FSA Continues to Shine Like a "Dead Star"

Thierry Meyssan
www.voltairenet.org

The countdown has begun. As soon as the new Obama administration will be confirmed by the Senate, it will present a peace plan for Syria to the Security Council. Legally, though President Obama succeeds himself, his former administration is only responsible for the managing of current affairs and can not take any major initiative. Politically, Obama failed to react when, in the midst of the presidential race, some of his colleagues torpedoed the Geneva Agreement. But he proceeded with a general housecleaning right after the announcement of his reelection. As expected, General David Petraeus, the architect of the war on Syria, fell into the trap that had been set up for him and was forced to resign. As expected, the NATO and Missile Shield chiefs - adverse to an agreement with Russia - have been put under investigation for corruption and obliged to remain silent. Also as expected, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been taken out of the game. Only the method chosen to eliminate her came as a surprise: a serious health accident that plunged her into a coma.

Foreign Backed FSA Terrorist Insurgents Involved in Attacking Syrian Civilians

Meanwhile back at the UN, things have moved on. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) signed a Memorandum with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in September. In October, it monitored CSTO maneuvers in Kazakhstan simulating a deployment of "blue chapkas" in Syria. In December, the DPKO convened the military representatives of the permanent Security Council members to brief them on the manner in which the deployment could be carried out. Despite their opposition to this solution, the French and the British bowed to the wishes of the United States.

Nevertheless, France attempted to use the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Lakhdar Brahimi, to modify the Geneva peace plan in line with the objections it had raised on June 30th. Ultimately, Brahimi carefully refrained from taking a position, and instead contented himself with transmitting messages to and fro between the various parties to the conflict.

The truth is that on the ground the upper hand is held by the Syrian government. The military situation has been reversed. The French themselves have ceased to mention the "liberated zones" they yearned to govern through a United Nations mandate. These areas have been steadily shrinking, and those that are still holding out are in the hands of the disreputable Salafists. The FSA troops were instructed to abandon their positions and regroup around the capital for a final assault. The Contras were hoping to rally the Palestinian refugees, mainly Sunni Moslem, against the inter-denominational Syrian regime in the same manner that the Hariris in Lebanon tried to arouse the Sunni Palestinians of the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp against the Shiite Hezbollah. As in Lebanon this objective failed because the Palestinians know very well who their friends are and who is really fighting for the liberation of their land. Concretely, in Israel’s recent 8-day war on Gaza, it was the Iranian and Syrian weapons that saved the day, while the Gulf monarchies did not move a finger.

Certain elements of Hamas, loyal to Khaled Meshaal and funded by Qatar, opened the doors of the Yarmouk camp to a few hundred fighters of the Front to Protect the Levant (Syrian-Lebanese branch of Al-Qaeda), also related Qatar. They fought mainly against members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC). Via SMS, the Syrian government asked the 180 000 camp residents to evacuate the premises as soon as possible and offered them temporary accommodation in Damascus hotels, schools and gyms. Some preferred to go to Lebanon. The next day, the Syrian Arab army attacked the camp with heavy artillery and regained control. 14 Palestinian organizations then signed an agreement declaring the camp a "neutral zone". The FSA fighters withdrew in an orderly fashion and resumed their war against Syria in the surrounding countryside, while the civilians returned to their homes. They found a devastated camp where schools and hospitals had been systematically destroyed.

In strategic terms, the war is already over: the FSA has lost the popular support it had enjoyed at one point and has no chance of achieving victory. The Europeans still think they can replace the regime by bribing top officials and causing a coup, but they realize that it will be impossible to bring off with the FSA. Contras continue to roll in, but the flow of money and weapons is drying up. Much of the international support has stopped although the consequences on the battlefield cannot yet be seen, much like a star that can continue to shine long after its death.

The United States has clearly decided to turn the page and to sacrifice the FSA. It gives it senseless instructions that lead the Contras to their death. Thousands were killed last month. Meanwhile, in Washington, the National Intelligence Council cynically announced that "international jihadism" will soon disappear. Other allies of the United States should now ask themselves whether this new equation does not imply that they too will be sacrificed.

US Unconventional Warfare And The Syrian "Revolution"

"The intent of U.S. [Unconventional Warfare] UW efforts is to exploit a hostile power’s political, military, economic, and psychological vulnerabilities by developing and sustaining resistance forces to accomplish U.S. strategic objectives…For the foreseeable future, U.S. forces will predominantly engage in irregular warfare (IW) operations."

So begins the 2010 Unconventional Warfare (UW) Manual of the US Military’s Special Forces. The manual attached here (TC 18-01) is an interim publication, developed to address the definition of Unconventional Warfare and some other inconsistencies in UW Doctrine. The new UW document (ATP 3-05.1) is in the initial draft and not yet available, though sources tell me it is unlikely to differ much from TC 18-01.

But most of us have not had the pleasure of leafing through this truly revelatory blueprint that shows how America wages its dirty wars. These are the secret wars that have neither been approved by Congress, nor by the inhabitants of nations whose lives – if not bodies – are mauled by the directives on these pages.

A quote from President John F. Kennedy in 1962 opens the document. These few lines illustrate a core Washington belief that US forces have the right to destabilize, infiltrate, assassinate, subvert – all in service of questionable foreign policy objectives, with no evident consideration of a sovereign state’s preparedness or desire for change:

There is another type of warfare—new in its intensity, ancient in its origin—war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins; war by ambush instead of by combat, by infiltration instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. It preys on unrest.

