- By Hugo Turner and Alexandra ValienteUnderstanding Libya: Part IHT: I understand you have a correction to make to a comment made on our first interview.AV: Yes. Recall that on April 12, Martin Kobler admitted that the Government of Accord (GoA) existed only on paper without the approval of the internationally recognized House of Representatives (HoR).I said that April 19th the HoR had given a vote of confidence to the GoA, but that was only conditional. In addition to demands for amendments to legal documents, they required a meeting with the GoA in Tobruk. This frustrated foreign powers anxious to instate the regime, as the GoA were unable to travel beyond Tripoli, even under the protection of their militias – and inside Tripoli they required constant guard.HT: So the HoR never acknowledged the legitimacy of the GoA?AV: No.The President of the HoR, Ageela Saleh, continues to extend the invitation for dialog, but his requests are ignored.Because the HoR never acknowledged the GoA, by the United Nations’ guidelines, in accord with international law, the unity government remains illegitimate, regardless of what occured in Vienna. Nonetheless, the day after the Vienna meeting, Fayez Serraj, head of the Presidential Council (PC), activated the GoA, declaring the Tobruk parliament and the Libyan National Army in its current form, obsolete.HT: What happened in Vienna?AV: The Vienna meeting was the catastrophic finale, a masterful propaganda event jointly chaired by US secretary of state, John Kerry and Italian foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni. Twenty nations were co-conspirators in the coup d’état that declared an illegitimate government legitimate and formalized the permanent foreign occupation of Libya. They placed terrorists in power and committed arms and funds to terrorist militias (Presidential Guard) tasked to protect the regime.HT: Who are the Presidential Guard and what does this mean in terms of legitimizing extremist militias?AV: In our earlier interview I referred to concerns expressed by human rights organizations, lawyers and the Resistance regarding the Shirkat Agreement (December17,2015). They warned that the unity government would not end human rights abuses, but grant full immunity to violators.The Libya Political Agreement (LPA – Skhirat) is also referred to in the Vienna communiqué. The LPA included the disarming and dismantling of militias. However, since the GoA arrived in Tripoli, extremist militias operating under the “Libya Dawn” umbrella, were assigned to guard the PC. Simultaneously, Martin Koebler met in Istanbul with commanders of these militias, including al Qaeda’s Abdel Hakim Belhadj, to finalize power-sharing arrangements that would define their function under the regime. The plan was to replace the Libyan National Army (LNA) with the Presidential and National Guard.HT: What can you tell us about the assassination campaign against members of the Libyan National Army?AV: Regarding the Istanbul meetings held under the auspices of Turkish intelligence, Arabs of London published a detailed exposé. Khaled al-Sharif of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) proposed the assassination campaign targeting officers of the Libyan National Army as a means of neutralizing opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood’s usurpation of Libya. Since then, many members of the army in Tripoli have been killed. It is no coincidence that da’esh are carrying out the same camapaign in Sirte.HT: How have the people responded?AV: The Vienna meeting took place at a time when the country was in the midst of escalating crisis; the advance of da’esh on several fronts, a humanitarian disaster, hospitals and clinics closed due to lack of equipment, medicine and supplies, people impoverished, displaced and food scarce.Military operations conducted by the Tribes and Libyan National Army were underway to liberate Sirte while the campaign to clear Benghazi of terrorist elements continued and battles for Derna and Misrata intensified. Bani Walid, under threat from da’esh, was on high alert, yet its people extended the warmest welcome to thousands of refugees fleeing Sirte who escaped before all routes in and out of Sirte were closed.In the face of these and other enormous challenges, people from every region of the country have made their rejection of the unity government and the Muslim Brotherhood coup d’état known. There have been widespread demonstrations. The people stand behind the Libyan National Army, demand the dismantling of militias, support efforts to combat terrorism and reject foreign interference. The HoR continue to function. The Libyan National Army operate under the authority of the HoR. In the Sirte operation, they have refused to cooperate with the Presidential Guard. The Tribes have their own security arrangements with regards to territorial defense and the liberation of Sirte. They are working with the LNA’s “unified command center”, independent from the GoA and their terrorist militias.HT: How do you think the Resistance will respond to the current situation?AV: The Resistance stands with the Tribes and the people.HT: What impact will installing a Muslim Brotherhood government in Libya have on the region?AV: A massive expansion of the war theater, an escalation of terrorism, weapons smuggling and human trafficking throughout Africa and the Middle East. In my view, the various organizations working within the Muslim Brotherhood network differ in degree but not in kind. There can be no effective end to terror without dealing with the spectre of the Muslim Brotherhood in its entirety.HT: Could you discuss the human rights situation in Libya?AV: Advances in securing the release of some political prisoners came solely through the dedicated work of the Tribes. Neither the Tripoli nor Tobruk governments exerted any effort to improve the human rights situation or relieve civilian suffering. Now that the GoA have been placed in power, human rights will further deteriorate. The fact that terrorist militias in Tripoli have been granted immunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and ongoing human rights violations is an indicator of what the future holds under the GoA.HT: What do you think the future holds for Libya?AV: Libya has been at war since the beginning of the NATO invasion of 2011. It is not a civil war as Stratfor-sourced reports would have people believe. It has always been a struggle for removal of occupation forces and foreign multinationals exploiting Libya’s resource wealth. It has been a war against terrorism; terrorism brought to Libya by NATO.Now that struggle will become more focused and aggressive.Because of the irrepressible spirit, courage, dignity and resilience of the Libyan people, I have no doubt that they will overcome all obstacles in their path and successfully liberate their country from terrorism and foreign occupation.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Friday, May 13, 2016
Soft Coups in Brazil Venezuela & South Africa
"Soft" Coups Threaten Brazil Venezuela South Africa
The Empire of Chaos(The US) has won a major victory in Brazil destroying a democracy in order to bring Brazil back under control. Dilma Rousseff has been impeached on trumped up charges ignoring the wishes of the 54 Million Brazilian's who voted for for her and replacing her with the traitor Michel Temer. Temer gives a whole new meaning to the idea of rule by the 1% because Temer has a 1% approval rating. Rousseff has been suspended from office for 180 days while the impeachment process continues. Brazil has joined the list of successful recent coups in Honduras, and Paraguay. Like the people of Argentina the people of Brazil are about to be reminded of what it means to be ruled by neo-liberal Hyenas. For the people of Brazil the battle has only begun. The 1964 coup in Brazil installed a brutal military dictatorship and was only the first of many coups that would leave the entire region under the fascist rule of Operation Condors network of military juntas. The people of Brazil and of all of Latin America are in deadly danger. By this act the US has signaled that even minor reforms like those carried out by Brazil's workers party are unacceptable. Nothing must be allowed to impede the looting and impoverishment of the planet at the hands of the multi-national corporations. Yet the loss of Brazil has even worse consequences for the globe. It is a major strategic victory in the empire of Chaos attempt to reconquer Latin America. It is also a major victory in the effort to destroy the BRICS countries. It marks a major defeat in the effort to build a multi-polar world. Worse still Soft coups are also making gains in Venezuela and in South Africa. In Venezuela a recall referendum obtained the necessary signatures to remove Nicolas Maduro from office. In South Africa a court ruled that Jacob Zuma must again face hundreds of charges that were dismissed years ago. Both Venezuela and South Africa have been the victims of a covert war campaign. In Venezuela a wave of assassinations continues to murder those loyal to the Bolivarian Revolution. In South Africa a wave of arson attacks have been carried out that the government has blamed on the US embassy (ie the CIA). As if plunging large parts of the globe into unending warfare is not enough the empire of chaos is determined to destroy every independent country on the planet.
Before I discuss the latest coup in Brazil I will give a brief description of the 1964 coup in Brazil that would go on to have such disastrous consequences for all of Latin America. My account is based on William Blum's Invaluable book "Killing Hope" Brazil is Chapter 27 out of 56 each recording coups or covert wars the US has carried out since 1945. Jose Goulart had become president after Janio da Silva Quadros had been forced to resign or face a military coup. Goulart the Vice President barely made it into office Right-Wing military officers tried to bar him but Loyalist military officers had interceded forcing the fascists to back down. Quadros had been quite conservative but had sought to ally Brazil with the nonaligned movement and to trade with the USSR. Goulart was also only a mild reformer but even before the moment he came into office the CIA, the Pentagon, the State department began plotting his downfall. CIA officer Vernon Walters (operating under cover as a military attache ) who would go on to play a vital role in setting up operation Condor was a major player in the coup. He helped organize the coup plotters in the Military. Goulart was first targeted with economic warfare, political destabilization and media war. Globo Media which played a major role in the current anti-Rousseff coup played the same role in the 1964 coup. The CIA financed mass demonstrations, bribed political opposition and helped fund their campaigns. It created it's own labor movement the AIFLD to destroy the left wing labor movement and to stage strikes and even armed attacks. The tactics of color revolution/Hybrid War are far older then the terms themselves obviously. As mentioned the US had begun plotting against him even before he ever assumed office and in fact had engineered him being fired as minister of Labor back in the 50's. Once he became president his offenses in the eyes of the empire were refusing to fire ministers the US labeled "Communist. He sought to trade with the eastern block. He instituted mild economic reforms including a very limited land redistribution program. He passed a law limiting the amount of profits multinational corporations could take out of the country and he nationalized a subsidiary of ITT. For this he was accused of seeking to install a "Totalitarian" Dictatorship by the State department. When they had stirred up enough chaos with their economic war and destabilization campaign when they had succeeded in vilifying Goulart in the media they launched the coup. The military who had been indoctrinated by the US in fanatical anti-communism and trained to see their own people as the enemy were given the go ahead for the coup. On March 31st the CIA backed fascist divisions moved to occupy the capital city Rio. However the CIA had only gained control of a faction of the military other loyal divisions were willing to resist. The US sent in a huge Naval detachment including Aircraft carriers and destroyers to signal their backing for the coup. Goulart decided to flee rather then risk a civil war. By April 1st he had fled and the Fascist General Castelo Branco seized power arresting thousands of opponents and shooting protestors. And of course the dirty war came anyways tens of thousands would be tortured and killed over the next decades. Although Latin America's endless dirty war began long before the Brazil coup (Unending war and oppression began in1492) the 1964 coup would play a decisive role in helping to spread it throughout the continent. Brazil would play a vital role in the coups in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and in training the death squads and torturers of the continent. Dilma Rousseff herself was among the hundreds of thousands tortured. Meanwhile members of the Condor Network are still powerful in many Latin American militaries and the CIA and Pentagon influence continues. For more on Operation Condor check out my October 2015 article "Operation Condor". For the continuing dirty war in Latin America see my March 2016 "War on Latin America." In light of this history it is clear why we must resist this latest coup which threatens to reignite Brazil's dirty war.
Pepe Escobar has written the definitive account of the coup in Brazil. Thus for a detailed account track down the numerous articles he has written on the subject. Frankly I feel more like screaming or crying than writing about this tragic moment in Brazil's history. The only real difference between the April 64 coup and the May 2016 coup is that the military were not called in to overthrow the government. Hence people are referring to it as a soft coup. However the manufactured opposition, the media war, the economic war and doubtless the CIA bribes flying left and right are all the same. In fact just like Castelo Branco Brazil's new president Temer is a CIA asset. Brazil's coup has a lot in common with the recent coups in Honduras and Paraguay. Thus even though Brazil's coup was accomplished with legalistic means does not mean that the tortures and disappearances may not soon re-appear in Brazil not that they ever really ended given Brazil's unending "low intensity" drug war and privatized death squads that masquerade as security agencies. These agencies of course were a major factor in the coup part of what Pepe Escobar calls Brazil's "BBC." "BBC" stands for in this case not the notorious British propaganda outfit but for the three main economic interests manipulating Brazil's senate to vote for impeachment. BBC stands for the Bullet, The Bible, and the Cattle. The bullet is weapons and private security. The Bible is pastors and "Evangelical Fanatics." While Cattle is the powerful Agribusiness lobby. Pepe also lists some illuminating statistics on the senate they are 80% White although Brazil is largely a brown and Black country. 60 percent of the Senate are from political dynasties 58% of them are under criminal investigation and 13% of them were not elected at all worming their way in as "alternates." These are the oligarchs who had the final say in destroying Brazil's democracy. They have ignored the wishes of the 54 Million Brazilians who voted for Dilma Rousseff and have replaced her with the traitor Michel Temer with his 1% approval rating.
The main front men for this CIA coup were first Judge Sergio Moro who with his completely one sided car wash investigation set the coup in motion. By ignoring the crimes of the right and focusing only on crimes by the left he turned a corruption investigation into a coup. Next there was then house speaker Eduardo Cunha notorious as one of the most corrupt politicians in Brazil with millions in swiss bank accounts. He lead the impeachment drive in Brazil's lower house fast tracking the impeachment process. However he lost his job as speaker so that the coup would not be a complete laughing stock. After all Dilma Rousseff is not even charged with having been corrupt and is innocent yet her impeachment campaign was lead by the Cunha "the Shark" one of the most corrupt. Lastly there is Michel Temer or Brutus as Escobar calls him. He openly admitted that the impeachment lacked all legitimacy before switching sides in a twisted power grab. These criminals have earned by their actions the hatred not just of Brazil but of Latin America and indeed of everyone who opposes the empire. Of course they were merely the tools of the Brazil's Oligarchs, the CIA, and Wall Street but by their treachery they have set Brazil back decades.
The loss of Brazil will help sabotage BRICS. It will be a major blow to attempts to resist the empire of Chaos throughout the continent in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the other countries that have so far avoided soft coups. For the people of Brazil who had only slowly begun to climb out of poverty thanks to the reforms of Brazil's workers party which despite it's flaws did create a major rise in the standard of living the Coup means they will be Ruthlessly thrust back into poverty. Brazil's massive oil wealth will go not to improving the lives of it's citizens but to enriching the billionaires on Wall Street. Far worse may await them as the new coup government will eventually begin to wage war on the angry majority of Brazil to insure that they remain in power. The people must begin to prepare themselves for resistance and in my opinion for revolution. Democracy has failed in Brazil mild reforms have failed in Brazil. The people of Brazil must begin to organize to seize back the power. And should they ever prove successful they must make radical changes to their society that will make impossible this sort of "Soft coup". How long will Latin America's Oligarchs be allowed to wage their campaigns of mass murder before the people wise up and give them a taste of revolutionary justice? Goulart thought he could spare his country a war if he resigned and was proven tragically wrong. Rousseff appears to have made the same mistake and we can only hope that her failure to destroy these dangerous traitors does not lead to a repeat of Brazil's horrifying Dirty War. Recent experience in Honduras or Ukraine do not give us much reason to believe that things will go differently for Brazil. However there are two factors that give reason for hope that this coup may be reversed. First Brazil has powerful social movements, the landless workers movement, the landless peasants, and many thousands of smaller groups. Second if Lula can survive the attempts to destroy him as part of the Car Wash Scandal he may run again in 2018 seizing Brazil back for the people. I hope his security is on full alert sadly his potential to run again and restore democracy in Brazil means his life is in great danger.
If only the idea of Lula being assassinated either violently or via cancer or heart attack were paranoid as some of you are doubtless thinking. But ask Fidel Castro who has survived dozens of assassination attempts. One can no longer ask the great Hugo Chavez but the details of his murder continue to emerge thanks to the work of journalist Eva Golinger. She has uncovered even more evidence of his assassination in particular in a recent interview she discussed some of the many attempts to kill him which failed. One included a Colombian death Squad camped out at a Venezuelan Oligarchs place thankfully they were arrested in time. Another involved a sniper caught staking out someplace Chavez was about to speak at. Undoubtedly the most memorable involved the attempt to assassinate him with a radioactive chair at an "Prestigious" University in New York where Chavez was giving a speech. She also revealed the names of several traitors who defected to the united states shortly after his death. One of these traitors former Major General Herbert Garcia Plaza is now coordinating the destabilization of Venezuela from the safety of the US. I highly recommend you read the interview with her yourselves to learn even more shocking information.
Unfortunately I must turn my attention to the ongoing "soft coup" in Venezuela. There was some good news the opposition plot to privatize Venezuela's public housing was struck down by Venezuela's supreme court as unconstitutional since it interfered with Venezuela's constitutional commitment to provide housing education healthcare and other social programs. Chavez's radical reforms have born fruit and Venezuela's Supreme Court is firmly committed to defending Bolivarian Socialism. However the opposition appropriately named MUD continues it's campaign to destroy Venezuela on the orders of their CIA/NED controllers. They launched a recall petition and easily achieved the 1% of signatures needed. Next they only need 20% of voters to agree to a recall referendum and then a Referendum forcing Maduro to resign can eventually be voted on. Maduro is determined to resist this scheme and hopes to fulfill his term which doesn't end until 2018. Obviously this is a dangerous new development. In addition a wave of assassinations continue to murder loyal government officials and Bolivarian politicians. The CIA is waging a dirty war on Venezuela using drug dealing Colombian death squads and right wing Venezuelan terrorists to wage an operation condor style Phase III assassination campaign aimed at weakening the government by killing it's most promising leaders. However even more destabilizing has been the economic war and Venezuela's Oligarchs continue to sabotage the economy eroding public support for the Bolivarian Revolution. The Venezuelan Revolution a source of hope and an inspiration for the entire world remains under deadly threat.
In South Africa a soft coup threatens another BRICS member. South Africa is another victim of the economic war which has sent commodities prices plummeting. This has served to destabilize South Africa just as it has Venezuela, and Brazil. But of course the US isn't content with destabilizing South Africa it wants to overthrow the ANC who have ruled South Africa since the fall or Apartheid. The ANC is far from perfect in a secret deal before coming to power they had to renounce their longstanding platform of nationalizing South Africa's resources and building a socialist society. However given it was 1994 and the Soviet Union had just collapsed the constant criticism they have suffered since from the left while valid is slightly unfair. Andre Vltchek points out that the ANC has made far more progress then people have given them credit for. They have also been plagued by corruption scandals but only a fool would believe that if the ANC are overthrown in a soft coup that corruption will suddenly disappear. Instead whoever replaces them would open the country to be looted by western corporations reversing whatever gains people have made since the fall of apartheid. You don't fight corruption with coups because coups are by their nature corrupting they involve people accepting bribes from the CIA and other intelligence agencies to betray their country. Obviously those willing to sell out their country are unlikely to resist bribes for lesser crimes. Just ask the Ukrainians.
