General Mood: ‘Two Versions’ of the Houla Massacre
General Mood’s response can be viewed here beginning at the 3:10 mark of the video.
What is perhaps most remarkable about General Mood’s comments is that they have been almost universally ignored — and this despite the fact that the video of the press conference has been made publicly available by UNSMIS on the mission’s own YouTube page. As of this writing, the pertinent segment of the press conference video has been viewed all of 130 times (see below screen-cap).
While the Western media makes a standard practice of repeating the claims of Syrian opposition/rebel sources as “news” and dismissing those of Syrian government sources as “propaganda,” the UN observer mission, which was established precisely to provide a neutral fact-finding presence on the ground, would appear to be of interest to no one. As recent reporting by Matthew Lee at the UN makes clear, it would appear least of all to be of interest to some of the very members of the UN Security Council that mandated its creation. (See especially Lee’s citation of German Ambassador Peter Wittig.)
At the June 15 press conference, General Mood went on to say that the mission had assembled a report about the massacre, including the details of witness interviews, and that this report had been submitted to UN headquarters in New York. This raises an obvious question: Why has this report not been rendered public?
For General Mood’s attempt to answer this question and his reflections on the role of media-induced “perception” in the Syria crisis, see part 3 of the press conference video here.
I imagine there are also two versions of where that Turkish plane was when Syria shot it down. There will probably be more “events” to try to draw us into yet another war for muslims.
Quite honestly, when I first heard the story my first thought was that the “freedom fighters” were the ones who killed all these people (this is something the Pals in GAZA are famous for) and were hoping for the bleeding heart westerners to run to their rescue like we did in Libya and oust Assad.
The NATO Turks gave Hillary just the provocation she needs.
To be piled on top of all the other ‘evidence’.
Why Syria? Assad is protecting all the non-Muslims there, has a tacit understanding with Israel, and a million Iraqi Christians fled there.
Perhaps Obama can finish the Christian (and Jewish) genocide that Bush started.
Obama/Bush. The great slayers of Christians in the Mideast. One unwittingly, the other willingly.
They’ve all done it willingly. None of this is by accident, it’s by design.
We’ve been using muslims as country-destabilizing puppets since Carter.
I have not seen any evidence – ANY reason – to believe that GW Bush willfully arranged for Christians to be slaught3ered.
GW’s problem was that he surrounded himself with his daddy’s advisors, who played him like a fiddle. He was naive, and trusted them.
And they are all globalists, just like his daddy.
I don’t believe that the neo-conservatives would betray Christians. Bush I’s people are another story; in a little-known interview, Shamir said he was worse than Carter. But one shouldn’t underestimate the power of the anti-American US State Department. Even Condi was “assimilated” towards the end.
Assad is just a brutal authoritarian dictator who has used Christians and other minorities to stay in power. He is no humanitarian. Do not for get that the fighters and weapons which killed many American troops in Iraq came right through Syria and Assad did nothing to stop it.
Now this will backfire on the Christian community. We are looking at a long sectarian war which will only get worse. Syrian Christians will not be able to defend themselves. The best thing the US can do is help as many as possible to get out.
I pray for these fellow believers and do all I can to support them. I also pray for the miserable Muslims among whom they live. The light and love of Christ is the only hope for them as a means to escape the evil in which they are entrapped.
Alas you may be right.
However Israel isn’t going anywhere. Notice the Turkish F4 was felled by a Russian SAM. Which means Israel never gave the Turks the EW to foil the Russian air-defense it developed over the years. Since Turkey is a NATO member, one would think NATO countermeasures would be installed. they turn out to be useless, which is why Israel is secure against Turkish or NATO airstrikes, AND Syrian air-power.
Greetings:
Those wouldn’t be the same Turks who wouldn’t let our 4th Infantry Division pass through their territory to go a-knocking on Saddam Hussein’s many palace doors a while back, would they ??? If you think muslims are your allies, you have gotten very far along in your reading of al-Koran.
As Fouad Ajami has written, those are the lands of “I against my brother; my brother and I against our cousin; and, my cousin, my brother, and I against the stranger”. And, without the presence of the rare Occupier or Crusader, they quickly revert to what is at hand to fulfill the ‘stranger’ role.
I try to approach it from a practical standpoint. My high school basketball coach was fond of saying, “You have 32 minutes [referring to the game's four 8-minute quarters] to figure these people out.” Well, we’ve had more than ten years to figure muslims out and I see neither hide no hair of any serious understanding on the part of our rulers. Perhaps they’re all better Christians than I and plan to “turn the other cheek” them into either submission or a higher level of civilization. But, I see no light bulbs, tungsten or otherwise, going on.
