Syria Summit Kicks Off In Russia With Some Anti-Saudi Trolling

While in Sochi, Russia for trilateral talks between Russia, Iran, and Turkey over the future of Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has taken to Twitter for some serious trolling. As the first day of the summit concluded - a day preceded by a rare 4-hour visit to Russia by Syrian President Bashar Assad who met with Putin on Monday - Zarif stated, "No need for empty words or gimmicks - including glowing orbs - when you"re actually working for peace and against terror."

The Iranian FM was of course referring to the unforgettable photo op which lit up the internet from Trump"s inaugural visit to Saudi Arabia last May wherein Trump along with Saudi King Salman and Egypt"s Sisi laid their hands on a strange glowing orb upon the opening of something called the "Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology" (no one knows what the center has accomplished since then).

In the lead up to the summit, Zarif explained that the Iranian delegation headed by President Rouhani would be "working with Turkish & Russian counterparts to build on ceasefire we achieved in Syria & preparing for inclusive dialog among Syrians. Irony is KSA accuses Iran of destabilization, while itself fuels terrorists, wages war on Yemen, blockades Qatar & foments crisis in Lebanon."

And the other irony is that along with the continuing war of words between the Iranians and Saudis, parallel summits are happening at the same time over Syria. On Wednesday a Syrian opposition conference kicked off in Riyadh which aims to unite fragmented opposition groups ahead of next week"s UN-backed Syria talks in Geneva next week.

But statements from Sochi appeared more triumphant, with a many analysts and media pundits interpreting the ongoing summit between presidents Putin, Erdogan, and Rouhani, as a victory lap of sorts which will involve discussion of the fate of post-war Syria, driven by the victorious Russians and Iranians with reluctant Erdogan in tow, perhaps clawing for the geopolitical scraps.

And the Russian embassy in the UK decided to take the opportunity to rub it in, with the following tweet:

Why so jealous, @thetimes? Britain could join Russia on the right side of history. pic.twitter.com/i1zMgP2jN9

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) November 22, 2017

Putin"s own words during his brief surprise meeting with Assad on Monday, however, were more restrained: "We still have a long way to go before we achieve a complete victory over terrorists," he said. "But as far as our joint work in fighting terrorism on the territory of Syria is concerned, this military operation is indeed wrapping up."

Assad responded in comments to Russian state television after the meeting: "At this stage, especially after we achieved victory over terrorists, it is in our interests to move forward with the political process." And during Tuesday"s hour plus phone call between Trump and Putin, the Russian president reportedly assured Trump that the “Syrian leader confirmed adherence to the political process, to run a constitutional reform” and presidential and parliamentary elections.

??????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???????? #????? ? #?????.. ????? 2017 pic.twitter.com/HuYFLFLkc7

— Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) November 21, 2017

On Wednesday, upon the opening of the trilateral Sochi summit, Putin confidently announced that, "Russia, Iran and Turkey have prevented a break-up of Syria, kept it from being overrun by international terrorists and warded off a humanitarian catastrophe." And contrary to some speculation that Russia may eventually accept the breakup of Syria into different spheres of influence, Putin expressed hope that decisions reached at the summit would help "strengthen the territorial integrity of Syria."

He further reiterated commitment to constitutional reform in Syria and compromise among world powers currently operating there: “The Syrian people will have to determine their own future and agree on the principles of their own statehood. It is obvious that the process of reform will not be easy and will require compromises and concessions from all participants, including of course the government of Syria” Putin said Wednesday.

The controversial topic of reconstruction in Syria will also be under consideration at the summit, as Putin urged Turkey and Iran to join in the efforts. “Given the colossal scale of the destruction it would be possible to think together about the development of a comprehensive program for Syria,” he said.

In the past half-year Turkey has come under the Russian orbit in Syria after Erdogan"s early aggressive pursuit of regime change backfired which left him fighting for his political future and increasingly at odds with the United States and NATO. Turkey"s very presence at the summit is hugely significant, while at the same time both the US and EU have been sidelined.

The summit further aims to lay the groundwork for a Syrian national dialogue congress due to be hosted by Russia in December. It is possible that an entirely new constitution, including terms of future presidential elections (likely to include Assad running), will be framed during that future meeting involving members of the political opposition.