Target. Middle East:

The Bush Doctrine paved the way for the mainstreaming of unconventional warfare by establishing the principle of pre-emptive actions against a state that may one day pose a threat to American interests. It didn’t offer any specific criteria to gauge those threats, nor did it attempt to explain why anyone outside the United States should be held accountable for US “interests” – be they commercial, security or political.

Iranian Pres. Ahmadinijad, Syrian Pres. Bashar alAsad, Hezbollah's Nasr Ullah

The doctrine went largely unchallenged, and has been played out with disastrous results throughout the Middle East in the past decade. The prime targets of UW have traditionally been nations and groups that oppose US primacy in the region – mainly the Resistance Axis consisting of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas – but UW has been carried out to some degree in virtually any nation where this Axis carries some influence.

The most nefarious aspect of UW - aside from the obvious violations of international law pertaining to sovereignty, territorial integrity and loss of human life/property, etc – is the proactive and aggressive effort to psychologically sway a population against its government. It is at this entry point where UW fails every American test of “values.”

The Arab Intifadas of 2011 provided a unique opportunity – amidst regional and sometimes domestic chaos – to ramp up UW activities in “hostile” states, whether or not populations sought regime change. Prime examples are Iran, Syria and Libya – all of which have been UW targets in the past year, at different levels of infiltration and with markedly different results.

Operation. Regime Change in Syria:

In Syria, the UW task would have been a mix of the two. Because of the domestic popularity and strength of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad revealed here in a 2006 Wikileaks Cable, UW activities would necessarily need to start with some subversion of the population before graduating to a Libyan-style scenario.

an FSA insurgent

Just as the Wikileaks cable recommends identifying “opportunities” to expose “vulnerabilities” in the Syrian regime and cause sectarian/ethnic division, discord within the military/security apparatus and economic hardship, the UW manual also instructs special forces to “exploit a hostile power’s political, military, economic, and psychological vulnerabilities.”

The Syrian demographic landscape is reflected in the UW manual: “In almost every scenario, resistance movements face a population with an active minority supporting the government and an equally small militant faction supporting the resistance movement. For the resistance to succeed, it must convince the uncommitted middle population…to accept it as a legitimate entity. A passive population is sometimes all a well-supported insurgency needs to seize political power.”

To turn the “uncommitted middle population” into supporting insurgency, UW recommends the “creation of atmosphere of wider discontent through propaganda and political and psychological efforts to discredit the government.”

As conflict escalates, so should the “intensification of propaganda; psychological preparation of the population for rebellion.”

First, there should be local and national “agitation” – the organization of boycotts, strikes, and other efforts to suggest public discontent. Then, the “infiltration of foreign organizers and advisors and foreign propaganda, material, money, weapons and equipment.”

Syrian National Coalition (heavily backed by Obama & Hillary) meeting at Doha, Qatar

The next level of operations would be to establish “national front organizations [i.e. the Syrian National Council] and liberation movements [i.e. the Free Syrian Army]” that would move larger segments of the population toward accepting “increased political violence and sabotage” – and encourage the mentoring of “individuals or groups that conduct acts of sabotage in urban centers.”

Now, how and why would an uncommitted – and ostensibly peaceful - majority of the population respond to the introduction of violence by opposition groups? The UW manual tells us there is an easy way to spin this one:

"If retaliation [by the target government] occurs, the resistance can exploit the negative consequences to garner more sympathy and support from the population by emphasizing the sacrifices and hardship the resistance is enduring on behalf of “the people.” If retaliation is ineffective or does not occur, the resistance can use this as proof of its ability to wage effect combat against the enemy. In addition, the resistance can portray the inability or reluctance of the enemy to retaliate as a weakness, which will demoralize enemy forces and instill a belief in their eventual defeat."

Saudi Detains Dozens for "Plotting to Celebrate Christmas"

Saudi religious police stormed a house in the Saudi Arabian province of al-Jouf, detaining more than 41 guests for “plotting to celebrate Christmas,” a statement from the police branch released Wednesday night said.

The raid is the latest in a string of religious crackdowns against residents perceived to threaten the country's strict religious code.

The host of the alleged Christmas gathering is reported to be an Asian diplomat whose guests included 41 Christians, as well as two Saudi Arabian and Egyptian Muslims. The host and the two Muslims were said to be “severely intoxicated.”

The guests were said to have been referred to the "respective authorities." It is unclear whether or not they have been released since.

The kingdom, which only recognizes Islamic faith and practice, has in the past banned public Christmas celebrations, but is ambiguous about festivities staged in private quarters.

Saudi religious police are known to detain residents of the kingdom at whim, citing loose interpretations of Sharia and public statements by hardline religious leaders to justify crackdowns.

Saudi Arabia's head mufti Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah had previously condemned “invitations to Christmas or wedding celebrations.”

A member of the Higher Council of Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Mohammed al-Othaimin recently prohibited sending holiday wishes to "heretics" on Christmas or other religious Christian holidays.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-detains-dozens-plotting-celebrate-christmas

Truth About Halfaya "Bakery" Massacre

The ‘Halfaya bakery massacre’ is a propaganda event with little basis in terms of evidence, spread by CNN, Al Arabiya, Reuters and other media channels worldwide, the main elements of which are that Syrian MIG jets bombed a bakery in Halfaya killing more than a hundred (CNN) and at least 300 (Al Arabiya) people. Versions of the propaganda story include the jets firing four rockets into a crowd up to 1,000 standing in line due to hunger.

The evidence given for the story are witness statements by ‘Syrian activists,’ video footage provided by these ‘activists’ and (in the case of CNN) has even included imagery from a far more substantial explosion – that of a terrorist car bombing in Baghdad which happened on the same day.

This propaganda exercise coincides with the visit of Lakhdar Brahimi to the Syrian capital.

