Military Resistance 11H12 First They Tased Him
Despite significant gains in Homs province, Syrian government forces are struggling against opposition forces on other fronts.In Damascus, opposition forces have mounted a major offensive, entering manygovernment-held areas and gaining new ground. Although the government has gone on the counter-offensive, opposition forces have been able to maintain their advance andprevented government forces from storming a number of critical areas in the city.These gains reveal the extent to which the opposition is able to adapt to changes in the operating environment, and prove that the Syrian government lacks the capacity to conclusively defeat the insurgency despite increased assistance from external allies...
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8.13.13
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Military Resistance 11H12
[Thanks to Mark Shapiro, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.]
Enemy Combatants Kill 95 Year Old World War II Veteran In Need Of A Walker To Move About:
“First They Tased Him, But That Didn’t Work”
“So They Fired A Shotgun, Hitting Him In The Stomach With A BeanBag Round”
“Wrana Was Struck With Such Force That He Bled To Death Internally”
“He Was An Old War Veteran Who Didn’t Want To Be Pushed Around”
August 02, 2013 by John Kass, Chicago Tribune [Excerpts] When John Wrana was a young man, fit and strong and fighting in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps, did he ever think he’d end this way? Just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday, in need of a walker to move about, cops coming through the door of his retirement home with a Taser and a shotgun. The old man, described by a family member as "wobbly" on his feet, had refused medical attention. The paramedics were called. They brought in the Park Forest police. First they tased him, but that didn’t work. So they fired a shotgun, hitting him in the stomach with a bean-bag round. Wrana was struck with such force that he bled to death internally, according to the Cook County medical examiner. "The Japanese military couldn’t get him at the age he was touchable, in a uniform in the war. It took 70 years later for the Park Forest police to do the job," Wrana’s family attorney, Nicholas Grapsas, a former prosecutor, said in an interview with me Thursday. Wrana’s family wants answers. The Illinois State Police are investigating the horrific incident but won’t comment, and neither will the Park Forest police pending the outcome of the inquiry. But common sense tells me that cops don’t need a Taser or a shotgun to subdue a 95year-old man.
And after doing some digging, I found there are two versions of events: The police version, and a new picture that raises questions of whether John Wrana was killed unnecessarily. The Park Forest police version is that on the night of July 26, John Wrana, a resident of the Victory Centre senior living facility, threatened staff and paramedics with a 2-foot-long metal shoehorn and a metal cane. The police statement neglects to mention that the old man also used a walker, at least according to photographs supplied by Grapsas. "Attempts were made verbally to have the resident comply with demands to drop the articles, to no avail," the police statement reads. "The resident then armed himself with a 12-inch butcher type kitchen knife." But lawyer Grapsas says that Wrana’s family never saw a knife in his room and that staff also told him Wrana didn’t have such a knife. "So where did the knife come from?" Grapsas asked. But according to Maria Oliva, an executive with Pathway Senior Living, the staff was kept out of the room after police arrived. So there was no imminent threat to staff. "The staff was not inside once the police were on the scene," Oliva told us. "At different times the staff were in there, but not when they were called. They (the police) were in charge at that point." Police said there had been threats made against the staff. But Grapsas said he was told that staff begged to be allowed to try to calm down the old man. "If there were threats to the staff, why did the staff want to intervene and say, ‘Let us handle this; we’ll get him calmed down’?" he asked. Grapsas says he was told that police used a riot shield to come through the door before shooting bean-bag rounds at the old man as he sat in his chair. Riot shields are used to push back mobs of angry young protesters in the streets, or against dangerous convicts in prison cells, not to subdue an old, old man in a chair. "At some point, I’m told there were between five and seven police officers, they went back to the room with a riot shield in hand, entered the door and shot him with a shotgun that contained bean-bag rounds," Grapsas said. If this is true and police had a riot shield, why on earth would they need a shotgun?
Most veteran cops I talked to suspect this is a case of unnecessary force. I’ve never met a police officer who couldn’t handle a 95-year-old man in a walker. And John Wrana wasn’t Jason Bourne. He was an old war veteran who didn’t want to be pushed around. Sharon Mangerson, 74, doesn’t see her stepfather as dangerous. Wrana and Mangerson’s mother, Helen, were married for more than 30 years. Helen died in 2005. So Wrana lived with Mangerson in the south suburbs until his health — and her health — began to fail. She said he was a fiercely independent member of the greatest generation, honorably discharged as a sergeant after serving in India and Burma during the war. "He was a very vital 95-year-old, let me tell you. “He still played cards. He taught the 70-year-olds how to play gin rummy," she said in an interview. "I used to admire him so much because he was able to keep doing those type of things. As independent as they come, trust me." On the night of the incident, he wound up at Advocate Christ Medical Center. The doctor was on the phone with Mangerson, telling her that even if Wrana survived surgery, he’d likely be on life support. Wrana wanted to talk to her. The doctor held the phone up to his ear, she said. "He just said, ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I love you and goodbye,’" Mangerson recalled, her voice cracking. "That was it." Will the family ever get an explanation? "I want answers," she said. "I want someone held accountable."
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Three American Soldiers Killed In Paktia
11 Aug 2013 Reuters Three American soldiers servicing in Afghanistan’s eastern borderlands have been killed, US and NATO officials confirmed.
The soldiers were killed in the province of Paktia by insurgents, an official has told Reuters.
Stewart Soldier Dies Of Afghanistan Injuries
August 8, 2013 Army Times A soldier based at Georgia’s Fort Stewart died Aug. 6 of injuries sustained in a July 23 attack in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. Spc. Nickolas S. Welch, 26, of Mill City, Ore., died in Bethesda, Md., of injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Soltan Kheyl, Wardak Province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR
MILITARY NEWS
A Man Who Lost His Left Hand In An Army Training Accident Wins Lawsuit Wednesday Against The FBI:
“He Was Denied A Fair Chance To Become A Special Agent”
“The FBI Required Proficiency Shooting A Gun With His Left Hand When That Requirement Is Not Imposed On Anyone Else”
Agent In Charge Of FBI Office Caught Trying To Fake Evidence Against Him
Before the trial began, a magistrate judge admonished the woman who had been in charge of the Milwaukee FBI office, Teresa Carlson, for her conduct in the Slaby case. She refused to testify at Slaby’s trial, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Aug. 7, 2013 By Matthew Barakat, The Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, VA. — A Virginia man who lost his left hand in an Army training accident won a lawsuit Wednesday against the FBI claiming he was denied a fair chance to become a special agent. Justin Slaby, 30, of Stafford, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lost his hand when a grenade prematurely detonated during a 2004 training exercise in Georgia. A Wisconsin native, Slaby had applied to become an FBI agent but said he faced discrimination at the FBI Academy in Quantico because of his prosthetic hand. He said the FBI required proficiency shooting a gun with his left hand when that requirement is not imposed on anyone else. A federal jury in Alexandria ruled Wednesday in Slaby’s favor and awarded him $75,000 for emotional pain and suffering. A hearing scheduled for next week will determine potential back pay and the status of his agent application. An FBI spokesman declined comment Wednesday. Before the trial began, a magistrate judge admonished the woman who had been in charge of the Milwaukee FBI office, Teresa Carlson, for her conduct in the Slaby case. An FBI firearms instructor said Carlson made comments to him that he perceived as pressure to testify against Slaby at trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis called Carlson’s conduct “wholly inappropriate” and said it “could have resulted in erosion in the integrity of the judicial process.” Slaby’s application to become a special agent had been sponsored by the Milwaukee field office. Carlson has since been transferred from her post in Milwaukee. She refused to testify at Slaby’s trial, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
“The Syrian Government Lacks The Capacity To Conclusively Defeat The Insurgency”
“The Opposition Has Moved Into Government-Held Territory
Previously Thought To Be Impenetrable”
“The Opposition Has Made Unprecedented Advances In Damascus And Has Come Closer To The Heart Of The Capital Than Ever Before”
“As The Opposition Advances Into New Districts In The Capital, Tension Among Government Forces Have Begun To Surface”
Aug 9, 2013 by Elizabeth O’Bagy, THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR Despite significant gains in Homs province, Syrian government forces are struggling against opposition forces on other fronts. In Damascus, opposition forces have mounted a major offensive, entering many government-held areas and gaining new ground. Although the government has gone on the counter-offensive, opposition forces have been able to maintain their advance and prevented government forces from storming a number of critical areas in the city. These gains reveal the extent to which the opposition is able to adapt to changes in the operating environment, and prove that the Syrian government lacks the capacity to conclusively defeat the insurgency despite increased assistance from external allies. – ***************************************************************************** The media is focused on the battle for Homs, and consequently the Syrian government appears strong with current momentum moving in its favor. The government’s imminent victory at Homs is indeed significant for efforts to consolidate its primary line of communication from the coastal region through Homs to Damascus; however, reports of government strength are misleading as indicators of the overall campaign for Syria. Such reports overlook critical opposition victories across other fronts. The Syrian government has had to consolidate resources and reinforcements in Homs province, and have diverted attention from important opposition activities, particularly in Damascus. At a time when the opposition is reeling from the loss of Homs and struggling to counter the impacts of greater Hezbollah and Iranian support, it has nonetheless made significant gains in Damascus, proving that the Syrian government lacks the capacity to conclusively defeat its insurgency. Beginning on July 24, rebel forces launched a major offensive in Damascus city. Despite the Syrian government’s continuous bombardment of Jobar, Barzeh, and Qaboun, rebels managed to push into the Jobar neighborhood, and from there began a concerted drive into government-held districts in the city.[1] After major clashes between government and rebel forces, the opposition took control of the Abbassiyeen garages, an important government-controlled facility. [2] Continuing their push, rebel forces then took control of a major electrical facility just south of Ruken al-Din, and are now laying siege to a large tank park belong to Branch 211 in southern Qaboun using homemade rockets.
