Top 12 bluffs to justify bombing Syria's government out of existence. Plus Idlib.

Bravo Peter Ford, former U.K. Ambassador to Syria, for penning the Bluffer's Guide! To be more precise the British Bluffer's Guide. Before I turn to the guide, and for readers who're wondering whatever happened to the famous Idlib Offensive -- I have a guess but it's not for publication at this time.   

I will note that even before the Syrian government had lost control of most of Idilb in 2015, the E.U. powers to include the British with the U.S. Department of State tagging along got the idea to transform the province and especially Idlib City into a laboratory for democratic governance. This is an established fact. 

But I believe the rationale was to test the theory that the way to prevent Europe from being overrun by the most violent among the Islamic extremists was to teach them how to govern properly where they were already situated. Sort of like trying to graft wings onto poisonous snakes so nobody will be bitten on the foot.   

By the time Hayat Tahrir al Sham overthrew Ahrar al Sham in Idlib City it was obvious that the experiment was lunacy but this is E.U. governments under discussion. I believe they'll keep playing Dr Frankenstein as long as somebody else keeps writing the checks.

From that viewpoint holding Turkey responsible for any presumed delay in the Idlib Offensive is red herring.

The Bluffer's Guide to Bombing Syria 
By Peter Ford
September 17, 2018
Sic Semper Tyrannis

The Dirty Dozen: 12 lies they tell to anaesthetise you for the upcoming bombing of Syria

The propaganda mills of the British and American governments - spokespersons, media, think tanks - are working overtime churning out 'talking points' to justify the upcoming large scale bombing of Syria on the pretext that Syria's government is using prohibited weapons.

Here is a guide to the top dozen of these lies from a former insider: 

1. There are more babies than jihadis in Idlib. As it happens this gem of moral blackmail is untrue. There are twice as many jihadis (about 100,000) as babies (0-1 year) (55,000). What is this factoid meant to say anyway? Don't try to free an area of jihadis because you might harm a lot of children? The Western coalition scarcely heeded that consideration in razing Mosul and Raqqa in order to crush ISIS. They are still pulling babies out of the rubble in Raqqa.
2. The reports [of the imminent chemical weapons 'attack'] must be true because Asad has done it before. False. Since 2013 when Asad gave up chemical weapons under supervision of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) the OPCW have not visited the sites of alleged attacks in jihadi-controlled areas but have accepted at face value 'reports' from pro-jihadi organisations like the White Helmets and the Syrian American Medical Society, along with 'evidence' from hostile intelligence agencies. In the case of the one site the OPCW did visit, Douma, their report said they found no evidence of sarin, no untoward traces in any of the blood samples taken from 'alleged victims' (their term), no bodies and only ambiguous evidence of use of chlorine.

3.The OPCW report on Douma was flawed because the Russians and Syrians caused delay. False. As documented in the OPCW report delay was caused by UN bureaucracy and jihadi snipers. The inspectors do not say their findings were to any significant degree invalidated by the delay. 

4. Asad uses chemical weapons because they frighten large numbers of people into fleeing. False. They don't. This desperate argument is trotted out to counter the fact that Asad would have to be stupid to use chemical weapons knowing what the result would be and that he would derive minimal military benefit. To date not one of the alleged chemical attacks has precipitated an exodus any greater than flight caused by the legendary 'barrel bombs'. The inhabitants of Douma by their own testimonies given to Western journalists were even unaware there might have been an attack until they heard about it in the media. 
5. The OPCW won't be able to investigate because it won't be safe. A feeble excuse to preempt calls for establishing facts before bombing. The Turks escort Western journalists into Idlib. They have hundreds of troops there and the jihadis kowtow to them because they control all logistics. The Turks could escort OPCW. And wouldn't the jihadis be keener than anybody for the inspectors to visit if their claims were true?
6. The upcoming strikes are not aimed at regime change. False. The plan is to decapitate the Syrian state with attacks on the presidency. Failing that the aim is to make Idlib a quagmire for the Russians. Anything to deprive Asad and Putin of victory, regardless of whether it prolongs the war. 
7. It's all Russian disinformation. Yeah, like the arms inspectors before the Iraq war who said no WMD in Iraq. Reality: the Russians have got great intelligence on what Western powers with their jihadi clients are up to and are calling out the phoney moves.
8. There won't be enough time for parliamentary debate. Pull the other leg. Reality: the government are terrified of a rerun of 2013 when Labour and 30 brave Tory MPs voted against bombing, causing Cameron and then Obama to back off. 
9. MPs can't be told what is planned because it would jeopardise the safety of service personnel. How low can you stoop? Feigning concern for flyers when it's really just about keeping the people in ignorance of how big the strikes are going to be.
10. There are going to be massacres/a bloodbath/genocide. False. We heard all this hysteria before Aleppo, before Eastern Ghouta and before the campaign in the South. All vastly exaggerated. The Syrian Arab Army has not been responsible for a single massacre, while the jihadis have been responsible for many (source: quarterly reports of the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria).
11. People have nowhere to go. False. The Russians have opened safe corridors but the jihadis are not allowing people to leave. They can still leave for the northern border strip which Turkey controls, where there are camps, and many (including jihadi fighters) will be able to cross temporarily into Turkey.  [Pundita note: the SAA got at least 9,000 people out of Idlib via an evacuation corridor despite constant attacks from the 'jihadis' before they shut down the corridor. As to why they shut it, that's a matter of opinion for those outside the Syrian/Russian military commands.]
12. We can't tell you which armed groups we support because it would make them targets for Asad. Really? You think he doesn't know? Isn't it because you are terrified it will come out that we have been supporting some real head-choppers?

