Diversity Friendly Jihadists and other Empire Ventures
Whitewashed jihadists, Rent-a-Mob protesters and coup'ing an "ally"
Published: 2024-12-09
Updated 2024-12-09: At least 6 new sources offering diverse information, opinion and commentary on details in Syria have been added since publication five hours ago.
Updated 2024-12-10: Added detail to the section on Tblisii using Patrick Lawrence’s excellent coverage.
Syria and Lebanon
The fall of the Syrian government to al Jolani (or al Julani or al Golani) the head of the HTS rebranded band of foreign, mercenary militias has to be one of the most successful military intelligence coordinated military campaigns in living memory. US National Security Adviser Jake “AQ [al Qaeda] is on our side” Sullivan will be proud.
The campaign's external (English language) media operation included whitewashing al Jolani as some cuddly moderate "diversity friendly" leader using both CNN and The Telegraph. Caitlin Johnstone pithily captured the whitewashing with:
[Its] Only a matter of time before we start seeing former ISIS and al-Qaeda members chatting it up on liberal western talk shows with their preferred gender pronouns listed next to their names.
The military campaign could not have succeeded without the rapid refusal of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to fight. How this eventuated will become clearer over time with root causes likely to be found in the US Caesar Sanctions which impoverished Syria, preventing it rebuilding and not having sufficient funds to pay its military. Bribery and blackmail operations were likely also key to the collapse of the SAA. The Duran’s Mercouris suggested that al Assad’s intrasigence against accepting some assistance and refusing to speak with Erdogan may have significantly contributed to the debacle [*]. Al Jolani's victory speech at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus echoed the CIA organised and Saudi funded Cold War proxy war with Russia in Afghanistan when he thanked the "mujahideen".
[*]: see Comments below. The relevant video is included in sources.
Signs of the upcoming breakout from Idlib by HTS and its associated salafist jihadist foreign mercenary militias had been available since September when Kevork Almassian began publishing reports based on the loud mouths of the Turkish supported militias from Idlib. The size of the threat caught Syria's allies in Iran and Russia by surprise and the rest is history.
Russia began some form of withdrawal of assets from its naval base in Tartus on or before December 4th. Russia's continued legal access to that base is in jeopardy. The same is true for the airfield in Khmeimim which it was granted by Syria after Russia's assistance supporting Syria from 2015 to 2020 during the first Syrian Dirty War. M. K. Bhadrakumar (MKB) agrees that the removal of Russia from those bases would be a high priority for HTS' backers [US]. This would radically change the military balance in the region. Al Assad was conveyed to Moscow, presumably by Russian military. He has been offered asylum in Russia. The Kremlin currently expressed some confidence in its ability to retain these strategic assets.
The change in government in Syria, as Craig Murray noted, is likely to be the first of two, with the second being in Lebanon, which will be forced to adjust to the change in its large neighbour. Along with the reduction in logistics via Syria, this political change in Lebanon will place Hezbollah in a difficult position and will almost certainly lead to a reduction in its capacity. This is all to Israel's intended advantage. The Zionist state has grabbed the demilitarized border zone on Syria's side of the 1967-war frozen border in the Golan Heights, adding an icing on it’s cake.
Turkey's treachery in supporting the offensive is a victory for the geopolitical west, having turned a potentially significant nation from the BRICS/SCO block. Such betrayal is unlikely to be forgiven. This is the geostrategic victory for the US empire. As Larry Johnson noted, the refugee flows which are likely to be created by the brutality of the incoming HTS lead government will have further destablizing effects on surround nations, including Turkey and Jordan. The West would be unwise to start counting its chickens yet. How the Kurds fare under a combined US, HTS and Turkish rule in northern Syria is another question.
Suffice to say, Turkish occupation of Syrian territory may assume a permanent character and even a quasi-annexation of the regions is within the realms of possibility. Make no mistake, the Treaty Lausanne (1923), which Turkey regards as a national humiliation, has just expired and the hour of reckoning has come for reclaiming the Ottoman glory. The present Turkish leadership is committed to the geo-strategy of Neo-Ottomanism.
