Syria, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Kurds, Israel--war and refugees 2

Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 11:46 AM · Oct 23, 2019

TRUMP on Syria's oil: "We've secured the oil and, therefore, a small number of US Troops will remain in the area. Where they have the oil. And we're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."

Trump dismissively describes Syria as "blood-stained sand."

Trump suggests it's no big deal if ISIS fighters escape Kurdish custody in Syria because Turkey "is there to grab them"

TRUMP: "Now people are saying, 'Wow. What a great outcome. Congratulations.'" (Nobody is saying this.)

Trump characterizes allowing refugees into the country as "importing terrorism"

Trump, grimacing, ignores a reporter's question about escaped ISIS fighters after he wraps up his speech

(Video clips at https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1187032473798094849 )

_____________________________________________________________________

Trump's plan to leave some US troops in Syria to guard its oil is now doomed, thanks to Putin
David Choi | 10/23/2019

Russia and Turkey are now poised to further derail the US's limited presence through a mutual agreement.

The two countries announced on Wednesday that Russian military police and Syrian border guards would "enter" the Syrian border, beyond the area Turkish forces have assaulted, to remove Kurdish groups.

Brett McGurk, the former US envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, said Trump "seems not to realize the extent to which the entire position in NE Syria has unraveled" and questioned the safety of US troops.

"How would a small residual US force be sustained without land supply," McGurk said. "Extremely difficult and high risk."...

https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-syria-oil-fields-secured-russia-troops-ku...

>1 margd: McGurk's comment is obvious. It's why I can't quite get my head around this notion of continuing to occupy the oil fields. Yes, the SAA is going to be preoccupied with retaking Idlib for a while, but the cards are now on the table.

Erdogan calls on US to hand over Kurdish commander Mazloum Abdi
Call for commander's extradition comes as Kurds hold talks with US and Russia to stave off Turkey's advance in Syria.
10/25/2019

...Abdi, also known as Ferhat Abdi Sahin and Mazloum Kobane, heads the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Washington's main Syrian ally in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).

...Speaking to state-run TRT on Thursday night, Erdogan said he instructed his justice minister to take the "necessary steps" for Abdi's extradition. "With the US, we have an extradition agreement. The US should hand this man to us"...

Erdogan's remarks came amid calls by US legislators on the Trump administration to fast track a visa for Abdi to travel to Washington DC and brief the Congress on the situation in northeast Syria.

In a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, the senators said "it would be very beneficial for Congress and the administration to hear directly from the military leadership of the SDF about the situation on the ground and the fight against ISIS.

"Therefore, should General Mazloum Kobani Abdi - who is responsible for everyday operations against ISIS - request to visit the United States, we ask you to expedite his visa and issue any applicable waiver that might be required."

Meanwhile, Abdi told a news conference in Kurdish-led Qamishli that the SDF was in talks with both Russia and the US to protect the Kurdish people against the Turkish assault, launched on October 9 but now suspended in truces brokered separately by Washington and Moscow.

The fighting has killed scores of people on both sides of the border and displaced nearly 180,000 people inside Syria.

"Our reservations are related to the protection of our people. We don't accept that our people and our cities remain without protection," Abdi said on Thursday...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/erdogan-calls-hand-kurdish-commander-mazl...

Turkey Warns U.S. Against Hosting Syrian Kurdish Military Commander
David Welna | October 25, 2019

Turkey is demanding that U.S. officials call off plans to meet with Mazloum Abdi, the Kurdish commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces which fought alongside American troops to dislodge Islamic State insurgents from northeastern Syria...

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/25/773188370/turkey-warns-u-s-against-hosting-syrian...

U.S. Sudden Syria Exit Leaves Angry Iraqi Kurds Looking To Iran: 'Oil Thicker than Innocent Blood'
Tom O'Connor AND Naveed Jamali | 10/24/19
https://www.newsweek.com/us-exit-syria-iraq-kurds-iran-1467608

How the Kurds Helped in the Hunt for Baghdadi
Eli Lake | October 28, 2019

Now what they want is U.S. support in their negotiations with Syria.

...as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces concluded that they were being betrayed by Trump, they nonetheless continued to track al-Baghdadi and work closely with their U.S. counterparts in the operation that killed him.

