White Helmets
- Thread starter Aeneas
- Start date
Interesting connection Voyager with the British Army's signal group.
Here is another witness account about the acts of the PR outfit, the White Helmets:
https://www.rt.com/news/370344-white-helmets-aleppo-residents/
An RT video can be viewed at the original article with Lizzie Phelan.
Here is another witness account about the acts of the PR outfit, the White Helmets:
https://www.rt.com/news/370344-white-helmets-aleppo-residents/
An RT video can be viewed at the original article with Lizzie Phelan.
angelburst29
The Living Force
Elaborate (false) White Helmet propaganda scheme - Aleppo Twitter Girl Bana
A Syrian activist Maytham Al Ashkar contacted the 7-year-old Twitter star, Bana Alabed, on November 27, offering to evacuate her family from eastern Aleppo. After a month, someone who identified herself as Bana's mother responded. "What happened after, convinced me that Bana's account is the ultimate propaganda stunt," Maytham told Sputnik.
Aleppo Twitter Girl Bana Is the 'Ultimate Propaganda Stunt' - Syrian Activist (Copies of Tweets at link)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612161048599179-aleppo-bana-twitter/
16.12.2016 - Bana's account, designated by Twitter as "verified", was set up three months ago, and has since gathered over 310,000 followers. The tweets, written by both Bana and her mother, Fatemah, who says she taught her daughter to speak English, depict life under siege in east Aleppo.
Many have called the authenticity of the account into question, pointing to videos where Bana appears to be reading from a prompt. It is also unclear whether Bana's posts are genuine, since any user, anywhere in the world can post from the account, as long as they have the password.
Due to extensive media coverage, Bana became a sort of Syrian war icon and was even called "Aleppo's Anne Frank."
Pro-government activist Maytham Al Ashkar is originally from Al-Zahraa in northern Syria, currently in Beirut, but often travelling to Damascus and Aleppo. He offered to help evacuate Bana and her family, contacting Bana's Twitter account on November 27.
"At the end of the day you are civilians. You are our people. We care for you," Maytham said in his message.
On December 12, Maytham was contacted by a Twitter user in Arabic, who asked him if the offer to help Bana's family still stands. Once Maytham confirmed his proposal, the user told Maytham he would next be contacted by Bana herself. "This person was contacted by Bana, who told him she wanted my offer. Once he got my approval, Bana (the account) contacted me directly," Maytham explains. "When I got contacted by Bana's account, I started to chat in Arabic since we are all Syrians and Arabic is our mother tongue. However, it was obvious that the person behind the account preferred English as a language of communication."
According to media reports, Bana's father, Ghassan works for the "legal department of the local council" and her mother, Fatemah, is a teacher.
However, it seems lack of Arabic on the part of Bana's mother is just as unlikely as Bana's flawless English.
"According to the media, Bana's mother studied law. This means that she has studied the Syrian curriculum for 12 years, which is all in Arabic, plus 4 years at university, where all the subjects are taught in Arabic," Maytham told Sputnik. Maytham got hold of the city authorities and the Syrian Army to facilitate Bana's evacuation from Aleppo. "Everything was set for their [Bana's family] evacuation, and the governor of Aleppo was following up with me personally," Maytham told Sputnik.
"The Syrian authorities even agreed to settle the legal status of the father who happens to be a member of al-Safwa Islamic Brigade. The Syrian authorities too agreed to evacuate them from eastern Aleppo to any destination of their choice even out of Syria."
"I even invited all the media to contact me or the governor so the made could cover the evacuation which is an excellent guarantee to ensure that no one will hurt her."
In the end, having complained that Maytham was "rushing" her, Bana refused the offer. "The one who contacted me via that account was not scared," said Maytham.
Who is Behind Bana's Account?
"There is no such a thing as Bana's tweets. The girl is just a face, a tool used by the British intelligence, and I am saying British, because of the strong relationship between the Bana's account and the White Helmets, who are funded and sponsored by the UK," Maytham argues.
"I believe that the girl was in Aleppo, but not anymore. Her role was to take same photos and videos, and once that was done she left."
Another question is why would Bana's account approach a pro-government activist? "I believe that this account approached me to prove me as a lair. They thought that I was not serious, so they wanted to present me as a "regime propagandist" liar. I tweeted my offer to Bana a month ago and may be they wanted to drag me into threatening them or saying something inappropriate to be used against the Syrian authorities". "To their surprise, I was not lying. I genuinely tried to help a child who is being used and abused, and the Syrian authorities were more than cooperative!" Maytham concludes.
The Medecins Sans Frontieres organization (MSF)
MSF Sends Humanitarian Aid to Wounded Aleppo Evacuees
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612161048647891-msf-humanitarian-aid-aleppo/
The Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) organization has sent humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, to the injured people who have been evacuated from the Syria's northern city of Aleppo, MSF's press service said in a Friday statement.
Since Thursday, bus convoys have been evacuating militants and their families from eastern Aleppo through a special corridor to the province of Idlib.
"Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is providing support to the humanitarian evacuation of east Aleppo, Syria, and yesterday, medical and logistics teams conducted a first assessment in the area… MSF has sent 17 cubic meters of medicines and medical materials to Aqrabat hospital, where wounded evacuated from east Aleppo are being taken. MSF's warehouse is located six kilometres [3.7 miles] away in Atmah and in addition to the 45 tonnes of medical supplies that are there ready to go, 700 non-food item kits are already in Atmah and 1,000 more should arrive soon," the statement said. The statement added that MSF medical teams had also visited Sarmada and Atareb towns in Idlib provinces to monitor the evacuation process and to identify the primary needs of newly displaced people. Over recent months, Aleppo became a major battleground in Syria with the government troops seeking to liberate the city divided into the government-held western part and the militant-held eastern part. The Russian reconciliation center said Wednesday that only about 1 square mile of the city's territory was still under the militants’ control.
A Syrian activist Maytham Al Ashkar contacted the 7-year-old Twitter star, Bana Alabed, on November 27, offering to evacuate her family from eastern Aleppo. After a month, someone who identified herself as Bana's mother responded. "What happened after, convinced me that Bana's account is the ultimate propaganda stunt," Maytham told Sputnik.
Aleppo Twitter Girl Bana Is the 'Ultimate Propaganda Stunt' - Syrian Activist (Copies of Tweets at link)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612161048599179-aleppo-bana-twitter/
16.12.2016 - Bana's account, designated by Twitter as "verified", was set up three months ago, and has since gathered over 310,000 followers. The tweets, written by both Bana and her mother, Fatemah, who says she taught her daughter to speak English, depict life under siege in east Aleppo.
Many have called the authenticity of the account into question, pointing to videos where Bana appears to be reading from a prompt. It is also unclear whether Bana's posts are genuine, since any user, anywhere in the world can post from the account, as long as they have the password.
Due to extensive media coverage, Bana became a sort of Syrian war icon and was even called "Aleppo's Anne Frank."
Pro-government activist Maytham Al Ashkar is originally from Al-Zahraa in northern Syria, currently in Beirut, but often travelling to Damascus and Aleppo. He offered to help evacuate Bana and her family, contacting Bana's Twitter account on November 27.
"At the end of the day you are civilians. You are our people. We care for you," Maytham said in his message.
On December 12, Maytham was contacted by a Twitter user in Arabic, who asked him if the offer to help Bana's family still stands. Once Maytham confirmed his proposal, the user told Maytham he would next be contacted by Bana herself. "This person was contacted by Bana, who told him she wanted my offer. Once he got my approval, Bana (the account) contacted me directly," Maytham explains. "When I got contacted by Bana's account, I started to chat in Arabic since we are all Syrians and Arabic is our mother tongue. However, it was obvious that the person behind the account preferred English as a language of communication."
According to media reports, Bana's father, Ghassan works for the "legal department of the local council" and her mother, Fatemah, is a teacher.
