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Updated 8.21pm
DRAMATIC FOOTAGE FROM Aleppo shows the moment a young girl was pulled from the rubble alive after airstrikes in the Syrian capital.
The five-year-old girl, named as Rawan Alowsh, can be heard crying out in pain as a rescuer digs at the rubble surrounding her before pulling her out of the hole by her ponytail.
The airstrike killed her three sisters, her brother and both her parents and destroyed her home, Sky News reports.
Missiles rained down on rebel-held areas of Aleppo today, causing widespread destruction that overwhelmed rescue teams, as the army prepared a ground offensive to retake the city.
Reuters reports Hamza al-Khatib, the head of a hospital in Aleoop, said 91 people were killed by today’s bombardment, though the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the number at 30.
Hospitals support by Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have reported significant increases in the number of wounded patients, with 145 injured people being admitted. The hospitals also registered 23 deaths.
“People in Aleppo already suffocating under the effects of the siege, have yet again come under horrific attack”, said Carlos Francisco, MSF head of mission in Syria.
“No aid, including urgent medical supplies is allowed to enter. We are deeply worried by the high numbers of wounded reported by the hospitals we support, and also know that in many areas the wounded and sick have nowhere to go at all – they are simply left to die.”
Progress
The intensity of the bombardment, which included artillery barrages and barrel bombings by helicopters, brought new misery to the estimated 250,000 civilians besieged by the army.
The escalation came after US Secretary of State John Kerry failed to reach an agreement with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday on terms to salvage a failed ceasefire.
The two met again today at the United Nations and made what Kerry said was “a little bit of progress” on resolving their differences on Syria.
“We’re evaluating some mutual ideas in a constructive way, period,” Kerry told reporters.
Entire apartment blocks were flattened, overwhelming rescue teams from the White Helmets civil defence organisation.
Ground operation
In the Al-Kalasseh district, three buildings were levelled by a single strike, and rescue workers tried frantically to reach survivors using a single bulldozer and their bare hands.
The White Helmets’ headquarters in the Ansari district was badly damaged along with an ambulance and a fire engine. A second centre operated by the group was also hit.
Rescue workers told AFP their stock of diesel was down to 2,000 litres (530 gallons), forcing them to ration fuel and make choices on when to intervene.
Also in Aleppo province, the Observatory reported 15 deaths including 11 children in a Russian raid on the rebel-held town of Beshkatine and 11 killed in raids by unidentified aircraft on Islamic State group stronghold Al-Bal.
The bombardment came a day after the Syrian army announced an offensive to recapture east Aleppo, which has been held by the rebels since mid-2012 but has been surrounded by government forces since July.
The army urged civilians to distance themselves from “the positions of terrorist groups” and pledged that fleeing residents would not be detained.
A high-ranking military source confirmed that the bombardment was preparation for a ground assault.
“We have begun reconnaissance, aerial and artillery bombardment,” he told AFP.
“This could go on for hours or days before the ground operation starts. The timing of the ground operation will depend on the results of the strikes and the situation on the ground.”
- © AFP 2016 with reporting by Michelle Hennessy.
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Unrelated but any articles about Yemen? The richest county in the middle east is bombing the poorest. Over 8,000 air raids with more than 3,000 of which confirmed hitting non-military targets. Is it getting little coverage or am I on the wrong news websites?
Money talks..remember Tibet? time was people actually gave a damn about a free Tibet. Then the chinese started making mobile phones an d suddenly nobody cares
I was just about to say that, even the UN barely mention it these days. Just goes to show there is a hierarchy of victims and wars. It’s not a new thing, we seen it in Ireland for decades during the Troubles.
So true, this carnage is occurring regularly in poor Yemen, the suffering is unimaginable. The difference is there isn’t a proposed pipeline through Yemen.
January 2001, the Taliban are official guests of the White House. Asked courteously if a pipeline from Kazakstan through Afghanistan would be do-able, replied in the negative and went home. Nine months later, boom. This time, they want to run a pipeline through Syria. Why was Gaddafi done away with, because he wouldn’t play dollars? Saddam knocked off his perch too. Both lads at one time were favoured by the west. Arms manufacturers are making a killing from all this discontent.
