Times reporting shifts from the absurd to the contemptible.
According to The Times, Russian airstrikes caused “surg(ing) civilian flight.” It lied, claiming its “warplanes attacked the village of Ter Ma’aleh, killing at least a dozen people and sending most of the residents into hurried exile.”
“The assault on the village was part of a wider escalation of violence across the country that has displaced tens of thousands of people in just weeks and led relief workers to warn that Syria is facing one of its most serious humanitarian crises of the civil war.”
“The intensity of the fighting, they say (who is ‘they?’), is fueling increased desperation as a growing number of Syrians are fleeing to neighboring countries and, especially, to Europe.”
Russian airstrikes “l(ed) to the latest wave of displacement. (M)unitions (used) added to the sense of fear.” Russia “target(ed) hospitals and other medical facilities.” The Times cited a willfully misleading Human Rights Watch report accusing Russia of killing civilians, despite no corroborating evidence.
Fact: The Times article is a complete fabrication.
Fact: Washington bears full responsibility for Syria’s refugee crisis. Britain, France, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other rogue partners share blame.
Fact: Russian intervention is a liberating, not displacing force. More on this below.
Fact: Long before Russian airstrikes began on September 30 (less than a month ago), half of Syria’s 23 million people were internally or externally displaced.
Fact: Many headed for Europe years ago, numbers increasing dramatically in the past year or so.
Fact: Most Syrian refugees are in bordering countries Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as smaller numbers in Egypt.
The web site SyrianRefugees.eu said
“under 150,000 Syrians have declared asylum in the European Union, while member states have pledged to resettle a further 33,000 Syrians. The vast majority of these resettlement spots (85%) are pledged by Germany.”
Fact: Refugees arriving daily in Europe come from various countries, most either Pentagon war theaters or nations affected by US-inflicted instability, violence and chaos – including Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, Eritrea, Mali, Syria and others.
Fact: Syria is Obama’s war, planned years before he took office, part of longstanding US strategy to replace all sovereign independent governments with US-controlled illegitimate puppet regimes.
Fact: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria are four of history’s great crimes, America bearing full responsibility, millions of lost lives and unspeakable human suffering considered a small price to pay – the appalling dark side of US imperial viciousness.
On October 24, the reliable Sputnik News service headlined “Syria Refugees Praise Russian Airstrikes, Consider Returning,” saying:
“Syria’s Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun previously said that over 800,000 refugees have returned since Russian airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria began on September 30th.”
“The operation has also given refugees from the conflict hope that peace would return, according to interviews AP conducted around the Aleppo province, a hub for refugees leaving Syria.”
“ ‘I hope that with Russian pilots’ help, our military will advance and defeat terrorists so that we could return to our homes,’ one refugee told AP.”
This view is widely held and growing, opposite of deplorable Times propaganda, a Lying Machine for wealth, power and privilege, supporting all US wars of aggression, past and current.
In a few short weeks, Russia’s intervention dramatically changed the Syrian and regional landscape.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.