However, it seems lack of Arabic on the part of Bana's mother is just as unlikely as Bana's flawless English.
"According to the media, Bana's mother studied law. This means that she has studied the Syrian curriculum for 12 years, which is all in Arabic, plus 4 years at university, where all the subjects are taught in Arabic," Maytham told Sputnik. Maytham got hold of the city authorities and the Syrian Army to facilitate Bana's evacuation from Aleppo. "Everything was set for their [Bana's family] evacuation, and the governor of Aleppo was following up with me personally," Maytham told Sputnik.
"The Syrian authorities even agreed to settle the legal status of the father who happens to be a member of al-Safwa Islamic Brigade. The Syrian authorities too agreed to evacuate them from eastern Aleppo to any destination of their choice even out of Syria."
"I even invited all the media to contact me or the governor so the made could cover the evacuation which is an excellent guarantee to ensure that no one will hurt her."
In the end, having complained that Maytham was "rushing" her, Bana refused the offer. "The one who contacted me via that account was not scared," said Maytham.
Who is Behind Bana's Account?
"There is no such a thing as Bana's tweets. The girl is just a face, a tool used by the British intelligence, and I am saying British, because of the strong relationship between the Bana's account and the White Helmets, who are funded and sponsored by the UK," Maytham argues.
"I believe that the girl was in Aleppo, but not anymore. Her role was to take same photos and videos, and once that was done she left."
Another question is why would Bana's account approach a pro-government activist? "I believe that this account approached me to prove me as a lair. They thought that I was not serious, so they wanted to present me as a "regime propagandist" liar. I tweeted my offer to Bana a month ago and may be they wanted to drag me into threatening them or saying something inappropriate to be used against the Syrian authorities". "To their surprise, I was not lying. I genuinely tried to help a child who is being used and abused, and the Syrian authorities were more than cooperative!" Maytham concludes.
The Medecins Sans Frontieres organization (MSF)
MSF Sends Humanitarian Aid to Wounded Aleppo Evacuees
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612161048647891-msf-humanitarian-aid-aleppo/
The Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) organization has sent humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, to the injured people who have been evacuated from the Syria's northern city of Aleppo, MSF's press service said in a Friday statement.
Since Thursday, bus convoys have been evacuating militants and their families from eastern Aleppo through a special corridor to the province of Idlib.
"Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is providing support to the humanitarian evacuation of east Aleppo, Syria, and yesterday, medical and logistics teams conducted a first assessment in the area… MSF has sent 17 cubic meters of medicines and medical materials to Aqrabat hospital, where wounded evacuated from east Aleppo are being taken. MSF's warehouse is located six kilometres [3.7 miles] away in Atmah and in addition to the 45 tonnes of medical supplies that are there ready to go, 700 non-food item kits are already in Atmah and 1,000 more should arrive soon," the statement said. The statement added that MSF medical teams had also visited Sarmada and Atareb towns in Idlib provinces to monitor the evacuation process and to identify the primary needs of newly displaced people. Over recent months, Aleppo became a major battleground in Syria with the government troops seeking to liberate the city divided into the government-held western part and the militant-held eastern part. The Russian reconciliation center said Wednesday that only about 1 square mile of the city's territory was still under the militants’ control.
angelburst29
The Living Force
When Bana Al-Abed Blocked @21WIRE on Twitter (Copy of Twitter messages at link)
http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/16/when-bana-al-abed-blocked-21wire-on-twitter/
Friday December 16, 2016 - 21st Century Wire says…
Kids are getting so savvy these days. Masters of Twitter and Facebook, with some even possessing the uncanny ability to tweet about the nuances of geopolitics, in tones of irony and cynicism. Like the 7-year-old Kissingeresque prodigy known as Bana Al-Abed.
After 21WIRE exposed the Twitter deception of social media phenomenon ‘Bana of Aleppo‘, we replied to one of Bana’s tweets where she was pleading for the US to start World War III on behalf of the ‘moderate’ Salafi militants who have occupied and terrorized East Aleppo since 2012.
We simply asked the unnamed adult who we knew was managing the epic sock puppet account why they were exploiting a child for cynical political purposes, in this case, to lobby for a No Fly Zone over Aleppo – giving respite to terrorists using the 150,000 remaining residents as human shields?
At this point, the 7 year old wunderkind promptly blocked us on Twitter: Cheeky monkey.
Censorship. Like the Sharia Courts her father set up, along with his cohort of occupying foreign mercenaries and assorted Al Nusra terrorists who have held the residents of East Aleppo hostage for the last four years. She sure is catching on fast.
Still, more nuggets of wisdom from this budding Samantha Power protégée…
With over 285,000 followers on Twitter, Bana has become an icon of the ‘Syrian Revolution’ (the one which is happening on Twitter) and she is quite possibly Al Nusra Front’s most valuable PR asset.
To activists, she is child sage, and for western journalists, she embodies the new “don’t know, don’t care” ethos adopted by those movers and shakers in mainstream media.
With so much youth and success, what will she be when she grows up? She’s already a dab hand at this propaganda game, so maybe try film and media? She could be a latter day Leni Riefenstahl. Who knows.
Yes, it is absurd, and it’s utterly ridiculous. By definition, the Bana hoax is actual fake news – and not the kind which sparked a national panic in America; you know, the stupid slew of Trump articles produced by teenagers in Macedonia (read about them here and here), or the ones made by unemployed scam artists in Long Beach (see them here). No, the Bana fake news phenomenon was gleefully sucked-up and elevated to the top of the headlines by countless, highly paid mainstream media ‘journalists’ (we use that term loosely) from some of the biggest ‘real’ media outlets on the planet. Here is a tiny roster of some of the so-called journalists who helped to promote the preposterous Bana Project:
The Guardian’s Kareem Shaheen in Istanbul, and Julian Borger in Washington, and their masterpiece, “Where is Bana? Fears for Syrian girl who tweeted from Aleppo“ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/where-is-bana-syrian-girl-who-tweeted-from-aleppo-goes-silent
Notice the propaganda jargon, “strongman.” That’s just one step away from Hitler, right?
Normally, covering a story like this with a straight face would be career suicide, but not these days. These days they give awards to writers who don’t ask questions.
Apparently, this corps of All-Star journalists went into withdrawl because Bana stopped Tweeting for 48 hours. No more hard news. You’d think it was the Day the Earth Stood Still, on Sesame Street. Yes, it’s utterly ridiculous. Shame on editor Alan Rusbridger.
Then there’s the London Telegraph’s future Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Josie Ensor, in her wartime classic entitled, “The seven-year-old girl tweeting the horrors of war in her Aleppo neighbourhood.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/29/the-seven-year-old-girl-tweeting-the-horrors-of-war-in-her-alepp/ (Video)
A complete joke, but reported as if it were real. Embarrassed? Never.
Bana’s doting father Ghassan Alabed, is an Al Qaeda-linked extremist who served on a self-styled Sharia Court before the terrorists were driven out of East Aleppo by the Syria Army this week.
According to the same mainstream media who invented Bana’s celebrity, the 7-year-old girl’s Twitter account is managed “with the help of her mother,” Fatemah Alabed, allegedly (it’s all alleged in this story) a ‘English teacher’. A kind and gentle soul living in rebel-held uptopia, and no doubt a wonderful role model for the child star. Wait, here she is: (Photo)
Newsflash: little Bana doesn’t actually speak English. Yes, we know, this might come as an awful shock to the Washington Post, CNN line producers, Avaaz subscribers, most British MPs, and J.K Rowling, but you really have to ask how could hundreds of mainstream journalists from “respected news outlets” in the US, Canada, UK and Europe (and lovingly in Norway), all accept this packaged narrative on face value, without even questioning the authenticity of what is clearly a put-up? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoWhYOsf3PY (0:03 min.)
