Porkins Policy Review
The above video is from Syrian state TV showing the aftermath of a terrorist bombing that the US blocked condemnation of in the UN.
The imperialist warmonger William Hague is yet again warning about the threat of Islamic terror in Syria. The British Foreign Secretary has named Syria the “number one” destination for jihadist’s. Hague even goes so far as to say that current situation increases the threat of chemical weapons. Thus according to Hague its time for Russia and China to join the West in helping to bring about regime change, also known as military intervention. It is amazing how Hague is able to say such things with a straight face. He bemoans the terrorist threat while at the same time advocating the overthrow of the last secular leader in the Middle East and continuing to fund and arm Islamist’s. The idea that by going in and implementing a regime change would somehow stop the Islamic terrorists is beyond idiotic. Of course Hague and the other imperialists like Obama in fact want the Islamist fighters to succeed so as justify to the sheeple in America that we need to spend countless amounts of money securing and dominating the Syrian people. As with all other imperialists Hague is more concerned with fomenting destabilization through out Syria and the greater Middle East.
McClatchy has been awarded the George Polk Award for war reporting in Syria. When it come to the mainstream press there is no one better than McClatchy. They are the only mainstream press organization that questions the official Washington talking points and actually does real reporting. This is undoubtedly why they won the award. There Syria coverage from both David Enders and Austin Tice has proved invaluable. What really separates their coverage from most others is that they actually report from inside Syria rather than talking to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Skyping with Syrians from the safety of Beirut. Unfortunately Austin Tice will not be able to accept his award as he is still missing in Syria. He disappeared August 13th and according to the US government is being held by the Syrian military. Although these individuals don’t exactly look like your average Syrian soldiers.
There was a time in my life when I used to read Foreign Policy and think that it was really cutting edge and unbiased, alas this is no longer the case. Eventually I woke up to the fact that Foreign Policy is the mouth piece of the warmongering bipartisan foreign policy establishment in Washington. James Traub is an excellent example of the kind of fools that Foreign Policy employs. He is a fellow at the Center on International Cooperation which is like all the other establishment Beltway think tanks. In his weekly column, Terms of Engagement, he attempts to show how it is now time for President Obama to really get involved in Syria. Traub hardly hides his imperialist reasons for why Obama should start massively arming the rebels
The rebels have been forced again and again to break off battles they might otherwise win for lack of ammunition and firepower. With anti-aircraft capability, the rebels could create a safe haven on their own. With anti-tank missiles, they night quickly turn the tide in other disputed areas.
The United States has a profound interest not only in bringing the slaughter in Syria to an end, but in having a meaningful presence on the ground when that happens — as it did in Libya thanks to the NATO air campaign. It will not be easy, under any circumstances, to prevent Syria from collapsing into religious and ethnic enclaves, or into a war of all against all. But if Washington remains on the sidelines, as it has until now, it will have little influence with those who will ultimately prevail, and thus little ability to help shape the post-Assad landscape.
Obama might decide to postpone the decision until after the election, but that would be an act of consummate cynicism. He should act now, before it’s too late.
Spill over from the Syrian civil war is
making its way into Lebanon. Around 30 Syrians have been kidnapped in Lebanon in total, with most being held by the powerful Lebanese Shiite family al Mokdad. The kidnappings are in retaliation for one of their family members being kidnaped supposedly by the FSA in Syria. The al Mokdad clan has threatened to abduct Qatari and Saudi nationals that they find in Lebanon. The Gulf nations have taken this threat very seriously. On Wednsday Qatar and Saudi Arabia urged all of its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately. This latest development should be a warning to any an all nations meddling in the Syrian civil war; stay out or face the consequences. What ever happens in Syria will reverberate in Lebanon. Small sale fighting has already taken place in Tripoli which has a significant Alawite community. We are now reaching the point of no return in this conflict. For all of the bluster from Western and Gulf leaders about the imminent downfall of Assad, he still remains in power. Short of an intervention no one knows how long he will continue fighting. As horrific as the civil war is now, it will surely be eclipsed by what will come after Assad leaves or is murdered. Fighting between Assad’s forces and the rebels are leading to a mutual cycle of violence that will sow enough hate on both sides to have this conflict last for years if not decades. This latest spate of kidnapping illustrates this point perfectly. The kidnapping of one Lebanese individual has now mobilized an entire family into a militia. The al Mokdad clan have no ties to either Hezbollah or Amal, the main Shia factions in Lebanon, but they are now firmly in the camp that opposes the FSA and the rebels in Syria. Animosity between the FSA and the al Mokdad clan is not going to end when the civil war ends.
