FAKED CONCERN: HALEY & CORPORATE MEDIA BLEATING ABOUT IDLIB CIVILIAN

Partisangirl’s tweet here

Nikki Haley, the hypocritical US Ambassador to the UN, mistakenly thinks she can dictate – from New York City, far from the terrorists which her country supports – that the Syrian army cannot fight and eradicate al-Qaeda in Idlib.

Her, and other American figures’ words, come with faked concern over the lives of Syrian civilians.

This is particularly ironic given that the US-led coalition, illegally in Syria, destroyed the Syrian city of Raqqa and killed untold numbers of civilians along the way, in their fake fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) – a pretext which has only time and again strengthened IS in Syria. Raqqa remains uninhabitable, and even today corpses are still being unearthed.

Haley and the Western corporate media have been bleating in chorus about Idlib and the civilians there, deliberately ignoring the presence of Al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists occupying the governorate and surrounding areas in Aleppo and Hama governorates.

They ignore, too, the reality of life in areas which were once occupied by these terrorists: the torture, imprisonment, maiming, assassination, and starvation endured by the civilian population at the hands of these extremists and paid mercenaries.

The other reality Haley and co-regime change mouthpieces whitewash is that once these areas are liberated of Al-Qaeda, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, and the myriad other extremist terrorist groups, life gets back to normal, schools reopen, cities and towns repopulate, ancient traditions resume as they have for thousands of years in this cradle of civilization.

Occupation, Liberation, Peace and Stability

With the exception of Deir ez-Zor, and smaller hamlets throughout the Syrian countryside, I’ve been to every major city and town liberated by Syria and allies from Al-Qaeda and co-terrorists. They are all now in peace, with many of the areas thriving, rebuilding, and the other areas at least in peace without the sadistic rule of terrorists.

In June 2014, I went to the old city of Homs just one month after the reconciliation deals that saw Al-Qaeda and Free Syrian Army terrorists bused out of the city. This beautiful historic old city and its ancient churches were in shambles. Some of that was due to the Syrian army fighting the terrorists, but most of it was due to the terrorists burning, looting, and booby trapping the buildings they had occupied.

Indeed, a resident of the old city, Abu Nabeel, took me around, showing me the destruction, vandalization, burning and looting that terrorists did before leaving Old Homs, including leaving bombs in residents’ homes, to inflict yet more loss of life even after the terrorists had left. But also while there in June 2014, I saw residents and youth volunteers scraping the debris, painting hopeful art on walls, beginning the rebuilding process.

Also in June 2014, two months after its liberation, I went to the ancient village of Maaloula, which had been occupied or targeted by al-Qaeda and co-terrorists from September 2013 to April 2014. They systematically destroyed, looted, burned or stole ancient relics and vandalized historic buildings. In summer 2016 and more recently in September 2018, I returned to find life pulsing during the Celebration of the Holy Cross, a nearly-1700 year old celebration interrupted only during the terrorists’ occupation of Maaloula.

In December 2015, I returned to Old Homs to find that some reconstruction had occurred. Churches were partially repaired, a school was fully rehabilitated, shops had opened, and residents were putting up Christmas decorations.

In June 2017, when I returned to Homs, I saw a city pulsing with life, and peace. That June, I also went back to Aleppo, which I’d been to four times prior to its December 2016 liberation [see: Western corporate media ‘disappears’ over 1.5 million Syrians and 4,000 doctors,  The Villages in Aleppo Ravaged by America’s “Moderate” “Rebels”, and: Aleppo: How US & Saudi-Backed “Rebels” Target ‘Every Syrian’, November 29, 2016, Mint Press News].

I saw eastern areas that had been occupied by Al-Qaeda, Nour al-Din al-Zenki, IS and other terrorist factions. The destruction was indeed immense, as terrorists had holed up underground, including occupying schools and hospitals. The complex housing the Eye and Children’s Hospitals was turned into a headquarters for Al-Qaeda and IS, with basements turned into prisons, prisoners’ fates decided by Sharia courts of the extremists.

I returned to Aleppo in May 2018, and spent hours at the ancient Citadel, both filming peopleenjoying their time around the Citadel, and later joining them at one of the cafes encircling this historic site. Talking with Aleppo MP, Fares Shehabi, we discussed how none of this had been possible under the rule of the extremists.

Indeed, in November 2016, standing near the ruins of the Carlton Hotel, tunnel-bombed by terrorists in May 2014, and looking towards the Citadel, I was told to step back due to the risk of Al-Qaeda snipers. But the Aleppo I saw in May 2018 was likewise pulsing with life, and peace.

In media campaigns to demonize the Syrian and Russian governments, Western media mentioned al-Waer, Homs, and Madaya. But few, or none, that I’m aware of bothered to go to those places after they were restored to peace. I did, in June 2017, and unsurprisingly heard what journalists in eastern Aleppo heard when those areas were liberated: the reason they had been starving was because terrorists had stolen all the food aid that entered the town and kept it for themselves. Indeed, near a munitions workshop, I found the remnants of one such parcel, a Red Cross package. And like in eastern Aleppo, terrorists in Madaya had imprisoned civilians, and had tortured them.

When in April and May 2018 I went to various areas of eastern Ghouta, I again heard about terrorist-induced starvation. When I asked whether residents could access their farmland – as eastern Ghouta is an agricultural region – I was told that, no, they couldn’t, terrorists controlled the farmland, too, leaving them literally starving.