[MKB, emphasis and link by YxN]
The greatest victims will be the people of Palestine, who continue to be murdered every day by the Zionist national military, and the non-Sunni Arab population of Syria; the Druze, Alawite, Christian and others. Al Jolani and other political representatives may suddenly be wearing Western business jackets when giving interviews to the West's propaganda institutions, but nobody believes that this indicates a change from their brutality.
This conquering of Syria by proxy forces is not the only campaign which CI-6 and its news friends in Kiev and Ankara are running.
Georgia
Despite the clear result of the recent election in Tbilisi, Georgia, foreign funded and coordinated protests against that elected government continue. One can see in these the same playbook which was run against the government of Hong Kong during the protest movement there a few years ago. A recent 'story' from AP News has all the usual elements.
The headline uses 'alleged' to wedge "brutal assault" into the title. In the story we are informed that "men dressed in black" were involved in assaulting demonstrators. AP News conveys that a local journalist's friend had managed to capture footage of said black thugs and that, therefore, it is the government. The finger pointing is denied by the government who will obviously not benefit from any violence. The "MIB" incident occurred on the 11th straight day of sometimes violent protests after the elected government choose to defer discussions with EU representatives about a pathway to joining the European Union. Other commentators have noted that more than half of violent protesters who have been detained by police for damaging property are foreign.
Independent journalist Patrick Lancaster, who has covered the war in Ukraine from its civil war stage, tells his own story of being physically intimitated by the protesters
A group of protesters singled me out, accusing me of being a propagandist. The atmosphere quickly turned tense as they surrounded me and my colleague, an Italian journalist named Andrea Lucidi (https://t.me/Andrea_lucidi) . What began as verbal accusations escalated to physical intimidation, with individuals following us closely and occasionally grabbing at my coat. While no significant harm was done, the experience underscored the fragile state of press freedom in emotionally charged environments..
The provocateurs have been attacking police in front of the parliament with fireworks. See Lancaster’s coverage of the protests for more reports.
MSM coverage elevates the conflict locally and internationally. The next step in the EuroMaidan type script is for snipers to start shooting at both the police and the demonstrators to raise the level of violence, and voila, a government which external parties desire more than the democratically elected one is installed.
Democracy is a privilege which the US bestows on a country which follows its diktats. The rest get the destabilization treatment, from IMF loans to color revolutions, or proxy armies, NATO "no fly zones" or even direct invasion.
South Korea
Over in the Democratic Republic of (South) Korea, US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg, previously kicked out of Bolivia and the Philippines when coups against those governments were run, happened to be the local US ambassador. He would have been informing the US government who were watching "with grave concern" as the attempted coup d'etat failed due to airspace permits being too slow for special forces to effectively barricade the parliament.
South Korea is the only country in which US special forces are directly mixed with their local counterpart. While the bravery of the local civilian population and their elected representatives defeated that coup, this is not, wrote NJ Noh, a celebration of democracy but a warning of just how fragile South Korea's is.
[South Korean President] Yoon’s martial law declaration sought to white out all civil and political rights, as well as to extirpate and annihilate all political opposition–what he referred to as Pro-North, anti-state forces. It is only a series of lucky coincidences and missteps that it was thwarted.
One potential US motive for the coup is for South Korea to approve its military becoming involved in the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. The MSM issued narrative of soldiers from North Korea joining Russia's to defend Russia against the multi-national invasion in Kursk has been used to gin up a political motive for South Korea's involvement. The sitting government wanted none of it, though South Korea's military did gift the US hundreds of thousands of 155mm artillery rounds for the failed 2023 offensive.
The US is using the same tools it always has to achieve its geostrategic, and thus, geoeconomic objectives: covert forces and intelligence operatives, Rent-a-Mob violent protests, armed proxy forces, direct coup d'etats and its sycophantic, stenographic, commercial media.
Meanwhile, the US continues to support the Zionist genocide in Palestine.
Same "what human rights, what law?" shit, different day.
