK and France is a political commitment, not just a military test. At
any rate, the military failure is also a political failure. A year's effort since the 59 Tomahawk attack hasn't improved the success
rate. Must be very worrying for the US military.
Thanks for that list. It is very informative. As an aside it seems as though they took a page from Russia's book (shooting
Kalibr missiles from the Caspian) and were trying to earn some cred for their flagging tomahawk sales.
I think the real message, a bit subtle but definitely not lost on the Russians, is that any action in the Syrian theater will
immediately bring into play forces from a very wide area.
The US is sending a message about their logistical reserves and their willingness to use it.
This can only be bad news for those hoping for a limited engagement. IF the US is willing to immediately broaden the scope
of the confrontation, then escalation will jump up the steps 2 and 3 at a time.
Thank you b for this treasure of analysis and commmenters. The intellectual effort of all are reassuring.
and thank you Swift @14. That is an interesting surmise and the truth, if it ever emerges will be fascinating. I suspect Theresa
May and her manbag Boris are soon for the knackery but whether it comes as a party spill or a no confidence vote will be worth
watching. Trump cannot be at all comfortable with the realisation that the top government funtionaries of PM, MI6 plus'retired'
spies like Christopher Steele were putting the dirt dossier together that was intended to get Hillary Clinton elected and now
cripples his presidency.
I did notice reports that Sergei Skripal was working on a project with Steele's company and SCL/Cambridge Analytica on a Petersburg
activity. Not seen anything further but perhaps there will be diamonds in the dust there too. SCL, being led by the tightest UK
Tory and deep state gang, is bound to be unravelled by good journalim and loony british hubris in the near future.
This was the last US missile attack on Syria. These things simply don't offer any payoff anymore. They already pretty much
destroyed whatever small chances Trump ever had at being re-elected, highlight growing military impotence of the West, enhance
international standing of Russia and Iran, and lead to increased refugee inflows into Europe. It's all loss and no benefit for
the western powers at this point. Russians get to test and hone their newest weaponry at small cost, while America is being reduced
to permanent damage control and lying to cover up previously lies. US reputation is already in tatters.
In the longer term all of the factors that doom the West - demography, racial tensions, fiscal unraveling, economic atrophy -
will only worsen.
Russians will have to apply extraordinary efforts in order to lose Cold War 2.0. Gorbachev would be able to do it. But not Putin,
the best geopolitical poker player in the world, as David Stockman puts it.
@telescope 83
Regarding Gorbachev, I've long had the feeling that he deliberately collapsed the Soviet Union. You have to consider the times
and the obvious trajectory of the Soviet Union's economy and the pressure put on them by the US. I think Gorbachev saw this and
said "okay, you want to be king of the world here ya go". However there was a much longer game involved and Gorbachev, and anyone
else paying attention, could see the trajectory the US was on as well. I believe the long game of collapse and rebuild was planned
for and that Putin was carefully groomed for his role. It's working.
With all that's going on, why Russia doesn't announce it will no longer be giving US astronauts rides to the space station, effective
immediately, is beyond me.
86
USSR was destroyed by SDI cartoons (those were inexplicably played on Soviet TV 24/7), Russian's desire to freely travel abroad,
and Soviet Union's overall senility and loss of ideological underpinnings. Gorbachev was simply a final result of the deep rot,
just like Trump is in the USA today.
@83
You desperately underestimate the malign intent of the powers that be. Suppose Ukraine just 'happens' to erupt in full scale war
and Russia intervenes to prevent the slaughter of Russian residents? Now put that together with another false flag chemical attack
near Idlib or Jisr al Shugur. Do you really think there would not be enough MSM driven outrage to launch another round of attack???
- perhaps in mid to late May??
Why else is the Saudi backed force of JAI (who have boasted about using chemical attacks) be attacking ISIS in the Idlib pocket
other than to control the sites that will be used (and to collect bodies for proper preparation)??
I have been predicting a major false flag against Russia (to be played out in Syria and the Ukraine) early in the World cup
match process (close to the quarter finals) for months now.
Everything about the present only adds more weight to that analysis. What you see as Trump's impotence and defeat will be portrayed
then as patient tolerance that was rewarded with Russian betrayal - all to call for and justify a major confrontation.
The Khinzal is the navalised version of the Tor surface-to-air missile system, not an anti-ship missile. Perhaps you are thinking
of Kalibr cruise missile which include an anti-ship version. BTW, RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus is within range of Kalibr cruise missiles
launched from the Buyan-M (probably the most potent warship for the price in the world today) of the Caspian Sea Flotilla and
neither the Royal Navy nor the US Navy have any capability on the Caspian Sea.
From wikipedia:
an all-weather low to medium altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for engaging airplanes, helicopters,
cruise missiles, precision guided munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range ballistic threats (Anti-Munitions). Originally
developed by the Soviet Union under the GRAU designation 9K330 Tor, the system is commonly known by its NATO reporting name,
SA-15 "Gauntlet". A navalized variant was developed under the name 3K95 "Kinzhal", also known as the SA-N-9 "Gauntlet". Tor
was also the first air defence system in the world designed from the start to shoot down precision guided weapons like the
AGM-86 ALCM day and night, in bad weather and jamming situation. Tor can detect targets while on the move. The vehicle must
stop intermittently when firing, although trials are being conducted to eliminate this restriction.
Given that the RuAF seems to have scared off the USAF over Syria, it makes more sense for the Russians to deliver Tor systems
rather than S-300/S-400 to deal with the next wave of cruise missiles when it arrives.
Art of The Deal was obviously ghost written. We can all bear witness to the fact that Twitter Trump is barely capable of writing
a complete, coherent, adult-styled sentence.
That said, we cannot know what the idiot's principles may be.
His history demonstrates that he is a grande scale con man - rip-off artist. He has used bankruptcy laws to his benefit to
avoid paying his bills. Many have suffered in their "artful dealings" with the disgusting sob.
That said, Hillary and the most of Democrats are on the same page.
re 87 woogs. there's absolutely no need for Russia to do anything. That's Johnson's idea, that the events will lead Russia into
retaliation. But quite false, who would they?
b says and asks,
"...The Pentagon is lying. The attack was a U.S. attempt to disable the Syrian air force by destroying its airports. It failed
and the Pentagon is hiding that failure. Will the U.S. media report this discrepancy?..."
the Ministry of Truth and Propaganda will not acknowledge or look into this discrepancy, you can be certain. It would create
too much cognitive dissonance, the reporter/analyst would be called a putin sympathizer or puppet for questioning too much the
Ministry's version of things
Have you ever seen the very good comedians/satirists interviewed off screen when they are being themselves? Very smart people
that pick up on and emphasize character traits. Trump is one of these.
The treachery of Erdoghan knows no limit. I gather that when an actual invasive move is made (other than the the failed 'uprising'
of the last five years) that it will come through Turkey assisted eagerly by the overexcited Erdoghan. I dont believe Russia or
anyone can ever control him other than with force.
The Idlib battle to finally clear out the Sunni killers will certainly trigger another fake CW 'attack' as the loss of that
many 'freedom fighters' will be intolerable. The current terrorist force in Idlib is elemental to the western/israel/sunni fantasy
of conquer Syria then Iran. Leaving the sunni killers bottled up to fester with each other and occasionally promoting factional
killing sprees may be a better intermediate strategy for Syria. Time is short though, a major US battle fleet is approaching.
This current world war is slow motion and drawn out but it is a world war and we all must work hard to stop the lunacy.
Although strike points of US cruise / crude missiles can perhaps be extrapolated from flight paths, the BI (stealth) bombers
could fly in relatively close and launch at targets at the last minute.
You are confusing the B-1, which is not stealthy, with the B-2 which is. Because of the engineering support they need after
each mission, the B-2s have to fly from their base in the US although I believe they can also operate out of Guam. As there was
no need to enter Syrian airspace to launch missiles, the B-1 was used instead. Also there is the slight problems that might arise
for the US MIC if a B-2 was shot down in Syrian airspace.
Russia HAS stopped shipments and technical "cooperation" of the RD180 rocket engines the US uses to launch to the space station
AND to launch US military/spy satellites. So the US gov't will have to rely on Musk or Branson to get their crap into space? Russia
has also ended tech exchanges in the nuclear industry, which means the US won't be able to retrofit Soviet/Russian design nuke
power plants ot use US-design fuel bundles. Like they were trying to do in Ukraine.
I think that short term 89 is likely right, while long term (10 years or so) 83 is likely also right. But can we make it that
far? The US knows only one game, and it can't win that game any longer. But denial is a bitch.
About three months ago you were convinced that an attack on Lebanon was imminent. Isn't now the best time for such an attack?
A full-blown war with Syria would activate Hezbollah in Lebanon anyway. So why not attack Lebanon first while everyone is expecting
an attack on Syria?
I would not be surprised to see a false flag attributed to Hezbollah just before or just after arrival of US fleet.
After an invasion of Lebanon, Syrian and Iranian governments may declare war. At which point, attacking Syria would be legal.
@92Laguerre:More sanctions tomorrow, a completely ineffective UN and a promise by the incoming Secretary of State to not let Russia
succeed in any sphere tells me that yes, Russia needs to do something. Nothing militarily speaking, but something. If not, soon
the only option will be a military one.
@ Laguerre 92 there's absolutely no need for Russia to do anything
Yes, it's important that US targets like Russia stay principled and legal, and not petty and churlish. That's what impresses
people and especially other governments who favor order over disorder. FM Lavrov is especially strong in that department.
Iran serves as an outstanding example of a country which has been a US target for most of the last fifty years yet has remained
principled and has not only persevered but has benefited. Iran said years ago that the US could not be trusted but they would
join a treaty anyhow, to "curb their nuclear ambitions" in silly US terminology. And look how that is turning out. I look for
North Korea to be similar despite all the US bluster, especially that coming from the new US SecState Pompeo who has recently
enjoyed his news of hundreds of dead Russians. This sort of bad attitude is not one to be copied in a world we expect to be orderly.
89
Ukraine won't "erupt in a full-scale war". That chapter is over. It's a country that is fast withering away in every regard -
and is on course to being a land of dying old people with a total of 16 million in population by 2050. There are no resources
there for even a limited offensive campaign. Increased skirmishes and belligerent jawboning is all that Kiev is good for. Even
the IMF is staying clear of this money-losing opportunity.
What's far more likely is that within 3-5 years we'll see Odessa, Kherson, Zaporozhye and Nikolayev People's Republics emerging
there, while in the west Poland, Romania and Hungary will get emboldened enough to present their land claims on Ukraine's Stalinist
territorial additions.
The rebels in the eastern Qalamoun region of Damascus have agreed to turn in their heavy weapons and to leave this area after
a successful round of talks with the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Russian Reconciliation Centre.
According to the agreement, the rebel forces in the key town of Dumayr will begin leaving for northern Syria in the 48 hours.
The remaining rebels in the nearby towns of Al-Nassiriyah, Rahebah, and Jayroud are negotiating with the government currently,
but they are expected to accept the agreement as well.
The rebel factions currently present in this part of the Qalamoun Mountains are the following: Ahmad Al-'Abdo Brigade and
and Jaysh Thuwar Al-Sham of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
No doubt there'll be more talk of sieges and ethnic cleansing from the western MSM but with the imminent attack by the SAA
on ISIS and other rebels in Yarmouk, Damascus is beginning to look securely under the control of the SAG/SAA and as the idiots
in Washington/London/Paris don't understand, whoever controls Damascus controls Syria. How things have changed since the Harasta
Army vehicle depot came under attack a few weeks ago.
Trump is the Republican Obama. The follow the same model of government: faux populist leader dogged by crazy critics that want
to derail a righteous agenda.
Obamabots gave similar excuses. Real populists simply don't get have a chance of being elected in US money-driven elections.
Why was there only two populists running for President in 2016?
Sanders, Hillay's sheepdog, destroyed the movement that would been the best check on the establishment and the rush to war.
That movement was never going to be allowed to take root. Trump, a friend of the Clinton's was probably meant to prevail.
Rome had bread and circuses. We've got crumbs and tweets.
an important thing that no one seems to be noticing or remarking upon is the split in the western powers....
if the russians are to be believed, France did not fire any missiles, though I seem to recall from the US Ministry of Peace
and Propaganda that supposedly the French destroyer launched some 6-9 missiles or something...
Italy and Germany did not participate, nor Canada, which makes me wonder, why? I think that mainland europe knows where the
future is, and it ain't with the US, a failing power, it's with the One Belt One Road designs by china which will connect Europe
through Russia, Turkey and the central asian nations to China and the far East.
the Brits are US poodles to the end, they will walk over the cliff into nuke war with the US if the Empire demands it, but
the others seem to be hesitating or are not on board. There are simply too many historical, economic and future connections with
Russia and China et. al. to be had by mainland Europe. in spite of the EU going along with many sanctions....now. the future will
be different in the long run.
also of note is that the Brits and the US have been and are the world's main naval powers for over 250 years, and the One Belt
is about naval (through the northern Arctic route, dominated by russia) but most importantly land transport/connection of all
the EurAsian landmass...
Syrians are gearing for National Day celebrations on April 17 commemorating the evacuation of the last French soldier and Syria's
proclamation of full independence and the end of the French mandate of Syria on 17 April 1946. This will be especially noteworthy
this year given the recent display of colonial power frustration.
Syrians are gearing for National Day celebrations on April 17 commemorating the evacuation of the last French soldier and Syria's
proclamation of full independence and the end of the French mandate of Syria on 17 April 1946. This will be especially noteworthy
this year given the recent display of colonial power frustration.
Bakerpete @86
Serious suggestion for you
read Gorbachev, His Life and Times
by William Taubman
Taubman is prof at Amherst
also wrote "Nikita Khruschev"
which won a Pulitzer
Also excellent is Stephen F Cohen,
Failed Crusade: America and the Tragedy of Post-Communist Russia
In USA people say "everyone is entitled to an opinion", so maybe you are entitled to your view.
In England, they say "you are not qualified to have an opinion", and maybe they are right about your views on Gorbachev, because
I do not believe you have informed yourself about the Gorbachev era.
Please read these books and then tell us if your view is influenced by what they say.
I found all of them free online, do you know where/how to look for them? Any decent library will have them.
@mauisurfer 108
Thanks for the reference however I have read both Taubman and Cohen. I would regard that I fall somewhere in the middle; I have
an opinion that I'm quite willing to take responsibility for and yet I am not qualified. If you mean, do I have a degree, published
work, personal access to Gorbachev. Yet, I read very widely, can think for myself, don't have a "reputation" to uphold and am
quite comfortable being proven wrong.
Primarily "you are not qualified to have an opinion" is simply the polite English way of saying "shut up and don't question your
betters. Know your place."
If you live in the US, you can try Jeff Rense's website (www.rense.com) and Zero Hedge (www.zerohedge.com). Rense.com aggregates
news from many different sites (including most recently RT.com, Sputnik and PressTV) and blogs (Paul Craig Roberts, Ron Paul),
many of them quite dubious (Tomato Bubble). Zero Hedge is mainly a financial news blog with a libertarian / free market bias that
aggregates articles from other sites including MoA.
You can try Off-Guardian (www.off-guardian.org) and 21stCenturyWire (www.21stcenturywire.com) as well.
The guy who ghostwrote Art of the Deal felt guilty and confessed his sins in a New Yorker piece during the campaign (he didn't
feel bad enough to give the money back). I found it entertaining and it revealed a bit about Thump.
Thump was a regular feature of the tabloid newspapers for three decades before his election. Merely by virtue of living in
New York and reading the papers during that time, Thump's personality and behavior were on full display, and his character (he
has none) and principles (he has one - his own self aggrandizement) have long been readily evident. His habits of saying anything,
lying constantly, contradicting himself frequently, and regularly breaking contracts and screwing over business associates were
repeatedly on public display. Believe me, I had no interest in this person, but I couldn't avoid learning all about him unless
I ceased to consume news (which, ironically, I have eliminated about 98% of my prior rate of MSM reading and viewing in recent
years).
New Yorkers knew. If we had an actual news media and an actual democratic electoral process featuring a true and rational dissemination
and processing of relevant information during a campaign season, the rest of the country would've known.
Knowing this clown as I do certainly does not make him predictable, as his nature is unpredictability. Not due to craft, or
4th dimensional chess acumen, but due to dishonesty, lack of character, and utter lack of principle save the principle of Me.
He is many things, but unique ain't one of them, particularly among the political leadership class.
(@Ben 75 above) Government we deserve infuckingdeed.
While reading Vanessa Beeley's blog, I saw mentioned in the comments forum a new fake Syrian humanitarian organisation called
Violet Syria. As the name suggests, its "members" wear violet and purple-coloured uniforms. These "aid workers" were spotted assisting
with evacuations of jihadis and their families from East Ghouta recently.
VS's partners include International Rescue Committee (President: David Miliband, former UK Foreign Secretary), the Qatari Red
Crescent, the Asfari Foundation and Danish Muslim Aid.
Farm Ecologist @ 35:
Unfortunately if you want a good cross section of information you'll need to do the legwork yourself and collate the data in your
head. Here are some of the sites I visit regularly; Zerohedge, Automatic Earth, Strike The Root, Strategic-Culture, Sputnik International,
Global Times, Russia Insider, Unz Review, New Eastern Outlook, Dispatches form the Asylum, Vineyard of the Saker, Viable Opposition,
etc.
Each has it's own focus and bias.
So, if I try to deconstruct what just happened to its simplest elements:
-SAAD had a 69% kill ratio on 103 missiles fired (71 downed).
- No Russian systems fired.
-Syria is rumored to possess up to 40 Pantsir S1 launchers that may have been used friday.
-Now talk is RU may deploy newer (S-300VM Antey-2500) batteries to bolster SAAD capabilities.
-Ghouta has fallen leaving too few boots on the ground to exploit any successful aerial offensives.
-Such an offensive would take a massive multi-nation sustained campaign to degrade SY air defenses with probable RU casualties,
the reddest of all lines with catastrophic consequences.
Therefore, I cant see how the US can even strike again with effective results if more CW attacks are staged..
Syria 'chemical attack': Girl seen in hospital video speaks
This is the story of Masa, who survived the suspected chemical attack in Syria, in her own words.
Speaking on Sunday alongside her mother, she described how she and her family were hiding in a basement when a "barrel" dropped.
But, why is that you concede such credibility to this commenter who is developing the most oustanding theories, even when claiming
he is not a military man ?... I do not blame you, since he sounds so self-assured, even when claiming that soviet leadership
were psychopats , with all his cuajo , and he remains so self-assured as before, even when, here this is me who am
pretty sure, the psychiatrist he is not either....
After reading that unsubstantiated assertion, more proper of a totally brainwashed American than of the smart-ass he pretends
to be, I will be considering everything he writes from now on with a grain of salt....
Sliding in such a way finish with any intended analyst, as happens to The Saker, with his usual grudges against everything
which could sound soviet or his rancid grudges against everything which could sound catholic.....
Absolute never exist on the face of Earth, nobody has the exclusive of anything, neither races, countries, nor religions....Continue
looking for the white guys in white hats and black guys in black hats ...
I am familiar with some of these sites and will be sure to have a look at the ones previously unknown to me. I totally agree
that remaining well-informed informed requires ongoing effort.
The impetus for my request was to find a way to get a brief overview of current international events before I start my "real"
job each day. Thanks to the helpful suggestions of MoA readers I am confident that this can be done.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 15, 2018 6:02:15 PM | 107
re Syrian National Day on April 17th.
The US may have planned on that day being a mockery, didn't work. But then again, the US flotilla with its 1000 missiles arrives
on May 14th.
Russia needs to get some container ships in play, fast.
Therefore, I cant see how the US can even strike again with effective results if more CW attacks are staged..
Posted by: Lozion | Apr 15, 2018 6:40:20 PM | 114
The answer to how the US&Co can strike is: volume. If they can bring more missiles to bear than Syria has in place then they will
be able to overwhelm them, that includes Russia's systems UNLESS Russia takes the battle to them and hits the ships, then all
hell will break lose which given the people involved may be what they want. Remember Russia announced their new weaponry but they
don't have them in production in large measure. If you were going to attack them with any chance of winning you have to do so
sooner than later. The US is stupid enough and desperate enough to chance it IMO.
Posted by: cdvision | Apr 15, 2018 6:44:24 PM | 116
Fantastic news, thank you, it negates my fears of conventional Syrian and Russian ground weaponry being overwhelmed mentioned
in my earlier post (123).
What is Russia's red line? Clearly, unprovoked cruise missile attacks on a country they purportedly militarily support and are
deeply engaged in does not cross their red line.
It has been Pentagon policy sense very early in the Cold War - and even during times when they were arguing between themselves
- that war with Russia would mean war with China and vice versa, that policy is unchanged. Along with the underlying policy of
"Global full spectrum domination." These policies have not changed for decades ad are not about to change now.
@ J Swift, 14
Good post but I have 1 correction. S400s were not used. Syria has no S300s or S400s. Hope they get some S300s soon. Russia didn't
engage except for some jamming.
The one clear lesson from the Syrian Adventure is that the Establishment does not tell the truth to the Plebes. The worst
manifestation is their belief in their own propaganda...
Notable quotes:
"... Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU ..."
"... Note to DoD: Russian MOD has said they'll be sending the Syrians S300 systems to defend their air-spaces in the near future. What do you think the success or failure rate was? I'll go with those who see a probable 50% knock-down rate. Some claim that DoD and MOD had a line of communication to deconflict and choreograph the missile strikes, so both would look good in the outcome. I dunno, it's possible. Now to the 'good stuff'..... ..."
"... Russian FM Lavrov claims he has irrefutable evidence that a Foreign State was involved in the Douma False Flag Chemical, stuff. ..."
"... So to whom is Russian FM Lavrov referring to? It'll eventually come out in the wash just exactly whom FM Lavrov was talking about. FM Lavrov has an excellent record of not bluffing, he only says things when he can back it up. ..."
"... The one clear lesson from the Syrian Adventure is that the Establishment does not tell the truth to the Plebes. The worst manifestation is their belief in their own propaganda ..."
"... If however the paid for propaganda from the white helmets has been used to substantiate claims of chemical weapon attacks - as we know it has - then the USA is on shaky ground in terms of ''facts''... that the usa-uk-france - opted to do this attack prior to OPCW investigation tells anyone all they need to know here as i see it.. ..."
Memo to OSD Mattis : Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU for being the only adult in the room, and walking back the know-nothings
Bolton and crew from the precipice of what in the end would have been nuclear confrontation. (I hope this not just a temporary reprieve,
especially given the NEOCONs continuing hammering for nuclear confrontation)
Note: The NEOCONS will push for President Trump to fire
General Mattis as some are saying will happen in the coming days, if that happens as some say is coming, as the expression goes --
duck. Sadly, President Trump's body language doesn't bode well, he had a dejected look of a man defeated. Maybe he was just worn
out with the incessant whispers of the Bolton NEOCON/LETS-GO-TO-WAR IDIOTS who want to crack our planet in half.
I wouldn't have
blamed Trump if he had headed for the liquor cabinet and had a couple, but he's not built that way. In that way, Trump appears to
be like Putin, he's got better things to do than drown his sorrows. Who get's the Liar of the Week Award, D.C. or Moscow?
For their
claims of strike success versus more defense success regarding the 'allied?' strike on Syrian facilities whose intelligence data
is probably as old as Methuselah (20 plus years old at least), who is truthful and who isn't? DoD claims success with their missiles,
Russian MOD says NOT and claims that 71 out of 103 were neutralized by the Soviet (notice I didn't say Russian) built Air
Defense Systems currently in use by the Syrians.
Note to DoD: Russian MOD has said they'll be sending the Syrians S300 systems to
defend their air-spaces in the near future. What do you think the success or failure rate was? I'll go with those who see a probable
50% knock-down rate. Some claim that DoD and MOD had a line of communication to deconflict and choreograph the missile strikes, so
both would look good in the outcome. I dunno, it's possible. Now to the 'good stuff'.....
Russian FM Lavrov claims he has irrefutable
evidence that a Foreign State was involved in the Douma False Flag Chemical, stuff. Could he be referring in cloaked terms to the
U.S. and its CIA, the U.K. and their MI6, the Israelis and their Mossad? Both MI6 and Mossad are known to use Misdirection aka False
Flag as one of their trade-craft tactics.
So to whom is Russian FM Lavrov referring to? It'll eventually come out in the wash just
exactly whom FM Lavrov was talking about. FM Lavrov has an excellent record of not bluffing, he only says things when he can back
it up. Now for some news that is both bad and good given one's perspective, it appears that Moscow has D.C. in a corner, militarily
and economically speaking.
On the military side, according to a Belgian economist, the U.S. aircraft industry is 40% dependent on
Russian sourced titanium that's used in the production of both military and civilian aircraft. In space operations, the U.S. is dependent
on bilateral cooperation with Russia as Russia supplies rocket engines for use in commercial and satellite launches. Imagine a total
embargo by Moscow, 'could' hamper D.C.'s intelligence gathering (in space anyway). The Russian Federation economic blockade of U.S.
imports of tobacco and wines and spirits would put sad/grim faces on U.S. business. On the economic side, the U.S. appears to have
more muscle than Moscow, and 'could' choke the Russian economy, which Russia has a trump card in it's pocket -- it's force of arms.
So who is telling the truth, Moscow or D.C.? One or the other, or both? J
The one clear lesson from the Syrian Adventure is that the Establishment does not tell the truth to the Plebes.
The worst manifestation is their belief in their own propaganda:
The Steele Dodgy Dossier is facts. It was used to get a FISA Warrant to cover the bugging of Trump Tower. Guccifer 2.0 is a
GRU Colonel who took down Hillary Clinton. Michael Cohen, Trump's lawyer visited a secret Putin Contact in Prague. Russia is behind
the nerve gas attacks In Salisbury England and Syria.
They must. In the Shadow World of the Dump Trump Coup; Media, Contractors and Political Appointees; Russians are heinous villains
subverting democracy; otherwise, they are living on borrowed time awaiting to see if the DOJ Inspector General and Americans connect
the dots.
A war with Russia enriches their compatriots (in the short term) and avoids a day of reckoning.
if given a choice over who is telling the truth verses lying - i think the choice is obvious and it is based on facts...
Russia
is telling the truth and the USA is lying... it is not all black and white like that..
If however the paid for propaganda from the
white helmets has been used to substantiate claims of chemical weapon attacks - as we know it has - then the USA is on shaky ground
in terms of ''facts''... that the usa-uk-france - opted to do this attack prior to OPCW investigation tells anyone all they need
to know here as i see it..
Larvov - now there is a true statesman, unlike the shrill USA ambassador - Nikki Haley, who replaced a previously very shrill
USA ambassador - Samantha Powers... the USA is skating on very thin ice as i see it..
OT but closely related topic: both the U.S. and France have outed themselves. The 'Intelligence Assessments' are based on 'open
source' and evidence collected from NGO's. In other words, nothing other than the nonsense that was already shown to the MSM but
the MSM reported the French and U.S. claims as if it was something new.
"Jeff Seldin ✔ @jseldin ""We've got symptoms described in reports of media, NGOs and other open sources" per the 2nd sr administration official "Those
symptoms don't come from #chorine. They come from nerve agents""
On Topic: In the 'war zone post' they are using the argument that evidence of any damage proves that the Syrians failed to
intercept any missiles at any location. A classic straw man argument.
"... She will face an almighty row in the coming days over going ahead without consulting Parliament. Her defence is that "security and operational reasons" meant the attack had to go ahead overnight. That won't wash with her political critics, and Labour is also pushing for more clarity on the legal justification. ..."
...In 2013, Theresa May's predecessor tried and failed to get
approval for military action against President Assad. There was international alarm, then as
now, about his suspected use of chemical weapons. But MPs rejected David Cameron's plan and he
didn't try again to persuade Parliament it was necessary.
This time, she has avoided that particular obstacle by taking action alongside the US and
France while MPs are away.
Time and again at a press conference at Downing Street this morning the prime minister
spelled out the strikes that took place overnight were limited, targeted and a response to the
suspected use of chemical weapons in Douma.
With no clear indication of public support or consent, she time and again was at pains to
say that she had authorised action for a specific reason - to punish President Assad for
gassing his own people, as the government believes he has.
She will face an almighty row in the coming days over going ahead without consulting
Parliament. Her defence is that "security and operational reasons" meant the attack had to go
ahead overnight. That won't wash with her political critics, and Labour is also pushing for
more clarity on the legal justification.
Legally, the claim to enforce international law on chemical weapons by violent means would return
the world to the era before the advent of the UN Charter. The Charter allows states to use force in
self-defence and, arguably, for the protection of populations threatened by extermination at the hands
of their own government. The use of force for broader purposes of maintaining international security
is also possible. However, such action is subject to the requirement of a mandate from the UN Security
Council.
This arrangement tries to balance the need of states to preserve their security in the face of an
actual or imminent attack through self-defence when strictly necessary with the need to ensure that
force cannot be used as a routine tool of international politics. Hence, international law since 1945
precludes military strikes in retaliation - to teach other states a lesson, as it were - or by way of
reprisal. Reprisals are acts that are in principle unlawful, but they can be excused because they aim
to force a state back into compliance with its international obligations.
Hence, in 1981 Israel was condemned by the UN Security Council when it attacked the Osirak nuclear
reactor in Iraq. Israel had argued that it might contribute to the production of weapons of mass
destruction in the future. A US attack against an alleged chemical weapons facility in Sudan in 1998
in response to US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania was also criticised.
In this instance, the three states mounting the air strikes have taken it upon themselves to force
Syria into compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Syria joined the
Convention in 2013 as part of the diplomatic settlement that followed the failure of the UK, and the
US, to go through with threatened air attacks after gruesome chemical attacks in Eastern Ghouta. The
Convention prohibits the production, possession and use of chemical weapons. No fewer than 192 states
have signed.
Syria was also subjected to additional duties contained in mandatory Security Council resolution
2118, reinforcing these obligations and providing for the destruction of its chemical weapons
stockpile. In an impressive example of international co-operation, also involving Russia, this was
largely achieved a year later, by September 2014.
Russian veto
However, since then, there have been some 40 recorded instances of alleged chemical weapons use in
Syria. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has the ability to dispatch
fact-finding missions to determine whether such weapons have actually been used.
A special joint mechanism was set up by the OPCW and the Security Council with a mandate to assign
responsibility for such uses. However, after the mechanism pointed the finger at the Assad government
last year, Russia vetoed its renewal.
An attempt to establish a new mechanism empowered to determine responsibility for the latest use of
chemical weapons in Douma failed this week, again due to a Russian veto in the Security Council.
Russia's own proposed investigatory mechanism, which was opposed by the Western states and others,
would have lacked that power.
The three states intervening in Syria now argue that there was no prospect of obtaining a mandate
from the Council to confront chemical weapons use by Syria. In striking Syria, they claim to have
fulfilled an international public order function of defending the credibility of the prohibition of
the use of chemical weapons in general terms, and enforcing Syria's obligations in particular.
This argument is somewhat reminiscent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, supposedly to enforce Baghdad's
disarmament obligations imposed by the Security Council in the absence of clear Security Council
authorisation. Moreover, in April of last year, President Trump launched 59 cruise missiles against
the Syrian air-base at Shayrat. It was claimed that the installation had been involved in a chemical
attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun, again to restrain further chemical weapons use.
The blockage in the Security Council on Syria opens up some space for this kind of argument. The
Chemical Weapons Convention provides for referral of grave instances such as the Douma attack to the
Security Council for enforcement action. But the Council could not even agree on a mechanism to
establish responsibility, not to speak of more decisive action to repress future uses of such weapons.
The claim of the three states involved to act instead of the Council, as the world's enforcement
agent of a highly important international rule, is of course being resisted by some. Russia has
already asserted that the attacks flagrantly violate the prohibition of the use of force. The UN
secretary general has also emphasised the need to respect the primacy of the Security Council.
Humanitarian suffering
The arrogation of the functions of the Council by a group of states claiming to act in the common
interest therefore reflects the reality of the present, little Cold War between Russia and the West.
The breakdown of the consensus that facilitates the operation of collective security necessarily
results in unilateral acts and, in consequence, further division.
In addition to the general interest in maintaining the obligation to refrain from chemical weapons
use, Mrs May also referred to the protection of civilians from further chemical attacks to alleviate
further humanitarian suffering. This, in fact, is a stronger and more persuasive legal argument in
favour of the strikes.
In fact, the formal legal argument put forward by the UK government sometime after the prime
minister addressed the nation does not rely on the claim to enforce the terms of the chemical weapons
convention or of resolution 2118.
In 2013, when the use of force was expected after the Ghouta attack, the UK already expressly
invoked the doctrine of humanitarian intervention. A good argument has been made that states can act
in cases of overwhelming humanitarian necessity that cannot be addressed by any other means to protect
populations in danger of imminent destruction.
The doctrine of forcible humanitarian action gained credence throughout the 1990s when it was
applied to rescue the Kurds of northern Iraq and the Marsh Arabs in the south of Iraq from destruction
by Saddam Hussein. It was later employed unopposed in cases including Liberia and Sierra Leone.
However, international division about its application emerged in the wake of the operation on
behalf of the Kosovo Albanians of 1999.
Since then, the UN has embraced the concept that international action can be taken to rescue a
population under immediate threat. However, the doctrine of responsibility to protect (R2P) was
narrowed down to cover operations mandated by the Security Council. Still, a number of states claim a
right to act when the Council cannot.
Innocent civilians at risk of destruction should not pay the price for a political blockage at UN
headquarters in New York. Others, including Russia and China, oppose humanitarian intervention.
The application of this doctrine is not restricted to uses of chemical weapons against civilian
populations. However, given the uncontrollable and indiscriminate effect of chemical weapons, their
use against civilians offers perhaps the clearest trigger for the application of this doctrine.
In this instance, the UK points to the history of repeated uses of chemical weapons by the Syrian
government, adding that it is "highly likely" that further such attacks would follow. Given the
failure of previous attempts to rein in this practice, and the present blockage in the Security
Council, it is argued that no means other than the use of force were available to secure the
humanitarian objective of the operation.
Moreover, it is asserted the force used was strictly limited and specifically targeted at objects
connected with the objective of degrading the capacity to launch future chemical attacks and deterring
such attacks in the future. These arguments conform to the legal requirements for humanitarian
intervention.
It could also be argued that the attacks aim to preserve the national security of the states
involved in the attacks, by way of an extensive right to self-defence. Diluting the protection
stemming from the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons in recent practice posed a threat to all
states.
Of course, every state may defend itself, under some circumstances even before an armed attack
aimed at it has landed on its territory. But the attack must be imminent, leaving no choice of means
and the response must be proportionate to the attack.
In the run-up to the Iraq war of 2003, there was the famous 45-minute claim concerning Iraq's
supposed weapons of mass destruction. Laying the ground for an argument of anticipatory self-defence
against a strike that might come in the future, the UK argued that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
might reach UK military bases in Cyprus with minimum warning.
But there was no evidence that Baghdad was contemplating such an attack and the argument was
abandoned. Similarly, there is no suggestion in this instance that Syria was preparing to launch an
attack against the US, UK or France.
Marc Weller is Professor of International Law in the University of Cambridge and the editor of
the Oxford University Press Handbook on the Use of Force in International Law.
"... RT.com reported: "According to Konashenkov, the group, which was a primary source of photos and footage of the purported chemical attack, was informed of a large-scale artillery attack on Damascus planned by the Islamist group Army of Islam, which controlled Douma at the time. The White Helmets were ordered to arrange the provocation after retaliatory strikes by the Syrian government forces, which the shelling was certain to lead to, he said." ..."
"... Despite vehemently denouncing the Russian claims, neither Washington nor London made any attempt to factually refute them. In contrast to the categorical statements of the Russian government, backed up by video testimony, Theresa May has only claimed it was "highly likely" that Syria carried out the attack. But even that was more definite than the statements of Defense Secretary Mattis, who declared the United States was still "looking for the actual evidence." ..."
The World Socialist Web Site condemns the strikes against Syria carried out Friday night by US, French and British forces.
The attack is a flagrant and illegal act of aggression. The administrations of American President Donald Trump, French President
Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May are guilty of a war crime, which poses the danger of triggering a conflict
with nuclear-armed Russia.
The pretext for the attack on Syria is unproven allegations that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military forces used banned
chemical weapons against US-backed rebel militias in the city of Douma. Russia, which has significant military contingents in Syria
to support Assad's government in its seven-year civil war against predominantly Islamist-based militias, has categorically rejected
the US and allied propaganda. It has openly accused British intelligence of pressuring Syrian rebel organisations to manufacture
a video that purports to show victims of a chemical weapons attack.
A team from the ostensibly independent Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was scheduled to arrive in
Douma to carry out an inspection of the alleged site this weekend. Trump's order to initiate strikes was calculated to pre-empt such
an inspection and a confirmation by the OPCW that the entire pretext for any attack on Syria was a lie.
The fraudulent basis for the assault was underscored shortly after Trump's broadcast, during the subsequent press briefing by
his defense secretary, General Jim Mattis. Mattis could not provide any coherent details as to the US accusations. Moreover, contradicting
the president's vow of a protracted campaign against Syria, the general appeared to indicate that there would be no more action apart
from the missile strikes that had already taken place.
If this does prove to be the case, the action ordered by Trump will fall far short of what was being demanded within the American
political and media establishment.
Given the extreme vitriol directed against Bashar al-Assad, there is no doubt that advocates of a military strike expected that
any attack would include an attempt to assassinate the Syrian president.
A column in the German journal Die Welt provided one indication of the homicidal nature of what large sections of the
imperialist ruling class internationally want unleashed against Syria. It declared: "War against Assad should be guided by one goal
Can the Assad regime be exterminated (auslöschen) with a missile strike?" In using the term "auslöschen" to refer to the Syrian president,
the German publication adopted a term associated with the extermination of the Jews under the Nazis -- that is, using language that
could have appeared in Hitler's Völkischer Beobachter .
Far from the destruction of the Assad government, however, the strike against Syria appears to have had minimal impact. The Russian
military has boasted that Syrian air defenses shot down most of the missiles fired into Syria, and that none of its personnel or
assets in the country were impacted. Bashar al-Assad reportedly walked to his office on Saturday morning.
At this point, the attack has served primarily to underscore the debacle facing the US-led imperialist intrigues for regime-change
in Syria. It will most likely not be long before sections of the American political and media establishment are accusing Trump of
a climb-down and capitulation to Vladimir Putin. Demands will inevitably be made for far more extensive, and murderous, operations.
The propaganda campaign justifying the attack on Syria was concocted to provide a pretext for a massive military onslaught --
not one-off missile strikes.
Facing the prospect of a military rout of its Islamist proxy forces fighting to overthrow the Syrian government, the decision
for an escalation was made in Washington and London, and it was left to the CIA, MI6 and their Syrian agents to manufacture a pretext.
On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense provided the most coherent and logical account given so far regarding the incident
in Douma on April 7, which the Western press has unanimously proclaimed a chemical weapons attack on civilians by the Assad government.
"We have irrefutable evidence that it was another staged attack, and the special services of a state which is in the forefront
of the Russo-phobic campaign had a hand in staging it," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry showed a video interview with two people, one of whom was a medical student working at Douma's only
operational hospital. The witnesses said that after a Syrian Army artillery barrage hit a building, people suffering from smoke inhalation
were being treated at a hospital. Then, unknown individuals -- later revealed to be associated with the CIA-backed Syrian rebel "White
Helmets" -- ran into the hospital screaming that there had been a chemical weapons attack. They encouraged the victims to douse each
other with water, which they then proceeded to film.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov stated: "We know for certain that between April 3 and April
6 the so-called White Helmets were seriously pressured from London to speed up the provocation that they were preparing."
RT.com reported: "According to Konashenkov, the group, which was a primary source of photos and footage of the purported chemical
attack, was informed of a large-scale artillery attack on Damascus planned by the Islamist group Army of Islam, which controlled
Douma at the time. The White Helmets were ordered to arrange the provocation after retaliatory strikes by the Syrian government forces,
which the shelling was certain to lead to, he said."
Despite vehemently denouncing the Russian claims, neither Washington nor London made any attempt to factually refute them.
In contrast to the categorical statements of the Russian government, backed up by video testimony, Theresa May has only claimed it
was "highly likely" that Syria carried out the attack. But even that was more definite than the statements of Defense Secretary Mattis,
who declared the United States was still "looking for the actual evidence."
With the initiation of attacks on Syria, the US and its allies have signaled that the unravelling of the nominal reasons for war
is irrelevant. Their onslaught is driven by far deeper causes than the lies used to justify them.
What is taking place is directly in line with the analysis of imperialism made by the great 20th century Marxists, Lenin and Trotsky.
World imperialism is undertaking a new re-division of the world. Britain and France want to be recognized as full-scale participants
in the new carve-up of the Middle East and its effective recolonization: their oil corporations do not want to be left out of the
plunder.
All of the governments participating in this new onslaught are crisis-ridden and lack any electoral legitimacy. The vast gulf
between them and their populations is expressed in the fact that none of them has been able to create any broad-based support for
war. According to one YouGov poll, only 22 percent of the British population supports a military strike on Syria.
Moreover, the launching of a major new military campaign is seen in London, Paris, and Washington as a means of implementing police-state
rule, including mass censorship, to prop up their crisis-ridden governments in the face of mounting popular opposition and a growing
strike movement by the working class.
This new conflict will not stop with the attack on Syria, just as the expansion of war did not stop with the invasion of Iraq.
The stage is being set for a confrontation with Iran, Russia and, ultimately, China. More and more, imperialist policy is acquiring
a completely reckless and unhinged character.
So far, the ruling class has been able to rely on the absence of any organized resistance to war. But popular anti-war sentiment
will inevitably take on active forms and meet up with rising opposition to austerity and the destruction of democratic rights.
What happened right after the second direct U.S.-missiles invasion of Syria, which had
occurred on the night of April 13th, could turn out to have momentous implications - far bigger
than the attacks themselves...
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons headlined on April 14th, in the
wake of this U.S.-UK-France invasion of Syria that was allegedly punishing Syria's Government
for allegedly having used chemical weapons in its bombing in the town of Douma on April 7th,
"OPCW
Fact-Finding Mission Continues Deployment to Syria" , and reported that:
The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) will continue its deployment to the Syrian Arab Republic to establish facts
around the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma.
The OPCW has been working in close collaboration with the United Nations Department of
Safety and Security to assess the situation and ensure the safety of the team.
The OPCW is not part of the U.N., nor of any country; it, instead (as introduced by
Wikipedia
):
is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons
Convention, which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 192 member states,
has its seat in The Hague, Netherlands, and oversees the global endeavour for the permanent
and verifiable elimination of chemical weapons.
In conformity with the unchallenged international consensus that existed during the 1990s
that there was no longer any basis for war between the world's major powers, the Convention
sought and achieved a U.N. imprimatur, but this was only in order to increase its respect
throughout the world. The OPCW is based not on the U.N. Charter but on that specific treaty,
the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was formally approved by the U.N.'s
General Assembly on 30 November 1992 and was then opened for signatures in Paris on 13
January 1993. According to the Convention's terms, it would enter into effect 180 days after 65
nations signed it, which turned out to be on 29 April 1997.
So, although the treaty itself received U.N. approval, the recent Russian-sponsored
resolution at the U.N.'s Security Council to have the U.N. endorse the OPCW's investigation of
the 7 April 2018 Douma incident, did not receive U.N. approval. It was instead blocked
by the U.S. and its allies . Nonetheless, though without a U.N. endorsement, the OPCW
investigation into the incident will move forward, despite the invasion.
This fact is momentous, because a credible international inspection, by the world's top
investigatory agency for such matters, will continue to completion, notwithstanding the effort
by the U.S. and its allies on the U.N. Security Council, to block it altogether. This decision
was reached by the OPCW -- not by the U.N.
Among the 192
signers of the Chemical Weapons Convention are U.S., Russia, and Syria, as well as China,
Iran, and Iraq, but not Israel, nor North Korea and a very few other countries. So: all of the
major powers have already, in advance, approved whatever the findings by the OPCW turn out to
be. Those findings are expected to determine whether a chemical attack happened in Douma on 7
April 2018, and, if so, then perhaps what the specific banned chemical(s) was(were), but not
necessarily who was responsible for it if it existed. For example, if the 'rebels' had stored
some of their chemical weapons at that building and then Syria's Government bombed that
building, the OPCW might not be able to determine who is to blame, even if they do determine
that there was a chemical attack and the chemical composition of it. In other words: science
cannot necessarily answer all of the questions that might be legal-forensically necessary in
order to determine guilt, if a crime did, in fact, occur, there.
If the investigation does find that a banned chemical was used and did cause injuries or
fatalities, then there is the possibility that its findings will be consistent with the
assertions by the U.S. and its allies who participated in the April 13th invasion. That would
not necessarily justify the invasion, but it would prove the possibility that there had been no
lying intent on the part of the U.S.-and-allied invaders on April 13th.
However, if the investigation does not find that a banned chemical was used in the Syrian
Government's bombing of that building, then incontrovertibly the U.S.-and-allied invasion was a
criminal one under international laws, though there may be no international court that
possesses the authority to try the case .
So: what is at stake here from the OPCW investigation is not only the international
legitimacy of Syria's Government, but the international legitimacy of the Governments that
invaded it on April 13th. These are extremely high stakes, even if no court in the world will
possess the authority to adjudicate the guilt -- either if the U.S. and its allies lied, or if
the Syrian Government lied.
For us historians, this is very important. And, for the general public, the significance
goes much farther: to specific Governments, to their alleged news media, and to the question
of: What does it even mean to say that a government is a "democracy" or a "dictatorship"? The
findings from this investigation will reverberate far and wide, and long (if World War III
doesn't prevent any such findings at all).
"... Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, has denounced from Moscow the role of a Russia-phobic, Western secret service in the White Helmets' staging of the alleged chemical attack in the Ghouta, the rural region at the gates of Damascus, the Syrian capital. ..."
"... Both these declarations took place when Syria had just announced new witnesses regarding the alleged chemical attack, manipulated by Western powers to heighten international tension regarding Syria. ..."
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, has denounced from Moscow the
role of a Russia-phobic, Western secret service in the White Helmets' staging of the alleged
chemical attack in the Ghouta, the rural region at the gates of Damascus, the Syrian
capital.
The spokesperson for the Russian army, Igor Konachenkov, has for his part, directly
challenged the United Kingdom.
Both these declarations took place when Syria had just announced new witnesses regarding
the alleged chemical attack, manipulated by Western powers to heighten international tension
regarding Syria.
In a shocking revelation yesterday, at a news conference in Moscow with
Dutch politician Stef Blok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia has proof
that the Syria gassing was a false flag staged by the 'special services of a foreign
state':
"We have irrefutable evidence that it was another staging, and the special services of a
state which is in the forefront of the Russophobic campaign had a hand in the staging,"
This is important because if Lavrov is not bluffing, and his record is excellent on this, he
usually only says this kind of thing if he can back it up, it will be a political bombshell in
the West over the coming weeks, where large segments of the electorate are furious at their
governments for the missile attacks, and are questioning the justification for launching
them.
Indeed, the only explanation of the attacks that makes any logical sense is that it was a
false flag, because, as has been exhaustively discussed everywhere except the mainstream media
(which for some reason avoids this speculation), Assad would have no conceivable motive for
using gas, because he has won the war, and doing so would only bring in US intervention. The
circumstances certainly do look like a classic false flag situation.
The main suspects for such a false flag would be, MI6, CIA, or Mossad, or some combination
of them collaborating, as they often do. No other allied state, like Saudi Arabia or even ISIS
would do this without approval and oversight from one of these big three.
On the surface it looks like the US/UK/French attack looks suspect at best, because it was
rushed into action before any convincing proof was presented.
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There was very little doubt about it already, but I'm afraid it will still amount to
nothing. No matter which country Lavrov accuses, no matter how bulletproof the evidence,
the media will just hush it up, sweep it under the rug.
I urge everyone with doubts about these matters to look up which country gets
periodically triggered by alleged chemical weapons usage and wants to enact bloody
justice for their usage, while still retaining largest chemical weapons arsenal in the
world. I rest my case.
United States have pledged to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile under the CWC on
April 29, 1997. The deadline was on the same day of 2012. They are 6 years behind
schedule and still possess over 3,000 metric tons of chemical substances of which lethal
dosage is measured in milligrams (that's ONE BILLIONTH of ONE metric ton for our
Customary unit friends) and allegedly would LIKE to get rid of them by 2023.
In comparison, Russian Federation has signed and ratified CWC 8 months later than the US,
possessed 7,000 tons more, and despite going through actual financial default in the
meantime, destroyed all of them Last year.
And they are portrayed as the enemy, we have the sickest possible leadership! such
sickness abounds in their corridors, that any genuine person within immediately is
handling and manipulating Sickness, with nothing significantly clean enough to wash up
the sickness, therefore someone else shall do it shall God almighty Use Russia?
Why don,t you do some thing about it ???
Ring your local station & say you are "SICK" of their Bullshit, if everyone done this
we will have a new paradigm !
You know that they can see the actual stage, they can see the UK/US backed "rescuers"
White Helmets filming their latest show & yet they will call it "disinformation"
because it has come from Russia....I would tend to believe Mr.Lavrov, indeed, the
Russians,though they probably stretch truth at times(all governments do I think) for the
most part I believe they are pretty honest but because they are quiet with it, not
screaming & yelling & tweeting they are not taken seriously....this was obviously
a false flag...you dont get more obvious...I hope the Russians do have
evidence....evidence that the people will see, because as with this strike,the majority
of people are against it,against war in general, this is the UK/US/French govt that are
all in on this. If Russia shows proof...irrefutable as he says, the people will
see....and maybe, we can continue to turn this tide, some say you cannot fight the
powers, that they will always find away to channel the dissent back in and they have,to
thwart the rising up of the people who dare to question our government's true motives,
but it does work & now, we are heading to a new day,I believe, a day of many more
"sheeple" waking to the truth., out of pure war weariness,.alternative media is a big
part! They can't silence everyone...I dont want to be so dramatic as to say"its a
Revolution!" But it is a significant shift because regardless of party...let's be
real,Repubs & dems are basically interchangeable at this point we are people who
believe in truth & peace....we are finding commonality in a desire to stop going to
war, and I do have hope that we can do it...#NoWar ✌
What mechanism exists within the UN Charter for punishment of countries for violating
the Charter? Something HAS TO BE DONE at the UN this time, or the UN may as well cease to
exist.
There is no mechanism. And if there was in the current climate nobody would support
it. No real guts to be found in the UN outside of Russia, Syria and company.
Problem is the UN was Rockefeller created and they are the satanic cult leaders as
front men for the Rothschilds. The very fact there is a satanic temple in the UN building
should tell anyone that this 'august' body was et up to become the de facto 'world
government' and is the biggest threat to mankind as it is a toothless tiger with lots of
growl but no common sense. It should be noted that so many of their 'bodies' are as
corrupt as any private entity such as the IPCC, WHO and the reports mirror subversive
bodies like the Club of Rome who are on record as stating that they would use 'climate
change' as a weapon against countries to control them and punish them using a 'benign'
reason for this control. No one seriously believes 'man made global warming; is a real
thing. Carbon dioxide 'pollution' is a farcical notion as without it this planet dies.
Has anyone ever heard of photosynthesis? Plants and trees take in carbon dioxide and
pumps out oxygen. This is junior school stuff so why does the IPCC talk such garbage as
well as the vaccination scam of WHO and many other corrupt UN bodies.
The UN is a 'rich man's tool' that provides a cover for their machinations and we see
this time and again. There are too many examples to put down here but the UN is merely
there as a foil in some instances for people like Halley and her pro-Israel stance and we
know the US is a ZOG government so no surprises there.
Thanks for the reply. I know what you mean about CO2. The current global average CO2
concentration is about 400 ppm, whereas the ideal for plant growth is 800 ppm. That is
why green houses pump CO2 into their buildings.
But the UN? You are right, it is worse than being non-existent, and run by the Zio
masters.
Unfortunately;
1. The Western "electorate" isn't furious over the missile attacks. The western
"electorate" doesn't know or care.
2. The western "electorate" has absolutely no power whatsoever over their criminal
military dictatorships that do whatever the hell they want.
Don't be silly - small arms against automatic weapons and body armor along with tanks
has ZERO chance of ever working.
Best chance is to starve the beast financially by any means possible, and work to have
the EU vassals start to move away. Which, unfortunately, is almost as tall an order as
attacking the tank with a pistol and a rifle.
Get that PetroDollar to fall, and the USA will collapse. Of course, THAT is when they
will start the nuclear war, selling it the whole time in their Korporate controlled
media.
You shouldn't face a tank with a rifle and a pistol and a rifle Silly. You must
realise this is a war, not a game. 'They' want you dead or enslaved. You just want 'them'
to go away, but it's not going to happen that way.
You must think outside the box if you want a world fit for a child to grow up in and
live. Use your pistols and rifles to take out their talking heads and their politicians.
When state or even county politicians have to start hiring body guards everywhere they
go, you'll have their attention, followed by their balls, and then their hearts.
I agree. The best way is to starve them out. Remove the tax man from the equation. The
system will begin to collapse almost immediately. All those parasites that have been
bleeding you dry the entirety of your life will have to learn to scrounge like you do.
The last I heard, the tax man isn't provided a tank or a laser gun.
You outnumber them. You can be everywhere. They can't. We are faced with a reality
that THEY want YOU dead, if not enslaved. This is serious and requires a solution, not
excuses.
Are you willing to wait for Jesus to come back and fix your problems? He might not
feel up to it for another thousand years. Are you willing to wait for your kids or grand
kids to someday grow a pair of testicles and fix it?
"When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven't." --
Thomas A. Edison
I agree. There's nothing they can control about random individuals popping them off
when they go about their Daily/nightly lives.
It does take an element of desperation and courage, but we are getting to that stage I'm
afraid.
The problem is that the empire of evil is winning the propaganda war
whereas SAA, Iran and Russia are very weak in the information-war
front. For instance, after the strikes last night, the Syrian government
should have capitalized on it professionally and milked it by
fabricating huge civilian casualties, including the photos of dead women
and children as victims of American and Western aggression.
The information war is the most important front in this war and the empire
is winning it, hands down by fabricating false flag 'chemical' attacks and
other scenarios, using jihadists like "While Helmets" and other groups for
their propaganda, etc. Iran, Russia and Syria need to catch up and organize
an effective propaganda wing in this struggle, not simply react to theirs but go on the
offensive in this front by exploiting every opportunity for their counter information
warfare
I disagree (politely!) If Syria and its allies stoop to imitating Western/Israeli
tactics, all that will result is a fog of disinformation in which people of good will can
find out no reliable facts.
In the long run - and maybe even the short run - it is better to stick religiously to
the exact truth. Then people of good will everywhere will know that when, say, Mr Lavrov
says something they can believe it.
I agree with you in principal but there is a time for information warfare, whether it
is right now or not, we can debate it. There is a time for everything.
(Ecc 3).
Unfortunately you are probably right but then again, lies, like scum, eventually rise
to the top. For example; the reason people admire Putin and Russia is that they are
mostly (mostly - I am not naive) straight-shooters, honest brokers etc if they stoop to
the level of the West, as you suggest Syria should, (and it is a valid argument) then we
are all in real trouble - everyone everywhere on false flags and wholesale lies,
dangerous.
Be careful when you fight monsters that you do not become one.
Agree. It will immediately fail the moment you use your opponents dirty tricks,
BUT.
Both Russia dn Syria could use the false flag openly as a farce, go to UNSC with a farce,
blame US/UK/France for a farce, to show the public its a farce.
That could work, if handled correctly but even if it did work I think it could, in a
way, diminish the Syrians and Russians (?) and even the mostly moronic folk in my country
are slowly (painfully slowly) waking up to the bullshit. Only 22% voted for strikes
against Syria in a very recent poll. If the Idiot Farm I live in is overwhelmingly
against what the Murderer-in-Chief Theresa May did (illegally in every respect) there may
be some hope ? (yeah, I know, dream on.... )
It's weird when you think about it; I live in a rogue terrorist state, that is a member
of a gang of rogue terrorist states, guilty of breaking almost all international laws
regarding military action and the rights of legitimate sovereign states..... it is also
totally fucking depressing....
I am also from a rogue terrorist state that is a member of a gang of rogue terrorist
states, and it is indeed very depressing, not just because of what they are doing in our
name but also because they make me feel ashamed of my country and have stolen away my
belief in it as well as in practically everything else. They leave me with nothing to
respect, admire or look up to. The liars, murderers-in-chief, propagandists, and
so-called leaders that are so disrespectful of international law, destroy our sense of
well-being and chip away at our very souls. Criminals, the lot of them.
How about a non-confidence motion in the UK and impeachment in the US, both for
breaking international law. I don't have a suggestion about that pipsqueak in France.
If only !
I know very little about legislative processes in France and the USA but as I am sure you
are aware a Motion of no-confidence in the Commons would require majority support and at
least half the Labour Party actually want to be MPs for the Tory Party so they can stop
pretending to care about any other human beings whatsoever - it just wouldn't happen. You
generally expect the Blue Scum to bay for blood and lie by breathing but I was staggered
by the ferocity of the Red Tories in their rabid Russophobia. The Labour Party is still
filled with Blairite vermin with just a sprinkling of socialism on top. Jeremy Corbyn is
so very fucked, shot by both sides and, I believe, shot literally (yes murdered) if he
develops a real and genuine chance of walking in to No.10 as Prime Minister.
I don't visit
Conspiracy.com but the Skripal provocation proves just how far the Tories will go to
complete their orders from Tel Aviv. Anyone who has serious and open discussions with
Hamas and Hezbollah (can't remember if it was one or both actually ?) and has the
audacity to NOT condemn them as the most foul monsters to ever crawl the Earth will be
killed before taking the reigns of power in Britain.
How about forming a professional hit squad and assassinate all the actors in these
rotten Western countries. Sorry, just can't come up with a better idea. I'll draw up a
list.
where do you get the idea that the UN is not corrupt? when Iran brought a motion to
the General Assembly for a full investigation of the events of 9/11 members walked out en
masse...
Just let the Liars keep lying, the Truth has already escaped, only so far they are too
arrogant to see their demise coming because of it, unfortunately they have put their own
Citizens on a death sentence so they cant walk unguarded in Public as Assad does, I for
one wouldn't protect them
#1.) Of COURSE it was done by "foreign state".
Since the twats @ the CIA have the same DNA as MOSSAD their payroll is
interchangeable.
#2.) Since the kosher U.N. runs interference for the Jew, (as did the kosher L.o.N
before it), it won't make any difference as AIPAC/Israel say "JUMP", D.C. says "how high
master?"
Sewer nation does as it's TOLD - regardless of how evil/ridiculous their actions make
them appear, how many of their "beloved citizens" die, or how much DEEPER into our
pockets their kosher owners dig via their Central Bank.
RT has the video and interview with one of the civilians in that episode. The
individual turned out to be a doctor who explained that the victims of the "chemical
attack" were actually suffering from smoke inhalation from a conventional explosion, and
that suddenly a group of people ran in with cameras and water and shouts of "it was a gas
attack" which got everybody dousing children with water.
Now the point is, this differs from Lavrov's allegation, which is that a chemical
attack did occur, but was staged by some as yet unnamed state. No idea where this is
going but if Lavrov is right that chemicals were used, then the OPCW will presumably find
them, and that lays to rest the hope that nothing would be found.
So the whole world is occupied wasting time, money and lives on pure hot air???
The chemical attack in Syria never happened.
US is bombing for something that never happened.
OPWC is travelling to Syria to investigate an attack that never happened.
Lavrov has irrefutable proof of something that never happened.
UNSC is having an emergency meeting on something that never happened.
This is absurd in relation to what happens of death and destruction.
Something big must be going on under cover of this constant farce of WWIII? The
cashless society? more money to the Rothschild cartel? NWO transfer?
yup, the US, Russia, and Syria decided that there was a place in the middle of nowhere
that couldn't be further destroyed by bombs and Trump sent the bombers there to appease
all the war mongers.
Spietz lab in Switzerland tested the "Stuff" sent to them by the OPCW regarding/from
the Skripal False Flag in Salisbury
Partly A234 to a "Strength" which would have "Killed Anyone" in contact with it and BZ or
2 which "Has and Is" used by the american british and hato forces
BZ or 2 incapacitates you and does you in for better words for about Four Days or so
Oh my Oh my the Skripals are getting better along with the Well Paid Polis
Dont quote me on exact wording
Trump's publicly announced decision to order the U.S. military out of Syria. The Saudi
financed Salafi 'rebels' in Douma collected bodies, probably from another incident, and stacked
them up in one apartment to stage a scene and to
create fake videos of a 'chemcial attack' which they falsely attributed to the Syrian
government.
Trump pretended to fall for the videos and tweeted
threats against Syria and Russia. Russia threatened to respond with strong force should any
U.S. attack hurt its soldiers or interests in Syria.
The UK and France, who like the U.S. were only recently visited by the Saudi clown prince
and showered with fresh Saudi billions, jumped onto the case. France now
admits that its 'intelligence' of the Douma incident is solely based on the obviously
staged youtube videos and claims made by 'western' financed propaganda operations who cooperate
with the Jihadis.
Yesterday the Russian Defense Ministry accused Britain of
having organized the 'chemical incident':
Today, there are other evidences at the disposal of the Russian military department, which
testify to the direct participation of Great Britain in organizing this provocation in the
Eastern Ghouta.
The Russian party knows for certain that from April 3 to 6, representatives of the
so-called White Helmets were influenced by London for the speedy implementation of the
provocation prepared in advance .
The White Helmets received information that Jaysh al-Islam militants were to conduct a
series of powerful artillery shelling of Damascus on April 3 to 6.
This will promote a response from the government troops, which the White Helmets'
representatives will have to use to carry out provocations with alleged chemical weapons.
The 'White Helmets' are
financed by the British government and are led by a 'former' British military intelligence
officer. The direct accusations against Britain may have been a factor in the hasty launch of
last night's strike. Another was surely the arrival of technicians of the Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Damascus. These will today investigate the alleged
incident in Douma and will likely find that it did not take place. That the three countries did
not even wait for preliminary results from the investigation must be seen as an admission of
guilt. They know that the 'chemical attack' did not take place.
The U.S. military was wary of any potential conflict with Russia. Intense negotiations took
place over the last week between the Pentagon and the Russian defense ministry. Secretary of
Defense Mattis is said to have talked Trump out of a more serious strike. World War III was
avoided.
Last night some 107 missiles and cruise missiles were fired against two research sites and
eight military airports in Syria by U.S., French and British forces. The Russian and Syrian
forces were warned. People and equipment had been moved. The Russian forces did not directly
respond as their areas in Syria were not targeted. The Syrian air defense managed to shoot
down or divert 71 of the incoming missiles before they reached their target. The Pentagon
claims that none of its missiles were destroyed or diverted from its aim. A well known
Syrian opposition outlet disagrees with the Pentagon's claim:
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights managed to monitored interception by the regime
forces to tens of missiles which targeted their positions and military bases in the Syrian
territory, where several intersected sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory, that the
number missiles that were downed, exceeded 65 missiles ...
A 60 to 70% air defense success rate against incoming missiles is stunning. Most of these
will have been killed by the Pantsir-S1 systems Russia supplied to Syria. Every Syrian military
airport is now protected by such short range systems and while eight were targeted only one was hit
.
One of the targets that were hit was the undefended Barzah Scientific Research Center near
Damascus. The Pentagon claims that chemical weapons are made or stored there. That claim is
obviously a lie:
In 2013 Syrian joined the Chemical Warfare Convention and gave up all its chemical
weapons.
The OPCW has checked all accessible former chemical weapon sites in Syria and observed
the destruction of the production equipment.
After the equipment was removed the Barzah site was abandoned.
One does not attack a site with normal bombs if one knows that chemical weapons are
stored their. The bombs would distribute the dangerous chemicals and everyone downwind would
be seriously affected.
After the U.S. strikes people can be seen walking through the fresh
ruins . None wear any protection. There surely was nothing 'chemical' there.
The same holds for the Jaramana facility hit by the strikes. The Pentagon's claim that the
strikes hit Syrian 'chemical production and storage facilities' is a lie.
No one has been reported killed by the strikes. The Russian Defense Ministry assessment says that
three people were injured. Further assessments of the strikes can be found here: 1 ,
2 and
3 .
What will be the consequences of these strikes?
Last weeks push by the media, by interventionists and by neoconservatives for a wider war on
Syria (and Russia) has now been calmed down. Even John McCain, who always wants more wars,
seems somewhat
satisfied .
The President of Russia Vladimir Putin issued a strong statement :
An act of aggression against a sovereign state that is on the frontline in the fight against
terrorism was committed without a mandate from the UN Security Council and in violation of
the UN Charter and norms and principles of international law.
The Chinese government likewise laments the
violation of international law and the UN charter.
In ordering the strike President Trump also broke U.S. law specifically the
War Powers Resolution.
A Security Council meeting will take place today but, as the U.S., Britain and France have
vetos, will have no consequences.
One issue the U.S. is certainly not happy about is the successful demonstration of the
Russian supplied air defenses which was used last night against the U.S. strikes. This
announcement from the Russian Defense Ministry statement will create additional headaches:
It is to be stressed that several years ago given the strong request by our western partners,
Russia opted out of supplying the S-300 AD systems to Syria. Taking into account the recent
incident, Russia believes it possible to reconsider this issue not only regarding Syria but
other countries as well .
More countries will now be able to buy and receive state-of-the-art Russian air defense
equipment. Future interferences by the U.S. as well as Israeli strikes against Syria will
become significantly more risky. When Syrian receives the S-300 systems it will have the reach
to detect and attack any Israeli plane flying over Lebanon. Israel has often used Lebanese
airspace to attack targets in Syria. It will soon lose that luxury.
Syria, Iran and Hizbullah all issued statement promising retaliation for the attack. Their
responses will likely come on the ground against U.S. targets and assets in Iraq, Lebanon,
Syria and Israel. The Syrian people in Damascus could observe the success of the air defenses
and were quite
happy with it. They will respond with more support for their government and its plans to
liberate all of Syria.
Trump evaded the public pressure created by the fake 'chemical attack' with a more or less
symbolic airstrike. He tweeted " Mission Accomplished! " I
expect that he will continue to press for an end of U.S. operations in Syria. Whoever
instigated the faked attack has won nothing.
Trumps reaction to the incident is also an invitation to Jihadis and those who influence
them to repeat such stunts whenever it suits them.
The Pentagon keeps the option open for such further 'chemical attack' stunts and U.S.
strikes. It today claimed that Syria still has additional chemical weapon facilities. If this
were really the case why isn't the U.S. demanding an inspection and dismantling of these
facilities by the OPCW? Syria has signed the Chemical Warfare Convention and would have to
accept that.
The obvious U.S. disregard for any international law and for the international organizations
like the UN, the OPCW and IAEA will have serious consequences. The U.S. can now surely forget
about its desire for an disarmament agreement with North Korea. Russia, China and others will
use the example of last night's strikes to disregard international law when it will suit them.
There will be no more favors like holding back S-300 systems or adhering to U.S. sanctions
against other countries.
In the end the instigators of the incident, the U.S., and its partners in crime will have
hurt themselves more with these strikes than they hurt Syria.
---
Previous Moon of Alabama posts on the 'chemical attack' in Douma and its
consequences.
I don't want to give Putin any ideas, but a very simple and elegant solution would be for
Russia to supply Syria and Iran with some turn key nukes. Game, set, match.
the knowns are known
the unknowns will be known soon
north south east and west syria
gas and chemical weapons sites will
be revealed.
not to mention the mobile labs
hero nikki haley un said just now
we are locked and loaded and ready for action jackson.
the mobile labs the fixed buildings
the buildings that become gas labs overnight
all must be targeted after salsbury fair
is it not crystal clear what putin and henchman assad has in store for
innocent uk,france and usa usa not forgetting little isreal.
we must wack a mole
at every known and uknown breach of the rules of sea law and reptile humanity
Seems like a nice assessment of what is known at this moment.
" There are no casualties among civilians and Syrian military servicemen after the US
missiles strikes, according to preliminary data, Head of the Russian General Staff's Main
Operations Directorate Sergei Rudskoi told reporters at a press briefing in the Russian
Defense Ministry on Saturday. " No casualties from US-led strikes on
Syria, emphasizes Russia's General Staff
Sounds like diplomatese for "our red line doesn't seem to have been crossed". Let's hope
things calm down now.
Russia is now talking of delivering S-300's to Syria and other countries. China may well help
with financing this, perhaps even manufacturing.
Global times editorial from 27th March
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1095361.shtml
"....It is beyond outrageous how the US and Europe have treated Russia. Their actions
represent a frivolity and recklessness that has grown to characterize Western hegemony that
only knows how to contaminate international relations. Right now is the perfect time for
non-Western nations to strengthen unity and collaborative efforts among one another. These
nations need to establish a level of independence outside the reach of Western influence
while breaking the chains of monopolization declarations, predetermined adjudications, and
come to value their own judgement abilities.
It's already understood that to achieve such international collective efforts is easier
said than done as they require foundational support before anything can happen. Until a new
line of allies emerges, multi-national associations like BRICS, or even the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, need to provide value to those non-Western nations and actively
create alliances with them.
What Russia is experiencing right could serve as a reflection of how other non-Western
nations can expect to be treated in the not-to-distant future. Expelling Russian diplomats
simultaneously is hardly enough to deter Russia. Overall, it's an intimidation tactic that
has become emblematic of Western nations, and furthermore, such measures are not supported by
international law and therefore unjustified. More importantly, the international community
should have the tools and means to counterbalance such actions...."
The attack by FUKUS on Syria, which was not sanctioned by the UN, is therefore a war crime.
Yet, the motion to condemn this war crime failed to pass the UN Security Council just now
with a margin of 8 to 3 with 4 abstentions. Just another episode of FUKUS turning the UN into
a farce.
Rudskoy did not mention use of the Pantsir S1 in his assesment though I ve read about 40
systems were deployed in Syria but thats academic, a 69% kill ratio is excellent. This isnt
Libya, if the Coalition of the Killing wants to seriously degrade SyAAD, it will take major
hardware..
"Trump evaded the public pressure created by the fake 'chemical attack' with a more or less
symbolic airstrike. He tweeted "Mission Accomplished!" I expect that he will continue to
press for an end of U.S. operations in Syria. Whoever instigated the faked attack has won
nothing."
I really hope this is true, Trump seemed to offer the hope of a saner America, and I hope
he is still on the side of peace.
the democratic depleted uranium beatings will infinity continue
until
assad gives up his hidden gas agents
he says he has none left yet ignores the bell pottinger site intel group rita katz white
helmets movie facts not on the ground
the man is crazy crazy
Indeed a good question is what next. I disagree that Russia and China will disregard
international laws, it's working for them. In particular Putin is very strongly on the side
of lawful actions. You notice how few of the "coalition" there were? Yes, some others mouthed
support but I would assess as a sop for the fools. This has demonstratebly weakened all three
quite deeply. The legal pursuit of the poison investigation is something I see vigorously
done and as publicly as possible. How desperate will the guilty be? Will trouble be stirred
up in Ukraine? The ME has been a safe place for the most part for wholesale slaughter because
it's far from Europe, but Ukraine? Still, I can't see what else can be done in ME without
escalating quite a bit.
Hi,
RT (OPCW) has just reported that the Skripal's poison is likely 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate
(BZ) -- an atropin like drug. Could be that the doctors knew this from the beginning, the
symptoms of an anti-cholinesterase and an M2 anti-muscarinic are very different. For example
the nerve agent would give you a slow heart rate (Bradycardia [until you had the AVN node
takes over]) whereas the BZ would speed it up a Tachycardia. Also you would have very low
levels of functional cholinesterase in your plasma after a nerve gas attack-- BZ ought not to
change that.
So I think this fits with the Consultant's letter to the Times, which underlines that the
Skripal's toxin was not an anticholinesterase (nerve agent)-- it was something else, BZ, a
very British toxin. So we finally get to the bottom of it, it's beginning to make sense. It
certainly isn't the Russians and it looks like a real false flag-- the only question is `who
done it?'. May is basically busted she made an idiot of herself, she'll simply have to go.
@13 Just a bit of a clarification that is important. OPCW didn't identify the poison, that
was from the Swiss lab. This provides weasel room for the British.
This article is so painfully truthful and so willfully wrong. Yes, yes, what FUKUS did
(brilliant acronym) was evil and wrong and all about lies and might makes right, but SO
EFFING WHAT?! Russia doesn't operate on the basis of truth and righteousness. Russia and its
apologists specifically eschew any such basis for Russian policies, enthusiastically
embracing real-politik and machiavelli - ie Might Makes Right! The vicious games that Russia
has played with its AA systems, dangling them to states that desperately need it, like Iran
and Syria, but never giving it to them or delaying unconscionably, while doling it out
generously to states that do not need it or deserve it, like Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Geez,
Russia makes a point, almost a religious principle, of making the most nookie with the worst
leaders and states in the world. It encourages the rogue actors, those who sneer the most at
international law, whilst claiming to stand by international law. For God's sake, Putin's
best friend seems to be Netanyahu.
Putin needs to start putting real friends before fake new ones, truth before lies, and
needs to decide whether he wants to be on the side of the bullies or on the side of the
bullied. Yes building bridges is important. But Putin isn't doing that. He's clearly on the
side of the global bullies. He just wants to be in the gang. If that perception is wrong, let
him change it.
So prove me wrong, Putin. Follow through on those s-300s to Syria. Throw in some s-400s.
They would have prevented last night. BUT YOU WON'T WILL YOU? No you damn well won't and your
apologists will still defend you. But I think more and more people, all around the world and
in Russia too, are beginning to see through you, to that ugly heart of ice.
Another explanation for Trump's about face on pulling out of Syria is this. He knows that
when FBI (who he is unwilling or unable to reel in) raided Cohen's office they're likely to
have found evidence of raunchy dishonest conduct along with bribes and other crap. No one is
responsible for his embarrassing behavior but him and he may prefer to do as he's told rather
than be shown as a louse and a cad.
Apparently the missiles weren't "make believe" missiles they were pretending to fire, they
were fired but most of them just got shot down.
My first or maybe second thought on this would be, that Russia and the US compromised on a
way so both can save their faces. US gets to bomb something, russia does not take casualties
and doesn't have to prove their "retaliatio against launch platmforms" (have they actually
said that at all?).
It seems this strike does have no tactical or strategic impact at all. Both can declare
themselves top dog.
Maybe it's been agreed on, that mainland syria will stay syrian with russian protection?
Following (german) mainstream media, parallel to jingo rhetorics there have been some "Assad
won and we'll have to come to terms with it" voices lately. This would be my explanation from
an armchair point of view.
After Ghouta and the rest of the smaller terrorist enclaves have been cleared, it will be
interesting to see what will happen to the eastern border / kurdish occupied territory. What
we've seen in the last week might be a prelude to a bigger confrontation in eastern syria?
Any thoughts? Cheers.
Hi Bakerpete,
sorry about that-- I thought the Swiss were part of the OPCW. But I am pretty sure the
Consultant's letter is important in this context-- it's not an nerve agent. So if it is BZ
then -- why did it take so long for them to recover? Did they get a very large dose? [An
alternative idea is that a compound like BZ might be useful in treating nerve gas poisoning,
and the Swiss lab is seeing that. But I don't think it would be any better than atropin in
treating acetylcholine overload].
Certainly this whole episode needs a thorough analysis-- it has really soured our
relationship with Russia, and brought us closer to an extermination event. We can't afford
any more messing around a real war would set us back a thousand years-- it'd would be the end
of science for sure.
@Bakerpete (15). I might be wrong about this, but I believe that the Swiss lab performed the
chemical analysis for the OPCW, and yet the OPCW withheld key portions of the lab's report.
One can reasonably infer that the OPCW is dominated by the Empire and may not be trustworthy.
Nice work, b!
Fewer than 24 hours have passed since the Colonial Christian ratfuckers attacked Syria on the
basis of "evidence" they faked, and anyone interested in the unvarnished truth can Read All
About It at MoA.
How long will it take MSM to catch up? 1 year? 5 years? 20?
"the central nervous systems effects tend to be delayed, you can have a prodomol period of
several hours" https://youtu.be/665A_9Bth6s?t=598
All the evidence points at this moment to BZ being the only chemical that effected the
Skripals, that the government engaged in perjury at the Court of Protection and that the
Skripals were deliberately unnecessarily put into a coma ( Offence against the Person?) to
avoid them being able to communicate or otherwise interfere with the governments ongoing
criminal activity.
Sorry if this was mentioned in the previous comments thread, but Cockburn matter-of-factly
asserts... well, see this excerpt:
Possibly it was the Syrian government's frustration at the continued resistance of part
of Jaysh al-Islam, the Saudi-backed jihadi movement in Douma, that led it to use chlorine
gas. It had done so before without provoking an international reaction, but this time
authentic-looking video was broadcast around the world showing dying children gasping for
breath. The pictures provoked a wave of international fury which culminated in the US-led
airstrikes on 14 April.
I'm not sure what to make of it-- but the bland, cut-and-dried insertion of this
controversial assertion towards the end of the article makes my crap detectors tingle
mightily.
Also, there seems to be an implicit contradiction between the unequivocal claim that the
Syrian government used chlorine gas and the coy "authentic-looking video". I suppose he's
implying that the videos may be fake, but the underlying charge isn't.
This seems to be another example of the trend of having it both ways-- something like
Glenn Greenwald buying into the "Assad did it" mantra, while simultaneously insisting that
he's opposed to the Western interventions justified by such smears and slanders.
Well someone's wrong, and if it's Lavrov it seems there are people in the diplomatic corps
who don't know what has happened yet is tasked to go out and advocate. Not getting basic
facts right looks really, really bad.
@Rob 22 It would be very good is the Swiss did the analysis for OPCW which would make it much
more "authentic". I would regard the opaque report from OPCW to be just typical legal caution
more than something suspicious, at least for now.
@TJ 25, good reminder of the induced coma.
Excellent summary of the situation. Thanks, b - we can always get the straight dope here.
Along with Bakerpete up-thread, I also disagree that Russia and China will use the
lawlessness of the US as reason to flout international law.
We have a world without the ability to enforce the agreements between nations. This is not
a sustainable situation, and there are only two ways to fix it. Either, nations walk away
from existing conventions, form alliances of strength with others, and grow the new order out
of the barrel of a gun. Or, nations work to contain the rogue actors, and to preserve and
reinforce the existing conventions, and make them work wherever they can.
The frameworks and means for both options are largely in place in the world, with
diplomatic relations, treaties, security and trade associations, and the like.
But what would it cost to create, for example, an alternative United Nations, versus the
cost of living with the existing one? What would it take Geo-politically for such a thing to
occur? China, with massive future heft in the world, could contemplate such a future project,
and so could Russia. I assume there is body of analysis that gets continually updated,
addressing this very scenario.
But we're not quite there yet with feasibility. We move closer every time the US pulls
stunts like last night, especially as two European nations join in the same lawlessness. It
remains to be seen how far in Europe this lawless rot will spread. How will domestic politics
punish people like May and Johnson, for example - and Trump for that matter? It remains to be
seen.
I haven't studied this at all, but I suspect this problem of lawlessness must become more
of a front-burner topic in the coming years. And reality being what it is, there are probably
countless shades of gray possible in my simplistic either/or presentation. The question must
begin to be asked around the world: how do we get the west to obey the laws of the world?
Lawfulness can only be enforced by strength of arms, and Russia has shown great dominance
here over the US. And the west is waning as the multi-polar world is waxing, and this dynamic
is everything - the relative strengths change almost daily, and this sets the pace of things
and the timetable for things.
As far as I'm concerned, MAD is back, and the US is cowed by it. And MAD not only prevents
conventional warfare, it also allows it, in various offshore theaters. And I think the US is
cowed by Russia's conventional weaponry, but hides behind MAD as a way not to acknowledge
this fear. The US inflicted a great defeat on itself on Friday night, and the multi-polar
world won a great victory. This has changed the relative strength equation in ways that have
yet to be seen.
But one of the ways, perhaps, is that nations can turn up the volume on the nagging
question, how do we get the west to obey its own laws and agreements? I have great faith in
the sanity of the world's nations to solve this growing dilemma, and I'll be interested to
watch it happen.
Musings on a wonderful Saturday - we are all still alive, and only the missiles, and not
the sky, fell.
Sorry b, Trumpty Dumbdy wasn't "pretending" to fall for those fake videos. It would seem
Mattis managed to talk some sense into the Orange Genius, probably on the strength that he
was the only one in the room that didn't draft dodge. Chickenhawks like Bolton and Trumpty
(bone spurs) would hate being reminded what cowards they were when called to "defend" the
banksters' wars.
