The Caesar Photo Fraud that Undermined Syrian Negotiations
by Rick Sterling / March 3rd, 2016
EXTRACTS:
There is a pattern of
sensational but untrue reports that lead to public acceptance of US and Western
military intervention in countries around the world. All these reports were
later confirmed to be fabrications and lies:
* In Gulf War 1, there
were reports of Iraqi troops stealing incubators from Kuwait, leaving babies to
die on the cold floor. Relying on the testimony of a Red Crescent doctor,
Amnesty International ‘verified’ the false claims.
* Ten years later, there
were reports of yellow cake uranium going to Iraq for development of weapons of
mass destruction.
* One decade later,
there were reports of Libyan soldiers drugged on viagra and raping women as
they advanced.
* In 2012, NBC
broadcaster Richard Engel was supposedly kidnapped by pro-Assad Syrian militia
but luckily freed by Syrian opposition fighters, the “Free Syrian Army”.
This report is a critical review of the “Caesar
Torture Photos” story, documenting the alleged torture and killing of 11,000
detainees by the Syrian security establishment.
On 20 January 2014, two
days before negotiations about the Syrian conflict were scheduled to begin in
Switzerland, a sensational report burst onto television and front pages around
the world.
The story was that a former Syrian army photographer had 55,000 photographs
documenting the torture and killing of 11,000 detainees by the Syrian security
establishment. The Syrian photographer was given the code-name ‘Caesar’. The
story became known as the “Caesar Torture Photos”.
There is
strong evidence the accusations are entirely or substantially false. With few exceptions, Western media
uncritically accepted and promoted the story.
Why does it matter if the CIA is connected to the
‘Caesar’ story? Because the CIA has a long history of disinformation campaigns.
In 2011, false reports of viagra fueled rape by Libyan soldiers were widely
broadcast in western media as the U.S. pushed for a military mandate.
Decades
earlier, the world was shocked to hear about Cuban troops fighting in Angola
raping Angolan women. The CIA chief of station for Angola, John Stockwell,
later described how they invented the false report and spread it round the
world. The CIA was very proud of that disinformation achievement.
Stockwell’s book, “In Search of Enemies” is still relevant.
In contrast, there is clear and solid evidence
that a “Crime against Peace” is being committed against Syria. It is public
knowledge that the “armed opposition” in Syria has been funded, supplied and
supported in myriad ways by various outside governments.
Most of the fighters,
both Syrian and foreign, receive salaries from one or another outside power.
Their supplies, weapons and necessary equipment are all supplied to them. Like
the “Contras” in Nicaragua in the 1980s, the use of such proxy armies is a
violation of customary international law.
It is also a violation
of the UN Charter which says:
All Members shall
refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force
against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in
any other matter inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
The government of Qatar
has been a major supporter of the mercenaries and fanatics attacking the
sovereign state of Syria. Given that fact, isn’t it hugely ironic to hear the
legal contractors for Qatar accusing the Syrian government of “crimes against
humanity”?
Isn’t it time for the
United Nations to make reforms so that it can start living up to its purposes?
That will require demanding and enforcing compliance with the UN Charter
and International Law.
READ
ENTIRE STORY:
http://dissidentvoice.org/2016/03/the-caesar-photo-fraud-that-undermined-syrian-negotiations/
http://dissidentvoice.org/2016/03/the-caesar-photo-fraud-that-undermined-syrian-negotiations/
A 30
page investigative report on the “Caesar Torture Photos” has been released and
is available online here.
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