State Dept dismisses question from RT, says won’t treat it like other media

Published on Nov 17, 2016

https://www.rt.com/news/367192-kirby-...




'No way': US military bar RT’s video agency from media event in letter likely revealing too much

Published on Nov 17, 2016

An extraordinary email was received by a producer for RT’s video agency Ruptly following a request to attend one of the Pentagon's media events. Their “No way” was phrased in such a way that, one suspects, the US military official just hit the wrong "reply" button.

Published on Nov 21, 2016

Broadcast date: 11.21.2016

The UN Special Envoy for Syria Steffan De Mistura has met with Syria’s FM Walid Al-Mouallem, who said he thought there would be talks about resuming dialogue. Instead, Walid Al-Moallem said De Mistura focused on what he called 'ideas' for eastern Aleppo: local administration, in other words, autonomy, it can be called partition. Syria has totally rejected that, so has Iran.

In this edition of the debate, we’ll discuss whether that is UN’s best answer, and who is he supporting when he approaches Syria with that idea? Meanwhile, Turkey has called on the US, and its allies to reconsider a Syria no-fly zone.


Guests:
- Former American Intelligence Linguist, Scott Rickard (TAMPA)
- Founder, American Institute for Foreign Policy, Michael Lane (WASHINGTON)

Syrian govt forces liberate about 40% of east Aleppo from terrorists – Reconciliation Center

28 Nov, 2016

More than 3,000 civilians have left the eastern part of the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo in the last 24 hours, the Russian Center for Reconciliation said. It later reported that about 40 percent of the militant-held part of the city has been liberated.

Some 3,179 people, including 1,519 children – among them 138 newborn babies – have left Eastern Aleppo through the ‘humanitarian corridors’ set up by Syrian government forces, Russian Reconciliation Center said on Monday.

The center reported that 12 neighborhoods, comprising roughly 40 percent of the territory previously controlled by the militants, have been cleared.

According to the Russian Center for Reconciliation, more than 80,000 people live in the newly liberated areas of the eastern part of the city. It added that more than 5,000 people fled from the southern districts of eastern Aleppo, which are still controlled by the militants, to the areas held by government forces.

Earlier on Monday, the center reported that to date 10 neighborhoods and more than 3,000 buildings have been cleared of Al-Nusra Front militants. The militants have also been pushed out of al-Qadisiyah, a key Aleppo district.

All civilians are being cared for in aid camps where they receive medical treatment, food and sanitation.

The center said it deployed additional 150 field kitchens to distribute hot meals among civilians fleeing the embattled city.

More than 100 militants laid down their arms and left eastern Aleppo through the special corridors, the statement said.

Despite joint humanitarian efforts undertaken by the Syrian government and Russia, thousands of civilians are still kept in the eastern part of the city by militants. To minimize damage to the civilian population, the Russian and Syrian militaries suspended airstrikes and set up 'humanitarian corridors' for both non-combatants and militants willing to leave the area.

However, the corridors are vulnerable to militant small arms fire and shelling, which complicates the evacuation of civilians.

RT's Lizzie Phelan, reporting from Syria, said the government army's advance in the eastern part of Aleppo “has enabled civilians to leave the area,” and that there are thousands of people desperate to flee. Those who managed to escape told RT crew the militants deprived them of all means to survive, including food and water.

“The militants are lying, they are holding us there, even now they are holding families [in the area]. They don't let people go,” one man said.

“Every time we tried to flee they caught us and turned us back,” a young woman added.

In militants-held areas, shooting and death threats have become a common method to prevent people from fleeing.

“We wanted to leave, but they stopped us from doing so. They threatened to kill us, but we tried again and again. Finally, we escaped,” another Aleppo resident said.

Currently, the Syrian Army is continuing their large-scale offensive in eastern Aleppo, targeting Al-Nusra Front and other radical militants still controlling the area. The troops have already established control over important blocks and districts in the eastern part of the city.

https://www.rt.com/news/368400-east-aleppo-civilians-liberated/

Claims that the US has been inactive are baseless. In reality the US has done everything short of a direct attack on Syria. And the US military is starting to cross that barrier. On September 17 the US air coalition did a direct attack on the Syrian Army in Deir Ezzor, killing 80 Syrian soldiers and enabling ISIS to launch an attack on the position. Claims that it was a “mistake” are highly dubious.

The claims by Congressional hawks that the US has been ‘inactive’ in the Syrian conflict are part of the false narrative suggesting the US must “do something” which leads to a No Fly Zone and full scale war. Ironically, these calls for war are masked as “humanitarian”.  And never do the proponents bring up the case of Libya where the US and NATO “did something”: destroyed the government and left chaos.

