The Syrian Arab Army, supported by militia brigades and the Russian air force, has completely liberated Aleppo and liquidated the cauldron in the east of the city. This has been announced by the Syrian army. Bashar al-Assad has congratulated soldiers on victory.
The terrorists blocked off in the last districts of the city have requested to be evacuated to Idlib without weapons. As has been reported, the battle for the largest city in Syria began in the Salahedin neighborhood and has now finished in it.
This great victory in the Syrian War largely belongs to Russia, whose sons and daughters bravely fought terrorism as air force pilots, military advisors, engineers, as fighters in chemical defense units, and as military medics.
Earlier on Monday, the Syrian Arab Army won considerable successes, leaving only a handful of buildings in three districts in the hands of militants. The terrorists had no choice but to “surrender or die,” as Lieutenant Zayed al-Saleh, head of Syria’s Security Committee, stated to journalists in the recently liberated Sheikh-Said district.
The battle for Aleppo lasted four and a half years, having started with street fights on the night of July 19th, 2012.
After local television channels announced impending victory, the city’s residents took to the streets to celebrate, planes conducted an air salute over the city, and soldiers shot into the air. The Syrian government agency SANA has released footage of Bashar al-Assad greeting Syrian troops following the declaration of victory in Aleppo.
This morning, reports came in that some militants have not surrendered or agreed to be evacuated. The army is continuing to mop up the last pockets of resistance.
Aleppo has been taken back by the Syrian Army, under the watchful eye of the Russian air force. Civilians have been evacuated en masse on behalf of Russia. Meanwhile the EU claims it is the only party to have sent aid to Aleppo – whereas, it is questionable whether they’ve sent any at all.
At the end are headlines in the mainstream media that are to the complete contrary, not based in the real world.
On the morning of December 14th, Ukrainian soldiers shot at a bus carrying civilians at the Mayorskoe checkpoint near Gorlovka. This has been reported by the Donetsk People’s Republic’s security agencies. As a result of the firing, one civilian was killed and two were injured. Another passenger died at the scene from a heart attack.
“This morning, at the Mayorskoe checkpoint, Ukrainian troops opened fire on a bus with civilians coming from the territory of the DPR,” a source in the agency said.
According to the source, as a result of Kalashnikov rifle fire, one passenger was killed and another was wounded. The incident took place on territory controlled by the Ukrainian military. “The fire came from a Kalashnikov rifle,” the source stated.
The acting head of the Gorlovka administration, Ivan Prikhodko, later reported the death of another passenger from the shot-up bus: “One of the bus’ passengers was shot by Ukrainian troops, another died on the scene from a heart attack. Two other received injuries,” he said.
The operational command has reported that Ukrainian militants opened mortar fire on DPR positions immediately after the bus shooting, provoking retaliatory actions.
On December 5th, 2016, as many as nine rockets were delivered in a precise strike on a Russian mobile hospital, set up in Aleppo.
A Russian servicewoman, a medic, was killed in the shelling and two other medical specialists were injured.
Official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defence, Konashenkov, said that the terrorists were undoubtedly part of the Western-funded “moderate opposition”, who were supplied with the exact coordinates of the hospital by Western powers.
Before Congress adjourns for 2016, we have one last opportunity to build support for suspending US military and security aid to Honduras, where repression of human rights defenders and social movements continues unabated. With the US State Department certifying that the Honduran government is taking effective steps on human rights, despite continued assassinations and impunity, it is important that Congress pushes back. To date, 49 Representatives have co-sponsored the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, which would suspend US military and security aid to Honduras. Can you take a moment today to call your Representative if he or she has not yet signed on and ask him/her to sponsor HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act?