**********

Typhoon Mangkhut and Hurricane Florence. What a pair. UPDATED 7:40 AM EDT

UPDATE
Mangkhut has struck near Hong Kong, from this CNN report published at 6:04 AM EDT. Very serious storm; might be the worst Hong Kong has recorded since they started keeping records in the 1940s.

... At 4 p.m. local time, the storm was 110 kilometers (68 miles) west-southwest of Hong Kong, and heading for the surrounding Pearl River Delta, home to 120 million people, the HKO reported later Sunday. Mangkhut was expected to make landfall sometime Sunday evening in southern mainland China. ...

CNN also has an updated report as of 5:17 AM EDT on Florence; it's weakened to a tropical depression but the flash floods it's causing are "far" from over. 

END UPDATE
Holy Cow! Mangkhut's peak winds, just before landfall in the Philippines, clocked in at 180 mph. Florence, eat your heart out. But I'll bet Mangkhut has nothing on Florence's rain totals. Florence got so pokey it was able to dump unbelievable amounts of rain when it finally meandered onto land. Parts of eastern North Carolina got 2 feet of rain in some areas. As of last night Florence was moving at just 3 mph, so it's going to continue to dump epic amounts of water before it meanders off to somewhere. 

Well well this has been a very strange weekend weatherwise. Where to begin? We'll start with the typhoon. No let's start with the hurricane. What's the difference between the two? They're the same -- both are officially tropical cyclones. Just different names in different parts of the world. 

From ABC News, 9/15 - 7:03 PM EDT:

Florence's dangerous flooding "is only going to get worse," North Carolina's director of emergency management warned Saturday as massive amounts of rain devastate the state.

"We have never seen flash flooding like this in our state," state Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon added at a press conference Saturday afternoon.

Trogdon said flash flooding will last for several days and river and marine flooding could last up to a week.

"We just don't want people to think this thing is over, because it's not," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper added Saturday of Florence, which made landfall near Wrightsville Beach Friday morning as a hurricane and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.

"We know the water is rising fast everywhere -- even in places that don't typically flood," Cooper said.

Catastrophic flooding has already wreaked havoc on parts of eastern North Carolina, which sustained 2 feet of rain in some areas, and up to 40 inches in other hard-hit spots.

Newport, North Carolina, reported 23.75 inches of rainfall by Saturday morning.

Hoffman, North Carolina, has seen 19.96 inches and Conway, South Carolina, has seen 8.68 inches -- with two days of rainfall to come.

[...]

First responders and volunteers are going door to door, by boat and air, navigating dangerous currents to get to those who are trapped.

"It's pretty dire right now," trapped resident Jackie Mallard told ABC News. "The streets are almost like you need gondolas."

[...]

Also from the ABC report:

> At least 13 people were reported dead in the storm, with three in South Carolina and the other 10 in North Carolina. [14 dead, from the Charlotte Observer]

> There were nearly 800,000 people without power in North and South Carolina combined Saturday evening.

Now to the typhoon.

From ABC News, 9/15 - 4:41 PM EDT, Morgan Windsor reporting:

The strongest storm on Earth in 2018 barreled through the northern Philippines before dawn on Saturday, bringing with it ferocious winds and torrential rain.

Typhoon Mangkhut, known locally as Ompong, made landfall in Cagayan province on northeast Luzon island at 1:40 a.m. local time, according to the country's weather agency, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. It's estimated that the tropical cyclone put at least five million people at risk.

Mangkhut, considered the strongest storm on the planet so far this year, was the 15th [typhoon? tropical storm?] to hit the Philippines. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center U.S. Navy-U.S. Air Force command, located in Hawaii, had downgraded Mangkhut from a "super typhoon," when it had peak wind speeds of 180 mph, prior to landfall on the country's largest and most populous island.

Mangkhut weakened slightly as it reached Luzon's mountainous coastline early Saturday morning; however, it was still packing winds equivalent to a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. 

[The highest level on the scale is Cat 5 -- storms with sustained winds exceeding 156 mph.]

Its tropical storm-force winds extended 550 miles across, according to the country's weather agency, making it nearly double the size of Florence, the hurricane turned tropical storm that made landfall over the southeastern United States on Friday.

Mangkhut's high winds churned rough seas as it moved across Luzon, producing waves nearly 30 feet high, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The heavy rain triggered landslides that reportedly claimed the lives of several people in the area. [The CNN report puts the death toll so far at 40 people.]

Francis Tolentino, an adviser to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, said at least 12 people died, mostly due to landslides, according to The Associated Press.

Global nonprofit Oxfam said it deployed teams of responders to the area to assess the damage and provide disaster relief.

"The situation is very bad," Oxfam's April Abello-Bulanadi said in a statement from Tuguegarao City. "The winds are howling and we can feel the destructive force of Ompong. The roof of the hotel where the response team convened has been blown away. We are on the third floor. The walls and ceiling are shaking. It has been raining nonstop."

Mangkhut has been tracked northwestward at about 16 mph over the past six hours, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The cyclone is forecast to make another landfall over southeastern China, just west of Hong Kong on Sunday, and will ultimately dissipate over the rugged terrain.

