Syria

US B-52 bombs Idlib, Syria, killing over 20 civilians – Russian MoD

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From RT

January 10, 2017

US B-52 bombed Idlib, Syria, killing over 20 civilians – Russian MoD

A U.S. B-52 bomber. © Ints Kalnins / Reuters

 

More than 20 civilians were killed in a B-52 strike carried out by the US on the Idlib province in Syria on January 3, according to Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Gerasimov slammed the Western coalition in Syria for failing to achieve “any meaningful results,” adding that “at the same time, significant numbers of victims among the civilian population and government forces were reported.”

“As we remember, in September last year, the US aviation carried out an attack in the Deir-ez-Zor targeting government forces. After this attack, Islamic State started its advance,” Gerasimov said as cited by RIA Novosti news agency.

“The latest example of this is the January 3 airstrike, when a B-52 bomber – without warning the Russian side – hit a target in the town of Sarmada, Idlib Province, which is covered by the cessation of hostilities agreement. Over 20 civilians died as a result of the airstrike.”

He did not provide any further details.

The US Defense Department announced on January 6 that a strike had killed 20 people in Sarmada, Idlib; those killed were described as Al-Qaeda militants, AFP reported.

…

READ MORE: Pentagon chief claims US fighting ISIS alone, Russia doing ‘virtually zero’ in Syria

During the Tuesday meeting, Gerasimov said the operation carried out by the Russian Air Force since September 30, 2015 “has turned the tide of the Syrian war.”

Since the beginning of its operation in Syria, Russia’s military jets destroyed around 200 illegal oil-extracting facilities belonging to IS, 174 oil-producing plants, 111 groups of oil tank trucks, the head of General Staff added.

“This allowed not only to breach the IS supply system, but also to deprive them of their main income,” Gerasimov added.

“All strikes are carried out only after the confirmation of data from several sources, including the space intelligence and drones,” Gerasimov emphasized.

https://www.rt.com/news/373178-us-civilians-bomber-syria/

 

How the US deliberately destroyed Iraq’s water supply, and now Syria…

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By Prof. Thomas J. Nagy
Global Research, January 03, 2017
Global Research 29 August 2001

Global Research Editor’s Note

This incisive and carefully documented article by Prof. Thomas Nagy was first published by Global Research in September 2001.

It confirms the criminal nature of US intervention.

A similar and comparable operation in Syria has now been launched by using US supported Al Qaeda “opposition rebels”, with the help of the White Helmets to undermine and destroy the system of water supply in Damascus; this issue has been casually ignored by the Western media and the self proclaimed “international community”.

While, the modus operandi in the case of Syria differs from that described by Prof. Nagy, it nonetheless confirms a pattern.  In Syria, this diabolical operation carried out by US backed terrorists, constitutes the ultimate crime against humanity.  

In regards to Iraq, Professor Thomas Nagy of George Washington University, D.C., revealed the existence of Defense Intelligence Agency documents “proving beyond a doubt that, contrary to the Geneva Convention, the U.S. government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the country’s water supply after the Gulf War.

“The United States knew the cost that civilian Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went ahead anyway.” On May 12, 1996 some of the horrible consequences of this policy were revealed when the CBS news program 60 Minutes reported that roughly half million Iraqi children had died as a consequence of U.S. imposed sanctions.

This led to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s infamous answer to the question, “is the price worth it?” Her reply was yes “we think the price is worth it.” Albright later apologized, not for the murderous policy for which she was partially responsible, but rather for the fact that her answer to the above question had “aggravated our public relations problems” in the Middle East.

As to domestic reaction, her comment “went unremarked in the U.S.” Subsequently, in 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq using the strategy of “rapid dominance” (more popularly known as “shock and awe”). The object of this strategy was to “paralyze” the enemy’s “will to carry on” through the disruption of “means of communication, transportation, food production, water supply, and other aspects of infrastructure.” One of the targets of the bombing campaign that led off the invasion was Iraq’s electrical grid. That directly impacted the country’s ability to process clean water.”

See also Lawrence Davidson, Loopholes in International Law

This important study by Professor Nagy was among the first articles published by Global Research. It was part of the launch of the site on September 9, 2001. The article was dated August, 29 2001.

The original URL of this article is: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/NAG108A.html

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research Editor, January 3, 2017

 

*       *      *

Confirmed by documents of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), “the U.S. government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the country’s water supply after the Gulf War. The United States knew the cost that civilian Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went ahead anyway.”

