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Focus: Syria - Jan 11, 2017
US State Dept: Syrian Kurds a force on the ground and must be in peace talk ‘at some point’ - Rudaw
No room for ‘terrorist’ Kurdish YPG at Syria talks, says Turkish deputy PM - hurriyetdailynews.com
Turkey expects US solidarity on terrorist YPG, FETO: FM - aa.com
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF): We are not PKK - Rudaw
Interview with Kurdish PYD leader Salih Muslim - ekurd
Two Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fronts meet northwest of Raqqa, continue push for city - Rudaw
ISIS counter-attacks against US-backed YPG forces near Raqqa - southfront.org
Kurds arrest ISIS supporters northeast Syria - ARA News
I Fought ISIS with the Kurds in Syria. This is what it was like - The Tower
Syrian women speak of ISIS atrocities in Manbij - ARA News
French Security Council calls liberation of Syria's Raqqa national priority - Sputnik
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Tillerson: US must prioritize defeating Daesh (ISIS) in Syria before dealing with Assad - Sputnik
French presidential hopeful Fillon considers dialogue with Assad to resolve Syria crisis - Sputnik
Iraq PM Al-Abadi sends message to Assad about the war on terrorism - AWD News
Improved U.S.-Russia ties positive for Syria, Assad says - Bloomberg
Assad welcomes French presidential candidate Fillon’s views on Syria - France 24
VIDEO: Bashar al-Assad answers French media questions - YouTube
TRANSCRIPT: Bashar al-Assad answers French media questions - Syrian Arab News Agency
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Focus: Syria - Dec 29, 2016
Syrian government and rebels sign cease-fire deal, says Russia - LA Times
Russia to cut military presence in Syria: Putin - TASS
Syria ceasefire deal — the draft text - TRT World
POLL: Putin’s approval rating hits 2016 record-high of nearly 87 percent - TASS
Lavrov hopes Trump administration will join efforts on Syria peace talks - TASS
Two parallel talks on Syria settlement might be held in Astana - Sputnik
Assad believes agreements on Syria lay grounds for stabilization 'for first time ever’ - TASS
Syrian foreign minister sees 'real chance' for political settlement - Reuters
FSA says Syria ceasefire agreed, reveals details - orient-news.net
"Nor did Nour al-Din Zinki sign the agreement” - Sami on Twitter
Turkey says Lebanon's Hezbollah should leave Syria - The Times of Israel
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US State Dept 'welcomes' Syria cease-fire, sees it as 'a positive development' - Washington Examiner
Graham fears Syria truce a ‘capitulation’ to Russia, Iran - TheHill
US supplies weapons to YPG terrorists in Syria, period, Turkey FM says - Daily Sabah
Kurdish PYD says not invited to join Syrian ceasefire deal - Sputnik
Syrian Kurdish groups, allies say approve blueprint for federal system - Reuters
Syrian Kurdistan drops Rojava (Western Kurdistan) word in its draft constitution - Rudaw
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Focus: Turkey and Syria - Dec 26, 2016
President Tayyip Erdoğan to ask Donald Trump to impose no-fly zone over Syria - The Independent
Qatar, Turkey hold talks on Syria crisis - gulf-times.com
Kurdish YPG reports ongoing attacks by Turkish army near Kobanê with heavy weapons - ANF
U.S. does not support connecting Kurdish cantons in Syrian Kurdistan: Ambassador to Ankara - ekurd
Russia met 24 Syrian Kurdish parties: Russian general - Kurdpress News Aganecy
US backed Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces 5km from strategic Tabqa dam west of Raqqa - Rudaw
Kurdish female fighters playing key role in battle for Raqqa - ARA News
ISIS jihadists burn four men to death on charges of supporting Kurdish forces - ARA News
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Focus: Aleppo - Dec 14, 2016
Russian Defense Ministry reports more than 360 gunmen lay down arms in Aleppo - TASS
Damascus in close contact on military planning with Moscow and Tehran - TASS
Syrian leader Assad's Shi'ite allies helped him win in Aleppo - Reuters
U.S. may target heavy weapons seized by Islamic State in Palmyra, US general warns - Reuters
VIDEO: Abandoned Russian military base in Palmyra - YouTube
No complete confidence US arm supplies to Syria ‘can’t change hands’: State Dept - RT America
VIDEO: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard introduces bill to stop arming terrorists - YouTube
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VIDEO: Ambassador Samantha Power's attack on Syria, Russia and Iran over deaths in Aleppo - YouTube
VIDEO: Russia’s UN Ambassador Churkin responds to Samantha Power on Syria - YouTube
VIDEO: Syria Ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari statement at the UN Security Council on Aleppo - YouTube
Senators McCain and Graham: Aleppo a ‘testament to our moral failure, everlasting shame' - Newsmax
New York Times editorial: Aleppo’s destroyers: Assad, Putin, Iran - The New York Times
Germany blames Russia over Syria, says sanctions still on table - sg.news
Russian Defense Ministry calls criticism over Aleppo ‘Russophobic hot air’ - themoscowtimes.com
Syria's Assad: Trump can be our natural ally to fight terrorism - Reuters
Assad: All Western aid for Syria sent to terrorist groups, not civilians - Sputnik
TRANSCRIPT: Assad full interview - Syrian Arab News Agency
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False Flag; Shock and Awe: Who Cares
The Syrian-Sarin ‘False Flag’ Lesson
Editor Comment: Amid Official Washington’s desire to censor non-official news on the Internet, it’s worth remembering how the lack of mainstream skepticism almost led the U.S. into a war on Syria.
