President Trump ordered airstrikes on Syria as a team of experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was about to arrive on Saturday to determine whether a chemical weapons attack had even occurred, Joe Lauria reports.
By Joe Lauria Special to Consortium News
President Donald Trump on Saturday (Syria time) ordered air strikes against Syria in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack last weekend outside Damascus.
“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.
The strikes were carried out together with Britain and France, he said. CNN reported explosions at a research facility near Damascus. At a news conference later, Pentagon officials said this “phase” of the missile strikes against three so-called chemical research targets, one in the center of the Syrian capital, were completed and “no additional attacks are planned.”
U.S. officials said Russia had been told of the military operation but Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told the press briefing Friday night (Washington time) that Moscow was not informed of the Syrian targets. Russia had vowed to shoot down incoming U.S. and allied missiles as Russian military personnel are embedded with the Syrian Arab army at various locations in the country.
U.S. military analysts say the U.S. wanted to avoid hitting Russian targets, but once unleashed, military action can lead to unintended consequences.
Pentagon officials said they only had reports that Syrian, but not Russian, anti-missile defenses had been engaged. Whether any U.S. missiles or planes were hit would be made plain on Saturday morning in Washington, they said.
OPCW Team Was on the Way
A team of experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was on its way to Syria after accepting an invitation from the Syrian government to study soil and other samples in Duma, the Damascus suburb where the alleged attack took place.
It’s not clear whether the U.S.-led operation would complicate their mission as the team was due to arrive later on Saturday. It is also not certain whether the timing of the U.S.-led attack was intended to prevent the team from gathering evidence to prove whether or not chemicals were used. The OPCW does not assess blame.
Trump had threatened earlier in the week, in perhaps his strangest Tweet yet, to send “smart” and “clean” missile strikes into Syria to attack “Animal Assad.” He also blamed Russia for supporting Assad, which may have been intended to get critics, who accuse him of being a Putin puppet, off his back. Indeed this latest display of American militarism may also be driven by Trump’s anti-Russian critics.
Trump had backed off his threat when it was revealed that his aides had not yet agreed to the attack.
In April 2017 the U.S. fired 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase that Washington believed was used to carry out a chemical attack. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis later said the U.S. did not have concrete evidence that Syria was responsible.
No Proof Made Public
Likewise no public proof has been offered that Syria was behind the alleged chemical attack last weekend in Duma, where as many as 70 people may have been killed.
The gas allegedly used in the Duma attack is chlorine. In 2014 Syria was certified by the OPCW to have given up its entire chemical weapons arsenal in a deal with the United States and Russia. The chemicals were destroyed on a U.S. Navy ship.
Chlorine, however, is not on the OPCW list of banned chemicals, and is not classified as a chemical weapon. Any country, including Syria, is allowed to possess it, but cannot use it as a weapon. U.S. officials know this but say incorrectly that Russia had failed to give up chemical stocks that were on the OPCW banned list. The military strikes were, as usual, egged on by influential U.S. pundits, some masquerading as reporters. Christiane Amanpour said on CNN after the attack was launched that Russia had stopped President Obama from attacking Syria by agreeing to eliminate its chemical weapons.
“The allies have been forced into this,” Amanpour said, adding that they had no choice. “Russia promised that they would remove Syrian chemical weapons but they have chlorine,” she said, clearly uniformed that it was a joint-U.S.-Russia operation and that chlorine is not classified as a chemical weapon.
The last thing the Israel lobby in the U.S. Congress and media want is improved relations between
Russia and the U.S., which Israel continuously invites to intervene on Israel’s behalf in the Middle East, a la the Iraq intervention fiasco promoted by American Zionists and Israel to eliminate Saddam.
I think Trump is appeasing the Israel lobby in Congress, which he knows will vote to impeach him
because they suspect him of wanting to promote better relations with the Russians.
The fact that Trump bombed Syria with the inspectors on their way simply tells the world that Trump wants war with Russia, China, and Iran…regardless! Trump is showing his loyalty to The Global Mafia who has controlled him for the past 30 years. Of course, this Global Mafia also controls the Global Money Supply which means they control the leadership of EVERY country in the world. It’s all a big game to the Global Mafia. They write the script and direct the action. Actors like Trump, Netanyahu, and Putin simply say their lines and do as they are instructed by their Global mafia handlers. IT’S ALL DECEPTION. The vast majority of Americans are so ignorant that they still believe Hillary and Trump are good and honest people.
On vesti news today Sergei Lavrov gives a 15 minute interview carefully explaining the inconsistencies in the US/UK/France “explanations” of their acts in Syria now, in Syria a year ago and in Salisbury. Perhaps this news source is denied to Americans.
What is interesting is how the neo-con-led Anglo/US/Zionist alliance continues to push the credibility of the entire world farther and farther. With Saddam, it was accusations with some basis in past reality. Now the false-allegations/false flag events are getting so brazen, so “in your face”, they are barely trying to hide their deception. They now lie openly and do not care what anyone outside the zone of US corporate media control thinks. The vast majority of the world’s governments are scared to challenge this powerful alliance, no matter what their own people’s think. Don’t want to lose foreign aid or trade or banking privileges, or worse, get on the sanctions list or future bombing list.
Only Russia alone, with very timid support from China and just a couple of other brave countries, now dares stand against their drive for total world dominance. Hence the hysterical anti-Russia propaganda campaign.
At some point, something is got to break. The Anglo/US/Zionist alliance appears ready to keep pressing the issue, probably already cooking up more false-flag provocations now. But if Russia ultimately refuses to surrender to their power, what is going to happen? Putin says he will not allow them to push Russia into a corner. Will it take World War III to stop the neocons?
The most important step to avoid, prevent or otherwise stop the next false-flag, criminal, war-initiating action is prosecution on a global scale of Trump, May, Macron and others responsible for the Skripal, Douma and Khan Sheikhoun psychological operations. The prosecution must be swift, maximally powerful, relentless and, most importantly, result in the entire population of Earth gaining a full understanding of the crimes.
Jerry Alatalo – did you call for the prosecution of Hillary Clinton? Obama?
backwardsevolution,
Yes … War criminals clearly must face accountability for their mass murders, no matter their politics, nation, personal fortune or power.
Our point focuses on the current dangerous situation, suggesting what’s necessary to stop today’s war criminals – the crucial first step by condemning them in the court of Earthly public opinion, whereupon the appropriate legal actions, where applicable, will commence. Sadly, the world lacks an effective legal framework for ending war crimes impunity, most if not all war criminals are walking freely, the United Nations has no capacity for holding Trump, May and Macron to account, and thus humanity’s sole recourse is the court of public opinion.
Peace.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/john-bolton-and-james-mattis-clash-over-syria-strike/240510/ WHITE HELMETS ARE USAID sponsored at $23 MILLION dollars…I keep wondering if Eric Prince is behind these murderers.
Theresa May didn’t provide any evidence either and didn’t get permission from Parliment? France has 6 military bases in Syria, whirh Erdogan publically named. Bolton and his neo cons pushed Trump to do this, now Trumps supporters are throwing him under the bus on this issue. Strange that Maddog Mattis made a statement that “russian bots” are all over this story and the citizens should ignore them”. In other words, if your neither russian or a bot, you opinion on this is considers YOU, to be less than patriotic at least.
As long as there is no consequence for lying, they will continue to lie. Goebbels never shot anyone, he didnt even holster a weapon, but that did not save him from getting hanged. His lies led directly to the murder of innocents.. Until someone waves a noose in fron of Nikki Haleys nose, she will continue to lie her tail off at the behest of aipac
Satan of the West does not ever rest. The latest aggression against Syria, then, a case of the god of the bible being once again idle and the satan of the bible once again not idle?
Stop and Listen! Big orchestrated SCAM
Reason that UK USA France bombed Syria–get the news off Israel killing the Palestinians.
What I would like to know is what the f**k are US/UK/F doing bombing chemical weapons facilities? Aren’t they aware that doing so is the same as using chemical weapons themselves because of the risk of releasing the chemical weapons into the environment. It’s the same as bombing nuclear reactors used in the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons. Not even Al Qaeda was prepared to bomb nuclear reactors.
There is another more immediate point, how long have US/UK/F known of the existence of these chemical weapons facilities, and why haven’t they been reported by the US/UK/F to the OPCW as is their responsibility under the CWC. If they had reported them the OPCW would have had the right to inspect the sites and point out Syria’s breach of the CWC if indeed they were undeclared chemical weapons facilities. Either the US/UK/F cant be trusted with their responsibilities under the CWC or they are lying about the facilities.
A group of UN inspectors were in this facility last fall, and noted there were NO chemicals there…so to keep the lies alive, they attacked a building that had no chemicals…Assad is winning, in fact they won all their territory back as of yesterday. Israel is now more frightened since Assad got all his land back, since they can steal any of it as planned. Israel h as bombing the hell out of Syria, but not reported y the zionist corporate media in the US.
Chris Floyd makes an important statement here:
Israel ordered an attack, and there was an attack. Probably not the one Israel wanted. BTW, Floyd uses the term “US/UK/France” to describe the witless attackers. Somebody at the Moon Of Alabama site had a brainstorm and came up with “F.U.K.U.S. Strikes Syria”. Clever!
h**p://www.chris-floyd.com/mobile/articles/alchemical-reactions-transmuting-death-dealing-dung-into-pr-gold-14042018.html
Ha! We were reading the same thing at the same time! Notice my post to you at 1:28 am on the other thread.
I don’t much like these long comment threads – it took a few minutes to find your post even though I knew it was there. Floyd’s logic is undeniable, so they knew the place was empty. The hundred fifty million dollars spent on those missiles could have gone into Syrian Reconstruction, and we could started making amends for the destruction. Or American schools. Or rebuilding a bridge somewhere.
I like the way you think. And yes, the logic is undeniable.
Israel just attacked an large Iranian munitians dump in Allepo with 20 Iranian officers dead.
Trump, the overwhelming paragon or immensely great icon of human virtue, righteousness, and morality. And also the (in)famous “golden shower” culture businessman.
The great justice enabler of the world and also the great great hero of the downtrodden (when not busily grabbing women by their pussies).
America, above all, ( the country it is today and also its people today) certainly deserves such a man as their president.
Was the latest atrocity conducted by The Fascist Gang of Three (USA, UK, the Frogs) a false flag operation? Maybe this posting on Russia Today online (RT) can provide insight as to why the OPCW investigating team was not allowed to do its job prior to the attack. The article’s title is, “Lavrov: Swiss lab says ‘BZ toxin’ used in Salisbury, not produced in Russia, was in US & UK service.” Additionally, has any one noticed that the term “attack” has been almost completely removed from the MSM’s lexicon, having being supplanted by “strike.” The word is a euphemism used to whitewash what obviously was an assault, an attack on the sovereign state of Syria.
https://www.rt.com/news/424149-skripal-poisoning-bz-lavrov/
In contrast to some of the commenters, I wonder if this episode reflects the really bizarre dance Trump has been doing since he was a front-runner: appease the neo-cons for support, pursue some other policy within the bounds of his cage. Trump sounded totally unhinged and childish, bragging about missiles to Russia. The media has a feeding frenzy, freaking out and predicting WWIII or nuclear armageddon. And what do we get? Attacking a research facility, that was conveniently evacuated due to Russian intel that came indirectly from the Americans. Macron scores some “tough-guy” political points, May can take attention off the Skripal witch-hunt, and Trump throws a bone to his neo-con handlers. And he is always doing this two-step, one moment threatening to turn Syria, and any of its friends, into a glass-crater, and then saying he has no desire for war or a military footprint in ME.