See if your representative has already co-sponsored the bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5474/cosponsors (Need the name of your Representative? Click here)
If not, call the Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask to be transfered to your Representative and ask your him/her to sponsor the bill:
“Hello, I am calling to ask Rep. _____ to sponsor HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, before the end of the year. Internationally recognized Indigenous leader Berta Caceres and other leaders have been brutally assassinated in Honduras this year. The death threats and attacks on environmental activists, human rights leaders, journalists, and others continue today. Please sponsor HR 5474 before this year is out to call for an end to US military aid in Honduras.”If your Representative has signed on to support the bill, call his or her office to thank them (202-224-3121):
“Hello, I am calling to thank Rep. _____ for sponsoring HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, in 2016. The repression and death threats and attacks on environmental activists, human rights leaders, journalists, and others continue unabated in Honduras. I hope that your office will continue to speak out for the suspension of US security aid to Honduras at every opportunity.”
Thank you for all your efforts to call on Congress to cut destructive US security aid to Honduras in 2016. We look forward to continuing to work together in 2017.
The legislation would prohibit the U.S. government from using American taxpayer dollars to provide funding, weapons, training, and intelligence support to groups like the Levant Front, Fursan al Ha and other allies of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, al-Qaeda and ISIS, or to countries who are providing direct or indirect support to those same groups.
The legislation is co-sponsored by:
Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT-AL), Barbara Lee (D-CA-13), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-48), and Thomas Massie (R-KT-04), and supported by the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and the U.S. Peace Council..
Video of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s speech on the House floor
Transcript of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s speech
Under U.S. law it is illegal for any American to provide money or assistance to al-Qaeda, ISIS or other terrorist groups. If you or I gave money, weapons or support to al-Qaeda or ISIS, we would be thrown in jail. Yet the U.S. government has been violating this law for years, quietly supporting allies and partners of al-Qaeda, ISIL, Jabhat Fateh al Sham and other terrorist groups with money, weapons, and intelligence support, in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government.[i]
The CIA has also been funneling weapons and money through Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and others who provide direct and indirect support to groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda. This support has allowed al-Qaeda and their fellow terrorist organizations to establish strongholds throughout Syria, including in Aleppo.
A recent New York Times article confirmed that ‘rebel groups’ supported by the U.S. ‘have entered into battlefield alliances with the affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria, formerly known as al Nusra.’ This alliance has rendered the phrase ‘moderate rebels’ meaningless. Reports confirm that ‘every armed anti-Assad organization unit in those provinces [of Idlib and Aleppo] is engaged in a military structure controlled by [al-Qaeda’s] Nusra militants.’
A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that many rebel groups are ‘doubling down on their alliance’ with al Nusra. Some rebel groups are renewing their alliance, while others, like Nour al-Din al-Zinki, a former CIA-backed group and one of the largest factions in Aleppo are joining for the first time. “The Syria Conquest Front—formerly known as the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front—is deeply intermingled with armed opposition groups of all stripes across Syria’s battlefields.”
The CIA has long been supporting a group called Fursan al Haqq, providing them with salaries, weapons and support, including surface to air missiles. This group is cooperating with and fighting alongside an al-Qaeda affiliated group trying to overthrow the Syrian government. The Levant Front is another so-called moderate umbrella group of Syrian opposition fighters. Over the past year, the United States has been working with Turkey to give this group intelligence support and other forms of military assistance. This group has joined forces with al-Qaeda’s offshoot group in Syria.
This madness must end. We must stop arming terrorists. The Government must end this hypocrisy and abide by the same laws that apply to its’ citizens.
That is why I’ve introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists bill—legislation based on congressional action during the Iran-Contra affair to stop the CIA’s illegal arming of rebels in Nicaragua. It will prohibit any Federal agency from using taxpayer dollars to provide weapons, cash, intelligence, or any support to al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups, and it will prohibit the government from funneling money and weapons through other countries who are directly or indirectly supporting terrorists,
Stephen Kinzer, a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, and award-winning author and journalist said,
“The proposal to stop sending weapons to insurgents in Syria is based on the principle that pouring arms into a war zone only intensifies suffering and makes peace more difficult to achieve. Congress made a decision like this about the Nicaraguan contras during the 1980s. Aid to the contras was cut off by the Boland Amendment. The result was a peace process that finally brought an end to wars not only in Nicaragua, but also in El Salvador and Guatemala. This is the example we should be following. Cutting off arms shipments forces belligerents to negotiate. That is what we achieved in Nicaragua. It should be our goal in Syria as well.”
