A recent editorial in the New York Times titled “The Syrian Refugee Crisis” offers several examples of how the newspaper of record serves as a propaganda outlet to manufacture consent for U.S. foreign policy. It begins:
More than 60,000 innocent civilians have been slaughtered in President Bashar al-Assad’s desperate bid to retain power in Syria. In the two-year reign of terror, he has also forced staggering numbers of Syrians to relocate within the country or flee across the border, creating a disaster that is threatening to destabilize the region.
Take first the claim that over “60,000 innocent civilians” have been killed in the conflict. This number has been widely cited since a report commissioned by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was released at the beginning of this month. The report, titled “Preliminary Statistical Analysis of Documentation of Killings in the Syrian Arab Republic”, relied upon seven databases, six from “Syrian human rights monitors”—including opposition groups like the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights—and one from the Syrian government. The number arrived at was “58,648 unique killings”—that is all “killings that are fully identified by the name of the victim, as well as the date and location of death”, and, contrary to what the Times falsely claims, not civilian deaths only. The estimate in fact does not distinguish between civilians, Syrian soldiers, or rebel combatants at all.
Next take the suggestion that the refugee crisis is fully the responsibility of Assad—as though there were not two sides engaged in violence in the conflict. Certainly, government forces are responsible for heinous crimes and many Syrians have indeed fled out of fear of regime violence, such as indiscriminate shelling and bombing. But the Times completely ignores the role of the armed rebels in escalating the violence that has created the refugee crisis. Der Spiegel has reported, for example, on how Syria’s “minority Christian population is suffering under attacks waged by rebel troops”, with many fleeing into Lebanon. Women told of their husbands who were “killed by Syrian rebel fighters” simply “because they were Christians”. Last month, the U.N. warned that the conflict in Syria was becoming “overtly sectarian” in nature in a report that “cited evidence of massacres by pro- and anti-government militias” (emphasis added). The Times has itself reported, for example, how rebel fighters—“the most effective among” whom “are extremists aligned with Al Qaeda”—had begun launching attacks on ethnic Kurds, commenting on the “already materializing” fear “that Syria’s ethnic groups will take up arms against one another in a bloody, post-Assad contest for power.” The Times has also reported how the rebels “are losing crucial support from a public increasingly disgusted” by their actions, including “senseless destruction, criminal behavior and the coldblooded killing of prisoners”, as well as the “growing use of large bombs that kill bystanders”—violence the Times would refer to as “terrorism” if committed by, say, the Taliban in Afghanistan, rather than by U.S.-backed rebel forces against a regime it is seeking to overthrow.
Further down the page, the editorial states that
Many Syrians have fled because of bombings by army troops, still others because of sexual violence. According to the International Rescue Committee, refugees identified rape — including gang rapes in front of family members — as a “primary reason” for fleeing.
Given the context, the implication is that government troops are responsible for all such rapes. But the IRC report cited states that rapes are being committed by “armed men”, which could include rebel fighters as well as government soldiers. Sister Agnes-Mariam de la Croix—who herself fled Syria fearing for her life—has criticized the West for “supporting extremists” whose crimes have included murder, kidnapping, and rape. As The National (UAE) has noted, “Even the best-disciplined armies have been accused of looting, rape and other crimes. And the Free Syrian Army is far from well-governed….”
The Times editors go on to brag how the U.S. is one of “the two top donors” (the other being the E.U.) to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) before calling Persian Gulf states—presumably including the U.S.’s allies in arming the jihadists—“laggards” and concluding that
More is also required of Russia and China, which have enabled Mr. Assad in his brutal war but done little to help his victims.
Never mind the fact that the U.S.—unlike Russia and China—has been actively working to foment civil war in Syria, with the CIA coordinating the flow of arms to rebel forces, whose ranks include foreign jihadists, with Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front (an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Iraq) taking on a key role, being what the Times has previously called “one of the uprising’s most effective fighting forces”, and with “[m]ost of the arms” funneled by the CIA to the rebels from Saudi Arabia and Qatar “going to hard-line Islamic jihadists”, as the Times has also previously noted.
If more is required of Russia and China to assist the plight of refugees from the conflict in Syria, a great deal less, it would seem, is required of the U.S.
Thank you mr. Hammond for this balanced article. As an Arab, Algerian citizen who’s country’s was subjected to a savage Islamist terror in the nineties, I am appaled by the western support to the terror gangs in Syria in an effort to tople the Assad regime to punish Iran.
The western powers and its Arab monarchies allies are not learning from previous previous lesson such as to the support to Ben laden in Afghanistan against the Soviets in the 80s, who later perpetrated the 9/11 terrorist attack.
What bother me is that they (western powers) will blame me as an Arab for the actions of their terrorist allies if they target London, Paris of New york after receiving moneys, weapons, and training from their western allies.
Stop supporting terror, NOW!!
Like you Ismail, I find the Foreign Policy Journal a source of balanced Middle East commentaries and I appreciate how difficult that is in the US.
As for US led actions in the Middle East, I don`t honestly believe it`s a case of not learning from past mistakes. The US led Western attitude to The Middle East, is driven by unconditional support for Israel.
Palestinian Arabs are a problem for “The West” so it`s very much in the interest of supporters of Israel to portray Arabs as homogeneous, rather than the accept the vast range of Arab identity and culture that does exist.
Thanks for your comment. On not learning from previous lessons, you might also be interested in this article (about Libya, Mali, and Algeria):
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/01/23/mali-disregarded-lessons-in-humanitarian-intervention/
What Syrian people are saying about Assad and the US terrorist pawns, “FSA”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEPadG0pQk
According to people testimony, the slogan of the CIA terrorist pawns, FSA, “IF YOU ARE NOT WITH US THEN YOU MUST BEHEADED.”
These terrorists are supported and funded by first BLACK president and its allies, the Arab reactionary head of states of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Excellent analysis. The destruction of Syria relies on media distortions and lies. The use of a rebel aligned information source over and over again is the give away. The so-called “Syrian Observatory” appears all over Western Media reports despite it’s obvious bias. Victory at any cost means media manipulation on a regular basis.