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Syria/Turkey News - Oct 18, 2014

 

Kurds are repelling Islamic State attack on Kobani with help of US air strikes - The Independent


Kurds: Islamic State 'being driven out of Syria's Kobane’ - BBC News


VIDEO: Islamic State pushed back with help of U.S. airstrikes in Kobani - CNN.com


Rights Group: More Than 600 Killed on Both Sides in Fight for Kobani - VOA


Kobani fight an opportunity to blunt Islamic State, general says - CNN.com


VIDEO: Pentagon: Expanded airstrikes show desired effects against Islamic State - YouTube


VIDEO: Full Pentagon Briefing On Operation Inherent Resolve Against Islamic State - DoD News


Kobani key to US strategy against Islamic State - Yahoo News


Why The Fight Against IS In Kobani Matters - huffingtonpost.com


Islamic State Militants Have Been Flying 3 Captured Warplanes Over Syrian Airport, Witnesses Say - Reuters


The Islamic State operating fighter aircraft, fact or fiction? - Oryx Blog


VIDEO: Expert: decades-old warplanes stand almost no chance against the modern ones of the US-led coalition - Fox News


VIDEO: This video shows the jets captured at Jarrah airbase last November by Jaish al Islam now used by the Islamic State - Brown Moses on Twitter


Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula portrays US-led bombing campaign as 'Crusade' against Islam - The Long War Journal


Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula Statement: Solidarity with the Islamic State - Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi


Foreign Fighters Bring Their Kids To Join IS, But Moms Are Fighting Back - huffingtonpost.com


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In policy shift, U.S. opens direct talks with Syrian Kurds - McClatchy DC


VIDEO: State Department: U.S. holds first direct talks with Syrian Kurdish PYD party - Ohaber


Syrian Kurds Gain Importance In Campaign Against Islamic State - huffingtonpost.com


Syrian Kurdish official calls for antitank weapons for Kobani - The Boston Globe


Syrian Kurdish parties to reach an Agreement on Rojava, which will be a principle for governing jointly in Syrian Kurdistan - BAS NEWS


Interview with Ibrahim Biro, secretary-general of the Union Kurdish Party in Syria: Syrian Kurds seeking unity in face of ISIS threat - Rudaw


Kurdistan Parliament Wants KRG to Recognize Kurdish Syrian Cantons - BAS NEWS


Peshmerga train Syrian Kurd fighters in northern Iraq - Worldbulletin News


Peshmerga head speaks of struggle against IS - Al-Monitor


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Exclusive: Turkey OK’s American drones for reconnaissance to monitor Islamic State, but does not allows the use of manned aircraft - Daily Beast


Air strikes against Islamic State in Kobani are just a PR exercise, Turkey says - National Post


Turkey will not allow its citizens to fight in Kobane: PM Davutoğlu - hurriyetdailynews


Ankara outlines border of possible ‘safe zone’ inside Syria (MAP) - yenisafak.com


Islamist Terrorists Are Quiet Neighbor for Turkey 20 Miles From Kobani - Bloomberg


Kurdish militants warn of “violent conflict” if Turkish police given more powers - Rudaw


Turkey, Qatar Complicate Operation Against IS: Special Report - Fox News Channel


UNSC failure a strong message to Turkey on its faulty foreign policy - todayszaman.com


Turkey's massive corruption case dropped by prosecutor - hurriyetdailynews


HSYK inspector requests prosecutor Akkaş be barred from profession, He carried out an investigation into the corruption scandal - todayszaman

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)

Syria/Turkey News - Oct 16, 2014


Air raids slow Islamic State advance around Syria's Kobani: US military - AFP


Kurdish fighters take back swathes of Kobane as US step up airstrikes (PHOTOS, VIDEOS) - Daily Mail Online


Pentagon: Strikes near Kobani have killed hundreds of Islamic State fighters - The Washington Post


Syrian Kurds say giving targets for U.S. strikes near Kobani - Reuters


U.S. Airstrikes Cut Islamic State Oil Production by 70 Percent - Businessweek


VIDEO: Special presidential envoy General John Allen briefs reporters on U.S. efforts to combat IS militants in Iraq and Syria - C-SPAN.org


VIDEO: The U.S.-led coalition launches fresh air strikes on Islamic State in and around Kobani - Reuters


Obama 'Deeply Concerned' by IS Advances in Kobane - VICE


Remarks by the President After Meeting with Chiefs of Defense - The White House


C.I.A. Study of Covert Aid Fueled Skepticism About Helping Syrian Rebels - NYTimes.com


U.S. won’t work with current Syrian rebel groups to battle Islamic State - Columbus Ledger Enquirer


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Kurdish leaders meet to end feud and save Kobane - Rudaw


Appeal on Kobane by the newly established Joint Diplomatic Committee of several Kurdish political parties - Peace in Kurdistan


US won’t support Syrian Kurds as long as they are divided: official - Kurdpress News Aganecy


Barzani: It is very important for us as Kurds to show the world a united front, No difference between Kobane and Erbil - Kurdish Question


Kurdistan Parliament Invites Kurdish Syrian Cantons to Erbil - BAS NEWS


Iraqi Kurds say sent arms to Kobani; Syrian Kurds say they didn't arrive because Turkey would not open the transit corridor - Kurdpress News Aganecy


Iraqi Kurds to sends weapon to Kurdish fighters in Kobani in the next 24 hours, “If Turkey doesn’t respond in positive, then the weapons will be sending by planes” - BAS NEWS


France will keep delivering arms to Kurdish Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State group - Fox News


Syrian Kurds Press Hundreds of Young Men Into Army - ABC News


Dutch biker gang grabs rifles, joins Kurds in fight against ISIS - Fox News


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Syrian Kurds claim wounded fighters stranded at Turkish border, Three died while Turkish border guards refused to let them in - todayszaman


Turkey says only Syrian refugees can cross border to Kobane, but Turkish and other nationals would not be allowed - Yahoo News


Turkish opposition wants 'volunteers' in Kobani, slams President Erdogan for equating PKK with the Islamic State - Worldbulletin News


VIDEO: Turkey’s Border War (Dispatch 1) - VICE News


France calls on Turkey to open border with Kobani - Worldbulletin News


Syria harshly criticizes Turkey on buffer zones - hurriyetdailynews


160 Kobane Kurds detained in Turkey still on hunger strike - usatoday.com


İstanbul rattled by signs of IS support - todayszaman


Did Islamic State open ‘consulate’ in Turkey? - WND


Turkey eyes new police powers after pro-Kurdish protests - THE DAILY STAR


Families tell grim story of three Turkish youths killed and mutilated by Kurds - Worldbulletin News


PKK reports first Turkish air strikes against it in two years - Rudaw

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle[at]yahoo[dot]com, (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)

Syria/Turkey News - Oct 14, 2014


U.S., Saudi Arabia Continue to Conduct Airstrikes Against Islamic State in Kobani - Defense.gov


Airstrikes against IS militants in Kobani jointly manned by Iraqi Kurdistan region and US air force with information provided by PYD - BAS NEWS


VIDEO: U.S. Air Strikes Create Huge Smoke Cloud Over Kobani - YouTube


Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government Nechirvan Barzani: We have sent weapons to Kobane - Kurdish Question


Kurds Meet to Form a Joint Military Force of All Parties in Syria, This is a Condition of the US for Arming the Fighters - BAS NEWS


Woman fighter leads battle against Islamic State in Syria' Kobane (PHOTOS) - Daily Mail Online


VIDEO: Female Kurdish fighters inside Kobani - LiveLeak.com


Women Fight IS and Sexism in Kurdish Regions - NYTimes.com


PYD rounds up conscripts for battle against Islamic State - Rudaw


Hundreds of European Kurds join Peshmerga and YPG - Rudaw


Petition urges US to arm Kobani Kurds against Islamic State - APA


Kurdish Protesters Got Arrested While Marching for Kobane in London - VICE United Kingdom


Liwa Thuwar Raqqa (ex-Jabhat al-Nusra affiliate) working w/ YPG against IS in Kobani - Aymenn J Al-Tamimi on Twitter


FSA Northern Storm Brigade's statement against the Kurds in Kobane - justpaste.it


IS now under attack from White Shroud guerillas in Syria - Daily Mail Online


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Witnesses Describe Alleged Jihadist Horror in Kobane, Atrocities Include Beheadings, Amputations, Eye Gouging - breitbart.com


Islamic State now controls half of Kobane including the cultural centre: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights - smh.com.au


MAP, PHOTOS: Map of the IS and YPG positions in Kobane, Photos of the Cultural Centre - BARE NAKED ISLAM


Three Islamic State suicide attacks hit Kobane - Reuters


PHOTOS: IS suicide bomber Abu Nouh strikes PKK/PYD strongholds with his VBIED truck in Kobane - أبو مصطفى الأنباري on Twitter


Gruesome photos may show IS using chemical weapons on Kurds, report says - Fox News


MERIA Special Report: Did IS Use Chemical Weapons Against the Kurds in Kobani (PHOTOS)? - gloria-center.org


In the New Issue of its Dabiq Magazine, Islamic State Officially Admits to Enslaving Yazidi Women - Syria Comment


Full text of the fourth installment of IS official publication Dabiq, This issue is titled “The Failed Crusade” - ia601403.us.archive.org


Iraq: Forced Marriage, Conversion for Yezidis (VIDEO) - Human Rights Watch


Genocide: 10 Reasons Why Ezidis Refuse to Return to Shingal - The Kurdistan Tribune


With the Syrian Army at Adra, Shell-Shocked Syrian Town Freed After Savage Jihadist Massacre - CounterPunch


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Ankara denies reaching agreement on İncirlik with US, granting use of the air base for military operations against the Islamic State - todayszaman


Turkish foreign minister says corridor allowing weapons and fighters from Turkey to help Kobane is ‘unrealistic': France 24 - Yahoo News


Exclusive: interview of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu with FRANCE 24 - YouTube


Erdoğan: Wiping out IS not enough, Assad the real target - Daily Sabah


Erdogan slams modern 'Lawrence of Arabias' in MidEast - THE DAILY STAR


Turkish troops allegedly threaten YPG at border - ANF


Huge amount of explosives ‘that could destroy a city’ seized in southeast Turkey, Police are considering the possibility that it could belong to IS - hurriyetdailynews


Kurdish Rebels Assail Turkish Inaction on IS as Peril to Peace Talks - NYTimes.com


VIDEO: Kobane strains Turkey’s fragile Kurdish peace process - France 24


Turkish PM: Government to toughen measures against street violence - hurriyetdailynews


Three German reporters freed after arrest while covering a pro-Kurdish protest  - ekurd


Report: Little sympathy in Istanbul for Kurds amid IS group aggression (VIDEO) - France 24


Barzani: Turkey sent secret arms shipment to Kurdistan, “In fact, we expected more from Turkey compared to what they did” - BAS NEWS


