Stephen Lendman

For nearly two years, Washington waged terror war on Syria. Death squad proxies are used. They recruited largely from regional countries. Some come from Europe. America supplies small numbers. They invaded Syria. They want Assad toppled, so they say. They're manipulated to believe he must go. They want Islamic extremism replacing secular governance. They're reigning terror on defenseless people to achieve it. Assad loyalists are targeted. Scores die daily. No one's sure how many. For sure it's many thousands.

On January 16, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) headlined "Foreign and Expatriates Ministry Calls on UN and UNSC Member States to Condemn Massacre against Aleppo University Students and Terrorist Crimes in Syria." Students, employees, and others seeking refuge were slaughtered or injured. At least 87 died. Another 150 or more were injured. On January 15, terrorist rockets struck. A university dormitory was targeted. It was used as a shelter. Terrorists bombarded it. They've committed numerous other similar attacks and atrocities throughout the country. SANA said 2,362 schools were destroyed. Many innocent children and teachers were killed.

Washington and supportive Security Council members don't condemn terrorism. Nor does the UN Human Rights Council. It said nothing about Monday's attack. It blames Assad for death squad crimes. It's done it throughout the conflict. It's complicit in Washington's war on Syria.

SANA called on Security Council and other UN member states to condemn terrorist crimes. It wants Aleppo martyrs recognized. It wants guilty parties held responsible. There's "no excuse for states which are practicing double standards and supporting terrorism in Syria while they condemn it" elsewhere. Hypocrisy defines Washington's agenda. Complicit NATO partners and regional allies share guilt. Conflict shows no signs of ending.

More »

Stephen Lendman

Syrian authorities said so in 2011. Other reports acknowledged it then and now. Syria is Washington's war. It was planned years ago. America wants pro-Western puppet leadership replacing Assad. All independent governments are targeted for regime change. Imperial rogue states operate that way. Strategy used is longstanding.

On January 4, Michel Chossudovsky discussed it. Current US proxy wars employ earlier tactics.

Western-recruited death squads are used. Using them "go(es) back to the Vietnam war." "Terror brigades (commit) targeted assassinations (and) countless atrocities."

Since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, Washington, key NATO allies, Israel, and other regional allies recruited, armed, trained, and directed death squads. They're still doing it. They're imported from abroad. More on that below.

Washington prioritizes the "Salvador Option." Rules of engagement proliferated massacres, torture, and gruesome atrocities in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In Vietnam, Operation Phoenix (OP) did the same things earlier. It became a template for future counterterrorism operations. From 1968 - 1973, CIA operatives, Special Forces, and Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Special Operations Group (MACV-SOG) conducted covert missions. Their mandate was to crush National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) resistance. Strategy was to terrorize people into submission.

Operations were no holds barred. Indiscriminate mass murder and atrocities were committed. US military personnel and South Vietnamese government officials considered security risks were targeted. High-value elements mattered most. Countless others were affected. Around 80,000 died before operations ended. Later reports said OP failed. John Pilger called America's Southeast Asian war "the grand illusion of the American cause." What couldn't succeed finally ended.

More »

Stephen Lendman

On January 2, the UN News Center headlined "Data suggests death toll could be more than 60,000, says UN human rights office." The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) commissioned the analysis. It covers the March 15, 2011 - November 30, 2012 period. It's impossible to compile precise figures. Analysis depends on methodology and sources used. Bias corrupts findings.

UN Human Rights Council High Commissioner Navi Pillay long ago fell from grace. Like Ban Ki-moon, Kofi Annan, and Lakhdar Brahimi, she's a reliable imperial partner. Her previous reports on Syria expressed one-sided anti-Assad sentiment. She part of the conspiracy to replace him with a pro-Western puppet. Whatever she reports is suspect. Credibility on Syria isn't her long suit. She spurned her mandate. Instead of responsibly "strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights," she defiled them in deference to Western interests. Throughout the conflict, she pointed fingers the wrong way. She ignored Western-sponsored massacres and other atrocities. She blames Assad, not foreign death squads.

