Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

[Voyageur]

Just adding a recent SoTT Focus article noticed on this by Paul Mansfield (good read), whereby Eva's UN talk was discussed, among other things.

After the Liberation of Aleppo Comes the Psyops War

The mainstream media have no sources on the ground to verify their accusations. Eva Bartlett, appearing at a United Nations panel, slapped down their narrative in an outstanding performance which has gone viral online.

Bartlett has been to Syria six times, so knows the people and has a very good understanding of what is actually happening in Syria.

Asked by a Norwegian journalist about the reports of"international organisations" who report the "facts" of hospitals and schools being deliberately bombed, Bartlett set the record straight on exactly where these explosive accusations come from.

Bartlett responded by pointing out that there are no international organisations on the ground. They rely on compromised groups such as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and the White Helmets for their information.

The White Helmets is a CIA/MI6 creation funded to the tune of $100 million by the US/UK/European and other states. It has been accused of faking its rescue scenes, operates only in rebel-held territory and there is a plethora of video footage of White Helmets members waving guns around, celebrating with terrorist groups and standing over and mocking the dead bodies of Syrian soldiers. "Your sources on the ground, you don't have them," Bartlett said.

Taking a much needed swipe at the mainstream media, Bartlett said, "(that) the people support their army and government is absolutely true....whatever you hear in the corporate media is the complete opposite...and I will name them, BBC, Guardian, New York Times, etc. on Aleppo is also opposite of reality."

Bartlett criticised what she correctly called another effort in the United Nations Security Council for a "useless ceasefire," which is simply a cynical ploy by the supporters of the terrorist factions to buy them time to regroup and resupply, thus prolonging the final liberation and suffering of people held hostage in Aleppo.

Bartlett spoke of the other siege we don't hear about in the fakerstan media, the siege of West Aleppo. People have suffered from the denial of food and medicine, electricity and water, and from constant bombardment by mortars, gas canister bombs (the infamous hell cannons), water heater bombs, artillery shells and grad rockets.

Bartlett spoke of the myth of the Syrian government deliberately starving people in Aleppo. She spoke of witness testimonies of people being held as human shields in East Aleppo, of being shot at as they tried to flee from the terrorists and being protected by the Syrian army and its allies.

What a huge disconnect from reality we see in the fakerstan media coverage in the greatest day in Aleppo for the last five years, a ray of hope for long suffering Syrians.

Thanks Paul!

In the long version of the press conference, the group discusses the sanctions against Syria that actually started in the late 90's. They discussed the 6 million people being in Syria being displaced and how (juxtaposed to the American society with so much wealth) the Syrians still manage to house, educate and feed people, as best as possible, give the circumstances and the sanctions that are designed to kill citizens, plain and simple, and sanctions alone are war crimes, osit. They also brings some focus on Yemen (due to a question asked by Matt Lee) and remind viewers that the Saudis air missions into Yemen are run by the U.S. and their contractors' (refueling, maintenance, bombs etc). Nothing the Saudis do in war is without their hands being held by the usual suspects.

 

[angelburst29]

BREAKING: At Least 14 US Coalition Military Officers Captured by Syrian Forces in East Aleppo Bunker
http://www.globalresearch.ca/breaking-at-least-14-us-coalition-military-officers-captured-by-syrian-forces-in-east-aleppo-bunker/5563177

Sat. December 17, 2016 - DAMASCUS – According to two reports coming out of Aleppo today, at least 14 US Coalition military officers were captured this morning in an East Aleppo bunker by Syrian Special Forces.

This story was quietly leaked by Voltaire.net, who announced, “The Security Council is sitting in private on Friday, December 16, 2016, at 17:00 GMT, while NATO officers were arrested this morning by the Syrian Special Forces in a bunker in East Aleppo.”

Fares Shehabi MP, a prominent Syrian Parliamentarian and head of Aleppo’s Chamber of Commerce published the names of the Coalition officers on his Facebook page on the 15th December (emphasis added):

Mutaz Kanoğlu – Turkey
David Scott Winer – USA
David Shlomo Aram – Israel
Muhamad Tamimi – Qatar
Muhamad Ahmad Assabian – Saudi
Abd-el-Menham Fahd al Harij – Saudi
Islam Salam Ezzahran Al Hajlan – Saudi
Ahmed Ben Naoufel Al Darij – Saudi
Muhamad Hassan Al Sabihi – Saudi
Hamad Fahad Al Dousri – Saudi
Amjad Qassem Al Tiraoui – Jordan
Qassem Saad Al Shamry – Saudi
Ayman Qassem Al Thahalbi – Saudi
Mohamed Ech-Chafihi El Idrissi – Moroccan

In video: Syrian ambassador to the UN discloses names of foreign intelligence agents remaining in east Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-syrian-ambassador-un-discloses-names-foreign-intelligence-agents-remaining-east-aleppo/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTRccMqEXAE (RT - English - 2:16 min.)

20/12/2016 - Syrian ambassador to the UN, Dr. Bashar Al-Ja'afari, made a statement after the UN Security Council had approved a new resolution on Aleppo.

Among other things, Al-Ja'afari explained the reason why certain UNSC members were pushing so hard to pass this resolution which provides for the access of UN monitoring group to the largest Syrian city.

According to him, Syrian government possess information about foreign military intelligence officers who are still inside the remaining jihadist-held pocket in the eastern part of Aleppo. And the main purpose of the resolution, as Syrian authorities believe, is to allow those foreign agents and advisers a safe passage out of the besieged area, along with the jihadists they were training.

The full list of those who were mentioned by Al-Ja'afari is as follows:
•Murtaz Oglacan Oglu, a Turkish national;
•David Scott Winner, an American national;
•David Schlomo Aram, an Israeli national;
•Muhammad Sheikh Al-Islam Al-Tamimi, a Qatari national;
•Muhammad Ahmad Al-Sabyan, Abd Al-Monaem Fahd Al-Hrej, Ahmad bin Nawfal Al-Drej, Muhammad Hassan Al-Subay'i, Qassem Saad Al-Shummari, Ayman Qassem Al-Tha'libi - all Saudi nationals;
•Amajd Qassem At-Tyrawi, a Jordanian national;
•Muhammad Al-Sharifi Al-Idrissi, a Moroccan national.

 

[angelburst29]

107 Reporters Killed in Syria since Outset of Conflict
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950930000783

Tue Dec 20, 2016 - According to the report by international press freedom group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), deaths in combat or crossfire reached their highest number since 2013, as conflicts in the Middle East showed no sign of ending, RT reported.

Journalists sent into the thick of the action appear to be at high risk of not only losing their lives, but of being kidnapped and executed by ISIL and other terrorist groups.

“ISIL is responsible for the disappearance of at least 11 journalists since 2013. They are feared dead, but do not appear in CPJ’s data on killed journalists because their fate cannot be confirmed,” the report said.

It added that the two professions that proved to be the most dangerous in 2016 were those of photographer and cameraman.

Twenty percent of the journalists killed in 2016 were freelancers.

In April, Syrian journalist Zaher al-Shurqat was shot in the head by a masked man in the Southern Turkish town of Gaziantep. ISIL claimed responsibility for the murder, making al-Shurqat the fourth Syrian journalist the group claimed to have killed in Turkey since October 2015, according to CPJ.

At least 48 journalists were killed in relation to their work between January 1 and December 15, 2016, the international press freedom group said.

“More than half of the journalists killed in the year died in combat or crossfire, for the first time since CPJ began keeping records. The conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, and Somalia claimed the lives of 26 journalists who died covering the fighting,” the New York-based group said.

Among those killed by the fighting in Syria this year was 20-year-old photographer and video journalist Osama Jumaa, who died in June while reporting from Aleppo for the international photo agency Images Live.

Iraq proved to be among the “top three most deadly countries for the fourth year in a row,” with six journalists killed in 2016, according to the report.

In Yemen, the number of journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty has also been on the rise as fighting escalated. Six journalists were killed this year, bringing the total to 12 since 2014, CPJ said.

According to CPJ’s detailed records since 1992, about two-thirds of journalists killed are specifically singled out for murder in retaliation for their work.
This year, some 18 journalists were targeted directly for murder, the lowest number since 2002.

