RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 12.12.2024
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
Please note: We will be in Türkiye for the next few days.
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THE SYRIAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FED TO ISLAMIST WOLVES FINANCED, TRAINED AND NOW STRATEGIZED BY THE WEST. ENTIRE REGION DESTABILISED FOR GENERATIONS.
COLLECTIVE WEST | GLOBAL MAJORITY
‘Terrorist’ Means Whatever US Wants It to Mean.
In Washington, some of the same “terrorists” who are bad enough to justify Israel’s land grab in Syria are considered good enough to run a U.S. puppet regime, says Caitlin Johnstone.
U.S. State Department Spokesman Matt Miller with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel in October.
By Caitlin Johnstone
CaitlinJohnstone.com.au
Listen to Tim Foley reading this article.
The U.S. government is simultaneously (A) justifying Israel’s land grab in Syria by saying the nation has been taken over by terrorists, and (B) talking about removing those same forces from its list of designated terrorist organizations.
The people running the U.S. podium have pivoted seamlessly from celebrating the liberation of the Syrian people in the removal of President Bashar al-Assad to citing the fact that the nation is now overrun with terrorist factions in defense of Israel’s rapid move to militarily occupy large swathes of Syrian land while hammering Syria with hundreds of airstrikes.
At a Monday press conference, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said these moves by Israel “are temporary to defend its borders” and that Assad’s ouster “potentially creates a vacuum that could have been filled by terrorist organizations that would threaten the state of Israel and would threaten civilians inside Israel.”
“Every country has the right to take action against terrorist organizations,” Miller added.
During a Tuesday press conference Miller further clarified the U.S. position on Israel’s land grab, saying,
“What precipitated their move into the buffer zone was the withdrawal of the Syrian armed forces, which, as I said yesterday, creates potentially a vacuum that could be filled by any one of the numerous terrorist organizations that continue to operate inside Syria that have sworn to the destruction of the state of Israel.”
During the same Tuesday press conference Miller also stated that “there is no legal barrier to us speaking to a designated terrorist group” such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS, the group which led the run on Damascus whose leader has been an official in both ISIS and al-Qaeda.
And as it happens the U.S. government has now taken a sudden interest in removing HTS from its listing as a designated terrorist organization, with Politico reporting that there is now “a furious debate playing out in Washington” as to whether or not the group should be removed from the list immediately. Somehow I doubt the debate is actually all that “furious”.
So according to one narrative Syria has been liberated by brave freedom fighters and that’s wonderful, but according to another concurrent narrative Israel obviously needs to invade Syria because the nation has just been taken over by evil terrorists, and by yet another concurrent narrative those evil terrorists aren’t evil terrorists anymore because they’re going to be running a U.S. puppet regime.
These are the kinds of contradictions you run into when your policies are guided by the blind pursuit of planetary domination instead of by truth and morality.
In reality, “terrorist organization” is a political designation, not a behavioral one. It has a lot less to do with how an organization acts and operates and a lot more to do with whether or not they advance the strategic interests of the U.S. empire.
Pick any group of non-state actors who fight against the U.S. and its allies and you’ll find them on the U.S. government’s list of terrorist organizations. Hamas. Hezbollah. They’ll even put official state militaries on there like Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
They used to list the East Turkistan Islamic Movement as a terrorist faction back when the U.S. was expanding its global military presence under the banner of the “war on terror,” but they were removed from this listing at the tail end of the Trump administration because the Uyghur Islamist group was fighting Assad in Syria and could prove useful in the empire’s Cold War aggressions against China.
Even now the U.S. House of Representatives is moving to ban the U.S. government from using the statistics of Gaza’s Health Ministry to calculate deaths from Israel’s genocidal atrocities in the enclave on the basis that the ministry is run by Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. They need to do this because the Gaza Health Ministry’s death toll is considered so reliable that the U.S. State Department has been using those stats in their own reports.
The group that is committing the genocide necessitating such analysis is of course not a designated terrorist organization.
This is because the label “terrorist organization” is nothing more than a tool of imperial narrative control. In empire language it just means “disobedient population who need bombs dropped on them.” If they are determined to no longer be disobedient then they no longer need bombs dropped on them, so they are no longer considered terrorists.
You can kill all the civilians you want using whatever methods you want without being considered a terrorist organization, so long as you are a friend of the U.S. empire.