This won’t be at all popular, but any wonder the world breeds angry men and women. If you happen to be a young Muslim in the world today you would nearly think the rest of the planet is out to get you. This is the nonsense we are being spoon-fed. Ordinary folk don’t have major issues with their neighbours, we normally settle things amicably. We’re a social animal after all, we need each other.
Who is the leader of Yemen? Exactly. No one knows because he hasn’t been sufficiently demonised yet.
Who is the leader of Iran? Beautiful people, as are the Arabs. We are all God’s kids. One God, all the other wonderful deities can come together. Theology baby. Culture is older than religion. For example, villages were being razed to the ground and lads chopped up long before Mohammed started annoying people with his craic.
38 billion dollars. How many starving kids would that feed. Sad world.
How does the US make demands with a straight face after what they did? There’s no way they can be trusted
They are a joke alright, it’s crazy that people still believe anything the day in relation to this conflict. Their support for ISIS in Deir Ezzour in their first and only attack in this battle zone is indefensible, and was a clear warning to the SAA. Let’s hope the Russians never agree to their ceasefire (regrouping period for Jihadis) ever again!
The Russians perfected the concept of ceasefires just for regrouping. It was their favourite tactic in the Ukraine. Push for a ceasefire, arm the ‘rebels’ and then attack unsuspecting Ukrainian forces.
One day you will take your head out of the sand and actually understand a conflict.
Jason for a man who makes decent comments on every other subject, you really talk some crap when it comes to the defending the indefensible Yanks!
@PaulJ: He does Paul doesn’t he? Really good comments on other subjects. When it comes to U.S. hegemony and war, his penchant for logic goes out the window.
Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.
No wonder Washington wanted the Syria ceasefire agreement kept secret! John Kerry spilled the beans yesterday at the UN: the US demands that Syria stop bombing al-Qaeda because Washington’s “moderates” refuse to separate from al-Qaeda. Don’t believe it? Watch it in Kerry’s own words at the link. Is Washington “with the terrorists”?
In Kerry’s Own Words: Syria Prohibited from Attacking al-Qaeda
http://bit.ly/2cpjpVb
ISIS Overruns Syrian Army Base After Deadly US Strikes
US thought it’s ISIS-controlled, well it is now
Mission accomplished
Originally appeared at Antiwar.com
In the defense of the Deir Ezzor Airport, the Syrian military has long depended on an army base in Jebel Tharda to repel ISIS advances. That base has been lost this weekend, after a disastrous series of US-led airstrikes killed a large number of Syrian troops defending the base, and ISIS quickly overran what was left.
For over 20 minutes, the coalition warplanes attacked the base. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack killed at least 83 Syrian troops and wounded 120 others. The US Central Command claimed they thought the base belonged to ISIS.
It does now. With the forces decimated by the US attack, ISIS quickly overran the base. Syrian state media claimed an ongoing effort to recover the site, but it does not appear to have been successful yet, as ISIS managed to shoot down a Syrian warplane, flying out of Deir Ezzor Airport, over Jebel Tharda.
http://russia-insider.com/en/isis-overruns-syrian-army-base-after-us-bombings/ri16518
@Pádraig Ó Raghaill: Understand like you do you mean, by supporting Asssad a war criminal with the killing of thousands of children and innocent civilians in his own country. Winning a war is also winning the hearts and minds of your own people, something which Assad is prepared to do with the help of the Russians. Do you honestly think that Putin will help Syria to rebuild afterwards. They are only interested in getting a foothold in the middle east for their military.
Theres ISIS video on Youtube of Deir ez Zour airbase filmed from the former SAA position….
@PaulJ:
It may surprise you, however I don’t actually support the US in this conflict.
The issue in my mind here on this site is that a lot of factual inaccuracies and downright BS go completely unchallenged. For example, Pádraig’s earlier claim that the entire conflict was started by hundreds of thousands of American-paid jihadists.
While I don’t support American-led bombing activities in Syria (I’d much rather see them with boots on the ground in Iraq, a government that actually wants American aid) I also want to challenge the blatantly pro-Russian and pro-Assad nonsense that’s spouted here.