Kurdish spies began to focus on al-Baghdadi’s location last spring, after the last Islamic State stronghold in Syria fell. “We began to investigate the presence of Baghdadi, where he was located, in March,” said Ilham Ahmed, the president of the Syrian Democratic Council, in an interview Sunday. “Our intelligence units were always following his movements. They were in a high-level coordination with American intelligence.”

Ahmed said the chaos of the initial Turkish invasion did not stop Kurdish spies in the anti-terrorism unit of the Syrian Democratic Forces from continuing to gather and analyze information gleaned about Baghdadi’s location. The New York Times reported that the initial tip about al-Baghdadi’s location came in the summer, following the arrest of one of his couriers and one of his wives.

...Ahmed...hopes Trump will use America’s vast political and economic leverage to deter Turkey from trying to resettle the 3 million Syrian Arab refugees in historically Kurdish areas.

For now, she said, the Syrian Kurds have received guarantees from Russia to protect some 2 million Kurdish civilians in the area from the Turkish army and allied Islamist militias. She finds this Russian assurance cold comfort. The Kurds would prefer U.S. protection, she said, but “this is our only option.”

Part of the new arrangement for Syria’s Kurds means they will have to rely on Syrian regime forces to provide protection...Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, launched campaigns to cleanse Syria of Kurds.

...She still wants the U.S. to play a role in the Syrian peace process, she said, and to defend Kurdish autonomy within Syria. “America promised us support for negotiations with the Syrian government,” she said. “They should keep that promise.”...

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-28/baghdadi-killed-how-kurds-...

Required reading, especially for anyone who was "shocked" to learn al-Baghdadi was in Idlib. https://consortiumnews.com/2019/10/30/by-protecting-syrias-idlib-us-created-safe...

Dion Nissenbaum @DionNissenbaum | 9:16 AM · Oct 31, 2019:
Three weeks after Trump again ordered a withdrawal of all US forces from NE Syria,
the US now plans to have basically the same number of troops it had in that area before the chaotic US withdrawal unfolded:

Hundreds of U.S. Troops Leaving, and Also Arriving in, Syria
Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper | Oct. 30, 2019

WASHINGTON — Every day in northeastern Syria, waves of American troops are pulling out under President Trump’s order this month that paved the way for a Turkish offensive that included assaults on the Pentagon’s allies, the Syrian Kurds.

And at the same time, a separate wave of American troops from the opposite direction is pouring back in.

In fact, once the comings and goings are done, the total number of United States forces in Syria is expected to be about 900 — close to the 1,000 troops on the ground when Mr. Trump ordered the withdrawal of American forces from the country.

“It’s damage control,” said Alexander Bick, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, who oversaw Syria issues at the National Security Council in the Obama administration. “But the damage is already done in terms of partners’ alarm at the capriciousness of U.S. policymaking, a strategic reshuffle along the Turkish border and the overwhelming sense that the United States is on its way out.”...

https://nytimes.com/2019/10/30/world/middleeast/us-troops-syria-trump.html

#7--I'm hardly an expert but I've always found some of the narratives that I've heard regarding Syria since our attempts to oust Assad confusing. My understanding of the real goal behind our machinations is not really about bringing in a kinder gentler regime than Assad's and more to do with who controls energy resources and pipelines. In respect to Gabbard I've always supported her anti-regime change agenda. In other respects though I see her more as a centrist than someone on the left and her occasional appearances on Tucker Carlson's show and recent appearance with Sean Hannity is problematic for me as they are both right wing propagandists.

Another thing I find strange is the portrayal of Iran as some kind of winner regarding our betrayal of the Kurds. That now they have a free path into Israel. So Turkey is mainly Sunni, Syria is mainly Sunni, the Al Quaeda/ISIS component is entirely Sunni and the Iranians are pretty much Shia and whose population is sanctioned to the hilt and whose movements are monitored and I wonder exactly how things have changed for Iran to move with any freedom through pretty much hostile territory. Sure they will continue to find ways to support Hezbollah but what exactly has changed that makes Iran a winner in all this I'm still trying to figure out but it's a continuing narrative in mainstream media. Truthfully I think it really just comes down to the continued demonization of the Iranian regime on our part. We'd be better off using diplomacy with the Iranians and should have thought twice before putting troops into Syria and instead have looked for diplomatic solutions to settle our issues with Assad. In the end we've only helped to create a bigger problem.