Iraq would be a pertinent case in point. After all those years, after all our blood, and after all our treasure sacrificed to provide it a better future, what do we see? Exactly what Mr. Ajami saw. And what don’t we see? Any sign of muslim gratitude. Muslim gratitude, you inquire? Why yes, muslim gratitude. At the risk of turning a phrase, muslim gratitude is like a Missouri-Warhol River; a verbal mile wide, an actual inch deep, and flowing for about 15 minutes.
The dope plague, in the Bronx of the last ’60s, taught me that some people just cannot be saved from themselves. Admittedly, it’s a hard and unpleasant lesson to learn but it’s not beyond an adult’s ability. It’s time for us to put on our big boy pants and stop all the weeping and breast-beating about saving muslims from their brothers and their cousins. It’s time to protect ourselves from their dopiest of all dopes.
Islam is the millstone. If you plan doesn’t include constraining or eradicating Islam, you don’t have a plan. You have a hope.
If they reported spacemen were attacking in Syria, some people would believe it… I would, anyway.
I’m in touch with Syrians at the highest levels of the Syrian Orthodox Church. The “opposition” to Assad is actually Al Qaeda, not so-called ‘democratically-minded’ Syrians. Assad is a strongman who has been keeping the radical elements in his society in check. If he goes down, there will be hell to pay for anyone who is not a Muslim. The German report in FAZ is correct: Al Qaeda sympathizers massacred the civilians in Houla. Oddly enough, Vladimir Putin is on the right side of this one. If Obama sends money to the opposition, he is supporting the bad guys. But then he always does that, doesn’t he? He helped to overthrow strongman Mubarak—who is going to die at the hands of his enemy jailers–and he is doing the same thing here. You may have noticed that there is no longer any mitigating pro-west influence in the region. I guess Obama really does have it in for Israel.
You GUESS obummer has it in for Israel? Really?
I was attempting a tone of understatement. I guess I blew it.
Obama used only the threat of a massacre to get involved in the civil war in Libya. But now the American public is a lot more skeptical about going into worthless countries like this, so now the administration is going to need a lot more proof, or actual dead bodies, before anybody wants to get involved in this mess. Sorry, but it won’t work anymore. This is not our fight, this is not a country that is vital to our national security, and this certainly isn’t worth the life of one American soldier. Let the Syrians sort this out on their own. Both sides in this war seem to be violent killers and my only regret is that only one side can lose. Let them have at it and slaughter themselves like they’ve been doing for centuries. The west will never be able to influence animals like this.
Things are too far gone in Syria for anything like a moderate or pro-democracy faction to have any influence. In this environment only extremist organizations are going to have any power.
Probably the best outcome would be a military coup and some sort of transitional militray government which could last for decades. The worst outcome would be sudden total collapse with Islamists seizing power.
For Israel and the US, and everyone else we should be vary concerned about the chemical weapons whch can easily fall into the hands of Al-Queda type international terrorists. The only thing the US really needs to do is have a plan ready in cooperation with Israel to deal with that.
Our great hope and ally Erdogan has proven himself worthless again. He should have responded in force right away by attacking a radar base or something which would demostrate strength and resolve. Instead he was rejected by NATO and now looks helpless and impotent. The plan apparently is to step up the ROE and number of troops on the border in hopes that something will happen which will give his troops an excuse to shoot some Syrians.
Christians outside of Israel in the ME really should understand that there is no stopping the changes occuring in the region. Like the Jews their condition will continue to worsen and they should make plans to emigrate. They should remember what happened to their former Jewish neighbors many of whom had to be smuggled out due to government restrictions.
Turkish events and responses vis-a-vis Syria all seem artificially orchestrated too — by Obama’s good pal Erdogan.
Egypt was not this magical Google-led revolution of Tahir Square perverts. Libya wasn’t the work of leaderless ragtag al Qaeda foot soldiers. Occupy America wasn’t a leaderless non-plan to accidentally become a synthetic Tea Party replacement
So, methinks there’s a “Covert Spring” organizer.
It was stunning to see Chuck Krauthammer’s sneaking admiration for Erdogan on the FoxNews ‘All-Stars’ yesterday. He then qualified his endorsement as tactical.
The Obama Administration is openly using Turkey as the lever/pivot of its pro-Sunni Muslim (or pro-MB) policies in the region. In this unfolding nightmare, Erdogan’s Ottoman fantasies merge with Obama’s Israel-hate and the longstanding partnership with Saudi Arabia. Of course, this in no way makes the Iranian nukes issue less pressing..what will probably happen is that Turkey’s ambitions will continue to be fueled – perhaps under a Romney Administration as well – until Saudi Arab pride collides with Turkish hegemonic dreams.