“The reason for the decline is unclear, and could be a combination of factors including less risk-taking by the media, more efforts to bring global attention to the challenge of combatting impunity, and the use of other means to silence critical journalists,” the report said.

A number of journalists have been risking their lives covering political unrest. At least three reporters died this year covering dangerous assignments, two of them in Pakistan. Mehmood Khan, a cameraman for DawnNews, and Shehzad Ahmed, a cameraman for Aaj TV, were at a hospital in Quetta where a crowd had gathered to grieve the murder of the president of the Baluchistan Bar Association when a powerful bomb killed over 70 people.

_..._ _..._

Syria - Killing Journos Enabled "Media Activist" Domination - Intended Effect?
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/12/unconventional-warfare-killing-journalists-creates-media-activist-domination.html#more

Mon December 19, 2016 - As pointed out yesterday, a recent tweet series by Club des Cordeliers made some interesting observation about the #StandWithAleppo propaganda campaign:

The "Stand with Aleppo" campaign in the U.S. was started and is propelled by a Democratic party operative who is also CEO of a public relations company and "strategic affairs consultant" in Chicago, Becky Carroll.

The Cordeliere made some additional remarks on anti-Syria propaganda. These about the U.S. directed Information Warfare campaign from inside Syria. This leads me to the thoughts below about the U.S. waged Unconventional Warfare in Syria and how it may be responsible for the elimination of "neutral" journalists on the ground.

We start with Club des Cordeliers remarks on the video campaign coming out of Syria and currently especially out of east-Aleppo:

US State Dep't has openly trained Syrian "activists" in social media propaganda techniques since 2012. U.S. Embassy Geneva, Aug 21, 2012 U.S. Equipment, Training Reaching Syrian Opposition:

The State Department has $25 million in nonlethal assistance that it can use for training purposes, and [State Department spokeswoman Victoria] Nuland said “a broad cross section of activists” inside Syria and in neighboring countries is benefiting from an “extremely active” U.S. training effort that is focused on Syrians who have not left their country.

“We are doing training on free media, countering the government’s circumvention technology, legal and justice and accountability issues, and how to deal with the crimes that have been committed during this conflict, programs for student activists who are encouraging peaceful protest on the university campuses, [and] programs for women,” Nuland said.

She added that the State Department has been working for years with Syrians and others on ways to counter Internet censorship, as well as supporting Syrian human rights and justice programs.

US trained Syrian contra propagandists via seminars conducted in Istanbul St.Louis Public Radio, Dec 3, 2012 U.S. Steps Up Aid (But No Arms) To Syrian Exiles:

[T]he U.S. State Department is supporting Syria's political opposition, in projects that have been under wraps until recently.

One program, a multimillion-dollar media project called Basma, or "fingerprint" in English, is run out of an office in Istanbul where Syrian activists write and produce reports for a Facebook page and the Basma website. A promotional video explains the goals of Basma: "to support a peaceful transition for a new Syrian nation that supports and guards the freedom of all of its citizens."
...
In another U.S.-funded program, kept quiet over security concerns, young activists, mostly those in the front lines in the early days of the revolt, are invited to Istanbul for workshops. They gather in hotels, from towns and villages inside Syria. They are now members of revolutionary councils — civilians trying to restore services and local government in places out of regime control.

Syrian "activists" given electronic equipment & technical instruction in State Dep't-sponsored Istanbul trainings. Wired, Oct 25, 2012 Exclusive: U.S. Rushes to Stop Syria from Expanding Chemical Weapon Stockpile:

U.S. intelligence agencies are believed to be helping with the training of opposition groups, while the Pentagon denies shipping arms to the rebels. In public, American aid has largely been limited to organizational advice (Washington is trying to set up a council of opposition leaders in Doha in the next few weeks, for instance) and technical assistance. Several hundred Syrian activists have traveled to Istanbul for training in secure communications, funded by the U.S. State Department. The rebel leaders received tips on how to leapfrog firewalls, encrypt their data, and use cellphones without getting caught, as Time magazine recently reported. Then they returned to Syria, many of them with new phones and satellite modems in hand.

To NATO military strategists, social media propaganda is element of "winning the online information war" in Syria. Small Wars Journal, Apr 26, 2016 The Impact of Cyber Capabilities in the Syrian Civil War:

The events of the Syrian Civil War have clearly demonstrated the power of cyber capabilities in warfare. [...] However, it would appear that all of the actors have used cyber capabilities for propaganda purposes. The use of social media, DDoS attacks, and the defacement of websites were all used to promote strategic narrative or to undermine and embarrass the enemy. Although all of these activities would fall under the category of information war, developments in social technology has increased the importance of winning the online information war. This is illustrated by the fact that most of the information that the public receives about the conflict is transmitted through social media.

Revealing chart outlining US Army Special Ops doctrine on use of electronic communication in unconventional warfare. FM 3-05.130 Unconventional Warfare, Sep 2008 Table B-1 - Information operations integration into joint operations (pdf)

Highly influential 1989 paper on Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW) called for technology-driven psychological warfare. Marine Corp Gazette, Oct 1989 The Changing Face of War - Into the 4th Generation (pdf)

All this is to make clear that there is nothing random or organic about online propaganda produced by Syrian "activists."

Bana hoax, Aleppo "farewell" videos, et al. should be seen as coordinated, strategic information warfare funded and organized by US actors.

Some additional thoughts on this.

A recent piece by Patrick Cockburn in the Independent points to the mass of propaganda about and out of Syria, mostly U.S. directed as shown above, and explains why we only see and hear this and nothing else: There's more propaganda than news coming out of Aleppo this week:

[T]he jihadis holding power in east Aleppo were able to exclude Western journalists, who would be abducted and very likely killed if they went there, and replace them as news sources with highly partisan “local activists” who cannot escape being under jihadi control.
...
The precedent set in Aleppo means that participants in any future conflict will have an interest in deterring foreign journalists who might report objectively. By kidnapping and killing them, it is easy to create a vacuum of information that is in great demand and will, in future, be supplied by informants sympathetic to or at the mercy of the very same people (in this case the jihadi rulers of east Aleppo) who have kept out the foreign journalists. Killing or abducting the latter turns out to have been a smart move by the jihadis because it enabled them to establish substantial control of news reaching the outside world.

We have to see the killing and kidnapping of journalists as a (secret) part of the arsenal of the Unconventional Warfare and the U.S. created propaganda storm out of Syria.

The same applies to humanitarian Non-Government Organizations. Neither the United Nations, nor the Red Cross or any other neutral NGO had staff in east-Aleppo. Only the MI-6 propaganda outlet SOHR in Coventry provides numbers allegedly sourced from Syria. Only (U.S. trained) "media activists" on the Takfiri side report or tweet from inside east-Aleppo. Only these get interviewed. Only the U.S./UK created and directed "White Helmets" and the French government sponsored Takfiri "Aleppo Media Channel" produce pictures and videos from inside east-Aleppo. As this was the only available information source and sole available audio-visual material it was heavily used by news outlets around the world. It reflected solely the armed oppositions and its sponsors' views and warfare needs.

If one intends to give a maximum effect to the propaganda output of ones proxies in an Information Warfare operation, it makes great sense to eliminate all other potential sources of information from the wider warzone. Thus - the abduction and killing of neutral professional journalists is a conscious process that enables their replacement with ones own Information Warfare assets. I believe we have seen such a process in Syria.

A similar process was applied earlier when the U.S. invaded Iraq. News outlets which gave a different than the official U.S. view were targeted by U.S. military forces. The Al-Jazeerah offices in Baghdad were bombed by the U.S. military. (The White House even considered bombing the Al-Jazeerah head office in Doha, Qatar.) Wikileaks published a video which showed a U.S. helicopter killing Reuters staffers. Only journalists embedded with the U.S. military were protected against U.S. military action. Their reports were naturally heavily skewed towards the official U.S. propaganda view.

(On top of all of that we have to consider that even regular news outlets and journalists are often vehicles of intelligence services and as such far from neutral.)

The killing or abduction of journalists in a war zone allows their replacement with better controlled and more partisan assets. Just raising the (security) costs for real journalists has such an effect. A news outlet has to pay for professionally made news agency photos or videos. The U.S./UK propaganda operation "White Helmets" has produced hundreds of "gripping" and "emotional" staged rescue operation pictures and videos. It distributes those for free in "ready to be used" high quality. Many news outlets prefer these no-cost pictures even though their veracity is highly questionable.


