As American drums beat again for war, Rick Sterling steps back to contemplate the possible consequences this time.
By Rick Sterling Special to Consortium News
Western neoconservatives and hawks are driving the international situation to increasing tension and danger. Not content with the destruction of Iraq and Libya based on false claims, they are now pressing for a direct US attack on Syria.
As a dangerous prelude, Israeli jets flying over Lebanese airspace fired missiles against the T4/Tiyas Airbase west of Palmyra following reports on Sunday of a chemical weapons attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascus under rebel control.
As reported at Tass, the Chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, predicted the alleged use of chemicals almost a month ago. The report from March 13 says, “Russia has hard facts about preparations for staging the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the government forces. After the provocation, the US plans to accuse Syria’s government forces of using chemical weapons … furnish the so-called ‘evidence’ … and Washington plans to deliver a missile and bomb strike against Damascus’ government districts.”
Gerasimov noted that Russian military advisors are staying in the Syrian Defense Ministry’s facilities in Damascus and “in the event of a threat to our military servicemen’s lives, Russia’s Armed Forces will take retaliatory measures to target both the missiles and their delivery vehicles.”
The situation is clearly fraught with the risk of sliding into international conflict between the two biggest nuclear weapons powers with all that that implies. Civilization itself is being put in peril so that the West can continue supporting sectarian armed groups seeking to overthrow the Assad government, in violation of international law and the UN Charter.
The most powerful country in the world is now led by a real estate, hotel and entertainment mogul without political experience. Behind the scenes, there is an entrenched foreign policy establishment determined to maintain and reclaim U.S. unilateral “leadership” of the world. American leaders fear that the U.S. is losing influence, prestige and power around the world. Israel and Saudi Arabia are seeing their designs on regional dominance failing.
East Ghouta, Damascus
East Ghouta is a district of farms and towns on the north-east outskirts of Damascus. For the past six years, various armed factions controlled the area. On a nearly daily basis, they launched mortar and hell cannon missile attacks into Damascus, and have killed thousands of civilians. This author personally witnessed two such mortar attacks in April 2014.
By the end of March most of East Ghouta had been retaken by the government. With the peaceful evacuation of armed militants, civilians flooded into the humanitarian corridors and then government camps for the displaced. The campaign was proceeding quickly with minimal loss of life as the Russian Reconciliation officers negotiated agreements which allowed the militants to keep small weapons and be transported to Idlib in the north.
Journalist Vanessa Beeley documented the situation including the happiness and relief of many civilians as they finally made it to safety. One described the feeling as “like being reborn”. Robert Fisk of Britain’s Independent newspaper was on site and reported what he saw first hand in stories titled Watching on as Islamist fighters are evacuated from war-torn Eastern Ghouta and Western howls of outrage over the Ghouta siege ring hollow.
As reported at the Russian Reconciliation Centre, by the end of March, 105,857 civilians had moved into government controlled areas while 13,793 militants, plus 23,433 family members had been transported north. Those who wanted to stay, including former fighters, were welcomed. They could rejoin Syrian society with the same rights and obligations as other Syrians.
The last remaining opposition stronghold was the town of Douma, controlled by the Saudi-funded Jaish al Islam. Negotiations were prolonged because Jaish al Islam did not want to go to Idlib, which is dominated by another militant opposition group, Jabhat al Nusra also known as Hayat Tahrir al Sham. It is the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
The Chemical Incident
On Saturday, April 7, video and stories claiming a chemical weapons attack in Douma were broadcast. The video showed dozens of dead children. On Sunday the story grabbed western mainstream media headlines. U.S. President Trump quickly came to a conclusion: “President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay”.
There has been no objective investigation. The media claims are based on statements and videos from members of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and the White Helmets. Both organizations receive significant funding from the US government and are not neutral as aid organizations should be. They both call for Western intervention in Syria.
Chemical weapons have emerged as the quick and easy justification for aggression. One year ago, in April 2017, it was the incident at Khan Sheikhoun. That resulted in a US attack on a Syrian air base just days later. As reported here by Consortium News‘ late founder, Robert Parry, the subsequent investigation discovered that dozens of victims had shown up in hospitals in diverse locations and up to 100 kms away from the scene of the crime before the event happened. Indicative of apparent bias by the investigators, this red flag pointing to fraud was not probed further. If it was just a few victims or just one location, it might be a mistake in time record-keeping. However in this case there were dozens of discrepancies in multiple locations, clearly raising the possibility of fraud.
Syrian armed opposition is aiming for U.S. military operation, such as a Tomahawk cruise missile strike against the Syrian government. (DOD photo)
Now we have the incident in Douma. The armed opposition is in retreat. They are losing the war and are desperate. They have tried since 2012 to pressure the U.S. and NATO to intervene directly on their side. The rebels have access to chemical weapons in East Ghouta and they have a motive. They also have thousands of prisoners. This group put hundreds of prisoners, primarily women and children, in cages on the streets of Douma.
Who Benefits?
The timing of the chemical weapons incidents is also noteworthy. As documented here, one year ago on March 30, 2017, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said U.S. policy was no longer focused on getting Assad out. Five days later the chemical incident at Khan Sheikhoun happened, followed quickly by blaming the Syrian government without evidence, then the U.S. attack on a Syrian air base and a then restoration of the demand that “Assad must go.”
On March 29 this year, Trump said that U.S. forces will withdraw from Syria “very soon.” This was followed by outcries from the media and political establishment. Once again, following Saturday’s incident, the U.S. is again threatening to intervene. The chemical weapons incidents have consistently resulted in the reversal of a proposed change in hostility toward Syria.
Neoconservatives and the supporters of ‘regime change’ foreign policy have various theories why the Assad government would perpetrate a chemical weapons attack. Senator John McCain says the Syrian President was “emboldened” by Trump’s call to withdraw. Juan Cole, an academic who promoted the assaults on Libya in 2011, has a different theory. He says “Chemical weapons are used by desperate regimes that are either outnumbered by the enemy or are reluctant to take casualties in their militaries. Barrel-bombing Douma with chem seems to have appealed to the regime as a tactic for this reason. It had potential of frightening the Douma population into deserting the Army of Islam.”
In contrast with his theory, chemical weapons were used extensively by the U.S. in Vietnam and Iraq when they were far from desperate. As evidenced in the flow of civilians into government held areas, most of the civilian population are happy to get away from the sectarian and violent Army of Islam (“Jaish al Islam”). Cole seems to be basing his theories on inaccurate western media coverage just as he did regarding Libya where sensational claims about a looming massacre in Benghazi were later shown to be fraudulent.
It’s clear who benefits from sensational media coverage about a chemical weapons incident: those who seek to want the U.S. to intervene militarily. Every time there is an incident, and well before an investigation has even begun, it is seized on by governments and organizations who’ve sought regime change in Syria since the start of the war, and perhaps even earlier.
Manipulating Public Opinion
The manipulation of western opinion about the Syrian conflict using fake events is not theory; it has been proven. A good example is the fake kidnapping of NBC reporter Richard Engel in December 2012. Engel and his media team were reportedly kidnapped and
Richard Engel, NBC’s chief foreign correspondent, exposed as part of a hoax.
threatened with death by “shabiha” supporters of the Syrian president. After days in captivity the American team was supposedly rescued by Free Syrian Army “rebels” after a shootout. In 2015 it was confirmed this was a hoax perpetrated by the FSA and their American supporters. The entire charade was carried out by the “rebels”. The goal was to demonize the Assad government and its supporters, and to romanticize and increase support for the armed opposition. Neither Engel nor NBC confessed to the reality until it was about to be exposed years later, pointing to duplicity and collusion in the deception.
Four and a half years ago, on August 21, 2013, the most famous chemical weapons incident occurred. The Syrian government was immediately accused of launching a sarin attack which killed hundreds of children and civilians. Over the next six months investigations were carried out. The conclusions of Seymour Hersh, Parry and the research site whoghouta.com concluded that the attack was almost certainly not from the government but actually from one of the ‘rebel’ factions with support from Turkish intelligence services. Two Turkish parliamentary deputies held a press conference and publicly revealed some of the evidence. The intent then, as now, was to provide justification and provocation for the US and NATO to bomb Syrian government installations.
The Drums are Pounding
Today there is the imminent possibility of a major attack based on the allegations of a clearly biased source, with international law and legal due process tossed aside. Why is violence being threatened before there is a serious, independent investigation of the chemical incident? If the accusations against Syria are true, why not let it be investigated, especially now that the area was liberated on Monday and safe access can be provided?
