"CIA aiding those supplying weapons to Syria rebels" by Eric Schmitt | New York Times, June 21, 2012
WASHINGTON — A small number of CIA officers are operating secretly in southern Turkey, helping allies decide which Syrian opposition fighters across the border will receive arms to fight the Syrian government, US officials and Arab intelligence officers said.
Well, not any more despite the printed Globe's best attempt to hide it; however, we all know who they are arming, right?
The weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition, and some antitank weapons, are being funneled mostly across the Turkish border by way of a shadowy network of intermediaries including Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, the officials said.
When you see the word shadowy or murky it means the AmeriKan media is concealing something from you.
Ever get the feeling you can't take the Boston Globe seriously?
The CIA officers have been in southern Turkey for several weeks, in part to help keep weapons out of the hands of fighters allied with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, one senior US official said.
How do you say toilet in Turkish?
The Obama administration has said it is not providing arms to the rebels, but it has also acknowledged that Syria’s neighbors would do so.
The clandestine intelligence-gathering effort is the most detailed known instance of the limited US support for the military campaign against the Syrian government....
It's covert operations fomenting regime change, folks, and the intelligence operation known as the AmeriKan media -- the NYT in this case -- is helping cover for them.
US intelligence operatives in Turkey hope to learn more about a growing, changing opposition network inside of Syria and to establish new ties.
“CIA officers are there and they are trying to make new sources and recruit people,’’ said one Arab intelligence official who is briefed regularly by US counterparts.
Translation: we are PREPARING the NEW LEADERSHIP after the ASSAULT on SYRIA -- coming soon!!!
US officials and retired CIA personnel said the administration was weighing additional assistance to rebels, such as providing satellite imagery and other detailed intelligence on Syrian troop locations and movements. The administration is also considering whether to help the opposition set up a rudimentary intelligence service. But no decisions have been made on those measures or even more aggressive steps, like sending CIA officers into Syria itself, they said.
They are already in there, and some of them carry press credentials.
And where have we heard that "no decisions have been made" before, huh? Neighbor of Syria's the U.S. occupied for eight years if you need a hint.
The struggle inside Syria has the potential to intensify significantly in coming months....
Okay, you can see where this agenda is being pushed.
Spokesmen for the White House, State Department, and CIA would not comment on any intelligence operations supporting the Syrian rebels, some details of which were reported last week by The Wall Street Journal.
And the Times waits until now to pick it up, and then the Times-owned Globe doesn't run the item in print?
The State Department said Wednesday that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will meet with her Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, on the sidelines of a meeting of Asia-Pacific foreign ministers in St. Petersburg next Thursday. The private talks will probably focus, at least in part, on the crisis in Syria.
Maybe old Serge could ask her WTF she was trying to do the other day with the war-mongering lying?
Cripes, I thought we got rid of all that when Bush left.
--more--"
At least newspapers haven't changed:
"Syrian fighter pilot flies to Jordan, defects; Granted asylum after bold move" by Bassem Mroue and Jamal Halaby | Associated Press, June 22, 2012
BEIRUT — A Syrian fighter pilot on a training mission flew his MiG-21 warplane to neighboring Jordan, where he was given asylum Thursday. The defection from the fiercely loyal air force signals that some of the most ironclad allegiances in Damascus could be fraying.
Syria immediately denounced the pilot, identified as Colonel Hassan Hammadeh, as a traitor.
The brazen move was a clear triumph for the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad...
Thousands of soldiers have abandoned the regime since the military began firing on protesters at the start of the uprising. Many defectors have joined a rebel force known as the Free Syrian Army, and the conflict is appearing to become a civil war. Still, the rebels remain far outgunned....
Robert Ford, US ambassador to Syria, posted a message on Facebook late Wednesday urging soldiers to abandon the regime. ‘‘Members of the Syrian military should reconsider their support for a regime that is losing the battle,’’ Ford wrote on the embassy’s page....
That's the talk of someone who is losing, and the same kind of effort that failed in Iraq.
--more--"
And for a DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE (all highlights author's, not mine):
"Did the Syrian pilot willingly defect or did he have "incentive" to do so?
....
The earliest reporting has the pilot making a forced emergency landing in Jordan. But that changed to defection....
Don't you find it odd the conflicting reports about where the pilot is from? Doesn't he know where his home is? His family is? Or is the narrative still fluid?