ABC News' Brittany Borer contributed to this report.

[END REPORT]

********

Humanitarianism as a tactic of war and Netherlands decision to stop funding White Helmets

The Netherlands decision is good news. Now if only the U.K., U.S., Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Japan would follow suit.(1) However, from my reading of Moon of Alabama's report (below) on the decision, it was made without questioning the veracity of the White Helmets videos, and skirted the issue of the group's collaboration with al Qaeda and other terrorist combatants in Syria. The reasons given for withdrawing funding are confined to issues with oversight and funds-transfer enforcement mechanisms.

I don't fault the government for the tack; it might have been the most legally defensible -- and diplomatically judicious, given the allied nations that fund the White Helmets. But while the Netherlands is the first Western government to publicly state that it found serious problems with the funding of the White Helmets, the reasons given for suspending the funding leave the door wide open for governments that want to continue funding the group.

It should be remembered that the group's official name is "Syria Civil Defense" despite the fact that it clearly operates in regions controlled by armed groups that have made war on a great many unarmed civilian members of Syrian civil society and that it serves those groups, which include terrorist ones.    

I think the White Helmets, as well as entities that use them for propaganda, are taking advantage of complex ethical issues related to medical treatment and other humanitarian aid for non-state enemy combatants. These are the issues the Netherlands and all other civilized nations need to tackle in coordinated fashion. Without such groundwork vaunted humanitarian relief groups such as the White Helmets and the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and the entities that fund them can keep skating past any evidence that they're outright aiding and abetting terrorism.

The civilized nations long ago worked out the ethics of medical treatment for enemy state combatants. They have avoided nailing down the ethics of treatment for non-state combatants that routinely use terrorism as a tactic of war and their families and other civilians as human shields. This has placed the civilized nations in the impossible position of half-heartedly endorsing savagery. 

The terrorists and their facilitators have greatly benefited from the dilemma by turning humanitarianism against the very governments that most value it. This has led to tactics that could be termed humanitarian-fare, as in 'lawfare' -- the tactics of using a nation's laws against it. 

While I'd consider SAMS the more dangerous of the two groups, the White Helmets by very publicly promoting themselves are a highly visible illustration of humanitarian-fare. Yet without governments tackling the issues that lead to the use of humanitarianism as a tactic of war, the White Helmets, if disbanded, would be replaced by a similar group -- one just more clever at observing donor rules of oversight and funds-transfer mechanisms.

The Dike Breaks - Netherlands Ends Support For "White Helmets" Terrorist Propaganda

September 15, 2018 - 3:30 PM

Moon of Alabama

The Netherlands just announced that it is ending its support for al-Qaeda's propaganda gang, the "White Helmets". It also ends its support for the so called Free Syrian Police. Last week the Netherlands shut down its "non lethal" support for the Free Syrian Army after Dutch news organizations found that members of these groups were accused of terrorism by their General Prosecutor.

According to the Volkskrant daily (in Dutch), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ended the support for the White Helmets after its Directorate for International Research and Policy Evaluation issued a critical report about them. For the White Helmets, which had received €12.5 million from the Dutch government, it lists the following issues:

• According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the supervision of the behavior of the rescue workers is 'inadequate'. The organization that supervises, Mayday, based in the Netherlands, is closely intertwined with the White Helmets itself. In practice, donors do not understand the difference between the two organizations.

• Mayday wants to spend a maximum of 0.9% of its budget on supervision of the work of the White Helmets. 'That is why there is a lack of independent supervision of the activities and results of the project.'

• The money for the White Helmets is transferred to the Syrian border in cash or enters the country via the hawala system. It is 'problematic' that Mayday does not know how much money is paid via which route. That is why there is a danger that money has fallen into the hands of armed groups. The cash flow can also indirectly be used for illegal trade. Systematic control of the money flow is missing.

• The White Helmets are active in areas where armed groups are in power that are considered 'unacceptable' for the Netherlands. Contact between the White Helmets and local administrators who work together with extremist organizations is inevitable.

The seemingly intentional lack of transparency practically guarantees that much of the more than $150 million the White Helmets received from various governments will have flown into the private pockets of the people who organize the scam.

This blog has published several pieces about the White Helmets, mostly pointing out their obviously faked media productions; e.g.:

• The U.S./UK Financed "White Helmets" Shtick - Fake "Child Rescued" Videos - June 1 2016
• "Dramatic Rescue! Man With Kid Runs Towards Camera!" - 44 Staged Pictures - June 21 2016
• How White Helmets Videos Are Made - November 21 2016

For background information on the White Helmets the earlier pieces by Vanessa Beeley's at 21st Century Wire are still the best: Syria’s White Helmets: War by Way of Deception – Part I and Part II – Syria’s White Helmets: ‘Moderate Executioners’.

Vanessa Beeley, Eva Barlett (vid) and others have tried for years to point out the nefarious scheme behind the propaganda scam "White Helmets". Roger Waters rightly calls them (vid) a "fake propaganda construct for terrorists". But 'western' media loved the dramatic fake photos and videos the White Helmets produced, partly because they could put them into print and on screen free of any charge. Whoever criticized them and questioned their narratives was publicly smeared and derided.

The Volkkrant notes:

It is the first time that a Western government states that there are problems with the project.