And all of these things are at a piece with replacing McMaster with Bolton, who seems to be relatively weak when compared to his Bush-era days. Since WW2, all American presidents have been creatures of certain establishment factions, or have been operators themselves (particularly Nixon and Bush I). With Trump, we might have a kind of window into what it actually looks like to carve out some kind of autonomy amid deep-state actors (for his variety of protectionism and crony-capitalism). It’s not for nothing that Trump was mentored by Roy Cohn.
cal – great post.
Another promoter of Trump the secret genius.
It’s not so secret. He succeeded where many celebrity candidates failed. And he did some pretty strange things if he was just a sock-puppet for a particular wing of the establishment (like Bush II or Obama). Canceling the TPP, or even getting the Republican to back a policy with any whiff of protectionism, was not exactly an obvious move for antagonizing China and building the American Asian Prosperity Sphere.
And it’s not exactly genius, more like political cunning. He’s not pulling the strings, it’s more like he’s riding a bull (or several at once).
You will be amazed when you learn that huge volumes of chlorine gas are legally stored everywhere in the world including in our own country. Legally here means that chlorine is not listed as a chemical weapon in the international agreement on chemical weapons. That is why chlorine gas could not be removed from Syria under the US-Russian agreement and blaming Obama for the alleged recent chlorine attack is ridiculous.
It would be onerous if not downright criminal to ban chlorine from any nation as it is the most common substance used to kill pathogens in the drinking water supply. The second ranked substance for that purpose is ozone. There pretty much is no third. Chlorine is easily generated from hydrochloric acid or sodium hypochlorite (bleach) both having a multitude of industrial and domestic uses. You gonna ban the amenities of modern civilisation in the Middle East because of overwrought American alarmism?
This outlaw operation was described as “precision” strikes. I think they meant to say “persuasion” strikes. Persuade Putin of something or other. Persuade the Brits that Theresa May is not an incompetent shriveled up old hag. Persuade the Froggies that Macaroon is not a twink. Persuade our own gen pop that Trump is not a demented, malignant narcissistic retarded adolescent and puffed up blowfish. Persuade the unbelievers that the bombed rubble of several abandoned Damascus buildings were actually chemical weapons factories not cough syrup or cosmetics factories. Persuade the hack malpracticer Robert Mueller to shut down his poison gas factory. Persuade Stormy Daniels that if she doesn’t stfu, she’s next!
I like your shots! Gave me a rare chuckle. And right on too.
The attack damaged a university chemical research lab, NOT chemical weapons as pretended, as they are not there. UK PM May has had such success in the last month convincing so many “allies” that Russia used CWs that she must be jumping for joy to add to her destruction of another country too.
“Haley tells world U.S. is ‘locked and loaded’ if Syria uses chemical weapons again”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the U.S. is “prepared to sustain this pressure if the Syrian regime is foolish enough to test our will.”
Because we are the most exceptional nation on planet Earth, Our Will Must Be Done. This is an open invitation for the “rebels” to stage another of their Chemical Attack theatricals.
h**ps://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/world-reacts-airstrikes-syria-n865991
Can you imagine this crazy woman becoming VP on a Pence/Haley ticket? If the Democrats rolled over and ran one of their nutters like Biden or that sleazy broad from California, I can.
According to Rovian theory, which we’ve seen put into practice lately by both the UK and the US, Syria and Russia will be guilty of the criminal use of chemical weapons whenever Washington or London sees fit to make that accusation–no evidence necessary! Evidence has become entirely passe’ in this New American Century. Only killjoys and Putin apologists want to complicate matters with messy evidence, or the enforcement of longstanding international laws like those pesky Nuremberg precedents dealing with wars of aggression.
Realist, you can observe the whole Syrian and wider middle east conflict zone(s), devoid of mis information/propaganda, all displayed on a very nice detailed map. It uses various icons and symbols, zoom in and out, military deployments, postures, targets and confirmed strikes @ https://syria.liveuamap.com/en
Enjoy? ?
As Arte Johnson used to say, this is “very interesting.”
https://www.rt.com/news/424149-skripal-poisoning-bz-lavrov/
The Swiss state lab (Spiez) that analysed the chemical which allegedly felled the Skripals in Salisbury was identified as “BZ toxin,” an agent manufactured by the US and UK, NOT Russia. The cover-up should become even more intriguing from here on.
Google 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate and you’ll see it is an intoxicant, basically giving the victim a bad trip, rather than a lethal nerve agent like Sarin or VX. The substance was weaponised by the US back in the 1950’s and allegedly used in Vietnam, the Gulf War and perhaps in Syria. No wonder the Skripals didn’t die, though maybe they thought they did.
I did the same lookups about that “BZ” stuff earlier today. One more thing the Brits were lying through their teeth about.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=krD4hdGvGHM
You’ll never hear a word about what the real
“poison” was from the lying MSM.
Mr. Trump has revealed that his “America First” rhetoric of 2016 was, and is, a complete fraud. His illegal and un-Constitutional actions in Syria underscore that the Project for the New American Century regime change ideology for a Zionist driven, Neo Conservative global hegemony has reached a new level of recklessness. I’ll never vote for him again. As for the Democratic Party “alternative,” I’m sure that Netanyahu’s fawning endorsement of Kamala Harris after the latter passed muster at the last AIPAC National Conference, guarantees an eventual global war after her coronation, assuming Trump and Bolton haven’t destroyed the planet in the meantime.
Your mention of elections and voting brought to mind a thought I’ve been having of late. It appears to me that the Republicans are doing their best to hand the 2018 election to the Democrats on a silver platter.
WHAT IF this is part of a bigger plan? Democrats take over in 2018, and immediately start impeachment proceedings against Trump. These get enough support from Republicans to ensure Michael Richard Pence becomes the next president of the United States. He could and probably would act all grown-up and mature and restrained, and would be the incumbent for the 2020 election. After that all hell would break loose. (TPP for sure. Attacking everybody Israel says to attack. Etc, etc.)
Congressional (rightwingnut) Republicans win. Congressional (corporate) Democrats win. Israel wins. Everybody else loses.
If all those Republican incumbents are resigning on some marching orders from on high to effect another long con in collusion with the Democrats, I would say that the under-the-table payoffs must be monumental. That doesn’t mean you are wrong. It sounds quite consistent with the Rovian Theory of New Realities, wherein “Big Bullshit” replaced the “Big Bang.”
I’d call the events “job offers” instead of “marching orders”. A smartass blogger had a story with a headline about Ryan resigning to spend more time with his future paychecks. Most of the people resigning will end up with a LOT more money than they’re making now.
I think Joe Lauria is one of the few remaining decent journalists and therefore a trustworthy source of information, given what little is known so far of Trump’s bombing of Syria. Remember how the neocons said a long time ago at the start of the post 9-11 war campaign that “we make our own reality.” Unfortunately these imperialist war hawks have pretty well achieved this ability to “make their own reality” (so facts don’t matter) through a variety of mechanisms, first by securing control over mainstream media and now, most recently, via pressure on Google, FB, You-tube and other social media to undermine and censor independent news sites. Unfortunately Consortiumnews (which was the first independent internet news site, and founded on journalistic integrity by the late, I.F. Stone award-winning independent journalist Robert Parry who broke the Iran Contra and October Surprise bombshell news stories, among others) in in the crosshairs of the war machine’s perception management juggernaut. So Lauria? who has become the new editor at Consortiumnews, has his work cut out for him (like Tucker Carlson, Jimmy Dore, Caitlin Johnstone?, Aaron Maté?, our VIPS, Mint Press News?, and a handful of other truth-seekers who continue to tell the truth, resisting the group think and official war machine pressures in still believing that facts and logical analysis matter).
So it’s a real challenge when we do now live in this Orwellian world where everything is seen through the “Looking Glass” distortion and “fake news” but we can take heart from more and more critical-thinkers nonetheless popping up in the comment sections to challenge the mainstream, war propaganda outlets. Critical thinkers are appearing everywhere in comments from NYT to Breitbart to The Intercept? (which unfortunately has increasingly joined the “perception management team”).
Thanks Coleen, good thoughts. But there are more than a handful of good journalists out there on the web, thank God. The phony list WaPo printed included 200 “suspects”, of course including CN, Counterpunch, Truthout, and on and on………
Thank you Colleen. And thank you Mr. Lauria for publishing this piece. I know Bob Parry would be all over it too if he were still with us. I appreciate that you’re carrying on with his tradition, against the overwhelming tide of mainstream madness. Most Americans, left and right, are dead wrong about our activities overseas, and it’s all due to the masterful manipulation of the news.
To CN readers: Another good source of truthful news and commentary is the British site UK Column; they do a 40-minute live broadcast online daily Mon-Fri. at 8 AM Eastern Time. They decry their government’s criminal role in the Syria disaster, and the BBC’s disgraceful, audacious lies about most everything. After their daily broadcast they continue live streaming M-Th with useful videos on a wide range of subjects. It’s nice to get the British/European angle on world events to supplement what’s going on here.
Thank you Coleen Rowley, your word is very important given the brave stands that you’ve made…
Thank you Colleen, for pointing out increasing intelligent opposition to the “make our own reality” perception management team. There are many intelligent people who still allow their reality to be managed by mass media, in part because they have never strayed to alternative media or found in their narrow experience any indications that reality is not as they were told. It is those revelations that begin to form true critical thinkers, and even they can drift back into passive acceptance of propaganda.
I was lectured today by a critical thinker, that Russia is culturally disposed to deception but UK/France are culturally honorable as is the US, and that this notion was sufficient to judge the Skripal and Ghouta CW incidents despite the evidence being withheld or ignored by the West. Yet we agreed that Congress is controlled by money and unfit to debate policy, and that executive wars are unconstitutional.
Sam F-
I would like to have been present for that conversation. What evidence did your friend provide that Russia is culturally disposed to deception? Or given “Operation Mockingbird”, “weapons of mass destruction”, and all the proven false flags of the past, that we are not? If your friend is a “critical thinker”, surely evidence should be part of the equation.
She was surprised that I disagreed on the CW evidence and was not prepared to defend the mass media narrative. We had been discussing the US Civil War, and vigorously agreed that Congress has been historically unable to debate due to the election of factional demagogues rather than honorable seekers of truth, and that my proposed College of Policy Debate would be far better in exposing truth. Her long military background had left her both skeptical and attracted to the MIC viewpoint, but she did not have others to bounce ideas from, or to recognize valid skeptical observations.
Colleen: Absolutely agree with you. Lauria is of a VERY few, I am even questioning the Intercepts take on this. Although VetsToday Network agree with Lauria.
The plan for destroying the countries in the ME and SW Asia began with the funding of the terrorists in Afghanistan in the eighties. Chemical weapons have nothing to do with this attack, other than propaganda to justify their crimes as the U.S. war machine continues its plan to conquer all territory and control all resources, commerce, and trade.
The confusing actions and statements by our president served to desensitize our people to this news, as planned. The war party of Lincoln continues, 150 years later, on behalf of big banks and big business.
The people of the world, including Americans, just want to live in peace. But the gangsters want to control all business because they worship money and power.
Right on Stan!
Well it looks like the neat and simple solution to all our world problems, where the whole shebang goes up in a cloud of radioactive dust, has been deferred until the next crisis point. Ah well, back to the wait, work, hope grindstone one more time……………. (Telling the inner self who just wants it all over, to shut up and go back in it’s hole.)
Are these the same chemical experts who doctored the same chemicals used in the last few false flags? Or are these all “Brand Name” CIA assets who are blinded through emotional manipulations?
I hear Crises actors can make a killing anywhere the Deep State points.
