Ed Snowden Leaves Hong Kong, Seeks Asylum In Ecuador, As US Officials Flip Out

from the many-fists-were-shaken-impotently-that-day... dept

Edward Snowden had a few options available to him in Hong Kong despite facing extradition for espionage and theft charges. Beyond the appeals process that would have held off the inevitable for several years, there were certain built-in safety nets (the "political offense exception" built into the US-Hong Kong extradition treaty and protections against "inhumane treatment" via the UN) ihat could have seen him avoid extradition altogether.

Those no longer matter as Snowden is on his way to Ecuador, via Moscow and Cuba, accompanied by a member of Wikileaks' legal team. The US government was informed about Snowden's departure roughly five hours after he boarded an Aeroflot plane headed to Moscow. According to the statement released by Hong Kong officials, they had no choice but to let Snowden go.

Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel, and Hong Kong has informed the US Government of his departure...

Since the documents provided by the US Government did not fully comply with legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the Hong Kong Government requested additional information so that the Department of Justice could consider whether the US Government's request met relevant legal conditions.

As the Hong Kong Government did not yet have sufficient information to process the request, there was no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.
It's a rarely seen event, but someone has just told the US government, "Your papers are not in order." That's a hell of a thing to wake up to, especially if you're one of the members of the "harmed" parties. (Supposedly Snowden's actions would harm all Americans from the way the anti-whistleblower contingent makes it sound, but really it's just the NSA and the FBI that have been caught with their particulars exposed.)

Hong Kong officials added one more paragraph to its statement, one which explains why Snowden was given a five-hour head start.
At the same time, it has formally written to the US Government requesting clarification on reports about the hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies. It will follow up on the matter, to protect the legal rights of people of Hong Kong.
In other words, Hong Kong finds the US government's actions more problematic than Snowden's actions, so have fun catching your boy!

Snowden's escape will be an embarrassment to those who publicly stated their confidence that Hong Kong would comply with the orders.
The White House appears to have been caught flat-footed by the latest manoeuvres. On Saturday, President Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, told CBS news he expected Hong Kong to arrest Snowden because it "has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case".
In fact, the US government is looking particularly hapless, what with its stern demands to Hong Kong before Snowden left, followed by similarly pathetic demands to Russia to not let Snowden hop a flight onto his next destination.

So, Snowden is on his way to Ecuador, seeking asylum in the same country that opened up its doors, heart and embassy Hide-a-bed to Julian Assange. His itinerary was hardly direct, but it made stops in nations unlikely to greet him at the airport with handcuffs and a seat on the next flight to the United States. Traveling to Russia and Cuba made it much less likely that someone would "officially" recognize the fact that the US government had revoked Snowden's passport prior to his boarding the flight to Russia. (Of all Snowden's worries, traveling with a revoked passport has to be so far down the list as to be imperceptible.)

He's left behind a wealth of information, all of which the US government would rather have kept secret. A trail of angry politicians and security officials also follow close behind, decrying his every move, including CISPA sponsor Mike Rogers.
"When you look at it, every one of these nations is hostile to the United States," Rogers said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"If he could go to North Korea and Iran, he could round out his 'government oppression tour.' So when you think about what he says he wants and what his actions are, it defies logic."
I doubt Snowden sympathizes with oppressive governments, but he does know who's more likely to ignore US pleas, threats or attempted intervention. Considering what's happened to other whistleblowers, the US government looks a bit oppressive itself, at least from Snowden's viewpoint. Still, Rogers thinks Snowden should just come home and get what's coming to him.
"If he really believed he did something good, he should get on a plane, come back, and face the consequences of his actions," Rogers said.
His statement makes no sense. Rogers has already declared Snowden guilty as charged and seems to think Snowden should martyr himself for his cause via the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Whistleblower Retribution Plan that George Bush and (especially) Barack Obama are so fond of. Whistleblowers like Snowden should "face the consequences" while the government's excesses and overreach should be allowed to continue on unpunished in perpetuity.

There is a potential downside to Snowden's actions. By seeking asylum in a country with a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the US, there's always the possibility that he'll be used as a pawn when politically convenient. Ecuador has already proven it has a rather flexible definition of "asylum," one which allows it to suddenly revoke "refugee" status if certain governments ask nicely. Given the right circumstances, his hosts could decide to offer his freedom in exchange for something it really wants, or to avoid something it doesn't.

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Filed Under: cuba, ecuador, ed snowden, edward snowden, extradition, hong kong, mike rogers, moscow, russia


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  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:19am

    Now he's an International play thing

    It's sad, but now the best he can hope for is that some country will want to USE HIM as a stick to poke the US in the eye.

    Masnick are you going to censore this post as well ?
    a

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:35am

      ...

      Was there a point to that last line, or was it just a petty attempt at a personal attack you just couldn't pass up?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:51am

      Re: Now he's an International play thing

      Mike doesn't sensor the posts, the users do.

      Each user reports your drivel and so it gets minimised to avoid irritating more readers.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Rikuo (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 1:17am

        Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

        AJ and the others don't care at all about little things like who exactly is to blame. To them, the guilty party is whoever pisses them off the most at any given time, and nothing will ever change their minds. Anyway, even with that...
        AJ, if you're so worried about Mike "censoring" your comments...then he's not exactly doing a very good job at it is he? If he were actually censoring them, they wouldn't show up at all, but they are. So even if Mike is actually trying to silence you, the fact that he's so ineffective at it really just renders your entire point moot.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:33am

          Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

          Don't you try to explain it to me using logic! Masnik is the devil! Help! Help! I'm bein' repressed!

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            harbingerofdoom (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 7:42am

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

            yeah mike! you can't expect to wield supreme power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!

            link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:05am

        Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

        oh yes he does, I was referring to the post "sent for moderation" (for NO reason) that never appeared in the comments.

        That's censorship..

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Rikuo (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 7:42am

          Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

          Everybody's comments get sent for moderation every once in a while. It's to fight spam. My comments get moderated too, and sometimes don't show up for hours.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            AC Unknown (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:34am

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

            Mine occasionally did when I used to post as an AC.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:55am

          Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

          You have trouble with skills that require comprehension, that much is apparent.

          That "moderation" is automated. And it isn't targeting you, but paranoia makes you think that.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            The Groove Tiger (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:35pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

            Actually, it's targeting most posts that are like "New penis enlargement Ad! http://stupid.crap". Which, apparently, a lot of AJ posts have looked like lately.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      techflaws (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 2:31am

      Re: Now he's an International play thing

      Jackass, are you gonna misuse the word 'censor' again?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        techflaws (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 2:32am

        Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

        Oh, yeah, I forgot: just clicked on report to hide your drivel. You're welcome.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      PaulT (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:04am

      Re: Now he's an International play thing

      You almost made a point, but then spoilt it by acting like a childish jackass. Ironically, this is the reason why your post was then hidden - NOT by Mike, but by fellow users tired of reading your idiocy. This is not censorship since I'm still able to read your inane whining and reply to it, by the way. Your spelling is also as accurate as your facts and logic on this point.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
        identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:07am

        Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

        why was my post I posted yesterday, never posted after being send to 'moderation', (FOR NO REASON).

        That is censorship, as is 'hiding posts' but I was not referring to that. As usual you just to conclusions and dont know the facts.

        I accept Masnicks 'hidding' censorship, as I know how well it promotes posts.

        But to 'disapear' posts, is entirely different..

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:07am

          Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing

          Since it was an automated system (designed to catch spambots), then it obviously caught your post for some reason, or some combination of reasons.

          I can guess a few of the triggers. It was posted anonymously. The same or similar message had been posted before, especially in other unrelated stories. The message was relatively short. It contained links, especially a link that had been previously posted, or one that was obfuscated behind a bit.ly link.

          If your post looks like spam, it's going to get caught by the spam filter. And when TD staff sees what equally looks like useless spam in the filter, why should they bother spending time letting it through? If you don't want your comments caught like that, instead of writing what look like automated computer generated drivel perhaps you should adjust your posting style. IOW: adapt or die.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

    • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
      identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:34am

      Re: Now he's an International play thing

      It's sad, but now the best he can hope for is that some country will want to USE HIM as a stick to poke the US in the eye.

      Masnick are you going to censore this post as well ?
      a


      Of course he is. I also like he changed the flag message from a high contrast pink to a less visible gray and now, instead of being to click anywhere on the flag notice, you have to click on two words that comprise about 20% of the former area. I guess he's angling for a job with China's Ministry of Truth.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      The Groove Tiger (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:33pm

      Re: Now he's an International play thing

      He's a professional lie-ologist! Lieologist lieeee!

      Intarwebs brutality! Y'all censorizin' me!

      I thought that the webs was my castle
      With no one scrutinizing me
      No pigs, no lyin' bitch, no hassle
      Y'all are censorizin' me

      Can't a troll not post his FUD in silence?
      Can't a troll not crudely lie and scream?
      Can't a troll not control his bitch with violence?
      Y'all are censorizin' me

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    avideogameplayer, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:25am

    Right now, Snowden is gonna be the least of the U.S. worries...

    With Hong Kong starting down a warpath with U.S. government spying, it's a matter of time before China gets involved...

    And how much debt are they holding for us?

    At least 10 trillion?

    This oughtta be interesting...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      silverscarcat (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 2:49am

      Re:

      And how much debt are they holding for us?

      At least 10 trillion?


      They're holding only 8% of the U.S. debt.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 4:58am

      Re:

      To be fair, China also spies on the US. Espionage is a worldwide activity. I'm not justifying it, just stating the truth.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:36am

        Re: Re:

        You are right. Espionage is almost universally employed. People sputter in outrage when it is publicly disclosed, then when the storm blows over- go right back to spying. This is hardly a revelation to anyone.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:19am

      Re:

      I find it humorous that some people think China owns all our stuff, this is simply not true. AFAIK, the single largest holder of US debt is the US. The fact that our government does not want to pay it back to us is a different story.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:27am

    Hope he makes it there. The US needs to check itself. It's government betrayed the entire world including its own citizens.

    Because terrorism is not a valid rationalization for every secret fucked up thing they want to do. They are clearly trying to militarize the internet, the first of many problems are.... WE are the internet.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:03am

      Re:

      What do you think the internet was really created for? So that people can watch funny cat videos and buy stuff on Amazon? Its primary function is surveillance. The revelations about government spying programs prove as much.

      Yeah, we're more informed with the internet, but so are they.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:17am

        Re: Re:

        You forgot about porn. It was created for porn.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:25am

        Re: Re:

        "Its primary function is surveillance"

        Actually its primary function is communication. It just happens that the communication is fairly easy to collect so it became a major tool for surveillance for the spys.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:40am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Of course it's a communications system; what else would it be?

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            harbingerofdoom (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 7:43am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            ...um...
            you just said it was for surveillance....
            which is it?

            link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 11:16am

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              I'm talking about from the perspective of those who keep tabs on our communications/data.

              link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    horse with no name, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:29am

    As the world turns...

    It's turning out to be more and more clear at this point that Wikileaks is behind much of this (again), and that now their cozy relationships with China, Russia, and a few banana republics is becoming clear.

    If you cannot see them as aiding the enemy, you have to be willfully blind. It's not about blowing whistles, it's about shifting world power.

    Hong Kong screwed it up big time. They let a guy with a revoked passport get out of the country without a blink. That can tell you how much power was used by mainland China on this one.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 10:38am

      Re: As the world turns...

      I suspect it has more to do with these places just itching for a reason to show the US a big giant middle finger than any sort of cozy relationship like you suggest.

      If you travel the world at all, even the places the US has good relationships with, hate americans. Sure the US has a huge military and has very successfully navigated world politics to their benefit but they made a lot of enemies doing it.

      All things come to an end. May the US go down with more grace than a screaming toddler.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:31am

    There is a potential downside to Snowden's actions. By seeking asylum in a country with a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the US, there's always the possibility that he'll be used as a pawn when politically convenient.

    YOU GOT SOMETHING RIGHT,, it's not a 'possibility' it's a certainty.

    His statement makes no sense. Rogers has already declared Snowden guilty as charged

    Is 'Rogers' a court or a judge ?? does it matter what Rogers "declares" ???
    That makes no sense..

    I doubt Snowden sympathizes with oppressive governments, but he does know who's more likely to ignore US pleas, threats or attempted intervention.

    It's funny Snowden is seeking asylim in countries with a much higer 'opression' that the US, It's clear by his actions his intent is to HURT the US and it's interests, he is actively seeking out countries know to be willing to exploit that, and exploit Snowden..

    He is a pawn, he's also in for a BIG SHOCK when he finally works that out, he is certainly NOT safer in Russia or some other 'known antagonist' of the US.

