This important article from Israel Shamir deserves the most careful study by anyone who is trying to make sense out of the suffering of Christians in Syria and elsewhere under ISIS and other fanatics. How clear and concise it is compared with the mouth fog coming from the US Establishment Elite and their media.
The article is a tonic against the noxious brew we have been drinking for far too long and an antidote to some pretty specious propaganda force-fed to English-speaking nations. If we wish to understand the real tragedy of Christian suffering in the Middle East, if we want to be able to detect when we are being lied to, then this piece is vital. From the article:
Russia is worried by successes of Da’esh, as this force fights and displaces Christians in Syria, while Russia considers itself a traditional protector of these people. Russia is also worried that Da’esh may begin operations in Muslim areas of Russia, in the Caucasus and on the Volga River. And the US-led anti-Da’esh coalition didn’t do the trick.
The US and Turkey ostensibly fight Da’esh [ISIS], but they have their own interests, quite different from those of Syrians, Europeans and Russians. Turkey fights the Kurds who are staunch opponents of Da’esh. The US uses the war with Da’esh as a smokescreen to fight the legitimate government of Bashar Assad who was recently re-elected by vast majority of the Syrians. Da’esh does not suffer much from the US raids, as opposed to the Syrian Army. Moreover, the US sent hundreds of trained terrorists to Syria after providing them with a military upgrade in Jordan and elsewhere.
Catholics are the ones being force-fed the most and in the most clever manner. An intellectual Catholic is trotted out and explains to the great unwashed of the Faith why they must cheer on the destruction of entire civilizations. Many of these good Catholics are entirely clueless about the Middle East and as long as some horrendous beheading video can be produced (as if on cue, I might add) they are easily led astray by agenda-driven pundits who use their revulsion in order to build a consensus supporting their plans. The uncritical and unthinking are well served by such dubious individuals as fear-mongering William Kilpatrick (who has graced the pages of Crisis, the Catholic World Report and other venues with his mendacious twisting of the actual facts on the ground in order to serve those who write his checks, notably the Shillman Foundation) and his equally blood-thirsty associates Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch (funded by Trotskyite David Horowitz among others of his persuasion) and the hysterical Pamela Geller. Kilpatrick, who styles himself a Catholic, seems to have few scruples about incinerating innocent people as long as they were turbans or face veils and as such is particularly offensive. It remains a mystery to this writer why a fine publication like Crisis can still allow articles by Kilpatrick to appear on their pages.
In any case, if you have a desire to know who is protecting the Christians in the Middle East and who is not, read Shamir:
http://www.unz.com/ishamir/the-die-is-cast/
5 comments:
No criticism of your excellent articles, but I am more than a little suspicious that Mr Shamir conceals more than he reveals. If Russia really wanted to 'save' Syria they could have done so 2 or 3 years ago at very little military or diplomatic cost to themselves.
Gary.
A good point, Gary. Yes, Mr Shamir can be cagey at at times, but I believe this is because he is very well informed.
As I watch the actions of Mr Putin it seems to me that he is being extremely cautious about what he does and what he commits his country to. He does not seem to want Russia to be the world's policeman, intervening everywhere, causing coups and creating chaos. That role is being nicely filled by another country. He could have sent troops to Kiev, but he didn't; he could have sent them to the Donbass, and he didn't - both right on Russia's doorstep. He does act quickly when required, though. When Crimea had a national vote whether or not to rejoin Russia, and indeed did vote for reunification, Putin quickly ratified it.
He has been remarkably prudent even while being provoked constantly by Washington, who would like nothing better than to lure him into a trap, the type of trap which would make him "fire the first shot". Right now he has his own Cuban Missile Crisis right on his doorstep and is remaining calm, collected....and quietly preparing I am sure for retaliation should some idiot fire on his country. His patience is remarkable, in my opinion.
Of course his refusal to take Washington's bait has infuriated them, hence all the ludicrous propaganda.
Re Russia as the traditional protector of Christians in Syria, etc this is a quote from an older comment of mine at http://irrussianality.wordpress.com
"And this is from an Orthodox site, Ancient Faith Radio, from the lectures of the Orthodox priest, Fr. Thomas Hopko:
'You can say that it really was the Russian armies, in their war with Turkey in 1877-78, that actually brought down the Phanariote rule over Orthodoxy within the Ottoman Empire'.
'..it was the Russian army – again – that went into these areas, especially the Antiochian Patriarchate and dismissed the Greek man who was acting as the Patriarch of Antioch.' [1898]
So I guess we can say that there was some traditional protection.
Our non-friend The Saker seems to have a different opinion than Mr. Shamir:
http://thesaker.is/on-russian-military-interventions-or-lack-thereof/
Also Shamir deigned to comment and implied that The Saker didn't have sources of information and based his analysis on intuition.
I find it very interesting when two people who seem to support the same side contradict themselves.
Correction to the above 'contradict each other'.
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