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| Farcical Syrian Peace Talks: Dead on Arrival |
Stephen
Lendman |
| Talks are orchestrated to fail. More on this below. Mainstream and much
alternative media misreporting continues calling five years of US naked
aggression against a nation threatening no one a “civil war.” There’s nothing “civil” about it. Syria was invaded, Washington using ISIS and other terrorist groups, enlisting fighters from scores of countries. Obama didn’t wage war to quit. He wants regime change, Assad and loyalists around him ousted, an Israeli rival eliminated, Iran isolated, pro-Western puppet governance installed, Syria transformed into a US-controlled vassal state, likely balkanized for easier controlled, its people ruthlessly exploited. Obama bears full responsibility for genocidal mass slaughter, horrific destruction, cities, towns and villages turned to rubble, the severest refugee crisis since WW II from all US post-9/11 imperial wars. How can there be peace in Syria when achieving it defeats Washington’s agenda? Obama wants endless conflict, violence, instability and chaos, the scenario in all US war theaters. How is conflict resolution possible with US/Saudi-backed terrorist groups, cutthroat killers responsible for horrific atrocities, largely representing the opposition? It’s unclear if they intend coming or if showing up will be their tactic to make nonnegotiable, impossible to agree on, demands, not engage in serious talks. It appears Washington, key NATO partners, Israel and Saudi-led Gulf States orchestrated a farcical scenario, fantasy talks doomed to fail, Assad wrongfully blamed. Arab League/UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura represents them. His Friday comments weren’t reassuring, saying: “The (Saudi-backed) High Negotiations Committee (HNC terrorist groups) decided to participate in the Geneva talks after receiving American and United Nations guarantees.” What precisely he didn’t explain or if “participation” means showing up to subvert talks. Security Council Res. 2254 is the agreed on format. It calls for opposing sides to convene in January under UN auspices - initiating a political process toward establishing “inclusive and non-sectarian governance” within six months by Syrians alone. The aim is drafting a new constitution (likely not much different from the overwhelmingly approved current one in February 2012 by national referendum), as well as holding new elections in 18 months. Mistura saying he “has good reasons to believe (the HNC is) actually considering (coming) very seriously” to enable “discussions” to begin Sunday doesn’t indicate he’s sure of anything - let alone what’ll happen going forward under conditions as they unfold. At best, whoever shows up (if anyone) representing the HNC won’t negotiate, only talk to UN officials - insisting Russian and Syrian anti-terrorism targeting ceases, including against towns held hostage by ISIS and other terrorist groups, demands made to subvert, not facilitate discussions. The New York Times disgracefully characterized their demands as “press(ing) their humanitarian case to the public,” calling cold-blooded killers “moderates,” ignoring their barbarism, operating as US proxies, waging terror war, committing high crimes against peace. US/Saudi-backed HNC terrorists are headed by Syrian traitor Riad Hijab, serving as coordinator. He lied, calling talks “a Russian and Iranian” plot, “a disaster for the region.” Washington, Turkey and Saudi Arabia conspired to prohibit Syrian PYD Kurds from participating, their fighters playing a key role against terrorist groups in northern areas. Russia calls restoring peace and stability to Syria impossible without their involvement, Sergey Lavrov saying: “How can we talk about political reforms in Syria, ignoring the leading Kurdish party, quite a mighty power that, by the way, actively opposes terrorism on the ground, including ISIS?” “Not inviting this group (is) a most serious mistake,” a deliberate effort to subvert talks before they begin. De Mistura represents Western and Saudi-led regional interests, not what’s best for long-suffering Syrians. His orchestrated talks are a prescription for failure. Expect them to go nowhere like earlier. Expect US-led endless conflict to continue. Expect Assad to be wrongfully blamed like always. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 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. |
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