Bolton wrote in his Yale 25th reunion book "I confess I had no desire to die in a
Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost."[ Ross Goldberg and
Sam Kahn, "Bolton's conservative ideology has roots in Yale experience" Archived September
24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine., Yale Daily News, April 28, 2005.]
So why would Bolton think continuing/escalating the war in Syria (and going after Iran
asap) was a good idea, as it is "lost" to the US? Maybe because the Rothschilds want the
Zionist Oded Yinon plan to succeed no matter how many non-Jews die to make it happen?
So Trumpty wasted at least $100 million to find out even decades-old Russian S-150/200
anti-missile tech is more than adequate against the US' crap Tomahawk systems. The US
missiles are about as "smart" as its president and the neo-con thinktanksters. Raytheon stock
to jump. I wonder where Raytheon gets its titanium? Not from Russia anymore.
thanks b.. excellent overview and commentary to which i fully agree with..
i can't understand how france can get away with their proof statement based on this "The
French services analysed the testimonies, photos and videos that spontaneously appeared on
specialized websites, in the press and on social media in the hours and days following the
attack." france is more pathetic then i thought... as for the timing of this.. yes - do it
prior to the opcw inspection and do it bypassing international law... this will end badly and
this is just act 1 in what is going to be an escalation into ww3 that is coming down the
pike..
there is no way anything is going to change here... the west is committed to it's
propaganda, false flags and white helmet videos while ignoring international protocol.... how
this that going to end favourably? it's not... thanks for the update..
1. it is clear the West would not dare to confront Russia directly. The world
(particularly China and Europe) will have noted this.
2. The West dare not field its air forces over Syria.
3. it must be very worrying how poorly the stand-off weapons performed.
4. the West is fragmenting, judging by the number of countries that refused to join in,
and even internally in the US - witness the statements of Mattis and his extreme discomfort
in having to lie at the press conference. And as the truth emerges on the Syria and Skripal
false flags, and it will, then the West will fragment even more.
5. if I were shopping for air defences well there is only one place I would be looking
now.
Its a message, and the goal is:
Bachar quit power or we strike Syria like Lyria (falling of state, blow-of
infrastructures).
For US/UK/FR a permawar in Syria is needed for futur false-flags.
If every nation member of the united nation stand up to the criminals members such as USA ,
Great Britain ( not so great after all ) , France and Israel may these members will pay for
illegal behavior , but it seems no body cares for this reason they get away with criminal
U.N. human behavior.
The international community should move the United Nation head quarter out of New York
City.
I think The BRICS should sick rogother more and stand up against the Christian west ( I
emphasize the Christian ) because in the name of Jesus and Christianity , they do the worst
of the worst against humanity from occupation , colonization and on and on to keep their
Christian belly full of food on the back of the poor and unfortunate.
The article they link to is a week old before they even tested. It's unlikely the PR
person in control of the twitter account knows anything except for recent news articles.
That being said, Lavrov is making a pretty big claim out of left field. Completely
unnecessarily as I have no doubt novichoks could be manufactured to frame Russia. If Lavrov
is wrong he's shooting himself in the foot.
Going by b's take, the symbolic strike has taken pressure off Trump. The strike has showcased
what old refurbished Soviet systems and a scattering of Pantsirs can achieve.
Russia would not have held back with its own systems free of charge. Today we hear from
Russia the findings of the Swiss scientists re OPCW Skripal samples.
A number of players have put in a big effort into cornering Trump into attacking Syria and
Russia.
It would be good if the price Russia charged for the strike was solid intel on the conspiracy
that can be made public.
The Australian Media coverage has been on the back back burner through all this .
Ultimately Australia's geostrategic position is made more vulnerable if there is continuing
breakdown of International law and precedence . Many in Australia have been warning (for
thirty years) that Australia's craven support for the Anglo resource wars in Western Asia
will boomerang back on Australia's own safety and security. I fear my country will one day
need a ' rules based order ' that she has so singularly ignored .
Our anglosphere politicians, while standing behind big brother and hurling insults at
Russia and China will leave us in a very bad position when the US is defeated, and it will be
defeated by China/Russia combined.
If their is any sort of shooting war, there will be some extremely pissed off victors.
It is an interview with Stefan Mogl head of the Department of Chemistry in the laboratory.
Mogl is so brilliant a chemist he was able to identify nerve gas from video in an attack back
in 2013, no science needed-
@26
While I tend to think of this as an orchestrated event by the anti-Syrian fighters, let's
keep in consideration that there is a nonzero chance that individual units used chemical
weapons. AFAIK The Syrian government prohibits the use of chemical weapons, but we're still
mired in the fog of war. The OPCW may just announce findings that are totally contrary to
Russian claims.
Syria's military may not have a rigid structure, so there's always a possibility that some
idiots attached to the SAA conducted a chemical weapon attack. That's why a formal
investigation needs to be conducted.
The Western coalition's behavior was one of "I don't care, we're going to stage a show of
force". They're going to run with whatever events they can use to forward their agenda, which
is the continued desire for regime change, countering Iranian influence, and/or for Syria to
be stuck in a state of war.
Ultimately, Syria + Iran + Russia need to win the peace ASAP
@13 cj
From a pharmacological perspective, it would be difficult to find a drug more dissimilar to
anticholinesterases than 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ, also called QNB), as the former would
cause activation of all acetylcholine receptors (both muscarinic and nicotinic), while
the latter would inhibit the activity of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.
Antimuscarinic drugs may be used clinically in small doses, e.g., in eye exams to dilate
the pupils. Overdoses as you point out would cause heart rate to increase, as well as dry
mouth, and involuntary muscle jerking. If they reach the brain, such drugs are
incapacitating, causing sedation, amnesia, delirium, hallucinations, and agitation.
Some of these effects are consistent with the reported symptoms of the Skripals when they
were found (MoA March 16): Meanwhile, a doctor who was one of the first people at the scene has described how she
found Ms Skripal slumped unconscious on a bench, vomiting and fitting. She had also lost
control of her bodily functions.
It's hard to know exactly what symptoms the last statement refers to, but drugs like this
would tend to reduce gastrointestinal activity, so it's not clear if this is a perfect
match.
Don't worry. As usual Australia is 5 years behind events. But is a pragmatic country, and
can and will change sides when it suits. In reality most trade is with SE Asia, and there are
plenty of Asians in Aus, but few Americans. There is no love of America.
And anyhow, the Commonwealth Games is on and Aus have a bagful of medals. So what do you
expect the media to report?
I wouldn't mind sending Julie Bishop to the Syria front line, though.
Reports indicate an Iranian base in Syria has been hit, once again, by Israel. Each such
incident, in which Russia's allies in Syria are attacked by air with impunity, sends a strong
message about Putin and about Russia. At this point, Putin has to be considered complicit in
these attacks. Putin preaches about international law, but his behavior preaches Might Makes
Right. Why does Putin continue to refuse to give Syria the robust air defense it needs if
National Sovereignty is to mean anything for Syria? Or is it only those who have powerful
militaries that get to not only have sovereignty for themselves, but get to have their
neighbor's sovereignty as well?
b, I agree with this: "The direct accusations against Britain may have been a factor in the
hasty launch of last night's strike. Another was surely the arrival of technicians of the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Damascus."
But I disagree that "Last weeks push by the media, by interventionists and by
neoconservatives for a wider war on Syria (and Russia) has now been calmed down." There are
mixed messages coming out. Mattis emphasizes "one-off" strike and strongly implies that US
strike ensures that no more chemical attacks could be forthcoming "for years;" other
officials spoke of the strike as a whole as an initial "wave", and May seems to be committed
*both* to the position that Assad's chemical munitions have been destroyed *and* to the
position that these strikes represent the new normal of FUKUS strong diplomacy against the
"regime." I think there is still an ongoing power struggle between military lifers like
Mattis and generals in field and anglozionist bureaucrats in FUKUS governments and anything
could still happen, especially with the increased pressure on U.K. re Skripal and Ghouta.
This is exactly the kind of situation in which Israel could tip the scales, disastrously.
To follow up on the question of strategic implications of the success of the Syrian
air-defense, I wonder what the likely take away for Russia and US military intelligence is
from this strike? Was it too symbolic to relay any legit insight as to US ballistic
capabilities and Russian ability to thwart them? The success of even the older technology
manned by the Syrians (if Russia really did not use anything of its own) might lead one to
infer that the S-400's success rate against a similar volume of incoming threats (90-110)
might near 100% effectiveness. Is the US worried that the only way to overcome the S-400
(given Syria's own success) would involve launching missiles in such large quantities at a
time (say 300-400 per wave) as would prove operationally difficult, perhaps impossible, to
sustain in a limited theatre. Another way of putting this: might the US now think that no
direct but limited attack upon Russian interests is even possible, given the superiority of
contemporary Russian defensive ballistic technology?
Added a comment @260 on the thread for the Syria - Threat Of Large War Recedes But May
Come Back thread regarding the Swiss lab's BZ finding. In hindsight, the OPCW weasel-like
wording is twice as damaging as they only confirmed that Spiez (the Swiss Porton Down) found
the same thing as Porton Down. The BZ part was omitted and only available in the classified
report, because the public can't handle the truth! (without stringing up their leaders
from lamp-posts).
BZ has nothing to do with whatever they used in Ghouta for the false flag. I remember
there was a suspicious chemical attack in Homs in 2012 where some of the victims showed signs
consistent with BZ, but others seemed more like nerve agent exposure.
Regarding the attack yesterday, there is only one thing of significance:
Russia did not use any of their SAMs AFIK. This was a Syrian-only response just
like when Israel attacks. Radar help from the Russian network as usual, but it was only
Syrian air defenses that intercepted the incoming Tomahawks and Storm Shadows with their
short- and medium-range SAMs.
I can think of nothing whatsoever that would piss of the Russian military commanders more
than taunting them by forcing them to play such a deadly game.
Russia certainly would have defended against attacks directed at their bases. That's where
you have kind of a WW III problem, though. Tomahawk and Storm Shadow cruise missiles would
never use a direct path - they program in complex mid-course paths and the missiles are
programmed to approach the target from whatever direction is best. It may look like it's
zig-zagging towards one base, then turn abruptly mid-course and target another, then another.
You can't tell where their target is on radar until they actually hit something. Any
of the Tomahawks fired from the Red Sea ship(s) or a B-1 over at Tanf may be targeting
Damascus, or they may continue on and take out Tartous - you just don't know.
See the problem with that for Russia? They would normally just assume any modern cruise
missile traveling any direction within several hundred km of their base is a direct threat,
and the aircraft/ship that fired it are also direct threats. The US would do the same. Nobody
is going to wait until it's obvious they are the target.
Russia had two choices last night:
1) Depend ENTIRELY on assurances from the US/UK/France that Russian sites/personnel would
not be targeted and no missiles would turn at them the last minute. That's insanely risky by
ANY nations' standards, especially if the neighborhood bully is making such a promise to
you.
2) React like any normal military and assume any approaching cruise missile or launching
aircraft/ship is targeting you. You make the problems go away - that's your job. Then WW III
starts, with ZATO shrieking about an unprovoked attack on our aircraft/ships.
I have to wonder what Mattis and Dunford are thinking today. They, more than anyone in the
nuthouse, have to understand the effect this cheap-assed, dishonorable, humiliating trick has
on Russian commanders and Putin.
To the questions raised above regarding Lavrov's relying on an identification by a Swiss lab
of the chemical used against the Skripals:
The linked article in German can be translated on line and, as noted above, this is really
just a statement by the head of that lab, Sefan Mogl, BEFORE the Swiss lab's results, that he
was sure Porton Down must have been correct in identifying the agent as a Novichok because
it's such a highly regarded lab.
Of course, this doesn't really explain where Lavrov got his information, but the RT story
certainly made it sound as though the Russians had somehow gotten a copy of the full
classified report to the OPCW.
Regarding the plethora of comments 'both sides got what they wanted, the U.S. played the
hero, and Russia got off with a slap on the wrist'. Yeah but Russia is continuously cast as
the supervillain in one more deed that will remain in the collective mind of the west.
Putin / Russia have the attitude, don't be distracted by the information war, keep your
eye on the prize. Okay but you risk dying the death of a thousand cuts. Now contrast this
with tiny Israel who has a zero tolerance policy on any negative publicity. If you say
something bad about Israel you disappear, people complain about it but hey, as distasteful as
it is, it looks legal to me. A columnist who uses the word Zionist is not guaranteed a job
anywhere, that's hardball and it looks like the Israeli way pays dividends to them.
The Russian punching bag way? Don't know. People say the 'Empire is dying' is it, or is it
getting its second wind. Maybe Trump / May are the new Reagan / Thatcher, or worse yet, think
they are (Hearing 'God Save the Queen' in my head, make it stop)
The way you have put it there makes me feel more strongly that Russia demanded a very high
price from the US to hold back. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days
and weeks. Already, Russia has named the toxin that was used against the Skripals.
everything you need to know about usa-uk-france and all the other weak kneed poodles on the
world stage...
"Russia's UNSC resolution calling to stop aggression against Syria does not receive enough
votes."
i guess nikki haley was trying to stay positive and walked out on this to have her nails
polished or?
You have GOT to be kidding me. I am actually shocked they would admit to this piece of
crap but then again, the sheep in the U.S. just heard, 'French Intelligence confirms Assad's
guilt'. So chalk one up in the Information War, drip, drip, drip.
They actually said, they just reviewed the videos and trust the groups who took them. Oh,
and that it was new production, not recycled images. That is the only thing I believe that it
was freshly staged.
You have to assume in the last week that the Russians pointed out(in rather chilling
terms) what would happen to the US if Russians were harmed or targeted. Gerasimov spelled
this out earlier.
And don't forget there are 4500 American hostages in their mini-bases in Syria that would
now be mince-meat.
I happen to think, after said warning, that Mattis and Dunford pulled this thing back from
the abyss.
Amidst all this mayhem and confusion, has anybody noticed how Assad has shows more quality
then any other leader/politician of this time ? He withstands the most brutal bloodbath by
the terrorists for seven continues years, and has seen the country through against the most
powerful adversaries of this age by not only his intellect but also his restrain and above
all his courage.
I've grown respect for the man.
And just for the record-
Hillary - Assad must go
David Cameroon - Assad must go
John Kelly - Assad must go
Barak Obama - Assad must go
And many others, all of them GONE
But guess who's still there and even more dominating then every passing year.
Ok, can go for BZ, clean forgot about that one, funny what falls between the memory cracks in
something like 50 years, there were no cracks in the memory when it started. BZ was not
regarded as a dangerous type nerve agent, rather an agent used to incapacitate and hinder.
That it produced effects similar to drug OD was reason for resistance to nerve agent which
usually was Sarin (an aerosol) or VX (an oily mist that covered everything - touch at risk).
Mystery abated. Watching the head of Porton Down sit there and lie (blinking eyes a la Tony
Blair), gave the suspicion why Porton Down could not identify source was because Porton Down
was it. Not a wonder they ID so quickly, they had the stuff in stock. Perfidious Albion, when
will ye ever learn. But this could not happen to a finer set of home isle grown political
scoundrels and charlatans. Now to watch the tangled web woven unravel. Best part of living in
interesting times that.
Amidst all this mayhem and confusion, has anybody noticed how Assad has shows more quality
then any other leader/politician of this time ? He withstands the most brutal bloodbath by
the terrorists for seven continues years, and has seen the country through against the most
powerful adversaries of this age by not only his intellect but also his restrain and above
all his courage.
I've grown respect for the man.
And just for the record-
Hillary - Assad must go
David Cameroon - Assad must go
John Kelly - Assad must go
Barak Obama - Assad must go
And many others, all of them GONE
But guess who's still there and even more dominating with every passing year.
@60 Indeed, there was a press conference during which Lavrov pointed out that
1) there was a full classified report to the OPCW prepared by the Swiss.
2) Russia got a hold of it (leak by Swiss?)
3) Lavrov quoted the report as saying:
"Based on the results of the examination, the traces of the toxic chemical BZ and its
precursors belonging to the chemical weapons of the second category in accordance with the
Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are found in the samples. The BZ is a nerve
agent temporarily disabling a person. Psychotoxic effect is achieved in thirty- sixty minutes
after application and lasts up to four days. This recipe was in the arsenal of the US Army,
Great Britain and other NATO countries. In the USSR and Russia, the development of such
chemical no connections were made" (Google translated from https://ria.ru/world/20180414/1518659174.html)
4). He then proceeded with a question to the OPCW if the quote had been true why
these findings by the Swiss experts were later dropped from the final document released to
everyone
"If, of course, the OPCW refutes the very fact of using the laboratory of the city of
Spiez, then it would be interesting to hear these explanations," he concluded.
Not saying this happened, but leaking a fake report to the Russians so they go on a
tangent making wild claims would be a great dark PR trick. And one I hope they
considered.
You are wrong. Makes no sense spreading fake info on something that can be verified or
not, but it wouldnt surprise me if the Spiez Lab change its phrasing after the pressure they
sure must encounter now from the west.
"You are wrong. Makes no sense spreading fake info on something that can be verified or not,
but it wouldnt surprise me if the Spiez Lab change its phrasing after the pressure they sure
must encounter now from the west."
Sure it could make sense. If you can get someone to make statements they think are true
but are verifiably false then from a PR standpoint it makes their future statements seem less
reliable. It can make that person seem crazy or guilty.
So its a conspiracy theory now?
You cant spread fake info on something that physically say something else, thus Lavrov will
of course not spread this info if he wasnt sure it
was factual. You suspect Lavrov is a moron. I believe hes not.
What was the point? Last night's attack was like coming home to find your house has been
burgled, only to realise that they took the cushions and then left.
If the chemical 'attack' was staged, or that the US and its allies were in on it - thereby
explaining the rush to strike before the investigation of the OPCW - what was the purpose if
the strikes resulted in seemingly material damage? If not to bring down the Syrian Government
then what? To scupper Syrian peace efforts? I don't follow.
There's a bigger picture here but I can't quite see it.
Salisbury and Douma coming so close together is surely too much of a coincidence. Was
Assad not in fact the real target,
but Russia .?
it looks like iran has set up gas and chemical weapons bases possibly nay probably mobile
maybe mobile analysis states that the labs could be a combination of both fixed and mobile
possibly caravan winnebago portacabin on wheels.
these folks in syria just will not lie dowm.
At Least 20 Dead After Israeli Warplanes Strike Iranian Military Base In Southern Syria:
Reports
@ pat 83... i think there are a few reasons for what seems irrational... it appears that the
usa-uk-france - are being good servants to israel and the neo cons on the one hand... it
saves some face for trump.. it also cements the idea is some weak minds that they wouldn't do
this unless they had proof, even though we know that is b.s. and, it is an ongoing motion
that is ultimately leading towards more of the same and ultimately ww3... the west is saying
- we will believe the white helmet videos immediately and we will wait for the facts after,
but the facts we don't really care about as they can be manipulated by russia/syria.. that is
what i get from all this... - basically slow grind to ww3.. i give it to 2020..
Its just a thought at the moment on Russia charging a heavy price, but if that were the
case, then rock solid info on the conspiracy to frame Russia and corner Trump into attacking
Syria and Russia.
If that where the case, then the Swiss scientist findings may be part of it.
The US would have better access to that type of intel as the US neocons and Zionists are part
of the conspiracy. Something like this would be of benefit to both Trump and Russia, yet it
would be a heavy price as the US military would be passing on what I guess would be
classified secrets.
"F.U.K.U.S. Strikes Syria - Who Won?"
Obviously nobody. This is a lose lose lose game for everybody. And I'm sure this time they
won't wait a year to attack again. The MSM are still producing propaganda enough to fill
whole libraries. In no time they will prepare the next fairy tale. The Israeli government
tries hard to get a reaction from Iran in order to start the real shooting. They want war,
and it's easier to trigger one than to avoid it. So they will succeed.
This is likely silly speculation however with Douma being cleared of terrorists I was
wondering if the missile attack was used to destroy remaining evidence of US and friends
support for said terrorists.
@89
From the unclassified OPCW report:
"12. The name and structure of the identified toxic chemical are contained in the full
classified report of the Secretariat, available to States Parties."
These low level attacks work for all the states involved except Syria. Having enemies is
essential to control those at home. Using weapons feeds the MIC's hungry beast. Flouting
international and domestic law reinforces the idea that the law is what they say it is. They
are above the law. Feeding the public obvious lies without being challenged by MSM provides
assurance the propaganda machine is working well and reinforces the belief that their
citizens are stupid or weak. Nothing to fear there.
Russia has the respect from the US they crave, even if its only fear of military conflict
with an army that can fight back. The market for their weapon systems/missile defense has
never been better and they have more leverage over countries that may be on the US radar in
negotiating trade/military deals
The take home here is we have an Evil Empire not bound by international law or constrained
by their own domestic law since the democratic processes that enforce the laws have been
broken and exist in name only. They will do whatever they choose. Russia and China will go
along and exploit the opportunities presented, taking care direct military conflict is
avoided. The oligarchs must be protected and a foreign enemy directs anger away from
themselves over their increasing neoliberal policies that feed the oligarchs
This is a well scripted soap opera. No wonder Hollywood has not time for making good
movies. Enjoy the show.
Copy-pasting this comment from another blog. Thought the points were salient...
"Consequences of the failed Syrian strike ..
1) Trump looks like .
a) a fool who believes anything on social media
b) a loudmouth blowhard who's tweet is much worse than his bite.
c) has people wondering if he isn't some combination of senile and insane.
2) The US military looks powerless and ineffective (again).
3) The jihadists suffered a major defeat. They played their Trump Card with the fake chem
weapons attack and all it got them was a blown up dismantled old lab complex.
4) Israel showed they are equally powerlless and ineffective with their weak and symbolic
attack on the T-4 airbase.
5) Everyone now knows that it is highly likely that Theresa May is a baldfaced liar.
6) Everyone now knows that Germany will not stand with this coalition.
7) Everyone now knows that even older Russian/Soviet air defense systems can stop a US
missile strike.
8) Everyone now knows that Israel and the US are afraid to fly into Syrian airspace and
challenge those old air defenses. They only launch weak attacks from very long range.
9) Everyone now knows that the governments of the UK and the US both hate democracy. Trump
didn't follow the US Constitution and get even a fig-leaf "use of force" resolution. May had
to directly overturn the Parliamentary democracy and launch her attack on only her say
so.
10) The US just lost access to rocket engines and titanium parts.
11) Everyone now knows that if they are Putin's ally then the US can't hurt them."
Next Astana meeting in one month, May 14-16, exact date not yet set.
Meanwhile, in Idlib, the crazies are killing one another, as they have for over a year.
The Russian plan of pouring all the "retreaters" into one province was brilliant. The
Russians knew each group of AQ, al Nusra and ISIS terrorists would fight one another.
Turkey will protest and try to protect "their guys" but the inevitable will occur. Putin
already allowed Turkey to do its thing against the Kurds. Afrin, and its months long ground
assaults Olive Branch massacres of Kurds is all Erdogan will get.
If he sticks his nose in the final destruction of the Idlib holdouts, he will get slapped
down by Russia.
His place at the table of big three is dependent on agreeing with Putin. The Kurds are
looking to make a deal with Putin for a piece of the Syrian pie.
The US is betting they can scuttle Astana and force everyone to their manipulation of the
Geneva talks.
But Astana has always set the terms and conditions. Geneva is just the use of the UN. If the
US forces the issue, Geneva will be left at the station, so to speak.
The Syrian Opposition, which boycotted Sochi Peace talks in January, have no place to go
but the battlefield. If they don't get into the political development of Syria, they will
lose all relevance.
The US is trying to get an insurgency war started to keep the conflict going, to justify
their staying in Syria.
I suspect the Russian Aerospace will have the last vote on such insurgency. And maybe a
few thousand of Kadyrov's Chechen Spetsnaz who have all the experience in Chechnya, and all
the credibility as Sunnis in Syria to destroy such a bogus insurgency.
The coming summer and autumn will be interesting times.
Ukraine, the World Cup, and the winding down of "civil war" in Syria.
@ cj 13
I need some chemistry help-- Lavrov's statement does not help us (me) see any link between
known OPCW statements on Salisbury and this new chemical "BZ". From what you and others say,
BZ does not seem to correspond in any plausible way to what Porton Down (or UK govt) has
publicly said: Novichoks, or from that class of agents or a closely related agent". Yet Mr.
Lavrov's claims seem to suggest that BZ is not inconsistent with the OPCW confirmation of
Porton Down's identification of the substance (what substance--biophysical analysis of
metabolites in blood and tissue? Or bench quality (vs. weapons grade) high purity substances
found elsewhere--doorknobs, park bench...
Porton Down - officially the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) - tested the
samples and prepared a classified report for that mean-assed May guy and parliament.
May says Novichok - Russia did it and must be disciplined.
DSTL Chief Gary Aitkenhead (Ache-in-head, get it?) pokes head out of rabbit hole and says
that his scientists only identified substance as 'a Novichok-like military-grade nerve agent'
- that's it. Said they didn't make any determination where it came from. Not their job. MI6
and that May guy made that conclusion on source with additional, secret alternative
facts.
Russia cries foul becuause they're allowed to see either the DSTL technical report
(classified by UK and unwilling to share with Russia). May: "How DARE you question the
British Empire! We'll get the OPCW to confirm your guilt." UK delegation to the OPCW
requests technical assistance to verify findings.
OPCW collects Salsbury samples, sends of to some of their five permanent labs. I'm
surprised they didn't send to Porton Down - one of the five - and then hide that fact. In any
case, the Swiss Spiez Lab (Spy's - get it?)gets original DSTL analysis, analyzes the new
samples and confirms Porton Down's findings. Sends classified full analysis and report back
to OPCW.
OPCW prepares the Technical Assistance Report for UK based on their original request,
which was for independent confirmation of DSTL/Porton Down findings. The UK did NOT ask for
nor specify the name of the agent to be confirmed. Just yes/no - do you agree with Porton
Down's findings or not?
UK then tells OPCW Technical Secretariat they can share the still-classified yes/no report
with the rest of the OPCW party states. The otherwise sanitized report either had some
information on the chemical structure without naming it, or the Russians found out what Spiez
found. Russians look at it and say, "What the hell? That's BZ!"
Technical Secretariat prepares dumbed-down summary report as well for public consumption -
obviously without any of the technical detail identifying it as BZ. Russia now demanding that
UK and/or OPCW release the full Technical Assistance Report or the full Porton Down/Spiez
analysis.
That will be considered and rejected, of course. None of the other OPCW members apparently
know or are willing to disclose the BZ detail. Evil gasser Russia left to twist in the
wind.
I believe that the risk of war with Russia over Syria is growing rather than diminishing.
Although Donald Trump has toned down his idiotic tweet taunts and is no longer vowing an
imminent response, he still has painted himself into a PR corner and his only avenue of escape
is to launch cruise missiles against some obscure Syrian military or political target.
This will not be a mere repeat of the fireworks show from April of 2017, when Trump ordered
up a cruise missile strike on an isolated airfield in the aftermath of another staged
"chemical" attack by Syrian rebels. Trump blamed that supposed attack on Assad but did nothing
in terms of even marginally hurting Syrian military capabilities. But it was a feel good
political moment. Trump beat up the kid in a wheel chair and won praise as a tough guy.
Today the stakes are higher for Trump. The neocons and interventionist hawks are reminding
him that his attack last year accomplished nothing of import. And then they ramp up the stakes
by declaring that a failure to really hurt the Syrian military means that Trump is just a white
version of Obama. Trump is being told by many politicians on both sides of the aisle and a
horde of pundits that he has drawn a red line and must enforce it.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has issued a Warning Order to the relevant units
and an Alert/Deployment Order. This means that US forces are moving into position to launch
military operations when given the order to EXECUTE by Donald Trump.
We are not yet at that moment, but it appears to be nigh. Scuttlebutt is that SecDef Mattis
and CIA Acting Haspel are urging caution because there is no supporting intelligence for the
claim that a "chemical weapon" was used. In fact, there is not even confirmation about the
supposed civilian casualties.
I find it precious listening to the bipartisan parade of politicians and pundits decrying
the "murder" of innocent woman and children. I don't see those same folks decrying the bombings
of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. But hey, if you easily are shocked by hypocrisy then you will be in a
catatonic state if you even cursorily follow events and pronouncements in Washington, DC.
Here is what I think is going on. Mattis and Haspel are arguing for a delay in order for the
OPCW to get on the ground and conduct an initial assessment of what really happened. The
problem is that the OPCW is unlikely to find anything. But that will not be taken as proof that
the Syrians or Russians are innocent. The pressure for a strike will still be on.
According to US President Donald Trump, "the purpose of our actions tonight is to
establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical
weapons".
The US and its allies launched more than 100 strikes on Syria in a "one-time shot",
officials at the Pentagon said. According to a Syrian government official, around 30 missiles
were fired in the attack, and a third of them were shot down.
The US used Tomahawk cruise missiles in its strikes in Syria, which were fired at
multiple targets in the country, a US official said.
Joseph Dunford, Washington's top general, said the "precision strikes" hit three targets:
A scientific research centre near Damascus that is allegedly connected to the production of
the chemical weapons; a chemical weapons storage facility near Homs; a command post near the
capital.
Russia's ambassador to the US warned that there would be consequences for the strikes,
adding that it was not acceptable to insult Russia's president.
Iran: Strikes are 'flagrant violation of international law'
Iran's foreign ministry has said the strikes against Syria by the US, UK and France are a
"flagrant violation of international law" that "ignores sovereignty of Syria", Hezbollah's
al-Manar TV said.
UN chief urges restraint after strikes on Syria
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on UN member states "to show restraint in
these dangerous circumstances and to avoid any acts that could escalate the situation and
worsen the suffering of the Syrian people".
"Any use of chemical weapons is abhorrent. The suffering it causes is horrendous. I have
repeatedly expressed my deep disappointment that the Security Council failed to agree on a
dedicated mechanism for effective accountability for the use of chemical weapons in Syria. I
urge the Security Council to assume its responsibilities and fill this gap," he added.
Iran warns of 'regional consequences' of strikes
The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemned the strikes against Syria by the US, UK
and France.
It also warned of their regional consequences, Hezbollah's al-Manar TV said.
US Democratic leaders cautiously welcome decision on strikes
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer called the strikes "appropriate", but said, "the
administration has to be careful about not getting us into a greater and more involved war in
Syria".
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said: "One night of air strikes is not a substitute
for a clear, comprehensive Syria strategy."
US Republican leaders praise Trump's decision on strikes
US House Speaker Paul Ryan praised Trump's "decisive action in coordination with our
allies", adding: "We are united in our resolve."
Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman John McCain applauded the strikes but says "they
alone will not achieve US objectives in the Middle East."
Syria state TV: Strikes targeting position in Homs were thwarted
"The missiles that targeted a military position in Homs were thwarted and diverted from
their path, and injured three civilians," state news agency SANA said.
Syria state TV: Only material losses at research centre near Damascus
Syrian state media said that the US-led strikes caused material damage at a scientific
research centre in the Barzeh district of Damascus.
The attack destroyed a building that includes a learning centre and laboratories, state
TV said.
Strikes in Syria did not hit areas near Russian bases: Moscow
The Russian defence ministry said that none of the rockets launched in the Syria attack
entered the zones where Russian air defence systems are protecting facilities, Russian press
agency TASS reported.
Protesters in Damascus rally against US-led strikes: reports
Protesters are rallying in Damascus against the US, UK and French military action in
Syria, Lebanese media are reporting.
Amnesty urges Trump to take in Syrian refugees
Amnesty International warned that air strikes on Syria should "minimise harm to
civilians" and urged Trump to take in Syrian refugees.
"All precautions must be taken to minimise harm to civilians in any military action,"
Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for Middle East North Africa at Amnesty International USA,
said in a statement on Saturday.
"The Trump administration must not turn its back on the suffering of men, women, and
children by continuing to ban refugees from entering the United States. It is time for the US
to reopen our doors to people trying to escape from the violence in Syria," Jarrar
added.
Russia: 'Pre-designed scenario is being implemented'
Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said on Twitter that Russia "warned
such actions will not be left without consequences".
"A pre-designed scenario is being implemented," he tweeted, adding "again, we are being
threatened".
US officials informed Israel of the timing of the attack, Israeli sources say.
Pro-Assad official: Targets evacuated prior to attack
The Syrian government evacuated the targeted sites days ago thanks to a warning from
Russia, a senior official in a regional alliance that backs Damascus told Reuters news
agency.
"We had an early warning of the strike from the Russians ... and all military bases were
evacuated a few days ago," Reuters quoted the official as saying.
The official added that around 30 missiles were fired in the attack, saying "we are
carrying out an assessment of the material damages".
NATO chief: I support actions of US and allies
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he supported the actions taken by the US, UK
and France against Syria.
"I support the actions taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and France against
the Syrian regime's chemical weapons facilities and capabilities. This will reduce the
regime's ability to further attack the people of Syria with chemical weapons," Stoltenberg
said in a statement on Saturday.
Syrian opposition leader: All attacks on civilians must stop
Syrian opposition leader Nasra al-Hariri called for the end to all attacks against
civilians in Syria.
"Maybe the regime will not use chemical weapons again, but it will not hesitate to use
weapons the international community has allowed it, such as barrel bombs and cluster bombs,"
Hariri said in a tweet early on Saturday.
Russia: Syria hit as country had 'chance for peaceful future'
Russia's foreign ministry says Syria was attacked at the very moment the country had a
"chance for a peaceful future", Russian news agency RIA reported.
Maria Zakharova, the ministry spokeswoman, wrote on Facebook: "Those behind all this
claim moral leadership in the world and declare they are exceptional. You need to be really
exceptional to shell Syria's capital at the moment when it had gained a chance of a peaceful
future."
The foreign ministry also said that Western media has some responsibility for the attack
on Syria, which was based on its reports, according to RIA.
'Three targets hit'
Joseph Dunford, Washington's top general, said the precision strikes hit three targets -
a scientific research centre near Damascus, a storage facility and command post also near the
capital and a chemical weapons storage facility near Homs.
US top general: US did not notify Russia of targets
Washington's top general, Joesph Dunford, said Russia's forces in Syria had been warned
through existing "deconfliction" channels that Western planes would be in Syrian airspace,
but that Washington had not revealed the target sites or timing in advance.
US chairman of joint chiefs of staff: First wave of attacks ends
US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford announced the first wave of attacks
has ended.
Syrian state media says US-led strikes hit army depots
Syrian state media called the attacks by the US, France and the UK "a flagrant violation
of international law", adding that the attacks had targeted army depots in the Homs
area.
Russia warned 'such actions won't be left without consequences'
The Russian ambassador to the US said in a statement on the strikes that Russia warned
that "such actions will not be left without consequences".
Mattis: 'Right now, this is a one-time shot'
"Right now, this is a one-time shot, and I believe it has sent a very strong message," US
Secretary of Defense James Mattis said.
Syrian state TV: Syrian air defences responded to attack
Syrian state TV reports that Syrian air defences responded to the strikes by the US, UK
and France
Explosions heard in Damascus
As Trump announced the strikes, explosions were heard from Damascus, Reuters news agency
reported.
Emmanuel Macron confirms France's involvement
French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed France's involvement in the strikes.
UK's Theresa May: Strikes meant to 'deter the use of chemical weapons'
UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Britain's involvement in the strikes, saying: "We
would have preferred an alternative path. But on this occasion there is none."
She said the strikes were not about "regime change" or "intervening in a civil war", but
were to "deter the use of chemical weapons" by the Syrian government.
"I ordered the United States armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets
associated with the chemical weapon capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad," Trump
said from the White House late on Friday.
The purpose of the campaign is to "establish a strong deterrent against the production,
spread and use of chemical weapons," the US president said.
I am sorry for re-posting this comment on this thread. But I was wondering what others
thought about the possible scenario outlined below.
There is a Russian claim on April 13 that operatives from either UK, US, or France were
involved in the production of the fake attack. (I am betting these operatives are
UK--either SAS or MI6 field agents). (But it is probable there are also US operatives
there--likely CIA.)
There have been several to my knowledge unconfirmed reports from April 12 that UK,
Israeli, and Jordanian[!] operatives embedded with Jaysh al-Islam in Ghouta were captured
by the SAA.
There is an older late-March report of a UK led conspiracy to directly attack Damascus
in mid-March in the hopes of overturning the Syria government. The attack was to be
coordinated with the Skripal poisoning in the UK and would involve a false-flag chemical
attack; ostensibly followed by the US/NATO decapitation of Damascus from the air. That
comes from Thierry Meysann here: http://www.voltairenet.org/article200232.html
On February 18 the Syrian campaign against Ghouta began with full intensity. The
campaign was presented as a human rights disaster by all Western media outlets.
On March 17 Russia announced its awareness of at least two planned false-flag chemical
attacks: one in Eastern Ghouta involved "American instructors [who] have trained several
groups of insurgents near al-Tanfa in order to hold provocations with chemical weapons in
the south of Syria."
Meysann presents the plot as involving the coordination of Skripal's poisoning with the
staging of a chemical attack in Ghouta, leading to a US/NATO led bombing of Damascus.
Sputnik presents the plot as involving a "ground assault in Damascus" led by UK, Israeli,
and Jordanian operatives supported by massive air support from US/NATO.
One *possibility*, then, is something like this: the coordinated false-flag chemical
attack in Ghouta was originally to lead to another "Syrian" citizen-led mini uprising against
the Assad regime: This "Syrian" uprising, which would really be led by UK/US/Israel/Jordanian
operatives who could pass as Syrians, would aim to infiltrate Damascus from Ghouta and blow a
couple things up; meanwhile, the Skripal affair plus the false chemical attack plus the false
"Syrian" citizen ground-resistance in Damascus would propel the world to call for US/NATO
decapitation of the "regime".
This--or something like it--is perhaps what Russia discovered was afoot, and why Russia
and the SAA so zealously sought to clear out Ghouta from February 18 onward. Russia was aware
that by clearing out Ghouta quickly enough, the full ground attack on Damascus could be
thwarted in time; but there was still the possibility that a chemical attack might be staged
nonetheless. Hence their announcement on March 17. This effectively told the UK/US that the
larger planned coup had been discovered and was not going to happen. The staged attack of
April 8 was supposed to be part of a larger coordinated rush upon Damascus, which would
ensure that the staged attack could never be properly investigated. The US/NATO would bomb
the evidence to smithereens.
It was ultimately perhaps a stupid decision for these operatives to go through with the
staged attack once one could no longer be sure that it would not be investigated owing to the
US/NATO bombing it was supposed to be coordinated with. We'll see.
This could be all wrong. It's just one possible reconstruction. But I don't find it
immediately *im*plausible. Should I?
"... "This is where it gets very interesting and dangerous. Russia has drawn its own redline. Putin and his Generals know for a fact that there was no chemical weapon of any kind used in Syria. They recently warned the world that this kind of staged event was in the offing. They know what they have and have not done on the ground and know the lies spilling from Washington, London and Paris are vicious calumny. They are not a punching bag and are not going to sit back and do nothing. ..."
"... As PT stated, it is unlikely that DJT's ego could accept the sinking of a US Navy ship or a demonstration of the ineffectiveness of some of our missiles. The temptation for him to raise the stakes in escalation would be overwhelming. Remember, the neocons would be whispering in his ear that if we push the Russians just a little more they will submit to "The Greatest President." ..."
"... If an all out nuclear exchange occurred between the US and Russia both countries would be wrecked. Do we really want to risk that? pl ..."
I have the following comment today from
a retired Russian officer.
********
"This is where it gets very interesting and dangerous. Russia has drawn its own redline.
Putin and his Generals know for a fact that there was no chemical weapon of any kind used in
Syria. They recently warned the world that this kind of staged event was in the offing. They
know what they have and have not done on the ground and know the lies spilling from Washington,
London and Paris are vicious calumny. They are not a punching bag and are not going to sit back
and do nothing.
A lot will depend on the "structure" and the "weight" of a possible salvo and how respective
militaries will communicate with each-other. It was indicated strongly by Pentagon that they
are trying to do their utmost in avoiding hitting of Russian regulars in Syria. I am sure that
if within the range of namely Russia's (not Syria's) AD assets any TLAM will be shot down--this
is so to speak "not that big of a deal" scenario. Washington draft-dodgers, however, push for
attack on specifically Russian assets, including Damascus and recently including Douma where
alleged attack took place. The reason being bombing the place of staging of this false flag
into oblivion and then saying that no we can not prove that attack didn't happen. Obviously, it
is not the case anymore, since Douma in under control of SAA and Russian MPs.
Most people in Pentagon and, obviously, some in the so called IC understand consequences of
attacking Russians directly--they know the score, they have calculated probabilities for a
number of contingencies and none of them, obviously, looks good for CENTCOM assets in the area.
But for the BORG there is no way back--and the reasons for that are way larger than Syria. We
are talking about global realignment and major shift in power balance. This is not an easy
thing to take to self-proclaimed "exceptional" people in Washington plus add here their utter
lack of grasp of scales and proportions involved in a purely military aspect--it is difficult
to those who never spent a day in uniform and whose military "expertise" is limited to few
seminars on strategy and weapons and on, not always first class, work by Congressional Research
Service. Thus, on American side we have today not rational players." Pen Name -
Smoothiex12
-------------
In my opinion Smoothiex12 speaks truth. The Russians have decided that they will fight us if
there is more than a symbolic punitive strike in Syria, a strike in retaliation for an event
that even the US MSM now speaks of as "suspected," "alleged" and "reported." The US went to war
against Spain over a suspected attack on the armored cruiser USS Maine. The ship was at anchor
in Havana harbor. It exploded and sank and although the US Navy could not at the time determine
the cause, the Hearst newspaper chain insisted that the Spanish government had destroyed the
ship. The same newspapers had been propagandizing the American people for months with wild
tales of the "monstrous" deeds of the Spaniards toward the Cuban revolutionaries who were
trying to end Spanish rule of the island. This sensationalist grab for circulation triggered
war with Spain. Many years later the US Navy determined that a smoldering fire in a coal bunker
heated a metal wall and that this had detonated the magazine of the ship on the other side of
that bulkhead. Today we have 24/7 TV news vying for ratings. Nothing else matters for them.
They neither understand Syria, nor do they understand what the outcome would be of a US-Russian
war that escalates from a regional response to use of nuclear weapons against the two
homelands.
Mike Pompeo smugly told the US Senate yesterday that American air strikes had killed "a
couple hundred" Russians recently. He obviously likes that idea. At the same time the Russian
government has sent its key political, societal, and scientific cadres to deep underground
shelters built during the Brezhnev era and Russian state media have told the citizenry to
prepare itself for World War III.
As PT stated, it is unlikely that DJT's ego could accept the sinking of a US Navy ship
or a demonstration of the ineffectiveness of some of our missiles. The temptation for him to
raise the stakes in escalation would be overwhelming. Remember, the neocons would be whispering
in his ear that if we push the Russians just a little more they will submit to "The Greatest
President."
If an all out nuclear exchange occurred between the US and Russia both countries would
be wrecked. Do we really want to risk that? pl
"Monica styles"... Trump is fighting fore survival with Tomahawks trying to solve his problem
with junfoism.
Notable quotes:
"... "[I]f this president can decide unilaterally to bomb Syria, I worry that he can make the same decision about North Korea or Iran or other nations. And these decisions are not supposed to be made without consultation and voting by Congress." Unfortunately, Congressional leaders have shown no signs of wanting to hold a debate or have a vote before the attack takes place. ..."
"... The Trump administration has not offered a public legal justification for last year's strikes, and it seems unlikely to offer one this time. That is probably because there is no plausible interpretation of the law that permits the president to initiate hostilities against foreign governments on his own when the U.S. has not been attacked. ..."
"... Daniel Larison is a senior editor at ..."
"... where he also keeps a solo blog . He has been published in the ..."
"... Front Porch Republic, and ..."
"... . He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago. Follow him on Twitter . ..."
One year since the U.S. illegally launched 59 cruise missiles at Syrian government forces in
response to an alleged chemical weapons attack, the Trump administration is preparing to take
similar military action despite an increased risk of escalation that could lead to the start of
a wider war.
The U.S., France, and Britain have been
preparing to strike the Syrian government over the last several days, and Syria's Russian
patron has threatened the "gravest consequences" in response to an attack. Russia didn't
respond to last year's one-off airstrikes, but Moscow isn't likely to tolerate a larger U.S.
attack carried out with other governments. Syria's government and its allies seem more willing
to
fight back than they were a year ago, and that should give the Trump administration and our
European allies pause. There is a greater risk of great power conflict erupting in Syria than
there has been at any time since the end of the Cold War, and if Russian military personnel are
killed by U.S. or allied strikes there is no telling how quickly things could deteriorate there
and in other parts of the world.
President Trump's public statements have strongly suggested that an attack will be happening
soon, going so far as to
taunt Russia on Twitter that they should "get ready" for the "new" and "smart" missiles
that the U.S. would be using. Some members of Congress have insisted that the president lacks
the legal authority to launch an attack on Syria without their authorization. As Sen. Tim Kaine
(D-Virginia)
put it , "[I]f this president can decide unilaterally to bomb Syria, I worry that he
can make the same decision about North Korea or Iran or other nations. And these decisions are
not supposed to be made without consultation and voting by Congress." Unfortunately,
Congressional leaders have shown no signs of wanting to hold a debate or have a vote before the
attack takes place.
The Trump administration has not offered a public legal justification for last year's
strikes, and it seems unlikely to offer one this time. That is probably because there is no
plausible interpretation of the law that permits the president to initiate hostilities against
foreign governments on his own when the U.S. has not been attacked. There is no provision
in international law that allows a U.S. attack on another government without explicit Security
Council authorization, and we know that this authorization that will never be forthcoming in
this case because of Russia's veto. While the attack is being sold as the enforcement of a norm
against chemical weapons use, it isn't possible to uphold an international norm while violating
the most fundamental rule of international law.
To date, the U.S. and its allies have presented no definitive evidence to support their
claims against the Syrian government. It is entirely plausible that the Syrian government is
guilty of using chlorine or sarin against its enemies and the civilian population, but there
has been no real effort on the part of the U.S. and its allies to prove their accusation before
deciding to act as executioners. Regardless, the U.S. and its allies have no authority to
punish the Syrian government, and in doing so they may do significant harm to international
peace and security.
A U.S.-led attack on the Syrian government could lead to war with Russia or Iran or both at
once, and there is also a danger that it could help set off a war between Israel and Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said earlier this week that Israel would not "allow" an Iranian military presence to be
established in Syria. The prime minister's threat came on the heels of Israeli strikes inside
Syria that reportedly killed seven Iranians serving alongside the Syrian regime's forces. Iran
has threatened retaliation for the attack, and it has the ability through Hizbullah to make
good on that threat if Israel carries out additional strikes. Israel might use a U.S.-led
attack on Iran's allies in Syria as an excuse to strike more Iranian targets, and Iran might
then respond in kind with missile attacks on Israel. Lebanese, Syrian, and Israeli civilians
would all suffer if that happened, and it would make an already chaotic international situation
even worse.
It is a measure of how divorced from U.S. and allied security our Syria policy has become
that our government is seriously preparing to launch another illegal attack on a government
that hasn't attacked us and doesn't threaten us or our allies. Attacking the Syrian government
won't make the U.S. or any other country more secure, and it will likely weaken the government
just enough to prolong Syria's civil war and add to the suffering of the civilian population.
It is a perfect example of a military intervention that is being done for its own sake with no
connection to any discernible interests or strategy. No one stands to gain from such an attack
except for the ideologues that have incessantly demanded deeper U.S. involvement in Syria for
the last six years.
Daniel Larison is a senior editor at TAC, where he also keeps a solo blog . He has been published
in the New York Times Book Review, Dallas Morning News, Front Porch Republic, and
The Week . He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago. Follow him on
Twitter .
Trump launched more then 100 rockets against military and civil object in Syria. Russia decided to stand still as none of Russia
army positions was targeted.
Notable quotes:
"... I dont agree at all, I dont know where this optisim comes from, we are closer to war in a long time, no way west will back now ..."
"... Can Russia prove Brit involvement? IMO, Russia wouldn't be making the statements it's now making if it wasn't 100% certain. And as I posted at previous thread, Russian rhetoric is vociferous in a manner I've never seen previously -- Mad as Hell and not going to take it anymore is my bet. ..."
"... The tipping point was when Johnson(?) compared them to Nazis. The Russians did all the hard work in defeating the Nazis, losing 26 million in the process. They have stopped using the term 'partners' when refering to NATO country diplomats. They now use the term 'correspondents'. That is a subtle sign that they no longer have any respect for the respective countries. They have described the US as 'non-negotiation-capable'. I suspect the UK falls into that now. ..."
"... No one should be surprised of the manipulated videos. Wait until computer altered (DeepFake) videos become more realistic. It will be difficult to separate the lies from the truth. ..."
"... I fear Madman Bolton will prevail over Mad Dog Mattis. The Washington Post has a believable analysis that Trump has too much at stake. He wants to win after blaming Obama on failure. The New York Post has reported a whole entire armada U S warships steaming towards the Middle East. It's up to the Russians now to decide the fate of humankind. ..."
"... Get real, this whole fake chemistry exercise was a great success.....in taking the Gaza shooting gallery off the world press's front pages, just as MH17 was with Operation Protective Edge ..."
"... The "chemical attack" hoax was likely rushed into being as the window of opportunity was rapidly closing. The previous hoaxes relied on tight control of the locations, and the inability to do so this time will prove its undoing. Russian proof of UK involvement could well consist of intercepted communications -- such as arranging the satellite transmissions necessary for dissemination of the videos. ..."
"... Regarding US/UK cover-up attempt. IMO, there are too many witnesses -- hundreds if not several thousands -- and other forms of physical evidence besides testable residues -- which don't exist because there was never any chemical attack. The domestic morass both Trump and May are in require nearly continuous distractions but are vastly different. ..."
"... I fear that the hordes of loonies will convince him to launch an attack to disrupt the OPCW investigation and even target Douma claiming that civilians have been evacuated and only evil storm troopers are there. ..."
"... I hope you're right, but the dotard Donald has shot off so much nonsense that drawing back now might not be an option. He has a notoriously fragile ego, and he needs to at least fire off some missiles to prove his "big hands". ..."
"... The chemical " attack " investigation reminds me of the UN inspectors just before the Iraq war. TPTB can easily make it look like they've " gave peace a chance ", then another attack occurs, forcing the investigators to leave the area. Trump will then have the excuse to launch another strike. I hope Trump is trolling the Zios. ..."
"... The great question is - can 'Western' industry keep burning without explicit , bargain price control of SIBERIAN resources. According to Chomsky the U S has international interests and controls garnering the economic wealth of 50% of the planet . ..."
"... That is *very* interesting. The date corroborates the hypothesis of a premeditated orchestration of the Skripal poisoning with the planned US/NATO decapitation of Damascus in late March (which was to be justified on the basis of Skripal + staged chemical attack + fake "Syrian" unrest in Damascus). ..."
"... It appears that this was done by the same British agency affiliated with individuals involved in creating the utterly fabricated documents used to falsely claim there was collusion between my campaign and Russia. This gives evidence that part of the British government not only attempted to block my election, and then over-turn it, but to falsely lead the US into a war. ..."
"... We have started to root out members of the US deep-state, McCabe, Comey, Ohr and others who have been involved in attempting to overturn a democratic election and foment dangerous hostility with Russia. There will be more of them outed soon. The DOJ Inspector General's report, just released in part, and Congressional investigations show that the conspiracy involved both US officials and associates of British intelligence agencies. This recent evidence of British officials attempting to get the US into a war suggests they were also involved in the intervention in US politics. ..."
"... Its not impossible that there is a rogue element in MI6, but I don't believe they would act without approval by CIA - which may indicate a rogue element there also. I can't (at this stage) believe the UK Govt is in on this. May and Johnson don't have the balls for this; after all, they can't even tell Junker to fuck off. ..."
"... What seems clear to me (based on everything I have read on this board, other blogs like Syrpers, alt news sources and the MSM) is that, beginning with the start of the assault on East Ghouta and intensifying as the SAA and allies achieved unexpectedly rapid success, the reaction of the Coalition of Cruelty has been increasingly strident, with the UK being particularly virulent in its rhetoric. ..."
"... Diplomatic decorum has broken down and the forms and norms of international law no longer being paid even lip service. There is a panicked quality to the false flags that suggest they are improvising on the go. I think this indicates that the western alliance against Assad has already suffered, or is about to suffer, a catastrophic setback in their plans to overthrow the Syrian Government and that the Russians still hold the initiative. ..."
"... It seems to me we're seeing two major elements at work. One is the practically solid wall of propaganda in the media, and two is the biased international institutions, heavily weighted in favor of the previous rulers of the planet, the western world. ..."
"... The propaganda doesn't mean much, because the people who believe it are almost by definition powerless. But it does require a narrative in order to work, and that story-line doesn't have to hold water very tightly, because the media have the populace pretty well saturated. But the flimsiness of the story creates a problem when it's used in more rigorous arenas - which it is, because it forms part of the overall culture generally believed by the institutions, and also believed by the propagandists over time, simply because it forms part of the culture. ..."
"... So the answer to save Syrian lives from their regime is to kill more Syrians. No one will be allowed to kill more women and children than the great western alliance. Have we not said this enough? ..."
"... Well I was wrong. Looks like US and cronies had to strike before any OPCW report. ..."
Today the Russian Defense Ministry accused Britain
of having directed the staged attack:
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, released statements by medics from Douma's hospital who said a
group of people toting video cameras entered the hospital, shouting that its patients were struck with chemical weapons and causing
panic. The medics said none of the patients were hurt by chemicals.
Herearevideos of that hospital scenes from the 'rebel' propaganda
outlets. The 'treatment' by the 'rebels', dousing with water and administering some asthma spray, is unprofessional and many of the
'patients' seem to have no real problem. It is theater. The real medical personal is seen in the background working on a real patient.
The people in the video scenes were "rent-a-mob" actors which the Russians
say they have found. They also found the medics and
videotaped their statements . They Russian government
claims to know the main culprit:
"Today, the Russian defense ministry has other evidence proving the United Kingdom's direct involvement in the organization of
this provocation in Eastern Ghouta," [Igor Konashenkov, the defense ministry's spokesman] said.
An OPCW technical team has arrived in Damascus. It will investigate the scene and talk to the witnesses.
Cause of the recent panic were a few videos by several propaganda outlets associated with Takfiri 'rebels' in Ghouta. These videos
immediately looked staged to me. Yes, they showed dead people - mainly children - in a basement or apartment. But the bodies were
not in the place where they had died and were probably not, as was claimed, killed by chemical weapons.
In the videos some 20 dead children and a few women lie on the floor as if they were thrown in there. The scene was obviously
manipulated several times. The various videos show the bodies in different positions. They have been moved around for presentation.
Later videos show, for example, a baby in diapers on top of two older kids. In an earlier video that baby is not there.
The 'rebel' claim that the people were killed by chlorine and a nerve agent: "Look, the dead have foam at their mouth." (Foam
at the mouth is wrongly assumed to be a sure symptom of exposure to a nerve agent.)
Yes, they have foam at their mouth. But it seems to be shaving foam and/or some white gel, not a human secretion. We
have seen
this trick before .
The corridor where the cameraman stands at that moment is filled with dead bodies. The body with the white bonnet on its head
lies in a backroom. The detail picture below is turned 180 degree:
A screenshot from the second video. The body with the white bonnet has been moved from the backroom to the corridor and added
to a pile of other bodies.
It is the same body with the same cloth in a different position. It seems obvious that shaving cream or something similar has
been added to the body after it was moved. The shaving cream simulates "foaming at the mouth".
Stephen McIntyre found and collected
several other discrepancies between the various videos from the scene.
The people shown have died. They probably suffocated after a shelter collapsed
as the Syrian Observatory reported on that day . But the videos
were likely not made at the scene of that incident. The bodies had been moved and manipulated. There were likely no chemical weapons
involved in their death.
It would have made no sense at all for the Syrian government to launch a 'chemical attack' on a nonmilitary target in the Douma
situation. Its imminent victory was already guaranteed. The 'rebels' and their supporters had their reasons to fake such an 'attack'.
It was an attempt to drag the U.S. into destroying the Syrian government and its army. It nearly succeeded.
The various 'leaks' and media claims around the staged 'attack' have reached comical grounds.
Biological samples from the area of the alleged chemical attack in Syria have tested positive for chlorine and a sarin-like nerve
agent, according to a US official familiar with the US analysis of the test results.
...
Medical sources and activists in Syria said blood, urine and hair follicle samples were smuggled in batches to Turkey after rebel
groups and their families were pushed out of the area by the Assad regime, CNN reported earlier on Friday.
The sources did not know what happened to the samples after they reached Turkey.
That chain of evidence is joke and the claim is nonsense. There is simply no way to diagnose chlorine exposure in blood, urine
or hair samples.
The Center of Disease Control notes of Chlorine
exposure:
Laboratory criteria for diagnosis:
Biologic: No biologic marker for chlorine exposure is readily available.
...
Chlorine is highly reactive. When it enters the bloodstream it turns into chloride and associates with sodium and potassium and
other basic elements. The natural chloride level in a body is already quite high and changes often. We all eat and naturally dispose
of table salt, aka sodium chloride, each and every day. The chloride level in a body can be measured but it is not a criterion for
chlorine exposure. The 'official' who made those claims to CNN is lying.
The evidence for a 'chemical attack' in Douma is simply not there. The videos provided by the 'rebel' propaganda outlets are manipulated.
Medical personal in Douma dispute their propaganda claims.
Secretary of Defense Mattis spoke out and U.S. allies refused to swallow the faked evidence. Donald Trump pulled back from his
earlier aggressive threats. There will likely be no bombing of Syria and in consequence no violent conflict with Russia.
Trump already began to change the headlines. He just
pardoned
Dick Cheney's former errant boy Scooter Libby. He is preparing the grounds for pardoning his own staff should they be caught up in
the Mueller investigation.
This will give the media enough material to cover throughout the weekend and to forget about attacking Syria.
The staged 'chemical attack' was designed to draw Trump back into the conflict over Syria after he announced that he wants the
U.S. military to pull out. Has it changed his mind? Will those who initiated this stunt, probably the Brits, try again?
Will Russia be able to prove its claim of British involvement? If so could it
free Yulia Scripal ?
Posted by b on April 13, 2018 at 04:12 PM |
Permalink
I dont agree at all, I dont know where this optisim comes from, we are closer to war in a long time, no way west will back now,
no way, the attack will create a huge impact and will come sudden, I suspect within 2 weeks.
Can Russia prove Brit involvement? IMO, Russia wouldn't be making the statements it's now making if it wasn't 100% certain.
And as I posted at previous thread, Russian rhetoric is vociferous in a manner I've never seen previously -- Mad as Hell and not
going to take it anymore is my bet.
My question: When the proof is presented by Russia will Western media be allowed to show it? IMO, it will be presented Saturday
in enough time for it to be front and center on the Sunday political talk shows--IF it's going to be shown and discussed.
I'm hoping you're correct in your outlook. I too am pessimistic after so much bluster and weapons put in place. This is no time
to relax. People in the USA should call their Representatives and the White House. There are previously planned antiwar protests
in several cities this Sunday. https://www.springaction2018.org/
"State Department spokesperson Sara Huckabee, in today's briefing, said they have "proof" the Syrian government is behind the
gas attack." Let's see it. Need to know source of proof. Colin Powell is that you?
"Russian rhetoric is vociferous in a manner I've never seen previously--Mad as Hell and not going to take it anymore is my
bet."
The tipping point was when Johnson(?) compared them to Nazis. The Russians did all the hard work in defeating the Nazis,
losing 26 million in the process. They have stopped using the term 'partners' when refering to NATO country diplomats. They now
use the term 'correspondents'. That is a subtle sign that they no longer have any respect for the respective countries. They have
described the US as 'non-negotiation-capable'. I suspect the UK falls into that now.
No one should be surprised of the manipulated videos. Wait until computer altered (DeepFake) videos become more realistic.
It will be difficult to separate the lies from the truth.
Tannenhouser @4:
That two weeks is related to a claim of the USS Truman Carrier Group (CVN, 6DDG and 4SSGN) leaving port. Apparently it takes
two weeks to get from CONUS to Syria.
I certainly hope that the Russian evidence is made public ASAP, and that it is sold and beyond doubt.
We need to stop the accusations, counter accusation, counter counter accusation. This is becoming like two children in the
back seat of the car winding each up to an inevitable fight.
Unfortunately is will never be allowed on the British MSM, so it will be up to the likes of us to make sure it is as widely
known as possible! If incontrovertible evidence isn't presented soon, i fear more incredulous accusations will be made for example
these ones:-
apparently British 'intelligence' services have just made the discovery that the Russian GRU have had both the Skripal's under
surveillance for FIVE YEARS.
Additionally
The British copy of Russian secret services Assassination Manual, (otherwise known by it's working title of "How to totally
bodge an assassination and ensure your enemies know it was you" [*jk*]), contains a section on how to kill someone by door knob.
This will be used as further 'proof' of guilt! And therefore justification for immediate military strike, possibly before Monday,
so Prime Minster May dosn't have to face the embarrassment of having to back down and have a vote in parliament, (which in theory
at least she could lose, but in practice will win due to the total lack of opposition, and 2 years of propaganda since the last
vote), after they return from Easter Recess.
I fear Madman Bolton will prevail over Mad Dog Mattis. The Washington Post has a believable analysis that Trump has too much
at stake. He wants to win after blaming Obama on failure. The New York Post has reported a whole entire armada U S warships steaming
towards the Middle East. It's up to the Russians now to decide the fate of humankind.
Suggestion the attack will occur tonight (before inspectors arrive):
WaelAlRussi If they don't the momentum will dissipate completely. More people will publicly question the (evidence free
assertions) claims. British parliament may try to vote, etc. Plus markets are closed till Monday (and besides it's Friday the
13th).
Can't recall where I read this info, but elder Skripal was being surveilled by FSB cause working with MI6 and Ukrainian regime.
So, he was being watched, but just how closely? Perhaps to the point where Russia knows UK's lying. In other words, Mr. Skripal
remains in employ of MI6.
Karlofi @ 11: The SAA found a makeshift chemical laboratory near Shifouniyeh in East Ghouta in mid-March. Sharmine Narwani was
one of the first journalists (or probably the only journalist) at the scene just after it was discovered. I do not know of any
others found until the one discovered in Aftris. It could be that news about the Shifouniyeh CW lab has spread like wildfire across
Middle Eastern news media and Western news blogs.
In other news, the SAA found a jihadi film studio (including cameras and filming equipment) in Saqba in East Ghouta.
There is a tempo to this, move/counter-move. Russia has the momentum at the moment but Britain and friends will regroup and come
at it again. I'm afraid the British government has moved beyond the point of retreat. I'm just stunned by the clumsy, mendacious
actions of the British government; they've completely lost control of this.
Trump set his street creds with the MOAB and the 60 Tomahawk missiles early on as the crazy man, the Dr Strangeglove type riding
the missile. the US congress and senate is a drunken lynch mob living in Hollywood hallucinations. If Trump makes the wrong move
they will lynch him. When he rides the missile, the drunken mob cheers and say he looks very presidential. Mad Dog has his street
creds in his name. He is the military expert and when trump rides the missile, mad dog talks to the crowd and the crowd listens.
Each time Trump rides the missile I think he really is crazy, he's going to do it this time.
........
The main problem for the US is mass delusion. They (Clinton types) will take the US to a point that that Russia has no option
to destroy it. Like Putin was/is a man for his time in Russia, Trump is to the US. He does not live in the delusion. He uses twitter
to work the delusional mob.
Get real, this whole fake chemistry exercise was a great success.....in taking the Gaza shooting gallery off the world press's
front pages, just as MH17 was with Operation Protective Edge
Rumors of agreement between Russia and Israel entailing removal of Iranian troops from Syria for guarantee of purely symbolic
strike by US. Have no idea if accurate.
Or is US racing to bomb Ghouta before the extent of its deception becomes impossible any longer to deny? If there is *political*
desperation behind the UK/US urgency to strike quickly, things could get out of hand.
Also: Russia now approved to use Iranian airfield in Hamedan exchange for airfield's use of Pantsir and S-400 SAM defenses:
https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee
To me, this agreement suggests somebody is anticipating a more than "symbolic" imminent strike.
The "chemical attack" hoax was likely rushed into being as the window of opportunity was rapidly closing. The previous hoaxes
relied on tight control of the locations, and the inability to do so this time will prove its undoing. Russian proof of UK involvement
could well consist of intercepted communications -- such as arranging the satellite transmissions necessary for dissemination
of the videos.
That the medical personnel who describe the WH theatrical performance can be seen in the WH videos adds tremendous credibility
to the notion of a hoax. This will be confirmed when the OPCW arrives and the 500 alleged wounded victims will have vanished,
and the tests on the rent-a crowd from the videos show nothing. It is predictable that all of this will be obscured or greatly
downplayed by the West's media - but credibility is going to take a massive hit, both globally and with a sizeable minority of
the population. The May government is in serious jeopardy now.
Regarding US/UK cover-up attempt. IMO, there are too many witnesses -- hundreds if not several thousands -- and other forms
of physical evidence besides testable residues -- which don't exist because there was never any chemical attack. The domestic
morass both Trump and May are in require nearly continuous distractions but are vastly different. Events on the global stage
are moving in a direction no longer controllable by UK/US as in the past--their unipolar moment is burning up upon reentry, but
that reality is brutally ignored. And US/UK behavior over this false flag is helping other NATO vassals to reassert their independence.
A massive demonstration's been called for UK this Monday. Perhaps the Social Media weapon so touted during Arab Spring will finally
bite back with a vengeance those who initially manipulated it.
"[UK] credibility is going to take a massive hit, both globally and with a sizeable minority of the population. The May
government is in serious jeopardy now."
This is what I fear @14. It could lead the UK/US to do something drastic: like bombing away the evidence... Arguably this is
how Russia is reading the situation. If an attack comes in the next 24 hours it will be partly through UK political desperation
and things could go south fast.
The earliest link I have come across refering to captured British (SAS?) officers, plus some Saudis, is this one from 8 March
2018 (interesting timing wrt Skripal). It includes a photograph of one of the alleged military officers. Subsequent captures seem
to have been kept tightly under wraps -- those captured were allegedly trying to escape disguisd as civilians. The 11 British
seem to have been captured en masse at two villages in the east Ghouta area.
@21. Im not sure it would have made the front page anyways....Either way interesting thought. Kinda like the OJ white bronco right
when Rwanda was seeing the worst of it, IIRC, or Bruce Springsteen's anti war anthem Wrecking Ball being obliterated by Hannah
Montana's bondage suit wrecking ball.
I fear that the hordes of loonies will convince him to launch an attack to disrupt the OPCW investigation and even target
Douma claiming that civilians have been evacuated and only evil storm troopers are there.
I am hoping that when I read PS 68:30 ... Scatter the nations who delight in war that it was not a coincidence.
That the forces gathering against Syria will disperse.
I hope you're right, but the dotard Donald has shot off so much nonsense that drawing back now might not be an option. He
has a notoriously fragile ego, and he needs to at least fire off some missiles to prove his "big hands".
I still disagree. No doubt everything's correct what you state about the videos and so on, but the war preparations are still
on. The mass media did not change tune, and most important Tronald is not this peace loving guy you make him seem. As long as
the OPCW people are in Syria of course nothing will happen, but after they leave it's shooting time.
The chemical " attack " investigation reminds me of the UN inspectors just before the Iraq war. TPTB can easily make it look
like they've " gave peace a chance ", then another attack occurs, forcing the investigators to leave the area. Trump will then
have the excuse to launch another strike. I hope Trump is trolling the Zios.
Tannenhouser @13:
Yes, deployments are planned well in advance, especially carrier groups. But, adding a few more ships shouldn't be too difficult.
More importantly, their orders can change on a whim. The top speed of their ships is classified which means they can reach the
area much sooner. The two week journey could be seen as a delay tactic, to allow cooler heads to prevail. Maybe they'll get "lost"
and find themselves on an island. ;)
The great question is - can 'Western' industry keep burning without explicit , bargain price control of SIBERIAN resources.
According to Chomsky the U S has international interests and controls garnering the economic wealth of 50% of the planet .
Would be interesting to read a space-age rewrite of Lenin's , ' Imperialism as the Highest Stage of Capitalism ' at this juncture
- and let us hope it is not a puncture !
Thank you. That is *very* interesting. The date corroborates the hypothesis of a premeditated orchestration of the Skripal
poisoning with the planned US/NATO decapitation of Damascus in late March (which was to be justified on the basis of Skripal +
staged chemical attack + fake "Syrian" unrest in Damascus).
If I might conjecture a bit further, perhaps the Skripal attack was rushed on account of the East Ghouta campaign that had
begun in mid-February. Perhaps the fear was that East Ghouta might be cleared before the Skripal attack could supply the link
to the staged chemical attack. (Perhaps the original chemical attack was not to be "staged" but was intended to be real: a *real*
false-flag chemical attack is after all what Russian intelligence suggests.)
The odd thing--or perhaps it is not odd--is that one could make the case that the UK/US has more or less kept to original script
of the play-act, even as it has been shredded before us. They have after all strongly *insinuated* that there is a link between
Skripal and East Ghouta. They are *acting* as though the staged chemical attack really happened. The next step in the plan was
to be a civil "Syrian" ground insurrection in Damascus leading directly to a US/NATO aerial decapitation. The civil "Syrian" ground
insurrection has been taken away from them. But might they not decide to conclude the last act as planned anyhow? If this is right--and
thankfully it is probably not--we should expect to see a major bombardment campaign begin within 24 hours or so.
Perhaps a tad OT. Tom Engelhardt pens an interesting
essay: "A Tale of American Hubris Or Five Lessons in American Defeat." Excerpt:
"Shakespeare would have been fascinated by the hubris of America's leaders in these years (and that was before Mr. Hubris Himself
even hit the White House). It couldn't be clearer today that the military-first grab for an all-American planet proved strikingly
too much for the U.S. to swallow by an Iraqi mile. It never even came close to happening. When the history of American decline
is written, perhaps it will be said that never was there a great power whose leaders so effectively took it down themselves simply
by wanting too much too badly and by woefully misunderstanding the nature of power on this planet. For Washington, the urge to
make Earth into its imperium proved the equivalent of a submarine putting a torpedo into its own bow."
Yes, as Mercouris has suggested, control of the crime scene in Ghouta may make a pre-emptive NATO strike more likely, to intimidate
the inspectors and destroy evidence.
Russia's claim to have proof of Western instigation of the whole false flag might also increase chances of early strike--to
change the subject. Perhaps the Russians would rather the strike come now than wait for the carrier group to arrive.
The great weakness in the Russian position is that the Kremlin and Russian government generally is riddled with western agents.
This means that the unequivocal warnings that Russia is giving are muted by reassurances from Fifth Columnists that there will
be no retaliation and that Russia is afraid of the US.
Such misunderstandings are what lie at the roots of war between powers: each feels that the other will back down, until they don't.
I hope that I am wrong and that the neo-cons are not feeding false intelligence from their agents in Russia to Bolton and Trump.
But given the amateurish nature of the current White House-very much like the idiocy which prevailed in 2003- rationality is likely
to be overborne by loud mouths and bravado.
Of course, if the OPCW inspectors fail to find evidence of a chemical attack in Douma, then it opens up a whole new can of worms
for the west.....who lied? who produced the videos? who published them? Why? Have previous CW attacks been fake now? And...more
importantly....why did our media fall for these fakes hook, line and sinker....nearly bringing us to the edge of a global war....
History repeats itself with remarkable synchronicity. Tsar Putin sent his virtual pro Russian alt-media fleet to Donald Trump's
rescue, to assist with US withdrawal from Syria, whilst UK Zionist media did everything in it's power to block the move, from
Skirpal to E. Ghouta.
U.S. Civil War: The US-Russian Alliance that Saved the Union
We have just experienced a fully staged Cuban Missile Crisis type event, to cover for the US withdrawal from Syria, and it
seems to have bought Donald Trump some time, at least until UK controlled Zionist media regains it's senses and comes back for
more.
Of course it's more like 1862-3 than 1865, and whereas the Union was easily going to win the first Civil War this time the
balance of forces is almost reversed, expecially in terms of the psychological battlespace, and excluding the US military which
remains firmly committed to the Union and Donald Trump, nothwithstanding the multitude of chicken shit weasels like David Petraeus.
Next up, the Congressional Battle of Gettysburg in Novemeber.
The only think Yulia can do to save her life is to escape and try to get to the russian embassy asap.
also the reason state department ngo's are banned in many countries is because they try to stir up trouble for uncooperative governments.
You can bet the farm that Russia has been monitoring all signals traffic throughout Syria. Once the Ghouta capture was underway
they likely jammed signals in that area, which could be why the white helmets still went ahead thinking the larger plan was still
in play.
All in all, a very sloppy job by MI6. And it would have been signed off with the US/CIA.
"Of course, if the OPCW inspectors fail to find evidence of a chemical attack in Douma, then it opens up a whole new can of
worms for the west.....who lied? who produced the videos? who published them? Why? Have previous CW attacks been fake now?"
- Hermius
This is what should happen if we were not on Bizzaro earth and we had a moderately, competent press corp. It would be an actual
'bombshell report' not their moronic 'bombshell reports' on an insignificant flunky getting indicted.
Think about it. The ONE place where inspectors had access to an alleged chemical attack proves to be a hoax. Any logical person
would then think, 'Hmmm ... maybe the other times, where we only relied on videos, those were faked too'.
Melania loves her son. And considering how much trouble the Donald has to be in since she found out (at the same time the entire
western world found out) what he was up to while she was in hospital going thru childbirth pain, well, maybe she just glared over
at the pillow next to hers last night and said "Husband, you are NOT allowed to risk burning the world my son lives in no matter
what anybody else demands, do I make myself clear?" and thereby saved the world. (From the Zionists.) Hell hath no fury?
The Syria affair cannot be separated from US politics and the war by the deep state, the lyin' media and the Dems to overthrow
Trump's presidency -- and if Russia has solid evidence about UK false flag it may give Trump the ammunition to break the Gordian
knot.
Trump's policy since he started campaigning was to get out of Syria because he sees it as wasteful and counterproductive AND
he understands the real conflict for the US is with China, which is getting stronger, and spending US resources in the ME weakens
the US relative to its most critical opponent. And the deep state has frustrated each attempt he made to withdraw from Syria.
If Russia has the goods on the UK, Trump could take the public position "I was totally outraged by the apparent gas attack
in Syria and ready to punish those responsible. Unfortunately I have discovered that it was a hoax staged by officials of the
UK government with the deliberate intent to drag the US into war. That war could have escalated with the involvement of Russia
to ultimately claim millions of lives, many of them American. This is absolutely intolerable behavior from any country and certainly
from one that is supposed to be an ally. I have demanded that the British government identify and prosecute all those officials
involved in planning and conducting this attempt to entrap the US into war.
It appears that this was done by the same British agency affiliated with individuals involved in creating the utterly fabricated
documents used to falsely claim there was collusion between my campaign and Russia. This gives evidence that part of the British
government not only attempted to block my election, and then over-turn it, but to falsely lead the US into a war.
We have started to root out members of the US deep-state, McCabe, Comey, Ohr and others who have been involved in attempting
to overturn a democratic election and foment dangerous hostility with Russia. There will be more of them outed soon. The DOJ Inspector
General's report, just released in part, and Congressional investigations show that the conspiracy involved both US officials
and associates of British intelligence agencies. This recent evidence of British officials attempting to get the US into a war
suggests they were also involved in the intervention in US politics.
Mr Mueller's role as special counsel is being terminated, since it is clear the premise was a seditious hoax perpetrated by
corrupt agents in the US government assisted by parties, and apparently officials, in the UK. Mr Rosenstein is removed from his
position and will be investigated for his role in the criminal acts. I repeat that the US Government expects very swift action
by the UK Government to publicly identify and prosecute all those responsible for this hostile action against the US."
It would retrospectively validate Trump's strong comments about Assad, coupled with the sad fact that he had been deliberately
misled by the agencies and UK government which had attempted to block and destroy his presidency, so no blame for him. It would
allow him to cleanly walk away from Syria while destroying part of the US deep state attacking him and placing them as culpable
in attempting to get the US into a war. It would of course force May and Johnson to resign with a complete reshuffle in the UK,
since the UK, which is not loved by continental Europe, would be totally isolated if the US Government declared it involved in
hostile actions against the US.
Its not impossible that there is a rogue element in MI6, but I don't believe they would act without approval by CIA - which
may indicate a rogue element there also. I can't (at this stage) believe the UK Govt is in on this. May and Johnson don't have
the balls for this; after all, they can't even tell Junker to fuck off.
I agree May and Johnson may not be directly involved but British officials have been running UK policy and operations, especially
on foreign affairs, for centuries. The politicians are mainly there to provide cover and pretend it is a democracy. However, it
is long accepted in the UK political theater that ministers resign when their officials are caught misbehaving. Since neither
May nor Johnson are serious supporters of Brexit, their resignations might benefit that as well.
I think the English or anglo deep state revolves around the monarch. May and Johnson are part of it, small time players, not
decisions makers. They act out their roles as politicians, the script already written.
New York, April 14, IRNA/SANA: If the United States, Britain, and France believe or think that they can attack us and violate
our sovereignty, then we will have to apply Article 51 of the UN Charter which gives us the justified right to defend ourselves.
This is not a threat, like how they threaten us; this is a promise. We will not allow anyone to violate our sovereignty," al-Jaafari
affirmed.
Syria'sresponse might be to hit any number of exposed assets situated within Syria.
We already know what the Russians have said.
I posted yesterday that there are 4500 American hostages in their mini-bases in Syria. They must be worried.
Russia has been given permission again by Iran to base heavy bombers on Iran's military airfields. This gives the lie to those
who said Russia would back down. And it provides a base to complete the cleanup in Syria quickly, which I'm sure they will do.
An interesting part of the deal to use Iran's airfields is that S400 and Pantsirs will be based there also. Saudi Arabia and
Israel take note!
"This could be all wrong. It's just one possible reconstruction. But I don't find it immediately *im*plausible. Should I?"
Posted by: WJ @ 14
Acknowledging that we know little for certain - from the vantage point of a computer screen with all of the disinformation,
propaganda and half-truths flying around the net - about what is actually happening in and around the war zone, yours is certainly
a plausible scenario in my view.
What seems clear to me (based on everything I have read on this board, other blogs like Syrpers, alt news sources and the
MSM) is that, beginning with the start of the assault on East Ghouta and intensifying as the SAA and allies achieved unexpectedly
rapid success, the reaction of the Coalition of Cruelty has been increasingly strident, with the UK being particularly virulent
in its rhetoric.
Diplomatic decorum has broken down and the forms and norms of international law no longer being paid even lip service.
There is a panicked quality to the false flags that suggest they are improvising on the go. I think this indicates that the western
alliance against Assad has already suffered, or is about to suffer, a catastrophic setback in their plans to overthrow the Syrian
Government and that the Russians still hold the initiative.
Notwithstanding the statements that have been made at various times from western leaders and officials about Assad "winning
the war" and "Assad can stay," I think it is obvious that plans to topple his government were never shelved - merely changed.
This was evidenced by the continuing tenacious activity of supposedly defeated ISIS and encircled "rebel" groups - these formations
would have surrendered long ago if they weren't continuing to be supported from the outside and believed that "help was coming."
I don't think the Russians have been fooled by any of it, but they must move in measured increments and "play the game" to avoid
provoking the kind of reaction we are now seeing and which still has the potential to blow up, literally, in everyone's faces.
Who knows what will happen? I prefer to think that saner heads will prevail, but I also think they will not if US/UK/French/Israeli
planners are not convinced that Russia will respond with equal force. I remember reading or hearing somewhere (I can't recall
exactly where, sorry) John McCain telling somebody questioning him, early in the Syrian intervention, that "Russia will do nothing"
if the US imposes a no-fly zone. He repeated it more than once. I think that is part of the War Party calculus. This makes me
nervous about the idea of negotiating even a back-door "Trump face-saving strike" (an option some are hoping for), as this will
cause Russia to lose face, as well as the initiative after recent increasingly forceful statements they have made.
If I were a gambler, I would put my money on the US & UK backing down in the most face-saving way possible. Time is on Syria's
side. But I will not breathe comfortably until that US carrier strike group sailing east is come and gone from the Mediterranean.
Will you start condemning effing Trump once and for all for the effing opportunist that he really is???