It will not be the last time. More people will take note, look into the issue and pressure their governments to end their support. As the Dutch know well, once the dikes break it is impossible to stop the flood. The relentless work of a few engaged writers put pressure onto the dike and finally broke it. The White Helmet scam will soon come under a flood of public scrutiny and will be swept away into some dark corner of history.

Just a month ago Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, also known as a "well-styled NATO call boy", met the White Helmets front man Raed al-Saleh, who was denied entry into the U.S., and promised him more money. 

Maas also lauded the recent 'evacuation of White Helmets' from the Quneitra and Daraa area to Israel, which was just another scam. Israel used the White Helmet cover to evacuated a number of terrorists commanders it had paid and equipped for years in its war on Syria.

Maas and his NATO colleagues in other countries will soon be asked about the Dutch example. Can they refute the analysis the Foreign Ministry of their NATO ally Netherland made? Can Maas explain what happened with the €17 million Germany gave them? In whose pocket did the money end up?

[END REPORT]

1) From Wikipedia's article on the White Helmets, Partnerships and Funding section:

The White Helmets receives charitable funding from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other western governments.[63] Initially the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office was the largest single source of funding through Mayday Rescue Foundation.[64]

As of 2016, SCD state they are also partly funded through Chemonics, a U.S. based private international development company.[63] Funders now include the Canadian government Peace and Stabilization Operations Program,[61] the Danish government,[65][66] the German government,[67] the Japan International Cooperation Agency,[20][68] the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[69][70] the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[71] the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)[46] and the United Kingdom Conflict, Stability and Security Fund(CSSF).[72]

USAID have contributed at least $23 million from 2013 to March 2016.[73][74] The British government had provided £15 million of funding between 2012 and November 2015,[75] increased to £32 million by October 2016.[76]

As of 31 March 2018, the British government had provided £38.4m in aid to the White Helmets.[77] The SCD has also received individual donations online to their Hero Fund, which provides treatment for wounded volunteers and supports their families.[78] In March 2017, the organization was reported to be operating on a budget of about $26 million.[9]

In April 2018 the Trump administration suspended the funding of the White Helmets as part of a wider suspension of the funding of stabilization projects in Syria while the U.S. reassesses its role in Syria. The U.S. had provided more than $33 million to support the group since 2013.[79][34]

On 14 June 2018, the Trump administration authorised USAID and the United States Department of State to release approximately $6.6 million in aid to be shared between the group and the UN's International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism in Syria.[80].

[END SECTION]

********

A sample of what the public is up against when trying to understand Syria's war

If at the end you ask, 'Then what am I supposed to do, spend my life putting together jigsaw puzzles? -- what do you think I've been doing with my life these past couple years? But yes, it is impossible to learn what's really been going on in Syria these past seven years unless one wants to make it a full-time avocation or is getting paid to do the work. That's why many in the public who have a pretty good idea of what's been happening in the Syrian war are retirees; they can afford the time to untangle the news coming to them about the war and piece together some bits of truth. Because most others can't spare that much time, foreign governments trying to unseat Syria's have in my opinion gotten away with mass murder in Syria as well as other crimes against humanity.  

To begin:

From the comment section for Moon of Alabama's 9/14 analysis, Syria - Al-Qaeda And Turkey Stage "Peaceful Civilians" Events

[... ] According to Marie Colvin (How the Assad regime tracked and killed Marie Colvin for reporting on war crimes in Syria https://interc.pt/2qi8BSF by @johnnyddwyer @rj_gallagher; February, 2012):

"...........After pulling back to a village outside the city, she decided to return to Baba Amr, a neighborhood under constant government bombardment, telling her colleague Paul Conroy “this was today’s Sarajevo,” and that she refused to “cover Sarajevo from the suburbs.” Her final reports detailed the brutal human toll of the indiscriminate violence. On February 21, she did a series of live interviews over Skype with Channel 4 and the BBC in the U.K. and CNN in the U.S. Speaking to Anderson Cooper, she recounted the death of a small child from a blast injury. “We just watched this little boy, his tummy heaving and heaving as he tried to breathe,” she said. “It’s a complete and utter lie that they are only going after terrorists. … The Syrian army is shelling a city of cold, starving civilians.”........"  [...]

Posted by: craigsummers | Sep 14, 2018 4:10:09 PM | 20

@ craigsummers | Sep 14, 2018 4:10:09 PM | 20
Marie Colvin lost one eye in Sri Lanka while smuggling herself out ot the LTTE terrorist camp. This terrorist "freedom fighters" invented the explosive belt, send hundred of young girls to blow mostly civilians.
there were picture of her in full camouflage uniform at the terrorist compound.
Up to the end of the LTTE cadres on the laguna Mary Colvin was backing this murderous outfit and trying to pressurize Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair and the Red Cross to save the 400 top terrorists.
They were exterminated. Enough is enough.
I was very pleased by the news of her death.

Posted by: Charles Michael | Sep 14, 2018 11:26:09 PM | 59

"she decided to return to Baba Amr, a neighborhood under constant government bombardment, telling her colleague Paul Conroy “this was today’s Sarajevo” ...

Now watch, and take special note of the year of the following report from a participant and  eyewitness to the events in Baba Amr, which included Paul Conroy and Marie Colvin. Emphasis throughout the report is mine. 

The journalist-combatants of Baba Amr
by Thierry Meyssan
Voltaire Network
March 4, 2012

THE INDEPENDENT ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF BABA AMR

Satellite view of the independent Islamic Emirate of Baba Amr. The Atlanticist media interpret the smoke billowing from the neighborhood as proof of bombings.

