Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War

[shaberon]

We were told some ministers were still working in Damascus.


For others, it's toodles:

The Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party, which has ruled Syria for over fifty years, announced the suspension of all its activities and operations "until further notice." The decision follows the declaration by opposition factions of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

In a statement, Ibrahim Al-Hadid, Deputy Secretary-General of the party, said: "The party's central leadership has decided to suspend all forms and aspects of its work and activities until further notice. Additionally, all vehicles, equipment, and weapons in the party's possession are to be handed over to the Ministry of Interior.

All party properties and funds will be placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, and their revenues will be deposited into the Central Bank of Syria."

The Ba'ath Party seized power in Syria in 1963 and has maintained a firm grip on the country since then. In 1970, Hafez al-Assad launched an internal "Corrective Movement," consolidating his leadership until his death in 2000. His son, Bashar al-Assad, succeeded him, assuming multiple roles, including President of the Republic, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and Head of the Party.

The announcement of the party's suspension comes just days after opposition factions declared the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. In a televised message broadcast on Syrian state television on Sunday, December 8, 2024, opposition leaders confirmed Assad's ousting and his escape to Russia.

This development marks a dramatic end to the Ba'ath Party's decades-long dominance in Syria and reflects the profound political shift underway in the country.

Nevertheless, from the Kurdish view, there remains an American problem:

In light of the American measures taken in this regard, whether on the political or field level, and the geography of the American movements, which pay great attention to cutting off Iranian arms extending to Syria and Lebanon through Iraqi territory, where they are controlled by militias loyal to Iran, and on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border along the area extending from Albu Kamal to Al-Tanf area, which is considered an American sphere of influence on the Iraqi-Syrian-Jordanian border triangle. To ensure tightening the screws on Damascus and Hezbollah, in conjunction with the intensification of the US naval force in the Mediterranean, and stopping the freezing of sanctions on Syria, but will Russia stand idly by in this scenario?

It is inevitable - albeit at low levels - between Russia and the coalition forces, which is what the Russian President recently indicated that any American operation in that region nullifies the agreement to avoid friction between the two parties.

Rojava or Syrian Kurdistan is mostly in the hands of worthless organizations:

I do not think that we need a lot of explanation and the provision of evidence and proves. It is clear to everyone that the existing administration in north-eastern Syria is run by PKK cadres with elements called (Cadres), most of whom do not possess the minimum limits for any scientific or cognitive qualifications, nor are they qualified. Administrative grants them the right to manage civil institutions. Most of them spent many years in the Qandil Mountains and were taught the culture of militarization, guerrilla warfare, and isolation from outside of the world. This is a primitive culture that does not keep pace with the times, where diplomatic political work, peaceful struggle, and interaction with others,

With this ideological mentality, the trend of exclusivity and aversion to science and knowledge is perpetuated in Kurdish society. The aforementioned organization has also worked for a long time and continues to deport Kurdish youth from universities, institutes and schools and throw them into the mountains after washing their brains, thus creating a culture of alienation from science, civil society, and the institutions of north-eastern Syria, managed by these political goods?!

The region is like a usurious merchant who does not belong to this people. Rather, it is trying hard to collect the transferred funds by all means and prepare for its sudden departure, as the PKK cadres did before in more than one region after the expiration of their contracts as a security company managed by its financiers. Logic and history confirm that there is no future for emergency groups and de facto authorities imposed on their people by force of arms and carrying out the mission assigned to them at the expense of the rights and dignity of its citizens (the Kurdistan Workers Party - an example)

That's an excerpt from a longer piece, but, the point is, if you were considering maybe not going into an American-backed faction, that would be your option. Not a lot of wholesome choices.


Sometimes justice does get served in issues of family work:

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (AFP) - A Dutch court Wednesday sentenced a woman to 10 years prison for keeping a woman from the Yazidi minority as a slave after joining the Islamic State group in Syria.

The court in The Hague convicted the 33-year-old from Hengelo in eastern Netherlands, identified as Hasna A, for "enslavement, membership of a terrorist organisation, promoting terrorist crimes, and endangering her young son."

She travelled to Syria in 2015 with her son, aged four at the time, the court said. She married an IS fighter and had children with him.

Between May to October 2015, she lived with another IS fighter, who kept a Yazidi woman as a slave.

Hasna A. made the Yazidi woman do household chores for her and look after her son, the court ruled.