By Ray McGovern
A review of events leading to the very edge of full-blown U.S. shock-and-awe on Syria three years ago provides a case study with important lessons for new policymakers as they begin to arrive in Washington.
Focus: Aleppo - Dec 8, 2016
'No progress' as Kerry, Lavrov meet on Syria: US - AFP
U.N.'s Egeland says U.S. and Russia 'poles apart' on Aleppo - Reuters
VIDEO: Statement of Jan Egeland, Special Advisor to Special Envoy for Syria - UN Web TV
Lavrov regrets Obama administration continues unfriendly steps against Russia - TASS
Lavrov says US voiced regret over shelling of Russian hospital in Aleppo but somewhat hazily - TASS
Russian naval task force enters port of Tartus. What does this mean? - southfront.org
Agreement on Russian permanent naval base in Syria's Tartus is on final stage - southfront.org
Russia deploys military police to Syria - southfront.org
VIDEO: Russia deploys military police to Syria - YouTube
A rising star in the Russian military killed in Aleppo - The Daily Beast
Turkey sending 300 troops to reinforce Syria operation: state media - Reuters
Turkish border guards kill three Syrian Kurdish civilians - kurdistan24.net
Turkey launches humanitarian campaign for besieged Aleppo - hurriyetdailynews.com
Iranian-made drone involved in attack on Turkish soldiers in Syria on Nov 24 - hurriyetdailynews.com
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Syrian army's Aleppo advance slows but victory in sight - Reuters
Lebanon cannot disassociate itself from the Syrian conflict, Al Assad warns - GulfNews.com
Kurdish forces liberate six districts of Aleppo from al-Nusra Front terrorists - Sputnik
Turkey says Syrian Kurdish YPG working with Assad's forces north of Aleppo - Reuters
Assad supporters see domino effect in Aleppo government win - Fox News
Rebels seek ceasefire with Syrian army closer to retaking Aleppo - Reuters
Islamic State makes advances towards Palmyra killing atleast 34 Syrian soldiers: monitor - Reuters
MAP: Military situation in area of Palmyra on December 8, 2016 - southfront.org
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Focus: Aleppo - Dec 4, 2016
Syrian army nears Aleppo's Old City, rebels tell U.S. they won't leave - Reuters
Syrian army regains control of access to Aleppo airport - SBS News
MAP: Syrian Army captures 60% of rebel-held Aleppo in the space of a week - almasdarnews.com
Syrian army tells rebels in Aleppo to leave or die - Fox News
Russia seeks full withdrawal of Aleppo rebels - Reuters
Over 2,500 Syrian militants granted amnesty over past week: Russia Reconciliation Center - RT News
VIDEO: Buses take residents back to their abandoned east Aleppo homes - YouTube
Russia delivers over 150 tonnes of aid to Aleppo residents - Sputnik
Syrian Army 5th Corps is new Shiite foreign legion: Israeli intelligence source - debka.com
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VIDEO: Kerry (at 2:20 min): Assad is part of the transition - socialfeed.info
Congress authorizes Trump to arm Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft missiles - al-monitor.com
Syria provisions in the FY2017 Defense Bill: House Bill, Senate Bill, Final Bill - al-monitor.com
Media silent as House quietly passes possible no-fly zone over Syria - Freedom Outpost
US and UK explore possibility of aid airdrops to besieged rebel-held eastern Aleppo - The Guardian
Fearing abandonment by Trump, CIA-backed rebels in Syria mull alternatives - The Washington Post
Lavrov: Creation of 'Army of Aleppo' could just be rebranding of al-Nusra Front - Tasnim News Agency
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Focus: Aleppo - Nov 28, 2016
MAP: 40% of rebel-held area captured by the Syrian army in Aleppo - Twitter
Fuel reserve in Syria's rebel-held east Aleppo exhausted: civil defense - Reuters
VIDEO: Thousands flee east Aleppo for Kurdish-controlled district on north edge of city - Yahoo News
VIDEO: Syrian rebels fire at civilians fleeing Aleppo's Al-Sakhour district - YouTube
Russian carrier’s jets move to land base in Syria as Aleppo begins to fall - The Drive
Large build-up of Hezbollah, Iraqi forces in southern Aleppo - almasdarnews.com
Truth and lies: the Twitter battle for Aleppo - Al Bawaba
