…by Gordon Duff and New Eastern Outlook, Moscow
News reports from journalists embedded with American troops serving in Syria and Iraq are enlightening. They tell a daily story of operations, life behind the lines and the real story of America’s controversial mission that many believe is not only illegal and fully in support of organizations the US government has branded as “terrorist.”
There is a problem. There are no reports. There are no embedded journalists. There are, in fact, no reports of any kind, not from war correspondents, not from troops who have returned home or left the military entirely, not from anyone.
In fact, access to US controlled regions in Iraq and Syria is totally restricted and all information on activities there not just classified but beyond the purview of even members of Congress. No one knows what America’s mission is. Photos used in the media are often archival and years old.
More frightening still, the only reports about journalism inside Syria are of kidnapped and killed journalists, reports covering areas allegedly under US control, reports accusing the Damascus government of widespread censorship and press restrictions in regions where such actions are obviously impossible.
It gets worse. There are, in fact, no journalists serving in the American enclave in Southern Syria at al Tanf, an area the Damascus coalition and Russian claim is simply a protected zone for ISIS operations.
In Northern Syria, north and east of the Euphrates river where the US claims to control, with its Kurdish allies, up to 30% of Syria, no American, British or French news service operates at all, not with US military organizations nor at any of the US bases which include air fields, training operations and newly constructed AEGIS type radar stations. These radar stations are suspected as an attempt by the US to institute a “no fly zone” over Syria such as was advocated by the Atlantic Council in January 2014.
Then again, nobody asks. No one seems to have noticed that there are no reports, no combat footage, no videos posted, absolutely nothing from US operations in Syria and Iraq. In fact, there is nothing from Afghanistan either, nor is there coverage of new US bases in Niger, Chad and South Sudan or of activities there as well.
By the time Vietnam came along, the history of American combat journalists was over. Those who “made their bones” in Vietnam did so from outside the country, too often, or from briefings at headquarters in DaNang of Saigon.
When visits to the field did happen, and it was “visits” rather than real operations, media would be shuffled onto helicopters for relatively safe “fly alongs” with rear echelon types, always West Point or Naval Academy types considered too valuable to “waste” on a war considered both worthless and unwinnable by the Pentagon.
“Embedded” reporters were the military’s own, from Stars and Stripes or military photographers sent out on carefully controlled “photo shoots” certain not to disturb those who might accidentally read something about a war the American people could care less about.
When Desert Story came around, the press had been totally compromised and picking out “embeds” to send out with military units on a 96-hour campaign was of little risk. Corporations had totally taken over the media and the public had been sufficiently “dumbed down” for propagandization.
By 2003, it was pure “fake news” every step of the way with “tame” reporters fed predetermined fake combat reports. Then things got worse, even “tame” wasn’t good enough.
We then look at the story of Pat Tillman, the last American combat soldier to speak out against US policy while still serving in a combat zone. This was the fate of Pat Tillman, from VT 2011:
“Today is the seventh anniversary of Pat Tillman’s assassination in Afghanistan. On April 22, 2004 Tillman and several other Army Rangers were given an odd order to split their motorized squad and proceed toward a village called Magarah. The original mission was to recover a broken-down Humvee from a rocky and almost impassable trail through a steep gorge. The Humvee was being towed by a local “jinga” truck, rather than by one of the working Humvees. Tillman and the others got to the village before the guys with the towed Humvee and were waiting for them when three Afghan kids fired an RPG, with an effective range of 250 yards, from 800 yards. It hit on the wall of the gorge and made some noise and loosened up some dirt and rocks. But, no harm done. Nevertheless, the vaunted Rangers lost control of themselves and fired their arsenal of a .50 caliber Browning, 40mm grenade machine gun, .30 caliber machine guns and .223 caliber machine guns plus their small .223 rifles, called M-4s. They fired until they were out of ammo and had to get into their reserve ammo supply.