Keeping journalists away from the battle zone by killing or abducting a few of them at the beginning of the conflict helped enormously to increase the effect of the later Information Warfare operation known as "White Helmets" and other similar organizations.

This brings me back to U.S. Embassy Geneva report quoted above. In the very same speech in which U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland lauded the creation, training and outfitting of U.S proxy teams for propaganda creation and other purposes (aka "media activists") she also lamented the demise of real journalists in Syria:

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters August 21 that the United States has provided more than 900 sets of communications gear to groups and individuals inside Syria.
...
Nuland also offered condolences to the family of Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto, who was killed August 20 while she was traveling with Syrian opposition forces in Aleppo, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. Yamamoto, who worked for the Tokyo-based Japan Press, was caught in gunfire, the Foreign Ministry said.

Nuland also said the U.S. government had lost contact with two stringers reporting for the Alhurra television network who had reportedly been traveling with Yamamoto.

In an August 21 interview with the Voice of America, Reporters Without Borders spokeswoman Soazig Dollet said five foreign journalists have been killed since the start of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, and that Syria “is now the most dangerous place for war reporter in the world.”

The lauding of U.S. proxy media efforts and the (fake) lamenting over the killing of real journalists by Victoria Nuland in one speech were totally unrelated to each other - unless they were not. It was totally unintended that the resulting lack of real journalists in Syria amplified the effect of the U.S. Information Operation by proxy. Or maybe it was not.

 

[angelburst29]

230 US Army instructors and 54 British troops, 8 French and two Dutch artillery specialists were trapped in Aleppo with ISIS jihadists by Syrian and Russian forces. The Americans asked the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to keep this quiet – for obvious reasons! I have this from a reliable source.

NATO AND AMERICAN TROOPS TOGETHER WITH ISIS SURROUNDED BY RUSSIAN AND SYRIAN FORCES, THE OBAMA REGIME WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH JIHADISTS
http://novorossia.today/154225-2/

Tues. December 20, 2016 - What were NATO troops doing fighting alongside ISIS, Al Qaeda and al Nusra Front extremists? Such rebels have massacred Christians, executed prisoners of war, held civilians hostage, shot those who tried to escape as the Syrian Army moved in and attacked coaches sent to evacuate civilians (and even their own fighters) from Aleppo.

They have burned buses sent to the towns of Foah and Kefraya (to evacuate loyalist Syrian troops and mainly Shia civilians as a quid pro quo for the evacuations of their own from Aleppo). And yet it is in the company of such extremist Islamic fighters that British (and US, French and Dutch) soldiers have apparently been fighting.

You will not hear this from the BBC or the British or US Governments, nor will you hear about all the weaponry sent to the “good rebels” which was handed over to Islamist extremists. No wonder NATO troops could not distinguish who they were fighting with! Even US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, an Obama fellow Democrat from Hawaii, says that the CIA has been selling guns to Al Qaeda and ISIS for years.

Gabbard has proposed a bill to stop Obama’s Muslim Brotherhood appointees at the CIA, called the “Stop Arming Terrorists Act.”

Contrast Obama’s behaviour with Vladimir Putin’s warning to the US – unheeded – of the dangerous Islamist Tsarnaev brothers who went on to bomb the Boston marathon killing 3 and wounding 260. On the 13th December The Russian Centre for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria said it had helped 7,796 civilians leave rebel-held areas in Aleppo in 24 hours – but the mainstream media never mentioned that either of course.

Politicians are forever referring to Russian “aggression” in Syria – but Russia are in Syria by invitation of the Government. Western forces are there illegally, allied with, among others, known terrrorist groups like Al Qaeda and the Al Nusra Front – bombing Government forces even after declaring a cease fire – and then complaining that the cease fire broke down!.

We are also responsible for much suffering in Syria by enforcing sanctions – with resulting shortages of food. Those sanctions, according to the World Health Organization and the bombing campaigns of the anti Government forces have also caused a critical shortage of medicines. Before the US supported war against Syria the country produced 90% of its own medicines and drugs.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel tried to defend itself against the attacks of its own readers for not reporting with the same sympathy for civilians in Mosul (where NATO bombs are supporting the Government of Iraq’s attack) as they do for the civilians in Eastern Aleppo (where Russian and Syrian Government are attacking). Der Spiegel used a video showing that in Mosul “people have water, electricity, enough food. Nobody was starving to death there yet” – except it turns out to be a video made by Daesh, the Islamic extremists who have waged a war of terror inside Mosul.

When schools are attacked and children killed by NATO’s “rebels” little is heard – just as we heard nothing of the deliberate targeting by NATO of a mobile Russian hospital in Aleppo. No one in the West believes the propaganda of their own “mainstream media” – at least since the lies told to instigate the war against Yugoslavia (the fraudulent “concentration camp” image, the photo of a skeletal prisoner who is as skinny today as then, the misattributed bombing of Sarajevo market).

But the twisting of news in Syria is extreme. The West has virtually no journalists on the ground (not least because our so called “rebel allies” would murder them) and relies on extremists’ versions of the truth sent out by unverifiable individuals on their iPhones (the BBC’s “local” correspondent Lyse Doucet is in fact in Beirut – 206 miles away.)

The remaining militants have left Aleppo, which is now fully controlled by the Syrian army, a military source told RIA Novosti. Later, the Syrian army confirmed in a statement that the whole city is now under the control of Damascus.

Last Militants Leave Aleppo, Which is Now Fully Controlled by Syrian Army
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612221048892794-aleppo-syria-militants/

The last convoy evacuating militants from eastern Aleppo has left the city, the source said.

"This convoy is the last one. Now we can say that all militants have left Aleppo, and the city is fully controlled by the Syrian army," the source said.

"The command of the Syrian army declares that peace and security returned in the city of Aleppo," the army's statement read.

"This victory is of strategic importance and has become critical in the fight against terrorism on the one hand and dealing a blow to terrorists' project and all who supports them," the Syrian army said. "This victory has proven the ability of the Syrian army and its allies to win the fight against terrorist groups, and it marks the beginning of a new stage in the liberation of the entire Syrian territory from terrorists."

Earlier in the day, Lebanese media reported that the last convoy, consisting of 15 cars and 4 buses, has begun to leave eastern Aleppo.

On December 16, the Russian Defense Ministry's center for Syrian reconciliation said that the Syrian army operation to liberate the eastern neighborhoods of the Syrian city of Aleppo was over, and that Syrian government troops were eliminating separate hotbeds of militants' resistance.

A historic Syrian train which was built in 1896 left Damascus and traveled to the city’s suburbs on Wednesday. The capital was liberated from the terrorists and now after five years, the railroad has been repaired and the locomotive made its journey.

Historic Syrian Train Travels From Damascus Marking Return to Civilian Life (Video)
https://sputniknews.com/society/201612221048893974-syrian-train-damascus-civilian-life/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbAB5bgZ4JY (2:52 min.)

The head of the public institution Hejaz Railway, engineer Husein Muhammed Ali said in an interview with Sputnik Arabic that this locomotive is very special for the Syrians and it is special for the people of Damascus.

The foundation started its work on the launch of the locomotive after the liberation of Kudisa and al-Hama districts to the west of the capital.

According to Husayn Muhammad, 150 residents of the city for the first time in the last 5 years were able to travel 15 kilometers from Damascus to the station of al-Hama.

In the future it is planned to extend the route of the train all the way to the city of ez-Zabadani and Lebanon.

The historic train has only 3 carriages with wooden benches, which are loved by many generations of Syrians.

The gardens of al-Rabwah, the settlement of al-Hama and the oasis of al-Khadra, through which the locomotive passes, are the traditional places of recreation for the citizens of the capital, where they like to go on a picnic. The whistle of the locomotive, which was heard by the Syrians after many years has become a symbol pointing to the return of civilian life to the country. Children came running outside to greet their old friend as the train made the journey to its destination.

The so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham" (ISIS) released a video on Thursday showing two Turkish soldiers being burnt alive in eastern Aleppo.

ISIS burns alive two Turkish soldiers in eastern Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-burns-alive-two-turkish-soldiers-eastern-aleppo/

The two Turkish soldiers appeared in the video inside of a cage while still wearing their battle fatigues; they would then answer questions from their captors before being burnt alive minutes later.

