Yeah, nothing new. The amount paid by Israel, though, is said to be very little, $5000 a month.

I don't agree about the aim though.

Israel wants to steal and occupy even larger parts of Syria than the parts of the Golan heights it illegally holds.

That would be very unwise, and I would think the generals would disagree. The present cease-fire line is about the best that can be had (and they had choices in 1967 and 1973). They might want to improve the position by a couple of hundred metres here or there, but not more. Any other front line would necessarily be longer and weaker, with greater chance of jihadi infiltration. Yeah they could take the whole of southern Syria, but they'd end up with an undefendable front-line. That's why they withdrew in 1973.

No, the point is to keep Syria in confusion. Netanyahu seems to believe that there won't be any bite-back from supporting jihadis. I think he's wrong, but a necessary condition to keeping Israel uninfiltrated is that the frontiers be kept tight and closed. Adventures in Syria will put that in danger.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 24 2017 18:37 utc | 1

thanks for covering this b... the msm, western msm anyway - won't touch any of this with a 100 foot pole...

Posted by: james | Jun 24 2017 18:46 utc | 2

in answer to your question at the end, it seems bizarre the wsj posting that article from a week or more ago.. it totally flies in the face of what they could have been reporting for the past however many years.. i am baffled why they have allowed a shred of truth to come thru on the pages of the wsj... must be some longer range game plan here for justifying some insane israeli agenda... nothing makes sense on that...

Posted by: james | Jun 24 2017 18:49 utc | 3

re james. It sounds as though some internal conflict is going on, and one side is leaking in order to bolster their position. Perhaps Netanyahu is sufficiently irrational to want a more forward policy.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 24 2017 19:02 utc | 4

"Why is it now starting to publish about this? Is there a new media advisory that Haaretz and the WSJ are now allowed (or required) to report on the issue? To what purpose?"

Does this tie into the thread on the Saudi/Qatar spat? Of the puppet states in the US world Saudi Arabia and Israel hold special status. What happens to these two countries when the US and US dollar are no longer the dominant force in the world as per Grieved's comment under the Saudi/Qatar spat?

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 24 2017 19:14 utc | 5

What would happen if... Russia occupied - sorry, 'secured' - the Golan on Syria's behalf? Is that a deal Russia could impose or manage to implement co-operatively with Israel? As far as I understand it, Israel's main claim to its occupation is the Hezbollah/whatever 'threat', so if Russia took up the task it would allow Israel to direct resources elsewhere. I know that this is a simple view of it all, but Russia in the Golan takes away the Israeli fig-leaf claim and simplifies its defense. Am I wrong??? For Russia, it helps it cement its role in the Middle East and part of its permanent architecture. Just sayin'.

Posted by: et Al | Jun 24 2017 19:37 utc | 6

I doubt that it's Saudi but it might be. It must be some sort of senior Israeli (otherwise you don't get published in the WSJ and Haaretz) who's leaking in order to prevent some nutty plan of Netanyahu. As the leak is jihadi-related, it should be a jihadi-related plan, and thus Syria. More to come, I suppose.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 24 2017 19:44 utc | 7

Meanwhile over in eastern Syria, the SDF has now put Raqqa under a state of siege. Perhaps Israel's actions are designed to be a big enough distraction that the MSM doesn't have to condemn the SDF for putting civilians under siege in Raqqa as it did the SAA when it cutoff the Castello Road route into East Aleppo.

BTW, TOT but the Washington Free Beacon is now suggesting that the software on the ACX Crystal might have been hacked as Paveway IV and I half-jokingly hinted at a week ago, although they haven't yet suggested it's the Russians. Meanwhile it looks like the USN is preparing to blame its own incompetence (how do you miss a 29,000 GT, 233 metre long ship travelling at <=25 knots) on the crew of the ACX Crystal. What few have seemed to have publically asked yet is if it's so hard for the USN to spot such a large ship coming so slowly at one of its ships, what chance would they have against a three ton cruise missile (P-800 Oniks or BrahMos) closing at close to 2,000 or 3,700 kmph respectively?

Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 24 2017 19:50 utc | 8

There is of course this report from farsnews about Israeli planes in Saudi Arabia, in order to prevent a coup. I didn't find it very credible, but perhaps there's some basis of truth. Saudi does risk a coup d'état. but Israeli planes are not the way to prevent it. The original quoter thought the planes were on the way to Iran.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960401000674

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 24 2017 20:06 utc | 9

This is not surprising: AQ are now proxies for hire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jeGC6TJqdk

EX AL-QAEDA Member Sheikh Nabil Naim The Syrian Lie Al - Nusra's Fake War

Posted by: Digby | Jun 24 2017 20:12 utc | 10

Ghostship | Jun 24, 2017 3:50:21 PM | 8
SDF had to complete the seige of Raqqa due to the advance of SAA. Going on the length of time for SDF to take Manbij, Raqqa will now be a very lengthy siege. I see in a Reuters article SDF is now offering amnesty to "militants" in Raqqa.

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 24 2017 20:12 utc | 11

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 24, 2017 4:12:53 PM | 11

I haven't heard from the media, whether it is the Kurdish or Arab elements of SDF who are fighting their way into Raqqa. The Arab element is weak, but the Kurds don't want to die for an Arab objective. If it's the Arabs, it'll take a while, as they are few.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 24 2017 20:25 utc | 12

The Reuters article
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-raqqa-amnesty-idUSKBN19F0FT
Amnesty for militants in Syria's Raqqa aims to promote stability

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 24 2017 20:26 utc | 13

Judging from time stamps of these 3 tweets, Syrians had about 2 hours to get ready for the air defense. Did they manage to fire at least few Needles at those attacking Israeli planes?

Posted by: hopehely | Jun 24 2017 20:53 utc | 14

@ Laguerre

The amount paid by Israel, though, is said to be very little, $5000 a month.

Its a huge amount to poor people who are used as cannon fodder, Saudis/Qatar are paying $500-1500/month to their mercenaries.

The present cease-fire line is about the best that can be had

Not only its not true, but Israel is actively ever-expanding its territory at the expense of Palestinians, and already increased "buffer zone" into Syria's side, and want to increase some more. Same they want to do in Lebanon, but Hezbollah is getting in the way (hence one of the many reasons Israel supports terrorists in Syria).

Any other front line would necessarily be longer and weaker, with greater chance of jihadi infiltration.

The length of the border is the least problem for Israel, and why they would be afraid of own terrorists?

No, the point is to keep Syria in confusion.

Confusion is a very soft word. Goals more in line with "government overthrown by terrorists" and "failed state", so nobody would raise Golan's question and even more land grab. FSA, Al Qaeda and others already professed undying love to Israel and said they wouldnt question Israel's occupation.

Posted by: Harry | Jun 24 2017 21:10 utc | 15

MoA barflies need to be aware that News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch is a shareholder in Genie Energy which was awarded a licence by an Israeli court to explore and drill for oil and natural gas in the Golan Heights. Other Genie Energy shareholders include Jacob Rothschild and former US vice president Dick Cheney.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/israel-grants-golan-heights-oil-license-2013-2?r=US&IR=T

The WSJ is owned by News Corporation so MoA commenters can make of its tardiness in reporting Israeli actions in aiding al Qaeda terrorists in the Golan Heights what they will. Perhaps Israel believes it can no longer rely on the US-allied coalition to pursue more territory in Syria and has to resort to underhand means to keep its hold on the Golan Heights.

Posted by: Jen | Jun 24 2017 21:16 utc | 16

@ et Al | 6

What would happen if... Russia occupied - sorry, 'secured' - the Golan on Syria's behalf?

Russia would never-ever do that. They are good friends with Israel, and if you noticed - Russia looks the other way when Israel bombs Syria. Russia will simply not get involved in Golan, or at the most would mediate.

Posted by: Harry | Jun 24 2017 21:17 utc | 17

I don't agree about the aim though.

Israel wants to steal and occupy even larger parts of Syria than the parts of the Golan heights it illegally holds.

That would be very unwise, and I would think the generals would disagree. The present cease-fire line is about the best that can be had (and they had choices in 1967 and 1973).

