War Against Syria: Ten Years of Pain – Janice Kortkamp’s timeline of the war in Syria

As I’ve watched the war from both outside and inside Syria, I’ve also seen the news media acting throughout like a herd of cattle, all with mad cow disease, stampeding off the cliff of truth together. Only in rare instances has anything truthful been shared, and then only as the briefest of glimpses. Then the cracks close quickly to maintain the solid stone wall of false narratives.

March 2021 marks the tragic anniversary of the start of violence in Syria. Ten years of pain. But the manufactured US, UK, France, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar regime change attempt war against Syria did not start then – it began years before…

This article will highlight only some of the vast evidence available of a long-time, hostile alliance and strategy led by the Unites States against a sovereign nation; a sovereign nation which at no time has ever been a threat to the US.

If you believe what you’ve been told about the conflict by government officials and mainstream media and are not, after these ten long years, questioning any of it then you’re acting as childishly gullible as a forty something year old sitting on the lap of a $20 an hour department store Santa with a plastic beard and thinking the fake St Nick will make all your wishes come true on Christmas.

It has been ten years of a country getting beaten up, tortured, raped, and robbed while those getting beaten, tortured, raped and robbed have been called “the bad guys” and the ones doing the beating, torturing, raping and robbing have been called “the good guys”. Thinking this conflict is about “bad guys vs good guys” is also just being naïve. This war is not about a “brutal dictator that is killing his own people.”

The various administrations, along with mainstream media both left and right leaning, have no issues with dictators or brutality in general. Take the Saudis for example. The Saudi kings and princes are absolute dictators in perpetuity – their power has been protected over many decades by the US and UK. They are called “reformers” in media while smashing dissent by beheadings, imprisonment and beatings. They are engaging in an ongoing slaughter and starvation of Yemen, the poorest country in the region. Their fundamentalist, intolerant, harsh, religious-based sharia law system is similar to that of the ISIS caliphate at its height. Their crown prince can hack journalists to pieces (this crime got some indignation by the press). The “reformers”. When comparing personal freedoms, human rights and democratic structures between Saudi Arabia and Syria, the Saudis are easily 100 years or more behind Syria; in fact it’s more like the difference between the Medieval period and Renaissance in European history.

When the neocons came to power with the George W. Bush administration they came with plans, plans which they had been quite open about from the late 90’s and into the 2000’s. Their plans had several objectives:

1) To permanently weld US and Israel’s interests as one and the same thereby aiding and abetting Israel’s ambitions to become not only energy independent but an exporter – while smashing regional resistance to Israeli expansionism in Palestine and neighboring countries;

2) To put the US into full-out empire building footing by what they called “pre-emptive war”;

3) To gain full control over the Middle East with its vast oil and natural gas resources and the profits and power thereof, calling this their “New Middle East”;

4) To shut China and Russia out of the region by limiting their access to deals regarding the natural resources as much as possible.

The neocons’ near absolute power over US foreign policy has continued unabated since 2000 through three administrations. While Obama made some feeble efforts in opposition to it, nonetheless he acted on their behalf for most of his foreign policy decisions. Trump made a pretense of opposing US regime change wars and interventions in the region to his supporters – while his neocon foreign policy advisers and administration officials had him continuing their efforts to destabilize the region and create their “New Middle East”.

Here is a list of resources, a subset only, of some of the tracks left behind in this nearly 20 year effort to undermine and overthrow the legitimate government of the sovereign nation of Syria which goes up to 2015 when the Russians came in at the request of the Syrian government. It includes other essential for understanding background on Syria:

2001: 9/11 occurs. President Assad of Syria sends his deep condolences and works with the Pentagon to provide them with valuable intelligence on al Qaeda operatives. [i]

2001: While almost all the attackers were reported as Saudis, the US immediately implements the “7 countries in 5 years plan” as revealed by US General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe. The US determines to “take out Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.” [ii]

