New York Times Fakes The Record About Arming The Syrian Rebels
History as faked by the New York Times:
Kurds’ Sense of Betrayal Compounded by Empowerment of Unsavory Rivals
Ben Hubbard, David D. Kirkpatrick, NYT 18. Oct 2019
Now, [..] the sense of betrayal among the Kurds [..] is matched only by their outrage at who will move in: Turkish soldiers supported by Syrian fighters the United States had long rejected as extremists, criminals and thugs.
...
The deadly battles [..] have also given new leeway to Syrian fighters once considered too extreme or unruly to receive American military support.
...
Grandly misnamed the Syrian National Army, this coalition of Turkish-backed militias is in fact largely composed of the dregs of the eight-year-old conflict’s failed rebel movement.
Early in the war [..] the military and the C.I.A. sought to train and equip moderate, trustworthy rebels to fight the government and the Islamic State.A few of those now fighting in the northeast took part in those failed programs, but most were rejected as too extreme or too criminal. Some have expressed extremist sensibilities or allied with jihadist groups.
The reality is the opposite of what the NYT claims. The majority of the groups now fighting with the Turkish army had earlier received support from the U.S. Even their nominal leader is the same one who the U.S. earlier paid, armed and promoted.
COMPONENTS OF THE NATIONAL ARMY AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNIFICATION
Ömer Özkizilcik, SETA, October 2019
On August 31, the Syrian National Coalition came together and elected the president and the cabinet of the Syrian Interim Government in which Abdurrahman Mustafa was elected president and Salim Idriss was elected defense minister. With the new cabinet, the Syrian Interim Government became more active on the ground, started visiting each faction of the National Army, and accelerated the stalled negotiations to unite the National Army and the NLF under one command.
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Among the 41 factions that joined the merger, 15 are from the NLF and 26 from the National Army. Thirteen of these factions were formed after the United States cut its support to the armed Syrian opposition. Out of the 28 factions, 21 were previously supported by the United States, three of them via the Pentagon’s program to combat DAESH. Eighteen of these factions were supplied by the CIA via the MOM Operations Room in Turkey, a joint intelligence operation room of the ‘Friends of Syria’ to support the armed opposition. Fourteen factions of the 28 were also recipients of the U.S.-supplied TOW anti-tank guided missiles.
The SETA study provides a detailed list of the groups involved in the current Turkish invasion of Syria. Not only is their commander Salim Idriss a former U.S. stooge but the majority of these groups did receive U.S. support and weapons.
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The New York Times claim that only "a few of those" who now fight the YPG Kurds took part in the U.S. programs is a blatant lie.
The NYT piece quotes three 'experts' who testify that the 'rebels' the U.S. had armed are really, really bad:
“These are the misfits of the conflict, the worst of the worst,” said Hassan Hassan, a Syrian-born scholar tracking the fighting. “They have been notorious for extortion, theft and banditry, more like thugs than rebels — essentially mercenaries.”
It was Hassan Hassan who since the start of the conflict lobbied for arming the rebels from his perch at the UAE's media flagship The National.
Another 'expert' quoted is the Israeli propagandist Elizabeth Tsurkov:
“They are basically gangsters, but they are also racist toward Kurds and other minorities,” said Elizabeth Tsurkov, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “No human should be subjected to their rule.”
Tsurkov earlier lauded the Israeli hiring and arming of the very same 'Syrian rebels'.
Another 'expert' quoted by the Times is a co-chair of the 'congressionally sponsored bipartisan Syrian Study Group':
“We are turning areas that had been controlled by our allies over to the control of criminals or thugs, or that in some cases groups were associated or fighting alongside Al Qaeda,” said Ms. Stroul, of the Syrian Study Group. “It is a profound and epic strategic blunder.”
The 'Syrian Study Group' wants to prolong the war on Syria. Ms. Stroul and her co-chair Michael Singh reside at the Washington Institute which is a part of the Zionist lobby and has long argued for 'arming the Syrian rebels'.