**************
The Toronto Star let's us know.. "his family is under rebel protection"
Is his family under rebel protection? Or has his family been kidnapped? Being spun as "protection"? Is his family being held hostage by the NATO backed rebels??
The rebels are vicious, without a doubt. Therefore, it is not a stretch to believe the pilot may have undertook the "defection" to save his family....
Also as this article points out the Syrian Air Force is close to the Assad regime and pilots are very, very loyal.....
The fact that only loyalists are allowed in the air force bolsters the likelihood the pilot was forced to land in Jordan....
Making the contention that his family was kidnapped and being held by the rebels all the more plausible.
So why kidnap and hold the family of a pilot, thereby forcing him to "defect" ?
For the obvious reason, or what should be obvious, the pilot is going
to provide gut wrenching testimony to bolster the opposition claims
that the Syrian army is using planes and helicopters at attack "
innocent" persons.
His gut wrenching emotional "testimonials" will get NATO the no fly zone they have wanted all along.
..... All stories of Syrian troops using helicopter gunships etc have originated with the opposition. I haven't been able to find anything to really bolster those claims. Nothing credible that is.
For NATO to move there war plan to the next level, they have to get their no-fly zone in place. The only way they can "sell" this scheme, to make it palatable, is to create a narrative.
Conveniently just one day after Ambassador (death squad) Ford makes a call for defectors on Facebook, NATO gets a straight out of Hollywood, summer blockbuster, worthy defection. A daring flight. Pilot allegedly getting out of the plane and kissing the tarmac. Wow!
To believe that crazy story is to believe that this specific pilot actually spends time on Ambassador Ford's Facebook pageand actually saw the appeal to defect. How likely do you suppose that is?
What seems the most credible scenario is the abduction of the pilot's family by the rebels, Ambassador Ford being made aware of it by his terrorist crew, then setting up the narrative via social media and letting the rest fall into place.
Keep an eye on the spin that follows this latest news out of Syria
--MORE--"
I thought the next event was another Invisible Ink; however, the printed Globe published it the day after:
"Turkey’s leader vows retaliation over downed jet" by Liam Stack | New York Times, June 24, 2012
CAIRO — Turkey’s president said Saturday that his country would do ‘‘whatever is necessary’’ in response to the downing of a Turkish military jet by Syria, adding a new complication to the tense relationship between the former allies split by Turkey’s support for Syrian rebels trying to overthrow the government.
‘‘It is not possible to cover over a thing like this,’’ President Abdullah Gul of Turkey said, according to the Anatolia news agency. ‘‘Whatever is necessary will no doubt be done.’’
Only if it is EUSrael (of which NATO is a part) that does it.
Syria said its military forces shot down the Turkish jet Friday when
it entered its airspace just off the Syrian coast. Syrian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the downing of the F-4 plane was
an ‘‘accident, not an attack.’’
Gul said Saturday that while the exact route of the plane had not yet been confirmed, it was routine for military jets flying at high speeds to briefly cross into another country’s airspace and that the jet’s presence over Syrian territory was not intended as a hostile act....
Really?
Gul said the two governments were communicating at a high level despite the absence of a Turkish ambassador in Syria since Turkey closed its embassy in March. Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that the Syrian and Turkish navies had established contact and were searching for the missing pilots.
Syria appeared eager to try to defuse the crisis. ‘‘We have no hostile intentions against Turkey,’’ Makdessi told the Lebanese broadcaster LBC.
Who does?
But Gul’s promise to respond — he did not specify whether he meant diplomatic or military measures — signaled Turkey’s anger. Faruk Celik, Turkey’s labor and social security minister, said that even if Syria’s airspace had been violated, the Syrian response was unacceptable, according to the Associated Press. ‘‘Turkey cannot endure it in silence,’’ Celik said.
Other Turkish officials urged restraint. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Turkey was awaiting an explanation from Syria about the downing of the plane, which he said was an unarmed surveillance craft. He called for calm while details were sorted out, saying, ‘‘We should not give any credit to provocative acts and statements.’’
Oh, so it was a SPY PLANE, huh?
The episode was another blow to relations between the neighbors, who were close before President Bashar Assad of Syria began his crackdown on protests 16 months ago, setting off a revolt by political and militia groups now supported by Turkey....