    This guy is not applying much in the way of intelligence.
    He IS showing many traits of a criminal on the run though.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:54am

      Re:

      Why yes, he is in all technicality a criminal since the U.S Government labeled him a criminal for telling the U.S citizens that its own Government is spying on them.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:02am

        Re: Re:

        You statement illustrates the problem with a totalitarian regime like the US is becoming, you are guilty of a crime if the government says so.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:15am

        As long as we're ****ing over "techincally" WAS Re: Re:

        Why yes, he is in all technicality a criminal

        As I understand the technicality, he is only ACCUSED of a crime and only a criminal once convicted.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:42am

          Re: As long as we're ****ing over "techincally" WAS Re: Re:

          Didn't you get the memo? Your guilty until you can prove your innocent and not innocent until proven guilty.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:11am

        Re: Re:

        except the US DID NOT label him a criminal for telling the US anything.

        Read the CHARGES, against him, he is being labels (accused) of crimes like theft of Government property, and giving classified information to someone not cleared for it.

        He's been labeled for those crimes because it's clear he committed those crimes.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Chris Rhodes (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:51am

          Re: Re: Re:

          "except the US DID NOT label him a criminal for telling the US anything."
          "giving classified information to someone not cleared for it"
          I'll just let those two quotes sink in.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          akp (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 10:54am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Are we just giving up on "innocent until *proven* guilty" then?

          link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:54am

      Re:

      "It's clear by his actions his intent is to HURT the US and it's interests"

      No, I think that it is clear he is covering his back.

      He can see how they treated Bradley Manning and obviously wants to avoid that so by choosing countries that won't bend over for the US he will have a safe passage.

      Let me guess in his situation you would return to the US for some cruel and unusual punishment.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        PaulT (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:10am

        Re: Re:

        Hell, forget Manning. You only have to look at how Kim Dotcom was treated, and he was not only guilty of a supposedly far lesser crime (or at least, I would hope that potentially interfering with a private corporation's profits is considered lesser than supposed treason), he wasn't even in the US when he supposedly broke their laws.

        True, the US authorities haven't managed to get Dotcom in their hands domestically yet, but you'd have to be a fool to be in a country friendly to US interests if wanted for something damaging to those in power. If they're willing to break their own laws to get someone guilty of copyright infringement, someone wanted for treasonous activities hasn't got a hope in an allied state. Especially since Assange also embarrassed them and remains outside of their system.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:07am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Kim Dotcom isn't even an American citizen yet the DOJ is pursuing legal action against him because they're **AA toadies.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:42am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Hell, forget Manning.

          EVERYONE already has...... and Assange, next Snowden..

          But the biggest message everyone has forgotten is WHAT THEY LEAKED..

          They all leaked things in the name of informing the public... blah blah...

          They all failed, no one was interested in the content of the wikileaks leaks, and no one is really interested in Snoden's leaks, hell if it was not for Masnick and a few (very few) others, trying day and night to keep that story alive, NO ONE WOULD HAVE CARED !!!..

          Guess what... NO ONE CARES..

          These "big leakers" got personal fame, but are complate failures in convincing the public (or the Government) that what they leaked is important or even worth reading.
          (or illegal).

          A very high price to pay for being basically ineffective, destroy your own life, and achieve next to nothing.

          Even worst, then let yourself become a political football, and pawn to antanganise the US, that will help alot.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Haudenosaun, 24 Jun 2013 @ 7:18am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            " no one is really interested in Snoden's leaks, hell if it was not for Masnick and a few (very few) others, trying day and night to keep that story alive, NO ONE WOULD HAVE CARED !!!.. "

            Let's wait and see what else he has.

            What Snowden didn't count on was the abject subservience of the press

            link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:49am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            I seldom if ever agree with Masnick. However, my sense is that this is something much bigger than Manning and Assange. People in all walks of life and every age living in America have a personal stake in maintaining their privacy. Be it for philosophical or tangible, personal reasons privacy is important to everyone. The government doing this under the cover of darkness makes it worse in just about everyone's eyes. The reasons, excuses and justifications pouring out of Washington are weaker than warm, flat light beer and can hardly be repeated with a straight face.

            This is a big deal. And I don't think it will go away quietly. But I am certain it will lead to a very public discussion of privacy and the power of government. That is a conversation long overdue.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:20am

        Re: Re:

        The neoliberals and neocons (same thing really) HATE HATE HATE when they don't have their way. They'd done so much work smearing him already as a defector to china, had the provisional arrest warrant, and now they're seething after HK gave them the middle finger.

        As Greenwald asked, "why does a whistleblower feel compelled to flee the U.S.?" His life is already ruined, though immortalized, and they want to lock him up for 'espionage.'
        After Bradley Manning, I would never come back if I could help it either.

        But even bigger, the media is using this is an attempt to distract from his disclosures. Most coverage so far, after he's revealed himself, reminds me of the "two-minute hate."
        What we should be focusing on are the disclosures, maybe this will give them greater exposure, but time will tell.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:06am

        Re: Re:

        And how they are threating Julian Assange.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Rikuo (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 1:21am

      Re:

      Not much in the way of intelligence?

      There's two possibilities with Snowden.

      A) He's very smart, figured out a way to get all the classified information he wanted, despite the best protective measures the US government had, and has a long and complex plan laid out to avoid capture and trial by the US.

      B) He's not actually very smart, but then neither is the US government. They had very weak protective measures for classified documents and Snowden is just winging it day by day...thus, the US government is stupider than he is.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 2:21am

        Re: Re:

        How much you wanna bet it's B?

        The US can't even get it's OWN shit together so what chance in hell to they have of getting Snowden?

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        shirley, 24 Jun 2013 @ 2:26am

        Re: Re:

        I'll bet on plan 'A'. One has only to view his video from HK to realise that this is an exceptionally intelligent man; who also happens to be possessed of a conscience. I thought him an incredibly handsome hunk as well. Super Hot!

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 10:16am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Probably a little of both. He is obviously very articulate and reasonably intelligent otherwise he would not have been able to get the job in the first place much less get out with the information that he has. You only need to look at the way the government is mishandling this to know that they are the brightest blub in the box.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          JMT (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 4:56pm

          Re: Re: Re:

          "...who also happens to be possessed of a conscience."

          You have to wonder how he got the job in the first place. Surely he should've been weeded out during the interview process...

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Andrew D. Todd, 25 Jun 2013 @ 8:33am

            A Honorable Wound (to JMT, #87).

            What we know about Snowden's military career is that he joined the Army in 2004, applying for Special Forces, and was discharged four months later, after having broken both legs in a training accident. The traditional pre-requisite for Special Forces is Airborne, or Paratroop, training. Two broken legs sounds very much like a parachute accident. If the wind shifts suddenly, as the parachutist approaches the ground, he can be suddenly slammed down from a height of twenty or thirty feet before there is time to react. Broken legs and/or a broken back are a possibility under those circumstances. The other possibility is that he might have had an accident in mountaineering (rock climbing) training, which is favored by the Rangers and the Mountain Division. If a "piton" (rock nail) pulls out of the rock unexpectedly, the climber may fall for twenty feet or so. A training accident of this sort is not, technically, a war wound, but at the same time, there is a certain official sympathy. Obviously, after it became apparent that Snowden's injuries were too severe to allow him to rejoin the Army, someone pulled strings to find him something he could do.

            Again, if someone tried to criticize Snowden for "wrong-think," that person would probably have been shut up with the sardonic remark: "So show me your Purple Heart, your Combat Infantry Badge, and maybe even your Bronze Star with the V(alor) Clasp!"

            There is a parallel with Colonel-Count von Stauffenberg, who attempted to assassinate Adolph Hitler on July 20, 1944. Stauffenberg had been terrifically wounded in battle. He only had one hand left, and only two fingers on that one hand, so they found him a suitable job he could do, as a staff officer who got to talk to the Fuhrer regularly. Hitler, who had himself been wounded three times in battle, in the First World War, was naturally disposed to admire Stauffenberg. Generals tend to have a guilty conscience about being "desk-chair warriors," operating in much the same fashion as business executives, and, to the extent feasible, they like to surround themselves with brave young knights who have already proven their valor beyond any possibility of misunderstanding.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
            http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/20 13/jun/10/edward-snowden-army-special-forces

            link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:14am

      Re:

      As usual, darryl, you have no idea what you're talking about. Picking away at English is not your strong suit given how abysmal your command of the language is.

      Must be sad to be you, living in a country where you no longer have to pay for George Orwell's 1984. A den of thieves is what you live in, by your definition. Your own words prosecute yourself.

      But don't mind us, just go home crying to your solar panel wife.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:33am

    The US government is horrible to deal with, there are not many countries in the world that like to deal with US officials in any capacity, doubt? ask around and you see.

    But Hong Kong had an extra reason to give the finger to the US, the US spied on them. Russia will most likely just ignore Obama and others, first Obama made a joke about Putin on the G8 meeting which was meet with a colder enough to approach absolute zero, second the US keeps bating Russian citizens to other countries to ask them to deport them to the US to face criminal charges, that can't sit well with the Russian government, and Cuba well we all know how that is going to play.

    What makes Snowden great is the risks he took and he went eyes open to those facts, fucking balls of steel that guy has.

    Mr. pathetic Rogers can just suck it for all I care. I just had it with Washington and their BS.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That One Guy (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:48am

    Should have crossed those 't's and hidden those 'eyes' better

    So the US, in an attempt to nail down Snowden in preparation for deportation, failed to submit a case that actually met Hong Kong legal requirements, meaning it didn't actually keep him there at all.

    On top of that their spying efforts, or at least rumors about them, provided even more incentive for Hong Kong authorities to be less than willing to comply with US wishes regarding Snowden.

    Seems like in the panic to get him back(most likely to give him the Manning treatment and stuff him in a cell for a few years to stew before 'court'), they screwed up in their legal filing, though given the second point(assuming it's related to Snowden's leaks anyway) I suppose I can see why they'd be so desperate to get him back and out of the public eye.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      PaulT (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:23am

      Re: Should have crossed those 't's and hidden those 'eyes' better

      Given the monumental errors in the Dotcom case, I have to wonder if this level of accuracy hasn't been SOP all along, but it's only now that other countries are daring to question them...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Andrew D. Todd, 24 Jun 2013 @ 9:34am

        Re: Re: Re: Should have crossed those 't's and hidden those 'eyes' better-- Not, RE: # 6, 30

        Espionage, like desertion from the army or draft (conscription) resistance, is essentially an offense against the country's military power. Countries which are not in military alliance with each-other do not traditionally extradite for such offenses. They may, of course, decide not to extend sanctuary to someone who has no connection with their nation, land, or people. Such people can visit a country as tourists, only on the assurance that their own national government will take them back if they become nuisances or charges on the public welfare. That does not, however, mean intercepting such people in the international areas of airports or anything like that. The usual standard is that someone has a visa and a ticket for passage to someplace else. Someone who is merely being deported, rather than extradited, has the right to go to any place which will take him. I would expect that Edward Snowden probably has, in his pocket, one piece of paper declaring him to be a citizen of Venezuela and another declaring him to be a citizen of Ecuador. The respective ambassadors are in a "bidding war," and are not likely to boggle at issuing documents.

        The United States certainly does not extradite people who are accused of such offenses, against China, or Russia, or Cuba, or Venezuela, or Ecuador, as Snowden is accused of. Nor would it return an American who might have deserted from the French Foreign Legion. Turnabout is fair play. During the Vietnam War, both Canada and Sweden harbored substantial numbers of American draft resistors and deserters. Admittedly, with experience, they tended to become more reluctant to take deserters. Experience showed that a draft resistor was generally someone who had held a student deferment as long as possible, and was likely to be a desirable immigrant, whereas a deserter was likely to be a "guardhouse character," a maladjusted youth in the habit of getting into trouble in general, who had willingly joined the Army in search of machismo and military glory, but had wound up getting in trouble for minor misdeeds instead. No one suggests that Snowden is a guardhouse character-- on the contrary, the United States Government was lately paying him a substantial salary, and the presumption is that he must have many useful skills.

        I suppose the Chinese are polite people-- they would prefer to make noises about defective paperwork rather than speak frankly about the sheer insolence of the request.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 11:19am

          Re: Re: Re: Re: Should have crossed those 't's and hidden those 'eyes' better-- Not, RE: # 6, 30

          "Espionage, like desertion from the army or draft (conscription) resistance, is essentially an offense against the country's military power.

          No it's not actually, used to be.. sure in 1917, but there are many supreme court precidents clearly indicating that is no longer the case.

          It is certainly closely connected to defense but in other parts particularly classified information, does not necessarily have to be defense related, it can be other things as well.

          Also violations of NASA regulations has little to do with defense.

          18 USC 798 Disclosure of classified information:
          (a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information

          Now if you consider how snowden is 'hiding' or running from the US and his METHOD of doing it, playing off the various countries 'dislike' for the US, is harming the US Government then that in itself an indicator that Snowden could well be found guilty of that charge.

          Snowden actions are clearly to the DETREMENT OF THE US Government, as is the nature of the information he has made publicly available, which is also a clear breach.

          This does not mean his plan wont work, but so far it's not going to well for him, and I dont expect things to get much better, especially in the long term.

          He's put himself up for political rape from whatever country that finally takes him, (if any), I hope he enjoys it, im sure I would not like to have put myself in that position, he WILL LOSE, he has already lost.

