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

Foreign intelligence forces have attacked oil and gas facilities in the Homs governorate, causing a material damage.

21.12.2019

Very interesting developments:

21 December 2019
 
Foreign intelligence forces have attacked oil and gas facilities in the Homs governorate, causing a material damage.

Syria says rockets damage Homs refinery, disrupt production
Rockets were fired overnight at Syria's main Homs refinery and two gas units causing minor damage and disrupting production oil officials said on Saturday, calling it a "terrorist attack".


Syrian and Russian-backed Syrian forces continue to make advances against the last remnants of the opposition. Due to their success, the U.S./Pentagon are trying to get the U.N. approve "aid deliveries" from Turkey and Iraq - Moscow and China have (again) vetoed the aid.
Poor Pompeo is going "ballistic" - prior aid (food) packages have included "arms and military supplies" to support the opposition. On the other hand, Turkey's Erdogan isn't gaining any ground to support his objectives and has gone back to complaining ' Turkey can't handle the influx of refugees"? Maybe, if Erdogan got his military forces out of Syria, there wouldn't be such a problem of refugees crossing the Syrian/Turkish Border?

Russian-backed forces gain ground in rebel-held northwest Syria
Russian-backed Syrian forces have gained ground after a week-long renewed assault against the last opposition enclave in Syria's northwest, the biggest such push in more than three months that has prompted a large civilian exodus, witnesses and residents said on Sunday.

Russia, backed by China, casts 14th U.N. veto on Syria to block cross-border aid
Russia, backed by China, on Friday cast its 14th U.N. Security Council veto since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 to block cross-border aid deliveries from Turkey and Iraq to millions of Syrian civilians.

Russia, China have blood on their hands after veto on Syria cross-border aid: Pompeo
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on human rights in Iran at the State Department in Washington, U.S., December 19, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said Russia and China had blood on their hands after the two countries used a veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution to block cross-border aid deliveries from Turkey and Iraq to millions of Syrian civilians.

Erdogan says Turkey cannot handle new migrant wave from Syria, warns Europe

Turkey cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants from Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, warning that European countries will feel the impact of such an influx if violence in Syria's northwest is not stopped.
 
Newsweek reporter quits after editors block coverage of OPCW Syria scandal
Dec 19, 2019 / 25:42 The Grayzone
Pushback with Aaron Maté Journalist Tareq Haddad explains his decision to resign from Newsweek over its refusal to cover the OPCW's unfolding Syria scandal. According to whistleblower testimony and leaked documents, OPCW officials raised alarm about the suppression of critical findings that undermine the allegation that the Syrian government committed a chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma in April 2018. Haddad's editors at Newsweek rejected his attempts to cover the story. "If I don’t find another position in journalism because of this, I’m perfectly happy to accept that consequence," Haddad says. "It’s not desirable. But there is no way I could have continued in that job knowing that I couldn’t report something like this." Guest: Tareq Haddad, journalist who recently resigned from Newsweek over its refusal to cover the OPCW's Syria scandal.

English Subs.
Video summary: Syrian army successfully advances as part of Operation Idlib Dawn in Greater Idlib

 

RT also did a short interview with Tareq Haddad on that date. I find it disturbing that Newsweek would considers "Bellingcat" an all inclusive reputable source?

Published on Dec 19, 2019 (5:50 min.)

Haddad said that he was preparing an article on the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma, based on the letter purportedly leaked by a member of the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which suggested that the organization's interim report had been altered and the findings of the OPCW inspectors had been suppressed.

Haddad recounted that his article was turned down despite the fact that the Mail journalist Peter Hitchens, who he said was "an accomplished journalist for 20 years," had already "published this in a reputable publication,"
and "the letter has since been verified by Reuters."

The journalist said that he "kept pushing" with the OPCW story, following which he "was referred to a Bellingcat article." "I was a bit disturbed that I wasn't really given any valid reasons other than Bellingcat had refuted this article, and like I said, they are not a source to be trusted, in my opinion," stated Haddad.

