Bill Van Auken in wsws in May wrote:
Washington’s closest allies in the Arab world, the dictatorial feudal monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, set up a $100 million fund to place FSA members directly on their payroll, while the US announced it was sending “non-lethal” aid to these same forces, including sophisticated communications equipment, night vision goggles and US intelligence.
None of this has had the desired effect. The FSA has barely put up token resistance to the Syrian military in most areas, and there is no sign of mass popular support for the Syrian National Council.
So now comes the turn to terrorist bombings. The explosions ...
The aims of this campaign are to terrorize the Syrian people and, together with the unilateral US and European Union sanctions, paralyze the country’s economy, creating conditions for a social and political implosion. At the same time, it is designed to prove that the United Nations cease-fire agreement brokered by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan is unworkable.”
Hear that? Shock and awe, foreplay for disaster capitalism. THE POINT IS TO TERRORIZE THE SYRIAN PEOPLE. To BREAK the country for a craven and imperialist agenda of a circling cabal of war-criminal nations.
Van Auken continues:
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Thursday acknowledged “an Al Qaeda presence in Syria,” ....
snip
If Al Qaeda elements are collaborating with US imperialism in mounting a terror campaign in Syria, it will not be the first time. The top commander of the militias that were backed by the US and NATO in the war for regime change in Libya, Abdel Hakim Belhadj, had previously been abducted, renditioned and tortured by the CIA because of his role in the Islamist terrorist group.
These same Libyan elements are now playing a prominent role in arming and training the US-backed armed “opposition” in Syria as well as sending fighters directly into the country.
The cynical cold war cliché that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” does not begin to cover the US role in Syria, where these elements fulfill both roles simultaneously. On the one hand, Washington is backing Al Qaeda-linked forces in a campaign to topple the Assad regime, while on the other, it is preparing to use their presence in the country as a pretext for US military intervention.
So, let’s see. How vilely Orwellian is all this? We are sponsoring Al Qaeda-tied thugs for their useful terrorism, never to be called out by a propaganda-obliging media, but at the same time using the presence of “Al Qaeda” to induce UN and world opinion to justify “official” military intervention for corporate-agenda “regime change” in Syria, after so very much unofficial intervention already going on by predatory bullying Western and collaborating bullied and/or opportunistic Middle Eastern nations to destabilize and demonize Syria.
And during a US election year, with so much media-buzz denouncing the dangerousness of the Republican candidate for president, why not let the best liar in the world play a major conductor to such evil orchestration, Barack Obama. With plenty of help from his other not really so humanitarian-oriented friends in this country and elsewhere.
Here’s a tiny sample of reality offered by Van Auken today involving the aftermath of the July 18th terrorist bombing that killed several Syrian government officials including Assad’s brother-in-law. A terrorism incident which has been used diabolically by Western countries to clamor even more loudly for their invitation to militarily intervene!
Meanwhile, elements of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) seized control of border crossings into both Iraq and Turkey. The Iraqi government reported the seizure of four border crossings into Anbar and Nineveh Provinces. Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi told the AFP news agency that at one border crossing, FSA gunmen seized a Syrian lieutenant colonel, cutting off his arms and legs, and then “executed 22 Syrian soldiers in front of the eyes of Iraqi soldiers.”
Did you manage to catch that? "CUT OFF his arms and legs?" Then "EXECUTED 22 Syrian soldiers." But -- what the hey -- such conduct is perpetrated by one of our proverbial “bastards”. Something to be covered up and lied about, of course. No biggie.
Again, these imperialist nations circling Syria have been and still are sponsoring some of the SAME terrorists who have killed multiple US and NATO troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I guess this is all about "looking forward" again in criminal-accountability-free, ends-justifies-the-means global amoral gamesmanship.
But let’s all listen to MSNBC and even the NewsHour generalize about the good guys and the bad guys in Syria. Granted there are atrocities on BOTH sides! But why are we being asked to naively trust there are noble intentions from the relentless, moneyed and massive-weaponed West so “covertly” involved for so long now in externally forcing regime change in Syria, now brazenly insisting on the right to overtly and officially do it? Thanks to the craven, myopically propagandized reports of corporate media, grotesque violations of international law and deadly, insane incidents of savage and mass collateral damage aren't being called out.