The destabilization campaign against Zuma began innocently enough with students demanding lower fees. However soon instead of chanting the "Fees must Fall" they were shouting "Zuma must Fall." Now EFF head Julius Melema is calling for Zuma's downfall even threatening to use force. And if that wasn't bad enough the US embassy (CIA) have been caught organizing opposition movements and even hiring organized crime to burn down 19 schools in the Limpopo province. Worse now the supreme court has ruled that Zuma must face 783 charges against him that were dismissed back in 2007. They date from when Zuma was deputy president under Thabo Mbeki. Zuma was dismissed as deputy president but this lead to a power struggle within the ANC in which he emerged victorious. He was later elected president despite this scandal so it is ridiculous to try to overthrow him based on a 10 year old scandal. Zuma like Maduro, and Rousseff is facing a soft coup attempt. Whatever petty crimes Zuma may have committed whatever the flaws of the ANC we must oppose this soft coup attempt. The goal has nothing to do with reducing corruption in South Africa or reducing inequality as the EFF deceptively claim. Anyone who thinks a CIA coup will reduce inequality in South Africa needs to read Blum's "Killing Hope" since every CIA coup has been undertaken to preserve or worsen inequality. Instead the goal is clearly to destroy the BRICS the main hope for a multipolar world. The goal is to break up the economic partnership between China and South Africa damaging China the economic engine of the multipolar world and further isolating Russia the military backbone of BRICS.
We must oppose the coups in Brazil, Venezuela and South Africa. We must support the people as they resist the return of fascism in South America. We must support South Africa as it struggles to maintain it's independence. The Empire of Chaos thinks it can preserve itself by destroying all the alternatives. It is far to late for that Capitalism itself is in crisis and people are already dreaming of a better world. Remember the overthrow of Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954 inspired the revolutionary career of Che Guevara. In fact to carry out their economic war on the BRICS the Oligarchs are putting the whole stability of their global capitalist system at risk a dangerous gamble. Although 2016 has been a year of victory for the forces of counter-revolution beneath the surface all over the world people can sense revolution in the air. Thus even in the face of defeat and danger instead of despairing we must only redouble our efforts. The time of revolutions is approaching.
Sources
I highly recommend William Blum's "Killing Hope: US military and CIA Interventions Since World War II" sadly more relevant then ever this year with coups and covert wars ravaging the globe. For more on Operation Condor read "Predatory States: Operation Condor Covert War in Latin America" By J.P. McSherry
Dilma Rousseff's defiant speech in the face of the impeachment campaign against her
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/remarks-by-president-dilma-rousseff-to-news-media-after-the-vote-approving-the-impeachment-process/
An Interview with Dilma Rousseff
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/president-dilma-rousseffs-interview-with-telesur/
Pepe Escobar on the Coup in Brazil
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/342821-brazil-dilma-rousseff-impeachment/#.VzW4Ti_LM8M.facebook
The Landless Workers Movement on the Crisis in Brazil
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/brazils-landless-workers-movement-the-real-way-out-of-the-crisis/
Mike Whitney Interviews Eva Golinger on the Assassination of Hugo Chavez
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/the-strange-death-of-hugo-chavez-an-interview-with-eva-golinger/
My Article on Operation Condor
http://anti-imperialist-u.blogspot.com/2015/10/operation-condor.html
My Article War on Latin America
http://anti-imperialist-u.blogspot.com/2016/03/war-on-latin-america.html
Nil Nikandov on the coming showdown in Venezuela
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/president-dilma-rousseffs-interview-with-telesur/
Abayomi Azikwe on the destabilization of South Africa
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/tensions-escalate-ahead-of-local-government-elections-in-south-africa/
Eric Draitser on the US coups in Latin America part of a great series of interviews by Don Debar of PRN that have covered the war on the BRICS week to week subscribe to his youtube channel
http://youtu.be/YP6Q01PYct4
And Eric Draitser on South Africa part of his series of Articles on the War on The BRICS
http://www.mintpressnews.com/brics-attack-empires-destabilizing-hand-reaches-south-africa/215126/
The Empire of Chaos(The US) has won a major victory in Brazil destroying a democracy in order to bring Brazil back under control. Dilma Rousseff has been impeached on trumped up charges ignoring the wishes of the 54 Million Brazilian's who voted for for her and replacing her with the traitor Michel Temer. Temer gives a whole new meaning to the idea of rule by the 1% because Temer has a 1% approval rating. Rousseff has been suspended from office for 180 days while the impeachment process continues. Brazil has joined the list of successful recent coups in Honduras, and Paraguay. Like the people of Argentina the people of Brazil are about to be reminded of what it means to be ruled by neo-liberal Hyenas. For the people of Brazil the battle has only begun. The 1964 coup in Brazil installed a brutal military dictatorship and was only the first of many coups that would leave the entire region under the fascist rule of Operation Condors network of military juntas. The people of Brazil and of all of Latin America are in deadly danger. By this act the US has signaled that even minor reforms like those carried out by Brazil's workers party are unacceptable. Nothing must be allowed to impede the looting and impoverishment of the planet at the hands of the multi-national corporations. Yet the loss of Brazil has even worse consequences for the globe. It is a major strategic victory in the empire of Chaos attempt to reconquer Latin America. It is also a major victory in the effort to destroy the BRICS countries. It marks a major defeat in the effort to build a multi-polar world. Worse still Soft coups are also making gains in Venezuela and in South Africa. In Venezuela a recall referendum obtained the necessary signatures to remove Nicolas Maduro from office. In South Africa a court ruled that Jacob Zuma must again face hundreds of charges that were dismissed years ago. Both Venezuela and South Africa have been the victims of a covert war campaign. In Venezuela a wave of assassinations continues to murder those loyal to the Bolivarian Revolution. In South Africa a wave of arson attacks have been carried out that the government has blamed on the US embassy (ie the CIA). As if plunging large parts of the globe into unending warfare is not enough the empire of chaos is determined to destroy every independent country on the planet.
Before I discuss the latest coup in Brazil I will give a brief description of the 1964 coup in Brazil that would go on to have such disastrous consequences for all of Latin America. My account is based on William Blum's Invaluable book "Killing Hope" Brazil is Chapter 27 out of 56 each recording coups or covert wars the US has carried out since 1945. Jose Goulart had become president after Janio da Silva Quadros had been forced to resign or face a military coup. Goulart the Vice President barely made it into office Right-Wing military officers tried to bar him but Loyalist military officers had interceded forcing the fascists to back down. Quadros had been quite conservative but had sought to ally Brazil with the nonaligned movement and to trade with the USSR. Goulart was also only a mild reformer but even before the moment he came into office the CIA, the Pentagon, the State department began plotting his downfall. CIA officer Vernon Walters (operating under cover as a military attache ) who would go on to play a vital role in setting up operation Condor was a major player in the coup. He helped organize the coup plotters in the Military. Goulart was first targeted with economic warfare, political destabilization and media war. Globo Media which played a major role in the current anti-Rousseff coup played the same role in the 1964 coup. The CIA financed mass demonstrations, bribed political opposition and helped fund their campaigns. It created it's own labor movement the AIFLD to destroy the left wing labor movement and to stage strikes and even armed attacks. The tactics of color revolution/Hybrid War are far older then the terms themselves obviously. As mentioned the US had begun plotting against him even before he ever assumed office and in fact had engineered him being fired as minister of Labor back in the 50's. Once he became president his offenses in the eyes of the empire were refusing to fire ministers the US labeled "Communist. He sought to trade with the eastern block. He instituted mild economic reforms including a very limited land redistribution program. He passed a law limiting the amount of profits multinational corporations could take out of the country and he nationalized a subsidiary of ITT. For this he was accused of seeking to install a "Totalitarian" Dictatorship by the State department. When they had stirred up enough chaos with their economic war and destabilization campaign when they had succeeded in vilifying Goulart in the media they launched the coup. The military who had been indoctrinated by the US in fanatical anti-communism and trained to see their own people as the enemy were given the go ahead for the coup. On March 31st the CIA backed fascist divisions moved to occupy the capital city Rio. However the CIA had only gained control of a faction of the military other loyal divisions were willing to resist. The US sent in a huge Naval detachment including Aircraft carriers and destroyers to signal their backing for the coup. Goulart decided to flee rather then risk a civil war. By April 1st he had fled and the Fascist General Castelo Branco seized power arresting thousands of opponents and shooting protestors. And of course the dirty war came anyways tens of thousands would be tortured and killed over the next decades. Although Latin America's endless dirty war began long before the Brazil coup (Unending war and oppression began in1492) the 1964 coup would play a decisive role in helping to spread it throughout the continent. Brazil would play a vital role in the coups in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and in training the death squads and torturers of the continent. Dilma Rousseff herself was among the hundreds of thousands tortured. Meanwhile members of the Condor Network are still powerful in many Latin American militaries and the CIA and Pentagon influence continues. For more on Operation Condor check out my October 2015 article "Operation Condor". For the continuing dirty war in Latin America see my March 2016 "War on Latin America." In light of this history it is clear why we must resist this latest coup which threatens to reignite Brazil's dirty war.
Pepe Escobar has written the definitive account of the coup in Brazil. Thus for a detailed account track down the numerous articles he has written on the subject. Frankly I feel more like screaming or crying than writing about this tragic moment in Brazil's history. The only real difference between the April 64 coup and the May 2016 coup is that the military were not called in to overthrow the government. Hence people are referring to it as a soft coup. However the manufactured opposition, the media war, the economic war and doubtless the CIA bribes flying left and right are all the same. In fact just like Castelo Branco Brazil's new president Temer is a CIA asset. Brazil's coup has a lot in common with the recent coups in Honduras and Paraguay. Thus even though Brazil's coup was accomplished with legalistic means does not mean that the tortures and disappearances may not soon re-appear in Brazil not that they ever really ended given Brazil's unending "low intensity" drug war and privatized death squads that masquerade as security agencies. These agencies of course were a major factor in the coup part of what Pepe Escobar calls Brazil's "BBC." "BBC" stands for in this case not the notorious British propaganda outfit but for the three main economic interests manipulating Brazil's senate to vote for impeachment. BBC stands for the Bullet, The Bible, and the Cattle. The bullet is weapons and private security. The Bible is pastors and "Evangelical Fanatics." While Cattle is the powerful Agribusiness lobby. Pepe also lists some illuminating statistics on the senate they are 80% White although Brazil is largely a brown and Black country. 60 percent of the Senate are from political dynasties 58% of them are under criminal investigation and 13% of them were not elected at all worming their way in as "alternates." These are the oligarchs who had the final say in destroying Brazil's democracy. They have ignored the wishes of the 54 Million Brazilians who voted for Dilma Rousseff and have replaced her with the traitor Michel Temer with his 1% approval rating.
The main front men for this CIA coup were first Judge Sergio Moro who with his completely one sided car wash investigation set the coup in motion. By ignoring the crimes of the right and focusing only on crimes by the left he turned a corruption investigation into a coup. Next there was then house speaker Eduardo Cunha notorious as one of the most corrupt politicians in Brazil with millions in swiss bank accounts. He lead the impeachment drive in Brazil's lower house fast tracking the impeachment process. However he lost his job as speaker so that the coup would not be a complete laughing stock. After all Dilma Rousseff is not even charged with having been corrupt and is innocent yet her impeachment campaign was lead by the Cunha "the Shark" one of the most corrupt. Lastly there is Michel Temer or Brutus as Escobar calls him. He openly admitted that the impeachment lacked all legitimacy before switching sides in a twisted power grab. These criminals have earned by their actions the hatred not just of Brazil but of Latin America and indeed of everyone who opposes the empire. Of course they were merely the tools of the Brazil's Oligarchs, the CIA, and Wall Street but by their treachery they have set Brazil back decades.
The loss of Brazil will help sabotage BRICS. It will be a major blow to attempts to resist the empire of Chaos throughout the continent in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the other countries that have so far avoided soft coups. For the people of Brazil who had only slowly begun to climb out of poverty thanks to the reforms of Brazil's workers party which despite it's flaws did create a major rise in the standard of living the Coup means they will be Ruthlessly thrust back into poverty. Brazil's massive oil wealth will go not to improving the lives of it's citizens but to enriching the billionaires on Wall Street. Far worse may await them as the new coup government will eventually begin to wage war on the angry majority of Brazil to insure that they remain in power. The people must begin to prepare themselves for resistance and in my opinion for revolution. Democracy has failed in Brazil mild reforms have failed in Brazil. The people of Brazil must begin to organize to seize back the power. And should they ever prove successful they must make radical changes to their society that will make impossible this sort of "Soft coup". How long will Latin America's Oligarchs be allowed to wage their campaigns of mass murder before the people wise up and give them a taste of revolutionary justice? Goulart thought he could spare his country a war if he resigned and was proven tragically wrong. Rousseff appears to have made the same mistake and we can only hope that her failure to destroy these dangerous traitors does not lead to a repeat of Brazil's horrifying Dirty War. Recent experience in Honduras or Ukraine do not give us much reason to believe that things will go differently for Brazil. However there are two factors that give reason for hope that this coup may be reversed. First Brazil has powerful social movements, the landless workers movement, the landless peasants, and many thousands of smaller groups. Second if Lula can survive the attempts to destroy him as part of the Car Wash Scandal he may run again in 2018 seizing Brazil back for the people. I hope his security is on full alert sadly his potential to run again and restore democracy in Brazil means his life is in great danger.
If only the idea of Lula being assassinated either violently or via cancer or heart attack were paranoid as some of you are doubtless thinking. But ask Fidel Castro who has survived dozens of assassination attempts. One can no longer ask the great Hugo Chavez but the details of his murder continue to emerge thanks to the work of journalist Eva Golinger. She has uncovered even more evidence of his assassination in particular in a recent interview she discussed some of the many attempts to kill him which failed. One included a Colombian death Squad camped out at a Venezuelan Oligarchs place thankfully they were arrested in time. Another involved a sniper caught staking out someplace Chavez was about to speak at. Undoubtedly the most memorable involved the attempt to assassinate him with a radioactive chair at an "Prestigious" University in New York where Chavez was giving a speech. She also revealed the names of several traitors who defected to the united states shortly after his death. One of these traitors former Major General Herbert Garcia Plaza is now coordinating the destabilization of Venezuela from the safety of the US. I highly recommend you read the interview with her yourselves to learn even more shocking information.
Unfortunately I must turn my attention to the ongoing "soft coup" in Venezuela. There was some good news the opposition plot to privatize Venezuela's public housing was struck down by Venezuela's supreme court as unconstitutional since it interfered with Venezuela's constitutional commitment to provide housing education healthcare and other social programs. Chavez's radical reforms have born fruit and Venezuela's Supreme Court is firmly committed to defending Bolivarian Socialism. However the opposition appropriately named MUD continues it's campaign to destroy Venezuela on the orders of their CIA/NED controllers. They launched a recall petition and easily achieved the 1% of signatures needed. Next they only need 20% of voters to agree to a recall referendum and then a Referendum forcing Maduro to resign can eventually be voted on. Maduro is determined to resist this scheme and hopes to fulfill his term which doesn't end until 2018. Obviously this is a dangerous new development. In addition a wave of assassinations continue to murder loyal government officials and Bolivarian politicians. The CIA is waging a dirty war on Venezuela using drug dealing Colombian death squads and right wing Venezuelan terrorists to wage an operation condor style Phase III assassination campaign aimed at weakening the government by killing it's most promising leaders. However even more destabilizing has been the economic war and Venezuela's Oligarchs continue to sabotage the economy eroding public support for the Bolivarian Revolution. The Venezuelan Revolution a source of hope and an inspiration for the entire world remains under deadly threat.
In South Africa a soft coup threatens another BRICS member. South Africa is another victim of the economic war which has sent commodities prices plummeting. This has served to destabilize South Africa just as it has Venezuela, and Brazil. But of course the US isn't content with destabilizing South Africa it wants to overthrow the ANC who have ruled South Africa since the fall or Apartheid. The ANC is far from perfect in a secret deal before coming to power they had to renounce their longstanding platform of nationalizing South Africa's resources and building a socialist society. However given it was 1994 and the Soviet Union had just collapsed the constant criticism they have suffered since from the left while valid is slightly unfair. Andre Vltchek points out that the ANC has made far more progress then people have given them credit for. They have also been plagued by corruption scandals but only a fool would believe that if the ANC are overthrown in a soft coup that corruption will suddenly disappear. Instead whoever replaces them would open the country to be looted by western corporations reversing whatever gains people have made since the fall of apartheid. You don't fight corruption with coups because coups are by their nature corrupting they involve people accepting bribes from the CIA and other intelligence agencies to betray their country. Obviously those willing to sell out their country are unlikely to resist bribes for lesser crimes. Just ask the Ukrainians.
The destabilization campaign against Zuma began innocently enough with students demanding lower fees. However soon instead of chanting the "Fees must Fall" they were shouting "Zuma must Fall." Now EFF head Julius Melema is calling for Zuma's downfall even threatening to use force. And if that wasn't bad enough the US embassy (CIA) have been caught organizing opposition movements and even hiring organized crime to burn down 19 schools in the Limpopo province. Worse now the supreme court has ruled that Zuma must face 783 charges against him that were dismissed back in 2007. They date from when Zuma was deputy president under Thabo Mbeki. Zuma was dismissed as deputy president but this lead to a power struggle within the ANC in which he emerged victorious. He was later elected president despite this scandal so it is ridiculous to try to overthrow him based on a 10 year old scandal. Zuma like Maduro, and Rousseff is facing a soft coup attempt. Whatever petty crimes Zuma may have committed whatever the flaws of the ANC we must oppose this soft coup attempt. The goal has nothing to do with reducing corruption in South Africa or reducing inequality as the EFF deceptively claim. Anyone who thinks a CIA coup will reduce inequality in South Africa needs to read Blum's "Killing Hope" since every CIA coup has been undertaken to preserve or worsen inequality. Instead the goal is clearly to destroy the BRICS the main hope for a multipolar world. The goal is to break up the economic partnership between China and South Africa damaging China the economic engine of the multipolar world and further isolating Russia the military backbone of BRICS.