But it"s concerning the terms of this December Russian-sponsored meeting that Erdogan will seek to assert himself at Sochi: he is insisting that Syrian Kurds be excluded from the negotiating table on the grounds that they have links to the PKK and other Kurdish movements that Turkey labels as terrorists. However, it is unlikely that a lasting political settlement for Syria can be negotiated and successfully held without Syrian Kurdish input.

So it looks like things are moving forward concerning political settlement and future stability for Syria, entirely without direct US or European involvement or input.

China Joins Russia In Calling For Official Probe Into Use Of Chemical Weapons In Syria

If there was any confusion whether in addition to Moscow, Beijing was also behind Assad, today all doubts were laid to rest when both Russia and China called on all involved parties "to support the efforts of the OPCW and the United Nations in investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria," according to a joint statement by Russian and Chinese leaders on the current international situation posted on Kremlin website on Tuesday, following a meeting between Putin and China"s president Xi Jinping.

"The sides emphasize that in matters of chemical weapons in Syria, all parties, with respect to Syrian sovereignty, must support the efforts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW] and relevant UN structures to conduct an independent and comprehensive investigation in order to obtain irrefutable evidence, establish genuine circumstances and draw conclusions that are capable of withstanding the verification by facts and time."

Additionally, in the document Russia and China both "strongly condemn any use of chemical weapons anywhere and by anyone."

The statement came days after the White House claimed last week that a new attack involving chemical weapons was being prepared by the Syrian government, however, failed to and declined to present any evidence. Washington vowed to make Syrian authorities "pay a heavy price" in case of chemical weapons use. Commenting on the White House"s statement, the Kremlin said that it considers US threats against Syrian legitimate leadership to be "unacceptable." Damascus also denied the information.

Furthermore, after a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the two sides called for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, as well as for a political solution to the Arab country"s crisis through an inclusive dialogue.

"The parties underline the necessity of respecting the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, call for settlement of the Syrian crisis in a political and diplomatic manner through broad intra-Syrian dialogue without any preconditions and external intervention, for a search for a political settlement option that matches the particular Syrian conditions and takes the concerns of all the parties to the conflict into account.”

Moscow and Beijing also said they welcome the Geneva talks between representatives of Syrian government and the opposition, the statement said.

Meanwhile, going back to the original fake chemical attack that was used to justify the US ballistic missile strikes on Syria in April, Damascus has repeatedly denied any involvement in the incident and said that the Syrian government doesn"t possess chemical weapons as the full destruction of Damascus’ chemical weapons stockpile had been confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in January 2016.

So far the US has failed to explain why it refuses to accept the Syrian offer to investigate the airbase that served as the alleged source of the chemical attack, although one particular explanation is quite obvious to all.  In any case, should Trump resort to another attack on Syria, once again using the fabricated excuse that Assad"s regime used chemical weapons, this time the US will have not only Russia but China as its foreign policy adversaries, as the global axes are becoming increasingly more distinct ahead of the next world war.

Russia Expects China To Help Resolve Syrian Crisis, "Restore The Country"

Last summer, when the Syrian conflict was near its peak under the Obama administration, China unexpectedly warned it was ready to enter the proxy war when in a stunning announcement, Xinhua reported that Beijing was prepared to side with Syria - and Russia - and against the US-led alliance, and that Xi and Assad had agreed that the Chinese military will have closer ties with Syria and provide humanitarian aid to the civil war torn nation.

A high-ranking People"s Liberation Army officer also said that the training of Syrian personnel by Chinese instructors has also been discussed: the Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China"s Central Military Commission, Guan Youfei, arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for talks with Syrian Defense Minister Fahad Jassim al-Freij, Xinhua added. Guan said China had consistently played a positive role in pushing for a political resolution in Syria. "China and Syria"s militaries have a traditionally friendly relationship, and China"s military is willing to keep strengthening exchanges and cooperation with Syria"s military," Xinhua quoted Guan.

Rear Admiral Guan Youfei

As Reuters also added at the time, China tends to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, namely the United States, Britain, France and Russia, while relying on the region for oil supplies. But over the past two years, China has been trying to get more involved, including sending envoys to help push for a diplomatic resolution to the violence there and hosting Syrian government and opposition figures.

Fast forward to today when the Syria proxy war is once again at an impasse - especially after today"s warning by Macron that France would get involved after another "chemical attack" -  and once again it may be up to China to be the decisive tiebreaker.

According to both Sputnik and the Daily Sabah, Moscow is once again hoping "for China"s help in solving the Syrian crisis and restoring the country: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said Monday.