The interesting thing about the U.S. justification for attacking Syria is that our government has been planning to destabilize Syria for years. The following includes excerpts from an article I wrote years ago about U.S. aims to remake the Middle East with Syria as just one target.
U.S. plans for Syria should be viewed with light on this recent history: The George W. Bush administration used the September 11, 2001, attacks as an excuse to justify war in Iraq. That rationale was false, because regime change in Iraq and domination of the Gulf region were on the Bush team’s agenda long before the events of September 11. If the rationale was untruthful, and if threat from Iraq wasn’t imminent, then the proposed attack on Iraq amounted to an unjust war. Such a war, with its unwarranted motives, would amount to the mass murder of possibly tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, including many children.
Honest people can disagree on what constitutes just war, so let’s consider possible definitions.
In his book Just and Unjust Wars, social scientist Michael Walzer suggests guidelines. For example: A just war must be a last resort. The war’s purpose must be just. A just war shouldn’t cost more in human loss than the value of its ends. The Bush administration never produced evidence that a war on Iraq would meet any of those criteria.
Regarding preemptive strikes, Walzer says another nation is an imminent threat only if its army is “recognizably hostile, ready for war and fixed in a posture of attack.” Absent those conditions, any perceived threat is “prospective and imaginary … Hence the moral necessity of rejecting any attack that is merely preventive in character.”
The Bush administration pushed another myth (or lie) -the idea that the “war on terrorism” or U.S. designs on Iraq, started in response to the events of one day, September 11. Hawks within the Bush administration were pushing for war with Iraq and so-called war on terrorism long before September 11.
In 1992, under then-president George H. W. Bush, Paul Wolfowitz and I. Lewis Libby prepared a draft Defense Policy Guideline (DPG) for their boss, Dick Cheney, who was then U.S. defense secretary.
In the spring of 1992, The New York Times published excerpts of the DPG. The document called for U.S. domination of much of the globe through the unilateral use of military power. It also recommended preempting nations that might have weapons of mass destruction.
Then in 1997, a neo-conservative think tank, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was established to further American dominance in the world. The PNAC’s “statement of principle” urged a significant increase in military spending.
The document said regarding preemptive military action, “It is important to shape circumstances before crises emerge, and to meet threats before they become dire.” Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz were among those signing the statement.
In September 2000, the PNAC, including Wolfowitz and Libby, released a report entitled: Rebuilding America’s defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century. The document says that for the U.S. to maintain its role as a world superpower “requires a globally preeminent military capability both today and in the future.”
The report also suggests the U.S. “discourage advanced industrial nations from challenging our leadership or … even aspiring to a larger regional or global role.” It says we need to be able to “fight and win multiple, simultaneous theater wars,” and maintain “nuclear strategic superiority” in the world.
The document singles out Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Syria as having dangerous regimes that need to be controlled. It also targets China for “regime change,” saying increased American presence in Southeast Asia might lead to “providing the spur to the process of democratization in China.”
After September 11, the Bush administration rushed forward with its plans – plans first drafted in 1992 and 1997 – but it did this under the guise of “war on terrorism.” Again, the administration misled the American people and member nations of the UN to believe that its moves against Iraq (including the alleged imminent “threat” regarding the now-debunked excuse that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and the push for “regime change”) were in large part a reaction to September 11.
Today, the U.S. government still doesn’t openly discuss its longstanding desire to dominate much of Eurasia and other parts of the world, and to impose regime change in a variety of other nations via the ongoing use of unilateral military action.
Surely the world’s greatest superpower can come up with creative new ways to maintain its status – methods that don’t involve lying to its own people and committing war crimes around the world that kill millions of innocent people. This kind of “leadership” is psychopathic. The people of the U.S. and the people of Syria and other countries who are victims of perpetual war should at least be aware of the truth. Isn’t it time for the world’s warmongers to seek out an honest way to make a living?
Thank you for that Carla Binion. That sounds like a perfect introduction to the upcoming tribunal.
agenda:
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-the-syrian-american-medical-society-is-selling-regime-change-and-driving-the-u-s-to-war/
Also an interesting read:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-assad-family-nemesis-of-nine-u-s-presidents
I’m sure the people who post here are well read on Syrian history, but as I read this I thought it might be useful to share as we the world over watch helplessly at the complete destruction of this country and its people. Many governments and interests are equally culpable.
The UN, the major powers have no plan. Even if the UN grew some, nobody would pay attention anyway. Listening to Theresa May, one could only cringe at the vapid answers she shamelessy offered to the press.
http://www.mepc.org/roots-alawite-sunni-rivalry-syria
‘Mission Accomplished!’ – Trump tweets, describing air strikes on Syria as ‘perfectly executed’
US, Britain and France forces hit Syria with 100 missiles
First coordinated action against Assad
Russia warns of consequences as Syria blasts ‘illegal’ action
Steve Holland and Tom Perry
April 14 2018 4:25 AM
…
“A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!” Trump said in a Twitter post….
The U.S., British and French leaders all face domestic political issues over the decision to use force in Syria….
[read more at link below]
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/mission-accomplished-trump-tweets-describing-air-strikes-on-syria-as-perfectly-executed-36805876.html
Trump perfectly portrays the real face of American government: bald faced liars, and proud of it!
‘We are your men, Bashar’ – Syrians gather in capital in defiance after airstrikes
Bassem Mroue and Bassam Hatoum, Associated Press
April 14 2018 7:36 AM
HUNDREDS of Syrians gathered at landmark squares in the Syrian capital on Saturday, honking their car horns, flashing victory signs and waving Syrian flags in scenes of defiance that followed unprecedented joint air strikes by the United States, France and Britain….
Russia’s US embassy released a statement warning that the air strikes will “not be left without consequences”. It said that “all responsibility” rests with Washington, London and Paris….
[read more at link below]
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/we-are-your-men-bashar-syrians-gather-in-capital-in-defiance-after-airstrikes-36805996.html
Glad to wake up not yet killed this morning, and listening to NPR, I have one basic question.
All the grey-haired generals are crowing that “we” successfully hit chemical weapons factories and storage bunkers. But weren’t those all dismantled according to the joint US-Russia-Syria accord during Obama’s reign?
Conveniently, the OPCW investigation will be rendered moot, since the alleged chemical weapon sources no longer exist.
Evidence of Britain’s involvement
https://sana.sy/en/?p=134149
The Russians were promising that they will shut down missiles and attack their origin. Instead, the Syrian air defense shut down 71 of the 103 missiles, no attack has taken place against their origins. So, what happened to the Russians?
Does Russia actually has capabilities to protect against US missiles? Syrian air defense is built by the Russian, albeit the older version. The chances are that S400 system deployed in Syria for Russia would have been more effective.
Did Russia make a deal with the US for not to intervene? That seems like a viable option, especially with the last minute discussion between the US and Russia.
Did Russia use caution and did not want to escalate military action beyond Syria’s borders? That seem doubtful since this is a slippery slop. Too much self constrain may leave them standing all by themselves, that makes them an easy target.
Could the Russian’s inaction be a hidden admission that Assad actually did use chemical weapons on his own people? Propaganda is one thing, but military action is another.
PS: Before you start… I pretty much agree with all of the replies here. These are just questions that had not been touched on…
“Could the Russian’s inaction be a hidden admission that Assad actually did use chemical weapons on his own people?” Of course not. This question shows you really have not considered the overwhelming evidence that this was a false flag event.
@mike…
“This question shows you really have not considered the overwhelming evidence that this was a false flag event.”
I did and while certainly seems that this has been a false flag event, it does not have “overwhelming evidence” at this point. Just as there’s no “overwhelming evidence” that this has been done by the Syrian government.
My statement of “Russian’s inaction be a hidden admission that Assad actually did use chemical weapons” was more of a what if question, since there’s no evidence either way. Unless, you predisposed to one direction that is…
It will look bad for Russia if there is no response, unless the damage was slight. But with much larger US/UK/Fr forces assembled, it may seem careless for Russia to have made no indication of counterstrike ability. I would expect them to make counterstrikes on Israel in response to the massacre of Palestinians, or measured counterstrikes upon KSA/UAE/Jordan for sponsoring “rebels” in Syria. Perhaps the logistics scheduling isn’t right yet, or perhaps they are waiting to see what the US is planning for Syria and Iran.
@Anon…
The lack of promised response does look bad for Russia, no matter how you dice it. Perhaps the timing was not right and there are number logistic challenges awaiting completion, prior to standing up against the larger force. But then, why promise repelling the attack and in addition, destroying the source as well? On the surface, this promise looks like a wishful thinking that may never materialize. The implication of this inaction may have long term consequences for Russia…
As for Russia “waiting to see what the US is planning for Syria and Iran” part…
It’s been seven years that the US had been involved in Syria and ramping up propaganda against Iran. It’s seems quite obvious what the plan has been and stated clearly as well. The phrase of “Assad must go” rings a bell? Besides…
Perhaps Russia should ask Israel about the plans for Syria and Iran. Why wait for the US, ask the country that actually draws up the plan….
The media is singing like a chorus, telling us the mind of the American people, but it is not the mind of the American people that is reflected in the media. You see this by the comments made by people all over the internet. We are being drowned out by the media.
True. Our small still voice lacks a bullhorn, but it has the truth, and that counts for something more precious than media noise.
Washington is an island, and I think we’re stronger than one would suspect. I was fundamentally encouraged by a massive Bernie rally not so much politically, but by the make up of the gathering, their enthusiasm, the mix, and the good vibe. I hadn’t seen that in a massive group since 1967…
In other news of the day, water is wet.
April 14, 2018
“A Ménage à Trois of War Criminals”
The “leaders” of the U.S,. Britain and France formed an illegal coalition and bombed Syria April 13, 2018. Their sycophants in the media mostly parroted approval of this illegal act which is a war crime and a violation of international law….
[read more at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2018/04/a-menage-trois-of-war-criminals.html
“There is nothing politically right that is morally wrong” Daniel O’Connell
As always Stephen J., Thank you. I sincerely look forward to a massive public debate about all of this. Thanks too to CN and the new staff…
European countries have really bad record of starting wars.
It is much more complicated than that. As long as we humans continue to be territorial apes there will be wars.
greedy apes unlike most apes.
“On April 2017 the U.S. fired 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase that Washington believed was used to carry out a chemical attack. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis later said the U.S. did not have concrete evidence that Syria was responsible.” So why does Theodore Postol think that James Mattis has integrity?
Maybe not integrity so much, but Mad Dog has self preservation instincts. He knows nuclear war is something too serious and real to be left as a toy for Donald to play with.
Personal to Theresa May: We haven’t forgotten about the Skripals.
…and to Israel…we haven’t forgotten about your premeditated sniper shooting spree that murdered unarmed Palestinians.
Amen. Remember the rats in the basement.
How many lies has the British government told? If they were put in books, many long shelves of such books would be required
The U.S. has 2,000 troops up in the northeast of Syria, right where all the oil is. Gee, what a surprise.
Just an accident, I’m sure. After all, we’re the guys in the white hats, erh helmets that is.
This article disturbed me- I do not think Medicine Sans Frontiers entertains a similar agenda:
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-the-syrian-american-medical-society-is-selling-regime-change-and-driving-the-u-s-to-war/
Also an interesting read:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-assad-family-nemesis-of-nine-u-s-presidents
I’m sure the people who post here are well read on Syrian history, but as I read this I thought it might be useful to share as we the world over watch helplessly at the complete destruction of this country and its people. Many governments and interests are equally culpable.