A few weeks ago I returned to Daraa City. I’d been there in May 2018, at a time when terrorists in Daraa al-Balad and outskirts were heavily shelling the city. At great risk, I was able to go to the state hospital, with snipers just 100 metres away from the sole route leading there. The hospital was severely damaged, with entire wards destroyed. The Children’s Hospital wing was damaged and off limits due to the proximity of terrorists roughly 50 metres away – as I would learn when I returned a few weeks ago.

In Daraa this September, there was no bombing, just the scraping of rubble as bulldozers and residents cleaned up the remnants of this foreign war on Syria.

On September 11, I went to Mhardeh, a town in northern Hama, where 13 civilians were killed by terrorists missiles targeting the town on September 7. Most of the dead were killed right away, others died slowly of critical injuries. One man lost his wife, three young children and mother to the terror attacks. He lost everything.

When I asked him how the situation of Idlib, occupied by at least 70,000 terrorists, a modest estimate – impacted him and Mhardeh, he replied that Idlib is the cause of their suffering.

The September 7 attacks on Mhardeh weren’t the first. To the contrary, the town has been relentlessly targeted for the past 7 years, its local defense commander, Simon al-Wakil, told me.

So did the Presbyterian Church’s Reverend Maan Bitar, who said: “The gunmen, the terrorists, they are in all the region of Idlib, not just Idlib city. They are also two kilometers from here (in northern Hama). We’ve received more than 7,000 missiles, rockets, and mortars these past eight years. Every time the terrorists feel they are in a critical situation, militarily speaking, from the government, they shell civilians. Nobody spoke about that. For eight years, Mhardeh town is being shelled, and civilians killed, but nobody spoke of that.”

Nearby al-Skalbiyye has also been relentlessly targeted, including with 10 Grad missiles fitted with cluster bombs, as noted by British journalist Vanessa Beeley who visited the town.

Idlib Reality: an al-Qaeda safe-haven

With the Nikki Haleys and laptop media now droning incessantly about “3 million civilians” in Idlib prone to being massacred by the Syrian and Russian armies, it’s time to reflect on a number of points.

First of all, there is no accurate figure for the number of civilians in Idlib, much less the number of terrorists. Given that when we heard the same cries before the liberation of Aleppo, with the UN itself chiming in to claim that 300,000 civilians were trapped in Aleppo’s eastern areas – the actual number was less than half that figure – we can at least be sceptical about the current claims of 300,000 in Idlib.

Moreover, among the population in Idlib, how many are terrorists? How many are being held against their will by terrorists? How many are Syrians?

Al-Qaeda’s presence in Idlib isn’t a conspiracy theory, it’s an established fact that even US State Department’s Special Envoy, Brett McGurk, made clear when he said: “Look, Idlib province is the largest Al-Qaeda safe-haven since 9/11. Idlib now is a huge problem, is an Al-Qaeda safe-haven right on the border with Turkey.”

Yet, outlets like CNN whitewash their presence. While there are no definitive figures for the number of non-Syrians among those terrorists, it is a fact that there are extremists from around the world.

What Western leaders and media fail to address is the reign of terror the different extremist gangs inflict on Syrian civilians. This includes their kidnapping of untold numbers of civilians, particularly children.

Vanessa Beeley wrote this just weeks ago, noting that in a liberated area of eastern Idlib, she was told that over 600 children and adults had been kidnapped by “both the terrorist groups and the #WhiteHelmets” in the last 12 months there.

Further, it is from positions within Idlib governorate that terrorists continue to fire on Aleppo. So in spite of the liberation of Aleppo from these extremists, areas closest to them are routinely bombed.

Fares Shehabi tweeted in September about a rocket attack on Aleppo believed to have originated from Idlib.

In all of the areas I mentioned, the Syrian and Russian governments worked to offer amnesty and reconciliation to Syrians holding arms, and indeed these reconciliations enabled the return to peace in many of these areas.

The Syrian and Russian governments have again opened humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave Idlib, and as with corridors opened in Aleppo, terrorists have attacked the corridor, to prevent civilians from leaving. Some updates state that Syrians have been able to exit when the corridor wasn’t being targeted, and other updates note that terrorists are preventing civilians from leaving, or demanding money from civilians who want to leave.

Syria and Russia have again offered reconciliation and amnesty. It is terrorists within Idlib who refuse this, refuse a political process, and instead continue to hold civilians hostage and occupy Syrian territory.

On September 28, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, addressed media the day of a General Assembly meeting, noting the US-led destruction of both Raqqa and Mosul, Iraq, also noting that Russia and Syria prevented this in Aleppo and in Eastern Ghouta.

These are all points to keep in mind the next time Nikki Haley shrilling performs for the cameras. It is time to liberate Idlib, by military or political means, and bring peace to Syria.

By Eva Bartlett
Source

Liberate Idlib and Syria: The Martyred of Mhardeh Speak Through the Ones They’ve Left Behind

By Eva Bartlett
Source

Mhardeh is a Christian town of 23,000 people. It is also on the front line of confrontation against the Idlib terrorists who have attacked the town and its people for seven years.

MHARDEH, SYRIA — (War Report) On September 7, Mhardeh, a small Christian town in northern Hama, was targeted with nine Grad missiles — six of which were fitted with internationally-prohibited cluster sub-munitions — by al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists roughly four kilometers away from the town center, occupying the northern Hama countryside areas of Ltamenah and surroundings.

Four days later, I went to Mhardeh and took the testimony of a man who lost everything to the terrorist attack: his wife, three young children, and mother were all killed in the initial bombardment.

By September 19, a total of 13 civilians had died as a result of the September 7 terrorist attack, including four who had sustained critical injuries. One of those four was a 15-year-old boy who had received shrapnel to his brain, as reported by Vanessa Beeley, who had visited the then-critically injured teen in hospital on September 9.