Turkey, Saudi Arabia giving terrorists WMDs, Syria claims - RT News

 

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Syria/Turkey News - Oct 11, 2014


Islamic State advances deeper into Kobani, taking almost complete control of an area where the local Kurdish administration is based - Reuters


Islamic State shells border crossing to close the noose around the Kobane, prevent anyone from entering or leaving the town - todayszaman


Islamic State brings in heavy weapons and fighters from Raqqa and elsewhere for an intensified assault on Kobane - Rudaw


SOHR: U.S. led coalition aerial strikes have not prevented Islamic State from bringing munitions from Aleppo and al Raqqa - SOHR


Fight for Syria Town Kobani at 'Standstill' After New U.S. Air Strikes on Friday: Pentagon - NBC News


VIDEO: Unofficial Islamic State news account showing heavy street-to-street fighting in Kobane - LiveLeak.com


VIDEO: More Footage From Kobane in Areas under Islamic State Control - YouTube


VIDEO: From Inside Kobane: The Aftermath of Airstrikes on Islamic State - LiveLeak.com


FSA unit fighting alongside Kobane Kurds against Islamic State, Interview with the field commander of Raqqa's Revolutionaries Brigades - NOW


The Dawn of Freedom Brigades, a participant in the fight against IS in Kobani: Analysis and Interview - Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi


VIDEO:Dawn of Freedom Brigades today target IS positions in east of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) city w/mortar rounds - Aymenn J Al-Tamimi


US back-channel talks with PYD - Kurdpress News Aganecy


US Says Priority Is Islamic State In Iraq, Not Kobani - Sky News


Analysis - Kobani's fall would be symbolic setback for Obama Syria strategy - Reuters


A Kurdish Alamo: Five Reasons the Battle for Kobane Matters - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace


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UN envoy urges Turkey to let Kurds cross into Syria to battle Islamic State, warns many "will most likely be massacred" if Kobani falls - MC Clatchy


War for Kobane: 13,000 terrified Kurds trapped between Islamic State and Turkish border - Telegraph


Syrian Kurdish leader calls on Turkey to allow its territory to be used for passing weapons to Kurdish fighters defending Kobane- GlobalPost


Kurds surrounded by Islamic State militants risk running out of ammo as Turkey controls Kobani’s last escape route - National Post


Asya Abdullah calls for ‘aid corridor’ - ANF


We cannot help Kobani until there is no cooperation between Ankara and Erbil: PUK leading official - Kurdpress News Aganecy


Hagel: US wants use of Incirlik Air Base in fight against Islamic State - Stripes


Turkey to support training, equipping Syrian opposition: U.S. - THE DAILY STAR


Turkey’s top soldier to skip US-hosted IS meeting - hurriyetdailynews


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Death toll of Kurdish unrest in Turkey climbs to 37, with 351 injuries and more than 1,000 detentions: interior minister - hurriyetdailynews


PM accuses CHP leader of ‘treason' in Kobani row, wants him to hush - todayszaman


VOA Exclusive: Turkish Troops Fire on Kurdish Protesters - VOA


VIDEO: VOA Exclusive: Turkish Troops Fire on Kurdish Protesters - YouTube


VIDEO (Raw): Videos reportedly showing protesters being shot in Dargeçit, southeast Turkey - Brown Moses on Twitter


Syrian group fired at Turkish troops on border, military says - todayszaman


VIDEO: Turkish police shouts ''long live ISIS'' to Kurdish protesters - Bertramus on Twitter


PHOTO: Abu Hanzala, claimed to be spiritual leader of IS in Turkey, released from prison today - ilhan tanir on Twitter


VIDEO: IS leader Abu Hanzala, released by Turkish authorities today, explains the current situation of Syria and the recent attacks against the IS before he was arrested - Elijah J Magnier on Twitter

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Syria/Turkey News - Oct 9, 2014


US-led airstrikes push jihadists back in Syrian town Kobane - AP


YPG says for the first time, the U.S. strikes had some effect - ekurd


IS launches new offensive east of Syria’s Kobane after withdrawing following U.S.-led strikes - Al Arabiya News


Kurdish defence chief: IS sent suicide truck bomber to center Kobane. YPG destroyed truck b4 reaching target - Jenan Moussa on Twitter


VIDEO: Kobane: sustained air attacks by the US-led coalition against fighters from Islamic State - BBC News


VIDEO (Raw): Islamic State getting liquified by US air strike - LiveLeak.com


PHOTOS: First chilling pictures INSIDE Kobane show IS fighters prowling the deserted streets and their flag still flying - Daily Mail


Tens of thousands of Kurds swamp Obama’s official Facebook page: Save Kobane - Rudaw


Is President Obama Sending in The Cavalry (i.e. Air Strikes) to Save Syrian Kurds? - dailykos.com


Washington's Secret Back-Channel Talks With Syria's Kurdish ‘Terrorists' - foreignpolicy.com


Peshmergas, acc to sources, coordinate location of airstrikes in Kobane btwn coalition & YPG. No direct coordination btwn U.S & YPG - Jenan Moussa on Twitter


John Kerry hints protecting Kobani is not priority - ITV News


VIDEO: John Kerry hints protecting Kobani is not priority - YouTube


UN envoy urges help to defend Kobani - DW.DE


VIDEO: UN’s Syria envoy calls for international action to defend Kobane - YouTube


Syria human rights groups call on world to save embattled town of Kobani from 'Islamic State' - Independent.ie


As They Battle IS For Kurdish Town Kobane, U.S.-Backed Syrian Rebels Question Support - huffingtonpost.com


VIDEO: the Dawn of Freedom Brigades (rebels working w/ YPG) targeting IS positions in east of Kobani city - Aymenn J Al-Tamimi on Twitter


Saraya Jarabulus: rebel group in NE Aleppo/Kobani area working w/ YPG in 'Euphrates Volcano' against IS - Aymenn J Al-Tamimi on Twitter


"Komele" Kurdish faction quits Syr Rev Front after leadership refused 2 provide them w support to go fight in Kobane against IS - Joshua Landis on Twitter


11 Rules For Journalists Covering ISIS, Issued By IS - huffingtonpost.com


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Army imposes curfew after 21 killed in Turkey pro-Kurdish protests over failure to aid besieged Kobane - Yahoo News


Kobani: Anger grows as Turkey’s Kurds are stopped from aiding Syria militias in Kobane (VIDEO) - The Guardian


Kurdish rallies in Turkey turn bloody, (PHOTOS, VIDEO) - RT News


VIDEO (Raw): Pro-Kurd rally turns violent in Istanbul as IS on verge of capturing Kobani - YouTube


Kurdish-led Kobani protests spread to Europe - todayszaman.com


VIDEO: Kurds across Europe hold protests calling for more help for Kobani - LiveLeak.com


Street clashes pitting Kurds against radical Muslims left 23 people wounded in Germany - Yahoo News


VIDEO: Germany: Pro-IS mob attacks Kurdish protesters with MACHETES and KNIVES - YouTube


'Shame on you, Turkey!' Massive protest in London demands protection for Kobani Kurds (PHOTOS, VIDEO) - RT UK


Turkish Inaction on IS Advance Dismays the U.S. - NYTimes.com


White House walks back talk of Syria-Turkey buffer zone after France backed the proposal and Kerry said the idea was worth examining - Yahoo News


Pentagon: Turkey's proposed buffer zone not on table - Al Arabiya News


Barzani Asks Turkey to Let Peshmerga Through to Kobani, So far there is no word from Ankara - BAS NEWS


Kurdish leader Salih Muslim met with Turkish officials in Ankara - hurriyetdailynews


Kobane connected to Kurdish peace process in Turkey, HDP says - hurriyetdailynews


Gülen warns against adventurism, using force against Kurds - todayszaman.com

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Urgent: Right-Left Alliance Needed to Stop This War!

Pick Up TruckBy David Swanson, originally published by Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity

Last year, public pressure played a big role in stopping US missile strikes on Syria. The biggest difference between then and now was that televisions weren't telling people that ISIS might be coming to their neighborhood to behead them. There were other, smaller differences as well: Britain's opposition, Russia's opposition, and the difficulty of explaining to Americans that it now made sense to join a war on the same side as al Qaeda.

But there's another big difference between last year and this year. Last year was not a Congressional election year. With elections coming this November, Congress declared an early vacation in September and fled town in order to avoid voting a new war up or down. It did this while fully aware that the President would proceed with the war illegally. Most Congress members, including House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Leader Harry Reid, believe that by allowing a war to happen without explicitly voting for or against it they can best win our votes for re-election without offending their funders.

Congress members have good reason to think that way. Numerous organizations and individuals are dumping endless energy and resources into trying to elect either Democrats or Republicans, regardless of their policies. Big groups on the left have told me that they will not have any time for opposing war until the elections are over, at which point they'll be happy to "hold accountable" any of the Democrats they've just reelected. There are organizations who do the same thing for Republicans.

When war was made the top election issue in exit polls in 2006, Democrats took power and their leader in the House, Rahm Emanuel, openly told the Washington Post that they would keep the war in Iraq going in order to campaign against it again in 2008. And so they did. Republicans elected opposing war in 2010 have been more rhetorical than substantive in their "opposition."

The current war, and the endless war it is part of, must be opposed by people across the political spectrum who put peace ahead of party. ISIS has a one-hour video asking for this war. Giving it to them, and boosting their recruitment, is insanity. Ending insane policies is not a left or right position. This is a war that involves bombing the opposite side in Syria from the side we were told we had to bomb a year ago, and simultaneously arming the same side that the U.S. government is bombing. This is madness. To allow this to continue while mumbling the obvious truth that "there is no military solution" is too great an evil to fit into any lesser-evil electoral calculation.

This war is killing civilians in such large numbers that the White House has announced that restrictions on killing civilians will not be followed. This war is being used to strip away our rights at home. It's draining our economy. It's impoverishing us -- primarily by justifying the routine annual spending of roughly $1 trillion on war preparations. It's endangering us by generating further hatred. And all of this destruction, with no up-side to be found, is driven by irrational fear that has people telling pollsters they believe this war will endanger them and they're in favor of it.

According to the Congressional Research Service 79% of weapons shipments to Middle Eastern countries are from the United States, not counting arms given to allies of ISIS or used by the US military. Rather than arming this region to the teeth and joining in wars with US weapons on both sides, the United States could arrange for and lead an arms embargo. It could also provide restitution for what it has done in recent years, including the destruction of Iraq that allowed the creation of ISIS. Making restitution in the form of actual aid (as opposed to "military aid") would cost a lot less than lobbing $2 million missiles at people who view them as recruitment posters and tickets to martyrdom. That shift would also begin to make the United States liked rather than hated.

We won't get there unless people whose souls are un-owned by political parties take over town hall meetings and let Congress members know that they must work to end this war if they want to earn our votes.

