Aleppo

Samantha Powers, John Kerry, the ICRC & certain Military Advisers

failed gambit leaves them with blood on their hands

In the days leading up to the 20th of September 2016, the Government of Turkey in association with the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and other agencies moved a large convoy of humanitarian assistance to the Turkish Syrian border near the besieged city of Aleppo.  Turkish officials announced their intention to unilaterally, if necessary, cross into Syria and move the much needed supplies on to Aleppo.

In response, the Syrian government stated that the delivery of humanitarian assistance within its territory involves two main ingredients, logistics and permissions.  And, without the express agreement of the Syrian government, neither Turkey nor any other national, bilateral, multilateral or international entity had the right to move an assistance convoy into Syria and on to Aleppo. 

In an official pronouncement the Syrian government stated that they would respond to any unilateral action to the contrary with resolve.

Although details of the attack remain unclear,  shortly after the Aleppo aid delivery standoff, a column of Syrian military personnel and equipment was attacked in an air raid with the loss of several scores of Syrian soldiers as well as injuries totaling more than a hundred. 

The US immediately denied having carried out the attack, and went on to state that if it had, it would have been the result of a horrible mistake.

At the same time some US military advisers suggested that the US should not be so quick to deny involvement in the attack, but should actually own it.

The logic of owning the attack on Syrian military personnel and other assets, according to these military advisers, was simply that if it was the intention to deliver the much needed assistance to Aleppo, after the direct attack on the Syrian military with the loss of so many lives and with so many injuries, the Syrian Army would back off preventing the Turkish organized aid convoy to cross the border into Syria and move the aid convoy on to Aleppo, for fear of the scale of the reprisal by US forces.

Secretary of State John Kerry,  political appointee UN Ambassador Samantha Powers and through her I.C.R.C. officials were brought into the inner circle, and the Turkish government were all advised of the plan and they all bought into it.  It will not escape the careful reader's attention that the ICRC is by charter supposed to be neutral in such matters and not involve itself in such intrigue.  However, the international system of governments and national partner charity agencies (NGOs) as it now stands is wholly corrupt.

On the night of the 19th or in the wee hours of the 20th of September 2016 the aid convoy crossed the Turkish Syrian border, without the permission of the Syrian Government and approached Aleppo, where the convoy was attacked and destroyed with the loss of several scores of lives and as many again injured.

The gambit had failed, miserably.

The Russian ambassador to the UN confronts Samantha Powers with the above rendering of events, and she walks out on her counterpart, holds a press conference where she is obviously under a great deal of stress and in response to questions from the press throws what is best described as a temper tantrum.  As if, that would cleanse her bloody hands.

India and Pakistan are slipping into an all out confrontation and neither Kerry nor Powers are up to the challenge.  The dragon, China, is amassing troops in the 25% of the Kashmir it occupies and is poised to act if either India or Pakistan tip the scales from a tit for tat skirmish to a sustained battle.  The Russian bear is awake and is also prepared to do whatever is necessary to prevent an all out war between India and Pakistan.

We have been here before (1962), but this time there is no JFK in the White House and Kerry lacks the stature of a John Kenneth Galbraith.