The spirit of the Arab Spring has been co-opted. It has been manipulated. Corporate overlords have captured our government and to hell with the lower 99%. They also intend to capture the whole wide world, and to hell with the lower 99% there, too. They are so well on their way.
An organic rebelliousness among the Syrian citizens has been destroyed with the corporate media pretending it is incredibly still being championed by governments pimped out to oligarchical overlords. The agenda of the US, NATO countries, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel, with their regime-changing on the ground in Syria coalition of dangerous, often imported dissidents and old time destabilizing CIA assets, sponsored by extreme levels of money, weapons, training and shameless propaganda, is so far from humanitarian I can smell the satanic sulphur from here.
The violence going on in Syria thanks to “our thugs” has caused the Syrian citizens out of sheer terror to be all the more dependent on the governance of a tyrannical Assad regime. These citizens are caught in a horrifying cross-fire. Just as the citizen victims of Libya, but Libya did not have the formidable military force that Syria has, so the bloodbath will be more prolonged. But, let’s face it, the faux-humanitarian countries such as our own don’t give a serious shit. Life is cheap in this Post-Morality, economic and military opportunistic terrorism war-game playing global anti-village. So let the war-criminal leaders and their sycophant media spin on.
Let’s look at some statistics you won’t hear cited in the corporate media. At least without any moral or rational connecting of the dots about what hegemony is wreaking on the lives of hundreds of thousands of REAL human beings. Not a fantasy Orwellian narrative being shoved down the throats of the far safer American and global peoples about who is wearing the white and black hats in Syria. Disinformed and ignorant so many of us are, willingly bobbling our heads to the ferocious media line of mendacity, despite, come on, folks, those inner sirens of cognitive dissonance. I mean, no deja vu vibrations about what went down in our pre-emptive and falsely-justified attack on Iraq, with the devastation still continuing? You think only Republicans lie big? I used to think that. That’s over. Democrats have just as much blood on their hands. More, statistically speaking!
The UN estimates that in the last 15 months over 10,000 Syrians have died.
Bill Van Auken serves up some fresh and astonishing insights and statistics that should give us all pause about the status of so many hapless citizens of Syria as of today.
The fighting has paralyzed much of the life of Damascus, which until last week had been spared much of the violence seen elsewhere in the country, outside of a series of suicide bombings. Public transpiration was reported largely shut down and garbage was piling up in the streets.
The armed clashes have also triggered an exodus of Damascenes, who are seeking refuge across the border in Lebanon. A spokesperson for the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, reported Friday that as many as 30,000 people had fled into Lebanon over the previous 48 hours.
UNHCR said that the total number fleeing the fighting and applying for refugee status in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan had risen to 120,000. Many more are believed to have left Syria without seeking such status.
Buses and planes have also brought thousands of the 1.4 million Iraqis who had sought refuge in Syria from the bloodbath unleashed on their country by the US war and occupation, back to Iraq.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent estimates that one million Syrians have been internally displaced by the violence as of last week.
WHO THE HELL WILL BE LEFT TO BENEFIT FROM ALL THIS SUPPOSED HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION?
Van Auken explains the game succinctly.
The cynical cold war cliché that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” does not begin to cover the US role in Syria, where these elements fulfill both roles simultaneously. On the one hand, Washington is backing Al Qaeda-linked forces in a campaign to topple the Assad regime, while on the other, it is preparing to use their presence in the country as a pretext for US military intervention.
snip
Thus, the pretexts for the US invasion of Iraq are reprised in a perverse new form. The presence of Al Qaeda, backed by Washington, and the supposed existence of “weapons of mass destruction” in Syria must be answered with US military intervention.
The campaign to topple Assad, Tehran’s principal ally in the region, is meant to isolate Iran, which is viewed by Washington as a main obstacle to its assertion of hegemony over the oil rich and strategically vital regions of the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.
Behind all the pretexts of Al Qaeda, chemical weapons, “democracy” and humanitarianism, US imperialism is preparing new wars of aggression which threaten horrific consequences throughout the Middle East and beyond.
I remember as a little kid hearing the adults talk about the “domino theory,” how communist countries were hungry to ruthlessly dominate the globe and the good old United States was doing all it could to thwart such a demonic plan from happening. Now as an adult, it is my own predatory and unscrupulous country that is a violent world bully.
Even more terrifying is that most of my fellow countrymen are choosing not to notice!