-- 
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org

Thoughts of a Beheaded Head

Dostoievski once had a character imagine what a head would think if for some seconds it were aware of having been cut off by an executioner's guillotine, or if somehow it were aware for a full minute, or even for five minutes.

I should think such a head would think thoughts entirely dependent on the circumstances and that the type of blade that committed the murder wouldn't affect the thoughts too greatly.

I loved you, it might think, thinking of its loved ones. I did well there, if might think, thinking of its accomplishments. I'm sorry, it might think, dwelling momentarily on its deepest regrets -- as likely as not relatively trivial incidents in which the head together with its body had hurt someone's feelings.

I've died in a war, the head might think, despite opposing wars. I took the risk and enjoyed the thrill, yet the injustice remains. I didn't launch the war. I didn't make millions off it. I didn't win votes from it. I tried to tell people what it was, and here I am no better than a soccer ball about to cease existing as a consciousness.

As the beheaded head's remaining seconds stretched into what seemed to it a long period of time, it might be struck by the absurdity of the situation, and it might be horrified by the barbarism. I was supposed to not be the news, the head might think, and now I am the news. After pretending not to be human, my humanity -- once ended -- will now be used as a reason to escalate the war. No one will ask me. How could they?

But no one ever asked me, did they, even when I was connected to a neck and arms and legs? I reported on this battle or that atrocity. But did anyone ever ask whether the entire enterprise made me ashamed of my species? Did anyone ever ask whether the justifications used were any better than lunacy? My country decided 100 years ago that it would dominate the Middle East for oil -- oil that will destroy the world itself if the wars don't.

In recent years my country destroyed Iraq, killing a half-million to a million-and-a-half people, leaving behind a hell on earth, including a government that both beheads people and bombs them, as well as handing over weaponry to this gang that beheaded my body -- a gang that could only have arisen in the hell on earth that Washington created and which will never match Washington's scale of killing if it keeps beheading and crucifying for decades.

So what does the government of the people who read my reports do? It sends in more weapons to the close allies of ISIS and simultaneously starts bombing ISIS just one year after screaming that it must bomb the Syrian government that ISIS is fighting. And ISIS makes a movie demanding heavier U.S. attacks, and the U.S. obliges and launches heavier attacks. And ISIS recruitment soars, the weapons companies stocks soar, and I get my body cut off.

And because my body is gone from me, and because the war is begun, and because it is guaranteed to get worse rather than better, brave drone pilots will be told that they must continue the war so as not to offend themselves, and as they commit suicide after murdering people with joysticks, still more pilots will be called on so that the first ones will not have killed themselves in vain.

Why when we're alive do we act as if the whole thing isn't insane? Is it a function of our habit of acting as if our existence isn't insane? We puff ourselves up, don't we? We talk solemnly of strategy, energetically ignoring the intentional absurdity of the whole doomed project, just as we eat and eat and eat without ever once wondering what the junk we are eating will do to the worms who will dine on our flesh.

What if the world comes to its senses next week, the head might think as the world grows blurry around it. How will I feel to have missed it by so little? Well, I'll feel nothing of course, and so I do hope that it will happen. I really do. This man who's cut off my body has a loud laugh. He was sad yesterday morning and I could not ask him why. I wonder if people back home know that he thinks Americans can only understand the language of violence, so there's no sense talking to them.

Syria/Turkey News - Oct 7, 2014


Islamic State militants raise flag over Kobane as fighting intensifies - smh.com.au


Street battles as IS enters Syria's Kobane - theguardian.com


VIDEO: Islamic State flag raised over Kobane, Syria - BBC


Islamic State Takes Position on Kobane’s Mount Mishtenur - bellingcat


VIDEO: Outmatched Kurds with AK47s v IS tanks in Kobane - Peter Bouckaert on Twitter


Syrian Kurds say air strikes against IS are not working - The Guardian


Kurds confused at US reluctance to crush Islamic State - GulfNews.com


VIDEO: State Department Briefing: U.S. Strategy in Syria Questioned as IS Enters Kurdish Town Kobane - Rudaw


Kurdish Female Commander in Kobane Kills IS Militants in Suicide Attack - rudaw


YPG confirm Arin Mirkan carried out suicide bombing vs. IS in Kobane (PHOTO) - Charles Lister on Twitter


'Grannies with Kalashnikovs' Last Line of Defence for Besieged Syrian Town - breitbart.com


At least 30 Kurdish fighters killed in two IS suicide bombs in Syria’s Hasakah - The Globe and Mail


IS’ Ammunition Is Shown to Have Origins in U.S. and China - NYTimes.com


3 New Findings On IS Weapons That You Should Know About - huffingtonpost.com


REPORT: Analysis of small-calibre ammunition recovered from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria - Conflict Armament Research


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Kurds Protesting In Turkey And Europe As Kobane About To Fall - Business Insider


VIDEO: Watch pro-Kurd protesters RAGE in fiery Istanbul clashes - YouTube


PHOTO: In Istanbul, bus on fire during protests over Kobane - Mehmet Cerit on Twitter


Kurdish Protesters Shut Down Oxford Circus Tube, Calling For More Action Against Islamic State (PHOTOS) - huffingtonpost.com


‘Stop IS!’ Kurdish protesters storm Dutch parliament in The Hague (PHOTOS, VIDEO) - RT News


Kurdish-Americans Appeal for US Action in Kobane - Rudaw


UN Secretary General Calls for Action to Protect Civilians in Syria’s Kobane - RIA Novosti


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Boots on the ground in Syria ‘if the US strategy includes going after Assad,’ says Turkish PM - hurriyetdailynews


VIDEO: Interview with Turkey Prime Minister on IS, Syria war - CNN


PKK, IS are the same, says Erdoğan - todayszaman


Islamic State siege of Syrian border city tests Turkey's allegiances - Washington Times


After Turkey and UAE, Saudi Arabia Is Next on Biden’s Mideast Apology List After Harvard Remarks - NYTimes.com


Turkish army uses tear gas to move Kurds from Syrian border - AFP


VIDEO: Turkish Kurds clashed with police on the border of Syria after they gathered to show support for Kobani's defenders - CNN


Turkish police tear-gas BBC team near Syrian border - BBC News


VIDEO: BBC crew come under attack by Turkish police near Kobane - BBC News


Anonymous customs officer: The Turkish state continues to give logistic support to IS - ANF


Ankara urges PYD leader to join ranks of Free Syrian Army against al-Assad - hurriyetdailynews


Turkey Launches Crackdown On Oil Smugglers Feeding IS - huffingtonpost.com

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Syria/Turkey News - Oct 4, 2014


Islamic State fighters reportedly enter Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani - ekurd


YPG Statement: IS will never be able to enter Kobani - ANF


Kurds Fight Alone as Coalition Holds Fire Against Jihadist Tanks - Businessweek


Dramatic footage of Islamic State advance on Syrian Kurdish Kobani city, the group now control 325 villages in the surrounding area  - ekurd


VIDEO: Dramatic footage of Islamic State advance on Syrian Kurdish Kobani city - YouTube


VIDEO: IS apparently seized a checkpoint of an entry point to the city of Kobani from the south - Aymenn J Al-Tamimi on Twitter


VIDEO: A YPG Killdozer and several dead YPG fighters filmed by IS on the outskirts of Kobane - Brown Moses on Twitter


19-Year-old Syrian Kurdish woman YPG fighter Ceylan Ozalp kills herself rather than falling into IS jihadists' hands - ekurd.net


WYPG Women Soldiers in a War Against IS - Marie Claire


VIDEO: Kurdish Female Fighters VS. The Islamic State (Australian documentary) - liveleak.com


Looks likely that the Chechen-dominated Liwa al-Aqsa is leading the IS offensive on Kobane (Ayn al-Arab) - Charles Lister on Twitter


Mayadeen: 100s of Nusra fighters in Aleppo & Idlib defected to IS & headed to Alshadadi in Hassaka after giving bayaa - Joshua Landis on Twitter


MAP: Who and from where is coming to join IS - James Denselow on Twitter


Seven members of Syria family executed by jihadists - THE DAILY STAR


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Turkey vows support for besieged Syrian town Kobane, but stops short of committing to military action - Reuters


VIDEO: Turkey tanks idle as IS attacks Kobane - BBC News


Watching Kobane battle, Kurds lose faith in Turkey anti-IS action - Yahoo Maktoob News


Kobane Kurds say they held talks with the Turkish government but it has not responded to their request for help - The News Tribune


Turkey parliamentary motion is actually against Syria, not IS: main opposition - hurriyetdailynews.com


Turkey PM: Syrian Kurds paying price for siding with Assad - Daily Sabah


Turkish intervention in Syria would be 'aggression': Damascus - Dunya News


When Turkish official was asked why Turkey wasn't helping Kurds in Syria he replied: “Why must we choose btwn PKK & ISIS?” - cale salih on Twitter


Öcalan: Massacre in Kobani would end peace talks in Turkey - todayszaman.com


Turkish co-chairs on the way to Kobanê border - ANF


Turkish soldiers allegedly met IS gangs on Kobanê border last night - ANF


Turkey to bargain with US over no-fly zone - hurriyetdailynews.com


49 hostages swapped for 180 IS terrorists, report claims - todayszaman.com


New EU warns ‘new Turkey' for first time - todayszaman.com


Turkey: under pressure to take a definitive stance - European Council on Foreign Relations


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Islamic State beheads British hostage, names captured American as next - McClatchy DC


VIDEO: IS Sends “Another Message to America and Its Allies”, Beheads Brit Aid Worker and Threatens to Kill American Next - Saving the Republic


Biden blames US allies in Middle East for rise of IS - RT News


VIDEO: Vice President Biden Delivered Remarks on Foreign Policy at the John F. Kennedy Forum - YouTube


TRANSCRIPT: Remarks by the Vice President at the John F. Kennedy Forum - The White House


Obama team circles wagons as Panetta hits White House on Iraq, Syria and more - Fox News


Leon Panetta: Should have armed Syrian rebels sooner - CNN.com


Syria opposition head 'not satisfied' with coaltion support - Al-Monitor


American Allies On The Ground In Syria Say US-Led Air Strikes Are Hurting Their Cause - Business Insider


Syrian Rebel Commanders Say US Airstrikes Bolster Assad - VOA


U.S., anti-Assad rebels at odds over Nusra’s role - The State


Syria: top FSA officers quit - Al Arabiya News


Why Does the Free Syrian Army Hate Us? - The Daily Beast


The Idealists Who Started Syria's Revolution Have All Been Killed, Jailed Or Exiled - The Daily Beast


Pentagon "slush fund" pays for ISIS airstrikes, irking some in Congress - CBS News


Anti-IS Pentagon Operation Has New Website, but Still No Name - WSJ

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

10 Myths About Obama's Latest War

By Reese Erlich

U.S. Navy/MC1 Trevor Welsh

Veteran foreign correspondent Reese Erlich was in northern Iraq at the start of the U.S. bombing campaign against Islamic State. He interviewed Kurdish leaders, peshmerga fighters and U.S. officials. He says the reality on the ground is far different from the propaganda coming out of Washington.