And.... ?????????
Turkey has allowed more than 32,000 refugees to seek shelter in a string of camps across its 550-mile border with Syria. It has also provided crucial support to dissident groups and the Free Syrian Army, an anti-Assad militia whose leaders live under the protection of Turkish security forces in a fortified camp near the Syrian border....
And the CIA presence in the area, NYT?
--more--"
"The destruction in Taftanaz, seen by an Associated Press reporter, provides an on-the-ground example of the huge price paid by Syrian communities that have chosen to defy one of the Middle East’s most brutal autocracies.... cats roaming the rubble of homes"
Oh, that selection convinces me.
"NATO to discuss downing of Turkish jet fighter" by Rod Nordland and Sebnem Arsu | New York Times, June 25, 2012
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s foreign minister said Sunday that his country would hold emergency talks with NATO in the next few days over the downing of one of its jet fighters by Syria, claiming the plane was attacked in international airspace....
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a Twitter message posted from his official account on Sunday said that the Turkish investigation had left no doubt that the aircraft had briefly strayed over Syria but had been shot down after leaving its territory.
Then I have one.
Related: Syria Says Turkish Jet Shot Down Was Over Syrian Territorial Waters
The television network reported that the aircraft’s wreckage and its ejection seats had been found on Sunday in the Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coast. The search continued for the crewmen, the report said.
What do you mean wreckage when we saw nothing on the Pentagon lawn or in Pennsylvania field?
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sharply criticized Syria for downing the Turkish plane. ‘‘The United States condemns this brazen and unacceptable act in the strongest possible terms,’’ she said. ‘‘It is yet another reflection of the Syrian authorities’ callous disregard for international norms, human life, and peace and security.’’
I don't recall a similar reaction when Israel killed an American on an aid boat to Gaza a few years ago.
Related: North Koreans Tell Clinton to Shut Up
I'll second that.
***********************************
Davutoglu said the Turkish jet was on a training exercise. He said the aircraft was flying alone, without weapons, and that the Syrian authorities had made no attempt to contact it. When the Turkish authorities realized it had strayed into Syrian airspace, the pilots were warned to leave and did so immediately, Davutoglu said. Minutes later, the Syrians fired on the plane, he said.
Yup, whatever you say.
Related:
"This article is equine excretement but I post it for the interesting comments, many of which show that people aren't being taken in by the EEX! I think the forces of good are making a dent! People just don't believe the lies anymore!"
Same here.
Turkey had not yet decided what action to take, the foreign minister said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey met with his military chiefs on Saturday, his third crisis meeting since the downing of the jet on Friday. Erdogan has so far been circumspect in his response to the episode.
On Sunday, however, Davutoglu’s Twitter feed suggested a hardening of Turkey’s stance toward Syria.
‘‘No one should try to test the capacity of Turkey,’’ he wrote. He added that Turkey had discussed the matter with Russian and Chinese officials, who praised its ‘‘calm approach.’’
The violence continued in Syria on Sunday....
--more--"
UPDATE: Turkey Claims Syria Fired On Second Turkish Jet, Says "Act Won't Go Unpunished", Has Invoked NATO Articles 4 And 5
WAR!!!!!!!!
Related:
"Media Adviser to Syrian President Confirms Corporate Media Fabricating Events In Country
A media adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recently told Russia Today that the corporate controlled media is fabricating events in Syria to create unrest and stir up anger in order to allow a NATO takeover of the country.
This claim, which was long ago confirmed by many in the alternative media, underlines the fact that the corporate media directly lies to its viewers on a daily basis during their military industrial complex funded reporting.
In an almost laughable article that was ignored on their entire prime time lineup, CNN wrote about the claims as if they are only coming from Russian funded journalists and the Syrian government when in reality a plethora of evidence presented by reporters within the U.S. has confirmed that the corporate media is running fake news broadcasts in regards to the Syrian unrest....
--MORE--"
"US Struggles to Install Proxy "Brotherhood" in Egypt; From Egypt to Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood does the West's bidding
by Tony Cartalucci
June 23, 2012
From Egypt to Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood does the West's bidding - now joined by overt State Department fronts.
