Bono hangs out with George W. Bush at his Texas ranch[image credit: David Caplan/Instagram/GeorgeWBush]
Op Ed Commentary
Channel surfing last night I came across something on C-Span that caught my attention. I saw the famous Irish singer, Bono, from U-2, sitting with none other than Junior Bush. What gives I asked myself? Then I did some research and came up with this, from last May of 2017:
Former President George W. Bush and U2 lead singer Bono at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, on May 26, 2017.
Lead U2 singer Bono made a pit stop Friday at former President George W. Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, a few hours before his band’s sold-out concert in nearby Richardson.
“Bono is the real deal,” Bush wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of himself with Bono at the Prairie Chapel Ranch. “He has a huge heart and a selfless soul, not to mention a decent voice. @laurawbush and I are grateful he came to the ranch to talk about the work of @thebushcenter, @onecampaign, @PEPFAR, and our shared commitment to saving lives in Africa.”
Both men have been active in efforts to end the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Bush created PEPFAR, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, while Bono co-founded ONE, a global campaign and advocacy organization that rallies around AIDS awareness and anti-poverty initiatives.
So, there you have it, an Irish singer who railed against the indignities and atrocities leveled upon his people by the Brits, cozying up with a war criminal more horrific than any British leader! Yes, nice of Junior Bush to finally show some decency for others in need. Yes, nice enough for Bono to put his time ( and hopefully his riches ) in the work he is doing for those same folks in need. I forget, did Junior Bush serve time ( if not being executed) for his war crimes? Did Bono have a memory lapse and forget what transpired and still resonates with the creation of ISIL and other crazy fanatical groups? This was all because of the Bush /Cheney gang’s illegal and immoral pre-emptive attack/invasion/occupation of the sovereign nation of Iraq? Does Bono really think that the millions of afflicted Iraqis and their mourning families should just say ‘ Well, the evil one is now doing some good. Se le vie.’
You see, this Bono/Bush Jr. collaboration is indicative of how mass apathy and mass amnesia operates. We have seas of so called journalists who for years have only criticized the 2003 attack on Iraq not for that action- rather how the subsequent occupation was handled or ‘ bungled’. So what they did, and what Bono has been doing, is in fact giving legitimacy to the ‘ War on Iraq’. This is similar to the recent Trump administration’s missile attack on Syria. Since no Russians were killed, and since it did not start WW3, well, it was OK. The illegal and immoral aspect of attacking another sovereign nation, without even the backing of the United Nations, becomes acceptable. Might makes right!
Reminds one of the old joke: A guy complains to his friend about his brother. ” I cannot take it anymore. My brother is behaving like a chicken. He flutters his arms like one, wants to be fed seeds, and even makes sounds like a chicken. What am I to do?” His friend offers ” Well, you have no choice. You have to have him placed in an institution.” The guy answers ” I cannot do that.” ” Why not” the friend asks. ” Well, I NEED THE EGGS! “
The chemical weapons watchdog is notoriously pro-Western. Its year ago fact-finding mission on the alleged Khan Sheikhoun CW incident falsified results.
Will its Douma analysis produce similar findings to please Washington and its imperial allies? Its credibility long ago was lost.
No Douma CW incident occurred – confirmed by area medical personnel and Russian toxic weapons experts. Will the OPCW refute them, further tarnishing its credibility as an impartial body?
Washington’s dirty hands pressured the organization to confirm its falsified Douma accusations.
On Monday, the Trump administration’s OPCW envoy Kenneth Ward addressed the organization’s executive council in the Hague, turning truth on its head, saying:
“On April 7…the Syrian city of Douma came under an intense chemical weapons attack which killed dozens of innocent civilians and injured hundreds more.”
“Initial reports indicate the attack in Douma could result in a similar level of civilian casualties as experienced by the town of Khan Shaykhun last year.”
Fact: No evidence suggests a CW attack occurred in either location – no victims identified, no one killed or ill from CW exposure, no toxic residues found.
Ward lied claiming otherwise!
“After years of repeated and systematic use of chemical weapons, the chemical weapons attack in Douma represents yet another escalation of (Assad’s) barbaric chemical weapons attacks on its own people,” he roared, adding:
Assad “continues to terrorize (his) own citizens despite international condemnation for (the) use of chemical weapons.”
“This use has been confirmed by the independent and impartial OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism.”
“It remains undeniable that the Syrian Government is in flagrant, indeed contemptuous, violation of international law, including the Chemical Weapons Convention and United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
Fact: All of the above are flagrant, malicious, despicable bald-faced lies. Cold hard facts refute Ward’s contempt for truth-telling – practically instructing the OPCW to support the official falsified Douma narrative.
Ward: “(I)t is our understanding the Russian Federation may have visited the attack site. We are concerned they may have tampered with it with the intent of thwarting the efforts of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission to conduct an effective investigation. This raises serious questions about the ability of the FFM to do its job.”
Fact: The above remarks represent further strong-arm pressure on the OPCW to support phony US Douma incident accusations.
Ward: “On 13 April, US, French, and British forces undertook military operations…were focused on degrading Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities and deterring further use…”
Fact: US-led aggression had nothing to do with targeting alleged Syrian CW facilities which don’t exist – everything to do with escalating regime change efforts, mainly by targeting Syrian military sites.
Fact: A same-day article explained the true targets aimed at – foiled by Syrian air defense systems, practically assuring a repeat of what happened overnight Friday.
Ward: “The military strikes by the United States of America and our allies were legitimate, proportionate, and justified.”
Fact: The strikes constituted US-led naked aggression against a sovereign state – the highest of high crimes.
Ward: “The United States of America has tried repeatedly to use diplomatic, economic, and political tools to stop the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons.”
Fact: A bald-faced lie! No evidence suggests Syrian CW use at any time during years of war – these toxins only used by US-supported terrorists.
Fact: Washington is a serial aggressor, rejecting diplomacy, targeting sovereign governments it wants eliminated, naked aggression its favored strategy.
Ward: “(T)he Russian Federation has stood in the way of every effort the United States of America and our partners have taken to address this unacceptable situation.”
“The Russian Federation has repeatedly undermined efforts at the OPCW to pressure the regime to surrender its remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and completely dismantle its program.”