In Barzeh, the opposition has also advanced on regime positions with major clashes occurring near the Military School and main government managerial buildings. [3] Although clashes are still ongoing in many of these neighborhoods, the opposition has moved into government-held territory previously thought to be impenetrable. While the overall operational value of such victories may be limited, the area has a large military presence and is symbolically important as it nears the Defense Ministry and the Officer’s Club By July 26, the Syrian government increased its aerial bombardment of the Jobar, Qaboun, and Barzeh neighborhoods in an attempt to push back the rebel offensive. The next day, government troops conducted a counter-offensive into Barzeh in an attempt to push back the opposition.
“The Regime Offensive Has Stalled”
However, rebel forces were able to hold their ground. The regime offensive has stalled as the opposition has blocked all attempts to storm the neighborhood. [4] Since this time, government and opposition forces have been engaged in major clashes with significantly higher numbers of casualties on both sides than is typical for battles in Damascus. [5] The scale and duration of fighting in these neighborhoods point to the limited capacity of the government, security forces especially as it has had to divert reinforcements to Homs province. This marks the first time that opposition groups have been able to push into three different government-held areas, achieving significant gains in each, while simultaneously maintaining its current operations against major regime targets in the city including Damascus International and Mezze airports.
“A Number Of Rebel Groups Have Recently Banded Together To Create Jabhat Fatah Al-’Asima, Or The Front To Open The Capital”
In order to better organize and coordinate operations in Jobar, Qaboun, and Barzeh, a number of rebel groups have recently banded together to create Jabhat Fatah al-’Asima, or the Front to Open the Capital.[6] The new front reportedly comprises 23 different battalions, most notably of which includes the Farouq al-Sham Battalion and the Habib Moustafa Brigade. [7]
Previously, units in these areas have tended to remain small, having to operate underground and in secrecy to avoid regime detection. However, emboldened by recent successes, more and more rebel groups have shown a willingness to coalesce into larger alliances with the hopes of bringing greater forces to bear and coordinating more effectively on operations. Commanders have also suggested a need to come together in order to better allocate resources and distribute recently acquired weapons to areas where they will have a greater impact. [8] Given that previous attempts to unite opposition groups in Damascus have largely failed, it remains to be seen whether this new coalition will have much of an impact. However, the fact that many of the more powerful groups in Damascus have joined and others, including Liwa al-Islam, have agreed to work with the front suggests that it could be an important development in terms of cooperation and coordination among opposition forces in the south. At the same time as the opposition has made significant gains in the Jobar, Qaboun, and Barzeh neighborhoods, rebel forces led by the Ahrar al-Sham Brigade have continued their campaign against major infrastructure in the city. On July 25, a major explosion near the Mezze military prison was following by a rebel attack against the airbase.[9] Although the government was able to quickly quell the attack, such incidences reveal the extent to which the opposition is now pressing on key government positions. The Mezze airbase has been a primary target for the opposition for over a year now, but only recently have they been able to put significant pressure on regime forces in the vicinity. In a statement released by Ahrar al-Sham in early August, the group claims to be at the “doors of Damascus, advancing from eastern Ghouta and southern Damascus.”[10] While such declarations evidence more bravado than reality, there is some truth to the statement that the opposition is advancing on Damascus in ways previously unseen. Following rebel operations in the area, regime forces conducted an arrest campaign in Mezze, detaining hundreds of civilians. Activists working for local coordinating councils and humanitarian-aid based groups were the primary target of the arrest campaign, and many humanitarian aid channels have been shut down as a result. [11] In addition to targeting activists and aid workers, the government has also attempted to shut down aid distribution networks. On August 7, government forces ambushed an opposition convoy in Adra, a main supply route between Damascus and the eastern Ghouta neighborhood, killing over 60 rebel fighters. Although the government reported that the Jabhat al-Nusra led opposition fighters were on their way to attack a key checkpoint in Damascus, both activists and fighters have denied the claim, arguing that the convoy was carrying humanitarian aid to besieged eastern Ghouta. [12]
The government’s targeting of humanitarian aid channels has had near catastrophic consequences in areas that rely heavily on aid as food and medical supplies are increasingly rare in certain districts of the capital. Such actions represent similar government strategies employed in northern Syria, where the government has targeted civilians and activists in response to major rebel victories. Regime retaliation against civilians has been an effective part of the government’s attempts to undermine the opposition’s support base. However, in Damascus, such strategies seem to have an inverse effect so far, and they have caused tension and infighting between government troops forced to carry out such measures. [13]
“Opposition Forces Have Demonstrated An Enhanced Capacity Through The Use Of Better Weaponry”
Particularly in recent operations, opposition forces have demonstrated an enhanced capacity through the use of better weaponry. In early August, rebels from Liwa al-Islam, the Mughaweer Battalion, and the Qalamoun Martyrs Battalion captured an ammunitions depot near the village of Qaldun in the Qalamoun area. [14] Only days after, units from these groups were seen effectively using the anti-tank weapons they had captured. In a video posted online, opposition forces from Liwa Islam and the First Brigades destroy a column of tanks along the road to the hospital in Barzeh. [15] Such examples indicate a growing capacity by the opposition, and reveal how rebel groups are using government-captured weaponry more effectively. In another video, a unit associated with Ansar al-Islam is seen effectively using an SA-16 in the Ghouta region.[16] Advanced weapons also helped rebel forces take control of the fifth bridge along the road to Damascus International Airport, and were instrumental in rebel operations against the Abu Zidan checkpoint along the International Damascus Road in Harasta.[17] Most significantly, Liwa al-Islam, one of the largest and most powerful brigades in Damascus and operating within the network of the Supreme Military Command, has successfully used a 9K33 Osa, or SA-8 Gecko.[18] Liwa al-Islam first captured two SA-8 units in October 2012 along with at least six missiles.[19] Commanders from the brigade report working with engineers for over a year to make the system operational, and report that they have since captured many more missiles from other government caches. [20] On July 29, videos circulated showing Liwa al-Islam successfully using the system to shoot down a Syrian Air force helicopter. At the same time, activists in Damascus reported that two aircraft had been shot down over Damascus and that since then, less flights had been seen overhead. [21]
Military analysts familiar with the SA-8 system state that it would be very difficult for the opposition to get the system operational without the support of outside expertise or the guidance of a former operator of such a system. Successfully using the system should be seen as a military achievement, and if replicated, could change the dynamics of the conflict in the area. Already, Liwa al-Islam has issued a warning to the Syrian government, citing that all airplanes flying over eastern Ghouta will be shot down.[22] The government has long relied on its air superiority, which remains the key center of gravity for the regime and has allowed the government to continue repressive operations in areas that it no longer has reach. If the opposition can successfully begin to counter the government’s air power, it would quickly change the nature of the conflict and force the government to adapt its operations in ways that would likely be much less successful than they have been until this point.
