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Best of the Web: Putin-Erdogan meeting crucial for the future of Syria

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Mon, 21 Oct 2019 20:35 UTC
syria russia
In the first week of the month of October the US informed Turkey and Russia of its intention to withdraw from north-east Syria (NES). Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan pulled out a plan prepared over a year ago to move forces into NES and take control of cities like Manbij, Ain al-Arab and Ras al-Ayn: an area 440 kilometres long and 35 kilometres wide. The US central command and the Russian military command, as well as other countries including Syria, were informed of the Turkish intention to move forward to fill in the gap. Turkey believes this incursion into the Syrian territory serves its national security and will relocate millions of Syrian refugees living in Turkey, and those who will move out of Idlib once the liberation of the city is in process. Erdogan considers it necessary to create a safe zone between the Turkish borders and that part of Syria under control of the Syrian branch of the PKK, the YPG, an organisation that figures in the US, Europe, NATO and Turkey lists of terrorism.

The quick reaction by Turkey caused alarm in Washington where President Donald Trump sent a letter - considered humiliating by Turkey - to his Turkish counterpart asking him "not to be a fool" and to wait before acting. Simultaneously, President Putin called a meeting for his National Security Council to discuss the US withdrawal and the Turkish intention to replace US forces in NES. Intelligence sources confirmed US withdrawal preparations. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was consulted and informed about US and Turkish intentions.

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Eagle

Best of the Web: More than 100 armored vehicles enter Iraq from Syria as US troops withdraw - Kurds pelt them with vegetables


RT
Mon, 21 Oct 2019 15:23 UTC
syria us withdrawal
© REUTERS/Ari JalalA convoy of U.S. vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk, Iraq, October 21, 2019.
US forces leaving northern Syria have reportedly crossed into Iraq, where they will continue their seemingly endless military presence in the region. Donald Trump had insinuated that the soldiers would be returning home.

More than 100 armored vehicles were spotted entering Iraq from the Sahela border crossing in Dohuk province, Reuters said. An Iraqi Kurdish security source told the news service that US soldiers had crossed into the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Monday's troop transfer is part of the Pentagon's plan to move all of the nearly 1,000 personnel withdrawing from northern Syria to western Iraq. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that the forces would participate in ongoing operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). He added that it wasn't yet decided if the US soldiers would carry out missions in Syria from their new home in Iraq.

Comment: Kurdish residents of Qamishli vented their feelings like this:
A convoy of armoured personnel carriers is flanked on all sides by irate Kurds shouting "No America" and "America liar" in English while one resident can be heard describing US troops as fleeing "Like rats... America is running away," in Arabic.


The angry citizens appear to be firing potatoes at their departing former allies but the Rudaw news agency reports that tomatoes were the projectile of choice.
But despite the withdrawal from the northeast, Trump is reportedly thinking of keeping around 200 US troops in eastern Syria to "fight Daesh":
According to the [NYT], in addition to the main goal — to prevent the resurgence of Daesh in Syria or neighbouring Iraq — it is important for the United States to assist the Kurds in maintaining control of the oil fields in the east.

Three representatives of the presidential administration and the Department of Defence confirmed that senior US politicians and commanders had discussed such a plan. Trump, according to The New York Times, is now hesitating between two options, either to achieve the ultimate goal and send the US military home from Syria and end the war or to make sure that the containment and weakening of Daesh continues. Per some officials, Trump may say that the deployment of the small contingent is a reasonable way to ensure security in the region and in the United States, without breaking his promise.

Commenting on the possibility of leaving a small number of military personnel in eastern Syria, the White House said that this was not a change of policy, because the main purpose of the withdrawal was to protect the people.
Russias Defense Minister Shoigu says that there's a risk many foreign terrorists will repatriate as a result of Turkey's incursion:
"As a result of the actions of the Turkish army in Syria, eight refugee camps and 12 prisons for foreign militants remained unprotected. This could lead to a surge in the so-called reverse migration of terrorists to their historical homeland," Shoigu said at a plenary meeting of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

"There is a need to consolidate the efforts of the entire world community to counter terrorists' challenges, their ideology and propaganda. The Russian Defence Ministry has gained vast experience in this area, which we are ready to share with our partners in the Asia-Pacific region," Shoigu stressed.
He also made the following proposal:
"We very much hope that the steps that are being taken now — our cooperation with Turkish and US colleagues — will allow regional security and stability to improve instead of degrading. The events of the past few days, are, unfortunately, seeding unoptimistic thoughts", Shoigu told participants of a security forum in Beijing.