The State Dept bureaucrats are no doubt well invested in the pro-Turkish turn.
Welcome to the Middle East. No truth anywhere. Not a fact in sight. Just layers and layers of deceit wrapped in fraud that is buried in duplicity. People in hell will be drinking ice water before the world knows what really happened.
Assad’s time on the world stage is about over. His family has a long history of brutal murder. Most of the world will be happy to see him go. So public opinion attributes the murders to his minions. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time.
On the other hand we have the 5th column that Islamists do so well working on undermining the will of western civilization.
Right now it’s a military stalemate, with Assad controlling the cities and the Rebels almost controlling the countryside. I say almost since the Army can still muster the strength to protect convoys moving through the rural areas.
Syria is starting to look like China in ’48 with the Rebels impersonating Mao and Assad playing the role of Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT. We know how that worked out and so do Pootie and the Mullahs (Sounds like a garage band).
Public pressure did for the Duck of Death and it will do for Assad. Having a rural guerilla campaign working at the same time is no help. Pootie and the Mullahs NEED Assad.
Syria is the Mullahs conduit to Israel. Without Israel the mullahs are just a bunch of smelly old men that need replacing.
Pootie’s position in Russia is based on restoring the Soviet Union, or at least enough to keep the former apparatchiks happy. The Soviets once held sway over half the Arabic world. Now it’s down to Syria. From the POV of the apparatchiks, The Duck of Death lost Libya because of a CIA plot. They are determined not to lose their last toe hold in the ME.
For now Pootie and the MUllahs are working the propaganda front. First order of business is to help the world forget that the civil war started off with PEACEFUL demonstrations that were brutally suppressed by Assad’s thugs. Once that little fact gets buried deep, Assad is recast as a patriot saving Syria from the evil minions of the CIA. The UN is ready to co-operate fully.
I am not sure what is holding John Rosenthal back. He seems ready for full Quisling mode but never actually steps into the batters box. Maybe he has been rolled before and has that pit of the stomach feeling that he is getting rolled again.
The Syria conflict is a proxy Sunni Sordid Saudi (the “Syrian “FREEDOM???” Army)”and Shia the Evil Theocratic (Iranian supported Assad REGIME) war and NEITHER side are the ‘good guys’. As all those fools who crowed about an Arab Spring are finding out to their shame. Do Left Wing moonbats feel SHAME or even know what it is maybe not?
Anyway the evil Hate and Death CULT of Islam demands constant bloodletting so whenever Muslims are not fighting the Kaffirs (i.e. us) they are fighting EACH OTHER and this Sunni/Shia power struggle has been going on for 1400 YEARS. Its why the Iraqis still kill each other and why Saudi and Iran are locked in a violent proxy power struggle all over the Arab world.
Good ol Al-CIADA throwing shiat on the fan once again.
A functioning dictatorship is preferable to a chaotic military junta as Egypt is finding out or to a dysfunctional theocracy as Iran learned. Egypt’s tourism is non-existent, foreign currency is dwindling, debt is climbing, and food prices, which like the other Arab Spring uprisings is what caused the riots in the first place are still climbing.
truth, in the Western sense is non existent in the Arab world. The same event will be massaged depending on its usefulness to one side or the other, as often and as colorfully as needed. Trying to ascertain truth from Arab sources is a worthless quest. See the Al Dura affair, which was staged, poorly staged, was physically impossible, but still accepted at face value by western media, because it besmirched the Jews. The media, directed most likely by the White house has made up its mind that Bashar is the villain while the Ikhwan and its subsidiaries are the saints. Actually, they are both neither. they act according to local mores which place the clan above all else, and clan warfare is Arab fare and always has been.
With over 25 years of business experience with the ME (including Syria, Iraq, Iran, etc.) and N. Africa, I have been making the same point the author does. The US has no Dog to Hunt in this conflict and will not benefit no matter who we back or who wins. I was opposed to our Iraq occupation and reconstruction ( but not the war) for exactly the same reason I oppose our obvious march to war in Syria. It is painful to watch Liberals and the Media distort the News and create a good vs. bad scenario. The truth as I see it is it’s bad vs. bad vs. bad. If anyone thinks the Muslim Brotherhood is our ally, they are criminally insane. This is Obama’s October Surprise. Wait and see. And the Muslim Brotherhood will be the Taliban redux.
The complexities are rather interesting.
