"Question: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs that the American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahideen in Afghanistan six months before the Soviet intervention. Is this period, you were the national security advisor to President Carter. You therefore played a key role in this affair. Is this correct?
Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahiddin began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. But the reality, closely guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention [emphasis added throughout].
Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into the war and looked for a way to provoke it?
B: It wasn’t quite like that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.
Q : When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against secret US involvement in Afghanistan , nobody believed them . However, there was an element of truth in this. You don’t regret any of this today?
B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, essentially: “We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war." Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war that was unsustainable for the regime , a conflict that bought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.
Q: And neither do you regret having supported Islamic fundamentalism, which has given arms and advice to future terrorists?
B : What is more important in world history? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some agitated Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?
Q : “Some agitated Moslems”? But it has been said and repeated: Islamic fundamentalism represents a world menace today...
B: Nonsense! It is said that the West has a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid: There isn’t a global Islam. Look at Islam in a rational manner, without demagoguery or emotionalism. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is t h ere in com m on among fundamentalist Saudi Arabia , moderate Morocco, militarist Pakistan, pro-Western Egypt, or secularist Central Asia? Nothing more than what unites the Christian countries…" The Brzezinski Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur (1998), University Of Arizona
"The Government of Saudi Arabia has generally matched the United States financial contributions, providing money in a joint fund with Washington to buy hundreds of Stingers for the Islamic guerrillas even though Congress would not permit such sophisticated weapons to be sold to the Saudis themselves. In addition, several wealthy Saudi princes, motivated by a sense of religious duty and solidarity, gave cash contributions to the guerrillas." Arming Afghan Guerrillas: A Huge Effort Led by US,” New York Times, April 18, 1988
"In the twilight of the Cold War, the United States spent millions of dollars to supply Afghan schoolchildren with textbooks filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings, part of covert attempts to spur resistance to the Soviet occupation.
The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers and mines, have served since then as the Afghan school system's core curriculum. Even the Taliban used the American-produced books, though the radical movement scratched out human faces in keeping with its strict fundamentalist code" From US, the ABCs of Jihad,” Washington Post, March 23, 2002
"With the end of the Cold War, we can now use our military with impunity. The Soviets won’t come in to block us. And we’ve got five, maybe ten, years to clean up these old Soviet surrogate regimes like Iraq and Syria before the next superpower emerges to challenge us … We could have a little more time, but no one really knows.” A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country By Wesley K. Clark remarking Paul Wolfawitz Page 150
"While I was there, I saw the Iraqi soldiers come into the hospital with guns. They took the babies out of the incubators, took the incubators and left the children to die on the cold floor. It was horrifying. I could not help but think of my nephew who was born premature and might have died that day as well. After I left the hospital, some of my friends and I distributed flyers condemning the Iraqi invasion until we were warned we might be killed if the Iraqis saw us.
The Iraqis have destroyed everything in Kuwait. They stripped the supermarkets of food, the pharmacies of medicine, the factories of medical supplies, ransacked their houses and tortured neighbors and friends.
I saw and talked to a friend of mine after his torture and release by the Iraqis. He is 22 but he looked as though he could have been an old man. The Iraqis dunked his head into a swimming pool until he almost drowned. They pulled out his fingernails and then played [sic] electric shocks to sensitive private parts of his body. He was lucky to survive.
If an Iraqi soldier is found dead in the neighborhood, they burn to the ground all the houses in the general vicinity and would not let firefighters come until the only ash and rubble was left.
The Iraqis were making fun of President Bush and verbally and physically abusing my family and me on our way out of Kuwait. We only did so because life in Kuwait became unbearable. They have forced us to hide, burn or destroy everything identifying our country and our government.
I want to emphasize that Kuwait is our mother and the Emir our father. We repeated this on the roofs of our houses in Kuwait until the Iraqis began shooting at us, and we shall repeat it again. I am glad I am 15, old enough to remember Kuwait before Saddam Hussein destroyed it and young enough to rebuild it
Thank you." Nayirah testimony, Video
"Only bullet and shrapnel scars beneath their heavy attire would be clues that these visitors were militia commanders, some with ties to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network. For the next five weeks, the men were feted at private parties, escorted on tours of other local landmarks, including a school and hospital, and given cash for a shopping mall excursion where most bought scented soaps and silk stockings. And just as quietly as they had arrived, the Afghans were shepherded back to Afghanistan -- all expenses paid courtesy of the U.S. government and the University of Nebraska at Omaha." University Helped US Reach Out to Taliban,” Chicago Tribune, October 22, 2001
"Leslie Stahl: "We have heard that a half million children have died (as a result of sanctions against Iraq). I mean, that is more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?"
Madeleine Albright: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price, we think the price is worth it." 60 minutes Interview with Madeline Albright 1996 Clinton's secretary of state, commenting on the sanctions on Iraq
"US intelligence agencies warned of "something very, very, very big". "The system was blinking red," CIA director George Tenet said. But the information pointed to an attack outside the US." Rupert Cornwell, “The System Was Blinking Red,” Independent, July 22, 2004
"Tenet told us that in his world “the system was blinking red.” By late July, Tenet said, it could not “get any worse.” Not everyone was convinced. Some asked whether all these threats might just be deception. On June 30, the SEIB contained an article titled “Bin Ladin Threats Are Real.”Yet Hadley told Tenet in July that Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz questioned the reporting. Perhaps Bin Ladin was trying to study U.S. reactions.Tenet replied that he had already addressed the Defense Department’s questions on this point; the reporting was convincing. To give a sense of his anxiety at the time, one senior official in the Counterterrorist Center told us that he and a colleague were considering resigning in order to go public with their concerns." The 9/11 Commission, “Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States,” 2004, Page 259
"Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US
Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate Bin Ladin since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the US. Bin Ladin implied in US television interviews in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and “bring the fighting to America.”
After US missile strikes on his base in Afghanistan in 1998, Bin Ladin told followers he wanted to retaliate in Washington, according to a [—] service. An Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) operative told an [—] service at the same time that Bin Ladin was planning to exploit the operative’s access to the US to mount a terrorist strike…
A clandestine source said in 1998 that a Bin Ladin cell in New York was recruiting Muslim-American youth for attacks.
