In the first 1990 Gulf War, for example, the performance of US Patriot missiles in shooting down Iraqi Scud missiles fired at Israel, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait was lauded by Western powers and the media. A 95% success rate was claimed at the time, with then President George Bush claiming that the Patriot's record was "near perfect". Over the following year however, the US Army lowered this estimate to 79% over Saudi Arabian skies and 40% over Israel. A later report by the General Accounting Office concluded that Patriot missiles destroyed only 9% of the Scuds they attempted to engage. The Israeli Defense Force calculated the hit rate at just 2%.
On the night of Jan. 25, 1991 in Tel Aviv, three Patriots that were fired into the air fell back to earth and exploded. Two of them hit residential areas and the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv reported at the time that one Israeli was killed, 44 were wounded, and 4,156 apartments were destroyed. That incident and a few others like it led Ted Postol, an MIT weapons scientist, to testify before a congressional committee that, "it is possible that if we had not attempted to defend against Scuds, the level of resulting damage would be no worse than actually occurred."
In a documentary aired on Israeli television in 1993, Moshe Arens, who was Israel's Defense Minister in the Gulf War, Gen. Dan Shomron, who was chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force during the war, and Haim Asa, a member of an Israeli technical team that worked with Patriots during the war, all dismissed the Patriot anti-missile system. General Shomron described accounts of the Patriot's success as "a myth." Mr. Asa called them "a joke." All concurred with a 1991 report by the Israeli Air Force, which concluded that "there is no evidence of even a single successful intercept" although there is "circumstantial evidence for one possible intercept."
The point being, the US has a track record of lying about the effectiveness of its missiles.
After 100+ cruise missiles or cruise missile variants were fired at targets in Syria early in the morning of April 14th, President Trump declared "mission accomplished" and tweeted that it was "a perfectly executed strike." Pentagon officials said that none of the 105 allied missiles fired were hit by Syria's Soviet-era anti-missile ground systems, that the raids were "precise and overwhelming," and Syrian air defences remained "largely ineffective."
An important point that seems to have gotten lost in the media propaganda offensive is that only 3 locations were targeted and hit. Or, at least, that's the official story. Lieutenant-General Kenneth F. McKenzie told reporters on Saturday that the prime target of the operation was the Barzeh Research and Development Center in the greater Damascus area. A total of 76 missiles, including 57 Tomahawk missiles, were fired at the facility, he said. He also said that 22 missiles were fired against a 'chemical weapons storage facility' near Homs, and some seven missiles at another 'chemical weapons bunker' in the same area.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, confirmed that only those three targets were hit, including the Barzeh 'scientific research centre' in the greater Damascus area, which he claimed was used for research, development, production and testing of chemical weapons, a facility just west of Homs which the US claimed was a centre for sarin gas production, and a command post located near the first facility.
The Barzeh 'scientific research center' isn't really a 'scientific research center'. First and foremost, it is a University called the 'Higher Institute for Applied Science and Technology' (HIAST):
"HIAST was established in 1983. Its aim is to qualify personnel in order to conduct scientific and technological research in all applied sciences and technology fields, so they can participate in the scientific and economic process in Syria. HIAST provides opportunities to make progress in applied research fields by joining courses to be awarded the degree of engineering Diploma, Master and Doctorate."You can check out their website.
As part of their 'reporting' on the US government claim that this university housed a "chemical weapons facility", the media reproduced satellite images showing the target area before and after the missile strike. These images were provided to the media by the US government.
Maybe grainy satellite images are preferred by the media because it affords a measure of mystique and distance between the reader and the reality of what they are looking at, but I can't understand why Western media hacks didn't just go to Google Maps and check the HIAST campus out themselves.
Below is an image of the general area of the HIAST campus from Google Maps, where you can see that it's located on the outer edge of the Barzeh district of Damascus. The "chemical weapons lab", part of the campus that was targeted by US missiles, is circled in red.
And here's a video of a bunch of people hanging out around the ruins of the "chemical weapons buildings" 24 hours after the alleged chemical weapons were hit with 76 cruise missiles. Note that there is not a hazmat suit in sight...
Look again at the area that the buildings occupied. 76 cruise missiles, each with a 1,000lb warhead, are said to have hit those 3 buildings, only partly demolishing them. That's 35 tons of high-grade military explosives. For comparison, here's a video of just 9 1,000lb bombs hitting a building that covers roughly the same surface area as the HIAST buildings:
The UK's Independent reported on the cruise missile strikes in general with the headline, "Images show buildings turned to ruin and rubble by Syria air strikes," but then proceeded to show 13 images of the same demolished HIAST buildings in the Barzeh suburb of Damascus. Is that perhaps because this is the only 'impressive' evidence they have for the dubious US government claims?