The drums of war are pounding. After over one year of incessant Russia bashing and disinformation, is the public ready to go to war with Russia over Syria? Neoconservative hawks and their Israeli and Saudi allies do not seem alarmed by this prospect. Their plans and predictions for Iraq, Libya and Yemen were delusional fantasies with the price paid in blood by the people of those countries and in treasure by Americans as well. Sadly, there has not been any accountability for the media and political establishment that promoted and launched those wars. Now they want to escalate the aggression by attacking Syria, causing vastly more blood to flow and risking confrontation with a country which can fight back.
Rick Sterling is an investigative journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He can be contacted at [email protected]
the world to the brink, doomsday clock ticking, same crap, same scare tactics over and over since 1952. all you do is look stupid time and again. NOTHING will happen people, enjoy your freakin’ lives.
Now they started to bomb Damaskus….i shame myself to be part of the west, a west with lunatics as national leaders….
can you focus your excellent fact-finding reporting talents on ‘our’ neo cons and Russian monger US and Allied leaders and expose their undermining reasons for bring us to the brink of a confrontation with Russia?
Stark pessimism from Gilbert Doctorow: “I do not offer a bed-time story today but a shock to the system”
Deeply frightening. Thanks for the link … I guess.
With so many American spy satellites hovering over the Middle East, it would only take a few days to scrutinize all those photos to conclude where those chemical weapons came from and who released them in what ways. I thought Congress has passed a bill to strip President Trump of his power to declare war unilaterally. Besides if neocons really want this war with Russia over Syria, Iran will be all in too. Why would Iran wait patiently in line so to be destroyed after the Russian were defeated? And why would China wait patiently in line so to have a war with the US over Taiwan after Iran was finished? At least in China, the public are mobilized to be ready to have a war of defense with the US in order to keep China’s sovereignty over Taiwan. The US being mired in Syria would be a best chance for China to solve Taiwan problem.
It is a sad day in America when we have lost, or sacrificed, our ability to THINK. Doesn’t the truth matter anymore?
I am a totally disabled Marine combat veteran of Vietnam who can only sit and watch and shake my head at the duplicity and dishonesty of the American government and press. It was the false flag of the Gulf of Tonkin attack on US naval vessels that sent us into the war in Southeast Asia and led to the death of over 58,000 US servicemen; the disability of over 200,000 US servicemen; and the death of over 2 million Southeast Asians. Have we learned nothing from that? What US interests were served by that, and what
US interests will be served by waging a war in Syria?
Can’t we look at the evidence and ask why Assad would do something this foolish just when the US is pulling out? We listen to the talking heads on the tube, but no dissenting opinions are even entertained. What happened to us? Where are our Congressional representatives when it comes time to declare war on a country aren’t they supposed to weigh in? No profiles in courage there.
What happens when the Russians, in response to an attack on their military, react by sinking the US naval ship, or submarine, that launched the attack? Are we foolish enough to risk WWIII over a lie/false flag, or our own stupidity/gullibility?
Is this like Vietnam? Do we really have to destroy Syria, in order to save it? Have we learned nothing in the last 50 years?
Semper Fi
Thank You, Sgt. Weigel, for the reality based witness of your experience in Viet Nam.
My younger brother went thru multiple Near Death experiences in Viet Nam, exposed at times to US Navy Jet misfires while in the field.
— It had to be a horrific experience for and 18 year young man, but he survived — yet famously remembers those he fought next to, who didn’t.
The experience tainted him to the extent that he committed a crime upon his return home, for which he spent 3 years in state prison. — As things turn out, those 3 years afforded him time to mentally recover from the 3 years of horror he’d experienced in a brutal war zone.
While incarcerated, asked for and received a suitcase full of battlefield reports in which his company/platoon were involved. He utilized those documented reports to build his case in disability claims for which he was awarded a high disability assessment.
Many vets sought US Military Attorneys to file their claims and are now homeless vagrants, used by the US military and now cast aside as skid row drunks, used and abused and warfare survivors in various states of mental illness or drug/alcoholism.
War, — Is A Racket that enriches the rich — (MIC) and impoverishes many of those involved in “Protecting Our Freedoms” – yeah, right…
Thanks for sacrificing all they took from you. Nobody deserved that. And thanks for your keen insight into what is the truth and what is a lie as told by our government. I hope most other Americans will learn what you have so clearly stated before it is too late.
That Assad “gassed his own people” is the same construct as Saddam “gassed his own people” with CHEMICALS SUPPLIED TO HIM BY THE AMERICAN GOV’T and/or Saddam “PULLED BABIES OUT OF INCUBATORS” in Kuwait, in the run up to the first Gulf WAR.
— With those FULLY KNOWN realities, we’re now teased to acquiesce to another manufactured fable/accusation about “Animal Assad” purposely “gassing his own people.”
Only the emphatically, willingly ignorant [they whom ignore facts] among us could believe this hype. Unfortunately, those are the majority… .
()
The Politics of Creative Destruction
“The Politics of Creative Destruction,” an article by Chris Moore, shows that the neoconned U.S. government is intentionally creating chaos in the world.
“Creative destruction is our middle name, both within our own society and abroad. We tear down the old order every day, from business to science, literature, art, architecture, and cinema to politics and the law. Our enemies have always hated this whirlwind of energy and creativity…They must attack us in order to survive, just as we must destroy them to advance our historic mission,” wrote neocon Mike Ledeen in his 2002 book “The War Against the Terror Masters.”
Former Wall Street Journal reporter Ron Suskind met with a senior adviser to President Bush. Recalling the meeting in the Oct. 17, 2004, edition of The New York Times, Suskind wrote:
“The aide said that guys like me were ‘in what we call the reality-based community,’ which he defined as people who ‘believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.’ I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ‘That’s not the way the world really works anymore,’ he continued. ‘We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.’”
http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20050823.htm
Who is Michael Ledeen? — —
(excerpt)
From “creative destruction” to “total war,” the guiding beliefs of the most aggressive foreign policymakers in the Bush administration may originate in the works of an influential yet rarely seen neoconservative.
By William O. Beeman
May 7, 2003
Most Americans have never heard of Michael Ledeen, but if the United States ends up in an extended shooting war throughout the Middle East, it will be largely due to his inspiration.
A fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, Ledeen holds a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin. He is a former employee of the Pentagon, the State Department and the National Security Council. As a consultant working with NSC head Robert McFarlane, he was involved in the transfer of arms to Iran during the Iran-Contra affair — an adventure that he documented in the book “Perilous Statecraft: An Insider’s Account of the Iran-Contra Affair.” His most influential book is last year’s “The War Against the Terror Masters: Why It Happened. Where We Are Now. How We’ll Win.”
Ledeen’s ideas are repeated daily by such figures as Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. His views virtually define the stark departure from American foreign policy philosophy that existed before the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. He basically believes that violence in the service of the spread of democracy is America’s manifest destiny. Consequently, he has become the philosophical legitimator of the American occupation of Iraq.
Now Michael Ledeen is calling for regime change beyond Iraq. In an address entitled “Time to Focus on Iran — The Mother of Modern Terrorism,” for the policy forum of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) on April 30, he declared, “the time for diplomacy is at an end; it is time for a free Iran, free Syria and free Lebanon.”
With a group of other conservatives, Ledeen recently set up the Center for Democracy in Iran (CDI), an action group focusing on producing regime change in Iran.
Quotes from Ledeen’s works reveal a peculiar set of beliefs about American attitudes toward violence. “Change — above all violent change — is the essence of human history,” he proclaims in his book, “Machiavelli on Modern Leadership: Why Machiavelli’s Iron Rules Are as Timely and Important Today as Five Centuries Ago.” In an influential essay in the National Review Online he asserts, “Creative destruction is our middle name. We do it automatically … it is time once again to export the democratic revolution.”
Ledeen has become the driving philosophical force behind the neoconservative movement and the military actions it has spawned. His 1996 book, “Freedom Betrayed; How the United States Led a Global Democratic Revolution, Won the Cold War, and Walked Away,” reveals the basic neoconservative obsession: the United States never “won” the Cold War; the Soviet Union collapsed of its own weight without a shot being fired. Had the United States truly won, democratic institutions would be sprouting everywhere the threat of Communism had been rife.