“As The Opposition Advances Into New Districts In The Capital, Tension Among Government Forces Have Begun To Surface”
As the opposition advances into new districts in the capital, tension among government forces have begun to surface. In some cases, government troops have been deterred by the more abhorrent behavior of pro-regime militia forces in the area. Reports by activists in Damascus say that government troops have sometimes been forced to prevent massacres from taking place by the hands of Iraqi and Lebanese Shia militia groups – begging the question of how long the regime can retain command and control as it increasingly relies on irregular forces.[23] In other cases, infighting has occurred between different government units over operations, particularly in cases where it has meant aerial bombardment of city centers. In the past, government troops had negotiated with opposition forces in creating truces that prevented the aerial bombardment, and thus destruction, of key districts in the capital.[24] Yet as the opposition has advanced, more and more of Damascus is being threatened by the government’s bombardment, causing misgivings among those troops who are not keen to see the city become a replica of destroyed Aleppo or Homs.[25] While this has not significantly impacted operations in the city so far, if these trends are exacerbated, it could spell trouble for the government in the future. Capitalizing on the government’s victory in Homs, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has given off the impression of strength.
In one of his rare public visits, Assad toured Darayya, a southwestern suburb of Damascus and former rebel bastion now largely under control of government forces. In a speech honoring Army Day, Bashar told the Syrian people that he is “sure of victory.”[26]
‘While The Western Media Seems To Have Bought The Narrative Of The Government’s Continuing Strength, Under The Surface Things Are Not What They Appear In The Capital”
And while the western media seems to have bought the narrative of the government’s continuing strength, under the surface things are not what they appear in the capital. Through the successful use of more sophisticated weaponry and enhanced coordination, the opposition has made unprecedented advances in Damascus and has come closer to the heart of the capital than ever before. Events in Damascus reveal two important lessons: first, although the regime has current momentum in Homs, it is far from being able to conclusively defeat the opposition; second, a limited enhanced weapon capability has already improved the effectiveness of rebel forces and helped them coalesce into a more hierarchal command.
[1] “Clashes break out in Damascus,” RT, July 28, 2013; “al-Qaboun, from the heart of the battle at the doors of eastern Damascus,” YouTube, August 31, 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJtrh1534f0 [2] “FSA controls Abassiyyeen garages,” YouTube, July 27, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diaAG124Wc&feature=youtu.be [3] “Violent clashes in Barzeh and aerial bombardment,” YouTube, July 27, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcRJ6BbF6I [4] “Violent clashes in Barzeh as rebels push back government offensive,” Sham News Network, July 28, 2013. Translated from Arabic. [5] Based on reporting by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights of recent casualty figures. [6] “Creation of Jabhat Fatah al-’Asima,” YouTube, July 31, 2013. [7] “FSA advances in the south, forms Jabhat Fatah al-’Asima,” Damascus News Network, July 31, 2013. Translated from Arabic. [8] Interview with rebel commanders in Damascus via Skype from end of July – early August 2013. [9] “Syria… Explosion rocks Mezze military airbase,” al-Safir, July 27, 2013. Translated from Arabic. [10] Statement by Ahrar al-Sham [11] Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Facebook page; confirmed through interviews with activists in Damascus via Skype, July – August 2013.
[12] “In desert ambush, Syrian troops kill more than 60 rebels in latest blow to opposition fighters,” AP, August 7, 2013; interviews with activists in Damascus via Skype on August 7-9 2013. [13] Interview with activists in Damascus via Skype, July 24 – August 5, 2013; This assessment is also based on conversations with pro-regime families living in Damascus and reports of schisms within government forces. [14] “Rebel seize ammo depot,” Daily Star, August 3, 2012. [15] “Barzeh, the destruction of government tanks along the road to the hospital,” YouTube, July 28, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcRJ6BbF6I [16] “Ahrar al-Sham uses missiles to destroy regime forces,” YouTube, July 21, 2013 www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diaAG124Wc&feature [17] “Mughaweer forces and Fatah al-Sham at Abu Zidan checkpoint,” YouTube, July 29, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d66MqTTeOws&feature=youtu.be [18] “Liwa al-Islam down a plane using an Osa,” YouTube, July 29, 2013; “Opposition shoot down helicopter in Damascus using advanced weapons,” Orient News, July 29, 2013. [19] “Liwa al-Islam and her 9K33 Osa,” Oryz Blog, July 31, 2013. [20] Interview with Liwa al-Islam commander and his deputy via Skype, August 2, 2013. [21] Reports of two aircraft being shown down appeared on the main Facebook page for the Revolutionary Council in Ghouta on July 30, 2013; these reports were confirmed during interviews with activists operating in eastern Ghouta and Qaboun via Skype on August 2-3, 2013. [22] “The Free Syrian Army in Eastern Ghouta warns of the dangers of using the airspace above it,” Statement issued on the Facebook page for LIwa Islam and disseminated via the brigade’s Twitter account. [23] Interviews with activists based in Damascus via Skype from end of July – early August, 2013. [24] These truces have been confirmed by rebel commanders operating in Damascus in interviews with the author conducted throughout the past year, conducted both on Skype and in person. [25] Interview with regime source on July 28, 2013.
[26] “Assad visits ex-rebel bastion near capital state TV says,” AFP, August 1, 2013.
MORE:
“Syrian Rebels Captured The Main Military Airport Near The Border With Turkey On August 6”
Free Syrian Army fighters are seen on a Russian-made helicopter that belonged to the Syrian Army at the Minnig Military Airport, after it was seized by the rebels August 11, 2013. Syrian rebels captured the main military airport near the border with Turkey on August 6, consolidating their hold on a key supply route north of the city of Aleppo, opposition activists said. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
“At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. “We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.” Frederick Douglass, 1852
What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. -- Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787
Monetary Crisis:
“On The Eve Of The Crisis, The Bourgeois, With The SelfSufficiency That Springs From Intoxicating Prosperity, Declares Money To Be A Vain Imagination”
“Commodities Alone Are Money”
“But Now The Cry Is Everywhere: Money Alone Is A Commodity!”
Excerpt from Capital, K. Marx, pp. 154-155 The fact that a number of sales take place simultaneously, and side by side, limits the extent to which coin can be replaced by the rapidity of currency. On the other hand, this fact is a new lever in economizing the means of payment. In proportion as payments are concentrated at one spot, special institutions and methods are developed for their liquidation.