He also noted that Moscow sees this as a problem which "should be solved immediately, and not only at the Russia-Turkey-US level".
On a positive note, Turkish officials have confirmed that Kurdish militants have begun to leave the regions near the Turkish border. If they don't complete their withdrawal within the 35 hours left in the 5-day pause, Turkish forces will resume their operation. Lavrov says Russia will back a revised Adana Pact if both Ankara and Damascus deem it necessary:
"This is the existing international legal framework that has been recently confirmed by both parties, including in the context of current events. If the parties, in the course of contacts, consider it necessary and mutually acceptable to clarify or amend this agreement in any way, this will be their decision, we will certainly accept and support it," Lavrov said at a press conference.

Lavrov further noted that all the Kurds present in Syria should be covered by the new Syrian constitution in order to guarantee the absence of any threat coming from the Syrian territory against Turkey.

"All the Kurdish structures on the Syrian territory should be solidly covered by the Syrian legislation, the Syrian constitution, so that there are no illegal armed groups on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, and so that no threat to security of the Republic of Turkey and any other nation comes from the Syrian territory," Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva.

The minister further noted that Russia had no plans to host a Syria-Turkey security meeting amid existing tensions over Turkey's offensive in the north of the neighbouring country

"A representative of the presidential administration has already commented on planned contacts between Syrian and Turkish representatives in Sochi. We do not plan such contacts," Lavrov said at a press conference.
For previous updates, see:

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Cow

Best of the Web: Why are Establishment Elites so Obsessively Anti-meat?

Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00 UTC
elites against meat
Ruling oligarchies have always tried to restrict meat consumption by the "peasant class" whenever possible.
I don't know how many people have noticed this, but in the past three months it has been impossible for a person to throw a beef burger patty in any direction on the compass without hitting a news article on the "destructive effects" of the meat industry in terms of "climate change". There's also been endless mainstream articles on the supposedly vast health benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet. This narrative has culminated in a tidal wave of stories about vegetable-based meat companies like Beyond Meat and their rise to stock market stardom. The word on the street is, meat based diets are going the way of the Dodo, and soon, by environmental necessity, we will ALL be vegetarians.

For at least the past ten years the United Nations has been aggressively promoting the concept of a meat free world, based on claims that accelerated land use and greenhouse gas emissions are killing the Earth. In the west, militant leftists with dreams of a socialist Utopia have adopted a kind of manifesto in the Green New Deal, and an integral part of their agenda is the end to the availability of meat to the common man (it's interesting the Green New Deal agenda matches almost perfectly with the UN's Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030). Some of these elitists have argued in favor of heavy taxation on meat products to reduce public consumption; others have argued for an outright ban.

The problem with this dietary revolution is that it is based primarily on junk science and cherry-picked data, along with outright lies and propaganda. The majority of studies and articles covering this issue are decidedly biased, left leaning and collectivist in nature. Now, I plan to touch on this issue, but what I really want to focus on is the "WHY" of the matter - Why are the elites targeting human meat consumption, and why are they willing to lie about its effects in order to get us to abandon our burgers and steaks? What is the real agenda here...?

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Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: Here's where Washington's focus will shift to after Syria

Darius Shahtahmasebi
RT
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 16:10 UTC
navy
© Global Look Press / US Navy
Much to Washington's dismay, China is gaining further momentum in the Indo-Pacific region. As the US president pretends to deploy a hands-off approach to the Middle East, expect China's gains to fare in the news more often.

The reason the US might be (at least, on the face of it) caring less about the Middle East and the situation in Syria is that Washington has a new priority theater it is allocating its time and resources to focus on: the Indo Pacific. In that vein, you may start to notice that China and its relationship to the Pacific region is starting to make headlines again.