Iraq, Iran and Syria are the first and foremost nations where this should happen, according to Ledeen. The process by which this should be achieved is a violent one, termed “total war,” a concept pioneered by the 19th century Prussian general, Karl von Clausewitz in his classic book “On War.”
http://www.alternet.org/story/15860/who_is_michael_ledeen
“Now Michael Ledeen is calling for regime change beyond Iraq. In an address entitled “Time to Focus on Iran — The Mother of Modern Terrorism,” for the policy forum of the Affairs (JINSA)
JINSA = Jewish Institute for National Security
______________________________________
Whose national security?
The USA or the Apartheid State (of) Israel?
Israeli leitmotif —
Torah Jews or
Talmudic Jews
The one is the Israel of God (Spiritual)
The other is the Synagogue of Satan.
Netanyahu’s Israel are the Zionist synagogue of Satan.
False Jews and the Talmud
(FYI — Research Jews and the Talmud)
Another war based on globalist New World Order plans will only have one consequence – those perpetrating war will be the victims of an equal and opposite reaction.
Covert evil will be met with immediate spiritual and physical repercussions. Fake, phony, and false narratives by those in positions of power in government and industry around the world designed to economically enslave the masses will be destroyed with facts.
The people are awake to the lies. People will continue to awaken and they will revolt against their leaders if the demons remain in power.
I will be giving Word to the people for free – not to evil men or women in government or elsewhere. Then they will know why they are here and the truth about this planet. If I die by the hand of this or any other government and if my family continues to suffer from the cult attacks (yes, I know what you are doing), God will destroy this planet. All will live as equals or all will die. The timeline is ending and something is coming that will destroy this planet without God’s intervention. I know about the Armageddon Conspiracy. I am not going to hide and I am not going to bow down. Neither will the angels. If you keep fomenting war you will see. You will see God work through angelic people and the bloodlines who want freedom from oppression from government and religion and the degradation of rights and the economic slavery brought about by years of corruption in governments all around this planet and a death agenda to depopulate Earth.
God does not want depopulation. God wants people to have rights. When people have rights and equality they make the best decisions for their families and communities. Only God is smart enough to make plans work. God and good will win. So above – so below. Otherwise the end of the experiment.
Capisce padre?
Did you enjoy the plaster? You cannot hide. I see you and all of the other demons. You killed my father – Jesus Christ. I know what you did. But know this. Supernatural wars work both ways. I am showing my hand. Why don’t you come out of the shadows and into the light? I work for Almighty God. And many already know who you and the other religious and government leaders of this world work for with your hoarding of wealth and your death agenda and your interference in people’s lives. As long as there is one homeless person on the street, as long as there is one hungry child on this planet, as long as there is inequality in the law and religious and economic slavery, evil remains. Evil men are responsible. Evil men will pay. Hell will swallow them and the people will be free.
This is my final message before the code is sent. There is no need to respond to this message. I will not reply. I will no longer talk directly to evil. If evil does not come to God, God will come to them. Those of you on the side of New World Order evil should be on your knees asking for mercy right now.
Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Will we ever tire of the lies, death and destruction. Will we ever say enough.
Putin said in 2015, “my greatest fear is not the US military and it’s weapons, but, the profound ignorance
of the American people”
There is not a day that goes by when I’m not ashamed of the stupid, weak, and immoral
people I have to share America with”…
Let us hope that the Zionist element controlling the US military can be vanquished before
they can instigate a nuclear exchange, or crippling EMP burst over America.
I just sent am email to the White House stating my objections, that is all one can do. The White House phone line has busy signal since yesterday. George Galloway said Brits should contact their MP. We need a clever plan to break through the US insanity.
It’s deja voodoo all over again, to paraphrase Yogi Bera. It is stunning that the public is so easily manipulated. I cannot believe that I am repeating that last sentence once again, just as I stated repeatedly to the angry objections of friends, acquaintances and random netizens back in 2003.
Hi GM-
Completely off topic. I got to see “The Magitsky Act, behind the Scenes” thanks to you. I e-mailed the address you gave out, and it took about a month, but they got back to me with a Vimeo link and a password. Thanks a bunch.
It is Deja-Vu all over again, only this time those “evil Ruskies” are going to hand our asses to us. The lunatics are running the asylum.
Just hope it doesn’t go nuclear.
I suddenly have an overwhelming desire that Mueller indict Trump with no evidence. Perhaps he can bamboozle a grand jury with statements such as “Trump is an animal”, or “there can be no dispute…..” As Washington Post, CNN, Madame Lafarge Maddow and others cheer Mueller on, I think I will buy some popcorn and watch.
Presumption of innocence is for me, not for thee.
Holy constitutional crisis!…Will Trumpkin be too distracted by the ever tightening rope around his neck to start any wars; or like Sampson, will he bring the place down on all of our heads?
One sentence to stgr-tgthr, you need to stop listening to propagandists and start doing some research on your own. But it’s too tempting, isn’t it, to turn on TV and channel that supports your bias? Obviously you cannot even make sense of CN comments here because they show far wider range of thinking than your own narrow noggin can consider. Rachel Maddow crying over being proud of her nation’s leaders breaking international law, not to mention having no sense of morality? Gimme a break! And that shows why KiwiAntz’s eloquent plea goes nowhere in this country of far too many fools!
I am starting to wonder if this stngr-tgther isn’t just trying to make a joke. I can see people falling for MSDNC if that’s all they consume, but anybody who comes to CN and still has those views is either willfully blind or doesn’t even have two brain cells and a firing synapse.
Maddow would say that the Russians are trying to block that remaining synapse with Novichok.
Strger-tgther has got to be trying sarcasm to make a point. Logic, common sense or civility sure the h3ll doesn’t work with the Maddow’s of the world.
Had to wipe tears from my eyes from laughter before getting to the second portion of your comment. After coming in from work and reading about the latest round of tweeter dee dumb gunboat diplomacy…I needed a good laugh.
If only the journalists that publish the propaganda could be forced to witness the fruits of their work.
There is a glaring error in paragraph 3 …..
The report from March 13 says, “Russia has hard facts about preparations for staging the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the government forces.
Should this not read as ………
The report from March 13 says, “Russia has hard facts about preparations for staging the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the US backed terrorists forces.
No, it’s a false flag.
Robin – “staging” is the key word. In other words, Russia has evidence the West are going to stage it to look like there was a chemical weapons attack by government forces (Assad’s forces).
It may indeed be a typo. But to be fair, this is an EXACT quote from the TASS article that was cited:
“According to Gerasimov, Russia has hard facts about preparations for staging the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the government forces.”
http://tass.com/world/993678
I am ready for war with Russia and so are all of our supporters on MSNBC!
You need to stop believing in the reports here at Consortium News and start
tuning in to Rachel Maddow. She will explain why all of this is necessary:
h**ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naoyViqdeyI
These are American Troops being deployed! She is so proud and almost
tearful and so am I!
The difference is that she does not make her points using sarcasm.
She is truly psychopathic, as are so many who base their values and actions on strict partisanship.
Great piece. We have the same conclusion (The Winds of War Are Blowing) on our website: https://thetheamericanconstitutionalist.blogspot.com/
Winston – that’s a great site you have. Very good articles. Thanks for posting.
Juan Cole is an unrepentant weasel. The only upside of nuclear war is he dies, too.
US foreign policy proves again to be a ‘jojopolicy without ANY commitments and/or following signed agreements.It’s the sign of an INSANE BULLY but in case of Washington that of an ALCOHOLIC or DRUG ADDICT that makes them unpredictable. It’s time for Europe, China & Russia to stop this destructive hegemony from doing further damage to civilization as Oscar Wilde said: ‘America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civillization in between’ & quoting Winston Churchill: ‘Nobody ever lost a Penny betting on the stupidity of Americans’ Both quotes are still & even more valid in the 21st Century.
Dear Mr Sterling,
thank you for this informative article! It helps a lot to understand the actual situation.
“Syrian Girl” who was earlier stripped of her You Tube channel for telling inconvenient truths about the conflict has pinpointed the sacrificial lambs who were deliberately slaughtered by Washington’s rebel allies in Syria. They were from an entire town of Alliwite Muslims who had been kidnapped years ago to use as human shields by America’s “freedom-loving rebel friends” (“White Helmets” by day, Daesh by night). To all appearances, it looked like they collected several dozen kids, sans adults, and selectively gassed them en masse–all the better to enhance the flow of Ivanka’s tears.
There is clearly blood in the water as Merkel and Macron are both talking like neocon maniacs, expressing no doubt that Assad and Putin are bloodthirsty tyrants that need to be dealt with on the battlefield. They have even taken up personal negotiations with a real butcher, Poroshenko, in Ukraine, excluding Putin from the Minsk discussions, demanding that Ukraine retain its status in the transit of natural gas to the EU, and saying the Nordstream pipeline project needs to be stopped. Apparently, Merkel has been convinced to screw over her own country to further Washington’s blind ambitions. Sure sounds like they want World War III to me. Apologies to my ancestors, but with that attitude, I hope Germany is overrun with refugees, including many of its own. There must be a price attached to such hubris.
