Eastern Aleppo. al-Nusra occupation. Photo © Jan Oberg 2016
TFF is also your go-to source for understanding the Syria catastrophe in the making from now on.
December 9, 2024
Introduction: The colonialist mentality
Few things should surprise us anymore regarding the un-principled nature of the contemporary Western world. One day it sees a genocide and keeps supporting its ongoing barbarism. The next day – actually December 8 in the early morning – it fully supports terrorism, which, allegedly, it has been fighting since September 11, 2001.
NATO countries such as the US and Turkey are the main supporters of the terrorist movements that have now occupied the cultured country, Syria, home to 25 million extremely mixed people. As far as I have looked into it, no Western leader has pointed out that taking over an entire country and sending its leadership fleeing is a violation of international law; Russia did not even plan to do so in Ukraine, but its invasion was condemned immediately. Not so HTS’s. The UN is, as usual, totally marginalised, it’s Secretary-General silent until now.
We have heard no one expressing regret that a movement such as HTS has been enabled from abroad to conduct such an occupation. What we do hear is that it is good that al-Assad – the dictator, tyrant, or what you please – has been ousted and that – well, perhaps – the HTS+ takeover of Syria might also mean that there are problems ahead – and then (pathetic for the situation) we hear standard pious urgings for dialogue, smooth transition, rule of law, respect for territorial integrity, cooperation among all the groups and democratisation of Syria… that is, all under the new HTS leadership.
In summary, terrorism is perfectly acceptable when it furthers Western political goals – in this case, the regime change begun by the West in 2011 under the cover of the Arab Spring, aiming at getting rid of Syria’s leadership under Bashar al-Assad – whose original sin was to say ‘No’ (like his father) to a Western oil and gas pipeline across all of Syria. Oil, gas and other energy resources are at the bottom of Syria’s political and economic problems, see here.
TFF in Syria December 2016
TFF monitored Syrian developments from 2013 an onwards. In December 2016, we visited Syria, Damascus and Aleppo for ten days. Quite unplanned, the author became one of a handful of Westerners to witness the liberation of Eastern Aleppo on December 12.
Its primary occupier over 4,5 long dark years had been al-Nusra – now the HTS that occupied all of Syria on December 8, took control of the country and sent its president running – or, rather, flying – to Moscow.
While al-Nusra/HTS may have changed or become less extreme or whatever, this author has no illusions about Syria’s future under its occupation.
Below is a collection of what we wrote from 2013 and, in particular in 2016 and well into 2017. It was extremely controversial, as you may see from the article about Western media’s refusal to publish what would normally have been a scoop because they had no one present there themselves. Further, it was in the spring of 2017 that TFF’s articles and sites began to be de-ranked in Google, censored and saw all posts on, e.g. Facebook, reach only a small fraction of what we reached before. Again, we have no illusions about what was once upon a time called free media.
Before you delve into TFF’s research-based, genuine library of Syria materials, let us point your attention in the direction of a couple of crucial background readings, which are short, very readable, American and totally different from the mass media’s mass deception:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2016
Why the Arabs Don’t Want Us in Syria.
They don’t hate ‘our freedoms.’ They hate that we’ve betrayed our ideals in their own countries – for oil.
Gary Busch 2019
Oil and Water -The Immiscible Solution To The War in Syria
William R. Polk 2013
Understanding Syria: From Pre-Civil War to Post-Assad
How drought, foreign meddling, and long-festering religious tensions created the tragically splintered Syria we know today.
Chas Freeman 2024 (Video)
Syria Collapse: Israel Wins, Russia Setback, Iran Isolated & Closer to Bomb
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TFF-produced research materials – various TFF Associates’ analyses:
First, TFF’s present main site, The Transnational from 2018:
If you search “Syria,” you will get around 370 articles and videos.
But today?
Second, TFF’s archive homepage 2011-2017:
December 2017
TFF PressInfo # 438: Aleppo’s Liberation one year ago – Anybody ashamed today?
