Susan Lindauer's Blog, page 4
May 27, 2013
Is Gadhaffi’s Death Linked to Benghazi-Gate?
Who (really) killed Gadhaffi? All of the Libyan rebels credited with Gadhaffi’s murder died themselves within a year. Ambassador Stevens was also killed, and the Embassy archives vanished.
Is there a connection? You decide.
http://youtu.be/yAzhslKwd5Y
May 23, 2013
May 20, 2013
NPR Interview with Drone Operator, Homeless & Suffering PTSD
http://www.npr.org/about/press/2013/050313.ATCInterviewDroneOperator.html
IN FIRST BROADCAST INTERVIEW
FORMER DRONE OPERATOR BRANDON BRYANT DISCUSSES
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF MISSIONS
ON NPR’S ‘ALL THINGS CONSIDERED’ SUNDAY, MAY 5
HOMELESS AND SUFFERING FROM PTSD, BRYANT SAYS
“ONE OF THE WEIRD THINGS ABOUT THE WHOLE DRONE COMMUNITY IS YOU DON’T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING THAT YOU’VE DONE.”
In his first broadcast interview after serving as a drone operator for the U.S. Air Force, Brandon Bryant speaks with NPR’s weekends on All Things Considered guest host, Kelly McEvers, about the psychological effects of firing missiles into Afghanistan from a Las Vegas control room. Now, homeless and suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder at just 27 years old, Bryant delves into the far-reaching effects of executing people with the push of a button.
The conversation airs in full this Sunday on All Things Considered (find local stations and broadcast times at npr.org/stations); audio will be available on Sunday at approximately 7:00PM (ET) at NPR.org. Several excerpts follow:
On killing what he considered a non-hostile target that may have been a child, Bryant says: “I felt really numb. I didn’t feel distraught like I felt my first [drone] shot. I felt numb because this was the reality of war. Three instances in three months showed pretty much every aspect there is. That good guys can die, bad guys can die, and innocents can die as well.”
On his reasons for leaving the Air Force, Bryant says: “I tried to talk to a couple people about it and one of the weird things about the whole drone community is you don’t talk about anything that you’ve done. You just don’t.”
He continues: “And no one wanted to talk about it so I just shut up and didn’t talk to anyone about how I was feeling or how I was doing.”
All Things Considered, NPR’s signature afternoon newsmagazine, is hosted by Melissa Block, Audie Cornish and Robert Siegel and reaches more than 12 million listeners weekly. To find local stations and broadcast times for the program, visit http://www.npr.org/stations
The “Osama bin Laden Brigade” of the Free Syria Army
video at link
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
May 20, 2013
Underlining once again how the White House is openly seeking to arm terrorists in Syria, video has emerged of one of the FSA rebel groups referring to their unit as the “Osama Bin Laden” brigade.
The clip shows one of the militants proclaim how he is part of “The Osama bin Laden brigade of the Souqour Dimashq (Hawks of Damascus) Battalion…..Allahu Akbar!” as the insurgents prepare to attack a Syrian Army checkpoint.
“Western countries have been claiming that the FSA is comprised of somewhat “secular” people and that jihadists have only joined the fight but they are not part of the FSA. Well, you cannot get more al-Qaeda’ish than calling a brigade “Osama bin Laden,” states the description accompanying the video.
Indeed, while the media narrative has attempted to frame the presence of Al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria under the banner of Jabhat Al-Nusra as a separate entity to FSA fighters, whom the White House is now preparing to arm with heavy weaponry, 29 FSA groups pledged allegiance to Al-Nusra, which was responsible for killing U.S. troops in Iraq, immediately after the group was declared a terrorist organization by the State Department back in December.
A May 8 London Guardian report noted how Jabhat al-Nusra is “emerging as the best-equipped, financed and motivated force fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime,” and how droves of FSA fighters are now joining its ranks.
This is by no means the first time western-backed FSA rebels have proudly proclaimed their affinity with Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.
As we reported earlier this year, video footage emerged showing Syrian rebels singing songs in praise of Osama Bin Laden while celebrating the “sweet memory” of the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11.
“They (Twin Towers) have gone with the blink of an eye, oh how sweet is the memory,” the crowd sings in Arabic. “Our leader Osama Bin Laden, America’s worst nightmare,” the song continues as the crowd cheers, “If they call me a terrorist I will consider it an honor, our terror is blessed, a divine call, Allah is our goal we strive to reach him.”
FSA fighters have also displayed the black Al-Qaeda flag on innumerable occasions, including recently during a series of grisly public executions.
A Syrian rebel quoted by McClatchy Newspapers last year was overheard to remark, “When we finish with Assad, we will fight the U.S.!” Other militants have appeared in You Tube videos speaking of their desire to see the Al-Qaeda flag fly over the White House and impose Sharia law once the rebels are victorious across the region.
Rebels have also been caught on camera burning U.S. flags and chanting anti-American slogans.
The fact that Syrian opposition fighters are increasingly being exposed as sectarian jihadists loyal to Al-Qaeda, in addition to their innumerable atrocities, has derailed the now flimsy narrative that the FSA is comprised of freedom fighters who merely want to topple the dictatorship of Bashar Al-Assad to restore liberty in Syria.
