US Ready to Unleash Military Offensive in Syria

By: Stewart Brennan

The American rhetoric on Syria never seems to change, in fact it sounds more like a broken record, as they once again demand that, “Syrian President Bashar al Assad must GO”.

Of course the US government would have us all believe that America is the prime defender of freedom and democracy, but in fact, the complete opposite is true as democratically elected governments throughout the World have been toppled by the US over the last seven decades in more ways than one…Why? Because an independent nation didn’t go along with US dictates…a few examples come to mind, Iran 1953, Guatemala 1954, Chile 1973, Ukraine 2014, and there are many more examples…but the question begs asking, “Who gave them that right?” and how many millions will have to die in the name of US Imperialism?

How many times do we have to say it!? “Syria is for the Syrian people to decide!” The future of Syria is not to be decided by a gang of belligerent outsiders like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, France, Britain or the USA!

Truce in Syria?

The truce in Syria is a farce. The Americans only agreed to the truce because their terrorist forces were getting their butts kicked and they needed time to regroup and rearm. Period!

While the terrorists re-armed, the American government sent an additional 250 US Military personnel into Syria to train these terrorist with US supplied anti-Aircraft weaponry, as they did previously with US anti-tank TOW missiles.

HEY USA, STOP SUPPLYING THE TERRORISTS WITH WEAPONS!

The Geopolitical Chess Pieces are Being Polished and Put in Place

Get ready for the next faze of this US war of insanity because Turkey’s Erdogan has now consolidated power into a full fledged dictatorship and could launch a military invasion into Syria at anytime without having to ask for the Turkish governments approval. The elimination of the Turkish Prime Ministers position and the repeal of immunity for opposition members in the Turkish parliament has given Erdogan a free hand to do as he pleases without interruption. However, I’m sure he’ll wait for the US to give the green light before doing so.

The US controls Turkey and President Erdogan by virtue of their US / NATO Military Bases on Turkish soil. If the US did not agree with what Erdogan was doing, they would have forced the issue ”by insisting” he stop, as they did with Europe when it came to doing business with Russia… and so I wonder why I have not heard the Americans insist that “Erdogan must go”?

I guess the US government are not very good ambassadors of moral character or good will now are they. The way I see it, the US is molding their Turkish chess piece for the Geopolitical chessboard in Syria.

The Rise of the Sultan

Anyone that opposes Erdogan is either eliminated or thrown in jail in Turkey, and I might add in Germany also since it is against the law to ridicule a foreign leader as one German comedian found out. Today, Europe is threatened by Erdogan’s blackmail when he demands that the EU pay him billions of dollars to stop him from forcibly expelling refugees to Europe..ie: the US war refugees that gathered in Turkey from the Middle East and Asia…

AND what about the EU? They just gave Erdogan whatever he asked for…and of course it won’t end there, as we have seen as the EU caved into Erdogan’s demand of free visa’s for all Turkish citizens! So, what happens when Erdogan spends all that money on weapons to keep his personal genocide of the Kurds going and needs more money? Why hasn’t the US said anything? Why hasn’t the US “Insisted” Erdogan stop…

Why? Because the US is using Turkey to keep Europe in line with the US military objectives in Syria that’s why…and that objective also comes with a message to the EU not to become economic trade partners with Russia…or else.

Do you think Erdogan the Insane knows that he’s disposable like Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was? Hell, if the US decides Erdogan is no longer useful to them, they already have Davutoglu ready to step in as their next puppet in Turkey 

Now that Erdogan has control of Turkey, it’s just a matter of time before he launches an invasion into Syria, citing Kurdish terrorists as the reason. Of course that opens up the gates of hell and brings NATO, Saudi Arabia and the EU with him.

We already know that the terrorists unleashed on Syria are supplied with US weapons funnelled through Turkey…and we know that the recent attacks in Aleppo were launched by these US backed terrorists…the same terrorists that the Kurds and Syrian army are at war with…and as usual the Western mainstream media echo’s their governments position and falsely blame the Syrian and Russian governments for the terrorists shelling of Syrian civilians in Aleppo. When will they get it through their heads that hundreds of millions of people all over the world have had enough and are determined to expose western lies?

The White Helmets Exposed as US / UK Agents Embedded with Al Nusra and ISIS

Video Source: Vanessa Beeley

The US is putting all its Geopolitical pieces in place to launch their inevitable Plan “B” for Syria. John Kerry even gives a deadline of August 2016 when this plan will be launched if Bashar al Assad does not obey their dictates…the plan is already in play.

Kerry warns Assad of "repercussions" if truce fails

The original Video and the News channel of Press TV were victims of Western censorship and removed from YouTube to cover up western War Crimes in Syria. Where possible, I will insert a mirror video of the report.

Video Source: Press TV

Arrogance in living colour by John Kerry…

US Sends Troops to Syria

The US deployment of troops in Syria is a breach of international law, and what comes with these US military personnel is a bigger crime. John McCain hinted at it not long ago saying that they would supply the terrorists with the means to shoot the Russian and Syrian aircraft out of the sky…by doing this they are equipping terrorists with anti-aircraft weapons and who knows what else…

US Senator John McCain says he'd give terrorists means to shoot down Russian planes

There is no free Syrian Army John McCain, there are only US backed terrorist BOOTS ON THE GROUND and war criminals that enable them!

The Real Friends of the Syrian People are Under Attack

All of the countries and organizations that are helping the Syrian people get rid of their Western backed terrorist problem have been attacked in a variety of ways.

In Lebanon, we see Hezbollah being labelled a terrorist group. No doubt the US coalition will use this label as an opportunity to bomb Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the near future...And now that Israel has upgraded their ties with NATO after Erdogan dropped his veto, we can speculate where the attack on Hezbollah will come from…

Iran

The US is doing everything it can to harm Iran economically including their refusal to allow Iran into the global financial system. Recently, the illegal US seizure and disbursement of 2 Billion dollars of Iranian money to the families of dead US occupation troops, prove that the American government has no intention of respecting the nuclear agreement that the P5+1 made with Iran. In fact, the US presidential candidates waiting in the wings to take power after the next US election intend to get down right hostile on Iran.

