Members of the Syrian White Helmets and their families are evacuated out of southern Syria by Israel, in an exceptional humanitarian operation overnight on July 22, 2018
The countries of the West used Israel to
evacuate members of the White Helmets from southern Syria. They couldn't be allowed to fall into the hands of the Syrian government - at least, not while they are still alive.
Essential human-rights defenders
Damascus is almost finished liberating southwestern Syria. The military's Operation
Basalt was extremely successful, allowing them to regain control of the occupied provinces of Quneitra and
Daraa (at present the Syrian army has only a small chunk of land left to liberate from the jihadists). Many of the local gangs simply surrendered. Those militants who wanted to remain underwent a procedure of reconciliation with the authorities, while the others were put onto green buses and sent to
Idlib.
However, those militants included some very valuable specimens - members of the "Syrian civil defense", or, as they are more simply known, "
the White Helmets."
If they were taken prisoner, that would be a serious problem for the US and its allies, since the members of that organization might have a lot to say once they were in front of the cameras. And the damage caused by their statements would be far worse than the fallout over the admissions made by
Hassan Diab - the boy the "helmets" named as a victim of a chemical attack in Douma, who admitted that
the attack had been staged for the photographers. And it would be so much worse, simply because the White Helmets - or at least their leaders - knew so much more.
Comment: What the US fears most is that both China and Russia are challenging the old world order by showing countries that there are alternatives to submitting to US' mafia tactics. By their willingness to invest in countries in ways that improve economies and overall living conditions they are giving these nations the wherewithal to resist the global hegemon.