What laws of war? We do what we want!: Obama Admits US Bombing Attacks in Syria Pay Little Heed to Protecting Civilians

By Dave Lindorff

 

In a perverse way, maybe it's progress that the US is now admitting that it doesn't really care about how many civilians it kills in its efforts to "decapitate" a few suspected terrorist leaders.

Turkey/Syria News - Oct 2, 2014


Erdoğan hints at Syria intervention, emphasizing that the Syrian regime must also be toppled as part of the solution -  todayszaman.com


Erdogan: Dropping tonnes of bombs is only a temporary solution...Turkey will not allow itself to be used in the search for a palliative’ - AFP


Turkey Parliament to approve a bigger military role in Iraq and Syria — but not on American terms - The Washington Post


Turkey plans safe haven in areas controlled by Free Syrian Army and Islamic Front - hurriyetdailynews


Proposed Syria buffer zone to extend 30 Km, says AK deputy chair Atalay, it could become reality in “coming days” - Joshua Landis on Twitter


CHP, HDP to vote against motion on military action in Iraq, Syria - todayszaman.com


VIDEO (Turkish): Erdogan Opening Speech at the Parliament of New Legislative Year - YouTube


Turkish president Erdogan calls for new constitution, signalling no let-up in his drive to create an executive presidency -  Worldbulletin News


US still cool to idea of buffer zone, no-fly zone in Syria - todayszaman.com


Turkey prepares to make a military move into Syria, but NATO support is not assured - Public Radio International


New hostage crisis for Turkey: Islamic State surrounds troops at Suleiman Shah shrine - McClatchy DC


The Islamic State avoided a confrontation with Turkey by reportedly releasing 36 Turkish soldiers guarding the tomb of Suleiman Shah - Syria Direct


Are Turkish troops trapped at Syrian tomb? - Al-Monitor


President Erdoğan denies claims IS encircled Suleiman Shah Tomb - Daily Sabah


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Kurds Don't Believe Turkey Wants To Fight The Islamic State - VICE News


Kurds Outraged as Turkey Closes Border to Volunteers for Kobane - Rudaw


PYD's Muslim appeals to West for weapons, criticizes Turkey - todayszaman.com


Demirtaş visits Kobani, urges Turkey to join Kurds' fight against IS - todayszaman.com


Turkish government plays with Kurdish fire - Al-Monitor


VIDEO: Compilation of videos shows 6 IS militants crossing into Kobani using a tunnel and railroad on Turkey's side, and Turkish Armed Forces stands nearby - imctv.com.tr


VIDEO: One more video shows Turkish Armed Forces standing nearby while 6 IS militants cross the Turkey border into Kobani - imctv.com.tr


PACE: Turkey negligent towards IS recruitment in its borders - todayszaman.com


Inspectors' report on MİT trucks reveals gov't cover-up attempts, a case involving what appear to be illegal arms shipments to opposition groups in Syria - todayszaman.com


IS to open its first ‘consulate' in Istanbul? - AWDNews


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Airstrikes target IS militant advance on key Kurdish town Kobane - France 24


Airstrikes putting "a lot of pressure" on IS around Kobani: Pentagon - KUNA


US Marines crisis unit to deploy to Mideast, 2,300 troops ready to quickly respond to crises - Yahoo News


White House exempts Syria airstrikes from tight standards on civilian deaths - Yahoo News


POLL: Obama is polling a 50 percent approval rating on his handling of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, 44 percent disapprove - Washington Post


Here's How Much The War On IS Is Costing The US - Business Insider


VIDEO: US Air Strikes Over IS: NEW RAW FOOTAGE - YouTube


VIDEO: YPG shows off equipment captured from IS, who captured them from the Iraqi Army, who got them from the US - Brown Moses on Twitter


IS beheads 9 Kurdish fighters, including three women, captured in Syria - Fox News


Airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria stir anger among rebels - LA Times


FSA: No terror is comparable to Assad’s terror - Al-Monitor


Syria Blasts at School Kill 32 Including 10 Kids, The attack occurred in a government-controlled Shiite area - ABC News


VIDEO: Akrama, Homs: video of car bomb & its bloody aftermath. Exploded outside a school in largely Alawi neighborhood - Joshua Landis on Twitter


36 activists executed in Raqqa by IS - الرقة تذبح بصمت on Twitter


IS warns of expansion into southern Syria ‘within days’ - The National


The Case Against Qatar - foreignpolicy.com

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Syria/Turkey News - Sep 30, 2014

 

IS fighters continue to shell Kobane, There is no targeting, no military objective here, just raining fire on civilians - ABC News


Two civilians killed in missile strike on Kobanê - ANF


VIDEO: IS Shells Kobane with Katyusha Rockets - YouTube


Kurdish YPG Militia and Free Syrian Army Unit Announce Agreement to Fight Islamic State in Syrian Kurdistan - ARA News


VIDEO: Kurdish fighters and Free Syrian Army clash with IS at strategic Syrian border town - YouTube


Syrian Observatory: 1,500 Kurdish fighters join forces from Turkey against IS in Kobane - Mathrubhumi


Kurdish Kobanê commander: We have the initiative - ANF


Vigil for Kobane in the villages of Siwêdê and Boydê on the Turkey border - ANF


Protests against IS's Kobane siege continue across Turkey - todayszaman.com


Demonstrations in Europe and US for Kobane - Rudaw


US says will discuss help to Syrian Kurds - Kurdpress News Aganecy


Syrian Minister: We Could Not Defend Kobane Because Turkey Anti-Aircraft Guns Would Target Our Planes - Rudaw


Syria backs global fight against Islamic State, minister tells U.N. in a tacit approval of U.S. and Arab air strikes -THE DAILY STAR


Nusra units in northern Syria appear to have reconciled with IS, holding war planning meetings - The Guardian


IS Moves Forces to Syria from Northern Iraq - Rudaw


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Villagers on both sides of the border say Turkey government mainly focused on keeping people from aiding fellow Kurds in Syria - USA Today


VIDEO: Turkey stops Kurds from entering Syria to fight IS - BBC News


Turkish tanks take up position on a hill overlooking the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani - huffingtonpost.com


Turkish police and troops attack people keeping vigils for Kobane all along the border - ANF


VIDEO: Turkey security forces intervene in protest held by Kurds in Suruç on the border with Syrian city of Kobane - CİHAN


3 protesters taken into custody by Turkey police in Ergani - ANF


IS Fighters Smuggled From Turkey Into Syria For Just £15 - sky.com


CHP deputy says can't find decree declaring IS a terrorist group - todayszaman.com


Turkey's already fragile peace process with its own Kurds has been seriously endangered by the Kobane plight - todayszaman.com


Turkey: Authoritarian Drift Threatens Rights - Human Rights Watch


REPORT (Full): Turkey’s Human Rights Rollback - Human Rights Watch


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Obama says that U.S. intelligence underestimated the threat by the Islamic State, overestimated the Iraqi army’s capacity (VIDEO) - Fox News


VIDEO (Full): Obama CBS 60 Minutes interview - YouTube


U.S. Leads More Airstrikes Against IS In Iraq And Syria, Some Hit Around Kobane - WBUR & NPR


Activists cite civilian casualties as airstrikes heat up - usatoday.com


US/Syria: Investigate Possible Unlawful US Strikes - Human Rights Watch


VIDEO: First CIVILIAN casualty in Raqqa due to International Coalition attacks, 28 sep 2014 - YouTube

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

A Good End Date for the New War Is Today

What I've seen of public events, demonstrations, and protests of the latest U.S. war -- just like the larger and more immediately effective public resistance 12 months ago -- has been aimed, remarkably enough, at ending the war and opposing the policies of those engaging in it, and first among them the U.S. President.

What I've seen of inside-the-Beltway-style peace lobby groups' strategy has been aimed, predictably enough, at setting a good end date for the new war and barring the use of U.S. ground troops.

Both approaches are represented by voluminous discussions on listserves, so I feel like I know a good sample of each far more intimately than I might ideally wish. They parallel rejection and support of lesser-evil voting, and are largely made by those who reject and accept the importance of lesser-evil voting. However, many who accept lesser-evilism in the polling booth do not accept it here. And I think they have a point.

If you vote for a decent candidate and he or she loses, an argument can be made that you've "wasted" your vote. But if you advocate for an immediate end to a war, and a Congress that is hearing from the President that the war should last three years, bans continuation of the war beyond a year-and-a-half, then an argument can be made that you helped frame the compromise. In any case, it would be difficult to make a persuasive case that your activism was wasted. If, on the other hand, you found out that some Congress members were interested in a 1-year limit, and you lobbied for just that, and then Congress enacted a 2-year limit, what could you be said to have accomplished?

Here's my basic contention: Congress knows how to compromise. We don't have to pre-compromise for them. (How'd that work out on healthcare?) (How'd that ever work out?) And when we do pre-compromise for them (such as the time AFSCME banned "single-payer" signs from "public option" rallies, so as to simulate public demand for what "progressive" Congress members were pretending to already want) we give significant support and respectability to some serious outrages (such as privatized for-profit health insurance, but also such as bombing Iraq yet again and bombing the opposite side in Syria that was to be bombed a year ago and while arming that same side, which -- if we're honest about it -- is madness.

How many years of madness will be best, is an insane question. It's not a question around which to organize protests, demonstrations, nonviolent actions, lobbying, education, communication, or any other sort of movement building.

But isn't 2 years of war better than 3? And how are you going to get Congress members to limit it to 2 years if you've called them lunatics?

Of course 2 years is better than 3. But less than 2 is even better, and Congress is going to compromise as far as it dares, and knows perfectly well how to do so without help from us.  Is there really evidence to imagine that Senators and Congress members shape their policies around who's most polite to them? Certainly they determine who's invited to meetings on Capitol Hill on that basis, but is being in those meetings our top priority? Does it do the most for us? And can't we still get some people into those meetings by calling mass murder "mass murder" while keeping open every opportunity for the funders and sanctioners of mass murder to oppose and stop it?

We need sit-ins in Congressional offices and protests on Capitol Hill. To a much lesser extent, we need discussions with Congress members and staffers. To the extent that different people must pursue those two tactics, the question will always remain whether mass public organizing should be guided by people who think like the former group or like the latter.

My position comes from the expectation that "support the troops" propaganda and the inevitably worsened situation after a year or two will make the struggle to then end a previously time-limited war harder, rather than easier -- easier only if the public has come to its sense in the meantime.  My position comes from the fact that there are already U.S. troops in Iraq and the belief that we're going to get them home sooner if we don't play along with the pretense that they aren't there or aren't there for combat. My concern is for human life, and when you prioritize an air war over a ground war -- and when the "anti-war" movement does that -- you risk creating a great, rather than a smaller, number of deaths, albeit non-U.S. deaths.