In 2014, Islamic State swept across swathes of Iraq, carrying out horrific violence against the Kurdish-speaking Yazidis, whose non-Muslim faith the extremists considered heretical.

The jihadists massacred thousands of men and abducted thousands of women and girls as sex slaves.

Hasna A enslaved the Yazidi woman knowing that her actions contributed to the "widespread and systematic attack on the Yazidi community," the court said.

"The court holds this against the suspect very seriously. Crimes against humanity such as these are among the most serious international crimes there are," judges said.

According to public broadcaster NOS, Hasna A was repatriated in November 2022 to the Netherlands from a Syrian prison camp with 11 other Dutch women and their 28 children.

The women were arrested upon arrival in the Netherlands.

This is how you understand America if you are Syrian Kurdish and have not lost your mind:

In the 1970s, American diplomacy under Henry Kissinger (1923-2023) was characterized by realism and a step-by-step policy to achieve American and Israeli objectives. Through this approach, Israel gained significant advantages in the military, settlement, scientific, and economic fields. Kissinger’s approach became prominent and was solidified during negotiations to end the Vietnam War and withdraw United States forces, paving the way for the West's dominance over the socialist bloc in the 1980s. Subsequently, American diplomacy, under Kissinger’s leadership, achieved a breakthrough in ceasefire negotiations in the Middle East between Egypt, Syria, and Israel following the October 1973 War.

Despite his shuttle diplomacy and deep knowledge of the region’s history and societies, Kissinger was unable to achieve lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors, although he laid the foundations for it, leading to the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement. Even after the signing of the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel, peace in the Middle East remained elusive, as the conflict has evolved through multiple stages since World War I. Wars have continued since the signing of the 1920 Treaty of Sevres in Paris, which formally ended World War I and granted the peoples of the region their right to political self-determination. Despite these attempts, peace has remained challenging to achieve, as expressed by David Fromkin in his book A Peace to End All Peace.

In recent years, following Antony Blinken’s appointment as US Secretary of State in the new administration in 2021, some analysts have attempted to draw comparisons between him and Kissinger to understand the contours of the new US policy. Both are of Jewish origin and their families were victims of Nazism. They have openly expressed their support for Israel and there was speculation that Blinken could match Kissinger’s effectiveness. However, Blinken lacks Kissinger’s comprehensive knowledge of the region and his scholarly depth and he may not possess a distinct political philosophy or thought of his own.

Blinken appears to align closely with the views and policies of the Democratic Party leaders in the United States. Nevertheless, he was deeply involved in the ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel following the events of October 7, 2023, actively supporting Israel. From the very first day after the Hamas attack on the Gaza periphery, he declared his visit to Israel was to show support "as a Jew first and as US Secretary of State second." Yet, he failed in his diplomatic and political efforts to broker a peaceful resolution between Hamas and the Iranian-backed Axis of Resistance on one side, and Israel on the other. Furthermore, he was unable to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Since October 8, 2023, Israel has continued its aggressive response to the Hamas offensive, which, within a year, resulted in a catastrophe for the communities in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 95 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, with the death toll reaching 41,788 and injuries totaling 96,794 since the war began.

Before the first year of the war with Hamas concluded, Israel launched several military surprises on the Lebanese front, starting with the assassinations of key Hezbollah leaders and culminating in the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah on September 27. This included the destruction of Hezbollah's communication devices (pagers), which fractured the group’s power and crippled its communication networks, thereby quickly breaking the backbone of Hezbollah’s strength and cohesion. A significant portion of its firepower was neutralized, leaving the group leaderless and plunging it into disarray. The residents of southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs were terrorized, with the number of displaced people nearing half a million, and approximately 2,000 Lebanese casualties reported as of early October.

While media outlets and analysts highlighted the concept of a “total war” in the Middle East and warned of its potential outbreak, a more systematic and directed war was practically unfolding, expanding methodically, with its strategic outlines and sequential steps becoming clearer month by month. Initially, efforts focused on punishing Hamas and subsequently destroying its capabilities, including the obliteration of Gaza’s infrastructure and urban fabric, leading to the comprehensive dismantling and destruction of Gaza's communities. These efforts were supported by US diplomatic initiatives and the cooperation of moderate Arab countries to contain the war within Gaza's borders. To this end, Secretary Blinken made nearly 20 visits to the region within a year, in addition to hundreds of phone calls with his counterparts in the region and worldwide - an unprecedented level of engagement in American diplomatic history.

