Syria - The Aid Convoy Attack Points To Further Escalation
The show-down over the damaged aid convoy west of Aleppo is reaching comedy level.
The UN/SRC convoy came from the government held west-Aleppo. It had reached a Syrian Red Crescent center in Umm al Kubra in the "rebel" held area further west where it started to unload. Something happened and many of the trucks burned or where otherwise damaged. Allegedly some 20 people were killed. The incident happened shortly after the ceasefire had officially expired. U.S. sponsored "White Helmet" propaganda teams where there when or shortly after the incident happened.
Here are various claims that were made about the incident (I am time restricted and will for now not provide links for each of these):
The U.S. and its allies claim that the convoy was bombed in an air attack. The Russians deny that they or the Syrians executed any such attack.
The "rebels" had various version. Syrian jets AND helicopters did it; "Barrel bombs" were used; a sustained attack over hours ...
U.S. Secretary of State first claimed that the Syrian did it, than that the Russians did it; helicopters had attacked. The Pentagon then came up with two Russian SU-24 fixed wing aircraft as the culprits. But the U.S. then claimed that the attack went on over two hours which is longer than a pair of SU-24 could sustain.
The Russians said neither they nor the Syrians attacked. They alleged that "rebels" attacked the convoy; that there had been no bombs, only damage from fire.
The pictures of some trucks show damage that is mostly from fire, but there also seem to have been some explosions and shrapnel impacts though no big direct hits. For me that leaves both possibilities open - an air or artillery attack or a simple local sabotage operation.
I don't know what really happened.
But independent from what happened is the question of motive.
Why would the Syrian Air Force attack the Syrian Red Crescent with which it has good relations and which also works in all government held areas? Why would the Syrian or Russian forces attack a convoy which earlier had passed through government held areas and checkpoints and was thereby not carrying contraband? I find no plausible reason or motive for such an attack. Nor has anyone else come forward with such.
A few days ago the "rebels" had accused the UN, which had goods on the convoy, of partisanship and said they would boycott it. "Rebels" in east Aleppo had demonstrated against UN provided help and said they would reject it. There was a general rejection of the ceasefire by the "rebels" and they were eager to push for a wider and bigger war against Syria and its allies. Al-Qaeda in Syria even made a video against the ceasefire. A part of the ceasefire deal is to commonly fight al-Qaeda. They naturally want the deal to end. The attack on the aid convoy seems to help their case.
The motive argument makes an attack by the "rebels" plausible and an attack by Syria and its allies implausible.
Kerry spoke at the UN today and performed some funny stunts that had the silly purpose of blaming Russia.
He said that Jabhat al-Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa are al-Qaeda and U.S. enemies and must be fought. He did not explain why the U.S. -for the last five years- provided al-Qaeda with weapons and munitions (via its sponsored "rebels"). He did not explain why the U.S. so far did not do anything about al-Qaeda in Syria. He did not explain why the U.S. did not order and forced its proxy "rebels" to distance themselves from al-Qaeda as it had promised at the begin of the ceasefire. Laughable nonsense.
Kerry then demanded a no fly zone over north-west Syria to prevent attacks on aid convoys. The whole UN erupted in laughter (silently). Surely he would love that. His "rebels" could then rearm, regroup and openly prepare for new attacks as they did under the first ceasefire in February. No, Russia and Syria will not again agree to that, nor will the UN Security Council. The demand was a lame joke.
But the gloves are coming off. The Syrian/Russian side is convinced that the U.S. willfully attacked Syrian forces in Deir Ezzor to hand the city to ISIS. The "rebel"/U.S. side (or their relevant public) will convince itself (despite lack of evidence) that the Syrian/Russian side is willfully attacking hospitals and humanitarian convoys. The words in front of the UN got markedly sharper.
I am afraid that we will soon see another serious escalation of the conflict. An incident between U.S. and Russian planes or something like that. This is playing with fire in a room full of dynamite.
This show is no longer about Syria. The conflict is now part of the U.S. election campaign. It is also about some very stupid need of some adolescent nations to prove to the world that their balls are the biggest. Stupid and deadly nonsense that will kill many bystanders and solve nothing.