Donna Smith, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America said,
“Progressive Democrats of America believes that it is fundamentally wrong for the United States to fund those groups or individuals aligned with al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, ISIS, or other terrorist/extremist organizations. The ‘Stop Arming Terrorists’ bill authored by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, of Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, would help bring an end to the human tragedy unfolding in Syria where the haunting eyes of the innocent children of Aleppo call on us all to stop supporting those who threaten and kill them with ferocious intention. War is war, and terrorism is terrorism whether waged by the state or from external forces. PDA supports this measure.”
Alfred Marder, President of the U.S. Peace Council said,
“The U.S. Peace Council is honored to endorse and support the ‘Stop Arming Terrorists Bill’ as a major contribution to peace. This legislation will serve to galvanize the anti-war movement and the opposition to regime change policies that characterize our present foreign policy.”
Background:
The Stop Arming Terrorists bill prohibits U.S. government funds from being used to support al-Qaeda, ISIS or other terrorist groups. In the same way that Congress passed the Boland Amendment to prohibit the funding and support to CIA backed-Nicaraguan Contras during the 1980’s, this bill would stop CIA or other Federal government activities in places like Syria by ensuring U.S. funds are not used to support al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, ISIS, or other terrorist groups working with them. It would also prohibit the Federal government from funding assistance to countries that are directly or indirectly supporting those terrorist groups. The bill achieves this by:
Making it illegal for any U.S. Federal government funds to be used to provide assistance covered in this bill to terrorists. The assistance covered includes weapons, munitions, weapons platforms, intelligence, logistics, training, and cash.
Making it illegal for the U.S. government to provide assistance covered in the bill to any nation that has given or continues to give such assistance to terrorists.
Requiring the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to determine the individual and groups that should be considered terrorists, for the purposes of this bill, by determining: (a) the individuals and groups that are associated with, affiliated with, adherents to or cooperating with al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, or ISIS; (b) the countries that are providing assistance covered in this bill to those individuals or groups.
Requiring the DNI to review and update the list of countries and groups to which assistance is prohibited every six months, in consultation with the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, as well as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Requiring the DNI to brief Congress on the determinations.
Over the past 48 hours, up to 50,000 people have been evacuated from eastern Aleppo, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov has reported.
“We warn terrorists and militants of the so-called ‘moderate opposition,’ and also their patrons: Do not attempt any provocations, especially attacks on civilians leaving through humanitarian corridors,” the Russian Defense Ministry statement says.
Konashenkov also addressed those who, over the past few months, have declared their readiness to send humanitarian aid to Aleppo.
“Representatives of the US, UK, France, Canada, the European Union, and international organizations: Over the past two days, nearly 50,000 civilians have been evacuated by the Russian Reconciliation Center from the eastern parts of Aleppo. They are in need of the humanitarian assistance you promised. It is time to check the validity of your intentions.”
The statement added that the Syrian government now controls 93 percent of Aleppo, and the civilians who exited eastern Aleppo have been placed in special humanitarian centers where they are provided with hot food and medical help.
The Russian Reconciliation Center is monitoring the evacuation of civilians from the blocked districts round-the-clock with the use of drones.
Earlier this week, Moscow slammed a statement by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who said the EU was the only party providing aid to Syria.
“It’s outrageous twisting of facts which ignores what Russia has been doing for a long time,”Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that Russia, “unlike other international players, has been actively supplying thousands of tons of humanitarian aid to various regions across Syria, including the liberated areas in eastern Aleppo, at the risk of Russian military lives.