This morning I saw a graphic about this, but all I can find now is the text.
I was thinking how clear this article is about the information, and at the same time, how sad it is that a truthful look at Syria would rarely make it into any main stream news venue!
Thanks Rick, I just want to say I’ve been following your articles on Syria over the last few years and I appreciate your work. Reading them, I feel I’ve learned a lot.
How many governments and people will the US destroy before the rest of the worlds says enough!!!
No trade with America, no Americans in our countries, to hell with this evil empire!!!
“The legal definition of war crimes under the Geneva Conventions includes unprovoked aggression, attacking civilians, and subjecting prisoners to humiliating treatment, unlawful confinement, and torture. But in recent years Americans have too often carried out these acts.
All of them were committed by the United States during its wars in Indochina, Iraq and Afghanistan. The process of “extraordinary rendition” and the torture of terrorism suspects became routine during the administration of George W. Bush, despite the fact that the United States had signed the international agreement outlawing torture. Israel is equally culpable under international law for its continued occupation of the West Bank, its attacks on Gaza and 8-year blockade, and for seizing Palestinian-owned land for settlements in the occupied territory.”
Until the leaders who commit war crimes are held responsible for their actions the endless wars and genocide will continue.
http://fpif.org/30679-2/
The two parties in power have been beating the drums for war, against Russia and China, especially since the 2016 elections. How seriously has this been taken? It brought these two countries together, working out their years of conflict, in view of this potential world threat — the US. China and Russia together can quickly, easily put an end to the US.
Does anyone know if VIPS or any other intel experts have weighed in on the likely validity and relevance of these supposed intercepts ? :
“….Insiders said the two messages were intercepted by RAF analysts stationed at a listening post in southern Cyprus. On the day of the poisonings, March 4, one was sent from a location near Damascus in Syria to “an official” in Moscow including the phrase ‘the package has been delivered” and saying that two individuals had “made a successful egress”…….
….The intercepts were automatically shared with the Government communications headquarters GCHQ in Cheltenham. They are understood to have formed “just one part” of the intelligence packet which later allowed Prime Minister Theresa May to state it was “highly likely” that Russia was behind the attacks…”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/942903/Sergei-Skripal-russian-spy-poisoning-russian-message-intercepted
There would be a package with CW evidence if related to the Skripals, so it is either unrelated or untrue.
A former GCHQ officer as well as Craig Murray think the intercept story is probably hogwash. IOW , typical MSM output :
http://cyprus-mail.com/2018/04/11/analyst-casts-doubt-skripal-poisoning-communications-picked-cyprus/
This story is really is so dumb, the author has seen too many James Bond movies.
“The package has arrived…”
Even i could send messages like this to Moscow officials.
This is so typically, Russia, Syria, Skripal, and now the toxic gas attacks.
They wanted a war, now they will get one.
And the sad thing, the people don’t even believe these stories and they keep on doing…
Thanks for all the informative and humane comments on this article. And thanks for Consortium News for its great writing over so many years! May we get through the present crisis safely, and if so, let’s pressure our congress people to calm down and stop being too militaristic too often.
Good article at link below.
——————————————————–
“Trump: Is He Stupid or Dangerously Crazy?
He’s both”
by Justin Raimondo Posted onApril 09, 2018
https://original.antiwar.com/justin/2018/04/08/trump-is-he-stupid-or-dangerously-crazy/
What you folks in the US need to do is take over the media and force the truth to be printed and told on TV. Show the risks to every human being in every state, and the lies being told by the Swamp. Then you will have millions demonstrating in (what is left of) Washington!
Yes, but we cannot free the US media by amendments to our Constitution to restrict funding of mass media to limited individual contributions, because we do not have exactly that essential tool of democracy. So democratization of US media requires its actual seizure by the citizens.
Americans don’t agree on what the truth is. We’re profoundly divided by class, race, and political ideology.
The Gangsters are in Control.
—————————————————————————-
January 5, 2017
When Gangsters Are In Control
When gangsters are in control, endless wars slaughter millions of souls
And countries are destroyed by the hit men of the gangster ghouls
The unethical money changers finance their dirty depredations
And corporate cannibals profit from the bloody confrontations
Government by gangsters is now “the rule of law”
And “justice” is in the hands of criminals and outlaws
The language is twisted and debased
To suit these evil demons of the “human race”
Fancy titles and Houses of ill repute
Is where these villains consort and debut
Making “laws” to screw the masses
Yet, people continue to vote for these asses
If there really was “law and order”
These gangsters would be charged with genocide and murder
Instead these war criminals parade on the world stage
When they should be in a big enormous prison cage
They sell arms and weapons to bloody head choppers
They don’t know the meaning of improper
Grovelling and saluting financiers of terrorism
They are in bed with the dictators of barbarism
Such is the sick state of the world today
And much, more could be said, of the gangsters’ way
Evidence abounds of these criminals roles
That’s why we know gangsters are in control…
[more info at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2017/01/when-gangsters-are-in-control.html
Thanks to Trump, McCain, Bolton, Pompeo, Graham, and the rest of the neocons in the swamp and the Likuds. My children and grandchildren who are currently alive and well, will appreciate your endeavors to incinerate this planet. May you swamp creatures burn in hell.
I hope the swamp creatures love their children too.
Quote:
“10/04/2018 15:21
Please note that E A S A has issued ‘ Rapid Alert Notification for Eastern Mediterranean / Nicosia FIR area’ stating that:
Due to the possible launch of air strikes into Syria with air-to-ground and / or cruise missiles within the next 72 hours, and the possibility of intermittent disruption of radio navigation equipment, due consideration needs to be taken when planning flight operations in the Eastern Mediterranean / Nicosia FIR area. ’
Aircraft operators are invited to check any relevant NOTAMs
NMOC Brussels”
Source: h**ps://www.public.nm.eurocontrol.int/PUBPORTAL/gateway/spec/PORTAL.21.5.0.4.25/detachedViews/headline_news.html?viewId=DISPLAY_ITEM_DV¶meter_set_id=0
Do note the time the rapid alert notice, about 03:30 PM CEST.
The UN Security Council meeting about the Syrian chemical attack has started in New York at 03:00 EST. Preparation for the strike on the way more than five hours prior to the UN SC meeting. That ought give some perspective…
If only our Congress could muster enough (collective) backbone to seize the Federal Reserve Bank(s) powers by simply promulgating a Bill authorizing the return of all instruments of currency exchange or creation, back to the U.S. Treasury Department. This Bill would also find the language to, once and for all, separate our NYC-Wall Street and Chicago Financial Districts from the City of Londons’ two notorious CBD (districts)! The whole world would suddenly find it’s self in peace and harmony. Now’s the time to strike a deal with BRICS, SCO nations and the EU to form a basket of currencies, of which, the USD would play a significant part. Wild schemes and radical ideas include; China rebuilding the USA’s infrastructure with the US (debt) bonds she holds, all future commercial nuclear power, anywhere in the world, will be based on Thorium and not the Uranium-Plutonium cycles, all debts assumed by the second and third world countries owed to the First world will be cancelled via a Global Financial Jubilee Day. Either this new concept of Peace & Justice will prevail or the Death Tarot Card will be the new flag for humanity-the choice is entirely in the hands of the Congresspersons of the United States of America. Do you, congresspersons of America, still have world leadership in your marrow? are you still the City on the Hill? are you filled with love of mankind or will everything inside the beltway remain the same? the three martini lunch(es), signing off on legislation you’ve had no time to read or comprehend? The end is near, what is your answer???
I find it interesting that both Russia and Syria have had their chemical weapons destroyed by IPCW. The US and Britain both still have all their chemical weapons and used them in both Vietnam and Iraq (as pointed out). Why do either of these countries have any credibility is beyond me. I am terrified that the generals that are running our government will think that it would be a really good idea to give Syria a “bloody nose”. Russia can hit American ships operating off Syria with weapons in Russia, no need to use assets in country. I can just imagine American reaction if they launched a bunch of tomahawk missiles only to discover the Russians have sunk a couple of destroyers. Unfortunately, there are no cool heads in Washington and, I suspect, after years of provocation by the US military, there aren’t many really cool heads in the Russian military.