We already know that both the Saudi’s and Israeli’s see Iran as a threat to their interests and that both US protectorates view Iran as their mortal enemy. Both countries have violently sided against the Syrian government and support the terrorists committing atrocities against the Syrian people.

Russia

The US / NATO military forces have quadrupled their deployment in Eastern Europe; War games are continually conducted throughout the regions surrounding Russia, and the US backed Ukrainian Nazi’s are now building up for an invasion of the Donbass region, which I believe is to force Russia into protecting the Russian speaking citizens of the region while keeping the Russian military busy…of course the mainstream media will then say “see, here’s our proof that Russia has invaded Ukraine.” And even if Russia does not intervene in Donbass, they will still be blamed as if they were the aggressors.

Donbass: Further Escalation of Violence

Video Source: Southfront

US economic sanctions continue to be enforced on Russia and will soon be extended by the EU after the US government “insists” the EU continue them when sanctions come up for review in June 2016….You can be sure that Russia will be blamed for any and all crimes committed by the Ukraine government…including the failure of the Minsk II agreement.

Brace yourselves for what is to come because the US will not stop their insane drive to remove Bashar Al Assad and will not be satisfied until all or part of Syria is in their economic and geopolitical control…they have summoned the demons of hell to prove it…

The future of the world hangs in the balance and if the 2016 US Presidential election is any indication, the World had better stand up now or we will find ourselves in a raging fire that is out of control…

Is the US getting Ready to Unleash a New Military Offensive in Syria? They already are…

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LINKS:

The US Plan for Syria

NATO deployment near Russia borders dangerous

US Defense Secretary: Baltic deployment to deter Russia

Washington confirms that US anti-tank TOW missiles weresupplied to "moderate" terrorists in Syria

CIA Syrian 'Plan B' would give rebels MANPADs to fight'Russia-backed regime' - report

Syria slams GCC decision to declare Hezbollah terrorist

Israel confirms upgraded NATO ties as Turkey said to endveto

'There was never this 'no boots on the ground': State Deptunaware of Obama promise on Syria

The Syria White Helmets Exposed as US UK Agents Embeddedwith Al Nusra and ISIS

Kerry warns Assad of "repercussions" if truce fails

Foreign Policy Diary - Does the US seek to undermine theIran nuclear deal?

SYRIA

Syria News Archive - (2011 - 2012)

Syria News Archive - (2012 - 2013)

Syria News Archive - (2013 to 2014)

Syria News Archive - (2015)

Syria News Archive – (2016)

TURKEY

Turkey PM Davutoglu confirms resignation on May 22, 2016

EU Commission backs visa-free travel deal with Turkey

Turkish MPs brawl over plans to strip them of immunity

Turkey Takes Steps to Destabilize Caucasus and Crimea

Russia accuses Turkey of arming ISIL in Syria

Dozens of militants enter Syria from Turkey

Erdogan threatens Kurds would follow 'Armenian fate'

FM: Russia has evidence of Turkish forces on Syrian soil

Turkey News Archive – (2016)

Turkey News Archive – (2010 to 2015)

UKRAINE

Ukraine News Archive (2016)

Ukraine News Archive (2015)

Ukraine News Archive (2013 - 2014)

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Gen Wesley Clark Reveals US Plan To Invade Iraq, Syria,Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, And Iran

Obama forced EU states to impose sanctions on Russia - VPBiden

The US Coalition is Building up Forces in Iraq to InvadeSyria

Military Build Up on the Turkey Syria Border

US Complicit in Terrorist Oil Trade with Turkey

Western Media Break Their Silence on Aleppo with FlagrantLies, Omissions, Obfuscations

The Syrian War What You're Not Being Told – (Sept 2013)

The US Plan for Syria

By: Stewart Brennan

Why does the US continue to insist on regime change in Syria even though they have no right to do so? I mean, we were all brought up in the west to believe that the Democratic process, is the only way to change a government…a democratic process that the American’s claim to embrace and champion. So when the US and Saudi Arabia insist that the Syrian government must go, what they really show is dictatorship and what they really want is a puppet government that will bend to their economic dictates.

To understand why the US government insists on regime change in Syria, we have to step back and look at the entire picture to get to the heart of why the US is pushing for it, or in the event that they don’t get their way with regime change, why they will insist on Balkanizing Syria into two or three states…to do that we need to look at it from an economic perspective, which is really the heart of what drives the American Military policy and everything they are interested in…

The one important tool that powers an economy and drives economics is energy, to be more precise, oil and gas.

The fact that Eurasia and the Middle East holds about 75% of the world’s known oil and gas is no secret. It is also no secret that every American adventure in these regions have been to wrest control of the oil and gas from Independent nations as we saw by the US coup of Mohammed Mosaddeq in Iran in 1953, and by the US Invasion of Iraq in 2003 when Saddam Hussain decided to sell his nations oil in Euro’s…

What we see when an independent nation refuses to go along with the dictates of the US and its European allies, such as Iraq 2003, Libya 2011, and Syria 2011, we see war crimes and the total obliteration of nations by militaristic means either directly as they did to Iraq with an invasion and occupation, covert means as they did to Syria by arming funding and training terrorist to remove the government, or by a combination of the both as they did to Libya…

Iran, Russia, and Syria are independent nations in the heart of the oil rich region, as are Saudi Arabia and the gulf state nations. However, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain are already under US control and influence, which is why these nations can get away with the atrocities they have been committing. Any friend of the US economic coalition is pardoned for war crimes and crimes against humanity…witness Israel, Turkey, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia…

The Two Main US Allies in the Destruction of Syria are Saudi Arabia and Turkey, why is that?