We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a [—] service in 1998 saying that Bin Ladin wanted to hijack a US aircraft to gain the release of “Blind Shaykh” ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman and other US-held extremists. Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York. The FBI is conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the US that it considers Bin Ladin-related. CIA and the FBI are investigating a call to our Embassy in the UAE in May saying that a group of Bin Ladin supporters was in the US planning attacks with explosives.
of buildings in New York, the threat phoned in to the embassy, or the fact that the FBI had approximately 70 ongoing bin Ladin–related investigations. No CSG or other NSC meeting was held to discuss the possible threat of a strike in the United States as a result of this report. Late in the month, a foreign service reported that Abu Zubaydah was considering mounting terrorist attacks in the United States, after postponing possible operations in Europe. No targets, timing, or method of attack were provided. We have found no indication of any further discussion before September 11 among the President and his top advisers of the possibility of a threat of an al Qaeda attack in the United States. DCI Tenet visited President Bush in Crawford,Texas, on August 17 and participated in PDB briefings of the President between August 31 (after the President had returned to Washington) and September 10. But Tenet does not recall any discussions with the President of the domestic threat during this period. Most of the intelligence community recognized in the summer of 2001 that the number and severity of threat reports were unprecedented. Many officials told us that they knew something terrible was planned, and they were desperate to stop it." The 9/11 Commission, “Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States,” 2004, Page 260-263 (Extended quote than book)
"Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon adopted a plan to topple the governments of seven countries Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Iran) within five years, according to a memorandum disclosed by US General Wesley Clark." General Wesley Clark, not exact quote
"A Senior Pentagon policy maker created an unofficial "Iraqi intelligence cell" in the summer of 2002 to circumvent the CIA and secretly brief the White House on links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'eda, according to the Senate intelligence committee… The cell appears to have been set up by Mr Feith as an adjunct to the Office of Special Plans, a Pentagon intelligence-gathering operation established in the wake of 9/11 with the authority of Paul Wolfowitz. Its focus quickly became the al-Qa'eda-Saddam link. On occasion, without informing the then head of the CIA, George Tenet, the group gave counter-briefings in the White House. Sen Jay Rockefeller, the most senior Democrat on the committee, said that Mr Feith's cell may even have undertaken "unlawful" intelligence-gathering initiatives." Fury Over Pentagon Cell That Briefed White House on Iraq’s ‘Imaginary’ al-Qaeda links,” Daily Telegraph, July 11, 2004
"Strapped to the polygraph machine was Adnan Ihsan Saeed al-Haideri, a forty-three-year-old Iraqi who had fled his homeland in Kurdistan and was now determined to bring down Saddam Hussein. For hours, as thin mechanical styluses traced black lines on rolling graph paper, al-Haideri laid out an explosive tale. Answering yes and no to a series of questions, he insisted repeatedly that he was a civil engineer who had helped Saddam's men to secretly bury tons of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons… It was damning stuff -- just the kind of evidence the Bush administration was looking for. If the charges were true, they would offer the White House a compelling reason to invade Iraq and depose Saddam. That's why the Pentagon had flown a CIA polygraph expert to Pattaya: to question al-Haideri and confirm, once and for all, that Saddam was secretly stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. There was only one problem: It was all a lie…
Al-Haideri, in fact, was the product of a clandestine operation -- part espionage, part PR campaign -- that had been set up and funded by the CIA and the Pentagon for the express purpose of selling the world a war. And the man who had long been in charge of the marketing was a secretive and mysterious creature of the Washington establishment named John Rendon.
Rendon is a man who fills a need that few people even know exists. Two months before al-Haideri took the lie-detector test, the Pentagon had secretly awarded him a $16 million contract to target Iraq and other adversaries with propaganda. One of the most powerful people in Washington, Rendon is a leader in the strategic field known as "perception management," manipulating information -- and, by extension, the news media -- to achieve the desired result. His firm, the Rendon Group, has made millions off government contracts since 1991, when it was hired by the CIA to help "create the conditions for the removal of Hussein from power." Working under this extraordinary transfer of secret authority, Rendon assembled a group of anti-Saddam militants, personally gave them their name -- the Iraqi National Congress -- and served as their media guru and "senior adviser" as they set out to engineer an uprising against Saddam. It was as if President John F. Kennedy had outsourced the Bay of Pigs operation to the advertising and public-relations firm of J. Walter Thompson." The Man Who Sold the War,” Rolling Stone, November 18, 2005 (Authenticity is Denied by the The Rendon Group)
"Former Prime Minister Netanyahu testified about potential military action in Iraq. Among the topics he addressed were nuclear weapons development in Iraq, Iraqi support of terrorist networks, potential Israeli reaction to a preemptive strike against Iraq, and the potential use o chemical and biological weapons against Israel" C-Span, “Israeli Perspective on Conflict with Iraq,” September 12, 2002
"There is no doubt that the situation over Iraq has imposed particular difficulties for the U.K., and for the wider coalition against terrorism," the report said. "It gave a boost to the Al Qaeda network's propaganda, recruitment and fundraising." Britain Assails Critical Report on Role in Iraq,” New York Times, July 19, 2005 Chatham House Report