“The Russian Federation has also used its veto power six times over the past year to block United Nations Security Council resolutions and prevent (Syria) from being held accountable for its continuous use of chemical weapons.”
Fact: All of the above are bald-faced lies. Russia vetoed SC resolutions certain to result in escalated aggression, maybe all-out war, if adopted.
Ward: “(T)he Russian Federation took away the world’s ability to attribute the chemical weapons attacks in Syria by vetoing the renewal of the OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) – an impartial, independent technical body mandated to investigate responsibility for chemical weapons use in Syria.”
Fact: Another bald-faced lie! Last November, Russia and Washington vetoed each other’s SC resolutions on extending the JIM.
Moscow proposed 12 months until May 2018. Washington wanted another 24 months.
Its diabolical text included a provision for invoking the UN Charter’s Chapter VII, authorizing “action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
Russia responsibly vetoed a resolution assuring escalated aggression if adopted.
JIM conclusions on last April’s Khan Sheikhoun incident were biased, distorted and one-sided. OPCW inspectors never visited sites requiring examination.
Russia called its report sloppy and “amateurish,” based on “a layman’s methodology,” lacking credibility. Moscow’s draft SC resolution called for revising JIM’s conclusions.
OPCW work failed to conform to international standards – likely on order from Washington. Its analysis was based on phony evidence supplied by anti-Syrian sources, including the al-Qaeda-linked White Helmets.
Ward’s remarks to the OPCW executive council sounded like a script prepared for Nikki Haley – despicable beginning-to-end bald-faced lies!
None of the major newspapers that published editorials in response to the Trump Administration"s airstrikes on Syria criticized the attack or questioned whether Assad first attacked his own people.
All her remarks make painful listening, never letting facts interfere with her extremism and shocking indifference to US high crimes of war and against humanity.
Addressing a March 27 Security Council session on Syria, she rattled off her usual litany of disinformation and Big Lies, saying:
“After years of enduring siege and starvation, residents are surrendering eastern Ghouta.”
“The terrible irony of this moment must be stated and acknowledged: in the 30 days since the Security Council demanded a ceasefire, the bombardment of the people of eastern Ghouta has only increased. And now, at the end of the so-called ceasefire, eastern Ghouta has nearly fallen.”
Fact: Haley’s reinvention of history falls flat every time, fooling no Security Council members, even ones supporting US aggression.
Fact: After weeks of fighting, East Ghouta is nearly entirely liberated from US-supported terrorists. It hasn’t fallen, most of its residents free at last from years of brutal captivity, remaining ones likely able to leave for safety in days.
Fact: Syrian and allied operations targeted terrorists, great care taken to protect civilians – polar opposite US-led terror-bombing, raping and destroying targeted areas, massacring civilians indiscriminately, Haley pretending not to notice.
She lied claiming Syrian and allied forces targeted hospitals, schools, ambulances and other civilian targets.
She lied blaming Syria, Russia and Iran for slaughtering civilians – a US specialty in all its wars of aggression.
She lied claiming Syrian and allied forces violated SC Res. 2401, mandating a nationwide ceasefire for 30 days through late March – failing to explain it excluded operations against ISIS, al-Qaeda, its al-Nusra offshoot and elements connected to them.
She lied saying Russia and Syria prevented delivery of humanitarian aid.
She lied calling US-supported East Ghouta terrorists “opposition groups…read(y) to implement ceasefire” – only after their choice was surrender or die.
She lied claiming Russian and civilian forces “keep pummeling civilians into submission (and forcing) the people of Syria…to starve.”
She lied saying “(t)he people of eastern Ghouta are surrendering” – ignoring their liberation, US-supported terrorists alone agreeing to leave the enclave for Idlib province, their heavy weapons left behind.
Haley combines geopolitical ignorance, arrogance, incompetence, extremism, rage, bombast, deceitfulness, and detachment from reality.
Her support for endless US wars of aggression made her a neocon darling.
Are her Security Council antics self-promotion for higher office? Is she aiming for the White House one day?
It was a stunning announcement, stunning because of what was said and maybe equally as stunning because it was honest.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis says there is no evidence that the Syrian government used sarin gas on the its own people.
It is a narrative we have been pushing back on for years. So what does this mean for U.S. policy in Syria? And will President Trump continue to push for war in Syria, or will he return to the positions of candidate Trump who said the U.S. should stay out of it?
Let’s give it a Reality Check you won’t get anywhere else.
The statement is getting very little media coverage but it is a very big deal.
According to Defense Secretary James Mattis, there is no evidence that the Syrian government has used sarin gas on its own people.
Here is exactly what Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon:
“We have other reports from the battlefield from people who claim it’s been used.”
“We do not have evidence of it.”
“We’re looking for evidence of it, since clearly we are dealing with the Assad regime that has used denial and deceit to hide their outlaw actions.”
Mattis insists that he wasn’t refuting the claims. But in a sense, he did.
According to Newsweek, in 2017 a White House memorandum was quickly produced and then declassified to justify an American Tomahawk missile strike against the Shayrat airbase in Syria.
The justification used was that Assad had used chemical weapons on his own people. Then President Trump himself insisted that there was no doubt that Syrian President Assad had killed his own people with banned chemical weapons.
But Mattis also didn’t qualify the statement to just the Syrian airbase strike. That means that the 2013 gas attack in Ghouta also was not proven to be Assad.
At that time, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were demanding congress approve use of force against Assad. Obama said this from the rose garden as he said American destroyers armed with Tomahawk missiles were on standby in the Mediterranean Sea.
“I’m prepared to give that order, but having made my decision as commander in chief based on what I am convinced is our national security interests, I’m also mindful that I’m the president of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy.”
Congress did not approve that use of force, but then applauded Trump for his use.
For his part, in this latest statement, Mattis says that “aid groups and others” had provided evidence of the Syrian government using sarin.
But as I have extensively reported over the past few years, there is much evidence that the so called Syrian freedom fighters are actually ISIS and Al Qaeda fighters. And there is evidence that they have used chemical weapons.
Other problems with the claims of Assad using sarin: in the 2013 Ghouta event, the sarin came from home-made rockets, which were favored by insurgents.
Also, according to Newsweek:
“In the 2013 event, the White House memorandum seemed to rely heavily on testimony from the Syrian white helmets who were filmed at the scene having contact with supposed sarin-tainted casualties and not suffering any ill effects.