We must oppose the coups in Brazil, Venezuela and South Africa. We must support the people as they resist the return of fascism in South America. We must support South Africa as it struggles to maintain it's independence. The Empire of Chaos thinks it can preserve itself by destroying all the alternatives. It is far to late for that Capitalism itself is in crisis and people are already dreaming of a better world. Remember the overthrow of Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954 inspired the revolutionary career of Che Guevara. In fact to carry out their economic war on the BRICS the Oligarchs are putting the whole stability of their global capitalist system at risk a dangerous gamble. Although 2016 has been a year of victory for the forces of counter-revolution beneath the surface all over the world people can sense revolution in the air. Thus even in the face of defeat and danger instead of despairing we must only redouble our efforts. The time of revolutions is approaching.
Sources
I highly recommend William Blum's "Killing Hope: US military and CIA Interventions Since World War II" sadly more relevant then ever this year with coups and covert wars ravaging the globe. For more on Operation Condor read "Predatory States: Operation Condor Covert War in Latin America" By J.P. McSherry
Dilma Rousseff's defiant speech in the face of the impeachment campaign against her
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/remarks-by-president-dilma-rousseff-to-news-media-after-the-vote-approving-the-impeachment-process/
An Interview with Dilma Rousseff
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/president-dilma-rousseffs-interview-with-telesur/
Pepe Escobar on the Coup in Brazil
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/342821-brazil-dilma-rousseff-impeachment/#.VzW4Ti_LM8M.facebook
The Landless Workers Movement on the Crisis in Brazil
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/brazils-landless-workers-movement-the-real-way-out-of-the-crisis/
Mike Whitney Interviews Eva Golinger on the Assassination of Hugo Chavez
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/the-strange-death-of-hugo-chavez-an-interview-with-eva-golinger/
My Article on Operation Condor
http://anti-imperialist-u.blogspot.com/2015/10/operation-condor.html
My Article War on Latin America
http://anti-imperialist-u.blogspot.com/2016/03/war-on-latin-america.html
Nil Nikandov on the coming showdown in Venezuela
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/president-dilma-rousseffs-interview-with-telesur/
Abayomi Azikwe on the destabilization of South Africa
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/tensions-escalate-ahead-of-local-government-elections-in-south-africa/
Eric Draitser on the US coups in Latin America part of a great series of interviews by Don Debar of PRN that have covered the war on the BRICS week to week subscribe to his youtube channel
http://youtu.be/YP6Q01PYct4
And Eric Draitser on South Africa part of his series of Articles on the War on The BRICS
http://www.mintpressnews.com/brics-attack-empires-destabilizing-hand-reaches-south-africa/215126/
Friday, April 22, 2016
Understanding Libya Pt. 1 v.2
By Hugo Turner and Alexandra Valiente
Introduction
The Libyan Resistance During the 2011 NATO War
Since 2011, the Resistance has been organizing, dissolving and reconstituting itself as it evolves into a very powerful bloc of sister organizations which operate both from countries where exiles found asylum after the war as well as from its bases within Libya. Although there may be differences of opinion regarding the best way to resolve the current crisis, all are unified in their commitment to liberate the country from foreign occupation and terrorism, restore the rule of law via the people’s army, the people’s police force and an uncorrupted judiciary. Establishing national sovereignty, rebuilding and reconstruction of the nation’s infrastructure, returning wealth from resources back to the people, providing the necessities of life (housing, education, medical care, nourishing food, clean water) and ensuring prosperity for all, are vitally important. It has been estimated that the cost of rebuilding what NATO destroyed will exceed $500 billion USD. Not least on the list of priorities is healing the wounds of war and addressing divisions in order to reach equitable, mutually beneficial solutions for all parties. They all agree that the country must not be divided – its integrity must be maintained. The Resistance
The same structure is present in the Libyan National Assembly. LNA website:
The self-governing element is present in all branches of the Resistance, which has its foundation both within the structure and ideology of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya that emerged from the Al Fateh Revolution, and further back into the historical heart of the ancient tribes (approximately 140 in the Libyan family). The Resistance are a force that cannot be disregarded. However the UN and media have attempted to minimize their significance or portray them as “a disorganized group of Gaddafi loyalists”, this is far from fact. Nothing in Libya can change, move forward, progress or heal, without the direct participation of the tribes and the Resistance. As every Libyan is a member of a tribe, the Resistance cannot be viewed as a separate entity from the tribes. Today (April 22) the Libyan Popular National Movement issued a statement reaffirming their rejection of foreign interference. The LPNM have always rejected dialog with the UNSMIL. What is important to understand regarding the Resistance position as outlined in this latest statement is that they also reject any political intra-Libyan dialog that does not include the release of all political prisoners. Without the activation of the Amnesty Law, there is no foundation upon which to heal divisions and rebuild the nation. HT Gaddafi’s death marked a major psychological blow to the Resistance. AV His death galvanized the Resistance, inspiring deep commitment to the struggle. HT Despite the terrible danger, Libyans have been forming human rights groups to demand an end to rule by death squads what can you tell us about this. AV Human Rights organizations have always existed in Libya. Since the 2011 war they have been forced to work from headquarters based in neighboring countries. Those who have attempted to work inside Libya have been abducted, detained, tortured. Many have been murdered. Their role in exposing details of widespread human rights abuses occurring across the entire country has been invaluable. They have openly criticized the UN efforts to create a government of accord and published almost daily reports on activities of militias and da’esh, ongoing persecution of African refugees, black-skinned Libyans, collective punishment of civilians that resist militia rule, the status of political prisoners and regular alerts of humanitarian emergencies. Since the December, 2015 abduction and detention of members of the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya by Tripoli militias, the flow of verified news has diminished. Neither do we know the fate of this organization’s members. Their silencing has been a terrible loss.
https://twitter.com/nchr_ly HT How would you describe the two governments? AV Since the situation is shifting rapidly with the recent arrival of the UN-appointed government of accord (unity government), the best approach to this complicated question is a simple summary of events. It is important to emphasize that since the 2014 election, neither the GNC nor the HoR have contributed in any way to rebuilding the country or providing for the Libyan people. Both have shirked responsibility for the plague of terrorism, human rights abuses, militia violence and complete disregard for the rule of law. Both have been involved in sanctioning human rights violations, torture, mock trials and executions carried out for purposes of political revenge, not justice. Neither has there been any progress on the creation of a constitution. Both have served Western interests exclusively. The GNC, an Islamist grouping, came to power in 2012, replacing the NTC. Its main task was to create a constitution – a task at which it proved itself to be an abysmal failure. Being fragmented and conflict-ridden from its inception, the GNC were forced to call an election for June 25, 2014. Less than 14 % of the population inside Libya and approximately 1% of Libyans living abroad, actually voted.
The House of Representatives was then slated to replace the GNC August 4, 2014 and continue the task of creating a constitution. At this point, a faction of the GNC backed by Islamist militias, reclaimed power, establishing their base in Tripoli. Violence (assaults, abductions, assassinations) forced the HoR to abandon Tripoli and establish its home in Tobruk. Neither the GNC or the HoR, recognized the legitimacy of the other. But the “international community”, comprised predominantly of NATO member nations and the UN, declared the HoR the sole legitimate government. Their status as Libya’s “internationally recognized” government continued until the UN-created and supported government of accord arrived in Tripoli (with the help of the Italian navy) at the end of March. Not being acknowledged by either the GNC or the HoR, they were forced to work from a secured location inside a Tripoli naval base. Following Martin Kobler’s meeting with Abdelhakim Belhaj and other Islamist militia leaders in Istanbul, the GNC relinquished power and endorsed the unity government. After Kobler met secretly with officials from Tobruk’s HoR on April 19, they finally gave a vote of confidence to the GoA. Based on Kobler’s assertions that their approval was the only requirement for the full activation of the GoA, the Libyan people’s response to this move will be crucial. Kobler admitted on April 12 that the government of accord existed only on paper. This is still true and in the absence of elections, that paper is worthless. The UN cannot create, impose, then legitimize a government. It does not have the legal authority to do so. Only the Libyan people, by a fair and free election, where every citizen is allowed to participate, and any person, regardless of tribe or political affiliation, can run for office, can decide who governs. HT Once again outside powers are installing a handpicked government. Do you think Libyans believe it has much legitimacy? AV No. They see it for what it is; a foreign body created to recolonize the country, destroy Libyan sovereignty and establish a base of operation for the Muslim Brotherhood. To be continued...
In 2011 Libya, the most prosperous democracy in Africa, was targeted for destruction. Terrorist death squads were unleashed upon the nation. A NATO bombing campaign destroyed the country and plunged it into chaos. NATO’s death squads seized control of most of the oil-rich territory, although 5 years later, the Libyan people continue to resist. After the 2011 NATO assault, accurate information about what has been going on in the country is very rare. Thus I decided to turn for help to Alexandra Valiente, one of the few in the west who continues to follow events closely and who has contacts inside the country. She is the editor of the Jamahiriya News Agency and Viva Libya websites which cover events in Libya. She is also the editor of Libya 360 (devoted to news and resistance movements in Africa and Latin America) Syria 360 and Revolutionary Strategic Studies. You can follow her on twitter @libya360 and @jamahiriyanews. She generously agreed to do an interview with me on the current situation in Libya and so below I present the first part of our conversation.HT Who are the Green Resistance ? As Libyans continue to reject the new order could you discuss some of the activities of the Green Resistance in the years since 2011? AV During the NATO war, there was no “Green Resistance“ per se. The Libyan people valiantly withstood NATO’s barbaric, criminal “Operation Unified Protector” for close to 9 months. The heroic men, women and youth that fought in defense of their nation were the Green Resistance.
The Libyan Resistance During the 2011 NATO War
Since 2011, the Resistance has been organizing, dissolving and reconstituting itself as it evolves into a very powerful bloc of sister organizations which operate both from countries where exiles found asylum after the war as well as from its bases within Libya. Although there may be differences of opinion regarding the best way to resolve the current crisis, all are unified in their commitment to liberate the country from foreign occupation and terrorism, restore the rule of law via the people’s army, the people’s police force and an uncorrupted judiciary. Establishing national sovereignty, rebuilding and reconstruction of the nation’s infrastructure, returning wealth from resources back to the people, providing the necessities of life (housing, education, medical care, nourishing food, clean water) and ensuring prosperity for all, are vitally important. It has been estimated that the cost of rebuilding what NATO destroyed will exceed $500 billion USD. Not least on the list of priorities is healing the wounds of war and addressing divisions in order to reach equitable, mutually beneficial solutions for all parties. They all agree that the country must not be divided – its integrity must be maintained. The Resistance
-have a broad base of support both within and outside Libya
-is representative of all of Libyan civil society as well as military and intelligence, lawyers and judicial officials, academics and scholars, tribal leaders – professionals in literally all fields of endeavor.
-have a broad support base among other revolutionary organizations and nations.
Reading the Libyan Popular National Movement’s statement on organizational structure, you can see the framework of a government is in place.
LPNM website:
The same structure is present in the Libyan National Assembly. LNA website:
The self-governing element is present in all branches of the Resistance, which has its foundation both within the structure and ideology of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya that emerged from the Al Fateh Revolution, and further back into the historical heart of the ancient tribes (approximately 140 in the Libyan family). The Resistance are a force that cannot be disregarded. However the UN and media have attempted to minimize their significance or portray them as “a disorganized group of Gaddafi loyalists”, this is far from fact. Nothing in Libya can change, move forward, progress or heal, without the direct participation of the tribes and the Resistance. As every Libyan is a member of a tribe, the Resistance cannot be viewed as a separate entity from the tribes. Today (April 22) the Libyan Popular National Movement issued a statement reaffirming their rejection of foreign interference. The LPNM have always rejected dialog with the UNSMIL. What is important to understand regarding the Resistance position as outlined in this latest statement is that they also reject any political intra-Libyan dialog that does not include the release of all political prisoners. Without the activation of the Amnesty Law, there is no foundation upon which to heal divisions and rebuild the nation. HT Gaddafi’s death marked a major psychological blow to the Resistance. AV His death galvanized the Resistance, inspiring deep commitment to the struggle. HT Despite the terrible danger, Libyans have been forming human rights groups to demand an end to rule by death squads what can you tell us about this. AV Human Rights organizations have always existed in Libya. Since the 2011 war they have been forced to work from headquarters based in neighboring countries. Those who have attempted to work inside Libya have been abducted, detained, tortured. Many have been murdered. Their role in exposing details of widespread human rights abuses occurring across the entire country has been invaluable. They have openly criticized the UN efforts to create a government of accord and published almost daily reports on activities of militias and da’esh, ongoing persecution of African refugees, black-skinned Libyans, collective punishment of civilians that resist militia rule, the status of political prisoners and regular alerts of humanitarian emergencies. Since the December, 2015 abduction and detention of members of the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya by Tripoli militias, the flow of verified news has diminished. Neither do we know the fate of this organization’s members. Their silencing has been a terrible loss.
https://twitter.com/nchr_ly HT How would you describe the two governments? AV Since the situation is shifting rapidly with the recent arrival of the UN-appointed government of accord (unity government), the best approach to this complicated question is a simple summary of events. It is important to emphasize that since the 2014 election, neither the GNC nor the HoR have contributed in any way to rebuilding the country or providing for the Libyan people. Both have shirked responsibility for the plague of terrorism, human rights abuses, militia violence and complete disregard for the rule of law. Both have been involved in sanctioning human rights violations, torture, mock trials and executions carried out for purposes of political revenge, not justice. Neither has there been any progress on the creation of a constitution. Both have served Western interests exclusively. The GNC, an Islamist grouping, came to power in 2012, replacing the NTC. Its main task was to create a constitution – a task at which it proved itself to be an abysmal failure. Being fragmented and conflict-ridden from its inception, the GNC were forced to call an election for June 25, 2014. Less than 14 % of the population inside Libya and approximately 1% of Libyans living abroad, actually voted.
Image: elections held on June 25th, 2014 saw polling booths all over Libya empty
The House of Representatives was then slated to replace the GNC August 4, 2014 and continue the task of creating a constitution. At this point, a faction of the GNC backed by Islamist militias, reclaimed power, establishing their base in Tripoli. Violence (assaults, abductions, assassinations) forced the HoR to abandon Tripoli and establish its home in Tobruk. Neither the GNC or the HoR, recognized the legitimacy of the other. But the “international community”, comprised predominantly of NATO member nations and the UN, declared the HoR the sole legitimate government. Their status as Libya’s “internationally recognized” government continued until the UN-created and supported government of accord arrived in Tripoli (with the help of the Italian navy) at the end of March. Not being acknowledged by either the GNC or the HoR, they were forced to work from a secured location inside a Tripoli naval base. Following Martin Kobler’s meeting with Abdelhakim Belhaj and other Islamist militia leaders in Istanbul, the GNC relinquished power and endorsed the unity government. After Kobler met secretly with officials from Tobruk’s HoR on April 19, they finally gave a vote of confidence to the GoA. Based on Kobler’s assertions that their approval was the only requirement for the full activation of the GoA, the Libyan people’s response to this move will be crucial. Kobler admitted on April 12 that the government of accord existed only on paper. This is still true and in the absence of elections, that paper is worthless. The UN cannot create, impose, then legitimize a government. It does not have the legal authority to do so. Only the Libyan people, by a fair and free election, where every citizen is allowed to participate, and any person, regardless of tribe or political affiliation, can run for office, can decide who governs. HT Once again outside powers are installing a handpicked government. Do you think Libyans believe it has much legitimacy? AV No. They see it for what it is; a foreign body created to recolonize the country, destroy Libyan sovereignty and establish a base of operation for the Muslim Brotherhood. To be continued...
Understanding Libya Pt. 1
Understanding Libya: An Interview With Alexandra Valiente Part 1
In 2011 Libya, the most prosperous democracy in Africa, was targeted for destruction. Terrorist death squads were unleashed upon the nation. A NATO bombing campaign destroyed the country and plunged it into chaos. NATO's death squads seized control of most of the oil-rich territory, although 5 years later, the Libyan people continue to resist. After the 2011 NATO assault, accurate information about what has been going on in the country is very rare. Thus I decided to turn for help to Alexandra Valiente, one of the few in the west who continues to follow events closely and who has contacts inside the country. She is the editor of the Jamahiriya News Agency and Viva Libya websites which cover events in Libya. She is also the editor of Libya 360 (devoted to news and resistance movements in Africa and Latin America) Syria 360 and Revolutionary Strategic Studies. You can follow her on twitter @libya360 and @jamahiriyanews. She generously agreed to do an interview with me on the current situation in Libya and so below I present the first part of our conversation.
HT
Who are the Green Resistance ? As Libyans continue to reject the new order could you discuss some of the activities of the Green Resistance in the years since 2011?
AV
During the NATO war, there was no “Green Resistance“ per se. The Libyan people valiantly withstood NATO’s barbaric, criminal “Operation Unified Protector” for close to 9 months. The heroic men, women and youth that fought in defense of their nation were the Green Resistance.
https://libya360.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/7068357_orig.jpg?w=1000
Since 2011, the Resistance has been organizing, dissolving and reconstituting itself as it evolves into a very powerful bloc of sister organizations which operate both from countries where exiles found asylum after the war as well as from its bases within Libya.
Although there may be differences of opinion regarding the best way to resolve the current crisis, all are unified in their commitment to liberate the country from foreign occupation and terrorism, restore the rule of law via the people’s army, the people’s police force and an uncorrupted judiciary.
Establishing national sovereignty, rebuilding and reconstruction of the nation’s infrastructure, returning wealth from resources back to the people, providing the necessities of life (housing, education, medical care, nourishing food, clean water) and ensuring prosperity for all, are vitally important.