According to Saeed Saeed, head of the Institution for the Development of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries, the area of the HIAST campus that was bombed was previously used by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), but now works on pharmaceutical products.
"Since the Syria crisis broke out, the country has been short of all kinds of medicines due to the sanctions from Western countries. Foreign companies stopped exporting high-quality medicines to Syria, especially anti-cancer medicines. So we have been conducting researches on anti-cancer medicines here, and three cancer drugs have been developed," he said.
Hang on a minute... something's coming back to me... 1998, Sudan, Bill Clinton... cruise missiles... pharmaceutical factory!
The two other areas allegedly targeted by US cruise missiles were to the west of Homs. A "centre for sarin gas production" and a "command post" or a "bunker" (or something like that. It might have been a cow shed).
Now it's time for some 'before and after', not very close up, grainy satellite photos, courtesy of the media (courtesy of the US government) of the two areas shown above. Here's the "center of sarin gas production" site:
Now that's some nice shooting there. I count maybe 4 or 5 impacts (small craters) on the ground there, and those 3 little buildings gone.
Let's move on to the last of the 3 targeted sites. The "command post bunker" thingy, just a few miles up the road from the above image:
Not so good on this one. Looks like a single impact to the left of the target. The "chemical weapons command post bunker" thingy is, sadly, intact.
So what's our tally? Let's be generous and give 9 x 1000lb cruise missiles to the HIAST campus buildings. Let's give 5 more to the "sarin gas production site" west of Homs, and 1 more to that little shed thingy above. That's 15 successful impacts in total, by the US government's own statements and imagery on the 3 targeted sites.
But in the interest of impartiality and objectivity, I'll include the reports that the Mezzeh military airbase just south of Damascus was also hit by cruise missiles, as reported by the Syrian government. Here's a video clip published by Ruptly:
No damage is shown in the above video, but as a sign of good faith, we'll assume that significant damage was done there too, somewhere off-camera. So let's give 10 cruise missiles strikes to that airbase. That brings our tally up to 25. Heck, since I'm feeling generous today, I'll throw in another 10 missiles that may have gone off course and hit some empty fields in the Homs or Damascus countryside. That's 35 maximum impacts out of a total of 103 (or 105, or 118 depending on your sources). So the question is; what happened to the rest of Trump's 'nice new and smart' missiles?
The Russians have an answer. According to their radar data on the event, 6 other airbases and airports were also targeted. Why didn't the Pentagon include those in its report on the strikes?
Duwali airbase - 4 missiles fired, 4 shot down
Dumayr airbase - 12 missiles fired, 12 shot down
Baley airbase - 18 missiles fired, 18 shot down
Shayrat airbase - 12 missiles fired, 12 shot down
Marj Ruhayyil airbase - 18 missiles fired, 18 shot down
Damascus international airport - 4 missiles fired, 4 shot down
Assuming this information is true, and we have good reason to believe it is based on my analysis above, we're left to ponder the distinct possibility that the US government initially targeted at least 10 locations with cruise missiles. After the missiles were launched however, (some of them taking 2 hours to reach their destination) many of them were shot down, forcing the US to dramatically down-size its planned report to the media about how many locations were targeted.
But this then posed another problem. How to distribute the 100+ missiles among only 3 locations? Should they divide them equally, 33 (or so) at the HIAST buildings and 33 each at the two Homs locations? But would the visible damage tally with the reported number of missiles? The two locations outside Homs were problematic because they were in open farmland and the buildings were far too small to plausibly cover up the missing impact craters. There was only one thing for it: the HIAST target, with its 3 sizable towerblocks, would have to take the lion's share of the missing missiles. The outrageous number of 76, to be exact.
Apart from the shocking level of FUKUS lies and obfuscation around this most recent attack on Syria - all of which were nauseatingly repeated by the Western press - media hacks also neglected to note the obvious point that blowing up suspected chemical weapons production and storage facilities located in densely populated areas amounts to reckless endangerment of the local population, and possibly a war crime. Then again, maybe the Americans are lying (ya think?). Maybe they know very well that these targets housed no chemical weapons. Maybe they know that, as the US Dept. of State tweeted to John Kerry in 2014:
Maybe they also know that very few of their "nice new smart" missiles made it to their destinations, and on Friday morning, "shock and awe" came, not to Syria, but the halls of the Pentagon.
The conflict in Syria is but one part of a much broader geopolitical conflict between 'East and West' that portends nothing less than a radical restructuring of the global order. In that sense, it is an existential war for those that currently sit atop the pile and stand to lose their privileged and powerful positions. But if there's one thing about any war that never changes, it's the 'racket' aspect of it. To that end, there was only one real winner as a result of Friday morning's events.
Syria Airstrikes Instantly Added Nearly $5 Billion to Missile-Makers' Stock ValueIf it had been publicly revealed how well the Tomahawks really did, Raytheon stock would have lost a similar amount.