“Carla del Ponte was unable to fulfill her U.N. joint investigative mechanism mandate in Syria and withdrew in protest over the United States refusing to fully investigate allegations of chemical weapons use by ‘rebels’ who are actually jihadis, allied with the American effort to oust President Assad (including the use of sarin by anti-Assad rebels).”
According to the Times of London:
“Carla del Ponte, head of the independent UN commission investigating reports of chemical weapons use in Syria, told a Swiss-Italian television station that UN investigators gleaned testimony from victims of Syria’s civil war and medical staff which indicated that rebel forces used sarin gas – a deadly nerve agent.
“‘Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated,’ del Ponte said in the interview, translated by Reuters.
‘This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,’ she added.”
It was the involvement of those jihadis posing as Syrian rebels that made then-candidate Trump state emphatically that he wouldn’t intervene and help oust Assad as Hillary Clinton wanted to do.
Candidate Trump pushed back heavily against intervention. He warned that ISIS was likely to take over Syria if Assad were ousted, just as they have in Iraq and Libya.
And yet the U.S. is only escalating fighting.
Four Russian nationals, and perhaps dozens more, were killed in fighting between pro-government forces in eastern Syria and members of the United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, according to Russian and Syrian officials—that according to the New York Times.
Russia says that no members of the Russian armed forces were killed and that any Russians fighting alongside the Syrians were mercenaries.
So what you need to know is that candidate Trump was clear when he pointed to the bush policy in Iraq and the Obama/Clinton policies in Libya and Syria that have only strengthened the creation and spread of ISIS and jihadism.
Candidate Trump rightly pointed out that these policies had failed and that it was insanity to keep pursuing those policies and expecting a different outcome.
So why is President Trump now embracing those insane policies that if continued will undoubtedly leave another power vacuum in the Middle East which will be filled with jihadis?
Update: According to Al Masdar, the Israeli pilot whose warplane was shot down by Syrian air defense forces on Saturday morning has died from injuries sustained during the engagement.
While according to initial reports both crew members ejected – the weapons operator with light injuries and the pilot with ‘severe’ injuries, according to subsequent, still unconfirmed, reports, the Israeli pilot with serious injuries has died in hospital. No further details were given according to Al Masdar.
This report however is being denied by the Times of Israel which reported that the pilot suffered wounds to chest, abdomen while ejecting from jet; co-pilot set to be released home Sunday.
The condition of the pilot, who was seriously injured after he was forced to evacuate the plane, stabilized Saturday morning, but he was still unconscious and connected to a respirator, doctors at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center said.
The condition of a seriously wounded Israeli pilot began to improve Saturday, after he underwent surgery for injuries he sustained while ejecting from his plane over northern Israel, in the midst of a severe confrontation between Israel, Syria, and Iran, the ToI reported.
The F-16 jet he was piloting took part in Israeli airstrikes in response to an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace from Syria in the early morning hours on Saturday.
As reported earlier (see below), a major battle broke out on Saturday between the Israeli Air Force and Syrian Air Defence Force over the occupied Golan Region, south Lebanon and the west Damascus region. During the confrontation that lasted for hours, Israeli warplanes and Syrian anti-aircraft systems traded missile fire – literally dozens of such munitions were fired – as the latter launched a general attack against ‘Iranian and regime’ bases west of Damascus.
And in a major escalation, one which has the potential to escalate into all out war, at the beginning of the battle, a Syrian surface-to-air missile downed an Israeli F-16I fighter jet over the occupied Golan Heights (described as ‘northern Israel’ by Israeli sources).
Earlier:
Open war has now essentially broken out between Israel and Syria. Israel confirms through its IDF spokesperson that it has carried out “a large scale attack” consisting of at least a dozen strikes on Syrian and Iranian military targets inside Syria, in what Reuters dubbed a “major escalation of tension“.
What we previously described as Assad’s strategic “waiting game” and reluctance to respond to repeat Israeli violations of Syrian airspace while launching unprovoked attacks appears to be over as Syrian air defense has shot down an Israeli F-16 fighter jet near the Golan border region in what is a major escalation in the conflict.
Moments ago, IAF aircraft, targeted the Syrian Aerial Defense System & Iranian targets in Syria. 12 targets, including 3 aerial defense batteries & 4 Iranian military targets, were attacked. Anti-aircraft missiles were fired towards Israel, triggering alarms in northern Israel
Though details remain murky and are still developing, Israel has confirmed that its F-16 jet has crashed in Israeli territory after it was struck carrying out operations targeting locations in Syria. The IDF spokesman quickly stated in a tweet confirming the shoot down that “Iran is responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty.”
The minute the two #Israeli pilots arrive at an Israeli hospital , there F-16 was shot down while attacking #Syria-n targets , syrian army says their air defense system shot and hit few Israeli war jet pic.twitter.com/BvoGNi7b1z
The two Israeli pilots ejected, landing inside Israel in the northern countryside of Galilee and were rushed to a hospital, according to local media reports. Israeli military statements have indicated that one of the pilots suffered severe injuries as a result of the emergency ejection from the aircraft.
Video first posted on social media captured by onlookers in the area appears to show a pilot parachuting into the northern Israeli countryside of Galilee.
Early unconfirmed footage of the F-16 crash and subsequent rescue have emerged on social media. The following shows multiple scenes currently circulating from the early morning incident:
#Syria Air Defense Force used S-200V Surface to Air missile to shoot-down an #Israel Air Force F-16I while was bombing an #IRGC base in Syria. The F-16 is crashed in Israel territory & its pilots ejected safely & were evacuated by S-70A. #IRGC has used UAV to check F-16 wreckage. pic.twitter.com/qPkjzT7iPf
This is the first time in the 7-year long Syrian war that an Israel jet has been shot down, and after promising a swift response, Israel has launched multiple retaliatory strikes against Syrian military bases in the southwest countryside of Damascus.
This morning, an IAF pilot was severely injured as a result of an emergency evacuation from an IAF aircraft. The pilot was evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment. The incident is being reviewed. The family has been notified.
Beirut-based Al Masdar News reports that the incident occurred at approximately 6:30 A.M. Saturday morning (local time)and that the Israeli F-16 fighter was hit while flying within Syrian airspace near Damascus.
