Syria: The Axis Of Resistance Must Do More
The first propaganda wave to get U.S. citizen support for regime change in Syria was based on the usual nonsense of "democracy" and "freedom". It took too long because domestic support for the Syrian government was much bigger than anticipated and the Syrian state would not fold. After a while real news reports about the Syrian opposition leaked out and it became obvious that the Syrian government was fighting a bunch of criminals and Jihadis. The U.S. military and U.S. citizens balked against fighting on those folks' side.A new campaign was needed and the false-flag "chemical weapon" attack in a Damascus suburb was created to launch it. That campaign failed too. First in the British parliament and then in the U.S. congress. The plan was too obvious and the claim of evidence soon tuned out to be empty. Obama had driven himself into a corner. His credibility was at stake and he would probably have launched an open war on Syria even without congressional support.
Putin came to his rescue, Obama blinked and the campaign folded.
A third campaign is now being build, this time over the Syrian-Russian offer to get rid of Syria's chemical weapons. Obama and some Senators are trying to build a new regime change base by declaring any purported delay of hick-up Syria's voluntary disarmament a casus belli.
This campaign is likely to also fail. Russia and China will not agree to any UN resolution that opens even the smallest possibility to be abused for a case against Syria.
But all that does not save Syria. The U.S. led Saudi/Turkish/Israeli support for the insurgency with weapons, ammunition and training continues. It has to be stopped or Syria will be destroyed. The main logistic paths for the insurgency are the southern Turkish border and Jordan.
What has the resistance axis done to close those routes down? Yes, Hizbullah helped to shut down the Lebanese route. But where are the incentives for Jordan and Turkey to stop their support? Where is the pressure that makes them do so? What has been done to induce the insurgent's financiers to stop the money flow?
Russia can for now hold back the United States. But the task of closing the support areas for the Jihadis and to go after their supporters falls to the regional forces.
Come on folks. You already had two years time. Now get this done.
Posted by b on September 11, 2013 at 15:56 UTC | Permalink
next page »After 12 years of a concerted beltway campaign to establish via Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya that American public opinion doesn't matter when it comes to matters of war and peace, suddenly they are dismayed to learn that it does. All this to expunge the ghosts of Vietnam, which was "lost" due to public opinion.
But the warmongers have not absorbed the lesson. All they have learned is that BO is a lousy communicator (which they should have known after his virtually non-existent campaign to enact healthcare legislation).
If Obama doesn't get impeached for incompetence, then I suspect that the warmongers will put most of their efforts into electing a real leader in 2016. Enough with leading from behind. Then we will see the real wrath of the empire.
Posted by: JohnH | Sep 11 2013 16:38 utc | 2
I think that Syrian army should be made more well armed than its neighbours (including Turkey). I am thinking if a proper number of *modern* fighter jets, capable of fighting against the Israeli Air Force, and capable of precision bombing, together with modern aircrafts for close air support, tanks and a meaningful air defence system -such as S300- are provided to Syria (by the Russians of course); in short if SAA becomes powerful enough to make its neighbours take it seriously and think twice before violating its sovereignty through a multitude of terrorist training camps along the Syrian borders, then there is a chance that the brazen terrorist training and arms flow through Jordan and Turkey will perhaps diminish. Up to now they have always been confident that they can do whatever the hell they want with impunity, and the worst thing which can happen to them is the loss of life of their mercenaries and a waste of Saudi money. This should change and they should feel that their own stability and peace is in serious danger.
Posted by: Pirouz_2 | Sep 11 2013 17:25 utc | 4
Elizabeth O'Bagy | Institute for the Study of War:
Elizabeth O'Bagy The Institute for the Study of War has learned and confirmed that, contrary to her representations, Ms. Elizabeth O'Bagy does not in fact have a Ph.D. degree from Georgetown University. ISW has accordingly terminated Ms. O'Bagy's employment, effective immediately.
O'Bagy being the liar that the liars Kerry and McCain cited in support of their lies.
Dubhaltach
Posted by: Dubhaltach | Sep 11 2013 17:38 utc | 5
If the USA does not demand that Turkey close its borders, the only other alternative would be Russian, Chinese and Iranian troops on the Syrian side.
Posted by: Hilmihakim | Sep 11 2013 17:54 utc | 7
Russian President Vladimir Putin will offer to supply Iran S-300 air defence missile systems as well as build a second reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.Putin will renew an old offer to supply Iran with five of the sophisticated ground-to-air missile systems at a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on Friday, Kommersant said, quoting a souce close to the Kremlin
Posted by: JSorrentine | Sep 11 2013 18:08 utc | 9
Or to put it that way. Turkey and Jordan are just puppets in the game. The sponsors are the Saudi Medieval Kingdom, US and the colony in Palestine. And those three can't be really pressured by Syria, Iran or Russia other than with WW3. They reap all the benefits from the conflict to go on and arming the Takfiris to fight for them in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, eventually back in Iran (Balochistan and the Arab oil region in the East) with zero cost. Other than money and they have plenty of money.
It's a proven system, has worked before multiple times in multiple regions. They will make it work again.
That's what Hezbollah, Iran and Syria have to confront. Jordan is nothing but a pure puppet. Turkey is on an Islamic Messianic drive and in any case it will not be able to control the borders at some point (they couldn't control them when they were fighting the kurds) and even if the 'secular' generals return they will be still beholden to the US and do little.
Posted by: ThePaper | Sep 11 2013 18:13 utc | 10
@Pirouz_2 - more arms may not help Syria. What I am asking for are operations on Turkish and Jordan grounds. Operations designed to incite their populations against the cruel games their governments play with Syria. There is already some unrest over these within the Turkish and Jordan population. That can be used.
@11
Yeah, I don't know who these sources are...the nuclear reactor part also seems a bit provocative.
Posted by: JSorrentine | Sep 11 2013 18:30 utc | 13
@JSorrentine
Putin will renew an old offeras if it were the Iranians that refused it in the past
Posted by: claudio | Sep 11 2013 18:35 utc | 14
JSorrentine
S-300 to Iran? Rumour, in fact there are russians laws specifically keeping russia from selling S-300 to Iran.
Somebody
what happens on friday?