#8--Trump continuing to make a mess out of everything. He will parse this out to his followers as 'I saved American lives. I brought the troops home. I fulfilled my promise.'--adding to that 'I killed al-Bhagdadi--the worst terrorist in the world.'---meanwhile we've allowed the Turks to bring genocide to the Syrian Kurds our greatest ally in the Middle East. Transactional Trump in the last minute not willing to leave Syria without grabbing a piece of the oil.

‘Filled with hatred and a lust for blood’: Turkey’s proxy army in northern Syria accused of abusing civilians
Asser Khattab | November 10, 2019

BEIRUT — In the month since Turkey intervened to drive U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters from a broad swath of northern Syria, proxy forces backed by Ankara have been blamed for a growing ledger of abuses against the local population, residents say, undermining Turkey’s stated goal of creating a “safe zone” for civilians.

More than 200,000 people have been internally displaced by the Turkish-led offensive, according to the United Nations. Families that have been scattered across eastern Syria say that Turkey’s Syrian Arab proxies have carried out summary executions and beatings, kidnapped or detained their relatives and looted their houses, businesses and belongings.

The result, refugees say, is a form of ethnic cleansing — an operation they see as designed in part to force out Kurdish residents and their sympathizers and replace them with Arabs loyal to Turkey.

...Turkey essentially delegated the ground offensive to a proxy force, the Syrian National Army, an umbrella group in northern Syria consisting of an assortment of rebel forces opposed to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Many of the group’s factions, made up largely of Syrian Arab fighters, had already fought at Turkey’s behest in two previous military operations over the past three years.

It is the Syrian National Army that many residents blame for depredations against civilians that have driven thousands out of the area.

A senior officer affiliated with the force acknowledged some human rights violations but said the SDF (Kurds) was exaggerating the abuses.

...For a Syrian Kurdish aid worker from Ras al-Ayn, “the best scenario a Kurd can wish for is not being allowed to go back home.” Syrian National Army fighters “believe that taking your life is doing God’s work and that stealing your property is their reward for it...When the Turks are around, their Syrian mercenaries refrain from looting property or harming anyone.” he explained.The Turks are aware of such human rights violations, and they try to limit them, but not hard enough.”...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/filled-with-hatred-and-a-lust-f...

>10 margd: But they were supposed to be "moderate" rebels!
https://youtu.be/wQMQezGyVos?t=47
https://moderaterebels.libsyn.com/end-of-cias-syrian-ghost-war-and-al-qaedas-ren...

Oh, David--these videos are each 60 minutes long! Are there Cliff Notes? ;)

>12 margd: I'll dig something up. The first one starts at the relevant snippet. The second-- well, I probably posted it when it came out. I'll look for a summary by the same folks when I get a chance.

>13 davidgn: Here we go. https://thegrayzone.com/2019/10/16/us-backed-crazy-militias-turkeys-invasion-syr...

Call it an update.

Speaking of which -- nobody talks about the author Max Blumenthal's recent arrest on trumped-up charges stemming from his coverage of the sit-in protest at the Venezuelan embassy.

https://www.salon.com/2019/11/03/journalist-max-blumenthals-d-c-arrest-exposes-m...

Worth its own post in the relevant thread, actually.

A lot of gall for DJT jr. to yap about Biden & son, methinks...

Behind Trump’s Dealings With Turkey: Sons-in-Law Married to Power
David D. Kirkpatrick and Eric Lipton | Nov. 12, 2019

ISTANBUL — Behind President Trump’s accommodating attitude toward Turkey is an unusual back channel: a trio of sons-in-law who married into power and now play key roles in connecting Ankara with Washington.

...Turkey’s finance minister is the son-in-law of its strongman president and oversees his country’s relationship with the United States.

...son-in-law of a Turkish tycoon...became a business partner to the Trump Organization. Now he advocates for Turkey with the Trump administration.

...Jared Kushner, who as the son-in-law of and senior adviser to Mr. Trump has a vague if expansive foreign policy portfolio.

Operating both individually and in tandem, the three men have developed an informal, next-generation line of communication between Mr. Trump and his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who only weeks after his military incursion into northern Syria is scheduled to visit the White House on Wednesday...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/politics/trump-erdogan-family-turkey.html

________________________________

Compare hoops required of Ukraine as price of a White House visit, c.f.,
Turkey's Erdogan, warmly welcomed after attacking the US's ally Kurds.
Mind you, Trump is proponent of Russia returning to G7 after it invaded, annexed parts of Ukraine.