Official Israeli statements claim multiple of its jets were scrambled in response to an Iranian drone launch into Israeli airspace, which the IDF says was intercepted amidst “massive Syrian anti-air fire”. The F-16 was engaged in an operation to destroy the Syrian ground base from which the UAV was launched.
According to the Israeli version of events issued in real time by IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus:
Accurate hits of Iranian UAV control facility confirmed.
Breaking news: IDF intercepted an Iranian UAV launched from Syria over Israeli airspace, and is now engaging Iranian targets in Syria in response. More details to follow.
The Syrian military has stated that its air defense missile system further struck an Israeli drone shortly after the F-16 was downed, which had been launched from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. There’s not been immediate Israeli confirmation of this second aircraft downing.
In response to the F-16 downing, after 8:00 A.M. local time the Israeli Air Force fired several missiles targeting the Al-Kiswah area near what is said to be an Iranian base outside of Damascus. And shortly after this initial Israeli retaliation strike, a more massive wave of missiles hit a mountaintop Syrian Army base in the same area. Regional sources are reporting that multiple Israeli missiles struck the base, while others were intercepted by Syrian air defense.
It appears that Israel launched missiles on locations in central Syria as well, with casualties reported among Syrian Army forces and their allies. The Associated Press cites a Syrian opposition monitoring group to report the following:
A Syria war monitor says Israel has struck targets in central Syria and the southwestern suburbs of the capital Damascus in two separate and successive waves of airstrikes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the first round targeted in the central desert area where Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies including Hezbollah are known to maintain bases. It cited unconfirmed reports of casualties among Syrian government forces and allied militiamen.
The Britain-based Observatory, which monitors the Syria war through a network of activists on the ground, says the second round targeted outposts in the southwestern suburbs of Damascus.
Syrian government media reported multiple missile intercepts, likely through its sophisticated Russian-supplied anti-air defense system, and confirmed the large-scale Israeli attack on Syrian military locations in central Syria.
The army air defense confronted a new Israeli aggression on one of the military positions in the central area and hit more than one aircraft…
Moreover, the Army air defense confronted another Israeli aggression on Damascus Countryside on Saturday morning…
Meanwhile, media of the Israeli enemy admitted that the Syrian air defense shot down an F-16 jet over Galilee in occupied Palestine and that its pilots were injured, confirming the closure of parts the Israeli airspace for aviation after downing the warplane.
As a result of escalating events airspace closures have been reported over northern Israel, as well as multiple Israeli air defense warning sirens sounding at the Golan Heights and throughout lower and upper Galilee.
Israel’s Ben Gurion international airport outside of Tel Aviv was also reportedly on lockdown for some period of time after the exchange of fire between Syrian and Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has blamed close Syrian ally Iran for today’s F-16 shoot down and escalation. The IDF issued a threatening statement which reads: “The IDF will act determinately against such severe violations of Israeli sovereignty by Iran and Syria and will continue to act as necessary. The IDF is ready for various scenarios and will continue to act according to situation assessments.”
And according to a statement issued to the AFP, Israel says Iran and Syria are “playing with fire” but that Israel does not want escalation. However, regional media reports indicate Israel has continued to pound the Damascus countryside throughout the morning. The Syrian government has condemned Israel’s actions as unwarranted “aggression”.
It must be remembered that the Israeli Air Force has acknowledged striking targets inside Syria at least 100 times over the past few years of the conflict, with the last attack prior to today’s events happening just earlier this week. Syria has frequently taken its case before the U.N., calling for official condemnation of the unprovoked attacks, but has been just as frequently rebuffed.
In its now ‘open secret’ of a years-long pursuit of regime change in Syria, Israel has given covert support to al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria’s south – near the vicinity of today’s F-16 shoot down – which has involved weapons transfers and treatment of wounded jihadists in Israeli hospitals, according to The Wall Street Journal. As former Acting Director of the CIA Michael Morell once directly told the Israeli public, Israel‘s “dangerous game” in Syria has involved getting in bed with al-Qaeda in order to fight Shia Iran.
And as Israel has long sought ways to justify attacks on Iranian assets in Syria while at the same time undermining and destabilizing the Syrian government, the downing of an F-16 may have given Israel’s hawkish leadership the excuse they’ve been looking for all along to escalate toward a final confrontation.
Middle East based journalist and analyst Elijah Magnier says we could be witnessing the tipping point that will ignite the entire region. Magnier reports that according to a “private source, all Syrian military and intelligence and their allies’ (Hezbollah) positions in Syrian and Lebanon are on full alert.”
Remaining elements of ISIS are being eliminated. The US-supported terrorist group in Syria is a shadow of its peak strength.
“Eliminating terrorists, creating and ensuring proper operations in the de-escalation zones as part of the Astana process have contributed significantly to improving the situation” in liberated areas, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (MZ below) explained.
Achieving a political settlement is much harder, America’s imperial objectives the main obstacle, wanting regime change in all sovereign independent countries, opposing peace and stability in nations it attacks.
On November 16, the “Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations formally ceased to exist” – because Washington vetoed the joint Sino/Russia resolution to extend it, following international investigative standards, what it failed to do so far in Syria, MZ explained.
Together with its rogue allies, America “finished off the JIM that has already discredited itself too much” – discussed in previous articles.
Discussing the sham trial and conviction of Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, MZ called it “a continuation of the politicized and biased course that has dominated the (pro-Western International Criminal Tribunal for the Forher Yugoslavia – ICTY) activity from the outset.”
The ICTY delivered “selective justice,” convicting innocent individuals, absolving others responsible for high crimes of US-led NATO aggression in Yugoslavia, raping and destroying the country, balkanizing it for easier control.
“Nobody in the West has answered for these barbarous actions,” MZ explained, only victims of its high crimes.
Discussing Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt’s intention to give RT and Sputnik News less prominence on Google News by de-ranking them, MZ blasted what she called an “artificial grading…amount(ing) to censorship and violation of” America’s First Amendment.
Google is waging illegal war on media freedom, fully supported by Washington, the company more an online censor than search engine.
It masterfully manipulates Internet content, giving prominently featuring what it supports, censoring vital information differing from the official narrative.