That may not come across in my comments where I specifically target the comments of some of the most blatantly pro-Russians.
A Syrian survivor soldier from Deir Ezzour attack: “The U.S.-coalition warplanes were finishing the wounded [Syrian soldiers] by machine gun”
“We thought the planes were leading the recognition of the Daesh positions. But soon after we were attacked by coalition fighters that hit our tanks, armored vehicles and artillery pieces.
They were finishing with machine guns our soldiers who tried to take refuge in the streets. Each fighter jet fired at least three missiles at us.
I saw with my own eyes the death of about 100 soldiers. They shelled our soldiers in retreat. Many of them perished because injured and could not move”, he said.
“Immediately after the air raid, the jihadists went to attack the Syrian military positions. Daech attacked our positions, our soldiers were captured. I had the impression that there was an agreement between the United States units and Daesh. The terrorists were jubilant, they fired shots into the air as if they were celebrating something”, said the soldier.
https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/deirezzour-saa-survivor/
@Pat O’Dwyer:
Going to call complete BS on that one. The American jets operating over Syria at the moment are predominantly F-16′s, F/A-18′s and F-22′s. All of these aircraft are simply too fast and have too short of a loiter time to use their cannon armaments on ground targets.
@Jason Culligan: The issue is you never accept anything against America. Not firsthand account by Syrians, not video footage, third party analysis absolutely nothing at all do you ever accept. Now even disputing an article by American Special Forces, laughable, a complete joke to be honest.
@Pádraig Ó Raghaill: He may be getting his news from Stars and Stripes magazine
@Jason Culligan: The US attack consisted of 2F16`s and 2 A10 Warthogs, and a drone – are you seriously telling me that A10 warthogs can`t strafe??
I`m calling complete BS on your post.
What are we on now, the 6th or 7th different version from the Russians on what really happened the convoy? Throw anything out there and see if it sticks…. The Russian drone footage that was able to follow the convoy but “unfortunately” was unable to capture footage of what happened during the attack. We’re supposed to believe it followed the convoy until it was handed over to “militants” then it supposedly went back to base, you can bet the Russians would be more interested in videoing the convoy to check what the “militants” we’re doing with the convoy..but no …they were only monitoring it before the “militants” and didn’t see who attacked the convoy…..INCREDIBLE
@Diaspora’d: You DO realise that the Russians were to monitor the convoy until it was handed over to the militants, then the convoy was to be moved to a secret location to which the Russians had no privy too? Which was done hours before the convoy went up in flames.
Also, Point out the chassis damage, the Cabs of the trucks damage and the craters that would be left behind after a “Russian attack?” – You can`t – because there is NO evidence of a missile strike – even the UN has backtracked on the missile attack theory.
Russia has given all of the information it has to the UN and have called for a full independent inquiry into the incident, also the Russians have data of an american drone which came to where the convoy was(which has been handed over too) “On the evening of September 19, in that specific region, a drone belonging to the international condition, which had taken off from the Incirlik air base in Turkey, was flying at a height of 3,600 meters and traveling at around 200 kilometers per hour,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
“The object was in the area around the town of Urm Al-Kubra, where the convoy was a few minutes before it caught fire,” Konashenkov added. “It left after about 30 minutes.”
Explain all that to me, The Russians have given over all their Data, why don`t the Americans do likewise??
…6 or 7 different versions to see which one might stick…first off it was President Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, claiming that the attack on the humanitarian convoy was somehow a necessary response to an alleged offensive by al-Nusrah elsewhere in the country…..now we are on version 6 or 7, and you MotherofDivine have been on here cutting and pasting every one of those claims straight off Kremlin State RT
@Diaspora’d: The russians have always stuck to the one version – IT WASN`T THEM!
All the other versions are from John Kerry,White House, NATO and the UN, and none of them can stick, the UN have even backtracked on the missile theory.