Hillary Clinton always manages to out do herself with a relentless litany of contradictions. Our supposed democracy loving Secretary of State told reporters at a news conference in Pretoria that
We have to send very clear expectations about avoiding sectarian warfare. Those who are attempting to exploit the situation by sending in proxies or terrorist fighters must realize that will not be tolerated,
Well it seems that Secretary Clinton ether forgot or is unaware that this is precisely what the United States is doing in Syria. It’s unlikely that she is unaware or forgot as she is one of the principle officials pushing this policy in Syria. Using the CIA to funnel arms and equipment to rebels so as to overthrow Assad and weaken Iran is the definition of using proxies. Furthermore, using these proxies is only exacerbating the sectarian strife in Syria. The administrations support of Sunni’s is shifting the conflict further in a direction which pits Sunni’s against Christians and Alawites.
Now if a big bad Republican had said this Democrats would be screaming bloody murder. And herein lies the problem with liberals. They are perfectly content with calling out conservatives when they advocate dangerous and illegal policies, but they are unable to reprimand their own people for doing the same thing. If a war criminal like George W. Bush had done this it would have been very bad. When the great liberal savior Barack Obama does it it’s different because he is doing it with good intentions. At least Republicans have the decency to be upfront and admit that their awful policies are aimed at ensuring American imperialism and hegemony over the world. Democrats hide behind the veil of humanitarianism and human rights when implementing their domineering foreign policy.
When Bush claimed to be bringing democracy to Iraq anyone with half a brain was able to see that this wasn’t the case. Instead it had everything to do with getting rid of someone who didn’t submit and play by Americas rules, and putting in place a puppet beholden to the United States and it’s interests. To a lesser extent is also
had to do ridding the region of Israel’s only real adversary. Unsurprisingly this didn’t turn out the way it was planned. Instead Saddam was replaced with another authoritarian leader who has exacerbated sectarian and ethnic tensions far beyond Saddam. Maliki is not beholden to anyone except his own desire for power. He has become increasingly close with America
and Israel’s sworn enemy Iran. The Obama administrations goal in Syria has a much to do with human rights and democracy as Bush’s Iraq strategy did. The real goals in Syria are two fold. Weaken and isolate Iran, and slow down the Arab Spring by putting in place an American stooge that will look out for America not Syria’s interests. Liberals and Democrats need to wake up to this sooner rather than later. In a few months it may not be possible to undo a civil war that will engulf the entire region.
Riad Hijab is not a nice person. To spite what his spokesman has been telling Al Jazeera and Western media, Hijab is nothing more than a corrupt Assad crony. Reading his statement from today one might think that Hijab is a brave freedom fighter:
I announce today my defection from the killing and terrorist regime and I announce that I have joined the ranks of the freedom and dignity revolution. I announce that I am from today a soldier in this blessed revolution…
Hijab’s spokesman Muhammad el-Etri continued this repulsive narrative in an interview with Al Jazeera:
This defection has been being planned for more than two months. He was given two options: to either take the office of prime minister or be killed. He had a third option in mind: to plan his own defection in order to direct a blow to the regime from within and today he is declaring his defection…
I believe he is the highest ranking official in Syria [to defect]… it is one of a kind and it will have grave repercussions on the regime and significant implication after the departure of the regime and [for] the success of the revolution.
Did Hijab have a problem 17 months ago when this all started? For that matter did Hijab have a problem at all with the way that Assad has brutally been ruling Syria since 2000? It’s not as if Assad suddenness started killing his own people and Hijab became disillusioned with the Baathist’s. Hijab is a Sunni who benefited politically and financially from a dictator who oppresses Sunni’s plain and simple. As the civil war becomes increasingly bad Hijab doesn’t want to be on the losing side of the conflict. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that Hijab is some poor innocent politician. Had the civil war never happened Hijab would be content with stealing and abusing the Syrian people.