Well Saudi Arabia is attached to the hip with the US dollar, and are heavily invested in corporate America. If the US goes down, they go down with them…

Turkey hosts the main oil transit routes from the Caspian Sea basin that is controlled by Western Interests. In other words NATO and the US Military occupy Turkey therefore Erdogan follows whatever he is told by the US government.

Why is Syria Being Targeted?

Through its economic independence from the United States, Syria offers an independent transit route for Iran, Iraq and Russia to bring their oil and gas through to the Mediterranean and into Europe, bypassing US control.

We have to remember that Europe does not have the energy supply it requires to maintain its economic status and therefore has become increasingly dependent on the US to secure its oil and gas. The US in turn requires Europe to continue their economic partnership including buying everything in US dollars, the global reserve currency. Doing so allows the US to retain its economic hegemony around the world…but that hegemony is vulnerable when it comes to energy and who controls it…especially when it is not in US control.

The US government and its European partners are bankrupt and have watched their oil assets dwindle past peak. They no longer have control of their own destiny so they feel that they must plunder and control the oil and gas producing nations around the world to maintain their economic power.

The US failure in Syria is monumental in that the outcome will allow independent economic interests to provide Europe with the energy their economies need down the road. Europe will not need the US anymore…

The cost to the US will be its economic empire and their global reserve currency. Not that the US has any right to control something that does not belong to them, they do not have that right, but they act as if they do…like a bully.

The US Energy War with Russia

The US has threatened Russia in every venture it has tried when it comes to building energy supply lines as we have seen by the US / NATO military stand in Ukraine, Poland, Turkey, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia…and when it comes to building alternate energy supply routes from Russia through Eastern Europe in places like Bulgaria, the US puts the screws to the European Union and forces them to impose sanctions on Russia, citing Russian involvement in Ukraine…all of which are gross US fabrications…

The recent agreement for a direct gas pipeline between Germany and Russia through the Baltic Sea was met by a US economic attack on Germany and indeed further threats on Europe with the influx of Saudi and Turkish backed terrorists hidden amongst the legitimate victims of American Imperial wars…These active terrorist tools are now residing all over Europe just waiting for a phone call to do US / Saudi / Turkish bidding should the European’s continue to move towards an economic partnership with Russia…To the people of the EU, one should look no further than their own backyard and the security they have hired to guard it on the seas and in the air…including the 6 Billion extortionist man named Erdogan…

US Determined to Get Their Way

The US continues to call for regime change in Syria and if they cannot get that then Balkanizing Syria will become the Americans priority because having a government that they can control in Syria or having a balkanized state emerge from Syria under their influence, that lays between Iraq and the Mediterranean sea, would stop the Independent nations, of Iran, Iraq, and Russia from laying pipelines to Europe…the US will maintain its hegemony over the World if they control Syria…plain and simple.

Therefore, the US is NOT an honest broker when it reaches out to Russia as a so called willing partner to end the terrorism in Syria, terrorists that the US armed, trained and funded to overthrow the Syrian government. The American government will never change their position on Syria. The question is, how far will the Americans go to force the issue…a World War?

A Real Solution to Reverse Europe's Economic Collapse

By: Stewart Brennan

World United News

The European Union teeters on the brink of total collapse, because the US stubbornly insists that Europe fall inline with American economic and militaristic foreign policy…

Joe Biden: US Insisting Europe Impose Sanctions on Russia

Europe is Energy Dependent

The Americans are directly responsible for Europe’s energy supply problems as are the Europeans themselves for joining American destabilization plans in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and then Russia via an unsuccessful sanctions war.

The steady supply of oil and gas to Europe was disrupted by the EU’s own stupidity which carries the long term prospects of saddling their energy poor Nations with economic collapse by continuing their obedience to US geopolitical and economic directives…as most people already know, access to cheap energy is directly proportional to the health of an economy, so desperation is continuing to intensify as time ticks on without resolution to their problem.

The European economy is hurting for a number of reasons including gross financial corruption, but the forced sanctions on Russia and the prospect of an unstable gas supply that runs through the Ukraine, is taking a heavy toll and driving economic powerhouses like Germany to irreparable financial ruin. Russia understands this, which is why Russia is doing everything in its power to build oil and gas pipelines to save Europe via new pipeline routes bypassing Ukraine through the Baltic Sea and Black Sea.

The Russian moves have angered the Americans, who do not want Europe to build stronger economic ties with Russia, in fact it would prefer that the EU does not deal economically with Russia at all. Why? Because Russia is an independent nation that is opposed to US economic control over their country, and Russia is a big part of the emerging economic bloc with China, Iran, India, and to a smaller extent South America.

The Loss of National Independence

The Independence of the individual European states was crushed by the birth of the Euro currency and later by legislation through the European Parliament. Not only did the Euro currency seize control of all the nations that bought into it, but it removed their economic independence and put it in the hands of an elitist few private bankers.

The US controls global economics, including the European Union through their Global Reserve Petro Dollar, the IMF, World Bank, rigged Stock Markets, and of course their military.

US economic and military policies have delivered nothing but strife to vast regions of Europe, so, how much longer will the people of Europe allow the European Parliament and its US master to dictate their future?

The results have brought the EU an unprecedented economic depression, war just outside their borders, millions of homeless people and refugees, with a dismal future staring straight at them.

EU Future?

Source Video: South Front

Solutions

Don’t you think it’s time for all this insanity to stop? Here’s a short list of what needs to be done to resolve all the problems affecting Europe:

1. Drop the US Imposed Sanctions on Russia.
2. Join the Russia / China economic Eurasian Deal.
3. Tell the US Military to close their bases in your countries and go back to the USA.
4. Return to National Currencies with a public central bank in each country so that you will have your own independence.
5. Leave the EURO, IMF and World Bank behind.
6. End your NATO affiliation and create a European military cooperative that does not include nations outside of Europe.
7. Stop supporting Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel unconditionally.