Posted by b on September 21, 2016 at 17:04 UTC | Permalink
« previous pagehttp://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article45536.htm
Handle With Care: American Psycho System A 'Co-worker Of God'
By Finian Cunningham
September 22, 2016 "Information Clearing House" - "RT" - US President Barack Obama made his eighth – and final – address to the United Nations General Assembly this week. What a relief, not to be subjected to any more florid speeches filled with vacuous, psychopathic lies.
Unfortunately, his successor – whoever that is – will pontificate more of the same. For the American psycho power-system is delusional about being a force for good.
As usual, Obama delivered another one of his soaring rhetorical pirouettes. The American Conjurer-in-Chief presented a sweeping vista of history that was a travesty of reality. Sweeping American global crimes under a carpet of lies.
“I say all this not to whitewash the challenges we face,” he declared at one point, without a trace of irony that that was exactly what he was doing.
What is nauseating about an American president standing up in front of the world’s nations at the opening of the UN annual assembly is not merely having to tolerate listening to such venal verbiage. It is an insult to common human intelligence to witness such brazen falsification of world conflicts – and specifically the sickening self-exoneration of American responsibility.
With patronizing, syrupy cant, Obama urged nations and world leaders to “work together” in order to resolve conflicts by “our commitment to international cooperation rooted in the rights and responsibilities of nations.”
Obama even had the gall to quote Martin Luther King by calling on nations to join with the United States as “co-workers of God”.
(vid)
Posted by: okie farmer | Sep 23 2016 7:29 utc | 202
https://southfront.org/lavrov-no-more-unilateral-pauses-in-syria-video/
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has said during the United Nations Security Council meeting on Syria that there will be no more unilateral ‘ceasefire’ pauses in Syria. According to Lavrov it can’t even be discussed because all pauses have been used by militants, including Jabhat al-Nusra, to regroup and get reinforcements.
Posted by: okie farmer | Sep 23 2016 7:47 utc | 203
Jack smith @201
duckduckgo now brings up "most viewed" not closest match. When search for something I had researched several years ago, no trace of the subject could be found with duckduckgo after numerous search terms over several hours. Duckduckgo I had used for the original research. On yandex, first search term, first page, second from the top was a hit.
Posted by: Peter AU | Sep 23 2016 7:51 utc | 204
@okie farmer #202:
Obama even had the gall to quote Martin Luther King by calling on nations to join with the United States as “co-workers of God”.
That suggests to me that the war party in its Democratic incarnation has really jumped the shark, because a standard liberal trope is that MLK eventually said US imperialism is a kind of racism (in so many words).
This is a bit off-topic, but Trump supporters are apparently replicating the meme that a vote for Hillary is a vote for endless war: tweet
Re Julian @165 A polemic read about Saudi Arabia is "The rise, corruption and coming fall of the House of Saud" by Said K. Aburish. Published in 1994. He really didn't like Saudis and relates the origins of the dynasty.
Posted by: midan | Sep 23 2016 8:09 utc | 206
@Peter AU #204:
duckduckgo now brings up "most viewed" not closest match. … On yandex, first search term, first page, second from the top was a hit.
That's good to know. I actually switched from Google to Duckduckgo as the default search engine on my tablet yesterday. But what you say made me change my mind and use Yandex instead.
In any case, I can't figure out how Duckduckgo makes money. Google is the Empire's search engine; Yandex is Russia's. So who is backing Duckduckgo?
What made me decide to abandon Google btw is that it is in bed with Hillary.
Yandex rules IMO and ixquick is pretty good as well.
Posted by: V. Arnold | Sep 23 2016 8:15 utc | 208
@204 P AU
I noticed that DDGG was missing the target some months ago. I'm back to google ...
@208 VA
... but I don't like google, so I'll try your suggestions. Thanks.