TO BE CONTINUED
[cross-posted on correntewire and sacramento for democracy]
--------------
Libby, I am just wondering why this trully informative story is not in the cover. This is about a country, about lifes, childs....history, safety, religion, love...not just words or amounts...
"'.. To BREAK the country for a craven and imperialist agenda of a circling cabal of war-criminal nations..."
This is the truth...and the economical reasons, so cruel...I have never had money, as more human than human.. Excellent work, Libby, as always. So rated with thank you for the info!
"'.. To BREAK the country for a craven and imperialist agenda of a circling cabal of war-criminal nations..."
This is the truth...and the economical reasons, so cruel...I have never had money, as more human than human.. Excellent work, Libby, as always. So rated with thank you for the info!
The real story MSNBC and the Newshour should be telling is about the US empire, with its 1000+ military bases across the globe and ground forces in more than a dozen countries. They have no intention of telling that story - the real one - at least not yet. So they invent fairy tales.
Stathi, you and Olga and Stuart are like a wonderful tag time for my morale on these political articles. The lazy and lying and myopic status quo media message is opposite of what I am saying. The above version is certainly more realistic but also reveals governments especially the US so craven and cynical and a media so pliable and buyable and a public also so cynical and tired and willing to be myopic rather than stare down the complete capture of our government by very sociopathic overlords.
There is no honor. Sadly. But I am really gratified this post is being read. I am doing a lot of reading this week about what is going on in Syria and I am horrified at the incredible use of propaganda, even when the lies are called out, the media are like crickets! Thanks for your comment and taking this so seriously, my friend.
best, libby xxxx
Stuart, yeah, Larry O'Donnell and Jim Lehrer and Charlie Rose (who attended the Bilderberg conference as a member -- dear God!) are all on the same regime change page. We need regime change here! Both pol parties are evil and totally in bed with the media and Wall Street and military profiteers. I can't find a better more accurate and nauseating word than evil.
So we are in bed with the Islamic jihadists in Syria now but we can also lie about this apparently and use them to create the urgency to have the Western countries take over militarily and politically cause the media will say anything its corporate overlords and political cronies instruct.
Now let's see. We bonded, trained, weaponized the terrorists in Afghanistan long ago to fight the Russians, and left the country in poverty, division and chaos. Now we are back colluding with the Islamists because it is gamesmanship convenient.
We demonized them after 9/11 though the terrorists on the plane were all from Saudi Arabia, but we were in bed with SA and we wanted to start our domino game of toppling those 7 countries Wesley Clark talked about. So we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.
So we demonized the terrorists and killed many many many people, many many many innocent people or at the very least permanently destroyed their quality of life (and had our own youth killed or maimed in our corporate agenda war games), but with Libya and with Syria now we again make use of the terrorists and their useful style of terrorism to paralyze a nation's civilization and fight the establishment forces for money and power and oil and to neutralize their power as allies to other enemies and then lie that "our" terroristst are innocent unarmed or reluctantly armed rebels/protesters (think Arab Spring, which is so not the case) who are in danger of atrocities when they, too, are committing excessive atrocities -- we do this all to send a country and its population into irreparable chaos and to put a corrupt corrupt corrupt puppet in charge. Iraq and Afghanistan are two of the top five most corrupt countries in the world. Two of our former dominos.
The Assad regime is better fortified than Gaddafi's was, and that regime is willing to blanket kill all to protect itself. So those poor citizens are in the cross fire of a tyrannical governance and on the other side ruthless cutthroat annointed "freedom fighters" many who want to ethnic cleanse Christians, Alawites, Shiites and are using the craven West for their own ends, meanwhile our government and our cabal of war criminal cronies will use them back for ends justifies the means take over.
The US denies giving weapons directly to Syrian rebels and leaks it to the stenographer press, but then it gives weapons to its proxy countries that are helping it with its imperialism and they give the weapons, etc. to the "faux-freedom fighter-terrorists". So we are fed what they are not doing (which is technically but not really true, the Bush/Obama way, strangle the spirit of the law and criminally change it and pretend it is still legal).
Unintended consequences? The intended consequences are deplorable but also being unleashed are unintended consequences. Is Obama flirting with World War III deliberately or is he just tremendously stupid? Would he wage war with Iran before Nov. to get the votes? I'm thinking, yes. Romney would do it, too.