The UN, the major powers have no plan. Even if the UN grew some, nobody would pay attention anyway. Listening to Theresa May, one could only cringe at the vapid answers she shamelessy offered to the press.
http://www.mepc.org/roots-alawite-sunni-rivalry-syria
Tucker Carlson had on a guest tonight, Retired Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor, who said that he was one of those people who voted for Trump, the nationalist. At 28:15 in the video:
“Tucker Carlson: So who are the figures in the President’s orbit encouraging this?
Colonel Macgregor: Who isn’t? This is the question that we raise routinely. Again, it’s back to the globalists versus the nationalists. He seems to have lots of globalists around him. […] Who is going to push back against this? I don’t know. I’ve never seen any evidence for serious push-back, someone who says absolutely not. So the President seems to be on his own, if he’s still the nationalist that he said he was.
Tucker Carlson: You make a pretty strong case for not doing this. What is the case being made to the President for doing this?
Colonel Macgregor: Well, I think he’s being told that he has no choice, which is absolutely wrong. He’s the President of the United States. He does not have to intervene under any circumstances. But the globalists are saying, ‘Well, it’s a matter of global leadership. You have to be seen as being on the moral high ground.’ […]
Tucker Carlson: You’ve been around this sort of thing your whole life, many decades. Are you surprised by the support that this decision is getting from the Left, from liberals on other channels?
Colonel Macgregor: No, not at all because I think the Left/Right dichotomy is very misleading in this town. I think you have nationalists and you have globalists. The globalists dramatically outnumber those of us who are preeminently concerned about what’s in the interest of the United States. They’re living in Madeline Albright’s world, and the President is in danger of joining them.”
He comes on again at 40:30 and says that he suspects the U.S. has warned the Russians ahead of time and says he’d be surprised if they didn’t. He says the Swamp seems to be everywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5mow4tp3ck
Your qoutations support my understanding, thank you.
This strike seems to be identical, at least so far, to the same face-saving strike that Trump did a year ago. His saying “the missiles are coming” was hugely stupid, because he was then forced to do something or look like Obomber with his “red line” fiasco. Since Trump’s ego is more important than any other consideration, and the MSM machine was already nipping at his heels, he had to look “presidential”. In the USA that means becoming the next war criminal to live in the White House. Thank God that we have at least one adult aboard with Putin or there would be mushroom clouds on the horizon this morning.
I dream of a day when all these evil bast**ds are marched to the Hague so we can finally pursue a path to peace and prosperity.
Skip Scott – I wonder if Trump saying “the missiles are coming” was a big heads-up to Russia to get out of Dodge. I don’t understand how Trump let himself be surrounded by neocons. If he’s the only dissenting opinion in the room, then it’s time to bring in some people with opposing views.
Tucker Carlson said tonight: “It raises the question of who is in charge. You can elect a President on the basis of one thing, and you find out that the person you voted for is not really in charge.”
Maybe the Swamp is just too big.
The swamp is too big, and adding an ugly denizen like Trump only makes it bigger.
Identical to a year ago … except:
Last year the “unbelievably small” (as per Kerry, 2013) missile attack could still be seen as a kind of forbearance by the U.S. (within the criminal parameters it operates under).
This year it is all too obvious that the targeting was restricted by Russian “red lines” (h/t Obama), and Syria and Russia claim most of the missiles were intercepted. (Are the Pentagon or MSM disputing the Syrian air defense successes? I don’t see it yet.) And this was a combined effort by the three biggest members of the Grand Old Imperial Club (two charter members and the current president). Also, I think the squawking from members of Congress is louder than last year, though I don’t put very much stock in that.
It’s early yet, but this may be a kind of controlled experiment demonstrating the progress of Western decline over a twelve-month period.
Syria’s air defenses were roundly successful…in particular, high-value targets such as air bases and military installations went unscathed. Raytheon must be giddy this morning…the Pentagon will want to replace the $175 million (guess) wad they shot last night.
At Pentagon press conference, DoD now denying and disparaging Syrian air defense success.
My mind remains open. We’ll see.
What were the most recent estimates? Last thing I read on the subject reckoned about 70% of the cruise missiles were intercepted by the Syrian (not Russian) missiles–S200’s, not S300’s or 400’s. Of course, those missiles need to be replaced pronto as well. As experts will tell you, Washington’s stockpiles and war factories can easily outcompete their Russian counterparts–with quantity if not quality. Will making Washington spend more money it doesn’t have soon deter them from doggedly trying to transport Syria back to the stone age under Salafist rule? If only…
Has anyone ever lost money investing in the MIC?
No, it won’t deter them in the slightest. Military “expenditures” are no object as you rightly suggest. But some at the Pentagon surely are wary of Russian capabilities and potential “red lines”. Last night was partially P.R. and partially “test running”.
Putin has been quick to assure Syria of more help updating air defense. And there is speculation that “the Russian military had possibly used its state-of-the-art electronic warfare (EW) systems to counter the launched missiles. They added that Russia and Iran may have provided the Syrian miltiary with vital intelligence to counter the attack.”
https://southfront.org/summing-up-results-of-us-uk-france-strike-on-syria-statements-and-speculations/
“According to another group of experts, the US-led massiave missile strike on Syria had an important background role. It was a kind of US training ahead of a possible military action against Iran, actively promoted by the key American ally in the Middle East – Israel. This is why a part of the strike was delivered from the areas of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, which are relatively close to Iran.”
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/04/fukus-strikes-syria-who-won.html#more
“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 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…
…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.”
Be careful. During WW2 the Germans were astonished at the rate with which the Soviet Union produced the T34 tank.
Friendly advice: before going to sleep tonight, tell your inner dreamer to come up with more believable scenarios (if there are any?).
Well those Chemical weapons experts might as well go home now. The decision on Assad’s culpability had already been made and the bombing was subsequently carried out – end of story. What can one say with regard to a blatant fake operation.
https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/533#note52
https://www.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/528742/9123389/file/180414%20-%20Syrie%20-%20Synthe%CC%80se%20-%20Les%20faits.pdf
Trump was burned
by two-bit bad actors in a Britprop atrocity troupe.
MI6 WhiteHelmets®.con
played the don
aced the Trump.,
President Chump.
Not so clever after all.
Nice poem.
So Trump, Macron and May attempt to uphold international law by violating international law, the corporate media cheer, and we are all supposed to believe this absurdity.
Thanks for this article.All I can say is that the old colonial powers (UK and France)want to get back the Middle East.Especially France wants to reestablish”La Grand Nation”.I think Russia secretly agreed to the attacks under certain conditions.They did it in Soviet times.Who knows what Putin’s plans really are.
Yes. The military are running the show, especially on the American side. It’s ironic that it takes a mad dog General to control a crazy puppy like Trump.
French knights had lots of castles in today’s Syria during the Crusades.
Much of today’s Syria was awarded to France as a mandate by the League of Nations after WW1. One of the tasks of the French government was the protection of Christians in that mandate.
Britain got neighboring Iraq and the Holy Land.
Returning to the spots of their crimes?
Commenter Hefaistos provided an excellent five-minute video of Professor Jeffrey Sachs telling some talking head that it was the CIA’s covert operations in Syria (Operation Timber Sycamore) that started this whole mess during the Obama administration. Their objective was to take out Assad. His advice to Trump is:
“So what I would plead to President Trump is ‘get out’, like his instinct told him, by the way. That was his instinct, but then all the establishment (the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Pentagon, everybody) said, ‘No, no, that’s irresponsible’. But his instinct is right – get out.”
This is Trump’s instinct. He needs to listen to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vwKk4pADCw&feature=youtu.be
backwardsevolution –
Yes. It is good to see a person with stature like Professor Jeffrey Sachs tell the truth in very direct way – on MSNBC. And they let him do it without interrupting him. Thanks for your post.
Dave P. – at this point I don’t think the President is controlling things at all. It could be why they launched the raid on his lawyer’s office this week, just to make sure he followed through on bombing Syria. If that’s the case, if they are in essence blackmailing Trump, then the world is indeed in some big trouble.
As well, Devin Nunes of the House Intelligence Committee asked for FISA Court documents from both Rod Rosenstein (Department of Justice) and Christopher Wray (FBI), then subpoenaed documents from them, but has yet to receive them without them being redacted. Nunes is saying now that they will have to held in Contempt of Congress. Who is running things? The Congress and President, or the FBI and DOJ?
The House Intelligence Committee has also been asking for 1,300,000 emails for a long time now, but they’ve only received 3,000 something emails. They’re just stalling on releasing these emails. Again, these guys should be in jail. Congress is requesting these documents, but they’re not complying.
If Trump is the puppet, then numerous figures are fighting to pull his strings. That’s one reason his tweets and actions are so jerky and unpredictable Of course the other reason is that he just doesn’t have a clue himself what he is going to say or do next. He is adlibbing the Presidency.
I think you put your finger on the truth, backwards. The Deep State doesn’t trust Trump any more than they did Dubya, but at least in the latter’s case it seems likely that Cheney was making the calls at their behest. I’m not sure Pence has that prerogative (nor would I trust him to have it).
People have probably forgotten, but Slick Willy used to bomb Iraq all the time when he needed to divert attention from the intrigues in Washington out to get him. (Water treatment plants and bridges were a popular target if the smart bombs couldn’t pick out an aspirin factory or a powdered milk plant.) The big difference was that, even if his bombing runs weakened Saddam, it did not put his Baathist government in danger of being overrun by a formidable army of jihadi headchoppers armed to the teeth by their Anglo-Zionist Uncle who still wears a top hat. That probable scenario seems to count for little amongst the powers who want Assad gone.
I have not forgotten. Bubba bombed water treatment plants and then thanks to ‘sanctions’ the Iraqis
were unable to get the parts needed to repair them or the chemicals needed to treat the water.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of children died. But Madeline Albright opined that it was all ok,
although ‘a high price to pay’ (albeit not for her . . . )
Yes his peccadilloes seem to being used to pushed him into reinstated TTP and attacking full spectrum dominance pre-targeted nations
hahahah you all here on CN kept screaming Killary, Shillary, now you got your war , thank you DJT who only last week said we are out of Syria , we have to build our own nation. Hahahaha , Suckers!!!!!
tina – if Killary were President, Assad would be dead (just like she killed Gaddafi), Syria would be levelled, and she’d probably be attacking Iran by now.
Let’s wait for the facts. Could be Trump warned Russia in advance (just like April of 2017) and maybe there’s little damage (just like April of 2017). Every Progressive and his brother, all major media, and the Pentagon are screaming at Trump to not “wimp out”. Might turn out that “wimpy” did the bare minimum.
Trump didn’t warn anyone; the military handled that with or without his knowledge. Not everybody is as impulsive and clueless as Trump.
Syria is close to being leveled.
Oh give me a break Backwardsevolution, you f*cking clueless, brainwashed, MSM spouting piece of sh*t. Stop blaming this mess on “Killary.” Guess what? She’s NOT the President. Do you know who is? Pro tip: it’s Donald Trump. And do you know who ordered this strike? Oh right…it’s Donald Trump. So stop being one of the brainwashed sheeple, look around, and get a clue. It’s only the entire world who depends on you not being such a clueless dingus, Mr. Backwardsevolution.
Don’t forget “Hitlery.” It took a monstrous fraud to defeat a monstrous evil. The election came down to electing the devil you knew or the devil you didn’t know. Each were massively loathed and each took incredible hits in a negative campaign for the ages. Either way we were bound to lose. The Dems could have easily won if they hadn’t cheated to award their nomination to Clinton.
Granted, Bernie might have been just as big a policy failure, though at least he would have had colleagues in office and a functioning party apparatus behind him, unlike Trump who is threatened by his fellow GOPers. It might not have sat well with the Deep State or the oligarchs, but blaming all the disastrous wars on Obama and pulling out of them would have made Trump, or Bernie, a hero with most of the people. Unfortunately, Hillary’s unremitting campaign against Trump, even now a year and a half after his election, formulated under the phony narrative of Russia-gate, has simply been beyond the political experience and skills of the real estate tycoon with more than a few skeletons in his closet.
