"Investigation: White Helmets Committing Acts Of Terror Across Syria,” 9/6/2017...”The supposedly Syrian NGO White Helmets were established in Turkey, not in Syria. They are largely trained in Turkey and Jordan, not inside Syria. They were established in March 2013 by a British ex-military officer with $300,000 in seed funding from Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.,” Mint Press News...“The State Department states…that for the UN almost all verified chemical attacks were committed by the Syrian government. However, that US assertion is false since the State Department refers to the [“former“] Joint Investigative Mechanism [JIM] created by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN, Mechanism whose reports were rejected by the Council Security Council because they were the result of a dubious methodology, which led to the dissolution of that Mechanism by the Security Council itself.”….Instead of ending illegal US occupation of Syria, perhaps saving Americans from being bombed in well deserved retaliation, pathetic Trump threatens Syria and Russia based on an accusation initially made by recognized terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Cham in Idlib. More on Hayat Tahrir al-Cham. “In fact, the US communiqué endorses an accusation initially made by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Cham, which is the current denomination of al-Qaeda in the Syrian region of Idlib.”….Photo below of US Islamic terrorist partner in Syria, "Strongman" commander of Tahrir al-Cham:
5/23/19, “Washington echoes allegations of al-Qaeda against Syria,” Voltaire Network “The US State Department again accuses the government of the Syrian Arab Republic – calling it ” the Assad regime “ – of repressing its people with chemical weapons.
In a statement, the State Department now affirms that [allegedly] a chemical attack was registered on May 19, 2019 in the Syrian [Al Qaeda controlled] region of Idlib [ 1 ].
In fact, the US communiqué endorses an accusation initially made by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Cham, which is the current denomination of al-Qaeda in the Syrian region of Idlib (see photo).”…[US State Dept. 5/21/19 release cites “former” UN entity JIM: “The former Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-UN Joint Investigation Mechanism [JIM] repeatedly verified and reported the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons.”…5/21/19, “Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons by the Assad Regime,“ US State Dept., via Voltairenet.org]
(continuing): “The very name of Hayat Tahrir al-Cham – which means “Liberation Organization of the Levant” – indicates that its objective is not only to overthrow the Syrian Arab Republic but to put an end to the governments of all the countries of the Levant, which covers the region of Anatolia (in Turkey), Israel, Jordan and Mesopotamia (in Iraq), in addition to Syria. This jihadist group is the direct heir of the old “Front al-Nusra” (“Front for the Victory of the People of the Levant”) that had sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda.
[Image: 8/14/2018, US partner in Syria designated as terrorist group by US, Canada, Turkey and others: “Graduation of new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) members at a camp in the countryside of the northern Idlib province on August 14, 2018. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)] In the same statement, the State Department responds to the denials from Russia and Syria, which point out that the chemical attacks in Syria were never the work of the Syrian government but of the jihadists, who perpetrated them with the help of the supposedly known humanitarian group as ” White Helmets ” or “White Helmets”. According to the Department of State, these denials from Russia and Syria are only misinformation.”…
"This March [2017], a leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the powerful newly rebranded al-Qaeda-led rebel coalition in Syria, hailed the White Helmets in a special video message as the “hidden soldiers of the revolution.”…”Abu Jaber praises humanitarian workers, such as the White Helmets.” 3/19/17]
(continuing): “The State Department states in its statement that for the UN almost all verified chemical attacks were committed by the Syrian government.
However, that US assertion is false since the State Department refers to the [“former”] Joint Investigative Mechanism [JIM] created by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN, Mechanism whose reports were rejected by the Security Council because they were the result of a dubious methodology, which led to the dissolution of that Mechanism by the Security Council itself.”
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Added: The rogue US headed by Trump is thrilled to lavishly fund jihadist group White Helmets with millions of US tax dollars, even heaps praise on the psychopaths at Brussels Conference. …“Investigation: White Helmets Committing Acts Of Terror Across Syria,” 9/6/2017…"The supposedly Syrian NGO White Helmets were established in Turkey, not in Syria. They are largely trained in Turkey and Jordan, not inside Syria. They were established in March 2013 by a British ex-military officer with $300,000 in seed funding from Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.,” Mint Press News, Vanessa Beeley…The US is a failed state which is defined as one that can’t or won’t defend its borders.
3/19/2019: “US to provide $5 million to White Helmets to continue services: State Dept.,” Almasdar News
“The U.S. administration, at the direction of President Donald Trump, will be providing an addition $5 million to the White Helmets in Syria, the State Department announced on Friday.