With the Syrian Army winning major battles and reclaiming key areas of the country, the White House and other NATO powers are rapidly running out of time in their bid to oversee a repeat of what happened in Libya, where Al-Qaeda insurgents were also armed as part of the effort to depose Colonel Gaddafi, a process that led to the country being overtaken by brutal warlords and terrorist gangs who later took part in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi last September.
Despite the fact that FSA rebels are being led and taught how to build bombs by Al-Qaeda militants, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs panel Rep. Eliot Engel has introduced legislation urging the Obama administration to send $150 million in “lethal and non-lethal security assistance” to the insurgents. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that the Obama administration was “rethinking” its opposition to arming the rebels.
However, as the New York Times reported, the CIA has already been involved in “a secret airlift of arms and equipment for the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad” since early 2012.
Watch a video clip of western-backed rebels singing the praises of Osama bin Laden while glorifying the 9/11 attacks below.
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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.
May 17, 2013
Al Qaeda's plan for Libya Highlighted in Congressional Report
Reblogged from LIBYA AGAINST SUPER POWER MEDIA:
Al Qaeda's plan for Libya Highlighted in Congressional Report
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
An unclassified report published in August highlights al Qaeda's strategy for building a fully operational network in Libya. The report ("Al Qaeda in Libya: A Profile") was prepared by the federal research division of the Library of Congress (LOC) under an agreement with the Defense Department's Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office.
An unclassified report published in August highlights al Qaeda’s strategy for building a fully operational network in Libya. The report (“Al Qaeda in Libya: A Profile”) was prepared by the federal research division of the
May 15, 2013
America is Losing Covert War in Syria
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, May 12, 2013
Url of this article:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/america-is-loosing-its-covert-syria-war-us-sponsored-al-nusra-rebels-defeated-by-syrian-armed-forces/5334827
Recent reports from the ground suggest that America and its allies are losing their covert war in support of the Al Nusra front. In recent weeks, the US sponsored Al Qaeda affiliated rebels have been decimated by the Syrian Armed Forces.
A nationwide offensive has been launched with the support of Russia and Iran. The weapons supply routes of the rebels have been disrupted:
“the [Syrian] army has concentrated on starving, and cutting off “rebel” supply routes and arms corridors, which predominantly run through Northern Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan” (See Buying Time in Syria by Phil Greaves, Global Research, May 11, 2013)
Al Nusra is largely made up of mercenaries recruited in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Covert (Western) special forces and military advisers have also integrated their ranks.
The Al Qaeda affiliated terrorists directly funded by Washington constitute the foot-soldiers of the Western military alliance.
Confirmed by CNN, the Al Nusra terrorists have also been trained in the use of chemical weapons by special forces on contract to the Pentagon:
The training [in chemical weapons], which is taking place in Jordan and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources. Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.
The nationality of the trainers was not disclosed, though the officials cautioned against assuming all are American. (CNN, December 09, 2012, emphasis added
And once these Al Qaeda rebels had been supplied and trained in the use of WMDs by military contractors hired by the Pentagon, the Syrian government would then be held responsible for using the WMD against the Syrian people.
US Sponsored Terrorists
The most recent report by SANA, the official news agency (March 12) provides details on actions taken by the Syrian armed forces against Al Nusra rebels in different parts of the country:
Units of the armed forces on Saturday continued chasing terrorist groups in several areas in Damascus and its countryside, inflicting heavy losses upon their members, including non-Syrians.
An official source told SANA reporter that an army unit carried out a special operation in al-Beiraqdar neighborhood in Hijeira town that resulted in the killing of a number of terrorists.
…
The source added that numbers of terrorists were killed and their weapons were destroyed in al-Husseiniyeh town.
An army unit chased members of a terrorist group in al-Fakhoureh area in Wadi Barada market and killed most of them, while another army unit carried out killed four terrorists, including two snipers, in Daraya city.
A unit of the armed forces clashed with an armed terrorist group in Harasta city and killed a number of them, while another unit clashed with an armed terrorist group in Jobar and eliminated all its members and destroyed their weapons.
Also in Damascus Countryside, a military source said that Army units assumed control of al-Abbadeh area and the surrounding farms in the eastern Ghouta region, and the Armed Forces continued to advance in the town of Jarba from three points and seized control of vital areas around the town in order to cut off supplies from terrorists and encircle them.
An Armed Forces unit clashed with terrorists from Jabhet al-Nusra who were committing robberies and theft in the town of Jassem in Daraa countryside, injuring a number of them and killing others, including a Saudi called Ammar al-Shemmari and a Kuwaiti called Mahmoud al-Mtairi, both of which were leaders in Jabhet al-Nusra and responsible for manufacturing explosives.
…
Terrorists groups in Aleppo continue to suffer heavy losses at the hands of the army units which carried out today several operations that resulted in destroying amounts of weapons and ammunition in the terrorists’ dens.
