Op-ed:

Leaving Syria...A Huge Mistake

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

Author's Note: This article was written a full week before yesterday's meeting between Sen. Graham and President Trump where they discussed a "possible" reevaluation of our troop withdrawal from Syria. 

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"I'll have to say if Trump withdraws from Syria and they do come back, like I think they will, he'll be one of the reasons they came back.” - South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham's (R) words on December 19th after hearing of Sec. of Defense Gen. Mattis' resignation

Let me start by saying that I support President Trump one hundred percent even if I do not personally agree with every decision he makes, and that I will wholeheartedly support him in 2020. With that said I must admit that at this point in time I disagree completely with his decision to pull out the two thousand American ground troops currently stationed in Syria. And what's even more surprising is that I find myself agreeing with now former Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis, the very man I believe was and might still be to some degree an islamic sympathizer as was and probably still is former National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster...I've even written articles to that affect and here is but one: The Manipulation of Willful Ignorance.

However, I have always stated that Gen. Mattis is a great military tactician and strategist, logistics wise, and in the case of Syria he truly understands that by withdrawing American troops at this particular time leaves open the likely possibility that not only will ISIS regroup and become even more powerful and far-reaching than they were before our withdrawal... sort of like they did when Obama prematurely pulled us out of Iraq in 2010...but that a dangerous situation will be created where both Iran and Russia will become the dominate political force within the Middle East...an area we can ill-afford to lose what with Iran on the verge of becoming a nuclear power...and don't let anyone try to fool otherwise.

And if it wasn't for Iran stirring the pot in Syria, ISIS would not have made the inroads that they did and Bashir al-Assad's secular government might still be in somewhat unopposed control...as in no unchecked mass migration would have occurred and Syria's Christians would still be able to worship as they so choose. And while that is a truth President Trump might see he still refuses to acknowledge that Iran alone is the true ground zero of all current Middle East contention. Destroy the Iranian islamic regime...with Israel's help of course...and ISIS and other terrorist groups will fall for with Iran gone so goes their chief source of funding.

But this latest political brouhaha...which came to a head on December 19th with Gen. James Mattis resigning his position as Secretary of Defense...seems to have started back on December 14th when President Donald Trump reportedly received a phone call from Turkey's President Recep Erdogan, and suddenly our president decides to now withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria and transfer the responsibility of combating insurgents in Syria to Turkey...a fellow NATO member. Now going against Mattis, the military experts, and the generals on the ground's advice not to withdraw from Syria, Trump tweeted that, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” This was a huge mistake as was Trump's even speaking to Erdogan, and from there, in my opinion, it all went downhill just like it did when President George W. Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq before said mission was actually “accomplished” and the hard-fought for peace could be kept.

And the negative feedback from many began...something Trump did not expect what with disengaging the U.S. from Syria being one of his campaign promises now kept. But why all the negativity and why is it still ongoing... because...to put it bluntly...Gen. Mattis is right in that ISIS is not defeated in Syria no matter our president's words to the contrary for it's been estimated that there are now between 12,000-14,000 ISIS fighters and their supporters in Syria and Iraq “sleeping,” if you will, waiting to be wakened once we pullout of Syria. And while ISIS' reputation has somewhat been compromised and its ability to recruit new members slowed down to some degree, know they are still capable of recouping both their reputation and territory lost in the what will be the relative vacuum left by the U.S. withdrawal...a withdrawal that will be complete within 60 to 100 days from my writing this very article.

And with ISIS being able to regroup, reorganize, and fight on by using what is known as the “swarm technique”...as in overwhelming the defenses or lack of defenses of their principal targets what with U.S. troops then being gone and doing so via synchronization of its members and operatives...ISIS will be able to wreck havoc once again not just in Syria but throughout the Middle East and Europe as well, and possibly even bringing that havoc here to America's shores...as in another 9/11 but this time ISIS-style.

So while Sen. Graham is more than just a bit correct in his saying that President Trump's decision does indeed make the U.S. "dramatically less safe," I'll now bring something or should I say someone into the mix that few are speaking of...the Kurds. With our withdrawal the Kurds will be left like lambs to the slaughter no matter that it has been they who have helped assure that key ground progress to date has been made against ISIS in Syria and done so with the help of American airpower...which we still don't know if that too will be fully or partially withdrawn once our troops are gone.

Simply, if not for the Kurds, Syria would now most likely not be under Russian control as many feared but under far more dangerous Iranian control.

And it's the Kurds...brave warriors who have stood by America throughout the long years of our engagement in the Middle East...who I believe are being left to fend for themselves...not deliberately by President Trump of course but because our president does not fully understand that those he is now putting his faith in are those with fingers crossed behind their backs. And again, here I'm speaking to Turkey and its islamist leader Recep Erdogan who will see to it that Syria's Kurdish militias are slaughtered by Turkish military power within a very short period of time, after all Turkey tried it before. Remember back to January 20, 2018 when Erdogan launched a major air and ground offensive against the Kurdish Peoples Protection Unit (YPG) in Afrin, Syria...they failed then but they will not fail now...not with Erdogan publicly vowing just two weeks ago to “drive out” the U.S.-backed Kurdish militias from Syria.

And if this happens...as many Kurds fear...it will be on America's head for it's our presence in Syria that is keeping the Kurds safe from Erdogan's “revenge”...with “revenge” being the operative word.

And why is that...

Because Erdogan is not only not a friend of the Kurds but he is also not a friend to the U.S. as witnessed by these very words he said right before launching the above stated attack in Afrin, “A country we call an ally (the U.S.) is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders...what can that terror army target but Turkey? Our mission is to strangle it before it’s even born.” And this is something President Trump should have known, along with the fact that once our military is gone from Syria, Turkey will most likely invade again and this time successfully occupy the border zone the Kurds currently hold...the very area separating Syria from Turkey.