It has been estimated that the cost of rebuilding what NATO destroyed will exceed $500 billion USD.
Not least on the list of priorities is healing the wounds of war and addressing divisions in order to reach equitable, mutually beneficial solutions for all parties.
They all agree that the country must not be divided – its integrity must be maintained.
The Resistance
-have a broad base of support both within and outside Libya
-is representative of all of Libyan civil society as well as military and intelligence, lawyers and judicial officials, academics and scholars, tribal leaders – professionals in literally all fields of endeavor.
-have a broad support base among other revolutionary organizations and nations.
Note: (Reading the Libyan Popular National Movement’s statement on organizational structure, you can see the framework of a government is in place.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/the-libyan-peoples-national-movement-introductory-leaflet/
LPNM website:
The same structure is present in the Libyan National Assembly.
LNA website:
The self-governing element is present in all branches of the Resistance, which has its foundation both within the structure and ideology of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya that emerged from the Al Fateh Revolution, and further back into the historical heart of the ancient tribes (approximately 140 in the Libyan family).
The Resistance are a force that cannot be disregarded. However the UN and media have attempted to minimize their significance or portray them as “a disorganized group of Gaddafi loyalists”, this is far from fact.
Nothing in Libya can change, move forward, progress or heal, without the direct participation of the tribes and the Resistance. As every Libyan is a member of a tribe, the Resistance cannot be viewed as a separate entity from the tribes.
HT
Gaddafi’s death marked a major psychological blow to the Resistance.
AV
His death galvanized the Resistance, inspiring deep commitment to the struggle.
HT
Despite the terrible danger, Libyans have been forming human rights groups to demand an end to rule by death squads what can you tell us about this.
AV
Human Rights organizations have always existed in Libya. Since the 2011 war they have been forced to work from headquarters based in neighboring countries. Those who have attempted to work inside Libya have been abducted, detained, tortured. Many have been murdered. Their role in exposing details of widespread human rights abuses occurring across the entire country has been invaluable. They have openly criticized UN efforts to create a government of accord and published almost daily reports on activities of militias and da’esh, ongoing persecution of African refugees, black-skinned Libyans, collective punishment of civilians that resist militia rule, the status of political prisoners and regular alerts of humanitarian emergencies.
Since the December, 2015 abduction and detention of members of the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya by Tripoli militias, the flow of verified news has diminished. Neither do we know the fate of this organization’s members. Their silencing has been a terrible loss.
https://twitter.com/nchr_ly
HT
How would you describe the two governments?
AV
Since the situation is shifting rapidly with the recent arrival of the UN-appointed government of accord (unity government), the best approach to this complicated question is a simple summary of events.
It is important to emphasize that since the 2014 election, neither the GNC nor the HoR have contributed in any way to rebuilding the country or providing for the Libyan people. Both have shirked responsibility for the plague of terrorism, human rights abuses, militia violence and complete disregard for the rule of law. Both have been involved in sanctioning human rights violations, torture, mock trials and executions carried out for purposes of political revenge, not justice.
Neither has there been any progress on the creation of a constitution.
Both have served Western interests exclusively.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/behind-daesh-in-libya-is-the-hypocrisy-of-rival-governments-that-bow-to-the-west/
The GNC, an Islamist grouping, came to power in 2012, replacing the NTC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_National_Congress
Its main task was to create a constitution – a task at which it proved itself to be an abysmal failure.
Being fragmented and conflict-ridden from its inception, the GNC were forced to call an election for June 25, 2014. Less than 14 % of the population inside Libya and approximately 1% of Libyans living abroad, actually voted.
The House of Representatives was then slated to replace the GNC August 4, 2014 and continue the task of creating a constitution. At this point, a faction of the GNC backed by Islamist militias, reclaimed power, establishing their base in Tripoli.
Violence (assaults, abductions, assassinations) forced the HoR to abandon Tripoli and establish its home in Tobruk.
Neither the GNC or the HoR, recognized the legitimacy of the other.
But the “international community”, comprised predominantly of NATO member nations and the UN, declared the HoR the sole legitimate government.
Their status as Libya’s “internationally recognized” government continued until the UN-created and supported government of accord arrived in Tripoli (with the help of the Italian navy) at the end of March. Not being acknowledged by either the GNC or the HoR, they were forced to work from a secured location inside a Tripoli naval base.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/un-brokered-unity-government-works-from-secured-tripoli-naval-base/
Following Martin Kobler’s meeting with Abdelhakim Belhaj and other Islamist militia leaders in Istanbul, the GNC relinquished power and endorsed the unity government.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/unsmils-martin-koebler-managing-goa-takeover-of-libya-in-meeting-with-al-qaeda-in-istanbul/
After Kobler met secretly with officials from Tobruk’s HoR on April 19, they finally gave a vote of confidence to the GoA.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/04/21/illegal-and-highly-suspect-hor-votes-via-audio-recordings-approves-goa/
Based on Kobler’s assertions that their approval was the only requirement for the full activation of the GoA, the Libyan people’s response to this move will be crucial.
Kobler admitted on April 12 that the government of accord existed only on paper.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/koebler-the-government-of-accord-exists-only-on-paper/
This is still true and in the absence of elections, that paper is worthless.
The UN cannot create, impose, then legitimize a government. It does not have the legal authority to do so.
Only the Libyan people, by a fair and free election, where every citizen is allowed to participate, and any person, regardless of tribe or political affiliation, can run for office, can decide who governs.
HT
Once again outside powers are installing a handpicked government. Do you think Libyans believe it has much legitimacy?
AV
No. They see it for what it is; a foreign body created to recolonize the country, destroy Libyan sovereignty and establish a base of operation for the Muslim Brotherhood.
To Be continued
Check out Alexandra Valiente's sites
Jamahiriya News Agency
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com
Viva Libya
https://vivalibya.wordpress.com
Libya 360
https://libya360.wordpress.com
Revolutionary and Strategic Studies
https://revolutionarystrategicstudies.wordpress.com
Syria 360
https://syria360.wordpress.com
In 2011 Libya, the most prosperous democracy in Africa, was targeted for destruction. Terrorist death squads were unleashed upon the nation. A NATO bombing campaign destroyed the country and plunged it into chaos. NATO's death squads seized control of most of the oil-rich territory, although 5 years later, the Libyan people continue to resist. After the 2011 NATO assault, accurate information about what has been going on in the country is very rare. Thus I decided to turn for help to Alexandra Valiente, one of the few in the west who continues to follow events closely and who has contacts inside the country. She is the editor of the Jamahiriya News Agency and Viva Libya websites which cover events in Libya. She is also the editor of Libya 360 (devoted to news and resistance movements in Africa and Latin America) Syria 360 and Revolutionary Strategic Studies. You can follow her on twitter @libya360 and @jamahiriyanews. She generously agreed to do an interview with me on the current situation in Libya and so below I present the first part of our conversation.
HT
Who are the Green Resistance ? As Libyans continue to reject the new order could you discuss some of the activities of the Green Resistance in the years since 2011?
AV
During the NATO war, there was no “Green Resistance“ per se. The Libyan people valiantly withstood NATO’s barbaric, criminal “Operation Unified Protector” for close to 9 months. The heroic men, women and youth that fought in defense of their nation were the Green Resistance.
https://libya360.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/7068357_orig.jpg?w=1000
Since 2011, the Resistance has been organizing, dissolving and reconstituting itself as it evolves into a very powerful bloc of sister organizations which operate both from countries where exiles found asylum after the war as well as from its bases within Libya.
Although there may be differences of opinion regarding the best way to resolve the current crisis, all are unified in their commitment to liberate the country from foreign occupation and terrorism, restore the rule of law via the people’s army, the people’s police force and an uncorrupted judiciary.
Establishing national sovereignty, rebuilding and reconstruction of the nation’s infrastructure, returning wealth from resources back to the people, providing the necessities of life (housing, education, medical care, nourishing food, clean water) and ensuring prosperity for all, are vitally important.
It has been estimated that the cost of rebuilding what NATO destroyed will exceed $500 billion USD.
Not least on the list of priorities is healing the wounds of war and addressing divisions in order to reach equitable, mutually beneficial solutions for all parties.
They all agree that the country must not be divided – its integrity must be maintained.
The Resistance
-have a broad base of support both within and outside Libya
-is representative of all of Libyan civil society as well as military and intelligence, lawyers and judicial officials, academics and scholars, tribal leaders – professionals in literally all fields of endeavor.
-have a broad support base among other revolutionary organizations and nations.
Note: (Reading the Libyan Popular National Movement’s statement on organizational structure, you can see the framework of a government is in place.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/the-libyan-peoples-national-movement-introductory-leaflet/
LPNM website:
The same structure is present in the Libyan National Assembly.
LNA website:
The self-governing element is present in all branches of the Resistance, which has its foundation both within the structure and ideology of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya that emerged from the Al Fateh Revolution, and further back into the historical heart of the ancient tribes (approximately 140 in the Libyan family).
The Resistance are a force that cannot be disregarded. However the UN and media have attempted to minimize their significance or portray them as “a disorganized group of Gaddafi loyalists”, this is far from fact.
Nothing in Libya can change, move forward, progress or heal, without the direct participation of the tribes and the Resistance. As every Libyan is a member of a tribe, the Resistance cannot be viewed as a separate entity from the tribes.
HT
Gaddafi’s death marked a major psychological blow to the Resistance.
AV
His death galvanized the Resistance, inspiring deep commitment to the struggle.
HT
Despite the terrible danger, Libyans have been forming human rights groups to demand an end to rule by death squads what can you tell us about this.
AV
Human Rights organizations have always existed in Libya. Since the 2011 war they have been forced to work from headquarters based in neighboring countries. Those who have attempted to work inside Libya have been abducted, detained, tortured. Many have been murdered. Their role in exposing details of widespread human rights abuses occurring across the entire country has been invaluable. They have openly criticized UN efforts to create a government of accord and published almost daily reports on activities of militias and da’esh, ongoing persecution of African refugees, black-skinned Libyans, collective punishment of civilians that resist militia rule, the status of political prisoners and regular alerts of humanitarian emergencies.
Since the December, 2015 abduction and detention of members of the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya by Tripoli militias, the flow of verified news has diminished. Neither do we know the fate of this organization’s members. Their silencing has been a terrible loss.
https://twitter.com/nchr_ly
HT
How would you describe the two governments?
AV
Since the situation is shifting rapidly with the recent arrival of the UN-appointed government of accord (unity government), the best approach to this complicated question is a simple summary of events.
It is important to emphasize that since the 2014 election, neither the GNC nor the HoR have contributed in any way to rebuilding the country or providing for the Libyan people. Both have shirked responsibility for the plague of terrorism, human rights abuses, militia violence and complete disregard for the rule of law. Both have been involved in sanctioning human rights violations, torture, mock trials and executions carried out for purposes of political revenge, not justice.
Neither has there been any progress on the creation of a constitution.
Both have served Western interests exclusively.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/behind-daesh-in-libya-is-the-hypocrisy-of-rival-governments-that-bow-to-the-west/
The GNC, an Islamist grouping, came to power in 2012, replacing the NTC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_National_Congress
Its main task was to create a constitution – a task at which it proved itself to be an abysmal failure.
Being fragmented and conflict-ridden from its inception, the GNC were forced to call an election for June 25, 2014. Less than 14 % of the population inside Libya and approximately 1% of Libyans living abroad, actually voted.
The House of Representatives was then slated to replace the GNC August 4, 2014 and continue the task of creating a constitution. At this point, a faction of the GNC backed by Islamist militias, reclaimed power, establishing their base in Tripoli.
Violence (assaults, abductions, assassinations) forced the HoR to abandon Tripoli and establish its home in Tobruk.
Neither the GNC or the HoR, recognized the legitimacy of the other.
But the “international community”, comprised predominantly of NATO member nations and the UN, declared the HoR the sole legitimate government.
Their status as Libya’s “internationally recognized” government continued until the UN-created and supported government of accord arrived in Tripoli (with the help of the Italian navy) at the end of March. Not being acknowledged by either the GNC or the HoR, they were forced to work from a secured location inside a Tripoli naval base.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/un-brokered-unity-government-works-from-secured-tripoli-naval-base/
Following Martin Kobler’s meeting with Abdelhakim Belhaj and other Islamist militia leaders in Istanbul, the GNC relinquished power and endorsed the unity government.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/unsmils-martin-koebler-managing-goa-takeover-of-libya-in-meeting-with-al-qaeda-in-istanbul/
After Kobler met secretly with officials from Tobruk’s HoR on April 19, they finally gave a vote of confidence to the GoA.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/04/21/illegal-and-highly-suspect-hor-votes-via-audio-recordings-approves-goa/
Based on Kobler’s assertions that their approval was the only requirement for the full activation of the GoA, the Libyan people’s response to this move will be crucial.
Kobler admitted on April 12 that the government of accord existed only on paper.
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/koebler-the-government-of-accord-exists-only-on-paper/
This is still true and in the absence of elections, that paper is worthless.
The UN cannot create, impose, then legitimize a government. It does not have the legal authority to do so.
Only the Libyan people, by a fair and free election, where every citizen is allowed to participate, and any person, regardless of tribe or political affiliation, can run for office, can decide who governs.
HT
Once again outside powers are installing a handpicked government. Do you think Libyans believe it has much legitimacy?
AV
No. They see it for what it is; a foreign body created to recolonize the country, destroy Libyan sovereignty and establish a base of operation for the Muslim Brotherhood.
To Be continued
Check out Alexandra Valiente's sites
Jamahiriya News Agency
https://jamahiriyanewsagency.wordpress.com
Viva Libya
https://vivalibya.wordpress.com
Libya 360
https://libya360.wordpress.com
Revolutionary and Strategic Studies
https://revolutionarystrategicstudies.wordpress.com
Syria 360
https://syria360.wordpress.com
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Empire on the Rampage
The Empire on the Rampage: World War 4 Heats Up in Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine and Beyond
The Empire of Chaos never gives up if it suffers defeat in one place it ignites a war someplace else. If it signs a peace deal it is only to give it self breathing space to plan more treachery. All this was proven yet again by recent events. In revenge for the victory of Syria and it's allies the 4 + 2 in Palmyra (see My March 2016 Victory in Palmyra) the empire launched a massive counter-offensive in Aleppo. Predictably it had been using the ceasefire to resupply it's terrorist death squads who had received over 3000 tons of weapons including anti-tank and anti-air missiles. But Syria was not the only place where the empire struck it also reignited the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh an autonomous part of Azerbaijan that is in reality a de facto part of Armenia. Things have also been flaring up in Ukraine. There is an invasion of Libya being launched but I hope to deal with this in a future article. And of course the newly intensified war on Latin America continues. Since I also can't deal with this topic today I'll merely record that a wave of Operation Condor Style assassinations has been taking place in Venezuela murdering high ranking officials loyal to the government. Plus of course the media war as predicted also has been heating up with the NSA giving masses of info to "trusted" journalists. The Car wash scandal in Brazil, the Panama Papers, an expose on torture in Syria aimed to discredit various enemies. Strangely David Cameron in Britain ended up being the one most seriously affected though whether this arch-imperialist managed to somehow offend Washington or whether he made some enemies domestically who saw a chance for revenge is unclear. There is also the economic war of course.
The point is that Empire of Chaos is waging a war on many levels Military, Covert, Political, economic, media, intelligence in a desperate attempt to stop the steady erosion of it's power and influence. War, Chaos, and poverty are the results. Arcs of Crisis as they call them cover the globe the footprints of empire in Europe there is Ukraine and the Baltic, In Southwest and central Asia there is a line of wars stretching from Turkey, to Syria, Iraq, Iran (Where 27,000 people have been killed by terrorist proxies) Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Eastern China's Xianjiang province. Multiple arcs of crisis cut across Africa to name only some of the countries Libya, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, DRCongo, Burundi, CAR. Another stretches from Mexico through central America and into Colombia, seeking to expand into Venezuela, and Brazil and already infecting Argentina.Then of course there is the south China Sea where an arc of tensions have been created constantly threatening to explode into a war on China. It is clearly no exaggeration to regard this as World War 4. Of course we are conditioned to see each war in isolation but they all have one thing in common the United States is involved in every single one of these wars. And this isn't even a complete list. This should be a reminder of the massive scale of this war the face of imperialism. Even within the United States itself there are unending low intensity conflicts. America is an Empire of War and things are only going to get worse a good place to mention the apocalyptic vision of the future I recently witnessed in the terrifying political novel "Spooks: A Dystopia" by E.M. Quangel which although it takes place in 2030 is just as much about right now or perhaps tomorrow. I highly recommend it for a view of the world if things continue along the present course. A brilliant satire it is also terrifyingly prophetic predicting both the recent regime change in Argentina and even the war in Azerbaijan.
I'm sure most people know very little about either Azerbaijan or Armenia. Thankfully Azerbaijan figures prominently in the work of Sibel Edmonds and Christoph Germann who's indispensable blog "New Great Game is unfortunately currently on hiatus but who you can follow on twitter @newgreatgame for great news on a Syria, Ukraine, the Caucuses and Central Asia. Thanks to being a loyal reader of the New Great Game I can provide a little context to the recent events. Both countries Armenia and Azerbaijan were former soviet republics. Nagorno-Karabakh was a huge region populated by Armenians but included as an autonomous region in Azerbaijan. During Tsarist times Russian empire had deliberately sparked wars between the two groups with the Azeris carrying out genocidal pogroms against the Armenians. Armenia in the ancient world the center of constant wars and intrigues between the Roman and Persian empires. Today it has has the misfortune to be placed along a an arc of turkic speaking peoples stretching all the way from turkey to Xianjiang province in China and to Mongolia. First the Germans then the CIA hoped to use these peoples in their war on the soviet union. Turkey itself produced fascists who dreamed of a pan-turkic empire stretching across eurasia and under their control. The Armenians were targeted for genocide by Turkish ultra nationalists a number of times both before and after world war one. Turkey actually occupied the whole are briefly during the "war of Intervention" when 14 outside powers sought to destroy revolutionary Russia. This bloody history explains why the Armenians have tensions with both Turkey and it's close ally Azerbaijan which is also a turkic speaking country. However one shouldn't exaggerate the degree of similarity of all the different peoples populating central Asia merely because their languages have turkic roots. The region has a rich and complex history as part of the silk road a history that is of course almost completely ignored and unknown in the west. As the Soviet Union was being destroyed Nagorno-Karabakh voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join with Armenia. Ethnic tensions ran high and thousands were killed. Eventually a war erupted as Azerbaijan attempted to crush this attempt at independence. Armenia decided to give aid to their fellow Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. The war lasted from 1991-1994 and since Nagorno-Karabakh managed to retain it's defacto independence and relations with Armenia they clearly won. Ironically Yeltsin's Russia had backed Azerbaijan.