Google is playing a “Good Cop Bad Cop game,” said MZ, supporting the bad over the good. “We have taken note of this, of course, and we interpret this as a global offensive against freedom of the media and freedom to provide information.”
Russian media are prime targets. Will independent sources of news, information and analysis be next?
Washington pretends to be combating the scourge of ISIS it supports.
Tillerson tried concealing it, hypocritically accusing its fighters of “dramatically undermin(ing) stability in Iraq, Syria and the broader Middle East, and pos(ing) a threat to international peace and security” – failing to explain with active support from Washington, using its fighters as imperial foot soldiers, providing them with weapons, munitions, aerial and other support.
ISIS couldn’t exist without foreign backing, Washington its main ally, pretending otherwise.
Tillerson “congratulate(d) the Syrian people and (terrorist-infested) Syrian Democratic Forces…on the liberation of Raqqa.”
A separate article explained the city’s rape and destruction, not liberation, tens of thousands of civilians massacred, terror-bombing continuing for months, residential areas targeted, most ISIS fighters redeployed to Deir Ezzor, Syrian ground forces and Russian aerial operations smashing them.
Washington’s rape and destruction of Raqqa was a Nuremberg-level high crime, one of many by US forces in the region and elsewhere, millions of casualties caused in multiple theaters, many more daily.
Tillerson: “Over the last seven months, millions of people have been liberated from ISIS’ brutal rule and working with our partners on the ground we are setting the conditions to enable people to return home.”
Fact: Syrian and allied forces, greatly aided by Russian airpower, alone liberated thousands of square miles of territory from terrorists supported by Washington and its rogue allies.
Fact: They want endless war and slaughter continued, not ended, Russia the only major power going all-out for peaceful conflict resolution.
Fact: Tillerson’s job includes suppressing information about US aggression in multiple theaters, pretending America seeks peace and stability – nowhere, including at home.
Trump’s leading diplomat is on a Middle East trip, visiting Gulf States, reportedly seeking to ally Saudi Arabia and Iraq against Iran.
On Saturday, he arrived in Riyadh, Monday his next stop in Qatar. Trying to form a Saudi/Iraqi alliance against Tehran before wasn’t accomplished, Tillerson’s efforts unlikely to be more successful than earlier attempts.
Iran and Iraq are allies, not adversaries, Tillerson and other US officials unlikely to turn them against each other.
Washington spent decades raping and destroying Iraq, infiltrating the country with ISIS terrorists, perhaps more coming to massacre Iraqis in other parts of the country.
Tillerson represents Washington’s imperial agenda, allied with NATO, Israel and other regional rogue states, fundamentally against peace and stability, waging permanent wars.
He’s participating in the inaugural Saudi Arabia-Iraq Coordination Committee meeting in Riyadh, capital of the despotic regime, the most ruthless among Arab states.
Shia-majority Iraq and Sunni-run Saudi Arabia make strange bedfellows, adversaries for decades, suspicious of each other’s intentions, Riyadh a regime no one can trust, Iraq led by US-installed puppet Haider al-Abadi.
Both countries had no formal diplomatic relations from 1990 to 2015, tenuous ones now.
Iran is a reliable ally, Riyadh and Washington regimes to fear, not trust.
Trump is a businessman, a geopolitical no-nothing. Delegating warmaking to hawkish generals was a reckless act.
He doesn’t immerse himself in details, largely stays disengaged from policymaking complexities, lets others handle them.
Generals love wars, how they advance in rank and find lucrative post-military careers as corporate board members, TV commentators, and other ways to get rich.
It’s unclear what Trump knows about daily US operations in multiple war theaters, conducted by generals in command, led by administration ones and joint chiefs of staff.
Syria is different from other US war theaters, Russia and America actively involved, communicating but not cooperating with each other. Their agendas are world’s apart, seeds of possible conflict between them.
US terror-bombing in Syria began a year before Russia’s intervention at the request of Damascus, operating legally in stark contrast to America’s aggression, supporting ISIS and other terrorist groups, not combating them like Russia.
Moscow is eating Washington’s lunch in Syria, defeating its imperial agenda, a huge embarrassment to generals needing successes to advance their careers, making Trump look foolish by waging losing wars in at least two theaters – accomplishing nothing but bloodshed and destruction in them all.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov blasted Washington for the deaths of General Valery Asapov and two colonels – calling the tragedy “the price paid with blood for the hypocrisy of American policy in Syria.”
He effectively accused the Trump administration of assassinating them, payback for Russian military successes, foiling America’s imperial objectives – along with accusing Washington of supporting ISIS, not combating it, what Russia has known all along, but refrained from public accusations – until now.
US intelligence knew the precise location of Asapov and other Russian military personnel. Were the coordinates given to proxy terrorist fighters to target them? Mortar fire killed them.
Will Moscow continue maintaining the fantasy partnership with America – in Syria, elsewhere, or on anything else? Will it complain to Washington alone – instead of retaliating strongly in its own way, at a time and place of its choosing?
The only language America understands is force. Letting it get away with murdering Russian military personnel without taking appropriate action encourages rogue elements in Washington to push the envelope as far as they can.
They consider Russia a mortal enemy. Longstanding US plans call for regime change – likely by war. Color revolution won’t work, at least not while overwhelmingly popular Vladimir Putin remains president.
Instead of winding down US wars in Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere, Trump escalated them, letting hawkish generals determine policymaking – peace and stability for them not an option, endless wars their choice.
Given their likely ordering the assassination of high-ranking Russian military personnel in Syria, they’ve upped the stakes for possible confrontation between the world’s dominant superpowers.
When the Syrian War began, the United States claimed to only be concerned about the innocent civilians. Now, as the war comes to an end, the ones who have suffered the most are the innocent civilians, and the victor is the same “tyrannical dictator” the U.S. has spent years trying to overthrow.
What the mainstream media won"t show us today:#Syria"s First Lady visits the children of Syrians who gave their lives fighting terrorism. pic.twitter.com/gdDAnnyhqs
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange revealed that according to a leaked cable from William Roebuck, U.S. Ambassador for Bahrain, the United States began plotting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2006—which happens to be the same year Assad’s government dropped the U.S. Dollar.