And Trump's not seeing this as fact is truly sad because if not for the Kurds the retaking of Kobani...the supposed turning point in the campaign to defeat ISIS in Syria...might not have happened nor might the retaking of the Arab city of Raqqa. And President Trump needs a reminder that the success in Raqqa is what afforded U.S. deployed Kurdish fighters in the Deir al-Zor province the ability to “liberate” Syria’s main oilfields from ISIS control, which in turn led to our Kurdish allies controlling over 25 per cent of Syria's territory.

Now also remember that it was Recep Erdogan himself who said a little over a year ago that, “Turkey will never accept a U.S. alliance with the Kurds,” and that Syria's Kurdish militias...known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG)...the military wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party...are nothing but a direct offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)...the very party Erdogan still claims is a terror group, a major threat to Turkey’s security, and a drain on its economy...a drain to date of between $300 to $450 billion (U.S.), mostly spent on military costs.

And so Turkey's battle continues on with the Kurds...who are mostly secular or Christian...and who want an independent and autonomous Kurdish state where they can live free from persecution by those that surround them. Fighting for decades against both Turkey's repressive government and Turkey's refusing to give up any of the disputed territory between Syria and Turkey for a said free Kurdish state (Kurdistan) has led Turkish political analyst Hoshang Waziri to say that the Kurds recent territorial gains in Syria along Turkey’s border, coupled with their increasing political legitimacy in the eyes of the West, has made the Kurds a bigger threat to Turkey in general than ISIS is in specific.

In other words, to Recep Erdogan ISIS is America's war not Turkey's.

And yet this is the country and it's leader that President Trump mistakenly believes will help in the fight against ISIS returning to Syria when it's the Kurds who Turkey cares more about defeating than they do about defeating ISIS...who truthfully are their islamic brethren in arms. Defeating the Kurds in Syria translates into defeating Kurdish opposition groups in Turkey or so Erdogan thinks.

So while the Kurds are U.S. allies they did keep some lines of communication open with Damascus because of the dead-end with Turkey. And with the Kurds wanting autonomy in the regions of Syria that they currently hold and with Damascus of course seeing this as not doable, political experts now believe that the only way to prevent a Turkish invasion of Syria...an invasion whose prime goal is to eliminate the Kurds...is to use the U.S. withdrawal as the time frame by which to revert Syria back to the way it was before its civil war began, And this means the Kurds would not only have to return all currently held territory to Bashir al-Assad's government rule, but that they would also have to physically vacate the border zone and submit to Syrian army command and control.

Also, as per Turkey's wishes, the Kurds would have to stop speaking of Rojava (The Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (DFNS) that was and still is referred to as Rojava), and remove Kurdish flags and portraits of opposition leader Abdullah Öcalan in exchange for restoring Syrian sovereignty along its northern border with Turkey. In other words do as Turkey wants and as Damascus demands or Turkey will invade the border and Damascus will look away as the Kurds are slaughtered...self-serving political blackmail if you ask me.

And President Trump should know all this...and maybe he does...yet he still decided to withdraw American ground troops from Syria...possibly on Erdogan's advice...thus leaving our Kurdish allies in eminent danger. But there is an option...a truly face-saving option... that could still be implemented before the 100-day timetable for our departure is reached, no matter Trump's stating that he will pound ISIS from Iraq if need be. And that option is to rescind the withdrawal order...to hell with Erdogan...and relocate the 2,000 American troops on the ground, along with their heavy equipment, to the Kurdish held side of the Syrian/Turkish border. Not only would their presence be a strong show of force but it would send a strong message, especially to Turkey, that America does not abandon those who stood by her...Rand Paul's version of isolationism be damned.

And it's that very show of force that would keep Erdogan and his government forces in check. And why...because Recep Erdogan is smart enough to know that if he dared to tangle with American forces he'd be tangling with America herself, thus possibly risking the escalation of what still is a regional war and turning it into a war with America proper...a war that most surely would not end well for Turkey.

And while the Kurds are of prime concern, as they should be, there are other countries our troop withdrawal will affect...key of which is our staunchest ally Israel for Israel shares a highly contentious border with Syria...as in the Golan Heights. And while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that our military withdrawal from Syria will not affect Israel's "existing policy" towards Syria, he let it be known that Israel will continue its campaign against Iran's attempts to “militarily entrench itself in Syria” and that Israeli military actions will be “expanded” if need be.

If need be being if Israel's security is breached.

However, Netanyahu clearly let it be known that Israel's cooperation with the U.S. will continue “in full” in the areas of “operations, intelligence and many other security spheres," which does sound good in theory but will it play out in reality. That's something we have to wait and see for Russia's presence in Syria has created a scenario in which Israel was basically forced into a dialogue with the Kremlin in order to prevent friction between their two countries, with the hopes that Russia understands Israel's security needs. 

So while it now seems that Russia does understand, that understanding is causing a major rift between Russia and Iran with Israel being the cause of the rift, Syria being the recipient of the rift's fallout, and Russia possibly being the rift's biggest loser of all for Russia will never secure as their own the much wanted Port at Tarsus if Iran was ever to gain control of Syria.

And while many will not admit it, it's our presence in Syria and our alliance with the Kurds that is keeping Iran somewhat in check. Now add in that while many world leaders continue to talk tough about Iran, we must never forget that Russia is still a key player in the Syrian game. But no matter if it's because of Russia or because of Iran the fact remains that leaving Syria at this point in time should not be an option for us. Too much is at stake for our president to make a decision based upon misguided advice...advice which has us not only abandoning those who helped us the most, but has us kowtowing to both isolationists at home and Levant seekers abroad, which could possibly trigger an even broader conflict that very well might be the downfall of us all.