The Times report does not mention that the 'experts' it quotes all once lobbied for arming the very same groups they are now lamenting about. When these groups ran rampant in the areas they took from the Syrian government the Times and its 'experts' were lauding them all the way. No effort to support them was big enough. All crimes they committed were covered up or excused.
Now, as the very same rebels attack the Kurds, they are suddenly called out for being what they always have been.
Posted by b on October 20, 2019 at 11:19 UTC | Permalink
Add to that, that the Turks now threaten SAA with "full out war".
John Helmers latest post sheds light on the fact, that the Russian military leadership and the Stavka in general has warned Putin since the Idlib deal again and again to no avail that the Turks would do this.
Which seems now to have been proven true since the US-Turk deal, which in essence changed everything overnight.
Posted by: DontBelieveEitherPr. | Oct 20 2019 12:16 utc | 2
As the extremity of propaganda in mainstream news becomes more obvious a few American consumers of news do begin to have doubts. Most continue to be entirely uncritical. The barflies here are in the habit of being critical, analytic, skeptical when reading any news from any source. That is not the American way.
The cohort of educated prosperous middle class readers of the NYT has total faith in NYT. Having the paper edition on the doorstep in the morning is a badge of membership. A totem that gives them status. Questioning any word or phrase or clause that appears in print is wrong. Asking questions means something is wrong with you. The Times is never wrong. Those who doubt the Times have mental health issues. Or they are alt-right. Or they are deplorable. For the intended audience the propaganda feed is always completely effective. Readers of the Times will never untie the knot.
Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 20 2019 12:21 utc | 3
"Why" always seem like a good question, eh? The NYT lies...why?
This quote caught my attention> " The powerful and historical walls to study today are those of the Kremlin." (Fisk, information clearing house)
As it was for Winston's "Ministry of Truth" (Orwell) the NYT article is necessary. That's the significance - not the lies but the necessity of lies...
And under what situations are lies required? Think about that when (if) you read Fisk's analysis. (I am not a fan of Fisk, but his views in this instance align with my own rather well)
Fisk article title> "Trump’s disgrace in the Middle East is the death of an empire. Vladimir Putin is Caesar now"
Some may recall that the monks on Mt Athos quietly elected VVP as the Byzantine Emperor (about 2 years ago) - the Eastern branch of Christianity continues whilst nominally christian(western) branch is fake and perverse ritual and worse...while his Popeness in Rome has as Luther saw... I think Luther said it was a vast brothel...
Does this need Daniel to read the writing...
which is?
mene mene tekel upharsin (well somebody said..)
By the way my vote for the clown-man was cast because I reasoned the best esthetic feature in the freak parade at the end of empire would be a clown act. I am indebted to the late George Carlin for the symbolism.
I am proved right? I think so. Dogs bark and caravan continue...and many expect dollars to go weimarish. then?
Posted by: Walter | Oct 20 2019 12:29 utc | 4
B wants links done in a certain form. The instructions for that form appears at the top of the comment window.. I have done your link in accord with my understanding of the requirement.
I took the liberty of arranging the Richard Diagnostic in a suggested way for memory
civil defense at its best that I have tried to put into an easy to remember form..
____2) right,never wrong____4) Ignore Stuff____ 6) make shit up
---------------------------------\-------------/--------------/
(1) Est. A narrative <=EN, WR, PF, IS, BV, MU, AC, RL <=> 8) Repeat the Lies
----------------------------------------/-----------\--------------------\
________3) cherry pick the facts____5) Blame Victim__7) Attack challengers
1. EN 2. WR 3. PF, 4.IS 5. BV 6. MU 7. AC 8.Rl
I believe the 8 point Richard Dx should be numbered to enable barflies to refer to the line items as they analyze each article, and listen to each narrative. If the public learns how to use the Richard Diagnostic it will be much easier for them to discover the malicious intents embedded in their daily allotment of Propaganda. I would recommend every encounter with propaganda be identified, numbered in accord with the Richard Diagnostic (RDx). Thanks, this is a much needed contribution to the field of civil defense.
and on the day in which we first discussed on this list that Turkey was invading I opined, The Sanctions against Turkey were a cover of sorts, but in fact a threat in reverse directed against Erdogan: Sanctions would apply iff Erdogan failed to enter Syria and release ISIS and others against Assad.. I also said Trump had to make a choice, Syria or Saudi Arabia to defend the Saudi against the Houthi.. seems that too is happening. you just can't believe what you read.. anywhere but at MoA.