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 24, 2017 2:37:00 PM | 1

Golan Water is what they wanted, golan water is what they already got. Golan water is something Zionists coveted since at least as far back as when the Brits revealed they weren't inclined to grant the zios all the land in Trans-Jordan and Syria the were demanding

Here's some water maps of the area Israel occupies in the Golan
http://www.hermon.com/mt_hermon/mt_her14.gif

http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/cross2.gif

https://traveltoeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/wpid-Photo-20150917223928813.jpg

Posted by: Just Sayin' | Jun 24 2017 21:22 utc | 18

P.S: "Any other front line would necessarily be longer and weaker, with greater chance of jihadi infiltration. "

This is absolute nonsense.

It's like you either didn't read anything before you commented or else you did, but you haven't understood a word of what you read.

Posted by: Just Sayin' | Jun 24 2017 21:25 utc | 19

Posted by: Harry | Jun 24, 2017 5:10:27 PM | 15

Not only its not true, but Israel is actively ever-expanding its territory at the expense of Palestinians,

Just to put this ever expanding Israeli thing into perspective.
If Israel ever manages to super-expand itself over whole West Bank, its total area would be 10,000 sqm - as large as the territory of Crimea, what Russia snatched in one swift nifty move.
We are talking about area size smaller than the US state of Massachusetts.
Vermont < Current Israel + West Bank < Massachusetts.
And btw, Kosovo, the territory USA/NATO grabbed from Serbia in not so nifty move, is 2x larger than whole West Bank.

Posted by: hopehely | Jun 24 2017 21:46 utc | 20

There is only one man in the world capable, intelligent enough, fair minded and strong enough, to stop this world madness. His name is Vladmir Putin. He must stand up to the Zionists, the Americans, the oil sheiks, France, Germany, England, et al, in no uncertain terms. Otherwise all is lost.

Posted by: charles | Jun 24 2017 22:08 utc | 21

b, 'The main stream reporting on this is at least three years late. Why is it now starting to publish about this? '

because al-cia-duh - the jihadis, together with their mother-ship in riyadh - are being integrated into the 'good guy' line-up : the israelis and their western supporters in france, the uk, and the us in the 'us-coalition'.

@1 laguerre, 'Netanyahu seems to believe that there won't be any bite-back from supporting jihadis.'

the 'jihadis' and the israelis are on the same side, that's why there is no 'bite-back' from the jihadis. has not been, will not be.

@al-cia-duh-fire-request-by-mortar.

there are now at least 2 such scams by which al-cia-duh communicates its 'requests' to the 'us-coalition' via the tnc msm :

1. al-cia-duh chemical attacks, which elicit direct, unthinking nato intervention against the syrian government, see t-rump and france's micron's threats

2. al-cia-duh 'errant' mortar attacks on the golan, which elicit direct, unthinking israeli intervention against the syrian government

perhaps 3. the stationing of 'us-coalition' forces in syria - mini-invasions resulting in min-occupations - to provide a locus for subsequent 'defensive' air-attacks on syrian and allied forces claimed to have 'threatened' them.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 24 2017 22:12 utc | 22

The Saudis are holding the USD with petrodollar. Watch them and their financially sinking Govt to see where USD is going.

Meanwhile, US will need to take on more debt as the Boomers who have not saved will rely n US welfare for their retirement-including Medicaid for long term care.

One thing US and Saudi have in common are that both are poor money managers.

Posted by: Digby | Jun 24 2017 22:13 utc | 23

Laguerre | Jun 24, 2017 4:25:17 PM | 12

Back when the SAA was advancing across the Dayr Hafir plain towards the Euphrates, a large ISIS held area was encircled. A number of reports at that time of large numbers of "civilians" fleeing the regime advance to Kurd held territory.
Shortly after, SAA took the encircled area without a fight. ISIS fighters had vanished.
Also back around April, a Kurd official made a few statements along the lines of a tribe from Deir Ezzor province who called themselves FSA had also joined the SDF. I guess the Arab component is made up of any fighter willing to fight the Syrian government but not aligned with Turkey. Numbers may increase now the Kurds have aligned themselves with Saudi Arabia.

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 24 2017 22:15 utc | 24

@21 charles

c'mon. you're creating a single-point of failure, equivalent to the us-dollar on the imperial side. certainly the russians are admirable and have been since putin has been involved with the leadership there ... but to make one man the keystone of the resistance is ... troll-worthy?