Postscript
US, Israel and Turkey Launch Airstrikes in Syria After Cheering Regime Change, Jason Ditz, Antiwar, 2024-12-09
“Assad’s ouster doesn’t end foreign intervention in Syria”
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Sources
The End of Pluralism in the Middle East, Craig Murray, Craig Murray, 2024-12-06
South Korea's Martial Law Fiasco: Legitimation Crisis in the Imperial Vassal State, KJ Noh, Scheerpost (originally CounterPunch), 2024-12-07
Syria Falls, b., Moon of Alabama, 2024-12-08
The Syria Tragedy and the New Omni-War, Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review, 2024-12-06
Winners and losers in Syria, M. K. Bhadrakumar, Indian Punchline, 2024-12-08
The Russian General Staff, Kremlin Discuss Holding The Latakia Sanjak To Defend Bases - Agree To Withdraw Under Turkish Safe Passage, John Helmer, Dances with Bears, 2024-12-08
Assad Is Out, Woke Al-Qaeda Is In, Caitlin Johnston, Caitlin's Newsletter, 2024-12-08
Washington Celebrates Al-Qaeda's Victory in Syria, Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar, 2024-12-08
Syria, Mission Accomplished?, Larry C. Johnson, SONAR21, 2024-12-08
Tbilisi: Journalists Attacked By Protesters. We Were Threatened, Surrounded, Pushed, & Followed—A Personal Account, Patrick Lancaster, News Today, 2024-12-09
Foreigners, Jews, Muslims, Catholics and more at Tbilisi Protests, Patrick Lancaster, News Today, 2024-12-08
Protesters Firing Pyrotechnics at Tbilisi Parliament building and riot police, Patrick Lancaster, News Today, 2024-12-07
Kremlin: Armed Groups Have Guaranteed the Security of Russian Bases in Syria, Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-12-08
Syrian opposition guarantees security of Russian military bases — Kremlin source, TASS, 2024-12-08
Russia silent on future of its military bases, Reuters, Archive.today, 2024-12-08
Syrian rebel leader speaks to CNN in exclusive interview, Jomana Karadsheh interviews Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, CNN, 2024-12-06
How Syria's 'diversity-friendly' jihadists plan on building a state, telegraph.co.uk, Archive.today, 2024-12-07
President Assads rule ended: Syrian army command tells officers, News, PressTV, 2024-12-08
Russia withdraws naval assets from Tartus port, amid rebel advance in Syria, no author, Middle East Monitor, 2024-12-04
In Damascus, Julani Declares 'Mujahideen' Victorious Against Assad, Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-12-08
Netanyahu Takes Credit for Assad's Overthrow, Israel Seizes Golan Heights 'Buffer Zone', Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-12-08
Biden Administration Announces Nearly $1 Billion in Weapons for Ukraine, Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-12-08
Georgian journalists allege brutal beatings as protests rage against ending EU talks, AP, AP News, 2024-12-08
Israeli Attacks in Gaza Kill 44 Palestinians in 24 Hours, Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-12-08
Türkiye and Ukraine in Syria: Upscaling the Proxy Wars, YesXorNo, 2024-12-05
Alastair Crooke : Turkey Turns on Russia., Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 2024-12-09
Mark Sleboda: The Wars in the West Asia and Ukraine - Georgia & Syria on Red Alert, Dialogue Works, Dialogue Works, 2024-12-06
In Syria, Turkey's Erdoğan Does Israel's Dirty Work w/ Kevork Almassian, Dimitri Lascaris, Dimitri Lascaris, 2024-12-04
Syria Collapses, Damascus Falls, Assad Flees, Moscow Furious; Trump Says Wants Ukraine Peace, Alexander Mercouris, Alexander Mercouris, 2024-12-08
This video included thanks to the comment from a community member.
Copyleft: CC0
Alexander Mercouris of the Durand provided some insight into Syrian army failure. He listed the obvious causes, such as the sanctions. It turns out that Russia offered loans and military training that would have limited sanction effects, but Assad turned down Russian economic involvement. There were other failures, but none so noteworthy as Assad's refusal to meet with Erdogan. Alexander concluded that Assad's stubbornness was a major factor in this debacle.
The main observation here is really how coordinated the imperial “Trusted Media Project” is in their promotion of the lie. They all swing to this storyline immediately and with zero examination of these terrorises.
And this lie is being peddled while the Israeli genocide goes on in Palestine with the weapons money and political support of the west. And while they continue to also starve Afghan people with sanctions and withholding their foreign reserves. Apparently the only crime of the Taliban is in defending the sovereignty of their country. But many of us knew that all along.