          The only thing that is yet to be found out is the level of political violation he would have to endure for him "freedom" and "helping the US to reflect on their collective morals".

          He has yet to state anything we did not already know, and expect, nothing new, unless you have been living in a cave for the past 60+ years.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Andrew D. Todd, 24 Jun 2013 @ 2:12pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Should have crossed those 't's and hidden those 'eyes' better-- Not, RE: # 6, 30

            The Supreme Court of the United States cannot create international law, any more than an international body can create American constitutional law. International law and constitutional law are two separate spheres, neither higher than the other, whose interaction may be problematic.

            International law derives both from international treaties, and from longstanding customs, observed by all countries.

            You might look at the U.S. Army's Field Manual 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare, specifically, Ch 3, articles 75-78, and chapter 8, article 440

            http://ac-support.europe.umuc.edu/~nstanton/FM27-10.htm

            Certain leading points to be drawn are that espionage is not a crime against international law, as such, and that, once a spy, who is not a national of the country he spies upon, makes good his escape to the army or territory of the enemy, at least in certain circumstances, charges against him become void. There are repeated reminders that foreigners do not bear a duty of allegiance to the country which may come into custody of them. The book does not seem to explicitly discuss the case of someone who was once a national of the country he fights against or spies upon, eg. a German who escaped from Germany in 1933, took up American citizenship in 1939, joined the Army in 1941, was selected, as a native speaker for German, for Special Forces, and took part in underground/espionage operations in 1944. The application to Snowden is problematic, of course, but it seems fairly clear that foreign countries do not have any obligation to treat his actions as crimes.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 1:04am

    In the War of 1812, the British captured Washington D.C. and burnt it to the ground. President Madison and his wife had to flee for their lives.

    After the war was over, the head of a committee of citizens told Madison, �Power and national glory, Sir, have often before, been acquired by the sword; but rarely without the sacrifice of civil or political liberty.� The committee praised him for how he had �wielded an armed force of fifty thousand men, aided by an annual disbursement of many millions, without infringing a political, civil, or religious right.�

    How far we have fallen.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Niall (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:10am

      Re:

      Ah, the good old days of teaching Washington its proper place in the world ;)

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Richard (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:31am

      Re:

      Not that far.

      After all you started the war in question for dubious (and somewhat unclear) motives at a time when the Britian was trying to deal with the threat of Napoleon. You invaded a peaceful country (Canada) and part of your motivation was to try and dispossess the Indians (who were being supported by Britain).

      The episode of the burning of Washington was symptomatic of incompetence. Only a fool starts a war from such a weak position.

      As for "without infringing a political, civil or religious right" I doubt if many native Americans or Canadians would agree with that.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:19am

        Re: Re:

        Oh sure, because England was all about caring for the natives, right? The records of England's imperialism tell a wholly different story.

        As for the early colonists here in the US, yeah, they dispossessed the native Indians, made all sorts of false promises, broken treaties and so forth. But let's not paint the natives as if they were all a bunch of peace-lovers either. There were some truly vicious natives, warring between different tribes, killing, scalping, raping, plundering, etc.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 1:43am

    Nice trolling

    When I heard about his flight path my first thought was "Nice trolling, Snowden way to stick it to them.". Diplomatically they're slow as molasses so get them prepping their tactics for one country and leave just after they make futile demands and threats. Maybe he should do a rapid tour of unvisited non-extradicting nations to mess with them further.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    avideogameplayer, 24 Jun 2013 @ 2:25am

    At this rate, the U.S. has a better chance of expediting Kim Dotcom...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Niall (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:11am

      Re:

      Actually, that whole business probably didn't help things here, and neither did Manning nor Wikileaks.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    FM Hilton, 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:22am

    Escaping the machine

    So he's embarrassed the government. I doubt that's the most important reason Snowden is fleeing for a safer haven.

    He knows exactly what to expect with our system of 'justice', and I can understand his unwillingness to sacrifice his life to it.

    Anyone in his shoes would do the same, I expect.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:23am

      Re: Escaping the machine

      "He knows exactly what to expect with our system of 'justice', and I can understand his unwillingness to sacrifice his life to it."

      They're not after justice, they're after revenge. If there was justice, the government would be facing charges for violating our Constitutional rights.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:23am

    Tsk tsk tsk...
    Ed or Edward, where does Eric come from?

    After listening to the pundits they aren't sure what to do anymore. The number of times they stressed that he was fleeing to "Communist" countries was shades of McCarthyism again.

    While they talk about how he must be out to destroy us, aid the enemy, etc... none of them have actually said the root issue about the huge spying on people with no oversight needs to be addressed.

    America isn't a bastion of freedom.
    All we have left are illusions of what once was here. Secret interpretations of the law suddenly void clearly spelled out and enshrined rights.
    If you dare ask a question, your unpatriotic - at best, and out to destroy America - at worst.

    People need to let go of the idea that the Government is our friend. They have declared war on everyone, citizens included, to try and maintain power. The only people they answer to are the corporations who they are dumping piles of cash onto to "fix" the supposed problems.

    With everything coming out it is becoming clear America behaves just like repressive regimes and all of this chasing Mr. Snowden is to distract from the bigger issues that one could compare the US to China or Iran and find lots of similarities.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:35am

      Re:

      Tsk tsk tsk...
      Ed or Edward, where does Eric come from?


      I've submitted a query to my keyboard. I'll let you know when I have a response.

      [Fixed.]

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 6:26am

      Re:

      While they talk about how he must be out to destroy us, aid the enemy, etc... none of them have actually said the root issue about the huge spying on people with no oversight needs to be addressed.

      EXACTLY !!!!

      Just like with Assange this guy is a great distraction for the 30 seconds of attention the US has.

      The US are not interested in the "leaks" they are interested in "Ed".

      Don't you see how this is actually a FAILURE, they wanted to get a message out, but the messenger has taken over the message.

      No one really cares about the wikileaks leaks, or "Ed's" leaks, clearly they are not, it has not promopted much in the way of debate, any actual public debate has been about Ed or Assange, not the message.

      The message ??? what message ? Oh that message.... who cares !!!!

      But tell us more about the stealing, lying, cheating, and running from the law, now that IS interesting..

      Forget what he said, LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DOING !!!!

      The story is SNODEN, not NSA, therefore Snoden FAILED,
      The Story is assange and 'that other guy' cant remember his name right now (SEE!!!!)..

      Not the message, but the messenger.

      People would be surprised IF NSA DID NOT SPY and gather intel, that is the common opinion. Most feel it is constitution, as does the Courts.

      But there is no question as to Snoden Guilt, he confessed after all, he DID steal classified information, and make that information available to people he was not allowed to, he broke the law.

      So two wrongs dont make a right, and Snoden is one of those wrongs, there there is no debate (apart from here probably) about the NSA being wrong, or unconstitutional.

      So Snoden and Assange, and Mr No Name all failed !!!! but they got their 5 mins of fame.. Alot to pay for very little result.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 9:42am

        Re: Re:

        Ah, darryl. A bastion and well of intelligence you prove yourself to be... not. Hell, if someone drunk-drove their car into someone else's house you'd be sure to blame the houseowner for living in the way of the collision. What a jackass.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 3:41am

    And then we hear the US condemning everybody else when such thing happens with whistleblowers elsewhere.

    I wonder how much of credibility is left to the use now on matters of freedom of speech.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 4:30am

    Once again, Ecuador becomes the land of the free, home of the brave, and supporter of freedom of speech while the US oppresses it's own people.

    Plus, I hear they are really big on soup.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 4:58am

    He could still be on the Havana flight, just out of sight. The flight is scheduled to land in Havana at 5:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time, then we will know.

    It is possible that he stayed out of sight to confuse US authoorities, so they won't intercept the jet and force it to land in the USA.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      The Real Michael, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:26am

      Re:

      Or maybe drone it, but then that would be considered an act of war.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 5:24am

    Bring the world economy to its knees - minuscule fine, now recognized as a cost of doing business, will probably be tax deductible.

    Lie to congress - pat on the head, awwww you poor over worked fatcat.

    Tell the truth to the world - treason, that's a hangin.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    RadialSkid (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:18am

    I notice no one has been giving much mention Iceland as a potential destination.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Internet Zen Master (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 9:06am

    As for why China was in such a hurry to get him out of HK

    Let's face it, Snowden's a political hot potato, and relations between the US and China aren't exactly sunshine, gumdrops and unicorns right now.

    Honestly, if the Chinese government has anything to be pissed about over the scandals coming from the NSA, it's that the NSA probably does a better job spying on it's China's own citizens than China does itself.

    They can't exactly claim any moral high ground over the US either, considering their little 'volunteer' hacker army which has been committing "cyber-espionage" (lack of a better term comes to mind at the moment) like crazy against the US in both government and private sectors, and the Chinese know the US knows they're responsible (albeit indirectly) for the attacks. So it's pretty much a tit-for-tat thing there.

    Will Snowden really go to Ecuador, a South American nation that might decide to hand him over to the US depending on the current administration, or will he end up in Iceland instead?

    As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 9:18am

    Irony, anyone?

    It seems somewhat ironic that the very US spymasters, whose voluminous dirty laundry now graces the front steps of government institutions around the world, were caught flat-footed by this (one might say "predictable") turn of events. Wouldn't one expect them to have their finely-tuned global spy apparatus focused on tracking and successfully apprehending the source of their embarrassment (preferably without the involvement of other governments)? Was someone asleep at the switch? Too many haystacks, too few needles? What's the point of spying on the world if you can't see what's going on right in front of your own nose?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 9:55am

      Re: Irony, anyone?

      I'd be laughing so hard if it turned out that they had the information that he was leaving beforehand, but it was buried beneath all the other info they indiscriminately scoop up and so they totally missed it.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 11:31am

    When you look at it, every one of these nations is hostile to the United States," Rogers said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

    "If he could go to North Korea and Iran, he could round out his 'government oppression tour.' So when you think about what he says he wants and what his actions are, it defies logic."

    >>oh, he avoided countries that brown-nose you because your government does actions that are wrong and he exposed you.
    Terrorist, for sure.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 11:31am

    �Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him had better take a closer look at the American Indian.�

    - Henry Ford, founder � Ford Motor Corporation


    Now we're all Indians according to the actions of our government.

    What I am not hearing out of the government with all it's reasons why things are as they should be, is public apologies, public exposure that they have done wrong, and the excuses that seem to say "We just need to do damage control".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2013 @ 12:55pm

    The government oppression tour...

    Starts and stops in the United States.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    William H. Depperman, 26 Jun 2013 @ 1:46pm

    Edward Snowden and "Wikileaks"

    National Security Agency Surveillance Programs, Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning:

    The subsequent revelation by all media on June 7, 2013 of GIGANTIC USA and UK phone and Internet surveillance programs rubber-stamped by Congress and �secret intelligence courts� documents this conclusively. It was revealed that the so-called National Security Agency (NSA) and MI6 British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) have ALSO been tapping directly into servers of ALL social media websites, e.g. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc. to track Online communication in a program called �PRISM!� The capitalist dictatorship also controls the entire Internet by either permitting NO COMMENT WHATSOEVER or by requiring �sign-ins� and �passwords,� which the so-called �intelligence community� then immediately deletes (!) to prevent access to virtually ALL media websites, which block any political comments except occasional brainless �peanut gallery twitter-type� responses. The USA also blocks hundreds of servers so that American users of the Internet are never able to read anything but approved propaganda and Big Lies of Commission or Omission. Chopping up sentences into sentence fragments separated by huge spaces sometimes as large as several lines is another method virtually ALL websites use to decrease readership even of comments they do permit! �We are modifying comments� blocks the rest! The irrefutable fact that ALL �Terrorist Plots� from the 911 Trade Center Provocation Attack to the 2001 and Subsequent Anthrax Provocations to the Underpants Bomber to the Times Square Bomber to the Boston Marathon Bombers to the Buffalo New York High School Student �Terrorist Plot� to the Florida High School Student �Terrorist Plot� were ALL SET-UPS is proof that the claim by �Gen.� Keith Alexander, director of the NSA, that �surveillance helped stop dozens of attacks� is a BIG LIE! (Even Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall said they had seen no evidence NSA programs had produced "uniquely valuable intelligence.� The surveillance described by Edward Snowden was partly used to locate anti-American Islamic Fundamentalists in the USA, who were then immediately contacted by deep-cover NSA/CIA agents sent in who pretended to support them, manipulated them and then set them up with explosives, help with picking targets, etc. Thus any supposed �terrorist plot� has already been reported in the media! There were not more than a half-dozen �plots!� The USA also spies on China, Russia, UK, EU and all 197 countries in the UN! There can be no exceptions! The USA is waging war on various levels against the entire world!