“That plan was to use a number of different factors to create paranoia within the Syrian government; to push it to overreact, to make it fear there’s a coup,” Assange said. “So in theory it says ‘We have a problem with Islamic extremists crossing over the border with Iraq, and we’re taking actions against them to take this information and make the Syrian government look weak, the fact that it is dealing with Islamic extremists at all.’”
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Syria"s President & First Lady warmly received by the Syriac Orthodox Church in Saidnaya.
The U.S. began openly pushing for the overthrow of Assad in 2013, after he was accused of using chemical weapons on his own people. Before an investigation could be conducted into whether Assad was, in fact, responsible for the crimes he was being accused of, President Obama went to Congress to ask for its approval to launch an airstrike directed towards Syrian government forces. When Congress refused, the administration’s strategy changed.
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The same “Islamic extremists” Assange mentioned came into play with the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq & Syria, a group of radicals who seemed to come out of nowhere, yet were well-equipped with weapons, technology and expertise. Their rise coincided with the United States’ decision to pour massive amounts of taxpayer dollars into arming and training “moderate Syrian rebels.” Leaked documents later revealed that the strategy of pushing to overthrow Assad by supporting the groups in his country who opposed him was done despite concerns that many of those groups were made up of radical extremists.
As the war against Assad shifted to a war against ISIS, the U.S. was named in report after report that appeared to show it was helping the same terrorist group it claimed to be defeating. In October 2014, the Pentagon admitted that the U.S. airdropped weapons to ISIS, and blamed “the wind” for the fact that those weapons were not delivered to Kurdish fighters in Kobani.
In October 2016, the Pentagon was caught paying a PR firm $540 million to create fake terrorist videos—much like the ones purported to show ISIS militants beheading innocent civilians. Then in a 2016 audit, the Department of Defense admitted that it could not account for $1 billion in weapons and equipment that was meant for forces in Syria, but likely ended up in the hands of ISIS.
In 2017, Assad’s government is regaining ground in Syria and ISIS is suffering crucial defeats and losing strategic strongholds. Recently, after the Syrian government regained control of Deir ez-Zor, “dozens of Isis members have fled to towns and villages along the Euphrates valley” in preparation for a “last stand.”
While the United States has celebrated and will continue to celebrate the defeat of ISIS—as it blatantly ignores evidence of its attempts to help the group wreak havoc and stay in power—it is refusing to acknowledge the main goal that got the U.S. into the War in Syria in the first place.
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The same “tyrannical dictator” the U.S. sought to overthrow four years ago is regaining power, and the areas under his control look like paradise compared to the war-torn cities that have received more than their fair share of “freedom” from the U.S.
In addition to losing their homes and being forced to evacuate from their cities, thousands of innocent civilians have been killed by the United States and the groups it funds in recent years. While the Obama Administration’s offensive against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria resulted in an average of 80 civilian deaths each month, which led to a total of 2,300 civilian deaths, the Trump Administration has increased the civilian death toll to an average of 360 per month, which is around 12 killed per day. In just six months, Trump’s war against ISIS has resulted in 2,200 civilian deaths.
While the war in Syria may be coming to an end, it is important to remember that it has impacted countless innocent civilians, wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, and the original mission of the U.S. was never accomplished, raising serious questions about how United States–Syria relations will look in the future.
Just one month after YouTube deleted a video of the United States air-dropping weapons to ISIS and claimed that it contained “violent or graphic content,” the video platform is now being criticized for implementing a new artificial intelligence program to monitor “extremist” content that is deleting videos that document U.S. war crimes.
The monitoring organization Airwars.org recently reported that its YouTube account had been targeted, just one week after YouTube published a new blog post announcing that it is “developing and implementing cutting-edge machine learning technology designed to help us identify and remove violent extremism and terrorism-related content in a scalable way.”
Airwars raised the issue on Twitter, noting that after approving hundreds of their videos documenting U.S. airstrikes, YouTube has suddenly blocked three videos out of nowhere. The newly blocked videos showed U.S. coalition airstrikes that were reportedly targeting ISIS, and their dates ranged from August 2015 to March 2016.
Can you work out why @TeamYouTube has banned these three videos? We can"t. Of 100s we have archived since 2014, these 3 blocked this weeek pic.twitter.com/Yu0ZniC6My
Airwars later posted an update, which said that following the publicity around YouTube’s decision to block the videos, the platform had apparently chosen to remove the ban from the three videos, and it implemented an 18 years and over age restriction. “Adult-only war,” Airwars remarked, noting that “Archiving published Coalition videos creates permanent public record of conflict.”
Update: @YouTube appears to have lifted bans following today"s publicity – though has replaced with an age 18 restriction. Adult-only war. pic.twitter.com/prePjWh8B1
Chris Woods, the head of Airwars, told Middle East Eye that he is still in negotiations with YouTube over a number of videos, but he sees this trend as one that risks “severely undermining work done by Syrian opposition activists.”
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“I think what’s so troubling about this if we look at the Syrian accounts, this is video chronicling a six or seven-year war, and some of the most important parts of that war from the perspective of Syrians,” Woods said.
Middle East Eye also reported that it has had similar problems with YouTube after the platform removed a number of videos, “some of which were later given age restrictions, some of which remain removed.”
“YouTube told MEE in an email that the video ‘Drone footage by Islamic State shows suicide car attacks on Iraqi forces inside Mosul’ was removed and that YouTube had ‘assigned a Community Guidelines strike, or temporary penalty’ to MEE’s account. The same occurred in the case of ‘Video appears to show Egyptian soldiers carrying out extra-judicial killings.’ MEE lodged an appeal with YouTube and received this response:
‘After further review of the content, we’ve determined that your video does violate our Community Guidelines and have upheld our original decision. We appreciate your understanding.’
Another video, documenting the destruction of Nimrud by IS, which is widely available across the internet, was removed from an MEE staff account, and all appeals were rejected.”
The report from Middle East Eye also claimed that Alexa O’Brien, an American journalist who covered the US prosecution of WikiLeaks’ whistleblower Chelsea Manning, reported on Twitter that the infamous videos released by Manning that showed the U.S. military blatantly committing war crimes were removed from YouTube. Her Twitter account is currently set to private.