Posted by: jfl | Jun 24 2017 22:17 utc | 25

re: Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 24, 2017 3:50:21 PM | 8
how do you miss a 29,000 GT, 233 metre long ship travelling at <=25 knots

There are few limits on human capabilities. One can also miss a mountain that does not move at all! The trick: check the depth of the sea every 5 minutes or so, and use the sonar as a bumper. Surely, the ocean bottom can rise only very gently!

The weird thing is that sonar cannot be used if the submarine is avoiding detection, but I would guess that in that case the vessel should move rather slowly.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 24 2017 23:10 utc | 26

@9 lag, 'Saudi does risk a coup d'état. but Israeli planes are not the way to prevent it'

seems to me they were (not) there to hasten it. always remember that all states in the middle east, indeed all states on earth and as yet unknown states on planets beyond, are 'enemies' of israel, and constantly (at least) schemed against by the salafist zionists. schadenfreude is the only freude the dour little zionist terrorists will ever know.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 24 2017 23:43 utc | 27

@26 pb, 'One can also miss a mountain that does not move at all!'

better dead than detected. 'only' one sailor - Machinist's Mate Second Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio - was killed in the san francisco's collision with the mountain, apparently. 98 injured. unlike the seven sailors killed in the fitzgerald's collision with the container ship:

- Gunner’s Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, of Palmyra, Va.
- Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, of San Diego, Calif.
- Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, of Oakville, Conn.
- Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, of Weslaco, Texas
- Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, of Chula Vista, Calif.
- Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, of Halethorpe, Md.
- Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, of Elyria, Ohio,

and at least three injured, including the captain.

there's an interesting list of submarine incidents since 2000 linked from uss san francisco (ssn 711) collision with seamount. 32 'incidents' - just counting submarines - since 2000. nearly 2/year.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 25 2017 0:06 utc | 28

However you term it, "fire support", "slow creep", or "secret aid", focusing on Israel's intervention is missing the forest for the trees.

That Israel is a bad actor will elicit yawns worldwide. It is the collusion of all the bad actors that is the real news. Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar, Turkey, all joined to support the jihadi attack on Syria. And so-called "Western Democracies" either helped or looked the other way.

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

b wonders what changed that allows this reporting. What changed is that USA is now acting in the same way. And France's Macron has threatened to also. That legitimizes Israel's actions and Israel hopes to encourage more such action.

While Israel argues its response is a self-defense measure, it seems very much like collective punishment (a war crime).

The claims that "Assad created/supports ISIS" is a variant of the same warped thinking. It's 'warped' because it ignores the vast foreign support for the jihadis.

The supreme hypocrisy of holding Assad responsible for all manner of ill within his borders should be evident to anyone paying attention. If the same concept is applied to the foreign powers that have supported jihadis (whether indirectly or indirectly) then these countries leaders are guilty of crimes against humanity.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jun 25 2017 1:15 utc | 29

@20

...the territory of Crimea, what Russia snatched...

From standpoint of the overwhelming majority of Crimea’s residents, a historical injustice was redressed in March 2014: Ukraine was stripped of what it had obtained illegally between 1991 and 1995 using deception and military force. In the eyes of Crimeans, Ukraine’s claims to the peninsula and the support of those claims by the West look very odd.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/so-who-annexed-the-crimean-peninsula-then/5582168

Posted by: Dadda | Jun 25 2017 2:04 utc | 30

The SDF is doing a great job clearing Isis out if Raqqa. They don't need any help from Assad, who will probably eventually start committing war crimes against the SDF as he has done against all manner of other groups in Syria. He is the best documented war criminal since ww2, so hopefully he will wind up in prison and Rojava can have wide ranging autonomy in a federal system as the Kurdistan region does in Iraq. Go SDF!!! We are rooting for you.

Posted by: RbtRgs | Jun 25 2017 2:33 utc | 31

Israel is worried that it will now have to pay in cash the Al Qaeda mercenaries as Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been pressed by Trump to cut the financing of all Islamist extremists.
Therefore Israel is rushing to make use of them before they leave the region.

Posted by: virgile | Jun 25 2017 3:03 utc | 32

Jackrabbit @29: b wonders what changed that allows this reporting. What changed is that USA is now acting in the same way.