"Our cooperation with China on Syria at various international venues is unprecedented. We blocked six attempts to pass anti-Syrian resolutions in the U.N. Security Council," Morgulov said at "Russia and China: Taking on a New Quality of Bilateral Relations" international conference.

The Russian deputy foreign minister added that Russia values Beijing"s position on the Syrian crisis, and hopes that, "the Chinese partners will continue their efforts to promote a political settlement."

"Together we call for a peaceful and political-diplomatic solution to conflicts, without double standards, unilateral action or attempts at ousting regimes. Our approaches coincide, among other things, on the uncompromising fight against terrorism," Morgulov said.

To be sure, Russia and China are already largely alligned at the United Nations, where the two nations have repeatedly vetoed Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions against the Assad regime. Moscow has long-standing links to the Assad regime and is its key ally, while China has an established policy of non-intervention in other countries" affairs, although as noted above that appeared to change in 2016.

Needless to say, should China break from its policy of direct foreign non-intervention, and should it indeed side with Syria, and Russia, as it hinted it would do last year, the shape of middle eastern geopolitics would change overnight. And now we await the official, or unofficial, response from China to Russia"s "indecent" diplomatic proposal for a joint effort in Syria against the US-led alliance.

False Flag: How the U.S. Armed Syrian Rebels to Set Up an Excuse to Attack Assad

Via The Daily Bell

Evidence suggests a false flag chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people was initiated by Syrian rebels with the help of the United States in order to justify Thursday night’s U.S. Military attack on a Syrian base.

President Trump approved the bombing of the Syrian military base controlled by Dictator Bashir al-Assad supposedly to destroy the Syrian government’s ability to launch further chemical attacks on civilians.

“Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children,” Trump said in remarks from Mar-a-Lago, his family compound in Palm Beach, Florida. “It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.”

But Trump’s statements contradict the reality that rebel groups have been trained to secure, monitor, and transport chemical weapons. Included in the opposition to Assad are terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS. Should we believe these rebels’ claims against Assad, especially given their access to chemical weapons?

Documents from Wikileaks show that the U.S. State Department wanted to help rebels overthrow Syrian Dictator Assad in order to strengthen Israel’s position against Iran. The State Department discussed how Iran and Syria trained forces in opposition to Israel. The fall of Assad, they said, would destroy the only Iranian ally in the region positioned to help Iran in the event of Israeli aggression to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

Washington should start by expressing its willingness to work with regional allies like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to organize, train and arm Syrian rebel forces. The announcement of such a decision would, by itself, likely cause substantial defections from the Syrian military. Then, using territory in Turkey and possibly Jordan, U.S. diplomats and Pentagon officials can start strengthening the opposition.

The State Department makes it quite clear their belief that “Bringing down Assad would not only be a massive boon to Israel’s security, it would also ease Israel’s understandable fear of losing its nuclear monopoly.”

This is nothing new, and really not surprising, as the U.S. has been involved in dozens of similar operations around the world. But just how far would the U.S. and Israel go to bring down Assad?

Just what type of training would be given to the rebels to help overthrow Assad? The groundwork had already been laid out by President Obama. As soon as chemical weapons were used by Assad, the international community would have the justification to become more involved in removing him from power. We know they were interested in doing so regardless of whether or not he used chemical weapons against the people of Syria.

CNN reported in 2012 that America was involved in training the rebels to secure and monitor chemical weapons sites.

The United States and some European allies are using defense contractors to train Syrian rebels on how to secure chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria, a senior U.S. official and several senior diplomats told CNN Sunday.

The training, which is taking place in Jordan and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources. Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.

This confirms that rebel forces had access to chemical weapons and that the U.S. helped familiarize rebel groups with storing and transporting the weapons.

But a removed article from The Daily Mail seems to prove that the U.S. had planned on helping the rebels actually use chemical weapons as well. The article was supposedly removed because the source of the information was untrustworthy. A Malaysian hacker was said to have taken emails from British defense contractors from an unprotected server.

Leaked emails have allegedly proved that the White House gave the green light to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that could be blamed on Assad’s regime and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country.

A report released on Monday contains an email exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence where a scheme ‘approved by Washington’ is outlined explaining that Qatar would fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons.

Barack Obama made it clear to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month that the U.S. would not tolerate Syria using chemical weapons against its own people.