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Kerry making ‘unbelievable effort’ to save Syrian rebels from Trump, Russia confirms - RT News
Iran may seek naval bases in Yemen or Syria: chief of staff - Reuters
Putin and Rouhani agree to coordinate steps on oil market and interaction for Syria - TASS
France FM deeply concerned about Aleppo, urges 'Friends of Syria' meeting - Mo4ch News
Germany wary of French presidential candidate Fillon's cosy attitude to Russia - digitaljournal.com
4 ISIS fighters killed in first ever direct clashes with Israeli Defense Forces - ibtimes.co.in
ISIS files seized in Syria reveal terror plots against Europe - The Times
Daesh uses ‘chemical gas’ against Syrian rebels: Turkish media - Reuters
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Focus: Turkey, Egypt and Syria - Nov 25, 2016
Turkish-Kurdish tensions threaten anti-IS campaign in Syria - alaraby.co.uk
Turkey-led forces advance against Kurdish YPG, seize 2 villages near al-Bab - southfront.org
Syria regime set “red line” around Al-Bab: pro-Assad daily - NOW
Turkey plans military base in Syria's north, Kurdish-led forces say - ekurd
Turkish top general visits troops injured in northern Syria - alaraby.co.uk
Turkey will not march to Aleppo: Turkish PM - hurriyetdailynews.com
Erdogan, Putin discuss Syria as Turkish-backed rebels push to al-Bab - Reuters
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Egypt to expand Russian industrial zone in Suez - RT Business
Sisi expresses support for Trump's proposed Muslim registry - alaraby.co.uk
Washington Post editorial: A bad bet on Egypt’s strongman Sisi - The Washington Post
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Focus: Turkey - Nov 22, 2016
15,000 more public workers are fired in Turkey crackdown - The New York Times
Turkish court starts umbrella trial of U.S.-based cleric Gulen, followers - Reuters
Followers of cleric Gulen still active in Turkish police, armed forces, Erdogan says - Reuters
Turkey seeks detention of 103 university academics in Gulen-related probe - Reuters
Controversy on campus as Erdogan handpicks Turkey rectors - Yahoo7
Turkish students in Britain have scholarships revoked in post-coup crackdown - RT UK
Turkey detains another 2 pro-Kurdish mayors - Fox News
Turkey: Erdoğan rule could extend until 2029 under proposal - The Guardian
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Loud calls in European Parliament for ending membership talks with Turkey - POLITICO
Turkey blocks European lawmakers from visiting imprisoned MP Kurdish leader Demirtas - EurActiv.com
Erdogan suggests to join Russian/China-led bloc SCO if the EU continues to drag its feet regarding Turkey's membership negotiations - CSMonitor.com
'Russia, China would Like to see Turkey in SCO if it freezes links with NATO' - Sputnik
NATO chief recalls Turkey’s commitment to Article 5 amid calls to join SCO - hurriyetdailynews.com
NATO silent on Turkey arrests of journalists and parliament members - Al Bawaba
Turkish President Erdogan: 'I can't say if Israel or Hitler is more barbarous' - The Independent
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Turkish-backed rebels and Kurds battle over Syria’s Al-Bab – Middle East Monitor
Coalition not backing Turkish move on al-Bab, says US - hurriyetdailynews.com
Turkey, FSA rebels to launch op to retake Syria's Manbij from Kurds: Erdogan - Sputnik
N. Syria: YPG-led forces clash with Turkey-backed rebels around Manbij - kurdistan24.net
YPG threatens Turkey after Turkish jets hit targets in Manbij - Daily Sabah
Syrian Kurdish-led forces receive modern U.S. arms: official - ekurd
Turkey calls on US, allies to reconsider Syria no-fly zone - Fox News
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A Nonviolent Strategy to Liberate Syria
In early 2011, as the Arab Spring was moving across North Africa and the Middle East, small groups of nonviolent activists in Syria, which has been under martial law since 1963, started protesting against the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and demanding democratic reforms, the release of political prisoners, an increase in freedoms, abolition of the emergency law and an end to corruption.