The story being peddled by CNN etc is undermined by even a cursory look at the actual video evidence. The “journalists” responsible for the story are relying on the likelihood that people will not bother to watch the video footage, that if they do they will be so shocked by its gruesome nature that all rational analysis of the actual evidence will be suspended and that the powers that be, and the media owners, approve of this propaganda so they are unlikely to be held to account.

The video footage from Halfaya, a small town which has recently come under rebel control after a long battle, shows the results of an apparent explosion outside a two-story building. The number of bodies shown at the scene is around a dozen, at most, mainly gathered around the rear of a pick-up truck parked just outside the building:

A smaller number of people appear to be injured. The evidence that the building is a bakery rests on the statements of ‘activists’ and photographs of a bloodied loaf of bread. The video footage actually shows someone throwing fresh bread onto some blood on the road:

The building in front of which the bodies are shown appears relatively undamaged but there is a large amount of rubble and concrete blocks in front of it, including over the bodies. The pickup truck is parked right up against one of the doors of the building as if it is loading something from the inside the building. The small crater, such as it is, is a few feet behind the pick-up truck.

It is probable there was an explosion on the scene. It may have been caused by a (single) mortar round or an explosion of some ammunition being loaded into the pick-up or possibly a grenade (eg from a rival battalion.) It is unlikely this is an airstrike as the physical damage is so minor. The concrete blocks suggest that an attempt may have been made to ‘enhance’ the scene or that there was some protection in front of the building, perhaps as it was being used as a HQ or ammunition store.

All of the bodies appear to be of men of fighting age, apart from a single body in woman’s clothing. Some of the casualties are wearing camouflage. It takes about 8 minutes to clear the site of all the bodies and the wounded and the widespread reports of sixty, a hundred or more casualties, including women and children, are nonsense.

The use of the word “activist” in describing the propaganda of the various brigades is almost universal and very effective in giving unwarranted credence to rebel propaganda. Any serious journalist is well aware of the fact that so-called ‘activists’ using advanced communications equipment, provided by the US and UK, are producing rebel propaganda which is of almost no evidentiary value – but hey, why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

Why Didn't Syrian Army Attack israel Since 1973 War?

Source: Democratic Syria

The Friends of israel Syrian oppositions keep asking the same question time and again whenever they're cornered with their special relations with NATO member states & their stooges in the region especially Turkey: If the Syrian regime as it claims is against israel, why didn't its army attack israel since the 1973 war? And why is the Golan Heights the calmest front for israel in 40 years? 

This particular argument is a multi-level deception and failed propaganda, and to be honest with you, so many Syrians fall short of noticing both.

Firstly: The argument is put by those same individuals who are anti-Syrian regime and claim to be anti-israel as well and working under the NATO shield to undermine the Syrian state. Aren't those same NATO sponsored, Turkey based, Gulfies financed opposition members of the same opposition that vowed to cut ties with Iran, Hizbollah and HAMAS when the only parties in the region that actually resist israel's aggressions are Syrian existing regime, Iran, Hizbollah and HAMAS? Needless to say that Syrian army actually fought directly with israelis army in more than a war in many field battles in Lebanon, and Sultan Yaqob battle is just an example in 1982. The continuous support of the Syrian army to the Lebanese resistant movements led to the israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in the year 2000. While Hizbollah stood up to an israeli all out war in 2006 and managed to preserve the sovereignty of Lebanon then in addition to creating a fear balance with the israeli army, and don't forget when we mention the israeli army that means the entire US arsenal is under their hands in addition to billions of US Dollars every year. HAMAS when it was a resistance movement before shifting to its mentors in the radical Islamic movement the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan), stood along with its fellow factions in the Palestinian resistance to a brutal israeli aggression in the year 2008 against a besieged, highly dense, populated Gaza strip, and managed to fight back. Iran also fights a continuous covert battle with israel since the Islamic revolution took out the Iranian Shah from power. None of those parties would have  managed to win their struggle without the support of the current Syrian 'regime'.

Yet, those who vowed to break this alliance between Syria, Iran, Hizbollah and HAMAS, though they managed to take out HAMAS which now is replaced with 'Islamic Jihad' faction, those are the same blaming the current Syrian 'regime' of not being anti-israel enough by not waging a direct war from the Golan Heights.

Secondly, they try to give an impression that it's the Syrian people not the Syrian 'regime' that are resisting israel's aggressions, which is a very ridiculous and shallow concept taking in consideration that Egyptians count about 3.5 times as the Syrians, yet their former and now existing regimes was blocking Gaza strip and holding a humiliating 'peace treaty' with israel called the Camp David treaty. How come the Egyptian people didn't support Gaza and the Palestinian cause like their counterparts in Syria? Isn't it because the 'regime' in Syria is the one supporting the Palestinian cause in addition to the people and unlike elsewhere in the Arab world?

Thirdly, to wage a direct war with a nuclear state you need a nuclear shield, this shield existed during the 1973 war and that's why the Syrians along with the Egyptians launched the war then after securing the former Soviet Union nuclear shield. Of course before the Egyptian president then Sadat betrayed his Syrian ally late Assad senior and started negotiations under the table with israel while the Syrian army was still fighting on its front, along with an air-bridge by the USA, the israelis moved their entire focus to the Syrian front since they had nothing to fear at the Egyptian front, and even then the Syrian army fought an honourable war of attrition.