So like I said in the beginning, I will continue to support my president even while I do not agree with him on this issue, but I do hope President Trump realizes that not only is his withdrawal order wrong on so many critical levels, but that it appears he's been “had” by Recep Erdogan, a man who is a master in the art of taqiyya...need I say more.

Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article .

  

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...Returns from Christmas Break on Friday, January 4, 2019

In four more days...Friday, January 4th from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori return to the air with the hard-hitting news show you have come to expect. Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/

 

Op-ed: 
Deal's Made, Deals Broken, Deals on the Sly
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

So it seems an interesting turn of events happened last weekend and earlier this week...a turn of events I knew would eventually come as Russia...as Vladimir Putin... has now basically sided with Israel over Iran. And with that Israel's long hoped for wedge between Russia and Iran seems to becoming to fruition in addition to it also being one of our conditions for negotiating with Russia over the nightmare that is Syria.

With Russia now growing more and more annoyed that Iran's presence in Syria coupled with its altercations with Israel could threaten their interests, this past Monday a news conference took place in Moscow where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the only “field military forces in the country’s southern border areas” should be Bashir al-Assad's government forces and that neither Iran nor Hezbollah should be allowed anywhere near Israel's border.

Referring to the hotly contested area known as the Golan Heights...an area bordering Jordan as well as Israel...what Lavrov actually alluded to was that Russia was open to Israeli demands that Iranian forces be kept far from its borders. 
 

In fact, Benjamin Netanyahu recently met with Vladimir Putin and now it seems that Russia has no problem with Israel's wanting Iranian forces...along with Hezbollah and Shi'ite militia groups...being kept at least 40 miles from their Golan Heights border. Realizing now that their previous agreed to “deal” with the Iranians...a “deal” that would see Iranian forces staying at least a minimum of three miles away from Israel’s border...continuously gets broken has Putin now fully understanding that Iran is putting in danger not only Russian interests in Syria...specifically regarding the port at Tartus...but also is affecting their trying to stabilize Bashir al-Assad's government.

And while the area in question is currently being held by a number of rebel groups...groups that include tentacles of ISIS and al-Qaeda along with actual Iranian fighters...Israel continues to rightfully accuse Iran of trying to establish a “permanent presence” in this area. Offering as proof that Iranian operatives have already fired rockets into Israel from this very Golan Heights position, what Iran forgets is that Israel has every right to defend herself and thus has retaliated in kind by destroying both Syrian and Iranian military installations. And this has led Russia to understand that if they don't keep Iranian forces and their proxy armies* away from Israel’s border, these Israeli strikes will indeed definitely undermine Bashar al-Assad’s tenuous hold on Syria.

In other words, Russia knows that it's better for all parties concerned...except for Iran of course...to have the more secular Bashir al-Assad ruling Syria...especially since Putin can control him to a large degree...than it is to have the Iranian islamists gaining any control of the country... islamists Putin himself is personally no fan of. And Putin knows that as new ties continue to be forged between Israel and Russia...including much needed economic ties that help Russia way more than they help Israel...that those ties can actually be used to change the entire dynamics of the Middle East. How so...by creating a new alliance of sorts between not just Israel and Russia, but between Russia and the U.S. as well, and it's an alliance that would help to “reset” all the damage one Barack HUSSEIN Obama did to the region.

And it's a true “reset” in every sense of the word and it was started when President Donald Trump courageously pulled us out of Obama's very bad nuclear deal...a “reset” against the Iranian regime that will change the critical balance of power in favor of the three mightiest military nations on earth. And make no mistake that Israel is one of the three...maybe even number two...right behind the U.S. as Russia's recent economic downturn has affected both their military allocations and its designated military operations.

And while Obama's ill-fated Arab Spring was a complete disaster that led to total regional chaos, the U.S., Russia, and Israel working together can restore a semblance of “normalcy” to said region...“normalcy” that favors the learned and sane over the archaic islamic fundamentalist rulers of Iran. And the more moderate Arab countries with their more moderate leaders would most surely see this “normalcy” as beneficial to both them and their countries as well, and Iran knows it. And Iran and the mullahs also know they must stop this alliance from happening if their dictatorial regime is to survive, especially now with all the turmoil and protests occurring on their own home soil as the people of Iran are yearning to be free.
 
So how exactly did Iran respond to Lavrov's news conference...by saying that they most assuredly reject Russia’s words that they pull their forces out of Syria...especially those forces gathered along the Golan Heights border...saying so even if by some chance a political settlement between al-Assad and the rebels were to be reached. And Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi went so far as to threaten that, “No one can force Iran to do anything. Iran is an independent country and its policies are determined based on the interests of the Islamic Republic in the world.” 
 

Well that might not exactly ring true as Russia has been secretly working on a deal to remove Iranian forces from Israel's border after assessing the amount of damage Israel's May 10th attack alone afflicted on both Iranian and Syrian targets, including the serious damage done to al-Assad's much needed air defenses. Remember, Israel only initiated this attack in retaliation for Iran’s al-Quds forces launching 32 rockets at their “forward defensive line” on their side of the Golan Heights border...and Russia knew well that Israel would... and rightfully so...fight back. 
 
And to that affect now entering center stage is Jordan...a country at peace with Israel but it's peace with King Abdullah's fingers crossed behind his back. A foolish move on his part because the peace treaty signed on October 26, 1994 included a clause that Israel would offer a military “umbrella of defense” should Jordan ever be threatened...and with Iranian fighters now being so close to their border allows Israel to perceive them and Jordan as being threatened and take defensive action if need be...something Abdullah surely would not like as he has known ties to Iran as well. But this is a peace treaty which, in my opinion, should have been negated long ago if only for the fact that Jordan and its king supports the Muslim Brotherhood as well as supporting, encouraging, and maybe even helping to fund the Palestinian intifada. 
 