Focus: Syria - Nov 10, 2016
Lavrov: Double standards created impression West shielded al-Nusra Front - Sputnik
U.S. says it has killed 119 civilians in Iraq and Syria since 2014 - The New York Times
Trump team warns Obama not to make major moves on foreign policy - POLITICO
Putin applauds Trump win and hails new era of positive ties with US - The Guardian
Donald Trump presidency may improve US-Russia ties: Mikheil Gorbachev - The Asian Age
President Assad top adviser: Syria is ready to co-operate with Donald Trump - The Independent
Assad supporters hopes Trump will cut U.S. support to Syrian rebels - NPR
Here's why Trump also won on the streets of Damascus - The Canary
Syrian opposition reaches out to Trump - AFP
Syrian Kurds hope for recognition of federalism from new US president - ARA News
Opinion: Can Trump’s presidency overturn Hillary’s bloody legacy in Syria? - americanthinker.com
Israel won't let Iran have military bases in Syria, Netanyahu tells Russian PM - The Times of Israel
Israel IDF hits Syria after rocket fire on Golan - JEWSNEWS
Syrian army to Israel: Don't attack us again - israelnationalnews.com
Turkey FM Cavusoglu says Manbij strategically important for Turkey - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English
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UN: Eastern Aleppo faces mass starvation this winter - VOA
VIDEO: Russia begins flights over Syria from Admiral Kuznetsov - breitbart.com
INFOGRAPHIC: Missile capabilities of Russian naval task force for Syria - southfront.org
Russia says its warships drove away Dutch sub shadowing them - VOA
Russian Air Force paralyzes jihadist supply lines to Aleppo - almasdarnews.com
Up to 6,000 militants attempting to enter east Aleppo: Russian FM - almasdarnews.com
Syrian regime makes advances in western Aleppo - THE DAILY STAR
Aleppo: Regime forces take control of 1070 apartments district - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English
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The choice this year is easy: Why No Leftist, Progressive or Liberal Should Vote for Hillary Clinton
By Dave Lindorff
With one week to go in this year’s presidential election -- an astonishing and depressing contest in which the two least-liked and least-trusted candidates in history are the two choices put up by our two main political parties -- it’s time to look at why left and liberal people should not vote for the Democratic Party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton.
White Helmets More Gray
"People always think something's all true." —Holden Caulfield
When a wonderful program like Democracy Now does a story on the White Helmets in Syria, the problem is not that the White Helmets don't exist, or that they're not rescuing anyone, or that they're actually filmed in Los Angeles -- all of which is ridiculously untrue.
Or perhaps it's not ridiculous. Syria has been the subject of a tidal wave of faked videos, many of them filmed elsewhere. But those things are untrue.
The problem is that the guest who's on Democracy Now to promote the rescuers repeatedly claims that the war in Syria consists of people being slaughtered by Syria and Russia -- and nothing else. And nobody corrects that. There is no mention of people killed by U.S. bombs or by U.S. weapons given to fighters on the ground.
The problem is that the White Helmets' partners, media allies, and funders promote a one-sided story and, far from working for peace, promote an escalation of the war, demanding a "No Fly Zone" from which to work for the overthrow of the government. In fact, the U.S. government gave the White Helmets $23 million with which to work on "transition" to a different government.
It's good media practice to reveal funders. We protest when retired generals go on CNN to push for war without revealing their financial ties to weapons makers. We should protest when promoters of the White Helmets go on TV without revealing that they're funded by Western governments, including the U.S. government which has been pushing for the overthrow of Syria for years.
Now, when the U.S. government funds something good, we ought to celebrate that. A color revolution in someplace like Serbia that develops creative new techniques and nonviolently overthrows a dictator to create a more democratic country is not wholly evil because the U.S. government supported it. But neither should we blind ourselves to that support or its motivations.
And when those motivations, at the highest levels of the U.S. government, appear disreputable, that of course does not tell us the motivations of all the staff people and volunteers involved. The U.S. government's dishonest demonization of someone like Milosevic doesn't make him a beloved and law-abiding leader. The U.S. facilitation of a coup in Ukraine doesn't mean there weren't Ukrainians with good grievances. The world is just not a simple place.
When it comes to Syria we need to recognize that many people in Syria had and have legitimate grievances against their government, and that the United States and allies have been working for many years now to overthrow the Syrian government, and that U.S. actions in Iraq and Libya and Syria have played a huge role in creating the current disaster, and that Russia and Saudi Arabia and Turkey and Qatar and Iran and ISIS and al Nusra and other "extremist" mass murderers and "moderate" mass murderers and the United States and Syria have Syrian blood up to their shoulders.
We also need to recognize that there are a lot of people trying to help, trying to make things better. And their good work should not be used, with or without their consent, as propaganda for further escalation of the killing and destruction. The way to peace does not lie through greater war. And greater war is the goal of the organized demonization of one side, of the manufacturing of selective outrage. On the contrary, the way to peace lies through taking a different approach entirely, an approach that faces all of the facts and treats as the enemy, not this side of the war or that side of the war, but the institution of war.
ISIS uses U.S. weapons which the U.S. continues supplying to fighters in Syria who are trying to overthrow the government. Meanwhile Russia is backing the government against those fighters. In that context, the U.S. and Russia are proposing to work together while threatening each other. These are nuclear nations. What we need is not slick demonization of one side through appeals to our humanitarian concerns, but disarmament, cease-fire, and actual aid on a much greater scale.