It's not Trump that wants to hold back on strikes on Syria; it's Mattis! The only reason the strikes didn't happen yesterday
is because Mattis disagrees with Trump on the scope of this military operation and they have not come to an agreement. Believe
it or not, your darling Trump wants a SUSTAINED and BROAD attack on Syria, yes a PROLONGED ATTACK and Mattis is warning him not
to take that route. Mattis also wants more facts regarding the chemical attack before any military action is taken.
If Trump egomaniac got his way; the bombing would have started already! Trump wants nothing more than to look like the hero
right now and distract from his sordid legal troubles.
When are you going to dump the Trump Kool-Aid and be honest about who Trump really is; nothing more than a Zionist stooge lusting
for power!
Trumpshit, a guy who was doing a predecessor to Stormy when guys his age were being shipped off to Vietnam and he was getting
repeated deferrals for being an entitled sob, has no problem bombing Russians, Syrians and Iranians to save his ass once again!
It seems to me we're seeing two major elements at work. One is the practically solid wall of propaganda in the media, and
two is the biased international institutions, heavily weighted in favor of the previous rulers of the planet, the western world.
The propaganda doesn't mean much, because the people who believe it are almost by definition powerless. But it does require
a narrative in order to work, and that story-line doesn't have to hold water very tightly, because the media have the populace
pretty well saturated. But the flimsiness of the story creates a problem when it's used in more rigorous arenas - which it is,
because it forms part of the overall culture generally believed by the institutions, and also believed by the propagandists over
time, simply because it forms part of the culture.
The second aspect, which is the subverted institutions, is more complex, of course. But not necessarily very sinister. It almost
seems that the culture alone is enough to produce the desired thinking and outcomes, until it starts being challenged. Then it
takes pressure or better lies.
What we're seeing today is an absolute lack of better lies. The bar has been set so low over the decades that no one knows
how to come up with really clever lies anymore. So when the wall begins to crack, all that's left is pressure. Hasty, ill conceived,
brute pressure.
Surely this is what we're seeing? The absurdities of this time are going to get even more surreal. I had to walk away from
Trump's tweets, coming after a month of May and Bojo - the human stomach is not meant for this.
And it has been really distressing to see so many good people across the internet fooled by all this inept theater and cheap
lying, such that they ignore the balance of forces that are so clear to see.
~~
Russia is in a so-called information war, but it's really based on the two elements above, the narrative on the one hand and
influence with the institutions on the other. And the two go together, but the old rulers of the planet are no longer as strong,
and the whole world knows there is a changing of the guard, so even the institutions know that eventually the future will come,
and with enough protective force that they can resist the diminishing pressure.
I think Russia understands all this very well, in its own concepts, and deals with it admirably well. Changing of the guard
is like Dr. Assad's position in Syria before the Russians came, and even since. There have been a lot of battles, a lot of tactics
sacrificed to preserve strategy, a lot of struggles and few clear wins. Until. Until the tide turns, and one day it becomes indisputable
who is winning.
It's important to take the longer view, and not get caught up in the theater and lies. Don't worry, there will be plenty of
opportunities to practice this ;)
Trump already began to change the headlines. He just pardoned Dick Cheney's former errant boy Scooter Libby. He is preparing
the grounds for pardoning his own staff should they be caught up in the Mueller investigation.
In so doing, also thumbing nose at ziocons who outed Plame in retaliation for Joe Wilson's "impertinence."
3 hours ago I wrote, it would be shooting time after the end of the OPCW mission. I was to optimistic. Now lets wait for the Russian
reaction. Or the Iranian one, I guess Iran could be the real target.
So the answer to save Syrian lives from their regime is to kill more Syrians. No one will be allowed to kill more women and
children than the great western alliance. Have we not said this enough?
Russian Duma approved adequate response to military strikes, sanctions both economic and political. By morning we'll have some
idea what that means - assuming the nukes aren't launched
This is sad and unnecessary, although anticipated by the crew here. I refuse to tune into any TV news or mainstream internet source,
cause I am a big fan of truth. RT television is too damn slow to report breaking news (it is 4am in Moscow, but still). So, I
come here for the play by play of tonight's action.
Two twitter feeds I am following are Vanessa Beeley's ( @VanessaBeeley ) and one someone here pointed at the other day (sorry
I don't remember who), @WithinSyriaBlog .
Any other recommendations? With luck, this will be limited to just blowing up some shit tonight, limited casualties, and that
will be it. Sure hope so.
This looks like an impotent strike on a mostly abandoned air base and building. It's thats it then this is no big deal but Russia
must reply not necessarily by killing people but there must be a response
How do you like your Trump savior now??? Strikes are being launched from MULTIPLE locations, including Turkey, Qatar, UAE and
Jordan
Yesterday and earlier many here were being lulled into a false sense of complacency by the usual dose of Trump Kool-Aid while
I warned several times that I had an uneasy feeling there was an element of surprise involved and the strikes were still coming.
Your Tinpot Trump, Zionist stooge is finally showing all his true colors.
The fact that the Empire could not wait for the OPCW team to arrive in Syria and do the work necessary to determine if there was
a chemical release speaks volumes. The war lovers do not care about verification. They want a war whose main purpose is to topple
Assad. I do not see that happening. Meanwhile, the citizens of the countries launching the attack will almost certainly remain
completely in the dark as to actual facts. Their governments and news media are intent on keeping them ignorant.
From Bundy>
quote
Scientific research center in Barzeh (not)!Jumrya is hit
Along with Mazzeh AB.
First wave fired from the east is now over.. More are expected. The ships in the med have not taken part in this.
.
.
.
The 2nd wave of attack began now.
Wave after wave of cruise missiles hitting Syria; it is not stopping. Over 40 minutes of cruise missiles.
They are avoiding all Russian areas but bombing civilian areas as well.
.
.
.
Most of the missile attack has been foiled as of 8 minutes ago. Civilian research center and Red Crescent Housing Center in
heavily-populated Barzeh was hit.
US struck one of Damascus' most densely populated suburbs. Jaramana reporting strikes.
Civilian casualties are being reported in Damascus as at least 2 residential areas have been struck by the US-led force's missiles.
At least 4 dead in one of the strikes.
endquote
This follows the script set out in the Sputnik article linked by me above. I am very afraid that they decided to double down
on the March operation as planned even as it was fallling apart around them. My fear is that, if they do, it will be very hard
to keep the conflict from escalating.
Ironically, having used the OPCW to support their Skripal conclusion, the FRUKUS is in a bind if OPCW comes back with a negative.
As far as bombing the evidence out of existence, we have Russian MPs providing security in East Ghouta as well as providing
security for OPCW once they arrive.
RUSSIAN FIGHTER JETS ARE TAKING OFF FROM LATAKIA BASE RIGHT NOW. HEADING TOWARDS DAMASCUS
The 2nd wave is now over And it came from the west over Lebanon.
.
.
.
US is facing great difficulty hitting its targets in Qtaifah missile base north of Damascus, a third wave is still incoming
Dumays airbase was hit, it is an emptied off everything.
13 US missiles were shot down over al-Kaswa south of Damascus
US launched dozens of decoy missiles, Syrian air defense was able to reveal them according to al-Mayadin
All targeted sites have no Russian air assets or personal present.
"... this strike is illegal. Anybody care? Hello? Anybody? ..."
"... This has huge implications for escalation if Iran and Russia see this as the opportunity to push Trump who they see as flaky and fragile with little understanding of geopolitics ..."
Possible scenarios for a retaliation include attacks by
Iranian-backed militias against U.S. forces in the Middle East, stepped-up incidents against U.S. forces and their
allies within Syria or "asymmetric responses" such as cyberattacks entirely outside the theater itself.
It remains unclear whether the strike will prevent Assad's forces from turning to chemical weapons in the future as
the leader seeks to extend his reach across the country while consolidating gains in the civil war.
... ... ...
But the military intervention also comes as Washington has all but given up on seeking the removal of Assad more
than seven years into Syria's civil war. Trump wants the Pentagon to withdraw US troops after the Kurdish-led
militia Washington is backing in Syria finishes off the remnants of the Islamic State terror group.
The departure of U.S. troops, military strategists say, will probably pave the way for Assad's consolidation of
control in the country, backed by Russia, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
The result is what Defense Secretary Jim Mattis described in congressional testimony on Thursday as "contrary
impulses." On the one hand, Trump wants the United States to have nothing to do with Syria. On the other, he wants to
dictate norms of behavior on Syria's battlefield that upset him when violated.
... ... ...
Pollack suspects that the Syrian regime and Iran won't retaliate against the United States because they are
ascendant on a battlefield that Trump has promised to leave, and they won't want to engage in any action that could
prevent a U.S. departure that would amount to a big win for them.
Russia could have more of a motive to retaliate, Pollack said, even though before last year's attack on Assad's
airfield, U.S. forces
warned Russia in advance
.
"Russia is the wild card out there," Pollack said, because President Vladimir Putin's interests are bigger than
Syria. "They are about how much [the United States is] allowed to act unrestrained and how much does he want to
demonstrate that he can fight back."
... ... ...
phil100a 17 minutes ago
Innocents die by the 100's of thousands in Syria while great powers play geopolitical chess. It's sickening.
Eisenhower warned us about the Military-Industrial complex - and here we are. Assad is a murdering thug, but how can we say we
are that much better after what we have done in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I want to believe we are a good people; I know that there is no American POTUS who would do exactly what Assad has done, but we
have killed WAY more innocents than Assad.
I don't know what the answer to this is. I would like to see Assad hanging upside-down, dead as a door nail, like Mussolini. I
don't feel tat kind of animus toward people on our side of the globe just as responsible for mayhem and death. Maybe there's
something fundamentally wrong with me. If so, I have millions - 10's of millions - that share my malady.
kropotkin jr
Sooooo . . . this strike is illegal. Anybody care? Hello? Anybody?
kiwifella, 58 minutes ago(Edited)
What an unmitigated mess. This has huge implications for escalation if Iran and Russia see this as the opportunity to push
Trump who they see as flaky and fragile with little understanding of geopolitics. And the biggest risk in this sense is that
Trump lacks the knowledge or temperament to listen to sage advise preferring to surround himself with sycophants and to believe
in his ill-informed gut instinct. Oh, and Fox and Friends...
Really, what could possibly go wrong...
kiwifella, 1 hour ago(Edited)
This whole scenario reminds me of JFK's insightful comment: ""Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger
ended up inside."
sherm1, 1 hour ago
Is this the Trump Doctrine? If any nation uses chemical weapons against external enemies, or internal disturbances, the United
States of America declares the right to militarily attack that nation, regardless of its political, economic, or security
relationship to that country at the time.
The purpose of this doctrine is to insure that military violence is conducted using conventional weaponry, and in no way takes
s pro or con position about the use of military violence carried out in this manner. In cases where chemical weapons are
necessary to compensate for a deficit of conventional weaponry, the United States of America will assist, as required, in
correcting that deficit.
National sovereignty of any nation is a determination that the United State of America makes on a case by case basis.
somewhatrserious, 1 hour ago(Edited)
The United States of America recognizes Syria as a sovereign state. Syria is a member of the United Nations. Case by case
basis? A nation is, or it is not, sovereign. There is no case by case unless we have withdrawn recognition. To my knowledge, we
have not.
presned, 1 hour ago
The risk doesn't seem so great. Russia is a basket case economy, run down and down at the heels. Syria is a goner, wasted and
ruined. Iran is so self occupied with dreams of controlling the Middle East it hasn't much to fall back on but dreams that will
fail. It is difficult to imagine what Russia wants except the saving of its military base in Syria......the cost grows higher
while Russian resources drain. The Middle East is heading for a division with Iran, Russia and Syria running a limp show while
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAI, Qatar and the other Sunni countries ally with Israel, the US and Europe. Iran's dreams of domination
will die with Syria and a bankrupt Russia.
Yet here is the even more unexplainable part of this sorry episode that amounts to the Deep
State waging the Donald. The remaining rebels capitulated on Sunday and the government re-upped
the evacuation deal. That is, the remnants of Jaish al-Islam are now all dead or have boarded
busses--along with their families---and are already in Idlib province.
That's right. There is no opposition left in Douma and it has been liberated by the Syrian
army, including release of the 3,200 pro-government hostages who had been paraded around the
town in cages by the Saudi Arabia funded warriors of Islam who had terrorized it.
According to the Syrian government, no traces of chemicals or even bodies have been found.
They could be lying, of course, but with the OPCW investigators on the way to Douma who in
their right mind would not wait for an assessment of what actually happened last Saturday?
That is, if you are not caught up in the anti-Russian hysteria that has engulfed official
Washington and the mainstream media. Indeed, the Syrian government has now even welcomed the
international community to come to Douma, where the Russians claim there is absolutely nothing
to see:
Speaking with EuroNews, Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizov, said "Russian
military specialists have visited this region, walked on those streets, entered those houses,
talked to local doctors and visited the only functioning hospital in Douma, including its
basement where reportedly the mountains of corpses pile up. There was not a single corpse and
even not a single person who came in for treatment after the attack."
"But we've seen them on the video!" responds EuroNews correspondent Andrei Beketov.
"There was no chemical attack in Douma, pure and simple," responds Chizov. "We've seen
another staged event. There are personnel, specifically trained - and you can guess by whom -
amongst the so-called White Helmets, who were already caught in the act with staged
videos."
In short, if they are lying, it would not be hard to ascertain. Presumably, the Donald could
even send Jared Kushner--flack jacket and all---to investigate what actually happened at
Douma.
Alas, the Donald has apparently opted for war instead in a desperate maneuver to keep the
Deep State at bay.
Either way, we think he's about done, and in Part 2 we will explore why what's about to
happen next should be known to the history books, if there are any, as "Mueller's War".
US prepared to "sustain" strikes until Syrian regime stops using chemical agents - Trump
Media caption US prepared to "sustain" strikes until Syrian regime stops using chemical agents - Trump
President Donald Trump says he has approved US military strikes against Syrian chemical weapons sites, in collaboration with the
UK and France.
The strikes are in response to an alleged chemical attack on the Syrian town of Douma last week.
"A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway," President Trump said in an address
to the nation.
Explosions were reported near the Syrian capital Damascus.
"We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents," President Trump
said.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed British involvement, saying there was "no practicable alternative to the use of force".
But she also said the strikes were not about "regime change".
UK strikes carried out by four Tornado jets hit a military site near the city of Homs, which is believed to have housed precursor
materials for chemical weapons, the ministry of defence said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also confirmed his country's participation in the operation.
The strikes were ordered "on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities" of the Syrian government, Mr Trump said.
The US president said the purpose was "to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons".
"These are not the actions of a man, they are the crimes of a monster instead," he said of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria has denied carrying out the attack and its ally, Russia, had warned that Western military strikes would risk starting a
war.
A US official told Reuters news agency that Tomahawk cruise missiles were being used against multiple locations in Syria.
The agency also quoted a witness in Damascus as saying "at least six loud explosions" were heard in the capital.
Syrian state television also confirmed strikes on Damascus. The country's air defences have also been deployed, reports say.
British-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said strikes had hit the Syrian Scientific Research Facility
in the capital, along with several military sites.
"... Of course no one say the obvious, an attack would be illegal under all circumstances. ..."
"... The dotard has only himself to blame with his completely idiotic "animal Assad" tweets. His complete loss of face is all of his making. He needs to seek professional help for his bipolar disorder. Something is seriously wrong inside that toupee'd dome of his. ..."
"... Same as Greenwald and Tucker Carlson: They both condemn US intervention in Syria yet never once mention US is breaking international laws by
illegally inserting itself inside and occupy Syria. ..."
"... In the video that went viral, Carlson interviewed a lawyer but he never once directly asked or even alluded to the legality of US's presence in and possible attack on Syria. It seems to me that it never came across his mind about the fact the US should also abide by international law and rules. ..."
Wow. I am breathlessly awaiting the firing of the shrieking harpy Haley, now that we know
she went in front of the UNSC and spouted wild claims with no backing evidence.
... and when does the UNSC discuss the 2800 elderly, women and children who perished under
Jaish al-Islam which are referenced in this article? What retaliation against these groups is
POTUS willing to undertake, particularly since this is only a small percentage of civilian
deaths under this and other Saudi supported groups? When can we expect the redoubtable
ambassador from the US to give voice to the outrage of all these civilian deaths? If she can
say that Assad's hands are covered in blood, these groups and their nation state supporters
are literally drowning in the blood of innocents.
IMO, a big fissure within NATO was created by Trump's threat as neither Germany or Turkey
would go along, nor Italy, Hungary and Greece, and likely including Spain and Portugal too.
Clearly, the risks outweighed any potential gain.
Another page is turned, and now on to the next act in the drama.
b, you state "The CBS graphic department revealed their real aim." However, you did not
explicitly point out that the map shown is a map of Iran, not Syria. I was floored when I saw
that on the news last night. I appreciate your subtlety.
The dotard has only himself to blame with his completely idiotic "animal Assad" tweets. His
complete loss of face is all of his making. He needs to seek professional help for his
bipolar disorder. Something is seriously wrong inside that toupee'd dome of his.
I disagree. The phrase "Never said when an attack on Syria would take place." is not a sign
that the threat of large war did recede. It means 'Military told me, we need to wait some
days till everything is in place' namely the aircraft carrier. Magnier may have a vast web of
information but is looking to the situation one sided. You shouldn't give too much attention.
And you shouldn't fall for your own belief of a mainly non militaristic Tronald. His
delusions of grandeur and his nihilism will prevail. Look at the MSM instead. They're
intensifying their Manichean narrative, this is typical for times you want to go to war. And
they will.
What annoys my is J Cole [Informed comment] and Joshua Landis do not mention International
Law and the UN Charter or the OPCW. Both take it as established fact that Chemical Weapons
have been used by the"regime" without any investigation as to whether a chemical attack has
taken place at all or who was responsible for it [the Russians are sure a chemical attack did
not take place] These two Professors care not for any kind of due process nor are they
willing to follow the rules of International Law.
"Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Thursday said the U.S. has
enough proof to act in response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria, and President Donald
Trump is looking at all his options."
I guess zero = enough.
With the OPCW inspectors set to arrive tomorrow and begin work on Sat, my best guess is
the war has been delayed. Not enough time to destroy the evidence.
Uh no he didnt say that, this is what Mattis said according to Sputnik.
""There have been a number of these attacks. In many cases, you know we don't have troops,
we're not engaged on the ground there, so I cannot tell you that we had evidence, even though
we had a lot of media and social media indicators that either chlorine or sarin were used,"
Mattis said, speaking to members of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday."
Same as Greenwald and Tucker Carlson: They both condemn US intervention in Syria yet never
once mention US is breaking international laws by illegaly inserting itself inside and occupy
Syria.
In the video that went viral, Carlson interviewed a lawyer but he never once directly
asked or even alluded to the legality of US's presence in and possible attack on Syria. It
seems to me that it never came across his mind about the fact the US should also abide by
international law and rules.
The Western loves to preach to us that law and order as well as rule-based international
order yet US/UK/France & Co have always acted above the international laws and rules,
which were actually set up by the Western themselves to frame/tame other countries.
"[.]. The U.S., under my Administration, has done a great job of ridding the region of
ISIS. Where is our Thank You, America?"
Donald J. Trump @realdonaldrump 06:15 12 April 2018
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Twitter-in-Chief, what a twat.
We will see if this war planning is diffused or is it just a delay until May Day. Perhaps he
will now fire Rosenstein, create a furious distraction. The guy does not recognize how deep
are his troubles.
I believe there is a lot of wishful thinking in the interpretation of Trump's tweet
this tweet is in response to criticism
1. that he is giving the Russians notice of the attack (and that means he has colluded w/
the Russians)
2. he is basically stating that he isn't..
3. Top on his mind is the Russia probe - he even interrupted a meeting w/ Generals yesterday
to go into a diatribe about it
Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at
all!
Kd@18: No, Rumour on https://www.facebook.com/Syrianewsdaily/.
I'm not sure if it's true, but if it comes to nuclear war, all the nuclear powers are doomed,
on board or not. China will not be allowed to sit and watch the firework, so it's certainly
their interest to ensure that there is no nuclear war. In this case, the only option is to
call the US bluff and force it to back down before their insanity subsume them entirely.
"Whenever the Syrian army achieves victory in the field, some western countries rise their
voices and intensify their movements in an attempt to change the track of events."
His conference with Iranian Supreme Leader's Top Adviser for International Affairs Ali
Akbar Velayati exuded a confidence that was likely received as reassuring by Syria's public.
Assad's comment reflects the reality of the Terrorist Coalition's behavior since Russia's
entry turned the tide.
While CBS was airing its propaganda, Hannity on Fox (beginning
about 2:30 in video, although watch entirely for overall context) really stirred the pot
beginning with the "Clinton Crime Family," then "Meuller Crime Family," "Comey Crime Family,"
"Deep State Crime Family," and ending with Trump's tweet about the underlying reason for the
intense anti-Russia hysteria. Now I seldom agree with Hannity, but this broadcast hits on all
the big injustice related issues being covered up by Russiagate. Hannity will need to eat the
words he spoke at end regarding Putin/Russia, but his partisan attack on the several Crime
Families is spot on and actually serves the interest of all Americans.
Just one more thing that really pisses me off about the media right now:
(besides the fact that they just regurgitate the constant stream of lies being fed to them
and print headlines like "France has proof Assad regime used CW" just because Macron SAID so.
There is no further reference to it in the article, so repetition of empty claims are all we
need to be "convinced")
They have all -even RT - accepted the (insane) premise that the US has a right (or even a
"moral obligation" to bomb Syria ("inflict enough pain on Assad's regime") and they talk
about "military options" as if it was just a normal thing to do.
Organized violence against a sovereign state (military, economic, covert or other) is not
an "option". It is a CRIME. It is the SUPREME CRIME.
What the US, UK, France and their deranged ME-allies have done to Syria is beyond evil.
Hundreds of thousands are dead or wounded, millions have become refugees or displaced
persons, children are traumatized, the country lies in ruins and the US now illegally
occupies the part of Syria where the oilfields are.
President Assad and the brave men of the SAA have fought for seven yrs against the
foreign-backed, SF-led "moderate" head-choppers, defending their country and - even more so-
their people but they are portrayed in the media as if they were the evil aggressors.
(Imagine, you lived in Syria and it happend to you..)
And the worst of it is, that the very people who organized all these crimes against
humanity still get away with the unbearable charade of posing as moral authorities (!) and
urging "retaliation" in Syria for the suffering of those poor kids ("poisoned" by the
"animal" Assad).
Can anyone pls point out to the Donald, that these videos are just "the incubator babies"
PR-scam on steroids?
Of all the disgusting things that are part of this kind of propaganda, the weaponisation
of empathy is the worst ...what makes us human is being turned into an instrument for the
destruction of whole societies ..
I hate (a word I rarely use) the "churnalists" who enable this demoniziation of Russia,
Iran and Syria and pave the way for WW III. These spineless journos should be indicted and
punished for aiding and abetting USrael/UK and French imperial aggression.
It's interesting that the former Russian Spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, had a
seafood lunch several hours before developing symptoms of poisoning.
The timing of the onset of symptoms is consistent not with nerve agent poisoning but with
seafood poisoning.
Seafood poisoing is generally due to the presence of botulinum toxin, which inhibits
release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, thereby causing paralysis and, in
severe cases, death by asphyxiation.
To counter the toxin, it would be normal to treat patients with an acetylcholine esterase
inhibitor, aka a nerve agent, to maximize the effect of whatever small quantity of
acetylcholine is still being produced.
If the Salisbury Trust Hospital where the Skripals were taken for treatment consulted with
the people at Britain's nearby Porton Down chemical and biological weapons research lab, they
may very well have been supplied by Porton Down with a small dose of British-made Novichok
for use as a botulinum toxin antidote: the perfect set-up for the British Government
incitement to Russophobia.
Yes, it was because of that and not any other reason. A completely incredible false flag
was never an impediment before, but the prospect of an uncontrolable escelatory spiral that
ends in your country's nuclear aniahlation concentrates the mind like nothing else. The US
being abandoned by Britain and France was also a function of the above. If those ex-empires
dreaming of long gone imperial glories could have joined in the slaughter of a helpless
country, they would have done so without a second though and bragged about it. But if it
meant facing the business end of a Kaliber then the thrill wears off pretty fast.
I love the idea I have in my head of behind the scenes negotiations between the US and
Russia about maybe a allowing a "small" strike on a Syrian target with the Russians
responding, No problem! Then we can sink a small British or French vessel and we can call it
even. Perhaps sending they are they sacrificial lamb, May and Macaroni thought better of the
whole affair. And the idea that Germany(?!?!) was ever even considering an attack on Russia
simply boggles the mind. I'm sure Merkel nixt that idea without a second's thought.
The attack is coming, Trump is decieving make people believe "oh he stepped back, no war this
time good.." only to see Trump bomb the next day when no one is prepared.
Juan Cole knows a lot about Iran and mideast, and especially about religion (he is a Bahai).
I have learned a lot by reading his blog for years. When he was appointed to a professorship
at Yale, I was enthused. When this appointment was vetoed by zionists on the Yale Board, I
expressed my regret.
But he lost his perspective when he joined the Hillary team. Clearly he was expecting an
appointment as Assistant Sec/State for Near Eastern Affairs. His devoted support for Hilary
destroyed his ability to appreciate/respect the truth. He became a partisan cheerleader, and
this only increased after Trump won the election.
I used to comment on his blog, but when he began supporting Hillary, he censored my comments.
He never once refuted them, just censored them because they brought up facts that he did not
want known/discussed.
So I have lost all respect for Juan Cole.
I agree with Lysander @31. Russia's very clear statement that there would be a military
response to a U.S. attack must have caused the reevaluation.
With U.S. aircraft downed, there would have to be a new AUMF, a new congressional vote.
Same thing with France and Britain. But a new AUMF would be difficult if not impossible to
clear congress/parliament. That's what short-circuited Obama's plan to bomb Damascus in 2013.
The Brits voted no. Obama decided he had to go to Congress for approval. The public was
overwhelming opposed. So the vote was pulled and Obama accepted Russia's offer for Syria to
destroy its CW stocks.
Unless it's another one-off strike on a military airfield, Trump will need a new AUMF. And
he won't be able to get one.
Russia is being tested because its eagerness to organize flawless World Cup is being
exploited as a perceived vulnerability. Once that event has passed three months from now,
Moscow is bound to become more assertive. The whole western campaign of pressure can only
last one more year even in the best case. It's based on fear and weakness, not on strength
and confidence. And there will be more and more weakness with each passing day. Once the
latest Keynesian stimulus wears off in October 2019, the US will be set on relentless
"japanization" (nearly permanent recession, mounting debt, rapidly aging population), but
from the far more inferior starting point than that of Japan. Given America's low savings
rate, massive trade deficits, racial tensions, and skills-deficient population, the decline
will be significantly more unpleasant, very likely violent.
Russia will absolutely win the Cold War 2.0, because all it has to do to achieve it is wait
it over. All of the hard work at destroying the West is actually done in the western
capitals, by the western governments themselves.
@Cassandra your words are appreciated and pretty much in line with my own feelings.
I notice that you have to look hard to even find mention of Mattis' latest testimony
before the House Armed Services committee. This confirms to me that the media machine is
colluding to bury any story line that doesn't fit the "Assad done it" narrative.
What we have now is analogous to the "Yellow Journalism" era in the late 1800's/early
1900s. No pretense to objectivity. Simply outrageous and scary. Thank goodness for this blog,
sputnik news, zerohedge and a few other alternative media sources.
@29 - please don't judge everyone in US based on our horrible government and media. There
are lots of us who cannot stand what has happened and have voted for guys like Ron Paul who
would have made a real difference. There is no longer any way to vote your way out of this
and probably hasn't been for at least 20 years.
It seems that the US is working with the Russians to identify a few "token" targets to
appease the ziocon war hawks.
In any case the fact that the US, UK & France are willing to militarily strike a
sovereign nation based on fake charges with no due process or verification of evidence shows
how far down the rabbit hole the west has sunk.
The UK is a good example. They made dubious claims of a Russian nerve gas attack and then
proceeded to act out by expelling Russian diplomats. Now despite 80% of the British people
polled opposed to strikes on Syria the May government has authorized these attacks.
Another is France. Macron claims he has evidence that the Syrian government used chemical
weapons while providing no proof. And he is going to participate in these attacks.
When will the toothless court in the Hague charge these people for war crimes? They reek
of hypocrisy with all their righteousness as they haul hapless African dictators to lecture
them on morality.
Pompeo just replied to Cory Booker that Trump has the authority to strike Syria right now
without consulting Congress, without a resolution or act of Congress. The President has NO
authority to strike unless there is an imminent threat!
I fear that all this walk back might be a ruse to fool Syria and Russia into a false sense
of complacency. Again, think Operation Fortitude and replace location of attack with
date of attack. Deception is a military strategy.
"Joshua Landis and J.R. Cole, swallow the propaganda nonsense hook, line and sinker. They
sold out. Their job and reputation requires that they stick to the prevalent narrative."
ain't that the truth...
He is not bombing today because quite a few Israelis including govt are travelling to Poland
for the Shoah anniversary. Once everyone is back home, then the US and the allies will go for
it. They may even spare Douma with the excuse that they don't want to interfere with the OPCW
team and teh so-called site of CW attack.
However there are other specific sites that they want to bomb.
That is a very astute comment. Any escalation with consequences requiring the
congressional reauthorization of force will be avoided, because despite all the propaganda
the "leaders" recognize that the people will come out en masse against yet another war.
Perhaps Russia has calculated as much, and has ensured the US that any strike will result in
just enough American casualties to force the issue back home.
RUSSIA defeated ISIS .... NOT America ..... WWII replay.
The chaos in Syria was winding down. The TRAITORS in the Pentagon had spent 24 months at
$10MILLION a DAY bombing sand. ISIS continued to hold miles long parades of OUR equipment
complete with flags on clear, dry, sunny days, and the TRAITORS in the Pentagon "could not
seem to bomb them". .. https://forzanuova-us.org/2........ http://original.antiwar.com...
Then the Russians came in and blew the ISIS asses off. Have you noticed the parades
ENDED.
ISIS has ZERO antiaircraft abilities. the TRAITORS in the Pentagon could have dropped bombs
from HOT AIR BALLOONS ....... We KNOW who the Pentagon is working for and it is NOT
America.
That would be a "tragedy" for Turkey and Israel who are BOTH genocidally flooding White,
CHRISTIAN Europe with muslum invaders ............. that war had to get going again .....
Deliberately creating refugees to genocidally flood Europe ............ Israel and Turkey
dream of splitting Syria between them ....
Watching this latest episode of the war in Syria play out, I am reminded of the eye-patched
Israeli general, Moshe Dayan, of Seven Day War fame. He extolled the benefits of appearing to
be willing to lash out like a mad dog as a means of keeping one's foes at bay.
Are we consistently underestimating Donald Trump? He did create a billion dollar global
enterprise and then get himself elected POTUS. He may play the goat (or mad dog), but I
suggest he is no fool.
I think you missed the point. I don't think Trump blinked. Trump said he wanted troops out
in six months. The deep state and Israel went wild. Then comes the fake chem attack and
they are all howling at the moon to attack Asaad. Trump wants out not in deeper so he
raises the ante. If we are going to attack, we are going to go BIG. He knows Russia will
have to respond. The deep state hacks don't mind killing other people, but they don't want
to die, so the chickenhawks chicken out. Trump ran on ending the wars. He said a couple of
weeks ago he wanted out of Syria in six months. The person with the widest range of
behavioral strategies is typically going to prevail in any encounter. That is basic NLP.
Trump has no problem making an ass of himself in public in negotiation. That is why the
politicians can't stand him. I think he won this round. They will have to impeach or kill
him to win.
I agree 100% with you Mike, that is exactly how I read it also, but you put it more
succinctly than I could. Trump is mad, unpredictable and dangerous - but not dangerous in the
way that Bolton is*. Despite apparently having some very stupid qualities, he certainly also
has great intelligence abilities (nobody is either "always intelligent" or "always stupid",
rather everybody has a complex mixture of qualities).
If we take the premise that he thought the East Gouta chemical weapons attack allegations
were stupid and totally implausible, what would he have to do, given the political situation
he has with Russiagate and the illogical attacks on him there? If he ridicules the ridiculous
allegations he will be attacked in the same way that he is attacked for ridiculing the
ridiculous Russiagate allegations. He will be accused again of being a "Putin-stooge".
Therefore it would be fitting to his character to instead APPEAR to be enthusiastic about the
attack, while subtly blocking it. If there was no attack, then the OPCW team when they arrive
are not going to find signs of it. Mike's idea of upping the ante here comes in very handy,
because it means the attack has to wait for more forces to arrive, especially the carrier
group that will take over a week.
By reacting hard and fast in favour of bombing Syria before there is any evidence he is
satisfying the warmongers and preventing the warmongers from attacking him - but by demanding
a huge attack he guarantees that it has to wait until after OPCW arrives and finds nothing.
Once OPCW go in and find nothing, anybody who criticises Trump for not bombing Syria will
find themselves in difficulties! He can safely call it off.
If instead he rejected military action from the outset, he would be attacked very hard by
his opponents. Likewise if he said "wait for the investigation first" he would be attacked
especially by the media for "believing Putin". After the OPCW go in and prove there was no CW
attack anyway, Trump's opponents would (a) blame Trump for not wanting to bomb Syria, and (b)
blame Trump for "sabotaging" the OPCW investigation, implying that there was really a CW
attack.
NOTE: I am not defending Trump's behaviour, it is stupid, immensely dangerous, and
catastrophic for international relations - and illegal. I am just describing what I think is
probably his point of view to justify the assertion that maybe Trump has no intention of
starting this war. It is bluff.
* Why would Trump appoint Bolton? Maybe because of similarities in their personalities
(that would be very bad news if that was the reason). But there is another possibility -
maybe Trump thinks Bolton is such a useless and incompetent madman and such an idiot that
Trump can use Bolton to deflect the cravings of the warmongers and transform - through Bolton
- their policies into something so patently absurd that they self-destruct. (Bolton will not
see through the above, for example, he is probably foaming at the mouth in his battle lust
right now). When those policies self-destruct who does Trump blame? Of course Bolton and the
other the warmongers. Again this is a dangerously reckless and destructive way of running
government, but appears to fit in with Trump's personality.
Trump, of course, is a purely domestic president. He has no idea about international
relations, and probably does not even care about international relations.
Macron was feeling the heat of french demonstrations.
Not the demonstrations. In France, unlike Britain, you can't get the nation
behind the government by going to war. People will just say f*ck off. More this is old French
policy, going back to the Mandate. Macron is not very experienced in foreign policy, and he's
just going along with established rules. A mistake, I think, as he hasn't thought out what
might happen if the situation escalates.
If I understand correctly, as I didn't watch it, these remarks were made in the course of
a major interview which was highly signaled in advance, but addressed to the present strikes
in France. Syria was a little by-issue.
Are you writing on behalf of the British government b? Since when do Saudis become
responsible for Britsh ops just because they happened to be required to fund them, as in, pay
us or we'll kill you.
This entire episode has been one big joke on the Rothschild UK. The holders of the Trump's
twitter account needed to cover for a US withdrawal. The UK based Deep State have lost their
bid to keep the US officially involved. Untill Trump is removed prolonging this war is now
entirely up to the Brits.
I am trying to recall a lie perpetrated by the then minister of defense in Israel
that said publicly that Israel was not prepared or readyto go to war ,not at least
for a full six months.
The very next day at sunrise, they struck the Egyptian Air force on the ground
and made mincemeat of it.
Just to add to the above: maybe Trump called up Teresa May and said "Well you know Teresa,
just between you and me, the CW attack if it ever occurred at all was probably a false flag
because why on earth would Assad do such a CW attack when he is having so much success; but
as you know it is US policy to eliminate Assad so I think if we go in at all we should really
go in BIG." May then has doubts!
robert fisk remembers what usa and uk pretend to forget
>
> But it's a different war that I'm remembering today. It's the Iran-Iraq war between 1980
and 1988, when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran. When the Iranians re-crossed their own border and
stormed into Iraq years later, Saddam used gas on thousands of Iranian soldiers – and
civilians, for there were nurses and doctors at the war front.
>
> Funny how we forget this now. We don't talk about it. We have forgotten all about it.
Talk about the "normalisation" of chemical warfare – this was it!
>
> But in our desire to concentrate minds on Syria, we're not mentioning the Iran gassings
– Iran being another one of our present-day enemies, of course – and this may be
because of our lack of official memory.
>
> More likely it's because of what happened: the institutionalisation of chemical warfare,
the use of chemicals by Saddam who was then an ally of the West and of all the Gulf Sunni
states, our frontline Sunni hero. The thousands of Iranian soldiers who were to die were
referred to on Iraqi radio after they crossed the frontier. The "Persian insects" had crossed
the border, it announced. And that's how they were treated.
>
> For the precursors for the Iraqi gas came largely from the United States – one
from New Jersey – and US military personnel later visited the battlefront without
making any comments about the chemicals which were sold to the Iraqi regime, of course, for
"agricultural" purposes. That's how to deal with insects, is it not?
>
> Yet not a soul today is mentioning this terrible war, which was fought with our total
acquiescence. It's almost an "exclusive" to mention the conflict at all, so religiously have
we forgotten it. That was the real "normalisation", and we allowed it to happen. Religious
indeed, for it was the first great battle of the Sunni-Shia war of our time. But it was
real.
>
> Of the thousands of Iranians who were asphyxiated, a few survivors were even sent to
British hospitals for treatment. I travelled with others on a military train through the
desert to Tehran, the railway compartments packed with unsmiling young men who coughed mucus
and blood into white bandages as they read miniature Korans.
>
> They had blisters on their skin and, horrifically, more blisters on top of the first
blisters. I wrote a series of articles about this obscenity for The Times, which I then
worked for. The Foreign Office later told my editors that my articles were "not helpful".
>
> No such discretion today. No fear of being out to get Saddam then – because in
those days, of course, the good guys were using the chemicals. Don't we remember the Kurds of
Halabja who were gassed by Saddam, with gas which the CIA told its officers to claim was used
by the Iranians?
Evidently nothing has happened yet because the assets are not yet in place, as indicated by
Paveway and Don. Mattis seems to be restraining. Trump himself won't be keen on a long war.
So a Big Bang to satisfy the US. Putin will go along with that.
"Mattis seems to be restraining." Agreed. "Seems" being the word under pressure here.
From what I have read today on Southfront and Sputnik, Mattis is now essentially claiming,
somewhat unbelievably, that no decision has yet been made by the President on whether there
will be a strike at all. This statement--if indeed it is that--would appear to run directly
counter to what every major US, UK, and French official--including Trump!--has been claiming
for around two days now.
The most optimistic reading of this is that Mattis remains in direct contact with Russian
generals and has determined on the basis of some kind of miraculous professionalism (I
know....) that there is no way a U.S. led strike of the sort initially proposed could avoid
escalating beyond containment.
So what will happen now--again, optimistically--is either a negotiated smaller symbolic
strike that will prove amenable to both US and Russian political needs, or a deus ex machina
that somehow allows the US and NATO to walk back the strike they had already basically
guaranteed. I don't see this latter option as a real option, frankly.
But the way that Mattis has set things up hinges on the *convincing* production of
evidence of chemical weapon use by Assad in East Ghouta. How will the US pull this off,
exactly, given that Russia controls the "crime scene"?
I'm not a warmonger, but love to see Putin sink one of the submarine.
"According to the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper, British submarines have been ordered
to move within missile range of Syria, as strikes against the Assad regime are expected as
early as Thursday night."
It was always British intention to cause chaos in Syria, looks like they are going to have
another go st killing more people. Quite illegal of course but it's what Israel and paymaster
Rothschild want.
@29 B and others here have covered the seafood poisoning angle previously. But you cannot get
botulism from fish unless it is improperly preserved (so some sort of brine or oil
preservation). The Clostridium bacteria responsible for producing botulin toxin are
anaerobic, and thus not found in fresh seafood. Additionally, the Skirpals did not
demonstrate the classic symptoms of botulism.
@ 67 laguerre... why can't you just let the white helmets convince you of the merits of this
with tele or video presentation? you have to give the royal press - heather nauert, nyt, wapo
and wsj a few days to put it in print!!
US has used cluster bombs, napalm, white phosphorous, and depleted uranium munitions. Does
not the purported horror at the alleged use of poison gas look a trite hypocriitical?
Add Stephen Zunes (Univ. San Francisco) to the "hook, line, and sinker" list. I wish someone
would/could shed light on "why" these seemingly discerning (in other areas; eg. Palestine)
don't seem to even as basic common sense questions when "analyzing" Syria. It's bizarre, but
common (so maybe not bizarre, just irrational).
Tass reports that Russia has convoked a UNSC meeting with the Secretary-General to attend in
an attempt to:
[.] "preventing the war in Syria against the background of Washington's threats, adding
that a direct military standoff between Russia an United States cannot be ruled out in
current circumstances.
The immediate priority is to avert war.
Russia's U.N. Envoy Nebenzya, when asked whether he meant war between Russia and the
United States, the Russian diplomat replied, "We cannot exclude any possibility,
unfortunately because we saw messages that are coming from Washington, they were very
bellicose. They know we are there"[.]
Assuming the USA/IS/UK/FR... war project for destruction in the middle east will enter a new
phase soon whereby Russia will be directly attacked or have no other way than to respond, I
wonder how events will unfold. Like the diplomacy and Shayrat Airbase, Russia on many cases
gave the USA and its vassals so desperately craving for war the benefit of the doubt but that
time is now long over and it responds in kind. You expel our diplomats? We expel your
diplomats. Quid pro quo, an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth. The Russian military presense
in Syria is not so close to home which makes it difficult to defend so they would easily be
wiped out I think albeit not without a heavy fight. But there is not a chance Russia would
cave in and submit because the whole Russian Federation would be next. Assuming the war
escalation remains conventional then Russia might strike at places that are closer to home
and that are easier to defend and supplied. The USA, so far from home, has built a giant meat
buffer in Europe where they planted many bases on the Russian border so they would probably
bear the brunt. If then by some NATO pretext, Russia would be attacked on it's own soil I
doubt it will remain limited to conventional warfare but maybe the USA would have already
pressed some red button earlier, Bolton clearly is a fan. Let's hope this is just a far off
horror scenario which will never unfold.
Apr 7, 2018 Ziad Fadel at SyrianPerspective.com reported the capture of 11 British officers
in Eastern Ghouta. See also Farsnews "http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=l3970122001526"
for more information on the plot to attack Damascus from Eastern Ghouta that was foiled by
the Syrian-Russian operations.
Apr 12, 2018 Ziad reports capture of American, Israeli and Saudi forces in Eastern Ghouta
(source Truthmonger) here
Apr 12 2018 - See also this vimeo of Russian radio program here provided by another commenter Robert Sneffjella on The
Vineyared of the Saker blog. Apparently, Chinese analysts believe many Americans (~200?) were
killed in Eastern Ghouta.
In addition to the captured forces, the US sudden rush to hysteria and May's abrupt u-turn
regarding the unproven Douma chemical weapon attack may be explained in part by possible war
crime evidence abandoned in Douma by the militants, evidence that may point directly at the
US, UK, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. A large scale attack on Syria may have as its primary
purpose the destruction of this evidence. To defuse tension, perhaps Syria and Russia should
negotiate release of the remaining US and UK personnel and find a mutually beneficial
agreement with the US regarding the evidence.
The first OPCW inspection group consisiting of 4 persons has arrived in Beruit on
Thursday. The second group is supposed to arrive on Friday but Dr Bashar Al-Jaafari said OPCW
didn't say how many persons would be in the second group when Syrian Embassy in Brussel asked
for their passports to issue them visa. OPCW did nt provide passports for the second team, so
Syria decided to issue them visa at the border between Lebanon-Syria.
It seems a bit strange that OPCW wouldn't either state numbers of people coming nor
provide passports ahead so that Syrian government at least who are coming. Guess US/UK/France
& Co would want to insert some of their preferred "experts" in the second team.
Russians and Syrians on the E. Ghouta ground should be alert.
Were going to see another attack on an empty airbase. Russia will be notified in advance. Ive
read that Syria already moved most of their more modern aircraft to the Russian air bases.
Some of the more brain dead Trump supporters will be thrilled that he did something. It
obviously wont be anything big. Theyre not going to risk war with Russia and I don't think
the Russians are bluffing, they've invested too much to simply watch the Syrian government be
destroyed now.
Although it wont be, it should be a wake up call that he needs to be more careful before
he jumps on Twitter. Like you said, hes forced now to do something even if some of us are
wise enough to see this response will be all for show.
Thank you for the rant cassandra @28, my feelings too. I have been ranting a lot too as I
believe we are owed a forensic report on the Skripals plus a read of their statements to any
and all authorities that interviewed plus a detailed statement of the hospital diagnosis and
response.
This no ordinary circumstance. The world has been driven to the brink of war, millions of
people are threatened by the consequences. This is not a time 'to respect the privacy' of two
people when the ultimate life of so many is threatened.
The grim reaper, Tony Blair, came out salivating for blood just to remind us of the
consequences of lies and deceit as the drivers of war.
We are owed a full and frank exposure of the facts, preferably in an international court,
but certainly in an independent report. Failing that, speak up Yulia, we need to hear the
story.
That was nothing but a bunch of empty verbiage -- totally meaningless. They could not say
where or whom the "samples" came from, could not say who gathered the samples, could not say
who transported the samples, could not say who delivered the samples, could not say what US
entities received the samples, could not say what US entities tested the samples.
No source, no chain of custody.
But we're just supposed to believe all those altogether unsupported assertions.
The first four OPCW inspectors have arrived at Douma. They are free to go anywhere. Russian
military protection.
The rest due tomorrow. By Saturday they will have all the facts in their notebooks.
Not a scrap of evidence. No residue, no corpses, no doctors reporting any victims, no
hospital visits by victims.
A total False Flag. Russian experts were there the next day. Not a trace of any
substance.
Dead were from suffocation (dust, plaster, cement).
The facts exist and its impossible to twist. The terrorists gave up too swiftly. The
Russians went right to the site and videotapped everything within 24 hours.
This isn't Salisbury. It's Douma. And the Americans know they can't sell the False
Flag.
The Russian Generals talking to the Chief of Staff Dunsford and others have made it clear.
You can bomb the desert like you did for four years. But that's it.
US does not want a piece of Russian payback.
Just mark a few buildings with Iranian and Hezbollah flags and slogans out in the middle
of nowhere and the US will blow them up for Bibi. Call it a success. Trump remains #1 in the
mirror, USA is great again. Blah, blah, blah.
You can sell American Exceptionalism to all the dopes of Main Street. They actually
believe this shit.
The notion that Trump is secretly anti-war is absurd, no matter how many times people assume
it. Trump campaigned on a platform of winning. There's no reason to credit his inaction to
anything but his repeated discovery that loser generals won't guarantee an easy win. That's
why so many professionals are being ditched in my opinion.
Trump is emboldened by Xi's opportunism and cowardice. Xi's recent rebuff of North Korea,
coupled with his surrender on trade, suggest that Trump et al. think they can take out Kim
Jong Un personally, then simply pick up the pieces. Very likely Xi thinks the same. Both have
a surprise coming.
The war in Syria will continue indefinitely, based in Idleb, with Turkish clandestine
support from Afrin, with Israel in the Golan Heights and the Kurds in the east. Russia's
massive investment in a victory has failed because Putin never had an endgame. Russia will
bleed money for a naval base of dubious value (save in Putin's addled brain,) even as the
fascist menace in Ukraine builds and builds.
I agree. With the possible qualification that ultimately they don't so much care what we
believe as they want (perhaps) to break Mattis' hold on Trump by piling on the narrative of
inevitability. That they still need to do this suggests, to me at least, that Mattis is at
least holding out. Perhaps I am wrong.
Syria - Threat Of Large War Recedes But May Come Back
It has come back with war criminal Theresa May and her decision tonight.
Opinion polls show most Brits DO NOT SUPPORT THE BOMBING.
And it is totally unacceptable that she is seemingly refusing a parliamentary vote to give
her authority.
Britain is shamed.
He compared Eva Bartlett to some flaming nutter because she challenged him on his, again,
evidence-free contention that Assad uses CW as a habit. It was a truly strange and
disheartening exchange.
GG does important and courageous work. I hope someone, in the post-mortem of this
anti-Syria/Kill!! frenzy (hopefully resolved in favor of letting Syrians determine the future
of their own country) probe why these seeming do-gooders went the counter-factual route on
Syria, separate from all their other seeming inclinations. And by probe I mean harsh and
relentless, answer-seeking, but not defamatory, questioning.
Interesting take by the young Putin.....
In recent documentaries, Putin has shared candid memories of his youth in a working-class
neighborhood of St. Petersburg -- then known as Leningrad. He said he learned lessons there
that have lasted a lifetime.
"The streets of Leningrad taught me 50 years ago that when a fight is inevitable, you must
strike first," was one of the recollections.
Another telling episode was an encounter with a rat in a seedy entrance of his crumbling
apartment building. After he cornered the rodent, it turned back on him and attacked.
"She ran forward and chased me, jumping from one flight of stairs to another and even tried
to leap on my head," he recalled in an interview for a recent documentary. "You shouldn't try
to corner anyone."
Interestingly enough George Galloway was asked on his talk show tonight, If you were Putin
what would you do if the US,UK and France attacked Syria? He said I would come out with all
guns blazing. I agree with that, the West will never stop trying to destroy Syria, the 'West'
needs to be given a bloody nose.
Anyone have confirmation of this? Serbian account claiming
"Today in a TV show on RTS1, military analyst Mr Lazanski said that the likelihood that
the US will give up its attack on Syria is less than 1%, since 2 Arab countries, very close
US allies, already paid for attacking Syria. The money is already handed over, and that's it,
he said."
CanSpeccy @ 29: Mataman @ 65 is right, B has already covered the possibility of seafood
poisoning in a previous post. Just go back to the Main page and skip back a few posts.
It's known that the Skripals ate seafood risotto at the Zizzi's Restaurant outlet in
Salisbury just before their collapse on the bench in The Maltings shopping mall. I checked
the menu online and found the risotto contains mussels. Mussels are notorious as a source of
shellfish poisoning.
It's quite possible also that some of the garnishings in the risotto may have come from
improperly canned food (the main source of botulin poisoning) so you may still be right.
There has been news that the Zizzi's Restaurant Salisbury outlet is to be destroyed along
with the Skripal house. One can understand why the Skripal house might have to be destroyed
(a cheap form of decontamination) but why the restaurant should be destroyed if it has not
been tested for the presence of "nerve gas agent" is another issue altogether. The alacrity
with which the British government and police authorities are destroying valuable evidence
(including the bodies of the Skripals' pet guinea pigs and cat - the guinea pigs having died
of thirst and the cat put down after being found in a state of starvation) is suspicious in
itself and might suggest the actions of a criminal covering his/her tracks.
> "What is it going to take for Christians and conservatives to snap out of this war
fever? What is it going to take for them to give up this ignoble infatuation with Zionist
Israel?"
> When Israel attacks Syria and/or Lebanon, as it clearly intends to do, Hezbollah will
retaliate with its missiles, some of which will surely be directed towards the Mashabim Air
Base, which will be targeted to inhibit the base's ability to bomb Lebanon. And once
Washington is well and truly engaged in what is referred to as "force protection," Israel
will undoubtedly widen the conflict by drawing Iran in through attacks on that country's
identified bases in Syria that are supporting the al-Assad government. The bigger war will
suddenly become America's responsibility after Israel inevitably proves itself incapable of
handling the escalation.
>
> During the recent bilateral military exercises, Air Force Lieutenant General Richard
Clark enthused that American soldiers are "prepared to die for the Jewish state" and also
added that they would "probably" be under the command of Israeli Air Force General Zvika
Haimovitch, who would decide on the involvement of U.S. personnel. Haimovitch commented "I am
sure we will find US troops on the ground to defend the state of Israel."
>
> Does anyone really believe that Syria was behind the latest gas attack in that country?
Does anyone seriously believe that Syria was behind the previous gas attack in that country a
year ago? For that matter, does anyone truly believe that Syria was behind the gas attack of
its own people back in 2013?
>
> Think about it: The U.S. military has been actively engaged in a surreptitious effort to
overthrow the Syrian government for years. The U.S. government -- along with Israel, Saudi
Arabia, and Great Britain -- created, supported, and funded ISIS with the intention of
overthrowing President Assad. After the last gas attack, President Trump bombed Syria in
"retaliation." The U.S. government is looking for any excuse to destroy the Syrian government
(and Iran's). And just as Trump is talking about removing troops from Syria, Assad decides to
launch another gas attack against his own people? You must be kidding! Only the most
naïve people on the planet would believe such a cock and bull story.
>
> Everyone knows that it was Israel that launched those illegal airstrikes against Syria
this week in what can only be regarded as the first wave of Israeli/U.S. airstrikes against
Syria. The Israeli government has not even tried to deny it. And this comes on the heels of
IDF soldiers murdering 20 unarmed (unless you count teenagers who throw stones and rocks at
combat soldiers who are wearing body armor and carrying machine guns as being "armed")
Palestinian protesters (many of them shot in the back by Israeli snipers) a few days ago.
>
> The only reason the United States (and Israel) can get by with these unconstitutional
and unconscionable acts of aggression in the Middle East is because the vast majority of
evangelical Christians who put the warmongering politicians in office have been propagandized
to believe that these wars for Israel are "holy" wars. They believe that the Rothschild
Zionist State of Israel is a reincarnated Biblical Israel. They further believe that this
reincarnated Israel is divinely appointed to have all of the land that God gave to Old
Testament Israel under the Abrahamic Covenant. But as theologian Adam Clarke (1760 - 1832)
wrote in his commentary on the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 15:18, "This promise was fully
accomplished in the days of David and Solomon." And so it was. But because Christians have
been brainwashed by Scofieldism, they believe that wars fought against any Arab country -- no
matter how unconstitutional, no matter how illegal, no matter how murderous, no matter how
aggressive, no matter how horrific -- are in accordance with "God's plan for Israel" and,
therefore, divinely justified.
>
> It is of no concern to these misguided Christians how many of their own Christian
brothers and sisters are being slaughtered by the U.S. and Israeli militaries in these wars.
It is of no concern to them how many innocent men, women, and children of all faiths are
being killed in these wars. It is of no concern to them that global nuclear war could break
out at any time as a result of these wars. They think these are "holy" wars. They also
believe that before American cities melt in a nuclear Armageddon they are going to be
"raptured" to heaven and escape all of the consequences of their misinterpreted Biblical
prophecies and mindless political perversions.
>
> If America's Christians were not so blinded by faux-Israel and false theology about
Israel, they would be able to see the world (especially the Middle Eastern world) in a MUCH
different light.
> But here we are: on the precipice of World War III. And for what? To remove a
democratically elected leader in a nation that has attacked NO ONE and that poses absolutely
NO threat to the United States -- or Israel, for that matter -- and against whom there is NO
evidence that he launched a gas attack against his own people.
> What is it going to take for Christians and conservatives to snap out of this war fever?
What is it going to take for them to give up this ignoble infatuation with Zionist Israel?
What is it going to take for them to start being Americans again and stop cheering for these
warmongering politicians who believe the United States is some sort of glorified global
cop?
Mattis said that the U.S. aim in Syria is to defeat Islamic State, not "to engage in the civil war itself." But referring to the
use of chemical weapons, Mattis said that " some things are simply inexcusable, beyond the pale " and require a response. -
Bloomberg
The Wall St. Journal reports that Mattis "brought those concerns
directly to the White House on Thursday, where White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the national security team
didn't agree on a response."
Exactly two weeks ago Mattis met Bolton - telling the bemoustached bringer-of-death "I heard you're actually the devil incarnate,
and I wanted to meet you."
... ... ...
"If these strikes start, it could end very tragically and it's impossible to predict the outcome -- that's the nature of military
actions," said Russian Senator Frants Klintsevich in a phone interview, adding that there are "no madmen" among Trump's top military
advisors. " These are professionals who aren't populists and know what this could lead to. "
Meanwhile, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia issued a stark warning on Thursday that there was a danger the war
could escalate beyond Syria because of Russia's military presence.
"We cannot exclude any possibilities [of war between Russia and the U.S.] unfortunately because we saw messages that are coming
from Washington," Mr. Nebenzia said. " They were very bellicose. "
In an attempt to settle things diplomatically, Russia asked for an open Security Council emergency meeting on Friday morning,
calling for UN Secretary-General António Guterres to brief the council, according to the Wall St. Journal .
Meanwhile, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says they are sending a team of investigators to Syria
on Saturday to collect samples from the site of the alleged chemical attack last weekend.
Mad props to Mattis for calling him the devil incarnate to his face even if couched tactfully.
But remember, Bolton is just a scare tactic, he isn't really a demented bloodthirsty demon. He wants to go balls out against
a nuclear power over a false flag but it's a bluff. /s
Mad props to Mattis for calling him the devil incarnate to his face even if couched tactfully.
But remember, Bolton is just a scare tactic, he isn't really a demented bloodthirsty demon. He wants to go balls out against
a nuclear power over a false flag but it's a bluff. /s
Let's see. Who's responsible for toppling (or trying to) one strong man after another in the Middle East and leaving the place
in a shit storm? USA! USA! USA!
while President Trump told reporters on Thursday "We're looking very, very seriously, very closely at that whole situation,
and we'll see what happens, folks, we'll see what happens. It's too bad that the world puts us in a position like that."
The lack of self awareness and the victim mentality in this cry-bully statement is breathtaking. Akin to projectile vomiting
on someone them blaming them for smelling disgusting. Extraordinary .
"It was very disconcerting when I saw that an attack is planned on Mosul, an attack is planned. ... Why do we have to talk
about it? Why? I never saw anything like this. Every time we are going to attack somebody, we explain. We're going to attack,
we'll be attacking at three, noon on March 25. I don't know, unless you disagree with me, wouldn't it be better if we were going
to go after Mosul to not say anything and do it, as opposed to announcing -- they're announcing all over television they're planning
to attack Mosul." -- Donald J. Trump
In a White House known for chaos, the process of developing the U.S. response to the Syrian government's alleged latest gas attack
was proceeding with uncharacteristic deliberation, including several national security briefings for President Trump.
But then Wednesday morning, Trump upended it all with a tweet -- warning Russia, the Syrian government's backer, to "get ready"
because American missiles "will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!' "
White House advisers were surprised by the missive and found it "alarming" and "distracting," in the words of one senior official.
They quickly regrouped and, together with Pentagon brass, continued readying Syria options for Trump as if nothing had happened.
But the Twitter disruption was emblematic of a president operating on a tornado of impulses -- and with no clear strategy -- as
he faces some of the most consequential decisions of his presidency, including Syria, trade policy and the Russian interference probe
that threatens to overwhelm his administration.
"It's just like everybody wakes up every morning and does whatever is right in front of them," said one West Wing aide, speaking
on the condition of anonymity to share a candid opinion. "Oh, my God, Trump Tower is on fire. Oh, my God, they raided Michael Cohen's
office. Oh, my God, we're going to bomb Syria. Whatever is there is what people respond to, and there is no proactive strategic thinking."
The president has been particularly livid in the wake of Monday's FBI raids on the home, office and hotel room of Cohen, his longtime
personal attorney. In the days after, he has seriously contemplated a shake-up at the Justice Department in the hopes of curbing
the expanding probe by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, whose referral led to the Cohen raids. Trump is considering firing
Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who is overseeing the probe, several people familiar with Trump's private comments said.
By Trump's admission Wednesday on Twitter, Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference and possible obstruction
of justice has consumed "tremendous time and focus." And in denying allegations of wrongdoing, the president seemed to equivocate
in a parenthetical aside: "No Collusion or Obstruction (other than I fight back)," he wrote.
On trade, meanwhile, the president is grappling with the potential economic fallout of his threatened tariffs, especially within
the agriculture sector, which could harm some of the rural states that carried him to electoral victory -- all against the backdrop
of his ongoing effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement more favorably for the United States.
Trump also finds himself facing the surprise retirement of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), signaling more turmoil for the
fractious Republican Party heading into the midterm elections.
These and other pivotal developments come as many of the guardrails that previously helped stabilize the president -- from West
Wing aides to clear policy processes -- have been cast aside, with little evident organization or long-term strategy emanating from
the White House.
This portrait of Trump in the current moment comes from interviews with 21 administration officials, outsider advisers, lawmakers
and confidants, many of them speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details and conversations.
Save for his Wednesday morning tweet, the president's Syria deliberations have largely been the exception to the chaos engulfing
the White House, underscoring the high stakes of a decision, White House officials said.
President Trump, second from right, speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Monday. (Susan Walsh/AP)
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday afternoon that Trump continues to review options for a military
strike in Syria and that his tweet should not be read as an announcement of planned action.
"We're maintaining that we have a number of options, and all of those options are still on the table," Sanders said. "Final decisions
haven't been made on that front."
The National Security Council met Wednesday afternoon at the White House, chaired by Vice President Pence, to finalize options
that could be presented to the president, Sanders said. She said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser John Bolton
and other senior officials have been in regular contact with their counterparts from Israel, Saudi Arabia, France, the United Kingdom
and other partners around the world as the administration weighs its military options for Syria.
Yet Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Wednesday afternoon that he had yet to hear from Trump
or other administration officials about impending action in Syria.
"I have no idea. So far, it appears to me to be bluster," Corker said. "Then I saw a tweet come out about us working with Russia
right after we're getting ready to bomb them, so I mean, who knows? Unfortunately, there are a lot of things announced by the administration
that never come to pass or evolve."
The more general question of U.S. engagement in Syria has confounded and divided the administration. Officials at the White House
and Pentagon, for instance, were blindsided by Trump's pronouncement at a rally in Ohio in late March that U.S. troops would be leaving
Syria "very soon," and in the first hours after the speech, they scrambled to get a sense of what he meant.
Trump initially told aides that he wanted U.S. soldiers and Marines to leave in 48 hours -- an impossible timeline that alarmed
the Pentagon and sent officials racing to dissuade him, two U.S. officials said.
Eventually, Mattis and others persuaded Trump to give the military another six months to wipe out the remnants of the Islamic
State. The timeline was far from ideal but was viewed as a major victory compared with Trump's original timeline, officials said.
Senior U.S. officials describe a president who is operating largely on impulse, with little patience for the advice of his top
aides. "A decision or statement is made by the president, and then the principals -- Mattis or Pompeo or Kelly -- come in and tell
him we can't do it," said one senior administration official. "When that fails, we reverse-engineer a policy process to match whatever
the president said."
On a potential shake-up at the Justice Department, Trump has been receiving a range of advice and has sent mixed signals about
his intentions. Within the White House, advisers have largely counseled caution and urged him not to make changes. White House Chief
of Staff John F. Kelly and counsel Donald McGahn have tried to calm Trump several times, as has Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer handling
the Russia probe.
Yet others, including many in the president's orbit who don't work in the White House, have counseled a more aggressive approach,
saying the raid of Cohen's home and business crossed a line. This advice has left White House staff on edge, nervous about what the
president might do.
Trump, for instance, yelled about Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions for several hours Monday and has continued to
complain about them since. But some described his complaints as just "venting," with one outside adviser saying that while the president
is "steamed and unhappy," that doesn't necessarily mean he's prepared to take action.
"I heard or saw nothing that would suggest he was planning to make a change at the Department of Justice," said Alan Dershowitz,
a retired Harvard Law School professor who dined at the White House with Trump on Tuesday night. He said they mainly discussed the
Middle East and Russia.
Rosenstein, meanwhile, seems to have made peace with any eventuality, said one person who has had a conversation with him. He
understands he might be squarely in Trump's crosshairs, and "is ready for whatever comes and confident in his own behavior."
Trump has also devoted a portion of his days to trade policy. Over the past eight weeks, the president has initiated trade disputes
with several of the largest countries in the world, driving forward pronouncements without fully vetting most of them with key aides.
In some cases, he has backpedaled on his vow to impose steep tariffs on countries such as Germany, Canada and Mexico. But he has
also refused to waive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Japan, a major U.S. security ally and trading partner.
Some Senate Republicans fear that Trump's loosely formed trade war with China could end up cratering the agriculture industry
at a time when many Midwestern farmers are preparing to plant crops. China has promised to impose tariffs on U.S. farm exports as
a way of retaliating against Trump's planned tariffs. The White House promised to backstop U.S. farm groups, but they have yet to
share what they would do or how they would do it.
"I don't know what kind of cockamamie scheme we could come up with that would be fair," Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said Tuesday.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) was similarly frustrated by Trump's trade agenda. "I think the president has some ideas
about trade that are not generally shared by the Republican conference," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told his frustrated ranks during a closed-door lunch this week to call Trump and air their
trade-related worries, according to a person familiar with the Kentucky Republican's remarks. Roberts and others planned to meet
with Trump on Thursday to discuss the matter.
"... This is developing into a pattern where when it looks like Trump is cornered in to doing something, he jumps aboard the neo-con bus and drives it straight towards the cliff. ..."
"... You asked about Trump and Bolton. Trump was inexplicably a fan of Bolton early on. ..."
"... Trump with his "get ready Russia" tweet ensured all knew the stakes involved in a US attack on Syria. It pulles people out of apathy. From that point on he sits back and waits for others to stop the bus. "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and "smart!" You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!" ..."
Juan Cole took exactly the same position before the attack on Libya, he is a F'ing CIA troll
plant, what a phony, especially revealing he promotes this B.S. which any 5th grader sees is
phony. Infuriating. He is a totally compromised piece of shit, I actually used to read his
phony blog in the run up to attacking Libya he was all for it, I even reached him by e mail
saying he would lose all credibility and he even responded as if I was out of my mind. He
lost all credibility with me, I don't give a dog turd what he has to say about anything, and
now this. He is a war criminal and should be boycotted if he is still teaching.
@ 107 same sentiments Juan Cole is an imperialist scholar justifying war's and is as culpable
for the deaths and destruction of Libya ... I wonder how he explains to his students the
proliferation of slave-markets and terrorist gangs in 'liberated' Libya
I am probably a bit influenced by Pat Lang's belief that Trump spends his time watching TV
news but it is looking like Trump is far smarter than that. This is developing into a pattern
where when it looks like Trump is cornered in to doing something, he jumps aboard the neo-con
bus and drives it straight towards the cliff.
The two sides of Trump are his history of speaking out against useless costly wars, and the
other side that has increased US military spending and his belief that US should have kept
the Iraqi oil. I guess Trump has no objection to a war if the US will profit from it, but is
not interested in the neo-con ideological wars.
It's a sign of the times that the only apparently sane adult in Trump's cabinet is nicknamed
"mad dog". But don't worry. Everyone has already forgotten all about the butchery in Gaza and
we can get back to "normal" business.
You asked about Trump and Bolton. Trump was inexplicably a fan of Bolton early on. In an
NBC show Meet the Press" appearance in August 2015 Trump cited Bolton as one of the people
whose views he respects on Foreign Policy, leading Mother Jones, a left-oriented magazine to
write: Donald
Trump's Curious Relationship With an Iraq War Hawk : The tycoon decries the US
invasion of Iraq but embraces one of its architects .
A must read to refresh your memory of Trump's position on Middle East when he was a
candidate.
Trump with his "get ready Russia" tweet ensured all knew the stakes involved in a US attack
on Syria. It pulles people out of apathy. From that point on he sits back and waits for
others to stop the bus. "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get
ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and "smart!" You shouldn't be
partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"
@122 - "Everyone has already forgotten all about the butchery in Gaza and we can get back to
"normal" business."
I tend to agree: UK poisoned front door knobs (unfortunately not #10 D Street); Apartheid
racist Zio-fascism murdering indigenous protesters in Gaza; and Spanky Trump and his bordello
babes -- not to forget the end of post-2007/9 BS market 'QE' capitalism at hand.
Basically the UK gov need a distraction from a rise of real traditional Labour sentiment
(traitor & warmonger Tony Blair can't seem to nail Corbyn) -- and on the whole they just
can't seem to accept they won't rate well in World Cup. Sour grapes?
"... Next, there was an consensus view that pleading, reasoning, asking for fairness or justice, or even for common sense, was futile. The Russian view is simple: the West is ruled by a gang of thugs supported by an infinitely lying and hypocritical media while the general public in the West has been hopelessly zombified. The authority of the so-called "western values" (democracy, rule of law, human rights, etc.) in Russia is now roadkill. ..."
"... There was also a broad consensus that the US elites are not taking Russia seriously and that the current Russian diplomatic efforts are futile (especially towards the UK). The only way to change that would be with very harsh measures, including diplomatic and military ones. Everybody agreed that talking with Boris Johnson would be not only a total waste of time, but a huge mistake. ..."
"... Reach your own conclusions. I will just say that none of the "experts" was representing, or working for, the Russian government. Government experts not only have better info, they also know that the lives of millions of people depend on their decisions, which is not the case for the so-called "experts". Still, the words of these experts do reflect, I think, a growing popular consensus. ..."
They all agreed that the AngloZionist (of course, they used the words "USA" or "Western
countries") was only going to further escalate and that the only way to stop this is to
deliberately bring the world right up to the point were a full-scale US-Russian war was
imminent or even locally started.
They said that it was fundamentally wrong for Russia to reply
with just words against Western actions. Interestingly, there also was a consensus that even a
full-scale US attack on Syria would be too late to change the situation on the ground, that it
was way too late for that.
Another interesting conclusion was that the only real question for
Russia is whether Russia would be better off delaying this maximal crisis or accelerating the
events and making everything happen sooner. There was no consensus on that.
Next, there was
an consensus view that pleading, reasoning, asking for fairness or justice, or even for common
sense, was futile. The Russian view is simple: the West is ruled by a gang of thugs supported
by an infinitely lying and hypocritical media while the general public in the West has been
hopelessly zombified. The authority of the so-called "western values" (democracy, rule of law,
human rights, etc.) in Russia is now roadkill.
There was also a broad consensus that
the US elites are not taking Russia seriously and that the current Russian diplomatic efforts
are futile (especially towards the UK). The only way to change that would be with very harsh
measures, including diplomatic and military ones. Everybody agreed that talking with Boris
Johnson would be not only a total waste of time, but a huge mistake.
To my amazement, the
notion that Russia might have to sink a few USN ships or use Kalibers on US forces in the
Middle-East was viewed as a real, maybe inevitable, option. Really – nobody objected.
Reach your own conclusions. I will just say that none of the "experts" was representing, or
working for, the Russian government. Government experts not only have better info, they also
know that the lives of millions of people depend on their decisions, which is not the case for
the so-called "experts". Still, the words of these experts do reflect, I think, a growing
popular consensus.
"... If the chemical attack on Douma really is fictitious – as the Russians insist it is – then for the first time their control of the crime scene puts the Russians in a strong position to prove it. ..."
"... The point was made forcefully by Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia at the UN Security Council session today, and it also received indirect backing from the UN Secretariat, who admitted that they could not confirm that a chemical weapons attack had happened, and who called upon all sides to show restraint until a proper investigation of the incident had taken place. ..."
"... By now it should surprise no-one that the fact that the Russians are in control of the crime scene and may on this occasion be able to prove conclusively that no chemical weapons attack happened in Douma, instead of deterring a US attack, is actually making it more likely. ..."
"... This is because the credibility of the various 'witnesses' to the Douma attack – who are of course the same witnesses who were previously 'witnesses' to the 2013 East Ghouta and the 2017 Khan Sheikhoun attacks – is now on the line, as is the credibility of those Western governments – first and foremost the US government – who believed or who pretended to believe them. ..."
"... We call upon Western politicians to scale down their hawkish rhetoric, to meaningfully consider possible repercussions and to cease the reckless spill over of threats to global security. What military misadventures of the West brought about is well known to us if we consider the examples of Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya. ..."
"... And nobody invested you with the power to act as policemen of the world and as investigators, procurators, judges and executioners all at the same time. ..."
"... We call for your return to the legal fold to comply with the U N Charter and to jointly tackle problems that arise, rather than attempting at each step to advance your egotistical geopolitical game. All of the energy needs to be focused on support for the political process in Syria, to which it is necessary to constructively pull the efforts of all influential players. Russia always stands ready to engage in such cooperation ..."
"... RobinG posted Haley's UN diatribe from yesterday. She hammered away at the "pictures of dead babies" theme. What an embarrassment to the American people. ..."
For the sake of world peace – I am beginning to think that impeaching Trump is a good idea. He is doing harm to the stability
of the world. He truly is a bull in a china shop. Upsetting America's internal status quo is a good thing – but upsetting the
worlds equilibrium is another. The only country in the world that Trump has not pissed off – is Israel – how totally and completely
disgusting.
As a result of the total surrender of the Jihadis previously in control of Douma on Sunday, it is the Russian military who
this time are in control of the alleged crime scene.
This has put the Russians in a position where for the first time they are able both to invite the OPCW inspectors to attend
the crime scene and to provide them with protection if they are there, whilst at the same time monitoring and supervising their
work.
If the chemical attack on Douma really is fictitious – as the Russians insist it is – then for the first time their control
of the crime scene puts the Russians in a strong position to prove it.
The point was made forcefully by Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia at the UN Security Council session today, and
it also received indirect backing from the UN Secretariat, who admitted that they could not confirm that a chemical weapons attack
had happened, and who called upon all sides to show restraint until a proper investigation of the incident had taken place.
Nebenzia followed this up by inviting OPCW inspectors to the scene as early as tomorrow Tuesday.
By now it should surprise no-one that the fact that the Russians are in control of the crime scene and may on this occasion
be able to prove conclusively that no chemical weapons attack happened in Douma, instead of deterring a US attack, is actually
making it more likely.
This is because the credibility of the various 'witnesses' to the Douma attack – who are of course the same witnesses who
were previously 'witnesses' to the 2013 East Ghouta and the 2017 Khan Sheikhoun attacks – is now on the line, as is the credibility
of those Western governments – first and foremost the US government – who believed or who pretended to believe them.
I would add that not only is the credibility of the US government and of other Western governments on the line. So is the credibility
of Western journalists who also believed or pretended to believe the 'witnesses'.
Ron Unz posted a video of the Russian envoy's speech at UN today (Apr 11 18).
Rough notes from near the end to the conclusion of his remarks:
"And you are misguided if you think tha thou have friends So called friends of yours are only those who cannot say no to you.
And this is the sole criterion for friendship in your understanding . Russia has friends and unlike yourselves we do not have
adversaries.
We do not view the world through that prism. And yes, international terrorism, that is our enemy. However, we continue to propose
cooperation. This need to be respectful and mutual cooperation, it needs to go towards resolving real and not imagined problems.
And you should be just as interested as we are in such a cooperation.
///
26 min: As permanent members of the Security Council, we bear the main responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security. Through the relevant channels, we already conveyed to the US that armed force under mendacious pretexts against
Syria, where, at the request of the legitimate government of the country, Russian troops have been deployed, could lead to grave
repercussions.
We call upon Western politicians to scale down their hawkish rhetoric, to meaningfully consider possible repercussions
and to cease the reckless spill over of threats to global security. What military misadventures of the West brought about is well
known to us if we consider the examples of Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya.
And nobody invested you with the power to act as policemen of the world and as investigators, procurators, judges and executioners
all at the same time.
We call for your return to the legal fold to comply with the U N Charter and to jointly tackle problems that arise, rather
than attempting at each step to advance your egotistical geopolitical game. All of the energy needs to be focused on support for
the political process in Syria, to which it is necessary to constructively pull the efforts of all influential players. Russia
always stands ready to engage in such cooperation .
To conclude, Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity to request an open briefing of the Security Council on the outcomes
of the UN assessment mission in Raqqa and the situation in the Rahman camp. We see the way of members of the Commission attempting
to create a smoke screen around this issue, which is a result of their actions in Syria, including the operations to rain Raqqa
to the ground through bombings. No chemical provocations will divert attention from this, from what you've done. Thank you.
–
Nikki Haley was in the room and listening.
RobinG posted Haley's UN diatribe from yesterday. She hammered away at the "pictures of dead babies" theme. What an embarrassment
to the American people.
Trump became really deranged. For a world leader to behave in such a way is unexcusable. Now
even Trump supporters think that he should be removed
But the goal of the USA in Syria is establishing Saudi-friendly Sunni theocracy remains unchanged, since Obama unleashed this
war using Libyan weapons and Islamic mercenaries/volunteers They want to compensate with Syria the fact that Iraq now went to Iran
sphere of influence instead being a countervailing force during Saddam rein.
Notable quotes:
"... This latest Trump-Tweet about "Russia to be ready for new, smart missiles raining down on Syria" is also a negotiating ploy and to save face. Stock markets, even in this volatile times, have hardly budged, and the gold price is where it has been for the past year. ..."
It is long passed the time when any thinking person took Trump-Tweets seriously. Trump,
himself doesn't take them seriously and considers them as 'negotiating tactics'. Remember the
tweets: "Fire & Fury the World has Never Seen Before", "Little Rocket Man" and "Bigger
Nuclear Button", which then ushered in the prospect of a meeting between Trump and Kim Jong
Un?
This latest Trump-Tweet about "Russia to be ready for new, smart missiles raining down
on Syria" is also a negotiating ploy and to save face. Stock markets, even in this volatile
times, have hardly budged, and the gold price is where it has been for the past
year.
There will probably be a well-restricted cruise missile attack on some Syrian-Iranian base
with Russia pre-warned. The long-promised meeting between Trump and Putin will emerge in the
news to discuss the future of Syria. Trump's desire to pull out of Syria will then come about
naturally and as the result of consultations with Putin.
"... The UN has refused to confirm there has been any attack at all. Russia and Syrian government insist there has been no attack and have approached the Organization for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for an international investigation. The good thing is that the OPCW is deputing two teams of experts to go to Douma later this week. Russia has offered to give them full security protection. ..."
"... Logically, punishment follows a crime that has been committed and it seems no crime has been committed. ..."
"... Perhaps, Trump is indulging in doublespeak and the backdrop could be the criticality that has arisen over Robert Mueller's investigation into his collusion with Russia, which has now dramatically expanded in scope. The FBI raid on the office of Trump's attorney in the White House is a very serious development. Trump is just inches away from being implicated in the charges against him leveled by porn star Stormy Daniels. ..."
"... A US attack on Syria can distract attention from the stormy controversy that may arise if at this point Trump axes Mueller and derails the investigation against him. There are precedents when beleaguered American presidents resorted to diversionary tactic. Bill Clinton fired cruise missiles at Kandahar when the scandal over Monica Lewinsky peaked and he was facing the prospect of impeachment. ..."
"... A US That brings us back to the alleged chemical attack in Douma last weekend. Who would have staged a false flag operation? The finger of suspicion points toward Israel's role. Israel is desperately keen that the US should have a permanent military presence in Syria. ..."
"... Under strong pressure after the raid on his lawyer's office Trump has obviously decided to strike ..."
The United Nations Security Council turned down a compromise resolution on Syria, proposed
by Sweden and seconded by Russia seeking investigation on the alleged chemical attack in Douma.
Five countries supported the resolution with two permanent members – United States and
Britain – opposing it. Earlier, a resolution on the same lines which was supported by
Russia and China was also opposed by the US and Britain.
This is a significant political and diplomatic victory for Russia insofar as only two other
countries joined the US and Britain to oppose the Swedish resolution. Six countries
abstained.
The big question is whether this development portends an impending US attack on Syria,
bypassing the UN. The UN has refused to confirm there has been any attack at all. Russia
and Syrian government insist there has been no attack and have approached the Organization for
the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for an international investigation.
The good thing is that the OPCW is deputing two teams of experts to go to Douma later this
week. Russia has offered to give them full security protection.
So Trump has a major decision to make. Logically, punishment follows a crime that has
been committed and it seems no crime has been committed. This appears to be a false flag
operation – that is, a fabrication with a view to trigger a sequence of events. That was
how the US invaded Iraq in 2003 and it is an established fact today that Saddam Hussein did not
have any program to develop weapons of mass destruction, as then US Secretary of State Colin
Power had misled the UN Security Council. (Powell later admitted that he was misled by his own
administration.)
One difference in the present case is that Trump has been on record that he wants the
American military presence in Syria to end. That stance and the present threat to launch an
attack on Syria are contradictory. Because, a US attack on Syria will have serious
repercussions, including possibly a showdown with Russia, which would mean a US drawdown in
Syria may not be possible in a conceivable future.
Perhaps, Trump is indulging in doublespeak and the backdrop could be the criticality
that has arisen over Robert Mueller's investigation into his collusion with Russia, which has
now dramatically expanded in scope. The FBI raid on the office of Trump's attorney in the White
House is a very serious development. Trump is just inches away from being implicated in the
charges against him leveled by porn star Stormy Daniels. The CNN says, "There could be
dark and unprecedented times ahead." A US attack on Syria can distract attention from the
stormy controversy that may arise if at this point Trump axes Mueller and derails the
investigation against him. There are precedents when beleaguered American presidents resorted
to diversionary tactic. Bill Clinton fired cruise missiles at Kandahar when the scandal over
Monica Lewinsky peaked and he was facing the prospect of impeachment.