Posted by: snake | Oct 20 2019 12:57 utc | 5
Ahh.. "experts"... Hassan Hassan is not a Syrian-born scholar, but a Syrian "born-scholar"... Nuance. Or is it "a natural-born-scholar"? ...
As for Israeli propagandist Elizabeth Tsurkov, those very same "bad extremists" she now repudiates on Twitter she once excused for mutilating children "because they were deeply traumatised"... A very coherent "expert"!!
From The Grayzone, Ben Norton and Aaron Maté (and Dan Cohen) about Tsurkov: Western pundits who lobbied for Syrian rebels now admit they are jihadist extremists, Oct. 16 (about Tsurkov, go about 1:45 and the rest):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkg4wJFpc_E
Now Tsurkov seems rather busy rooting for some "color revolution" to take place in Lebanon. Where is Israel?...
As for the picture of Guy Verhofstadt next to Salim Idriss, it seems very aptly to epitomize the EU "politics" about the Syrian conflict: "How tasty those American boots are!! Wanna lick more American boots, please!!"
Posted by: Red Corvair | Oct 20 2019 12:57 utc | 6
Ahh.. "experts"... Hassan Hassan is not a Syrian-born scholar, but a Syrian "born-scholar"... Nuance. Or is it "a natural-born-scholar"? ...
If he is writing nothing but lies he is not any kind of scholar at all except a fake scholar. Nor is he a journalist. He is a propagandist, nothing else. Call a spade a spade.
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Ahhh, I've just posted to the Media and Pundits thread, but it should have come here much more sensibly. Anyway the post is top a new page over there, on Trump and Syria's oil fields.
Posted by: BM | Oct 20 2019 13:11 utc | 7
The new narrative seems to me to have everything to do with Turkey and nothing to do with Russia. A comment in the last Syria-related thread.
Then again there are so many loose ends concerning Turkey that almost anything could happen (coup attempt and "cleansing", dead ambassadors, Cyprus, Greece, Armenia, Syria, ISIS and others, Kurds, weapon deals, shooting down a Russian plane, annoying Europe and the EU as well as the US and just about everybody, some only politically but many militarily as well (at least the US, Germany, and France), the list surely goes on).
As I commented I'm not convinced Turkey will survive this, are they able to stop and reverse if they find they've set themselves up?
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Oct 20 2019 13:18 utc | 8
Turkey might be playing a double-game, or plan to betray one side - whether it'll be US or Russia remains to be seen. But that this is all a clever NATO plot conflicts a bit with the fact that the US is systematically destroying its bases in NE Syria. Sure, that might be because they don't want the SAA to use them and to plunder them for techs and scraps, but that would also make things more complicated for a Turkish take-over - it will surely considerably slow the process if the Turkish army and its lackeys have to do everything back from scratches.
Besides, odds are that Putin has taken that into consideration and has some contingency measures ready, just in case - not that they could fully stop Turkish aggression in its tracks in a couple of hours, but still.
Posted by: Clueless Joe | Oct 20 2019 14:19 utc | 9
Meanwhile Nicholas Kristof at the NYTimes also is whitewashing Obama’s Syrian policy. He conveniently forgets Timber Sycamore (the CIA’s second largest operation, over $1 billion) to overthrow Assad - 2013-2017, that allowed ISIS to get a firm foothold.
Trump Takes Incoherence and Inhumanity and Calls It Foreign Policy
“It was just five years ago that an American president, faced with a crisis on Syria’s border, acted decisively and honorably.”