Syria is Washington's war. It's being ravaged and destroyed. Assad responsibly confronts invaders. He's obligated to protect his people. He's blamed for insurgent killings and atrocities.

More »

Stephen Lendman

So-called "Free Syrian Army" fighters and residents carry the
bodies of people killed at a bakery in Halfaya, northern Syria.

Syrians struggle valiantly to defeat Western-recruited invaders. Islamofasists infest their ranks. They're cold-blooded killers. Assad is falsely blamed for their crimes. They include horrific atrocities.

On December 23, Hama province residents were slaughtered. Reports said up to 100 in Halfaya. Headlines claimed a government air strike hit a bakery. Suspect videos showed bloodstained corpses amid rubble and shrapnel.

On December 24, Voice of Russia headlined "Syria: Halfaya residents massacred," saying "The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said "Militants have massacred the residents of Halfaya in Hama (Syria).""

Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, and Western media falsely blamed Assad.

"The terrorists photographed them in a way enabling them to accuse the local residents of an attack on the government forces at the moment when the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Lahdar Brahimi arrived in Damascus."

Russia Today quoted Syrian TV. Insurgents were blamed. They were accused of "filming the aftermath to 'frame the army.' " Videos are easy to fake. An amateur YouTube one "has not been independently verified." Why would Syrian forces target civilians lined up to buy bread? Dubious sources don't explain.

More »

Stephen Lendman

Ronald Reagan meeting with the Afghan Mujahideen inside
the White House. (Photo: picturesofwar.net)

They're merciless cutthroat murderers. They commit grotesque atrocities. Torture, beheadings, and other monstrous savagery are all in a day's work.

They're Washington favorites. They're recruited, heavily armed, trained, funded and directed in all US regional wars. Ronald Reagan called earlier equivalents "freedom fighters." Some got White House visits.

A March 1983 photo showed Afghan Mujahideen fighters there. Reagan had the following to say about them:

“To watch the courageous Afghan freedom fighters battle modern arsenals with simple hand-held weapons is an inspiration to those who love freedom.”

He called Nicaraguan Contra killers

"our brothers, these freedom fighters and we owe them our help. They are the moral equal of our founding fathers."

History doesn't just rhyme. It repeats in horrifyingly disturbing ways. Wherever America shows up, deaths, mass destruction, and brutal atrocities follow. Countries are ravaged one at a time or in multiples. Millions die. Appalling crimes are committed. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya tasted US-style liberation.

More »

Stephen Lendman

What's been ongoing for over 18 months looks all too familiar. It could continue for some time. It took most of the 1990s to fully balkanize Yugoslavia. America was the lead belligerent. Whether or not Washington plans the same for Syria remains to be seen. Only the fullness of time will tell. For sure regime change is prioritized. Ravaging the country ruthlessly continues.

If full-scale war erupts, perhaps hundreds of thousands may die. America doesn't keep count or care. Unchallenged dominance alone matters. Mass slaughter and destruction are means to very ugly ends. Whether or not achieved, ruins and human misery testify to America's ruthlessness. That's how imperialism works. It terrorizes humanity everywhere it targets. Syria may or may not be ground zero. It's hard to tell. Washington wages so many direct and proxy wars. It's official policy to ravage one country after another or in multiples.

No nation ever threatened human survival more than America. It's no idle speculation. Mushroom cloud determination may decide things one way or another. Forget about who's president next year. Policies remain the same. Duopoly power mandates it. Permanent war is policy. World dominance is prioritized. Imagine what's coming if not stopped.

More »

Stephen Lendman

Photo: HAMA, (SANA) – Four members of the terrorist groups that were active in the town of al-Treimseh said that the terrorists – who included non-Syrians of Arab nationalities – spread across the town before the army entered it, and that this was based on orders they received to attack law-enforcement forces and prevent civilians from going to work.