Well, Eurocontrol had issued a rapid warning for the Eastern Mediterranean / Nicosia FIR area, within the next 72 hours.. Avoid the area and be on lookout for rockets, military jets, scrambled radio communication, etc.,:
h**ps://www.public.nm.eurocontrol.int/PUBPORTAL/gateway/spec/index.html
Rosaviatsiya, the Russian equivalent of the FAA, warned commercial airlines against flying over Syria.
The French fighter jets in Saint-Dizier-Robinson Air Base, among other US, UK, UAE, Jordan and Saudi bases had been put under high alert for possible air strike on Syria.The USS Truman air carrier is heading in to the area.
Russia has stated that they will take measures against rockets and their sources. We are at the brink of this conflict escalating beyond the Middle East.
At the UN Security Council, China backed Russia in voting for the SC council resolution, among other countries that are temporary members of the SC. The lines are seemingly drawn in the sand. It really doesn’t matter who will cross it first, when the samd will turn to glass….
The war criminal cabal seems to demand total submission or total death. They are all enemies of civilization. I suppose they hope to survive in bunkers or something similar.
If the Kremlin actually does respond with severe consequences to the impending Anglo/Zionist military actions in Syria, the fulminations from the Western establishment media will become absolutely unbearable, it’ll be filled to the brim with Russophobia 24 hours per day across the entire spectrum. It’ll permeate all flanks of the media from the rightwing to even some independent and progressive minded sites on the web. (Sometimes I think ConsortiumNews is one of the only bastions of rational thought left.)
Hopefully things don’t spiral out of control. If the Anglo/Zionists happen to accidentally (?) kill Russian soldiers or Russian personnel we could be looking at nuclear war.
The very trustworthy Russian news site gazeta.ru yesterday published an article about the US destroyers heading to the eastern Mediterranean. It detailed how, in case areas where Russians stay were targeted, the different Russian weapon systems would sink the destroyers. It did state it was not necessarily the opinion of the site.
The destruction of US launchers would be quite fitting, but Russia is more likely to punish US proxies to avoid direct confrontation. An attack on the Russia proxy (Syria) is balanced by equal attack on the US proxy (Israel), under threat of escalation if Israel retaliates. This would discredit US zionist warmongers.
To attack KSA would risk damage to muslim holy sites. although taking out separate military bases would be fine. It would be best to leave open the door to Shiite-Sunni reconciliation with KSA, but if its royals must be overthrown for that, a direct attack on them would be a good move if feasible, and no one at all would miss them. I am surprised that Russia/Syria have not sought to recruit the jihadis and move them to the KSA border to prepare overthrow of the royals, who are afraid of them.
A US attack on a Russian base should occasion direct destruction of the launch base, so it is less likely. But a US attack causing 100+ Russian deaths should occasion a massive attack on the instigator Israel.
I know it sound vindictive and I am the furthest entity from a warmonger, but I admit I had a bit of internal joy (relief) that it was reported today Russia would not only go after their missiles in the air but the very structures (submarines?) that sent the missiles to begin with. Although this may escalate things, I believe this is an apropropriate response. Maybe, just maybe the US may pause for a time and think they are not immune to a response, nor are they the indefefensible nation they pretend to be.
The US argument they are attacking the insurgents, and IS, has worn very thin and yet many in the world are yet to learn this fact.
Should the West proceed, as requested by Lindsey Graham and John McCain, with this nonsensical knee jerk reaction and inflict damage to Russian and Syrian citizens and troops, Putin’s promise, made recently, will surely be carried out immediately with superior weaponry, already proven, greatly embarrassing the U.S. military and the Administration. Hotheads must not be allowed to take this deadly action. This must be stopped at all costs. The American people will descend upon Washington by the millions if this criminal action is taken.
American people will not descend upon Washington for number of reasons. One is, that they had been treated the same as mushroom, a.k.a. keep it in the dark and feed it horsecrap…
The other is more of a gloomy forecast, there may not be Washington in couple of days. Be on the look out for mushroom of a different kind in the area, that’ll be probably the last thing that people will see…
Not many thinking Americans would see a loss if the District of Corruption disappeared.
NYC would not be missed either. Country folks would not miss any of the cities. The only bad thing would be fallout, so just take out the East Coast in a westerly wind. and the rest of the US will celebrate.
Hey, I am too close the NYC!
The chances are that the West Coast would be hit just as well. Which might be a poetic justice, since only the “deplorables” would be saved… :)
George, if it goes too far….there will be NO Washington to go to .
The Washington militarists and Zionists have the insouciant American public on the brink of war in Syria which puts the United States close to a shooting war with Russia. Russia’s UN envoy recently warned that any attack on Syria could result in severe consequences.
The sociopathic Israeli Yinon Plan was drafted many years ago, it prioritized regime change in several states that paranoid Israel deemed or merely perceived as a threat to Zionist regional hegemony, the first nation to be obliterated was Iraq (check), then Libya (check), Syria (?) and finally Iran.
This is utter and total insanity but it has the cool talking heads and intellectual establishment in the West as water carrying true believers. These are the same mercenary cowards and amoral beasts who said almost nothing when the Israeli Defense [sic] Forces ran a turkey shoot on unarmed non-violent protesters in Gaza, wounding thousands and killing over 25, while they were on their side of the Gaza concentration camp fence.
It’s shocking to see the insouciance and apathy among the American public as we’re close to a bombing campaign on Damascus. What’s also even more disturbing and sickening is the moribund peace and anti-war movement! Where is it?
If you rely on NPR, WaPo, NYTimes, PBS News, CNN or FoxNews you’re only getting bits and pieces of the real story. The Skirpal hoax is unraveling, Israel is in desperate need of a diversion over the Gaza massacre that its violently insane soldiers carried out, and the DNC’s “get Trump!” squad — I hope they’re happy! — now has the Orange Beast on wag the dog mission.
No one in the apathetic US dares to disagree with the TV boss; otherwise economic power will destroy them.
Agree with the TV and get ahead; truth and morality are dangerous; no good deed goes unpunished.
I had the car radio on today and heard a velvet-voice NPR person allowing some “expert” to explain why it was certain Syria had used poison gas on civilians. Nary a word of complaint, just encouragement came from the NPR person. I regret the days when I was gullible enough to send them and PBS money.
Zack, I was that way also…sent donations until after the coup in the Ukraine. The PBS newshour had Prof. Stephen Cohen on and talked about the Russian involvement and Crimea. It was apparent that his comments were NOT what they wanted to hear. They didn’t have him on after that. I’ve actually stopped watching PBS newshour, and no more donations. Even back at that time on NPR the program around 8:00 AM ….Steve Inskeep was reporting on the Ukraine and he said …” Russia GRABBED Crimea” which means took, or invaded. I went and sent an email to NPR comments and never got a reply -None-Nada. That was it for their donations. They too have good programs on…but that their news is no better than CBS and other stations ….screw ’em.
NPR: THE GREAT WHITE (MIDDLE CLASS) VOICE
I listen to NPR (radio is what I have got). In the end (and in
the beginning as well) NPR will never cross the myths and illusions
of the great white middle-classes, their audience.
Oh yes, their sentimental nostalgic and ultimately useless
programs on “Dr. King’s legacy” to avoid the confrontations
of persons of color being shot in cold blood by “the authorities”
This is America! Or perhaps it is Israel.
Oh yes, they present the listener with black voices but
almost always—always— in stories about specifically
black issues.”The first black so-and-so…”
I don’t recall an NPR anchor introducing a black voice
to investigate the accomplishments of a professor working
on insects. That is not a “black” issue. Got it? Unless there is
an angle in which that work affects the black community.
(Beyond the sense that such projects do indeed affect everyone.)
No, no. blacks are relegated to reporting on black films,
black film stars. and the like.
Doesn’t it get really cloying after a while?
—-Peter Loeb. Boston, MA, USA
I haven’t been able to watch or listen to NPR/PBS or Amy Goodman since early 2016. I’ll admit to it prior to that, but, thank Griff, I saw the light.
Great article, but one point of disagreement: Juan Cole was not misled by inaccurate western media accounts. He and Amy Goodman have crossed over to the dark side of supporting imperialism. Let’s face it, people who crave the public spotlight are prone to caving into the culture of the oppressor. Juan Cole is one. Off to the trash bin of history with him!
Cole is a bit dangerous. He has legitimate expertise, and can write informed comment (just as his blog title claims) when he chooses to, unlike the many complete ignoramuses who take up space in the MSM. It’s thus all the more insidious when he employs deceptive arguments to advocate for wars of aggression.