A US That brings us back to the alleged chemical attack in Douma last weekend. Who would
have staged a false flag operation? The finger of suspicion points toward Israel's role. Israel
is desperately keen that the US should have a permanent military presence in Syria. To
that end, Israel is fueling tensions that will take matters to a point that a US withdrawal
from Syria somehow gets stalled. This is also the impression conveyed by DebkaFile, the Israeli
website with links to the intelligence, which specializes in disinformation
tactic.
M.K. Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for
over 29 years, with postings including India's ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to
Turkey (1998-2001).
This column was first
published at Indian
Punchline , Mr. Bhadrakumar's personal blog. It is republish here with his permission.
Trump is like a cornered rat. The Deep State's Team Mueller is moving from the Russia
collusion nothingburger to investigating everything else about Trump including his past sex
life and business deals. There's a possibility of something there that could cause a perjury
trap or an indictment for violating some obscure criminal statute. Now they may have
important documents seized from his personal attorney Michael Cohen.
The same Cohen who was allegedly in Prague meeting with the Russians according to MI6 man
Christopher Steele who wrote parts of the Steele Dossier which turned out to be a
fabrication.
In the mean time his DOJ and AG is slow rolling the investigation into the conspiracy
against him by Obama's top law enforcement and intelligence officials. The Deep State
continues to confound Trump. He doesn't seem to have a good strategy against their continuous
attacks on him.
Bhadrakumar believes a Wag the Dog confrontation with Russia may bail him out. I don't
think so. The Deep State are out to get him. They failed the first time when the American
voters in the mid-west didn't buy their electoral propaganda. Now they are executing their
insurance policy using Team Mueller as the attack dog.
British retired General Richard Barrons has just confirmed on BBC Radio 4 that a Russian
attack on American ships offshore Syria would result in a wider war. Macron (France), seems
on board. I dunno if this signals a UK about-face or if
Israel, the Israeli lobby and Saudi Arabia are the greatest threats to mankind.
That said it wouldn't hurt Russia to increase its military capabilities in Syria as a
deterrent and Iran and Russia need to end this conflict already. The slow grinding victory
provides too many opportunities for Israel, Saudi and the neocons to create trouble. China
should help.
Lastly, Israel and Saudi should be struck if Syria is attacked. Those two promote wars
because they have impunity. The risk and damage of war must be theirs too.
"The failure of an "innocuous" draft in support of an impartial investigation into the
alleged chemical incident in Syria's Douma is a "litmus test which speaks volumes," Russia's
UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said. The draft was based on, and "almost completely copied," an
earlier proposal by Sweden. Nebenzia argued that the proposal was stonewalled simply because
it ultimately came from Russia." https://www.rt.com/news/423762-syria-investigation-draft-rejected/
Seems like states like Sweden, Nethetlands, Poland cover the coming warcrime of US bombing
in the UN while US, UK, France will be the ones that do the bombing.
Bhadrakumar predicted that Putin would sell out Assad about 5 years ago. I have stopped
reading his opinion pieces since then. Still, this post makes a refreshing change from your
obsession with EJ Magnier's point of view, b. You need to step back, take a look and use your
own gut on this.
The Americans know this latest 'attack' is bullshit and its planning predates any FBI raid
on Trump's attorney. The Russians were calling this out a month ago. At the same time that
they were being accussed of poisoning the Skripals. There has been scant consideration of the
link between the two. Yet it is a chain of events that was designed to bring us to the point
where the US could form a military alliance with the likes of Britain and France (Britain of
course already exposed to 5 weeks of anti-Russia chemical weapon hysteria, thereby setting up
a win in the minds of the public and in parliament for a vote on intervention/payback) will
launch an attack on the seat of power in Damascus.
This is going to be shock and awe, and Putin is not going to stop it. When dozens of
Russians were killed in the East by US bombing recently, there was no response. Only a denial
that these men ever existed. It was the green light the US axis needed to power up the
engines for the attack we are about to witness.
The only question that remains is whether Assad will be left standing.
"The Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak states that, the blow will be inflicted by the troops of
the United States, Britain and France within the next 24 hours.
According to sources, a total of 22 targets have been identified in Syria, which will be
destroyed by Western aviation – these are facilities in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Hama,
Deir ez Zor, and Rakka. In particular, it is planned to strike the area of the
Russian military base in Tartus."
Neb , Apr 11, 2018 5:29:58 AM |
24test , Apr 11, 2018 5:31:10 AM |
25
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to Lebanon said any U.S. missiles fired at Syria would
be shot down and the launch sites targeted, a step that could trigger a major escalation in
the Syrian war.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday it hoped all sides involved in Syria
would avoid doing anything that could destabilize an already fragile situation in the Middle
East and made clear it was strongly opposed to a possible U.S. strike on its ally.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 26, 2018.
REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
The United States and its allies are considering whether to hit Syria over a suspected poison
gas attack that medical relief organizations say killed dozens of people in the rebel-held
town of Douma near Damascus on Saturday.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday allegations that Syrian government forces had carried out
the chemical weapons attack were not based on real facts and said it wanted an impartial
investigation into the incident.
Asked about comments by Russia's ambassador to Lebanon who said that any U.S. missiles
fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted, the Kremlin said it did not
want to comment on such matters.
"As before, we would like to hope that all sides will avoid any steps that a) are not
provoked by anything and b) could significantly destabilize an already fragile situation in
the region," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters.
Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Katya Golubkova
The media onslaught has moved past the attack in Salisbury by a "weapon of mass
destruction" (quoting Theresa May) which could only be Russian, except that was untrue, and
was extremely deadly, except that was untrue too. It now focuses on an attack by chemical
weapons in Douma which "could only be" by the Russian-backed Assad regime, except there is no
evidence of that either...
I am bit annoyed by the hype in here by some,
Russia has said that they COULD respond IF US strike RUSSIANS inside Syria.
Russia have of course communicated this and WHERE russians are located for US NOT TO bomb
these places.
Outside the box ... , Apr 11, 2018 6:22:12 AM |
33
"Trump has been on record that he wants the American military presence in Syria to end."
I suspect some of the apparent paradox in recent statements about Trump's troops 'leaving
Syria' relate to the future definition of Syria. Erdogan's on the same script with returning
occupied territories to the 'rightful owners' etc.
No one NATO-side is leaving (voluntarily): the old Syria is 'off the map' as far as they
are concerned and the new borders will be drawn -- a la Palestine -- wherever it is
convenient, and by definition, meeting Trump's and Erdogan's criteria.
@32
Well, that's a bit short-sighted. One of these days, Russia needs to make a stand, as it
doesn't make sense at all to let the 'coalition of the willing' incinerate the Syrian Arab
Forces and Syrian civilian infrastructure. After all, what would it be worth fighting
for/having forces deployed once the primary reason for having forces there has vanished.
I agree. I'm no expert, but I also can't see this being a Libya/Iraq re-run; history has
moved too far for that, I believe. The forces opposed to NATO/Israel have made too much
progress, and have everything to lose if the US tries something more than symbolic measures.
Also, I'm hoping that Russia has something up its sleeve to make the US feel some pain
without triggering WWIII. To me it's the latter that's the risk, not some replay of
Libya.
Donald J. Trump
Verified account @realDonaldTrump
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because
they will be coming, nice and new and "smart!" You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing
Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!
10:57 AM - 11 Apr 2018
b , Apr 11,
2018 7:09:35 AM |
40Babyl-on , Apr 11, 2018 7:13:20 AM |
41
"Destroying Syria's air force is one option for Trump"
Ewen MacAskill Defence and intelligence correspondent
Yes, the "liberal" Guardian the "progressive" Guardian full of peace loving people seeking
peace in the world. They would never ever warmonger would they?
16 Pat
Putin recently: "What is the world without Russia in it."
Sounds like a man who will fight. He said with a heavy heart. Also don't you know Russia has
Hawks too - the men who walk in with briefcases-
So what will happen? Putin has the assets in Southern Russia, properly fly time 13 minutes.
Ship killers missiles which are indefensible. I hope Trump goes small or equal to last time
with forwarding warmings. If not I think Putin statement about the 'world' comes into play.
For the world sake I hope sanity prevails.
Reading comments suggesting, as Xpat @ 37 puts it, that Syria will be a re-run of the Iraqi
and Libyan invasions ignores the fact that the US, the UK, France and other Western nations
already have boots on the ground in the form of "advisors" among the jihadis, of whom very
many - most likely even the great majority of them - come from foreign countries. In other
words, Syria has already been subjected to a de facto global invasion. Moreover many of these
"advisors" plus perhaps US and other soldiers wearing rebel insignia and uniforms have been
captured by the SAA recently in East Ghouta.
Also Syrian society is not really comparable to what Libya was in 2011 and Iraq in 2003.
Libya could be overcome because the eastern part of the country, centred around Benghazi, was
less loyal to the Libyan government than the western part. In Iraq, there was significant
Shi'ite resentment towards Saddam Hussein's government - and Shi'ites were one of the larger
religious groups in that country. On the other hand, there is much less sectarianism in
Syria. Syria also adopted a new constitution and political reforms in 2012 which made the
country a parliamentary democracy and reduced the Ba'athist Party to just another (albeit
large) political party with no special privileges.
never underestimate the Donald's gift for contradicting himself
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold
War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something
that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms
race?
Russia watched the Donald playing chicken with North Korea and drew conclusions.
It is an extremely dangerous game, playing chicken, should you decide not to play
chicken.
07564111 @ 31: Any way of finding out how Israel uses water and whether the country is able
to fulfill its water needs or has to import water?
There are old online newspaper articles about how Israel had to import tens of millions if
not several hundred million cubic metres of water from Turkey. This was during Ariel Sharon's
period as Prime Minister (2001? - 2006). Most recent articles are now about how Israel
conserves its water resources and uses desalination and recycling - but not much about
whether such conservation measures are enough to supply all of its needs and certainly
nothing about Palestinians' access to water.
Considering the deep silence of Arab states, will we see KSA and Egypt join the so-called
coalition and attack Shiites simultaneously in Yemen and Syria? KSA certainly dreams of it.
- In the 1st quarter of 2017 there was someone who said that there was a "Civil war" going on
in the US between the Democrats and the Republicans. For a long time I thought that this
person had "gone bonkers". But now with Mueller and the FBI raiding the offices of Trump's
lawyer Micheal Cohen I have changed my mind. There certainly is such a "civil war" going on.
And I fear this "Civil War" will NOT increase "stability" in the US political system.
- David Stockman made a prediction that Trump won't be president when the year 2019 starts.
Leaks of British military personnel captured during the military operation in
the eastern Ghouta.
The claim in this article that Assad's victory is a fait accomplis is often heard these days.
I think it is flaming bunkum. Assad is doomed. He's been set up by his pal Putin, who
repeatedly allowed Syria's enemies to reset, to consolidate and strengthen their positions.
Now Assad 'governs' a chunk of Syria that is crammed full of desperate people and destroyed
infrastructure but lacks resources. Russia appears ready to work out deals with the US and
Turkey and Israel in which they will be guaranteed control over large pieces of Syria. Assad
is in the way of that process going forwards. I doubt he will survive the coming bombing. If
he is smart, he has already left Syria. Perhaps Russia will allow him to take refuge in
Russia, if he finally bows to Russia's 'realpolitik'. Meanwhile Russia is sending the usual
signals that they will only respond to attacks on Syria that directly affect Russia (in an
undeniable way). Perhaps a bit of symbolic fracas will happen between Russia and the US just
to keep up appearances a little bit. Humanity desperately needs some people with good hearts
to take on some leadership roles, but instead we get a steady diet of realpolitik creepos.
If indeed they have foreigners, they will be paraded on TV and the West will blame the evil
dictator to use such practices (another problem is how you prove that the bearded guy is here
for SF and not for djihad as any kid). This and the OPCW landing (it's always possible to
bomb something in Abu Kamal while people travel between Damascus and the Ghouta) will have a
flavor of Irak 2003 redux.
Douma false flag should be judged as a part desperate attempt to reverse gains of Assad in the civil war and create a Sunny
theocracy to compensate for loss on Iraq as a countervailing force for Iran due to Bush Iraq war blunder.
Notable quotes:
"... So Putin was so ignorant that he didn't realize that Syria is a strategic/political extension of Iran into Israel's neighborhood? I don't buy it. Russia wasn't naive about anything, has enjoyed major success in Syria and there's no reason to question its actions.. ..."
"... One side is telling lies. It always amazes me at just how uncritical the media are when really important things are at stake. For me, the rush to action before any investigation betrays that its not the facts that count but what the US wants. Who said shoot first and ask questions later? ..."
"... "Assad's regime and Assad himself will disappear from the map and the world if the Iranians do try to harm Israel or its interests from Syrian territory," said senior officials in the defense establishment. ..."
"... So, perfect time for Israel to fabricate claims of an attack from Syria, or maybe stage one somehow to justify their planned 1) assassination of Assad, 2) further destruction of Syrian/Russian air defenses and 3) wide-scale attacks on Iranian anything in Syria. Syria will, of course, deny any attacks on Israel. But the seed for the coming narrative has already been planted with the strikingly odd suggestion of Iranians 'borrowing' Syrian army systems. If Israel can't provoke Syria or Iran to attack, then it will just have to make one happen. ..."
"... Libya is a huge lesson for both Russia and China for their believing the perfidious AZ's preaching of high moral and of law and order. Since then on Rrussia and China are not afraid to use their UN veto rights to fight against the treacherous US/UK/Fr. ..."
"... Syria is surely a very important part of Russia's long term strategy, i.e. its navy base in E. Mediterranrean, for such a foodhold in warm see water had Russia Empire fought quite a few wars, gas and oil business, grain export to ME. ..."
Russia's main impediment is that it cannot allow the conflict to become purely economic,
as it is more vulnerable economically than militarily.
Thus Russia needs to respond to an attack either by doing nothing or by striking with such
force that the West is not given the option of creating an economic blockade while
maintaining its economic advantages.
One option would be to strike Saudi oil fields, which would be devastating to the West
without necessarily leading to a full-blown nuclear war.
@99 So Putin was so ignorant that he didn't realize that Syria is a strategic/political
extension of Iran into Israel's neighborhood? I don't buy it. Russia wasn't naive about
anything, has enjoyed major success in Syria and there's no reason to question its
actions..
One side is telling lies. It always amazes me at just how uncritical the media are when
really important things are at stake. For me, the rush to action before any investigation
betrays that its not the facts that count but what the US wants. Who said shoot first and ask
questions later?
When really smart people do crazy things you know you are missing something important. Why
would anyone in their right mind risk a war with Russia and vice versa? They woulnd't unless
it was part of a mutually agreed script.
Perhaps what happens next is Trump lobs a few missiles on Syria and takes out the USS
Donald and blames Russia for that . Like the USS Maine and USS Maddox. Putin has already
helped make such an allegation believable.
Then we can Prepare for a long Fake War like in Orwells 1984 with skirmishes in places like
Iran, Syria and Ukraine. The real enemy and target is the constitution and the people,
including those in the Democratic West.
A war with a credible enemy replaces the GWOT which
was running on fumes. Putin so kindly made Russia a credible threat to the people with his
public announcement of their new weapons. That was no accident. This will be the end of even
the illusion of Democracy, which is all we have.
Trump will be given dictatorial powers and we may prepare for the Internet kill switch to
be flipped. Maybe Putin and Trump will join China's President as Presidents for life.
I understand your Trotskyist point of view which has many merits. Currently we have nothing
but reactionary regimes all over the planet, of course including the Russian and the Chinese
one.
But still there are some crucial differences. It is the west bloc which wants to inflame
the world, not the Russians and the Chinese. You're right when you speak about an appeasing
Russian approach, but we may not know some important factors.
For instance to an all
confrontational stance you need a prepared army in your back. Maybe this wasn't the case some
years ago. I assume now it's different. Some in the west want go to war, and even if its not
clear if the economic situation is that bad, that it leaves war as the only 'solution' I'm
afraid they will succeed. You should not overestimate the power of rationality.
If the Iranians act against Israel from Syrian territory, Syrian President Bashar Assad and
his regime will be those that pay the price."
That is the clear message from senior officials in the Israeli defense establishment and
IDF after the top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called a strike on the
Syrian T-4 air base "Israel's crime" and said the alleged act would "not remain without
response."
"Assad's regime and Assad himself will disappear from the map and the world if the
Iranians do try to harm Israel or its interests from Syrian territory," said senior
officials in the defense establishment.
"Our recommendation to Iran is that it does not try to act, because Israel is determined
to continue on this issue to the very end," the officials said.
And the most telling statement:
Expanding on Liberman's comments, security officials believe that Iran may try to retaliate
to the alleged Israeli attack, either with Iranian weapons transported into Syria from Iran
or by "borrowing" Syrian army systems.
So, perfect time for Israel to fabricate claims of an attack from Syria, or maybe stage
one somehow to justify their planned 1) assassination of Assad, 2) further destruction of
Syrian/Russian air defenses and 3) wide-scale attacks on Iranian anything in Syria. Syria
will, of course, deny any attacks on Israel. But the seed for the coming narrative has
already been planted with the strikingly odd suggestion of Iranians 'borrowing' Syrian army
systems. If Israel can't provoke Syria or Iran to attack, then it will just have to make one
happen.
Note this is all happening at a time when the US is removingswapping carrier strike groups in the Middle East. The Roosevelt and pals left the
PersianArabian Gulf a while back to provoke the
Chineseconduct operations in the South China Sea.
So, no vulnerable carriers in the area right now and not enough destroyers to launch any
kind of sizeable Tomahawk attack.
The Truman CSG with 6,500 sailors just left Newport. It will reach the Mediterranean with
six guided-missile destroyers, a guided-missile cruiser and even a German and Danish
frigate. The Roosevelt CSG only had three destroyers and a cruiser. The Truman CSG will join
the guided-missile destroyer Donald Cook, already in the Mediterranean, which is apparently
being used to bait the Russians for now. I half-expect that to be hit soon in an Israeli
false-flag to 'repurpose' the CSG arriving next week. The Israelis tried the same thing with
the Liberty (to be blamed on UAR/Egypt) in order to drag the US into their Six-Day War.
In any case, there is simply not enough imaginary 'chemical weapons sites' to target in
any cruise missile attack. The real intent of Israel and the US will be (IMHO) to completely
destroy any Syrian air defense capability once and for all. The Syrian Air Force aircraft are
a secondary, far less important target. Without any air defense, the Israeli and Coalition of
Evil can pick them off one-by-one. This scenario puts Russia in a difficult position: it
would have to fire its own SAMs at any aircraft attacking Syria - something it has not done
before. Anything missiles fired at Israeli aircraft up until now has been from Syrian air
defense sites - the Russians only provide a network for all Syrian/Russian radars.
Neither the US nor Israel are going to do much on the ground in Syria until they have
unrestricted air dominance - at least over their head-chopper safe zones. The US has their
DEMC and FSA MaT mercs ready to seize the entire Syrian/Iraqi border, and they can't be
bothered with pesky Russian or Syrian aircraft interfering with that land-grab.
8 years ago, Russia was just in the process of fixing the basket caseshe had become in 1992. Her power had not yet been restored as is the case
now. Also, the internal situation was not what it is now with a just reelected popular
President. Russia may assert herself now. She was not yet as well wed with China and Iran.
A good parallel could be the rise of Germany from 1933 to 1939. From ashes to glory.
Mattis: US 'still assessing' suspected Syria chemical weapons attack.
Defense Secretary James Mattis said Wednesday that the United States and its allies were
"still assessing" reports of a chemical weapons attack in Syria, and that they are working on
options to respond.
"We're still assessing the intelligence, ourselves and our allies. We're still working on
this," Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon prior to meeting with defense officials from the
Netherlands. . .
here
@ PavewayIV with his scenario on the Syria battle plan of empire
Thanks...I don't like what you say but will accept its potential because of your contacts.
I don't think the Western coalition will be successful but can't say why.....more of a
hope
I am beginning to think this situation is like an iceberg with only a bit showing and tons
existing below the surface.......I will ask again....what is China doing during this bullying
of its neighbor?
In a way I am glad to see this crisis developing and hope that it resolves the centuries
long cancer of private finance in our social contract.
In November a 'blue wave' will sweep up Congress for Clintonites, soon after which Trump will
be impeached.
Russia + US friends are organizing a preemptive WW3 lightshow to establish facts between
your ears, as in, a new Cold War.
Why? Because the War on Terror advantages the Clintonite Deep State 'Octopus' crime family;
best to have a new Cuban Missile Crisis now rather than chance an uncontrolled scenario under
Pence.
I'm not sure how the show will play out but certainly both Russia and it's US 'partners'
will achieve their desired goals including the strengthening of large nation states as
against the medievil multipolar NWO preffered by the Transnational Zionist elite and which
Tillerson was working hard to create before he was fired via the same twitter account now
being used to play up the drama in this spirit of the WWF.
Libya is a huge lesson for both Russia and China for their believing the perfidious
AZ's preaching of high moral and of law and order. Since then on Rrussia and China are not
afraid to use their UN veto rights to fight against the treacherous US/UK/Fr.
Syria is surely a very important part of Russia's long term strategy, i.e. its navy base
in E. Mediterranrean, for such a foodhold in warm see water had Russia Empire fought quite a
few wars, gas and oil business, grain export to ME.
There is no doubt Russia will defend its interest in Syria, but at price will it be
willing to pay?
That's why I talk about "vital national interests" , for which Russia will not
hesitate for a second to sacrifice tens of thousands, millions or even tens of millions of
Russian lives, such as Chechen War, Stalingrad War.
19.10.1950 China sent hundreds of thousands of soliers with rudiment weapons, almost no
air support and even no adequate winter uniform to fight against so-called UN Army consisting
of 23 countries (US/UK/Australia/Canada/France/Turkey/Netherlands/Belgium/S. Africa,etc.). It
succeeded in pushing away US Army from Chinese-Korean border to the 38th parallel with
366,145 death and injured from Chinese Army.
I am sure the brave Syrian Army and Syrian people are and will be fighting for their
motherland until the last drop blood as they have been doing for the past 7 years. With
Russian soldiers embedded in SAA, S-400 and Russian Navy are on high alert, any strikes US
& Co want to make against Syria, they have to think of the possible consequence of their
fatal self-destruction.
Take a look at what Bakerpete @68 wrote about Sun Tzu: The fundamental strategies of Sun
Tzu are 1). a leader must look after and improve his own people first, 2). leading an
opponent to defeat himself is the very best outcome and 3). whether victorious or not
open combat should be regarded as a failure.
psychohistorian @60
From what I read China has been and is doing:
Standing firmly with Russia by voting for Russian proposal to investigate the CW and
negating US proposal.
Showing solidarity by public announcing the close cooperation and realtionship between
Chinese Army and Russian Army by Chinese Defensve Minister. This may sound nothing to your
Westerners b/c you are used to Western policians' grandstanding, believe me this kind bold
statement from a top Chinese Minister is very seldom . It really means
something.
Supporting Russian economy by continuousy investing hundreds of billions in Russia
companies and importing Russian products as well as pouring tourists to Russia to counter
the severe economic sanctions imposed on Russia. (Economic sanction itself is actually
another form of hybird war.)
Supplying Syria with food and other urgently needed aids as well as medical needs, for
example 1,000 tons food directly delivered to Tartus, 500 tons to Lebanon for Syrian
refugees.
Providing support in education, medical cooperation and economic development, some are
already under going.
Western MSM does report this kind of information because MSM want to bury it to leave you
with the impression that 1). Russia is alone/isolated in this whole Syrian war issues;
2). to portrait China as selfish/heartless/not caring ; 3) to disheaten the
supporters of resistence to the AZ Empire, a typical divide and rule tatics.
Since the time of Mao, China has always been a vocal and firm supporter of the liberation
movement of ME people, esp. Palestinians.
The US military operational chain of command runs from the President to the Secretary of
Defense to the Combatant Commanders. In this case it is: Trump--Mattis--Votel.
Open letter to the dipshits who are planning to nuke each other....
Just get on with it, please. Im sick of waiting for the inevitable. Every day, doom porn.
Im over it. Just stop talking shit, and nuke each other already. Or else shut up and go home.
For fucks sake, this shit is gonna give me an ulcer, its like Im stuck in traffic that has
slowed down because they think theres gonna be an accident, and don't wanna miss the
potential carnage, and all I wanna do is get home. If the US and EU are such suicidal idiots,
they deserve it. Whoever sets this off, it doesn't matter, you all die, leaving me to my
rural southern hemisphere subtropical peace.
Its Darwinism 101. As much as I like you all,
you've had it coming for a while. Slaughtering each other like fucking animals for centuries,
blaming everybody else, and pissing on the rest of us while trying to convince us its rain.
Keep your pipelines, your WMDs and your ridiculous elections. Keep your Houses of "Lords",
your apeshit crazy senates, and your "democracies". Im ready to kick back and watch them all
get vaporized by your fear and insatiable greed, to watch your "smart" bombs land on your own
fucking heads. All I ask is just please, for goodness sake, leave us poor third world fuckers
out of it. Weve seen enough...
Thanks
Syria news:
> 11 Apr. Russia issued a NOTAM* to close an area next to Syrian territorial waters to
conduct missile exercises on 11-12, 17-19 and 25-26 April, 10.00- 18.00 Moscow time.
Opponent's unauthorized strikes shall be planned accordingly.
> Russian military police will be deployed in Douma from 12 Apr. . . here
*NOTAM -- A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert
aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect
the safety of the flight. - wiki
It was a week ago today that Turkey, Iran and Russia met in Ankara to discuss ending the
Syria conflict. While the three leaders differ on overall strategies they agree on opposing
Washington.
What were the outcomes of the Ankara summit? According to Kerim Has, a Moscow State
University lecturer, the most concrete and clear result of the summit was the emphasis of all
sides on Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. It's clear that neither
the negotiators nor the forces on the ground will accept the creation of a sovereign patch in
Syria under Ankara's control. . .
here
How can the US get back in the picture? Perhaps some bombs and missiles might work? Not
really. In fact it will backfire.
"... After reading more about WHO's Health Cluster partners in Syria, it seemed clear that the Syrian AMERICAN Medical Society was at least one likely source for the reports of 500 chemical victims. ..."
"... And SAMS, like the While Helmets, appears to have motives unconnected to health care. ..."
Syria govt has said Douma has only one hospital, and it received no patients with symptoms of
exposure to chemicals.
But WHO says about 500 people reached "medical centers" with symptoms of exposure to
chemicals.
What medical centers is the WHO referring to? If they're brick-and-mortar clinics with
names, fact checking should be easy. Why haven't they specified?
Regarding the WHO statement that 500 people turned up with chemical-attack symptoms, this is
identified as coming from "Health Cluster partners." From their webpage:
"There are 50 Health Cluster partners at the global level and more than 700 partners in
countries – this is a collective force guaranteeing that the response to health
emergencies becomes more timely, effective and predictable. These partners include
international organizations and UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations, national
authorities, specialized agencies, affected communities, academic and training institutes and
donor agencies."
This raises the question: Exactly who were these "partners" on the ground in an area under
the control of the jihadists?
I guess the NGO that provided the false information to WHO about 500 chemical weapons
patients is the Syrian American Medical Society. SAMS are known for promoting false-flag
chemical weapons provocations in Syria and for having direct connections to the organizers
and killers. By their own admission they have been involved in staging almost 200 false-flag
chemical weapons massacres in the last 7 years.
"Dr. Morad is here today to be an inspiration to all of us." Today, 1 year after the
sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun, UN Ambassador @nikkihaley delivered remarks at a UNSC
briefing on chemical weapons w/Dr. Morad as her guest. SAMS has recorded almost 200 such
attacks in 7 yrs
I would guess the answer is yes to both of your deductions. After reading more about
WHO's Health Cluster partners in Syria, it seemed clear that the Syrian AMERICAN Medical
Society was at least one likely source for the reports of 500 chemical victims.
And SAMS, like the While Helmets, appears to have motives unconnected to health
care.
It might well be that letting Erdogan snack on Afrin was a masterful investment by Putin. With Turkey opposed to NATO intervention,
Iraq not daring to collaborate overtly (no popular support, no majority support among the various armed forces) and Iran working in
concert with Russia to support Syria, opponents of NATO bombing or other escalation can painfully and rather gradually retaliate
against any Us forces ont he ground. Tanf enclave might suffer.
The current plan is to remove all enclaves in the core Syria, so the majority of
people can live securely and securely travel, with highways and railroads cleared from jihadists obstacles. When people work for themselves
they do not need such an enormous external aid, and the benefits of the trade with the West (and the access to Western financial services)
are overrated.
Notable quotes:
"... Russia said it would destroy the platforms that launch the missiles, not only the missiles themselves. Did nobody explain the difference to Trump? ..."
"... It is cynical to say that "Russia needs us to help with their economy". The US under Trump is waging economic war on Russia by implementing more and more economic sanctions. The last round on Friday targeted Russian industrialists, many of whom are not even aligned with Putin. Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, disliked in the Kremlin, lost 15% of his fortune. The Rubel plummeted against the dollar for two days in a row. U.S. Treasury stooges are now traveling in Europe to press European banks to shut down all services for Russian companies. ..."
"... Well that could be some incriminating info on Trump, perhaps? No idea but interesting poins though. ..."
"... It seems shocking that Russia establishment did not know that US is a fearful bully, or dollars were too good. ..."
"... Just to remind people's that in 2011 it was Medvedev representative of Russian western oligarchic lobby (friendly with Obama and neocons) in Kremlin who was in charge during Arab Spring. It is well documented fact that Assad pleaded with Medvedev in March 2011 for Moscow to deliver already ordered and paid for in 2008 dozens of new combat helicopters as well as massive amount of parts to refurbish and upgrade Russian made warplanes that were also withheld not to upset Israel and US at that time. ..."
"... None of that happened at that time, while at the same time Quadaffi was thrown under the bus by Russians and Chinese UN non veto of the planned NATO agression on Libya, appeasement or coincidence? ..."
"... Once the shooting starts it will only stop if one side decides to stand-down. Which side will do that? Seems politically unacceptable for either side to appear as the loser. Will the fools who started the war stop shooting when their ships wind up on the bottom of the Mediterranean? ..."
"... US war economy needs to offload some ammo in the name of defense. Walking that fine line between raising stock price and getting your arse kicked. ..."
"... MOA is definitely part of this 'collective intelligence of millions of people debunking the lies in real time'. ..."
"... These Neoconservative power-mongers are asking you to accept universal serfdom at their hands or World War III with Russia. You can live as slaves in a pan-global oligarchy of overlapping corporate and bureaucratic interests or you can be nuked. It's your choice. You have 24 to 48 hours to decide. ..."
"... I believe the National Security State's and Israel's goal is to kill Assad at any cost. Chaos is Syria is the goal. Iran would be next step. ..."
"... This is illegal - from the article: "Trump has no authority to order an attack on the Syrian government, which has not attacked the U.S. and doesn't pose any threat to America or its allies. There is no international mandate for military action against Syria, and there is no vital American interest at stake that might conceivably justify an attack." ..."
"... Consider the leaders of the antagonists; May, Macron, Netanyahu, Trump. Each is weak and in trouble internally and are either not driving this madness or are in need of distractions. ..."
"... To fully appreciate the Israeli calls to murder Asad you got to remember that a good part of the ppl who took to the streets in 2011 were thinking Asad is a Mossad spy because after all he had never liberated the Golan. ..."
"... Visit to #EasternGhouta today. Zamalka residents told me that they were displaced from their homes by #NusraFront fighters fm EU, officials told me over 280 British passport holders among them. I was also told these "fighters" will go to #Idlib - Turkey - back to EU. ..."
"... The gloves are off for the alternative media: 21stCenturyWire was taken offline last night (Sibel Edmonds can rejoice). Fort-Russ, SyriaNews.cc and others are also down. Southfront was under attack. ..."
"... Houthis firing tickets at Riyadh and Aramco. Looks like the Houthis at least have the right idea about an effective asymmetric response. ..."
"... One more thing. The current scenario is a prime set-up for demonstrating the old truth that a real war takes on a life of its own very quickly, and can quickly and unexpectedly (i.e. in an "unplanned" way) get out of control. ..."
"... Putin shows again that he is a mature person compared to Trump and it vassals in the EU: Putin: The world is getting more chaotic, but we hope that common sense will prevail https://www.rt.com/news/423835-putin-world-chaos-common-sense/ ..."
"... Trump is a lying ass who insults the intelligence of anyone who would humiliate themselves surrendering to his mega-ego manipulation. When the heat is on, he has no problem throwing his own friends and associates under the bus. ..."
"... I posted the following comment on the past thread but haven't seen it said here so will add. I wonder what China is doing behind the scenes. This seems to me like the time that China needs to stand next to Russia and say NYET! ..."
"... The US are about to attack Syria no matter the findings of OPCW. An attack to try and destroy the Syrian military to prevent the last pockets of jihadis being destroyed. The fake gas attack is a figleaf that will simply be ignored if it falls apart. ..."
"... It is only normal that Putin and Xi will only act forcefully when Russia and China's respectively vital national security under direct threat . Any rational government leaders will do the same except the corrupt ones that would put its moneyed-ones/ruling class' and Isreal's interest ahead of that of their own countries and citizens. ..."
"... Syria has weapons to target US warships, so it's not just Russian retaliation at issue. One of the more powerful verbal truths was hurled at Outlaw US Empire by Russia's UNSC Ambassador who in essence said the world doesn't need/want your hegemony any longer -- act civilized or shut the fuck up! ..."
"... maybe these tweets are some kind of hail mary subversive action by the Donald? letting everyone know about what's coming. I mean, to announce defensive measures would be quite common, but announcing a strike some hours or days beforehand is not seen that often. ..."
"... Trump appears not to understand how deep are his troubles: with Mueller's grab of his personal Attorney's files- Russiagate has morphed into a sex scandal; his base is growing restless over undelivered campaign promises. Trump does Twitter diplomacy and Russia is not amused. The "Russia needs US to help with their economy" is weird. Only 8 months ago Congress passed legislation 419-3 imposing sanctions against Russia, which Trump signed, that limits his authority to lift them. ..."
"... As Putin says, if you know a fight is inevitable, then hit first. ..."
Donald Trump may perceive these bad cop/good cop tweets as a serious way to negotiate with
Russia. They ain't.
Donald J. Trump - @realDonaldTrump - 10:57 AM UTC - 11 Apr
2018
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they
will be coming, nice and new and "smart!" You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal
who kills his people and enjoys it!
Donald J. Trump - @realDonaldTrump - 11:37 AM UTC - 11 Apr
2018
Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold
War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that
would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?
Russia said it would destroy the
platforms that launch the missiles, not only the missiles themselves. Did nobody explain the
difference to Trump?
There is reason that U.S. relations with Russia are now worse than they have been for some
time and Russia is not responsible for these. The GW Bush administration killed the
Anti-Ballistic-Missile treaty which guaranteed Mutually Assured Destruction and thus strategic
stability. The Obama administration launched a trillion dollar program to ramp up U.S. nuclear
capabilities and ballistic missile defense with the aim of achieving superiority in a nuclear
conflict.
It is cynical to say that "Russia needs us to help with their economy". The US under Trump
is waging economic war on Russia by implementing more and more economic sanctions. The last
round on Friday targeted Russian industrialists, many of whom are not even aligned with Putin.
Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, disliked in the Kremlin,
lost 15% of his fortune. The Rubel plummeted against the dollar for two days in a row. U.S.
Treasury stooges are now traveling in Europe to press
European banks to shut down all services for Russian companies.
I believe VVPutins measured responses to provocations, relates to a reasonable and prudent
understanding of what resources he has to use in conflict situations...his resources are not
unlimited, and he would prefer not to use them at all, if possible... He has hawks in his own country that want a serious shooting war with the West... Putin himself cannot keep the lid on WW3, solely by himself...
I think this is the first time Russia has explicitly threatened to retaliate against hostile
platforms.
Presumably they're feeling confident in themsleves.
Russia will have to response to any U.S. strike on Syria. It needs to do so to keep face
and the faith of its allies. But it also needs to so in a way that avoids further
escalation.
That would have to be manyfold stronger response then awaited from US strategic planners.
Dangerous game if not impossible to achieve with conventional deterrent.
Something that is very strong, in a different theater and not attributable?
Well that could be some incriminating info on Trump, perhaps? No idea but interesting
poins though.
It is all true but narrative of b how we got he on a brink of shooting war with US is one
sided. Two are needed to tango and Russia tangoed too long enticed by potential benefit for
few oligarchs and detriment to the nation.
Just seven years past and despite unquestioned positive role that Russian played in Syria
mostly to reduce pain and suffering of Syrian people what I read here is unnecessary
whitewashing of Russian initial stand that did nothing but encouraged US and NATO gangsters
to reek chaos that caused tens of thousands dead and injured. It seems shocking that Russia
establishment did not know that US is a fearful bully, or dollars were too good.
Just to remind people's that in 2011 it was Medvedev representative of Russian western
oligarchic lobby (friendly with Obama and neocons) in Kremlin who was in charge during Arab
Spring. It is well documented fact that Assad pleaded with Medvedev in March 2011 for Moscow to
deliver already ordered and paid for in 2008 dozens of new combat helicopters as well as
massive amount of parts to refurbish and upgrade Russian made warplanes that were also
withheld not to upset Israel and US at that time.
Assad was not invited to Moscow at that time while he repeatedly declared that his
military will be able to defeat terrorist insurgence financed by the CIA in a matter of weeks
if Syrian Army is resupplied and paid for already contracts executed.
None of that happened at that time, while at the same time Quadaffi was thrown under the
bus by Russians and Chinese UN non veto of the planned NATO agression on Libya, appeasement
or coincidence?
Russian got their pay off for playing western game in MENA when in 2012 Putin was barely
elected in a quite ridiculous political charade facing CIA/Soros funded failed Moscow Spring
which actually started slippery slope of open western anti-Russian hysterical
embellishments.
What was even more puzzling for those not so sophisticated political analysts was Putin
inconsistent actions and declarations especially in regard to Syria between 2012 and 2014
when he joined US phony peace talks and calling on Assad removal from his post in a some sort
of democratic process only to find out that US do not want peace in Syria but some Saudi run
fiefdom friendly to Israel.
The same appeasement to the west was in Putin attitude to Ukraine until 2014 and its 23
millions of ethnic Russians tolerating rapidly growing western financed Nazism as well his
tolerance of Russia connected Ukrainian oligarchic theft that plunged the country into
economic depression enabling political instability.
At that time Russian minorities in Baltic States were also viciously attacked by security
forces as well by discriminating Nuremberg -- like laws making them, most born there, second
class citizen restricted in ownership and civil rights to organize and to maintain their
culture and language.
All those Putin foreign policies of weakness and submission to the west and that included
reluctance in approach to alliances with China were in sharp contrast to his extreme push to revamp entire military of Russian with
enormous like for Russia military investments and extremely rationalizing it giving them 5
year term to accomplish massive changes while dropping hype about future fancy technologies
for simple solutions that effectively will defend the country from western aggression.
Putin knew what was coming so why Kremlin policies of appeasement and hence encouragement
of bullying and aggression. Who was really in charge?
In fact Putin reacted only when Russian vital national security was directly threatened in
2014 in Crimea where navy bases are located and in 2015 when he realized that western trained
and funded terrorist army commanded by Chechnya Russian speaking terrorists is being prepared
to invade Chechnya after Assad was deposed and the only maditeranian navy base was
threatened.
As always in history policy of appeasement of a bully leads to the same thing ultimate
confrontation, more delayed more costly it is.
So is Putin as Xi for that matter is about to submit their nations to the western
oligarchy even more for their personal advancement at the global oligarchic table or they
split which means war.
I do not think war is coming they have too good thing going and their power is not
threatened by the enslaved people.
Russia roll over?
The U.S. totally fails to understand the Russian character; failing that is a total failure
for any hope of resolving this conflict without war.
Russia will never "bend the knee" to anybody, much less the U.S., in all of its corruption
and contempt for true Christian values.
The U.S. in fact has no idea of the adversary they face; a sure path to defeat!
Once the shooting starts it will only stop if one side decides to stand-down.
Which side will do that? Seems politically unacceptable for either side to appear as the
loser. Will the fools who started the war stop shooting when their ships wind up on the
bottom of the Mediterranean?
How long before somebody decides it's better to use em then lose
em and launches a preemptive strike? You can bet both sides will launch on warning if a
shooting war is in progress.
A key factor is the OPCW, which ought to be deploying to Douma soon. OPCW Will Deploy Fact-Finding Mission to Douma, Syria
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- 10 April 2018 -- Since the first reports of alleged use of
chemical weapons in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic, were issued, the Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been gathering information from all available
sources and analysing it. At the same time, OPCW's Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet
Üzümcü, has considered the deployment of a Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) team
to Douma to establish facts surrounding these allegations.
Today, the OPCW Technical Secretariat has requested the Syrian Arab Republic to make the
necessary arrangements for such a deployment. This has coincided with a request from the
Syrian Arab Republic and the Russian Federation to investigate the allegations of chemical
weapons use in Douma. The team is preparing to deploy to Syria shortly. . . . here
There has been no OPCW report on Salisbury early this week as promised.
" There has been no OPCW report on Salisbury early this week as promised." Just wait soon we will read: "BBC: Chemicals used to poison Skirpal, made in secret lab in Syria"
When I was in high school I was 6'3" and weighed 235, starting linebacker and the team's
leading tackler. My father, who tended to intimidate me, made it very clear to me that big
men do not use their size and strength to their own advantage, and that if he ever heard that
I was bullying anyone, or even throwing my weight around, he would make me rue the day. He
set the example, as he was himself a rather gentle giant type.
There was two exceptions to the rule. First, if I was ever picked upon myself, I was
required to allow three strikes and then I could impose whatever violence I wished upon my
tormentor. Second, if I observed someone smaller being bullied I was free to persuade the
bully to desist using whatever means I had available to me.
My father was not Russian, but I suspect his forefathers would have understood Putin's
quite well.
I've liked Tom Luongo's take on things. MOA is definitely part of this 'collective
intelligence of millions of people debunking the lies in real time'.
Luongo
'We live in an age where the speed of communication is too much for these people to
maintain their lies for very long, if at all.' (this is why the war mongers look for a fast
response)
'Defy the West however you have to Mr. Putin. It's obvious Mr. Trump isn't up to the
job.
These Neoconservative power-mongers are asking you to accept universal serfdom at their
hands or World War III with Russia. You can live as slaves in a pan-global oligarchy of
overlapping corporate and bureaucratic interests or you can be nuked. It's your choice. You have 24 to 48 hours to decide.
You (DT) have to signal that you are in charge and not the paper-hangers and criminals you
were elected to fight against. You want our continued support earn it. Because this is not
Making America Great Again.'
Most likely, in my opinion, a US attack would be against four to six Syrian airfields, an
expansion of last year's attack on one airfield. Syria would currently be moving its aircraft
to more protected airfields. Cratered runways can be repaired quickly. Perhaps some command
& control centers would also be hit. This would make a big splash, but have little or no
long-term results.
This is illegal - from the article: "Trump has no authority to order an attack on the Syrian government, which has not
attacked the U.S. and doesn't pose any threat to America or its allies. There is no
international mandate for military action against Syria, and there is no vital American
interest at stake that might conceivably justify an attack."
Consider the leaders of the antagonists; May, Macron, Netanyahu, Trump. Each is weak and in
trouble internally and are either not driving this madness or are in need of distractions.
If
Russia responds to an attack I would think it needs to hit those who need to be hurt the
most; those in the background. Hitting Israel I believe would be a mistake as it is the most
likely to cause a panic and trigger something really stupid. I'm in the camp that believes
Russia and China (in particular) are working as hard as possible to manage the US collapse
and will back off as much as possible. America's self-destruction is ongoing and the safest
thing to do is give it the space it needs. Yes, many innocent people are dying but the
alternative is many millions dying.
At least half of the American populace is shot through with a deep abiding ignorance.
I wonder if Trump is really as ignorant as he seems or if he is simply reciting his stupid
lines. Compromised by blackmail. Christ, what more shit can they pile on him openly? He's in
deep shit already. Surely they've got something on him in secret that would destroy him
utterly. He seems like a genuinely ignorant ass. Very believable if its theater.
@27
US presidents have been ordering attacks on other countries forever w/o repercussions. It
goes 'way back, to the extermination of the Native Americans.
Russia needs to announce its has discovered who is arming and funding the terrorists!!
Call these countries it and make it explicit that in the event of any US strikes Russia
will hold these countries responsible for the conflict and take whatever measures it deems
appropriate.
And who are these countries?? Why - 5 Arab Monarchies of course!!
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain & Jordan. Plenty of juicy infrastructure targets there to destroy in an symmetrical response. Don't worry about sinking the USS Sitting Duck - strike asymmetrically
To fully appreciate the Israeli calls to murder Asad you got to remember that a good part of
the ppl who took to the streets in 2011 were thinking Asad is a Mossad spy because after all
he had never liberated the Golan.
British and American forces have been destroyed on a large scale in the Ghouta region, with
the 22nd regiment of the SAS, those surviving the pinpoint Russian bombing, that is, having
to flee on buses in disguise. This is the reason for Skripal plan and the chemical weapons
false flag. This anyway is according to this incendiary report which is worth a watch
whatever you make of it. https://vimeo.com/263728681
Visit to #EasternGhouta today. Zamalka residents told me that they were displaced from
their homes by #NusraFront fighters fm EU, officials told me over 280 British passport
holders among them. I was also told these "fighters" will go to #Idlib - Turkey - back to
EU.
European jihadists are on their way back to Europe. You reap what you sow.
GDP is not the only deciding fact of a war. How many hundred time is US' GDP to that of
Afaghanistan's Taliban? Yet US can't win Taliban in its 17-year long war.
One important issue that many commentators are not addressing is determining the real purpose
of this strike:
1. Is the purpose merely symbolic, and so undertaken with an eye as much toward domestic
politics in the US and UK as toward Syria? If so, then Russia will be unofficially advised of
the strike in advance, targets will be so-called "chemical factories" made up for the US-UK
public's consumption, maybe a few airfields, and that is that.
2. But what if the purpose is not merely symbolic? What if Israel and the US have decided
that, with the now-complete clearing of Ghouta by the Syrian Army, this is their last
plausible chance to decimate the political infrastructure of Syria, break the country, and
divide it up once and for all? If that is the true purpose of the strike, then there is
simply no way it can be undertaken without leading to Russian casualities. Furthermore, its
end result--a Syria transformed into Libya--would be *precisely* the thing that motivated
Russia to get involved in the first place. For Putin, neither unanswered Russian casualties,
nor such an immense, costly, and public foreign policy failure as Syria would then have
proven to be, are without domestic political consequence. Putin would almost necessarily have
to respond militarily in such an event.
So far, however, it remains unclear which kind of strike the proposed strike will be. The
publicity, international coalition, etc. all point to the second kind of strike--the shock
and awe destruction of a nation kind of strike--but the official rhetoric coming from the US
and France is ambiguous.
I am betting that the US/UK/France is partly motivated and pressured by Israel to
undertake the second kind of strike, but recognizes that this will put Putin in an impossible
situation, and will likely result in a great number of US and NATO casualities, escalation to
world war, and quite possibly nuclear conflict. Were I Russia, I would let the US-UK know
that a symbolic strike is acceptable, and work out an understanding of targets, etc. that
Russian troops should avoid. I would also let them know that anything stronger will not only
be defended proportionately, but will immediately result in Russia's asymmetrical attack upon
significant Western interests in the region. Everybody will know this means Israel.
But what do I know. The U.S. can't be trusted, and doesn't act as a rational state-actor,
and that is the problem.
The gloves are off for the alternative media: 21stCenturyWire was taken offline last night
(Sibel Edmonds can rejoice). Fort-Russ, SyriaNews.cc and others are also down. Southfront was
under attack.
I noticed that too about 21stCW and Southfront. Craig Murray's blog has also been under
attack and was down intermittently yesterday. This makes me fear that the kind of strike
envisioned is a nation-destroying kind of strike, not merely a symbolic slap in the face. The
domestic preparations seem to be pointing in this direction.
Putin just said, according to RT: "The World is getting more chaotic, but we hope that common
sense will prevail". My interpretation of this sentence is that Putin is absolutely determined
not to refuse engagement and will take this to its consequences. He "hopes" common sense will prevail but doesn't expect it.
Bill H @22: That's good parenting we need in this world.
0use4msm @45: Before the war starts, the Establishment/Deep State/War Party needs to muffle
the voices telling the truth so as to get its propaganda messages to everyone to manufacture consensus.
One more thing. The current scenario is a prime set-up for demonstrating the old truth that a
real war takes on a life of its own very quickly, and can quickly and unexpectedly (i.e. in
an "unplanned" way) get out of control. For example, what if the US and NATO decide upon a
merely symbolic strike that avoids every Russian troop or piece of military equipment in the
area? But what if Israel, disappointed with this result, uses the cover of the NATO strikes
to engineer its own attack upon either U.S. troops (with the intent to make it appear to be
Syrians or Iranians) or Russian troops (with the intent to make it appear to be US or NATO)?
Suddenly we are in a world war.
So even a merely symbolic strike is extremely dangerous to everybody's interests given the
context of the conflict and the parties who are really driving it.
I have to say that everything keeps pointing back to Israel. And I have to wonder whether
there has not been a pre-arrangment made between Russia and Iran (who has promised
retaliation for the bombing a couple of days ago) that involves the immediate decimation of
Israeli military interests if certain contingencies materialize.
Trump is a lying ass who insults the intelligence of anyone who would humiliate themselves
surrendering to his mega-ego manipulation. When the heat is on, he has no problem throwing
his own friends and associates under the bus.
Trump is all about and for Trump. Hence the name on all the buildings, golf courses and if
he has his way Trump boulevard; USS Carrier Trump, Trump Airport, Trump City, Trump World.
He's the embodiment of what America stands for: absolute depraved power begot through
military and economic tyranny.
So he's telling Putin, don't look at all those sanctions and the billions I'm pouring into
the arms race; just believe your lying eyes; I come in peace, reeely. Trump thinking: We
smoked peace pipe with Native Americans; today the ones that survived the genocide live on
reservation; while we have the tomahawks and live in ivory towers. We're in the Pacific, in
Eastern Europe, almost all over the Middle East. You think we're going to let you (or China)
mess with our supremacy?
@44 - nice summary and I hope we don't end up scenario number 2. As you say the US, UK and
now France no longer behave as rational state actors. Some Russian put it well - "not
agreement capable." I am hoping maybe Russia has some back channels directly to US generals
and maybe Chinese ones as well.
I posted the following comment on the past thread but haven't seen it said here so will add.
I wonder what China is doing behind the scenes. This seems to me like the time that China needs to stand next to Russia and say NYET!
Thanks for the forum for online community b. It has been very meaningful for me and I am
sure others. Hopefully it will continue to be through this coming world event. I apologize in
advance for the aggressive actions of my country ruled by the world elite.....sad
Since I posted this comment on the other thread I have been thinking that China should
cash in enough US Treasuries today to get the attention of my country's puppets.
The US are about to attack Syria no matter the findings of OPCW. An attack to try and destroy
the Syrian military to prevent the last pockets of jihadis being destroyed. The fake gas
attack is a figleaf that will simply be ignored if it falls apart. The US would have taken some readings on Russian EW last year and now think they can defeat
it.
Russia will most likely save the S-300 and S-400 systems for aircraft and rely on EW and
close in defenses for taking out missiles. Syrian bases will most likely take some hits.
The two Russian bases are sovereign Russian territory so any strikes against them are the
same as attacking Russia mainland.
Nothing on whether Russian personal are still spread through the Syrian military or have been
pulled back to the bases. I would think they are still at their jobs and like the pilots and
spetnaz will stand their ground against the ISIS/AQ airforce and navy.
It is only normal that Putin and Xi will only act forcefully when Russia and
China's respectively vital national security under direct threat . Any rational
government leaders will do the same except the corrupt ones that would put its
moneyed-ones/ruling class' and Isreal's interest ahead of that of their own countries and
citizens.
As much as we would like to have the counter balance to the reckless US Empire, but we
have to be realistic.
I don't imagine Russia responding much, beyond marginal countermeasures. The Russians have
had numerous instances of 'falling short' in Syria, so I don't know why this would be
different. I think the major mistake will be the comical repeat of the same judgment errors
that Putin/Russia makes; the thinking that they can trust the West at their word.
The wild cards will be Hezbollah and Iran. They could bypass Russia and wage their own
battles. I'm not sure how successful they would be, but they may be willing to make big
sacrifices.
I think there's a power struggle over Syria between Russia and Iran, because Russia is
more self-interested, and is completely locked in to the global economy
As much as we would like to have the counter balance to the reckless US Empire, but we have
to be realistic.
And if everyone thought this way, Goliath and Hitler would rule the world. Resistance to the Empire should be instinctual second nature and counter balance is
greatest check on supremacy.
Furthermore, I think the Western coalition will hit hard. They've clearly planned this
assault out, and probably have the objective of obtaining full air superiority. Unless
prevented I think there will be a rollback of major gains by the SAA. Russia's going to look really bad at the end of this if they don't have any aces up their
sleeves
My personal belief is that Putin has a very deep understanding of Sun Tzu and his actions
over that past 18 years appears to confirm that. The majority of those reading Sun Tzu
misread him as some great war strategist which is far too simplistic. Some fundamental
tenants are that a leader must look after and improve his own people first, leading an
opponent to defeat himself is the very best outcome and whether victorious or not open combat
should be regarded as a failure.
Actually Mali is fully correct,
you need to understand that its not Russia that is about to be attacked but Syria.
No one likes the psychos in EU/US/Nato that wage war like this but honestly, there is no
realistic resistance to these super military powers. I hate it too but we must be
realistic.
Also NATO+US+EU states outmatch Russia easily in power politically, military, there is no way
Russia could win such a war if this escalates too far.
Syria has weapons to target US warships, so it's not just Russian retaliation at issue. One of the more powerful verbal truths was hurled at Outlaw US Empire by Russia's UNSC
Ambassador who in essence said the world doesn't need/want your hegemony any longer -- act
civilized or shut the fuck up! The voting on the 3 failed UNSC resolutions shows that
sentiment's agreed to by an increasing number of nations. And as expected, the Unipolar power
seeking Outlaw US Empire and its puny vassal nations are trying to stem the rising Multipolar
Alliance tide, which they are failing at and they no it, thus their desperation.
Then we have the captured operatives and NATO/Zionist supplied illegal weapons and
associated factories for their production. IMO, enough evidence currently exists to convict
NATO, GCC, and the Zionists for numerous war crimes in Syria and Iraq--evidence that's
increasingly hard to ignore by the actual International Community--a Community that's no
longer cowed by the Outlaw US Empire as they sign on to the Russo/Sino vision of future
possibilities.
And that's what our ongoing Hybrid Third World War's all about--the drowning Outlaw US
Empire's quest for global hegemony versus the vast majority of nations wanting a peaceful
Multipolar world that seriously addresses the several major crises humanity currently faces
besides HWW3. IMO, if the Empire and its vassals attack, their international standing will
hit rock bottom and serious ostracism will commence.
I appreciate this sentiment from you and many other posters, including the Saker, who has
repeatedly claimed that Russia is not obliged in any sense to save Syria from the
bloodthirsty hegemon. But there are many, including myself, who feel that the term "Russia's
interest" does include an intact Syria, and that, any way you want to slice it, if Syria
falls, this is not only a major and irrevocable blow to the balance of power in the ME, but
also will serve to further cage in and cripple Russia economically.
If the Russians had been
set-up better in Libya to thwart the west blitzkreig on Gaddafi, then a showdown would have
potentially occurred there. Now because of the Russian foothold in Syria, the west seems very
reluctant to order a full-on shock-and-awe. Russia knows this and will not back down. That is
why every dirty trick in the book is being played right now. Russia will not just go silently
into the night. This is a very desperate situation...it is not nor will ever be easy for
Russia to do nothing.
@69 Valid point, but Russia will see a major investment in money and lives become undone. To
capitulate, watch Shock&Awe II, and see hoards (re)overtake D-E-Z and allepo would be
demoralizing to a degree that may be akin to how Germans felt when the Allied troops crossed
the Rhine river
Two observations based on past US aggressive actions:
1) The US rarely if ever directly attacks a country that can genuinely fight back. Look at
how threats against North Korea died down after it became evident that they had successfully
developed nuclear weapons.
2) Americans have a very low tolerance for casualties among their armed forces (that's why
they mostly just drop bombs from a safe height). Look at how a single soldier encountering an
IED in northern Syria a few weeks ago was followed in short order by Trump's apparent
decision to withdraw troops. What would happen if dozens or hundreds started having
"unfortunate accidents"?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is still assessing intelligence about last
weekend's suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
said on Wednesday, striking a cautious tone hours after President Donald Trump threatened
missile strikes.
Asked if he had seen enough evidence to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces
for the attack, Mattis said: "We're still assessing the intelligence -- ourselves and our
allies. We're still working on this." He did not elaborate.
Mattis also restated that the U.S. military stood ready to provide military options, if
appropriate, and as determined by Trump.
"Stood ready to provide"? Does that mean that it has not yet been asked? Weird writing ...
After reading Trump's tweets on the Nato countries news site, I started to wonder what type
has Donald Trump been doing business with and made profits. Must be crooks with very low
intelligence. If his tweets are anything to gauge his intelligence with. Does really think
Russia would shake by his ignorant tweets. Israel is the problem. Russia has been too
lenient. Like a typical spoilt-child, Israel behaves with impunity in the international
community. All these absurd theaters are simply to divert attention from the coward and
criminal activities of Israel in Palestine.
maybe these tweets are some kind of hail mary subversive action by the Donald? letting
everyone know about what's coming. I mean, to announce defensive measures would be quite
common, but announcing a strike some hours or days beforehand is not seen that often.
Trump had dinner last night with Alan Deshowitz, Jared Kushner and other advisors, primarily
to discuss the situation in Syria and mid-east policy. So Dershowitz, the chicken little of
anti-Semitism, whose philosophy of life is encapsulated in "is it good for the Jews" is
suddenly the go-to expert on mid-east policy. Sounds like a replay of George Bush's infamous
'six Jews and the president' meeting regarding the fate of Palestine.
We'll see what Russia does if the US, UK, France and Israel bombs Syria. Bluster is one thing
but moving up the escalation ladder is another thing.
The West has destroyed the international legal framework that they created after WWII by
flouting international law and the UN charter. They have acted with impunity for many
decades. The whole Skripal affair and now using this false flag as pretext are just new
examples where facts don't matter.
This will be a major test for Putin. It will be interesting to see how far up the
escalation ladder he is willing to climb.
Looks like Mattis is really the last adult in the room, knows this is dodgy, knows and is on
record saying previous cases were dodgy as well (like was told to Obama back in 2013). One
can hope he can convince Trump, and won't be fired. Bonus points if there's a shooting match
and Mattis puts Bolton in his right place, near the dustbin.
"Russia said it would destroy the platforms that launch the missiles, not only the missiles
themselves. Did nobody explain the difference to Trump?"
What I hope is that some smart general will explain to Trump what it would mean for US
supremacy, if Russia happened to sink an aircraft carrier - considering their force
projection is based on that, and are one half of the US military might (the other being,
obviously, nukes).
@81 test.. i think you are wrong... the reason russia is in syria has a lot to do with what
happened in libya.. they didn't want to see that again... i think the line is drawn here in
syria... i do not believe russia will back down here as you suggest.. we can wait and see..
@65 - I have to question the statement that Russia is completely locked into the global
economy. They produce their own oil, have their own finance system that can be separated from
the west now that the alternative clearing network with China (SWIFT replacement) is online.
And don't forget that the sanctions of the past 5 years have probably backfired on the
West by making Russia stronger. Domestic agriculture and industry has had to fire up in order
to substitute for imports no longer available.
Again, Syria is NOT such a big interest for Russia and thefore wont make a sacrifice for
it. Period.
One might think, given the last 20 years, that overthrowing Syria would not be the last
chapter of the regime change story. Who'd be next? Probably a "westernized" or failed-state
Iran. From there, strategically? Maybe nothing more, maybe some of the former ussr-republics
would see uprising? There's more ways than all-out nuclear war to have russia cut down to
size.
Trump appears not to understand how deep are his troubles: with Mueller's grab of his
personal Attorney's files- Russiagate has morphed into a sex scandal; his base is growing
restless over undelivered campaign promises.
Trump does Twitter diplomacy and Russia is not amused. The "Russia needs US to help with
their economy" is weird. Only 8 months ago Congress passed legislation 419-3 imposing
sanctions against Russia, which Trump signed, that limits his authority to lift them.
Big question; we just read Iran has declared it stands with Syria. What about China?
April 03 China's new defense minister went to Moscow to signal to the `United States Russia
and China's military are close. China is also pissed over the recent U.S.-Taiwan Act. Did we
mention the South China Sea provocations?
Consider the leaders of the antagonists; May, Macron, Netanyahu, Trump. Each is weak and
in trouble internally and are either not driving this madness or are in need of
distractions. Bakerpete 28.
Bakerpete you express a common pov I'm not crit. it, I have expressed similar in near time
past. But. One might just as easily argue the reverse: as these 'leaders' are in touble at
home - imho quite acute for Macron (social unrest and much pol oppo, though it will come to
nothing for next two years) and Trump (PTB, deep state scissions and attacks on his person
which likewise won't grip just now, but that situation is far more volatile, unpredictable),
less dire for May and Netanyahu, > that these 'homey disturbances' serve to obscure, cover
up, distract people from murderous, disastrous foreign policies.
To clarify a simple ex. Some class of workers will demonstrate, strike, .. to preserve
their salaries (rightly so) say in F, -- completely occupied with that they have no care or
time for foreign policy (e.g. Syria)..
Is that the Jihadists now have the formula, 1. fake WMD attack, 2. watch Trump's even
larger attack against the brave Syrian army, 3. rinse and repeat. The Russians will either
have to fight or leave Syria.
My stomach is in knots. The evil people who are running my country are war criminals. My
only comfort is that they cannot lie their way out of God's judgment.
Also NATO+US+EU states outmatch Russia easily in power politically, military, there is no
way Russia could win such a war if this escalates too far.
Posted by: test | Apr 11, 2018 12:20:34 PM | 69
This is NOT about winning. It's about humans' lives and continuous endless wars and regime
changes. Should we allow the super military powers dictates human lives? Fuck NATO, EU, US,
UK, Germany, France....
Russia Federation will return to The Soviet Union or further break up if Putin let Trump
off the hook. China, if Xi Jinping did not retaliate immediately against Trump, more than 1.4
billion's Chinese will stave. Do you think China can win (trades or military) if she decides
to fight US?
It's not about winning but stands your ground or return to when China a century of
humiliation under the western power and Japan.
I cannot believe how oblivious the stock market and the U.S. public is to the possibility
of war. Everyone here has the popcorn ready and is waiting for the midnight plumes like it's
the 4th of July. We are talking about Trump's attorney, the Chinese give back to avoid the
trade war, and we seem to think that the Russians will accept their overdue punishment
because deep down inside, all evildoers know that they deserve to be punished by the Almighty
U.S.
We are a nation of self-righteous morons. Pride comes before a fall.
I didn't mean "geographically", although that would surely be a great goal. All this land
and its resources for only so few people, they surely belong to the strongest, not the ones
that happen to live there.
Also NATO+US+EU states outmatch Russia easily in power politically, military, there is no
way Russia could win such a war if this escalates too far.
I'll chime in here. This is a misconception. What does 'winning' mean? It's not like the
West is going to take Moscow. The Russians will use nukes before they let that happen. Can
the west kick Russia out of Syria? Sure but only after the Russians sink a few capital ships
and possibly an aircraft carrier and then we have Syria on our hands. No one in the West will
consider that a win worth celebrating.
Will the west try an all out blockade on Russia?
Maybe but again Russia has the nuclear war card. If an all out embargo can destroy Russia
then as Putin says, 'what good is a world without a Russia'. A few sanctions fine but they
can't deprive Russia the ability to trade oil with China, India, or South America.
If the media is credible.....WHO has given cover. 7 Hours ago, CNN, the Sun.co.uk, BBC and Sputniknews reporting 'WHO states 500 people
showed signs of chemical attack in Syria." That was quick because only 24 hrs early WHO requested access to E. Ghouta.
We are at the point where the global debt ($237 trillion) will never be repaid, needs to
be extinguished. Other than taking Russia's landmass and resources, What better way than
WW111?
When all else fails, The solution is war.
There appears to be a universal assumption here that Russia will choose to wait, to respond
to a US-French-UK-Israeli attack. This makes sense if you base your assumptions on the
actions of Russia during recent history. However, I am not so sure that will be the case. As
Putin says, if you know a fight is inevitable, then hit first.
One other assumption seems to be that a Russian response will somehow be measured, to be
more or less in proportion to the attack. I am not so sure about that, either. If the damned
fool neocons go ahead with this insanity, then I think all bets are off.
We do not know the extent of Russian offensive or defensive capabilities. I think the
Russians have been playing a waiting game for as long as possible, hoping that push would not
come to shove, but if it did, then they would be fully prepared with both conventional and
unconventional capabilities.
President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Defense
Secretary Mattis. (DoD) On Sunday, President Trump
announced his intention to make those responsible for an alleged chemical weapons attack on
Douma, including the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian allies, pay a "big price"
for their continued disregard for international law. The next day U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations Nikki Haley declared
that "The United States is determined to see the monster who dropped chemical weapons on
the Syrian people held to account."
President
Trump reinforced his call for action on Monday, noting that the United States would not sit
back in the face of the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syria. "It will be met, and it will
be met forcefully," the president said, adding that those responsible for the attack will be
held accountable, whether it was Syria, Russia, Iran or "all of them together."
Trump noted that a decision to use military force would be made "over the next 24 to 48
hours."
The pronouncements of imminent military action by the United States are not made in a
vacuum. Russia, which has considerable military forces deployed inside Syria, including
advanced military aircraft and anti-aircraft missile batteries,
has rejected the allegations of chemical weapons use by Syria as a "fabrication," and
promised that any attack on Syria would result in "serious repercussions." Russian forces
inside Syria have reportedly been placed on "full alert" as American naval
vessels capable of launching cruise missiles have arrived off the Syrian coast.
The United States and Russia appear to be heading toward a direct military confrontation
that, depending on the level of force used and the number, if any, casualties incurred by
either side, carries with it the risk of a broader conflict. While Russian (and Syrian) claims
of innocence regarding the alleged chemical weapons attack cannot be accepted at face value,
the fact that the United States has not backed up its own claims with anything other than a
recitation of accusations made by rebel groups opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad is
problematic insofar as it shows a rush to judgement on matters of war. Given the potentially
devastating consequences of any U.S.-Russian military clash over Syria, it would be better for
all parties involved to wait for a full and thorough investigation of the alleged attack before
any final decision on the use of force in response is made.
There are two versions of what happened in Douma, a suburb of Damascus home to between
80,000 and 150,000 people. The one relied upon by the United States is provided by rebel forces
opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to the Violations Documentation Center (VDC), a non-profit organization
comprised of various Syrian opposition groups funded by the Asfari Foundation and George Soros' Open Societies Foundation , at
approximately
12 p.m. the Syrian Air Force attacked the vicinity of the Saada Bakery using munitions
believed to contain "poisonous gas." The VDC cited eyewitness accounts from members of the
Syrian Civil Defense, or "White
Helmets," who described the smell of chlorine and the presence of numerous bodies assessed
to have succumbed from gas sourced to a Syrian "rocket." Later, at 7 p.m., a second air strike
struck an area near Martyr's Square, again using munitions assessed by eyewitnesses to contain
"poisonous gas." Doctors from the Syrian
American Medical Society (SAMS) described symptoms that indicated that a nerve agent had
been used. Images of victims in the locations allegedly attacked were released by a
rebel-affiliated social media entity known as the "Douma Revolution" and the "White
Helmets."
Douma is part of a larger district known as Eastern Ghouta which has, since 2012, been under
the control of various militant organizations opposed to the regime of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad. In early February 2018, the Syrian Army, supported by the Russian Air Force, began
operations to recapture the Eastern Ghouta district. The joint Syrian-Russian offensive was as
brutal as it was effective -- by March, Eastern Ghouta had been split into three pockets of
resistance at a cost of more than 1,600 civilian dead. Two of the pockets capitulated under
terms which had the opposition fighters and their families evacuated to rebel-held territory in
the northern Syrian province of Idlib. Only Douma held out, where Salafist fighters from the
"Army of Islam" (Jaish al-Islam) refused to surrender. On April 5, the situation had
deteriorated inside Douma to the point that the rebel defenders had agreed to negotiations that
would lead to their evacuation of Douma; the very next day, however, these discussions had
broken down, and the Syrian military resumed its offensive. The air attacks described by the
VDC occurred on the second day of the resumption of hostilities.
There is a competing
narrative , however, provided by the Russian government and those sympathetic to its
position. After the breakdown of negotiations between the Douma rebels and the Russian
government on April 6, the story goes, the Syrian government offensive to liberate Douma
resumed. The Douma rebels, faced with imminent defeat, fabricated the allegations of a chemical
attack. Russia had warned of such a
provocation back in March 2018, claiming the rebels were working in coordination with the
United States to create the conditions for a massive American air attack against Syrian
government infrastructure.
Shortly after the Syrian government resumed its offensive against Douma (and after the
opposition forces publicized their allegations of Syrian government chemical weapons attacks),
the rebel resistance inside Douma collapsed, with the fighters agreeing to be evacuated to
Idlib. The
Russian military was able to dispatch units to the sites of the alleged chemical weapons
attacks and conduct a survey. According to the state-run Russian news, no evidence of a
chemical weapons attack was discovered. Representatives of the Syrian Red Crescent who claim to have
worked in Douma stated that they have seen no evidence of any chemical weapons use there,
either.
Beyond providing a competing narrative, however, Russia has offered to
open up Douma to inspectors from the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons , or OPCW, for
a full investigation. This offer was
echoed by the Syrian government , which extended an official invitation for the OPCW to
come to Douma. On April 10, the
OPCW announced that it would be dispatching an inspection team "shortly" to carry out this
work. The forensic technical investigatory capabilities of an OPCW inspection team are such
that it would be able to detect the presence of any chemical agent used in Douma. While the
investigation itself would take days to conduct and weeks to process, its conclusions would,
under these circumstances, be conclusive as to the presence of any prohibited substance.
One major drawback to any OPCW investigation is its inability to assess responsibility for
the presence of any banned substances detected. In prior investigations inside Syria, the OPCW
was able to operate as part of the United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism
(JIM) , an entity specifically empowered by Security Council resolution to make such
determinations. The
mandate of the JIM was not extended , however, after Russia expressed its displeasure over
what it deemed to be the inaccurate and politicized findings regarding previous allegations of
chemical weapons use by the Syrian government. The United States has submitted a resolution to
the Security Council demanding that a new investigatory body be formed that would be able to
provide attribution for any chemical weapons attack inside Syria; whether Russia would veto
such a resolution or allow it to be passed has yet to be seen.
The bottom line, however, is that the United States is threatening to go to war in Syria
over allegations of chemical weapons usage for which no factual evidence has been provided.
This act is occurring even as the possibility remains that verifiable forensic investigations
would, at a minimum, confirm the presence of chemical weapons (thereby contradicting the
Russian claims that no such evidence was detected by its troops), and if the Security Council
passes a resolution allowing for a properly mandated investigation team, actual attribution
could be assigned.
Moreover, President Trump's rush to judgment on Syrian guilt is being done in a highly
politicized environment, coming as it does on the heels of
an FBI raid on the offices of the president's personal attorney . In times such as this, a
president is often attracted by the prospect of "looking presidential" in order to offset
personal problems (one only need to look at President Clinton's decision in August 1998 , at
the height of the Lewinsky scandal, to launch cruise missile attacks on Afghanistan and
Sudan.)
If America is to place its military in harm's way, it needs to be in support of a cause
worthy of the sacrifice being asked of those who serve. Giving the OPCW time to carry out its
investigation in Syria would allow a fact-based case to be made whether military force was
justified or not, as well as support a determination of whether or not the risks associated
with the use of force were warranted. Pulling the trigger void of such information, especially
when Trump is distracted by personal political issues, is not something the American people,
nor their representatives in Congress, should tolerate.
Scott Ritter is a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former
Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert
Storm, and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD. He is the author ofDeal of the Century: How Iran Blocked the West's Road to
War .
Hagios | Apr 11, 2018 8:50:17 AM |
58 I think that the read target here is the Nord Stream II pipeline. They're currently
unwilling to cancel it out of economic considerations, but they think that they could get away
with cancelling it if NATO attacks Syria and Russia responds with "unprovoked aggression."
NATO's attack IMO will be just large enough that Russia has to respond, then Trump and co. will
cease further military action and continue with economic warfare.
Looks like not only "Theresa May and Boris Johnson knowingly collaborated with covert
agencies to launch the most dangerous and dirty conspiracy since the "Great Syrian Conspiracy"
– or since 9/11". They also tried to connect Russia to false flag attack performed by
White Helmets in Syria.
Notable quotes:
"... Taking the first question – who was responsible – the options have been considered widely by others, with a preference depending on one's particular prejudices, perhaps more than logical analysis would demand. Oddly it seems, while mainstream observers have no reservation in holding Vladimir Putin directly responsible for ordering "the attack" (we may call it that without specifying other details on which we have no reliable or credible evidence), "pro-Russian" analysts seem reluctant to hold Theresa May or Boris Johnson directly accountable. ..."
"... Admittedly, were Putin to have ordered this assassination attempt on Skripal, it would only class him as – well, "like Putin". But to claim that Theresa May and Boris Johnson knowingly collaborated with covert agencies to launch the most dangerous and dirty conspiracy since the "Great Syrian Conspiracy" – or since 9/11 – is a far more serious accusation ..."
"... When blood tests revealed that all the 40 people who had gone to Salisbury hospital believing they may have been suffering from "Novichok" exposure were uncontaminated, a natural reaction should surely have been to gently backtrack, realising that the suspected chemical attack was not very serious, and may even have been due to some other "related agent" – as stated by Porton Down – which wouldn't implicate Russia. ..."
"... It might be overlooked here that we are only considering whether Theresa May and Boris Johnson didn't know what their own intelligence agencies were doing. It is another leap again to consider a situation where those intelligence agencies were also in the dark – as might have been the case if this was an operation devised by the CIA or Mossad without the knowledge of MI5 or MI6. ..."
"... Would those agencies – whose record of intelligence gathering and espionage is formidable – not have considered it strange that an ally's operatives chose to knock off one of their spies in a way that would have framed them as responsible – given the aforementioned proximity of Porton Down? Barring some inexplicable act of sabotage or retribution, only an enemy of the UK could do such a thing, but that of course is the least plausible explanation; Skripal wasn't their spy. ..."
"... Sadly in the light of all these options, we must conclude not only that the UK launched this provocation, but that it was a well-planned and coordinated conspiracy directed at Russia in which leaders and senior ministers were complicit. ..."
"... The alleged crimes for which Russia must be punished include other crimes for which it was not responsible, such as "invading Ukraine" (did I miss that?) shooting down MH17 by proxy, and "meddling" in elections, including their own. Given that Russia has already been punished severely for these aberrations, it is hard to believe that the UK and its allies would have conspired once again as a pretext merely for further punishment for the same crimes; there must be some other and far more serious pretext for this scheme. ..."
"... Is it not significant that the selected tag for the UK operation is "the first use of a chemical weapon in Europe since WW2"? What is the constant refrain we hear from the West and its agents in Syria, other than "Chlorine" attacks, and "Chemical Weapons" being used by the Syrian army against civilians? Is it not more than coincidental that the main source of these stories, of Syria still using Chemical Weapons – and now with Russian assistance ..."
"... Since the Syrian Army launched its campaign to liberate Eastern Ghouta, there has been an incredible propaganda campaign from the MSM here in Australia – and across the Western media – driven by headline video reports every day showing supposed bombing aftermaths in which almost the only people present seem to be White Helmets operatives and young children. News readers now even refer to the White Helmets without having to explain every time that they are "Civil Defence Volunteers". ..."
As we conclude that agents in, or allied to, the UK conducted the "Skripal Operation" as a
provocation, logical conclusions follow; this is a well organised and determined plan with
dangerous intent.
As more and more outlandish and implausible details of the alleged poisoning of the Skripals
by an alleged Russian nerve agent emerge, and the already miniscule possibility that the
Kremlin was somehow responsible is reduced to a vanishing point, our focus needs to turn to
examining the details of what really happened here. It is all too easy to be drawn into
this circus show, which almost seems to be playing with our imaginations.
How for instance could "they" tell that Sergey Skripal had touched his front door with his
right hand, while Yulia had touched it with her left, when they were allegedly contaminated
with the alleged nerve agent? Is this just to distract us from the inexplicable idea that the
Skripals were hit with the most deadly nerve poison known to man, but remained unaffected for
two hours?
All these details help us to establish is that the whole story is false – but we
already knew that within hours of hearing about it; rather this helps us to consolidate our
presumption of Russian innocence into certainty.
In fact, while the realisation that agents or states allied to the US/UK, acting with or
without their governments' consent or knowledge confected this scheme to further their
interests is shocking enough, it is only the first step in analysing the conspiracy. The
important questions that must now be answered are these:
Who was responsible? How long were
they planning this? What is their prime motive? In addition we should consider how they intend
to manage the contingencies, particularly if the targeted countries do not behave as they
predict, or if other unforeseen events force an alteration to their plans.
Most importantly, we should appreciate that those responsible for launching this
exceptionally provocative and dangerous conspiracy quite clearly intend to prevail, by whatever
means necessary. This may well include further false flag attacks, or "provocations" as
Russians call them, so being forewarned is to be forearmed.
Taking the first question – who was responsible – the options have been
considered widely by others, with a preference depending on one's particular prejudices,
perhaps more than logical analysis would demand. Oddly it seems, while mainstream observers
have no reservation in holding Vladimir Putin directly responsible for ordering "the attack"
(we may call it that without specifying other details on which we have no reliable or credible
evidence), "pro-Russian" analysts seem reluctant to hold Theresa May or Boris Johnson directly
accountable.
Admittedly, were Putin to have ordered this assassination attempt on Skripal, it would
only class him as – well, "like Putin". But to claim that Theresa May and Boris Johnson
knowingly collaborated with covert agencies to launch the most dangerous and dirty conspiracy
since the "Great Syrian Conspiracy" – or since 9/11 – is a far more serious
accusation .
So this is not a claim that we can make lightly, nor seriously consider except in the
absence of any other "plausible explanation". The question must be – "is it possible that
such a well-organised and fiendishly criminal conspiracy could take place under the noses of
those leaders without their knowledge?" We might call this "implausible deniability".
To
conclude that this is possible, and that the UK's leaders have been kept – to some degree
at least – in the dark about the plan so that they can speak with the conviction of the
ignorant, does not answer this question except to pose another, which is this:
Would a normally intelligent and reasonable person, albeit with a heavy burden of political
allegiances and agendas, rush to accuse a foreign state of organising a terrorist attack on
their country before there was any conclusive evidence, or even any evidence at all of their
responsibility?
Would May or Johnson not have asked – at least privately – the same questions
that we have all asked, such as "why on earth would Putin do something like this now?" or "what
could Skripal have done or be about to do that would force the FSB to eliminate him?" They
might also wonder why Skripal's assassins chose such a stupid way to fail to kill him –
why not simply bump him off with a bullet, after inviting him to somewhere more convenient than
a shopping centre?
But of course the most obvious question these hopelessly ill-informed leaders must have
asked would be this – why would the Russians try to kill one of their old spies with a
novel nerve agent only a few miles from the only place in Europe that would be able to identify
it?
It beggars belief! And it gets worse – this was only what May and Johnson needed
not to know in the first week.
When blood tests revealed that all the 40 people
who had gone to Salisbury hospital believing they may have been suffering from "Novichok"
exposure were uncontaminated, a natural reaction should surely have been to gently backtrack,
realising that the suspected chemical attack was not very serious, and may even have been due
to some other "related agent" – as stated by Porton Down – which wouldn't implicate
Russia.