Such in the middle ages were the virements at Lyons. The debts due to A from B, to B from C, to C from A, and so on, have only to be confronted with each other, in order to annul each other to a certain extent like positive and negative quantities. There remains only a single balance to pay. The greater the amount of the payments concentrated, the less is this balance relatively to that amount, and the less is the mass of the means of payment in circulation. The function of money as the means of payment implies a contradiction without a terminus medius [the middle stage in a process]. In so far as the payments balance one another, money functions only ideally as money of account, as a measure of value. In so far as actual payments have to be made, money does not serve as a circulating medium, as a mere transient agent in the interchange of products, but as the individual incarnation of social labour, as the independent form of existence of exchange-value, as the universal commodity. This contradiction comes to a head in those phases of industrial and commercial crises which are known as monetary crises. Such a crisis occurs only where the ever-lengthening chain of payments, and an artificial system of settling them, has been fully developed. Whenever there is a general and extensive disturbance of this mechanism, no matter what its cause, money becomes suddenly and immediately transformed, from its merely ideal shape of money of account, into hard cash. Profane commodities can no longer replace it. The use-value of commodities becomes valueless, and their value vanishes in the presence of its own independent form. On the eve of the crisis, the bourgeois, with the self-sufficiency that springs from intoxicating prosperity, declares money to be a vain imagination. Commodities alone are money. But now the cry is everywhere: money alone is a commodity! As the hart pants after fresh water, so pants his soul after money, the only wealth. 50] In a crisis, the antithesis between commodities and their value-form, money, becomes heightened into an absolute contradiction. Hence, in such events, the form under which money appears is of no importance.
The money famine continues, whether payments have to be made in gold or in credit money such as bank-notes. [50] “The sudden reversion from a system of credit to a system of hard cash heaps theoretical fright on top of the practical panic; and the dealers by whose agency circulation is affected, shudder before the impenetrable mystery in which their own economic relations are involved” (Karl Marx, Capital; p. 126.)
MILITARY RESISTANCE BY EMAIL
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President Obama Announces Capture Of Warren Terror:
“It’s A Good Feeling To Know That We Can Move On To Wars Against Other Nouns”
August 10, 2013 by Paul, The Duffel Blog WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a daring pre-dawn raid on a bomb-making factory in Yemen early Friday, President Barack Obama announced to the world that Warren Terror had finally been captured.
“After I learned of solid intelligence, and I learned of this terror mastermind, I discussed the possibility of conducting a raid with my national security team,” Obama said in a speech from the White House. “After I carefully deliberated, I then consulted a Magic 8-Ball to ask whether this was a good decision. I then authorized members of the U.S. Navy SEALs to capture or kill Warren Terror. I am proud to report that he is now in custody.” The U.S. has been searching for the infamous and elusive international terrorist since shortly after 9/11, when President George W. Bush announced his capture would be his number one priority. “This crusade against Warren Terror starts today, but it does not end with his capture,” Bush said in the days following the devastating terror attacks in New York and Washington. “It will end only when we invade multiple countries and eventually forget whether we were supposed to shoot people, build schools, or shoot people building schools,” he added. After a brief firefight, the SEALs raiding the terror facility subdued Terror and placed him in flex-cuffs so he could not escape. “We’ve been conducting a global war on Terror for a long time,” said the SEAL Team Leader, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s a good feeling to know that we can move on to wars against other nouns.” Terror is currently being held at a resort community in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
TROOPS INVITED:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or email [email protected]: Name, I.D., withheld unless you request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
OCCUPATION PALESTINE
“The Son Of Palestinian Huseen Awad Mourns”
“Israeli Troops Killed Awad”
“He Proved To Be Unarmed”
The son of Palestinian Huseen Awad mourns during his funeral in central Gaza Strip August 11, 2013. Israeli troops killed Awad who crossed in from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, fearing he was a security threat though he proved to be unarmed, military sources said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
Imitation;
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery:
“Keen To Claim The Loyalty Of Germans Abroad, The Nazis Racialized The Notion Of Citizenship Outside The Reich As Well As Inside It”
“In Other Words, Affinity Among Germans Wherever They Might Be
Trumped ‘The Formal Conception Of Citizenship’”
Excerpt from Hitler’s Empire; How The Nazis Ruled Europe; Mark Mazower; Penguin Group; New York, 1958 Concern for Germans abroad reinforced the idea of international relations as racial struggle. At the centre for propaganda and irredentist activity against Poland, the Bund Deutscher Osten, Theodor Oberlander, a young lecturer on ‘Eastern affairs’ from East Prussia (and later a minister in the postwar Adenauer government) adopted a martial tone. “The struggle for ethnicity,” he wrote in 1936, “is nothing other than the continuation of war by other means under the cover of peace. “Not a fight with gas, grenades, and machine-guns, but a fight about homes, farms, schools, and the souls of children, a struggle whose end, unlike in war, is not foreseeable as long as the insane principle of nationalism of the state dominates the Eastern region, a struggle which goes on for generations with one aim: extermination! A year later, Oberlander was stripped of his positions for being too soft on the Polish question. This idea of foreign policy as “the continuation of war by other means under the cover of peace” also affected how the Third Reich thought about international law. After 1933 Nazi legal theorists asserted the primacy of each state’s self-interest, and, increasingly, of race. They wanted a new kind of law according to which an organic German community would create its own legal norms. The ideal, as one explained, was a national state that was “racially satiated”, for only such a state would enjoy peaceful relations with other states in the international system. But what followed from this was not entirely reassuring: treaties and other agreements were regarded as binding as long as they did not jeopardize the racial health of a people; some racial communities were stronger than others and could “naturally” exert a hegemonic influence over them; war not law was therefore the ultimate arbiter of international order. Nazi lawyers were deeply suspicious of the whole idea of a universal international law premised upon the formal equality of sovereign states. Keen to claim the loyalty of Germans abroad, the Nazis racialized the notion of citizenship outside the Reich as well as inside it.
“The concepts ‘citizen’ and ‘racial comrade’ do not coincide,” wrote an adviser to the minister of the interior in 1936. “The race, or its single member, the racial comrade, must stand in the first place.” In other words, affinity among Germans wherever they might be trumped “‘the formal conception of citizenship”. The “‘boundless and unalterable loyalty towards one’s own race”, which another law professor saw as the guiding principle of National Socialist law, supposedly outweighed any loyalty which ethnic Germans might be expected to feel towards Czechoslovakia, Hungary or any other state the passport of which they happened to hold. If, according to such thinking, the Third Reich and indeed the Führer himself were nothing more than the voice of the German Volk as a whole, then it was also true that it — and he — had the right to speak for the Volk and to expect ethnic Germans everywhere to do its bidding. ****************************************************************
“The Whole Point Of Nazi Resettlement Schemes Was That They Were Going To Produce Definitive Solutions”
“The Japanese Colonization Of Manchukuo Was Closely Studied As An Example Of ‘Creating Settlements In The Midst Of Alien Population’”
Excerpt from Hitler’s Empire; How The Nazis Ruled Europe; Mark Mazower; Penguin Group; New York, 1958 Humanitarian considerations had never bothered Lorenz or his colleagues while the war was going on. On the contrary, they had seen humanitarianism as a sign of weakness. The whole point of Nazi resettlement schemes was that they were going to produce definitive solutions by the application of state power and tight control over individuals’ lives. Their architects were well aware of the fate of previous German attempts, and that was why they tried to learn instead from permanent population movements like the Greek —
Turkish exchange. As the head of the wartime Settlement Research Unit in Posen put it, such ‘radical measures are only to be understood out of the spirit of a new age’. Ancient and far-flung ethnic German communities would have to he uprooted in order to create a brand-new “united and combative Germandom”. This was the dream of a ‘”human wall” that had emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and now seemed within reach. The Japanese colonization of Manchukuo was closely studied as an example of “creating settlements in the midst of alien population”, and the German settlement specialists — tried to apply the lessons of Asia in eastern Europe. ****************************************************************
“Prague Even Had To Swallow Plans For An Extra-Territorial German Motorway System Across The Country To Guarantee German Control”
Excerpt from Hitler’s Empire; How The Nazis Ruled Europe; Mark Mazower; Penguin Group; New York, 1958 A swathe of southern Slovakia and Ruthenia was handed over to Hungary, which thus began the process of recouping the tremendous losses of territory it had suffered after the First World War: within four years, thanks to Berlin’s favour, it won back land from Romania and Yugoslavia as well. The Czechs were made to grant autonomy to Slovakia and eastern Carpatho-Ukraine while the remaining Germans inside the Czech lands won the right to Reich citizenship. Prague even had to swallow plans for an extra-territorial German motorway system across the country to guarantee German control (though in fact this was never built). [Never built until the Zionists adopted the Nazi plan to guarantee their control of Occupied Palestine. T] [To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded by foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves “Israeli.”]