This video was shared on a number of Islamic State accounts on Thursday as a way to propagate the terrorist group's battle against the Turkish Army in eastern Aleppo.

ISIS has released similar videos before in Al-Raqqa and Iraq; however, this is the first execution video of Turkish soldiers that has been publicly released by the terrorist group.

The Turkish Army, alongside their rebel allies, launched a large-scale offensive in eastern Aleppo on Wednesday, targeting the western flank of Al-Bab City, which is under the control of the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham" (ISIS).

Turkish Army offensive takes disastrous turn in east Aleppo as slain soldiers litter battlefield (Video)
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/turkish-army-offensive-takes-disastrous-turn-east-aleppo-slain-soldiers-litter-battlefield/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYRrWlDDNPY (1:59 min.)

Initially, the offensive would get off to a great start in western Al-Bab, as the Turkish Army and their allies imposed full control over Jabal Aqeel after a short battle with ISIS.

Not long after capturing Jabal Aqeel, the Turkish forces attempted to push further west of the aforementioned mountaintop; however, this would prove to be a fatal mistake, as the Islamic State militants managed to repel this attack and launch their own counter-assault.

Using VBIEDs (vehicle borne improvised explosive device), ISIS suicide bombers would devastate the Turkish Army defenses, killing dozens of soldiers and forcing the remaining military personnel to abandon their positions and equipment.

According to the terrorist group's official media wing, ISIS killed more than 70 Turkish soldiers, while also capturing two Leopard tanks and a bulldozer near the Al-Farouq Hospital.

The Russian Air Force conducted several airstrikes over ISIL's positions West of the Syrian ancient city of Palmyra as the Syrian Army and its allies fended off an offensive by ISIL militants in the vicinity of a strategic airbase in Homs Province.

Russian Air Force Hits ISIL Targets as Syrian Army Repels Offensive West of Palmyra
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951002001042

The Russian warplanes attacked the ISIL targets in Western Palmyra as the Syrian Army forces and Hezbollah fighters were fighting off the terrorists attempting to infiltrate the areas near T-4 Military Airport secured by the pro-government forces.

The assult by the ISIL militants took place just 5 kilometers East of the T4 Military Airbase and more than 30 kilometers West of the ancient city of Palmyra

According to a source at the military installation, the Syrian Army managed to repel an ISIL offensive to infiltrate their defenses, killing and wounding over 25 terrorists in fierce clashes.

The pro-government forces also inflicted significant damage on ISIL's hardware, reportedly destroying 2 tanks and 3 technical vehicles mounted with machine guns.

The Syrian army forces discovered several jails and torture centers after regaining control over Eastern Aleppo.

Syrian Troops Find Several Prisons, Torture Dungeons of Terrorists in Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951002000645

The Syrian soldiers also found over 20 places used for trials and over 500 identity cards of people who were seemingly detained and tortured by the terrorists.

Meantime, the local sources in Eastern Aleppo said that there are a number of mass graves in different districts containing the corpses of the Syrian soldiers killed and buried by the militants.

They also added that after Liwa al-Touhid terrorists retook control of most Eastern Aleppo districts, they killed tens of people in the streets and mutilated their bodies to show their power.

The sources said that the terrorists mostly murdered famous and high-ranking people of the society and gathered ordinary people to watch their death to intimidate people and take their control.

The Syrian army has given the terrorists who have remained in Eastern Aleppo a final ultimatum to fully surrender areas under their control and leave the region or face death.

The army called on the terrorists in Eastern Aleppo to remain committed to the contents of their agreement and leave the region immediately.

Local sources said that infighting among the terrorist groups on remaining or leaving Eastern Aleppo has delayed implementation of the final stage of the evacuation of terrorists from the region.

A group of British Generals and military advisors have arrived in Syria to recruit and train the terrorist groups which have withdrawn from Aleppo, a Russian daily reported.

British Generals in Syria to Recruit Aleppo Terrorists
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951002000544

The Izvestia newspaper reported that UK Defense Minister Michael Fallon had earlier said that 20 British military instructors have already arrived in Syria to "restore the combat capability of units of the moderate opposition which has retreated from Aleppo".

Earlier reports, in October, said that Britain had sent its military experts to Syria before Aleppo's liberation by the Syrian army to train the fresh terrorists for combat, first medical aid and defuse bombs.

Based on reports in certain media and the social media pages, the mission of these advisors changed with a change in conditions and their first mission now is to assess the combat capabilities and military equipment of the terrorist groups which have left Aleppo and they are due to determine new strategies for the so-called "moderate" dissidents to unite them under a united military command. The British Generals and officers are now being safeguarded by the air force.

Since the West fears intensified infighting among the remaining terrorist groups after the liberation of Aleppo, it is attempting to unite them and turn them into an army which can efficiently fight, the Russian daily concluded.

The Syrian state television announced on Wednesday that the final phase of the evacuation of the terrorists from Aleppo city had resumed.

The implementation of the Aleppo agreement started last Thursday morning, but it was halted for two days due to the violation of the ceasefire agreement by the terrorists on Friday. On Sunday the implementation of Aleppo agreement resumed and again on Tuesday night it was suspended due to the terrorists' lack of commitment to the contents of the agreement.

Militants had accepted to release thousands of civilian hostages in the two besieged towns of Fua'a and Kafraya in Northern Idlib province in return for the government's permission to their besieged comrades in Eastern Aleppo to evacuate the city for Idlib. But the militants have blocked the exit of civilians from the two towns repeatedly.

Yet, after repeated violations by the terrorists, now the Syrian state TV reports that the final phase of the exit of the last group of about 2,500 terrorists started, meaning that Aleppo city will be fully evacuated from the militants in the coming hours.

Several buses which are stationed in Kafraya and Fua'a (in Idlib province) are slated to evacuate a group of other patients and injured people from the two towns in return as per the agreement.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russian diplomat says entire world 'disgusted by Obama administration's foreign policy'

http://tass.com/politics/922323

According to the Russian diplomat, from the "moral point of view" the Obama team can be blamed for committing a "crime" as it demonstrated that "the stronger has unlimited rights to do evil"

The Barack Obama administration’s foreign policy over the eight years of Obama’s presidency "evokes aversion of the entire world," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

"I think this man [Obama] and his team - naturally, speaking about the man we mean the team which has proved to be bad for all on the global arena," she said in an interview with the Sunday Evening weekly news roundup on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

"I think this eight-year office served under the slogan of their exclusiveness evoked aversion of the entire world. They have failed to fulfill their obligations taken before some countries, they have failed to fulfill what they were commissioned to, including by the American people on the global arena," Zakharova said.

According to the Russian diplomat, from the "moral point of view" the Obama team can be blamed for committing a "crime" as it demonstrated that "the stronger has unlimited rights to do evil." "This is what this administration will leave in history," she added.

 

[angelburst29]

Christian district al-Qassa’a in the Syrian capital city of Damascus was subject to terrorist attack with three mortar shells Sunday, media reported citing a police source.

Terrorists Reportedly Shell Christian District in Syria’s Damascus at Christmas
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612261048990294-terrorists-shell-christian-deistrict-damascus/

The terrorists fired three mortar shells during church service near a French hospital, located in the residential neighborhood, inflicting damage on the private and public properties, the source told the SANA news agency.

No information on casualties has been provided to date.

Mass graves of torture victims have been uncovered in liberated Aleppo, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Monday.

Mass Burials of Dozens of Tortured Syrians Found in Aleppo
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612261049002236-aleppo-mass-burials/

Mass burial sites of many dozens [of Syrians], who had been subjected to brutal torture and [then] murdered, have been found," Maj. Gen. Konashenkov said. "In many cases, body parts are missing; most victims had been shot in the head. And this, it seems, is only the beginning."

Konashenkov said that the instances are being recorded as serious war crimes and will be given maximum publicity "so that European backers of the so-called opposition in London and Paris are well aware of who their wards actually are."

Konashenkov further revealed that militants of the "moderate opposition" mined in eastern Aleppo nearly everything: toys, streets, entrances to premises, cars and motorcycles.

He added that seven large ammunition depots, enough to arm several infantry battalions, were discovered in Aleppo.