I'm one hour through the Carter, Dunford, McCain show and have made notes ... just paraphrases, not quotes of the actual testimonies. This is complete bullshit. But, not having been in the States, breathed the air, or been directly exposed to they 24 hour bombardment of the TNC media in well over a decade - before the awful shock of Shock and Awe - I am finding this 'hearing' fascinating. You're welcome to my notes if you're interested. You can watch the 'movie' at the specified times if you want the blow-by-blow at any point.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 23 2016 8:48 utc | 209
Posted by: jfl | Sep 23, 2016 4:48:47 AM | 209
RT did a satire on the hearing
The UK version
no strategy, no plan and only phony allies
Posted by: somebody | Sep 23 2016 9:04 utc | 210
The research I was doing at the time regarded the legal definition of "Estate in Fee Simple" as on land title deeds. I lost a computer due to a burglary, so give up research on the subject. Computers are too expensive. Now on "western" search engines, the subject, or the defining court case seems expunged from the internet. Still turns up quickly on Yandex. The definition of the English term Estate in fee simple" as applies in most five eyes countries was defined be a court case "Commonwealth v NSW 1926"
Posted by: Peter AU | Sep 23 2016 9:26 utc | 211
jfl | Sep 23, 2016 4:48:47 AM | 209
I quit google years ago and never used yahoo for searches and barely for e-mail anymore.
Yandex mail is stellar and I've not received 1 spam in the two years I've been using it.
Yandex browser and occasionally ixquick are also the only ones I use for searches. I've quit Duckduckgo for searches because they are "enhanced" by google; whatever the hell that means and, recently, the searches are getting poorer results.
Back on topic; Kerry/U.S., got slaughtered at the U.N. over the UN convoy. Internationally eyes are opening, but; the talk of closing Syrian airspace to Russia and Syria is troubling to down right scary.
It could be the opening gambit to an escalated war between ther US and Russia.
Posted by: V. Arnold | Sep 23 2016 9:37 utc | 212
WSJ - UN convoy left though warned that fighting was going on in the area
Posted by: somebody | Sep 23 2016 10:30 utc | 213
@215 somebody
Moscow, Tehran and Beijing fear the fall of secular Damascus would lead to the establishment of jihadi fiefdoms in Syria from which radicals would mount attacks into southern Russia and Iran and promote Muslim dissidence in China.Some 2,500 Russians and 7,000 citizens of former Soviet countries have been recruited by Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Iran has been battling a separatist rebellion in western Khuzestan (Arabistan) province and seeks to crush Sunni radicals who jeopardise pro-Iranian Shia dominance in Iraq.
China is also fighting an insurgency mounted by radical Uyghur militants in the strategic Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China.
We tend to see this through our western eyes, the eyes of the imperialists in our governments, wherein this is a geopolitical contest for hegemony, but for Russia, Iran, and China this is battle for survival. They are they prey they see reflected in the eyes of their western predators.
A really good thing would be a split between the European countries and the North Americans. The Canadian government - the British, Australian and New Zealand governments, too, for that matter - are aligned with the USA now, but will be forced to try to punch beyond their weight without the fatman in the center ring.
Europe will be utterly destroyed in a battle with Russia. Again. Europeans really need to seize power in their respective countries and get out of NATO ... or kick the USA out and take it over themselves. It is crazy to follow the North American/5-eyed lemmings over the cliff.
The English and the Russians have both proved there is life after empire ... the Turks, Syrians, Iraqis, and Iranians need to establish lives of their own - post-Ottoman, post-British, post-American empires.
Left to itself the US cannot/will not start WW III. Russia, Iran, and China certainly have no interest in World War.
In reality the cannot is not a lead pipe cinch with respect to the neo-con losers in the USA, but WW III will certainly be much less likely without the USA's proxies/vassals to fight it in their own countries for them.
If everyone just works in their own interests instead of the hegemon's ... everything's gonna be all right.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 23 2016 12:35 utc | 216
@211 & 212... many thanks Peter & VA... worth the price of admission right there
Posted by: xLemming | Sep 23 2016 12:42 utc | 217
@jfl #216
You forget your voting advice:
Hillary Clinton is a Wonderful Public Servant
Posted by: From The Hague | Sep 23 2016 12:43 utc | 218
Was it paveway who predicted a possible Soviet model bomb plant amidst the humanitarian convoy wreckage?
Bellingcraft is claiming to have found Russian bomb parts.
Posted by: wwinsti | Sep 23 2016 12:48 utc | 219
@216 fth
You seem to take such delight in being perversely and stubbornly obtuse, fth.
My advice was to demian, whom I took/take to be a conservative, to vote for the one of the so-called 3rd parties in the US election which I - no specialist in the right wing - identified with 'paleo-conservatism'. Demian corrected me. I am delighted to learn that he is a veteran 'other'.