If the European countries do not begin to change course, all of Europe will cease to exist economically, politically, culturally, and socially in the future…and if Europe continues to support the belligerent proxies of US hegemony, all of Europe will be dragged into a third World War. Europe will not survive any of these real threats, therefore the people need to take action now. The choice at the moment, is yours, and I’m speaking directly to the citizens of all the European nations…if your political leaders remain deaf dumb and blind, then it will be up to you to rise up and make change…if you don't rise up and speak out now, your leaders will continue down the road to total collapse…

2014 Istanbul Summit: Joe Biden on Energy Security in Europe

Video Source: Euronews Business

Energy Dictatorship

The US Government, represented by Joe Biden, has chosen whom Europe will get its oil and gas from instead of letting Europeans choose for themselves…they chose Turkey to be a vehicle of that energy. However, in 2015, after accepting Syria’s invitation to help the Syrian people against a four year invasion by foreign terrorists attacking their country, Vladimir Putin exposed Turkey and its role in illegal oil smuggling with the ISIS terrorists…

Since these terrorist oil pipelines running through Turkey have been disrupted, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next thing the American’s do, will be to “Insist” that the Europeans continue their war on Libya, who of course, have lots of Oil and Gas…

Libya’s Instability Threatens Regional Security

Video Source: South Front

If the people of Germany and or France take the initiative for real change, then the rest of Europe will follow…the choice is up to you. Don't you want a future?

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ADDITIONAL LINKS:

News Channels

Russia Today

Russia Today Official Website

Russia Today - YouTube

Russia Today - Facebook

South Front

South Front Official Website

South Front - YouTube

South Front - Facebook

Press TV

Press TV - Official Website

Press TV - YouTube

Press TV - Facebook

INFORMATION

UKRAINE

Ukraine Crisis - What You're Not Being Told

The Odessa Massacre - What REALLY Happened

Ukraine Nazi’s…video compiled

Ukraine News (2016)

Ukraine News (2015)

Ukraine News (2013 - 2014)

European Union

History of the European Union

History of the European Parliament

The EURO

Spain, Argentina to discuss move against UK

 

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/12/318326/spain-argentina-to-talk-antiuk-move/

Spain may join Argentina in a diplomatic offensive against Britain over disputed territories, a report says.

Spanish Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo is to discuss the issue with Argentinean authorities during a trip to Buenos Aires next month, according to a report published by Spanish newspaper El Pais on Sunday.

The report also said that the Spanish foreign ministry is considering taking its complaints over British-held territory Gibraltar to the United Nations Security Council or to its General Assembly.

Furthermore, Spain is looking into the option of denouncing Gibraltar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for its “illegal occupation” of an area, called Isthmus, which connects the territory to the mainland. The land strip was not included in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

Margallo is scheduled to meet Argentina’s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, whose administration is also in a long-standing dispute with Britain over the sovereignty of Malvinas Islands.

Spain vowed on August 9 to take all necessary measures to defend its interest in Gibraltar, after reports revealed that Britain is set to send naval ships to the territory.

Tension between the two countries arose after authorities in Gibraltar dumped 70 blocks of concrete in waters close the territory’s coast in mid-July, aimed at creating an artificial reef.

However, Spain denounced the action, saying the blocks had been dumped “without any type of authorization and breaking several environmental norms.”

In addition, Madrid said the concrete blocks seriously damaged the fishery, making it impossible for Spanish fishing boats to work in the area.

Gibraltar is one of the British Overseas Territories, which is on the United Nations list of areas waiting decolonisation.

The British territory was seized from Spain in 1713 and remains a bone of contention between the two European countries.


 

Psychopathy, Politics and The New World Order

 
Photo By: Stewart Brennan - http://sfbrennanart.blogspot.ca/

By: Colin Todhunter

Source: Global Research

http://www.globalresearch.ca/psychopathy-politics-and-the-new-world-order/5334458

When attempting to analyse what is happening in the world, it is important to appreciate past economic, social and political processes that led us to where we are today. Understanding the tectonic plates of history that led certain countries towards fascism, communism or capitalist liberal democracy, for example, is essential (1) (2).

At the same time, however, it can become easy for us to push aside the individual as we focus on theoretical perspectives that refer to the ‘underlying logic of capitalism’ or some other notion that draws heavily on theory. It can get to the point where individual motive or intent (agency) is airbrushed from the narrative because human action is deemed to have been shaped by the dead weight of history or forces beyond our control.

While not wishing to understate the role that such constraints have on human action, I wish to draw attention to researcher Stefan Verstappen who provides valuable insight into how individual agency has shaped and continues to shape society (3).

While Machiavellianism has long been associated with politics and public conduct, Verstappen shifts focus somewhat by arguing that people with psychopathic personalities have for thousands of years tended to grasp power and impose their views and deeds on the rest of us. In order to get power, he concludes that people cheat, kill or lie their way to the top. Whether it has been due to the butchery or lies of royalty, religious leaders, politicians or corporate oligarchs, nice guys have tended to finish last.

What leads him to conclude this?

Psychopathy is a personality disorder identified by characteristics such as a lack of empathy and remorse, criminality, anti-social behaviour, egocentricity, superficial charm, manipulativeness, irresponsibility, impulsivity and a parasitic lifestyle (4).

With that definition in mind, look around: the criminal, parasitic activities by bankers that have plunged millions into poverty; the destruction, war and death brought to countries in order that corporations profit by stealing resources; the dropping of atom bombs on innocent civilians in 1945 or the use of depleted uranium which again impacts innocent civilians; and the many other acts, from the use of death squads to false flag terror, that have brought untold misery to countless others just because powerholders wanted to hold onto power or to gain more power, or the wealthy wanted to hold onto their wealth or gain even more.

Based on these terrible deeds, it becomes easy to argue that the people ultimately responsible for them do not adhere to the same values as ordinary people. It may be even easier to conclude that it’s not the cream that rises to the top, but, in many cases, the scum.