“At the direction of the President, subject to congressional approval, the United States intends to provide $5 million for the continuation of the [supposedly] vital, life-saving operations of the White Helmets in Syria and in support of the UN’s International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) [OPCW is a separate entity] which is charged with assisting the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious [staged] crimes under International Law [allegedly] committed in Syria since March 2011.”
Today, at the third Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, [Who knew US taxpayers funded regular “Brussels Conferences” about US regime change in Syria? Do they have “Brussels Conferences” about why Americans voted for regime change in 2016 but didn’t get it?] Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Ambassador James Jeffrey publicly announced these contributions. In addition to those made last year, these contributions to the White Helmets and IIIM demonstrate the United States’ commitment [to continue to illegally occupy Syria as if it were US property while the US itself has a wide open southern border] and ongoing support for [so-called] justice and accountability in Syria. [“Accountability” in Syria? Not possible if the US is involved.]
The United States Government strongly supports the work of the White Helmets. They have saved more than 114,000 lives since the conflict began, including [alleged] victims of Assad’s [non-existent] vicious chemical weapons attacks. With over 2,800 volunteers [financed by $23 million from US taxpayers alone as of April 2016], they continue to provide search and rescue, emergency response, and early recovery operations helping civilians in areas outside of the control of the [the elected government of Syria] regime.
These heroic first responders have the most dangerous job in the world. [“The most dangerous job in the world?” This from the Trump admin. about a jihadist group. US rogue state is fine with global brutality]. In addition to operating in an active war zone and in dire humanitarian circumstances, the [elected government of] Syrian regime and Russia deliberately target White Helmets’ centers and volunteers;”…
[Ed. note: “Deliberately target”? The US is off the rails. The areas “targeted” by the Syrian government or its ally are those held by Islamic terrorists. White Helmets choose to locate themselves in jihadist invaded or controlled areas: “The areas, served by the White Helmets and controlled by Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and its rebel allies, have few civilians living in them….One of the reasons why the “White Helmets” have been so successful in inserting their propaganda into Western media is that most of the rebel zones of Syria, especially east Aleppo, have been off limits to Western journalists and other outside observers for years. Two of the last Western reporters to venture into rebel territory, James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, were subsequently beheaded by the Islamic State. So, as the Syrian government and its allies finally try to expel Al Qaeda terrorists and their cohorts from east Aleppo, the White Helmets have become a major source for the Western news media which treats these “relief workers” as credible providers of on-the-ground information. Thus, the positive image of the White Helmets and the group’s skillful use of social media deflect attention from the sectarian, violent and unpopular nature of Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front (recently renamed the Syria Conquest Front) and other armed opposition groups while hyping accusations that Syrian and Russian attacks are primarily hitting civilians. In other words, the White Helmets have gone from being talked about to being the ones doing the talking. News stories increasingly use White Helmet witnesses as their sources, often in ways that promote the self-serving myth of White Helmet heroism. One day, CNN announced that a White Helmet aid center had been hit [by a “barrel bomb”]. Another day, TIME magazine claimed that White Helmet workers were“being hunted”.” 7/22/2018].
(continuing): “since 2013 more than 250 [so-called] White Helmets have [allegedly] been killed—many in so called “double-tap strikes”—and 60 White Helmets’ centers [in jihadist areas] have [allegedly] been damaged or destroyed by Russian and [elected government of Syria] regime airstrikes and the [sovereign government of Syria] regime. Despite these dangers, the White Helmets provide these services based on strict humanitarian principles and have become a symbol in Syria and world-wide for these courageous values,” the statement read.”
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Added: More on terror group in control of Idlib:
“Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism, itct.org.uk
Apparently thinking he was President of Syria, Trump “warns” elected Syria government not to try to reclaim Syrian territory in Idlib now being occupied by Islamic terror groups, in particular Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.…9/4/2018
“Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Arabic: هيئة تحرير الشام) “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant” or “Levant Liberation Committee“), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham and abbreviated HTS, also known as al-Qaeda in Syria, is an active Salafist jihadist militant group involved in the Syrian Civil War. The group was formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra Front), the Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq, and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. After
the announcement, additional groups and individuals joined. The merged
group is currently led by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and former Ahrar al-Sham
leaders, although the High Command consists of leaders from other
groups. Many groups and individuals defected from Ahrar al-Sham, representing their more conservative and Salafist elements.Currently, a number of analysts and media outlets still continue to refer to this group by its previous names, al-Nusra Front, or Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. The Ansar al-Din Front and Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement have since split off from Tahrir al-Sham.