CLASS WAR REPORTS
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
FREE TO ACTIVE DUTY:
A Vietnam Veteran Describes The Strategy And Tactics Used By Troops To Stop An Imperial War
SOLDIERS IN REVOLT: DAVID CORTRIGHT
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Enemy Combatants Kill 95 Year Old World War II Veteran In Need Of A Walker To Move About:
“First They Tased Him, But That Didn’t Work”
“So They Fired A Shotgun, Hitting Him In The Stomach With A BeanBag Round”
“Wrana Was Struck With Such Force That He Bled To Death Internally”
“He Was An Old War Veteran Who Didn’t Want To Be Pushed Around”
August 02, 2013 by John Kass, Chicago Tribune [Excerpts] When John Wrana was a young man, fit and strong and fighting in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps, did he ever think he’d end this way? Just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday, in need of a walker to move about, cops coming through the door of his retirement home with a Taser and a shotgun. The old man, described by a family member as "wobbly" on his feet, had refused medical attention. The paramedics were called. They brought in the Park Forest police. First they tased him, but that didn’t work. So they fired a shotgun, hitting him in the stomach with a bean-bag round. Wrana was struck with such force that he bled to death internally, according to the Cook County medical examiner. "The Japanese military couldn’t get him at the age he was touchable, in a uniform in the war. It took 70 years later for the Park Forest police to do the job," Wrana’s family attorney, Nicholas Grapsas, a former prosecutor, said in an interview with me Thursday. Wrana’s family wants answers. The Illinois State Police are investigating the horrific incident but won’t comment, and neither will the Park Forest police pending the outcome of the inquiry. But common sense tells me that cops don’t need a Taser or a shotgun to subdue a 95year-old man.
And after doing some digging, I found there are two versions of events: The police version, and a new picture that raises questions of whether John Wrana was killed unnecessarily. The Park Forest police version is that on the night of July 26, John Wrana, a resident of the Victory Centre senior living facility, threatened staff and paramedics with a 2-foot-long metal shoehorn and a metal cane. The police statement neglects to mention that the old man also used a walker, at least according to photographs supplied by Grapsas. "Attempts were made verbally to have the resident comply with demands to drop the articles, to no avail," the police statement reads. "The resident then armed himself with a 12-inch butcher type kitchen knife." But lawyer Grapsas says that Wrana’s family never saw a knife in his room and that staff also told him Wrana didn’t have such a knife. "So where did the knife come from?" Grapsas asked. But according to Maria Oliva, an executive with Pathway Senior Living, the staff was kept out of the room after police arrived. So there was no imminent threat to staff. "The staff was not inside once the police were on the scene," Oliva told us. "At different times the staff were in there, but not when they were called. They (the police) were in charge at that point." Police said there had been threats made against the staff. But Grapsas said he was told that staff begged to be allowed to try to calm down the old man. "If there were threats to the staff, why did the staff want to intervene and say, ‘Let us handle this; we’ll get him calmed down’?" he asked. Grapsas says he was told that police used a riot shield to come through the door before shooting bean-bag rounds at the old man as he sat in his chair. Riot shields are used to push back mobs of angry young protesters in the streets, or against dangerous convicts in prison cells, not to subdue an old, old man in a chair. "At some point, I’m told there were between five and seven police officers, they went back to the room with a riot shield in hand, entered the door and shot him with a shotgun that contained bean-bag rounds," Grapsas said. If this is true and police had a riot shield, why on earth would they need a shotgun?
Most veteran cops I talked to suspect this is a case of unnecessary force. I’ve never met a police officer who couldn’t handle a 95-year-old man in a walker. And John Wrana wasn’t Jason Bourne. He was an old war veteran who didn’t want to be pushed around. Sharon Mangerson, 74, doesn’t see her stepfather as dangerous. Wrana and Mangerson’s mother, Helen, were married for more than 30 years. Helen died in 2005. So Wrana lived with Mangerson in the south suburbs until his health — and her health — began to fail. She said he was a fiercely independent member of the greatest generation, honorably discharged as a sergeant after serving in India and Burma during the war. "He was a very vital 95-year-old, let me tell you. “He still played cards. He taught the 70-year-olds how to play gin rummy," she said in an interview. "I used to admire him so much because he was able to keep doing those type of things. As independent as they come, trust me." On the night of the incident, he wound up at Advocate Christ Medical Center. The doctor was on the phone with Mangerson, telling her that even if Wrana survived surgery, he’d likely be on life support. Wrana wanted to talk to her. The doctor held the phone up to his ear, she said. "He just said, ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I love you and goodbye,’" Mangerson recalled, her voice cracking. "That was it." Will the family ever get an explanation? "I want answers," she said. "I want someone held accountable."
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Three American Soldiers Killed In Paktia
11 Aug 2013 Reuters Three American soldiers servicing in Afghanistan’s eastern borderlands have been killed, US and NATO officials confirmed.
The soldiers were killed in the province of Paktia by insurgents, an official has told Reuters.
Stewart Soldier Dies Of Afghanistan Injuries
August 8, 2013 Army Times A soldier based at Georgia’s Fort Stewart died Aug. 6 of injuries sustained in a July 23 attack in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. Spc. Nickolas S. Welch, 26, of Mill City, Ore., died in Bethesda, Md., of injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Soltan Kheyl, Wardak Province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR
MILITARY NEWS
A Man Who Lost His Left Hand In An Army Training Accident Wins Lawsuit Wednesday Against The FBI:
“He Was Denied A Fair Chance To Become A Special Agent”
“The FBI Required Proficiency Shooting A Gun With His Left Hand When That Requirement Is Not Imposed On Anyone Else”
Agent In Charge Of FBI Office Caught Trying To Fake Evidence Against Him
Before the trial began, a magistrate judge admonished the woman who had been in charge of the Milwaukee FBI office, Teresa Carlson, for her conduct in the Slaby case. She refused to testify at Slaby’s trial, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Aug. 7, 2013 By Matthew Barakat, The Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, VA. — A Virginia man who lost his left hand in an Army training accident won a lawsuit Wednesday against the FBI claiming he was denied a fair chance to become a special agent. Justin Slaby, 30, of Stafford, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lost his hand when a grenade prematurely detonated during a 2004 training exercise in Georgia. A Wisconsin native, Slaby had applied to become an FBI agent but said he faced discrimination at the FBI Academy in Quantico because of his prosthetic hand. He said the FBI required proficiency shooting a gun with his left hand when that requirement is not imposed on anyone else. A federal jury in Alexandria ruled Wednesday in Slaby’s favor and awarded him $75,000 for emotional pain and suffering. A hearing scheduled for next week will determine potential back pay and the status of his agent application. An FBI spokesman declined comment Wednesday. Before the trial began, a magistrate judge admonished the woman who had been in charge of the Milwaukee FBI office, Teresa Carlson, for her conduct in the Slaby case. An FBI firearms instructor said Carlson made comments to him that he perceived as pressure to testify against Slaby at trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis called Carlson’s conduct “wholly inappropriate” and said it “could have resulted in erosion in the integrity of the judicial process.” Slaby’s application to become a special agent had been sponsored by the Milwaukee field office. Carlson has since been transferred from her post in Milwaukee. She refused to testify at Slaby’s trial, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
“The Syrian Government Lacks The Capacity To Conclusively Defeat The Insurgency”
“The Opposition Has Moved Into Government-Held Territory
Previously Thought To Be Impenetrable”
“The Opposition Has Made Unprecedented Advances In Damascus And Has Come Closer To The Heart Of The Capital Than Ever Before”
“As The Opposition Advances Into New Districts In The Capital, Tension Among Government Forces Have Begun To Surface”
Aug 9, 2013 by Elizabeth O’Bagy, THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR Despite significant gains in Homs province, Syrian government forces are struggling against opposition forces on other fronts. In Damascus, opposition forces have mounted a major offensive, entering many government-held areas and gaining new ground. Although the government has gone on the counter-offensive, opposition forces have been able to maintain their advance and prevented government forces from storming a number of critical areas in the city. These gains reveal the extent to which the opposition is able to adapt to changes in the operating environment, and prove that the Syrian government lacks the capacity to conclusively defeat the insurgency despite increased assistance from external allies. – ***************************************************************************** The media is focused on the battle for Homs, and consequently the Syrian government appears strong with current momentum moving in its favor. The government’s imminent victory at Homs is indeed significant for efforts to consolidate its primary line of communication from the coastal region through Homs to Damascus; however, reports of government strength are misleading as indicators of the overall campaign for Syria. Such reports overlook critical opposition victories across other fronts. The Syrian government has had to consolidate resources and reinforcements in Homs province, and have diverted attention from important opposition activities, particularly in Damascus. At a time when the opposition is reeling from the loss of Homs and struggling to counter the impacts of greater Hezbollah and Iranian support, it has nonetheless made significant gains in Damascus, proving that the Syrian government lacks the capacity to conclusively defeat its insurgency. Beginning on July 24, rebel forces launched a major offensive in Damascus city. Despite the Syrian government’s continuous bombardment of Jobar, Barzeh, and Qaboun, rebels managed to push into the Jobar neighborhood, and from there began a concerted drive into government-held districts in the city.[1] After major clashes between government and rebel forces, the opposition took control of the Abbassiyeen garages, an important government-controlled facility. [2] Continuing their push, rebel forces then took control of a major electrical facility just south of Ruken al-Din, and are now laying siege to a large tank park belong to Branch 211 in southern Qaboun using homemade rockets.