SANA reporter quoted an official source as saying that numbers of terrorists were killed and others were injured to the north of the electricity company in al-Sheikh Saeed area and near al-Tawabeen Mosque and at the entrance of Handarat camp.
A heavy machinegun and various types of weapons and ammunition were destroyed in the aforementioned areas.
The source also mentioned that units of the armed forces killed a number of terrorists in the surrounding of the industrial City, the Free Zone, the glass factory and al-Zira’a area.
The army members destroyed the terrorists’ equipment and weapons, including a 23 mm caliber anti-aircraft gun, a heavy machinegun and a number of cars loaded with weapons and ammunition, the source added.
In Minnegh town, an army unit killed members of an armed terrorist group and injured others in al-Alqamiyeh area and near the Agricultural Research Center.
Other terrorists were killed near al-Daqaq factory and to the south of Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque in Khan al-Assal. A car loaded with weapons and ammunition was destroyed in the area.
…
Units of the armed forces continued targeting the gatherings and dens of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in the countryside of Idleb.
SANA reporter quoted an official source as saying that the army units destroyed weapons and equipment the terrorists had been using in their criminal acts in the surrounding of al-Fanar restaurant in Jabal al-Arabaeen area.
Many terrorists were killed and others were injured in the town of Kfarlata and the city of Ariha that are affiliated to Jabal al-Arbaeen area.
The source added that units of the armed forces destroyed terrorists’ dens, along with the weapons and ammunition inside, in the towns of Ein al-Qasab, Mashmashan, Qatroun, al-Najiyeh, Ein al-Barideh, Bazit, Darkoush, Heish, Tall Salmo, Um Jreen, al-Buweiti, al-Tur’eh and Mseibin.
In the same context, members of a terrorist group were eliminated near M’atrem town on Ariha-Jisr al-Shughour road, while army units continue pursuing terrroists in the surrounding of the brick factory and al-Shabibeh camp.
In the city of Saraqeb, an army unit killed and injured several terrorists affiliated to the so-called ‘al-Tawhid Brigade’ in the surrounding of the Pullman garage. The terrorists’ weapons and equipment were seized.
…
In the meantime, an army unit eliminated members of an armed terrorist group in Jub al-Ahmar village in the countryside of Hama and destroyed their weapons, which included heavy machineguns.
…
The Army units continued pursuing the armed teorrist groups in several neighborhoods in Deir Ezzor city and killed scores of them.
An official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the armed forces destroyed a terrorist gathering in al-Sinaa neighborhood, while another unit eliminated an armed terrorist group at al-Siyasieh bridge. (SANA, May 11, 2013
Ironically, while the Al Nusra terrorists are directly supported and financed by the Pentagon, they are on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.
Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent initiatives have largely been instrumental in increasing the flow of money and military support to the terrorists under the disguise of “humanitarian aid”.
Political Turnaround
The UN Security Council is slated to add the al-Nusra Front to its sanctions blacklist. Ironically this initiative comes “as the Syrian government asked the Security Council to blacklist al-Nusra last month, but the request was blocked by Britain and France.” (Press TV, May 11, 2013).
Now that Al Nusra, an entity created and sponsored by Western intelligence, is being decimated by the Syrian Armed Forces, the US and its allies are calling for the channeling of weapons and financial support to the more moderate “non-Islamist” rebel factions.
France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has called on the UN to classify Syria’s al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organisation “in order to differentiate the Islamist group from other opposition forces”
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius pressed the United Nations on Thursday to blacklist Syria’s al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organisation, in an effort to set the militant Islamist group apart from other more moderate opposition forces in the country.
“In order to avoid any ambiguity, we suggest that the al-Nusra Front, which is opposed to [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad but is also a branch of al Qaeda, be classified as a ‘terrorist organisation on the UN level,’” the French foreign minister stated in an interview with French daily Le Monde.
Fabius also said that France wanted to increase its support of Syria’s opposition organisation, the Syrian National Coalition, highlighting that it needed to “grow, unify and clearly guarantee that the rights of all communities be respected in the event of a regime change”.
What these developments suggest is that Al Nusra rebels are cannon fodder. They are no longer supported and upheld as freedom fighters.
Washington in consultation with its Western allies has decided to sacrifice its Al Qaeda affiliated foot-soldiers who are now being decimated by the Syrian army.
While Britain and France had blocked Syria’s earlier initiative to include Al Nusra on the United Nations Security Council terrorist list, the initiative is now emanating not from Syria but from those countries, which until recently were providing the Al Nusra front, with money and weapons.
Moreover, Washington’s direct financial support to Al Nusra, brokered by Obama’s new Secretary of State John Kerry, has become, to say the least, the source of diplomatic embarrassment.
In this regard, it is worth noting that an American citizen who is indirectly suspected, with or without evidence, of supporting an Al Qaeda affiliated entity would immediately be arrested, with of course the exception of Secretary of the State John Kerry, among other senior US officials, who are supporting Al Qaeda units on behalf of the US government.
Those who are waging the “Global War on Terrorism” are supporting the terrorists. But its all for cause: support “good guy terrorists” with a view to “promoting democracy”.
Copyright © 2013 Global Research
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