Now such a scenario might seem awful enough, but the people who tend to control the world, the ones responsible for these acts, try to impose their warped world view and twisted values on everyone else. Hollywood films, commercials and political ideology are all engaged in forwarding the belief that it’s a dog eat dog world, war and violence abroad is necessary, competition and not cooperative is what counts, aggression and not passivity is the key to ‘success’ and that success equates with amassing huge amounts of personal wealth and lavish displays of conspicuous consumption.

“A person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.” - definition of a psychopath from Dictionary.com

Again, bearing this definition in mind too, the acts mentioned above are not those of properly functioning social beings that contribute to a sense of communality, altruism, love or morality; quite the opposite in fact.

Yet this is the type of stuff that is rammed down our throats as constituting normality every day. Whether it’s the ‘Big Brother’ TV show or ‘The Apprentice’ show, these values are promoted day and night. The ‘Big Brother’ winner is the one who can survive and outdo the competition in terms of the duplicity and backstabbing involved along the way. The winner of ‘The Apprentice’ must be more aggressive, more duplicitous, more devious and cunning and more willing to trample over everyone else. And the winner is judged as such by a multi-millionaire who himself was cunning and ruthless enough to have made it to the top of the pile and has amassed millions for his own personal benefit. These are the role models to be admired and emulated!

These are the measures of success, of sanity, of normality.

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti

Apprentice competitors are highly driven individuals: not driven by a need to help humanity, but by egocentricity and greed. And, ultimately, these are the values that many mainstream opinion leaders, senior politicians and their corporate masters hold dear.

These values of egocentricity, aggression, competitiveness, duplicity and greed are not confined to some TV show. There are part of a much more sinister process. They are inextricably linked to and underpin the actions that resulted in the killing of half a million children in Iraq for geo-political gain (5) and the sending in of military forces into the jungles of India to beat, rape and dispose of a nation’s poorest people because they stand in the way of profit and greed (6). From Congo and Libya to Syria and beyond, we witness the outcome of a terrifying mindset that is nurtured and encouraged throughout society.

Too many people have become “well adjusted to the values of a profoundly sick society,” whether residing in middle England, middle America or the gated communities of south Delhi or Mumbai. Humanity is being beaten down to be neurotic, vicious and to regard these traits as constituting normal, acceptable behaviour. Thanks to the media, this becomes engrained from an early age as comprising ‘common sense’, and those who question it are merely sneered at or ridiculed by a system that promotes a mass mindset immune to its own lies.

Whether this is all due to psychopathy, narcissism or ‘Machiavellian personalities’ is open to debate. Moreover, as implied at the outset, historical and sociological factors often compel usually decent people to act in terrible ways. The debate within academic sociology between structure and human agency is after all a very long one (7). Whatever the underlying reason, however, as a global community we are being force fed a diet of perverse values and destructive actions, all spuriously justified on the basis that ‘there is no alternative’ and ‘needs must’.

Corporate capitalism, consumerism, the new world order, a war on terror (or drugs or poverty, take your pick), neo-liberalism – call it what you will, but it’s all based on the filthy lie that those in control have wider humanity’s interests at heart. They don’t. By any means possible – war, murder, torture or propaganda, they seek to convince people otherwise. What price human life? None whatsoever for such people.

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

About the author:

Originally from the northwest of England, Colin Todhunter has spent many years in India. He has written extensively for the Bangalore-based Deccan Herald, New Indian Express and Morning Star (Britain). His articles have also appeared in many other newspapers, journals and books. His East by Northwest site is at: http://colintodhunter.blogspot.com/

Notes

1) Robert Brenner (1976), “Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-industrial Europe”.Past and Present 70

2) Barrington Moore (1993) [First published 1966]. Social origins of dictatorship and democracy: lord and peasant in the making of the modern world (with a new foreword by Edward Friedman and James C. Scott ed.). Boston: Beacon Press.

3) Defense Against the Psychopath (2013): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQkDvO3hz1w

4) Polaschek, D. L. L., Patrick, C. J., Lilienfeld, S. O. (15 December 2011). “Psychopathic Personality: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Evidence and Public Policy”. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 12 (3): 95–162.

5) Reuters report (2000), UN Says Sanctions Have Killed Some 500,000 Iraqi Children: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/072100-03.htm

6) BBC Newsnight interview with Arundhati Roy (2011): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrYQmRBdMPQ

7) Colin Hay (2001), What Place for Ideas in the Structure-Agency Debate? Globalisation as a ‘Process Without a Subject’: http://www.criticalrealism.com/archive/cshay_wpisad.html

 

Exclusive interview with Bashar al-Assad of Syria (Video & Print)

Assad: Erdogan thinks he's Caliph, new sultan of the Ottoman (EXCLUSIVE)

Assad: Not a civil war, terrorism my enemy, no regrets for now (EXCLUSIVE

Source: Russia Today

In an exclusive interview with RT, President Bashar Assad said that the conflict in Syria is not a civil war, but proxy terrorism by Syrians and foreign fighters. He also accused the Turkish president of eyeing Syria with imperial ambitions.

Assad told RT that the West creates scapegoats as enemies – from communism, to Islam, to Saddam Hussein. He accused Western countries of aiming to turn him into their next enemy.

While mainstream media outlets generally report on the crisis as a battle between Assad and Syrian opposition groups, the president claims that his country has been infiltrated by numerous terrorist proxy groups fighting on behalf of other powers.

In the event of a foreign invasion of Syria, Assad warned, the fallout would be too dire for the world to bear.

­‘My enemy is terrorism and instability in Syria’

­RT: President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, thank very much for talking to us today.

Bashar Assad: You are most welcome in Damascus.

RT: There are many people who were convinced a year ago that you would not make it this far. Here again you are sitting in a newly renovated presidential palace and recording this interview. Who exactly is your enemy at this point?

BA: My enemy is terrorism and instability in Syria. This is our enemy in Syria. It is not about the people, it is not about persons. The whole issue is not about me staying or leaving. It is about the country being safe or not. So, this is the enemy we have been fighting as Syria.

RT: I have been here for the last two days and I had the chance to talk to a couple of people in Damascus. Some of them say that whether you stay or go at this point does not really matter anymore. What do you say about this?