"This is basically an assassination programme. That is what is being conceptualised here. This is a hunter-killer team," said a former senior US intelligence official, who added that he feared the new tactics and enhanced cooperation with Israel would only inflame a volatile situation in the Middle East. "It is bonkers, insane. Here we are - we're already being compared to Sharon in the Arab world, and we've just confirmed it by bringing in the Israelis and setting up assassination teams." Israel Trains US Assassination Squads in Iraq,” Guardian, December 8, 2003
"Libya plays a vital role in regional peace and world peace," he said in an interview with the France 24 television station. "We are an important partner in fighting al Qaeda." "There are millions of blacks who could come to the Mediterranean to cross to France and Italy, and Libya plays a role in security in the Mediterranean" Western States Need Libyan Partnership: Gaddafi,” Reuters, March 7th 2011
"COUNTER-TERRORISM COOPERATION & EXTREMISM
7. (S) Libya has been a strong partner in the war against terrorism and cooperation in liaison channels is excellent. Muammar al-Qadhafi's criticism of Saudi Arabia for perceived support of Wahabi extremism, a source of continuing Libya-Saudi tension, reflects broader Libyan concern about the threat of extremism. Worried that fighters returning from Afghanistan and Iraq could destabilize the regime, the GOL has aggressively pursued operations to disrupt foreign fighter flows, including more stringent monitoring of air/land ports of entry, and blunt the ideological appeal of radical Islam." US Embassy Cables: Profile of ‘Intellectually Curious’ but ‘Notoriously Mercurial’ Gaddafi,” Guardian, December 7, 2010
"People will say that we will then get enmeshed in a civil war, that we cannot go into another Muslim country, that Gaddafi is well armed, there will be a million reasons NOT to act. But all our talk about global responsibility and leadership, not to mention respect for universal values, is completely empty if we stand by and watch this happen with no response but sanctions. Acting together, at the invitation of a legitimate Libyan government rather than waiting for the UN, could save thousands if not tens of thousands of lives and change the image of the United States overnight, particularly with the millions of young people who are watching" Anne Marie Slaughter, Hillary Clinton Email Archive, WikiLeaks, February 23, 2011
"One of America's most senior diplomats claimed at the United Nations security council that Muammar Gaddafi is supplying his troops with Viagra to encourage mass rape, according to diplomats… A UN diplomat at the closed session on Thursday said: "I was in the room when she mentioned Viagra. The remark did not cause a stir at the time. It was during a discussion about whether there is moral equivalence between the Gaddafi forces and the rebels. She listed human rights abuses by Gaddafi's forces, including snipers shooting children in the street and the Viagra story." Gaddafi ‘supplies troops with Viagra to encourage mass rape’, claims diplomat US ambassador Susan Rice The Guardian Fri 29 Apr 2011
"Many Western policymakers genuinely believed that Muammar Gaddafi would
have ordered his troops to massacre civilians in Benghazi, if those forces had been able to
enter the city. However, while Muammar Gaddafi certainly threatened violence against
those who took up arms against his rule, this did not necessarily translate into a threat
to everyone in Benghazi. In short, the scale of the threat to civilians was presented with
unjustified certainty. US intelligence officials reportedly described the intervention as “an
intelligence-light decision” House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK’s future policy options Third Report of Session 2016–17 Page 19
"Ten days ago, having tried to end the violence without using force, the international community offered Qaddafi a final chance to stop his campaign of killing, or face the consequences. Rather than stand down, his forces continued their advance, bearing down on the city of Benghazi, home to nearly 700,000 men, women and children who sought their freedom from fear. At this point, the United States and the world faced a choice. Qaddafi declared he would show “no mercy” to his own people. He compared them to rats, and threatened to go door to door to inflict punishment. In the past, we have seen him hang civilians in the streets, and kill over a thousand people in a single day. Now we saw regime forces on the outskirts of the city. We knew that if we wanted -- if we waited one more day, Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world." March 28, 2011
"Intelligence on the extent to which extremist militant Islamist elements were involved
in the anti-Gaddafi rebellion was inadequate. Former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord
Richards of Herstmonceux confirmed that intelligence on the composition of the rebel
militias was not “as good as one would wish.” He observed that “We found it quite difficult to get the sort of information you would expect us to get.”We asked Lord Richards
whether he knew that Abdelhakim Belhadj and other members of the al-Qaeda affiliated
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group were participating in the rebellion in March 2011. He replied that that “was a grey area. He added that “a quorum of respectable Libyans
were assuring the Foreign Office” that militant Islamist militias would not benefit from the rebellion. He acknowledged that “with the benefit of hindsight, that was wishful
thinking at best.”
28. The possibility that militant extremist groups would attempt to benefit from
the rebellion should not have been the preserve of hindsight. Libyan connections
with transnational militant extremist groups were known before 2011, because many
Libyans had participated in the Iraq insurgency and in Afghanistan with al-Qaeda" House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK’s future policy options Third Report of Session 2016–17 Page 12-13
"So it is with the results of a recent YouGov Siraj poll on Syria commissioned by The Doha Debates, funded by the Qatar Foundation. Qatar's royal family has taken one of the most hawkish lines against Assad – the emir has just called for Arab troops to intervene – so it was good that The Doha Debates published the poll on its website. The pity is that it was ignored by almost all media outlets in every western country whose government has called for Assad to go.
