"The jihadist rebels of Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham (formerly Al-Nusra Front) have obstructed the water supply to the estimated 5 million civilians in Greater Damascus for the 13th consecutive day, creating a humanitarian crisis inside Syria's historic capital.
According to an Al-Masdar field correspondent in Damascus, water has become so scarce in Damascus that the price of bottled water has risen exponentially, forcing many to find alternatives in order to deal with this two week long crisis.
Several civilians have also been reportedly hospitalized as a result of poisoning due to drinking water provided by supply trucks, a local source informed Al-Masdar this afternoon.
The water provided by these supply trucks is intended for basic hygienic purposes like showering; it is not meant to drink.
However, due to crisis, many civilians in Damascus have begun boiling the water supplied by these trucks in order to have readily available drinking water." AMN
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McCain and Graham love these guys. pl
Col. Lang,
How dare they come out being critical of President Elect Trump. I'm glad that he is doubting the intel professionals so he won't be supporting more monsters like this.
Posted by: Cee | 04 January 2017 at 04:19 PM
U.S. newspapers seem not to report the water crisis which started on December 23!
Instead we get tearful stories (see WaPo today) how the "rebels" in Wadi Barada are suffering under the ceasefire breaking attack of the SAA.
Reality: The "rebels" are AQ which have prevented a reconciliation agreement between government and locals going forward and sabotaged the water supply for 4-5 million civilians in Damascus.
I suspect a well planned operation behind all this. Gas and electricity to Damascus have also been sabotaged. Suddenly all the usual suspects (like White Helmets) are in Wadi Barada and the media are well briefed on who to call for the "local voice" they need for their propaganda pieces.
Posted by: b | 04 January 2017 at 05:56 PM
b,
The evil never sleep. I hope Trump surrounds himself with people to end this madness.
I understand he wants to pare down the CIA. May he live to do it.
Posted by: Cee | 04 January 2017 at 10:02 PM
Schumer Maddow interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_cxbPUo5XA
May he live to do it?
Posted by: Peter AU | 04 January 2017 at 10:17 PM
That is one of the reasons that got JFK assassinated. At every turn, JFK had to confront the lying "intel" bastards who claimed that Russia had nukes that greatly outnumbered the US arsenal. He was furious when he got the report that it was the US that had many times more nukes. The military,industrial maggots had so compromised the intel agencies that Kennedy had to wade through the bullshit to find a kernel of truth.
As a result, Kennedy forced the resignation of Allen Dulles who was the head of the CIA. Moreover, Kennedy also had voiced plans to force the retirement of J. Edger Hoover, head of the FBI. So, for Trump it is reasonable policy to dispense with the daily intel briefings which are nothing more than lies and propaganda slanted towards more foreign intervention and wars, especially with Russia and China. I just hope that Trump does not get assassinated, because killing him is well within the job description of both the CIA and FBI.
Posted by: Bandit | 05 January 2017 at 07:35 AM
bandit
I do not accept your opinion that the spooks did in JFK but I will post your comment because it contains something of interest. I have always known that JFK was briefed by the IC during the campaign with regard to the actual imbalance between Soviet and US strategic missile forces. At the time the balance was much in favor of the US. This was one of the fruits of Eisenhower's defense policy which sought to place emphasis on strategic forces and MAD. IMO Kennedy knew that but persisted throughout the campaign in claiming there was a "missile gap" which he knew there was not. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 05 January 2017 at 08:50 AM
Somewhat off-topic, but the tragedy of being poisoned by water supply trucks reminds me of an (apocryphal?) story from the Vietnamese side of my family. Apparently during the war there was a specific brand of beer (or it may have been coconut water: the regrets of not listening to family stories more closely) that was frequently poisoned/diluted-with-a-deadly-substitute. Anybody have any light to shed on this?
Posted by: jbuffn | 05 January 2017 at 06:16 PM
jbuffn
"Biere Larue" and "Ba Mui Ba" are/were both French owned colonial breweries around the world. They brewed in VN and we and the VN drank a lot of it. One or the other used formaldehyde to stop the brewing process. I drank a lot of it. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 05 January 2017 at 06:22 PM
Ba Mui Ba. Didn't Barry Sadler write a song about that? I always thought the San Miguel in the Philippines was brewed with formaldehyde. It just had a smell and taste reminiscent of biology lab. We drank a lotof it anyways.
Posted by: The Twisted Genius | 05 January 2017 at 07:23 PM
Wasn't it "33 Export"?
It was always rumoured to contain formaldehyde.
Posted by: F5F5F5 | 06 January 2017 at 05:37 AM
Peter AU,
I saw this when he issued the threat. I'm glad Trump is keeping his private security.
JFK is on my mind.
Posted by: Cee | 06 January 2017 at 08:20 AM
Bandit,
This was my response to Peter, without the detail you provided.
Thank you. Stay watchful.
Posted by: Cee | 06 January 2017 at 08:22 AM
F5F5F5
My Vietnamese is a bit rusty but I think Ba Mui Ba means "33?" I don't think the formaldehyde process was rumor. I have drunk ex French colonial brands in Tunisia and other Francophone countries and it always tastes the same. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 06 January 2017 at 09:19 AM
http://thomas.cizauskas.net/articles/cans_and_formaldehyde.html
Formaldehyde in beer seems to have been originally to protect the can material, then it became part of the expected taste of some beer brands.
Posted by: Ken Roberts | 06 January 2017 at 10:20 AM
Just spotted an article that made me go, "Ahah, the MSM *has* begun reporting on the Damascus water shortage".
Totally predictable what is found in the body of the article.
*
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-water-idUSKBN14Q1QU
Title: "Damascus water shortage threatens children, U.N. says"
"The two main water sources for the capital - Wadi Barada and Ain-el-Fijah - are out of action because of "deliberate targeting", the U.N. said on Dec. 29, although it has declined to say which of the warring sides was responsible.
The Syrian army and Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces have bombed and shelled rebel-held villages in the Wadi Barada valley, despite a nationwide ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey."
*
The desired take-away for the unsuspecting reader is quite obvious.
Posted by: LT | 06 January 2017 at 10:40 AM
LOL, SST thus beats Google on ANY question!
Posted by: jld | 06 January 2017 at 11:30 AM
That sounds right, I had a hunch it had a number in the name, but I really wasn't sure. Thank's so much for all your responses.
I'm a long time lurker and wanted to say how much I appreciate both the high quality discussion of current events as well as poignant War anecdotes. This probably isn't the place, but I have family that came over in '75 from Saigon and Vientiane and at some point I'd love to connect with anyone who might know more about, or can point me in the right direction towards declassified documents, links, etc., regarding CIA/embassy intelligence gathering activities in Vientiane.
Posted by: jbuffn | 06 January 2017 at 05:37 PM
Interesting interview on what the F*@K happened in Syria!
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/americas-failure-russia-success-in-syrias-war
Posted by: gowithit | 10 January 2017 at 04:58 PM