On December 22, the Syrian government forces assumed full control of Aleppo as the last convoy with militants left the embattled city

Syrian Army troops intensified their anti-terrorism operation in Western Ghouta after Fatah al-Sham Front (previously known as the al-Nusra Front) did not continue to the peace talks with the Damascus government.

Syrian Army Intensifies Attacks in Western Damascus as Militants Refuse to Join Peace Plan
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951006001190

The army had dispatched a large number of its forces with a large volume of equipment to launch a fresh phase of operation in case the militants refuse to join reconciliation plan.

The army men started a fresh round of operation to liberate the militant-held region of Wadi al-Bardi and stormed Fatah al-Sham's positions in the farms near Wadi al-Bardi, advancing vastly against militants near the town of Wadi al-Bardi.

A military source said that the army will continue its non-stop battle to force terrorists to hand over Wadi al-Bardi to government forces.

Reports from Eastern Homs said on Monday that 25 ISIL militants were killed during the Syrian army's anti-terrorism operations in the region.

25 ISIL Terrorists Killed West of Palmyra
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951006001263

The clashes erupted West of Tadmur (Palmyra) between the army and the ISIL terrorists, in which 25 militants were killed, a military source told SANA news agency on Monday.

According to the source, a large amount of ISIL weapons and ammunition was also destroyed during the operations.

 

[angelburst29]

Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

Israel to re-assess U.N. ties after settlement resolution, says Netanyahu (Video)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-un-idUSKBN14C1IV

The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before - a decision that Netanyahu called "shameful".

I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.

"I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said.

The Israeli leader did not name the institutions or offer any further details.

Defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to use its veto, the United States abstained in the Security Council decision, which passed with 14 votes in favor.

Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbors including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing a biblical connection to the land.

Because Barack Obama has cursed Israel at the United Nations, America is now under a curse. Friday’s stunning betrayal of Israel at the UN Security Council is making headlines all over the planet, but the truth is that what Obama has just done is far more serious than most people would dare to imagine.

10 Times That God Has Hit America With A Major Disaster After The U.S. Attempted To Divide The Land Of Israel
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/10-times-that-god-has-hit-america-with-a-major-disaster-after-the-u-s-attempted-to-divide-the-land-of-Israel

Over the past several decades, whenever the U.S. government has taken a major step toward the division of the land of Israel it has resulted in a major disaster hitting the United States. This keeps happening over and over again, and yet our leaders never seem to learn. And despite the fact that President-elect Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prominent members of both parties in Congress strongly urged Obama to veto Security Council resolution 2334, he went ahead and let it pass anyway.

Because the United States has veto power on the UN Security Council, nothing can get passed without our support. And it has been the policy of the U.S. government for decades to veto all anti-Israel resolutions that come before the Security Council.

But this time around, it appears that the Obama administration was working very hard behind the scenes to get this resolution pushed through the Security Council before the end of Obama’s term. At least that is what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is claiming …..

“From the information that we have, we have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “This is, of course, in complete contradiction of the traditional American policy that was committed to not trying to dictate terms for a permanent agreement, like any issue related to them in the Security Council, and, of course, the explicit commitment of President Obama himself, in 2011, to refrain from such steps.”

I am sure that there will be a tremendous amount of debate about to what extent the U.S. was involved in creating and drafting this resolution, but there is one thing that is exceedingly clear. The ultimate decision as to whether or not this resolution would be adopted was in the hands of one man. Barack Obama knew very well that he had this power, and in the end he ultimately decided to betray Israel. And now that our government has cursed Israel at the UN, our entire nation will be cursed as a result.

In the Scriptures we are repeatedly told that God will bless those that bless Israel and will curse those that curse Israel. When Barack Obama blocked a similar resolution that France wanted to submit for a vote in September 2015, it resulted in America being blessed, and we definitely have been blessed over the past 16 months.

But now that Barack Obama has reversed course and has betrayed Israel, we will most assuredly be cursed. In the days ahead we will see how this plays out, and perhaps we can get some hints about what may happen by reviewing recent history.

There have literally been dozens of instances in recent decades when the U.S. has been hit by some sort of immediate disaster when it has made a move toward the dividing of the land of Israel. The following are ten of the most prominent examples that stand out to me…

#1 - The last time the U.S. government refused to veto an anti-Israel resolution at the UN Security Council was in 1979. On March 22nd, 1979 the Carter administration chose not to veto UN Resolution 446. Four days after that on March 26th, the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty was signed in Washington. As a result of that treaty, Israel gave up a tremendous amount of territory. Two days later, on March 28th, the worst nuclear power plant disaster in U.S. history made headlines all over the globe. The following comes from Wikipedia…

The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown that occurred on March 28, 1979, in reactor number 2 of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI-2) in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history.[2] The incident was rated a five on the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale: Accident With Wider Consequences.[3][4]

#2 On October 30th, 1991 President George H. W. Bush opened the Madrid Peace Conference which brought Israelis and Palestinians together to negotiate for the very first time. In his opening speech, Bush told Israel that “territorial compromise is essential for peace”. At the exact same time, “the Perfect Storm” was brewing in the north Atlantic. This legendary storm traveled 1000 miles the wrong direction and sent 35 foot waves slamming directly into President Bush’s home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

#3 On August 23rd, 1992 the Madrid Peace Conference moved to Washington D.C., and the very next day Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida causing 30 billion dollars in damage. It was the worst natural disaster up to that time in U.S. history.

#4 On January 16th, 1994 President Clinton met with President Assad of Syria to discuss the possibility of Israel giving up the Golan Heights. Within 24 hours, the devastating Northridge earthquake hit southern California. It was the second worst natural disaster up to that time in U.S. history.

#5 On January 21st, 1998 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House but received a very cold reception. In fact, President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright actually refused to have lunch with him. That exact same day the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, sending the Clinton presidency into a tailspin from which it would never recover.

#6 On September 28th, 1998 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was working on finalizing a plan which would have had Israel give up approximately 13 percent of Judea and Samaria. On that precise day, Hurricane George slammed into the Gulf Coast with wind gusts of up to 175 miles an hour.

#7 On May 3rd, 1999 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was supposed to hold a press conference to declare the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital. On that precise day, the most powerful tornadoes ever recorded in the U.S. ripped through Oklahoma and Kansas. At one point one of the tornadoes actually had a recorded wind speed of 316 miles an hour.

#8 On April 30th, 2003, “the Road Map to Peace” that had been developed by the so-called “Quartet” was presented to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer. Over the next seven days, the U.S. was hit by a staggering 412 tornadoes. It was the largest tornado cluster ever recorded up to that time.

#9 In 2005, President George W. Bush (the son of George H. W. Bush) convinced Israel that it was necessary to remove all of the Jewish settlers out of Gaza and turn it over entirely to the Palestinians. According to the New York Times, the very last of the settlers were evacuated on August 23, 2005.
On that precise day, a storm that would be given the name “Katrina” started forming over the Bahamas. The city of New Orleans still has not fully recovered from the damage that storm caused, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in all of U.S. history up to that time.

#10 On May 19th, 2011 Barack Obama told Israel that there must be a return to the pre-1967 borders. Three days later on May 22nd a half-mile wide EF-5 multiple-vortex tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. According to Wikipedia, it was “the costliest single tornado in U.S. history.”

The UN Security Council resolution that was passed on Friday is the biggest betrayal of Israel in modern history. As I explained in my last article, I believe that America’s reprieve is now over and all hell is about to break loose in this country.

When Barack Obama blocked the UN Security Council from dividing the land of Israel in September 2015, according to the Word of God we should have been blessed as a nation as a result, and we were blessed.

But now Barack Obama has cursed Israel by stabbing them in the back at the United Nations, and according to the Word of God we should be cursed as a nation as a result. And as surely as I am writing this article, we will be cursed.

 

[Laura]

Oh, geeze, that piece about the cursing is pathetic.

 

[seek10]

Obama was never comfortable with Bibi. May be, Obama's last vendetta before he leaves. Even if we think the above 10 correlations correct, we have to ask Whether it is "God" or some technology that borders 4D weather changes that zionists have control or some 4D STS folks doing on the behalf of Zionists or simple Mossad 3D false flag or simple coincidences our system 2 invented. They controlled this BBM so long. Israel may do some thing. May be, we are already in NEW cycle, it will bounce back (Just speculating. ). It's not a comfortable feeling to have this possibility.

