Outrage at Syria's Assad Human Rights Abuses Far Too Late

 (Middle East Forum )The liberation of Syria’s notorious Sednaya jail close to Damascus a week ago has resulted in a wave of belated outrage in much western media toward the former dictator and his methods. For Syria watchers, there is something rather surreal about this late discovery of the methods of Assad’s regime.

Some of the precise numbers remain disputed. There is, as yet, no independent verification of the statement by Mouaz Mustafa, head of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, that the mass grave at al-Qutayfah contains the remains of at least 100,000 people. The task of piecing together the precise dimensions of the Assad regime’s crimes against the Syrian people, and crucially the names and whereabouts of the victims, is only now beginning. And yet, the fact that this regime was a monstrous one, engaged in the mass slaughter of Syrian civilians, was known to both policymakers and publics in the West.

The task of piecing together the precise dimensions of the Assad regime’s crimes against the Syrian people, and crucially the names and whereabouts of the victims, is only now beginning.

The facts were in plain sight. A huge body of research and eyewitness testimony has long been available. But there was no widespread public revulsion against Assad in the West. The dictator was not a welcome guest in western capitals at the time of his toppling, but from 2020 until his fall there was little public concern about his rule over Syria. BBC journalist John Simpson said that Assad was ‘weak, rather than wicked’. The widespread criticism of Simpson may best be attributed to a sort of collective amnesia.

 

Israel Keeps Facilitating Aid into Gaza

  An inside look into the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing

with COL Abdullah, a commander at @cogatonline.

IDF hits Houthi targets in Yemen after missile fired at central Israel

(Dec. 18, 2024 /from JNS Report)

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched over 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in support of Hamas since the Gaza-based terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in the northwestern Negev. The vast majority were intercepted outside of Israeli territory by Israel or the U.S.

The Israeli Air Force acted and struck Houthi targets in Yemen overnight Wednesday, after intercepting a missile over central Israel fired by the Iranian-backed terror group.

An elementary school in the Ramat Efal neighborhood of Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv, suffered severe damage when shrapnel hit it following the interception. According to the city’s mayor, the impact caused a partial collapse of the school’s central building, prompting the cancellation of classes for the day. No injuries were reported.

According to the IDF, the IAF strikes were carried out in two waves by 14 fighter jets, refuelers, and spy planes.

The jets were already en route to Yemen when the Houthis launched the ballistic missile at around 2:35 a.m. The first wave of strikes occurred at 3:15 a.m., targeting the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea as well as the Hodeidah and Salif ports. Eight tugboats, used for guiding ships into the ports, were also destroyed.

At 4:30 a.m., the second wave targeted the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, hitting two power stations, the Haziz and D’Habban, according to reports in Yemen.

Houthi-affiliated media reported casualties.

“Over the past year, the Houthi terrorist regime has been operating with the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias, in order to attack the State of Israel and Israeli civilians,” the IDF stated following the strikes.

“The conducted strikes degrade the Houthi terrorist regime, preventing it from exploiting the targets for military and terrorist purposes, including the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the region,” the statement continued. “The IDF is determined to continue operating against all threats posed to the citizens of the State of Israel, wherever necessary.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Houthi leaders after the overnight operation that “the long arm of Israel will reach you. Whoever raises a hand [against us] will have it severed. Whoever harms [us], will be harmed many times over.”

A Must Watch from the German Bundestag

 

This is a 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 and a 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚. 

“First the synagogues will burn and then the churches. They are burning already” 

“First the Kippah wearers will be beaten, then anyone who will not submit” 

An incredible speech by Beatrix Storch - member of the German Bundestag. from a few weeks ago now

International Court of Justice

 From Yoseph Haddad - The Hague Tribunal ran enough false campaigns and possesses enough distorted interests to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

On the other hand, years of testimony about the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Assad regime and all the other evidence that’s come to light the past two weeks in Syria were apparently not enough for them to issue an arrest warrant for Assad.

If you look up the word "hypocrisy" in the dictionary, you‘ll find a large picture of the Hague Tribunal!

Wealth Galore but the General Population in Poverty

 (Thanks to Jeanine Hirshhorn)

Former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad may have lost his despot gig, but he has a very lavish "government pension" from years of treating the Syrian national treasury as his personal bank account.  That's why there is so much turmoil, factions fighting one another for control, not only in this region but all over Africa and Asia.  For a chance at the ultimate jackpot, the national treasury lavishly stuffed with foreign aid cash from international donors - in Syria's case, Russia and Iran, or oil and drug wealth. 

Ismail Haniyeh, former head thug of Hamas, was reported to have a net worth of $4 billion, the product of years of embezzling and extorting all that foreign aid from gullible international donors such as the US and the EU.  As well as  the 20% tax Hamas charged on all items entering through tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh's eldest son was arrested by Egyptian authorities at the Rafiah Border Crossing with several million dollars, which he intended to take into Gaza.  Yahye Sinwar, who replaced Haniiyeh as Hamas head thug, acquired his reported billion dollar wealth in a similar manner. While the rest of Gazans live on UN/UNRWA and NGO handouts.

Abu Mazen of the PA, King Abdullah of Jordan, the head thugs of Hezbullah in Lebanon, Sisi in Egypt all live lavish lifestyles thanks to their autocratic rule giving them sole access to the state treasury and donor billions. King Abdullah receives a yearly US aid stipend of $1.45 BILLION. While 25% of Jordanians live below the poverty line.  Whelp, his Majesty does need the money to keep his 7 palaces in tip-top condition, his wife Queen Rania in designer gear and to pay top dollar to keep his small army of Beduin fighters on side so that he doesn't end up like al-Assad. 

And Syria?  Different day, same despot.  The current winner in the power/control/wealth stakes will receive representatives of those countries looking to keep him on side, while he loots Syria's national treasury for what he can take.  Democracy? Freedom?  Unknown concepts used by despots to open international donor wallets a bit wider.   

Hezbullah continued firing missiles and mortars into northern Israel for 9 days after the "ceasefire" went into effect. Their bombardment of Israel's northern civilian population finally stopped 6 days ago.  But with no clear government directives/policies, Israel's displaced population are in no rush to return to what's left their homes in the north.  

IDF heroes continue to fall in Gaza, in Lebanon and the West Bank fighting to protect Am Yisrael in this 75th year of its War of Liberation. 

And 100 hostages are still scattered around Gaza (and beyond?), captives of various terror thugs using human lives as bargaining tools.  

When will the world start to recognise the emperor has no clothes?

 

The Next Domino to Fall?

(With thanks to Ben Herskowitz)