All I know is, I don't want to be played by an evil leadership. I want at least the empowerment of the truth. Of reality! I want the bastards of the universe named (and that includes you, Hillary!)
best, libby
There is no honor. Sadly. But I am really gratified this post is being read. I am doing a lot of reading this week about what is going on in Syria and I am horrified at the incredible use of propaganda, even when the lies are called out, the media are like crickets! Thanks for your comment and taking this so seriously, my friend.
best, libby xxxx
Stuart, yeah, Larry O'Donnell and Jim Lehrer and Charlie Rose (who attended the Bilderberg conference as a member -- dear God!) are all on the same regime change page. We need regime change here! Both pol parties are evil and totally in bed with the media and Wall Street and military profiteers. I can't find a better more accurate and nauseating word than evil.
So we are in bed with the Islamic jihadists in Syria now but we can also lie about this apparently and use them to create the urgency to have the Western countries take over militarily and politically cause the media will say anything its corporate overlords and political cronies instruct.
Now let's see. We bonded, trained, weaponized the terrorists in Afghanistan long ago to fight the Russians, and left the country in poverty, division and chaos. Now we are back colluding with the Islamists because it is gamesmanship convenient.
We demonized them after 9/11 though the terrorists on the plane were all from Saudi Arabia, but we were in bed with SA and we wanted to start our domino game of toppling those 7 countries Wesley Clark talked about. So we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.
So we demonized the terrorists and killed many many many people, many many many innocent people or at the very least permanently destroyed their quality of life (and had our own youth killed or maimed in our corporate agenda war games), but with Libya and with Syria now we again make use of the terrorists and their useful style of terrorism to paralyze a nation's civilization and fight the establishment forces for money and power and oil and to neutralize their power as allies to other enemies and then lie that "our" terroristst are innocent unarmed or reluctantly armed rebels/protesters (think Arab Spring, which is so not the case) who are in danger of atrocities when they, too, are committing excessive atrocities -- we do this all to send a country and its population into irreparable chaos and to put a corrupt corrupt corrupt puppet in charge. Iraq and Afghanistan are two of the top five most corrupt countries in the world. Two of our former dominos.
The Assad regime is better fortified than Gaddafi's was, and that regime is willing to blanket kill all to protect itself. So those poor citizens are in the cross fire of a tyrannical governance and on the other side ruthless cutthroat annointed "freedom fighters" many who want to ethnic cleanse Christians, Alawites, Shiites and are using the craven West for their own ends, meanwhile our government and our cabal of war criminal cronies will use them back for ends justifies the means take over.
The US denies giving weapons directly to Syrian rebels and leaks it to the stenographer press, but then it gives weapons to its proxy countries that are helping it with its imperialism and they give the weapons, etc. to the "faux-freedom fighter-terrorists". So we are fed what they are not doing (which is technically but not really true, the Bush/Obama way, strangle the spirit of the law and criminally change it and pretend it is still legal).
Unintended consequences? The intended consequences are deplorable but also being unleashed are unintended consequences. Is Obama flirting with World War III deliberately or is he just tremendously stupid? Would he wage war with Iran before Nov. to get the votes? I'm thinking, yes. Romney would do it, too.
All I know is, I don't want to be played by an evil leadership. I want at least the empowerment of the truth. Of reality! I want the bastards of the universe named (and that includes you, Hillary!)
best, libby
At this point, would we be able to find anyone that could change the modus operandi? I heard that the reason the disclosure act didn't pass was because several lobbying groups, the only one I remember from the list is the NRA, told Congress they were going to keep track of who voted where. So several people who supported it voted against it and, combined with the filibuster, it was defeated. Our government has been blatantly purchased. How do we shame them enough to get them back?
just phyllis,
good to see you. we can't change the system via the insiders of the system as I see it. they are like fish in a fish bowl who don't realize the existence of the water that surrounds them, that flows through their gills, they are so acclimated to it. only not water but corruption. and there is the cronyism desensitization. they did it so I did it and well we all do it and there is that group think rationalization and justification!
Jill Stein was on Jennifer Grantham's show on Current TV and absolutely rocked. I got to see her on the internet. Shortly after I heard the clip was pulled and now is inaccessible. Stein made such a case for voting for her and a third party. I don't think that was why she was brought on the show. Jennifer wanted to go after her for being a Nader type spoiler, but Stein graciously and insightfully began to explain the profound lack in Obama leadership. Threatening to the corporate status quo. Jennifer shill zip and Jill MAJOR ONE!!! My take. My suspicion as why she was pulled. Gotta keep Stein away from the camera and mike. She illuminates so quickly the craven corruption we have sunk to with our evil and not much lesser evil. She has ideas, alternatives, options.
