Tulsi Gabbard's 'Stop Arming Terrorists Act'
This is what Donald Trump had to say on Syria back in early 20161:
"I thought the approach of fighting Assad and ISIS simultaneously was madness, and idiocy. They’re fighting each other and yet we’re fighting both of them. You know, we were fighting both of them. I think that our far bigger problem than Assad is ISIS. I’ve always felt that. Assad is, you know I’m not saying Assad is a good man, ’cause he’s not, but our far greater problem is not Assad, it’s ISIS."
It seems an obvious statement. 'Our far greater problem is not Assad, it’s ISIS.'
And yet Obama's policies suggested he disagreed with this statement. From 2013 onwards, Obama's government provided support to so-called 'moderate rebels' who were fighting to remove Assad from power, effectively helping ISIS in their war against Assad.
In addition, several people, including Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and journalists Eva Bartlett and Ben Swann have questioned the accuracy of the term 'moderate rebels'. Here's a quote from Tulsi Gabbard2 back in December 2016:
"If you or I gave money, weapons or support to Al-Qaeda or ISIS, we would be thrown in jail. Yet the U.S. government has been violating this law for years, quietly supporting allies and partners of Al-Qaeda, ISIL, Jabhat Fateh al Sham and other terrorist groups with money, weapons, and intelligence support, in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government."
Here's a quote from Tulsi's official government website3 regarding her proposed 'Stop Arming Terrorists Act':
"The bipartisan legislation would prohibit any federal agency from using taxpayer dollars to provide weapons, cash, intelligence, or any support to Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups. It would prohibit the government from funneling money and weapons through other countries who are directly or indirectly supporting terrorists."
It seems incredible that we would actually need a bill for this! Do we seriously have to make a law for the government to know that they shouldn't arm terrorists?
Well, Tulsi Gabbard isn't the only one who believes such a law is necessary.
Here's a tweet4 that Jill Stein, leader of the Green Party, tweeted back in December 2016:
"In case you didn't know, the United States funds and arms terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS1 when it needs them to disrupt a country."
That's quite a big claim to make.
It repeated what Tulsi Gabbard had tweeted5 earlier that month when she claimed the government had been providing support to terrorist groups 'for years'.
"It’s illegal for any American to provide support to terrorist groups — yet the gov has been doing just that for years."
In the following video, Ben Swann explains the background to the so-called 'moderate' rebels that Obama's government had been funding and supporting for years:
Some key points from the video are:
In 2013 the CIA began delivering weapons to the Syrian rebels. In the same year, London based global defense consultancy group IHS Jane's reported that:
* 10,000 of the estimated 100,000 insurgent fighters were linked to Al-Qaeda.
* As many as 35,000 belonged to powerful factions that were fighting for an Islamic State.
* Only around 30% of rebel forces were friendly to the West.
* 70-75% of forces against Assad were jihadists.
By 2015, the International Business Times reported:
"The moderate movement in Syria could be officially dead as of last week, when the last US backed rebel faction, Harakat Hazzm, disbanded, its members joining extremist groups such as the Nusra Front, the Al-Qaeda offshoot in the country."
Despite this, Obama's government continued to send money and weapons.
Ben Swann sums it up as follows:
"That [the death of the moderate movement] was in 2015, and yet in 2016 weapons and funding from the west continued. In September 2016, the US delivered 3,000 tons of weapons and ammo to fighters in Syria including rocket launchers, and anti-tank guided weapons systems."
He adds:
"It is a fact that since 2012 those so-called 'moderate' rebels in Syria had been absorbed into Al-Qaeda groups, or pledged allegiance to ISIS."
"When media only calls these groups freedom fighters, and yet these fighters have pledged themselves to Al-Qaeda and to ISIS, then no. Make no mistake, they are not looking to make Syria free. They are looking to enslave it as they have in so many other places."
This is a quote from leaked audio of former US Secretary of State, John Kerry6, where he acknowledges 'putting an extraordinary amount of arms' into Syria:
John Kerry: "I think we've been putting an extraordinary amount of arms in, haven't we?"
Syrian Journalist: "When you pump more weapons into a situation, it doesn't end well for Syrians, because there's always somebody else who's willing to pump more weapons into the other side. The armed groups in Syria get a lot of support. Not just from the United States, but from other partners. ... Pumping weapons in causes someone else to pump more weapons in."
Everyone needs to question what the Western media have told us about Syria, and just as importantly what they haven't told us. There's a lot which has gone unreported by the mainstream media, but for now consider again John Kerry's admission:
Now consider once again Ben Swann's quote regarding the 'moderate' rebels who were receiving this 'extraordinary amount of arms':
To return to my earlier question, "Do we seriously need to make a law for the government to know they shouldn't arm terrorists?"
If Obama's time as president was anything to go by, then sadly, yes we do.
It's just a shame that for millions of Syrian people, the 'Stop Arming Terrorists Act' is coming four years too late.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Sources:
1 http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-27/trump-fighting-assad-and-isis-same-time-idiocy-allies-are-funding-terrorists
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKV1sTw8zOc
3 https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/gabbards-stop-arming-terrorists-act-introduced-senate
4 https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/813213099427827712
5 https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/807265295362572290
6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4phB-_pXDM
"I thought the approach of fighting Assad and ISIS simultaneously was madness, and idiocy. They’re fighting each other and yet we’re fighting both of them. You know, we were fighting both of them. I think that our far bigger problem than Assad is ISIS. I’ve always felt that. Assad is, you know I’m not saying Assad is a good man, ’cause he’s not, but our far greater problem is not Assad, it’s ISIS."