According to Mhardeh’s National Defense Forces (NDF), the attackers were Jaysh al-Izza, a group that works directly with al-Qaeda in Syria, as documented by a September 7, 2018 video celebrating the firing of an elephant rocket on northern Hama. Jaysh al-Izza was previously backed by the U.S. and operates in northern Hama and southern Idlib areas.

In previous years, Jaysh al-Izza targeted the power station in Mhardeh and the Mhardeh monastery, as well as launching countless strikes on civilian neighbourhoods.

Also, on September 7, the UN Security Council (UNSC) met to warn Syria’s government “against the use of chemical weapons” in Idlib — something the Syrian government had been repeatedly warning the UN about for weeks prior, specifying that terrorists within Idlib, and the White Helmets propaganda front, had been moving canisters of chlorine around in preparation for a new staged chemical attack. The Syrian and Russian governments warned that children who had been abducted from Idlib and the Aleppo countryside would be used in staged videos, surely to star the fake-rescuers of the White Helmets.

But at the UNSC, the United States continued its hypocritical exceptionalism, again blaming Syria and Russia for alleged attacks not even yet faked by Washington’s terrorist allies in Syria.

On the same day as the massacre in Mhardeh, residents in Ltamenah, one of the northern Hama terrorist bases, held a protestcondemning any reconciliations of armed Syrian militants with the Syrian government. Reconciliations are precisely what would bring an end to the missile tyranny of these terrorists occupying Idlib, north Hama, and parts of Aleppo province.

On September 9, terrorists in Madir Citadel, a northern Hama region, targeted the Christian town of al-Skalbiyye. Beeley, who went there the following day, wrote:

Last night around 6 p.m., 10 Grad Missiles containing cluster bombs were fired into the Christian town of al-Skalbiyye. Thirteen bomblets had been found and detonated, [including] three while I was interviewing two residents — by the same bomb disposal expert as in Mhardeh.

… Madir Citadel is entirely under the control of Al Qaeda (Nusra Front), Ahrar Al Sham and Jaish Al Islam, all working together.”

On September 11, I travelled by rented taxi to Mhardeh to hear first-hand about the massacre and, as it happened, about one man’s life-shattering tragedy.

The commander of Mhardeh’s NDF, Simon al-Wakil, like the hundreds of volunteers in the area’s NDF, chose to defend not only Mhardeh but Syria in general, also fighting terrorism outside of Mhardeh.  According to Commander al-Wakil, al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham terrorists lie just two kilometres north of Mhardeh’s frontlines, along with the mishmash of other terrorist factions that the West attempts to dub “moderate” but who work alongside al-Qaeda in Syria.

Simon al-Wakil flashes a victory sign. Al-Waki is the commander of the volunteer Mhardeh National Defense Forces. Photo | Eva Bartlett

Mhardeh, he explained, is a Christian town of 23,000 people. It is also on the front line of confrontation against terrorists who have attacked the town and its people for seven years. The line of confrontation extends over twenty kilometres, from Mhardeh to al-Skalbiyye.

Over the years 117 of Mhardeh’s civilians have been martyred in terrorist attacks which also claimed the lives of 52 Syrian soldiers, and injured 150.

On taking up arms to defend his town and country, like so many civilians have all over Syria, al-Wakil said:

We are civilians but, due to the terror attacks, we decided to be steadfast, and to stand with President Bashar al-Assad and our Syrian Arab Army. Indeed, what they have faced, no other army in the world has faced.

For seven years we’ve been subjected to terrorism in Mhardeh. But, again recently we were attacked, and the towns of as-Skaylbeyyeh and Salhab were attacked, with internationally prohibited cluster-bomb rockets, by terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra.”

And yet, no condemnation from the Western powers that are so concerned about civilians in Idlib and the pending move by the Syrians, Russians and allies to liberate that province from al-Qaeda & Co.

One man’s heartbreaking testimony

In Mhardeh I went to the home of Shadi Yousef Shehda, the man whose family were murdered on September 7.

On a street potholed by the missile blast, the walls leading to an inner courtyard were puckered by the impact of shrapnel.

Entering the open-air courtyard, I saw the heartbroken man, and his extended relatives and neighbours, sitting on chairs in an oval, a photo of his dead wife and children and mother pinned by a door.

Shadi Shehda was in his shop in Mhardeh when the terrorist attack occurred. Shortly after, neighbours warned him his area had been targeted, but couldn’t bring themselves to tell him the extent of it. He rushed home to find his family, “sliced to pieces,” from the missiles.

“I sacrificed the [ones] most precious to me ever: my mother, wife and children,” he said.

He flicked through photos on his mobile, pausing to show me a photo of his wife, himself, and their children; then another of his children dressed up for church.

Shadi Yousef Shehda shows a photo of his wife, three young children and mother, all killed in a missile attack on their Mhardeh home. Sep 7, 2018. Photo | Eva Bartlett

His house, he told me, was targeted three times. Again going through photos on his phone, he showed the damage done the first time a rocket hit his home, a year ago, when his wife, children and mother were home. This rocket impacted the tiles but didn’t explode, landing a few feet from where we sat in the courtyard. The tiles have since been patched but the damage was still visible.

Later, inside the room nearest the impacted courtyard, Shadi Shehda pointed to the shrapnel hole and said, “Last year, the shrapnel didn’t reach my wife, she survived it. But this time, she didn’t.”