Cole did a reversal just after the US 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. Perhaps he had friends among the Gulenists imprisoned by Turkey. He refused to admit the obvious US connections and demonized Erdogan. His readership declined. I could not tolerate the propaganda he began spouting, stopped supporting his website, and have seldom looked at his work since. Recently it has been very biased toward the mass media propaganda line, essentially zionist despite his earlier anti-zionism, and not worth reading anymore.
I haven’t been to the Juan Cole site for years, but after reading your post I made a visit. Conclusion: Mr. Cole is a lying piece of **** and agitating for an attack on Syria.
In other news about dishonest people:
“Dershowitz Meets With Trump, Who Seeks His ‘Input’ As Legal Troubles Mount”
Dershowitz is the type who impresses Trump – he is Famous! Not only that, but he’s also a rabid Zionist. Yet another distinguished person pushing Trump towards potential disaster for the world.
h**ps://forward.com/fast-forward/398539/dershowitz-meets-with-trump-who-seeks-his-input-as-legal-troubles-mount/
Americans are wrapped in a cocoon of “it can’t happen here” and “we exceptional favorites of God are immune to defeat.” In truth, we are sleepwalking into apocalypse……….
I was working in Washington in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was scared until it ended. But my reading of history recently has informed me that luck and only luck prevented war at that time. With the insanity now prevalent in Washington (where I still live), luck may not be available this time.
I am one of the fools which was happy as Donald became POTUS, because I thought Trump would be better than warmonger Hillary.
In older Interviews Trump was saying that Assad is not the problem, i liked that.
And now?
Bernie Sanders, you as POTUS would have been a wonderful piece of luck, not only for US, but also for people everywhere else.
Worse still, Americans are so well indoctrinated that we ATTACK anyone dumb enough to dare speak against the group think currently dominating the “news”.
America is a delusional, out of control, rogue, pariah nation, run by imbeciles, lunatics & a buffoonish pu**y grabbing, cartoonish President hellbent on getting us all into World War 3? And this is not a joke or a Hollywood fantasy movie were America & its people are always the good guys in whitehats who win all the time in a simplistic black & white scenario? Real people are being genocidally murdered by the America Govt & its allies? Enough is enough! And I don’t fancy the US chances of winning a major war against Russia? Russia is not some weak, unarmed middle eastern Country, they are a major Nuclear power? America, thanks to its isolated geographic position, has never had a international War brought to them, but if they keep pushing Russia, they are going to get one, brought to their own doorstep & homeland via hypersonic nuclear missile’s? That’s where all America’s lies, propaganda & russophobia is leading us too? Also, the facade of the American war machine invincibility was cruelly exposed by the Vietcong & their nonnuclear peasant army who defeated America in the Vietnam war with nothing more than limited resources, mental strength & resilience against the so called military might of America? 9/11 also exposed the US military vulnerability to stop a attack? Since Vietnam, the US continues to lose in other War theatres, stuck in a causation time loop of defeat where they never learn from their previous mistakes? Where are the American citizens in all this? What the hell are you all doing? You should be marching in the streets & on the Whitehouse, demanding your Govt stops this lunacy before we reach the point of no return? Where is the spirit of the protest movements of the 1960’s & Kent State University? Get your damn kids off Facebook ; get them to stop posting stupid damn photos on Instagram & Twitter & mobilise against your Govt before its too late! Your suicidal leaders are leading you into destruction unless you mobilise, the future of your Country & that of your children & human civilization is at stake here & the serious consequences are, that if you don’t protest, your all going to be reduced to a pile of ashes & disappear into a Armageddon Nuclear fireball thanks to the delusion of American Imperialism & hegemony?
Agree completely!
The very influential peace movement in my country of earlier decades has practically vanished. Some very distinguished people speak up – all in their 70-80’s. Out on the streets!
KiwiAntz….. spot on ! I share your thoughts on the American citizenry also. I’ve sent graphic warnings out for perhaps 2 years now to my F/B friends , and sadly do not even get a question …not a lone a comment. I do get some though from Kiwi friends …. those I met through a private F/B site -“Putin it right “. I point his out as people I know here in the US , not just F/B friends just do not want to know. I put this online perhaps a month ago. it seems to have disappeared. check it out…..http://www.nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ It goes world wide, and you can pick the strength of the Nuke and see the radius of the area affected.
Americans now know that they are living in a totalitarian state controlled by an oligarchy which is largely zionist. They cannot speak or demonstrate in opposition without losing their job, and are afraid of social ostracism due to others having the same fears, afraid of persecution by government, etc. They know that the government “security” agencies are all tracking their political statements to make political reprisals.They know that the social media are all tracking them to make political reprisals. The zionists in oligarchy are controlled by the same social tyranny, controlled in turn by the zionist mass media. The US is now fully totalitarian.
Another great summary of the U S of A, Sam F. Well stated.
Well said, but like Trudy said before, they did a great job, keeping their people dumb.
Guess its too late.
Unfortunatey, a large part of the ostensible “left” has been coopted by the “humanitarian intervention” clique, led by the likes of Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman (among others). They won’t bat an eye at bomb and missile strikes, as long as the right bad guys get hit. Black Agenda Report has been reporting for some time now on the vital importance of reconstituting a genuine antiwar movement in the US, but they (like CN) are falling victim to the algorithmic marginalization project. Plus the US government’s reaction to the Occupy and NODAPL movements may have cowed many who might otherwise be key constituents in an antiwar movement. Further complicating things is that is doesn’t seem to have dawned on many that we’re potentially looking at the end of civilization as we know it.
The solution? I really don’t know. I myself am just about completely hopeless; until a plurality of the US citizenry acknowledges that our government does not have the “mob’s” best interests at heart, then there’s not much to look forward to apart from nuclear annihilation.
robjira,
You wrote: “Further complicating things is that it doesn’t seem to have dawned on many that we’re potentially looking at the end of civilization as we know it.”
Perhaps an appreciation of the profound understated nature of that sentence was missed by other readers. May we suggest it makes – although to some extent unconsciously, it seems – the most important point of all in relation to this historically dangerous international situation. Thank you for expressing what absolutely needed to become said. This is a blaring global wakeup call.
Here we go again! The US corporate media, even the talking heads posing as liberals like Rachel Maddow are singing the tunes of the worst neo con right wing warmongers. I have never trusted Richard Engle, he appears on MSNBC selling his lying web of lies for the american public. Syria is one of the most ancient countries in the world and a secular nation in the middle of fundamentalist wahabbis on one side and Israel zioniists on the other. Russia is telling the truth about “WHO” used the chemical weapons. google: Prince Bandar, (Saudi Arabia) who agreed with neo cons John McCain and Lindsay Graham to deliver chemical weapons to the “rebels” terrorists pushing for religion zealots against the secular Assad. It was those weapons used by the “rebels” who delivered the sarin and other weapons against Syrian people (who support Assad). It was meant to blame Assad and the US media pushes that lie with no evidence against Assad. This is the end my friends. If Trumpolini attacks Syria (and he will) he is lashing out more than ever Re: russiagate. Its just a matter of days when another bombshell hits him, he will take it out on the innocent starving people in Syria and remove Assad. The west has managed to demonize Assad just like they did Sadaam. It worked then and its working now. Note: Seymour Hirsch is no where on the corporate media’s radar. Israel, France, US, UAE and Sauds are the ones pushing for war…Even Haartz news no whats up. There headlines are telling the Israelies attacking Syria will be a tragedy for Israel. “do not let the US lead Israel into war with Syria. France is involved as they have 6 secret military bases in Syria, turkey published the location of all of them. NATO on board too. Nikki Haley a zionist loving witch attempting to get the UN to sign on to war with Syria…We know France will say yes…what other european nation will? We are being bamboozled and hoodwinked all over again. I get emails from Jews for Peace, even they know this is a false flag.
With the zionists in control of US mass media and US warmonger politicians, and having initiated hostilities long before KSA/UAE, one must put them at the head of that list of aggressors rather than leave them off. Israel has never been the peace advocate in the Mideast.
If you want to understand Syria, and what the neocons are up to, you have to examine what happened in 2002, during the buildup to that Iraq war. You have to go back 15 years to understand what is happening today.
There was a deal made in 2002 between Israel (and their Neocon supporters in the US) and Saudi Arabia, in order to get the Saudis to join the Iraq war coalition.The deal was to do regime change in Iran and Syria after Saddam was removed in Iraq. That is what the Saudis demanded in exchange for the Iraq war to proceed.