But far from it – the public alarm was exacerbated by a circus of white and green men
with gas masks wrapping up cars and other suspect objects in plastic and taking them away,
while the leaders started doubling down on the accusations against the Kremlin. Admittedly this
was politically convenient, with the Russo-phobic UK wanting to bad-mouth Putin in the run up
to Russian Presidential election. But hardly worth risking a military confrontation with Russia
- unless that's what they wanted.
It might be overlooked here that we are only considering whether Theresa May and Boris
Johnson didn't know what their own intelligence agencies were doing. It is another leap again
to consider a situation where those intelligence agencies were also in the dark – as
might have been the case if this was an operation devised by the CIA or Mossad without the
knowledge of MI5 or MI6.
To consider that possibility – that both the leaders and intelligence services in the
UK were only reacting to what they genuinely perceived as a Russian sponsored chemical weapon
attack – is however obligatory, as that is what the UK and its allies are implicitly and
explicitly claiming.
It must also be true that this claim – of "innocence" by MI5 and MI6 - must be
demonstrated before we can conclude that other leaders in Europe and the US and Australia
– who received their information from these intelligence services – are equally in
the dark about the perpetrators of this crime, and innocent of complicity in it.
Would those
agencies – whose record of intelligence gathering and espionage is formidable – not
have considered it strange that an ally's operatives chose to knock off one of their spies in a
way that would have framed them as responsible – given the aforementioned proximity of
Porton Down? Barring some inexplicable act of sabotage or retribution, only an enemy of the UK
could do such a thing, but that of course is the least plausible explanation; Skripal wasn't their spy.
Sadly in the light of all these options, we must conclude not only that the UK launched this
provocation, but that it was a well-planned and coordinated conspiracy directed at Russia in
which leaders and senior ministers were complicit.
All this of course is only to affirm the conclusions and statements of the Russian Foreign
Ministry and Russian intelligence services. (though one only needs a little "intelligence" to
do this).
But it is far from the end of the matter. And again we may draw some serious conclusions
from the mendacious pronouncements of the UK government, broadcast around the world following
the distribution of their "talking points".
The alleged crimes for which Russia must be punished include other crimes for which it was
not responsible, such as "invading Ukraine" (did I miss that?) shooting down MH17 by proxy, and
"meddling" in elections, including their own. Given that Russia has already been punished
severely for these aberrations, it is hard to believe that the UK and its allies would have
conspired once again as a pretext merely for further punishment for the same crimes; there must
be some other and far more serious pretext for this scheme.
The idea that this was done for
some trivial reason – such as spoiling Putin's party at the World Cup, or even to stir up
dissent against him amongst Russians – would be juvenile, and quite obviously
unproductive.
Something far more "Syrious" perhaps, to be equally juvenile? That Russia's actions in Syria
were conspicuously missing from the UK's initial accusations looks like an attempt to conceal
their true agenda.
Is it not significant that the selected tag for the UK operation is "the first use of a
chemical weapon in Europe since WW2"? What is the constant refrain we hear from the West and
its agents in Syria, other than "Chlorine" attacks, and "Chemical Weapons" being used by the
Syrian army against civilians? Is it not more than coincidental that the main source of these
stories, of Syria still using Chemical Weapons – and now with Russian assistance
– comes from the UK's very own news and propaganda agency on the ground in Syria –
the White Helmets?
Since the Syrian Army launched its campaign to liberate Eastern Ghouta, there has been an
incredible propaganda campaign from the MSM here in Australia – and across the Western
media – driven by headline video reports every day showing supposed bombing aftermaths in
which almost the only people present seem to be White Helmets operatives and young children.
News readers now even refer to the White Helmets without having to explain every time that they
are "Civil Defence Volunteers".
And every so often, to jog our memories of the White Helmets' heroic actions, we are
subjected to their "fire-hose porn" from Khan Shaikoun, as they treat the supposed victims of a
Sarin attack with their bare hands!
First, the reports are "unverified", according to The Wall Street Journal [1] and British
Foreign Office [2] and are unconfirmed, according to the US State Department [3]. What's more,
The New York Times noted that it "was not possible to independently verify the reports," [4]
while The Associated Press added that "the reports could not be independently verified."
[5]
Second, according to The Wall Street Journal, it isn't "clear who carried out the attack"
[6] assuming even that one was carried out.
Third, the "unverified photos and videos" [7] which form the body of (unverified) evidence,
were produced by two groups which have an interest in fabricating atrocities to draw the United
States more deeply into the Syrian conflict. Both groups, the White Helmets and Syrian American
Medical Society, are funded by Western governments [8], which openly seek regime change in
Syria and therefore have an interest in producing a humanitarian pretext to justify stepping up
their intervention in the country. The Western government-funded White Helmets and Syrian
American Medical Society are allied with anti-government jihadists and are active only "in
opposition-controlled areas." [9] They, too, are clearly interested parties.
Trump's recent musings about ending the US military occupation of nearly one-third of Syrian
territory, including the country's richest oil fields, was swiftly met by Pentagon opposition,
led by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The US president reluctantly accepted a continued
occupation, so long as it ends in a matter of months rather than years.
Fabricating an atrocity would pressure Trump to maintain the US occupation indefinitely and
possibly escalate US military intervention in Syria, much to the pleasure of Islamist
insurgents, their White Helmet and Syrian American Medical Society allies, and US war
planners.
If that is the intention, the maneuver appears to have met with success. Trump reacted on
Twitter to the unverified (and unverifiable) reports, by dehumanizing Syrian president Bashar
al-Assad as an "animal," who the US president said was responsible for a "humanitarian disaster
for no reason whatsoever." That the US State Department acknowledged that the reports were
unconfirmed failed to restrain the "shoot-from-the-hip" Trump.
Fifth, a chemical attack by the Syrian government would be manifestly self-defeating, and
therefore would seem to be highly unlikely. The Syrian Arab Army is on the cusp of an all but
inevitable victory in Eastern Ghouta. Why would it cancel its gains by handing the United
States a pretext to continue its military intervention in Syria, in the aftermath of Trump
signalling his intention to withdraw US troops?
Seventh, much of the discourse about chemical weapons in Syria implicitly assumes the Syrian
government has them, despite the country cooperating with the Organization for the Prevention
of Chemical Weapons to eliminate them years ago.
Finally, allegations of chemical weapons use are routinely made against the Syrian
government, and while, through repetition, have been transfigured into received truths, have
all proved to be unverified. Jim Mattis acknowledged this at a February 2 news conference.
Q: Just make sure I heard you correctly, you're saying you think it's likely they have
used it and you're looking for the evidence? Is that what you said?
SEC. MATTIS: We do not have evidence of it we're looking for evidence of it .
Q: So the likelihood was not what your -- you're not characterizing it as a likelihood? I
thought I used -- you used that word; I guess I misunderstood you.
SEC. MATTIS: Well, there's certainly groups that say they've used it. And so they think
there's a likelihood, so we're looking for the evidence.
Q: So there's credible evidence out there that both sarin and chlorine --
SEC. MATTIS: No, I have not got the evidence, not specifically. I don't have the
evidence.
What I'm saying is that other -- that groups on the ground, NGOs, fighters on the ground
have said that sarin has been used. So we are looking for evidence. I don't have evidence,
credible or uncredible. [11]
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but neither is
it evidence of guilt. The complete lack of evidence, along with a political context that favors
the production of spurious allegations, suggests that the latest chemical weapons claims are --
like all that have preceded them -- dubious at best.
1. Raja Abdulrahim, "Dozens killed in alleged chemical-weapons attack in Syria," The Wall
Street Journal, April 8, 2018.
2. Ben Hubbard, "Dozens suffocate in Syria as government is accused of chemical attack," The
New York Times, April 8, 2018.
3. Hubbard.
4. Hubbard.
5. Zeina Karam and Philip Issa, "Syrian rescuers say at least 40 people killed in eastern
Ghouta has attack," The Associated Press, April 8, 2018.
6. April 8.
7. Abdulrahim, April 8.
8. Raja Abdulrahim, "Syria airstrikes hit hospitals in rebel territory," The Wall Street
Journal, February 5, 2018; Louisa Loveluck and Erin Cunningham, "Dozens killed in apparent
chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria, rescue workers say," The Washington Post, April
8, 2018.
9. Abdulrahim, April 8; Abdulrahim, February 5.
10. Hubbard.
11. Media Availability by Secretary Mattis at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense James N.
Mattis, Feb. 2, 2018,
[Russia on Tuesday vetoed a US-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution that
would have set up an investigation into chemical weapons use in Syria following an alleged
toxic gas attack in rebel-held Douma.
It was the 12th time that Russia has used its veto power at the council to block action
targeting its Syrian ally.
Twelve of the 15 council members backed the measure, including France, Britain, African
countries, Kazakhstan and Kuwait. Bolivia voted against the draft resolution, while China
abstained.]
Why petty China always cave in with US. In the latest resolution China AGAIN abstained.
China is a petty colony and people must boycott its garbage, that is called goods. Chinese
criminal 'leaders' still have their slave mentality. They are nothing but petty slaves in the
service of the mass murderers.
They also voted for illegal sanctions against Iran, N. Korea and any other country that
American criminals and mass murderers wanted to kill their children. Chinese petty 'leaders'
are as criminals as US mass murderers. Down with petty colonies and cowards chinese
'leaders'.
Even Bolivia, a small country has more courage than the petty chinses. Long live
Bolivia
California Democrat Zoe Lofgren and Michigan Republican Justin Amash are
circulating
a bipartisan letter to President Trump, insisting that he seek Congressional authorization
before striking the government of Syria.
Defend our Constitution and oppose endless war. Urge your Representative to sign the Lofgren-Amash letter against unconstitutional
war.
Phone calls are best: US Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121, ask for your Rep. by
name.
You can leave a message after hours. (Name, zipcode, request.)
The White House: (202) 456-1111
' Don't know how true it is, but this is what Veterans Today says about the captured
spooks and weapons lab '
Thanks for the links
Gordon Duff [Vietnam Marine grunt veteran] and Jim Dean of Veterans Today are well
meaning fellows and are on the 'right team' so to speak
They are often dismissed as Conspiracy Kooks and they sometimes go a bit over the top
I suspect this is because they rely on sources that are perhaps somewhat unreliable [VT
says some of these sources are ex intel guys...so some truth bending might go with the
territory...]
Here is what we do know last month the Syrian government did say it found a 'rebel'
chemical weapons workshop and this was reported in Sputnik
and RT
What has been documented much more extensively especially in RT and Sputnik are huge
conventional weapons caches seized by the SAA as it liberates various locations from
terrorists often these weapons are visibly stamped with manufacturer data plates from US and
Nato countries
This is beyond doubt
So the logical question is how are these holed up bearded fanatics in Ghouta who are
surrounded on all sides getting this stuff for the last five years ?
There is a logistics question here who and how has been smuggling this into the besieged
enclave [including possibly chemical weapons] ?
That is really cloak and dagger stuff no doubt and actual verifiable info would be very
hard to come by
So there could be some truth to this idea that various Western spooks or at
least contractors are involved in this game of smuggling in everything from guns to chlorine
[which is readily available]
However it is doubtful that these personnel would have been caught by the advancing
SAA
Even if SAA did capture various Nato operators or agents there it might not be something
that the Russian side would publicize [I'm just guessing as a layman here...Mr. Giraldi would
certainly have a much better grasp on the nuts and bolts of such things...]
So overall I think this is a case where VT is perhaps a bit too optimistic
' We are still waiting for the first verifiable report of a jhadi and or family that has
been killed by one of these "attacks", or a cemetery of the gassed martyrs, or even a
headstone for such.
The amateur script writers forgot about that part '
That's a very good observation
With all these 'gas victims' churned out by the white helmets how is it that no
such 'martyr' graves have ever turned up ?
Or this observation as to how those chemicals might be used that the headchoppers are
cooking up in their workshops
' As for what these could be used for, how about throwing into a cellar filled with
human shield pro-Damascus family members to generate a nice pile of bodies for our
"un-free" Western media '
Photo showing the buses with the freed prisoners below
On March 26 even the French AFP ran this story
' In the largest city of the East Ghouta district, Douma, civilians and military
personnel have been liberated from the "jail of repentance," where they were kept prisoners
for years by Jaish al-Islam terrorists '
There were hundreds of women and children from the city of Adra, which was
captured by terrorists in December 2013. Adra is one of the largest industrial cities in
the suburbs of Damascus.
"In such places, extremists tortured the abducted people, forcing them to repent of
their sins. Thus, they wanted to realize the doctrine of a peaceful revolution. But what
sins do children, who were the greatest number in the prison, have to repent?" the source
asked.
According to the source, there were 3,500 inmates in the prison. The terrorists
used them as a human shield to put pressure on the Syrian army, which did everything
possible to save the lives of the people of the city '
So these are the 'good guys' for whom Dump is sending the United States to war
?
If he is as stupid as all that then I certainly hope that the Russians don't pull their
punches
At this point Dump is beyond redemption the sooner his disillusioned base cuts him loose
the better
Gordon Duff [Vietnam Marine grunt veteran] and Jim Dean of Veterans Today are well
meaning fellows and are on the 'right team' so to speak
No, they most certainly are NOT. The problem is not with them talking about conspiracies,
conspiracies do take place all the time
Problem is these guys are disinformation, especially Duffy.
The fact that Gordon Duff is a "disinfo toad" is certainly no secret. He has openly
admitted that "about thirty percent of what is on Veterans Today is patently false" and
that at least forty percent of what he writes is "purposely partially false".
Gordon Duff, senior editor of the website Veterans Today, published an article on May
20, 2014, that can only be described as rank disinformation that is meant to obscure the
truth about 9-11. To deliberately spread lies about what caused the deaths of thousands of
people on 9-11 is an egregious and unforgivable offense. The Duff article, which was edited
by Jim W. Dean, is so full of errors that it cannot be taken seriously, except perhaps as
evidence of his role as an agent of disinformation about 9-11.
Also, both Duff and Dean were 100% supporters of the ZUS/NATO war on Libya, and became
furious when several readers protested and confronted them in the comment sections, which led
to censorship. Maybe Duffy boy's defense contracts he claims to have in Africa and the ME had
something to do with that.
Red Crescent Says No Evidence of Chemical Attack in Syria's Douma
Patients treated by aid group not exposed to any chemical agents
Jason Ditz Posted on April 9, 2018
The Syrian Red Crescent issued a statement Monday dismissing the allegations of a
weekend chemical weapon attack in the city of Douma. The statement insisted their medical
personnel in the city had found no evidence any such attack took place.
Y ou might think it would be easier if not more foolproof for the warmongers to
stage a fake chemical attack in Syria by 2018 than it was staging the false flag attack on
the WTC in 2001, but even this simple but bogus narrative crumbles under perfunctory
inspection, and the lies stick out like a pitchfork in a goat's ass, or UA 175 stuck in the
middle at WTC 2, a lie for the ages frozen in pixels.
Not that obvious lies have been any detriment to the warmongers of the past, even when
George W. Bush told his whopper about watching the first WTC crash on the boob tube because
"the TV was obviously on."
Well, Shrub is part of the ruling oligarchy, so he's an untouchable with royal jelly or
something, like Blair, who probably caught it from the Queen.
In October 2001, Rudy Giuliani was even knighted by Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II,
who bestowed upon the NYC mayor the modest title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent
Order of the British Empire ostensibly for his "outstanding help and support to the
bereaved British families in New York."
Of course, successful destruction of WTC evidence had nothing to do with Rudy's award in
the same way that BBC's foreknowledge of WTC 7′s destruction was just one of those
doggone quirky things that happen, during false flags, when the evils hacks can't get their
timing right.
Just one more thing. I noticed that the slim 9/11 articles section has been removed from
the front page at Unz Review. Linh Dinh's article from August 13, 2017 "George Orwell and
Mohammed Atta Were Here" can be found under his name, as can the earlier sole entry in the
now-defunct 9/11 section, author Philip Giraldi's 10-25-2016 article "9/11 Truth?" which drew
over 1,000 comments.
After seeing the 3 Stooges, May, Macron and Trump, locking arms to start another war, I'd
like ours (Larry?) to know that if he becomes a wartime president, it will be difficult to
spend weekends in Mar Largo golfing. Think about it.
Red Crescent Says No Evidence of Chemical Attack in Syria's Douma
Patients treated by aid group not exposed to any chemical agents
Jason Ditz Posted on April 9, 2018
The Syrian Red Crescent issued a statement Monday dismissing the allegations of a weekend
chemical weapon attack in the city of Douma. The statement insisted their medical
personnel in the city had found no evidence any such attack took place.
Crisis Group's Sam Heller wordsmiths a different question, the next question: Can the U.S. Respond to the Syria Chemical Weapons Attack without Risking
Escalation?
After a seemingly sanguine introduction –
So far, no international party has said definitively or presented conclusive evidence
that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the chemical
weapons use. . . .
Heller tightens the frame to fit a preconceived image:
While the lack of access makes it difficult to immediately verify, chemical weapons
use would be consistent with past behaviour by the Syrian government. The government
has repeatedly employed chlorine and, more infrequently, sarin gas against areas under
rebel control , as documented by nonpartisan international bodies such as the United
Nations-established Joint Investigative Mechanism and the Independent International
Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. Chemical attacks fit within a broader
strategy the government has used of targeting civilians and fighters alike in rebel-held
areas. Through brutal means, this strategy renders these areas highly dangerous and
ultimately unlivable, permitting no viable alternative to government control.
That last bit is problematic: if gassed "areas are rendered unlivable," will the British
be holding hosts of quiet funerals for fallen White Helmet rescuers who entered the areas and
came in body-contact with victims?
Heller next constructs a scenario intended to provide a rationale for the Syrian
government to have made the attack, then reports that
"Syria's T-4 airbase was hit by an apparent Israeli airstrike on the morning of 9 April,
although it remains unclear whether the strike was related to the Douma chemical attack. .
. . from Lebanese airspace . . . killing seven Iranians. . . . "
Though Israel declined to comment, Heller noted that
"Israel also struck the T-4 base in February, after an Iranian drone it said was
launched from the base entered Israeli airspace. "
If all is fair in love and war, one must forebear pointing out the hypocrisy of Israel
attacking a Syrian target from Lebanese airspace in retaliation for Iran flying drones over
Israeli airspace. However, the same logic conveys the right to Iran and/or Syria and/or
Russia to attack an Israeli launching site in retaliation for its attacks on Syria.
But even wars have rules, that civilized people comply with -- statesmen like Sergei
Lavrov and Vladimir Putin understand this. But when the adversary/aggressor is a psychopath
who disdains convention's rules and limits, then what?
Israel is not like a drunk or addict that has hit the wall -- such a person is, at that
point, ready for intensive rehabilitation. But a psychopath is not in that category.
What huge imago made
A psychopathic god?
– W H Auden
How does one deal with a psychopath?
How does one deal with a rabid dog? Can a rabid dog be medicated, or re-trained?
What signals do Israelis send about how an entity that fails to comply with demanded norms
should be treated? Israelis insist that such entities respond "only to force." Projection may
be as close to insight as a psychopath can get.
If it is the case that Israel can only be dealt with by force, that the rabid dog must be
put down, then what are we to make of Phil Weiss's recent claim
that Israel's attacks on Palestinians has caused American Jews to distance themselves from
Israel.
Does that mean they will ignore the mad dog as long as it does not roam on their street, or
does that mean they will agree that for the good of their own neighborhood as well as the
entire community, the dog must be put down?
The press in the USA is more effectively controlled and conformist than in Germany in the
late 1930s
Who controlled the press there and then?
What can be said about the control and conformity of the Soviet, British and American press
of the time?
...and nobody goes around beating up journalists or sending them to a KZ.
That's probably because the usual thugs don't need to do that any longer since
they control virtually everything.
A couple of anecdotes to illustrate my point.:
2 of the reasons we don't hear much about mobsters these days are that the press and
judiciary are owned by them and if you do get something published, you run the risk of getting
snuffed. They probably don't stop at mere blinding anymore.
Victor Riesel was an American newspaper journalist and columnist who specialized in
news related to labor unions. In 1956 a mobster threw sulfuric acid in his face on a public
street in Chicago causing his permanent blindness.
"Treason is a strong word, but not too strong to characterize the situation in which the
Senate is the eager, resourceful, and indefatigable agent of interests as hostile to
the American people as any invading army could be." This indictment launched a
nine-part series of articles entitled "Treason of the Senate."
-David Graham Phillips, Cosmopolitan magazine, February 1906
In 1911 Phillips was shot multiple t imes by Fitzhugh Coyle Goldsborough, a
Harvard-educated scion of a prominent Maryland family, at Gramercy Park in New York City.
The intent of my post was to show that the MSM here is conformist and doesn't like to
stray far from what the USG is claiming and what other journalists are writing. Rather than
explore the topics you raise, as worthy of exploration as they might be, I thought I'd offer
what newspapers around the USA were saying about Saddam's WMD after Powell's UNSC speech;
seems a bit more germane.
The Powell evidence will be persuasive to anyone who is still persuadable.
The Wall Street Journal
Piling fact upon fact, photo upon photo Wednesday, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
methodically demonstrated why Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein remains dangerous to his own
people, Iraq's neighbors
The Los Angeles Times
On Wednesday, America's most reluctant warrior, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell,
presented succinct and damning evidence of Saddam's enormous threat to world peace.
Arizona Republic
Saddam Hussein's illicit arsenal of biological and chemical weapons, as well as the
equally illicit means that he possesses to deliver them, poses a tangible and urgent danger
to U.S. and world security. Millions of innocent lives are at risk.
Dallas Morning News
At some point, the world chooses to believe President George W. Bush and Secretary Powell
or the international community chooses to side with Saddam Hussein and those who broadcast
his lies to the world. Powell has painstakingly presented a strong case against Iraq.
Greenville News/South Carolina
Iraq is busted. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell laid out the case clearly. No one
hearing Powell's presentation to the United Nations Security Council could doubt Iraq's
actions and intentions.
Jacksonville Times-Union/Florida
The threat is real and at our door. Sept. 11, 2001, stripped away the belief that the
United States can peacefully coexist with evil. Prove it, they said. Powell has.
Charleston Daily Mail/West Virginia
We are a country always loath to fight unless provoked. The reluctance of Americans to
initiate a war needlessly does the nation credit. But this is not a needless war, nor is it
unprovoked. Powell laid out the need, and explained the provocation, in step-by-step fashion
that cannot be refuted without resorting to fantasy.
Chicago Sun-Times
The Dispatch repeatedly has called on the Bush administration to make a compelling case
that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is developing weapons of mass destruction and hiding these
efforts from U.N. inspectors. Yesterday, Secretary of State Colin Powell made that case
before the Security Council.
Columbus Dispatch
Powell has methodically proved Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. mandates. With each
passing day, Iraq's own choices move it closer to a war that full compliance would
prevent.
Indianapolis Star
Secretary of State Colin Powell's 90-minute presentation to the U.N. Security Council,
buttressed with surveillance photographs and recorded phone conversations, should remove all
doubt that Iraq's Saddam Hussein has developed and hides weapons of mass destruction, in
violation of U.N. resolutions.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Powell's speech to the U.N. Security Council presented not just one 'smoking gun' but a
battery of them, more than sufficient to dispel any lingering doubt about the threat the
Iraqi dictator poses.
Denver Post
The United States has made a compelling case that Iraq has failed to rid itself of weapons
of mass destruction. This failure violates the U.N. Security Council resolution of late last
year which ordered Iraq to disarm. As a consequence and it is a grave one, the Security
Council must act now to disarm Iraq by force.
Salt Lake City Tribune
Powell has connected enough dots to tie Iraq to al-Qaeda and show that this alliance is a
threat to all of Europe as well as the United States.
Manchester Union Leader
In fact, the speech provided proof that Saddam continues to refuse to obey U.N.
resolutions. Any amount of time he has now to comply fully and openly with U.N. demands
should be measured in days or a few weeks – and no longer.
These ridiculous, suicidal gas attacks by Assad seem to coincide not only with battleground
victories against the head-choppers, but co-incidentally with Israel's murderous attacks on
unarmed Palestinians "throwing stones".
What nobody seems to have picked up is the emphasis – and red lines – on Gas;
gas, gas attacks. Why is gas so much worse than being dismembered, disembowelled, and
mutilated by high explosives? Certainly I would favour unconsciousness and death by gas
before being smashed to pieces by depleted uranium.
These relentlessly repeated claims are an exercise with the dual purpose of providing a
subliminal message about the greatest tragedy in human history, repeated ad nauseam. The
massive 'gassing' of European Jews some 65 years ago. Lest we forget.
It does look rather like those Syrian chemical weapon attacks that happen whenever the rebels
are about to be defeated.
I am pretty sure that it was not ordered within the British government and that most of
the British government don't know where it came from, but are willing to believe it was
Russia.
While the CIA does have plenty of form on assassinations, the risk if they were found to
be assassinating in Britain seems quite high due to the close CIA links with the UK
intelligence sector. But CIA agents could have paid someone else to do it.
Mossad is the one group that can act freely in the UK, has a record of assassinating
scientists, engineers etc here, and unlike CIA, can take the risk of being caught. So it's a
possibility – OTOH Israel has shown a lot less anti-Russian hatred than the US Deep
State has.
Normally I'd assume it was indeed Russia – I thought there was plenty of evidence
the Polonium poisoning was Russia – and it still seems possible, but US or Mossad must
be at least equally likely in this case. It's just possible it could have been British
initiated but I doubt it.
I do think it's most likely the person who actually poisoned them was not an employee of
any agency.
White Helmets was the greatest war propaganda invention since Goebbels "big lie"
The sheeple might realize that they were duped only when it's too late... It's all very darwinian: Elite is too nasty and common
people are too stupid and too busy with surviving in economic uncertainty to decipher lies
Notable quotes:
"... "the West is ruled by a gang of thugs" ..."
"... It is depressing to see that there are very few people in the MSM speaking out for reason. One of the few ones is Tucker Carlson. ..."
"... The US, British etc. taxpayer funded propaganda arm of Islamists, the media trained "white helmets" are delivering videos that look almost as real as Hollywood products and most of the sheeple in the western world don't question their propaganda narrative. ..."
"... Well here you go Dutti. Both Glen Greenwald and Amy Goodman are out there in media land championing the 'truth' for good old Isramerika. ..."
It is depressing to see that there are very few people in the MSM speaking out for reason. One of the few ones is Tucker Carlson.
Unfortunately, even among friends and acquaintances, the story about "evil Assad killing Children" is often readily believed.
The US, British etc. taxpayer funded propaganda arm of Islamists, the media trained "white helmets" are delivering videos that
look almost as real as Hollywood products and most of the sheeple in the western world don't question their propaganda narrative.
"... This funding was used, if not entirely, then in part to finance the White Helmets. The Syrian Civil Defense Force website lists Chemonics as its primary supporter alongside NGO Mayday Rescue, who operate out of offices in Turkey, Jordan and Dubai. ..."
The specialists "found no traces of the use of chemical agents" after searching the sites,
the statement said. The center's medical specialists also visited a local hospital but found
no patients that showed signs of chemical weapons poisoning. "All these facts show that no
chemical weapons were used in the town of Douma, as it was claimed by the White Helmets ," the
statement said, referring to the controversial "civil defense" group that was among the first
to report about the alleged attack.
" All the accusations brought by the White Helmets, as well as their photos allegedly
showing the victims of the chemical attack, are nothing more than a yet another piece of fake
news and an attempt to disrupt the ceasefire ," the Reconciliation Center said.
The Syrian Civil Defense Force (aka the White Helmets) is funded in part by United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) . Included here are two links showing contracts
awarded by USAID to Chemonics International Inc. (DBA Chemonics).
The first award was in the sum of $111.2 million and has a
Period of Performance (POP) from January 2013 to June 2017. It states that the purpose of the
award will be to use the funds for managing a "quick-response mechanism supporting activities
that pursue a peaceful transition to a democratic and stable Syria."
The second was in the sum of $57.4 million and has a POP from
August 2015 to August 2020. This award was designated to be used in the "Syria Regional
Program II" which is a part of the Support Which Implements Fast Transitions IV (SWIFT IV)
program.
This funding was used, if not entirely, then in part to finance the White Helmets. The
Syrian Civil Defense Force website lists Chemonics as its primary supporter alongside NGO
Mayday Rescue, who operate out of offices in Turkey, Jordan and Dubai.
Of course, that didn't stop Netflix from producing an Academy Award winning
documentary about the White Helmets. We're sure recently added board member and former Obama
National Security Advisor Susan Rice is happy considering all of the taxpayer money the
previous administration spent funding the group.
"... As before, all "evidence" boils down to White Helmets' report and a video going viral that does not look or sound very convincing. There was no independent verification. The White Helmets have iffy reputation , to put it mildly. The organization is known to pursue political interests of outside actors. ..."
"... No explanation was given to a simple question: what does Syria's government need this attack for? It is victorious everywhere and the operation in Eastern Ghouta has been a success. Douma is the last remaining stronghold still controlled by rebels in the area and will be liberated soon. It's a matter of a few days. The army's combat actions are supported by Russian aviation. What does Syria's government stand to gain by using CW? Nothing. ..."
"... Syria army units are operating in Douma. By launching an attack, the Syrian government would hit its own troops, This argument appears to be largely missing in Western media reports. President Trump has recently promised to withdraw American forces from Syria. Why would President Assad give him a pretext to renege on his word? ..."
What happened in Syria on April 7 had been expected. While raising hue and
cry over the
alleged chemical attack in Douma, a rebel-held suburb of the capital, Western officials and
media wasted no time to put the blame on the Assad government.
The US State Department issued a statement saying that by shielding
Damascus Moscow has breached its international commitments. The administration immediately
called on Russia to cease its support of Syria's government. President Trump wants an
international action. As usual, few people in the West raised their voices to emphasize the
need to investigate first and make conclusions afterwards.
It strikes the eye that Moscow's
warnings about a CW provocation being prepared to dash the rising hopes for peaceful
settlement in Syria appear to be forgotten! The Defense Ministry shared the information that
the ringleaders of Jabhat al-Nusra and the Free Syrian Army were plotting false flag chemical
attacks in areas under their control. Moscow warned but the West did not listen.
It's the same old song and dance. Last year, the Syrian government was blamed for a
sarin gas
attack on Khan Sheikhun that prompted a US cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base. The
American president's approval ratings went up as a result. This time, the alleged attack
occurred right after the Russia-Turkey-Iran summit that took place in Ankara on April 4 to
promote the Syria conflict settlement.
As before, all "evidence" boils down to White Helmets'
report and a video going viral that does not look or sound
very convincing. There was no independent verification. The White Helmets
have iffy reputation , to put it mildly. The organization is known to
pursue political interests of outside actors.
No explanation was given to a simple question: what does Syria's government need this
attack for? It is victorious everywhere and the operation in Eastern Ghouta has been a success.
Douma is the last remaining stronghold still controlled by rebels in the area and will be
liberated soon. It's a matter of a few days. The army's combat actions are supported by Russian
aviation. What does Syria's government stand to gain by using CW? Nothing.
Syria army units are operating in Douma. By launching an attack, the Syrian government
would hit its own troops, This argument appears to be largely missing in Western media reports.
President Trump has recently
promised to withdraw American forces from Syria. Why would President Assad give him a
pretext to renege on his word?
But the world "indignation" against Russia-supported President Assad benefits the extremists
a lot. They are cornered and need time to take a breath and receive support. Actually, the
ballyhoo raised in the West is their only chance to at least slow down the offensive. A
government forces' victory in Douma would deal a heavy blow to terrorist groups, sounding the
death knell for the rebellion. Sounds simple but that's what it is. There is each and every
reason to believe the
incident was staged by terrorists.
Right after the alleged attack, they asked for talks. The ringleaders believe that this is
their chance for a negotiated truce. The militants keep their fingers crossed hoping that NATO
member states which clandestinely support them will get involved one way or another. Just last
February, Secretary of Defense James Mattis warned
Syria of "dire consequences" if it executed chemical strikes. French President Macron said
he would order strikes if CW were used. It's worth noting that today the US president's
National Security Team is led by a person known as a trigger happy hawk advocating the use of
force as a foreign policy tool.
The US and France
have been harboring plans to launch a joint operation in Syria for some time. Only a few
days ago, a contingent of French forces
arrived in Manbij to join American allies there. Actually, a NATO operation has been
launched leaving Turkey, a bloc's member, out in the cold. It's an open secret that
the US-led coalition
pursues the goal of partitioning Syria to "contain" Russia, roll back Iran, win the support
of rich Persian Gulf Arab states to boost lucrative arms trade and bolster the US and France's
clout in the Middle East.
It would be naïve to think that the chemical attack in Syria and the Skripal scandal
are two separate events. They are links in the same chain. With the spy poisoning case
leading nowhere , the
anti-Russia campaign needs a new impetus. The alleged CW attack is a good pretext to spur the
efforts. But any strike in Syria would pose a risk to the lives of Russian servicemen. It could
make Moscow respond. The US-led coalition is playing with fire. And as in the Skripal case, the
reaction is the same - blame first, wait for the results of investigation second. It just shows
that the West is not interested in the truth. It's looking for new pretexts to damage Russia's
reputation and thus reduce its global clout.
"MS NAUERT: Yes. So this is obviously an interagency process. The United States, through the
White House, through the State Department, and others of well – as well, have been having
conversations with our allies and partners overseas. Deputy Secretary – pardon me. Acting
Secretary John Sullivan spoke on two occasions with Foreign Minister[1] Boris Johnson of the UK
yesterday. I believe a readout was provided of that call.
We are looking for a coordinated response, whatever that response might be, to the situation
in Syria."
kinda like the coordinated response over the skripal affair? very good... bozos unite...
ms nauert... "So the United States is convinced and knows that some sort of a chemical
weapon was used."
matt lee question - "QUESTION: The President, though, was pretty clear that there was going
to be a price to pay. I mean, he literally said that. Why – since April 6th of last year,
when he – when they ordered the missile strikes in Syria, and now – or until this
last incident – there have been numerous uses of chemical weapons that have been alleged
in Syria. What makes this one hit that threshold that a price has to be paid?
MS NAUERT: I think, Matt, to answer that question, we have to look at the number of attacks
that have taken place, the pace, how quickly these attacks are now taking place. This will be
the ninth attack using some sort of chemical substance this year alone. It used to be that when
attacks would take place the world would stand up and take attention and it has become, in the
view of the U.S. Government and many others as well, far too common. So I think it's taken the
world to stand up and say this is unacceptable; this is horrific, and we can't stand for this
anymore."
on the israel missiles.. it is all about iran, lol. apparently israel is allowed to bomb
other countries.. no questions asked..
"QUESTION: Okay. This has to do with Iran. And Israel struck Iranian targets at Syria's T-4
Airbase on Sunday, which is the second time in as many months. Do you share Israel's concern
about Iran's presence in Syria?
MS NAUERT: We have talked about this a lot, that Iran supports Hizballah. Iran has sent not
only fighters but also equipment into Syria. Iran has been a bad actor in Syria and other parts
around the world. They have further destabilized the country of Syria. They have also bolstered
the regime of Bashar al-Assad, enabling the regime to be able to commit attacks against
innocent civilians, not just in Eastern Ghouta and elsewhere, but around the country as well.
Of course we're absolutely concerned about Iran's presence or meddling, whether it be through
proxies, in the country of Syria."
@ 60
Matt Lee (AP) is good, but even he won't ever charge the State Dept with being behind the
staging of these fake attacks, obviously fake to anyone with an ounce (milligram?) of sense.
If he did, he would no longer be enabled by State to ask the first question and enjoy other
perks in these State Dept follies. So it's a waltz around minor issues, never getting to the
basic truth of what's going on.
"... US Ambassador to Nato Kay Hutchison said she hoped allies like Britain would join with Washington in a "concerted and joint effort" against President Bashar al-Assad. ..."
"... And a squadron of British special forces - both SAS and SBS - are supporting elite American Delta force soldiers on the ground. ..."
Coalition warplanes are reportedly heading towards Syria as Britain appears ready to join
the US and France in airstrikes.
Civilian airlines have been asked to clear airspace over Syria for the next 48 hours,
according to reports.
And Theresa May has indicated Britain will stand with the US in bringing justice to dictator
Bashar al-Assad over the barbaric chemical attack in Douma last weekend that left around 70
dead.
But UK and US forces were said to be gathering to launch a wave of Tomahawk cruise missiles
at Assad's defences. Eurocontrol said the warning applies for the next 72 hours.
Announcement on US action in Syria 'imminent'
The US is due to make an announcement on action in Syria shortly, according to reports.
Fox News, President Trump's favoured network, is reporting live that an update is
"imminent".
RAF crews could be diverted from attacking Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria to
smash Assad's remaining chemical weapons silos.
Teams flying Tornado bombers will hit large buildings and bunkers with deadly Storm Shadow
missiles, capable of smashing into complexes before obliterating them.
They will be accompanied by Typhoon crews capable of providing air-to-air fighter protection
against Russian air-crews but also able to launch air-to-ground missiles.
British RAF drones and spy planes will hoover up radio and phone chatter to conduct "battle
damage assessment" missions to examine the targets after they are hit.
US Ambassador to Nato Kay Hutchison said she hoped allies like Britain would join with
Washington in a "concerted and joint effort" against President Bashar al-Assad.
And a squadron of British special forces - both SAS and SBS - are supporting elite American
Delta force soldiers on the ground."
NBC News Russia has figured out how to jam U.S. drones in Syria, officials say
Four U.S. officials said Russia's signal scrambling has seriously affected military
operations.
WASHINGTON -- The Russian military has been jamming some U.S. military drones operating in
the skies over Syria, seriously affecting American military operations, according to four
U.S. officials. The Russians began jamming some smaller U.S. drones several weeks ago, the
officials said.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., reacted to the news of Russian scrambling Tuesday by saying
"Russia wants to undermine our interests at every turn. It is insane to think that Russia
is anything but an adversary," said Sasse.
Duh. This cornhusker struggles to understand the situation. Apparently he's missed the
colorful Haley news lately, with the Russians' hands covered with blood, and also all the
sanctions put on Russia for nothing, etc.. . Insane.. . . That's what passes for a senator
these days.
"... There they found "no trace of any use of chemical weapons," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters Tuesday. He said Russia would propose a U.N. Security Council resolution that would mandate international experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to go to Syria to investigate, under the protection of Russian troops. ..."
But with Russia and Syria having strenuously denied from the outset that any kind of
chemical attack occurred, and with Russian troops now deployed in Douma, it is unclear how much
of an independent forensic investigation into the cause of the deaths will be possible. Russian
troops entered the town Monday under the terms of a surrender deal reached with the rebels the
previous day.
Russia says its representatives already have searched the area and could find no evidence
that chemical weapons were used. Russian experts and members of the Syrian Red Crescent have
visited the hospitals where the victims were treated, Russian officials say, and a video showed
Russian troops arriving at the house where the bodies were found.
There they found "no trace of any use of chemical weapons," Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov told reporters Tuesday. He said Russia would propose a U.N. Security Council
resolution that would mandate international experts from the Organization for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons to go to Syria to investigate, under the protection of Russian
troops.
The OPCW later issued a statement saying it had accepted an invitation from the Syrian
government and is preparing a team to travel to Syria "soon."
Mohamad Katoub of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supported medical facilities in
Douma before the Russians entered, said he doubted whether any meaningful evidence would
remain. Local staffers are afraid to give testimony, he said. "In the current situation," he
said, an investigation "is too hard."
Many of the activists, medical staffers and rescue workers with information about the
attacks have since scattered, with many leaving Douma on buses headed north to rebel-held
territory under the terms of the surrender deal reached Sunday between the rebels and the
Russians. Among them was Marhoum, who spoke Tuesday from one of the buses.
"... How to stage a false chemical attack? See the Flag on the on the wall and how a pseudo-doctor leave a young patient to care for his buddy :( ..."
"... Both Trump and Mattis have cancelled travel plans. The Brits French US all want war in Syria. Russia needs to provide good protection to the OPCW team. ..."
Both Trump and Mattis have cancelled travel plans. The Brits French US all want war in Syria.
Russia needs to provide good protection to the OPCW team.
19. Underlines that the Security Council will thoroughly assess how to take action following
the UNIMI's conclusions, and reaffirms in this regard its decision in response to violations
of resolution 2118 to impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter;
China and Russia will veto anything Chapter VII mentioning as I could probably be used to
interpret it into something allowing for use-of-force - i.e. war.
The United States plans to call for a U.N. Security Council vote on Tuesday on a proposal for
a new inquiry into responsibility for use of chemical weapons in Syria after reports of a
poison gas attack on a rebel-held town, diplomats said.
...
"This is basically a diplomatic set-up," said Richard Gowan, the U.N. expert at the European
Council on Foreign Relations.
"Russia will inevitably veto the U.S. resolution criticizing Assad, and Washington will
use this to justify military strikes," he said. "A breakdown at the U.N. will also make it
easier for France to justify strikes."
The usual suspects hype the issue and push for a large war. I doubt that any significant
strike will happen. The UK seems not be willing for now. The OPCW will deploy to Douma tomorrow
and will likely find nothing of relevance.
Any attack will be completely without evidence that anything happened and Russia has
threatened to strike back.
Hizbullah should let Israel know that it will be the main target of a response to a
'western' attack on Syria. We would then have the fun to see Netanyahoo lobbying Washington
against war.
and Yes, Russia is not there to protect Bachar but to forbid the implementation of the
takfirist terrorist state.
But if any stupidity inclined party attacks Russians in Syria retribution will
follow.
Trump hates criticism. So his response is going to have to be bigger than last year's
Tomahawk display, which was widely dismissed as impotent. The problem here of course is that
it cannot be so much bigger as to demand a Russian response. I wouldn't be surprised if there
were back channel negotiations going on with Russia over an amenable list of Syrian targets.
On the other hand, this could be the grand barbecue. Western governing elites might be
convinced that Russia and Iran can be cowed by "shock and awe." In that case, we're at the
beginning of the end.
Trump sinking so low he called his colleague Assad an animal. Accusing Russia and Iran of
also carrying blame for "the chemical attack". Then with the same posture saying a response
to "the chemical attack" will come within 48. And all this while right from the beginning he
could have decided to not side with USA nurtured wahabbi terrorists in Syria and calling for
an investigation first.
I really wonder if he and his war craving handlers will settle for a none-war-response. I
think there will be some military attack. Maybe USA missiles launched from another nearby
(NATO) country or from a (French/Israeli/...) war ship so the Russian response can be more
easily framed by war inciting presstitutes as an attack on another "innocent" country.
OPCW heading to damascus would have been a good sign were it not for that other time when
during their landing in Damascas another chemical attack was purpetrated by the USA nurtured
wahabbi terrorists and blamed on Assad. Not that this would happen again now but I'm not
putting my hopes on it.
Nikki Haley: - "The U.S. has put forward a draft resolution we've held open & transparent
negotiations [on the text] for weeks we made special efforts with one Council member
(#Russia), adding paragraph upon paragraph "
For weeks?
The CW attack happened only last WE - didn't Trump bomb Syria for Sahaairat last year.
What are FrUKUS planning - or the darlings of Israel doing?
One more @RussiaUN veto on #Syria on @USUN draft resolution setting up an independent &
impartial investigation mechanism on chemical weapons use.
@Chinamission2un abstains. 12 other members voted YES.
"There was no chemical weapons attack," Nebenzia told the council. "Through the relevant
channels we already conveyed to the US that armed forces under mendacious pretext against Syria
– where, at the request of the legitimate government of a country, Russian troops have
been deployed – could lead to grave repercussions."
A few hours earlier, Donald Trump said his administration was on the brink of deciding its
response to the Douma attack. "We are meeting with our military and everybody else, and we'll
be making some major decisions over the next 24 to 48 hours," he said at a cabinet meeting. "We
are very concerned when a thing like that can happen. This is about humanity and it can't be
allowed to happen."
Pressed by reporters, Trump went further, saying: "We'll be making that decision very
quickly, probably by the end of today. But we cannot allow atrocities like that. Cannot allow
it."
Trump ordered airstrikes against a Syrian airbase after a previous chemical weapons attack,
in April last year. The latest use of poison gasprovoked from Trump unprecedented direct
criticism of Putin, something he had previously been at pains to avoid.
... ... ...
In his address, Nebenzia suggested a visit to Douma by the Organisation for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) might be possible under Syrian and Russian military protection. The
UK envoy to the UN, Karen Pierce, said the Russian proposal was "an offer worth pursuing" but
she added that OPCW inspectors would have to have complete freedom of action and of access.
As a result of the total surrender of the Jihadis previously in control of Douma on Sunday,
it is the Russian military who this time are in control of the alleged crime scene.
This has put the Russians in a position where for the first time they are able both to
invite the OPCW inspectors to attend the crime scene and to provide them with protection if
they are there, whilst at the same time monitoring and supervising their work.
If the chemical attack on Douma really is fictitious – as the Russians insist
it is – then for the first time their control of the crime scene puts the Russians in
a strong position to prove it.
The point was made forcefully by Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia at the UN Security
Council session today, and it also received indirect backing from the UN Secretariat, who
admitted that they could not confirm that a chemical weapons attack had happened, and who
called upon all sides to show restraint until a proper investigation of the incident had taken
place.
By now it should surprise no-one that the fact that the Russians are in control of the crime
scene and may on this occasion be able to prove conclusively that no chemical weapons attack
happened in Douma, instead of deterring a US attack, is actually making it more likely.
This is because the credibility of the various 'witnesses' to the Douma attack – who
are of course the same witnesses who were previously 'witnesses' to the 2013 East Ghouta and
the 2017 Khan Sheikhoun attacks – is now on the line, as is the credibility of those
Western governments – first and foremost the US government – who believed or who
pretended to believe them.
I would add that not only is the credibility of the US government and of other Western
governments on the line. So is the credibility of Western journalists who also believed or
pretended to believe the 'witnesses'. That more than anything else explains the hysteria of the
last 24 hours, with the extraordinary warlike statements from Donald Trump and Nikki Haley , and
from
certain Western journalists .
On any logic, since what actually happened in Douma is unconfirmed and disputed, and since
the conditions for an objective investigation this time are there, the correct and proper thing
to do is for no action to be taken until that investigation has taken place.
The reason that logic is not being followed, and why against all reason a military strike is
likely, is because those who want a military strike do not want an objective investigation to
take place, which might expose them as having acted previously on a false basis.
In other words, the military strike is not intended to punish the perpetrators of the
alleged chemical strike in Douma. It is intended to make an objective investigation
impossible.
There is something genuinely bizarre about the latest threatened military strike.
The Battle of East Ghouta is over. The Jihadis there – following their capitulation in
Douma – have lost. A military strike now really would be a case of closing the stable
door after the horse has bolted, and its military rationale appears to be non-existent.
Moreover Donald Trump – the man who is supposed to be the President of the United States
– was only a few days ago saying that US troops would be withdrawn from Syria "very
soon".
Yet the US looks likely to launch a military strike – one which the Russians are
warning risks dangerous escalation – not because it has any clear policy which requires
such a strike, but because it is alarmed by a possible loss of face.
When a nuclear powered superpower launches military strikes for such frivolous reasons the
situation in the world has become very bad and dangerous indeed
"... "The primary conclusion of this study, based on a pharmacological analysis of the video and photographic evidence, is that the Ghouta Massacre near Damascus on Aug 21.2013 was not a sarin rocket attack carried out by Assad or his supporters. It was a false-flag stunt carried out by the insurgents using carbon monoxide or cyanide to murder children and use their corpses as bait to lure the Americans into attacking Assad." ..."
"Murder in the Sun Morgue" by Dr. Denis O'Brien (neuropharmacology expert):
"The primary conclusion of this study, based on a pharmacological analysis of the
video and photographic evidence, is that the Ghouta Massacre near Damascus on Aug 21.2013 was
not a sarin rocket attack carried out by Assad or his supporters. It was a false-flag stunt
carried out by the insurgents using carbon monoxide or cyanide to murder children and use
their corpses as bait to lure the Americans into attacking Assad."
"... So the idea that the Israelis were trying to provoke a response directed against US assets in order to escalate the conflict seems plausible. But Syria didn't play. ..."
"... Seems like Israel was used to do the dirty work and get Trump out of the corner he had rapidly painted himself into. Trump's response to the fake Douma chemical attack was so over the top that he would have had to carry out a major attack on Syria to justify it. Major meaning much larger than the last one with 59 tomahawks. So probably a hundred tomahawks at least and against a more important target than last time. This the Russians have said they will not allow. So what to do? Have Israel launch a rather minor harassing attack against a base well away from Damascus and so relieve the pressure on Trump to do something. ..."
" Israeli officials have called on the US to attack the Syrian Army, following what they
called a "shocking attack" in Douma. Israel's own crackdown on Gaza protesters was
"self-defense" and not worthy of attention, they said.
Washington must launch a strike against Damascus in response to the alleged chemical
attack in the city of Douma, the Israeli Strategic Affairs and Public Security Minister Gilad
Erdan told the Army Radio on Sunday, commenting on the reports coming from anti-government
groups in Syria. Erdan also said he personally hopes that the US would take military action
against the Syrian government, which he blamed for the attack, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The minister added that the Douma incident shows the "need" for a US troop buildup in
Syria.
The Israeli construction minister and former IDF major general, Yoav Galant, went even
further and called for a military strike aimed directly against the Syrian president.
"[Bashar] Assad is the angel of death, and the world would be better without him," Galant
said. The Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog called on the US to take "decisive military
action" against Syria."
So the idea that the Israelis were trying to provoke a response directed against US assets
in order to escalate the conflict seems plausible. But Syria didn't play.
Confusion about the number, type, and source of missiles, and the fate of the synchronized
ISIS attacks in various accounts.
Seems like Israel was used to do the dirty work and get Trump out of the corner he had
rapidly painted himself into. Trump's response to the fake Douma chemical attack was so over
the top that he would have had to carry out a major attack on Syria to justify it. Major
meaning much larger than the last one with 59 tomahawks. So probably a hundred tomahawks at
least and against a more important target than last time. This the Russians have said they
will not allow. So what to do? Have Israel launch a rather minor harassing attack against a
base well away from Damascus and so relieve the pressure on Trump to do something.
So far I'd say it looks like this is what happened. If so then the Russians wisely allowed
Trump to save face. Hopefully that will allow things to blow over. Next couple days should
tell.
"... Given the Operation Gladio infrastructure that has been painstakingly put into place over years by NATO throughout the Levant, it's very easy to conduct these false flag attacks without being caught in the act. Of course, they are never perpetrated without detection since the CIA, MI6 and MOSSAD have their fingerprints all over these purposefully shocking assaults. ..."
"... "tore through a 50th-floor apartment in Trump Tower" ..."
"... Trump also went along with the patently false accusations that the British government aimed at Russia for the poisoning of the Skripals. Not only did Trump unquestioningly agree with the UK's absurd conclusions, he also expelled 60 Russian diplomats and officers based on an outright lie. ..."
We live in an age when it is virtually impossible to confirm whether these incessant
terrorist attacks are real or hoaxes. The Powers That Be have repeatedly demonstrated
their capability and willingness to implement totally fake terror events. They have also shown
their utter inhumanity in the execution of deadly and destructive terrorist operations.
The recent chemical attack in Douma, Syria could be either of these. However, that's not the
point here. The critical issue is that these chemical attacks are being used by the Western
powers to justify their illegal invasions of Syria. Even President Trump appears to be fully on
board with this conspiratorial plot.
Why is Trump aggressively pushing the Neocon agenda in Syria?
The Zio-Anglo-American Axis is quite determined to complete their Greater
Israel project even though Putin's Russia has already wrecked their plans once. See:
Putin's Russia Blows Up
Scheme For 'Greater Israel'
Ever since Trump was elected, the same Zionist Neocons under W. Bush have been appointed to
various positions in the West Wing. John Bolton is only the most recent and notorious of these
hardcore warmongers.
"Bolton appointment proves that Trump is being blackmailed! -- Q²
This continual stacking of the Trump administration with Russophobes and Iran haters is by
purposeful design. It's also no accident of presidential fate that the Trump has allowed
himself to be used to promote war for Israel. In fact, this particular date with
Armageddon has been planned for centuries by the NWO globalist cabal.
The United States, United Kingdom and Israel have proven to the world community of nations
that they will execute any false flag attack anywhere, anytime to advance their New World
Order agenda. A big piece of that agenda is the Greater Israel project. Hence,
the whole world has been witness to one false flag chemical attack after another.
The ZAAA leadership knows that photos of 'apparently' poisoned children -- piled on top of
each other -- is guaranteed to trigger a knee-jerk reaction by the false accusers against the
innocent accused. The British have established a whole network of fraudulent witnesses on the
ground and throughout the UK who routinely provide false testimony about these staged chemical
attacks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is one of those fake organizations;
so are the utterly bogus White Helmets .
Given the Operation Gladio infrastructure that has been painstakingly put into place
over years by NATO throughout the Levant, it's very easy to conduct these false flag attacks
without being caught in the act. Of course, they are never perpetrated without detection since
the CIA, MI6 and MOSSAD have their fingerprints all over these purposefully shocking
assaults.
Why does President Trump always go along with these false accusations?
This crucial question must be answered and dealt with sooner than later. The link that
follows discloses information that ought to concern every patriot who voted for Trump to stop
the wars: Trump's
Syria "Withdrawal" Was Textbook US Deception
The timing of Saturday night's fire that "tore through a 50th-floor apartment in Trump
Tower" is quite suspicious. Is someone basically telling the POTUS to go with the Neocon
plan to invade Syria or else his real estate -- worldwide -- will become vulnerable to arson
and other 'mishaps'?
Trump also went along with the patently false accusations that the British government
aimed at Russia for the poisoning of the Skripals. Not only did Trump unquestioningly agree
with the UK's absurd conclusions, he also expelled 60 Russian diplomats and officers based on
an outright lie.
The entire Novichok nerve agent affair can now be seen in its proper light. The British
intelligence community carried out the attempted murder of the Russian double agent for various
reasons; however, the most important was to smear the Kremlin. By flooding the mainstream media
with false stories about the chemical poisoning by Russia, the real perps made it easier to
associate the chemical attack in Douma with Putin's government.
This plot will only thicken until the West has finished its conquest of the Middle East.
Russia especially remains a target of the Neocon Zionists. The globalists will not rest until
President Putin's government has been completely overthrown. They will employ every strategy
and tactic necessary to force a regime change in Moscow as this article delineates: STRATFOR Chief Reveals
Zio-Anglo-American Plot For World Domination .
The following SOTN article has been reposted in its entirety for those who want to read the
real back story.
The context of the entire Russia mania is ludicrous and the fake news is so ridiculous
that war must be close.
A) Congress votes unanimously to sanction Russia for tampering the election by hacking and
everybody in DC makes believe they've never heard of the dead staffer.
B) Putin decides to poison some guy right before their election using a special poison
only Russia has. Their involvement in the "investiagtion" is forbidden,
C) The maverick outsider says the US will be pulling out of Syria and ~ a week later Assad
decides to shoot chemicals at people like no one will ever find out. Trump calls Assad an
animal and blames Putin.
There are a few possibilities. Trump could truly be a dotard moron and believe this shit
or he's being strong-armed.
It's either that or some sort of wacko plan. Even the most ardent deplorables are having a
hard time with this.
The first batch of prisoners released by terrorists in Syria's Douma has reached the capital
city Damascus via the Wafedin humanitarian corridor.
The prisoners were released early on Monday as part of an evacuation deal reached between
the Syrian government and Jaish al-Islam terrorists.
According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in UK, the
militant group has more than 3,500 prisoners and hostages in its prisons in Douma
The evacuations continue with scores of buses waiting to transport the terrorists and their
families out of the besieged city.
In accordance with the deal reached earlier, the militants are permitted to leave along with
their families in return for the release of all prisoners they have been keeping.
Earlier in the day, Russia's military said an operation would begin on Sunday to bring Jaish
al-Islam militants out of their besieged enclave of Douma, located about 10 kilometers
northeast of the center of Damascus.
The agreement came after two days of an intense military showdown in Douma, where Jaish
al-Islam militants reneged on a previous agreement for their evacuation from the area, and
refused to release thousands of kidnapped people.
The militants also launched mortar attacks on several residential neighborhoods inside
Damascus, which left several people killed and injured.
Eastern Ghouta, a besieged area on the outskirts of Damascus which is home to some 400,000
people, has witnessed deadly violence over the past few months, with foreign-sponsored
militants launching mortar attacks on the Syrian capital in the face of an imminent humiliating
defeat.
The US also said yet again that Russia is "ultimately bearing responsibility" for all
chemical incidents in Syria, regardless of who carried them out, after rebel sources accused
Damascus of gassing dozens in Eastern Ghouta's Douma. In other words, even if the "chemical
attack" was carried out by US-backed "rebels", or better yet "ISIS", it's Putin's fault.
"The regime's history of using chemical weapons against its own people is not in dispute,"
said the US State Department, indicating, however, that it was relying on "reports," being
unable to confirm the incident. "Russia ultimately bears responsibility for the brutal
targeting of countless Syrians with chemical weapons."
UN Security Council meets
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council met on Monday to discuss the latest developments - said
Staffen de Mistura, the UN Special Envoy to Syria. " Recent developments carry more than ever
before " the risks contained within the multiple "fault lines in the Middle East" that could
have " absolutely devastating consequences, which are difficult to even imagine ," the official
said, underscoring the possibility that the crisis in Syria may spiral into a larger
international security crisis.
"The United Nations is unable to independently verify or attribute responsibility for this
attack, but we have all parties to show utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation or
confrontation ," de Mistura said.
In other words - let's first chat about that chemical attack before WWIII breaks out.
Russia says Syria chemical attack is a fabrication
Unsurprisingly, Russian officials say they have found no trace of chemical weapons use while
searching through Syria's Douma region - and say that photos of victims posted by the White
Helmets are fabrications, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.
The specialists "found no traces of the use of chemical agents" after searching the sites,
the statement said. The center's medical specialists also visited a local hospital but found
no patients that showed signs of chemical weapons poisoning. "All these facts show that no
chemical weapons were used in the town of Douma, as it was claimed by the White Helmets ," the
statement said, referring to the controversial "civil defense" group that was among the first
to report about the alleged attack.
" All the accusations brought by the White Helmets, as well as their photos allegedly
showing the victims of the chemical attack, are nothing more than a yet another piece of fake
news and an attempt to disrupt the ceasefire ," the Reconciliation Center said. - RT
As well documented by
Disobedient Media and elsewhere, the White Helmets are an organization funded by the United
States which operates throughout various regions within Syria to "help" the anti-Assad effort
while snapping convenient photos of Assad's alleged regime-change-worthy atrocities. Via
Disobedient Media
The Syrian Civil Defense Force (aka the White Helmets) is funded in part by United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) . Included here are two links showing contracts
awarded by USAID to Chemonics International Inc. (DBA Chemonics). The first award was in the sum of $111.2 million and has a Period of
Performance (POP) from January 2013 to June 2017. It states that the purpose of the award will
be to use the funds for managing a "quick-response mechanism supporting activities that pursue
a peaceful transition to a democratic and stable Syria." The second was in the sum of $57.4 million and has a POP from
August 2015 to August 2020. This award was designated to be used in the "Syria Regional Program
II" which is a part of the Support Which Implements Fast Transitions IV (SWIFT IV) program.
This funding was used, if not entirely, then in part to finance the White Helmets. The
Syrian Civil Defense Force website lists Chemonics as its primary supporter alongside NGO
Mayday Rescue, who operate out of offices in Turkey, Jordan and Dubai.
**
Of course, that didn't stop Netflix from producing an Academy Award winning documentary
about the White Helmets. We're sure recently added board member and former Obama National
Security Advisor Susan Rice is happy considering all of the taxpayer money the previous
administration spent funding the group.
"... The "rebel" group now holding out in Douma, Jaysh al-Islam, part of the Islamist opposition to Assad that includes the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda as well as the remnants of ISIS, has itself been credibly accused of using chlorine gas in the course of fighting against Kurdish forces and civilians in Aleppo in 2016. That charge, made by the Kurds, was given extensive publicity by Voice of America, the propaganda arm of the US government. ..."
"... It is possible that Syrian warplanes struck a weapons cache belonging to the rebel group, causing the gas to leak out. More likely, the poison gas was deliberately released by Jaysh al-Islam, at behest of its CIA backers, to provide a pretext for US military intervention. Assuming, that is, that the reports of poison gas exposure are not simply manufactured by the US intelligence agencies for rebroadcast by a servile media. ..."
"... The latest provocation follows a well-worn pattern, from the lies over Iraqi "weapons of mass destruction" to the present. The American intelligence agencies give the signal. Nonstop coverage is immediately launched on cable television, then demands for action are made by the White House and congressional leaders, boosted by editorials written by CIA mouthpieces such as the New York Times. ..."
"... The brazen lies of the media are accompanied by breathtaking hypocrisy. The Times ..."
The "rebel" group now holding out in Douma, Jaysh al-Islam, part of the Islamist
opposition to Assad that includes the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda as well as the remnants of
ISIS, has itself been credibly accused of using chlorine gas in the course of fighting against
Kurdish forces and civilians in Aleppo in 2016. That charge, made by the Kurds, was given
extensive
publicity by Voice of America, the propaganda arm of the US government.
It is possible that Syrian warplanes struck a weapons cache belonging to the rebel
group, causing the gas to leak out. More likely, the poison gas was deliberately released by
Jaysh al-Islam, at behest of its CIA backers, to provide a pretext for US military
intervention. Assuming, that is, that the reports of poison gas exposure are not simply
manufactured by the US intelligence agencies for rebroadcast by a servile media.
What is least likely, from a political standpoint, is that the Assad government, just as it
was on the brink of final victory in Eastern Ghouta after more than five years of bitter
fighting, should suddenly unleash a poison gas attack, which would have no military value but
would invite a savage response from the Trump administration and the other Western powers. A
Syrian government statement pointed this out, declaring that "an army that is progressing
quickly does not need to use any kind of chemical weapons."
According to Al Jazeera and Russian news sources, Jaysh al-Islam has been so thoroughly
defeated that it has struck an agreement to completely withdraw all its militia and their
families from Douma over the next 48 hours or so. Russian troops will reportedly move in to
take control of the city.
Iran's Foreign Ministry rebuffed the US claims of a gas attack in Douma. "Such claims and
allegations by the Americans and some Western countries point to a new plot against the Syrian
government and people, and are an excuse to take military action against them," a spokesman
told the press.
The Russian government denounced the US campaign over the supposed gas attack as a political
provocation aimed at justifying deeper US military intervention in the Syrian civil war. "The
spread of bogus stories about the use of chlorine and other poisonous substances by government
forces continues," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We have warned several times recently
against such dangerous provocations. The aim of such deceitful speculation, lacking any kind of
grounding, is to shield terrorists and to attempt to justify possible external uses of
force."
The latest provocation follows a well-worn pattern, from the lies over Iraqi "weapons of
mass destruction" to the present. The American intelligence agencies give the signal. Nonstop
coverage is immediately launched on cable television, then demands for action are made by the
White House and congressional leaders, boosted by editorials written by CIA mouthpieces such as
the New York Times.
The brazen lies of the media are accompanied by breathtaking hypocrisy. The
Times , the Washington Post , NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and company downplay and
cover up the atrocities carried out by American forces and their allies -- the incineration of
Mosul and Raqqa, the gunning down of demonstrators in Gaza by the Israeli military, the mass
killings in Yemen carried out with US support by Saudi Arabia, even as its crown prince is
feted by the US ruling elite, and the ongoing slaughter in Afghanistan.
The dominant propaganda meme of the day, as already noted by Colonel Lang, is that Bashar al
Assad unleashed chemical weapons on "innocent women and children" in rebel held territory and
that Russia and Iran, along with Syria, are responsible. We MUST take action (or so we are told
emphatically by morons pretending to be news anchors on the various cable outlets). Few media
outlets are willing to report that this information is not only uncorroborated but originates
with established liars and rebel partisans--i .e., the White Helmets. Oh, and did you know that
the White Helmets are funded largely by the Governments of the UK and the United States?
It is critical to keep the source of funds in mind if you are to understand the true nature
of these Islamic scam artists. Ironically, Max Blumenthal, son of the infamous Sid, has been a
leader in exposing these fraudsters.
Blumenthal wrote, more than three years ago, that :
The White Helmets' leadership is driven by a pro-interventionist agenda conceived by the
Western governments and public relations groups that back them. Anyone who visits the group's
website -- which is operated by an
opposition-funded PR company known as
the Syria Campaign -- will be immediately directed to a request to sign a petition for a
no-fly zone to "stop the bombs" in Syria. These sorts of communiques highlight the dual role
the White Helmets play as a civil defense organization saving lives while lobbying for a U.S.
military campaign that will almost inevitably result in the collapse of Syria's government. . .
.
The White Helmets were founded in collaboration with USAID's Office of Transitional
Initiatives -- the wing that has promoted regime change around the world -- and have been
provided with $23 million in funding from the department. USAID supplies the White Helmets
through Chemonics, a for-profit contractor based in Washington DC that has become notorious for
wasteful aid imbroglios from Haiti to Afghanistan. While members of the White Helmets have been
implicated in atrocities carried out by jihadist rebel groups, the names of many of the firms
that supposedly monitor and evaluate their work have been kept secret by USAID on unspecified
security grounds.
Nikki Haley: "Russia will "never be America's friend." Moscow can try to behave "like a
regular country," but the US will "slap them when we need to," Haley said." ... "Everybody
likes to listen to the words. I'm going to tell you – look at the actions," Haley
urged. "We expelled 60 Russian diplomats/spies, we have armed Ukraine so that they can defend
themselves..."
https://www.rt.com/usa/423422-us-russia-stalemate-haley/
The UK has the pottery-boy Gavin Williamson as a Sec. of Defence and the US has a
waste-management Nikki Haley as an US envoy to the United Nations. They both are ignoramuses
and the eager ziocon tools.
Again, Israel's special relationships with anti-Assad forces and Israel's refusal to ratify
the Chemical Arms Treaty make Israel the major suspect in the chemical attacks in Syria:
https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-russia-links-syria-chemwar-to-israel-1.5333503
That "Russia will "never be America's friend" is not disputed. What is missing is that "US
and Russia cannot afford to be enemies". Nixon understood all of that 30 years ago.
I think Colonel is absolutely right, all signs are, that everybody on both sides are getting
ready for a war, how big, and who will participate, nobody knows yet would it be 2 oceans and
3 continents war or just concentrated on Eurasia? Unfortunately, I think DJT' canoe has
sunken in the swamp he said he will drain, or IMO he didn't even know what he is talking
about, or is dealing with.
I agree that the uncritical and unwavering acceptance of the notion of Assad's chemical
attacks on his people is ignorant and dangerous. It shows a true lack of imagination among
the jihadis and their supporters. Not one of these attacks have been convincingly attributed
to Assad's forces. To the contrary, the propaganda put out by the jihadis appears blatantly
staged and bogus. The sooner we're out of Syria, the better. And the sooner Trump realizes
unwavering support of the current Israeli regime is a cost center, the better.
Thank you for reopening comments. I missed my tribe of non-conformists thinkers and all the
various viewpoints. :-)
The insanity and distortion of reality and facts is getting extreme. Unfortunately
tribalism with it's baggage of historical grievances, partisan loyalties, and mob mentalities
are growing as our society returns to default human social behaviour while loyalty to the
binding myths and ideas of the constitution and the founding of our republic fade. Truth is a
casualty. Facts don't matter. Conformity to whatever tribal identity selected is the norm.
Science show that there is a real decline in the higher brain functions when mobs form.
If the Russians don't respond in some discrete but substantive way, their presence,
efforts and international prestige will have vanished by tomorrow morning.
Your "grasp" of air-defense issues, including suggestion of shooting down aircraft in
Lebanon's (international) airspace, among many other things clearly shows an armchair
"strategist" (no offense, I am one myself) who played, unlike me--I don't play video games,
too much video-games and thinks that he knows better than say Russian General Staff. Indeed,
what do they know, really--what a bunch of amateurs who do not follow your highly
professional suggestion.
The Russian Defense Ministry is now saying that 8 missiles were fired at the Syrian T4
airfield and airbase from Israeli airplanes flying inside Lebanon. The report says that 5 of
the missiles were knocked down by antiaircraft / missile defense systems and that 3 of them
hit the area of the airfield--
israel to the rescue... they have to protect isis! and where would they be without regular
support from the usa / uk.... white helmets are a pale imitation of israel at this point..
"...a large number of supposedly intelligent Republicans and Democrats..."
There's no such thing any more. Both parties chased their intelligent leaders out a long
time ago. Indeed, this is a repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis with a bunch of emotional
ten-year-olds in charge.
Slightly OT, but in poking around the SCL/Cambridge Analytica web of intrigue, I found this
tantalizing Wikipedia account of Vincent Tchenguiz, the largest shareholder in CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Tchenguiz
Some people are truly not fit to walk on this earth.
This is getting more and more ridiculous. From the ludicrous novichok caper that May and
Boris have made into a Monty Python skit to the yet another theatrical chemical attack
performance starring the perennial Syrian villain, Animal Assad and the increasingly heated
rhetoric emanating from DC, London, Beijing and Moscow. Of course with all the bugles and
trumpets blowing from the hysterical media with the Borg agenda trying to cajole a highly
skeptical public.
What do you make of all this? Is the Borg getting really desperate that their gig may be
up? That their deceit and duplicity will be uncovered.
We have Brennan, Holder, Yates busy tweeting along with Trump. There is McCabe and his
GoFundMe. We have Comey's book tour and even Loretta Lynch is to hit the airwaves. All to
spin tales that less people believe unless of course you are a card carrying partisan. Then
there is Sessions making announcements of US Attorneys investigating and possibly convening
grand juries and supervising document production to Congress around the conspiracy at the
highest levels of law enforcement & intelligence in the Obama administration. Is this
Reality TV at it's best putting Jerry Springer to shame??
Well Syria's T-4 airbase was attacked this evening. My suspicion is it was the French, this
time. Encouraged/backed by the US. The main purpose for the French doing this is to leave
Trump with some good grace with the Russians and not further antagonize Putin himself. It
also allows the French a certain amount of prestige/legitimacy, since they view Syria as an
area of influence. With their presence increasing in Manjib area they need some credibility.
"If the Russians don't respond... their international prestige will have vanished..."
-- What are you implying -- that only deception, perfidy, and bullying deserve "prestige?"
Would not it be great if the decent people have finally explained the "prestigious" Nikki
Haley that she is an ignoramus and warmonger? And how about sending Gavin Williamson to his
familiar proper place where he could resume selling the fine pottery and ceramic countertops
instead of being a mockery to his current post of Sec of Defence? What is so prestigious
about the opportunistic Theresa May and Boris Johnson, whose incompetent actions have been
highly damaging to the UK reputation? And guess that the criminal (but very pious) Tony Blair
fits the definition of "prestige."
There are people whose response is indeed important from the perspective of decency and
competence and patriotism – these people are the US brass in the highest echelons of
the US military. Do they serve the interests of the US or the interests of Israel? The
question is very simple. The answer is yes or no.
Saker asks for patience:
http://thesaker.is/missile-strikes-on-syria-tonight-do-not-rush-to-conclusions-please-post-here-what-you-hear/
Comment section: "The Lord Has Risen, and the forces of evil are rabid for more Death and
Destruction."
If the Russians don't respond in some discrete but substantive way, their presence,
efforts and international prestige will have vanished by tomorrow morning.
"His master's voice (or how an obedient dog goes to war)":
http://thesaker.is/his-masters-voice-or-how-an-obedient-dog-goes-to-war/
"Israeli officials: the "U.S. must strike in Syria" because "Assad is the angel of death, and
the world would be better without him."
Ziomedia is willing to report the Skripal nonsense with a straight face After all, if the
Russians could use "Novichok and buckwheat" in the UK, why would they not use chemical
weapons in Syria? And, no, the fact that neither the Russians nor the Syrians actually have
any chemical weapons (both were fully disarmed and certified as such) makes absolutely no
difference! "
And what country does not want to declare her chemical weapon? –
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175032
"The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Tuesday
called on Israel to renounce chemical weapons and join the convention banning them just like
Syria did."
"...Owen Matthews' article at The Spectator betrays the kind of factual sloppiness that is
typical of the pundit-political-business classes in the West today."
-- In this case it is more than sloppiness: Owen Matthews is an opportunist loaded with the
tribal grievances against Russia:
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2017/11/02/re-visiting-russian-counter-propaganda-methods/
"... in his book "Stalin's Children" Matthews clearly takes sides with, endorses and,
possibly, even covers up for his Trotskyist Commissar grandfather and that makes him a fair
target for criticism"
The constant repetitive referral to "Obama's red line" has been effective in shaping a
preferred response to these alleged attacks. Contrary to today's conventional wisdom, Obama
did not "fail" to enforce his own line - the administration through its own State Department
was quite prepared to rain bombs down on Damascus, but faced political opposition from
Congress (as did Cameron's UK government fail to achieve support for the bombing in its
Parliament). Congressional opposition was sparked by robust opposition from citizens/
constituents in the form of communications directed to their Congressional offices. This was
all reported by the mainstream media at the time, yet a false recounting is predominant
today. The "unrelenting information operation" is not possible without the witting
collaboration of the supposed "free" media. The ownership and editorial staff of such are as
fully responsible for this frightening state of affairs as anyone else.
The SOHR has some pretty solid reporting on what is going on in Douma. They make no mention
of any use of chemical weapons in Douma, but instead attribute the deaths to suffocation
resulting from the destruction of cellars containing civilians:
And with the death of more citizens, it has increased to 96 at least including 27 children
and 16 woman, the number of persons who have been killed since Friday, and the death toll
is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation, where reliable
sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that some of the casualties and wounded
suffocated as a result of the demolition of home basements due to the heavy and intense
shelling on Douma city, and the trusted sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory of
Rights that the number of injuries today has exceeds 500, including tens of children and
tens of women, where more than 70 of them have suffered suffocation as a result of the
demolition of home basements over them due to the heavy and intense shelling on the last
area beyond the regime forces' control in the Eastern Ghouta , which is the stronghold
of Jaysh al-Islam, and the Syrian Observatory published hours ago that 11 people at least
including 5 children had suffocated, after bombardment by a warplane on an area near the
old cemetery at the northern outskirts of Douma city in the Eastern Ghouta, also the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights published that violent clashes taking place between the regime
forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against Jaish
Al-Islam in areas in the vicinity of Douma area, where the regime forces continue their
attempts to achieve more advancement in the area after they managed today morning to
advance in the farms of Douma from the direction of Al-Raihan area. The regime forces
managed to advance in 50 farms in the area following series of ongoing ground and aerial
shelling of the regime forces and their warplanes and helicopters, which target the city
and its vicinity.
"Murder in the Sun Morgue" by Dr. Denis O'Brien (neuropharmacology expert):
"The primary conclusion of this study, based on a pharmacological analysis of the video
and photographic evidence, is that the Ghouta Massacre near Damascus on Aug 21.2013 was not a
sarin rocket attack carried out by Assad or his supporters. It was a false-flag stunt carried
out by the insurgents using carbon monoxide or cyanide to murder children and use their
corpses as bait to lure the Americans into attacking Assad."
Thank you for this, Publius Tacitus -- and to you, Colonel Lang, re-opening the comments
section here at SST.
I think it's notable that Owen Matthews' article at The Spectator betrays the kind of
factual sloppiness that is typical of the pundit-political-business classes in the West
today. For of course, "Arsenal of Democracy" is a phrase associated not with Truman but with
Franklin Roosevelt.
I was the working-class scholarship kid at one of the elite educational institutions that
forms a feeder-conduit to these echelons of media, political, and economic power, and one
thing I have remarked is the utter mediocrity and laziness of so many members of our ruling
class. As Corey Robin found out when he had an exchange with Chelsea Clinton over Hannah
Arendt, and I discovered as an undergrad and in grad school, many of them simply never did
the reading. They relied then, and still do today, on group-think and sheep-like intellectual
conformity, which, of course, is then magnificently (and munificently!) rewarded. I also
discovered that even when they did read something, it made no impression on them, not in any
real way, they failed to keep the lessons taught thereby in their head once it was no longer
needed for an exam or a paper.
To be led by fools such as these into a world war -- and why? -- is lunacy. That's why I'm
grateful for places like this Committee to keep the home-fires of sanity burning. Thanks
again, and let's hope that peace prevails, against the devoutly-hoped wishes of the Borg.
The rumor is that Trump himself is a false flag operation ;-)
Notable quotes:
"... I beseech you, sir, to consider the possibility that the supposed chlorine gas attack at Douma, Syria may have been a carefully constructed propaganda fraud on the part of the rebels encircled in Douma. ..."
"... The rebels have been defeated in East Gouta. Their fighters and families are being evacuated to Turkish occupied Jarabulus by air-conditioned bus. How would it benefit the Syrian government to make such an attack in this situation? ..."
"... If he wants to wage war on Syria, Iran and Russia, then he and his family can obtain Israeli citizenship and get themselves elected to the Likud Party. ..."
"... If this goes any further, I won't be voting for him in 2020 and I think many of his supporters feel the same, based on what I have gleaned here and there. ..."
"... Sadly, though, it appears Trump's doubling down on his chemical attacks idiocy and talking himself into a situation where he can't just walk away without doing something stupid even if he wanted t ..."
"... I doubt very much that Gen Mattis and all the other bigwigs involved are unaware of the truth of this incident. The White Helmets etc who staged it didn't do so in order to deceive these 'innocents', but rather to provide them with an excuse to intervene. A mere formality, but, for various reasons, important. ..."
"... The Brits blinked and did not punish the criminal liar Blair. Since then, the war profiteering based on lies has become a national pastime. ..."
"... the risks are asymmetric -- we in the US have very little to fear from war, the deciders have no family at risk, the corporations gain, the front line US soldier has a far lower risk than any other side, so I don't see how we get off the war-war-war track, sorry for the fatalism ..."
"... IAF attack was a classic probing action for SIGINT--what would "light up" in radio diapason during this attack on Russian side. The fact that Israel did not inform Russia, as it was always the case prior, but informed the US is pretty much self-evident fact of what transpired. The target, however, was chosen conspicuously away from any Russian assets in Syria. ..."
I beseech you, sir, to consider the possibility that the supposed chlorine gas attack at
Douma, Syria may have been a carefully constructed propaganda fraud on the part of the rebels
encircled in Douma. Such a fraud would have as its purpose the elicitation of exactly the kind
of response that we are seeing in the Western media. The rebels have been defeated in East Gouta. Their fighters and families are being evacuated to Turkish occupied Jarabulus by
air-conditioned bus. How would it benefit the Syrian government to make such an attack in this
situation?
I hope that you will determine the exact facts of what occurred at Douma before any action
is taken.
I recommend that you send someone competent to Syria to make an on the ground
investigation.
Trump supporters, like myself, sure as hell didn't elect the man to continue the forever war,
let alone escalate it to include nuclear powers. We believed him when he said he would
disentangle us from foreign engagements and focus on rebuilding our country. If he wants to
wage war on Syria, Iran and Russia, then he and his family can obtain Israeli citizenship and
get themselves elected to the Likud Party.
If this goes any further, I won't be voting for
him in 2020 and I think many of his supporters feel the same, based on what I have gleaned
here and there.
Sadly, though, it appears Trump's doubling down on his chemical attacks idiocy and talking
himself into a situation where he can't just walk away without doing something stupid even if
he wanted to:
I doubt very much that Gen Mattis and all the other bigwigs involved are unaware of the truth
of this incident. The White Helmets etc who staged it didn't do so in order to deceive these
'innocents', but rather to provide them with an excuse to intervene. A mere formality, but,
for various reasons, important.
I have sent emails to Senators Kaine and Warner and Representative Wittman asking them to do
what they can "to temper our President's potential response to this incident" and "to ensure
any response our nation undertakes in response to this incident is in the best interests and
in the best traditions of our country."
I join Barbara Ann in encouraging all committeemen to contact their Senators and
Representatives and/or "to Tweet/share this post and its important message to
@SecretaryMattis."
I included this in my emails and included your appeal to Mattis.
"I have serious doubts as to who is responsible for this attack as well as past supposed
chemical attacks in Syria. I also have serious concerns about the rush to judgment over
these attacks and the motivations of those making this rush to judgment. My judgment in
these matters is tempered by my thirty-three years as an Infantry and Special Forces officer
and as a DIA intelligence officer."
I thought that was better than saying that all those lying ass clowns calling for attacks
are chock full of crap.
"John Sullivan [Secretary of State] and Johnson [British Foreign Secretary] agreed that "this
attack bore hallmarks of previous chemical weapons attacks by the Assad regime.."
http://abcnews.go.com/Polit...
The Brits blinked and did not punish the criminal liar Blair. Since then, the war
profiteering based on lies has become a national pastime.
