Chemical attack was Syria rebel provocation, former hostages say

"Two Europeans who were abducted and held hostage for several months in Syria claim they overheard an exchange between their captors which proves that rebels were behind the recent chemical attack. The conversation which both men overheard suggested that the use of the weapons was a strategic move by the opposition, aimed at getting the West to intervene. Based on what both men have learned, Peccinin told RTL that it would be 'insane and suicidal for the West to support these people.' 'It pains me to say it because I've been a fierce supporter of the Free Syrian Army in its rightful fight for democracy since 2012,' Piccinin added." Continue reading

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‘Footage of chemical attack in Syria is fraud’

"In her interview with RT, Mother Agnes doubts so much footage could have been taken in so little time, and asks where parents of the supposedly dead children are. She promises to send her report to the UN. The nun is indignant with the world media for apparently turning a blind eye to the Latakia massacre by rebel extremists, which left 500 civilians including women and children dead. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has called on the international community to pay attention to revelations made by Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib." Continue reading

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Mother Agnes Mariam: ‘Footage of Syria Chemical Attack is a Fraud’

"Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib, mother superior of St. James Monastery in Qara, Syria, told RT today that she has evidence that the video footage currently being shopped around by Sen. Feinstein and the Obama administration as proof that the Syrian president used gas on his own people is a fraud. Part of the problem with the videos is that they were all taken nearly at the same time as the alleged attack itself. How to gather all the bodies in one place and begin videotaping in some cases before the attack had even taken place?" Continue reading

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Obama: Our ideals and principles, national security at stake in Syria

"Obama repeated his pledge that a prospective U.S. attack on his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad’s forces would not draw American troops into a ground-based conflict. 'The United States military doesn’t do pinpricks,' Obama said. 'Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver.' 'To my friends on the right, I ask you to reconcile your commitment to America’s military might with a failure to act when a cause is so plainly just,' Obama urged. 'To my friends on the left, I ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain and going still on a cold hospital floor.'" Continue reading

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Assad did not order Syria chemical weapons attack, says German press

"President Bashar al-Assad did not personally order last month's chemical weapons attack near Damascus that has triggered calls for US military intervention, and blocked numerous requests from his military commanders to use chemical weapons against regime opponents in recent months, a German newspaper has reported, citing unidentified, high-level national security sources. The intelligence findings were based on phone calls intercepted by a German surveillance ship operated by the BND, the German intelligence service, and deployed off the Syrian coast, Bild am Sonntag said." Continue reading

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Scheuer: Ten questions worth pondering on Obama, Syria, and Interventionism

"Question: Is it justifiable for America to go to war in Syria to get President Obama out of the box he created for himself by talking about a 'red line' in the Syrian civil war, a conflict in which no genuine U.S. national interests are at risk? Answer: No. Obama’s inexperience in foreign affairs and his seeming personal arrogance got him — and America — into this mess, and so little a man is he that he now refuses to accept responsibility for foolishly drawing the red line, instead blaming it on 'the world.' Let him swing. Question: Will America’s credibility as a great military power be denigrated if it does not attack Syria? Answer: No. We have already lost most of that credibility [..]" Continue reading

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Is the U.S. Producing Democracies?

"There is a political science literature whose research indicates that economic development fosters democratic government, as opposed to dictatorships and autocracies. This is not to say that democracies are an end to be sought, because they in turn stifle economic development. But it is to say that the U.S. and NATO policy of tearing down dictatorships does not achieve the oft-advertised aim of producing democracies. This is especially true when the means is a devastating war that destroys physical, cultural, social and human capital. Recent evidence for this includes countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya." Continue reading

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Chinese versus US Arms Transfers to Autocrats and Violators of Human Rights

"An academic article by Paul Midford and Indra de Soysa examines which government supports more autocratic regimes and sends arms into civil wars, China or the U.S. They find that the U.S. does." Continue reading

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Syrian President Bashar al Assad – Charlie Rose Interview 9/9/2013

"PBS' Charlie Rose interviews Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, September 9, at 9 p.m. in a special presentation of CHARLIE ROSE. In this global television exclusive, Assad gives his only television interview since President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve the use of force against the Syrian regime for alleged use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people." Continue reading

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