Fourthly, to launch a war you need an economy that can afford the direct cost of the war and can stand consequences of the war's aftermath. Without this cover no wise country can launch a war unless the war is forced against it, and since israel and its sponsors didn't launch a direct war over that period and the Syrian 'regime' managed to dodge a war with NATO Turkey over the PKK sponsorship in 1998, Syria wasn't forced to fight a defence war. Syria does not get any support from any ally except in small mutual agreements and tiny financed projects with interest, comparing with the overwhelming financial aid israel gets from USA, Germany and other Western countries. In the 1973 war, Syria and Egypt got the backing of some Arab countries' leaders including late Sheikh Zayed of UAE and assassinated late king Faisal of Saudi. While we noticed the current Saudi regime's reaction to the 2006 war between Hizbollah and israel and which sides it took along with other members of the Arab countries. 2008 israeli aggression on Gaza is another example.

Fifthly, Syria never grasped its breath during its history, it was pushed from one confrontation to another by Western & israeli plots, from ending the Lebanese civil war, to the israeli invasion of Lebanon that lasted from 1982 to 2000, in addition to the previous one in 1978. Plus the hostility from Iraq and Jordan during Saddam and late King Hussein of Jordan, and just for the history, both backed a similar conflict inside Syria that we are witnessing now, by supporting terrorist radical Muslim Brotherhood movement 1976 - 1982. Then there was the 8 years of war between Iraq & Iran that kept all the region on its feet during that period, since Syria was the only Arab state that supported Iran and earned the hatred of all its Arab brothers for that before they realized that Syria's stand was the correct one after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and then Syria contributed in the liberation of Kuwait! Then came the US led invasion of Iraq and the presence of quarter a million NATO troops at the borders and all the negative consequences all these events had on the Syrian economy including the influx of refugees: almost half a million Palestinian since 1948, 1967 and 1982 till now; over 1.2 million Iraqis in 2003 till now, to thousands of Lebanese during the many Lebanese conflicts till now and on.

Despite all of the above, the Syrian 'regime' didn't waste an opportunity and managed to modernize and beef up its defence capability with a well equipped, well trained, mobilizable, fast, effective army, and by securing self-sufficiency in food and necessities, which led to minimal effects of the huge sanctions the country's facing since 1956.

Give Syria a nuclear shield with an economic backing and it'll retrieve the Golan Heights within 2 hours. Without those two shields and with the continuation of plotting by the brothers before the enemies against Syria, it'll be difficult for the Syrians to launch such a war unless forced into it in defence, and that's why the Syrian leadership kept reminding its foes that if it's attacked it would have no other choice but the Samson option, as once late Assad senior said: "If we were forced into a war with israel both of our states will be sent back 100 years in history, (due to the devastation), but 100 years ago there was no israel".

Do you know now why the Golan Heights were the calmest during the past decades?

UN Defends NATO's Premeditated Genocide in Syria

Land Destroyer 

As early as 2007, it was reported that the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, together were not only organizing, funding, training, and arming militants directly linked to Al Qaeda to be used against Syria and Iran, but knew well in advance that by doing so, they would trigger an unprecedented "cataclysmic conflict" driven by sectarian extremism. Not only was such sectarian violence expected, it was desired ahead of redrawing a new map for the Middle East - one that favored Western corporate-financier and geopolitical interests, while keeping the region weak, divided, and infighting.

Now, the UN is feigning indignation over the inevitable, increasingly overt sectarian nature of the so-called "Free Syrian Army" and its so-called "rebellion." Entire communities of minorities face extermination. To blunt the impact this will have on public opinion, UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng has preemptively stated: 

"I am deeply concerned that entire communities risk paying the price for crimes committed by the Syrian government."

According to Reuters' article, "U.N. anti-genocide envoy: Syria minorities face reprisal risk," the genocide NATO and its allies are arming, funding, and willfully fueling is merely "reprisals." What Reuters doesn't report is that US, Saudi, and Lebanese officials had for years warned that US foreign policy, started under Bush and continued in earnest under Obama, would trigger this very sort of sectarian violence - driven by Al Qaeda-style fanaticism, not "reprisals." 

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Seymour Hersh writing for the New Yorker, wrote in his 2007 article, "The Redirection: Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?" that:  

"To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda." -The Redirection, Seymour Hersh (2007) 

Hersh's report would continue by stating:  

"the Saudi government, with Washington’s approval, would provide funds and logistical aid to weaken the government of President Bashir Assad, of Syria. The Israelis believe that putting such pressure on the Assad government will make it more conciliatory and open to negotiations." -The Redirection, Seymour Hersh (2007)

Further admissions of a joint US-Israeli-Saudi conspiracy against Syria included:  

"...[Saudi Arabia's] Bandar and other Saudis have assured the White House that “they will keep a very close eye on the religious fundamentalists. Their message to us was ‘We’ve created this movement, and we can control it.’ It’s not that we don’t want the Salafis to throw bombs; it’s whothey throw them at—Hezbollah, Moqtada al-Sadr, Iran, and at the Syrians, if they continue to work with Hezbollah and Iran.” -The Redirection, Seymour Hersh (2007)

 In regards to sectarian extremism in particular it was forewarned that:  

"Robert Baer, a former longtime C.I.A. agent in Lebanon, has been a severe critic of Hezbollah and has warned of its links to Iranian-sponsored terrorism. But now, he told me, “we’ve got Sunni Arabs preparing for cataclysmic conflict, and we will need somebody to protect the Christians in Lebanon. It used to be the French and the United States who would do it, and now it’s going to be Nasrallah and the Shiites" -The Redirection, Seymour Hersh (2007)   

Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah was also featured in Hersh's report and had also warned of imminent and spreading sectarian war purposefully stoked by the West: 

Nasrallah said he believed that President Bush’s goal was “the drawing of a new map for the region. They want the partition of Iraq. Iraq is not on the edge of a civil war—there is a civil war. There is ethnic and sectarian cleansing. The daily killing and displacement which is taking place in Iraq aims at achieving three Iraqi parts, which will be sectarian and ethnically pure as a prelude to the partition of Iraq. Within one or two years at the most, there will be total Sunni areas, total Shiite areas, and total Kurdish areas. Even in Baghdad, there is a fear that it might be divided into two areas, one Sunni and one Shiite.”