[ALL FOUR VIDEOS DISCUSSED AND POSTED IN THIS REPORT HAVE SINCE BEEN REMOVED FROM YOUTUBE.]

Member States of NATO and the GCC were unable to launch a conventional attack against Syria. However, for ten months they have been laying the groundwork by waging a low intensity war coupled with an economic and media assault. The city of Homs became the symbol of the conflict. The Free "Syrian" Army seized the neighborhoods of Baba Amr and Inchaat and proclaimed an Islamic Emirate that heralds its political program.

With the backing of Russia - still traumatized by her experience with the Islamic Emirate of Ichkeria - and China - eager to see the Syrian government protect its citizens -, the Syrian National Army stormed the stronghold on 9 February after all mediation attempts had failed. Defeated, the Free "Syrian" Army soon entrenched itself in an area of approximately 40 hectares, which was immediately sealed off by loyalist forces; it steadily withered and eventually fell on 1 March. In retaliation, the remaining armed elements of the Emirate massacred the Christians in the two villages they ripped through on their way to exile in Lebanon.

Throughout this period, major media have served to veil the sordid and cruel reality of this Emirate, and to replace it with a made-up story of revolution and repression. A special effort was made to create the impression that thousands of civilians were being shelled by the Syrian military artillery or the air force. At the heart of this propaganda construct, we find a press center used by the satellite channels of the Coalition: Al-Jazeera(Qatar), Al-Arabiya (Saudi Arabia), France24 (France), BBC (UK) and CNN (USA) under the coordination of Israeli journalists.

Between the antagonistic versions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Gulf Cooperation Council on the one side, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on the other, public opinion in the West and in the Gulf may well wonder which to believe. We will try to provide key elements, enabling people to decipher and determine the truth on their own. We will base ourselves on the videos broadcast by Western and Gulf TV channels, the testimonies of survivors recorded by the Voltaire Network office in Syria, and the documents which were found in the Emirate’s press center.

The two faces of Western reporters

The Western journalists trapped inside the Emirate posted distress call videos on the Internet. Two of them seem to be wounded, while the third one appears to be in good health. Their respective governments made of their retrieval a matter of principle. France dispatched an official to negotiate with the rebels. Several other states, including Russia, keen to cool tensions in the Levant, offered their good offices.

I took part in this collective effort. In actual fact, a French journalist declined the first opportunity to get out with the help of the International Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent. Suspecting a trap, she refused to accept the extended hand. My mission was two-fold. In the first place, to establish contact with my compatriots, brief them about the political and military context, and facilitate their hand over to a French official to be placed under diplomatic protection. Secondly, I had to report to those who are working for peace in this region regarding the exact sequence of events and assess the good will of the actors.

As we know, the negotiations failed. The intelligence service agents, representing the various states involved, were in a position to observe that the Syrian authorities and aid agencies had done their utmost and that the hindrance was solely attributable to the Free "Syrian" Army.

What a surprise then - genuine or feigned - for the various mediators when they suddenly learned that the three journalists whom they had tried to extract from Homs, plus a fourth who had turned down our help, were able to break through Free "Syrian" Army lines plus those of the Syrian national Army and make their way to Lebanon.

After a moment of confusion and verifying that Russia’s parallel efforts were no more advanced than ours, it became obvious that a commando armed by a major Western nation had spirited out the four journalists, and possibly more, while we had put our lives at risk unnecessarily. In such circumstances, there is no reason for me to keep silent on the underside of this affair. I will only omit from this article any reference to the officials and personalities involved, in order to preserve their ability to continue to act for peace, although mentioning certain details would have been of educational value for our readers.

There is no doubt in my mind that the survivors of Baba Amr will shape their version of events to strengthen the Atlanticist propaganda. They will continue to lie as they have lied all along. That is why, I am eager to put on record what I have seen in an effort to forestall the fabric of disinformation that is relentlessly being woven.

According to the current media rhetoric, a revolution was brutally quelled. One would think that Western journalists supposedly driven by their desire to inform, would normally have come on the spot to bear witness and report. The insurgents entrenched themselves progressively deeper into the Baba Amr district, where they survived for three weeks under a deluge of fire. Their press center was bombarded with GRAD missiles, coined "Stalin’s organs" by the Germans, on Wednesday, 22 February 2012. During this assault, Marie Colvin (Sunday Times) and Remi Ochlik (IP3 Press) were killed, while Edith Bouvier (Le Figaro Magazine) and Paul Conroy (Sunday Times) were wounded. William Daniels (ex-Figaro Magazine and Time Magazine) reportedly remained with them, while Javier Espinosa (El Mundo) allegedly split from the group.

The survivors posted four videos online that tell a strange story.

The deaths of Marie Colvin and Rémi Ochlik

The images of two dead journalists were seen on a video provided by the Free "Syrian" Army. Their bodies were found after the fall of the Emirate and were identified by the ambassadors of France and Poland (representing his United States counterpart).

[VIDEO]

Mary Colvin was known for her chic outfits and the contrast, that she used to juggle with, between the softness of her feminine attire and the hardness of the bandage covering her lost eye. The video, which only shows the back of the two bodies lying on the ground, is authentic and was validated by many of the media that have aired it. The two journalists are clad in battle dress. The question thus arises as to why this detail, which contravenes the non-combatant status of journalists in a battlefield, has been ignored by the public, and did not give rise to any outrage on the part of the profession.