The latest outcry appears to be another kink in a longer chain regarding Beijing's actions in the Pacific and the wider question of the future of Taiwan. According to reports, China has agreed to fund a multi-million-dollar stadium in the Solomon Islands for the 2023 Pacific Games in its capital, Honiara. Unfortunately, Taiwan had previously made a commitment to providing the funds for the sports complex, but that has all but fallen through. Just recently, the Solomon Islands cut ties with Taiwan in exchange for funding from Beijing ($730 million according to some reports). Kiribati followed suit shortly after, leaving Taiwan with just 15 full diplomatic allies. One would have to think that, given Beijing's mounting influence and the sorts of packages being offered, that perhaps Tuvalu and the other remaining three Pacific states would not be far behind.

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Pirates

Best of the Web: Purpose of US-brokered ceasefire revealed? EU govts want to REPATRIATE ISIS terrorists from northeastern Syria

Martin Chulov & Michael Safi
The Guardian
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 11:16 UTC
EU repatriate ISIS belgium
Believe it or not, this one is NOT fake news
Belgium and other European states are preparing to evacuate citizens accused of having links to Islamic State from detention camps in north-eastern Syria through a newly declared safe zone being carved out by Turkish forces along the border.


Comment: So, that's why they wanted a ceasefire; to save ISIS, not 'the Kurds'. No doubt these are the fighters Belgium trained in its forests earlier this decade before sending them to topple Assad.


Belgian officials informed family members of detainees held in two camps on Friday that they would attempt to take advantage of a five-day ceasefire to retrieve nationals allegedly tied to the terror group. The Guardian has learned that other European states, including France and Germany, are also looking at ways to take advantage of the window declared by US vice-president Mike Pence on Thursday to repatriate women and children.

Whether Britain is willing to re-examine its policy of largely ignoring its 30 or so nationals detained in Syria remains unclear, but the decision by allies to move quickly is likely to increase pressure on Whitehall to do the same. What to do with accused ISIS fighters and their families has been a pressing global security concern in the wake of Donald Trump's decision to suddenly withdraw all US forces from Syria, with fears that an ensuing vacuum could lead to a collapse of security at the four main camps.

Comment: The French minister is right. It really is a no-brainer. Yet his and other EU govts are planning to repatriate what remains of ISIS. Will they get extra benefits like Sweden did for its ISIS terrorists?

Seriously? Sweden wants to welcome terrorists home from Syria with free driver's license, housing & tax perks

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Wine n Glass

Best of the Web: Whining bigly: Israel supporters are flipping out over Trump's Syria withdrawal

Philip Weiss
MondoWeiss
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 16:49 UTC
trump israel
© Ariel Schalit / Reuters
Donald Trump's decision to abandon former Kurdish allies in Syria last week has been a shock to Israel and its US lobby. Israel thought it had a very special place in Trump's worldview, but the withdrawal appears to gives Iran far more leeway in the Middle East. We are on our own against Iran, several Israeli officials and Israel supporters have concluded fearfully.


Comment: Break out the Champagne!


Not surprisingly, Israel's interest in U.S. Syria policy was on display in American politics this week. For the first time Congressional Republicans broke with Trump over the move; and 129 Republicans voted to condemn the decision when the House voted by 354-60 on that resolution Wednesday.

Israel featured in Congressional debate of Trump's move. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Majority leader Steny Hoyer said Trump's move endangers Israel.

Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida said the decision forces the Kurds into the Iranian camp, and Israel is the loser:
Our Kurdish friends were betrayed and slaughtered and are now forced to align with Syrian forces backed by Iran creating an even bigger threat to our friend Israel.
Israel came up for the first time in four Democratic debates this week because of the Syria decision, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar saying, "This is an outrageous thing that happened here.... Think about our other allies, Israel. How do they feel right now? Donald Trump is not true to his word when they are a beacon of democracy in the Mideast."

Comment: Translation: Trump made the right choice. Just read the response from the American Jewish Congress: Every once in a while there is good news. Thank G-d!

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Map

Best of the Web: Russia and the United States: The Forgotten History of a Brotherhood

Cynthia Chung
Strategic Culture Foundation
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 13:52 UTC
battle of spotsylvania
© PixabayBattle of Spotsylvania Court House
"A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it". - Frederick Douglass (former slave who would later become a great American statesman and diplomat)

It has always been an utmost necessity to exercise caution when reading the historical accounts of great periods that threatened to change the course of the world. As is widely recognized though not reflected upon enough, 'history is written by the victors', and if this be indeed the truth, than we must be aware of what lens we are looking through.

