Syria’s Catastrophic Transition!

A big thank you to David Macilwain for his ongoing commitment to the people of Syria and for the insight he shares in this article. Read the full article and more from David Macilwain here.

So now that the rabid dogs are on the loose, and all the leaders and followers who couldn’t or wouldn’t visit Damascus are rushing in for a slice of her cake, and Allah forbid – standing on the top of Mount Hermon gloating over the Zionists’ latest purchase, what is the way forward? Is such a way even possible, when those proselytisers for ‘democracy’ and ‘inclusiveness’ have just smashed to pieces all their shallow pretences?

Nothing can ever be the same now, even if they were to somehow stop the genocide in Gaza, because ‘Israel’ and its backers are determined it never will be. They have just succeeded in executing the fastest regime change operation in history without resistance and practically without criticism in the West – a monumental achievement that has “grasped victory from the jaws of defeat”. As ‘Israel’ faced its day of judgement from the people whose land it occupies and exploits, and having made itself a global pariah state with its unprecendented butchery and obliteration of life in Gaza, it seemed to many that the Zionist project was finished; it was only a question of how the end would come.

Yet there is light beyond this terrible dark tunnel we are plunged into, in the strength of the ongoing resistance and the possibility of truth. Never before has such a conspiracy of nations and ‘information’ networks succeeded in deceiving so many people into allowing and supporting the triumph of evil over justice and truth. At the same time there is incredible nonchalance and apparent lack of understanding of what has just occurred, seen in the context of the fourteen years of war since the launching of the ‘Arab Spring’.

Summarising what actually has occurred in the last two weeks and the last twenty years in Syria – which was always THE prime target of the ‘Arab Spring’ and the focus of neo-con plans to create the ‘Salafist Principality’ in Syria that we now have, a discussion with two veterans of the conflict gives excellent guidance, along with shocking revelations of the truth. Those who think that an unelected and unrepresentative ‘government’ formed from the chiefs of the fundamentalist group that controlled Idlib ‘with an Iron Fist’ will somehow change its spots, are living in cloud-cuckoo land. It is as likely as that ‘Israel’ would decide after all to give equal rights to the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, give them free access to all parts of Palestine, and equal representation in a bi-lingual Knesset. The appearance of Saudi Sheik Muhaysini celebrating his entry into the Ummayad mosque the day after Jolani’s arrival surely sent a shiver down the spine of many Syrians.

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The Hypcrisy of Blaming Assad!

Our discussion on The Sunday Eucharist often focuses on Syria and Palestine. As Karl Barth taught, theology is best done with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

Join us every Sunday at midday (Sydney time) on n TheSundayEucharist.com… or on Facebook, YouTubeTwitterLinkedInInstagram orFaithia.

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Prayers for Syria – the Webinar

On Dec 11, 2024, I was joined by Maram Susli (Syrian Girl) and Dr Tim Anderson (author of “The Dirty War on Syria”). We did our best to make sense of what had just happened in Syria, and this despite severe technical difficulties that suggested we were being hacked.

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A Sad Day for Syria

The following is the official statement of “Hands Off Syria“, Sydney (hereafter ‘HOS‘), dated Monday, December 9th, 2024

Hands Off Syria

Today is a sad day for the supporters of Syria, however, it is much worse for the people of Syria, as, unfortunately, dark days await.

HOS, Sydney, calls on international humanitarian organisations to demand safe corridors and passages for all those wishing to leave the country. These organisations must also demand that the people in Syria are treated with dignity and humanely, and that safety and security is restored immediately. The UN must call for the restoration of democratic processes, an that a democratic elected government is in place in the near future.

Syria has never wavered its support for Palestine and the liberation of the occupied territories. Syria has been the central pillar of the Resistance while it has been continuously bombed by Israel, with the support of the US. There are reports that in the last couple of days Israel has bombed and destroyed every major military institution, and that has invaded Syria via Quneitra.

Today Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), successor to Jahbat al Nusra, the al Qaeda terrorist group, listed as a terrorist organisation by the UNSC has taken Syria. Ten of thousands of mercenaries, criminals and terrorists have over run the country, in just over a week. Vanessa Beeley, well known journalist living in Syria, as she managed to escape states “[c]haos rules, looting, thuggery and thieving… Going through the border was a mash of gunfire, infighting and looting from every single shop and market. Terrorists on motorcycles, gunslingers and criminals… Early morning Israel was destroying #Syria Air Defence with bunker buster bombs…” (V. Beeley on X, 09/12/2024). There are already videos on social media depicting the terrorists beheading soldiers, setting fire to buildings. We understand that hospitals are being flooded with wounded people.