Tareq Haddad refers to Mail journalist, Peter Hitchens, who had first published the same findings. Hitchens is an accomplished journalist, I have come across his work before. He has published several books and I kind of see him as "a historian" to a certain degree. He's very much into British history and one who digs deep for facts and documentation. His current publication has to do with WW11 and the British involvement, beginning in 1938 with Poland and Nazi Germany and up to current International affairs.

Published on Nov 7, 2019 (56:23 min.)

A former member of the International Socialists, Peter Hitchens now leans firmly to the right. But his latest book, The Phoney Victory, may rankle with those on both sides of the political spectrum as he argues that Britain went into truncated decline after the Second World War, rather than emerging from it stronger. Controversy abounds at this thought-provoking event: hear Hitchens's views in this conversation with journalist Ruth Wishart filmed live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

OPCW Manufactured A Pretext For War By Suppressing Its Own Scientists' Research
MoA - OPCW Manufactured A Pretext For War By Suppressing Its Own Scientists' Research

November 29, 2019 - Leaks from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) prove that the OPCW management ignored or manipulated reports its Fact Finding Mission had written about the April 2018 Douma incident in Syria.

The history of the Douma incident and the OPCW and media manipulation around it is available from the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media under the headline: How the OPCW’s investigation of the Douma incident was nobbled. Our own posts around the incident are linked below.

The OPCW management ignored that the technical, chemical and medical analysis of its own specialists exculpated the Syrian government from the allegation that it poisoned some 40 people in Douma by dropping Chlorine canisters from a helicopter.

The OPCW scientific staff found that dropping the canisters could not have created the damage that was found. Those canisters must have been placed by hand. The amount of chlorinated organic chemicals found at the two scenes was very low and it is very unlikely that they are the result of a reaction with chlorine gas. The medical symptoms of the casualties as was seen in various videos at the time of the incident were inconsistent with death by chlorine inhalation.

The OPCW management twisted the interim and the final OPCW report on the incident to make it look as if the Syrian government was guilty of dropping chlorine canisters. The detailed internal technical analysis was ignored. It was replaced by external analysis from unknown sources who claimed the opposite of what the OPCW engineers and chemists had found. The wording of the report suggests that high levels of chlorinated organic chemicals were found without giving the very low concentrations (in parts per billions) that were actually found. The internal medical analysis was eliminated from the official report.

OPCW emails and documents were leaked and whistleblowers came forward to speak with journalists and international lawyers. Veteran journalist Jonathan Steele, who has spoken with the whistleblowers, wrote an excellent piece on the issues. In the Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens picked up the issue and moved it forward:

New sexed-up dossier furore: Explosive leaked email claims that UN watchdog's report into alleged poison gas attack by Assad was doctored - so was it to justify British and American missile strikes on Syria?.

The 'citizen journalists' of the U.S. government financed Bellingcat propaganda shop made a laughable attempt to refute the claims the whistleblower made. Caitlin Johnstone took it apart.

Hitchens also responded to the Bellingcat scam: Bellingcat or Guard Dog for the Establishment?.

Quoting Bellingcat Peter Hitchens (PH) writes:

Bellingcat: However, a comparison of the points raised in the letter against the final Douma report makes it amply clear that the OPCW not only addressed these points, but even changed the conclusion of an earlier report to reflect the concerns of said employee.
PH: Apart from the words ‘a’, and ‘the’, everything in the above paragraph is, to put it politely, mistaken. Bellingcat have been so anxious to trash the leak from the OPCW that they have (as many did when the attack was first released) rushed to judgment without waiting for the facts. More is known by the whistleblowers of the OPCW than has yet been released, but verification procedures have slowed down its release. More documents will, I expect, shortly come to light.
One, which I have seen, is very interesting. It is a memorandum of protest, written many months after the e-mail of protest published at the weekend. This was sent to the OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias (there is some doubt about whether it ever reached him) by an OPCW investigator (one of those who actually visited Douma), on 14th March 2019. It has reached me through hitherto reliable sources. This is nearly two weeks *after* the release of the ‘final’ report (on Friday 1st March 2019) which is supposed to have resolved the doubts of the dissenters.
In his discussion of the issue Hitchens also mentions this blog:

[The OPCW report claim] ‘Various chlorinated organic chemicals were found in samples from Locations 2 and 4, along with residues of explosive. These results are reported in Annex 3. Work by the team to establish the significance of these results is ongoing.’resulted in some quite remarkable media reports. These are explored here:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/07/syria-many-media-lie-about-watchdog-report-on-the-chemical-attack-in-douma.html
Bellingcat and its supporters may not like the source, and I do not much like it myself, but it is a unique record, as far as I know, of the initial media response to the issue of the July 6 report. I have in fact checked its claims with Reuters and the BBC and they do not dispute what it says, though they say they later corrected the output.
It is sad, Peter, that you don't like this blog much but I am afraid I can do nothing about it.

A few hours ago Hitchens published another piece: In defense of journalism - ‘Citizen journalists’ are no such thing. In it he again takes on Bellingcat and other such 'citizen journalists' and 'researchers' to then reveal that he himself has now talked to an OPCW whistleblower:

Luckily for me I have had the backing of people who know deep down that journalism must take risks to be any good. Someone had to say ‘yes’ to me when I headed off at short notice a few days ago, on my complicated way to a safe house somewhere in a major city on the European continent.
Someone had to fork out for my train fares and my cheap station hotels. Someone had to have the guts to let me tell my story about what I found when I got there — which was an honest man in turmoil. His job was to tell the truth and he was being prevented from doing so. So I could help him. In four decades of journalism, I have seldom felt closer to the Holy Grail, truth that had to be told, and truth that would shake power. Here it was. A pretext for war had been manufactured by suppression of research.
The "pretext for war" can not refer to the missile strike F-UK-US launched on April 16 2018, 8 days after the Douma incident and before any OPCW inspectors had visited the site.

Hitchens must refer to an upcoming war that was supposed to be based on the now disgraced OPCW report.

There is indeed a possible path to war.

The original agreement for OPCW investigations in Syria stipulated that the OPCW would report the results of investigations to a Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) at the United Nations where the Security Council would then attribute guilt to either side of the conflict. The U.S. tried to use the JIM process to attribute dubious chemical incidents in Syria to the government. Russia vetoed those attempts. The U.S. then decided to circumvent the UN process.

In 2018 the U.S. and its proxies manipulated the OPCW statute and added the task of identifying the guilty party of chemical incidents to the OPCW's agenda:

[The decision] also calls upon the [OPCW] Secretariat to put in place arrangements “to identify the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic by identifying and reporting on all information potentially relevant to the origin of those chemical weapons in those instances in which the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission determines or has determined that use or likely use occurred, and cases for which the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism has not issued a report”.
The decision further affirmed that whenever chemical weapons use occurs on the territory of a State Party, “those who were the perpetrators, organisers, sponsors or otherwise involved should be identified” and it underscored “the added value of the Secretariat conducting an independent investigation of an alleged use of chemical weapons with a view to facilitating universal attribution of all chemical weapons attacks”.
The manipulated OPCW report, which omitted the OPCW scientists' findings, will now be the basic document which the new OPCW attribution group, the Investigation and Identification Team, will use to find the Syrian government guilty. That guilty verdict can then be used to publicly justify a war on Syria without further UN Security Council interference.

This is what Hitchens means when he writes that "A pretext for war had been manufactured by suppression of research."

Russia, China and several other governments have protested against the change in the OPCW statute. The Russian statement to this year's Chemical Weapon Convention (CWC) conference says:

The decision to vest the OPCW Technical Secretariat with functions to identify parties responsible for the use of chemical weapons adopted in June 2018 at the CSP-SS-4 in contradiction of the Convention is illegitimate. This innovation forced on the OPCW goes beyond the scope of the CWC and the Organization, the decision itself was adopted in violation of the Convention, and its implementation is nothing other than an interference with the exclusive competence of the UN Security Council.
As a clearly foreseeable result of this questionable decision, fundamental problems with its realization ensued, namely, the lack of transparency and accountability of the "attribution" mechanism, which is the Investigation and Identification Team, to the OPCW governing bodies. The States Parties have yet to learn about the terms of reference of this entity, its operating conditions, its criteria for selection of "incidents"to investigate or sources and modalities of its financing.
The OPCW scientists found serious evidence that the Syrian government can NOT be guilty of the Douma incident. Under U.S. pressure the OPCW management suppressed its scientists' technical reports or replaced them with those from "external experts" to make it look as if the Syrian government caused the incident. The new attribution group at the OPCW will use that manipulated report to find Syria guilty of causing the incident. The U.S. and others could then use that guilty verdict as pretext to launch a war.