As for the lawyering John Sullivan, "His clients include major oil and gas companies,
consulting, accounting, and financial services firms, petrochemical companies, and
manufacturers. He was also a member of President Bush's Management Council and a member of
the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...
He looks like a Cheney-like opportunist. It is doubtful that he understands what a nuclear
conflict could do to his children.
Trump cannot be in a steady frame of mind given that the FBI has just raided the offices of
Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime counsel, and seized all manner of financial records, emails
etc. Most telling about this action is that the special counsel had no compulsion about
executing a search warrant on the President's personal counsel.
Not sure how Gen. Mattis can get through to Trump if others are pushing the impulsive "fire
and forget" narrative.
I hope Gen. Mattis is a honest American, I pray he succeeds.
http://defence-blog.com/new...
"The Russian military command suddenly puts troops on full combat alert, movements of combat
vehicles and missile systems observe almost all over the country.
An activity of Russian troops is most notable in the Western part of Russia, near the borders
with Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus, as well as in the Transbaikal region and the Far
East. On April 8-9 active movements of a large number of military vehicles and tanks, also
were seen moving of the Iskander missile systems with Air Defence support."
the risks are asymmetric -- we in the US have very little to fear from war, the deciders have
no family at risk, the corporations gain, the front line US soldier has a far lower risk than
any other side, so I don't see how we get off the war-war-war track,
sorry for the fatalism
Trump is saying he will make a decision to attack Syria in the next 24-48 hours, possibly as
soon as "end of day."
The Russians have stated any such attack will have "serious consequences."
I am interested in why Israel decided to use sub-launched cruise missiles this time. Since
they also used aircraft, it can't be because they were concerned their aircraft might be shot
down as in the previous case. Were they hoping that cruise missiles would be assumed to be
US, thus preventing Syria or the Russians from responding? Or that the either Syria or the
Russians would respond against US ships in the Med by mistaking the Israeli cruise missiles
for US? Where were the cruise missiles launched from? Apparently they only launched 8 and 5
of them got shot down by Pantsir air defense. How could a mere 8 cruise missiles be mistaken
for the US, which probably would have used many more? Which suggests that indeed Israel was
trying some sort of provocation, but I can't figure out what.
Today it is being reported that Skripal is going to be shipped off to the US by Britain
with a new identity. Nice way to make sure he never says anything to the press about what
actually happened. I wonder how they intend to shut up Yulia given she's a Russian citizen.
Can we predict that she will "decide" to accompany her father and thus be never heard from
again?
IAF attack was a classic probing action for SIGINT--what would "light up" in radio diapason
during this attack on Russian side. The fact that Israel did not inform Russia, as it was
always the case prior, but informed the US is pretty much self-evident fact of what
transpired. The target, however, was chosen conspicuously away from any Russian assets in
Syria.
Per sub launched Israeli missiles--I don't know about that. Russia has more than enough
ASW assets in and around Tartus, including recently deployed Il-38 with latest Novella ASW
suite to know who and how. For now what is confirmed is the salvo of 8, most likely Delilahs,
5 of which were intercepted while three got through killing 3 and wounding 14 Iranians.
will2713 aka will2.718 short & sweet. Thank you Sir! Of course, they already know or
should know it's a false flag attack, b/ it puts it on the record. Just a quibble, actually
the headchoppers in Idlib don't want these terrible children, they are actually going to
Jarablus from what I've read. Which brings up the next point, Jarablus [edit: was thinking of
Jisr Shagour actually] has been raining fire on Latakia and presents a danger to the Russ
bases, so will it be a game of musical chairs for these takfiris?
Well, that's one shred of comfort in this mess. I hope Mattis sees through this, and Trump
listens to him.
It's been a depressing 24 hours, listening to the Pavlovian responses of reasonably
intelligent people whom I know. They have no idea that they are being softened-up for yet
another installment of the Forever War. And a dangerous installment, with a very real risk of
war with Russia.
Mattis is not the only one who must listen to the honest and competent people: It is the
American Jewish Community at large that needs to act and quickly to put the breaks on
Israel's criminal activities:
http://www.unz.com/article/...
Chemical false flag attacks is the traditional way Syria islamists are calling for the US air support. From comments: "After all
they had lost in Douma - there were no point in Syrian gas attack - the fighting was done. Jaish al Islam must be having a great
laugh at our expensive for falling for their trick of gassing their own people. Let us not help the Islamists."
Anther interesting comment: "With "experts" at president's disposal, seems to me moment Trump announced Syrian withdrawal, at
least one should have anticipated - based on past occurrences - a gas attack aimed to engage US and therefore maintain US presence."
And another " including their mouthpieces at the times manufacture
a chemical attack and claim Assad -- who has no reason whatsoever to do such things -- is some horrible monster that deserves to have
bombs rained down on him. How totally corrupt the MIC has become."
That act reported by White helmets looks like a classic MI6 provocation. Russian investigation has shown that no attack took place.
Moreover the rumors about this false flag were circulating long ago. Russians warned about this possiblity a month or so ago telling
the jihadists prepare such provocation. Looks like all that was needed for Trump is a plausible justification -- the desire to "decapitate"
Assad is too strong to resist.
Notable quotes:
"... Syria is a crappy place primarily because of insane overpopulation and limited water. Getting Assad out is not going to help with population or with water. Moving the entire Syrian population to Europe could be done and they are working on that. ..."
"... With "experts" at president's disposal, seems to me moment Trump announced Syrian withdrawal, at least one should have anticipated - based on past occurrences - a gas attack aimed to engage US and therefore maintain US presence. ..."
President Trump on Monday denounced the suspected chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of people in
Syria over the weekend as a "barbaric act," and said
he will make a decision in the next 24 to 48 hours about whether to retaliate militarily as he did to a similar assault last year.
Congress has skirted their responsibility to authorize war in Syria and Trump is suggesting taking actions that could drag
us into a deep and costly war. The American people deserve to hear this debated in Congress.
Retaliate? They don't even know for sure who it was, could well have been an ally. The place is a mess of competing outside
forces.
Retaliate - and therein lies the problem. Too much to ask that for once they think, discuss, decide a long term policy with
other countries. Last time the 45th tried 'me-big-man-with-bomb' there was no follow up, nothing was done, what was the point?
Look at me I have the biggest, noisiest fire cracker! Pathetic. Careless. Irresponsible. Uniformed. Murderous. The list is endless.
I suppose the President can launch a missile attack, or any military action, based on whatever authority from Congress permitted
the US military to be fighting in Syria in the first place. The more fundamental issue is that Congress long ago ceded to the
President its constitutional responsibility to declare war . This must be corrected with checks restored on the President's power
to deploy the military at will. Otherwise, the US will continue to be in a perpetual state of war, which may be good for the extended
military supply industry but damaging to country as a whole.
What if.....what if this chemical attack was sanctioned not by Assad but by a state or a non-state force that wants the U.S.
to retaliate?
Just why did this chemical attack follow Trump's announced desire to get out of Syria?
Why, also, is Israel urging us to attack now? Could it be to distract from the human rights catastrophe in Gaza?
We all know what John Bolton would have us do.
Where's the proof that this was Assad's work? More WMD ?
Trump wined and dined MBS of Saudi Arabia who has been conducting airstrikes on Yemen with hundreds of casualties, as high
as 68 civilian deaths in one day. It would be hard to imagine a better example of hypocrisy.
Syria is a part of a complex series of issues that make up the problem of Middle Eastern diplomacy. Trump does not have the
capacity to manage any of this. Selling arms to the Saudis to continue their war in Yemen added to the Syrian problem. The cholera
epidemic in Yemen is a form of biological warfare that is killing more civilians than chemical warfare in Syria. Starving the
population of Yemen is also warfare. By supporting the Saudis we have lost the moral high ground in Syria.
Was it the rebels again? Or is it chlorine again? Chlorine is used for several commercial and health purposes--to clean bottles,
to clean water, and for refrigeration. So it is quite easy for a bomb or explosive to hit a container and then there is a serious
gas problem. If pool acid and chlorine are stored together it might be worse when mixed. I do not believe Assad needs to use chemicals
because he has Russians who will do air strikes on his enemies. I call fake news.
The solution to Syria was obvious years ago, if you just wanted to see the obvious. And that was Syria as it had been for years,
in peace, secular, under a government of Assad who, eventually, knew it had to evolve into a more democratic regime . Now that
has changed, and all to Israel´s advantage. It seems as if the whole world has forgotten that the whole Middle East problem was
born, and is still the Occupation of Palestinian Land. Israel is a thorn in Arab Middle East.The only one that has attacked ALL
its neighbours !
We should do nothing. We need to leave Syria to the Syrian. We can't and musn't involve our military in every tragedy in the
world. There is no doubt in my mind that if we mistakenly and stupidly attack the Syrian Army we are aiding the Jihadist who planned
thit attack. After all they had lost in Douma - there were no point in Syrian gas attack - the fighting was done. Jaish al Islam
must be having a great laugh at our expensive for falling for their trick of gassing their own people. Let us not help the Islamists.
The US government LIES about everything. We know this. This has been proved repeatedly.
Yet, here we are with the US government, and its stenographers in the mainstream media, i.e., the stuff that's not Fake News,
right, assuring us that Assad gassed his own people. Again.
Even if we could believe this, or even if we gave the government the benefit of the doubt for . . . what? . . . its integrity?,
we are after all exceptional, right, how is this America's business?
Yes, other countries shouldn't gas their own people. But countries shouldn't commit war crimes either, and that goes on every
day. America is as dirty as any other country. Despite our treaty obligations, even torture is legal here.
We're supposedly the richest country in the world, but we can barely keep our streets paved and lit. And not only that, but
it is a proven fact that one dollar invested in domestic economics brings back much more return than one dollar spent on bombs.
Trump is right. We need to stomp the madness in the Middle East. The oil companies can pay for their own security with all of
the money they don't pay in taxes.
Right now our cities are clogged with people living in tents and defecating on the sidewalks and in the streets. Look at old
pictures from the Depression. It looks the same today.
The left is seeing Russians responsible for every wrong in the world. The right sees itself as the rescuer of the wrongs of
the world. I pray that this does not move this country into a war with Russia.
This nation needs a "policy". Something with careful thought and backed by facts, expert analysis, and wisdom; Aim first and
carefully.
A "Shoot from the Hip" flourish that can be touted at the next Trump self congratulatory ego rally Will Not Do. Either this
nation has a leader or it doesn't - Trump's move!
One of the few things I liked about Trump was his anti-involvement stance in the middle east. We have SO MUCH to fix and worry
about at home. Nothing that Trump does on immigration, environment, or anything else will make me more angry than dragging us
into another war.
I don't see any ink being given to the very likely possibility that the gas attack was a ploy by rebels to get the US (and
their air cover) to stick around. If you ask the question, "Who benefits?" the Assad regime had nothing to gain by gassing a few
civilians -- they're about to win the war, so why would they? OTOH, the rebels need us badly, and know that we will reflexively
blame Assad.
Just a few days ago, Trump talked about withdrawing from Syria. Now, he says he will decide whether to attack Syria within
the next couple of days. One day we're out, the next day we're in. And just a few days ago, Trump said he didn't like to reveal
his military plans in advance. Now, he is announcing to the world that he is consideration retaliation against Syria. His contradictions
make the U.S. look as if it is led by a very confused commander in chief.
Yes, chemical weapons are barbaric, but who launched the attack? Which faction in this complicated civil war? How does trump
know the answer to this question when no one else does? Why would the U.S. "retaliate" based on speculation, especially after
trump recently said, "we need to get out of there and leave it to someone else"? What good would military action do at this point?
Are we anxious to put our "expensive new military" to the test? So many questions...and an administration unable / unwilling to
answer them. Too bad trump can't simply tweet his way out of this one...
The U.S. should respond militarily to Syria's gas attack only on two conditions:
1. The leaders of all key U.S. allies (European countries, Canada, Japan, S. Korea, Australia, etc.) sign a joint declaration
of support for the action.
2. Each of these countries pays a population-weighted share of the expense of the U.S. military operation.
We are either all in this together, or it's not worth doing.
Let's find out if our allies are willing to back up their pious declarations of condemnation.
I don't get it. Subjecting people, women, children and even men, to crushing, burning, lacerating and penetrating wounds is
par for the course. It's war after all. But poison! Oh the (in)humanity!
Also, anyone think it's weird that Assad does this just when the US is making motions to pull out?
It is impossible to know what is really going on as the world's powers continue to fight this proxy war. The only thing that
is certain is the continued suffering of the Syrian people - including the poor sods who will be conventionally incinerated by
American "retaliation" in a day or so.
The President should have no authority to declare war or commit troops, period. So far, there has been no urgent "national
emergency," as required by the War Powers Resolution, which would justify the President to effectively declare war unilaterally
and yet here we are, with presidents on both sides completely ignoring the Constitution, using the WPA as an enabler to bypass
the text which says that only Congress can declare war.
Saddam used gas on the Iranians and we were good with that. It is not clear about this gas in Syria. These "freedom fighters"
have no compunction about using civilians as human shields. How do we know the truth? They are various branches of Al Quaeda and
given their huge birth rate they don't seem to place much weight on human life in the here and now....maybe they focus on the
afterlife more. So why can't we just leave Assad alone and let him be the strong man there? Yes Syria is a crappy place primarily
because of insane overpopulation and limited water. Getting Assad out is not going to help with population or with water. Moving
the entire Syrian population to Europe could be done and they are working on that.
Trump says he was getting us out of Syria. Much to my relief to this endless war.
And I'm pretty sure the president of Syria, Assad, whose regime has been under attack by both the US supported Syrian rebels
and their ISIS allies did not want the US on their soil. So why would he do something like this? I don't believe he did. By the
way if the US was not meddling over in the M.E. there would be no refugees and fewer immigrants.
"Conventional" deaths by artillery and bullets are perfectly acceptable - when bodies are vaporized, ripped and torn apart
unrecognizably. But use a deadly gas and leave the corpses in "beautiful" condition - there you have crossed the line mister.
Lemme get this straight: The US policy doesn't care *how many* Syrians were killed; it only cares *how* they were killed? Nothing
good can come from such an ethically bankrupt policy.
As painful as it is, the possession of chlorine is not in violation of the standards we all signed in to to stop chemical and
biological weapons. Hence, the agreement under Obama, by almost all standards, worked well. Or at least unless we wanted a few
hundred thousands troop on the ground to search the entire country. This use of chlorine is. Maybe Trump will propose a huge tariff
on chlorine exports to Syria?
What is the logic for Assad to provoke the US right after Trump announces his intention to withdraw? Would it not be more strategic
for the regime to hold off until US troops were withdrawn and then go after the rebels? Does Assad assume that the US response
will be more moderate if we still have troops in country? Any chance this was a rogue action to delay or reverse US plans to withdraw?
If so, who benefits from US continuing to maintain troops in Syria?
With "experts" at president's disposal, seems to me moment Trump announced Syrian withdrawal, at least one should have
anticipated - based on past occurrences - a gas attack aimed to engage US and therefore maintain US presence.
Someone didn't RTFA: " President Trump recently announced his intention to pull US troops
out of Syria - although the neocons that now dominate the Trump national security team have
been aghast at such a suggestion, and have managed to convince the president to slow-roll
this. It remains unclear if they staged the false flag chemical attack in Syria with the help
of Israel, or on their own. "
There is a thread
currently trending about the most recent Syrian gas attack and I can't really tell if its
populated by people with a serious deficiency in critical and analytical thought or whether its
a deliberate attempt to control the narrative. However, after reading more comments than I ever
want to repeat I have to assume this is a coordinated effort.
Looking at whats indisputably clear about the situation:
There appears to have been a gas attack targeting civilians in Syria.
If true, it constitutes a war crime.
There has been no investigation and no evidence exists to assign responsibility.
There are a great many tangents this could take in terms of discussing who was responsible
for past gas attacks in Syria, suffice to say there was a massive effort by Western governments
to link them to the Syrian government and thus provide legitimation for greater direct
intervention.
Given this there are a few extra points that are very clear:
The Syrian Government was very clearly winning the military conflict by a
wide-margin.
Even the US is very clear in admitting the Syrian Government is not fighting against
'rebels' but against IS and Al Qaeda offshoots.
These latter groups are equally open about their willingness to target civilians and have
no qualms about slaughtering women and children. Whether the Syrian Government can be accused
of similar crimes is a matter of debate, with the terrorist groups it is established
fact.
Despite this, the Syrian Government has repeatedly, and very recently, offered ceasefires
that allowed these same terrorist fighters (and their families) to leave areas in which they
were surrounded and almost certain to be overrun.
The Syrian Government would have nothing at all to gain from using gas in the manner of
the recent attack. It would generate no strategic military benefits, it would turn the
civilian population against the government (bear in mind, the majority of the Syrian people,
even the ones who dislike Assad, support the government as a far better alternative to power
falling into the hands of the terrorist groups, most of whom came from outside Syria), and
most importantly it might allow Western States to take military action that would be the only
factor capable of changing the course of the conflict in a way that would benefit the
terrorist groups.
In contrast, the terrorist groups have every reason to carry out such attacks. Their
ideology justifies any sacrifice as long as it furthers their cause and they have displayed a
wanton disregard for any form of human life. They have long had access (through both Turkey
and early seized Syrian Army stockpiles) to chemical weapons. And, they now have only months
if not weeks left before their entire war in Syria grinds to a halt.
Despite the above, the thread originally linked is dominated by comments that do three
specific things:
Condemn Assad and the Syrian government for the attacks (with many suggesting it demands
a strong military response).
Calling out an imaginary Russian bot campaign they say is promoting pro-Assad propaganda
DESPITE the fact that the thread is clearly overflowing with exactly the opposite type of
voice.
Denigrating (by means of Poisoning the Well, Ad Hominem and Appeals to Ridicule) a wide
variety of alternative news sites and sources. For example, claiming that sites which have
supported 9/11 Truth, or are in any way pro-Russia are automatically discredited and
incapable of providing relevant information.
The reason I'm posting this is that the thread in question is one of the most glaring, and
frankly depressing, examples I've seen of people taking a mainstream narrative and attempting
to preemptively crush any and all dissenting views.
My one hope is that the majority of voices in that thread are deliberately manufacturing
this attempt at framing the narrative. Because the alternative, that they represent the actual
opinions of members of the voting public whose otherwise neutral viewpoints have been so easily
swayed by propaganda of the most crude and blunt form, is unbelievably disheartening in regard
to the viability of modern democracies and the ability of alternative news to help promote a
better understanding of the complexities of modern war and the dangers involved in mainstream
media efforts to reduce these issues to puppet-shows populated with morally black (Assad,
Putin) and white ('rebel activists', the White Helmets) characters.
An interesting observation by Paul Joseph Watson. He may have something here. The
coincidence appears to be a bit much.
1) Trump announces plan to pull out of Syria. 2) Deep state says no. 3) Massive chemical
weapons attack bringing worldwide uproar, blamed on Russia/Syria despite them being on the
verge of winning.
When your enemy is nearly defeated, and final victory is at hand, gas your own people so
that nations greater than yours will intervene and destroy you
Despite President Trump
adopting his harshest rhetoric yet
to condemn Russia and the government of Syrian leader Bashar
al-Assad for an alleged chemical attack in rebel-held eastern Ghouta, a missile strike carried out
overnight on a Syrian airfield was not the US's doing.
Instead, Russia and Syria have accused Israel of carrying out the strike on Syria's T-4 airfield,
situated about halfway between Homs (Syria's third-largest city) and Palmyra (famously the site of
ancient ruins).
RT
reports that
two Israeli F-15 jets fired eight guided missiles at the airfield from Lebanese airspace. The jets never
entered Syria.
Of these, Syrian air defenses intercepted five. The attack left roughly 14 people dead, including
Iranians and Syrians, the
Associated Press
reported.
Russia and the Syrian military blamed Israel for a pre-dawn missile attack Monday on a
major air base in central Syria
, saying Israeli fighter jets launched the missiles from
Lebanon's air space.
A war-monitoring group said the airstrikes killed 14 people, including
Iranians active in Syria.
Russia's Defense Ministry said two Israeli aircraft targeted the T4 air base in Homs province,
firing eight missiles. It said Syria shot down five of them while the other three landed in the
western part of the base. Syrian state TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Israeli
F-15 warplanes fired several missiles at T4. It gave no further details.
Israel's foreign ministry had no comment when asked about the accusations.
Since 2012,
Israel has struck inside Syria more than 100 times,
mostly targeting
suspected weapons' convoys destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been fighting
alongside Syrian government forces.
Most recently,
Israel hit the same T4 base in February, after it said an Iranian drone that
had violated Israeli airspace took off from the base.
The base, which was used as a launching
pad for counter offensive attacks against Islamic State militants who were at one point stationed
close by, is near the Shayrat air base, which was targeted by U.S. missiles last year in response to a
chemical weapons attack.
Monday's missile attack came hours after President Donald Trump warned there would be a "big price
to pay" after a suspected poison gas attack Saturday on the last remaining foothold for Syrian rebels
in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.
At least 40 people were killed in that assault, including
families found in their homes and shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said.
Eight missiles were launched by two Israeli Air Force F-15 jets at the T-4 airfield located about
halfway between Homs and the ancient city of Palmyra. Israel previously launched a strike against the
base back in February after an Iranian drone ventured into Israeli airspace, provoking an alarmed
response.
This isn't Israel's first unprovoked attack on a Syrian military installation: most recently,
Israel launched an attack
against a government installation near Damascus almost exactly two months
ago. Before that, the Israelis launched another unprovoked attack
back in September.
Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen reported Monday that Israeli reconnaissance aircraft had been spotted close to
the border with Syria during the attack. The missiles crossed Lebanese airspace over Keserwan and Bekaa
before heading toward Syria.
France, which we had initially suspected might be behind the attack, along with Israel...
While the US was quick to pin the chemical attack in Ghouta - the last rebel stronghold in what's
considered suburban Damascus - on Russia and Assad, the US jumped to a similar conclusion a year ago when
Trump authorized a fusillade of tomahawk missiles to strike a Syrian airbase. It was later learned that
the US had no proof to suggest that attack was orchestrated by Assad's government.
As for Israel's
desire to provoke another regional war, it is understandable in light of growing Iranian influence on its
border, while President Trump recently announced his intention to pull US troops out of Syria - although
the neocons that now dominate the Trump national security team have been aghast at such a suggestion, and
have managed to convince the president to slow-roll this. It remains unclear if they staged the false
flag chemical attack in Syria with the help of Israel, or on their own.
Meanwhile, the Guardian says the IDF views the chaos in the West Wing as the latest sign that it must
take matters into its own hands, and not wait for explicit US approval. However, with a UN Security
Council meeting scheduled for Monday over recent events in Syria, we now wait to see what kind of
response Russia and Assad will decide on, and how Moscow will respond to this provocation by Netanyahu,
who has been friendly - at least superficially - with Putin in recent months.
The natural regional powers are Iran, Turkey
and Egypt. Just look at any population map
and/or economic activity indicators.
Israel has only technology and
'influence' to create a temporary, brittle
form of power. Saudis have only oil and
'influence', ditto.
Hence, by a short-term accident, Israel
and KSA can effectively create death and
destruction in the region, killing babies for
their own greed and power.
BUT ONLY IF THE US HELPS.
The IDF is essentially useless on
the ground, ditto the Saudis, and neither can
handle Russian intel and air superiority on
their own.
So this populist insurrection is
indeed a pivotal moment,
coming as it
does when the global balance is shifting
toward Eurasian integration, global peace and
prosperity. A 'Chinese Peace' with Russian
muscle. The main idea being to not blow up
shiny new Chinese ports, roads, etc.
So the tiny, tiny minority of
war-mongering, globalist traitors in these
very, very few countries (Israel, KSA, and
the 'Five Eyes') has essentially NO other
cards to play. Use WMDs against civilians,
false flags, try to get their own killed to
trigger war fever.
The very best part right now is: we're
already past the tipping point. No one
cares, and almost no one believes them.
Pretty much game over, but a very
dangerous end game.
I think we
should round up all these sociopaths pronto
before they murder more babies.
Take it one step farther. The US public
is on to the con. BUT the US economy
still depends on the MIC. And the MIC
depends on maintaining the constant state
of little brush wars around the globe to
sell their hardware. Every Israeli or KSA
plane, missile, and bomb is stamped "Made
in the USA". As China and Russia step in
to impose peace in Eurasia and the Saudi
oil runs out, the petrodollar ceases to be
the world reserve currency. The US has
two economic pillars: the MIC and Big Ag.
With a failing currency and no customers
for war toys, it becomes locked into the
position of being a global commodity
supplier: pork, wheat, corn, soybeans,
peanuts. Historically, agricultural
commodity suppliers are third-world
nations, forced to accept low prices on
highly-competitive products while paying
high prices for monopolized industrial
goods.
This is the END for global US
dominance. One can understand why the PTB
are desperate to keep going no matter what
the resistance at home or abroad. A major
war is likely. Victory is not.
And if the Syrian Air Force launched missiles from Jordanian
air space against an Israeli Air Base nothing would happen?
By the way, the Golan Heights does not belong to Israel so
they launched from Syrian territory.
Whatever......hopefully no U.S. Ships are in the way.
Five missiles out of eight shot down - by Syrian (old) defense
systems. Not too bad. Russia is not there to stop Israel. It's
there to stop Daesh, which it's done. Smart, patient, focused
strategy.
Missiles hit the Tiyas airbase, known as T4, near the city of Homs. Observers say 14 people
were killed.
Israel, which has previously hit Syrian targets, has not commented. Syria initially blamed
Washington for the strike, but the US, UK and France have all denied involvement.
It is unclear if the strike has anything to do with the suspected chemical
attack.
Russian forces deployed in Syria, including S-400 and Pantsir-S1 air defense systems and
Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighters, have been put on a combat alert, according to reports
appearing from local sources in the country's provinces of Tartus and Latakia where Russian
military facilities are located.
Meanwhile, the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS claimed citing US officials that the US military
is going to provide President Donald Trump with "a set of options for carrying out strikes
against the Syrian government".
"Both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and CENTCOM, the US forces in the Middle East, were
compiling target lists and attack options to be presented to Trump and his national security
team within hours, the officials said,"
i24NEWS wrote .
@22 text only...lots of good photos there...site is there for me. but it is very slow...
Last week, Russia and Syria announced the capture of British chemical weapon stockpiles in
East Ghouta along with the capture of a "coalition" command and chemical weapons facility
with all personnel. Taken from the combined statement censored from the western press, from
March 25, 2018
"The Syrian Arab Army and with the help of Russian captured a shipment of chemical weapons
destined for the Eastern Ghouta. These were British weapons produced at Porton Down in
Salisbury. Russian suspects that the Skripal incident is related as by their records,
Skiripal was working at Porton Down as a chemical weapons trafficker in partnership with a
Ukrainian firm. Russia denies attacking Skripal but admits he was under surveillance for his
activities involving support of terrorism in Syria and arms trafficking.
Russia also confirms that there are British, American, Israeli and Saudi intelligence
officers who were caught by the Syrian army in one of the heavily fortified operations rooms
during the invasion of the Syrian army and its allies of the East Ghouta."
VT asked the Syrian government for serial numbers and closeup photographs of chemical
weapons used. Syria sent them to us today.
Today, the Syrian Army captured the following German made poison gas shells, shipped into
Syria though Ukraine and Turkey and delivered to Jeish al Islam by a US CH53 helicopter,
according to statements "allegedly" gotten from POW interrogations.
American, British and Israeli military personnel captured in Syria have confirmed they
were ordered to stage chemical attacks in East Ghouta by their governments.
NYT continue to propagate this false flag day after Russian specialists inspected the area and found not signs of chemical
attack.
Notable quotes:
"... Read comments and agree it seems to be staged to allow the US to be 'forced' to become involved. Ever the good guy, that US. ..."
"... There is no way that this Israeli attack was not coordinated with the Trump administration. ..."
"... Syria had the rebels cornered and had no reason to give US/anybody justification to attack. The Rebels had every reason to do this since their only hope is to get the US/NATO involved. ..."
Big power tensions in the Syria
conflict, already running high after an apparent chemical weapons attack, ratcheted up again on Monday as Syria and
Russia blamed Israel for early morning airstrikes on a Syrian military base that a conflict monitoring group said had
killed 14 people, including fighters from Iran.
The strikes came a day after
President Trump called President Bashar al-Assad of Syria
an "animal"
and warned him and his
Russian and Iranian backers they would have a "big price to pay" after
dozens of people were
killed
on Saturday near Damascus, in what rescue workers said was a chemical attack.
Russia did not respond
immediately to the accusation, though a spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin rejected Mr. Trump's inflammatory
language. "Assad is the legitimate president of the Syrian Arab Republic," the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said.
"It's hardly acceptable to apply that sort of abusive wording to a president."
American and French officials
denied that their countries had carried out the airstrikes, and a spokesman for the Israeli military declined to
comment.
The war
in Syria has sucked in fighters from around the world, as well as global powers including Iran, Israel, Russia,
Turkey and the United States, all of which are seeking to advance their interests in the Middle East while avoiding
direct confrontations with the others.
This is probably fake news. There no real reason for foriegn chemical specialists to be present in such a dangerous area.
Presntce of some chanical munitions is more probable, but again why would Great Britain intelligence services authorize such a
shipment which is in direct violation of treates GB signed and chances of being caught are extremely high.
The article contains several pictures that were omitted...
Notable quotes:
"... How long US media and our own Congress can pretend they know nothing about who some of the major terrorist elements are that most are afraid to mention? Their house of cards is crumbling, and "they" will be more dangerous in that situation, as we are talking about some serious crimes here. ..."
"... "The Syrian Arab Army and with the help of Russian captured a shipment of chemical weapons destined for the Eastern Ghouta. These were British weapons produced at Porton Down in Salisbury. Russian suspects that the Skripal incident is related as by their records, Skiripal was working at Porton Down as a chemical weapons trafficker in partnership with a Ukrainian firm. Russia denies attacking Skripal but admits he was under surveillance for his activities involving support of terrorism in Syria and arms trafficking. ..."
"... Russia also confirms that there are British, American, Israeli and Saudi intelligence officers who were caught by the Syrian army in one of the heavily fortified operations rooms during the invasion of the Syrian army and its allies of the East Ghouta." ..."
Our pleading with Syria has been rewarded with these new photos. The SAA has US Coalition
chemical weapons officers in custody; and Russia has told the US, Brits, Israelis, and Saudis
that they will have to deal with Damascus.
How long US media and our own Congress can pretend they know nothing about who some of
the major terrorist elements are that most are afraid to mention? Their house of cards is
crumbling, and "they" will be more dangerous in that situation, as we are talking about some
serious crimes here.
We are suspicious of why the Brits would throw together what appears to us to have been a
sloppy false flag, even to use against Russia, for putting Russia's feet in the fire to get the
Brits people back from Syria and keep this story out of major news distribution.
Is now the time for some of the really guilty to have to pay the piper? We shall see. But
for that to happen, what is left of non-compromised public institutions has to step up to the
plate, when they have shown a hesitancy to do so when their countries really needed them.
We hope they will get to see this and start asking the obvious questions Jim W. Dean ]
Today another chemical weapons stockpile was found in East Ghouta, produced in Germany,
fully weaponized and commercially produced by Merck.
Merck was the primary producer of chemical weapons for Germany in World War I and George
Merck founded the War Research Service along with Frank Olson in 1944, which using captured
Germany and Japanese scientists and research facilities, took control of America's biological
and chemical warfare production which continues to this day in facilities at Fort Meade,
Maryland and at the Lugar Lab in Tibilisi, Georgia in partnership with the current government
of Ukraine. Last week, Russia and Syria announced the capture of British chemical weapon
stockpiles in East Ghouta along with the capture of a "coalition" command and chemical weapons
facility with all personnel. Taken from the combined statement censored from the western press,
from March 25, 2018
"The Syrian Arab Army and with the help of Russian captured a shipment of chemical
weapons destined for the Eastern Ghouta. These were British weapons produced at Porton Down in
Salisbury. Russian suspects that the Skripal incident is related as by their records, Skiripal
was working at Porton Down as a chemical weapons trafficker in partnership with a Ukrainian
firm. Russia denies attacking Skripal but admits he was under surveillance for his activities
involving support of terrorism in Syria and arms trafficking.
Russia also confirms that there are British, American, Israeli and Saudi intelligence
officers who were caught by the Syrian army in one of the heavily fortified operations rooms
during the invasion of the Syrian army and its allies of the East Ghouta."
VT asked the Syrian government for serial numbers and closeup photographs of chemical
weapons used. Syria sent them to us today.
Today, the Syrian Army captured the following German made poison gas shells, shipped into
Syria though Ukraine and Turkey and delivered to Jeish al Islam by a US CH53 helicopter,
according to statements "allegedly" gotten from POW interrogations.
American, British and Israeli military personnel captured in Syria have confirmed they were
ordered to stage chemical attacks in East Ghouta by their governments.
The Americans are still being held along with Israeli's while British prisoners are being
negotiated for. Sources in Damascus told us that representatives of Oman in Damascus approached
the Russian Office of Reconciliation on behalf of Britain for the return of British chemical
warfare personnel.
The shells in the above video are identified as VX gas from British stockpiles.
Russian officials in Syria informed Britain through Oman that they would have to directly
deal with Syria for the return of their personnel. We have received no further information
since, Damascus has remained silent on how or if negotiations were proceeding.
We do know that US Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a US Army combat veteran of Iraq,
met with both President Assad and Donald Trump, in order to arrange for covert exchange, for
substantial financial consideration, of captured Americans.
Initial introductions for this meeting were done by VT.
Israel bought back a Brigadier General (they claimed he was a colonel) in 2015 that we know
about.
The recent gas attack in Syria, timed as the last terrorists were surrendering for
relocation inside the Douma region of the Ghouta pocket, was planned personally by nominated
presidential advisor John Bolton and President Donald Trump personally, according to highly
placed sources.
Our sources in Russia, highest level, told us the attack was coming based on information
they received from US and Israeli prisoners taken in East Ghouta after an evacuation attempt
failed.
US casualty announcements in this effort have been released over the past few days as
happening in other areas to cover US complicity in terrorism. This dishonors families of the
dead, not just in the misuse of service members to support terrorism but in lying to families
about combat deaths. This shame goes directly to coward Trump!
"The loss of our Marines weighs heavy on our hearts," Maj. Gen. Mark Wise, commanding
general of 3rd MAW, said in a statement.
"Our priority is to provide support for our families and HMH-465 during this critical
time."
The four Marines killed in the crash were Capt. Samuel A. Schultz, First Lt. Samuel D.
Phillips, Gunnery Sgt. Derik R. Holley and Lance Cpl. Taylor J. Conrad."
Other US casualties were listed as a US Air Force F16 that allegedly crashed at Nellis Air
Force Base in Nevada and up to 6 Americans who the US claims were killed by "Kurdish forces" in
the north of Syria.
All died in a failed combined US/Israel rescue operation to remove not only communications
and command personnel but also chemical weapons operations teams as well.
Last week, VT Damascus received evidence that Americans, US Army Special Forces along with
Israeli chemical weapons officers had been captured in East Ghouta. We were told that not only
was a command facility captured with modern weapons but a stockpile of British made 81mm poison
gas mortar shells, numbering in the hundreds, was seized as well.
Video's were viewed by former MOD weapons specialists who identified the green stripe on the
shells seized in East Ghouta as VX gas from British stockpiles.
The Obama administration investigated alleged chemical attacks in 2012 and 2013 and advised
Syria to turn over chemical stockpiles as a way of discouraging terrorists from continuing to
stage chemical attacks to blame on Damascus.
Most efforts had their roots in Britain's MI6 and its affiliates, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights and the White Helmets.
The US is currently facing combined military operations against its occupied zone in Syria
by Iraq, Syrian and Russian forces. The US has been told to remove forces from Syria or face a
wider conflict.
The US and Russia have been at war against one another inside Syria for about a month
now.
"... "It is regrettable to say that our Western partners had tried to disrupt today's session. In the beginning they offered to observe a minute of silence in memory of people killed in Khan Sheyhun, Idlib province, Syria. We proposed them to hold a moment of silence to remember all victims of chemical weapons, primarily in Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran, Iraq, and our partners somehow felt uncomfortable. [They] don't want to remember all victims of chemical weapons," said Shulgin." ..."
So nice of him to toss off t hreats on Orthodox Easter Sunday. What a guy.
Who's influencing him? Bolton? FOX? Pompeo? Where does Mattis stand?
Wonder who is actually influencing him.
****
Interesting article at RT about Jaysh al-Islam coming to an agreement with the Syrian
government to leave Duma/Douma and go to Jarablus.
Published time: 8 Apr, 2018 13:56
Edited time: 8 Apr, 2018 15:05
The Islamist group is to leave Douma for the city of Jarablus within 48 hours, SANA reported,
citing an official source. It said a deal to release all the prisoners has been reached.
Damascus agreed to negotiate with one of the last major militant groups holding out in Douma
in a bid to protect civilians and liberate abductees
The radical Islamist group, which has been accused of using civilians as human shields,
earlier agreed to leave the enclave of Eastern Ghouta near the Syrian capital. Jaysh al-Islam
will have to clear barricades and provide maps of minefields that they have laid in the area.
The militants were set to begin withdrawing from the city of Douma on Sunday, the head of the
Russian Defense Ministry's Syrian Reconciliation Center, Major General Yury Yevtushenko has
said.
So...were the negotiations going on while supposedly Syrian was attacking with some sort of
chem bombs?? Weird.
Also, the number of injured and dead has escalated very unbelievably. From about 15 to
thoursands!!
Yes, there is a "strategy" to pretend Russia is a criminal worse than other countries.
They even mentioned the word "weapons of mass destruction" again. It is a very real campaign
in a run up to war.
"It is regrettable to say that our Western partners had tried to disrupt today's
session. In the beginning they offered to observe a minute of silence in memory of people
killed in Khan Sheyhun, Idlib province, Syria. We proposed them to hold a moment of silence
to remember all victims of chemical weapons, primarily in Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran, Iraq,
and our partners somehow felt uncomfortable. [They] don't want to remember all victims of
chemical weapons," said Shulgin."
The US media reports these attacks, based on information it gets from -- where? They give the
names of organizations but don't reference any documents. Actually they are getting the
information from a small US State Department office in Istanbul. Details follow--
(CNN) -- Several Syrian activist groups Saturday reported that a brutal attack on the
remnants of the rebel-held city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta left dozens of civilians dead and
scores wounded. The groups -- including the White Helmets, the Douma Coordination Committee
and the Ghouta Media Center -- said toxic gas inside barrel bombs dropped by helicopters over
Douma caused people to suffocate and choke.
White Helmets activities have been well documented.
Douma Coordination Committee - they have used twitter and facebook in the past, but those
media are not used currently.
Ghouta Media Center -- "opposition-affiliated"
wiki -- The Local Coordination Committees of Syria started in March 2011
LCCSyria is financed by donations from individual supporters.[7] This is further facilitated
by the "Adopt a Revolution" initiative.[8] Furthermore, the Office for Syrian Opposition
Support, which itself was founded by the United States Department of State and Foreign and
Commonwealth Office[9] and is funded by the Friends of Syria Group, provides "material
support" and "training assistance" to the LCCs
fom The Telegraph, Aug 26, 2012 Britain and US plan a Syrian revolution from an innocuous office block in Istanbul
An underground network of Syrian opposition activists is receiving training and supplies of
vital equipment from a combined American and British effort to forge an effective
alternative to the Damascus regime.
Dozens of dissidents have been ferried out of Syria to be vetted for foreign backing.
Recipients of the aid are given satellite communications and computers so that they can act
as a local "hub" linking local activists and the outside world.The training takes place in
an Istanbul district where handsome apartment blocks line the steep slopes and rooftop
terraces boast views over the Golden Horn waterway.Behind closed doors the distractions of
outdoor coffee shops and clothing boutiques gives way to power point displays charting the
mayhem sweeping Syria.
The schemes are overseen by the US State Department's Office of Syrian Opposition
Support (OSOS) and Foreign Office officials. America has set aside $25 million for
political opponents of President Bashar al-Assad while Britain is granting £5 million
to the cause of overthrowing the regime.
Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokesman, confirmed the OSOS programme last week
and said its full effect would only be seen when President Assad leaves office. "There are
groups inside and outside Syria beginning to plan for that day-after and beginning to plan
for how they might quickly stand up at least that first stage of transition so that we
could move on when Assad goes, because he will go." . . .
here
Fort Russ is reporting that Jaish al-Islam has agreed to leave Douma within the next 48
hours, and will release their hostages as a condition of this BUT they don't cite a source
for this news:
BREAKING: Jaish al-Islam agree to leave Duma within 48 hours
DAMASCUS, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The Islam Army rebels will evacuate the Douma district east
of Damascus and release the kidnapped people under a new deal reached Sunday with the Syrian
government forces, state TV reported.
The priority of the new deal is the evacuation of the kidnapped people in the captivity of
the Islam Army militants in Douma, the last rebel-held area in the Eastern Ghouta countryside
of Damascus.
And the rebel group will evacuate Douma toward the rebel-held city of Jarablus in Aleppo
province in northern Syria near the Turkish border.
Negotiations between the Islam Army militants and the Syrian government were renewed on
Sunday about the situation in Douma after the militants asked to launch new negotiations with
the government after they backed down on a previous deal that technically contained the same
details in Douma.
The state TV said the Islam Army rebels, who have been in of Douma since 2012, have asked
for negotiating with the Syrian government after two days of a wide-scale military offensive
on Douma following the failure of the first agreement.
The Islam Army rebels backed down on the previous agreement with the Russians and the
Syrian side for their evacuation from that district as well as rejecting to release thousands
of kidnapped people.
The militants also launched mortar attacks on several residential areas inside
Damascus.
A day earlier, the Syrian army stormed the frontlines of the Islam Army in Douma from
farmlands east of that area amid a state of collapse and chaos among the militant group,
according to state news agency SANA.
Douma was supposed to witness a similar destiny as other areas in the Eastern Ghouta,
where 43,000 rebels and their families withdrew under a deal with the government toward
rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
Three batches of the Islam Army and families withdrew from Douma recently, but as the
fourth batch was preparing to leave, the agreement about Douma collapsed.
The '666 government is urging a US military attack on Syria in response to the alleged
chemical attack in Douma.
Since that would be likely to trigger a military conflict between the US and Russia, it
also makes 666 involvement in the Salisbury story -- which has played a major role in the
demonisation of Russia and the formation of an international anti-Russian coalition -- more
likely.
"Construction Minister Yoav Galant, a former IDF major-general who is the security figure
closest to Netanyahu, said 'Assad is the angel of death'". He seems to have got the Passover
story seriously mixed up!
Surprise, surprise -- Israieli "opposition" leader Isaac Herzog also called for US
military action against Syria.
"Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai demanded an emergency meeting of the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee to discuss the readiness of the Israieli Homefront for a Syrian
chemical attack on Israiel." Will that be the next false flag?
"... Nikki Haley claims that the US "Will Respond" To Syria Gas Attack Regardless Of Security Council's Decision ..."
"... Last year, the US destroyed more than a dozen aircraft, as well as oil storage facilities and other structures, and killed at least seven people when it fired 59 missiles at Syria's Shayrat Airbase following a chemical weapons attack that the US also pinned on the Syrian government. ..."
"... Both the UK and France have suggested they're considering military action in Syria. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he and his French and US allies agree there should be "no impunity for those that use such barbaric weapons." ..."
"... However, Johnson added that Monday's emergency meeting of the UN Security Council would be "an important next step in determining the international response" and that "a full range of options should be on the table." ..."
Nikki Haley claims that the US "Will Respond" To Syria Gas Attack Regardless Of Security Council's Decision
Update (4:15 pm ET): US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said during an emergency meeting of
the UN Security Council on Monday that the US would retaliate against the attack in Syria
regardless of what the UN Security Council decides.
"History will record this as the moment when the Security Council either discharged its
duty or demonstrated its utter and complete failure to protect the people of Syria. Either
way, the United States will respond."
She described the victims in graphic terms.
"I could hold up pictures of babies lying dead next to their mothers, in their diapers,
all lying together, dead, ashen blue, open eyed and lifeless, white foam bubbling from their
mouths and noses."
Haley added that "the world must see justice done" in Syria.
* * *
Before heading into his Monday afternoon cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump condemned a
chemical weapons attack in Ghouta, Syria during an impromptu press conference. The president
said "even with the world as bad as it is, you just don't see things like that" before saying
he'd decide on a response "probably by the end of today."
And while the US was "having trouble getting people in" to the town, Trump added that he
would definitively determine which states were involved in the attack - be it Syria, Iran,
Russia (or presumably all three).
With Trump and his most trusted advisors still debating the proper response, several
anonymous Pentagon officials have told the
Washington Examiner that the US is considering several options including a missile barrage
similar to the strike carried out on a Syrian air base last year.
The Israeli F-15s launched a lethal strike on a Syrian airbase early Monday, killing 14
people with
the US's tacit approval .
The options being considered now are similar to the options that were provided to the
president before last year's strike. The US has several ships armed with tomahawk cruise
missiles stationed in the region - including the USS Donald Cook, a guided-missile destroyer
that just completed a port call in Cyprus and got underway in the eastern Mediterranean. The
ship is within range of Syria and could presumably strike at any target the president
orders.
Last year, the US destroyed more than a dozen aircraft, as well as oil storage facilities
and other structures, and killed at least seven people when it fired 59 missiles at Syria's
Shayrat Airbase following a chemical weapons attack that the US also pinned on the Syrian
government.
But according to one official who spoke with
the Examiner , Trump could be considering a "more robust" strike this time around,
considering that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad didn't quite get the message last time.
Both the UK and France have suggested they're considering military action in Syria. UK
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he and his French and US allies agree there should be "no
impunity for those that use such barbaric weapons."
However, Johnson added that Monday's emergency meeting of the UN Security Council would be
"an important next step in determining the international response" and that "a full range of
options should be on the table."
"... Trump's statement is a particularly stupid piece of revisionism on his part. Trump was opposed to Obama's threatened attack in 2013 , and then as president Trump ordered an illegal military attack on the Syrian government one year ago to punish it for an alleged chemical weapons attack. ..."
"... The danger in having an ongoing illegal military presence in Syria is that it exposes U.S. forces to unacceptable and unnecessary risks and creates the possibility of escalation with the Syrian government and its allies. If Trump orders another illegal attack on the Syrian government or the forces of any of its supporters, it could easily trigger a larger conflict. Russia has given an explicit warning against a U.S. attack this time, saying that it could trigger "the gravest consequences." Even if it doesn't lead to a larger conflict with a nuclear-armed major power, it isn't worth taking the risk for the sake of policing the conduct of a foreign civil war. ..."
"... If Trump were really interested in extricating the U.S. from war in Syria, he would not be engaged in mindless saber-rattling against the Syrian government and its allies. Unfortunately, Trump's bellicosity always seems to take over in these situations. That is what we get from Trump's anti-restraint foreign policy. ..."
"... But the odd thing is, the most stable and invested country in the region is Iran. Crazy as it might sound to an Iran-hater-dead-ender, the country we should be chatting with about Syria is Iran. If we genuinely cared about anything humanitarian. The two countries with the most likely influence over Bashar with the aim of mitigating his violence would likely be Iran and Russia. If we wanted to actually accomplish something we could quietly and diplomatically arrange that chat and encourage some beneficial influence there. ..."
"... If Assad is really the brute that the West portrays him to be he would have been toppled by now. That the Syrian population by and large has stood by him in 6 years of war should tell you something. I make a point to get most of the news about Syria from Christian organisations who live there – and they are all unequivocal. They are now beyond livid of what the US and its allies has allowed and even facilitated to happen there. Tthankfully for them they still have the Syrian Arab Army and Russia to protect them unlike their brethren in Iraq, one of the oldest Christian communities in existence which has been practically wiped out thanks to America's intervention. ..."
"... Clinton ignored the Russian objections to the West's unilateral recognition of Balkan breakaways. Bush, Saakashvili and the usual entourage of the neocon meddler travelling circus that nowadays haunts the Ukraine dismissed both the Russian warnings and the Russian military response. The result was utter failure. ..."
"... Putin might never see an opportunity for a similarly deadly and promising "play" in the circle jerk of Syria free-for-all invasions – Gulf states, Turkey, US, Israel – but if he should ever see an opening, I would expect him to seek another object lesson. His hand might not be strong, but he appears to play it well. ..."
"... Meanwhile, the Kurdish YPG and Syrian government troops ally against NATO partner Turkey, and the US military has repeatedly attacked Syrian regular military and boasts – by leak – about massacring Russian "private military contractors". ..."
"... Iran demonstrated in Iraq that US ineptitude combined with impunitivism provides many openings to stabilize, in a sense, the region. ..."
Trump's statement is a particularly stupid piece of revisionism on his part. Trump was
opposed to
Obama's threatened attack in 2013 , and then as president Trump ordered an illegal military
attack on the Syrian government one year ago to punish it for an alleged chemical weapons
attack. He had no authority to do this, the attack was a flagrant breach of the U.N. Charter,
and it apparently failed to discourage the Syrian government from carrying out similar attacks
later on. The president ordered the "unbelievably small attack" that Obama administration
threatened to launch in 2013, and it made no meaningful difference to the course of the war or
the regime's behavior.
Trump tweeted out earlierin the day that
"President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay."
He didn't say what that "big price" was or how it will be "paid," but the fact that he thinks
it is a good idea to make threats against the Syrian government's patrons bodes ill for the
future of U.S. policy in Syria. The foreign policy establishment was beside itself last week
when they thought that Trump wanted to withdraw from Syria, but they should be much more
worried that he will launch an illegal attack and plunge the U.S. in even deeper.
The danger in having an ongoing illegal military presence in Syria is that it exposes
U.S. forces to unacceptable and unnecessary risks and creates the possibility of escalation
with the Syrian government and its allies. If Trump orders another illegal attack on the Syrian
government or the forces of any of its supporters, it could easily trigger a larger conflict.
Russia has given an explicit warning against a U.S.
attack this time, saying that it could trigger "the gravest consequences." Even if it doesn't
lead to a larger conflict with a nuclear-armed major power, it isn't worth taking the risk for
the sake of policing the conduct of a foreign civil war.
If Trump were really interested in extricating the U.S. from war in Syria, he would not be
engaged in mindless saber-rattling against the Syrian government and its allies. Unfortunately,
Trump's bellicosity always seems to take over in these situations. That is what we get from
Trump's anti-restraint foreign policy.
It's true that I'm no genius, but after reading as much as I can and thinking it over I still
don't know who is the right horse to back, or what is the right side to be on in Syria. Assad
is a brute, Isis are brutes, the other parties of opposition are useless, and etc., and none
of it has anything to do with us anyway. To Daniel's point, we're keeping an army hanging
around in a volatile and illegal situation for no discernible point.
Except to hate Iran.
The longterm on Syria doesn't look good for anyone. I'm guessing, because of his long
history of ignorance and incoherence, Trump has no plan.
But the odd thing is, the most stable and invested country in the region is Iran.
Crazy as it might sound to an Iran-hater-dead-ender, the country we should be chatting with
about Syria is Iran. If we genuinely cared about anything humanitarian. The two countries
with the most likely influence over Bashar with the aim of mitigating his violence would
likely be Iran and Russia. If we wanted to actually accomplish something we could quietly and
diplomatically arrange that chat and encourage some beneficial influence there.
If Assad is really the brute that the West portrays him to be he would have been
toppled by now. That the Syrian population by and large has stood by him in 6 years of war
should tell you something. I make a point to get most of the news about Syria from Christian
organisations who live there – and they are all unequivocal. They are now beyond livid
of what the US and its allies has allowed and even facilitated to happen there. Tthankfully
for them they still have the Syrian Arab Army and Russia to protect them unlike their
brethren in Iraq, one of the oldest Christian communities in existence which has been
practically wiped out thanks to America's intervention.
"If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line "
Interesting view. Obama imagined he drew a "red line" that Assad was not to cross, and
allegedly did. Trump's tongue apparently wore a Freudian slip when he rubi-conned this phrase
into twitter.
To make this a turn worthy of Croesumpus, let us just say that if Trump crosses that red
line of his own, a great war criminal will be destroyed.
"In early March 2008, Abkhazia and South Ossetia submitted formal requests for their
recognition to Russia's parliament shortly after the West's recognition of Kosovo to which
Russia was opposed. [The] Russian ambassador to NATO, warned that Georgia's NATO membership
aspirations would cause Russia to support the independence of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia."
Clinton ignored the Russian objections to the West's unilateral recognition of Balkan
breakaways. Bush, Saakashvili and the usual entourage of the neocon meddler travelling circus
that nowadays haunts the Ukraine dismissed both the Russian warnings and the Russian military
response. The result was utter failure.
Putin might never see an opportunity for a similarly deadly and promising "play" in the
circle jerk of Syria free-for-all invasions – Gulf states, Turkey, US, Israel –
but if he should ever see an opening, I would expect him to seek another object lesson. His
hand might not be strong, but he appears to play it well.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish YPG and Syrian government troops ally against NATO partner
Turkey, and the US military has repeatedly attacked Syrian regular military and boasts
– by leak – about massacring Russian "private military contractors".
Iran demonstrated in Iraq that US ineptitude combined with impunitivism provides many
openings to stabilize, in a sense, the region.
"... The White Helmets' leadership is driven by a pro-interventionist agenda conceived by the Western governments and public relations groups that back them. Anyone who visits the group's website -- which is operated by an opposition-funded PR company known as the Syria Campaign -- will be immediately directed to a request to sign a petition for a no-fly zone to "stop the bombs" in Syria. These sorts of communiques highlight the dual role the White Helmets play as a civil defense organization saving lives while lobbying for a US military campaign that will almost inevitably result in the collapse of Syria's government. ..."
"... While members of the White Helmets have been implicated in atrocities carried out by jihadist rebel groups, the names of many of the firms that supposedly monitor and evaluate their work have been kept secret by USAID on unspecified security grounds. ..."
"... That "Russia will "never be America's friend" is not disputed. What is missing is that "US and Russia cannot afford to be enemies". Nixon understood all of that 30 years ago. ..."
"... I agree that the uncritical and unwavering acceptance of the notion of Assad's chemical attacks on his people is ignorant and dangerous. It shows a true lack of imagination among the jihadis and their supporters. Not one of these attacks have been convincingly attributed to Assad's forces. To the contrary, the propaganda put out by the jihadis appears blatantly staged and bogus. The sooner we're out of Syria, the better. And the sooner Trump realizes unwavering support of the current Israeli regime is a cost center, the better. ..."
The dominant propaganda meme of the day, as already noted by Colonel Lang, is that Bashar al
Assad unleashed chemical weapons on "innocent women and children" in rebel held territory and
that Russia and Iran, along with Syria, are responsible. We MUST take action (or so we are told
emphatically by morons pretending to be news anchors on the various cable outlets). Few media
outlets are willing to report that this information is not only uncorroborated but originates
with established liars and rebel partisans--i .e., the White Helmets. Oh, and did you know that
the White Helmets are funded largely by the Governments of the UK and the United States?
It is critical to keep the source of funds in mind if you are to understand the true nature
of these Islamic scam artists. Ironically, Max Blumenthal, son of the infamous Sid, has been a
leader in exposing these fraudsters.
Blumenthal wrote, more than three years ago, that :
The White Helmets' leadership is driven by a pro-interventionist agenda conceived by the
Western governments and public relations groups that back them. Anyone who visits the group's
website -- which is operated by an
opposition-funded PR company known as
the Syria Campaign -- will be immediately directed to a request to sign a petition for a
no-fly zone to "stop the bombs" in Syria. These sorts of communiques highlight the dual role
the White Helmets play as a civil defense organization saving lives while lobbying for a US
military campaign that will almost inevitably result in the collapse of Syria's government. . .
.
The White Helmets were founded in collaboration with USAID's Office of Transitional
Initiatives -- the wing that has promoted regime change around the world -- and have been
provided with $23 million in funding from the department. USAID supplies the White Helmets
through Chemonics, a for-profit contractor based in Washington DC that has become notorious for
wasteful aid imbroglios from Haiti to Afghanistan.
While members of the White Helmets have been
implicated in atrocities carried out by jihadist rebel groups, the names of many of the firms
that supposedly monitor and evaluate their work have been kept secret by USAID on unspecified
security grounds.
Nikki Haley: "Russia will "never be America's friend." Moscow can try to behave "like a
regular country," but the US will "slap them when we need to," Haley said." ... "Everybody
likes to listen to the words. I'm going to tell you – look at the actions," Haley
urged. "We expelled 60 Russian diplomats/spies, we have armed Ukraine so that they can defend
themselves..."
https://www.rt.com/usa/423422-us-russia-stalemate-haley/
The UK has the pottery-boy Gavin Williamson as a Sec. of Defence and the US has a
waste-management Nikki Haley as an US envoy to the United Nations. They both are ignoramuses
and the eager ziocon tools.
That "Russia will "never be America's friend" is not disputed. What is missing is that "US
and Russia cannot afford to be enemies". Nixon understood all of that 30 years ago.
I think Colonel is absolutely right, all signs are, that everybody on both sides are getting
ready for a war, how big, and who will participate, nobody knows yet would it be 2 oceans and
3 continents war or just concentrated on Eurasia? Unfortunately, I think DJT' canoe has
sunken in the swamp he said he will drain, or IMO he didn't even know what he is talking
about, or is dealing with.
I agree that the uncritical and unwavering acceptance of the notion of Assad's chemical
attacks on his people is ignorant and dangerous. It shows a true lack of imagination among
the jihadis and their supporters. Not one of these attacks have been convincingly attributed
to Assad's forces. To the contrary, the propaganda put out by the jihadis appears blatantly
staged and bogus. The sooner we're out of Syria, the better. And the sooner Trump realizes
unwavering support of the current Israeli regime is a cost center, the better.
Thank you for reopening comments. I missed my tribe of non-conformists thinkers and all the
various viewpoints. :-)
The insanity and distortion of reality and facts is getting extreme. Unfortunately
tribalism with it's baggage of historical grievances, partisan loyalties, and mob mentalities
are growing as our society returns to default human social behaviour while loyalty to the
binding myths and ideas of the constitution and the founding of our republic fade. Truth is a
casualty. Facts don't matter. Conformity to whatever tribal identity selected is the norm.
Science show that there is a real decline in the higher brain functions when mobs form.
If the Russians don't respond in some discrete but substantive way, their presence,
efforts and international prestige will have vanished by tomorrow morning.
Your "grasp" of air-defense issues, including suggestion of shooting down aircraft in
Lebanon's (international) airspace, among many other things clearly shows an armchair
"strategist" (no offense, I am one myself) who played, unlike me--I don't play video games,
too much video-games and thinks that he knows better than say Russian General Staff. Indeed,
what do they know, really--what a bunch of amateurs who do not follow your highly
professional suggestion.
The Russian Defense Ministry is now saying that 8 missiles were fired at the Syrian T4
airfield and airbase from Israeli airplanes flying inside Lebanon. The report says that 5 of
the missiles were knocked down by antiaircraft / missile defense systems and that 3 of them
hit the area of the airfield--
israel to the rescue... they have to protect isis! and where would they be without regular
support from the usa / uk.... white helmets are a pale imitation of israel at this point..
"...a large number of supposedly intelligent Republicans and Democrats..."
There's no such thing any more. Both parties chased their intelligent leaders out a long
time ago. Indeed, this is a repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis with a bunch of emotional
ten-year-olds in charge.
Slightly OT, but in poking around the SCL/Cambridge Analytica web of intrigue, I found this
tantalizing Wikipedia account of Vincent Tchenguiz, the largest shareholder in CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Tchenguiz
Some people are truly not fit to walk on this earth.
This is getting more and more ridiculous. From the ludicrous novichok caper that May and
Boris have made into a Monty Python skit to the yet another theatrical chemical attack
performance starring the perennial Syrian villain, Animal Assad and the increasingly heated
rhetoric emanating from DC, London, Beijing and Moscow. Of course with all the bugles and
trumpets blowing from the hysterical media with the Borg agenda trying to cajole a highly
skeptical public.
What do you make of all this? Is the Borg getting really desperate that their gig may be
up? That their deceit and duplicity will be uncovered.
We have Brennan, Holder, Yates busy tweeting along with Trump. There is McCabe and his
GoFundMe. We have Comey's book tour and even Loretta Lynch is to hit the airwaves. All to
spin tales that less people believe unless of course you are a card carrying partisan. Then
there is Sessions making announcements of US Attorneys investigating and possibly convening
grand juries and supervising document production to Congress around the conspiracy at the
highest levels of law enforcement & intelligence in the Obama administration. Is this
Reality TV at it's best putting Jerry Springer to shame??
"If the Russians don't respond... their international prestige will have vanished..."
-- What are you implying -- that only deception, perfidy, and bullying deserve "prestige?"
Would not it be great if the decent people have finally explained the "prestigious" Nikki
Haley that she is an ignoramus and warmonger? And how about sending Gavin Williamson to his
familiar proper place where he could resume selling the fine pottery and ceramic countertops
instead of being a mockery to his current post of Sec of Defence?
What is so prestigious
about the opportunistic Theresa May and Boris Johnson, whose incompetent actions have been
highly damaging to the UK reputation? And guess that the criminal (but very pious) Tony Blair
fits the definition of "prestige."
There are people whose response is indeed important from the perspective of decency and
competence and patriotism – these people are the US brass in the highest echelons of
the US military. Do they serve the interests of the US or the interests of Israel? The
question is very simple. The answer is yes or no.
If the Russians don't respond in some discrete but substantive way, their presence,
efforts and international prestige will have vanished by tomorrow morning.
"His master's voice (or how an obedient dog goes to war)":
http://thesaker.is/his-masters-voice-or-how-an-obedient-dog-goes-to-war/
"Israeli officials: the "U.S. must strike in Syria" because "Assad is the angel of death, and
the world would be better without him."
Ziomedia is willing to report the Skripal nonsense with a straight face After all, if the
Russians could use "Novichok and buckwheat" in the UK, why would they not use chemical
weapons in Syria? And, no, the fact that neither the Russians nor the Syrians actually have
any chemical weapons (both were fully disarmed and certified as such) makes absolutely no
difference! "
And what country does not want to declare her chemical weapon? –
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175032
"The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Tuesday
called on Israel to renounce chemical weapons and join the convention banning them just like
Syria did."
"...Owen Matthews' article at The Spectator betrays the kind of factual sloppiness that is
typical of the pundit-political-business classes in the West today."
-- In this case it is more than sloppiness: Owen Matthews is an opportunist loaded with the
tribal grievances against Russia:
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2017/11/02/re-visiting-russian-counter-propaganda-methods/
"... in his book "Stalin's Children" Matthews clearly takes sides with, endorses and,
possibly, even covers up for his Trotskyist Commissar grandfather and that makes him a fair
target for criticism"
The constant repetitive referral to "Obama's red line" has been effective in shaping a
preferred response to these alleged attacks. Contrary to today's conventional wisdom, Obama
did not "fail" to enforce his own line - the administration through its own State Department
was quite prepared to rain bombs down on Damascus, but faced political opposition from
Congress (as did Cameron's UK government fail to achieve support for the bombing in its
Parliament). Congressional opposition was sparked by robust opposition from citizens/
constituents in the form of communications directed to their Congressional offices. This was
all reported by the mainstream media at the time, yet a false recounting is predominant
today. The "unrelenting information operation" is not possible without the witting
collaboration of the supposed "free" media. The ownership and editorial staff of such are as
fully responsible for this frightening state of affairs as anyone else.
The SOHR has some pretty solid reporting on what is going on in Douma. They make no mention
of any use of chemical weapons in Douma, but instead attribute the deaths to suffocation
resulting from the destruction of cellars containing civilians:
And with the death of more citizens, it has increased to 96 at least including 27 children
and 16 woman, the number of persons who have been killed since Friday, and the death toll
is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation, where reliable
sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that some of the casualties and wounded
suffocated as a result of the demolition of home basements due to the heavy and intense
shelling on Douma city, and the trusted sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory of
Rights that the number of injuries today has exceeds 500, including tens of children and
tens of women, where more than 70 of them have suffered suffocation as a result of the
demolition of home basements over them due to the heavy and intense shelling on the last
area beyond the regime forces' control in the Eastern Ghouta , which is the stronghold
of Jaysh al-Islam, and the Syrian Observatory published hours ago that 11 people at least
including 5 children had suffocated, after bombardment by a warplane on an area near the
old cemetery at the northern outskirts of Douma city in the Eastern Ghouta, also the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights published that violent clashes taking place between the regime
forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against Jaish
Al-Islam in areas in the vicinity of Douma area, where the regime forces continue their
attempts to achieve more advancement in the area after they managed today morning to
advance in the farms of Douma from the direction of Al-Raihan area. The regime forces
managed to advance in 50 farms in the area following series of ongoing ground and aerial
shelling of the regime forces and their warplanes and helicopters, which target the city
and its vicinity.
"Murder in the Sun Morgue" by Dr. Denis O'Brien (neuropharmacology expert):
"The primary conclusion of this study, based on a pharmacological analysis of the video
and photographic evidence, is that the Ghouta Massacre near Damascus on Aug 21.2013 was not a
sarin rocket attack carried out by Assad or his supporters. It was a false-flag stunt carried
out by the insurgents using carbon monoxide or cyanide to murder children and use their
corpses as bait to lure the Americans into attacking Assad."
Thank you for this, Publius Tacitus -- and to you, Colonel Lang, re-opening the comments
section here at SST.
I think it's notable that Owen Matthews' article at The Spectator betrays the kind of
factual sloppiness that is typical of the pundit-political-business classes in the West
today. For of course, "Arsenal of Democracy" is a phrase associated not with Truman but with
Franklin Roosevelt.
I was the working-class scholarship kid at one of the elite educational institutions that
forms a feeder-conduit to these echelons of media, political, and economic power, and one
thing I have remarked is the utter mediocrity and laziness of so many members of our ruling
class. As Corey Robin found out when he had an exchange with Chelsea Clinton over Hannah
Arendt, and I discovered as an undergrad and in grad school, many of them simply never did
the reading. They relied then, and still do today, on group-think and sheep-like intellectual
conformity, which, of course, is then magnificently (and munificently!) rewarded. I also
discovered that even when they did read something, it made no impression on them, not in any
real way, they failed to keep the lessons taught thereby in their head once it was no longer
needed for an exam or a paper.
To be led by fools such as these into a world war -- and why? -- is lunacy. That's why I'm
grateful for places like this Committee to keep the home-fires of sanity burning. Thanks
again, and let's hope that peace prevails, against the devoutly-hoped wishes of the Borg.
Looks like Skripal case was the stage one of the same false flag operation...
Notable quotes:
"... Both Syria and Russia deny a chemical attack took place and have reached an evacuation deal with the rebels. ..."
"... One video, recorded by rescue workers known as the White Helmets, shows a number of men, women and children lying lifeless inside a house, many with foam at their mouths. ..."
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran over a suspected chemical attack, saying there will
be a "big price to pay".
Medical sources say dozens of people were killed in an attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on
Saturday. The UN Security Council is expected to discuss the crisis on Monday.
Both Syria and Russia deny a chemical attack took place and have reached an evacuation deal with
the rebels.
Outrage at the alleged use of chemical weapons has been widespread with Pope Francis saying,
"Nothing, nothing can justify the use of such devices of extermination against defenceless people
and populations."
The European Union has called for an "immediate response by the international community".
One video, recorded by rescue workers known as the White Helmets, shows a number of men, women
and children lying lifeless inside a house, many with foam at their mouths.
Other unverified footage shows young children crying as they are treated in a makeshift medical
unit.
However, it has not been possible to verify independently what actually happened, or the actual
number of dead.
The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which runs medical facilities in the Eastern
Ghouta, told BBC News that 70 deaths had been confirmed.
More than 500 people were brought to medical centres with such symptoms, it said, quoting
emergency services in Douma.
A doctor at an overwhelmed hospital in the rebel-controlled town told the BBC's Joel Gunter he
had panicked as his own children coughed from gas seeping into the basement where they were hiding.
A medical student described in horrifying detail how he had treated a dying man.
End of Twitter post by @joelmgunter
A test of resolve
Analysis by James Landale, BBC diplomatic correspondent
The reported chemical weapons attack on the rebel-held enclave of Douma poses some hard
questions.
For the civilians, the families and children there, can they continue to bear the terror,
bloodshed and inhumanity being rained upon them?
For the militant rebel fighters, do they believe their struggle and continued resistance is
still worth the price they and the civilians are being forced to pay by the Syrian government?
For Russia, how far is it prepared to defend its allies' apparent use of chemical weapons when
its own apparent use of a nerve agent in the UK is subject to so much global condemnation?
And for the international community, how will it respond to what is clearly a test of its
resolve one year on from the Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack?
Will the ritual condemnations be backed by military action in an attempt to deter President
Assad's further use of chemical weapons? Or will the West believe that any escalation would simply
prolong a conflict that many just want to end?
At least 40 people are reported dead in Syria -- including women and children -- after a
suspected chemical gas attack on a rebel-held town near the capital on Saturday, as the State
Department said the reports, if confirmed, would demand "an immediate response."
The Syrian American Medical Society and opposition-linked Syrian Civil Defense
said in a joint statement that at least 40 people had died in the attack in Douma, about 10
miles east of Damascus, and over 500 people, mostly women and children, were injured and
brought to medical centers.
The injuries included difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth, and burning of the eyes,
according to the organization. It said patients gave off a chlorine-like smell and some had
blue skin, a sign of oxygen deprivation. The alleged attack occurred amid a resumed offensive
by Syrian government forces after the collapse of a truce. The Russian-backed Syrian government
denied that its forces had launched any chemical attack,
Reuters reported . The government said rebels in Douma were in a state of collapse and
spreading false news.
None of the reports could be immediately independently confirmed, both the Associated Press
and Reuters said.
President Trump said on Twitter that the Syrian Army needs to open the area "immediately"
for medical help and verification.
"Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria," Trump
tweeted. "Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely
inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing
Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification.
Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!"
First responders said they found families suffocated in their homes and shelters, with foam
on their mouths. The opposition-linked Syrian Civil Defense were able to document 42 fatalities
but were impeded from searching further by strong odors that gave their rescuers difficulties
breathing, said Siraj Mahmoud, a spokesman for the group, which is known as the White
Helmets.
"Until this minute, no one has been able to find out the kind of agent that was used,"
Mahmoud said in a video statement.
Looks like Aljazeera tried uncritically
propogate the version of a gas attack put forward by the White Helmets. Which is not compete
impossibility if a bomb or a shell hit a container with chorine gas stored buy the rebels. And
there were large storage of chorine gas (something like 20 tons) discovered already in liberated
from jihadists area or this province along with Western equipment to produce poison gas
munitions.
This Abu Jaafar story smells fiction: after being poisoned he lost conscience was was saved
by somebody. He was poisoned badly enough for his lungs being affected. Them miraculous he became
a recue worker with enough strength to evacuate others.
Unlike the previous false flag now this area in under control of government forces.
Notable quotes:
"... Rescue workers and medical staff have said at least 85 people were killed in the chlorine gas attack - an accusation dismissed by the Syrian government as "farcical". ..."
"... Among those killed, witnesses said, were many women and children who had sought refuge in the basements of buildings to escape heavy bombardment by pro-government forces. ..."
"... The Syrian army said the offensive was in response to deadly shelling by Jaish al-Islam, the last remaining opposition group in Eastern Ghouta, on residential areas in Damascus. Jaish al-Islam denied the allegation. ..."
"... The group is currently in negotiations with the Russian army, a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , over a possible evacuation deal, according to reports carried by state media and pro-Syrian opposition Orient TV. Last week, two other rebel groups reached evacuation agreements with the Russians, which resulted in about 19,000 people leaving for the northern province of Idlib. ..."
"... The chemical attack in Douma is the largest of its kind in Syria since April last year, when nerve agent sarin or a sarin-like substance was dropped onto the town of Khan Sheikhoun , killing at least 85 people. ..."
"... On Saturday evening, rescue workers posted videos on social media of people appearing to show symptoms consistent with a gas attack. Some appeared to have white foam around their mouths and noses. ..."
"... He explained many of those who lost their lives were still under destroyed buildings and have not yet been pulled from the rubble. ..."
"... "Others are instantly being buried by their families, so they aren't accounted for in terms of registered numbers," al-Khair said. ..."
By his third frantic dash down the stairs, with a wet piece of cloth over his mouth and a
little girl in each arm, everything went dark for Khaled Abu Jaafar.
"I lost consciousness. I couldn't breathe any more; it was like my lungs were shutting
down," recalled the resident of Douma, in Syria's Eastern
Ghouta .
"I woke up about 30 minutes later and they had undressed me and were washing my body with
water," Abu Jaafar told Al Jazeera on Sunday. "They were trying to make me vomit as my mouth
was emitting a yellow substance."
Abu Jaafar is one of the survivors struggling to cope with the effects of a
chemical attack on Saturday in the besieged town of Douma, the last rebel stronghold near
the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Rescue workers and medical staff have said at least 85 people were killed in the
chlorine gas attack - an accusation dismissed by the Syrian government as "farcical".
Among those killed, witnesses said, were many women and children who had sought refuge
in the basements of buildings to escape heavy bombardment by pro-government forces.
Abu Jaafar, a radio station worker, said that as panicked residents started running around
after the attack, he rushed to one of these hideouts to check on his friends and help get
people out.
"While people were in the shelters, some on the roof managed to see the gas bombs as they
dropped from the planes," Abu Jaafar said, describing what he said was green gas emanating from
the canisters falling from the sky.
"Those who saw them rushed to tell everyone in the basement to evacuate," he added. "I went
up and down the stairs about three times to help evacuate children from the
building."
Evacuation deals
The attack came on the second day of a
fierce ground and air push by pro-government forces after a period of relative calm.
The Syrian army said the offensive was in response to deadly shelling by Jaish al-Islam,
the last remaining opposition group in Eastern Ghouta, on residential areas in Damascus. Jaish
al-Islam denied the allegation.
The group is currently in negotiations with the Russian army, a major ally of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad
, over a possible evacuation deal, according to reports carried by state media and pro-Syrian
opposition Orient TV. Last week, two other rebel groups reached
evacuation agreements with the Russians, which resulted in about 19,000 people leaving for
the northern province of Idlib.
They included fighters from the Faylaq al-Rahman and Ahrar al-Sham groups, their relatives
and other locals. Rebel groups argued that the evacuation amounts to forced displacement, but
gave in after weeks of intense bombardment. Meanwhile, remaining civilians continue to endure a
bombing campaign and the effects of a crippling government siege that has been in place since
2013.
'Unbearable scenes'
The chemical attack in Douma is the largest of its kind in Syria since April last year,
when nerve agent sarin or a sarin-like substance was dropped onto the town of
Khan Sheikhoun , killing at least 85 people.
Symptoms of a chlorine attack include dyspnea and coughing, as well as intensive irritation
of the mucous membrane and breathing difficulties.
On Saturday evening, rescue workers posted videos on social media of people appearing to
show symptoms consistent with a gas attack. Some appeared to have white foam around their
mouths and noses.
Abu Jaafar said that those who did not manage to evacuate their shelters died instantly.
"There were basements in other buildings with people who didn't see the gas in time. We
entered those buildings and found bodies on the staircases and on the floor - they died while
attempting to exit," he said.
Although some Douma residents rushed to various medical points, a shortage of supplies and
doctors meant that treatment options were limited.
Activists said that several of Douma's clinics and ambulance teams had been hit during the
bombardment campaign, largely disrupting the town's medical assistance capacity.
When we arrived to the roof of the building I was helping at, I saw the lifeless bodies of a
mother in her 50s, with two of her adult daughters and a child with their arms around each
other, all foaming at the mouth
Alaa Abu Yasser
Local activist Alaa Abu Yasser was also among those who tried to help evacuate people.
"I went to a building where about 35 people had died as a result of this attack; the scenes
I saw were unbearable, it's like nothing I have ever seen even in the movies," he told Al
Jazeera, describing the aftermath of the attack.
"As I approached the building, a father was crying hysterically as he dragged his feet
towards us carrying his two children he was hugging them, smelling and kissing them after they
suffocated to death," Abu Yasser added.
Several witnesses speaking to Al Jazeera said that during a chemical attack it is common
practice for people to rush to the top floors and on the roofs of buildings in a bid to avoid
inhaling the gas that tends to "stick to the ground".
"When we arrived to the roof of the building I was helping at, I saw the lifeless bodies of
a mother in her 50s, with two of her adult daughters and a child with their arms around each
other, all foaming at the mouth," said Abu Yasser.
"I mostly saw bodies of women and children in three separate rooms; they've been placed
there to isolate the smell of the gas from those who survived," he added.
Although the White Helmets, a group of rescuers operating in opposition-held areas in Syria,
and Syrian American Medical Society have given a death toll of at least 85, there are fears
that the number of people killed in the attack could be higher.
"The rescue teams have not been able to document all the cases," local activist Mansour Abu
al-Khair told Al Jazeera. "They're overwhelmed and cannot deal with the impact of the
attack."
He explained many of those who lost their lives were still under destroyed buildings and
have not yet been pulled from the rubble.
"Others are instantly being buried by their families, so they aren't accounted for in
terms of registered numbers," al-Khair said.
"We expect the death toll to surpass 100," he added.
From comments: "I was quite surprised the rebels actually went ahead with the so-called gas attack. They didn't, US-France-UK-(Turkey)
did. The rebels are the ones with guns and ammo, the alliance are the ones with actors and cameras. "
Notable quotes:
"... If Trump possesses one talent it must surely be the ability to spot a Con Artist pulling a fast one. If he can't connect the same dots that b has just done then Trump has to be an idiot, and I don't for a second believe that he is an idiot. ..."
"... Just one thing that I should point out: the Syrian Observatory is NOT claiming that there has been a chemical weapons attack on Douma. ..."
"... But the claim that those suffocations were the result of chlorine attack is being made by the white helmets, not (at least so far) by the SOHR. ..."
"... The best time for Putin to respond to a Western provocation isn't now, it's when he effectively has hundreds of thousands of Western hostages in his country - June/July. ..."
"... For White Helmets read Britain. They are British created, funded and operated. May's Government has to be deep in this as well. ..."
"... Never forget that May, Cameron and other conservative MPs crossed the floor of parliament and voted for Blair and the illegal attack on Iraq when Labour MPs refused to support him. ..."
"... I hope that this "news" will just fade away. Sad fact is that whatever Russians say or do it doesn't really matter anymore. A narrative and a rhetoric coming from the US is now at the so low level that any diplomatic language or a talk is rendered obsolete. ..."
"... I also think that is is not up to Trump, but more off to a military and the dark powers around Trump, that he doesn't really understand, to decide what is happing next. If anything. ..."
"... The hostage here is the world cup itself, just as the 2014 Olympics were. And in retrospect it was probably a mistake for Russia to host them, but then who could have predicted all this back in 2007 or 8? ..."
"... At any rate, Russia should resist provocations games or not. Retaliation, if any, should be covert and deniable. Unless the west is dumb enough to openly attack Russian forces. Then a hammer blow to the face is appropriate. ..."
"... If there was such a FF 'gas attack' as we have just seen in Syria while the World Cup was on and the US/UK response (as we've heard previously from Russian/Syrian sources) was to initiate strikes against Syrian Government installations, and then Russia has promised to respond if any of their personnel were killed in these strikes the Russians reserve the right (as they have repeatedly started) to strike back against any US/UK targets responsible for the strikes - ie - shooting US/UK planes out of the sky or sinking US/UK warships, destroyers or carriers in the Eastern Mediterranean. ..."
"... If that level of escalation were to occur (and take note I'm not saying it will because I don't believe Putin will take this bait), but if it were, where could the escalation lead on the part of the US/UK?? ..."
"... These areas are intensely scrutinized by the Russians and the SAA, drones, satellite. It would be good to get some footage of the White Helmets staging this, but of course they are embedded with all the rest of the fighting men elsewhere and are never anywhere near where all the children tend to be targeted. ..."
"... I am confident that JAYSH was not going to negotiate, until after they had finished the "job" for their paymasters...once that was completed, they are ready to negotiate again... ..."
"... But The Donald is saying that there are women and children amongst those affected by the supposed attack, but other sites are reporting on the astonishing fact that there are only children in the broadcast footage.. what amount to a staged play like that of Goutha years ago... ..."
"... July 16, 2017. Newswire. CIA Director Admits Fooling Trump Over Syrian Chemical Weapons Story ( ) The false flag attack, which actually originated from CIA rebel groups in the region, resulted in Trump launching Tomahawk missiles into Syria, killing 15 civilians. Posted because of some interest despite misleading title and dubious source. http://yournewswire.com/cia-trump-syria-chemical-weapons/ ..."