West Uses Transition in Syria as 'Smoke Screen' to Establish Presence - Ex-UK Ambassador.
The so-called transition period in Syria is a pretext for Western countries that need time to establish working relations with the country's new authorities, ex-UK Ambassador to Syria and Middle East expert Peter Ford has told Sputnik.
"All talk of 'transition' is a smoke screen to create a window of one or two years in which the Western powers can develop an open master-client relationship with people who yesterday were Al-Qaeda and ISIS [both banned in Russia as terrorist]. For Western powers, the optics of doing business with gangs and warlords designated as terrorist groups present a problem. This can be got round, however, by pretending to have a 'transition,'" Ford said.
The militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are trying to establish in Damascus an authority similar to the "salvation government" it had created in Idlib to cover its rule, he added.
"This is akin to the administration Hamas installed in Gaza, although Hamas, of course, were elected," the ex-diplomat said.
The true transition process would require the participation of many groups, Ford continued.
Russia Warns Against Geopolitical Use of Terrorists in Syria’s Conflict
"If we were going to talk seriously about 'transition,' it would be necessary to include groups like the Kurds (who want autonomy), the Druze (who just want to be left alone), the Eastern tribes (who want the proceeds from oil wealth), and, of course, supporters of the Asad regime, including the Baath Party, left behind just as Baathists were left behind in Iraq after Saddam's fall. None of this is going to happen," he said.
Peter Ford
Ex-UK Ambassador to Syria
The armed opposition coming to power in Syria will have significant consequences for the Middle East, with Lebanon and Palestine facing the greatest risks, Peter Ford said.
"The regional consequences are severe. First and most urgently, Lebanon is now threatened by a pincer movement of the Syrian jihadis and their Israeli allies, both hoping to seize on a moment of weakness for [Hezbollah], previously brought to its knees by Israel and now handicapped by losing its lifeline to Iran via Syria," Ford said.
Israel and the new Syrian authorities are capable of reaching a peace agreement, he added.
"The jihadi groups are more than ready to ally with Israel (like the Gulf states) for the purpose of fighting their common enemies [Hezbollah] and Iran. The Palestinian cause has been dealt what may be a final death blow. It now has not a single Arab state champion. The way is now clear for Israel to finish its work of creating Greater Israel," Ford continued.
Armed opposition that has captured power in Syria will try to suppress Kurds that will be left without the support from the US after the ouster of President Bashar Assad, Ford stressed.
"The clear intention of the jihadis is to carry out the orders of their Turkish controllers and neutralize the Kurds by destroying the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia. The US forces in the Kurdish areas are unlikely to protect their Kurdish clients because now, [when Assad] has gone, they do not need them," Ford said.
The Kurdish groups' aim was to stop the Syrian government from rehabilitating economically after the war, "by assuming control over Syria's oil and grain resources located in the Northeast," he continued, adding that such measures are no longer necessary.
The Syrian opposition may attempt to stabilize relations with Washington, but it "may not go as smoothly" as they think, Ford said.
"The US will probably realize quite soon that they no longer need the jihadis now [that] their work of toppling Asad is done. The jihadis will be forced to beg to get sanctions lifted," he added.
At the same time, under the opposition's authority, Syria may become more united despite the fact that it has "not been united for many years," the former ambassador said.
"With Israel occupying the Golan, the US through their Kurdish proxies controlling the Northeast, Turkey occupying border areas, the jihadi opposition occupying the province of Idlib, shared government control with ex-jihadis under Russian monitoring in the South, and the US occupying the Al Tanf border enclave and ISIS [IS, banned in Russia] parts of the Syrian Desert. In a sense, the country is more likely now to be united with jihadi rule everywhere except the Golan," Ford added.
Syrian armed groups captured the capital of Damascus on Sunday. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said that he and 18 other ministers had decided to remain in Damascus. Al-Jalali also said he was in contact with the leaders of militant groups that had entered the city. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that President Bashar Assad had stepped down and left Syria after negotiations with some participants of the Syrian conflict.
West fears hardline Islamist regime in Syria – Reuters.
There are concerns that a militant regime could replace Bashar Assad, according to the outlet.
Western and Arab countries are reportedly concerned that the fall of the Assad government in Syria could mean that more hardline Islamist forces could attempt to seize power in the country, according to Reuters.