2003: Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu appears before Congress to urge America to invade Iraq and “take out Saddam”, saying “I guarantee that if you take out Saddam, there will be enormous positive reverberations in the region.” He was wrong. [iii]

2003: Charles Glass reports on Israel’s desire for the US to weaken Syria and remove Bashar al-Assad from power. He references the Douglas Feith/Richard Perle (neocon) document called “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm”. [iv]

2003: The US invades Iraq persuading Americans and most of the rest of the world, that Saddam has a nuclear weapons program. This accusation is later proven to be false. Dick Cheney and other neo-cons assert the war will last only months. Its 17 years now and counting. Over 1 million dead including thousands of Americans, trillions spent. Iraq is in chaos. [v]

2003: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Iran, Libya and Syria should be stripped of weapons of mass destruction after Iraq. [vi]

2004: Colin Powell goes to Damascus with a list of implied dictates for Assad to accept; Assad refuses. The dictates, to be considered a “friend” of America, are to help us in Iraq by stopping the flow of fighters and weapons into Iraq going to forces fighting the US (Assad did this), to end sending any weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon, to close the offices of resistance groups (against Israel) in Syria, among other requests. Assad, referring to US pressures to submit to dictates, says he will accept advice but not dictates in his speech at the Damascus Opera House in 2013.

2004: George W. Bush is in full “you’re either with us or against us” mode. Because of his lack of cooperation, Assad is labeled as part of the Axis of Evil. Plans to undermine his leadership begin in earnest. [vii]

2004: US puts sanctions on Syria.[viii]

2005: Hariri is assassinated in Lebanon. The west accuses Assad although a special tribunal set up to investigate cannot link Syria to the assassination and US supported “witnesses” withdrew their charges [against Syria]. [ix]

2005: Assad pulls Syrian troops out of Lebanon.

2005: Christiane Amanpour in interview with Assad tells him the US is planning regime change against him. [x]

2006: Israel invades Lebanon – hoping to achieve a goal held since 1948 to control that country as stated by its founder, David ben Gurion. Hezbollah, armed and supported by Syria, routs the Israeli troops in a humiliating defeat. [xi]

2006: The US Charge d’Affaires in Damascus sends a cable stating the plan for undermining the Assad government. The cable was recently released by Wikileaks. Several steps are outlined including fomenting sectarian distrust and hatred with the help of Saudi Arabia and other allies. Wikileaks reveals the plans came from the Israeli government. [xii]

2006-2010: Up to $6.3 million US was funneled to the Movement for Justice and Development, a London-based dissident organization that operates the Barada TV satellite channel, which broadcasts anti-government news into Syria. Another $6 million went to support a variety of initiatives, including training for journalists and activists, between 2006 and 2010.[xiii]

2007: George W Bush and Elliot Abrams meet with leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood to discuss ways of overthrowing Assad. This meeting is reported in the Wall Street Journal by Jay Solomon. Bush and his administration work closely with his close friend, Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Intelligence Minister. [xiv]

2007: Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh describes the shift of all US Middle East foreign policy to isolate Iran and strengthen Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States in “The Redirection” article in London Review of Books. [xv]

2007: ABC’s Diane Sawyer spends a week in Syria, enthusiastically reporting on its secular society, respect and protection for all religions, and freedom and rights for women. [xvi]

2009: Qatar and Iran share one of the world’s largest natural gas fields and the two nations planned to build a pipeline running thru Syria to European markets. Both proposed gas pipeline deals to Assad. He accepted the Iranian’s deal over Qatar’s. Qatari then worked with the Muslim Brotherhood and US to undermine Assad. Using their al Jazeera state sponsored media outlet they flood the airwaves with anti-Assad propaganda. Google and al Jazeera both worked to help the US bring an “end to the Assad regime”. [xviii]

2010: Charlie Rose, US journalist, interviews President Assad. Rose shares how Assad has bolstered Syria’s economy and states how anyone wanting to do business in the Arab world is heading for Damascus. [xix]

2010: A Gallup poll lists Syria as the “5th Safest Country” in the world. [xx]

2010: The British show “Top Gear” films in Syria and its host hails Damascus as one the 5 top best cities in the world. [xxi]

2010: The “Arab Spring” starts to reportedly bring “freedom and democracy” to the Middle East.