The key finding was that while most Arabs outside Syria feel the president should resign, attitudes in the country are different. Some 55% of Syrians want Assad to stay, motivated by fear of civil war… What is less good news for the Assad regime is that the poll also found that half the Syrians who accept him staying in power believe he must usher in free elections in the near future." Most Syrians Back President Assad, but You’d Never Know from Western Media,” Guardian, January 17, 2012
“But as time went on, every time there was a problem in the camp, he was at the centre of it,” Abu Ahmed recalled. “He wanted to be the head of the prison – and when I look back now, he was using a policy of conquer and divide to get what he wanted, which was status. And it worked.” By December 2004, Baghdadi was deemed by his jailers to pose no further risk and his release was authorised. “He was respected very much by the US army,” Abu Ahmed said. “If he wanted to visit people in another camp he could, but we couldn’t. And all the while, a new strategy, which he was leading, was rising under their noses, and that was to build the Islamic State. If there was no American prison in Iraq, there would be no IS now. Bucca was a factory. It made us all. It built our ideology.” Guardian , ‘ISIS: The Inside Story’, 11 December 2014
"US standing with Syria probably would remain essentially unchanged with the emergence of a new Alawi military regime resolved to maintain the course set by Assad. We expect such a regime would continue Syria's involvement in Lebanon, along with its confrontation with Israel, its support for terrorism, and its close ties to the USSR. We judge that US interests in Syria probably would be best served by a Sunni regime as it might well include relative moderates interested in securing Western aid and investment. Such a regime probably would be less inclined to escalate tensions with Israel… A Sunni rebellion in the late 1970s and early 1980s ended when Assad crushed the Muslim Brotherhood that spearheaded it. Although we judge that fear of reprisals and organizational problems make a second Sunni challenge unlikely, an excessive government reaction to minor outbreaks of Sunni dissidence might trigger large-scale unrest. In most instances the regime would have the resources to crush a Sunni opposition movement, but we believe widespread violence among the populace could stimulate large numbers of Sunni officers and conscripts to desert or mutiny, setting the stage for civil war… We believe that a renewal of communal violence between Alawis and Sunnis could inspire Sunnis in the military to turn against the regime… Syria's secular traditions would make it extremely difficult for religious zealots to establish an Islamic Republic should they succeed they would likely deepen hostilities with Israel and provide support and sanctuary to terrorist groups" SYRIA: SCENARIOS OF DRAMATIC POLITICAL CHANGE Publication Date: July 30, 1986 CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5
"AQI supported the Syrian opposition from the beginning, ideologically and through the media.. AQI conducted a number of operations in several Syrian cities under the name Al Nusra, one of its affiliates… If the situation unravels there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria. And this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want in order to isolate the Syrian regime" Department of Defense, ‘Information Report 14-L-0552/DIA), August 2012 Judicial Watch
"I don’t know that they turned a blind eye, I think it was a decision. I think it was a wilful decision." Al-Jazeera, ‘Head to Head: Who is to blame for the rise of ISIL?’, 29 July 2015 Michael T Flynn, the former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, on how to deal with ISIL and Iran interview minute 11-13
"After more than three years of civil war, there are hundreds of militias fighting President Bashar al-Assad — and one another. Among them, even the more secular forces have turned to Islamists for support and weapons over the years, and the remaining moderate rebels often fight alongside extremists like the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.“There’s a lot of skepticism about this piece of the president’s strategy,” said Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, a member of the House Intelligence Committee. “The so-called moderate rebels have often been very immoderate and ineffective.” US Pins Hope on Syrian Rebels With Loyalties All over the Map,” New York Times, September 11, 2014
"Human Rights Watch has documented that opposition forces executed or unlawfully killed at least 67 of these 190 civilians even though they were unarmed and trying to flee. The evidence gathered by Human Rights Watch indicates that all those unlawfully killed were civilian non-combatants. There is no evidence that they could have posed, or could have been perceived to pose, any threat to the fighters… The evidence gathered by Human Rights Watch strongly suggests that the killings, hostage taking, and other abuses committed by the opposition forces on August 4 rise to the level of crimes against humanity. The scale and organization of these crimes indicate that they were systematic as well as being planned as part of an attack on a civilian population… The coordinated nature of the offensive campaign in which at least 20 distinct groups participated and the number of villages affected, in combination with the organized manner in which they carried out the attack—the simultaneous arrival of fighters that surrounded the villages, the repeated killing of entire families or separation of women and children as hostages from men who were killed, and the statements from fighters and others who are holding civilians hostage regarding their intentions to exchange them for detainees held by the government—suggests that the crimes were premeditated and organized." Executions, Indiscriminate Shootings, and Hostage Taking by Opposition Forces in Latakia Countryside,” Human Rights Watch, October 10, 2013
"So what, we’re about to become al-Qaeda’s air force now?” Kucinich: Syria Strike Would Turn US Into ‘al Qaeda’s Air Force’,” Hill, August 23, 2013 Former Congressman Denniz kucinich (Taken down, however you get can still see the Hill posted it)
"We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.
Q So you're confident it’s somehow under -- it's safe?
THE PRESIDENT: In a situation this volatile, I wouldn’t say that I am absolutely confident. What I’m saying is we’re monitoring that situation very carefully. We have put together a range of contingency plans. We have communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region that that’s a red line for us and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons. That would change my calculations significantly." August 20, 2012 Remarks by the President to the White House Press Corps
"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement on Friday that U.S. intelligence concluded with 'high confidence' that the Assad regime in Syria is responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus. Kerry added that the U.S. estimates at least 1,429 Syrians were killed in the attack, including 426 children.
Kerry laid out some of the evidence U.S. intelligence has put together and shared with members of Congress and international allies. According to the Secretary, the U.S. has established where the rockets were launched from and where they landed. He also said the U.S. believes senior Syrian officials confirmed the use of chemical weapons in the suburbs and that the regime officials were in the area in the days leading up to the attack. "We know that for three days before the attack, the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons personnel were on the ground in the area, making preparations," Kerry said." Kerry: ‘High Confidence’ that Syria Government Responsible for Chemical Attack That Killed at Least 1,426 People,” Huffington Post, August 30, 2013
"Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated," Del Ponte said in an interview with Swiss-Italian television. "This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities," UN Has Testimony that Syrian Rebels Used Sarin Gas: Investigator,” Reuters, May 5, 2013