“Barack Obama responded with airstrikes and a rescue operation in 2014 when the Islamic State started a genocide against members of the Yazidi sect, slaughtering men and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery. Obama’s action, along with a heroic intervention by Kurdish fighters, saved tens of thousands of Yazidi lives.”
“Contrast Obama’s move, successfully working with allies to avert a genocide, with President Trump’s betrayal this month of those same Kurdish partners in a way that handed a victory to the Islamic State, Turkey, Syria, Iran — and, of course, Russia,….”
Posted by: Stever | Oct 20 2019 14:46 utc | 10
@ Walter 5: “I reasoned the best esthetic feature in the freak parade at the end of empire would be a clown act”
Just love it!!
On a side note. Last night met with a new friend couple for dinner. Both are highly educated and work in technical professions. Accordingly they pride themselves in logical thinking ability. I wanted to check out their political leanings and asked about Trump’s troop pullback in Syria. Not surprisingly, both were outraged. When asked about their rationale the expected answer was Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds. I politely pointed out that our troops’ presence in Syria violates both domestic and international laws. That was news to them!!! One of them did lamely point out that Assad is a brutal dictator. Being new “friends”, we refrained from further in depth political discussions. That incidence further convinced me of the impending total collapse of the empire.
Posted by: Nathan Mulcahy | Oct 20 2019 14:53 utc | 11
There has been some discussion regarding Syrian oilfields, here's some more on that.
The Syrian Democratic Council is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, including sites of Syrian oilfields. The SDC's stated mission is working towards the implementation of a "secular, democratic and decentralized system for all of Syria. The Syrian Democratic Council was established on 10 December 2015 in Al-Malikiyah.
Here is a letter dated Jan 21, 2019 from the SDC to the CEO of Global Development Corporation (GDC) Inc. in New Jersey, "a formal acceptance of your company, GDC, to represent the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in all matters related to the sale of oil owned by SDC . .the estimate off production of crude oil to be 400,000 barrels per day. . .current daily production is 125,000 barrels. ."
The CEO of New Jersey's GDC (no mention on the web) is Mordechai (Moti) Kahana (Hebrew: מוטי כהנא; born February 28, 1968, Jerusalem, Israel) is an Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist. He is most notable for his work for the civil war refugees in Syria. . .Since 2011 he heads a group of Israeli businessmen and American Jews who travel to the Syrian refugee camps to provide humanitarian aid to Syrian Civil War refugees.. . He paid for Senator John McCain's trip to war-torn Syria. . .here.
The GDC mailing address is the Roxbury Mall, 275 Route 10 E, Succasunna, NJ.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Oct 20 2019 15:25 utc | 12
Southfront reports that Turkish mercenaries have taken over Ras Al-Ayn. Did I overlook something? Why didn't the SAA take over after the SDF left?
Posted by: Hausmeister | Oct 20 2019 15:27 utc | 13
re: Salim Idriss a former U.S. stooge
WSJ, Jun 12, 2013
Rebels Plead for Weapons in Face of Syrian Onslaught
A top Syrian rebel commander has issued a desperate plea for weapons from Western governments to prevent the fall of his forces in Aleppo, pushing the Obama administration to decide quickly whether to agree to arm rebels for the first time or risk the loss of another rebel stronghold just days after the regime's biggest victory.Gen. Salim Idris, the top Syrian rebel commander backed by the West, issued a detailed request in recent days to the U.S., France and Britain for antitank missiles, antiaircraft weapons and hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds, according to U.S. and European officials and Mr. Idris's request to the Americans, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Gen. Idris's call comes at a pivotal moment in Syria's war, following rapid-fire gains by Bashar al-Assad forces, including last week's recapture of Qusayr, a strategic town near the Lebanon border. Fighters from Hezbollah, which were crucial in helping the Assad regime to take Qusayr, are now massing around Aleppo, say rebels and Western officials. . .here
This was after H. Clinton (SecState) and D. Petraeus (CIA) wanted to fully arm the US-supported rebels but President Obama declined. Clinton had resigned Feb 1, 2013.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Oct 20 2019 15:54 utc | 14
I am shocked, shocked, shocked, to find out that lying is going on in the establishment of the NYT.
