We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, May 20, 2016

Al Qaeda Goes to Syria: How to Build an Emirate Overnight

Click here to access article by Ulson Gunnar from New Eastern Outlook.

It seems to me that I have posted several hundred articles that have provided solid evidence that the US Empire and its sordid (pun) assorted allies have been organizing and arming various terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq since 2012. The whole project to destabilize the Syrian government and replace it with a regime that follows the dictates of the Empire has been built on the grossest lies, most of which I, and many others, have exposed in web posts.
Considering the immense resources admitted by the United States, the European Union, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledged to rebel groups in Syria, an alarming question arises when considering how much better equipped and funded Al Nusra appears to be. Where precisely are they getting more funding to be so much better equipped than rebel groups the US and its allies are pouring billions of dollars into? How is Al Nusra able to acquire more resources than the combined efforts of America, Europe and the Persian Gulf?

The answer is just as alarming. It is not a coincidence that the US has spent billions on training programs for rebel groups that do not exist and are not currently fighting on the Syrian battlefield. The money was truly spent, but not on "rebels." Instead, the money, through Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, has gone straight into Al Nusra's war chests, armories and administrative budgets. The proof stares the world in the face each day with headlines of Al Nusra's spanning exploits amid Syria's grinding war.
After WWII concluded, Allied critics wrote reams of articles and books about how the Germans must have known about all the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. The implication was a condemnation of the German people because they allowed these crimes to happen. Well, if the US and British critics are to be consistent, they must also condemn their own people for the crimes committed by their leaders in the Middle East since 2003. Doesn't it logically follow with our condemnation that we, too, deserve what the Germans experienced: the destruction of our nation? Well, difficult as it is, I think we should think about it.