Congress as a Fact-Free House of Propaganda

With only a handful of representatives present and no debate, the six Congress members engaged in unrestrained propaganda and misinformation. The leading Democrat, Eliot Engel, said “We’re going into the New Year 2017, Assad still clings to power, at the expense of killing millions of his citizens.” That number is way off anyone’s charts.

Rep Kildee said “The world has witnessed this terrible tragedy unfold before our eyes. Nearly half a million Syrians killed. Not soldiers – men, women, children killed.”

The official text of the resolution says:

It is the sense of Congress that–

(1) Bashar al-Assad’s murderous actions against the people of Syria have caused the deaths of more than 400,000 civilians…

The above accusations – from “millions of citizens” to “half a million” to “400,000 civilians” – are all preposterous lies.

Credible estimates of casualties in the Syrian conflict range from 300,000 to 420,000. The opposition-supporting Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates the documented 2011-2016 death toll as follows:

1: Killed pro Syrian forces – 108,000

2: Killed anti government forces – 105,000

3: Killed civilians – 89,000

In contrast with Congressional and media claims, civilians comprise a minority of the total death count and the largest casualty group is those fighting in defense of the the Syrian state. These facts are ignored and never mentioned because they point to the reality versus the propaganda narrative which allows the USA and allies to continue funding terrorism and a war of aggression against Syria.

The Congressional speakers were in full self-righteous mode as they accused the Syrian government of  “committing crimes against humanity and war crimes against civilians including murder, torture and rape. No one has been spared from this targeting, even children.” A naive listener would never know that the Syrian government is primarily fighting the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda including thousands of foreigners supplied and paid by foreign governments.

The Congressional speakers go on to accuse the Syrian military of “targeting” hospitals, schools and markets. A critical listener might ask why they would do that instead of targeting the Al Qaeda terrorists and their allies who launch dozens and sometimes hundreds of hell cannon missiles into government held Aleppo every day.

The Congressional propaganda fest would not be complete without mention of the “White Helmets“.  House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said:

“We (previously) heard the testimony of Raed Saleh of the Syrian White Helmets. These are the doctors, nurses and volunteers who actually, when the bombs come, run towards the areas that have been hit in order to try to get the injured civilians medical treatment…They have lost over 600 doctors and nurses.”

This is more Congressional nonsense.  There are no nurses or doctors associated with the White Helmets. The organization was created by the USA and UK and heavily promoted by a “shady PR firm”.  The White Helmets operate solely in areas controlled by Nusra and associated terrorist groups.  They do some rescue work in the conflict zone but their main role is in the information war manipulating public opinion.

The White Helmets [who falsely, and fraudulently go by the stolen official name of ‘Syria Civil Defense’] actively promote US/NATO intervention through a No Fly Zone.  Recently the White Helmets has become a major source of claims of innocent civilian victims in east Aleppo. Given the clear history of the White Helmets, these claims should be treated with skepticism. What exactly is the evidence?

[21st Century Wire Editor: Please also note the existence of the REAL Syria Civil Defence established 1953]

The same skepticism needs to be applied to video and other reports from the Aleppo Media Center. AMC is a creation of the Syrian Expatriates Organization whose address on K Street, Washington DC indicates it is a US marketing operation.

[21st Century Wire Editor: The Aleppo Media Centre is also funded by the French Foreign Office]

What is really going on?

read the rest here...http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/11/23/syria-the-israel-lobby-enforce-caesar-bill...

Aleppo ‘opposition’ blocked humanitarian aid & held civilians ‘on some occasions’ – Kerry

Quote:


https://www.rt.com/news/369908-aleppo-militants-blocked-civilians-kerry/

8 December 2016

Following [its assault on] Lebanon, at around 3 am this morning, 7 December 2016, the Israeli army has bombed the military airport of Mezzeh (Damascus). The raid has only caused a minor fire.

For around three entire months since the beginning of the attempt to topple the Syrian Arab Republic and destroy the country, Israel has been bombing Syria. Tel-Aviv’s custom is claiming it is aiming at arm reserves which, it believes, are ready to be delivered to the Lebanese to fight it. However, Israel has failed to provide any justification for its most recent raids.

Generally speaking, the Israeli army has tended to intervene as a pro-Jahadi air support against Syria.