Don`t be getting all pissy now, just because you are being brought to school, That post above you is not a cpy and paste job, – you really need to turn off fox news in wisconsin, get off your american websites and see the real world – you really are starting to come across as the stereotypical dumb as a bag of rocks yank, Less than 10% of you have a passport, most can`t even point out Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria on a map.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/most-americans-of-military-age-cannot-locate-iraq-on-map-1.1127202
@Motherofdivinejebus: less than 40% of you – sorry, Typo
So now you’re going to revert to stereotyping? instead of arguing the topic, you’re going to analyze my perspective because of where I live? I am here reading what you and the rest of the Putin cheerleaders post, day in day out, and it’s the same stuff I see here when I watch RT America (which is freely and up restrictively broadcast here) I’m entitled to question what you post
@Motherofdivinejebus: i think what Diaspora’d is saying has something to do with a fried chicken shop and a bomb
@Diaspora’d: no problems with you questioning anything, But i do have problems with your allegations of russia changing their story 6 or 7 times, when it is your lot that has done that, I have problems with your complete ignoring of the facts around the incident.
Every time you have questioned, i have answered, Put up the links to the 6 or 7 changes in statements, time to put up or shut up buddy :-)
@jynxeffect….I doubt it, but keep going
@Diaspora’d: it has been over 30 mins now – you going to put up your links to the allegations you have made about the Story being changed 6 or 7 times or not mate?
look back at your own posts over the last few days where you linked statements from Russian military spokesmen reported on RT about militants with mortars shadowing the convoy, to evidence of there only a fire and no sign of ordinance to US hellfire drones being suspiciously present and now above we have an article linked to witnesses seeing US warplanes attack the convoy. Keep throwing it out there to see what sticks
@Diaspora’d:
#1 ; Militants with Mortars is seen in the video!!
#2 ; There is NO evidence of Missile strike damage.
#3 ; Please point out the link to witnesses seeing US warplanes attacking the convoy??
You say “What are we on now, the 6th or 7th different version from the Russians on what really happened the convoy? ” – The Russians HAVEN`T changed their story, they are merely pointing out verifiable facts, Their Story is and has always been – They didn`t do it. They are pointing out inconsistencies in the UN, White Helmets and the US versions.
again post links to your claim on them changing their story 6 or 7 times
Are you for real? “The Russians are pointing out verifiable facts”.
All they have done is just put out numerous versions and “implied scenarios”…it could have been attacked by Rebels, the trucks could have caught fire by accident , there was US predator drone in the area with the implication it could have carried out the attack, there were militants with mortars shadowing the trucks, that’s what you call obfuscation..
I’d be Interested to know how a UN Vehicle spontaneously combusting can be a verifiable fact
@Diaspora’d: There just really is no point in talking to you is there? Nothing gets through whatsoever…..
Still waiting on your links by the way, I am especially interested in the one you claim to exist in these posts, but seems to have totally vanished…The one where you say “the article linked to witnesses seeing US warplanes attack the convoy”
I can`t find that one anywhere – are you hallucinating?
@Motherof Divine. Sorry, I misread Pat O’Dwyers post above which was about the US Airstrike that hit Syrian Army.
@Diaspora’d: Righty oh so, I`ll just have to settle for the links to the 6 or 7 different stories emanating from the Russians, Thanks for clearing the other one up by the way .
When it comes to Russia and the US making statements it’s a case of the US admitting when they know it’ll come out while hiding what they can versus Russia’s stance of “nothing to see here”
Can anybody confirm or deny this report which is appearing on many media outlets ?
30 Intelligence Officers Including Israelis Killed in Russia Missile Attack in Aleppo
The Russian warships in Syria’s coastal waters targeted and destroyed a foreign military operations room in Dar Ezza region in the Western part of Aleppo near Saman mountain, killing over two dozen Israeli and western intelligence officers.
Several US, Turkish, Saudi, Qatari and British officers were also killed along with the Israeli officers.
The foreign officers who were killed in the Aleppo operations room were directing the terrorists’ attacks in Aleppo and Idlib.
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1864011
U.S. Coalition Intelligence “Operations Room” Inside Syria, Destroyed by Russian Missile Attack: Thirty Israeli, American, British, Turkish, Saudi, Qatari Intelligence Officials Killed, Report
http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-coalition-intelligence-operations-room-inside-syria-destroyed-by-russian-missile-attack-thirty-israeli-american-british-turkish-saudi-qatari-
@Motherofdivinejebus:First Story…
The UN aids trucks were not hit by shells (Implication this was an inside job not involving Syria/Russia)
Second Story…
terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra carried out a massive attack with heavy support from artillery and rocket launchers in the direction of where the convoy was on Monday
both stories/scenarios in same article
http://sana.sy/en/?p=88558
Third Story..
Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman “The video clearly shows how the terrorists are relocating a pickup truck with a large-caliber” mortar
http://on.rt.com/7ptn
Fourth Story..
“Everything shown in the video is the direct result of a fire which mysteriously began at the same time as a large scale rebel attack on Aleppo,” Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-war-air-strike-aleppo-ceasefire-russia-responsibility-a7317576.html
Fifth Story..
Damage to Aid convoy is similar to that produced by US Hellfire missiles
An attack that produced no crater (typical of the air-blast of a thermobaric Hellfire) and numerous fires (also more likely from a thermobaric Hellfire).
https://goo.gl/jCwiIa
Throw a story out there and see what sticks…
Syrian government forces and their Russian allies launched an offensive on opposition-held areas of Aleppo on Friday, bombarding the city with dozens of airstrikes and threatening to launch a ground invasion.
@dublinlad: Who bombed the Syrian army? and aided IS… the world is watching.
@thejynxeffect: One reason that they were bombed is due to Isis? As were the White Helmets as well as the believe is that they belong to Al Qaeda.
https://www.change.org/p/nobel-prize-do-not-give-2016-nobel-peace-prize-to-syrian-white-helmets
Somebody needs to tell John Kerry and USA that Syria is not theirs. USA demands that Syria grounds it’s airforce . Maybe USA should stop backing head hackers and terrorists and this would have ended a long time ago.
They demanded that the Syrians ground their air force so that the ceasefire could be salvaged, but sure don’t let the facts get in the way.
@Jason Culligan: Jason, the last thing the U.S. wants is a ceasefire. In your comment above you said Russia are using the ceasefire to regroup. If this is true, why would the U.S. want to salvage a ceasefire? Surely they wouldn’t want them to regroup. Anyway, bombing dozens of Syrian Army to assist terrorists does not display a willingness to engage in peaceful discussion.
Jason. What gives them the right to tell another country in their own country to ground their airforce. Seriously. The only reason they want a ceasefire is so the head hackers they support regroup and rearm. They are fooling no one
@LITTLEONE:
Well, considering the fact that SAA warcrimes are contributing towards the global migrant crisis it is now a global issue.
Jason. That’s biggest load of hogwash I heard. See you didn’t mention head hackers, terrorists, child killers. Bit one sided eh Jason. What do they get a pass because the west supports them? It’s a sovereign country and its up to syria whether they ground planes or not . Not Washington.
Syrian rebel groups backed by the U.S. and its allies “have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including abductions, torture and summary killings,” according to Amnesty International.
A report by the leading human rights organization details how extremist rebel groups have taken over large parts of major Syrian cities, in which they have created repressive theocratic regimes where critics are violently silenced and where religious and ethnic minority groups fear for their lives.
The report focuses primarily on the governorates of Aleppo and Idlib, in the north of the country. Aleppo is Syria’s largest city, and the Aleppo governorate is the most populous.
Amnesty documented abuses committed by five armed groups that have controlled parts of Aleppo and Idlib since 2012. These rebels have been supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the U.S.
In Aleppo, Amnesty investigated the actions of the Levant Front, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and Division 16, factions in the Aleppo Conquest rebel coalition.
All sides tend to be wary of ceasefires as it tends to allow regrouping. The least productive thing is to keep pushing lines as if they apply to only one side. There isn’t a side in this that isn’t guilty of terrible things whether you believe that official statements are true or propaganda. The bottom line is that civilians are dying. My own opinion is that there are 2 primary areas that are prolonging this war. The first is the involvement of outside states which means that no side will ever become weakened. The second is the lack of consequences for breaches of ceasefires and certain other actions.
Hi Jason. Sorry but I rearly comment on here. Just wanted to say you’re arguing with pseudonyms. Why would you? Stories like this especially on when journal attraction the far left. You’re pretty much the only person that argues with their name but you don’t even know who you are arguing. Why bother? It’s not the real world mate.