His mother’s name was Afifeh. His wife, Rama. His eldest daughter (third grade), Maria. His six-year-old son, Fadi, and his two-year-old daughter, Stefani (whom they also called Susi).

Still visibly torn with the pain of losing the most dear to him, Shadi Shehda took me to see his children’s room, as it was the day they were murdered. Hanging on the large wardrobe at one side of the room, three tiny bathrobes.

“They were martyred just after they took a bath,” Shadi said, pointing to each dead child’s robe, then to their drawings pinned on the wardrobe above, then pointing out the cupboard with his eldest daughter’s drawing, and the toys laid out on a sofa on along wall. He pointed out every detail, lifting each of their backpacks and saying whom they had belonged to.

The family were strong believers and went regularly to church, he told me, repeating again and again how his eldest daughter and son went to church, prayed; how she always wrote, “Jesus is love, God is love;” and how, some days before they were murdered, his son Fadi wanted to take a photo with the church father.

Again, he brought out his mobile and started showing me photos: together in the church; Fadi’s sixth birthday, two days before his death; more photos of his kids in the church; the family on a trip they took to a sacred mountain; his kids at an amusement park; his two-year-old Susi on tiptoes lighting a candle at church; he and his children at a rally for Syria, holding the Syrian flag.

“Every time they went to the church, they lit a candle,” he kept repeating. Unexpectedly, he showed me death photos of his murdered children. “I also have a photo of my son when he was injured: this is my son; those are my son, my daughter and my other daughter, the three of them,” the bodies laid out, lifeless and bloodied.

When there was an appropriate moment to ask, I asked if he had a message for people outside of Syria. Without hesitating, he replied:

I just want them to stand beside us, see what happened to us, to see what we have been through; we are suffering a lot in Mhardeh. We need to get rid of the terrorists, end this terrible situation. It’s been eight years, eight years of shelling. In Mhardeh, there isn’t a house that doesn’t have a martyr or someone injured. Our suffering is indescribable.”

A town terrorized, a community resilient but insistent that Idlib be liberated

Back in the courtyard, one of the neighbours showed me scars on her neck from previous terrorist bombings causing shrapnel that not only lodged in her neck but remains there, removing it being too difficult. Another neighbour, an older man, spoke of his then-23-year-old daughter, Jinan Ratib Zayoud, who had been studying French literature at university. After finishing her final exam some years ago, she came back to Mhardeh. She never reached home. An explosive device planted by terrorists on the road near the entrance to the town took her life.

This tortured man pulled out his mobile, showing me another element of the hell people in Mhardeh, and other towns being targeted, are enduring: the psychological torture of terrorists taunting them by posting videos of their pending attacks on the villages. The video he showed me showed two sneering terrorists standing in front of a number of missiles, mockingly saying good morning, promising to send the missiles at them.

In the NDF headquarters, I also met Salem Haddad, an inventor who works with agricultural equipment. He is also a member of the national committee, a group founded in 2011, comprising 40 Mhardeh men and women whose focus is caring for the community — particularly the poor and families of martyrs — providing food, water and financial support, including especially to the guardians of the town.

They work to help repair homes damaged by the years of missile and mortar attacks, as well as medical care for those injured by such attacks.

“For Martyrs, our righteous martyrs, we take responsibility for everything: funerals, financial support to the families,” Haddad explained.

Most I met in Mhardeh, when I asked about the issue of Idlib, insisted only the liberation of Idlib and northern Hama would bring them peace, after so many years of being attacked.

“Mhardeh has been heavily shelled since the beginning of the crisis. We have paid dearly to be able to stay steadfast in our homes and our land,” Haddad said.

Reverend Maan Bitar, of Mhardeh’s Presbyterian church, told me:

We as Syrians, we don’t accept at all any part of Syria to be divided, or any part of it to be taken. Turkey has some kind of dream to take control of Idlib. We don’t accept that; no matter what whoever says about Syria, we don’t accept this. No matter what is the price, we don’t accept to have Idlib removed from the map of Syria. Syria is our land, home and history, and we don’t want Syria to be divided.

Now, a decision has been made, by Russia and Syria: Idlib will be taken back.

The gunmen, the terrorists, they are in all the region of Idlib, not just Idlib city. They are also two kilometres from here (in northern Hama). We’ve received more than 7,000 missiles, rockets, and mortars these past eight years.

Every time the terrorists feel they are in a critical situation, militarily speaking, from the government, they shell civilians. Nobody spoke about that. For eight years, Mhardeh town is being shelled, and civilians killed, but nobody spoke of that.”

America’s rhetoric of late was that they would strike Syria if there was some sort of chemical incident. Russia and Syria had for weeks been warning that terrorists together with the White Helmets were planning on staging, indeed already filming, another fake chemical attack story precisely to bring such an American attack on Syria, at a time when Idlib would be liberated.

Then the U.S. upped its rhetoric to specify it would strike not only if there was a chemical incident, but if there is any attack on Idlib, where  there are, by a modest estimate, at least 70,000 extremists (or more likely 100,000 terrorists) with heavy weapons, including tens of thousands fully affiliated with al-Qaeda. There are also Ahrar al-Sham, and child-beheading Nour al-Din al-Zenki, under the coalition, the Turkish-backed “National Liberation Front”.

On September 17, Russia and Turkey came to an agreement on a demilitarized zone — which is, in theory, to clear al-Qaeda and its heavy weaponry from the to-be-established DMZ, to avoid mass civilian casualties in the fight to liberate Idlib of al-Qaeda.