And what is new about that? IMHO, what is changing, gradually, is that the Establishment evolved into the priesthood of a dead religion. Something like that happened in Communist countries, while in 1920s the goals of Communism seemed logical and desirable to the increasing number of people, by 1990 it was obvious that the "ultimate goals" are unrealistic, and that the "system" does not work, while "liberal capitalism" retained quite a bit of vigor -- although that vigor was much less durable than it looked back then.

Cold War (cold in the sense of avoiding the use of nukes) had some plausible Manichean logic for both sides. Not to be too literal with that comparison, it was possible to draw a neo-Platonic diagram with a neat hierarchy from the leader of the Host of Light on top to the leader of the Host of Darkness at the bottom. But now we are in "transactional, temporary and tactical" era, same persons and groups are being shifted from Darkness to Light and back to achieve... [sounds of a pin dropped on the floor and quiet head scratching].

Bismark [allegedly] said that those who are passionate about good sausage or justice should not watch how they are being made. But at least the concepts of good sausage and justice were quite clear, like keeping the deserving folks up and undeserving down. But who are the deserving and undeserving folks in Syria? Israel itself oscillates between painting Jihadists as the worst enemies of humanity (especially Israel, but it is a small difference) and PM visiting them as they recuperate in an Israeli hospital to cheer them up in their good fight. And the incident that we are discussing was IDF halfheartedly and ineffectually helping their favorite Jihadists. Which makes me wonder what is ISIS enclave doing on the junction of Jordanian and Israeli (occupied Golan) border? Could they at least help FSA to get rid of those backstabbers?

The realization that the fall of Baath government would be bad for Israel itself, and indeed, not good for anyone (the victors would kept fighting between themselves, but with possible forays into Israel) became visible when the "red line" of Obama was breached. British Tory backbenchers revolted, Obama developed serious second thoughts, and neocons could not prevail in American Congress where they ostensibly form majority. On the knife edge, point blank, our priests of humanitarian intervention and all such cannot show true faith. It is just too nonsensical. One can believe without seeing, but unfortunately, they have seen too much.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 25 2017 4:05 utc | 33

the fusion of the zionists and wahabists points up the bankruptcy of tribal religious dichotomies ... there's nothing there but fanaticism, really ... for the fanaticism can be displaced onto a 'greater good', given a 'greater evil' to effect the displacement.

so the israelis hate arabs who oppose their occupation of arab lands and genocide of arabs and the saudis hate those arabs - and jews and christians - who oppose their hegemony/supremacy over them ... but they both fear and hate the persians more. so all the carefully nurtured hatred they had each built-up for their original, 'natural' enemies is now simply displaced onto iran and its people, and the erstwhile enemies are the best of friends ... until they're vanquished or until iran has been disposed of, and then their hatreds will both 'come back home' after the failure of their joint venture or the demise of their new, shared, first and worst enemy.

this is the same story that's been told in the middle east, and not only the middle east, for 40,000 years.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 25 2017 7:17 utc | 34

Piotr @33

Whatever weakness you may perceive, and no matter how profound it may be, it is best not to under-estimate the Western establishment. Flip-flopping narratives and moral degeneracy may be unsustainable but as of today, by most practical measures, the establishment has "won".

I don't think Israel/Israeli's see any contradiction in supporting jihadis against Assad while, at the same time, holding up jihadis as an prime example of what is wrong with Arabs/Arab culture.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jun 25 2017 7:45 utc | 35

@31
The SDF and ISIS are the same piece of shit that was created to destroy Syria and Iraq. Both are Israeli proxy. This is not a liberation of Raqqa, this is a land grab and ethnic cleansing committed by US backed Kurdish thugs under a pretext of fighting against "ISIS". Kurds in Syria are traitors. What's more many of them came to Syria from Turkey. They often can't speak Arabic. Uncle Sam and Uncle Moshe hired them to do this disgusting job. They are like kapos.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/will-america-partition-syria/

Posted by: yawn | Jun 25 2017 9:18 utc | 36

ISIS Used Chemical Arms at Least 52 Times in Syria and Iraq, Report Says

WASHINGTON — The Islamic State has used chemical weapons, including chlorine and sulfur mustard agents, at least 52 times on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq since it swept to power in 2014, according to a new independent analysis.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/world/middleeast/isis-chemical-weapons-syria-iraq-mosul.html