It seems an obvious statement. 'Our far greater problem is not Assad, it’s ISIS.'
And yet Obama's policies suggested he disagreed with this statement. From 2013 onwards, Obama's government provided support to so-called 'moderate rebels' who were fighting to remove Assad from power, effectively helping ISIS in their war against Assad.
In addition, several people, including Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and journalists Eva Bartlett and Ben Swann have questioned the accuracy of the term 'moderate rebels'. Here's a quote from Tulsi Gabbard2 back in December 2016:
"If you or I gave money, weapons or support to Al-Qaeda or ISIS, we would be thrown in jail. Yet the U.S. government has been violating this law for years, quietly supporting allies and partners of Al-Qaeda, ISIL, Jabhat Fateh al Sham and other terrorist groups with money, weapons, and intelligence support, in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government."
Here's a quote from Tulsi's official government website3 regarding her proposed 'Stop Arming Terrorists Act':
"The bipartisan legislation would prohibit any federal agency from using taxpayer dollars to provide weapons, cash, intelligence, or any support to Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups. It would prohibit the government from funneling money and weapons through other countries who are directly or indirectly supporting terrorists."
It seems incredible that we would actually need a bill for this! Do we seriously have to make a law for the government to know that they shouldn't arm terrorists?
Well, Tulsi Gabbard isn't the only one who believes such a law is necessary.
Here's a tweet4 that Jill Stein, leader of the Green Party, tweeted back in December 2016:
"In case you didn't know, the United States funds and arms terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS1 when it needs them to disrupt a country."
That's quite a big claim to make.
It repeated what Tulsi Gabbard had tweeted5 earlier that month when she claimed the government had been providing support to terrorist groups 'for years'.
"It’s illegal for any American to provide support to terrorist groups — yet the gov has been doing just that for years."
In the following video, Ben Swann explains the background to the so-called 'moderate' rebels that Obama's government had been funding and supporting for years:
Some key points from the video are:
In 2013 the CIA began delivering weapons to the Syrian rebels. In the same year, London based global defense consultancy group IHS Jane's reported that:
* 10,000 of the estimated 100,000 insurgent fighters were linked to Al-Qaeda.
* As many as 35,000 belonged to powerful factions that were fighting for an Islamic State.
* Only around 30% of rebel forces were friendly to the West.
* 70-75% of forces against Assad were jihadists.
By 2015, the International Business Times reported:
"The moderate movement in Syria could be officially dead as of last week, when the last US backed rebel faction, Harakat Hazzm, disbanded, its members joining extremist groups such as the Nusra Front, the Al-Qaeda offshoot in the country."
Despite this, Obama's government continued to send money and weapons.
Ben Swann sums it up as follows:
"That [the death of the moderate movement] was in 2015, and yet in 2016 weapons and funding from the west continued. In September 2016, the US delivered 3,000 tons of weapons and ammo to fighters in Syria including rocket launchers, and anti-tank guided weapons systems."
He adds:
"It is a fact that since 2012 those so-called 'moderate' rebels in Syria had been absorbed into Al-Qaeda groups, or pledged allegiance to ISIS."
"When media only calls these groups freedom fighters, and yet these fighters have pledged themselves to Al-Qaeda and to ISIS, then no. Make no mistake, they are not looking to make Syria free. They are looking to enslave it as they have in so many other places."
This is a quote from leaked audio of former US Secretary of State, John Kerry6, where he acknowledges 'putting an extraordinary amount of arms' into Syria:
John Kerry: "I think we've been putting an extraordinary amount of arms in, haven't we?"
Syrian Journalist: "When you pump more weapons into a situation, it doesn't end well for Syrians, because there's always somebody else who's willing to pump more weapons into the other side. The armed groups in Syria get a lot of support. Not just from the United States, but from other partners. ... Pumping weapons in causes someone else to pump more weapons in."
Everyone needs to question what the Western media have told us about Syria, and just as importantly what they haven't told us. There's a lot which has gone unreported by the mainstream media, but for now consider again John Kerry's admission:
"I think we've been putting an extraordinary amount of arms in, haven't we?"
Now consider once again Ben Swann's quote regarding the 'moderate' rebels who were receiving this 'extraordinary amount of arms':
"Since 2012 those so-called 'moderate' rebels in Syria had been absorbed into Al-Qaeda groups, or pledged allegiance to ISIS."
To return to my earlier question, "Do we seriously need to make a law for the government to know they shouldn't arm terrorists?"
If Obama's time as president was anything to go by, then sadly, yes we do.
It's just a shame that for millions of Syrian people, the 'Stop Arming Terrorists Act' is coming four years too late.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Sources:
1 http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-27/trump-fighting-assad-and-isis-same-time-idiocy-allies-are-funding-terrorists
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKV1sTw8zOc
3 https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/gabbards-stop-arming-terrorists-act-introduced-senate
4 https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/813213099427827712
5 https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/807265295362572290
6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4phB-_pXDM
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