As The Free Thought Project has reported, alternative geopolitical analyst “Partisan Girl” revealed that YouTube removed her video showing the U.S. airdropping weapons to ISIS in July, claiming it contained “violent of graphic content” that violated the platform’s community guidelines. “It documented US military airdrops falling into ISIS hands,” She wrote. “Truth is graphic content.”
A video on my channel just got censored by @youtube It documented US military airdrops falling into #ISIS hands! Truth is graphic content. pic.twitter.com/c9oi95ZcND
As YouTube continues to remove videos that document both the events of the Syrian War, and evidence of the United State committing war crimes, it is important to remember that the platform still hosts thousands of videos with millions of views that are disguised as child-friendly content, while they actually promote violence, sex and pedophilia.
They’re part of Washington’s diabolical regime change plan – at the same time, testing Russia’s resolve in the wake of its announced halt in cooperating with America in Syrian airspace, following the downing of one of its Su-22 planes.
The latest incident involved a US F-15 warplane, downing a Syrian drone near its border with Iraq and Jordan.
A US-led coalition statement lied, claiming the UAV “displaced hostile intent and advanced on coalition forces.” Calling naked aggression self-defense is the last refuge of a rogue state. America and Israel are Exhibits A and B.
On June 8, a US warplane downed another Syrian UAV in the same southern part of the country.
Washington claiming it doesn’t seek to fight Syria and allied forces is a bald-faced lie. Actions in the air and on the ground speak for themselves.
On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov minced no words, calling America’s presence in Syrian “absolutely illegal.”
“There is neither a United Nations Security Council resolution nor a request from Syria’s legitimate authorities to this effect. It’s a principle of international law,” he stressed.
The same goes for Turkish, UK and other foreign forces operating in Syria. Russia, Iran and Hezbollah are legally involved at Assad’s request.
On Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said any foreign aircraft or other airborne objects operating west of the Euphrates River will be tracked by its sophisticated S-400 air defense systems as hostile targets.
Moscow wants confrontation with Washington avoided. At the same time, continued US hostile acts risk possible conflict between both countries by accident or design.
The more aggressive America becomes, the greater the risk of potential war between the world’s leading nuclear powers.
[image: Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon attends an IDF exercise on May 7, 2015 credit: Diana Hananshvili/Defense Ministry]One of many Israeli open secrets is its military and other aid to ISIS and likeminded anti-Syrian terrorists.
It’s part of a diabolical plot with Washington to topple its legitimate government, wanting a pro-Western puppet regime replacing it.
In June 2015, former Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya’alon said “(w)e’ve assisted (anti-government terrorist groups in Syria on) two conditions. That they don’t get too close to (Israel’s) border, and…don’t touch the Druze.”
Ya’alon falsely called these fighters “rebels.” All anti-Syrian fighters are terrorists, largely imported from scores of regional and other countries.
Israel provides them with weapons, munitions, other material support, and hospital treatment for its wounded fighters, calling it “humanitarian assistance” – along with airstrikes on Syrian positions.
On June 18, the Wall Street Journal headlined “Israel Gives Secret Aid to Syrian Rebels” – failing to explain it’s going to ISIS, al-Nusra and other anti-government terrorists.
According to the WSJ, aid includes funding, food, fuel and medical supplies, the Journal reporting nothing about weapons and munitions supplied.
Secret Israeli dealings with anti-Syrian terrorists began years earlier to help topple Assad, the joint US/Israeli aim, together with their rogue allies.
According to the Journal, a special military unit was created to oversea the aid operation. Like America, Israel uses terrorist fighters as imperial foot soldiers, further helped by IDF terror-bombing, what the Journal left unexplained.
Israel declined to comment on its report, saying only it’s “committed to securing the borders of Israel and preventing the establishment of terror cells and hostile forces… in addition to providing humanitarian aid to the Syrians living in the area.”
On Monday, Netanyahu lied, saying “(w)e do not interfere in this terribly bloody conflict. We do…provide humanitarian aid to young boys and girls.”
Like America, Israel calls naked aggression “humanitarian intervention” and “democracy building” – anathema notions to both countries.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar supply anti-Syrian terrorists with US and Israeli weapons and munitions, smuggled into the country by Ankara’s intelligence agency and military.
Its government denies what it’s been doing all along, besides providing safe areas on its territory for ISIS, al-Nusra and terrorist other fighters.
A Final Comment
According to Fars News, the pilot of Syria’s downed warplane “is held by the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces.”
They said he’s “likely to be hand(ed) over to” Syria’s military. Negotiations are reportedly underway to secure his release.
The above information hasn’t been officially confirmed. It appears the pilot is alive.
After over six years of US aggression in Syria, falsely called civil war, nothing surprises.
On Sunday, Syria’s military said the so-called US-led “international coalition” downed one of its warplanes during a combat mission against ISIS terrorists about 30 km south of Raqqa.
The pilot is missing. It’s unknown if he’s alive or dead. A Syrian military statement said the following:
“The attack stresses coordination between the US and ISIS, and it reveals the evil intentions of the US in administrating terrorism and investing it to pass the US-Zionist project in the region.”
“Such aggressions would not affect the Syrian Arab army in its determination to continue the fight against ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations and to restore security and stability to all Syrian territories.”
A US-controlled so-called Operation Inherent Resolve statement lied, saying “a Syrian regime SU-22 dropped bombs near SDF fighters south of Tabqah and, in accordance with rules of engagement and collective self-defense of Coalition partnered forces, was immediately shot down by a US F/A-18E.”
The action was the latest US-led lawless attack on Syria’s military, fighting to liberate the country from US-backed terrorists – ISIS and all other anti-government forces. No so-called “moderate rebels” exist.
Syrian forces expanded operations in northern areas, liberating three villages near the Atreya-Resafa-Raqqa highway.
Washington wants Syrian sovereignty destroyed, the country balkanized, northern and southern areas separated from Damascus under US control.
Russia’s only response so far was Sergey Lavrov calling on the Trump administration to respect Syrian territorial integrity and refrain from unilateral actions in the country – comments falling on deaf ears in Washington.
Downing a Syrian warplane after earlier US attacks on its military ups the stakes in the country, escalating conflict Russia continues going all-out to resolve diplomatically.