Over the weekend, opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) jihadist militants seized control over major cities including Damascus, and deposed former President Bashar Assad, who left the country and has been granted asylum in Russia.
However, according to several diplomats and analysts who have spoken to Reuters, the US, Israel, and other Arab powers in the region fear that the lack of a clear authority in Syria could lead to instability and extremism.
“There is strong fear inside and outside the region of the power vacuum that Assad’s sudden collapse may cause,” Abdelaziz al-Sager, the director of the Gulf Research Center think tank, told Reuters, pointing to past civil wars that followed the toppling of the governments of Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011.
One Western diplomat also told the outlet that given how fragmented the opposition forces are, there is currently no clear plan for how to rule Syria and manage its complex population which consists of multiple sects and ethnic groups.
READ MORE: Opposition leader appointed PM in Syria
The diplomat expressed fear that Syria could descend into lawlessness, which could allow for the flourishing of extremist groups such as Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).
However, Israeli experts believe that despite the risk of chaos engulfing Syria, the fall of Assad’s government could still prove to be beneficial for the Jewish state.
“Despite concerns over the rise of extremist elements near the border and the lack of a clear authority in charge, the military capabilities of the rebels, in their various forms, aren’t comparable to those of Iran and its proxies,” Carmit Valensi, a senior researcher at an Israeli think tank, told Reuters.
US President Joe Biden has also celebrated Assad’s fall, but has acknowledged that the sudden change of power created a period of “risk and uncertainty” for Syria. Over the past two days, US forces have conducted dozens of airstrikes against IS positions in Syria to prevent the terrorist group from reasserting itself.
Washington has also supported Israel’s advance past the demilitarized buffer zone with Syria at the Golan Heights. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that the incursion is meant to prevent Syrian-based militants from taking over the border areas and launching an offensive into Israel in the future.
KIM IVERSEN - KEVORK ALMASSIAN: Evacuating My Christian Family from Al Qaeda Controlled Syria.
RAY MCGOVERN: Russia and Iran's Reaction to Assad's Fall in Syria.
PHIL GIRALDI: Golan Heights on the Menu for Israel.
DANNY HAIPHONG - BRIAN BERLETIC: Putin Sets DEVASTATING Trap for NATO, Ukraine Collapses as Syria Explodes.
RICHARD MEDHURST: The Syrian Revolution Was a Lie.
MINTPRESS NEWS: Is it over for the Resistance? With Dr. Mohammed Marandi.
GEORGE GALLOWAY - RICHARD MEDHURST: INTERVIEW: Heads roll. Literally.
BREAKTHROUGH NEWS: What the U.S. Media is Not Saying About Syria.
COLONEL DOUGLAS MACGREGOR: SYRIA - a looming crisis awaits.
PROFESSOR MOHAMMAD MARANDI: Mohammad Marandi EXPOSES TURKEY, ISRAEL & US Meddling in SYRIA WAR.
NINA BYZANTINA: WHAT HAPPENED IN SYRIA?
GEORGE GALLOWAY: ROAD FROM DAMASCUS.
DDGEOPOLITICS: To Kill a Nation: Daniel McAdams on the American War on Syria.
DIMITRI LASCARIS - KEVORK ALMASSIAN: Is Syria descending into chaos?
REDACTED: CIA DEEP STATE PLAN TO STOP TRUMP ACCELERATES WITH FALSE FLAGS TIED TO IRAN.
COLLECTIVE WEST | RUSSIA
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: Trump Opposes ATACMS Strike, Moscow Pledges Retaliation; Russia Enters Pokrovsk; Syria Partitioned.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN: Six ATACMS strike into Rostov region. EU 15th sanctions Russia shadow fleet. Iran drone mothership.
ALEX CRISTOFOROU & ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: TRUMP wants end to project Ukraine, Zelensky panics.
ALEX CRISTOFOROU & ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: ATACMS into Russia. Kursk cauldron KNOCKOUT to Ukraine.
DANNY HAIPHONG - BRIAN BERLETIC: Putin Sets DEVASTATING Trap for NATO, Ukraine Collapses as Syria Explodes.
PROFESSOR JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER: "Russophobic " - Buzzword for MSM.