 

[angelburst29]

107 Reporters Killed in Syria since Outset of Conflict
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950930000783

Syria - Killing Journos Enabled "Media Activist" Domination - Intended Effect?
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/12/unconventional-warfare-killing-journalists-creates-media-activist-domination.html#more

This article is back-dated June 9, 2015 and within the article, another incident is referenced from a June 5, 2012 article - on how some journalists were personally working alongside UN peace observer’s in terrorist areas and how they were unknowingly set up to enter a "free-fire-zone." A free fire zone is like a no-fly zone on the ground which is marked off-limits and people who enter are shot on-site. The UN peace observers seemed to be part of the scheme and set up. I wonder, how many journalists and cameramen were killed like this?

Media Blackout As Syria Rebels Set Up MSM Journalists To Be Murdered
http://alexanderhiggins.com/media-blackout-as-syria-rebels-set-up-msm-journalists-to-be-murdered/

British journalists from Channel 4 News say Syria rebel terrorists set them up to be killed by government forces for propaganda purposes.

A report from the Associated Press reveals that journalist inside Syria were led into a government free fire zone by Syria rebel terrorists in hopes they would be murdered by government forces for propaganda purposes.

A free fire zone is like a no-fly zone on the ground which is marked off-limits and people who enter are shot on-site.

Channel 4 News’s chief correspondent Alex Thomson who was set up by the rebels to be murdered says there was no way it was a mistake that the terrorists directed his team into the free fire zone.

The Associated Press report on story being carried by corporate media news outlets leaves out many key details such as the journalists were actually shot at by government forces.

It also fails to even describe how the rebels tricked them into entering the off-limits area after covering the UN observer’s in the area or that other journalists are also reporting that rebels have tried to spring similar traps on them.

It is absolutely sick that the corporate media blacks out such an incident were their own reporters are being set up to be murdered to push the war agenda.

If these journalists ended up being murdered the story would of course been a top headline on every news outlet as propaganda to further justify war, just like past incidents.

Take for example this 3 page CNN hit piece demonizing the Syria government based on terrorist accusations two journalists were killed by government forces.

Syria rebels led journalist into death trap
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/syria-rebels-led-journalist-into-death-trap/news-story/072dbaef2fcda94155b7e20900eb4197

June 9, 2012 - A BRITISH journalist claims Syrian rebels set him up to die in a no man's land near the Lebanese border, saying he believes they hoped he would be shot by government forces.

Channel 4 News's chief correspondent, Alex Thomson, said in a blog post overnight a rebel escort led him, his driver, and his translator to a dead end in "free-fire zone" around the town of Qusair.

He says it was "quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian Army," adding that if he and his colleagues were shot by government forces, then it would have been a propaganda coup for the rebels.

In an email, Thomson said there was "absolutely no way" that Monday's incident was an accident.

The more detailed original AP article from Google hosted news, which isn’t being reprinted in full on corporate news sites, provides more detail but still omits the gravity of the situation.

Channel 4 journalist Alex Thomson says Syria rebels led me into death trap
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9321068/Channel-4-journalist-Alex-Thomson-says-Syria-rebels-led-me-into-death-trap.html

09 Jun 2012 - A senior British journalist has claimed Syrian rebels tried to lead him and his team into a death trap so they would be killed by gunfire from government forces in a bid to discredit the Assad regime.

Alex Thomson, chief correspondent for Channel 4 News said the incident happened on Monday in the Syrian town of Qusair, about half an hour's drive from the battered city of Homs.

Thomson said he, his driver, a translator, and two other journalists were trying to return to government lines when their rebel escort led them down what he described as a dead-end in the middle of a "free-fire zone".

"Suddenly four men in a black car beckon us to follow. We move out behind," he recalls.

"We are led another route. Led in fact, straight into a free-fire zone. Told by the Free Syrian Army to follow a road that was blocked off in the middle of no-man's-land.

"At that point there was the crack of a bullet and one of the slower three-point turns I've experienced. We screamed off into the nearest side-street for cover.

"Another dead-end.

"There was no option but to drive back out onto the sniping ground and floor it back to the road we'd been led in on."

Thomson claimed that they were not led into no-man's-land by mistake.

"I'm quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian army," he wrote in a blog post on Channel 4's website

He said that their deaths at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad's forces would have drawn sympathy to the rebel cause. "Dead journos are bad for Damascus," he said.

Thomson said he and his colleagues eventually managed to get back to the government side. He has since left Syria.

His account was not possible to verify amid the chaos gripping Syria, but he insisted that there was no other explanation for what happened.

"They said: 'Go left.' Road was totally blocked 50 yards ahead. They had to have known."

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists calls Syria "the most dangerous place for journalists in the world," saying that it has recorded the deaths of nine local and international reporters there since November.

The post from Channel 4 News from Alex gives a more complete picture of the event which starts off detailing how the journalists were working alongside the UN peace observer’s in the area and then goes on to detail how they were set up.

Set up to be shot in Syria’s no man’s land

[…]

This is new. Different. Hostile. This is not like Homs or Houla and still the UN meeting drags on in the hot afternoon…

We decide to ask for an escort out the safe way we came in. Both sides, both checkpoints will remember our vehicle.

Set up to be shot?

Suddenly four men in a black car beckon us to follow. We move out behind.

We are led another route. Led in fact, straight into a free-fire zone. Told by the Free Syrian Army to follow a road that was blocked off in the middle of no-man’s-land.

At that point there was the crack of a bullet and one of the slower three-point turns I’ve experienced. We screamed off into the nearest side-street for cover.

Another dead-end.

There was no option but to drive back out onto the sniping ground and floor it back to the road we’d been led in on.

Predictably the black car was there which had led us to the trap. They roared off as soon as we re-appeared.

I’m quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian Army. Dead journos are bad for Damascus.

That conviction only strengthened half an hour later when our four friends in the same beaten-up black car suddenly pulled out of a side-street, blocking us from the UN vehicles ahead.

The UN duly drove back past us, witnessed us surrounded by shouting militia, and left town.

Eventually we got out too and on the right route, back to Damascus.

Please, do not for one me moment believe that my experience with the rebels in al Qusair was a one-off.

This morning I received the following tweet:

“@alextomo I read your piece “set up to be shot in no mans land”, I can relate as I had that same experience in Al Zabadani during our tour.”

That was from Nawaf al Thani, who is a human rights lawyer and a member of the Arab League Observer mission to Syria earlier this year.

It has to make you wonder who else has had this experience when attempting to find out what is going on in rebel-held Syria.

In a war where they slit the throats of toddlers back to the spine, what’s the big deal in sending a van full of journalists into the killing zone?

It was nothing personal.

Source: Channel 4 News

 

[goyacobol]

Oh, geeze, that piece about the cursing is pathetic.

Yes, pathetically blaming everything on the "Word of God". At one time I would have bought that story too.

The messengers are always there it seems but now I don't believe it is quite that simple to predict the future and in a way I like it better that way. Things are a bit more "open" I think.

Session 7 January 1996

Q: (P) I would like to know about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Conyers, GA, as well as this
book "Mary's Message to the World" and all the other messages about the End Times that are coming
out all over?
A: The forces at work here are far too clever to be accurately anticipated so easily. You never know
what twists and turns will follow, and they are aware of prophetic and philosophical patternings and
usually shift course to fool and discourage those who believe in fixed futures.

 

[hesperides]

Oh, geeze, that piece about the cursing is pathetic.

Yeah, you named it. Too bad for him and his followers he couldn´t include 9/11 event as well, the bottom of the iceberg.

Since I heard the first news about Netanyahu´s latest tactical approach upon UN members, I think a new broader collapse is now also droning upon Europeans head. Jeez, it´s intolerable how many simultaneous assaults coming from all fronts we are witnessing right now! Touching wood to attract luck all the while inefficient ptb´s giants are touching our credos to attract more and more power might not last for that long anymore, I swear.

 

[angelburst29]

Syria’s Ambassador to China and former Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha said that the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution is merely a continuation of the war against Syria by different means.

UNGA Syria War Crimes Resolution Aimed to Undermine Damascus Legitimacy
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612271049039936-unga-resolution-syria-war/

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution establishing a mechanism to investigate war crimes in Syria is an attempt by Western countries to undermine the legitimacy of Damascus and to negate the success achieved by the country's army in fighting terrorism, Syria’s Ambassador to China and former Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha told Sputnik.