The spokespeople for the White Helmets say they don't work in government controlled areas because the government will not let them. That may be true. And it may be true because of suspicions that are easy to understand. But it is also probably true that if the White Helmets were making movies of themselves rescuing people on that side of the war, much of their funding would dry up.
Remember that the U.S. government tried to make a case for bombing Syria in 2013 by claiming that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons. President Obama claimed to have solid evidence of that, which three years later we still haven't seen. The public prevented that escalation. But a year later, following the release of ISIS videos, the U.S. public put up little resistance to the U.S. entering the war on multiple sides, including the opposite side from what it had advertised for in 2013.
But the U.S. government was stuck with a problem. How to direct the war against Syria when the U.S. public seemed not to be upset about Syria at all but seemed willing to be scared entirely out of its mind about ISIS? For the past two years we've witnessed campaigns aimed at demonizing Assad and Putin. That the White Helmets are saving lives doesn't change the fact that they are part of those campaigns. We need to observe them with open eyes.
There is, after all, a potential for support of the White Helmets to backfire against war mongers. If the general public caught on that nonviolent aid is the decent, effective, noble, and heroic path, perhaps the U.S. government would shift more than a tiny fraction of a percent of its Syria budget to that approach. If actual humanitarian aid and unarmed civilian peacework (and videography) were scaled up and done in an actually neutral manner, war would end -- and the White Helmets would have shown the way.
About Safe Zones in Syria
1) Safe zones should be established with the full cooperation of Russia which will consent to the location, extension and administration of the area; 2) They should shelter only refugees. No armed groups (both opposition and pro-government) allowed. The safe zone must not be used as as a base to launch attacks against the enemy. 3) A multinational UN peacekeeping force will administer the safe zones until free and fair (UN supervised) elections are held under a new Syrian constitution. 4) Islamic State or Qaeda attacks in the safe zones will be dealt with by US-Russia military operations under the Joint Implementation Center in conjunction with the UN peacekeeping force.
Syria News - Oct 6 , 2016
Lavrov hopes warmongers eager to attack Syria won’t gain upper hand in US - TASS
Lavrov: Russia 'ready' to cooperate with US on Syria ceasefire in multilateral formats - euronews
In Syria crisis, Russia expands alliance with Iran, increases missile presence - WSJ
3rd Russian Black Sea fleet ship leaves for Mediterranean to join anti-ISIS op - RT News
Russia suspends nuclear agreement, ends uranium research pact with United States - Huffington Post
Pentagon says it has the right to defend against Russian anti-air systems in Syria - Military.com
War hawks are sensing an opening in Syria - The Nation
White House may consider imposing sanctions on Russia over Syria outside UN - Sputnik
Germany considering a push for EU sanctions on Russia over Syria - WSJ
Marine Le Pen blasts EU leaders: 'You’ve done everything to bring down the government of Syria throwing the country into a terrible civil war!' (VIDEO) - theduran.com
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Syrian regime forces gain control of key Aleppo area - WPMT FOX43
Assad accuses Western media of hushing up data on civilian casualties in Aleppo - TASS
VIDEO (English): Assad interview to Denmark’s TV 2 - YouTube
TRANSCRIPT: Assad interview to Denmark’s TV 2 – Syrian Arab News Agency
U.N. envoy De Mistura offers to personally escort al-Qaeda fighters out of Aleppo - CBS News
VIDEO: De Mistura holds press conference on humanitarian situation in Syria - YouTube
TRANSCRIPT: Press conference by UN Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura - ReliefWeb
Syrian Coalition to discuss De Mistura’s proposal with Aleppo rebel groups - etilaf.org
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Syria News - Oct 4 , 2016
VIDEO: White House spokesman Earnest: 'Everybody's patience with Russia has run out' - YouTube
Washington suspends coordination with Moscow, studies 6 options in Syria - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT
U.S., UK, France, Italy, Germany to meet on Wednesday on Syria: Germany - Reuters
US military builds a new air base in Northern Syria - Sputnik
NATO to deploy E-3 AWACS to Middle East as early as October - defensenews.com
Inside the shadowy PR firm that’s lobbying for regime change in Syria - Alternet
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Lavrov: Russian-US deal on Syria ruined by advocates of military solution - Sputnik
Most groups US supports in Syria integral part of al-Nusra Front: Russian Defense Ministry - Sputnik
Russia: If not for our campaign in Syria, jihadist ‘black flags’ could be flying over Damascus - CNS
Duma to ratify unlimited Syria airbase agreement this week: MP - RT Russian politics
Vladimir Putin exits nuclear security pact, citing ‘hostile actions’ by U.S. - The New York Times
40 million Russians involved in annual 4-day defense drills - RT News
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Syrian pro-government forces press attack on city of Aleppo - AP
Syria: Government tanks roll into rebel-held Aleppo - Al Jazeera
Syrian army, Kurdish forces liberate Syria’s Shkeif area in northwest Aleppo - Sputnik
Dialogue with armed opposition possible if bloodshed in Syria stops: Assad - Sputnik
Syria rebels draw closer to al Qaeda-linked group - WSJ
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We got 8 years of change, but not much hope: President Barack Obama’s Crappy Legacy
By Dave Lindorff
Barack Obama came into the White House on a wave of passionate new voters, many of them black or young and white, becoming the nation's first black president and promising a new era of "hope and change."