All jokes aside, what is happening to Bana Alabed is not her fault. She is innocent.
This child is being shamelessly exploited by one or more adults for propaganda purposes. We don’t really know who, nor do we know exactly which location they are at, nor does anyone in the media really know who is tweeting on her account, and from which location. She is being used. By definition – that is child abuse. Any mainstream journalists, or ‘activists’ who promote this type of behavior – and who glorify it – are also glorifying child abuse.
Why are US and British journalists so eager to run with these type of stories when they are so clearly staged? How could you accept a story in which a child is being used explicitly to promote the western foreign policy objective of regime change in Syria? It is not by accident, it’s intentional.
Watch this report on child propaganda in Aleppo, filed by RT’s Murad Gazdiev: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKQNBGaUHc (4:14 min.)
Maybe journalists and editors were willing to look the other way – because, after all, it’s ‘for the children.’ Even the great bastion of truth, The New York Times, was forced to admit last week, after months of going along with this hoax – that there might actually be a problem with the Bana story. Congratulations to the Kings of Fake News.
In their article, “Girl Posting to Twitter From Aleppo Gains Sympathy, but Doubts Follow,” the writer still plays the ‘children’ card though, somehow justifying the hoax, in order to ‘raise awareness about the suffering of children in war zones.’ Seriously you cannot make this stuff up:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/world/middleeast/aleppo-twitter-girl-syria.html (Video)
Remember Omran, the Dusty Boy of Aleppo? That was a staged photo-op too, produced by Jihadist terrorists Nour al din al Zenki, via the French government-funded ‘activist’ media outlet Aleppo Media Centre. But why let a little detail like that ruin a good media moment? CNN’s Kate Bolduan didn’t care where the images came from, or whether they were real. She did what she had to do – which was cry over the poor 5 year old Omran. So real, so moving. Now that’s GREAT TV. Emmy material.
Considering what we are looking here, that is a very sick and twisted statement by a high-profile charity like Save the Children. In other words, just like the mainstream media, director Sonia Khush doesn’t care if it’s real or not. Thus, ‘fake news is OK’ so long as it promotes our issue. What is wrong with these people? Funny, that these are the very same charities which supply information about the war to the US State Department, including the Goebbels throw-back John Kirby, who will normally defer to these NGO’s and charities when he can’t actually give any details about accusations he’s making about the “regime” and the evil Russians.
This, by definition is fake news, only this fake news is not for party politics – it’s designed to start and prolong violent wars. This brand of fake news has played a role in the death of countless innocent people, and the journalists who peddle this brand of fake news should ask themselves whether or not, at the very least, if they have breached some ethical code, and at most – like any paid war propagandist throughout modern history – ask whether or not they have blood on their hands.
With the Syria War, the examples are endless. Start with looking into the White Helmets. Watch their infamous “Rag Doll video” and ask yourself if this is indeed fake, and even more importantly, is this also child exploitation? Watch these evil clowns in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDahN6tv1dA (1:27 min.)
To think the White Helmets were being tipped for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking of fake news, what about the “Gay Girl of Damascus”? Remember that fake female named Amina Arraf, who blogged under an even faker name, Amina Abdallah? This was another fake news story lapped-up by the mainstream media. You would’ve had to have been an idiot to believe this story – and yet, it seems there is no shortage of them working for western mainstream newspapers and broadcast TV networks. Leading the fake news parade again, of course, was the The Guardian and itsr would-be Pulitzer prospect Nidaa Hassan in Damascus, who wrote this literary cannon entitled, “Syrian blogger Amina Abdallah kidnapped by armed men.“
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/07/syrian-blogger-amina-abdallah-kidnapped
They even set up a Free Amina Arraf Facebook page. It turned out that the “gay girl in Damascus,” was a 40-year-old American man from Georgia, apparently working out of Edinburgh, Scotland (working for who?). Totally fake, but good for the West’s demonization campaign of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, and good for the West’s war effort. This is no different than the Bana hoax.
We’re sure that the Guardian’s Nidaa Hassan got a nice promotion for carrying that bucket of swill. Well done you.
They never learn. And by the looks of it, neither will John Kerry, Samantha Power and the rest of New York City and New England’s R2P elite.
Because with defense budgets soaring, shame is a luxury they simply cannot afford.
http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/16/when-bana-al-abed-blocked-21wire-on-twitter/
Friday December 16, 2016 - 21st Century Wire says…
Kids are getting so savvy these days. Masters of Twitter and Facebook, with some even possessing the uncanny ability to tweet about the nuances of geopolitics, in tones of irony and cynicism. Like the 7-year-old Kissingeresque prodigy known as Bana Al-Abed.
After 21WIRE exposed the Twitter deception of social media phenomenon ‘Bana of Aleppo‘, we replied to one of Bana’s tweets where she was pleading for the US to start World War III on behalf of the ‘moderate’ Salafi militants who have occupied and terrorized East Aleppo since 2012.
We simply asked the unnamed adult who we knew was managing the epic sock puppet account why they were exploiting a child for cynical political purposes, in this case, to lobby for a No Fly Zone over Aleppo – giving respite to terrorists using the 150,000 remaining residents as human shields?
At this point, the 7 year old wunderkind promptly blocked us on Twitter: Cheeky monkey.
Censorship. Like the Sharia Courts her father set up, along with his cohort of occupying foreign mercenaries and assorted Al Nusra terrorists who have held the residents of East Aleppo hostage for the last four years. She sure is catching on fast.
Still, more nuggets of wisdom from this budding Samantha Power protégée…
With over 285,000 followers on Twitter, Bana has become an icon of the ‘Syrian Revolution’ (the one which is happening on Twitter) and she is quite possibly Al Nusra Front’s most valuable PR asset.
To activists, she is child sage, and for western journalists, she embodies the new “don’t know, don’t care” ethos adopted by those movers and shakers in mainstream media.
With so much youth and success, what will she be when she grows up? She’s already a dab hand at this propaganda game, so maybe try film and media? She could be a latter day Leni Riefenstahl. Who knows.
Yes, it is absurd, and it’s utterly ridiculous. By definition, the Bana hoax is actual fake news – and not the kind which sparked a national panic in America; you know, the stupid slew of Trump articles produced by teenagers in Macedonia (read about them here and here), or the ones made by unemployed scam artists in Long Beach (see them here). No, the Bana fake news phenomenon was gleefully sucked-up and elevated to the top of the headlines by countless, highly paid mainstream media ‘journalists’ (we use that term loosely) from some of the biggest ‘real’ media outlets on the planet. Here is a tiny roster of some of the so-called journalists who helped to promote the preposterous Bana Project:
The Guardian’s Kareem Shaheen in Istanbul, and Julian Borger in Washington, and their masterpiece, “Where is Bana? Fears for Syrian girl who tweeted from Aleppo“ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/where-is-bana-syrian-girl-who-tweeted-from-aleppo-goes-silent
Notice the propaganda jargon, “strongman.” That’s just one step away from Hitler, right?
Normally, covering a story like this with a straight face would be career suicide, but not these days. These days they give awards to writers who don’t ask questions.
Apparently, this corps of All-Star journalists went into withdrawl because Bana stopped Tweeting for 48 hours. No more hard news. You’d think it was the Day the Earth Stood Still, on Sesame Street. Yes, it’s utterly ridiculous. Shame on editor Alan Rusbridger.
Then there’s the London Telegraph’s future Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Josie Ensor, in her wartime classic entitled, “The seven-year-old girl tweeting the horrors of war in her Aleppo neighbourhood.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/29/the-seven-year-old-girl-tweeting-the-horrors-of-war-in-her-alepp/ (Video)
A complete joke, but reported as if it were real. Embarrassed? Never.