DANIEL DAVIS - PATRICK HENNINGSEN: Zelensky: Escalation or Diplomacy?
LEVAN GUDADZE: Kremlin warns of response for ATACMS strike. Long-range attacks on Russia ‘big mistake’ – Trump…
SEBASTIAN SAS: Orban CALLS Putin As Ukraine Will COLLAPSE In 6 Months.
GLENN GREENWALD: Niall Ferguson V.S. Scott Horton: Did The U.S. Provoke The Ukraine War?: ZeroHedge Debate Special.
BORZZIKMAN: Russian Marines Showed Video of The Destroyed British, US, French, and Canadian Soldiers in KURSK.
ALEKSANDR LUKASHENKO: I will choose the targets for the Oreshnik missile.
COLLECTIVE WEST | BRICS
CARL ZHA: Why Trump Tariff on China will Backfire.
USA
GARLAND NIXON: ALLIED WITH EVIL - JOE BIDEN AND THE NEOCONS JOIN FORCES WITH THE MOST EVIL CREATURES ON EARTH.
EUROPE | BRITAIN
SEBASTIAN SAS: Kallas Says RUSSIA DID IT! The EU Democracy Is A Myth.
NON-ENGLISH NEWS
LIU SIVAYA: TREMENDO RIDÍCULO MILITAR DE UCRANIA: SE HUMILLA A SÍ MISMA PRESENTANDO SU DRON-MISIL ESTRELLA.
"We verwarren Rusland met de Sovjetunie."
Russen stehen kurz vor Pokrovsk | Ukrainer starten Gegenangriffe. Frontbericht 12.12.2024
Počela Bježanija iz Kurahova⚔️Kadirov Šalje 84000 Čečena⚔️2km Do Pokrovska⚔️HAOS U Siriji.12.12.2024
Russes attaque Uspenvka tous côtés⚔️Chute de Shevchenko🏙 Crise Syriene🔥Raport Militaire11.12.2024
रूस से यूक्रेनी सैनिको की जान बचाने की आखिरी कोशिश | रूस को पोक्रोव्स्क में कैसे रोकेगा यूक्रेन
북시리아의 평화 | 폴란드 총리, 우크라이나에 폴란드군이 없을 것이라 밝혀
MAPPING CHANNEL UPDATES
Cold War II❄️ Defense Of Pokrovsk Has Collapsed 💥🛡️ Siversk Direction📍➡️ Military Summary 12.12.2024
RUAF Encircle Three Separate Groupings of The AFU Near Kurakhove | Chasiv Yar Stronghold Has Fallen.
VICTORY BELONGS TO RUSSIA: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Each day that passes makes a conclusive Russian victory in the Donbass and beyond more certain. As Russia bolsters her forces, and weaponry, those of Ukraine decrease. Russian forces gain ready access to rest and recuperation as troop numbers increase. The increasingly exhausted and demoralised Ukrainian troops have an ever decreasing prospect of such respite. This situation is likely to bring them to complete breakdown as Russia unleashes the firepower of the more modern and advanced weaponry that is arriving with the newly mobilised Russian troops.
The various Ukrainian offensives are now weak when confronted by the reinforced Russian lines. A few futile efforts achieve quite miserable results before fire reigns down on the Ukrainian troops and they are forced back to their starting positions.
And now, all this being said, we have arrived at the wet, and later, freezing conditions where these pathetic Ukrainian forces will be subject to myriad forms of abject misery with death and injury all around them while they lie sodden or frozen, abandoned to their fate by Kiev.
The pitiable young and old of Ukraine have been frogmarched to their deaths as cannon-fodder while the bestial elites of the collective West urge their "president" to add more to their number there at the gates of Hell and their doom. We must feel for the majority of them as they are not the Nazis we revile, in most part they are decent men, fathers, sons, brothers, husband and uncles, who no doubt saw through the coup of 2014 for what it was. But sadly, their fate seems sealed.
Nothing will stop Russia now. Every factor favours them. Victory will be Russia's. In Donbass and beyond and in due course across the world.
Victory belongs to Russia: It is now only a matter of time.
THE SYRIAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FED TO ISLAMIST WOLVES FINANCED, TRAINED AND NOW STRATEGIZED BY THE WEST. ENTIRE REGION DESTABILISED FOR GENERATIONS.