In Barzeh, the opposition has also advanced on regime positions with major clashes occurring near the Military School and main government managerial buildings. [3] Although clashes are still ongoing in many of these neighborhoods, the opposition has moved into government-held territory previously thought to be impenetrable. While the overall operational value of such victories may be limited, the area has a large military presence and is symbolically important as it nears the Defense Ministry and the Officer’s Club By July 26, the Syrian government increased its aerial bombardment of the Jobar, Qaboun, and Barzeh neighborhoods in an attempt to push back the rebel offensive. The next day, government troops conducted a counter-offensive into Barzeh in an attempt to push back the opposition.
“The Regime Offensive Has Stalled”
However, rebel forces were able to hold their ground. The regime offensive has stalled as the opposition has blocked all attempts to storm the neighborhood. [4] Since this time, government and opposition forces have been engaged in major clashes with significantly higher numbers of casualties on both sides than is typical for battles in Damascus. [5] The scale and duration of fighting in these neighborhoods point to the limited capacity of the government, security forces especially as it has had to divert reinforcements to Homs province. This marks the first time that opposition groups have been able to push into three different government-held areas, achieving significant gains in each, while simultaneously maintaining its current operations against major regime targets in the city including Damascus International and Mezze airports.
“A Number Of Rebel Groups Have Recently Banded Together To Create Jabhat Fatah Al-’Asima, Or The Front To Open The Capital”
In order to better organize and coordinate operations in Jobar, Qaboun, and Barzeh, a number of rebel groups have recently banded together to create Jabhat Fatah al-’Asima, or the Front to Open the Capital.[6] The new front reportedly comprises 23 different battalions, most notably of which includes the Farouq al-Sham Battalion and the Habib Moustafa Brigade. [7]
Previously, units in these areas have tended to remain small, having to operate underground and in secrecy to avoid regime detection. However, emboldened by recent successes, more and more rebel groups have shown a willingness to coalesce into larger alliances with the hopes of bringing greater forces to bear and coordinating more effectively on operations. Commanders have also suggested a need to come together in order to better allocate resources and distribute recently acquired weapons to areas where they will have a greater impact. [8] Given that previous attempts to unite opposition groups in Damascus have largely failed, it remains to be seen whether this new coalition will have much of an impact. However, the fact that many of the more powerful groups in Damascus have joined and others, including Liwa al-Islam, have agreed to work with the front suggests that it could be an important development in terms of cooperation and coordination among opposition forces in the south. At the same time as the opposition has made significant gains in the Jobar, Qaboun, and Barzeh neighborhoods, rebel forces led by the Ahrar al-Sham Brigade have continued their campaign against major infrastructure in the city. On July 25, a major explosion near the Mezze military prison was following by a rebel attack against the airbase.[9] Although the government was able to quickly quell the attack, such incidences reveal the extent to which the opposition is now pressing on key government positions. The Mezze airbase has been a primary target for the opposition for over a year now, but only recently have they been able to put significant pressure on regime forces in the vicinity. In a statement released by Ahrar al-Sham in early August, the group claims to be at the “doors of Damascus, advancing from eastern Ghouta and southern Damascus.”[10] While such declarations evidence more bravado than reality, there is some truth to the statement that the opposition is advancing on Damascus in ways previously unseen. Following rebel operations in the area, regime forces conducted an arrest campaign in Mezze, detaining hundreds of civilians. Activists working for local coordinating councils and humanitarian-aid based groups were the primary target of the arrest campaign, and many humanitarian aid channels have been shut down as a result. [11] In addition to targeting activists and aid workers, the government has also attempted to shut down aid distribution networks. On August 7, government forces ambushed an opposition convoy in Adra, a main supply route between Damascus and the eastern Ghouta neighborhood, killing over 60 rebel fighters. Although the government reported that the Jabhat al-Nusra led opposition fighters were on their way to attack a key checkpoint in Damascus, both activists and fighters have denied the claim, arguing that the convoy was carrying humanitarian aid to besieged eastern Ghouta. [12]
The government’s targeting of humanitarian aid channels has had near catastrophic consequences in areas that rely heavily on aid as food and medical supplies are increasingly rare in certain districts of the capital. Such actions represent similar government strategies employed in northern Syria, where the government has targeted civilians and activists in response to major rebel victories. Regime retaliation against civilians has been an effective part of the government’s attempts to undermine the opposition’s support base. However, in Damascus, such strategies seem to have an inverse effect so far, and they have caused tension and infighting between government troops forced to carry out such measures. [13]
“Opposition Forces Have Demonstrated An Enhanced Capacity Through The Use Of Better Weaponry”
Particularly in recent operations, opposition forces have demonstrated an enhanced capacity through the use of better weaponry. In early August, rebels from Liwa al-Islam, the Mughaweer Battalion, and the Qalamoun Martyrs Battalion captured an ammunitions depot near the village of Qaldun in the Qalamoun area. [14] Only days after, units from these groups were seen effectively using the anti-tank weapons they had captured. In a video posted online, opposition forces from Liwa Islam and the First Brigades destroy a column of tanks along the road to the hospital in Barzeh. [15] Such examples indicate a growing capacity by the opposition, and reveal how rebel groups are using government-captured weaponry more effectively. In another video, a unit associated with Ansar al-Islam is seen effectively using an SA-16 in the Ghouta region.[16] Advanced weapons also helped rebel forces take control of the fifth bridge along the road to Damascus International Airport, and were instrumental in rebel operations against the Abu Zidan checkpoint along the International Damascus Road in Harasta.[17] Most significantly, Liwa al-Islam, one of the largest and most powerful brigades in Damascus and operating within the network of the Supreme Military Command, has successfully used a 9K33 Osa, or SA-8 Gecko.[18] Liwa al-Islam first captured two SA-8 units in October 2012 along with at least six missiles.[19] Commanders from the brigade report working with engineers for over a year to make the system operational, and report that they have since captured many more missiles from other government caches. [20] On July 29, videos circulated showing Liwa al-Islam successfully using the system to shoot down a Syrian Air force helicopter. At the same time, activists in Damascus reported that two aircraft had been shot down over Damascus and that since then, less flights had been seen overhead. [21]
Military analysts familiar with the SA-8 system state that it would be very difficult for the opposition to get the system operational without the support of outside expertise or the guidance of a former operator of such a system. Successfully using the system should be seen as a military achievement, and if replicated, could change the dynamics of the conflict in the area. Already, Liwa al-Islam has issued a warning to the Syrian government, citing that all airplanes flying over eastern Ghouta will be shot down.[22] The government has long relied on its air superiority, which remains the key center of gravity for the regime and has allowed the government to continue repressive operations in areas that it no longer has reach. If the opposition can successfully begin to counter the government’s air power, it would quickly change the nature of the conflict and force the government to adapt its operations in ways that would likely be much less successful than they have been until this point.