Bana’s doting father Ghassan Alabed, is an Al Qaeda-linked extremist who served on a self-styled Sharia Court before the terrorists were driven out of East Aleppo by the Syria Army this week.
According to the same mainstream media who invented Bana’s celebrity, the 7-year-old girl’s Twitter account is managed “with the help of her mother,” Fatemah Alabed, allegedly (it’s all alleged in this story) a ‘English teacher’. A kind and gentle soul living in rebel-held uptopia, and no doubt a wonderful role model for the child star. Wait, here she is: (Photo)
Newsflash: little Bana doesn’t actually speak English. Yes, we know, this might come as an awful shock to the Washington Post, CNN line producers, Avaaz subscribers, most British MPs, and J.K Rowling, but you really have to ask how could hundreds of mainstream journalists from “respected news outlets” in the US, Canada, UK and Europe (and lovingly in Norway), all accept this packaged narrative on face value, without even questioning the authenticity of what is clearly a put-up? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoWhYOsf3PY (0:03 min.)
All jokes aside, what is happening to Bana Alabed is not her fault. She is innocent.
This child is being shamelessly exploited by one or more adults for propaganda purposes. We don’t really know who, nor do we know exactly which location they are at, nor does anyone in the media really know who is tweeting on her account, and from which location. She is being used. By definition – that is child abuse. Any mainstream journalists, or ‘activists’ who promote this type of behavior – and who glorify it – are also glorifying child abuse.
Why are US and British journalists so eager to run with these type of stories when they are so clearly staged? How could you accept a story in which a child is being used explicitly to promote the western foreign policy objective of regime change in Syria? It is not by accident, it’s intentional.
Watch this report on child propaganda in Aleppo, filed by RT’s Murad Gazdiev: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKQNBGaUHc (4:14 min.)
Maybe journalists and editors were willing to look the other way – because, after all, it’s ‘for the children.’ Even the great bastion of truth, The New York Times, was forced to admit last week, after months of going along with this hoax – that there might actually be a problem with the Bana story. Congratulations to the Kings of Fake News.
In their article, “Girl Posting to Twitter From Aleppo Gains Sympathy, but Doubts Follow,” the writer still plays the ‘children’ card though, somehow justifying the hoax, in order to ‘raise awareness about the suffering of children in war zones.’ Seriously you cannot make this stuff up:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/world/middleeast/aleppo-twitter-girl-syria.html (Video)
Remember Omran, the Dusty Boy of Aleppo? That was a staged photo-op too, produced by Jihadist terrorists Nour al din al Zenki, via the French government-funded ‘activist’ media outlet Aleppo Media Centre. But why let a little detail like that ruin a good media moment? CNN’s Kate Bolduan didn’t care where the images came from, or whether they were real. She did what she had to do – which was cry over the poor 5 year old Omran. So real, so moving. Now that’s GREAT TV. Emmy material.
Considering what we are looking here, that is a very sick and twisted statement by a high-profile charity like Save the Children. In other words, just like the mainstream media, director Sonia Khush doesn’t care if it’s real or not. Thus, ‘fake news is OK’ so long as it promotes our issue. What is wrong with these people? Funny, that these are the very same charities which supply information about the war to the US State Department, including the Goebbels throw-back John Kirby, who will normally defer to these NGO’s and charities when he can’t actually give any details about accusations he’s making about the “regime” and the evil Russians.
This, by definition is fake news, only this fake news is not for party politics – it’s designed to start and prolong violent wars. This brand of fake news has played a role in the death of countless innocent people, and the journalists who peddle this brand of fake news should ask themselves whether or not, at the very least, if they have breached some ethical code, and at most – like any paid war propagandist throughout modern history – ask whether or not they have blood on their hands.
With the Syria War, the examples are endless. Start with looking into the White Helmets. Watch their infamous “Rag Doll video” and ask yourself if this is indeed fake, and even more importantly, is this also child exploitation? Watch these evil clowns in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDahN6tv1dA (1:27 min.)
To think the White Helmets were being tipped for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking of fake news, what about the “Gay Girl of Damascus”? Remember that fake female named Amina Arraf, who blogged under an even faker name, Amina Abdallah? This was another fake news story lapped-up by the mainstream media. You would’ve had to have been an idiot to believe this story – and yet, it seems there is no shortage of them working for western mainstream newspapers and broadcast TV networks. Leading the fake news parade again, of course, was the The Guardian and itsr would-be Pulitzer prospect Nidaa Hassan in Damascus, who wrote this literary cannon entitled, “Syrian blogger Amina Abdallah kidnapped by armed men.“
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/07/syrian-blogger-amina-abdallah-kidnapped
They even set up a Free Amina Arraf Facebook page. It turned out that the “gay girl in Damascus,” was a 40-year-old American man from Georgia, apparently working out of Edinburgh, Scotland (working for who?). Totally fake, but good for the West’s demonization campaign of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, and good for the West’s war effort. This is no different than the Bana hoax.
We’re sure that the Guardian’s Nidaa Hassan got a nice promotion for carrying that bucket of swill. Well done you.
They never learn. And by the looks of it, neither will John Kerry, Samantha Power and the rest of New York City and New England’s R2P elite.
Because with defense budgets soaring, shame is a luxury they simply cannot afford.
angelburst29
The Living Force
Cross Post from Syrian-Russian thread:
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 addition to Voltaire.net, the other original report was provided by Damascus-based Syrian journalist Said Hilal Alcharifi.
According to Alcharifi, captured “NATO” officers were from a number of member states including the US, France, Germany and Turkey, as well as Israel. Here is his statement (translated from French):
“Thanks to information received, Syrian authorities discovered the headquarters of high ranking western/NATO officers in the basement of an area in East Aleppo and have captured them alive. Some names have already been given to Syrian journalists, myself included. The nationalities are US, French, British, German, Israeli, Turkish, Saudi, Moroccan, Qatari etc. In light of their nationalities and their rank, I assure you that the Syrian government have a very important catch, which should enable them to direct negotiations with the countries that have tried to destroy them.”
Although these initial reports describe the individuals in question as “NATO” officers, it’s unlikely they would have been carrying NATO colors on a covert operation – and might be more accurately labeled as US Coalition officers. Note that early reports suggest that these are not standard ‘street rebel’ or jihadi terrorists but actual Coalition military personnel and field commanders.
21WIRE have also received unconfirmed reports yesterday that militants had fired a missile into Ramousa area and then tried, unsuccessfully, to get cars out of East Aleppo. It’s possible this incident could be related to today reports of captured western operatives.
This report from the Syrian Arab News Agency (emphasis added):
“The agreement on evacuating militants and weapons from the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city has been suspended after terrorist groups breached it, special sources told SANA correspondent in Aleppo.
The sources said that the suspension of the agreement will remain in place until obtaining guarantees that oblige the terrorist groups to abide by all the agreement’s provisions, stressing on the Syrian side’s full adherence to the agreement and its keenness to end the bloodshed and restore security and stability to the entire city of Aleppo.”
Earlier, SANA reporter said that the terrorist groups have breached the agreement as they smuggled heavy weapons, including TOW missiles, heavy machineguns and kidnapped people via the buses and cars transporting terrorists and their families towards the southwestern countryside of Aleppo city.
The reporter added that the terrorist groups fired shells and sniper bullets on the buses and ambulances at al-Ramousseh crossing, noting that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which are supervising the evacuation process had to withdraw all buses and cars from the crossing.
Over the past 24 hours, some 8079 terrorists and members of their families were evacuated on ten batches via busses and ambulances from the neighborhoods of Salah-Eddin, al-Ansari, al-Mashhad and al-Zibdiyeh to the southwest countryside of Aleppo city”
If true, then this latest news would also mean that both the Syrian and Russian governments would have additional leverage going forward in any bilateral negotiations with the US-led Coalition.