Over the last two years, I’ve discovered documents of the Defense Intelligence Agency proving beyond a doubt that, contrary to the Geneva Convention, the U.S. government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the country’s water supply after the Gulf War. The United States knew the cost that civilian Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went ahead anyway.

The primary document, “Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities,” is dated January 22, 1991. It spells out how sanctions will prevent Iraq from supplying clean water to its citizens.

Iraq depends on importing specialized equipment and some chemicals to purify its water supply, most of which is heavily mineralized and frequently brackish to saline,” the document states. “With no domestic sources of both water treatment replacement parts and some essential chemicals, Iraq will continue attempts to circumvent United Nations Sanctions to import these vital commodities. Failing to secure supplies will result in a shortage of pure drinking water for much of the population. This could lead to increased incidences, if not epidemics, of disease.

The document goes into great technical detail about the sources and quality of Iraq’s water supply. The quality of untreated water “generally is poor,” and drinking such water “could result in diarrhea,” the document says. It notes that Iraq’s rivers “contain biological materials, pollutants, and are laden with bacteria. Unless the water is purified with chlorine, epidemics of such diseases as cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid could occur.”

The document notes that the importation of chlorine “has been embargoed” by sanctions. “Recent reports indicate the chlorine supply is critically low.”

Food and medicine will also be affected, the document states. “Food processing, electronic, and, particularly, pharmaceutical plants require extremely pure water that is free from biological contaminants,” it says.

The document addresses possible Iraqi countermeasures to obtain drinkable water despite sanctions.

Iraq conceivably could truck water from the mountain reservoirs to urban areas. But the capability to gain significant quantities is extremely limited,” the document states. “The amount of pipe on hand and the lack of pumping stations would limit laying pipelines to these reservoirs. Moreover, without chlorine purification, the water still would contain biological pollutants. Some affluent Iraqis could obtain their own minimally adequate supply of good quality water from Northern Iraqi sources. If boiled, the water could be safely consumed. Poorer Iraqis and industries requiring large quantities of pure water would not be able to meet their needs.

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Zakharova: Diplomatic “partners” threatened to “make sure that Russia truly feels what pain is” over Syria air campaign and promised media disinformation campaigns; Obama administration committed moral crimes

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The Obama administration “demonstrated the belief that the strongest has the right to create evil.”

December 29th, 2016 – Fort Russ News –

Rossia 1 – Translated by Inessa Sinchougova

<iframe src=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/197375753&#8243; width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>

Maria Zakharova, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, on a national TV show

Partial transcript:

I’d like to remind you that since October 2015, when Russia’s air campaign to Syria was announced, as well as invitation extended to the entire world to unite in this struggle – not even our struggle, but a threat to the whole world – I’d like to remind you how the events unfolded.

I reviewed many recordings of diplomatic talks from October 2015 and this is what we were told, at the high level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs:

“We were asked to pass onto you the most serious of warnings – Russia is going to be hurting. They will make sure that Russia truly feels what pain is – keep this in mind.”

And this came from diplomats during a diplomatic round of discussions.

“Keep in mind that everything you do in reality will be manipulated by a media company, which will cancel out the real results of your work.”

“You’re going to fight terrorists? Yet you will look like the aggressor.”

This was said in October-November 2015.

After they failed to scare us…

Question: Was this during the famous talks between Kerry and Lavrov?

Zakharova: I can’t directly quote anyone because the talks were closed to the media. I can only say that such words were delivered to us, not once, but throughout much of October [2015[ as part of the discussions of Russia’s Representative of Foreign Affairs, and his international counterparts. I am talking about Sergey Lavrov’s colleagues [counterparts] who attribute themselves to be from the most forward and civilized of countries. So we’re not talking about someone who just recently barged into the world of foreign affairs. We are talking about people who constitute the world’s elite – they told us these words.

What happened after that? After it became clear just how openly, transparently, and in which precise targets the Russian Air Force was working – and how perfectly Russia’s personnel are carrying out commands – then began the direct disinformation campaign that discredited our actions. Well, the media is one thing, but I’d like to remind you, the U.S. State Department and the White House, for the mouths of their official representatives, directly threatened to cause us pain.

So, those words that were said in October 2015 behind closed doors were then delivered upon publicly.

You remember the promised “graves” and “coming home in body bags”. This was said by all, the U.S. Ministry of Defense, not only diplomatic representatives. Then all of this was regurgitated into the media, as a result of closed door discussions in Washington. But then they went even further.