Posted by: Anonymous | Sep 11 2013 18:38 utc | 15
B, I like your idea for Saudi Arabia especially. But I can just see Erdogan blaming Syria if the same tactics were used in Turkey
Posted by: Hilmihakim | Sep 11 2013 18:41 utc | 16
Here's a July 24th RT story confirming that Putin will/could talk about S300 and Bushehr. Again, it's rumor but it was out there. Funny that it wasn't really highlighted as far as I can remember back then.
Posted by: JSorrentine | Sep 11 2013 18:45 utc | 17
Human Rights Watch released a report this week that got lost in the news following Kerry's faux pas in London. It makes the argument that the Syrian government is to blame for the chemical attack in Ghouta based on the type of rockets that were used. It is still a circumstantial case based on the assertion that the rebels have never been seen to use 330mm and 140 mm rockets while the SAA has.
A question I have is didn't the initial reporting following the August 21 attack say that the rockets used were low tech?
Posted by: Mike Maloney | Sep 11 2013 18:45 utc | 18
The S-300
It's like "The Second Coming of Christ"
Long awaited, much anticipated, many false alarms .. . . . . Never seems to arrive though.
Posted by: hmm | Sep 11 2013 18:47 utc | 19
@ThePaper #10
That last part:
That's what Hezbollah, Iran and Syria have to confront. Jordan is nothing but a pure puppet. Turkey is on an Islamic Messianic drive and in any case it will not be able to control the borders at some point (they couldn't control them when they were fighting the kurds) and even if the 'secular' generals return they will be still beholden to the US and do little.
Do you mean that Turkey doesn't control it's territory and the official bordercrossings? Or are you referring to the Kurds crossing into Turkey?
If it's the first then there is plenty evidence that Turkey is facilitating al Nusra/FSA to cross into Syria and treating the wounded (the latter is also done by Israel).
Posted by: Gehenna | Sep 11 2013 18:52 utc | 20
Mike Maloney
HRW Kenneth Roth interviwed on RT shows HRW bias.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooRICVYWHyQ
Posted by: Anonymous | Sep 11 2013 18:56 utc | 21
b
what are you proposing?
it seems that options are limited for Syria itself, any aggression against Jordan or Turkey will be used against them.
Hizbullah is unlikely to be able to carry out anything more than a limited action in either Jordan/Turkey, even if they were inclined to do so - which I doubt.
This leaves the Palestinians (the ones allied with Syria), who are hoplessly divided and probably compromised in any case. And the Iranians would not be able to project any power outside their immediate vicinity.
The only country able to significantly shift the balance in Syria at this point is Iraq, which could send more forces (unofficially of course - all the major parties have militia's). And I won't even go into the risks for Iraq's future should it even consider such a move.
The Kurds (Barzani) probably still thinks he can play the Turks, but should the PKK/Turkish talks fail, Barzani would probably be forced to send help to the YPG (PKK) in Syria, which could open an opportunity for an alliance with the Central Government in Baghdad to support a PKK/Syria drive to push the Alqaeda elements out of northern Syrian and back into Turkey (in exchange for some increased autonomy or special relationship with The Kurdish region of Iraq.
Posted by: oab | Sep 11 2013 18:59 utc | 22
@ 18
HRW is a Western backed intelligence/advocacy front group whose purpose is to 1) promote the US/Zionist line and stir up shit in countries that don't comply w/ #1.
At their website right now when I try to read their propagandistic nonsense about Syria which goes all the way back to 2011 a popup appears with the pictured of a bloodied - I'm guessing gay man - with the message "Tell the Olympics To Stand Up to Russia's Hate Laws ". Hmm, maybe the O-man should tell them to tone it down now that Putin saved his ass, huh? Clicking through that one then gets to a the litany of nonsense propaganda that HRW has pushed since the beginning of the Syria uprising.
Posted by: JSorrentine | Sep 11 2013 19:11 utc | 23
I mean the Kurdish militias operating as they want in the Turkish border for decades. All those Jihadist now playing war between Turkey, Syria and Iraq will be still able to move around and receive weapons and reinforcements through the Turkish frontier. Plenty of security agencies and buyable helpers all around even after the Turkish government finish official backing. With a foothold and other countries support (Saudi, US) the Jihadists will become hard to erradicate.
The talks with the PKK are dead already.
Posted by: ThePaper | Sep 11 2013 19:13 utc | 24
@oab #22
"The Kurds (Barzani) probably still thinks he can play the Turks, but should the PKK/Turkish talks fail, Barzani would probably be forced to send help to the YPG (PKK) in Syria, which could open an opportunity for an alliance with the Central Government in Baghdad to support a PKK/Syria drive to push the Alqaeda elements out of northern Syrian and back into Turkey (in exchange for some increased autonomy or special relationship with The Kurdish region of Iraq."
This indeed seems the only viable option. Now that the PKK has stopped withdrawing from Turkey, the peacetalks are at a standstill. Turkey's darling al Nusra attack on the YPG also does not further things so your above analysis seems to me something we will see in the near future If Erdogan continues to neglect the kurdish issue.
Posted by: Gehenna | Sep 11 2013 19:15 utc | 25
18) Well rebels had for example these missiles from Saudi Arabia delivered in August plus rocket launchers
What the Human Rights Watch report claims makes no military sense whatsoever
- early morning
- people in bed, no one in the street
- lots of kids and women "gassed" but no other injuries
- no military advance, no buildings hit, just a few rockets per district
Sarin dilutes quickly in air. To get the described effect people would have to be present at the exact moment.
You do not necessarily die from Sarin. Actually in open air - where the rockets are supposed to have fallen - it would be difficult. Look up the attack on the Tokyo underground 13 died from that.
Plus: Human Rights Watch has no one on the ground in Ghouta. It is "activists said via skype"
Posted by: somebody | Sep 11 2013 19:20 utc | 26
Answer to 'b' :
It would be stupid from the US to build a case for war Syria, if the rebels had any chance of winning or even keeping their positions at the time the US started the build up , and it would be even more stupid from the Syrians to concede their chemical weapons, if they were not sure to close the gates of Jordan and Turkey all by themselves, without any external help.
First , the kurds are closing the northern front and are creating a problem , now inside Turkey. Second, the Operation 'Capital Shield' that the SAA initiated in the midst of August and that triggered the ire of the US , was going to close the jordan border. And this is precisely what we should be expecting from the Syrians to do now that the US menace has been stopped at least for a moment.