If, however, this story is kept under wraps by NATO member governments and summarily blacked out by the US and European media outlets, then it might indicate that a deal has been struck, albeit behind the scenes, for the return of captured NATO operatives in exchange for other concessions.
If today’s report from East Aleppo is accurate, this might also help explain the hysterical behavior by the US State Department and western UN officials who have been demanding “an immediate ceasefire” – despite the fact that 99% of East Aleppo has already been liberated by Syrian government forces.
The western establishment hysterical reactions to Al Nusra’s defeat in Aleppo have included wild claims that the Syrian Army had ‘unleashed death squads,’ on its own residents in East Aleppo and were openly ‘executing women and children in the street,’ and ‘burning children in the street,’ as well what appear to be more fictional reports circulated in US media mainly by Michael Weiss of The Daily Beast via CNN, claiming that Syrian Army was committing “mass rape” against residents of East Aleppo. His article entitled, “Women in Aleppo Choose Suicide Over Rape, Rebels Report,“ made a number of outlandish claims including:
“Activists and rebels in the besieged city say mass executions have begun and children are burned alive
as Assad’s Iranian- and Russian-backed forces move in.”
Not surprisingly, aside from unnamed “UN sources”, Weiss claims to have got his information from none other than the discredited US and UK-financed pseudo ‘NGO’ known as the White Helmets.
Back in September, numerous reports suggested that a western command center located behind terrorist-held lines had been targeted and destroyed by a Russian missile strike. Prof Michel Chossudovsky wrote:
“The US and its allies had established a Field Operations Room in the Aleppo region integrated by intelligence personnel. Until it was targeted by a Russian missile attack on September 20, this “semi-secret” facility was operated by US, British, Israeli, Turkish, Saudi and Qatari intelligence personnel.”
This report was neither admitted, nor was it denied by US Coalition sources at the time. However, one mainstream Israeli source, The Times of Israel, did report the incident.
For anyone who has been paying close attention to the Syrian Conflict, seeing NATO special forces or “contractors” working with ‘rebel’ or terrorist fighters inside of Syria is nothing unusual. Numerous reports have been filed of British soldiers assigned to fighting groups to help with training, strategy and logistics. In June 2016, The Telegraph admitted that British special forces were helping one rebel group, “… with logistics, like building defences to make the bunkers safe,” said one ‘rebel’ fighter.
Other reports, including the LA Times which detailed CIA operations used to arm militants, including Al Nusra Front (al Qaeda in Syria) who were the terrorist force in charge in East Aleppo. Other revelations of US covert involvement include The New York Times,and also information on US (NATO by another name only) covert operations provided to the Wall Street Journal.
Throughout fighting in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, during the period of May 2014 to the present, numerous incidents have been reported where NATO military soldiers and operatives have been both spotted, and captured by rebel forces, and in most cases these reports have been muted, more than likely because of ‘horse trading’ taking place as an extension of wider diplomacy.
Contributors to this report were Patrick Henningsen and Vanessa Beeley.
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 addition to Voltaire.net, the other original report was provided by Damascus-based Syrian journalist Said Hilal Alcharifi.
According to Alcharifi, captured “NATO” officers were from a number of member states including the US, France, Germany and Turkey, as well as Israel. Here is his statement (translated from French):
“Thanks to information received, Syrian authorities discovered the headquarters of high ranking western/NATO officers in the basement of an area in East Aleppo and have captured them alive. Some names have already been given to Syrian journalists, myself included. The nationalities are US, French, British, German, Israeli, Turkish, Saudi, Moroccan, Qatari etc. In light of their nationalities and their rank, I assure you that the Syrian government have a very important catch, which should enable them to direct negotiations with the countries that have tried to destroy them.”
Although these initial reports describe the individuals in question as “NATO” officers, it’s unlikely they would have been carrying NATO colors on a covert operation – and might be more accurately labeled as US Coalition officers. Note that early reports suggest that these are not standard ‘street rebel’ or jihadi terrorists but actual Coalition military personnel and field commanders.
21WIRE have also received unconfirmed reports yesterday that militants had fired a missile into Ramousa area and then tried, unsuccessfully, to get cars out of East Aleppo. It’s possible this incident could be related to today reports of captured western operatives.
This report from the Syrian Arab News Agency (emphasis added):
“The agreement on evacuating militants and weapons from the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city has been suspended after terrorist groups breached it, special sources told SANA correspondent in Aleppo.
The sources said that the suspension of the agreement will remain in place until obtaining guarantees that oblige the terrorist groups to abide by all the agreement’s provisions, stressing on the Syrian side’s full adherence to the agreement and its keenness to end the bloodshed and restore security and stability to the entire city of Aleppo.”
Earlier, SANA reporter said that the terrorist groups have breached the agreement as they smuggled heavy weapons, including TOW missiles, heavy machineguns and kidnapped people via the buses and cars transporting terrorists and their families towards the southwestern countryside of Aleppo city.
The reporter added that the terrorist groups fired shells and sniper bullets on the buses and ambulances at al-Ramousseh crossing, noting that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which are supervising the evacuation process had to withdraw all buses and cars from the crossing.
Over the past 24 hours, some 8079 terrorists and members of their families were evacuated on ten batches via busses and ambulances from the neighborhoods of Salah-Eddin, al-Ansari, al-Mashhad and al-Zibdiyeh to the southwest countryside of Aleppo city”
If true, then this latest news would also mean that both the Syrian and Russian governments would have additional leverage going forward in any bilateral negotiations with the US-led Coalition.
If, however, this story is kept under wraps by NATO member governments and summarily blacked out by the US and European media outlets, then it might indicate that a deal has been struck, albeit behind the scenes, for the return of captured NATO operatives in exchange for other concessions.
If today’s report from East Aleppo is accurate, this might also help explain the hysterical behavior by the US State Department and western UN officials who have been demanding “an immediate ceasefire” – despite the fact that 99% of East Aleppo has already been liberated by Syrian government forces.
The western establishment hysterical reactions to Al Nusra’s defeat in Aleppo have included wild claims that the Syrian Army had ‘unleashed death squads,’ on its own residents in East Aleppo and were openly ‘executing women and children in the street,’ and ‘burning children in the street,’ as well what appear to be more fictional reports circulated in US media mainly by Michael Weiss of The Daily Beast via CNN, claiming that Syrian Army was committing “mass rape” against residents of East Aleppo. His article entitled, “Women in Aleppo Choose Suicide Over Rape, Rebels Report,“ made a number of outlandish claims including:
“Activists and rebels in the besieged city say mass executions have begun and children are burned alive
as Assad’s Iranian- and Russian-backed forces move in.”
Not surprisingly, aside from unnamed “UN sources”, Weiss claims to have got his information from none other than the discredited US and UK-financed pseudo ‘NGO’ known as the White Helmets.
Back in September, numerous reports suggested that a western command center located behind terrorist-held lines had been targeted and destroyed by a Russian missile strike. Prof Michel Chossudovsky wrote:
“The US and its allies had established a Field Operations Room in the Aleppo region integrated by intelligence personnel. Until it was targeted by a Russian missile attack on September 20, this “semi-secret” facility was operated by US, British, Israeli, Turkish, Saudi and Qatari intelligence personnel.”
This report was neither admitted, nor was it denied by US Coalition sources at the time. However, one mainstream Israeli source, The Times of Israel, did report the incident.
For anyone who has been paying close attention to the Syrian Conflict, seeing NATO special forces or “contractors” working with ‘rebel’ or terrorist fighters inside of Syria is nothing unusual. Numerous reports have been filed of British soldiers assigned to fighting groups to help with training, strategy and logistics. In June 2016, The Telegraph admitted that British special forces were helping one rebel group, “… with logistics, like building defences to make the bunkers safe,” said one ‘rebel’ fighter.