But the point of my free advice was not to vote for a winner, dollars to doughnuts neither Johnson nor Stein nor any of the other 3rd party candidates nor any candidate written in on 8 November will be the next POTUS, but a vote for anyone of them will swell the 'other' total, the votes cast by people who are ready for real change, calling out to each other across the vacuum of the empty space of the American political discourse.
There will never be a candidate from the elephant/jackass menagerie with peoples' interests at heart. They are what they are, elephants or jackasses. Emissaries from the TNCs. If we are to effect change it must be from outside the echo chamber of the zoo. It must be from the spontaneous amalgamation of all of those of us coming from whatever our orbits at our common perihelion : elections. We must seize control of our governments, and not only us Americans, but this is the way that I can envision that happening in America.
You seem lost in the zoo, blindfolded and spun around, now trying to pin the tail on the jackass. Give it up. Take a deep breath. Let your chest swell and your brain get a good breath of fresh air and oxygen. Consider yourself how we might seize power. Share your ideas with the rest of us. I'm sure you have better insight than I do. I'm desperate to hear it.
We need to change the direction we're headed in. I don't think we can do it in one day. I think it requires a decade's commitment. Look we're here, where b's done it already. One decade plus two. He's made real, measurable progress. It's all here for our perusal, for free.
We can follow b's lead and do it ourselves. Politically. We are many, they are few. We can put our heads together, stop chumping each other. Together we can seize power. Just do it.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 23 2016 13:21 utc | 221
@jfl
But the point of my free advice was not to vote for a winner, dollars to doughnuts neither Johnson nor Stein nor any of the other 3rd party candidates nor any candidate written in on 8 November will be the next POTUS, but a vote for anyone of them will swell the 'other' total, the votes cast by people who are ready for real change, calling out to each other across the vacuum of the empty space of the American political discourse.
That's a long sentence... :-)
But what's your free advice exactly.
Is it: No to Clinton, no to Trump, no to Johnson, no to Stein?
Posted by: From The Hague | Sep 23 2016 13:58 utc | 223
xLemming | Sep 23, 2016 8:42:23 AM | 217
Thank you for that.
I try to post facts and not CCM crap.
Cheers
Posted by: V. Arnold | Sep 23 2016 13:59 utc | 224
@223
perversely and stubbornly obtuse, fth:)
Yeah, it is, actually. A long sentence and my free advice. Rather will be my free advice, actually, once we 'other's have recognized ourselves, created our common minimalist platform and elected our candidates from among those of ourselves willing to stand on our platform, via multiple-poll primary-grading-into-general elections.
The important thing at this stage is repudiation of 'what is', the creation of 'alien', but critical mass, minority groups that meld and grow to majority status from our bases in the precincts, a majority organized bottom-up rather than top-down.
I can only try to imagine a framework in which it might take place. I'm only one person. The work I envision is the work of many, many people with many variations dependent upon locality and history.
The essential characteristic, according to me, is bottom-up rather than top-down; everyone knows the answer. We don't fool ourselves. Everyone knows the answer.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 23 2016 14:31 utc | 225
I recently posted a brief rant about the increasing trend, by Oz's National Broadcaster, ABC.net.au, to broadcast unsubstantiated Neocon drivel as "News".
The trend continues. Here's ABC's 7.30 Report promoting a doco about how wonderfully helpful and self-sacrificing the "brave first-responder" White Helmets in Syria are...
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2016/s4544792.htm
It starts out as an anti-Russia Aid Convoy story and slithers less-than-smoothly into White Helmet Promo mode. It's approx 9 mins video (with transcript to follow) but most of the tear-jerking and hokum have been delivered by the 7 minute mark.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Sep 23 2016 15:17 utc | 226
EXCLUSIVE: The REAL Syria Civil Defence Expose Nato’s ‘White Helmets’ as Terrorist-Linked Imposters
Posted by: virgile | Sep 23 2016 15:41 utc | 227
Brunswick had an interesting reply to a comment about the fireworks effect of the 'convoy attack' explosion on SST here. This was the blast that I suggested looked like one from a MAC thermobaric Hellfire. Brunswick brings up two good points: a Hell Cannon sighted passing the convoy (on the Russian drone video) and the blast appearing as if it was a headchopper home-made AMATOL-filled propane tank which they typically fire from these cannons.