In Sibel Edmonds now invaluable series of interviews on Gladio B. She discusses how through organized crime, terrorism, and corruption the CIA managed to draw Azerbaijan into NATO's orbit. Peter Dale Scott also records an interesting scandal where Richard Secord of Iran Contra fame had started a shady airline that was ferrying mujahideen from Afghanistan into Azerbaijan. Meanwhile Armenia has been increasingly drawn into Russia's orbit and is a member of the eurasian union. Russia has tried to woo back Azerbaijan or at least keep the doors of communication open by selling them weapons. Azerbaijan remains firmly in NATO's orbit but Aliyev annoyed his western sponsors by cracking down on the CIA controlled Gulen Network on the advice of Turkey. They have also been cracking down on western controlled "civil society groups" to stave off any future color revolution attempts. However despite these tensions Azerbaijan is in NATO's Orbit and also has very strong ties with Israel and Turkey. Israel uses it as a base of operations to wage covert war on Iran which also has a large Azeri population some in the highest ranks of power like the Supreme Leader himself.
To sum up Azerbaijan a close ally of Israel and Turkey is a center for Gladio and other deep state intrigues. Also a center for pipeline politics and the battle over the caspian sea. The US ambassador there the hard Partying Mathew Bryza was the one who bragged that ISIS had brought down Flight #A321 and has been identified as part of the GLADIO network by Sibel Edmonds. Given these many shady connections Aliyev's (the President/Dictator of Azerbaijan) sudden decision to reignite the war in Azerbaijan can reasonably be assumed to actually be a proxy form of revenge against Russia for the recent victory in Palmyra. Since 1994 an uneasy ceasefire had held the war in a frozen state. Of course it was a shaky ceasefire that was broken many times over the years with small battles erupting helicopters being shot down soldiers killed.
In general these frozen conflicts serve Russia's interests as a way of slowing the expansion of NATO. On a sane day NATO was unlikely to admit members who had these frozen conflicts within their borders since it could mean the whole alliance could potentially get sucked into a nuclear war with Russia should the frozen conflicts flare up as happened in 2008 when Georgia launched an unprovoked attack on South Ossetia killing Russian peacekeepers. That War could have gone Nuclear if then VP Cheney had gotten his way and the US had begun bombing Russian Forces. After that War Georgia's prospects for NATO membership were again on hold. This is one of Cynical realpolitiks reasons Russia encouraged Novorossia to rebel. It is why it backs south Ossetia in Georgia, and Transdneister in Moldova. However it prefers to keep these conflicts frozen. By encouraging Azerbaijan to launch an attempt to take back Nagorno-Karabakh the empire of Chaos has managed to spark yet a third proxy war with Russia. Luckily this attempt proved a disastrous failure the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are tough fighters and managed to completely smash the forces attacking them preventing them from making any meaningful gains. Instead Azerbaijan has been forced to sign a new ceasefire which it has continued to violate much like Ukraine by continuously shelling civilians and firing mortars at villages. For the moment however the attempt to conquer the Nagorno-Karabakh has been abandoned.
The War in Ukraine has also been heating up in recent months. It's hard to get accurate information since both sides are trying to hide the facts for their own reasons. However it is clear that things have escalated from the UAF (Ukraine Armed Forces) periodically shelling towns and cities in the Dontetsk and Lugansk peoples republics things have escalated and battles are taking place between the NAF (Novorossiyan Armed Forces) and UAF forces. In Ukraine itself society continues to collapse and Victoria "Fuck the EU" Nuland's handpicked puppet Yatsenyuk was recently forced to resign. Ukrainian Fascist Shavchenko was finally sentenced for the murder of 2 Russian journalists in Ukraine. At least in this case there is some justice unlike for the many other journalists killed for reporting on Ukraine's brutal war on Novorossia, or for daring to criticize the new regime. Or the many other Ukrainians killed or imprisoned for daring to criticize the new fascist order. Sadly they may never know justice. Meanwhile the war continues to intensify and we can only wish the brave defenders of Novorossia continued success in resisting the war being waged on them by fascist Ukraine and it's NATO allies.
In Syria meanwhile the terrorists launched a major offensive in Aleppo taking back the important strategic town of Tal al Ais which gives them control over the important strategic M-5 highway. The SAA capture of the town had marked a major victory in the battle of Aleppo. With the Recapture of Tal-Ais By Al Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham yet another Battle of Aleppo has begun and there has been furious fighting throughout the province. The terrorists have even been using chemical weapons gassing the Kurds. Oh the hypocrisy of the empire remember when they claimed they were toppling Sadham Hussein in revenge for gassing the Kurds(back when he was working for the US), and to keep chemical weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists or when they threatened to bomb Syria to smithereens if it ever dared to use such weapons. Now Al Qaeda armed with poison gas is targeting the kurds and it's completely ignored. The terrorists also used poison gas in attacks on the heroic defenders of Deir Ezzor which of course was ignored as all crimes committed against the SAA are ignored. On the subject of war crimes when Palmyra was liberated a horrifying mass grave was discovered full of women and children doubtless one of countless mass graves the death squads have left all over Syria.
The Syrian Arab Army and there allies have assembled a massive force with which to reverse the terrorists gains in Aleppo. Hopefully in coming weeks they will be able to regain control of the territory the death squads have captured. Today was the first day of their major offensive which was preceded by a bombing and artillery attack on the terrorists positions. Meanwhile the terrorists have continued to shell the kurdish fighters and local civilians with chemical weapons as I write this. They have been well supplied with Manpads and have shot down two Syrian jets in recent weeks. The US is also openly sending special forces into Syria to help the terrorists as they announced leaving out the fighting alongside terrorists part of course. They have also used the ceasefire to flood the terrorists with weapons tanks, APC, Grad Rockets, anti-Tanks missiles and anti air manpads. The SAA and their allies face a tremendous challenge but hopefully they will be able to score yet another victory in Aleppo in coming weeks. Meanwhile officially the ceasefire remains in effect despite the obvious treachery by the Axis of Chaos using the ceasefire merely as cover for a massive new offensive. In more optimistic news the SAA has continued it's recent string of assassinations killing more top terrorist commanders including the infamous FSA commander Abu Sakaar who had himself filmed eating a liver.
Sadly the people of Syria must give up on dreams of peace in the near future so long as Syria's enemies continue to funnel weapons and supplies to the terrorists the war will continue. Only when these groups have been pushed out of Syria and the entire country is liberated will they ever know peace and even then doubtless they will suffer years and possibly decades of sporadic terror attacks car bombings, and assassinations. As for the rest of the world it must prepare for the continual expansion of world war 4 the war on the planet that is ongoing in nearly every corner of the globe. This war will last for decades. Only fierce resistance is able to keep the empire at bay. May the brave resistance by the heroic peoples of Nagorno-Karabakh Novorossia and Syria continue to inspire the world by their brave example.
Sources
I have two Book Recommendations first Emma Quangel's "Spooks: A Dystopia" which will haunt me for months. I also recently read John Stockwell's "The Praetorian Guard the U.S. Role in the New World Order" in which he lays out his reasons for calling the cold war "World War 3" He also chronicles the first 2 years of World War 4 although he doesn't use that term he did accurately predict that nothing would really change with the end of "The Cold War" save the justifications America's war on the planet would continue. 25 years later this war has continued to expand. He also provides some great insider dirt from his time in the CIA. What he had to say about the CIA role in academia was apparently so shocking the CIA forced him to delete two separate passages.
Yatsenyuk is out
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/yatsenyuk-goes-finally/ri13816?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
A Great Podcast on the Nargorno-Karabakh from the Armenian perspective
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/podcast/al-masdar-podcast-11-kaylar-michaelian-discusses-nagorno-karabakh/
Sibel Edmonds must watch series of interviews on Operation GLADIO B which among many other topics deals with the relations between Azerbaijan the US, Turkey, and Israel
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/usa-the-creator-sustainer-of-chechen-terrorism/
The latest from Syria
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/syrian-front-saa-liberates-strategic-region-nw-of-aleppo-massive-anti-terror-ops-underway/
And check out New Great Game for a bunch of backstory on Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh Russia, Turkey and more.
http://www.christophgermann.blogspot.com
Eric Draitser on the wave of assassinations in Venezuela
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/venezuelas-opposition-attacking-its-own-people/
The Kurds were attacked with chemical weapons yet again today
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/peoples-peaceful-co-existence-targeted-in-sheikh-maqsoud/
The Empire of Chaos never gives up if it suffers defeat in one place it ignites a war someplace else. If it signs a peace deal it is only to give it self breathing space to plan more treachery. All this was proven yet again by recent events. In revenge for the victory of Syria and it's allies the 4 + 2 in Palmyra (see My March 2016 Victory in Palmyra) the empire launched a massive counter-offensive in Aleppo. Predictably it had been using the ceasefire to resupply it's terrorist death squads who had received over 3000 tons of weapons including anti-tank and anti-air missiles. But Syria was not the only place where the empire struck it also reignited the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh an autonomous part of Azerbaijan that is in reality a de facto part of Armenia. Things have also been flaring up in Ukraine. There is an invasion of Libya being launched but I hope to deal with this in a future article. And of course the newly intensified war on Latin America continues. Since I also can't deal with this topic today I'll merely record that a wave of Operation Condor Style assassinations has been taking place in Venezuela murdering high ranking officials loyal to the government. Plus of course the media war as predicted also has been heating up with the NSA giving masses of info to "trusted" journalists. The Car wash scandal in Brazil, the Panama Papers, an expose on torture in Syria aimed to discredit various enemies. Strangely David Cameron in Britain ended up being the one most seriously affected though whether this arch-imperialist managed to somehow offend Washington or whether he made some enemies domestically who saw a chance for revenge is unclear. There is also the economic war of course.
The point is that Empire of Chaos is waging a war on many levels Military, Covert, Political, economic, media, intelligence in a desperate attempt to stop the steady erosion of it's power and influence. War, Chaos, and poverty are the results. Arcs of Crisis as they call them cover the globe the footprints of empire in Europe there is Ukraine and the Baltic, In Southwest and central Asia there is a line of wars stretching from Turkey, to Syria, Iraq, Iran (Where 27,000 people have been killed by terrorist proxies) Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Eastern China's Xianjiang province. Multiple arcs of crisis cut across Africa to name only some of the countries Libya, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, DRCongo, Burundi, CAR. Another stretches from Mexico through central America and into Colombia, seeking to expand into Venezuela, and Brazil and already infecting Argentina.Then of course there is the south China Sea where an arc of tensions have been created constantly threatening to explode into a war on China. It is clearly no exaggeration to regard this as World War 4. Of course we are conditioned to see each war in isolation but they all have one thing in common the United States is involved in every single one of these wars. And this isn't even a complete list. This should be a reminder of the massive scale of this war the face of imperialism. Even within the United States itself there are unending low intensity conflicts. America is an Empire of War and things are only going to get worse a good place to mention the apocalyptic vision of the future I recently witnessed in the terrifying political novel "Spooks: A Dystopia" by E.M. Quangel which although it takes place in 2030 is just as much about right now or perhaps tomorrow. I highly recommend it for a view of the world if things continue along the present course. A brilliant satire it is also terrifyingly prophetic predicting both the recent regime change in Argentina and even the war in Azerbaijan.
I'm sure most people know very little about either Azerbaijan or Armenia. Thankfully Azerbaijan figures prominently in the work of Sibel Edmonds and Christoph Germann who's indispensable blog "New Great Game is unfortunately currently on hiatus but who you can follow on twitter @newgreatgame for great news on a Syria, Ukraine, the Caucuses and Central Asia. Thanks to being a loyal reader of the New Great Game I can provide a little context to the recent events. Both countries Armenia and Azerbaijan were former soviet republics. Nagorno-Karabakh was a huge region populated by Armenians but included as an autonomous region in Azerbaijan. During Tsarist times Russian empire had deliberately sparked wars between the two groups with the Azeris carrying out genocidal pogroms against the Armenians. Armenia in the ancient world the center of constant wars and intrigues between the Roman and Persian empires. Today it has has the misfortune to be placed along a an arc of turkic speaking peoples stretching all the way from turkey to Xianjiang province in China and to Mongolia. First the Germans then the CIA hoped to use these peoples in their war on the soviet union. Turkey itself produced fascists who dreamed of a pan-turkic empire stretching across eurasia and under their control. The Armenians were targeted for genocide by Turkish ultra nationalists a number of times both before and after world war one. Turkey actually occupied the whole are briefly during the "war of Intervention" when 14 outside powers sought to destroy revolutionary Russia. This bloody history explains why the Armenians have tensions with both Turkey and it's close ally Azerbaijan which is also a turkic speaking country. However one shouldn't exaggerate the degree of similarity of all the different peoples populating central Asia merely because their languages have turkic roots. The region has a rich and complex history as part of the silk road a history that is of course almost completely ignored and unknown in the west. As the Soviet Union was being destroyed Nagorno-Karabakh voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join with Armenia. Ethnic tensions ran high and thousands were killed. Eventually a war erupted as Azerbaijan attempted to crush this attempt at independence. Armenia decided to give aid to their fellow Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. The war lasted from 1991-1994 and since Nagorno-Karabakh managed to retain it's defacto independence and relations with Armenia they clearly won. Ironically Yeltsin's Russia had backed Azerbaijan.
In Sibel Edmonds now invaluable series of interviews on Gladio B. She discusses how through organized crime, terrorism, and corruption the CIA managed to draw Azerbaijan into NATO's orbit. Peter Dale Scott also records an interesting scandal where Richard Secord of Iran Contra fame had started a shady airline that was ferrying mujahideen from Afghanistan into Azerbaijan. Meanwhile Armenia has been increasingly drawn into Russia's orbit and is a member of the eurasian union. Russia has tried to woo back Azerbaijan or at least keep the doors of communication open by selling them weapons. Azerbaijan remains firmly in NATO's orbit but Aliyev annoyed his western sponsors by cracking down on the CIA controlled Gulen Network on the advice of Turkey. They have also been cracking down on western controlled "civil society groups" to stave off any future color revolution attempts. However despite these tensions Azerbaijan is in NATO's Orbit and also has very strong ties with Israel and Turkey. Israel uses it as a base of operations to wage covert war on Iran which also has a large Azeri population some in the highest ranks of power like the Supreme Leader himself.
To sum up Azerbaijan a close ally of Israel and Turkey is a center for Gladio and other deep state intrigues. Also a center for pipeline politics and the battle over the caspian sea. The US ambassador there the hard Partying Mathew Bryza was the one who bragged that ISIS had brought down Flight #A321 and has been identified as part of the GLADIO network by Sibel Edmonds. Given these many shady connections Aliyev's (the President/Dictator of Azerbaijan) sudden decision to reignite the war in Azerbaijan can reasonably be assumed to actually be a proxy form of revenge against Russia for the recent victory in Palmyra. Since 1994 an uneasy ceasefire had held the war in a frozen state. Of course it was a shaky ceasefire that was broken many times over the years with small battles erupting helicopters being shot down soldiers killed.
In general these frozen conflicts serve Russia's interests as a way of slowing the expansion of NATO. On a sane day NATO was unlikely to admit members who had these frozen conflicts within their borders since it could mean the whole alliance could potentially get sucked into a nuclear war with Russia should the frozen conflicts flare up as happened in 2008 when Georgia launched an unprovoked attack on South Ossetia killing Russian peacekeepers. That War could have gone Nuclear if then VP Cheney had gotten his way and the US had begun bombing Russian Forces. After that War Georgia's prospects for NATO membership were again on hold. This is one of Cynical realpolitiks reasons Russia encouraged Novorossia to rebel. It is why it backs south Ossetia in Georgia, and Transdneister in Moldova. However it prefers to keep these conflicts frozen. By encouraging Azerbaijan to launch an attempt to take back Nagorno-Karabakh the empire of Chaos has managed to spark yet a third proxy war with Russia. Luckily this attempt proved a disastrous failure the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are tough fighters and managed to completely smash the forces attacking them preventing them from making any meaningful gains. Instead Azerbaijan has been forced to sign a new ceasefire which it has continued to violate much like Ukraine by continuously shelling civilians and firing mortars at villages. For the moment however the attempt to conquer the Nagorno-Karabakh has been abandoned.
The War in Ukraine has also been heating up in recent months. It's hard to get accurate information since both sides are trying to hide the facts for their own reasons. However it is clear that things have escalated from the UAF (Ukraine Armed Forces) periodically shelling towns and cities in the Dontetsk and Lugansk peoples republics things have escalated and battles are taking place between the NAF (Novorossiyan Armed Forces) and UAF forces. In Ukraine itself society continues to collapse and Victoria "Fuck the EU" Nuland's handpicked puppet Yatsenyuk was recently forced to resign. Ukrainian Fascist Shavchenko was finally sentenced for the murder of 2 Russian journalists in Ukraine. At least in this case there is some justice unlike for the many other journalists killed for reporting on Ukraine's brutal war on Novorossia, or for daring to criticize the new regime. Or the many other Ukrainians killed or imprisoned for daring to criticize the new fascist order. Sadly they may never know justice. Meanwhile the war continues to intensify and we can only wish the brave defenders of Novorossia continued success in resisting the war being waged on them by fascist Ukraine and it's NATO allies.