Lending credence to this theory that the United States trained rebel forces in the use of chemical weapons in order to initiate a false flag attack are the events surrounding the death of Libyan Ambassador Chris Stevens in 2012.

The story is far from Trump’s claim that the U.S. attempts to “prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.”

The U.S. is an active player in moving weapons all throughout the middle east, arming all sorts of rebel groups, militias, and government. It appears the United States funneled weapons out of Libya to provide Syrian rebels the ability to fight Assad.

A book called The Real Benghazi Story: What the White House and Hillary Don’t Want You to Know details the role Stevens fulfilled in Libya of brokering weapons exports from Libya to countries which backed the Syrian rebels.

The author, Aaron Klein, said a group called the February 17 Brigade worked with the CIA to provide security for a special operation in Benghazi and helped facilitate weapons transfers.

The exact nature of the U.S. involvement with the February 17 Brigade that guarded the U.S. special mission might have been unintentionally exposed when a Libyan weapons dealer formerly with the Brigade told Reuters in an in-person interview he had helped ship weapons from Benghazi to the rebels fighting in Syria.

Klein noted that no one seems to have connected the dots from what the weapons dealer said to the activities taking place inside the Benghazi compound and whether the Brigade serves as a cut out to ship weapons.

In the Reuters interview published June 18, 2013, Libyan warlord Abdul Basit Haroun declared he is behind some of the biggest shipments of weapons from Libya to Syria. Most of the weapons were sent to Turkey, he said, where they were, in turn, smuggled into neighboring Syria.

It was Steven’s job to facilitate the retrieval of these Libyan weapons and funnel them to U.S. interests. His death may have been related to militia groups inside Libya not trusting the United States with these weapons, or wanting them for their own use or profit.

Libyan weapons were shipped to places like Turkey which were already participating in training the Syrian rebels. Part of this training, we know, had to do with chemical weapons.

We also know that the U.S. wanted to see Assad brought down and that they had drawn a line over the use of chemical weapons. They needed a chemical weapons attack to justify stronger interventions in the conflict against Assad.

That chemical attack happened last week, followed by the subsequent U.S. bombing of an Assad base.

We know the terrorist groups forming the opposition to Assad had access to chemical weapons.

Is this enough evidence to prove the United States facilitated a false flag chemical weapons attack in order to justify military intervention, and finally defeat Assad, in support of Israel?

US Preparing Sanctions Against Syria

Just hours after unleashing a missile strike on Syria, Steven Mnuchin announced that the US will announce sanctions “in the near future” against the Assad regime. 

Joined by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a briefing at Mar-a-Lago estate, the Treasury Secretary said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Syria “to stop this type of activity," according to a pool report and multiple media reports. It wasn"t clear what sanctions are under consideration: last time we checked the local Four Seasons had seen better days, as for the war-ravaged economy we very much doubt it relies on trade with the US, or has substantial cash deposits in US banks, although those regions of Syria still under ISIS control are surely regular beneficiaries of having their banks hooked up to SWIFT.

Mnuchin’s announcement was the latest sign that the Trump administration continues to escalate efforts against the Syrian President one week after Rex Tillerson said Assad"s fate would be in the hands of Syria"s people.

Ironically, Trump is taking yet another page out of Obama"s playbook: this January, as one of Obama"s last decisions, the US imposed sanctions on Syria in response to, you guessed it, chemical weapons use in 2014 and 2015. A report last year by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons accused the Syrian regime of using chlorine gas as a weapon on at least three different occasions in its six-year-old civil war.

As a reminder, Syria"s use of chemical weapons was the original "red line" that Obama warned in 2012 would draw the United States into military action against Assad. But when the Syrian dictator used sarin gas against civilians in 2013, Obama backed out, citing a lack of support from either Congress or the U.N. Security Council.

Syria then gave up its chemical weapons in a deal brokered by Russia and agreed to join the international Chemical Weapons Convention. In 2014, John Kerry hailed the achievement as a success.

Back in January, the US targeted a Syrian company, the Organization for Technological Industries, which the Treasury Department said was part of the Syrian government and responsible for deploying surface-to-surface missile and rocket programs and working toward a ballistic missile program. The department also moved to block the assets of 18 people associated with the company, and with related research, intelligence and military organizations.

It would appear that - if indeed Assad has continued to use chemical weapons despite knowing his every move is scrutinized by the US - those particular sanctions failed to work.