The Hell Cannon observation is certainly reasonable, but the drone video isn't especially clear. Others have suggested a towed, large-caliber mortar. My take is that this is interesting, but this is right in the middle of rebel-held territory. Whether or not the Russian drone actually caught a random Hell Cannon being towed past the convoy isn't terribly significant to this argument. Headchoppers have Hell Cannons all over the place around there anyway and have for months. It's interesting that one passed by the convoy five hours earlier, but I don't see any need to tie that particular one to the attack. Even if this was a heavy mortar something else, you can reasonably expect a Hell Cannon to have been available somewhere near the city for the Headchoppers.
Brunswick attributes the fireball and sparkles (I like whomever here described the visual effect as 'fireworks') as "...probably caused by clumping and a diesel rich amatol mix" from the usual home-made propane-tank Hell Cannon munition. This is a reasonable observation and every bit as valid as my Hellfire speculation. Brunswick posts a couple clear videos of Hell Cannon explosions. I think there are subtle differences in the appearance of a Hellfire explosion vs. the Hell Cannon ones in the videos, but it's irrelevant. The White Helmet footage isn't that clear that I could distinguish between the two, so Brunswick provides a good, valid explanation for the visual effect. If Brunswick and I were arguing this over beers back in the day, then I would probably toss in the likelihood of charcoal particles in an ANFO mix and then drunkenly propose a side-by-side test in the bar's parking lot. Ah, to be young again!
The propane-tank Hell Cannon explosions are typically not observed to produce much of a crater if any, so the lack of any obvious ones at the scene is reasonable. They also are more likely to set things on fire in the area more so than a military high-explosive charge would.
If these observations are correct either way, it's still a false-flag: headchopper Hell Cannons or OIR Hellfires pummeling/burning the convoy and conveniently filmed by White Helmets at the exact moment they struck.
There's also a curious conversation by the White Helmets during the video that seems rather incriminating to me. Bellingcat has a translation in their analysis. I'll post something on that when I have time.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Sep 23 2016 19:53 utc | 228
So lets tip our hats to PavewayIV who is helping us, ZH and the broader world understand what is really going on.
The problem PavewayIV may cause is for some of the "crazier" ZH commenters to spam MoA but maybe it will provide more opportunities for educating ignorance.
Thanks for being who you are PavewayIV and sharing with the rest of us.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 24 2016 3:45 utc | 229
#229 Psycho Historian
They can't possibly be as crazy as giving credibility to history, in whosever version of it.
On another topic, describing how Hell Cannons work seems to point to a weapon far more crude and likely to cause collateral damage than barrel bombs are.
I wonder why the "rebs" never get called upon for it by the "media".
(Possibly because any civs killed are an asset in the sense that they can be simply attributed to "Assad's atrocities")
Posted by: Quadriad | Sep 24 2016 5:25 utc | 230
psychohistorian@229 - Appreciate it, but the thanks really should go to b. I can do my drive-by crackpot theory comments at my leisure and disappear for weeks if I don't have anything to add to the topic of the articles or I'm otherwise occupied. B had been cranking out superb articles nearly every day here for what I'm guessing is over a decade. An 'open thread' gives him a day or two off, but damn - this blog must suck up an enormous amount of his time. I just couldn't do it for the time and work alone, much less have anything interesting to say (or worth reading) day after day - which is the exact reason I'll probably never do one myself. Back in my more financially blessed days, I would have bought b a whole damn server farm and someone to run it just to help him out a little.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Sep 24 2016 5:49 utc | 231
paveway.. your presence here is a real bonus, but you are right about the amazing job b does on an ongoing basis for what seems like forever.. thanks for being here and sharing your insights as always.
Posted by: james | Sep 24 2016 6:14 utc | 232
@ PavewayIV
I am sending b a little of my money but not you.....grin Not so financially blessed myself these days but neurofeedback therapy has me blessed in the way that counts.
B's efforts are amazing and one of the few lights in our world of darkness. May the light he provides continue to shine brightly.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 24 2016 6:30 utc | 233
i don't know how to translate this.. it is embedded in a video in russian.. looks like the flight path of the predator drone from turkey into the aleppo area based on russia's observations..