Now, the lobbyists' need to be polite to Congress can be a helpful guide to all protesters. While moral condemnation and humorous mockery can be useful tools, so can Gandhian respect for those who must be won over. But the demand of a peace movement must be for peace and alternatives to war.  When the missile strikes were stopped a year ago, the arming of ISIS-and-friends proceeded anyway, and no useful policy was pursued instead of the missiles. The U.S. had decided to do nothing, as if that were the only other option. Effectively we'd put an end date on the U.S. staying out, as doing nothing was guaranteed not to resolve the problem.

A good end-date for this war is today. A good date to begin useful aid and diplomacy and arms embargoes and reparations is tomorrow. We have to change the conversation to those topics, instead of focusing on the question of how much mass-murdering madness is the appropriate amount. Not because we want it to continue for eternity if it can't be ended now, but because it will end sooner and be less likely to be repeated if we confront it for what it is.

We've been so strategic over the past decade that everybody in the United States knows the war on Iraq cost U.S. lives and money, but most have only the vaguest idea of how it destroyed Iraq and how many people it killed. As a direct result, nobody knows where ISIS came from, and not enough people are fully aware of the high probability that the bombing will strengthen ISIS -- which may be why ISIS openly asks for it in its 1-hour film.

How much insanity should we demand on our posters and signs and online petitions and letters to editors: not another drop.

Freedom’s just another word: US Launches Wars and Backs Coups in the Name of Democracy, but Won’t Back Real Democracy Activists

By Dave Lindorff


The US claims to be supporting democracy from Ukraine to Cuba, and from Somalia to Iraq, often by bombing the alleged opposition, or by supporting proxy wars and subversion. But one place where real democracy activists are battling against the forces of repression they are curiously getting no backing from the United States: Hong Kong.

Syria News - Sep 28, 2014


In Syria, airstrikes carried out against Islamic State in battle for Kobane - The Washington Post


VIDEO: F 15E Strike on IS Compound near Kobane, Syria - YouTube


VIDEO: Hagel Answers CNN Jim Sciutto Question on Kobane - YouTube


MAP: Evolution of front-line since the beginning of IS offensive on Sept 15, Closest front is now about 5 km from Kobane city - LiveLeak


Cheering Kurdish forces engage IS militants in dramatic firefight in Kobane on the Syrian-Turkish border (VIDEO, PHOTOS) - Daily Mail


Islamic State deployed all its Syrian forces around Kurdish Kobani town: YPG - ekurd


Interview with Syrian Kurdish YPG spokesperson - ekurd.net


200 Turkish intellectuals call for help to Kobane - hurriyetdailynews.com


The Defense of Kobani - Middle East Forum


Syria air strikes: US-led coalition attacks IS positions in Homs and Raqqa - The Independent


Syrian civilians in Raqqa cheer U.S. bombing - usatoday.com


VIDEO (Full): Hagel and Dempsey Brief Nation On IS Strikes - Neon Tommy


Iraq, Syria Conflicts to Require More Money, Hagel Says - Bloomberg


US Training Teams Arrive in Saudi Arabia - VOA


US launching complex operation to train, arm Syrian rebels amid airstrikes - Fox News


Rice meets Syrian opposition at White House - Yahoo News UK


VIDEO: Islamic State Member Warns of NYC Attack In Exclusive Interview - VICE News


How to Cut Off ISIS Terror Tycoons - The Daily Beast


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No-fly and safe zone, Turkey's priorities in Syria: Erdogan - turkishweekly.net


US denies Ankara’s demand to establish fly-zone over Syria - Kurdpress News Aganecy


Erdogan says Turkish troops could be used in Syria - Reuters


CHP leader: We don’t want Turkish soldiers in foreign lands - hurriyetdailynews


Hundreds of Kurds break through Turkey border to join anti-IS fight - AFP


VIDEO: Kurds clash with Turkish security forces at the border - euronews


PHOTOS: Hundreds of Kurds break through Turkey border to join anti-IS fight - Daily Mail


People turning back from Kobanê were attacked by Turkish soldiers while crossing a mined area at the border - ANF


Turkish troops open fire on Kobanê border, allegedly 1 dead and 2 wounded - ANF


Turkish soldiers open fire on YPG vehicle - ANF


Turkish soldiers deny entrance from Kobanê to a group of people including journalists and representatives of political parties - ANF


Wounded IS members taken to Kilis for treatment, in addition to Urfa and Antep - ANF


Allegation of a new shipment of weapons to IS on the Turkish border - ANF


Deputy prime minister denies claim Turkish aid agency backs IS - todayszaman.com


UN Security Council issues subtle warning to Turkey - Al-Monitor


This Site Tracks the Guns Going Into Syria - Defense One

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Parliament and Congress Have No Power to Legalize War

Congress has fled town to avoid voting for or against a new war. Many of the big donors to Congressional campaigns would want Yes votes. Many voters would want No votes, if not immediately, then as soon as the panic induced by the beheading videos wears off, which could be within the next month. Better to just avoid displeasing anyone -- other than people who notice you running away.

The standard for legal-ish cosmopolitan respectability in the U.S. now has become getting five kings and dictators to say their on your side as you start bombing a new country.

But the British Parliament is still at the level of believing an actual vote by a legislature is appropriate.  Do Americans remember that their beloved founding fathers put war powers in the hands of the legislature because of the ugly history of royal wars in Britain? Times have changed.

But if we want to actually comply with the law, we have to admit that neither Parliament nor Congress has the power to legalize attacking Syria. This is because both the U.S. and the U.K. are parties to the United Nations Charter, which bans war with very narrow exceptions -- exceptions that have not been in any way met.

And if you want to get really serious about laws, the Kellogg-Briand Pact has never been repealed, the U.S. and U.K. are parties to it, and it bans all war without exception.

Now, you can interpret the Kellogg-Briand Pact to allow self-defense because the right to military self-defense, even when it's unlikely to actually work, is just so obvious to your way of thinking. And the U.N. Charter explicitly allows military self-defense. But here's the problem: There's nothing defensive about attacking Syria, and President Obama himself described it as "offense" in an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC.

Another word for "offense" is aggression, which the Nuremberg tribunal called "essentially an evil thing . . .  the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."

Asked about Congress's responsibilities on Tuesday, Senator Tim Kaine (D., Va.) claimed that presidents could fight defensive wars without Congress but needed Congressional authorizations for offensive ones.  In fact, offensive wars are not legal by any common understanding. Asked, then, about international law, at an event at the Center for American Progress, Kaine reportedly said that bombing Syria, as distinct from Iraq, was "complicated" and that he was not sure "how they would do that, perhaps using principles of self-defense or defending Iraq against other threats. I think we'll find out more about what the administration says about that after the UN General Assembly," he said.

Only in America. Only the White House gets to invent legal rationale for blatant crimes, with the law makers and enforcers prepared to accept the rationale before they hear it.

Prior to the U.N. meeting, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power wrote to the U.N. arguing that it is legal for the United States to attack Syria because it is legal for Iraq to defend itself. By this logic, if Canada experienced a violent rebellion, it would be legal for China to attack the United States.

It's fun to pretend that the rule of law doesn't matter to you because you have all the weapons. It's fun to take two-month vacations from Washington. Just don't count on everyone voting you back next year.

Syria News - Sep 26, 2014


PYD leader warns about Kobani genocide, asks the international community to arm YPG fighters or at least sell them weapons - BAS NEWS


YPG calls for airstrikes to protect Kobani, “Although IS heavy weapons are visible to everyone, they have not yet been targeted” - BAS NEWS


Text of the YPG press statement: if US coalition helps Kurds in Kobani they will provide intel on IS positions - Pieter Van Ostaeyen on Twitter


Besieged Kurds in Syria and Iraq see the United States' bombing campaign against the Islamic State as a good start, but not enough - foreignpolicy


Kurds say they pushed back Islamic State in northern Syria - Reuters


Islamic State Would Tighten Its Rule in Eastern Syria by Capturing Kobane - Businessweek


VIDEO: The Islamic State use heavy weapons to kill Kurdish fighters in Syria - YouTube


VIDEO: Kurd refugees in Turkey return to Syria to fight IS group - usatoday.com


President Barzani: Peshmerga didn’t have a Way to Enter Kobani - BAS NEWS


Turkey party leaders going to Kobani border to support the Kurds - ANF


Who’s Fighting IS? Kurdish Forces in the Regional Conflict - Bipartisan Policy Center


Woman uses hidden camera to expose life in Raqqa under Islamic State (VIDEO) - CSMonitor.com


Militant in Syria beheading videos identified: FBI - Reuters


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Kurds see Turkey impeding Islamic State fight - AP


Turkey's Kurds Warn Ankara's Syria Policy Threatens Peace Process - VOA


Exclusive: PKK military commander threatens to resume war with Turkey - Al-Monitor


VIDEO: PYD Claims Erdogan Regime in Ankara is in Bed with Terrorist Groups in Syria - YouTube


Turkey deploys tanks on its borders to control refugees from Syria, hold back Kurds trying to go in the opposite direction to fight IS - Daily Mail


VIDEO: Turkish tanks cross the border under IS flag, into areas held by the terrorist group - ANF


Turkey mulls security zone along Syria border - Al-Monitor


Turkey Prevents Humanitarian Aid From Iraqi Kurds Reaching Kobani - freerepublic.com


VIDEO: Kurdistan Regional Government sends 12 aid trucks to Kobani - CİHAN


Thousands of IS members allegedly crossed border from Turkey a day before the attack on Kobani began - ANF


Erdoğan to discuss Turkish involvement in IS strikes with cabinet, official says it is “unlikely that Turkey, its airspace, or the Incirlik Air Base would be used by coalition forces” - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT


VIDEO: Turkey’s President Erdogan statement at the U.N. - NYTimes.com


Obama calls President Erdoğan to discuss IS, Syria - Yahoo News


Turkey's possible role in anti-IS coalition dominates Erdoğan-Biden meeting - CİHAN


US embassy issues security warning for personnel in Turkey, warns Americans of risk of attacks in Turkey Eastern and Southeastern provinces near the borders with Syria and Iraq - Stripes


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U.S. says airstrikes have crippled most oil refineries seized by Islamic State in Syria - The Washington Post


VIDEO: In press briefing Pentagon says Syrian refinery airstrikes believed to be successful - Yahoo News


VIDEO: Airstrikes Target IS Oil Refineries - DoDNEWS


MAP: Location of the IS controlled oil refineries in eastern Syria hit by the US and its Arab allies - theguardian.com


Pentagon puts ISIS costs at $7M to $10M per day - TheHill


Pentagon: No evidence that airstrikes killed civilians despite reports - LA Times


U.S. Reassured Syria’s Assad in Back-Channel Message - Bloomberg


Assad exploits airstrikes to sweep through 40 villages - The Times


Syrian government says it's retaken key city Adra near Damascus - LA Times


Syrian rebel groups unite to fight IS, say the strikes must also hit Assad's forces - CNN.com


[The now sidelined] Supreme Military Council (SMC) condemns US-led strikes in Syria as only benefiting the regime - Charles Lister on Twitter


Syria: Suqur al-Sham of the Islamic Front condemns U.S. airstrikes - Aymenn J Al-Tamimi on Twitter


IF's Ahrar al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawheed , Liwa al-Haq , Islamic Union (Non-IF) release statement against strikes in Syria - SyriaConflictMonitor on Twitter


US-backed Forqat 13 issues statement condemning US-led airstrikes as “aimed at weakening the revolution” in Syria - Charles Lister on Twitter


Key Aleppo FSA faction Jaish al-Mujahideen say strikes are “a conspiracy vs. the Syria revolution - Charles Lister on Twitter

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

St. Petersburg FLA Protest: Say No To War In Syria!