Tillman and the other guys were watching this show from above. Tillman’s sergeant, Matthew Weeks, ordered him and Bryan O’Neal and an Afghan named Thani to go down on foot closer to the road, which they did. The lead Humvee came within view of Tillman and from a range of about one hundred feet, opened up on him and the two others, killing the Afghan and wounding Tillman after he waved his arms at them not to shoot. They dove behind a couple of one-foot high rocks and O’Neal asked if he was okay. One of Tillman’s legs was severely wounded. He threw a purple smoke grenade to show they were Americans and kept yelling at the nearby Humvee shooters. Both Tillman and O’Neal waved their arms at the Humvee. The Rangers in the Humvees stopped shooting for a minute. Tillman and O’Neal thought it was safe to show themselves.
Tillman identified himself loudly, saying “Hold your fire! I’m Pat f****** Tillman!” Specialist Trevor Alders opened up again with his .223 machine gun and hit Pat Tillman from about one hundred feet away. Now, both Tillman and O’Neal were in the same uniforms as the other Rangers, wearing the distinctive Kevlar helmets, carrying the same M-4 rifles. The Humvee guys knew that the other guys were up ahead and still they did this.
Here’s where it gets strange. The autopsy photos supposedly show three .223 holes in Tillman’s forehead, in a two- to three-inch group, something a machinegun cannot do.”
For some reason, one too easy to understand, the American people aren’t surprised at the lack of news from “the front.” Then again, if the “fake news” along with Google and Facebook simply choose to “not promote” media about the war, from reporters, were such to exist, or from troops sending video or writing about the war, the public would know nothing anyway.
On Facebook, even typing in the words “VT” will freeze up a screen. On Google, it is worse, much worse. From “the real Donald Trump:”
“Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of….”
The real issue behind this may well not be Google and Donald Trump but rather something far more serious to hide. Reports from Iraq claim the US is engaging in military operations against Iranian backed militias who were paramount in retaking Mosul and defeating ISIS. There is no reporting on these alleged military operations except from sources in Iraq’s government.
Inside Syria, claims of US operations to protect and support terrorists are never refuted, only denied or, more often, simply censored from the media.
Reports from US troops speaking out, telling of their day to day life, their activities, simply don’t exist at all, a virtual impossibility, a secret army of wraiths, “thieves in the night.”
Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War that has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades and consulted with governments challenged by security issues. He’s a senior editor and chairman of the board of VT, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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Aligning several dots provided by veteranstoday, and other historical sources, ISIS could be identified to be the proxy army of the CIA/MOSSAD. Verification by Scott Bennett, former USArmy PsyOps officer, that ISIS combatants were paid via thousands of secret Swiss bank accounts funded by the CIA, assisted. That US special forces remain in Syria is clear indication that the secret team, identified by former USAF colonel L. Fletcher Prouty, continues its subterfuge from the DC headquarters. For details, see “The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World”, 2011 reprint. It remains interesting that in the early 1970s neither the general of the US Army nor the general of the US Marines knew which of the six hundred military entities they controlled vs control of the “CIA”. Draining the swamp remains a nice idea.
An excellent article that tells it the way it is. Right now the US is fighting secret wars in 16 different nations in the Mideast and Africa using special ops, paid mercenaries (CIA and others). There is a massive land grab for cheap resources going on in Africa between the US and China. The continuing mass slaughter from armed drones continues unabated with most victims innocent women and children. All done at the bequest of the Likudists that hijacked the Pentagon on behalf of the RKM Ruling Cabal of Globalist NWO kingpins who are losing power by the minute and soon will be completely displaced. This news about all these illegal, unconstitutional secret wars by the USG is is barred from the news under national security letters. And Pat Tillman was likely murdered because he was going to disclose all the Afghan Opium dealing by the US.
Reported about two weeks prior to his assassination, Tillman had announced to his platoon buddy that he planned to exit the US Army and reveal the truth of the US subterfuge in Afghanistan. Obviously, the news travelled swiftly. George W. Bush occupied the POTUS slot at the time. This is the same George W. Bush who disappeared for three days in Brownsville, TX, Summer 1984, while the other seventeen members of his druggy family were ceremoniously murdered and skinned. Yes, skinned. It was widely known in Germany that certain zionazi leaders had a tic for lamp shades made from human skin. In 1978, my wife and I acquired an older, large floor lamp in Germany – that no one seemed to want – that was almost a work of art. It had many colorful panes. One was almost clear and different from the others.