Dr Tim Anderson writes: According to Palestinian journalist in Washington Saeed Rikat, the HTS attack was coordinated by the Biden administration with Türkiye and Israel and “came as a result of American-Israeli emergency plan” as part of “an American vision” for the second day of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, “especially in light of the failure of the Israelis to achieve a decisive victory” against Hezbollah and that this is “an effort to inflict a defeat on Iran and its allies in the region” such as the Syrian Army which regained control of Aleppo eight years ago (Dr Tim Anderson, 8/12/2024, Centre for Hegemonic Studies: Genocide rewarded: US backed al Qaeda takeover of Syria follows Israeli retreat from Lebanon – Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies ).

HOS, Sydney, expect the UN to discuss Syria’s situation this week, and expect that international humanitarian organisations get immediately into action, so the suffering of the people of Syria is limited, the wounded are treated, the dead buried, and order is restored.

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Boxers for Peace in Syria

These light-hearted snippets from my TED Talk of 2019 recount stories from our trip to Syria earlier that year. I yearn to get back to Damascus to see my many friends, yet I know the situation there is worse than it has ever been since the violence started there more than a dozen years ago. The US-imposed sanctions continue to cripple the country and make it impossible for people to rebuild their homes and their lives. Meanwhile the US continues to steal Syrian oil and bleed the land of its resources.

Father Dave

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Israel continues to attack Syria with impunity

with Vanessa Beeley (R) and my daughter, Imogen (L) in Damascus in 2019

with Vanessa Beeley (R) and my daughter, Imogen (L) in Damascus in 2019

It staggers belief – the way the Israeli government continues to stage violent assaults on Syria – and all such attacks go unreported in mainline Western media. Israel and its allies continue to kick the Syrian people while they are down, yet, should Syria be able to strike back at some point, it will doubtless be reported as an ‘unprovoked attack’. Thank you, Vanessa Beeley, for continuing to shine a light into this darkness. Read her full article here. Father Dave

Israel violates Syrian airspace on a criminal assassination mission

At approximately 00.20 on the 3rd of June 2024 Israel again violated Syrian airspace to target sites in the vicinity of Aleppo, northern Syria. The Israeli jets entered Syrian air-space via Jordan and the illegal U.S. military base at Al Tanf on the border between Syria and Jordan.

The Israeli warplanes flew at very low altitude to avoid Syrian radar detection and approached the south-eastern countryside of Aleppo where they fired thirteen missiles targeting six locations in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Needless to say there have been simultaneous intense attacks on southern Idlib and western Aleppo by the NATO/Zionist backed terrorist groups.

One area targeted was a civilian copper-smelting facility in Hayyan north of Aleppo.

The aggression led to the martyrdom of 17 soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army and allied forces including another senior IRGC advisor – Haj Saeed Abyar:

read Vanessa’s full update here

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Is the US finally getting out of Syria?

I’m pasting below an extract from Mk Bhadrakumar’s article in The Cradle,  “‘Swarming’ the US in West Asia, until it folds.” It’s the most encouraging analysis of the state in Syria that I’ve read for some years. Bhadrakumar sees US influence collapsing across the region and believes that exiting the region as quickly as possible will be crucial to Biden’s campaign for reelection later this year.  

It would have been gratifying if the US had stopped stealing Syrian oil and left because they realised it was the right thing to do. Even so, America’s departure will lead to much joy and thanksgiving across Syria and around the Arab world, regardless of what moviates them.

The author of this article, Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar, was a career diplomat for three decades in the Indian Foreign Service with multi-year assignments in the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. 

Father Dave

Iran’s patience has run out over the US military presence in Syria and Iraq following the revival of ISIS with American support. Interestingly, Israel no longer abides by its “de-confliction” mechanism with Russia in Syria. Clearly, there is close US-Israeli cooperation in Syria and Iraq at the intelligence and operational level, which goes against Russian and Iranian interests. Needless to say, the backdrop of the imminent upgrade of the Russia-Iran strategic partnership also needs to be factored in here.

These developments are a vintage illustration of defensive deterrence. The Axis of Resistance turns out to be the principal instrument of peace for the issues of security that entangle the US and Iran. Clearly, there isn’t any method or any reasonable hope of convergence to this process, but, fortunately, the appearance of chaos in West Asia is deceiving.

Beyond the distractions of partisan argument and diplomatic ritual, one can detect the outlines of a practical solution to the Syrian stalemate that addresses the inherent security interests of the US and Iran that are embedded within an outer ring of US-China concord over the situation in West Asia.

Russia may seem an outlier for the present, but there is something in it for everyone, as the pullout of US troops opens the pathway to a Syrian settlement, which remains a top priority for Moscow and for Putin personally.

read Bhadrakumarfull’s full article here

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Why Syria?

It was great to catch up with Rev. Dr. Stephen Sizer while I was in the UK in September 2023. We did the interview in a pub – The Titanic – in Southhampton.