Posted by: Nabil | Sep 11 2013 19:23 utc | 27
I've been saying the same thing for years. The obvious pressure points have been mentioned but for whatever reason they have not been used.
The only other thing I can think of is an old school war of spooks in which Saudi midlevel operatives who supply the terrorists are targeted. Iran should be able to do this. Russia hopefully will be kind enough to share its sigint. I think that would change the calculus and at the very least will hurt the supply chain.
Posted by: Lysander | Sep 11 2013 19:27 utc | 28
JSorrentine
“Here's a July 24th RT story confirming that Putin will/could talk about S300 and Bushehr.”
It appears to be a 'jab' promoted by Dumma. You have to wonder, this whole issue 'may not' necessary be just a gaff by Kerry, rather it 'could' be considered a moment where US unilateralism is coming to its end. However, there are those within US side who will continue to thru rocks and stone and not accept that reality. This 'news' of the s300 is likely a message to that crowd, Shut the F***up or we will escalate too. To put it in mild language.
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.co.uk/
Posted by: Rd. | Sep 11 2013 19:35 utc | 29
To help the discussion on this subject, here's a map: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22798391
Posted by: Gregg | Sep 11 2013 19:35 utc | 30
Russia and China should start flying in a 100,000 little old lady tourists a month to walk and see the incredible historic Syrian, Turk and Jordanian borderlands. If so much as one hat feather gets ruffled by the foreign 'jihadis' all bets are off.
Posted by: Eureka Springs | Sep 11 2013 19:38 utc | 31
@29
From your link:
"MP Vladimir Simagin addressed Pushkov, noting that the current situation was very much like the one in 1933, when the Nazis set fire to the Reichstag and put the blame on others."
The only thing I would say to MP Simagin is that his comments are 12 years to the day too late.
Posted by: JSorrentine | Sep 11 2013 19:39 utc | 32
30
"Mapping territorial possession is made more difficult by the tactics employed by the various rebel groups.
They operate as highly mobile guerrilla forces, and when threatened by government troops will not defend territory but rather tactically withdraw with the aim of preventing losses."
This will take some time.
Posted by: somebody | Sep 11 2013 19:56 utc | 33
34) sure, some players are interested in a prolonged conflict.
Turkey is not, Jordan is not. They are blackmailed into this.
Posted by: somebody | Sep 11 2013 20:17 utc | 35
Some quick notes on the HRW report regarding the claimed Zamalka rockets
The report contains no new evidence. The new photographic evidence has already been released through the Brown Moses blog. All else in the report is "Activists say".
The report follows the line of thinking by Brown Moses, who claims to have identified the chemical weapons delivery system; a rocket he calls Unidentified Munition Linked To Alleged Chemical Attacks or UMLACA. The devise has however been shown to be a variant of the US design for the Surface-Launched Unit, Fuel-Air Explosive (SLUFAE) rocket system. Both systems carry a thermobaric or Fuel-Air Explosive warhead. Brown Moses and HRW dismiss the possibility that the rockets were thermobaric – almost to the point of being fraudulent.
The rocket type is discussed on our pages here: SAA thermobaric bunker busters.
In theory it would be possible for someone fill up a thermobaric warhead with a chemical agent, but there would be little point in this – apart from igniting World War III.
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Sep 11 2013 20:24 utc | 36
Actually Russia and Iran can presumably blackmail the US. I guess they are doing just that.
Posted by: somebody | Sep 11 2013 20:25 utc | 38
Relying on Brown Moses to remain truthful seems to me to be a fairly sure losing bet
Posted by: hmm | Sep 11 2013 20:26 utc | 39
Problem is that your guesses generally have a habit of being about as useful as a bag of 2nd-hand toilet paper
Posted by: hmm | Sep 11 2013 20:29 utc | 40
@b,
This is what I have been saying for the last 2 years and a half.Remember the beginning march 2011when the syrian gov discovered arms cache in the Omari mosque in Der'aa?From inception it was clear that the jordanian were redoing a redux Of Iraq 2003(I lived many years in Jordan and learned first hand how they operate)in a new g4 style.Same for Turkey ,Qatar and the most dangerous aberration on earth with Zion the Saudis.It is incomprehensible that Iran or even Syria in the beginning at least let them go this path.I came to the conclusion that it was part of the deal with Russia and China to not destabilize these criminals.Regarding Saudi and Qatar I think there must have been a chinese veto because of oil and for the other two I can imagine another russian rational:Jordan because of Zion and Turkey for the very complex pipeline game unfolding in the Mediterranean.However that doesn't explain why Bandar has still a free hand especially after his not so subtle threat to Putin and Hakan Fidan (the turk that lead the secret service )is still around.Another to be eliminated is Bandar half brother Salman bin Sultan who is sitting in Jordan and coordinating heart and liver eaters training and logistics.
Posted by: Nobody | Sep 11 2013 20:59 utc | 42
I have read that Assad has supplied weapons to his people, even those who do not like him, so as to fight back against the rebels. Gutsy move?
Posted by: therevolutionwas | Sep 11 2013 21:49 utc | 44
Posted by: Mike Maloney | Sep 11, 2013 2:45:49 PM | 18
Baloney Mike Maloney: russian satellite photos reported have told us the source was the insurgents
Posted by: brian | Sep 11 2013 21:59 utc | 45
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Sep 11, 2013 4:24:32 PM | 36
if you look at Brown moses blog you will see he is pro-insurgency...
Posted by: brian | Sep 11 2013 22:00 utc | 46
Really had a good laugh at former ISW spook Elizabeth O'Bagy getting canned.
Posted by: revenire | Sep 11 2013 22:10 utc | 47
Bodansky: New granular evidence points to Saudi role in chemical weapons attack
Special to WorldTribune.com
By Yossef Bodansky, Senior Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs
Recent findings point increasingly toward the conclusion that the chemical weapons attack in Syria was indeed a self-inflicted attack by the Syrian opposition in order to provoke a U.S. and Western military intervention against the Ba’athist government of President Bashar Assad.
Ultimately, it will take the detailed chemical analysis by the UN of the agents used to provide the guidelines as to who’s the guilty party.
