Feeling terrible about #Aleppo?

A few points to consider that the media may have missed. The world's most autocratic and retrograde monarchies are the primary sponsors of the Syrian opposition fighters, most of whom are Islamists with brutal and sharply sectarian political methodologies.

Jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda and terrorist organisations have been the most effective fighting forces on the ground.

The United States, together with its Western, Turkish and Gulf Arab allies, have directly and indirectly supported a rebellion with arms, finances and supplies, without which the rebellion could not be organically sustained. Most American arms have ended up in the hands of jihadists.

Washington and allies have been fighting a war on terror since 9/11 and from that time global terrorism has increased exponentially and the entire Middle East has become destabilised.

Washington and allies overthrew Muammar Gaddafi on the pretext of preventing a slaughter and defending human rights, but Libya descended into anarchy and terrorism has increased exponentially.

Washington and allies have transparent intentions to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria, which would create a volatile power vacuum from which terrorist forces would strengthen their positions or take power. Foreign invention from all sides (not just Russia and Iran) has necessarily prolonged the war, but the intervention of western powers carries significance precisely because of the importance they have placed on human rights, in spite of fueling the cauldron of war that has been detrimental to Syrian's sovereignty and the human rights of its people.

The Russian and Syrians militaries may have been brutal in exerting military force in many instances, though it would be a fool's errand to attribute hard numbers to killings due to difficulties of verifying reports from Syria. More should have been done to protect civilians in the besieged areas of Aleppo.
Though, it cannot be denied that Aleppo has seen large public celebrations to mark the arrival of the Syrian army. This is clearly at odds with the aggressively anti-Syrian government, anti-Russian narrative of the western media, which routinely relies on thinly-sourced reports of impending genocide. Information which undermines the dominant narrative is being suppressed by the powerful with vigor and intensity. Dissenting voices are punished, discredited, and suppressed.

Clearly, there is some validity to the positions of the Syrian and Russian governments that western countries feel deeply threatened by, which is the fact that these countries have all but declared war on the legally-recognised Syrian government by invading its territory and enabling destabilisation through a rebellion that has extensively used terrorist tactics and terrorism.

~ Nile Bowie  - 15/12/2016