    Although media coverage of Edward Snowden has focused on his �fugitive� status and the question of which country will grant him asylum there has also been an enormous media build-up of Snowden and Bradley Manning, and previously Julian Assange, comparing them to Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers, who merely represented that faction of USA capitalism which wanted an end to the Vietnam War; Woodward and Bernstein who wrote a cover-up of the Watergate Bloodless Removal of Richard Nixon by Nelson Rockefeller�the real �Deep Throat;� and Phillip Agee. Agee was a CIA deep cover �limited hang-out� operative who specialized in �Covert Action� information who pretended he had �defected from the CIA� in the 1980s and acted as a supposed �authoritative source� for leftists unaware of his purpose, which was to try to monopolize �truth� about capitalist statecraft and conspiracies in order to cover up actual imperialist political policies and political assassinations, etc. from a supposed �left� position and keep genuine opposition loyal to capitalism by keeping them confused and by never ever proposing the solution�Socialism. Manning and Assange, on the other hand appear to be manipulee cutouts. There is no possible way that Bradley Manning or any one person anywhere could have accumulated 250,000 United States diplomatic state department cables plus 500,000 army reports (the Iraq War logs and Afghan War logs) onto one or even two (2) computers (!), which were then serialized by Wikileaks� Julian Assange, WHO CENSORED (�redacted�) ALL documents before release to the media! It took a lot of long, coordinated arduous work from all branches and offices of the State Department worldwide and the USA military to get this information to these people who were then hung out to dry! Assange, a vehement anti-Communist who also �documented millions of e-mails sent by the Syrian government and business officials,� (New York Times, June 24, 2013) thus assisting the USA in its Proxy Invasion of Syria (!), is presented as the only person in his Australian University class who did not work for DARPA! Right! (HaHaHa!) Assange undoubtedly has been working for DARPA the whole time as a deep-cover �intelligence� operative. The Wikileaks revelations were apparently thus a total set-up: 1.) to popularize USA Statecraft and 2.) to try to generate patriotism at the same time by denouncing and charging Manning and Assange and now Snowden as �traitors!� Manning and Snowden naively think that the only alternative is to claim to be �patriots.� Remember this is not our country; we just live here! We owe no loyalty to the capitalist dictatorship! Precisely the opposite!

    Snowden is now �being accompanied by one of Wikileaks legal advisors �at all times,�� (BBC, June 26, 2013), acting for the USA �intelligence community,� in order to prevent Snowden from divulging ANY of his actual documents to the Russian Federation, thus demonstrating that �Wikileaks� is a total sham and has NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER of publishing Snowden�s actual uncensored documents Online! Snowden, by his statements appears to be entirely different than Manning and Assange, who indeed may or may not have inspired him! Manning, though he had huge outside �help� appears to have been sincerely motivated, while Assange was NOT and IS NOT! Snowden alone appears to have credibility in what he did and from his statements and apparently had no outside help and is therefore apparently entirely legitimate. However, the mass awareness of the such a huge surveillance operation which included emails, telephone calls and Internet social networking sites, etc., which is almost entirely useless from an intelligence point of view as explained above, as US Senators Wyden et al concur, except perhaps to locate and manipulate Islamists for possible �terrorist plot� set-ups, DOES nevertheless have an enormous INTIMIDATING EFFECT on the USA and EU populations. Such a level of INTIMIDATION functions to hinder and block the ability to organize to oppose the economic and biological extermination programs being organized against them in order to reduce the �population demographic.� The answer is NOT to allow oneself to become intimidated and to organize and to remember that the morale of the entire capitalist dictatorship in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere is at rock bottom! Organization is easier if people are not living in fear! Manning, Snowden and Assange should all be critically supported despite the fact that Manning and Assange and Wikileaks had enormous USA government �assistance� and the information which WAS released is all censored and manipulated except in several cases where it was determined that the cables had to be re-released uncensored otherwise they elicited no interest and they revealed very little of substance in the first place. (�Who was to blame� for the uncensored cables then became an issue and the public was invited to speculate!) This is a very important distinction. Snowden should NEVER EVER turn his documents over to Wikileaks because then they will surely NEVER see the light of day! Wikileaks will censor or just destroy most of the documents! The information all 3 have released and actual circumstances of its release should be used to raise awareness to help reorganize a genuine Communist Party, as we had in the 1930s, and a Socialist Revolution in the USA and Worldwide. Both The Guardian and the Washington Post have covered up almost everything they received from Edward J. Snowden! The Guardian printed the gist of some of it, while the Washington Post printed nothing!! If Snowden wants to get those actual documents published he has to do it himself and stop depending on DARPA! Snowden is an intelligent person but it may be too late when he finally discovers that �Wikileaks� is a sham set up to try to perpetuate the false illusion of �democracy� under the capitalist dictatorship!

    Surveillance by Drones Expands in the USA and Worldwide!

    For purposes of INTIMIDATION almost entirely the Congress has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to open US airspace to unmanned aircraft (drones) by October 2015. The aerospace industry predicts there will be 30,000 drones deployed globally within five years, half of them in the United States the Associated Press news agency reported. (BBC, June 19, 2013) The USA is a hard capitalist dictatorship known as RULE BY DECREE and takes the form of a bureaucratic, military police state which is hardening by the day! The refusal by the Obama Regime to pledge never to use a drone strike to kill an American citizen on U.S. soil who is �suspected of being a terrorist,� proposed by demagogue-Fascist Rand Paul, demonstrates that the issue of NSA/CIA surveillance is being used LARGELY FOR PURPOSES OF INTIMIDATION AS THE USA Capitalist Dictatorship begins to escalate its economic war of extermination of its own people and wants the masses to acquiesce to that extermination due to fear!

    William H. Depperman, Coordinator
    United Front Against Racism
    And Capitalism-Imperialism
    New York, N.Y. 10003
    Revised June 26, 2013

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  • identicon
    William H. Depperman, 26 Jun 2013 @ 1:46pm

    Edward Snowden and "Wikileaks"

    Materialist Analysis of the U.S. Orchestrated so-called �Arab
    Spring� Regime Change Gambit in the Mideast, Persian Gulf
    And Russia Using �Facebook�-Assisted Invasion by Proxy:

    �FACEBOOK�-ASSISTED INVASION BY PROXY AS IN LIBYA AND SYRIA IS A
    NEW METHOD OF USING A MINORITY TO TRY TO OVERTHROW A MAJORITY
    AND IS PART OF THE U.S. REGIME CHANGE GAMBIT IN THE MIDEAST, GULF STATES AND BEYOND AND REFLECTS THE FINAL STAGE OF CAPITALISM�PERMANENT WAR AND STATE TERRORISM! THE U.S. PURPOSE IS TO STEAL MIDEAST OIL, DESTROY HEZBOLLAH & HAMAS and TAKE OVER the WORLD!

    INVASION BY PROXY ONLY SUCCEEDS IF RUSSIA COOPERATES EITHER WITH A UN SECURITY COUNCIL VOTE FOR A �NO-FLY ZONE� OR IN A DECEPTIVE GOOD COP/BAD COP CHARADE to FURTHER WORLD IMPERIALIST INTERESTS!

    Russia Appeared to Partially Reverse its Sell-out of SYRIA and Will NOT Permit a �No-Fly Zone� for Syria! The USA Media Covered Up June 17, 2013 G-8 Announcement by Russia (See BBC) that it �Would Fundamentally Not Allow the Scenario� of a No-Fly Zone in Syria and Recognized the Ba�ath Socialist Government as �The Legitimate Government of Syria!�
    And on June 16th IRAN Stated it Will Finally Deploy a TINY �4,000 Strong force� to Syria!

    In Response the USA, NATO and UK (!) Immediately Directed Libyan Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Tank Missiles and Recoilless 120 mm Cannons to USA Proxies in Aleppo on June 21st! One day later Russia Sent 2 ships Carrying 600 Marines 20 tanks and 15 Armored Troop Carriers Poised to Land �if USA Proxies Receive Arms,� but did nothing when they did!

    On the Issue of USA/�Israeli� Air Strikes: Russia has Responded Falsely by Going Through The Motions: Russian Antiaircraft Missiles Promised to Syria Supposedly in Response
    To Defend Against USA/�Israeli� Air Strikes have been Cancelled by Sergei Lavrov who
    Downgraded Russia�s No-Fly Zone stance: �It would be a Violation of International Law!�

    The USA and Russia Have Worked Together to Try to Distract Hezbollah and LULL
    Iran with fake �Nuclear Talks� to Prevent Iran from Honoring its Mutual Defense Pact
    With Syria, which would End the USA Proxy/Mercenary Invasion of Syria ON THE SPOT!
    Syrian and Hezbollah Forces alone Cannot Liberate Huge Areas of Northern and Eastern
    Syria from the USA Proxy Invaders from 29 Different Countries! Iran�s Help is Required!

    SUMMARY OF USA PROXY INVASION OF SYRIA:

    The USA and Russia have PLAYED FOR TIME for 2 Years to allow a Gradual Takeover of Syria and to be Able to Present the World with a Fait Accompli by driving Syrians out of their Homes to deliberately create Over 1.5 Million Refugees and 5 million Homeless and then Blamed the Victim�Syria! The USA Falsely Believes that Syria is So �Fractured� after 2 Years of Proxy Invasion that it can Never Again Exist as a Single Nation, but only as �Multiple Sectarian Rump States� and falsely believes that the USA Divide and Conquer Strategies have Succeeded! The USA thinks that a Divided Syria is �Not a Bad End Point� and Would like Syria to Agree to a �Reduced Syria� in a Permanent De Facto Low-Grade War with USA Sharia -Jihadists! Russia Supported the Hezbollah-Assisted Syrian Rout and Roundup of the USA Mercenary Invaders from the Key Supply Town Qusair. Few escaped! This supports a Reversal of the Russian Sell-out! But Iran�s Boots-on-the-Ground Assistance is Required to Eliminate USA-backed Jihadists from Huge Areas In Northern & Eastern Syria which they have been permitted to �Occupy� and which are Supplied by USA Puppet states: Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia! There Can be No �Political Solution� until the Entire USA Proxy Invading Mercenary Army of Jihadists is Permanently Expelled from ALL SYRIAN TERRITORY!

    But Russia has been so EAGER To Turn Syria over to the USA Foreign Mercenaries/Proxies/Jihadists and Total Chaos JUST LIKE RUSSIA DID with LIBYA and IRAQ, but has Not Wanted To Make it OBVIOUS! Sergei Lavrov passively supports a NATO Article 5, Patriot Missile �No-fly Zone� from Turkey and Jordan While Pro Forma opposing Direct USA arming of its Proxies, which was previously carried out Indirectly Through Turkey Saudi Arabia, etc. Russia does oppose a Direct USA/NATO-Sponsored Invasion on the Phony Pretext of �Securing Syrian Chemical Weapons!� The Russian Black Sea Fleet Conducted Exercises Off the Syrian Coast And Deployed Five Landing Warships with Vehicles and Hundreds of Marines Primarily in order to Falsely Disassociate from their USA Partner! Russia Returned to Its Original Position That �The Syrian People Must Decide Who Runs Syria (HaHaHa!),� while Medvedev Hypocritically Reaffirmed: �Assad�s Days Are Numbered!� The USA and Russia, Playing BAD COP/ GOOD COP have Done Everything Possible to Overthrow the Ba�ath Socialist Party-Led Syrian Government! But Despite Death Squad Atrocities for Which Syria would HAVE NO MOTIVE, Mass Provocations, Divide and Conquer, Deliberate Sabotage by Russia and a Barrage of Big Lies to Try to Break The Morale of the Syrian People, �the 2 Partners� have Not Been able Defeat Syria because Ba�ath Socialism is Supported by the Overwhelming Majority including those driven out of Syria by the USA Proxies!

    NOTE: All Sarin Nerve Gas used in Syria has been Supplied Directly by the USA to their Proxies in small Amounts to Use Against the Syrian Military and Civilians in Provocations! RUSSIAN SPECIAL FORCES
    Have been in Charge Of Syrian Military �Strategy� for Over Nine Months (!) and up Until April 2013 have Deliberately Sabotaged Every Aspect of Syrian Strategy and Tactics of Working with Civilians which Allowed Easy Roundups of USA Mercenaries and Death Squads as In Tremseh! For Many Months Russia Has Directed Syria NOT to Send In Ground Forces after Air Attacks, which has Permitted USA Mercenary Proxies to OCCUPY Large Parts Of Northern and Eastern Syria with Virtual Shoestring Forces! Russia has Instructed Syria and Iran NOT to Reveal the USA Proxy Foreign Invasion of Syria by Jihadists from 29 Countries for WHAT IT IS! But Syria NOW Needs IRAN�S Direct Mutual Defense Pact BOOTS ON THE GROUND Assistance to Immediately End the USA Proxy Invasion Overthrow Attempt, which is NOT a �CIVIL WAR� and is NOT a �SECTARIAN CONFLICT� and is NOT �AN UPRISING!� All False Designations designed To Discourage IRAN and to try to Falsely Legitimize the USA Proxy INVASION!
    In yet another Predictable Divide and Conquer Provocation to Attempt to Extend their Proxy War into Lebanon the USA has ORDERED its Puppet �United Nations� to Try to Build Sunni Refugee Camps in Syria starting in Shiite Hezbollah Areas!!! The Faster that Syria Ends the USA Proxy Invasion the faster Refugees can Return to Socialist Syria! Why should they live as Refugees?