Posted by: worldblee | Oct 20 2019 16:57 utc | 15
thanks b... stellar writing and comments throughout... i especially liked your last line :
"Now, as the very same rebels attack the Kurds, they are suddenly called out for being what they always have been."
@13 don bacon - the address says it all.. The GDC mailing address is the Roxbury Mall, 275 Route 10 E, Succasunna, NJ.
Posted by: james | Oct 20 2019 17:24 utc | 16
regarding the nyt, larry johnson has a post up on sst here.. i quote from it :
"Let us start with a reminder of how damn corrupt the NY Times and its reporters are. Consider this paragraph penned by Adam Goldman and William Rashbaum:
Closely overseen by Mr. Barr, Mr. Durham and his investigators have sought help from governments in countries that figure into right-wing attacks and unfounded conspiracy theories about the Russia investigation, stirring criticism that they are trying to deliver Mr. Trump a political victory rather than conducting an independent review.
"Unfounded conspiracy theories?" What a damn joke."
Posted by: james | Oct 20 2019 17:27 utc | 17
Wow! Quite a knee jerk reaction by the NY Times to Max Blumenthal's 16 Oct article in The Grayzone, "The US has backed 21 of the 28 ‘crazy’ militias leading Turkey’s brutal invasion of northern Syria," which I linked to Friday. It's great to see such a reaction to what for most people's an obscure online publication.
Notice of MoA website change: I must now type in my name and email every time I want to comment after years of never needing to do so. My issue might be related to the one ben encountered in thinking he couldn't comment, which you can't if those two fields aren't filled.
Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 20 2019 17:31 utc | 18
@snake #6
See the growing collection of related techniques by David Martin (aka dcdave): Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
"Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party..."
Posted by: Tom Ratliff | Oct 20 2019 17:47 utc | 19
Trump should not have sent Pence and Pompeo to Turkey. They will do everything possible to derail the rollback of the US in Syria. They are both more subtle than Bolton but they are both neocons. If you want anything done, you have to do it yourself.
Posted by: Cloak And Dagger | Oct 20 2019 18:12 utc | 20
karlof1 19
I ran onto that some time ago.
Placing the pointer onto the name and email boxes then double left click brings up user name and email.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Oct 20 2019 18:20 utc | 21
Peter AU 1 @22--
Thanks for the tip, but your prescribed fix-it method didn't work.
Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 20 2019 18:39 utc | 22
karlof1
I usually post on the yandex browser. Just tried it on the vivaldi and opera browser and worked fine there also. Two left clicks with yandex and vivaldi brings up username or email addresses, one left click for opera. (a box opens up with previously used user name or email address applicable to the box clicked on.)
Not sure why its not working for you. Possibly computer setting to do with saving form info. Someone more into IT know how may be able to come up with the answer for that
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Oct 20 2019 18:52 utc | 23
Folks having browser issues with MoA
I am using Opera on a Mac and not having any problems.....YMMV
Posted by: psychohistorian | Oct 20 2019 19:31 utc | 24
Been having the same issue since b did some site tweaking last spring (?)..
Posted by: Lozion | Oct 20 2019 19:51 utc | 25
Why Yandex, Vivaldi, opera .... ? Should I not be using Safari (on Mac and iPhone) and why?
Posted by: Nathan Mulcahy | Oct 20 2019 20:13 utc | 26
FYI, the double-click technique works on my Pale Moon browser.
After B.'s tweaking removed the pre-populated feature, I discovered that entering the first letter in the respective fields "summons" the stored signon information in a drop-down box, so it can be entered with a click.
But this tip is an improvement, so thanks to Peter AU et al.