The sequence of events and the escalating war, driven exclusively by decisions from Israel and its allies, reveal a plan for a prolonged conflict. In its second year, efforts are likely to focus on isolating Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and potentially eliminating its military strength. The assassination of Hezbollah leaders on October 4 marked a significant military and political surprise, introducing a new dynamic to the war's trajectory and potentially creating a substantial vacuum on the ground, increasing the likelihood of Iran's involvement in the conflict and potentially altering planned strategies.

The bloody war over the past months, with its resulting financial and human losses, can only be understood as the execution of a well-thought-out military, political, and intellectual plan, carried out methodically and using scientifically and technologically calculated steps to achieve grand objectives. It seems the plan is not specifically tied to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his defense minister, nor to Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar or Hezbollah, nor even to the US administration. Instead, it is part of a larger outcome stemming from the compounded crisis of our era, which has erupted in two hotspots: one in Eastern Europe and the other in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Israel's war can be viewed through the lens of the shift in American diplomacy, which, over the past fifty years, has moved from a step-by-step policy of controlling and leveraging the Cold War to a step-by-step, prolonged war of attrition against its new adversaries. The unfolding events of this controlled war and its developments could themselves constitute a third world war in its calibrated form - one that unfolds in multiple stages and along parallel tracks rather than in a single wave. This is particularly true if events confirm that Israel has made a decision to destroy its enemies, a goal requiring a long period and exceptional efforts, leveraging military super-technology and the most advanced weaponry to restore Israel’s status.

After Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, Israel appeared as a lone state that had lost its military dominance in the region. This war, methodically conducted, aims to reassert that Israel remains the unparalleled military, intelligence, and technological power in the region.


Azad Ahmed Ali is a Kurdish researcher from Syria and author of dozens of books in Arabic and Kurdish. He received his PhD in the History of Engineering from Aleppo University and was head of Rudaw Research Center from 2014 to 2017. He has served as editor-in-chief of Al-Hiwar magazine since 1993.

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
⚠️WARNING‼️Israel is going to genocide Deraa province.

They have issued evacuation orders for Deraa.

They have stated their intent openly to connect to the Druze Villages in Sweida. Deraa is in the way of their annexation plans.

Check the province map, they already have the Golan (Quneitra).

This is not a pipe dream, if we do not stop this it will become a reality.

https://x.com/Partisangirl/status/1867498976095940644

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
NEW:

🇮🇱🇮🇷Israel is preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, - Times of Israel.

The Israeli Air Force is preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities after knocking out Syria's air defenses.

The Israeli army believes that after the weakening of Iranian proxy groups in the Middle East and the sharp fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, there is an opportunity to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

Therefore, the Israeli Air Force continues to increase preparations for such potential strikes.

More than 85% of Syria's air defense systems were destroyed in the strikes, giving Israeli aircraft and drones a complete advantage in the air.

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/1867457005968847302

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/AsaWinstanley/status/1867209835952869503

[shaberon]

This is not the best of times to inflame internecine rivalries in Syria. There is a goon in the south trying to spread from the Nile to Euphrates, and, without solidarity, you cannot remove this pox.


More notably, as there was no Nuremberg before it was established, a similar turn of events is required to establish something adequate:

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, has criticized the lack of effective and fair international mechanisms to prosecute crimes committed by Israeli authorities.

In an interview with KHAMENEI.IR, Gharibabadi emphasized the importance of recent rulings by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and discussed the legal challenges in holding Israeli officials accountable.

"We are yet to witness a truly fair tribunal to address the crimes of the Zionist regime and its criminal officials," Gharibabadi said.

He pointed to past actions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which issued a provisional ruling against Israel under the Genocide Convention, as a precedent for international condemnation of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the regime.

Following the ICJ's decision, the ICC recently issued arrest warrants for two senior Israeli officials. Gharibabadi described this as a significant, albeit delayed, step, highlighting that the ICC’s decision came nine years after investigations began.

While the ICC ruling is a positive step, it is far from sufficient, Gharibabadi stated.

The court’s enforcement mechanisms remain weak, and there is no guarantee these individuals will face justice, particularly if they avoid travel to ICC member states, he added.