“As The Opposition Advances Into New Districts In The Capital, Tension Among Government Forces Have Begun To Surface”
As the opposition advances into new districts in the capital, tension among government forces have begun to surface. In some cases, government troops have been deterred by the more abhorrent behavior of pro-regime militia forces in the area. Reports by activists in Damascus say that government troops have sometimes been forced to prevent massacres from taking place by the hands of Iraqi and Lebanese Shia militia groups – begging the question of how long the regime can retain command and control as it increasingly relies on irregular forces.[23] In other cases, infighting has occurred between different government units over operations, particularly in cases where it has meant aerial bombardment of city centers. In the past, government troops had negotiated with opposition forces in creating truces that prevented the aerial bombardment, and thus destruction, of key districts in the capital.[24] Yet as the opposition has advanced, more and more of Damascus is being threatened by the government’s bombardment, causing misgivings among those troops who are not keen to see the city become a replica of destroyed Aleppo or Homs.[25] While this has not significantly impacted operations in the city so far, if these trends are exacerbated, it could spell trouble for the government in the future. Capitalizing on the government’s victory in Homs, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has given off the impression of strength.
In one of his rare public visits, Assad toured Darayya, a southwestern suburb of Damascus and former rebel bastion now largely under control of government forces. In a speech honoring Army Day, Bashar told the Syrian people that he is “sure of victory.”[26]
‘While The Western Media Seems To Have Bought The Narrative Of The Government’s Continuing Strength, Under The Surface Things Are Not What They Appear In The Capital”
And while the western media seems to have bought the narrative of the government’s continuing strength, under the surface things are not what they appear in the capital. Through the successful use of more sophisticated weaponry and enhanced coordination, the opposition has made unprecedented advances in Damascus and has come closer to the heart of the capital than ever before. Events in Damascus reveal two important lessons: first, although the regime has current momentum in Homs, it is far from being able to conclusively defeat the opposition; second, a limited enhanced weapon capability has already improved the effectiveness of rebel forces and helped them coalesce into a more hierarchal command.
[1] “Clashes break out in Damascus,” RT, July 28, 2013; “al-Qaboun, from the heart of the battle at the doors of eastern Damascus,” YouTube, August 31, 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJtrh1534f0 [2] “FSA controls Abassiyyeen garages,” YouTube, July 27, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diaAG124Wc&feature=youtu.be [3] “Violent clashes in Barzeh and aerial bombardment,” YouTube, July 27, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcRJ6BbF6I [4] “Violent clashes in Barzeh as rebels push back government offensive,” Sham News Network, July 28, 2013. Translated from Arabic. [5] Based on reporting by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights of recent casualty figures. [6] “Creation of Jabhat Fatah al-’Asima,” YouTube, July 31, 2013. [7] “FSA advances in the south, forms Jabhat Fatah al-’Asima,” Damascus News Network, July 31, 2013. Translated from Arabic. [8] Interview with rebel commanders in Damascus via Skype from end of July – early August 2013. [9] “Syria… Explosion rocks Mezze military airbase,” al-Safir, July 27, 2013. Translated from Arabic. [10] Statement by Ahrar al-Sham [11] Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Facebook page; confirmed through interviews with activists in Damascus via Skype, July – August 2013.
[12] “In desert ambush, Syrian troops kill more than 60 rebels in latest blow to opposition fighters,” AP, August 7, 2013; interviews with activists in Damascus via Skype on August 7-9 2013. [13] Interview with activists in Damascus via Skype, July 24 – August 5, 2013; This assessment is also based on conversations with pro-regime families living in Damascus and reports of schisms within government forces. [14] “Rebel seize ammo depot,” Daily Star, August 3, 2012. [15] “Barzeh, the destruction of government tanks along the road to the hospital,” YouTube, July 28, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcRJ6BbF6I [16] “Ahrar al-Sham uses missiles to destroy regime forces,” YouTube, July 21, 2013 www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diaAG124Wc&feature [17] “Mughaweer forces and Fatah al-Sham at Abu Zidan checkpoint,” YouTube, July 29, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d66MqTTeOws&feature=youtu.be [18] “Liwa al-Islam down a plane using an Osa,” YouTube, July 29, 2013; “Opposition shoot down helicopter in Damascus using advanced weapons,” Orient News, July 29, 2013. [19] “Liwa al-Islam and her 9K33 Osa,” Oryz Blog, July 31, 2013. [20] Interview with Liwa al-Islam commander and his deputy via Skype, August 2, 2013. [21] Reports of two aircraft being shown down appeared on the main Facebook page for the Revolutionary Council in Ghouta on July 30, 2013; these reports were confirmed during interviews with activists operating in eastern Ghouta and Qaboun via Skype on August 2-3, 2013. [22] “The Free Syrian Army in Eastern Ghouta warns of the dangers of using the airspace above it,” Statement issued on the Facebook page for LIwa Islam and disseminated via the brigade’s Twitter account. [23] Interviews with activists based in Damascus via Skype from end of July – early August, 2013. [24] These truces have been confirmed by rebel commanders operating in Damascus in interviews with the author conducted throughout the past year, conducted both on Skype and in person. [25] Interview with regime source on July 28, 2013.
[26] “Assad visits ex-rebel bastion near capital state TV says,” AFP, August 1, 2013.
MORE:
“Syrian Rebels Captured The Main Military Airport Near The Border With Turkey On August 6”
Free Syrian Army fighters are seen on a Russian-made helicopter that belonged to the Syrian Army at the Minnig Military Airport, after it was seized by the rebels August 11, 2013. Syrian rebels captured the main military airport near the border with Turkey on August 6, consolidating their hold on a key supply route north of the city of Aleppo, opposition activists said. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
“At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. “We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.” Frederick Douglass, 1852
What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. -- Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787
Monetary Crisis:
“On The Eve Of The Crisis, The Bourgeois, With The SelfSufficiency That Springs From Intoxicating Prosperity, Declares Money To Be A Vain Imagination”
“Commodities Alone Are Money”
“But Now The Cry Is Everywhere: Money Alone Is A Commodity!”
Excerpt from Capital, K. Marx, pp. 154-155 The fact that a number of sales take place simultaneously, and side by side, limits the extent to which coin can be replaced by the rapidity of currency. On the other hand, this fact is a new lever in economizing the means of payment. In proportion as payments are concentrated at one spot, special institutions and methods are developed for their liquidation.
Such in the middle ages were the virements at Lyons. The debts due to A from B, to B from C, to C from A, and so on, have only to be confronted with each other, in order to annul each other to a certain extent like positive and negative quantities. There remains only a single balance to pay. The greater the amount of the payments concentrated, the less is this balance relatively to that amount, and the less is the mass of the means of payment in circulation. The function of money as the means of payment implies a contradiction without a terminus medius [the middle stage in a process]. In so far as the payments balance one another, money functions only ideally as money of account, as a measure of value. In so far as actual payments have to be made, money does not serve as a circulating medium, as a mere transient agent in the interchange of products, but as the individual incarnation of social labour, as the independent form of existence of exchange-value, as the universal commodity. This contradiction comes to a head in those phases of industrial and commercial crises which are known as monetary crises. Such a crisis occurs only where the ever-lengthening chain of payments, and an artificial system of settling them, has been fully developed. Whenever there is a general and extensive disturbance of this mechanism, no matter what its cause, money becomes suddenly and immediately transformed, from its merely ideal shape of money of account, into hard cash. Profane commodities can no longer replace it. The use-value of commodities becomes valueless, and their value vanishes in the presence of its own independent form. On the eve of the crisis, the bourgeois, with the self-sufficiency that springs from intoxicating prosperity, declares money to be a vain imagination. Commodities alone are money. But now the cry is everywhere: money alone is a commodity! As the hart pants after fresh water, so pants his soul after money, the only wealth. 50] In a crisis, the antithesis between commodities and their value-form, money, becomes heightened into an absolute contradiction. Hence, in such events, the form under which money appears is of no importance.