Then, official Foreign Affairs representatives began to call upon their people to come out and protest in front of Russian embassies

Question: Yes, I remember that – the words of Britain’s Foreign Secretary.

Zakharova: Yes, just one example. He is looked at somewhat of a marginal character in terms of foreign policy, or politics as a whole, and his words may not hold as much weight as some more experienced officials – but nevertheless, he said those words. These words, within a matter of weeks, were converted into specific actions. He wasn’t the only one to call for protests outside Russian embassies. He is the only one which was in the public eye.

All [anti-Russian] campaigns over the past couple of years have been supported by official Ministries of Foreign Affairs of other states, either financially or by other creative means.

That which began in October 2015 ended with the murder of our ambassador in December 2016. I’ll remind you of one more thing – we’ve talked about this – let’s remember the real attacks. Not more campaigns with plastic arms and legs in London, or posters in front of our embassies in the EU, but the shelling of the Russian embassy in Damascus.

Russia’s official representative, Vitaly Churkin, would always raise this question to the UN Security Council. Who were the people that blocked these questions? It was the very same people who, through the mouths of their official representatives, promised that “we would feel pain.” It was the very same people who, in collaboration with mainstream media, deliberated how to truly hurt Russia. The blocked all statements by our representative to the Security Council, who condemned the attacks on Russia’s diplomatic representatives.

Question: When our ambassador was killed, Trump sent his words of sympathy, the U.S. State Department did also, but Obama personally did not. Is this in line with international protocol? Or is this an attempt at insulting us?

Zakharova: Obama, I think, is a unique person. I’m only talking about foreign policy, because domestic policy is for Americans, and it is only U.S. citizens who should have the right to assess it. But Obama is a person – and I mean the whole administration under him, – whose team, as it worked out in the international arena, was bad for everyone. I think during his 8-year term – under the pretext of their ‘exclusivity’ – they became the subject of disgust for the entire world. That is my impression. They did not deliver on any responsibilities they had to other nations. Nor did they deliver on what the American people entrusted to them on the international arena. This is an obvious thing.

And the main thing – of course, I am not a lawyer or a human rights activist – but from a moral point of view, they have committed crimes.

They showed that the strongest [militarily] has unlimited rights to create evil [in the world]. That is what’s going to go down in history for this administration.

Let me say it again – they demonstrated the belief that the strongest has the right to create evil.

This is in the 21st century. We’re not in the Middle Ages. We’re not in antiquity. This is today.

[on the question of whether or not Obama personally sent condolences]

…So, words of sympathy were said by many, but what Obama did or didn’t, you know the question is not over what he said now, but what he and his team did over the past 8 years – I emphasize the team that surrounded him in the White House – I think we’re going to find out a lot, give it six months to a year. We’re going to find out a lot about the real under-the-carpet struggle that took place there, between those who understood at least something about foreign affairs, that [the U.S.] is leading the world into a dead end, vs. those who pursued these mindless policies – illogical for all of us.

No matter who I’ve talked to, I’ve never met anyone who said, “These guys are doing great, they’re doing the right thing.”

https://vimeo.com/197375753

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/russia-obama-was-most-evil-president.html

ALEPPO LIBERATED: Syria claims final victory, Assad congratulates troops

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Posted on Fort Russ

December 14, 2016 – Fort Russ News –
RusVesna – translated by J. Arnoldski –
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.
The city’s residents already began celebrating the victory over terrorists yesterday.
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.
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/aleppo-liberated-syria-claims-final.html

VIDEO: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard introduces legislation to stop arming terrorists

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Press Release

By Rep Tulsi Gabbard
Global Research, December 11, 2016
Gabbard.house.gov
Tulsi_Gabbard,_official_portrait,_113th_Congress

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act today.

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Requiring the DNI to brief Congress on the determinations.

Notes

[i] Levant Front (U.S. backed, via the MOC in Turkey) is working under an Ahrar al Sham led umbrella group: http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/December%202%20EDITS%20COT_2.pdf ; U.S. support for Levant Front: http://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/57605?lang=en ; CIA groups cooperated with Jayesh al-Fateh http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/19/the-cia-s-syria-program-and-the-perils-of-proxies.html; U.S. weapons arriving in Syria through covert, CIA-led program, via Saudi Arabia and Turkey; CIA can provide support http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK20120802

The original source of this article is Gabbard.house.gov
Copyright © Rep Tulsi Gabbard, Gabbard.house.gov, 2016
http://www.globalresearch.ca/video-rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-legislation-to-stop-arming-terrorists/5561619

Russian Reconciliation Center evacuated 50,000 civilians from E. Aleppo in past 2 days – MoD

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From RT

December 10  2016

https://www.rt.com/news/369869-syria-evacuation-civilians-aleppo/video/
© Russian Defense Ministry

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.

