["Of course, the final word on this issue is perhaps still to be spelt out. We'll have to wait a bit further for that."
So, here is yet another response. Sukla] How a 24hr truce to pick up bodies became a non-aggression pact between ISIS & Syrian rebels http://claysbeach.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/how-24hr-truce-to-pick-up-bodies-became.html Today Democracy for America sent this out in an email: Recent reports have claimed some of the so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels that would receive money and weapons under this plan have agreed to a "non-aggression pact" with ISIS. It's possible that, despite the president's best intentions, weapons sent to Syrian rebels could find their way into the hands of ISIS -- and be used to target Americans. By most reliable accounts, one group, Sons of Golan, associated with the Free Syrian Army, that had been waging a heroic and hard fought campaign to rid an area near Damascus of ISIS agreed to a 24 hour truce so that both sides could remove their dead from the battlefield and bury them, after which the battle between the two forces resumed. This led to widespread reports in the western anti-war movement that the Free Syrian Army generally had concluded, in words design to invoke memories of the opportunistic agreement made between Hitler and Stalin, a "non-aggression pact" with the extreme jihadist group ISIS in Syria. Based on a single unverified source, this story is being spread like wildfire by groups that hitherto have shown little concern for the 200,000 Syrians that have died in the last three years as a result of dictator Bashar al-Assad's vicious attempts to cling to power. For example VoteVets included this language in petition opposing the Syrian people's struggle against the Assad regime: VoteVets cannot support sending arms to Syrian rebels that many reports continue to suggest are still fighting alongside some of the same groups we fought against in Iraq, and are even reportedly entering into truces with ISIS. And Just Foreign Policy said in their Congress call-in campaign: Congress is expected to vote soon on a controversial proposal to arm and train Syrian rebels. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed opposition. With recent reports that some so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels this proposal seeks to arm have signed non-aggression pacts with ISIS, as in the past, now is not the time to rush into a policy whose consequences remain so unknown. The Putin mouthpiece RT ran with this headline: ISIS and moderate Syrian rebels strike truce... The militants of Islamic State have reportedly struck a deal with moderate Syrian rebels not to fight each other and focus on toppling the government. Some reports say the deal was brokered by the Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda branch in Syria. While the openly right-wing WND put it this way: 'Moderate' Syrian rebels sign truce with ISIS While the Obama administration works to coordinate aid to the Syrian rebels, moderate and Islamic Syrian rebels reportedly just signed a first-of-its-kind non-aggression pact with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, according to a monitoring group. None of these reports noted that the FSA and other forces allied to defeat the Assad regime have been the only groups fighting ISIS in Syria for the past year. They didn't mention that at all. All of these stories have one source, a 12 September Agence France-Presse report: Syria rebels, IS in 'non-aggression' pact near Damascus Syrian rebels and jihadists from the Islamic State have agreed a non-aggression pact for the first time in a suburb of the capital Damascus, a monitoring group said on Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the ceasefire deal was agreed between IS and moderate and Islamist rebels in Hajar al-Aswad, south of the capital. Under the deal, "the two parties will respect a truce until a final solution is found and they promise not to attack each other because they consider the principal enemy to be the Nussayri regime." The Daily Beast got the real story, and reported that these false reports: are easily disproved by evidence that ISIS and the moderate rebels are still fighting each other in that region, according to rebel commanders on the ground and activists supporting the Syrian opposition. "The only report we have received on anything resembling a ceasefire was that ISIS and Sons of Golan, an FSA brigade outside Damascus, halted fighting for 24 hours to collect bodies before hostilities resumed. However, this report also confirms that there is substantial fighting between the two groups that is leading to fatalities," said Mohammed Alaa Ghanem, director of government relations for the Syrian American Council, a