And so with rummages that al-Assad's forces are now planning a soon to come attack on rebel held territory near its southern border with both Jordan and Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, reports are surfacing that Iran's ambassador to Jordan, one Dr. Mostafa Moslehzadeh (via notes and messages passed between adjoining hotel rooms in Amman as well as between Syrian and Russian officials) met secretly last weekend with senior Israeli security officials...including a high-ranking member of the Mossad...to “negotiate” a deal where Iran would agree to stay out of the fighting in southern Syria especially near the Golan Heights border with Israel. 
 

But remember Iran, like Russia, desperately wants that port at Tartus both for its direct and much needed access to the Mediterranean Sea and it's soon to come money-making gas pipeline that will pass right through it...and only to one victor will the Tartus spoils go. But al-Assad and Russia both still need the Iranian-controlled militias to help take out the remaining so-called “pockets” of rebel held territories in Syria's south... “pockets” in an area that is part of the “de-escalation zone”...which is a "safe" zone agreed to between both President Trump and President Putin on the sidelines at the Hamburg summit. Agreed to as a "temporary step" to maintain a ceasefire and remove foreign forces from the region in order to ensure a more "sustainable peace"...whom Bashir al-Assad eventually gives Tartus to is still a toss-up of sorts although, I believe, Tartus in the end will go to Russia.

And why do I think so...consider this...because Iran now clearly needs Russia's support regarding the nuclear deal President Trump so courageously left. Remember, so few words were heard from Russia regarding our leaving said deal, and that allows Russia to hold the 'trump' card over Iran if they want said support. And that in turn now allows Russia to trade their support for Iranian concessions regarding the removal of its forces from Syria, which then makes Russia's position regarding Syria more in line with both our and Israel's demands. And al-Assad still gets Russia's aide in helping to remove the rebels even with Iran no longer in the mix...a much needed win for al-Assad who then thanks Russia with Tartus.

Russia wins Tartus while Iran loses Syria but gets Russia's support...low-key as it may be...regarding the nuclear deal which will soon collapse on its own anyway...kind of a win-win all around with much “face saved”...if only this would be.

And why if only...because while both Bashir al-Assad’s government forces and the rebel fighters are 'supposed to be observing' the previously stated ceasefire...with 'supposed to be observing' having a totally different meaning than actually 'observing'...neither side is doing so. And that means if the two key factions involved will not observe the ceasefire then why should or would the third side...Iran...observe the ceasefire either. And if this simple agreement is not being honored what makes anyone think Iran would honor an agreement supposedly made on the sly with their enemy Israel. 
 
And with al-Assad still planning on moving forward with the previously stated soon to come southern attack despite all warnings not to do so, Israel now has made it clear to Iran that there's a strong possibility of direct armed conflict between their two countries should Iran decide to send either its troops or its Hezbollah proxy army to Syria's south in order to have them take part in said fight...a fight which should only be between al-Assad's forces and the rebels. 

Also know that Israel sent this message for one specific reason alone...to let Iran know that it would not end well for them if they did choose to get involved. And that, when push comes to shove, just might be why Iran could agree not to take part in any government v. rebel battles in southern Syria especially if Israel does agree not to participate in combat in that region as well.

And don't forget that as it stands right now Bashir al-Assad still sees Iran's being in Syria as a plus of sorts which might temper down any agreements reached between Iran and Israel or Iran and Russia, because as long as al-Assad wants Iran in Syria, Iran one way or another will stay in Syria...unless Israel finally takes them out that is.
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* Israel estimates there are about 2,000 Iranian troops; almost 9,000 Shi'ite militias fighter from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq; and another 7,000 members of Hezbollah currently operating in Syria. 

Copyright @ 2018 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved. 

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog     The National Patriot to read his latest article Reparations…The New Welfare

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

 
Today, Friday, June 1st from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Deals Made, Deal's Broken, Deals on the Sly'; 'Reparations: The New Welfare'; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history 

Investigative Report:
Syria...Evidence and Truth

By: Diane Sori and Craig Andresen / Right Side Patriots

It is a well-known fact that when one rushes to judgment one tends to be wrong. And it is also a well-known fact that gut instincts are usually right especially when they nag at you and will not let go.

Such is the case with the recent chemical gas attack ‘supposedly’ being committed by Syrian President Bashir al-Assad against his own people in the rebel-held northern Idlib province city of Khan Sheikhun...a city actually bordering on Hama province. And how quickly he was blamed, how quickly the call to judgment was made for after all no one can dispute the fact that al-Assad is a ‘bad guy’ who has in the past done bad things, and so it must be him doing this even ‘badder thing’ now. And when this most grievous of actions reached the ear of the public the collective outcry against al-Assad was heard loud and clear even before any definitive facts and truths surrounding the tragedy could emerge.

In fact, Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the ‘European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,’ condemned Bashir al-Assad and his government forces before the gas had settled or even before the gas used could be positively identified as what was claimed to be sarin gas. Saying that the “Assad regime bears responsibility for ‘awful’ Syria ‘chemical’ attack,” Mogherini’s sentiments were echoed post haste by world leaders who simply took her word for it. Europe’s leaders were quick to chime in, and even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack against civilians already scared by over six-years of non-stop war. And when photos of babies and young children lying dead in the streets started to hit the internet, President Donald Trump himself did an abrupt about-face regarding his policy of not getting involved in Syria...of not going for regime change...which led to last Thursday night’s targeted Tomahawk attack on the airbase believed to be the base from which the gas was loaded unto planes and dropped on an unsuspecting civilian populace.