So, we had no good choices in ’16. What are our choices NOW? Impeach the drowning man and insert Pence in his place? Try to identify honest candidates with reasonable agendas in both parties for the next go-round? Will we know such if we see ’em? Will they keep their word if elected? How to prevent the oligarchy from simply steamrolling the process with boatloads of money and clout once again? Lately, it’s been the wealthy oligarchs themselves running for the office. Dubya, Gore, Kerry, McCain, Romney, Killery, Trump… these were all millionaires or billionaires already entrenched over generations in the power elite. Slick Willy and Obomber were the sole outsiders in recent years with thin personal wallets before they passed the oligarch-run deep state audition and were selected to rule and betray the American people.
All your observations are right on the mark.
“Unfortunately, Hillary’s unremitting campaign against Trump, even now a year and a half after his election, formulated under the phony narrative of Russia-gate, has simply been beyond the political experience and skills of the real estate tycoon with more than a few skeletons in his closet.”
Yes. I don’t think Trump could foresee any of it. Since day one of his election, this attack on him from all sides has been relentless. It seems like he has been improvising his response on day to day basis. He has been able to dodge all these bullets some how, and finally they decided to get him on his personal life – with this raid on his attorney’s office and home.
It is amazing to see all this going on with the Ruler of the greatest and most powerful Empire on Earth ever.
The crazy house in DC is being revealed as never before. Too bad most of the public is blind to it.
Lets be realistic – elections will not get us out of this mess. Elections are part of the problem, and that will not change any time soon enough to save us from the apocalypse that’s coming. And I don’t mean some religious fantasy, but the real scientifically predicted disaster that is gaining speed exponentially.
Electronic voting is easily manipulated.
Well done Realist.
I would not be in the least surprised if Lisa Murkowski (R Senator from Alaska) ran as a ‘dark horse’ candidate.
She has the political history, minus most of the skeletons. She has appeal to women. Her under-the-radar husband
is supportive and her children are grown. She comes from a wealthy Alaskan political family. And the campaign ads
would pretty much write themselves. “Here’s Lisa, fishing in an Alaskan salmon stream. She believes in responsible
resource development and has the track record to prove it.” Or, “Here’s Lisa, a powerful Alaskan woman (and, unlike
Miss Sarah, smart and accomplished) who can deal on the international level. And she has the chops to do so !”
(With a stunning image of Denali in the background.)
Alaska is in the news a lot lately, we are the canary in the coal mine of climate shift, which seems to be happening
dramatically across much of the country at the moment. (Not here in Alaska’s great interior, our subarctic continental
climate is remarkably benign and we are enjoying beautiful sunny weather with the skies not darkening until 11 pm).
I disagree with her on quite a few issues. But I would definitely support her candidacy. It wasn’t at all possible for me
to vote for Hillary (although I’m the demographic that was ‘supposed to’). Lisa would appeal to Independents and even
to some of the more pragmatic Greens (like me).
In 2016, I voted for ‘the other woman’ (Jill Stein). In 2020 Lisa would get my vote, should she choose to run.
The lesser evil turns out to be pretty evil, eh? No need to cackle over it.
This comment meant to respond to Tina.
Trump just added to the body of evidence that he is a war criminal, joining the club that includes both Clintons, Dumbya, Obomber, and Blair. The attack is illegal under international law and under the U.S. constitution. He couldn’t wait to justify his aggression until after the Organisation for the Prohibition of chemical weapons (OPCW) conducted even a fake investigation of the alleged crime scene. The message, once again, is that the exceptional country does not have to adhere to laws, treaties or civilised behavior. I guess the club also welcomed initiates May and Micron, if Britain and France participated. Cretins!
The only “silver lining” is that the attack was “minimal,” did not hit Russian forces and, according to Mattis, is a one-off. Is it possible that the grousing by the small anti-war faction (that would be us), a few scholars, sundry journalists, some retired spooks, Russia itself and one network pundit (Tucker Carlson) actually caused the empire to pull its punches? Or is this just more protracted psy-ops with more shoes yet to fall?
Of course there will be more shoes (and missiles) dropping. The hegemonic dream of world domination lives on to bomb, lie, and kill again, and again, and again……..
And I do believe there are a few among the entourage of the big shots who mine our contrarian ramblings for some insights not clouded by the pervasive DC groupthink.
Isn’t it a bit strange that right in the heart of a major city is a chemical weapons facility? Really? How freaking stupid do these folks think we are?
Later… turns out to be an aspirin factory (Sudan) or a powdered milk factory (Iraq).
They do think we’re friggin stupid … it’s like the Skripal thing .Some good money shots of three people in hazmat suits looking over a park bench while everyone one else in quaint Salisbury is walking around as usual. I don’t recall an evacuation of the population while ” forensic” evidence of the deadly poison was being gathered.
Apparently some “rebel” CW facilities were found in Ghouta by the Syrian army after evacuation of “rebels.” But with no evidence of CW after alleged CW attacks, we can assume that there is none before counterattacks. The whole “concern” with CW is strictly to recruit liberals for zionist genocide. Children are only killed by their targets.
A bold, brazen and obvious lie, so obvious that despite the chorus of support for this criminal act among those in the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch and the media, at least half the American people still know it is a lie.
I wish you were right, but I’m afraid not.
While looking for news and views I ran into some good advice at the Saker site.
Rumors of a deal between Our Generals and Their Generals were seen before this attack, and some kind of face-saving deal may have been worked out. This assumption is based on the absence of reports of any airplanes being shot down, of any ships attacked, and the “fact” only Syrian anti-aircraft missiles were used.
IMO the Russians cannot come to any other conclusion except that the leaders of the US, UK, and France have gone insane. Time will tell what they’re going to do about it, but I suspect the immediate future is going to be “frosty” – at the very least.
I agree, but this is a warning shot across the bow. The deal is it is time to abandon Assad or face the consequences. it is not over.
If Putin blinks, the US will wipe out Syria.
If Putin blinks, there goes the USA and all of us Earthlings. Fortunately Putin does not seem prone to blinking.
It might be enough to make Putin volunteer to testify before congress: Trump colluded, impeach the bum! Some puppet he turned out to be!
Good material for some off Broadway alternative theater!
The “allies” are actually sane, if you accept their premise, that world domination trumps every other value, bar none. Of course that premise is insane……
As Mr. Lauria has pointed out in this piece, this attack is flat-out nuts. So on to my Conspiracy Theory about it. From Fox News:
I conclude the little wag-the-dog cesspool criminal gang was in charge all along. What was their leverage? Why not the “pee” videos? It stands to reason that Trump’s “fixer” was involved in them if they really did exist, and Comey’s book suggests Trump was really agitated about that particular issue.
Trump can be certain all the Republicans and Democrats in Congress won’t do anything except run their mouths about the illegality of his warmongering, so they’re not a factor. I’m guessing he would do virtually anything to prevent the public release of him acting like a spoiled rich ***hole. For whatever reason, he knuckled under to the Zionist pressure. In doing so he threw away any chance of reelection, but I’ve been doubtful he wanted that anyway. Since he is already resurrecting the TPP treaty, I suspect his “base” is about to get a taste of the complete and total betrayal a lot of us had when we voted for Obama in 2008.
Ok, it’s far fetched, but I’d welcome a better explanation for this lunacy by the Orange POTUS.
Of course Israel identified the targets, all Iranian backed, pro-Assad, Hezbollah:
h**ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah_involvement_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War
Not “of course israel”. The United States does not need anyone’s help, including overrated israel, to identify targets anywhere.
Not to identify targets, but to take out targets it deems a threat to itself.
Israel could take these out with its own weapons, but that would risk a greater war
with Syria. Now, under the cover of this “ostensible” gas attack, the United States
can get the job done under guise of a retaliatory strike, without triggering greater
consequences.
You’re right. He’s lying when he says he will run again. He knows he lost at least 25 percent of his support during the first bombing. He lost another 25 percent on the appointment of Bolton and on this bombing. Only the die-hards who watch Hannity are left.
I have never thought Trump would run for a second term. He hates losing, and an embarrassing route would be inevitable. Just hope the Dems don’t nominate Killery (or any of their many crypto-neocons) again.
At this point, the GOPers themselves may move to impeach the guy, to prevent a tidal wave in this year’s elections and to set up Pence (or a more realistic candidate) in 2020. They would be wise to find an actual moderate who promises to save money (and maybe some lives?) by ending some of the wars, plop him into the VP under Pence and run him for prez in 2020. But the party will have to emerge from the shadows of Cheney and McCain for that to happen. No, I don’t think Jeb, Little Marco, Ted Cruz or any of the clowns from ’16 can convincingly change their stripes. Give it to Rand Paul. Run him with Tulsi Gabbard on a unity ticket. The people would like it, not so the oligarchs probably.
An astounding Repub ticket with Rand Paul & Tulsi Gabbard would pick up most former Dems.
The Repub oligarchs will dredge up another paid-up stuffed-shirt bully-boy to denounce humanitarian “overspending” while bankrupting the US in ME wars and financial corruption, to get bribes from Israel and Wall Street. Liberty and justice for gangsters; we owe everything to the gangsters.
Caving to the zionists would not lose T the election, where they control mass media and secret agencies.
Criticism of zionist warmongering is low from the Reps or Dems, whose campaign funders are largely zionists.
T may have betrayed his base, but it is hard to tell who is fighting whom in the swamp District of Corruption.
I don’t hear him complaining about dark state actors or taking concerted action against them.
We shall soon see whether the attack was capitulation to zionists or a false response to a false provocation.
if I am right, General Dunford is the Chief of the United States of America , not President Trump under the US constitution, and is obliged to protect the American people in crisis. Why he is involved in this belligerent decision to attack Syria ,before OCPW investigative report, just to wash the truth of the chemical attack. i think that people of America must take actions to remove Senators from office if they do not protect American people.
I don’t know a thing about Dunford, and my first reaction was that if he was worth a pewter **** he’d have resigned instead of pandering to the functional moron in the White House. First reactions without facts are often bad ones, though. Perhaps he knows Trump would replace him with some necocon nut in uniform who figured he could get his Fifth Star – and maybe a chance to shake hands with Jesus in the End Times. Possibly Dunford and the others managed a “stage show” sort of attack to satisfy their ignorant Orange boss. Lots of things we just don’t know.
Zachary Smith – oh, yeah, so Trump is the neocon now? He’s not being pushed? Perhaps it was Dunford AND Trump who limited the attacks? You don’t know what happened.
He admits that; you are both speculating reasonably given the secrecy of US warmaking.
It is my hunch that the Chiefs talked the president into a “sustained attack” of one.
I don’t think this really has anything to do with the Gas Attack or the Skripal Poisoning.
They all might very well be false flags. (they are just for public consumption)
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. WHAT IF:
The real problem is the likelihood of a war between Iran vs. Israel & Saudia Arabia. If Israel
thinks Iran is getting close to having an atomic bomb it will attack Iran preemptively. Which
could really start a world war or result in a nuclear exchange.
The problem originated from the second invasion of Iraq after 9-11. Iraq’s role
/ Saddam Hussein’s role (whether planned or not) was to act as a check on Iran.
Now, with Iraq gone, and it leaning toward Shiite Iran, the next country between Iran
and Israel is Syria, which is also leaning toward an alliance with Iran.
So with Iran developing an atomic bomb and extending its influence toward the
Israeli border, the situation is edging toward explosive. Iran is also funding the proxy
war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen as well.