As with liberations prior — Aleppo, Ghouta, Daraa and elsewhere in Syria — Russia and Syria have opened humanitarian corridors to enable civilians to leave areas occupied by terrorists, to avoid the coming fighting. And as with prior humanitarian corridors (including one I was standing on in November 2016, before Aleppo was liberated), terrorists have been firing on and shelling the Abu Duhur crossing in eastern Idlib.

Further, as with previous corridors established to enable civilians to flee to safety, they are being forcibly prevented from doing so by the “moderate rebels” inside. That said, numbers of civilians have recently exited via the Abu al-Duhur corridor.

Whatever Western leaders are saying about Idlib, Syrians want Idlib returned without a terrorist presence.

For Shadi Shehda, who lost everything dear to him in the September 7 terrorist bombings, the liberation of Idlib and its environs is a priority:

What’s is important for us now, just one thing, is liberating from outside Mhardeh to Idlib. Idlib has become a serious burden to Syria and a burden most of all to Mhardeh. All that has happened here is because of Idlib.”

Wikileaks: To Weaken Iran, US Undermined Democratic Elements of Syrian Opposition to Empower Radical Groups

While seven years have come and gone since the leaked document was written by USMC intelligence, little has changed when it comes to the U.S.’ long-standing goals in Syria and its callous disregard for the will of the Syrian people and Syrian democracy.

by Whitney Webb

WASHINGTON — A recently uncovered U.S. government document published by WikiLeaks has revealed that the U.S. directly advocated for undermining “democratic” elements of the so-called Syrian “revolution” of 2011 in order to ensure the dominance of authoritarian, sectarian Sunni groups within the Syrian opposition.

The document, written by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Intelligence Department in late 2011, further asserts that empowering these radical Sunni groups over democratic and secular ones would be ideal for the United States and its regional partners, as ensuring the decline of the current Syrian government, and with it a secular Syria, would harm Iran’s regional clout.

In other words, the U.S. openly supported undermining democratic opposition forces in Syria in order to challenge Iranian influence and, with it, the influence of the Middle East’s “resistance axis” that obstructs the imperialistic agendas of the U.S. and its regional allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel.

According to the document, which was buried in a previous WikiLeaks release and recently uncovered by journalist Dr. Nafeez Ahmed, U.S. military intelligence was well aware that the Syrian opposition movement in 2011 did not pose “a meaningful threat against the [Syrian] regime,” given that it was “extremely fractured” and “operating under enormous constraints.” It also noted that “reports of protests [against the Syrian government] are overblown,” even though “the exiled [Syrian] opposition has been quite effecting (sic) in developing a narrative on the Syrian opposition to disseminate to major media agencies.”

That narrative — which was subsequently promoted by several foreign governments, including the U.S., the U.K., Turkey and France — falsely claimed that the protests were massive and involved largely peaceful protestors “rising up” against the “autocratic” government led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This document, as well as substantial evidence that has emerged over the last several years, shows that this narrative, of a “peaceful uprising” seeking to establish a secular and “democratic” Syria, has never been true, as even U.S. military intelligence knew that the reports regarding these “peaceful” protests were highly exaggerated.

U.S. calling on Turkey to do its dirty work

Given that the USMC intelligence considered the Syrian opposition movement in 2011 to be an ineffective force for effecting change in Assad’s status as Syria’s leader, the document notes that it was in the U.S.’ interest for Turkey to “manage” efforts to destabilize the Assad-led government, as Turkey “is the country with the most leverage over Syria in the long term, and has an interest in seeing this territory return to Sunni rule.”

Those Turkish-led efforts would involve gradually building up “linkages with groups inside Syria, focusing in particular on the Islamist remnants of the Muslim Brotherhood in trying to fashion a viable Islamist political force in Syria that would operate under Ankara’s umbrella.” This ultimately came to pass, as the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army – previously promoted as the main force of the “democratic” Syrian opposition but now well known to be a radical, sectarian group – still takes its marching orders from Ankara.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and Turkish troops secure the Bursayah hill, which separates the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz, Syria, Jan. 28, 2018. Photo | AP

The document advocates for these efforts to mold the “fragmented” elements of the 2011 Syrian opposition into an “Islamist” puppet force of Turkey in order to support the gradual “weakening of the Alawite [i.e., Assad] hold on power in Syria,” as well as because “Turkey, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others have a common interest in trying to severely under[mine] Iran’s foothold in the Levant and dial back Hezbollah’s political and military influence in Lebanon.”

Also notable is the fact that USMC intelligence at the time knew that these efforts to undermine the current Syrian government would have a disastrous impact on the country and its civilian population. Indeed, the document notes this on two separate occasions, stating first that “any political transition in Syria away from the al-Assad clan will likely entail a violent, protracted civil conflict” and later adding that “the road to regime change will be a long and bloody one.”

Thus, not only was U.S. military intelligence advocating for the undermining of democratic and secular forces within the Syrian opposition, it was also aware that the U.S.-backed efforts to undermine Assad would have “bloody” consequences for civilians in Syria. These admissions dramatically undercut past and present U.S. claims to be concerned with Syrian civilians and their “call for freedom” from Assad, showing instead that the U.S. preferred the installation of a “friendly” authoritarian, sectarian government in Syria and was uninterested in the fate of Syrian civilians so long as the result “severely under[mined] Iran’s foothold in the Levant.”

For much of the last two decades, but especially since the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the “resistance axis” — led by Iran — has emerged as the greatest threat to the hegemony of the United States and its allies in the Middle East. A power bloc composed of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas in Palestine, the “resistance axis” as a term first emerged in 2010 to describe the alliances of countries and regional political groups opposed to continued Western intervention in the region, as well as to the imperialist agendas of U.S. allies in the region like Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iran’s role as the de factoleader of this resistance bloc makes it, along with its main allies like Syria, a prime target of U.S. Middle East policy.