    Capitalism is Fundamentally Based on War, Mass Murder, Crime and Subjugation. The USA Proxy War to Overthrow Syria is a Prime Example! The ONE-WAY DYNAMIC OF CAPITALISM has driven the So-Called �Arab Spring� as a USA-Orchestrated Regime Change Gambit Throughout the Mideast and Persian Gulf! Russia has SUPPORTED ALL USA Provocations including the May 10, 2013 Turkish Border Town Bomb Provocation at Reyhanli set off by USA-Directed Turkish Proxies as yet another False Pretext to call For a NATO �No-Fly Zone! Russia has supported the Majority of USA False Propaganda regarding Syria, Libya, etc. or else Remained Silent in Passive Support! For Example, the USA has Directed its Syrian Proxies to Fire Mortars into Turkey on a CONTINUOUS Basis thus Exposing it as a USA �False Flag� Provocation used to Serve as a False Pretext for Turkey to Call for a USA/NATO Article 5 �No-Fly Zone!�

    In an earlier Provocation the USA Directed its Proxy Mercenaries to Use Chlorine Gas, which they had Stolen From Syria in December 2012, against Syrian Forces in Syria! By April 2013 the USA had Begun to Provide SARIN Nerve Gas to its Mercenary Proxy Jihadists and then Blamed��Syria!?� The USA and its �Israel� Proxy and France Falsely Accuse Syrian Forces of Using �Chemical Weapons� in order to Maximize False Propaganda to Call for a �No-Fly Zone� and falsely justify USA/�Israeli� Air Strikes! This Is how the USA Has Dealt with The Russian Demand that there be no Direct USA Invasion based on the False Claim that Syria was �Using Chemical Weapons!� The USA has Given its proxy �Israel� the Green Light to Carry Out Air Strikes to Support USA Proxy/Jihadists! The �Syrian Chemical Weapons� claim And the �Iran Nuclear WMD Program� claim are Both �Iraq WMD� D�j� Vu Provocations all over Again! The USA Has Resorted To Escalating Provocations Because their Proxies ARE LOSING! Hence the May
    10th Provocation! Russia Covers Up the USA-Directed False Flag Provocation in another Quid Pro Quo by Condemning Syria at the UN (!) And by Falsely Labeling Relentless Turkish Shelling of Syria: �Justified Turkish Retaliation.(!!)�(RT, Oct 7, 2012). Russia and USA Plan to Stage �Transition Peace Talks,� which Are used to try to legitimize USA Proxy Jihadist Invaders! Russia previously Lulled Iran with Totally Phony �Nuclear Talks� and has Discouraged Iran from Honoring its Mutual Defense Pact With Syria! Russia has Received Nothing but False Promises to �Pull Back On The �USA Missile Shield,� for its Latest Quid Pro Quo, while Continuing to Dig Deeper its very Own Gorbachev-Stalinist, anti-Communist Grave!

    The United States Has Invaded Syria with a Proxy Army of Mercenary
    Terrorists/Jihadists from 29 countries! �There is NO �Civil War!�
    There is NO �Uprising!� There is NO �Sectarian Conflict!� The
    USA cannot Send in Its Own Army which is too Demoralized!

    Because the USA mercenary Jihadist proxy forces were being relentlessly and systematically bottled up, defeated and annihilated everywhere in Syria ON THE GROUND, despite their replenishment by the USA and its puppets, the Russian Federation, which had already been �guiding� Syrian diplomacy, had for 10 months up until April 2013 been militarily deliberately misadvising Syria to stop sending in its ground forces after its air attacks or artillery attacks in order that the USA mercenaries would be able to live to regroup, recuperate, reorganize, rearm and fight another day, and also so that they would be able to physically OCCUPY Aleppo and especially certain large areas in Northern and Eastern Syria WITH VIRTUAL SHOESTRING FORCES COMPLETELY UNOPPOSED! Russia�s pretext to Syria for such deliberately 100% treacherous advice was that the Syrian military�s ranks were �too thin to permit that!� Because of previous failure to properly deploy Syrian infantry to surround areas occupied primarily by foreign mercenary Jihadists and eliminate them, so-called �liberated zones� have been set up by the USA proxies in Aleppo and other areas including Qusair, driving out the majority of local inhabitants turning them into refugees! In Aleppo e.g., USA proxies have already installed an Islamic Fundamentalist government (!) led by the so-called �Committee to Command Good and Prohibit Impious Acts (!)� in order to intimidate native Syrians. A high percentage of Syrians have simply been thrown out of their houses by the USA Proxy Invaders. That and the fear of Jihad and Sharia have created 1.5 million refugees and 5 million homeless within Syria! The USA-led world capitalist Big Lie media tries to cover up the fact that the overwhelming majority of the USA mercenaries are FOREIGN Al Qaeda and Al-Nusra Front JIHADISTS not �mainly Syrian Sunni Rebels� as the BBC lies through its teeth! (BBC, May 26, 2013) The USA �demand� that Hezbollah withdraw from Syria after USA-puppet UN so-called �Human Rights Council �condemned Hezbollah� is laughable, hypocritical and ridiculous coming especially from the mouths of the USA Invaders themselves and their puppets. (See: New York Times, May 29, 2013) The USA then ordered its UN Puppet to try to get Lebanon to OK UN construction of 12 Sunni Refugee Camps in Lebanon starting in Hezbollah areas (!!) while Syria�s �great friend,� Russia�s Putin, blamed the Ba�ath Socialist Syrian government for the refugee problem deliberately falsely claiming Syria has �kicked out� the refugees! To cover himself Putin then correctly stated that Iran�s nuclear program was for energy not weapons. (The Times of Israel, June 11, 2013)

    Regarding chemical weapons claims: On June 14, 2013 in a disingenuous attempt to falsely absolve Obama himself of direct knowledge of the false �chemical weapons� provocation claims and thereby attribute good faith to Obama, who obviously would be required to be a party to such provocations at all stages because of the �need to know� requirement for �the president,� the Russian Foreign Affairs Committee Chief Alexei Pushkov stated to Interfax: �The US chemical weapons claims were a pre-planned action (a provocation), by certain groups in the US to get Obama more heavily involved in the Syrian War.� (Parenthesis added.) As if Obama were being manipulated in this matter! While Obama makes no decisions himself on such matters, in this instance he does need to know and was undoubtedly thoroughly debriefed. The Russian foreign Ministry stated: �The alleged instances of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian troops were not supported by any convincing facts.�

    Previously on January 29, 2013 and again on May 3-4, 2013 the USA proxies carried out 2 more huge USA-Negopontre-Style, Tremseh-Style (see below) Death Squad Attacks: 1.) in Aleppo killing 108 Syrians loyal to Ba�ath Socialism and 2.) in Baniyas and al-Bayda killing 150 Syrians also loyal to Ba�ath Socialism forcing thousands to flee the USA�s trained foreign mercenaries, ridiculously-labeled so-called �rebels!� In both cases the USA-UN puppets immediately blamed Assad (!?) with USA-puppet Brahimi squealing in the first case: �Syria is falling apart! It�s unprecedented!� (Pigs squeal! See: BBC) On May 10, 2013 the USA directed its Turkish puppet to set off a huge provocation bomb in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli, which killed 46 people providing Turkey with yet another false pretext to demand a NATO No-Fly Zone! The threat of a Turkish Invasion of Syria after the May 10th Provocation Bombing of Reyhanli has ALSO been used to intimidate Iran from honoring its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact with Syria! As usual Russia remained dead silent for all these transparently clumsy provocations! Syria once again played the role of a na�ve total fool and refused to identify the Reyhanli bombing as an obvious USA-directed provocation and lamely blamed Turkish �inability to control Reyhanli Terrorists.� Ridiculous! See page 23 below for the details of USA Death Squad training in Syria by USA Ambassador John Stephen Ford, who himself was trained by John �Death Squad� Negroponte!

    In order to counter criticism of the documented fact that Russia has supplied Syria with mostly primitive weapons to defend itself against the USA Proxy Invasion (Have a SCUD missile! Oy!), in May 2013 Russia delivered two anti-aircraft missile systems from a 2007 contract supplying Syria with Yakhont highly accurate anti-ship missiles with a 180 mile range and with an upgraded radar guidance system and S-300 anti-aircraft missile batteries with a 125 mile range, the latter of which the USA/�Israel� correctly claim is �too difficult for Syria to learn how to use in its current situation� (training takes 2 years according to Russia) unless Russia sends its own missile teams to Syria, to both train the Syrians and to operate the missiles until then, both of which the USA says Russia will never do! And they ought to know! The Yakhont however, could theoretically be used and would prevent supply by ship to the USA mercenaries/ proxies/Jihadists! But the truth is that Syria does not have the best intelligence on approaching ships even close to its borders and do not look for Russia to supply the missing intelligence! That will NEVER happen! And Ships can also dock in Turkey, Lebanon or other countries! The USA Proxies are being supplied primarily by land routes. Have a Yakhont Missile!?

    Up to May 2013 Russia has worked directly hand-in-glove with the USA to overthrow Ba�ath Socialist Syria while falsely claiming �Russia is neutral,� while talking about �transition (to a USA puppet regime)� and making it sound �inevitable,� which as we see it is NOT! �Russia pretended to �seek peace,� while giving the USA Mercenary/Proxies/Jihadists�Not �Rebels� or �Activists� UNLIMITED TIME TO orchestrate multiple Mass Murder�MASSACRE�PROVOCATIONS and to set off bombs to spread PANIC and Destroy $80 Billion of SYRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE (!) and even destroy Syrian religious Monuments such as the famous Minaret of Aleppo�s Umayyad mosque (!) while they try to PROGRESSIVELY DEMORALIZE the SYRIAN POPULATION! The USA Proxy Invasion has driven over 1.5 million Syrians into exile in neighboring countries and made 4 million people homeless, while the USA has absurdly tried to blame Syria! But the Syrian people overwhelmingly support Ba�ath Socialism, and RECOGNIZE and REJECT the USA Proxy invasion! Previously Russia would not even return repaired helicopters even under signed contract with the Syrian government if the USA said: �No! No,� while gladly allowing the USA to arm its proxy Jihadists TO THE TEETH with Stinger Missiles and Russian Sam-7s, or the most modern Russian SA-14s, SA-16s, SA-18s or SA-24s! The USA mercenary proxies have been photographed with all of the most modern shoulder-fired Russian weapons systems mentioned above! Undoubtedly supplied directly by Russia through the USA! (New York Times, November 13, 2012) �Take your pick, Jihadists!� By November 2012 Syrian jets were reportedly being shot down almost every day! Thanks to Russia! Syria�s �stalwart great friend� In May 2013, e.g. Syria was promised anti-aircraft missiles they have never received (!) and reportedly can not even use! See above.

    The USA has previously tried to HIDE Russia�s collaborative assistance by falsely disassociating from its backslapping �partner� in overthrowing Syria by falsely calling Russia �Mr. Assad�s most powerful international backer (HaHaHa, very funny!)� and focusing on real differences the USA does have with Russia. Russia has apparently backed away from its previously desired final outcome in Syria, namely Libya-style total chaos, total dysfunction and divide and conquer-imposed Islamic Fundamentalism with imposed Sharia. The USA falsely announced with much fanfare the �Second Reset with Russia� as �giving its old cold war rival the cold shoulder!� (New York Times, Feb 1, 2013) That this was only false disassociation meant to hide the close cooperation of the �2 partners� was exposed on May 9, 2013 with highly publicized photographs of the repulsive twosome, John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, schmoozing, giving themselves �high 5s,� hand slapping and knuckle bumping on THEIR agreement to set up a meeting to determine the future of the Sovereign State of SYRIA (!?) after it has become known that the USA Proxies/mercenaries/Jihadists since long about April-May 2013 have been losing BIG TIME in Syria, forcing some frustrated perverted USA Jihadist proxies to resort to individual war crimes such as cutting out and eating the hearts of Syrian soldiers fighting to preserve Ba�ath Socialism! There is NO STALEMATE in Syria as the USA-controlled media would like the masses to believe. There is no sectarian conflict in Syria simply because the USA directs its Zombie proxies to fire into Alawite areas and dress up as Syrian Military or Paramiltary Shabiha and commit death squad provocations/massacres ala John Negroponte�s El Salvador! There is NO CONFUSION about what is happening in Syria except what is generated by USA controlled Big Lie Media. Syrian forces have regained the advantage and are on their way to eliminating USA Proxies in some parts of Syria! (BBC, May 10, 2013). But as AN INVADING ARMY, which they are and will always be, the USA proxies cannot be permitted to remain in Syria ON ANY BASIS!