Free Syrian Army fighters escort U.N. vehicles with chemical weapons inspectors on Aug. 28 through a site of a suspected chemical weapons attack outside Damascus. /Reuters
The paucity of revealed facts highlights the reality that little is really known about the actual attack. There is still no agreed upon number of fatalities, with unverified claims ranging from the U.S. assertion of 1,429 fatalities to the French assertion that only 281 were killed. In other words, the French Intelligence number is about 20 percent that of the U.S. assertion. Most Syrian opposition sources now put the number of fatalities at between 335 and 355, as does the non-governmental organization, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). This is about 25 percent of the U.S. number. Either way, this is too huge a gap not to be explained and substantiated.
It is still not clear what type of agent killed the victims.etc
http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/09/09/new-granular-evidence-points-to-saudi-involvement-in-syrias-chemical-weapons-terror-attack/
Posted by: brian | Sep 11 2013 22:29 utc | 48
Regarding the HRW report, the section entitled "Identification of the Nerve Agent Used in the Attacks" is ludicrous.
It lists the symptoms that are seen on the videos but neglects to note that there is one symptom of Sarin gas exposure that is conspicuously *missing* i.e. uncontrolled vomiting, urination and defecation.
None of the videos show any signs of vomiting, urination or defecation.
Not amongst the dead. Not anywhere amongst the sick.
Not on the floor. Not on clothing.
Nowhere. Not once. Not ever.
But even more risible is the straw man that HRW erects.
It suggests (and fair enough to, as far as it goes) that the most likely agent is a nerve agent i.e. an organophosphate.
It then mentions "This class of chemicals includes the less toxic common pesticide Malathion," before immediately leaping to a false dichotomy i.e. if it isn't Malathion then IT MUST BE SARIN.
It then knocks down the straw man of Malathion, allowing it to conclude that since it isn't Malathion then IT MUST BE SARIN.
Helllllllooooooooooooo.
HRW has acknowledged that organophosphates comprise an entire *class* of chemicals, of which Malathion and Sarin are simply the two extremes with respect to toxicity.
There are many, many more, and any one of those is also a potential suspect.
Q: So, is there any other organophosphate worth considering?
A: Yes. Diisopropyl fluorophosphate.
Q: Why that one, in particular?
A: Well, apart from the fact that its symptoms *do* match those in the videos, and the fact that it *is* very toxic, there is the little matter that the Russians claim to have detected diisopropyl fluorophosphate in samples taken around Allepo in March.
Q: So why didn't HRW also consider diisopropyl fluorophosphate?
A: Rank incompetence, I suppose. And that's being charitable.
Posted by: Johnboy | Sep 11 2013 22:35 utc | 50
She's obviously reading from a prompt, but hey, so does Obomber... hurry kids, we can Kickstart World War III!
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Sep 11 2013 23:37 utc | 51
b, maybe the point of view of Syria, Hezbollah, Iran and even Russia is that they are still too weak to start a wider counter-offensive in the region
what you are suggesting is quite perilous; provocations against Turkey might receive a military response that would usher the ME in that kind of escalation the Us military is presently trying to avoid; provocations against KSA could backfire, since KSA is the supporter of Egyptian military rule, a very important potential ally; attacks in Jordan are dangerous because it swarms with spies, special ops, militias, Cia and Mossad operatives, etc;
Iran seems to be playing a delicate diplomatic game, probing the Muslim Brotherhood and engaging Turkey on many levels (and let's not forget that it was Turkey that attempted to avoid sanctions against Iran proposing to take care, with Brasil, of its spent nuclear fuel)
they are acting as if time was on their side, which might well be true; the supply of jihadists isn't infinite, I wrote some time ago; in time a broad anti-sectarian coalition might take shape, sponsored by Iran and Egypt, which would bring great domestic political pressure on Turkey and Jordan
there is also a political problem in the Syrian crisis, because the jidahists' strength lies in the domestic support it continues to find in significant parts of Syria (the analysis of rebel casualties in syrianperspective blog is telling), which means Assad still hasn't offered a sufficiently inclusive and convincing prospect
besides, maybe Hezbollah and Iran simply don't have the means to carry out the kind of operations you advocate, which btw require very costly networks;
Posted by: claudio | Sep 11 2013 23:55 utc | 52
The Angry Arab takes down Human Rights Watch:
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2013/09/human-rights-watch-is-almmost-pregnant.html
Posted by: JohnH | Sep 12 2013 0:02 utc | 53
Posted by: Johnboy | Sep 11, 2013 6:35:48 PM | 50
another symptom missing for the videos is death! the people tending the children arent dying: as they most certainly would if it WERE sarin: US knows all about Sarin and its effects:
CNN withdraws report on US use of nerve gas in Vietnam War
By Editorial Board
3 July 1998
The decision by CNN to retract its investigative report on the use of nerve gas by American special forces during the Vietnam War raises more questions than it answers. The program, "Valley of Death," broadcast June 7, charged that the Studies and Operations Group (SOG), an army commando unit, used deadly sarin gas during a mission in September 1970 aimed at killing defectors from the US military who had fled into Laos.
Heads have already rolled at the network, with a vice-president resigning and two producers fired for their role in the broadcast. CNN correspondent Peter Arnett, arguably the only well-known television journalist with a deserved reputation as a serious and courageous reporter, has been reprimanded. Yet there is no question that Arnett and April Oliver, the senior producer for the program, assembled a mass of testimony to back up their report.
The CNN broadcast provoked a furious response from the Pentagon, which denounced it and denied, without providing substantiation, that Operation Tailwind involved the use of nerve gas or an attempt to eliminate American soldiers who had defected. This public attack was accompanied by a well-organized campaign by right-wing groups and publications to discredit the CNN program. Considering the fact that many prominent political and military figures responsible for US policy in Southeast Asia at the time are still alive, it is likely that pressure was brought to bear from these quarters as well.
In response to these attacks, CNN issed a statement that it had begun an investigation into its June 7 broadcast. On Thursday it made public a lengthy analysis of how it researched the story, prepared by attorney Floyd Abrams. This report found no evidence that any of the material presented in the CNN exposé was falsified or doctored. Rather it concluded the opposite, stating that the reporters had assembled considerable evidence.
Abrams writes: "The broadcast was prepared after exhaustive research, was rooted in considerable supportive data, and reflected the deeply held beliefs of the CNN journalists who prepared it ... we do not believe it can reasonably be suggested that any of the information on which the broadcast was based was fabricated or nonexistent." Why then the abject apologies to the Pentagon and the participants in Operation Tailwind?