Sunni-stan

Washington’s support for a future authoritarian Syria may come as a surprise to some, given that the U.S. has publicly promoted the narrative of a “democratic revolution” in Syria from 2011 to the present and has used calls for the establishment of a “new” secular democracy in Syria as the foundation for its agenda of overthrowing the current Assad-led government.

However, powerful individuals in Washington have long promoted an “authoritarian” and “Islamist” state in Syria with the goal of countering Iran, much like the plan detailed in the USMC intelligence document.

For instance, current National Security Adviser John Bolton called for the establishment of such a state in Syria back in 2015, stating on FOX News:

I think our objective should be a new Sunni state out of the western part of Iraq, the eastern part of Syria, run by moderates or at least authoritarians who are not radical Islamists.”

A U.S.-backed anti-government fighter mans a heavy machine gun next to a US soldier in al Tanf, a border crossing between Syria and Iraq. Hammurabi’s Justice News | AP

A few months later, Bolton – this time in a New York Times op-ed – detailed his plan to create a sectarian Sunni state out of northeastern Syria and western Iraq, which he nicknamed “Sunni-stan.” He asserted that such a country would have “economic potential” as an oil producer, would serve as a “bulwark” against the Syrian government and “Iran-allied Baghdad,” and would help ensure the defeat of Daesh (ISIS). Bolton’s mention of oil is notable, as the proposed territory for this Sunni state sits on key oil fields that U.S. oil interests, such as ExxonMobil and the Koch brothers, have sought to control if the partition of Iraq and Syria comes to pass.

Bolton also suggested that Arab Gulf States like Saudi Arabia “could provide significant financing” for the creation of this future state, adding that “the Arab monarchies like Saudi Arabia must not only fund much of the new state’s early needs, but also ensure its stability and resistance to radical forces.”

Yet Bolton fails to note that Saudi Arabia is one of the chief financiers of Daesh and largely responsible for spreading “radical” Wahhabi Islam throughout the Middle East. Thus, any future state that the Saudis would fund would undoubtedly mirror the ethos of Saudi Arabia itself – i.e., an authoritarian, radical Wahhabist state that executes nonviolent protesters, oppresses minorities, and launches genocidal wars against its neighbors in an effort to control their resources.

Furthermore, the ultimate goal outlined within the USMC Intelligence document of undermining  Iran’s regional clout continues to be the guide for the U.S.’ current Syria policy, which recently changed yet again to include regime change in Damascus as part of its goal. For instance, earlier this year, Bolton – in his capacity as National Security Adviser – stated that U.S. troops would remain in Syria “as long as the Iranian menace continues throughout the Middle East.”

More recently, the Trump administration “redefined” its Syria policy to include “the exit of all Iranian military and proxy forces from Syria” as the administration’s top priority, while also calling for the installation of “a stable, non-threatening government” that would not have Assad as Syria’s leader.

Thus, while seven years have come and gone since the leaked document was written by USMC intelligence, little has changed when it comes to the U.S.’ long-standing goals in Syria and its callous disregard for the will of the Syrian people and Syrian democracy.

Source

Will Turkey Back or Break Militants in Northern Syria?

August 20, 2018 (Tony Cartalucci – NEO) – Syria once again finds itself at another critical juncture. Having secured virtually all territory in the nation’s southwest, Damascus’ attention is now fixated on Idlib in the north.

Reuters has recently reported on a so-called “National Army” based in northern Syria that appears poised to confront Syrian efforts to restore peace and security nationwide.

In an article titled, “Syrian rebels build an army with Turkish help, face challenges,” Reuters would claim:

A “National Army” being set up by Syrian rebels with Turkey’s help could become a long-term obstacle to President Bashar al-Assad’s recovery of the northwest…

Reuters would also report:

The National Army compromises some 35,000 fighters from some of the biggest factions in the war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced some 11 million people from their homes over the last seven years.

And:

Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, has vowed to recover “every inch” of Syria, and though he has now won back most of the country, the Turkish presence will complicate any government offensive in the northwest.

The idea of having NATO military forces on the ground in Syria, providing protection for Western-backed militants in safe-havens has been stated US policy since the beginning of the Syrian conflict.

Seeking Safe-Havens Since 2012

The Brookings Institution – a US-based corporate-financier funded policy think tank – in its March 2012 “Middle East Memo #21” titled, “Saving Syria: Assessing Options for Regime Change” (PDF), stated explicitly that (emphasis added):

An alternative is for diplomatic efforts to focus first on how to end the violence and how to gain humanitarian access, as is being done under Annan’s leadership. This may lead to the creation of safe-havens and humanitarian corridors, which would have to be backed by limited military power. This would, of course, fall short of U.S. goals for Syria and could preserve Asad in power. From that starting point, however, it is possible that a broad coalition with the appropriate international mandate could add further coercive action to its efforts.

The document would also state in regards to a NATO invasion of Syria that:

Turkey would have to be willing to provide the logistical base and much of the ground troops for the operation. Turkey is best placed of any country to intervene in Syria: it has a large, reasonably capable military; it has vital interests in Syria; and its interest is in seeing peace and democratic transition. 

While Brookings policymakers noted Turkey’s hesitation to do this in 2012 due to fears that Syrian Kurds might be used in some form of retaliation, the dynamics have since shifted due to Turkey’s incremental occupation of northern Syria and Washington’s minding of Kurds east of the Euphrates River.