We only learned of this plan because courageous scientists and engineers at the OPCW do not want to see their organization abused to find pretexts to wage wars on the innocent. They came forward and told the public what it needs to know. They deserve our gratitude.
 
СРОЧНО: Нанесён удар по американской военной базе в Сирии — мир на пороге большой войны?
29.12.2019 - 23:49

Однако интересная новость. В заголовке Сирия, в статье Ирак. Кто напортачил? Аль-Джазира или Русская Весна?

Translation
URGENT: a strike On the American military base in Syria — the world is on the verge of a big war?

As the al Jazeera television news channel just reported, four rockets exploded near a military base in the suburbs of Baghdad that houses American troops stationed in Iraq.

According to them, this missile attack is a response to the airstrike, which, as already reported by the "Russian Spring" with reference to the Pentagon, was today struck by the United States on the bases of Hezbollah units in Iraq and Syria.

As specified by the Arab media, the attack was carried out from the installations "Katyusha", which suggests the use of multiple rocket launchers "Grad".

СРОЧНО: по военной базе США нанесён удар «Градами» — мир на пороге большой войны?

However, interesting news. In the headline Syria, in the article Iraq. Who screwed up? Al-Jazeera or Russian Spring?
 
СРОЧНО: Путин прибыл в командный пункт российской группировки в Дамаске (ФОТО)
Новость обновляется
07.01.2020 - 17:14

«Это сигналище» — о визите Путина в Сирию
07.01.2020 - 19:43


Translation
URGENT: Putin arrived at the command post of the Russian group in Damascus (PHOTO)
News is updated

07.01.2020 - 17:14
Today, on January 7, the President of Russia is on a visit to Damascus. From the airport, Putin immediately went to the command post of the Russian Armed forces in Syria, where he was met by President Bashar al-Assad.

This was informed by the press Secretary of the Russian President.

Traditionally, the President of Syria expressed gratitude to the Russian military and our country for their assistance in the fight against terrorists, as well as in the restoration of peaceful life in the liberated territories.

In addition, Dmitry Peskov said that during Vladimir Putin's visit to the Syrian capital, the Russian and Syrian delegations held talks.

Along with the Russian President, defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the General staff of the Armed forces Valery Gerasimov are also in Syria. After hearing reports from the military on the situation in various parts of the country, the parties discussed the situation in the region.

The press service of the Kremlin notes that tomorrow, January 8, Vladimir Putin will pay a working visit to the Republic of Turkey (Istanbul) to participate in the commissioning ceremony of the Turkish stream gas pipeline.

There will also be talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which it is planned to discuss further development of Russian-Turkish cooperation and current international issues, including the situation in Syria and Libya.
СРОЧНО: Путин прибыл в командный пункт российской группировки в Дамаске (ФОТО)

"This is a signal" - about Putin's visit to Syria
07.01.2020 - 19: 43
The Russian President's visit to Syria at a difficult time for the region, when the murder of Iranian General Suleimani by the Americans inflamed the situation to the limit, has already received feedback from military and political experts.

As reported by" Russian Spring", Vladimir Putin, along with the defense Minister and the chief of the General staff of the Armed forces arrived in Damascus today.

Vladimir Putin's trip to Damascus is assessed as a signal that Russia, in the event of a serious escalation in the region, will not remain on the sidelines.

This, in particular, is written by the authors of the telegram channel "WarGonzo".

"It is difficult for me to say now whether Putin's trip to Syria for Christmas was planned a few months ago (as a rule, such events are prepared, of course, in advance). But the very fact that this visit took place in spite of the extremely tense situation in the region after the death of Suleimani (many processes in Syria and Iraq are still deeply interconnected) — says, of course, a lot.