Washington NGO that works with the Syrian opposition and the FSA. "It is fantastical to think that rebels outside Damascus would expend lives and resources to rout ISIS from the Damascus suburbs; besiege the group for over a month; wait until two days after Obama announces he will aid the rebels to fights ISIS; and then sign a deal with ISIS (the first ever) while the group was besieged in its last holdout." The Syrian American Council collected public statements from several of the rebel commanders on the ground near Hajar al-Aswad, the town where the supposed ceasefire was reported to take place. All of the rebel leaders on the ground issued statements to deny the report, according to the group. "The threat of ISIS is omnipresent across Northern Idlib and is a threat to the Syrian people, the region, and the international community at large," said Jamal Maarouf, the head of the FSA-linked Syrian Revolutionaries' Front, in a statement. "SRF remains committed to combating the terrorist threat of ISIS wherever it may be found in order to liberate the Syrian people from all threats, whether foreign or domestic." It's no secret that Putin's Russia has long supported Assad's bloody campaign to stay in power. They have supported it with bombs and bullets so it should surprise no one that RT also supports it by spreading the vilest lies against his opposition. Likewise extreme right-wing and fascist forces from around the globe have supported it in a similar manner, so we know where WND is coming from. But why are these so-called "progressive" and "anti-imperialist" groups so ready to spread the same pro-Assad propaganda against the forces fighting for democracy in Syria without the slightest attempts at fact checking? On 16/09/2014, Sukla Sen <[email protected]> wrote: > [It'd perhaps be not rather out of place to draw pointed attention to > an excerpt from our forwarding comments on the same issue, posted > yesterday, highlighting the crucial discrepancies between two reports > on the subject issue: > > "So the impression conveyed by the first report that ***all*** the > "moderate" rebels have signed a truce with the ISIS is conclusively > negated by the second report. > "***Even if we opt to disregard any doubt about the veracity of the > report about the truce*** [emphasis added now], this changes the scene > quite substantively. There are many more "moderate" groups who are no > party to the truce." > > The following report strongly suggests that some the state parties > involved are busy propagating false and fabricated stories through > their ever and over obliging PR networks. > Just recall that the report circulated by the genocidal Assad's Indian > PR network was captioned: 'Syrian "Moderate" Rebels and Islamic State > Jihadists "Make Peace". What Will Obama do Now?' > But that perhaps is only to be expected. > > Of course, the final word on this issue is perhaps still to be spelt out. > We'll have to wait a bit further for that.] > > Syrian Opposition Blasts Reports It Signed a Truce With ISIS > > http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/16/syrian-opposition-blasts-reports-it-signed-a-truce-with-isis.html > > Opponents of arming the moderate rebels in Syria are homing in on a > report that the Free Syrian Army agreed to a truce with the Islamic > State. Opposition leaders say that's just false. > > Critics of President Obama's latest pledge to arm the moderate Syrian > rebels are trumpeting a report of a supposed deal between the opposition > forces and ISIS, but Syrian opposition leaders are fighting back with > what they say is overwhelming evidence that no truce exists. > > The September 12 Agence France-Presse report stating that that moderate > and Islamic rebel brigades in the southern Damascus suburbs had signed a > "non-aggression" pact to focus efforts on fighting the Assad regime are > not only false but are easily disproved by evidence that ISIS and the > moderate rebels are still fighting each other in that region, according > to rebel commanders on the ground and activists supporting the Syrian > opposition. > > "The only report we have received on anything resembling a ceasefire was > that ISIS and Sons of Golan, an FSA brigade outside Damascus, halted > fighting for 24 hours to collect bodies before hostilities resumed. > However, this report also confirms that there is substantial fighting > between the two groups that is leading to fatalities," said Mohammed > Alaa Ghanem, director of government relations for the Syrian American > Council, a Washington NGO that works with the Syrian opposition and the > FSA. "It is fantastical to think that rebels outside Damascus would > expend lives and resources to rout ISIS from the Damascus suburbs; > besiege the group for over a month; wait until two days after Obama > announces he will aid the rebels to fights ISIS; and then sign a deal > with ISIS (the first ever) while the group was besieged in its last > holdout." > > The Syrian American Council collected public statements from several of > the rebel commanders on the ground near Hajar al-Aswad, the town where > the supposed ceasefire was reported to take place. All of the rebel > leaders on the ground issued statements to deny the report, according to > the group. > > ***"The threat of ISIS is omnipresent across Northern Idlib and is a threat > to the Syrian people, the region, and the international community at > large," said Jamal Maarouf, the head of the FSA-linked Syrian > Revolutionaries' Front, in a statement. "SRF remains committed to > combating the terrorist threat of ISIS wherever it may be found in order > to liberate the Syrian people from all threats, whether foreign or > domestic."*** (Emphasis added.) > > One YouTube video shows Maarouf talking to his troops and repeating his > declaration of war against ISIS. The Syrian American Council said the > video was shot three days before the purported truce with the terror > group. Other videos sent by the Syrian Revolutionaries' Front to the > Syrian American Council purport to show Syrian Revolutionaries' Front > brigades fighting against ISIS in Hajar al-Aswad in July. > > The joint regional command center for opposition groups in that area is > led by Jaish al-Islam, known in English as the Islamic Front, a > coalition of fighting rebel groups that are not supported by the United > States but often fight alongside the FSA against ISIS and the Assad > regime. > > "We also call on our fellow fighters not to fall for the policies of > tricksters and traitors like [ISIS], because stopping the fight against > them--even for a few hours--provides them a chance to lick their wounds." > > Islamic Front spokesman Islam Alloush released a statement Monday saying > categorically that the Islamic Front did not and will not sign on to any > truce or non-aggression pact with ISIS. > > "This truce that [ISIS] is attempting to establish can serve only to > temporarily halt the fight, allowing them to recover and return to the > treacherous and treasonous behavior we have grown accustomed to," he > said. "We also call on our fellow fighters not to fall for the policies > of tricksters and traitors like [ISIS], because stopping the fight > against them--even for a few hours--provides them a chance to lick their > wounds." > > The denials from Syrian opposition leaders are not new; there were > attempts to dispute the initial ceasefire report over the weekend. But > lawmakers continued to regurgitate the truce reports Monday, especially > those who opposing arming any Syrian rebels, raising the level of > concern both inside the administration and on Capitol Hill. > > "I would say one insightful piece of news from the last week is, some of > the moderate rebels, so-called moderate rebels have now signed a > cease-fire with ISIS," Sen. Rand Paul said on CBS Monday morning. "So > really their enemy is really Assad. They don't really care what ISIS > does." > > Paul has long opposed arming any Syrian opposition groups and has > conflated the moderate opposition groups with ISIS and al Qaeda for over > a year. > > Oubai Shahbandar, communications adviser for the Syrian National > Coalition, told The Daily Beast that the Kentucky senator simply doesn't > have his facts straight and is muddying the debate over working with the > opposition by misleading the American public. > > The Free Syrian Army has been fighting ISIS since January and continues > to do so at great cost and risk. Thousands of Syrian freedom fighters > have died fighting this terrorist threat," he said. "Sen. Paul says it's > a 'mistake' to arm vetted Syrian rebels, but the real mistake is to idly > stand by as these moderates hold the line against international > terrorist forces, while Assad drops thousand-pound barrel bombs on > bakeries, apartment buildings, and schools." > > Paul did get one thing right: The moderate rebels do see Assad as their > main target and ISIS as an obstacle toward the real goal of toppling the > regime. Former U.S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said September 12 > that the rebels should be armed but that they will definitely use those > arms to fight Assad first and foremost. > > "To say they are not there, that there isn't much to work with, that's > just completely wrong. It's bad analysis," Ford told the Center for > American Progress. "That said, their No. 1 priority is not the Islamic > State...Their priority is not the Islamic State, it is the Bashar al-Assad > regime. We need to know that going in. > > > > > -- > Peace Is Doable > -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