Syria News - Sept 29, 2016
John Kerry: U.S. is 'on the verge' of suspending talks with Moscow on Syria - US News
VIDEO: Interview with Secretary of State John Kerry on Syria, Iran, and diplomacy - YouTube
U.S. weighs tougher response to Russia over Syria crisis: officials - Reuters
Syrian rebels get new Grad rockets from foreign states: commander - Reuters
Ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke: How the US armed-up Syrian jihadists - Consortiumnews
Politics and economy on the agenda of Saudi Crown Prince’s visit to Turkey - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT
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Kremlin says continuing Russia's 'anti-terrorist' air operation in Syria - Business Insider
Kremlin: US failed to fulfil promise of separating Syria opposition, terrorists in 1 Week - Sputnik
Lavrov draws Kerry's attention to reports Jebhat al-Nusra receives weapons from US - TASS
Pro-Syrian government forces control Aleppo's Handarat camp: rebel - THE DAILY STAR
Syrian army takes control of Kindi Hospital in northern Aleppo - Sputnik
Pro-government Palestinian militia fights in Aleppo - The Long War Journal
Syria's UN envoy says: 'We don't bomb civilians’ - THE DAILY STAR
VIDEO: US failed to fulfill any of their promises & commitments in Syria: Assad adviser - YouTube
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US Propaganda Campaign to Demonize Russia in Full Gear over One-Sided Dutch/Aussie Report on Flight 17 Downing
By Dave Lindorff
If the danger of the anti-Putin, anti-Russian disinformation propaganda campaign out of the Pentagon and promoted by the US corporate media weren't so serious, the effort itself might be laughable. I did laugh,
Syria News - Sept 27, 2016
Syrian troops advance in central Aleppo near old quarter - AP
VIDEO: Syrian flag flies on the Citadel of Aleppo - YouTube
Bunker-buster bomb reports may mark new stage in Russia's Syrian assault - The Guardian
Moscow makes public full text of Russia-US Deal on Syria - Sputnik
Assad's aide: Russia seeks Damascus approval of all Syrian settlement deals - Sputnik
400 Iraqi fighters joined Iran-backed militia in Aleppo: source - ZAMAN ALWSL
Iran admits conducting drone strikes in Syria - NOW
Commander: IRGC supplies intelligence to Russia for airstrikes in Syria - The Long War Journal
Iraqi Shiite militia commander close to Qassem Soleimani killed in Aleppo - The Long War Journal
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Letter of nearly 60 House Democrats to Obama on Syria - POLITICO
White House spokesman: Obama ‘reviewing all of the available options' on Syria - cnsnews.com
Russia claims that Nusra in Aleppo receives military hardware from its backers, 'with the US, presumably, turning a blind eye' - South Front
US not willing to attack Nusra: Russian FM - almasdarnews.com
VIDEO (English Subs): Interview with Nusra commander about foreign support in Syria - YouTube
TRANSCRIPT: Interview with Nusra commander about foreign support in Syria - M of A
"Experts" fail to debunk the Nusra commander interview as a hoax - M of A
US denies providing anti-tank missiles to Nusra - Sputnik
Damascus says it has audio of Daesh talks with US military before strike on Syrian Army - Sputnik
Pentagon dismisses Syria's ‘ludicrous' allegations of coordination with Daesh - Sputnik
Turkey's presidential spokesman urges Syria safe zones - aa.com
Turkey faces decision over boots on the ground in Syria - al-monitor.com
Turkey says Kurdish militia role in Raqqa offensive would endanger Syria - Reuters
Ankara needs Damascus' consent to conduct military op in Syria: Russian Envoy - Sputnik
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Syria News - Sept 22, 2016
John Kerry says negotiations for Syrian ceasefire at an impasse - AP
Kerry demands Russia, Syria ground warplanes to save truce - Reuters
VIDEO: At the UN Security Council Kerry calls for no-fly zone over parts of Syria - YouTube
Syria crisis: Read John Kerry's comments to the UN Security Council in full - The Independent
Russia rejects Kerry's idea of grounding Russian, Syrian planes as unworkable - Reuters
Russia does not rule out strikes against Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar Al-Sham - TASS
Russia to deploy its flagship aircraft carrier off the Syrian coast - russia-insider.com
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Syrian army announces new Aleppo offensive as truce talks fail - Al Jazeera
Syria's Assad says US 'lacks will' to work with Russia to defeat terrorists (VIDEO) - euronews.com
Full transcript of AP interview with Syrian President Assad - Fox News
Top U.S. general: Unwise to share intelligence with Russia on Syria - KFGO-790
VIDEO: Russia's Defence Ministry denies involvement in attack on aid convoy - YouTube
U.S. forces will be in the Middle East long after ISIS, Carter says - Military Times
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Count us out if PKK’s Syrian wing joins Raqqa offensive, Turkey warns US - Daily Sabah
Turkey bombs Kurdish positions near Syria's Tel Abyad - ARA News
Turkey aims to establish safe zone in northern Syria - aa.com
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Talk Nation Radio: Reese Erlich and Coleen Rowley on Syria, War, and Peace
https://soundcloud.com/davidcnswanson/talk-nation-radio-reese-erlich-and-coleen-rowley-on-syria-war-and-peace
Reese Erlich is a foreign correspondent and book author. The paperback edition of Erlich's book Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect, has just been published this week. See https://reeseerlich.com
Coleen Rowley is an FBI whistleblower, peace activist, retired FBI agent, former legal counsel who taught law enforcement ethics, and member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and of Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence. See http://coleenrowley.com
Coleen Rowley will be participating in No War 2016. See http://worldbeyondwar.org/nowar2016
Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.