Little one, the Syrian Air Force is carrying out these bombings! Stop with the misinformation!!
Oh come on it can be pretty funny sometimes. You can almost hear them gnashing their little teeth in fury at the idea that Putin/Maduro/the Ayatollahs/the Kim dynasty/the Assad dynasty haven’t quite managed to brainwash everyone.
James, the far left have taking over the comments section and the journal never challenges them or tries to correct the misinformation they put out.
Welcome back Declan, how’s things?
@dublinlad. Loon no one takes it seriously personally I would not he silly enough to argue with you. It’s a bunch of far left muppets arguing for the left. Entitled as they may be I’m pretty sure the journal would change if I was nothing but far left commenting. While Jason and all might speak sense they are doing a disservice in the grand scheme of things.
If there was nothing but far left commenting… Fat figures small buttons :)
You’re not the full shilling are ye James? That why ye got chucked out the Garda?
‘Not the full shilling’.Joe? in Russia during the sixties and seventies the Communist Party took their intolerance for ideological deviants to the extreme by diagnosing and institutionalizing “counterrevolutionaries” with mental illness
Joe,
Syrian government forces and their Russian allies launched an offensive on opposition-held areas of Aleppo on Friday, bombarding the city with dozens of airstrikes and threatening to launch a ground invasion.
Syria is a mess..I remember the Arab rising back in 2013..news channels 24 7 giving it large how much we should love the head hackers..I don’t want my head to be hacked off
I think your knowledge on the topic might not be dependable given that the Arab SPRING was in 2011. 2013 was marked more by missed opportunities that could have potentially prevented the dominance of jihadis.
Lol @ John Kerry, he hasn’t an ounce of credibility on the issue after the US bombing last week of Syrian positions killing 62 government troops. And all those weapons the Islamic jihadists are using are bought and paid for by the Americans.
@Eamonn Hughes:
Citation needed.
@Jason Culligan: Well documented, no citation needed
@Pádraig Ó Raghaill:
“That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.” – Christopher Hitchens.
@Jason Culligan:
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Martin Luther King, Jr.
@Jason Culligan: Jason. Read the last paragraph in brackets. There are hundreds of similar reports.
Extremely rare moment an American politician tells the truth about the Syrian war.
“US Senator We Have Never Done Anything More Loathsome or Despicable Than What Were Doing in Syria.”
Senator Richard Black and Janice Kortkamp discuss the shameful situation in Syria, where the US government is actively arming and funding Al Nusra (Al Qaeda) and “conduits” (“moderates”), blending them together, and then using this model to exterminate the Syrian population.
“On Libya :
BLACK: Yes, yes. So, absolutely, he was our best ally. And however, his big mistake was he had a huge arsenal of modern weapons, that we needed, to overthrow Syria. The reason that we went into Libya was, to capture their weapons to feed and fuel the war against Syria. Because we knew, Syria was a powerfully united, cohesive nation of people who — you know, every country has people who are unhappy or who are dissidents; we have ‘em in this country — but we knew that we had a tough nut to crack here, because this was a very cohesive country. So we needed a huge amount of armaments. The reason we went into Libya was to capture these. And this is all laid out by Pulitzer Prize winning author Seymour Hersh in his article, “The Red Line and the Rat Line,” something that was censored; almost everything he’s done has been widely printed by major media, and they censored it. But the London Review of Books has it published, and he explains why we went in, how we captured the weapons, and how we started the rat line, flying arms in.
Because the CIA could not go before Congress and say, “Look, we intend to attack a neutral, non-belligerent country, where the people are happy, prosperous, and enjoy greater women’s rights and religious freedom than any other Arab nation; we’re going to rip it to shreds, we’re going to open up a torrent of bloodshed: Please give us an appropriation so we can purchase weapons to do it.”
(He said, “Well, we just started. It was during the Arab Spring, and we started holding demonstrations.” Much like, you and I have both probably been involved in demonstrations! But he said, “first, people started showing up with al-Qaeda flags.”
STEINBERG: Yeah. The black flags.
BLACK: “Then,” he said, “people started showing up with military weapons.” Now, there is no Second Amendment in Syria, so you don’t just grab a Kalashnikov at the corner drug store.