BA: I think for the president to stay or leave is a popular issue. It is related to the opinion of some people and the only way can be done through the ballot boxes. So, it is not about what we hear. It is about what we can get through that box and that box will tell any president to stay or leave very simply.

RT: I think what they meant was that at this point you are not the target anymore; Syria is the target.

BA: I was not the target; I was not the problem anyway. The West creates enemies; in the past it was the communism then it became Islam, and then it became Saddam Hussein for a different reason. Now, they want to create a new enemy represented by Bashar. That's why they say that the problem is the president so he has to leave. That is why we have to focus of the real problem, not to waste our time listening to what they say.

­‘The fight now is not the president’s fight – it is Syrians’ fight to defend their country’

­RT: Do you personally still believe that you are the only man who can hold Syria together and the only man who can put an end to what the world calls a ‘civil war’?

BA: We have to look at it from two aspects. The first aspect is the constitution and I have my authority under the constitution. According to this authority and the constitution, I have to be able to solve the problem. But if we mean it that you do not have any other Syrian who can be a president, no, any Syrian could be a president. We have many Syrians who are eligible to be in that position. You cannot always link the whole country only to one person.

RT: But you are fighting for your country. Do you believe that you are the man who can put an end to the conflict and restore peace?

BA: I have to be the man who can do that and I hope so, but it is not about the power of the President; it is about the whole society. We have to be precise about this. The president cannot do anything without the institutions and without the support of the people. So, the fight now is not a President’s fight; it is Syrians’ fight. Every Syrian is involved in defending his country now.

RT: It is and a lot of civilians are dying as well in the fighting. So, if you were to win this war, how would you reconcile with your people after everything that has happened?

BA: Let’s be precise once again. The problem is not between me and the people; I do not have a problem with the people because the United States is against me and the West is against me and many other Arab countries, including Turkey which is not Arab of course, are against me. If the Syrian people are against me, how can I be here?!

Bashar Assad speaking with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze

‘Syria faces not a civil war, but terrorism by proxies’

­RT: They are not against you?

BA: If the whole world, or let us say a big part of the world, including your people, are against you, are you a superman?! You are just a human being. So, this is not logical. It is not about reconciling with the people and it is not about reconciliation between the Syrians and the Syrians; we do not have a civil war. It is about terrorism and the support coming from abroad to terrorists to destabilize Syria. This is our war.

RT: Do you still not believe it is a civil war because I know there are a lot who think that there are terrorist acts which everyone believes take place in Syria, and there are also a lot of sectarian-based conflicts. For example we all heard about the mother who has two sons; one son is fighting for the government forces and the other son is fighting for the rebel forces, how this is not a civil war?

BA: You have divisions, but division does not mean civil war. It is completely different. Civil wars should be based on ethnic problems or sectarian problems. Sometimes you may have ethnic or sectarian tensions but this do not make them problem. So, if you have division in the same family or in a bigger tribe or whatever or in the same city, it does not mean a civil war. This is completely different and that is normal. We should expect that.

RT: When I asked about reconciling with your people, this is what I meant: I heard you say on many different occasions that the only thing you care about is what the Syrian people think of you and what Syrian people feel towards you and whether you should be a president or not. Are you not afraid that there has been so much damage done for whatever reason that at the end of the day Syrians won’t care about the truth; they will just blame you for the carnage that they have suffered?

BA: This is a hypothetical question because what the people think is the right thing, and regarding what they think, we have to ask them. But I don’t have this information right now. So, I am not afraid about what some people think; I am afraid about my country. We have to be focused on that.

RT: For years there have been so many stories about almighty Syrian army, important and strong Syrian secret services, but then we see that, you know, the government forces are not able to crush the enemy like people expected it would, and we see terrorist attacks take place in the middle of Damascus almost every day. Were those myths about the Syrian army and about the strong Syrian secret services?

BA: Usually, in normal circumstances when you have the army and the secret services and the intelligence, we focus on the external enemy even if we have an internal enemy, like terrorism because the society is helping us at least not to provide terrorist’s incubator. Now in this case, it is a new kind of war; terrorism through proxies, either Syrians living in Syria or foreign fighters coming from abroad. So, it is a new style of war, this is first and you have to adapt to this style and it takes time, it is not easy. And to say this is as easy as the normal or, let us say, the traditional or regular war, no, it is much more difficult. Second, the support that has been offered to those terrorists in every aspect, including armaments, money and political aspect is unprecedented. So, you have to expect that it is going to be a tough war and a difficult war. You do not expect a small country like Syria to defeat all those countries that have been fighting us through proxies just in days or weeks.

RT: Yes, but when you look at it, I mean on one hand, you have one leader with an army, and he orders this army go straight, go left, go right and the army obeys. On the other hand, you have fractions of terrorists who are not unified and have no one unified strategy to fight you. So, how does that really happen when it comes to fighting each other?

BA: This is not the problem. The problem is that those terrorists are fighting from within the cities, and in the cities you have civilians. When you fight this kind of terrorists, you have to be aware that you should do the minimum damage to the infrastructure and minimum damage to the civilians because you have civilians and you have to fight, you cannot leave terrorists just killing and destroying. So, this is the difficulty in this kind of war.

Bashar Assad speaking with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze

Without foreign rebel fighters and smuggled weapons, ‘we could finish everything in weeks’

­RT: You know that the infrastructure and economy are suffering; it is almost as if Syria is going to be fall into decay very soon and the time is against you. In your opinion, how much time do you need to crush the enemy?

BA: You cannot answer this question because no one claimed that he had the answer about when to end the war unless when we have the answer to when they are going to stop smuggling foreign fighters from different parts of the world especially the Middle East and the Islamic world, and when they are going to stop sending armaments to those terrorists. If they stop, this is when I can answer you; I can tell that in weeks we can finish everything. This is not a big problem. But as long as you have continuous supply in terrorists, armaments, logistics and everything else, it is going to be a long-term war.

