MI6, the CIA and Turkey's rogue game in Syria

[Jefferson23]

World View: New claims say Ankara worked with the US and Britain to smuggle Gaddafi's guns to rebel groups



The US's Secretary of State John Kerry and its UN ambassador, Samantha Power have been pushing for more assistance to be given to the Syrian rebels. This is despite strong evidence that the Syrian armed opposition are, more than ever, dominated by jihadi fighters similar in their beliefs and methods to al-Qa'ida. The recent attack by rebel forces around Latakia, northern Syria, which initially had a measure of success, was led by Chechen and Moroccan jihadis.

America has done its best to keep secret its role in supplying the Syrian armed opposition, operating through proxies and front companies. It is this which makes Seymour Hersh's article "The Red Line and The Rat Line: Obama, Erdogan and the Syrian rebels" published last week in the London Review of Books, so interesting.

Attention has focussed on whether the Syrian jihadi group, Jabhat al-Nusra, aided by Turkish intelligence, could have been behind the sarin gas attacks in Damascus last 21 August, in an attempt to provoke the US into full-scale military intervention to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. "We now know it was a covert action planned by [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan's people to push Obama over the red line," a former senior US intelligence officer is quoted as saying.

Critics vehemently respond that all the evidence points to the Syrian government launching the chemical attack and that even with Turkish assistance, Jabhat al-Nusra did not have the capacity to use sarin.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/mi6-the-cia-and-turkeys-rogue-game-in-syria-9256551.html

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. This news took over a week

to hit the British news... I wonder when it hits the US?

[Jefferson23]

3. It's an interesting commentary on US reporting..they'll get to it, eventually, and in some form or

other.

[amandabeech]

23. Seymour Hersh, a US journalist based in DC, published a similar story

in the London Review of Books the Sunday before this came out. The story showed up here in LBN as reported by the World Socialist Weekly and in Good Reads in its original form. No US based media outlet has yet put something out there to my knowledge.

[Jefferson23]

24. Yes, I saw that, and you're right, nothing yet. I wonder who will be the first to do so

and when will they get around to it.

[amandabeech]

25. Mother Jones? Whatever Glen Greenwald is publishing?

The story is just radioactive for the usual suspects--nyt, wsj and wp.

The take-home from this story is that there are Al Quaeda-like groups who now know how to make low-grade sarin in their garages.

There would be another run on heavy-gage plastic wrap and duct tape like there was after 9/11.

What editor is willing to take the responsibility for that and the likely negative response from the Obama administration. No one from the administration would ever talk to them again.

[Jefferson23]

26. Excellent point. Maybe Greenwald..we'll see. n/t

[Maedhros]

27. The take-away is that the Turks engineered the gas attack as a false-flag operation

to goad the United States into military action in Syria, thus vindicating the anti-war activists here on DU who steadfastly argued against such a response.

[malaise]

2. Duh!!!

The West wants everything for themselves. We are fucking evil - we have never cared who dies as long as we grab everything for our insatiable 1%.

[Jefferson23]

4. US foreign policy..aka Train Wreck Cometh. n/t

[malaise]

21. World powers never learn

never ever

[Jefferson23]

5. kick

[Blue_Tires]

6. I hate to be "that guy", but...

when did Bashar al-Assad become a good guy all of a sudden?

[Jefferson23]

7. He's not a good guy...I am sure you recognize there is bad and then worse and then some, right?

[Blue_Tires]

8. Of course...

I'm also curious to know why the story completely neglects to mention the role of the French DGSE...Not only have they long been balls-deep in Syria, they have arguably played a bigger role in the game than anyone...

[Jefferson23]

9. By Cockburn? He has done a long series of reports..extensive. Just Google his work at The

Independent.

[Blue_Tires]

10. thanks...I'm catching up on past works

most of my questions have been answered....

[Jefferson23]

14. You're most welcome. n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. 'arguably played a bigger role in the game than anyone.'..