Brett McGurk @brett_mcgurk | Nov 15, 2019
Today in Syria: Russia takes control of main U.S. military facility abandoned earlier this week by American forces on Trump’s orders. This area is south of Kobani and went to Russia under the Putin-Erdogan deal. Russia now also owns the airstrip we built.

(Screen 1:35 Russian video clip of this Trumpian triumph at https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1195368417777242112 )

Trump Threw This Mission Into Chaos. The Military Is Scrambling To Save It.
Eric Schmitt | Nov. 25, 2019

MANAMA, Bahrain — United States troops have resumed large-scale counterterrorism missions against the Islamic State in northern Syria, military officials say, nearly two months after President Trump’s abrupt order (early October) to withdraw American troops opened the way for a bloody Turkish cross-border offensive.

...American-backed operations against ISIS fighters in the area had effectively ground to a halt despite warnings from intelligence analysts that Islamic State militants were regrouping and still posed a threat even after their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed during an American raid on Oct. 26.

The resumption of extensive counterterrorism operations capped a tumultuous two months in which many of the nearly 1,000 American troops in northeastern Syria flew or drove out of the country under Mr. Trump’s withdrawal order in early October. Separately, several hundred other troops, some with armored Bradley fighting vehicles, arrived in Syria from Iraq and Kuwait under a subsequent order from Mr. Trump to protect Syria’s eastern oil fields from ISIS, as well as from the Syrian government and its Russian partners.

American commandos and their Syrian Kurdish partners conducted some low-level missions after the withdrawal order. But General McKenzie said that since Americans and Kurds had regrouped in a much smaller area east of the Euphrates River and into Syria’s far northeast along the border with Iraq, they could resume bigger missions against ISIS.

This past Friday, American soldiers and hundreds of Syrian Kurdish fighters — the same local allies the Trump administration abandoned to fend for themselves against the Turkish advance last month — reunited to conduct what the Pentagon said was a large-scale mission to kill and capture ISIS fighters in Deir al-Zour province, about 120 miles south of the Turkish border...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/us/politics/us-syria-isis.html

Buzzsaw redux.
Into The Buzzsaw

Journalist: Newsweek Suppressed OPCW Scandal And Threatened Me With Legal Action
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/12/08/journalist-newsweek-suppressed-opcw-scanda...

Why do Trump and Putin have an affinity for each other???????

1) their world views coincide
2) they are both WHITE DUDES (which makes Putin's election interference A-OK with Trump's cult followers/voters)

Countries failing the Mediterranean Sea also include Greece, Egypt, Lebanon...

History’s Greatest Sea Is Dying
Peter Schwartzstein | December 14, 2019

The failure of countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean helps explain the difficulty of carrying out successful climate-change negotiations.

Most of the world’s seas are in some kind of environmental trouble, but few have declined as quickly or from such precipitous heights as the Mediterranean’s eastern edge. Although it midwifed some of history’s greatest civilizations, the eastern Med has become a grubby embodiment of the current littoral states’ failures. Where the ancients sailed, many of their successors now junk industrial waste. The accomplishments of the Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, and pharaonic Egyptians, among others, have only accentuated their descendants’ political and economic rot...

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/12/mediterranean-sea-poll...

U.S.-led coalition says it will withdraw from Iraq: letter

"Sir, in deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, CJTF-OIR will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement," read a letter from United States Marine Corps Brigadier General William H. Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq.

The authenticity of the letter, which was addressed to the Iraqi defense ministry's Combined Joint Operations Baghdad, was confirmed to Reuters independently by an Iraqi military source.

"We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure," it said.

>21 2wonderY: Typical screw-up from this admin:

Top General says letter suggesting US would withdraw troops from Iraq was a 'mistake'

The Strike: Did Russia Knowingly Target Turkish Troops?
Feb 28, 2020

Russian Defense Ministry: “Turkish servicemen inside the combat units of terrorist groups came under fire from the Syrian military on February 27 near the town of Behun. According to the data submitted by Turkey to the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, there were no Turkish soldiers near Behun.”
Source: RT.com, Feb. 28, 2020

Misleading! Turkey said it had informed Russia about the location of its troops ahead of the deadly airstrike.

...official reports came in, reporting the deaths of 33 Turkish troops in the area of northwestern Syria. Turkish officials attributed the airstrike to Syrian government forces, but Russia has largely been conducting the air war for the Syrians.

...Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced that Turkish forces had conducted a retaliatory strike against Syrian government forces in Idlib, hitting 200 targets and “neutralizing” at least 329 Syrian government troops.

Russia said it had deployed to the Middle East two of its most advanced navy ships – the Admiral Grigorovich and the Admiral Makarov.

...The Russian defense ministry claim (denying involvement) is misleading and inconsistent with past admissions of providing air support for Assad regime forces.

...According to a September 2018 agreement, Ankara and Moscow declared the city a “de-escalation zone,” and Turkey was supposed to be in control of the situation on the ground there.

...Russia’s claim that its air force was not involved in Thursday’s attack is contradicted by news and analyst reports, as well as precedent.

...As the confrontation between Turkey and Russia escalated, Turkey also announced it would no longer hold Syrian refugees (in accordance with the 2016 agreement between Turkey and the EU) and opened its borders for them to cross over into Europe.

...NATO announced it will hold emergency consultations on Friday after Turkey invoked Article 4 of the alliance, claiming its territorial integrity, independence and security had been threatened...https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_173939.htm...

...Political and military observers have started discussing the possibility of a direct military confrontation between Turkey and Syria, and even between Turkey and Russia. NATO’s Article 5 states that “an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all allies,” including the U.S. and the alliance’s 27 European members...

https://www.polygraph.info/a/turkey-russia-syria-fact-check/30460458.html

With everything going on, don’t forget
that Trump gave American soldiers an ill-defined mission to protect an oil field in eastern Syria and
they’re now being attacked by grenade-dropping drones from unknown adversaries. (“raining mortars”) @TBowmanNPR

Image ( https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1236853697033854976/photo/2 )

In Syria, The U.S. Fight To Protect Oil Fields
Tom Bowman | March 6, 20204:13 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered ( 4-Minute Listen )
https://npr.org/2020/03/06/812989398/in-syria-the-u-s-fight-to-protect-oil-field...

- Brett McGurk @brett_mcgurk | 11:17 PM · Mar 8, 2020

Well, shit.

2 Americans and 1 British national killed in rocket attack on base in Iraq
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/americans-killed-iraq-rocket-attack/inde...

Well, that didn't take long.

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/1611293792-us-military-convoy-enters-...

A large US military convoy entered northeastern Syria on Thursday, Syrian state news agency SANA reports, citing sources on the ground.

According to the report, the convoy included some 40 trucks and armored vehicles and was backed from the air by helicopters.

It entered Syria from Iraq via the al-Waleed crossing to bring arms and logistical equipment to the bases in Hasakeh and Deir Ezzor provinces.

Other local media report that such maneuvers are not unusual as the US often moves transfers equipment between Iraq and Syria.

At the same time, SANA also reports that some 200 US troops arrived in the Hasakeh province on helicopters.

According to the report, the troops are set to deploy on the nearby oilfields, with Kurdish-controlled eastern Syria rich in energy resources.

cf. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-ambassador-un-calls-us-withdraw-troops-...

https://couragefound.org/2021/03/statement-of-concern-the-opcw-investigation-of-...

Statement of Concern
The OPCW investigation of alleged chemical weapons use in Douma, Syria

We wish to express our deep concern over the protracted controversy and political fall-out surrounding the OPCW and its investigation of the alleged chemical weapon attacks in Douma, Syria, on 7 April 2018.

Since the publication by the OPCW of its final report in March 2019, a series of worrying developments has raised serious and substantial concerns with respect to the conduct of that investigation. These developments include instances in which OPCW inspectors involved with the investigation have identified major procedural and scientific irregularities, the leaking of a significant quantity of corroborating documents, and damning statements provided to UN Security Council meetings. It is now well established that some senior inspectors involved with the investigation, one of whom played a central role, reject how the investigation derived its conclusions, and OPCW management now stands accused of accepting unsubstantiated or possibly manipulated findings with the most serious geo-political and security implications. Calls by some members of the Executive Council of the OPCW to allow all inspectors to be heard were blocked.

The inspectors’ concerns are shared by the first Director General of the OPCW, José Bustani, and a significant number of eminent individuals have called for transparency and accountability at the OPCW. Bustani himself was recently prevented by key members of the Security Council from participating in a hearing on the Syrian dossier. As Ambassador Bustani stated in a personal appeal to the Director General, if the Organization is confident in the conduct of its Douma investigation then it should have no difficulty addressing the inspectors’ concerns.

