The irony and hypocrisy is doubly profound since Rep Kinzinger has met and coordinated with opposition leader Okaidiwho is a confirmed ally of ISIS. In contrast with Kinzinger’s false claims, it is widely known that ISIS ideology and initial funding came from Saudi Arabia and much of its recent wealth from oil sales via Turkey.  The Syrian Army has fought huge battles against ISIS, winning some but losing others with horrific scenes of mass beheading.

11. The Human Rights Watch assessment is biased.

HRW has been very active around Syria. After the chemical attacks in greater Damascus on August 21, 2013, HRW rushed a report which concluded that, based on a vector analysis of incoming projectiles, the source of the sarin-carrying rockets must have been Syrian government territory. This analysis was later debunked as a “junk heap of bad evidence” by highly respected investigative journalist Robert Parry. HRW’s assumption about the chemical weapon rocket flight distance was faulty. Additionally it was unrealistic to think you could determine rocket trajectory with 1% accuracy from a canister on the ground.  To think you could determine flight trajectory from a canister on the ground that had deflected off a building wall was preposterous.

In spite of this, HRW stuck by its analysis which blamed the Assad government.  HRW Director Ken Roth publicly indicated dissatisfaction when an agreement to remove Syrian chemical weapons was reached. Mr. Roth wanted more than a ‘symbolic’ attack.

In light of the preceding, we note the December 2015 HRW report addressing the claims of Caesar.

HRW seems to be the only non-governmental organization to receive the full set of photo files from the custodian. To its credit, HRW acknowledged that nearly half the photos do not show what has been claimed for two years: they show dead Syrian soldiers and militia along with scenes from crime scenes, car bombings, etc…

But HRW’s bias is clearly shown in how they handle this huge contradiction. Amazingly, they suggest the incorrectly identified photographs support the overall claim. They say, “This report focuses on deaths in detention. However other types of photographs are also important. From an evidentiary perspective, they reinforce the credibility of the claims of Caesar about his role as a forensic photographer of the Syrian security forces or at least with someone who has access to their photographs.” (HRW, p.31)  This seems like saying if someone lies to you half the time that proves they are truthful.

The files disprove the assertion that the files all show tortured and killed. The photographs show a wide range of deceased persons, from Syrian soldiers to Syrian militia members to opposition fighters to civilians trapped in conflict zones to regular deaths in the military hospital.  There may be some photos of detainees who died in custody after being tortured, or who were simply executed. We know that this happened in Iraqi detention centers under U.S. occupation. Ugly and brutal things happen in war times. But the facts strongly suggest that the ‘Caesar’ account is basically untrue or a gross exaggeration.

It is striking that the HRW report has no acknowledgment of the war conditions and circumstances in Syria.  There is no acknowledgment that the government and Syrian Arab Army have been under attack by tens of thousands of weaponized fighters openly funded and supported by many of the wealthiest countries in the world.

There is no hint at the huge loss of life suffered by the Syrian army and supporters defending their country. The current estimates indicate from eighty to one hundred and twenty thousand Syrian soldiers, militia and allies having died in the conflict. During the three years 2011 – 2013, including the period covered by Caesar photos, it is estimated that over 52,000 Syrian soldiers and civilian militia died versus 29,000 anti-government forces.

HRW had access to the full set of photographs including the Syrian army and civilian militia members killed in the conflict. Why did they not list the number of Syrian soldiers and security forces they identified?  Why did they not show a single image of those victims?

HRW goes beyond endorsing the falsehoods in the ‘Caesar’ story; they suggest it is a partial listing. On page 5 the report says, “Therefore, the number of bodies from detention facilities that appear in the Caesar photographs represent only a part of those who died in detention in Damascus.”

On the contrary, the Caesar photographs seem to mostly show victims who died in a variety of ways in the armed conflict. The HRW assertions seem to be biased and inaccurate.