Insurgents are enlisted, armed, funded, trained, and directed by Western and regional special forces. They decide strategy, targets, and timing. Armies need leadership to operate effectively. So do killer gangs. Special forces have tactical expertise. They're directing Washington's war on Syria. They plan and lead attacks and bombings. Treimseh's massacre was strategically timed. Questions about it remained unanswered. More on that below.

The Treimseh massacre came when the Security Council considered harsher anti-Assad measures. This raises obvious red flags. Why then is clear. At issue is pressuring Russia and China to bend. So far both countries hold firm. They oppose further sanctions and outside intervention. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov was clear, saying,

"In case (Western countries) decided to submit the draft resolution for voting on Thursday although they already know that it is rejected, Russia will veto the draft resolution."

Washington won't quit trying. Hillary Clinton is an unabashed war criminal. She had direct involvement in America's war on Libya. She's at it again targeting Iran and Syria. She's pushing for Security Council authorization for war without saying so.

More »

Stephen Lendman

On April 14, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2042. The UN News Centre headlined, "Syria: Security Council authorizes deployment of advance military observer team," saying:

The Security Council authorized sending "an advance team of up to 30 unarmed military observers to Syria to report on the implementation of a full cessation of armed violence, pending the deployment of a United Nations supervision mission tasked with monitoring the ceasefire."

While calling on all sides to end violence and guarantee the safety and free movement of observers, once again fingers pointed mainly the wrong way.

Reports suggested disagreement delayed passage for 24 hours. Russia argued for even-handed language. Its efforts fell short. More on that below.

An advance 30 member team was on standby for departure. A total force of up to 250 will join them. It's not clear who they'll be, where they'll be from, or who'll select them.

Key is having independent observers on the ground reporting honestly on what they see. Achieving it's a tall order, especially when official reports and scoundrel media distort and lie.

Washington wants the process manipulated its way. If pro-Western monitors are deployed, anti-Assad accusations will continue.

At best, a shaky truce holds. At issue is for how long. Insurgent-caused violence continues. Deaths and injuries follow. Expect greater eruptions ahead.

More »

Johannes Stern

In recent days, the Western powers have stepped up efforts to foment civil war in Syria and prepare for imperialist intervention in this strategically important country. Media reports indicate increased fighting between Western-backed armed groups and the Syrian army, accompanied by terrorist attacks on government forces and civilians.

Heavy fighting has taken place in the Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The province has a 200-kilometer border with Turkey, where the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) is based. According to the news agency AFP, “rebel” forces attacked military intelligence headquarters in Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria, and the FSA launched a dawn assault on the nearby Minakh Air Base.

In another attack at Hreitan, an officer of the Syrian army and two security personnel were killed early Saturday. In Idlib province, one of the FSA’s main strongholds near the Turkish border, Syrian forces shelled an area held by the FSA.

Clashes and terrorist attacks have also taken place in central Syria. In several districts in the city of Hama, fighting was reported between armed groups and the regular Syrian army. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that 5 explosive devices planted by terrorist groups were dismantled in Homs. Over 100 people have reportedly been killed over the weekend, and thousands have fled over the Turkish border in recent days.

The US and its main NATO allies—France, Great Britain, Germany and Turkey—are leading the campaign to destabilize Syria. Together with the reactionary Persian Gulf monarchies, Saudi-Arabia and Qatar, they are funding and arming the so called “rebels.” During the April 1 “Friends of Syria” meeting in Istanbul, the Saudi and Qatari regimes officially announced they would put the Syrian “rebels” on their payroll, thus formalizing their status as a mercenary force of imperialism’s regional proxies.

The current offensive by the “rebels” and the reactions of their Western backers expose the fraudulent character of the six-point peace plan that former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan negotiated with the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The imperialist powers never intended to find a political settlement to the conflict, as they claimed, but sought instead to create a pretext for further provocations against Syria, hoping to organize a Libyan-style overthrow of the regime.

More »