November 2017
Israel’s Ploy Selling a Syrian Nuke Strike
October 2017
Establish an International Tribunal or Commission on the International War In Syria
September 2017
Have We Been Deceived Over Syrian Sarin Attack?
July 2017
How CIA and Allies trapped Obama in the Syrian Arms Debacle
June 2017
What’s offensive and defensive in Syria
June 2017
Washington’s new threat against Syria, Russia and Iran: Invitation to false flag operation
June 2017
Washington’s new threat against Syria, Russia and Iran: Invitation to false flag operation
May 2017
Safe zones in Syria – very problematic
May 2017
What is wrong with Trump’s attack on Syria?
May 2017
Safe Zones in Syria: A double-edged sword
May 2017
TFF PressInfo # 414 (B): Trump in Riyadh – A Gulf NATO to gang up against Iran and Syria
May 2017
TFF PressInfo # 414 (A): Trump in Riyadh – A Gulf NATO to gang up against Iran and Syria
April 2017
Syria – two perspectives illustrated
April 2017
US/NATO increasing tension with Russia – focus Syria: New frosty Cold War
April 2017
TFF Live: US bombing Syria – How could they be so sure?
March 2017
TFF PressInfo # 410: The meaninglessness of war: Aleppo Photo Series # 6
March 2017
Vittnesrapport från Aleppo, en annorlunda konfliktanalys och vägar till fred i Syrien
February 2017
TFF PressInfo # 405: Keep focus on Aleppo and global dimensions of Syria
February 2017
TFF PressInfo # 404: Unique Aleppo photos seen by over 100.000 people but not in mainstream media
February 2017
If you want peace, don’t focus on the violence and the evil guy
February 2017
School in an Aleppo factory
February 2017
The more I wonder about Aleppo…
January 2017
Comments on the Syria ceasefire talks in Astana
January 2017
TFF PressInfo # 399: US Congresswoman Tulsi
Gabbard (D) visits Syria
January 2017
TFF Photo Story: Faces of Aleppo. Just out of 4,5 years of occupation hell
January 2017
TFF PressInfo # 398: Syria and Aleppo – Old news media falling
January 2017
TFF Photo Story: Aleppo’s evil humanitarians
December 2016
Photo Story: Humans in liberated Aleppo
December 2016
Photo story: The destruction of Eastern Aleppo
December 2016
TFF PressInfo # 397: Syria’s destruction – When everybody thinks power and no one thinks peace
December 2016
Impressions of Damascus and its amazing, kind people
December 2016
TFF Peace and Conflict Mission to Syria # 1
November 2016
TFF PressInfo # 392: Just how grey are the White Helmets and their backers?
November 2016
Syria: Change the Russia-NATO discourse
October 2016
Syria: Why the Lausanne meeting would fail – predictably
September 2016
TFF PressInfo # 388: The War On Terror – A predictable fiasco
April 2016
Danmark skal heller ikke bombe i Syrien – 6 artikler
March 2016
TFF PressInfo # 369 – A Sunni-Salafist-Zionist Coalition Changing Middle East?
March 2016
TFF PressInfo # 365: Denmark to attack in Syria – too
February 2016
TFF PressInfo # 363: Can we give meaning to the destruction of Syria?
February 2016
Syria talks suspended: Open Letter
January 2016
TFF PressInfo 355: The deeper reason Syria negotiations are doomed
January 2014
TFF PressInfo – Geneva will fail but don’t blame only the Syrian parties
January 2014
TFF PressInfo – Why is everybody ignoring Syria’s people?
December 2013
Syria – how surprising!
September 2013
Syrien – hvad kunne være gjort og hvad kan stadig gøres?
On TFF’s Associates’ Blog 2011-2017, you find 190 entries: those above in thi section and other articles which mention Syria in a larger framework but do not have Syria as their main focus.