Raytheon stock surged Friday morning, after 59 of the company's Tomahawk missiles were used to strike Syria in Donald Trump's first major military operation as President.
Reader Comments
No.
So, there it is, mission accomplished!
Second, are there any traces of destroyed labs or blown-up WMD?
No.
So, there they are, these nice, new and very, very smart missiles that not only destroy the buildings without the trace but obliterate all suspect chemicals as well.
Not the smartest moves on the part of the U.S. but I guess a 'dead cat bounce' is typically uncontrolled.
When next push comes to shove, Russia with China's support will deliver humiliating blows to American fading power.
At last.
I do not believe Russia has any interest in U.S. soil; that interest has already been displayed by the Chinese. Given that the 'west' is on both sides of the Atlantic and is making itself an enemy of both Russia and China, I would think that any break-out military assault would be from Russia and China simultaneously over a wide swath of the planet in order to spread thin the 'western' military response.
Russia may very well facilitate Chinese landings on the N.W. coast of the U.S. and Canada but Russia's focus is Europe and the Middle East. China has far too much invested in N.America to leave it just sitting in the hands of the barbarian westerners. China has invested 10's of Billions of dollars into just the Alberta tar sands so you can imagine the Trillions that have been invested by Chinese through out N.America over the past 15 or 20 years. I can see them coming for what is owed to them when N.America decides to try and shut them out. If Canada cannot get Chinese oil shipped out soon I can see China coming in to get it...without knocking first.
Not doing a very good job of it, are they?
Pathetic, actually.
'Game's Up' written all over it.
No, not at all. Just doing more damage to themselves.
'Game's Up' written all over it.
Pretty much.
Thats not how the game is played, that is the American way. The game played by the Russians, and the Chinese is a different game altogether. The Americans do not know how to play this game, so throw a tantrum. There is a martial art to it, wherein you weaken your enemy, by using their own strength against them. The coup de grace will be administered by the empire itself. Hence, they will never see it coming. So, in a sense, this is already happening!!!
I LOVE AMERICA!
R.C.
An Act of War.
Beware the revenge of a patient man
oh wow, CHINESE citizen..
And the world learned, to no SOTTite's surprise, that the West's missiles do not perform nearly as well as loudly proclaimed; while they were beaten with a 25? (40?) year old system. The price of ALL of Russia's weaponry systems is bound to increase, along with demand.
After all, every little, but not yet completely Western controlled, country now sees that their county's defense can be best bought from Russia. (Leftovers from Syria, say.)
Realize that the missiles used were S200s, (best that Syria had), and that the S-300 is likewise approaching obsolescence from a highest developed point of view. Beyond that, there exist the S-400 AND S-500!!! (Nearing completion, that latter.)
Russia might just make a profit for its beneficence in Syria. Take that idiot STS West PTB!
R.C.
First post here:
The FUKUS coalition strikes Syria, but who really won?
Last night France, the UK and the U.S. launched an illegal attack on Syria and bombed several military and civilian sites within the country. They justify their attack as revenge or punishment for...RC
I'm more inclined to think the usa gave Russia the coordinates to all the intended targets & the outdated defense systems worked because they were all ready in position & waiting...Take my comment any way you want but it's all a show to me.
I do not put such out of the range of reasonable analyses at all, for I honestly do not know the truth!
However, I detect that Russia is so savvy as to such, that they might not play along, as of course they (and the US) took this to be, in effect, the truest of 'live fire' tests. Russia would not wish for the US to be able to say (hey, we LET the Ruskies hit those missiles - here's the proof; so buy ours!)
I do believe (but do not know) that there exists some conflict between the US and Russia and that Russia's part in it is not part of the charade, but I very well could be wrong, as I have little to go by but common sense, and my (hopeful) ability to recognize 'true verisimilitude' from 'false verisimilitude.'
R.C.
Chinese are as materialistic as can be...The marriage of State & Religion in Russia...What could go wrong there I wonder ???
Gee as we haven't been there before.
Whichever way the pendulum swings both sides are not offering anything new in the long run...maybe a repackaged brand new color reissues of the same Monopoly game..
Same old ..wash....regurgitate....repeat...wash..etc..again..All opportunists..again it's imho.
R.C.
Research Facility bombed last nite in Damascus. Swamp creatures. Ted Turner, Warren Buffet, Gov Brown of CA. Etc etc. how about Pearson Sarp reporting the real story?
As to this illegal attack on Syria, based upon overt lies, while being claimed to be ‘legal’ (sic) and based upon ‘Top Secret’ laws, or interpretation of laws, or mere ‘legal memos’, (see last article I link, infra), the truth is little different from that which has been quasi ‘openly’ done by Bush*t II or Obysmal, (and more quasi secretly done by the Clunton and Bush*t I administrations before them) each and all of which have had ‘secret readings/interpretations’ of ‘secret laws.’