"There’s a playbook in Washington that presidents are supposed to follow. It’s a playbook that comes out of the foreign-policy establishment. And the playbook prescribes responses to different events, and these responses tend to be militarized responses. Where America is directly threatened, the playbook works. But the playbook can also be a trap that can lead to bad decisions. In the midst of an international challenge like Syria, you get judged harshly if you don’t follow the playbook, even if there are good reasons why it does not apply.” THE OBAMA DOCTRINE The U.S. president talks through his hardest decisions about America’s role in the world. By Jeffrey Goldberg APRIL 2016 (Obama)
"A widely held sentiment inside the White House is that many of the most prominent foreign-policy think tanks in Washington are doing the bidding of their Arab and pro-Israel funders. I’ve heard one administration official refer to Massachusetts Avenue, the home of many of these think tanks, as “Arab-occupied territory.” THE OBAMA DOCTRINE The U.S. president talks through his hardest decisions about America’s role in the world. By Jeffrey Goldberg APRIL 2016 (Goldberg)
"Central to the debate on UK air operations in Syria is the effectiveness of the operations in support of local ground forces. In his statement on 26 November 2015, the then Prime Minister told the House that whilst the situation in Syria was “complex,” he believed that there were around “70,000 Syrian opposition fighters, principally of the Free Syrian Army” with whom the UK could coordinate attacks. Mr Cameron defined that figure as fighters who did not belong to extremist groups, adding that they included “moderate armed Sunni Arabs who had defended territory north of Aleppo”; and the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army which had “consolidated its control over significant areas and had worked to prevent terrorists from operating”... 8
Charles Lister, when at the Brookings Institute, produced his own analysis of what he regards as moderate opposition fighters… His work—set out below—claims that the following groups would contribute around 65,000 of the stated 70,000 moderate opposition:
Source: ‘Yes, there are 70,000 moderate opposition fighters in Syria. Here’s what we know about them’ The Spectator, 25 November 2015
Mr Lister went on to argue that, in addition, there were “roughly 25–30 additional factions that would fall under this ‘moderate’ label” which combined, represented “a further 10,000 fighters" UK military operations in Syria and Iraq 16th September 2016 (Charles Lister works for the Brookings Doha Centre a Qatari Thinktank and The Middle East Institute funded by Arms, oil, Saudi arabia and the UAE)
"Last month, video of a Syrian rebel apparently beheading a child captive stunned the world. In the amateur cell phone footage, a fighter from Aleppo faction Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki (also known as Zinki or al-Zinki) sawed off his prisoner’s head in the back of a pickup truck. The video reverberated worldwide and invited near-universal condemnation, including from the Syrian opposition itself. “This horrific video showing the beheading of a boy suggests some members of armed groups have truly plumbed the depths of depravity,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program. Zinki itself condemned the act and vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable…
If the United States cannot absorb its proxies’ bad behavior, on and off camera, then its strategy in Syria is likely untenable. If, on the other hand, the United States really is serious about pursuing a two-pronged strategy—challenging the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad militarily while backing rebel allies to counterbalance jihadists within the Syrian opposition—well, then it will have to back Zinki and other groups like it. Contrary to some reporting, Zinki was not “U.S.-backed” at the time of the beheading. Zinki’s support from the Müşterek Operasyon Merkezi (MOM)—a joint operations room in Turkey that reportedly includes the CIA and allied intelligence services—was actually cut off in August or September of last year, rebel sources told me.
But Zinki had recently been negotiating with state backers, including the United States, over the restoration of its support. Representatives from Zinki told me a meeting with these states—now postponed—was scheduled on the evening of the beheading…
Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki has a reputation for being organized, militarily effective, and, unlike some other rebel brigades in northern Syria, a genuinely autonomous rival to jihadists. It has skirmished with former Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front (now the Fateh al-Sham Front), although lately the two have fought side-by-side outside Aleppo… If the United States wants to reinforce a meaningful non-jihadist constituency within Syria’s armed opposition and retain its own influence by proxy, then Zinki is a natural, if unpalatable, partner. But if Washington insists on keeping its hands perfectly clean, there’s probably no Syrian faction—in the opposition, or on any side of the war—that merits support." Sam Heller, “In Syrian Proxy War, America Can Keep Its Hands Clean or It Can Get Things Done,” Century Foundation, August 17, 2016
"The Moderate Face of Al Qaeda” Foreign Affairs How the Group Has Rebranded Itself
By Colin P. Clarke October 24, 2017 - The Good and Bad of Ahrar Al-Sham: An Al Qaeda-Linked Group Worth Befriending.” By Michael Doran, William McCants, and Clint Watts January 23, 2014 - Accepting Al Qaeda The Enemy of the United States’ Enemy By Barak Mendelsohn March 9th 2015 (CFR Magazine)
"The West should seek the further weakening of Islamic State, but not its destruction. A weak but functioning IS can undermine the appeal of the caliphate among radical Muslims; keep bad actors focused on one another rather than on Western targets; and hamper Iran’s quest for regional hegemony… The continuing existence of IS serves a strategic purpose. Why help the brutal Assad regime win the Syrian civil war? Many radical Islamists in the opposition forces, i.e., Al Nusra and its offshoots, might find other arenas in which to operate closer to Paris and Berlin. Is it in the West’s interests to strengthen the Russian grip on Syria and bolster its influence in the Middle East? Is enhancing Iranian control of Iraq congruent with American objectives in that country? Only the strategic folly that currently prevails in Washington can consider it a positive to enhance the power of the Moscow-Tehran-Damascus axis by cooperating with Russia against IS…
Moreover, instability and crises sometimes contain portents of positive change." Ephraim Anbar, “The Destruction of Islamic State Is a Strategic Mistake,” BESA Center Perspectives, August 2, 2016
"Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Tuesday that Iran poses a greater threat than the Islamic State, and that if the Syrian regime were to fall, Israel would prefer that IS was in control of the territory than an Iranian proxy. “In Syria, if the choice is between Iran and the Islamic State, I choose the Islamic State. They don’t have the capabilities that Iran has,” Ya’alon told a conference held by the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv." Ya’alon: I Would Prefer Islamic State to Iran in Syria,” Times of Israel, January 19, 2016
“Israel stood by our side in a heroic way,” said Moatasem al-Golani, spokesman for the rebel group Fursan al-Joulan, or Knights of the Golan. “We wouldn’t have survived without Israel’s assistance.” Noam Raydan and Suha Ma’ayeh, “Israel Gives Secret Aid to Syrian Rebels,” Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2017
"Yavne, the brigadier general, similarly described the Iranian influence as significantly more worrisome than ISIS or other Sunni Muslim terror groups: “If I can be frank, the radical axis headed by Iran is more risky than the global jihad one," said Yavne. “It is much more knowledgeable, stronger, with a bigger arsenal.”
As far as these Israeli officers are concerned, the ideal strategy is to sit back and let both types of groups duke it out—and work to contain the conflict rather than trying to end it with military force. As the IDF intelligence officer put it, “the battle for deterrence is easier than the battle for influence.”