And on the surface this surely seemed to be the case, and no one can blame President Trump for his actions which were solely based upon hastily gathered ‘facts’ presented to him less than 48 hours after the attack occurred...and of course the photos of dead babies and young children played strongly upon the heart of this loving father and grandfather as it did upon the hearts of the American people as well. And we 'Right Side Patriots' cried too seeing those pictures, yet between our tears was a nagging feeling that what we were seeing...or should we say 'led to believe' we were seeing...just did not seem quite right for the rush to both judgment and revenge led us to believe we were being manipulated into seeing something that did not add up to the important word ‘truth.’

And so began our search for the truth...an around the clock search that began within hours of the attack occurring until just now, almost four days later, when we put to paper both our findings and what we believe did actually happen in a rebel-held city in the north of Syria, and simply put, while this incident in no way was a ‘false flag’ it was and remains the chess board upon which the pieces of the puzzle being moved around have chosen a king of the wrong color. 

"Does anyone believe that on the eve of peace talks, just after the White House said the Syrian people should choose their own leaders, that Assad would launch a gas attack to turn the whole world against him? We don't either. We're back to the same lies that got us into Iraq." – Kentucky Senator Rand Paul

And the nagging gut feeling grew even stronger for we knew that the day after the attack was to be the first day of talks between representatives of more than 50 nations who were to meet in Brussels for a conference to discuss the financial and humanitarian needs of Syria, a country that the U.N. estimated 13.5 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance, including the 4.7 million people who lived in besieged or barely accessible areas...areas like the city of Khan Sheikhun.

A meeting to help the Syrian people...a meeting to assist in helping to end the conflict between Bashir al-Assad’s government forces and those who call themselves rebels...a meeting that would start with Bashir al-Assad’s government forces showing that they were winning the war on the ground. And while some of the rebels truly are rebels, it must also be known that most who call themselves rebels are but tentacles of ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra (now technically renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, meaning the ‘Front for the Conquest of Syria/the Levant’), and other terrorist groups...groups waiting for al-Assad to fall so they could move in and turn Syria into a sharia compliant state of the caliphate.

And to that affect we now find out that the rebel group Ahrar al-Sham...the ‘Islamic Movement of the Free People of the Levant'‎...issued a statement that they “welcomed U.S. intervention through surgical strikes that would deter regime capabilities to kill civilians.” Sounds good on the surface doesn’t it what with the U.S. considering Ahrar al-Sham as one of the most “effective” rebel groups in Syria according to a report from Stanford University. However, what is not being reported is that this very group is integrated with the Islamic Front and al-Nusra who according to their very own words is “dedicated to building an islamic state whose only sovereign, reference, ruler, direction, and individual, societal and nationwide unifier is Allah Almighty's Sharia (law).”

And when a group like this is but one of many terrorist groups conveniently calling themselves rebels...rebels wanting the predominately secular government of Bashir al-Assad gone...it becomes a dangerous reality that if al-Assad and his government do fall then a power vacuum will likely see al-Qaeda type terrorists or worse...as in the likes of ISIS...moving in to fill the void.

But that is for another article as what must be focused on at this time is the fact that a rush to judgment was made as to which side committed this vile act for as the dust settles some of us are starting to see and zero in on certain facts that others simply do not want to see or actually fear seeing. And let’s start by first noting that a day prior to the attack a tweet was sent out by Feram Karam, a reporter in Syria with Orient News, telling of Orient TV's announcement that “Tomorrow we are launching a media campaign to cover the airstrikes on Hama country side [remember Khan Sheikehun is right on Huma's border] including the usage of chemical warfare against civilians," thus showing that the rebels were going to 'stage' an attack within the area...an attack that was now known about and media prepared for with key players in place before it happened.

 
Now briefly touching upon the reality that contrary to what many claim as sarin gas being the toxic agent used in the attack on Khan Shiekhun, the fact is it simply was not. And why is the gas used so important as obviously these people...at least some of them...were killed by some form of gas...because by proving this was not a sarin gas attack other key pieces of the puzzle will start to fall in place...key pieces that will show that not only were we here in America duped but that the world has been duped as well, and by those who up until now had little to lose.

And so documented facts are key as to the why this attack was not one of sarin gas...a gas that is “not very persistent” in the environment, meaning it dissipates fairly quickly yet certain toxic aspects of it remain. First, sarin gas is colorless and odorless and yet ‘survivors’ claim they saw a yellowish-green gas floating within the air at the time of the attack. Second, within seconds a minute or two of exposure to sarin gas the effects of the gas begins to target the muscle and nervous system as sarin is a nerve agent that causes an almost immediate release of the bowels and bladder, coupled with profuse vomiting. Now look at the pictures from the ‘supposed’ scene of the attack...no such bodily fluids can be seen in any of the pictures. 

Also, when sarin gas is used within a concentrated area...as was the city blocks involved in this ‘drop’...it would likely kill and/or sicken thousands of people not the under one hundred involved. And third, look now at photos of those ‘helping’ the victims and those carrying the dead and wounded...from ‘supposed' civilians to the very recognizable aid group known as the White Helmets...and much more on them in a bit...and see how they are treating bodies with little concern for their exposed skin for remember, sarin poisoning is spread not only by air-borne contact to the gas but even by just touching, handling, or carrying a victim.

Now let’s move on to some other oddities about this entire scenario. Supposedly taking place in a residential area...hence the baby and children victims...we have discovered through zeroing in on Google Maps that the areas in question were not residential but were warehouse districts scattered within a few areas of the city. This attack, we were told, took place in the middle of the night while babies were asleep in their cribs, yet the pictures of dead children and babies we see only show them lying alone in the streets in broad daylight. And where were their parents...they were not lying dead or sick next to their children...they were not cradling their children in their arms to comfort them... they were nowhere to be seen. And how did children and babies end up in the middle of the these (warehouse) streets alone...something to think about isn’t it for what kind of parent would leave their child to die or suffer in the street alone...none that we know of and we’re sure none that you know of either.