Posted by: Greg Bacon | Jun 25 2017 9:52 utc | 37

It's all part of the pay-ops . They are grooming the western public for an inevitable crash collision with the Russian forces and Iranian forces in Syria knowing full well that the Syrians along with the Russian and the Iranians have international law on their side. Hence since April POTUS and the establishment classes and media have gone on full frontal.
IE: Iran is the largest sponsor of terrorism in the ME. No proof just conjecture
The Russians have hacked all democratic elections in the west from Brexit to the POTUS election to French election so and so fourth. Again no evidence still to this day no evidence. They r prepping us for confrontation and Einsteins prediction of the 4th ww will be fought with sticks will come true. Pure unadulterated insanity and not one piece of evidence still to emerge. How Orwellian the times we r living.

Posted by: falcemartello | Jun 25 2017 10:12 utc | 38

@3 why is wsj reporting this? One reason could be that the clinton- trump war has come to israel. The alliance between bibi,trump and saudi dictator is morally indefensible and will back fire. Wsj draw the line and gave a warning shot.

Posted by: Mark2 | Jun 25 2017 11:02 utc | 39

Thanks for the reminder MoA I needed it to rremember the real face of Israel.

Posted by: Paul | Jun 25 2017 11:05 utc | 40

Nothing new here as b implied. Israel is a terrorist state. There is no difference between the Israel regime's behavior and that of Daesh.

Posted by: Steve | Jun 25 2017 11:06 utc | 41

https://youtu.be/0xc1CKuvqJI

At Arak gas field...this Syrian T-90 with turbo V12 1000 hp engine is, as seems, at max speed of 65 km/h. It needs new air-filter that's for sure and perhaps new oil.

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 25 2017 11:51 utc | 42

"The SDF and ISIS are the same piece of shit that was created to destroy Syria and Iraq."

Absolutely. This is where the danger to Syria's integrity and sovereignty is coming from. Even Russia and its (which proudly stress its liberalism) regime, nominally ally, might recognize SDF and the West backed "opposition" as legitimate military/political force. Thus they might "influence" Assad, given reality on terrain, to make some concession in Syria's future constitutional framework.

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 25 2017 12:09 utc | 43

Haaretz and WSJ can report this albeit 3 years late and know this knowledge doesn't get far into the rest of US MSM. When CNN reports the strikes, it does NOT include the fact that Israel does this in support of al Nusra. And notice that Israel complained to the UN that this was a breach of THEIR sovereignty.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/24/middleeast/israel-syria-golan-heights-strike/index.html

Posted by: Curtis | Jun 25 2017 12:42 utc | 44

Oh Mai! Sy Hersh has another Wag the dog’s tail: RT citing Die Welt.
LINK

Trump ignored Intel when he bombed Syria and he is trapped by own mistake

Read the full article
Extracts.

US President Donald Trump ignored reports from US intelligence that said they had no evidence Syria had used sarin to attack a rebel-held town, Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh says.

Hersh is most famous for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War. He also uncovered the abuse of prisoners by US personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. In a report published by the German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday, he describes how the Trump administration mishandled the media frenzy after the Syrian bombing of the rebel-held town Khan Sheikhoun in April.

[The] US mainstream media failed to question the government’s narrative of the situation, instead giving Trump what appears to be the pinnacle achievement of his presidency so far.

“None of this makes any sense,” one US officer told colleagues upon learning of the White House decision to retaliate against Syria. “We KNOW that there was no chemical attack... the Russians are furious. Claiming we have the real intel and know the truth... I guess it didn’t matter whether we elected Clinton or Trump.”

Special weapon

Hersh’s report is based on interviews with several US advisers and evidence they provided, including transcripts of real-time communications that immediately followed the Syrian attack on April 4. According to the advisers, the Syrian Air Force’s attack on Khan Sheikhoun targeted a meeting of several high-value leaders of jihadist groups, including Ahrar al-Sham and Al-Nusra which has changed its name to Jabhat al-Nusra.[..]