Posted by: Ort | Oct 20 2019 20:18 utc | 27
The MSM need to be called out for their unrealistic romanticization of the Kurds. The Kurds traditionally worked as subordinate allies of the Ottomans, and they sometimes slaughtered Arabs to keep them in their place in the Ottoman Empire. The slaughtering and exploitation of Arabs and various Sunni tribal groups continued to a certain extent in the twentieth century as well, and there is apparently a lot of bad blood between the Kurds and their neighbors. Perhaps that explains why the Kurds happily betrayed the Syrian government when it was down and stole Syria's oil, selling it to Israel. Also see the excellent article on the Kurds by Thierry Meyssan, the first of three:
https://www.voltairenet.org/article207992.html
Posted by: Dao Gen | Oct 20 2019 20:23 utc | 28
@1
I would summarize it into three major techniques, that would be punishable in the court of law.
1. Outright lies. (to tell the truth)
2. Omissions of major facts from the story. (the whole truth)
3. Inventing some lies to dress up the main story. (and only the truth)
Repeat a hundred times.
But "journalists" have to eat, too.
Posted by: Choderlos de Lanclos | Oct 21 2019 0:01 utc | 29
@ Nathan Mulcahy | Oct 20 2019 14:53 utc | 12
Glad ya liked it. It's true, though if H had been anointed we'd be dead, I bet...this was another motivation...
Sad to say that the experience you had has also been mine. The popular level of suspended disbelief is breathtaking...
No point is disabusing them - they're ok, and you can't help them...and they'll be upset, and suspect you of putin-love or whatever, gestapo spank...?
People want to believe what they will - Caesar, I think, sorta.
They don't need to know...
Posted by: Walter | Oct 21 2019 0:27 utc | 30
@23 karlof1
Probably need to turn on form autofill in the browser you use for it to be retained. Still need to click into the field to bring it up. Double-click is no-go for me but I get the drop down autofill name to select to fill the field, one per each field.
With me this is recent from the last day or so.
I may post this over in the open thread too, I'm sure others are getting this.
Posted by: Grieved | Oct 21 2019 2:03 utc | 31
@ Grieved 32 & karlof1 23
I've got a mac and use Opera for my browser and i've had no changes. I always have to sign in my name, but email is a left click. Nor do i have to sign in before writing my post. It can be accomplished before or after signing in.
Thank you karlof1 for the link to The Secret Team by Col. L. Fletcher Prouty it tis an eye opener.
Posted by: aye, myself & me | Oct 21 2019 3:01 utc | 32
Timber Sycamore - CIA Assad must go project
The CIA has never publicized their list of sponsored rebels, has it? So I have wondered how people SETA and others come up with these lists.
I can see how you can derive some like the Al Zenki Movement because when our State Dept. announces ending our support one can conclude that we had supported them.
Another possible way would be if they appeared on the list we gave to the Russians in 2015 in the second ceasefire agreement and the Russians published that list.
Posted by: Christian J Chuba | Oct 21 2019 12:29 utc | 33
Don Bacon on the Syrian Oil Fields
No doubt, the SDF areas produce enough oil in their sparsely populated areas that they can export oil for a profit. Where does that money go, who knows there is no audit. If the oil was shared with the rest of Syria, which is their rightful property there would be enough for full domestic consumption.
It infuriates me to know end that people like Lyndsey Graham and Jack Keane are held up as titans in our MSM as they gleefully suggest that we keep robbing the Syrians and claim that we are 'protecting the oil fields from Iran'. The MSM is too stupid or dishonest to challenge this lie.
Posted by: Christian J Chuba | Oct 21 2019 12:34 utc | 34
The Trump / Keane / Graham Doctrine
https://news.antiwar.com/2019/10/20/us-to-keep-troops-in-east-syria-to-control-syrias-oil/
'We have secured the oil fields'
The small minded vindictiveness of this is astonishing. Can we literally secure the oil fields, I don't think so but it is designed to enourage the Kurds to not deal with Damascus by promising them to the oil for themselves. We always have to play the spoiler. I hope this ends up in the most humiliating embarrassment ever.