But does that mean the United States and its allies should simply allow ISIS to retain its so-called caliphate in parts of eastern Syria and eastern Iraq?“Why not?” the officer shot back." Brian Bender, “Israeli Officers: You’re Doing ISIS Wrong,” Politico, May 22, 2017
"There was one case recently where Daesh [Isis] opened fire and apologised,” Mr Ya’alon said speaking at an event in the northern city of Alufa, during which he was was being interviewed about Israel’s policy on Syria… A spokesperson for Mr Ya’alon refused to elaborate on how Isis expressed its apology to Israel after the attack and the Israel Defense Forces also refused to comment" Isis fighters ‘attacked Israel Defense Forces unit, then apologised' claims former commander Monday 28 August 2017 The Independent
"What my constant cry was that our biggest problem was our allies. Our allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria. The Turks were great friends, and I’ve a great relationship with [Turkish President Recep] Erdoğan, who I’ve just spent a lot of time with, the Saudis, the Emiratis, etc. What were they doing?
They were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra, and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world. If you think I’m exaggerating, take a look. Where did all of this go? So now what’s happening? All of a sudden, everybody is awakened because this outfit called ISIL, which was al Qaeda in Iraq, which when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space and territory in eastern Syria, work with al-Nusra, who we declared a terrorist group early on, and we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them. So, what happened?
Now, all of a sudden [now that ISIS has taken over western Iraq]—I don’t want to be too facetious—but they have seen the lord. Now we have—the president’s been able to put together a coalition of our Sunni neighbors, because America can’t once again go into a [Sunni] Muslim nation and be the aggressor. It has to be led by Sunnis. To go and attack a Sunni organization. And so, what do we have for the first time? Now Saudi Arabia has stopped the funding from going in. Saudi Arabia is allowing training on its soil of American forces under Title 10, open training. The Qataris have cut off their support for the most extreme elements of the terrorist organizations. And the Turks, President Erdoğan told me—he is an old friend—said, “You were right; we let too many people through. Now we are trying to seal the border.” VP Joe Biden 2014 talk to Harvard University Delivers remarks on foreign policy
"We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region." Wiki Leaks, From:john.podesta@gmail.com To: hrod17@clintonemail.com, 2014-09-27
"Serena Shim, who worked for Iran's state-owned Press TV as Turkey correspondent, died in the city of Suruc after the car in which she was travelling reportedly collided with a 'heavy vehicle'. Shim's death came just days after she spoke on camera of her fears of being arrested, claiming Turkish intelligence agents had accused her of spying after one of her reports suggested ISIS militants were being smuggled back and forth over the Syrian border in the back of aid vehicles… In the short interview she alleged that she had been approached and accused of spying after a report in which he said she claimed to have received images of Islamic State terrorists being smuggled over the Turkey-Syria in vehicles belonging to the World Food Organization and other aid groups." Daily Mail , ‘Mystery of American journalist killed in car crash in Turkey... just days after she claimed intelligence services had threatened her over her coverage of siege of Kobane’, 20 October 2014 - Press TV
"This is a time for Trump to be Trump — utterly cynical and unpredictable. ISIS right now is the biggest threat to Iran, Hezbollah, Russia and pro-Shiite Iranian militias — because ISIS is a Sunni terrorist group that plays as dirty as Iran and Russia. Trump should want to defeat ISIS in Iraq. But in Syria? Not for free, not now. In Syria, Trump should let ISIS be Assad’s, Iran’s, Hezbollah’s and Russia’s headache — the same way we encouraged the mujahedeen fighters to bleed Russia in Afghanistan." Why Is Trump Fighting ISIS in Syria? Thomas L Freidman April 12th 2017 NYT
"John Kerry: I think we've put an extraordinary amount of arms in.
Michael Ratney: And . . . I have to say . . . it’s a double-edged sword because you give people the ability to defend themselves, but when you pump more weapons into a situation like Syria, it doesn’t end well for Syrians, because there is always someone else who is going to pump more weapons in for the other side. The armed groups in Syria get a lot of support, not just from the United States but from other partners.
Kerry: Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia—a huge amount of weapons coming in. A huge amount of money.
Ratney: But pumping weapons in causes someone else to pump more weapons in and you end up with Aleppo.
Kerry: The reason Russia came in is because ISIL was getting stronger, Daesh was threatening the possibility of going to Damascus and so forth. And that’s why Russia came in. Because they didn’t want a Daesh government and they supported Assad. And we know that this was growing. We were watching. We saw that Daesh was growing in strength, and we thought Assad was threatened. We thought, however, we could probably manage. Uh, you know, that Assad would then negotiate. Instead of negotiating, he got Putin to support him." John Kerry, Michael Ratney Leaked meeting with Syrian revolutionaries, Min 25
"Volunteers from the Syria Civil Defence - better known as the White Helmets - risk their lives on a daily basis by serving as the main rescue group operating in besieged eastern Aleppo. Addressing Parliament’s foreign affairs and development committees on 5 December, their chief liaison officer Abdulrahman Al-Mawwas decried the current situation in Aleppo and called for both a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to prevent a large-scale humanitarian disaster." Syria’s White Helmets: “We need a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors” World 06-12-2016 European Parliament News
“They’re getting more sophisticated thanks to Russian imports. To have a no-fly zone you have to take out all of the air defense, many of which are located in populated areas. So our missiles, even if they are standoff missiles so we’re not putting our pilots at risk—you’re going to kill a lot of Syrians,” In Secret Goldman Sachs Speech, Hillary Clinton Admitted No-Fly Zone Would ‘Kill a Lot of Syrians,’Intercept, October 10, 2016