He went on, “I can say that President Bush is lying when he says he does not want Iraq to be partitioned. All the facts occurring now on the ground make you swear he is dragging Iraq to partition. And a day will come when he will say, ‘I cannot do anything, since the Iraqis want the partition of their country and I honor the wishes of the people of Iraq.’ ”

Nasrallah said he believed that America also wanted to bring about the partition of Lebanon and of Syria. In Syria, he said, the result would be to push the country “into chaos and internal battles like in Iraq.” In Lebanon, “There will be a Sunni state, an Alawi state, a Christian state, and a Druze state.” But, he said, “I do not know if there will be a Shiite state.”

The UN once again is abusing its own self-appointed authority by excusing and spinning premeditated sectarian genocide designed to advance a documented conspiracy admitted to years ago. More recently, this conspiracy to destroy Syria through engineered and purposefully protracted violence was documented further by the very corporate-financiers themselves amongst the pages of reports turned out by their own policy think-tanks. 

The Brookings Institution in their "Middle East Memo #21: Saving Syria: Assessing Options for Regime Change(.pdf)," openly stated they sought to "bleed" Syria in purposefully protracted violence: 

"The United States might still arm the opposition even knowing they will probably never have  sufficient power, on their own, to dislodge the Asad network. Washington might choose to do so simply in the belief that at least providing an oppressed people with some ability to resist their oppressors is better than doing nothing at all, even if the support provided has little chance of turning defeat into victory. Alternatively, the United States might calculate that it is still worthwhile to pin down the Asad regime and bleed it, keeping a regional adversary weak, while avoiding the costs of direct intervention." -pages 8-9, Assessing Options for Regime Change, Brookings Institution.

Such documents completely contradict the public statements issued by the West, which attempt to portray their involvement in Syria as motivated by "humanitarian concerns," "moral imperatives," and the "promotion of democracy." In reality, the goal is to prolong the violence as long as possible, expedite the loss of life, and to destroy the nation by fueling violent militants - just as it was the plan in 2007 when Hersh penned "The Redirection." The sectarian component of the current conflict is not an unexpected result of violence that began only in 2011, it was an integral part of the West's foreign policy since 2007. 

The sectarian genocide in Syria was purposefully engineered by Western policy makers, and now is willfully covered up, spun, and excused by the UN and the Western mass media alike.

Palestinian Yarmouk Camp Victim of NATO-FSA

Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus witnessed on Monday morning unprecedented migration traffic after the so-called Free Syrian Army and its armed terrorist allies broke into the camp in its military conflict with the Arab Syrian Army.
Yarmouk, accounted as one of the largest Palestinian refugee population areas in Syria, was subject to so-called FSA militant hideaways. The so-called FSA had suffered major strategic losses in the camp's neighboring areas, such as "Hajar al-Aswad", "al-Tadamon", and "al-Takaddom" neighborhoods, during clashes with Syrian Army units in Damascus's countryside. When these armed groups failed in their goal, they resorted to dragging the Yarmouk camp to the frontline against the Syrian forces.

The camp's inhabitants refused to comply with the FSA's goal, which led to clashes between FSA militants and the camp's factions led by The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command. FSA militants had launched mortars on the camp in an attempt to break into it.

On this note, sources in the Palestinian Popular Committee told al-Ahed News website that the areas targeted in Yarmouk had a "dense population, and harbored Palestinian refugees and Syrian migrants, which caused tens of civilian casualties."
Al-Ahed News Website closely observed the dense migration traffic, where many camp inhabitants expressed frustration of the so-called FSA break in and mortar fire.
"The camp was safe and received tens of thousands of Syrian migrants, but the [so-called] FSA made it an unbearable hell," Em Mohammad (Mother of Mohammad) said.

For his part, Ahmad al-Jaradat from Yarmouk saw that "my migration along with
thousands of Palestinian refugees' from Yarmouk camp were caused by militiamen breaking into the camp and assaulting the popular committee checkpoints who in turn returned fire."

Moreover, hundreds of Yarmouk residents headed on Tuesday morning to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Damascus, who in turn provided sanctuaries in mosques and the agency's schools in Khan al-Sheh and Jarmana, Damascus.
Furthermore, the Popular Front - General Command clarified that, "The Front was compelled to release several statements accentuating no secession in their lines and their complete control over the Popular Front building."

The Front further reiterated that the armed groups "intensified their attacks in the last ten days, which led to tens of martyrs and injuries."

Damascus - al-Ahed News Website

Russia sends warships to Mediterranean Sea

A new fleet of Russian warships is heading to the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian waters, Russia's Defense Ministry announces.

The ministry said on Tuesday that the flotilla has left the Baltic port of Baltiysk and is sailing for the Mediterranean.

It said the flotilla includes the frigate Yaroslavl Mudry, the landing ships Kaliningrad and Alexander Shabalin as well as two other vessels.

The ministry said that the Russian naval ships would carry out training drill after replacing another fleet in the Mediterranean.

Citing military sources, the Interfax news agency reported last week that the flotilla could be used to evacuate the Russians living in Syria in case the situation in the country worsens.