“If the high representative [Mogherini] means providing assistance to terrorists and extremists, then we don’t participate in this, indeed,” the statement added.
Last week, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman claimed that Russia was blocking aid intended for Aleppo’s civilian population.
“The Syrian regime and their influencers [Russia, among others] are preventing aid” from reaching the city, the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.
“It seems that the UK government has lost an objective view of what is happening in Syria, including Aleppo, due to Russophobia,” Konashenkov responded, noting that the UK has not sent “a single gram of flour, any medicine or blankets to help” civilians in Aleppo during the entire Syrian conflict.
“If the UK government really wants to send humanitarian aid to residents in the eastern neighborhoods [of Aleppo], it has all the conditions for doing this, just tell us where it [the aid] has been held up,” he added.
In this exchange, notice how adamant and entrenched Congressman Adam Schiff is in his position. Schiff makes an accusation about Russia, builds a whole story on that foundation, and then goes on a verbal attack.
Fox host Tucker Carlson uses the phrase “weasel words”. This was a very sophisticated verbal barrage by Schiff that shifted the focus to Carlson, that he was the one with the problem for not “believing”. Schiff did not act humiliated or flustered. The exchange reveals how deeply committed Schiff and an unknown number of American officials are to pushing this particular story line and belief and to unbendingly defend it.
Officials such as Adam Schiff are directing American foreign policy based on their near-pathological prejudices and beliefs. How far will they go? The current results are visible in destroyed countries and lives, and these conflicts aren’t over yet.
From Sputnik News
December 9, 2016
On Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, Congressman Adam Schiff was absolutely humiliated over his Russian hysteria and repeated claims that the Kremlin had hacked the election.
Democratic members of Congress have demanded in a letter that President Obama brief them on “Russian interference” in the election before leaving office, and Schiff was one of those who signed. To promote their cause, the California representative appeared on Fox News, and one of the most epic showdowns in the recent history of the network ensued. Carlson left the Democratic representative looking completely ridiculous, after the latter accused the host of being an “apologist for the Kremlin,” and telling him that he will need to “move his show to RT.”
“The information was true, and voters got to see that, and it helped them assess how they wanted to vote. Why is that bad? Are you really arguing against more information for voters?” Carlson asked.
“Are you really arguing in favor of a foreign adversarial party hacking into the American —” a stunned-looking Schiff began.
Tucker then asserted that he was not arguing in favor of it, but that the information was placed into the public view — and thus voters had the right to see and assess it.
Schiff then asserted that President-elect Donald Trump was the only beneficiary of “Russian meddling,” which was quickly shot down as “speculation” by Carlson. Schiff continued to assert that the intelligence community claimed that the Kremlin was behind the hacks.
“Here’s the thing,” Carlson began, “I’ve lived here a long time, I remember vividly the ‘massive stockpiles of WMD’s in Iraq,’ which the intelligence community assured us were there, and they weren’t, so pardon my skepticism, I think it’s a patriotic position.”
Schiff appeared to grow increasingly flustered and continued to push McCarthyist anti-Russian sentiment, which Carlson hilariously mocked.
“I’m confused by what you are alleging,” Carlson interjected. “You’re saying that you believe the Russian government hacked into John Podesta’s emails and that the voters knew too much? Then you’re saying what, that they hacked voting machines? What are you saying?”
Schiff then said that if the Russians had hacked into Carlson’s emails, that he would not seek to justify their release.
“Are you arguing that voters should not have seen that information?” Carlson repeated several times.
Eventually, Schiff admitted that in some cases the press should publish information that is illegally obtained, if it is of great public interest, but continued to claim that Russia was behind the hack and that the press are responsible for reporting where the information came from.
Carlson asserted that Schiff does not know if Russia was behind the hacks. He then challenged the congressman to turn to the camera and specifically say that, “I know the government of Vladimir Putin hacked John Podesta’s emails.” The representative would not comply.