If the United States pulls out of the Middle East (which is what Trump really wants to do)
it will leave Israel and Saudi Arabia alone to confront Iran, which will be catastrophic. (Atomic
weapons & World’s oil supply)
This explains Trump’s moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, the missile strikes,
his failure to pull us out of Afghanistan, wanting to scrap the Iran nuclear deal, all of which
would signal a US disengagement with the Middle East, and embolden Iran and probably
precipitate a war between Israel & Saudi Arabia vs Iran.
There are too many peculiar things:
1] The King of Saudi Arabia praising Israel last week.
2] Obama calling ISIS a JV team – ISIS was probably initially funded
by the United States (through Saudi Arabia) to bring down the pro-Iranian
Assad before it got off the leash and attacked Iraq.
3] All of the nonsensical Russia hysteria – needed to indicate to Putin
that the United States is seriously capable of causing problems for Russia
if Putin does not back off his support of Iran & Assad.
4] Trump tweeting we would be leaving Syria, then backing off that last week.
5] Tweeting to Russia to get out of the way of our missiles two days
ago (so as to avoid an inadvertent escalation)
6] Now ordering the missile strike, before obtaining proof or going through due process.
7] Disproportionate reaction to North Korea – as signal to Iran?
I also would not doubt if Israel / the Mossad was not behind some
of the DNC or Podesta email hacks. (with Russia being the false flag)
ANY Republican in office would be better for Israel than having to deal
with the adversarial Obama / Hillary administration. (Netanyahu supported
Mitt Romney outright in 2012, so he would have been more clever in 2016)
IN SUMMARY: The reason Trump is getting us involved in Syria is because the United
States is acting like the last nuclear reactor control rod (absent Iraq, which was formerly)
between Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
*Not trying to antisemitic here or anti-Israel, just trying to make sense of it all.
Anyone else see any similar patterns?
“So with Iran developing an atomic bomb and extending its influence toward the Israeli border, the situation is edging toward explosive. Iran is also funding the proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen as well.”
And where is the proof of all that? Iran says it is not developing Nuclear Bomb, IAEA says Iran is not developing Nuclear bomb. But you know that she is. Yemen is under blockade by Saudi Arabia and the US, so how does it make Iran’s proxy war?
Well if there is no proof, that is good news then, there is no problem with Trump abrogating the deal Obama made. A lot of hype from Consortium News about Trump being an idiot for doing so. Examples:
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/10/12/how-trumps-iran-decision-invites-war/
As for Yemen, the two options are indigenous developed and manufactured missile technology or some outside source. We could at least say at this point which of the two are more likely.
No, there were related missile models based upon old USSR missiles with various modifications. None were developed locally, none of the Houthi missiles had modifications unique to Iran. Hard to say where Houthi missiles came from. But all sides have motives; the conflicts result from intransigent factions, not least among US “allies” so the US is not at all innocent.
I did not say that. I said the US destabilized the Middle East with its second invasion of Iraq.
Which removed the counter-balance to Iran. And as Colin Powell warned Bush: “If you break
it you own it.” So without Iraq in the balance of forces the next likely conflict to emerge is one between Israel and Iran, which has the potential to go nuclear and disrupt the world’s oil supply.
So, the weird / illogical / illegal reactions of the United States and its allies do make sense in that light, as do Russia’s.
Russia wants the US & NATO to back off from its borders, as they promised they would (not to expand NATO after the dissolution of the USSR) after the Cold War. So, Russia’s intervention in Syria makes sense, by backing Assad it is a bargaining chip that can be traded for influence in the Ukraine, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics.
What the future holds I can’t say… just trying to put the pieces together… Trump is an idiot just does not cut it… something deeper is going on that won’t be revealed on the Rachel Maddow Show.
You are putting the pieces together, but should reject mass media disinformation on the Mideast.
Iran is not developing nuclear weapons, and probably not supporting the Houthis of Yemen militarily.
I think your analysis is probably accurate. Thank you.
Iran is one year from an atomic weapon ;only if they begin ; which they have not begun, to disregard the current atomic development agreement.
So April in the Trump era means an air strike on Syria. Got it.
I think in 2017 and now we are seeing enacted what John Kerry so memorably tried to sell in 2013 as an “unbelievably small, limited kind of effort”.
I suppose it’s a relief relative to the unbelievably big war that could break out if the U.S. isn’t careful (well, not such a relief for the non-person people these missiles landed on), but it’s no less contemptible.
I think it may be only a temporary reprieve, and matters can only slowly worsen. Can there be any doubt at this point that they are gearing up for a hot war with Russia?
This is the end. War criminals have taken over our country. War on a whim, supported by lies; no declaration by congress, no UN resolution, no reason for the attack as the supposed chemical weapons attack never actually happened. Today’s attack was timed to prevent the OPCW from conducting their investigation, which would have revealed the lies for all to see. The “evil Assad” is the democratically elected leader of Syria and has the support of his people. Assad is not the “sick” One; the Donald and most of our leaders are sick with a ghoulish, insatiable lust for money, power and blood. Nothing short of a hangman’s noose will stop these demons, and that isn’t likely to happen. America, my country, drew it’s last breath today. The future of the world rests in your hands alone now, Mr. Putin. Good luck and Godspeed.
The USA has unprovoked attacked around 100 nations and murdered up to 20 million humans since WW2.
The Murderers of Millions and Destroyers of Countries
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”
William Shakespeare
Millions have been murdered and their countries destroyed
Millions are refugees, and the war criminals are employed
Bombing and killing and laying waste many lands
Those still alive are the maimed and homeless, on the blood soaked sands
The plotters of all this carnage, atrocities and gore
Are well dressed villains and political whores
They can be seen cavorting on the world stage
These evil criminals should be in a prison cage
They use their countries armies like gangster hit men
And the brainwashed obey orders, time and again
Maniacs of militarism conditioned to obey and salute
They even train terrorists in secret camps to boot
The people are fed propaganda and lies by the “news media”
Much of their B.S. and crap should be in an encyclopaedia
The peoples’ taxes pay for the war criminals luxurious war palace
A place where, the warmongering villains can relax, safe from malice
If there was law and order these reprobates would be arrested
Instead they have fancy titles and are well fed and feted
The victims and their countries get no satisfaction
Condemned to suffer by the war criminals actions
The evidence is overwhelming that war criminals are in control
Are never ending wars and endless corporate profits their dirty goal?
Has justice and law been perverted; to put it bluntly?
By the murderers of millions and destroyers of countries
“Those who are capable of tyranny are capable of perjury to sustain it.” Lysander Spooner
…
[more info at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-murderers-of-millions-and.html
Congratulations, Mr. Lauria. You are as fast on this story as the major news services, and faster than Moonofalabana/saker/south front. These airstrikes appear to be on a small scale, and appear to be the minimum President Trump could get away with.
The firefighters at the “scientific chemistry lab” were not even wearing masks.
He is not the only lunatic who´s leading a country, Great Britain and France sharing the same doom…i hope you`ll end in prison one day…but mental patients like Trump, May and Macron are not sane, i am afraid of…..Wag the dog in real….
“The US threatened war within hours of an alleged chemical weapons attack taking place in Douma, northeast of Damascus.
“The US rush to conflict attempts to sidestep any meaningful investigation into the attack, fitting a larger pattern of Washington and its allies using baseless chemical weapon allegations for wars of aggression stretching back to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“US accusations and threats of war come at a pivotal moment in Syria’s now 7 year conflict in which the Syrian government has finally liberated all territory around the capital from foreign-sponsored militants.
“Zero Evidence
“To date, all supposed evidence comes from Western-funded militants and their auxiliaries including the US-European government-funded front, the so-called ‘Syria Civil Defense,’ better known at the ‘White Helmets.’ Unverified photographs and video of apparent victims have been the sole sources cited by the US.
“The World Health Organization, in a recent statement attempting to bolster these accusations, claims that up to 500 patients appear to have been exposed to chemical poisoning, but would cite its ‘Health Cluster partners,’ the Daily Beast would report.
“However, according to WHO’s own website, these partners include Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which in turn, according to MSF’s own website trains and supports the White Helmets. MSF has repeatedly admitted throughout the Syrian conflict that it does not have a presence on the ground in conflict areas and merely provides material support to groups that do.
“The White Helmets have been repeatedly caught in the past fabricating evidence and staging scenes for propaganda value. In fact, all evidence suggests the entire purpose of the White Helmets is the production of propaganda. […]
” The US – clearly having failed to sell its case to the global public – [has decided to] simply launch a limited strike as it did in 2017. The strikes will do little to change the trajectory of American foreign policy objectives and their ultimate failure in Syria. The operation – likely to kill Syrians and even possibly Russians and Iranians – will tentatively provide the US with an opportunity to save face in the wake of its recent and increasingly reckless bluster.
“Syria and its allies will likely weather the attacks – if limited – as they have before, attempting to avoid the desired, wider confrontation the US seeks and letting the clock run out on Washington’s failed proxy war.”
False Flag in Syria Sets Stage for Wider War
By Tony Cartalucci
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2018/04/false-flag-in-syria-sets-stage-for.html
This is a major breach of international law, the most serious since 2003. To have gone ahead with this despite the high level of tension internationally suggests the political leadership of the attacking countries don’t really understand what it is that they are doing.
Oh, I think they understand quite well what they are doing.
jaycee – not since 2003. Gaddafi was murdered on October 20, 2011 and Libya was destroyed. Seven years ago, Obama announced to the world that Assad had to go, and it’s been downhill ever since.
General Wesley Clarke revealed in 2003 the Pentagon list of destroying Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia , Lebanon and Libya.
Blah blah balh…hey, guess what? My name is b*ckwardsevolution and I live to suck the engorged c*ck of whoever is currently the leader of the USA. Seriously b*ckwardsevolution, you moronic little s*it, just get lost or back up your s*ittalk with facts. Yeah, I know that’s impossible…
My God, they do have to be stopped! One of the Russian officials referred to Trump as the second Hitler, that international law means nothing to the United States.
Putin needs to immediately give Syria, Iran & Nth Korea Nuclear bombs & missiles with the launch capability to reach the UK, France & America! That’s the only way to stop these bastards from invading their respective Countries? America has given Israel Nuclear weapons, so Russia needs to supply its allies with these weapons? The Nations of UK, France & the USA wouldn’t dare attack a nuclear armed Country, their cowards!
It is sensible for Russia to have strong proxies in the ME opposed to Israel, but with uncertainty of future loyalties, creating nuclear parity would be dangerous. For example, China did not arm N Korea or N Vietnam (after 1954) apparently because it did not want heavily armed states on its border.
Russia could attack Israel or the GCC to avoid confrontation with the US, using nuclear weapons in reserve to prevent attempts of retaliation by Israel. This would show the US the net gain of zionist opportunism.
Could have been worse. (Sigh of relief) Not good, but not the Big One, thank God.
So far, his body count is nowhere near Clinton/Obama let alone Cheney/Bush.
that is the, so far, saving grace of trump. he is an inverse obama: he sounds insanely dangerous, hideously bloodthirsty, itching for mountains of corpses in korea, the mideast, really anywhere he is opposed. but his actions are the barest minimum to keep the neocon deep state from giving him a scaliattack or somesuch.
let us hope he remains so.
Deniz and jeff montanye – I agree. This might turn out like last April’s bombing of Syria where Trump gave advance notice to Russia. Trump is not interested in bombing other countries, but I’m sure he is being pushed hard to do so. Could be they wanted the evidence destroyed that proved it wasn’t Assad who committed the chemical weapons attack.
