While this has not been published widely in the Canadian press I saw it on an American news broadcast last night (09 October 2015) as well as print media.


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/4-or-5-in-syria-trained-by-us---500m-spent-527009859993

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/16/us-military-syrian-isis-fighters


The United States of America (US) has been supporting anti-Assad rebels to the tune of at least 500 MILLION dollars!  They had hoped to enlist and train a rebel army of 5,000 troops to combat President Assad’s forces.  Both the British and American press are reporting that the $500M has only has resulted in only a handful of fighters actively battling the jihadi army, or as few as 4 or 5.


Starting at least, if not before, 2013, the US working with regional allies invested funds, intelligence and weaponry, the CIA-run program set up shop in Jordan and began to arm and pay Syrian nationalists fighting Assad.    Even though most Syrian watchers argued that the plan was doomed from the start.  It seems as if the US and the rebels they are supporting are more interested in toppling the Assad regime than focusing on the fight against ISIS/ISIL.

It seems as if this endeavour has gone the way of most (or in the end all) of the US’s attempts to overthrow or at least ‘dictate’ a legitimate government they do not agree with.  One only has to remember that the US had pour billions of dollars into supporting anti-Russian “freedom fighters” in Afghanistan who in the end turned out to be the present day Taliban who were led by, the now deceased, Osama bin Laden!

All this while condemning the Russians for their part in a bombing campaign against, in Russia’s words, ISIS/ISIL forces.  The US counters this saying the Russians are actually targeting anti-Syrian targets, namely the rebels who are attacking Assad’s forces.

I for one have to shake my head and wonder just why all of the coalition forces have become involved in what started out to be a civil war.  The US has such hate for the Bashar Assad regime that it will stop at nothing to have evicted from office and a US puppet put in his place.

I had the fortunate opportunity to live in Syria under Bashar’s father Hafez from October 1994 until August 1997.  While Hafez was classed as a dictator and supposedly ruled the country with an iron fist, I, personally, had no misgivings of being there or ever felt threatened.  Most of the Syrians I came in contact with did show respect for him and no outward animosity.  This may have been because they were fearful of the Mukhabarat (secret police) who did have informers where ever Syrians worked or visited.

In 2008 I made another short (2 week) visit back to Damascus this time under Bashar’s rule.  Again, to me, there seemed to be no outward animosity or wanting to over throw the government.  I did notice quite a few changes in the city.  It was slowly coming out of what may have been a ‘dark age’ into a more modern age.  There had been improvements in the city streets which allowed free flow of traffic, street signs (previously there were none) in both Arabic and English, new modern hotels, reconstruction and, while it was government controlled, internet access.  On several trips to the souk the local people and merchants seemed to be quite content with the way things were slowly progressing.

In my mind no matter who “wins” be it Assad/Russians beating back ISIS/ISIL and the US led coalition forces or the Assad/Russian coalition remaining in power nothing good will come out of this.  Why oh why do other countries get involved in a civil war except to exert their own pressure and influence on the country.

If the US led coalition does become the victors which puppet will they put in place?  And will that puppet turn out, like so many other US puppets, to be just another dictator who over time will either turn against the US or the US turn against them and lead another civil war to have them evicted.

Some fine examples of governments supported or put into power by the US.

Augusto Pinochet, Chile
Manuel Noriega, Panama
Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan
Ferdinand Marcos, The Phillipines
King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia
Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire

Or check out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_authoritarian_regimes_supported_by_the_United_States
​the list goes on and on.

And oh yes! Russia has also done their part in supporting dictatorial regimes.  It is just that the US always puts itself out as being the “good guy” supporting democracy and the rule of law, which in most cases is the rule of money.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/4-or-5-in-syria-trained-by-us---500m-spent-527009859993


http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/16/us-military-syrian-isis-fighters

There is so much more that I should/could have written about this wondrous place!  During our posting to Damascus from 1994 to 1997 we made several trips to Palmyra.

I started to write this after I had heard of the destruction of some of the ancient buildings by ISIS/ISIL.  Just the thought of losing such an historical site to these rebels was enough to make my blood run cold.  To say that I was devastated is an understatement.

As the UNESCO web site claims: 
“An oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.  … ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.”
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/23

Or wikipedia:
Palmyra (/ˌpælˈmaɪrə/; Aramaic: ܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ Tedmurtā ; Arabic: تدمر Tadmor)
“Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic and the city was first documented in the early second millennium BC as a caravan stop for travellers crossing the Syrian Desert”
“In 64 BC the Roman Republic annexed the Seleucid kingdom, and the Roman general Pompey established the province of Syria.[35] Palmyra was left independent,[35] trading with Rome and Parthia but belonging to neither.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmyra
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Imagine driving down a highway, turning a corner in the road and being among Roman ruins that are just over 2000 years old!  That is what happened on our first, and subsequent, trips to Palmyra, Syria during our time there from 1994 until 1997.

    The ruins lay on the outskirts, south, of the town of Palmyra and straddle the highway which links Damascus to Palmyra and towns and villages further to the north east.  You litterly drive around a bend in the road, park your car, get out and begin walking among the ruins.  There is no gate, fence, admission fee, or even an “official” guide to lead you along the colonnade or around the amphitheater.  One is immediately amazed by the sheer size and scale of the site.  The columns rise tens of meters into the sky and the inscription below the pedestal which once held an important figure is still clearly visible.  There is some debate on just what happened to the statues on each of these columns.  The general consensus is that once Islam became the dominate religion they were destroyed because only Allah can create a likeness and anything else is an idol.  The local Muslims, however, take the view that it was the Crusaders who destroyed the statues.

    The monumental buildings seemed to be out of scale with the surrounding area.  Or maybe it was the vastness of the desert which made them that much more impressive. Walking through the ruins one seems to be taken back in time and wonders what a busy town this must have been.  While we mostly just explored the major site the ruins are actually spread over a much wider area.

    Of course the majority of the main buildings are still clearly definable but also the base structure of the living quarters can be made out.  As one wanders down the streets the ancient underground sewer or water pipes are still visible as well as several old bath tubs and the roman bath.

    On our first visit I mistook the funeral towers to be Roman watch towers.  I later discovered that these tall towers once held the bodies of deceased families or even groups of people.  The paintings on the walls and ceiling in several of the towers is still clearly visible.  While on our first visit I wandered off to take photos while Wendy and another lady from the Embassy went off to explore on their own.  When it came time to meet up the two ladies were nowhere to be seen.  As I looked around for them a young boy came up and said that I was to follow him because that is where they had gone.  It turned out that they were “invited’ to a bedouin camp for tea and I was to join them.  While we were having out tea suddenly goods began to be displayed for us to buy.  I was informed by one of the bedouin men that it was considered “bad manners” not to buy.  There was no use in my telling him that I considered it “bad manners” to be invited to their camp and then being forced to buy something.  I learned very quickly that in the Middle East nothing is ever given for free!

    Sadly there seems to have been very little archaeological excavations done on the site.  There is some evidence of digs but on the whole the site seems to have been ignored.  Although, this may be because the average Syrian either is not interested in the historic development of the country or they are not taught anything post-Assad in school.  Any archaeological exploration in the country seems to have always been undertaken by, North American or European universities.