Other reports, including the LA Times which detailed CIA operations used to arm militants, including Al Nusra Front (al Qaeda in Syria) who were the terrorist force in charge in East Aleppo. Other revelations of US covert involvement include The New York Times,and also information on US (NATO by another name only) covert operations provided to the Wall Street Journal.
Throughout fighting in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, during the period of May 2014 to the present, numerous incidents have been reported where NATO military soldiers and operatives have been both spotted, and captured by rebel forces, and in most cases these reports have been muted, more than likely because of ‘horse trading’ taking place as an extension of wider diplomacy.
Contributors to this report were Patrick Henningsen and Vanessa Beeley.
Oxajil said:
A friend of mine who managed to get a ticket to the event mentioned above, told me that the reporter (I think he was referring to Erhaim, who by the way as far as I understand is not in Aleppo but in the UK) told the audience that if Assad received a bullet in the head at the very beginning, all of this (i.e. the situation in Syria at the moment) would not have happened.
These are the kind of people the Dutch government praises, finances and invites to speak. I have no words.
angelburst29
The Living Force
Oxajil said:
Thanks for Posting an update on the White Helmets screening and giving a personal first hand account from a friend, of what transpired at that event, Oxajil. It is a rare look at what is being promoted at these screenings. Plus, they are using the screenings to elicit donations.
The location (Hague) and timing of the screening may have something to do with Saleh's September visit to the U.N. in NY with the Dutch Mission?
The Pentagon might be using the White Helmets - as part of a PR Campaign - to boost their military presents in the Netherlands?
The United States has reopened a Cold War-era military storage facility in Dutch town of Eygelshoven and begun restocking it with tanks as part of a $3.4-billion spending plan aimed at deterring "Russian aggression" in Europe, media reported.
“Three years ago, the last American tank left Europe; we all wanted Russia to be our partner. My country [the US] is bringing tanks back … as part of our commitment to deterrence in Europe,” Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of US Army Europe, said at the storage reopening ceremony,
as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.
Under the plan, five more equipment storage sites are planned to be either reopened or built from scratch in the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and at two locations in Germany with over 1,600 vehicles to be stored there.
[quote author= angelburst29]Thanks for Posting an update on the White Helmets screening and giving a personal first hand account from a friend, of what transpired at that event, Oxajil. It is a rare look at what is being promoted at these screenings. Plus, they are using the screenings to elicit donations.[/quote]
ISIS, AL Nusra fundraisers party? And someone screamed for murder. That's exactly not out of karakter at all.
They really are not like the Rebels in Star Wars. Maybe that's why it's so confusing for many Western people to finally realize who these people really are. The only thing they understand is how to entertain themselves. And movies make up a big sum of their 'reality'
Rebels= Good. Opposition= Evil. And rooting for the Rebels is always the cool thing to do. No wonder the MSM picks their words carefully.
[quote author= angelburst29]The Pentagon might be using the White Helmets - as part of a PR Campaign - to boost their military presents in the Netherlands?[/quote]
According to reports it's against ''Russian aggression'' The yanks are bringing in 1600 tanks. That's 1600 tanks more than we have. To be fair, it sounds more like an occupation force.
[quote author= Oxajil]A friend of mine who managed to get a ticket to the event mentioned above, told me that the reporter (I think he was referring to Erhaim, who by the way as far as I understand is not in Aleppo but in the UK) told the audience that if Assad received a bullet in the head at the very beginning, all of this (i.e. the situation in Syria at the moment) would not have happened.
These are the kind of people the Dutch government praises, finances and invites to speak. I have no words.[/quote]
Dutch status quo are just a bunch of evil Supervillains who want to be part of the big international supervillain club where the real action is. In the past I thought about the possibility that American blackmail and intimidation get's them to act in this way. Now I think it's far more likely that they just act in accordance with their psychopathic nature. And to be fair, that's always how it has been. Imperialism is what they do best. Whoever is leading it, they always want to be a part of it. Even if it goes against their own national interests. (sanctions against Russia for example)
Thanks for sharing Oxajil.
ISIS, AL Nusra fundraisers party? And someone screamed for murder. That's exactly not out of karakter at all.
They really are not like the Rebels in Star Wars. Maybe that's why it's so confusing for many Western people to finally realize who these people really are. The only thing they understand is how to entertain themselves. And movies make up a big sum of their 'reality'
Rebels= Good. Opposition= Evil. And rooting for the Rebels is always the cool thing to do. No wonder the MSM picks their words carefully.
[quote author= angelburst29]The Pentagon might be using the White Helmets - as part of a PR Campaign - to boost their military presents in the Netherlands?[/quote]
According to reports it's against ''Russian aggression'' The yanks are bringing in 1600 tanks. That's 1600 tanks more than we have. To be fair, it sounds more like an occupation force.
[quote author= Oxajil]A friend of mine who managed to get a ticket to the event mentioned above, told me that the reporter (I think he was referring to Erhaim, who by the way as far as I understand is not in Aleppo but in the UK) told the audience that if Assad received a bullet in the head at the very beginning, all of this (i.e. the situation in Syria at the moment) would not have happened.
These are the kind of people the Dutch government praises, finances and invites to speak. I have no words.[/quote]
Dutch status quo are just a bunch of evil Supervillains who want to be part of the big international supervillain club where the real action is. In the past I thought about the possibility that American blackmail and intimidation get's them to act in this way. Now I think it's far more likely that they just act in accordance with their psychopathic nature. And to be fair, that's always how it has been. Imperialism is what they do best. Whoever is leading it, they always want to be a part of it. Even if it goes against their own national interests. (sanctions against Russia for example)
Thanks for sharing Oxajil.
angelburst29 said:
Yeah, or to elicit support. The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs had recently announced that they will give the White Helmets €3 million, earlier this year they were given €4.5 million. It's pretty crazy.
Thank you for sharing the bit about the military presence in the NL, I wasn't aware of that. All signs that this tiny country is continuing to strengthen (or keep) its relationship with the US. It'd be interesting to see if things will change for the better when Trump takes office.
bjorn said:
I think so too. Their psychopathic nature plus following Uncle Sam's orders, and who knows maybe they are being blackmailed or threatened here and there as well!
Oxajil said:
While the White Helmets (WH) finished their pre Christmas parade with Canadian politicians all a gushing, a couple of snips from this article http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/humanitarian-help-aleppo-syria-1.3898607 add more to the WH sick-war-chest, such as you describe above by the Dutch, Oxajil.
angelburst29
The Living Force
voyageur said:
Just between the Netherland's and the Canadian Governments, the White Helmets seem to be building up a "war chest"? Almost all of the documentation on the WH's in this thread is from their activities in Syria. With the recent victory in Aleppo and the Syrian forces - well on their way of re-taking Palmyra with Russian air cover, the WH's are losing space to operate. With all the recent military build up in Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan, I think the WH's are heading there next? The Iraqi Government has asked Putin for help and they have been in negotiations. Plus, the Pentagon and NATO have been building up military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Checking further, the Netherland's are in Iraq.
Dutch military contribution in Iraq
https://www.defensie.nl/english/topics/iraq/contents/dutch-military-contribution
Dutch military personnel are training Iraqi and Kurdish forces to fight the ISIS terrorist organization on the ground. Training is taking place at barracks and other fixed training locations in Iraq. This is being done with other countries, led by the United States.
Materiel and personnel
In total, the Netherlands contributes:
150 military personnel (trainers, advisers and security and logistics personnel);
35-man force protection for the Belgian F-16 detachment
Staff and liaison officers at various headquarters.
Training Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers
Dutch military trainers will assist in training Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces for the fight against ISIS on the ground. Training will take place at a number of barracks and other training locations in Iraq. Dutch military personnel will not be involved in the fighting on the ground.
Training will be conducted by a brigade training team, a Special Operations Forces training team and support personnel. These units normally train regular military personnel and special forces.
