Information and disinformation in the war against ISIS

I woke up in the early hours of this morning to the news that the Russian air force had struck militant targets near Idlib, in the north of the country. 

ISIS HQ, command point, ammo depot destroyed in Russian military Syria night op

© Russian Defence Ministry / YouTube

The footage shot by drones shows Russian airstrikes on ISIS infrastructure near Idlib and al-Latamna.

The bombing of the IS ammunition depot to the southwest of Idlib was carried out after confirmation from several intelligence channels, including air reconnaissance. The footage clearly shows a large area of impact, created partly by weapons catching fire after the strike.

Russian Aerospace Forces engaged another four #ISIS facilities in #Syria this nighthttp://t.co/YRCQ4RVCuB#video#BBC#AirForce

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) October 1, 2015

READ MORE: Russian Air Force in Syria deploying over 50 planes & choppers – Defense Ministry

The video also shows a solidly constructed, three-story concrete building lying in ruins after an SU-25 scored a direct hit with FAB-500 bombs. Nearby structures were not affected by the airstrike. The IS outpost was completely obliterated in the raid.

Russian Airstrikes Destroy ISIL HQ in Syria

Even in my half-wake state I was able to find all the inconsistencies (to be air) in the BBC story which came out a little after the initial announcement by Moscow. This was my immediate comment, one which I find no reason to amend:

"I'm in awe of the BBC. 

They're able to tell us straight off who was hit in these strikes (reportedly). 

The Russians, who are doing this in conjunction with the Syrian government "don't have the intelligence that the U.S. has". 

The U.S. intelligence is so f...king good they manage to supply the Islamic State with equipment instead of the Kurds or, (in Pakistan or Iraq), hit wedding parties on numerous occasions. 

They couldn't be making it up, could they? 

Sputnik's report was made about 3-4 hours ago - the BBC was able to get its report out about 2 hours ago. 

They seem to have a practice of not indicating times or  when and if they have edited their report (unlike both RT and Sputnik which are very exact about this)."

The truth is of course that not only are the Russian airstrikes carried out under international law and at the invitation of an elected government but they are also a lot more accurate than the illegal American raid and carried out in conjunction with the Syrian government.

Here is the BBC version of events - 

Syria conflict: Russia launches fresh strikes

Where is Idlib on this BBC map?  The latest airstrikes were carried out at Idlib while the impressionis created that they were carried out clsoer to Latakia

What follows is a cross-section of articles from Russian and other media that gives the lie to the BBC and other western narrative.

Information warfare: Russia accused of killing civilians in Syria

It didn’t take long, after Russia began its anti-terrorist bombing campaign, for social media to be flooded with ‘evidence’ of civilian casualties. The claims were readily repeated by Western mainstream media

The problem with western media is they rely on people having amnesia. Some people, though, notice the inconsistancies. They also have to remember their lies.

No ISIS Where Russia Is Bombing–Except Last Week, When ISIS Was Killing Gay Men There?

FAIR,

30 September, 2015

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia suddenly escalated the stakes in his contest with the West over influence in the Middle East on Wednesday, as Russian pilots carried out their first airstrikes in Syria….

Russian officials and analysts portrayed the move as an attempt both to fight Islamic State militants and to try to ensure the survival of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Russia’s main ally in the Middle East. But Homs is not under the control of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

—New York Times (9/30/15)

A Syrian opposition activist network, the Local Co-ordination Committees, said Russian warplanes hit five towns—Zafaraneh, Rastan, Talbiseh, Makarmia and Ghanto—resulting in the deaths of 36 people, including five children.

None of the areas targeted were controlled by IS, activists said.

—BBC (9/30/15)

The Islamic State jihadist group executed nine men and a boy it accused of being gay in central and northern Syria on Monday, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the jihadists shot dead seven men in Rastan, a town in Homs province of central Syria, “after accusing them of being homosexual.”

—AFP (9/21/15)

RT us great at pointing out double standards and inconsistancies

Lavrov: We know about many fires ‘gasolined’ by Pentagon

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov replies to the United States Secretary of Defense's that Moscow is fanning Syria conflict with gasoline

Putin: Claims Russian jets killed civilians in Syria emerged before airstrikes started

RT,

1 October, 2015

Reports of alleged casualties among civilians caused by Russian airstrikes in Syria emerged even before Russian warplanes were launched for their first combat mission, President Vladimir Putin said, branding such reports 'information attacks.'

Follow RT's LIVE UPDATES on Russian anti-terror op in Syria

“Other nations have been bombing Syrian territory for over a year,” Putin told the Russian human rights council on Thursday, stressing that the US-led coalition invades the Syrian airspace with no UN mandate or invitation from Damascus.