Jeff, your comments about Trump, I hope too, that he remains so. It seems to me that it is better for Russia and their President to play cool at this stage. It is not right to criticize Putin for showing weakness in the face of this wanton aggression against a weak country, the country Russia is helping to defeat the terrorists armed by these very three countries who carried out these attacks today. Looking at Macron and his poses, he seems to be almost portraying himself like a little Napoleon. These actions by US, U.K, and France are not helping them in majority of the World beyond The West. Leaders and people in those countries understand it better.
I think, in Europe too, despite all this brainwashing, the opinion is slowly turning against this kind of belligerent behavior, and illegal actions. We have to wait and see what happens next. Russia has to plan their actions for the long run.
He’s only been in office for one year.
Another illegal war against a soverign nation based on a pack of Saud, US and Israel lies. I cant believe Malcom Nance is standing with the propaganda coming out of the Pentagon along with all the corporate media…The Israelies running scared, fearful of Iran comin to git em.
Don’t forget about the recent contributions of May and Bojo.
Yes, zionist tyranny causes the problems of the ME, and Russia should avoid confrontation by attacking Israel.
Force the US opportunists to decide whether zionist bribes are worth annihilation through confrontation.
This mad bastard and his war criminal cohorts needs to be arrested. There is a monster in America’s , “The House of Blood.”
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2016/08/the-house-of-blood.html
Stephen J. – good poem.
Keep in mind Obomber was one USA president who gave USA War criminals a free pass and committed War crimes in tandem with H.
Trump is mentally unstable and Bolton has prevailed. Mattis claims evidence is classified that Assad used chemical weapons. May and Macron joining in, they are misleaders out of favor with their citizens. They must be stopped, these war criminals!! This is a sad day indeed…i pray that right will prevail.
The Past and Present Ruling Scum
The past and present ruling scum
Are getting away with what they have done
Their wars on Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen too
Caused millions of deaths and refugees anew
Their media conspirators’ promote propaganda and “news”
And keep parroting their lies and hiding their abuse
They tell us, they are, “bringing democracy”
And we are fed daily diets of consistent hypocrisy
Is this what happens when war criminals rule?
Do these monsters believe, we, the people are fools?
They use our taxes to wage endless bloody wars
As they bomb and blitz a number of countries offshore
Weapons are supplied by profiteers of slaughter
The result is atrocities where blood flows like water
But hey, this is a “war business” albeit gory
Surely, this is a repulsive, and a sad, sad story?
The carnage created by these dealers in death
Has left this world in an unholy mess
Millions are homeless; their countries destroyed
Once they had homes and were mostly employed
Now those still alive, live in misery and despair
While the perpetrators are free, and really don’t care
This is what happens when justice is perverted and dumb
And in the bloody hands, of past and present ruling scum…
[more info at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2017/09/the-past-and-present-ruling-scum.html
We get tens of thousands in DC protesting pussy hats, guns and crotch grabbing, yet where is the outrage over Washington-Zio global criminality?
gaza? nabi saleh? rachel corrie’s next of kin? the families whose suits were thrown out of court by alvin k hellerstein? the insurance companies who paid larry silverstein $4.55 billion? maybe those precincts in michigan, wisconsin, and pennsylvania which had much higher than average casualties in the “seven countries in five years” and voted for trump (when he was anti war) in much higher than average numbers?
Lunacy. Washington-militarist Zionist lunacy. Puts us all in jeopardy. Perhaps some sort of last minute deal was cut with Moscow to avoid Russian casualties. Still, utter insanity, and a complete and total violation of international law.
Hope that no Russian personnel were murdered tonight by Washington imperial lawlessness.
Mattis is saying Pence/Trump have a constitutional right, total and complete b.s.
Yes, the US government needs substantial restructuring to prevent executive warmongering by oligarchy tyrants.
A large and effective counterattack on Israel would be the most appropriate response, with threat of destruction of their entire military if there is any retaliation, and destruction of their economy if they use any nuclear weapon.
It is time to end the warmongering of the zionist fascist state and the opportunist zionists in the US.
How about murdered Syrians?
What about murdered Syrians?
Of course it’s tragic and deplorable the hundreds of thousands of murdered and displaced Syrians at the hands of the Saudi-Zio-Washington-militarist Terror Network.
The death toll of innocent Syrian civilians would have been much, much worse if Russia, Hezbollah and Iranian advisors never stepped in to assist the Assad admin against the Washington-Zio supported Sunni terrorist sociopaths.
This is outrageous!
We can only hope that Russia and Iran can get in there and prevent further atrocities in Douma and elsewhere in Syria…if they do not
respond militarily, then we will look to some very technical and perfectly targeted cyber attacks on the US, France and the UK…the only way that the “Allies” will be discouraged from this invade and dessimate habit of theirs.
Yes, a counterattack is warranted. It would ideally destroy the launchers as stated by Russia, but could avoid confrontation by attacking Israel, KSA, UAE, Jordan, and Qatar.
This time around it was the the US, UK and France who sent in missiles, therefore it is those countries who should be punished. We don’t even have to suspect it was them, as they are bragging about their illegal actions as bullies often do.
Is it not remarkable that these three states have weapons of mass destruction which, if fully used, will kill every man, woman and child on Earth?
I suspect the counterattack will be political. The cited countries have egg all over their faces faces right now; massive loss of credibility, which will probably be exploited by Russia.
Adding to the brazen lawlessness, is the fact that bin Salman has just visited the US, UK, and France, signing “joint economic” deals all along the way (q.v. the Romper Room style press conference with the Prez).
Is There a Mad War Criminal in The White House?
———————–
The Mad March of the Brainwashed
Left, right, left right, see them march ready to bomb and destroy
Obeying orders from war criminals and maniacs; do you feel the joy?
Full of pride and waving their flags, all standing to attention
As they listen to the mad war criminals that brook no dissension
An order is an order even if it sets the world on nuclear fire
Left, right, left right, “Yes sir, what else do you desire”?
“Just make every missile hit its target, as we your leaders’ watch on T.V.
Burn up the peoples’ tax dollars, because this is, “the land of the free.”
Left right, left right, the brainwashed take orders from the insane
When the nukes start flying, their landings will be the end game
Still, not to worry, the “leaders” will be hiding in their bunkers underground
Issuing the orders; as the brainwashed bomb the people, that live on the
battleground
Left right, left right, “A question sir, if I may, will we get a medal”
When we blow up the world, this fine and wonderful day”?
“Of course, you will my brave man/woman you are serving your country
And we will be watching all the action from our bunker, to put it bluntly”
Left right, left right, “Are you ready to fight and to do battle”?
“Are all the bombs and missiles ready, to kill people like helpless cattle”?
“Yes sir, yes sir, everything is ready and we are ready too”
“Just issue the orders and we will press the buttons, we are a brave crew”
Left right, left right and the brainwashed marched away
Ready to fire their missiles on an unfortunate land this very day
The war criminals that planned all this filthy hellish action
Are hiding in their underground lairs smiling with crazy satisfaction
The end result of all this treachery and insanity
Could probably be the end of the world and humanity
Left right, left right, orders are orders, and the enemy must be punished
Will nuclear war be the end result of the mad march of the brainwashed?
Will we all be extinguished?…
[more info at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2018/04/the-mad-march-of-brainwashed.html
Kind of turns jurisprudence on its head, does it not? Deliver punishment first, ascertain the facts later.
Basically, that’s the description of events given by the New York Times and is totally okay by them. How else to interpret their opening words to the story:
“The goal, President Trump said, was to punish the government of President Bashar al-Assad for a suspected chemical attack against civilians near Damascus last weekend.”
Does that set precedent under the law now? Am I free to punish another person for something I merely suspect them of doing? Especially if I know better, because I went out of my way to try to frame them? The U.S. of A., always breaking new moral ground, always taking the low road.
Realist – good post. “Deliver punishment first, ascertain the facts later.” It’s probably closer to “Deliver punishment first in order to destroy the facts.” These inspectors would have had the truth tomorrow. We’ll see whether their search will now be in vain.
Trump had to hurry and destroy all evidence of a fake “chemical attack” in Syria before OPCW arrived.
well if we take trump at his word and he is launching “precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapon capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad”, all should be ok since according to russia, the new york times and then president obama, syria destroyed its chemical weapons in 2014 https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-arsenal-fully-destroyed-us-says.html.
Hello jeff montanye, Would you be OK with a Syrian Strike on the US Capital? After all they are being illegally bombed by the US by both national and international law!
Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Cut of the head of the snake in one go?
I agree
Chlorine gas is not on the list of chemical weapons unless it is used. That is why blaming the alleged attack on Obama is a fake blame. Chlorine could not be removed from Syria in 2014 because it is not listed as a chemical weapon.
The OPCW had announced it was about to enter Syria. US media ignored this critical fact.
https://twitter.com/OPCW/status/984491473629601795
“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.”
Trump’s Rush to Judgment on Syria Chemical Attack
By Scott Ritter
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/trumps-rush-to-judgement-on-syria-chemical-attack
Abe, the OPCW like the United Nations has long since lost all credibility. We may as well disband the UN because if no one is going to abide by the rules and just ignore it, what’s the point of it? Ironically, the UK sent for the OPCW in the farcical Skripal poisoning affair, yet they start bombing Syria when the OPCW have just arrived to make an assessment of the white helmets false flag claims.
Absolutely correct! The UN is a complete waste of time & it makes me want to vomit every time I see the ridiculous charade of talking head lunatic Nikki Haley, the bumbling Queen of BS, standing up at the UN & talking utter crap is sickening & farcical? The UN needs to go, it’s completely hopeless? Absolutely ineffective in policing breaches of International Law & policing & issueing punishment out to rogue, out of control, serial breakers of International law such as America, UK & France! Better to have a International Hague Court that can punish these Countries & execute these War criminals such as Bush, Blair, Cheney etc & May, Macron & Trump who are War Criminals in the same League as Adolf Hitler & his cronies!
What you write is true. In the Skripal affair, the OPCW withheld key portions of the report from the Swiss lab that performed chemical analysis on the samples taken as part of the official investigation. The lab apparently identified the toxic substance as BZ, not Novichok. BZ was originally developed in Switzerland and is manufactured in numerous countries, but apparently not in Russia. One might wonder why the OPCW failed to mention these facts in their own report. The answer can only be that they operate under under the heavy thumb of the Western powers who perpetrated the false flag poisoning.
https://www.rt.com/news/424149-skripal-poisoning-bz-lavrov/
Here is a more recent and thorough review of the Skripal poisoning. The Brits are obviously lying, and the OPCW would appear to be obfuscating on their behalf.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/04/where-the-skripals-buzzed-novi-shocked-or-neither-may-has-some-splaining-to-do.html#more
If it’s good enough for fake “citizen investigative journalist” Eliot Higgins and the Atlantic Council’s Bellingcat “open-source intelligence” and “online investigations” scam operation, it’s good enough for Trump, May, and Macron
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/04/11/open-source-survey-alleged-chemical-attacks-douma-7th-april-2018/
The foreign policy and security policy making of Trump rely on “open source intelligence” outsourced to a crew of UK-based fact fixers.
To paraphrase the well-known quotation published in the New York Times Magazine on October 17, 2004, by the writer Ron Suskind, who recounts his discussion with the proverbial “unnamed Administration official”:
“We’re an empire, and when we act, now Bellingcat creates our reality.”
Eliot Higgins and his gang of fake “citizen investigative journalists” and “independent researchers” at Bellingcat serve as deception “conduits” as defined by the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication 1-02), a compendium of approved terminology used by the U.S. military.
Within military deception, “conduits” are information or intelligence gateways to the “deception target”.