2011: The US backs the overthrow of Mubarak and supports the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Morsi. [xxii]

2011: The US creates coalition to “take down” Libya’s Qaddafi who is brutally and sadistically tortured by our supported “freedom and democracy moderate rebels.” John McCain’s “rebel”-friend, Belhajd is later linked to al Qaeda and ISIS in Libya. US Joint Chiefs were so distrustful of State Dept. intelligence; they attempted to negotiate directly with Qaddafi. [xxiii]

2011: Demonstrations calling for governmental reforms – not the overthrow of the government – are infiltrated by Saudi and other mujahedeen and radicalized Syrians who fire into demonstrators and Syrian security forces (police and army) to create panic and chaos. The Syrian security forces are not allowed to carry weapons at first, only batons. [xxiv]

2011: US Ambassador Robert Ford publicly supports Free Syrian Army “rebels” and argues for the US to arm them. Free Syrian Army founder, Riad al-Asaad; FSA Commanding General Salim Idris; and Field Commander Okaidi are filmed expressing their appreciation and shared mutual goals with al Qaeda (called al Nusra in Syria) and IS (ISIS) fighters in 2012. [xxv]

2012: Russia and China veto a US sponsored resolution at the UN to create another Libya-like war against President Assad. In retaliation, France initiates the “Friends of Syria” group dominated by the US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar to support the uprising of the “Free Syrian Army” in Syria and the outside political opposition group, the “Syrian National Council” which the Friends of Syria nations proclaim is the only legitimate voice of the Syrian people. No members of SNC actually live in Syria. The SNC is dominated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood and most of its members are in the pay of Saudi Arabia or Qatar. [xxvi]

2012: US begins arming Syrian militant forces with weapons from Libya distributed through Turkey.[xxvii]

2012: Much of Homs gets taken by rebels of the Levant Front and al Nusra (al Qaeda). Father Frans van der Lugt writing from Homs in 2012 states “the protestors shot first.” [xxviii]

2012: US and EU using defense contractors to train “rebels” in Jordan on how to secure chemical weapons inside Syria. [xxix]

2012: 89% Voters in Syria ratify new constitution with 57% of population voting .[xxx]

2013: President Assad and Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja’afari ask for an unbiased UN team to investigate chemical weapons use in Syria. [xxxi]

2013: Western backed rebels obtain sarin gas via Turkey as explained by Seymour Hersh in his articles entitled, “Whose Sarin?” and “The Red Line and the Rat Line.” As the UN investigation team requested by the Syrian government was unpacking their bags in Damascus, the rebels perpetrated a chemical weapons attack to frame the Assad government and army for chemical weapons use. This was supposed to bring the US military fully into Syria on behalf of the rebels. All western media and governments were calling for an immediate bombing of Syrian forces in this alleged crossing of the “red line”. Thankfully, the bombing was called off. [xxxii]

2013: The US administration is warned of the rise of ISIS by US Defense Intelligence head, General Michael Flynn. He later asserted that the administration willfully treated ISIS as an asset in the regime change coup against Assad. [xxxiii]

2013: The US and EU had long had sanctions against Syria. The EU lifted the embargo on imports of Syrian oil from “rebel held” areas of Syria. The rich oil fields of Syria at the time were held by al Nusra (al Qaeda in Syria). [xxxiv]

2014: ISIS moved into Syria from Iraq, taking over the rich oil fields of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. Turkey acts as the distribution center to sell ISIS oil which is also sold to rebel groups in Northern Syria.[xxxv]

2014: Syria holds presidential elections with President Assad receiving almost 90% of the vote. The elections were overseen by several international observation groups. [xxxvi]

2015: Russia enters the Syrian conflict at the request of the Syrian government.[xxxvii]

Sources:

[i] http://www.lrb.co.uk/…/seymour…/military-to-military…

“But there is also a parallel history of shadowy co-operation between Syria and the US during the same period. The two countries collaborated against al-Qaida, their common enemy. A longtime consultant to the Joint Special Operations Command said that, after 9/11, ‘Bashar was, for years, extremely helpful to us while, in my view, we were churlish in return, and clumsy in our use of the gold he gave us. That quiet co-operation continued among some elements, even after the [Bush administration’s] decision to vilify him.’ In 2002 Assad authorised Syrian intelligence to turn over hundreds of internal files on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria and Germany. Later that year, Syrian intelligence foiled an attack by al-Qaida on the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and Assad agreed to provide the CIA with the name of a vital al-Qaida informant.”

[ii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd6vR1J0_6A

“We’re going to take out seven countries in 5 years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran” –.

[iii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAlxqZEqJls

Netanyahu before US Congress in 2002, “I guarantee that if you take out Saddam, it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.”

[iv] https://www.lrb.co.uk/v25/n14/charles-glass/is-syria-next

“Is Syria Next?” by Charles Glass, 2003.

[v] http://www.nytimes.com/…/from-the-editors-the-times-and…

In some cases, information that was controversial then, and seems questionable now, was insufficiently qualified or allowed to stand unchallenged. Looking back, we wish we had been more aggressive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged — or failed to emerge.

[vi] Sharon Says U.S. Should Also Disarm Iran, Libya and Syria

http://www.haaretz.com/sharon-says-u-s-should-also-disarm…

[vii] http://edition.cnn.com/…/06/ret.bush.coalition/index.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1971852.stm

[viii] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/11/us.syria/

[ix] http://www.voltairenet.org/article143460.html

The Assassination of Rafik Hariri: A Biased Investigation by Silvia Cattori

[x] From Assad Interview with CNN 2005 https://www.cnn.com/…/07/11/exp-amanpour-assad-2005.cnn

[xi] http://www.conflictsforum.org/…/how-hezbollah-defeated…/

How Hezbollah Defeated Israel: I. Winning the Intelligence War

From the onset of the conflict to its last operations, Hezbollah commanders successfully penetrated Israel’s strategic and tactical decision-making cycle across a spectrum of intelligence, military and political operations, with the result that Hezbollah scored a decisive and complete victory in its war with Israel.

” … we should prepare to go over to the offensive with the aim of smashing Lebanon, Trans-jordan and Syria… The weak point in the Arab coalition is Lebanon [for] the Moslem regime is artificial and easy to undermine. A Christian state should be established… When we smash the [Arab] Legions strength and bomb Amman, we will eliminate Transjordan, too, and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight on, we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria, and Cairo.” ” David Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff. From Ben-Gurion, A Biography, by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978.

[xii] http://www.mintpressnews.com/julian-assange-us…/209493/

Julian Assange: US & Israel Planned To Overthrow Assad In 2006

WikiLeaks cables reveal that these plans came from the Israeli government, and show that the U.S. government intended to work with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt to encourage the breakdown of the Assad regime as a way of also weakening Iran and Hezbollah.

[xiii] http://www.cbc.ca/…/u-s-admits-funding-syrian…

[xiv] http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118530969571176579

To Check Syria, U.S. Explores Bond With Muslim Brothers by Jay Solomon

[xv] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/05/the-redirection

THE REDIRECTION Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism? By Seymour M. Hersh

[xvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKHUpkM7P9I

Damascus, Syria from the eyes of ABC news reporter Diane Sawyer (2007)

[xvii] http://www.albawaba.com/news/assad-most-popular-arab-leader

Assad – Most popular Arab leader Published June 10th, 2009

[xviii] http://oilprice.com/…/The-Natural-Gas-War-Burning-Under…

The Natural Gas War Burning Under Syria

http://www.independent.co.uk/…/google-syria-rebels…

Google planned to help Syrian rebels bring down Assad regime, leaked Hillary Clinton emails claim

[xix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3G4LrDSkuA

Charlie Rose interview 2010.