The Trump Show

“It was a totally Trump show from beginning to end,” the senior adviser told Hersh. “A few of the president’s senior national security advisers viewed the mission as a minimized bad presidential decision, and one that they had an obligation to carry out. But I don’t think our national security people are going to allow themselves to be hustled into a bad decision again. If Trump had gone for option three [a massive attack on Syrian military facilities], there might have been some immediate resignations.” [..]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leadership by twittering. What a twit!

Posted by: likklemore | Jun 25 2017 12:56 utc | 45

@44 lm

the die welt link.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 25 2017 13:02 utc | 46

Occupation of the Golan Heights is about oil. Isn't always?

And in Izzy's corner are some powerful people. Check out Board of Directors and advisers of Genie Energy. For starters - the 46th VP of the United States, Lawrence Summers, Jacob Rothschild, Bill Richardson, R. James Woolsey.

Need I write more?

Now, does anyone here think…? Oh never mind, it's a beautiful Sunday here in northern lands and it has stopped raining. My tomato plants need some sun.

Posted by: likklemore | Jun 25 2017 13:07 utc | 47

jfl @ 45

Many thanks. We are thankful Mr. Hersh's efforts. MSM will jump right on it.

Posted by: likklemore | Jun 25 2017 13:14 utc | 48

Trump‘s Red Line

Trump, a constant watcher of television news, said, while King Abdullah of Jordan was sitting next to him in the Oval Office, that what had happened was “horrible, horrible” and a “terrible affront to humanity.” Asked if his administration would change its policy toward the Assad government, he said: “You will see.” He gave a hint of the response to come at the subsequent news conference with King Abdullah: “When you kill innocent children, innocent babies – babies, little babies – with a chemical gas that is so lethal ... that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line . ... That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. Big impact ... It’s very, very possible ... that my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much.”

“The president saw the photographs of poisoned little girls and said it was an Assad atrocity,” the senior adviser said. “It’s typical of human nature. You jump to the conclusion you want. Intelligence analysts do not argue with a president. They’re not going to tell the president, ‘if you interpret the data this way, I quit.’”

The next few days were his most successful as president. America rallied around its commander in chief, as it always does in times of war. Trump, who had campaigned as someone who advocated making peace with Assad, was bombing Syria 11 weeks after taking office, and was hailed for doing so by Republicans, Democrats and the media alike. One prominent TV anchorman, Brian Williams of MSNBC, used the word “beautiful” to describe the images of the Tomahawks being launched at sea. Speaking on CNN, Fareed Zakaria said: “I think Donald Trump became president of the United States.” A review of the top 100 American newspapers showed that 39 of them published editorials supporting the bombing in its aftermath, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.

“The issue is, what if there’s another false flag sarin attack credited to hated Syria? Trump has upped the ante and painted himself into a corner with his decision to bomb. And do not think these guys are not planning the next faked attack. Trump will have no choice but to bomb again, and harder. He’s incapable of saying he made a mistake.”

this is a criticism of trump by his enemies. yeah, it's probably all true, but the glee with which the low-lifes in the 'intelligence community' pile on the rump discredit them even more. they kept their hands in their pockets, made copious notes for the 'exclusive' to hersh, 'only' had to kill 'six people on the base' and 'nine others in surrounding villages'.

and 'we' all approved 'our' president for acting like one. everything about this sick vignette stinks.

they got their cake and ate it too.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 25 2017 13:48 utc | 49

jfl @ 48

Possibly your guess is correct as to the identity of Hersh's sources for this article (which I have not actually read yet) as "Trump enemies". However I am much more inclined to suppose (based on what has been said here so far regarding the piece) that Hersh's sources were analysts involved with the actual intelligence, of the just sort that Philip Giraldi was talking about in his interview with Scott Horton hours before Trump's cruise missile strike on April 6 - some of whom were contemplating going public with their strong dissent, according to Giraldi. Giraldi has stressed elsewhere that around 80 percent of the rank-and-file at CIA voted for Trump, and this may well hold of the current CIA and military intelligence analysts he was in communication with at the time and who were said to be highly distressed by the rush-to-"judgement" they saw in progress: https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/scotthortonshow/4617-philip-giraldi-says-ic-military-doubt-assad-gas-narrative/

Posted by: Norumbega | Jun 25 2017 15:13 utc | 50

Hersh's source: "... I guess it didn’t matter whether we elected Clinton or Trump."