Abrams admits that most witnesses interviewed for the program agreed that they had been quoted accurately: "Contemporaneous notes made by the principal producer, April Oliver, are not only consistent with typed notes that she prepared immediately after her interviews, but in almost all cases with the later recollections of the individuals interviewed."
The source material for the program was brought together in a briefing book for senior CNN executives which ran to 150 pages. The witnesses included Admiral Thomas Moorer, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of Operation Tailwind, three high-level intelligence sources who confirmed the basic story but would not allow their names to be used, and nearly a dozen participants, including the second-in-command, Robert Van Buskirk.
Nevertheless, Abrams argues in his report that the producers were negligent in not including the accounts of other Tailwind participants who disputed the claim that nerve gas was used, and in not reporting information that might discredit Van Buskirk as a witness, such as a history of nervous disorders and his claim to having suffered repressed memory syndrome. On this basis, he concludes that the program should not have been broadcast.
etc
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1998/07/cnn-j03.h
Posted by: brian | Sep 12 2013 0:06 utc | 54
@36 Excuse my ignorance of such things, but if those rockets carried a thermobaric warhead then wouldn't the ignition of that Fuel-Air mixture also pulverise the rocket that was carrying it?
I don't know what those rockets are, or what they were carrying, but one thing I can say is that they don't look particularly pulverized.
Indeed, the only damage they seem to have suffered is consistent with a long, hollow shaft smacking into hard earth.
I'm not saying your wrong, nor am I saying that Brown Moses is right: I'm simply asking how you can account for the rockets being substantially intact.
Posted by: Johnboy | Sep 12 2013 1:29 utc | 55
While remembering the original 9/11 Telesur has also been reporting live from Maaloula, after following the army into the town. Al-Nusra conquest of the town made hesdlines in all msm for the last couple of days. I don't expect to see the same sort of coverage now, SAA victories aren't worth reporting for the presstitutes.
Posted by: estouxim | Sep 12 2013 1:41 utc | 56
"The U.S. led Saudi/Turkish/Israeli support for the insurgency with weapons, ammunition and training continues. It has to be stopped or Syria will be destroyed."
These three have different goals that unite them in this depraved cause.
The Saudis want to annex Syria to their Kingdom.
The Turks are the most naive. They want regime change in their image and likeness, instead it will look like bloody chaos and herding rabid cats and the Turks also want to get the refugees out of Turkey and back in Syria asap.
The Israelis want everyone involved to kill each other and the country destroyed. Then when Syria becomes a failed state overridden with Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra and Salafists; they're counting on the U.S. to take over like in Afghanistan, kill all these guys with drones and Zionists will live happily ever after, while everyone forgets about the Palestinians for another decade. The other scenario the Israelis dream of is another false flag that drags the U.S. in again to bomb Syria and involve Hezbollah and Iran, so Israel can drop a nuke on them...or have the U.S. raze everything and take over the hard part of nation "building" throwing a trillion probably more down the Zionist rabbit hole. Little do Zionists know that this time the "rebels" will make Israelis the target of the false flag, because one thing's for sure - if a chemical attack were launched against Israelm Congress would okay WWIII yesterday despite what Americans want -- because in Congress "Israel First" rules the day.
None of the above parties, including the U.S. cares squat about Syria and Syrians. All the above parties have their selfish agenda and the Syrians be damned!
Syria is much more complex than Iraq ever was. Syria's political history is complex with dozens of coups. Assad was able to herd the cats. Syrians need to take a step back and take a look at Iraq, Libya and Egypt and all the misery this civil war is causing. Things are pretty bad in "revolutionized" neighboring countries and they would be much worse in "revolutionized" Syria.
What needs to happen is Syrians of all stripes need to sit down at the table with Assad and hammer out REALISTIC compromises, and all foreigners Chechans, Libyans, Saudis etc. need to get the hell OUT especially the four above (U.S. Israel, Saudi, Turkey) parties and their operatives, terrorists and whatever interlopers they have fueling this conflict-OUT OF SYRIA!
Posted by: kalithea | Sep 12 2013 2:18 utc | 57
Oh, and given the depraved agendas of this Axis, it should really be referred to as the Evil Axis of Resistance.
Posted by: kalithea | Sep 12 2013 2:26 utc | 58
How fun to watch the US and Israelis talk about how good of a deal this is.
They'd eat a plate of shit and tell you it was pumpkin pie if it meant them keeping their their airs of western respectability up.
Hahahhaa...
Posted by: guest77 | Sep 12 2013 2:42 utc | 59
Chompsky on Syria, 2 parts:
http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/viewvideo/76831
http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/viewvideo/76830
Posted by: ben | Sep 12 2013 2:47 utc | 60
The protestors in Istanbul and around Turkey need a way to show their solidarity with the victims of Erdogan's terror war.
Perhaps the fact that some refugees from the war in Syria have been preferring Istanbul parks to the Turkish government run refugee camps can open an important avenue in that regard.
It is sad that Erdogan's government cannot even create safe havens - as required by international agreements and basic human decency - for the victims of the useless war it is intent on stoking.
Posted by: guest77 | Sep 12 2013 3:16 utc | 61
@58 Yep. The most accomplished politicians are the ones who know what to do when a shit sandwich in places in front of 'em.
Never, ever, ever turn up your nose.
Never chuck a wobbly or stamp your feet.
Put a big grin on your face, hoe into that shit sandwich, and declare that the reason why it tastes oh-so-very delicious is that it was cooked to your very own secret recipe.
Posted by: Johnboy | Sep 12 2013 4:18 utc | 62
41) Frankly, I do not think Israel has any power of blackmail in this situation. They would very much like Iran getting eliminated far away from their borders. They do not like the military build up of Iranian allies with the help of Russia next door.
Posted by: somebody | Sep 12 2013 4:34 utc | 63
Why do you keep referring to the chemical attacks as a false flag operation? German intelligence suggests it was not ordered by Assad but still mostly likely carried out by his army. If I had to bet, I'd go with that but who knows? Maybe you're right. More likely you are wrong. But that's not the point. The issue is that you talk about a "false flag operation" with certainty, when in fact you don't know any more than the rest of us. You present speculation as fact.
You can dismiss me as a concern troll, but your cavalier attitude toward evidence does not serve you well.
