The Syrian "civil war" was supposed to create another Libya: A destabilized, lawless nation that could be used as a safe haven for terrorists, arms smugglers and human traffickers -- another ripe target for endless US military intervention. (And, according to Hillary Clinton's e-mails, a destroyed Syria was in the "interests" of Israel.) But things didn't go quite according to plan.

Because Obama stopped short of direct military intervention, much of Washington's strategy in Syria was carried out covertly by the CIA. And now that the plan has (largely) failed, the CIA has decided to throw Obama under the bus:

The CIA in 2012 proposed a detailed covert action plan designed to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, but President Obama declined to approve it, current and former U.S. officials tell NBC News.

International Military Review - Syria & Iraq (Apr. 4)

Among the pile of jihadi documents recovered from a town liberated by Syrian Kurds, an RT Documentary crew found several foreign passports. A Russian one has led RT to the home city of the man, who brought his entire family to an apparent death at the hands of terrorists.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) recruits its followers and potential fighters from across the entire world, with many of them bringing their whole families to Syria or Iraq, only to find their final resting place there.


After the liberation of the town of Shaddadi, located in the Syrian province Hasakah from IS jihadists, an RT Documentary team traveled to the area and had the chance to examine piles of documents that had been left behind.

Some 600 Israeli companies and 850 Israeli shareholders are listed in the leaked documents of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, a leader in creating shell companies that often serve to conceal ownership of assets.

The leaked files, which were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with Haaretz and other media organizations, provide a glimpse of the economy that until now had been hidden from the Israeli public.

There is a number of prominent names among the shareholders. It is important to note that as long as holdings in the companies and their revenues — if any — are reported as required to Israeli tax authorities, owning the company is not against the law.

Mossack Fonseca's branch in Israel is headed by attorney Amir Maor. Callers to the branch are informed by a voicemail message that they have reached the offices of "The Company for Establishing Companies."

Whoever leaked the Mossack Fonseca papers appears motivated by a genuine desire to expose the system that enables the ultra wealthy to hide their massive stashes, often corruptly obtained and all involved in tax avoidance. These Panamanian lawyers hide the wealth of a significant proportion of the 1%, and the massive leak of their documents ought to be a wonderful thing.

Unfortunately the leaker has made the dreadful mistake of turning to the western corporate media to publicise the results. In consequence the first major story, published today by the Guardian, is all about Vladimir Putin and a cellist on the fiddle. As it happens I believe the story and have no doubt Putin is bent.

But why focus on Russia? Russian wealth is only a tiny minority of the money hidden away with the aid of Mossack Fonseca. In fact, it soon becomes obvious that the selective reporting is going to stink.

"The unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights."—Hillary Clinton, Meet the Press (April 3, 2016)

When presidential candidate Hillary Clinton declares that unborn babies do not have constitutional rights, she's not just spouting partisan rhetoric in the heated national debate over abortion. She's providing us with a glimpse into an increasingly troubling mindset among government officials who believe that the government not only has the power to determine who is deserving of constitutional rights in the eyes of the law but also has the authority to deny those rights to an American citizen.

The unborn are not the only persons being denied their rights under the Constitution.

American families who have their dogs shot, their homes trashed and their children terrorized or, worse, killed by errant SWAT team raids in the middle of the night are being denied their rights under the Constitution.

Disabled individuals who are being strip searched, handcuffed, arrested and "diagnosed" by police as dangerous or mentally unstable merely because they stutter and walk unevenly are being denied their rights under the Constitution.

School-aged children as young as 4-years-old who are leg shackled, handcuffed and strip searched for violating school zero tolerance policies by chewing a Pop Tart into the shape of a gun and playing an imaginary game of cops and robbers, or engaging in childish behavior such as crying or jumping are being denied their rights under the Constitution.

Unarmed citizens who are tasered or shot by police for daring to hesitate, stutter, move a muscle, flee or disagree in any way with a police order are being denied their rights under the Constitution.

Likewise, Americans—young and old alike—who are shot by police because they pointed a garden hose at a police officer, reached for their registration in their glove box, relied upon a cane to steady themselves, or were seen playing with air rifles or BB guns are being denied their rights under the Constitution.

Female motorists who are unlucky enough to be pulled over for a questionable traffic infraction only to be subjected by police to cavity searches by the side of the road are being denied their rights under the Constitution.

Male pedestrians and motorists alike who are being subjected to roadside strip searches and rectal probes by police based largely on the color of their skin are being denied their rights under the Constitution.