St. Pete for Peace
 
St. Petersburg, FL – Activists from the Tampa Bay area will protest the new US war in Syria this Saturday, September 27 from 2:00-4:00pm at the corners of Dale Mabry Highway and Gandy Blvd in Tampa.  The protest location was chosen due to its proximity to MacDill Air Force Base, which acts as Central Command for the war in Syria.

US airstrikes in Syria have already killed innocent civilians. In its first day of launching bombs, the US killed 8 civilians, including children in Aleppo province, and 5 more civilians were killed on Wednesday.

"ISIS, which formed in response to the US invasion of Iraq, exists because of US military interventions.  For the US to say it is trying to solve the problem it created is duplicitous," said Dwight Lawton of Veterans for Peace.

"The US attack is happening without the approval of the Syrian government which is a violation of Syria's sovereignty and is against international law," according to Marianne Huber of St. Pete for Peace. "There is no doubt that the Assad government in Syria will ultimately be a target of US airstrikes in the near future."

"For over 20 years the US has relentlessly bombed Iraq and now it is bombing Syria -- two countries that have never attacked the United States," said Jared Hamil of Students for a Democratic Society at USF. "The US has used money, guns, bombings, occupations, economic sanctions and puppet-governments to control the peoples of the world. None of these things have resulted in peace or have brought humanitarian aid to anyone - only violence and instability."

The protest is sponsored by St. Pete for Peace, Students for a Democratic Society at USF, Friends of Human Rights, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Florida State Progressive Democrats of America, NatureCoast Coalition for Peace and Justice, The Refuge, Students for a Democratic Society St Pete, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, and the Revolutionary Caucus of Tampa Bay.

Webpage: http://stpeteforpeace.org/syria2014.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/781393101906727/

Syria News - Sep 24, 2014


Exclusive: United States defends the legality of Syria airstrikes in letter to U.N. chief - Reuters


Text of Samantha Power' letter to UN chief saying strikes in Syria are legal - NYTimes.com


UN chief welcomes airstrikes in Syria - Yahoo News


VIDEO: President Obama Delivers a Statement on Airstrikes in Syria - YouTube


Obama thanks Arab nations for joining Syria strikes - Yahoo News


Arab coalition behind Syria strikes is diplomatic coup - usatoday


Syrian rebels angry that strikes hit al Qaida ally but not Assad - McClatchy DC


Kurds welcome air strikes on Islamic State, curse Turkey's absence accusing it of supporting the Sunni Muslim terrorists - Reuters


U.S. Informed Syria Of Impending Airstrikes Against Islamic State Militants, Assad Backs All International Efforts To Fight Terrorism - Yahoo News


Exclusive: U.S. told Iran of intent to strike Islamic State in Syria - Reuters


Iran's President Rouhani: US-Led Coalition's Airstrikes Illegal, Should've Been OK'd by Syria - ABC News


Hezbollah leader opposes U.S.-led action in Syria - Yahoo News


Russia: airstrikes must be agreed with Syria or will fuel tension - Yahoo News


Turkey mulls military role against IS, but has so far not committed to the U.S.-led coalition - huffingtonpost.com


Again Erdogan asks UN for no-fly zone over Syria - yenisafak.com


PM Davutoğlu slams Kerry's remarks expressing concern over Turkey's willingness to help to the US-led coalition against the Islamic State - todayszaman.com


Turkey government to submit motions to Parliament seeking authorization to send troops to Iraq and Syria against possible security threats - todayszaman.com


Britain close to joining U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State - Reuters


France not to join U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State in Syria - Reuters


China says it supports international efforts to crack down on terrorism, sees parallels at home - VOA


Japan sides with U.S. over airstrikes in Syria, Kishida tells Kerry - The Japan Times


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U.S. hit 8 bases tied to al Qaida affiliate in Syria, 14 belonging to Islamic State - McClatchy DC


U.S. Reports Significant Damage in Syria Strikes Against Buildings and Infrastructure Used for Command and Control by Jihadists - WSJ


VIDEO: Pentagon Briefing on Airstrikes in Syria - Bloomberg


MAP: Map of Airstrikes in Syria - Juliane Meyer on Twitter


These Are the Weapons the U.S. Is Using to Attack IS - TIME


Arab role in US coalition: Jordan: 4 F15s, Saudi/UAE: 4 F16s, Bahrain: 2 F16s, Qatar: 2 Mirage 2000s that did not drop ordinance - Jenan Moussa on Twitter


CENTCOM releases videos showing airstrikes on Islamic State facilities in Syria (VIDEOS) - Threat Matrix


VIDEO: Analyzing CENTCOM Gunsight Videos of the Precision Targeted Airstrikes in Syria - ABC News


VIDEO: US Navy launches Tomahawk missile strikes on IS targets - U.S. Navy on Twitter


Videos and Photographs Claim to Show Civilians Killed by US Led Air Strikes in Syria (VIDEOS) - bellingcat


The Kurdistan Regional Government calls on the US to expand its airstrikes to protect Kurds in the town of Kobani - BAS NEWS


US should bomb IS positions on the Kobani front: YPG - The Kurdistan Tribune


Kurdish PYD leader Salih Muslim holds Turkey responsible for fate of Kobani, says Turkey is not allowing reinforcements from the PKK across its borders - Al-Monitor


Kurdish PYD leader Salih Muslim informed me YPG were facing at least 50 IS tanks in the current offensive around Kobani - Michael Stephens on Twitter


Revealed: the Islamic State 'cabinet', from finance minister to suicide bomb deployer - Telegraph


Leadership of Free Syrian Army Dismissed by the Syrian National Coalition - Latin American Herald Tribune

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Behind the Beheadings: Turning History on its Head

By Gar Smith

When the Islamic State (IS) released a sickening video purporting to show the beheading of American journalist James Foley, a militant chorus of neocon voices thundered: "It's an act of war!" On Fox News' "The Kelly File," Charles Krautheimer excoriated Attorney General Eric Holder for announcing the Department of Justice planned to investigate the murder as a criminal case. "Acts of terror," Krautheimer erupted, are not criminal acts. "They are acts of war!"

This could be open to debate. Under 18 U.S. Code § 2331 the term "act of war" means "any act occurring in the course of (A) declared war; (B) armed conflict, whether or not war has been declared, between two or more nations; or (C) armed conflict between military forces of any origin."

An "act of war" generally requires two or more national, sovereign belligerents. While an attack by a group of dissident insurgents may constitute an act of rebellion, it may not constitute an act of war.

Interestingly, if Washington were to "declare war" on the Islamic State, that might serve to grant diplomatic status to the Islamic forces and thereby acknowledge their claim to having established an "Islamic Caliphate." There would seem to be a moral argument for intervening against IS, a militant force that routinely executes captured soldiers, murders "infidels" and also has reportedly beheaded children. But there is a strategic caveat: Does bringing force to bear guarantee less violence or greater violence? In short: Is the cure to war, more war?

An Act of War or an Act of Revenge?

But there is a more fundamental flaw behind the "act of war" cry.

What happened to James Foley—and subsequently to fellow American Steven Soltoff and British citizen David Haines—was not an act of war but an act of retaliation.

President Barack Obama understood there was a quick and clear path to avoiding the death of James Foley and the threats to ISIS' other US and UK hostages: Simply call a halt to the US' punishing aerial campaign. And the president clearly understood the consequences of continuing to wage a war against ISIS targets: If US attacks continued, American hostages would most likely die.

Barack Obama and his advisors chose the path that they knew would result in the deaths of US hostages. And each time a hostage was brutally murdered, the White House invoked the name of the dead American to help fuel the passion for resuming and expanding a new US military adventure in Iraq.

The timeline (though subsequently muddled by the US media) is clear: The barbaric beheadings, shocking as they were, followed a series of US aerial attacks on ISIS ground forces that killed scores of Islamic fighters and, inevitably, a number of adjacent civilians.

And the use of the term "barbaric" deserves some attention. Certainly, the use of a knife blade to commit a beheading is "barbaric" but is it any less barbaric than blowing someone to pieces with a Hellfire missile? A beheading is a surgical operation with limited impact committed by an individual who is personally accountable and can be held criminally responsible for the act. The use of a Hellfire missile tears entire bodies into heaps of bloody, (Collateral Damage) or breaking into song (see video).

First the Bombs, Then the Beheadings

The IS beheadings did not occur in a vacuum. They were acts of revenge triggered in response to American military attacks. It was America that committed the first "act of war" when it launched an aerial assault inside Iraq on August 8. On that date, US Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighters flew into Iraq and bombed Islamic State artillery units and destroyed an Islamic State military convoy.

Still much of the American media has trumpeted the false narrative that ISIS—in the form of a masked murderer with a British accent—was the aggressor. On September 18, the San Francisco Chronicle's Washington bureau correspondent Carolyn Lochhead reported: "Obama had resisted intervening until the Islamic State group beheaded two American journalists and captured several Iraqi cities."

This was a patent falsehood. But it was a widely disseminated falsehood. Still, the cause-and-effect relationship remains: The US began bombing Islamic rebel forces in early August. It was not until 12 days later that ISIS executed James Foley.

On August 12, ISIS sent Foley's parents an emailed warning that their son would be executed in retaliation for US airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq. The email read, in part:

We have left you [the USA] alone since your disgraceful defeat in Iraq. We did not interfere in your country or attack your citizens while they were safe in their homes despite our capability to do so! You were given many chances to negotiate the release of your people via cash transactions as other governments have accepted. We have also offered prisoner exchanges to free the Muslims currently in your detention like our sister Dr. Afi Sidiqqi, however you proved very quickly to us that this is NOT what you are interested in.You have no motivation to deal with the Muslims except with the language of force….

Now you return to bomb the Muslims of Iraq once again, this time resorting to Arial [sic] attacks and "proxy armies", all the while cowardly shying away from a face-to-face confrontation! You do not spare our weak, elderly, women or children so we will NOT spare yours!

You and your citizens will pay the price of your bombings!

The first of which being the blood of the American citizen, James Foley!

He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!