Injured Edith Bouvier and Paul Conroy at the clinic

On the second video, the Syrian Red Crescent representative working inside the Emirate, Dr. Ali - a neighborhood dentist who courageously looked after the wounded - introduces Edith Bouvier and Paul Conroy who are lying on a bed in what appears be a kind of health center. Then, a Free "Syrian" Army soldier, calling himself "Doctor Mohammed" and donning a blue coat and a stethoscope, makes a revolutionary pronouncement.

[VIDEO]

Three things must be noted:
 Edith Bouvier refuses to identify herself, although her name is revealed to the audience, and tries to conceal her face.
 Paul Conroy rolls his eyes both anxiously and disapprovingly.
 "Doctor Mohammed" is a star of Syrian opposition videos. He acts as a revolutionary doctor, while he is not a doctor. He expresses himself in a broken language, devoid of medical terms, but sprinkled with references Salafists.

Everything suggests that "Doctor Mohammed" took advantage of the situation to involve the real doctor and the two journalists in the staging of a grossly over dramatized situation.

New message by Paul Conroy from his room

In a third video, British photographer Paul Conroy is stretched out on a couch, after receiving care. He asks for help and takes pains to clarify that he is there as a guest and not as a prisoner.

He looks just as uneasy as in the first video and drops several hints to the audience. He calls on "global agencies" to intervene because "they are working towards the same objectives on the ground". Who are these "global agencies" that supposedly have the power to pull him out of the Emirate? It can only be public agencies, be they intergovernmental like the UN, or national, such as intelligence agencies. What does "working towards the same objectives on the ground" mean? He cannot be referring to a UN activity, since they are not involved with journalism. The only possible interpretation is that he is sending a message to Allied intelligence agencies, hinting that he belongs to one of their British counterparts.

Unlike Mary Colvin, her photographer for her Sunday Times reporting assignments, Paul Conroy is not wearing a uniform on the battlefield, but he does not need one to be recognized.

"Doctor Mohammed" intervenes to give us his diagnosis. Paul Conroy was allegedly wounded in the leg the day before by a GRAD missile. He shows us an immaculate leg bandage. Despite the extreme seriousness and freshness of the wound, his leg is not swollen. "Doctor Mohammed" did not steal his title: With no medical training, he manages to perform medical miracles.

At the end of his speech, Paul Conroy butts in with a reassuring message for "his family and friends in England": "I am perfectly well." Though the hidden meaning may have escaped "Doctor Mohammed," those who know that Paul Conroy is from Northern Ireland, and not from England, will have no trouble deciphering it. The "photographer" is speaking to the upper echelons of the British military agency he works for, and lets them know that this pantomime should not be taken seriously: He is OK.

This time it is Paul Conroy who seems to have taken advantage of "Doctor Mohammed"’s theatrics to get his message across, while immobilized by his injury.

New message by Edith Bouvier and her companion

In a fourth video, filmed and broadcast the same day, Edith Bouvier, supine in in her bed of misfortune, calls for help. She requests (1) "the establishment of a cease-fire" and (2) a "medicalized car to drive her to Lebanon," so that she may be treated quickly.

[VIDEO]


 Since the requirements expressed are those of a truce that allow for the circulation of an ambulance and transportation to a hospital for treatment, such claims are totally incongruous. 

 (1) A cease-fire is an agreement to suspend all hostilities between the parties in the context of political negotiations, while a truce is a military draw, in a specific area and during a specified time frame, to permit the movement of persons or humanitarian supplies.
 (2) Moreover, being taken to Lebanon would first require an amnesty for the crime of illegal immigration, Edith Bouvier having been smuggled into Syria to be with the rebels.

Although these two requirements are not elaborated on, they correspond to the creation of a "humanitarian corridor" in the sense intended by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé.

Alain Juppe is unfortunately known for his ability to reverse roles and his use of "humanitarian corridors." In 1994 he had obtained from the UN Security Council a resolution authorizing Operation Turquoise, which is to say the creation of a "humanitarian corridor" to prevent the Hutu population of Rwanda from being slaughtered in turn in the wake of the crimes committed mainly by the Hutu Power against the Tutsi population. We now know that this corridor was more than just humanitarian. It allowed France to smuggle out the genocide perpetrators intermingled with the civilians, thus exempting them from having to answer for their crimes. Alain Juppé has sought this time to smuggle out armed groups responsible for killings in Syria. 

It should be noted that Edith Bouvier is not voicing her own needs; her requirements correspond to the interests of the Free "Syrian" Army, as defended by France.

It is not surprising that the journalist should act as Alain Juppé’s spokesperson. She was hired to work for Le Figaro by Georges Malbrunot. According to the Syrian authorities, in the 80’s the latter was the DGSE officer in charge of liaising with the Muslim Brotherhood. He was arrested in Hama, then handed over to the French authorities at the urging of President François Mitterrand.

In the next sequence, "Dr. Mohammed" explains the situation, while Bouvier’s companion, photographer William Daniels (freelance at Le Figaro-Magazine, then for Time Magazine) underscores its urgency. The statements in Arabic are translated into English by a fourth character that cannot be seen on the screen. Finally a fifth participant, young Khaled Abu Saleh, ends the video on a revolutionary note.

While in the first videos both Edith and Paul clearly refused to cooperate with "Doctor Mohammed," this time she willingly tags along.