`i love this type of logic and argument.

Of course you have proof and not disinformation.

[Blue_Tires]

13. I'm not your free internet sleuth...

and the information isn't even difficult to find (If you're fluent in French you'll probably find proof even faster than I did)...If you're still having trouble after awhile, come back and I'll help you out...

While you're searching, also go investigate the role of the Syrian government's mercenary hackers -- I think you will find it interesting...

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. Nice links n/t

[Blue_Tires]

17. LOL at that!

Even in this very thread, you've ignored the example:

1. I read the piece and (wrongly) made the assertion that Cockburn was being one-sided in his commentary

2. Jefferson23 informed me that Cockburn has written extensively on every single angle in Syria for years, and (rightly) suggested I go research some of his previous stories

3. I searched for and read Cockburn's past works and am now much more informed on the issue...


It's not like my assertion of DGSE being a big player in Syria was "out there" or pulled out of my ass; and couldn't have been verified in 3 minutes of searching...Hell, it's even been discussed on DU before, if you want to search those archives...

If you are unwilling or unable to find the information yourself, just say so and I'll toss you a lifeline -- Because that's what DUers do for one another....

[Ichingcarpenter]

18. OK.... France is the problem

The ravings of Alexander Cockburn

That's your source?

Following the death of Alexander Cockburn, Spiked-Online.com republish his spiked piece on what happens to leftists who challenge climate-change alarmism:

disinformation guy.

[Jefferson23]

19. Am I missing something I should correct about the OP? Or this is about something else?

This OP is by Patrick Cockburn

As far as France's role..I have not read anything that places them in first place as an influence.

They have a part, that's for sure:

The US, Britain and France do not have many options left except to try to control the jihadi Frankenstein’s monster that they helped create in Syria and which is already helping destabilise Iraq and Lebanon. Turkey may soon regret having given free passage to so many jihadi on their way to Syria. Ankara could close its 500-mile border with Syria or filter those who cross it. But Turkish policy in Syria and Iraq has been so dysfunctional in the past three years that it may be too late to correct the consequences of wrongly convincing itself that Assad would fall.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/britains-policy-on-syria-has-just-been-sunk-and-nobody-noticed-9005332.html

[Blue_Tires]

20. Oh, ferfuxake jesushgoddamnedchrist....

Last edited Tue Apr 15, 2014, 04:14 PM - Edit history (1)

Let me get the ball rolling so you'll stop this embarrassing charade -- You're on your own to find out the rest...

Wikileaks: France Training Free Syrian Army Rebels in Turkey, Lebanon
https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/22/2218695_re-s3-syria-france-lebanon-turkey-us-uk-report-france.html

Wikileaks: Blue Sky Bullets
https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/18/1850225_re-update-re-blue-sky-bullets-friday-dec-2-11-00-.html

Truth Out: How Assad helped France kill Qaddafi
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/03/1138552/-Truth-Out-How-Assad-helped-France-kill-Qaddafi

XX Committee: French Intelligence sees “steep rise” in Western mujahidin in Syria
http://20committee.com/2013/10/18/french-intelligence-sees-steep-rise-in-mujahidin-in-syria/

France 24: Goodbye 'freedom fries': France’s mojo rises over Syria
http://leelajacinto.blogs.france24.com/article/2013/09/05/white-flag-waves-red-blooded-hawks-france-stages-volte-face

StratRisks: The Engineered Fall of Syria: Extensive Intelligence and Paramilitary Network Exposed
http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/8814

Guardian: West has discussed co-operation with Syria, Damascus claims
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/15/western-security-servies-cooperation-syria-claims

BBC: France's Alain Juppe: Syria committing 'grave crimes'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14822636

CS Monitor -- Free Syrian Army commander: 'I'll name my son Juppé if West intervenes'
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0111/Free-Syrian-Army-commander-I-ll-name-my-son-Juppe-if-West-intervenes

But later, we have:
Dissident Voice: Alain Juppé Accused by His Own Administration of Having Falsified Reports on Syria
http://dissidentvoice.org/2012/07/alain-juppe-accused-by-his-own-administration-of-having-falsified-reports-on-syria/

Le Figaro: UN probe used manipulated evidence against Syria
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1961951

And of course it's no big shock that the *first* nation to officially confirm Assad's use of chemical weapons was, you guessed it....