Posted by: Christian J Chuba | Oct 21 2019 13:00 utc | 35
Christian J Chuba | Oct 21 2019 13:00 utc | 36
According to what is been written here in these areas there are no Kurds. Just arabic tribes that had an alliance first with IS, later, promoted by US, they moved under the umbrella of SDF. As this is dissolving now this umbrella is no longer functional.
Posted by: Hausmeister | Oct 21 2019 13:25 utc | 36
There is nothing to be surprised at. The usual, primitive, standard practice of Western MSM in reporting on events. It is no longer about objectivity, adequacy, competence (and even more so honesty).
When a situation occurs in circumstances convenient for Western elites, this is good, it is highlighted positively. When a similar situation occurs in circumstances that are inconvenient/unpleasant for Western elites, it is bad, it is criticized and condemned in every way.
Separation of Kosovo from Serbia, whose “legitimacy” was legally recognized by a UN court, is good, it’s legal, it is “democratic”.
The incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Federation based including on this very decision (precedent) of a UN court is “annexation” and “aggression”.
The liberation of the city of Aleppo by the Syrian army and Russian Aerospace Forces from terrorist gangs is “genocide”, “seizure of the city”, “bloody tyrant Assad”, “last hospital” and so on.
Similar actions (btw, much more destructive and indiscriminate) of the American coalition in Raqqa are a necessary and completely legitimate fight against terrorism (civilians killed are just "collateral losses", of course).
Regular and large-scale NATO exercises at the European theater of operations are a legitimate and "peaceful" refinement of the coherence of the Allies' actions to protect their interests.
The exercises of the Russian army (on the territory of Russia itself) are an "unfriendly step", a rattling of arms, a demonstration of strength, "bad intentions" and a threat to Europe.
The list goes on and on.
That jihadi far right in the picture with McCain - wasn't he the one in the stills from the 8 year old Palestinian boy execution, who also appears as a White Helmet in other photos?
Posted by: BM | Oct 21 2019 16:58 utc | 39
The comments to this entry are closed.
Okay how practical.
Now only is the NYT trying to whitewash themselves by faking, they are also kind enough to do the same for their Jihadi lovin partners in crime.
How empathic! How sensible! Like a true moral authority.
BTW: It seems my previous claims were right. The Turks made a 180 and allied with the US again, reviving the NATO allaince. Now that the Kurds are out of the way in Turk-US relations, US and NATO has much more to offer than Russia, and noe Erdogan has support from NATO and will not be deterred by Putin.
B, i respect you immensly, but your belief the Turkish invasion was Erdogan doing some secret Putin plan was unproven at the time, and now, AT LEAST since the US-Turk deal, is obsolte.
Read M. K. BHADRAKUMARs blog, he thought like you, but after the US-Turk deal, EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED:
https://indianpunchline.com/us-stokes-the-fires-of-turkish-revanchism/
"The extraordinary US overture to Turkey regarding northern Syria resulted in a joint statement on Thursday, whose ramifications can be rated only in the fulness of time , as several intersecting tracks are running.
The US objectives range from Trump’s compulsions in domestic politics to the future trajectory of the US policies toward Syria and the impact of any US-Turkish rapprochement on the geopolitics of the Syrian conflict.
Meanwhile, the US-Turkish joint statement creates new uncertainties. The two countries have agreed on a set of principles — Turkey’s crucial status as a NATO power ; security of Christian minorities in Syria; prevention of an ISIS surge; creation of a “safe zone” on Turkish-Syrian border; a 120-hour ceasefire (“pause”) in Turkish military operations leading to a permanent halt, hopefully.
The devil lies in the details. Principally, there is no transparency regarding the future US role in Syria . The Kurds and the US military will withdraw from the 30-kilometre broad buffer zone. What thereafter? In the words of the US Vice-President Mike Pence at the press conference in Ankara on Thursday,
“Kurdish population in Syria, with which we have a strong relationship, will continue to endure. The United States will always be grateful for our partnership with SDF in defeating ISIS, but we recognise the importance and the value of a safe zone to create a buffer between Syria proper and the Kurdish population and — and the Turkish border. And we’re going to be working very closely .”