To date, unfortunately, the OPCW senior management has failed to adequately respond to the allegations against it and, despite making statements to the contrary, we understand has never properly allowed the views or concerns of the members of the investigation team to be heard or even met with most of them. It has, instead, side-stepped the issue by launching an investigation into a leaked document related to the Douma case and by publicly condemning its most experienced inspectors for speaking out.

In a worrying recent development, a draft letter falsely alleged to have been sent by the Director General to one of the dissenting inspectors was leaked to an ‘open source’ investigation website in an apparent attempt to smear the former senior OPCW scientist. The ‘open source’ website then published the draft letter together with the identity of the inspector in question. Even more alarmingly, in a BBC4 radio series aired recently, an anonymous source, reportedly connected with the OPCW Douma investigation, gave an interview with the BBC in which he contributes to an attempt to discredit not only the two dissenting inspectors, but even Ambassador Bustani himself. Importantly, recent leaks in December 2020 have evidenced that a number of senior OPCW officials were supportive of one OPCW inspector who had spoken out with respect to malpractice.

The issue at hand threatens to severely damage the reputation and credibility of the OPCW and undermine its vital role in the pursuit of international peace and security. It is simply not tenable for a scientific organization such as the OPCW to refuse to respond openly to the criticisms and concerns of its own scientists whilst being associated with attempts to discredit and smear those scientists. Moreover, the on-going controversy regarding the Douma report also raises concerns with respect to the reliability of previous FFM reports, including the investigation of the alleged attack at Khan Shaykhun in 2017.

We believe that the interests of the OPCW are best served by the Director General providing a transparent and neutral forum in which the concerns of all the investigators can be heard as well as ensuring that a fully objective and scientific investigation is completed.

To that end, we call on the Director General of the OPCW to find the courage to address the problems within his organization relating to this investigation and ensure States Parties and the United Nations are informed accordingly. In this way we hope and believe that the credibility and integrity of the OPCW can be restored.

Signatories in Support of the Statement of Concern:

José Bustani, Ambassador of Brazil, first Director General of the OPCW and former Ambassador to the United Kingdom and France.

Professor Noam Chomsky, Laureate Professor U. of Arizona and Institute Professor (em), MIT.

Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor, Harper’s Magazine.

Daniel Ellsberg, PERI Distinguished Research Fellow, UMass Amherst. Former Defense and State Department official. Former official of Defense Department (GS-18) and State Department (FSR-1).

Professor Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University.

Tulsi Gabbard, former Presidential candidate and Member of the US House of Representatives (2013-2021).

Professor Dr. Ulrich Gottstein, on behalf of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW-Germany).

Katharine Gun, former GCHQ (UKGOV), whistleblower.

Denis J. Halliday, UN Assistant Secretary-General (1994-98).

Professor Pervez Houdbhoy, Quaid-e-Azam University and ex Pugwash.

Kristinn Hrafnnson, Editor in Chief, Wikileaks.

Dr. Sabine Krüger, Analytical Chemist, Former OPCW Inspector 1997-2009.

Ray McGovern, ex-CIA Presidential Briefer; co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

Elizabeth Murray, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, National Intelligence Council (rtd); member, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence.

Professor Götz Neuneck, Pugwash Council and German Pugwash Chair.

Dirk van Niekerk, former OPCW Inspection Team Leader, Head of OPCW Special Mission to Iraq

John Pilger, Emmy and Bafta winning journalist and film maker.

Professor Theodore A. Postol, Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology, and National Security Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Antonius Roof, former OPCW Inspection Team Leader and Head Industry Inspections.

Professor John Avery Scales, Professor, Pugwash Council and Danish Pugwash Chair.

Hans von Sponeck, former UN Assistant Secretary General and UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator (Iraq).

Alan Steadman, Chemical Weapons Munitions Specialist, Former OPCW Inspection Team Leader and UNSCOM Inspector.

Jonathan Steele, journalist and author.

Roger Waters, Musician and Activist.

Lord West of Spithead, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff 2002-06.

Oliver Stone, Film Director, Producer and Writer.