Reuters -- French intelligence: Syria's Assad behind chemical attack
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/02/us-syria-crisis-france-chemical-idUSBRE9810GQ20130902




Just a few pieces about Syrian cyber-espionage...In case you didn't know, they are employed to electronically identify and track down dissidents for elimination (fun fact: A large percentage of Syria's hacking forces aren't even Syrian nationals...They are for-hire mercenaries, mostly from Europe) -- For all your involvement in the Snowden threads, this issue should be right up your alley:

NYT: Hunting for Syrian Hackers’ Chain of Command
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/technology/financial-times-site-is-hacked.html?pagewanted%3Dall&_r=0

New Statesman: In Syria, the internet has become just another battleground
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/04/syria-internet-has-become-just-another-battleground

Guardian: Pro-Assad Syrian hackers launching cyber-attacks on western media
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/29/assad-syrian-hackers-cyber-attacks

Forbes: Syrian Hack Of NYTimes.com Could Have Inflicted Much More Than Mere Embarrassment
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/08/28/syrian-hack-of-nytimes-com-and-twitter-could-have-inflicted-much-more-than-mere-embarrassment/

HotForSecurity: Syrian Dissidents Infected with Malware from Bogus Anti-Hacking Tool
http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/syrian-dissidents-infected-with-malware-from-bogus-anti-hacking-tool-3107.html

Bloomberg: The Hackers of Damascus
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-15/the-hackers-of-damascus

The New Yorker: Syria’s Other Army: How the Hackers Wage War
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/08/syrian-electronic-army-hackers-new-york-times-tactics.html?mbid=nl_Daily%20%289%29

Columbia Journalism Review: The spy who came in from the code
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=775718

Guardian: UK 'exporting surveillance technology to repressive nations'
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/07/surveillance-technology-repressive-regimes


You're welcome...

[sabrina 1]

22. When did he become our business? Oh wait, Syria was on the list of

countries, seven in all, I believe, that Ledeen, Cheney et al intended to invade. For profit as we know. Iraq took a little longer, a decade longer, than they thought they could use our military to accomplish. What was it Rummy said in answer to 'how long will this invasion take'? 'Months, weeks maybe'! Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, working through the list, but a lot slower than they anticipated.

And who benefits from all these PNAC invasions using the US military and now, as they call them 'proxy armies' (the Saudis can always be counted on for this, Bahrain and Qatar also). We KNOW how much it all costs the US Tax Payer, but what do they get in return, other than dead and injured troops? We got a huge deficit, which they are attempting to blame on SS, erroneously.

What else do the US Tax Payers get? The Defense Contractors have made out like bandits, so have the thousands of Private Security Contractors, Booz Allen, Cheney's Corp, Halliburton, Kellogg Brown & Root eg.

Still waiting for the prosecutions of all these war criminals and profiteers.

But no sign of that as we are still following the PNAC script in Syria where it hasn't been as easy as they thought either, despite the 'proxy armies' we are supporting there.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Naww! America never interferes in the internal politics of other nations.

Well...there's no real evidence of America interfering in the internal politics of Monaco or Andorra. All the rest like, Iran, Guatemala, Honduras, South Africa, Mozambique, Congo, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cuba, Panama, Haiti, and Mighty Grenada, were just to "help" or "advise".

[Jefferson23]

15. Yea, our help is scary, too often. n/t

[MisterP]

28. I've been repeatedly assured that any violence or gassings are just overenthusiastic electioneering,

and that in fact electoral results match the popular will perfectly