To be sure, everything devolves upon the creation of the safe zone. Turkey envisages a zone stretching across the entire 440 kilometre border with Syria upto Iraqi border, while the US special envoy James Jeffrey remains non-committal, saying it is up to the “Russians and the Syrians in other areas of the northeast and in Manbij to the west of the Euphrates” to agree to Turkey’s maximalist stance.
Herein lies the rub. Jeffrey would know Ankara will never get its way with Moscow and Damascus. In fact, President Bashar al-Assad told in unequivocal terms to a high-level Russian delegation visiting Damascus on Friday, “At the current phase it is necessary to focus on putting an end to aggression and on the pullout of all Turkish, US and other forces illegally present in Syrian territories.”
Is there daylight between Moscow and Damascus on this highly sensitive issue? Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s forthcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on October 22 may provide an answer.
Clearly, the US hopes wrench Turkey from the Russian embrace. Moscow’s studied indifference toward the US-Turkish cogitations betrays its uneasiness. Conceivably, Erdogan will expect Putin to take a holistic view, considering Russia’s flourishing and high lucrative economic and military ties with Turkey and the imperative to preserve the momentum of Russia-Turkey relationship.
If the US policy in Syria in recent years promoted the Kurdish identity, it has now swung to the other extreme of stoking the fires of Turkish revanchism. This is potentially catastrophic for regional stability. The heart of the matter is that while Turkey’s concerns over terrorism and the refugee problem are legitimate, Operation Peace Spring has deeper moorings: Turkey’s ambitions as regional power and its will to correct the perceived injustice of territorial losses incurred during the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. The ultra-nationalistic Turkish commentator (and staunch supporter of Erdogan) wrote this week in the pro-government daily Yeni Safak:
“Turkey once again revived the millennium-old political history on Anatolian territory. It took action with a mission that will carry the legacy of the Seljuks, the Ottomans, the Republic of Turkey to the next stage… It is not possible to set an equation in this region by excluding Turkey – it will not happen. A map cannot be drawn that excludes Turkey – it will not happen. A power cannot be established without Turkey – it will not happen. Throughout history, both the rise and fall of this country has altered the region… the mind in Turkey is now a regional mind, a regional conscience, a regional identity. President Erdoğan is the pioneer, the bearer of that political legacy from the Seljuks, the Ottomans, and the Turkish Republic to the future.”
Trump is unlikely to pay attention to the irredentist instincts in Turkish regional policies. Trump’s immediate concerns are to please the evangelical Christian constituency in the US and silence his critics who allege that he threw the Kurds under the bus or that a ISIS resurgence is imminent. But there is no way the US can deliver on the tall promises made in the joint statement. The Kurds have influential friends in the Pentagon. (See the article by Gen. Joseph Votel, former chief of the US Central Command, titled The Danger of Abandoning our Partners.) Nonetheless, the main outcome will be that Turkey feels it has western support for its long-term occupation of Syrian territory.
All in all, it’s a “win-win” for Erdogan insofar as he got what he wanted — US’ political and diplomatic support for “the kind of long-term buffer zone that will ensure peace and stability in the region”, to borrow the words of Vice President Pence. A Turkish withdrawal from Syrian territory can now be virtually ruled out. State secretary Mike Pompeo added at the press conference in Ankara on Thursday that there is “a great deal of work to do in the region. There’s lots of challenges that remain.”
Pompeo said Erdogan’s “decision to work alongside President Trump… will be one that I think will benefit Turkey a great deal.” Arguably, US expects Turkey’s cooperation to strengthen its strategy in Syria (and Iraq) where it seeks to contain Iran’s influence. From Ankara, Pompeo travelled to Jerusalem to brief Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. "
Posted by: DontBelieveEitherPr. | Oct 20 2019 12:12 utc | 1