Young Khaled Abu Saleh is the head of the Free "Syrian" Army press center. According to journalists who have used this facility, the Center, located in a dilapidated building, was equipped with all the necessary hi-tech material. Journalists could do their film editing, and had satellite equipment for live broadcasts. Some ironically compared the level of the computer center to that of the Syrian National Army, which continues to use antiquated transmission systems.

There is no mention of the generous sponsors who supplied this state-of-the-art installation. But Khaled Abu Saleh’s professional activities could give us a clue. The young revolutionary was himself a journalist. He is permanent correspondent for Al-Jazeera, which features his blog on its website, and freelances for France24, where he is listed as collaborator on the "Observers" column. These two satellite TV stations are spearheading NATO and GCC propaganda to justify regime change in Syria, as they did to justify the one in Libya.

As an example of the ethics practiced by the French public station, on 7 June 2011, France24 had broadcast live a very moving telephone speech by Syria’s ambassador to France, Lamia Shakkour, announcing her resignation in protest against the massacres in her country. Immediately the French diplomatic machine started to put pressure on all the Syrian ambassadors in the world to follow this good example. Alas! Although Renée Kaplan, the deputy editor-in-chief of France24, swore that the voice on the phone belonged to the Ambassador, whom she knew well, it was actually that of journalist Fahd Alargha-Almasri’s wife. The intoxication fizzled out [1].

Spurred by Alain de Pouzilhac and Christine Ockrent-Kouchner, France 24 and RFI have ceased to be news organizations to become instruments of the French military-diplomatic apparatus. Thus, on 5 July 2011, Alain de Pouzilhac, as CEO of the Société de l’audiovisuel extérieur de la France (AEF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shammam Mahmoud, Information Minister of the Libyan rebels. He pledged to create anti-Gaddafi media and to train the necessary personnel to facilitate the overthrow of the Libyan "Guide." The announcement drew the ire of France24 and RFI journalists, furious at being used for this propaganda enterprise. Everything suggests that similar provisions have been made to foster "citizen journalism" among "Syrian revolutionaries." If this is the case, the role of Khaled Abu Saleh is not just limited to corresponding and freelancing; he is a key player in the fabrication of false information on behalf of the French military-diplomatic device.

As already seen, Edith Bouvier was at first reluctant to take part in the stage-acting. This time instead she collaborated with her colleague from France24, recording a call for help aimed at manipulating the sympathy of the public to justify the establishment of a "humanitarian corridor," in line with Alain Juppé’s need to evacuate the mercenaries of the Free "Syrian" Army and the Western instructors.

First conclusions

At this stage of my video-based analysis, I have formulated ​several working hypotheses.

 The team from the Sunday Times (Mary Colvin and Paul Conroy) was working for MI6, while Le Figaro Magazine correspondent (Edith Bouvier) was sent by the DGSE.
 "Doctor Mohammed" seized the opportunity that the journalists were bedridden to record two more videos, but Paul Conroy, in turn, used it send a distress message to his allies.
 Ultimately, the France24 freelance, Khaled Abou Saleh, created the scenario for Alain Juppe’s objective.

Negotiation breakdown or negotiation shift?

Throughout the negotiations, I was able to provide various insights that were taken into consideration. But whenever I broached the above aspects, I was told that it was not the right time. It was clear that the Free "Syrian" Army was refusing to release the journalists. The priority was therefore to save them. Their actual status would be dealt with later.

On Saturday evening, 25 February, the negotiations folded. To restore contact with the Takfirists, the Syrians sought a moderate sheikh with whom the group would agree to talk, but all the clergymen who were approached stepped back one after the other for fear of the consequences. Should we continue to camp on site waiting for discussions to resume as soon as a sheikh could be found? Or was it better to return to Damascus to rest in safety?

The answer came from the Syrian military authorities. We were asked to return and to remain on stand-by for a new opportunity to emerge. Back in the capital, an SMS informed us that negotiations had been suspended for 48 hours.

Suspended did not imply that we could enjoy ourselves on Sunday and Monday while our fellow countrymen were in danger of death, but that during those 48 hours another negotiation was underway. At that moment, I thought that our Russian friends had taken the relay.

On Tuesday morning I was awakened by a friend, a war reporter for a major French media outlet, who called to inform me of the arrival of Paul Conroy and, probably, other journalists in Beirut. I was shocked. In turn, I woke up a senior Syrian official, who shared my perplexity. From phone call to call, nobody in Damascus knew anything, or would not speak.

Ultimately, I discovered that an agreement had been worked out between General Assef Shawkat and a highly placed French personality, whom he knew as a friend, to find a political solution to the imbroglio. Loyalist forces opened their lines to allow the French military advisers and journalists to cross into Lebanon overnight. At daybreak, the Free "Syrian" Army discovered they were gone. Realizing that they had been left on their own, the mercenaries decided to give themselves up, leaving their arsenal behind, while the Islamists refused the heed the final warnings. General Assef Shawkat gave the final assault and took the Emirate within hours, delivering the trapped civilians from the tyranny of the Islamists.

From its headquarters abroad, the Free "Syrian" Army - now reduced to a shadow of itself - announced its "strategic withdrawal." Since nature abhors a vacuum, the Syrian National Council, also based abroad, has meanwhile announced the creation of a Military Committee composed of Syrian and, especially, foreign experts. In four days, the military question has moved from the Syrian battlefield to posh lounges of the great Parisian hotels.