STEINBERG: Right. You don’t go to a gun show on Sunday afternoon.
BLACK: That’s right, you don’t do that. And he said, “The third thing, is they began to preach religious hatred!” And all along the demonstrators would say, “You guys, get out of here, get out of here! This is not what we’re about. We’re just here asking the government for some changes.” And the friction became tougher and tougher, and he said, “My uncle was the head of all the demonstrators” in this large city, and he said, in the seventh month of back and forth with the al-Qaeda people, they murdered him; they killed him.
And so I asked the same question of the several people I encountered, who had been anti-Assad. Well, they weren’t anti-Assad, they were demonstrators; they weren’t demonstrating against him.
STEINBERG: Sure. They wanted reforms.
BLACK: They wanted reforms. You know, I’ve been in demonstrations; I wasn’t demonstrating to bring down the government, I was there for reform.
And this was news to me, because I knew about this transition, but what was stunning that consistently, — two out of the three said that this transition took place over the span of a single month; the second one said it took place over the span of two months. So within one to two months, what started as demonstrations became an al-Qaeda-led violent, jihadist uprising. And of course, you still had demonstrators struggling to make it a demonstration. But that was how it developed.}
Senator Black : Member of republican party. University of Florida, United States Army War College, United States Marine Corps, United States Army.
Read more:
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/07/us-senator-we-have-never-done-anything.html
It is indeed well documented, but then these are two very different issues. America claims to have informed Russia of their intent to be active in an area. Failure of comms? There is no such excuse for whoever is responsible for the attack on the aid convoy.
Imagine how different Syria and indeed Europe would look right now if Assad had’ve agreed to stepping aside instead of attacking protesters.
Oh jason your awake,I really like your comments..you talk sense
You mean the jihadists that the U.S armed to start the entire thing off.
So you’re saying that the hundreds of thousands of unarmed protesters who took to the streets calling for democracy were all American-paid jihadists?
‘I am a Syrian citizen and I am a human. After 4 months of your fake freedom … You say peaceful demonstration and you shoot our citizen. From today … I am [now] a Serjeant in the Reserve Army. If I catch anyone … in any terrorist organisation working on the field in Syria I am gonna shoot you as you are shooting us. This is our land not yours, the slaves of American fake freedom’ (al Akhras 2011).
So one quote is proof of a mass American conspiracy? Come back when you have actual proof.
@Jason Culligan: There are reams of it from Syrian first-hand accounts through to American leaked documents. Much has been posted before to you Jason, so why even bother.
Pádraig, all that has ever been posted here is hearsay and links to Global Research articles. No convincing hard evidence has ever been provided that the US funded hundreds of thousands of protesters.
Think you might be mixing up the pro Assad rallies -
Syria might resemble Somalia or Libya right now if Assad stepped stepped aside….
@Peter fechter:
As opposed to what exactly? Aleppo resembles Stalingrad and millions have fled the country. Looking like Somalia or Libya would be an improvement over the current state.
On top of that it’s not guaranteed that this would be the case. While Libya certainly collapsed, Egypt has managed to retain it’s integrity in spite of the political turmoil.
@Jason Culligan: The war would have been over long ago if the US had not financed and trained plus restocked the Jihadists
@Pádraig Ó Raghaill:
Citation needed.
@Jason Culligan: No you just need to get of your backside and read more then the local news station.
@Pádraig Ó Raghaill:
No I’m pretty sure you need to provide citations.
You made the claim that the US is funding, arming and training jihadists. It’s on you to prove it. Otherwise it can be dismissed as fantasy.
@Jason Culligan: I asked you for citations the other day Jason – you ran from the page and weren`t seen for approximately 2 days on here, you are nothing but a spin merchant and an apologist for the Yanks, but at least you are a bit more intelligent than Ciaran Masterson on here, a bit more devious too..
@Jason Culligan: Actually I already have it is in this 8000 word article from US special forces. https://sofrep.com/63764/us-special-forces-sabotage-white-house-policy-gone-disastrously-wrong-with-covert-ops-in-syria/ There are many more than this one.