“We have such an invitation and we intend to fight against terrorist organizations and them only,” Putin added.

MORE: The fleet includes latest Su-24M and Su-25 ground attack planeshttp://t.co/igZwyCsMYMpic.twitter.com/N1EycGFHxO

— RT (@RT_com) October 1, 2015

The Russian leader also commented on the alleged civilian casualties caused by Russian warplanes in Syria.

“As for media reports claiming that the civilian population is suffering, we are prepared for such information attacks. The first reports about civilian casualties emerged even before our planes got in the air,” he said.

Dozens of videos allegedly showing the aftermath of Russian bombings of residential areas in Syria surfaced online on Wednesday, after Moscow announced a bombing campaign designed to help Syrian government forces fight the Islamic State terrorist group.

Russia believes them to be information warfare, and has called on the media and foreign officials to carefully verify information coming from Syria before judging it truthful.

That’s information warfare - as expected Russia accused of killing civilians in Syriahttp://t.co/ndzk8TwQrJpic.twitter.com/rZlO5wHG5n

— RT (@RT_com) October 1, 2015

Putin added that the US and Russia must establish a mechanism for sharing information about military action in Syria, which would allow the two nations to root out false reports.

“That’s why we are establishing contact between our special services and those of the US, between our military departments,” he said. “I hope it will result in the establishing of some permanent mechanism.”

On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported hitting 12 targets belonging to the IS terrorist group since starting military action in Syria.

The tasks set for the Russian Air Force in Syria over the last 24 hours have been “fully completed,” said Igor Klimov, a Russian Air Force spokesman. 

“Recorders’ data showed that Russian airstrikes hit only the targets belonging to IS terrorist group infrastructure,"Klimov said as cited by TASS. 

The country's forces neither planned nor carried out any attacks against civilian infrastructure, he dded.

The Russian effort is designed to provide air support to the Syria army, which is struggling to contain the spread of jihadist militants in the war-torn country.

Syrian military provides intelligence on prospective targets for Russian forces in Syria, which is double-checked before clearance is given to deliver a strike, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

Info on Civilian Casualties Appeared Before Russian Jets in Syrian Airspace.

Soros-funded 'White Helmets' NGO caught faking 'civilian casualties of Russian airstrikes' in Syria

The Soros-sponsored "White Helmets," one of the largest NGOs operating on the territory of Syria, is busy with cooking up lies instead of protecting the human rights of the Syrian people. 

Sputnik,

30 October, 2015

The "White Helmets," a controversial quasi-humanitarian organization, is playing dirty in Syria: the NGO has been spotted fabricating "evidence" of Russia's "disastrous" involvement in Syria.

The organization has published a photo on its Twitter account, depicting a bleeding girl claiming that the poor child was injured together with a number of civilians during the Russian airstrike launched on September 30. 

Russia strike in Homs today. 33 civilians killed including 3 children and 1 @SyriaCivilDef volunteer.pic.twitter.com/5aYYSrwv2d— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) September 30, 2015

"Russia strike in Homs today. 33 civilians killed including 3 children and 1 @SyriaCivilDef volunteer," the organization's tweet reads. 

Our NGO partner uses a Sept 25th photo to document Russia Sept 30th strikes against ISIS and AQ.#BestPractices pic.twitter.com/hpAyVVu0E1— U.S. Dept. of Fear (@FearDept) September 30, 2015

However, the false claim was immediately exposed: Twitter users discovered that the photo of the wounded girl was actually taken on September 25, 2015, five days ago. 

The White Helmets in their haste to point the finger of blame at Moscow, managed to tweet about Russia's air strikes several hours before the Russian Parliament actually authorized the use of the Air Force in Syria. 

In her recent interview with Sputnik, investigative journalist and peace activist Vanessa Beeley pointed out that the White Helmets (formerly called the Syria Civil Defense) was not created by Syrians and certainly does not operate in Syria's interests.Funded by the UK, US and the Syrian Opposition Party, the controversial organization works mainly with the rebel group Jabat al-Nusra, the infamous al-Qaeda affiliate. 

"White Helmets demonizes the Assad government and encourages direct foreign intervention," Beeley told Sputnik. 


This features an intervew with Michel Chossudovaky

Russian Airstrikes in Syria Targeted 'NATO Created Mercenaries'

Russia started its air campaign against ISIL in Syria, following a request for assistance from Damascus in the fight against terrorism

Sputnik,

1 October, 2015

Soon after the first Russian strikes in Syria some media outlets were quick to come up with reports claiming that the Moscow-led campaign already resulted in civilian deaths.