Then again, maybe the former UK ambassador to Syria is right:

"There is no proof that the cause of the explosion was what they said it was. But think about the consequences because this is not likely to be the end of it. It doesn"t make sense that Assad would do it.  Lets not leave our brains outside the door when we examine evidence.  It would be totally self-defeating as shown by the results...Assad is not mad."

Indeed, although the one thing that matters is for a majority of the population to be dumb enough to assume he is.

Trump Statement On Syria Air Strikes

Shortly after he concluded his dinner with Xi Jinping at Mar-A-Lago, Trump authorized the airstrike against Syria in which at least 60 cruise missiles were launched, and delivered the following brief statement:

My fellow Americans, on Tuesday Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children.

It was a slow and brutal death for so many, even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.

Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.

There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council.

Years of previous attempts at changing Assad"s behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically. As a result the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize threatening the United States and its allies.

Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria. And also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types.

We ask for God"s wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed and we hope that as long as american stands for justice then peace and harmony will in the end prevail. Goodnight and God bless America and the entire world. Thank you.

Pres. Trump after U.S. strikes in Syria: “I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria” pic.twitter.com/Nf7gqOufgT

— ABC News (@ABC) April 7, 2017

Tulsi Gabbard Versus "Regime Change" Wars

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a rare member of Congress willing to take heat for challenging U.S. “regime change” projects, in part, because as an Iraq War vet she saw the damage these schemes do, as retired Col. Ann Wright explains to ConsortiumNews.com.

I support Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, going to Syria and meeting with President Bashar al-Assad because the congresswoman is a brave person willing to take criticism for challenging U.S. policies that she believes are wrong.

It is important that we have representatives in our government who will go to countries where the United States is either killing citizens directly by U.S. intervention or indirectly by support of militia groups or by sanctions.

We need representatives to sift through what the U.S. government says and what the media reports to find out for themselves the truth, the shades of truth and the untruths.

We need representatives willing to take the heat from both their fellow members of Congress and from the media pundits who will not go to those areas and talk with those directly affected by U.S. actions. We need representatives who will be our eyes and ears to go to places where most citizens cannot go.

Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who has seen first-hand the chaos that can come from misguided “regime change” projects, is not the first international observer to come back with an assessment about the tragic effects of U.S. support for lethal “regime change” in Syria.

Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire began traveling to Syria three years ago and now having made three trips to Syria. She has come back hearing many of the same comments from Syrians that Rep. Gabbard heard — that U.S. support for “regime change” against the secular government of Syria is contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and – if the “regime change” succeeded – might result in the takeover by armed religious-driven fanatics who would slaughter many more Syrians and cause a mass migration of millions fleeing the carnage.

Since 2011, the Obama administration supported various rebel groups fighting for “regime change” in Syria while U.S. allies – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey – backed jihadist groups including Islamic State and Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, some of the same extremists whom the U.S. military is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. If Assad were overthrown, these extremists might take power and create even worse conditions for Syrians.

This possibility of jihadists imposing perverted extremist religious views on the secular state of Syria remains high due to international meddling in the internal affairs of Syria. This “regime change” project also drew in Russia to provide air support for the Syrian military.

Critical of Obama’s ‘Regime Change’

During the Obama administration, Rep. Gabbard spoke critically of the U.S. propensity to attempt “regime change” in countries and thus provoking chaos and loss of civilian life.

On Dec. 8, 2016, she introduced a bill entitled the “Stop Arming Terrorists Act” which would prohibit the U.S. government from using U.S. funds to provide funding, weapons, training, and intelligence support to extremists groups, such as the ones fighting in Syria – or to countries that are providing direct or indirect support to those groups.

In the first days of the Trump administration, Rep. Gabbard traveled to Syria to see the effects of the attempted “regime change” and to offer a solution to reduce the deaths of civilians and the end of the war in Syria. A national organization Veterans For Peace, to which I belong, has endorsed her trip as a step toward resolution to the Syrian conflict.

Not surprisingly, back in Washington, Rep. Gabbard came under attack for the trip and for her meeting with President Assad, similar to criticism that I have faced because of visits that I have made to countries where the U.S. government did not want me to go — to Cuba, Iran, Gaza, Yemen, Pakistan, North Korea, Russia and back to Afghanistan, where I was assigned as a U.S. diplomat.

I served my country for 29 years in the U.S. Army/ Army Reserves and retired as a colonel. I also served 16 years in the U.S. diplomatic corps in U.S. Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. I resigned from the U.S. government nearly 14 years ago in March 2003 in opposition to President George W. Bush’s “regime change” war on Iraq.