Posted by: james | Sep 24 2016 6:36 utc | 234
PavewayIV | Sep 23, 2016 3:53:15 PM | 228
Well, well Pavewat IV; you have been also featured over yonder at The Duran;
http://theduran.com/evidence-mainstream-media-edited-un-convoy-blast-images-cover-up-predator-drone-hellfire-missile-strike/
Well done you.
Posted by: V. Arnold | Sep 24 2016 9:27 utc | 235
@10 The reason why the elites are so out of touch is because they rely on their own echo chamber.
A few days ago, there was an episode of Crosstalk with some stooge from Tufts. he was a foreigner likely brought and paid for into the USA because he publicly reflects what the oligarchies cannot publicly say without being laughed at. He was quick to peddle the line that somehow Iran was the international sponsor of terrorism. The elites at the top themselves don't know what's really going on, so they rely on paid professionals they have on quasi-retainer to tell them. The problem is that when someone is paid by another, there is a bias to provide the good news to the elites above, or, even deeper to provide information that allows the elite's power to expand, thereby ensuring job preservation. The elites don't want to rock the boat with the Saudis, so they trot out some man with a foreign accent to peddle the idea that Iran, not Saudi Arabia, is the problem. The elites don't want people to understand how bankrupt their monetary policy is, so they trot out someone else to reassure the public that the true problem is government regulation.
You can do this right down the entire line from politics to economics.
Academia, not the uneducated Trump-voting masses, is the actual problem. And it's a problem that has been made worse by our cut-throat vision of capitalism that codifies and ensures sociopathic behaviour by as many people as possible.
We are doomed as a species. Science and technology has just enslaved us now as much as any religion.
Posted by: P Walker | Sep 24 2016 12:55 utc | 236
@ PavewayIV
You've been vindicated at ZH.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-23/caught-tape-did-us-target-syrian-aid-convoy-hellfire-missile#comments
Sorry about the 24th of May.
I got banned, and then they took you down a few minutes later.
btw
I plugged your #45 comment yesterday at Greg Hunter's USWatchdog.
Unfortunately he edited it & made it ½ the original without the link to The Moon of Alabama.
Bet ya he's sorry he did that after the ZH-article.
Anyway, B Good & Take Care.
X-
Posted by: XuscitizenSweden | Sep 24 2016 13:13 utc | 237
In the aftermath of the aid convoy attack, Syria/Russia have renewed the offensive on rebel-held parts of Aleppo.
The media space on this is dominated by western media, with apparently very little bubbling out from other sources.
A sampling:
The collapse of peacemaking, and Mr Assad's decision to launch an all-out assault on the last big urban area still in rebel hands, appears to mark a turning point in a conflict that was stalemated for years.
Mr Assad and his allies seem more determined than ever to crush the nearly six-year-old rebellion by force.
Residents said air strikes on eastern Aleppo have been more intense than ever, using more powerful bombs.
Rebel officials said heavy air strikes hit at least four areas of the opposition-held east, and they believe the strikes are mostly being carried out by Russian warplanes.
Posted by: woogs | Sep 24 2016 15:02 utc | 238
Fort Russ: ALL OUT FIGHT FOR ALEPPO BEGINS - SAA Major Offensive - complete report
It is clear now that the Russians used the ceasefire talks and the documents produced as a result, to prove to the international community, and for posterity, that the US could not distinguish between, or separate out, 'moderate rebels' from the Al-Nusra terrorist group.All of USG's activity in Syria is predicated on the conceit that there are "extremists" and then there are "moderate rebels". But the US is doing in Syria exactly what it did in Afghanistan: using jihadis to try to topple a secular government in a predominantly Muslim country. Back in the 1980s, the US could call jihadis by their (Arabic) name, Mujaheddin. But after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on US soil, such starightforward terminology disrupts effective propaganda. So the jihadis have to be continually rebranded with new names.
This siege of Allepo -- as far as I can tell -- is getting little coverage or interest, even the "bombing his own people" while present is subdued, although a million are reportedly without "running water" (but I gather because it was turned off rather than the water providing infrastructure being demolished -- in the American fashion.) I guess it's too much of an Obama, and hence Clinton, failure for the media to risk on the eve of the first presidential debate on Monday, since the MSM seems scared-to-death by the recent polls... "the devil you own" is always preferable to a wild card. (Impossible to know how Charlotte is "playing Peoria" ... it's been such a mixed bag, but it sounds as if the protestors are staying on message and containing property damage, etc.)
Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Sep 24 2016 20:05 utc | 240
@Demian 239:
I finally saw the Fort Russ report a little while ago. Great news if they can hold the ground.
Things don't look so good in Deir ez-Zor, though. Latest report I've seen is this from Friday.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-approaches-strategic-deir-ezzor-military-airport/
Posted by: woogs | Sep 24 2016 22:11 utc | 241
What will it take to end Syria's war?
Published on Sep 23, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVc_CWpHJww
Watch complete YouTube video Al Jazeera Mehdi Hasan and Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy to Syria. Do you believe Staffan is fair and impartial? Watch the 2nd part interviewed with White Helmets Farouq Habbai and questions.
Nowhere did Mehdi and Staffan mentioned a full and impartial investigation into the causes the UN convoy being attacked and was the attacked by aircraft or staged from the ground.
More question, why was the White Helmet the first on the scenes and ready with video cameras?
I was reminded earlier a case in Ukraine, where the Separatists were winning. The atrocity happens in the Separatists territory. After the areas were secured, foreign MSM and respective organization were permitted to the sites for unrestricted investigation? However, in Aleppo's Castello road was different, the atrocity happens on the sector controlled by the Headchoppers. Instead of being neutral all fingers pointing at Syria and Russia as in Ukraine.
OK, FUCK Al Jazeera and Mehdi Hasan! What’s your take the creditability of the White Helmets and UN?
Posted by: Jack Smith | Sep 24 2016 23:53 utc | 242
A few more things on the convoy attack:
Anyone notice that the SARC director's SUV had the air bag deployed? This was supposedly hit in the attack, killing the director (not sure if that was his actual title, but he was the head guy in Aleppo). Sorry, but I don't care how intense the attack was, it's not going to cause an airbag to be deployed. This presumes the director was sitting inside the SUV at that spot during the attack. There's someone in a vid the next day poking around what looks like strips of bloody cloth (or insestines?) right next to the ruined vehicle giving that impression. The more conspiracy-minded might suggest that he was assassinated on the road by the head-choppers somewhere. Either his vehicle was rammed and attacked, or hit by and IED and crashed - hence the deployed airbag. Then his car was deposited among the trucks for the predictable "Russians did it" story.
Secondly, the oddest damn thing I have seen regarding this story is video of the attacked convoy the next day. Complete with a water truck washing down the road amidst the bombed trucks. What the hell? Head-choppers now have a street sanitation department? Were they afraid the road would start on fire?
Then I think back to Brunswicks suggestion of the Hell Cannons and propane tank munitions. The primary component of a home-brew head-chopper munition like that is prilled ammonium nitrate fertilizer. The 'prilled' part is important - it's formed into little BB-sized balls when it's made so it's easier to handle and use as a fertilizer. Powdered ammonium nitrate is difficult to use as a fertilizer. It absorbs a lot of water and cakes up into a cement-like mass. Farmers everywhere prefer either liquid ammonia or prilled ammonium nitrate as a nitrogen source for poor soil. Head-choppers use prilled ammonium nitrate for their propane-tank bombs fired from Hell Cannons. You can't ban prilled AN in Syria or anywhere else because the people would starve. The soil is very nitrogen-poor, and almost every farmer there needs to use it to get decent yields.
Now take Brunswick's explanation of the sparks as ammonium nitrate/diesel fuel clumps burning instead of contributing to the original explosion. That happens because head-chopper explosives manufacturing is pretty crude. There is probably a lot of un-burnt or partially-burnt ammonium nitrate blown around the area after their Hell Cannon attacks. If you were a head-chopper and trying to steer blame for, oh, say an aid convoy attack and SARC director assassination, then it might be a good idea to wash the distinctive ammonium nitrate prills off the road the next day because it looks damn suspicious. Neither U.S. nor Russian military explosives use anything remotely like that - ANY AN prills mean home-brew munitions - either IEDs or propane-bottle munitions.