Colonel (ret.) Lawrence B. Wilkerson, U.S. Army, Visiting Professor at William and Mary College and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The White Helmets @SyriaCivilDef | 2:54 PM · Sep 25, 2023:

10 injured, including 2 children and 4 women, one of whom is pregnant, after artillery shelling by regime forces targeted residential neighborhoods and the popular market near a mosque in the city of Jisr al-Shughour, west of #Idlib, the evening of Monday, September 25th. Our teams provided assistance to several of the injured and inspected the targeted areas. #Syria #WhiteHelmets

Photos
https://twitter.com/SyriaCivilDef/status/1706381677721706776/photo/1
https://twitter.com/SyriaCivilDef/status/1706381677721706776/photo/2
https://twitter.com/SyriaCivilDef/status/1706381677721706776/photo/3
https://twitter.com/SyriaCivilDef/status/1706381677721706776/photo/4

The New York Times @nytimes | 10:05 AM · Jun 29, 2024

In a runoff election for Iran's presidency next week, Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist candidate critical of a law that requires women to wear head scarves, will compete against Saeed Jalili, a hard-line conservative, state media said on Saturday...

Reformist Reaches Runoff in Iran’s Presidential Election
Candidates in the campaign to fill the seat of President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, showed notable candor about the country’s mounting problems.
From nytimes.com {Paywall}

Samuel Ramani @SamRamani2 | 4:36 PM · Jun 29, 2024 (X):

Iran's Supreme Leader and hardliners consistently emphasised the importance of high turnout in the Iranian elections

Record low turnout of 40% is a major blow to Khamenei

The coalescence of Ghalibaf and Jalili {hardliner} supporters will give the hardliners a boost in the second runoff

Ghalibaf has backing from some noteworthy IRGC figures

But the low turnout is almost as big a blow to Khamenei as the reformist candidate {Masoud Pezeshkian} winning the first contest

Iran election: Moderate Pezeshkian wins presidential runoff
DW | 5 July 2024

...Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, {a heart surgeon & former health minister (2001 to 2005)} and moderate who has promised to open Iran to the world} was up against Saeed Jalili, 58, a hard-liner who is a former negotiator with the West over Iran's contentious nuclear program.

The run-off election in Iran w ere held to choose a successor to late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the foreign minister and other officials. {This presidential poll reportedly saw a higher turnout than the first round.}

https://www.dw.com/en/iran-election-moderate-pezeshkian-wins-presidential-runoff...

Artur Rehi @ArturRehi
Estonian Reserve Soldier.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1809218889563189731.html
Read on X: https://x.com/ArturRehi/status/1809218889563189731

1/8 One more miserable failure: the window of opportunity for russia to achieve anything on the front in 2024 is steadily narrowing. Analysis by @joni_askola (Finnish PhD candidate @FSV_UK Faculty Social Sciences UK)

2/8 russia had its prime opportunity in a long time, from October 2023 to the autumn of 2024, to make gains on the front, as Ukraine faced shortages in manpower, shells, and fortifications.

3/8 Despite its best efforts, russia miserably failed to achieve anything significant while Ukraine was at its weakest. Its only accomplishment was the capture of Avdiivka, at the expense of tens of thousands of casualties.

4/8 russia's diversionary offensive north of Kharkiv did not achieve its objectives, but it compelled Ukraine's allies to permit Ukraine to launch strikes into russian territory.

5/8 As russia squandered its opportunity, Ukraine has been mobilizing, fortifying, boosting production, targeting russian energy infrastructure, and ultimately receiving shells and equipment from its allies.

6/8 russia has yet to capture the small but important town of Chasiv Yar, and its time for launching a decisive offensive is running out. By the year's end, Ukraine will have become too formidable for russia to achieve significant successes on the front.

7/8 For Ukraine to maintain its advantage in this war, the best approach is to refrain from large-scale offensives and concentrate primarily on defense. Ukraine's success will not come from reclaiming territory, but from conveying to the russians that the war is unwinnable.

8/8 It may take years for the average russian to recognize in their imperialistic, revanchist, and materialistic mindset that the war is unwinnable and futile, but that realization will eventually occur. For that day to arrive sooner, Ukraine needs to defend itself.
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Fierce @TheFierce2023
Hence the ‘peace talks’ narrative coming stronger from the aggressor .

Connor @pgconnorautor
Don't forget: for Ukr not able to reclaim at least some territory, has an increasingly negative effect in the West, main deliverer of weapons. Politicaly seen. Adding the effects of russian propaganda. The fight is not only at 0-line. Include a bigger picture into your analysis.

Oleg Kostour 🇺🇦🇨🇦🇺🇸 @OlegKostour
If Trump wins and cuts off ammunition support for Ukraine, Ukraine will again face the same shortages it did from October 2023 for four more years from 2025-2028.