How Things Work: Betrayal by Faux Populist Leaders

Taken In: Fake News Distracts US from Fake Election

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jun 25 2017 15:53 utc | 51

Unfortuneately, Hersh's article suffers from a number of flaws:

1. It is infused with Trump hate. This is myopic and wrong-headed. The Hersh accepts the spin that the attack was due to Trump's inexperience and personality flaws.

2. Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia soon after the attack on Syria isn't mentioned. Nor is Trump's tweeting in support of Saudi Arabia in their "dispute" with Qatar.

3. Trump's tweets in 2013 warning Obama not to bomb Syria are not mentioned.

4. Trump's ignoring of the bombing of buses (many kids were killed) only days later:

Attack On Syrian Bus Convoy Killed At Least 68 Children, Monitor Says

<> <> <> <> <> <> <>

Best response to the sarin claims: derisive, sarcastic humor (with apologies to Monty Python):

Dead Psy-op

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jun 25 2017 16:17 utc | 52

@4 laguerre.. thanks.. yes - some internal conflict of some sort... pentagon verses cia, with data from the usual suspects trying to push an agenda a particular way... it goes with the saudi-qatar dust-up which seems to be a byproduct of more discomfort in wahabbi heaven and not completely making sense outwardly anyway..

zionists and wahabbis.. both hard core zealous fanatics - ought to get along fine just like the crew in idlib...

Posted by: james | Jun 25 2017 16:24 utc | 53

If Israeli government planners were, say, a charitable organization, particulary a Muslim charitable organization, their funds would be seized/frozen by the US government, its leaders, indeed any individuals who contributed to the organization, would be named as terrorists and/or terrorist supporters, and they would be arrested, indicted, imprisoned, and fined large amounts.

But, of course, this will not happen under the Neocon and Neolib administrations of the US. Anything done to attack secular Muslim and/or Shiite leaders and their nations is A-OK with the USA.

Such rank hypocrisy is the norm in the USA and for its lap dog allies.

Otherwise, BushBoy and Obama and many of their underlings (including Hillary) would be under indictment for their crimes of supporting Al Qaeda, and its AKA offshoots. But in the global Wild West, anything supported by the leadership is acceptable.

It is very interesting that the WSJ has written such an article (albeit I can't read it without going to the library...).

Posted by: jawbone | Jun 25 2017 18:20 utc | 54

israel / al qaeda-isis air force back at it again the past 24 hours... lets hope the wsj does another write up linking israel and their headchopper friends.. i am not counting on it... that was a temporary moment of sanity for the wsj!

Posted by: james | Jun 25 2017 19:08 utc | 55

@54 jawbone

an open link to the wsj article, Israel Gives Secret Aid to Syrian Rebels

Posted by: jfl | Jun 26 2017 2:11 utc | 56

Syrian Army repels another horde of Israeli-backed jihadists in Quneitra countryside

Yesterday, the Army of Muhammad operations room launched a second wave of attacks on pro-government forces near al-Baath in what appears to be an ongoing offensive to capture the city; this new push came immediately after the Israeli Air Force struck pro-government forces in and around the city, killing several soldiers and destroying a number of tanks and fire support positions. Nonetheless, the SAA and its allies have managed to repel all attacks on the city and military checkpoints surrounding it.

According to military sources in the area, more than 40 jihadists of HTS have been killed and some 100 plus injured over the past three days of the battle for al-Baath. Many of the injured jihadists have been hospitalized in Israeli field hospitals set up near the Golan border; this is by no means a recent phenomenon for Israel has been known to be providing medical support to Golan-based jihadists since at least as far back as 2013.

the israeli army as the air force of muhammad. the usaf as the isaf.

someone - likkelmore? - linked to “We got a fuckin‘ problem”, a partial transcript of a running internet chat between an 'american soldier' and a 'security adviser' provided to hersh as part of 'the package' that i had overlooked ... the 'soldier' seems the more senior of the two. the adviser seems to be either unheeded or a 'former' adviser. the chat seems crafted to deliver the impression that the people in the us army do not support the 'efforts' of the 'us-coalition' in syria. who knows?

i imagine there's no problem with support for the army of muhammad among the israelis?

Posted by: jfl | Jun 26 2017 13:00 utc | 57