Now something else Google Maps showed as does all the pictures we are seeing...if this attack did occur within a heavily populated residential area as claimed... a bombed-out area yet an area that ‘supposedly’ was teeming with family life...hence the babies and the children...why are there no signs of life even amongst the rubble. There are no remnants of children’s toys, furniture, housewares, clothing, nothing that would indicate that this area was home to anyone. Also, if this was a residential area where are the animals, the dogs, the cats, the birds...where are they whether they be alive or dead from exposure to the gas... they or their bodies are nowhere to be found and why...because none of those ‘supposedly’ killed in this attack came from the city of Khan Shiekhun and especially not from its residential areas.

And why...as can be seen by this unreleased media photo below of the impact site of the 'supposed' sarin gas weapon, the weapon was not dropped in a residential area... neither lived in now nor before...but in a warehouse district as we have alluded to throughout this article.

Also not released by the media...at least not here in our country...was the fact that one week before the ‘supposed’ attack on Khan Shiekhun, about 250 people, including babies and children, from the neighboring cities of Majdal (33 miles away) and Khattab (21 miles away) were kidnapped by al-Qaeda terrorists. Locals from the area are claiming that many of those dead from the gas attack were those kidnapped from Majdal and Khattab...staged to make it appear that al-Assad had used sarin gas to kill his own people. And with the absence of the 'stuff' of life as we explained above that seems a highly likely scenario. 

And to that affect, remember what we said about those who were aiding the victims and carrying the dead... that is a key factor for the White Helmets themselves are the key to this all...the very White Helmets who most believe to be a humanitarian organization but who unbeknownst to almost all are actually an affiliate of al-Nusra and sympathizers of al-Qaeda.

The White Helmets...a key player in the whole Syrian mess. Also known as the Syrian Civil Defense, a supposedly humanitarian organization that helps all Syrians...rebels, and government forces alike...for lack of a better term think of them as the Syrian version of something akin to our Red Cross. 

The White Helmets have their own broadcast channel, their own website, and were the subject of a propaganda styled film by George Clooney for Netflix last year, as well as having been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, but who are they really and are they what they claim to be. Netflix...the very  company who boasts a major shareholder as being the Capital Research Global Investors, and a company in which George Soros invested nearly $32.8 million dollars when he bought 317,534 shares in 2015, saw him dissolve those shares in 2016. One has to wonder why.

This Syrian Civil Defense organization referred to as the White Helmets was founded not by a Syrian, but by James Le Mesurier, a graduate from Britain’s elite Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, and is said to be an ‘ex’ British military intelligence officer involved in a number of other NATO ‘humanitarian intervention’ theaters of war, including Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq, as well as postings in Lebanon and what is referred to as Palestine. He also boasts a series of high-profile posts at the UN, EU, and UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Not to mention his connections back to the infamous Blackwater (Academi)’...the American private military company founded in 1997 by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince...the company who received widespread notoriety in 2007, when a group of its employees killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad for which four guards were convicted in a U.S. court.

Interesting isn’t it, that a non-Syrian, and a fellow like this Le Mersurier, would be the founder of a Syrian organization, and more interesting still is the fact that a couple of the White Helmets primary sources of funding come from NATO and from our very own CIA. Since when does the CIA pour $23 million of our American taxpayer dollars into what is 'supposedly' a foreign ‘humanitarian’ organization? When one thinks of adding the word ‘funding’ to the CIA, one thinks covert ops...not humanitarian organizations on foreign soil. 

And here is a little something else to think about...the White Helmets are actually not the only civil defense organization in Syria. There is also the International Civil Defense Organization’s (ICDO) certified Syrian Civil Defense...the real Syrian Civil Defense...formed in 1953 as a civil fire and rescue organization that really does operate throughout Syria, and if you need them in a true emergency situation such as a bombing, you can reach them inside Syria by dialing 311.

To be clear, the White Helmets have no phone number so there is virtually no way to reach them in the case of an emergency, and yet there they seem to be every time a ‘rebel’ enclave gets hit, digging children from bombed out buildings, and nearly always with both still photographers and video cameras rolling. 

The real Syrian Civil Defense as a member of the ICDO, is part of a partnership which includes the U.N. Department of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Secretary of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations of Geneva (UNOG), Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

The White Helmets are not ICDO partners and have   no affiliation whatsoever with any of the legitimate organizations named, and while their helmets may be white, that waves a lot of red flags. What it appears to be is that the White Helmets are not at all what they claim to be, as in a civil defense organization, rather they are a PR organization organized by those supporting the 'supposed' rebels who are tied to various terrorist organizations which operate inside Syria.

In fact, nearly all the photos and videos we have seen, and those supplied to our various intel organizations regarding attacks such as the one last week, come from the White Helmets. The photos of the dead children, the videos of ‘rescue’ attempts that so quickly make it to worldwide distribution via the internet, from places in Syria that have been bombed nearly to oblivion, come from the White Helmets.

In fact, while the real Syrian Civil Defense operates throughout Syria, the White Helmets seem only to be found in ‘rebel’ held territory, embedded with various factions of loosely connected terrorist organizations.

According to Vanessa Beesley, a correspondent for 21st Century Wire, who has traveled to Syria as a reporter, “In fact during my recent trip to Syria, I was once again struck by the response from the majority of Syrians when asked if they knew who the White Helmets were. The majority had never heard of them, others who follow western media noted that they are a “NATO construct being used to infiltrate Syria as a major player in the terrorist support network.””