@Motherofdivinejebus:
If the Americans had intended to kill Syrian soldiers in Deir al-Zor they wouldn’t have owned up to the mistake. That air strike was aimed at ISIS. Thankfully, the Syrian army has since regained that ground.
Comrade Pádraig, your plots have more holes in them than a Swiss cheese. The war in Syria kicked off as a direct result of the Arab Spring. You know, the SAME Arab Spring which toppled the pro-American Mubarak in Egypt? The SAME Arab Spring which threatened to topple a number of US-allied gulf states? People had had enough of the Assads – the jihadists came later. Why would the USA have sparked off a series of revolutions against their own puppets? Whoops…
@Ciarán Masterson: “If the Americans had intended to kill Syrian soldiers in Deir al-Zor they wouldn’t have owned up to the mistake”
THEY HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO OWN UP TO IT!
Seeing as all the information was out there already, Jeez would you ever cop on to yourself!
@Motherofdivinejebus:
Believe it or not, honest mistakes happen in combat. As I said, the Deir al-Zor air strike was intended to hit ISIS.
Bear in mind that, in England, armed police officers have killed civilians who they honestly mistook for armed criminals. The same defence applies in the Deir al-Zor case. It’s more plausible than saying that the aid convoy simply went on fire by itself.
The Kremlin tells lies; the White House doesn’t.
You do know that Russia is weaponizing the migrant crisis in order to destabilize Europe. If you don’t believe me, ask General Breedlove.
US Special Forces sabotage White House policy gone disastrously wrong with covert ops in Syria
“Nobody believes in it. You’re like, ‘F*ck this,’” a former Green Beret says of America’s covert and clandestine programs to train and arm Syrian militias. “Everyone on the ground knows they are jihadis. No one on the ground believes in this mission or this effort, and they know they are just training the next generation of jihadis, so they are sabotaging it by saying, ‘F*ck it, who cares?’”
“I don’t want to be responsible for Nusra guys saying they were trained by Americans,” the Green Beret added. A second Special Forces soldier commented that one Syrian militia they had trained recently crossed the border from Jordan on what had been pitched as a large-scale shaping operation that would change the course of the war. Watching the battle on a monitor while a drone flew overhead, “We literally watched them, with 30 guys in their force, run away from three or four ISIS guys.”
https://sofrep.com/63764/us-special-forces-sabotage-white-house-policy-gone-disastrously-wrong-with-covert-ops-in-syria/
No names and no collaborating evidence. Hearsay at best.
@Jason Culligan: Maybe read the 8000 word article Jason -
Afp p/ss off
In fact this has nothing to do with the U.S. they once again have invaded a country with oil after they created Daesh from their invasion of Iraq. And the U.K. with the U.S. are spinning the same bull, last time it was WMD and 45 minutes I believe but this time its rebels with connections to extreme fundamentalists like Al Nursa and Al Queda…
Then it turns out that the only thing in the airspace at the time of the UN Aid convoy was an US Predator Drone which carries a whole range of missiles. Obamas focus is still Assad and not Daesh, scary?
Amazing what the Syrian Observatory can see from London!!!!
@Rachel Didleu: Amazing what the Syrian army will see when they reach east Aleppo, piles of rubble which was once a city and dead bodies of children. Then perhaps the army will wonder why Assads government has done this to their own people and would tell the Russians to go home.
I know very little abut the rights and wrongs of this conflict. But I do know there are 100 comments on this article before mine and not one makes reference to nor shows compassion to the little girl that the article pulls focus to. As a refugee how how would we view her?
@Neil Curran: Well said
Maybe I’m wrong here but I don’t recall the ‘head hackers’ ever agreeing to this or any other previous cease fire agreement? As for the US backed ‘moderate muslims’; well you might as well believe in the easter bunny or father christmas, I’d say.
Bombing civilian targets should be a war crime. It is irrelevant to the issue of culpability who does the bombings. All bombers of civilian targets are murderers.
those big bad nasty russians..those americans must the good guys in the white hats
@O’Callaghan Stephen:
The White Helmets are not jihadists. The late Jo Cox would not have supported them if they were.
Strange when the uk and usa bomb hospitals thers never any forage of it this is just propaganda
have your say