Posted by: bobs | Sep 12 2013 4:36 utc | 64
@22 oab, you said... This leaves the Palestinians (the ones allied with Syria), who are hoplessly divided and probably compromised in any case.
Did you get the memo where Hamas came out in support of the Rebels...? And, it most certainly pissed off the Persians... Iran Slashing Hamas Funding
Hamas's support for Syrian rebels may cost it millions of dollars per month in Iranian aid.
*ouch*
Putin addresses the Americans directly with solid arguments.
A Plea for Caution From Russia
Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all.
....
No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.
It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”
....
My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.
Now lets not get into the argument that increasing assertive sections of the American establishment do not agree with this position.
Posted by: RT this | Sep 12 2013 4:46 utc | 66
There you go...
Russia has no plans to supply Iran with S-300 systems – Putin's press secretary
Posted by: RT this | Sep 12 2013 4:58 utc | 67
U.N. report may hint at source of Syria chemical attack
...One diplomat said there was a good chance the report would come out on Monday, while others predicted it could come any time from this coming weekend to next week.
While Sellstrom's report will not explicitly assign blame, Western diplomats said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has been highly critical of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government during the 2-1/2 year war, may choose to say whether or not he feels the facts suggest Assad's forces were responsible.
"We expect it (the report) will have a narrative of evidence," said one U.N. official. A third Western diplomat said the report will not directly accuse anyone of carrying out the attack, but it may include facts that suggest blame.
Two Western diplomats following the issue said they expected those facts would indirectly point in the direction of the Syrian government. They declined to elaborate...
*aargh*
63) German intelligence is political like all intelligence services. They want to put a spike in the works but do not want to alienate their US allies by contradicting them directly.
There is no evidence. Assad is right in saying that Kerry has presented his conviction but not any evidence. What is assumed is circumstantial: "The rebels would not have had the means" ...
I am sure the Syrian army uses "chemical weapons" as in "tear gas with something more potent mixed in". It simply makes military sense. Turkey uses similar, possibly less potent stuff, against peaceful protesters.
It is documented that chemicals were found with rebels. Russia put in great effort to document an attack in Aleppo which they claim was done by rebels in May.
What is supposed to have happened on August 21 does not make any military sense. The hole story does not make sense.
Posted by: somebody | Sep 12 2013 5:23 utc | 69
67) I also very much doubt, Syrian commanders would phone up the palace "Can we use chemical weapons, please" and be told "no, no way".
Army just does not work that way.
Posted by: somebody | Sep 12 2013 5:25 utc | 70
@ 66, Like they do with the Iran IAEA reports, they try to spin ordinary findings as something very damning. They are just starting the spin early. In the meantime, take heart that
U.S. military confirms rebels had sarinHowever, in a classified document just obtained by WND, the U.S. military confirms that sarin was confiscated earlier this year from members of the Jabhat al-Nusra Front, the most influential of the rebel Islamists fighting in Syria.
The document says sarin from al-Qaida in Iraq made its way into Turkey and that while some was seized, more could have been used in an attack last March on civilians and Syrian military soldiers in Aleppo.
The document, classified Secret/Noforn – “Not for foreign distribution” – came from the U.S. intelligence community’s National Ground Intelligence Center, or NGIC, and was made available to WND Tuesday.
It revealed that AQI had produced a “bench-scale” form of sarin in Iraq and then transferred it to Turkey.
Via Antiwar.com. Of course, the US can still try to spin its way into war, but not very easily. They have already convinced most of the US public and several allied governments that the gas Attack was ordered by Assad...they just didn't care.
Posted by: Lysander | Sep 12 2013 6:26 utc | 71
to the arguments in favor of caution I described in #22, I would add:
- the mass of refugees is already destabilizing Turkey and Jordan
- strategical defeat already brought down the emir of Qatar; Morsi fell in a context where his siding with jihadists played a role, indirectly, but nonetheless significantly; others may follow
Posted by: claudio | Sep 12 2013 6:35 utc | 72
@69 Lysander, take a gander at what the CIA has been reporting for years now on CBRN's...!
69) Assad may have got an "out of jail" card, so they will have to keep the case open.
The military "card" is de facto off the table.
They concentrate on a chemical weapons agreement, which will take a long time to work out, in the meantime Assad can continue to beat rebels. Everybody seems to agree he is winning.
In the end, they will have to be able to talk to him. But to remove or not the chemical weapons allegations is one of the chips played.
Posted by: somebody | Sep 12 2013 6:41 utc | 76
@70 - CTuttle, yes, Hamas' leadership is another "victim" of the decision to bet against Assad; but the movement split over that decision, which the "armed wing" inside Gaza opposed; but here too, Iran quickly resumed contacts with the repented "political wing"
Iran is weaving a diplomatic web which I hope will bear its fruits in the near future; it is very busy building bridges towards all sides of the conflict, while unequivocally supporting Assad
Posted by: claudio | Sep 12 2013 6:54 utc | 77
bobs @63 Common sense dictates that if the Assad regime was in fact rolling back the Rebels for several monthes in a row, and, it just so happens that an UN CW team just arrived in Damascus the day before, that, it would not benefit Assad in any shape or form to launch a large-scale CW attack, right...?
@66 Note the phrasing....
...."Western diplomats said"....
..."one U.N. official"...
...."A third Western diplomat said"....
...."Two Western diplomats following the issue said".....
Note that nowhere is "an American official" ever cited.
Nowhere does it say "a European official".
Always "WESTERN diplomat(s)" or (in an attempt to vary it up a bit) "one UN official".
Here's what I would suggest:
UN official = Ron Prosor
Western diplomat = an Israeli
Two Western diplomats = two Israelis
Posted by: Johnboy | Sep 12 2013 7:16 utc | 79
looks like the BBC propaganda is out that the UN report will blame the Syrian government indirectly, this according to Jeremy Bowen. Why Syria allows reporters like him free rein in the country always astonishes me. UK would never allow a Syrian reporter to report during the troubles in Northern Ireland or even during the Malvinas war.