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Syria News - Sept 17, 2016
Vladimir Putin questions US commitment to Syria ceasefire deal - The Guardian
Putin: Terrorists use Syria ceasefire to regroup - RT News
Aid Convoys for Syria's Aleppo delayed amid rising violence - ABC News
Obama says concerned Syrian gov't blocking humanitarian aid: White House - Reuters
Clinton says cease fire in Syria is largely up to Russians - WTVA.com
Syria says it is doing all required to allow aid access - Reuters
Report: Cost of US post 9/11 wars approaching $5 Trillion - World Truth.TV
REPORT: US budgetary costs of wars through 2016: $4.79 trillion and counting - brown.edu
IMF: Mideast conflict has ‘massive' economic impact - VOA
REPORT: IMF Working Paper: Syria’s Conflict Economy - imf.org
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
The Almost-War on Syria Three Years Ago
When Putin Bailed Out Obama
Editor Note: As pressure again builds on President Obama to attack Syria and press a new Cold War with Russia, the extraordinary events of three years ago after a sarin attack near Damascus are worth revisiting.
By Ray McGovern
Three years ago, when a reluctant President Barack Obama was about to launch an attack on Syria, supposedly in retaliation for President Bashar al-Assad crossing a “red line” against using chemical weapons, Obama smelled a rat – or rather he sensed a mousetrap.
Focus: Turkey Military Intervention in Syria - Aug 29, 2016
Dozens of civilians killed in Syria as Turkey bombs Kurds - Independent.ie
Turkey says aims to prevent Kurdish militia corridor in Syria - almasdarnews.com
SDF forces won’t withdraw from western Euphrates: official - Kurdpress News Aganecy
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels gain control of 21 villages - Latin American Herald Tribune
ISIS targets YPG with suicide bomb near Manbij, Syria - almasdarnews.com
50 Turkish tanks in Syrian city of Jarablus: Head of Kurdish group - AhlulBayt News Agency
Turkish-backed 'Syrian Interim Government' moving to Jarabulus: Reports - southfront.org
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels aim for Manbij city, commander says - Reuters
Syrian Kurdish spokesman says Manbij reinforced, but not by YPG - Reuters
VIDEO: FSA abusing and beating YPG fighters, including child soldiers - Rudaw
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US urges halt to Turkish, Kurdish clashes in northern Syria - The New York Times
Turkish push complicates front against Islamic State: White House - Reuters
France, Germany warn Turkey against attacks on Syrian Kurds - NRT English
Turkish leader Erdogan vows to pursue Syria offensive, ignoring US rebuke - Sky News
No one has right to tell us who we can fight: Turkey’s minister for European Union affairs - Reuters
US should force PYD to step back in Syria: Turkey gov’t - hurriyetdailynews.com
Erdogan calls Putin as Russia seethes at Turkey’s Syrian incursion - The Vineyard of the Saker
Damascus armed PYD to prevent foreign incursion, claims Syrian MP - Rudaw
Turkish intervention in Syria may complicate Raqqa operation: US analysts - KurdishQuestion.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
ABC Shifts Blame from US Wars to Doctors Without Borders
ABC Television's 20/20 will air a program on Friday called "The Girl Left Behind," the main thrust of which is already apparent on ABC's website.
The horribly tragic story is that of Kayla Mueller, an American held hostage and reportedly raped and tortured by ISIS before dying -- it's unclear how, possibly at the hands of ISIS, possibly killed by bombs dropped by U.S. ally Jordan.
Another hostage who was freed reported that ISIS blamed Kayla Mueller for U.S. actions in the Middle East. Among those actions, we learned this week, was imprisoning future ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at Abu Ghraib, not just at Camp Bucca as previously reported.