Russia, a key ally of Syria, has a small naval maintenance facility at the Syrian port of Tartus in the Mediterranean Sea.


http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/18/278723/russia-warships-sail-to-mediterranean-sea/

Saudi Arabia, Qatar Supply Terrorists with Israeli-Made Explosives in Syria

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been financing and supplying armed rebels in Syria with more explosive materials they have recently purchased from the US, Israel and UK in a bid to help the terrorists carry out their anti-government operations in the Arab country, a Palestinian weekly disclosed on Saturday. 

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have smuggled the explosives to Syria with the assistance of the intelligence services of the Arab country's neighboring countries, including Turkey, the al-Manar quoted informed security sources as saying on Friday.

The sources also disclosed that there are special terrorist garrisons in Turkey which are administered by the security officers of Israel and western countries.

So far, several sources have disclosed that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been financing and dispatching terrorists in Syria and smuggle weapons to the crisis-hit country for campaign against Assad's government.

Earlier, reports from Syria said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar in collaboration with the US and Britain have set up a secret command center in Turkey to supply the terrorists in Syria with military and communications aid to seize control of Aleppo city from the Syrian government.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad's government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

According to the report, material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons - most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past - has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107127105

Western propaganda war on Syria rages

By Stephen Lendman
Propaganda wars precede hot ones. Conflicts and other forms of violence are glorified in the name of peace. Doublespeak duplicity claim it. Wars are waged to prevent 

it. 

Ongoing ones assure more ahead. Unconscionable death counts rise. America, Israel, key NATO partners, and regional allies bear full responsibility. Humanity hangs in the balance.

Humanitarian intervention and responsibility to protect (R2P) mask ravaging one country after another. Slaughter and mass destruction are called liberating struggles.

Plunder is for economic development. Exploitation and dominance are called democracy building. Media scoundrels invert truth for public support.

When America goes to war or plans them, they march obediently in lockstep. Administration, congressional and Pentagon propaganda get reported as news and information.

Big Lies make headlines. They're repeated ad nauseam. Media scoundrels are so addicted to lying, perhaps their employment contracts mandate misinformation, deceit and distortion while avoiding truth at all cost.

What better way to explain scoundrel journalism. Fundamental good reporting principles are spurned. Ethical standards are ignored.

The history of sensationalism, yellow journalism, and lying about what matters most in America is long and sordid. It dates back centuries. Accurate reporting is most important when lives, human welfare, and perhaps humanity are on the line.

Television is worst of all. In a June 1950 commencement address, Boston University President Daniel Marsh said, "If the (television) craze continues....we are destined to have a nation of morons."

Famed comedian Ernie Kovacs (1919 - 1962) once called it a medium because it's neither rare or well done.

He'd be horrified by what goes on now. It fails on all counts. So do scoundrel print media. They give news, information, and opinion reporting bad names.

Long before television arrived, journalist Walter Lippmann called the public "the bewildered herd." In policy matters, they're considered "spectators," not "participants."

"The common interests elude public opinion entirely," he said. That's how it should be, he added.

America's privileged class alone should manage policy. Only they need proper education and training. Treat others like mushrooms - well-watered and in the dark. Distract them with bread and circuses. Misinform them with managed and junk food news.

Media scoundrels betray the reading and viewing public. They're best served by walking away, tuning out, and choosing credible sources for what they most need to know. Greater numbers now do it. One day perhaps everyone will.

Scoundrel media wars rage against Syria. People are being systematically lied to and manipulated to accept more war. Western-recruited proxies wage it no-holds barred. They specialize in gruesome atrocities. Managed news reports suppress them.

Full-scale intervention looms. It could happen anytime. Early next year looks most likely.

Global Research associate Julie Levesque highlights " 'chemical propaganda' and fabricated evidence." When threats don't exist, they're invented.

When headlined enough most people believe them. War followed hyping nonexistent Iraq WMDs for months. False claims precede all wars. They're based on lies and deception. It happens every time.

No matter how often people are fooled, they're easy to deceive again. They're being prepared for full-scale war on Syria. It's deja vu all over again.

Michel Chossudovsky highlighted the "Syria Chemical Weapons Saga." Perhaps another "US-NATO Humanitarian Disaster" awaits. It's likely given how often the same scenario played out earlier.

After detailed planning and implementation, it's hard imagining Washington now going soft. Don't expect it. It won't happen. Before Syrian ravaging ends, it may exceed the worst of charnel house Libya.

With about four times the population, imagine the possible death, injury, and mass destruction toll. Imagine potential cutthroat killer fascist rule replacing Assad governance most Syrians support.

Libya 2.0 on a much uglier scale looks possible. Chemical propaganda and other misreporting precede what looks likely.

Chossudovsky says people are being manipulated to believe "that a 'frustrated' and 'desperate' (Assad) is planning to use deadly chemical weapons against his own people."

Doing so would be like putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. The possibility of using them internally is nil except perhaps against NATO foreign invaders. Even then it's unlikely unless Western WMDs are used on Syrians.

Managed news reports invent the worst about Assad. Chossudovsky quoted NBC News claiming "Syria's military has loaded nerve-gas chemicals into bombs and are awaiting final orders from al-Assad."

Media hype rages "full gear." "Fake reports" make headline news. We've heard it all before many times. It's repeated because it works. Only the war theaters, heads of state, and fakery vary.

Otherwise it's an old script rerun. Propaganda films follow at times. History is re-invented. Facts are turned on their head. Bad guys are them, not us. The worst of all possible worlds is called the best.

An ending too gruesome to imagine perhaps looms. Humanity may not survive. America's imperium matters most. Those in charge go for broke, and let the devil take the hindmost.

That's how imperial rogues think. Media scoundrels share responsibility. Thoughts of blood on their hands never enter their minds. Only wealth, power, privilege, dominance, and winner take all matter.