12. The legal accusations are biased and ignore the supreme crime of aggression.

The Christian Science Monitor journalist Dan Murphy gave an apt warning in his article on the Carter Ruck report about ‘Caesar’. While many journalists treated the prosecutors with uncritical deference, he said:

    Association with war crime prosecutions is no guarantor of credibility – far from it. Just consider Luis Moreno Ocampo’s absurd claims about Viagra and mass rape in Muammar Qaddafi’s Libya in 2011. War crimes prosecutors have, unsurprisingly, a bias towards wanting to bolster cases against people they consider war criminals (like Assad or Qadaffi) and so should be treated with caution. They also frequently favor, as a class, humanitarian interventions.

Published on 9 Mar 2016

More than 10 days into the ceasefire, calm generally prevails in Syria. Both Russia and the U.S. emphasize the need to avoid delays in the negotiating process. The two most powerful actors are in agreement, but what about Washington’s allies in the region? Turkey and Saudi Arabia are not fully on board. A lot can still go wrong. CrossTalking with Daniel Lazare, Alexander Mercouris, and Geoffrey Aronson.

Hm not sure about that.

God decision.

Mar 16, 2016

Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s support for the Syrian nation and government in their battle against terrorist groups.

In a meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad in Tehran on Tuesday, Larijani hailed the resistance of the Syrian nation against terrorism.

“The Syrian nation is a resistant nation which has, through perseverance and resistance, managed to leave behind critical and sensitive conditions,” Larijani said.

The top Iranian parliamentarian said that a bright prospect is ahead of the Syrian nation, expressing hope that the Arab country could find peace and security as soon as possible.

Mekdad, for his part, said Iran and Syria have very close views on regional and international issues, expressing hope that other countries in the region would keep up battling terrorism.

The Syrian official further hailed Iran’s support for the Syrian nation and government in the face of militancy in the Arab country.

Also on Tuesday, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, held talks with Mekdad and praised the Syrians’ victory in the “mini-world war” waged by foreign parties in the Arab country.

Velayati said the region could have faced a different situation had Iran, Syria, Iraq and Hezbollah failed to cooperate with each other.

The meetings come as a new round of UN-mediated peace talks between the Syrian government and foreign-backed opposition groups started on Monday. Negotiations are expected to end by March 24.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have widely been blamed for the surge in the deadly militancy in Syria as they have been supporting militants with funds, training and weapons.

http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/03/16/455996/Iran-Syria-Larijani-Mekdad/

Published on 30 Dec 2012

This is the story of a team of Syrian Army that is fighting across the country and assigned with duty of protecting Russia TV crew in their correspondences.
Events and evidences of crimes by FSA-Qaeda rebel gangs and their tactics in abducting, asking ransom, killing and the way that Syrian Army personnel is seeing this war, prove without doubt that the Syrian Army is not fighting because they are loyal to the President, but because they know that the islamists will have one goal , to transform the country to a Halifate and exterminate whoever will not follow their religion fanaticism and beliefs.
Confirmed also that beyond foreign fighters the majority of Syrian rebels are uneducated people who have not the ability to explain simple things and actions.
Of course under the Sheiks word, brutal assassinations and executions are fully justified and the allothy for their souls is given by their screams ''Allah Akbar'' (God is Great) in every assassination they commit, in order to take courage and don't really understand what they are doing so.
An old men fate is also apocalyptic, living in the middle of the warzone and welcoming the army in his bombed house, was simply executed by the armed gangs, being not really danger for them, but exterminated due to his beliefs. Everything different must seize to exist according to the beard fanatics ideology........
Can all these set up a state??? Certainly not, but they can easily destroy whatever is not aligned with them. Educated people of the cities however, have their own stance and opinion and stay away of the bearded gangs of atrocities.....
Reuters and AFP being constantly under the rebel ''protection'' will not dare to present the true side of events, even when they are come back to their countries, mostly because someone else will be back to correspond and pay with his life, any attempt of ''bad'' comments for the rebels.
Of course Jazeera, Qatar official foreign policy tool, not even worth an attempt to explain their position and way they present news, it become obvious to everybody.