There is also a mobile training team that focuses on training smaller groups in preparation for specific operations. Where necessary, training is given close to the front line. Dutch military personnel are not involved in the fighting on the ground.
American command and control
Good coordination of the mission is essential, owing to the fact that there are a large number of countries taking part. Several Dutch personnel will carry out duties at the diplomatic, political and military levels during the course of the operation. The overall operation will be conducted on the basis of the American command and control structure.
A Dutch planning team is at the American command centre CENTCOM to assist with the strategic planning of the operation. In addition, the Netherlands will post staff and liaison officers to operational headquarters in Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, thus allowing Dutch involvement in the detail of the planning process.
F-16s for airstrikes
From October 2014 to July 2016, the Netherlands supplied F-16s for airstrikes, at first above Iraq, later also above eastern Syria. This was known as Air Task Force Middle East, part of an international coalition.
The airstrikes were especially intended to disrupt the supply lines and eliminate strategic ISIS locations, such as camps and fuel depots. The fighter aircraft also provided air support to ground troops fighting ISIS.
Air Task Force Middle East flew more than 2,100 missions, in which weapons were used over 1,800 times. This involved bombardments with precision ammunition, whereby it was important to prevent collateral damage to civilian targets.
Belgium has been continuing the airstrikes since 28 June 2016 with 6 F-16s. Dutch military personnel protect the Belgian detachment.
_..._ _..._
National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces - Operation IMPACT
http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/operations-abroad-current/op-impact.page
Operation IMPACT is the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) contribution to the Global Coalition to dismantle and ultimately defeat Daesh.
Under Operation IMPACT, the CAF conducts air operations, provides training and assistance to the Iraqi security forces, provides capacity building capabilities to regional forces, provides medical services to Coalition forces, and supports the Coalition with highly-skilled personnel.
Aircraft sorties
As of December 17, 2016, Air Task Force-Iraq has conducted 2,666 sorties*:
•CC-150T Polaris aerial refueller conducted 625 sorties, delivering some 36,600,000 pounds of fuel to Coalition aircraft; and
•CP-140 Aurora aircraft conducted 663 reconnaissance missions.
Definition - sortie: in air operations, a sortie refers to an operational flight by one aircraft. A sortie starts when one aircraft takes off and ends upon landing.
*This total includes 1378 sorties conducted by CF-18 Hornets between October 30, 2014 and February 15, 2016.
Through the CAF efforts in support of the Global Coalition, Canada is playing an important role, alongside its partners, in setting the conditions for Iraqi security forces to achieve long-term success through self-sustainable security.
The authorized maximum number of CAF members to be deployed under Operation IMPACT is approximately 830, which includes the personnel assigned to the train, advise, and assist mission in support of the Iraqi security forces.
Cost
Canada has allocated approximately $305.9 million towards the extension and refocusing of the mission. This includes $41.9 million to be allocated for redeployment of personnel and equipment in 2016-17.
angelburst29
The Living Force
angelburst29 said:
A Syrian activist Maytham Al Ashkar said after establishing contacts with the 7-year-old Twitter star, Bana Alabed, he has convinced that the account is the ultimate propaganda stunt.
Syrian Activist Says Aleppo Girl 'Bana Alabed' Twitter Account 'Propaganda Stunt'
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950930001009
Tue Dec 20, 2016 - Maytham Al Ashkar contacted Bana Alabed on November 27 through twitter, offering to evacuate her family from eastern Aleppo, Sputnik reported.
After a month, someone who identified herself as Bana's mother responded.
"What happened after, convinced me that Bana's account is the ultimate propaganda stunt," Maytham told Sputnik.
Bana's account, designated by Twitter as "verified", was set up three months ago, and has since gathered over 310,000 followers.
The tweets, written by both Bana and her mother, Fatemah, who says she taught her daughter to speak English, depict life under siege in East Aleppo.
Many have called the authenticity of the account into question, pointing to videos where Bana appears to be reading from a prompt.
It is also unclear whether Bana's posts are genuine, since any user, anywhere in the world can post from the account, as long as they have the password.
Due to extensive media coverage, Bana became a sort of Syrian war icon and was even called "Aleppo's Anne Frank." Pro-government activist Maytham Al Ashkar is originally from Al-Zahraa in northern Syria, currently in Beirut, but often travelling to Damascus and Aleppo.
He offered to help evacuate Bana and her family, contacting Bana's Twitter account on November 27. "At the end of the day you are civilians. You are our people. We care for you," Maytham said in his message.
On December 12, Maytham was contacted by a Twitter user in Arabic, who asked him if the offer to help Bana's family still stands. Once Maytham confirmed his proposal, the user told Maytham he would next be contacted by Bana herself. "This person was contacted by Bana, who told him she wanted my offer.
Once he got my approval, Bana (the account) contacted me directly," Maytham explains. "When I got contacted by Bana's account, I started to chat in Arabic since we are all Syrians and Arabic is our mother tongue.
However, it was obvious that the person behind the account preferred English as a language of communication."
According to media reports, Bana's father, Ghassan works for the "legal department of the local council" and her mother, Fatemah, is a teacher. However, it seems lack of Arabic on the part of Bana's mother is just as unlikely as Bana's flawless English.
"According to the media, Bana's mother studied law. This means that she has studied the Syrian curriculum for 12 years, which is all in Arabic, plus 4 years at university, where all the subjects are taught in Arabic," Maytham told Sputnik.
Maytham got hold of the city authorities and the Syrian Army to facilitate Bana's evacuation from Aleppo.
"Everything was set for Bana's family evacuation, and the governor of Aleppo was following up with me personally," Maytham told Sputnik.
"The Syrian authorities even agreed to settle the legal status of the father who happens to be a member of al-Safwa Brigade. The Syrian authorities too agreed to evacuate them from eastern Aleppo to any destination of their choice even out of Syria."
"I even invited all the media to contact me or the governor so the made could cover the evacuation which is an excellent guarantee to ensure that no one will hurt her."
In the end, having complained that Maytham was "rushing" her, Bana refused the offer. "The one who contacted me via that account was not scared," said Maytham. Who is Behind Bana's Account? "There is no such a thing as Bana's tweets. The girl is just a face, a tool used by the British intelligence, and I am saying British, because of the strong relationship between the Bana's account and the White Helmets, who are funded and sponsored by the UK," Maytham argues.
"I believe that the girl was in Aleppo, but not anymore. Her role was to take same photos and videos, and once that was done she left." Another question is why would Bana's account approach a pro-government activist?
"I believe that this account approached me to prove me as a lair. They thought that I was not serious, so they wanted to present me as a "propagandist" liar. I tweeted my offer to Bana a month ago and may be they wanted to drag me into threatening them or saying something inappropriate to be used against the Syrian authorities".
"To their surprise, I was not lying. I genuinely tried to help a child who is being used and abused, and the Syrian authorities were more than cooperative!" Maytham concludes.
Syria: Tweeter Girl Leaves Healthily East of Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950930001060
Tue Dec 20, 2016 - Bana's tweeter account with over 344,000 followers released this message yesterday "I Escaped from East Aleppo".
The tweets that were mostly written in English by Bana and her mother on their tweeter accounts had attracted public opinions to the frustrating life of residents in Eastern district of Aleppo while they were under terrorist groups' control.
Bana and her mother, Fatemah, left healthily Eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo and are now in al-Rashedeen district.
"Bana and I want to tell the entire world how much all people in East Aleppo are suffering from bombs,” Fatemah said in a video after they were evacuated, adding that “There is no life there. So we create our twitter to tell the entire world what's happening there. We are happy because our voice reached to the entire world. I am sad because I leave my country. I leave my soul there. I want to live free there (in my country). I do not like to be a refugee in other countries."
"I want a good future for my kids but this is the matter here because they make us leave our country. We can't stay there because there are a lot of bombs and no clean water no medicine," she added in the same video.