Thierry Meyssan

[1] "L’Ambassadeur de Syrie en France victime d’une tentative de déstabilisation," by Frédéric Lacastille, InfoSyrie, 7 June 2011.

[END REPORT]

"Syrian Air Defense Repels Israeli Air Strike on Damascus - Reports" UPDATED 6:15 PM EDT

UPDATE
RT, not Sputnik, posted the update, headlined Syrian air defense thwarted ‘Israeli missile attack’ near Damascus [international] airport – state agency 

I note that the attack was launched on the night of the tenth and final day of the Damascus International Trade Fair, during which many foreign businesspeople were in attendance. Presumably many of these attendees would have been at the international airport or en route during or just prior to the attack.  

In other words, the attack was to target the Syrian economy and warn off foreign investors in Syria including those interested in reconstruction projects there.  

SANA, Syria's state news agency, has also reported on the attack, as has Al Masdar News.  

END UPDATE

BREAKING NEWS

Sputnik

22:09 15.09.2018

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

[END REPORT]

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Uh oh

sigh.  

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California Wildfires: Meet Climate Whiplash.

I'd lost track of the number of days the massive Delta fire had been raging so I went to Wikipedia, which reported that the fire ignited on September 5. Then I went to a report at The Los Angeles Times, Firefighters make progress on massive Delta fire in Northern California, published yesterday morning Pacific Time, for news on how fighting the Delta fire has been going.

The fire was only 28 percent contained as of the report's publication although firefighters had caught a break from cooler and more humid weather, which allowed them to gain some ground against the fire. It could be a short break, and fire officials estimate the fire won't be fully contained until late this month.  

The allover situation with California wildfires has become steadily more troubling. California has always had two fire seasons but recently the wildfires have been striking virtually year round. Californians are up against a shift in demographics that leaves virtually all towns in the heavily populated state vulnerable to a sudden catastrophic wildfire brought on by a boom and bust weather pattern. 

So while 'climate whiplash,' as a climatologist quoted in the following report terms it, is not new or unique to California, it's hitting the state very hard. And it may be the new normal there. 

From Marissa Clifford's June 5 report for LA Curbed, In California, it’s always fire season now:
   

[...]

As the climate changes, Southern California will receive less rainfall in autumn and spring with a more pronounced wet season in winter. That means a longer dry season, one that will potentially overlap with fall’s notorious Santa Ana winds, a combination that fueled last year’s Thomas Fire—which burned for six months, destroying over 1,300 structures and claiming the lives of 22 people in the ensuing mudslides.

Those conditions are also believed to have fanned the Creek Fire in the foothills of Angeles National Forest.

But a longer dry season and rising temperatures aren’t the only factors that could contribute to 2018’s potentially devastating fire season. The sudden transitions back and forth from really wet years to really dry years, what Swain calls “climate whiplash”—which characterizes the swing from wet 2017 to dry 2018—and development all contribute to increased wildfire risk across the state.

Last year’s Skirball fire in Bel Air was sparked by a stove in a homeless encampment along the LA River. As Californians expand into high-risk areas, often areas that are desirable because of their ocean views and picturesque vegetation, developers and regulators are being forced to consider what building in fire zones means. Especially since the mix of wildland-urban areas make fires harder to fight.

”It’s not just put a line on the ground and the fire is contained,” Jonathan Cox, Cal Fire’s battalion chief, told the Washington Post. “You have essentially a jigsaw puzzle of fire and homes and infrastructure, all mixed together, and then you add in topographical features like slope and hills and trees.”

Because of the many factors contributing to a fire’s ignition and burn-time, McLean confirms that predicting with certainty how fires will affect Southern California is futile.

“There’s no way to determine that,” he said of our ability to forecast what 2018’s fire season will look like. “The weather is starting out the same [as 2017]. Things are matching. I can tell you at the end of the year.”

Fire season by name or not, Sacramento has been quick to respond after last year’s disasters.

The state has approved more than $1 billion to prevent and prepare for wildfires this season, $100 million of which will go to buying a new fleet of helicopters. Controlled burns are scheduled across the state, and Cal Fire has pushed staffing up by two weeks in anticipation.

Soon, Wireless Emergency Alerts, known as WEAs, will be enhanced with geo-targeting and informational hotlinks in the hopes that they’ll be more effective.

It’s important that Cal Fire and other agencies are as prepared as possible to fight and prevent wildfires, but McLean stresses that it’s the public’s responsibility to educate themselves as much as it is Cal Fire’s to provide support.

“It’s a 360 degree thing,” he said. “We’re still in the same conditions as last year, so we just need to all work together.”

I wish Californian's luck in combating the wildfire threat, but the bottom line is that California has become a tinder box, where even a spark from a car exhaust pipe can set off a conflagration. At the time of a San Francisco Chronicle editorial's publication on July 30, wildfires were burning across the entire state:

What’s especially alarming about this year’s fire season is how difficult it’s been for fire crews to contain the blazes. The Carr Fire, for example, grew from relatively manageable flames into a war zone overnight.

To return to the LA Times report on the Delta fire:

This part of Northern California has been hard hit by wildfire recently. The Hirz fire to the east, which joined with the Delta fire, grew to 46,150 acres before it was completely contained. In July, the Carr fire, which started in the same cluster as the Delta and Hirz fires, grew to 229,651 acres. Three firefighters died and more than 1,000 homes were destroyed in that blaze.

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