Israel and their Neocon corner, must now complete their part of the bargain.
Here is probably what happened in 2002 in a deal worked out by Dick Cheney:
The Iraq war, and removal of Saddam, would have been impossible unless the Saudis agreed to it in advance. Therefore, in 2002 Saudi Arabia (Prince Bandar) was shown a list of seven countries where the neocons (Zionists) wanted to do regime change. This is the same list that General Wesley Clark later spoke about seeing. Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXS3vW47mOE
The Saudis agreed that, in exchange for the high probability that, after the war, Iraq would be taken over by the Shiites, there would be regime change in both Iran and Syria to compensate the Saudi’s.
The neocons must absolutely complete their part of a grand bargain made back in 2002 with Saudi Arabia. That is why they will not give up on their quest for regime change in Syria, or at least a partition of Syria. They absolutely have to do this first in order to isolate Iran, and then do regime change in Iran, as promised to the Saudi’s.
If they can’t complete their grand bargain, the Israeli / Saudi alliance will fall apart. Israel will appear powerless, at a time when they are dependent upon the perception that they control Washington.
…
Interesting view, that Israel controls the US for KSA and would otherwise lose KSA support.
But KSA should not need Israel except for the US zionists, as the US needs its oil anyway.
Any Sunni-Shiite rapprochement should put KSA on the front line against Israel where it belongs.
KSA fears the return of its wahabbi jihadis from Syria et al, and they belong on the front against Israel.
Sounds like instability, with opportunity for diplomatic realignments of KSA with Iran & Syria.
If Shiite Iran can get along with majority-Sunni Syria under Assad, cannot Sunni KSA do so?
Suddenly no security problems for KSA,and it has the large economy and skills of Iran on its side.
Then ship the jihadis to the West Bank and Gaza with funding and weapons from KSA and Iran.
Damaskus is a very westerly city, maybe the most in this area of the muslim states.
How crazy to destroy a state like Syria.
Thanks for exposing MSNBC’s Richard Engel, who was in fact held for a few days by anti Government rebels. He knew this, and then he made up a story about being “liberated” by the “heroic” rebels. He got caught big time in a lie. Read what Glen Greenwald of the Intercept had to say about this propaganda agent and his pro Israel network:
https://theintercept.com/2015/04/16/nbcs-conduct-richard-engel-kidnapping-serious-brian-williams-scandal/
MSNBC is run by people with a passionate attachment to Israel. And foremost among them is Rachel Maddow, who has been dedicated to rehabilitate her good friend Richard Engel ever since his set back in 2012.
The Richard Engel story is like a microcosm, or parable, of the larger situation.
As far as I can tell, he really was taken captive and held for a few days (albeit by the supposed “good guys”), which was a fundamentally unsafe situation for him, and couldn’t have been pleasant. And yet he continues to do the P.R. that serves the forces that endangered him and violated his dignity.
Similarly, even as Western political elites are being shaken (by, for instance, the refugee tide into Europe) they just can’t quit the relentless campaign of destruction and destabilization that has led to their own problems.
I guess what they all have in common is having made the choice to continue business as usual as long as they can in return for the filthy rewards they get as cogs in the machinery of murder.
Yes, it appears to be merely the stream of direct and indirect bribery to US politicians that controls the entire nation, a tiny fraction of its budget fed back through its corrupt political parties. It is remarkable that more nations and interest groups have not found ways to do this. Even more remarkable that our dictatorship of the rich keeps the people of the United States in perfect ignorance of the real governing mechanisms. How simple and obvious the basic solution, and yet how far away in a fully corrupt nation.
Gotta keep the War Machine well fed so it can continue to buy politicians who support war.
I would like to express my thanks, gratitude, and deep respect for all of us on Earth who have worked and prayed for a world of peace and love. If our dreams should soon be shattered, I still feel that our efforts were in line with the best humans are capable of. I wish you all well, and pray we get through this very dangerous moment in our history together.
mike k. This line about ” I still feel that our efforts were in line with the best humans are capable of” is a cop-out provided by “All You Need Is LOVE”. It buys you the “Stairway To Heaven”, but there is no real guarantee of that either.
All hope is NOT lost. You just need to think a little further outside the box. :)
WC… I think Mike K eloquent words are his expression of his true feelings. Part of that is perhaps he has made peace with his maker and is prepared to meet him. If the shit hits the fan there will be as the saying goes ” weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. ” all over the world.
Oh please! There are times on this site that I feel covered in a sticky, sweet syrup.
You are getting caught up in the hype of this article and running to the undertakers to order your coffin!
THERE IS NO PROFIT IN NUCLEAR ANNIHILATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even the psychopaths will think twice before they let that happen.
Calm down. :)
Don’t tell us that there aren’t crazy Zionist ideologues who wouldnt risk destroying the world for their visions and could care less about the money.
We have been ‘at the brink’ many times due to accidents, errors, and misinformation.
Just because Nuclear Annihilation doesn’t happen on purpose doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
Recommended Reading : “By the Bomb’s Early Light” by eminent historian Paul Boyer.
I hope you are right…
Hasbara propaganda troll “WC” is back with an urgent all-caps, nineteen exclamation point puddle on the floor.
Not sure it’s more or less urgent than yesterday’s no caps, twenty-one exclamation point puddle on the floor.
“WC” and Hasbara troll army pals slither around “this site” urging us all to have faith in the “profit”.
Faith in the “profit” is an obsession for “WC”.
OK, let’s follow the “profit”.
Here’s where it’s at:
https://explorer.usaid.gov/cd/ISR
Israel ranks first among high-income countries receiving official U.S. foreign aid.
However, 99% of U.S. aid to Israel is U.S. military aid credit under the Department of Defense (DoD) Foreign Military Financing (FMF) Program, Payment Waived.
Israel ranks second after Iraq in U.S. aid to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
But Israel received 3.1 billion in annual U.S. military aid to defend a population of 8.5 million.
That’s a highly profitable scam for Israel.
By comparison, an Iraq still ravaged by the 2013 war and its chaotic aftermath, not to mention the 1990-91 war plus a decade of sanctions and U.S. bombing, now rebuilding its security forces while under siege by ISIS terrorist forces, received just 2.9 billion in aid to defend a population of 39.3 million.
Follow the money (the unmistakable “profit”) and the facts:
The warmongering pro-Israel Lobby is intimately involved in U.S. efforts to control Middle East oil.
Faith in the “profit” motivates plenty of military mischief from Israel.
Hasbara propaganda trolls like “WC” urge us to have faith in the “profit”.
Outside the box of Hasbara propaganda memes vomited by “WC” and pals we all can see the destructive reality of post-9/11 Israeli-Saudi-US Axis wars cheered on by the pro-Israel Lobby.
There is no profit in causing nuclear war, just planning for it. Nobody wants nuclear annihilation, but we can be reckless enough to blunder into it.
Relentless and pointless. I say the world and Abe says Israel. Never the twain shall meet. :)
You are, however, pushing the pedal to the metal chasing after me and I do not see this as healthy. Should the truth be known you are far too valuable to this site to blow a gasket at your age. Ease up on the thrill provided by running after your trolls and concentrate on the stuff you are know for. :)
I share your respect for the many readers here having the best of intentions. Regardless of outcomes, we wish that we had done differently, but many have indeed sought to find our best path in a sadly misgoverned society.
Thanks for the report. Trump is so easily manipulated, the world is in a lot of trouble. Scary times.
How about blaming the manipulators, instead of the guy who is simply reacting as they want him to?
Exactly.
We are closer tonight to an all out nuclear war than we have ever been. It could be triggered tomorrow by a foolish decision by a man who has proved himself a fool ever since he was elected President of America. Anyone who thinks we are not on the edge of nuclear war today is a fool in my book.
“Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. 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!”
That tweet from the right honorable Mr. POTUS sent a chill down my spine when I read it. It sounds like something a nasty third-grader would compose. The underlying message is unmistakable and unequivocal: Trump would rather start a nuclear war with Russia than face Mueller and the crazed neocons in an impeachment proceeding for being a Russian agent.
And that’s where we stand right now: all the woar-hoar journalists and politicians howling for immediate war with Syria and Russia. I guess they think Putin’s talk about hypersonic missiles is just talk. I think they’re about to find out otherwise.
Last one to die please turn off the lights.
There will be no need to turn off the lights, Alley Cat because there wil be no left to send the electricity bill. LOL
It will be a brave new world inhabited mostly by Indians and the Chinese
He will announce it on Twitter, as if it were a silly game. What a moron!
