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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 12/21/16

Extracting Aleppo from the Propaganda

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Dennis Bernstein
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ED: I mean, I'm up front in saying I don't follow U.S. politics that closely for a variety of reasons. I believe that the U.S. and the military industrial complex obviously profits out of bringing wars upon these countries that it declares, we declare (we, the West declare) we're going into these countries for human rights and democracy.

So I can't really address a whole lot to do with Trump and Clinton, but on the note of human rights and on the note of rights of women, these so-called moderates that the West supports and that the corporate media whitewashes, look at how they treat women in Aleppo. I met with displaced people from eastern Aleppo, people that had fled years prior, and people who had fled weeks prior, when I met them. And they spoke of how women had to be covered head to toe, including their hands. Women had no rights in Aleppo. And people in general, were being starved.

And these are things that are coming out now that Aleppo is liberated, the testimonies of people on the ground, meeting these people that were evacuated and saved from the eastern areas of Aleppo, are horrific. And, you know, all the corporate media has been accusing the Syrian government of starving" what the U.N. said was 250,000 people in eastern Aleppo. Now there's only a small pocket, I think the measurements were something like two-square miles, in Aleppo, now that still have some militants.

Staffan de Mistura, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, holds up a photo of Aleppo while briefing journalists following a Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, on Dec. 13, 2016. United Nations, New York
Staffan de Mistura, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, holds up a photo of Aleppo while briefing journalists following a Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, on Dec. 13, 2016. United Nations, New York
(Image by (UN Photo))
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Are we expected to believe that since roughly 100,000 people have come out of the areas occupied, until recently, that the remaining two-squared kilometers are holding 150,000 people? Because the U.N. has said for years, and even [on December 15, 2016], [Staffan] de Mistura, the representative of the U.N., the peacekeeper, said there's 50,000 in that small pocket. I mean how credible is this? Are they standing on one another's head and shoulders?

This is an important point, because these numbers were inflated. And they've been inflated throughout the conflict on Syria -- the war on Syria -- in order to make people feel that they have to do something, and usually that something is supporting a no-fly zone. Which, like Libya, will just bring so much "human rights and democracy."

The other point I wanted to make is that, you know, in terms of all the myths we've heard about Syria, over the years, the Syrian government has been accused of so many things, chemical weapons, they've been accused of massacring civilians. And every time there has been an investigation, all fingers have pointed to the rebels. Even Carla Del Ponte, who's of the U.N. investigative team in a 2013 chemical attacks accusations, said, "No, it was the terrorists that had..." she said rebels... but they had "sarin."

So ... you asked earlier what are we not hearing from the corporate media. I'll tell you what we're not hearing, now, from the corporate media: The scenes, the voices of the people who have been liberated, saying "Thank you" to the army.

The army, by the way are not Assad's forces. The army, the Syrian army is actually made up of Syrian people. And it's not simply Alawite. It's Sunni, it's Alawite, it's Christian. And the people in Aleppo... if people bother to search out independence, on the ground, Syrian journalists, or if you want, Russia Today, you will find footage of people praising the army. And people who have been terrorized for years by these terrorists that the West calls "moderates."

DB: ... We know there are major Palestinian refugee camps in Syria. The Palestinians haven't done very well as a result of U.S. supported so-called... whatever you want to call them, the opposition to the government there. We know that thousands have come over the border, and have become refugees one time over again in crowded refugee camps. Can you talk about that?

EB: I mean, I don't know about the number about thousands of Palestinians. It's quite possible. But what I do know is that, first of all, prior to this war on Syria, Palestinians in Syria had the best existence of any area where they lived outside of occupied Palestine. You cannot compare their existence in Syria to say that of in Jordan or Lebanon, where they have no rights, whatsoever. In Syria they held equal rights, as Syrian citizens including free health care, free education, etc. And they were treated as Syrians, respected. And I spent a lot of time in Lebanon. And they are not respected there.

The second point is that there are Palestinians who have fought against the state, including Hamas. And there are Palestinians who have fought alongside the Syrian army, including groups like Liwa al-Quds, who are instrumental in liberating areas of Aleppo. I visited the University of Aleppo residences which, 16 of 20, are housing IDPs [internally displaced persons] from other areas of Aleppo. And one of the buildings was dedicated to Palestinians from Handarat camp. So, I mean, that's one thing.

I would highly recommend people read a very detailed and thoroughly researched article by Sharmine Narwani called "Who dragged Palestinians into the Syria conflict?" She visited, I wasn't able to [simply because I didn't have time], but she visited" many Palestinian camps in Syria. And she spoke with them extensively. And she wrote a very thorough article on what happened with Palestinians in Syria. And it's contrary to what we're hearing in the corporate media, which likes to divide supporters of Palestine and supporters of Syria, because divide and conquer.

I'd also like to suggest people look at the syriasolidaritymovement.org website where there's a statement of solidarity from various prominent Palestinians, who are in solidarity with Syria's sovereignty and their right to fight against terrorism.

DB: Let me ask you, what would your advice be to U.S. officials dealing at this point? What would you want to see happen?

EB: Stop arming the terrorists, stop whitewashing their crimes. Stop allowing Turkey to keep its borders open and terrorists to flood in and out through Turkey's borders. Stop supporting the regimes of Saudi Arabia, which are in turn arming terrorists, which are brainwashing terrorists. Stop interfering in a sovereign nation.

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Dennis J Bernstein is the host and executive producer of Flashpoints, a daily news magazine broadcast on Pacifica Radio. He is an award-winning investigative reporter, essayist and poet. His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Nation, and (more...)
 

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