According to the official White Helmet website, they claim they are not “tied to any political group in Syria, or anywhere else,” and they also state that they are, “fiercely independent” and “have accepted no money from governments, corporations or anyone directly involved in the Syrian conflict."

Those are lies, plain and simple, as it seems is their claim to be a Syrian Civil Defense organization replete with first responders and doctors whose goal is to save lives.

Saving lives...really?  Watch this video ‘supposedly’ of a White Helmet doctor ‘treating’ an injured baby who was ‘supposedly’ suffering from exposure to a toxic agent said to have been part of a recent attack perpetrated by the Syrian government. It is not an easy video to watch, but notice how the ‘doctor’ (if he really was even a doctor) jabs a needle into the baby’s chest. We are led to believe he is injecting adrenaline into the baby’s heart in a life-saving procedure. This ‘doctor’ never pushes the plunger...he simply and repeatedly jabs the dying infant through the heart with the needle. 

Also in the video Arabic can be heard, and translators have reported that the words being spoken are not what one would expect to hear in such an emergency room setting...they are, according to Swedish Doctors for Human Rights, stage directions being given regarding the placement of the children’s body for the camera.

One of the biggest red flags with regard to the White Helmets is who they always seem to be assembled with whenever a crisis, real or fake, presents itself. Al-Qaeda, al-Nusra…an arm of al- Qaeda, Nour al-Din al-Zenki...a one-time more moderate group that has in the past year joined with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of Syria/the Levant)...the name we previously stated that changed from al-Nusra Front... and which is directly linked to ISIS. The list goes on and on, but the point is that none of the groups that the White Helmets associate with are in anyway moderate. They are in fact various factions of more prominent terrorist organizations. 

Then there is Nour al-Din al-Zenki, yet another terrorist related Syrian-based organization that split from the Free Syrian Army about a year or so ago, and yet another group with whom the White Helmets associates.

There are a few key factors in these terrorist related associations regarding the White Helmets...first, the White Helmets can virtually only be found with the terrorist related organizations like al-Qaeda, as though they are embedded with them and second, the White Helmets, who claim to represent and assist all Syrians in emergency situations related to the war, are virtually never seen with the more moderate Free Syrian Army or anywhere near sites bombed or attacked by those opposed to Bashar al-Assad and his government forces.

And third, it seems every time cease-fire negotiations are ready to take place, usually within 24 hours of those talks, some enclave occupied by the forces of terrorist organizations gets hit, people are killed, and right there in the thick of it all are the White Helmets, their cameras, video gear, and their ‘doctors,’ to treat the victims...but have you ever noticed amid the inevitable flurry of released photos and videos that are recorded within moments of the attack, while ‘victims’ are literally dying in the streets...there does not seem to be a single shot or video of the attack itself.

If the White Helmets can be on the scene within mere moments with their cameras rolling and shutters clicking why are there not any images, moving or otherwise, of the bombing itself...or for that matter any photos or videos of actual down-and-dirty rescues they claim to have made. Holding a child in one's arms does not an actual rescue make.

So far, everything we have found leads us to believe that the chemical attack at Khan Sheikhun a week ago was staged, from the photos and videos to the bodies and the first responders...and all courtesy of the the White Helmets. Everything we have discovered leads us to believe that the victims seen in pictures and videos were more likely to have been victims first of the afore mentioned kidnapping by terrorist affiliated rebels before they were victims of murder.

And if you are looking for a name, someone who, by name, can be directly linked to it all...so too were we...and we found the person we now believe could very well be ground zero...Dr. Shajul Islam.

This so-called doctor spent the hours directly after the 'supposed' attack treating the victims and tweeting about the situation. Yes, tweeting, in 140 characters or less, that he was treating three victims, that it was a sarin gas attack, and that he had the proof it was sarin, and not anything but sarin, which he was offering to show to any who were interested, as he claimed to have “samples.” The ‘so-called’ Dr. Islam also offered to video chat with anyone interested in seeing the proof he offered.

Consider the situation in which he found himself during that particular moment. Supposedly, there had just, and we mean just, been a sarin weapons attack in Khan Sheikhun (remember, had it actually been sarin, the death and victim toll would have been extreme, and not limited to 100 or less), and he was 'supposedly' in the act of treating three victims of this claimed sarin nerve agent attack…and yet he had time to send out tweet after tweet, and had the time to go to video chat with anyone who was interested.

This seemed odd to us as to what we both did and did not see in the photos and videos, so we decided to do a bit of digging into this Dr. Shajul Islam, and what we discovered was quite shocking to say the least.

Dr. Shajul  Islam, from Stratford, East London, was arrested in 2012 on charges of kidnapping two journalists, one being British journalist John Cantile, who was taken while crossing from Turkey into Syria, and then rescued a week later; and the other, Dutch photographer Jeroen Oerlemans, who was with Cantile.

John Cantile was again kidnapped in Syria, along with journalist James Foley, who was later beheaded by Jihadi John in a widely publicized video. Cantile is still a hostage today, and Oerlemans was shot dead in Libya in 2016.

At the time of the kidnappings this Dr. Islam and a man by the name of Jubayer Chowdhury were the only two British jihadis charged with kidnapping westerners inside of Syria. Also, at the time of his ill-fated trial, Dr. Islam, it had been reported, was some sort of associate, knowing the true identity of jihadi John, which we all much later came to find out was Mohammed Emwazi.

But that is certainly not the end of the rap sheet on this 'supposed' doctor...Shajul Islam...as he escaped trial on the kidnapping charges when the only two witnesses failed to appear in court and the charges were then dropped...how convenient was that.

Dr. Islam had been practicing at St Bart’s Hospital in London until last month when he was removed from the medical register after a ‘fitness to practice’ hearing at the General Medical Council, where a secret tribunal panel heard the disciplinary case against him and banned him for misconduct.