Were anyone to still believe the rhetoric of the so-called "Arab Spring," one would be admittedly confused over the emerging political landscape in Egypt where the military establishment and the Muslim Brotherhood have emerged from what was supposedly a "pro-democracy" "popular uprising."
However, if anyone understood that the "pro-democracy" protesters were in fact US State Department-funded, trained, and equipped mobs providing cover for the attempted installation of the Muslim Brotherhood amongst many other potential Western proxies, the current political battle would make perfect sense.
The Egyptian military, like in many developing nations, may accept money
from the West, may train with Western forces, and may even participate
in Western machinations of global domination, but are ultimately
nationalists with the means and motivation to draw lines and check the
West's ambitions within Egypt and throughout Egypt's sphere of
influence. The necessity for the West of removing not only Hosni Mubarak
who had refused to participate in a wider role against Iraq and Iran,
but the grip of the military itself over Egyptian politics and replacing
it with the Muslim Brotherhood who is already hard at work in Syria
attempting to overthrow one of Iran's primary regional allies, is
paramount.
"Pro-democracy" movements, particularly the April 6 youth movement,
trained, funded, and equipped by the US State Department, serve the
sole purpose of giving the Muslim Brotherhood's installation into power a
spin of "legitimacy" where otherwise none exists. Those within these
"pro-democracy" movements with legitimate intentions will be inevitably
disappointed if not entirely thrown under the wheels of Western
machinations as regional war aimed at destroying Iran, Syria, and
Lebanon's Hezbollah arch of influence slowly unfolds.
Muslim Brotherhood were, are, and will be Western Proxies
Muslim Brotherhood were, are, and will be Western Proxies
Despite the Brotherhood's lofty rhetoric, it has from its inception been a key proliferator of Western foreign policy. Currently,
the Syrian arm of the Muslim Brotherhood has been involved heavily,
leading in fact, the US, Israeli, Saudi, and Qatari-backed sectarian
violence that has been ravaging Syria for over a year. In a May 6, 2012 Reuters article it stated:
It was warned that such backing would benefit the Brotherhood as a whole, not just in Syria, and could effect public opinion even as far as in Egypt where a long battle against the hardliners was fought in order to keep Egyptian governance secular. Clearly the Brotherhood did not spontaneously rise back to power in Syria, it was resurrected by US, Israeli, and Saudi cash, weapons and directives.
And most recently, as the West frequently does before elections it wishes to manipulate, premature claims by the Muslim Brotherhood of a victory during a presidential runoff were made headlines by the Western media in an effort to portray the Brotherhood as the victors and lay the groundwork for contesting any results other than a decisive win for the West's proxy of choice.
US State Department-run Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) "Muslim Brotherhood Declares Victory In Egypt Election," amongst many other articles attempted to give readers the impression that the Muslim Brotherhood had indeed already won the election. In reality the official tallies had yet to be given and it was merely the Brotherhood's own rhetoric upon which the report was based. As election results were finalized, and the Brotherhood's candidate, the US-educated Muhammad Morsi, appeared not to have the decisive victory claimed by his party and the Western media, immediately accusations of voter fraud were leveled against the Egyptian government.
"Working quietly, the Brotherhood has been financing Free Syrian Army defectors based in Turkey and channeling money and supplies to Syria, reviving their base among small Sunni farmers and middle class Syrians, opposition sources say."
While
Reuters categorically fails to explain the "how" behind the
Brotherhood's resurrection, it was revealed in a 2007 New Yorker article
titled, "The Redirection"
by Seymour Hersh, as being directly backed by the US and Israel who
were funneling support through the Saudis so as to not compromise the
"credibility" of the so-called "Islamic" movement. Hersh revealed that
members of the Lebanese Saad Hariri clique, then led by Fouad Siniora,
had been the go-between for US planners and the Syrian Muslim
Brotherhood.
Hersh reports the Lebanese Hariri faction had met Dick Cheney in Washington and relayed personally the importance of using the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria in any move against the ruling government:
Hersh reports the Lebanese Hariri faction had met Dick Cheney in Washington and relayed personally the importance of using the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria in any move against the ruling government:
"[Walid] Jumblatt then told me that he had met with Vice-President Cheney in Washington last fall to discuss, among other issues, the possibility of undermining Assad. He and his colleagues advised Cheney that, if the United States does try to move against Syria, members of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood would be “the ones to talk to,” Jumblatt said." -The Redirection, Seymour Hersh
The article would continue by explaining how already in 2007, US and Saudi backing had begun benefiting the Brotherhood:
It was warned that such backing would benefit the Brotherhood as a whole, not just in Syria, and could effect public opinion even as far as in Egypt where a long battle against the hardliners was fought in order to keep Egyptian governance secular. Clearly the Brotherhood did not spontaneously rise back to power in Syria, it was resurrected by US, Israeli, and Saudi cash, weapons and directives.
