"How the US is enabling Syriastan" by Pepe Escobar

"If any extra evidence was needed to shatter the myth of a "revolution" struggling for a future "democratic" Syria, the big news of the week cleared any remaining doubts. Eleven, 13 or 14 "rebel" brigades (depending on the source) have ditched the "moderate", US-propped Syrian National Council (SNC) and the not-exactly Free Syrian Army (FSA). The leaders of the bunch are the demented jihadis of Jabhat al-Nusra - but it includes other nasties such as the Tawhid brigades and the Tajammu Fastaqim Kama Ummirat in Aleppo, some of them until recently part of the collapsing FSA."  Pepe Escobar

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

The good old Tawhid brigades made a "coming out" statement this week in which a spokesman said that they were tired of not stating their allegiance to the creation of a sharia law state, and that the FSA was a godless instrument of Western infiltration,  Well, from their point of view...

R2P and neocon propaganda has manufactured a major "truth" with regard to the origins of the present civil war in Syria.   According to this "truth" the revolt began as a process of peaceful street demonstrations for human rights by folks who wanted whatever it was that Tom Paine wanted.  This now received "truth" insists that it was only when the evil Assad demon unleashed his cossacks on the crowds that things got nasty.  Well, there were a few such demonstrations but a review of the news from Syria at that time shows that Sunni zealots led by their Imams very quickly made this process into an armed revolt using mosques in places like Deraa and Homs as bases.  The resulting civil war has featured Sunni zealots on one side backed principally by Saudi Arabia and all other Syrians on the other side backed by Russia and Iran.

There are several other IO created truths floating around.  One is the illogical assumption that the 100,000 dead that are mentioned frequently were all killed by the Syrian government.  Say what?

Another is the notion that Hizbullah's forces are under the direct operational control of Iran and can be ordered into battle by Iran or withdrawn as the Iranians see fit.  I doubt that.  pl  

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-270913.html

 

Comments

[r whitman]

I read or heard somewhere that 2/3 of the deaths reported (over 65000) were military battle casualties. Can anyone confirm this??

[rjj]

these manufactured truths and associated loftiesque principles = loose canons.

[jon]

Thanks for that article and analysis. It matches up pretty well to what things have looked like to me. However, the big news of the week is more likely the UN SC deal to start decommissioning Syria's chemical weapons. It's amazing how smoothly this agreement came together, after all the sturm und drang of just a few weeks ago. Maybe Obama has a grand strategy that allows him a 'Nixon Goes To China' moment with Iran, but I can't see how the pieces fit.

[FB Ali]

A large part of this is due to what Seymour Hersh called the "pathetic American media" (in yesterday's Guardian).

His conclusion: "The republic's in trouble, we lie about everything, lying has become the staple."

[Charles I]

Decommissioning U.N Resolution has been passed, without any serious consequences term, left for subsequent vote

[Valissa]

r Whitman... some info on casualties here, though I'm sure the numbers have all gone up since this report:

Most Reported Deaths in Syria Have Not Been Committed by Assad Forces http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/09/18/most-reported-deaths-in-syria-have-not-been-committed-by-assad-forces/

[steve g]

The pieces might fit if Israel, AIPAC,
and the assorted Firsters in Congress
and the MSM would permit it. The push
has begun to derail this process. If
BHO pulls this off, maybe the Nobel
Peace prize prematurely given would
be earned. Could this be the erosion
of the Lobbys' influence? We can only
hope.

[robt willmann]

More bad news for the people of Syria, as the somewhat slippery Elizabeth O'Bagy has been hired by Senator John McCain to be an assistant on his staff!