Despite the merger, Tahrir al-Sham [HTS] has been accused of working as al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch on a covert level, and that many of the group’s senior figures, particularly Abu Jaber, held similarly extreme views. However, Tahrir al-Sham has officially denied being part of al-Qaeda [which has a transnational focus] and said in a statement that the group is “an independent entity and not an extension of previous organizations or factions”. Additionally, some factions such as Nour al-Din al-Zenki, which was part of the merger, were once supported by the US….
[Image: 8/14/2018, Valued US partner, designated as terrorist group by US, Canada, Turkey and others: “Graduation of new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) members at a camp in the countryside of the northern Idlib province on August 14, 2018. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)] Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham traces its beginnings to the outset of the Syrian civil war and has remained a dangerous opposition force throughout the duration of the conflict. In May 2018, the group was added to the State Department’s existing designation of its predecessor, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Today, HTS can be thought of as a relatively localized Syrian terrorist organization, which retains a Salafi-jihadist ideology despite its public split from al-Qaeda in 2017.
Jabhat al-Nusra, HTS’s precursor organization, was formed in Syria in 2011 as al-Qaeda’s affiliate within the opposition to the Assad regime. Nusra’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, [photo above] quickly established a capable organization, which secured its own donors in the Persian Gulf, collected revenue from taxation and asset seizures in the territories under its control, became adept at conducting insurgent attacks, and attracted a growing number of fighters. Jabhat al-Nusra maintained its ties to al-Qaeda even after al-Qaeda’s highly publicized split with the Islamic State, whose leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had been instrumental in Jabhat al-Nusra’s initial establishment. In late July 2016, however, al-Jolani announced the dissolution of Jabhat al-Nusra and the establishment of a new group, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The group no longer had “external ties” with al-Qaeda, which many analysts suggested was an indication that while al-Jolani had formally severed its public relationship with al-Qaeda, the group would, in theory, continue to have a secret relationship with al-Qaeda and receive strategic and operational guidance. However, al-Jolani’s announcement was undertaken without consulting Ayman al-Zawahiri, the emir of al-Qaeda, and created significant tension within the organization.
HTS remains under the leadership of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, but the group’s goals have shifted somewhat since announcing its independence from al-Qaeda. Though al-Jolani’s public statements do occasionally suggest broader aims (e.g., “With this spirit… we will not only reach Damascus, but, Allah permitting, Jerusalem will be awaiting our arrival”), the far-reaching “global caliphate” rhetoric favored by al-Qaeda is largely absent in HTS publications today. Instead, the group is locally focused, with its primary objective being the establishment of Islamic rule in Syria via “toppling the criminal [elected Assad] regime and expelling the Iranian militias.”
To this end, al-Jolani has promoted a multi-pronged strategy. The first stage, which HTS claimed to have completed in August 2018, was the removal of “Iranian militias and the militants from the towns of Fu’a and Kafriya, who were a threat to the entire region and an incentive for sectarian mobilization, and which the regime exploits to achieve its goals.” The second stage, which remains ongoing as of October 2018, is a campaign against the Islamic State and its allies in Syria, who al-Jolani has decried as “destabilizing.” The third stage is one of entrenchment, or “fortifying and defending” northern Syria in order to prevent the loss of further territory. Complementing this military strategy is a political one, in which HTS pursues unity amongst jihadist groups in Syria—referring to this unity as “one solid rank”—while maintaining a policy of “no negotiations” or reconciliation with the Assad regime.
Most of the international community considers Tahrir al-Sham to be a terrorist organisation. The US embassy in Syria confirmed on May 2017 that HTS had been designated a terrorist organization in March 2017. The United States Ambassador to Syria stated that “HTS is a merger and any group that merges into it becomes part of al-Qaeda’s Syrian network.” and “the core of HTS is Nusra, a designated terrorist organization. This designation applies regardless of what name it uses or what groups merge into it.”
Canada designated Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization on 23 May 2018.
In August 2018, Turkey designated Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization.
Moving forward, HTS’s future is uncertain. Turkey has pressured the group to dissolve and join a larger Turkish-backed opposition coalition, though HTS leaders have remarked that “matters relating to the organizational structure of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham are non-negotiable.” The group also faces an assault by the [elected government of] Syrian regime and its allies, including Russia, in Idlib. Finally, HTS has numerous competitors among the Syrian opposition, including from the National Liberation Front, which includes groups like Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Ahrar, and Suqour al-Sham.”
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