"... I am afraid. Have not been this afraid since election night when Hillary was almost elected. The world lucked out and survived to live another day. Has our luck run out? ..."
"... Sigh, here we go again, just like Skripal case, west acts with propaganda and psyops without any evidence. The stupid TRUMP will of course bomb Syria again along with the disgusting Macron cheered by EU and western media. ..."
"... In the US when a murder occurs and a suspect apprehended there is a trial that can take weeks or months, and the prosecution and the defense present their expert Witnesses. Then at the end of all that a jury usually decides where the person is guilty or not. On the other hand, when a crime is alleged in another country far far away from the US, such as an alleged gas attack in Syria, within days we know exactly who is responsible and on that basis are willing to commit arms, troops and spend billions of dollars to kill people in large quantities and destroy a country. One would think that given the stakes involved a little bit more care might be taken. ..."
"... "Gas" scares the bejesus out of rubes. Makes Great Drama. Triggers, then reinforces historical themes. "The fiend! He gassed his own people!" "Gas Chambers" (Cant' go there!). If there's gas, well, by golly there's got to be a ham-handed, asymmetrical "response" (motherfocker of all bombs!) from the "International Community". ..."
"... BTW, kudos to those who pegged the Skripal incident as prelude to some sort of chemical incident in Syria. It couldn't have been scripted better for a TV program. Oh, wait... ..."
"... The point is that the Russians have been preparing for just such an event for months. Was it not two months ago that the Russians put troops into Damascus to prevent a decapitating strike? A US strike would be a sort of Kursk Offensive, attacking into a well-prepared defence. ..."
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States' diplomatic policy on Syria for now is no longer focused on making the war-torn country's
president, Bashar al-Assad, leave power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday, in a departure from the Obama
administration's initial and public stance on Assad's fate.
World leaders expressed shock and outrage Tuesday at reports of a suspected chemical attack in northwestern Syria that killed
scores of civilians, with one UK official suggesting the incident amounted to a war crime.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has told CNN that removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power is
a priority, cementing an extraordinary U-turn in the Trump administration's stance on the embattled leader.
The Khan Sheikhun incident had been faked. An international investigation
found that half of the alleged casualties arrived in hospitals before the incident was said to have happened. Nothing followed
after Haley's last announcement. The administration was apparently not willing to go beyond the one-off strike. The flip-flop was
attributed to confusion or infighting
within the Trump administration.
I have the feeling that Russia is loosing patience, and if the US try something it will be big trouble. The speed with which Ghouta
was taken caused problems for the West. I hope Russia will clean up Syria quickly; I think we are approaching a decisive moment.
All of these world leaders walk in lockstep together following the script handed to them. I would leave Damascus in a hurry if
I was living there. The Zionists want to fulfil Isaiah 17.
now we know why the skripals happened. the west is now, today, intent on russia's destruction. putin 'dies' or the west dies.
not since the 1950's era of hiding under desks in elementary school have i felt as though i am living in the 'end times.'
If Trump possesses one talent it must surely be the ability to spot a Con Artist pulling a fast one. If he can't connect the
same dots that b has just done then Trump has to be an idiot, and I don't for a second believe that he is an idiot.
Surely
this is a golden opportunity for Trump to go off-script and shaft those who are trying to con him.
All it would take is one twitter post from him stating that only an dimwit would fall for such an obvious trap, and he will
turn the tables on anyone who shouts that The USA Must Do Something About This!!!!!
Trump's retort would be devastating: there ya' go, Dimwit Number One.
World Cup starts on June 14. Do you really think Putin/Russia will do anything to jeopardize the hosting of that event this close
to the finish line?
I really doubt it.
Who in Russia would be held responsible if a conflict started and the World Cup in Russia was cancelled??
Which Russian politician would be blamed by the people???
Putin will do nothing and will not be provoked. Do you know the best time to respond? It is actually during the World Cup when
hundreds of thousands of EU and foreign nationals will be in Russia - effectively hostages that prevent the West taking over action
against Russia - yep, it's that simple.
The best time for Putin to respond to a Western provocation isn't now, it's when he effectively has hundreds of thousands
of Western hostages in his country - June/July.
Yeah/7: For White Helmets read Britain. They are British created, funded and operated. May's Government has to be deep in
this as well.
Never forget that May, Cameron and other conservative MPs crossed the floor of parliament and voted for
Blair and the illegal attack on Iraq when Labour MPs refused to support him.
Without Theresa May and David Cameron, Blair wouldn't have had the authority to attack.
The Iraqi blood is on her hands.
And Libyan blood.
And Syrian blood.
And now Salisbury and this.
I hope that this "news" will just fade away. Sad fact is that whatever Russians say or do it doesn't really matter anymore.
A narrative and a rhetoric coming from the US is now at the so low level that any diplomatic language or a talk is rendered obsolete.
UK will trumpet this as there is no tomorrow while Skripal case is, in their eyes, hopefully blurring away. Or so they might
think.
I also think that is is not up to Trump, but more off to a military and the dark powers around Trump, that he doesn't really
understand, to decide what is happing next. If anything.
@8, that is impossible. There is no way Russia will harm any of the soccer fans or stop them from leaving if they choose to leave.
The hostage here is the world cup itself, just as the 2014 Olympics were. And in retrospect it was probably a mistake for
Russia to host them, but then who could have predicted all this back in 2007 or 8?
At any rate, Russia should resist provocations games or not. Retaliation, if any, should be covert and deniable. Unless
the west is dumb enough to openly attack Russian forces. Then a hammer blow to the face is appropriate.
With due respect I think you misunderstand what I'm saying about 'hostages'.
If there was such a FF 'gas attack' as we have just seen in Syria while the World Cup was on and the US/UK response (as
we've heard previously from Russian/Syrian sources) was to initiate strikes against Syrian Government installations, and then
Russia has promised to respond if any of their personnel were killed in these strikes the Russians reserve the right (as they
have repeatedly started) to strike back against any US/UK targets responsible for the strikes - ie - shooting US/UK planes out
of the sky or sinking US/UK warships, destroyers or carriers in the Eastern Mediterranean.
If that level of escalation were to occur (and take note I'm not saying it will because I don't believe Putin will take
this bait), but if it were, where could the escalation lead on the part of the US/UK??
Could it lead to Western military strikes of some sort or another?
Could it do that next week? Maybe.
Could it do that while Russia is hosting the World Cup worth hundreds of thousands of Western nationals in Russia? Of course
not. The Western route of escalation is therefore blunted while the World Cup is being hosted while there is no such barrier on
Russian response to Western provocation while the World Cup is being hosted.
Ie - if Russia did respond to US/UK strikes against Syria whilst the World Cup was being hosted by sinking a couple of US destroyers,
what would happen then?
Given the level of Western insanity and the frequency of the outrages being perpetrated, I don't think we will have to wait several
months to see all hell break loose.
WaPo and NYT led the way on this story at news.google. WaPo said that Washington based non-profit Syrian-American Medical Society
(SAMS) issued a joint statement with "opposition-linked Civil Defense" (the usual suspects - The White Helmets). There are lots
of details on the attacks and damage at Douma but only a tiny mention that Jaish al-Islam launched rockets into densely populated
Damascus. Why are there no reports of death and damage in those areas? And where did SAMS come from?
Worth to check out - East Ghouta, Syria. Report of Chinese analysts examined by Russian leading Middle East expert (UK/US military
advisers in Syria, "Skripal case" hysteria etc.)
This is Trump's big chance to redeem himself with the U.S. military ( after "mindlessly" declaring his wish to leave Syria and
the entire area ) and get down on his knees and suck Pentagon cock. He will obligingly do this ( as his girlfriends and wife do
for him ) and "allow " ( as if he has a choice ) the U.S. war machine, to which he has conceded all civilian control, to respond
to the obviously faked and staged false flag chemical attack, in any way they see fit. Russia has already announced that if their
troops in Syria are attacked they will respond by Removing the source of that attack, i.e., sinking the ship that launched the
missiles. So the U.S. military has lit the fuse and as has worried all of us for a very long time : God only knows where this
is headed.
These areas are intensely scrutinized by the Russians and the SAA, drones, satellite. It would be good to get some footage
of the White Helmets staging this, but of course they are embedded with all the rest of the fighting men elsewhere and are never
anywhere near where all the children tend to be targeted.
It's anybody's guess with Trump, remember he said he liked the element of surprise, well, it's hard to spring a surprise when
the MSM, in Europe particularly, is literally screaming for a military response with top page headlines.
It was interesting last night watching various outlets over there and how from a seedling article, a little sidebar headline
no pics, then came a weed of propaganda, they began every 3-4 hours nudging it to the top and the accusations got wilder and and
wilder, ie calling it a 'nerve agent'...
Commenting is now turned back on at SST, look forward to b and others commenting there again. I think the whole idea there
was to be like the Louis Rukeyser show in the old days, genteel host and guests, just an opinion, didn't work out.
I am confident that JAYSH was not going to negotiate, until after they had finished the "job" for their paymasters...once
that was completed, they are ready to negotiate again...
I would recommend not negotiating with Jaysh until the hostages
have been released...I think their attitude will change quickly now that they are surrounded and no escape/rescue is possible...i
wonder how many state agents are stuck inside douma? going to be very embarassing...and it sounds like SAA has a few in custody
already...
"I think the fog is clearing on Trump's thoughts on the matter with his fierce tweet storm mentioning "Animal Assad.""
But The Donald is saying that there are women and children amongst those affected by the supposed attack, but other sites
are reporting on the astonishing fact that there are only children in the broadcast footage.. what amount to a staged play like
that of Goutha years ago...
I think I understand your post better now, thanks for the clarification. I'm not sure that it makes a difference where the
tourists are if I understand your 2nd comment correctly. If envision an escalation to full on war, then it really doesn't matter
if the soccer fans are at home getting disintegrated by Russian nukes or in Russia getting disintegrated by American nukes.
July 16, 2017. Newswire. CIA Director Admits Fooling Trump Over Syrian Chemical Weapons Story ( ) The false flag attack, which
actually originated from CIA rebel groups in the region, resulted in Trump launching Tomahawk missiles into Syria, killing 15
civilians. Posted because of some interest despite misleading title and dubious source.
http://yournewswire.com/cia-trump-syria-chemical-weapons/
SecDef Mattis is a key player in this drama. Mattis didn't buy the fake attack a year ago which no doubt contributed to the
flashy but ineffective US response. Putting the blame for this latest fake attack on Russia and Iran (a difference this time)
suggests an asymmetric non-military response, one designed to grab headlines and then be forgotten. Trump has sanctioned Russia
three times in the past month and bragged about it, so Putin is now his go-to enemy when fake news arises. That Trump strategy
(or lack of it) strengthens Russia domestically and internationally, especially with China, so it works for Putin.
Perhaps the British false flag poisoning may have a dampening effect on world reaction to this false flag. There are many governments
with egg on their face after rushing to throw out the russ diplomats.
Affluent Anglo Soccer guests in Russia would be need be detained for their own safety - a kind of twist on R2P. Very embarrassing
for elite US, UK, EU jet-setting soccer fans to be detained for an indeterminate period. But for their own safety! Here, enjoy
your borscht and caviar.
re: SST
"17 million page views for SST and gone -- I am leaving you. Guest authors, commenters and the various troll nations may continue
if you wish. I may start another blog under "Pat Lang's Blog" but there will not be comments. pl" -- Jun 8, 2017
The SAA launching a chemical attack on Douma makes no sense. The intention with chemical weapons was to deny areas of land to
opposing forces. Now that most modern armies are supplied with effective protection against chemical weapons for individuals and
vehicles, area denial no longer works except to the extent that wearing chemical protection suits hinders movement but this applies
to both sides so nobody benefits and nobody loses.
I am afraid. Have not been this afraid since election night when Hillary was almost elected. The world lucked out and survived
to live another day. Has our luck run out?
Sigh, here we go again, just like Skripal case, west acts with propaganda and psyops without any evidence. The stupid TRUMP
will of course bomb Syria again along with the disgusting Macron cheered by EU and western media.
That is the most plausible scenario. The "intensity" of the US "response" to the False Flag gas (always gas!) attack. remains
to be seen. Pummeling airstrips are generally good stagecraft/showmanship and little else. Airstrips are quickly repaired and
back up to speed in short order.
Beirut (AP) -- An alleged gas attack killed at least 40 people in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, as Syrian rebels agreed
to give up their last foothold in the area, medics and state media reported on Sunday.
...
Meanwhile, state news agency SANA said the Army of Islam group agreed to leave Douma on Sunday, after three days of intensive
government shelling and bombardment.
... The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 80 people were killed in Douma on Saturday, including around 40 who
died from suffocation. But it said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them.
"Until this minute, no one has been able to find out the kind of agent that was used," said Mahmoud, the White Helmets'
spokesman, in a video statement from Syria.
"The 2017 Shayrat missile strike took place on the morning of 7 April 2017,[1][4] ..the strike was executed under responsibility
of U.S. President Donald Trump, as a direct response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack that occurred on 4 Apri"
miss match in timings damn it. The syria event production should have happened same day as bell pottinger salsbury thus creating
another libya quick all in nato depleted uranium party. with movie play and tv show timing and script and emotion are critical
for engagement.
emotion is the gelling agent for consent that is why so many tv and radio news pundit are actor not journalist
In the US when a murder occurs and a suspect apprehended there is a trial that can take weeks or months, and the prosecution
and the defense present their expert Witnesses. Then at the end of all that a jury usually decides where the person is guilty
or not. On the other hand, when a crime is alleged in another country far far away from the US, such as an alleged gas attack
in Syria, within days we know exactly who is responsible and on that basis are willing to commit arms, troops and spend billions
of dollars to kill people in large quantities and destroy a country. One would think that given the stakes involved a little bit
more care might be taken.
"Gas" scares the bejesus out of rubes. Makes Great Drama. Triggers, then reinforces historical themes. "The fiend! He gassed
his own people!" "Gas Chambers" (Cant' go there!). If there's gas, well, by golly there's got to be a ham-handed, asymmetrical
"response" (motherfocker of all bombs!) from the "International Community".
Happy Easter to all our Orthodox Christian friends around the globe. The message is 'never lose hope or live in fear'. Christ
leads in this eternal battle against evil and Satan's minions. This war has brought all civilizations of the land together. The
dying civilization of the ocean will wreck havoc until it expires. There are many paths to that ruin.
Confronting the Son of
God is assuredly one of them. Naturally, the devils have chosen Orthodox Easter to launch this latest perfidy against Russia.
@morongobill #19. There is often a stark difference between what Trump says or tweets and what he actually does. Often he is speaking
and acting for the benefit of various target audiences, sometimes on opposite sides, simultaneously. However, his bellicose response
to the alleged chemical attacks in Syria is cause for worry. Trump is a bully, and he would not wish to appear weak by backing
down from explicitly threatening rhetoric. Besides, he doesn't give a damn about killing Syrians or anyone else.
BTW, kudos to those who pegged the Skripal incident as prelude to some sort of chemical incident in Syria. It couldn't
have been scripted better for a TV program. Oh, wait...
And
2 days ago bbc arabic was running a headline all day about Russian mercenaries flow to Syria on regular commercial flights. There
s a whole world out there in the propaganda addressed to Arab viewers. No time to check if alarabiyya and Aljazeera are now broadcasting
the vids from duma 24/7 as they used to do
Trump is a like a wind-up doll in that he can be easily led astray due to his complete lack of knowledge of foreign and military
affairs. Just tell him children have been "gassed" and he gets angry and wants to strike back. The super hawks can thus wind up
him whenever they really need to him to do something stupid. (I mean, other than the normal stupid things he does all the time
on his own.)
I don't see it as an Israel issue but a "who controls the tools of human exchange" issue that may be about to evolve.....or
not
Certainly the entitlement of some folks will be affected by making finance a global public utility but I think that is a good
thing....
Think of the potential of our species if we can evolve beyond the "social contract" we operate under currently....I am excited
about the potential and measured about the chances of it all happening.
we need to come together as a world community forget about yesterdays semite children of palastine slaughter and deal with animal
assad and the more important children of ghouta
Israeli officials: U.S. must strike in Syria
"Assad is the angel of death, and the world would be better without him."
The United States must attack the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria in response to the regime chemical gas strike on the Syrian
town Douma that killed more than 70 people, Strategic Affairs and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Sunday.
Speaking on Army Radio, Erdan, who is Netanyahu's number two in Likud, said he hoped US military action against the Assad regime
would be taken again, as it was when the regime used chemical weapons against its people in the past.
@24 Noirette - thanks for that link to the story of how Pompeo gamed Trump into the missile launch (not to call it a "strike")
against Syria last year. I must keep that one for reference.
Good that Trump got those tweets off his chest. We can rest easier now. I wonder if he ever will understand how he's being
played by the people around him? His sentimentality seems to be a weakness they can easily leverage.
Nothing will happen, of course. As lysander suggests, Russia probably will inflict some covert pain on US interests, while
as b reports the FM has already warned of consequences if the US should be stupid enough to do something overt. I really like
lysander's image of the hammer blow to the face as Russian retaliation.
Friends, we are seeing the last days of false flags and the last days of the world caring about western propaganda. How many
Russian diplomats are left for vassal nations to expel? How many times can the UK government disgrace itself, or Trump have a
meltdown on Twitter - and nothing serious ever happens? How many times do we need to see a fleet turn back from Korea - even assuming
it could find its way there in the first place - or US missiles fail to strike their targets, whether in Syria or Yemen?
The greater the bluster, the more crystalline the result of no-result appears to the cooler heads of the world. Which shows
that even when the dog doesn't bark in the night, still the caravan moves on.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) tore into President Trump after he put blame on former President Obama following reports of a chemical
attack in Syria.
"Dear @realDonaldTrump: Remember when you launched cruise missiles at a largely empty field in Syria? That unconstitutional
act didn't do very much," Lieu tweeted.
"Remember when you said last week that US is leaving Syria in six months? So what
is your plan? You're the President now. Remember?"
Trump took to Twitter Sunday to condemn the attacks and rail against Obama. "If President Obama had crossed his stated Red
Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!" Trump tweeted, referring
to Syrian President Bashar Assad. . .
here
@49 "Just tell him children have been "gassed" and he gets angry and wants to strike back."
He does have a couple of options...neither very appealing. He can ignore the 'gas attack' and be called callous and uncaring.
He can hold off and ask for more evidence and get told he's soft on Putin/Assad.
Imho i find the us statement pretty "soft". "verification" is better than "russia/assad did it". i don't think the us is going
to "strike". the military paradigm has changed. they know, we hope.
Convenient timing to take the focus away for the IDF shooting Palestinian kids and journalist or the botched Skripal show. The
new memo is Assad, gas, Iran, Russia, Putin - repeat.
Look everybody, over there!!!
You gotta hand it to these guys. They've perfected the art of fooling the masses very well.
"Is Trump really willing to escalate towards that?"
More than likely willing and able to take it right up to the wire in the lead up to (and during)
the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia between 14 June to 15 July 2018.
Putin will be at his weakest. UK farce was just an appetizer.
State : "We continue to closely follow disturbing reports on April 7 " . . .which we write, and we decided this time to
pile on Russia. . ."Russia has breached its commitments to the United Nations as a framework guarantor. It has betrayed the Chemical
Weapons Convention . . . yadda yadda". . . here
Don Bacon, 55, Idk. link I posted seemed interesting enough.
There is no straight admission of course (re. > Pompeo fooling Trump) and the whole story may be made up,
but it has the the ring of truth in the sense that it fits with the US top echeleons are mired in dire,
multiple, crossed, struggles. The various factions of the US PTB are not unified, and fighting secretly under the radar,
there is no unified position from the US, so not from the UK either.
@psychohistorian (67) Thanks very much for that posting of actual events on the ground in Douma. They are further reason to believe
that the alleged chemical gas attack was not the work of the Syrian army. Clearly, the rebels were on the ropes and ready for
a knockout blow. We must ask: What might the Syrian government have gained by poisoning civilians and incurring the wrath and
condemnation of the "civilized" world? Absolutely nothing! From a military standpoint, it was completely unnecessary, and from
a public relations standpoint, a predictable disaster. Hence, being rational actors, they would never have chosen to use chemical
weapons under the circumstances. Why is this so hard for Western nations and their media to understand? The only reason that I
can give is that it is in their interest not to understand. It does not comport with their agenda, which is to topple Assad and
weaken Russia.
thanks b and thanks for the many insightful comments...
of course isis is being coddled by the west as a tool for the same agenda that has never been dropped... same deal the freaks
in douma that are unwilling to negotiate... ditto oldenyoungs comments @22... don't worry oy - russia can see thru that..
@27 dh - yes.. we will see how long that lasts.. i made a comment, but it didn't show yet.. the guy is a crank at this point..
@30 Breadonwaters.. good point, but i wouldn't count on it.. the endless propaganda and false flags are relentless and i see
no sign of it stopping.. maybe if the white helmets funding dried up, but that is highly unlikely as well..
@33 don bacon.. sst - 'as the stomach turns' a soap opera that periodically does or doesn't run..
@62 zico... i always ask the question 'what would israel want here?'...
Is Trump about to have an interview with Mueller soon? Is he also trying to set up the US military to get a bloody nose in Syria?
.. so that he can fire a few generals and to try and get back on his campaign promises about pulling back foreign wars?
@Noirette 68 Ok?
Weeelll, okay. . . I will continue to value your comments.
Probably the main point here is that the CIA can't be trusted, which in its history has resulted in several comeuppances, and
should again.
Pat Lang: "Animal" Assad? Our beloved president has once again been watching a bit too much TV news. Does it ever occur to him
to pick up the secure phone and call the watch officer at CIA, NSA or wherever and ask if they think the news reports are correct?
Sure, Pat. If we can't trust the Intelligence Community, then whom can we trust? Our own lyin' eyes?
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. There is a chance Assad did this -- but here's also a chance he would walk in front of a moving train,
or jump out of an airplane. The question is, why? There's no military advantage to this. None. On the other hand, there is stupendous
value to terrorists to conduct a false flag attack.
Americans. Being played by a fiddle, like complete idiots, for... ever.
As I recall, just a few weeks ago, the US was hitting the "Attack No.Ko." circuit hard. Not much came of it, as usual, and to
what end DJT thinks these venting moments will lead, I don't have a clue. But it does follow that not much will come of this other
than us plebs wondering why we have to live under this looming threat of annihilation. At the very least, maybe a few tomahawks
will be unleashed on a few targetted shit-shacks which are being used by sheep herders. Wrong time to take a crap! The MSM needs
a rating boost and exploding outhouses with a million-dollar tomahawk might be able to beat "American Idol" tonight. I'd tune
in.
Duh, here we go again. Syria with help of Russian aerospace forces are winning the war. Why use WMD that would invite US retaliation??????The
discredited NeoCons are not happy with the state of Syria instigated war.Again regime is winning.... And lo and behold Trumpster
called for withdrawal of US forces that are illegally occupying a sovereign country. What are the NeoCon /Likudniks e to do???.Well.....
stage a false flag opps of course. Syria was always the low hanging fruit on way to war with Iran folks.........
Indeed, something Ive also thought about, I would never put my foot in the US if I were the leader of Russia.
I dont see them meeting now when Trump blow it over and over, Trump never seems to learn or he doesnt care, maybe the generals,
and state dep. is in charge of the foreign policy. Hes just a puppet?
Regardless of who makes the decisions in the US, I seriously doubt that the Russians will back down from their thrice stated threat
of direct retaliation against US forces, should the US hit Russian military personnel. The Russian red line has clearly been drawn
and if the US crazies choose to cross it, look out.
I watched the Security Counsel meeting the other day and I thought Russia really blew it. The Russian ambassador was sputtering
and stammering and all over the map and did not provide or mention the ample evidence of the widespread ability to make these
chemicals or any other evidence. While the British simply had to stay on script. Russia looked bad in my view.
Now, with the new "chemical attack" in recent hours BoJo is already calling for a prompt investigation and warns - Russia should
not be allowed to stall it. Why was not Russia out first calling for an independent investigation and demanding proper procedures
and observers?
Russia can't continue to just stand there and get punched.
A question I've been mulling over for sometime that may appear unrelated to this thread but does have a general bearing.
In the lead up and during WW2, when did the German population begin to realize they were the bad guys?
I was quite surprised the rebels actually went ahead with the so-called gas attack. I suppose some sort of combination between
a hard-line faction in Douma, desperate about being about to lose their last foothold, and nutters in the US, like Bolton. Far
too late.
The point is that the Russians have been preparing for just such an event for months. Was it not two months ago that the
Russians put troops into Damascus to prevent a decapitating strike? A US strike would be a sort of Kursk Offensive, attacking
into a well-prepared defence.
I remain convinced that Trump is psychologically unwilling to go ahead with a major war, whatever the people around him.
Trump have recently added Bolton, Pompeo, I mean come on, its obvious that Trump have no "psychologically unwilling" traits
about bombing another nation. He have done it before and will do it again, but beside its not only about Trump but also the ugly
little guy in France, Macron that are as warmongering on Syria.
This gas attack is also, from the US point of view, a sort of "surge". An unwillingness on the part of the US to admit defeat.
Something has to be done to put the US, currently losing, back into the game. Just that facing up to Russia is a bit more complicated
than beating up poorly armed Arab tribes.
@ Laguerre 94 I was quite surprised the rebels actually went ahead with the so-called gas attack. They didn't, US-France-UK-(Turkey)
did. The rebels are the ones with guns and ammo, the alliance are the ones with actors and cameras.
I am a bit confused, did the rebels agree to return to the agreement they defaulted on before or after the supposed "gas" attack?
If before, it was a ruse (or the west set the up), if after, they may have been told by Russia to return to the agreement or be
slaughtered. We live in interesting times and I am most unhappy about it.
"... Russia is warning the U.S. against any "military intervention" in Syria over the government's alleged chemical attack against civilians this weekend, saying any such response would be "unacceptable" and lead to the "most serious consequences". ..."
"... The foreign ministry in Moscow also says in a statement on its website that allegations of the chemical attack are "fabricated," suggesting the claims were invented by rebel forces and the Syrian Civil Defense known as the White Helmets. ..."
"... "We decisively deny that information," the head of Russia's Reconciliation Center in Syria, Major Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, told Interfax, referring to allegations that the chemical attack was caused by a chlorine bomb dropped by pro-Assad forces. ..."
"... Yevtushenko said that after Douma has been retaken by the government, Russia is ready to immediately send its own chemical weapons experts in to "collect data that will confirm the fabricated character" of the allegations. ..."
"... ABC News' Elizabeth McLaughlin and Justin Fishel contributed to this report. ..."
Syrian
Civil Defense White Helmets via AP
WATCH
Syria accused of launching new poison gas attack on
civilians
Russia is warning the U.S. against any "military intervention" in Syria over the
government's alleged chemical attack against civilians this weekend, saying any such response would be
"unacceptable" and lead to the "most serious consequences".
The foreign ministry in Moscow also says in a statement on its website that allegations
of the chemical attack are "fabricated," suggesting the claims were invented by rebel forces and the Syrian Civil
Defense known as the
White Helmets.
"It is necessary to warn again that military intervention under invented and fabricated
pretexts in Syria, where at the request of the lawful government there are Russian military personnel, is
absolutely unacceptable and can lead to the most serious consequences," the statement reads. "The aim of these
false speculations, that have no basis, is to shield the terrorists and the irreconcilable radical opposition, who
reject a political solution, at the same time while trying to justify possible armed strikes from outside."
The alleged attack on Saturday killed 40 in the rebel-held town of Douma, multiple
opposition and rescue groups including told The Associated Press, which was unable to independently verify the
reports.
It came a year and a day after President
Donald
Trump
ordered dozens of strikes on a Syrian regime air base for its alleged use of sarin gas on April 4, 2017,
that killed approximately 100 people, according to the the State Department. More than 30 of the victims were
children. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied carrying out the attack.
Syrian
Civil Defense White Helmets via AP
This image released early Sunday,
April 8, 2018 by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, shows a child receiving oxygen through respirators
following an alleged poison gas attack in the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus, Syria.
more
+
President Donald Trump meanwhile blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin and the
government of Iran for backing Assad, whom Trump dubbed "Animal Assad," in the country's years-long civil war.
The State Department, while unable to confirm reports of chemical weapon use Saturday,
called the alleged attack "horrifying."
"Reports from a number of contacts and medical personnel on the ground indicate a
potentially high number of casualties, including among families hiding in shelters," Nauert said in a release.
"These reports, if confirmed, are horrifying and demand an immediate response by the international community."
The
United Nations
also weighed in, saying that the alleged use of chemical weapons if true is "abhorrent."
"The Secretary-General is particularly alarmed by allegations that chemical weapons have
been used against civilian populations in Douma," a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in
a statement. "While the United Nations is not in a position to verify these reports, the Secretary-General notes
that any use of chemical weapons, if confirmed, is abhorrent, and requires a thorough investigation."
"It is critical that civilians be protected," the statement from spokesman Stephane
Durjarric said. "There has also been shelling on Damascus city, reportedly killing civilians."
The Syrian government has always denied using chemical weapons against opposition forces
or civilians.
But a U.N. war-crimes investigation found the Assad regime was responsible for the
attack last year in Khan Sheikhoun.
The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on
Syria
found in September that Syrian government warplanes dropped a sarin bomb in that attack and that Syrian government
forces have carried out more than two dozen chemical attacks in the course of the country's civil war.
Human Rights Watch
has estimated the Syrian government has committed "at least five more chemical weapons
attacks" since April 2017 when Trump ordered 59 Tomahawk missiles fired on a Syrian airbase. The missiles were
fired after the U.S. said a year ago that Assad was responsible for a sarin gas attack on the area of Khan
Sheikhoun in northwestern Syria, which killed over 100 people.
Russia's military, which has supported Assad, denied the Syrian army is behind the
chemical attack in Douma in Eastern Ghouta on Sunday and accused Western countries of trying to use the alleged
attack for their own ends.
"We decisively deny that information," the head of Russia's Reconciliation Center in
Syria, Major Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, told Interfax, referring to allegations that the chemical attack was caused by
a chlorine bomb dropped by pro-Assad forces.
Yevtushenko said that after Douma has been retaken by the government, Russia is ready to
immediately send its own chemical weapons experts in to "collect data that will confirm the fabricated character"
of the allegations.
"We express our readiness, after the liberation of Douma from militants, to immediately
send Russian specialists in radiological, chemical and biological protection for the collection of data, that will
confirm the fabricated character of these statements," Yevtushenko said.
Yevtushenko then accused "a range of Western countries" of using the allegations of the
attack to try to hinder the Russian-Syrian operation to pull out militants from Douma.
"For that, that theme beloved by the West, the use of chemical weapons by the armed
forces of Syrian Arab Republic, is being used," Yevtushenko told Interfax. He also said the allegations were being
made by groups like the White Helmets, which he accused of "being widely known for their
fake
news
."
The U.S., meanwhile, has supported Kurdish and Arab forces on the other side of the
country as they attempt to eradicate
ISIS
forces
from the country.
The
Associated Press
FILE - This Feb. 2, 2018 file photo
provided by the Syrian rebel group Army of Islam, shows a fighter with the Army of Islam rebel group, firing a
weapon during clashes with government forces in Housh al-Dhawahira in the eastern Ghouta region near Da
more
+
It was less than a week ago that Trump announced during a rally in Ohio that he planned
to get U.S. troops out of Syria "very soon." The timing of the comment caught even senior officials off-guard, a
senior administration official and a U.S. official familiar with the matter told ABC News. He repeated that he
wanted the U.S. military out of the country in a press conference on Tuesday.
"It's time. We were successful against ISIS," Trump said. "We'll be successful against
anybody militarily, but sometimes it's time to come back home -- and we're thinking about that very seriously."
The White House walked back those claims a little on Wednesday, with press secretary
Sarah Sanders telling reporters the president isn't going "to put an arbitrary timeline" on withdrawal.
ABC News' Elizabeth McLaughlin and Justin Fishel contributed to this report.
"... Every time the legitimate Syrian army has the upper hand over the terrorists the west cries "chemical weapons by assad".Seriously. The world has to wake up. ..."
"... Well the ground was laid; with the other false flag chemical attacks, which were never properly investigated, then the Scripal Affair, now this. They probably think they have convinced enough people, through the controlled western media, to have majority support for an attack on Syria. This was the plan all along, to remove Assad, then onto Iran. One problem: Russia is blocking the way to final conquest- will they test Russia's resolve? This could get ugly very quickly, let us hope that reason, and sense prevail. ..."
Tensions are escalating between the US and Russia as Washington says Moscow "ultimately bears
responsibility for these brutal attacks," in reference to a reported chemical attack the US blames on the
Syrian government.
"These reports, if confirmed, are horrifying and demand an immediate response by
the international community," US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement on Sunday.
"The United States continues to use all efforts available to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and
otherwise, accountable The Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks
prevented immediately."
Russia has dismissed as "bogus" reports of the chemical gas attack in Eastern Ghouta, while Damascus
maintains that it has not launched any chemical attacks.
Nauert further called on the Kremlin to stop supporting the Syrian government.
"The United States calls on Russia to end this unmitigated support immediately and work with the
international community to prevent further, barbaric chemical weapons attacks," she said.
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is to blame along
with Iran.
Iran has strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons by any country in any part of the world, saying
claims about a chemical attack by the Syrian government in Eastern Ghouta are "conspiratorial and illogical."
The US, meanwhile, is suggesting that all options are on the table as White House homeland security adviser
Tom Bossert said nothing should be taken "off the table."
The report came not long after Trump called for withdrawal of US troops from war-ravaged Syria.
Trump has reportedly been butting heads with his military advisers who disagree with immediate withdrawal.
A similar debate over Afghanistan finally ended with Trump acquiescing to indefinite presence of US military
forces there.
The British mission to the United Nations has said in a tweet that the issue is being taken to the UN
Security Council.
"UK, France, US, Poland, Netherlands, Sweden, Kuwait, Peru and Cote d'Ivore have called an emergency meeting
of #UNSC to discuss reports of chemical weapons attack in #Syria. Meeting expected on Monday," it said.
h,
30
minutes ago
Let the people around the world to make a judgment ,WHO IS THE ANIMAL ,Trump or Assad ????
Minaret
,
38
minutes ago
I wish Americans and other EU regimes are condemning Israeli killings of Palestininas in
Gaza few days ago as they condemning this Syria and Russia
Rawson
,
2
hours ago
"Tom Bossert said nothing should be taken ' off the table. ' " I suggest take that Fat
Animal's turd off that table or the Evil House will stink like hell.
read it in its entirety at VETERANSTODAY dot,>
2
hours ago
Proof: Intel Drop, Trump, Bolton behind Syria chemical attacks, confirmed
Germany, Britain, America, Israel, VT provides proof of chemical warfare and war crimes.
By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor - April 8, 2018
We were also concerned that the longer "they" got away with doing this the more innocent
people would be murdered by the alleged protectors of freedom and democracy in the world,
but who we know to be currently be among the worst enemies of mankind.
Their house of cards is crumbling, and "they" will be more dangerous in that situation as
we are talking about some very serious crimes here.
Today another chemical weapons stockpile was found in East Ghouta, produced in Germany,
fully weaponized and commercially produced by Merck.
American, British and Israeli military personnel captured in Syria have confirmed they
were ordered to stage chemical attacks in East Ghouta by their governments.
Alkhair,2
hours ago
The videos released by the Terrorist ( Shall I say Mercenaries ) show very clearly that
the people were not affected by any chemicals. The Children seemed normal yet they were
being hosed with water. There were many adults standing as though they were watching a
drama. When the majority of ' terrorists haveleft why this tiny group insists resisting?
My view is that they have been promised by USA that they will this drama will give USA a
reason to display its ugly face. What about killings over two dozen and seriously shooting
in legs to disable nearly 2000 people in Gaza? Is the Animal in Evil House not aware of
it?
Soloh,
2
hours ago
The hooligans have been doing all possible to legitimize there illegitimate presence in
Syria. Well I hope they are aware of the dangers in trying to bully Russia out....
best in the west
,>
2
hours ago
The USA and NATO are pathetic --- continually accusing Russia--china--iran--and syria of causing trouble
when their is no evidence whatsoever -- sanctions against russia -- a trade war with china -- iran of causing chaos in the middle
east.
And now syria again for as the USA are saying -- using chemical weapons -- i for one am totally sick and
tired of the lies that are told by the insane USA and NATO and no doubt all good people around the world will see through their
lies
So if their is to be a war then i am 100% behind Russia China Iran Syria North Korea -- and all other like
minded countries -- though sadly any war will quickly turn into the last war ever -- as all life on planet earth will be
DESTROYED.
Time Bomb
,
3
hours ago
And....Not a Word or calls for an "emergency meeting" of the UNSC of the killing of
Palestinians that is taking place daily by psychopathic snipers using live ammunition,
Not
a word but all of them jump on the band wagon of the worst criminals in recent history
and all are ready to swallow any of their lies. U.S. is just a Criminal and Rogue "state"!!!
Luke,
3
hours ago
False flags to help West save their terror legion, Russia should use all at their disposal
and stop or severely retaliate when Trump now the puppet of neocons orders strikes. After
than no more talks with rebels all should be pushed out of Douma to stop this game West is
playing with lives of Syrians.
Joe
,
3
hours ago
Every time the legitimate Syrian army has the upper hand over the terrorists the west cries
"chemical weapons by assad".Seriously. The world has to wake up.
rainbow musoke,
4
hours ago
But why can't nations like Iran' Palestians Russia' Koreans 'Africa to initiate
formation of a new world body to replace the current "UN"
A new body tasked with solving 22nd century challenges that this UN has shamelessly
failed..eg the issue of Palestine, Golan, Korean penissula, poverty in Africa, sovereignty
of weak states.. the list is big
Smiley,>
4
hours ago
Well the ground was laid; with the other false flag chemical attacks, which were never
properly investigated, then the Scripal Affair, now this. They probably think they have
convinced enough people, through the controlled western media, to have majority support
for an attack on Syria. This was the plan all along, to remove Assad, then onto Iran. One
problem: Russia is blocking the way to final conquest- will they test Russia's resolve?
This could get ugly very quickly, let us hope that reason, and sense prevail.
Iran has strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons by any country in any part of the
world, saying claims about a chemical attack by the Syrian government in Eastern Ghouta are
"conspiratorial and illogical."
"Such claims and accusations by the Americans and some Western countries signal a new
conspiracy against the Syrian government and nation and a pretext for military action against
them," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday.
He added that using such allegations as a pretext for a military intervention in Syria
would "certainly aggravate the situation in this country and in the region."
He added that terrorists would be emboldened by any act of aggression which would not be in
favor of peace, stability and security in the region and across the world.
"When the Syrian army has the upper hand on the battlefield against armed terrorists, it
would not be rational for it to use chemical weapons," he pointed out.
Qassemi's comments came a few hours after militants and activists linked to them, including
the so-called civil defense group White Helmets, claimed that government forces on Saturday had
dropped a barrel bomb containing poisonous chemicals in Douma, Eastern Ghouta's largest town,
killing and wounding dozens of civilians.
Damascus, in a statement released late on Saturday, strongly rejected the allegation and
said that the so-called Jaish al-Islam Takfiri terrorist group, which has dominant presence in
the town, was repeating the allegations of using chemical munitions "in order to accuse the
Syrian Arab army, in a blatant attempt to hinder the Army's advance."
"The chemical fabrications, which did not serve the terrorists and their sponsors in Aleppo
and Eastern Ghouta, will not serve them today either, as the Syrian state is determined to end
terrorism in every square inch of Syrian territory," read the statement.
Qassemi further said the Islamic Republic, in line with its principle policies and religious
teachings and as a victim of chemical weapons itself, denounces the use of chemical weapons in
any part of the world.
He added that the alleged chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta is not in conformity with the
realities on the ground because the Syrian government has had appropriate cooperation with the
United Nations.
Syria surrendered its stockpiles of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint mission led by the
US and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversaw the
destruction of the weaponry. Damascus has consistently denied using chemical weapons over the
past years of conflict in the country.
Western governments and their allies, however, have never stopped pointing the finger at
Damascus whenever an apparent chemical attack takes place.
If you are interested in Higgins and 'Bellingcat', you might want be interested in a
'Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media' which has recently been set up by a group of
British academics.
At the moment, work which has already been done is being prepared for publication on the
site. However, some of it has already appeared on the blog of one of the members, Tim
Hayward.
This includes a detailed discussion of the report of the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism'
on the Khan Sheikhoun attack by Paul McKeigue.
His professorship, at Edinburgh, is in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics. This
means that, unlike most of us interested in these matters, with the obvious exception of
Theodore Postol, he has a grasp of a lot of relevant science.
A basic tool of his trade is a technique called 'Bayesian analysis', one of whose many
applications is to separate out genetic factors in disease from others. His use of it in the
piece may make bits of it somewhat hard going for those of us whose scientific education
stopped at school.
But if you are interested in a demonstration of the way that the kind of pure charlatanry
propagated by Higgins and Kaszeta has come to be accepted uncritically by supposed impartial
international bodies, you should read the piece.
Also on Hayward's blog is an article which was submitted to the Guardian's 'Comment is
Free' page, in response to a piece by Olivia Solon smearing those who have had the temerity
to suggest that the 'White Helmets' may be something less than a band of disinterested
charity workers, and an account of the attempts of the 'Working Group' to get a response from
the paper.
Thanks for the link. But what Mattis has said relates to the latest accusations, not early
ones. Key paragraphs:
'A deadly sarin attack on another rebel-held area in April 2017 prompted President Donald
Trump to order a U.S. missile strike on the Shayrat airbase, from which the Syrian operation
is said to have been launched.
'"We are on the record and you all have seen how we reacted to that, so they would be
ill-advised to go back to violating the chemical (weapons) convention," Mattis said.'
So he is not repudiating the conventional wisdom according to which sarin was used at Khan
Sheikhoun, and the possibility of a military response to a fresh 'false flag' is left open.
Unless he is basing his accusation on credible evidence, this to be blunt, comes close to
inciting jihadists to atrocity.
The extent -- and unscrupulousness -- of the mounting propaganda campaign in relation to
the recently claims is well brought out in a piece by Rick Sterling in 'Consortium News' on
Sunday. Whether those involved are still hoping to precipitate a serious American military
intervention, and whether those hopes might be realistic, I cannot say.
This makes the detailed demonstration by Professor McKeigue of the frankly farcical nature
of the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism' report into Khan Sheikhoun, to which I linked, all the
more important. In addition to exposing the total dependence of its analysis on a completely
incredible claim about the aircraft which is supposed to have delivered the chemical weapon,
and discussing much other evidence, he brings out a key point about developments in 'chemical
forensics' over the past years.
As well as the 1995 sarin attacks, the 2001 anthrax letter attacks led to an enormous
investment of money and intellectual energy in the development of analytical techniques
making it possible to identify perpetrators of chemical weapons incidents. A fascinating
article entitled 'Tracing a Threat' by Bethany Halford in 'Chemistry & Engineering News
World' in February 2012 provides a good picture of what the state of play was at that
time.
She quotes an expert called Joseph Chipuk, from a consultancy called 'Signature Science'
in Austin, explaining how the 'spectra' -- different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation
associated with different 'impurities' in samples, including 'environmental' ones, such as
soil, fragments of weapons, and clothing -- can be matched with reconstructions of possible
'synthetic pathways'.
The levels of sophistication of which this kind of analysis was already capable, he made
clear, are close to breathtaking:
'To figure out signatures based on various synthetic routes and conditions, Chipuk says
that the synthetic chemists on his team will make the same chemical threat agent as many as
2,000 times in an "almost robotic manner," following a database that tells them exactly what
conditions to use. They then hand off the product to the analytical chemists, who look at all
the tiny impurities that turn up along with the toxic chemical -- "the stuff that's down in
the weeds," as Chipuk describes it. From there, the hundreds or, in some cases, thousands of
spectra that are collected go to statisticians and computer scientists who work their magic
to tease out the unique attribution signatures.'
At the end of the article, Halford quotes Chipuk again making clear that improvement is
continuous in a way that is making it quite extraordinarily difficult to fool analysts who
are genuinely looking for the truth -- as not only Dan Kaszeta but, very regrettably, key
figures at the OPCW and some of its 'Designated Laboratories' do not appear to be:
'"The fact is that technology continues to improve, instrumentation continues to improve,
and computers continue to improve. The chances of someone being able to slip by undetected
are getting smaller and smaller," says Signature Science's Chipuk. "If you were to choose to
do something like this, the science is going to catch up to you."'
In relation to the claims now being made, what is initially at issue is simply the
question of whether the 'impurities' identified by the 'spectra' in samples from the
incidents at Khan Sheikhoun, Ghouta, Saraqeb, and Khan Al-Asal match.
What characterised the 'hexamine hypothesis' as put forward by Kaszeta was the -- close to
surreal -- suggestion that a single substance, hexamine, was a 'smoking gun'. To anyone who
had taken the trouble to read easily accessible discussions of the methodology, such as
Halford's piece, it would be apparent that it is simply ludicrous to base a claim on a single
substance -- particularly given that hexamine is also used in explosives.
In the 'Reuters' report on 30 January, we were told:
'Two compounds in the Ghouta sample matched those also found in Khan Sheikhoun, one formed
from sarin and the stabilizer hexamine and another specific fluorophosphate that appears
during sarin production, the tests showed.'
So we have an -- unidentified -- compound which supposedly establishes that the hexamine
did indeed form part of the sarin production process, rather than of the explosive charge.
And we are then told of the presence of another compound, which are told is 'another specific
fluorophosphate': why not tell us which?
To anyone interested in actually making sense of the evidence, to have a mere two
compounds mentioned, and those not adequately identified, suggests an alternative
possibility: that people who knew details of the 'synthetic pathway' by which Syrian
government sarin had been synthesised leaked them to those who were producing the substance
for a 'false flag.' It would have been beyond the capabilities of a relatively primitive
operation to produce any kind of close fit -- to get a couple of compounds to match would
probably not have been difficult at all.
If this suspicious interpretation if false, there is a very simple way to refute it -- and
General Mattis is in a perfect position to do this.
The close links between the American and British 'intelligence communities' have been
stressed in comments on this thread. It is clear that in relation to Syrian chemical weapons,
there was a division of labour.
Analysis of 'environmental' samples was concentrated at the British OPCW-certified
facility, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down in Wiltshire.
Meanwhile, preparations for the dismantling of the Syrian chemical arsenal were the made at
one of the two American OPCW-certified laboratories, the U.S. Army's Edgewood Chemical
Biological Center in Maryland.
The destruction of the 581 tonnes of the sarin precursor methylphosphonyl difluoride, or
DF, aboard the specially kitted out vessel 'M.V. Cape Ray' in the Mediterranean was announced
in August 2014. In the extensive reporting on the preparations for this, it was made
absolutely clear that -- as one would expect -- the vessel was equipped with a proper
analytical laboratory, with OPCW scientists involved as well as those from the Edgewood
Center.
In a post entitled 'Sentence First -- Verdict Afterwards?' shortly after the Khan
Sheikhoun attack, and then in two 'open letters' to the members of our Defence and Foreign
Affairs Committees, I pointed to the mass of evidence suggesting that the test results from
different incidents did not match each other or those from the stocks destroyed on the 'Cape
Ray.'
The publicly available evidence, I argued, provided strong reason to believe that results
from Porton Down and the OPCW confirmed the claim made by the Russians, supposedly on the
basis of tests from their own OPCW-certified laboratory, that the sarin used at Khan Al-Asal
and Ghouta was a 'cottage industry' product. This was also what Seymour Hersh claimed that
tests carried out at Porton Down had revealed about the sarin used at Ghouta - he used the
term 'kitchen sarin.'
What the Reuters report has -- perhaps inadvertently -- confirmed is that Porton Down had
in fact tested 'environmental' samples from the Khan Al-Asal incident on 19 March 2013, the
first where sarin was used in Syria, by suggesting that tests from that incident as well as
those at Ghouta and Khan Sheikhoun matched the results from the stocks on the 'Cape Ray':
'Laboratories working for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
compared samples taken by a U.N. mission in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta after the Aug. 21,
2013 attack, when hundreds of civilians died of sarin gas poisoning, to chemicals handed over
by Damascus for destruction in 2014.
'The tests found "markers" in samples taken at Ghouta and at the sites of two other nerve
agent attacks, in the towns of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib governorate on April 4, 2017 and Khan
al-Assal, Aleppo, in March 2013, two people involved in the process said.
'"We compared Khan Sheikhoun, Khan al-Assal, Ghouta," said one source who asked not to be
named because of the sensitivity of the findings. "There were signatures in all three of them
that matched."'
Can anyone seriously believe that if the tests we know to have been done on at Porton Down
had established what this 'source' who does not have the guts to the identify himself claims,
this fact would not have been trumpeted to the skies -- first when the results from Ghouta
matched those from Khan Al-Asal, and then when both matched those from the 'Cape Ray'?
Allright -- sometimes the practically incredible turns out to be true. But if he has any
evidence on which to base his claims, General Mattis should have the courage of his
convictions, and order the disclosure of the relevant 'spectra.'
You are wrong about this. That the 'chain of custody' principle has been flagrantly
violated in the reports of the 'Fact-Finding Mission' and the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism'
is patently the case, and in itself reason why the almost unanimous acceptance of these in
the MSM is scandalous. But that is a separate issue.
The reasons why the test results from the various laboratories were critical were set out
last April in my '"Sentence First -- Verdict Afterwards"?' piece, and the two 'open letters'
to the members of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees pointing out the need for
clarification as to what was being claimed about the test results.
Let me recap, and update.
An example of the kind of 'chemical forensics' one needs in incidents like this was
provided by the analysis of test results on 'shell and soil' samples purporting to derive
from the Khan Al-Asal incident on 19 March 2013 which formed part of the document from the
Russian OPCW-certified laboratory which was submitted to the UN Secretary-General on 9 July
that year.
On 4 September, as part of the attempt to stop the visible attempt to use Ghouta to create
an unstoppable momentum towards the destruction of the Syrian government, more details of
what looks like an expanded version of the original document were made public by the Russian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In it they claimed that:
'shell and soil samples contained nerve agents -- sarin gas and diisopropylfluorophosphate
-- not synthesized in an industrial environment, which was used by Western states for
producing chemical weapons during World War II.'
It was also made clear that the conclusions rested upon precisely the kind of very complex
analysis Bethany Halford is describing:
'We highlight that the Russian report is extremely specific. It is a scientific and
technical document containing about 100 pages with many tables and diagrams of spectral
analysis of the samples. We expect that it will significantly assist in the investigation
into this incident by the UN. Unfortunately, it has in fact not started yet.'
Unfortunately, the detailed 'spectra' have not been released, but they have certainly been
analysed by experts at the OPCW and that organisation's 'Designated Laboratories' in the
West, including Porton Down. We know that the results from the materials tested on the 'Cape
Ray' will show a sarin precursor 'manufactured in an industrial environment.'
To prove what Mattis and others want to claim it is necessary that the 'spectra' from none
of the other tests match those in the Russian report, and the 'markers' from the 'Cape Ray'
materials are the same as those from Khan Sheikhoun, Ghouta, and Khan Al-Asal. If there are
serious 'chain of custody' problems, the 'markers' from the four sets of tests might not be
sufficient to establish Syrian government culpability -- a lack of a match would be quite
sufficient to establish that the indictment cannot be accepted as it stands.
As I brought out in my post last April, the publicly available evidence -- of which
Hersh's 'Red Line and Rat Line' article and subsequent interviews form an important part --
strongly suggests the Russian claims that the toxin used in both Khan Al-Asal and also Ghouta
was 'cottage industry', as they put it, or 'kitchen sarin', as he put it, are correct.
It is simply not a refutation of these claims to treat one compound supposed to validate
the 'hexamine hypothesis', and an unspecified fluorophosphate, which could be the
diisopropylfluorophosphate reported by the Russians, or hexafluorophosphate, as conclusive
evidence. (The implications, or lack of them, would be quite different, depending on which
compound it was.)
And all this hush-hush whisper-whisper from 'diplomats and scientists' who are not
prepared to be identified, as well as assurances from that supposedly 'independent' expert
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, only add to the grounds for scepticism. As I brought out in
my post, he is under the strongest possible suspicion of having been involved in covering up,
and quite possibly colluding in, the 'false flags.'
If they have evidence to support the case, then let Western governments produce the
'spectra' -- as also should the Russians. We do not need complete reports, which may need to
be kept secret for perfectly good reasons -- simply the 'many tables and diagrams' which must
exist. Once these were out in the open, then it would be much easier to have an informed
argument.
Most of this ground I covered last April. However, there is some crucial new context. Part
of this is provided by a report in 'The Intercept' last October, entitled 'NSA Document Says
Saudi Prince Directly Ordered Coordinated Attack By Syrian Rebels On Damascus.' As it
explains:
'According to a top-secret National Security Agency document provided by whistleblower
Edward Snowden, the March 2013 rocket attacks were directly ordered by a member of the Saudi
royal family, Prince Salman bin Sultan, to help mark the second anniversary of the Syrian
revolution. Salman had provided 120 tons of explosives and other weaponry to opposition
forces, giving them instructions to "light up Damascus" and "flatten" the airport, the
document, produced by U.S. government surveillance on Syrian opposition factions, shows.'
This was on 18 March -- the day before Khan Al-Asal. Further relevant context is provided
by a piece in February 2017 on the 'Monitor on Massacre Marketing' site by Adam Larson,
entitled 'What happened on March 19, 2013?' which is subtitled 'The First Bodies Tossed
Across Obama's "Red Line" in Syria.'
This starts by reviewing the -- ample -- evidence that the Khan Al-Asal attack came at a
point where there was very visible enthusiasm on the part of a lot of people in the United
States and Western Europe for intervention in support of the 'Assad must go' agenda, so that
he had every incentive to avoid chemical weapons use, and the insurgents every incentive to
produce a 'false flag.'
And Larson goes on to note that 'Ironically, the first solid news of the feared chemical
attack came in the form of a Syrian government announcement on March 19 that their forces had
been gassed by "terrorists" in a town just west of Aleppo" -- that is, the Shi'ite town of
Khan Al-Asal.
There follow detailed reviews of the evidence of another incident on the same day, in
which the victims appeared to be insurgents, at the Damascus suburb variously transliterated
as Otaybah and Uteibah, and more fragmentary and puzzling evidence about events at Homs.
And Larson goes on to suggest that a three-pronged 'false flag' was planned for 19 March,
in Aleppo, Damascus and Homs -- the country's three largest cities. This would obviously fit
very well with the NSA intercept, in that it would suggest that the intent was to portray
these as Assad's savage response to the attacks in Damascus, thus, hopefully, generating
unstoppable momentum for American military intervention.
This seems to me eminently plausible, but it leaves open two possible interpretations of
Khan Al-Asal. When insurgents who are difficult to control are given access to weapons like
sarin, there is an obvious possibility of matters developing in unexpected directions, either
as the result of their bungling an attack, or succumbing to the temptation to use it against
government forces.
However, a different set of unintended consequences is also possible. It could be that
Syrian intelligence, perhaps with the assistance of Russian and/or Iranian, and with a
combination of 'SIGINT' and 'HUMINT' methods quite possibly being deployed, knew precisely
what was going on -- and had double agents inside the groups preparing the 'false flags.'
Rather than wait until the inevitable chorus calling for all-out air strikes began, it
could well have made sense to turn one of the incidents into a 'false flag' within a 'false
flag.'
The anti-Assad camp would then have been effectively 'snookered.' They would have faced a
situation where they would know that, if they acceded to the calls from the Syrians and
Russians for a proper UN/OPCW investigation, making a rigorous use of 'chemical forensics',
these would implicate the insurgents. And if the evidence suggested that it was these who had
crossed Obama's 'red line', it would have been game and set, and probably match, to the
Syrian and Russian governments.
Irrespective of people's views on what interpretation is plausible in relation to Khan
Al-Asal, the important point is that strategies which rely strongly on convert action -- as
the 'régime change' projects I outlined in the current post do -- are inherently
liable to run out of control. The uncontrollability of their instruments, and the possibility
of covert action meeting covert action in return, are always liable to generate unintended
consequences which can escalate.
As soon as the possible that an impartial investigation would implicate the insurgents was
real, in relation to Khan Al-Asal, irrespective of whether the imputation would have been
justified, the alternative to facing a complete collapse of their projects in Syria, for
Western governments, was inherently likely to be at best covering up, at worst colluding in,
further 'false flags.' Moreover, intense pressure had to be mounted, to ensure that what were
supposed to be sources of independent expertise supported their cover-ups.
This pattern, I am suggesting is common both to history of the 'StratCom' in which
Christopher Steele has been involved, and that relating to chemical weapons use in Syria.
Particularly when the 'Fourth Estate' ceases to do its job, a likely result is the
progressive systematic corruption of institutions.
You have read one of the articles on what James Mattis said on Friday about sarin? He quite
clearly states that the United States has no evidence that the Syrian government has used
sarin. Given the way, the French, British, German, etc. intelligence services share
information, that suggests that if James Mattis is speaking the truth then no one in NATO,
except perhaps for Turkey given Erdogan's recent behavior, has any evidence either. This
means that both incidents, East Ghouta and Khan Shaykhoun, and any other incidents that are
alleged by the terrorists to have involved sarin are not what they are claimed to be in
western msm and most western politicians. Bellingcat and all the other NGOs who have made
similar claims about sarin are all wrong.
"... I would bet my life that the BBC reporter received her narrative from the UK FCO- bankrolled White Helmets who have produced all propaganda from the terrorist besieged areas/frontlines – such as East Aleppo, Daraa and Idlib. ..."
I don't think enough people appreciate just how influential the great 'liberal' news platforms like the Guardian and the NYT and
Washington Post are, out there in the rest of the western empire the rest take their lead from them, the 'framing' of events and
stories. Foreign journalists, especially those specialising in the coverage of the Anglo-Saxon world, follow the BBC/Guardian
closely, because well, they would never lie, would they unthinkable. This means that if the state were to succeed in 'capturing'
the Guardian this alone would have enormous implications for how liberals and the soft left see the world and what's going on.
It's also important to remember and understand that the British really invented modern propaganda during WW1 with the aim of
bringing world opinion over to the British side and especially influencing the public in the United States, as a vital war aim
was to drag the US into the war when it became obvious that the UK would never defeat Germany without direct American military
support. That basic truth isn't being talked about very much, is it, even though we're supposed to be thinking about WW1, where
most of the coverage looks like 'fake news' to me but that's probably another story.
The British were so good at selling their version of the 'truths' of WW1 that the Nazis attempted to copy them and set up their
own Ministry of Propaganda, only they weren't a successful as the British who had so many advantages compared to the Germans,
chiefly the Germans were forced to twist the truth totally out of recognition as they were, after all, living under an openly
fascist dictatorship.
@MichaelK: "It's also important to remember and understand that the British really invented modern propaganda during WW1"
I can vouch for that as a personal reaction. Recovering from fever in WW2, I idled away the time by perusing some bound newspaper
articles from WW1; you know, the sort of thing you find in doctors waiting rooms and hospital libraries. I was appalled at the
viciousness of the anti-German propaganda, especially against the Kaiser; the WW1 atmosphere seemed far more savage than what
I was reading from WW2 British papers against the Nazis; the latter often had a touch of gentle humour, such as Low's cartoons
in the Daily Express about Hit&Muss on their Axis.
I was a loyal Guardian reader for 35 years and have witnessed it's decline to the extent I now refuse to buy it. The paper is
now owned by the Guardian Media Group which is run by a high-powered Board comprising elite, well-connected people from the "corporate
establishment". I stopped buying the Guardian some years ago because I was sick and tired of being lied to by blatant propaganda
or omission of the truth which didn't fit into their worldview narrative. This coincided with the rise of the alternative media
which was able to search for the truth without having a hidden agenda.
It is up to existing Guardian readers to decide if they only want to believe what they read in the main stream media or if they
want to find a more balanced view of the world by doing some research of their own by consulting a wide range of "trusted" media.
My comments in The Guardian were moderated a long time ago and I have become so disgusted with the paper that I no longer even
grab a free one when shopping in Waitrose.
Thankfully there are many of us who still comment on their facebook page to counter their lies and propaganda particularly on
Syria.
Very good questions – particularly as I have just spent 5 weeks in Syria trying to enter the Eastern Ghouta enclave without success
– because it is a "hot" military zone with no access for the safety of the foreign journalists. I even tried various other avenues
which included entering a Syrian government-established refugee camp near Douma and East Ghouta that had been set up to receive
and treat civilians who had been injured or not given treatment by the terrorist factions occupying Ghouta, Douma & Jobar to the
East of the City of Damascus.
Ghouta, to my knowledge and according to my personal experience as a journalist in Syria, is out of bounds for the time being
because of high risk of sniping or shelling from the terrorist factions controlling those areas.
Having entered what was once, the REAL Syria Civil Defence HQ in Jobar and having peered through the sandbags at the windows
into Jobar and having seen the ghostly snipers moving in the lunar landscape of houses and destroyed buildings, I would respect
the decision by the Syrian Govt & military to protect journalists from being in the vicinity of such extremists.
However, despite not being able to enter the actual zone, I did gather enough testimony from refugees in Damascus, NGOs, Russian
humanitarian operators etc to know that the "starvation" is a non-issue based on the number of convoys that have entered E Ghouta.
The issue is the Western backed terrorists who, as in East Aleppo and Madaya, are taking delivery of the supplies and stockpiling
them, eking them out to civilians who pay the highest price or depriving civilians deliberately in order to maintain the "starvation"
propaganda that facilitates the faux-humanitarian intervention by the NATO-aligned NGOs and organisations.
I would bet my life that the BBC reporter received her narrative from the UK FCO- bankrolled White Helmets who have produced
all propaganda from the terrorist besieged areas/frontlines – such as East Aleppo, Daraa and Idlib.
It's a classic propaganda piece. The takeaway message throughout the article is "Russia did it". Tillerson even says no matter
who did it or what actually happened, Russia bears responsibility. Count how many towns variations of that message appear in the
article. It's prime purpose is to keep the RussiaDidIt project alive and hammer Russia's "guilt" into the public mind.
Bannon backed candidate later lost. So much for this Bannon "success".
This idea of Trump playing 6 dimensional chess is a joke. It's the same explanation that was pushed for Obama disastrous neocon
foreign policy. Here is one very apt quote: "What Trump has done are disasters, and equates to treason. Selling billions of dollars
of weapons the our enemies the terrorists/Saudis, killing innocent people in Syria, and Yemen, sending more troops to
Afghanistan..." What 6-dimetional chess?
According to Occam razor principle the simplest explanation of Trump behaviour is probably the most correct. He does not control
foright policy, outsourcing it to "generals" and be does not pursue domestic policy of creating jobs as he promised his
electorate. In other words, both in foreign policy and domestic policy, he became a turncoat,
betraying his electorate, much like Obama. kind of Republican Obama.
And as time goes by, Trump looks more and more like Hillary II or Republican Obama. So he might have problems with the candidates he supports
in midterm elections. His isolationism, if it ever existed, is gone. Promise of jobs is gone. Detente with Russia is gone.
What's left?
Note the level disappointment of what used to be Trump base in this site comment section...
Notable quotes:
"... In a serious rebuke for President Trump (and perhaps moreso for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell), ousted judge and alt-right favorite Roy Moore has won the Alabama Republican Primary by a landslide ..."
"... The Steve Bannon-backed candidate, who defied court orders to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom and refused to recognize gay marriage after the Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, is leading by 9.6 points with 92% of the votes counted... ..."
"... These attacks on Bannon were one of the most prominent news stories in the first week following Trump's election victory. It didn't take long, however, for a counter-attack to emerge - from the right-wing elements of the Jewish community. ..."
"... Bannon is a true fucking patriot trying to pull this once great country from the sinkhole. ..."
"... I think the reality is that this was a message to McConnell much more than Trump. That message is simple: I'm coming to kill your career. Bannon went out of his way to say he fully supports Trump (despite backing the opposite candidate). And, let's face it, if Bannon buries McConnell, he's doing everyone a service, Trump included. ..."
"... The echo chamber media "is so surprised" that in Germany and the US we are seeing a rising tide of pissed off people, well imagine fucking that? Leaving the echo chamber and not intellectually trying to understand the anger, but living the anger. ..."
"... Well, we can only hope that Trump gets the message. He was elected to be President of the USA, not Emperor of the World. Quote from that Monty Python film: "He's not the Messiah; he's a very naughty boy!" ..."
"... A cursory background reading on Roy Moore tells me that he is one of the worst types for public office. And he might just turn out to be like Trump -- act like an anti-swarm cowboy and promise a path to heaven, then show his real colors as an Establishment puppet once the braindead voters put him in office. ..."
"... When Trump won the Republican nomination, and then the Presidency it was because people were rebelling against the establishment rulers. There is considerable disgust with these big government rulers that are working for themselves and their corporate cronies, but not for the US population. ..."
"... Trump seems to have been compromised at this point, and his support of the establishment favourite, Luther Strange is evidence that he isn't really the outsider he claimed to be. Moore's victory in Alabama says the rebellion still has wheels, so there is some hope. ..."
"... In Missouri where I live, the anti-establishment Republican contender for the upcoming US Senatorial 2018 race is Austin Peterson. It will be interesting to see how he, and his counterparts in other states do in the primaries. Both of the current Missouri Senators are worthless. ..."
"... I remember well the last "3-Dimensional Chess master" Obama while he too was always out maneuvering his apponents, per the media reports... ..."
"... Every now and then Trump tends to make huge blunders, and sometimes betrayals without knowing what he is doing. "Champions"- (great leaders) do not do that. ..."
"... What Trump has done are disasters, and equates to treason. Selling billions of dollars of weapons the our enemies the terrorists/Saudis, killing innocent people in Syria, and Yemen, sending more troops to Afghanistan... ..."
"... It is epitome of self-delusion to see people twisting themselves into pretzels, trying to justify/rationalize Trump's continuing display of disloyalty to America ..."
"... YOU CAN'T BE A ZIONIST AND AN AMERICAN FIRSTER, IT IS ONE OR THE OTHER. ..."
Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy,
WIN in Dec!
In a serious rebuke for President Trump (and perhaps moreso for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell), ousted judge and
alt-right favorite Roy Moore has won the Alabama Republican Primary by a landslide
The Steve Bannon-backed candidate, who defied court orders to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom and refused to
recognize gay marriage after the Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, is leading by 9.6 points with 92%
of the votes counted...
... ... ...
However, as Politco
reported this evening, President Donald Trump began distancing himself from a Luther Strange loss before ballots were even cast,
telling conservative activists Monday night the candidate he's backing in Alabama's GOP Senate primary was likely to lose ! and suggesting
he'd done everything he could do given the circumstances.
Trump told conservative activists who visited the White House for dinner on Monday night that he'd underestimated the political
power of Roy Moore, the firebrand populist and former judge who's supported by Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon, according
to three people who were there.
And Trump gave a less-than full-throated endorsement during Friday's rally.
While he called Strange "a real fighter and a real good guy," he also mused on stage about whether he made a "mistake" by backing
Strange and committed to campaign "like hell" for Moore if he won.
Trump was encouraged to pick Strange before the August primary by son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner as well as other aides,
White House officials said. He was never going to endorse Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, who has at times opposed Trump's agenda,
and knew little about Moore, officials said.
... ... ...
Déjà view -> Sanity Bear •Sep 26, 2017 11:19 PM
AIPAC HAS ALL BASES COVERED...MIGA !
On Sept. 11, the Alabama Daughters for Zion organization circulated a statement on Israel by Moore, which started by saying
the U.S. and Israel "share not only a common Biblical heritage but also institutions of representative government and respect
for religious freedom." He traced Israel's origin to God's promise to Abram and the 1948 creation of modern Israel as "a fulfillment
of the Scriptures that foretold the regathering of the Jewish people to Israel."
Moore's statement includes five policy positions, including support for U.S. military assistance to Israel, protecting Israel
from "Iranian aggression," opposing boycotts of Israel, supporting Israel at the United Nations, and supporting direct Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations without outside pressure. He added, "as long as Hamas and the Palestinian Authority wrongly refuse to recognize Israel's
right to exist, such negotiations have scant chance of success."
While those views would give Moore common ground with much of the Jewish community regarding Israel, most of the state's Jewish
community has been at odds with Moore over church-state issues, such as his displays of the Ten Commandments in courthouses, and
his outspoken stance against homosexuality, both of which led to him being ousted as chief justice.
moore misreads the Bible as most socalled christians do. they have been deceived, they have confused the Israel of God( those
who have been given belief in Christ) with israel of the flesh. They cant hear Christs own words, woe is unto them. they are living
in their own selfrighteousness, not good. they are going to have a big surprise for not following the Word of God instead following
the tradition of men.
They were warned over and over in the Bible but they cant hear.
I Claudius -> VinceFostersGhost •Sep 27, 2017 6:27 AM
Forgive? Maybe. Forget? NEVER!! He tried to sell "US" out on this one. We now need to focus on bringing "Moore" candidates
to the podium to run against the RINO's and take out McConnell and Ryan. It's time for Jared and Ivanka to go back to NYC so Jared
can shore up his family's failing empire. However, if his business acumen is as accurate as his political then it's no wonder
the family needed taxpayer funded visas to sell the property. Then on to ridding the White House of Gen Kelly and McMaster - two
holdover generals from the Obama administration - after Obama forced out the real ones.
Clashfan -> Mycroft Holmes IV •Sep 26, 2017 11:33 PM
Rump has hoodwinked his supoprt base and turned on them almost immediately. Some refuse to acknowledge this.
These attacks on Bannon were one of the most prominent news stories in the first week following Trump's election victory.
It didn't take long, however, for a counter-attack to emerge - from the right-wing elements of the Jewish community. The
Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) came to Bannon's defense and accused the ADL of a "character assassination" against Bannon.
The Wizard -> Oh regional Indian •Sep 26, 2017 10:12 PM
Trump should figure out the Deep State elites he has surrounded himself with, don't have control of the states Trump won. Trump
thought he had to negotiate with these guys and his ego got the best of him. Bannon was trying to convince him he should have
stayed the course and not give in.
~"American politics gets moore strange by the day..."~
Technically speaking OhRI, with Moore's win politics became less Strange, or "Strange less", or "Sans Luther", depending on
how one chose to phrase it [SMIRK]
Adullam -> Gaius Frakkin' Baltar •Sep 26, 2017 11:05 PM
Trump needs to fire Jared! Some news outlets are saying that it was his son in law who advised him to back Strange. He has
to quit listening to those who want to destroy him or ... they will.
overbet -> Killtruck •Sep 26, 2017 9:41 PM
Bannon is a true fucking patriot trying to pull this once great country from the sinkhole.
Juggernaut x2 -> overbet •Sep 26, 2017 10:07 PM
Trump better pull his head out of his ass and quit being a wishy-washy populist on BS like Iran- the farther right he goes
the greater his odds of reelection because he has pissed off a lot of the far-righters that put him in- getting rid of Kushner,
Cohn and his daughter and negotiating w/Assad and distancing us from Israhell would be a huge help.
The whole Russiagate ploy was a diversion from (((them)))
NoDebt -> Killtruck •Sep 26, 2017 9:42 PM
I think the reality is that this was a message to McConnell much more than Trump. That message is simple: I'm coming to
kill your career. Bannon went out of his way to say he fully supports Trump (despite backing the opposite candidate). And, let's
face it, if Bannon buries McConnell, he's doing everyone a service, Trump included.
Oldwood -> NoDebt •Sep 26, 2017 10:08 PM
I think it was a setup.
Bannon would not oppose Trump that directly unless there was a wink and a nod involved.
Trump is still walking a tightrope, trying to appease his base AND keep as many establishment republicans at his side (even
for only optics). By Trump supporting Strange while knowing he was an underdog AND completely apposed by Bannon/his base he was
able to LOOK like he was supporting the establishment, while NOT really. Trump seldom backs losers which makes me think it was
deliberate. Strange never made sense anyway.
But what do I know?
Urahara -> NoDebt •Sep 27, 2017 12:20 AM
Bannon is hardcore Isreal first. Why are you supporting the zionist? It's an obvious play.
general ambivalent -> Urahara •Sep 27, 2017 2:23 AM
People are desperate to rationalise their failure into a victory. They cannot give up on Hope so they have to use hyperbole
in everything and pretend this is all leading to something great in 2020 or 2024.
None of these fools learned a damn thing and they are desperate to make the same mistake again. The swamp is full, so full
that it has breached the banks and taken over all of society. Trump is a swamp monster, and you simply cannot reform the swamp
when both sides are monsters. In other words, the inside is not an option, so it has to be done the hard way. But people would
prefer to keep voting in the swamp.
Al Gophilia -> NoDebt •Sep 27, 2017 3:58 AM
Bannon as president would really have those swamp creatures squirming. There wouldn't be this Trump crap about surrounding
himself with likeminded friends, such as Goldman Sachs turnstile workers and his good pals in the MIC.
Don't tell me he didn't choose them because if he didn't, then they were placed. That means he doesn't have the clout he pretends
to have or control of the agenda that the people asked him to deliver. His backing of Stange is telling.
Bobbyrib -> LindseyNarratesWordress •Sep 27, 2017 5:38 AM
He will not fire Kushner or Ivanka who have become part of the swamp. I'm so sick of these 'Trump is a genius and planned this
all along.'
To me Trump is a Mr. Bean type character that has been very fortunate and just goes with the flow. He has nearly no diplomacy,
or strategic skills.
NoWayJose •Sep 26, 2017 10:35 PM
Dear President Trump - if you like your job, listen to these voters. Borders, Walls, limited immigrants (including all those
that Ryan and McConnell are sneaking through under your very nose), trade agreements to keep American jobs, and respect for our
flag, our country, and the unborn!
I had hope for Trump, but as someone who reads ZH often, and does not suffer from amnesia (like much of America), I knew he
was way too good to be true.
We all know his back tracking, his flip flops...and while the media and many paid bloggers like to spin it as "not his fault",
it actually is.
His sending DACA to Congress was the last straw. Obama enacted DACA with a stroke of his pen, but Trump "needed to send it
to Congress so they could "get it right". The only thing Congress does with immigration is try and get amnesty passed.
Of course while Trump sends DACA to Congress, he does not mind using the military without Congress, which he actually should
do.
Why is it when it's something American's want, it has to go through the "correct channels", but when its something the Zionists
want, he does it with the wave of his pen? We saw the same bull shit games with Obama...
Dilluminati •Sep 26, 2017 11:02 PM
Anybody surprised by this is pretending the civility at the workplace isn't masking anger at corporate America and Government.
I'll go in and put in the 8 hours, I'm an adult that is part of the job. However I'm actually fed up with allot of the stupid
shit and want the establishment to work, problem is that we are witnessing failed nations, failed schools, failed healthcare,
even failed employment contracts, conditions, and wages.
The echo chamber media "is so surprised" that in Germany and the US we are seeing a rising tide of pissed off people, well
imagine fucking that? Leaving the echo chamber and not intellectually trying to understand the anger, but living the anger.
You haven't seen anything yet in Catalonia/Spain etc, Brexit, or so..
This is what failure looks like: That moment the Romanovs and Louis XVI looked around the room seeking an understanding eye,
there was none.
Pascal1967 •Sep 26, 2017 11:19 PM
Dear Trump:
Quit listening to your moron son-in-law, swamp creature, Goldman Sachs douchebag son-in-law Kushner. HE SUCKS!! If you truly
had BALLS, you would FIRE his fucking ass. HE is The Swamp, He Is Nepotism! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HATE HIM.
MAGA! LISTEN TO BANNON, DONALD.
DO NOT FUCK THIS UP!
ROY MOORE, 100%!!!!
You lost, Trump ... get your shit together before it is too late!
ElTerco •Sep 26, 2017 11:28 PM
Bannon was always the smarts behind the whole operation. Now we are just left with a complete idiot in office.
Also, unlike Trump, Bannon actually gives a shit about what happens to the American people rather than the American tax system.
At the end of the day, all Trump really cares about is himself.
samsara •Sep 26, 2017 11:25 PM
I think most people get it backwards about Trump and the Deplorables.
I believed in pulling troops a from all the war zones and Trump said he felt the same
I believed in Legal immigration, sending people back if here illegal especially if involved in crime, Trump said he felt the
same.
I believed in America first in negotiating treaties, Trump said he felt the same.
I didn't 'vote' for Trump per se, he was the proxy.
We didn't leave Him, He left us.
BarnacleBill •Sep 26, 2017 11:31 PM
Well, we can only hope that Trump gets the message. He was elected to be President of the USA, not Emperor of the World.
Quote from that Monty Python film: "He's not the Messiah; he's a very naughty boy!" It's high time he turned back to the
job he promised to do, and drain that swamp.
napper •Sep 26, 2017 11:47 PM
A cursory background reading on Roy Moore tells me that he is one of the worst types for public office. And he might just
turn out to be like Trump -- act like an anti-swarm cowboy and promise a path to heaven, then show his real colors as an Establishment
puppet once the braindead voters put him in office.
America is doomed from top (the swarm) to bottom (the brainless voters).
Sid Davis •Sep 27, 2017 1:40 AM
When Trump won the Republican nomination, and then the Presidency it was because people were rebelling against the establishment
rulers. There is considerable disgust with these big government rulers that are working for themselves and their corporate cronies,
but not for the US population.
Trump seems to have been compromised at this point, and his support of the establishment favourite, Luther Strange is evidence
that he isn't really the outsider he claimed to be. Moore's victory in Alabama says the rebellion still has wheels, so there is some hope.
In Missouri where I live, the anti-establishment Republican contender for the upcoming US Senatorial 2018 race is Austin Peterson.
It will be interesting to see how he, and his counterparts in other states do in the primaries. Both of the current Missouri Senators
are worthless.
nevertheless -> pfwed •Sep 27, 2017 7:33 AM
I remember well the last "3-Dimensional Chess master" Obama while he too was always out maneuvering his apponents, per the
media reports...
LoveTruth •Sep 27, 2017 2:56 AM
Every now and then Trump tends to make huge blunders, and sometimes betrayals without knowing what he is doing. "Champions"-
(great leaders) do not do that.
nevertheless -> LoveTruth •Sep 27, 2017 7:16 AM
What Trump has done are disasters, and equates to treason. Selling billions of dollars of weapons the our enemies the terrorists/Saudis,
killing innocent people in Syria, and Yemen, sending more troops to Afghanistan...
But most treasonous of all was his sending DACA to "get it right", really? Congress has only one goal with immigration, amnesty,
and Chump knows dam well they will send him legislation that will clearly or covertly grant amnesty for millions and millions
of illegals, dressed up as "security".
Obama enacted DACA with the stroke of a pen, and while TRUMP promised to end it, he did NOT. Why is it when it's something
Americans want, it has to be "Constitutional", but when it comes form his banker pals, like starting a war, he can do that unilaterally.
It is epitome of self-delusion to see people twisting themselves into pretzels, trying to justify/rationalize Trump's continuing
display of disloyalty to America, and loyalty to Zionism.
Trump should always have been seen as a likely Zionist shill. He comes form Jew York City, owes everything he is to Zionist
Jewish bankers, is a self proclaimed Zionist...
YOU CAN'T BE A ZIONIST AND AN AMERICAN FIRSTER, IT IS ONE OR THE OTHER.
Either Zero Hedge is over run with Zionist hasbara, giving cover to their boy Chump, or Americans on the "right" have become
as gullible as those who supported Obama on the "left".
"... GRAHAM: The first thing I want to tell you he beat me like a drum. He ran against 17 Republicans and crushed us all. He ran against a Clinton machine and won. So all I can say is you can say anything you want to say about the guy. I said he was xenophobic race-baiting religious bigot. I ran out of things to say. He won. Guess what he's our president. ..."
"... GRAHAM: In my view he is my president and doing a good job on multiple fronts. Again I'll tell you why. I went into this thing not voting. I didn't vote for the guy. ..."
Monday on ABC's "The View," when asked about President Donald Trump's tweet saying he was a
"stable genius," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that if Trump didn't call himself a genius,
"nobody else will."
.to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not
smart, but genius .and a very stable genius at that!
BEHAR: Saturday Trump called himself quote "like really smart" and a stable genius. Do you
think he's like really smart and a stable genius?
GRAHAM: I think this, if he doesn't call himself a genius, nobody else will.
NAVARRO: That was funny.