    Regarding the political maneuver of FALSE DISASSOCIATION mentioned above between Obama and Russia, the same maneuver is applied domestically in the USA in multiple ways. The Republicans and Teabags attack the right-wing republican/NAZI Obama, their closest ally and de facto leader, for not �supplying enough security before the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi,� Libya in order to falsely disassociate from Obama and provide him �LEFT COVER� as he labors: 1.) To undermine Social Security: by incrementally decreasing the Payroll Tax in order to cause the Social Security Trust Fund to run a deficit for the first time in history, and 2.) Implements �Sequester Austerity��both tactics of Economic Warfare of Extermination directed against the American people. See: Materialist Economic Analysis. In the same way Obama instructed the �justice department� to spy on the Associated Press and other media (New York Times, May 13, 2013) in order to 1.) Intimidate the general public to �mind what they think and read� (the intended �chilling effect�) and 2.) To try to legitimize the Big Lie Media of the capitalist dictatorship so that the masses will be gulled into absurdly believing that the media tells the truth when virtually every �news� story is a lie on one basis or another! The Boston Marathon �War on Terror� Mass Provocation Bombing, on the other hand was a set-up similar to the 911 Trade Center Attack/Provocation Set-up, carried out to perpetuate and escalate domestic police state surveillance and highly-publicized �searches (by actual death squads) of anyone opposed to the US government� in order to INTIMIDATE the entire USA population, which opposes the enforced austerity of �the Sequester� and Economic War of Extermination being carried out against them not to mention the new USA policies of Permanent War and State Terrorism being carried out worldwide! USA is also waging war against it own people!

    National Security Agency Surveillance Programs, Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning:

    The subsequent revelation by all media on June 7, 2013 of GIGANTIC USA and UK phone and Internet surveillance programs rubber-stamped by Congress and �secret intelligence courts� documents this conclusively. It was revealed that the so-called National Security Agency (NSA) and MI6 British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) have ALSO been tapping directly into servers of ALL social media websites, e.g. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc. to track Online communication in a program called �PRISM!� The capitalist dictatorship also controls the entire Internet by either permitting NO COMMENT WHATSOEVER or by requiring �sign-ins� and �passwords,� which the so-called �intelligence community� then immediately deletes (!) to prevent access to virtually ALL media websites, which block any political comments except occasional brainless �peanut gallery twitter-type� responses. The USA also blocks hundreds of servers so that American users of the Internet are never able to read anything but approved propaganda and Big Lies of Commission or Omission. Chopping up sentences into sentence fragments separated by huge spaces sometimes as large as several lines is another method virtually ALL websites use to decrease readership even of comments they do permit! �We are modifying comments� blocks the rest! The irrefutable fact that ALL �Terrorist Plots� from the 911 Trade Center Provocation Attack to the 2001 and Subsequent Anthrax Provocations to the Underpants Bomber to the Times Square Bomber to the Boston Marathon Bombers to the Buffalo New York High School Student �Terrorist Plot� to the Florida High School Student �Terrorist Plot� were ALL SET-UPS is proof that the claim by �Gen.� Keith Alexander, director of the NSA, that �surveillance helped stop dozens of attacks� is a BIG LIE! (Even Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall said they had seen no evidence NSA programs had produced "uniquely valuable intelligence.� The surveillance described by Edward Snowden was partly used to locate anti-American Islamic Fundamentalists in the USA, who were then immediately contacted by deep-cover NSA/CIA agents sent in who pretended to support them, manipulated them and then set them up with explosives, help with picking targets, etc. Thus any supposed �terrorist plot� has already been reported in the media! There were not more than a half-dozen �plots!� The USA also spies on China, Russia, UK, EU and all 197 countries in the UN! There can be no exceptions! The USA is waging war on various levels against the entire world!

    Although media coverage of Edward Snowden has focused on his �fugitive� status and the question of which country will grant him asylum there has also been an enormous media build-up of Snowden and Bradley Manning, and previously Julian Assange, comparing them to Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers, who merely represented that faction of USA capitalism which wanted an end to the Vietnam War; Woodward and Bernstein who wrote a cover-up of the Watergate Bloodless Removal of Richard Nixon by Nelson Rockefeller�the real �Deep Throat;� and Phillip Agee. Agee was a CIA deep cover �limited hang-out� operative who specialized in �Covert Action� information who pretended he had �defected from the CIA� in the 1980s and acted as a supposed �authoritative source� for leftists unaware of his purpose, which was to try to monopolize �truth� about capitalist statecraft and conspiracies in order to cover up actual imperialist political policies and political assassinations, etc. from a supposed �left� position and keep genuine opposition loyal to capitalism by keeping them confused and by never ever proposing the solution�Socialism. Manning and Assange, on the other hand appear to be manipulee cutouts. There is no possible way that Bradley Manning or any one person anywhere could have accumulated 250,000 United States diplomatic state department cables plus 500,000 army reports (the Iraq War logs and Afghan War logs) onto one or even two (2) computers (!), which were then serialized by Wikileaks� Julian Assange, WHO CENSORED (�redacted�) ALL documents before release to the media! It took a lot of long, coordinated arduous work from all branches and offices of the State Department worldwide and the USA military to get this information to these people who were then hung out to dry! Assange, a vehement anti-Communist who also �documented millions of e-mails sent by the Syrian government and business officials,� (New York Times, June 24, 2013) thus assisting the USA in its Proxy Invasion of Syria (!), is presented as the only person in his Australian University class who did not work for DARPA! Right! (HaHaHa!) Assange undoubtedly has been working for DARPA the whole time as a deep-cover �intelligence� operative. The Wikileaks revelations were apparently thus a total set-up: 1.) to popularize USA Statecraft and 2.) to try to generate patriotism at the same time by denouncing and charging Manning and Assange and now Snowden as �traitors!� Manning and Snowden naively think that the only alternative is to claim to be �patriots.� Remember this is not our country; we just live here! We owe no loyalty to the capitalist dictatorship! Precisely the opposite!

    Snowden is now �being accompanied by one of Wikileaks legal advisors �at all times,�� (BBC, June 26, 2013), acting for the USA �intelligence community,� in order to prevent Snowden from divulging ANY of his actual documents to the Russian Federation, thus demonstrating that �Wikileaks� is a total sham and has NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER of publishing Snowden�s actual uncensored documents Online! Snowden, by his statements appears to be entirely different than Manning and Assange, who indeed may or may not have inspired him! Manning, though he had huge outside �help� appears to have been sincerely motivated, while Assange was NOT and IS NOT! Snowden alone appears to have credibility in what he did and from his statements and apparently had no outside help and is therefore apparently entirely legitimate. However, the mass awareness of the such a huge surveillance operation which included emails, telephone calls and Internet social networking sites, etc., which is almost entirely useless from an intelligence point of view as explained above, as US Senators Wyden et al concur, except perhaps to locate and manipulate Islamists for possible �terrorist plot� set-ups, DOES nevertheless have an enormous INTIMIDATING EFFECT on the USA and EU populations. Such a level of INTIMIDATION functions to hinder and block the ability to organize to oppose the economic and biological extermination programs being organized against them in order to reduce the �population demographic.� The answer is NOT to allow oneself to become intimidated and to organize and to remember that the morale of the entire capitalist dictatorship in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere is at rock bottom! Organization is easier if people are not living in fear! Manning, Snowden and Assange should all be critically supported despite the fact that Manning and Assange and Wikileaks had enormous USA government �assistance� and the information which WAS released is all censored and manipulated except in several cases where it was determined that the cables had to be re-released uncensored otherwise they elicited no interest and they revealed very little of substance in the first place. (�Who was to blame� for the uncensored cables then became an issue and the public was invited to speculate!) This is a very important distinction. Snowden should NEVER EVER turn his documents over to Wikileaks because then they will surely NEVER see the light of day! Wikileaks will censor or just destroy most of the documents! The information all 3 have released and actual circumstances of its release should be used to raise awareness to help reorganize a genuine Communist Party, as we had in the 1930s, and a Socialist Revolution in the USA and Worldwide. Both The Guardian and the Washington Post have covered up almost everything they received from Edward J. Snowden! The Guardian printed the gist of some of it, while the Washington Post printed nothing!! If Snowden wants to get those actual documents published he has to do it himself and stop depending on DARPA! Snowden is an intelligent person but it may be too late when he finally discovers that �Wikileaks� is a sham set up to try to perpetuate the false illusion of �democracy� under the capitalist dictatorship!

    Surveillance by Drones Expands in the USA and Worldwide!

    For purposes of INTIMIDATION almost entirely the Congress has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to open US airspace to unmanned aircraft (drones) by October 2015. The aerospace industry predicts there will be 30,000 drones deployed globally within five years, half of them in the United States the Associated Press news agency reported. (BBC, June 19, 2013) The USA is a hard capitalist dictatorship known as RULE BY DECREE and takes the form of a bureaucratic, military police state which is hardening by the day! The refusal by the Obama Regime to pledge never to use a drone strike to kill an American citizen on U.S. soil who is �suspected of being a terrorist,� proposed by demagogue-Fascist Rand Paul, demonstrates that the issue of NSA/CIA surveillance is being used LARGELY FOR PURPOSES OF INTIMIDATION AS THE USA Capitalist Dictatorship begins to escalate its economic war of extermination of its own people and wants the masses to acquiesce to that extermination due to fear!

    USA/�Israel� Bomb Syria with Depleted Uranium!

    On May 5, 2013 the USA authorized its proxy, so-called �Israel,� working in conjunction with USA proxy Jihadists, to bomb multiple Syrian research and weapons sites using DEPLETED URANIUM bombs. (RT, May 5, 2013) When these bombs explode they spread radioactivity over the entire area and cause astronomical cancer rates for generations where they have been used as in Iraq and Yugoslavia (Kosovo). Syria�s response in accordance with Russian directives was merely to protest a little bit and point out the obvious�that �Israel� was working with �the terrorists!� The primary terrorist, the USA, is never ever mentioned publicly to an international audience. Depleted Uranium Bombing by USA/�Israel� is also supposedly not enough to cause Iran to honor its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact with Syria (!?), which it refuses to do under direct orders from Russia! Depleted Uranium Bombs are the dirtiest of dirty bombs, much, much worse than any chemical warfare, and may have been used as a provocation where USA/�Israel� can subsequently falsely claim: �Syria has now used chemical weapons to try to counter the �harmless� depleted uranium bombs.� (Whaa?) ALL USA munitions down to 50-caliber machinegun ammunition are made ONLY of depleted uranium! The cancer rate in Iraq IS astronomical making Iraq effectively uninhabitable, and was a primary reason for USA withdrawal! And if anyone harbors any illusions about the total USA control of the entire proxy invasion of Syria these were vaporized when a �naturalized Syrian-born American citizen� and undoubted CIA agent, Ghasson Hitto, a supposed �information technology executive� based �until recently� in Texas, as the supposed �prime minister� of the USA-dictated �interim Syrian government charged with funneling aid to �rebels� inside Syria and offering an alternative to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.� (New York Times, March 18, 2013). This USA puppet called for �a government of institutions and law (Huh?) that would be accountable and transparent (Whaaa),� meaning an Jihadist/Sharia Islamic State, and rejected Ba�ath Socialism supported by the overwhelming majority of the Syrian people: 1.) full employment, 2.) free education to the highest level, 3.) no homelessness and 4.) free medical and dental. That�s no good; the people want USA/Libya-style �freedom and democracy� (extermination)! ROFL!




    In Yet Another Provocation the USA Directed Its Syrian Jihadist Proxies
    To Use Chlorine Gas Stolen from Syria Against the Syrian Army in Aleppo, and
    In April 2013 Provided their Mercenaries with USA Grade-A Sarin Nerve Gas then
    Falsely Accused the Ba�ath Socialist Government of Using �Chemical Weapons!�

    In yet another Made-in-USA (escalating) Provocation the USA first directed its mercenary Jihadist Proxy Mercenaries to use chlorine gas against Syrian government forces in Aleppo on March 19th, chlorine gas which had been reported STOLEN from Syrian government stores by the USA proxy �rebels� in December 2012, then falsely accused the Ba�ath Socialist Syrian government of using �chemical weapons.� The protocol of this particular provocation requires that the USA, the orchestrator of the provocation, initially register highly publicized �caution� and �even skepticism (!),� falsely claiming: �there is no evidence to suggest that any chemical weapons had been used!� Then later to become �convinced by new �evidence,�� which is NEVER EVER REVEALED! By late April 2013 the USA had upped the ante by providing their Jihadist proxies with Grade-A Sarin Nerve Gas (�and possibly VX Nerve Gas (!?)�) to use and then falsely accused the Syrian Army! The Ziono-NAZI USA Proxy, so-called �Israel,� and the UK seconded the motion. But the USA demurred stating that Sarin nerve gas use by Syria had not been �confirmed!� Later Obama said HE had seen the �evidence,� but HE would not reveal what it was! Initially even UN Inspection Team Chief, Ake Sellstrom of Sweden, a nominal USA puppet, pronounced the UK: �evidence�inconclusive.� (Reuters, April 29, 2013) The USA thereby uses its �Chemical Weapons Red Line� propagandistically short of sending in its own uniformed (totally demoralized) troops while not violating the Russian Federation�s own �Red Line� of no direct invasion by USA! Just a short time ago the USA appeared to be looking to sponsor an invasion of Syria on any false pretext such as if �Chemical Red Lines� were crossed, but then backed off at the request of Russia. A Reuters photographer (!) was quoted in complete contradiction to the initial official USA chlorine disclaimer (New York Times, March 20, 2013), stating that he had visited patients in hospitals in Aleppo, �mostly women and children,� who told the photographer: �There were people suffocating in the streets and the air smelled strongly of chlorine.� The NY Times revealed: �The Syrian government reported in December (2012) that �rebels� had plundered supplies of chlorine gas�� The USA-dominated world media then tried to switch focus by stating from left field: �American officials believe (Syrian) chemical weapons stores consist of other types of chemical weapons,� thus setting the stage for the next false claim of Sarin Gas chemical weapons use. Russian denial and initial �defense� of Syria�s position that the USA mercenary Jihadists used the chemical weapons is designed to shift the entire focus away from the much more important matter at hand: Using every resource and false argument conceivable Russia is preventing Iran and Syria from implementing their 2005 Mutual Defense Pact. Russia advised Iran �not to jeopardize� phony, go-nowhere �nuclear program (!)� talks which were held in Kazakhstan, or risk �more USA/EU economic sanctions,� while saying little to nothing about how the USA, so-called �Israel� and USA �allied� (puppet) governments in the Middle East and Persian Gulf have combined forces in every way materially and propagandistically and sent their most bloodthirsty, cutthroat Jihadists to INVADE and try to overthrow Ba�ath Socialist Syria! Iran is NEXT!