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/28/mccain-hires-controversial-syria-analyst-who-inflated-credentials/

http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/27/mccain-hires-syria-rebel-advocate-elizabeth-obagy/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/11/elizabeth-obagy-fired-syria_n_3908341.html

Although Ms. O'Bagy was said to have spent time with the Syrian opposition, I have seen no photographs of her doing so. Has anyone even seen a photograph of her in the appropriate clothing to meet with the "rebels"? See pages 2-4 of this article in the pdf format about Middle Eastern dress--

http://www.csames.illinois.edu/documents/outreach/Middle_Eastern_Dress_Vocabulary.pdf

In fact, Ms. O'Bagy (assuming that is her real name) is starting to look a little like a CIA officer under non-official cover, or, since she worked with Kimberly Kagan at the so-called Institute for the Study of War, perhaps she was under "official cover". Nevertheless, her background cover story fell apart. Did she pass tradecraft school?

[fred]

If Obama pulls this off? Surely you mean Putin since Obama wanted
nothing to do with this when the Russian Government first proposed
this idea to prevent a significant escalation.

[VietnamVet]

Colonel,

Between the Religious True Believers and the Neo-Conservatives (whose livelihood depends on the Forever War); I am shocked that there is even a hint of rapprochement between the USA and Iran. One can hope. With the looming government shutdown and the threat of stopping VA disability payments in two weeks, one could be looking at an empty glass, not even a half full one.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/09/27/va-all-veterans-benefit-payments-will-be-disrupted-if-a-shutdown-goes-beyond-two-weeks/

[steve]

Try this. It gives various breakdowns and fairly calls out the bias in the different groups' reporting of casualties:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Syrian_civil_war

[SteveG]

Not discounting Putin's role in
this. Since 1989 have we not
become the "decider" in world
events? Have the last 30 years
of hegemonic policies been
curtailed by prolifigate expense
and over extension? Maybe.

[William R. Cumming]

As of early
Sunday AM predicting a 5 day shut down of the City on a Hill!

[confusedponderer]

Valissa,
but that wasn't on facebook and youtube ...

[Babak Makkinejad]

Might prove beneficial; last time doctors went on strike in Israel, death rate went down.

[Valissa]

Ha! :) however, if you go to youtube and search on 'fake deaths in syria' lots of videos come up. Information, disinformation, and conspiracy theories galore... and often difficult to tell which is which. Most people know this, which is probably why Kerry & Co. lost some serious cred when they use it as a source.

[Fred]

I made a comment specifically relating to "Obama pulling this off" and now you are brining up US policy over the last 30 years? Do you work for the administration or simply not understand my point?

[The Twisted Genius]

That photo of Obama and Power is eerily reminiscent of Théoden and Grima Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings. I wonder if their stories are similar?

[RetiredPatriot]

Wingnut Welfare in action. And on the US Government rolls at that!

Sigh.

RP

[robt willmann]

Here is the United Nations summary or "minutes" of the security council meeting of 27 September at which resolution 2118 was passed on the issue of chemical weapons in Syria. The text of the resolution itself is down the page a little after the summaries of the yakety yak of various security council members--

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2013/sc11135.doc.htm

Paragraph 21 is the one that prevents the overt military attack previously desired by the U.S., Britain, Saudi Arabia, Israel, France, et. al, on Syria: "Decides, in the event of non-compliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, to impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter". Chapter 7 is the one that can authorize the security council to take action of some type.

Paragraph 15 says that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria "should be" held accountable, which John Kerry in his remarks promptly distorted into saying that those responsible for their use "must be" held accountable.

Be careful there, Mr. Kerry, Bandar prefers the words "should be".

[steve g]

My orignial comment to jon was
about the effort it is going to
take to avoid war and possibly
get a comprehensive settlement
on many issues relating to not
just Syria but Iran also. Your
point is Russia is now the power
broker? Ok. We are leading from
behind? No I dont work for any
administration. Maybe I need more
of an explanation on your part from
my apparent lack of understanding.
How is Putin going to do this?

[Fred]

"If BHO pulls this off, maybe the Nobel Peace prize prematurely given would
be earned."

Perhaps I don't understand English as the quote above is about BHO pulling it off, not Putin and Obama. I saw and still see little action from Obama in trying to avoid war. Based on the conduct of his immediate senior advisors - who serve as members of his administration at his sole discretion - he's not trying to avoid war. If he were he could fire one or more of them to make the point he does not want war. The fact he hasn't speaks volumes.