RT: Also, when you think about it, you have 4,000 km of loosely controlled borders, so you have your enemy that can at any time cross over into Jordan or Turkey to be rearmed, get medical care and come back to fight you!

BA: No country in the world can seal the border. Sometime they use this word which is not correct, even the United Stated cannot seal its border with Mexico for example. The same can be applied to Russia which is a big country. So, no country can seal the border. You can only have a better situation on the border when you have good relations with your neighbor and this is something we do not have at least with Turkey now. Turkey supports more than any other country the smuggling of terrorists and armaments.

Bashar Assad speaking with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze

‘The Syrian Army has no orders to shell Turkish land’

­RT: Can I say to you something? I have been in Turkey recently and people there are actually very worried that a war will happen between Syria and Turkey. Do you think a war with Turkey is a realistic scenario?

BA: Rationally, no I do not think so – for two reasons. The war needs public support and the majority of the Turkish people do not need this war. So, I do not think any rational official would think of going against the will of the public in his country and the same for the Syrian people. So, the conflict or difference is not between the Turkish people and the Syrian people; it is about the government and officials, it is between our officials and their officials because of their politics. So, I do not see any war between Syria and Turkey on the horizon.

RT: When was the last time you spoke to Erdogan and how did the talk end?

BA: May 2011, after he won the election.

RT: So, you just congratulated him, and it was the last time

BA: Yes and it was the last time.

RT: Who is shelling Turkey? Is it the government forces or the rebels?

BA: In order to find the answer, you need a joint committee between the two armies in order to know who shells who because on the borders you have a lot of terrorists who have mortars; so, they can do the same. You have to go and investigate the bomb in that place itself and that did not happen. We asked the Turkish government to have this committee but they refused; so, you cannot have the answer. But when you have these terrorists on your borders, you do not exclude them from doing so because the Syrian army does not have any order to shell the Turkish land because we do not find any interest in this, and we do not have any enmity with the Turkish people. We consider them as brothers, so why do it; unless that happened by mistake, then it needs investigation.

RT: Do you accept that it may be mistakenly from the government forces?

BA: That could happen. This is a possibility and in every war you have mistakes. You know in Afghanistan, they always talk about friendly fire if you kill your soldier; this means that it could happen in every war, but we cannot say yes.

Bashar Assad speaking with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze

‘Erdogan thinks he is a Caliph’

­RT: Why has Turkey, which you call a friendly nation, become a foothold for the opposition?

BA: Not Turkey, but only Erdogan’s government in order to be precise. Turkish people need good relations with the Syrian people. Erdogan thinks that if Muslim Brotherhood takes over in the region and especially in Syria, he can guarantee his political future, this is one reason. The other reason, he personally thinks that he is the new sultan of the Ottoman and he can control the region as it was during the Ottoman Empire under a new umbrella. In his heart he thinks he is a caliph. These are the main two reasons for him to shift his policy from zero problems to zero friends.

RT: But it is not just the West that opposes you at this point; there are so many enemies in the Arab world and that is to say like two years ago when someone heard you name in the Arab world they would straighten their ties, and now in the first occasion they betrayed you, why do you have so many enemies in the Arab world?

BA: They are not enemies. The majority of Arab governments support Syria in their heart but they do not dare to say that explicitly.

RT: Why not?

BA: Under pressure by the West, and sometimes under pressure of the petrodollars in the Arab world.

RT: Who supports you from the Arab world?

BA: Many countries support Syria by their hearts but they do not dare to say that explicitly. First of all, Iraq which played a very active role in supporting Syria during the crisis because it is a neighboring country and they understand and recognize that if you have a war inside Syria you will have war in the neighboring countries including Iraq. I think there are other countries which have good position like Algeria, and Oman mainly and there are other countries I would not count all of them now but I would say they have positive position without taking actions.

RT: Saudi Arabia and Qatar, why are they so adamant about you resigning and how would an unstable Middle East fit their agenda?

BA: Let’s be frank, I cannot answer on their behalf. They have to answer this question but I could say that the problem between Syria and many countries whether in the Arab world or in the region or in the West, is that we kept saying no when we think that we have to say no, that is the problem. And some countries believe that they can control Syria through orders, through money or petrodollars and this is impossible in Syria, this is the problem. May be they want to play a role. We do not have a problem, they can play a role whether they deserve this or not, they can play a role but not to play a role at the expense of our interests.

RT: Is it about controlling Syria or about exporting their vision of Islam to Syria?

BA: You cannot put it as a government policy sometimes. Sometimes you have institutions in certain country, sometime you have persons who try to promote this but they do not announce it as an official policy. So, they did not ask us to promote their, let’s say, extremist attitude of their institutions but that happened in reality whether through indirect support of their government or through the foundation from institutions and personnel. So, this is part of the problem, but when I want to talk as a government, I have to talk about the announced policy. The announced policy is like any other policy; it is about the interest, it is about playing a role, but we cannot ignore what you mentioned.

RT: Iran which is a very close ally also is exposed to economic sanctions, also facing a threat of military invasion. If you were faced with an option to cut ties with Iran in exchange for peace in your country, would you go for it?

BA: We do not have contradicting options in this regard because we had good relations with Iran since 1979 till today, and it is getting better every day, but at the same time we are moving towards peace. We had peace process and we had peace negotiations. Iran was not a factor against peace. So, this is misinformation they try to promote in the West that if we need peace, we do not have to have good relation with Iran. There is no relation; it is two completely different subjects. Iran supported Syria, supported our cause, the cause of the occupied land and we have to support them in their cause. This is very simple. Iran is a very important country in the region. If we are looking for stability, we need good relations with Iran. You cannot talk about stability while you have bad relations with Iran, Turkey and your neighbors and so on. This is it.

Bashar Assad speaking with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze

‘Al-Qaeda’s final aim is an Islamic emirate in Syria’

­RT: Do you have any information that the Western intelligence is financing rebel fighters here in Syria?