Building a Better Proxy Army

Another more recent Brookings paper titled, “Building a Better Syrian Opposition Army” (PDF), published in 2014 would designated both Jordan and Turkey as potential bases from which to train and deploy a US backed “Syrian opposition army.”

The plan included the seizure of a significant swath of Syrian territory after which the US could recognize the militants as the “new provisional Syrian government,” then lend them more direct military, political, and economic support. In northern Syria, particularly around the city of Idlib, a slow-motion version of this plan has been unfolding for years, under the protection of the Turkish military.

Of course, both Brookings papers were written before Russia intervened directly in the Syrian conflict in 2015. Iran also has a sizable presence in Syria. Militant-held territory has been retaken all the way up to the Syrian-Jordanian border and Syrian forces are reportedly mobilizing for operations against Idlib itself.

Ankara and Washington also appear to be at odds, while at the same time, Ankara has been making overtures toward Moscow and Tehran. Of course, all of this could be geopolitical theater. It is not unprecedented for nations – particularly those aligned to the US – to feign a shift in policy only to backtrack and double down. Turkey is heavily dependent on Europe in particular economically and the vector sum of its foreign policy still appears to favor Western interests.

Turkey Created and Backed Terrorists. Turkey is Still Harboring Terrorists 

Turkey still finds itself overseeing a nearly verbatim execution of stated US foreign policy in northern Syria. The militant groups it has consolidated and harbored under its protection have been refitting and rearming – many of them having been flushed out from across Syria as Damascus and its allies retake the country. These are groups that have rejected peace deals and have rejected offers to join Syrian forces in the fight against extremists still holding out across the country.

In many cases, these militants come from groups either fighting under Al Qaeda’s banner, or alongside it.

Turkey still finds itself overseeing one of the last bastions of anti-government militancy in Syria – the other being US-occupied eastern Syria.

Only Damascus, Moscow, and Tehran’s intelligence services can know for sure what Ankara’s intentions are, what its true disposition is in northern Syria, and what if anything Turkish forces can or will do if Syrian forces begin retaking Idlib.

For Damascus and its allies, promises and good will from Ankara must be coupled with realist provisions to ensure good will is the only good option Ankara has to choose from.

Ultimately, one of the last showdowns in Syria’s long-fought war to foil Western-sponsored terrorism and subversion will be in territory Turkey has harbored US-backed anti-government militants in. Only time will tell if these militants are incrementally disbanded and Turkish forces withdraw thus bringing this conflict one step closer to an end, or a dangerous standoff with Turkey – mirroring Israel’s illegal occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights – begins.

Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

هل «سوتشي» الطريق إلى الحل السياسي؟

أغسطس 2, 2018

د. وفيق إبراهيم

انتصار الجيش العربي السوري وتحريره 70 في المئة من مساحة بلاده، ونجاح الروس في العودة إلى مواقع إنتاج القرار الدولي من خلال مؤتمر هلسنكي بين الرئيسين الروسي والأميركي، عاملان يزوّدان مؤتمر سوتشي زخماً قوياً لإنتاج حل سياسي كامل. فواشنطن أقرّت بمركزية الدور الروسي في سورية على حساب تراجع دورها ومعها حلفاؤها في السعودية وقطر و»إسرائيل» والأردن والمجموعات المتورطة في الاتحاد الأوروبي وأوروبا الشرقية.

هذه التراجعات العربية الإقليمية والدولية المتواكبة مع هزيمة عصب الإرهاب في سورية، داعش والنصرة ومثيلاتهما، يمنحان مؤتمر سوتشي بأعضائه الدولة السورية والمعارضة «السعودية» و»التركية» برعاية الدول الثلاث الضامنة روسيا، إيران وتركيا… يمنحانها فرصة تاريخية لإنتاج حل سياسي مرحلي يعيد لسورية تضامنها الداخلي، معلناً هزيمة إرهاب عالمي مدعوم من أكثر من 60 دولة. يجب هنا الاعتراف بأن الدولة السورية بمداها الحالي، فعلت ما لم تفعله دولة قبلها.. دافعت عن كامل المشرق العربي ومنعت تفتيته وفقاً لخطة أميركية كانت وزيرة الخارجية السابقة كونداليسا رايس تسمّيها «الشرق الأوسط الجديد» أي تجزئة المنطقة كانتونات صغيرة على نحو يؤمن سيطرة واشنطن على العالم الإسلامي لقرن مقبل «بغازه» وما تبقى من نفطه وقدرته على الاستهلاك.

فهل لسوتشي القدرة على الحل؟

..الحسم في الميدان والصعود الروسي والحلف مع إيران وحزب الله والقوى العراقية واليمنية، لهي من العناصر الدافعة نحو الحل السياسي وفق شروط الدولة السورية المصرّة على إنهاء الإرهاب.

..سوتشي تطرح تسوية سياسية.. والدولة حاضرة وتدعو إلى تبادل المعتقلين والدولة حاضرة، لكن المعارضة لا تمسك بقرار داعش والنصرة.. وهي بالتالي عاجزة عن إطلاق سراح الأسرى المنتمين إلى الدولة.

سياسياً.. تمثل المعارضة ثلاثة أطرافها: تجسّد أولاً مصالح تركيا وللحديث صلة، والسعودية التي لا أحد يعرف شروطها، كما تمثل رغبة أعضاء المعارضة بتسويات تشمل أوضاعهم.. والبعض منهم يحلم بدور سياسي مقبل ومنهم الناطق باسم الهيئة العليا نصر الحريري.