I just discovered that this Bill Van Auken whom I quote a lot about international news from wsws is running for NY senator. I am for a Green in the WH and an SEP (socialist equality party) for state senate. There are more and more of us leaving the matrix. I celebrate that though I wish there were more.
best, libby
xxx
good to see you. we can't change the system via the insiders of the system as I see it. they are like fish in a fish bowl who don't realize the existence of the water that surrounds them, that flows through their gills, they are so acclimated to it. only not water but corruption. and there is the cronyism desensitization. they did it so I did it and well we all do it and there is that group think rationalization and justification!
Jill Stein was on Jennifer Grantham's show on Current TV and absolutely rocked. I got to see her on the internet. Shortly after I heard the clip was pulled and now is inaccessible. Stein made such a case for voting for her and a third party. I don't think that was why she was brought on the show. Jennifer wanted to go after her for being a Nader type spoiler, but Stein graciously and insightfully began to explain the profound lack in Obama leadership. Threatening to the corporate status quo. Jennifer shill zip and Jill MAJOR ONE!!! My take. My suspicion as why she was pulled. Gotta keep Stein away from the camera and mike. She illuminates so quickly the craven corruption we have sunk to with our evil and not much lesser evil. She has ideas, alternatives, options.
I just discovered that this Bill Van Auken whom I quote a lot about international news from wsws is running for NY senator. I am for a Green in the WH and an SEP (socialist equality party) for state senate. There are more and more of us leaving the matrix. I celebrate that though I wish there were more.
best, libby
xxx
good to signal these things here, Libby
It's been estimated that every gallon of fuel that's used in the War in Afghanistan costs the US taxpayer $400 and... $100 of that cost goes directly to the tribal leaders who are fighting against the puppet government in Kabul. Truly insane.
Excellent post Libby. Since I visited the country two years ago and travelled there extensively, I grieve for the people.
Thanks Libby.
Syria is a Gordian knot... and if we can't figure out how to bring this to some kind of resolution, the Israelis won't hesitate to address what they perceive to be a threat.
Eljekar, toritto, Kim -- thanks for visiting and your encouragement! I feel like a salmon swimming upstread against the tide of propaganda.
jmac, things are mess, but there is a ferocious willfulness by the bullying nations to pull out the Afghanistan/Iraq/Libya evil playbooks for shock and awe and disaster capitalism one more but not the last time in Syria. While the US post Libya now is careful not to get its direct fingerprints on the weapons before it can bully the UN to ratify Chapter 7 for official military intervention, it is channeling weapons and training and money in the background using CIA networking and using proxy nations for destruction of Syria.
It is so disgusting once again the defiance of real international law and decency and empathy especially on the part of once again the not so good USA and its corrupt allies for the poor cross-fired upon Syrian citizens for HEGEMONY and gamesmanship against Iran and ultimately China and Russia. There is no morality, no principle. Just gamesmanship leading us to WWIII but that doesn't seem to matter to the sociopathic overlords and their pimped out sociopathic leaders who are so colossally corrupt and seducing us shell-shocked citizenries into more perpetual war.
alan, thanks! I look forward to reading about that experience from you! have you already written about it?
best, libby
jmac, things are mess, but there is a ferocious willfulness by the bullying nations to pull out the Afghanistan/Iraq/Libya evil playbooks for shock and awe and disaster capitalism one more but not the last time in Syria. While the US post Libya now is careful not to get its direct fingerprints on the weapons before it can bully the UN to ratify Chapter 7 for official military intervention, it is channeling weapons and training and money in the background using CIA networking and using proxy nations for destruction of Syria.
It is so disgusting once again the defiance of real international law and decency and empathy especially on the part of once again the not so good USA and its corrupt allies for the poor cross-fired upon Syrian citizens for HEGEMONY and gamesmanship against Iran and ultimately China and Russia. There is no morality, no principle. Just gamesmanship leading us to WWIII but that doesn't seem to matter to the sociopathic overlords and their pimped out sociopathic leaders who are so colossally corrupt and seducing us shell-shocked citizenries into more perpetual war.
alan, thanks! I look forward to reading about that experience from you! have you already written about it?
best, libby
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