"Syrians have become merely traditional weapons compared to the more advanced bombs the regime developed by adding chlorine gas, which is inexpensive and readily available. This primitive, cheap, and indiscriminate weapon has become a source of constant panic among Syrian civilians due to the fear it spreads when people hear the news of its use in nearby areas.This dirty chemical weapon causes physical injuries that show through symptoms like suffocating and fainting, and can lead to death if the injured are not attended to in due course. These weapons are most dangerous if inhaled by people stranded in small spaces, and that is what happens to those stranded under the rubble of buildings that collapse on top of their residence due to the force of barrel bombs. Starting from the 16th of March this year, the regime resumed its chemical attacks against the opposition areas. Only 10 days after the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2209, which reaffirmed the prohibition and use of chlorine gas as a weapon and classified it as chemical warfare. The resolution also warned of taking action under Chapter 7 in the event it's used again in Syria… Unfortunately, during the 3 months that followed Resolution 2209, the number of chlorine attacks was more than double those in the entire previous year. Yes, I repeat again. The number of chlorine attacks was more than double those in the entire previous year just after the Security Council resolution. Between March 16th and June 9th in 2015, Syria's Civil Defense Teams responded to 23 air raids, during which 46 barrel bombs containing chlorine gas were dropped. And, of course, the actual number of the chemical attacks was even higher" Assad’s Abhorrent Chemical Weapons Attacks,” House Foreign Affairs Committee, June 17, 2015,
"Stability in Syria has been deteriorating since March 2011. Civilian nonviolent protests demanding government reform have been met with state-sponsored repression perpetrated by the regime of Bashar al Assad. What began as a largely nonviolent revolution has spiraled into an armed conflict between armed rebel groups, some representing foreign extremist entities, and regime security forces. Caught among the continuing armed struggle are activists, youth, women, and media groups, as well as newly formed civilian governance structures and a nascent civil society struggling for reform and an end to the armed conflict" Syria Regional Option (SRO) Final Report, USAID/OTI Washington, April 2013
"The UK provided £716,000 from the Conflict Stability and Security Fund to the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, in the Financial Year 2019/2020. This funding has supported the White Helmets' emergency search and rescue work in Idlib. We assess that allegations linking the White Helmets to terrorist groups are baseless and are part of a concerted disinformation campaign by the Syrian regime and Russia seeking to undermine the White Helmets' valuable work" White Helmets
Question for Foreign and Commonwealth Office UIN HL4538, tabled on 14 May 2020 Lord Truscott asking Lord Ahmed (Quote not in book)
"The Arab League has just asked the UN Security Council to create a no-fly zone over Libya. Right now Qaddafi's forces are crushing the rebellion town by town and brutal retribution awaits Libyans who challenged the regime. If we don't persuade the UN to act now, we could witness a bloodbath. Libyans are asking if the world has abandoned them. The Avaaz community is deeply committed to non-violence, but enforcing a no-fly zone to ground Qaddafi's gunships is one case where UN-backed military action seems necessary. Polls of our community show 86% of us support a no-fly zone. Now, as the decisive UN vote nears, it's time for the biggest outcry we can raise to break the international deadlock. We cheered when Libya's people rose up, and we cannot, we must not, ignore their plea for help now, in their darkest hour. Even if you've sent one before, click to send a message to the UN Security Council now." UNSC: Libya No-Fly Zone,” Avaaz, March 17, 2011
Jeremy Heimans - Founder of Get Up, Avaaz and Purpose
"From there its involvement in the Syrian Arab spring drew it steadily further and further into the conflict. First off Avaaz sent in hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of communications equipment – satellite phones and internet connections known as BGANs – that gave the protesters a link to the outside world. As with earlier Arab spring engagements in Tunisia and Libya, they realised that equipment alone was not enough: the protesters needed to know how to use it if they were to be effective. So Avaaz sent in trainers who could give grounding in how to use the satphones as well as basic training in citizen journalism. Verification was a key element," says Patel. "We could get stuff out, but the media didn't know what they were looking at, or couldn't be sure where it had come from. So we began playing the middle man, verifying information. That was in some ways the greatest value we brought to maintaining the oxygen of international attention on these protest movements." Avaaz Faces Questions over Role at Centre of Syrian Protest Movement,” Guardian, March 2, 2012
"We’re delighted that The Syria Campaign, who pitched at our film event at Channel 4 in July, has announced their documentary, 'The White Helmets' will premiere on Netflix on 18th September. The documentary follows three volunteer rescue workers who are a part of the White Helmets, nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, in Syria and Turkey as they save civilians affected by war. The documentary will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before becoming available on Netflix. In July we held a live crowdfunding event at the Channel 4 cinema, celebrating film and documentary. The Syria Campaign made a fantastic pitch for funding for their outreach work surrounding ‘The White Helmets" The Syria Campaign Announces Netflix Documentary,” The Funding Network, August 16, 2016
VIDEO: Al-Qaeda Leader Praises White Helmets as ‘Hidden Soldiers of the Revolution,’” Mint Press News, May 9, 2017 (Have to take translated subtitles for what its worth)
"When the opportunity arose to meet with him, I did so because I felt that it's important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we've got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace," the Hawaiian congresswoman said. When asked by Tapper whether she had reservations about meeting with Assad… My commitment is on ending this war that has caused so much suffering to the Syrian people, to these children, to these families, many of whom I met on this trip," Gabbard said.
Gabbard, who is a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committee, recently introduced legislation that would prohibit sending federal funds to nations that support terrorist groups.
"(The Syrians) asked me, 'Why are the United States and its allies supporting these terror groups which are destroying Syria, when it was al Qaeda that attacked the United States on 9/11, not Syria.' I didn't have an answer to them." The US government claims it does not fund these groups and only provides assistance to so-called moderate rebels. However, Gabbard said the Syrians she met with told her that there are no moderate rebels in the country."Let the Syrian people themselves determine their future, not the United States, not some foreign country," Gabbard said." Gabbard Says She Met with Assad on Syria Trip,” CNN, January 25, 2017
Jeb Bush: … We have to lead, we have to be involved. We should have a no fly zone in Syria. There are — they are barrel bombing the innocents in that country. If you’re a Christian, increasingly in Lebanon, or Iraq, or Syria, you’re going to be beheaded. And, if you’re a moderate Islamist, you’re not going to be able to survive either. We have to play a role in this be able to bring the rest of the world to this issue before it’s too late.
Donald Trump: Assad is a bad guy, but we have no idea who the so-called rebels — I read about the rebels, nobody even knows who they are. I spoke to a general two weeks ago, he said — he was very up on exactly what we’re talking about. He said, “You know, Mr. Trump? We’re giving hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment to these people, we have no idea who they are.”