The Russian decision to launch military operations against the Islamic State extremist group in Syria has changed the layout of the civil war in the country.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin refuted the rumors of Russian airstrikes hitting non-terrorist infrastructure in Syria as groundless, emphasizing that there has been no verified information of such activity.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konoshenkov told reporters on Wednesday that Moscow had carried out 20 airstrikes solely against the Islamic State on the first day of its air campaign. He also underlined that the Russian jets did not hit any civilian infrastructure or areas nearby – as was alleged earlier by some media.

Professor Michel Chossudovsky, director of the Canadian Centre for Research on Globalization, spoke to Sputnik in an exclusive interview about how Russia is helping Syria in the fight against the US-supported terror groups in Syria.

“First of all it is important to underline the fact that all these terrorist organizations are supported by US intelligence. In fact the mainstream media now has acknowledged that these rebels are supported by the CIA. The Wall Street Journal says Russian airstrikes in Syria targeted CIA-backed rebels.”

“These rebels are terrorists including the al-Nusra Front. What I think is at stake here is that the Russian air force is now waging targeted attacks directed against al-Nusra in coordination with the Syrian government and what the US is saying is that in a way Russia is going after America’s good-guy terrorists rather than the bad-guy terrorist. They are making a distinction between ISIL and other terrorist organizations, all of which are covertly supported by the US,” Chossudovsky told Sputnik.

He went on to say that Russia is targeting the foot soldiers of the western military alliance, “Basically the mercenaries that have been recruited right from the beginning by NATO, the Turkish High Command with the complicity of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.”

Chossudovsky reminded that in early 2012 Washington categorized al-Nusra as a terrorist organization but now it is supporting al-Nusra front officially.

“Western media is contradicting itself but it is also acknowledging candidly that the CIA is supporting the al-Qaeda affiliated groups inside Syria.”

Talking about the Russian airstrikes in Syria, the expert said, “It is ironic that the United States and its allies including Britain, France and Canada have been bombing Syria and Iraq for over a year and we are talking about several thousand strikes and there is ample evidence, not from Western media, that these strikes were not directed towards the terrorist targets but were directed towards civilian infrastructure.”

He said that Russia is involved in a very precise bombing exercise rather than carpet bombing the country as United States has done, the media is now accusing them of targeting civilians. It is a double discourse with no proof of it.

Chussudovsky added that the US has been bombing Syria without the authority of the sovereign government and in violation of international law.

They're OUR Terrorists, we made them, we Finance and arm them. they Belong to us

Do these people look anything like the people (whether 'modeate' or not) who are fighting against the Syrian government and are being supported by America and their Saudi allies?

Syria: Russian air strikes welcomed in Assad's heartland

Syrians loyal to President Assad express their gratitude to the Russians for their decision to start bombing raids against their enemies. Lindsey Hilsum reports from the port city of Tartous

Good commentary on Press TV

Obama outmatched by Putin in Syria

Press TV

US President Barack Obama’s recent speech at the United Nations underscored weakness by a leader whose policies have isolated the United States and placed the Middle East on a destructive path, a US military analyst in California says. “He’s outmatched very simply by [Russian] President Vladimir Putin, who is a brilliant thinker, very strong speaker, a man of integrity and honor and character and honesty,” said Scott Bennett, a former US Army psychological warfare officer. “Barack Obama’s behavior at the United Nations is a very clear indication of a man on his last legs of sanity, clear thinking, confidence; he is on the borderline of having a schizophrenic mental emotional breakdown,” Bennett told Press TV on Wednesday. “He was not a strong man when he came into office, he is not a strong character at all…he has made every bad choice and bad policy that a man can make in the presidency of the United States,” he said.

Speaking Tuesday at a counter-terrorism summit in New York City that took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Obama pledged to use all possible tools to destroy Daesh, which he admitted was continuing to expand. The US president insisted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down if the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group is to be defeated. Obama’s remarks came a day after he clashed with Putin over the future role of Assad in Syria. As part of a plan to fight against Daesh terrorists, Russia has been beefing up its military presence in Syria, deploying warplanes, tanks and personnel to an airfield in the port city of Latakia. Putin has said that Russia's support for the Assad government was in accordance with the UN Charter, since "we have been providing assistance to legitimate government entities only." Ahead of a meeting with Obama last week, the Russian leader also criticized US support for militants operating in Syria.

Washington must “stop the path of destruction and domination and reckless behavior in the world because we’re isolating ourselves from every other nation,” Bennett noted.