American citizens subjected to government surveillance whereby their phone calls are being listened in on, their mail and text messages read, their movements tracked and their transactions monitored are being denied their rights under the Constitution. The same goes for individuals who are being denied access to body camera footage of their interactions with police, school officials and even medical professionals.

The investigation into former Russian Press Minister Mikhail Lesin's death was referred to the Justice Department's Criminal Division. Despite that, US media say authorities don't see the death as suspicious, citing sources in law enforcement. The New York Times has reported that the referral of Lesin's case to the Justice Department's Criminal Division in March was merely a formality, suggesting that no criminal investigation followed. Citing the same unnamed sources, the New York Times says neither the FBI, nor the US Justice Department have been taking an active part in the ongoing investigation.

Initial reports following Lesin's death in DC's Dupont Hotel on November 5, 2015 said he suffered a heart attack. Four months later, in March, Washington police and a DC medical examiner announced the cause of death as blunt head trauma. They added that "blunt force injuries of the neck, torso, upper extremities and lower extremities" contributed to the 57 year old's death.

Nevertheless, the manner of death was still classified as "undetermined," with the autopsy unable to reveal the cause of Lesin's injuries, meaning they could have been the result of a physical assault, a fall or a vehicle accident. Following the medical examiner's statement, Russia's prosecutor general sent an official request to the US Justice Department, demanding more information about Lesin's case on the basis of a bilateral treaty on mutual legal assistance on criminal cases dating back to 1999.

The airstrikes of the international US-led coalition destroyed the compound of the Turkish consulate located in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which is occupied by Daesh, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday. In 2014, Daesh fighters occupied Mosul and surrounding areas, during their offensive against the Iraqi government forces.

"On April 4, 2016 03:00 a.m. [01:00 GMT] airstrikes of the international anti-Daesh coalition destroyed the premises of the consulate in Mosul, which has been under occupation of Daesh since June 2014. According to the intelligence data, it had been used as a residence for senior Daesh terrorists," the statement read. It was added in the statement that the coalition's airstrikes had been sanctioned by Turkey.

The infamous Daesh group, which is outlawed in many countries worldwide, including the United States and Russia, has seized large areas in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate on territories under its control. The US-led coalition of over 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes against the terrorist group first in Iraq and later Syria since 2014.

Having contributed to Palmyra's liberation, the Russian president once again has outperformed prognosis and predictions, Le Point reported. Recently, Vladimir Putin announced the Russian withdrawal from Syria, which marked the end of the main stage of the military campaign launched six months ago.

However, the pull out was partial. Some Russian forces are still deployed to Syria, and last week they contributed to the liberation of Palmyra. The Syrian Army with its own forces could not retake Palmyra from Daesh terrorists without Russia's assistance, an article in Le Point read.

Russia played a major role in the operation, by including their ability to deliver airstrikes. Russian bombers and attack helicopters pummeled Daesh motorcades fleeing from Palmyra. The terrorists sustained record losses - 400 militants were killed, according to the Syrian Center for Human Rights.

Beholden to special interests; complicit in US war crimes across the globe; held top secret information on an unsecured home server; incessantly lies (like most politicians); and is married to a man who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault: the fact that Hillary Clinton is even remotely capable of becoming President of the US is symptomatic of how corrupt and screwed up the US political system actually is.

Puppet on a String

Clinton is the walking, talking definition of a political prostitute, completely controlled by special interests, Israel and the shadow establishment. Since the beginning of 2013, Clinton has received at least $21.7 million for 92 speeches she has given to private organizations and groups. This includes $225,000 from Morgan Stanley; $225,000 from Deutsche Bank; $225,000 from Bank of America; and $675,000 from the Goldman Sachs Group (for three separate speeches). George Soros, the investor, billionaire and regime change extraordinaire, has also put millions into Clinton's campaign.

Hillary is controlled by the parallel US government, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). In 2009, she revealed her relationship with the CFR when she addressed the council at their newly opened outpost in Washington D.C.:

"I have been often to the mother ship in New York City, but it's good to have an outpost of the council right here down the street from the State Department. We get a lot of advice from the council, so this will mean I won't have as far to go to be told what we should be doing and how we should think about the future."

A look at the corporate membership of the council reveals the level of power vested in such a small amount of hands, with approximately 200 of the most influential corporate players belonging to the group, including: Exxon Mobil Corporation; Goldman Sachs Group; JPMorgan Chase; BP plc; Barclays; IBM; Google Inc; Facebook; Lockheed Martin; Raytheon; Pfizer; Merck & Co; Deutsche Bank AG; Shell Oil Company; and Soros Fund Management.