The Liechtenstein-proposed resolution was adopted on Wednesday by 105 votes in favor, with 52 abstentions, while 15 countries including China, Russia and Syria voted against.

It goes without saying that this resolution is merely a continuation of the war against Syria in different means. The Western powers along with the oil rich Gulf states are rabidly looking for every possible tactic and venue to, intensify the smearing and demonizing campaign [against the Syrian government], divert the attention from the series of successes attained by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies, and, most important of all, pump more blood and vigor into the veins of the armed terrorist groups," Moustapha said.

The resolution paves the way for the establishment of an independent panel to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for war crimes and human rights violations in Syria. In close cooperation with the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, the mechanism will collect and analyze evidence of violations of the international humanitarian law in order to expedite criminal proceedings in national, regional or international courts.

Following the Wednesday vote, Syria's Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari slammed the measure, saying it was contrary to the UN Charter and a "flagrant interference in the internal affairs of a UN member state," as well as "a direct threat to a solution" of the Syrian conflict.

Imad Moustapha also said that the UN Board of Inquiry’s investigation into the September attack on the UN-Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy in Aleppo failed to name the perpetrator after it found no evidence proving Moscow or Damascus’ responsibility, contrary to the version pushed forward by the West.

"Had the investigation found the slightest shred of clues that would point to Russia and Syria, the investigation would have continued, given ample resources, and enjoyed great media and propaganda support. However, since it was mostly pointing to a different version of what the Western powers desired, it was brought to an inconclusive ending," Moustapha said.

The UN Board of Inquiry said in a report on Wednesday that it could not identify the attacker and it had no evidence to conclude that "the incident was a deliberate attack on a humanitarian target." According to the report’s summary, aircraft of the US-led international coalition and Russia both had the capabilities to carry out an attack of the kind, while Syria’s armed opposition groups did not have such capability.

Now, it will be used and reused incessantly to create a cloud of allegations and insinuations without actually offering any substantiated evidence. The Western media are masterful in playing this game. And the Western leaders will mechanically repeat the allegations without caring for the burden of proof," the ambassador added.

At least 20 people were killed and 18 of the convoy’s 31 trucks were destroyed in the shelling in Syria's Aleppo province on September 19.

A number of US military officials have claimed Russia was responsible for the attack. White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the Syrian and Russian governments were the only entities that could have been responsible for it, while Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford pinned the blame on Russia despite having admitted he was not sure who dropped the bombs.

Moscow denied the allegations, saying there was no proof to support the claims about Russia’s involvement in the attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

Syrian diplomat noted that Russia played a decisive and politically necessary role in the operation to liberate the Syrian city of Aleppo, which proved it was truly interested in putting an end to terrorism and the suffering of civilians in the country.

"The participation of Russia in liberating Aleppo was both decisive and a political necessity… Russia’s large scale humanitarian aid and medical assistance, as well as the pivotal role played in the evacuation process were of paramount importance for discrediting the massive campaign of disinformation conducted by the Western media, and the hysteric reactions of the Western governments to the liberation of Aleppo," Moustapha said.

The Syrian ambassador added that Russia was not only interested in tackling terrorism in the city at all costs, but also cared for civilians in the war-torn country.

Russia simply proved that it was not merely interested in combating terrorism, but equally interested in the welfare and safety of the civilians in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria," Moustapha added.

Meanwhile, he stressed that although the liberation of Aleppo did not signal the victory over terrorism in Syria, it was a pivotal moment in the campaign to free the country.

"While the victory in Aleppo does not mean the end of the war against the terrorist groups, it has been such a dramatic and humiliating defeat to these groups that it will mark a watershed point after which the liberation process will gain more momentum and a vigorous thrust," Moustapha said.

On Thursday, the Syrian army said in a statement it had assumed full control over Aleppo, bringing back peace and security to the embattled city. In accordance with the agreement on local ceasefire, the remaining militants were allowed to leave the part of Aleppo they held control of.

Russia was engaged in both humanitarian and evacuation operations in the region.

The information the Russian military is making public about Aleppo should change the attitudes of Washington and its European allies, military expert Andrey Koshkin told Sputnik.

Mass Graves in Aleppo Fuel Suspicion of So-Called 'Moderate Opposition' in Syria
https://sputniknews.com/world/201612271049030350-syria-mass-graves-opposition-information/

In an interview with Sputnik, military expert Andrey Koshkin suggested that the information on Aleppo which was disclosed by the Russian military may change attitudes toward the so-called moderate Syrian opposition in Washington and among its European allies.

The interview came after Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that mass graves of torture victims have been uncovered in liberated Aleppo in northern Syria.

"Mass burial sites of many dozens [of Syrians] have been found; they had been subjected to brutal torture and [then] murdered. In many cases, body parts are missing; most victims had been shot in the head. And this, it seems, is only the beginning," according to Konashenkov.

He said that the instances are being recorded as serious war crimes and will be given maximum publicity "so that European backers of the so-called opposition in London and Paris are well aware of who their [friends] actually are."

Konashenkov further revealed that militants from the "moderate opposition" in eastern Aleppo had booby-trapped nearly everything with explosives before leaving the city, including toys, streets, entrances to premises, cars and motorcycles.

Commenting on this, Andrey Koshkin said that the US and European countries should review their stance on the moderate Syrian opposition after the publication by Russia of information related to Aleppo.

Konashenkov, meanwhile, added that seven large ammunition depots, enough to arm several infantry battalions, had also been discovered in Aleppo.


On December 22, Syrian government forces assumed full control of Aleppo as the last convoy with militants left the embattled city.

The Syrian Arab Army's Republican Guard units discovered a large supply of weapons on Sunday that belonged to the jihadist rebels in eastern Aleppo prior to their departure last weekend

Syrian Army seizes large supply of jihadist weapons in east Aleppo: video
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-seizes-large-supply-jihadist-weapons-east-aleppo-video/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OySdmuXZxpM (3:12 min.)

Based on the video footage captured by Hezbollah's official media wing, the Syrian Arab Army confiscated several missiles, mortar shells, assault rifles, and ammunition in eastern Aleppo on Sunday.

In addition to the aforementioned weapons, the Syrian Arab Army also discovered tanks hidden around the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo City.

The Syrian Arab Army is still combing through these east Aleppo neighborhoods, looking for enemy weapons and explosives that may have been hidden prior to the departure of jihadist rebels from the area.

The Syrian Army dispatched more forces and equipment to different flanks South of Aleppo city, readying for an imminent large-scale operation against Jeish al-Fatah coalition of terrorist groups in the region.

Syrian Army Preparing for Imminent Operation Southwest of Aleppo City
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951007000731

A large number army soldiers, fresh fighters of Iraqi al-Nujaba movement and the Palestinian Liwa al-Quds along with tens of tanks, heavy artillery units and missile launchers were forwarded to the town of al-Hadhar and surrounding areas of the villages of Khalasa, al-Qarasi and al-Arabaeeneh hills to take part in an imminent operation against Jeish al-Fatah.

The Syrian army has also dispatched hundreds of fresh forces to the Southwestern countryside of Aleppo city to take back al-Rasheddeen 4 and 5.

The army gave its final ultimatum to the terrorists still remaining in the Southwestern regions of Aleppo and urged them to leave these regions.

The army gave the terrorists a three-day-long ultimatum starting on Monday to fully surrender areas under their control and leave the region.

A retired Commander of the Syrian Army troops said that expansion of bilateral military cooperation between Russia and Turkey over crisis in Syria will remarkably decrease the chances for the breakout of a war between the Turkish and Syrian military forces in Northeastern Aleppo.

Moscow-Ankara Cooperation Meant to Decrease Possible Military Confrontation between Syria, Turkey
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951007000806

Major General Ali Maqsoud said that as policies of Ankara and Moscow come close over Syria, military confrontation between the Syrian and Turkish forces will grow more unlikely.

"Meantime, it should be remembered that the objective of the Turkey-backed Euphrates Shield Operation is not war on Syrian forces, Maqsoud added.