This is an obvious signal to everyone — in the event of a serious escalation in the middle East, Russia will definitely not remain on the sidelines, " the telegram channel notes.

Political scientist Dmitry Evstafiev also notes that his trip to Syria, Putin sent a powerful signal.

"It's not a signal. It's a signal. Putin is a risky man. But I think it was worth it, " the expert said.

The authors of the telegram channel "Major and General", which is associated with influential power structures, while noting the invariably busy schedule of the Russian President:

"Christmas holidays at the Supreme: night service in the temple in St. Petersburg, lunch with the warring army already in Syria.

Realities of the emerging global world. And it is impossible to survive in it without having such dynamics."

See also: IMPORTANT: US furious at Russia and China blocked a UN statement after the murder Soleimani
«Это сигналище» — о визите Путина в Сирию
 
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Two Israeli F-35 have bombed Iranian-backed fighters near the Iraqi-Syrian border.

10.01.2020

2020-01-10

10.01.2020

Russia and Turkey have reached a new ceasefire agreement on Idlib de-escalation zone - Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has not commented so far.

09.01.2020
 
There was
But then none of that should really surprise I guess.
 
'The ongoing electronic warfare between US and Russia: It looks like a 'Iranian scenario.'

19.01.2020

(Google Translate)
The Russian system of electronic warfare "fried" attacked the airbase "Hmeymim" drones with 40 kilometers
2020-01-20

(Google Translate)
US warplanes have tried to deceive the Russian S-400 in Syria
2020-01-19

2019-12-18
 
'Smells like...'democracy?'

28.01.2020

By Mazen Eyon - 27 January, 2020
 
Russia has taken the number one spot in the biggest most heavily armed surface combat ship (i.e. not an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ships) that is in operation in the world. The Kirov-class battle cruiser is a class of nuclear-powered warship of the Russian Navy and this one is out of four that is heavily being modified to meet today's combat challenges. This ship is considered almost impenetrable for most aerial attacks, combined with unmatched firepower it is a force to be reckoned with.

If you are interested, the video below gives an overview of this class of ship. Russia's new military might is challenging US hegemony and makes it evident that it days as an imperial power are coming to a close.

 
I noticed Erdogan is acting like a problem child again - he's demanding - ordering Syrian military off their own land? Pompeo backs up Erdogan, while President Putin tries to manage the situation with improved coordination. Erdogan is ignoring a few details, Turkey's activities in Syria are illegal and they are trespassing? President Assad never asked or approved Turkey's intrusion. It's time to show Turkey the exit!

Turkey's Erdogan demands Syrian forces in Idlib withdraw
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, February 3, 2020. Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Wednesday to drive back Syrian troops in Idlib unless they withdraw by the end of the month to stem an assault which he said had displaced nearly 1 million people.

U.S. condemns Idlib assaults, stands by Turkey: Secretary of State Pompeo
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday condemned the Syrian government's attacks on Idlib province, and stated his country's support for Turkey in light of Syria's mortar attacks on a Turkish observation post on Monday.

Putin, Erdogan agree to improve coordination of actions in Syria: Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan agreed to take immediate measures to improve coordination of their countries' actions in Syria, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Joint peace efforts damaged by attack on Turkish army in Syria: Erdogan says
The attack on Turkish military personnel in Syria damages joint peace efforts in the region, Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Tuesday.

Exclusive: U.S. halts secretive drone program with Turkey over Syria incursion
The United States has halted a secretive military intelligence cooperation program with Turkey
that for years helped Ankara target Kurdish PKK militants, four U.S. officials told Reuters.

The U.S. decision to indefinitely suspend the program, which has not been previously reported, was made in response to Turkey’s cross-border military incursion into Syria in October, the U.S. officials said, revealing the extent of the damage to ties between the NATO allies from the incident.

The U.S. military had carried out the missions using unarmed drone aircraft, which one official said were flown out of Turkey’s Incirlik air base, where the U.S. military has a significant presence. The base is also a key hub for U.S. spy agencies operating in the region.

The U.S. drone flights that took place within the program, in place since 2007, often zeroed in on mountainous territory in northern Iraq near the Turkish border, another official said.
 
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