Body counts are a small price to pay. It's hard imagining how these people were raised. Perhaps they forgot moral lessons taught. Maybe they remember but don't care. It shows in what they support and tolerate.

Wednesday reports hyped Abbas firing scud missiles inside Syria. Western headlines feature it. Unnamed US officials are sources. Ones prefering anonymity lack credibility. So do journalists using them.

At issue isn't whether scuds, other missiles or rockets are used. It's implying use of or plans to use chemical weapons.

Reports follow scurrilous ones about Assad loading sarin nerve agents or other deadly chemicals in bombs. They also suggest intensified Assad belligerence. Implied is that more civilians in his line of fire are dying.

At her daily press briefing, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said:

"As the regime becomes more and more desperate, we see it resorting to increased lethality and more vicious weapons moving forward, and we have in recent days seen missiles deployed."

She added that Washington is concerned about a weapon called a "barrel (incendiary) bomb." She said it contains inflammable materials. Human Rights Watch claimed he used them. More on that below.

"It's sort of a napalm-like thing and is completely indiscriminate in terms of civilians, so very, very concerning and indicative of the regime's desperation and the regime's brutality," said Nuland.

What's most "indicative" is ignoring America's longstanding use of napalm, agent orange in Southeast Asia, biological and chemical poisons, depleted and enriched uranium weapons, as well as other illegal toxins. It's official US policy in all wars Washington wages.

Large areas of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Vietnam and elsewhere America attacked aren't safe to live it. Toxicity levels are too high. Uranium contamination is permanent.

No evidence whatever shows Assad uses chemical or other toxins. Suggesting he does or may hypes fear ahead of likely full-scale intervention.

On December 12, Human Rights Watch (HRW) was back to its old tricks. It shills for US direct and proxy wars as well as others planned. It features anti-Assad propaganda. It headlined "Syria: Incendiary Weapons Used in Populated Areas."

It claimed Assad used them "in at least four locations….since mid-November." Anti-Assad witnesses said so. Unverified video footage was shown. It's been fake before. It's simple to do.

HRW admitted it's "investigating unconfirmed reports of the use of incendiary weapons in (various) parts of Syria." Proper analysis demands doing so first, finding clear evidence if it exists, then reporting the findings.

HRW so far has nothing more than dubious video evidence and suspect witnesses. They're not named or identified. Numerous earlier reports were falsified.

No verifiable evidence suggests this one is legitimate. HRW's last comment said "Syria is not known to be a producer or exporter of incendiary weapons." It claims a stockpile of Soviet origin remains.

If any were obtained that long ago, their usefulness may have expired. Chemical and biological weapons lose potency over time. Their shelf life is limited. Perhaps it's true also for incendiaries.

The New York Times was most responsible for misreporting on non-existent Iraq chemical weapons. Judith Miller's rewritten daily front page Pentagon handouts proved effective propaganda.

Her writing became a weapon of mass destruction. She featured an entire Noah's Ark of scam artists hyping fake threats. War followed. The "cradle of civilization" was destroyed.

Iraq is permanently occupied. Libya followed. Afghanistan boils. Syria looms. The Times plays the lead propaganda role. Miller is gone, but other disreputable writers replaced her. No shortage exists in Times Square or foreign venues.

On December 12, Michael Gordon and Eric Schmitt headlined "Syria Uses Scud Missiles in New Effort to Push Back Rebels."

Both writers called a Western-generated foreign invasion a "civil war." Nothing "civil" characterizes what's going on. Neither one explained.

At least six "Soviet-designed" scuds were fired. They're "not known for their precision." Obama's red line stresses using chemical weapons internally.

Assad may have calculated he "can resort to such lethal weapons without the fear of international intervention…."

Former Army intelligence officer Joseph Holliday was quoted saying he "views every weapon short of chemicals as fair game."

He "escalated its use of force whenever the rebels' strength has presented a significant challenge to the regime."

The detailed article omitted heavy weapons supplied foreign fighters. It ignored their atrocities. They're committed regularly. Pro-Assad loyalists are targeted. Civilian neighborhoods are raided. Slaughter follows. Neither writer explained.

Death squads are considered liberators. They're not "rebels." They're foreign mercenary killers. They're paid or otherwise enlisted to murder and destroy.

Their ranks are infested with fascists. Syrians deplore what they represent. They have no say in what Washington plans. No do civilians in other US targeted countries.

Rogue states demand unchallenged dominance. Popular sentiment isn't tolerated. Imperial wars rage. The entire region and beyond is threatened.

Potential death and mass destruction too gruesome to imagine looms. Stay tuned. More reports will follow.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/13/277886/propaganda-war-on-syria-rages/

Mursi "torture chambers" exposed!!!

Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood has set up “torture chambers” inside the presidential palace where protesters detained over the past week have been beaten to force confessions, the country’s Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Friday.

A reporter for the newspaper claims to have been allowed access to makeshift detention centers inside the Heliopolis Palace for three hours on Wednesday during a wake of demonstrations against President Mohammed Mursi where he witnessed beatings.

He wrote that he "heard detainees screaming inside the chamber. ... A bleeding man cried, ‘I’m an educated person. I have a car. Do I look like a thug?’"

The report added: "Some of the detainees were not able to respond to the questions the Brotherhood interrogators screamed at them because of their physical state. Some were bleeding profusely and severely fatigued, but were not given medical assistance, only offered bottles of water to drink."

Prisoners inside the palace detention rooms would first have their phones, ID cards and money confiscated by authorities before being shouted at and beaten. The interrogators would ask the detainees if they were being paid to participate in the demonstrations, or if they belonged to an opposition party.