Read more

People, who were evacuated from the eastern districts of Aleppo, wait with their belongings in a government held area of Aleppo, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on December 8, 2016 © SANAEast Aleppo civilians report torture, executions by ‘moderate opposition’ – Russian military

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.

Read more

Smoke rises behind a damaged street in Hanano housing district after government forces took control of the area in Aleppo, Syria, November 27, 2016. © SANARussia hopes Syria’s Aleppo situation can be resolved by end of 2016

“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.

https://www.rt.com/news/369869-syria-evacuation-civilians-aleppo/

Obama grants waiver for military support of foreign fighters in Syria – White House

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From RT

December 8, 2016

President Barack Obama has ordered a waiver of restrictions on military aid for foreign forces and others in Syria, deeming it “essential to the national security interests” of the US to allow exceptions from provisions in the four-decades-old Arms Export Control Act.

A White House press release Thursday announced that foreign fighters in Syria supporting US special operations “to combat terrorism in Syria”would be excused from restrictions on military assistance.

“I hereby determine that the transaction, encompassing the provision of defense articles and services to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals engaged in supporting or facilitating ongoing U.S. military operations to counter terrorism in Syria, is essential to the national security interests of the United States,” President Obama affirmed in the presidential determination and waiver.

The order delegates responsibility to the US secretary of state to work with and report to Congress on weapons export proposals, requiring 15 days of notice before they are authorized.

Obama announced a similar waiver of the Arms Export Control Act in September 2013, following the Ghouta chemical attack in August of that year. That order facilitated the transfer of US military weaponry to “select vetted members” of opposition forces battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Thursday’s order appears less narrow in scope.

READ MORE: RT crew first to reach liberated area of Aleppo’s Old City (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) 

Last year, Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2016, which allocated nearly $500 million to arm and train “moderate rebels” in Syria, despite a failed Pentagon program abandoned earlier in 2015.

The challenge of differentiating between terrorist forces, such as Al-Nusra, and more moderate forces in Syria has been acknowledged by press secretaries in recent State Department briefings.

The “counterterrorism” pretext is just a “convenient misappropriation of language,” aimed at arming various militants to battle the Syrian Army and its allies, believes geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen.

“Putting this under the banner of fighting terrorism … follows on [from] a sort of fantasy concept that’s been pushed out as a talking point for the last year and a half, that if we train and equip the ‘moderate opposition’ they will fight [Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL)],” Henningsen told RT.

“They want to open the floodgates basically for trafficking weapons to religious extremists and militants and terrorist groups, internationally recognized terrorist groups … it’s all being done still under this kind of false pretense of the fight against ISIS, that somehow ‘moderate’ rebels, if they even exist, will turn their weapons and fight against ISIS. And we know from the facts on the ground, from the beginning, that [this] simply has not been the case. This is to arm the opposition to fight the Syrian government and to fight Russian forces. This is a desperate move on the part of the lame duck president.”

President Obama’s decision could lead to an almost immediate escalation of the conflict and basically put the US in a situation of “waging a proxy war against the Russians and Syrians,” a former Pentagon official, Michael Maloof, told RT.

“The rebels, whom we cannot identify, are going to be getting some very sophisticated weapons. Potentially, I should say, man-portable air defense systems, which can knock down Russian and Syrian aircraft,” Maloof said. “And the fact too, that we have stocks already in Europe, that can easily be transferred with this waiver. Under the waiver, it’s supposed to be a 15-day notification to Congress, but Congress, as of tonight, Washington time, is going to be out of session until January. So these arms can go within hours.”