Posted by: hans | Sep 12 2013 7:21 utc | 80
Russia has no plans to supply Iran with S-300 systems
Russia Today, Sep 12 2013
The Russian President has not given orders to complete a deal to transfer the S-300 surface-to-air defense system to Iran, the President’s spokesman said Wednesday, refuting earlier rumors that the deal had gone through. Answering the questions from reporters, Dmitry Peskov replied “no” when asked if President Putin had given such orders. Earlier, Kommersant claimed that Moscow will offer Iran S-300 missiles and help in constructing a new building in Bushehr nuclear reactor site. The Kommersant article said that the President decided to supply Iran with five battalions of S-300VM systems "Antey-2500", provided that Tehran would withdraw the claim of $4b filed in connection with the breakdown of the old contract to supply five battalions of S-300PMU-1. The Western media was quick to jump on this, reporting that indeed Russia is planning to arm Tehran. Earlier, Deputy PM Rogozin said that the supply of Russian arms to Iran can only be discussed within the framework of international law, and only if Iran withdrew its $800m lawsuit over the 2007 deal. He further reiterated that Russia is willing to work with Tehran “as part of the normal military technical cooperation, but it is imperative that this cooperation is not weighed down with all sorts of claims.” In 2010 Moscow froze a S-300 delivery contract with Iran after the UNSC imposed sanctions against Tehran. In turn, Iran sued Russia for breaching the agreement, arguing that defensive systems do not fall under sanctions. In late August, the S-300 anti-aircraft systems that Moscow planned to deliver to Iran under agreements from 2007 were completely dismantled and recycled. Iranian leader Hassan Rohani will meet with Putin during the SCO summit in Bishkek scheduled for Sep 13.
Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Sep 12 2013 8:34 utc | 82
One report in the Spanish El Pais, ignoring the pro-rebel spin, basically confirms that Jobar is almost completely in the government hands with a few pockets of jihadists slowly getting killed and no population (though the report tries to imply that it's unpopulated after the gas attack which doesn't make sense, for example the topical reference to unfinished meals and tablets set for dinner don't make sense if the attack was at 3:00 as claimed).
http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/09/11/actualidad/1378923991_856098.html>link
Posted by: ThePaper | Sep 12 2013 8:36 utc | 84
obama to arm rebels?
http://presstv.com/detail/2013/09/12/323427/us-weapons-reaching-militants-in-syria/
Johnboy
Haha amazing, good job!
Posted by: Anonymous | Sep 12 2013 9:00 utc | 85
Ctuttle
Who are those writing the report anyway? Westerners with a bias for what obama thinks? I think so.
Posted by: Anonymous | Sep 12 2013 9:24 utc | 86
bobs @63 Common sense dictates that if the Assad regime was in fact rolling back the Rebels for several monthes in a row, and, it just so happens that an UN CW team just arrived in Damascus the day before, that, it would not benefit Assad in any shape or form to launch a large-scale CW attack, right...?
Posted by: CTuttle | Sep 12, 2013 3:06:27 AM | 76
FYI its SYRIAN GOVERNMENT not the Assad Regime...the latter is the preferred MSM label as it makes Assad out as overbearing dictator
Posted by: brian | Sep 12 2013 9:36 utc | 87
@70 Hamas is reeling from supporting the Rebels, Claudio...!
Posted by: CTuttle | Sep 12, 2013 2:39:38 AM | 73
nice but they arent 'rebels' they are insurgents/terrorists/jihadis: 'rebels' has a nobel ring out of place with the cannibals and it implies a brutal government(ala 'regime')
language is used to manipulate people...beware
Posted by: brian | Sep 12 2013 9:39 utc | 88
media casually demonising President Assad :Case of Keller at NYT
September 12, 2013 at 6:01pm
Malcolm X - "The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power.
I dont advise reading the main stream media: its reports have a way of demonising those who deserve our support, and whats written down can appear to be true because its written.
So with Mugabe Chavez Castro Gadafi and now Assad: all are prejudged by the writers in the 'free press' and their views in turn fed to the public.
Consider this NYT blog article on Putins chess coup vs Obama:
http://keller.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/playing-chess-with-putin/?_r=0
Keller probably has never met Assad or been to Syria so his knowledge will derive entirely from media reports...asssuming he has any pretence towards honesty.
Kellers references to Assad in an article supposedly on Putins chess move against Obama are all negative in a self-rightously vicious way
1. 'No doubt, ridding Syria of chemical weapons would be a great blessing, not least because it would get these horrible weapons beyond the reach of Assad’s Hezbollah allies and jihadi rebels'
2. 'He has stalled and possibly ended the threat that his client thug, President Bashar al-Assad, will be struck by American missiles for gassing his own people.'
3.'He has recast Russia – whose military helped the Assad dynasty create its chemical weapons program in the first place – as the global peacemaker.'
4.'He has, incidentally, assured continued Syrian demand for Russian-made “conventional” ordnance, so that the extermination of Syrian civilians can proceed by marginally less inhumane means.'
Reading Keller people will come away with the idea that Assad is 'horrible' a thug, inhumane, engaged in extermination/. This sort of language wil inspire muslim to go on jihad to aid the syrian people
Is he just ignorant or pursing an agenda?
President Assad isnt gassing anyone, hasnt gassed anyone and has no plans to gas anyone, Keller writes as if the evidence was undeniable. When even the US regime admits it has none, and the words 'false flag' have gather around the Ghouta incident.
He is not exterminating his people: or theyd not be rallying around him:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4jZsFhjaNc
Meanwhile, US regimes have a history of gassing people esp their own at Wacko and in Laos as a 1998 CNN report revealed. and associating with some very unsavoury types:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2844.htm
His reference to Hezbollah shows an AIPA formed view where Hezbollah is equally thuggish and would use the CW to exterminate people.
What evidence is there President Assad is a 'thug' has or plans extermination of anyone? Do a milllion citizens rally around a 'thug' as they have around Assad in places like Damacus? US regimes have a history befriending aiding arming supporting real thugs from Shah of Iran to Kagame of Rwanda and the jihadis that Keller at least mentions.
This is not some momentary abberation.
Hammond takes the axe to Keller :
'As for Keller’s argument that the U.S. must go to war in Syria lest the terrorists take over, translated from doublespeak, what this means is that the U.S. must overthrow the secular government in Syria by escalating the sectarian violence by increasing its support for armed rebels whose top fighters are radical Islamists, including members of al-Qaeda.
Doesn’t sound like such a good idea when you put it that way, in the context of the actual facts, now, does it?
http://www.jeremyrhammond.com/2013/05/09/nyts-bill-kellers-propaganda-case-for-war-with-syria/
Peoples view of persons and events form around what they read casually in the media. The words become the core of the targets identity, and these views can be hard to remove. No wonder people are confused on foreign politics,.