The Iranians ruled by the radical Shi’ite Mercedes Mullahs are trying to convince their people that they are attempting to recreate the old (Darius and Xerxes, please step down) Persian Empire extending west to the Med. If they can, as the sole Shi’ite ruled power (excepting Iraq, about which more later) become the champion of the Shi’a underclasses in every Sunni ruled state. The Shi’a Mullahs have turned religious doctrine on its head to permit them to overthrow the Shah and take control. The Mullahs permitted the development of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which took over the Army, Navy and Air Force and now control the internal security troops. The IRGC was tasked to take over every dirty little job that the MM could not be seen doing. I believe that the Iranian Revolution is turning into an IRGC dictatorship with a Mullah propped up in front. This only reflects the continuing swing of the pendulum which can be observed in every revolution.
Next door in Iraq we have a Shi’ite Arab government with no love for the next door Persians. Given that Iraq is really three countries — Shi’ite Arabs, Sunni Arabs, Kurds — it needs Persian support if the Sunni’s, realizing that they have nothing to lose because they gave away everything and had no oil reserves. Iraq provides a nice conduit for resupply of the Syrians and through them the Hezbollah in Lebanon. We left Iraq ith an inappropriate form of government — it should have been a Federation not a centralized Democracy modeled after the United States. By the way the holiest Shi’a City is Najaf in Iraq and the senior Prelate is al-Sistani.
Next door to Iraq have Syria ruled by the minority Alawite under the leadership of the Assad family. A minority government, the Assad pere and fils were able to garner financial support from everybody anti-Israel and probably made cash to banks the country’s largest export (Did the Kazai family learn from them>)
It is now below the surface a client state to Iran. The IRGC has trained Lebanon’s Hezbollah and from appearances it qould pper that this support has been used in crushing ‘the rebellion.’
Now on the other side of the battleground we have two separate Sunni entities: the Saud family in power of Arabia and controlling the Holy Cities; the Salafists who control no national government but would dearly wish to overthrow the Sauds and take over the Holy Cities an the minarets at which they could spread their doctrine. al Qaeda is the military arm of the Salafists. al Qaeda is the McDonald’s of the Terrorist business. They obtain funds from ‘investors,’ franchise operations in foreign countries, recruit, train and send to second and third country volunteers. alQaeda is horizontally organized, can move headquarters and training facilities at will, If one leader dies, his picture is put up on the wall or tent and another takes his place. Graduate Schools of management should study this model. The train young men from as far afield as Minnesota, Nigeria and Indonesia and all points in between. They are now operating on sea — piracy — and on land.
The Saud family has worked hard to exterminate cells on the Arabian peninsula. It prefers to stay in power. There are some who aver that the reason why the Sunni sheiks in Iraq started to support the U.S. military in the surge was at least partly because Saudi Arabia told them to.
That is how the battleground looks from here.
This article presents just more evidence that the USA needs to stop budding into the affairs of foreign nations and regions. NO matter what we do – even the right thing – it will create enemies for the USA.
G.Washington and A.Hamilton long long ago warned about getting involved in the affairs of others. This advice went by the wayside beginning in 1898 when the USA first became a colonial power by virtue of its involvement in the Spanish American War. The USA has been involved in foreign conflicts (most of them minor) NON-STOP since that time.
We supported Mubarak for years because he agreed to agree with the USA; yet his people got totally screwed in living under a not-anti-USA dictatorship. Of course, this just gave many in the ME a good reason to hate us.
So now the Egyptians have voted themselves a new Stalin/Hitler; and frankly, whatever the outcome in Syria, I fully expect those folks to do likewise. Don’t be surprised if a Stalin/Hitler emerges in Iraq.
Culturally, the Arab and apparently the Turkish culture is not compatible with a true democratic representative form of government. (Of course, neither are the Russians nor much of Latin America).
The USA now , for the first time in a long time has the opportunity to become independent of Arab oil given our access to home grown energy + Canadian + Norwegian + other non-Arab sources.
We should literally just leave the ME region and THEY WILL SELF DESTRUCT. LET THEM. The Turks, Iranians and Arabs – all hate each other and frankly, there is no hope that any nation in that region will ever become a true non-religious representative democracy.
Just give the Israelis the weapons they need and let them be; they can take care of themselves.
The American family – the TAXPAYERS – are struggling to make ends meet, and frankly, the USA is financially bankrupt.
US families can save billions and billions of dollars if we stop being the policeman of the world. We can no longer afford it.
Oh yes, one more thing; the USA must arm itself to the teeth and have the best and most powerful military in the world and not be afraid to use this capability when we must. But the USA must learn to mind its own business.
There was a second article in FAZ newspaper on the Houla massacre by the same author.
Here is an English translation:
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2012/06/new-faz-piece-on-houla-massacre-the-extermination.html