On the possibility of stronger measures, Gharibabadi referenced calls for the establishment of a special tribunal, either under the UN Security Council or through a coalition of nations impacted by Israeli actions. He also acknowledged challenges, including the lack of consensus among countries and the procedural complexities of such courts.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei recently stated that mere arrest warrants are insufficient and suggested the need for issuing death penalties for Israeli leaders.

The formation of a joint tribunal by a coalition of nations opposed to Israeli crimes is conceivable, but it would require extensive collaboration and ratification by national legislatures, he explained.

Gharibabadi said that issuing a death penalty for the two Israeli officials is not impossible and requires more intensified efforts. He, however, criticized the lack of a fair tribunal for dealing with the crimes of the Zionist regime and its criminal officials.

There is no normal thing you can do. No avenue of recompense. You can soft kill it, by cutting off its supplies and cash, or, hard kill it by something that would amount to a New D-Day, which sounds technically more feasible.

A court may be able to protect you better, it may have some interest in the continuation of the state, while only holding leaders responsible. The other methods may be more satisfying and effective. After all, these are dangerously insane Nazis of Jerusalem, which is worse than anything we know of, or can imagine. It may have historical equivalents, but this is a new kind of modern mistake.

[grapevine]

Partitioning Syria. HTS is a shadow

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4Xt_OdzOioE

(16:25)
A sad but inevitable video from The Duran. It must be said that there's been no reporting of unusual drone activity in the Middle East, and maybe conclusions can be drawn fom that . . .
"The video discusses the collapse of Syria, with foreign powers partitioning the country. It covers Israel's expansion, Turkey's actions, HTS's role, and the US involvement. The discussion also touches on Blinken's visit to Turkey and the uncertain future of Damascus."

[shaberon]

New leader is a waffle:

Commander of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group that led the armed opposition against the former Syrian government says his fighters will not fight against the occupying Israeli regime.

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani stressed in remarks published on Saturday that the HTS does not seek confrontation with Israel, which has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against Syria and occupied some Syrian regions since the fall of Bashar Assad government last Sunday.

He also said that they have given the Russians an opportunity to reassess their relations with Syria.

About Iran, he claimed that the Syrian armed opposition harbors no animosity towards Iran.

The HTS leader also said that after Iranian forces left Syria, there is no justification for the Israeli regime to intervene in the Arab country.

Which means Turkey did not abide by the agreement it signed in Doha:


Reports and evidence show the HTS and its allied factions have been receiving substantial financial and military support from Turkey, the United States, and Israel.


It's not very inspiring from someone I understand wants to overthrow more non-Turkish governments, which makes it sound effectively Neo-con. Maybe they will get voted out of office.

[ExomatrixTV]

• Russia's Military Moves & New Deployments Near Syria Suggest Larger Plot | Something Huge Brewing?:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4SPEL-Y6ZRk

Mysterious movements at Russia's Khmeimim Air Base in Syria have sparked global intrigue. Satellite images show advanced equipment, including KA-52 attack helicopters and S-400 systems, being prepared for transport. Military convoys and naval activity hint at a significant operation brewing. Is Russia fortifying its position or preparing for a bold new mission? As global tensions rise, all eyes are on Putin’s next move in the Middle East. What’s brewing in the shadow?

• Brian Berletic: Russia Just Set a MASSIVE Trap for NATO in Syria as West Destroys Itself

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=XHtTrWbxSEc

Brian Berletic of The New Atlas breaks down how Putin's latest moves in Syria have set a devastating trap for NATO, leaving the alliance with a crisis of its own making The implications for NATO are profound, and this video directs attention on whether Putin made a strategic power play in a stroke of genius or suffered a huge defeat in the Middle East.

[shaberon]

Well, it's time. If you go through the following, it is ten chapters in the new edition for 2024 on Violation of human rights by USA:

Preface

America has always claimed to defend human rights and this issue is considered one of the most important slogans and claims of American officials in the international system. But despite this claim, America's anti-human rights actions in all aspects, both domestic and international, clearly confirm the fact that the statesmen of that country take a position regarding the human rights situation in the world based on political preferences and interests, and that's it. The procedure has caused this country to use the issue of human rights at the international level.

According to these facts, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always emphasized on exposing cases of human rights violations in countries that appear under the guise of defending human rights and provide measures to interfere in the internal affairs of countries.

It won't tell you anything, because it is about the same as reading this forum.