In Syria meanwhile the terrorists launched a major offensive in Aleppo taking back the important strategic town of Tal al Ais which gives them control over the important strategic M-5 highway. The SAA capture of the town had marked a major victory in the battle of Aleppo. With the Recapture of Tal-Ais By Al Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham yet another Battle of Aleppo has begun and there has been furious fighting throughout the province. The terrorists have even been using chemical weapons gassing the Kurds. Oh the hypocrisy of the empire remember when they claimed they were toppling Sadham Hussein in revenge for gassing the Kurds(back when he was working for the US), and to keep chemical weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists or when they threatened to bomb Syria to smithereens if it ever dared to use such weapons. Now Al Qaeda armed with poison gas is targeting the kurds and it's completely ignored. The terrorists also used poison gas in attacks on the heroic defenders of Deir Ezzor which of course was ignored as all crimes committed against the SAA are ignored. On the subject of war crimes when Palmyra was liberated a horrifying mass grave was discovered full of women and children doubtless one of countless mass graves the death squads have left all over Syria.
The Syrian Arab Army and there allies have assembled a massive force with which to reverse the terrorists gains in Aleppo. Hopefully in coming weeks they will be able to regain control of the territory the death squads have captured. Today was the first day of their major offensive which was preceded by a bombing and artillery attack on the terrorists positions. Meanwhile the terrorists have continued to shell the kurdish fighters and local civilians with chemical weapons as I write this. They have been well supplied with Manpads and have shot down two Syrian jets in recent weeks. The US is also openly sending special forces into Syria to help the terrorists as they announced leaving out the fighting alongside terrorists part of course. They have also used the ceasefire to flood the terrorists with weapons tanks, APC, Grad Rockets, anti-Tanks missiles and anti air manpads. The SAA and their allies face a tremendous challenge but hopefully they will be able to score yet another victory in Aleppo in coming weeks. Meanwhile officially the ceasefire remains in effect despite the obvious treachery by the Axis of Chaos using the ceasefire merely as cover for a massive new offensive. In more optimistic news the SAA has continued it's recent string of assassinations killing more top terrorist commanders including the infamous FSA commander Abu Sakaar who had himself filmed eating a liver.
Sadly the people of Syria must give up on dreams of peace in the near future so long as Syria's enemies continue to funnel weapons and supplies to the terrorists the war will continue. Only when these groups have been pushed out of Syria and the entire country is liberated will they ever know peace and even then doubtless they will suffer years and possibly decades of sporadic terror attacks car bombings, and assassinations. As for the rest of the world it must prepare for the continual expansion of world war 4 the war on the planet that is ongoing in nearly every corner of the globe. This war will last for decades. Only fierce resistance is able to keep the empire at bay. May the brave resistance by the heroic peoples of Nagorno-Karabakh Novorossia and Syria continue to inspire the world by their brave example.
Sources
I have two Book Recommendations first Emma Quangel's "Spooks: A Dystopia" which will haunt me for months. I also recently read John Stockwell's "The Praetorian Guard the U.S. Role in the New World Order" in which he lays out his reasons for calling the cold war "World War 3" He also chronicles the first 2 years of World War 4 although he doesn't use that term he did accurately predict that nothing would really change with the end of "The Cold War" save the justifications America's war on the planet would continue. 25 years later this war has continued to expand. He also provides some great insider dirt from his time in the CIA. What he had to say about the CIA role in academia was apparently so shocking the CIA forced him to delete two separate passages.
Yatsenyuk is out
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/yatsenyuk-goes-finally/ri13816?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
A Great Podcast on the Nargorno-Karabakh from the Armenian perspective
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/podcast/al-masdar-podcast-11-kaylar-michaelian-discusses-nagorno-karabakh/
Sibel Edmonds must watch series of interviews on Operation GLADIO B which among many other topics deals with the relations between Azerbaijan the US, Turkey, and Israel
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/usa-the-creator-sustainer-of-chechen-terrorism/
The latest from Syria
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/syrian-front-saa-liberates-strategic-region-nw-of-aleppo-massive-anti-terror-ops-underway/
And check out New Great Game for a bunch of backstory on Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh Russia, Turkey and more.
http://www.christophgermann.blogspot.com
Eric Draitser on the wave of assassinations in Venezuela
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/venezuelas-opposition-attacking-its-own-people/
The Kurds were attacked with chemical weapons yet again today
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/peoples-peaceful-co-existence-targeted-in-sheikh-maqsoud/
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Victory in Palmyra
Victory in Palmyra
The Syrian Arab Army has achieved yet another major victory. Palmyra the ancient city captured last summer by ISIS has been liberated. A victory not just for Syria but for humanity which nearly lost a priceless piece of cultural heritage to the evil schemes of the Empire of Chaos to erase the worlds history. Not content with waging war on the Syrian people, destroying, schools, hospitals, power stations, food, and anything else necessary for the survival of Syria's people they even waged war on Syria's ancient monuments. Given Syria's incredibly rich history which spans thousands of years and included many ancient civilizations the Assyrians, Hittites, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and later it's glorious role in the medieval christian and Islamic world; a war on Syria's history is a war on world history both western and eastern. During the reign of Zenobia one of the great women of the ancient world Palmyra became the center of some of the most beautiful art of the classical world. Of course the reason for Palmyra's rich history was it's vital strategic position sitting atop the trade routes which ironically in our own day have been replaced by the weapons pipelines to the death squads. The victory at Palmyra represents a major strategic gain disrupting flows of weapons and supplies to terrorists all over Syria. It is thankfully a sign of even more victories in the coming months. Syria may one day be reunited and freed from occupation by the terrible NATO backed death squads who have inflicted so many terrifying horrors on the Syrian people. Already the liberation of Palmyra has lead to plans for new offensives.
But before I return to the liberation of Palmyra and it's wider implications there were other important events that I must deal with as well. Most important NATO has stepped up it's war on Libya and has managed to spark a full scale civil. The war on Libya never ended with Libya becoming a playground for the CIA and other axis of chaos (US-Israel-NATO-GCC) intelligence agencies, along with the special forces, mercenaries, and terrorists of half the world. They are there to ensure that Libyans never regain control of their country. However there is every sign that by basically announcing a second Libyan War (or 3rd or 4th.. if you count Reagan's murderous attacks in the 80s) they have pushed things too far and have provoked fierce resistance. The struggle for freedom will continue in Libya where ignored by the world the people of Libya continue their war of liberation against NATO and it's terrorist proxies.
Of course their was other big news more well known to the world. The Brussels attacks provoked yet another round of racist hysteria against muslims. When will the ignorant west learn to distinguish Takfiri terrorists of the wahabi sect from Muslims in general? However for those familiar with the workings of the Gladio and the Gladio B networks the attacks were blatant staged provocations. The only thing more obvious would be to stage an ISIS attack in Langley Virginia where the CIA is based because Brussels is the headquarters not just of the EU but of NATO. NATO headquarters is where the Gladio network is controlled from. Check out my June 2014 article on Operation GLADIO for more info. Sibel Edmonds exposed the whole absurd nature of the attack laughing at the terrorists "costumes" for there is no other word to describe their outfits which included each terrorists wearing a single black glove. The whole ISIS phenomenon seems to owe a lot to thirty something CIA agents who watched too many bad 80's action movies as kids. ISIS is the poisonous fruit of the Reagan era, part Cobra (from G.I Joe), part ninja b movie, part over the top Friday the 13th style slasher movie. I strongly suggest the people of Belgium follow the french example and evict NATO headquarters from their land. After all GLADIO was also caught staging mass shootings in Belgian supermarkets during the 80's as Daniele Ganser explained in his definitive book "NATO's Secret Armies." How many more people will be sacrificed in the name of this "strategy of tension."
Just days prior to the Brussels attacks Russia announced that it was withdrawing it's forces from Syria. Once again Putin had pulled off one of his big surprises unfortunately this time causing initial shock and concern among supporters of Syria. Thankfully on closer examination this was no more a real withdrawal then the cessation of hostilities was an actual cessation of hostilities. In reality Russia is not leaving Syria merely reducing their forces in response to the successes that have already been achieved. Of course in the wake of the victory at Palmyra this became obvious as Russia had mercilessly bombed the road leading to Palmyra assisting the SAA in their advances. And Russia's aid was not merely in the air. The role of the legendary Spetsnaz special forces in the role was again revealed when the heroic Alexander Prokhorenko was killed in Syria. He had been working behind ISIS lines helping to guide the Russian airstrikes. ISIS discovered him and surrounded and outgunned he called in an airstrike on his own position rather then surrendering. The brave Spetsnaz soldiers played a vital role in allowing Russia to target ISIS while avoiding further damaging Syria's archaeological heritage. In the wake of the victory in Palmyra Russia has generously agreed to send it's bomb disposal teams with their robots and bomb sniffing dogs to help defuse the many booby traps the terrorists left behind. This is a favorite tactic of the death squads whenever they retreat they leave all sorts of explosives behind. Many civilians have been killed when cunningly hidden devices in their homes explode after they return. It says a lot about the rebels not content with reducing Syria to ruins it then fills those ruins with mines and IEDs turning the whole nation into a death trap.
There were also some sinister diplomatic games going on but we can only hope it will all be rendered meaningless by this continued offensive by the SAA which is retaking more and more of the country. As Syria expert Tim Anderson explained recently the plan to balkanize Syria and Iraq to create a "new middle east" seems to have had the opposite effect of that planned. Anderson points to creation of a new power bloc the 4 + 2 Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria being the 4 and Hezbollah and the Palestine resistance groups like PFLP and the PLA that sided against the Axis of chaos backed invasion being the 2. If they can remain united the balance of power will forever change in the middle east bringing a long dreamed of stability. Needless to say the empire of chaos will stop at nothing to destroy this new alliance and are using all their diplomatic, media, and economic weapons to bear on spreading mistrust and division with the CIA and a host of other intel agencies pulling the string. Obviously their allies in the Axis of Chaos are even more intent on disrupting this new alliance. Luckily both the Russians and the Iranians are also masters of devious diplomatic games. Luckily the arrogance of the Axis of Chaos only serves to delay progress on the negotiations which will only make Syria's negotiating position stronger as time goes on. Still we must beware of any attempts to sacrifice the interests of Syria in the name of some illusion of a deal with the west who never give up their schemes to destroy Syria or Iran, Russia and China for that matter. It is the Syrians who have lost 75,000 soldiers battling the terrorists ultimately this is Syria's victory however valuable the support of it's allies. It was their sacrifice that ensured the survival of Syria.
Now to return to the battlefields of Syria. The capture of Palmyra by ISIS last year was a major loss for Syria forcing it to divert forces east allowing the death squads to make dangerous gains in Lattakia. Of course the US which had begun illegally bombing Syria on the excuse of "fighting ISIS" did nothing to prevent this offensive because they had doubtless secretly given the green light for it to take place in the first place. Once in control of the city which luckily had been largely evacuated in time ISIS killed countless civilians in the nearby town of Tadmur. ISIS destroyed priceless archaeological treasures they murdered the Archaeologist Khaled-Al Assad and staged a mass execution of the SAA in Palmyra's ancient amphitheater. They made a fortune looting the oil and artifacts.
The city was recaptured after an epic battle in which the SAA, NDF, and their allies Hezbollah, Iraq, Iran, and even Russian special forces took a terrible revenge on the ISIS death squads who after being cut off from supplies, bombed by the Russian and Syrian air forces and surrounded were killed without mercy. Hundreds of them died. The whole operation was very precise skillfully avoiding damaging the ruins or killing civilians trapped in the area. In one dramatic episode the terrorists who had wired the ruins to explode were killed before they had a chance to detonate their explosives in a daring surprise attack. Once again the Dessert Falcons distinguished themselves in the fighting adding Palmyra to the list of their victories in Lattakia, and Aleppo. The fighting was brutal and many brave Syrians gave their lives to liberate the city. In addition to the terrorists they faced the dangers of the thousands of mines and IEDs they had rigged the area with.
Now To give a brief account of the battle based on Ziad Fadel of Syrian Perspectives more detailed day to day version. A couple of days before the offensive campaign began the SAA in the area received massive reinforcements including many Desert Falcons and Syrian special forces as well as some help from their allies. The Russians mounted a stepped up air campaign launching hundreds of airstrikes at defensive positions and destroying anyone attempting to bring supplies to the ISIS forces. Then the offensive began from the East, West, And South. They also managed to capture important strategic mountains near the city that provided valuable access routes into the city. Then the SAA managed to seize the strategic points that ISIS had occupied at Syria Tel tower and the Citadel at Palmyra ISIS were trapped and slaughtered. The Citadel was itself an important part of Syria's historical heritage. This was the most dramatic moment of the battle and the people of Syria rejoiced at this victory. The SAA also managed to capture the Hotel District. With the capture of Al' Amiyrah "the pincers began to close" The Syrian Armies victories had been slow and costly ISIS had rigged car bombs along all the main and secondary roads. Because of their losses they held back and allowed ISIS to flee defying the orders of their commanders in al Raqqa. However the only places to escape to are the future targets of the SAA's next offensives Al Sukhna, Al Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. Once they had fled the city the Russian and Syrian air force bombed any stragglers they could find. Hopefully the survivors will spread panic and confusion to the ISIS strongholds they flee to. It is part of a strategy to tame the terrorists in the west the terrorists are being taught to stop fighting, while in the East they are being taught to flee or to die.
Palmyra became an important center of trade because of it's strategic position and it is just as strategically important today. Like the victory at Aleppo the Victory at Palmyra will cause major disruption in ISIS supply lines. It will also cut off a valuable source for their black market funding from the sale of oil and antiquities. This victory will pave the way for new victories and already the SAA are laying siege to the terrorist stronghold of al Sukhna. They are also planning the liberation of the ISIS capital at al Raqqa. They also plan to finally lift the Siege at Deir Ezzor where for years the SAA and the civilian militias of the NDF have heroically refused to surrender despite being deep in ISIS held territory and under constant attack. The victory at Palmyra was also a product of the coordination of the 4 + 2. By keeping pressure on the Iraqi front which has also seen important recent victories they were able to prevent ISIS from reinforcing Palmyra. We can only hope that the SAA is able to continue it's victorious series of offensives only then will the people of Syria know some form of a well earned peace. Victory to Syria!
Sources
The Latest Report from Syria 360 Syria prepares new offensives
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/syrian-front-3/
The Liberation of Palmyra
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/the-liberation-of-palmyra-us-narratives-and-nato-terrorists-defeated-in-the-syrian-desert.html
Syrian Perspective on the Battle of Palmyra
http://syrianperspective.com/2016/03/palmyra-hand-to-hand-combat-in-the-streets-isis-reeling-from-attrition.html
http://syrianperspective.com/2016/03/syrian-army-conquers-palmyras-citadel-and-the-syriatel-tower-onwards-to-the-heart-of-palmyra.html
http://syrianperspective.com/2016/03/palmyra-liberated-general-ayyoob-reviews-troops-in-aftermath-of-enormous-victory-whats-next.html
Tim Anderson on the War in Syria Subscribe to the Hands off Syria channel for more parts to this great lecture in commemoration of 5 Years of War in Syria
http://youtu.be/VvOlW7OjbY0
And Jasmine Sadat also gave heartbreaking lecture with special emphasis on the plight of women in Syria who are targeted with rape and slavery.
http://youtu.be/8XooUltPBoM
The Syrian Arab Army has achieved yet another major victory. Palmyra the ancient city captured last summer by ISIS has been liberated. A victory not just for Syria but for humanity which nearly lost a priceless piece of cultural heritage to the evil schemes of the Empire of Chaos to erase the worlds history. Not content with waging war on the Syrian people, destroying, schools, hospitals, power stations, food, and anything else necessary for the survival of Syria's people they even waged war on Syria's ancient monuments. Given Syria's incredibly rich history which spans thousands of years and included many ancient civilizations the Assyrians, Hittites, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and later it's glorious role in the medieval christian and Islamic world; a war on Syria's history is a war on world history both western and eastern. During the reign of Zenobia one of the great women of the ancient world Palmyra became the center of some of the most beautiful art of the classical world. Of course the reason for Palmyra's rich history was it's vital strategic position sitting atop the trade routes which ironically in our own day have been replaced by the weapons pipelines to the death squads. The victory at Palmyra represents a major strategic gain disrupting flows of weapons and supplies to terrorists all over Syria. It is thankfully a sign of even more victories in the coming months. Syria may one day be reunited and freed from occupation by the terrible NATO backed death squads who have inflicted so many terrifying horrors on the Syrian people. Already the liberation of Palmyra has lead to plans for new offensives.
But before I return to the liberation of Palmyra and it's wider implications there were other important events that I must deal with as well. Most important NATO has stepped up it's war on Libya and has managed to spark a full scale civil. The war on Libya never ended with Libya becoming a playground for the CIA and other axis of chaos (US-Israel-NATO-GCC) intelligence agencies, along with the special forces, mercenaries, and terrorists of half the world. They are there to ensure that Libyans never regain control of their country. However there is every sign that by basically announcing a second Libyan War (or 3rd or 4th.. if you count Reagan's murderous attacks in the 80s) they have pushed things too far and have provoked fierce resistance. The struggle for freedom will continue in Libya where ignored by the world the people of Libya continue their war of liberation against NATO and it's terrorist proxies.
Of course their was other big news more well known to the world. The Brussels attacks provoked yet another round of racist hysteria against muslims. When will the ignorant west learn to distinguish Takfiri terrorists of the wahabi sect from Muslims in general? However for those familiar with the workings of the Gladio and the Gladio B networks the attacks were blatant staged provocations. The only thing more obvious would be to stage an ISIS attack in Langley Virginia where the CIA is based because Brussels is the headquarters not just of the EU but of NATO. NATO headquarters is where the Gladio network is controlled from. Check out my June 2014 article on Operation GLADIO for more info. Sibel Edmonds exposed the whole absurd nature of the attack laughing at the terrorists "costumes" for there is no other word to describe their outfits which included each terrorists wearing a single black glove. The whole ISIS phenomenon seems to owe a lot to thirty something CIA agents who watched too many bad 80's action movies as kids. ISIS is the poisonous fruit of the Reagan era, part Cobra (from G.I Joe), part ninja b movie, part over the top Friday the 13th style slasher movie. I strongly suggest the people of Belgium follow the french example and evict NATO headquarters from their land. After all GLADIO was also caught staging mass shootings in Belgian supermarkets during the 80's as Daniele Ganser explained in his definitive book "NATO's Secret Armies." How many more people will be sacrificed in the name of this "strategy of tension."