NATO Softliner 🇺🇦 🇬🇪 🇲🇩 @natoSoftliner
One important point is missing: Russia effectively destroyed Ukraine's heating infrastructure and this will be a dramatic problem during winter.

Saabj35 @saabj35
...support from France ... is running out.

R2 @r2inoz
I get nervous when windows and Russia come up in the same sentence

Well, the refugee flows from a Syria administered by the head choppers (and don't let the propaganda of the moment convince you otherwise regarding their character) will be the final straw. Expect right-wing governments in Europe as far as the eye can see.

I guess this is where Patrick Cockburn is writing now.
"The Likely Fall of Assad And What Happens Next"
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/the-likely-fall-of-assad-and-what-happens-next-34180...

Fingers crossed that rebels have changed their spots. Syrians sure deserve a break...

>34 margd: Don't make me laugh.
BTW, Amb. Murray seems convinced that Lebanon is next. Head-choppers know no borders. (But they're "our" head-choppers, so the media likes to say nice things about them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55BUZP0Pozs )

Either an awful hot take or a prophecy:
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/12/the-end-of-pluralism-in-the-midd...

The rebels are currently attacking Kurds, those godless renegades daring to dream of an egalitarian world.

>36 LolaWalser: Erdogan's price.

Yes.

It's fascism now as far as the eye can see--the Euro "democratic" kind, and religious fundie elsewhere.

But on the upside, Tim can finally break into a dance of joy, ogre Assad is no more. :)

>38 LolaWalser: Well, not quite everywhere.
https://elpais.com/america/2024-11-25/yamandu-orsi-un-heredero-de-mujica-en-la-p...

Uruguay, eh? I don't know, South America keeps wreaking havoc on my heart... one year it's all dawning of hope, the next it crashes.

>41 LolaWalser: Uruguay has been the most stable on the continent over the course of my lifetime. Chile, where I am now, feels a bit brittle, politically speaking. Worth a look: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/A68E002A...

>42 davidgn:

Thanks, I didn't get all of that but the contrast is interesting. I visited Uruguay the year they extended civil unions to gays. I guess it helps stability to be small, relatively rich, and homogenous.

>43 LolaWalser: No doubt.

Meanwhile, here's Amb. Murray in person from central Beirut: https://consortiumnews.com/2024/12/08/craig-murray-fall-of-syria-about-greater-i...

Cockburn, ex post facto.
The overthrow of Assad is as seismic as the fall of the Shah
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/the-overthrow-of-assad-is-as-seismic-as-the-fall-of-...

Elijah Magnier
The Organised Rapid Fall of Assad: Why and What Comes Next?
https://ejmagnier.com/2024/12/08/the-organised-rapid-fall-of-assad-why-and-what-...

Amb. Chas Freeman weighs in. Interviewer Pascal Lottaz is on Tokyo time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA30KfpuXGM

Another Islamist shithole in the make, but with the approval of American and European cunts so it's OK.

Well, there are a lot of bad guys on the winning side, no doubt about that. We will see what they want to do now. The Turks and their friends want to kill kurds of course, the others is a bit uncertain. The big, big plus is that Assad is gone for good and everyone agree that he is a seriously evil man.

The only woman judge in her department flees after finding her office--and only HER office-- damaged and a Quran placed on her desk.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/15/celebrating-the-unknown-syrian-ala...

The coverage continues to be disgraceful. Somehow the Assads were unprincipled corrupt demons who ruled through a favoured tribal clique, but as the reality is that most Alawites are poor (most Syrians are poor), at the same time they have let down their own tribe by... not enriching them? God forbid anyone should suggest that Ba'athist commitment to an egalitarian society was ever, EVER, in any measure real.

>48 Ardagor:

The big, big plus is that Assad is gone for good and everyone agree that he is a seriously evil man.

Whether it's a plus at all remains to be seen. For Iraq it's been twenty years since the Americans removed Hussein and the country is more of a tragic fuckery than ever before. As for Bashar Assad, he committed evil acts, and he may well have been incompetent and a fool. If that's what gets called "an evil man", so be it.

But I would like then for someone to explain why is the US protecting so many men equally or even more "evil"?

In short, stuff the "moral" arguments where the sun don't shine. The US and its allies are not moral and nobody went after Assad because he's "an evil man".