He further noted accelerating cooperation between Ankara and Moscow, as a major ally of Damascus, and said, "The recent negotiations between Moscow, Ankara and Tehran held in Russian is another reason that proves Turkey is after solving the Syria crisis via diplomatic means."

The Major General ensured that attacking the Syrian troops is a redline that the Turkish forces can never ignore.

Media sources disclosed on Monday that the Russian Air Force started targeting ISIL's positions in the town of al-Bab to back up the Turkish Army and its militant allies for the first time since the start of the Euphrates Shield Operation in Northern Syria.

Massdar news quoted a military source in Kuweires airbase as saying that the Russian fighter jets of Su24 and Su34 bombed ISIL's positions in al-Bab Northeast of Aleppo for the first time following improvement of relations between Ankara and Moscow.

The Turkish army soldiers and Ankara-backed militant groups have pulled back forces from several positions in al-Bab and its surrounding areas.

Commander of Umat al-Towhid Brigade and over 500 of his forces laid down arms and joined the nationwide peace agreement with the Syrian government in the Southern province of Dara'a.

Dara'a: Hundreds of Militants Surrender to Syrian Army
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951007001013

Thaer al-Akta'a and over five hundred of his forces handed over their weapons and equipment to the Syrian army and surrendered themselves to the relevant officials in the town of al-Sanmin.

The commander and his forces, who had previously called for amnesty, were granted government pardoning.

The Arabic language al-Hadath news website reported that terrorist groups' websites tried to ditch this report, while informed sources underlined that al-Akta'a handed over 150 personal arms to Supreme Military Council in addition to his own gun.

Also on Sunday, Syrian authorities restarted studying amnesty applications of hundreds of militants, pardoning over 500 in a town in Northern Dara'a.

510 wanted-people, including 150 militants that had laid down arms and surrendered to the Syrian army were granted amnesty in the town of al-Sanmin.

The terrorist groups in al-Sanmin had previously refused to join the reconciliation talks.

 

[angelburst29]

For Manlio Dinucci, the Western media’s coverage of the Berlin attack, as well as the wars in Libya and Syria, does not overly concern itself with established facts. What is happening is what the novelist George Orwell called “The Ministry of Truth”. Current affairs are broken up into small sequences, disconnected from each other so that they cannot be understood. This enables our governments to conceal their crimes.

The West: Rewriting the Past
http://www.voltairenet.org/article194714.html

The Berlin Massacre - why did the terrorist leave his documents behind?” The Corriere della Sera poses this question noting “peculiarities”. In order to answer this question, we need to peer into the recent past… but our memory of it has been completely wiped clean. [A new account] has been written by the “Ministry of Truth” which, thought up by George Orwell in his novel of political fiction, 1984, a critique of “Stalin totalitarianism” – has become a reality in “Western democracies”.

And so, the history reported in recent years is erased: the US/Nato war against Libya, decided, as the Clinton e-mails prove, to block Gaddafi’s plan to create an African currency as an alternative to the dollar and the Cfa Franc [1]; the war, launched by a covert operation authorized by President Obama, financing and arming groups of Islamists (including the nucleus of the future Isis) that previously were defined as terrorists. Then resupplied with arms through a CIA network (as the New York Times reported in March 2013) [2] when after contributing to bringing down Gaddafi, they passed into Syria in 2011 to topple Assad and then to attack Iraq (at the very moment that the al Maliki government was distancing itself from the West and drawing closer to Moscow and Peking) [3].

Deleted: the Pentagon’s Intelligence Agency document (dated 12 August 2012, destroyed on 18 May 2015) [4] affirming that “in Syria, the Western states, the Gulf States and Turkey support the forces that are trying to contain the Western areas” and, to this end, there is “the possibility of establishing a Saliph principality in Eastern Syria”.

Erased – the photographic documentation of the US Senator John Mc Cain, who when he was representing the White House on mission in Syria, meets Ibrahim al-Badri, the “caliph” at the head of Isis, in May 2013. [5]

At the same time, inspiring to Orwellian “newspeak”, the media-political language is adapted to the case at hand: terrorists are defined as such only when they serve to terrorize the Western public opinion so that it supports the US/Nato strategy. [Similarly], terrorists are defined as “opposition fighters” or “rebels” while they massacre civilians in Syria.

Using the “newspeak” of images, the tragic condition of Aleppo’s people is kept away from our eyes; Aleppo occupied by terrorist squads supported by the West, but when the Syrian forces supported by Russia begin to liberate the city, we are shown the “torture in Aleppo” everyday.

Yet out of our mind’s eye is kept the capture by the government forces, on December 16, of a command of the “Coalition for Syria”. [The latter] is formed by officials of the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and Morocco – that from a bunker in East Aleppo used to coordinate terrorists in Al Nusra and elsewhere. [6]

It is against this backdrop that one may respond to the question raised in the Corriere della Sera: how, as has already happened in the Charlie Hebdo massacre and others, the terrorists forget or intentionally leave behind an identity document to be immediately identified and killed.

In Berlin, other “peculiarities” are observed: on searching the lorry immediately after the massacre, the police and secret services fail to notice that under the driver’s seat is the document of the Tunisian together with a stack of photos. Then they arrest a Pakistani, whom they release the following day for lack of evidence. At this point, one agent, with considerable expertise, is going to look under the driver’s seat where he discovers the identity document of the terrorist. Intercepted quite by chance in the middle of the night and killed by a patrol at the station of Sesto, a kilometre away from where he left the Polish lorry used for the massacre.

All documented by the “Truth Ministry”.

 

[Pierre]

Erdogan just joined the long list of individuals pointing the finger at the links between the US and ISIS and he certainly knows what states backing ISIS means. This being said one wonders why Erdogan did this move and if he will ever release the evidence.

Erdogan Says He Has "Confirmed Evidence" The US Supports ISIS

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-27/erdogan-says-he-has-confirmed-evidence-us-supports-islamic-state

One year after this website demonstrated that Turkey was cooperating with the Islamic State, in the very least trading cash in exchange for crude oil sold to various Turkish outposts (a trade which was subsequently ended by the Russian air force), Turkey has flipped the tables and on Tuesday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has uncovered evidence that US-led coalition forces have helped support terrorists in Syria - including Isis.

"They give support to terrorist groups including ISIS" Erdogan said during a speech in Ankara on Tuesday, adding that US coalition forces "give support to terrorist groups including Daesh, YPG, PYD. It's very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos."

Which, incidentally, should also not come a surprise in light of the May 2015 declassified Pentagon report, which claimed that ISIS was created as a Pentagon tool to overthrow Syria's president Assad.

Nevertheless, the "pot calling the kettle black" comes at a sensitive time for both the US and Turkey, which are both pivoting aggressively, one internally from Obama to Trump, while the other is shifting its foreign geopolitical allegiance from the US to Russia, which may also explain today's outburst by Erdogan.

Saying that the US have accused Turkey of supporting IS, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday the Turkish leader blamed the US-led coalition for assisting terrorists themselves. Apart from IS, he also mentioned Kurdish People's Protection Units in northern Syria (YPG) and Democratic Union Party (PYD) as groups supported by the coalition.

Earlier on Tuesday, Moscow accused Washington of "sponsoring terrorism" in Syria. Commenting on the latest National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Barack Obama, the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the new bill "openly stipulates the possibility" of delivering more weapons to Syria, and added that those arms "will soon find their way to the jihadists," which Russia would view as a "hostile act."

Erdogan's comments echoed those from the Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, who told RT that Washington appears unready to play a serious role in fighting Islamic State, as it has fostered terrorists itself and now wants them to remain in the Middle East.

“The Western coalition is of a formal nature, they have no real intention to fight neither in Syria nor in Iraq. We don’t see any readiness on their part to play a truly useful and meaningful role in fighting IS, because it’s them who have raised terrorists and they are interested in keeping them there,” Dehghan said.

According to the Iranian defense minister, Tehran has never coordinated its operations with the Americans and “will never collaborate with them.”

He then slammed the US' motives behind the "war on ISIS' saying that “maybe the coalition forces would like to see terrorists weakened, but certainly not destroyed, because those terrorists are their tool for destabilizing this region and some other parts of the world.”

One wonders how long before Putin is blamed for this latest political scandal, because if indeed Erdogan does provide proof of US support for the Islamic State, then the Pentagon will need a back story very fast, and what better scapegoat than the Russian president.