Why would the rebels attack the convoy/aid warehouses? Wrong way to ask the question: 'rebels' in that area means bands of roving militant gangs with various overlapping mafia-like affiliations. Of the dozens of rebel mafias in that area, there is no 'one Don to rule them all'. The convoy attack could have been something as stupid as a couple rival head-chopper mafias battling over who gets to steal what. It could have been al Nusra (or whatever name they're using this week) carrying out threats to attack aid convoys that originate from government-held territory. Maybe they figured they would whack the director as a message: "Stay off our turf with your damn infidel aid".
In any case, it's useless trying to pinpoint motivation for a non-existant unified 'rebel' attack. It's probably better to think of, "Why would any of the numerous head-chopper thugs/gangs/mafias attack truckloads of free stuff that they could probably use, too?" Was this directed specifically against the Syrian Red Crescent as a political message, or was it a head-chopper chimp-out raid scrambling for warehouses of stuff they could steal/sell?
While I can easily see a CIA/Western intel false flag Hellfiring the convoy to blame Russia, that's still kind of a stretch. The simpler explanation is a head-chopper raid/theft/chimp-out with a few Hell Cannon rounds tossed in. What SARC never did do is say how much of the aid was actually unloaded and how much was accounted for the next day. If these were mostly empty trucks blown up, then most of the aid should still be in the warehouses, right? Perhaps damaged/burnt, but still there. If there's a few hundred tonnes of aid 'missing', then I would have to rule out any U.S./Russian intrigue here: the attack was either to facilitate or cover up simple theft. As far as the dead director/air bag question, I'll have to reserve judgement until SARC says they have his body.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Sep 25 2016 0:56 utc | 243
@ 243 paveway.. very good insight and conjecture on your part.. thanks..
i see the major western players are calling for an emergency meeting at the un sunday 10am to discuss syria.. apparently all the bombing from russian/syrian planes is causing some angst with the 'moderate' rebel supporters..
Posted by: james | Sep 25 2016 2:00 utc | 244
@ PavewayIV and james
I believe China has two ships in or very near the area now and has recently (couple of weeks ago) conducted joint naval exercises with Russia.
It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall of the UN Security Council meeting tomorrow. It won't go over well with many Americans that we seemingly lost world military prominence under a black president....but will that lead to nukes?
Where are the adults that aren't toadies of the global plutocrats?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 25 2016 3:03 utc | 245
@103 Russia has only started producing heavy, long-range armed drones. I doubt they have anything like a Predator/Reaper in Syria yet.
i don't know much about drones but what if they have a copy of the US stealth drone via iran? remember when iran acquired a stealth drone? >> http://www.moonofalabama.org/2011/12/how-iran-probably-acquired-a-stealth-drone.html
It is designed to penetrate enemy air defenses that could see and possibly shoot down less-sophisticated Predator and Reaper drones.
Posted by: annie | Sep 27 2016 4:58 utc | 246
The comments to this entry are closed.
@Demian | Sep 23, 2016 2:34:03 AM | 199
To be honest I dun write well, but no fool. You can't relied from one or many reliable sources. Even MoA or RT. I remember last year RT and Sputnik claimed China only aircraft carrier Liaoning was seen passing Suez canal, heading for Syrian port, Tartus. Further other sources reported Liaoning saw seen in.....
I searched for days traced it to DEBKAfile, an Israel disinformation website.... from there pick up by other websites.
CHINESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER REPORTEDLY DOCKS AT TARTUS, SYRIA
Much of DEBKAfile’s reportage is based on unidentified sources and cannot be independently verified.
http://www.infowars.com/chinese-aircraft-carrier-reportedly-docks-at-tartus-syria/
Chinese aircraft carrier docks at Tartus to support Russian-Iranian military
DEBKAfile — Sept 26, 2015
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=122150
China’s military advisers ‘heading to Syria to help fight ISIS’ – report
Published time: 28 Sep, 2015 04:27
https://www.rt.com/news/316705-china-syria-isis-fight/
September 29, 2015
Chinese aircraft carrier and missile cruiser reported transiting the Suez Canal
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/09/chinese_aircraft_carrier_and_missile_cruiser_reported_transiting_the_suez_canal.html
BTW, Never, never use Google, Bing or Yahoo searches. I depend on DuckDuckGo search engine.
Posted by: Jack Smith | Sep 23 2016 7:27 utc | 201