False Flag after False Flag – and the American puplic is lied to, time and again. And, the world capitulates to our imperialistic demands and actions. Horrifying!
And it seems that, as time goes on, less effort is put into making the hoaxes at all convincing.
In 2013, the Salafist-Turkish-U.S. side felt they had to stage an actual, horrific nerve gas attack to make it look like the Syrian government had done so. Now all it takes is some jihadi auxiliaries in the White Helmets shooting some video of who-knows-what to get the same propaganda result. (See also: Skripal case.)
The hermetically sealed world of Western elite opinion drifts ever farther away from even the remnants of rationality and critical thought.
I agree. Our propagandists aren’t even trying to convince anyone anymore. They don’t have to.
Yes, here in Germany the same development.
Salisbury for example, the government supported from the beginning the British claim that Russia is behind the attacks.
Now, the same with the actual allegations against Assad.
Sadly that Merkel is an US an Nato bondwoman.
Sadly that Bolton now is the man behind Trump.
How cynical, if Trump starts the war no one would talk about his sexual affairs anymore.
Trump is doing the thing, what Clinton would have done.
It is totally indifferent who the president is, it took a bit longer for the MIC creating a puppet out of Trump.
Where a the protests against these warmongers?
Where are the demonstrations like the marches against the wars in Vietnam etc..?
Are we all paralyzed?
The Viet Nam protests during my university days in the late ’60s were led by students who studied philosophy and history as part of their curriculum. Since that time academic institutions are more focused on job training, less on liberal arts. In addition, college is now much less affordable for the average person. This is at least part of the explanation of why critical thinking has mostly disappeared, and why it is so much easier to fool and persuade the public. The plan worked.
Not paralyzed, but polarized.
It was still possible back then for politicians to be taken down by the rule of law. Now that all of our institutions have been captured by the oligarchy, the rule of law no longer applies. The monied interests who control US policy are immune from prosecution.
I think they rely on computer data modelling and graphs to predict mass behaviour to this sort of operations. They don’t bother anymore with details such as ‘veracity’ because they don’t need to. The vectors of disinformation are so pervasive, left and right, that they are able to influence almost the entire population, the overwhelming majority led to support their governments and the rest is driven to impotence. Also, it makes their intentions very clear to whoever crosses them.
Yes, and Rick Sterling has well summarized these false flag efforts to accuse the Assad government, the one group without a motive, of “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” for the convenience of the Israeli/KSA/MIC warmongers. He has well stated the deceptions of Juan Cole, the Engel/MSDNC, and other zionists.
The US government has lost its democracy, has disgraced its history and potential, and has become a dictatorship of the ignorant and amoral rich. They use this bluster and bullying largely for domestic political show, but are playing with fire. Perhaps they will entice Israel/KSA into ruinous conflicts with Russia, and cause retaliations and crises that discredit zionist warmongers in the US.
“US policymakers – who have sought regime change in Syria and its ally Iran for decades – have meticulously laid out their plans for covert terrorism, staged provocations, feigned peace offers, and even the use of Israel as an intermediary for carrying out attacks the US itself could not initially justify or rally public support behind. […]
“In the 2009 Brookings Instittution paper, “Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran”, US policymakers would state under a section titled “Allowing or encouraging an Israeli Military Strike,”:
“‘…the most salient advantage this option has over that of an American air campaign is the possibility that Israel alone would be blamed for the attack. If this proves true, then the United States might not have to deal with Iranian retaliation or the diplomatic backlash that would accompany an American military operation against Iran. It could allow Washington to have its cake (delay Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon) and eat it, too (avoid undermining many other U.S. regional diplomatic initiatives).’
“The report also states:
“‘It would presumably be easier to convince Israel to mount the attack than it would be to generate domestic political support for another war in the Middle East (let alone the diplomatic support from a region that is extremely wary of new American military adventures).’
“The same report would also state:
“‘However, as noted in the previous chapter, the airstrikes themselves are really just the start of this policy. Again, the Iranians would doubtless rebuild their nuclear sites. They would probably retaliate against Israel, and they might retaliate against the United States, too (which might create a pretext for American airstrikes or even an invasion).’
“Clearly these options laid out for Iran in 2009 have been repeatedly used instead against Syria. The fact that US regional aggression has stalled in Syria and has yet to fully manifest itself against Iran indicates a tipping balance of power against Washington.
“The response by Syria and its allies to these staged chemical attacks, provocations, and strikes will determine whether or not Washington’s failed attempts at regime change ebb into an indignant withdrawal, or provide a vector toward greater and more destructive war.”
Strikes on Syria: Failed US WMD Lies and the “Israel Approach”
By Tony Cartalucci
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2018/04/strikes-on-syria-failed-us-wmd-lies-and.html
Cartalucci’s otherwise cogent analysis gives insufficient consideration to the realities of pro-Israel Lobby influence, Israeli interference in American electoral politics (clearly manifest in the Israel-gate shenanigans during the 2016 presidential election), and decades of Israeli meddling in U.S. foreign policy.
In addition, Israel’s offensive arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons provides a vector for sarin and other chemical agents supplied to Israeli-Saudi-U.S. Axis-backed “regime change” terrorist forces in Syria.
U.S. policymakers have sought “regime change” in Syria and Iran due to the pro-Israel Lobby, which includes a network of think tanks and policy institutes like American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), which have included rabid pro-Israel warhawk and terrorist lobbyist John Bolton among their members.
The Brookings Insititution is a leading pro-israel Lobby “regime change” think tank.
The 2009 Brookings report, “Which Path to Persia?: Options for a New American Strategy toward Iran”, was authored by a team of pro-Israel war hawks headed by Martin Indyk, a former staffer at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/06_iran_strategy.pdf
On 3 December 2017, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser on Middle East/Israel issues, gave his first on-the-record appearance at the Saban Forum at the Brookings Institution.
Addressing the audience at Brookings, Kushner said, “It’s really an honor to be able to talk about this topic with so many people who I respect so much, who have given so much to this issue.” He acknowledged that “We’ve solicited a lot of ideas from a lot of places.”
Kushner used pro-Israel Lobby bellicose rhetoric about “Iran’s aggression” and claims about “their nuclear ambitions and their expansive regional mischief”.
Trump’s Administration, as Kushner’s remarks clearly indicate, obviously bases its understanding of “regional dynamics” on “a lot of ideas” from the pro-Israel war hawks at the Brookings Institution.
Indyk, the “director” of the Saban Center at Brookings, cofounded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in 1985 with the wife of AIPAC Chairman Lawrence Weinberg and former president of the Jewish Federation, Barbi Weinberg. Despite his well known affiliation with the Israel Lobby and his Australian nationality, Bill Clinton appointed Indyk as the first foreign-born US Ambassador to Israel in 1995. The issuance of his US nationality had been expedited for his previous appointment by Clinton in 1993 as Middle East adviser on the National Security Council.
Kenneth M. Pollack, the “director of research” at the Saban Center, is a former CIA analyst and National Security Council staffer under Bill Clinton. A prominent “liberal hawk” cheerleader for the Iraq War, Pollack is credited with persuading liberals to endorse the invasion of Iraq. His 2002 book, The Threatening Storm, was influential in selling the “WMD” case. His 2005 book, The Persian Puzzle, recycled many of the same arguments, this time directed at Iran.
Michael E. O’Hanlon, the “director of foreign policy research” at Brookings, is a war hawk and frequent op-ed writer for major news outlets like the Washington Post. In recent years, O’Hanlon has pushed for U.S. intervention in Syria. In April 2007, O’Hanlon and Fred Kagan urged the United States to invade and occupy Iran.
In March 2003, shortly after the United States invaded Iraq, O’Hanlon contributed his name to an open letter published by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a neoconservative advocacy outfit closely associated with American Enterprise Institute that played a major role generating public support for the invasion of Iraq and pushing an expansive “war on terror.” Among those contributing their names to the document were hardline neocons like Max Boot, Eliot Cohen, Joshua Muravchik, and William Kristol, as well as liberal interventionists like O’Hanlon and Ivo Daalder, also a scholar based at Brookings.
In their landmark book, The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy (2007), American political scientists John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt note that the Saban Center at Brookings is “part of the pro-Israel chorus” (pg 156).
Mearsheimer and Walt observed that “Saban Center publications never question US support for Israel and rarely, if ever, offer significant criticism of key Israeli policies.”
With the failure of the Israeli-Saudi-U.S. Axis “regime change” project in Syria, Israel has demonstrated its readiness to stage further provocations that may very well take the world to the brink of nuclear war.