Just days prior to the Brussels attacks Russia announced that it was withdrawing it's forces from Syria. Once again Putin had pulled off one of his big surprises unfortunately this time causing initial shock and concern among supporters of Syria. Thankfully on closer examination this was no more a real withdrawal then the cessation of hostilities was an actual cessation of hostilities. In reality Russia is not leaving Syria merely reducing their forces in response to the successes that have already been achieved. Of course in the wake of the victory at Palmyra this became obvious as Russia had mercilessly bombed the road leading to Palmyra assisting the SAA in their advances. And Russia's aid was not merely in the air. The role of the legendary Spetsnaz special forces in the role was again revealed when the heroic Alexander Prokhorenko was killed in Syria. He had been working behind ISIS lines helping to guide the Russian airstrikes. ISIS discovered him and surrounded and outgunned he called in an airstrike on his own position rather then surrendering. The brave Spetsnaz soldiers played a vital role in allowing Russia to target ISIS while avoiding further damaging Syria's archaeological heritage. In the wake of the victory in Palmyra Russia has generously agreed to send it's bomb disposal teams with their robots and bomb sniffing dogs to help defuse the many booby traps the terrorists left behind. This is a favorite tactic of the death squads whenever they retreat they leave all sorts of explosives behind. Many civilians have been killed when cunningly hidden devices in their homes explode after they return. It says a lot about the rebels not content with reducing Syria to ruins it then fills those ruins with mines and IEDs turning the whole nation into a death trap.
There were also some sinister diplomatic games going on but we can only hope it will all be rendered meaningless by this continued offensive by the SAA which is retaking more and more of the country. As Syria expert Tim Anderson explained recently the plan to balkanize Syria and Iraq to create a "new middle east" seems to have had the opposite effect of that planned. Anderson points to creation of a new power bloc the 4 + 2 Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria being the 4 and Hezbollah and the Palestine resistance groups like PFLP and the PLA that sided against the Axis of chaos backed invasion being the 2. If they can remain united the balance of power will forever change in the middle east bringing a long dreamed of stability. Needless to say the empire of chaos will stop at nothing to destroy this new alliance and are using all their diplomatic, media, and economic weapons to bear on spreading mistrust and division with the CIA and a host of other intel agencies pulling the string. Obviously their allies in the Axis of Chaos are even more intent on disrupting this new alliance. Luckily both the Russians and the Iranians are also masters of devious diplomatic games. Luckily the arrogance of the Axis of Chaos only serves to delay progress on the negotiations which will only make Syria's negotiating position stronger as time goes on. Still we must beware of any attempts to sacrifice the interests of Syria in the name of some illusion of a deal with the west who never give up their schemes to destroy Syria or Iran, Russia and China for that matter. It is the Syrians who have lost 75,000 soldiers battling the terrorists ultimately this is Syria's victory however valuable the support of it's allies. It was their sacrifice that ensured the survival of Syria.
Now to return to the battlefields of Syria. The capture of Palmyra by ISIS last year was a major loss for Syria forcing it to divert forces east allowing the death squads to make dangerous gains in Lattakia. Of course the US which had begun illegally bombing Syria on the excuse of "fighting ISIS" did nothing to prevent this offensive because they had doubtless secretly given the green light for it to take place in the first place. Once in control of the city which luckily had been largely evacuated in time ISIS killed countless civilians in the nearby town of Tadmur. ISIS destroyed priceless archaeological treasures they murdered the Archaeologist Khaled-Al Assad and staged a mass execution of the SAA in Palmyra's ancient amphitheater. They made a fortune looting the oil and artifacts.
The city was recaptured after an epic battle in which the SAA, NDF, and their allies Hezbollah, Iraq, Iran, and even Russian special forces took a terrible revenge on the ISIS death squads who after being cut off from supplies, bombed by the Russian and Syrian air forces and surrounded were killed without mercy. Hundreds of them died. The whole operation was very precise skillfully avoiding damaging the ruins or killing civilians trapped in the area. In one dramatic episode the terrorists who had wired the ruins to explode were killed before they had a chance to detonate their explosives in a daring surprise attack. Once again the Dessert Falcons distinguished themselves in the fighting adding Palmyra to the list of their victories in Lattakia, and Aleppo. The fighting was brutal and many brave Syrians gave their lives to liberate the city. In addition to the terrorists they faced the dangers of the thousands of mines and IEDs they had rigged the area with.
Now To give a brief account of the battle based on Ziad Fadel of Syrian Perspectives more detailed day to day version. A couple of days before the offensive campaign began the SAA in the area received massive reinforcements including many Desert Falcons and Syrian special forces as well as some help from their allies. The Russians mounted a stepped up air campaign launching hundreds of airstrikes at defensive positions and destroying anyone attempting to bring supplies to the ISIS forces. Then the offensive began from the East, West, And South. They also managed to capture important strategic mountains near the city that provided valuable access routes into the city. Then the SAA managed to seize the strategic points that ISIS had occupied at Syria Tel tower and the Citadel at Palmyra ISIS were trapped and slaughtered. The Citadel was itself an important part of Syria's historical heritage. This was the most dramatic moment of the battle and the people of Syria rejoiced at this victory. The SAA also managed to capture the Hotel District. With the capture of Al' Amiyrah "the pincers began to close" The Syrian Armies victories had been slow and costly ISIS had rigged car bombs along all the main and secondary roads. Because of their losses they held back and allowed ISIS to flee defying the orders of their commanders in al Raqqa. However the only places to escape to are the future targets of the SAA's next offensives Al Sukhna, Al Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. Once they had fled the city the Russian and Syrian air force bombed any stragglers they could find. Hopefully the survivors will spread panic and confusion to the ISIS strongholds they flee to. It is part of a strategy to tame the terrorists in the west the terrorists are being taught to stop fighting, while in the East they are being taught to flee or to die.
Palmyra became an important center of trade because of it's strategic position and it is just as strategically important today. Like the victory at Aleppo the Victory at Palmyra will cause major disruption in ISIS supply lines. It will also cut off a valuable source for their black market funding from the sale of oil and antiquities. This victory will pave the way for new victories and already the SAA are laying siege to the terrorist stronghold of al Sukhna. They are also planning the liberation of the ISIS capital at al Raqqa. They also plan to finally lift the Siege at Deir Ezzor where for years the SAA and the civilian militias of the NDF have heroically refused to surrender despite being deep in ISIS held territory and under constant attack. The victory at Palmyra was also a product of the coordination of the 4 + 2. By keeping pressure on the Iraqi front which has also seen important recent victories they were able to prevent ISIS from reinforcing Palmyra. We can only hope that the SAA is able to continue it's victorious series of offensives only then will the people of Syria know some form of a well earned peace. Victory to Syria!
Sources
The Latest Report from Syria 360 Syria prepares new offensives
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/syrian-front-3/
The Liberation of Palmyra
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/the-liberation-of-palmyra-us-narratives-and-nato-terrorists-defeated-in-the-syrian-desert.html
Syrian Perspective on the Battle of Palmyra
http://syrianperspective.com/2016/03/palmyra-hand-to-hand-combat-in-the-streets-isis-reeling-from-attrition.html
http://syrianperspective.com/2016/03/syrian-army-conquers-palmyras-citadel-and-the-syriatel-tower-onwards-to-the-heart-of-palmyra.html
http://syrianperspective.com/2016/03/palmyra-liberated-general-ayyoob-reviews-troops-in-aftermath-of-enormous-victory-whats-next.html
Tim Anderson on the War in Syria Subscribe to the Hands off Syria channel for more parts to this great lecture in commemoration of 5 Years of War in Syria
http://youtu.be/VvOlW7OjbY0
And Jasmine Sadat also gave heartbreaking lecture with special emphasis on the plight of women in Syria who are targeted with rape and slavery.
http://youtu.be/8XooUltPBoM
Thursday, March 24, 2016
War on Latin America
Operation Condor Never Ended: Assassinations and Coup Plots Continue Across Latin America
Dedicated To Alexandra Valiente in appreciation of her great selection of coverage on Latin America at Libya 360.
Latin America is an often forgotten theater in World War 4 America's war on the planet that began with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In many ways World War 4 is merely a continuation of World War 3 aka the Cold War and nowhere is this more apparent then in Latin America. Wherever the US maintained it's control it carried on with the horrific dirty war assassinating anyone who dares to dream and work for a better world. The recent murder of COPINH co-founder Berta Caceres has briefly drawn attention to this never ending wave of murder and assassinations. In My October 2015 article Operation Condor based on J. Patrice McSherry's excellent "Predatory States" I dealt with this campaign of torture, murder and assassination that continues to this day to terrorize Latin America. Colombia is one of the most terrible examples hundreds of thousands have been murdered, raped, tortured over the past 50 Years. Millions have been driven from their lands and Colombia's dirty war is second only to Syria in the number of refugees that have been created. Mexico is perhaps even worse where 160,000 have died in the ever expanding phony war on drugs. On a smaller scale the same things are taking place in Honduras the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists.
Not even the attention Berta Caceres murder has drawn has slowed the wave of killings days later Nelson Noel Garcia was also killed the 15th activist murdered so far this year alone in Honduras. As if this wave of terror is not enough the US is backing coups against the governments that continue to defy it in places like Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil. This is part of a much wider campaign aimed at the BRICS countries and their allies targeting Russia and China obviously but also South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Iran and many other countries. The empire of chaos has been quite successful in waging economic war on the planet by sending commodity prices tumbling they have managed to destabilize countries around the world. The future of the planet depends on halting this renewed imperialist offensive aimed at reversing all that the late Hugo Chavez was able to accomplish in liberating much of Latin America from US domination. Chavez's death was perhaps the most high profile of these assassinations new details emerged recently about his death. His bodyguard has been revealed to be a CIA/DEA informant who likely was involved in his death. However since I plan to focus on the lesser known victims you'll have to read about the details in the sources below.
Not content with murdering the great revolutionary Hugo Chavez the empire of chaos decided to humiliate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Brazil's former president having him dragged away in handcuffs on nationwide television in order to prevent his political comeback aimed at stabilizing the Rousseff government who is the object of a political corruption witch hunt. Meanwhile Dilma Rousseff faces a US funded color revolution attempt funded by the Koch brothers among others. Pepe Escobar who is from Brazil wrote the definitive account of this shameful episode. Basically the Right wing which is far more corrupt then Brazil's workers party is hypocritically trying to oust Dilma using a trumped up investigation that selectively prosecutes only the left. I can't help be reminded of the coup in Ukraine where the far more corrupt Yanukovych regime was ousted and yet the US somehow had managed to find even more dangerous thieves to replace him. Only the empire of Chaos could figure out how to make the most corrupt country in the world 10 times worse. Obviously then corruption is the last thing in the world the US actually wants to combat ask the Vietnamese, the Iraqis, Afghanis where the US set up some of the most corrupt governments imaginable. Along with the political war there is a media war using Brazils Oligarch owned media to constantly attack and attempt to discredit Dilma Rousseff. Luckily despite the Media barrage in Brazil against Rousseff many Brazilians were not fooled and thousands poured into the streets in opposition to this coup attempt. Seeing their beloved former President Lula being arrested was just too much.
Thousands of Venezuelans also took to the streets in a massive anti-imperialist march in response to Obama's repeating the same absurd lie that made him a laughingstock last year namely that Venezuela was a threat to United States national security. The murder of Chavez, the failed coup against Maduro, and this current soft coup attempt by the opposition controlled national assembly are ample evidence that as usual this was turning truth on it's head. Meanwhile in Argentina where the soft coup has been a success the new President Macri has declared all out class war on his own people firing thousands, smashing protests with riot police firing rubber bullets that can cripple or kill. He has started a campaign to attempt to vilify former president Christina Fernandez-Kirchner. He also decided to hand over Billions to vulture capitalists for no apparent reason other then doubtless secret rewards and secret orders from his CIA masters. In Bolivia Evo Morales lost an important vote that would have allowed him to run for another term in office. In Ecuador another destabilization campaign is raging. All of the progressive governments of Latin America are under assault and Argentina is already fallen. The whole world must oppose the dangerous rebirth of fascism in Argentina where one of the ugliest chapters in the dirty war took place in the 70's and 80's. And it must oppose the dangerous threat that the whole continent could once again fall under the control of fascism repeating all the horrors of Operation Condor.
As you will see this is no exaggeration there is no limit to the horrors the US has been committing in those countries that never escaped their control like Colombia or Mexico. In Honduras a 2009 coup has unleashed a wave of murder targeting activists. Hillary Clinton oversaw a coup that lead to a massive increase in violence against women rape, torture, and murder are skyrocketing. Yet even in the face of this wave of repression activists in Honduras have been organizing the poor and the indigenous, to resist attempts to force them off their land so that the local elites can build a dam. Berta Caceres was one of the most important of these activists founding COPINH and struggling fearlessly in the face of death threats from dangerous death squads to fight on behalf of indigenous land rights. Her life had been in danger for many years but she refused to back down and was finally murdered one of her comrades Gustavo Castro was shot twice during the attack and then arrested. Yet despite drawing world attention the Dirty War on Honduras continues uninterrupted. Another COPINH member Nelson Garcia was killed. Dozens more have been imprisoned beaten, tortured. Others narrowly escaped assassination attempts. Honduras remains the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists. Meanwhile the death squads & their masters the local oligarchs who are deeply involved in drug trafficking retain complete impunity. Needless to say their american masters who were responsible for setting up the death squads in Honduras as part of Operation Condor's expansion into central america will never be discussed let alone punished. I should note that Predatory States has an excellent chapter on the creation of Honduras' Death Squads. Future "Queen of Chaos" as Diana Johnstone calls Hillary in her new book bragged openly in her memoirs about her role in the 2009 coup . Just one of the countries she destroyed along with Haiti and Libya to name the most obvious examples. With the possible exception of the first Bush I'm hard pressed to think of an example since Nixon who where a presidential candidate has been involved in so many war crimes before even coming to office. Remember Berta Caceres and the many other heroic activists of Honduras who have given their lives in the fight for justice.
Colombia has been the scene of 50 years of Dirty War. 220,000 people have been killed 7 million displaced. 50 Years ago the American advisers arrived and since then their has been an ongoing dirty war. Actually the war began even before that with an earlier civil war known as La Violencia but I don't have time to go into the complex history of Colombia birth place of one of my favorite writers Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In his famous novel "100 Years of Solitude" he depicted the massacre of workers by the United Fruit company better known for it's later role in the Guatemalan coup which has lead to 60 years of dirty war in Guatemala that continues to this day with activists still being murdered. Apologies for the tangent I couldn't resist pointing out the interconnected nature of the war on Latin America even then. Guatemala should not be forgotten even though I don't have time to deal with it today.
To return to Colombia the advisers arrived before the revolution had even begun. Ironically the FARC would form in response to the dirty war being waged by the US in their country who were using it as yet another experiment in their counter-insurgency doctrine. Death Squads were formed to kill any potential opposition the oligarchs used them to drive peasants off their lands so that they could expand their holdings. FARC was formed to defend the peasants and fought for years to defend the people of Colombia against the dirty war. Currently they are attempting to sign a peace deal with the Santos Government. But of course peace is obviously the last thing the empire of chaos is interested in and doubtless have given the green light to the former President Uribe to disrupt things. Uribe is a close friend of the US he is also a major drug trafficker as the DIA admits in addition to being a former death squad commander. He oversaw the massive expansion of privatized death squads while in office. Of course it was the US itself which oversaw a massive expansion of this war back in the late 90's as a result of their infamous Plan Colombia. Needless to say the "War on Drugs" is just as absurd as the war on terror with the United States spending billions funding the forces they are claiming to be fighting. Obviously I have more then enough to deal with in covering this dirty war being waged on two continents to go into the fraudulent nature of this war. Check out Doug Valentines two books "Strength of the Wolf" and "Strength of the Pack" for an inside account of this war which is also responsible for putting millions of people in prison within the US itself. Also check out Peter Dale Scott's "American War Machine" and "Drugs, Oil and War" for even more on the topic. The CIA creates drug dealing networks as part of their covert wars. They created first the golden triangle in south east Asia and then the golden crescent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today Afghanistan supplies 90% of the Worlds Heroin when the CIA first arrived they had only a tiny share in the global drug trade. The money ends up in the big banks the capitalists are in league with the gangsters and always have been. Hundreds of billions of dollars from the illegal drug trade are the only things preventing a complete financial collapse by the big banks. Meanwhile the money is used to buy politicians in the United States and around the world. In reality America is just as much of a Narco-State as countries like Colombia or Mexico.
Thus it should come as no surprise that the billions in military aid was sent to train the drug traffickers death squads so they could kill union leaders who threatened america's corporate profits. They set up an incentive system for high body counts and the Army and the death squads started murdering random people and dressing them up as guerrillas so they could claim their reward. The Death squads were used to drive people from their lands so the big landowners could steal even more land leading to millions of displaced persons. The death squads were trained by CIA, Special forces, and mercenary companies to kill people in the most horrific manner possible in order to terrify the population into submission. Rape, torture, and ISIS Style mutilation became commonplace. As in Honduras violence against women has skyrocketed. Not content with terrorizing it's own citizens Colombia has exported it's death squads and criminal networks to Venezuela where they have sent the crime rate through the roof. But of course it is far worse then that! The United States regards Plan Colombia as a major success story. After all Colombia remains under their control. Thus Colombia has been selected as their proxy in spreading mercenaries and death squads around the world. The US recruits Colombian forces to train police and militaries around the world. Colombia has also become a major recruiting ground for american owned mercenary firms like Xe formerly blackwater a fact that has been exposed as Colombian mercenaries have died as part of the US backed Saudi war on Yemen.