The money famine continues, whether payments have to be made in gold or in credit money such as bank-notes. [50] “The sudden reversion from a system of credit to a system of hard cash heaps theoretical fright on top of the practical panic; and the dealers by whose agency circulation is affected, shudder before the impenetrable mystery in which their own economic relations are involved” (Karl Marx, Capital; p. 126.)
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President Obama Announces Capture Of Warren Terror:
“It’s A Good Feeling To Know That We Can Move On To Wars Against Other Nouns”
August 10, 2013 by Paul, The Duffel Blog WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a daring pre-dawn raid on a bomb-making factory in Yemen early Friday, President Barack Obama announced to the world that Warren Terror had finally been captured.
“After I learned of solid intelligence, and I learned of this terror mastermind, I discussed the possibility of conducting a raid with my national security team,” Obama said in a speech from the White House. “After I carefully deliberated, I then consulted a Magic 8-Ball to ask whether this was a good decision. I then authorized members of the U.S. Navy SEALs to capture or kill Warren Terror. I am proud to report that he is now in custody.” The U.S. has been searching for the infamous and elusive international terrorist since shortly after 9/11, when President George W. Bush announced his capture would be his number one priority. “This crusade against Warren Terror starts today, but it does not end with his capture,” Bush said in the days following the devastating terror attacks in New York and Washington. “It will end only when we invade multiple countries and eventually forget whether we were supposed to shoot people, build schools, or shoot people building schools,” he added. After a brief firefight, the SEALs raiding the terror facility subdued Terror and placed him in flex-cuffs so he could not escape. “We’ve been conducting a global war on Terror for a long time,” said the SEAL Team Leader, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s a good feeling to know that we can move on to wars against other nouns.” Terror is currently being held at a resort community in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
TROOPS INVITED:
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OCCUPATION PALESTINE
“The Son Of Palestinian Huseen Awad Mourns”
“Israeli Troops Killed Awad”
“He Proved To Be Unarmed”
The son of Palestinian Huseen Awad mourns during his funeral in central Gaza Strip August 11, 2013. Israeli troops killed Awad who crossed in from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, fearing he was a security threat though he proved to be unarmed, military sources said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
Imitation;
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery:
“Keen To Claim The Loyalty Of Germans Abroad, The Nazis Racialized The Notion Of Citizenship Outside The Reich As Well As Inside It”
“In Other Words, Affinity Among Germans Wherever They Might Be
Trumped ‘The Formal Conception Of Citizenship’”
Excerpt from Hitler’s Empire; How The Nazis Ruled Europe; Mark Mazower; Penguin Group; New York, 1958 Concern for Germans abroad reinforced the idea of international relations as racial struggle. At the centre for propaganda and irredentist activity against Poland, the Bund Deutscher Osten, Theodor Oberlander, a young lecturer on ‘Eastern affairs’ from East Prussia (and later a minister in the postwar Adenauer government) adopted a martial tone. “The struggle for ethnicity,” he wrote in 1936, “is nothing other than the continuation of war by other means under the cover of peace. “Not a fight with gas, grenades, and machine-guns, but a fight about homes, farms, schools, and the souls of children, a struggle whose end, unlike in war, is not foreseeable as long as the insane principle of nationalism of the state dominates the Eastern region, a struggle which goes on for generations with one aim: extermination! A year later, Oberlander was stripped of his positions for being too soft on the Polish question. This idea of foreign policy as “the continuation of war by other means under the cover of peace” also affected how the Third Reich thought about international law. After 1933 Nazi legal theorists asserted the primacy of each state’s self-interest, and, increasingly, of race. They wanted a new kind of law according to which an organic German community would create its own legal norms. The ideal, as one explained, was a national state that was “racially satiated”, for only such a state would enjoy peaceful relations with other states in the international system. But what followed from this was not entirely reassuring: treaties and other agreements were regarded as binding as long as they did not jeopardize the racial health of a people; some racial communities were stronger than others and could “naturally” exert a hegemonic influence over them; war not law was therefore the ultimate arbiter of international order. Nazi lawyers were deeply suspicious of the whole idea of a universal international law premised upon the formal equality of sovereign states. Keen to claim the loyalty of Germans abroad, the Nazis racialized the notion of citizenship outside the Reich as well as inside it.
“The concepts ‘citizen’ and ‘racial comrade’ do not coincide,” wrote an adviser to the minister of the interior in 1936. “The race, or its single member, the racial comrade, must stand in the first place.” In other words, affinity among Germans wherever they might be trumped “‘the formal conception of citizenship”. The “‘boundless and unalterable loyalty towards one’s own race”, which another law professor saw as the guiding principle of National Socialist law, supposedly outweighed any loyalty which ethnic Germans might be expected to feel towards Czechoslovakia, Hungary or any other state the passport of which they happened to hold. If, according to such thinking, the Third Reich and indeed the Führer himself were nothing more than the voice of the German Volk as a whole, then it was also true that it — and he — had the right to speak for the Volk and to expect ethnic Germans everywhere to do its bidding. ****************************************************************
“The Whole Point Of Nazi Resettlement Schemes Was That They Were Going To Produce Definitive Solutions”
“The Japanese Colonization Of Manchukuo Was Closely Studied As An Example Of ‘Creating Settlements In The Midst Of Alien Population’”
Excerpt from Hitler’s Empire; How The Nazis Ruled Europe; Mark Mazower; Penguin Group; New York, 1958 Humanitarian considerations had never bothered Lorenz or his colleagues while the war was going on. On the contrary, they had seen humanitarianism as a sign of weakness. The whole point of Nazi resettlement schemes was that they were going to produce definitive solutions by the application of state power and tight control over individuals’ lives. Their architects were well aware of the fate of previous German attempts, and that was why they tried to learn instead from permanent population movements like the Greek —
Turkish exchange. As the head of the wartime Settlement Research Unit in Posen put it, such ‘radical measures are only to be understood out of the spirit of a new age’. Ancient and far-flung ethnic German communities would have to he uprooted in order to create a brand-new “united and combative Germandom”. This was the dream of a ‘”human wall” that had emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and now seemed within reach. The Japanese colonization of Manchukuo was closely studied as an example of “creating settlements in the midst of alien population”, and the German settlement specialists — tried to apply the lessons of Asia in eastern Europe. ****************************************************************
“Prague Even Had To Swallow Plans For An Extra-Territorial German Motorway System Across The Country To Guarantee German Control”
Excerpt from Hitler’s Empire; How The Nazis Ruled Europe; Mark Mazower; Penguin Group; New York, 1958 A swathe of southern Slovakia and Ruthenia was handed over to Hungary, which thus began the process of recouping the tremendous losses of territory it had suffered after the First World War: within four years, thanks to Berlin’s favour, it won back land from Romania and Yugoslavia as well. The Czechs were made to grant autonomy to Slovakia and eastern Carpatho-Ukraine while the remaining Germans inside the Czech lands won the right to Reich citizenship. Prague even had to swallow plans for an extra-territorial German motorway system across the country to guarantee German control (though in fact this was never built). [Never built until the Zionists adopted the Nazi plan to guarantee their control of Occupied Palestine. T] [To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded by foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves “Israeli.”]
CLASS WAR REPORTS
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
FREE TO ACTIVE DUTY:
A Vietnam Veteran Describes The Strategy And Tactics Used By Troops To Stop An Imperial War
SOLDIERS IN REVOLT: DAVID CORTRIGHT
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