Better not to read anything:
'The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers. ' ...
~Thomas Jefferson, letter to Nathaniel Macon
'I am unable to understand how a man of honor could take a newspaper in his hands without a shudder of disgust.' ~Charles Baudelaire
Posted by: brian | Sep 12 2013 9:40 utc | 89
Why do you keep referring to the chemical attacks as a false flag operation? German intelligence suggests it was not ordered by Assad but still mostly likely carried out by his army. If I had to bet, I'd go with that but who knows? Maybe you're right. More likely you are wrong. But that's not the point. The issue is that you talk about a "false flag operation" with certainty, when in fact you don't know any more than the rest of us. You present speculation as fact.
You can dismiss me as a concern troll, but your cavalier attitude toward evidence does not serve you well.
Posted by: bobs | Sep 12, 2013 12:36:06 AM | 63
this is the sort of thing Hasbara does well...and NO it is a false flag..why use german intel? when we have this:
1. presence of saudi inn Ghouta
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=564256003610186&set=a.298390980196691.60683.298382103530912&type=1&theater
2. locals confirm saudi presence and who provdided gas
http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/
3. insurgents have sarin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gnq8mGTSkIQ
On July 7, the Syrian army confiscated “281 barrels filled with dangerous, hazardous chemical materials” that they found at a cache belonging to rebels in the city of Banias. The chemicals included monoethylene glycol and polyethylene glycol.
Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said that the chemicals were “capable of destroying a whole city, if not the whole country.”
http://syria360.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/fsas-chemical-weapon-stash-found-by-the-syrian-army-in-damascus/
CW supplied by saudi arabia
4.
Syrian Activist: Satellite imagery proves Syrian chemical weapons used by insurgents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rXLeND1NURI
5, former UK ambassador Craig Murray and Troodos: role of Israel in attacks
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2013/08/the-troodos-conundrum/
Posted by: brian | Sep 12 2013 9:43 utc | 90
@bobs
A government with all its powers jumps to a conclusion based on youtube movies and "common sense" and the whole world braces for war on a whim. A man on a blog presents a counter argument and you suddenly you show up shouting about truth and justice?
Save it for those with the missiles you fool.
Posted by: guest77 | Sep 12 2013 11:56 utc | 91
a look at the FSA: @Mayyish: The brave FSA pic.twitter.com/BedKLD7LQo”
What #FSA usually does (in Maaloula) #Syria
this is what FUKUSaudisrael is supporting
Posted by: brian | Sep 12 2013 12:47 utc | 92
So we're now hearing "leaked" reports that the UN team found Assad responsible for the CW attack..Why did they even bother with the bogus investigations?
From all indications, it appears the so-called "report" has been written long before the investigations even begun..Pathetic!!!! The West's now devoid of any ounce of credibility. Their lies are getting too embarrassing!!!
Posted by: Zico | Sep 12 2013 13:13 utc | 93
Never mind chemical weapons and who did it. The worst crime against humanity is the one that the Evil Axis of Resistance is aiding and abetting - a campaign of terror and destruction across Syria.
The Evil Axis of Resistance cares squat for the Syrian people and their depraved agendas are justification for their tacit support of terrorism. Even after the 12th anniversary of 9/11 yesterday, and the massacres in Benghazi and the Boston Marathon, the U.S. tacitly allows Saudis to arm foreign thugs, and tacitly supports Al Qaeda and foreign extremists from Libya, Chechnya and other places including Saudi Arabia to run around Syria destroying everything in sight and slicing up Christian clergy, Kurds, Alawites and summarily executing in a brutal way Syrian soldiers.
The Evil Axis of Resistance have unleashed a reign of terror on Syria like we have rarely witnessed in modern history.
Syria has become the Roman Colosseum for the Evil Axis, the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Posted by: kalithea | Sep 12 2013 13:37 utc | 94
"So we're now hearing "leaked" reports that the UN team found Assad responsible for the CW attack..Why did they even bother with the bogus investigations?
"
iirc the UN-spokesthingy was quite clear that no information about 'expectations' or 'priminary findings' would be drip-fed before the full publication of the Final Report, so anything we see now can quite confidently be dismissed as 'probably lies'.
Any "leaks" are best treated as complete fabrications from top to bottom.
And identifiable "leakers" are best themselves treated as outright fabricators.
Posted by: hmm | Sep 12 2013 13:43 utc | 95
Pepe Escobar finally nails his 'trufer' colours to the mast in his latest article for Asia Times (dated 9/11/13, ie yesterday), and recommends this 45-min video by Ace Baker, which not only denies that there were any planes on 9/11 (he thinks there were missiles), but states quite categorically that the buildings were blown up from inside by powerful explosives. So Horsy can add Pepe Escobar to his list of pathetic, childish dabblers ignorant of basic physics etc etc.
Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Sep 12 2013 13:51 utc | 97
'The “I feel guilty for Rwanda” school of soft-headed true believers have been embarrassed over Syria. UN Ambassador Samantha Power was seen as dismissing the ability to do anything with diplomacy just before Putin sandbagged her and Kerry with a deal offering everything the US purportedly wants. It turns out the liberal interventionists are just as cowboy-like as the Bush crowd, but they somehow managed to seem dumber and more self-righteous about it.'
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/09/why-does-john-kerry-still-have-a-job.html
Posted by: Watson | Sep 12 2013 13:56 utc | 98
Lets reverse what Kerry/Obama says:
We have evidence that Obama commit wacrimes (drone strikes in Pakistan), does that mean Russia could attack the U.S?
Posted by: Anonymou | Sep 12 2013 14:02 utc | 99
@95 it is good of course that people are asking questions. It is ridiculous, though, that they focus on questioning the basic facts so many witnessed first hand and not on exploring the US creation and funding of al qaeda and its relationship with the cia, saudis, and israelis.
Posted by: guest77 | Sep 12 2013 14:15 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
What pressure on the enemies? Has there been any? It's possible that some in Syria and Iran have been too confident. They assumed that all they had to do was beat the insurgents. That's not necessarily the case. The Americans want to bomb, and the Saudis will keep sending in the riffraff forever.
Posted by: Ozawa | Sep 11 2013 16:24 utc | 1