هذا هو الجانب الظاهري من مؤتمر سوتشي، أما العميق فيعكس ثلاثة طموحات: الأول أميركي ويريد من الروس إنهاء الدور الإيراني في سورية واستتباعاً في المشرق العربي.. مع إنشاء كانتون للكرد في شرق الفرات، والموافقة بعدم التعرض لقاعدة «تنف» جديدة تحاول واشنطن تأسيسها في الجهة العراقية المقابلة من الحدود، وذلك لمنع فتح الحدود العراقية ـ السورية.. يذكر أنّ قمة هلسنكي التي أفضت إلى ثنائية في إنتاج القرار الدولي لم تؤدِ إلى وعد روسي بإزاحة الدور الإيراني من سورية.. ولم تفض أيضاً إلى التزام روسي بالتعرض للدور الإيراني في المشرق العربي. لذلك جاء الاعتراف الأميركي حصرياً بصعود الدور الروسي عالمياً، وفي سورية بشكل محوري، أما الدولة الثانية التي تحاول عرقلة سوتشي فهي السعودية المصرّة ليس فقط على تعطيل النفوذ الإيراني بل على سحق إيران دولة وتاريخاً وشعباً وجمهورية إسلامية.. إلا أنّ الإمكانات السعودية متواضعة قياساً بطموحاتها، تكاد تحتجب عن الأزمة السورية، والعراق.. ووضعها في لبنان بات ضعيفاً، وما تبقى لها هو اعلام سعودي لا يزال يروّج بإن أزمات المنطقة لا تزال في بداياتها. ويدعو إلى ناتو عربي معادٍ لإيران قد يضم أيضاً «إسرائيل» برعاية أميركية متكاملة.

أما البلد الثالث فهو «إسرائيل» التي تعتقد أنّ فرصتها أصبحت ملائمة لإخراج إيران وحزب الله من سورية، وذلك بإطلاق ذرائع لا تمرُّ على اللبيب، فإيران قادرة على إصابة تل أبيب بالصواريخ من طهران، وليس فقط من مسافة مئة كيلومتر من حدود الجولان السوري المحتل.

لذلك فذرائعها مكشوفة وتتعلق بمحاولات جر الدولة السورية إلى توقيع صلح معها وتفخيخ علاقة حزب الله بواشنطن وحلفائها في المنطقة العربية عموماً ولبنان خصوصاً.

هذا عن القوى المعرقلة الموجودة خارج مؤتمر سوتشي. فماذا عن القوى التي تضمنهُ؟

لجهة إيران، فالجميع يعرف أنها لا تريد غازاً أو نفطاً ولا تطمح إلى أدوار اقتصادية في سورية بقدر اهتمامها بالناحية الايديولوجية، وهي متوفرة، بجبهة الممانعة التي لا تنفك تصعد في أفق العلاقات الجهادية والسياسية في الشرق الأوسط. فعندما نراقب مدى الاهتمام الأوروبي والأميركي والإسرائيلي بحزب الله، ندرك مدى الخطورة التي أصبح هذا الحزب يشكلها على النفوذ الأميركي والكيان اليهودي الغاصب، وبعض الأنظمة الخليجية المستعدّة لبذل ما تيسّر لديها من قدرات اقتصادية للقضاء على حزب الله. والأسباب واضحة.. النفوذ الأميركي ـ الكياني الإسرائيلي، القضية الفلسطينية والأنظمة القرون أوسطية تصاب بها، من نموذج إيران حزب الله، فتحاول شراء مجلس الأمن وما تيسّر من دول لتعزيز دفاعاتها في وجه حركات التغيير.

لجهة روسيا، فهي ضامن قوي يمتلك التأييد الأميركي الأوروبي على مركزية دوره السوري ولا يجابه بعدائية ـ تركية ـ خليجية إسرائيلية.. فالجميع يرى في روسيا دولة متمكنة أسهمت بالانتصار في سورية إلى جانب الدولة السورية وإيران وحزب الله، وهي الوحيدة في هذا المحور، الجهة التي تريد واشنطن اتقاء شرورها، لما تمتلكه من إمكانات دولة وازنة ومقدرة تمتلك نحو 60 من ثروات العالم المعدنية والغازية في باطن أراضيها مع قوة مسلحة تضاهي مثيلتها الأميركية وقد تتفوّق عليها.

لموسكو إذاً طموح بأن تكون سورية المنصة التي تنطلق منها نحو مناطق النفوذ السوفياتي السابق.. لكن ليس بأسلوب ماركسي لم يكن يأبه للطموح الاقتصادي ويعمل على التقارب الأيديولوجي. لذلك تضع روسيا ثقلها في مؤتمر سوتشي لإنتاج معادلة سياسية تعيد بناء سورية وتؤمن لها الانطلاق نحو الشرق الأوسط.

أما العقدة الحقيقية فموجودة في الدور التركي الداعم لمعارضات الهيئة العليا.. والضامن للمؤتمر في آن.. وهما نقيضان كاملان. كما أنّ أنقرة هي التي أعادت تجميع الإرهاب في إدلب بعشرات الآلاف، وتحاول منع الجيش السوري من اجتياح هذه المنطقة لأنها تعرف أنّ دور المناطق التي تسيطر عليها في شمال سورية لا بد أنّ يلي عملية تحرير إدلب.

سوتشي إلى أين؟

الكلام الأصلي مرجأ إلى ما بعد تحرير إدلب. وعندها يباشر سوتشي إعطاء نتائج فعلية لن تستطيع تركيا والسعودية وواشنطن وقفها في مسيرة إعادة بناء سورية وحماية المشرق العربي.