“You’re carrying water for the Kremlin,” the clearly desperate representative said, now trying to deflect the conversation. “You’re going to have to move your show to RT — Russian Television.”
The assertion drew big laughs from the host, who called his statement “so dumb.”
“You know what — that is just so beneath your office, because it is so dumb, you’re being duplicitous,” Carlson laughed. “I’m asking you, did they hack Podesta’s emails and you can’t say it.”
Carlson asked him, again, to look into the camera and say the Russian government hacked Podesta’s emails.
“You can’t, and you know you can’t, and you’re hiding behind weasel-words,” Carlson said. “Say they hacked John Podesta’s emails.”
The flustered Schiff then accused Carlson of ignoring that Russia is behind the hack because it benefitted the Republican candidate. He also accused the Fox host of being an “apologist” for the Kremlin.
“I just think if you’re going to make a serious allegation about an actual country, which an actual government, you ought to know what you are talking about — and you don’t!” Carlson laughed.
The heated, and highly entertaining, exchange ended with the host mocking the congressman by saying, “I need to take a call from Vladimir Putin…so I need to put you on hold for one second.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over recent reports of civilian casualties in US-led coalition airstrikes in Syria saying that such actions were ‘unacceptable.’
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry citing reports, at least 18 civilians were killed and dozens injured in a US-led coalition airstrike on a settlement in Syria’s Raqqa province on December 7.
“These reports cause deep concern. Air and missile strikes that result in deaths and suffering of peaceful Syrians are unacceptable and deserve decisive condemnation. The suffering of civilian population must be stopped,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that it is hard to understand statements about “errors” and “negligence” from those whose military operation in Syria had not been requested by the country’s legitimate authorities.
Last week, the Pentagon stated that the US-led coalitions airstrikes on the Syrian army positions were an “unintentional, regrettable error.”
On September 17, US-led coalition aircraft carried out four strikes against the Syrian army near the Deir ez-Zor airport, leaving 62 soldiers killed and some 100 wounded. The Pentagon said that the airstrike was a mistake and was intended to target Daesh militants, while a number of Syrian officials stated that the attack was intentional.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry slammed the US-led coalition for striking civilians instead of terrorists.
“Weddings, funerals, hospitals, police departments, humanitarian convoys and even Syrian troops, fighting against Daesh terrorists near Deir ez-Zor, become targets for coalition airstrikes,” spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said, commenting on an alleged US-led coalition’s member’s strike on a Syrian village in north Aleppo that claimed at least six lives.
The Syrian government forces detected the terrorists’ warehouse with toxic chemicals in the north-eastern part of Syrian Aleppo, media reported Tuesday.
DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — During clearing and demining activities in the Masaken Hanano district, a Syrian army unit uncovered a large warehouse inside a school building, which was used by terrorists for making shells, according to the Syrian news agency SANA.
The warehouse reportedly contained explosive materials and equipment for manufacturing rocket shells and weaponized gas cylinders.
Earlier in the day, local media reported that the Syrian army supported by allied militia units completed liberation of the Qadi Askar district located near the historic center of the Aleppo city.
During the last 24 hours the government troops managed to liberate the districts of Turbat Lala and Shaar from militant groups. The government forces also completed clearing and demining the strategic district of Sheikh Saeed in the north-eastern part of the city.
The situation in Aleppo has been seriously deteriorating over the recent months. Thousands of citizens are believed to be trapped in the terrorist-besieged eastern parts of Aleppo with no access to food or water.
The Syrian civil war is ongoing since March 2011, with many armed groups including terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (both outlawed in Russia) involved in the conflict.
To date, 49 Representatives have co-sponsored the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, which would suspend US military and security aid to Honduras. Can you take a moment today to call your Representative if he or she has not yet signed on and ask him/her to sponsor HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act?
Free Ukraine Now 