The above video allegedly shows the FSA executing regime loyalists. Those being executed are most likely members of the powerful al-Barri family. The al-Barri family is a wealthy Sunni clan in Syria which has been loyal to the regime for some time. A few days ago a newly elected Syrian MP was publicly executed by the FSA in Aleppo. This MP was named Zeino al-Barri. It is safe to say that the huge extended al-Barri family will never be on the side of the FSA and those trying to overthrow Assad. It is also safe to say that the FSA committed a war crime here. Thats the same FSA that John McCain and Anne-Marie Slaughter and all the other warmongers in Washington want the United States to arm and fully support. These are the gallant freedom fighters that deserve our help and money.
Since the beginning of the Arab Spring Turkey has been singing the praises of those fighting for freedom in countries such as Egypt and Yemen. When it comes to their neighbor Syria, Turkey has taken a very strong tone in terms of their support. Turkey has been hosting both the Syrian National Council as well as the Free Syrian Army. As Al Akhbar reports today, Turkey has set up a secret military base with the support of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This base is being used by Turkey to coordinate FSA attacks in Syria. One of the unintended consequences of Turkeys meddling in Syria is the recent development of an autonomous Syrian Kurdistan. Assad has handed over power of Syria’s Kurdish region to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD). The PYD has ties to the PKK in Turkey, which Ankara designates as a terrorist group.
Part of the reason for Assad’s handing over of power to the PYD is due to the need for more military personal in Aleppo. Assad has removed soldiers form its Kurdish region to fight the Turkish backed FSA in the pitched battle in Syria’s largest city. Unsurprisingly Turkey has declared that it will intervene in Syria so as not to let this “terrorist” group gain a foot hold. Prime Minister Erdogan told Turkish TV that “We will not allow a terrorist group to establish camps in northern Syria and threaten Turkey.”
If this strikes you as hypocritical thats because it is. Turkey is in favor of toppling Assad and brining democracy to Syria only if they can control the outcome. Turkey wants a Sunni dominated Syria that will be subservient to Turkey. Erdogan calling the Syrian Kurds terrorists is also laughable while he is openly funding Sunni extremists carrying out bombings in Syria. What happens when the Kurds in Turkey start demanding the freedom that their brothers in Syria gained? Will Turkey respond like Assad, with bullets and bombs?
Media coverage during any conflict is always fraught with propaganda and distortions. The civil war in Syria is no different. In an age where most people receive their news from television, the various media outlets reporting on Syria have been plagued with biased views of the situation.
At one time Al Jazeera was seen as a bastion of independent journalism in the Middle East. Their coverage of the Iraq War and the Egyptian revolution were hailed by many in the region for their fair and unbiased reporting. Unfortunately this is not the case in Syria. As the below news segment demonstrates, Al Jazeera’s coverage has been co-opted by the Qatari government. They are still framing the narrative as a fight between good and evil. The FSA in the minds of Al Jazeera is a galant and brave rebel army fighting the evil Assad regime. As the Syrian National Council lackey says, the just FSA is retreating from their newly conquered territories in Damascus, so as to protect the civilian population. Note too, that all of this information is gained through YouTube videos, and reporters from neighboring countries. The great Arab news outlet doesn’t have anyone on the ground.
Russia Today’s coverage of the Syrian civil war is much more nuanced. RT is funded by the Kremlin, so there is a bias and slant to their coverage. But if people are willing to eat up Qatari and Western propaganda, why not eat some Russian as well. RT manages to frame the narrative is more realistic manner. This is no longer a peaceful protest movement. Instead this is a civil war in which a plethora of factions are all vying for power. No one controls the country. RT is also quick to point out that the Syrian National Council has no serious backing within Syria. Most importantly RT actually has someone there on the ground in Damascus with the FSA. They don’t have a correspondent in Beirut Skyping with activists in Syria.
Take any and all coverage of Syria with a grain of salt. With that in mind though, seek out a variety of media coverage.
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