 

https://www.rt.com/usa/369702-obama-waiver-military-aid-syria-forces/

Conflict instigators must foot humanitarian crises’ bills – Russian Emergencies Minister to UN

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From RT

December 9, 2016
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© EMERCOM of Russia
© EMERCOM of Russia

Russia’s victory in Syria: The real meaning of the Aleppo Hospital tragedy

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From Fort Russ

December 8, 2016 – Fort Russ –
Ruslan Ostashko – LiveJournal– translated by J. Arnoldski –
I am not surprised by the double standards of Western media and Western leaders who either don’t want to recognize the fact that our military medics were killed or are issuing statements to the effect of “serves you right.” I’m even more unsurprised by the absence or at least “cheesy” condolences that have been offered on the occasion of the murder of our military adviser. I’ll say something cynical: I would be very worried if suddenly Western media and Western politicians started doing otherwise. 
The point is that chivalry is a luxury that only the winners can afford, and the strength of the globalists’ forces in Syria are now suffering a very serious defeat with very far-reaching consequences. Therefore, when the Pentagon is grinning and the International Red Cross is actually spitting on the memory of our medics, this means that everything is in order. This means that we are doing what’s necessary. This means that our troops have found themselves on the right side of history and are very close to victory.
Our opponents have a long tradition of spitting on the graves of the dead when they can’t beat the living. This is a sure sign that they are losing and that we are winning.
The situation for the globalists sponsoring and coordinating the terrorist “Syrian opposition” is so desperate that they are going to do anything to at least spoil the approaching victory of Russian troops in Syria. Catastrophe is nearing for the globalists and the moment is approaching when they will be deprived of the leverage they now have. This includes the leverage of control over certain American military resources. 
A prudent commander would now be trying to quietly negotiate with Moscow on the withdrawal of American military instructors from Aleppo who are working there to coordinate the work of militants. But instead, the globalists are organizing mortar shelling of a Russian hospital as a farewell, perfectly knowing that the response will be maximally bloody. The chances of American and Western instructors exiting Aleppo alive are now equal to zero. 
It is evident that they don’t care about the fate of their instructors and could care less precisely because the Pentagon will soon come into Trump’s hands. They won’t be able to use such instructors anymore. So why protect them? According to the logic of the departing Clinton team, it is much more important and interesting to spoil the Russian celebration and make victory come at even a greater cost. There is nothing surprising here. The logic of the globalists, for whom both Syrians and Americans are cannon fodder for their personal wars, is reflected in this situation crystal clear. I don’t know about you, but this reminds me of April 1945 when we dealt with one maniac who behaved similarly. He finished very badly.
I am closely following the information wars against Russia, and I remember very well how they told us at every turn that Syria will be Russia’s new Afghanistan. I remember how specialists on the Middle East told us that Assad is doomed in any case. I remember how they told us that Aleppo is impregnable and that Turkey and the United States will fight to the end to protect their militants in Syria. They basically urged us to reconcile with these “facts” and not even try to interfere in the Clintonites’ plans to reshape the Middle East for themselves, lay down pipes carrying Qatari gas to Europe, and turn the region into a factory of terrorists to be used for attacks on Russia. 
But what do we see now? We are now witnessing not only the final battle for Aleppo, but the real triumph of the Russian army and Russian military advisers. We have learned to fight with maximum concern for the lives of our soldiers. That’s why those cases in which we fail to save our medics or military advisers are so painful.
It can already be said that their death is not in vain. Besides the obvious geopolitical advantages now at play and besides the serious reduction in the number of terrorists who could in other circumstances turn up in Russia, the operation in Syria has shown us ourselves and the entire world that Russia can defend its geopolitical interests beyond its own borders even better than the USSR could. 
 
25 years ago, the operation in Afghanistan contributed to society being indifferent towards or even welcoming the collapse of the Soviet Union. But now our operation in Syria is doing the opposite: strengthening our faith in our strength and our country. This is very good. Perhaps 25 years ago we really learned to draw the right conclusions from the mistakes of our past. 
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/russias-victory-in-syria-real-meaning.html

‘Planned murder’: Russian colonel & 2 medics killed by West-supported attack on hospital in Aleppo

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From Fort Russ

December 7, 2016 – Fort Russ News –
RIA Novosti – translated by J. Arnoldski –
Russia’s defense ministry has reported that Russian military advisor and colonel Ruslan Galitsky has died from wounds sustained during the shelling of a residential bloc in Aleppo by militants from the so-called “opposition.”
The ministry said that military doctors fought for several days to save the officer’s life, but were unsuccessful. It was also noted by the ministry that Galitsky was part of a group of advisers fulfilling assignments in Syria. Russia’s command has posthumously presented Colonel Galitsky with the highest state award.
On Monday, the news came that militants had shelled a Russian mobile hospital in Aleppo, as a result of which two military medics were killed and a doctor was severely injured. Civilians being received for treatment also suffered.

 

The Ministry of Defense has called the attack on the hospital “planned murder,” the responsibility for which lies with the so-called “moderate opposition” and its patrons in the West. 
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/some-gave-all-russian-colonel-killed-by.html