While from the outset, Israel had been penetrating the Syrian air space to strike its targets, today it is satisfied with either firing from its territory, or firing from planes flying illegally over Lebanese territory. Indeed, the Russian Federation has placed the S-300 anti-missile at Lattakia and has offered others to Syria. These missiles have the reputation of being able to destroy any aircraft.

https://www.voltairenet.org/article194438.html

Islamic State reentered Palmyra after large-scale operation

Dec 11th, 2016

nsnbc : Forces of the Islamic State reentered the Syrian city of Palmyra on forcing Syrian troops to withdraw to the suburbs. The campaign against Palmyra was launched nine months after Syrian and Russian forces liberated the ancient city and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Islamic State columns launched coordinated attacks from the east, north and south of the city. ISIS threw an estimated 4,000 troops into the renewed battle for Palmyra. ISIS fighters also seized the Tar mountain, close to the Palmyra Citadel, west of the city, in tandem with shelling the citadel with mortar shells and heavy artillery.

A local source reports that ISIS gathered troops from Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor to launch the attack. Losses, including heavy losses from fierce fighting have been reported on both sides. However, no official casualty figures from the standoff were released.

Syrian military forces are reportedly mustering stiff resistance from positions in te suburbs. The attack on Saturday was preceded by several attacks on military outposts in the area surrounding the city.

Syrian Air Forces flew several sorties around Palmyra city, targeting ISIS fighters. Clashes in and around Palmyra were still ongoing Sunday evening. Other ISIS attacks were launched against the Industrial City and Tallet al-Ameriyeh mountain in the countryside of Palmyra. Earlier on Sunday Syrian Arab Army (SAA) units fended off an ISIS attack in the surroundings of al-Tar Mountain and al-Ameriyeh town to the northeast of Palmyra.

There have been isolated reports about logistic air drops in support of ISIS by members of the U.S.-led coalition against the insurgents. Even though it is not impossible or unlikely that such air drops could have taken place, nsnbc has not been able to independently verify such reports.

http://nsnbc.me/2016/12/11/islamic-state-reentered-palmyra-after-large-scale-ope...

Aleppo militants safe passage deal with US unreal: Russia

Dec 11, 2016

Russia has denied claims made by militants that it has reached an agreement with the US over giving the terrorists safe passage out of Syria’s Aleppo.

On Sunday, Aleppo militants told Reuters that Moscow and Washington had tabled a proposal aimed at granting the remaining militants in Aleppo and their families passage out of the city.

Following the announcement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the militants' claims were fictitious, adding that Moscow is currently working towards the establishment of the required conditions for the safe extractions of civilians from Aleppo.

"The issue of withdrawing militants is the subject of separate agreements. This agreement has not yet been reached, largely because the United States insists on unacceptable terms," said Ryabkov.

He noted that talks between the US and Russia would carry on in Geneva.

The Syrian government has been making advances in militant-held areas in eastern Aleppo, with recent reports saying that the military and its allies have managed to retake two-thirds of the territory that used to be under the control of the militants.

According to Reuters, militant officials had claimed that the Syrian government would issue public guarantees pertaining to the safety of militants attempting to leave Aleppo.

It would also mandate members of the terrorist group formerly known as al-Nusra Front to head towards the Syrian northwestern province of Idlib, but militants from other groups could go to other regions, including the Turkish border.

The plan was also said to be carried out within 48 hours under the observation of the United Nations. According to the plan, the militants would also be allowed to take their light arms with them.

Syria forces continue to purge Aleppo 

Since it began its offensive to retake the divided city of Aleppo in mid-November, the Syrian government has retaken over 93 percent of the city, which was once divided between the militants and the government.

On Sunday, Syrian forces retook the militant-held neighborhood of Maadi and several of its surrounding districts, said a UK-based monitoring group.

Earlier, they liberated Asila and Aajam districts, southeast of Aleppo's ancient citadel, as well as the southern regions of the Karam al-Da’ada neighborhood.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that over 10,000 civilians were able to flee militant-held areas as the government forces progressed over the last 24 hours.

78,000 civilians escaped Aleppo since November

Since the operations began to liberate the city, 78,000 civilians have successfully been evacuated with the aid of Russian Center for Reconciliation, says Moscow.

“Over the past night, 2,124 civilians, including 1,007 children, were evacuated from the militant-held areas of Aleppo, with help from the Russian Center for Reconciliation. Some 291 militants laid down their weapons and crossed into the western part of the city to surrender to Syrian government troops,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov.

“Currently, the Russian Center for Reconciliation, through humanitarian corridors near Karim El-Hun and Mahayar, has organized the evacuation of [another group of] about 8,000 civilians from the eastern parts of Aleppo to the safe areas of the city,” Konashenkov added. “All of them have been placed in special humanitarian centers where they are provided with hot food and medical help if required."

The conflict in Syria, which flared up in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to an estimate by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/12/11/497467/russia-us-syria-aleppo-denies