But it doesn’t end there…

The hospital where this 'supposed' Dr. Shajul Islam was working on the ‘victims’ of what he still insists was a sarin nerve agent attack, was Binnish Hospital, in the town of Hama, some 50km north of Khan Sheikhun, where people ‘supposedly’ exposed to sarin were driven in ambulances and trucks by people not wearing any protective gear.

Remember, in one tweet, this 'so-called' doctor claimed to be treating just three victims, and yet in other tweets and videos he posted that day he claimed that, “The patients keep just flooding in from this chemical attack. Every one - every one - has got pinpoint pupils” and in others that, “The patients keep coming, we've run out of ventilators,” and “We don't have enough ventilator space, so we're now taking out the transport ventilators we have in our ambulances and we're going to try to modify them to see if we can use them for our patients.”

Let us be very clear on this point, it matters not whether a doctor is working on three or dozens of victims of a sarin or any other sort of chemical weapons attack, as said doctor would not have the time to devote to flurries of videos and/or tweets while in the process of dealing with such a mass trauma event. But, if it was all staged, if the victims were not really victims of such an event and their final outcome had been a pre-determined death, that doctor would have all the time he needed to issue all the propaganda he could muster.

We are happy to supply our readers with one more fact directly pertaining to this 'so-called' doctor, this man who had his medical license revoked for misconduct, who was charged in the jihadi kidnapping of western journalists, and who has become the propagandist for Syrian terrorist organizations...he lives and conducts his social media campaigns now in areas controlled by Jabhat al-Fateh, the former al-Qaeda affiliate.

Go to this: https://mobile.twitter.com/DrShajulIslam Dr. Shajul Islam’s twitter page or to this his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DoctorShajulIslam/posts/1919551074998170...look at the photos, watch the videos, and note that while those all around him in the videos are speaking Arabic, Islam himself speaks in English. And why...he is playing to the western mainstream media, as any PR firm and propagandist would. Note that he and his fellow doctors are 'supposedly' treating what he claims to be sarin victims while wearing only rubber gloves as protection. Were they really sarin victims, by now both Dr. Islam and his colleagues would be dead.

So, obviously whatever chemical agent that was used to inflict the deaths of those claimed to be from Khan Sheikhun was not sarin, and was most likely, we believe, chlorine gas...and who in the region is well known for manufacturing low-grade chlorine gas to be used as weapons...none other than ISIS in Syria, and it is ISIS and their splinter factions previously named in this article that are the consorts of the White Helmets, and this man expelled from the British medical community, Dr. Islam, has in the past been a player with the White Helmets.

 

We find all these individual puzzle pieces odd indeed...but when you assemble them into the actual finished puzzle they all fit together and lock into place. First piece is that this was no sarin gas attack by Bashir al-Assad's government forces but was most likely an attack committed by any one of a number of ‘so-called’ terrorist factions masquerading as rebels who were part of the White Helmets circle of players...players who could be called into action at a moment’s notice. 

Second, the true victims of those killed were the given number of people who had been but a week earlier kidnapped from the cities of Majdal and Khattab...those who were already near death by the hands of their kidnappers...those who were then ‘placed’ into position (and note that a large number  of the 'supposed victims had their pants pulled down to the exact same level) and filmed as they died from a specifically targeted, we believe, chlorine gas attack occurring within a small yet concentrated pre-designated area of the city.

Third, this is why there is no showing of people falling ill or actually in the physical throes of dying in any of the photos or videos we have seen...as in they were either already dead when positioned into place or near death with the, we believe, chlorine gas finishing them off after what had become yet another routine bombing attack that had already occurred. 

Fourth, remember with any gas being especially toxic to babies and children because of their small size and weight, and with babies and children being the prime focus of all the photos and videos, they would be the ones most likely to be filmed because photos of dead children tug at the hearts of civilized men and women. 

Fifth, we believe this entire scenario was possibly orchestrated by one jihdist aligned Dr. Shajul Islam and then carried out through his affiliates within the While Helmets.

 

And why...to get the U.S. to do what the 'supposed' rebels could not do...as in bring down the government of Bashir al-Assad by tricking the world via photos and videos into believing that they were the victims...the victims of the only person who they believed stood in their way of having Syria become a state of the caliphate.

And so that brings us to last Thursday night when President Trump had Tomahawks reigning down on an airbase in Syria based upon the information he was given and the photos he was shown. And know that President Trump indeed sent the right message but simply sent it to the wrong ‘address’...meaning the Tomahawks should have been hitting the 'supposed' rebel enclaves in the area where this deliberately staged chlorine gas attack occurred. 

But no matter as what is done is done and the issue that remains is that we, the Right Side Patriots, believe that our president was given only half of the actual picture, because he was being deliberately misled by someone(s) within our own government who was acting covertly on behalf of those out to kill us all...but that dear reader is for yet another article soon to come.

*UPDATE: for those who have asked about the eye witnesses...those on the ground who claimed they saw bombs being dropped from the planes...they saw nothing as they are rebel sympathizers and condoners (Khan Shiekhun is a rebel enclave) who would say anything to forward the 'so-called' cause. And second, as per the videos from space...satellites would be looking straight down at the top of the planes and would in no way would be able see bombs coming out of the bottom...that is even if there were even any dropped at the time those on the ground claim there were. Also, conventional bombs were dropped the day before helping to set the stage for 'new' rubble so to speak...new damage in which to 'place' the victims.

Investigative Reports...Copyright © 2017 Diane Sori and Craig Andresen / Right Side Patriots

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 RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE! 

Today, Tuesday, April 11th from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss their Special Report: 'Syria...Evidence and Truth' about what really happened at Khan Shiekhun.

Hope you an tune in at: http://bit.ly/2cpXuRd