Having made nine trips to Syria during the fighting, Stephen wanted to know how I got involved in the first place for, indeed, prior to my first trip in 2013, I wasn’t even sure where Syria was on the map! I now think of Damascus as a second home and have been given an honorary Syrian name – Abouna Abdullah.

God works in mysterious ways.

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The Criminal War on SYRIA Continues

A press release from the Syria Support Movement – 12th September, 2023

Syria in Crisis

photo by Denning Isles (iammordechai.com…)

The war on Syria is no longer front-page news, but it has never ended. Currently, the United States and its allies are placing enormous pressure on the Syrian people in an effort to topple the Syrian government. The goal is not just to replace Bashar Assad with a President more conciliatory to western goals, but rather to break the country
into small semi-autonomous states so it can never again be a centre of resistance to Israeli and U.S. domination.

The latest efforts involve a western media campaign promoting and exaggerating unrest in southern Syria. In 2011, heavily armed U.S. backed terrorists flooded the country, committing murder and mayhem across the nation. After a decade of vicious warfare, the Republic of Syria survived under the governance of the elected President, Bashar al Assad, and an elected Parliament.

Today, the fighting in Syria has largely ended, but the country suffers under onerous sanctions that make it impossible to engage in international trade or receive international aid. In the last five years, the Syrian Pound has gone from 500 to 13,000 SY Pounds per US dollar. A once self sufficient economy, Syria cannot repair factories damaged by terrorism and earthquakes; cannot replace stolen equipment; can no longer manufacture pharmaceuticals or process food.

Meanwhile, the province of Idlib continues as a terrorist enclave under Turkish protection. Turkey occupies other border areas while Israel bombs Syrian territories almost weekly. Recently Israel attacked the Aleppo international airport to disrupt an international conference focused on rebuilding Syria. On top of all these crimes,
the US has military bases and forces protecting a secessionist army and controlling nearly one third of Syria where the majority of Syrian oil and wheat come from.

While Syrians starve, aid pours into the terrorist held area in Idlib and Syrian oil wealth goes to support U.S. proxies. While Syrians go without energy for lights and heat, automobile fuel and cooking, the richest country in the world sells their gas and oil for profit. A once thriving semi-socialist state, Syria has had to cut subsidies for
food and energy and cannot pay a living wage or support the numerous veterans from the war. The Syrian health care system, once the best in the Arab world, is struggling to continue as they cannot import parts or software needed to operate hospital machinery and equipment.

Following the massive earthquake earlier this year, SSM (and other global charities) found the only way to provide aid was to hand carry resources and money into the country. We continue to support the legitimate government of Syria located in Damascus and are currently engaged in modest humanitarian projects to alleviate the suffering of ordinary Syrians as a result of 12 years of US regime change activities.

End the U.S. Occupation of Syria and Disband the U.S. SDF proxy army!
End all Sanctions and Unilateral Coercive Measures against Syria!
Hands off Syria!!!

Check out the aid work of the Syria Support Movement here.

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Erdogan’s plan for Aleppo

It’s often hard to know what is driving the policies of Turkish President, Recep Erdogan. Is it hatred for the Kurds, his desire to control more of Syria, or simply a general drive to amass more power for himself. Whatever it is, we can be confident that his latest proposal to help rebuild Aleppo is not driven by a love for his Syrian sisters and brothers. As Steven Sahiounie writes, his plans for Aleppo seem more like a vision of annexation.

Turkey plans to annex Aleppo

by Steven Sahiounie

In the first few years of the conflict, Aleppo did not participate in the US-NATO attack on Syria for regime change. Jibhat al-Nusra saw the opportunity to surround and occupy the eastern section of Aleppo. This cut the huge city of 4 million into two: the free western section under Syrian administration, and the eastern section under the occupation of various Radical Islamic terrorist groups supported by the US and Turkey.

During the conflict years of 2014 to 2016 the terrorists dismantled the factories in Aleppo and transported the materials to Turkey where they were re-assembled by Erdogan loyalists and cronies.

After Erdogan’s terrorists destroyed the economy in Aleppo and stole the factories, now he suddenly proposes to rebuild factories and boost the economy of Aleppo. But, Erdogan is not proposing to fund or support existing Syrian businesses in Aleppo, instead under his plan Turkish businesses along the border region will develop Turkish businesses and employ Syrian workers. The workers will have an income, but the Syrian businesses will be targeted for extinction. It appears Erdogan is proposing an annexation of Aleppo and more regions in Syria.

The Syrian refugees returning to Syria would be working for Turkish businesses with no benefit for Aleppo.

Erdogan has repeatedly voiced his wish to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Damascus has said their condition for the meeting is the complete military withdrawal of Turkish military in occupation of area in Syria, and the removal of Radical Islamic terrorist groups which Turkey has employed in Syria.

read the full article on Mideast Discourse here.

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