    Russia, Working closely with the USA and �Israel� has Blocked
    Syria and Iran From Implementing their 2005 Mutual defense Pact
    Which Would END the USA Proxy Invasion ON THE SPOT!

    Syria and Iran have a MUTUAL DEFENSE PACT dating from February 2005. But Russia has interceded and directed that the pact NOT be honored for ANY reason, except in WORDS! Both Syria and Iran have been told by Russia that because the USA-controlled world media has falsely designated the USA Proxy Invasion of Syria as a �civil war� THEY cannot Honor their Mutual Defense Pact for what is being falsely portrayed as �an internal matter!� Russia itself hides the true nature of the USA Proxy Invasion, which they ONLY refer to as �foreign interference� and �outside forces,� with repeated Big Lies of Omission as well as of Commission! Even though Bashar Assad no longer refers to the U.S. Proxy Invasion of Syria as a �civil war� he has NOT acted on his dimly growing awareness by calling for Iran�s direct military assistance to end the invasion on the spot and thereby forestall or prevent entirely a similar invasion of Iran! Reflecting Muammar el-Qaddafi�s delusional and na�ve pleas to Obama calling him �My brother,� while Obama was bombing him and giving direct orders for his assassination, Syrian President Bashar Assad and his prime minister, Wael Nader al-Halqi, under apparent direct orders from Russia, have begun an absurd, bizarrely na�ve and politically retarded �campaign to persuade (the USA) that it is �on the wrong side�� of their own Proxy Invasion of Syria (!), announcing: �We are partners in fighting terrorism.� Huh!! (New York Times, April 25, 2013) Ahmadinejad, Mashaei, Khamenei, etc. are similarly na�ve! The USA/�Israel�/NATO intend to pick off one country after another and Russia is facilitating as much as possible this strategy by the USA. The USA-controlled world capitalist media relentlessly portray Russia as �Syria�s staunch and stalwart friend!� With �friends� like Russia Syria needs no enemies! This is no joke! Syria has been encouraged by Russia to �go it alone� against the USA Proxy Invasion! In order to try to help coax Syria into going it alone the USA openly admits that their proxy/mercenary Jihadist army has only alienated the Syrian masses and minorities alike and has no genuine popular support. �Syrian Rebels Find Hearts and Minds Elusive.� (New York Times, January 16, 2013) But that admission by the USA will NOT allow Syria �going it alone� to defeat a USA Proxy Invasion involving USA mercenary/Jihadists from 29 countries, an army which already OCCUPIES large sections of northern Syria thanks to the Russian Federation and receives open declared economic and military support from the USA/NATO and all the Middle East and Persian Gulf USA puppets! Ending the �EU arms embargo� merely formalized the already existing situation but does allow arms to be shipped directly rather than through intermediaries such as Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia!

    The USA/NATO/�ISRAEL�/Russian Federation Strategy to
    Prevent Iran From Honoring its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact with Syria:

    The war in Syria is a USA Proxy Invasion, which can only be defeated with boots-on-the-ground help of both Iran and Hezbollah! The USA/�Israel� and NATO understand this 100% but the leadership of Syria and Iran do NOT! But Hassan Nasrallah DOES understand it and has promised complete victory for Hezbollah and Syria! (BBC, May 25, 2013) But the USA/NATO/EU are waging Economic War with constantly escalating sanctions against Iran, to weaken and intimidate it while temporarily holding out the false offer of �NUCLEAR TALKS in Kazakhstan� while the USA further intensified economic sanctions maximally to include a commercial trade embargo, a total blacklist of all Iranian companies and individuals, blocking Iran�s access to foreign bank assets held in Euros!! In legislation ridiculously labeled �Nuclear Iran Prevention Act (!?)� the USA now writes the laws for Europe (!), while the USA and its �Israeli� puppet simultaneously threaten bombing. (New York Times, February 28, 2013) The USA-led imperialists know very well that Iran has a ZERO nuclear weapons program! (See IAEA Reports and Combined CIA Estimates below!) The Russian Federation has undoubtedly also told Iran that such a �momentous decision� to honor its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact with Syria must come only AFTER the coming elections in Iran�WHERE ALL POLITICAL/RELIGIOUS FACTIONS OPPOSE THE TRANSPARENT NEW USA STRATEGY OF INVASION BY PROXY, which has IRAN next in its sights?! Syria needs a LOT of IMMEDIATE HELP from its REAL friends RIGHT AWAY! Hezbollah is not large enough to provide this level of assistance alone! Hillary Clinton�s claim that �Iran was sending growing numbers of people and increasingly sophisticated weaponry� to Syria has little basis in fact and no facts are ever cited! Hillary�s claim was made in order to deter Iran from actually doing what it is being falsely accused of and implementing its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact with Syria! RUSSIA meanwhile has been able to HOODWINK IRAN, which is NEXT on the USA/NATO/EU MENU: 1.) To SUPPORT TALKS between Syria and former USA Proxy Invader Leader Khatib (!!), who resigned to protest lack of USA aid and immediately reassumed his phony �leadership� position, and 2.) Engage in Time Wasting False �Nuclear� Talks with the P5+1, (see above) designed to LULL, FLATTER, DISCREDIT and INTIMIDATE Iran, holding out false promises meant to SUBSTITUTE for honoring its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact with Syria! (BBC, Feb. 27, 2013)

    The USA/�ISRAEL� Air Strike on January 30, 2013 Was a PROVOCATION
    Designed to Intimidate, Manipulate and Distract Iran, Syria and Hezbollah!

    The USA/�ISRAEL� Air Strike on January 30, 2013 Targeted the Syrian
    Military Research Center in Jamraya near Damascus, NOT a �Convoy
    Carrying SA-17 Surface-to-Air Missiles� Supposedly Meant for Hezbollah!
    The Primary Purpose of the USA/�Israeli� Air Strike was Precisely to
    Intimidate IRAN so that IRAN WILL NOT HONOR ITS 2005 MUTUAL
    DEFENSE PACT WITH SYRIA AND TO DISTRACT HEZBOLLAH AWAY
    FROM SYRIA AND MAKE THEM THINK MORE ABOUT �ISRAEL!�

    On January 30, 2013 the USA/NATO used its �Israeli� proxy to launch yet another PROVOCATION in order to intimidate and manipulate Iran, Syria and Hezbollah and in order to try to keep them from uniting more effectively against the USA Proxy Invasion of Syria by honoring the Mutual Defense Pact between Iran and Syria! This provocation was very transparent and few should have had difficulty understanding it. By carrying out this blatant Provocation the USA and so-called �Israel� have tipped their hand�if the leadership of Syria and Iran and Hezbollah understand capitalist statecraft! The reason that the USA/�Israelis� falsely claimed that they had attacked a supposed �convoy carrying SA-17 surface-to-air missiles� was to distract Hezbollah away from focusing on giving military assistance to Syria and think��Israel!� The SA-17 is not a weapons system which would even credibly appeal to Hezbollah because SA-17s require large launching systems that use radar and would be easy targets for �Israel� and thus would NOT be �game changing.� The Russian Federation, the supposed �staunch friend of Syria and Iran,� as expected covered up the obvious purpose of this USA/�Israeli� Provocation from its �friends.�

    Russia itself registered simplistic outrage and told Syria to claim (falsely) that the supposedly nebulous purpose of the �Israeli� air strike was to �destabilize Syria?� (Huh, How?) Oh, yes and to send their indignations and complaints to the United Nations, the same UN which is relentlessly calling for the prosecution of the entire Syrian government for �War Crimes� for defending itself against USA Proxy Invasion! Fat chance! IRAN MUST send MASSIVE infantry contingents IMMEDIATELY to Syria, not dribs and drabs! Hezbollah has joined the battle and widened its defense of Syria especially in Qussair. This is the key to victory for progressive forces and an END to all USA/(Russian-Assisted) Proxy Wars in the Middle East and Persian Gulf.

    The �Israeli Tourist� Bus Bombing in Bulgaria Was a Provocation
    Carried Out by Mossad Terrorists in Order to Try to Have
    Hezbollah (!?) Falsely Declared a Terrorist Organization in Europe!

    Note: as part of the ongoing plan to put Hezbollah on the defensive the USA/�Israel� authorized Mossad Terrorists to sacrifice the lives of 5 �Israeli� tourists and injured 30 others in a typical Mossad-Style radio-controlled Bus Bomb Provocation in Bulgaria on July 18, 2012, which the USA directed Bulgaria to falsely �link� first to Iran and then to Hezbollah, in order to try to get Hezbollah declared a �terrorist group.� Later in relentless pursuit of this goal the USA/�Israel� directed its puppet Cyprus to help by prosecuting in a standard total frame-up of an apparently manipulated nonentity, Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, as a supposed �Hezbollah operative� supposedly �involved in planning bomb attacks on �Israeli� tourists.� (February 21, 2013, New York Times) But neither Iran nor Hezbollah would have any MOTIVE whatsoever for such bomb attacks! Only the USA/�Israel� has such a motive: PROVOCATION! Hezbollah is NO TERRORIST GROUP! The USA is in its Final Stage of Permanent War and State Terrorism! Hezbollah is supported by all 17 factions in Lebanon (!), the only group which defeated �Israel� on the ground in the 2006 USA/�Israel� Carpet Bombing/Invasion of Lebanon! (See below.) Hezbollah must not allow itself to be distracted by the USA/�Israel� and right now and understands that it must render maximum assistance to Syria! If Syria falls then Hezbollah falls and then Iran falls! Tightening USA sanctions against Iran�s oil economy and media should be the �tell,� which indicates to Iran that HONORING its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact with Syria is the ONLY possible response which will strengthen Iran�s position and will ultimately force the USA to entirely abandon its �Iran Nuclear Weapons of Mass of Destruction Big Lie!

    Did Russia Really Reaffirm Support for the Ba�ath Socialist Government of Syria?

    On January 6, 2013 the Sunday Times of London reported: �Russia has deployed five landing warships off the Syrian coast in the Mediterranean Sea, carrying military vehicles and hundreds of Russian marines to confront any military intervention� which might start with actual USA/NATO troops invading Syria from Turkey under various pretexts e.g. to �secure and protect (!) Syrian chemical weapons sites.� The WARSHIPS were NOT sent to �evacuate the Soviet/Russian Diaspora in Syria,� as falsely alleged by the USA/NATO media despite the fact that 77 Russian nationals whose homes were destroyed by USA proxies were evacuated through Lebanon on January 22, 2013. The USA has taken an alternative tack and directed its mercenary proxies to the precise locations of Syria�s Chemical Weapons storage sites and simultaneously instructed its PROXY, so-called �ISRAEL� to declare movement of such weapons as a �red line.� �Israel� threatened �to prevent weapons from being transferred to Islamic terror organizations� in the same articles where the USA proxy/terrorist group Jaba el Nusra was video taped near the �fences of Sfira, the chemical weapons installation southeast of Aleppo,� while the so-called �Free Syrian Army� was �fighting another �raging battle� with Syrian forces near another chemical weapons site on the southwestern outskirts of Damascus� (New York Times, January 27, 2013), where they had carefully been directed by USA �intelligence!� Russia, which has numerous trade and economic and emigration agreements with �Israel,� may have agreed to give so-called �Israel� a free hand! Right! See also: http://friendsofsyria.wordpress.com. Although this is a Syrian website it cannot be automatically discounted. This site documents that the overwhelming majority of USA media reports regarding Syria are false, distorted or in many cases entirely fictitious. All those interested in making an objective analysis of Syria by getting Syria�s view should visit this site to strike a balance if the already read the New York Times, BBC, or listen to CNN or FOX.