However some have raised questions over a possible agenda behind the Twitter account. Despite the understandably faltering internet connection in the city, Bana’s account was regularly tweeting and posting videos.
At one stage the account was deactivated, leaving her supporters distraught as they believed she had been killed. The hashtag, #WhereIsBana was used as people hoped for good news. However, the next day the account was re-activated along with tweet saying that the young girl was fine.
Within two days of setting up the account, she had used #HolocaustAleppo, #MassacreInAleppo, #StopAleppoMassacre and tweeted at Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Barack Obama and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Her tweets became famous, and included the call for international intervention, and many gloomy tweets that predicted her own death by Syrian government forces in Eastern Aleppo.
Fatemah twitted on December 4, "We are sure the army is capturing us now. We will see each other another day dear world. Bye."
While the western media named that message as "the Harrowing farewell message," the mother of Bana, who was informing followers about heavy bombardments of Aleppo continuously and was repeating goodbye messages, wrote again in December 5 that "Under attack. Nowhere to go, every minute feels like death. Pray for us. Goodbye".
She wrote in her account on December 7 that "our house and area fall to the army. We are trapped under bombs that didn't stop since last night".
Surprisingly, Bana's account released her photo while smiling on December 8 and then she wrote in her account, "Good evening my friends. What are you doing today? I am happy I lost two more teeth."
Bana's mother wrote a few hours later, "There's Internet in East Aleppo. There's solar in E. Aleppo. There's Bana in E. Aleppo who's suffering & tweeting. Good night."
Bana's tweet account was continuously informing followers about advances of Syrian Army troops or was predicting her death to influence the followers.
"The army is so near now. I don't know what to do. Only way to flee is to regime side which I fear coz they will kill me."
"Final message - I am very sad no one is helping us in this world, no one is evacuating me & my daughter."
"Final message - people are dying since last night. I am very surprised I am tweeting right now & still alive."
A Syrian activist Maytham Al-Ashkar had also said that "... The girl is just a face, a tool used by the British intelligence," adding that "and I am saying British, because of the strong relationship between the Bana's account and the White Helmets, who are funded and sponsored by the UK".
Aleppo is to be declared a completely liberated city by Damascus any moment now as the Syrian authorities and terrorist groups stationed in the Eastern parts of Aleppo reached an agreement to evacuate militants from the region in return for relocating thousands of besieged civilians from Fua'a and Kafraya in Idlib to government-ruled territories.
The Syrian army units started special operations in Aleppo after several humanitarian pauses declared by Damascus and Moscow to give a chance to the civilian population as well as the militants to leave the Eastern parts of the city through 8 corridors.
District after district have fallen into the hands of the Syrian army soldiers and their allies in the city of Aleppo, as the pro-government troops have recaptured nearly all of the blocks and districts in the Northern and Southern parts of Eastern Aleppo.
Also, tens of thousands of civilians, including hundreds of children and newborn babies, have also left the Eastern part of the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo in recent days, while thousands of militants laid down their arms and left Eastern Aleppo through the special corridor. Over the recent months, Aleppo has been a battlefield between government forces and numerous terrorist groups.
Egyptian Police Bust Staged Photo Shoot of 'Wounded Aleppo Children' (VIDEO) (Short clip - bad quality)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612201048773290-wounded-aleppo-children-fake-video/
20.12.2016 - Egypt's police detained a man for making staged "wounded children" photos, which he was planning to use to misrepresent on social media as photos of destruction and injured people in Syria's Aleppo, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said on Monday.
"The shooting team, which included photographer's assistants and parents of the children, was detained in the Egypt's province of Port Said," the Ministry said on Facebook.
According to the Ministry, the police witnessed the shooting process, which was taking place near the vestiges of a building destroyed as illegal under the decision of the local authorities. A girl standing in a white dress covered in "blood" that later proved to be paint drew attention of a police officer driving by. The girl held a teddy bear covered in the same "blood" and had her arm "bandaged".
The photographer reportedly admitted that he was going to publish these photos on social media as pictures of Aleppo.
Video of Mother Brutally Beating up Child Goes Viral in India [GRAPHIC VIDEO]
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201612201048803700-mother-brutally-beating-child/
20.12.2016 - A grandmother took courage in her hands to blow the lid off the brutal beating up of a child. The grandmother approached the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) with a CCTV clip that showed an 18-month old child being beaten up by her mother.
The shocked DCW Chief Swati Maliwal approached the police with the clip and took to the Twitter to question the mental condition of the woman.
The child has been put in the custody of his aunt while the police are investigating the complaint. The DCW has obtained a protection order against the child as well to protect him from his mother.
Palinurus
The Living Force
The famous Syrian Aleppo twitter girl Bana Alabed was granted a meeting with president Erdogan of Turkey (ample photo opportunities):
_https://twitter.com/AlabedBana
_http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38392286 (Bana Alabed, Aleppo's tweeting girl, meets Turkey's President Erdogan)
_http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/21/middleeast/bana-alabed-erdogan-aleppo/ (Bana Alabed: 7-year-old Syrian girl meets Turkey's President Erdogan)
_https://twitter.com/AlabedBana
_http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38392286 (Bana Alabed, Aleppo's tweeting girl, meets Turkey's President Erdogan)
_http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/21/middleeast/bana-alabed-erdogan-aleppo/ (Bana Alabed: 7-year-old Syrian girl meets Turkey's President Erdogan)
Thank you for the info on Canada, voyageur (the White Helmets sure are getting a lot of money) and on the Dutch involvement, angelburst29.
Isn't her father one of the rebels? Why would Erdogan host this family? Of course, I don't blame the poor 7-year-old girl as she was merely used by her parents (and others) for anti-Assad, anti-Russian propaganda. On Dec 18 she (or rather the people who manage that account) tweeted: "Dear @MevlutCavusoglu & @rt_erdogan please please please make this ceasefire work & get us out now. We are so tired. - Fatemah #Aleppo". Maybe Erdogan (or his team) decided to respond to that in order to gain popularity?
I remember reading in an article that someone who wanted to get her out of East Aleppo started communicating with her, but noticed that the person he was talking to preferred to write in English instead of Arabic, which is quite odd.
In any case, at least whoever is behind the account won't be able to tweet propaganda about Aleppo anymore (I'd hope).
Palinurus said:
Isn't her father one of the rebels? Why would Erdogan host this family? Of course, I don't blame the poor 7-year-old girl as she was merely used by her parents (and others) for anti-Assad, anti-Russian propaganda. On Dec 18 she (or rather the people who manage that account) tweeted: "Dear @MevlutCavusoglu & @rt_erdogan please please please make this ceasefire work & get us out now. We are so tired. - Fatemah #Aleppo". Maybe Erdogan (or his team) decided to respond to that in order to gain popularity?
I remember reading in an article that someone who wanted to get her out of East Aleppo started communicating with her, but noticed that the person he was talking to preferred to write in English instead of Arabic, which is quite odd.
In any case, at least whoever is behind the account won't be able to tweet propaganda about Aleppo anymore (I'd hope).
On the Canadian MSN news tonight, an article with video was featured of holocaust survivors discussing Syria. There is a connection here with the Simon Wiesenthal foundation. It's a difficult situation listening to these survivors while understanding, by the smallest of degrees, what they endured during those times, as did many others. The video presented is interspersed with footage from Syria with the White Helmets logo. The linkage to "those responsible" in the title below is more than apparent, while the survivors are being used to make the usual propaganda point on Syria from the basis of their own historical horrors - very sad!
Holocaust survivors call on world to indict those responsible for Syrian atrocities
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/holocaust-syria-war-crimes-1.3907326
Holocaust survivors call on world to indict those responsible for Syrian atrocities
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/holocaust-syria-war-crimes-1.3907326