A “deception target” is defined as the “adversary decision maker with the authority to make the decision that will achieve the deception objective.”
The primary “deception targets” for Bellingcat propaganda efforts are key “policy makers” and the civilian populations of the United States and Europe Union.
The Internet offers a ubiquitous, inexpensive and anonymous “open source” method for rapid propaganda dissemination.
Propaganda is made “publicly available” via numerous channels
– privately-owned mainstream and social media
– fake “reporters on the ground”
– information released through allied nations
– “fact checking” and “analysis” of information by fake “journalists”
These sources are infiltrated to “deny, disrupt, degrade, deceive” by taking advantage of “information overload”.
A person can have difficulty understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much “publicly available” information.
Information overload arises from the access to so much information, almost instantaneously, without knowing the validity of the content and the risk of misinformation.
Information overload can lead to “information anxiety”, which is the gap between the information we understand and the information that we think that we must understand.
Pentagon and Western intelligence deception operatives such as Higgins and Bellingcat position themselves as “citizen investigative journalists” helping to organize and verify information to facilitate clear thinking.
The actual purpose of these fake “journalists” is to provide a channel for deceptive information to more effectively reach the public and be perceived as truthful.
Higgins pimped this deception strategy in January 2015 article, “Social media and conflict zones: the new evidence base for policymaking” https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/policywonkers/social-media-and-conflict-zones-the-new-evidence-base-for-policymaking/
Citing “Bellingcat’s MH17 investigation”, Higgins declared that “a relatively small team of analysts is able to derive a rich picture of a conflict zone” using online information and social media.
Higgins extolled the virtues of this “new evidence base” of “open source” information – side-stepping the ability for deceptive information to be disseminated online and via social media.
According to Higgins, the “overarching point” is that “there is a real opportunity for open source intelligence analysis to provide the kind of evidence base that can underpin effective and successful foreign and security policymaking. It is an opportunity that policymakers should seize.”
Western policy makers like Obama, and now Trump have enthusiastically seized the opportunity to use deception operatives like Higgins and Bellingcat to create a “reality” that allows them to “act”.
The foreign policy and security policy making of Trump relies on “open source intelligence” outsourced to a crew of UK-based fact fixers.
To paraphrase the well-known quotation published in the New York Times Magazine on October 17, 2004, by the writer Ron Suskind, who recounts his discussion with the proverbial “unnamed Administration official”:
“We’re an empire, and when we act, now Bellingcat creates our reality.”
The Internet offers a ubiquitous, inexpensive and anonymous “open source” method for rapid propaganda dissemination.
Propaganda is made “publicly available” via numerous channels, including privately-owned mainstream and social media, fake “reporters on the ground”, fake NGOs like the White Helmets in Syria, and fake information “fact checkers” like the U.K.-based Bellingcat disinformation site.
Eliot Higgins and Bellingcat position themselves as “citizen investigative journalists” and “open-source intelligence analysts” helping to organize and verify information to facilitate clear thinking. In reality, these fake “journalists” and bogus “analysts” provide a channel for deceptive information to more effectively reach the public and be perceived as truthful.
Higgins openly pimped this deception strategy in a January 2015 article, “Social media and conflict zones: the new evidence base for policymaking” https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/policywonkers/social-media-and-conflict-zones-the-new-evidence-base-for-policymaking/
Citing “Bellingcat’s MH17 investigation”, Higgins declared that “a relatively small team of analysts is able to derive a rich picture of a conflict zone” using online information and social media. Higgins extolled the virtues of this “new evidence base” of “open source” information while side-stepping the ability for deceptive information to be disseminated online and via social media.
According to Higgins, the “overarching point” is that “there is a real opportunity for open source intelligence analysis to provide the kind of evidence base that can underpin effective and successful foreign and security policymaking. It is an opportunity that policymakers should seize.”
Western policy makers like Trump, May, and Macron have enthusiastically seized the opportunity to use deception operatives Higgins and Bellingcat to create a “reality” that allows them to “act”.
United States Assessment of the Assad Regime’s Chemical Weapons Use
https://www.lawfareblog.com/transcript-president-trumps-remarks-syria-airstrikes
The U.S. government “assessment” on Syria reads like a nearly verbatim compendium of Bellingcat blog articles, including Bellingcat’s most recent “open source survey” on the 7th April 2018 incident at Douma.
The government “assessment” is identical to Bellingcat’s “assessment” based entirely on “open-source information”:
“social media users, non-governmental organizations, and other open-source outlets reported”
“Videos and images […] photos and video”
“reporting from media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other open sources”
It now appears that the U.S. government relies almost entirely on non-governmental agencies to “verify” information.
The U.S. government “assessment” only mentions “Reliable intelligence” once, but presents no further information regarding the specific form of the alleged “intelligence”, nor how its “reliability” was determined, nor whether it came from a foreign nation.
Israel, for example, has a long history of supplying the U.S. with dubious or obviously false “intelligence”.
Abe,
“The government “assessment” is identical to Bellingcat’s “assessment” based entirely on “open-source information””
At best this is the result of lazy intelligence agencies aggregating publicly available supportive material and regurgitating it with an official rubber stamp.
More and more “news” agencies employ the same “el cheapo” tactics republishing the same blurbs so much so that the uniformity of the group think makes it look like a conspiracy.
This is already how the rest of special interest Washington is run. Some lobby writes a bill which it is cut and pasted onto official stationary and passed without debate no matter how terrible it is. It’s great for someone. Someone with a lot of cash to lavish on campaigns.
At a wider view however we need to understand that in each case of chemical attack there have been a surprising number of state actors who have praised and/or participated in the US and British use the “ready, fire, aim” method of dispensing justice.
It’s not just hard to find criticism here but anywhere.
Mr. Trump seems to have completely taken the bait.
From Wikipedia:
President Donald Trump condemned the attack on Twitter, saying “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!”
On 11 April, via Twitter, President Trump threateningly told Russia to “get ready” for “nice and new and ‘smart’ missiles,” adding that “You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”
Vasily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, said that the United States would “bear responsibility” for any “illegal military adventure” they conducted.
The following day, Trump appeared to soften his resolve, tweeting that he “[n]ever said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!”
“get ready” for nice and new and ‘smart’ missiles”…………….. What the hell is he talking about? Are we going to war with Russia now that Trump sees clearly thanks to his new cabinet members that Putin is “partners with a Gas Killing Animal”?
Nowhere in any of the rhetoric is there one single shred of evidence provided that is convincing. Even where there is some evidence of a chemical attack based on Chlorine found in blood samples from victims it is a long way toward establishing guilt which needs to demonstrate motive and opportunity and then to establish physical evidence linking the Syrian government to the crime.
Even if Assad was absolutely insane and was continuing his “deranged practice of nipping the heels of the US as it exits his country’s conflicts” in a redo of Khan Shaykhun chemical attack which makes no sense at all, we are still sending a recipe for keeping the US in Syria by other organizations with an interest in keeping us there.
Clearly the two most likely suspects are the groups fighting Assad or the Israelis who are enjoying the show watching their old adversary going up in smoke. But these organizations with both motive and opportunity will never ever be vetted in the rush to judgement against the “PGKA” (Putin and his Gas Killing Animal) axis of evil.
The rhetoric coming from our president is more like a bombastic provocateur than a statesman.
Excellent comment, Citizen One. Any criminal investigation should attempt to identify a plausible motive for the alleged perpetrator of a criminal act. Having practically already won the war against the rebels, what plasible motive could Assad possibly have for using poison gas against innocent civilians? Nothing to gain, much to lose. On the other hand, the rebels and those supporting them (including Israel) had much to gain and nothing to lose, in the hope that imputing such an outrageous act on Assad would draw the US and supporting Western powers back into the fight. No wonder the US was in a hurry to strike before an independent investigation could be conducted…
Western intelligence agencies are doing a lot more than simply being “lazy”.
Higgins and Bellingcat are actively supplying bogus “open source intelligence analysis”, providing an “opportunity” for Western intelligence agencies to evade responsibility for the sort of “dodgy dossier” shenanigans that have been foisted in the past.
In short, Higgins, Kaszeta, and the fake “citizen journalist” crew at Bellingcat provide a veneer of “plausible deniability” for Western government “assessments” used to promote the Israeli-Saudi-U.S. Axis “regime change” wars of aggression.
Western government clearly have seized the “real opportunity” promoted by Higgins, and the Israelis could not be more pleased.
Fake “citizen investigative journalists” and bogus “open-source intelligence analysts” provide a channel for deceptive information to more effectively reach the public and be perceived as truthful.
Higgins openly promoted this deception tactic in a January 2015 article titled, “Social media and conflict zones: the new evidence base for policymaking”
https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/articles/2015/01/20/social-media-and-conflict-zones-the-new-evidence-base-for-policymaking/
Citing “Bellingcat’s MH17 investigation”, Higgins declared that a “relatively small team of analysts is able to derive a rich picture of a conflict zone” using online information and social media.
Higgins extolled the virtues of this “new evidence base” of “open source” information while side-stepping the ability for deceptive information to be disseminated online and via social media.
According to Higgins, the “overarching point” is that “there is a real opportunity for open source intelligence analysis to provide the kind of evidence base that can underpin effective and successful foreign and security policymaking. It is an opportunity that policymakers should seize.”
Western policy makers like Trump, May, and Macron have enthusiastically seized the “real opportunity” to use deception operatives Higgins and Bellingcat to fabricate a “reality” that allows them to “act”.
Abe,
This Bellingcat thing is the new tech. It’s the cutting bleeding edge where citizen journalists with extraordinary powers channel every form of electronically, publicly available “electron” of information,and process it so fast it makes the supercomputers at NSA look like Colossus (first computer).
Within seconds they know more than all the other police agencies on the planet know and are always first at the news desk with the story.
Simply amazing. No wonder they are the darling of Washington. You would need a Psychic Savant to do better.
All you need is some photographs, twitter posts, then post these to a wall and start attaching strings at one string per second (this is a challenge) until all 200 strings connect the dots in just a few minutes!!
If only we had robots who could make the string charts faster with lighter stronger string and ez-stick push pins. Perhaps we might someday be able to solve all crimes in as little as 10 seconds. Sounds like a challenge but we might go further.
By shrinking the robots and their string charts down to the size of atoms, we could theoretically use a lithography process to replicate billions of “investigation ready” robots onto a single microchip which could be fitted onto a standard computer which could now solve all crimes committed anywhere on the entire planet with absolute certainty within mere milliseconds.
Wow!! That is powerful stuff! It smells like a giant pile of BS too. That’s cause it is :-)
I will never buy this “instant analysis” crap.
It is obviously seductive and offers compelling imagery and snapshots but that could just as well be a fabricated illusion. We all believe magic tricks do deceive us even though we know there is no real magic.
The truth takes time to investigate. Until all of the leads are investigated there is no open and shut case.
There was no compelling justification for Trump to attack Syria. We all just want to hear the condemnations like some witch trial and burn the victim quickly before she gets to tell her side of the story.
Bellingcat logic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g
Rick Patel – yep, you’re probably correct there.
Yes, Rick, it is a old story we have seen before. Feeling depressed about the fact that I am finally getting around to filing taxes today so I can make my legally mandated contribution to fund our global mafia/terroristic interventionism.
And ever notice how when we are bombing, use chemical weapons, and depleted uranium on “enemy combatants” and civilians get killed/radiated/maimed the combatants are acused of using them as “human shields” or it is “collateral damage”. But if Assad attacks our jihadist allies embedded in civilian centers he is a “Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it”. Not saying the latest attack is proven to be Assad, just notice this glaring double standard.
I pray that justice will be delivered on this burning planet.