Just letting you know it is taken seriously at a governmental level. Just not by your elected ones.

The rights issues and other factors are one thing; the major problem is American interference in other countries. Not many stand up to it. Germany would rather implode than say a cross word. Of course, they have been under the boot of Nazis ever since Nazis left their government; it just has a different "human rights image" which is for suckers. The science of economics moved the violence into someone else's yard. It moved the economy to an undisclosed location. It's almost Americanized with consumerism, mass immigration, and rising unemployment.

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/danielmkovalik/status/1868026428283109424

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/SuppressedNws/status/1868001685525643514

Text:
Palestinian journalist Mohammad Baalousha has been killed in an Israeli raid that targeted the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City.

In January, Baalousha was injured by an Israeli sniper while reporting and was denied medical treatment for six hours, as Israeli tanks blocked his evacuation.

On December 11, the Palestinian Union of Journalists reported that 193 journalists had been killed since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1867900658734530602

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
In Nuseirat, central Gaza, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a residential block, killing at least 36 people and leaving many torn apart. Akram Bayoumi found a limp, charred piece of flesh amidst the wreckage while searching for his cousin's family, who were buried under the rubble.

Mokhtar Abou Ayaman Elshaar rushed to the scene with others, but with no equipment, they could only search using cellphone flashlights, hearing the cries of the trapped until they fell silent. The scale of devastation was beyond words, an indescribable nightmare.

https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1868088715576213804

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1868082790216180179

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
Today, Settlers have seized 25 cows from Palestinian citizen Jamal Hamdan Draghma, near the village of Tayasir, east of Tubas, and took the herd to an illegal settlement in the northern Jordan Valley.

Earlier, settlers poisoned irrigation water, resulting in the death of 72 sheep. Since the start of the Israeli genocide on Gaza, Israeli forces and settlers have escalated their attacks on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, including Occupied Jerusalem.


https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1868041576552820736

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
Palestinian journalist Mohammed Jabr Al-Qrinawi was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli air attack that targeted their home in Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

He is the second journalist killed today while the first was Mohammed Balousha by an Israeli attack on Gaza. Their killing raises the death toll among Palestinian journalists into 196.

https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1868022877422776485

[shaberon]

Couple of strange wires today:


Algeria foreign ministry summons French ambassador over intelligence activity aimed at destabilizing the country: local media

Israeli media: The head of the Northern Reconstruction Authority, appointed by the government, “Eliezer Marom,” has announced his resignation from his position



and a form of rejection:

IRGC Commander Major General Hussein Salami said that Iran will resolutely protect its security, independence, ruling system, national interests, history and land.

“Iran is not a land that foreigners can look at irrelevantly. This is the land of the men and women of jihad.”

According to IRNA, Major General Salami said, on Sunday at the closing ceremony of the third biennial selection of the best research works, sacred defense and resistance (Martyr Lieutenant General Hajj Qassem Suleimani Award) held at the Museum of the Islamic Revolution and Sacred Defense: “The Zionists will pay a heavy price. They will be buried in Syrian soil, but this issue will take some time.”

Stating that the Islamic world is today the arena of jihad and that the happiness of Muslims passes through the arena of jihad, General Salami said: “The young mujahideen of the Islamic world have the faith, zeal and motivation necessary to defeat the Zionists and will carry out this action.”

IRGC Commander continued: “Today we see how the foreign powers that are incinerating Syria are like hungry wolves hunting for a lone deer in the desert, tearing off each piece of its body.”

The Iranian forces did not go to Syria in order to attain ambitions and interests, General Salami said, yet to help the Syrian live decently and honorably.

[shaberon]

A couple nebulous statements about the Syrian situation:


Turkish:

The new administration in Syria should be given a chance to govern following their constructive messages, and Turkey stands ready to provide military training if such help is requested, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said.

“We think that we need to see what the new administration will do and to give them a chance.”

When asked whether Turkey was considering military cooperation with the new Syrian government, Guler said Ankara already had military cooperation and training agreements with many countries.

Spoken between chief justices Iranian to Omani:

“We have no hope in so-called international forums to stop the war machine of Zionist regime but we must know that if we should unite and stand firm together, the war machine of the Zionist regime would be stopped.”



Yes, it would be surprising if the United Nations had a pulse, or wherever it is they discuss consequences to countries. Usually in Washington by fiat with NATO toads. All of that is due for replacement.