So, I don’t like Assad. Who’s going to like Assad? But, we have no idea who these people, and what they’re going to be, and what they’re going to represent. They may be far worse than Assad. Look at Libya. Look at Iraq. Look at the mess we have after spending $2 trillion dollars, thousands of lives, wounded warriors all over the place — who I love, OK? All over." Transcript: Read the Full Text of the Fourth Republican Debate in Milwaukee,” Time, November 11, 2015
"Donald Trump: Jeb is so wrong. Jeb is absolutely self — just so you understand, you know what that is? That’s Jeb’s special interest and lobbyist talking… If you listen to him, and you listen to some of the folks that I’ve been listening to, that’s why we’ve been in the Middle East for 15 years, and we haven’t won anything. We’ve spent $5 trillion dollars in the Middle East with thinking like that. We’ve spent $5…
(BELL RINGING)
TRUMP: Lindsey Graham, who backs him, had zero on his polls. Let me just say something — we’ve spent — we’ve spent.
I only tell the truth, lobbyists.
We’ve spent $5 trillion dollars all over the — we have to rebuild our country. We have to rebuild our infrastructure. you listen to that you’re going to be there for another 15…
DICKERSON: … Alright…
TRUMP: … You’ll end up with world war three…
BUSH: And while Donald Trump was building a reality TV show, my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us safe. And I’m proud of what he did.
(APPLAUSE)...
TRUMP: The World Trade Center came down during your brother’s reign, remember that." Transcript: Read the Full Transcript of the Ninth Republican Debate in South Carolina,” Time, February 16, 2016
"The greatest danger is that we won't use all of our power for fear of the "I" word--imperialism. When asked on April 28 on al-Jazeera whether the United States was "empire building," Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld reacted as if he'd been asked whether he wears women's underwear. "We don't seek empires," he replied huffily. "We're not imperialistic. We never have been."
That's a fine answer for public consumption. The problem is that it isn't true. The United States has been an empire since at least 1803, when Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory. Throughout the 19th century, what Jefferson called the "empire of liberty" expanded across the continent. When U.S. power stretched from "sea to shining sea," the American empire moved abroad, acquiring colonies ranging from Puerto Rico and the Philippines to Hawaii and Alaska… The history of American imperialism is hardly one of unadorned good doing; there have been plenty of shameful episodes, such as the mistreatment of the Indians. But, on the whole, U.S. imperialism has been the greatest force for good in the world during the past century" Max Boot, “Imperialism!,” Washington Examiner, May 6, 2003
"Consultants affiliated with a small Washington, D.C., firm called Beacon Global Strategies hold the unique privilege of providing high-profile foreign policy guidance to Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz, among others. The bipartisan firm was founded in 2013 by former senior officials from the State Department, Department of Defense, and Central Intelligence Agency, and quickly had more than a dozen clients, primarily defense contractors, according to Defense News. Philippe Reines and Andrew Shapiro, both considered part of Clinton’s inner circle of foreign policy advisers, are founders of the firm. Reines served as a longtime spokesperson for Clinton and Shapiro served as her assistant secretary of state for military affairs.
Eric Edelman, a former Bush administration Defense Department official, is an advisory board member to Beacon Global Strategies and a leading foreign policy adviser to Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. “It’s mostly about defense, but I’ve talked to him about the authorization of military force. I’ve talked to him about the campaign against ISIS, about Russia and Ukraine. There’s not a shortage of issues right now,” Edelman told Reuters. The news wire noted that that Edelman “regularly briefs the senator.”
Hillary Clinton Unfit Presidential ad featuring Max Boot (Foreign Policy Hardliner) and Michael Hayden (Ex CIA Chief)
“I would say all Republican foreign policy professionals are anti-Trump,” leading neoconservative Robert Kagan told a group gathered around him, groupie-style, at a “foreign policy professionals for Hillary” fundraiser I attended last week. “I would say that a majority of people in my circle will vote for Hillary.”
As the co-founder of the neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century, Kagan played a leading role in pushing for America’s unilateral invasion of Iraq and insisted for years afterward that it had turned out great." Rania Khalek, “Robert Kagan and Other Neocons Are Backing Hillary Clinton,” Intercept, July 25, 2016
"The father of Salman Abedi, the Manchester Arena suicide bomber, fought against the Gaddafi regime with a group that was designated a terrorist organisation by the US, according to a man who says he fought alongside him. Salman Abedi, 22, who was known to the British security services, is thought to have returned from Libya as recently as this week. His parents, Ramadan Abedi and Samia Tabbal, who escaped the Gaddafi regime in the early 1990s and fled to the UK, now live in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
… His father fought against the Gaddafi regime during the Libyan revolution in 2011 with the Libyan Islamic fighting group (LIFG). The US state department says that elements of LIFG were aligned with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 2004… Akram Ramadan, 49, who fought with Ramadan Abedi in the Libyan revolution, said he was passionate about overthrowing a regime that had “displaced thousands of his brethren … It was something we all felt we had to do. Some were more radical than others but we all shared a common cause,” he added… “I also fought in the war. We were in the same group over there – we called ourselves the Manchester fighters – we even had our own logo. Three-quarters of the fighters at the beginning of the revolution were from Manchester – the rest came from London, Sheffield, China and Japan. From everywhere." Nazia Parveen, “Bomber’s Father Fought against Gaddafi Regime with ‘Terrorist’ Group,” Guardian, May 24, 2017
Salman Abedi returned from a visit to Libya just days before carrying out the Manchester attack and may have travelled to terrorist strongholds in Syria, it has been revealed…Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, confirmed Abedi had recently returned from Libya and the nature of his attack suggested he may have had support. “It was more sophisticated than some of the horrific events that we have seen in the past or in other parts of Europe so people are reasonably wondering whether he did this on his own,” she told the BBC… The newspaper reported that Abedi was known to security services as an associate of Isis recruiter Raphael Hostey, also from Manchester, who was killed in a drone strike in Syria last year…
A person who said they knew Abedi from school told the Manchester Evening News: “He was a outgoing fun guy but since he went to Libya in 2011 he came back a different guy. “He used to drink, smoke weed then all of a sudden he turned religious and I’ve not seen him since 2012.” Lizzie Dearden, “Salman Abedi ‘Travelled to Syria and Libya’ before Carrying out Manchester Attack,” Independent, May 24, 2017