Mueller, like fellow ISIS victim James Foley, meant well and was in Syria to try to help people nonviolently. But U.S. policy has made it unsafe for Americans to travel to many places.
ABC will seek to pin blame for what happened to Mueller on Doctors Without Borders. She was kidnapped out of a Doctors Without Borders car, and that organization negotiated the freedom of its employees while refusing to help Mueller or even to trust her family enough to share with them information intended for them from ISIS.
But Doctors Without Borders was in Syria to help people and appears to have meant well. Blaming the doctors is easy to overdo here, and not just because the United States has been bombing its hospitals -- acts that may not involve rape or torture, but do involve murder and maiming. The U.S. government could have helped Mueller by never having destroyed Iraq in the first place, never having sought to overthrow Syria, never having overthrown Libya, or never having flooded the region with weapons. Or the U.S. government could have negotiated with ISIS or allowed victims' families to do so -- something it now allows, too late for Kayla Mueller. Or the U.S. government could have announced new policies that ISIS would likely have accepted as ransom.
ISIS asked, in exchange for Mueller's freedom, for the freedom of Aafia Siddiqui or $5 million Euros. If the U.S. government had, instead, offered an apology to the victims of its wars and prison camps, and massive reparations to the region, ISIS might very well have responded in kind. Instead, the U.S. government proceeded to bomb people, including many civilians, for a cost many times greater than $5 million Euros.
The telling of Mueller's story is, in itself, worthwhile. But the focus on an American victim of a war that is victimizing all kinds of people fuels dangerous attitudes. Focusing on the crimes of ISIS, but not of Saudi Arabia or Bahrain or, for that matter, the United States, looks like propaganda for more war. When a New Yorker like Jeffrey Epstein rapes, nobody proposes to bomb New York, but when Baghdadi allegedly rapes, the appropriate response is widely understood to be bombing people.
I don't think the suffering of Kayla Mueller or James Foley should be used to justify the infliction of more suffering. As 9/11 victims have been used as a justification to kill hundreds of times the number of people killed on 9/11, some of the victims' relatives have pushed back. James Foley is pushing back from the grave. Posted online is a video of Foley talking about the lies that are needed to launch wars, including the manipulation of people into thinking of foreigners as less than human. Foley's killers may have thought of him as less than human. He may not have viewed them the same way.
The video shows Foley in Chicago helping the late Haskell Wexler with his film Four Days in Chicago -- a film about a protest of NATO. I was there in Chicago for the march and rally against NATO. And I met Wexler who tried unsuccessfully to find funding for a film version of my book War Is A Lie.
In the video you can watch Foley discussing the limitations of embedded reporting, the power of veteran resistance, veterans he met at Occupy, the absence of a good justification for the wars, the dehumanization needed before people can be killed, the shallowness of media coverage -- watch all of that and then try to imagine James Foley accepting the use of his killing as propaganda for more fighting.
When Foley's mother sought to ransom him, the U.S. government repeatedly threatened her with prosecution. So, instead of Foley's mother paying a relatively small amount and possibly saving her son, ISIS goes on getting its funding from oil sales and supporters in the Gulf and free weapons from, among elsewhere, the United States and its allies. And we're going to collectively spend millions, probably billions, and likely trillions of dollars furthering the cycle of violence that Foley risked his life to expose.
Focus: Turkey Military Intervention in Syria - Aug 24, 2016
With U.S. backing, Turkey pushes into Syria to hold the line against Kurds - FT.com
PM says Turkish operation in Syria to go on until YPG moves east of Euphrates - Reuters
Turkey will not accept new Kurdish entity in Syria: Prime Minister - Reuters
YPG: We will not withdraw from west of the Euphrates - Rudaw
'Or we'll force them out': Kurdish PYD demands Turkey's withdrawal from Syria - Sputnik
Turkey-FSA take Jarablus from IS without fight - KurdishQuestion.com
ARCHIVE: Zenki Brigades, Syria Islamist group accused of war crimes - Wikipedia
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Turkish op in Syria indicate progress in closing border to Daesh: White House - Sputnik
‘Blatant violation of sovereignty’: Damascus condemns Turkish operation in Jarablus - RT News
Syrian opposition group welcomes Turkish military operation near Jarablus - Sputnik
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
A Lawless Plan for More Carnage and Wider War in Syria
A Lawless Plan to Widen War in Syria
Editor's Note: Official Washington’s disdain for international law – when its doing the lawbreaking – was underscored by ex-CIA acting director Morell reiterating plans for murdering Iranians and Syrians in Syria, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern says.
By Ray McGovern
On Aug. 17, TV interviewer Charlie Rose gave former acting CIA Director Michael Morell a “mulligan” for an earlier wayward drive on Aug. 8 that sliced deep into the rough and even stirred up some nonviolent animals by advocating the murder of Russians and Iranians. But, alas, Morell duffed the second drive, too.