Baathist Syria at least held relative calm between Islamic creeds. I am not sure there is any other place to compare it to; most have a vast majority one way or the other. If for example the Shi'ites migrate to Lebanon, it will skew the demographic with unpredictable results.

Gaza seems to have already been erased from human memory. It gets old watching the Occupation waltz around with impunity. Sounds like indeed it may take more time to lay it to rest. It's going to take a big fist rather than piecemeal chipping.

[Tintin]

Ooof. Apparently, whatever this is (tactical 'nuke' has been suggested but I'm not so sure), it's caused a 3.0 on the Richter scale. I'm guessing possibly an ammunition depot was hit by the Zionists?

The reactions from those filming is unsurprising too:

"Reports of massive explosions in Tartous, Syria after Zionist aggression. The blast was so big, it triggered an earthquake alert of 3.0 on the Richter scale. ( Middle East Spectator )"

via Vanessa Beeley

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by shaberon (here)
I'm not sure if "overthrow" is the right word here.

Dr. Assad abdicated..

Quoting this post from 8 December, 10 days ago — which in some ways feels like 10 weeks or even 10 months.

Yes, I'd used the word 'overthrown' several times in my posts, and I now see this as quite incorrect. 'Abdicated' is absolutely what Assad did.

In this video livestream, which has just finished and from which I learned a great deal, Alastair Crooke explains in quite some detail exactly what happened. Assad just walked away (or more accurately, flew to Russia), having instructed the Syrian military not to put up any resistance.

(Aside, though maybe not that important: I'd earlier on the Complete list of all of Bashar al Assad's crimes thread offered the perspective that Assad may have become clinically depressed. I still rather tend to that view.)

A War without Limits

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=iSrzdVdG-Pg

[ExomatrixTV]

• What Are We Doing in Syria?

by Ron Paul | Dec 16, 2024

My first reaction to news earlier this month that the Syrian government had been overthrown was, how much did we have to do with it; how involved was the CIA; and how much is it going to cost.

As with Saddam and Gaddafi before him, we know that Assad was no libertarian hero. But unleashing an army dedicated to establishing an Islamic state in once-secular Syria hardly seems like a good idea to me.

As with President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” moment after Saddam’s overthrow, getting rid of Assad will prove to be the easy part. Rebuilding Syrian society after the destruction of the country will cost billions and will likely be about as successful as our “liberation” of Libya, which is still a failed, terrorist-dominated state more than a decade later.

In 2017 the Los Angeles Times published an article that, sadly, speaks volumes about the insanity of our interventionist foreign policy. “In Syria, militants armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA,” read the headline. How does it make any sense that the Pentagon is fighting a proxy war with the CIA on Syrian soil? What’s worse is that the American people are forced to pay for this Pentagon versus CIA war, and then forced to pay again to rebuild the country after all the destruction.
The Syrian people will feel the cost in more than just dollars.

How involved is the US government in the overthrow of the Syrian government? For the past ten years, the US has controlled the areas of Syria oil and wheat production, stealing resources that we have no legal claim on. The combination of resource theft and extreme sanctions hollowed out Syrian society over the past ten years, so when the terrorists sprang forth from Idlib a few weeks ago there was little resistance.

Now, instead of the relatively benign yet authoritarian rule of Assad, we have rule by the direct inheritors of the people who attacked us on 9/11. I am shocked that the mainstream media and many if not most politicians are cheering this. Ironically, some of the biggest cheerleaders for the al-Qaeda takeover of Syria are the same Members of Congress who finished their daily speeches on the House Floor with “we will never forget 9/11.” I guess they finally forgot?

The implosion of Syria, like the US-engineered implosion of Libya and Iraq, has not led to democracy, peace, and the protection of civil liberties. In each case, it has produced the exact opposite. Millions dead, millions more living in misery, with many seeking revenge against those who destroyed their families, their lifestyle, and their countries. Are we safer having created millions of new enemies?

President-elect Donald Trump made a statement last week about Syria, saying that this is not our fight, and we should have nothing to do with it. His sentiment is the correct one, though we have unfortunately to this point had far too much to do with it. Let us hope that as president, Donald Trump will follow through with this sentiment and extract the US – the overt and covert presence – from not only Syria but the entire Middle East. This is not our fight, and every single thing we have done there for the past 75 or so years has only made things worse. Time for an America first foreign policy!

• source