On Monday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, international affairs advisor to Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, blamed Saudi Arabian security services for the June 7 terrorist incidents in Tehran, saying:
“The existing documents are proof of the US and Saudi Arabia’s continued manipulation of terrorism in the region and the world. Their strategy and policy (are) to draw out regional crises in order to carry out their own agendas…”
After the Tehran incidents, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country’s intelligence shows Riyadh “actively” supports terrorist groups along Iran’s eastern and western borders.
In retaliation for the June 7 attacks, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched ground-to-ground missiles, targeting an ISIS Deir Ezzor command post.
An IRGC statement said “(t)he spilling of innocent blood will not go unanswered. (N)o efforts (will be spared) to defend (Iran’s) national security and obviate plots as well as anti-security phenomena.”
Along with Russia, Iran actively aids Syrian and allied forces combat the scourge of US-backed ISIS and other terrorist groups in the country.
Self-defense is a universally recognized right – naked aggression the highest of high crimes. America and its rogue allies stand guilty as charged. Their alliance is humanity’s greatest threat.
On Monday, Almasdar News reported “(i)ntense clashes…between” Syrian and US-backed forces west of Raqqa, saying:
Government troops “attempted to cross (their) front lines…to rescue their fallen pilot (if alive). (T)hey were turned” back.
Fierce fighting is ongoing between both sides “near the key town of Resafa in western Al-Raqqa.”
Hawkish generals running Trump’s military operations in Syria and elsewhere want endless wars continued – at some point, risking direct confrontation with Russia.
Russia on Monday said it would track as “targets” any US-led coalition planes operating west of the Euphrates river in Syria, and condemned the shooting down of a Syrian government plane by US forces.
The US shot down a Syrian air force Su-22 over Tabqa – 55km west of Raqqa city – on Sunday, saying the plane was threatening allies from the Syrian Democratic Forces as they fought intense ground battles with Syrian government allies around Raqqa.
Any flying objects discovered west of the Euphrates river will be tracked as aerial targets by Russia’s air defences
– Russian defence ministry
Russia’s deputy defence minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said the incident was an “act of aggression”. His ministry said the act voided a cooperation deal and that a military hotline for avoiding incidents in Syrian airspace had been suspended.
“The command of the coalition forces did not use the established communication channel for preventing incidents in Syrian airspace,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
As a result, it now “ends cooperation with the American side from 19 June based on a memorandum for prevention of incidents and ensuring safety of air flights during operations in Syria, and demands a careful investigation by the US command” of the downing.
“Any flying objects, including planes and drones of the international coalition, discovered west of the Euphrates river will be tracked as aerial targets by Russia’s air defences on and above ground,” it said.
US DEFENDS DOWNING OF SYRIAN JET
The US on Sunday defended the downing of the Syrian jet.
“In accordance with rules of engagement and in collective self-defence of coalition-partnered forces, (the Syrian jet) was immediately shot down by a US F/A-18E Super Hornet,” it said.
It said it had “contacted its Russian counterparts by telephone via an established ‘de-confliction line’ to de-escalate the situation and stop the firing”.
It said it did did not seek “to fight the Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces” but would not “hesitate to defend itself or its partnered forces from any threat”.
The SDF on Monday said it would be “forced to retaliate” if the Syrian government continued attacking its positions around Raqqa.
“The regime’s forces…have mounted large-scale attacks using planes, artillery, and tanks,” SDF spokesman Talal Selo said in a statement.
“If the regime continues attacking our positions in Raqqa province, we will be forced to retaliate…and defend our forces.”
The escalation comes as Syria’s six-year-old war becomes ever more complex, with US forces and their allies converging on the northern IS bastion of Raqqa in close proximity to Russian-backed government troops.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces – an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters – is battling to oust the militants from Raqqa, and broke into the IS stronghold city last week.
Government forces are not involved in the battle for Raqqa, but they are advancing in an area southwest of the city, skirting around SDF fighters to target Deir Ezzor.
The US-led coalition has in recent weeks escalated its aerial bombing campaign in northern Syria and Raqqa province.
On Saturday, Syria’s General Command of the Army and General Forces announced the following:
“Units of the Syrian Arab Army, in cooperation with the allied forces, completed on Friday evening the first stage of the military operations in the Syrian Badia and were able to reach the border with the friendly Iraq northeast of al-Tanf.”
“This achievement is a strategic turning point in the war on terrorism and a springboard to expand military operations in the Badia and along the border with the friendly Iraq.”
For the first time since 2015, the Syrian flag flies on the border with Iraq, a significant achievement, whether a turning point remains to be seen.
According with Al-Masdar news (AMN), US and Russian forces agreed to let Syrian and allied troops take control of Al-Boudah village – northeast of the strategic al-Tanf crossing between Syria and Iraq, now under Syrian Arab Army control.
US-supported terrorists in southern Syria, masquerading as moderate rebels, are surrounded, vulnerable to elimination, government and allied forces fortifying the area to secure it.
Washington’s goal to control southern Syria is considerably weakened – short of escalated terror-bombing on government forces to change things in its favor it may be reluctant to do at this time.
On Sunday morning, Syrian media reported ISIS leader Ibrahim Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed by an airstrike in Raqqa.
Earlier reports of his death were false, perhaps this one as well without verifiable proof. He’s been wounded before but survived, perhaps the case this time unless proved otherwise.
Unverified earlier reports suggested he might be several people using the same nom de guerre, unlikely but possible.
In 2004, he was reported captured by US forces and held at Camp Bucca. The facility held inmates later recruited as top ISIS operatives.
Perhaps the CIA recruited Baghdadi to lead US-backed ISIS foot soldiers. An unconfirmed report claimed he was trained by Mossad operatives for months.
Separately, US-backed terrorists comprising the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Raqqa from the west, part of the al-Sabahiya neighborhood captured, fierce fighting reported.
Last week SDF spokesman Talal Sello said “(w)e declare…the start of the great battle to liberate the city of Raqqa,” an ISIS stronghold.
Will Washington redeploy most of its fighters to serve as imperial foot soldiers elsewhere in Syria – the way it shifted thousands of its elements earlier from Mosul to Palmyra and elsewhere in the country?
Raqqa is the caliphate’s self-declared capital. Does it have another location in mind in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere – with US-led coalition help?
Washington created this monster and likeminded ones. It’s not likely abandoning their use to advance its imperium.