Unsurprisingly despite the peace negotiations with FARC or rather because of the peace negotiations Colombia has only further increased their terror campaign. So many activists have been murdered there in recent weeks that I can't list them all. However I can give names to at least a couple recent victims. Klaus Zapata was a member of the Marcha Patriotica which is a huge coalition of progressive groups in Colombia. He was also a member of the Bogata Anti-Fascist Coordination. He had heroically tried to defend the people from the death squads on previous occasions and so was murdered while playing soccer. Only hours before his death Rigoberto Abello, and William Sanchez his comrades had been seized and tortured. Jorge Luis Sanchez was murdered by death squads riding motorcycles and wielding machine guns who attacked a group of artisanal miners to force them off the land then sprayed a panicked crowd with bullets. The Latest victim is Luis Rodriguez Castro. This surge in killings is seen as an attempt to sabotage the peace negotiations by former President Uribe. The last time the guerrillas agreed to make peace they were simply murdered in cold blood. Unfortunately for FARC their desire for peace will prove impossible given the ruthless nature of the Colombian government and it's even more ruthless backers in Washington.
Unfortunately I won't be able to do justice to Mexico perhaps the most complex of all the dirty wars. Mexico is bursting with revolutionary activity and the murder of activists by death squads is perhaps even more common there. Then there are the wars between the drug cartels who often employ the police and military to fight for them allowing for the illusion of a war on drugs in what is in reality an endless war between the oligarchs for control of the drug trade. Of course the United States is intervening to spread chaos and disaster so a weakened Mexico will be even more vulnerable for exploitation. They have secretly flooded the country with guns for the gangs while sending in the usual array of advisers to fight Mexico's equally endless dirty war. To defend themselves from the drug Cartels people have begun forming self defense units. The Government has responded by framing their leaders and locking them up. In addition there are still revolutionary movements like the Zapatistas and indigenous groups fighting to defend their lands like the Yaqui who have a fascinating history of resistance. To do it all justice would require books not a paragraph or two. However I can recommend a new series I discovered on Libya 360 which attempts to document the many social movements in Mexico as well as describing the constant string of murders, tortures, and unjust imprisonment they face. It's called Insumision and It's Written By Scott Campbell of the El Enemigo Comun site each one has been epic in scope but you'll have to read it for yourself.
The fate of two continents lie in the balance. The Bolivarian bloc cannot afford to fall because not only would it destroy one of the few rays of hope in the world it would undoubtedly unleash the same nightmare in Venezuela, Brazil, and Ecuador that it has brought to Honduras, Mexico, and Colombia. In Argentina it may already be too late but the people must be supported as they resist this new rebirth of fascism. Venezuela and Brazil must be defended at all cost. The world can no longer ignore the horrors of the war on the people of Colombia, Mexico, and Honduras. Despite the dangers they face the people continue to struggle for justice and we must offer them our solidarity and support. Obama Ironically is in Cuba where he asked us to forget the past. We must never forget the past or ignore the present. The revolutionary spirit of Latin America is an inspiration to the world.
Sources
The Forces behind the Murder of Berta Caceres
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/drugs-dams-and-power-the-murder-of-honduran-activist-berta-caceres/
Wave of Assassinations of Activists in Colombia
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/10/wave-of-right-wing-violence-threatens-peace-for-colombia/
New Details in the Assassination of Hugo Chavez
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/the-murder-of-chavez-the-cia-and-dea-cover-their-tracks/
An analysis of Colombia's Dirty War by James Petras
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/colombias-killing-fields-peace-is-war/
50 Years of War in Colombia 220,000 Killed
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/plan-colombia-and-us-backed-death-squads/
The Latest Insumision
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/insumision-victories-dont-slow-the-struggle/
The El Enemigo Comun Site
http://elenemigocomun.net
Eric Draitser has started a great series on the War on The BRICS the first one is on Brazil
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/brics-under-attack-the-empire-strikes-back-in-brazil/
Pepe Escobar on the soft coup attempt in Brazil
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/23/brazils-revolution-starting-to-reveal-its-true-colors/
Repression continues in Honduras
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/honduras-interview-with-rafael-alegria-mp-and-leader-of-via-campesina/
Dedicated To Alexandra Valiente in appreciation of her great selection of coverage on Latin America at Libya 360.
Latin America is an often forgotten theater in World War 4 America's war on the planet that began with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In many ways World War 4 is merely a continuation of World War 3 aka the Cold War and nowhere is this more apparent then in Latin America. Wherever the US maintained it's control it carried on with the horrific dirty war assassinating anyone who dares to dream and work for a better world. The recent murder of COPINH co-founder Berta Caceres has briefly drawn attention to this never ending wave of murder and assassinations. In My October 2015 article Operation Condor based on J. Patrice McSherry's excellent "Predatory States" I dealt with this campaign of torture, murder and assassination that continues to this day to terrorize Latin America. Colombia is one of the most terrible examples hundreds of thousands have been murdered, raped, tortured over the past 50 Years. Millions have been driven from their lands and Colombia's dirty war is second only to Syria in the number of refugees that have been created. Mexico is perhaps even worse where 160,000 have died in the ever expanding phony war on drugs. On a smaller scale the same things are taking place in Honduras the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists.
Not even the attention Berta Caceres murder has drawn has slowed the wave of killings days later Nelson Noel Garcia was also killed the 15th activist murdered so far this year alone in Honduras. As if this wave of terror is not enough the US is backing coups against the governments that continue to defy it in places like Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil. This is part of a much wider campaign aimed at the BRICS countries and their allies targeting Russia and China obviously but also South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Iran and many other countries. The empire of chaos has been quite successful in waging economic war on the planet by sending commodity prices tumbling they have managed to destabilize countries around the world. The future of the planet depends on halting this renewed imperialist offensive aimed at reversing all that the late Hugo Chavez was able to accomplish in liberating much of Latin America from US domination. Chavez's death was perhaps the most high profile of these assassinations new details emerged recently about his death. His bodyguard has been revealed to be a CIA/DEA informant who likely was involved in his death. However since I plan to focus on the lesser known victims you'll have to read about the details in the sources below.
Not content with murdering the great revolutionary Hugo Chavez the empire of chaos decided to humiliate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Brazil's former president having him dragged away in handcuffs on nationwide television in order to prevent his political comeback aimed at stabilizing the Rousseff government who is the object of a political corruption witch hunt. Meanwhile Dilma Rousseff faces a US funded color revolution attempt funded by the Koch brothers among others. Pepe Escobar who is from Brazil wrote the definitive account of this shameful episode. Basically the Right wing which is far more corrupt then Brazil's workers party is hypocritically trying to oust Dilma using a trumped up investigation that selectively prosecutes only the left. I can't help be reminded of the coup in Ukraine where the far more corrupt Yanukovych regime was ousted and yet the US somehow had managed to find even more dangerous thieves to replace him. Only the empire of Chaos could figure out how to make the most corrupt country in the world 10 times worse. Obviously then corruption is the last thing in the world the US actually wants to combat ask the Vietnamese, the Iraqis, Afghanis where the US set up some of the most corrupt governments imaginable. Along with the political war there is a media war using Brazils Oligarch owned media to constantly attack and attempt to discredit Dilma Rousseff. Luckily despite the Media barrage in Brazil against Rousseff many Brazilians were not fooled and thousands poured into the streets in opposition to this coup attempt. Seeing their beloved former President Lula being arrested was just too much.
Thousands of Venezuelans also took to the streets in a massive anti-imperialist march in response to Obama's repeating the same absurd lie that made him a laughingstock last year namely that Venezuela was a threat to United States national security. The murder of Chavez, the failed coup against Maduro, and this current soft coup attempt by the opposition controlled national assembly are ample evidence that as usual this was turning truth on it's head. Meanwhile in Argentina where the soft coup has been a success the new President Macri has declared all out class war on his own people firing thousands, smashing protests with riot police firing rubber bullets that can cripple or kill. He has started a campaign to attempt to vilify former president Christina Fernandez-Kirchner. He also decided to hand over Billions to vulture capitalists for no apparent reason other then doubtless secret rewards and secret orders from his CIA masters. In Bolivia Evo Morales lost an important vote that would have allowed him to run for another term in office. In Ecuador another destabilization campaign is raging. All of the progressive governments of Latin America are under assault and Argentina is already fallen. The whole world must oppose the dangerous rebirth of fascism in Argentina where one of the ugliest chapters in the dirty war took place in the 70's and 80's. And it must oppose the dangerous threat that the whole continent could once again fall under the control of fascism repeating all the horrors of Operation Condor.
As you will see this is no exaggeration there is no limit to the horrors the US has been committing in those countries that never escaped their control like Colombia or Mexico. In Honduras a 2009 coup has unleashed a wave of murder targeting activists. Hillary Clinton oversaw a coup that lead to a massive increase in violence against women rape, torture, and murder are skyrocketing. Yet even in the face of this wave of repression activists in Honduras have been organizing the poor and the indigenous, to resist attempts to force them off their land so that the local elites can build a dam. Berta Caceres was one of the most important of these activists founding COPINH and struggling fearlessly in the face of death threats from dangerous death squads to fight on behalf of indigenous land rights. Her life had been in danger for many years but she refused to back down and was finally murdered one of her comrades Gustavo Castro was shot twice during the attack and then arrested. Yet despite drawing world attention the Dirty War on Honduras continues uninterrupted. Another COPINH member Nelson Garcia was killed. Dozens more have been imprisoned beaten, tortured. Others narrowly escaped assassination attempts. Honduras remains the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists. Meanwhile the death squads & their masters the local oligarchs who are deeply involved in drug trafficking retain complete impunity. Needless to say their american masters who were responsible for setting up the death squads in Honduras as part of Operation Condor's expansion into central america will never be discussed let alone punished. I should note that Predatory States has an excellent chapter on the creation of Honduras' Death Squads. Future "Queen of Chaos" as Diana Johnstone calls Hillary in her new book bragged openly in her memoirs about her role in the 2009 coup . Just one of the countries she destroyed along with Haiti and Libya to name the most obvious examples. With the possible exception of the first Bush I'm hard pressed to think of an example since Nixon who where a presidential candidate has been involved in so many war crimes before even coming to office. Remember Berta Caceres and the many other heroic activists of Honduras who have given their lives in the fight for justice.
Colombia has been the scene of 50 years of Dirty War. 220,000 people have been killed 7 million displaced. 50 Years ago the American advisers arrived and since then their has been an ongoing dirty war. Actually the war began even before that with an earlier civil war known as La Violencia but I don't have time to go into the complex history of Colombia birth place of one of my favorite writers Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In his famous novel "100 Years of Solitude" he depicted the massacre of workers by the United Fruit company better known for it's later role in the Guatemalan coup which has lead to 60 years of dirty war in Guatemala that continues to this day with activists still being murdered. Apologies for the tangent I couldn't resist pointing out the interconnected nature of the war on Latin America even then. Guatemala should not be forgotten even though I don't have time to deal with it today.
To return to Colombia the advisers arrived before the revolution had even begun. Ironically the FARC would form in response to the dirty war being waged by the US in their country who were using it as yet another experiment in their counter-insurgency doctrine. Death Squads were formed to kill any potential opposition the oligarchs used them to drive peasants off their lands so that they could expand their holdings. FARC was formed to defend the peasants and fought for years to defend the people of Colombia against the dirty war. Currently they are attempting to sign a peace deal with the Santos Government. But of course peace is obviously the last thing the empire of chaos is interested in and doubtless have given the green light to the former President Uribe to disrupt things. Uribe is a close friend of the US he is also a major drug trafficker as the DIA admits in addition to being a former death squad commander. He oversaw the massive expansion of privatized death squads while in office. Of course it was the US itself which oversaw a massive expansion of this war back in the late 90's as a result of their infamous Plan Colombia. Needless to say the "War on Drugs" is just as absurd as the war on terror with the United States spending billions funding the forces they are claiming to be fighting. Obviously I have more then enough to deal with in covering this dirty war being waged on two continents to go into the fraudulent nature of this war. Check out Doug Valentines two books "Strength of the Wolf" and "Strength of the Pack" for an inside account of this war which is also responsible for putting millions of people in prison within the US itself. Also check out Peter Dale Scott's "American War Machine" and "Drugs, Oil and War" for even more on the topic. The CIA creates drug dealing networks as part of their covert wars. They created first the golden triangle in south east Asia and then the golden crescent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today Afghanistan supplies 90% of the Worlds Heroin when the CIA first arrived they had only a tiny share in the global drug trade. The money ends up in the big banks the capitalists are in league with the gangsters and always have been. Hundreds of billions of dollars from the illegal drug trade are the only things preventing a complete financial collapse by the big banks. Meanwhile the money is used to buy politicians in the United States and around the world. In reality America is just as much of a Narco-State as countries like Colombia or Mexico.
Thus it should come as no surprise that the billions in military aid was sent to train the drug traffickers death squads so they could kill union leaders who threatened america's corporate profits. They set up an incentive system for high body counts and the Army and the death squads started murdering random people and dressing them up as guerrillas so they could claim their reward. The Death squads were used to drive people from their lands so the big landowners could steal even more land leading to millions of displaced persons. The death squads were trained by CIA, Special forces, and mercenary companies to kill people in the most horrific manner possible in order to terrify the population into submission. Rape, torture, and ISIS Style mutilation became commonplace. As in Honduras violence against women has skyrocketed. Not content with terrorizing it's own citizens Colombia has exported it's death squads and criminal networks to Venezuela where they have sent the crime rate through the roof. But of course it is far worse then that! The United States regards Plan Colombia as a major success story. After all Colombia remains under their control. Thus Colombia has been selected as their proxy in spreading mercenaries and death squads around the world. The US recruits Colombian forces to train police and militaries around the world. Colombia has also become a major recruiting ground for american owned mercenary firms like Xe formerly blackwater a fact that has been exposed as Colombian mercenaries have died as part of the US backed Saudi war on Yemen.
Unsurprisingly despite the peace negotiations with FARC or rather because of the peace negotiations Colombia has only further increased their terror campaign. So many activists have been murdered there in recent weeks that I can't list them all. However I can give names to at least a couple recent victims. Klaus Zapata was a member of the Marcha Patriotica which is a huge coalition of progressive groups in Colombia. He was also a member of the Bogata Anti-Fascist Coordination. He had heroically tried to defend the people from the death squads on previous occasions and so was murdered while playing soccer. Only hours before his death Rigoberto Abello, and William Sanchez his comrades had been seized and tortured. Jorge Luis Sanchez was murdered by death squads riding motorcycles and wielding machine guns who attacked a group of artisanal miners to force them off the land then sprayed a panicked crowd with bullets. The Latest victim is Luis Rodriguez Castro. This surge in killings is seen as an attempt to sabotage the peace negotiations by former President Uribe. The last time the guerrillas agreed to make peace they were simply murdered in cold blood. Unfortunately for FARC their desire for peace will prove impossible given the ruthless nature of the Colombian government and it's even more ruthless backers in Washington.
Unfortunately I won't be able to do justice to Mexico perhaps the most complex of all the dirty wars. Mexico is bursting with revolutionary activity and the murder of activists by death squads is perhaps even more common there. Then there are the wars between the drug cartels who often employ the police and military to fight for them allowing for the illusion of a war on drugs in what is in reality an endless war between the oligarchs for control of the drug trade. Of course the United States is intervening to spread chaos and disaster so a weakened Mexico will be even more vulnerable for exploitation. They have secretly flooded the country with guns for the gangs while sending in the usual array of advisers to fight Mexico's equally endless dirty war. To defend themselves from the drug Cartels people have begun forming self defense units. The Government has responded by framing their leaders and locking them up. In addition there are still revolutionary movements like the Zapatistas and indigenous groups fighting to defend their lands like the Yaqui who have a fascinating history of resistance. To do it all justice would require books not a paragraph or two. However I can recommend a new series I discovered on Libya 360 which attempts to document the many social movements in Mexico as well as describing the constant string of murders, tortures, and unjust imprisonment they face. It's called Insumision and It's Written By Scott Campbell of the El Enemigo Comun site each one has been epic in scope but you'll have to read it for yourself.
The fate of two continents lie in the balance. The Bolivarian bloc cannot afford to fall because not only would it destroy one of the few rays of hope in the world it would undoubtedly unleash the same nightmare in Venezuela, Brazil, and Ecuador that it has brought to Honduras, Mexico, and Colombia. In Argentina it may already be too late but the people must be supported as they resist this new rebirth of fascism. Venezuela and Brazil must be defended at all cost. The world can no longer ignore the horrors of the war on the people of Colombia, Mexico, and Honduras. Despite the dangers they face the people continue to struggle for justice and we must offer them our solidarity and support. Obama Ironically is in Cuba where he asked us to forget the past. We must never forget the past or ignore the present. The revolutionary spirit of Latin America is an inspiration to the world.
Sources
The Forces behind the Murder of Berta Caceres
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/drugs-dams-and-power-the-murder-of-honduran-activist-berta-caceres/
Wave of Assassinations of Activists in Colombia
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/10/wave-of-right-wing-violence-threatens-peace-for-colombia/
New Details in the Assassination of Hugo Chavez
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/the-murder-of-chavez-the-cia-and-dea-cover-their-tracks/
An analysis of Colombia's Dirty War by James Petras
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/colombias-killing-fields-peace-is-war/
50 Years of War in Colombia 220,000 Killed
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/plan-colombia-and-us-backed-death-squads/
The Latest Insumision
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/insumision-victories-dont-slow-the-struggle/
The El Enemigo Comun Site
http://elenemigocomun.net
Eric Draitser has started a great series on the War on The BRICS the first one is on Brazil
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/brics-under-attack-the-empire-strikes-back-in-brazil/
Pepe Escobar on the soft coup attempt in Brazil
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/23/brazils-revolution-starting-to-reveal-its-true-colors/
Repression continues in Honduras
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/honduras-interview-with-rafael-alegria-mp-and-leader-of-via-campesina/
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