GRAHAM: The first thing I want to tell you he beat me like a drum. He ran against 17
Republicans and crushed us all. He ran against a Clinton machine and won. So all I can say is
you can say anything you want to say about the guy. I said he was xenophobic race-baiting
religious bigot. I ran out of things to say. He won. Guess what he's our president.
BEHAR: You're calling him a xenophobic religious bigot?
GRAHAM: I did during the campaign.
BEHAR: Yeah you did.
NAVARRO: Is he still all those things?
GRAHAM: In my view he is my president and doing a good job on multiple fronts. Again I'll
tell you why. I went into this thing not voting. I didn't vote for the guy.
Trump is now 100% pure neocon. What a metamorphose is less a year from inauguration...
Notable quotes:
"... It says, with extreme hyperbole, that "China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity. They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence. At the same time, the dictatorships of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran are determined to destabilize regions, threaten Americans and our allies, and brutalize their own people." ..."
"... A somewhat more detailed account of what Moscow is up to is also contained in the written report, stating that "Russia is using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of America's commitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European institutions and governments. With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia demonstrated its willingness to violate the sovereignty of states in the region. Russia continues to intimidate its neighbors with threatening behavior, such as nuclear posturing and the forward deployment of offensive capabilities." ..."
"... Nearly every detail in the indictment of Russia can be challenged. Most notably, if anyone is forward deploying offensive capabilities in Eastern Europe or invading other countries it is the United States, a trend that continues under Donald Trump. Just this past week, Trump approved the sale of offensive weapons to Ukraine, which has already drawn a warning from Moscow and will make any dialogue with Russia unlikely. ..."
"... And, of course, there is the usual softball for Israel claiming that "For generations the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been understood as the prime irritant preventing peace and prosperity in the region. Today, the threats from jihadist terrorist organizations and the threat from Iran are creating the realization that Israel is not the cause of the region's problems." It is a conclusion that must make the unspeakable Benjamin Netanyahu smile. One might observe that as Israel has attacked all of its neighbors since it was founded, holding its governments blameless is a formulation that others in the region might well dispute. ..."
"... So the Donald Trump National Security Strategy will be more of the same, a combination of the worst ideas to emerge from his two predecessors with little in the way of mitigation. Trump might balk at going toe-to-toe with North Korea because they have the actual capability to strike back and might think they have nothing to lose if they are about to be incinerated, something no bully likes to see, but Iran is certainly in the cross hairs and you best believe they have taken notice and will be preparing. Vladimir Putin too can sit back and wonder how Trump could possibly have gotten everything so ass-backwards when he had so much latitude to get at least some things right. The National Security Strategy will deliver little in the way of security but it will provide an answer to why most of the world has come to hate the United States. ..."
If one takes Trump at his word, the U.S. will use force worldwide to make sure that only
Washington can dominate regionally, a frightening thought as it goes beyond even the wildest
pretensions of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And equally ridiculous are the potential
consequences of such bullying – the White House clearly believes that it will make other
nations respect us and follow our leadership whereas quite the reverse is likely to be
true.
On the very limited bright side, Trump did have good things to say about the benefits
derived from intelligence sharing with Russia and he also spoke about both Moscow and Beijing
as "rivals" and "adversaries" instead of enemies. That was very refreshing to hear but
unfortunately the printed document did not say the same thing.
The NSS report provided considerably more detail than did the speech but it also was full of
generalizations and all too often relied on Washington group think to frame its options. The
beginning is somewhat terrifying for one of my inclinations on foreign policy:
"An America that is safe, prosperous, and free at home is an America with the strength,
confidence, and will to lead abroad. It is an America that can preserve peace, uphold liberty,
and create enduring advantages for the American people. Putting America first is the duty of
our government and the foundation for U.S. leadership in the world. A strong America is in the
vital interests of not only the American people, but also those around the world who want to
partner with the United States in pursuit of shared interests, values, and aspirations."
One has to ask what this "lead" and "leadership" and "partner" nonsense actually represents,
particularly in light of the fact that damn near the entire world just repudiated Trump's
decision to move the American Embassy in Israel as well as the nearly global rejection of his
response to climate change? And Washington's alleged need to lead has brought nothing but grief
to the American people starting in Korea and continuing with Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and
numerous lesser stops along the way in places like Somalia, Panama and Syria. The false
narrative of the threat coming from "foreigners" has actually done nothing to make Americans
safer while also diminishing constitutional liberties and doing serious damage to the
economy.
The printed report is much more brutal than was Trump about the dangers facing America and
it is also much more carefree in the "facts" that it chooses to present. It says, with extreme
hyperbole, that "China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests,
attempting to erode American security and prosperity. They are determined to make economies
less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to
repress their societies and expand their influence. At the same time, the dictatorships of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran are determined to
destabilize regions, threaten Americans and our allies, and brutalize their own people."
A somewhat more detailed account of what Moscow is up to is also contained in the written
report, stating that "Russia is using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of
America's commitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European institutions
and governments. With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia demonstrated its willingness
to violate the sovereignty of states in the region. Russia continues to intimidate its
neighbors with threatening behavior, such as nuclear posturing and the forward deployment of
offensive capabilities."
Nearly every detail in the indictment of Russia can be challenged. Most notably, if anyone
is forward deploying offensive capabilities in Eastern Europe or invading other countries it is
the United States, a trend that continues under Donald Trump. Just this past week, Trump
approved the sale of offensive weapons to Ukraine, which has already drawn a warning from
Moscow and will make any dialogue with Russia unlikely.
And, of course, there is the usual softball for Israel claiming that "For generations the
conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been understood as the prime irritant
preventing peace and prosperity in the region. Today, the threats from jihadist terrorist
organizations and the threat from Iran are creating the realization that Israel is not the
cause of the region's problems." It is a conclusion that must make the unspeakable Benjamin
Netanyahu smile. One might observe that as Israel has attacked all of its neighbors since it
was founded, holding its governments blameless is a formulation that others in the region might
well dispute.
So the Donald Trump National Security Strategy will be more of the same, a combination of
the worst ideas to emerge from his two predecessors with little in the way of mitigation. Trump
might balk at going toe-to-toe with North Korea because they have the actual capability to
strike back and might think they have nothing to lose if they are about to be incinerated,
something no bully likes to see, but Iran is certainly in the cross hairs and you best believe
they have taken notice and will be preparing. Vladimir Putin too can sit back and wonder how
Trump could possibly have gotten everything so ass-backwards when he had so much latitude to
get at least some things right. The National Security Strategy will deliver little in the way
of security but it will provide an answer to why most of the world has come to hate the United
States.
"... In this case, what Flynn and Kushner were doing was going directly against US foreign policy, because Obama wanted the resolution to pass; He just didn't want to vote for it because that would cross the Israel lobby in the United States. The US finally ended up abstaining on the resolution and it passed 14-0. ..."
"... But before that happened, Flynn went to the Russians and to Egypt, both members of the Security Council, and tried to get the resolution delayed. But all of Israel's machinations to derail this resolution failed and that is what Mueller was investigating, the intervention and disruption of American foreign policy by private citizens who had no official role. ..."
"... While I think Bibi is an idiot, I also think the Logan Act is overinvoked, overstated, probably of dubious legal value and also of dubious constitutional value. ..."
"... In short, especially because Trump had been elected, though not yet inaugurated, I think he is not at all guilty of a Logan Act violation. This is nothing close to Spiro Agnew calling Anna Chenault from the airplane in August 1968. ..."
"... Probably true, although evidence of extreme collusion with Israel eliminates any case against Russia, with whom we have far more reasons for amity. Bringing out the Israel collusion greatly improves public understanding of political corruption. Perhaps it will awaken some to the Agnew-Chennault betrayal of the people of the US. ..."
"... It's ironic that Russia-gate is turning out to be Israel's effort to distract attention from its complete control over the Democratic party in 2016. From Israeli billionaires behind the scenes to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz at the helm. ..."
"... "Whether we like it or not, the former and current administration view Russia is as an enemy state." So that is how it works, the White House says it is an enemy state and therefore it is. The so called declaration is the hammer used for trying to make contact with Russia a criminal offense. We are not at war with Russia although we see our leaders doing their best to provoke Russia into one. ..."
"... The Israel connection disclosed by the malpracticer hack Mueller in the recent Flynn-flam just made Trump bullet-proof (so to speak). ..."
"... So Mueller caught Kushner and Flynn red-handed, sabotaging the Obama administration? What of it? He can't use that evidence, because it would inculpate the Zionist neocons that are orchestrating his farcical, Stalinist witchhunt. And Mueller, being an efficient terminator bot, knows that his target is Russia, not Israel. ..."
"... So Mueller will just have to continue swamp-fishing for potential perjurers ahem witnesses, for the upcoming show trials (to further inflame public opinion against Russia and Russia sympathizers). And continue he will, because (as we all know from Schwarzenegger's flicks), the only way to stop the terminator is to terminate him/it first. ..."
"... Trump and Kushner have nothing to worry about, even if a smoking gun is found that proves their collusion with Israel. That's because the entire political and media establishment will simply ignore the Israeli connection. ..."
"... Journalists and politicians will even continue to present Mike Flynn's contacts as evidence of collusion with Russia. They'll keep on repeating that "Flynn lied about his phone call to the Russian ambassador". But there will be no mention of the fact that the purpose of this contact was to support Israel and not any alleged Russian interference. ..."
"... I think you have it right Brendan. The MSM, Intelligence Community, and Mueller would never go down any path that popularized undue Israeli influence on US foreign policy. "Nothing to see here folks, move along." ..."
"... The Nice Zionists responsible for the thefts and murders for the past 69 years along with the "Jewish Community" in the rest of the world will resolve the matter so as to be fair to both parties. This is mind-boggling fantasy. ..."
"... FFS, Netanyahu aired a political commercial in Florida for Romney saying vote for this guy (against Obama)! I mean, it doesn't get any more overtly manipulative than that. Period. End of story. ..."
"... God, I hate to go all "Israel controls the media" but there it is. Not even a discussion. Just a fact. ..."
"... I also have to point out that he "fist pumped" Hillary Clinton at Mohammed Ali's eulogy. If he's as astute as he purports to be, he has to know that Hillary would have invaded Syria and killed a few hundred thousand more Syrians for the simple act of defiantly preserving their country. By almost any read of Ali's history, he would have been adamantly ("killing brown people") against that. But there was Silverstein using the platform to promote, arguably, perpetual war. ..."
"... Yeah I found a couple of Silverstein's statements to be closer to neocon propaganda than reality: "Because this is Israel and because we have a conflicted relationship with the Israel lobby . . ." "Instead of going directly to the Obama administration, with which they had terrible relations, they went to Trump instead." My impression was that the whole "terrible relationship between Obama and Netanyahu" was manufactured by the Israel lobby to bully Obama. However these are small blips within an otherwise solid critique of the Israel lobby's influence. ..."
The Israel-gate Side of Russia-gate December 23, 2017
While unproven claims of Russian meddling in U.S. politics have whipped Official Washington
into a frenzy, much less attention has been paid to real evidence of Israeli interference in
U.S. politics, as Dennis J Bernstein describes.
By Dennis J Bernstein
In investigating Russia's alleged meddling in U.S. politics, special prosecutor Robert
Mueller uncovered evidence that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressured the Trump
transition team to undermine President Obama's plans to permit the United Nations to censure
Israel over its illegal settlement building on the Palestinian West Bank, a discovery
referenced in the plea deal with President Trump's first National Security Adviser Michael
Flynn.
President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the United
Nations General Assembly (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
At Netanyahu's behest, Flynn and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly took
the lead in the lobbying to derail the U.N. resolution, which Flynn discussed in a phone call
with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak (in which the Russian diplomat rebuffed Flynn's appeal
to block the resolution).
I spoke on Dec, 18 with independent journalist and blogger Richard Silverstein, who writes
on national security and other issues for a number of blogs at Tikun Olam .
Dennis Bernstein: A part of Michael Flynn's plea had to do with some actions he took before
coming to power regarding Israel and the United Nations. Please explain.
Richard Silverstein:
The Obama administration was negotiating in the [UN] Security Council
just before he left office about a resolution that would condemn Israeli settlements.
Obviously, the Israeli government did not want this resolution to be passed. Instead of going
directly to the Obama administration, with which they had terrible relations, they went to
Trump instead. They approached Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner became involved in this. While
they were in the transition and before having any official capacity, they negotiated with
various members of the Security Council to try to quash the settlement resolution.
One of the issues here which is little known is the Logan Act, which was passed at the
foundation of our republic and was designed to prevent private citizens from usurping the
foreign policy prerogatives of the executive. It criminalized any private citizen who attempted
to negotiate with an enemy country over any foreign policy issue.
In this case, what Flynn and Kushner were doing was going directly against US foreign
policy, because Obama wanted the resolution to pass; He just didn't want to vote for it because
that would cross the Israel lobby in the United States. The US finally ended up abstaining on
the resolution and it passed 14-0.
But before that happened, Flynn went to the Russians and to Egypt, both members of the
Security Council, and tried to get the resolution delayed. But all of Israel's machinations to
derail this resolution failed and that is what Mueller was investigating, the intervention and
disruption of American foreign policy by private citizens who had no official role.
This speaks to the power of the Israel lobby and of Israel itself to disrupt our foreign
policy. Very few people have ever been charged with committing an illegal act by advocating on
behalf of Israel. That is one of the reasons why this is such an important development. Until
now, the lobby has really ruled supreme on the issue of Israel and Palestine in US foreign
policy. Now it is possible that a private citizen will actually be made to pay a price for
that.
This is an important development because the lobby till now has run roughshod over our
foreign policy in this area and this may act as a restraining order against blatant disruption
of US foreign policy by people like this.
Bernstein: So this information is a part of Michael Flynn's plea. Anyone studying this would
learn something about Michael Flynn and it would be part of the prosecution's
investigation.
Silverstein:
That's absolutely right. One thing to note here is that it is reporters who
have raised the issue of the Logan Act, not Mueller or Flynn's people or anyone in the Trump
administration. But I do think that Logan is a very important part of this plea deal, even if
it is not mentioned explicitly.
Bernstein: If the special prosecutor had smoking-gun information that the Trump
administration colluded with Russia, in the way they colluded with Israel before coming to
power, this would be a huge revelation. But it is definitely collusion when it comes to
Israel.
Silverstein: Absolutely. If this were Russia, it would be on the front page of every major
newspaper in the United States and the leading story on the TV news. Because this is Israel and
because we have a conflicted relationship with the Israel lobby and they have so much influence
on US policy concerning Israel, it has managed to stay on the back burner. Only two or three
media outlets besides mine have raised this issue of Logan and collusion. Kushner and Flynn may
be the first American citizens charged under the Logan Act for interfering on behalf of Israel
in our foreign policy. This is a huge issue and it has hardly been raised at all.
Bernstein: As you know, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC has made a career out of investigating the
Russia-gate charges. She says that she has read all this material carefully, so she must have
read about Flynn and Israel, but I haven't heard her on this issue at all.
Silverstein:
Even progressive journalists, who you'd think would be going after this with a
vengeance, are frightened off by the fact the lobby really bites back. So, aside from outlets
like the Intercept and the Electronic Intifada, there is a lot of hesitation about going after
the Israel lobby. People are afraid because they know that there is a high price to be paid. It
goes from being purely journalism to being a personal and political vendetta when they get you
in their sights. In fact, one of the reasons I feel my blog is so important is that what I do
is challenge Israeli policy and Israeli intervention in places where it doesn't belong.
Bernstein: Jared Kushner is the point man for the Trump administration on Israel. He has
talked about having a "vision for peace." Do you think it is a problem that this is someone
with a long, close relationship with the prime minister of Israel and, in fact, runs a
foundation that invests in the building of illegal Israeli settlements? Might this be
problematic?
Silverstein:
It is quite nefarious, actually. When Jared Kushner was a teenager, Netanyahu
used to stay at the Kushner family home when he visited the United States. This relationship
with one of the most extreme right political figures in Israel goes back decades. And it is not
just Kushner himself, but all the administration personnel dealing with these so-called peace
negotiations, including Jason Greenblatt and David Friedman, the ambassador. These are all
orthodox Jews who tend to have very nationalist views when it comes to Israel. They all support
settlements financially through foundations. These are not honest brokers.
We could talk at length about the history of US personnel who have been negotiators for
Middle East peace. All of them have been favorable to Israel and answerable to the Israel
lobby, including Dennis Ross and Makovsky, who served in the last administration. These people
are dyed-in-the-wool ultra-nationalist supporters of [Israeli] settlements. They have no
business playing any role in negotiating a peace deal.
My prediction all along has been that these peace negotiations will come to naught, even
though they seem to have bought the cooperation of Saudi Arabia, which is something new in the
process. The Palestinians can never accept a deal that has been negotiated by Kushner and
company because it will be far too favorable to Israel and it will totally neglect the
interests of the Palestinians.
Bernstein: It has been revealed that Kushner supports the building of settlements in the
West Bank. Most people don't understand the politics of what is going on there, but it appears
to be part of an ethnic cleansing.
Silverstein:
The settlements have always been a violation of international law, ever since
Israel conquered the West Bank in 1967. The Geneva Conventions direct an occupying power to
withdraw from territory that was not its own. In 1967 Israel invaded Arab states and conquered
the West Bank and Gaza but this has never been recognized or accepted by any nation until
now.
The fact that Kushner and his family are intimately involved in supporting
settlements–as are David Friedman and Jason Greenblatt–is completely outrageous. No
member of any previous US administration would have been allowed to participate with these
kinds of financial investments in support of settlements. Of course, Trump doesn't understand
the concept of conflict of interest because he is heavily involved in such conflicts himself.
But no party in the Middle East except Israel is going to consider the US an honest broker and
acceptable as a mediator.
When they announce this deal next January, no one in the Arab World is going to accept it,
with the possible exception of Saudi Arabia because they have other fish to fry in terms of
Iran. The next three years are going to be interesting, supposing Trump lasts out his term. My
prediction is that the peace plan will fail and that it will lead to greater violence in the
Middle East. It will not simply lead to a vacuum, it will lead to a deterioration in conditions
there.
Bernstein: The Trump transition team was actually approached directly by the Israeli
government to try to intercede at the United Nations.
Silverstein:
I'm assuming it was Netanyahu who went directly to Kushner and Trump. Now, we
haven't yet found out that Trump directly knew about this but it is very hard to believe
that Trump didn't endorse this. Now that we know that Mueller has access to all of the emails
of the transition team, there is little doubt that they have been able to find their smoking
gun. Flynn's plea meant that they basically had him dead to rights. It remains to be seen what
will happen with Kushner but I would think that this would play some role in either the
prosecution of Kushner or some plea deal.
Bernstein: The other big story, of course, is the decision by the Trump administration to
move the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. Was there any pre-election collusion in that
regard and what are the implications?
Silverstein:
Well, it's a terrible decision which goes against forty to fifty years of US
foreign policy. It also breaches all international understanding. All of our allies in the
European Union and elsewhere are aghast at this development. There is now a campaign in the
United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution condemning the announcement, which we will
veto, but the next step will be to go to the General Assembly, where such a resolution will
pass easily.
The question is how much anger, violence and disruption this is going to cause around the
world, especially in the Arab and Muslim world. This is a slow-burning fuse. It is not going to
explode right now. The issue of Jerusalem is so vital that this is not something that is simply
going to go away. This is going to be a festering sore in the Muslim world and among
Palestinians. We have already seen attacks on Israeli soldiers and citizens and there will be
many more.
As to collusion in all of this, since Trump always said during the campaign that this was
what he was going to do, it might be difficult to treat this in the same way as the UN
resolution. The UN resolution was never on anybody's radar and nobody knew the role that Trump
was playing behind the scenes with that–as opposed to Trump saying right from the get-go
that Jerusalem was going to be recognized as the capital of Jerusalem.
By doing that, they have completely abrogated any Palestinian interest in Jerusalem. This is
a catastrophic decision that really excludes the United States from being an honest broker here
and shows our true colors in terms of how pro-Israel we are.
As most regular readers of CN already know, some dynamite books on the inordinate amount
of influence pro-Israel zealots have on Washington:
1.) 'The Host and the Parasite' by Greg Felton
2.) 'Power of Israel in the United States' by James Petras
3.) 'They Dare to Speak Out' by Paul Findley
4.) 'The Israel Lobby' by Mearsheimer and Walt
5.) 'Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of U.S. Power' by James Petras
I suggest that anyone relatively knew to this neglected topic peruse a few of the
aforementioned titles. An inevitable backlash by the citizens of the United States is
eventually forthcoming against the Zionist Power Configuration. It's crucial that this
impending backlash remain democratic, non-violent, eschews anti-Semitism, and travels in a
progressive in direction.
Annie , December 23, 2017 at 5:47 pm
Which one would you suggest? I already read "The Israel Lobby."
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 8:38 pm
Findley and Mearsheimer are certainly worthwhile. I will look for Petras.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 6:38 pm
If you haven't already read them, the end/footnotes in "The Israel Lobby" are more
illuminating.
That influence is also shown, of course, by the fact that Obama waited until the midnight
hours of his tenure and after the 2016 election to even start working on this resolution.
While I think Bibi is an idiot, I also think the Logan Act is overinvoked, overstated,
probably of dubious legal value and also of dubious constitutional value.
In short, especially because Trump had been elected, though not yet inaugurated, I think
he is not at all guilty of a Logan Act violation. This is nothing close to Spiro Agnew
calling Anna Chenault from the airplane in August 1968.
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 8:41 pm
Probably true, although evidence of extreme collusion with Israel eliminates any case
against Russia, with whom we have far more reasons for amity. Bringing out the Israel
collusion greatly improves public understanding of political corruption. Perhaps it will
awaken some to the Agnew-Chennault betrayal of the people of the US.
JWalters , December 24, 2017 at 3:32 am
It's ironic that Russia-gate is turning out to be Israel's effort to distract attention
from its complete control over the Democratic party in 2016. From Israeli billionaires behind
the scenes to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz at the helm.
The leaked emails showed the corruption
plainly, and based on the ACTUAL evidence (recorded download time), most likely came from a
highly disgruntled insider. The picture was starting to spill into public view. I'd estimate
the real huge worry was that if this stuff came out, it could bring out other Israeli
secrets, like their involvement in 9/11. That would mean actual jail time. Might be hard to
buy your way out of that no matter how much money you have.
Annie , December 23, 2017 at 10:48 pm
The Logan act states that anyone who negotiates with an enemy of the US, and Israel is not
defined as an enemy.
Annie , December 23, 2017 at 6:59 pm
The Logan act would not apply here, although I wish it would. I don't think anyone has
been convicted based on this act, and they were part of a transition team not to mention the
Logan act clearly states a private citizen who attempts to negotiate with an enemy state, and
that certainly doesn't apply to Israel. In this administration their bias is so blatant that
they can install Kushner as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestine peace process while his
family has a close relationship with Netanyahu, and he runs a foundation that invests in the
building of illegal settlements which goes against the Geneva conventions. Hopefully Trump's
blatant siding with Israel will receive a lot of backlash as did his plan to make Jerusalem
the capital of Israel.
I also found that so called progressive internet sites don't cover this the way they
should.
Al Pinto , December 24, 2017 at 9:16 am
@Annie
"The Logan act would not apply here, although I wish it would."
You and me both .
From the point of starting to read this article, it has been in my mind that the Logan act
would not apply here. After reading most of the comments, it became clear that not many
people viewed this as such. Yes, Joe Tedesky did as well
The UN is the "clearing house" for international politics, where countries freely contact
each other's for getting support for their cause behind the scene. The support sought after
could be voting for or against the resolution on hand. At times, as Israel did, countries
reach out to perceived enemies as well, if they could not secure sufficient support for their
cause. This is the normal activity of the UN diplomacy.
Knowing that the outgoing administration would not support its cause, Israel reached out
to the incoming administration to delay the vote on the UN resolution. I fail to see anything
wrong with Israel's action even in this case; Israel is not an enemy state to the US. As
such, there has been no violation of any acts by the incoming administration, even if they
tried to secure veto vote for Israel. I do not like it, but no action by Mueller in this case
is correct.
People, just like the article in itself, implying that the Logan Act applies in this case
are just plain wrong. Not just wrong, but their anti-Israel bias is in plain view.
Whether we like it or not, the former and current administration view Russia is as an
enemy state. Even then, Russia contacting the incoming administration is not a violation of
the Logan Act. That is just normal diplomacy in the background between countries. What would
be a violation is that the contacted official acted on the behalf of Russia and tried to
influence the outgoing administration's decision. That is what the Mueller investigation
tries to prove hopelessly
"Whether we like it or not, the former and current administration view Russia is as an
enemy state." So that is how it works, the White House says it is an enemy state and
therefore it is. The so called declaration is the hammer used for trying to make contact with
Russia a criminal offense. We are not at war with Russia although we see our leaders doing
their best to provoke Russia into one.
Annie , December 24, 2017 at 1:55 pm
Thanks for your reply. When I read the article and it referenced the Logan Act, which I am
familiar with in that I've read about it before, I was surprised that Bernstein and
Silverstein even brought it up because it so obviously does not apply in this case, since
Israel is not considered an enemy state. Many have even referenced it as flimsy when it comes
to convictions against those in Trump's transition team who had contacts with Russia. No one
has ever been convicted under the Logan Act.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 6:41 pm
The Logan Act either should apply equally, or not apply at all. This "Russia-gate" hype
seems to apply it selectively.
mrtmbrnmn , December 23, 2017 at 7:36 pm
You guys are blinded by the light. The Israel connection disclosed by the malpracticer
hack Mueller in the recent Flynn-flam just made Trump bullet-proof (so to speak).
There is no doubt that Trump is Bibi's and the Saudi's ventriloquist dummy and Jared has
been an Israel agent of influence since he was 12.
But half the Dementedcrat Sore Loser Brigade will withdraw from the field of battle (not
to mention most of the GOP living dead too) if publically and noisily tying Israel to Trump's
tail becomes the only route to his removal. Which it would have to be, as there is no there
there regarding the yearlong trumped-up PutinPutinPutin waterboarding of Trump.
Immediately (if not sooner) the mighty (pro-Israel) Donor Bank of Singer (Paul), Saban
(Haim), Sachs (Goldman) & Adelson (Sheldon), would change their passwords and leave these
politicians/beggars with empty begging bowls. End of $ordid $tory.
alley cat , December 23, 2017 at 7:45 pm
So Mueller caught Kushner and Flynn red-handed, sabotaging the Obama administration? What
of it? He can't use that evidence, because it would inculpate the Zionist neocons that are
orchestrating his farcical, Stalinist witchhunt. And Mueller, being an efficient terminator
bot, knows that his target is Russia, not Israel.
Mueller can use that evidence of sabotage and/or obstruction of justice to try to coerce
false confessions from Kushner and Flynn. But what are the chances of that, barring short
stayovers for them at some CIA black site?
So Mueller will just have to continue swamp-fishing for potential perjurers ahem
witnesses, for the upcoming show trials (to further inflame public opinion against Russia and
Russia sympathizers). And continue he will, because (as we all know from Schwarzenegger's
flicks), the only way to stop the terminator is to terminate him/it first.
Leslie F. , December 23, 2017 at 8:28 pm
He used it, along with other info, to turn flip Flynn and possibly can use it the same way
again Kusher. Not all evidence has end up in court to be useful.
JWalters , December 23, 2017 at 8:40 pm
This is an extremely important story, excellently reported. All the main "facts" Americans
think they know about Israel are, amazingly, flat-out lies.
1. Israel was NOT victimized by powerful Arab armies. Israel overpowered and victimized a
defenseless, civilian Arab population. Military analysts knew the Arab armies were in poor
shape and would not be able to resist the zionist army.
2. Muslim "citizens" of Israel do NOT have all the same rights as Jews.
3. Israelis are NOT under threat from the indigineous Palestinians, but Palestinians are
under constant threats of theft and death from the Israelis.
4. Israel does NOT share America's most fundamental values, which rest on the principle of
equal human rights for all.
Maintaining such a blanket of major lies for decades requires immense power. And this
power would have to be exercised "under the radar" to be effective. That requires even more
power. Both Congress and the press have to be controlled. How much power does it take to turn
"Progressive Rachel" into "Tel Aviv Rachel"? To turn "It Takes a Village" Hillary into
"Slaughter a Village" Hillary? It takes immense power AND ruthlessness.
War profiteers have exactly this combination of immense war profits and the ruthlessness
to victimize millions of people. "War Profiteers and the Roots of the War on Terror" http://warprofiteerstory.blogspot.com
Vast war profits easily afford to buy the mainstream media. And controlling campaign
contributions for members of Congress is amazingly cheap in the big picture. Such a squalid
sale of souls.
And when simple bribery is not enough, they ruin a person's life through blackmail or
false character assassination. And if those don't work they use death threats, including to
family members, and finally murder. Their ruthlessness is unrestrained. John Perkins has
described these tactics in "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man".
For readers who haven't seen it, here is an excellent riff on the absurdly overwhelming
evidence for Israel's influence compared to that of Russia, at a highly professional news and
analysis website run by Jewish anti-Zionists. "Let's talk about Russian influence" http://mondoweiss.net/2016/08/about-russian-influence/
mike k , December 23, 2017 at 8:44 pm
Hitler and Mussolini, Trump and Netanyahoo – matches made in Hell. These characters
are so obviously, blatantly evil that it is deeply disturbing that people fail to see that,
and instead go to great lengths to find some complicated flaws in these monsters.
mike k , December 23, 2017 at 8:49 pm
Keep it simple folks. No need for complex analyses. Just remember that these characters as
simply as evil as it gets, and proceed from there. These asinine shows that portray mobsters
as complex human beings are dangerously deluding. If you want to be victimized by these
types, this kind of overthinking is just the way to go.
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 9:00 pm
There is a modern theory of fiction that insists upon the portrayal of inconsistency in
characters, both among the good guys and the bad guys. It is useful to show how those who do
wrongs have made specific kinds of errors that make them abnormal, and that those who do
right are not perfect but nonetheless did the right thing. Instead it is used by commercial
writers to argue that the good are really bad, and the bad are really good, which is of
course the philosophy of oligarchy-controlled mass publishers.
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 8:54 pm
A very important article by Dennis Bernstein, and it is very appropriate that non-zionist
Jews are active against the extreme zionist corruption of our federal government. I am sure
that they are reviled by the zionists for interfering with the false denunciations of racism
against the opponents of zionism. Indeed critics face a very nearly totalitarian power of
zionism, which in league with MIC/WallSt opportunism has displaced democracy altogether in
the US.
backwardsevolution , December 23, 2017 at 9:18 pm
A nice little set-up by the Obama administration. Perhaps it was entrapment? Who set it
up? Flynn and Kushner should have known better to fall for it. So at the end of his
Presidency, Obama suddenly gets balls and wants to slap down Israel? Yeah, right.
Nice to have leverage over people, though, isn't it? If you're lucky and play your cards
right, you might even be lucky enough to land an impeachment.
Of course, I'm just being cynical. No one would want to overturn democracy, would
they?
Certainly people like Comey, Brenner, Clinton, Clapper, Mueller, Rosenstein wouldn't want
that, would they?
Joe Tedesky , December 23, 2017 at 10:33 pm
I just can't see any special prosecutor investigating Israel-Gate. Between what the
Zionist donors donate to these creepy politicians, too what goods they have on these same
mischievous politicians, I just can't see any investigation into Israel's collusion with the
Trump Administration going anywhere. Netanyahu isn't Putin, and Russia isn't Israel. Plus,
Israel is considered a U.S. ally, while Russia is being marked as a Washington rival. Sorry,
this news regarding Israel isn't going to be ranted on about for the next 18 months, like the
MSM has done with Russia, because our dear old Israel is the only democracy in the Middle
East, or so they tell us. So, don't get your hopes up.
JWalters , December 24, 2017 at 3:33 am
It's true the Israelis have America's politicians by the ears and the balls. But as this
story gets better known, politicians will start getting questions at their town meetings.
Increasingly the politicians will gag on what Israel is force-feeding them, until finally
they reach a critical mass of vomit in Congress.
Joe Tedesky , December 24, 2017 at 11:12 am
I hope you are right JWalters. Although relying on a Zionist controlled MSM doesn't give
hope for the news getting out properly. Again I hope you are right JWalters. Joe
Actually, Netanyahu was so desperate to have the resolution pulled and not voted on that
he reached out to any country that might help him after the foreign minister of New Zealand,
one of its co-sponsors refused to pull the plug after a testy phone exchange with the Israeli
PM ending up threatening an Israeli boycott oturnef the KIwis.
He then turned to his buddy, Vladimir Putin, who owed him a favor for having Israel's UN
delegate absent himself for the UNGA vote on sanctioning Russia after its annexation of
Crimea.
Putin then called Russia's UN Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, since deceased, and asked him to
get the other UNSC ambassadors to postpone the vote until Trump took over the White House but
the other ambassadors weren't buying it. Given Russia's historic public position regarding
the settlements, Churkin had no choice to vote Yes with the others.
This story was reported in detail in the Israeli press but blacked out in the US which,
due to Zionist influence on the media, does not want the American public to know about the
close ties between Putin and Netanyahu which has led to the Israeli PM making five state
visits there in the last year and a half.
Had Clinton won the White House we can assume that there would have been no US veto. That
Netanyahu apparently knew in advance that the US planned to veto the resolution was, I
suspect, leaked to the Israelis by US delegate Samantha Power, who was clearly unhappy at
having to abstain.
Abe , December 24, 2017 at 12:39 am
The Israeli Prime Minister made five state visits to Russia in the last year and a half to
make sure the Russians don't accidentally on purpose blast Israeli warplanes from the sky
over Syria (like they oughtta). Putin tries not to snicker when Netanyahu bloviates ad
nauseum about the purported "threat" posed by Iran.
He thinks Putin is a RATS ASS like the yankee government
JWalters , December 24, 2017 at 3:34 am
"This story was reported in detail in the Israeli press but blacked out in the
US"
We've just had a whole cluster of big stories involving Israel that have all been
essentially blacked out in the US press. e.g. "Dionne and Shields ignore the Adelson in the room" http://mondoweiss.net/2017/12/jerusalem-israels-capital
This is not due to chance. There is no doubt that the US mainstream media is wholly
controlled by the Israelis.
alley cat , December 24, 2017 at 4:49 am
"He [Netanyahu] then turned to his buddy, Vladimir Putin "
Jeff, that characterization of Putin and Netanyahu's relationship makes no sense, since
the Russians have consistently opposed Zionism and Putin has been no exception, having
spoiled Zionist plans for the destruction of Syria.
"Had Clinton won the White House we can assume that there would have been no US
veto."
Not sure where you're going with that, since the US vote was up to Obama, who wanted to
get some payback for all of Bibi's efforts to sabotage Obama's treaty with Iran.
For the record, Zionism has had no more rabid supporter than the Dragon Lady. If we're
going to make assumptions, we could start by assuming that if she had won the White House
we'd all be dead by now, thanks to her obsession (at the instigation of her Zionist/neocon
sponsors) with declaring no-fly zones in Syria.
Brendan , December 24, 2017 at 6:18 am
Trump and Kushner have nothing to worry about, even if a smoking gun is found that proves
their collusion with Israel. That's because the entire political and media establishment will
simply ignore the Israeli connection.
Journalists and politicians will even continue to present Mike Flynn's contacts as
evidence of collusion with Russia. They'll keep on repeating that "Flynn lied about his phone
call to the Russian ambassador". But there will be no mention of the fact that the purpose of
this contact was to support Israel and not any alleged Russian interference.
Skip Scott , December 24, 2017 at 7:59 am
I think you have it right Brendan. The MSM, Intelligence Community, and Mueller would
never go down any path that popularized undue Israeli influence on US foreign policy.
"Nothing to see here folks, move along."
The zionist will stop at nothing to control the middle east with American taxpayers
money/military equiptment its a win win for the zionist they control America lock stock and
barrel a pity though it is a great country to be led by a jewish entity.
What will Israel-Palestine look like twenty years from now? Will it remain an apartheid
regime, a regime without any Palestinians, or something different. The Trump decision, which
the world rejects, brings the issue of "final" settlement to the fore. In a way we can go
back to the thirties and the British Mandate. Jewish were fleeing Europe, many coming to
Palestine. The British, on behalf of the Zionists, were delaying declaring Palestine a state
with control of its own affairs. Seeing the mass immigration and chafing at British foot
dragging, the Arabs rebelled, What happened then was that the British, responding to numerous
pressures notably war with Germany, acted by granting independence and granting Palestine
control of its borders.
With American pressure and the mass exodus of Jews from Europe, Jews defied the British
resulting in Jewish resistance. What followed then was a UN plan to divide the land with a
Jerusalem an international city administered by the UN. The Arabs rebelled and lost much of
what the UN plan provided and Jerusalem as an international city was scrapped.
Will there be a second serious attempt to settle the issue of the land and the status of
Jerusalem? Will there be a serious move toward a single state? How will the matter of
Jerusalem be resolved. The two state solution has always been a fantasy and acquiescence of
Palestinians to engage in this charade exposes their leaders to charges of posturing for
perks. Imagined options could go on and on but will there be serious options placed before
the world community or will the boots on the ground Israeli policies continue?
As I have commented before, it will most probably be the Jewish community in Israel and
the world that shapes the future and if the matter is to be resolved that is fair to both
parties, it will be they that starts the ball rolling.
Zachary Smith , December 24, 2017 at 1:34 pm
As I have commented before, it will most probably be the Jewish community in Israel and
the world that shapes the future and if the matter is to be resolved that is fair to both
parties, it will be they that starts the ball rolling.
The Nice Zionists responsible for the thefts and murders for the past 69 years along with
the "Jewish Community" in the rest of the world will resolve the matter so as to be fair to
both parties. This is mind-boggling fantasy.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 5:56 pm
Truly mind-boggling. Ahistorical, and as you say, fantasy.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 5:48 pm
FFS, Netanyahu aired a political commercial in Florida for Romney saying vote for this guy
(against Obama)! I mean, it doesn't get any more overtly manipulative than that. Period. End
of story.
$50K of Facebook ads about puppies pales in comparison to that blatant, prima facia,
public manipulation. God, I hate to go all "Israel controls the media" but there it is. Not even a discussion. Just a fact.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 6:11 pm
Just for the record, Richard Silverstein blocked me on Twitter because I pointed out that
he slammed someone who was suggesting that the Assad government was fighting for its
(Syria's) life by fighting terrorists. Actually, more specifically, because of that he read
my "Free Palestine" bio on Twitter and called me a Hamas supporter (no Hamas mentioned) and a
"moron" for some seeming contradiction.
I also have to point out that he "fist pumped" Hillary Clinton at Mohammed Ali's eulogy.
If he's as astute as he purports to be, he has to know that Hillary would have invaded Syria
and killed a few hundred thousand more Syrians for the simple act of defiantly preserving
their country. By almost any read of Ali's history, he would have been adamantly ("killing
brown people") against that. But there was Silverstein using the platform to promote,
arguably, perpetual war.
Silverstein is probably not a good (ie. consistent) arbiter of Israeli impact on US
politics. Just sayin'.
This may be a tad ot but it relates to the alleged hacking of the DNC, the role debbie
wasserman schultz plays in the spy ring (awan bros) in house of rep servers: I have long
suspected that mossad has their fingers in this entire mess. FWIW
Good site, BTW.
Zachary Smith , December 24, 2017 at 7:35 pm
I can't recall why I removed the Tikun Olam site from my bookmarks – it happened
quite a while back. Generally I do that when I feel the blogger crossed some kind of personal
red line. Something Mr. Silverstein wrote put him over that line with me.
In the course of a search I found that at the neocon NYT. Mr. Silverstein claims several
things I find unbelievable, and from that alone I wonder about his ultimate motives. I may be
excessively touchy about this, but that's how it is.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 8:51 pm
Yeah Zachary, "wondering about ultimate motives" is probably a good way to put it/his
views. He's obviously conflicted, if not deferential in some aspects of Israeli policy. He
really was a hero of mine, but now I just don't get whether what he says is masking something
or a true belief. He says some good stuff, but, but, but .
P. Michael Garber , December 24, 2017 at 11:54 pm
Yeah I found a couple of Silverstein's statements to be closer to neocon propaganda than
reality: "Because this is Israel and because we have a conflicted relationship with the Israel
lobby . . ." "Instead of going directly to the Obama administration, with which they had terrible
relations, they went to Trump instead." My impression was that the whole "terrible relationship between Obama and Netanyahu" was
manufactured by the Israel lobby to bully Obama. However these are small blips within an otherwise solid critique of the Israel lobby's
influence.
India was naughty as well and Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley ought to have taken the Indian
ambassador's name down as well. Maybe she'll even declare she won't ever set foot in India
again. Her relatives there will breathe sighs of relief!
"... Needless to say, the Never Trumpers were eminently correct in their worry that Trump would sully, degrade and weaken the Imperial Presidency. That he has done in spades with his endless tweet storms that consist mainly of petty score settling, self-justification, unseemly boasting and shrill partisanship; and on top of that you can pile his impetuous attacks on friend, foe and bystanders (e.g. NFL kneelers) alike. ..."
There was a sinister plot to meddle in the 2016
election, after all. But it was not orchestrated from the Kremlin; it was an entirely homegrown
affair conducted from the inner sanctums---the White House, DOJ, the Hoover Building and
Langley----of the Imperial City.
Likewise, the perpetrators didn't speak Russian or write in the Cyrillic script. In fact,
they were lifetime beltway insiders occupying the highest positions of power in the US
government.
Here are the names and rank of the principal conspirators:
John Brennan, CIA director;
Susan Rice, National Security Advisor;
Samantha Power, UN Ambassador;
James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence;
James Comey, FBI director;
Andrew McCabe, Deputy FBI director;
Sally Yates, deputy Attorney General,
Bruce Ohr, associate deputy AG;
Peter Strzok, deputy assistant director of FBI counterintelligence;
Lisa Page, FBI lawyer;
and countless other lessor and greater poobahs of Washington power, including President
Obama himself.
To a person, the participants in this illicit cabal shared the core trait that made Obama
such a blight on the nation's well-being. To wit, he never held an honest job outside the halls
of government in his entire adult life; and as a careerist agent of the state and practitioner
of its purported goods works, he exuded a sanctimonious disdain for everyday citizens who make
their living along the capitalist highways and by-ways of America.
The above cast of election-meddlers, of course, comes from the same mold. If Wikipedia is
roughly correct, just these 10 named perpetrators have punched in about 300 years of
post-graduate employment---and 260 of those years (87%) were on government payrolls or
government contractor jobs.
As to whether they shared Obama's political class arrogance, Peter Strzok left nothing to
the imagination in his now celebrated texts to his gal-pal, Lisa Page:
"Just went to a southern Virginia Walmart. I could SMELL the Trump support......I LOATHE
congress....And F Trump."
You really didn't need the ALL CAPS to get the gist. In a word, the anti-Trump cabal is
comprised of creatures of the state.
Their now obvious effort to alter the outcome of the 2016 election was nothing less than the
Imperial City's immune system attacking an alien threat, which embodied the very opposite
trait: That is, the Donald had never spent one moment on the state's payroll, had been elected
to no government office and displayed a spirited contempt for the groupthink and verities of
officialdom in the Imperial City.
But it is the vehemence and flagrant transparency of this conspiracy to prevent Trump's
ascension to the Oval Office that reveals the profound threat to capitalism and democracy posed
by the Deep State and its prosperous elites and fellow travelers domiciled in the Imperial
City.
That is to say, Donald Trump was no kind of anti-statist and only a skin-deep populist, at
best. His signature anti-immigrant meme was apparently discovered by accident when in the early
days of the campaign he went off on Mexican thugs, rapists and murderers----only to find that
it resonated strongly among a certain element of the GOP grass roots.
But a harsh line on immigrants, refugees and Muslims would not have incited the Deep State
into an attempted coup d'état; it wouldn't have mobilized so overtly against Ted Cruz,
for example, whose positions on the ballyhooed terrorist/immigrant threat were not much
different.
No, what sent the Imperial City establishment into a fit of apoplexy was exactly two things
that struck at the core of its raison d' etre.
First was Trump's stated intentions to seek rapprochement with Putin's Russia and his
sensible embrace of a non-interventionist "America First" view of Washington's role in the
world. And secondly, and even more importantly, was his very persona.
That is to say, the role of today's president is to function as the suave, reliable
maître d' of the Imperial City and the lead spokesman for Washington's purported good
works at home and abroad. And for that role the slovenly, loud-mouthed, narcissistic,
bombastic, ill-informed and crudely-mannered Donald Trump was utterly unqualified.
Stated differently, welfare statism and warfare statism is the secular religion of the
Imperial City and its collaborators in the mainstream media; and the Oval Office is the bully
pulpit from which its catechisms, bromides and self-justifications are propagandized to the
unwashed masses---the tax-and-debt-slaves of Flyover America who bear the burden of its
continuation.
Needless to say, the Never Trumpers were eminently correct in their worry that Trump would
sully, degrade and weaken the Imperial Presidency. That he has done in spades with his endless
tweet storms that consist mainly of petty score settling, self-justification, unseemly boasting
and shrill partisanship; and on top of that you can pile his impetuous attacks on friend, foe
and bystanders (e.g. NFL kneelers) alike.
Yet that is exactly what has the Deep State and its media collaborators running scared. To
wit, Trump's entire modus operandi is not about governing or a serious policy agenda---and most
certainly not about Making America's Economy Great Again. (MAEGA)
By appointing a passel of Keynesian monetary central planners to the Fed and launching an
orgy of fiscal recklessness via his massive defense spending and tax-cutting initiatives, the
Donald has more than sealed his own doom: There will unavoidably be a massive financial and
economic crisis in the years just ahead and the rulers of the Imperial City will most certainly
heap the blame upon him with malice aforethought.
In the interim, however, what the Donald is actually doing is sharply polarizing the country
and using the Bully Pulpit for the very opposite function assigned to it by Washington's
permanent political class. Namely, to discredit and vilify the ruling elites of government and
the media and thereby undermine the docility and acquiescence of the unwashed masses upon which
the Imperial City's rule and hideous prosperity depend.
It is no wonder, then, that the inner circle of the Obama Administration plotted an
"insurance policy". They saw it coming-----that is, an offensive rogue disrupter who was soft
on Russia, to boot--- and out of that alarm the entire hoax of RussiaGate was born.
As is now well known from the recent dump of 375 Strzok/Gates text messages, there occurred
on August 15, 2016 a meeting in the office of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (who is still
there) to kick off the RussiaGate campaign. As Strzok later wrote to Page, who was also at the
meeting:
" I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office -- that
there's no way he gets elected -- but I'm afraid we can't take that risk......It's like an
insurance policy in the unlikely event that you die before you're 40."
They will try to spin this money quote seven-ways to Sunday, but in the context of
everything else now known there is only one possible meaning: The national security and law
enforcement machinery of Imperial Washington was being activated then and there in behalf of
Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Indeed, the trail of proof is quite clear. At the very time of this August meeting, the FBI
was already being fed the initial elements of the Steele dossier, and the latter had nothing to
do with any kind of national security investigation.
For crying out loud, it was plain old "oppo research" paid for by the Clinton campaign and
the DNC. And the only way that it bore on Russian involvement in the US election was that
virtually all of the salacious material and false narratives about Trump emissaries meeting
with high level Russian officials was disinformation sourced in Moscow, and was completely
untrue.
As former senior FBI official, Andrew McCarthy, neatly summarized the sequence of action
recently:
The Clinton campaign generated the Steele dossier through lawyers who retained Fusion GPS.
Fusion, in turn, hired Steele, a former British intelligence agent who had FBI contacts from
prior collaborative investigations. The dossier was steered into the FBI's hands as it began
to be compiled in the summer of 2016. A Fusion Russia expert, Nellie Ohr, worked with Steele
on Fusion's anti-Trump research. She is the wife of Bruce Ohr, then the deputy associate
attorney general -- the top subordinate of Sally Yates, then Obama's deputy attorney general
(later acting AG). Ohr was a direct pipeline to Yates.....
Based on the publication this week of text messages between FBI agent Peter Strzok and
Lisa Page, the FBI lawyer with whom he was having an extramarital affair, we have learned of
a meeting convened in the office of FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe...... right around the
time the Page FISA warrant was obtained......
Bruce Ohr met personally with Steele. And after Trump was elected, according to Fusion
founder Glenn Simpson, he requested and got a meeting with Simpson to, as Simpson told the
House Intelligence Committee, "discuss our findings regarding Russia and the election."
This, of course, was the precise time Democrats began peddling the public narrative of
Trump-Russia collusion. It is the time frame during which Ohr's boss, Yates, was pushing an
absurd Logan Act investigation of Trump transition official Michael Flynn (then slotted to
become Trump's national-security adviser) over Flynn's meetings with the Russian
ambassador.
Here's the thing. There is almost nothing in the Steele dossiers which is true. At the same
time, there is no real alternative evidence based on hard NSA intercepts that show Russian
government agents were behind the only two acts----the leaks of the DNC emails and the Podesta
emails----that were of even minimal import to the outcome of the 2016 presidential
campaign.
As to the veracity of the dossier, the raving anti-Trumper and former CIA interim chief,
Michael Morrell, settled the matter. If you are paying ex-FSA agents for information on the
back streets of Moscow, the more you pay, the more "information" you will get:
Then I asked myself, why did these guys provide this information, what was their
motivation? And I subsequently learned that he paid them. That the intermediaries paid the
sources and the intermediaries got the money from Chris. And that kind of worries me a little
bit because if you're paying somebody, particularly former [Russian Federal Security Service]
officers, they are going to tell you truth and innuendo and rumor, and they're going to call
you up and say, 'Hey, let's have another meeting, I have more information for you,' because
they want to get paid some more,' Morrell said.
Far from being "verified," the dossier is best described as a pack of lies, gossip, innuendo
and irrelevancies. Take, for example, the claim that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen met with
Russian Federation Council foreign affairs head Konstantin Kosachev in Prague during August
2016. That claim is verifiably false as proven by Cohen's own passport.
Likewise, the dossier 's claim that Carter Page was offered a giant bribe by the head of
Rosneft, the Russian state energy company, in return for lifting the sanctions is downright
laughable. That's because Carter Page never had any serious role in the Trump campaign and was
one of hundreds of unpaid informal advisors who hung around the basket hoping for some role in
a future Trump government.
Like the hapless George Papadopoulos, in fact, Page apparently never met Trump, had no
foreign policy credentials and had been drafted onto the campaign's so-called foreign policy
advisory committee out of sheer desperation.
That is, because the mainstream GOP foreign policy establishment had so completely boycotted
the Trump campaign, the latter was forced to fill its advisory committee essentially from the
phone book; and that desperation move in March 2016, in turn, had been undertaken in order to
damp-down the media uproar over the Donald's assertion that he got his foreign policy advise
from watching TV!
The truth of the matter is that Page was a former Merrill Lynch stockbrokers who had plied
his trade in Russia several years earlier. He had gone to Moscow in July 2016 on his own dime
and without any mandate from the Trump campaign; and his "meeting" with Rosneft actually
consisted of drinks with an old buddy from his broker days who had become head of investor
relations at Rosneft.
Nevertheless, it is pretty evident that the Steele dossier's tale about Page's alleged
bribery scheme was the basis for the FISA warrant that resulted in wiretaps on Page and other
officials in Trump Tower during September and October.
And that's your insurance policy at work: The Deep State and its allies in the Obama
administration were desperately looking for dirt with which to crucify the Donald, and thereby
insure that the establishment's anointed candidate would not fail at the polls.
So the question recurs as to why did the conspirators resort to the outlandish and even
cartoonish disinformation contained in the Steele dossier?
The answer to that question cuts to the quick of the entire RussiaGate hoax. To wit, that's
all they had!
Notwithstanding the massive machinery and communications vacuum cleaners operated by the $75
billion US intelligence communities and its vaunted 17 agencies, there are no digital
intercepts proving that Russian state operatives hacked the DNC and Podesta emails. Period.
Yet when it comes to anything that even remotely smacks of "meddling" in the US election
campaign, that's all she wrote.
There is nothing else of moment, and most especially not the alleged phishing expeditions
directed at 20 or so state election boards. Most of these have been discredited, denied by
local officials or were simply the work of everyday hackers looking for voter registration
lists that could be sold.
The patently obvious point here is that in America there is no on-line network of voting
machines on either an intra-state or interstate basis. And that fact renders the whole election
machinery hacking meme null and void. Not even the treacherous Russians are stupid enough to
waste their time trying to hack that which is unhackable.
In that vein, the Facebook ad buying scheme is even more ridiculous. In the context of an
election campaign in which upwards of $7 billion of spending was reported by candidates and
their committees to the FEC, and during which easily double that amount was spent by
independent committees and issue campaigns, the notion that just $44,000 of Facebook ads made
any difference to anything is not worthy of adult thought.
And, yes, out of the ballyhooed $100,000 of Facebook ads, the majority occurred after the
election was over and none of them named candidates, anyway. The ads consisted of issue
messages that reflected all points on the political spectrum from pro-choice to anti-gun
control.
And even this so-called effort at "polarizing" the American electorate was "discovered" only
after Facebook failed to find any "Russian-linked" ads during its first two searches. Instead,
this complete drivel was detected only after the Senate's modern day Joseph McCarthy, Sen. Mark
Warner, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a leading legislator
on Internet regulation, showed up on Mark Zuckerberg's doorstep at Facebook headquarters.
In any event, we can be sure there are no NSA intercepts proving that the Russians hacked
the Dem emails for one simple reason: They would have been leaked long ago by the vast network
of Imperial City operatives plotting to bring the Donald down.
Moreover, the original architect and godfather of NSA's vast spying apparatus, William
Binney, has essentially proved that the DNC emails were leaked by an insider who downloaded
them on a memory stick. By conducting his own experiments, he showed that the known download
speed of one batch of DNC emails could not have occurred over the Internet from a remote
location in Russia or anywhere else on the planet, and actually matched what was possible only
via a local USB-connected thumb drive.
So the real meaning of the Strzok/Gates text messages is straight foreword. There was a
conspiracy to prevent Trump's election, and then after the shocking results of November 8, this
campaign morphed into an intensified effort to discredit the winner.
For instance, Susan Rice got Obama to lower the classification level of the information
obtained from the Trump campaign intercepts and other dirt-gathering actions by the
Intelligence Community (IC)--- so that it could be disseminated more readily to all Washington
intelligence agencies.
In short order, of course, the IC was leaking like a sieve, thereby paving the way for the
post-election hysteria and the implication that any contact with a Russian--even one living in
Brooklyn-- must be collusion. And that included calls to the Russian ambassador by the
president-elect's own national security advisor designate.
Should there by any surprise, therefore, that it turns out the Andrew McCabe bushwhacked
General Flynn on January 24 when he called to say that FBI agents were on the way to the White
House for what Flynn presumed to be more security clearance work with his incipient staff.
No at all. The FBI team was there to interrogate Flynn about the transcripts of his
perfectly appropriate and legal conversations with Ambassador Kislyak about two matters of
state----the UN resolution on Israel and the spiteful new sanctions on certain Russian citizens
that Obama announced on December 28 in a fit of pique over the Dems election loss.
And that insidious team of FBI gotcha cops was led by none other than......Peter Strzok!
But after all the recent leaks---and these text messages are just the tip of the
iceberg-----the die is now cast. Either the Deep State and its minions and collaborators in the
media and the Republican party, too, will soon succeed in putting Mike Pence into the Oval
Office, or the Imperial City is about ready to break-out in vicious partisan warfare like never
before.
Either way, economic and fiscal governance is about ready to collapse entirely, making the
tax bill a kind of last hurrah before they mayhem really begins.
In that context, selling the rip may become one of the most profitable speculations ever
imagined.
Not sure why Stockman went off on a tangent about Trump's innumerate economic strategy -
kinda dilutes from an otherwise informative piece for anyone who hasn't a handle on the
underhand shit that's been hitting the fan in recent months. Its like he has to have a go
about it no matter what the main theme. Like PCR and "insouciance". And then there's the
texting...
Clue yourself in, David.
A very small percentage of the public are actually informed about what is really going
down. Those that visit ZH or your website. Fox is the only pro-Trump mainstream TV news
outlet, and as to the NYT, WP et al? The media disinformation complex keep the rest in the
matrix, and it has been very easy to see in action over the last year or so because it has
been so well co-ordinated (and totally fabricated).
Given the blatant and contemptous avoidance of the truth by the MSM (the current litany of
seditious/treasonous actions being a case in point), it is fair to say that Trump's tweets
provide a very real public service - focussing the (otherwise ignorant) public's attention on
many things the aforementioned cunts (I'll include Google and FaecesBook) divert from like
the plague (and making them look utter slime in the process).
I do respect stockman but here's bullshit-call #1: he says that the deep state doesn't
like the divisiveness he causes: bush certainly did that and Obama' did so at an order of
magnitude higher. I don't believe that the left is more upset by trump than we were by Barry-
we're just not a bunch of sniveling, narcissistic babies like they are.
When the details of the FISA warrant application are revealed, it will be like a
megaton-class munition detonating, and the Deep State will bear the brunt of destruction.
Similar mass deception was in play to start the Iraq war as well. Constant bombardment led
to public consensus and even the liberal New York Times endorsed the war. Whenever we see
mass hysteria about something new, we should just go with the flow and not ask any questions
at all. It is best for retaining sanity in this dumbed down and getting more dumber
world.
Susan Rice and Obama should be indicted for illegally wiretapping Trump Towers for the
express purpose of finding oppo research to help Hellary's late term abortiion of a
campaign
This one is deeper but well laid out. Comey & Mueller Ignored McCabe's Ties to Russian
Crime Figures & His Reported Tampering in Russian FBI Cases, Files
Great read, loved the 'Imperial City's immune system' analogy...
I disagree about the economy though.
It feels strange to me that the architect of the Reagan Revolution is unable to see the
makings of another revolution, the Trump Revolution.
We have had 10-20 years of pent up demand in the economy and instead of electing another
neo-Marxist Alynski acolyte, the American people elected a hard charging anti-establishment
bull in a China shop.
Surely Dave can see the potential.
It kills me when people are surprised by a 12 month, 5000 point run up on Wall Street.
For God's sake the United States was run by a fucking commie for 8 years, what the fuck
did you think was gonna happen?
America is divided and will remain divided. I think it will last at least for the next 50
years, maybe longer. The best way out is to limit the federal government and give each state
more responsibility. States can succeed or fail on their own. People will be free to move
where they want.
Somewhere there is a FISA judge who should be defrocked and exposed as a fraud. No sober
judge would accept such evidence for any purpose, much less authorizing government snooping
on a major party candidate for president.
The CIA holds all the videos from Jeff Epstein's Island (20 documented trips by Bill, 6
documented trips by Hillary), I'm sure Bill doing a 12 year old, Hillary and Huma doing an 8
year old girl together, etc. So what are they willing to do for the CIA? Anything at any
cost, getting caught red handed with a dossier is chump change when you look at the big
picture..they don't care and will do anything...ANYTHING to get rid of Trump.
This is the only reason they are so frantic. There is absolutely no other reason they
would play at this level.
As always, Dave puts it all into prospective for even the brain dead. Ya think Joe and his
gang will be talking about this article on their morning talk show today?? I wonder how
Brezenski's daughter is going to tell daddy that the gig is up and they may want to look into
packing a boogie bag just to play it safe?
David Stockman is a flame of hope in a world of dark machievellian thought!
Why did the alt media and the msm all stop reportinmg that McCabe's wife recieved 700
thousand dollars from Terry McAulife (former Clinton campaign manager times 2!) for a
Virginia State Senate run? Quid pro quo? Oh no, never the up and up DemonRats.
So when I hear that the conversation was held in McCabe's office- I want to puke first
then start building the gallows.
fucken brilliant article!! There is a lot I don't like about trump (some of which stockman
discusses above), but as a retired govt worker, I can tell you that he right about what he is
saying here.
One little tidbit that has been lost in all of this:
If the FBI was willing to use their power to back Hillary and defeat Trump at the national
level, what did they try to do in McCabe's wife's state senate campaign? She is a
pediatrician and she ran for state senate. ??? WTF is that about? She's not only a doctor but
a doctor for children. Those people are usually wired to help people. Yet she was going to
for-go being a doctor for a state senate position. ??? And the DNC forked over $700,000 to
put her on the map.
I'm sure the people meeting daily in Andy's office were not pleased with the voter
resistance to his wife and to Hillary. The FBI needs to be shut down. They have become an
opposition research firm for the DNC. Even if they can't find dirt on candidates using the
NSA database, they are able to tap that database to find out political strategies in real
time on opposition The fish is rotten from the head down to the tail.
No matter what article you read here, and don't get me wrong, I love the insight, but
every fucking article is "it's all over. America is doomed, the petro dollar days are over,
China China China. It's getting a bit old. The charts and graphs about stock market
collapse......it becoming an old record that needs changed. If I say it's going to rain every
fucking day, at some point I will be right. That doesn't make me a genius....it makes me
persistent.
It's a Deep State mess and Sessions is trying his best as he cowers in a corner sucking
his thumb.
If they continue to go after Trump, the FBI is going to be found guilty of violating the
Hatch Act by exonerating Hillary. See burner phones. See writing the conclusion in May when
the investigation supposedly ended with Hillary's interview on July 3rd. The FBI will also be
exposed for sedition as they then carried out the phony Russiagate investigation as their
"insurance policy."
However, they have created an expectation with the left that Trump and his minions will be
brought to "justice." If we thought the Left didn't handle losing the election well, they
will not be pleased at losing Russiagate.
The overall direction of the empire was never going to change with or without Trump and we are seeing it play out now.
Notable quotes:
"... Ok, he has been called the most pro Israel President by Netanyahu himself, his administration just recognized Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel, something even most ardent analysts in here did not predict. His son-in-law who he listens to is a pure Zionist
and the neo-con lap dog Hailey is quite clearly gearing the audience up for a confrontation with Iran. One way or another....watch out
2018. ..."
"... But no he is not controlled enough by the Zionists? The overall direction of the empire was never going to change with or without
Trump and we are seeing it play out now. ..."
"... America is a particularly vivid example of indoctrinated groupthink and I just cannot see anyone/movement espousing alternative
ways of operating getting traction. ..."
"... Simply pay attention to what those monsters actually do. The Trump Administration has continued and expanded US domestic and
foreign policy precisely as has his predecessors. NATO is bigger, better funded, and more heavily deployed along Russia's "near abroad"
than at any time in history. The Pentagon now admits we have 2,000 to 5,000 active "boots on the ground" in Syria, and they have no
intention of ever leaving. Goldman Sachs is embedded in every Executive Branch office. Taxes on the wealthy and corporations are being
slashed soon to be followed in social services, as neo-liberal economics remains the god worshipped by all. ..."
"I won't be optimistic about AmeriKKKa until Russia and/or China announce a Zero Tolerance policy toward US military adventurism
in countries on the borders of Russia/China - by promising to bomb the continental USA if it attacks a Russia/China neighbor.
Imo it's absolutely essential to light a big bonfire under AmeriKKKa's Impunity. And it would be delightful, sobering,
and a big boost for Peace and Diplomacy to hear the Yankees whingeing about being threatened by entities quite capable of following
through on their threats."
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 19, 2017 11:10:32 AM | 14
Hell yes, I'd love that scenario, but never happen. Too much $to be made by kissing up to the empire.
Sad Canuck @ 31: Abso fukken 'lutely!!
b, you better change what you're smoken' if you believe the empire is going isolationist.
@48 They did not want him lol? So many comments in here make me chuckle.
Ok, he has been called the most pro Israel President by Netanyahu himself, his administration just recognized Jerusalem
as the capital of Israel, something even most ardent analysts in here did not predict. His son-in-law who he listens to is a pure
Zionist and the neo-con lap dog Hailey is quite clearly gearing the audience up for a confrontation with Iran. One way or another....watch
out 2018.
But no he is not controlled enough by the Zionists? The overall direction of the empire was never going to change with
or without Trump and we are seeing it play out now.
@26 "I think you would find that the vast majority of Americans would be quite happy to disengage militarily from the rest of
the world, and put resources at work on domestic problems."
Disengage militarily? I would like to think so sleepy but why do they keep getting so involved internationally? Instead of
concentrating on domestic issues putting 'America first' seems to mean bullying any country that doesn't do what it's told.
@ Debsisdead with the end of his comment
" America is a particularly vivid example of indoctrinated groupthink and I just cannot see anyone/movement espousing alternative
ways of operating getting traction.
"
There are those that say the same (vivid example of indoctrinated groupthink) about China, so there might be some competition
in our world yet.
I , for one, want to end private finance and maybe give the China way a go. Anyone else? I did future studies in college and
am intrigued by planning processes at the scale that China has done 13 of....their 5-year plans.
May we live to see structural change in the way our species comports itself......soon, I hope
NemesisCalling, I suggest paying little to know attention to Trump's (or any other politician/oligarch) platitudes.
Simply pay attention to what those monsters actually do. The Trump Administration has continued and expanded US domestic
and foreign policy precisely as has his predecessors. NATO is bigger, better funded, and more heavily deployed along Russia's
"near abroad" than at any time in history. The Pentagon now admits we have 2,000 to 5,000 active "boots on the ground" in Syria,
and they have no intention of ever leaving. Goldman Sachs is embedded in every Executive Branch office. Taxes on the wealthy and
corporations are being slashed soon to be followed in social services, as neo-liberal economics remains the god worshipped by
all.
I remain amazed that people who KNOW that the MSM lies to us constantly, about things big and small, still believe with all
their hearts the MSM narrative that Trump is an "outsider" whom the Establishment hates and has fought against ever since they
gave him $5 billion in free advertising.
Disengage? In 2017, U.S. Special Operations forces, including Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets, deployed to 149 countries around
the world, according to figures provided to TomDispatch by U.S. Special Operations Command. That's around 75 percent of the nations
on the planet.
What the vast majority of Americans might want has been cast aside by this president after he got their votes. There go hope
and change again, damn.
"... There was a story (sorry, lost any references) that stated that at least one of the US warships that launched the Tomahawks after this incident, was still in Spain on April 2nd. So that ship had to travel across the Mediterranean at full speed (and not at cruise speed) to be on time for the attack. ..."
"... And that implies the attack was know by the US forces beforehand, and their riposte was also planned and decided before the attack took place. ..."
"... I have come to the point of 100% initially assuming that reports by the MSM in the West are fabrications and then work back to find the few percent of truth, if any. Lying is normal in the West. Honestly is getting very rare, and is abnormal. ..."
Many of the reports findings are based on open source videos and photographs published by
the opposition. It acquired witnesses statements from the area which is under control of
al-Qaeda. It also examined forensic evidence for which no chain of custody existed. Some
findings are strange .
In annex II, on page 36 (of 39) of the pdf, it notes:
Certain irregularities were observed in elements of information analysed. For example,
several hospitals appeared to start admitting casualties of the attack between 0640 and 0645
hours. The Mechanism received the medical records of 247 patients from Khan Shaykhun who were
admitted to various health-care facilities, including those of survivors and a number of
victims who died from exposure to chemical agent. The admission times of the records range
between 0600 and 1600 hours. Analysis of the aforementioned medical records revealed that in
57 cases, patients were admitted in five hospitals before the incident in Khan Shaykhun (at
0600, 0620 and 0640 hours). In 10 such cases, patients appear to have been admitted to a
hospital 125 km away from Khan Shaykhun at 0700 hours while another 42 patients appear to
have been admitted to a hospital 30 km away at 0700 hours. The Mechanism did not investigate
these discrepancies and cannot determine whether they are linked to any possible staging
scenario , or to poor record-keeping in chaotic conditions.
At least 23% of the alleged casualties of the incident WERE ADMITTED TO HOSPITALS BEFORE THE
INCIDENT HAPPENED
Another example of fakery of the incident. The report (linked above) notes this, but draws no
conclusion:
... In particular, the Mechanism noted that fully equipped hazmat teams appeared at the
scene later that afternoon and reported early detection of the presence of sarin, seemingly
using a Dräger X-am 7000 ambient air monitor, which was not known to be able to detect
sarin.
and
Of further concern to the Mechanism was the relative unprofessionalism by which certain
environmental samples appear to have been taken, e.g. sampling from a muddy puddle.
and
The Mechanism also noted scenes recorded just after the incident at the medical point to
the east of Khan Shaykhun, where rescue and decontamination activities filmed shortly after
0700 hours showed rescue personnel hosing down patients with water indiscriminately for
extended periods of time. Such video footage also depicted a number of patients not being
attended to, and some para-medical interventions that did not seem to make medical sense,
such as performing heart compression on a patient facing the ground.
But based on all of that, and on the patients that arrived in hospital before the incident
happened, the report concludes that Syria dropped Sarin at a moment and place that made zero
military or political sense...
There was a story (sorry, lost any references) that stated that at least one of the US
warships that launched the Tomahawks after this incident, was still in Spain on April 2nd. So
that ship had to travel across the Mediterranean at full speed (and not at cruise
speed) to be on time for the attack.
And that implies the attack was know by the US forces beforehand, and their riposte was also
planned and decided before the attack took place.
I have come to the point of 100% initially assuming that reports by the MSM in the West are
fabrications and then work back to find the few percent of truth, if any.
Lying is normal in the West. Honestly is getting very rare, and is abnormal.
With Trump and T Rex now saying the right things, the hegemon is back up to speed. The US
crossed there Rubicon when Obama made his speech at the UNGA a couple of years back. No way
China/Russia will be able to give the US a soft landing. Hard times when the bubble bursts
for the US.
All those who rule the Western world through control of finance have bankrupt morals because
of their fealty to the God of Mammon. War and treachery are the tools that fit their mental
condition and if they can't BS you into being cowed by their existence they will bomb you
into submission.
Negotiation for God of Mammon acolytes is for losers and they will keep the carousel
spinning furiously until they are neutered or they take us with them in a blaze of what they
consider nuclear glory......I have never seen any of the assholes that my life has presented
me with show a smidge of contrition for glaring facts about their societal perfidy.....they
double down like Trump does regularly and I suspect it is likely we will see such
grandstanding with this situation as well.
War is a cover for anti-humanistic leadership which is the best that can be bought in
Amerika.
It's irksome that 6:55 is the time Hersh gave for the bombing he was told about. If it were
an hour or two earlier, it would make sense of what I take to be his idea - that some
bomb-induced chemical disaster was 'converted' into a sarin episode after the fact.
The bombed building was most likely part of the prep. Possibly chemicals or perhaps simply
somthing that woukd give oiff yellow smoke placed into the building then its co-ords slipped
into inteligence somehow as an AQ headquarters or whatever so it would become a target for
the bombing. The US were notified that the building would be hit and at what time, so
AQ/whitehelmets would have been alerted and ready to go into logie award winning action at
the allotted time.
"We Were There to Document The Event
before the incident happened
happened
november 22nd 1963
a gentlemen of the press at the cambridge gazette received a gpo telephonic marconi bakerlite
call suggesting he should pronto ring
whitehall 772005 and the us embassy kensington 091101 urgently sharpish fashion for some
scoop dum dum head busting historical cia news.
the call related to the assasination of a mr john fitzgerald oflaherty otool kennedy, know
relation to the fully oirish john heinz kerrys of killarney we should note.
after the calls where done the cambridge gentlemen of the press was shocked to find that
jfk was still alive by several bbc minutes.
he later went to his local police house to report the queer time looper affair indeed.
it later transperspired that the call from the americas had arrived 25mins before the grassy
gnome texas kilshot back and to the left don't you know.
25mins before to go what what.
jane stanley bbc on 9 and 11 talmud event building 7 25mins to soon spoke out as well time
looping very queer affairs
i really do believe in the future hospitals will have a better success rate if we can get the
cadavers into surgery before these events happen
certainly for turkey and israel live organ dealings the living syriana organs from pre
incident not happened are prefential
indeeds
Thanks for deconstructing this latest bogus report.
We are now living in "Reality TV", sad to say.
Not to be naïve or sentimental about it, but government and civic institutions used
to maintain at least a modicum of integrity, probity, and objectivity.
Now, official investigations are routinely compromised by nefarious political and social
interests. Bad enough that law enforcement and state-security agencies habitually distort or
fabricate information to serve their own ends, and their masters' ends.
But it's somehow more insidious when nominally independent investigative bodies become
channels of authoritarian governments' infoganda.
This series of slanderous, manufactured, trumped-up (no pun intended) accusations that the
Syrian government/military used chemical weapons is practically a "sub-genre" by now.
But it also brings to mind NIST's fraudulent analysis of the destructive events in New
York City on 9/11/01, and the equally fraudulent findings of the Dutch-led Joint
Investigation Team tasked to investigate the downing of the MH-17 aircraft.
I thought of "reality TV" because all of these tendentious reports from ostensibly
prestigious organizations are merely props-- items to wave around in front of the camera, and
allude to sanctimoniously in support of some reprehensible official policy or narrative.
"... It's easy to understand why some of President Trump's senior advisers privately consider him a "moron," with a limited vocabulary and stunning lack of normal human empathy, as William Blum explains at Anti-Empire Report. ..."
"... Capturing the wisdom and the beauty of Donald J. Trump in just one statement escaping from his charming mouth: "Our military has never been stronger. Each day, new equipment is delivered; new and beautiful equipment, the best in the world – the best anywhere in the world, by far." [Washington Post, Sept. 8, 2017] ..."
"... And in case you still don't fully appreciate that, notice that he specifies that our equipment is the best in the world BY FAR! That means that no other country is even close! Just imagine! ..."
"... Lucky for the man his seeming incapacity for moral or intellectual embarrassment. He's twice blessed. His fans like the idea that their president is no smarter than they are. This may well serve to get the man re-elected, as it did with George W. Bush. ..."
"... Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II ..."
"... Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower ..."
It's easy to understand why some of President Trump's senior advisers privately consider
him a "moron," with a limited vocabulary and stunning lack of normal human empathy, as William
Blum explains at Anti-Empire Report.
Capturing the wisdom and the beauty of Donald J. Trump in just one statement escaping
from his charming mouth: "Our military has never been stronger. Each day, new equipment is
delivered; new and beautiful equipment, the best in the world – the best anywhere in the
world, by far." [Washington Post, Sept. 8, 2017]
Here the man thinks that everyone will be impressed that the American military has never
been stronger. And that those who, for some unimaginable reason, are not impressed with that
will at least be impressed that military equipment is being added EACH DAY. Ah yes, it's long
been a sore point with most Americans that new military equipment was being added only once a
week.
And if that isn't impressive enough, then surely the fact that the equipment is NEW will win
people over. Indeed, the newness is important enough to mention twice. After all, no one likes
USED military equipment. And if newness doesn't win everyone's heart, then BEAUTIFUL will
definitely do it. Who likes UGLY military equipment? Even the people we slaughter all over the
world insist upon good-looking guns and bombs.
And the best in the world. Of course. That's what makes us all proud to be Americans. And
what makes the rest of humanity just aching with jealousy. And in case you don't fully
appreciate that, notice that he adds that it's the best ANYWHERE in the world.
And in case you still don't fully appreciate that, notice that he specifies that our
equipment is the best in the world BY FAR! That means that no other country is even close! Just
imagine! Makes me choke up.
Lucky for the man his seeming incapacity for moral or intellectual embarrassment. He's
twice blessed. His fans like the idea that their president is no smarter than they are. This
may well serve to get the man re-elected, as it did with George W. Bush.
The early morning assault in a rebel-held Damascus suburb known as Ghouta was said to be the deadliest
chemical weapons attack in Syria's 2 1/2-year civil war. Survivors' accounts, photographs of many
of the dead wrapped peacefully in white sheets and dozens of videos showing victims in spasms and
gasping for breath shocked the world and moved President Barack Obama to call for action because
the use of chemical weapons crossed the red line he had drawn a year earlier.
Yet one week after Secretary of State John Kerry outlined the case against Assad, Americans –
at least those without access to classified reports – haven't seen a shred of his proof.
There is open-source evidence that provides clues about the attack, including videos of fragments
from the rockets that analysts believe were likely used. U.S. officials on Saturday released a compilation
of videos showing victims, including children, exhibiting what appear to be symptoms of nerve gas
poisoning. Some experts think the size of the strike, and the amount of toxic chemicals that appear
to have been delivered, make it doubtful that the rebels could have carried it out.
What's missing from the public record is direct proof, rather than circumstantial evidence, tying
this to the regime.
The Obama administration, searching for support from a divided Congress and skeptical world leaders,
says its own assessment is based mainly on satellite and signals intelligence, including intercepted
communications and satellite images indicating that in the three days prior to the attack that the
regime was preparing to use poisonous gas.
But multiple requests to view that satellite imagery have been denied, though the administration
produced copious amounts of satellite imagery earlier in the war to show the results of the Syrian
regime's military onslaught. When asked Friday whether such imagery would be made available showing
the Aug. 21 incident, a spokesman referred The Associated Press to a map produced by the White House
last week that shows what officials say are the unconfirmed areas that were attacked.
The Obama administration maintains it intercepted communications from a senior Syrian official
on the use of chemical weapons, but requests to see that transcript have been denied. So has a request
by the AP to see a transcript of communications allegedly ordering Syrian military personnel to prepare
for a chemical weapons attack by readying gas masks.
The U.S. administration says its evidence is classified and is only sharing details in closed-door
briefings with members of Congress and key allies.
Yet the assessment, also based on accounts by Syrian activists and hundreds of YouTube videos
of the attack's aftermath, has confounded many experts who cannot fathom what might have motivated
Assad to unleash weapons of mass destruction on his own people – especially while U.N. experts were
nearby and at a time when his troops had the upper hand on the ground.
Rebels who accuse Assad of the attack have suggested he had learned of fighters' plans to advance
on Damascus, his seat of power, and ordered the gassing to prevent that.
So warmonger Biden was trying to unleash the US invasion against Syria but failed...
Notable quotes:
"... He said rebel forces were to blame for security concerns near the suspected chemical sites, arguing that Western leaders are using the claims as an excuse to go after al-Assad's regime. ..."
"... "We all hear the drums of war," Moallem said. "They want to attack Syria. I believe to use chemical weapons as a pretext is not a right." ..."
Saying "there is no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons attack in
Syria: the Syrian regime," Vice President Joe Biden signaled Tuesday that the United States -- with
its allies -- was ready to act.
"Those who use chemical weapons against defenseless men, women and children should and must be
held accountable," Biden said in a speech to the American Legion.
The vice president's remarks echo those made by other U.S. officials in recent days, as well as
many of the nation's foremost allies.
French President Francois Hollande said his administration was "ready to punish those who made
the decision to gas these innocent people," adding that "everything leads us to believe" that Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad's forces are responsible.
British Prime Minister David Cameron -- who talked Tuesday with U.S. President Barack Obama --
called lawmakers back from their summer vacations to consider a response to Syria, as the UK military
prepares contingency plans.
And U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the BBC on Tuesday that U.S. forces are "ready to
go" if ordered to strike Syria by President Barack Obama.
"The options are there. The United States Department of Defense is ready to carry out those options,"
Hagel said.
Western leaders were reacting to a growing consensus that the Syrian regime was responsible for
an August 21 attack that killed more than 1,300 people, most of them dying from exposure to toxic
gases, according to rebel officials. The opposition -- which has said it's been targeted by chemical
weapons attacks in the past as well -- backed up its latest allegations with gruesome video of rows
of dead bodies, including women and children, with no visible wounds.
Opinion: For U.S., Syria is truly a problem from hell
Syrian officials, though, have steadfastly denied using chemical weapons in this or other cases.
Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Tuesday that his government would never use such munitions
against its own people, daring those who disagree to present evidence publicly.
He said rebel forces were to blame for security concerns near the suspected chemical sites, arguing
that Western leaders are using the claims as an excuse to go after al-Assad's regime.
"We all hear the drums of war," Moallem said. "They want to attack Syria. I believe to use chemical
weapons as a pretext is not a right."
And if foreign powers do strike the Middle Eastern nation, its foreign minister said the government
and its forces will fight back.
"Syria is not easy to swallow," said Moallem. "We have the materials to defend ourselves. We will
surprise others."
The Last but not LeastTechnology is dominated by
two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt.
Ph.D
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White Helmets are helping Syrian militants prepare 'false flag' chemical attack – Idlib residents
'Propaganda organization': White Helmets 'engage in anti-Assad activities' – author Sy Hersh to RT
France
obeys Trump, cosigns his lies on Syria and justifies
Here's how US Intelligence warned Obama of doubts Assad
Hersh Vindicated? Turkish Whistleblowers Corroborate Story
UN accuses Syrian rebels of carrying out sarin gas attacks
Claims of Syrian Chemical Weapons Attacks Are Total B.S.
Who Is the
Real Culprit Behind the Chemical Attacks in
President Trump, second from right, speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Monday. (Susan Walsh/AP)