In my travels since my resignation, I didn’t agree with many of the policies of the governments in power in those countries. But I wanted to see the effects of U.S. government policies and, in particular, the effects of attempts at “regime change.”

I wanted to talk with citizens and government officials about the effects of U.S. sanctions and whether the sanctions “worked” to lessen their support for the government that the U.S. was attempting to change or overthrow.

For making those trips, I have been criticized strongly. I have been called an apologist for the governments in power. Critics have said that my trips have given legitimacy to the abuses by those governments. And I have been called a traitor to the United States to dare question or challenge its policy of “regime change.”

But I am not an apologist, nor am I a traitor … nor is Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for her recent trip to Syria.

*  *  *

Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army/Army Reserves and retired as a colonel. She also was a U.S. diplomat for 16 years and served in U.S. Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. She resigned in March 2003 in opposition to the war in Iraq. She has lived in Honolulu since 2003.

"You Haven't Succeeded Once": State Department Slammed By AP Reporter Over Failure In Syria

The battle for Aleppo is over, and Assad has won, with AP quoting the Syrian leader that "history is being made with the defeat" of the insurgents contained in the city.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday the events taking place in the city of Aleppo are a historic moment, and said the world will be different after what he called the "liberation of Aleppo".

"What is happening today is the writing of a history written by every Syrian citizen. The writing did not start today, it started six years ago when the crisis and war started against Syria," Assad said in a video statement published on the Syrian Presidency"s Twitter account.

And while Syria and Russia enjoy the spoils from his biggest victory since the start of the Syrian conflict, the US State Department is being slammed for losing the Syrian proxy war. Meanwhile, after three years of backing and arming rebels brought no major progress in the Syrian war, Washington has accused Moscow of “failure” to achieve peace. Yesterday, the State Department was finally called out by AP on the lack of progress in Syria, forcing department spokespersons John Kirby to once again blame Russia.

As caught on the recording below, the daily briefing at the State Department started off with a verbal sparring match between AP reporter Brad Klapper and department spokesman John Kirby. Klapper asked Kirby why the US was “laying all the blame” for developments in Aleppo on Russia, while also questioning what Washington was doing different than Moscow. The US, Klapper said, “failed repeatedly, doing the same thing over and over again” but continued to accuse Russia of war crimes “when things go badly.”

“You [the US] haven’t succeeded once,” Klapper said.

Kirby did not answer the latter of Klapper’s questions, instead offering his explanation of why Russia bears responsibility. “The failure is on Russia for not putting the proper pressure on the Assad regime to stop the brutality, the gassing, the surrender, the starvation of their own people. That’s the real failure here,” Kirby said, claiming that the US, unlike Russia, has been pursuing only political solutions.

“You don’t think the US has failed?” the reporter continued to press on.

Refusing to take any blame for America’s actions, Kirby continued to dodge the question.

“You talked about the United States failure. What I would say is the international community has remained focused on trying to bring about a better outcome in Syria,” he said, stressing that the US “is a leader in that effort.”

Then several minutes into the exchange, Kirby would not admit the possibility of the US approach as it is failing to achieve a peaceful solution despite years of attempts.

“Secretary [of State John Kerry] would be the first to tell you that he’s enormously frustrated that we are still where we are with respect to what’s going on the ground in Syria. Nobody’s happy about that,” he said, praising Washington’s efforts on the diplomatic front.

After his response did not seem to satisfy Klapper, Kirby commented: “Look, you can shake your head in disgust about the answer all you want.”

Showing a sense of humor, Klapper argued that it was “too late” for any changes to be made given that the Obama administration and Secretary John Kerry’s tenures are coming to an end in just over a month.  "You’re not describing any different kind of approach or anything you’re going to do to somehow change the equation,” he said. “It’s too late for that. You have no time left and you’re saying you’re not going to telegraph something that we know is not going to happen."

However, according to Kirby, despite what Klapper or the AP might “feel,” Secretary Kerry remains eager to try to find a political solution to the conflict.

Meanwhile, having taken over Aleppo, the Syrian proxy war is now in its final stages, with the Assad government, thanks to Russian backing, now assured a victory, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he is looking forward to de-escalating the middle east conflict, and no longer is looking to "change heads of state", a development which will infuriate Qatar, whose gas pipeline to Europe appears doomed to never be constructed.