And most recently, as the West frequently does before elections it wishes to manipulate, premature claims by the Muslim Brotherhood of a victory during a presidential runoff were made headlines by the Western media in an effort to portray the Brotherhood as the victors and lay the groundwork for contesting any results other than a decisive win for the West's proxy of choice.
US State Department-run Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) "Muslim Brotherhood Declares Victory In Egypt Election," amongst many other articles attempted to give readers the impression that the Muslim Brotherhood had indeed already won the election. In reality the official tallies had yet to be given and it was merely the Brotherhood's own rhetoric upon which the report was based. As election results were finalized, and the Brotherhood's candidate, the US-educated Muhammad Morsi, appeared not to have the decisive victory claimed by his party and the Western media, immediately accusations of voter fraud were leveled against the Egyptian government.
The West is already combining its various proxy fronts
for what it sees as a pivotal showdown and perhaps another opportunity
to overthrow any remaining nationalist tendencies within the Egyptian
military. Despite the Muslim Brotherhood, allegedly being a theocratic
sectarian party, the antithesis of what the secular April 6 Movement
allegedly stood for, Ahmed Maher, the movement's founder threw his full support behind the Brotherhood.
Maher it should be remembered, had been in the US, Serbia, and back again to the US for a series of training and networking opportunities arranged by the US State Department before during and after the so-called "Arab Spring." What seemed like politically ideological opposites, between April 6 and the Muslim Brotherhood, in fact share a common denominator - they are instruments executing Western foreign policy.
Libya, Egypt, Syria and Beyond to Form United Front Against Iran
Weakening Egypt before NATO's assault on Libya was a crucial step in ensuring the latter's absolute destruction and the creation of what is now a Libyan terror-emirate shipping cash, weapons, and fighters east and west to destabilize and overthrow various governments on the Anglo-American's long "to-do" list. The West's ability to install a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, with it's substantial regional standing and influence would be a serious blow not only to Syria, but to Iran as well. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is already echoing calls by the US and Israel for "intervention" in Syria.
Along with Libya, Egypt and of course the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and with the possibility of the Brotherhood coming to power in Syria as well, a united front against Iran would be formed and prepared to fight a proxy war on the West's behalf against the Islamic Republic.
Such a reordering has not only been mapped out in US foreign policy documents like Brookings Institution's "Which Path to Persia?" report, but mirror designs against China where all of Southeast Asia is slated for destabilization, regime change, and realignment to carry out the West's ambitions to contain and even collapse a rising China.
Maher it should be remembered, had been in the US, Serbia, and back again to the US for a series of training and networking opportunities arranged by the US State Department before during and after the so-called "Arab Spring." What seemed like politically ideological opposites, between April 6 and the Muslim Brotherhood, in fact share a common denominator - they are instruments executing Western foreign policy.
Libya, Egypt, Syria and Beyond to Form United Front Against Iran
Weakening Egypt before NATO's assault on Libya was a crucial step in ensuring the latter's absolute destruction and the creation of what is now a Libyan terror-emirate shipping cash, weapons, and fighters east and west to destabilize and overthrow various governments on the Anglo-American's long "to-do" list. The West's ability to install a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, with it's substantial regional standing and influence would be a serious blow not only to Syria, but to Iran as well. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is already echoing calls by the US and Israel for "intervention" in Syria.
Along with Libya, Egypt and of course the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and with the possibility of the Brotherhood coming to power in Syria as well, a united front against Iran would be formed and prepared to fight a proxy war on the West's behalf against the Islamic Republic.
Such a reordering has not only been mapped out in US foreign policy documents like Brookings Institution's "Which Path to Persia?" report, but mirror designs against China where all of Southeast Asia is slated for destabilization, regime change, and realignment to carry out the West's ambitions to contain and even collapse a rising China.
--MORE--"