I provide this quote because, these days, a modern country, such as the FUKUS coalition is made of, MUST have, and overtly present beau coup lies. Thus, I note that, as Conrad’s Marlow stated in Heart of Darkness: With regard to such ‘secret decisions’ which resulted in the above events, (see link to SOTT article, at end) here’s a fair example of how such 'secret laws' and or 'secret interpretations' of laws works out. The Department of Agriculture requires that Sheep with Mad Sheep Disease (Oovine Spongiform Myelopathy) must be ‘put down’/euthanized (killed) and the public be informed of same via public records confirming same. (See, Title 451 US Code, Section 1984(B)(s).)
The AmeriKant Intragovernmental PTB & Flunkies, then decided that, as per their unannounced and completely ‘secret reading/interpretation’ of that particular statute, (and due to an slight ambiguity therein), as to any U.S. Citizen who claims, either orally or in writing, that any other U.S. Citizen or Citizens are or may be ‘sheeple’, ‘sheople’, (or any other variant spelling thereof), that this statute ALLOWS the US government to secretly ‘put down’/euthanize (kill) those people so claiming, without trial, and specifically requires no public records documenting same.
Thus has our (sic) beloved government been able to execute Gary Webb, the D.C. Madam, et al., and, (per a similar reading of another, ‘even more secret law’) and also to have covered same up so as to appear a suicide, all evidence to the contrary to be ignored.
R.C.
P.s., While this may sound fanciful, it is not, for once you have ‘secret readings’ OR ‘secret laws’, I promise you, such illogical conclusions can and will quickly and efficiently follow and serve to fool our government’s useful flunkies authoritarian followers, and their brethren, that such is ‘perfectly legal.’ (Look at the absurd justifications for all the deaths via murder that the US has conducted via its illegal wars and only since the illegal Iraq invasion.) Finally, for basic human nature, see Stanley Milgram’s experiments.
P.p.s., Please notice the Statute Numbers/Letters. Yes. This has been hypothetical and the dateline should read 15 days ago. Nonetheless, what is here written in no way can be concluded as being an incorrect guess, for we have no way to determine what any ‘secret interpretation’ OR ‘secret law’ might be.
P.p.p.s.,
As we see, there exists a constancy, a uniformity, of the lies, deception, and self-deception, on the part of the attacking countries which runs throughout the above events. As such, I note I that I may well post it elsewhere at one or two articles, with this quote and link to this first posting:
Democracy's mysterious ways: Trump ordered Syria strike based on a secret legal justification even Congress can't see
On Friday night, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to conduct a bombing attack against the government of Syria without congressional authorization. How can this be constitutional, given...RC
“According to Saeed Saeed, head of the Institution for the Development of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries, the area of the HIAST campus that was bombed was previously used by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), but now works on pharmaceutical products.”
Do you for one moment think this is co-incidence?
If the Barzeh Research and Development Center (“a facility just west of Homs which the US claimed was a centre for sarin gas production”) was in fact used for what the US claimed, this will have been the most brazen demonstration of blatant stupidity.
If indeed it was as claimed, how many people will have died from chemical attacks, because of asinine fools playing with bombs, under the illusion of power.
Why leave the HIAST standing as a sign of independence from US hegemony?
Shalom
Another excellent article. Your writing is powerful, and your research and evidence presented is meticulously researched. I'm away from my bookmarks at this computer, but when I get back to base I'll post another comment with some links to help back up your observations on the state of Russian defense technology.
Meanwhile, it seems to me the Anglo-Zionist Empire (Israel, UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, and now joined by lickspittle France) have a centuries-old culture (if not millenia-old) of lies, thefts, murders, genocides, arrogance, and oppression of other races, that pervades their thinking even today. As a result, they cannot tell reality from their own lies. Russians, on the other hand, face reality and the truth head-on. That is their culture, reinforced by 70 years of suffering under Zio-Communist exploitation, lies and falsehoods. The result is that Russian weapons technology is designed to work, and work well, not just to impress the beholder.
" Shock and Awe " is, after all, an Anglo-Zionist invention. Russians do not give a damn if you are shocked or awed by their technology - all they care about is that it works and will utterly destroy their opponents. Russians are loyal and dependable friends, and merciless enemies. That again is their culture, unlike the Anglo-Zionists, who will betray their own mothers for 30 pieces of silver. Assad and the people of Syria have discovered this about their Russian friends, but the Anglo-Zionist Empire has yet to understand it. When they finally do understand that Russia does not pass stinky wind and dispense bullshit like the Anglo-Zionists do, but says exactly what it means, the "shock and awe" will fall on the Anglo-Zionists like a ton of bricks.