If they refused to answer questions, or denied any wrongdoing or political affiliation, "the torturers would intensify beatings and verbal abuse," the report added.

An Egyptian rights group in October published a report documenting 247 cases of police brutality, and 88 cases of torture, during Mursi's first 100 days in office. The embattled Islamist leader took office in June.

A number of torture cases that had taken place inside police stations resulted in death, the report found.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/mursi-torture-chambers-exposed

Israeli Ambassador: Admin Was Warned Years Ago About Assad

To all those who think that Bashar al Assad (Syrian President) is friends with Israel or that he gifted Golan Heights to Israel...

-----------------------------------------

Israel’s ambassador to the United States noted Sunday that the Jewish state came to the administration “years ago” to warn “Bashar al-Assad is too reckless.”

President Obama, though, began his term by trying to establish ties with Damascus and sending the first U.S. ambassador since 2005, Robert Ford, to the region in January 2011. President Bush pulled America’s ambassador out in 2005 after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafiq Hariri.

“We have long advocated for Bashar al-Assad’s departure, long before, actually the outbreak of hostilities,” Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren said, on December 9, on Fox News Sunday.

“His father was, remember Hafez? He was reckless, but somehow predictable — reckless but somehow responsible. His son is reckless and irresponsible and ruthless,” Oren added. “And he has provided 70,000 rockets to Hezbollah in Lebanon, tens of thousands of rockets to terrorists everywhere. He had tried to create a nuclear facility, secretly. Hafez al-Assad probably would have never done something like that.”

“So, he had to go. He was a loose cannon throughout the region and a danger to the entire region. If he goes now, we would view that as a positive development. He’s an ally of Iran. He’s an ally of Hezbollah. We understand that if jihadists were to come in, it wouldn’t be good. But, it perhaps wouldn’t be as bad as the current situation,” the ambassador said.

Israel has good intelligence on the ground in Syria and is watching developments regarding the regime’s stash of chemical weapons “very carefully.”

“We have been watching it many months now and it’s not new to us. Syria has a varied, deep chemical weapons program. It’s geographically dispersed as well and were those weapons to pass into the wrong hands, into Hezbollah’s hands, for example, that would be a game changer for us,” Oren said.

“Can you imagine, if Hezbollah, with its 70,000 rockets, got its hands on chemical weapons? That could kill thousands of people.”

Britain joins hands with allies to topple Syrian govt.

An international coalition including Britain is conspiring to provide military training to terrorists fighting to topple the popular government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, local media reported.

The plan to provide military training to terrorists in Syria and support them with air and naval power is being drawn up in London, the daily Independent has revealed. 

The head of Britain’s armed forces, General Sir David Richards, hosted a confidential meeting in London a few weeks ago attended by the military chiefs of France, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE, and a three-star American general, in which the strategy was discussed at length, according to the newspaper report. 

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the report of contingency plans being drawn up with the help of certain countries, including the United States, but refused to give detailed information about how they are going to help Syrian insurgents. 

According to senior Whitehall sources, the meeting was held on Prime Minister David Cameron’s demand who has earlier revealed plans to facilitate supplying heavy weapons to terrorists in the Middle Eastern Arab country. 

Britain has already been fueling the flames of unrest in Syria by providing insurgents with communication services and training armed terrorists, contributing to the killing of innocent civilians in Syria. 

Syria has been experiencing a deadly foreign-backed unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil since Western-backed insurgents hijacked Syrian nation’s peaceful call for democracy. 

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/11/277436/syria/

Report: NATO Military Intervention In Syria “Imminent”

"Special forces mass in preparation for final assault"

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
December 7, 2012

Following the arrival of the USS Eisenhower in the Mediterranean sea just outside Syria, reports are now circulating that other NATO forces are firmly in place to launch an “imminent” Libya-style military assault to topple President Bashar Al-Assad.

“Sources close to the French Defense Ministry reported Friday, Dec. 7, that a Western-Arab military intervention against the Assad regime is due to begin shortly with the participation of the US, France, Britain, Turkey, Jordan and other anti-Assad Arab nations,” reports Israeli news outlet DebkaFile, adding that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar’s special forces will also be involved.

Following the news earlier this week that the USS Eisenhower and the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group are now stationed in waters just outside Syria, the latest report adds that the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaullehas also joined the fray.

Training exercises involving British and French special forces in recent weeks have concentrated on attacking fortifications in the Alawite mountains, which is where Assad is predicted to escape to should he flee Damascus.

The report adds that the assault, “Would be modeled on the Western intervention in Libya in 2011. It would combine an aerial blitz with ground action by special forces for destroying Assad’s chemical weapons stocks, his air force and his air defense systems.”

The attack could be preceded by an announcement that Assad has used chemical weapons, which the White House has made clear represents a “red line” that would mandate military intervention.

The sudden deluge of hysteria suggesting, “The Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons against its own people and is awaiting final orders from President Bashar Assad,” is based entirely on dubious claims by anonymous “US officials”.

In setting the stage for war, the establishment media has repeated talking points almost identical to those that preceded the US invasion of Iraq, despite the fact that rhetoric about Saddam Hussein’s “weapons of mass destruction” turned out to be based on completely fabricated evidence.

In backing the rebel assault on Syria, the United States and NATO powers have, just like in Libya, aligned themselves with Al-Qaeda terrorists.

Of course, the possibility remains that all the rhetoric concerning an “imminent” NATO intervention could be part of a psychological propaganda campaign aimed at destabilizing the Assad government and convincing both ministers and members of the Syrian Army to defect.

A similar effort was attempted months ago when reports circulated that rebels were surrounding Damascus and that the endgame was near, but the stories turned out to be little more than hot air.