It is a sad reality that most Americans have forgotten that the Russians were their brothers during the American Civil War, a union that was not only based from a geopolitical stratagem but much more importantly was based on a common view of humankind; that slavery's degradation could no longer be tolerated and that industrial growth was an absolute precondition to free man. Historians today largely dismiss this as a fairy tale, they spew their vitriolic commentaries, and try to destroy the memories of great people from the past that truly did believe and fight for something noble. These historians would erase our heroes or otherwise would have us believe that they were nothing but small, bitter men that cared nothing for the world. For if we have no memory of such heroes, we have no memory of the fight that was left unfinished...

Since these revisionist historians would have this, let us not be led by such false guides into the dark forest of history, but rather let us focus on the actions and the words of the very men who shaped the world stage as proof of their mettle.
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Eye 1

Best of the Web: The US has backed 21 of the 28 'crazy' militias leading Turkey's brutal invasion of northern Syria

Max Blumenthal
The Greyzone
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 13:30 UTC
ohn McCain with then-FSA chief Salim Idriss
Left: John McCain with then-FSA chief Salim Idriss (right) in 2013; Right: Salim Idriss (center) in October, announcing the establishment of the National Front for Liberation, the Turkish mercenary army that has invaded northern Syria.
Footage showing members of Turkey's mercenary "national army" executing Kurdish captives as they led the Turkish invasion of northern Syria touched off a national outrage, provoking US government officials, pundits and major politicians to rage against their brutality.

In the Washington Post, a US official condemned the militias as a "crazy and unreliable." Another official called them "thugs and bandits and pirates that should be wiped off the face of the earth." Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the scene as a "sickening horror," blaming President Donald Trump exclusively for the atrocities.

But the fighters involved in the atrocities in northern Syria were not just random tribesmen assembled into an ad hoc army. In fact, many were former members of the Free Syrian Army, the force once armed by the CIA and Pentagon and branded as "moderate rebels." This disturbing context was conveniently omitted from the breathless denunciations of US officials and Western pundits.
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Caesar

Best of the Web: Is Putin the new 'King' of the Middle East?

Patrick J. Buchanan
Buchanan.org
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 12:00 UTC
putin
© PixaBayIf Putin wants to be king of this, and it is OK with Assad, how does that imperil the United States of America, 6,000 miles away?
"Russia Assumes Mantle of Supreme Power Broker in the Middle East," proclaimed Britain's Telegraph. The article began:

"Russia's status as the undisputed power-broker in the Middle East was cemented as Vladimir Putin continued a triumphant tour of capitals traditionally allied to the US."

"Donald Trump Has Handed Putin the Middle East on a Plate" was the title of a Telegraph column. "Putin Seizes on Trump's Syria Retreat to Cement Middle East Role," said the Financial Times.

The U.S. press parroted the British: Putin is now the new master of the Mideast. And woe is us.

Comment: See also:

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Heart - Black

Best of the Web: Under fire from a Western-backed Ukraine: The people of the DPR share their stories

Eva Bartlett
MintPress News
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 12:00 UTC
Donetsk People's Republic
© Eva BartlettFeature photo | DPR Peoples Militia Platoon Commander Ryka poses for a photo with his rifle.
On September 2, I left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don via minibus heading northwest to the border of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and on into Donetsk. For my first few days there, I rented an inexpensive apartment in the heart of the city. Walking on a long tree-lined and cafe-filled pedestrian walkway, life seemed normal. But I would soon find that for the people living in Donetsk, it is anything but.

I passed a cafe where a former DPR leader and military commander, Alexander Zakharchenko, was assassinated by a remotely detonated bomb in August 2018. He was beloved, and as I stood there, two women stopped to pay respects and pray.

Days later, at a transit hub in Donetsk, I met with Alexey Karpushev, a resident of the northern city of Gorlovka, an area hard-hit by Ukrainian bombing, and whose outskirts continue to be shelled near-daily.
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