    What may have influenced the phony re-affirmation of Russian support for the Ba�ath Socialist government and Bashar Assad were the statements made by the USA-backed so-called �Free Syrian Army� invaders after they kidnapped and threatened to kill the Ukrainian reporter Ankhar Kochneva in October 2012, saying that they will �kill all Russians and Ukrainians they find in Syria (!),� which would amount to over 40,000 Russians and Ukrainians! Subsequently it was reported in an article published on Voltaire Network, where Thierry Meyssan acting as an (imagined) mouthpiece for Russia and the USA said: �The US administration has clearly decided to turn the page on the (so-called) �Free Army,� reminding that the US National Intelligence Council in Washington has sarcastically announced that the �global Jihad will soon disappear,� adding that the US is set to start negotiations with Russia for solving the crisis there according to a Geneva statement (?). Thierry Meyssan also claimed: �The Free Syrian Army has no chance to achieve their goals despite the Europeans� unceasing incitement against the Syrian leadership, claiming that the flow of funds and weapons has dried up and a lot of international support has stopped.� The article also stated that the USA administration will �embark on a peace plan on Syria as soon as it gets ratified in the Senate (?).� (Huh? Really?) The article stated also that David Petraeus was removed as head of CIA due to the fact that he was the architect of the war on Syria! There is no basis in fact for any of these wild assertions and as the phony talks in Almity, Kazakhstan demonstrate they are 100% Deception! Even if they were partly true, which they are not, de-funding the so-called �Free Syrian Army� would not stop the war against Syria! Only a complete military defeat of the USA mercenary/proxies/Jihadists invaders will accomplish that no matter what sort of reforms Syria agrees to. Even If all major FSA funding were stopped it would still not be possible for the Syrian Army to defeat the USA proxies/mercenaries! They would continue to receive various sorts of independent funding. Iran must honor its Mutual Defense Pact in order to end the USA Invasion. On February 27, 2013 the USA NAZI Obama Regime announced that it was enormously increasing the mass training of their proxies and was increasing supplies of all types. (New York Times) On March 13, 2013 the UK and France followed suite and threatened to unilaterally end the nonexistent-in-practice EU weapons embargo to the USA Proxies. The USA has been in charge of the entire Syrian operation from the beginning and has supplied weapons both directly and indirectly from the beginning. (See herein.) This is a USA War against Syria!! But Russia used the occasion to criticize the UK and France thereby putting itself in the position to continue to withhold military assistance to Syria or to begin to help Syria if the UK and France follow through on their threat. Nothing is said about the USA, which controls it all!

    Bashar Assad is also NOT living on a Russian warship, another USA BIG LIE, a �super-whopper,� which would constitute granting Bashar Assad Russian political asylum, an act which would automatically undermine the strongly recently re-stated Russian position on Syria that the Syrian people must decide whether Bashar Assad would remain in a leadership role in the Syrian government. But the truth is that Russia has completely thrown in the towel on Syria, which it had set up for defeat from the very beginning, while simultaneously denying it, and continuing to allow USA-backed proxies to set off bombs all over Syria, remaining silent while the USA blamed Syria itself and initiated multiple mass provocations! But due to continued massive popular support for Bashar Assad and Ba�ath Socialism in Syria and among progressive forces worldwide Russia finds that it cannot so easily and OBVIOUSLY desert Syria directly to a USA/NATO invasion! (See: New York Times, December 13-14, 2012) Russia continues to discourage Syria�s ally Iran from immediately coming to the direct aid of Syria and honoring its 2005 Mutual Defense Pact by putting boots on the ground, which would end the USA proxy invasion ON THE SPOT! In addition, the Russian Federation has brainwashed Bashar Assad to make bizarre fruitcake pronouncements such as: �In the event of a foreign invasion of Syria, the fallout would be too dire for the world to bear.� HUH? WHAT? Come again? That is TOTALLY RIDICULOUS! Syria is ALREADY experiencing an unprecedented foreign proxy invasion of USA mercenaries from 29 countries, which have been openly and admittedly directed by USA Ambassador Robert Stephen Ford specially trained in death squad techniques by John Negroponte, and CIA Special Forces since early August 2012 and before that, exactly like in Libya (Reuters, August 2, 2012). Russia has totally BRAINWASHED Bashar Assad, an excellent ophthalmologist, but a completely na�ve political �leader,� to believe such malarkey so he would not think to use his own infantry more tactically and also to call for direct INFANTRY and ground force support from IRAN! Russian-hypnotized-puppet-Bashar Assad still refuses to call for aid from Iran and lets the USA unilaterally escalate its Proxy Invasion of Syria. So Hezbollah has increased its military support of Syria starting at Qusair! Hezbollah should directly attack and destroy USA/Turkish patriot missile batteries recently installed on the border with Turkey if they become any problem! Hezbollah has also begun to mount other LARGE GROUND offensives against the USA/�Israel�/Jihadist proxies in Syria, e.g. in Aleppo! Progressive forces in the Mideast CANNOT just stand back idly and allow the USA to overthrow Syria for any reason. Hezbollah and Iran will be next! That is a certainty! That is the USA AGENDA and the agenda of capitalism now in its End-Stage! The USA has also directed its puppet Lebanese government forces (!) to invade the Syrian border province of Homs as it became known on November 30, 2012 when Syrian forces killed 17 depraved Fascist �Lebanese fighters.� (BBC, November 30, 2012) Remember that the USA/�Israeli�-puppet Lebanese government refused to defend Lebanon against USA/�Israel� in the 2006 USA/�Israeli� Air War and Invasion of Lebanon, which had the USA-declared objective to �bomb Lebanon back to the Stone Age!� Only Hezbollah defended Lebanon! Syria and Iran defended Hezbollah! Hezbollah must widen and extend its defense of Syria at all levels and be prepared to defend Iran, which is paralyzed by inaction!

    The USA/�Israeli� has threatened to bomb Iran with the Claim, which has been VERIFIED as 100% FALSE�by Mohamed ElBaradei IAEA Chief from 1997-2009 and multiple USA Combined Intelligence Reports, that Iran supposedly has a �nuclear weapons project� (Weapons of Mass Destruction!�Iraq D�j� Vu all over again and again and again! Why not buy it one more time, kiddies?)� That threat is primarily to intimidate Iran from directly coming to the aid of Syria rather than just talking about it! Economic sanctions against Iran are also designed to intimidate Iran and discourage Iran from coming to the aid of Syria. Instead, Russia tells Iran to engage in �diplomacy (!),� meaning to go on their knees and beg the USA �pretty please with sugar on top remove your economic sanctions!� The USA ONLY respects STRENGTH! Meanwhile the USA FALSE FLAG PROVOCATIONS HAVE ESCALATED with the USA directing its mercenary proxies in Syria to fire weapons into so-called �Israel� and Jordan in addition to Turkey allowing both Turkey and Jordan to make requests to NATO for USA Patriot Missile antiaircraft missile batteries, requests which have been granted resulting in a limited NO-FLY ZONE despite all denials (See: BBC, January 14, 2013) and set the stage for further provocations to provide the pretext for open foreign invasion threatened by the USA, or more likely other NATO forces or USA proxy �Israel� under the pretext to �secure Syrian chemical weapons!� But that threat has apparently been shelved by the USA at least! On the other hand Russia has treacherously publicly called Bashar Assad a �weak leader,� while hypocritically excoriating him as �a butcher (!)� (New York Times, December 21, 2012) as great thanks to Assad for following Russia�s opportunist and deliberately self-defeating instructions to the letter. The Russian Federation has counted on TIME to present the Ba�ath Socialist Syrian government with a Fait Accompli: USA PROXY OVERTHROW, which Russia has actively and passively supported, but under the condition that Syria be overthrown by the USA proxies alone without direct USA invasion! Admittedly this does not seem possible and by June 2013 it appeared that the USA Proxy Invasion would be defeated! Note: the USA has stepped up the organized attacks against Putin in Russia. (New York Times, June 12, 2013.)

    There can be NO �Political Solution� or �National Dialogue� with
    USA Mercenaries/Proxies/Terrorists Running Around in Syria!
    There Are NO �Rebels��only USA Proxy/Mercenaries/Jihadists!

    The Truth is that the ONLY correct solution in Syria involves the complete and TOTAL MILITARY DEFEAT of the USA proxy mercenary invading army! There can be no �political solution� or �national dialogue� with USA mercenaries/proxies/terrorists running around in Syria. Russia could easily end the latest USA Proxy War to Overthrow Ba�ath Socialist Syria BUT IT DOES NOT WANT TO! Russia has made it clear to the USA that it will not accept direct invasion of Syria by USA forces. But that is not enough to defeat the ongoing USA-directed foreign invasion of Syria even though by June 12, 2013 the USA Proxies were losing in ALL key areas! The most comprehensive and surest way to put an end to the USA �Jihadist Spring� in Syria would be to: 1.) Present an open honest materialist analysis of the USA attempt to overthrow Syria as done here, and 2.) Suggest that Iran implement its MUTUAL DEFENSE PACT with Syria by also putting boots ON THE GROUND IMMEDIATELY to help defeat the USA-backed and directed foreign aggression! Iran and Russia (fat chance!) must forcefully but diplomatically explain that it takes support by Syrian allies to militarily defeat what is a foreign invasion of Syria�NOT a �civil war!�

    The declared objective of the USA-organized so-called �National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces��90%-dominated by the USA/�Israel� PUPPET-Mohamed Morsi�s so-called Moslem Brotherhood (!), is to set up a USA proxy government in waiting for Syria precisely as was done with Libya, a creepy scene directly out of a nightmare horror movie such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)! (See: New York Times, November 1, 2012). In their dreams this group was also set up to try to lead the USA cutthroat Jihadist mercenaries/proxies to overthrow Ba�ath Socialist Syria supported by 23 million Syrians and impose an Islamic State and Sharia in multi-ethnic, multi-religion, modern day Syria just like the USA did in Libya with a No-Fly Zone and only 20,000 Jihadists! Note that the motive for �criticism� of USA-puppet Morsi by the USA and �Israel� for standard demagogic anti-Zionist statements Morsi made over 3 years ago was to try to manipulate Palestinians into supporting the USA Proxy Invasion of Syria, against their own best interests! (New York Times, January 16, 2013) Morsi is a fully documented USA puppet and openly supports the USA Proxy Invasion of Syria and intensified the blockade of the GAZA/Egyptian tunnels to help the �Israelis� exterminate the Palestinians!

    The name �Bashar Assad� is actually a codeword and a shorthand for Ba�ath Socialism, which is the REAL TARGET along with Syrian alliances with the Hezbollah and Palestinian National Liberation Movements! There is no �uprising� in Syria and there is no �civil war� in Syria and there is no �revolution� in Syria (what a horrible joke)! The USA is trying to overthrow the Ba�ath Socialist Party-led government of Syria with an army of USA proxies composed of very heavily armed (not �lightly armed�) domestic (50%) and foreign mercenary Jihad/Sharia-oriented Islamic Fundamentalist (50%) forces according to one of the founders of Doctors Without Borders, Jacques Beres. (New York Times, September 11, 2012) All are openly paid by the USA and EU through Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar! (BBC, April 1, 2012) According to other reports foreign Salafi Jihadists account for a much larger percentage of USA Proxies! The USA supplies their Syrian proxies/mercenaries/contras with salaried payments (!) and weapons passed through Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, none of which possess an arms industry! In order to hide this obvious, repeatedly fully documented fact and repeated open admissions that the USA arms its Syrian mercenaries through Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and in order to try to make their attempted regime change/coup d�etat in Syria appear to be ridiculously �home grown� the USA runs articles preposterously asserting that most Syrian mercenaries� weapons are �homemade!� (Front page: New York Times, August 29, 2012) The USA has also made the absurd claim that the majority of the Syrian army can just hardly wait to defect to the USA/�Israeli� side (!) and give up that �horrible Ba�ath Socialism (!)� in favor of Jihad, Sharia and Islamic Fundamentalism!� (BBC, September 10, 2012) Yeck! But the USA later was forced to retract that bizarre claim. (New York Times, October 4, 2012) Neither a foreign invasion nor a domestic proxy invasion orchestrated and armed by the USA, nor a coup d�etat attempt qualifies as a �civil war.� There is no civil war in Syria! The explanation is obvious: the USA is in the process of trying to overthrow the sovereign state of Syria! Syria needs the help of Iran on the Ground to completely eliminate the USA mercenary Invaders. Exposing the attempted overthrow of Syria by the USA using Al Qaeda and the �al-Nusra Front� Jihadists defines the actual situation. Iran�s direct assistance would allow a clear Syrian Victory. Russian �diplomacy� is a deception! The RT Sophie Shevardnadze interview exposed Bashar Assad as totally brainwashed

    The USA military and CIA have organized and now direct virtually every military move of their Fascist/Jihadist forces directly by CIA boots on the ground and through direct wireless contact with their mercenary proxies and through social networking Internet websites, the USA puppet-leadership of the United Nations, the EU, so-called NGOs and phony so-called �Human Rights� Groups, a formula it has begun to use worldwide to create division and to destabilize dozens of countries! This

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