“Bashar al-Assad came to power after the death of his father. Today he is putting Syria back on the map after a period of isolation. The region’s leaders it is said are all showing up in Damascus to talk to him and to do business.”

[xx] http://www.realclearworld.com/…/top_5…/syria.html

Top 5 Most Personally Safe Countries: No. 5 Syria

[xxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNFcbLUaDmc

Top Gear in Damascus: “Sad to be leaving what has gone in at number five in the list of all time great cities, Damascus.”

[xxii] https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/…/muslim-brotherhood…

Egyptians Bewildered Over Support for Muslim Brotherhood

[xxiii] http://www.washingtontimes.com/…/hillary-clinton…/

Exclusive: Secret tapes undermine Hillary Clinton on Libyan war. Joint Chiefs, key lawmaker held own talks with Moammar Gadhafi regime

[xxiv] http://www.independent.co.uk/…/robert-fisk-the-bloody…

Robert Fisk: The bloody truth about Syria’s uncivil war. Those trying to topple Assad have surprised the army with their firepower and brutal tactics

[xxv] http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33997408

Arming Syrian rebels: Where the US went wrong. “Even worse, Ford had taken on a seemingly hopeless task – arming the opposition in Syria with US weapons.”

https://consortiumnews.com/…/how-the-us-armed-up…/

How the US Armed-up Syrian Jihadists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eno7Y4rEW18

Is Arming the “Free Syrian Army” the Same as Arming al-Qaeda?

[xxvi] https://www.theguardian.com/…/syrian-opposition-doing…

The Syrian opposition: who’s doing the talking? By Charlie Skelton

[xxvii] http://www.nationalreview.com/…/hillary-clinton…

[xxviii] https://mediawerkgroepsyrie.wordpress.com/…/bij…/

Father Frans on the Syrian Rebellion: The “Protestors” Shot First

[xxix] http://security.blogs.cnn.com/…/sources-defense…/

Sources: U.S. helping underwrite Syrian rebel training on securing chemical weapons. By Elise Labott

[xxx] https://www.rt.com/…/syria-referendum-constitution…/

89% vote in favor of new Syrian Constitution

[xxxi] http://www.timesofisrael.com/syria-asks-un-to…/

Syria asks UN to investigate chemical weapons use

https://popularresistance.org/syria-asks-un-to…/

Syria Asks UN To Immediately Investigate 3 New ‘Chemical Attacks’ By Rebels

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n24/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin

Whose sarin? By Seymour M. Hersh

[xxxii] http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n24/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin

Whose sarin? Seymour M. Hersh

http://www.lrb.co.uk/…/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line

The Red Line and the Rat Line by Seymour M. Hersh on Obama, Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels

[xxxiii] http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/…/rise-of-islamic…/

Rise of Islamic State was ‘a willful decision’: Former DIA Chief Michael Flynn

The White House decided to support armed rebels in Syria despite intelligence warnings forecasting the rise of the Islamic State. By Brad Hoff

[xxxiv] https://www.theguardian.com/…/eu-syria-oil-jihadist-al…

EU decision to lift Syrian oil sanctions boosts jihadist groups

Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliate, consolidates position as scramble for control of wells accelerates

https://nsnbc.me/…/fool-twice-eus-turkeys-lies-buying…/

Fool Me Twice? EU’s and Turkey’s lies about buying Oil from ISIS

[xxxv] ISIS EXPORT GATEWAY TO GLOBAL CRUDE OIL MARKETS George KIOURKTSOGLOU* Visiting Lecturer, University of Greenwich, London Dr. Alec D COUTROUBIS Principal Lecturer, University of Greenwich, London

http://www.marsecreview.com/…/PAPER-on-CRUDE-OIL-and…

[xxxvi] http://www.foxnews.com/…/syrian-election-shows-depth…

AP Syrian election shows depth of popular support for Assad, even among Sunni majority

[xxxvii] https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/408148/