The incoherence of Western policy toward Syria goes back decades to Cold War covert schemes that thwarted a democratic turn — and to more recent neocon insistence on “regime change,” not negotiations. Those choices have now left the West with a set of unpalatable options.
On November 19, 2015 Russia’s pro-Western radio station “Echo of Moscow” published an article on its website that was written by the former economic adviser to the Russian president on the economy Andrei Illarionov, who is now residing in the United States. The article was titled “The next step – a strike on Saudi Arabia?” and was packed with calls to launch air strikes against Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The author underlined the fact that after a series of terrorist attacks in Egypt and France, and the triumphant for Russia G-20 summit in Antalya, in the face of the paralysis of NATO’s forces, the time has come to execute the plans of launching massive strikes on military, infrastructure, energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, that were allegedly “cherished for years”.
The ultimate desired result of the terror attacks by ISIS (now being called Daesh) is ‘boots on the ground’ in Syria. The West wants it so they can topple Assad; and ISIS so they can fight the ‘crusader’ infidel.
Friday the 13th in Paris is over. The body count is over 130, with more of the 99 critically wounded being added to the dead from the 352 wounded. Police have eight dead suspects with a variety of passports, which may or may not be their own. French security seems to have had no hint of what they claim were three operational teams involved in France’s worst terror tragedy.
Three more suspects were arrested in a car seen at one of the attack locations when it tried to cross back into Belgium on Saturday . A parking ticket on the car floor lead to another location where more arrests were made, a total of seven for the day. Another abandoned car was found on Friday in Paris with weapons.
This eliminates its being a formal intelligence service attack, as only rookies would have tried to cross a border in a hot car. They would have dumped it and split up to make their escape. But these rookie mistakes by no means eliminates their being patsies. French authorities claim all but one have been identified through fingerprints, with the youngest being 15.
Wars are expensive. The recruitment and sustainment of fighters in the field, the ongoing purchases of weapons and munitions, as well as the myriad other costs of struggle, add up.
So why isn’t the United States going after Islamic State’s funding sources as a way of lessening or eliminating their strength at making war? Follow the money back, cut it off, and you strike a blow much more devastating than an airstrike. But that has not happened. Why?
In the days following the horrific terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 129 innocent civilians in Paris, the response from within the US political establishment and media has been as predictable as it is reactionary. Stoking desires for revenge and exploiting the shock over the attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), politicians, pundits and the media are mounting a drumbeat propaganda offensive for an escalation of military aggression abroad and police state repression at home.
The Russian military operation in Syria has divided the Arab world. One side is made up of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, which view Russia’s actions with optimism. Their attitude was voiced by Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, who recently said his nation believes “that the Russian operation will impact the fight against terrorism in Syria and help eliminate it”. “Russia is concerned by the resistance to terrorism and the purpose of its intervention is a fatal blow to terrorism in Syria, and its strikes are in line with those of the anti-Daesh coalition in Syria and Iraq”, he stated.
Qatar is suing a far-right French politician for defaming the country “and all its citizens” after he linked the Gulf emirate to “terrorism” following the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack.
US policy think-tank Brookings Institution confirms that contrary to propaganda, US-Saudi “moderates” and Turkey-Qatar “Islamists” have been coordinating all along.
A massive campaign in support of foreign intervention against Syria is underway. The goal is to prepare the public for a “No Fly Zone” enforced by US and other military powers. This is how the invasion of Iraq began. This is how the public was prepared for the US/NATO air attack on Libya.
In a rare public spat that has highlighted deep political divisions in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have all withdrawn their ambassadors from Qatar in protest at Doha’s “interference in their internal affairs”. The three…
An explosion at a restaurant in the Qatari capital Doha has killed 12 people and injured at least 30, according to officials.
A report released exclusively this week to CNN and The Guardian has been touted as evidence possibly proving widespread torture, starvation and the cause of thousands of prisoner deaths by the Syrian regime.
However, the allegations are drawn from documentation acquired by a legal firm hired by the Qatari government, who is known to be a regional rival to Syria, mostly due to sectarian divides.
The six energy-rich Arab monarchies of the Gulf are seeking to strengthen ties with China, Gulf Cooperation Council chief Abdullatif al-Zayani said Wednesday after talks with the Chinese foreign minister.
Gulf Arab states are trying to lure Hamas away from its alliance with Iran.
Stockpiles of arms, including anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, are being held in Turkey for use by rebels in Syria’s civil war, but their distribution is being held up because of disunity and feuding between the different groups of fighters, The Independent has learned.
Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab has been sacked, state TV reported. His current whereabouts are unknown, and there are conflicting reports as to whether he has fled the country.
Escobar says the leak was intended to make it look as though Washington was leading the Syrian campaign from behind the scenes, when in fact the US is “leading from the front lines alongside al-Qaeda-style Jihadists, Qatari intelligence, and Turkish logistics.”
A film set was created for Tripoli (Libya) in Qatar where they created fictitious demonstrations in order to sway public opinion worldwide.
Turkey has set up a secret base with allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct vital military and communications aid to Syria’s rebels from a city near the border.
There are three groups that are eyeing Africa for its abundant resources: Europeans & Americans; Arabs; and Israelis. When it comes to Africa, those three groups WORK TOGETHER. Do not believe otherwise.
British and Qatari troops are directing rebel ammunition deliveries and tactics in the bloody battle for Homs, according to an Israeli website known for links to intelligence sources.
Thierry Meyssan of VoltaireNet chronicles Al-Jazeera’s slide from an alternative news network to lie factory, and shows that Mahmoud Jibril (the CIA asset and NATO-installed boss of Libya) was personally instrumental in Al-Jazeera’s plunge.
Mr. Meyssan also notes that today’s Western-sponsored “Arab Spring” is a replay of the 1920s “Arab Spring,” when England and France moved to seize the former Ottoman provinces and install puppet “parliamentary democracies” under Western control.
Haider Rizvi, Antiwar / Inter Press Service, 30 January 2010