BA: No, so far what we know is that they are offering the know-how support for the terrorists through Turkey and sometimes through Lebanon mainly. But there is other intelligence, not the Western, but the regional intelligence which is very active and more active than the Western one under the supervision of the Western intelligence.

RT: What is the role of Al-Qaeda in Syria at this point? Are they controlling any of the rebel coalition forces?

BA: No, I do not think they are looking to control; they are looking to create their own kingdoms or emirates in their language, but they mainly try now to scare the people through explosions, assassinations, suicide bombers and things like this to push the people towards desperation and to accept them as reality. So, they go step by step but their final aim is to have this, let’s say, Islamic Emirate in Syria where they can promote their own ideology in the rest of the world.

RT: From those who are fighting you and those who are against you, who would you talk to?

BA: We talk to anyone who has genuine will to help Syria, but we do not waste our time with anyone who wants to use our crisis for his own personal interests.

RT: There has been many times…not you but the government forces have been accused for many times of war crimes against your own civilians, do you accept that the government forces have committed war crimes against their own civilians?

BA: We are fighting terrorism. We are implementing our constitution by protecting the Syrian people. Let’s go back to what happened in Russia more than a decade ago when you faced terrorism in Chechnya and other places; they attacked people in theaters and schools and so on, and the army in Russia protected the people, would you call it war crimes?! No, you would not. Two days ago, Amnesty International recognized the crimes that were committed few days ago by the armed groups when they captured soldiers and executed them. Also Human Rights Watch recognized this. Human Rights Watch recognized more than once the crimes of those terrorist groups and few days ago it described these crimes as war crimes, this is the first point. The second point, if you have an army that committed a crime against its own people, this is devoid of logic because the Syrian Army is made up of Syrian people. If you want to commit a crime against your people, then the army will divide, will disintegrate. So, you cannot have a strong army while you are killing your people. Third, the army cannot withstand for twenty months in these difficult circumstances without having the embrace of the public in Syria. So, how could you have this embracement while you are killing your people?! This is a contradiction. So, this is the answer.

Bashar Assad speaking with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze

‘I must live in Syria and die in Syria’

­RT: When was the last time you spoke to a Western leader?

BA: It was before the crisis.

RT: Was there any time at which they try to give you conditions that if you left the post of presidency then there will be peace in Syria or no?

BA: No, they did not propose it directly, no, but whether they propose that directly or indirectly, it is a matter of sovereignty; only the Syrian people will talk about this. Whoever talks about this in the media or in a statement directly or indirectly has no meaning and has no weight in Syria.

RT: Do you even have a choice because from what it seems from the outside that would not have anywhere to go. Where would you go if you want to leave?

BA: To Syria. I would go from Syria to Syria. This is the only place where we can live. I am not a puppet. I was not made by the West to go to the West or to any other country. I am Syrian, I was made in Syria, I have to live in Syria and die in Syria.
­

‘I believe in democracy and dialogue – but we must be realistic’

­RT: Do you think that at this point there is any chance for diplomacy or talks or only the army can get it done?

BA: I always believe in diplomacy and I always believe in dialogue even with those who do not understand or believe in it. We have to keep trying. I think that we will always achieve a partial success. We have to look for this partial success before we achieve the complete success. But we have to be realistic. You do not think that only dialogue can make you achieve something because those people who committed these acts they are of two kinds: one of them does not believe in dialogue, especially the extremists, and you have the outlaws who have been convicted by the court years ago before the crisis and their natural enemy is the government because they are going to be detained if we have a normal situation in Syria. The other part of them is the people who have been supplied by the outside, and they can only be committed to the governments which paid them the money and supplied them with the armament; they do not have a choice because they do not own their own decision. So, you have to be realistic. And you have the third part of the people whether militants or politicians who can accept the dialogue. That’s why we have been in this dialogue for months now even with militants and many of them gave up their armaments and they went back to their normal life.

Bashar Assad speaking with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze

‘The price of a foreign invasion will be more than the world can afford’

­RT: Do you think a foreign invasion is imminent?

BA: I think the price of this invasion if it happened is going to be more than the whole world can afford because if you have a problem in Syria, and we are the last stronghold of secularism and stability in the region and coexistence, let’s say, it will have a domino effect that will affect the world from the Atlantic to the Pacific and you know the implication on the rest of the world. I do not think the West is going in that direction, but if they do so, nobody can tell what is next.

RT: Mr. President, do you blame yourself for anything?

BA: Normally you have to find mistakes you do with every decision, otherwise you are not human.

RT: What is your biggest mistake?

BA: I do not remember now to be frank. But I always, even before taking the decision, consider that part of it will be wrong but you cannot tell about your mistakes now. Sometimes, especially during crisis, you do not see what is right and what is wrong until you overcome the situation that you are in. I would not be objective to talk about mistakes now because we still in the middle of the crisis.

RT: So, you do not have regrets yet?

BA: Not now. When everything is clear, you can talk about your mistakes, and definitely you have mistakes and that is normal.

RT: If today was March 15, 2011, that is when the protest started to escalate and grow, what would you do differently?

BA: I would do what I did on March 15.

RT: Exactly the same?

BA: Exactly the same: ask different parties to have dialogue and stand against terrorists because that is how it started. It did not start as marches; the umbrella or cover was the marches, but within those marches you had militants who started shooting civilians and the army at the same time. May be on the tactical level, you could have done something different but as a president you are not tactical, you always take the decision on a strategic level which is something different.

RT: President al-Assad, how do you see yourself in ten-years’ time?

BA: I see myself through my country; I cannot see myself but my country in ten-years’ time. This is where I can see myself.

RT: Do you see yourself in Syria?

BA: Definitely, I have to be in Syria. It is not about the position. I do not see myself whether a president or not. This is not my interest. I can see myself in this country as safe country, stable country and more prosperous country.

RT: President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, thank you for talking to RT.

BA: Thank you for coming to Syria, again.