In the video of James Foley's execution, the ISIS spokesman specifically ties the commencement of US bombing attacks to Foley's fate:

Today, your military air force is attacking us daily in Iraq. Your strikes have caused casualties amongst Muslims. You're no longer fighting an insurgency, we are an Islamic army and a State that has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide, so effectively, any aggression towards the Islamic State is an aggression towards Muslims from all walks of life who have accepted the Islamic Caliphate as their leadership.

So any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic Caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people."

James Foley's final statement (a prepared statement that may or may not have represented Foley's actual thoughts) reinforced the point that his fate was an outcome of renewed US bombing in Iraq, stated that the US decision to launch bombing raids on ISIS was the "last nail in my coffin":

I call on my friends, family, and loved to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency criminality…. I wish I had more time. I wish I could have the hope for freedom to see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn't an American. [Read the complete statement below.]

The Beheading Was Not Shown

Another surprising media misstatement involved the videos themselves. The US media—from TIME Magazine, The New York Times and The Washington Post on down—routinely and repeatedly claimed that the IS videos "showed the beheading" of hostages. (In fact, the actual act of the beheading was deleted. See details below.) With this excuse in hand, the videos were scrubbed from the Internet—along with the videotaped final statements of the victims and the anti-US commentary of the IS executioner. (Many people refused to view the videos because they believed they depicted a gruesome "beheading.")

The response of the media/government complex was schizophrenic. On one had the government claimed the videos provided justification US retaliation. On the other hand, government pressure made it impossible for the American public to assess the criticisms of US global military policies that were cited as justification for the killings. The critical political content was the major reason the videos were released in the first place. The beheadings were simply a barbaric tool in the IS public relations tool kit. Government pressure to promote the videos as propaganda tool while denying the public an opportunity to watch and judge the content. In the UK, ABC reported, merely watching the James Foley video could expose viewers to a terrorism charge. At the same time, Twitter and Facebook were tracking down everyone who posted the video and were deleting their accounts.

Those who did watch the videos before they were purged from the Internet, expressed surprise. Popular Resistance, writing on TopInfoPost noted:

The most interesting thing about the video is that despite the hype in the media, there was no actual beheading in the video. The TIME article headline was not an accurate description of the video. There was a dead body that was, as many in the media have said, 'purportedly' a beheaded James Foley, but the actual act of beheading is not shown. The video does show someone purportedly using a knife to saw at Foley's neck, but there is no blood and seems to be no actual cut.

We have seen the videos out of Syria, which are truly atrocious, or the video of the beheading of Daniel Pearl a journalist killed by Al-Qaeda, but unlike those there was a strange absence of blood in this video. The supposed killer just puts the knife to Foley's neck, saws back and forth for a few moments and no blood comes out. Then it cuts to a shot of a severed head over a dead body.

Why didn't the most brutal terrorist group, according to western media, show the actually bloody murder to get the full terrorizingeffect? And why hadn't the lack of that scene been a crucial part of the media's coverage?

Are Beheadings Not 'Barbaric' When Done by Allies?

In a September 17 interview on Democracy Now! Phyllis Bennis elaborated on an article she had published in The Nation in which she pointed out that acts of criminal brutality were happening on both sides of the Syrian/Iraq conflict.

According to Bennis, "The New York Times was the only mainstream media outlet that reported … that the Free Syrian Army—the so-called moderate part of the Syrian rebels, who the US wants now to increase aid and military support and training and arming—that the Free Syrian Army had itself beheaded six captives. Six prisoners that they had control of, they beheaded them, right after shooting to death -- right after the shooting death of an American who had been caught by ISIS."

(Barak Barfi, a spokesperson for Steven Sotloff's family, raised another inconvenient truth that was not widely reported. Barfi pointed out that the so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels that Washington has chosen to support were the same ones that first captured, then sold Steven Sotloff to ISIS.)

Human rights organizations have also expressed concern over the number of beheadings by officials in Saudi Arabia. During the first three weeks of August, Saudi executioners decapitated more than one prisoner per day. On August 18, four family members were beheaded for smuggling marijuana. A day later, another Saudi was beheaded for committing an act of "sorcery." In the first seven months of 2014, the Saudis beheaded 41 victims. No one in the US government condemned (let alone mentioned) these apparently "acceptable" beheadings.

And it is not just our Allies that commit acts of barbarism. America itself is also culpable.

The President Invokes Victim's Names to Justify War

Speaking from The Edgartown School in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts on August 20, President Obama somberly declared: "Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL." The president then went on tooffer the following characterization of ISIS: "They have rampaged across cities and villages -- killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence.  They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery." (Worth noting: nearly every one of these crimes also has been ascribed to US forces during American assaults on Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.)

Speaking from Estonia after ISIS made good on its promise to execute reporter Steven Sotloff, President Obama condemned ISIS and insisted "Their horrific acts only unite us as a country and stiffen our resolve to take the fight against these terrorists." And then, the Commander-in-Chief used the occasion to further ramp up the rhetoric of war:

It's not only that we're going to be bringing to justice those who perpetrated this terrible crime against these two fine young men. The United States will continue to lead a regional and international effort against the kind of barbaric and ultimately empty vision. Our objective is clear, and that is: degrade and destroy ISIL so that it's no longer a threat, not just to Iraq but also to the region and to the United States.

Looking at the timing, the lost opportunities and the rhetorical escalation, one comes away with an apprehension that this president (like many presidents before him) had engineered a casus belli—allowing the sacrifice of innocent American lives to provide an excuse for war that would outrage and galvanize the American public against the latest "barbaric enemy" to threaten the world.

Look Who's Funding ISIS: Some of our Closest Allies

In her Democracy Now! interview, Phyllis Bennis tried to draw attention to the bloody hands behind ISIS's rampage across the border from Syria into Iraq. According to Bennis:

Saudi Arabia is the source of the largest amount of money, from what all the reports are indicating, that is going to ISIS as well as a host of other Islamist and other organizations…. Some of it probably comes from the government, although that's never been confirmed. But this is a very tightly controlled society where, if there was an interest by the government in stopping its own citizens—whether they are Saudi princes or ordinary citizens, who are the source of a huge amount of the money funding these organizations, including ISIS—it could be contained.

Bennis concluded by pointing out the close military ties between Washington and Riyadh:

The Saudis don't want to talk about that alliance with the United States. But there is $60 billion worth of arms that they've been engaged in buying from the United States over this last two years. Many of those arms are the ones ending up in the hands of ISIS. It's US arms and it's Saudi arms that are ending up there.

Whether it's individuals or whether it's part of the government, that money is coming to a large degree from Saudi Arabia, from other parts of the region, as well—from Qatar, from Kuwait, from UAE, from a number of countries—but Saudi Arabia is very much at the center of this.

And the US-Saudi alliance is such that if the US chose to challenge the arms sellers in this country, who are making a killing on this new war, this Iraq War 3.0, we might say—if they were to prepared to challenge those arms suppliers, and thus challenge the Saudi government, there could be a real effort to put a stop to the funding and arming of these terrible organizations like ISIS.

--- --- --- ---

Lost Testimony in the War of Words

After the IS hostage videos were falsely described as containing actual footage of beheadings, they were quickly removed from online viewing. This act of censorship prevented much of the public from hearing the full statements of the victims and the executioner contained in the videos. The brutality of the IS executions cannot be fully understood without listening to the justifications offered by the killers. Here are transcripts of the complete statements contained in three IS execution videos.

Transcript of Video: The Final Words

Of US Hostage and Journalist James Foley

I call on my friends, family, and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency criminality.

My message to my beloved parents: Save me some dignity and don't accept any meager compensation for my death from the same people who effectively hit the last nail in my coffin with the recent aerial campaign in Iraq.

I call on my brother John who is a member of the U.S. Air Force: Think about what you are doing. Think about the lives you destroy, including those of your own family. I call on you, John, think about who made the decision to bomb Iraq recently and kill those people, whoever they may have been. Think John, who did they really kill? Did they think about me, your and our family when they
made that decision? I died that day, John. When your colleagues dropped that bomb on those people they signed my death certificate.

I wish I had more time. I wish I could have the hope for freedom to see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn't an American.

Transcript of Video: The Final Words

Of US Hostage and Journalist Steven Sotloff

I am Steven Joel Sotloff.

I'm sure you know exactly who I am by now, and why I am appearing before you.

And now it is time for my message.

Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be for the preservation of American lives and interests, so why is it that I'm having to pay the price of your interference with my life.

Am I not an American citizen?

You've spent billions of US taxpayers dollars and we've lost thousands of our troops in our previous fighting against the Islamic State.

So where is the American people's interests in reigniting this war?

From what little I know about foreign policy I remember a time when you could not win an election without promising to bring our troops back home from Iraq, from Afghanistan, and to close down Guantanamo.

Here you are now Obama, nearing the end of your term, having achieved none of the above, and seemingly marching us, the American people, into a blazing fire.

The man who appears to wield the knife seems to have a British accent that has been disguised. His statement suggests he is the same fighter who killed James Foley last month. Below is a transcript of what he says:

I'm back Obama. And I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards Islamic State, because of your insistence in continuing your bombings in Amerli, Samarra and Mosul Dam despite our serious warnings. You, Obama, have yet again through your actions, killed yet another American citizen. So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.

Transcript of Video: The Final Words

Of UK Hostage David Haines

My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you David Cameron entirely responsible for my execution. 
You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State just as your predecessor Tony Blair did following a trend amongst our British Prime Minsters who can't find the courage to say no to the Americans. Unfortunately, it is we, the British public, who will pay the price for our parliament's selfish decisions."



The man the Western media has nicknamed "Jihadi John" then says:

This British man has to the pay the price for your promise Cameron to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State. Ironically, he has spent a decade of his life serving under the same Royal Air Force that is responsible for delivering those arms.

Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam, will only accelerate your destruction. And playing the role of the obedient lapdog, Cameron, will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinable war."



The footage then shows another British hostage paraded before the camera.
Jihadi John says: 


If you, Cameron, persist in fighting the Islamic State then you like your master Obama, will have the blood of your people on your hands."

ISIS, Weapons Makers, Thugs Benefit from This Crime

President Obama is bombing the opposite side in Syria from the side he swore we needed to attack one year ago, and those pleased by this declare that he is "doing something."

U.S. polls suggest that the same people recognize that this something will make the U.S. more likely to be attacked and nonetheless favor this action. This is unthinking fear produced by slick beheading videos for audiences too distracted to notice that the Iraqi government, Saudi government and numerous other U.S. friends and allies behead. And are we to imagine that when Obama kills a 16 year old American and the 6 kids near him his head remains intact? Should we pretend that the people being killed by U.S. missiles right now aren't losing their heads?