Mamlouk and I are ‘buds’
US soldiers are accompanying “representatives” in Afghanistan, as they fan out to inform villagers in remote areas, who have been living for hundreds of years without paying taxes, that they must now report to the “local office” and sign up to pay taxes, so the infrastructure can be put in to extract the resources.
I’m not aware of tax collection for foreign agents being in the list of duties for active soldiers, but neither is opium production. Everything is illegal, so the clamps have been installed.
And, as always, the ancient ways if still practiced among spiritual tradition carriers, are targeted. Forced conversion, illegal occupation, and collection of taxes, is the Christian way.
Wow Johnny, really? Your assertion regarding Native child-eating is false, racist, and particularly odious in its generalization. Your generalization about Native human sacrifice is also extreme. Your implication that “the Tribal Religions” uniformly prescribed any of this is silly, as is the idea that there was any uniformity across the 500 Nations here. The idea that we’ve moved PAST human sacrifice is insane, even if considering 9/11 mass murder and the ensuing Iraq (D.U.) War alone. If you want to argue that Aztec culture was cannibalistic, you do have significant proof of a cultural practice of cannibalism – involving their enemies, not children. As to the other 499 Nations’ supposed behaviors, there is a lot of hearsay reported by self-interested “superior” Christian conquerors designated by their god to slaughter their way to Manifest Destiny. You might want to read Bartoleme de Las Casas’ accounts of early contact, as to who it was practicing human sacrifice. http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/02-las.html
Even currently, the reduction in war is precisely correlating with reduction in church attendance, and reduction in crime rates.
I disagree with both your historical suggestions and the potentialities of what is possible.
Currently, again, the only war drums being beaten are by Christians in the service of the Judeo-Christian alliance. They are pilfering the resources and decimating the earth. Religions are both false and poisonous, and should have no say, in the civil matters of any people. The evidence is overwhelming. Currently also, the tribal peoples in the east, who have spiritual knowledge and sovereignty, are targeted first. This has not changed for 1700 years.
Johnny, the historical accounts of the people from Chile to Alaska is vastly different depending on the source.
The symbolism from paintings or drawings are seldom interpreted correctly by Harvard “geniuses”.
The Vatican has spent billions stamping out history and spiritual knowledge and replacing it with tall tales.
Check out John Henrik Clarke….
“Boots on the Ground by Dusk” – the title of Mary Tillman’s book – refers to the order from an office MAJ far away, to split up the platoon. The implication is that getting the operation done on time at all costs led to an exhausted, reckless group. Krakauer’s book has SPC Alders with an M249/SAW, rather than the M4, which might make the grouping more plausible? But then there’s SPC O’Neal’s changed, scripted testimony (plus a name-redacted lying chaplain), SPC Elliot’s public mea culpa (despite firing a 240B – wrong caliber for the wounds), their ESPN reconciliation, the Major rising to General this past year, another General pleading failed memory 70 times during a subsequent investigation, CPT Scott’s initial investigation pointing to extreme negligence, the report then completely LOST. Oh yeah and testimony that unnamed SNIPERS were present in the unit. http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/07/29/marine-disputes-report-pat-tillman-final-moments.html
Thanks Eddy, nice write.
Even the Rothschild weather-forecasters are under lock and key of NDA’s which might as well stand for “No Direct Access” to the truth as “Non Disclosure Agreements” about the truth. The truth has gone off at a tangent way beyond Al Tanf. World ruled by the truly unruly and we are expected to weather it out. Thankfully the Irish have the wit and humor to over elaborate the obvious – apologies for the shower of bad language which always accompanies the rain that fills the pond between us and lashes down unmercifully – and sometimes softly on the heads of one and all on that fair isle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23rc1Dk15A
Thanks for the work you do, Gordon.
If it was not for you and other (few) brave independent sources, people like me would not know what goes on out there….
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