This action is illegal under the UN Charter, Kellogg-Briand Pact, and U.S. Constitution. This action is immoral as it fuels violence that needs to be reduced. This action is knowingly, maddeningly counterproductive, guaranteed to build hostility to the United States, which is already so hated that ISIS openly advocates for a U.S. attack on it. This action by this White House is what ISIS wants and what weapons makers want. It is not what the people of Syria or Iraq or the world want. It further shreds the rule of law while dumping gasoline on a fire of U.S. creation.

What's needed is, contrary to what your television suggests, not to "do nothing" or love beheadings. What's needed is an arms embargo. The U.S. ships 79% of the weapons shipped to the Middle East, not counting the weapons of the U.S. military. An arms embargo could be 79% successful with just one country participating, and others could certainly be brought to do so.

What's needed is actual aid on a massive scale, restitution to the people of the region for the crimes of the U.S. government. An aid program sufficient to make the United States beloved rather than hated would cost a lot less money than the missiles and bombs for which price seems to be no concern at all.

What's needed is diplomacy. The U.S. government is happy to talk with Syria or Iran or Russia when the object is war. Why can it not talk to them when the object is peace?

Our Constitutional scholar Nobel peace laureate no-dumb-wars end-the-mindset president will be protested today at the White House and at his appearance in New York, and should be protested everywhere he goes.

Congress members should not know a moment's peace, but should be taught that cowardice is not a campaign strategy. None who voted for weapons to Syria should be returned to Washington next year.

War as a first resort, as our biggest public program, as the be all and end all of U.S. foreign policy is a form of insanity that has no redeeming feature. War is our top destroyer of the natural environment, of the economy, of civil liberties, of self-governance, and of morality. This is a case of a doctor trying to cure the world while suffering from a deadly and highly infectious disease that in his own mind is the epitome of health.

You can't cure war fever with more war. You can only get to peace through peace.

Stop the bombing.

Syria/Iraq News - Sep 23, 2014


U.S. And Five Arab Countries Begin Airstrikes Against Islamic State In Syria, Pentagon Says - huffingtonpost.com


VIDEO: White House Press Briefing: Josh Earnest concerned about 'destabilizing impact' of Syrian refugees - YouTube


Kurds: We want the international community to impose an exclusion zone around Kobane to protect it from the IS militants - Rudaw


Peshmerga ministry cannot send forces to Syria, calls for airstrikes againt Islamic State: Jabar Yawar - Kurdpress News Aganecy


Syrian opposition urges airstrikes against Islamic State - THE DAILY STAR


130,000 Syrian refugees fleeing Islamic State seek refuge in Turkey - Fox News


VIDEO: Islamic State advance in Syria sparks 'refugee wave' in Turkey - YouTube


Öcalan calls for mass mobilisation against Islamic State’s attacks - ANF


PYD leader: "Kobane will only fall if everyone there is killed!” - Kurdish Question


As masses seek refuge in Turkey, Kurdish fighters rush back to Syria - CSMonitor.com


VIDEO: Hundreds of Kurds crossing Turkish border, going back to defend Kobane - YouTube


VIDEO: More PKK units arrive in Kobane - YouTube


As Europeans Flock to Syria and Iraq to Join the Islamic State, Some Kurds Make the Same Trip to Go Fight Them - VICE News


Syrian Kurds say they halted Islamic State advance near Kobane - The Guardian


Thousands protest IS's Kobane siege in Istanbul, show solidarity with Kurds - todayszaman.com


VIDEO: Thousands protest IS's Kobane siege in Istanbul, show solidarity with Kurds - CİHAN


Kurdish solidarity protest in front of United Nations to draw attention to the attacks by IS - ANF


Kurdish MPs from Turkey in Hunger Strike at UN for Kobane - Rudaw


EU Politicians Appeal for Military Aid to Syrian Kurds - Rudaw


-------------------------------------------------------

Turkey Bars Kurds From Entering Syria to Fight Islamic State - Bloomberg


VIDEO: Clashes with Turkish troops at the border as Kurds flock to assist their brethren in Syria - euronews


VIDEO: Turkish soldiers demolish tents built by Kurdish refugees and fighters from Kobane - LiveLeak.com


People allegedly shot with live ammunition at Kobanê border - ANF


Turkey accused of colluding with Islamic State to oppose Syrian Kurds and Assad following surprise release of 49 hostages - independent.co.uk


Islamic State appears to have released Turkish hostages in exchange for key figures of the group - todayszaman.com


Erdoğan confirms bargaining with IS, allegedly 1,500 IS terrorists went by train to Syria via Turkey 3 days before the hostages were released - ANF


Islamic State: 'Turkey has indirectly recognised the Islamic State’ - ANF


Islamic State: 'Turkey fed us' - turkafile.com


Islamic State members wounded in Syria receive treatment in Turkey hospital originally established for the treatment of Islamic Front militants - ANF


Turkish nurse says she's tired of treating IS terrorists - LiveLeak.com


Is Turkey A Reliable Partner In The Fight Against ISIS? - THE ISIS STUDY GROUP


CIA stops spying on friendly nations in Europe, except Turkey - todayszaman.com


-----------------------------------------------------

Islamic State spokesman al Adnani threatens the anti-IS coalition in new speech - Threat Matrix


VIDEO (Arabic): Islamic State Spoksman al Adnani Sends a Message to the World - YouTube


TRANSCRIPT (English): Islamic State spokesman' new speech - ia601400.us.archive.org


Islamic State Spokesman: “We do not fight Kurds because they are Kurds. Rather we fight the disbelievers among them” - BAS NEWS


Sources: IS allegedly executes group’s Kurdish members for refusing to join the military campaign - Rudaw


IS Allegedly Kills 300 Iraqi Troops with Chlorine Gas - teleSUR


VIDEO (Arabic): Islamic State allegedly kills 300 Iraqi soldiers in chlorine gas attack - lbcgroup.tv


Iraq said to foil Islamic State chemical attack - The Times of Israel


14 IS militants killed as their chlorine gas rocket explodes - Business Standard News


Disguised Islamic State militants kill 40 Iraqi troops, capture scores - AP


Oil-rich Kirkuk in Iraq's north fears attack by Islamic State - LA Times


US airstrikes in Iraq expand to Kirkuk area - Threat Matrix


VIDEO: IS recruiting children to join its force - Al Jazeera


PHOTO: Post is very disturbing !!! Pic shows IS making CHILDREN behead people - LiveLeak.com

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)

Stop the Bombing: Bravery in an Evil Cause Is Evil

By David Swanson

There will be a protest of the new war at 10 a.m. Tuesday in front of the White House. Some thoughts on the context of this latest decision to bomb yet another country are below.

Following a screening of Phil Donahue's film Body of War in Washington, D.C., on Monday, during which the United States began illegally bombing Syria, Donahue engaged in an interesting exchange with one of those audience members who asks a question and a dozen follow-up questions.

Donahue had belittled drone pilots as sitting at desks with cups of coffee. This member of the audience shouted out that that was unfair, that drone pilots were often engaged in perfectly legitimate murders, and that drone pilots were serving their country just the same as the U.S. Army veteran who is the focus of the film.

The film and its director treat this Army veteran as having honorably served a worthy cause even while describing the war as unjustified and a horrible decision. So, if a ground troop in an immoral illegal war is to be thanked and honored, not just respected and sympathized with, why not thank and honor drone pilots?

Donahue's response to this sort of logic was that the drone pilot is less brave.

At the end of an exchange on that theme, Donahue reached a conclusion that ranked various types of troops based on their levels of bravery, and possibly also of suffering. That last point ran into trouble, as the questioner pointed out the PTSD rates among drone pilots who do in fact sometimes see their victims more than do troops who are physically closer to the action.

But bravery remained standing at the end of the discussion as a contributor to the level of morality.

In my view, this is madness, as Bill Maher lost his job for pointing out. Nobody was braver or more immoral than the 911 terrorists. Bravery in a good cause is admirable. Bravery in an indifferent cause is aesthetically nice, but morally indifferent. And bravery in an evil cause is evil. I made this case to Donahue after the event, and he said that he actually agreed with me.

The idea that bravery redeems participation in evil is war-thinking. Participation in evil can be understood and sympathized with but not redeemed.

Another audience member on Monday evening pointed out something useful about U.S. polling: Americans believe that bombing Syria will make attacks on the United States more likely (indeed, experts agree and history seems to solidly confirm it) and at the very same time, Americans believe that Syria should be bombed.

A willingness to endanger one's self and family and neighbors and millions of people in order to be tough is an irrational and apparently macho position.

This culture of machismo is not without humanity, but that humanity is horribly misinformed. We're not told by the big corporate media about the 95% of deaths in U.S. wars that are the deaths of non-Americans. 

The brilliant Peter Kuznick pointed out at Monday's event that as states require women to watch movies about fetuses before having abortions, they could require people to watch Body of War before wars.  I wish they would. It's a powerful movie. But there's been no Ludlow Amendment and people don't get to vote on wars. And we're now being sold a war on the claim that it won't kill Americans.  If we don't acquire the knowledge that wars also kill non-Americans and that non-Americans matter, we'll be susceptible to manipulation into the idea that a war is a character choice, a matter of expressing and demonstrating bravery.

Following discussion of the film on Monday, we heard stories of bravery in noble causes from five whistleblowers who had put their lives and welfare at risk to advance peace, justice, public safety, the rule of law, and honest government. Their names are Jesselyn Radack, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Thomas Drake, William Binney, and Kirk Wiebe. They talked about morality, not machismo. Here's video of them in Baltimore on Sunday.

A sixth speaker on the topic of speaking out was Phil Donahue, who lost his job at MSNBC for dissenting from war fever in 2003. He heartily denounced the dishonesty and sycophancy of corporate media on Monday. He also came back to the topic of bravery, rightly pointing to the five panelists next to him as the highest examples of moral courage.

Now there's a useful phrase:moral courage. Let's celebrate only that kind.

I spoke at an event Monday morning at American U. at which I asked people to raise their hands if they thought war was good for us and character building, or if they thought some wars were necessary, or if they thought all war was unjustified. The crowd was roughly evenly split between the last two choices. Not a single person accepted the notion (popular 100 years back) that war is good for us. But this unscientific poll was conducted in a room of peace studies students and opponents of war. What would the whole U.S. public say?

After the event I spoke with Medea Benjamin about the just-begun bombing campaign, and she remarked, "This is exactly what ISIL wants. They're trying to get the U.S. involved in a war. There are already U.S. troops in combat and this will mean more. We shouldn't fall into the trap of another immoral and unwinnable war."

Medea and I will be protesting this new war at 10 a.m. on Tuesday in front of the White House along with National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance.  We encourage you to join us or to demonstrate locally. Your Congress members and Senators have fled Washington in order to pretend the blood is not on their hands. Take your message of peace to them where they can be found.

Speaking Events

2017

 

August 2-6: Peace and Democracy Conference at Democracy Convention in Minneapolis, Minn.

 

September 22-24: No War 2017 at American University in Washington, D.C.

 

October 28: Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference



Find more events here.

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